英语四级：20xx年6月四级a卷真题原文及答案(编辑修改稿)

英语四级：20xx年6月四级a卷真题原文及答案(编辑修改稿)内容摘要：

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 (混杂英语 ). 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. Stokoe39。 s idea was academic heresy (异端邪说 ). 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 caf233。 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 (调节 ) 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— it39。 s brain stuff. 21. The study of sign language is thought to be . A) a new way to look at the learning of language B) a challenge to traditional views on the nature of language C) an approach to simplifying the grammatical structure of a language D) an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language 22. The present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by . A) a famous scholar in the study of the human brain B) a leading specialist in the study of liberal arts C) an English teacher in a university for the deaf D) some senior experts in American Sign Language 23. According to Stokoe, sign language is . A) a substandard language B) a genuine language C) an artificial language D) an international language 24. Most educators objected to Stokoe39。 s idea because they thought . A) sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people B) sign language was too artificial to be widely accepted C) a language should be easy to use and understand D) a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds 25. Stokoe39。 s argument is based on his belief that . A) sign language is as efficient as any other language B) sign language is derived from natural language C) language is a system of meaningful codes D) language is a product of the brain Passage Four Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage. It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip co Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross39。 s campaign for a total ban on all antipersonnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in Angola, television screens around the world were filled with images of her forting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. I knew the statistics, she said. But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me。 like when I met Sandra, a 13 yearold girl who had lost her leg, and people like her. The Princess concluded with a simple message: We must stop landmines. And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message. But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press. They described her as very illinformed and a loose cannon (乱放炮的人 ).” The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms: This is a distraction (干扰 ) we do not need. All I39。 m trying to do is help. Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess39。 s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very wellinformed about both the situation in Angola and the British government39。 s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government. To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkidnd, claimed that the Princess39。 s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was working towards a worldwide ban. The Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was a misinterpretation or misunderstanding. For the Princess, the trip to this wartorn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems. 26. Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997 . A) to voice her support for a total ban of landmines B) to clarify the British government39。 s stand on landmines C) to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims there D) to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims 27. What did Diana mean when she said ... putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me (Line 5, )? A) She just couldn39。 t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face. B) The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home. C) Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics. D) Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation. 28. Some members of the British government criticized Diana because . A) she was illinformed of the government39。 s policy B) they were actually opposed to banning landmines C) she had not consulted the government before the visit D) they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola 29. How did Diana respond to the criticisms? A) She paid no attention to them. B) She made more appearances on T。