I hesitated. How would I, unable to speak the language, _49_ unfamiliar with local geography or transportation systems, set up _50_ and do research? It seemed impossible, and with considerable _51_ I sat down to write a letter begging off. Halfway through, a thought can through my mind: you can learn if you don’t try. So I accepted the assignment.
There were some bad _52_. But by the time I had finished the trip I was an experienced traveler. And ever since, I have never hesitated to head for even the most remote of places, without guiders or even _53_ bookings, confident that somehow I will manage.
The point is that the new, the different, is almost by definition _54_. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning piles up, the world opens to you.
I’ve learned to ski at 40, and flown up the Rhine River in a _55_. And I know I’ll go on doing such things. It’s not because I’m braver or more daring than others. I’m not. But I’ll accept anxiety as another name for challenge and I believe I can _56_ wonders.
A) accomplish
B) advanced
C) balloon
D) claim
E) constantly
F) declare
G) interviews
H)limited
I) manufacture
J) moments
K) news
L) reduced
M) regret
N) scary
O) totally
2008年6月英语四级考试试题原文及答案
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Section B
Passage One
Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the 21st century, but regardless of whether it is or isn’t –we won’t do much about it. We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments to avoid it. But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less likely they are to be observed.
Al Gore calls global warming an “inconvenient truth,” as if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to a solution. But the real truth is that we don’t know enough to relieve global warming, and –without major technological breakthroughs—we can’t do much about it.
From 2003 to 2050, the world’s population is projected to grow from 6.4 billion to 9.1 billion, a 42% increase. If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions (mainly, CO2) will be 42% higher in 2050. but that’s too low, because societies that grow richer use more energy. We need economic growth unless we condemn the world’s poor to their present poverty and freeze everyone else’s living standards. With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050.
No government will adopt rigid restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom (limits on electricity usage, driving and travel) that might cut back global warming. Still, politicians want to show they’re “doing something.” Consider the Kyoto Protocol (京都议定书). It allowed countries that joined to punish those that didn’t. But it hasn’t reduced CO2 emissions (up about 25% since 1990), and many signatories (签字国) didn’t adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets.
The practical conclusion is that if global warming is a potential disaster, the only solution is new technology. Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it.
The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral problem when it’s really an engineering one. The inconvenient truth is that if we don’t solve the engineering problem, we’re helpless.
57. What is said about global warming in the first paragraph?
A) It may not prove an environmental crisis at all.
B) It is an issue requiring world wide commitments.
C) Serious steps have been taken to avoid or stop it.
D) Very little will be done to bring it under control.
58. According to the author’s understanding, what is Al Gore’s view on global warming?
A) It is a reality both people and politicians are unaware of.
B) It is a phenomenon that causes us many inconveniences.
C) It is a problem that can be solved once it is recognized.
D) It is an area we actually have little knowledge about.
59. Green house emissions will more than double by 2050 because of _______.
A) economic growth
B) the widening gap between the rich and poor
C) wasteful use of energy
D) the rapid advances of science and technology
60. The author believes that, since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, ________.
A) politicians have started to do something to better the situation
B) few nations have adopted real tough measures to limit energy use
C) reductions in energy consumption have greatly cut back global warming
D) international cooperation has contributed to solving environmental problems
61. What is the message the author intends to convey?
A) Global warming is more of a moral issue than a practical one.
B) The ultimate solution to global warming lies in new technology
C) The debate over global warming will lead to technological breakthroughs.
D) People have to give up certain material comforts to stop global warming.
Passage Two
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the Websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchase or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it’s likely some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen — the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it’s important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs (碎屑) you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simple cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter?
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found an overwhelming pessimism about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny fraction of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券).
But privacy does matter – at least sometimes. It’s like health: When you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it.
62. What does the author mean by saying “the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked ”(Lines 3-4, Para.2)?
A) People’s personal information is easily accessed without their knowledge.
B) In the 21st century people try every means to look into others’ secrets.
C) People tend to be more frank with each other in the information age.
D) Criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology.
63. What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
A) Friends should open their hearts to each other.
B) Friends should always be faithful to each other.