2017 年 06 月大学英语四级考试真题（第 1 套）

Questions __26__ to __35__ are based on the following passage.

The method for making beer has changed over time. Hops (啤酒花), for example,

which give many a modern beer its bitter flavor, are a __26__ recent

addition to

the beverage. This was first mentioned in reference to brewing in the ninth century.

Now, researchers have found a __27__ ingredient in residue (残留物) from

5,000-year-old beer brewing equipment. While digging two pits at a site in the central

plains of China, scientists discovered fragments from pots and vessels. The different

shapes of the containers __28__ they were used to brew, filter, and store

beer.

They may be ancient "beer-making tools," and the earliest __29__ evidence

of

beer brewing in China, the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences. To __30__ that theory, the team examined the

yellowish,

dried __31__ inside the vessels. The majority of the grains, about 80%,

were

from cereal crops like barley (大麦), and about 10% were bits of roots,

__32__ lily, which would have made the beer sweeter, the scientists say.

Barley

was an unexpected find: the crop was domesticated in Western Eurasia and didn't

become a __33__ food in central China until about 2,000 years ago,

according to

the researchers. Based on that timing, they indicate barley may have __34__ in

the region not as food, but as __35__ material for beer brewing.

The phrase almost completes itself: midlife crisis. It's the stage in the middle of

the journey when people feel youth vanishing, their prospects narrowing and death

approaching.

There's only one problem with the cliche (套话). It isn't true.

"In fact, there is almost no hard evidence for midlife crisis other than a few small

pilot studies conducted decades ago," Barbara Hagerty writes in her new book, Life

Reimagined. The vast bulk of the research shows that there may be a pause, or a

shifting of gears in the 40s or 50s, but this shift "can be exciting, rather than

terrifying".

Barbara Hagerty looks at some of the features of people who turn midlife into a

rebirth. They break routines, because "autopilot is death". They choose purpose over

happiness — having a clear sense of purpose even reduces the risk of Alzheimer's

disease. They give priority to relationships, as careers often recede (逐渐淡化).

Life Reimagined paints a picture of middle age that is far from gloomy. Midlife

seems like the second big phase of decision-making. Your identity has been formed;

you've built up your resources; and now you have the chance to take the big risks

precisely because your foundation is already secure.

Karl Barth described midlife precisely this way. At middle age, he wrote, "the

sowing is behind; now is the time to reap. The run has been taken; now is the time to

leap. Preparation has been made; now is the time for the venture of the work itself."

The middle-aged person, Barth continued, can see death in the distance, but

moves with a "measured haste" to get big new things done while there is still time.

What Barth wrote decades ago is even truer today. People are healthy and

energetic longer. We have presidential candidates running for their first term in office

at age 68, 69 and 74. A longer lifespan is changing the narrative structure of life itself.

What could have been considered the beginning of a descent is now a potential

turning point—the turning point you are most equipped to take full advantage of.

In spring, chickens start laying again, bringing a welcome source of protein at

winter's end. So it's no surprise that cultures around the world celebrate spring by

honoring the egg.

Some traditions are simple, like the red eggs that get baked into Greek Easter

breads. Others elevate the egg into a fancy art, like the heavily jewel-covered "eggs"

that were favored by the Russians starting in the 19th century.

One ancient form of egg art comes to us from Ukraine. For centuries, Ukrainians

have been drawing complicated patterns on eggs. Contemporary artists have followed

this tradition to create eggs that speak to the anxieties of our age: Life is precious, and

delicate. Eggs are, too.

"There's something about their delicate nature that appeals to me," says New

Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Several years ago, she became interested in eggs and

learned the traditional Ukrainian technique to draw her very modern characters. "I've

broken eggs at every stage of the process—from the very beginning to the very, very

end."

But there's an appeal in that vulnerability. "There's part of this sickening horror

of knowing you're walking on the edge with this, that I kind of like, knowing that it

could all fall apart at any second." Chast's designs, such as a worried man alone in a

tiny rowboat, reflect that delicateness.

Traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs also spoke to those fears. The elaborate

patterns were believed to offer protection against evil.

"There's an ancient legend that as long as these eggs are made, evil will not

prevail in the world," says Joan Brander, a Canadian egg-painter who has been

painting eggs for over 60 years, having learned the art from her Ukrainian relatives.

The tradition, dating back to 300 B.C., was later incorporated into the Christian

church. The old symbols, however, still endure. A decorated egg with a bird on it,

given to a young married couple, is a wish for children. A decorated egg thrown into

the field would be a wish for a good harvest.