2011 年英語專業(yè)四級(jí)閱讀理解

Text B

I know when the snow melts and the first robins (知更鳥) come to call, when the laughter of?children returns to the parks and playgrounds, something wonderful is about to happen.

Spring cleaning.

I’ll admit spring cleaning is a difficult notion for modern families to grasp. Today’s busy?families hardly have time to load the dishwasher, much less clean the doormat. Asking the family?to spend the weekend collecting winter dog piles from the melting snow in the backyard is like?announcing there will be no more Wi-Fi. It interrupts the natural order.

“Honey, what say we spend the weekend beating the rugs, sorting through the boxes in the?basement and painting our bedroom a nice lemony yellow?” I say.

“Can we at least wait until the NBA matches are over?” my husband answers.

But I tell my family, spring cleaning can’t wait. The temperature has risen just enough to melt?snow but not enough for Little League practice to start. Some flowers are peeking out of the thawing
ground, but there is no lawn to seed, nor garden to tend. Newly wakened from our winter’s hibernation(冬眠), yet still needing extra blankets at night, we open our windows to the first fresh air
floating on the breeze and all of the natural world demanding “Awake and be clean!”

Biologists offer a theory about this primal impulse to clean out every drawer and closet in the?house at spring’s first light, which has to do with melatonin, the sleepytime hormone (激素) our
bodies produce when it’s dark. When spring’s light comes, the melatonin diminishes, and suddenly?we are awakened to the dusty, virus-filled house we’ve been hibernating in for four months.
I tell my family about the science and psychology of a good healthy cleaning at spring’s?arrival. I speak to them about life’s greatest rewards waiting in the removal of soap scum from
the bathtub, which hasn’t been properly cleaned since the fi rst snowfall.

“I’ll do it,” says the eldest child, a 21-year-old college student who lives at home.

“You will? Wow!” I exclaim.

Maybe after all these years, he’s finally grasped the concept. Maybe he’s expressing his?rightful position as eldest child and role model. Or maybe he’s going to Florida for a break in a?couple of weeks and he’s being nice to me who is the fi nancial-aid officer.

No matter. Seeing my adult son willingly cleaning that dirty bathtub gives me hope for the?future of his 12-year-old brother who, instead of working, is found to be sleeping in the seat of?the window he is supposed to be cleaning.

“Awake and be clean!” I say.

86. According to the passage, “...spring cleaning is a difficult notion for modern families to?grasp” means that spring cleaning _____.
A. is no longer an easy practice to understand.
B. is no longer part of modern family life.
C. requires more family members to be involved.
D. calls for more complicated skills and knowledge.

87. Which of the following is LEAST likely to be included in family spring cleaning?
A. Beating the rugs. ? ? ? ? ? ? ?B. Cleaning the window.
C. Restoring Wi-Fi services. ? D. Cleaning the backyard.

88. Why does the author say “spring cleaning can’t wait”?
A. Because there will be more activities when it gets warmer.
B. Because the air is fresher and the breeze is lighter.
C. Because the whole family is full of energy at spring time.
D. Because the snow is melting and the ground is thawing.

89. Which of the following interpretations of the biologists’ theory about melatonin is?INCORRECT?
A. The production of melatonin in our bodies varies at different times.
B. Melatonin is more likely to cause sleepiness in our bodies.
C. The reduction of melatonin will cause wakefulness in our bodies.
D. The amount of melatonin remains constant in our bodies.

90. Which of the following can best sum up the author’s overall reaction to her adult son’s
positive response to spring cleaning?
A. Surprised and skeptical. B. Elated and hesitant.
C. Relieved and optimistic. D. Optimistic and hesitant.

答案與解析：

86. B。細(xì)節(jié)類。題干直接引用原文，故答題時(shí)先鎖定引文位置。“It interrupts the natural?order”是答題線索，既然是打亂了自然順序，說明現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)沒有多少家庭保留這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)做法了。

87. C。細(xì)節(jié)類。此題與上題出自同一段，要注意題干中的EXCEPT，并理解作者所說的反話，wi-fi只是作者打的比方，而不是春季大掃除的內(nèi)容。

88. A。推理類。從作者列出的各種活動(dòng)可以看出她意在說明有很多活動(dòng)暫時(shí)還不會(huì)發(fā)生，所以是進(jìn)行春季大掃除的好機(jī)會(huì)。

89. D。推理類。注意題中出現(xiàn)的“biologist”是定位關(guān)鍵詞，另外EXCEPT問的是非正確選項(xiàng)，需用排除法。A和D語義相反，所以也可以通過邏輯判斷直接選定錯(cuò)誤理解是D。

90. B。態(tài)度類?！癢ow”和“exclaim”表明了這個(gè)高興的態(tài)度，“You will?”表明了猶豫疑惑的態(tài)度。