【篇一】2021年12月大学英语四级考试阅读理解练习题
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
【篇二】2021年12月大学英语四级考试阅读理解练习题
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
【篇三】2021年12月大学英语四级考试阅读理解练习题
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
