2024年6月大學(xué)英語四級閱讀真題以及答案（二）

英語四級閱讀，作為大學(xué)英語能力的重要評估指標(biāo)，不僅檢驗(yàn)了學(xué)生對詞匯、語法的掌握，更考察了其閱讀理解和信息篩選的能力。在全球化背景下，提升這一能力對于拓寬視野、增進(jìn)跨文化交流至關(guān)重要。今天，小編將分享2024年6月大學(xué)英語四級閱讀真題以及答案（卷二）相關(guān)內(nèi)容，希望能為大家提供幫助！

Section A

Directions:In this section,there is a passage with ten blanks.You are required to select one wordfor each blank from a list ofchoices given in a word bankfollowing 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 ofthe words in the bank more than once. 

A team of researchers led by Priyanka Joshi examined the degree to which men and women relied on“communicative abstraction”to verbally convey their ideas and emotions.Communicative abstraction, according to the researchers,reflects the tendency of people to use“abstract speech that focuses on the broader picture and  26  purpose of action rather than concrete speech focusing on details and the means of  27  action.”Interestingly,they found that men were far more likely to speak in the abstract than were women. 

To arrive at this  28  ,the researchers examined the linguistic(語言的)patterns of men and women in over 600,000 blog posts written on websites.To do this,the researchers computed abstractness ratings for  29  40,000 commonly used words in the English language.Words considered to be concrete could be easily visualized,such as “table”or“chair”.Words that were more  30  to visualize,for example, “justice”or“morality”were considered to be more abstract.They found that men used  31  more abstract language in their blog posts. 

What is the  32  of this effect?The researchers suggest that power differences between the genders—that is,men having more power in society—might be a key determinant(決定因素).For instance,in a follow-up study conducted with a sample of 300 students,the researchers  33  power dynamics in an interpersonal setting to see if this would influence communicative abstraction.They found that participants in a high-power interviewer role were more likely to give abstract descriptions of behaviors than were participants in a low-power interviewee role.This suggests that communicating more abstractly does not reflect a  34  tendency of men or women but rather  35  within specific contexts.

A)approximately

B)attaining

C)conclusion

D)difficult

E)emerges

F)fixed

G)ignored

H)legally

I)manipulated

J)recommended

K)refraining

L)signals

M)significantly

N)source

O)ultimate

Section B

Directions: In this section,you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it.Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs.Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived.You may choose a paragraph more than once.Each paragraph is marked with a letter.Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2. 

How to better work towards long-term goals

A)Hal Hershfield,a psychologist at the UCLA Anderson School of Management,wanted to know why people weren't saving for retirement.Across the board,people are living longer.Logically,they'll need more money to live comfortably in their post-work years.And yet,savings rates in the U.S.have gone down in recent decades,not up. 

B)To help explain this seemingly irrational behavior,Hershfield and his team scanned the brains of study participants while asking them to what degree various traits(特征)—like “honorable”or “funny”—applied to their current self,their future self,a current other,or a future other.As participants answered,Hershfield's team recorded which parts of their brains lit up.Unsurprisingly,people's brains were most active when thinking about their current selves and least active when thinking about a current other.But the team found that participants'brain activity while considering their future selves more closely resembled their brain activity while thinking about a current other rather than the current self.

C)Put in practical terms,when thinking of yourself in a month or a year or a decade,your brain registers that person in ways similar to how it would registerTaylor Swift or the mailman.Understood in that way,saving for retirement is the equivalentof giving money away to someone elseentirely.

D)In light of Hershfield's study,one simple question arises:Is it possible to make our present selves give a damn about our future selves?The answers are anything but simple. 

E)Seen through the lens ofthe present self versus the future self,our self-defeating actions—like choosing to watch television rather than go to the gym—suddenly make perfect sense.We get to enjoy the very concrete, immediate benefits of our actions while someone else (namely,our future selves)suffers the hypothetical (假設(shè)的),far-off consequences.As a result,the decisions we make for our present selves often look very different from our decisions for our future selves.We believe that tomorrow.will be different.We believe that we will be different tomorrow;but in doing so,we prioritize our current mood over the consequences of our inaction for the future self. 

F)Understanding our procrastination(拖延)through the lens of the present and future selves,we're left with three possible solutions:The first is to force your future selfto do whatever your present self doesn't want to do.The second is to convinceyour presentself that your future self is,in fact,still you.Ifthe central problem is that we think of our future selves as other people,it follows that trying to identify more closely with our future selves will encourage us to make better long-term decisions. 

G)In a follow-up study,Hershfield wanted to explore ways to bridge the disconnect between the present and future selves and encourage people to save more for retirement.He and his team took photos of study participants,and then used image processing to visually age their faces.Participants were then placed in a virtual reality setting where they could look into a mirror and see their aged selves looking back at them. Participants who saw their aged selves said they would save 30%more oftheir salary for retirement than the control group. 

H)Whatever your long-term goals may be—getting in better shape,launching your own business,writing a book—thinking about your deadline in terms of days rather than months or years can help you wrap your mind around how close the future really is. 

I)The third solution is to forget about your future self and use your present self's love of instant gratifcation (滿足感)to your advantage.While the two tactics(手段)above can be effective in making better long-term choices,in the end,you're still struggling against human nature.Our brains are hard- wired for instant gratification.Instead of fighting your present self's need for immediate rewards,why not use it to your advantage?When most of us set goals,we focus on long-term results we want to see—e.g.,losing weight,getting a promotion,retiring in comfort,etc.While those visions of our future selves can be inspiring,when it comes to actually doing the day-to-day work,it may be more effective to reframe activities in terms of their immediate,or at least very near-term,rewards. 

J)Take writing this article,for instance.It's easy for me to imagine how amazing it will feel at the end of the workday to have this article done.This isn't just my opinion.Research partners Kaitlin Woolley of Cornell University and Ayelet Fishbach ofthe University ofChicago have made a career out ofstudying the differences between the goals that people achieve and the ones that fall to the wayside.

K)“In onestudy,we asked people online about the goals they set at the beginning of the year.Most people set goals to achieve delayed,long-term benefits,such as career advancement,debt repayment,or improved health.We asked these individuals how enjoyable it was to pursue their goal,as well as how important their goal was.We also asked whether they were still working on their goals two months after setting them.We found that enjoyment predicted people's goal persistence two months after setting the goal far more than how important they rated their goal to be,”Woolley said. 

L)This pattern held true across a wide variety of goals from exercising to studying to eating healthier foods.For example,people ate 50%more ofa healthy food when directed to focus on the good taste rather than the long-term health benefits.Other studies have shown a greater uptake of exercise in people who were told to think ofthe enjoyment of doing the exercise now rather than future health gains. 

M)These findings suggest that when it comes to achieving your goals,enjoying the process itself is more important than wanting the long-term benefits.In other words,present self trumps(戰(zhàn)勝)future self.Who says instant gratification has to be a bad thing?By all means,set ambitiouslong-term goals for your future self,but when it comes to actually following through day-to-day,make sure your present self knows what's in it for her too. 

36.Our brains are genetically determined to satisfy immediate desires. 

37.Taken in a practical way,saving for post-work years is like givingmoney away to others.

38.Research found that,as regards achievement of one's goals,it is important to focus more on enjoying the process than the long-termbenefits

39.Regarding our future selves as still being ourselves will help us make better long-term decisions.

40.Savings rates in America have dropped in recent decades even though people's life expectancy has increased. 

41.Researchers found that enjoyment rather than importance enabledpeople to persist in their goals. 

42.When making decisions,we give priority to our current frame of mind without thinking much of the consequences. 

43.People ate more of a healthy food when they focused on its good taste instead ofits long-term benefits.

44.As was expected,when people thought of their present selves,their brains were observed to become more active.

45.Researchers found that participants who saw the images oftheir aged selves would save more for their later years than those whodidn't. 

Section C

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage isfollowed bysome questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A),B),C)and D).You should decide on the best choice and mark the correspondingletter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage. 

People often wonder why some entrepreneurs have greater success than others.Is it habits,connections,luck,work ethic or any other behavior?I believe the key to success is willpower.Willpower is the ability to control yourself.It is a strong determination that allows you to do something difficult.It is a behavior we are bornwith more than onewe learn;however,it is possible to not only learn it,but also strengthen it with constant exercise. 

Willpower isjust like a muscle;to keep it strong you need to constantly exercise it.People with a great amount of willpower have the discipline to develop positive,successful habits.Even with an incredible amount of talent,without the discipline and motivation to create positive habits,it can be difficult to achieve success. 

Willpower and habits go hand in hand.It is critical to create good habits and take the actions necessary to stick to those habits day in and day out for greater success.Almost half of our daily actions are part of our habits and not decisions,so once the correct habits are in place,you will automatically perform those tasks on a day-to- day basis. 

The best way to create and stick to a habit is to have strong motivation.It's easier to change your habits to lose weight if you have a health issue and you want to be around longer for your kids,or if your business is something you're passionate about.Having a valuable outcome associated with a habit will help you stick to that habit permanently. 

The art of self-control is one that most successful individuals have mastered.Self-control enables you to avoid behaviors that don't contribute to your success and adopt those that do. Because there is a delayed satisfaction associated with self-control,it can be easy to get off track.However if you work on sticking to those small positive habits one day at a time,it becomes easier to stay strong and achieve that delayed reward.Once a reward is achieved,it is much easier to continue sticking to your habits.

46.What does the author say we need to do to strengthen our willpower?

A)Keep it under control. 

B)Apply it continuously. 

C)Learn from entrepreneurs.

D)Aim at success determinedly. 

47.How are almost half of ourdaily actions performed according to the passage?

A)Out of habit. 

B)With determination. 

C)Like muscle building. 

D)By self-discipline

48.What will help people stick to doing something constructive automatically?

A)Practising it on a day-to-day basis.

B)Associating it with improving health. 

C)Possessing a reasonable amount of talent.

D)Foreseeing the desired outcome it will yield. 

49.How does the art of self-control help us succeed?

A)By allowing us to remain clear-headed permanently.

B)By enabling us to alter our behaviors constantly. 

C)By enabling us to takepositive actions.

D)By allowing us toavoid taking risks. 

50.Why can it be difficult for us to maintain self-control?

A)Most of us are not in the habit of exercising self-control. 

B)We may not get immediate rewards from self-control. 

C)Self-control tends to be associated with pains. 

D)Self-control only brings about small benefits.

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage. 

Today,most scientific research is funded by government grants,companies doing research and development,and non-profit foundations.As a society,we reap the rewards from this science,but we also help pay for it.You indirectly support science through taxes you pay,products and services you purchase,and donations you make. 

Funding for science has changed with the times.Historically,science has been largely supported through private patronage(資助),church sponsorship,or simply paying for the research yourself.Today,researchers are likely to be funded by a mix of grants from various government agencies,institutions,and foundations.Other research is funded by private companies.Such corporate sponsorship is widespread in some fields.Almost 75% of U.S.clinical trials in medicine are paid for by private companies.And,ofcourse,some researchers today still fund small-scale studies out oftheir own pockets.Most of us can't afford to do nuclear research as a private hobby,but birdwatchers,rock collectors,and others can do real research on a limited budget. 

In a perfect world,money wouldn't matter—all scientific studies would be completely objective.But in the real world,funding may introduce biases.Drug research sponsored by the pharmaceutical(制藥的)industry is more likely to end up favoring the drug under consideration than studies sponsored by government grants or charitable organizations.Similarly,nutrition research sponsored by the food industry is more likely to end up favoring the food under consideration than independently funded research. 

So what should we make of all this?Should we ignore any research funded by companies or special interest groups?Certainly not.These groups provide invaluable funding for scientific research.Furthermore,science has many safeguards in place to catch instances of bias that affect research outcomes.Ultimately,misleading results will be corrected as science proceeds;however,this process takes time.Meanwhile,it pays to examine studies funded by industry or special interest groups with extra care.Are the results consistent with other independently funded studies?What do other scientists have to say about this research?A little examination can go a long way towards identifying bias associated with the funding source. 

51.What does the passage mainly discuss regarding scientific research?

A)Its foundation. 

B)Its rewards. 

C)Its prospect.

D)Itsfunding.

52.What do we learn from the passage about researchers like birdwatchers and rock collectors?

A)They have little access to government funding.

B)They can do research with limited resources. 

C)They can do amateur work in their own fields. 

D)They have no means for large-scale research. 

53.What would scientific studies look like in a perfect world according to the author?

A)They would be totally unbiased. 

B)They would be independently funded. 

C)They would be responsibly conducted. 

D)They would be strictly supervised. 

54.What does the author say about companies and special interest groups?

A)They try hard to pull down the safeguards for research. 

B)They make extra efforts to research their own products.

C)They provide valuable resources for scientific research. 

D)They reap the most benefits from scientific research.

55.What does the author think of research funded by industry or special interest groups?

A)Its recommendations should be examined for feasibility. 

B)Its misleading results should be corrected in time. 

C)Its validity should be checked with additional care. 

D)Its hidden biases should be identified independently.