恩波：2008年12月英语四级预测试卷及解析(二)

　　33. A) The need to exercise the memory.

　　B) How the brain differs from other body tissues.

　　C) The unconscious learning of a physical activity.

　　D) How nerves control body movement.

　　34. A) Repeat it aloud. B) Write it down.

　　C) Make a mental picture of it. D) Practice recalling it.

　　35. A) Ask questions about the assigned reading.

　　B) Give an example of active learning.

　　C) Explain recent research on recalling childhood memories.

　　D) Make an assignment for the next class session.

　　Section C

　　Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or wirte down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

　　Graduate students often work as teaching assistants while they study in the United States. Teaching assistants (T.A.) may get money or get to take classes for (36) , or both. A T.A. usually works about twenty hours each week. In some cases, the professors they assist have big (37) classes with hundreds of students. The professor gives one or two (38) a week, and teaching assistants (39) smaller discussions at other times. They also give tests, (40) work, provide laboratory assistance and meet with students who need help. And they have their own educations to think about.

　　Many states have (41) to require that teaching assistants be able to speak English well enough for students to understand them. Universities have increased their (42) to deal with this problem. Our example school this week is the University of Southern California (USC), in Los Angeles.The American Language Institute at USC provides (43) to help international teaching assistants improve their English. (44) .

　　The exam at USC is a fifteen-minute spoken test that involves two examiners. Students talk about their education and interest in the school. (45) .Those who do not score high enough on the test have to take classes to improve their English. (46) .

　　Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension(Reading in Depth)(25 minutes)

　　Section A

　　Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

　　Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.

　　The free enterprise had produced a technology 47 of providing the American consumer with the largest and most varied marketplace in the world. Technological advances, however, have come hand-in-hand with impersonal mass marketing of goods and services. Along with 48 too, have come some instances of manipulative(操纵性的;操作) advertising practices and a great increase to products whose reliability, safety and quality are difficult to 49 .

　　Today’s consumers buy, enjoy, use and throw away more types of goods than could possibly have been imagined even a few years ago. Yes, too often consumers have no idea of the materials that have gone into the manufacturer’s finished product or their own 50 in selecting one product over another.

　　Easy credit and forceful techniques of modern marketing persuade many consumers to buy what they cannot 51 . The consequent 52 of family budgets is a problem for consumers at all economic levels. It is not unusual for families to set aside 20 percent or more of their income to debt repayments without understanding the effect this allocation has upon other choices. Some families have such tight budgets that an illness, a period of unemployment, or some other crisis finds them without 53 reserves(储备;储蓄).

　　In addition to the growing complexity of the market, consumers are sometimes faced with unfair and 54 practices. Although there are laws 55 to protect the consumers, there are not a sufficient number of laws enforced to cover all the abuses of the marketplace.

　　An adult in today’s society should be knowledgeable in the use of credit. He should understand what is involved in purchasing a house, and the many pitfalls to be avoided when 56 into financial agreements. He should know enough about advertising and selling techniques to enable him to tell the honest from the deceptive. He should be knowledgeable about consumer protection laws so that he can demand his rights. When he needs help, he should know the private and public sources to which he can turn for assistance.