2016年12月四級真題原文(第2套)

1、2016年12月四級真題(第2套)CollegeEnglishTestBandFourPartnListeningComprehensionSectionADirections:Inthissection,youwillhearthreenewsreports.Attheendofeachnewsreport,youwillheartwoorthreequestions.Boththenewsreportandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmustchoosethebestanswerfromthefourc

2、hoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.NewsReportOneNewYorkStateplanstoshutoffthethunderingwatersofNiagaraFallsgain.Atleast,theAmericansideofthefalls.This"onceinalifetime"eventactuallymaytakeplacetwiceinsomefolks'lives.TheN

3、ewYorkStateparkssystemwantstoturnoffthefallsontheAmericansidesometimeinthenexttwotothreeyearstoreplacetwo115-year-oldstonebridgesthatallowpedestrians,parkvehiclesandutilitiesaccesstoGoatIsland.TheAmericansideofthefallswereshutoffin1969tostudythebuildupofrockatthebaseofthefalls.Whenthathappened,peopl

4、ecamefromallovertheworldtoseethefallsturnedoff.Peoplearecuriousbynature.Theywanttoseewhat'sunderneath.Infact,thosewhofirstcametohavealookdidseesomething.Theyfoundmillionsofcoinsonthebottom.Questions1and2arebasedonthenewsreportyouhavejustheard.1. WhydoesNewYorkStatewanttoturnoffNiagaraFalls?2. Wh

5、atdidpeoplefindwhenNiagaraFallswereshutoffin1969?NewsReportTwoTheTunisiangovernmentsaidMondaythat45peoplehavebeenkilledaftergunmenattackedatownneartheborderwithLibya.TheInteriorandDefenseministriessaidthattheTunisiangovernmenthascloseditstwobordercrossingswithLibyabecauseoftheattack.TheTunisianmilit

6、aryhassentreinforcementsandhelicopterstothearea,andauthoritieshavebeenhuntingseveralattackerswhowerestillatlarge.TheviolencecameamidincreasinginternationalconcernaboutIslamicStateextremistsinLibya.OfficialsoftheTunisiangovernmentareespeciallyworriedafterdozensoftouristswerekilledintheattacksinTunisi

7、alastyear.DefenseMinisterFarhatHorchanisaidlastweekthatGermanandAmericansecurityexpertswereexpectedtocometohelpTunisiadeviseanewelectronicvideosupervisionsystemonitsborderwithLibya.Tunisiawastargetedlastyearbythreeattacksthatleft70peopledeadandwereclaimedbyIslamicState.Questions3and4arebasedonthenew

8、sreportyouhavejustheard.3. WhatdidtheTunisiangovernmentdoafterthegunmen'sattack?4. WhatwereGermanandAmericansecurityexpertsexpectedtodoinTunisia?NewsReportThreeThreeuniversitystudentsinSantiago,Chile,havedevelopedaplant-powereddevicetochargetheirmobilephones.Thethreeengineeringstudentsgottheidea

9、forthedevicewhilesittingintheirschool'scourtyard.TheirinventionisasmallbiologicalcircuittheycallE-Kaia.05:02.76Itcapturestheenergywhichplantsproduceduringphotosynthesisaprocessofconvertingsunlightintoenergy.Aplantusesonlyasmallpartoftheenergyproducedbythatprocess.Therestgoesintothesoil.E-Kaiacol

10、lectsthatenergy.Thedeviceplugsintothegroundandthenintoamobilephone.TheE-Kaiasolvedtwoproblemsfortheengineeringstudents.Theyneededanideaforaclassproject.Theyalsoneededanoutlettoplugintheirphones.Oneofthestudentinventors,CamilaRupcich,saysthedevicechangestheenergyreleasedfromtheplantintolow-levelpower

11、tochargephones.TheE-Kaiaisabletofullyrechargeamobilephoneinlessthantwohours.Questions5to7arebasedonthenewsreportyouhavejustheard.5. Whatdidthethreeuniversitystudentsinvent?6. Whendidtheygettheideafortheinvention?7. Whatdoesthespeakersayabouttheinvention?SectionBDirections:Inthissection,youwillheartw

12、olongconversations.Attheendofeachconversation,youwillhearfourquestions.Boththeconversationandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmustchoosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Conversation

13、OneM:Goodmorning.WhatcanIdoforyou?W:Goodmorning.CouldItalktoJeffryHardingplease?M:Speaking.W:Hello,Jeff.It'sHelen.Igotyourmessageontheansweringmachine.What'stheproblem?M:Oh,Helen.Well,it'stheGrimsbyplantagain,I'mafraid.TherobotsonLine3havegonewrong.Andthelineisatastandstill.W:Can'

14、;tyoureplacethemwiththestand-ins?M:I'mafraidnot.Thestand-insarealreadyinuseonLine6.AndtheonesfromLine6arebeingserviced.W:Whendidthishappen,Jeff?M:Well,they'vebeenmakingalowcontinuoussoundforadayortwo.Buttheyfinallywentdeadat2:30thisafternoon.W:Isee.Whatdidyoudo?Haveyoutriedthewholeplant?M:No

15、tyet,Helen.IthoughtI'dbettergetyourOKfirst.W:OK.GetonthephonetoTom,andtrytogettheirstand-insovertonight.Wehavetobebackatfullcapacitytomorrowmorning.Isitamajorjobtorepairourrobots?M:Aboutaweek.That'swhatthemaintenanceengineersays.W:Right.Well,ifyoucangettheonesfromTom,pleaseaskTomtoinformShef

16、fieldthathemayneedtheirstand-insincaseofemergencyduringthenextweek.M:OK.Thankyouverymuch,Helen.W:Youaremostwelcome.M:Sorrytospoilyourdayoff.W:Itdoesn'tmatter.Questions8to11arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.8. Whatdidthemandobeforethetelephoneconversation?9. Whatdoesthemansayaboutline3int

17、heGrimsbyplant?10. Whatistheman'spurposeincallingthewoman?11. Whereisthewomanatthetimeoftheconversation?ConversationTwoW:ThisisKerryBurkefromNewYorkDailyNews.I'mspeakingtoDelraySimmonds,anunemployedBrooklynmanwhomissedajobinterviewTuesdayforthebestofreasons:Hewassavingthelifeofa9-month-oldbo

18、ywhowasblownintothepathofanoncomingsubwaytrainbyahighwind.M:Everybodyismakingmeouttobesomesortofsuperhero.I'mjustanordinaryperson,andafatheroftwo.AnybodyinthatsituationwouldhavedonewhatIdid.W:Youweregoingtoaninterviewwhentheincidentoccurred,right?M:Yes,Iwasonmywaytoapplyforamaintenanceposition.I

19、'vebeenlookingforajobforayearandmore.I'mlookingforsomethingtosupportmyfamily.W:Telluswhathappenedatthestation.M:Therewasastrongwind.Ithadtobe30to40milesanhour.Therewasawomanwithfourkids.Onewasinapushchair.Thewindblewthebabyontothetracks.W:Witnessessaidpeoplewerelookingoninhorrorasthechild

20、9;smother,identifiedbysourcesasMariaZamara,stoodfrozeninshock.Inthedistance,peoplecouldseethetrainroundingabend,headedintothestation.Iguessyouwerenotawareofanyofthese,right?M:No.Ijustjumpeddownandgrabbedthebaby.ThetrainwascomingaroundthecornerasIliftedthebabyfromthetracks.Ireallywasn'tthinking.W

21、:Whatanamazingstory.Thankyouverymuch.Questions12to15arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.12. WhatdidKerryBurkefromNewYorkDailyNewssayabouttheman?13. Whatdowelearnaboutthemanfromtheconversation?14. Whatcausedtheincident?15. Howdidthemotherreactwhentheincidentoccurred?SectionCDirections:Inthissec

22、tion,youwillhearthreepassages.Attheendofeachpassage,youwillhearthreeorfourquestions.Boththepassageandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmustchoosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Pass

23、ageOneThere'sonesoundthatgetsabigreactionfromkidsonahotday,thesoundofanice-creamtruck.MariaMcCartneyhasbeeninthemobileice-creambusinesssince2005."WhenIwasalittlegirl,Isawanice-creamtruckandknewIwantedtohaveonesomeday,"McCartneysaid.，Duringthehotdaysofsummer,Mariaandherdaughterdriveanic

24、e-creamtruckthroughneighborhoodsandparksinBillings.It'snotaboutmakingmoneyforthisformerelementaryschoolteacher.Rather,hewantstopreservethetraditionoftheneighborhoodice-creamtruck."Trulymyfavoritepartistoseethekidsjumpingupanddownandtheyjustgetsoexcited.It'sgreattobuildamemoryforthemtoo.

25、Therearenotalotoftheseice-creamtrucksaroundanymore.Theparentscomeoutbarefootandscreaming,readytobuyice-cream;theyrememberwhentheywerekidsandtheysawatruck,"shesaid.Whilethetreatsmaybeicecold,Mariahasawarmheartforlittlefaces.Hertruckfeaturesadonationbucketforkidswhodon'thavemoneyforice-cream.

26、"Whentherearethreekidsandonlytwoofthemhavemoney,IalwaysmakesurethethirdonegetssomethingbecauseIcan'tdriveawayandhavethatthirdonenothavesomething,"shesaid.Questions16to18arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.16. WhatdoesthespeakersayaboutMariaMcCartney?17. WhydoesMariagointothemobileice-

27、creambusiness?18. WhydoesMariaputadonationbucketinhertruck?PassageTwoWeknowwehavetopayforwhatweget.Ifwebuyfood,wehavetopayforit.Ifadoctortreatsus,weknowtherewillbeabilltopay.Theseareprivatebills.Buttherearealsopublicbillstobepaid.Theyarepaidbythegovernment.Inturnwegettheneededservices.Wepayfortheses

28、ervicesthroughtaxes.Whatwouldhappenifeveryonestoppedpayingtaxes?Thewatersupplywouldstop;thestreetsmightnotbecleaned;schoolswouldbeclosed.Wewouldnotwanttoliveinsuchacity.Thechiefdutyofeverygovernmentistoprotectpersonsandproperty.Morethanthree-fourthsofgovernmentexpensesareusedforthispurpose.Thenextla

29、rgestamountofpublicmoneygoestoteachandtrainourcitizens.Billionsofdollarseachyeararespentonschoolsandlibraries.Also,alargeamountofpublicfundsisspentonroads.Mostoftheneededfundsisraisedbytaxes.Thelawordersustopaytaxes.Wehavenochoiceinthematter.Yearsagothegovernmentmademoneybysellingpubliclands.Butmost

30、ofthebestpubliclandshavenowbeensold.Therearestillsomepubliclandsthatcontainoil,coalandothernaturalresources.Theycouldbesold,butwewanttosavethemforfutureyears.So,weallmustpayoursharefortheservicesthatmakeourlivescomfortable.Questions19to21arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.19. Whatdoesthespeakermai

31、nlytalkabout?20. Whatismostofthegovernmentmoneyusedfor?21. Howdidthegovernmentraisemoneytopaypublicbillsinthepast?PassageThreeDidyouknowthat,besideslargerplaceslikeFranceandGermany,Europeishometoseveralextremelytinycountries?Oneofthesecountriescontainslessthanasquaremileofland.AnotherissurroundedonallsidesbyItaly.Yeteachisanindependentland,withitsowngovernment,trade,andcustoms.OneofthebestknownofthesesmallcountriesisMonaco.ItissituatedontheMediterraneanSeaandsurroundedbyFranceonthreesides.MonacobecamefamiliartoAmericanswhenitsruler,PrinceRainier,marriedtheAmericanactressGraceKell