2014年12月英语四级真题第2套.docx

2014年12月英语四级真题第2套听力：1. A. The man is not good at balancing his budget. B. She will go purchase the gift herself. C. The gift should not be too expensive. D. They are gonging to Jane's house-warming party. 2A.He is quite willing to give the woman a hand. B.It takes patience to go through the statistics. C.He has prepared the statistics for the woman. D.The woman should take a course in statistics. 3A.Page 55 is missing from the woman's scripts. B.They cannot begin their recording right away. C.The woman does not take the recording seriously. D.The man wants to make some changes in the scripts.44 A.The date of Carl's wedding. B.The birthday of Carl's bride. C.A significant event in July. D.Preparation for a wedding. 5 A.The woman forgot to tell the man in advance. B.The man was absent from the weekly meeting. C.The woman was annoyed at the man's excuse. D.The man was in charge of scheduling meetings. 6 A.The woman is a marvelous cook. B.The woman has just bought an oven. C.The man has to leave in half an hour. D.The man cannot want for his meal. 7 A.How she can best help the man. B.Where the man got the bad news. C.What items sell well in the store. D.Whether the man can keep his job. 8 A.The woman can sign up for a swimming class. B.He works in the physical education department. C.The woman has the potential to swim like a fish. D.He would like to teach the woman how to swim. Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 9 A.He teaches in a law school. B.He loves classical music. C.He is a diplomat. D.He is a wonderful lecturer. 10A.Went to see a play. B.Watched a soccer game. C.Took some photos. D.Attended a dance.11A.She decided to get married in three years. B.Her mother objected to Erics flying lessons. C.She insisted that Eric pursue graduate studies. D.Her father said she could marry Eric right away. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 12A.Editor. B.Teacher. C.Journalist D.Typist. 13A.The beautiful Amazon rainforests. B.A new railway under construction. C.Big changes in the Amazon valley. D.Some newly discovered scenic spot. 14A.In news weeklies. B.In newspapers' Sunday editions. C.In a local evening paper. D.In overseas editions of U.S. magazines. 15A.To be employed by a newspaper. B.To become a professional writer. C.To sell her articles to a news service. D.To get her life story published soon. 16A.Nodding one's head. B.Waving one's hand. C.Holding up the forefinger. D.Turning the right thumb down. 17A.Looking away from them. B.Forming a circle with fingers. C.Bowing one's head them. D.Waving or pointing to them. 18A.Looking one's superior in the eye. B.Keeping one's arms folded while talking. C.Showing the sole of one's foot to a guest. D.Using a lot of gestures during a conversation. 19A.They had to beg for foot after the harvest. B.They grew wheat and corn on a small farm. C.They shared a small flat with their relatives. D.The children walked to school on dirt roads. 20A.Tour Ecuador's Andes Mountains. B.Earn an annual income of $2800. C.Purchase a plot to build a home on. D.Send their children to school. 21A.The achievements of the Trickle Up Program. B.A new worldwide economic revolution. C.Different forms of assistance to the needy. D.The life of poor people in developing countries. 22A.They are highly sensitive to cold. B.They are vitally important to our life. C.They are a living part of our body. D.They are a chief source of our pain. 23A.It has to be removed in time by a dentist. B.It is a rare oral disease among old people. C.It contains many nerves and blood vessels. D.It is sticky and colorless film on the teeth. 24A.It can change into acids causing damage to their outer covering. B.It greatly reduces their resistance to the attacks of bacteria. C.It makes their nerves and blood vessels more sensitive to acid food. D.It combines with food particles to form a film on their surface. 25A.Food particles. B.Gum disease. C.Unhealthy living habits. D.Chemical crosion. Section CStunt people(替身演员) are not movie stars, but they are the hidden heroes of many movies. They were around long before films. Even Shakespeare may have used them in fight scenes. To be good, a fight scene has to look real. Punches must (26)_ enemies' jaws. Sword fights must be fought with(27)_ swords. Several actors are usually in a fight scene. Their moves must be set up so that no one gets hurt. It is almost like planning a dance performance. If a movie scene is dangerous, stun people usually(28)_the stars. You may think you see Tom Cruise running along the top of a train. But it is(29)_ his stunt double. Stunt people must(30)_ the stars they stand in for. Their height and build should be about the same. But when close-ups are needed, the film(31)_ the star. Some stunt people(32)_ in certain kinds of scenes. For instance, a stunt woman named Jan Davis does all kinds of jumps. She has leapt from planes and even off the top of a waterfall. Each jump required careful planning and expert(33)_. Yakima Canutt was a famous cowboy stunt man. Among other stunts, he could jump from a second story window onto a horse's back. He(34)_ the famous trick of sliding under a moving stagecoach. Canutt also(35)_ a new way to make a punch look real. He was the only stunt man ever to get anOscar.选词填空：As an Alaskan fisherman, Timothy June, 54, used to think that he was safe from industrial pollutants (污染物) at his home in Haines a town with a population of 2,400 people and 4,000 eagles, with 8 million acres of protected wild land nearby. But in early 2007, June agreed to take part in a _36_ of 35 Americans from seven states. It was a biomonitoring project, in which people's blood and urine (尿) were tested for _37_ of chemicals in this case, three potentially dangerous classes of compounds found in common household _38_ like face cream, tin cans, and shower curtains. The results _39_ in November in a report called "Is It in Us?" by an environmental group were rather worrying. Every one of the participants, _40_ from an Illinois state senator to a Massachusetts minister, tested positive for all three classes of pollutants. And while the _41_ presence of these chemicals does not _42_ indicate a health risk, the fact that typical Americans carry these chemicals at all _43_ June and his fellow participants.Clearly, there are chemicals in our bodies that don't _44_ there. A large, ongoing study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found 148 chemicals in Americans of all ages. And in 2005, the Environmental Working Group found an _45_ of 200 chemicals in the blood of 10 new-borns. "Our babies are being born pre-polluted," says Sharyle Patton of Commonweal, which cosponsored "Is It in Us?" "This is going to be the next big environmental issue after climate change."A) analyses B) average C) belong D) demonstrated E) excess F) extending G) habitually H) necessarily I) products J) ranging K) released L) shocked M) simple N) survey O) traces长阅读： In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn't Better. It's BrutalA Young graduates are in debt, out of work and on their parents' couches. People in their 30s and 40s can't afford to buy homes or have children. Retirees are earning near-zero interest on their savings. B In the current listless (缺乏活力的) economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured. But the Labor Department's latest jobs reports and other recent data present a strong case for crowning baby boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的人) A) as the greatest victims of the recession and its dreadful consequences.C These Americans in their 50s and early 60s those near retirement age who do not yet have access to Medicare and Social Security have lost the most earnings power of any age group, with their household incomes 10 percent below what they made when the recovery began three years ago, according to Sentier Research, a data analysis company. Their retirement savings and home values fell sharply at the worst possible time: just before they needed to cash out. They are supporting both aged parents and unemployed young-adult children, earning them the unlucky nickname "Generation Squeeze."D New research suggests that they may die sooner, because their health, income security and mental well-being were battered (重创) by recession at a crucial time in their lives. A recent study by economists at Wellesley College found that people who lost their jobs in the few years before becoming qualified for Social Security lost up to three years from their life expectancy (预期寿命), largely because they no longer had access to affordable health care.E Unemployment rates for Americans nearing retirement are far lower than those for young people, who are recently out of school, with fewer skills and a shorter work history. But once out of a job, older workers have a much harder time finding another one. Over the last year, the average duration of unemployment for older people was 53 weeks, compared with 19 weeks for teenagers, according to the Labor Department's jobs report released on Friday.F The lengthy process is partly because older workers are more likely to have been laid off from industries that are downsizing, like manufacturing. Compared with the rest of the population, older people are also more likely to own their own homes and be less mobile than renters, who can move to new job markets.G Older workers are more likely to have a disability of some sort, perhaps limiting the range of jobs that offer realistic choices. They may also be less inclined, at least initially, to take jobs that pay far less than their old positions.H Displaced boomers also believe they are victims of age discrimination, because employers can easily find a young, energetic worker who will accept lower pay and who can potentially stick around for decades rather than a few years.I In a survey by the center of older workers who were laid off during the recession, just one in six had found another job, and half of that group had accepted pay cuts. 14% of the re-employed said the pay in their new job was less than half what they earned in their previous job. "I just say to myself: 'Why me? What have 1 done to deserve this?'" said John Agati, 56, whose last full-time job, as a product developer, ended four years ago when his employer went out of business. That position paid $90,000, and his resume lists jobs at companies like American Express, Disney and USA Networks. Since being laid off, though, he has worked a series of part-time, low-wage, temporary positions, including selling shoes at Lord & Taylor and making sales calls for a car company.J The last few years have taken a toll not only on his family's finances, but also on his feelings of self-worth. "You just get sad," Mr. Agati said. "I see people getting up in the morning, going out to their careers and going home. I just wish I was doing that. Some people don't like their jobs, or they have problems with their jobs, but at least they're working. I just wish I was in their shoes." He said he cannot afford to go back to school, as many younger people without jobs have done. Even if he could afford it, economists say it is unclear whether older workers like him benefit much from more education.K "It just doesn't make sense to offer retraining for people 55 and older," said Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor. "Discrimination by age, long-term unemployment, and the fact that they're now at the end of the hiring queue just don't make it sensible to invest in them."L Many displaced older workers are taking this message to heart and leaving the labor force entirely. The share of older people applying for Social Security early rose quickly during the recession as people sought whatever income they could find. The penalty they will pay is permanent, as retirees who take benefits at age 62 will receive as much as 30% less in each month's check for the rest of their lives than they would if they had waited until full retirement age (66 for those born after 1942).M Those not yet eligible for Social Security are increasingly applying for another, comparable kind of income support that often goes to people who expect never to work again: disability benefits. More than one in eight people in their late 50s is now on some form of federal disability insurance program, according to Mark Duggan, chairman of the department of business economics and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.N The very oldest Americans, of course, were battered by some of the same ill winds that tormented those now nearing retirement, but at least the most senior were cushioned by a more readily available social safety net. More important, in a statistical twist, they may have actually benefited from the financial crisis in the most fundamental way: prolonged lives.O Death rates for people over 65 have historically fallen during recessions, according to a November 2011 study by economists at the University of California, Davis. Why? The researchers argue that weak job markets push more workers into accepting relatively undesirable work at nursing homes, leading to better care for residents.46. Greater mobility puts younger people at an advantage in seeking new jobs.47. Many of the older workers laid off during the recession had to accept lower pay in their new jobs.48. Those who has their jobs shortly before retirement age live a shorter-than-average life.49. Seniors at nursing homes could benefit from the weak job market.50. Age discrimination in employment makes it pointless retraining older workers.51. According to recent reports and data analyses, boomers suffer most from the weak economy.52. Unemployed boomers are at a disadvantage in job-hunting because employers tend to hire younger workers.53. People in their fifties and early sixties bear the heaviest family burdens.54. People who take benefits from Social Security before official retirement age will get much less for the rest of their lives