大学英语四级考试真题

2015年6月大学英语四级考试真题Writing(30minutes)(请于正式开考后半小时内完成该部分，之后将进行听力考试 )Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaybasedonthepicturebelow.Youshouldstartyouressaywithabriefdescriptionofthepictureandthemcommentonthiskindofmodernlife.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan180words.THISMODERNLIFE:WORKHOMEPLAYSLEEP请用黑色签字笔在答题卡1指定区域作答作文题，在试题册上的作答无效。ListeningComprehension(30minutes)SectionADirections:Inthissection,youwillbear8shortconversationsand2longconversations.Attheendofeachconversation,oneormorequestionswillbeaskedaboutwhatwassaid.Boththeconversationandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Aftereachquestionstherewillbeapause.Duringthepause,youmustreadthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD),anddecidewhichisthebestanswer.ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswersheet1withasinglelinethroughthecenter.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答A)HeispleasedtositonthecommitteeC)HewilltellthewomanhisdecisionlaterB)HeiswillingtoofferthewomanahandD)HewouldliketobecomeaclubmemberA)TheirplannedtriptoVancouverisobviouslyoverpricedB)TheyshouldborrowaguidebookinsteadofbuyingoneC)TheguidebooksinthelibraryhavethelatestinformationD)ThelibrarycanhelporderguidebooksaboutVancouverA)HeregretshavingtakenthehistorycourseHefindslittleinterestsinhistorybooksHehastroublefinishinghisreadingassignmentsHehasdifficultyinwritingtheweeklybookreportA)ThemanhadbetterchooseanotherrestaurantThenewrestaurantisaperfectplacefordatingThenewrestaurantcaughtherfancyimmediatelyThemanhasgoodtasteinchoosingtherestaurantA)HehasbeenlookingforwardtospingC)Hewillcleanthewoman’sbootsforspringC)HehasbeenwaitingforthewintersaleD)HewillhelpthewomanputthingsawayA)Atatailor’sC)InaclothstoreAtBob’shomeD)InatheatreA)HisguestsfavorsTibetandrinksC)MineralwaterisgoodforhealthHiswaterisquiteextraordinaryD)PlainwaterwillservethepurposeA)ReporttheresultofadiscussionC)SubmitanimportantdocumentationRaisesomeenvironmentalissuesD)ReviseanenvironmentalreportQuestions9to12arebasedontheconversationyoujustheardA)TheypollutethesoilusedtocoverthemTheyareharmfultonearbyneighborhoodsTherubbishinthemtakeslongtodissolveThegastheyemitisextremelypoisonousA)GrowingpopulationsC)ChangedeatinghabitsPackagingmaterialsD)LowerproductioncostA)BysavingenergyC)ByreducingpoisonouswastesByusinglessaluminumD)BymakingthemostofmaterialsA)WearerunningoutofnaturalresourcessoonOnlycombinedeffortscanmakeadifferenceThewasteproblemwilleventuallyhurtallofusAllofuscanactuallybenefitfromrecyclingQuestions13to15arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.A)MiamiC)BellinghamVancouverD)BostonA)Togetinformationonone-wayticketstoCanadaToinquireaboutthepriceof “Supersaver”seatsTogetadviceonhowtoflyascheaplyaspossibleToinquireabouttheshortestroutetodrivehomeA)JoinatouristgroupC)AvoidtripsinpublicholidaysChooseamajorairlineD)BookticketsasearlyaspossibleSectionBDirections:Inthissection,youwillhear3shortpassages.Attheendofeachpassage,youwillhearsomequestions.Boththepassageandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmustchoosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarketedA),B),C)andD).ThenmarkedthecorrespondletteronAnswersheetIwithasinglelinethroughthecentre.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 1上作答。PassageoneQuestions16to18arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.A)TherearemysteriousstoriesbehindhisworksTherearemanymisunderstandingsabouthimHisworkshavenomatchworldwided)HispersonalhistoryislittleknownA)HemovedtoStratford-on-AvoninhischildhoodHefailedtogobeyondgrammarschoolHewasamemberofthetowncouncilHeonceworkedinawell-knowactingcompanyA)WritersofhistimehadnomeanstoprotecttheirworksPossiblesourcesofcluesabouthimwerelostinafireHisworkswereadaptedbeyondrecognitionPeopleofhistimehadlittleinterestinhimPassageTwoQuestions19-21arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheardA)ItshowsyouhavebeenignoringyourhealthItcanseriouslyaffectyourthinkingprocessItisanearlywarningofsomeillnessItisasymptomoftwomuchpressureA)ReduceourworkloadC)UsepainkillersforreliefControlourtemperD)AvoidmaskingsymptomA)LyingdownandhavingsomesleepC)GoingoutforawalkRubbingandpressingone’sbackD)ListeningtolightmusicPassageThreeQuestions22to25arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.A)DependingheavilyonloansC).Spendingbeyondone’smeansHavingnobudgetplansatallD).LeavingnoroomforlargebillsA)ManyofthemcanbecutC)TheirpaymentcannotbedelayedAllofthemhavetobecoveredD)TheyeatupmostofthefamilyincomeA)RentahouseinsteadofbuyingoneC)MakeaconversationplanB)DiscusstheprobleminthefamilyD)MovetoacheaperplaceA)FinancialissuesplaguingafamilyC)FamilybudgetproblemsandsolutionsB)DifficultyinmakingbothendsmeetD)NewwaystoboostfamilyincomeSectionCDirections:inthissection,youwillhearapaasagethreetimes.Whenthepassageisreadforthefirsttime,youshouldlistencarefullyforitsgeneralidea.Whenthepassageisreadforthesecondtime,youarerequiredtofillintheblankswiththeexactwordsyouhavejustheard.Finally,whenthepassageisreafforthethirdtime,youshouldcheckwhatyouhavewritten.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。PerhapsbecausegoingtocollegeissomuchapartoftheAmericandream,manypeoplegoforno(26) reason.Somegobecausetheirparentsecpectit,othersbecauseit’wshattheirfriendsare,there’sthebeliefthatacollegedegreewill(27) ensureagoodjobandhighpay.Somestudents(28) throughforyears,attendingclasses,orskipping(逃课)themasthecasemaybe,readingonlywhatcan'beavoided,lookingforless(29) courses,andneverbeingtouchedorchangedinanyimportantway.Forafewofthesepeople,collegeprovidesno(30) ，yetbecauseofparentalorpeerpressure,theycannotvoluntarilyleave.Theystoptryinginthehopethattheirteacherswillmakethedecisionforthemby(31) them.Toputitbluntly(直截了当地 )，unlessyou’rewillingtomakeyourcollegeyearscount,youmightbe(32) doingsomethingelse.Noteveryoneshouldattendcollege,norshouldeveryonewhodoesattendbeginrightafterhighschool.Manycollegestudents(33) takingayearorsooff.Ayearoutintheworldhelpssomepeopleto(34) theirprioritiesandgoals.Ifyou’rereallygoingtogetsomethingoutofgoingtocollege,youhavetomakeitmeansomething,andtodothatyoumusthavesomeideawhyyou’rethere,whatyouhopetogetoutofit,and(35) evenwhatyouhopetobecome.PartIIIReadingComprehension(40minutes)SectionADirection:Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.Youarerequiredtoselectonewordforeachblankfromalistofchoicesgiveninawordbankfollwingthepassage.Readthepassagethroughcarefullybeforemakingchoices.Eachchoieinthebankisidentificatedbyaletter.PleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitemonAnswereSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmorethanonce.Question36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage.It’sourguiltypleasure:WatchingTVisthemostcommoneverydayactivity,afterworkandsleep,inmanypartsoftheworld.AmericansviewfivehoursofTVeachday,andwhileweknowthatspendingsomuchtimesitting36canleadtoobesity（肥月半症）andotherdiseases,researchershavenowquantifiedjusthow___37___beingacouchpotatocanbe.Inananalysisofdatafromeightlarge___38___publishedstudies,aHarvard-ledgroupreportedintheJournaloftheAmericanMedicalAssociationthatforeverytwohoursperdayspentchannel___39___,theriskofdevelopingType2diabetes储尿病）rose20%overyears,theriskofheartdiseaseincreased15%overa___40___,andtheoddsofdyingpermaturely___41___13%duringaseven-yearfollow-up.Allofthese___42 arelinkedtoalackofphysicalexercise.Butcomparedwithothersedentary伙坐的）activities,likeknitting,viewingTVmaybeespecially__43___atpromotingunhealthyhabits.Forone,thesheernumberofhourswepasswatchingTVdwarfsthetimewespendonanythingelse.Andotherstudieshavefoundthatwatchingadsforbeerandpopcornmaymakeyoumorelikelyto___44___them.Evenso,theauthorsadmitthattheydidn’ctomparedifferentsedentaryactivitiesto___45___whetherTVwatchingwaslinkedtoagreaterriskofdiabetes,heartdiseaseorclearlydeathcomparedwith,say,reading.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。A)climbedI)previouslyB)consemeJ)resumeC)decadeK)sufferedD)determineL)sufferingE)effectIveM)termF)harmfulN)terminalsG)outcomesO)twistingH)passivelySectionBDirections:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattavchedtoit.Eachstatementcontainsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwithaletter.AnswerthequestionbymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2Essay-grandingSoftwareOfficersProfessorsaBreakImaginetakingacollegeexam,andinsteadofhandinginabluebookandgettingagradefromaprofessoerafewweekslater,clickingthe“sendb”uttonwhenyouaredoneandreceivingagradebackinstantly,youressayscoredbyasoftwareprogram.Andthen,insteadofbeingdonewiththeexam,imaginethatthesystemwouldimmediatelyletyourewritethetesttotrytoimproveyourgrade.Edx,thenonprofitenterprisefoundedbyHarvardandtheMassachusettsInstituteofThnology（MIT）tooffercoursesontheInternet,hasjustintroducedsuchasystemandwillmakeitsautomated晅动的）softwareavailablefreeontheWebtoanyinstitutioonsthatwantstouseit.Thesoftwareusesartificialintelligencetogradestudentessaysandshortwrittenanswers,freeingprofessorsforothertasks.Thenewservicewillbringtheeducationalconsortium（联盟）intoagrowingconflictovertheroleoftheautomationeducation.Altoughautomatedgradingsystemsformultiple-choiceandtrue-falsetestsarenowwidespread,theuseofartificialintelligencetechnologytogradeessayanswershasnotyetprovidedwidespreadacceptancebyeducationsandhasmanycritics.AnantAgarwal,anelectricalengineerwhoispresidentofEdx,predictedthattheinstantgradingsoftwarewouldbeausefulteachingtool,enablingstudentstotaketestsandwriteessaysoverandoverandimprovethequalityoftheiranswers.Hesaidthetechnologywouldofferdistinctadvantagesoverthetraditionalclassroomsystem,wherestudentsoftenwaitdaysorweeksforgrades.“Thiesrsahugevalueinlearningwithinstantfeedback,”said,“Studentasretellingustheylearnmuchbetterwithinstantfeedback. ”Butskeptics（怀疑者）saytheautomatedsystemisnomatterforliveteachers.Onelongtimecritic,LesPerelman，hasdrawnnationalattentionseveraltimesforputtingtogethernonsenseessaysthathavefooledsoftwaregradingprogramsintogivinghighmarks.Hehasalsobeenhighlycriticalofstudiesclaimingthatthesoftwarecompareswelltohumangrades.Heisamongagroupofeducatorswholastmonthbegancirculatingapetition（呼吁）opposingautomatedassessmentsoftware.Thegroup,whichcallsitselfProfessionalsAgainstMachineScoringofStudentEssaysinHigh-StakesAssessment,hascollectednearly2,000signatures,includingsomefromfamouspeoplelikeNoamChomsky.“Let’sfacetherealitiesofautomaticessayscoring, ”thegroustatementreadsinpart. “Computerscannot‘reamde’as.uTreheycannottheessentialsofeffectivewrittencommunication:accuracy,reasoning,adequacyofevidence,goodsense,ethical（伦理）position,convincingargument,meaningfulorganization,andclarity,amongothers. ”ButEdXexpertsitssoftwaretobewidelybyschoolsanduniversities.ItoffersfreeonlineclassesfromHarvard,MITandtheUniversityofCalifornia-Berkeley;thisfall,itwilladdclassesfromWellesley,GeogetownandtheUniversityofTexas.Inall,12universitiesparticipateinEdX,whichofferscertificatesforcoursecompletionandhassaidthatitplanstocontinuetoexpandnextyear,includingaddinginternationalschools.TheEdXassessmenttoolrequireshumanteachers,orgraders100essayoressayquestions.Thesystemthenusesavarietyofmachine-learningtechniquestotrainitselftobeabletogradeanynumberofessaysoranswersautomaticallyandalmostinstantly.Thesoftwarewillassignagradedependingonthescoringsystemcreatedbytheteacher,whetheritisalettergradeornumerical数字的()rank.Edxisnotthefirsttousetheautomatedassessmenttechnology,whichdatestoearlycomputersinthe1960s.thereisnowarangeofcompaniesofferingcommercialprogramstogradewrittentestanswers,andfourstates—Louisiana,NorthDakota,UtahandWestVirginia—areusingsomeformofthetechnologyinsecondschools.Afifth,Indiana,hasexperimentedwithit.Insomecasesthesoftwareisusedasareader”,tocheckthereliabilityofthehumgarnaders.ButthegrowinginfluenceoftheEdxconsortiumtosetstandardsislikelytogivethetechnologyaboost.OnTuesday,StanfordannouncedthatitwouldworkwithEdXtodevelopajointeducationalsystemthatwillmakeuseoftheautomatedassessmenttechnology.Twostart-ups,CourseraandUdacity,recentlyfoundedbyStanfordfacultymemberstocreate“massiveopenonlinecourses,o”rMOOCs,arealsocommittedtoautomatedassessmentsystemsbecauseofthevalueofinstantfeedback.“itallowsstudentstogetimmediatefeedbackontheirwork,sothatlearningturnsintoagame,withstudentsnaturallygravitating（吸引）towardresubmittingtheworkuntiltheygetitright,”saidDaphneKoller,acomputerscientistandafounderofCoursera.LastyeartheHewlettFoundation,agrant-makingorganizationsetupbyoneoftheHewlett-Packardfoundersandhiswife,sponsoredtwo$100,000Prizesaimedatimprovingsoftwarethatgradesessayandshortanswers.Morethan150teamsenteredeachcategory.AwinnerofoneoftheHewlettcontents,VikParuchurtwashiredbyEdXtohelpdesignitsassessmentsoftware.“Oneofourfocusistohelpkidslearnhowtothinkcritically,saidVuchic,aprogramofficerattheHewlettFoundation.“It’sprobablyimpossibletodothatwithmultiple-choicetests”Th.echallengeisthatthisrequireshumangraders,andsotheycostalotmoreandtheytakealotofmoretime.Mark,aprofessorattheUniversityofAkroninOhio,supervisedtheHewlettFoundation’scontestonautomatedessayscoringandwroteapaperabouttheexperiment.Inhisview,thetechnology—thoughimperfect—hasaplaceineducationalsettings.Withincreasinglargeclass,itisimpossibleformostteacherstogivestudentsmeaningfulfeedbackonwritingassignments,hesaidPlus,henoted,criticsofthetechnologyhavetendedtocomefromthenationbestuniversities,wherethelevelofteachingismuchbetterthanatmostschools.“Oftentheycomeofrmveryfamousinstitutionswhere,infact,theydoamuchbetterjobofprovidingfeedbackthanamachineovercould,”Dr.Shermissaid.“Thereseemstobealackofappreciationofwhatisactuallygoingonintherealworld. ”注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。Someprofessorsineducationarecollectingsignaturestovoicetheiroppositiontoautomatedessaygrading.usingsoftwaretogradestudentse’ssaysavesteacherstimeforotherwork.theHewlettcontestsaimatimprovingessaygradingsoftware.Thoughtheautomatedgradingsystemiswidelyusedinmultiple-choicetests,automatedessaygradingisstillcriticizedbymanyeducators.Somepeopledon’tbelievethesoftwaregradingsystemcandoasgoodajobashumangraders.Criticsofautomatedessayscoringdonotseemtoknowthetruerealitiesinlesesfamousuniversity.Criticsarguemanyimportantaspectsofeffectivewritingcannotmeasuredbycomputerratingprograms.Asclasssizegrows,mostteachersareunabletogivestudentvaluablecommentsastohowtoimprovetheirwriting.Theautomatedassessmenttechnologyissometimesusedtodoublechecktheworkofhumangraders.Studentsfindinstantfeedbackhelpstheirlearningconsiderably.SectionCDirections:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecenter.PassageOneQuestion56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Acrosstherichworld,well-educatedpeopleincreasinglyworklongerthantheless-skilled.Some65%ofAmericanmenaged62-74withaprofessionaldegreeareintheworkforce,comparedwith32%ofmenwithonlyahigh-schoolcertificate.Thisgapispartofadeepeningdividebetweenthewell-educationwelloffandtheunskilledpoor.Rapidtechnologicaladvancehasraisedtheincomesofthehighlyskilledwhilesqueezingthoseoftheunskilled.Theconsequences,forindividualandsociety,areprofound.Theworldisfacingasastonishingriseinthenumberofoldpeople,andtheywilllivelongerthaneverbefore.Overthenext20yearstheglobalpopulationofthoseaged65ormorewillalmostdouble,from600milliontobillion.Theexperienceofthe20thcentury,whengreaterlongevity（长寿）translatedintomoreyearsinretirementratherthanmoreyearsatwork,haspersuadedmanyobserversthatthisshiftwillleadtoslowereconomicgrowth,whiletheswellingranksofpensionerswillcreategovernmentbudgetproblems.Butthenotionofasharpdivisionbetweentheworkingyoungandtheidleoldmissesanewtrend,thegrowinggapbetweentheskilledandtheunskilled.Employmentratesarefallingamongyoungerunskilledpeople,whereasolderskilledfolkareworkinglonger.ThedivideismostextremeinAmerica,wherewell-educatedbaby-boomers（二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人 ）areputtingoffretirementwhilemanyless-skilledyoungerpeoplehavedroppedoutoftheworkforce.Thateventhebetter-offmustworklongertohaveacomfortableretirement.Butthechangingnatureofworkalsoplaysabigrole.Payhasrisensharplyforthehighlyeducated,andthosepeoplecontinuetoreaprichrewardsintooldagebecausethesedaystheeducatedelderlyaremoreproductivethantheprecedinggeneration.Technologicalchangemaywellreinforcethatshift:theskillsthatcomplementcomputers,frommanagementknowhowtocreativity.Donotnecessarilydeclinewithage.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。whatishappeningintheworkforceinrichcountries?youngerpeoplearereplacingtheelderlywell-educatedpeopletendtoworklongerunemploymentratesarerisingyearafteryearpeoplewithnocollegedegreedonoteasilyfindworkwhathashelpeddeepenthedividebetweenthewell-offandpoor?LongerlifeexpectanciesProfoundchangesintheworkforcerapidtechnologicaladvance.Agrowingnumberofwell-graduated.whatdomanyobserverspredictinviewoftheexperienceofthe20thcentury?Economicgrowthwillslowdown.Governmentbudgetswillincrease.MorepeoplewilltrytopursuehighereducationTherewillbemorecompetitioninthejobmarket.WhatistheresultofpolicychangesinEuropeancountries?A.Unskilledworkersmaychoosetoretireearly.morepeoplehavetoreceivein-servicetraining.Evenwealthypeoplemustworklongertolivecomfortablyinretirement.Peoplemaybeabletoenjoygenerousdefined-benefitsfrompensionplans.Whatischaracteristicofworkinthe21stcentury?Computerswilldomorecomplicatedwork.Morewillbetakenbytheeducatedyoung.Mostjobstobedonewillbecreativeones.Skillsarehighlyvaluedregardlessofage.PassageTwoQuestions61-65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Someoftheworld’smostsignificantproblemsnevheitrexamplecomesfromagriculture.Foodriotsandhungermakenews.Butthetrendlyingbehindthesemattersisrarelytalkedabout.Thisisthedeclineinthegrowthinyieldsofsomeoftheworld’msajornewstudybytheUniversityofMinnesotaandMcGillUniversityinMontreallooksatwhere,andhowfar,thisdeclineisoccurring.Theauthorstakeavastnumberofdatapointsforthefourmostimportantcrops:rice,wheatcornandsoybeans大豆）.Theyfindthatonbetween24%and39%ofallharvestedareas,theimprovementinyieldsthattoodplacebeforethe1980ssloweddowninthe1990sand2000s.Therearetwoworryingfeaturesoftheslowdown.Oneisthatithasbeenparticularlysharpintheworld 'smosIpOpUlooisntries,IndiaandChina.Theirabilitytofeedthemselveshasbeenanimportantsourceofrelativestabilitybothwithinthecountriesandonworldfoodmarkets.Thatself-sufficiencycannotbetakenforgrantedifyieldscontinuetoslowdownorreverse.Second,yieldgrowthhasbeenlowerinwheatandricethanincornandsoyabeans.Thisisproblematicbecausewheatandricearemoreimportantasfoods,accountingforaroundhalfofallcaloriesconsumed.Cornandsoyabeansaremoreimportantasfeedgrains.Theauthorsnotethat“wehavepreferentiallyfocusedourcropimprovementeffortsonfeedinganimalsandcarsratherthanoncropsthatfeedpeopleandarethebasisoffoodsecurityinmuchof