2017年12月英语四级真题（卷一）.pdf

2017 年年 12 月大学英语四级考试真题（第月大学英语四级考试真题（第 1 套）套）Part IWriting(30minutes)（请于正式开考后半小时内完成该部分，之后将进行听力考试）（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 a short essay on how to best handle the relationshipbetween parents and children. You should write at least120 words but no more than 180 words.Part IIListening 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 threequestions. Both the news report and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose thebest answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter onAnswer Sheet 1witha single line through the centre.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1.A) Her grandfather.C) Her friend Erika.B)Her grandmother.D) Her little brother.2.A) By taking picturesfor passers-by.C) By working part time at a hospital.B)By selling lemonade and pictures.D) By asking for help on social media.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3.A) Testing the efficiency of the new solar panel.B)Providing clean energy to five million people.C)Generating electric power for passing vehicles.D)Finding cheaper ways of highway construction.4.A) They are only about half an inch thick.B)They are made from cheap materials.C)They can be laidright on top of existing highways.D)They can stand the wear and tear of naturalelements.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5.A) The lack of clues about the species.C) Endless fighting inthe region.B)Inadequate funding for research.D) The hazards from the desert.6.A) Toobserve the wildlife in the two national parks.B)Tostudy the habitat of lions in Sudan and Ethiopia.C)Toidentify the reasons for the lionsdisappearance.D)Tofind evidence of the existence of the “lost lions”.7.A) Lionstracks.C) Some camping facilities.B)Lions walking.D) Traps set by local hunters.Section BDirections：In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear fourquestions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose thebest answer from the four choices marked A), B), C), and D). Then mark the corresponding letter onAnswer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre.Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8.A) A special gift fromthe man.C) A call from her dad.B)Her wedding anniversary.D) Her lucky birthday.9.A) Threw her a surprise party.C) Bought her a gold necklace.- 1 -B)Took her on a trip overseas.D) Gave her a big model plane.10.A) What her husband and the man are up to.B)What has been troubling her husband.C)The trip her husband has planned.D)The gift her husband has bought.11.A) He wants to find out about the couples holiday plan.B)He iseager to learn how the couples holiday turns out.C)He will tell the women the secret ifher husband agrees.D)He will be glad to be a guide for the couples holiday trip.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12.A) They take the rivals attitude into account.B)They know when to adopt a tough attitude.C)They see the importance of making compromises.D)They are sensitive to the dynamics of a negotiation.13.A) They know when to stop.C) They know when to make compromises.B)They know how to adapt.D) They know how to control their emotion.14.A) They are patient.C) They are good atexpression.B)They learn quickly.D) They uphold theirprinciples.15.A) Clarify items of negotiation.C) Getto know the other side.B)Make clear ones intentions.D) Formulate ones strategy.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you willhear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken onlyonce. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the fourchoices marked A), B), C), D). Then mark the corresponding letter onAnswerSheet 1with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16.A) How space research benefits people on Earth.B)When the International Space Station wasbuilt.C)How many space shuttle missions there will be.D)When Americas earliest space programstarted.17.A) They tried to make best use of the latest technology.B)They tried to meet astronauts specific requirements.C)They developed objects for astronauts to use in outer space.D)They accurately calculated the speed of the orbiting shuttles.18.A) They are expensive to make.C) They were first made in space.B)They are extremely accurate.D) They were invented in the 1970s.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19.A) Everything was natural and genuine then.B)People had plenty of land to cultivatethen.C)It marked the beginning of something new.D)It was when her ancestors came to America.20.A) They were known to be creative.C) They had all kinds of entertainment.B)They enjoyed living a living a life of ease. D) They believed in working for goals.21.A) Chatting with her ancestors.C) Furnishing her country house.B)Doing needlework by the fire.D) Polishing all the silver work.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22.A) Sit down and try to calm yourself.C) Usea map to identify your location.- 2 -I)slightJ)specifyK)superiorL)suspiciousM)tipN)treatedO)visualA)associatedB)examineC)indicateD)nuisanceE)peakF)preventingG)prohibitingH)sensitiveB)Call your family or friends for help.D) Try to follow your footprints back.23.A) Youmay end up entering a wonderland.B)Youmay get drowned ina sudden flood.C)Youmay expose yourself to unexpected dangers.D)Youmay find a way out without your knowing it.24.A) Walk uphillC) Start a fire.B)Look for food.D) Waitpatiently.25.A) Check the localweather.C) Prepare enough food anddrink.B)Find a map and a compass.D) Inform somebody of yourplan.Part 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 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 onAnswer Sheet 2with a single line through the centre. Youmay not use any of the words inthe bank more thanonce.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.A rat or pigeon might not be the obvious choice to tend to someone who is sick, but these creatures have some 26 skillsthat could help the treatment of human diseases.Pigeons are often seen as dirty birds and an urban 27 , but they are just the latest in a long line of animals that havebeen found to have abilities to help humans. Despite having a brain no bigger than the 28 of your index finger, pigeons havea very impressive 29 memory. Recently it was shown that they could be trained to be as accurate as humans at detectingbreast cancer in images.Rats are often 30 with spreading disease rather than 31 it, but this long-tailed animal is highly 32 . Inside a rats noseare up to 1,000 different types of olfactory receptors (嗅觉感受器), whereas humans only have 100 to 200 types. This givesrats the ability to detect 33 smells. As a result, some rats are being put to work to detect TB(肺结核). When the rats detectthe smell, they stop and rub their legs to 34 a sample is infected.Traditionally, a hundred samples would take lab technicians more than two days to 35 , but for a rat it takes less than20 minutes. This rat detection method doesnt rely on specialist equipment. It is also more accurate the rats are able tofind more TB infections and, therefore, savemore lives.Section BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement containsinformation given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. Youmay choose aparagraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the correspondingletter onAnswer Sheet 2.Do In-Class Exams Make Students Study Harder?Research suggests they may study more broadly for the unexpected rather than search for answers.- 3 -AI have always been a poor test-taker. So it may seem rather strange that I have returned to college to finish thedegree I left undone some four decades ago. I am making my way through Columbia University, surrounded by studentswho quickly supply the verbal answer while I am still processing the question.BSince there is no way for me to avoid exams, I am currently questioning what kind are the most taxing andultimately beneficial. I have already sweated through numerous in-class midterms and finals, and now I have a professorwho issues take-home ones. I was excited when I learned this, figuring I had a full week to do the research, read the texts,and write it all up. In fact, I was still rewriting my midterm the morning it was due. To say I had lost the thread is putting itmildly.CAs I was suffering through my week of anxiety, overthinking the material and guessing my grasp of it, I did someof my own polling among students and professors. David Eisenbach, who teaches a popular class on U.S. presidents atColumbia, prefers the in-class variety. He believes students ultimately learn more and encourages them to form study groups.“That way they socialize over history outside the class, which wouldnt happen without the pressure of an in-class exam,”he explained, “Furthermore, in-class exams force students to learn how to perform under pressure, and essentialwork skill.”DHe also says there is less chance of cheating with the in-class variety. In 2012, 125 students at Harvard were caughtup in a scandal when it was discovered they had cheated on a take-home exam for a class entitled “Introduction ToCongress.” Some colleges have what they call an “honor code,” though if you are smart enough to get into these schools,you are either smart enough to get around any codes or hopefully, too ethical to consider doing so. As I sat blocked andclueless for two solid days, I momentarily wondered if I couldnt just call an expert on the subject matter which I wastackling, or someone who took the class previously, to get me going.EFollowing the Harvard scandal, Mary Miller, the former dean of students at Yale, made an impassioned appeal toher schools professors to refrain from take-hone exams. “Students risk health and well being, as well as performance inother end-of-term work, when faculty offers take-home exams without clear, time-limited boundaries,” she told me.“Research now shows that regular quizzes, short essays, and other assignments over the course of a term better enhancelearning and retention.”FMost college professors agree the kind of exam they choose largely depends on the subject. A quantitative-basedone, for example, is unlikely to be sent home, where one could ask their older brothers and sisters to help. Vocational-typeclasses, such as computer science or journalism, on the other hand, are often more research-oriented and lend themselves totake-home testing. Chris Koch, who teaches “History of Broadcast Journalism” at Montgomery Community College inRockville, Maryland, points out that reporting is about investigation rather than the memorization of minute details. “In myfield, its not what you knowits what you know how to find out,” says Koch. “There is way too much information, andmore coming all the time, for anyone to remember. I want my students to search out the answers to questions by using allthe resources available to them.GStudents test-form preferences vary, too, often depending on the subject and course difficulty. “I prefer take-homeessays because it is then really about the writing, so you have time to edit and do more research,” says Elizabeth Dresser, ajunior at Barnard. Then there is the stress factor. Francesca Haass, a senior at Middlebury, says, “I find the in-class ones aremore stressful in the short term, but there is immediate relief as you swallow information like mad, and then you get toforget it all. Take-homes require thoughtful engagement which can lead to longer term stress as there is never a momentwhen the time is up.” Meanwhile, Olivia Rubin, a sophomore at Emory, says she hardly even considers take-homes trueexams. “If you understand the material and have the ability to articulate (说出) your thoughts, they should be a breeze.”HHow students ultimately handle stress may depend on their personal test-taking abilities. There are people whoalways wait until the last minute, and make it much harder than it needs to be. And then there those who, not knowing whatquestions are coming at them, and having no resources to refer to, can freeze. And then there are we rare folks who fit boththose descriptions.IYes, my advanced age must factor into the equation (等式), in part because of my inability to access the informationas quickly. As another returning student at Columbia, Kate Marber, told me, “We are learning not only all this information,but essentially how to learn again. Our fellow students have just come out of high school. A lot has changed since we werelast in school.”JIf nothing else, the situation has given my college son and me something to share, When I asked his opinion on thismatter, he responded, “I like in-class exams because the time isalready reserved, as opposed to using my free time at home- 4 -to work on a test,” he responded. It seems to me that a compromise would be receiving the exam questions a day or two inadvance, and then doing the actual test in class the ticking clock overhead.KBetter yet, how about what one Hunter College professor reportedly did recently for her final exam: Sheencouraged the class not to stress or even study, promising that, “It is going to be apiece of cake.” When the students came in,sharpened pencils in hand, there was not a bluebook in sight. Rather, they saw a large chocolate cake and they each weregiven a slice.36.Elderly students find it hard to keep up with the rapid changes ineducation.37.Some believe take-home exams may affect students performance in other courses.38.Certain professors believe in-class exams are ultimately more helpful to students.39.In-class exams are believed to discourage cheating in exams.40.The author was happy to learn she could do some exams at home.41.Students who put off their work until the last moment often find the exams more difficult than they actuallyare.42.Different students may prefer different types of exams.43.Most professors agree whether to give an in-class or a take-home exam depends on type of course being taught.44.The author dropped out of college some forty years ago.45.Some students think take-home exams will eat up their free time.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section.