(完整版)2018年12月英语四级真题及答案
(完整版)2018年12月大学英语四级考试真题精解(第一套)
2018年12月大学英语四级考试真题（第一套）音频Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of living in a big city. 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 thenews 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) Land a space vehicle on the moon in 2019.B) Design a new generation of mobile phones.C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.D) Gather data from the moon with a tiny device.2. A) It is stable.B) It is durable.C) It is inexpensive.D) It is sophisticated.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) It lasted more than six hours.B) No injuries were yet reported.C) Nobody was in the building when it broke out.D) It had burned for 45 minutes by the time firefighters arrive.4. A) Recruit and train more firefighters.B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.C) Turn the shopping mall into an amusement park.D) Find money to renovate the local neighborhood.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) Shrinking potato farming.B) Heavy reliance on import.C) Widespread plant disease.D) Insuffcient potato supply.6. A) It intends to keep its traditional diet.B) It wants to expand its own farming.C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.D) It is worried about unfair competition.7. A) Global warming.B) Ever-rising prices.C) Government regulation.D) Diminishing investment.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 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) Informative.B) Inspiring.C) Dull.D) Shallow.9. A) She types on a keyboard.B) She does recording.C) She takes photos.D) She takes notes.10. A) It keeps her mind active.B) It makes her stay awake.C) It enables her to think hard.D) It helps her kill time.11. A) It enables her to improve her pronunciation.B) It helps her better remember what she learns.C) It turns out to be an enjoyable way of learning.D) It proves to be far more effective than writing.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) To spend her honeymoon.B) To try authentic Indian food.C) To take photos of the Taj Mahal.D) To trace the origin of a love story.13. A) In memory of a princess.B) In honor of a great emperor.C) To mark the death of an emperor of the 1600s.D) To celebrate the birth of a princess’s 14th child.14. A) It looks older than expected.B) It is built of wood and bricks.C) It stores lots of priceless antiques.D) It has walls decorated with jewels.15. A) Their streets are narrow.B) Each one has a unique character.C) They are mostly crowded.D) Life can be tedious in some places.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 help spread the latest technology.B) They greatly enrich people’s leisure life.C) They provide residents with the resources they need.D) They allow free access to digital books and videos.17. A) By helping them find jobs.B) By keeping them off the streets.C) By inspiring their creativity.D) By providing a place of relaxation.18. A) Their interaction with teenagers proved fruitful.B) They used libraries less often than teenagers.C) They tended to visit libraries regularly.D) Their number increased modestly.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) It is the cleverest cat in the world.B) It is an unusual cross breed.C) It is the largest cat in Africa.D) It is a large-sized wild cat.20. A) They are as loyal as dogs.B) They are fond of sleeping in cabinets.C) They have unusually long tails.D) They know how to please their owners.21. A) They shake their front paws.B) They shower with them.C) They teach them to dive.D) They shout at them.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) Contented and relieved.B) Anxious and depressed.C) Proud but a bit nervous.D) Excited but somewhat sad.23. A) It starts the moment they are born.B) It depends on their parents for success.C) It is gaining increasing public attention.D) It is becoming parents’biggest concern.24. A) Choose the right school for them.B) Help them to learn by themselves.C) Read books and magazines to them.D) Set a good example for them to follow.25. A) Their intelligence.B) Their home life.C) The quality of their school.D) The effort they put in learning.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.Millions die early from air pollution each year. Air pollution costs the global economy more than $5 trillion annually in welfare costs，with the most serious 26 occurring in the developing world.The figures include a number of costs 27 with air pollution. Lost income alone amounts to $225 billion a year.The report includes both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Indoor pollution，which includes 28 like home heating and cooking，has remained 29 over the past several decades despite advances in the area.Levels of outdoor pollution have grown rapidly along with rapid growth in industry and transportation.Director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Chris Murray 30 it as an “urgent call to action.”“One of the risk factors for premature deaths is the air we breathe，over which individuals have little 31，”he said.The effects of air pollution are worst in the developing world，where in some places lost-labor income 32 nearly 1% of GDP. Around 9 in 10 people in low- and middle-income countries live in places where they 33 experience dangerous levels of outdoor air pollution.But the problem is not limited 34 to the developing world. Thousands die prematurely in the U.S. as a result of related illnesses. In many European countries，where diesel(柴油) 35 have become more common in recent years，that number reaches tens of thousands.A) abilityB) associatedC) consciouslyD) constantE) controlF) damageG) describedH) equalsI) exclusivelyJ) innovatedK) regularlyL) relatesM) sourcesN) undermineO) vehiclesSection 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.Food-as-Medicine Movement Is Witnessing ProgressA) Several times a month，you can find a doctor in the aisles of Ralph’s market in Huntington Beach，California，wearing a white coat and helping people learn about food. On one recent day，this doctor was Daniel Nadeau，wandering the cereal aisle with Allison Scott，giving her some ideas on how to feed kids who persistently avoid anything that is healthy. “Have you thought about trying fresh juices in the morning?”he asks her. “The frozen oranges and apples are a little cheaper，and fruits are really good for the brain. Juices are quick and easy to prepare，you can take the frozen fruit out the night before and have it ready the next morning.”B) Scott is delighted to get food advice from a physician who is program director of the nearby Mary and Dick Allen Diabetes Center，part of the St. Joseph Hoag Health alliance. The center’s ‘Shop with Your Doc’program sends doctors to the grocery store to meet with any patients who sign up for the service，plus any other shoppers who happen to be around with questions.C) Nadeau notices the pre-made macaroni(通心粉) -and-cheese boxes in Scott’s shopping cart and suggests she switch to whole grain macaroni and real cheese. “So I’d have to make it?”she asks，her enthusiasm fading at the thought of how long that might take，just to have her kids reject it. “I’m not sure they’d eat it. They just won’t eat it.”D) Nadeau says sugar and processed foods are big contributors to the rising diabetes rates among children. “In America，over 50 percent of our food is processed food，”Nadeau tells her. “And only 5 percent of our food is plant-based food. I think we should try to reverse that.”Scott agrees to try more fruit juices for the kids and to make real macaroni and cheese. Score one point for the doctor，zero for diabetes.E) Nadeau is part of a small revolution developing across California. The food-as-medicine movement has been around for decades，but it’s making progress as physicians and medical institutions make food a formal part of treatment，rather than relying solely on medications(药物) . By prescribing nutritional changes or launching programs such as ‘Shop with Your Doc’，they are trying to prevent，limit or even reverse disease by changing what patients eat. “There’s no question people can take things a long way toward reversing diabetes，reversing high blood pressure，even preventing cancer by food choices，”Nadeau says.F) In the big picture，says Dr. Richard Afable，CEO and president of St. Joseph Hoag Health，medical institutions across the state are starting to make a philosophical switch to becoming a health organization，not just a health care organization. That feeling echoes the beliefs of the Therapeutic Food Pantry program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital，which completed its pilot phase and is about to expand on an ongoing basis to five clinic sites throughout the city. The program will offer patients several bags of food prescribed for thei condition，along with intensive training in how to cook it. “We really want to link food and medicine，and not just give away food，”says Dr. Rita Nguyen，the hospital’s medical director of Healthy Food Initiatives. “We want people to understand what they’re eating，how to prepare it，the role food plays in their lives.”G) In Southern California，Loma Linda University School of Medicine is offering specialized training for its resident physicians in Lifestyle Medicine—that is a formal specialty in using food to treat disease. Research findings increasingly show the power of food to treat or reverse diseases，but that does not mean that diet alone is always the solution，or that every illness can benefit substantially from dietary changes. Nonetheless，physicians say that they look at the collective data and a clear picture emerges: that the salt，sugar，fat and processed foods in the American diet contribute to the nation’s high rates ofobesity，diabetes and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization，80 percent of deaths from heart disease and stroke are caused by high blood pressure，tobacco use，elevated cholesterol and low consumption of fruits and vegetables.H) “It’s a different paradigm(范式) of how to treat disease，”says Dr. Brenda Rea，who helps run the family and preventive medicine residency program at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The lifestyle medicine specialty is designed to train doctors in how to prevent and treat disease，in part，by changing patients’nutritional habits. The medical center and school at Loma Linda also has a food cupboard and kitchen for patients. This way，patients not only learn about which foods to buy，but also how to prepare them at home.I) Many people don’t know how to cook，Rea says，and they only know how to heat things up. That means depending on packaged food with high salt and sugar content. So teaching people about which foods are healthy and how to prepare them，she says，can actually transform a patient’s life. And beyond that，it might transform the health and lives of that patient’s family. “What people eat can be medicine or poison，”Rea says.“As a physician，nutrition is one of the most powerful things you can change to reverse the effects of long term disease.”J) Studies have explored evidence that dietary changes can slow inflammation(炎症) ，for example，or make the body inhospitable to cancer cells. In general，many lifestyle medicine physicians recommend a plant-based diet—particularly for people with diabetes or other inflammatory conditions.K) “As what happened with tobacco，this will require a cultural shift，but that can happen，”says Nguyen. “In the same way physicians used to smoke，and then stopped smoking and were able to talk to patients about it，I think physicians can have a bigger voice in it.”36. More than half of the food Americans eat is factory-produced.37. There is a special program that assigns doctors to give advice to shoppers in food stores.38. There is growing evidence from research that food helps patients recover from various illnesses.39. A healthy breakfast can be prepared quickly and easily.40. Training a patient to prepare healthy food can change their life.41. One food-as-medicine program not only prescribes food for treatment but teaches patients how to cook it.42. Scott is not keen on cooking food herself，thinking it would simply be a waste of time.43. Diabetes patients are advised to eat more plant-based food.44. Using food as medicine is no novel idea，but the movement is making headway these days.45. Americans’high rates of various illnesses result from the way they eat.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.California has been facing a drought for many years now，with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. The problem is growing as the population of thestate continues to expand. New research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1，000 feet，but due to new pumping practices，water deeper than this can now be extracted(抽取) . The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers(地下蓄水层) below this depth and found that reserves may be triple what was previously thought.It is profitable to drill to depths more than 1，000 feet for oil and gas extraction，but only recently in California has it become profitable to pump water from this depth. The aquifers range from 1，000 to 3，000 feet below the ground，which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep is the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out，the vacant space left is compacted by the weight of the earth above.Even though pumping from these depths is expensive，it is still cheaper than desalinating(脱盐) the ocean water in the largely coastal state. Some desalination plants exist where feasible，but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs. Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater，and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction，thus increasing the cost. Research from the exhaustive study of groundwater from over 950 drilling logs has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves now go up to 2，700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.46. How could California’s drought crisis be solved according to some researchers?A) By building more reserves of groundwater.B) By drawing water from the depths of the earth.C) By developing more advanced drilling devices.D) By upgrading its water distribution system.47. What can be inferred about extracting water from deep aquifers?A) It was deemed vital to solving the water problem.B) It was not considered worth the expense.C) It may not provide quality freshwater.D) It is bound to gain support from the local people.48. What is mentioned as a consequence of extracting water from deep underground?A) The sinking of land surface.B) The harm to the ecosystem.C) The damage to aquifers.D) The change of the climate.49. What does the author say about deep wells?A) They run without any need for repairs.B) They are entirely free from pollutants.C) They are the ultimate solution to droughts.D) They provide a steady supply of freshwater.50. What may happen when deep aquifers are used as water sources?A) People’s health may improve with cleaner water.B) People’s water bills may be lowered considerably.C) The cost may go up due to desalination.D) They may be exhausted sooner or later.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The AlphaGo program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become.But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically，meaning can they be honest and fairOne example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads，so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve，they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes，however，they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road，even if that will put their passengers at risk? What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog? What if the only risk is damage to the car itself，not to the passengers?Perhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars，but they are not super-intelligent beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.About the same time as AlphaGo’s triumph，Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’took a bad turn. The software，named Taylor，was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations，but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler，Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages AlphaGo’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warning to us. It is one thing to use AI within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google，which owns AlphaGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner，whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter，more able and “just better human beings.”51. What does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victory?A) Computers will prevail over human beings.B) Computers have unmatched potential.C) Computers are man’s potential rivals.D) Computers can become highly intelligent.52. What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethically?A) They are capable of predicting possible risks.B) They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision.C) They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas.D) They sacrifice everything to save human lives.53. What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age?A) How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.B) How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.C) How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.D) How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.54. What do we learn about Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’Taylor?A) She could not distinguish good from bad.B) She could turn herself off when necessary.C) She was not made to handle novel situations.D) She was good at performing routine tasks.55. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligenceA) It will be far superior to human beings.B) It will keep improving as time goes by.C) It will prove to be an asset to human beings.D) It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.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.由于通信网络的快速发展，中国智能手机用户数量近年来以惊人速度增长。
2018年12月大学英语四级真题试卷及答案第一套
2018年12月大学英语四级真题试卷及答案(第一套)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of living in a big city. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)听力音频MP3文件，点击进入听力真题页面Section A News ReportDirections：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）。
2018年12月英语四级真题答案解析
2018年12月英语四级真题答案解析（第1套）来源：文都教育Part I Writing【创业——参考范文】The Challenges of Starting a Career after GraduationFacing the rising employment pressure, a host of college graduates choose to start a career instead of looking for a regular job in a company. As we all know that, starting a career is beneficial to realize one’s own dreams and value. However, it is also widely acknowledged that stating a career will be inevitably confronted with numerous challenges.When it comes to the challenges that we may meet in the process of starting a career, the main ones can be listed as follows. First of all, as freshmen who have just entered into the society, it is obvious that college graduates lack related experience, which will increase the rate of failure they may encounter during starting a career. Being short of entrepreneurial experience is one of difficulties that college graduates need to overcome. In addition, the collection of money is another problem they should solve urgently. Otherwise, there is no possibility of starting a career.Although starting a career after graduation has so many challenges to be solved, college graduates still need take a positive attitude towards it. Moreover, prudent consideration and entrepreneurial spirit are also necessary for graduates to start a career.Part IIListening Comprehension【四级听力参考答案】C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.A) It is stable.B) No injuries were yet reported.B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.A) Shrinking potato farming.C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.A) Global warming.C) Dull.D)she take notes.A) It keeps her mind active.B) It helps her better remember what she learns. A)To spend her honeymoon.A) In memory of a princess.D) It has walls decorated with jewels.B)They are mostly crowded.C)They provide residents with the resources needed.B)By inspiring their creativity.D)Their number increased modestly.C)It is an unusual cross breed.A)They are as loyal as doges.C)They shower with them.D) Excited but somewhat sad.A) It starts the moment they are born.D) Set a good example for them to follow.B) Their home life.Part III Reading comprehensionSectionAF) damageB) associatedM) sourcesD) constantG) describedE) controlH) equalsK) regularlyI)exclusivelyO) vehiclesSection B[D] Nadeau says sugar and...[B] Scott is delighted to get...[G] In Southern California...39. [A] Several times a month, you can...40. [I] Many people don’t know how to cook...41.[F] In the big picture, says Dr. Richard...42.[C] Nadeau notices the pre-made...43. [J] Studies have explored evidence that...44. [E] Nadeau is part of a small revolution...45. [G] In Southern California...Section CPassage oneB)By drawing water from the depths of the earth。
2018年12月四级考试真题及答案
2018年12月四级考试真题及答案第一部分：听力（共20小题）这部分共有20个小题，每个小题你将听到一个句子，并看到有关这个句子的三个选项。
请你从中选出与句子内容相符的选项。
A)He borrowed a pen from the girl.B)The girl lent him a pen.C)The boy gave a pen to the girl.A)The man will go to the supermarket.B)The man needs to buy some food.C)The supermarket is closed.A)She is seldom late for class.B)She arrives early for class.C)She always rushes to class.…第二部分：阅读理解（共10篇）这部分共有10篇短文，每篇短文后面有2-3个与短文内容相关的问题。
请你根据短文内容，选择正确的答案。
Passage 1Living in a big and bustling metropolis, one tends to feel isolated and lonely. This is not to say you are alone; it is the fact you are alone in a crowd. You don’t even know most of your neighbors’ names, while of those few you do know, you can hardly remember who they are. Sometimes when you do meet someone you like, it just seems you are miles apart in your interests and views. You have acquaintances but few friends, making you long to reach out and make new friends.4.According to the passage, people living in a big city often _______.A)feel alone even when surrounded by peopleB)know most of their neighbors’ namesC)have a lot of close friends5.What does the author say about meeting people in a big city?A)It is easy to find friends who share your interests and views.B)It is difficult to find people with similar interests and views.C)It is unnecessary to meet new people in a big city.…第三部分：写作（共两篇）第一篇：图表作文根据下面所给的图表和提示，描写2010年至2018年某社会现象的变化。
2018年12月四级考试答案
2018年12月四级考试答案听力答案News Report One1.C Set up a mobile phone network on the moon2.A It is stableNews Report Two3.B No injuries were yet reported.4.B Pull down the deserted shopping mall.News Report Three5.D Insuffeient potato supply.6C It is afraid of the spread of disease. Conversation One8.A DULL9.D She takes notes.10.A It keeps her mind active.11.B It helps her better remenber what she leaens. Conversation Two12.A To spend her honeymoon.13.A In memory of a princess.14.D It has walls decorated with jewels.15.B They are mostly crowded.16 C They provide residents with the resources needed.17 B By inspiring their creativity18 D Their number increased modestly19 C It is an unusual cross breed20 A They are as loyal as dogs21 C They shower with them22 D Excited but somewhat sad23 A It starts the moment they are born24 D Set a good example for them to follow25 B Their home life四级阅读答案26-3526.F Damage27.B associated28.M sources29.D constant30.G described31.E control32.H equals33.K regularly34.I exclusively35.O vehicle四级阅读答案匹配题 1 ： 36-40 DBGFI 41-45 FCJEG 匹配题 2 ： 36-40 FCLEA 41-45 NMDKH 匹配题 3 ： 36-40 GMFCE 41-45 DAHKB第一篇26.F Damage27.B associated28.M sources29.D constant30.G described31.E control32.H equals33.K regularly34.I exclusively35.O vehicles第二篇26.I remedies27.D inconvenience28.H recommended29. C hesitant30.O worse31.B esperiences32.J scared33.M pressured34.L sink35.E lessen第三篇26. I warning27.B convenience28.F particularly29.L surveyed30.C effectively31.E intimate32.J unfriendly33.K specific34.G primary35.A avoid第一套题目第一篇46.B 47.B 48.A 49.D 50.C 第二篇51.D 52.C 53.B 54.A 55.D第二套第一篇46.C 47.D 48.B 49.A 50.B 第二篇51.A 52.A 53.D 54.B 55.C第三套第一篇46.A 47.D 48.C 49.A 50.B 第二篇51.C 52.D 53.A 54.C 55.B2018 年 12 月英语四级第一篇翻译原文：由于通信网络的快速发展，中国智能手机用户数量近年来以惊人度增长。
2018年12月英语四级考试参考答案(全三套)
2018年12月英语四级考试参考答案（全三套）第一套听力原文News 1A device that weighs less than one kilogram is part of a mission that will allow scientists to deliver fourth generation or 4G mobile coverage to the moon in 2019. If successful, the tiny device will provide the moon with its first ever mobile phone network. The lunar network will support high definition streaming of video and data between the moon and earth. The network is part of a mission to the moon. This is a project with the goal of landing the first privately paid for mission to the moon. The 4G mission is set to launch from Cape Canaveral in the United States on a space X Falcon 9 rocket in 2019. Mission to the moon intends to establish and test the first elements of a communications network on the moon. The scientists working on the project opted to build a 4G rather than a fifth generation or 5G network. This is because fifth generation networks are still in testing and trial phases. This means that a 5G network may not yet be stable enough to work on the moon’s surface.Question 1: What are scientists planning to do?Question 2: Why did scientists choose to set up a 4G network in their mission?News 2It’s responded to a fire Wednesday night at an abandoned mall in Heywood. The fire was reported at 9:26 pm at an old shopping center on Michigan Avenue near St. Mary’s Church. Six fire engines, two trucks and two chiefs responded to the scene. Crews had the fire under control in about 45 minutes and managed to contain the fire to its point of origin. There were some people inside the building when the fire broke out but there were no reports of any injuries. Fire investigators have responded to the scene but have not yet determined the cause of the fire. Firefighters will remain on the scene until later this morning to ensure that the fire doesn’t start upagain. The shopping mall had not been in use since 2002. In 2014 City Hall developed a plan to knock down the building and replace it with affordable housing. However the plan was dropped due to lack of funds.Question 3: What does the news item say about the fire?Question 4: What had City Hall planned to do?News 3Potato chips in Japan are being sold for 6X their normal price. This is after the country’s main manufacturer stopped sales due to a potato shortage. Storms and floods and its main potato growing region last year caused the worst harvest and more than 3 decades. Local media reports suggest Calbee and its main rival Koike-ya are halting almost 50 products.“We don’t know when we’ll be able to restart”, a company spokesman said. Snack lovers are panic buying and many supermarket shelves are bare. Japanese laws limit the amount of imported potatoes that can be used in Japanese made products. Japan says fear of disease is its main reason to block fresh imports. It still only allows potatoes from selected US states. This is only at certain times and on condition that they are processed at factories based near Japanese ports.But global warming has raised the possibility that domestic produce could be seriously affected by rare weather events more often.Question 5: What problem is Japan facing?Question 6: Why does Japan limit the import of potatoes?Question 7: What might affect Japanese domestic produce?Conversation 1M: Mr. Brown’s lectures are so boring.W: Yes, he is not a very exciting speaker. But the subject is interesting. M: During every one of his lectures, I try to listen I really try. But after about 10 minutes my mind begins to wander and I lose concentration. ButI see that you seem to be OK. How do you stay focused through the entire hour?W: Well, what I do is keep my pen moving.M: What do you mean?W: It’s a method of active concentration I read about. One of the most effective ways to concentrate is to write things down. But it has to be done by hand, not typing on a keyboard. You see writing by hand forces you to actually engage with what you’re learning in a more physical way.M: Do you review your notes afterwards then?W: Sometimes but that’s not important. My notes may or may not be useful but the point is that by writing down what Mr. Brand says I can follow his line of thinking more easily. In fact, sometimes I draw a little too.M: You draw in class and that helps me pay attention?W: Yes, honestly it works for me. I just draw little lines and nonsense really. It was also in that article I read. It can keep the mind active, prevent getting bored and help to concentrate. Again the point is to listen hard while keeping the pen moving. If I’m at home and I need to study what I do is read out loud. It has a similar effect to writing by hand. It helps memorize information in a physical way.Question 8: What does the man think of Mr. Brown’s lectures?Question 9: What does the woman do during Mr. Brown’s lectures?Question 10: Why does the woman draw in class?Question 11: What does the woman say about reading out loud?Conversation 2M: And where is this?F: These photos are from the Taj Mahal in India. We went there about ten years ago for our honeymoon.M: Was it romantic.F: Yeah. The Taj Mahal was a very romantic place. The guide told us there is a famous love story behind this building that all Indians learn in school.I think it was during the 1600 and the princess at that time died while givingbirth to her 14th child. The Emperor loved the princess so much and was so sad when she died that he ordered the palace to be built in her honor. M: Wow! That sounds very romantic. It looks amazing.F: Yes it’s gorgeous. It’s also larger in real life than it looks in the photos. The building is very tall and there are gardens in a wall around it all. It’s all built in this white stone and some walls of the building are decorated with jewels.M: It must have been very crowded when you were there.F: Yes it’s a very famous tourist destination. So there are thousands of visitors every day.M: Was the rest of India crowded?F: Yes, very crowded in many cities. It was sometimes so crowded that it was difficult to walk along the streets especially through busy markets. And there are so many cars. Traffic was terrible but the people were friendly. The culture is amazing and we had a great time.M: What about the food?F: the Indian food is great. There are lots of different dishes to try and every region has its own special food.Question 12: For what purpose did the woman go to India?Question 13: Why was the Taj Mahal built?Question 14: What does the woman say about the Taj Mahal?Question 15: What is the woman‘s impression of Indian cities?Passage 1A Pew Research Center survey of more than 1000 Americans conducted in April 2016 finds that Americans continue to express largely positive views about the current state of their local public libraries. For instance around three quarters say that public libraries provide them with the resources they need and 66 percent say the closing of their local public library would have a major impact on their community. Although notably just 33 percent say this would have a major impact on them personally or on their family. A majority of Americans feel libraries are doing a good job of providing asafe place for people to hang out or spend time as well as opening up educational opportunities for people of all ages and roughly half think their libraries contribute a lot to their communities in terms of helping spark creativity among young people and providing a trusted place for people to learn about new technologies. As in past Pew Research Center surveys of library use the April 2016 survey also measured Americans usage of and engagement with libraries. Overall, 53 percent of Americans ages 16 and older have had some interaction with the puppet library in the past year either through an in person visit or using a library Web site some 48 percent of adults specifically visited a library in the past 12 months. A modest increase from the 44 percent who said that in late 2015.Question 16: What do most Americans say about local public libraries? Question 17: How can local public libraries benefit young people?Question 18：What does the 2016 survey show about adult library users?Passage 2A Savannah cat is a crossbreed between a domestic cat and a medium-sized wild African cat called the Serval. The unusual cross became popular among breeders at the end of the 1990s. And in 2001, the International Cat Association accepted it as a new registered breed. The savannahs are tall and slim and can weigh up to nine point one kilograms, making them one of the largest breeds of cats that people can own. They have a spotted code similar to that of many types of wild cats and their ears are very large. They are also commonly compared to dogs in their loyalty and can be trained to walk on a lead and to fetch, and often noted characteristic of the Savannah is its jumping ability. They are known to jump on top of doors and high cabinets. Some can leap about 2.5 metres high from a standing position. Cats are typically known for being very inquisitive and so are the Savannahs. They often learn how to open doors and cupboards. Many Savannah cats do not fear water and will play with or even dive into water. Some owners even shower with their Savannah Cats, presenting a water bowl to Savannah may also prove a challenge, as some will promptly begin to bat all the water out of the bowl until it is empty using their front paws.Question 19: What do we learn about the savannah cat?Question 20: What is characteristic of Savannah cats?Question 21: What do some people do with their Savannah cats?Passage 3When children start school for the very 1st time parents often feel a sense of excitement coupled with a touch of sadness at the end of an era. This is the start of a new adventure for children playing and interacting with new friends sharing, taking turns and settling into a new routine.But of course, this is not the start of your child’s education which in fact began at birth. Back then, you would have been your child’s most influential teachers. During this time at home, your child would have learnt more than at any other period in their life. During your child’s first year in school much time will be spent in learning to read and they need to know that this is fun and worthwhile. Your child will naturally copy you so it is important that you are seen reading and enjoying books newspapers and magazines rather than just absorbed in screens. Ultimately an excellent education should be a close partnership between parents and teachers. A child’s year splits fairly neatly into thirds: a 3rd at school, a 3rd asleep and a third awake at home or on holiday.Irrespec tive of the quality of a school a child‘s home life is of key importance. It is the determining factor of their academic success. Your child may have started on a new journey but your work is far from finished.Question 22: How do parents feel when their children start going to school? Question 23: What does the passage say about children’s education?Question 24: What should parents do for the success of their children’s education?Question 25: What does the passage say is the key factor of loinbo’s academic success?Section A1. C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.2. A) It is stable.3. B) No injuries were yet reported.4. B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.5. D) Insufficient potato supply.6. C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.7. A) Global warming.Section B8. C) Dull9. D) she takes notes10. A) it keeps her mind active11. B) it helps her better remember what she learns.12. A) To spend her honeymoon.13. A) In memory of a princess.14. D) It has walls decorated with jewels.15. B) They are mostly crowded.Section C16. C) They provide residents with the resources they need.17. B) By inspiring their creativity.18. D) Their number increased modestly.19. C) It is an unusual cross breed.20. A) They are as loyal as dogs.21. C) They shower with them22. D) Excited but somewhat sad.23. D) It starts the moment they are born.24. D) Set a good example for them to follow.25. B) Their home life.选词填空Millions……26-30 F B M D G31-35 E H K I OA) abilityB) associatedC) consciouslyD) constantE) controlF) damageG) describedH) equalsI) exclusivelyJ) innovatedK) regularlyL) relatesM) sourcesN) undermineO) vehicles段落匹配Food-as-Medicine……36-40 D B G A I41-45 F C J E G仔细阅读Passage One—California……46-50 B B A D CPassage Two—The AlphaGo program's victory……51-55 D C B A C翻译一【中文原文】由于通信网络的快速发展，中国智能手机用户数量近年来以惊人的速度增长。
2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试卷及详细答案(三套全)
2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试卷及详细答案(三套全)目录2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试题一(完整版) (1)快速对答案 (14)2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试卷一详细答案(精品) (15)2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试题二(完整版) (61)快速对答案 (75)2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试卷二详细答案(精品) (75)2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试题三(完整版) (120)快速对答案 (129)2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试卷三详细答案(精品) (129)2018年12月大学生英语四级真题试题一(完整版)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 allowed 30 minutes to write an a short easy on the challenges of living in a big city.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 questions will be spoken only once. After you hear questions, 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.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
2018年12月大学英语四级真题及答案(第一套)
2018年12月大学英语四级考试真题（第1套）Part I Writing (30minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of living in a big city. You should write at least120 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 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1. A) Land a space vehicle on the moon in 2019.B) Design a new generation of mobile phones.C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.D) Gather data from the moon with a tiny device.2. A) It is stable.B) It is durable.C) It is inexpensive.D) It is sophisticated. Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) It lasted more than six hours.B) No injuries were yet reported.C) Nobody was in the building when it broke out.D) It had burned for 45 minutes by the time firefighters arrived.4. A) Recruit and train more firefighters.B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.C) Turn the shopping mall into an amusement park.D) Find money to renovate the local neighborhood. Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) Shrinking potato farming.B) Heavy reliance on import.C) Widespread plant disease.D) Insufficient potato supply.6. A) It intends to keep its traditional diet.B) It wants to expand its own farming.C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.D) It is worried about unfair competition.7. A) Global warming.B) Ever-rising prices.C) Government regulation.D) Diminishing investment. 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 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) Informative.B) Inspiring.C) Dull.D) Shallow.9. A) She types on a keyboard.B) She does recording.C) She takes photos.D) She takes notes.10. A) It keeps her mind active.B) It makes her stay awake.C) It enables her to think hard.D) It helps her kill time.11. A) It enables her to improve her pronunciation.B) It helps her better remember what she learns.C) It turns out to be an enjoyable way of learning.D) It proves to be far more effective than writing. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) To spend her honeymoon.B) To try authentic Indian food.C) To take photos of the Taj Mahal.D) To trace the origin of a love story.13. A) In memory of a princess.B) In honor of a great emperor.C) To mark the death of an emperor of the 1600s.D) To celebrate the birth of a princess’s 14th child.14. A) It looks older than expected.B) It is built of wood and bricks.C) It stores lots of priceless antiques.D) It has walls decorated with jewels.15. A) Their streets are narrow.B) They are mostly crowded.C) Each one has a unique character.D) Life can be tedious in some places. 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), 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 help spread the latest technology.B) They greatly enrich people’s leisure life.C) They provide residents with the resources needed.D) They allow free access to digital books and videos.17. A) By helping them find jobs.B) By inspiring their creativity.C) By keeping them off the streets.D) By providing a place of relaxation.18. A) Their interaction with teenagers proved fruitful.B) They used libraries less often than teenagers.C) They tended to visit libraries regularly.D) Their number increased modestly. Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) It is the cleverest cat in the world.B) It is the largest cat in Africa.C) It is an unusual cross breed.D) It is a large-sized wild cat.20. A) They are as loyal as dogs.B) They have unusually long tails.C) They are fond of sleeping in cabinets.D) They know how to please their owners.21. A) They shake their front paws.B) They teach them to dive.C) They shower with them.D) They shout at them.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) Anxious and depressed.B) Contented and relieved.C) Excited but somewhat sad.D) Proud but a bit nervous.23. A) It is becoming parents’ biggest concern.B) It is gaining increasing public attention.C) It is depends on their parents for success.D) It starts the moment they are born.24. A) Set a good example for them to follow.B) Read books and magazines to them.C) Help them to learn by themselves.D) Choose the right school for them.25. A) Their intelligence.B) Their home life.C) The effort they put in learning.D) The quality of their school.Part ⅢReading 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.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.Millions die early from air pollution each year. Air pollution costs the global economy more than $5 trillion annually in welfare costs, with the most serious 26 occurring in the developing world.The figures include a number of costs 27 with air pollution. Lost income alone amounts to $225 billion a year.The report includes both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Indoor pollution, which includes 28 like home heating and cooking, has remained 29 over the past several decades despite advances in the area. Levels of outdoor pollution have grown rapidly along with rapid growth in industry and transportation.Director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Chris Murray 30 it as an “urgent call to action.”“One of the risk factors for premature deaths is the air we breathe, over which individuals have little 31 ,”he said.The effects of air pollution are worst in the developing world, where in some places lost-labor income 32 nearly 1% of GDP. Around 9 in 10 people in low-and middle-income countries live in places where they 33 experience dangerous levels of outdoor air pollution.But the problem is not limited 34 to the developing world. Thousands die prematurely in the U.S. as a result of related illnesses. In many European countries, where diesel(柴油) 35 have become more common in recent years, that number reaches tens of thousands.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.Food-as-Medicine Movement Is Witnessing Progress[A] Several times a month, you can find a doctor in the aisles of Ralph’s market in Huntington Beach, California, wearing a white coat and helping people learn about food. On one recent day, this doctor was Daniel Nadeau, wandering the cereal aisle with Allison Scott, giving her some idea on how to feed kid s who persistently avoid anything that is healthy. “Have you thought about trying fresh juices in the morning?” he asks her. “The frozen oranges and apples are a little cheaper, and fruits are really good for the brain. Juices are quick and easy to prepare, you can take the frozen fruit out the night before and have it ready the next morning.”[B] Scott is delighted to get food advice from a physician who is program director of the nearby Mary and Dick Allen Diabetes Center, part of the St. Joseph Hoag Heal th alliance. The center’s ‘Shop with Your Doc’ program sends doctors to the grocery store to meet with any patients who sign up for the service, plus any other shoppers who happen to be around with questions.[C] Nadeau notices the pre-made macaroni (通心粉)-and-cheese boxes in Scott’s shopping cart and suggests she switch to whole grain macaroni and real cheese. “So I’d have to make it?”she asks, her enthusiasm fading at the thought of how long that might take, just to have her kids reject it. “I’m not sure they’d eat it. They just won’t eat it.”[D] Nadeau says sugar and processed foods are big contributors to the rising diabetes rates among children. “In America, over 50 percent of our food is processed food,” Nadeau tells her. “And only 5 percent of our foo d is plant-based food. I think we should try to reverse that.” Scott agrees to try more fruit juices for the kids and to make real macaroni and cheese. Score one point for the docto r, zero for diabetes.[E] Nadeau is part of a small revolution developing across California. The food-as-medicine movement has been around for decades, but it’s making progress as physicians and medical institutions make food a formal part of treatment, rather than relying sol ely on medications (药物). By prescribing nutritional ch anges or launching programs such as ‘Shop with your Doc’, they are trying to prevent, limit or even reverse disease by changing what patients eat. “There’s no question people can take things a long way toward reversin g diabetes, reversing high blood pressu re, even preventing cancer by food choices,” Nadeau says.[F] In the big picture, says Dr. Richard Afable, CEO and president of ST. Joseph Hoag Health, medical institutions across the state are starting to make a philosophical switch to becoming a health organization, not just a health care organization. That feeling echoes the beliefs of the Therapeutic Food Pantry program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, which completed its pilot phase and is about to expand on an ongoing basis to five clinic sites throughout the city. The program will offer patients several bags of food prescribed for their condition, along with intensive training in how to cook it. “We really want to link food and medicine, and not just give away food,” says Dr. Rita Nguyen, the hospital’s medical director of Healthy Food Initiatives. “We want people to understand what they’re eating, how to prepar e it, the role food plays in their lives.”[G] In Southern California, Loma Linda University School of Medicine is offering specialized training for its resident physicians in Lifestyle Medicine — that is a formal specialty in using food to treat disease. Research findings increasingly show the power of food to treat or reverse diseases, but that does not mean that diet alone is always the solution, or that every illness can benefit substantially from dietary changes. Nonetheless, physicians say that they look at the collective data and a clear picture emerges: that the salt, sugar, fat and processed foods in the American diet contrib ute to the nation’s high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of deaths from heart disease and stroke are caused by high blood pressure, tobacco use, elevated cholesterol and low consumption of fruits and vegetables.[H] “It’s a different paradigm(范式) of how to treat disease,” says Dr. Brenda Rea, who helps run the family and preventive medicine residency program at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The lifestyle medicine specialty is designed to train doctors in how to prevent and treat disease, in part, by changing patients’ nutritional habits. The medical center and school at Loma Linda als o has a food cupboard and kitchen for patients. This way, patients not only learn about which foods to buy, but also how to prepare them at home.[I] Many people don’t know how to cook, Rea says, and they only know how to heat things up. That means depending on packaged food with high salt and sugar content. So teaching people about which foods are healthy and how to prepare them, she says, can actually transform a patient’s life. And beyond that, it might transform the health and lives of that patient’s family. “What people e at can be medicine or poison,” Rea says. “As a physician, nutrition is one o f the most powerful things you can change to reverse the effects of long-term disease.”[J] Studies have explored evidence that dietary changes can slow inflammation(炎症), for example, or make the body inhospitable to cancer cells. In general, many lifestyle medicine physicians recommend a plant-based diet — particularly for people with diabetes or other inflammatory conditions.[K] “As what happened with tobacco, this will require a cultural shift, but that can happen,” says Nguyen. “In the same way p hysicians used to smoke, and then stopped smoking and were able to talk to patients about it, I think physicians can have a bigger voic e in it.”36. More than half of the food Americans eat is factory-produced.37. There is a special program that assigns doctors to give advice to shoppers in food stores.38. There is growing evidence from research that food helps patients recover from various illnesses.39. A healthy breakfast can be prepared quickly and easily.40. Training a patient to prepare healthy food can change their life.41. One food-as-medicine program not only prescribes food for treatment but teaches patients how to cook it.42. Scott is not keen on cooking food herself, thinking it would simply be a waste of time.43. Diabetes patients are advised to eat more plant-based food.44. Using food as medicine is no novel idea, but the movement is making headway these days.45. Americans’ high rates of various illnesses result from the way they eat. 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 and 50 are based on the following passage.California has been facing a drought for many years now, with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. The problem is growing as the population of the state continues to expand. New research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1,000 feet, but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted (抽取). The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers(地下蓄水层)below this depth and found that reserves may be triple what was previously thought.It is profitable to drill to depths more than 1,000 feet for oil and gas extraction, but only recently in California has it become profitable to pump water from this depth. The aquifers range from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground, which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep in the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is compacted by the weight of the earth above.Even though pumping from these depths is expensive, it is still cheaper than desalinating(脱盐)the ocean water in the largely coastal state. Some desalination plants exist where feasible, but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs. Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction, thus increasing the cost. Research from the exhaustive study of groundwater from over 950 drilling logs has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves now go up to 2,700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.46.How could California’s drought crisis be solved according to some researchers?A) By building more reserves of groundwater.B) By drawing water from the depths of the earth.C) By developing more advanced drilling devices.D) By upgrading its water distribution system.47.What can be inferred about extracting water from deep aquifers?A) It was deemed vital to solving the water problem.B) It was not considered worth the expense.C) It may not provide quality freshwater.D) It is bound to gain support from the local people.48. What is mentioned as a consequence of extracting water from deep underground?A) The sinking of land surface. C) The damage to aquifers.B) The harm to the ecosystem. D) The change of the climate.49. What does the author say about deep wells?A) They run without any need for repairs.B) They are entirely free from pollutants.C) They are the ultimate solution to droughts.D) They provide a steady supply of freshwater.50. What may happen when deep aquifers are used as water sources?A) People’s health may improve with cleaner water.B) People’s water bills may be lowered considerably.C) The cost may go up due to desalination.D) They may be exhausted sooner or later.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The AlphaGo program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become.But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically, meaning can they be honest and fair?One example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads, so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve, they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road, even if thatwill put their passengers at risk? What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog? What if the only risk is damage to the car itself, not to the passengers?Perhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars, but they are not super-intelligent beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.About the same time as AlphaGo’s triumph, Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’ took a bad turn. The software, named Taylor, was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler, Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages.AlphaGo’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warning to us. It is on e thing to use AI within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google, which own AlphoGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings.”51.What does the author want to show wit h the example of AlphaGo’s victory?A)Computers will prevail over human beings.B)Computers have unmatched potential.C)Computers are man’s potential rivals.D)Computers can become highly intelligent.52.What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethically?A)They are capable of predicting possible risks.B)They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision.C)They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas.D)They sacrifice everything to save human lives.53.What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age?A)How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.B)How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.C)How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.D)How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.54.What do we learn about Microsoft’s “chatbot” Taylor?A)She could not distinguish good from bad.B)She could turn herself off when necessary.C)She was not made to handle novel situations.D)She was good at performing routine tasks.55. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligence?A) It will be far superior to human beings.B) It will keep improving as time goes by.C) It will prove to be an asset to human beings.D) It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.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.由于通信网络的快速发展，中国智能手机用户数量近年来以惊人度增长。
2018年12月英语四级真题及答案第一套
2018年12月英语四级真题及答案第一套Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of living in a big city. 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 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1. A) Land a space vehicle on the moon in 2019.B) Design a new generation of mobile phones.C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.D) Gather data from the moon with a tiny device.2. A) It is stable. C) It is inexpensive.B) It is durable. D) It is sophisticated.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) It lasted more than six hoursB) No injuries were yet reported.C) Nobody was in the building when it broke out.D) It had burned for 45 minutes by the time firefighters arrived.4. A) Recruit and train more firefighters.B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.C) Turn the shopping mall into an amusement park.D) Find money to renovate the local neighborhood.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) Shrinking potato farming.B) Heavy reliance on import.C) Widespread plant disease.D) Insufficient potato supply.6. A) It intends to keep its traditional diet.B) It wants to expand its own farming.C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.D) It is worried about unfair competition.7. A) Global warming.B) Ever-rising prices.C) Government regulation.D) Diminishing investment.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 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) Informative. B) Inspiring. C) Dull. D) Shallow.9. A) She types on a keyboard. C) She takes photos.B) She does recording. D) She takes notes.10. A) It keeps her mind active. C) It enables her to think hard.B) It makes her stay awake. D) It helps her kill time.11. A) It enables her to improve her pronunciation.B) It helps her better remember what she learns.C) It turns out to be an enjoyable way of learning.D) It proves to be far more effective than writing.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) To spend her honeymoon. C) To take photos of the Taj Mahal.B) To try authentic Indian food. D) To trace the origin of a love story.13. A) In memory of a princess.B) In honor of a great emperor.C) To mark the death of an emperor of the 1600s.D) To celebrate the birth of a princess’s 14th child.14. A) It looks older than expected. C) It stores lots of priceless antiques.B) It is built of wood and bricks. D) It has walls decorated with jewels.15. A) Their streets are narrow. C) Each one has a unique character.B) They are mostly crowded. D) Life can be tedious in some places.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 help spread the latest technology.B) They greatly enrich people’s leisure life.C) They provide residents with the resources needed.D) They allow free access to digital books and videos.17. A) By helping them find jobs. C) By keeping them off the streets.B) By inspiring their creativity. D) By providing a place of relaxation.18. A) Their interaction with teenagers proved fruitful.B) They used libraries less often than teenagers.C) They tended to visit libraries regularly.D) Their number increased modestly.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) It is the cleverest cat in the world.B) It is the largest cat in Africa.C) It is an unusual cross breed.D) It is a large-sized wild cat.20. A) They are as loyal as dogs.B) They have unusually long tails.C) They are fond of sleeping in cabinets.D) They know how to please their owners.21. A) They shake their front paws.B) They teach them to dive.C) They shower with them.D) They shout at them.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) Anxious and depressed. C) Excited but somewhat sad.B) Contented and relieved. D) Proud but a bit nervous.23. A) It is becoming parents’ biggest concern.C) It depends on their parents for success.B) It is gaining increasing public attention. D) It starts the moment they are born.24. A) Set a good example for them to follow. C) Help them to learn by themselves.B) Read books and magazines to them. D) Choose the right school for them.25. A) Their intelligence. C) The effort they put in learning.B) Their home life. D) The quality of their school.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.Millions die early from air pollution each year. Air pollution costs the global economy more than $5 trillion annually in welfare costs, with the most serious26 occurring in the developing world.The figures include a number of costs27 with air pollution. Lost income alone amounts to $225 billion a year.The report includes both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Indoor pollution, which includes 28 like home heating and cooking, has remained 29 over the past several decades despite advances in the area. Levels of outdoor pollution have grown rapidly along with rapid growth in industry and transportation. Director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Chris Murray 30 it as an “urgent call to action”. “One of the risk factors for premature deaths is the air we breathe, over which individuals have little 31 ,” he said.The effects of air pollution are worst in the developing world, where in some places lost-labor income 32 nearly 1% of GDP. Around 9 in 10 people in low- and middle-income countries live in places where they 33 experience dangerous levels of outdoor air pollution.But the problem is not limited 34 to the developing world. Thousands die prematurely in the U. S. as a result of related illnesses. In many European countries, where diesel (柴油) 35 have become more common in recent years,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.Food-as-Medicine Movement Is Witnessing ProgressA) Several times a month, you can find a doctor in the aisles of Ralph’s market in Huntington Beach, California, wearing a white coat and helping people learn about food. On one recent day, this doctor was Daniel Nadeau, wandering the cereal aisle with Allison Scott, giving her some idea on how to feed kids who persistently avoid anything that is healthy. “Have you thought about trying fresh juices in the morning?” he asks her. “The frozen oranges and apples are a little cheaper, and fruits are really good for the brain. Juices are quick and easy to prepare; you can t ake the frozen fruit out the night before and have it ready the next morning.”B) Scott is delighted to get food advice from a physician who is program director of the nearby Mary and Dick Allen Diabetes Center, part of the St. Joseph Hoag Health alliance. The center’s “Shop with Your Doc” program sends doctors to the grocery store to meet with any patients who sign up for the service, plus any other shoppers who happen to be around with questions.C) Nadeau notices the pre-made macaroni (通心粉) -and-cheese boxes in Scott’s shopping cart andsuggests she switch to whole grain macaroni and real cheese. “So I’d have to make it?” she asks, her enthusiasm fading at the thought of how long that might take, just to have her kids reject it. “I’m not sure they’d eat it. They just won’t eat it.”D) Nadeau says sugar and processed foods are big contributors to the rising diabetes rates among children. “In America, over 50 percent of our food is processed food,”Nadeau tells her. “And only 5 percent of our food is plant-based food. I think we should try to reverse that.” Scott agrees to try more fruit juices for the kids and to make real macaroni and cheese. Score one point for the doctor, zero for diabetes.E) Nadeau is part of a small revolution developing across California. The food-as-medicine movement has been around for decades, but it’s making progress as physicians and medical institutions make food a formal part of treatment, rather than relying solely on medications (药物). By prescribingnutritional changes or launching programs such as “Shop with Your Doc”, they are trying to prevent, limit or even reverse disease by changing what patients eat. “There’s no question people can take things a long way towa rd reversing diabetes, reversing high blood pressure, even preventing cancer by food choices,” Nadeau says.F) In the big picture, says Dr. Richard Afable, CEO and president of St. Joseph Hoag Health, medical Institutions across the state are starting to make a philosophical switch to becoming a health organization, not just a health care organization. That feeling echoes the beliefs of the Therapeutic Food Pantry program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, which completed its pilot phase and is about to expand on an ongoing basis to five clinic sites throughout the city. The program will offer patients several bags of food prescribed for their condition, along with intensive training in how to cook it. “We really want to link food and medicine, a nd not just give away food,” says Dr. Rita Nguyen, the hospital’s medical director of Healthy Food Initiatives. “We want people to understand what they’re eating, how to prepare it, the role food plays in their lives.”G) In Southern California, Loma Linda University School of Medicine is offering specialized training for its resident physicians in Lifestyle Medicine – that is a formal specialty in using food to treat disease. Research findings increasingly show the power of food to treat or reverse diseases, but that does not mean that diet alone is always the solution, or that every illness can benefit substantially from dietary changes. Nonetheless, physicians say that they look at the collective data and a clear picture emerges: that the salt, sugar, fat and processed foods in the American diet contribute to the nation’s high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of deaths from heart disease and stroke are caused by high blood pressure, tobacco use, elevated cholesterol and low consumption of fruits and vegetables.H) “It’s a different paradigm (范式) of how to treat disease,” says Dr. Brenda Rea, who helps run the family and preventive medicine residency program at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The lifestyle medicine specialty is designed to train doctors in how to prevent and treat disease, in part, by changing patients’ nutritional habits. The medical center and school at Loma Linda also has a food cupboard and kitchen for patients. This way, patients not only learn about which foods to buy, but also how to prepare them at home.I) Many people don’t know how to cook, Rea says, and they only know how to heat things up. That means depending on packaged food with high salt and sugar content. So teaching people about which foods are healthy and how to prepare them, she says, can actually transform a patient’s life. And beyond that, it might transform the health and lives of that patient’s family. “What people eat can be medicine or poison,” Rea says. “As a physician, nutrition is one of the most powerful thing s you can change to reverse the effects of long-term disease.”J) Studies have explored evidence that dietary changes can slow inflammation (炎症), for example, or make the body inhospitable to cancer cells. In general, many lifestyle medicine physicians recommend a plant-based diet – particularly for people with diabetes or other inflammatory conditions.K) “As what happened with tobacco, this will require a cultural shift, but that can happen,” says Nguyen. “In the same way physicians used to smoke, and then stopped smoking and were able to talk to patients about it, I think physicians can have a bigger voice in it.”36. More than half of the food Americans eat is factory-produced.37. There is a special program that assigns doctors to give advice to shoppers in food stores.38. There is growing evidence from research that food helps patients recover from various illnesses.39. A healthy breakfast can be prepared quickly and easily.40. Training a patient to prepare healthy food can change their life.41. One food-as-medicine program not only prescribes food for treatment but teaches patients how to cook it.42. Scott is not keen on cooking food herself, thinking it would simply be a waste of time.43. Diabetes patients are advised to eat more plant-based food.44. Using food as medicine is no novel idea, but the movement is making headway these days.45. Americans’ high rates of various illnesses result from the way they eat.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.California has been facing a drought for many years now, with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. The problem is growing as the population of the state continues to expand. New research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1,000 feet, but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted (抽取). The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers (地下蓄水层) below this depth and found that reserves may be triple what was previously thought.It is profitable to drill to depths more than 1,000 feet for oil and gas extraction, but only recently in California has it become profitable to pump water from this depth. The aquifers range from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground, which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep is the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is compacted by the weight of theearth above. Even though pumping from these depths is expensive, it is still cheaper than desalinating (脱盐) the ocean water in the largely coastal state. Some desalination plants exist where feasible, but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs. Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction, thus increasing the cost. Research from the exhaustive study of groundwater from over 950 drilling logs has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves now go up to 2,700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.46. How could California’s drought crisis be solved according to some researchers?A) By building more reserves of groundwater.B) By drawing water from the depths of the earth.C) By developing more advanced drilling devices.D) By upgrading its water distribution system.47. What can be inferred about extracting water from deep aquifers?A) It was deemed vital to solving the water problem.B) It was not considered worth the expense.C) It may not provide quality freshwater.D) It is bound to gain support from the local people.48. What is mentioned as a consequence of extracting water from deep underground?A) The sinking of land surface. C) The damage to aquifers.B) The harm to the ecosystem. D) The change of the climate.49. What does the author say about deep wells?A) They run without any need for repairs. C) They are the ultimate solution to droughts.B) They are entirely free from pollutants. D) They provide a steady supply of freshwater.50. What may happen when deep aquifers are used as water sources? A) People’s health may improve with cleaner water. B) People’s water bills may be lowered considerably.C) The cost may go up due to desalination.D) They may be exhausted sooner or later.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The AlphaGo program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become.But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically, meaning can they be honest and fair? One example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads, so it is not too soon toask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve, they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road, even if that will put their passengers at risk? What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog? What if the only risk is damage to the car itself, not to the passengers?Perhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars, but they are not super-intelligent beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.About the same time as Alpha Go’s triumph, Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’ took a bad turn. The software, named Taylor, was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler. Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages.AlphaGo’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warming to us. It is one thing to use AI within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google, which owns AlphaGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings”.51. What does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victory?A) Computers will prevail over human beings.B) Computers have unmatched potential.C) Computers are man’s potential rivals.D) Computers can become highly intelligent.52. What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethically?A) They are capable of predicting possible risks.B) They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision.C) They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas.D) They sacrifice everything to save human lives.63. What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age?A) How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.B) How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.C) How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.D) How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.54. What do we learn about Microsoft’s “chatbot” Taylor?A) She could not distinguish good from bad.B) She could turn herself off when necessary.C) She was not made to handle novel situations.D) She was good at performing routine tasks.55. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligence?A) It will be far superior to human beings.B) It will keep improving as time goes by.C) It will prove to be an asset to human beings.D) It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.Part Ⅳ Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese intoEnglish. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.由于通信网络的快速发展，中国智能手机用户数量近年来以惊人速度增长。
英语四级真题2018年12月（第三套）试卷及答案解析
英语四级真题2018年12月（第三套）试卷及答案解析2018年12月四级考试真题（第三套）Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of starting a career after graduation. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)Section A．Directions: In th· is section, you will hear three news reports.A t 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 en mar e corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with best answer from the four choices marked A) , B) , C) and D) . Th k tha single line through the centre.说明：2018年12月四级真题全国共考了两套听力。
本套的听力内容与第二套的完全一样，只是选项的顺序不一样而巳，故在本套中不再重复给出。
Part ill Reading Comprehension (40 minutes) Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. Yo u 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 ident加d by a letter: Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet2 with a single line through the centre. Yo u may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.A few months ago, I was down with a terrible cold whichended in a persistent bad cough. No matter how many different 26 I tried, I still couldn't get rid of the cough. Not only did it 27 my teaching but also my life as a whole. Then one day after class, a student came up to me and 28 traditional Chinese medicine. From her description, Chinese medicine sounded as if it had magic power that worked wonders. I was 29 because I knew so little about it and have never tried it before. Eventually, my cough got so much 30 that I couldn't sleep at night, so I decided to give it a try. The Chinese doctor took my pulse and asked to see my tongue, both of which were new 31 to me because they are both non-existent in Western medicine. Then the doctor gave me a scraping (刮）treatment known as "Gua Sha". I was a little 32 at first because he used a smooth edged tool to scrape the skin on my neck and shoulders. A few minutes later, the 33 strokes started to produce a relieving effect and my body and mind began to 34 deeper into relaxation. I didn't feel any improvement in my condition in the first couple of days, but after a few more regular visits to the doctor, my cough started to 35 . Then, within a matter of weeks, it was completely gone!A)deepen B) e xperiences C)hesitantD)" mconvemence E) l essen F) l icensesG) p ressured H) r ecommended!)remediesJ) s cared K) s ensitive L) s inkM) t emporary N)tremble O)worseSection 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. I dentify the paragraph from which the information i.s derived. You maychoose a paragraph more than once.Each paragraph is marked with a letter.Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Is it really OK to eat food that's fallen on the floor?A) W hen you drop a piece of food on the floor, is it really OK to eat if you pick it up within five seconds? An urban food myth contends that if food spends just a few seconds on the floor, dirt and germs won't have much of a chance to contaminate it. Research in my lab has focused on how food becomes contaminated, and we've done some work on this particular piece of wisdom.B)W怕le the "five-second rule" might not seem like the most pressing issue for food scientists to get to the bottom of, it's still worth investigating food myths like this one because they shape our beliefs about when food is safe to eat.C) S o is five seconds on the floor the critical threshold (门槛）that separates a piece of eatable food from a case of food poisoning? It's a bit more complicated than that. It depends on just how many bacteria can make it from floor to food in a few seconds and just how dirty the floor is.D) W ondering if food is still OK to eat after it's dropped on the floor is a pretty common experience. And it's probably not a new one either. A well-known, but inaccurate, story about Julia Child may have contributed to this food myth. Some viewers of her cooking show, The French Chef, insist they saw Child drop lamb on the floor and pick it up, with the advice that if they were alone in the kitchen, their guests would never know.E) I n fact it was a potato pancake, and it fell on the stovetop, not on the floor. Child put it back in the pan, saying, "But you can always pick it up and if you're alone in the kitchen, who's goingto see it?" But the misremembered story persists. It's harder to pin down the origins of the oft-quoted five-second rule, but a 2003 study reported that 70% of women and 56% of men surveyed were familiar with the five-second rule and that women were more likely than men to eat food that had dropped on the floor.F) S o what does science tell us about what a few moments on the floor means for the safety of you food? The earliest research report on the five-second rule is attributed to Jillian Clarke, a high school student participating in aresearch project at the University of Illinois.Clarke and her colleagues introduced bacteria to floor tiles (瓷砖）and then placed cookies on the tiles for varying times. They reported bacteria were transferred from the tiles to the cookies within five seconds, but didn't report the specific amount of bacteria that made it from the tiles to the food.G)But how many bacteria actually transfer in five seconds? In 2007, my lab at Clemson University published a study in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. We wanted to know if the length of time food is in contact with a contaminated surface affected the rate of transfer of bacteria to the food. To find out, we introduced bacteria to squares of tile, carpet or wood.Five minutes after that, we placed either bacon or bread on the surface for 5, 30 or 60 seconds, and then measured the number of bacteria transferred to the food. W e repeated this exact procedure after the bacteria had been on the surface for 2, 4, 8 and 24 hoursH) W e found that the number of bacteria transferred to either kind of food didn't depend much on how long the food was in contact with the contaminated surface—whether for a fewseconds or for a whole minute. The overall number of bacteria on the surface mattered more, and this decreased over time after the initial introduction. It looks like what's at issue is less how long your food stays on the floor and much more how contaminated with bacteria that patch of floor happens to be.I) W e also found that the kind of surface made a difference as well. Carpets, for instance, seem to be slightly better places to drop your food than wood or tile. When a carpet was contaminated, less than 1 %of the bacteria were transferred.But when the food was in contact with tile or wood, 48-70% of bacteria were.J) L ast year, a study from Aston University in the UK used nearly identical parameters (参数）to our study and found similar results. They also reported that 87 %of people asked either would eat or had eaten food fallen on the floor. K) Should you eat food fallen on the floor then? From a food safety standpoint, if you have millions or more bacteria on a surface, 0.1 %is still enough to make you sick. Also, certain types of bacteria are extremely harmful, and it takes only a small number to make you sick. For example, 10 bacteria or less of an especially deadly strain of bacteria can cause severe illness and death in people with compromised immune systems. B ut the chance of these bacteria being on most surfaces is very low.L) A nd it's not just dropping food on the floor that can lead to bacterial contamination.Bacteria are carried by various "media", which can include raw food, moist surfaces where bacteria have been left, our hands or skin and from coughing or sneezing (打喷咙）. Hands, foods and utensils (器皿）can carry individual bacteria living in communities contained within a protective film. These microscopic layers of deposits containingbacteria are known as biofilms and they are found on most surfaces and objects. Biofilm communities can harbor bacteria longer and are very difficult to clean. Becteria in these communities also have an enhanced resistance to sanit也ers(清洁剂）and antibiotics compared to bacteria living on their own.M) S o the next time you consider eating fallen food, the odds are in your favor that you can eat it without getting sick. But in the rare chance that there is a micro-organism that can make you sick on the exact spot where the food dropped, you can be fairly sure that the bug is on the food you are about to put in your mouth.N) R esearch or common sense tells us that the best thing to do is keep your hands, utensils and other surfaces clean.36.A research project found bacteria made their way to the food on the floor in five seconds.37. W hether food is contaminated depends much on the number of bacteria that get onto it.38.Food contamination may result from various factors other than food dropping on the floor.39.Males are less likely than females to eat food that may have been contaminated.40. T he author's research centers around how food gets contaminated.41.Keeping everything clean is the best way to stay healthy.42.Chances are you will not fall sick because of eating food picked up from the floor.43.For a long time people have had the experience of deciding whether or not to eat food picked up from the floor.44.Some strains of bacteria are so harmful that a tiny few can have deadly consequences.45.Researchers found how many bacteria got onto the food did not have much to do with how long the food stayed ona contaminated floor.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. E ach passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. Fo r each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) a nd D). Yo u should decide on the best choice and markthe corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.The latest in cat research reveals that the lovely animal seems to have a basic grasp on both the laws of physics and the ins and outs of cause and effect.According to a newly published study, cats seem to be able to predict the location of hiding prey (猎物）using both their ears and an inborn(天生的）understanding of how the physical world works.In a recent experiment, Japanese researchers taped 30 domestic cats reacting to a container that a te皿member shook. S ome containers rattled (发出响声）；others did not. W hen the con血ner tipped over, sometimes an object fell out and sometimes it didn't.It turns out that the cats were remarkably smart about what would happen when a container was tipped over. When an object did not drop out of the bottom of a rattling container, they looked at it for a longer time than they did when the container behaved as expected."Cats use a causal-logical understanding of noise or soundsto predict the appearance of invisible objects," lead researcher Saho Takagi says in a press release. T he researchers conclude that cats'hunting style may have developed based on their common-sense abilities to infer where prey is, using their hearing.Scientists have explored this idea with other endearing creatures: babies. L ike cats, babies appear to engage in what's called "preferential looking"—looking longer at things that are interesting or unusual than things they perceiveas normal.When babies'expectations are violated in experiments like the ones performed with the cats, they react much like their animal friends.Psychologists have shown that babies apparently expect their world to comply with the laws of physics and cause and effect as early as two months of age.Does the study mean that cats will soon grasp the ins and outs of cause and effect? Maybe. Okay, s o cats may not be the next physics faculty members at America's most important research universities. But by demonstrating their common sense, they've shown that the divide between cats and humans may not be that great after all.46. What do we learn from a newly published study about cats?A) They can be trained to understand the physical world.B) They know what kind of prey might be easier to hunt.C) They have a natural ability to locate animals they hunt.D) They are capable of telling which way their prey flees.47.What may account for the cats'response to the noise from the containers?A) Their inborn sensitivity to noise.C) Their special ability to perceive. B) Their unusual sense ofdirection.D) Their mastery of cause and effect.48. W hat is characteristic of the way cats hunt, according to the Japanese researchers?A) They depend on their instincts.C) They wait some time before attack.49.In what way do babies behave like cats?A) They focus on what appears odd.C) They do what they prefer to do.50. W hat can we conclude about cats from the passage?A) They have higher intelligence than many other animals.B) They interact with the physical world much like humans.C) They display extraordinarily high intelligence in hunting.D) They can aid physics professors in their research work.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage. B) They rely mainly on their hearing.D) They use both their ears and eyes.B) They view the world as normal. D) They are curious about everything.Imagine you enter a car with no steering wheel, no brake or accelerator pedals (踏板）. Under a voice-activated command, you say an address. "The fastest route will take us 15.3 minutes. Should I take it?" You say "yes" and you are on your way. T he car responds and starts moving all by itself. All you have to do is sit back and relax.How weird would it be if, one day in the future, everyone had such a car? No crazy driving, no insults, no cutting in; traffic laws would be respected and driving much safer. O n the other hand, imagine the cost savings for local police enforcement and townbudgets without all those speeding and parking tickets.A new technology has the potential to change modem society in radical ways.There's no question that self-driving vehicles could be an enormous benefit. T he potential for safer cars means accident statistics would drop: some 94% of road accidents in the U.S. involve human error. Older drivers and visually-or physically-impaired people would gain a new level of freedom. Maintaining safe speeds and being electric, self-driving cars would drastically reduce pollution levels and dependency on non-renewable fuels.Roads would be quieter, people safer.But we must also consider the impact of the new technology on those who now depend on driving for their livelihoods. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in May 2015 there were 505, 660 registered school bus drivers. T he American Trucking Association lists approximately 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the U.S ..The companies developing self-driving vehicles should be partnering with state and federal authorities to offerretraining for this massive workforce, many of whom will be displaced by the new technology. This is similar to what's happening in the coal and oil industries, a situation that fuels much of the current political discontent in this country.New technologies will, and should, be developed. T his is how society moves forward. However, progress can't be one-sided. It is necessary for the companies and state agencies involved to consider the ethical consequences of these potential changes to build a better future for all.61. W hat would be the impact of the extensive use of driverless cars?A) People would be driving in a more civilized way.B) It wouldsave local governments a lot of money.C) More policemen would be patrolling the streets.D) Traffic regulations would be a thing of the past.52.How would the elderly and the disabled benefit from driverless cars?A) They could enjoy greater mobility.C) They would have no trouble driving.B) They would suffer no road accidents.D) They could go anywhere they want.53.What would be the negative impact of driverless cars?A) The conflict between labor and management would intensify.B) The gap between various sectors of society would be widened.C) Professional drivers would have a hard time adapting to new road conditions.D)Numerous professional drivers would have to find new ways of earning a living.54. W hat is the result of the introduction of new technologies in energy industries?A)Political dissatisfaction.C) Fossil fuel conservation.B) Retraining of employees.D) Business restructuring.55.What does the author suggest businesses and the government do?A)Keep pace with technological developments.B) Make new technologies affordable to everyone.C) Enable everyone to benefit from new technologies.D) Popularize the use of new technologies and devicesPart IV Translation (30 minutes) Directions: For t如s part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese intoEnglish. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.过去几年里，移动支付市场在中国蓬勃发展。
（完整版）2018年12月英语四级真题及答案
（完整版）2018年12⽉英语四级真题及答案2018年12⽉⼤学英语四级真题及答案第⼀部分写作2018年12⽉⼤学英语四级考试写作真题(第1套)2018年12⽉英语四级真题写作范⽂(店铺的挑战)【作⽂⼀参考范⽂】It is well known that due to the booming economy and increasing family income, studying abroad has become an increasingly popular choice for students. Although studying abroad is often praised by people for its advantages, there are still some disadvantages to be noticed.First of all, to study abroad is expensive. Specifically speaking, those involved have to spend a large amount of money on tuition and living expenses, which is not affordable for everyone. In addition, to study abroad is a great challenge for those students who lack the ability of living independently. If they can not take good care of themselves there, their academic performance will be affected to a large extent. Last but not least, to study abroad may exercise a negative influence on students’ mentality. As we all know, to study abroad equals to stay away from family and friends for a long time, which is likely to produce some psychological problems for those students, such as being solitary and gloomy.From what has been mentioned above, we can easily come to the conclusion that the disadvantages of studying abroad can not be neglected. What’s more, those students who are planning to study abroad should make enough preparations for these problems mentioned above. Only in this way, can they have a fruitful and successful study life abroad.【参考译⽂】众所周知，随着经济的蓬勃发展和家庭收⼊的增加，店铺已经成为越来越受学⽣欢迎的选择。
2018年12月英语四级考试真题试卷 (完整版 第3套)
Part I. Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of starting a career after graduation. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.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 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.A few months ago, I was down with a terrible cold which ended in a persistent bad cough. No matter how many different __ 26__ I tried, I still couldn't get rid of the cough Not only did it __ 27__ my teaching but also my life as a whole Then one day after class, a student came up to me and __28__ traditional Chinese medicine. From her description, Chinese medicine sounded as if it had magic power that worked wonders. I was __ 29__ because I knew so little about it and have never tried it before. Eventually, my cough got so much __ 30__ that I couldn't sleep at night, so I decided to give it a try. The Chinese doctor took my pulse and asked to see my tongue, both of which were new __ 31__ to me because they are both non-existent in Western medicine. Then the doctor gave me a scraping（刮）treatment known as "Gua Sha". I was a little __ 32__ at first because he used a smooth edged tool to scrape the skin on my neck and shoulders A few minutes later, the __ 33__ strokes started to produce a relieving effect and my body and mind began to __ 34__ deeper into relaxation. I didn't feel any improvement in my condition in the first couple of days, but after a few more regular visits to the doctor, my cough started to __ 35__. Then within a matter of weeks, it was completely gone!A) deepenB) experiencesC) hesitantD) inconvenienceE) lessenF) licensesG) pressuredH) recommendedI) remediesJ) scaredK) sensitiveL) sinkM) temporaryN) trembleO) worseSection 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.Is it really ok to eat food that's fallen on the floor?A) When you drop a piece of food on the floor, is it really OK to eat if you pick it up within five seconds? An urban food myth contends that if food spends just a few seconds on the floor, dirt and germs won't have much of a chance to contaminate it. Research in my lab has focused on how food becomes contaminated, and we've done some work on this particular piece of wisdom.B) While the "five-second rule" might not seem like the most pressing issue for food scientists to get to the bottom of, it's still worth investigating food myths like this one because they shape our beliefs about when food is safe to eat.C) So is five seconds on the floor the critical threshold（门槛）that separates a piece of eatable food from a case of food poisoning? It's a bit more complicated than that. It depends on just how many bacteria can make it from floor to food in a few seconds and just how dirty the floor is.D) Wondering if food is still OK to eat after it's dropped on the floor is a pretty common experience. And it's probably not a new one either A well-known, but inaccurate, story about Julia Child may have contributed to this food myth. Some viewers of her cooking show, The French Chef, insist they saw Child drop lamb on the floor and pick it up, with the advice that if they were alone in the kitchen, their guests would never know.E) In fact it was a potato pancake, and it fell on the stovetop, not on the floor Child put it back in the pan, saying, "But you can always pick it up and if you're alone in the kitchen, who's going to see it?" But the misremembered story persists. It's harder to pin down the origins of the oft-quoted five- second rule, but a 2003 study reported that 70% of women and 56% of men surveyed were familiar with the five-second rule and that women were more likely than men to eat food that had dropped on the floor.F) So what does science tell us about what a few moments on the floor means for the safety of your food? The earliest research report on the five-second rule is attributed to Jillian Clarke, a high school student participating in a research project at the University of Illinois. Clarke and her colleagues introduced bacteria to floor tiles（瓷砖）and then placed cookies on the tiles for varying times. They reported bacteria were transferred from the tiles to the cookies withinfive seconds, but didn't report the specific amount of bacteria that made it from the tiles to the food.G) But how many bacteria actually transfer in five seconds? In 2007, my lab at Clemson University published a study in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. We wanted to know if the length of time food is in contact with a contaminated surface affected the rate of transfer of bacteria to the food. To find out, we introduced bacteria to squares of tile, carpet or wood. Five minutes after that, we placed either bacon or bread on the surface for 5, 30 or 60 seconds, and then measured the number of bacteria transferred to the food. We repeated this exact procedure after the bacteria had been on the surface for 2, 4, 8 and 24 hours.H) We found that the number of bacteria transferred to either kind of food didn't depend much on how long the food was in contact with the contaminated surface--whether for a few seconds or for a whole minute. The overall number of bacteria on the surface mattered more, and this decreased over time after the initial introduction. It looks like what's at issue is less how long your food stays on the floor and much more how contaminated with bacteria that patch of floor happens to be.I) We also found that the kind of surface made a difference as well. Carpets, for instance, seem to be slightly better places to drop your food than wood or tile. When a carpet was contaminated, less than 1% of the bacteria were transferred. But when the food was in contact with tile or wood, 48-70% of bacteria were.J) Last year, a study from Aston University in the UK used nearly identical parameters（参数）to our study and found similar results. They also reported that 87% of people asked either would eat or had eaten food fallen on the floor.K) Should you eat food fallen on the floor then? From a food safety standpoint if you have millions or more bacteria on a surface, 0. 1% is still enough to make you sick. Also, certain types of bacteria are extremely harmful, and it takes only a small number to make you sick. For example, 10 bacteria or less of an especially deadly strain of bacteria can cause severe illness and death in people with compromised immune systems. But the chance of these bacteria being on most surfaces is very low.L) And it's not just dropping food on the floor that can lead to bacterial contamination. Bacteria are carried by various "media", which can include raw food, moist surfaces where bacteria have been left, our hands or skin and from coughing or sneezing（打喷嚏）. Hands, foods and utensils（器皿）can carry individual bacteria living in communities contained within a protective film. These microscopic layers of deposits containing bacteria are known as biofilms and they are found on most surfaces and objects. Biofilm communities can harbor bacteria longer and are very difficult to clean. Becteria in these communities also have an enhanced resistance to sanitizers（清洁剂）and antibiotics compared to bacteria living on their own.M) So the next time you consider eating fallen food, the odds are in your favor that you can eat it without getting sick. But in the rare chance that there is a micro-organism that can make you sick on the exact spot where the food dropped, you can be fairly sure that the bug is on the food you are about to put in your mouth.N) Research or common sense tells us that the best thing to do is keep your hands, utensils and other surfaces clean.36. A research project found bacteria made their way to the food on the floor in five seconds.37. Whether food is contaminated depends much on the number of bacteria that get onto it.38. Food contamination may result from various factors other than food dropping on the floor.39. Males are less likely than females to eat food that may have been contaminated.40. The author's research centers around how food gets contaminated.41. Keeping everything clean is the best way to stay healthy.42. Chances are you will not fall sick because of eating food picked up from the floor.43. For a long time people have had the experience of deciding whether or not to eat food picked up from the floor.44. Some strains of bacteria are so harmful that a tiny few can have deadly consequences.45. Researchers found how many bacteria got onto the food did not have much to do with how long the food stayed on a contaminated floor.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time，you should listen carefully for its general idea.When the passage is read for the second time，you are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally，when the passage is read for the third time，you should check what you have written.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.The latest in cat research reveals that the lovely animal seems to have a basic grasp on both the laws of physics and the ins and outs of cause and effect.According to a newly published study, cats seem to be able to predict the location of hiding prey（猎物）using both their ears and an inborn（天生的）understanding of how the physical world worksIn a recent experiment, Japanese researchers taped 30 domestic cats reacting to a container that a team member shook Some containers rattled（发出响声）; others did not. When the container was tipped over, sometimes an object fell out and sometimes it didn't.It turns out that the cats were remarkably smart about what would happen when a containerwas tipped over. When an object did not drop out of the bottom of a rattling container, they looked at it for a longer time than they did when the container behaved as expected."Cats use a causal-logical understanding of noise or sounds to predict the appearance of invisible objects," lead researcher Saho Takagi says in a press release. The researchers conclude that cats' hunting style may have developed based on their common-sense abilities to infer where prey is, using their hearing.Scientists have explored this idea with other endearing creatures: babies. Like cats, babies appear to engage in what's called "preferential looking"—looking longer at things that are interesting or unusual than things they perceive as normal.When babies' expectations are violated in experiments like the ones performed with the cats, they react much like their animal friends. Psychologists have shown that babies apparently expect their world to comply with the laws of physics and cause and effect as early as two months of age.Does the study mean that cats will soon grasp the ins and outs of cause and effect? Maybe, Okay, so cats may not be the next physics faculty members at America's most important research universities. But by demonstrating their common sense, they've shown that the divide between cats and humans may not be that great after all.46. What do we learn from a newly published study about cats?A) They can be trained to understand the physical world.B) They know what kind of prey might be easier to hunt.C) They have a natural ability to locate animals they hunt.D) They are capable of telling which way their prey flees.47. What may account for the cats' response to the noise from the containers?A) Their inborn sensitivity to noise. C) Their special ability to perceive.B) Their unusual sense of direction. D) Their mastery of cause and effect.48. What is characteristic of the way cats hunt, according to the Japanese researchers?A) They depend on their instincts. C) They wait some time before attack.B) They rely mainly on their hearing. D) They use both their ears and eyes.49. In what way do babies behave like cats?A) They focus on what appears odd. C) They do what they prefer to doB) They view the world as normal. D) They are curious about everything.50. What can we conclude about cats from the passage?A) They have higher intelligence than many other animals.B) They interact with the physical world much like humans.C) They display extraordinarily high intelligence in hunting.D) They can aid physics professors in their research work.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.Imagine you enter a car with no steering wheel, no brake or accelerator pedals（踏板）. Under a voice-activated command, you say an address. "The fastest route will take us 15.3 minutes. Should I take it?" You say "yes" and you are on your way. The car responds and starts moving all by itself. All you have to do is sit back and relax.How weird would it be if, one day in the future, everyone had such a car No crazy driving，no insults，no cutting in; traffic laws would be respected and driving much safer. On the other hand, imagine the cost savings for local police enforcement and town budgets without all those speeding and parking tickets.A new technology has the potential to change modem society in radical ways. There's no question that self-driving vehicles could be an enormous benefit. The potential for safer cars means accident statistics would drop: some 94% of road accidents in the U.S. involve human error. Older drivers and visually-or physically-impaired people would gain a new level of freedom. Maintaining safe speeds and being electric, self-driving cars would drastically reduce pollution levels and dependency on non- renewable fuels. Roads would be quieter, people safer.But we must also consider the impact of the new technology on those who now depend on driving for their livelihoods. According to the U.S Department of Labor, in May 2015 there were 505,560 registered school bus drivers. The American Trucking Association lists approximately 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the U.S.The companies developing self-driving vehicles should be partnering with state and federal authorities to offer retraining for this massive workforce, many of whom will be displaced by the new technology. This is similar to what's happening in the coal and oil industries, a situation that fuels much of the current political discontent in this country.New technologies will, and should, be developed. This is how society moves forward. However, progress can't be one-sided. It is necessary for the companies and state agencies involved to consider the ethical consequences of these potential changes to build a better future for all.51. What would be the impact of the extensive use of driverless cars?A) People would be driving in a more civilized way.B) It would save local governments a lot of money.C) More policemen would be patrolling the streets.D) Traffic regulations would be a thing of the past.52. How would the elderly and the disabled benefit from driverless cars?A) They could enjoy greater mobility. C) They would have no trouble driving.B) They would suffer no road accidents. D) They could go anywhere they want.53. What would be the negative impact of driverless cars?A) The conflict between labor and management intensify.B) The gap between various sectors of society would be widened.C) Professional drivers would have a hard time adapting to new road conditions.D) Numerous professional drivers would have to find new ways of earning a living.54. What is the result of the introduction of new technologies in energy industries?A) Political dissatisfaction. C) Fossil fuel conservation.B) Retraining of employees. D) Business restructuring.55. What does the author suggest businesses and the government do?A) Keep pace with technological developments.B) Make new technologies affordable to everyone.C) Enable everyone to benefit from new technologies.D) Popularize the use of new technologies and devices.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.过去几年里，移动支付市场在中国蓬勃发展随着移动互联网的出现，手机购物逐渐成为一种趋势。
2018年12月四级真题第一套附答案及听力材料
2018年12月四级真题（第一套）答案附后面Part I WritingDirections: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of living in a big city. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening ComprehensionSection 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) Land a space vehicle on the moon in 2019.B) Design a new generation of mobile phones.C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.D) Gather data from the moon with a tiny device.2.A) It is stable.B) It is durable.C) It is inexpensive.D) It is sophisticated.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.A) It lasted more than six hoursB) No injuries were yet reported.C) Nobody was in the building when it broke out.D) It had burned for 45 minutes by the time firefighters arrived.4.A) Recruit and train more firefighters.B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.C) Turn the shopping mall into an amusement park.D) Find money to renovate the local neighborhood.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5.A) Shrinking potato farming.B) Heavy reliance on import.C) Widespread plant disease.D) Insufficient potato supply.6.A) It intends to keep its traditional diet.B) It wants to expand its own farming.C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.D) It is worried about unfair competition.7.A) Global warming.B) Ever-rising prices.C) Government regulation.D) Diminishing investment.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 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) InformativeB) Inspiring.C) Dull.D) Shallow.9.A) She types on a keyboard.B) She does recording.C) She takes photos.D) She takes notes.10.A) It keeps her mind active.B) It makes her stay awake.C) It enables her to think hard.D) It helps her kill time.11.A) It enables her to improve her pronunciation.B) It helps her better remember what she learns.C) It turns out to be an enjoyable way of learning.D) It proves to be far more effective than writing.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12.A) To spend her honeymoon.B) To try authentic Indian food.C) To take photos of the Taj Mahal.D) To trace the origin of a love story.13.A) In memory of a princess.B) In honor of a great emperor.C) To mark the death of an emperor of the 1600s.D) To celebrate the birth of a princess’s 14th child.14.A) It looks older than expected.B) It is built of wood and bricks.C) It stores lots of priceless antiques.D) It has walls decorated with jewels.15.A) Their streets are narrow.B) They are mostly crowded.C) Each one has a unique character.D) Life can be tedious in some places.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 help spread the latest technology.B) They greatly enrich people’s leisure l ife.C) They provide residents with the resources needed.D) They allow free access to digital books and videos.A) By helping them find jobs.B) By inspiring their creativity.C) By keeping them off the streets.D) By providing a place of relaxation.18.A) Their interaction with teenagers proved fruitful.B) They used libraries less often than teenagers.C) They tended to visit libraries regularly.D) Their number increased modestly.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19.A) It is the cleverest cat in the world.B) It is the largest cat in Africa.C) It is an unusual cross breed.D) It is a large-sized wild cat.20.A) They are as loyal as dogs.B) They have unusually long tails.C) They are fond of sleeping in cabinets.D) They know how to please their owners.21.A) They shake their front paws.B) They teach them to dive.C) They shower with them.D) They shout at them.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.A) Anxious and depressed.B) Contented and relieved.C) Excited but somewhat sad.D) Proud but a bit nervous.23.A) It is becoming parents’ biggest concern.B) It is gaining increasing public attention.C) It depends on their parents for success.D) It starts the moment they are born.24.A) Set a good example for them to follow.B) Read books and magazines to them.C) Help them to learn by themselves.D) Choose the right school for them.25.A) Their intelligence.B) Their home life.C) The effort they put in learning.D) The quality of their school.Part III Reading ComprehensionSection 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.Millions die early from air pollution each year. Air pollution costs the global economy more than $5 trillion annually in welfare costs, with the most serious 26 occurring in the developing world.The figures include a number of costs 27 with air pollution. Lost income alone amounts to $225 billion a year.The report includes both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Indoor pollution, which includes 28 like home heating and cooking, has remained 29 over the past several decades despite advances in the area. Levels of outdoor pollution have grown rapidly along with rapid growth in industry and transportation.Director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Chris Murray 30 it as an “urgent call to action”. “One of the risk factors for premature deaths is the air we breathe, over which individuals have little 31 ,” he said.The effects of air pollution are worst in the developing world, where in some places lost-labor income 32 nearly 1% of GDP. Around 9 in 10 people in low- and middle-income countries live in places where they 33 experience dangerous levels of outdoor air pollution.But the problem is not limited 34 to the developing world. Thousands die prematurely in the U. S. as a result of related illnesses. In many European countries, where diesel (柴油) 35 have become more common in recent years, that number reaches tens of thousands.A) abilityB) associatedC) consciouslyD) constantE) controlF) damageG) describedH) equals I) exclusively J) innovated K) regularly L) relates M) sources N) undermine O) vehiclesSection 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.Food-as-Medicine MovementIs Witnessing ProgressA) Several times a month, you can find a doctor in the aisles of Ralph’s market in Huntington Beach, California, wearing a white coat and helping people learn about food. On one recent day, this doctor was Daniel Nadeau, wandering the cereal aisle with Allison Scott, giving her some idea on how to feed kids who persistently avoid anything that is healthy. “Have you thought about trying fresh juices in the morning?” he asks her. “The frozen oranges and apples are a little cheaper, and fruits are really good for the brain. Juices are quick and easy to prepare; you can take the frozen fruit out the night before and have it ready the next morning.”B) Scott is delighted to get food advice from a physician who is program director of the nearby Mary and Dick Allen Diabetes Center, part of the St. Joseph Hoag Health alliance. The center’s “Shop with Your Doc” program sends doctors to the grocery store to meet with any patients who sign up for the service, plus any other shoppers who happen to be around with questions.C) Nadeau notices the pre-made macaroni (通心粉) -and-cheese boxes in Scott’s shopping cart and suggests she switch to whole grain macaroni and real cheese. “So I’d have to make it?” she asks, her enthusiasm fading at the thought of how long that might take, just to have her kids reject it. “I’m not sure they’d eat it. They just won’t eat it.”D) Nadeau says sugar and processed foods are big contributors to the rising diabetes rates among children. “In America, over 50 percent of our food is processed food,” Nadeau tells her. “And only 5 percent of our food is plant-based food. I think we should try to reverse that.” Scott agrees to try more fruit juices for the kids and to make real macaroni and cheese. Score one point for the doctor, zero for diabetes. E) Nadeau is part of a small revolution developing across California. Thefood-as-medicine movement has been around for decades, but it’s making progress as physicians and medical institutions make food a formal part of treatment, rather than relying solely on medications (药物). By prescribing nutritional changes or launching programs such as “Shop with Your Doc”, they are trying to prevent, limit or even reverse disease by changing what patients eat. “There’s no question people can take things a long way toward reversing diabetes, reversing high blood pressure, even preventing cancer by food choices,” Nadeau says.F) In the big picture, says Dr. Richard Afable, CEO and president of St. Joseph Hoag Health, medical Institutions across the state are starting to make a philosophical switch to becoming a health organization, not just a health care organization. That feeling echoes the beliefs of the Therapeutic Food Pantry program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, which completed its pilot phase and is about to expand on an ongoing basis to five clinic sites throughout the city. The program will offer patients several bags of food prescribed for their condition, along with intensive training in how to cook it. “We really want to link fo od and medicine, and not just give away food,” says Dr. Rita Nguyen, the hospital’s medical director of HealthyFood Initiatives. “We want people to understand what they’re eating, how to prepare it, the role food plays in their lives.”G) In Southern California, Loma Linda University School of Medicine is offering specialized training for its resident physicians in Lifestyle Medicine – that is a formal specialty in using food to treat disease. Research findings increasingly show the power of food to treat or reverse diseases, but that does not mean that diet alone is always the solution, or that every illness can benefit substantially from dietary changes. Nonetheless, physicians say that they look at the collective data and a clear picture emerges: that the salt, sugar, fat and processed foods in the American diet contribute to the nation’s high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of deaths from heart disease and stroke are caused by high blood pressure, tobacco use, elevated cholesterol and low consumption of fruits and vegetables.H) “It’s a different paradigm (范式) of how to treat disease,” says Dr. Brenda Rea, who helps run the family and preventive medicine residency program at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The lifestyle medicine specialty is designed to train doctors in how to prevent and treat disease, in part, by changing patients’ nutritional habits. The medical center and school at Loma Linda also has a food cupboard and kitchen for patients. This way, patients not only learn about which foods to buy, but also how to prepare them at home.I) Many people don’t know how to cook, Rea says, and they only know how to heat things up. That means depending on packaged food with high salt and sugar content. So teaching people about which foods are healthy and how to prepare them, she says, can actually transform a patient’s life. And beyond that, it might transform the health and lives of that patient’s family. “What people eat can be medicine or poison,” Rea says. “As a physician, nutrition is one of the most powerful things you can change to reverse the effects of long-term disease.”J) Studies have explored evidence that dietary changes can slow inflammation (炎症), for example, or make the body inhospitable to cancer cells. In general, many lifestyle medicine physicians recommend a plant-based diet – particularly for people with diabetes or other inflammatory conditions.K) “As what happened with tobacco, this will require a cultural s hift, but that can happen,” says Nguyen. “In the same way physicians used to smoke, and then stopped smoking and were able to talk to patients about it, I think physicians can have a bigger voice in it.”36. More than half of the food Americans eat is factory-produced.37. There is a special program that assigns doctors to give advice to shoppers in food stores.38. There is growing evidence from research that food helps patients recover from various illnesses.39. A healthy breakfast can be prepared quickly and easily.40. Training a patient to prepare healthy food can change their life.41. One food-as-medicine program not only prescribes food for treatment but teaches patients how to cook it.42. Scott is not keen on cooking food herself, thinking it would simply be a waste of time.43. Diabetes patients are advised to eat more plant-based food.44. Using food as medicine is no novel idea, but the movement is making headway these days.45. Americans’ high rates of various illnesses result from the way the y eat.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.California has been facing a drought for many years now, with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. The problem is growing as the population of the state continues to expand. New research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1,000 feet, but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted (抽取). The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers (地下蓄水层) below this depth and found that reserves may be triple what was previously thought.It is profitable to drill to depths more than 1,000 feet for oil and gas extraction, but only recently in California has it become profitable to pump water from this depth. The aquifers range from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground, which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep is the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is compacted by the weight of the earth above.Even though pumping from these depths is expensive, it is still cheaper than desalinating (脱盐) the ocean water in the largely coastal state. Some desalinationplants exist where feasible, but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs. Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction, thus increasing the cost. Research from the exhaustive study of groundwater from over 950 drilling logs has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves now go up to 2,700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.46. How could California’s drought crisis be solved according to some researchers?A) By building more reserves of groundwater.B) By drawing water from the depths of the earth.C) By developing more advanced drilling devices.D) By upgrading its water distribution system.47. What can be inferred about extracting water from deep aquifers?A) It was deemed vital to solving the water problem.B) It was not considered worth the expense.C) It may not provide quality freshwater.D) It is bound to gain support from the local people.48. What is mentioned as a consequence of extracting water from deep underground?A) The sinking of land surface.B) The harm to the ecosystem.C) The damage to aquifers.D) The change of the climate.49. What does the author say about deep wells?A) They run without any need for repairsB) They are entirely free from pollutants.C) They are the ultimate solution to droughtsD) They provide a steady supply of freshwater.50. What may happen when deep aquifers are used as water sources?A) People’s health may improve with cleaner water.B) People’s water bills may be lowered considerably.C) The cost may go up due to desalination.D) They may be exhausted sooner or later.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The AlphaGo program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become.But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically, meaning can they be honest and fair?One example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads, so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve, they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road, even if that will put their passengers at risk? What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog? What if the only risk is damage to the car itself, not to the passengers?Perhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars, but they are not super-intelligent beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.About the same time as Alpha Go’s triumph, Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’ took a bad turn. The software, named Taylor, was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler. Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages.AlphaGo’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warming to us. It is one thing to use AI within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google, which owns AlphaGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings”.51. Wha t does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victory?A) Computers will prevail over human beings.B) Computers have unmatched potential.C) Computers are man’s potential rivals.D) Computers can become highly intelligent.52. What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethically?A) They are capable of predicting possible risks.B) They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision.C) They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas.D) They sacrifice everything to save human lives.63. What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age?A) How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.B) How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.C) How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.D) How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.54. What do we learn about Microsoft’s “chatbot” Taylor?A) She could not distinguish good from bad.B) She could turn herself off when necessary.C) She was not made to handle novel situations.D) She was good at performing routine tasks.55. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligence?A) It will be far superior to human beings.B) It will keep improving as time goes by.C) It will prove to be an asset to human beings.D) It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.Part IV TranslationDirections: 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.由于通信网络的快速发展，中国智能手机用户数量近年来以惊人速度增长。
2018年12月英语四级考试真题试卷+答案 (3套全含答案)
第一套Part I. Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of living in a big city. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II. Listening Comprehension (30 minutes) (我把听力音频MP3文件放在压缩包里了，请自己去找吧哈哈)Section A News ReportDirections：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) Land a space vehicle on the moon in 2019.B) Design a new generation of mobile phones.C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.D) Gather data from the moon with a tiny device.2. A) It is stable.B) It is durable.C) It is inexpensive.D) It is sophisticated.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) It lasted more than six hours.B) No injuries were yet reported.C) Nobody was in the building when it broke out.D) It had burned for 45 minutes by the time firefighters arrived.4. A) Recruit and train more firefighters.B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.C) Turn the shopping mall into an amusement park.D) Find money to renovate the local neighborhood.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) Shrinking potato farming.B) Heavy reliance on import.C) Widespread plant disease.D) Insufficient potato supply.6. A) It intends to keep its traditional diet.B) It wants to expand its own farming.C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.D) It is worried about unfair competition.7. A) Global warming.B) Ever-rising prices.C) Government regulation.D) Diminishing investment.Section B ConversationDirections：In this section，you will hear two long conversations。
201812月四级真题答案解析及解析(第一套[完整版])
![201812月四级真题答案解析及解析(第一套[完整版])](https://img.taocdn.com/s3/m/0d337c1ee518964bce847c21.png)
Part I WritingDirections:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short easy on how to best handle the relationship between doctors and patients. You should write at least120 words but no more than 180 words.题目解析：一、审题：四级写作的第一步即读懂题目要求。
读题目时我们需要在题干中去找“关键词”。
本次作文中读完题目，建议同学们用笔勾画出来五个关键词，即五个要点，顺序依次是“30 minutes”、“essay”、“how”、“the relationship between doctors and patients”、“write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words”其中关于考试时间和作文字数的要求每年都一致。
接下来审题的重点：这次写作要求我们写一篇常见的议论文，并且去简述如何处理医生和病人的关系。
读完题目之后，我们了解到这次的写作主题即“医患关系（the relationship between doctors and patients）”。
二、谋篇：四级写作的第二步即布局三段结构，这次写作中强调“如何处理医患关系”，所以我们在第二段写作时，可以从两个维度出发—医生和患者—去叙述如何正确处理两个主体之间的关系。
三、框架：全文分为三个段落。
第一段为话题引出段（可结合情景作文第一段，先表明自己的观点）；第二段为原因分析段（主要从医生/患者两个方面进行原因论述）；第三段为意义阐述段。
四、填充：具体的范文如下，仅做参考。
写作范文：On the Relationship between Doctors and PatientsIn the present age, it is generally acknowledged that the relationship between doctors and patients is playing indispensable roles in our lives. As far as I am concerned, we should balance this kind of relationship from two aspects, doctors and patients.The causes of this perspective are multiple. In the first place, the reason has been cited as amajor reason that doctors cannot be understood, for patients always maintain doctors can cure all kinds of disease. This is mainly due to the fact that although medical technology and science are advanced at an amazing rate, there exists a multitude of various kinds of diseases we cannot cure. Furthermore, the reason can contribute this perspective that patients are believed to be lack of the fundamental medical knowledge, which results in this relationship are worried. Plenty of evidence has shown that an increasing number of patients often go to extremes if their diseases cannot be cure instantly.When it comes to our modern society, it is universally acknowledged that dealing with the relationship between doctors and patients in a reasonable way plays a vitally important role in our lives. Undoubtedly, if we spare no efforts to do so, our future will be hopeful and promising.Part II Listening ComprehensionSection ANew report 11.答案: B) Her little brother.Q: Who did Edison raise money for解析: 新闻首句原则,了解大致内容是Edison卖柠檬水和画画为生病需要做心脏手术(surgery)的弟弟筹资。
2018年12月英语四级考试真题(卷一完整版)
2018年12月英语四级考试真题（卷一完整版）目录Part I Writing (1)Part ⅡListening Comprehension (1)Part III Reading Comprehension (7)Part IV Translation (22)Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of starting a career after graduation. You should write at least 120 words but no more than180 words.PartⅡListening 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 then 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 1with a single line through the centre.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1.A) Land a space vehicle on the moon in 2019.B) Design a new generation of mobile phones.C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.D) Gather data from the noon with a tiny device.2.A) It is stable.B) It is durable.C) It is inexpensive.D) It is sophisticated.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3.A) It lasted more than six hours.B) No injuries were yet reported.C) Nobody was in the building when it broke out.D) It had burned for 45 minutes by the time firefighters arrived.4.A) Recruit and train more firefighters.B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.C) Turn the shopping mall into an amusement park.D) Find money to renovate the local neighborhood. Questions 5 and 6 are based on the news report you have just heard.5.A) Shrinking potato farming.B) Heavy reliance on import.C) Widespread plant disease.D) Insufficient potato supply.6.A) It intends to keep its traditional diet.B) It wants to expand its own farming.C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.D) It is worried about unfair competition.7.A) Global warning.B) Ever-rising prices.C) Government regulation.D) Diminishing investment.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 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) Informative.B) Inspiring.C) Dull.D) Shallow.9. A)She types on a keyboard.B)She does recording.C)She take photos.D)she take notes.10.A) It keeps her mind active.B) It makes her stay awake.C) It enables her to think hard.D) It helps her kill time.11.A)It enables her to improve her pronunciation.B) It helps her better remember what she learns.C) It turns out to be an enjoyable way of learning.D) It proves to be far more effective than writing. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12.A)To spend her honeymoon.B) To try autbentic Indian food.C) To take photos of the Jaj Mahal.D) To trace the origin of a love story.13.A) In memory of a princess.B) In honor of a great cmperor.C) To mark the death of an emperor of the 1600s.D) To celebrate the birth of a princess’s 14th child.14.A) It looks older than expected.B) It is built of wood and bricks.C) It stores lots of priceless antiques.D) It has walls decorated with jewels.15.A)Their streets are narrow.B)Each on has a unique character.C)They are mostly crowded.D)Life can be tedious in some places.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 help spread the latest technology.B)They greatly enrich people’s leisure life.C)They provide residents with theD)They allow free access to digital books and videos.17.A)By helping them find jobs.B)By keeping them off the streets.C)By inspiring their creativity.D)By providing a place of relaxation.18.A)Their interaction with teenagers proved fruitful.B)They used libraries less often than teenagers.C)They tended to visit libraries regularly.D)Their number increased modestly.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19.A)It is the cleverest cat in the world.B)It is an unusual cross breed.C)It is the largest cat in Africa.D)It is a large-sized wild cat.20.A)They are as loyal as doges.B)They are fond of sleeping in cabinets.C)They have unusually long tails.D)They know how to please their owners.21.A)They shake their front paws.B)They shower with them.C)They teach them to dive.D)They shout at them.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22.A) Contented and relieved.B) Anxious and depressed.C) Proud but a bit nervous.D) Excited but somewhat sad.23.A) It starts the moment they are born.B) It depends on their parents for success.C) It is gaining increasing public attention.D) It is becoming parents’biggest concern.24.A) Choose the right school for them.B) Help them to learn by themselves.C) Read books and magazines to them.D) Set a good example for them to follow.25.A) Their intelligence.B) Their home life.C) The quality of their school.D) The effort they put in learning.Part ⅢReading 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 listof choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once．Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage. Millions die early from air pollution each year. Air pollution costs the global economy more than $5 trillion annually in welfare costs, with the most serious 26 occurring in the developing world.The figures include a number of costs 27 with air pollution. Lost income alone amounts to $225 billion a year. The report includes both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Indoor pollution, which includes28 like home heating and cooking, has remained 29 over the past several decades despite advances in the area. Levels of outdoor pollution have grown rapidly along with rapid growth in industry and transportation.Director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Chris Murray 30 it as an “urgent call to action.”“One of the riskfactors for premature deaths is the air we breathe, over which individuals have little 31 ,”he said.The effects of air pollution are worst in the developing world, where in some places lost-labor income 32 nearly 1% of GDP. Around 9 in 10 people in low-and middle-income countries live in places where they 33 experience dangerous levels of outdoor air pollution.But the problem is not limited 34 to the developing world. Thousands die prematurely in the U.S. as a result of related illnesses. In many European countries, where diesel(柴油) 35 have become more common in recent years, that number reaches tens of thousands.A)ability I)exclusivelyB)associated J)innovatedC)consciously K)regularlyD)constant L)relatesE)control M)sourcesF)damage N)undermineG)described O)vehiclesH)equalsSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to 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.Food-as-Medicine Movement Is Witnessing Progress[A] Several times a month, you can find a doctor in the aisles of Ralph’s market in Huntington Beach, California, wearing a white coat and helping people learn about food. On one recent day, this doctor was Daniel Nadeau, wandering the cereal aisle with Allison Scott, giving her some idea on how to feed kids who persistently avoid anything that is healthy. “Have you thought about trying fresh juices in the morning?”he asks her. “The frozen oranges and apples are a little cheaper, and fruits are really good for the brain. Juices are quick and easy to prepare, you can take the frozen fruit out the night before and have it ready the next morning.”[B] Scott is delighted to get food advice from a physician whois program director of the nearby Mary and Dick Allen Diabetes Center, part of the St. Joseph Hoag Health alliance. The center’s ‘Shop with Your Doc’program sends doctors to the grocery store to meet with any patients who sign up for the service, plus any other shoppers who happen to be around with questions.[C] Nadeau notices the pre-made macaroni (通心粉)-and-cheese boxes in Scott’s shopping cart and suggests she switch to whole grain macaroni and real cheese. “So I’d have to make it？”she asks, her enthusiasm fading at the thought of how long that might take, just to have her kids reject it. “I’m not sure they’d eat it. They just won’t eat it.”[D] Nadeau says sugar and processed foods are big contributors to the rising diabetes rates among children. “In America, over 50 percent of our food is processed food,”Nadeau tells her. “And only 5 percent of our food is plant-based food. I think we should try to reverse that.”Scott agrees to try more fruit juices for the kids and to make real macaroni and cheese. Score one point for the doctor, zero for diabetes.[E] Nadeau is part of a small revolution developing across California. The food-as-medicine movement has been aroundfor decades, but it’s making progress as physicians and medical institutions make food a formal part of treatment, rather than relying solely on medications (药物). By prescribing nutritional changes or launching programs such as ‘Shop with your Doc’, they are trying to prevent, limit or even reverse disease by changing what patients eat. “There’s no question people can take things a long way toward reversing diabetes, reversing high blood pressure, even preventing cancer by food choices,”Nadeau says.[F] In the big picture, says Dr. Richard Afable, CEO and president of ST. Joseph Hoag Health, medical institutions across the state are starting to make a philosophical switch to becoming a health organization, not just a health care organization. That feeling echoes the beliefs of the Therapeutic Food Pantry program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, which completed its pilot phase and is about to expand on an ongoing basis to five clinic sites throughout the city. The program will offer patients several bags of food prescribed for their condition, along with intensive training in how to cook it. “We really want to link food and medicine, and not just give away food,”says Dr. Rita Nguyen, the hospital’s medical director of Healthy Food Initiatives. “We wantpeople to understand what they’re eating, how to prepare it, the role food plays in their lives.”[G] In Southern California, Loma Linda University School of Medicine is offering specialized training for its resident physicians in Lifestyle Medicine —that is a formal specialty in using food to treat disease. Research findings increasingly show the power of food to treat or reverse diseases, but that does not mean that diet alone is always the solution, or that every illness can benefit substantially from dietary changes. Nonetheless, physicians say that they look at the collective data and a clear picture emerges: that the salt, sugar, fat and processed foods in the American diet contribute to the nation’s high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of deaths from heart disease and stroke are caused by high blood pressure, tobacco use, elevated cholesterol and low consumption of fruits and vegetables.[H] “It’s a different paradigm（范式）of how to treat disease,”says Dr. Brenda Rea, who helps run the family and preventive medicine residency program at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The lifestyle medicine specialty is designed to train doctors in how to prevent and treat disease, in part, bychanging patients’nutritional habits. The medical center and school at Loma Linda also has a food cupboard and kitchen for patients. This way, patients not only learn about which foods to buy, but also how to prepare them at home.[I] Many people don’t know how to cook, Rea says, and they only know how to heat things up. That means depending on packaged food with high salt and sugar content. So teaching people about which foods are healthy and how to prepare them, she says, can actually transform a patient’s life. And beyond that, it might transform the health and lives of that patient’s family. “What people eat can be medicine or poison,”Rea says. “As a physician, nutrition is one of the most powerful things you can change to reverse the effects of long-term disease.”[J] Studies have explored evidence that dietary changes can slow inflammation（炎症）, for example, or make the body inhospitable to cancer cells. In general, many lifestyle medicine physicians recommend a plant-based diet —particularly for people with diabetes or other inflammatory conditions.[K] “As what happened with tobacco, this will require a cultural shift, but that can happen,”says Nguyen. “In thesame way physicians used to smoke, and then stopped smoking and were able to talk to patients about it, I think physicians can have a bigger voice in it.”36. More than half of the food Americans eat is factory-produced.37. There is a special program that assigns doctors to give advice to shoppers in food stores.38. There is growing evidence from research that food helps patients recover from various illnesses.39. A healthy breakfast can be prepared quickly and easily.40. Training a patient to prepare healthy food can change their life.41. One food-as-medicine program not only prescribes food for treatment but teaches patients how to cook it.42. Scott is not keen on cooking food herself, thinking it would simply be a waste of time.43. Diabetes patients are advised to eat more plant-based food.44. Using food as medicine is no novel idea, but the movement is making headway these days.45. Americans’high rates of various illnesses result from theway they eat.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.California has been facing a drought for many years now, with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. The problem is growing as the population of the state continues to expand. New research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1,000 feet, but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted （抽取）. The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers（地下蓄水层）below this depth and found that reserves may be triple what was previously thought.It is profitable to drill to depths more than 1,000 feet for oiland gas extraction, but only recently in California has it become profitable to pump water from this depth. The aquifers range from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground, which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep in the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is compacted by the weight of the earth above.Even though pumping from these depths is expensive, it is still cheaper than desalinating（脱盐）the ocean water in the largely coastal state. Some desalination plants exist where feasible, but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs. Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction, thus increasing the cost. Research from the exhaustive study of groundwater from over 950 drilling logs has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves now go up to 2,700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.46.How could California’s drought crisis be solved according to some researchers?A) By building more reserves of groundwater.B) By drawing water from the depths of the earth.C) By developing more advanced drilling devices.D) By upgrading its water distribution system.47.What can be inferred about extracting water from deep aquifers?A) It was deemed vital to solving the water problem.B) It was not considered worth the expense.C) It may not provide quality freshwater.D) It is bound to gain support from the local people.48. What is mentioned as a consequence of extracting water from deep underground？A) The sinking of land surface. C) The damage to aquifers.B) The harm to the ecosystem. D) The change of the climate.49. What does the author say about deep wells?A) They run without any need for repairs.B) They are entirely free from pollutants.C) They are the ultimate solution to droughts.D) They provide a steady supply of freshwater.50. What may happen when deep aquifers are used as water sources?A) People’s health may improve with cleaner water.B) People’s water bills may be lowered considerably.C) The cost may go up due to desalination.D) They may be exhausted sooner or later.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The AlphaGo program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become.But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically, meaning can they be honest and fair?One example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads, so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve, they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road, even if that will put their passengers at risk? What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog? What if the only risk is damage to the car itself,not to the passengers?Perhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars, but they are not super-intelligent beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.About the same time as AlphaGo’s triumph, Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’took a bad turn. The software, named Taylor, was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler, Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages. AlphaGo’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warning to us. It is one thing to use AI within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google, which own AlphoGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances inAI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings.”51.What does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victory?A)Computers will prevail over human beings.B)Computers have unmatched potential.C)Computers are man’s potential rivals.D)Computers can become highly intelligent.52.What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethically?A)They are capable of predicting possible risks.B)They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision.C)They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas.D)They sacrifice everything to save human lives.53.What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age?A)How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.B)How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.C)How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.D)How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.54.What do we learn about Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’Taylor?A)She could not distinguish good from bad.B)She could turn herself off when necessary.C)She was not made to handle novel situations.D)She was good at performing routine tasks.55. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligence?A) It will be far superior to human beings.B) It will keep improving as time goes by.C) It will prove to be an asset to human beings.D) It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.Part ⅣTranslation (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.由于通信网络的快速发展，中国智能手机用户数量近年来以惊人度增长。
2018年12月大学英语四级真题完整版
2018年12月大学英语四级真题完整版（第1套）Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part，you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the challenges of living in a big city.You should write at least 120 words but no more than180 words.PartⅡ 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 then 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 1with a single line through the centre.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1. A) Land a space vehicle on the moon in 2019.B) Design a new generation of mobile phones.C) Set up a mobile phone network on the moon.D) Gather data from the noon with a tiny device.2. A) It is stable. B) It is durable. C) It is inexpensive. D) It is sophisticated.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) It lasted more than six hours.B) No injuries were yet reported.C) Nobody was in the building when it broke out.D) It had burned for 45 minutes by the time firefighters arrived.4. A) Recruit and train more firefighters.B) Pull down the deserted shopping mall.C) Turn the shopping mall into an amusement park.D) Find money to renovate the local neighborhood.Questions 5 and 6 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) Shrinking potato farming.B) Heavy reliance on import.C) Widespread plant disease.D) Insufficient potato supply.6. A) It intends to keep its traditional diet.B) It wants to expand its own farming.C) It is afraid of the spread of disease.D) It is worried about unfair competition.7. A) Global warning.B) Ever-rising prices.C) Government regulation.D) Diminishing investment.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both theconversation 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 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A) Informative. B) Inspiring. C) Dull. D) Shallow.9. A) She types on a keyboard.B) She does recording.C) She take photos.D) She take notes.10. A) It keeps her mind active.B) It makes her stay awake.C) It enables her to think hard.D) It helps her kill time.11. A)It enables her to improve her pronunciation.B) It helps her better remember what she learns.C) It turns out to be an enjoyable way of learning.D) It proves to be far more effective than writing.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) To spend her honeymoon.B) To try authentic Indian food.C) To take photos of the Taj Mahal.D) To trace the origin of a love story.In memory of a princess.B) In honor of a great emperor.C) To mark the death of an emperor of the 1600s.D) To celebrate the birth of a princess’s 14th child.14. A) It looks older than expected.B) It is built of wood and bricks.C) It stores lots of priceless antiques.D) It has walls decorated with jewels.15. A) Their streets are narrow.B) Each on has a unique character.C) They are mostly crowded.D) Life can be tedious in some places.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 help spread the latest technology.B) They greatly enrich people’s leisure life.C) They provide residents with theD) They allow free access to digital books and videos.17. A) By helping them find jobs.B) By keeping them off the streets.C) By inspiring their creativity.D) By providing a place of relaxation.18. A) Their interaction with teenagers proved fruitful.B) They used libraries less often than teenagers.C) They tended to visit libraries regularly.D) Their number increased modestly.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) It is the cleverest cat in the world.B) It is an unusual cross breed.C) It is the largest cat in Africa.D) It is a large-sized wild cat.20. A) They are as loyal as doges.B) They are fond of sleeping in cabinets.C) They have unusually long tails.D) They know how to please their owners.21. A) They shake their front paws.B) They shower with them.C) They teach them to dive.D) They shout at them.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) Contented and relieved.B) Anxious and depressed.C) Proud but a bit nervous.D) Excited but somewhat sad.23. A) It starts the moment they are born.B) It depends on their parents for success.C) It is gaining increasing public attention.D) It is becoming parents’ biggest concern.24. A) Choose the right school for them.B) Help them to learn by themselves.C) Read books and magazines to them.D) Set a good example for them to follow.25. A) Their intelligence.B) Their home life.C) The quality of their school.D) The effort they put in learning.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 Sheet2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the wordsin the bank more than once．Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.Millions die early from air pollution each year. Air pollution costs the global economy more than $5 trillion annually in welfare costs, with the most serious 26 occurring in the developing world.The figures include a number of costs 27 with air pollution. Lost income alone amounts to $225 billion a year.The report includes both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Indoor pollution, which includes 28 like home heating and cooking, has remained 29 over the past several decades despite advances in the area. Levels of outdoor pollution have grown rapidly along with rapid growth in industry and transportation.Director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Chris Murray 30it as an “urgent call to action.”“One of the risk factors for premature deaths is the air we breathe, over which individuals have little 31,”he said.The effects of air pollution are worst in the developing world, where in some places lost-labor income 32 nearly 1% of GDP. Around 9 in 10 people in low-and middle-income countries live in places where they 33 experience dangerous levels of outdoor air pollution.But the problem is not limited 34 to the developing world. Thousands die prematurely in the . as a result of related illnesses. In many European countries, where diesel(柴油) 35 have become more common in recent years, that number reaches tens of thousands.A)ability E)control I)exclusively M)sourcesB)associated F)damage J)innovated N)undermineC)consciously G)described K)regularly O)vehiclesD)constant H)equals L)relatesSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to 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.Food-as-Medicine Movement Is Witnessing Progress[A] Several times a month, you can find a doctor in the aisles of Ralph’s market in Huntington Beach, California, wearing a white coat and helping people learn about food. On one recent day, this doctor was Daniel Nadeau, wandering the cereal aisle with Allison Scott, giving her some idea on how t o feed kids who persistently avoid anything that is healthy. “Have you thought about trying fresh juices in the morning” he asks her. “The frozen oranges and apples are a little cheaper, and fruits are really goodfor the brain. Juices are quick and easy to prepare, you can take the frozen fruit out the night before and have it ready the next morning.”[B] Scott is delighted to get food advice from a physician who is program director of the nearby Mary and Dick Allen Diabetes Center, part of the St. Joseph Hoag Health alliance. The center’s ‘Shop with Your Doc’program sends doctors to the grocery store to meet with any patients who sign up for the service, plus any other shoppers who happen to be around with questions.[C] Nadeau notices the pre-made macaroni (通心粉)-and-cheese boxes in Scott’s shopping cart and suggests she switch to whole grain macaroni and real cheese. “So I’d have to make it”she asks, her enthusiasm fading at the thought of how long that might take, just to have her kids reject it. “I’m not sure they’d eat it. They just won’t eat it.”[D] Nadeau says sugar and processed foods are big contributors to the rising diabetes rates among children. “In America, over 50 percent of our food is processed food,” Nadeau tells her. “And only 5 percent of our food is plant-based food. I think we should try to reverse that.” Scott agrees to try more fruit juices for the kids and to make real macaroni and cheese. Score one point for the doctor, zero for diabetes.[E] Nadeau is part of a small revolution developing across California. The food-as-medicine movement has been around for decades, but it’s making progress as physicians and medical institutions make food a formal part of treatment, rather than relying solely on medications (药物). By prescribing nutritional changes or launching programs such as ‘Shop withyour Doc’, they are trying to prevent, limit or even reverse disease by changing what patients eat. “There’s no question people can take things a long way toward reversing diabetes, reversing high blood pressure, even preventing cancer by food choices,” Nadeau says.[F]In the big picture, says Dr. Richard Afable, CEO and president of ST. Joseph Hoag Health, medical institutions across the state are starting to make a philosophical switch to becoming a health organization, not just a health care organization. That feeling echoes the beliefs of the Therapeutic Food Pantry program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, which completed its pilot phase and is about to expand on an ongoing basis to five clinic sites throughout the city. The program will offer patients several bags of food prescribed for their condition, along with intensive training in how to cook it. “We really want to link food and medicine, and not just give away food,” says Dr. Rita Nguyen, the hospital’s medical director of Healthy Food Initiatives. “We want people to understand what they’re eating, how to prepare it, the role food plays in their lives.”[G] In Southern California, Loma Linda University School of Medicine is offering specialized training for its resident physicians in Lifestyle Medicine — that is a formal specialty in using food to treat disease. Research findings increasingly show the power of food to treat or reverse diseases, but that does not mean that diet alone is always the solution, or that every illness can benefit substantially from dietary changes. Nonetheless, physicians say that they look at the collective data and a clear picture emerges: that the salt, sugar, fat and processed foods inthe American diet contribute to the nation’s high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of deaths from heart disease and stroke are caused by high blood pressure, tobacco use, elevated cholesterol and low consumption of fruits and vegetables.[H]“It’s a different paradigm（范式） of how to treat disease,”says Dr. Brenda Rea, who helps run the family and preventive medicine residency program at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The lifestyle medicine specialty is designed to train doctors in how to prevent and treat disease, in part, by changing patients’nutritional habits. The medical center and school at Loma Linda also has a food cupboard and kitchen for patients. This way, patients not only learn about which foods to buy, but also how to prepare them at home.[I]Many people don’t know how to cook, Rea says, and they only know how to heat things up. That means depending on packaged food with high salt and sugar content. So teaching people about which foods are healthy and how to prepare them, she says, can actually transform a patient’s life. And beyond that, it might transform the health and lives of that patient’s family. “What people eat can be medicine or poison,” Rea says. “As a physician, nutrition is one of the most powerful things you can change to reverse the effects of long-term disease.”[J]Studies have explored evidence that dietary changes can slow inflammation（炎症）, for example, or make the body inhospitable to cancer cells. In general, many lifestyle medicine physicians recommend a plant-based diet —particularly for people with diabetes or otherinflammatory conditions.[K]“As what happened with tobacco, this will require a cultural shift, but that can happen,” says Nguyen. “In th e same way physicians used to smoke, and then stopped smoking and were able to talk to patients about it, I think physicians can have a bigger voice in it.”36. More than half of the food Americans eat is factory-produced.37. There is a special program that assigns doctors to give advice to shoppers in food stores.38. There is growing evidence from research that food helps patients recover from various illnesses.39. A healthy breakfast can be prepared quickly and easily.40. Training a patient to prepare healthy food can change their life.41. One food-as-medicine program not only prescribes food for treatment but teaches patients how to cook it.42. Scott is not keen on cooking food herself, thinking it would simply be a waste of time.43. Diabetes patients are advised to eat more plant-based food.44. Using food as medicine is no novel idea, but the movement is making headway these days.45. Americans’high rates of various illnesses result from the way they eat.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there arefour 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.California has been facing a drought for many years now, with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. The problem is growing as the population of the state continues to expand. New research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1,000 feet, but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted （抽取）. The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers（地下蓄水层）below this depth and found that reserves may be triple what was previously thought.It is profitable to drill to depths more than 1,000 feet for oil and gas extraction, but only recently in California has it become profitable to pump water from this depth. The aquifers range from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground, which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep in the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is compacted by the weight of the earth above.Even though pumping from these depths is expensive, it is still cheaper than desalinating（脱盐）the ocean water in the largely coastal state. Some desalination plants exist where feasible, but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs. Wells are much more reliable sourcesof freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction, thus increasing the cost. Research from the exhaustive study of groundwater from over 950 drilling logs has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves now go up to 2,700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.could California’s drought crisis be solved according to some researchersA) By building more reserves of groundwater.B) By drawing water from the depths of the earth.C) By developing more advanced drilling devices.D) By upgrading its water distribution system.can be inferred about extracting water from deep aquifersA) It was deemed vital to solving the water problem.B) It was not considered worth the expense.C) It may not provide quality freshwater.D) It is bound to gain support from the local people.48. What is mentioned as a consequence of extracting water from deep undergroundA) The sinking of land surface. C) The damage to aquifers.B) The harm to the ecosystem. D) The change of the climate.49. What does the author say about deep wellsA) They run without any need for repairs.B) They are entirely free from pollutants.C) They are the ultimate solution to droughts.D) They provide a steady supply of freshwater.50. What may happen when deep aquifers are used as water sourcesA) People’s health may improve with cleaner water.B) People’s water bills may be lowered considerably.C) The cost may go up due to desalination.D) They may be exhausted sooner or later.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The AlphaGo program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become.But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically, meaning can they be honest and fairOne example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads, so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve, they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road, even if that will put their passengers at risk What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog What if the only risk is damage to the car itself, not to the passengersPerhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars, but theyare not super-intelligent beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.About the same time as AlphaGo’s triumph, Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’took a bad turn. The software, named Taylor, was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler, Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages.AlphaGo’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warning to us. It is one thing to use AI within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google, which own AlphoGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings.”51. What does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victoryA) Computers will prevail over human beings.B) Computers have unmatched potential.C) Computers are man’s potential rivals.D) Computers can become highly intelligent.52. What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethicallyA) They are capable of predicting possible risks.B) They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision.C) They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas.D) They sacrifice everything to save human lives.53. What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI ageA) How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.B) How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.C) How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.D) How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.54. What do we learn about Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’ TaylorA) She could not distinguish good from bad.B) She could turn herself off when necessary.C) She was not made to handle novel situations.D) She was good at performing routine tasks.55. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligenceA) It will be far superior to human beings.B) It will keep improving as time goes by.C) It will prove to be an asset to human beings.D) It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.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 AnswerSheet 2.由于通信网络的快速发展，中国智能手机用户数量近年来以惊人度增长。
2018年12月英语四级考试真题答案 ( 第1套)
2018年12月四级部分真题参考答案(完整版第一套)Part Ⅰ WritingThe Challenges of Living in a Big City①With the development of economy and urbanization, the number of big cities is constantly increasing in China. ②While big cities are attracting more and more people, they also bring many challenges, such as traffic jam and pollution, just to name a few.③The first problem that really bothers me is the traffic congestion during rush hours. I hate waiting for buses and being late for school or work. ④The next problem is tha t the large population in big cities makes them so crowded that we can hardly find a peaceful place unless staying at home. Supermarkets are always crowded, so are cinemas and parks.⑤Another consequence of the large population is that it intensifies the i nadequacy of high-quality medical and educational resources, thus decreasing residents' sense of happiness.⑥As a result, although I am frequently asked whether I like to live in a big city or not, my answer is always: "no, definitely not." What about you?Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension1. C2. A3. B4. B5. D6. C7. A8. C9. D10. A11. B12. A13. A14. D15. B16. C17. B18. D19. C20. A21. C22. C23. D24. A25. BPart III Reading Comprehension26-35：FBMDG EHKIO36-45：DBGAI FCJRG46-55：BBADC DCBACPart IV TranslationBecause of the rapid development of communication network, the number of smartphone users in China has increased at an astonishing rate in recent years, which has significantly changed the way many people read. Nowadays they often read news and articles on smartphones instead of buying traditional newspapers and periodicals. The development of numerous mobile apps has enabled people to read novels and other forms of literary works on their mobile phones. Therefore, the sales of paper books have been affected. But surveys show that though smartphone reading market has grown steadily, over half of adults still enjoy reading paper books.。
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2018年12月大学英语四级真题及答案第一部分写作2018年12月大学英语四级考试写作真题(第1套)2018年12月英语四级真题写作范文(出国留学的挑战)【作文一参考范文】It is well known that due to the booming economy and increasing family income, studying abroad has become an increasingly popular choice for students. Although studying abroad is often praised by people for its advantages, there are still some disadvantages to be noticed.First of all, to study abroad is expensive. Specifically speaking, those involved have to spend a large amount of money on tuition and living expenses, which is not affordable for everyone. In addition, to study abroad is a great challenge for those students who lack the ability of living independently. If they can not take good care of themselves there, their academic performance will be affected to a large extent. Last but not least, to study abroad may exercise a negative influence on students’ mentality. As we all know, to study abroad equals to stay away from family and friends for a long time, which is likely to produce some psychological problems for those students, such as being solitary and gloomy.From what has been mentioned above, we can easily come to the conclusion that the disadvantages of studying abroad can not be neglected. What’s more, those students who are planning to study abroad should make enough preparations for these problems mentioned above. Only in this way, can they have a fruitful and successful study life abroad.【参考译文】众所周知，随着经济的蓬勃发展和家庭收入的增加，出国留学已经成为越来越受学生欢迎的选择。
虽然出国留学的优点经常被人们称赞，但仍有一些缺点需要注意。
首先，出国留学的费用是昂贵的。
具体来说，这些人不得不花费一大笔钱在学费和生活费上，而这并不是每个人都负担得起的。
此外，对于那些缺乏独立生活能力的学生来说，出国留学是一个巨大的挑战。
如果他们不能照顾好自己，他们的学习成绩将在很大程度上受到影响。
最后但并非最不重要，出国留学可能会对学生的心理产生负面影响。
众所周知，出国留学等于长时间远离家人和朋友，这很可能使留学生产生一些心理问题，如孤僻和沮丧。
综上所述，我们不难得出以下结论：出国留学的缺点是不能忽视的。
更重要的是，那些计划出国留学的学生应该为解决这些问题做好充足的准备。
只有这样，他们才能有一个丰富多彩且成功的留学生活。
2018年12月英语四级真题作文:大城市生活的挑战【作文二参考范文】Recently the phenomenon of living in a big city has been brought into focus. With the population of dwelling in a big city increasing dramatically for its convenient infrastructure and higher wage level, the challenges have also aroused more and more concerns among the society.First of all, the most obvious problem is the issue of traffic. In a big cities, traffic jam is quite common everywhere, especially in the rush time. Consequently, a large number of people have to spend much time in commuting. In the second place, with the growth of cars and buses in big cities, air pollution has become another disadvantage, which may do harm to the health of people. Last but not least, people living in a big city tend to endure more pressure of work and life, which may, directly or indirectly, influence their mental health.So what will be the possible tendency of this situation in the following decades? From myperspective, the number of people living in a big city will keep increasing owing to the truth that people prefer to enjoy the advantage of big city, however,the disadvantages of it should not be ignored.It would be advisable to prepare yourselves well to meet any challenges in the future.【参考范文译文】近年住在大城市的现象已经引起人们的广泛关注，越来越多得人选择住在大城市是因为大城市基础设施健全且工资水平较高，除了好处，住在大城市的挑战也成为人们关注话题。
首先，最明显的问题是交通。
在大城市里，到处交通堵塞是很常见的现象，尤其是高峰期。
很多人不得不花费大量的时间在通勤上。
其次，随着大城市的汽车和公交车数量的增加，空气污染已成为在大城市生活的另一个劣势，这些污染很有可能会危及人们的健康。
最后，生活在大城市的人会有承担更多的生活和工作压力，这对他们的心理健康也很不利。
在接下来几年这种现象会保持什么样的趋势呢?在我看来，住在大城市的人口会因享受大城市的便利而不断增加，然而人们也应该注意到生活在大城市的弊端，想要应对各种挑战最好是自己时刻保持状态良好。
以上就关于四级作文的范文及解析，今年的作文话题依旧是围绕社会热点展开，从难度上看，没有超出同学们熟悉的话题，建议同学们在今后的学习中也要注意对热点话题的关注，并且记忆常用表达结构，轻松输出高分作文。
2018年12月四级真题作文范文(毕业后的创业挑战)【作文三参考范文】The Challenges of Starting a Career after GraduationFacing the rising employment pressure, a host of college graduates choose to start a career instead of looking for a regular job in a company. As we all know that, starting a career is beneficial to realize one’s own dreams and value. However, it is also widely acknowle dged that stating a career will be inevitably confronted with numerous challenges.When it comes to the challenges that we may meet in the process of staring a career, the main ones can be listed as follows. First of all, as freshmen who have just entered into the society, it is obvious that college graduates lack related experience, which will increase the rate of failure they may encounter during starting a career. Being short of entrepreneurial experience is one of difficulties that college graduates need to overcome. In addition, the collection of money is another problem they should solve urgently. Otherwise, there is no possibility of starting a career. Although starting a career after graduation has so many challenges to be solved, college graduates still need take a positive attitude towards it. Moreover, prudent consideration and entrepreneurial spirit are also necessary for graduates to start a career.【四级写作范文译文】面对日益增加的竞争压力，众多大学生选择自己创业，而非选择一家公司过朝九晚六的生活。