2012年12月英语四级阅读备考：全真试题(1)

　　Unit 1

　　Passage One

　　The biggest safety threat facing airlines today may not be a terrorist with a gun, but the man with the portable computer in business class. In the last 15 years, pilots have reported well over 100 incidents that could have been caused by electromagnetic interference. The source of this interference remains unconfirmed, but increasingly, experts are pointing the blame at portable electronic device such as portable computers, radio and cassette players and mobile telephones.

　　RTCA, an organization which advises the aviation (航空)industry, has recommended that all airlines ban (禁止)such devices from being used during criticalstages of flight, particularly take-off and landing. Some experts have gone further, calling for a total ban during all flights. Currently, rules on using these devices are left up to individual airlines. And although some airlines prohibit passengers from using such equipment during take-off and landing, most are reluctant to enforce a total ban, given that many passengers want to work during flights.

　　The difficulty is predicting how electromagnetic fields might affect an aircrafts computers. Experts know that portable device emit radiation which affects those wavelengths which aircraft use for navigation and communication. But, because they have not been able to reproduce these effects in a laboratory, they have no way of knowing whether the interference might be dangerous or not.

　　The fact that aircraft may be vulnerable (易受损的)to interference raises the risk that terrorists may use radio systems in order to damage navigation equipment. As worrying, though, is the passenger who cant hear the instructions to turn off his radio because the musics too loud.

　　21.The passage is mainly about ________.

　　A) a new regulation for al airlines

　　B) the defects of electronic devices

　　C) a possible cause of aircraft crashes

　　D) effective safety measures for air flight

　　22.What is said about the over 100 aircraft incidents in the past 15 years?

　　A) They may have been caused by the damage to the radio systems.

　　B) They may have taken place during take-off and landing.

　　C) They were proved to have been caused by the passengers portable computers.

　　D) They were suspected to have resulted from electromagnetic interference.

　　23.Few airlines want to impose a total ban on their passengers using electronic devices because ________.

　　A) they dont believe there is such a danger as radio interference

　　B) the harmful effect of electromagnetic interference is yet to be proved

　　C) most passengers refuse to take a plane which bans the use of radio and cassette players

　　D) they have other effective safety measures to fall back on

　　24.Why is it difficult to predict the possible effects of electromagnetic fields on an airplanes computers?

　　A) Because it is extremely dangerous to conduct such research on an airplane.

　　B) Because it remains a mystery what wavelengths are liable to be interfered with.

　　C) Because research scientists have not been able to produce the same effects in labs.

　　D) Because experts lack adequate equipment to do such research.

　　25.It can be inferred from the passage that the author ________.

　　A) is in favor of prohibiting passengersuse of electronic devices completely

　　B) has overestimated the danger of electromagnetic interference

　　C) hasnt formed his own opinion on this problem

　　D) regards it as unreasonable to exercise a total ban during flight

　　Passage Two

　　The rise of multinational corporations (跨国公司), global marketing, new communications technologies, and shrinking cultural differences have led to an unparalleled increase in global public relations or PR.

　　Surprisingly, since modern PR was largely an American invention, the U. S. leadership in public relations is being threatened by PR efforts in other countries. Ten years ago, for example, the worlds top five public relations agencies were American-owned. In 1991, only one was. The British in particular are becoming more sophisticated and creative. A recent survey found that more than half of all British companies include PR as part of their corporate (公司的)planning activities, compared to about one-third of U. S. companies. It may not be long before London replaces New York as the capital of PR.

　　Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race? First, Americans as a whole tend to be fairly provincial and take more of an interest in local affairs. Knowledge of world geography, for example, has never been strong in this country. Secondly, Americans lag behind their European and Asian counterparts (相对应的人)in knowing a second language. Less than 5 percent of BursonMarshalls U. S. employees know two languages. Ogilvy and Mather has about the same percentage. Conversely, some European firms have half or more of their employees fluent in a second language. Finally, people involved in PR abroad tend to keep a closer eye on international affairs. In the financial PR area, for instance, most Americans read the Wall Street Journal. Overseas, their counterparts read the Journal as well as the Financial Times of London and The Economist, publications not often read in this country.

　　Perhaps the PR industry might take a lesson from Ted Turner of CNN (Cable News Network). Turner recently announced that the word foreignwould no longer be used on CNN news broadcasts. According to Turner, global communications have made the nations of the world so interdependent that there is no longer any such things as foreign.

　　26.According to the passage, U. S. leadership in public relations is being threatened because of ________.

　　A) an unparalleled increase in the number of public relations companies

　　B) shrinking cultural differences and new communications technologies

　　C) the decreasing number of multinational corporations in the U. S.

　　D) increased efforts of other countries in public relations

　　27.London could soon replace New York as the center of PR because ________.

　　A) British companies are more ambitious than U. S. companies

　　B) British companies place more importance on PR than U. S. companies

　　C) British companies are heavily involved in planning activities

　　D) four of the worlds top public relations agencies are British-owned

　　28.The word provincial(Line 2, Para. 3)most probably means ________.

　　A) limited in outlook

　　B) like people from the provinces

　　C) rigid in thinking

　　D) interested in world financial affairs

　　29.We learn from the third paragraph that employees in the American PR industry ________.

　　A) speak at least one foreign language fluently

　　B) are ignorant about world geography

　　C) are not as sophisticated as their European counterparts

　　D) enjoy reading a great variety of English business publications

　　30.What lesson might the PR industry take from Ted Turner of CNN?

　　A) American PR companies should be more internationally-minded.

　　B) The American PR industry should develop global communications technologies.

　　C) People working in PR should be more fluent in foreign languages.

　　D) People involved in PR should avoid using the word foreign.