【篇一】2021年下半年英语四级考试阅读理解汇编
New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk. It’s now a “global village” where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly enhanced by foreign language skills.Deeply involved with this new technology is a breed of modern business people who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts.
Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind.” He or she canbe sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more prevalent (普遍的).
Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets.
English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal.
The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s principal language has an opportunity to fast-forwardcertain negotiations, and cam have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. Theemployee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. What is the author’s attitude toward high-tech communications equipment?
A. Critical.
B. Prejudiced.
C. Indifferent.
D. Positive.
2. With the increased use of high-tech communications equipment, businesspeople ________.
A. have to get familiar with modern technology
B. are gaining more economic benefits from domestic operations
C. are attaching more importance to their overseas business
D. are eager to work overseas
3. In this passage,“out of sight and out of mind” (Lines 2-3, Para. 3) probably means ________.
A. being unable to think properly for lack of insight
B. being totally out of touch with business at home
C. missing opportunities for promotion when abroad
D. leaving all care and worry behind
4. According to the passage, what is an important consideration of international corporationsin employingpeople today?
A. Connections with businesses overseas.
B. Ability to speak the client’s language.
C. Technical know-how.
D. Business experience.
5. The advantage of employees having foreign language skills is that they can ________.
A. better control the whole negotiation process
B. easily find new approaches to meet market needs
C. fast-forward their proposals to headquarters
D. easily make friends with businesspeople abroad
1.[D] 事实辨认题。题目询问的是作者对于髙科技通讯设备的态度是什么。根据文章的第1段特别是最后一句中的benefit,可推断作者是持肯定态度的，即答案为D。
2.[C] 事实辨认题。根据第2段第1句中的who have a growing respect... abroad可看出，随着髙科技通讯设备的广泛使用，商人们越来越重视海外商务的经济价值,C与之一致。"
3.[C] 语义推断题。根据第3段第2、3句中说的“他确信国外的事务对公司的成功计划至关重要，派往国外时或之 后常能得到升迁。”可知，在海外的管理人员不再会担心被遗忘而错过升职机会，因此“眼不见，心不念”即为C“在国外时错过国内升职机会”。
4.[B] 事实辨认题。题目询问的是根据短文，当今在雇佣雇员时，国际化的公司应该着重考虑什么。这是第5段的话题，其中核心词是language,只有B“会说顾客的语言”符合。
5.[A] 事实辨认題。题目询问的是具有外语能力的雇员的优势究竟是什么。根据最后一段第1句可知，“派往国外的雇员若能讲该国的主要语言，就有机会加快谈判进程,而且能知道什么时候放慢节拍。” A“具有外语 能力的雇员的优势就是他们可以)更好地控制整个谈判的过程”与之一致，故为答案。
【篇二】2021年下半年英语四级考试阅读理解汇编
Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.Located on the shore of Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane (飓风) Hugo 10 years ago. In September1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.
Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina’s shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn’t strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hugo’s wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes.The new beach house on Sullivan’s Island should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.
At first sight, the house on Sullivan’s Island looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble “a large party lantern (灯笼)” at night, according to one observer. But looks can be deceiving. The house’s wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength.
To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings—long, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they arestrong enough to support the weight of the house. They also elevate the house above storm surges. The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it. “These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff.
Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house’s ground-to-roof shell. “ The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its pant legs pulled up,” said Huff. In the event of a storm surge, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina’s shore line are required ________.
A. to be easily reinforced
B. to look smarter in design
C. to meet stricter building standards
D. to be designed in the shape of cubes
2. The award-winning beach house is quite strong because ________.
A. it is strengthened by steel rods
B. it is made of redwood
C. it is in the shape of a shell
D. it is built with timber and concrete
3. Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to ________.
A. withstand peak winds of about 200 km/hr
B. anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand
C. break huge sea waves into smaller ones
D. prevent water from rushing into the house
4. The main function of the shell is ________.
A. to strengthen the pilings of the house
B. to give the house a better appearance
C. to protect the wooden frame of the house
D. to slow down the speed of the swelling water
5. It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be ________.
A. fancy-looking
B. waterproof
C. easily breakable
D. extremely strong
1.[C] 根据题目中的专有名词Hugo查找到文中第3段第2句。句中的In Hugo’s wake相当于题目中的after Hugo,由该句是的stricter，better-enforced codes可知C正确。
2.[A] 第4段开始具体介绍the house,根据该段最后一句可知，这幢房子的木制结构用长钢筋加固了，因而特别结实,故选A。
3.[D] 根据题干的数字可迅速定位至第5段首，第2、3句阐述这样做的目的是“将房屋抬髙到暴风雨巨浪之上,及让巨浪能在屋下流过。”其中running into it与D中的rushing into the house同义,故D正确。
4.[B] 最后一段第2句提出，外壳可以把木桩遮盖住,所以它主要起“粉饰”作用。
5.[C] 根据最后一句可知，如果暴风雨巨浪涌来，外壳就会裂开，让巨浪在房屋下面奔涌而过，因此外壳应该是“易碎的”。
【篇三】2021年下半年英语四级考试阅读理解汇编
One of the bitterest and most time-worm debates in student union bars up and down the country is resolved as academic research confirms that in financial terms at least, arts degrees are a complete waste of time.Getting through university boosts students’earnings by 25%, on a weighted average, or $220,000 over theirlifetime, according to Professor Ian Walker of Warwick University-but if they study Shakespeare or the peasants’revolt instead of anatomy of contract law, those gains are likely to be completely wiped out.The government is about to allow universities to charge students up to $3,000 a year for their degrees, arguing that it’s a small price to pay compared with the financial rewards graduates reap later in life. But Prof. Walker’s research shows there are sharp variations in returns according to which subject a student takes.
Law, medicine and economics or business are the most lucrative choices, making their average earnings 25% higher, according to the article, published in the office for national statistics’monthly journal. Scientists get 10-15% extra. At the bottom of the list are arts subjects, which make only a “small ”differenceto earnings- a small negative one, in fact. Just ahead are degrees in education-which leave hard pressed teachers anaverage of 5% better off a year than if they had left school at 18.
“it’s hard to resist the conclusion that what students learn does matter a lot; and some subject areas givemore modest financial returns than others,” Prof. Walker said. As an economist, he was quick to point outthat students might gain non-financial returns from arts degrees:”Studying economics might be very dull, forexample, and studying post-modernism might be a lot of fun.”
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.What is the best title for the passage?
A.Professor Walker’s Research
B.How to Make Big Money.
C.Differences Between Science and Arts Degrees.
D.Studying Arts Has Negative Financial Outcome.
2.Universities charge students a rather high tuition mainly because_____
A.they provide the students with very prosperous subjects to learn
B.they assume that their graduates can earn much more than they had paid
C.they don’t get financial support from the government
D.they need much revenue to support the educational expenses
3.The word “lucrative”(Line 1, Para. 4) most probably means _____
A.sensible
B.creative
C.profitable
D.reliable
4.Law, medical and business graduates could earn 25% more than ______
A.education graduates
B.arts graduates
C.those who had not studied at the university
D.the average income
5.We can safely conclude that the author ______
A.regards arts degrees as meaningless
B.finds this result disappointing and unfair
C.wants the students to think twice before they decide what to learn in college
D.holds that arts degrees are still rewarding despite its scarce financial returns
1.[D] 主旨大意题。本文为Walker教授的研究成果，旨在说明不同专业的毕业生有不同的经济回报，并非要传授发财心得或者比较文理科的异同。文章首句即为本题解题关键，故D正确。
2.[B] 事实细节题。定位至第3段第1句。本文只有这一句与收取学费有关，后一个分句即前一个分句的理由，抓住其中隐含的因果关系就不难找到正确答案。
3.[C] 词义理解题。通过下文数据earnings 25% higher和get 10-15% extra可以推测lucrative大意应为“给人带来丰厚收入的”,故选C。
4.[C] 事实细节题。第4段中出现了几个比较数字，考题要求找到此段首句提到的收人增加25%的参照点。第2段第1句中的Getting through university 表明这类学生收人增加25%的参照对象是没读大学的人，且从第4段第3句中的the list和第4句即可以确定这一段是在比较大学毕业与18岁毕业(即没读大学)收入的不同，因此C正确。
5.[D] 推理判断题。结论往往出现在文章结尾,要想答对此题,一定要仔细体会本文末句。本文虽然重点讨论文科没有经济效益，但是作者并没有做出主观判断，故A、B、C都不正确，而作者在文章最后讲到了人文学科虽然经济效益不佳但学习过程更有趣，故D符合作者意思。
