专家解析大学英语四级考试历年阅读真题(十三)

　　15. It is the author’s view that ________.

　　A) speaking up for oneself is part of human nature

　　B) self-promotion does not necessarily mean flattery

　　C) hard work contributes very little to one’s promotion

　　D) many employees fail to recognize the need of flattery(B)

　　这篇材料的主要内容是办公室政治(office politics)，从介绍办公室政治的含义、好处开始，讲到现实生活中人们不愿进行办公室政治的现象及其原因，最后给出了改变这种情况的建议。

　　前面的几段主要是介绍办公室政治的含义及其所能带来的好处。前三个句子以A、B、C打头列出了办公室生存的基本原则，而后把办公室政治作为它们的补充自然地提了出来(为了与ABC相搭配，简称为P)。作者引用Carnegie的话对办公室政治做了初步的定义，也就是be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes，无论公开非公开场合，都要能够推销你自己和你自己的想法。后面紧接着的一句话一箭双雕，既说出了办公室政治的好处(a better job, a raise, praise)，也指出人们不愿搞办公室政治的事实，为下文分析原因、提出建议铺好了道路。

　　后面的几段主要是来分析办公室政治在一些人那里不受欢迎的原因。首先人们把它看做是工于心计的行为(manipulative behavior)，而后作者对这一原因做了评析，指出办公室政治实际上并不如此(反而源于polite，礼貌)。下一段介绍专家的观点，进一步解释办公室政治的含义和应用的正当性，而后引用Neil P Lewis的话对此做了强调(It’s simple human nature，办公室政治是人类的天性而已)。

　　最后一段简单地给出了建议：承认自我的推销的需要(recognizing the need for some self-promotion)。

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.

　　As soon as it was revealed that a reporter for Progressive magazine had discovered how to make a hydrogen bomb, a group of firearm (火器) fans formed the National Hydrogen Bomb Association, and they are now lobbying against any legislation to stop Americans from owning one.

　　“The Constitution,” said the association’s spokesman, “gives everyone the right to own arms. It doesn’t spell out what kind of arms. But since anyone can now make a hydrogen bomb, the public should be able to buy it to protect themselves.”

　　“Don’t you think it’s dangerous to have one in the house, particularly where there are children around?”

　　“The National Hydrogen Bomb Association hopes to educate people in the safe handling of this type of weapon. We are instructing owners to keep the bomb in a locked cabinet and the fuse (导火索) separately in a drawer.”

　　“Some people consider the hydrogen bomb a very fatal weapon which could kill somebody.”

　　The spokesman said, “Hydrogen bombs don’t kill people—people kill people. The bomb is for self-protection and it also has a deterrent effect. If somebody knows you have a nuclear weapon in your house, they’re going to think twice about breaking in.”

　　“But those who want to ban the bomb for American citizens claim that if you have one locked in the cabinet, with the fuse in a drawer, you would never be able to assemble it in time to stop an intruder (侵入者).”

　　“Another argument against allowing people to own a bomb is that at the moment it is very expensive to build one. So what your association is backing is a program which would allow the middle and upper classes to acquire a bomb while poor people will be left defenseless with just handguns.”

　　16. According to the passage, some people started a national association so as to ________.

　　A) block any legislation to ban the private possession of the bomb

　　B) coordinate the mass production of the destructive weapon

　　C) instruct people how to keep the bomb safe at home

　　D) promote the large-scale sale of this newly invented weapon(A)

　　17. Some people oppose the ownership of H-bombs by individuals on the grounds that ________.

　　A) the size of the bomb makes it difficult to keep in a drawer

　　B) most people don’t know how to handle the weapon

　　C) people’s lives will be threatened by the weapon

　　D) they may fall into the hands of criminals(C)