最新大学英语四级考试精品阅读120篇-第3部分
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not think of any other sports so still； so passive。 『But watch what happens every time the pitcher throws： the third baseman goes up on his toes； flexes his arms or bring the glove to a point in front of him； takes a step right or left； backward or forward； perhaps he glances across the field to check his first baseman’s position。』② Suppose the pitch is a ball。 “Nothing happened；” you say。 “I could have had my eyes closed。”
The skeptic and the innocent must play the game。 And this involvement in the stands is no more intellectual than listening to music is。 Watch the third baseman。 Smooth the dirt in front of you with one foot； smooth the pocket in your glove； watch the eyes of the batter； the speed of the bat； the sound of horsehide on wood。 If football is a symphony of movement and theatre； baseball is chamber music； a spacious interlocking of notes； chores and responses。
1。 The passage is mainly concerned with 。
A。 the different tastes of people for sports
B。 the different characteristics of sports
C。 the attraction of football
D。 the attraction of baseball
2。 Those who don’t like baseball may complain that 。
A。 it is only to the taste of the old
B。 it involves fewer players than football
C。 it is not exciting enough
D。 it is pretentious and looks funny
3。 The author admits that 。
A。 baseball is too peaceful for the young
B。 baseball may seem boring when watched on TV
C。 football is more attracting than baseball
D。 baseball is more interesting than football
4。 By stating “I could have had my eyes closed。 ” the author means （4th paragraph last sentence）：
A。 The third baseman would rather sleep than play the game。
B。 Even if the third baseman closed his eyes a moment ago； it could make no different to the result。
C。 The third baseman is so good at baseball that he could finish the game with eyes closed all the time and do his work well。
D。 The consequent was too bad he could not bear to see it。
5。 We can safely conclude that the author 。
A。 likes footballB。 hates football
C。 hates baseballD。 likes baseball
Vocabulary
1。 dugout n。 棒球场边供球员休息的地方
2。 pitcher n。 投手
3。 symphony n。 交响乐
4。 chamber n。 室内
5。 contemplate vt。沉思，注视
长难句解析
①【解析】此句的主干是“Baseball…means…watching…”，其中“in funny tight outfits”用来修饰“grown men”；“standing…”和“staring”用来做“grown men”的定语。
【译文】对于他们来说，棒球就是在无聊的几个小时中几个身着紧身衣的大人伫立在场地周围没事可做地东张西望。
②【解析】这是一个复合句，“goes up…”，“flexes…”“takes…”，“glances…”做“the third baseman”的并列谓语。
【译文】但每当投球手掷出球的那一瞬间，你再看吧，三垒运动员脚尖点地，屈臂或把接球手套直指前方，左右移动步伐，或前或后，或许他还要越过场地盯着一垒球手的动作。
答案与详解
【短文大意】本文主要讲述垒球的特征及欣赏。
1。 D主旨题。文章第一段简述了人们对垒球所持的偏见——认为它毫无活力、从容和缓，不像橄榄球那样高潮迭起、令人激动。文章的第二、三、四、五段探讨了垒球的根本特征及欣赏角度，文章的最后一句话用一个比喻概括了垒球的魅力：“如果橄榄球是一曲交响乐的话，那么，垒球中所表现出来的运动恰似一曲优美的室内乐。”可见，本文主要探讨的是垒球的特点及其欣赏。 A不对，第一段也确实提到了不同观众对不同运动形式的偏好，但这只是用以引出对垒球的特征及欣赏的讨论。
2。 C细节题。文章第一段指出：许多人不喜欢垒球，一提起垒球这些人就打哈欠甚至皱眉头。对他们来说，看垒球意味着眼巴巴地观望着身着运动装（outfit）的人呆立在球场上，东瞧瞧西望望，很少有什么（激动人心的）事发生——没意思透了。他们认为这样的运动更适合上个世纪的人的口味，不像橄榄球那样充满活力。 A意为：“它只适合老年人的口味。”注意：原文说的是适合上个世纪的人的口味，二者意味不一样。 D意为：“它矫揉造作、滑稽可笑。”这与说它gentlemanly（具有绅士风度，矜持，即：没有冲撞或拼抢）不一样。
3。 B推断题。第三段指出，在电视上，垒球运动被切换成不同角度的画面，而且不断地使用重放、特写等电视制作技术，这破坏了该运动的整体运动感，使观众无法将自己投入（project）到运动中去，以体会到这种寓动于静的运动之美。电视做不到这一点（The TV won’t do it for you），因此，电视上的垒球比赛看上去（seems）孤孤单单、冷冷清清、沉沉静静、慢慢腾腾。C、D不对，作者仅指出了不同运动有不同运动的特征，并未说哪种运动优于哪种。参阅文章最后一句。
4。 B推断题。第四段整个都在描述垒球场上的一个场景：拿三垒的运动员假设对方全投出好球，作好了一切准备，但是对方投出的并不是好球。所以在那时候他的准备做不做都不会影响比赛结果。他说本来可以闭上眼睛，意思就是B项所写的。A、C、D都不符合作者的意图。这道题需要完整地了解第四段内容才能作好选择。
5。 D推断题。在本文中，作者主要探讨了垒球的特征及欣赏，作者着重指出的是：只有根据垒球的特征来欣赏它，才能体会到它的魅力。在他看来，观察到垒球比赛中运动员的各种动作、垒球位之间的关系等是欣赏它的关键（第三段第二句）。只有从整体来把握它，才能看到每一个小的动作、每一个眼神乃至于“静止”的意义，也只有这样，才能全身心地投入比赛中，欣赏到它的魅力。可见，作者对垒球有很深的理解而且非常喜爱垒球。主要参考第三、四、五段。
第一篇 人文篇Passage 5
Passage 5建议用时：7。5分钟From：To：
Among the more colorful characters of Leadville’s golden age were H。A。W。Tabor and his second wife；Elizabeth McCourt；better known as “Baby Doe”。Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West。Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont。With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas。Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking；or perhaps he was lured by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines。At any rate；a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch；which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen。 “Great deposits of lead are sure to be found here。”he said。
As it turned out；it was silver；not lead；that was to make Leadville’s fortune and wealth。 Tabor knew little about mining himself；so he opened a general store；which sold everything from boots to salt；flour；and tobacco。『It was his custom to “grubstake” prospective miners；in other words；to supply them with food and supplies；or “grub”； while they looked for ore；in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered。』①He did this for a number of years；but no one that he aided ever found anything of value。
Finally one day in the year 1878；so the story goes；two miners came in and asked for “grub”。 Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way。These were persistent； however；and Tabor was too busy to argue with them。 “Oh help yourself。One more time won’t make any difference；” He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers。the two miners took 17 worth of supplies；in return for which they gave Tabor a one…third interest in their findings。They picked a barren place on the mountainside and began to dig。After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver。Tabor bought the shares of the other two men；and so the mine belonged to him alone。This mine；known as the “Pittsburgh Mine；” made 1 300 000 for Tabor in return for his 17 investment。
Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for 117 000。This turned out to be even more fabulous than the Pittsburgh；yielding 35 000 worth of silver per day at one time。Leadville grew。Tabor became its first mayor；and later became lieutenant governor of the state。
1。Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT。
A。because Tabor became its leading citizen
B。because great deposits of lead is expected to be found there
C。because it could bring good fortune to Tabor
D。because it was renamed
2。The word “grubstake” in paragraph 2 means。
A。to supply miners with food and supplies
B。to open a general store
C。to do one’s contribution to the development of the mine
D。to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine；if one was discovered
3。Tabor made his first fortune。
A。by supplying two prospective miners and getting in return a one…third interest in the findings
B。because he was persuaded by the two miners to quit supplying
C。by buying the shares of the other
D。as a land speculator
4。 The underlying reason for Tabor’s life career is。
A。 purely accidental
B。 based on the analysis of miner’s being very poor and their possibility of discovering profitable mining site
C。 through the help from his second wife
D。 he planned well and accomplished targets step by step
5。If this passage is the first part of an article；who might be introduced in the following part？
A。Tabor’s life。
B。Tabor’s second wife；Elizabeth McCourt。
C。Other colorful characters。
D。Tabor’s other careers。
Vocabulary
1。barren adj。 贫瘠的
2。fabulous adj。 神话般的，难以置信的
3。lure vt。诱惑，引诱
4。deposit n。沉淀，储蓄
5。grubstake v。下注
长难句解析
①【解析】“It”是形式主语，真正的主语是“to”后面的句子，“while”引导时间状语从句。
【译文】他的通常做法是对来采矿的人“下注”，说得更明确一点就是泰勃供给这些人食品、用品等物品，作为回报，当他们采到矿后就会分给他一部分股份。
答案与详解
【短文大意】本文主要讲述霍塞斯·奥斯汀·沃纳·泰勃发家的故事。
1。 C细节题。因为Leadville可以为Tabor带来巨富。这一点不是Leadville得名的原因，因为在文章第二段中，讲到这一点时，提及三个原因：A。因为Tabor成为当地的居民代表人物，B。因为在Leadville有丰富的铅的储藏量。D。因为Leadville是因为Tabor重要而起的名，唯独C没有，因为到后来发现是银矿�
