2014年12月英语四级卷三仔细阅读原文及翻译、答案详解

Passage One

Children are a delight. They are our future. But sadly, hiring someone to take care of them while you go to work is getting more expensive by the year.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the cost of enrolling an infant or small kid at a childcare center rose 3% in 2012, faster than the overall cost of living. There are now large strips of the country where daycare for an infant costs more than a tenth of the average married couple's income.

This is not necessarily a new trend, but it is a somewhat puzzling one. The price of professional childcare has been rising since the 1980s. Yet during that time, pay for professional childcare workers has stood still. Actually caregivers make less today, in real terms, than they did in 1990. Considering that labor costs are responsible for up to 80% of a daycare center's expenses, one would expect flat wages to have meant flat prices.

So who's to blame for higher childcare costs?

Childcare is a carefully regulated industry. States lay down rules about how many children each employee is allowed to watch over, the space care centers need per child, and other minute details. And the stricter the regulations, the higher the costs. If it has to hire a caregiver for every two children, it can't really achieve any economies of scale on labor to save money when other expenses go up. In Massachusetts, where childcare centers must hire one teacher for every three infants, the price of care averaged more than $16,000 per year. In Mississippi, where centers must hire one teacher for every five infants, the price of care averaged less than $5,000.

Unfortunately, I don't have all the daycare-center regulations handy. But I wouldn't be surprised if as the rules have become more elaborate, prices have risen. The tradeoff (交换) might be worth it in some cases; after all, the health and safety of children should probably come before cheap service. But certainly, it doesn't seem to be an accident that some of the cheapest daycare available is in the least regulated South.

56. What problem do parents of small kids have to face? A

A) The ever-rising childcare prices. C) The balance between work and family.

B) The budgeting of family expenses. D) The selection of a good daycare center.

57. What does the author feel puzzled about? C

A) Why the prices of childcare vary greatly from state to state.

B) Why increased childcare prices have not led to better service.

C) Why childcare workers' pay has not increased with the rising childcare costs.

D) Why there is a severe shortage of childcare professional in a number of states.

58. What prevent childcare centers from saving money? B

A) Steady increase in labor costs. C) Lack of support from the state.

B) Strict government regulations. D) High administrative expenses.

59. Why is the average cost of childcare in Mississippi much lower than in Massachusetts? D

A) The overall quality of service is not as good.

B) Payments for caregivers there are not as high.

C) Living expenses there are comparatively low.D) Each teacher is allowed to care for more kids.

60. What is the author's view on daycare service? B

A) Caregivers should receive regular professional training.

B) Less elaborate rules about childcare might lower costs.

C) It is crucial to strike a balance between quality and costs.

D) It is better for different states to learn from each other.

56．【A】【定位】根据题干中的problem，parents of small kids定位至第l段最后一句。【解析】本题问有小孩的家长必须面临什么问题。第I段末句指出“令人沮丧的是(sadly)，你需要出去工作，而雇人照顾小孩的费用却逐年上升(getting more expensive by the year)”。题于中的problem对应了原文中的sadly。故家长面临的问题就是育儿费用的上升，A“日益高涨的幼托费用”是原文的同义表述。

【点睛】8“家庭费用预算”，第2段末句提到日托班的费用超过家庭收入的十分之一，但并没有提到家庭针对这情况作出具体预算，B实际上没有原文根据。C“工作和家庭的平衡”，原文提及因为家长需要出去2r_作，所以必须请人照顾小孩。最后谈到费用高的问题，没有讨论如何平衡工作与家庭的关系。D“选择好的日托机构”偏离重点，家长的问题是日托机构费用高，而非烦恼如何选择好的日托机构。

57．【C】

【定位】根据题干中的puzzled定位至第3段。

【解析】本题问作者对什么感到疑惑不解。题干中的puzzled与第3段首句的puzzlin9对应，第2、3句指出疑惑的内容，其大意是专业幼托班的费用一直在上涨(has been rising)，而保育员的工资却并不见涨(stood still)，而这是不合情理的，因为劳动力成本占了日托中心80％的开支，按正常情况，保育员的工资应该会随着日托费用的上升而增加，所以C“为什么保育员的收入没有随着幼托费用上涨而增加”为答案。

【点睛】A“为什么幼托费用每个州差别这么大”，作者对这一个问题在第5段做了详尽的描述和分析，可见他对此很清楚．并没有感到疑惑不解。B“为什么幼托费用上涨却没有带来更好的服务”，全文讨论的重点是幼托费用高的问题．没有提及服务质量。D“为什么在很多

州严重缺乏专业保育员”无中生有，全文未提及缺少保育员的问题。58．【B】

【定位】根据题干中的saving money定位至第5段。

【解析】本题问幼托中心没法省钱的原因是什么。题干的问题实际上相当于第4段提出的问题“谁该为幼托费用上涨负责呢?”作者在第5段分析了原因。第5段第3句明确指出“规定越严格，成本就越高”。接下来又对此进行详细描述，“如果每两个孩子就需要聘请一个保育员，那么就无法实现劳动力的规模经济，也没办法省钱(can，t…achieve…to save money)”，后面将马萨诸塞州和密西西比州的情况进行对比，表明不同的规定下．护理成本相差较大。B“严格的规章制度”准确表达出无法省钱的原因，故正确。

【点睛】A“劳动力成本的稳步增长”，按第3段描述，劳动力成本并没有随着幼托费用的增长而上升，A与原文矛盾。C“缺乏州的支持”，文章提到每个州规定不同，但并没有提到是否会资助幼托所。D“高昂的管理费用”中的administrative expenses并未在文中提及。

59．【D】

【定位】根据题干中的Mississippi和Massachusetts定位至第5段最后两句。【解析】本题问为什么密西西比州的平均幼托成本比马萨诸塞州低许多。第5段最后两句从两方面将两个州进行对比：第一，每位老师看护儿童的数量，马萨诸塞州是一个老师看三个婴儿(one teacher for every three infants)．密西西比州则是一个老师看五个婴儿(one teacher for every five infants)；第二，幼托的平均成本．马萨诸塞州是超过1．6万美元一年，密西西比州则是不到5000美元。因此，护理成本差异的区别在于一个老师照顾多少个孩子，密西西比州每个老师看护的儿童数量更多，因此成本更低，故D“每个老师允许照顾更多的孩子”正确。

【点睛】注意原文只对比了两个州的两个方面，其他三项的信息均没有提及，本题只需找准定位句就可得出答案。A意为“整体服务质量不那么高”；B意为“那里保育员的S-资没那么高”；C意为“相对来说那里的生活成本低”。

60．【B】

【定位】最后一段。

【解析】本题问作者对日托服务的看法。作者在最后两段分析了日托服务收费高昂的原因，第5段为例证，第6段第2句用But转折，总结指出他不会感到惊讶的是规定越细，价格就越高，最后一句也重申最便宜的日托通常出现在监管最松的南部。因此，高昂的日托费用是因为严格的规定，B“对幼托的规定不那么严格可能会降低成本”是对原文的正话反说，为答案。

【点睛】①A“保育员应该定期接受专业培训”，作者在全文未提及保育员培训的问题。C“保持质量和成本的平衡是至关重要的”，最后一段提到，用……精细的规定”(从而保证孩子的健康和安全)交换高价“有时候是值得的”，但文中没说如何在质量‟‟和……成本‟‟之间取得平衡，也没说取得这种平衡是否很重要。D“各个州最好相互学习”，虽然第5段提到了马萨诸塞州和密西西比州的不同情况，但这只是为了说明日托成本高的原因，并未说明哪个州的日托教育更好．故不存在各个州相互学习的说法。②本题是态度观点题，表转折对比的逻辑关系词后的内容，往往体现态度，阅读时需要多注意这些词，如：but，however，although，while等。难句归纳‟1．Ⅱit has to hire a caregiver for every two children，it can‟t really achieve any economies of scale on labor to save money when other expe nses go up．(第58题解题句)

Passage Two

Alex Pang's amusing new book The Distraction Addiction addresses those of us who feel panic without a cellphone or computer. And that, he claims, is pretty much all of us. When we're not online, where we spend four months annually, we're engaged in the stressful work of trying to get online.

The Distraction Addiction is not framed as a self-help book. It's a thoughtful examination of the danger of our computing overdose and a historical overview of how technological advances change consciousness. A "professional futurist

Pang's first job is to free you from common misconception that doing two things at once allows you to get more done. What is commonly called multitasking is, in fact, switch-tasking, and its harmful effects on productivity are well documented. Pang doesn't advocate returning to a preinternet world. Instead, he asks you to "take a more ecological (生态的) view of your relationships with technologies and look for ways devices or media may be making specific tasks easier or faster but at the same time making your work and life harder."

The Distraction Addiction is particularly fascinating on how technologies have changed certain field of labor—often for the worse. For architects, computer-aided design has become essential but in some ways has cheapened the design process. As one architect puts it, "Architecture is first and foremost about thinking... and drawing is a more productive way of thinking" than computer-aided design. Somewhat less amusing are Pang's solutions for kicking the Internet habit. He recommends the usual behavior-modification approaches, familiar to anyone who has completed a quit-smoking program. Keep logs to study your online profile and decide what you can knock out, download a program like Freedom that locks you out of your browser, or take a "digital Sabbath (安息日)" ; "Unless you're a reporter or emergency-department doctor, you'll discover that your world doesn't fall apart when you go offline."

61. Alex Pang's new book is aimed for readers who ____D____.

A) find their work online too stressful C) are fearful about using the cellphone or computer

B) go online mainly for entertainment D) can hardly tear themselves away from the Internet

62. What does Alex Pang try to do in his new book? D

A) Offer advice on how to use the Internet effectively.

B) Warn people of the possible dangers of Internet use.

C) Predict the trend of future technological development.

D) Examine the influence of technology on the human mind.

63. What is the common view on multitasking? A

A) It enables people to work more efficiently. C) It makes people's work and life even harder.

B) It is in a way quite similar to switch-tasking. D) It distracts people's attention from useful work.

. What does the author think of computer-aided design? B

A) It considerably cuts down the cost of building design.

B) It somewhat restrains architects' productive thinking.

C) It is indispensable in architects' work process.

D) It can free architects from laborious drawing.

65. What is Ales Pang's recommendation for Internet users? C

A) They use the Internet as little as possible.

B) They keep a record of their computer time.

C) They exercise self-control over their time online.

D) They entertain themselves online on off-days only.

61．【D】

【定位】根据题干中的Alex Pan9‟s new book和aimed for定位至第l段第l句。【解析】本题问庞的新书针对的是哪些读者群。第l段开头就介绍，亚历克斯·庞的新书《分心成瘾》针对的是那些一离开手机或电脑就感到恐慌的人(those of uswho feel panic without a cellphone or computer)。由该段第3句中的online可知，第l句中的cellphone or computer实际上是“网络”的代名词，因此，D“几乎无法离开网络”正确。

【点睛IA“发现他们上网工作压力太大”利用第1段末句提到的stressful work 制造干扰，该句说的是没有网络会给人造成压力．而不是在网络上工作压力大。8“上网主要是为了娱乐”，该书只是针对离不开网络的人群，并没有提及这些人上网的目的是什么，无法从原文推断出B的内容。C“害怕使用手机或电脑”与原文首句的feel panic without a cellphone or computer“没有手机或电脑就感到恐慌”相反。

62．【D】

【定位】第2段。

【解析】本题问庞的新书的写作目的。第2段第2句提到该书的两方面内容：第一，对我们过度使用电脑的危害(dangers of our computing overdose)进行了深刻的思考；第二，对科技进步如何改变人们的思维(how techn0109ical advances change consciousness)进行了历史性的回顾。D“研究科技对人们的思维的影响”与第二点对应，选项中的technology对应原文的technological advances，而human mind则对应原文的consciousness“意识”。

【点睛】A“给如何有效使用网络提出建议”，庞的新书讨论的是人们过度使用电脑以及戒掉网络的问题，并不涉及如何使用网络的问题。B“警告人们使用网络的潜在危险”将原文dangers of our computing overdose中的overdose"过量，过多，偷换成了use“使用”，两者意思有明显区别。C“预测未来科技发展趋势”，虽然其中的technological development与原文的technological advances对应，但文中是说科技发展如何影响人的思维，而非科技如何发展。

63．【A】

【定位】根据题干中的multitaskin9定位至第3段前两句。

【解析】本题问人们对“多任务”普遍的看法是什么。第3段首句指出，认为同时做两件事情可以让你完成更多的工作是人们常有的一种误解(misconception)，第2句则将首句的“同时做两件事情”一般化为“多任务”，由此可知，人们普遍认为multitaskin9可以提高工作效率，故A“使人们工作更高效”正确，其中的work more effectively与原文的9et more done是同义表述。

【点睛】B“在某种程度上与切换任务很相似”，作者在纠正人们的误解时，提出多任务实际上是切换任务，那么这一正确见解就不是大家的普遍看法。C“使人们的工作和生活更艰难”，虽然其中的makes people‟s work and life even harder 在第3段末尾有提到，但那是在讨论技术与人的关系，一方面简化了任务，另一方面又使工作和生活变艰难，这并不是大家对多任务的普遍看法。D“使人们从有效工作中分心”是根据常识而作出的臆断，没有原文根据。

．【B】

【定位】根据题干中的computer-aided design定位至第4段第2、3句。

【解析】本题问作者是如何看待计算机辅助设计的。第4段第2,3句以计算机辅助设计在建筑设计的应用为例．说明该段首句的观点“科技使得某些行业领域变得更糟”。第3句引用了一位设计师的话指出，“建筑首要的是思考……而与计算机辅助设计相比，绘画是一种更有成效的思考。”换句话说，因为有了计算机辅助设计．几乎不用绘画，从而使建筑师失去了有成效的思考。B“某程度上了建筑师有成效的思考”准确地表达出作者的看法，故正确。

【点睛】A“大大减少了建筑设计成本‟‟是对第4段第2句中cheapen的误解，该词指计算机辅助设计减少了整个设计过程的技术含量，即没有了人工绘图的过程使得人类的创造性减少了，而不是降低了建筑设计成本。C“对建筑师的工作来说必不可少，虽然与第2句的computer-aided design has become essential 对应，但这只是对建筑师来说．并不是作者的观点，而且C所述是肯定了科技对行业的影响，与首句的观点刚好相反。同理，D“能把建筑师从辛苦的绘图工作中出来”也是对科技的肯定，与本段的论调矛盾。65．【C】

【定位】根据题干中的recommendation定位至第4段最后两句。

【解析】本题问庞对网络使用者的建议是什么。第4段结尾处提到庞对戒除上网习惯的建议是“行为矫正法”(behavior-modification)，具体措施包括记录并研究上网档案，戒掉某些网站，下载相关软件让你打不开浏览器，选择“无网日”等，这些行为都是在控制上网时间。C“他们需要自我控制上网时间”概括了上述措施，其中的self-control“自我控制”与原文的behavior-modification意思相近。

【点睛】A“他们尽可能少地使用网络”，庞并没有强调越少使用网络越好，只是需要控制时间。B“他们需要记录使用电脑的时间”，原文提及记录的不是上网的时间，而是上网的习惯，从而戒掉不好的上网习惯。D“他们只在休息的时候上网娱乐”，庞未提及休息的时候上网及娱乐等内容。难句归纳 1.It‟s a thoughtful examination of the dangers of our computing overdose and a historical overview of how technological advances change consciousness．(第62题解题句)