2021 年 12 月大学英语四级考试真题（第 1 套）——阅读版——仔细阅读题

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2021年12月大学英语四级考试真题(第1套)

Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)

Section C

Directions:There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage is followed by some 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 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.

  As many office workers adapt to remote work,cities may undergo fundamental change if offices remain under-utilized.Who will benefit if working from home becomes the norm?
  Employers argue they make considerable savings on real estate when workers shift from office to home work.However,these savings result from passing costs on to workers.
  Unless employees are fully compensated,this could become a variant of parasitic (寄生的) capitalism,whereby corporate profits increasingly rely on extracting value from the public—and now personal—realm,rather than on generating new value.
  Though employers are backed by a chorus of remote work advocates,others note the loneliness,reduced productivity and inefficiencies of extended remote work.
  If working from home becomes permanent,employees will have to dedicate part of their private space to work.This requires purchasing desks,chairs and office equipment.
  It also means having private space dedicated to work:the space must be heated, cleaned,maintained and paid for.That depends on many things,but for purposes of illustration,I have run some estimates for Montreal.The exercise is simple but important,since it brings these costs out of the realm of speculation into the realm of meaningful discussion.
  Rough calculations show that the savings made by employers when their staff works from home are of similar value to the compensation workers should receive for setting up offices at home.
  What does this mean for offices in cities?One of two things may happen:Employers pass these costs onto employees.This would be a form of expropriation( 侵占) , with employees absorbing production costs that have traditionally been paid by the employer.This represents a considerable transfer of value from employees to employers.
  When employees are properly compensated,employers’real estate savings will be modest.If savings are modest,then the many advantages of working in offices—such as lively atmosphere,rapidity of communication,team-building and acclimatization (适应环境) of new employees—will encourage employers to shelve the idea of remote work and,like Yahoo in 2013,encourage employees to work most of the time from corporate office space.

[文章来源]
本文选自 2020 年 6 月 18 日刊登在 theconversation.com(对话网站)上的一篇标题 为“Remote Work: Employers Are Taking Over Our Living Spaces And Passing On Costs”（《远程 工作：雇主正在接管我们的生活空间并转嫁成本》）的文章。

[结构框图]

2021-12-01-46.—细节辨认题—难—同义替换—“savings result from passing costs on to workers节省的结果是将成本转嫁给工人”替换为“employers at the expense of employees雇主以牺牲雇员为代价”

46. What does the author say about working from home?【原文：Employers argue they make considerable savings on real estate when workers shift from office to home work.However,these savings result from passing costs on to workers.】
    A. It will become the norm sooner or later.
    B. It requires employees to adapt promptly.
    C. It benefits employers at the expense of employees.
    D. It will force cities to transform their infrastructure.

46. 关于在家工作，作者说了些什么？
A.这迟早会成为常态。
B.它要求员工迅速适应。
C.以牺牲雇员为代价使雇主受益。
D.这将迫使城市改造他们的基础设施。

46 【定位】 由题干中的the author和working from home定位到第一、二段。

C 【精析】 细节辨认题。第二段指出，雇主们认为，当工作人员从办公室转到家中工作时，他们在房地产方面节省了大量资金。然而，这些节省下来的资金来自于将成本转嫁到工人身上。由此可见，远程工作这一模式虽然使雇主从中受益，但是却以牺牲雇员的利益为代价，故答案为 C。

【避错】 首段最后一句提到，如果这一工作模式常态化，谁将受益？由此可见，该模式现在只是兴起，并没有成为常态，故排除 A；首段第一句提到，很多工作人员适应了远程工作的模式，但是并没有要求所有员工迅速适应该模式，故排除 B；

首段第一句提到，如果城市办公室不能充分利用的话，城市将经历根本性的改变，但这并不是作者对于远程工作的观点，故排除 D。

2021-12-01-47.—推理判断题—难—定位难，没有关键字，需要同义替换“oppose反对”替换为“Though employers are backed by a chorus of remote work advocates尽管雇主得到了远程工作倡导者的异口同声的支持”—答案同义替换简单“reduced productivity”替换为“negatively impacts productivity”

47. Why do some people oppose working from home?【原文：Unless employees are fully compensated,this could become a variant of parasitic (寄生的) capitalism,whereby corporate profits increasingly rely on extracting value from the public—and now personal—realm,rather than on generating new value.
      Though employers are backed by a chorus of remote work advocates,others note the loneliness,reduced productivity and inefficiencies of extended remote work.
      If working from home becomes permanent,employees will have to dedicate part of their private space to work.This requires purchasing desks,chairs and office equipment.】
    A. It discourages team spirit.
    B. It invades employees’privacy.
    C. It undermines traditional values.
    D. It negatively impacts productivity.

49. 为什么有些人反对在家工作？
A.这会打击团队精神。
B.侵犯了员工的隐私。
C.它破坏了传统价值观。
D.它对生产力有负面影响。

47.【定位】由题干中的some people oppose working from home 定位到第四段。

D 【精析】 推理判断题。定位段提到，尽管雇主得到了远程工作倡导者的异口同声的支持， 但其他人注意到长期的远程工作所带来的孤独感、生产率降低和效率低下。由此可知， 远程工作模式并不是受到大家的一致肯定，也有人持反对意见，而这些反对意见就包括：孤独感、生产率降低和效率低下，所以人们反对的原因是认为它会对生产力产生负面影响，故答案为 D。

【避错】 文中并未提及 A“它挫伤了团队士气” 、B“它侵犯了员工的隐私”和 C“它破坏了传统的价值观” ，故排除。

2021-12-01-48.—细节辨认题—难—易选错关键字“illustration”，但是实际原文“but for purposes of illustration但是为了说明”只是句没啥意义的句子

48. Why did the author run the estimates for Montreal?【原文：That depends on many things,but for purposes of illustration,I have run some estimates for Montreal.The exercise is simple but important,since it brings these costs out of the realm of speculation into the realm of meaningful discussion.】
    A. To provide convincing data for serious discussion.
    B. To illustrate the ongoing change in working patterns.
    C. To show the impact of remote working on productivity.
    D. To exemplify how remote working affects the economy.

48. 为什么作者要对蒙特利尔进行评估？
A.为严肃的讨论提供令人信服的数据。
B.说明工作模式正在发生的变化。
C.显示远程工作对生产力的影响。
D.举例说明远程工作如何影响经济。

48.【定位】由题干中的the author run the estimates for Montreal 定位到第六段最后一句。

A 【精析】 细节辨认题。定位句指出，这项工作很简单但很重要，因为它将这些成本从推测领域带到了有意义的讨论领域。由此可见，作者之所以对蒙特利尔进行估算，是为有意义的讨论提供真实的数据，故答案为 A。

【避错】 文章第六段第一句提到，远程工作意味着要有专门用于工作的私人空间：空间需要供暖、清扫、维护和支付费用，由此可见，这里只是提到工作模式的转变，对于是否持续改变，尚无定论，B的表述错误，故排除；

第四段提到远程工作模式对生产力的影响，但这并不是作者对蒙特利尔进行估算的原因，故排除 C；

文中未提及 D“为了 举例说明远程工作对经济的影响” ，故排除。

2021-12-01-49.—细节辨认题—难—需要理解才能选对

49. What can we conclude from the author’s calculations?【原文：Rough calculations show that the savings made by employers when their staff works from home are of similar value to the compensation workers should receive for setting up offices at home.粗略计算表明，雇主让员工在家工作所节省的费用，与员工在家里设立办公室所应得到的补偿价值相当。】
    A. There is no point in transferring office work to working from home.
    B. Employees can benefit as much from remote working as their employers.
    C. Employers gain from remote working should go to employees as compensation.
    D. Effective measures should be taken to motivate employees to set up offices at home.

49. 从作者的计算中我们可以得出什么结论？
A.把办公室工作转移到在家工作是没有意义的。
B.雇员和雇主一样可以从远程工作中获益。
C.雇主从远程工作中获得的收益应作为补偿归雇员所有。
D.应该采取有效的措施来激励员工在家里设立办公室。

49.【定位】由题干中的the author’s calculations定位到第七段。

C 【精析】 细节辨认题。定位段提到，粗略计算表明，当员工在家工作时，雇主所节省的费 用与员工在家设立办公室所应获得的补偿金额相当。由此可知，雇主所节省下来的费用应该给予雇员，补偿他们设立办公室的费用，故答案为 C。

【避错】 定位段提到，当员工在家工作时，雇主所节省的费用与员工在家设立办公室所应获得的补偿金额相当。由此可见，并非远程工作模式没有意义，而是创造的价值是一样的，只不过受益人发生了变化，故排除 A；即使员工收到补偿，也是对自己创造的 价值的回报，不能说他们获取了和其雇主一样多的收益，故排除 B；文中未提及 D“采取有效措施激励员工在家设立办公室”，故排除。

2021-12-01-50.—细节辨认题—难—需要读懂最后一段推出观点

50. What is the author’s opinion on working from home?【原文：will encourage employers to shelve the idea of remote work and,like Yahoo in 2013,encourage employees to work most of the time from corporate office space.】
    A. It should be avoided if possible.
    B. It is only a temporary measure.
    C. It can reduce companies’real estate costs.
    D. It may affect employees’corporate loyalty.

50. 作者对在家工作有什么看法？
A.如果可能的话应该避免。
B.这只是一个临时措施。
C.它可以降低公司的房地产成本。
D.可能影响员工对公司的忠诚度。

50.【定位】由题干中的author’s opinion on working from home定位到最后一段。

A 【精析】 细节辨认题。定位段指出，如果雇员得到适当的补偿，雇主的房地产节省的资金就少了，那么在办公室工作的许多优势，例如活跃的气氛、快速的沟通团队建设和新员工对环境的适应，都将鼓励雇主搁置远程工作的想法，就像 2013 年的雅虎一样，鼓励员工大部分时间在公司办公。由此可见，一旦雇主需要对远程工作的员工进行补偿， 那么对于雇主而言，远程工作的弊端就大于利益，那么远程工作对于雇主和雇员双方都没有太大的好处。因此，作者支持在办公室工作，故答案为 A。

【避错】 B项文中没有提及，故排除；文中确实提及，远程工作模式可以节省雇主的房地产成本，但是如果给员工补偿的话，这种节约成本就与补偿相互抵消了，故排除 C；

最后一段最后一句提到，远程工作模式缺少活跃的气氛快速的沟通、团队建设和新员工对环境的适应等优点，但是没有提及影响员工对企业的忠诚度这一话题，故排除 D。

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

  The human thirst for knowledge is the driving force behind our successful development as a species.But curiosity can also be dangerous,leading to setbacks or even downfalls.Given curiosity’s complexity,scientists have found it hard to define.
  While pinning down a definition has proven tricky,the general consensus is it’s some meansof information gathering.Psychologists also agree curiosity is intrinsically(内在地) motivated.
  Curiosity covers such a large set of behaviors that there probably isn’t any single “curiosity gene” that makes humans wonder about and explore their environment.That said, curiosity does have a genetic component.Genes and the environment interact in many complex ways to shape individuals and guide their behavior,including their curiosity.
  Regardless of their genetic makeup,infants have to learn an incredible amount of information in a short time,and curiosity is one of the tools humans have found to accomplish that gigantic task.
  Hundreds of studies show that infants prefer novelty.It’s what motivates non-human animals,human infants and probably human adults to explore and seek out new things before growing less interested in them aftercontinued exposure.
  But curiosity often comes with a cost.
  In some situations,the stakes are low and failure is a healthy part of growth.For instance,many babies are perfectly proficient crawlers,but they decide to try walking because there’s more to see and do when they stand upright.But this milestone comes at a small cost.A study of 12-to 19-month-olds learning how to walk documented that these children fell down a lot.Seventeen times per hour,to be exact.But walking is faster than crawling,so this motivates expert crawlers to transition to walking.
  Sometimes,however,testing out a new idea can lead to disaster.For instance,the Inuit people of the Arctic regions have created incredible modes to deal with the challenges of living in northern climates,but what we forget about are the tens of thousands of people that tried and failed to make it in those challenging landscapes.

2021-12-01-51.—细节辨认题—难—强干扰项A，对一半，错一半—同义替换，“driving force behind our successful development as a species”替换为“is the force that pushes human society forward”

51. What does the author say about curiosity?【原文：The human thirst for knowledge is the driving force behind our successful development as a species.But curiosity can also be dangerous,leading to setbacks or even downfalls.Given curiosity’s complexity,scientists have found it hard to define.】
    A. It is too complex for non-scientists to understand.
    B. It is the force that pushes human society forward.
    C. It is a unique trait specific to the human race.
    D. It is often the major cause for human failures.

51. 关于好奇心，作者说了什么？
A.它太复杂了，非科学家无法理解。
B.它是推动人类社会前进的力量。
C.这是人类特有的特征。
D.它经常是人类失败的主要原因。

51.【定位】由题干中的the author和curiosity定位到首段第一句。

B【精析】细节辨认题。定位句指出，人类对知识的渴望是我们作为一个物种成功发展背后的驱动力。由此可见，作为一个物种，我们之所以不断向前发展，是因为有好奇心这一驱动力，故答案为 B。

【避错】首段第三句提到，考虑到好奇心的复杂性，科学家们发现很难定义它。由此可见，科学家只是觉得好奇心难以定义，而非无法理解，故排除A；
文章首段第一句指出，人类对知识的渴望是我们作为一个物种成功发展背后的驱动力，但是这并不是人类的一种特性，故排除 C；
首段第二句提到，好奇心也可能是危险的，会导致挫折甚至失败。但这并不能一概而论，说好奇心是人类失败的主要原因，故排除D。

2021-12-01-52.—细节辨认题—定位同义替换“general understanding”替换为“general consensus”—选项同义替换“information gathering”替换为“seek information”

52. What is the general understanding of curiosity?【原文：While pinning down a definition has proven tricky,the general consensus is it’s some means of information gathering.Psychologists also agree curiosity is intrinsically(内在地) motivated.】
    A. It motivates people to seek information.
    B. It is destined to transform human genes.
    C. It does people more good than harm.
    D. It underlies all human behaviors.

52. 对好奇心的一般理解是什么？
A.它激励人们去寻找信息。
B.它注定要改变人类基因。
C.它对人的好处大于坏处。
D.它是所有人类行为的基础。

52.【定位】由题干中的the general understanding of curiosity定位到第二段第一句。

【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，虽然事实证明给好奇心下定义很难，但大家普遍认为A好奇心是一种收集信息的手段。由此可知，好奇心可以激励人类去寻找信息，故答案为 A。

【避错】文章第三段提到，好奇心涵盖了如此多的行为，以至于很可能没有任何一种单一的“好奇心基因”能让人类对自己的环境感到好奇和探索。这就是说，好奇心确实有基因成分，但并未提及好奇心能改变人类基因，B 的表述错误，故排除；
文章第一段提到，好奇心虽然是人类成功发展背后的驱动力，但也可能是危险的，所以说好奇心对人类有利有弊，但并没有提及是否利大于弊，故排除C；
D“它是所有人类行为的基础”在文中未提及，故排除。

2021-12-01-53.—细节辨认题—没想到“environment”是关键词

53. What do we learn about how genes shape people’s behavior?【原文：Curiosity covers such a large set of behaviors that there probably isn’t any single “curiosity gene” that makes humans wonder about and explore their environment.That said, curiosity does have a genetic component.Genes and the environment interact in many complex ways to shape individuals and guide their behavior,including their curiosity.】
    A. They determine people’s way of thinking.
    B. They account for age differences in learning.
    C. They enable people to undertake massive tasks.
    D. They work in conjunction with the environment.

53. 关于基因如何塑造人的行为，我们了解到了什么？
A.它们决定了人们的思维方式。
B.他们解释了学习上的年龄差异。
C.它们使人们能够承担大量的任务。
D.他们与环境一起工作。

【定位】由题干中的we learn about howgenes shape people’sbehavior定位到第三段第三句。

【精析】细节辨认题。定位句指出，基因和环境以许多复杂的方式相互作用，塑造个体并指导他们的行为，包括他们的好奇心。由此可见，基因之所以可以影响人类的行为，是与环境相互作用的结果，故答案为 D。

【避错】 A和 B在文中均未提及，故排除；
第四段提到婴儿必须在短时间内学习大量的信息，而好奇心是人类完成这一巨大任务的工具之一。也就是说,是好奇心而不是基因使人们能够承担艰巨的任务，故排除C。

2021-12-01-54.—细节辨认题—易—关键词就在定位句后面，不要找太后面去

54. What do numerous studies show about infants? 【原文：Hundreds of studies show that infants prefer novelty.It’s what motivates non-human animals,human infants and probably human adults to explore and seek out new things before growing less interested in them aftercontinued exposure.
      But curiosity often comes with a cost.】
    A. They are far more curious than adults.
    B. They prefer to go after all that is novel.
    C. They have different interests than adults.
    D. They show non-human animal behaviors.

54. 关于婴儿的大量研究表明了什么？
A.他们比成年人更好奇。
B.他们喜欢追求新奇的事物。
C.他们的兴趣与成年人不同。
D.它们表现出非人类的动物行为。

54.【定位】由题干中的numerous studies show about infants定位到第五段第一句。
B
【精析】细节辨认题。第五段第一句提到，数百项研究表明，婴儿更喜欢新奇的事物。这是促使非人类动物、人类婴儿，甚至可能是人类成年人探索和寻找新事物的动力，而在持续接触之后，他们对新事物的兴趣会减弱。由此可见，婴儿比成年人更喜欢追求新奇的东西，故答案为 B。

【避错】文章第五段第一句提到，婴儿更喜欢新奇事物，但是文中并没有提及婴儿比成年人更具好奇心，故排除 A；第五段第二句提到，这是促使非人类动物、人类婴儿,甚至可能是人类成年人探索和寻找新事物的动力，而在持续接触之后，他们对新事物的兴趣会减弱，由此可见，在好奇心方面，婴儿、非人类动物以及成年人可能是一样的，故排除 C；
D 文章并未提及，故排除。

2021-12-01-55.—推理判断题—难—“testing out a new idea can lead to disaster”推出“The cost of humans’curiosity to explore”，没啥关键词

55. What does the example of the Inuit people of the Arctic regions illustrate?【原文：testing out a new idea can lead to disaster.For instance,the Inuit people of the Arctic regions have created incredible modes to deal with the challenges of living in northern climates,but what we forget about are the tens of thousands of people that tried and failed to make it in those challenging landscapes.】
    A. The cost of humans’curiosity to explore.
    B. The incredible harshness of cold weather.
    C. The innovative ideas stemming from curiosity.
    D. The importance of learning from past failures.

55. 北极地区因纽特人的例子说明了什么？
A.人类好奇心的代价。
B.难以置信的寒冷天气。
C.源于好奇心的创新想法。
D.从过去的失败中学习的重要性。

55.【定位】由题干中的the Inuit people ofthe Arctic regions定位到最后一段。
A

【精析】推理判断题。最后一段第二句中的 For instance 说明该句是例证，主要说明第句的观点。第一句指出，有时候测试一个新想法可能会导致灾难。由此可见，驱使人类不断进行探索的好奇心也会给人类带来负面的影响，故案为 A。

【避错】最后一段第二句指出，北极地区的因纽特人创造了令人难以置信的模式来应对生活在北方的气候的挑战，但我们忘记的是成千上万的人曾试图在这具有挑战性的环境中生存而未能成功。由此可见，寒冷天气确实十分严酷，但是这并不是提及该例子的原因，故排除 B；
文中未提及 C 和 D，故排除。