2013年12月英语四级仔细阅读部分要求考生阅读3篇短文。2篇为多项选择题型的短文理解测试，每篇长度四级为300-350词，六级为400-450词；1篇为选词填空，篇章长度四级为200-250词，六级为250-300词。短文理解每篇后有若干个问题，要求考生根据对文章的理解，从每题的四个选项中选择最佳答案。选词填空要求考生阅读一篇删去若干词汇的短文，然后从所给的选项中选择正确的词汇填空，使短文复原。为帮助考生们备考复习，外语教育网小编特整理了2013年12月大学英语四级仔细阅读经典试题，供大家参考学习。Part II Reading Comprehension(35 minutes)Directions: There are 4 passages in this part.Each passage is followed by some questions orunfinished statements. For each of them there arefour choices marked A), B), C) and D). You shoulddecide on the best choice and mark thecorresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with asingle line through the center.Passage OneQuestions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.Like many of my generation, I have a weakness for hero worship. At some point,however, we all begin to question our heroes and our need for them. This leads us to ask:What is a hero?Despite immense differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a numberof characteristics that instruct and inspire people.A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a story of adventure to tell and acommunity who will listen. But a hero goes beyond mere fame.Heroes serve powers or principles larger than themselves. Like high-voltage transformers,heroes take the energy of higher powers and step it down so that it can be used by ordinarypeople.The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. Those who imitate a genuine hero experience lifewith new depth, enthusiasm, and meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whomdo they serve? What are they willing to live and die for? If the answer or evidence suggeststhey serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. Madonna andMichael Jackson are famous, but who would claim that their fans find life more abundant?Heroes are catalysts (催化剂) for change. They have a vision from the mountaintop. Theyhave the skill and the charm to move the masses. They create new possibilities. WithoutGandhi, India might still be part of the British Empire. Without Rosa Parks and Martin LutherKing, Jr., we might still have segregated (隔离的) buses, restaurants, and parks. It may bepossible for large-scale change to occur without leaders with magnetic personalities, but thepace of change would be slow, the vision uncertain, and the committee meetings endless.11. Although heroes may come from different cultures, they ________.A) generally possess certain inspiring characteristicsB) probably share some weaknesses of ordinary peopleC) are often influenced by previous generationsD) all unknowingly attract a large number of fans12. According to the passage, heroes are compared to high-voltage transformers in that________.A) they have a vision from the mountaintopB) they have warm feelings and emotionsC) they can serve as concrete examples of noble principlesD) they can make people feel stronger and more confident13. Madonna and Michael Jackson are not considered heroes because ________.A) they are popular only among certain groups of peopleB) their performances do not improve their fans morallyC) their primary concern is their own financial interestsD) they are not clear about the principles they should follow14. Gandhi and Martin Luther King are typical examples of outstanding leaders who________.A) are good at demonstrating their charming charactersB) can move the masses with their forceful speechesC) are capable of meeting all challenges and hardshipsD) can provide an answer to the problems of their people15. The author concludes that historical changes would ________.A) be delayed without leaders with inspiring personal qualitiesB) not happen without heroes making the necessary sacrificesC) take place ff there were heroes to lead the peopleD) produce leaders with attractive personalitiesPassage TwoQuestions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.According to a survey, which was based on the responses of over 188,000 students,today s traditional-age college freshmen are more materialistic and less altruistic (利他主义的) than at any time in the 17 years of the poll.Not surprising in these hard times, the student s major objective is to be financially welloff. Less important than ever is developing a meaningful philosophy of life. It follows then thattoday the most popular course is not literature or history but accounting.Interest in teaching, social service and the altruistic fields is at a low. On the other hand,enrollment in business programs, engineering and computer science is way up.That s no surprise either. A friend of mine (a sales representative for a chemical company)was making twice the salary of her college instructors her first year on the job even before shecompleted her two-year associate degree.While it s true that we all need a career, it is equally true that our civilization hasaccumulated an incredible amount of knowledge in fields far removed from our own and thatwe are better for our understanding of these other contributions be they scientific or artistic.It is equally true that, in studying the diverse wisdom of others, we learn how to think.More important, perhaps, education teaches us to see the connections between things, as wellas to see beyond our immediate needs.Weekly we read of unions who went on strike for higher wages, only to drive their employerout of business. No company; no job. How shortsighted in the long run!But the most important argument for a broad education is that in studying the accumulatedwisdom of the ages, we improve our moral sense. I saw a cartoon recently which shows agroup of businessmen looking puzzled as they sit around a conference table; one of them istalking on the intercom (对讲机): Miss Baxter, he says, could you please send in someonewho can distinguish right from wrong? From the long-term point of view, that s what education really ought to be about.16. According to the author s observation, college students ________.A) have never been so materialistic as todayB) have never been so interested in the artsC) have never been so financially well off as todayD) have never attached so much importance to moral sense17. The students criteria for selecting majors today have much to do with ________.A) the influences of their instructorsB) the financial goals they seek in lifeC) their own interpretations of the coursesD) their understanding of the contributions of others18. By saying While it s true that... be they scientific or artistic (Lines 1-3, Para. 5), theauthor means that ________.A) business management should be included in educational programsB) human wisdom has accumulated at an extraordinarily high speedC) human intellectual development has reached new heightsD) the importance of a broad education should not be overlooked19. Studying the diverse wisdom of others can ________.A) create varying artistic interestsB) help people see things in their right perspectiveC) help improve connections among peopleD) regulate the behavior of modern people20. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?A) Businessmen absorbed in their career are narrow-minded.B) Managers often find it hard to tell right from wrong.C) People engaged in technical jobs lead a more rewarding life.D) Career seekers should not focus on immediate interests only.Passage ThreeQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the followingpassage.New technology links the world as never before.Our planet has shrunk. It s now a global village where countries are only seconds away by fax orphone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability tobenefit from this high-tech communicationsequipment is greatly enhanced by foreign languageskills.Deeply involved with this new technology is a breed of modern businesspeople who have agrowing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, successoverseas often helps support domestic business efforts.Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement withinexecutive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being out ofsight and out of mind. He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to thecompany s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignmentabroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will havegreater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-culturalconsiderations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more prevalent (普遍的).Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with businessapplications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into internationalmarkets.English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need forpeople who can speak another language. A second language isn t generally required to get a jobin business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualificationsappear to be equalThe employee posted abroad who speaks the country s principal language has anopportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and cam have the cultural insight to knowwhen it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who cancommunicate well with foreign clients over the telephone or by fax machine is an obviousasset to the firm.21. What is the author s attitude toward high-tech communications equipment?A) Critical.B) Prejudiced.C) Indifferent.D) Positive.22. With the increased use of high-tech communications equipment, businesspeople________.A) have to get familiar with modern technologyB) are gaining more economic benefits from domestic operationsC) are attaching more importance to their overseas businessD) are eager to work overseas23. In this passage, out of sight and out of mind (Lines 2-3, Para. 3) probably means________.A) being unable to think properly for lack of insightB) being totally out of touch with business at homeC) missing opportunities for promotion when abroadD) leaving all care and worry behind24. According to the passage, what is an important consideration of internationalcorporations in employing people today?A) Connections with businesses overseas.B) Ability to speak the client s language.C) Technical know-how.D) Business experience.25. The advantage of employees having foreign language skills is that they can ________.A) better control the whole negotiation processB) easily find new approaches to meet market needsC) fast-forward their proposals to headquartersD) easily make friends with businesspeople abroadfirms have also begun arriving in large numbers. Chains such as KFC, McDonald s and Pizza Hutare setting a new standard of customer service, using strict employee training and constantmonitoring to ensure the friendliness of frontline staff. Even the American habit of tellingdeparting customers to Have a nice day has caught on all over Israel. Nobody wakes up inthe morning and says, Let s be nicer, says Itsik Cohen, director of a consulting firm. Nothing happens without competition. Privatization, or the threat of it, is a motivation as well. Monopolies (垄断者) that untilrecently have been free to take their customers for granted now fear what Michael Perry, amarketing professor, calls the revengeful (报复的) consumer. When the government openedup competition with Bezaq, the phone company, its international branch lost 40% of itsmarket share, even while offering competitive rates. Says Perry, People wanted revenge forall the years of bad service. The electric company, whose monopoly may be short-lived, hassuddenly mopped requiring users to wait half a day for a repairman. Now, appointments arescheduled to the half-hour. The graceless El Al Airlines, which is already at auction (拍卖), hasretrained its employees to emphasize service and is boasting about the results in an adcampaign with the slogan, You can feel the change in the air. For the first time, praiseoutnumbers complaints on customer survey sheets.26. It may be inferred from the passage that ________.A) customer service in Israel is now improvingB) wealthy Israeli customers are hard to pleaseC) the tourist industry has brought chain stores to IsraelD) Israeli customers prefer foreign products to domestic ones27. In the author s view, higher service standards are impossible in Israel ________.A) if customer complaints go unnoticed by the managementB) unless foreign companies are introduced in greater numbersC) if there s no competition among companiesD) without strict routine training of employees28. If someone in Israel today needs a repairman in case of a power failure, ________.A) they can have it fixed in no timeB) it s no longer necessary to make an appointmentC) the appointment takes only half a day to makeD) they only have to wait half an hour at most29. The example of El A1 Airlines shows that ________.A) revengeful customers are a threat to the monopoly of enterprisesB) an ad campaign is a way out for enterprises in financial difficultyC) a good slogan has great potential for improving serviceD) staff retraining is essential for better service30. Why did Bezaq s international branch lose 40% of its market share?A) Because the rates it offered were not competitive enough.B) Because customers were dissatisfied with its past service.C) Because the service offered by its competitors was far better.D) Because it no longer received any support from the government.Unit 811. A 12. C 13. B 14.D 15. A16. A 17. B 18. D 19.B 20. D21. D 22. C 23. C 24.B 25. A26. A 27. C 28. A 29.A 30. B