2020 年 12 月大学英语四级考试真题（第 2 套）——阅读版——仔细阅读题

PartIII Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)

Section C

Directions： There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished stltements. For each ofthem there are four choices marked A,B,C and D.You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

  Boredom has,paradoxically, become quite interesting to academics lately. In early May, London’s Boring Conference celebrated seven years of delighting in dullness. At this event,people flocked to talks about weather,traffic jams,and vending-machine sounds, among other sleep-inducing topics.
  What,exactly, is everybody studying? One widely accepted psychological definition of boredom is “the distasteful experience of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity.” But how can you quantify a person’s boredom level and compare it with someone else’s? In 1986, psychologists introduced the Boredom Proneness Scale,designed to measure an individual’s overall tendency to feel bored. By contrast, the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale, developed in 2008, measures a person’s feelings of boredom in a given situation.
  Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving,mindless snacking, excessive drinking, and addictive gambling. In fact, many of us would choose pain over boredom. One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather self-administer electricsbocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Researching this phenomenon, another team asked volunteers to watch boring, sad, or neutral films, during which they could self-administer electric shocks.The bored volunteers shocked themselves more and harder than the sad or neutral ones did.
  But boredom isn’t all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can spur creativity. An early study gave participants abundant time to complete problem-solving and word-association exercises. Once all the obvious answers were exhausted, participants gave more and more inventive answers to combat boredom. A British study took these findings one step further,asking subjects to complete a creative challenge (coming up with a list of alternative uses for a household item). One group of subjects did a boring activity first,while the others went straight to the creative task. Those whose boredom pumps had been primed were more productive.
  In our always-connected world, boredom may be a hard-to-define state, but it is a fertile one. Watch paint dry or water boil,or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.

2020-12-02-46.—细节辨认题—定位容易，原词复习—答案难，同义替换难

46. When are people likely to experience boredom,according to an accepted psychological definition?【原文：What,exactly, is everybody studying? One widely accepted psychological definition of boredom is “the distasteful experience of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity.” But how can you quantify a person’s boredom level and compare it with someone else’s? In 1986, psychologists introduced the Boredom Proneness Scale,designed to measure an individual’s overall tendency to feel bored. By contrast, the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale, developed in 2008, measures a person’s feelings of boredom in a given situation.】
    A. When they don’t have the chance to do what they want.
    B. When they don’t enjoy the materials they are studying.
    C. When they experience something unpleasant.
    D. When they engage in some routine activities.

46. 根据公认的心理学定义，人们什么时候容易感到无聊？
A.当他们没有机会做自己想做的事情时。
B.当他们不喜欢他们正在学习的材料时。
C.当他们经历不愉快的事情时。
D.当他们从事一些日常活动时。

46.【定位】由题干中的 accepted psychological definition 定位到第二段第二句。

A【精析】细节辨认题。定位句指出，一个被广泛接受的关于无聊的心理学定义是 “ 因为想参加却不能参加令人满意的活动而产生的令人不快的经历”。选项A 中的don’t have the chance to do what they want 与定位句中的wanting,but being unable,to engage 对应，故答案为A。

【避错】B “当他们不喜欢正在学习的材料”、C “当他们经历了不愉快的事情”和D “当他们参加 一些例行活动”均不符合心理学定义的内容，故排除。

2020-12-02-47.—细节辨认题—难—单词不认识

47. What does the author say boredom can lead to?【原文：Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving,mindless snacking, excessive drinking, and addictive gambling.】
    A. Determination.
    B. Concentration.
    C. Mental deterioration.
    D. Harmful conduct.

47. 作者说无聊会导致什么？
A.决心。
B.浓度。
C.精神退化。
D.有害行为。

47. 【定位】由题干中的 boredom can lead to 定位到第三段第一句。

D【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，无聊与一些行为问题有关，包括心不在焉地开车、漫不经心地吃零食、过度饮酒和赌博成瘾。这些行为都是不好的行为习惯，与D 项中的Harmful 表述相符，故答案为D。

【避错】文中未提及“决心”，故排除A 。B 选项中的 Concentration “注意力集中”与原文中的 inattentive 不符，故排除。过度饮酒和赌博成瘾是颓废堕落的表现，但 mental deterioration“精神颓废”并不能概括以上提到的所有行为，故排除 C。

2020-12-02-48.—细节辨认题—难—原词复现陷阱—self-administer electricsbocks自我电击替换为hurt themselves伤害自己；sit alone单独坐着替换为endure boredom忍受无聊

48. What is the finding of one team of psychologists in their experiment?【原文：One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather self-administer electricsbocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes.】
    A. Volunteers prefer watching a boring movie to sitting alone deliberating.
    B. Many volunteers choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom.
    C. Male volunteers are more immune to the effects of boredom than females.
    D. Many volunteers are unable to resist boredom longer than fifteen minutes.

48. 一组心理学家在他们的实验中发现了什么？
A.志愿者更喜欢看一部无聊的电影，而不是独自坐着思考。
B.许多志愿者选择伤害自己而不是忍受无聊。
C.男性志愿者比女性更不受无聊的影响。
D.许多志愿者无法忍受超过15分钟的无聊。

48.【定位】由题干中的 finding of one team of psychologists定位到第三段第三句。

B【 精析】细节辨认题。定位句指出，一个心理学家小组发现，三分之二的男性和四分之一的女性宁愿自我电击，也不愿独坐15分钟。由此可见，有不少志愿者宁愿自我伤害也不愿忍受无聊，故答案为B。

【避错】A 选项提到的“观看无聊的电影”是另一个研究小组的研究内容，故排除。该项研究发现，三分之二的男性和四分之一的女性宁愿自我电击，男性的比例较高，由此看出，男性更易受到无聊的影响，故排除C 。该项研究只是发现很多人在自我电击和独坐15分钟之间选择了自我伤害，并未明确说明是否无法忍受超过15分钟的无聊，故排除D。

2020-12-02-49.—细节辨认题—易—同义替换—spur creativity激发创造力替换为promote creative thinking促进创造性思维。

49. Why does the author say boredom isn’t all bad?【原文： But boredom isn’t all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can spur creativity. 】
    A. It stimulates memorization.
    B. It allows time for relaxation.
    C. It may promote creative thinking.
    D. It may facilitate independent learning.

49. 为什么作者说无聊并不全是坏事？
A.它能刺激记忆。
B.有时间放松。
C.它可以促进创造性思维。
D.它可以促进独立学习。

49.【定位】由题干中的boredom isn’t all bad 定位到第四段第一句。

C【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，无聊并不都是坏事。随后第二句具体说明无聊的好处，即无聊会促进自我反省和幻想，进而激发创造力。
C 选项与原文内容相符，故为答案。

【避错】文中并未提及无聊能提高记忆力、给人放松的时间或促进自主学习，故排除A、B、D。

2020-12-02-50.—推理判断题—定位按“题文同序原则”，第5题第五段—但是干扰项多，同义替换难—watch paint dry or water boil看着油漆变干或者水沸腾替换为Allow oneself some time to be bored给自己一些无聊的时间

50. What does the author suggest one do when faced with a challenging problem?【原文：In our always-connected world, boredom may be a hard-to-define state, but it is a fertile one. Watch paint dry or water boil,or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.】
    A. Stop idling and think big.
    B. Unlock one’s smartphone.
    C. Look around oneself for stimulation.
    D. Allow oneself some time to be bored.

50. 当面对一个具有挑战性的问题时，作者建议我们做什么？
A.别游手好闲了，要胸怀大志。
B.解锁智能手机。
C.环顾四周寻找刺激。
D.给自己一些无聊的时间。

50.【定位】由题干中的author suggest 和题文同序原则定位到最后一段第二句。

D 【精析】推理判断题。定位句指出，看着油漆变干或者水沸腾，或者至少把智能手机暂时收起来一会儿，可能会让人产生新的点子。做这些事情会让人感到无聊。由以上信息可推断，作者建议大家给自己一段无聊的时间，可能就会想出解决问题的新点子，故答案为D。

【避错】文中没有提及要告别无所事事，大胆想象，故排除A。作者建议暂时把智能手机收起来，B “开启智能手机”与作者的建议相反，故排除。文中未提及四处看看寻找灵感，故排除C。

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passgage.

  Forests in countries like Brazil and the Congo get a lot of attention from environmentalists,and it is easy to see why. South America and sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing deforestation on an enormous scale： every year almost 5 million hectares are lost. But forests are also changing in rich Western countries. They are growing larger,both in the sense that they occupy more land and that the trees in them are bigger： What is going on?
  Forests are spreading in almost all Western countries,with the fastest growth in places that historically had rather few trees. In 1990 28% of Spain was forested; now the proportion is 37%. In both Greece and Italy, the growth was from 26% to 32% over the same period. Forests are gradually taking more land in America and Australia. Perhaps most astonishing is the trend in Ireland. Roughly 1% of that country was forested when it became independent in 1922. Now forests cover 11% of the land, and the government wants to push the proportion to 18% by the 2040s.
  Two things are fertilising this growth. The first is the abandonment of farmland, especially in high,dry places where nothing grows terribly well. When farmers give up trying to earn a living from farming or herding,trees simply move in; The second is government policy and subsidy. Throughout history,governments have protected and promoted forests for diverse reasons,ranging from the need for wooden warships to a desire to promote suburban house-building.Nowadays forests are increasingly welcome because they suck in carbon pollution from the air.The justifications change; the desire for more trees remains constant.
  The greening of the West does not delight everyone. Farmers complain that landis being taken out of use by generously subsidised tree plantations. Parts of Spain and Portugal suffer from terrible forest fires. Others simply dislike the appearance of forests planted in neat rows. They will have to get used to the trees,however. The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere.

2020-12-02-51.—细节辨认题—易—同义替换—5 million hectare are lost 替换为 fast shrinking

51. What is catching environmentalists’attention nowadays?【原文：Forests in countries like Brazil and the Congo get a lot of attention from environmentalists,and it is easy to see why. South America and sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing deforestation on an enormous scale： every year almost 5 million hectares are lost. But forests are also changing in rich Western countries. They are growing larger,both in the sense that they occupy more land and that the trees in them are bigger： What is going on?】
    A. Rich countries are stripping poor ones of their resources.
    B. Forests are fast shrinking in many developing countries.
    C. Forests are eating away the fertile farmland worldwide.
    D. Rich countries are doing little to address deforestation.

51. 现在是什么引起了环保主义者的注意？
A.富国正在剥夺穷国的资源。
B.许多发展中国家的森林正在迅速萎缩。
C.森林正在吞噬全世界肥沃的农田。
D.富裕国家在解决森林砍伐问题上做得很少。

51.【定位】由题干中的environmentalists’attention定位到第一段第一句。

B【精析】细节辨认题。定位句指出，巴西和刚果等国的森林受到了环境保护主义者的广泛关注，原因很容易理解。随后进一步指出原因是南美洲和撒哈拉以南的非洲正经历着大规模的森林砍伐，由此可知，这些发展中国家的森林面积在迅速减少，故答案为 B。

【避错】文中未提及 A“富裕国家正在抢夺贫穷国家的资源”，故排除。第三段提到在西方国家，由于某些地区放弃了种什么都长不好的农田，因此才会有树木种进来。由此可知，并非森林侵蚀了肥沃的农田，故排除 C。第三段提到森林面积增加的第二个因素是政府出于各种原因保护和推广森林，由此可知，西方富裕国家对于解决森林砍伐问题并非无作为，故排除 D。

2020-12-02-52.—细节辨认题—同义替换—that historically had rather few trees替换为used to have the lowest forest coverage

52. Which countries have the fastest forest growth?【原文：Forests are spreading in almost all Western countries,with the fastest growth in places that historically had rather few trees. In 1990 28% of Spain was forested; now the proportion is 37%. In both Greece and Italy, the growth was from 26% to 32% over the same period. Forests are gradually taking more land in America and Australia. Perhaps most astonishing is the trend in Ireland. Roughly 1% of that country was forested when it became independent in 1922. Now forests cover 11% of the land, and the government wants to push the proportion to 18% by the 2040s.】
    A. Those that have newly achieved independence.
    B. Those that have the greatest demand for timber.
    C. Those that used to have the lowest forest coverage.
    D. Those that provide enormous government subsidies.

52. 哪个国家的森林增长最快？
A.那些刚刚获得独立的国家。
B.那些对木材需求最大的国家。
C.那些曾经森林覆盖率最低的地区。
D.那些提供巨额政府补贴的。

52.【定位】由题干中的fastest forest growth定位到第二段第一句。

【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，在几乎所有的西方国家，森林正在扩张，在历史上树木稀少的地方增长得最快。C 项中的the lowest forest coverage与定位句中的historically had rather few trees对应，故答案为 C。

【避错】第二段提到爱尔兰在 1922年独立，并不是newly achieved independence，故排除 A “刚取得独立的国家”。

文章未提及 B “对木材有最大需求的国家”，故排除。D 是根据第三段中government policy and subsidy设置的干扰，此处是指政府的政策和补贴促进了森林的扩张，但未提及这个因素和森林增长快之间的关系，故排除D “提供巨大政府补贴的国家”。

2020-12-02-53.—细节辨认题—同义替换—governments have protected and promoted替换为government’s advocacy

53. What has encouraged forest growth historically?【原文：Two things are fertilising this growth. The first is the abandonment of farmland, especially in high,dry places where nothing grows terribly well. When farmers give up trying to earn a living from farming or herding,trees simply move in; The second is government policy and subsidy. Throughout history,governments have protected and promoted forests for diverse reasons,ranging from the need for wooden warships to a desire to promote suburban house-building.Nowadays forests are increasingly welcome because they suck in carbon pollution from the air.The justifications change; the desire for more trees remains constant.】
    A. The government’s advocacy.
    B. The use of wood for fuel.
    C. The favourable climate.
    D. The green movement.

53. 历史上是什么促进了森林的生长？
A.政府的倡导。
B.使用木材作为燃料。
C.有利的气候。
D.绿色运动。

53.【定位】由题干中的encouraged forest growth定位到第三段第一句。

【精析】细节辨认题。定位句指出，有两个因素在促进这种增长。随后内容具体阐述了这两个因素：放弃农田和政府的政策及补贴。接着第五句指出，纵观历史，政府出于各种原因保护和推广森林。由此可见，政府的倡导促进了历史上森林面积的增加，故答案为 A。

【避错】B“用木头作燃料”、C“良好的气候”、D“绿色运动”均未在文中提及，故排除。

2020-12-02-54.—细节辨认题—易—同义替换—suck in carbon pollution from the air吸收空气中的碳污染替换为capability of improving air quality改善空气质量的能力

54. What accounts for our increasing desire for forests?【原文：Nowadays forests are increasingly welcome because they suck in carbon pollution from the air.The justifications change; the desire for more trees remains constant.】
    A. Their unique scenic beauty.
    B. Their use as fruit plantations.
    C. Their capability of improving air quality.
    D. Their stable supply of building materials.

54. 是什么导致我们对森林日益增长的渴望？
A.他们独特的美景。
B.用作水果种植园。
C.他们改善空气质量的能力。
D.他们稳定的建筑材料供应。

54.【定位】由题干中的our increasing desire for forests 定位到第三段倒数第二句。

【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，现在森林越来越受欢迎，因为它们吸收空气中的碳污染。由此可见，森林可以改善空气质量，故答案为C。

【避错】A“它们独特的美丽风景”、B“它们可用于种植水果”、D“它们可以稳定输出建筑材料”均未在文中提及，故排除。

2020-12-02-55.—推理判断题—难—定位按“题文同序原则”，第5题第五段—推理—由“The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere”推出“Developed and developing countries are moving in opposite Directions”

55. What does the author conclude about the prospects of forestation?【原文：The greening of the West does not delight everyone. Farmers complain that landis being taken out of use by generously subsidised tree plantations. Parts of Spain and Portugal suffer from terrible forest fires. Others simply dislike the appearance of forests planted in neat rows. They will have to get used to the trees,however. The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere.】
    A. Deserts in sub-Saharan Africa will diminish gradually.
    B. It will play a more and more important role in people’s lives.
    C. Forest destruction in the developing world will quickly slowdown.
    D. Developed and developing countries are moving in opposite Directions.

55. 作者对造林的前景有什么结论？
A.撒哈拉以南非洲的沙漠将逐渐减少。
B.它将在人们的生活中扮演越来越重要的角色。
C.发展中国家的森林破坏将迅速减缓。
D.发达国家和发展中国家正朝着相反的方向发展。

55.【定位】由题干中的conclude和 prospects of forestation定位到最后一段最后一句。

D
【精析】推理判断题。定位句指出，西方国家森林的增长似乎和其他地方的森林砍伐一样几乎势不可挡。此句作为文章结尾，呼应开头提到的西方富裕国家森林增多，有些发展中国家森林减少。由此推断，作者认为，发达国家和发展中国家正在朝相反的方向发展，故答案为 D。

【避错】由文章最后一句可知，作者认为，西方国家的森林会继续增长，而发展中国家的森林砍伐仍将继续，故A提到的撤哈拉以南的非洲地区的森林将会继续减少，而不是沙漠减少，因此排除。
文中没有提及 B“它会在人们的生活中扮演越来越重要的角色”，故排除。
C中提到的“发展中国家的森林破坏"将会继续，而不是迅速减少，故排除。