大學英語四級閱讀理解模擬真題練習一

　　The palm-forward“V”sign, formed by raising andspreading the first two fingers1 ,has three differentmeanings in American culture.The most popularmeaning of the“V”sign was invented in 1941 by aBelgian, Victor De Lavalaye. Wanting a symbol forresistance to the Nazi2 occupation, he came upwith the single letter“V”, which stood not only for hisown first name3, but also for English victory, Flemish virijheid, and French victoire. Thesymbolism of the sign spread very quickly, and Winston Churchill4 used it constantly in publicappearance. Thus throughout the 1940 s and 1950 s, the gesture meant simply“victory”.Thesecond meaning came in the 1960 s. Because of its military implication, Americanantiwarprotestors used the sign sarcastically against the arms, so that it became known as the“ peacesign”. In the 1970s, the“V”sign , which had lost its military implication, was a commongreeting among freedom lovers, acid heads5, political radicals, and ultimately, young people ingeneral. So by about the middle of the 1970s, it ceased to give clue to the user’s philosophy.The third meaning is the oldest and least common. American children jokingly put “V”, whichresembles“ horns”, behind friends’heads in group snapshots. The are unknowingly reproducingsomething that southern Europeans would find highly offensive. This mischief, called“horns ofthe Devil”, is a variant of the European“ horns”gesture, which is obscene. Here the“V”signmeans“Your wife has been cheating on you ”or, when placed behind another’s head,“His wifehas been cheating on him”. In the United States, the gesture is typically given with the palmfacing the viewer. The British use both this version and an older, palm-backward version; thelatter is obscene in American culture, and corresponds to the American“ finger”6 . Churchill gotsome surprised stares in 1941 when, evidently unaware of the vulgar usage, he gave thepalm-backward“V”to British troops. In England today you could have to be a social hermit notto understand the distinction. Astonishingly, however, Margaret Thatcher7 repeatedChurchill’s error after her victory in the 1979 election.

　　閱讀自測

　?、? Fill in the blanks with proper words :

　　American children______________________ ( 開玩笑地) put“V”,which______________________ ( 類似)“ horns”,

　　behind friends’heads in group ______________________( 快照) . Theyare______________________ ( 無意中地) reproducing

　　something that southern Europeans would find highly______________________ ( 無禮的) .

　　This mischief, called“ horns of the Devil”, is a ______________________( 變體) of theEuropean

　　“ horns”gesture, which is______________________ ( 淫穢的) .

　　Ⅱ. Exp lain the fo llowing phras es in bold typ e in yo ur own words :

　　1. If you kee p yo ur fin ge rs crossed , you ______________________.

　　2. If you are all fin ge rs a nd thumbs , you ______________________ .

　　3. If you ha ve a finger in every pie , you______________________ .

　　4. If you thumb a lift, you______________________.

　　參考答案

　　1. jokingly / resembles / snapshots / unknowingly /offensive / variant / obscene

　　2. 1. hope that something will happen the way youwant2. are clumsy or awkward with your hands

　　3. are involved in everything that is happening

　　4. try to get a free ride in a motor vehicle ; hitchhike

　　參考譯文

　　手勢 “V”

　　掌 心向外, 豎起食指和中指, 并向兩邊展開, 這樣就構成了一個V 形手勢。V 形手勢在美國文化中有三個不同的含義。V 形手勢最為普及的一個意思是在1941 年由比利時人維克托· 德· 拉維雷創造發明的。他伸出雙指, 作出字母V 的手勢來表示他對納粹占領比利時的反抗。這個V 不僅代表他的名字, 而且還象征英語victory ( 勝利) 、佛蘭芒語virijheid ( 勝利) 和法語victoire ( 勝利) 這三個單詞。這一手勢的象征意義迅速地傳播開來, 溫斯頓· 邱吉爾在公眾場合就曾多次使用。因此, 在20 世紀40 年代和50 年代, 這個手勢只是表示“ 勝利”的意思。V 形手勢的第二個意思出現在20 世紀60 年代。由于這個手勢含有軍事方面的意思,美國反戰者就諷刺性地用這個手勢來反對戰爭, 于是, 這個手勢開始被稱為“ 和平的標志”。20 世紀70 年代, V 形手勢失去了軍事方面的含義, 成為熱愛自由的人、嗜用迷幻藥的人、政治激進主義者們見面問候時常用的手勢, 并最終在廣大年輕人流傳開來。也就是說, 大約到20 世紀70 年代中期, 這個手勢就不再表示使用者的人生觀了。V 形手勢的第三個意思最為古老, 也少為人用。在集體照相的時候, 美國孩子常開玩。笑 地在朋友的腦袋后面擺出手勢V, 樣子就像動物的角一樣。他們無意中做出了一個被南歐人視為相當無禮的動作。這種被稱作“ 魔鬼之角”的惡作劇是歐洲“ 角形”手勢的變體,這種手勢被認為具有淫穢的意味。在南歐, 手勢V 表示“ 你的老婆對你不忠”。在別人腦袋后面做出這種手勢, 如同在說“ 他的老婆對他不忠”。

　　在美國, 人們通常將掌心向外, 面向對方做出這個手勢; 而英國人有時將掌心對著別人, 有時則像前人那樣, 掌心向內。掌心向內的V 形手勢在美國文化里被看成是下流動作, 與美國人豎起中指一樣具有淫穢的含義。1941 年, 邱吉爾掌心朝內, 向英國軍隊擺出了V 形手勢。一些士兵吃驚地盯著他看, 顯然他對這個手勢的下流含義還全然不知。如今, 在英國, 如果你還不知道掌心向內和向外的差別的話, 你一定是個不問世事的隱士。然而, 令人驚訝的是, 瑪格麗特· 撒切爾在贏得1979 年的選舉之后, 又重蹈邱吉爾的覆轍, 做了一個掌心向內的V 形手勢。

　　大學英語四級閱讀理解模擬真題練習二

　　The Ar t Of Bowing

　　The degree to which a bowing or lowering of thebody is emphasized varies from one culture toanother . In many cultures today the full bow orother dramatic lowering of the body is generallyreserved for formal occasions such as greeting ahead of state or monarch. For example, Britishcommoners standing before the queen or beinghonored by royalty in a ceremony of knighthood would be expected to bow, curtsey, or kneel.As part of their religious practices some Christians kneel, Catholics genuflect, and Muslimskowtow3 , an extreme form of body lowering in which the forehead is brought to the ground.Although bowing, as a worldwide phenomenon, has been on the decrease in recent decades, ithas survived in German culture and exists to an even greater degree in modern Japan, wherebows are an integral part of everyday social interaction . In the United States, however,bowing or any type of submissive body posture is particularly irritating, for it tends toconnote undue formality, aristocracy, and a nonverbal denial of egalitarianism. Nowhere isbowing more important to the process of communication today than in Japanese society. Asan indication of how pervasive bowing is in present-day Japan, some experts point out that“some female department store employees have the sole function of bowing to customers atdepartment store escalators and that many Japanese bow repeatedly to invisible partners atthe other end of a telephone line”. Bowing initiates interaction between two Japanese , itenhances and embellishes many parts of the ensuing conversation, and it is used to signalthe end of a conversation. Although Westerners, in a very general

　　sense, understand the meaning attached to bowing, appropriate bowing in Japan is anintricate and complex process. Reciprocal bowing is determined largely by rank. In fact, it ispossible to tell the relative social status of the two communicators by the depth of their bows (the deeper the bow, the lower the status) . When bowing deeply, it is conventional to leanslightly to the right to avoid bumping heads. The person of lower status is expected toinitiate the bow, and the person of higher status determines when the bow is completed.People of equivalent status are expected to bow at the same depth while starting andfinishing at the same time.

　　閱讀自測

　?、? Are these statements True or False a ccording to the article ?

　　1. Nowadays the full bow or other dramatic lowering of the body is still widely acceptedaroundthe world.

　　2. Bowing is prevalent in Japan while the situation is quite different in America.

　　3. It is customary to lean slightly to the left to avoid bumping heads when bowing deeply.

　　Ⅱ. Complete the sentence s with the proper forms of the words given in parentheses :

　　1. There is a __________( tend) that more and more people will move from cities to thecountryside.

　　2. He __________( repeat) fails to pass the exam.

　　3. A spirit of hopelessness__________ ( pervasive ) the country.

　　4. He is such a chauvinist that he expects his wife to be meek and __________( submit).

　　5. The government has__________ ( initial) a new house-building program.

　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. F 2. T 3 . F

　?、? 1. tendency 2. repeatedly 3 . pervaded 4 .submissive 5. initiated

　　參考譯文

　　鞠躬的藝術

　　文化不同, 鞠躬或彎腰的角度也大不相同。在今天的許多文化里, 深深鞠一躬或大幅度彎腰通常只有在正式場合中才會出現, 比如向國家元首或君主致意。舉例來說, 英國平民站在女王面前或被王室加封為爵士時應該鞠躬, 或行屈膝禮, 抑或屈膝下跪。在一些宗教儀式里, __徒會下跪, 天主教徒會行屈膝禮, 而穆斯林則會跪拜叩頭, 即將身體彎曲到極限, 直到前額貼地為止。作為一種世界性的文化現象, 近幾十年使用鞠躬這種禮節的人卻越來越少, 但鞠躬卻在德國文化中保存下來, 在現代日本社會更是大為盛行, 在那里鞠躬已成為日常社會交往不可缺少的一部分。然而, 在美國, 鞠躬或任何一種謙恭的身體姿勢都讓美國人極其反感, 因為這些舉動往往意味著不必要的繁文縟節、貴族習氣, 以及對平等主義的一種非語言性否定。當今, 沒有哪一個社會像日本社會一樣, 鞠躬在人際交往過程中如此重要。為了顯示鞠躬在當今日本社會根深蒂固的程度, 一些專家指出,“ 在日本百貨商店里, 一些女雇員的工作就是在商店的自動扶梯邊向顧客鞠躬, 而且有許多日本人會向電話線另一端看不見的人 不停地鞠躬?！本瞎莾蓚€日本人交往的開端, 在隨后的對話里鞠躬還起到推波助瀾和錦上添花的作用, 它還被用來暗示對話的結束。盡管西方人大致明白鞠躬所包含的意思, 但在日本, 恰到好處的鞠躬是非常復雜、很難把握的過程?；ハ嗑瞎饕怯缮鐣燃墰Q定的。事實上, 我們可以通過兩個人鞠躬的幅度來判斷他們相對的社會地位( 鞠躬幅度越大,社會地位就越低) 。當兩個人互相深鞠一躬的時候, 按照常規他們會把頭微微斜向右邊, 以避免碰到對方的腦袋。兩個人中社會地位低的那個人應該首先開始鞠躬, 而地位高的人決定鞠躬結束的時間。地位相同的人互相鞠躬的時候, 鞠躬的幅度相同, 并且同時開始, 同時結束。

　　大學英語四級閱讀理解模擬真題練習三

　　Posture Talks

　　In the United States, where“casualness”is considereda great virtue, people often sit with feet on chairs oreven desks. They sometimes sit with their backsides( buttocks) on tables and desks as a way ofexpressing their individuality or career attitude.They feel comfortable crossing their legs and sittingwith one ankle on the other knee . Poor posture —slumping oneself over while sitting in a chair and placing feet on whatever object is around — isa common U. S. behavior. It is designed to show that the person is casual, honest, sincere,and“ just one of the folks ”. In the United States, even millionaires, corporation presidents,government leaders, and movie stars try to pretend they are ordinary people by using“the U.S. slouch ”and“ the feet-on-the -furniture”maneuver.

　　Unfortunately, other countries interpret this behavior as being sloppy and as reflecting ageneral lack of alertness, interest, and respect. People from the United States do not usuallyrealize that what they regard as casualness is viewed very differently and very negatively bymany people around the world.

　　People in many cultures are expected to sit erect. Such cultures include many countriesin LatinAmerica, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In the United States, slouching is acceptable and isa positive sign of being casual and friendly. In the United States, crossing legs is a sign of goodetiquette . Many cultures say thatcrossing legs is okay, but placing the ankle on the knee whilecrossing one’s legs is totally unacceptable .

　　One reason for not putting the ankle on the knee is that when you do so, one foot or the soleof the shoe is usually pointing at someone . This is a very severe insult in many countriesaround the world, especially Muslim countries. Under few circumstances should you point yourfoot at anyone , because the foot is cons idered the least sacred part of the body in manysocieties. In some countries such as Nepal, pointing the foot at a cow is an outrage , becausethe cow is a sacred animal. In Buddhist countries, pointing the foot at statue of the Buddha isa severe offense. Moving objects with the feet is very rude in Thailand, Nepal, and Taiwan. InBangladesh, you should not touch books with a foot or shoe; if you do, you must make anelaborate apology.

　　As you can tell, posture is a very strong messenger. It conveys much about a particu larperson. Posture ( in many cultures) says something about the person’s honesty, alertness,intelligence, religiousness, respect, and overall decency — or the opposite of all of these !Posture tells people whether they want to get to know a stranger, and it also tells what to thinkabout the people already known.

　　閱讀自測

　　Translate the sentences into English with the words in parentheses :

　　1. 這座紀念碑是為內戰中犧牲的烈士們而建立的。( erect)

　　2. 我希望他不會因為我拒絕他的邀請而覺得受到了侮辱。( insult)

　　3. 他把我的沉默看作是軟弱的標志。( interpret)

　　參考答案

　　1. This monument was erected in honour of the martyrs during the civil war.

　　2. I hope he won’t feel insulted if I turn down his invitation.

　　3. He interpreted my silence as a sign of weakness.

　　參考譯文

　　身體姿勢會說話

　　在 美國, 人們坐著的時候常常把雙腳放在椅子甚至桌子上, 在那里“ 不拘小節”被認為是一種優良品德。有時, 他們坐在工作臺或辦公桌上, 以此來表達自己的個性或職業態度。美國人坐著的時候常會兩腿交叉, 他們覺得將一只腳踝放到另一條腿的膝蓋上很舒服。懶散地坐在椅子上, 并將雙腳隨便擱在近旁的一個東西上——— 這種姿勢很不雅觀, 但在美國相當普遍。人們擺出這種姿勢旨在表明自己的隨意、誠實和真誠, 告訴別人自己是“ 一個實在人”。在美國, 即使是百萬富翁、公司總裁、政府領導以及電影明星都會做出“ 美國式的懶散樣子”和“ 腳放在家具上”的姿勢, 借這種方式來表現自己也是一個普通人。不幸的是, 在其他國家里, 這種行為方式被視為邋遢隨便, 反映了擺出這種姿勢的人缺乏活力、興趣以及對他人的尊敬。美國人往往意識不到, 他們視為不拘小節的姿勢在世界上許多人的眼里卻具有截然不同的、甚至十分消極的意義。許多文化認為人坐著的時候要腰板挺直。持有這種觀點的國家包括拉丁美洲、亞洲、歐洲和中東的許多國家; 而在美國, 懶散的姿勢是可以接受的, 是隨意和友好的明確標志。在美國, 交叉雙腿是有禮貌的標志, 而許多文化認為, 交叉雙腿是可以的, 但在交叉雙腿的時候將腳踝放到膝蓋上是令人無法接受的。不能將腳踝放到膝蓋上的一個原因是, 當你這樣做的時候, 你的腳或鞋底通常是指向別人的。在許多國家里, 這種行為被視為是對別人的一種極大的侮辱, 特別在穆斯林國家里更是如此。你不應將腳指向任何人, 因為在許多社會里, 腳被視為身體中最不神圣的一個 部位。在尼泊爾這樣的國家里, 將腳指向一頭牛是一種暴行, 因為牛在那里被視為圣物。

　　在佛教國家里, 將腳指向佛祖的塑像是對佛教的極大冒犯。在泰國、尼泊爾和臺灣, 用腳移動物體是粗魯的行為。在孟加拉國, 你不能用腳或鞋接觸書籍。如果這樣做了, 你必須要認真道歉。

　　如你所知, 身體姿勢能傳播很多信息。在許多文化里, 姿勢可以告訴人們一個人具有以下品質——— 誠實、機敏、聰明、信奉宗教、彬彬有禮、大方得體; 姿勢也可能讓人們知道這個人根本不具備這些美德! 身體姿勢告訴人們一個人是否想跟陌生人交往, 同樣也讓人們了解了一個已經認識的人。