2014年12月四级真题原文(第1套)

2014 年12 月四级真题(第 1 套)
College English Test Band Four Part Two Listening Comprehension
Section A Directions: 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 will be based on the following news item.
A report on online consumption trends released by Amazon revealed that women, senior citizens and youngsters have become a major driving force for mobile purchases. The report was based on data analysis of buying behavior of more than 300 million users between 2011 and 2015. According to the report, more than 70 percent of buyers of baby products, cosmetics and garments, and 60 percent of buyers of food, home furnishings, shoes and bags are women. Women, mainly aged 23 to 35, also account for 70 percent of online buyers of imported commodities. Commodities believed to be popular among young people have attracted more elderly people. Statistics showed that perfume consumption among users aged 50 to 70 has been growing. They spent around 11 million dollars on perfume last year alone. According to the report, youngsters make a major contribution to mobile purchases. Users who were born after 1990 made around 70 percent of purchases on their mobile applications.
1. What can we conclude from the statistics?
2. How much money did the elderly spend on perfume last year?
Questions 3 and 4 will be based on the following news item.
Electric car sales in China are expected to reach 220 000 to 250 000 this year, surpassing the US to rank first worldwide, China Association of Automobile Manufactures (CAAM) forecast. Worldwide electric car sales will hit 600 000 and the figure for the US market is estimated to be 180 000, said Xu Yanhua, deputy secretary-general of CAAM. Although China has achieved rapid development in electric vehicles, quality instead of quantity should be focused on for the sustainable development of the industry, Xu told an industry conference. In particular, vehicle safety and the quality of batteries should be carefully examined and supervised, she added. China's new energy vehicle sector has seen explosive growth in the past two years, thanks to the government's support policies in cludi ng subsidies and tax cuts. In the first ten mon ths, the sales of electric cars surged 290 perce nt year on year to 171 145, CAAM data showed.
3. How many sales of electric cars are there in the US?
4. What should be focused on for the susta in able developme nt of electric vehicles?
Questio ns 5 to 7 will be based on the follow ing n ews item.
As the traffic in Nairobi worse ns, primary school pupils who depe nd on public tran sportati on seem to be sufferi ng the most as they try to keep up with the dema nds of school. Some private and public primary school pupils wake up as early as 4:00 am to beat the traffic and be in class on time. In the evening, they may arrive home as late as 6:30 to 7:30 pm. The current floods in the city have not made life easier for the pupils. Last week, 11 pupils from Makini Schools waited for 10 hours to be rescued whe n their school bus was n early covered in water duri ng a traffic jam.
The students were rescued and taken to Boma Hotel. It was almost dawn when their parents came to pick them up. A few years ago, the IBM Commuter Pain Index Report listed Nairobi among cities with the world ' s Ion gest traffic jams. The report con cluded that traffic jams in crease
the level of stress and an ger. This can create n egative attitudes for commuters and affect their performa nee at work or school. The Ion g-term effect is that traffic problems can create a n egative attitude in the pupils towards school.
5. What is the main idea of the news report?
6. What happe ned to the 11 pupils from Maki ni Schools last week?
7. What can we learn about traffic jams from the IBM ' s report?
Secti on B Directions: In this sect ion, you will hear two long con versati ons. 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 sin gle line through the cen tre.
Con versatio n One
M: Do you think there ' s discrim in ati on aga inst wome n in En gla nd today?
W: Certainly, and not just in education and work either, in many other fields as well. The tax situati on for wome n is very un fair, for example.
M: Are women better off in other countries then?
W: It depe nds on the coun try. There ' certa inly much less discrim in ati on in Scandin avia, and maybe in America, too. M: Do you think the positi on of En glish wome n will improve?
W: In some ways it will of course. I ' m sure more women will go out to work in the next 20 years.
But wome n have a much greater problem tha n this to solve.
M: What ' that?
W: The problem of men ' s attitudes. We can earn more money in the future, but I ' m not sure can change men ' s attitudes. You see, most men really think that women are inferior. Maybe we are physically weaker, but I don ' t think this means we are inferior. Then there ' s another M: Yes?
W: The problem of women ' s attitudes. Lots of women are unhappy with their present situation,
but most of them probably don ' t want to fight for change. It could be that the women ' s lil
movement has to spend more time changing women ' s attittihOnsit spends in changing men ' s.
M: One last question, some supporters of the women' sliberation movement believed that marriages should be abolished. You agree?
W: No, I don' tl.t can ' htappen. What may and should happen is that we teach men to spend
more time look ing after childre n and doing housework.
Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
8. Where are wome n said to be less discrim in ated aga in st?
9. What will happe n in En gla nd in 20 years accord ing to the con versati on?
10. What does the woman think the women ' s liberation movement should do?
11. What does the woma n suggest at the end of the con versatio n?
Con versatio n Two
M: Cheers, Shirley.
W: Cheers, Paul. What a lovely place for a bus in ess lun ch. I hope I can concen trate in this heat.
M: I ' m sure you will when I tell you about my ideas.
W: You kno w, I must say I was pleased to hear from you, but from what you saido n the phone, everyth ing is so sudde n. M: Well, my father-in-law, who is also the Managing Director of Jayal Motors, has given me two weeks to prepare a report on the possibility of moving into the export market.
W: Ah, no w, just one thing Paul. Have you really thought the whole idea through?
M: Of course I have.
W: Now the key thi ng in the whole operati on is to get a good import age nt, and you say the bank
will help?
M: I ' m almost sure of it.
W: Preliminary studies are all very good, Paul. But if the product can then there ' slitttesesp
in expa nding the factory.
M: Yes, I realize that, Shirley. But we have a very good product. The chief designer has just completed a new improved
model.
W: I know your bikes have a very good reputati on here, but you have to build up a reputati on and
a market i n Africa.
M: Yes, of course. But the immediate problem is that my father- in-law wants a detailed report by
n ext Mon day. Two weeks isn ' t eno ugh time to prepare a report, so I n eed your help.
W: OK, Paul, you ' ve convinced me. I must say I admire your determ in ati on.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
12. Where does the con versatio n most probably take place?
13. What do we lear n about the man -i n- fcafeafher
14. What does the woman think is important in the whole operation?
15. What does the woman admire in the man?
Secti on C Directions: In this sect ion, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).
Then mark the corresp onding letter on An swer Sheet 1 with a sin gle line through the cen tre.
Passage One
Scien tists un dersta nd how twins are born. Now though, they are trying to expla in how being half
of a biological pair in flue nces a twin ' s ide ntity. They want to know why many ide ntical twi ns make similar choices even when they don' ltve near each other. For example, Jim Springer and Jim Louis are ide ntical twins. They were separated whe n they were only 4 mon ths old. The two Jims grew up in differe nt families and did not meet for
39 years. Whe n they fin ally met, they discovered some surpris ing similarities betwee n them. Both men were married twice. Their first wives were n amed Lin da, and their sec ond wives were both n amed Betty. Both twins n amed their first sons James Alle n. Scie ntists want to know what in flue nces our pers on ality. They study pairs of ide ntical twins who grew up in differe nt surro undin gs, like Jim Sprin ger and Jim Louis. These twins help scie ntists un dersta nd the connection betwee n environment and biology. Researchers at the University of Minnesota studied 350 sets of identical twins who did not grow up together.
They discovered many similarities in their personalities. Scientists believe that personality characteristics such as friendliness, shyness and fears are not a result of environment. These characteristics are probably inherited. Scientists continue to study identical twins because they are uncertain about them and have many questions. For example, they want to know “ Can twins really com muni cate without speak ing? “ Can”ne twin really feel ano ther twin ' s pain?
Perhaps with more research, scientists will find the answers.
Questi ons 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. What are scie ntists trying to expla in accord ing to the passage?
17. What do we lear n about the twin Jims?
18. Why are scientists interested in studying identical twins raised in different families?
Passage Two
Today I ' m goingak about tents. Camping is still one of the cheapest ways of having a holiday.
And each year, over three million people take camping vacations, either here in Britain or abroad, mostly on the Continent. Obviously, camping can ' be as comfortable as living in a permanent house, but moder n tents can be very comfortable in deed, with win dows, bedrooms, kitche ns and sitting rooms. The most popular tent sold in Britain is the frame tent with two bedrooms and sleep ing accommodatio n for four people. There is usually an outer tent of water-proofed fabric
and a lighter inner tent or tents with a built-i n gro un dsheet. The outer tent fits over the frame work. This is made of metal poles which are fitted together. The inner tent is attached to this frame. Gen erally, the inner tent is about half the area of the outer te nt. The other half of the outer tent is the living area. This doesn ' t usually have a groundsheet but you can buy one to fit,
though it costs extra. The ordinary four- bed frame tent doesn ' t usually havjp a rate kitchen area, but the larger ones ofte n do. You can buy a kitche n exte nsion for many ten ts, and it buying one if you plan to stay camping in one place for more than a few days.
Questi ons 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
19. What does the speaker say about camp ing?
20. What does the passage tell us about the most popular tent sold in Brita in?
21. What does the speaker suggest buying if you pla n to stay camp ing in one place for more tha n a few days? Passage Three
An dorra, one of the smallest coun tries in the world, is located high in the mountains betwee n
France and Spain. The country covers only 179 square miles. That is less than half the size of New York City. High, Rocky Mou ntai ns surrou nd An dorra. Un til the 1930s, travelers had difficulty reaching the country. Up until that time, people in Andorra lived the way they had lived for cen turies. Most An dorra ns worked as farmers. Things did not cha nge quickly. When roads were built from France and Spain to An dorra in the 1930s, life picked up speed. Tourists bega n to visit the small coun try. These tourists brought i n a lot of money to spe nd while visit ing. Many people in Andorra found new jobs in shops or hotels. These changes helped to keep young people in An dorra. There were many more jobs tha n before the roads were built. Today tourists provide 80 to 90 perce nt of An dorra ' s in come. More tha n a millio n people visit each year. They come to view
the rough mountains. They enjoy the quiet way of life. Most people are also interested in the an cie nt buildi ngs. There are many shops for tourists to browse in. Clothes, watches, wines and other items are sold at low prices in Andorra. Import fees are low, so tourists enjoy the in expe nsive shopp ing. Most of the bus in esses in An dorra are owned by its citize ns. There are not many foreig n bus in esses. Some An dorra ns still farm and raise sheep and cattle. But most are now in volved with the tourist trade.
Questi ons 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22. How big does the speaker say An dorra is?
23. What can be said about Andorra before the 1930s?
24. What event cha nged the situati on in An dorra?
25. What do most people in An dorra do no wadays?
This is the end of liste ning comprehe nsion.。