2015年12月英语四级考试真题（第二套）.doc - 图文

2015年12月大学英语四级考试真题(第2套)

Part I Writing(30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the saying\is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. \You can cite examples to illustrate the importance of lifelong learning. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.

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Part II Listening Comprehension ( 30 minutes Section A

Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C. and D), and decide which is the best answer.Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet I with a single line through the centre. 1. A. The agenda for the board of directors' meeting. B. The details of the meeting to be held next week. C. The reason for the man's absence from the meeting. D. The time for the man's visit to the woman's company.

2. A. At a travel agency. B. At a department store. C. In a library. D. In a post office.

3. A. He cannot hear the woman's call. B. He cannot get through to New York. C. He cannot recall the phone number. D. He cannot find a public phone nearby. 4. A. Watch a movie with the woman. B. Revise his thesis in the office. C. Do some shopping with Jane. D. Discuss his thesis with Prof. Hudson. 5. A. He just cannot work properly without a watch. B. He has no idea where he can buy a gold watch. C. He still does not know where he left his watch. D. He is not sure what went wrong with his watch.

6. A. He forgot all about what he said. B. He slipped and hurt his head. C. He was sorry for being off sick last week. D. He thought the woman's car had been sold. 7. A. She should try to catch an earlier bus. B. She is absent from his class too often.

C. She is always making excuses for being late. D. She should come up with a better excuse. 8. A. He is going to help the woman out.

B. He has to move out of the building soon. C. He is on his way to see a real estate agent. D. He will stay with the woman's brother.

Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

9. A. From the wanted cohunn. B. From some of her friends.

C. From a telephone directory. D. From a television commercial. 10. A. She received full-time education abroad B. She graduated from an open university. C. She finished her secondary school. D. She studied in a vocational college.

11. A. She is a shorthand-typist. B. She works as a tour guide. C. She is a policewoman. D. She teaches an evening class. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 12. A. It provides him with career opportunities. B. It helps enlarge his customer network. C. It has been off and on for ten years. D. It was interrupted for four years. 13. A. Individualized service. B. Traditional setting. C. Home-made beer. D. Social games. 14. A. The quality of beer. B. The atmosphere.

C. The owner's attitude. D. The right location.

15. A. It is a rather tough job. B. It is a profitable business. C. It helps old people kill time. D. It makes retirees feel useful. Section B

Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A , B ,C. and D. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. Passage One

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard. 16. A. It is becoming increasingly popular. B. It helps the user to escape reality. C. It gives rise to serious social instability. D. It hurts a person and those around them.

17. A. They use drugs just for fun. B. They take drugs to get high. C. They use drugs as medicine. D. They keep drug use a secret. 18. A. It is quite common in entertainment circles. B. It is the cause of various social problems.

C. It is hard to get rid of. D. It is fatal to the user. Passage Two

Questions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard. 19. A. Taking up exercises after recovery. B. Producing tasty healthy frozen food. C. Finding new ways to cure heart disease. D. Going on a diet upon leaving the hospital. 20. A. It was carefully tested with consumers. B. It was promoted by health organizations. C. It was disapproved by many diet experts.

D. It was highly expected by the general public.

21. A. Competitive price. B. Low expectations. C. Vigorous promotion. D. Unique ingredients. 22. A. It was suggested by the firm's vice-president. B. It matches the food's dark green packaging. C. It has a positive implication for consumers. D. It tricks the elders into impulse purchasing. Passage Three

Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard. 23. A. It is practiced in most of the states. B. It will be abolished sooner or later.

C. It has drawn a lot of criticism from overseas. D. It has to be approved by the Supreme Court.

24. A. Whether the practice should be allowed to continue in future. B. Whether there should be a minimum age limit for execution. C. What type of criminals should receive it. D. What effect it might have on youngsters.

25. A. The court sentenced him to life in prison for killing two friends. B. The governor changed his death sentence to life in prison. C. He was the first minor to be executed in South Carolina.

D. He was sentenced to death for a crime he committed as a minor. Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks with, the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

Some people borrow money and \

Large loans are seldom the issue; they are usually treated as business26, with the terms spelled out on paper. But many women suffer27over problems like Carol's \friend Ginny is always28cash,\she says. \hate to recall how often I've ' loaned' her a dollar or two for a drink or a movie. Each loan is so small I'd feel really cheap making a big deal out of it; still, I do29the fact that she never pays me back. \admits to being \something\to demand repayment, but she has resolved to stop lending money to Ginny. \for her dry cleaning, I just told her I couldn't31it. \bolder32. \somebody refuses to repay a loan, I 33 by requesting one myself,\she says. \cover lunch?' Then, when the money is safely in hand, I am struck by a sudden 34 Why, this is exactly the amount I loaned you last week ! How 35! Now you won't have to repay me'\

Part III Reading Comprehension(40 minutes) Section A

Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required

to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.

For many Americans,2013 ended with an unusually bitter cold spell. Late November and December36early snow and bone-chilling temperatures in much of the country, part of a year when, for the first time in two37, record-cold days will likely turn out to have oumumbered record-warm ones. But the U. S. was the exception: November was the warmest ever38, and current data indicates that 2013 is likely to have been the fourth hottest year on record. Enjoy the snow now, because39are good that 2014 will be even hotter, perhaps the hottest year since records have been kept. That's because, scientists are predicting,2014 will be an El Nifio Year. El Nino, Spanish for \child\surface ocean waters in the southern Pacific become abnormally warm. So large is the Pacific, covering 30% of the planet's surface, that the41energy generated by its warming is enough to touch off a series of weather changes around the world. El Ninos are42with abnormally dry conditions in Southeast Asia and Australia. They can lead to extreme rain in parts of North and South America, even as southern Africa43dry weather. Marine life may be affected too: E1 Ninos can44the rising of the cold, nutrient-rich ( 营养丰富的） water that supports large fish45, and the unusually warm ocean temperatures can destroy coral ( 珊瑚). A. Additional I. logically B. Associated J. occurs

C. bore K. populations D. Chances L. realize E. Communicated M. reduce F. Decades N. Saw

G. experiences O. Specific H. globally Section B

Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2. How to Eat Well

A. Why do so many Americans eat tons of processed food, the stuff that is correctly called junk (垃圾. and should really carry warning labels?

B. It's not because fresh ingredients are hard to come by. Supermarkets offer more variety than ever, and there are over four times as many farmers' markets in the U. S. as there were 20 years ago. nor is it for lack of available information. There are plenty of recipes (食谱), how-to videos and cooking classes available to anyone who has a computer, smart phone or television. If anything, the information is

overwhelming.

C. And yet we aren't cooking. If you eat three meals a day and behave like most Americans, you probably get at least a third of your daily calories (卡路里. outside the home. Nearly two-thirds of us grab fast food once a week, and we get almost 25% of our dally calories from snacks. So we're eating out or taking in, and we don't sit down－or we do, but we hurry.

D. Shouldn't preparing－and consuming－food be a source of comfort, pride, health, well－being, relaxation, sociability? Something that connects us to other humans? Why would we want to outsource(外包. this basic task, especially when outsourcing it is so harmful? E. When I talk about cooking, I'm not talking about creating elaborate dinner parties or three－day science projects. I'm talking about simple, easy, everyday meals. My mission is to encourage green hands and those lacking time or money to feed themselves. That means we need modest, realistic expectations, and we need to teach people to cook food that's good enough to share with family and friends. F. Perhaps a return to real cooking needn't be far off. A recent Harris poll revealed that 79% of Americans say they enjoy cooking and 30% \enjoying kitchen work and just 7% won't go near the stove at all. But this doesn't necessarily translate to real cooking, and the result of this survey shouldn't surprise anyone: 52% of those 65 or older cook at home five or more times per week; only a third of young people do.

G. Back in the 1950s most of us grew up in households where Morn cooked virtually every night. The intention to put a home-cooked meal on the table was pretty much universal. Most people couldn't afford to do otherwise.

H. Although frozen dinners were invented in the '40s, their popularity didn't boom until televisions became popular a decade or so later. Since then, packaged, pre-prepared meals have been what's for dinner. The microwave and fast-food chains were the biggest catalysts ( 催化剂), but the big food companies--which want to sell anything except the raw ingredients that go into cooking－made the home cook an endangered species.

I. Still, I find it strange that only a third of young people report preparing meals at home regularly. Isn't this the same crowd that rails against processed junk and champions craft cooking? And isn't this the generation who say they're concerned about their health and the well－being of the planet? If these are truly the values of many young people, then their behavior doesn't match their beliefs.

J. There have been haft－hearted but well-publicized efforts by some food companies to reduce calories in their processed foods, but the Standard American Diet is still the polar opposite of the healthy, mostly plant－based diet that just about every expert says we should be eating. Considering that the government's standards are not nearly ambitious enough, the picture is clear: by not cooking at home, we're not eating the right things, and the consequences are hard to overstate.

K. To help quantify (量化). the costs of a poor diet, I recently tried to estimate this impact in terms of a most famous food, the burger (汉堡包). I concluded that the profit from burgers is more than offset (抵消） by the damage they cause in health

I'd like to go to the movies with you when I come back．

W：I don’t think I can make it．I'm going shopping with Jane right now． Q：What is the man going to do first? 5．W：Why are you So upset and worried?

M：I've been racking my brains all morning, trying to recall where I put my gold watch．But it has been in vain

Q：What do we learn about the man? 6．W：I thought you said you were going to call me last week about the car I'm selling． M：Oh，I'm sorry．It completely slipped my mind． Q：What does the man mean?

7．W：I tried to catch the bus but couldn’t make it．So I'm late for class． M：Another excuse．Are you ready for what you'll say tomorrow? Q：What does the man imply about the woman?

8．M：The apartment building I live in is going to be torn down before the end of this month．一I don’t know what to do．

W：Well，my brother is a real estate agent．He Can help you out，I think． Q：What do we learn about the man?

M：Ace Employment Agency．Good morning．

W：Good morning．I wonder if you Can help me．I'm looking for a job． M：I’ll see what we can d0．Uh?Have you been to us before?

W：N0．(9)But you've managed to get jobs for some of my friends．So I thought，perhaps，you know?

M：Yes，I see．First of all，could you give me your full name? W：Yes．of course．Susan Hollies．

M：Good．And could I have your phone number? W：Yes．7788992．

M：Fine．And your date of birth，please? W：Feb．third，1980．

M：Thank you．Now education．Which school did you go to? W：(10)I went to a secondary school in South Town M：And have you been to college?

W：N0．(10)I left full—time education when l was l8． M：I see．Any qualifications ?

W：Yes．I gained a shorthand and typing diploma at evening classes． M：That’s good．Now．where are you working at the moment?

W：(11)Well, I've got a job as a shorthand-typist．But I'm not enjoying it very much and it doesn’t pay very well．

M：I see．Have you applied for any other jobs?

W：Yes．I thought I'd like to be a policewoman．But they turned me down because I Was too short．

M：what would you like to do now．then ?

W：WeU，I think I'd like to work in a travel agency．

M：I see．I think the best thing is for me to see what we might find for you．And then? 。

9．How did the woman get to know about the man’s company? 10．What formal education did the woman receive? 11．What do we learn about the woman’s occupation?

W：Steve，Can you tell me how long you’ve been a pub owner?

M：Well，four years，I suppose．(12)I've been involved with pubs off and on for ten years．I've sort of done hotel work and I've also run a restaurant pub．And now I've got what you call a good old．fashioned pub．

(13)That is ,a public bar, with all the social games going with it, which is what we've always wanted to have, you know．

W：It sounds like you've always worked in pubs．but not always in this one． M：N0,no．1 worked in quite a variety of pubs．

W：What makes a good pub? I mean，you said，you know，it has got a good variety of things．

M：Well，(14)I think having the right customers to start with, selling the right beer, keeping it good, and most of all, keeping a good attitude yourself, even though you probably feel very tired．But the idea is，if you generate from your side，it’s got to affect the other side，if you’re getting the right customers in． W：Yeah I must say that’s one thing that has always struck me about being a pub owner．I mean．a lot of people seem to think that it’s a nice job，you know．Everybody says，“0h，I'd love to retire and get a country pub．”(15)But it seems to me that it's actually very hard work．

12．What does the man say about his involvement with pubs?

13．What characterizes the old-fashioned pub according to the man? 14．What does the man say is most important in making a good pub? 15．What does the woman think of running a country pub?

To help ourselves and others．It’s important to know something about drugs．A drug is a chemical substance．It Can bring about a physical，emotional，or mental change in people．Alcohol and tobacco are drugs．Caffeine，a substance found in coffee and some soft drinks，is also a drug．

(16)Drug abuse is the use of a drug, legal or illegal, that hurts a person or someone close to him．A druguser is the person who takes the drug．There are many kinds of drug users．Experimental users may try drugs once or twice．They want to see what the effects will be．(17)Recreational users take drugs to get high．They use drugs with friends or at parties to get into the mood of things．Regular users take drugs all the time．But they are often able to keep up with the normal routine of work．Dependent users can’t relate to anything but drugs．Their whole life centers

around drugs．They feel extreme mental or physical pain without drugs．

It’s not always easy to tell that someone is using drugs．In the early stages，drug use is often hard to see．Sometimes．people like drugs or need drugs SO much；they can’t do without them．They are dependent upon drugs．(18)Only a few kinds of drugs can cause physical dependence．But almost any drug, when it's misused, can make a person think he needs it all the time．By this time, it's too late and the person is hooked．

16．What does the speaker say about drug abuse?

17．What does the speaker say about recreational drug users? 18．What does the speaker say about drug dependence?

According to Charles Harper，Chairman of ConAgra，the Healthy Choice line of frozen dinners，began with his own heart attack．It has been brought on by years of eating anything he could get his hands on．(19)As he 1ay in the hospital recovering, Harper imagined the line of healthy frozen foods that tasted good．(20)The Healthy Choice product line was carefully tested with consumers before being introduced to the general public．ConAgra’s research and development staff spent a year working under the instruction“Whatever the cost，don’t sacrifice taste”．The first test market results surprised even the ConAgra team．The low-sodium，low-fat frozen dinners sold much better than expected．(21)According to the firm's vice-president of marketing and sales,“We benefited from low expectations．The products were much better than people thought they would be”．This finding supported ConAgra's decision to position the product against other high-quality frozen dinners rather than as a diet or health food．The new product’s brand name and packaging were an important part of the development process．(22)The name Healthy Choice was chosen for the positive implication it held for consumers．Because ConAgra felt the product would be an impulse purchase，it was important to make the item stand out in the freezer case．This was accomplished through the dark green packaging that not only differed from the competitors’but also suggested freshness and richness in vitamins． 19．What did Charles Harper think of while he was in hospital?

20．What does the passage say about the Healthy Choice product line before it went to market?

21．What is said to contribute to ConAgra’s business success? 22．What does the speaker say about the name Healthy Choice?

(23)In the United—States,36 states currently allow capital punishment for serious crimes such as murder Americans have always argued about the death penalty．(24)Today, there is a serious question about this issue：Should there be a mage limit for executing criminals? In other words，is it right for convicted murderers who kill when they are minors that is under the age of l8 to receive the death penalty? In most other countries of the world，there is no capital punishment for minors．In the United States though，each state makes its own decision．Of the 36 states that

allow the death penalty，30 permit the execution of minors．

In the state of South Carolina，a convicted murderer was given the death penalty for a crime he committed while he was a minor．(25)In l977,when he was l7 years old, James Terry Roach and two friends cruelly murdered three people．Roach’s lawyer fought me decision to execute him．The young murderer remained on Death Row for ten years while his lawyer appealed to the governor．The lawyer argued that it is wrong to execute a person for a crime he committed while he was a minor．In the United States，the governor of a state has the power to change a sentence from the death penalty to life in prison．(25)Nonetheless, the governor of South Carolina refused to stop the execution．Roach was finally executed in l986．

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