2010年12月大学英语四级考试模拟试题及答案

2010年12月英语四级考试模拟试题及答案Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: Online Education. Y ou should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese:1. 目前网络教育形成热潮2. 我认为形成这股热潮的原因是……3. 我对网络教育的评价Online EducationPart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1.For questions 1-7, markY (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage;NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.The World in a Glass: Six Drinks That Changed HistoryTom Standage urges drinkers to savor the history of their favorite beverages along with the taste.The author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses (Walker & Company, June 2005), Standage lauds the libations that have helped shape our world from the Stone Age to the present day."The important drinks are still drinks that we enjoy today," said Standage, a technology editor at the London-based magazine the Economist. "They are relics (纪念物)of different historical periods still found in our kitchens."Take the six-pack, whose contents first fizzed at the dawn of civilization.BeerThe ancient Sumerians, who built advanced city-states in the area of present-day lraq, began fermenting(发酵)beer from barley at least 6,000 years ago."When people started agriculture the first crops they produced were barley or wheat. Y ou consume those crops as bread and as beer," Standage noted. "It’s the drink associated with the dawn of civilization. It’s as simple as that."Beer was popular with the masses from the beginning."Beer would have been something that a common person could have had in the house and made whenever they wanted," said Linda Bisson, a microbiologist at the Department of V iticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis."The guys who built the pyramids were paid in beer and bread," Standage added. "It was the defining drink of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Everybody drank it. Today it’s the drink of the working man, and it was then as well."WineWine may be as old or older than beer—though no one can be certain.Paleolithic humans probably sampled the first "wine" as the juice of naturally fermented wild grapes. But producing and storing wine proved difficult for early cultures."To make wine you have to have fresh grapes," said Bisson, the UC Davis microbiologist. "for beer you can just store grain and add water to process it at any time."Making wine also demanded pottery that could preserve the precious liquid."Wine may be easier to make [than beer], but it’s harder to store," Bisson added. "For most ancient cultures it would have been hard to catch [fermenting grape juice] as wine on its way to [becoming] vinegar."Such caveats and the expense of producing wine helped the beverage quickly gain more cachet(威望)than beer. Wine was originally associated with social elites and religious activities.Wine snobbery may be nearly as old as wine itself. Greeks and Romans produced many grades of wine for various social classes.The quest for quality became an economic engine and later drove cultural expansion."Once you had regions [like Greece and Rome] that could distinguish themselves as making good stuff, it gave them an economic boost," Bisson said. "Beer just wasn’t as special."SpiritsHard liquor, particularly brandy and rum, placated (安抚)sailors during the long sea voyages of the Age of Exploration, when European powers plied the seas during the 15th, 16th, and early 17th centuries.Rum played a crucial part of the triangular trade between Britain, Africa, and the North American colonies that once dominated the Atlantic economy.Standage also suggests that rum may have been more responsible than tea for the independence movement in Britain’s American colonies."Distilling molasses for rum was very important to the New England economy," he explained. "When the British tried to tax molasses it struck at the heart of the economy. The idea of ’no taxation without representation’originated with molasses and sugar. Only at the end did it refer to tea."Great Britain’s longtime superiority at sea may also owe a debt to its navy’s drink of rum-based choice, grog(掺水烈酒),which was made a compulsory beverage for sailors in the late 18th century."They would make grog with rum, water, and lemon or lime juice," Standage said. "This improved the taste but also reduced illness and scurvy. Fleet physicians thought that this had doubled the efficiency of the fleet."CoffeeThe story of modern coffee starts in the Arabian Peninsula, where roasted beans were first brewed around A.D. 1000. Sometime around the 15th century, coffee spread throughout the Arab world."In the Arab world, coffee rose as an alternative to alcohol, and coffeehouses as alternatives to taverns(酒馆)—both of which are banned by Islam," Standage said.When coffee arrived in Europe it was similarly hailed as an "anti-alcohol" that was quite welcome during the Age of Reason in the 18th century."Just at the point when the Enlightenment is getting going, here’s a drink that sharpens the mind," Standage said. "The coffeehouse is the perfect venue(聚会地点)to get together and exchange ideas and information. The French Revolution started in a coffeehouse."Coffee also fuelled commerce and had strong links to the rituals of business that remain to the present day. Lloyds of London and the London Stock Exchange were both originally coffeehouses.TeaTea became a daily drink in China around the third century A.D.Standage says tea played a leading role in the expansion of imperial and industrial might in Great Britain many centuries later. During the 19th century, the East India Company enjoyed a monopoly on tea exports from China."Englishmen around the world could drink tea, whether they were a colonial administrator in India or a London businessman," Standage said. "The sun never set on the British Empire—which meant that it was always teatime somewhere."As the Industrial Revolution of 18th and 19th centuries gained steam, tea provided some of the fuel. Factory workers stayed alert during long, monotonous shifts thanks to welcome tea breaks.The beverage also had unintended health benefits for rapidly growing urban areas. "When you start packing people together in cities it’s helpful to have a water-purification technology like tea," which was brewed with boiling water, Standage explained.Coca-colaIn 1886 pharmacist John Stith Pemberton sold about nine Coca-colas a day.Today his soft drink is one of the world’s most valuable brands-sold in more countries than the United Nations has members."It may be the second most widely understood phrase in the world after ’OK’," Standage said.The drink has become a symbol of the United States—love it or hate it. Standage notes that East Germans quickly reached for Cokes when the Berlin Wall fell, while Thai Muslims poured it out into the streets to show disdain for the U.S. in the days leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq."Coca-cola encapsulates what happened in the 20th century: the rise of consumer capitalism and the emergence of America as a superpower," Standage said. "It’s globalization in a bottle."While Coke may not always produce a smile, a survey by the Economist magazine (Standage’s employer), suggests that the soft drink’s presence is a great indicator of happycitizens. When countries were polled for happiness, as defined by a United Nations index, high scores correlated with sales of Coca-Cola."It’s not because [Coke] makes people happy, but because [its] sales happen in the dynamic free-market economies that tend to produce happy people," Standage said.1. The passage gives a brief description of the content of a new book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses.2. The ancient Sumerians began fermenting beer from barley at least 6,000 years ago.3. Today beer is the drink of the working man, which was not the case before.4. Greeks probably sampled the first "wine" as the juice of naturally fermented wild grapes.5. The caveats and the expense of producing wine helped it quickly gain more cachet than beer.6. Standage suggests that tea may have been more responsible than rum for the independence movement in Britain’s American colonies.7. Coffee is the best drink according to Standage.8. Sometime around the 15th century coffee spread throughout ________.9. During the 19th century, the monopoly on tea exports from China is ________.10. Coca-Cola has become a symbol of ________.Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)Section ADirections: 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 2 with a single line through the centre.11. [A] They want to go downtown. [C] He doesn’t know where to park the car.[B] He wants to go to the park, but she doesn’t. [D] He wants to find out where the park is.12. [A] Company and customer. [C] Teacher and student’s parent.[B] Repairman and customer. [D]Wife and husband.13. [A] She didn’t like working in a company. [C] She was not good at doing business.[B] She disliked machines. [D] She didn’t like accounting.14. [A] He has some money to buy a new car.[B] He fails in borrowing enough money from the woman.[C] He will spend much money on his house.[D] He wants to buy a new house and a new car.15. [A] He had much trouble with his pronunciation.[B] He had much trouble with his pronunciation.[C] No one can understand him.[D] He knew nothing about English.16. [A] Frustrated. [C] Excited.[B] Joyful. [D] Sorry.17. [A] He doesn’t like that kind of food. [C] He doesn’t intend to buy them.[B] The woman can do some cooking herself. [D] The woman should stop looking at him.18. [A] Mrs. Fisher wants to go abroad. [C] Mrs. Fisher has no family.[B] Mrs. Fisher is in hospital. [D] There are three people in Mrs. Fisher’s family. Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19. [A] A study group. [C] The man’s painting.[B] A history exam. [D] A professional artist.20. [A] Making a gift for the woman. [C] Discussing his career.[B] Working on a class assignment. [D] Preparing to teach an art class.21. [A] By listening to her father. [C] By talking to the studio art instructor.[B] By working for an artist. [D] By taking several art courses.22. [A] Take a history exam. [C] Meet some classmates.[B] Go to an art exhibit. [D] Help the man with his painting.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23. [A] A famous photographer. [C] Photographic equipment used in the 1800s.[B] Photographic processes in the 1800s. [D] A new museum.24. [A] Her subject’s home. [C] Her subject’s personalit y.[B] Her subject’s social status. [D] Her subject’s role in history.25. [A] Children. [C] Well-known people.[B] Historical scenes. [D] Landscapes.Section BDirections: 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 2 with a single line through the center.Passage oneQuestions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. [A] Have to buy a special electronic ticket.[B] Have to travel a long way to visit the university.[C] Need an expensive device designed especially for the museum.[D] Need a computer linked to a telephone.27. [A] Provide a place for computer artists to show their work.[B] Sell the art works more easily.[C] Save space of museums for other purposes.[D] Provide more fun for the artists.28. [A] It helps a computer artist to record his pictures electronically.[B] It helps a computer artist to send his pictures to others.[C] It helps a computer artist to print pictures on paper.[D] It helps a computer artist to connect his computer to the art museum.Passage TwoQuestions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.29. [A] 4 years. [C] 8 years.[B] 5 years. [D] at least 9 years.30. [A] Biology. [C] Philosophy.[B] Chemistry. [D] Medicine.31. [A] Each student must pass a national examination.[B] Students who do best in the studies have a greater chance.[C] They can seek to enter a number of medical schools.[D] There are good chances to gain the entrance.Passage ThreeQuestions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.32. [A] Guarding the coasts of the United States. [C] Guiding people along the coast.[B] Being part of the United States Navy. [D] Protecting people from enemy attacks.33. [A] Enforcing laws controlling navigation, shipping, immigration and fishing.[B] Enforcing laws affecting the privately-owned boats in the U.S.[C] Searching for missing boats and rescuing people.[D] Training people to be good swimmers along the beach.34. [A] 17,000 [C] 70,000.[B] 1,700. [D] 7,000.35. [A] Dangerous. [C] Exciting.[B] Hard. [D] Dull.Section CDirections: 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 numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blank, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.An old friend from abroad, whom I was expecting to stay with me, (36) ________ from the airport to tell me that he had arrived. I was still at the office at the time, but I had made (37)________ for his arrival. After explaining where my new flat was, I told him that I had left the key under a piece of stone near the door. As I was likely to be at home rather late, I advised him to go into the (38) ________ and help himself to food and drink.Two hours later, my friend telephoned me from the flat. At the moment, he said, he was listening to some of my (39) ________ after having just had a truly (40 ) ________ meal. He had found a pan on the gas (41) ________ and fried two eggs and had helped himself to some cold chicken from the (42) ________. Now he said, he was drinking a glass of orange (43) ________ and he hoped I would join him. (44) ________________________________________ , he answered that he had not been able to find the key under the piece of stone, (45)________________________________________. I listened to all this in astonishment. (46)________________________________________.Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)Section ADirections: 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 bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.It seems you always forget—your reading glasses when you are rushing to work, your coat when you are going to the cleaners, your credit card when you are shopping...Such absent-mindedness may be 47 to you; now British and German scientists are developing memory glasses that record everything the 48 sees.The glasses can play back memories later to help the wearer remember things they have forgotten such as where they left their keys. And the glasses also 49 the user to "label" items so that information can be used later on. The wearer could walk around an office or a factory identifying certain 50 by pointing at them. Objects indicated are then given a 51 label on a screen inside the glasses that the user then fills in.It could be used in 52 plants by mechanics looking to identify machine parts or by electricians wiring a 53 device.A spokesman for the project said: "A car mechanic for 54 could find at a glance where a part on a certain car model is so that it can be identified and repaired. For the motorist the system could 55 accident black spots or dangers on the road."In other cases the glasses could be worn by people going on a guided tour, 56 points of interest or by people looking at panoramas where all the sites could be identified.[A] allow[B] instance[C] blank[D] industrial[E] frustrating[F] items[G] indicating[H] highlight [I] user[J] complicated[K] white[L] annoying[M] successful[N] articles[O] simpleSection BDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.Passage OneQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.You’re busy filling out the application form for a position you really need. Let’s assume you once actually completed a couple of years of college work or even that you completed your degree. Isn’t it tempting to lie just a little, to claim on the form that your diploma represents a Harvard degree? Or that you finished an extra couple of years back at State University? More and more people are turning to utter deception like this to land their job or to move ahead in their careers,for personnel officers, like most Americans, value degrees from famous schools. A job applicant may have a good education anyway, but he or she assumes that chances of being hired are better with a diploma from a well-known university.Registrars at most well-known colleges say they deal with deceitful claims like these at the rate of about one per week. Personnel officers do check up on degrees listed on application forms, then. If it turns out that an applicant is lying, most colleges are reluctant to accuse the applicant directly. One Ivy League school calls them "impostors(骗子)"; another refers to them as "special cases". One well-known West Coast school, in perhaps the most delicate phrase of all, says that these claims are made by "no such people". To avoid outright(彻底的)lies, some job-seekers claim that they "attending" means being dismissed after one semester. It may be that "being associated with" a college means that the job-seeker visited his younger brother for a football weekend. One school that keeps records of false claims says that the practice dates back at least to the turn of the century—that’s when they began keeping records, anyhow. If you don’t want to lie or even stretch the truth, there are companies that will sell you a phony diploma.One company, with offices in New York and on the West Coast, will put your name on a diploma from any number of nonexistent colleges. The price begins at around twenty dollars for a diploma from "Smoot State University". The prices increase rapidly for a degree from the "University of Purdue". As there is no Smoot State and the real school in Indiana is properly called Purdue University, the prices seem rather high for one sheet of paper.57. The main idea of this passage is that ________ .[A] employers are checking more closely on applicants now[B] lying about college degrees has become a widespread problem[C] college degrees can now be purchased easily[D] employers are no longer interested in college degrees58. According to the passage, "special cases" refers to cases that ________.[A] students attend a school only part-time[B] students never attended a school they listed on their application[C] students purchase false degrees from commercial firms[D] students attended a famous school采集者退散59. We can infer from the passage that ________ .[A] performance is a better judge of ability than a college degree[B] experience is the best teacher[C] past work histories influence personnel officers more than degrees do[D] a degree from a famous school enables an applicant to gain advantage over others in job competition60. This passage implies that ________ .[A] buying a false degree is not moral[B] personnel officers only consider applicants from famous schools[C] most people lie on applications because they were dismissed from school[D] society should be greatly responsible for lying on applications61. The word "phony" (Line 13, Para. 2) means ________ .[A] thorough [C] false[B] ultimate [D] decisivePassage TwoQuestions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.Material culture refers to what can be seen, held, felt, used—what a culture produces. Examining a culture’s tools and technology can tell us about the group’s history and way of life. Similarly, research into the material culture of music can help us to understand the music culture. The most vivid body of material culture in it, of course, is musical instruments. We cannot hear for ourselves the actual sound of any musical performance before the 1870s when the phonographwas invented, so we rely on instruments for important information about music cultures in the remote past and their development. Here we have two kinds of evidence: instruments well preserved and instruments pictured in art. Through the study of instruments, as well as paintings, written documents, and so on, we can explore the movement of music from the Near East to China over a thousand years ago, or we can outline the spread of Near Eastern influence to Europe that resulted in the development of most of the instruments in the symphony orchestra.Sheet music or printed music, too, is material culture. Scholars once defined folk music cultures as those in which people learn and sing music by ear rather than from print, but research shows mutual influence among oral and written sources during the past few centuries in Europe, Britain, and America. Printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song, yet they stimulate people to create new and different songs. Besides, the ability to read music notation has a far-reaching effect on music and, when it becomes widespread, on the music culture as a whole.One more important part of music’s material culture should be singled out: the influence of the electronic media—radio, record player, tape recorder, television, and videocassette, with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This is all part of the "information revolution", a twentieth-century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modern nations; they have affected music cultures all over the globe.62. Research into the material culture of a nation is of great importance because ________ .[A] it helps produce new cultural tools and technology[B] it can reflect the development of the nation[C] it helps understand the nation’s past and present[D] it can demonstrate the nation’s civilization63. It can be learned from this passage that ________ .[A] the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese music[B] Near Eastern music had an influence on the development of the instruments in the symphony orchestra[C] the development of the symphony shows the mutual influence of Eastern and Western music[D] the musical instruments in the symphony orchestra were developed on the basis of Near Eastern music64. According to the author, music notation is important because ________ .[A] it has a great effect on the music culture as more and more people are able to read it[B] it tends to standardize folk songs when it is used by folk musicians[C] it is the printed version of standardized folk music[D] it encourages people to popularize printed versions of songs65. It can be concluded from the passage that the introduction of electronic media into the world of music ________ .[A] has brought about an information revolution[B] has speeded up the appearance of a new generation of computers[C] has given rise to new forms of music culture[D] has led to the transformation of traditional musical instruments66. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?[A] Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.[B] Music cannot be passed on to future generations unless it is recorded.[C] Folk songs cannot be spread far unless they are printed on music sheets.[D] The development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.Part V Cloze (15 minutes)Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D] on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.Today, most countries in the world have canals. Many countries have built canals near the coast, and parallel 67 the coast. Even in the twentieth century, goods can be moved more cheaply by boat than by any other 68 of transport. These 69 make it possible for boats to travel 70 ports along the coast without being 71 to the dangers of the open. Some canals, such as the Suez and the Panama, save ships weeks of time by making their 72 a thousand miles shorter. Other canals permit boats to reach cities that are not 73 on the coast; still other canals 74 lands where there is too much water, help to 75 fields where there is not enough water, and 76 water power forfactories and mills. The size of a canal 77 on the kind of boats going through it. The canal must be wide enough to permit two of the largest boats using it to 78 each other easily. It must be deep enough to leave about two feet of water 79 the keel of the largest boat using the canal. When the planet Mars was first 80 through a telescope, people saw that the round disk of the planet was crises-crossed by a 81 of strange blue-green lines. These were called "canals" 82 they looked the same as canals on earth 83 are viewed from an airplane. However, scientists are now 84 that the Martian phenomena are really not canals. The photographs 85 from space-ships have helped us to 86 the truth about the Martian "canals".67. [A] off [B] with [C] to [D] by68. [A] way [B] means [C] method [D] approach69. [A] waterways [B] waterfronts [C] channels [D] paths70. [A] among [B] between [C] in [D] to71. [A] revealed [B] exposed [C] opened [D] shown72. [A] trip [B] journey [C] voyage [D] route73. [A] lain [B] stationed [C] set [D] located74. [A] escape [B] drain [C] dry [D] leak75. [A] water [B] wet [C] soak [D] irrigate76. [A] furnish [B] afford [C] offer [D] give77. [A] focuses [B] bases [C] depends [D] takes78. [A] cross [B] pass [C] move [D] advance79. [A] down [B] beneath [C] below [D] off80. [A] studied [B] researched [C] surveyed [D] observed81. [A] plenty [B] number [C] deal [D] supply82. [A] although [B] because [C] so [D] if83. [A] that [B] where [C] when [D] as84. [A] exact [B] definite [C] certain [D] decisive85. [A] held [B] taken [C] got [D] developed。