Section C

说明：2015年6月四级真题全国共考了两套仔细阅读。本套（即第三套）的仔细阅读由2013年6月多题多卷真题仔细阅读汇编而成，丰富试卷结构，供考生练习、参考。

Directions：There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A），B），C）and D）.You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

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The Gatais used to frown when they received power bills that routinely topped$200.Last September the couple moved into a 1，500-square-foot home in Premier Gardens，a subdivision of 95“zero-energy homes” （ZEH）just outside town.Now they’re actually eager to see their electricity bills.The grand total over the 10 months they’ve lived in the three-bedroom house：$75.For the past two months they haven’t paid a cent.

ZEH communities are the leading edge of technologies that might someday create houses that produce as much energy as they consume.Premier Gardens is one of a half-dozen subdivisions in California where every home cuts power consumption by 50%，mostly by using low-power appliances and solar panels.

Aside from the panels on the roof，Premier Gardens looks like a community of conventional homes.But inside，special windows cut power bills by blocking solar heat in summer and retaining indoor warmth in winter.

The rest of the energy savings comes from the solar units.They don’t just feed the home they serve.If they generate more power than the home is using，the excess f lows into the utility’s power grid（电网）.The residents are billed by“net metering”：They pay for the amount of power they tap off the grid，less the kilowatts （千瓦）they feed into it.If a home generates more power than it uses，the bill is zero.

That sounds like a bad deal for the power company，but it’s not.Solar homes produce the most power on the hot sunny afternoons when everyone rushes home to turn up the air conditioner.“It helps us lower usage at peak power times，”says solar expert Mike Keesee.“That lets us avoid building costly plants or buying expensive power at peak usage time.”

What’s not to like？Mostly the costs.The special features can add$25，000 or more to the purchase price of a house.Tax breaks bring the cost down，especially in California，but in many states ZEHs can be prohibitively expensive.For the consumer，it’s a matter of paying now for the hardware to save later on the utilities.

46.Why are the Gatais eager to see their electricity bills now？

A）They want to see how much they have saved.

B）They want to cut down their utility expenses.

C）They want to know if they are able to pay.

D）They want to avoid being overcharged.

47.What is special about the ZEH communities？

A）They have created cutting-edge technologies.

B）They aim to be self-sufficient in power supply.

C）They are subdivided into half a dozen sections.

D）They are built in harmony with the environment.

48.How are the residents in the ZEH communities billed for electricity use？

A）They are only charged for the amount of power they consume on rainy days.

B）They needn’t pay a single cent for their power consumption on sunny days.

C）They only pay for the excess power that flows into the utility’s power grid.

D）They pay for the electricity from the grid less than their home-generated power.

49.What does the“net metering”practice mean to the power company？

A）More pressure at peak time.

B）Less profits in the short term.

C）Increased electricity output.

D）Reduced operational costs.

50.The author believes that buying a house in a ZEH community.

A）is but a dream for average consumers

B）gives the owner substantial tax benefits

C）is a worthy investment in the long run

D）contributes to environmental protection

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

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Romantic love has clear evolutionary roots but our views about what makes an ideal romantic relationship can be swayed by the society we live in.So says psychologist Maureen O’Sullivan from the University of San Francisco.She suggests that humans have always tried to strengthen the pair-bond to maximise（使最大化） reproductive success.

Many societies throughout history and around the world today have cultivated strong pressures to stay married.In those where ties to family and community are strong，lifelong marriages can be promoted by practices such as the cultural prohibition of divorce and arranged marriages that are seen as a contract between two families，not just two individuals.In modern western societies，however，the focus on individuality and independence means that people are less concerned about conforming to（遵守）the dictates of family and culture.In the absence of societal pressures to maintain pair-bonds，O’Sullivan suggests that romantic love has increasingly come to be seen as the factor that should determine who we stay with and for how long.“That’s why historically we see an increase in romantic love as a basis for forming long-term relationships，”she says.

According to O’Sullivan culture also shapes the sorts of feelings we expect to have，and actually do experience，when in love.Although the negative emotions associated with romantic love—fear of loss， disappointment and jealousy—are fairly consistent across cultures，the positive feelings can vary.“If you ask Japanese students to list the positive attributes they expect in a romantic partner，they rate highly things like loyalty，commitment and devotion，”says O’Sullivan.“If you ask American college women，they expect everything under the sun：In addition to being committed，partners have to be amusing，funny and a friend.”

We judge a potential partner according to our specific cultural expectations about what romantic love should feel like.If you believe that you have found true romance，and your culture tells you that this is what a long-term relationship should be based on，there is less need to rely on social or family pressures to keep couples together，O’Sullivan argues.

51.What does the author say about people’s views of an ideal romantic relationship？

A）They vary from culture to culture.

B）They ensure the reproductive success.

C）They reflect the evolutionary process.

D）They are influenced by psychologists.

52.We can infer from the passage that strong family and community ties.

A）largely rely on marriage contracts

B）can contribute to stable marriages

C）often run counter to romantic love

D）make divorces virtually unacceptable

53.Without social pressures to keep pair-bonds，romantic love.

A）will be a substitute for marriage in human relationships

B）plays a key role in maintaining long-term relationships

C）is likely to replace the dictates of family and society

D）is a way to develop individuality and independence

54.O’Sullivan believes that when people from different cultures fall in love，.

A）they expect different things from their partner

B）they tend to exaggerate each other’s positive qualities

C）they often fail to see each other’s negative qualities

D）they lay more emphasis on commitment and devotion

55.We can conclude from the passage that.

A）cultural differences often tear apart a family built on romantic love

B）marriages are hard to sustain without social or family pressures

C）romantic love is becoming increasingly important in family relationships

D）romantic love tends to yield where family or social pressures are strong