2004年6月四級B卷真題原文及答案

Directions： There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A）， B）， C） and D ）。 You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage OneQuestions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.

　　Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique - a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language ， and throw new light on an old scientific controversy： whether language ， complete with grammar， is something that we are born with ， or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington， D.C. ， the world‘s only liberal arts university for deaf people.

　　When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English ， the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd ： among themselves ， students signed differently from his classroom teacher.

　　Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code， each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time， American Sign Language （ASL ） was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English （混雜英語）。 But Stokoe believed the “hand talk” his students used looked richer. He wondered ： Might deaf people actually have a genuine language ？ And could that language be unlike any other on Earth？ It was 1955， when even deaf people dismissed their signing as “substandard”。 Stokoe‘s idea was academic heresy （異端邪說）。

　　It is 37 years later. Stokoe - now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture - is having lunch at a café near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English， French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech ， the modulation （調(diào)節(jié)） of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands， the modulation of space. “What I said，” Stokoe explains ， “is that language is not mouth stuff- it‘s brain stuff.”

　　11. The study of sign language is thought to be .

　　A ） an approach to simplifying the grammatical structure of a language

　　B ） an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language

　　C ） a challenge to traditional views on the nature of language

　　D ） a new way to look at the learning of language

　　12.The present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by .

　　A ） a leading specialist in the study of liberal arts

　　B） an English teacher in a university for the deaf

　　C ） some senior experts in American Sign Language

　　D） a famous scholar in the study of the human brain

　　13. According to Stokoe ， sign language is .

　　A ） an international language

　　B ） a substandard language

　　C） an artificial language

　　D ） a genuine language

　　14. Most educators objected to Stokoe‘s idea because they thought .

　　A ） a language should be easy to use and understand

　　B） sign language was too artificial to be widely accepted

　　C ） a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds

　　D ） sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people

　　15. Stokoe‘s argument is based on his belief that .

　　A ） language is a product of the brain

　　B ） language is a system of meaningful codes

　　C ） sign language is derived from natural language

　　D ） sign language is as efficient as any other language

　　Passage TwoQuestions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.

　　A is for always getting to work on time. B is for being extremely busy.

　　C is for the conscientious（勤勤懇懇的） way you do your job.

　　You may be all these things at the office ， and more. But when it comes to getting ahead ， experts say， the ABCs of business should include a P， for politics ， as in office politics.

　　Dale Carnegie suggested as much more than 50 years ag Hard work alone doesn‘t ensure career advancement. You have to be able to sell yourself and your ideas ， both publicly and behind the scenes. Yet， despite the obvious rewards of engaging in office politics - a better job ， a raise， praise- many people are still unable or unwilling - to “play the game.”

　　“People assume that office politics involves some manipulative（工于心計的） behavior，” says Deborah Comer， an assistant professor of management at Hofstra University. “But politics derives from the word ‘polite’。 It can mean lobbying and forming associations. It can mean being kind and helpful， or even trying ， to please your superior， and then expecting something in return.”

　　In fact ， today， experts define office politics as proper behavior used to pursue one‘s own self-interest in the workplace. In many cases ， this involves some form of socializing within the office environment - not just in large companies ， but in small workplaces as well.

　　“The first thing people are usually judged on is their ability to perform well on a consistent basis，” says Neil P. Lewis， a management psychologist. “But if two or three candidates are up for a promotion ， each of whom has reasonably similar ability， a manager is going to promote the person he or she likes best. It‘s simple human nature.”

　　Yet ， psychologists say， many employees and employers have trouble with the concept of politics in the office. Some people， they say ， have an idealistic vision of work and what it takes to succeed. Still others associate politics with flattery 奉承）， fearful that，if they speak up for themselves ， they may appear to be flattering their boss for favors.

　　Experts suggest altering this negative picture by recognizing the need for some self-promotion.

　　16. “Office politics” （Line 2， Para. 4） is used in the passage to refer to .

　　A ） the political views and beliefs of office workers

　　B） the interpersonal relationships within a company

　　C ） the various qualities required for a successful career

　　D ） the code of behavior for company staff

　　17. To get promoted ， one must not only be competent but .

　　A ） avoid being too outstanding

　　B） get along well with his colleagues

　　C ） honest and loyal to his company

　　D） give his boss a good impression

　　18. Why are many people unwilling to “play the game”（Line 4， Para. 5）？

　　A ） They are not good at manipulating colleagues.

　　B） They feel that such behavior is unprincipled.

　　C ） They think the effort will get them nowhere.

　　D ） They believe that doing so is impractical.

　　19. The author considers office politics to be .

　　A ） unwelcome at the workplace

　　B ） bad for interpersonal relationships

　　C ） an important factor for personal advancement

　　D ） indispensable to the development of company culture

　　20. It is the author‘s view that .

　　A ） self-promotion does not necessarily mean flattery

　　B） hard work contributes very little to one‘s promotion

　　C ） many employees fail to recognize the need of flattery

　　D） speaking up for oneself is part of human nature

　　Passa