專家解析大學(xué)英語(yǔ)四級(jí)考試歷年閱讀真題(十二)

　　19. Free play has been introduced in some Japanese kindergartens in order to ________.

　　A) broaden children’s horizon

　　B) cultivate children’s creativity

　　C) lighten children’s study load

　　D) enrich children’s knowledge(C)

　　20. Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?

　　A) They can do better in their future studies.

　　B) They can accumulate more group experience there.

　　C) They can be individually oriented when they grow up.

　　D) They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education.(D)

　　這是一篇講述日本學(xué)前教育的材料，因?yàn)槲恼率侵v給美國(guó)人看的，所以附帶介紹美國(guó)的學(xué)前教育以和日本進(jìn)行對(duì)比。材料一共只有三大段，第一大段指出日本學(xué)前教育的側(cè)重點(diǎn)，第二段進(jìn)一步說(shuō)明日本學(xué)前教育側(cè)重點(diǎn)中對(duì)集體主義的重視，第三段則說(shuō)明日本學(xué)前教育除集體主義外的豐富內(nèi)容。

　　第一段開頭實(shí)際上提出了研究日本學(xué)前教育的原因：low academic achievement by children in the United States，大意是美國(guó)的兒童教育成效不明顯，這迫使人們把目光投向了教育和經(jīng)濟(jì)水平都很高的日本，以期得到答案(for possible answers)。這一探詢的結(jié)果是出乎美國(guó)人意料的，日本學(xué)前教育很少?gòu)?qiáng)調(diào)功課指導(dǎo)(little emphasis is put on academic instruction)，這也是本文的主要觀點(diǎn)。文章接下來(lái)以問(wèn)卷調(diào)查為論據(jù)對(duì)這一觀點(diǎn)進(jìn)行了論證。

　　問(wèn)卷調(diào)查的結(jié)果是日本人更重視堅(jiān)韌、專注和集體主義等素質(zhì)的培養(yǎng)(but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group)，第二段繼續(xù)對(duì)集體主義這一項(xiàng)素質(zhì)做了進(jìn)一步說(shuō)明(可見其重要性)：91%的日本人將其列為學(xué)前教育的三大目標(biāo)之一(91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience)，這項(xiàng)教育甚至?xí)�延續(xù)到小學(xué)教育(continues into elementary school education)。

　　最后一段討論了除去上述素質(zhì)教育外，日本學(xué)前教育的其他內(nèi)容和特色。其中包括早期音樂(lè)訓(xùn)練和潛力發(fā)掘(early musical training or potential development)，附屬于大學(xué)(這一項(xiàng)屬于特色)，以及自由玩耍(have introduced free play)。

　　Passage Three

　　Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

　　Lead deposits, which accumulated in soil and snow during the 1960’s and 70’s, were primarily the result of leaded gasoline emissions originating in the United States. In the twenty years that the Clean Air Act has mandated unleaded gas use in the United States, the lead accumulation worldwide has decreased significantly.

　　A study published recently in the journal Nature shows that air-borne leaded gas emissions from the United States were the leading contributor to the high concentration of lead in the snow in Greenland. The new study is a result of the continued research led by Dr. Charles Boutron, an expert on the impact of heavy metals on the environment at the National Center for Scientific Research in France. A study by Dr. Boutron published in 1991 showed that lead levels in arctic (北極的) snow were declining.

　　In his new study, Dr. Boutron found the ratios of the different forms of lead in the leaded gasoline used in the United States were different from the ratios of European, Asian and Canadian gasolines and thus enabled scientists to differentiate (區(qū)分) the lead sources. The dominant lead ratio found in Greenland snow matched that found in gasoline from the United States.

　　In a study published in the journal Ambio, scientists found that lead levels in soil in the Northeastern United States had decreased markedly since the introduction of unleaded gasoline.

　　Many scientists had believed that the lead would stay in soil and snow for a longer period.

　　The authors of the Ambio study examined samples of the upper layers of soil taken from the same sites of 30 forest floors in New England, New York and Pennsylvania in 1980 and in 1990. The forest environment processed and redistributed the lead faster than the scientists had expected.

　　Scientists say both studies demonstrate that certain parts of the ecosystem (生態(tài)系統(tǒng)) respond rapidly to reductions in atmospheric pollution, but that these findings should not be used as a license to pollute.

　　21. The study published in the journal Nature indicates that ________.

　　A) the Clean Air Act has not produced the desired results

　　B) lead deposits in arctic snow are on the increase

　　C) lead will stay in soil and snow longer than expected

　　D) the US is the major source of lead pollution in arctic snow(D)