【阅读练习】What is it about America ns and food? We love to eat, but we feel 1 about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We re 2 with health and weight loss but face an unprecedentedepidemic of obesity（肥胖）.Perhapsthe 3 to this ambivale nee矛盾情结）lies in our history. The first Europea ns came to this continent searchi ng for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop经济作物）was n‘ t eate n but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually en couragi ng more 4 ways of doing it.The immigra nt experie nee, too, has bee n one of in harm ony. Do as Roma ns do means eati ng what “real America ns” eat, but our n ati on' s food has come to be 5 by imports —pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country s most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles.Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the n ati on' s defi ning struggles, whether at the Bost on Tea Party or the sit ins at souther n lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reas ons or evades meat for political 6But strong opinions have not brought 7 . America ns are ambivale nt about what they put in their mouths. We have become 8 of our foods, especially as we lear n more about what they contain.The 9 in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. ' s no coincidenee, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage（束缚）.It' s what we ea—and how we 10 it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a com munity today.A. an swer I. creativeB. result J. beliefC. share K. suspiciousD. guilty L. certai ntyE. con sta nt M. obsessedF. defined N. identifyG vanish O. idealsH. adapted【答案及详解】I. D feel是一个系动词，可以判断此处应填入一个形容词，通过上下文意思，以及后面介词about,可以确定选项为D项guilty,短语feel guilty about sth. “对....... 感到有愧”。
全句的意思为“我们很爱吃，但是往往在吃完之后又有负罪感”。
2. M be obsessed with为固定搭配，原意为“被 .. 附上/缠住/迷住心窍”，放在本句表示“十分重视”。
全句的意思为“我们很关心健康和减肥，但肥胖却又空前地在蔓延”。
3. A本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词to的搭配，可以推断出正确选项an swer.4. I本句根据more和ways可以判断出需要填入一个形容词构成比较级，根据上下文，表示“旨在禁止酗酒的禁酒令，却激发了更多新奇的方法来酗酒”，可以确定I为正确选项。
5. F本题较难。
根据be和by确定应填入一个过去分词。
再根据上下文，上文表示“应该吃典型的美国人吃的食物”，下文通过but转折，表示实际上“美国的食物已经被诸如比萨和热狗这样的舶来品所诠释了” ，因此可以确定F为正确选项。
6. B政治结果，可根据宗教原因religious reasons来推断此处填政治结果。
7. L由于横线后面没有宾语，可以确定不是形成bring的短语，这样本句所缺的为一名词，做bring的宾语。
根据下文解释，“美国人对他们所吃的食物的态度是矛盾的”，可以推出本句意义为“坚定的观点也不是确定不变的”。
因此可以确定L为正确选项。
8. K系动词become后应填入一个形容词，和后面介词of形成短语be/become suspicious of “对... 感到怀疑”。
9. J本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词in的搭配，可以推断出正确选项belief, （have）belief in sth. “ 相信”。
10. C本句是一般现在时，缺一个动词，且和with搭配，确定选项为share, share sth. with sb., “与某人分享某事”。
2010年6月英语四级阅读理解练习题及解析（2）【阅读练习】Baekela nd and Hartma nn report that the “ short sleepers had bee n more or less average in their sleep n eeds un til the men were in their tee ns. But at about age 15 or so, the men voluntarily began cutting down their nightly sleep time because of pressuresfrom school, work, and other activities. These men tended to view their nightly periods of uncon scious ness as bothersome in terrupti ons in their daily rout in es.In general, these “short sleeps' appeared ambitious, active, energetic, cheerful,conformist（不动摇）in their opinions, and very sure about their career choices. They often held several jobs at on ce, or workers full-or part-time while going to school. And many of them had a strong urge to appear “normal” or “acceptable’ to their friends and associates.When asked to recall their dreams, the “ short sleepers did poorly. More than this, they seemed to prefer not remembering. In similar fashion, their usual way of dealing with psychological problems was to deny that the problem existed, and the n to keep busy in the hope that the trouble would go away.The sleep patter ns of the “ short sleepers were similar to, but less extreme tha n, sleep patter ns show n by many men tal patie nts categorized as man疯人).The “ long sleepers’ were quite differe nt in deed. Baekela nd and Hartma nn report that these young men had bee n len gthy sleeps since childhood. They seemed to enjoy their sleep, protected it, and were quite concerned whe n they were occasi on ally deprived of their desired 9 hours of ni ghtly bed rest. They ten ded to recall their dreams much better than did the “ short sleepers.Many of the “ long sleepers were shy, anxious, introverted 内向),inhibited (压抑), passive, mildly depressed,and unsure of themselves (particularly in social situations). Several ope nly states that sleep was an escape from their daily problems.1. Accord ing to the report, ____ .A) many short sleepers n eed less sleep by n atureB) many short sleepers are obliged to reduce their nightly sleep time because they are busy with their workC) long sleepers sleep a Ion ger period of time duri ng the dayD) many long sleepers preserve their sleep ing habit formed duri ng their childhood2. Many “ short sleepers are likely to hold the view that ______ .A) sleep is a withdrawal from the realityB) sleep in terferes with their sound judgeme ntC) sleep is the least expensive item on their routine programD) sleep is the best way to deal with psychological troubles3. It is stated in the third paragraph that short sleepers ____ .A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressures of lifeB) often n eglect the con seque nces of in adequate sleepC) do not know how to relax properlyD) are more unlikely to run into mental problems4. Whe n sometimes they cannot enjoy adequate sleep, the long sleepers might __ .A) appear disturbedB) become en ergeticC) feel dissatisfiedD) be extremely depressed5. Which of the following is Not included in the passage?A) If one sleeps in adequately, his performa nee suffers and his memory is weake nedB) The sleep patter ns of short sleepers are exactly the sane as those show n by many men tal patie ntsC) Long and short sleepers differ in their attitudes towards sleepD) Short sleepers would be better off with more rest【答案及详解】答案：DCBAB贝克尔和哈特曼报道说，“睡眠少的人”在未进入少年期之前，其正常睡眠时间大致与所需要的时间差不多。