2020年大学英语四级考试真题及答案(第一套)

大学英语四级考试真题(第一套)PartIWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayonthefollowingquestion.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan180words.Supposeaforeignfriendofyoursiscomingtovisityourcampus,whatisthemostinterestingplaceyouwouldliketotakehim/hertoseeandwhy?PartIIListeningComprehension(30minutes)SectionADirections:Inthissection,youwillhear8shortconversationsand2longconversations.Attheendofeachconversation,oneormorequestionswillbeaskedaboutwhatwassaid.Boththeconversationandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Aftereachquestiontherewillbeapause.Duringthepause,youmustreadthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD),anddecidewhichisthebestanswer.ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.A)Theycameinfivedifferentcolors.C)Theywereaverygooddesign.Theyweregoodvalueformoney.D)Theyweresoldoutveryquickly.A)Askherroommatenottospeakloudlyonthephone.Askherroommatetomakeherphonecallsoutside.Goandfindaquieterplacetoreviewherlessons.Reportherproblemtothedormmanagement.A)Thewashingmachineistotallybeyondrepair.HewillhelpWendyprepareherannualreport.Wendyshouldgiveprioritytowritingherreport.Thewashingmachineshouldbecheckedannually.A)Themanfelldownwhenremovingthepainting.Thewallwillbedecoratedwithanewpainting.Thewomanlikesthepaintingonthewall.Thepaintingisnowbeingreframed.5.A)Itmustbemissing.C)Themantookittothemarket.B)Itwasleftintheroom.D)Sheplaceditonthedressingtable.6.A)Gotoaplay.C)Booksometickets.B)MeetJanet.D)Haveaget-together.A)Oneboxofbooksisfoundmissing.C)Replacementshavetobeordered.Someoftheboxesarrivedtoolate.D)Someofthebooksaredamaged.A)ThemanwillpickupProfessorJohnsonatheroffice.Themandidnotexpecthispapertobegradedsosoon.ProfessorJohnsonhasgiventhemanaveryhighgrade.ProfessorJohnsonwilltalktoeachstudentinheroffice.Questions9to11arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.A)Tobuyapresentforhisfriendwhoisgettingmarried.Tofindoutthecostforacompletesetofcookware.Toseewhathecouldaskhisfriendstobuyforhim.Tomakeinquiriesaboutthepriceofanelectriccooker.A)Toteachhimhowtousethekitchenware.Todiscusscookingexperienceswithhim.Totellhimhowtopreparedeliciousdishes.Torecommendsuitablekitchenwaretohim.A)Therearesomanydifferentsortsofknives.Cookingdevicesaresuchpracticalpresents.Amixercansavesomuchtimeinmakingcakes.Saucepansandfryingpansareamustinthekitchen.Questions12to15arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.A)Somenewproblemsinherwork.C)Herchanceforpromotioninthebank.Cooperationwithaninternationalbank.D)Herintentiontoleaveherpresentjob.A)TheWorldBank.C)AU.S.financecorporation.BankofWashington.D)AninvestmentbankinNewYork.A)Supervisingfinancialtransactions.Takingchargeofpublicrelations.Makingloanstoprivatecompaniesindevelopingcountries.OfferingservicetointernationalcompaniesintheUnitedStates.A)Itisafirstmajorsteptorealizingthewoman'sdream.Itisanhonorforthewomanandherpresentemployer.Itisalossforhercurrentcompany.Itisreallybeyondhisexpectation.SectionBDirections:Inthissection,youwillhear3shortpassages.Attheendofeachpassage,youwillhearsomequestions.Boththepassageandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmustchoosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.PassageOneQuestions16to18arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.A)Carryoutathoroughcheckup.C)Keepextragasinreserve.Trytokeepthegastankfull.D)Fillupthewatertank.A)Attemptingtoleaveyourcartoseekhelp.Openingawindowabittoletinfreshair.Runningtheengineeverynowandthen.Keepingtheheateronforalongtime.A)Itexhaustsyouphysically.C)Itcausesyoutolosebodyheat.B)Itmakesyoufallasleepeasily.D)Itconsumestoomuchoxygen.PassageTwoQuestions19to21arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.A)Theyareverygenerousingivinggifts.B)Theyrefusegiftswhendoingbusiness.Theyregardgiftsasatokenoffriendship.Theygivegiftsonlyonspecialoccasions.A)Theyenjoygivinggiftstootherpeople.B)Theyspendalotoftimechoosinggifts.Theyhavetofollowmanyspecificrules.Theypayattentiontothequalityofgifts.A)Gift-givingplaysanimportantroleinhumanrelationships.B)Wemustbeawareofculturaldifferencesingivinggifts.Wemustlearnhowtogivegiftsbeforegoingabroad.Readingextensivelymakesoneabettergift-giver.PassageThreeQuestions22to25arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.A)ItreflectsAmericanpeople'sviewofFrenchpolitics.B)ItisfirstpublishedinWashingtonandtheninParis.ItexplainsAmericanpoliticstotheFrenchpublic.ItispopularamongFrenchgovernmentofficials.23.A)Workonhercolumn.C)Entertainherguests.B)Dohouseworkathome.D)Goshoppingdowntown.24.A)Toreporttohernewspaper.C)Tovisitherparents.B)TorefreshherFrench.D)Tomeetherfriends.25.A)ShemightberecalledtoFrance.C)ShemightcloseherMondaycolumn.B)Shemightchangeherprofession.D)Shemightbeassignedtoanewpost.SectionCDirections:Inthissection,youwillhearapassagethreetimes.Whenthepassageisreadforthefirsttime,youshouldlistencarefullyforitsgeneralidea.Whenthepassageisreadforthesecondtime,youarerequiredtofillintheblankswiththeexactwordsyouhavejustheard.Finally,whenthepassageisreadforthethirdtime,youshouldcheckwhatyouhavewritten.AccordingtoAmericanlaw,ifsomeoneisaccusedofacrime,heisconsidered(26)untilthecourtprovesthepersonisguilty.Toarrestaperson,thepolicehavetobereasonablysurethatacrimehasbeen(27).Thepolicemustgivethesuspectthereasonswhytheyarearrestinghimandtellhimhisrightsunderthelaw.Thenthepolicetakethesuspecttothepolicestation,wherethenameofthepersonandthe(28)againsthimareformallylisted.Thenextstepisforthesuspecttogobeforeajudge.Thejudgedecideswhetherthesuspectshouldbekeptinjailor(29).Ifthesuspecthasnopreviouscriminalrecordandthejudgefeelsthathewillreturntocourt（30）runaway,hecangofree.Otherwise,thesuspectmustputupbail（保释金）.Atthistime,too,thejudgewill（31）acourtlawyertodefendthesuspectifhecan'taffordone.Thesuspectreturnstocourtaweekortwolater.Alawyerfromthedistrictattorney'sofficepresentsacaseagainstthesuspect.Theattorneymaypresent（32）aswellaswitnesses.Thejudgethendecideswhetherthereisenoughreasonto（33）.TheAmericanjusticesystemisverycomplexandsometimesoperatesslowly.However,everystepis（34）toprotecttherightsofthepeople.Theseindividualrightsarethe（35）oftheAmericangovernment.PartIIIReadingComprehension（40minutes）SectionADirections:Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.Youarerequiredtoselectonewordforeachblankfromalistofchoicesgiveninawordbankfollowingthepassage.Readthepassagethroughcarefullybeforemakingyourchoices.Eachchoiceinthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.PleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitemonAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmorethanonce.Questions36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Globalwarmingisatrendtowardwarmerconditionsaroundtheworld.Partofthewarmingisnatural;wehaveexperienceda20,000-year-longwarmingasthelasticeageendedandtheice___36___away.However,wehavealreadyreachedtemperaturesthatarein___37___withotherminimum-iceperiods,socontinuedwarmingislikelynotnatural.Weare___38___toapredictedworldwideincreaseintemperatures39between1°Cand6°Coverthenext100years.Thewarmingwillbemore___40___insomeareas,lessinothers,andsomeplacesmayevencooloff.Likewise,the___41___ofthiswarmingwillbeverydifferentdependingonwhereyouare—coastalareasmustworryaboutrisingsealevels,whileSiberiaandnorthernCanadamaybecomemorehabitable（宜居的）and___42___forhumansthantheseareasarenow.Thefactremains,however,thatitwilllikelygetwarmer,on___43___,everywhere.Scientistsareingeneralagreementthatthewarmerconditionswehavebeenexperiencingareatleastinparttheresultofahuman-inducedglobalwarmingtrend.Somescientists___44___thatthechangesweareseeingfallwithintherangeofrandom（无规律的）variation—someyearsarecold,otherswarm,andwehavejusthadanunremarkablestringofwarmyears___45___—butthatisbecominganincreasinglyrareinterpretationinthefaceofcontinuedandincreasingwarmconditions.A)appealingI)meltedB)averageJ)persistC)contributingK)rangingD)dramaticL)recentlyE)frequentlyM)resolvedF)impactN)sensibleG)lineO)shockH)maintainSectionBDirections:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattachedtoit.Eachstatementcontainsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwithaletter.AnswerthequestionsbymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2.TheEndoftheBook?Amazon,byfarthelargestbooksellerinthecountry,reportedonMay19thatitisnowsellingmorebooksinitselectronicKindleformatthanintheoldpaper-and-inkformat.Thatisremarkable,consideringthattheKindlehasonlybeenaroundforfouryears.E-booksnowaccountfor14percentofallbooksalesinthiscountryandareincreasingfarfasterthanoverallbooksales.E-booksalesareup146percentoverlastyear,whilehardbacksalesincreased6percentandpaperbacksdecreased8percent.Doesthisspellthedoomofthephysicalbook?Certainlynotimmediately,andperhapsnotatall.WhatitdoesmeanisthatthebookbusinesswillgothroughatransformationinthenextdecadeorsomoreprofoundthananyithasseensinceGutenbergintroducedprintingfrommoveabletypeinthe1450s.Physicalbookswillsurelybecomemuchrarerinthemarketplace.Massmarketpaperbacks,whichhavebeendecliningforyearsanyway,willprobablydisappear,aswillhardbacksformysteries,thrillers,“romancefiction,”etc.Suchbooks,whichonlyrarelyendupinpermanentcollections,eitherprivateorpublic,willprobablyonlybeavailablease-bookswithinafewyears.Hardbackandtradepaperbacksfor“serious”nonfictionandfictionwillsurelylastlonger.Perhapsitwillbecomethemarkofanauthortoreckonwiththatheorsheisstillpublishedinhardcopy.Asforchildren'sbooks,whoknows?Children'sbooksarelikedogfoodinthatthepurchasersarenottheconsumers,sothemarket(andthemarketing)isinherentlystrange.Forcluestothebook'sfuture,let'slookatsomeexamplesoftechnologicalchangeandseewhathappenedtotheoldtechnology.Onetechnologyreplacesanotheronlybecausethenewtechnologyisbetter,cheaper,orboth.Thegreaterthedifference,thesoonerandmorethoroughlythenewtechnologyreplacestheold.Printingwithmoveabletypeonpaperdramaticallyreducedthecostofproducingabookcomparedwiththeold-fashionedoneshandwrittenonvellum,whichcomesfromsheepskin.ABible—tobesure,alongbook—requiredvellummadefrom300sheepskinsandcountlessman-hoursoflabor.Beforeprintingarrived,aBiblecostmorethanamiddle-classhouse.Therewereperhaps50,000booksinallofEuropein1450.By1500therewere10million.Butwhileprintingquicklycausedthehandwrittenbooktodieout,handwritinglingeredon(继续存在)wellintothe16thcentury.Veryspecialbooksarestilloccasionallyproducedonvellum,buttheyareone-of-a-kindshowpieces.Sometimesanewtechnologydoesn'tdrivetheoldoneout,butonlypartsofitwhileforcingtheresttoevolve.Themovieswerewidelypredictedtodrivelivetheateroutofthemarketplace,buttheydidn't,becausetheaterturnedouttohavequalitiesmoviescouldnotreproduce.Equally,TVwassupposedtoreplacemoviesbut,again,didnot.Moviesdid,however,fatallyimpactsomepartsoflivetheater.AndwhileTVdidn'tkillmovies,itdidkillsecond-ratepictures,shorts,andcartoons.NordidTVkillradio.Comedyanddramashows(”JackBenny,”“AmosandAndy,”“TheShadow”)allmigratedtotelevision.Butbecauseyoucan'tdriveacarandwatchtelevisionatthesametime,rushhourbecameradio'sprimetime,whilemusic,talk,andnewsradiogreatlyenlargedtheiraudiences.Radioistodayaverydifferentbusinessthaninthelate1940sandamuchlargerone.Sometimesoldtechnologylingersforcenturiesbecauseofitssymbolicpower.Mountedcavalry(骑兵)replacedthechariot(二轮战车)onthebattlefieldaround1000BC.ButchariotsmaintainedtheirplaceinparadesandtriumphsrightupuntiltheendoftheRomanEmpire1,500yearslater.Theswordhasn'thadamilitaryfunctionforahundredyears,butisstillpartofanofficer'sfull-dressuniform,preciselybecauseaswordalwayssymbolized“anofficerandagentleman.”Sometimesnewtechnologyisalittlecranky(不稳定的)atfirst.Televisionrepairmanwasacommonoccupationinthe1950s,forinstance.Andsotheoldtechnologyremainsasabackup.SteamshipscapturedtheNorthAtlanticpassengerbusinessfromsailinthe1840sbecauseofitsmuchgreaterspeed.Butsteamshipsdidn'tlosetheirsailsuntilthe1880s,becauseearlymarineengineshadanastyhabitofbreakingdown.Untilshipsbecamelargeenough(andenginessmallenough)tomounttwoenginessidebyside,theyneededtokeepsails.(Thehighcostofsteamandthelesserneedforspeedkeptthemajorityoftheworld'soceanfreightmovingbysailuntiltheearlyyearsofthe20thcentury.)Thenthereisthefireplace.Centralheatingwaspresentineveryupper-andmiddle-classhomebythesecondhalfofthe19thcentury.Butfunctioningfireplacesremaintothisdayapowerfulsellingpointinahouseorapartment.Isuspectthereasonisadeep-rootedloveoffire.Firewasoneoftheearliestmajortechnologicaladvancesforhumankind,providingheat,protection,andcookedfood(whichismucheasiertoeatanddigest).Humancontroloffiregoesbackfarenough(overamillionyears)thatevolutioncouldhaveproducedageneticleaningtowardsfireasacentralaspectofhumanlife.Books—especiallybookstheaveragepersoncouldafford—haven'tbeenaroundlongenoughtoproduceevolutionarychangeinhumans.Buttheyhaveapowerfulholdonmanypeoplenonetheless,aholdextendingfarbeyondtheirliterarycontent.Attheirbest,theyareworksofartandthereisatactile(触觉的)pleasureinbooksnecessarilylostine-bookversions.Theabilitytoquicklythumbthroughpagesisalsolost.Andaroomwithbooksinitinduces,atleastinsome,afeelingnotdissimilartothatofafireinthefireplaceonacoldwinter'snight.ForthesereasonsIthinkphysicalbookswillhavealongerexistenceasacommercialproductthansomecurrentlypredict.Likeswords,bookshavesymbolicpower.Likefireplaces,theyinduceasenseofcomfortandwarmth.And,perhaps,similartosails,theymakeausefulbackupforwhenthelightsgoout.Authorsstillpublishedinprintedversionswillbeconsideredimportantones.Somepeoplearestillinfavorofprintedbooksbecauseofthesenseoftouchtheycanprovide.Theradiobusinesshaschangedgreatlyandnowattractsmorelisteners.Contrarytomanypeople'spredictionofitsdeath,thefilmindustrysurvived.Remarkablechangeshavetakenplaceinthebookbusiness.Oldtechnologysometimescontinuestoexistbecauseofitsreliability.Theincreaseofe-booksaleswillforcethebookbusinesstomakechangesnotseenforcenturies.Anewtechnologyisunlikelytotaketheplaceofanoldonewithoutaclearadvantage.Paperbacksofpopularliteraturearemorelikelytobereplacedbye-books.Ahousewithafireplacehasastrongerappealtobuyers.SectionCDirections:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.PassageOneQuestions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Thequestionofwhetherourgovernmentshouldpromotescienceandtechnologyortheliberalartsinhighereducationisn'taneither/orproposition(命题)，althoughthecurrentemphasisonpreparingyoungAmericansforSTEM(science,technology,engineering,maths)-relatedfieldscanmakeitseemthatway.Thelatestcongressionalreportacknowledgesthecriticalimportanceoftechnicaltraining，butalsoassertsthatthestudyofthehumanities(人文学科)andsocialsciencesmustremaincentralcomponentsofAmerica'seducationalsystematalllevels.Bothareasarecriticaltoproducingcitizenswhocanparticipateeffectivelyinourdemocraticsociety，becomeinnovative(创新的)leaders，andbenefitfromthespiritualenrichmentthatthereflectiononthegreatideasofmankindovertimeprovides.Parentsandstudentswhohaveinvestedheavilyinhighereducationworryaboutgraduates'jobprospectsastechnologicaladvancesandchangesindomesticandglobalmarketstransformprofessionsinwaysthatreducewagesandcutjobs.Underthesecircumstances，it'snaturaltolookforwhatmayappeartobethemost“practical”wayoutoftheproblem:“Majorinasubjectdesignedtogetyouajob”seemstheobviousanswertosome，thoughthisignoresthefactthatmanydisciplinesinthehumanitiescharacterizedas“soft”often，infact，leadtoemploymentandsuccessinthelongrun.Indeed，accordingtosurveys，employershaveexpressedapreferenceforstudentswhohavereceivedabroadly-basededucationthathastaughtthemtowritewell，thinkcritically，researchcreativelyandcommunicateeasily.Moreover，studentsshouldbepreparednotjustfortheirfirstjob，butfortheir4thand5thjobs，asthere'slittlereasontodoubtthatpeopleenteringtheworkforcetodaywillbecalledupontoplaymanydifferentrolesoverthecourseoftheircareers.Theoneswhowilldothebestinthisnewenvironmentwillbethosewhoseeducationshavepreparedthemtobeflexible.Theabilitytodrawuponeveryavailabletoolandinsight—pickedupfromscience，artsandtechnology—tosolvetheproblemsofthefuture，andtakeadvantageoftheopportunitiesthatpresentthemselves，willbehelpfultothemandtheUnitedStates.Whatdoesthelatestcongressionalreportsuggest?STEM-relatedsubjectshelpstudentsfindjobsintheinformationsociety.ThehumanitiesandSTEMsubjectsshouldbegivenequalimportance.Theliberalartsinhighereducationhelpenrichstudents'spirituallife.Highereducationshouldbeadjustedtothepracticalneedsofsociety.Whatisthemainconcernofstudentswhentheychooseamajor?Theirinterestinrelevantsubjects.C)Thequalityofeducationtoreceive.Theacademicvalueofthecourses.D)Theirchancesofgettingagoodjob.Whatdoestheauthorsayabouttheso-calledsoftsubjects?Theybenefitstudentsintheirfuturelife.Theybroadenstudents'rangeofinterests.Theyimprovestudents'communicationskills.Theyareessentialtostudents'healthygrowth.Whatkindofjobapplicantsdoemployerslookfor?Thosewhohaveastrongsenseofresponsibility.Thosewhoaregoodatsolvingpracticalproblems.Thosewhoarelikelytobecomeinnovativeleaders.Thosewhohavereceivedawell-roundededucation.Whatadvicedoestheauthorgivetocollegestudents?Seizeopportunitiestotaptheirpotential.Trytotakeavarietyofpracticalcourses.Preparethemselvesfordifferentjoboptions.Adoptaflexibleapproachtosolvingproblems.PassageTwoQuestions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Energyindependence.Ithasaniceringtoit,doesn'tit?Ifyouthinkso,you'renotalone,becauseenergyindependencehasbeenthedreamofAmericanpresidentsfordecades,andnevermoresothaninthepastfewyears,whenthemostrecentoilpriceshockhasbeenpartlyresponsibleforkickingoffthegreatrecession.“Energyindependence”anditsrhetorical(修辞的)companion“energysecurity”are,however,slipperyconceptsthatarerarelythoughtthrough.Whatisitwewantindependencefrom,exactly?Mostpeoplewouldprobablysaythattheywanttobeindependentfromimportedoil.Buttherearereasonsthatwebuyallthatoilfromelsewhere.Thefirstreasonisthatweneedittokeepoureconomyrunning.Yes,thereisatrickle(涓涓纟田流)ofbiofuel(生物燃料)available,andmoremaybecomeavailable,butmostbiofuelscauseeconomicwasteandenvironmentaldestruction.Second,Americanshavebasicallydecidedthattheydon'treallywanttoproducealltheirownoil.Theyvaluetheenvironmentalqualitytheypreserveovertheiroilimportsfromabroad.VastareasoftheUnitedStatesareoff-limitstooilexplorationandproductioninthenameofenvironmentalprotection.TowhatextentareAmericansreallywillingtoenduretheenvironmentalimpactsofdomesticenergyproductioninordertocutbackimports?Third,therearebenefitstotrade.Itallowsforeconomicefficiency,andwhenwebuythingsfromplacesthathavelowerproductioncoststhanwedo,webenefit.Andalthoughyoudon'treadaboutthismuch,theUnitedStatesisalsoalargeexporterofoilproducts,sellingabout2millionbarrelsofpetroleumproductsperdaytoabout90countries.ThereisnoquestionthattheUnitedStatesimportsagreatdealofenergyand,infact,reliesonthatsteadyflowtomaintainitseconomy.Whenthatflowisinterrupted,wefeelthepaininshortsuppliesandhigherprices.Atthesametime,wederivemassiveeconomicbenefitswhenwebuythemostaffordableenergyontheworld