四级阅读文章

钢琴是一种键盘乐器。在意大利语中，“钢琴”就是指能同时发出强音和弱音的羽管键琴，有“乐器之王”的称号。下面，我们一起阅读这篇公共英语四级阅读文章来了解一下钢琴吧。

Piano

The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the early keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries —— the spinet, the dulcimer, and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group, a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century. The clavichord's tone was metallic and never powerful; nevertheless, because of the variety of tone possible to it, many composers found the clavichord a sympathetic instrument for intimate chamber music. The harpsichord with its bright, vigorous tone was the favorite instrument for supporting the bass of the small orchestra of the period and for concert use, but the character of the tone could not be varied save by mechanical or structural devices.

The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth century by a harpsichord maker in Italy(though musicologists point out several previous instances of the instrument). This instrument was called a piano e forte (soft and loud), to indicate its dynamic versatility; its strings were struck by a recoiling hammer with a felt-padded head. The wires were much heavier in the earlier instruments. A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century, including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it, the perfection of a metal frame, and steel wire of the finest quality, finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound, from a liquid, singing tone to a sharp, percussive brilliance.

钢琴

钢琴的家系可以追溯至 15 至 16 世纪早期的键盘乐器，包括小型拨弦琴、洋琴和维金娜琴。17 世纪时风琴、敲弦琴和拨弦琴成为键盘乐器类的主要成员。这种至高无上的地位一直为它们所保持，直到 18 世纪末期钢琴将它们取代。

敲弦古钢琴的音调有金属的音质，缺乏雄劲。然而由于它的音调变化多，许多作曲家发现对于亲切的室内乐是一种得体的乐器。人们最喜欢用具备明快有力音调的拨弦古钢琴来配合当时小型管弦乐团的低音乐器以 及在演奏会上演奏。但它的音调难以变化，除非使用机械或构件装置。18 世纪早期的意大利，钢琴在一位拨琴钢琴制造者手中得到完善(尽管音乐理论家们指出有更早的例子)。这种乐器被称为 piano eforte (意大利语，柔和而响亮的)，以显示它有力的多样性。演奏者用 一个头部带皮毡的`弹击乐锤敲击琴弦。更早的这种乐器之上的金属丝要重得多。从此，持续到 19 世纪的一系列机械上的改进，包括引入踏板以维持音调或使其柔和，改善金属框架，以及使用最佳性能的钢丝，最终产生了一种具备无数音调效果的乐器。这些效果涵盖了从最精致的和声到几乎全部的管弦乐音响，从明快流畅的吟唱的音调到尖锐的打击乐器的清晰动人的恢宏气势。

附：公共英语四级阅读技巧之整体把握文章的脉络

段落信息匹配题的题目的顺序与文章的行文顺序完全不符，这就要求考生在阅读文章时整体把握文章的结构和脉络，熟悉文章的写作思路，基本能做到理解每题的中心思想后，能大体定位到文章的相应部分，而不是漫无目的地在全文的每个段落里搜寻。如样题中的文章：首先引出话题;中间部分主要谈论两方面的内容—大学在全球网罗人才和开展工作，同时大学也在重塑研究方法;最后是大学全球化的影响和作用。把文章这样分成四个部分以后，根据每个题目的内容，就可以找到大体的位置。

四级考试阅读理解技巧（一）

四级阅读测试一般包括4篇文章的阅读，每篇后有5道选择题。这些的类型多种多样，但归纳起来大致可分为二大类，即全域型问题（Global Question）和局域型问题（Local Question ）. Local Question一般涉及三方面内容：Subject Matter, Attitudr/Tone;Local Question 涉及：Supporting Details ,Inference, Vocabulary.以下，我们将针对四级考试的特点、出题范畴、出题方式等，根据这些问题在考试出题中的大致排列顺序，进行有步骤、有计划的分项应试技能训练。

关于主题思想问题（Subject Matter）

Subject Matter(SM中心思想)是作者在文章中要表达的的主要内吼是贯穿全文的核心。作者在文章中努力通过各种Supporting Details来阐明中心议题。因此，把握主要思想对于全文内听理解具有重要意义。熟悉四级测试的人都知道，这类问题常被列为5题之首。然而，如何找出主题常使考生倍感棘手。因为他们总希望通过某个词或某句话就能找到答案，而找主题往往需要通读全文后才能作出判断。

针对SM问题，应采用快速阅读法（Skimming）浏览全文，理解文章主旨大意，阅读时要注意抓住中心思想的句子在文章中的位置也不同，但阅读时，文章的开头、结尾及段落的段首句和段尾句特别重要，因为他们往往名包含文章的中心议题（SM）。

根据批发部在内容的不同，这类问题可分杰主题型、标题型和目的型 。主题型一目了然就是找中心（Main Idea）;标题型是为文章选择标题（Title）;目的型就是推断作者的写作意图（Purpose）.这类题常见的命题方式有：

（1） What is the main idea (subject) of this passage ?

（2） What does this passage mainly (primarily)concerned ?

（3） The main theme of this passage is ___________.

（4） The main point of the passage is__________.

（5） Which of the following is the best title for the passage ?

（6） The title that best expresses the theme of the passage is ___________.

（7） On which of the following subject would the passage most likely be found in a textbook ?

（8） The purpose of the writer in writing this passage _________.

（9） Which of the following best describes the passage as a whole ?

1. 关于主题型

Example 1:

Oceanography has been defined as "The application of all sciences to the study of the sea "

Before the nineteenth century ,scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between .Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings ,but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work .

For most people the sea was remote , and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others , who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it ,let alone to what lay beneath the surface ,The first time that the question "What is at the bottom of oceans "? had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile( 轮廓)of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.

It was to Maury of US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853 , for information on this matter. In the 1840s,Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings(试探)were taken investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.

The cable was laid , but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.

Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition, which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples form the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895 .

This passage is mainly about_____________.

A) the beginnings of oceanography

B) the laying of the first undersea cable

四级阅读测试一般包括4篇文章的阅读，每篇后有5道选择题。这些的类型多种多样，但归纳起来大致可分为二大类，即全域型问题（Global Question）和局域型问题（Local Question ）. Local Question一般涉及三方面内容：Subject Matter, Attitudr/Tone;Local Question 涉及：Supporting Details ,Inference, Vocabulary.以下，我们将针对四级考试的特点、出题范畴、出题方式等，根据这些问题在考试出题中的大致排列顺序，进行有步骤、有计划的分项应试技能训练。

关于主题思想问题（Subject Matter）

Subject Matter(SM中心思想)是作者在文章中要表达的的主要内吼是贯穿全文的核心。作者在文章中努力通过各种Supporting Details来阐明中心议题。因此，把握主要思想对于全文内听理解具有重要意义。熟悉四级测试的人都知道，这类问题常被列为5题之首。然而，如何找出主题常使考生倍感棘手。因为他们总希望通过某个词或某句话就能找到答案，而找主题往往需要通读全文后才能作出判断。

针对SM问题，应采用快速阅读法（Skimming）浏览全文，理解文章主旨大意，阅读时要注意抓住中心思想的句子在文章中的`位置也不同，但阅读时，文章的开头、结尾及段落的段首句和段尾句特别重要，因为他们往往名包含文章的中心议题（SM）。

根据批发部在内容的不同，这类问题可分杰主题型、标题型和目的型 。主题型一目了然就是找中心（Main Idea）;标题型是为文章选择标题（Title）;目的型就是推断作者的写作意图（Purpose）.这类题常见的命题方式有：

（1） What is the main idea (subject) of this passage ?

（2） What does this passage mainly (primarily)concerned ?

（3） The main theme of this passage is ___________.

（4） The main point of the passage is__________.

（5） Which of the following is the best title for the passage ?

（6） The title that best expresses the theme of the passage is ___________.

（7） On which of the following subject would the passage most likely be found in a textbook ?

（8） The purpose of the writer in writing this passage _________.

（9） Which of the following best describe

四级考试阅读理解技巧（一）

s the passage as a whole ?

1. 关于主题型

Example 1:

Oceanography has been defined as "The application of all sciences to the study of the sea "

Before the nineteenth century ,scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between .Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings ,but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work .

For most people the sea was remote , and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others , who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it ,let alone to what lay beneath the surface ,The first time that the question "What is at the bottom of oceans "? had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile( 轮廓)of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.

It was to Maury of US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853 , for information on this matter. In the 1840s,Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings(试探)were taken investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.

The cable was laid , but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.

Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition, which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples form the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895 .

This passage is mainly about_____________.

A) the beginnings of oceanography

B) the laying of the first undersea cable

C) the investigation of ocean depths

D) the early intercontinental communications

本题问及全篇的中心思想。通过快读（skimming ）我们知道这是一篇叙述"海洋学"的文章。第一段谈的是关于"海洋学"的定义；第二段是讲19世纪前对海洋感兴对趣的科学家不多；第三段谈到由于有人提了铺设海底电缆，人们才开始研究"海底深处究竟是什么"；第四段说Maury考察北大西洋和太平洋的发现引起广泛的注意；第五段讲修筑海底电缆过程中发现大量的海洋生物；最后一段是海洋学研究的成果。可风全篇主要是讲海洋学的研究是如何开展起来的，所以正确答案是A）。文章有 个地方谈到铺设义；第二段是讲19世纪前对海洋感兴趣的科学家不多；第三段谈到由于有人提出铺设海底电缆，人们才开始研究"海底深处究竟有什么"；第四段说Maury考察北大西洋和太平洋的发现引起广泛的注意；第五段讲修筑海底电缆过程中发现大量的海洋生物；最后一段是海洋学研究的成果。可见全篇主要是讲海洋学的研究是如何开展起来的，所以正确答案是A）。文章有好几个地方谈到铺设海底电缆B）和越洋通讯（D），但都是围绕着海洋学这条主线的。至于C)，测量海洋深度，只是一个细节，不可能是文章的中心意思。

四级长篇阅读解题技巧：略读文章、确定关键词、回文定位、分析定位点。

第一步，略读文章。快速阅读文章各段首尾句，大体了解文章所讲内容和各段落主旨，并圈出自己认为的重点和中心语(这一招有时候对快速锁定答案有帮助)。

第二步，确定关键词。认真吃透题干，并找出题目涉及的主要信息以及关键词，用笔标注出来。先整体吃透10道题目，然后回到文章从头到尾定位。记忆力不好的可以将部分关键字迅速写到试题页。提示：特殊词汇、数字、人名、专有名词等时常是关键词。

第三步，回文定位。根据题干中的关键词，迅速在文章中找出与题干信息相关的内容。

第四步，分析定位点(句)。一旦发现与题干关键字“有交集”的内容，立即在段落中画出，然后综合题干信息判断其是否为对应段落。一般情况下，如果题目是对文章的同义转述、概括总结等，就可初步判定为答案。保险起见，可以再延伸略读一下段落的前后意群、直至完全确定答案。注意，有时候确定答案时需要结合本段落主旨句或作者的观点态度句。

英语四级考试时间安排

9:00：下发考试材料。

9:10：考试正式开始，考生开始作答作文。

9:35：监考老师口头提醒5分钟后开始听力考试。

9:40：听力考试开始，考生注意及时填涂答题卡1。

10:10：听力考试结束，监考老师收回答题卡1。

10:15：考试继续进行，考生完成阅读理解和翻译部分。

11:15：监考老师口头提示考生10分钟后结束考试。

11:25：考试结束，监考老师收回试题册及答题卡。