2018年12月英语四级考试时间：12月15日。为了帮助广大的考生们备考复习，小编整理了英语四级真题的相关信息，希望对参加英语四级考试的同学有所帮助。

Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it. Doesn’t it? If you think so, you’re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.

“Energy independence” and its rhetorical (修辞的) companion “energy security” are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely though through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?

Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that old from elsewhere.

The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(涓涓细流)of biofuel(生物燃料)available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.

Second, Americans have basically decided that they don’t really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?

Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don’t read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.

There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices, At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

61. What does the author say about energy independence for America?

A) It sounds very attractive.

B) It ensures national security.

C) It will bring oil prices down

D) It has long been everyone’s dream.

62. What does the author think of biofuels?

A) They keep America’s economy running healthily.

B) They prove to be a good alternative to petroleum.

C) They do not provide a sustainable energy supply.

D) They cause serious damage to the environment.

63. Why does America rely heavily on oil imports?

A) It wants to expand its storage of crude oil.

B) Its own oil reserves are quickly running out.

C) It wants to keep its own environment intact.

D) Its own oil production falls short of demand.

64. What does the author say about oil trade?

A) It proves profitable to both sides.

B) It improves economic efficiency.

C) It makes for economic prosperity.

D) It saves the cost of oil exploration.

65. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A) To justify America’s dependence on oil imports.

B) To arouse Americans’ awareness of the energy crisis.

C) To stress the importance of energy conservation.

D) To explain the increase of international oil trade.

【参考答案】  

解析：61、A 此题并非主旨题，按顺序原则及题干信息定位首段。 “If you think so, you’re not alone”表明作者持有同样想法，答案往“so”前面找——“Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” have a nice ring to sth.表示“听起来不错，令人向往”的意思，选项A的attractive是其同义改写。即使不了解短语，根据nice可判断正态度，答案选A。

解析：62、D 由题干信息biofuels定位在第四段落。定位句本身出现but强调：“but most biofuels are a Faustian bargain, causing economic waste and environmental destruction. ”but后面的强调才是作者对于biofuels的真正想法——causing economic waste and environmental destruction。选项中AB选项均为正态度，与原文不符直接排除。原文中C选项为干扰选项，“可持续的能源供给”，文章未提及。

解析：63 、C 按照阅读出题的“顺序原则”直接看到下一段(第五段)。首句“Americans have basically decided that they don’t really want to produce all their own oil. ”美国人不愿意自己产油，是63题题干信息当中“…America rely on heavily on oil imports”的同义改写。根据“金三句原则”定位到定位句的下一句“the American people…decided that they value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. ” 相比从国外进口石油，美国人更看重环境质量，由此判断，答案选C——“keep environment intact”。

解析：64、A 根据定位词oil trade以及顺序原则定位到文章最后一段。根据文章主旨和前文内容，或者是根据定位段信息可知“United States imports a great of energy”，让能源输出国有利可图，而同时“At the same time”，美国本身也有自身利益——“we derive massive economic benefits…when we engage in energy trade around the world.”，答案选A——“It proves profitable to both sides”。

解析：65、A 问作者写作意图，即问全文主旨。根据各段首句以及串联五个题干信息可得知，文章主要讨论“America”的“energy independence”，就可以直接排除BCD选项了。为做题保险，还要进一步确认。由文章末端的结尾“At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits…when we engage in energy trade around the world.” 可得知作者态度还是站在“oil imports”这一边的，因为可以得到“massive economic benefits”，所以作者还是在为“oil imports”而申辩的。答案选A。

好了，以上是小编整理的英语四级真题的阅读理解部分（不含听力与作文）。做阅读理解时，建议大家多出揣测出题者的意图，仔细比较选项之间的细微差别，这样才能提高准确率。如果自学吃力，不妨试试专业老师的指导，早日拿下四级。

备考课程推荐：【Uni智能】大学英语四级高效备考班