星火：2008年12月英語四級考試預(yù)測試卷

　　Section B

　　Passage One

　　If you’re confused about how much water you really need, I’m not surprised. (26)Conflicting advice in recent headlines appears against the old “8 a day” advice we all grew up with. Is it necessary to swallow down eight glasses of water daily, or is this recommendation exaggerated and out of date? We’ve heard for years that eight glasses of water daily is the minimum necessary to keep healthy. Your weight loss and health depend on it. Drink the minimum and see clearer skin, better sleep, and improved vision. We’re warned of the danger of water shortage in our body without at least eight glasses. But, (27)the tide has turned away from liquid requirement toward examining your daily diet, including what you eat, as well as what you drink. The answer is — you need what you need! If it’s summer, you need more. If you’re exercising, you need more. If you’re a “normal person who sits a lot, who is not sweating, and not exercising more than 15-20 minutes daily, Dr. Heinz Valtin of Dartmouth Medical School says you need no more than four glasses of water daily. Most drinks can be counted as part of your daily fluid consumption. Although the World Health Organization recommends that everyone drink a minimum of two liters of water daily, or about eight cups, (28)the old “8 a day” rule is based on studies performed on people under extraordinary circumstances, including soldiers at high altitude and hospitalized patients. What you and I need is different.

　　26. What is the traditional opinion concerning water drinking?

　　C)。預(yù)讀選項可知，本題與飲水習(xí)慣有關(guān)�？碱}考查的是traditional opinion。遵循短文聽力聽首尾句的原則，在文章第一句提出問題后，第二句接著就說到Conflicting advice in recent headlines appears against the old “8 a day” advice we all grew up with，符合題目中traditional opinion的要求，C)為答案。

　　27. According to the passage, what is the more proper way of drinking water?

　　B)。分析選項可知，本題與飲水的根據(jù)有關(guān)。文章開始先分析了傳統(tǒng)的每天8杯水的觀點，接著用一個but進行轉(zhuǎn)折，提出新的觀點。由于在短文理解中but、however、only、just等后面往往是出考題之處，可知本題的考點即在此處:“But, the tide has turned away…the answer is — you need what you need!”。

　　28. Why does the author believe that the “8�瞐�瞕ay” rule doesn’t apply to all people?

　　C)。本題的考點在文章結(jié)尾，分析選項可知，本題考查制定“8�瞐�瞕ay” rule的原因。本題中需要注意的是although引導(dǎo)的讓步狀語從句，事實上，主句前隱含了轉(zhuǎn)折的意味，與but、however等一樣，這是一個暗含的出題點。The old “8�瞐�瞕ay” rule is based on studies performed on people under extraordinary circumstances，遵循“聽到即是解”的原則，C)為答案。

　　Passage Two

　　Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do. There are church weddings; there are weddings on mountain tops with guests barefooted; and there have been weddings underwater on the ocean floor. But (29)many weddings, no matter where they are performed, include certain traditional customs. Before a couple is married, they become engaged. And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away. When everything is ready, then comes the most exciting moment. The wedding itself usually lasts between 20 and 40 minutes. The guests enter the church first while the wedding music is played. The bride carrying flowers enters last with her father who will “give her away”. The bridegroom enters the church from a side door. (30)Then the couple will exchange their solemn promises to each other. It is traditional to use the words “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to care, till death do us part”. Following this, the couple exchange rings. Wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom. After the ceremony there is often a party, called a “reception” which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the newly�瞱edded couple. After all the procedures, (31)the couple runs to the car under a shower of rice thrown by the wedding guests. And then the couple just go on their honeymoon.

　　29. What is in common for those weddings held in different locations?

　　A)。通過預(yù)讀選項可知，本題與婚禮習(xí)俗有關(guān)。文章一開頭就列舉了各種不同的婚禮方式，然后用but進行轉(zhuǎn)折，many weddings, no matter where they are performed, include certain traditional customs，but后面的內(nèi)容即是本題的答案。本題中的B)具有干擾性，主要考查考生對讀音相近的兩個單詞customs和costumes的辨析。

　　30. What will the new couple do after all the guests enter the church?

　　C)。分析選項可知，本題與婚禮的一個環(huán)節(jié)有關(guān)，因此聽錄音時一定要對婚禮進行的過程仔細(xì)辨聽，最好做些記錄。聽音后可知，婚禮儀式的程序是：賓客入場、新娘入場、新郎入場、交換誓言、交換戒指和舉行宴會。其中Then the couple will exchange their solemn promises to each other是本題的考查內(nèi)容。

　　31. What is the custom before the couple goes on a honeymoon?

　　D)。預(yù)讀選項可知，本題與婚禮結(jié)束后的習(xí)俗有關(guān)。考點在文章的結(jié)尾：the couple run to the car under a shower of rice thrown by the wedding guests. And then the couple just go on their honeymoon.

　　Passage Three

　　The computer virus is an outcome of the computer overgrowth in the 1980s. (32)The cause of the term “computer virus” is the likeness between the biological virus and the evil program infected with computers. The origin of this term came from an American science fiction “The Adolescence of P-1” written by Thomas J. Ryan, published in 1977. Human viruses invade a living cell and turn it into a factory for manufacturing viruses. However, (33)computer viruses are small programs. They expand by attaching a copy of themselves to another program. Once attached to the host program, the viruses then look for other programs to “infect”. In this way, the virus can spread quickly throughout a hard disk or an entire organization when it infects a LAN or a multi�瞮ser system. The timing of the attack can be linked to a number of situations, including a certain time or date, the presence of a particular file, the security level of the user, and the number of times a file is used. Likewise, the mode of attack varies. (34)So called “benign” or the harmless viruses might simply display a message, like the one that infected IBM’s main computer system last Christmas with a season’s greeting. (35)Malignant or the harmful viruses are designed to damage the system. The attack is to wipe out data, to delete files, or to format the hard disk.