英語四級閱讀真題練習及答案練習一

　　Insurance is the sharing of risks. Nearly everyone is exposed to risk of some sort. The house-owner, for example, knows that his property can be damaged by fire; the ship-owner knows that his vessel may be lost at sea; the breadwinner knows that he may die at an early age and leave his family the poorer. On the other hand, not every house is damaged by fire nor every vessel lost at sea. If these persons each put a small sum into a pool, there will be enough to meet the needs of the few who do suffer loss. In other words, the losses of the few are met from the contributions of the many. This is the basis of insurance. Those who pay the contribution are known as "insured" and those who administer the pool of contributions as "insurers".

　　Not all risks lend themselves to being covered by insurance. Broadly speaking, the ordinary risks of business and speculation cannot be covered. The risk that buyers will not buy goods at the prices offered is not of a kind that can be statistically estimated—and risks can only be insured against if they can be so estimated.

　　The legal basis of all insurance is the "policy". This is the printed form of contract on paper of the best quality. It states that in return for the regular payment by the insured of a named sum of money, called the "premium"(保險費) , which is usually paid every year, the insurer will pay a sum of money or compensation for loss, if the risk or event insured against actually happens. The wording of policies, particularly in marine insurance, often seems very old-fashioned, but there is a sound reason for this. Over a large number of years many law cases have been brought to clear up the meaning of doubtful phrases in policies. The law courts, in their judgments, have given these phrases a definite and indisputable meaning, and to avoid future disputes the phrases have continued to be used in policies even when they have passed out of normal use in speech.

　　26. According to this passage, insurance is possible because______.

　　A. everyone at some time suffers loss

　　B. only a small proportion of the insured suffer loss

　　C. nearly everyone suffers loss

　　D. only insured people suffer loss

　　27. By "the pool of contributions" the writer means______.

　　A. money paid by the insured B. money paid by the insurers

　　C. the cost of administering insurance D. the amount of administering insurance

　　28. The insurance of ordinary business risks is not possible because______.

　　A. business will not buy insurance B. the risks are too high

　　C. the risks can not be estimated D. the premiums would be too high

　　29. Old-fashioned wording is sometimes used in insurance policies because______.

　　A. insurance is old-fashioned

　　B. insurance has existed for a long time

　　C. it enables ordinary people to understand it

　　D. the meaning of such wording has been agreed upon

　　30. The writer of this passage seems to think that insurance is______.

　　A. a form of gambling B. a way of making money quickly

　　C. old-fashioned D. useful and necessary

　　英語四級閱讀真題練習及答案答案一

　　26. B

　　27. A

　　28. C

　　29. D

　　30. D

　　英語四級閱讀真題練習及答案：練習二

　　A new scheme for getting children to and from school is being started by the education authorities in part of Eastern England. This could end the worries of many parents fearful for their children's safety on the roads.

　　Until now the Country Council has only been prepared to provide bus services for children living more than three miles from their school, or sometimes less if special reasons existed. Now it has been decided that if a group of parents ask for help in organizing transport they will be prepared to go ahead, provided the arrangement will not lose money and that children taking part will be attending their nearest school.

　　The new scheme is to be tried out this term for children living at Milton who attend Impington school. The children live just within the three-mile limit and the Council has said in the past it will not undertake to provide free transport to the school. But now they have agreed to organize a bus service from Milton to Impington and back, a plan which has the support of the school's headmaster.

　　Between 50 and 60 parents have said they would like their children to take part. Final calculations have still to be carried out, but a council official has said the cost to parents should be less than ￡6. 50 a term.

　　They have been able to arrange the service at a low cost because there is already an agreement with the, bus company for a bus to take children who live further away to Impington. The same bus would now just make an extra journey to pick up the Milton children. The official said they would get in touch with other groups of parents who in the past had asked if transport could be provided for their children, to see if they would like to take part in the new scheme.

　　21. The children the Council ran buses for in the past were those______.

　　A. whose parents were worried about them

　　B. who would have had to walk otherwise

　　C. who could not walk

　　D. who had to travel a long way

　　22. Taking part in the Council's trial scheme are children who______.

　　A. live in Milton and go to Impington school

　　B. live in Impington and go to Milton school

　　C. live in Milton and go to Milton school

　　D. live in Impington and go to Impington school

　　23. The new bus service will run______.

　　A. on morning journeys to school only

　　B. in connection with an existing service

　　C. only for children living more than three miles away

　　D. only in wet weather

　　24. Agreement to pay for the new bus service has been obtained from______.

　　A. the school's headmaster B. the education department

　　C. the bus company D. the parents

　　25. The parents the Council is now going to contact are those______.

　　A. who had not yet answered letters B. who didn't want to pay

　　C. whose children stayed away from school D. who had asked about transport before

　　英語四級閱讀真題練習及答案：答案二

　　21. D

　　22. A

　　23. B

　　24. D

　　25. D