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2019年上半年大学英语四级阅读理解：Violin prodigies
Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers if the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe.I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. It is very clear, he told me. They were all Jews(犹太人) and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage. As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.
Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours. ”says Isaac Stem, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World WarⅡ, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.
That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work,biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ______ .
A. it would allow them access to a better life in the West
B. Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent
C. they wanted their children to enter into the professional field
D. it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country
2.Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ______ .
A. enforce strong discipline on students who want to achieve excellence
B. treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development
C. encourage people to compete with each other
D. promise talented children high positions
3.Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to ______ .
A. all-round development.
B. the learning of Western music
C. strict training of children
D. variety in academic studies
4.Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?
A. A natural gift.
B. Extensive knowledge of music.
C. Very early training.
D. A prejudice-free society.
5.Which of the following titles best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
A. Jewish Contribution to Music.
B. Training of Musicians in the World
C. Music and Society
D. The Making of Prodigies
1.[A] 原文首段最后一句提到，所有犹太人父母的梦想就是让孩子上音乐学校，由because引导的从句解释了原因，即因为这是通往西方世界的通行证。A项为原文的同义改写，故选A。B、D在文中没有提及，原文中说进入professional field是不被允许的,故C不符合。
2.[B] nurturing societies出现在文中第2段第2句，很显然nurturing society指的是前一句说的“重视在某一特定领域中的优异表现，能培养才能的社会”,B与原文相符。
3.[C] 日本在文中作为典型的nurturing society的例子，之后提到日本社会竟争激烈，注重规范和纪律，结合这两点可知，C正确。
4.[A] 最后一段第2句提到，遗传在天才的产生上也起很重要的作用，即天赋，故选A。其他三项在文中并未提及。
5.[D] 本文中，prodigies是一个关键词，四个选项中只有D包含了这一关键词。其他三个选项都只是文中的局部信息，不是文章主旨，均排除。
2019年上半年大学英语四级阅读理解：happiness
The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the paininevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment(承担的义务), self improvement.
Ask a bachelor(单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quitepainful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or three-day vacation. I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase ourhappiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increaseour happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who arealways having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because______
A. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities
B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single
C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage
D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement
2. Raising children, in the author's opinion, is_______
A. a moral duty
B. a rewarding task
C. a thankless job
D. a source of inevitable pain
3. From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from______
A. hatred
B. misunderstanding
C. prejudice
D. ignorance
4. To understand what true happiness is one must_______
A. have as much fun as possible during one's lifetime
B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain
C. put up with pain under all circumstances
D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun
5. What is the author trying to tell us?
A. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.
B. One must know how to attain happiness.
C. It is important to make commitments.
D. It is pain that leads to happiness.
1.[A] 第3段第2句解释了单身汉为什么不愿结婚的原因，A项的reluctant to take on family responsibilities是对原文中afraid of making a commitment的同义替换,故选A。本题中D项的干扰性比较强，但这不是单身汉不愿结婚的直接原因，且文中也说到Marriage has such moments,所以put an end的说法也不正确，故排除。
2.[C] 原文第4段中说，虽然养孩子的过程实在不能算是“有趣”,但决定不要孩子的夫妇们永远也不能了解看着孩子长大的那种欢乐以及与孙儿一起玩耍的欢乐。换言之，在作者看来，养孩子虽辛苦，但也是值得的，故答案为C。
3.[B] 文章最后一段最后一句说它还让我们从嫉妒中解脱出来：我们现在了解到那些总有很多乐趣的人也许根本就不幸福。这说明我们嫉妒别人是误以为那些总有很多乐趣的人很幸福，这是一种误解，故选B。
4.[D] 由文章第1段和最后一段第1句可看出要理解真正的幸福就要把fun和happiness区分开，故选D。
5.[A] 本题是主旨题。主旨题的答案常位于首段或结尾段。本题的答案可以在文章第1段最后一句找到：通往幸福的路上多半会涉及到痛苦，因此本题选A。D中虽也提到pain,但对分强调pain对幸福的作用，故错误。
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