16年12月四级真题答案
2016年12月大学英语四级答案
参考答案WRITINGStated-owned business or Joint ventureUpon graduation,virtually all college students will confront the problem of the career choice，which is truly a tough choice.Students'opinions differ greatly on this issue.Some hold that there is no better way to get a decent job than working in a stated-owned business which will guarantee my life after retirement,but others take the attitude that a joint venture outweighs any other jobs as it may provide higher income for employees.As to myself,I prefer the latter view.A joint venture,especially ahigh-salary joint venture,exerts a tremendous fascination on a great number of people,with no exception to me.Although it might be impossible to make sure my retirement pension is good enough,high-salary is exactly what I need just now.In my view,our career choices largely depend on where we want to stay for the rest of life.For me,metropolis is the place where I can grasp loads of opportunities and achieve my personal dreams.As I hold the view that live in the moment,not the future,and also in order to finance myself in some aspects such as the transportation,the house-renting,or social activities,a joint venture can satisfy my needs for the consumption I mentioned above.In short,a joint venture is the first and only consideration in my choice of career.Listening ComprehensionSection A1.[A]2.[B]3.[B]4.[C]5.[D]6.[C]7.[A]Section B8.[D]9.[B]10.[D]11.[C]12.[D]13.[A]14.[C]15.[B] Section C16.[D]17.[C]18.[B]19.[C]20.[A]21.[D]22.[B]23.[B]24.[A]25.[A]Reading comprehensionSection A26.[E]challenges27.[J]searched28.[D]categorizing29.[K]similarities30.[L]slightly31.[G]percentage32.[O]traditional33.[I]regardless34.[H]proving35.[M]suggestsSection B36.[I]37.[D]38.[J]39.[F]40.[B]41.[H]42.[C]43.[K]44.[G]45.[E]Section C●Passage146.[B]He intends to get rid of the tipping practice.47.[C]It forces the customer to compensate the waiter.48.[D]They can have some say in how much their servers earn.49.[A]Services quality has little effect on tip size.50.[D]Waiters should be paid by employers instead of customers.●Passage251.[C]The impact of cheap oil on global economic growth.52.[D]Consumers will spend their savings from cheap oil on other commodities.53.[C]They use their money reserves to back up consumption.54.[B]Its negative effects more than cancel out its positive effects.55.[C]Oil importers account for a larger portion of the global economy.Translation参考译文：The color of red in Chinese culture usually means good luck,longevity and happiness.Red can be found everywhere during Chinese Spring Festival and other joyous occasions.Cashes often in red envelopes are sent to family members or close friends as gifts.Its popularity can also be attributed the fact that people accociate it with Chinese revolution and Communist Party. However,it does not always equal to good luck and joy in that the name of the dead used to be written in ing red ink to write names of Chinese people were seen as an offense.。
2016年12月大学英语四级考试真题及答案
2016 年 12 月大学英语四级考试真题（第一套）Part I Writing (30 minutes)( 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:For this part,you are allowed30 minutes to write an essay.Suppose you have two options upon graduation:one is to take a job in a company and the other to go to a graduate school.You are to make a choice between the two.Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but nomore than 180 words.Much controversy has been aroused about whether the students should find a job or start their own business after graduation.Taking a look around,we can find that some graduates bustle around job markets,while others choose to run a shop on TMall. However, I prefer the former choice.From my perspective, there are good reasons to find a job in the first severalyears after their graduation.First and foremost, if a graduate intends to accumulate working experience and learn from the seniors, it is advisable for him to find ajob. It is an undeniable fact that the theoretical knowledge will provide thegraduates with the ability to consider things comprehensively,however,only under the integration with practice can the rigid knowledge be useful for their futuredevelopment. Inevitably, doing something small is the premise of undertakingsomething great. Take Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and taobao, for example. Healso finds some jobs before establishing his own career,laying a solid foundation for his later success.Consequently,it is of great necessity to find a job after graduation.I firmly believe that it will continue to bring about more returns to our life and future.Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1.A) It was going to be renovated.B) He could no longer pay the rent.C) It was dangerous to live in.D) He had sold it to the royal family.【答案】 C2.A) A storm.B) A strike.C) A forest fire.D) A terrorist attack.【答案】 AQuestions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3.A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B)They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.C)They sent calls for help via a portable radio.D)They were trapped in an underground elevator.【答案】 D4.A) They provided the miners with food and water.B)They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.C)They released the details of the accident.D)They tried hard to repair the elevator.【答案】 BQuestions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5.A) Raise postage rates.B) Improve its services.C)Close some of its post offices.D)Redesign delivery routes.【答案】 C6.A) Closing offices on holidays.B)Shortening business hours.C)Computerizing mail sorting processes.D)Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.【答案】 D7.A) A lot of controversy will arise.B)Taxpayers will be very pleased.C)Many people will begin to complain.D)Many post office staff will lose their jobs.【答案】 DSection BDirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation 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)y C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8.A) He will lose part of his pay.B)He will go through retraining.C)He will be given a warning.D)He will be kept from promotion.【答案】 A9.A) He is an experienced press operator.B)He is a trustworthy guy.C)He is always on time.D)He is on good terms with his workmates.【答案】 B10.A) She is a trade union representative.B)She is a senior manager of the shop.C)She is better at handling such matters.D)She is in charge of public relations.【答案】 C11.A) He is always trying to stir up trouble.B)He is skilled and experienced.C)He is very close to the manager.D)He is always complaining about low wages.【答案】 AQuestions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12.A) Open.B)Reserved.C)Selfish.D)Friendly.【答案】 B13.A) They read a book.B)They talk about the weather.C)They stay quiet.D)They chat with fellow passengers.【答案】 C14.A) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.B) She was never invited to a colleague’ s home.C)She was eager to visit an English castle.D)She was always treated as a foreigner.【答案】 B15.A) Houses are much more quiet.B)They want to have more space.C)They want a garden of their own.D)Houses provide more privacy.【答案】 DSection CDirections: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of eachpassage, you will hear three or four 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 letteron Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16.A) They will automatically be given hiring priority.B)They don ’ t have to go through job interviews.C)They are likely to get much higher pay.D)They don ’ t have much choice of jobs.【答案】 A17.A) Visit the school careers service.B)Ask their professors for help.C)Look at school bulletin boards.D)Go through campus newspapers.【答案】 A18.A) Providing students with information about the library.B)Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.C)Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.D)Helping students find the books and journals they need.【答案】 CQuestions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19.A) It tastes better.B)It may be sold at a higher price.C)It is easier to grow.D)It can better survive extreme weathers.【答案】 B20. A) It can grow in drier soil.B)It is immune to various diseases.C)It will replace green tea one day.D)It is healthier than green tea.【答案】 D21. A) It does not have a stable market.B) It has made tea farmers’ life easier.C)It does not bring the promised health benefits.D)It has been well received by many tea drinkers.【答案】 AQuestions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22.A) They care more about environment.B)They decorate their homes themselves.C)They prefer unique objects of high quality.D)They need decorations to show their status.【答案】 C23.A) They made great contributions to society.B) They could only try to create at night.C)They were proud of their creations.D)They focused on the quality of their products.【答案】 B24.A) Identify fake crafts.B)Make wise choices.C)To arouse public interest in crafts.D)To boost the local economy.【答案】 B25.A) To attract foreign investments.B)To preserve the traditional culture.C)Design handicrafts themselves.D)Learn the importance of creation.【答案】 DPart III Reading Comprehension (40 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. Eachchoice in the bank is identified by a letter.Please mark the corresponding letterfor each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may notuse any of the words in the bank more than once.Many men and women have long bought into the idea that there are“ male” and “female” brains,believing that explains just about every difference between the sexes. A new study __26__ that belief, questioning whether brains really canbe distinguished by gender.In the study, Tel Aviv University researchers __27__ for sex differencesthroughout the entire human brain.27._____A)abnormalB)appliedC)brieflyD)categorizingE)challengesF)figureG)percentageH)provingI)regardlessJ)searchedK)similaritiesL)slightlyM)suggestsN)tastesO)traditionalAnd what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidence for __28__ brains as “ male” or“ female,” research shows that b rains fall into a wide range, with most people falling right in the middle.28._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditionalDaphna Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there aresome gender-based—__29__ , many different types of brain can’ t always be distinguished by gender.29._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH)provingI)regardlessJ)searchedK)similaritiesL)slightlyM)suggestsN)tastesO)traditionalWhile the “average ” male and “ average ” female brains were __30__ different, you couldn ’ t tell it by looking at individual brain scans. Only a small __31__ ofpeople had“ all-male” or“ all-female” characteristics.30._____31._____A)abnormalB)appliedC)brieflyD)categorizingE)challengesF)figureG)percentageH)provingI)regardlessJ)searchedK)similaritiesL)slightlyM)suggestsN)tastesO)traditionalLarry Cahill, an American neuroscientist (神经科学家), said the study is an important addition to a growing body of research questioning __32__ beliefs aboutgender and brain function.But he cautioned against concluding from this study that all brains are the same, __33__ of gender.32._____33._____A)abnormalB)appliedC)brieflyD)categorizingE)challengesF)figureG)percentageH)provingI)regardlessJ)searchedK)similaritiesL)slightlyM)suggestsN)tastesO)traditional“There’ s a mountain of evidence __34__ the importance of sex influences at alllevels of brain function, M he told The Seattle Times.34._____A) abnormalB)appliedC)brieflyD)categorizingE)challengesF)figureG)percentageH)provingI)regardlessJ)searchedK)similaritiesL)slightlyM)suggestsN)tastesO)traditionalIf anything, he said, the study __35__ that gender plays a very important role in the brain—“ even when we are not clear exactly how.”35._____A)abnormalB)appliedC)brieflyD)categorizingE)challengesF)figureG)percentageH)provingI)regardlessJ)searchedK)similaritiesL)slightlyM)suggestsN)tastesO)traditionalSection BDirections: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 aparagraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer thequestions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Can Burglars Jam Your Wireless Security System?A)Any product that promises to protect your home deserves careful examination. So it isn't surprising that you ’ll find plenty of strong opinions about the potential vulnerabilities of popular home-security systems.B)The most likely type of burglary(入室盗窃 )by far is the unsophisticated crime of opportunity, usually involving a broken window or some forced entry. Accordingto the FBI, crimes like these accounted for roughly two-thirds of all householdburglaries in the US in 2013. The wide majority of the rest were illegal, unforcedentries that resulted from something like a window being left open. The odds ofcriminal using technical means to bypass a security system are so small that theFBI doesn ’ t even track those statistics.C)One of the main theoretical home-security concerns is whether or not a given system is vulnerable to being blocked from working altogether. With wired setups,the fear is that a burglar(入室盗贼 )might be able to shut your system down simplyby cutting the right cable.With a wireless setup,you stick battery-powered sensors up around your home that keep an eye on windows, doors, motion, and more. If theydetect something wrong while the system is armed, they ’ ll transmit a wireless alert signal to a base station that will then raise the alarm.That approach will eliminate most cord-cutting concerns —but what about their wireless equivalent,jamming? With the right device tuned to the right frequency,what ’ s to stop a thief from jamming your setup and blocking that alert signal from ever reaching the base station?D)Jamming concerns are nothing new, and they ’ re not unique to security systems. Any device that ’ s built to receive a wireless signal at a specific frequency canbe overwhelmed by a stronger signal coming in on the same frequency.For comparison, let ’ s say you wanted to“ jam ” a conversation between two people — all you’ d need to do is yell in the listener’ s ear.E)Security devices are required to list the frequencies they broadcast on—that means that a potential thief can find what they need to know with minimalGoogling. They will,however,need to know what system they ’ re looking for. If you have a sign in your yard declaring what setup you use, that’ d point them in theright direction, though at that point, we’ re talking about a highly targeted,semi-sophisticated attack, and not the sort of forced-entry attack that makes upthe majority of burglaries.It’ s easier to find and acquire jamming equipment for some frequencies than it is for others.F)Wireless security providers will often take steps to help combat the threatof jamming attacks.SimpliSafe,winner of our Editors ’ Choice distinction,utilizesa special system that’ s capable of separating incidental RF interference fromtargeted jamming attacks.When the system thinks it’ s being jammed, it ’ ll notify you via push alert( 推送警报 ).From there,it’s up to you to sound the alarm manually.G)SimpliSafe was singled out in one recent article on jamming, complete witha video showing the entire system being effectively bypassed with handheld jamming equipment. After taking appropriate measure to contain the RF interference to ourtest lab, we tested the attack out for ourselves, and were able to verify that itis possible with the right equipment. However, we also verified that SimpliSafe’s anti-jamming system works. It caught us in the act,sent an alert to my smartphone, and also listed our RF interference on the system ’ s event log. The team behind the article and video in question make no mention of the system, or whether or not itdetected them.H)We like the unique nature of that software. It means that a thief likely wouldn ’t be able to Google how the system works, then figure out a way around itEven if they could, SimpliSafe claims that its system is always evolving, and thatit varies slightly from system to system, which means there wouldn ’ t be a universal magic formula for cracking it Other systems also seem confident on the subject ofjamming. The team at Frontpoint addresses the issue in a blog on its site, citingtheir own jam protection software and claiming that there aren’ t any documented cases of a successful jam attack since the company began offering wireless security sensors in the 1980s.I)Jamming attacks are absolutely possible. As said before, with the rightequipment and the right know-how,it’ s possible to jam any wireless transmission. But how probable is it that someone will successfully jam their way into your homeand steal your stuff?J)Let ’ s imagine that you live in a small home with a wireless security setup that offers a functional anti-jamming system. First, a thief is going to need totarget your home, specifically. Then, he’s going to need to know the technicaldetails of your system and acquire the specific equipment necessary for jamming your specific setup. Presumably, you keep your doors locked at night and while you'reaway, so the thief will still need to break in.That means defeating the lock somehow,or breaking a window. He’ ll or opened door would normally need to be jamming you at thisrelease the alarm. So, too,point, as a broken windowwould the motion detectorsin your home, so the thief will need to continue jamming once he’s inside and searching for things to steal. However, he’ll need to do so without tripping theanti-jamming system, the details of which he almost certainly does not have access to.K) At the end of the day, these kinds of systems are primarily designed to protect against the sort of opportunistic smash-and-grab attack that makes up the majority of burglaries.They’re also only a single layer in what should ideally be a many-sided approach to securing your home, one that includes common sense things like soundlocks and proper exterior lighting at night. No system is impenetrable, and nonecan promise to eliminate the worst case completely. Every one of them hasvulnerabilities that a knowledgeable thief could theoretically exploit. A goodsystem is one that keeps that worst-case setting as improbable as possible whilealso offering strong protection in the event of a less-extraordinary attack.36.It is possible for burglars to make jamming attacks with the necessaryequipment and skill.【答案】 I37.Interfering with a wireless security system is similar to interfering witha conversation.【答案】 D38.A burglar has to continuously jam the wireless security device toavoid triggering the alarm, both inside and outside the house.【答案】 J39.SimpliSafe provides devices that are able to distinguish incidental radiointerference from targeted jamming attacks.【答案】 F40.Only a very small proportion of burglaries are committed by technical means.【答案】 B41.It is difficult to crack SimpliSafe as its system keeps changing.【答案】 H42.Wireless devices will transmit signals so as to activate the alarm oncesomething wrong is detected.【答案】 C43.Different measures should be taken to protect one’ s home from burglary in addition to the wireless security system.【答案】 K44.SimpliSafe’ s device can send a warning to the house owner’s cellphone.【答案】 G45.Burglars can easily get a security device ’s frequency by Internet search.【答案】 ESection CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed bysome questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choicesmarked A), B) , C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.As a person who writes about food and drink for a living, I couldn ’ t tell you the first thing about Bill Perry or whether the beers he sells are that great. ButI can tell you that I like this guy. That ’ s because he plans to ban tipping in favor of paying his servers an actual living wage.I hate tipping.I hate it because it’ s an obligation disguised as an option. I hate it forthe post-dinner math it requires of me. But mostly,I hate tipping because I believe I would be in a better place if pay decisions regarding employees were simply leftup to their employers, as is the custom in virtually every other industry.Most of you probably think that you hate tipping, too. Research suggestsotherwise.You actually love tipping!You like to feel that you have a voice in how much money your server makes. No matter how the math works out, you persistentlyview restaurants with voluntary tipping systems as being a better value, which makes it extremely difficult for restaurants and bars to do away with the tipping system.One argument that you tend to hear a lot from the pro-tipping crowd seems logical enough:the service is better when waiters depend on tips,presumably because they see a benefit to successfully veiling their contempt for you. Well, if this weretrue,we would all be slipping a few 100-dollar bills to our doctors on the way out their doors, too. But as it turns out, waiters see only a tiny bump in tips whenthey do an exceptional job compared to a passable one. Waiters, keen observers ofhumanity that they are, are catching on to this; in one poll, a full 30% said theydidn ’ t believe the job they did had any impact on the tips they received.So come on, folks: get on board with ditching the outdated tip system. Pay alittle more up-front for your beer or burger. Support Bill Perry’ s pub, and any other bar or restaurant that doesn’ t ask you to do drunken math.46.What can we learn about Bill Perry from the passage?A)He runs a pub that serves excellent beer.B)He intends to get rid of the tipping practice.C)He gives his staff a considerable sum for tips.D)He lives comfortably without getting any tips.【答案】 B47.What is the main reason why the author hates tipping?A)It sets a bad example for other industries.B)It adds to the burden of ordinary customers.C)It forces the customer to compensate the waiter.D)It poses a great challenge for customers to do math.【答案】 C48.Why do many people love tipping according to the author?A)They help improve the quality of the restaurants they dine in.B)They believe waiters deserve such rewards for good service.C)They want to preserve a wonderful tradition of the industry.D)They can have some say in how much their servers earn.【答案】 D49.What have some waiters come to realize according to a survey?A)Service quality has little effect on tip size.B)It is in human nature to try to save on tips.C)Tips make it more difficult to please customers.D)Tips benefit the boss rather than the employees.【答案】 A50.What does the author argue for in the passage?A)Restaurants should calculate the tips for customers.B)Customers should pay more tips to help improve service.C)Waiters deserve better than just relying on tips for a living.D)Waiters should be paid by employers instead of customers.【答案】 DPassage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.In the past, falling oil prices have given a boost to the world economy, but recent forecasts for global growth have been toned down, even as oil prices sink lower and lower. Does that mean the link between lower oil prices and growth has weakened?Some experts say there are still good reasons to believe cheap oil should heat up the world economy. Consumers have more money in their pockets when they ’ re paying less at the pump. They spend that money on other things,which stimulates the economy.The biggest gains go to countries that import most of their oil like China,Japan, and India. But doesn’ t the extra money in the pockets of those countries,consumers mean an equal loss in oil-producing countries,cancelling out the gains? Not necessarily,says economic researcher Sara Johnson.“Many oil producers built up huge reserve funds when prices were high, so when prices fall they will draw ontheir reserves to support government spending and subsidies (补贴 )for their consumers. ”But not all oil producers have big reserves. In Venezuela, collapsing oil prices have sent its economy into free-fall.Economist Carl Weinberg believes the negative effects of plunging oil pricesare overwhelming the positive effects of cheaper oil. The implication is a sharpdecline in global trade, which has plunged partly because oil- producing nationscan’ t afford to import as much as they used to.Sara Johnson acknowledges that the global economic benefit from a fall in oilprices today is likely lower than it was in the past. One reason is that more countries are big oil producers now, so the nations suffering from the prices drop accountfor a larger share of the global economy.Consumers, in the U.S. at least, are acting cautiously with the savings they’re getting at the gas pump, as the memory of the recent great recession is stillfresh in their mind. And a number of oil-producing countries are trimming theirgasoline subsidies and raising taxes, so the net savings for global consumers isnot as big as the oil price plunge might suggest.51.What does the author mainly discuss in the passage?A)The reasons behind the plunge of oil prices.B)Possible ways to stimulate the global economy.C)The impact of cheap oil on global economic growth.D)The effect of falling oil prices on consumer spending.【答案】 C52.Why do some experts believe cheap oil will stimulate the global economy?A)Manufacturers can produce consumer goods at a much lower cost.B)Lower oil prices have always given a big boost to the global economy.C)Oil prices may rise or fall but economic laws are not subject to change.D)Consumers will spend their savings from cheap oil on other commodities.【答案】 D53.What happens in many oil-exporting countries when oil prices go down?A)They suspend import of necessities from overseas.B)They reduce production drastically to boost oil prices.C)They use their money reserves to back up consumption.D)They try to stop their economy from going into free-fall.【答案】 C54.How does Carl Weinberg view the current oil price plunge?A)It is one that has seen no parallel in economic history.B)Its negative effects more than cancel out its positive effects.C)It still has a chance to give rise to a boom in the global economy.D)Its effects on the global economy go against existing economic laws.【答案】 B55.Why haven’t falling oil prices boosted the global economy as they did before?A)People are not spending all the money they save on gas.B)The global economy is likely to undergo another recession.C)Oil importers account for a larger portion of the global economy.D)People the world over are afraid of a further plunge in oil prices.【答案】 APart IV Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passagefrom Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.在中国文化中，红色通常象征着好运、长寿和幸福。
2016年12月大学英语四级真题及完整答案(共两卷)(20200629082958)
2016年 12月大学英语四级真题（第一套）Part I Writing (30minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose youhave two options upon graduation: one is to take a job in a company and the other togo to a graduate school. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay toexplain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no morethan 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each newsreport, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report and the questions willbe spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answerfrom the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter onAnswer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre.Questions 1and 2 are based on the news report you have just the heard.C) A forest fire. D) A Terrorist attack.Questions 3and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard. 3. A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.C) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.D) They were trapped in an underground elevator.4. A) They provided the miner with food and water.1. A) It was going to be renovated.B) He could no longer pay the rent.C) It was dangerous to live in. D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A storm.B) A strike.B) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.C) They released the details of the accident.D) They tried hard to repair the accident.Question5 to7 are based on the news report you have just hea . rdC) Close some of its post offices. D) Redesign delivery routes.C) Computerizing mail sorting processes. D) Stopping maildelivery on Saturdays.7. A )A lot of controversy will ariseB) Taxpayers will be very pleasedC) Many people will begin to complainD) Many post office staff will lose their jobsSection BDirections:In this section,you will hear two long conversations.At the end of eachconversation,you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from four choice marked A),B),C) and D).Then mark the corresponding letter an Answer sheet1with a single line though the centre.Question8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A)He will lose part of his pay. C)He will be given a warning.B) He will go through retraining. D)He is go good terms with his workmates.9. A)He is an experienced press operator. C)He is always on time.B) He is trustworthy guy. D )He is go good terms with hisworkmates.10. A)She is a trade union representative. C)She is better at handing such matters.B) She is a senior manager of the shop. D)She is in charge of public relation.11. A)He is always trying to stir up trouble.B) He is skilled and experienced.C) He is very close to the manager.D) He is always complaining about low wages.Question12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) Raise postage rates.B) Improve its services. 6. A) Closing offices on holidays. B) Shortening business hours. 12. A)Open. B)Reserved. C)Selfish. D)Friendly.13. A)They read a book. C)They stay quiet.B) They talk about the weather D)They chat with fellow passengers.14. A)She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.B) She was never invited to a colleague ' s home.C) She was eager to visit an English castle.D) She was always treated as a foreigner.15. A) House are much more quiet. C) They want a garden of their own.B) They want to have more space. D) Houses provide more privacy.Section CDirections:In this section,you will hear three passages.At the end of each passage,you will hear three or four 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.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A) They will automatically be given hiring priority.B) They don ' t have to go through job interviews.C) They are likely to get much higher pay.D) They don ' t have much choice of jobs.17. A) Visit the school careers services. C) Look at school bulletin boards.B) Ask their professors for help. D) Go through campus newspapers.18. A) Providing students with information about the library.B) Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.C) Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.D) Helping students find the books and journals they need.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) It tastes better. C) It is easier to grow.B) It may be sold at a higher price. D) It can better survive extreme weathers.20. A) It can grow in drier soil. C) It will replace green tea one day.B) It is immune to various diseases. D) It is healthier than green tea.21. A) It does not have a stable market.B) It has made tea farmers ' life easier.C) It does not bring the promised health benefits.D) It has been well received by many tea drinkers.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) They care more about environment.B) They decorate their homes themselves.C) They prefer unique objects of high quality.D) They need decorations to show their status.23. A) They made great contributions to society.B) They could only try to create at night.C) They were proud of their creations.D) They focused on the quality of their products.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 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 passagethrough 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 2with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Many men and women have long bought into the idea thatthere are “ male ” and“ female ” brains, believing that explains just about every differebnectweeen the sexes. A new stud (y 26)that belief, questioning whether brains really can be distinguished by gender.In the study, Tel Aviv University researchers (27)for sex differences the entire human brain.And what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidenee for( 28) brains as“ male ” or “ female, ” research shows that brains fall in to a wide ran ge, with most people falli ng right in the middle.Daph na Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there aresome gender-base (29) , many different types of brain can' t always be distinguishedby gen der.While the “average ” male and “average ” female bfOiO S wefi e rent, you could n ' t tell it bydxk 24. A) Identify fake crafts.B) Make wise choices.25. A) To attract foreign investments.B) To preserve the traditional culture.C) Design handicrafts themselves. D) Learn the importance of creation. C) To arouse public interest in crafts. D) To boost the local economy.ing at in dividual brain sca ns. Only a small (31) of people had“ a-male” or -feallale ” characteristics.Larry Cahill, an American neuroscientist (神经科学家),said the study is animporta nt additi on to a grow ing body of research questi oning( 32) beliefs about gen der and brain fun cti on. But he cauti oned aga in st con clud ing from this study that all brains are the same,( 33) of gender.“ There' s a moun tai n of evide((34) the importa nee of sex in flue nces at alllevels of brain fun ctio n, ” he told The Seattle Times.If anything, he said, the stud(35) that gender plays a very important role in the brain “ eve n whe n we are not clear exactly how. ”Directi ons: In this secti on, you are going to read a passage with ten stateme nts 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 tha n on ce. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. An swer the questi ons by marki ng the corresp onding letter on Answer Sheet 2Can Burglars Jam Your Wireless Security System?[A] Any product that promises to protect your home deserves careful examination. So it isn' t surprising that you ' ll find plenty of strong opinions about the potential vulnerabilities of popular home-security systems.[B] T he most likely type of burglary （入室盗窃） by far is the unsophisticated crime of opportunity, usually involving a broken window or some forced entry. According to the FBI, crimes like these accounted roughly two-thirds of all household burglaries in the US in 2013.The wide majority of the rest were illegal, unforced entries that resulted from something like a window being left open. The odds of a criminal using technical means to bypass a security system are so small that the FBI doesn' t even track those statistics.[C] One of the main theoretical home-security concerns is whether or not a given system is vulnerable to being blocked from working altogether. With wired setups, the fear is that a burglar （入室盗贼） might be able to shut your system down simply by cutting the right cable. With a wireless setup, you stick battery-powered sensors up around your home that keep an eye on windows, doors, motion, and more. If they detect something wrong while the system is armed, they ' ll transmit a wireless alert signal to a base station that will then raise the alarm. That approach will eliminate most cord-cutting concerns—but what about their wireless equivalent, jamming? With the right device tuned to the right frequency, what ' s to stop a thief from jamming your setup and blocking that alert signal from ever reaching the base station?[D] Jamming concerns are nothing new, and they 'nirqeuneottousecuritysystems. Any device that ' s built to receive a wireless signal at a specific frequencycan be overwhelmed by a stronger signal coming in on the same frequency. For comparison, let ' s say you wanted to “jam” a conversation betweeanll two people —you'd need to do is yell in the listener ' s ear.[E] Security devices are required to list the frequencies they broadcast o—nthat means that a potential thief can find what they need to know with minimal Googling. They will, however, need so know what system they ' re looking for. If you have a sign in your yard declaring what setup you use, that ' d point them in the right direction,though at that point, we ' re talking about a highly targe-steodp,hsisetmicai ted attack,and not the sort forced-entry attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. It ' seasier to find and acquire jamming equipment for some frequencies than it is for others.[F] Wireless security providers will often take steps to help combat the threat of jamming attacks.SimpliSafe,winner of our Editor ' s Choice distinction, utilizes aspecial system that ' s capable of separating incidental RF interference from targetedjamming attacks. When the system thinks it ' s being jammed, it ' ll notify you via push alert（推送警报）.From there, it tOyo u pto sound the alarm manu ally.[G] SimpliSafe was singled out in one recent article on jamming, complete witha video showing the entire system being effectively bypassed with handheld jamming equipment. After taking appropriate measures to contain the RF interference to our test lab, we tested the attack out for ourselves, and were able to verify that it possible with the right equipment. However, we also verified that SimpliSafe 's anti-jamming system works. It caught us in the act, sent an alert to my smartphone, and also listed our RF interference on the system 's event log. The team behind the article and video in question make no mention of the system, or whether or not in detected them.[H] We like the unique nature of that software. It means that a thief likely wouldn 't be able to Google how the system works, then figure out a way around it. Even if they could, SimpliSafe claims that its system is always evolving, and that it varies slightly from system to system, which means there wouldn a universal 't be magic formula for cracking it. Other systems also seem confident on the subject of jamming. The team at Frontpoint addresses the issue in a blog on its site, citing theirown jam protection software and claiming that there aren ' tc a sneysd o fcumented successful jam attack since the company began offering wireless security sensors in the 1980s.[I] Jamming attacks are absolutely possible. As said before, with the right equipment and the right know-how, it 's possible to jam any wireless mtraisnssion. But how probable is it that someone will successfully jam their way into your home and steal your stuff?[J] Let 's imagine that you live in a small home with a wireless security setup thatoffers a functional anti-jamming system. First, a thief is going to need to target your home, specifically. Then, he 's going to need to know the technical details of yoursystem and acquire the specific equipment necessary for jamming your specific setup. Presumably, you keep your doors locked at night and wheil you 're away. So the thief will still need to break in. That means defeating the lock somehow, or breaking a window. He 'll need to be jamming you at this point, as a broken window or openeddoor would normally release the alarm. So, too, would the motion detectors in your home, so the thief will need to continue jamming once he ' s inside and searching for things to steal. However, he ' ll need to do so without trippin-jgamthme ianngtisystem,the details of which he almost certainly does now have access to.[K] A t the end of the day, these kinds of systems are primarily designed to protect against the sort of opportunistic smash-and-grab attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. They 're also only a single layer in what should ideally be -asimdeadny approach to securing your home, one that includes common sense things like sound locks and proper exterior lighting at night. No system is impenetrable, and none can promise to eliminate the worst case completely. Every one of them has vulnerabilities that a knowledgeable thief could theoretically exploit. A good system is one that keeps that worst-case setting as improbable as possible while also offering strong protection in the event of a less-extraordinary attack.36. It is possible for burglars to make jamming attacks with the necessary equipment and skill.37. Interfering with a wireless security system is similar to interfering with a conversation.38. A burglar has to continuously jam the wireless security device to avoid triggeringthe alarm, both inside and outside the house.39. SimpliSafe provides devices that are able to distinguish incidental radio interference from targetedjamming attacks.40. Only a very small proportion of burglaries are committed by technical means.41. It is difficult to crack SimpliSafe as its system keeps changing.42. Wireless devices will transmit signals so as to activate the alarm once something wrong isdetected.43. Different measures should be taken to protect one ' s home from burglary inaddition to the wireless security system.44. SimpliSafe ' s device can send a warning to the house owner ' s cellphone.45. Burglars can easily get a security device ' s frequency by Internet search.Section CDirections: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 markedA) ,B),C) and D).You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.As a person who writes about food and drink for a living. I couldn first thing about Bill Perry or whether the beers he sells are that great. But I can tell servers an actual living wage.I hate tipping.I hate it because it ' s an obligation disguised as an option. I hate it for thepost-dinner math it requires of me. But mostly, I hate tipping because I believe I would be in a better place if pay decisions regarding employees were simply left up to their employers, as is the custom in virtually every other industry.Most of you probably think that you hate tipping, too. Research suggests otherwise. You actually love tipping! You like to feel that you have a voice in how much money your server makes. No matter how the math works out, you persistently view restaurants with voluntary tipping systems as being a better value, which makes it extremely difficult for restaurants and bars to do away with the tipping system.One argument that you tend to hear a lot from the pro-tipping crowd seems logical enough: the service is better when waiters depend on tips, presumably because they see a benefit to successfully veiling their contempt for you. Well, if this were true, we would all be slipping a few 100-dollar bills to our doctors on the way out their doors, too. But as it turns out, waiters see only a tiny bump in tips when they do an exceptional job compared to a passable one. Waiters, keen observers of humanity that they are, are catching on to this; in one poll, a full 30% said they didn' t believthey did had any impact on the tips they received.So come on, folks: get on board with ditching the outdated tip system. Pay a little more upfront for your beer or burger. Support Bill Perry' s pub, and any other bar or restaurant that doesn ' t ask you to do drunken math. 46. What can we learn about Bill Perry from the passage?A) He runs a pub that serves excellent beer. t tell you theyou that I like this guy. That use 'B) He intends to get rid of the tipping practice.C) He gives his staff a considerable sum for tips.D) He lives comfortably without getting any tips.47. What is the main reason why the author hates tipping?A) It sets a bad example for other industries.B) It adds to the burden of ordinary customers.C) It forces the customer to compensate the waiter.D) It poses a great challenge for customers to do math.48. Why do many people love tipping according to the author?A) They help improve the quality of the restaurants they dine in.B) They believe waiters deserve such rewards for good service.C) They want to preserve a wonderful tradition of the industry.D) They can have some say in how much their servers earn.49. What have some waiters come to realize according to a survey?A) Service quality has little effect on tip size.B) It is in human mature to try to save on tips.C) Tips make it more difficult to please customers.D) Tips benefit the boss rather that the employees.50. What does the author argue for in the passage?A) Restaurants should calculate the tips for customers.B) Customers should pay more tips to help improve service.C) Waiters deserve better than just relying on tips for a living.D) Waiters should be paid by employers instead of customers. Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.In the past, falling oil prices have given a boost to the world economy, but recent forecasts for global growth have been toned down, even as oil prices sink lower and lower. Does that mean the link between lower oil prices and growth has weakened?Some experts say there are still good reasons to believe cheap oil should heat up the world economy. Consumers have more money in their pockets when thye' re paying less at the pump. They spend that money on other things, which stimulates the economy.The biggest gains go to countries that import most of their oil like China, Japan, and India, But doesn 't the extra money in the pockets of those cocuo n tsriuems ers 'mean an equal loss in oil producing countries, cancelling out the gains? Not necessarily, says economic researcher Sara Johnson. “ Many oil producers built up huge reserve funds when prices were high, so when prices fall they will draw on their reserves to support gover nment spe nding and subsidies 占)for their con sumers. ”But not all oil producers have big reserves, In Venezuela, collapsing oil prices have sent its economy into free-fall.Economist Carl Weinberg believes the negative effects of plunging oil prices are overwhelming the positive effects of cheaper oil. The implication is a sharp decline in global trade, which has plunged partly because oilp-roducing nations can 't afford toimport as much as they used to.Sara Johnson acknowledges that the global economic benefit from a fall in oil prices today is likely lower than it was in the past. One reason is that more countries are big oil producers now, so the nations suffering from the price drop account for a larger share of the global economy.Consumers, in the U.S. at least, are acting cautiously with the savings they getting at the gas pump, as the memory of the recent great recession is still fresh in their mind. And a number of oil-producing countries are trimming their gasolinesubsidies and raising taxes, so the net savings for global consumers is not as big as the oil price plunge might suggest.51. What does the author mainly discuss in the passage?A) The reasons behind the plunge of oil prices.B) Possible ways to stimulate the global economy.C) The impact of cheap oil on global economic growth.D) The effect of falling oil prices on consumer spending.52. Why do some experts believe cheap oil will stimulate the global economy?A) Manufacturers can produce consumer goods at a much lower cost.B) Lower oil prices have always given a big boost to the global economy.C) Oil prices may rise or fall but economic laws are not subject to change.D) Consumers will spend their saving from cheap oil on other commodities.53. What happens in many oil-exporting countries when oil prices go down?A) They suspend import of necessities from overseas.B) They reduce production drastically to boost oil prices.C) They use their money reserves to back up consumption.D) They try to stop their economy from going into free-fall.54. How does Carl Weinberg view the current oil price plunge?A) It is one that has seen no parallel in economic history.B) Its negative effects more than cancel out its positive effects.C) It still has a chance to give rise to a boom in the global economy.D) Its effects on the global economy go against existing economic laws.55. Why haven ' t falling oil prices boosted the global economy as they did before?A) People are not spending all the money they save on gas.B) The global economy is likely to undergo another recession.C) Oil importers account for a larger portion of the global economy.D) People the world over are afraid of a further plunge in oil prices.Part IV Translation (30minutes)Directions: For this part,you are allowed 30minutes to transtate a passage from Chinese into English.You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.在中国文化中，红色通常象征着好运、长寿和幸福，在春节和其他喜庆场合，红色到处可见。
2016年12月四级考试真题(第一套)参考答案
2016年12月四级考试真题参考答案作文话题一-简版You have two choices upon graduation：you can find a job somewhere or go to graduate school. State your choices and explain your reasons.【简析】毕业之际是找工作还是继续读研？答案：找工作当英语老师或读研当兼职英语老师，因为英语很重要，而且很多人学英语有困难，我相信自己会成为一个好的英语老师；如果写继续读研，那就是【考前五篇必备作文】中第三篇“教育回报”的翻版！范文1【找工作当英语老师】Suppose I have two options upon graduation: find a job somewhere or go to graduate school, I will hunt for a job as an English teacher.In the contemporary world, English learning has gained great popularity and it is of great significance for youngsters to learn English well.Based on a survey, a majority of international organizations or firms acknowledge that they prefer recruiting employees who can speak English fluently. However, a host of English learners may have a variety of difficulties or troubles in learning. For instance, a large number of students find it difficult to memorize new words. Frequently, it is also difficult for them to understand rules of English grammar. In addition, though some are good at reading or writing, they fail to express themselves freely in oral English.Then, how can I be an excellent English teacher? I am convinced that practice makes perfect. I deem that if I try my utmost to help them to practice English every day, the future of my students’ English learning will be promising and hopeful.【范文2：读研】Suppose I have two options upon graduation: find a job somewhere or go to graduate school, I will choose to further my study as a postgraduate.Obviously, my choice is naturally based on the importance of education: if I intend to acquire or get better earnings, it is advisable for me to gain higher degrees. In the contemporary China, it is a common phenomenon for a host of companies, corporations or organizations to recruit doctors and masters and pay them better salaries. Thus, I find it rather difficult to get better jobs with higher salaries, if I do not get better education. It is further education that enables me to build up adequate knowledge, skills and ability to deal with important tasks. As a matter of fact, employees and employers in large numbers have come to realize the significance of higher degrees.As a college student, I am convinced that it is of great necessity for all youngsters, including me, to enhance themselves by studying hard and getting better degrees. I will bear in mind: education is/means a worthy investment.作文话题二-简版You have two choices upon graduation: you can find a job a in state-owned company or you can go to ajoint-venture company. State your choices and explain your reasons.【简析】毕业之际进国企还是进外企？答：进外企，因为在外企工作英语很重要，我英语学的好有优势，而且外企带给我更多机会，唤起我对未来的热情，帮助我得到更好的收入；【范文】Provided that I have two choices upon graduation: find a job in a state-owned company or go to a joint-venture company, I will choose to work in a joint-venture corporation.In the contemporary China, it is a common phenomenon for a host of graduates to prefer working instate-owned companies, because they may find it quite comfortable and enjoyable to gain a stable salary. However, as a youngster, I am convinced that it is of great necessity for me to join in a joint-venture corporation. Firstly, it is my fluent English that enables me to communicate with colleagues from all over the world. Secondly, working in an international firm or organization will bring me more opportunities to see the world, arouse my enthusiasm for success and help me to gain higher salaries.As a matter of fact, I deem that suppose young people intend to achieve success in future, it is advisable for them to cultivate their awareness and habit of diligence, cooperation, communication, a strong will and leadership, no matter they work in a state-owned company or a joint-venture corporation. Do bear in mind: all successful people are alike.作文话题三-简版You have two choices upon graduation: you can find a job somewhere or start your own business. State your choices and explain your reasons.【简析】毕业之际找工作还是创业？答：创业，开办英语培训学校，英语很重要，但很多人学不好英语，我相信熟能生巧，能帮助大家学好英语！当然，找工作当英语老师也没问题呀【范文】Suppose I have two options upon graduation: find a job somewhere or start your own business, I will choose to create my own company—an English training school.In the contemporary world, English learning has gained great popularity and it is of great significance for youngsters to learn English well.Based on a survey, a majority of international organizations or firms acknowledge that they prefer recruiting employees who can speak English fluently. However, a host of English learners may have a variety of difficulties or troubles in learning. For instance, a large number of students find it difficult to memorize new words. Frequently, it is also difficult for them to understand rules of English grammar. In addition, though some are good at reading or writing, they fail to express themselves freely in oral English.Then, how can my training school help them to master English? I am convinced that practice makes perfect. In my training school, there will be various activities and foreign teachers, which bring them opportunities to practice English, arouse their enthusiasm for study and help them to make progress every day.翻译--考虫顶级写译名师石雷鹏权威撰写--翻译一-红色在中国红色代表着祝福、好运和长寿。
2016年12月大学英语四级(第一套)真题
2016年12月大学英语四级真题（卷一）Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation: one is to go to a graduate school. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension (25minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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.Questions 1 to 2 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. A) It was dangerous to live in C) He could no longer pay the rent.B) It was going to be renovated. D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A strike. C) A forest fire.B) A storm. D) A terrorist attack.Questions 3 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.3. A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B) They were trapped in an underground elevator.C) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.D) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.4. A) They tried hard to repair the elevator. B) They released the details of the accident.C) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm. D) They provided the miners with food and water.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) Raise postage rates. B) Improve its services.C) Redesign delivery routes. D) Close some of its post offices.6. A) Shortening business hours. B) Closing offices on holidays.C) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays. D) Computerizing mail sorting processes.7. A) Many post office staff will lose their jobs. B) Many people will begin to complain.C) Taxpayers will be very pleased. D) A lot of controversy will arise.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation you will hear four questions. Both the conversations and the question-s 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.Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A) He will be kept from promotion. B) He will go through retraining.C) He will be given a warning. D) He will lose part of his pay.9. A) He is always on time. B) He is a trustworthy guy.C) He is an experienced press operator. D) He is on good terms with his workmates.10. A) She is a trade union representative. B) She is in charge of public relations.C) She is a senior manager of the shop. D) She is better at handling such matters.11. A) He is skilled and experienced. B) He is very close to the manager.C) He is always trying to stir up trouble. D) He is always complaining about low wages.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) Open. B) Friendly. C) Selfish. D) Reserved.13. A) They stay quiet. B) They read a book.C) They talk about the weather. D) They chat with fellow passengers.14. A) She was always treated as a foreigner. B) She was eager to visit an English castle.C) She was never invited to a colleague's home. D) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.15. A) Houses are much more quiet. B) Houses provide more privacy.C) They want to have more space. D) They want a garden of their own.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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 onAnswer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the conversation you have just heard.16. A) They don't have much choice of jobs. B) They are likely to get much higher pay.C) They don't have to go through job interviews. D) They will automatically be given hiring priority.17. A) Ask their professors for help. B) Look at school bulletin boards.C) Visit the school careers service. D) Go through campus newspapers.18. A) Helping students find the books and journals they need.B) Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.C) Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.D) Providing students with information about the library.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19. A) It tastes better. B) It is easier to grow.C) It may be sold at a higher price. D) It can better survive extreme weathers.20. A) It is healthier than green tea. B) It can grow in drier soil.C) It will replace green tea one day. D) It is immune to various diseases.21. A) It has been well received by many tea drinkers.B) It does not bring the promised health benefits.C) It has made tea farmers' life easier.D) It does not have a stable market.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.22. A) They need decorations to show their status.B) They prefer unique objects of high quality.C) They decorate their homes themselves.D) They care more about environment.23. A) They were proud of their creations. B) They could only try to create at night.C) They made great contributions to society. D) They focused on the quality of their products.24. A) Make wise choices. B) Identify fake crafts.C) Design handicrafts themselves. D) Learn the importance of creation.25. A) To boost the local economy. B) To attract foreign investments.C) To arouse public interest in crafts. D) To preserve the traditional culture.Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 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 the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item onAnswer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Many men and women have long bought into the idea that there are “male” and “female” brains, believing that explains just about every difference between the sexes. A new study 26 that belief, questioning whether brains really can be distinguished by gender.In the study, Tel Aviv University researchers 27 for sex differences the entire human brain.And what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidence for 28 brains as “male” or “female,” research shows that brains fall into a wide range, with most people falling right in the middle.Daphna Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there are some gender-based 29 , many different types of brain can't always be distinguished by gender.While the “average” male and “average” female brains were 30 different, you couldn't tell it by looking at individual brain scans. Only a small 31 of people had “all-male” or “all-female” characteristics.Larry Cahill, an American neuroscientist（神经科学家）, said the study is an important addition to a growing body of research questioning 32 beliefs about gender and brain function. But he cautioned against concluding from this study that all brains are the same, 33 of gender.“There's a mountain of evidence 34 the importance of sex influences at all le vels of brain function,” he told The Seattle Times.If anything, he said, the study 35 that gender plays a very important role in the brain “even when we are not clear exactly how.”A) abnormal I) regardlessB) applied J) searchedC) briefly K) similaritiesD) categorizing L) slightlyE) challenges M) suggestsF) figure N) tastesG) percentage O) traditionalH) provingSection BDirections: 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.Can Burglars Jam Your Wireless Security System?[A]Any product that promises to protect your home deserves careful examination. So it isn't surprising thatyou'll find plenty of strong opinions about the potential vulnerabilities of popular home-security systems.[B]The most likely type of burglary（入室盗窃）by far is the unsophisticated crime of opportunity, usually involving a broken window or some forced entry. According to the FBI, crimes like these accounted roughlytwo-thirds of all household burglaries in the US in 2013.The wide majority of the rest were illegal, unforced entries that resulted from something like a window being left open. The odds of a criminal using technical means to bypass a security system are so small that the FBI doesn't even track those statistics.[C]One of the main theoretical home-security concerns is whether or not a given system is vulnerable to being blocked from working altogether. With wired setups, the fear is that a burglar（入室盗贼）might be able to shut yoursystem down simply by cutting the right cable. With a wireless setup, you stick battery-powered sensors up around your home that keep an eye on windows, doors, motion, and more. If they detect something wrong while the system is armed, they'll transmit a wireless alert signal to a base station that will then raise the alarm. That approach will eliminate most cord-cutting concerns—but what about their wireless equivalent, jamming? With the right device tuned to the right frequency, what's to stop a thief from jamming your setup and blocking that alert signal from ever reaching the base station?[D]Jamming concerns are nothing new, and they're not unique to security systems. Any device that's built to receive a wireless signal at a specific frequency can be overwhelmed by a stronger signal coming in on the same frequency. For comparison, let's say you wanted to “jam” a conversation between two people—all you'd need to do is yell in the listener's ear.[E] Security devices are required to list the frequencies they broadcast on—that means that a potential thief can find what they need to know with minimal Googling. They will, however, need so know what system they're looking for. If you have a sign in your yard declaring what setup you use, that'd point them in the right direction, though at that point, we're talking about a highly targeted, semi-sophisticated attack, and not the sort forced-entry attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. It's easier to find and acquire jamming equipment for some frequencies than it is for others.[F] Wireless security providers will often take steps to help combat the threat of jamming attacks. SimpliSafe, winner of our Editor's Choice distinction, utilizes a special system that's capable of separating incidental RF interference from targeted jamming attacks. When the system thinks it's being jammed, it'll notify you via push alert （推送警报）. From there, it's up to you to sound the alarm manually.[G] SimpliSafe was singled out in one recent article on jamming, complete with a video showing the entire system being effectively bypassed with handheld jamming equipment. After taking appropriate measures to contain the RF interference to our test lab, we tested the attack out for ourselves, and were able to verify that it's possible with the right equipment. However, we also verified that SimpliSafe's anti-jamming system works. It caught us in the act, sent an alert to my smartphone, and also listed our RF interference on the system's event log. The team behind the article and video in question make no mention of the system, or whether or not in detected them.[H]We like the unique nature of that software. It means that a thief likely wouldn't be able to Google how the system works, then figure out a way around it. Even if they could, SimpliSafe claims that its system is always evolving, and that it varies slightly from system to system, which means there wouldn't be a universal magic formula for cracking it. Other systems also seem confident on the subject of jamming. The team at Frontpoint addresses the issue in a blog on its site, citing their own jam protection software and claiming that there aren't any documented cases of successful jam attack since the company began offering wireless security sensors in the 1980s.[I] Jamming attacks are absolutely possible. As said before, with the right equipment and the right know-how, it's possible to jam any wireless transmission. But how probable is it that someone will successfully jam their way into your home and steal your stuff?[J] Let's imagine that you live in a small home with a wireless security setup that offers a functionalanti-jamming system. First, a thief is going to need to target your home, specifically. Then, he's going to need to know the technical details of your system and acquire the specific equipment necessary for jamming your specific setup. Presumably, you keep your doors locked at night and while you're away. So the thief will still need to break in. That means defeating the lock somehow, or breaking a window. He'll need to be jamming you at this point, as a broken window or opened door would normally release the alarm. So, too, would the motion detectors in your home,so the thief will need to continue jamming once he's inside and searching for things to steal. However, he'll need to do so without tripping the anti-jamming system, the details of which he almost certainly does now have access to.[K]At the end of the day, these kinds of systems are primarily designed to protect against the sort of opportunistic smash-and-grab attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. They're also only a single layer in what should ideally be a many-sided approach to securing your home, one that includes common sense things like sound locks and proper exterior lighting at night. No system is impenetrable, and none can promise to eliminate the worst case completely. Every one of them has vulnerabilities that a knowledgeable thief could theoretically exploit. A good system is one that keeps that worst-case setting as improbable as possible while also offering strong protection in the event of a less-extraordinary attack.36. It is possible for burglars to make jamming attacks with the necessary equipment and skill.37. Interfering with a wireless security system is similar to interfering with a conversation.38. A burglar has to continuously jam the wireless security device to avoid triggering the alarm, both inside and outside the house.39. SimpliSafe provides devices that are able to distinguish incidental radio interference from targeted jamming attacks.40. Only a very small proportion of burglaries are committed by technical means.41. It is difficult to crack SimpliSafe as its system keeps changing.42. Wireless devices will transmit signals so as to activate the alarm once something wrong is detected.43. Different measures should be taken to protect one's home from burglary in addition to the wireless security system.44. SimpliSafe's device can send a warning to the house owner's cellphone.45. Burglars can easily get a security device's frequency by Internet search.Section CDirections: 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 centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.As a person who writes about food and drink for a living. I couldn't tell you the first thing about Bill Perry or whether the beers he sells are that great. But I can tell you that I like this guy. That's because he plans to ban tipping in favor of paying his servers an actual living wage.I hate tipping.I hate it because it's an obligation disguised as an option. I hate it for the post-dinner math it requires of me. But mostly, I hate tipping because I believe I would be in a better place if pay decisions regarding employees were simply left up to their employers, as is the custom in virtually every other industry.Most of you probably think that you hate tipping, too. Research suggests otherwise. You actually love tipping! You like to feel that you have a voice in how much money your server makes. No matter how the math works out, you persistently view restaurants with voluntary tipping systems as being a better value, which makes it extremely difficult for restaurants and bars to do away with the tipping system.One argument that you tend to hear a lot from the pro-tipping crowd seems logical enough: the service is better when waiters depend on tips, presumably because they see a benefit to successfully veiling their contempt for you. Well, if this were true, we would all be slipping a few 100-dollar bills to our doctors on the way out their doors, too. But as it turns out, waiters see only a tiny bump in tips when they do an exceptional job compared to a passable one. Waiters, keen observers of humanity that they are, are catching on to this; in one poll, a full 30% said they didn't believe the job they did had any impact on the tips they received.So come on, folks: get on board with ditching the outdated tip system. Pay a little more upfront for your beer or burger. Support Bill Perry's pub, and any other bar or restaurant that doesn't ask you to do drunken math.46. What can we learn about Bill Perry from the passage?A) He runs a pub that serves excellent beer.B) He intends to get rid of the tipping practice.C) He gives his staff a considerable sum for tips.D) He lives comfortably without getting any tips.47. What is the main reason why the author hates tipping?A) It sets a bad example for other industries.B) It adds to the burden of ordinary customers.C) It forces the customer to compensate the waiter.D) It poses a great challenge for customers to do math.48. Why do many people love tipping according to the author?A) They help improve the quality of the restaurants they dine in.B) They believe waiters deserve such rewards for good service.C) They want to preserve a wonderful tradition of the industry.D) They can have some say in how much their servers earn.49. What have some waiters come to realize according to a survey?A) Service quality has little effect on tip size.B) It is in human mature to try to save on tips.C) Tips make it more difficult to please customers.D) Tips benefit the boss rather that the employees.50. What does the author argue for in the passage?A) Restaurants should calculate the tips for customers.B) Customers should pay more tips to help improve service.C) Waiters deserve better than just relying on tips for a living.D) Waiters should be paid by employers instead of customers.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.In the past, falling oil prices have given a boost to the world economy, but recent forecasts for global growth have been toned down, even as oil prices sink lower and lower. Does that mean the link between lower oil prices and growth has weakened?Some experts say there are still good reasons to believe cheap oil should heat up the world economy. Consumers have more money in their pockets when they're paying less at the pump. They spend that money on other things, which stimulates the economy.The biggest gains go to countries that import most of their oil like China, Japan, and India, But doesn't the extra money in the pockets of those countries' consumers mean an equal loss in oil producing countries, cancelling out the gains? Not necessarily, says economic researcher Sara John son. “Many oil producers built up huge reserve funds when prices were high, so when prices fall they will draw on their reserves to support government spending and subsidies(补贴)for their consumers.”But not all oil producers have big reserves, In Venezuela, collapsing oil prices have sent its economy intofree-fall.Economist Carl Weinberg believes the negative effects of plunging oil prices are overwhelming the positive effects of cheaper oil. The implication is a sharp decline in global trade, which has plunged partly becauseoil-producing nations can't afford to import as much as they used to.Sara Johnson acknowledges that the global economic benefit from a fall in oil prices today is likely lower than it was in the past. One reason is that more countries are big oil producers now, so the nations suffering from the price drop account for a larger share of the global economy.Consumers, in the U.S. at least, are acting cautiously with the savings they're getting at the gas pump, as the memory of the recent great recession is still fresh in their mind. And a number of oil-producing countries are trimming their gasoline subsidies and raising taxes, so the net savings for global consumers is not as big as the oil price plunge might suggest.51. What does the author mainly discuss in the passage?A) The reasons behind the plunge of oil prices.B) Possible ways to stimulate the global economy.C) The impact of cheap oil on global economic growth.D) The effect of falling oil prices on consumer spending.52. Why do some experts believe cheap oil will stimulate the global economy?A) Manufacturers can produce consumer goods at a much lower cost.B) Lower oil prices have always given a big boost to the global economy.C) Oil prices may rise or fall but economic laws are not subject to change.D) Consumers will spend their saving from cheap oil on other commodities.53. What happens in many oil-exporting countries when oil prices go down?A) They suspend import of necessities from overseas.B) They reduce production drastically to boost oil prices.C) They use their money reserves to back up consumption.D) They try to stop their economy from going into free-fall.54. How does Carl Weinberg view the current oil price plunge?A) It is one that has seen no parallel in economic history.B) Its negative effects more than cancel out its positive effects.C) It still has a chance to give rise to a boom in the global economy.D) Its effects on the global economy go against existing economic laws.55. Why haven't falling oil prices boosted the global economy as they did before?A) People are not spending all the money they save on gas.B) The global economy is likely to undergo another recession.C) Oil importers account for a larger portion of the global economy.D) People the world over are afraid of a further plunge in oil prices.Part IV Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minted to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.在中国文化中，红色通常象征着好运、长寿和幸福。
2016年12月大学英语四级考试真题答案（共三套）
2016年12月大学英语四级考试真题答案（共三套）听力答案Section A1. [A] It was dangerous to live in.2. [B] A storm3. [B] They were trapped in an underground elevator.4. [C] They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.5. [D] Close some of its post office.6. [C] Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.7. [A] Many post office staff will lose their jobs.Section B8.[D] He will lose part of his pay.9.[B] He is a trustworthy guy.10.[D] She is better at handling such matters.11.[C] He is always trying to stir up trouble.12.[D] Reserved13.[A] They stay quiet14.[C] She was never invited to a colleague’s home.15.[B] Houses provide more privacySection C16. [D] They will automatically be given hiring priority.17. [C] Visit the school careers service.18. [B] Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.19. [C] It may be sold at a higher price.20. [A] It is healthier than green tee.21. [D] It does not have a stable market.22. [B] They prefer unique objects of high quality.23. [B] They could only try to create at night.24. [A] Make wise choices.25. [A] To boost the local economy.阅读答案Section A26. [E] challenges27. [J] searched28. [D] categorizing29. [K] similarities30. [L] slightly31. [G] percentage32. [O] traditional33. [ I ] regardless34. [H] proving35. [M] suggestsSection B36. [I]37. [D]38. [J]39. [F]40. [B]41. [H]42. [C]43. [K]44. [G]45. [E]Section Cpassage one46. [B] He intends to get rid of the tipping practice.47. [C] It forces the customer to comensate the waiter.48. [D] They can have some say in how much their servers earn.49. [A] Services quality has little effect on tip size.50. [D] Waiters should be paid by employers instead of customers.passage two51. [C] The impact of cheap oil on global economic growth.52. [D] Consumers will spend their savings from cheap oil on other commodities.53. [C] They use their money reserves to back up consumption.54. [B] Its negative effects more than cancel out its positive effects.55. [A] People are not spending all the money they save on gas.翻译范文翻译一：在中国文化中，红色通常象征着好运、长寿和幸福，在春节和其他喜庆场合，红色到处可见。
2016年12月四级英语听力真题第一套(含答案及原文)
2016年12月英语四级听力真题第1套Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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.Section AQuestions 1 to 2 are based on the conversation you have just heard.A) It was dangerous to live in. C) He could no longer pay the rent.B) It was going to be renovated. D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A strike. C) A forest fire.B) A storm. D) A terrorist attack.Questions 3 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.3. A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B) They were trapped in an underground elevator.C) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.D) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.4. A) They tried hard to repair the elevator.B) They released the details of the accident.C) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.D) They provided the miners with food and water.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) Raise postage rates.B) Improve its services.C) Redesign delivery routes.D) Close some of its post offices.6. A) Shortening business hours.B) Closing offices on holidays.C) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.D) Computerizing mail sorting processes.7. A) Many post office staff will lose their jobs.B) Many people will begin to complain.C) Taxpayers will be very pleased.D) A lot of controversy will arise.Section B8. A) He will be kept from promotion.B) He will go through retraining.C) He will be given a warning.D) He will lose part of his pay.9. A) He is always on time.B) He is a trustworthy guy.C) He is an experienced press operator.D)He is on good terms with his workmates.10. A) She is a trade union representative.B) She is in charge of public relations.C) She is a senior manager of the shop.D) She is better at handling such matters.11. A) He is skilled and experienced.B) He is very close to the manager.C) He is always trying to stir up trouble.D) He is always complaining about low wages.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) Open.B) Selfish.C) Friendly.D) Reserved.13. A) They stay quiet.B) They read a book.C) They talk about the weather.D) They chat with fellow passengers.14. A) She was always treated as a foreigner.B) She was eager to visit an English castle.C) She was never invited to a colleague's home.D) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.15. A) Houses are much more quiet.B) Houses provide more privacy.C) They want to have more space.D) They want a garden of their own.答案1. A It was dangerous to live in.2. B A storm3. B They were trapped in an underground elevator.4. C They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.5. D Close some of its post office.6. C Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.7. A Many post office staff will lose their jobs.8. D He will lose part of his pay.9. B He is a trustworthy guy.10.D She is better at handling such matters11.C He is always trying to stir up trouble.12. D Reserved13. A They stay quiet14. C She was never invited t o a colleague’s home.15. B Houses provide more privacy16. D They will automatically be given hiring priority.17. C Visit the school careers service.18. B Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.19. C It may be sold at a higher price.20. A It is healthier than green tee.21. D It does not have a stable market.22. B They prefer unique objects of high quality.23. B They could only try to create at night.24. A Make wise choices.25. A To boost the local economy.2016年12月英语四级听力真题第1套原文Section AA 16th century castle in Scotland is close to collapsing after lumps of soils were washed away by floods, threatening its foundations.On Sunday, the castle’s owner John Gordon, 76, was forced to move out his property after the River Dee swept away about 60 feet of land, leaving the castle dangerous close to the river. According to the Scottish Daily Record. Abergeldie castle located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland was built by Sir Alexander Gordon of Midmar who later became the Earl of Huntly.The castle which is located on 11,700 acres was leased to members of the royal family between 1848 and 1970, including King Edward VII and George V. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued more than 35 flood warnings covering several regions, as Scotland continues to clean up the after Storm Frank hit the country last Wednesday.“This means that rivers will rise more slowly, but then stay high for much longer.” the environmental agency said.Q1. Why did John Gordon move out of Abergeldie castle?Q2. What happened in Scotland last Wednesday?Section A - 2Rescue efforts were underway Thursday morning for 17 miners who were stuck in an elevator below ground at a Cargill rock salt mine near Lansing, New York, according to Marcia Lynch.Public information officer with Tompkins County’s emergency response department, emergency workers have made contact with the miners via a radio. And they all appear to be uninjured, said Jessica Verfuss, the emergency department’s assistant directo r.Crews have managed to provide heat packs and blankets to the miners so that they can keep warm during the rescue operation, Verfuss said. Details about what led to the workers’ being trapped in the elevator went immediately available. The mine, along New York’s Cayuga Lake, processes salt used for road treatment. It produces about 2 million tons of salt that is shipped to more than 1,500 places in the northeastern United States, the rock salt mine is one of three operated by Cargill with the other two in Louisiana and Ohio.Q3. What does the news report say about the salt miners?Q4.What did the rescue team do?新闻3Section A - 3The U.S. Postal Service announced today that it is considering closing about 3,700 post offices over the next year because of falling revenues.Facing an $8.3 billion budget deficit this year, closing post officers is one of several proposals the Postal Service has put forth recently to cut costs. Last week, for example, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe announced plans to stop mail delivery on Saturdays, a move he says could save $3 billion annually.“We are losing revenue as we speak,” Donahoe said. “We do not want taxpayer money. We want to be self-sufficient. So like any other business you have to make choices.”Dean Granholm the vice president for delivery and post office operations said the first waves of closings would begin this fall. He estimated that about 3,000 postmasters, 500 station managers and between 500 and 1,000 postal clerks could lose their jobs.Q5.What is the U.S. Postal Service planning to do?Q6.What measure has been planned to save costs?Q7.What will happen when the proposed measure come into effect?长对话1&2Conversation 1A: Mrs. Hampton, we've got trouble in the press room this morning.B: Oh dear. What about?A: One of the press operators arrived an hour and a half late.B: But that's a straightforward affair. He will simply lose part of his pay. That's why we have a clock-in system.A: But the point is the man was clocked-in at 8 o'clock. We have John standing by the time clock, and he swears he saw nothing irregular.B: Is John reliable?A: Yes, he is. That's why we chose him for the job.B: Have you spoken to the man who was late?A: Not yet. I thought I'd have a word with you first. He's a difficult man, and I think there's been some trouble on the shop floor. I've got a feeling that trade union representative is behind this. The manager told me that Jack Green's been very active around the shop the last few days.B: Well, what do you want me to do?A: I was wondering if you'd see Smith, the man who was late, because you are so much better at handling things like this.B: Oh, alright. I'll see him. I must say I agree with you about there being bad feelings in the works. I've had the idea for some time that Jack Green's been busy stirring things up in connection with the latest wage claim. He's always trying to make trouble. Well, I'll get the manager to send Smith up here.Q8. What will happen to the press operator who was late for the work according to the woman?Q9. What does the man say about John who stands by the time clock?Q10. Why does the man suggest the woman see the worker who was late?Q11. What does the woman say about Jack Green?Conversation 2A: Our topic today is about somethings that foreigners nearly always say when they visit Britain. It's 'Why are the British so cold?' And they're talking about the British personality – the famous British 'reserve'. It means that we aren't very friendly, we aren't very open.B: So do you think it's true?A: It's a difficult one. So many people who visit Britain say it's difficult to make friends with British people. They say we're cold, reserved, unfriendly...B: I think it's true. Look at Americans or Australians. They speak the same language, but they're much more open. And you see it when you travel, people - I mean strangers - speak to you on the street or on the train. British people seldom speak on the train. Or the bus. Not in London, anyway.A: 'Not in London'. That's it. Capital cities are full of tourists and are never very friendly. People are different in other parts of the country.B: Not completely. I met a woman once, an Italian. She's been working in Manchester for two years,and no one - not one of her colleagues - had ever invited her to their home. They were friendly to her at work, but nothing else. She couldn't believe it. She said that would never happen in Italy.A: You know what they say –'an Englishman's home is his ca stle'. It’s really difficult to get inside.B: Yeah. It's about being private. You go home to your house and your garden and you close the door. It's your place.A: That's why the British don't like flats. They prefer to live in houses.B: That’s tru e.Q12. What do foreigners generally think of British people according to the woman?Q13. What may British people typically do one the train according to the man?Q14. What does the man say about the Italian woman working in Manchester?Q15. Why do British people prefer houses to flats?听力篇章Passage OneIn college, time is scarce, and consequently, very precious. At the same time, expenses in college pile up surprisingly quickly. A part time job is a good way to balance costs while ensuring there is enough time left over for both academic subjects and after-class activities.If you are a college student looking for a part time job, the best place to start your job search is right on campus. There are tons of on-campus job opportunities, and a s a student, you’ll automatically be given hiring priority. Plus, on-campus jobs eliminate commuting time, and could be a great way to connect with academic and professional resources at your university. Check with your school’s career service or employmen t office for help to find a campus job. Of course, there are opportunities for part-time work off-campus, too. If you spend a little time digging for the right part time jobs, you’ll save yourself time when you find a job that leaves you with enough time to get your school work done, too. If you are a college student looking for work but worry you won’t have enough time to devote to academic subjects, consider working as a study hall or a library monitor. Responsibilities generally include supervising study spaces to ensure that a quiet atmosphere is maintained. It’s a pretty easy job, but one with lots of downtime-which means you will have plenty of time to catch up on reading, do homework or study for an exam.Q16: What does the speaker say about college students applying for on-campus jobs?Q17: What can students do to find a campus job according to the speaker？Q18: What does the speaker say is a library monitor’s responsibility?Passage TwoAgricultural workers in green tea fields near Mt. Kenya are gathering the tea leaves. It is beautiful to see. The rows of tea bushes are straight. All appears to be well. But the farmers who planted the bushes are worried. Nelson Kibara is one of them. He has been growing tea in the Kerugoya area for 40 years.He says the prices this year have been so low that he has made almost no profit. He says he must grow different kinds of tea if he is to survive.Mr. Kibara and hundreds of other farmers have been removing some of their tea bushes and planting a new kind of tea developed by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya. Its leaves are purple and brown. When the tea is boiled, the drink has a purple color. Medical researchers have studied the health benefits of the new tea. They say it is healthier than green tea and could be sold for a price that is three to four times higher than the price of green tea.But Mr. Kibara says he has not received a higher price for his purple tea crop.He says the market for the tea is unstable and he is often forced to sell his purple tea for the same price as green tea leaves. He says there are not enough buyers willing to pay more for the purple tea.Q19. Why have tea farmers in Kenya decided to grow purple tea?Q20. What do researchers say about purple tea?Q21. What does Mr. Kibara find about purple tea?Passage ThreeToday's consumers want beautiful handcrafted s to wear and to have for their home environment. They prefer something unique and they demand quality. Craftsmen today are meeting this demand. People and homes are showing great change as more and more unique handcrafted items become available. Handcrafts are big business. No long does a good craftsman have to work in a job he dislikes all day and then try to create at night. He has earned his professional status. He is now a respected member of society. Parts of the fun of being a craftsman is meeting other craftsmen. They love to share their ideas and materials and help others find markets for their work. Craftsmen have helped educate consumers to make wise choices. They help them become aware of design and technique. They help them relate their choice to its intended use. They often involve consumers in trying the craft themselves. When a group of craftsmen expends to include more members, a small craftorganization is formed. Such an organization does a lot in training workshops in special media, craft marketing techniques, craft fairs and sales, festivals, TV appearances and demonstrations. State art councils help sponsor local arts and crafts festivals which draw crowds of tourist consumers. This boosts the local economy considerably because tourists not only buy crafts, but they also use the restaurants and hotels and other services of the area.Q22. What does the speaker say about today's consumers?Q23. What does the speaker say about a good craftsman in the past?Q24. What do craftsmen help consumers do?Q25. Why do state art council’s help sponsor local arts and crafts festivals?。
2016年12月大学英语四级真题及答案(第1套)
参考范文：Stated-owned business or Joint ventureUpon graduation, virtually all college students will confront the problem of the career choice，which is truly a tough choice. Students' opinions differ greatly on this issue. Some hold that there is no better way to get a decent job than working in a stated-owned business which will guarantee my life after retirement, but others take the attitude that a joint venture outweighs any other jobs as it may provide higher income for employees.As to myself, I prefer the latter view. A joint venture, especially a high-salary joint venture, exerts a tremendous fascination on a great number of people, with no exception to me. Although it might be impossible to make sure my retirement pension is good enough, high-salary is exactly what I need just now. In my view, our career choices largely depend on where we want to stay for the rest of life. For me, metropolis is the place where I can grasp loads of opportunities and achieve my personal dreams. As I hold the view that live in the moment, not the future, and also in order to finance myself in some aspects such as the transportation, the house-renting, or social activities, a joint venture can satisfy my needs for the consumption I mentioned above.In short, a joint venture is the first and only consideration in my choice of career.听力答案：Section A1. [A] It was dangerous to live in.2. [B] A storm3. [B] They were trapped in an underground elevator.4. [C] They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.5. [D] Close some of its post office.6. [C] Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.7. [A] Many post office staff will lose their jobs.Section B8. [D] He will lose part of his pay.9. [B] He is a trustworthy guy.10.[D] She is better at handling such matters.11.[C] He is always trying to stir up trouble.12. [D] Reserved13. [A] They stay quiet14. [C] She was never invited to a colleague’s home.15. [B] Houses provide more privacySection C16. [D] They will automatically be given hiring priority.17. [C] Visit the school careers service.18. [B] Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.19. [C] It may be sold at a higher price.20. [A] It is healthier than green tee.21. [D] It does not have a stable market.22. [B] They prefer unique objects of high quality.23. [B] They could only try to create at night.24. [A] Make wise choices.25. [A] To boost the local economy.听力原文短篇新闻2Section A - 2Rescue efforts were underway Thursday morning for 17 miners who were stuck in an elevator below ground at a Cargill rock salt mine near Lansing, New York, according to Marcia Lynch.Public information officer with Tompkins County’s emergency response department, emergency workers have made contact with the miners via a radio. And they all appear to be uninjured, said Jessica Verfuss, the emergency department’s assistant director.Crews have managed to provide heat packs and blankets to the miners so that they can keep warm during the rescue operation, Verfuss said. Details about what led to the workers’ being trapped in the elevator went immediately available. The mine, along New York’s Cayuga Lake, processes salt used for road treatment. It produces about 2 million tons of salt that is shipped to more than 1,500 places in the northeastern United States, the rock salt mine is one of three operated by Cargill with the other two in Louisiana and Ohio.Q3. What does the news report say about the salt miners?Q4.What did the rescue team do?短篇新闻3Section A - 3The U.S. Postal Service announced today that it is considering closing about 3,700 post offices over the next year because of falling revenues.Facing an $8.3 billion budget deficit this year, closing post officers is one of several proposals the Postal Service has put forth recently to cut costs. Last week, for example, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe announced plans to stop mail delivery on Saturdays, a move he says could save $3 billion annually.“We are losing revenue as we speak,” Donahoe said. “We do not want taxpayer money. We want to be self-sufficient. So like any other business you have to make choices.”Dean Granholm the vice president for delivery and post office operations said the first waves of closings would begin this fall. He estimated that about 3,000 postmasters, 500 station managers and between 500 and 1,000 postal clerks could lose their jobs.Q5.What is the U.S. Postal Service planning to do?Q6.What measure has been planned to save costs?Q7.What will happen when the proposed measure come into effect?长对话1&2Conversation 1A: Mrs. Hampton, we've got trouble in the press room this morning.B: Oh dear. What about?A: One of the press operators arrived an hour and a half late.B: But that's a straightforward affair. He will simply lose part of his pay. That's why we have a clock-in system.A: But the point is the man was clocked-in at 8 o'clock. We have John standing by the time clock, and he swears he saw nothing irregular.B: Is John reliable?A: Yes, he is. That's why we chose him for the job.B: Have you spoken to the man who was late?A: Not yet. I thought I'd have a word with you first. He's a difficult man, and I think there's been some trouble on the shop floor. I've got a feelingthat trade union representative is behind this. The manager told me that Jack Green's been very active around the shop the last few days.B: Well, what do you want me to do?A: I was wondering if you'd see Smith, the man who was late, because you are so much better at handling things like this.B: Oh, alright. I'll see him. I must say I agree with you about there being bad feelings in the works. I've had the idea for some time that Jack Green's been busy stirring things up in connection with the latest wage claim. He's always trying to make trouble. Well, I'll get the manager to send Smith up here.Q8. What will happen to the press operator who was late for the work according to the woman?Q9. What does the man say about John who stands by the time clock?Q10. Why does the man suggest the woman see the worker who was late?Q11. What does the woman say about Jack Green?Conversation 2A: Our topic today is about somethings that foreigners nearly always say when they visit Britain. It's 'Why are the British so cold?' And they'retalking about the British personality – the famous British 'reserve'. It means that we aren't very friendly, we aren't very open.B: So do you think it's true?A: It's a difficult one. So many people who visit Britain say it'sdifficult to make friends with British people. They say we're cold, reserved, unfriendly...B: I think it's true. Look at Americans or Australians. They speak the same language, but they're much more open. And you see it when you travel, people - I mean strangers - speak to you on the street or on the train. British people seldom speak on the train. Or the bus. Not in London, anyway.A: 'Not in London'. That's it. Capital cities are full of tourists and are never very friendly. People are different in other parts of the country.B: Not completely. I met a woman once, an Italian. She's been working in Manchester for two years,and no one - not one of her colleagues - had ever invited her to their home. They were friendly to her at work, but nothing else. She couldn't believe it. She said that would never happen in Italy.A: You know what they say – 'an Englishman's home is his castle'. It’s really difficult to get inside.B: Yeah. It's about being private. You go home to your house and your garden and you close the door. It's your place.A: That's why the British don't like flats. They prefer to live in houses.B: That’s true.Q12. What do foreigners generally think of British people according to the woman?Q13. What may British people typically do one the train according to the man?Q14. What does the man say about the Italian woman working in Manchester?Q15. Why do British people prefer houses to flats?听力篇章Passage OneIn college, time is scarce, and consequently, very precious. At the same time, expenses in college pile up surprisingly quickly. A part time job is a good way to balance costs while ensuring there is enough time left over for both academic subjects and after-class activities.If you are a college student looking for a part time job, the best place to start your job search is right on campus. There are tons of on-campus job opportunities, and as a student, you’ll automatically be given hiringpriority. Plus, on-campus jobs eliminate commuting time, and could be a great way to connect with academic and professional resources at your university. Check with your school’s career service or employment office for help to find a campus job. Of course, there are opportunities for part-time work off-campus,too. If you spend a little time digging for the right part time jobs, you’ll save yourself time when you find a job that leaves you with enough time to get your school work done, too. If you are a college student looking for work but worry you won’t have enough time to devote to academic subjects, consider working as a study hall or a library monitor. Responsibilities generally include supervising study spaces to ensure that a quiet atmosphere is maintained. It’s a pretty easy job, but one with lots of downtime-which means you will have plenty of time to catch up on reading, do homework or study for an exam.Q16: What does the speaker say about college students applying for on-campus jobs?Q17: What can students do to find a campus job according to the speaker?Q18: What does the speaker say is a library monitor’s responsibility?Passage TwoAgricultural workers in green tea fields near Mt. Kenya are gathering the tea leaves. It is beautiful to see. The rows of tea bushes are straight. All appears to be well. But the farmers who planted the bushes are worried. Nelson Kibara is one of them. He has been growing tea in the Kerugoya area for 40 years.He says the prices this year have been so low that he has made almost no profit. He says he must grow different kinds of tea if he is to survive.Mr. Kibara and hundreds of other farmers have been removing some of their tea bushes and planting a new kind of tea developed by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya. Its leaves are purple and brown. When the tea is boiled, the drink has a purple color. Medical researchers have studied the health benefits of the new tea. They say it is healthier than green tea and could be sold for a price that is three to four times higher than the price of green tea.But Mr. Kibara says he has not received a higher price for his purple tea crop.He says the market for the tea is unstable and he is often forced to sell his purple tea for the same price as green tea leaves. He says there are not enough buyers willing to pay more for the purple tea.Q19. Why have tea farmers in Kenya decided to grow purple tea?Q20. What do researchers say about purple tea?Q21. What does Mr. Kibara find about purple tea?Passage ThreeToday's consumers want beautiful handcrafted s to wear and to have fortheir home environment. They prefer something unique and they demand quality. Craftsmen today are meeting this demand. People and homes are showing great change as more and more unique handcrafted items become available. Handcrafts are big business. No long does a good craftsman have to work in a job he dislikes all day and then try to create at night. He has earned his professional status. He is now a respected member of society. Parts of the fun of being a craftsman is meeting other craftsmen. They love to share their ideas and materials and help others find markets for their work. Craftsmen have helped educate consumers to make wise choices. They help them become aware of design and technique. They help them relate their choice to its intended use. They often involve consumers in trying the craft themselves. When a group of craftsmen expends to include more members, a small craft organization is formed. Such an organization does a lot in training workshops in special media, craft marketing techniques, craft fairs and sales, festivals, TV appearances and demonstrations. State art councils help sponsor local arts and crafts festivals which draw crowds of tourist consumers. This boosts the local economy considerably because tourists not only buy crafts, but they also use the restaurants and hotels and other services of the area.Q22. What does the speaker say about today's consumers?Q23. What does the speaker say about a good craftsman in the past?Q24. What do craftsmen help consumers do?Q25. Why do state art councilshelp sponsor local arts and crafts festivals?阅读答案：Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section A26. E) challenge空前主语为A new study，故此处应选一个动词第三人称单数作谓语，符合的词有E) challenges, M) suggests, 和 N) tastes，根据空后questioning，得出该空应填E) challenges 挑战，质疑。
2016年12月大学英语四级真题第二套
2016年12月英语四级真题及答案详解和听力原文第二套2016年12月英语四级真题第二套Part I 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)For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation: one is to work in a state-owned business and the other in a joint venture. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension （25 minutes )Section ADirections：In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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). Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer sheet1with a single line through the centre.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just the heard .1. A) It was dangerous to live in.C) He could no longer pay the rent.B) It was going to be renovated. D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A strike.B)A storm. C) A forest fire. D) A Terrorist attack.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard .3. A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B) They were trapped in an underground elevator.C) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.D) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.4. A) They tried hard to repair the accident.B) They released the details of the accident.C) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.D) They provided the miner with food and water.Question s 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard .5. A) Raise postage rates. C) Redesign delivery routes.B) Improve its services. D) Close some of its post offices.6. A) Shortening business hours. C) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.B) Closing offices on holidays. D) Computerizing mail sorting processes.7. A) Many post office staff will lose their jobs. C) Taxpayers will be very pleased.B) Many people will begin to complain. D) A lot of controversy will arise.Section BDirections：In this section，you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation，you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from four choice marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter an Answer sheet1 with a single line though the centre.Question s 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard .8. A) He will be kept from promotion.C) He will be given a warning.B) He will go through retraining. D) He will lose part of his pay.9. A) He is always on time. C) He is an experienced press operator.B) He is trustworthy guy. D) He is on good terms with his workmates.10. A) She is a trade union representative. C) She is a senior manager of the shop.B) She is in charge of public relation. D) She is better at handing such matters.11. A) He is skilled and experienced.C) He is always trying to stir up trouble.B) He is very close to the manager.D) He is always complaining about low wages.Question s 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard .12. A) Open.B) Friendly. C) Selfish.D)Reserved.13. A)They stay quiet.C) They talk about the weather.B) They read a book. D) They chat with fellow passengers.14. A) She was always treated as a foreigner.B) She was eager to visit an English castle.C) She was never invited to a colleague’s home.D) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.15. A) House are much more quiet. C) They want to have more space.B) Houses provide more privacy. D) They want a garden of their own.Section CDirections：In this section，you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard .16.A) They don’t have much choice of jobs.B) They are likely to get much higher pay.C) They don’t have to go through job interviews.D) They will automatically be given hiring priority.17. A)Ask their professors for help. C) Visit the school careers services.B)Look at school bulletin boards. D) Go through campus newspapers.18. A)Helping students find the books and journals they need.B)Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.C)Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.D)Providing students with information about the library.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard .19. A) It tastes better. C) It may be sold at a higher price.B) It is easier to grow.D) It can better survive extreme weathers.20. A) It is healthier than green tea.C) It will replace green tea one day.B) It can grow in drier soil. D) It is immune to various diseases.21. A)It has been well received by many tea drinkers.B) It does not bring the promised health benefits.C)It has made tea farmers’life easier.D) It does not have a stable market.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard .22. A) They need decorations to show their status.B) They prefer unique objects of high quality.C) They decorate their homes themselves.D) They care more about environment.23. A) They were proud of their creations.B) They could only try to create at night.C) They made great contributions to society.D) They focused on the quality of their products.24. A) Make wise choices.C) Design handicrafts themselves.B)Identify fake crafts. D) Learn the importance of creation.25. A) To boost the local economy. C) To arouse public interest in crafts.B) To attract foreign investments.D)To preserve the traditional culture.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 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 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.The ocean is heating up. That’s the conclusion of a new study that finds that Earth’s oceans now26 heat at twice the rate they did 18 years ago. Around half of ocean heat intake since 1865 has taken place since 1997, researchers report online in Nature Climate Change.Warming waters are known to27 to coral bleaching（珊瑚白化)and they take up more space than cooler waters, raising sea28 . While the top of the ocean is well studied, its depths are more difficult to 29 . The researchers gathered 150 years of ocean temperature data in order to get a better 30 of heat absorption from surface to seabed. They gathered together temperature readings collected by everything from a 19th century 31 of British naval ships to modern automated ocean probes. The extensive data sources, 32 with computer simulations(计算机模拟), created a timeline of ocean temperature changes, including cooling from volcanic outbreaks and warming from fossil fuel33 .About 35 percent of the heat taken in by the oceans during the industrial era now resides at a34 of more than 700 meters, the researchers found. They say they’re 35 whether the deepsea warming canceled out warming at the sea’s surface.A) absorbB) combinedC) contribute D) depthE) emissionsF) excursionG) exploreH) floorI) heightsJ) indifferentK) levelsL) mixedM) pictureN) unsureO) voyageSection BDirections: 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.The Secret to Raising Smart Kids[A] I first began to investigate the basis of human motivation—and how people persevere after setbacks—as a psychology graduate student at Yale University in the 1960s. Animal experiments by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania had shown that after repeated failures, most animals conclude that a situation is hopeless and beyond their control. After such an experience an animal often remains passive even when it can effect change—a state they called learned helplessness.[B] People can learn to be helpless, too. Why do some students give up when they encounter difficulty, whereas others who are no more skilled continue to strive and learn? One answer, I soon discovered, lay in people’s beliefs about why they had failed.[C] In particular, attributing poor performance to a lack of ability depresses motivation more than does the belief that lack of effort is to blame. When I told a group of school children who displayed helpless behavior that a lack of effort led to their mistakes in math, they learned to keep trying when the problems got tough. Another group of helpless children who were simply rewarded for their success on easier problems did not improve their ability to solve hard math problems. These experiments indicated that a focus on effort can help resolve helplessness and generate success.[D] Later, I developed a broader theory of what separates the two general classes of learners —helpless versus mastery-oriented. I realized these different types of students not only explain their failures differently, but they also hold different “theories”of intelligence. The helpless ones believe intelligence is a fixed characteristic: you have only a certain amount, and that’s that.I call this a “fixed mind-set(思维模式).”Mistakes crack their self-confidence because they attribute errors to a lack of ability, which they feel powerless to change. They avoid challenges because challenges make mistakes more likely. The mastery-oriented children, on the other hand, think intelligence is not fixed and can be developed through education and hard work. Such children believe challenges are energizing rather than intimidating(令人生畏)；they offer opportunities to learn. Students with such a growth mind-set were destined(注定) for greater academic success and were quite likely to outperform their counterparts.[E] We validated these expectations in a study in which two other psychologists and I monitored 373 students for two years during the transition to junior high school, when the work gets more grades. At the beginning of seventh grade,, we accessed the students’mind-sets by asking them to agree or disagree with statements such as “Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t really change.”we then assessed their beliefs about other aspects of learning and looked to see what happened to their grades.[F] As predicted the students with a growth mind-set felt that learning was a more important goal than getting good grades. In addition, they held hard work in high regard. They understood that even geniuses have to work hard. Confronted by a setback such as a disappointing test grade, students with a growth mind-set said they would study harder or try a different strategy. The students who held a fixed mind-set, however, were concerned about looking smart with less regard for learning. They had negative views of effort, believing that having to work hard was a sigh of low ability. They thought that a person with talent or intelligence did not need to work hard to do well. Attributing a bad grade to their own lack of ability, those with a fixed mind-set said that they would study less in the future, try never to take that subject again and consider cheating on future tests.[G] Such different outlooks had a dramatic impact on performance. At the start of juniorhigh, the math achievement test scores of the students with a growth mine-set were comparable to those of students who displayed a fixed mind-set. But as the work became more difficult, the students with a growth mind-set showed greater persistence. As a result, their math grades overtook those of the other students by the end of the first semester—and the gap between the two groups continued to widen during the two years we followed them.[H] A fixed mind-set can also hinder communication and progress in the workplace and discourage or ignore constructive criticism and advice. Research shows that managers who have a fixed mind-set are less likely to seek or welcome feedback from their employees than are managers with a growth mind-set.[I] How do we transmit a growth mind-set to our children? One way is by telling stories about achievements that result from hard work. For instance, talking about mathematical geniuses who were more or less born that way puts students in a fixed mind-set, but descriptions of growth mathematicians who fell in love with math and developed amazing skills produce a growth mind-set.[J] In addition, parents and teachers can help children by providing explicit instruction regarding the mind as a learning machine. I designed an eight-session workshop for 91 students whose math grades were declining in their first year of junior high Forty-eight of the students received instruction in study skills only, whereas the others attended a combination of study skills sessions and classes in which they learned about the growth mind-set and how to apply it to schoolwork. In the growth mind-set classes, students read and discussed an article entitled “You Can Grow Your Brain.”They were taught that the brain is like a muscle that gets stronger with use and that learning prompts the brain to grow new connections. From such instruction, many students began to see themselves as agents of their own brain development. Despite being unaware that there were two types of instruction, teachers reported significant motivational changes in 27% of the children in the growth mind-set workshop as compared with only 9% of students in the control group.[K] Research is converging (汇聚) on the conclusion that great accomplishment and even genius is typically the result of years of passion and dedication and not something that flows naturally from a gift.36. The author’s experiment shows that students with a fixed mind-set believe having to work hard is an indication of low ability.37. Focusing on effort is effective in helping children overcome frustration and achieve success.38. We can cultivate a growth mind-set in children by telling success stories that emphasize hard work and love of learning.39. Students’belief about the cause of their failure explains their attitude toward setbacks.40. In the author’s experiment, students with a growth mind-set showed greater perseverance in solving difficult math problems.41. The author conducted an experiment to find out about the influence of students’mind-sets on math learning.42. After failing again and again, most animals give up hope.43. Informing students about the brain as a learning machine is a good strategy to enhance their motivation for learning.44. People with a fixed mind-set believe that one’s intelligence is unchangeable.45. In the workplace, feedback may not be so welcome to managers with a fixed mind-set.Section CDirections: 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 centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.“Sugar, alcohol and tobacco,”economist Adam Smith once wrote, “are commodities which are nowhere necessaries of life, which have become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are, therefore, extremely popular subjects of taxation.”Two and a half centuries on, most countries impose some sort of tax on alcohol and tobacco. With surging obesity levels putting increasing strain on public health systems, governments around the world have begun to toy with the idea of taxing sugar as well.Whether such taxes work is a matter of debate. A preliminary review of Mexico’s taxation found a fall in purchases of taxed drinks as well as a rise in sales of untaxed and healthier drinks. By contrast, a Danish tax on foods high in fats was abandoned a year after its introduction, amid claims that consumers were avoiding it by crossing the border to Germany to satisfy their desire for cheaper, fattier fare.The food industry has, in general, been firmly opposed to such direct government action. Nonetheless, the renewed focus on waistlines means that industry groups are under pressure to demonstrate their products are healthy as well as tasty.Over the past there decades, the industry has made some efforts to improve the quality of its offerings. For example, some drink manufacturers have cut the amount of sugar in their beverages.Many of the reductions over the past 30 years have been achieved either by reducing the amount of sugar, salt or fat in a product, or by finding an alternative ingredient. More recently, however, some companies have been investing money in a more ambitious undertaking: learning how to adjust the fundamental make-up of the food they sell. For example, having salt on the outside, but none on the inside, reduces the salt content without changing the taste.While reformulating recipes(配方) is one way to improve public health, it should be part of a multi-sided approach. The key is to remember that there is not just one solution. To deal with obesity, a mixture of approaches—including reformulation, taxation and adjusting portion sizes —will be needed. There is no silver bullet.46. What did Adam Smith say about sugar, alcohol and tobacco?A) They were profitable to manufacture.B) They were in ever-increasing demand.C) They were subject to taxation almost everywhere.D) They were no longer considered necessities of life.47. Why have many countries started to consider taxing sugar?A) They are under growing pressure to balance their national budgets.B) They find it ever harder to cope with sugar-induced health problems.C) The practice of taxing alcohol and tobacco has proved both popular and profitable.D) The sugar industry is overtaking alcohol and tobacco business in generating profits.48. What do we learn about Danish taxation on fat-rich foods?A) It did not work out as well as was expected.B) It gave rise to a lot of problems on the border.C) It could not succeed without German cooperation.D) It met with firm opposition from the food industry.49. What is the more recent effort by food companies to make foods and drinks both healthy and tasty?A) Replacing sugar or salt with alternative ingredients.B) Setting a limit on the amount of sugar or salt in their products.C) Investing in research to find ways to adapt to consumers’needs.D) Adjusting the physical composition of their products.50. What does the author mean by saying, at the end of the passage, “There is no silver bullet”(Line 4, Para.7)?A) There is no single easy quick solution to the problem.B) There is no hope of success without public cooperation.C) There is no hurry in finding ways to solve the obesity problem.D) There is no effective way to reduce people’s sugar consumption.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.You may have heard some of the fashion industry horror stories: models casting tissues or cotton balls to hold off hunger, and models collapsing from hunger-induced heart attacks just seconds after they step off runway.Excessively skinny models have been a point of controversy for decades, and two researchers say a model’s body mass should be a workplace health and safety issue. In an editorial released Monday in the American Journal of Public Health, Katherine Record and Bryn Austin made their case for government regulation of the fashion industry.The average international runway model has a body mass index(BMI)under 16—low enough to indicate starvation by the World Health Organization’s standard. And Record and Austin are worried not just about the models themselves, but about the vast number of girls and women their images influence.“Especially girls and teens.”Says Record. “Seventy percent of girls aged 10 to 18 report that they define perfect body image based on what they see in magazines.”That’s especially worrying, she says, given that anorexia（厌食症)results in more deaths than does any other mental illness, according to the National institute of Mental Health.It’s commonly known that certain diseases are linked with occupations like lung disease in coal miners. Professional fashion models are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders resulting from occupational demands to maintain extreme thinness.Record’s suggestion is to prohibit agents from hiring models with a BMI below 18.In April, France passed a law setting lower limits for a model’s weight. Agents and fashion houses who hire models with a BMI under 18 could pay $82,000 in fines and spend up to 6 months in jail. Regulating the fashion industry in the United States won’t be easy, Record says. But with the new rules in France, U.S. support could make a difference. “A designer can’t survive without participating in Paris Fashion Week”, she says, adding, “Our argument is that the same would be true of New York Fashion Week.”51. What do Record and Austin say about fashion models’body mass?A) It has caused needless controversy.C) It is the focus of the modeling business.B) It is but a matter of personal taste.D) It affects models’health and safety.52. What are Record and Austin advocating in the Monday editorial?A) A change in the public’s view of female beauty.B) Government legislation about models’weight.C) Elimination of forced weight loss by models.D) Prohibition of models eating non-food stuff.53. Why are Record and Austin especially worried about the low body mass index of models?A) It contributes to many mental illnesses.B) It defines the future of the fashion industry.C) It has great influence on numerous girls and women.D) It keeps many otherwise qualified women off the runway.54. What do we learn about France’s fashion industry?A) It has difficulty hiring models.C) It allows girls under 18 on the runway.B) It has now a new law to follow.D) It has overtaken that of the United States.55. What does Record expect of New York Fashion Week?A) It will create a completely new set of rules.B) It will do better than Paris Fashion Week.C) It will differ from Paris Fashion Week.D) It will have models with a higher BMI.Part IV Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.随着中国的改革开放，如今很多年轻人都喜欢举行西式婚礼。
2016年12月大学英语四级真题第二套
2016年12月英语四级真题及答案详解和听力原文第二套2016年12月英语四级真题第二套Part I 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)For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation: one is to work in a state-owned business and the other in a joint venture. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension 〔25 minutes )Section ADirections：In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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). Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer sheet1with a single line through the centre.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just the heard .1. A) It was dangerous to live in. C) He could no longer pay the rent.B) It was going to be renovated. D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A strike. B)A storm. C) A forest fire. D) A Terrorist attack.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard .3. A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B) They were trapped in an underground elevator.C) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.D) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.4. A) They tried hard to repair the accident.B) They released the details of the accident.C) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.D) They provided the miner with food and water.Question s 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard .5. A) Raise postage rates. C) Redesign delivery routes.B) Improve its services. D) Close some of its post offices.6. A) Shortening business hours. C) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.B) Closing offices on holidays. D) Computerizing mail sorting processes.7. A) Many post office staff will lose their jobs. C) Taxpayers will be very pleased.B) Many people will begin to complain. D) A lot of controversy will arise.Section BDirections：In this section，you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation，you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from four choice marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter an Answer sheet1 with a single line though the centre.Question s 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard .8. A) He will be kept from promotion.C) He will be given a warning.B) He will go through retraining. D) He will lose part of his pay.9. A) He is always on time. C) He is an experienced press operator.B) He is trustworthy guy. D) He is on good terms with his workmates.10. A) She is a trade union representative. C) She is a senior manager of the shop.B) She is in charge of public relation. D) She is better at handing such matters.11. A) He is skilled and experienced. C) He is always trying to stir up trouble.B) He is very close to the manager. D) He is always complaining about low wages.Question s 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard .12. A) Open. B) Friendly. C) Selfish. D)Reserved.13. A)They stay quiet. C) They talk about the weather.B) They read a book. D) They chat with fellow passengers.14. A) She was always treated as a foreigner.B) She was eager to visit an English castle.C) She was never invited to a colleague’s home.D) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.15. A) House are much more quiet. C) They want to have more space.B) Houses provide more privacy. D) They want a garden of their own.Section CDirections：In this section，you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard .16.A) They don’t have much choice of jobs.B) They are likely to get much higher pay.C) They don’t have to go through job interviews.D) They will automatically be given hiring priority.17. A)Ask their professors for help. C) Visit the school careers services.B)Look at school bulletin boards. D) Go through campus newspapers.18. A)Helping students find the books and journals they need.B)Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.C)Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.D)Providing students with information about the library.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard .19. A) It tastes better. C) It may be sold at a higher price.B) It is easier to grow. D) It can better survive extreme weathers.20. A) It is healthier than green tea. C) It will replace green tea one day.B) It can grow in drier soil. D) It is immune to various diseases.21. A)It has been well received by many tea drinkers.B) It does not bring the promised health benefits.C)It has made tea farmers’life easier.D) It does not have a stable market.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard .22. A) They need decorations to show their status.B) They prefer unique objects of high quality.C) They decorate their homes themselves.D) They care more about environment.23. A) They were proud of their creations.B) They could only try to create at night.C) They made great contributions to society.D) They focused on the quality of their products.24. A) Make wise choices. C) Design handicrafts themselves.B)Identify fake crafts. D) Learn the importance of creation.25. A) To boost the local economy. C) To arouse public interest in crafts.B) To attract foreign investments. D)To preserve the traditional culture.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 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 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.The ocean is heating up. That’s the conclusion of a new study that finds that Earth’s oceans now26 heat at twice the rate they did 18 years ago. Around half of ocean heat intake since 1865 has taken place since 1997, researchers report online in Nature Climate Change.Warming waters are known to27 to coral bleaching〔珊瑚白化)and they take up more space than cooler waters, raising sea28 . While the top of the ocean is well studied, its depths are more difficult to 29 . The researchers gathered 150 years of ocean temperature data in order to get a better 30 of heat absorption from surface to seabed. They gathered together temperature readings collected by everything from a 19th century 31 of British naval ships to modern automated ocean probes. The extensive data sources, 32 with computer simulations(电脑模拟), created a timeline of ocean temperature changes, including cooling from volcanic outbreaks and warming from fossil fuel33 .About 35 percent of the heat taken in by the oceans during the industrial era now resides at a 34 of more than 700 meters, the researchers found. They say they’re 35 whether the deep sea warming canceled out warming at the sea’s surface.A) absorbB) combinedC) contribute D) depthE) emissionsF) excursionG) exploreH) floorI) heightsJ) indifferentK) levelsL) mixedM) pictureN) unsureO) voyageSection BDirections: 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.The Secret to Raising Smart Kids[A] I first began to investigate the basis of human motivation—and how people persevere after setbacks—as a psychology graduate student at Yale University in the 1960s. Animal experiments by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania had shown that after repeated failures, most animals conclude that a situation is hopeless and beyond their control. After such an experience an animal often remains passive even when it can effect change—a state they called learned helplessness.[B] People can learn to be helpless, too. Why do some students give up when they encounter difficulty, whereas others who are no more skilled continue to strive and learn? One answer, I soon discovered, lay in people’s beliefs about why they had failed.[C] In particular, attributing poor performance to a lack of ability depresses motivation more than does the belief that lack of effort is to blame. When I told a group of school children who displayed helpless behavior that a lack of effort led to their mistakes in math, they learned to keep trying when the problems got tough. Another group of helpless children who were simply rewarded for their success on easier problems did not improve their ability to solve hard math problems. These experiments indicated that a focus on effort can help resolve helplessness and generate success.[D] Later, I developed a broader theory of what separates the two general classes of learners —helpless versus mastery-oriented. I realized these different types of students not only explain their failures differently, but they also hold different “theories”of intelligence. The helpless ones believe intelligence is a fixed characteristic: you have only a certain amount, and that’s that.I call this a “fixed mind-set(思维模式).”Mistakes crack their self-confidence because they attribute errors to a lack of ability, which they feel powerless to change. They avoid challenges because challenges make mistakes more likely. The mastery-oriented children, on the other hand, think intelligence is not fixed and can be developed through education and hard work. Such children believe challenges are energizing rather than intimidating(令人生畏)；they offer opportunities to learn. Students with such a growth mind-set were destined(注定) for greater academic success and were quite likely to outperform their counterparts.[E] We validated these expectations in a study in which two other psychologists and Imonitored 373 students for two years during the transition to junior high school, when the work gets more grades. At the beginning of seventh grade,, we accessed the students’mind-sets by asking them to agree or disagree with statements such as “Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t really change.”we then assessed their beliefs about other aspects of learning and looked to see what happened to their grades.[F] As predicted the students with a growth mind-set felt that learning was a more important goal than getting good grades. In addition, they held hard work in high regard. They understood that even geniuses have to work hard. Confronted by a setback such as a disappointing test grade, students with a growth mind-set said they would study harder or try a different strategy. The students who held a fixed mind-set, however, were concerned about looking smart with less regard for learning. They had negative views of effort, believing that having to work hard was a sigh of low ability. They thought that a person with talent or intelligence did not need to work hard to do well. Attributing a bad grade to their own lack of ability, those with a fixed mind-set said that they would study less in the future, try never to take that subject again and consider cheating on future tests.[G] Such different outlooks had a dramatic impact on performance. At the start of junior high, the math achievement test scores of the students with a growth mine-set were comparable to those of students who displayed a fixed mind-set. But as the work became more difficult, the students with a growth mind-set showed greater persistence. As a result, their math grades overtook those of the other students by the end of the first semester—and the gap between the two groups continued to widen during the two years we followed them.[H] A fixed mind-set can also hinder communication and progress in the workplace and discourage or ignore constructive criticism and advice. Research shows that managers who have a fixed mind-set are less likely to seek or welcome feedback from their employees than are managers with a growth mind-set.[I] How do we transmit a growth mind-set to our children? One way is by telling stories about achievements that result from hard work. For instance, talking about mathematical geniuses who were more or less born that way puts students in a fixed mind-set, but descriptions of growth mathematicians who fell in love with math and developed amazing skills produce a growth mind-set.[J] In addition, parents and teachers can help children by providing explicit instruction regarding the mind as a learning machine. I designed an eight-session workshop for 91 students whose math grades were declining in their first year of junior high Forty-eight of the students received instruction in study skills only, whereas the others attended a combination of study skills sessions and classes in which they learned about the growth mind-set and how to apply it to schoolwork. In the growth mind-set classes, students read and discussed an article entitled “You Can Grow Your Brain.”They were taught that the brain is like a muscle that gets stronger with use and that learning prompts the brain to grow new connections. From such instruction, many students began to see themselves as agents of their own brain development. Despite being unaware that there were two types of instruction, teachers reported significant motivational changes in 27% of the children in the growth mind-set workshop as compared with only 9% ofstudents in the control group.[K] Research is converging (汇聚) on the conclusion that great accomplishment and even genius is typically the result of years of passion and dedication and not something that flows naturally from a gift.36. The author’s experiment shows that students with a fixed mind-set believe having to work hard is an indication of low ability.37. Focusing on effort is effective in helping children overcome frustration and achieve success.38. We can cultivate a growth mind-set in children by telling success stories that emphasize hard work and love of learning.39. Students’belief about the cause of their failure explains their attitude toward setbacks.40. In the author’s experiment, students with a growth mind-set showed greater perseverance in solving difficult math problems.41. The author conducted an experiment to find out about the influence of students’mind-sets on math learning.42. After failing again and again, most animals give up hope.43. Informing students about the brain as a learning machine is a good strategy to enhance their motivation for learning.44. People with a fixed mind-set believe that one’s intelligence is unchangeable.45. In the workplace, feedback may not be so welcome to managers with a fixed mind-set.Section CDirections: 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 centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.“Sugar, alcohol and tobacco,”economist Adam Smith once wrote, “are commodities which are nowhere necessaries of life, which have become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are, therefore, extremely popular subjects of taxation.”Two and a half centuries on, most countries impose some sort of tax on alcohol and tobacco. With surging obesity levels putting increasing strain on public health systems, governments around the world have begun to toy with the idea of taxing sugar as well.Whether such taxes work is a matter of debate. A preliminary review of Mexico’s taxation found a fall in purchases of taxed drinks as well as a rise in sales of untaxed and healthier drinks. By contrast, a Danish tax on foods high in fats was abandoned a year after its introduction, amid claims that consumers were avoiding it by crossing the border to Germany to satisfy their desire for cheaper, fattier fare.The food industry has, in general, been firmly opposed to such direct government action. Nonetheless, the renewed focus on waistlines means that industry groups are under pressure to demonstrate their products are healthy as well as tasty.Over the past there decades, the industry has made some efforts to improve the quality of its offerings. For example, some drink manufacturers have cut the amount of sugar in their beverages.Many of the reductions over the past 30 years have been achieved either by reducing the amount of sugar, salt or fat in a product, or by finding an alternative ingredient. More recently, however, some companies have been investing money in a more ambitious undertaking: learning how to adjust the fundamental make-up of the food they sell. For example, having salt on the outside, but none on the inside, reduces the salt content without changing the taste.While reformulating recipes(配方) is one way to improve public health, it should be part of a multi-sided approach. The key is to remember that there is not just one solution. To deal with obesity, a mixture of approaches—including reformulation, taxation and adjusting portion sizes —will be needed. There is no silver bullet.46. What did Adam Smith say about sugar, alcohol and tobacco?A) They were profitable to manufacture.B) They were in ever-increasing demand.C) They were subject to taxation almost everywhere.D) They were no longer considered necessities of life.47. Why have many countries started to consider taxing sugar?A) They are under growing pressure to balance their national budgets.B) They find it ever harder to cope with sugar-induced health problems.C) The practice of taxing alcohol and tobacco has proved both popular and profitable.D) The sugar industry is overtaking alcohol and tobacco business in generating profits.48. What do we learn about Danish taxation on fat-rich foods?A) It did not work out as well as was expected.B) It gave rise to a lot of problems on the border.C) It could not succeed without German cooperation.D) It met with firm opposition from the food industry.49. What is the more recent effort by food companies to make foods and drinks both healthy and tasty?A) Replacing sugar or salt with alternative ingredients.B) Setting a limit on the amount of sugar or salt in their products.C) Investing in research to find ways to adapt to consumers’ needs.D) Adjusting the physical composition of their products.50. What does the author mean by saying, at the end of the passage, “There is no silver bullet”(Line 4, Para.7)?A) There is no single easy quick solution to the problem.B) There is no hope of success without public cooperation.C) There is no hurry in finding ways to solve the obesity problem.D) There is no effective way to reduce people’s sugar consumption.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.You may have heard some of the fashion industry horror stories: models casting tissues or cotton balls to hold off hunger, and models collapsing from hunger-induced heart attacks just seconds after they step off runway.Excessively skinny models have been a point of controversy for decades, and two researchers say a model’s body mass should be a workplace health and safety issue. In an editorial released Monday in the American Journal of Public Health, Katherine Record and Bryn Austin made their case for government regulation of the fashion industry.The average international runway model has a body mass index(BMI)under 16—low enough to indicate starvation by the World Health Organization’s standard. And Record and Austin are worried not just about the models themselves, but about the vast number of girls and women their images influence.“Especially girls and teens.”Says Record. “Seventy percent of girls aged 10 to 18 report that they define perfect body image based on what they see in magazines.”That’s especially worrying, she says, given that anorexia〔厌食症)results in more deaths than does any other mental illness, according to the National institute of Mental Health.It’s commonly known that certain diseases are linked with occupations like lung disease in coal miners. Professional fashion models are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders resultingfrom occupational demands to maintain extreme thinness.Record’s suggestion is to prohibit agents from hiring models with a BMI below 18.In April, France passed a law setting lower limits for a model’s weight. Agents and fashion houses who hire models with a BMI under 18 could pay $82,000 in fines and spend up to 6 months in jail. Regulating the fashion industry in the United States won’t be easy, Record says. But with the new rules in France, U.S. support could make a difference. “A designer can’t survive without participating in Paris Fashion Week”, she says, adding, “Our argument is that the same would be true of New York Fashion Week.”51. What do Record and Austin say about fashion models’body mass?A) It has caused needless controversy. C) It is the focus of the modeling business.B) It is but a matter of personal taste. D) It affects models’health and safety.52. What are Record and Austin advocating in the Monday editorial?A) A change in the public’s view of female beauty.B) Government legislation about models’weight.C) Elimination of forced weight loss by models.D) Prohibition of models eating non-food stuff.53. Why are Record and Austin especially worried about the low body mass index of models?A) It contributes to many mental illnesses.B) It defines the future of the fashion industry.C) It has great influence on numerous girls and women.D) It keeps many otherwise qualified women off the runway.54. What do we learn about France’s fashion industry?A) It has difficulty hiring models. C) It allows girls under 18 on the runway.B) It has now a new law to follow. D) It has overtaken that of the United States.55. What does Record expect of New York Fashion Week?A) It will create a completely new set of rules.B) It will do better than Paris Fashion Week.C) It will differ from Paris Fashion Week.D) It will have models with a higher BMI.Part IV Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.随着中国的改革开放，如今很多年轻人都喜欢举行西式婚礼。
201612月大学英语四级第二套真题和答案解析
2016年12月大学英语四级试题（第二套）Part I 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：For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation: one is to take a job in a company and the other to go to a graduate school. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension（25 minutes）Section ADirections：In this section，you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report，you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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）. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer sheet1with a single line through the centre.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1. A) To satisfy the curiosity of tourists. C) To enable tourists to visit GoatIsland.B) To replace two old stone bridges. D) To improve utility services in the state2. A) Countless tree limbs. C) Lots of wrecked boats and ships.B) A few skeletons. D) Millions of coins on the bottom.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard3. A)It suspended diplomatic relations with Libya.B)It urged tourists to leave Tunisia immediately.C)It shut down two border crossings with Libya.D)It launched a fierce attack against Islamic State.4. A) Advise Tunisian civilians on how to take safety precautions.B)Track down the organization responsible for the terrorist attack.C)Train qualified security personnel for the Tunisian government.D)Devise a monitoring system on the Tunisian border with Libya.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) An environment-friendly battery. C) A plant-powered mobile phone charger.B) An energy-saving mobile phone. D) A device to help plants absorb sunlight.6. A) While sitting in their school's courtyard. C) While solving a mathematical problem.B) While playing games on their phones. D) While doing a chemical experiment.7. A)It increases the applications of mobile phonesB)It speeds up the process of photosynthesis.C)It improves the reception of mobile phones.D)It collects the energy released by plants.Section BDirections:In this section，you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation，you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question，you must choose the best answer from four choice marked A），B），C）and D）.Then mark the corresponding letter an Answer sheet1 with a single line though the centre.Question8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A) He visited the workshops in the Grimsby plant.B) He called the woman and left her a message.C)He used stand-ins as replacements on all lines.D)He asked a technician to fix the broken production line.9. A)Itis the most modern production line. C)It has stopped working completelyB)It assembles super-intelligent robots. D)It is going to be upgraded soon.10. A) To seek her permission. C) To request her to return at once.B) To place an order for robots. D) To ask for Tom's phone number.11. A) She is on duty. C) She is on sick leave.B) She is having her day off. D) She is abroad on business.Question12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) He saved a baby boy's life. C) He prevented a train crash.B) He wanted to be a superhero. D) He was a witness to an accident13. A) He has a 9-month-old boy. C) He enjoys the interview.B) He is currently unemployed. D) He commutes by subway.14. A) A rock on the tracks. C) A strong wind.B) A misplaced pushchair. D) A speeding car.15. A) She stood motionless in shock. C) She called the police at once.B) She cried bitterly. D) She shouted for help.Section C，you will Directions：In this section，you will hear three passages. At the end of each passagehear three or four 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.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A) She inherited her family ice-cream business in Billings.B)She loved the ice-cream business more than teaching primary school.C)She started an ice-cream business to finance her daughter's education.D)She wanted to have an ice-cream truck when she was a little girl.17. A)To preserve a tradition. C)To help local education.B)To amuse her daughter. D)To make some extra money.18. A)To raise money for business expansion. C)To allow poor kids to have ice-cream too.B)To make her truck attractive to children. D)To teach kids the value of mutual supportQuestions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A)The reasons for imposing taxes. C)The various burdens on ordinary citizens.B)The various serious money can buy. D)The function of money in the modern world.20. A)Educating and training citizens. C)Protecting people’s life and property.C)Improving public translation. D)Building hospitals and public libraries.21. A)By asking for donations. C)By selling government bonds.B)By selling public lands. D)By exploiting natural resources.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A)It is located at the center of the European continent.B)It relies on tourism as its chief source of revenues.C)It contains less than a square mile of land.D)It is surrounded by France on three sides.23. A)Its beauty is frequently mentioned in American media.B)Its ruler Prince Rainier married an American actress.C)It is where many American movies are shot.D)It is a favorite place Americans like to visit.24. A) Tobacco. B) Potatoes. C) Machinery. D) Clothing25. A)European history. C) Small countries in Europe.B)European geography. D) Tourist attractions in Europe.PARTⅢReading Comprehension （40 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 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 morethan once.The ocean is heating up. That's the conclusion of a new study that finds that Earth's oceans now (26)heat at twice the rate they did 18 years ago. Around half of ocean heat intake since 1865 has taken place since 1997, researchers report online in Nature Climate Change.Warming waters are known to (27)to coral bleaching(珊瑚白化) and they take up more space than cooler waters, raising sea (28). While the top of the ocean is studied, its depths are more difficult to (29)The researchers gathered 150 years of ocean temperature data in order to get better (30)of heat absorption from surface to seabed. They gathered together temperature readings collected by everything from a 19th century(31)of British naval ships to modern automated ocean probes. The extensive data sources, (32)with computer simulations(计算机模拟), created a timeline of ocean temperature changes, including cooling from volcanic outbreaks and warming from fossil fuel(33).About 35 percent of the heat taken in by the oceans during the industrial era now residents at a (34)of more than 700 meters, the researchers found. They say they're (35)whether the deep-sea warming canceled out warming at the sea's surface.A )absorb B)combined C)contribute D)depth E)emissionF)excursion G)explore H)floor I)heights J)indifferentK)levels L)mixed M)picture N)unsure O)voyageSection BDirections：In this section，you are gonging 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.The Secret to Raising Smart Kids[A] I first began to investigate the basis of human motivation-and how people persevere after setbacks-as a psychology graduate student at Yale University in the 1960s. Animal experiments by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania had shown that after repeated failures, most animals conclude that a situation is hopeless and beyond their control. After such an experience an animal often remains passive even when it can effect change-a state they called learned helplessness.[B]People can learn to be helpless, too. Why do some students give up when encounter difficulty, whereas others who are no more skilled continue to strive and learn? One answer, I soon discovered, lay in people’s beliefs about why they had failed.[C] In particular, attributing poor performance to a lack of ability depresses motivation more than does the belief that lack of effort is to blame. When I told a group of school children who displayed helpless behavior that a lack of effort led to their mistakes in math, they learned to keep trying when the problems got tough. Another group of helpless children who were simply rewarded for their success on easier problems did not improve their ability to solve harm math problems. These experiments indicated that a focus on effort can help resolve helplessness and generate success.[D]Later, I developed a broader theory of what separates the two general classes of learners-helpless versus mastery-oriented. I realized these different types of students not only”of intelligence. The explain their failures differently, but they also hold differe nt “theorieshelpless ones believe intelligence is a fixed characteristic: you have only a certain amount, and that's that. I call this a "fixed mind-set(思维模式)."Mistakes crack their self-confidence because they attribute errors to a lack of ability, which they feel powerless to change. They avoid challenges because challenges make mistakes more likely. The mastery-orient children, on the other hand, think intelligence is not fixed and can be developed through education and hard work. Such children believe challenges are energizing rather than intimidating (令人生畏);they offer opportunities to learn. Students with such a growth mind-set were destined(注定)for great academic success and were quite likely to outperform their counterparts.[E]We validated these expectations in a study in which two other psychologists and I monitored 373 student for two years during the transition to junior high school, when the work gets more difficult and the grading more strict, to determine how their mind-sets might affect their math grades. At the beginning of seventh grade, we assessed t he students' mind-sets by asking them to agree or disagree with statements such as "Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can't really change." We then assessed their beliefsabout other aspects of learning and looked to see what happened to their grades.[F] As predicted, the students with a growth mind-set felt that learning was more importantgoal than getting good grades. In addition, they held hard work in high regard, Theyunderstood that even geniuses have to work hard. Confronted by a setback such as a disappointing test grade, students with a growth mind-set said they would study harder or trya different strategy. The students who held a fixed mind-set, however, were concerned aboutlooking smart with less regard for learning. They had negative views of effort, believing thathaving to work hard was a sign of low ability. They thought that a person with talent orintelligence did not need to work hard to do well. Attributing a bad grade to their own lack ofability, those with a fixed mind-set said that would study less in the future, try never to takethat subject again and consider cheating on future tests.[G] Such different outlook had a dramatic impact on performance. At the start of junior high,the math achievement test scores of the students with a growth mind-set were comparable tothe those of students who displayed a fixed mind-set. But as the work became more difficult,the students with a growth mind-set showed greater persistence. As a result, their math gradesovertook those of the other students by the end of the first semester-and the gap between thetwo groups continued to widen during the two years we followed them.[H] A fixed mind-set can also hinder communication and progress in the workplace anddiscourage or ignore constructive criticism and advice. Research s hows that managers w hohave a fixed mind-set are less likely to seek or welcome feedback from their employees thanare managers with a growth mind-set.[I] How do we transmit a growth mind-set to our children? One way is by telling stories about achievements that result from hard work. For instance, talking about mathematical geniusesWho were more or less born that way puts students in a fixed mind-set, but mathematicianswho fell in love with math and developed amazing skills produce a growth mind-set.[J] In addition, parents and teachers can help children by providing explicit instructionregarding the mind as a learning machine, I designed an eight-session workshop for 91students whose math grades were declining in their first year of junior high. Forty-eight of thestudents received instruction in study skills only, whereas the others attended a combinationof study skills sessions and classes in which they learned about the growth mind-set and howto apply it to schoolwork. In the growth mind-set classes, students read and discussed anarticle entitled “You Can Grow Your Brain.” They were taught that the brain is like a muscle that gets stronger with use and that learning prompts the brain to grow new connections. Fromsuch instruction, many students began to see themselves as agents of their own brain development. Despite being unaware that there were two types of instruction, teachersreported significant motivational changes in 27% of the children in the growth mind-setworkshop as compared with only 9% of students in the control group.[K]Research is converging(汇聚)on the conclusion that great accomplishment and evengenius is typically the result of years of passion and dedication and not something that flowsnaturally from a gift.36.The author's experiment shows that students with a fixed mind-set believe having to workhard is an indication of low ability.37.Focusing on effort is effective in helping children overcome frustration and achievesuccess.38.We can cultivate a growth mind-set in children by telling success stories that emphasizehard work love of learning.ins their attitude toward setbacks.39.Students’ belief about the cause of their failure expla-set showed greater perseverance in40.In the author’s experiment, student with a growth mindsolving difficult math problems.-sets41.The author conducted an experiment to find out about the influence of students’on math learning.42.After failing again and again, most animals give up hope.rming students about the brain as a learning machine is a good strategy to enhancetheir motivation for learning.igence is unchangeable.44.People with a fixed mind-set believe that one’s intell45.In the workplace, feedback may not be so welcome to managers with a fixed mind-set.Section CDirections：There are 2 passages in this section .Each passage is followed by some questionsor unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices maked A），B），C）andAnswer Sheet2D）.You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter onwith a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage."Sugar, alcohol and tobacco," economist Adam Smith once wrote, "are commoditieswhich are nowhere necessaries o f life, which have become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are, therefore, extremely popular subjects of taxation."Two and a half centuries on, most countries impose some sort of tax on alcohol andtobacco. With surging obesity levels putting increasing strain on public health systems, governments around the world have begun to toy with the idea of taxing sugar as well.Whether such taxes work is a matter of debate. A preliminary review of Mexico'staxation found a fall in purchases o f taxed drinks as well as a rise in sales if untaxed andhealthier drinks. By contrast, a Danish tax on foods high in fats was abandoned a year after its introduction, amid claims that consumers were avoiding it by crossing the border to Germanyto satisfy their desire for cheaper, fattier fare.The food industry has, in general, been firmly opposed to such direct government action. Nonetheless, the renewed focus on waistlines means that industry groups are under pressureto demonstrate their products are healthy as well as tasty.Over the past three decades, the industry has made some efforts to improve the quality ofits offerings. For example, some drink manufactures have cut the amount of sugar in their beverages.Many of the reductions over the past 30 years have been achieved either by reducing theamount of sugar, salt or fat in a product, or by finding an alternative ingredient. More recently, however.Some companies have been investing money in a more ambitious undertaking: learninghow to adjust the fundamental make-up of the food they sell. For example, having salt on theoutside, but none on the inside, reduces the salt content without changing the taste.While reformulating recipes(配方)is one way to improve public health, it should be partof a multi-sided approach. The key is to remember thatthere is not just one solution. To deal with obesity, a mixture of approaches-including reformulation, taxation and adjusting portion sizes-will be needed. There is no silver bullet.46. What did Adam Smith say about sugar, alcohol and tobacco?A)They were profitable to manufacture.B)They were in ever-increasing demand.C)They were subject to taxation almost everywhere.D)They were no longer considered necessities of life.47.Why have many countries started to consider taxing sugar?A)They are under growing pressures to balance their national budgets.B)They find it ever harder to cope with sugar-induced health problems.C)They practice of taxing alcohol and tobacco has proved both popular and profitable.D)The sugar industry is overtaking alcohol and tobacco business in generating profits.48.What do we learn about Danish taxation on fat-rich foods?A)It did not work out as well as was expected.B)It gave rise to a lot of problems on the border.C)It could not succeed without German cooperation.D)It met with firm opposition from the food industry.49.What is the more recent effort by food companies to make foods and drinks both healthy and tasty?A)Replacing sugar or salt with alternative ingredients.B)Setting a limit on the amount of sugar or salt in their products.C)Investing in research to find ways to adapt to consumers' needs.D)Adjusting the physical composition of their products.50.What does the author mean by saying, at the end of the passage, "There is no silver bullet"(Line 4, Para 7)?A)There is no single easy quick solution to the problem.B)There is no hope of success without public cooperation.C)There is on hurry in finding ways to solve the obesity problem.D)There is no effective way to reduce people's sugar consumption.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.You may have heard some of the fashion industry horror stories: models eating tissues or cotton balls to hold off hunger, and models collapsing from hunger-induced heart attacks just seconds after they step off the runway.Excessively skinny models have been a point of controversy for decades, and two researchers s ay a model's body mass should be a workspace health and safety issue. In an editorial released Monday in the American Journal of Public Health, Katherine Record and Bryn Austin made their case for government regulation of the fashion industry.The average international runway model has a body mass index (BMI) under 16-low enough to indicate starvation by the World Health Organization's standard. And Record and Austin are worried not just about the models themselves, but about the vast number of girls and women their images influence."Especially girls and tens", says Record. "Seventy percent of girls aged 10 to 18 report that they define perfect body image based on what they see in magazines." That's especiallyworrying, she says, given that anorexia(厌食症)results in more deaths than does any other mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.It's commonly known that certain diseases are linked with occupations like lung disease in coal miners. Professional fashion models are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders resulting from occupational demands to maintain extreme thinness.Record's suggestion is to prohibit agents from hiring models with a BMI below 18.In April, France passed a law setting lower limits for a model's weight. Agents and fashion houses who hire models with BMI under 18 could pay $82,000 in fines and spend up to 6 months in jail. Regulating the fashion industry in the United States won't be easy, Record says. But with the new rules in France, U.S. support could make a difference. "A designer can't survive without participating in Paris Fashion Week", she says, adding, "Our argument is that the same would be true of New York Fashion Week."51.What do Record and Austin say about fashion models' body mass?A)It has caused needless controversy.B)It is focus of the modeling business.C)It is but a matter of personal taste.D)It affects models' health and safety.52.What are Record and Austin advocating in the Monday editorial?A)A change in the public's view of female beauty.B)Government legislation about models' weight.C)Elimination of forced weight loss by models.D)Prohibition of models eating non-food stuff.53.Why are Record and Austin worried about the low body mass index of models?A)It contributes to many mental illnesses.B)It defines the future of the fashion industry.C)It has great influence on numerous girls and women.D)It keeps many otherwise qualified women off the runaway.54. What do we learn about France's fashion industry?A)It has difficulty hiring models.B)It has now a new law to follow.C)It allows girls under 18 on the runway.D)It has overtaken that of the United States.55. What does Record expect of New York Fashion Week?A)It will create a completely new set of rules.B)It will do better than Paris Fashion Week.C)It will differ from Paris Fashion Week.D)It will have models with a higher BMI.Part IV Translation （30 minutes）Directions：For this part，you are allowed 30minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English .You should write your answer on A nswer Sheet 2.在中国文化中，黄颜色是一种很重要的颜色，因为它具有独特的象征意义。
12月四级考试真题答案3套全
12月四级考试真题答案3套全2016年12月四级考试真题答案（3套全）2016年12月份的四六级考试已经告一段落，为了方便大家查询答案，评估自己的.考试成绩，做考试后的总结。
店铺为大家整理了英语四级真题参考答案，供大家参考!第一套英语四级真题参考答案Part Ⅰ WritingFinding A Job FirstCollege students’options upon graduation vary from person to person. Some students choose to hunt for a job while others prefer to start their own businesses. As for me, I would rather find a job first.The reasons for my decision are as follows. For one thing, it is much easier for me to find a job compared with starting a business which demands fund, experience, and the market. As a green hand who has just graduated from college, it’s totally beyond my ability to handle such a complex situation. For another, working for others could develop my personalities such as perseverance and stress tolerance, which can help me become more prepared and qualified if I would like to start my own business.To conclude, chances always favor those who are prepared. And I don’t think a person could really “build up from nothing”. As a result, I will find a job first after graduation.Part Ⅱ Listening ComprehensionSection A1 A) It was dangerous to live in.2 B) A storm.3 B) They were trapped in an underground elevator.4 C) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.5 D) Close some of its post offices.6 C) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.7 A) Many post office staff will lose their jobs.Section B8 D) He will lose part of his pay.9 B) He is a trustworthy guy.10 D) She is better at handling such matters.11 C) He is always trying to stir up trouble.12 D) Reserved.13 A) They stay quiet.14 C) She was never invited to a colleague’s home.15 B) Houses provide more privacy.Section C16 D) They will automatically be given hiring priority.17 C) Visit the school careers service.18 B) Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.19 C) It may be sold at a higher price.20 A) It is healthier than green tea.21 D) It does not have a stable market.22 B) They prefer unique objects of high quality.23 B) They could only try to create at night.24 A) Make wise choices.25 A) To boost the local economy.Part Ⅲ Reading ComprehensionSection A26 K) rarely27 O) tortured28 J) minimal29 D) determine30 G) inadequate31 B) creates32 E) direction33 M) strengthen34 L) shelters35 C) criticallySection B36 C) It might mean monitoring employee productivity on a digital leaderboard and offering prizes to the winners, or giving employees digital badges or stars for completing certain activities.37 J) Gamification is “not a magic bullet,” Werbach warns.38 G) ]Some people, Werbach says, are motivated by competition.39 D) The concept of gamification is not entirely new, Werbach says.40 K) Still, gamification only stands to become more popular, he says, “as more and more people come into the workforce who are familiar with the structures and expressions of digital games.”41 E) But the word “gamification” and the widespread, conscious application of the concept only began in earnest about five years ago, Werbach says.42 B) Increasingly, companies are tapping into these desires directly through what has come to be known as “gamification”: essentially, turning work into a game.43 H) Gamification does not have to be digital. Monica Cornetti runs a company that gamifies employee trainings.44 F) A number of companies have sprung up—GamEffective, Bunchball and Badgeville, to name a few—in recent yearsoffering gamification platforms for businesses.45 I) Some people do not take naturally to gamified work environments, Cornetti says.Section C46 C) They are over-burdened with administrative staff.47 A) Good classroom teachers.48 D) They are much bigger than is desirable.49 A) It requires talent and practice.50 B) Hiring more classroom teachers and allowing them to teach in their own way.51 D) It may be a pleasant way for kids to reduce their food intake.52 D) Most kids and adults would choose a smaller meal that came with a non-food item.53 B) Adults chose the smaller portion on the mere promise of a future award.54 A) The emotional component of the prizes is at work.55 D) More studies are needed to find out the impact of emotion on behavior.Part Ⅳ TranslationThe color of red in Chinese culture usually symbolizes good luck，longevity, and happiness. Red can be found everywhere during Chinese Spring Festival and other joyous occasions. Cashes are often put in red envelopes and sent to family members or close friends as gifts. The popularity of red in China can also be attributed to the fact that people associate it with the Chinese Revolution and the Communist Party. However, red does not signify good luck and joy all the time in that the name of the dead used to be written in red. Thus it is regarded as an offense to write the names of Chinese people in red ink.。
2016年12月大学英语四级考试真题及答案
2016年12月大学英语四级考试真题（第一套）Part I Writing (30 minutes) (请于正式开考后半小时完成该部分，之后将进行听力考试)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation: one is to take a job in a company and the other to go to a graduate school. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Much controversy has been aroused about whether the students should find a job or start their own business after graduation. Taking a look around, we can find that some graduates bustle around job markets, while others choose to run a shop on TMall. However, I prefer the former choice.From my perspective, there are good reasons to find a job in the first several years after their graduation. First and foremost, if a graduate intends to accumulate working experience and learn from the seniors, it is advisable for him to find a job. It is an undeniable fact that the theoretical knowledge will provide the graduates with the ability to consider things comprehensively, however, only under the integration with practice can the rigid knowledge be useful for their future development. Inevitably, doing something small is the premise of undertaking something great. Take Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and taobao, for example. He also finds some jobs before establishing his own career, laying a solid foundation for his later success.Consequently, it is of great necessity to find a job after graduation. I firmly believe that it will continue to bring about more returns to our life and future.Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1. A) It was going to be renovated.B) He could no longer pay the rent.C) It was dangerous to live in.D) He had sold it to the royal family.【答案】C2. A) A storm.B) A strike.C) A forest fire.D) A terrorist attack.【答案】AQuestions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3.A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.C) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.D) They were trapped in an underground elevator.【答案】D4.A) They provided the miners with food and water.B) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.C) They released the details of the accident.D) They tried hard to repair the elevator.【答案】BQuestions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5.A) Raise postage rates.B) Improve its services.C) Close some of its post offices.D) Redesign delivery routes.【答案】C6.A) Closing offices on holidays.B) Shortening business hours.C) Computerizing mail sorting processes.D) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.【答案】D7.A) A lot of controversy will arise.B)Taxpayers will be very pleased.C) Many people will begin to complain.D) Many post office staff will lose their jobs.【答案】DSection BDirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation 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)y C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8.A) He will lose part of his pay.B) He will go through retraining.C) He will be given a warning.D) He will be kept from promotion.【答案】A9.A) He is an experienced press operator.B) He is a trustworthy guy.C) He is always on time.D) He is on good terms with his workmates.【答案】B10.A) She is a trade union representative.B) She is a senior manager of the shop.C) She is better at handling such matters.D) She is in charge of public relations.【答案】C11.A) He is always trying to stir up trouble.B) He is skilled and experienced.C) He is very close to the manager.D) He is always complaining about low wages.【答案】AQuestions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12.A) Open.B) Reserved.C) Selfish.D) Friendly.【答案】B13.A) They read a book.B) They talk about the weather.C) They stay quiet.D) They chat with fellow passengers.【答案】C14.A) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.B) She was never invited to a colleague’s home.C) She was eager to visit an English castle.D) She was always treated as a foreigner.【答案】B15.A) Houses are much more quiet.B) They want to have more space.C) They want a garden of their own.D) Houses provide more privacy.【答案】DSection CDirections: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16.A) They will automatically be given hiring priority.B) They don’t have to go through job interviews.C) They are likely to get much higher pay.D) They don’t have much choice of jobs.【答案】A17.A) Visit the school careers service.B) Ask their professors for help.C) Look at school bulletin boards.D) Go through campus newspapers.【答案】A18. A) Providing students with information about the library.B)Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.C)Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.D)Helping students find the books and journals they need.【答案】CQuestions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19.A) It tastes better.B) It may be sold at a higher price.C) It is easier to grow.D) It can better survive extreme weathers.【答案】B20. A) It can grow in drier soil.B) It is immune to various diseases.C) It will replace green tea one day.D) It is healthier than green tea.【答案】D21. A) It does not have a stable market.B) It has made tea farmers’ life easier.C) It does not bring the promised health benefits.D) It has been well received by many tea drinkers.【答案】AQuestions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22.A) They care more about environment.B)They decorate their homes themselves.C) They prefer unique objects of high quality.D) They need decorations to show their status.【答案】C23. A) They made great contributions to society.B) They could only try to create at night.C)They were proud of their creations.D)They focused on the quality of their products.【答案】B24.A) Identify fake crafts.B)Make wise choices.C)To arouse public interest in crafts.D)To boost the local economy.【答案】B25.A) To attract foreign investments.B)To preserve the traditional culture.C)Design handicrafts themselves.D)Learn the importance of creation.【答案】DPart III Reading Comprehension (40 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 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.Many men and women have long bought into the idea that there are “male” and “female” brains, believing that explains just about every difference between the sexes. A new study __26__ that belief, questioning whether brains really can be distinguished by gender.In the study, Tel Aviv University researchers __27__ for sex differences throughout the entire human brain.27._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditionalAnd what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidence for __28__ brains as “male” or “female,” research shows that brains fall into a wide range, with most people falling right in the middle.28._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditionalDaphna Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there are some gender-based —__29__ , many different types of brain can’t always be distinguished by gender.29._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditionalWhile the “average” male and “average” female brains were __30__ different, you couldn’t tell it by looking at individual brain scans. Only a small __31__ of people had “all-male” or “all-female” characteristics.30._____31._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditionalLarry Cahill, an American neuroscientist (神经科学家), said the study is an important addition to a growing body of research questioning __32__ beliefs aboutgender and brain function. But he cautioned against concluding from this study that all brains are the same, __33__ of gender.32._____33._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditional“There’s a mountain of evidence __34__ the importance of sex influences at all levels of brain function, M he told The Seattle Times.34._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditionalIf anything, he said, the study __35__ that gender plays a very important role in the brain—“even when we are not clear exactly how.”35._____A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditionalSection BDirections: 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 aparagraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Can Burglars Jam Your Wireless Security System?A)Any product that promises to protect your home deserves careful examination. So it isn't surprising that you’ll find plenty of strong opinions about the potential vulnerabilities of popular home-security systems.B)The most likely type of burglary(入室盗窃)by far is the unsophisticated crime of opportunity, usually involving a broken window or some forced entry. According to the FBI, crimes like these accounted for roughly two-thirds of all household burglaries in the US in 2013. The wide majority of the rest were illegal, unforced entries that resulted from something like a window being left open. The odds of criminal using technical means to bypass a security system are so small that the FBI doesn’t even track those statistics.C)One of the main theoretical home-security concerns is whether or not a given system is vulnerable to being blocked from working altogether. With wired setups, the fear is that a burglar(入室盗贼)might be able to shut your system down simply by cutting the right cable. With a wireless setup, you stick battery-powered sensors up around your home that keep an eye on windows, doors, motion, and more. If they detect something wrong while the system is armed, they’ll transmit a wireless alert signal to a base station that will then raise the alarm. That approach will eliminate most cord-cutting concerns—but what about their wireless equivalent, jamming? With the right device tuned to the right frequency, what’s to stop a thief from jamming your setup and blocking that alert signal from ever reaching the base station?D)Jamming concerns are nothing new, and they’re not unique to security systems. Any device that’s built to receive a wireless signal at a specific frequency can be overwhelmed by a stronger signal coming in on the same frequency. For comparison, let’s say you wanted to “jam” a conversation between two people—all you’d need to do is yell in the listener’s ear.E)Security devices are required to list the frequencies they broadcast on—that means that a potential thief can find what they need to know with minimalGoogling. They will, however, need to know what system they’re looking for. If you have a sign in your yard declaring what setup you use, that’d point them in the right direction, though at that point, we’re talking about a highly targeted, semi-sophisticated attack, and not the sort of forced-entry attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. It’s easier to find and acquire jamming equipment for some frequencies than it is for others.F)Wireless security providers will often take steps to help combat the threat of jamming attacks. SimpliSafe, winner of our Editors’ Choice distinction, utilizes a special system that’s capable of separating incidental RF interference from targeted jamming attacks. When the system thinks it’s being jammed, it’ll notify you via push alert (推送警报). From there, it’s up to you to sound the alarm manually.G)SimpliSafe was singled out in one recent article on jamming, complete with a video showing the entire system being effectively bypassed with handheld jamming equipment. After taking appropriate measure to contain the RF interference to our test lab, we tested the attack out for ourselves, and were able to verify that it is possible with the right equipment. However, we also verified that SimpliSafe’s anti-jamming system works. It caught us in the act, sent an alert to my smartphone, and also listed our RF interference on the system’s event log. The team behind the article and video in question make no mention of the system, or whether or not it detected them.H) We like the unique nature of that software. It means that a thief likely wouldn’t be able to Google how the system works, then figure out a way around it Even if they could, SimpliSafe claims that its system is always evolving, and that it varies slightly from system to system, which means there wouldn’t be a universal magic formula for cracking it Other systems also seem confident on the subject of jamming. The team at Frontpoint addresses the issue in a blog on its site, citing their own jam protection software and claiming that there aren’t any documented cases of a successful jam attack since the company began offering wireless security sensors in the 1980s.I)Jamming attacks are absolutely possible. As said before, with the right equipment and the right know-how, it’s possible to jam any wireless transmission. But how probable is it that someone will successfully jam their way into your home and steal your stuff?J) Let’s imagine that you live in a small home with a wireless security setup that offers a functional anti-jamming system. First, a thief is going to need to target your home, specifically. Then, he’s going to need to know the technical details of your system and acquire the specific equipment necessary for jamming your specific setup. Presumably, you keep your doors locked at night and while you're away, so the thief will still need to break in. That means defeating the lock somehow, or breaking a window. He’ll need to be jamming you at this point, as a broken window or opened door would normally release the alarm. So, too, would the motion detectors in your home, so the thief will need to continue jamming once he’s inside and searching for things to steal. However, he’ll need to do so without tripping the anti-jamming system, the details of which he almost certainly does not have access to.K) At the end of the day, these kinds of systems are primarily designed to protect against the sort of opportunistic smash-and-grab attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. They’re also only a single layer in what should ideally be a many-sided approach to securing your home, one that includes common sense things like sound locks and proper exterior lighting at night. No system is impenetrable, and none can promise to eliminate the worst case completely. Every one of them has vulnerabilities that a knowledgeable thief could theoretically exploit. A good system is one that keeps that worst-case setting as improbable as possible while also offering strong protection in the event of a less-extraordinary attack.36.It is possible for burglars to make jamming attacks with the necessary equipment and skill.【答案】I37.Interfering with a wireless security system is similar to interfering witha conversation.【答案】D38.A burglar has to continuously jam the wireless security device to avoid triggering the alarm, both inside and outside the house.【答案】J39.SimpliSafe provides devices that are able to distinguish incidental radio interference from targeted jamming attacks.【答案】F40.Only a very small proportion of burglaries are committed by technical means.【答案】B41.It is difficult to crack SimpliSafe as its system keeps changing.【答案】H42.Wireless devices will transmit signals so as to activate the alarm once something wrong is detected.【答案】C43.Different measures should be taken to protect one’s home from burglary in addition to the wireless security system.【答案】K44.SimpliSafe’s device can send a warning to the house owner’s cellphone.【答案】G45.Burglars can easily get a security device’s frequency by Internet search.【答案】ESection CDirections: 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 centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.As a person who writes about food and drink for a living, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about Bill Perry or whether the beers he sells are that great. ButI can tell you that I like this guy. That’s because he plans to ban tipping in favor of paying his servers an actual living wage.I hate tipping.I hate it because it’s an obligation disguised as an option. I hate it for the post-dinner math it requires of me. But mostly, I hate tipping because I believe I would be in a better place if pay decisions regarding employees were simply left up to their employers, as is the custom in virtually every other industry.Most of you probably think that you hate tipping, too. Research suggests otherwise. You actually love tipping! You like to feel that you have a voice in how much money your server makes. No matter how the math works out, you persistently view restaurants with voluntary tipping systems as being a better value, which makes it extremely difficult for restaurants and bars to do away with the tipping system.One argument that you tend to hear a lot from the pro-tipping crowd seems logical enough: the service is better when waiters depend on tips, presumably because they see a benefit to successfully veiling their contempt for you. Well, if this were true, we would all be slipping a few 100-dollar bills to our doctors on the way out their doors, too. But as it turns out, waiters see only a tiny bump in tips when they do an exceptional job compared to a passable one. Waiters, keen observers of humanity that they are, are catching on to this; in one poll, a full 30% said they didn’t believe the job they did had any impact on the tips they received.So come on, folks: get on board with ditching the outdated tip system. Pay a little more up-front for your beer or burger. Support Bill Perry’s pub, and any other bar or restaurant that doesn’t ask you to do drunken math.46.What can we learn about Bill Perry from the passage?A)He runs a pub that serves excellent beer.B)He intends to get rid of the tipping practice.C) He gives his staff a considerable sum for tips.D) He lives comfortably without getting any tips.【答案】B47.What is the main reason why the author hates tipping?A)It sets a bad example for other industries.B)It adds to the burden of ordinary customers.C) It forces the customer to compensate the waiter.D) It poses a great challenge for customers to do math.【答案】C48.Why do many people love tipping according to the author?A)They help improve the quality of the restaurants they dine in.B)They believe waiters deserve such rewards for good service.C)They want to preserve a wonderful tradition of the industry.D)They can have some say in how much their servers earn.【答案】D49.What have some waiters come to realize according to a survey?A)Service quality has little effect on tip size.B)It is in human nature to try to save on tips.C) Tips make it more difficult to please customers.D) Tips benefit the boss rather than the employees.【答案】A50.What does the author argue for in the passage?A)Restaurants should calculate the tips for customers.B)Customers should pay more tips to help improve service.C)Waiters deserve better than just relying on tips for a living.D)Waiters should be paid by employers instead of customers.【答案】DPassage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.In the past, falling oil prices have given a boost to the world economy, but recent forecasts for global growth have been toned down, even as oil prices sink lower and lower. Does that mean the link between lower oil prices and growth has weakened?Some experts say there are still good reasons to believe cheap oil should heat up the world economy. Consumers have more money in their pockets when they’re paying less at the pump. They spend that money on other things, which stimulates the economy.The biggest gains go to countries that import most of their oil like China, Japan, and India. But doesn’t the extra money in the pockets of those countries, consumers mean an equal loss in oil-producing countries, cancelling out the gains? Not necessarily, says economic researcher Sara Johnson. “Many oil producers built up huge reserve funds when prices were high, so when prices fall they will draw on their reserves to support government spending and subsidies (补贴)for their consumers.”But not all oil producers have big reserves. In Venezuela, collapsing oil prices have sent its economy into free-fall.Economist Carl Weinberg believes the negative effects of plunging oil prices are overwhelming the positive effects of cheaper oil. The implication is a sharp decline in global trade, which has plunged partly because oil- producing nations can’t afford to import as much as they used to.Sara Johnson acknowledges that the global economic benefit from a fall in oil prices today is likely lower than it was in the past. One reason is that more countries are big oil producers now, so the nations suffering from the prices drop account for a larger share of the global economy.Consumers, in the U.S. at least, are acting cautiously with the savings they’re getting at the gas pump, as the memory of the recent great recession is still fresh in their mind. And a number of oil-producing countries are trimming their gasoline subsidies and raising taxes, so the net savings for global consumers is not as big as the oil price plunge might suggest.51.What does the author mainly discuss in the passage?A)The reasons behind the plunge of oil prices.B)Possible ways to stimulate the global economy.C)The impact of cheap oil on global economic growth.D)The effect of falling oil prices on consumer spending.【答案】C52.Why do some experts believe cheap oil will stimulate the global economy?A)Manufacturers can produce consumer goods at a much lower cost.B)Lower oil prices have always given a big boost to the global economy.C)Oil prices may rise or fall but economic laws are not subject to change.D)Consumers will spend their savings from cheap oil on other commodities.【答案】D53.What happens in many oil-exporting countries when oil prices go down?A)They suspend import of necessities from overseas.B)They reduce production drastically to boost oil prices.C)They use their money reserves to back up consumption.D)They try to stop their economy from going into free-fall.【答案】C54.How does Carl Weinberg view the current oil price plunge?A)It is one that has seen no parallel in economic history.B)Its negative effects more than cancel out its positive effects.C)It still has a chance to give rise to a boom in the global economy.D)Its effects on the global economy go against existing economic laws.【答案】B55.Why haven’t falling oil prices boosted the global economy as they did before?A)People are not spending all the money they save on gas.B)The global economy is likely to undergo another recession.C)Oil importers account for a larger portion of the global economy.D)People the world over are afraid of a further plunge in oil prices.【答案】APart IV Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.在中国文化中，红色通常象征着好运、长寿和幸福。
2016年12月四级英语听力真题第一套(含答案及原文)
2016年12月英语四级听力真题第1套Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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.Section AQuestions 1 to 2 are based on the conversation you have just heard.A) It was dangerous to live in. C) He could no longer pay the rent.B) It was going to be renovated. D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A strike. C) A forest fire.B) A storm. D) A terrorist attack.Questions 3 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.3. A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B) They were trapped in an underground elevator.C) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.D) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.4. A) They tried hard to repair the elevator.B) They released the details of the accident.C) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.D) They provided the miners with food and water.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) Raise postage rates.B) Improve its services.C) Redesign delivery routes.D) Close some of its post offices.6. A) Shortening business hours.-B) Closing offices on holidays.C) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.D) Computerizing mail sorting processes.7. A) Many post office staff will lose their jobs.B) Many people will begin to complain.C) Taxpayers will be very pleased.D) A lot of controversy will arise.Section B8. A) He will be kept from promotion.B) He will go through retraining.C) He will be given a warning.D) He will lose part of his pay.9. A) He is always on time.B) He is a trustworthy guy.C) He is an experienced press operator.D)He is on good terms with his workmates.10. A) She is a trade union representative.B) She is in charge of public relations.C) She is a senior manager of the shop.D) She is better at handling such matters.11. A) He is skilled and experienced.B) He is very close to the manager.C) He is always trying to stir up trouble.D) He is always complaining about low wages.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) Open.B) Selfish.C) Friendly.D) Reserved.13. A) They stay quiet.B) They read a book.-C) They talk about the weather.D) They chat with fellow passengers.14. A) She was always treated as a foreigner.B) She was eager to visit an English castle.C) She was never invited to a colleague's home.D) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.15. A) Houses are much more quiet.B) Houses provide more privacy.C) They want to have more space.D) They want a garden of their own.答案1. A It was dangerous to live in.2. B A storm3. B They were trapped in an underground elevator.4. C They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.5. D Close some of its post office.6. C Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.7. A Many post office staff will lose their jobs.8. D He will lose part of his pay.9. B He is a trustworthy guy.10.D She is better at handling such matters11.C He is always trying to stir up trouble.12. D Reserved13. A They stay quiet14. C She was never invited to a colleague’s home.15. B Houses provide more privacy16. D They will automatically be given hiring priority.17. C Visit the school careers service.18. B Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.19. C It may be sold at a higher price.20. A It is healthier than green tee.21. D It does not have a stable market.22. B They prefer unique objects of high quality.23. B They could only try to create at night.24. A Make wise choices.25. A To boost the local economy.2016年12月英语四级听力真题第1套原文Section AA 16th century castle in Scotland is close to collapsing after lumps of soils were washed away by floods, threatening its foundations.rced to move out his On Sunday, the castle’s owner John Gordon, 76, was foproperty after the River Dee swept away about 60 feet of land, leaving the castle dangerous close to the river. According to the Scottish Daily Record. Abergeldie castle located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland was built by Sir Alexander Gordon of Midmar who later became the Earl of Huntly.The castle which is located on 11,700 acres was leased to members of the royal family between 1848 and 1970, including King Edward VII and George V.The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued more than 35 flood warnings covering several regions, as Scotland continues to clean up the after Storm Frank hit the country last Wednesday.“This means that rivers will rise more slowly, but then stay high for much longer.” the environmental agency said.Q1. Why did John Gordon move out of Abergeldie castle?Q2. What happened in Scotland last Wednesday?Section A - 2Rescue efforts were underway Thursday morning for 17 miners who were stuck in an elevator below ground at a Cargill rock salt mine near Lansing, New York, according to Marcia Lynch.Public information officer with Tompkins County’s e mer gency response department, emergency workers have made contact with the miners via a radio. And they all appear to be uninjured, said Jessica Verfuss, the emergency department’s assistant director.Crews have managed to provide heat packs and blankets to the miners sothat they can keep warm during the rescue operation, Verfuss said. Details about what led to the workers’ being trapped in the elevator went immediately available. The mine, along New York’s Cayuga Lake, processes salt used for road treatment. It produces about 2 million tons of salt that is shipped to morethan 1,500 places in the northeastern United States, the rock salt mine is oneof three operated by Cargill with the other two in Louisiana and Ohio.Q3. What does the news report say about the salt miners?Q4.What did the rescue team do?新闻3Section A - 3The U.S. Postal Service announced today that it is considering closing about3,700 post offices over the next year because of falling revenues.Facing an $8.3 billion budget deficit this year, closing post officers is oneof several proposals the Postal Service has put forth recently to cut costs. Lastweek, for example, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe announced plans to stopmail delivery on Saturdays, a move he says could save $3 billion annually.“We are losing revenue as we speak,” Donahoe said. “We do not want taxpayer money. We want to be self-sufficient. So like any other business youhave to make choices.”Dean Granholm the vice president for delivery and post office operationssaid the first waves of closings would begin this fall. He estimated that about3,000 postmasters, 500 station managers and between 500 and 1,000 postalclerks could lose their jobs.Q5.What is the U.S. Postal Service planning to do?Q6.What measure has been planned to save costs?Q7.What will happen when the proposed measure come into effect?长对话1&2Conversation 1A: Mrs. Hampton, we've got trouble in the press room this morning.B: Oh dear. What about?A: One of the press operators arrived an hour and a half late.B: But that's a straightforward affair. He will simply lose part of his pay. That's why we have a clock-in system.A: But the point is the man was clocked-in at 8 o'clock. We have John standing by the time clock, and he swears he saw nothing irregular.B: Is John reliable?A: Yes, he is. That's why we chose him for the job.B: Have you spoken to the man who was late?A: Not yet. I thought I'd have a word with you first. He's a difficult man, andI think there's been some trouble on the shop floor. I've got a feeling that trade union representative is behind this. The manager told me that Jack Green's been very active around the shop the last few days.B: Well, what do you want me to do?A: I was wondering if you'd see Smith, the man who was late, becauseyou are so much better at handling things like this.B: Oh, alright. I'll see him. I must say I agree with you about there beingbad feelings in the works. I've had the idea for some time that Jack Green'sbeen busy stirring things up in connection with the latest wage claim. He's always trying to make trouble. Well, I'll get the manager to send Smith up here.Q8. What will happen to the press operator who was late for the work according to the woman?Q9. What does the man say about John who stands by the time clock?Q10. Why does the man suggest the woman see the worker who was late?Q11. What does the woman say about Jack Green?Conversation 2A: Our topic today is about somethings that foreigners nearly always saywhen they visit Britain. It's 'Why are the British so cold?' And they're talking about the British personality – the famous British 'reserve'. It means that wearen't very friendly, we aren't very open.B: So do you think it's true?A: It's a difficult one. So many people who visit Britain say it's difficult tomake friends with British people. They say we're cold, reserved, unfriendly...B: I think it's true. Look at Americans or Australians. They speak the same language, but they're much more open. And you see it when you travel, people- I mean strangers - speak to you on the street or on the train. British peopleseldom speak on the train. Or the bus. Not in London, anyway.A: 'Not in London'. That's it. Capital cities are full of tourists and are neververy friendly. People are different in other parts of the country.B: Not completely. I met a woman once, an Italian. She's been working in Manchester for two years,and no one - not one of her colleagues - had everinvited her to their home. They were friendly to her at work, but nothing else.She couldn't believe it. She said that would never happen in Italy.A: You know what they say –'an Englishman's home is his castl e'. It’s really difficult to get inside.B: Yeah. It's about being private. You go home to your house and yourgarden and you close the door. It's your place.A: That's why the British don't like flats. They prefer to live in houses.B: That’s true.Q12. What do foreigners generally think of British people according to the woman?Q13. What may British people typically do one the train according to theman?Q14. What does the man say about the Italian woman working in Manchester?Q15. Why do British people prefer houses to flats?听力篇章Passage OneIn college, time is scarce, and consequently, very precious. At the sametime, expenses in college pile up surprisingly quickly. A part time job is a goodway to balance costs while ensuring there is enough time left over for bothacademic subjects and after-class activities.If you are a college student looking for a part time job, the best place tostart your job search is right on campus. There are tons of on-campus job opportunities, and as a student, you’ll automatically be given hiring priority.Plus, on-campus jobs eliminate commuting time, and could be a great way toconnect with academic and professional resources at your university. Checkwith your school’s career service or employment office for help to find acampus job. Of course, there are opportunities for part-time work off-campus,too. If you spend a little time digging for the right part time jobs, you’ll saveyourself time when you find a job that leaves you with enough time to get yourschool work done, too. If you are a college student looking for work but worryyou won’t have enough time to devote to academic subjects, consider workingas a study hall or a library monitor. Responsibilities generally includesupervising study sp aces to ensure that a quiet atmosphere is maintained. It’s a pretty easy job, but one with lots of downtime-which means you will haveplenty of time to catch up on reading, do homework or study for an exam.Q16: What does the speaker say about college students applying foron-campus jobs?Q17: What can students do to find a campus job according to thespeaker？Q18: What does the speaker say is a library monitor’s responsibility?Passage TwoAgricultural workers in green tea fields near Mt. Kenya are gathering thetea leaves. It is beautiful to see. The rows of tea bushes are straight. Allappears to be well. But the farmers who planted the bushes are worried.Nelson Kibara is one of them. He has been growing tea in the Kerugoya areafor 40 years.He says the prices this year have been so low that he has made almost no profit. He says he must grow different kinds of tea if he is to survive.Mr. Kibara and hundreds of other farmers have been removing some oftheir tea bushes and planting a new kind of tea developed by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya. Its leaves are purple and brown. When the teais boiled, the drink has a purple color. Medical researchers have studied thehealth benefits of the new tea. They say it is healthier than green tea and couldbe sold for a price that is three to four times higher than the price of green tea.But Mr. Kibara says he has not received a higher price for his purple tea crop.He says the market for the tea is unstable and he is often forced to sell his purple tea for the same price as green tea leaves. He says there are not enough buyers willing to pay more for the purple tea.Q19. Why have tea farmers in Kenya decided to grow purple tea?Q20. What do researchers say about purple tea?Q21. What does Mr. Kibara find about purple tea?Passage ThreeToday's consumers want beautiful handcrafted s to wear and to have fortheir home environment. They prefer something unique and they demand quality. Craftsmen today are meeting this demand. People and homes are showing great change as more and more unique handcrafted items become available. Handcrafts are big business. No long does a good craftsman have to work in a job he dislikes all day and then try to create at night. He has earnedhis professional status. He is now a respected member of society. Parts of thefun of being a craftsman is meeting other craftsmen. They love to share theirideas and materials and help others find markets for their work. Craftsmen have helped educate consumers to make wise choices. They help them become aware of design and technique. They help them relate their choice toits intended use. They often involve consumers in trying the craft themselves. When a group of craftsmen expends to include more members, a small craft organization is formed. Such an organization does a lot in training workshopsin special media, craft marketing techniques, craft fairs and sales, festivals, TV appearances and demonstrations. State art councils help sponsor local arts and crafts festivals which draw crowds of tourist consumers. This boosts thelocal economy considerably because tourists not only buy crafts, but they alsouse the restaurants and hotels and other services of the area.Q22. What does the speaker say about today's consumers?Q23. What does the speaker say about a good craftsman in the past?Q24. What do craftsmen help consumers do?Q25. Why do state art council’s help sponsor local arts and crafts festivals?。
实用文库汇编之12月大学英语四级真题及完整答案(共两卷)
实用文库汇编之2016年12月大学英语四级真题（第一套）Part I Writing (30minutes)Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation: one is to take a job in a company and the other to go to a graduate school. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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.Questions 1and 2 are based on the news report you have just the heard.1. A) It was going to be renovated. C) It was dangerous to live in.B) He could no longer pay the rent. D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A storm. C) A forest fire.B) A strike. D) A Terrorist attack.Questions 3and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) They lost contact with the emergency department.B) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.C) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.D) They were trapped in an underground elevator.4. A) They provided the miner with food and water.B) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.C) They released the details of the accident.D) They tried hard to repair the accident.Question5 to7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) Raise postage rates. C) Close some of its post offices.B) Improve its services. D) Redesign delivery routes.6. A) Closing offices on holidays. C) Computerizing mail sorting processes.B) Shortening business hours. D) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.7.A）A lot of controversy will ariseB) Taxpayers will be very pleasedC) Many people will begin to complainD) Many post office staff will lose their jobsSection BDirections:In this section,you will hear two long conversations.At the end of eachconversation,you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from four choice marked A),B),C) and D).Then mark the corresponding letter an Answer sheet1 with a single line though the centre.Question8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8.A)He will lose part of his pay. C)He will be given a warning.B)He will go through retraining. D)He is go good terms with his workmates.9.A)He is an experienced press operator. C)He is always on time.B)He is trustworthy guy. D）He is go good terms with his workmates.10.A)She is a trade union representative. C)She is better at handing such matters.B)She is a senior manager of the shop. D)She is in charge of public relation.11.A)He is always trying to stir up trouble.B)He is skilled and experienced.C)He is very close to the manager.D)He is always complaining about low wages.Question12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12.A)Open. C)Selfish.B)Reserved. D)Friendly.13.A)They read a book. C)They stay quiet.B)They talk about the weather D)They chat with fellow passengers.14.A)She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.B)She was never invited to a colleague’s home.C)She was eager to visit an English castle.D)She was always treated as a foreigner.15.A) House are much more quiet. C) They want a garden of their own.B) They want to have more space. D) Houses provide more privacy. Section CDirections:In this section,you will hear three passages.At the end of each passage,you will hear three or four 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.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16.A) They will automatically be given hiring priority.B) They don’t have to go through job interviews.C) They are likely to get much higher pay.D) They don’t have much choice of jobs.17.A) Visit the school careers services. C) Look at school bulletin boards.B) Ask their professors for help. D) Go through campus newspapers.18.A) Providing students with information about the library.B) Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.C) Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.D) Helping students find the books and journals they need.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19.A) It tastes better. C) It is easier to grow.B) It may be sold at a higher price. D) It can better survive extreme weathers.20.A) It can grow in drier soil. C) It will replace green tea one day.B) It is immune to various diseases. D) It is healthier than green tea.21.A) It does not have a stable market.B) It has made t ea farmers’ life easier.C) It does not bring the promised health benefits.D) It has been well received by many tea drinkers.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) They care more about environment.B) They decorate their homes themselves.C) They prefer unique objects of high quality.D) They need decorations to show their status.23. A) They made great contributions to society.B) They could only try to create at night.C) They were proud of their creations.D) They focused on the quality of their products.24. A) Identify fake crafts. C) Design handicrafts themselves.B) Make wise choices. D) Learn the importance of creation.25. A) To attract foreign investments. C) To arouse public interest in crafts.B) To preserve the traditional culture. D) To boost the local economy.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 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 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.Many men and women have long bought into the idea that there are “male” and “female” brains, believing that e xplains just about every difference between the sexes.A new study（26）that belief, questioning whether brains really can be distinguished by gender.In the study, Tel Aviv University researchers（27）for sex differences the entire human brain.And what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidence for（28）brains as “male” or “female,” research shows that brains fall into a wide range, with most people falling right in the middle.Daphna Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there are some gender-based（29）, many different types of brain can’t always be distinguished by gender.While the “average” male and “average” female brains were（30）different, you couldn’t tell it by looking at individual brain scans. Only a small（31）of people had “all-male” or “all-female” characteristics.Larry Cahill, an American neuroscientist (神经科学家),said the study is an important addition to a growing body of research questioning（32）beliefs about gender and brain function. But he cautioned against concluding from this study that all brains are the same,（33）of gender.“There’s a mountain of evidence（34）the importance of sex influences at all levels of brain function,” he told The Seattle Times.If anything, he said, the study（35）that gender plays a very important role in the brain “even when we are not clear exactly how.”Section BDirections: 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.Can Burglars Jam Your Wireless Security System?[A]Any product that promises to protect your home deserves careful examination. So it isn’t surprising that you’ll find plenty of strong opinions about the potential vulnerabilities of popular home-security systems.[B]The most likely type of burglary (入室盗窃) by far is the unsophisticated crime of opportunity, usually involving a broken window or some forced entry. According to the FBI, crimes like these accounted roughly two-thirds of all household burglaries in the US in 2013.The wide majority of the rest were illegal, unforced entries that resulted from something like a window being left open. The odds of a criminal using technical means to bypass a security system are so small that the FBI doesn’t even track those statistics.[C]One of the main theoretical home-security concerns is whether or not a given system is vulnerable to being blocked from working altogether. With wired setups, the fear is that a burglar (入室盗贼) might be able to shut your system down simply by cutting the right cable. With a wireless setup, you stick battery-powered sensors up around your home that keep an eye on windows, doors, motion, and more. If they detect something wrong while the system is armed, they’ll transmit a wireless alert signal to a base station that will then raise the alarm. That approach will eliminate most cord-cutting concerns—but what about their wireless equivalent, jamming? With the right device tuned to the right frequency, what’s to stop a thief from jamming your setup and blocking that alert signal from ever reaching the base station?[D]Jamming concerns are nothing new, and they’re not unique to security systems. Any device that’s built to receive a wireless signal at a specific frequency can be overwhelmed by a stronger signal coming in on the same frequency. For comparison, let’s say you wanted to “jam” a conversation between two people—all you’d need to do is yell in the listener’s ear.[E] Security devices are required to list the frequencies they broadcast on—that means that a potential thief can find what they need to know with minimal Googling. They will, however, need so know what system they’re looking for. If you have a sign in your yard declaring what setup you use, that’d point them in the right direction, though at that point, we’re talking about a highly targeted, semi-sophisticated attack, and not the sort forced-entry attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. It’s easier to find and acquire jamming equipment for some frequencies than it is for others.[F] Wireless security providers will often take steps to help combat the threat of jamming attacks. SimpliSafe, winner of our Editor’s Choice distinction, utilizes a special system that’s capable of separating incidental RF interference from targeted jamming atta cks. When the system thinks it’s being jammed, it’ll notify you via push alert(推送警报).From there, it’s up to you to sound the alarm manually.[G] SimpliSafe was singled out in one recent article on jamming, complete with a video showing the entire system being effectively bypassed with handheld jamming equipment. After taking appropriate measures to contain the RF interference to our test lab, we tested the attack out for ourselves, and were able to verify that it’s possible with the right equipment. Howev er, we also verified that SimpliSafe’s anti-jamming system works. It caught us in the act, sent an alert to my smartphone, and also listed our RF interference on the system’s event log. The team behind the article and video in question make no mention of the system, or whether or not in detected them.[H]We like the unique nature of that software. It means that a thief likely wouldn’t be able to Google how the system works, then figure out a way around it. Even if they could, SimpliSafe claims that its system is always evolving, and that it varies slightly from system to system, which means there wouldn’t be a universal magic formula for cracking it. Other systems also seem confident on the subject of jamming. The team at Frontpoint addresses the issue in a blog on its site, citing their own jam protection software and claiming that there aren’t any documented cases of successful jam attack since the company began offering wireless security sensors in the 1980s.[I] Jamming attacks are absolutely possible. As said before, with the right equipment and the right know-how, it’s possible to jam any wireless transmission. But how probable is it that someone will successfully jam their way into your home and steal your stuff?[J] Let’s imagine that you live in a small home with a wireless security setup that offers a functional anti-jamming system. First, a thief is going to need to target your home, specifically. Then, he’s going to need to know the technical details of your system and acquire the specific equipment necessary for jamming your specific setup. Presumably, you keep your doors locked at night and while you’re away. So the thief will still need to break in. That means defeating the lock somehow, or breaking a window. He’ll need to be jamming you at t his point, as a broken window or openeddoor would normally release the alarm. So, too, would the motion detectors in your home, so the thief will need to continue jamming once he’s inside and searching for things to steal. However, he’ll need to do so wit hout tripping the anti-jamming system, the details of which he almost certainly does now have access to.[K]At the end of the day, these kinds of systems are primarily designed to protect against the sort of opportunistic smash-and-grab attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. They’re also only a single layer in what should ideally be a many-sided approach to securing your home, one that includes common sense things like sound locks and proper exterior lighting at night. No system is impenetrable, and none can promise to eliminate the worst case completely. Every one of them has vulnerabilities that a knowledgeable thief could theoretically exploit. A good system is one that keeps that worst-case setting as improbable as possible while also offering strong protection in the event of a less-extraordinary attack.36. It is possible for burglars to make jamming attacks with the necessary equipmentand skill.37. Interfering with a wireless security system is similar to interfering with aconversation.38. A burglar has to continuously jam the wireless security device to avoid triggeringthe alarm, both inside and outside the house.39. SimpliSafe provides devices that are able to distinguish incidental radiointerference from targeted jamming attacks.40. Only a very small proportion of burglaries are committed by technical means.41. It is difficult to crack SimpliSafe as its system keeps changing.42. Wireless devices will transmit signals so as to activate the alarm once somethingwrong is detected.43. Different measures should be taken to protect one’s home from burglary inaddition to the wireless security system.44. SimpliSafe’s device can send a warning to the house owner’s cellphone.45. Burglars can easily get a security device’s frequency by I nternet search.Section CDirections: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 centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.As a person who writes about food and drink for a living. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about Bill Perry or whether the beers he sells are that great. But I can tell you that I like this guy. That’s because he plans to ban tipping in favor of paying his servers an actual living wage.I hate tipping.I hate it because it’s an obligation disguised as a n option. I hate it for the post-dinner math it requires of me. But mostly, I hate tipping because I believe I would be in a better place if pay decisions regarding employees were simply left up to their employers, as is the custom in virtually every other industry.Most of you probably think that you hate tipping, too. Research suggests otherwise. You actually love tipping! You like to feel that you have a voice in how much money your server makes. No matter how the math works out, you persistently view restaurants with voluntary tipping systems as being a better value, which makes it extremely difficult for restaurants and bars to do away with the tipping system.One argument that you tend to hear a lot from the pro-tipping crowd seems logical enough: the service is better when waiters depend on tips, presumably because they see a benefit to successfully veiling their contempt for you. Well, if this were true, we would all be slipping a few 100-dollar bills to our doctors on the way out their doors, too. But as it turns out, waiters see only a tiny bump in tips when they do an exceptional job compared to a passable one. Waiters, keen observers of humanity that they are, are catching on to this; in one poll, a full 30% said they didn’t believe the job they did had any impact on the tips they received.So come on, folks: get on board with ditching the outdated tip system. Pay a little more upfront for your beer or burger. Support Bill Perry’s pub, and any other bar or restaurant that doesn’t ask you to do dr unken math.46. What can we learn about Bill Perry from the passage?A) He runs a pub that serves excellent beer.B) He intends to get rid of the tipping practice.C) He gives his staff a considerable sum for tips.D) He lives comfortably without getting any tips.47. What is the main reason why the author hates tipping?A) It sets a bad example for other industries.B) It adds to the burden of ordinary customers.C) It forces the customer to compensate the waiter.D) It poses a great challenge for customers to do math.48. Why do many people love tipping according to the author?A) They help improve the quality of the restaurants they dine in.B) They believe waiters deserve such rewards for good service.C) They want to preserve a wonderful tradition of the industry.D) They can have some say in how much their servers earn.49. What have some waiters come to realize according to a survey?A) Service quality has little effect on tip size.B) It is in human mature to try to save on tips.C) Tips make it more difficult to please customers.D) Tips benefit the boss rather that the employees.50. What does the author argue for in the passage?A) Restaurants should calculate the tips for customers.B) Customers should pay more tips to help improve service.C) Waiters deserve better than just relying on tips for a living.D) Waiters should be paid by employers instead of customers.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.In the past, falling oil prices have given a boost to the world economy, but recent forecasts for global growth have been toned down, even as oil prices sink lower and lower. Does that mean the link between lower oil prices and growth has weakened?Some experts say there are still good reasons to believe cheap oil should heat up the world economy. Consumers have more money in their pockets when they’re paying less at the pump. They spend that money on other things, which stimulates the economy.The biggest gains go to countries that import most of their oil like China, Japan, and India, But doesn’t the extra money in the pockets of those countries’ consumers mean an equal loss in oil producing countries, cancelling out the gains? Not necessarily, says economic researcher Sara Johnson. “Many oil p roducers built up huge reserve funds when prices were high, so when prices fall they will draw on their reserves to support government spending and subsidies(补贴) for their consumers.”But not all oil producers have big reserves, In Venezuela, collapsing oil prices have sent its economy into free-fall.Economist Carl Weinberg believes the negative effects of plunging oil prices are overwhelming the positive effects of cheaper oil. The implication is a sharp decline in global trade, which has plunged partly because oil-producing nations can’t afford to import as much as they used to.Sara Johnson acknowledges that the global economic benefit from a fall in oil prices today is likely lower than it was in the past. One reason is that more countries are big oil producers now, so the nations suffering from the price drop account for a larger share of the global economy.Consumers, in the U.S. at least, are acting cautiously with the savings they’re getting at the gas pump, as the memory of the recent great recession is still fresh in their mind. And a number of oil-producing countries are trimming their gasolinesubsidies and raising taxes, so the net savings for global consumers is not as big as the oil price plunge might suggest.51. What does the author mainly discuss in the passage?A) The reasons behind the plunge of oil prices.B) Possible ways to stimulate the global economy.C) The impact of cheap oil on global economic growth.D) The effect of falling oil prices on consumer spending.52. Why do some experts believe cheap oil will stimulate the global economy?A) Manufacturers can produce consumer goods at a much lower cost.B) Lower oil prices have always given a big boost to the global economy.C) Oil prices may rise or fall but economic laws are not subject to change.D) Consumers will spend their saving from cheap oil on other commodities.53. What happens in many oil-exporting countries when oil prices go down?A) They suspend import of necessities from overseas.B) They reduce production drastically to boost oil prices.C) They use their money reserves to back up consumption.D) They try to stop their economy from going into free-fall.54. How does Carl Weinberg view the current oil price plunge?A) It is one that has seen no parallel in economic history.B) Its negative effects more than cancel out its positive effects.C) It still has a chance to give rise to a boom in the global economy.D) Its effects on the global economy go against existing economic laws.55. Why haven’t falli ng oil prices boosted the global economy as they did before?A) People are not spending all the money they save on gas.B) The global economy is likely to undergo another recession.C) Oil importers account for a larger portion of the global economy.D) People the world over are afraid of a further plunge in oil prices.Part IV Translation (30minutes)Directions: For this part,you are allowed 30minutes to transtate a passage from Chinese into English.You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.在中国文化中，红色通常象征着好运、长寿和幸福，在春节和其他喜庆场合，红色到处可见。
16年12月四级真题(第三套)
12 月英语四级真题（卷三）Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation: one is to find a job somewhere and the other to start a business of your own. You are to make a decision. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180words.说明：由于2016 年12 月四级考试全国共考了2 套听力，本套真题听力与前2 套内容完全一样，只是顺序不一样，因此在本套真题中不再重复出现。
Part III Reading Comprehension (40 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 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.When someone commits a criminal act, we always hope the punishment will match the offense. But when it comes to one of the crudest crimes—animal fighting—things 26 work out that way. Dog-fighting victims are Some progress has been made in the prosecution（起诉）of animal fighters. But federal judges often rely heavily on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines when they 29 penalties, and in the case of animal fighting, those guidelines are outdated and extremely 30 .The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which 31 these sentencing guidelines, is revisiting them, proposing to raise the minimum sentence from 6-12 to 21-27 months. This is a step in the right 32 , but we’d like to see theU.S. Sentencing Commission make further changes to the guidelines.Along with this effort, we’re working with animal advocates and state and federal lawmakers to 33 anti- cruelty laws across the country, as well as supporting laws and policies that assist overburdened animal 34 that care for animal fighting victims. This help is 35 important because the high cost of caring for animal victims is a major factor that prevents people from getting involved in cruelty cases in the first place.A) convenient B) creates C) critically D) determine E) direction F) hesitate G) inadequateH) inspired I) method J) minimal K) rarely L) shelters M) strengthen N) sufferingsO)torturedSection BDirections: 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.When Work Becomes a GameB)Increasingly, companies are tapping into these desires directly through what has come to be known as “gamification”: essentially, turning work into a game. “Gamification is about understanding what it is that makes games engaging and what game designers do to create a great experience in games, and taking those learnings and applying them to other contexts such as the workplace and education,” explains Kevin Werbach, a gamificationexpert who teaches at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.1C)It might mean monitoring employee productivity on a digital leaderboard and offering prizes to the winners, or giving employees digital badges or stars for completing certain activities. It could also mean training employees how to do their jobs through vide o game platforms. Companies from Google to L’Oreal to IBM to Wells Fargo are known to use some degree of gamification in their workplaces. And more and more companies are joining them. A recent report suggests that the global gamification market will grow from $1.65 billion in 2015 to $11.1 billion by 2020.D)The concept of gamification is not entirely new, Werbach says. Companies, marketers and teachers have long looked for fun ways to engage people’s reward-seeking or competitive spirits. Cracker Jacks ha s been “gamifying” its snack food by putting a small prize inside for more than 100 years, he adds, and the turn-of- the-century steel magnate（巨头）Charles Schwab is said to have often come into his factory and written the number of tons of steel produced on the past shift on the factory floor, thus motivating the next shift of workers to beat the previous one.E)But the word “gamification” and the widespread, conscious application of the concept only began in earnest about five years ago, Werbach says. Thanks in part to video games, the generation now entering the workforce is especially open to the idea of having their work gamified. “ We are at a point where in much of the developed world the vast majority of young people grew up playing video games, and an increasingly high percentage of adults play these video games too，” Werbach says.F)A number of companies have sprung up—GamEffective, Bunchball and Badgeville, to name a few—in recent years offering gamification platforms for businesses. The platforms t hat are most effective turn employees’ ordinary job tasks into part of a rich adventure narrative. “What makes a game game-like is that the player actually cares about the outcome,” Werbach says. “The principle is about understanding what is motivating to this group of players, which requires some understanding of psychology.”I)Some people do not take naturally to gamified work environments, Cometti says. In her experience, people in positions of power or people in finance or engineering do not tend to like the sound of the word. “If we are designing for engineers, I’m not talking about a ‘game’at all,” Cometti says. “I’m talking about a ‘simulation’（模拟），I’m talking about ‘ being able to solve this problem. ’ ”J)Gamification is “not a magic bullet,” Werbach warns. A gamification strategy that is not sufficiently thought through or well tailored to its players may engage people for a little while, but it will not motivate people in the long term. It can also be exploitative, especially when used with vulnerable populations. For workers, especially low-paid workers, who desperately need their jobs yet know they can be easily replaced, gamification may feel more like the Hunger Games. Werbach gives the example of several Disneyland hotels in Anaheim, California, which used large digital leaderboards to display how efficiently laundry workers were working compared to one another. Some employees found the board motivating. To others, it was the opposite of fun. Some began to stop taking bathroom breaks, worried that if their productivity fell they would be fired. Pregnant employees struggled to keep up. In a Los Angeles Times article, one employee referred to the board as a “digital whip.” “It actually had a very negative effect on morale and performance, ” W erbach says.K)Still, gamification only stands to become more popular, he says, “as more and more people come into the workforce who are familiar with the structures and expressions of digital games.” “We are far from reaching the peak,” Cometti agrees. “Th ere is no reason this will go away.”36.Some famous companies are already using gamification and more are trying to do the same.37.Gamification is not a miracle cure for all workplaces as it may have negative results.38.To enhance morale, one company asks its employees to identify their fellow workers when starting their computers.39.The idea of gamification was practiced by some businesses more than a century ago.40.There is reason to believe that gamification will be here to stay.41.Video games contributed in some ways to the wide application of gamification.42.When turning work into a game, it is necessary to understand what makes games interesting.43.Gamification in employee training does not always need technology.44.The most successful gamification platforms transform daily work assignments into fun experiences.45.It is necessary to use terms other than “gamification” for some professions.Section CDirections: 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 centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Recently I attended several meetings where we talked about ways to retain students and keep younger faculty members from going elsewhere.It seems higher education has become an industry of meeting-holders whose tas k it is to “solve” problems— real or imagined. And in my position as a professor at three different colleges, the actual problems in educating our young people and older students have deepened, while the number of people hired—not to teach but to hold meetings—has increased significantly. Every new problem creates a new job for an administrative fixer. Take our Center for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title, the center is a clearing house（信息交流中心）for using technology in classrooms and in online course s. It’s an administrative sham（欺诈）of the kind that has multiplied over the last 30 years.I offer a simple proposition in response: Many of our problems—class attendance, educational success, student happiness and well-being—might be improved by cutting down the bureaucratic（官僚的）mechanisms and meetings and instead hiring an army of good teachers. If we replaced half of our administrative staff with classroom teachers, we might actually get a majority of our classes back to 20 or fewer students per teacher. This would be an environment in which teachers and students actually knew each other.The teachers must be free to teach in their own way—the curriculum should be flexible enough so that they can use their individual talents to achieve the goals of the course. Additionally, they should be allowed to teach, and be rewarded for doing it well. Teachers are not people who are great at and consumed by research and happen to appear in a classroom. Good teaching and research are not exclusive, but they are also not automatic companions. Teaching is an art and a craft, talent and practice; it is not something that just anyone can be good at. It is utterly confusing to me that people do not recognize this, despite the fact that pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell the difference between their best and worst teachers.46.C)They are over-burdened with administrative staff.D)They lack talent to fix their deepening problems.47.B)Efficient administrators.C)Talented researchers.D)Motivated students.48.B)They help students form closer relationships.C)They have more older students than before.D)They are much bigger than is desirable.49.B)It is closely related to research.C)It is a chief factor affecting students’ learning.D)It can be acquired through persistent practice.50.D)Cutting down meetings and encouraging administrative staff to go to classrooms.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The secret to eating less and being happy about it may have been cracked years ago—by McDonald’s. According to a new study from Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab, small non-food rewards—like the toys in McDonald’s Happy Meals—stimulate the same reward centers in the brain as food does.The researchers, led by Martin Reimann, carried out a series of experiments to see if people would choose a smaller meal if it was paired with a non-food item.They found that the majority of both kids and adults opted for a half-sized portion when combined with a prize. Both options were priced the same.Even more interesting is that the promise of a future reward was enough to make adults choose the smaller portion. One of the prizes used was a lottery ticket（彩票）, with a S10, $50 or $100 payout, and this was as effective as a tangible gift in persuading people to eat less.“The fact that participants were willing to substitute part of a food item for the mere prospect of a relatively small monetary award is interesting,” says Reimann.He theorizes that it is the emotional component of these intangible prizes that make them effective. In fact, vaguely-stated possibilities of winning a prize were more effective than options with hard odds included.“One explanation for this finding is that possible awards may be more emotionall y provoking than certainty awards,” says Reimann. “The uncertainty of winning provides added attraction and desirability through emotional ‘thrills.’ The possibility of receiving an award also produces a state of hope—a state that is in itself psychologically rewarding.” In other words, there’s a reason why people like to gamble.One possibility is a healthy option that offers the chance to win a spa（温泉疗养）weekend. Or maybe the reward of a half-sized portion could be a half-sized dessert to be claimed only on a future date. That would get you back in the restaurant—and make you eat a little less.51.B)It has proved to be key to McDonald’s business success.C)It appeals to kid’s curiosity to find out what is hidden inside.D)It may be a pleasant way for kids to reduce their food intake.52.A)Kids preferred an award in the form of money to one in the form of a toy.B)Adults chose the smaller portion on the mere promise of a future award.C)Both kids and adults felt satisfied with only half of their meal portions.A)The emotional component of the prizes is at work.B)People now care more about quality than quantity.C)People prefer certainty awards to possible awards.D)The desire for a future reward is overwhelming.A)People should eat much less if they wish to stay healthy and happy.B)More fast food restaurants are likely to follow McDonald’s example.C)We can lead people to eat less while helping the restaurant business.D)More studies are needed to find out the impact of emotion on behavior.Part IV Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.在中国文化中，黄颜色是一种很重要的颜色，因为它具有独特的象征意义。
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【作文】第一套：Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation. One is to find a job somewhere and the other to start a business of your own. You are to make a decision. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your decision. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.精彩范文In the past two years of my college life, I have never ceased to think what kind of work I shall take up upon graduation. Although my ideas are not consistent, I have now decided to start a business of my own as my lifelong career.A variety of factors have led me to make this decision over other more lucrative ones. To begin with, running my own business means freedom and independence. As a person having my own business, I am free to use my own ideas and make my own decisions, a privilege not everyone can have, even those with highly-paid positions. More importantly, I like starting my own business in that it offers a certain peace of mind. No more rushing to catch a morning bus, no more anxiety to please a boss, no more worries about your paycheck which is steady, if not handsome. Nothing, not even a big salary, can equal for the satisfaction of beingyour own boss and a gentle peace of life.参考译文在过去两年的大学生活中，我一刻也没有停止过思考：我大学毕业以后要干什么工作。
尽管我的想法很多，但我现在已决定，我将开创我自己的事业。
有很多理由使我做出这个选择而不是其他较赚钱职业的决定。
首先，创业意味着自由和独立。
当一名创业人员我可以有自己想法的自由，有自己作决定的自由，而这个特权不是每一个人，甚至拿高薪的人都能拥有的。
其次，我喜欢创业，是因为这个工作给我一份安宁。
我无须每天早上去赶汽车，无须为如何讨好老板，如何不落在人家后面而焦虑不安，无须担心自己的工作收入，虽然不那么丰厚，但却十分稳定。
没有什么东西，甚至高工资，可以抵得上自己做主人的乐趣和平静安宁的生活。
亮点词汇cease停止take up从事upon graduation毕业时although尽管consistent连续的lifelong终生的career职业a variety of很多factor原因lead to导致lucrative诱惑性的to begin with首先freedom自由independence独立privilege特权highly-paid position高薪职位more importantly更为重要的是in that由于offer提供certain某种peace安静rush匆忙anxiety焦虑please取悦paycheck收入steady稳定的handsome丰厚的、英俊的big salary高工资equal抵得上satisfaction乐趣、满足gentle安宁的道长点评四级写作已经多次考察情景作文，如：2014-6：What is the Most Interest Place in China（中国最有趣的地方是哪儿），2014-6：What is the Most Interesting Place in Your Hometown? （你的家乡最有趣的地方是哪儿），2014-6：What is the Most Interesting Place in Your Campus?（你们校园最有趣的地方是哪儿），希望考生引起高度重视。
句型拓展1、To make my lectures more constructive and stimulating, I have to read more books, explore new knowledge and gain a better understanding of the world——the very thing I enjoy in my life.要使我的课更有启发性，更生动有趣，我就得读更多的书，探索新的知识，对世界要有更好的了解，而这正是我生活中最喜欢干的事。
2、This is inevitable because ours is a society where one’s income is still determined by the knowledge you possess.由于我们社会中一个人的收入仍然由你所拥有的知识所决定，因此这一点不可避免。
3、 With the growing number of college graduates being turned out each year, the situation in the job market is getting tighter and tighter.随着每年毕业的大学毕业生越来越多，就业市场的形势越来越严峻。
第二套：Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation. One is to work in a state-owned business and the other in a joint venture. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.破题思路：第一段：话题描述。
第二段：表明观点+阐述原因。
第三段：观点结论。
参考范文：Upon graduation, virtually all college students will confront the problem of the career choice，which is truly a tough choice. Students' opinions differ greatly on this issue. Some hold that priority should be given to start a business of your own, but others take the attitude that finding a job is the best choice influencing their future.As to myself, I prefer the latter view. An opportunity to start a business exerts a tremendous fascination on a great number of people, with no exception to me. In my view, With the competition in the job market becoming increasingly fierce for college graduates，some ambitious students have tried their hands at launching their own businesses. Overthe years，there have been many successful cases of student entrepreneurship and such attempts should be encouraged and promoted by both the universities and the society at large. What’s more ,College students who start businesses are pioneers，among whom will be born China’s future business leaders. Faced with unknown challenges，they are audacious enough to embark on a perilous journey while most of their peers enjoy stable salaries by working aswhite-collars at high-end office buildings.All in all, the essential difference between the students who find a job or those students who create their own businesses is that the former are docile followers whereas the latter are aggressive trailblazers. For this reason，business-launching college graduates are more admirable，and thus they command our deep respect.第三套：Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay.Suppose you have two options upon graduation. One is to take a job in a company and the other to go to a graduate school. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to explain the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.参考范文：Upon graduation, virtually all college students will confront the problem of the career choice，which is truly a tough choice. Students' opinions differ greatly on this issue. Some hold that priority should be given to take a job, but others take the attitude that going to a graduate school is the most critical factor influencing their future career choices.As to myself, I prefer the latter view. A higher educational background exerts a tremendous fascination on a great number of people, with no exception to me. This phenomenon that the graduates have difficulties in finding job after their graduation can easily be found anywhere in our daily life, especially on campus. On the one hand, with the improved high education of Chinese college students which directly brought the result that there are more and more graduates every year. On the contrary, job vacancies don’t increase that fast. More people, less food, which is the exact deion of the hard condition. On the other hand, more and more people go on to pursue their master and doctor degree；more and more Chinese oversea students come back to China to hunt better working chances. It is sure that the competition is more and more fierce. Therefore, it is high time that we took effective measures to improve our own competitiveness. That is the secret of success in the future employment market after our graduation.命题解析2016年12月四级写作命题再次体现了强烈的反押题倾向，考察了以前从未考察过的一种情景作文：正反对比型情景作文，类似于以前的老托福写作题目。