2006年6月24日新四级试题

part I Writing (30 minutes)

注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上。

• 1.有些大学允许学生自由选择某些课程的任课教师
• 2.学生选择教师时所考虑的主要因素
• 3.学生自选任课教师的益处和可能产生的问题
• On Students Selecting Lecturers

Part II Reading comprehension (Skimming and Scanning ) (15 minutes)

Highway

Early in the 20th century, most of the streets and roads in the U.S. were made of dirt, brick, and cedar wood blocks. Built for horse, carriage, and foot traffic, they were usually poorly cared for and too narrow to accommodate(容纳) automobiles.

With the increase in auto production, private turnpike(收费公路) companies under local authorities began to spring up, and by 1921 there were 387,000 miles of paved roads. Many were built using specifications of 19th century Scottish engineers Thomas Telford and John MacAdam (for whom the macadam surface is named), whose specifications stressed the importance of adequate drainage. Beyond that, there were no national standards for size, weight restrictions , or commercial signs. During World War I, roads throughout the country were nearly destroyed by the weight of trucks. When General Eisenhower returned from Germany in 1919m after serving in the U.S. Army’s first transcontinental motor convoy (车队), he noted: “The old convoy had started me thinking about good, two-lane highways, but Germany’s Autobahn or motorway had made me see the wisdom of broader ribbons across the land.”

It would take another war before the federal government would act on a national highway system. During World War II, a tremendous increase in trucks and new roads were required. The war demonstrated how critical highways were to the defense effort. Thirteen percent of defense plants received all their supplies by truck, and almost all other plants shipped more than half of their products by vehicle. The war also revealed that local control of highways had led to a confusing variety of design standards. Even federal and state highways did not follow basic standards. Some states allowed trucks up to 36,000 pounds, while others restricted anything over 7,000 pounds. A government study recommended a national highway system of 33,920 miles, and Congress soon passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, which called for strict, centrally controlled design criteria. The interstate highway system was finally launched in 1956 and has been hailed as one of the greatest engineering public works projects of the century. To build its 44,000-mile web of highways, bridges, and tunnels, hundreds of unique engineering designs and solutions had to be worked out. Consider the many geographic features of the country: mountains, steep grades, wetland, rivers, deserts and plains. Variables included the slope of the land, the ability of the pavement to support the load, the intensity of road use, and the nature of the underlying soil. Urban areas were another problem. Innovative designs of roadways, tunnels, bridges, overpasses, and interchanges that could run through or bypass urban areas soon began to weave their way across the country, forever altering the face of American.

Long-span, segmented-concrete, cable-stayed bridges such as Hale Boggs in Louisiana and the Sunshine Skyway in Florida, and remarkable tunnels like Fort McHenry in Maryland and Mr. Baker in Washington, met many of the nation’s physical challenges. Traffic control systems and methods of construction developed under the interstate program soon influenced highway construction around the world, and were invaluable in improving the condition of urban streets and traffic patterns.

Today the interstate system links every major city in the U.S., and the U.S. with Canada and Mexico. Built with safety in mind, the highways have wide lanes and shoulders, dividing medians or barriers, long entry and exit lanes, curves engineered for safe turns, and limited access. The death rate on highways is half that of all other U.S. roads (0.86 deaths per 100 million passenger miles compared to 1.99 deaths per 100 million on all other roads).

By opening the North American continent, highways have enabled consumer goods and services to reach people in remote and rural areas of the country, spurred the growth of suburbs, and provided people with greater options in terms of jobs, access to cultural programs, health care, and other benefits. Above all, the interstate system provides individuals with what they cherish most: personal freedom of mobility.

The interstate system has been an essential element of the nation's economic growth in terms of shipping and job creation: more than 75 percent of the nation's freight deliveries arrive by truck; and most products that arrive by rail or air use interstates for the last leg of the journey by vehicle.

Not only has the highway system affected the American economy by providing shipping routes, it has led to the growth of spin-off industries like service stations, motels, restaurants, and shopping centers. It has allowed the relocation of manufacturing plants and other industries from urban areas to rural.

By the end of the century there was an immense network of paved roads, residential streets, expressways, and freeways built to support millions of vehicles, The highway system was officially renamed for Eisenhower to honor his vision and leadership. The year construction began he said: "Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear -United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts."

• 1. National standards for paved roads were in place by 1921.
• 2. General Eisenhower felt that broad German motorways made more sense than the two-lane highways of America.
• 3. It was in the 1950s that the American government finally took action to build a national highway system.
• 4. Many of the problems presented by the country’s geographical features found solutions in innovative engineering projects.
• 5. In spite of safety considerations, the death rate o interstate highways is still higher than that of other American roads.
• 6. The interstate highways system provides access between major military installations in America.
• 7. Service stations, motels and restaurants promoted the development of the interstate highway system.
• 8.The greatest benefit brought about by the interstate system was___________.
• 9.Trucks using the interstate highways deliver more than__________________.
• 10.The interstate system was renamed after Eisenhower in recognition_____________.

Part III Listening Comprehension

Section A

注意：此部分答题在答题卡2上作答。

• 11.A)The girls got on well with each other. B)It's understandable that girls don't get along.

C)She was angry with the other young stars. D)The girls lacked the courage to fight.

• 12.A)The woman does her own housework. B)The woman needs a housekeeper.

C)The woman's house is in a mess. D)The woman works as a housekeeper.

• 13.A)The Edwards are quite well off.

B)The Edwards should cut down on their living expenses. C)It'll be unwise for the Edwards to buy another house. D)It's too expensive for the Edwards to live in their present house.

• 14.A)The woman didn't expect it to be so warm at noon.

B)The woman is sensitive to weather changes. C)The woman’s forecast was unreliable. D)The woman turned cold all of a sudden.

• 15.A)At a clinic. B)In a supermarket. C)At a restaurant. D)In an ice cream shop.
• 16.A)The woman did not feel any danger growing up in the Bronx.

B)The man thinks it was quite safe living in the Bronx district. C)The woman started working at an early age to support her family. D)The man doesn't think it is safe to send an 8-year-old to buy things.

• 17.A)The man has never seen the woman before.

B)The two speakers work for the same company. C)The two speakers work on the same floor. D)The woman is interested in market research.

• 18.A)The woman can't tolerate any noise.

B)The man is looking for an apartment. C)The man has missed his appointment. D)The woman is going to take a train trip.

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

• 19.A)To make a business report to the woman.

B)To be interviewed for a job in the woman's company. C)To resign from his position in the woman's company. D)To exchange stock market information with the woman.

• 20.A)He is head of a small trading company.

B)He works in an international insurance company. C)He leads a team of brokers in a big company. D)He is a public relations officer in a small company.

• 21.A)The woman thinks Mr. Saunders is asking for more than they can offer.

B)Mr. Saunders will share one third of the woman's responsibilities. C)Mr. Saunders believes that he deserves more paid vacations. D)The woman seems to be satisfied with Mr. Saunders's past experience.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

• 22.A)She's worried about the seminar. B)The man keeps interrupting her.

C)She finds it too hard. D)She lacks interest in it.

• 23.A)The lecturers are boring. B)The course is poorly designed.

C)She prefers Philosophy to English. D)She enjoys literature more.

• 24.A)Karen's friend. B)Karen's parents.

C)Karen's lecturers. D)Karen's herself.

• 25.A)Changing her major. B)Spending less of her parents' money.

C)Getting transferred to the English Department. D)Leaving the university.

Section B

注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答.

Passage One

Question 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.

• 26.A)Rent a grave. B)Bury the body.

C)Bury the dead near a church. D)Buy a piece of land for a grave.

• 27.A)To solve the problem of lack of land. B)To see whether they have decayed.

C)To follow the Greek religious practice. D)To move them to a multi-storey graveyard

• 28. A)They should be buried lying down.

B)They should be buried standing up. C)They should be buried after being washed. D)They should be buried when partially decayed.

• 29.A)Burning dead bodies to ashes. B)Storing dead bodies in a remote place.

C)Placing dead bodies in a bone room. D)Digging up dead bodies after three years.

Passage Two

Question 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.

• 30.A)Many foreign tourist visit the Unite States every year.

B)Americans enjoy eating out with their friends. C)The United States is a country of immigrants. D)Americans prefer foreign foods to their own food.

• 31.A)They can make friends with people from other countries.

B)They can get to know people of other cultures and their lifestyles. C)They can practise speaking foreign languages there. D)They can meet with businessmen from all over the world.

• 32.A)The couple cook the dishes and the children help them .

B)The husband does the cooking and the wife serves as the address. C)The mother does the cooking while the father and children wait on the guests. D)A hired cook prepares the dishes and the family members serve the guests.

Passage Three

Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

• 33. A)He took them to watch a basketball game.

B)He trained them to play European football. C)He let them compete in getting balls out of a basket. D)He taught them to play an exciting new game.

• 34.A)The players found the basket too high to teach.

B)The players had trouble getting the ball out of the basket. C)The players had difficulty understanding the complex rules. D)The players soon found the game boring.

• 35.A)By removing the bottom of the basket. B)By lowering the position of the basket.

C)By simplifying the complex rules. D)By altering the size of the basket.

Section C

注意：此部分试题在答题卡2上；请在答题卡2上作答。 For Americans, time is money. They say, “you only get so much time in this life; you’d better use t wisely. The (36)_________ will not be better than the past or present, as Americans are (37)________ to see things, unless people use their time for constructive activities. Thus, American (38) __________a “well-organized” person, one who has a written list of things to do and a (39)_________ for doing them. The ideal person is punctual and is (40)________ of other people’s time. They do not (41)_________ people’s time with conversation or other activity that has no (42) _________beneficial outcome. The American attitude toward time is not (43)_________shared by others, especially non-Europeans. They are more likely to regard time as (44)__________. One of the more difficult things many students must adjust to in the States is the notion that time must be saved whenever possible and used wisely every day. In this context (45)_________. McDonald’s, KFC, and other fast food establishments are successful in a country where many people want to spend the least amount of time preparing and eating meals. As McDonald’s restaurants (46)_____________, bringing not just hamburgers but an emphasis on speed, efficiency, and shiny cleanliness.

Part IV reading comprehension (Reading in Depth)

Section A

EI Nino is the name given to the mysterious and often unpredictable change in the climate of the world. This strange (47)_____happens every five to eight years. It starts in the Pacific Ocean and is thought to be caused by a failure in the trade winds(信风)，which affects the ocean currents driven by these winds. As the trade winds lessen in (48)____, the ocean temperatures rise, causing the Peru current flowing in form the east to warm up by as much as 5`C.

The warming of the ocean has far-reaching effects. The hot, humid(潮湿的)air over the ocean causes severe (49)___thunderstorms. The rainfall is increased across South American, (50)____floods to Peru. In the West Pacific, there are droughts affecting Australia and Indonesia. So while some parts of the world prepare for heavy rains and floods, other parts face drought, poor crops and (51)____.

EI Nino usually lasts for about 18 months. The 1982-83 EI Nino brought the most(52)____weather in modern history. Its effect was worldwide and it left more than 2,000 people dead and caused over eight billion pounds (53)___of damage. The 1990 EI Nino lasted until June 1995. Scientists (54)_____ this to be the longest EI Nina for 2,000 years.

Nowadays, weather experts are able to forecast when an EI Nina will (55)___, but they are still not (56) ___sure what leads to it or what affects how strong it will be.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

• A)estimate
• B)strength
• C)deliberately
• D)notify
• E)tropical
• F)phenomenon
• G)stable
• H)attraction
• I)completely
• J)destructive
• K)starvation
• L)bringing
• M)exhaustion
• N)worth
• O)strike

Section B

Passage One

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage. Communications technologies are far from equal when it comes to conveying the truth. The first study to compare honesty across a range of communications media has found that people are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in emails. The fact that emails are automatically recorded-and can come back to haunt(困扰)you-appears to be the key to the finding.

Jeff Hancock of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, asked 30 students to keep a communications diary for a week. In it they noted the number of conversations or email exchanges they had lasting more than 10 minutes, and confessed to how many lies they told. Hancock then worked out the number of lies per conversation for each medium. He found that lies made up 14 percent of emails, 21 percent of instant messages, 27 percent of face-to-face interactions and an astonishing 37 percent of phone calls.

His results, to be presented at the conference on human-computer interaction in Vienna, Austria, in April have surprised psychologists. Some expected emailers to be the biggest liars, reasoning that because deception makes people uncomfortable, the detachment(非直接接触) of emailing would make it easier to lie. Others expected people to lie more in face-to-face exchanges because we are most practiced at that form of communication.

But Hancock says it is also crucial whether a conversation is being recorded and could be reread, and whether it occurs in real time. People appear to be afraid to lie when they know the communication could later be used to hold them to account, he says. This is why fewer lies appear in email than on the phone.

People are also more likely to lie in real time-in an instant message or phone call, say-than if they have time to think of a response, says Hancock. He found many lies are spontaneous(脱口而出的) responses to an unexpected demand, such as: “Do you like my dress?”

Hancock hopes his research will help companies work out the best ways for their employees to communicate. For instance, the phone might be the best medium for sales where employees are encouraged to stretch the truth. But given his result, work assessment where honesty is a priority, might be best done using email.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

• 57.Hancock's study focuses on ____________.

A)the consequences of lying in various communications media B)the success of communications technologies in conveying ideas C)people’s preferences in selecting communications technologies D)people 's honesty levels across a range of communications media

• 58.Hancock's research finding surprised those who believed that________________.

A)people are less likely to lie in instant messages B)people are unlikely to lie in face-to-face interactions C)people are most likely to lie in email communication D)people are twice as likely to lie in phone conversations

• 59. According to the passage, why are people more likely to tell the truth through certain media of communication?

A)They are afraid of leaving behind traces of their lies. B)They believe that honesty is the best policy. C)They tend to be relaxed when using those media. D)They are most practised at those forms of communication.

• 60. According to Hancock, the telephone is a preferable medium for promoting sales because____________.

A)salesmen can talk directly to their customers B)salesmen may feel less restrained to exaggerate C)salesmen can impress customers as being trustworthy D)salesmen may pass on instant messages effectively

• 61. It can be inferred from the passage that_____________.

A)honesty should be encouraged in interpersonal communications B)more employers will use emails to communicate with their employees C)suitable media should be chosen for different communication purposes D) email is now the dominant medium of communication within a company

Passage Two

Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage. In a country that defines itself by ideals, not by shared blood, who should be allowed to come, work and live here? In the wake of the Sept.11 attacks these questions have never seemed more pressing.

On Dec. 11, 2001, as part of the effort to increase homeland security, federal and local authorities in 14 states staged "Operation Safe Travel" -raids on airports to arrest employees with false identification (身份证明). In Salt Lake City there were 69 arrests. But those captured were anything but terrorists, most of them illegal immigrants from Central or South American. Authorities said the undocumented workers’ illegal status made them open to blackmail(讹诈)by terrorists.

Many immigrants in Salt Lake City were angered by the arrests and said they felt as if they were being treated like disposable goods.

Mayor Anderson said those feelings were justified to a certain extent. "We're saying we want you to work in these places, we're going to look the other way in terms of what our laws are, and then when it's convenient for us, or when we can try to make a point in terms of national security, especially after Sept. 11, then you're disposable. There are whole families being uprooted for all of the wrong reasons," Anderson said.

If Sept. 11 had never happened the airport workers would not have been arrested and could have gone on quietly living in America, probably indefinitely .Ana Castro, a manager at a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop at the airport, had been working 10 years with the same false Social security card when she was arrested in the December airport raid. Now she and her family are living under the threat of deportation(驱逐出境). Castro's case is currently waiting to be settled. While she awaits the outcome, the government has granted her permission to work here and she has returned to her job at Ben & Jerry's.

• 62.Accroding to the author, the United States claims to be a nation____________.

A)composed of people having different values B)encouraging individual pursuits C)sharing common interests D)founded on shared ideals

• 63.How did the immigrants in Salt Lake City feel about "Operation Safe Travel"?

A)Guilty. B)Offended. C)Disappointed. D)Discouraged.

• 64.Undocumented workers became the target of "Operation Safe Travel" because__________.

A)evidence was found that they were potential terrorists B)most of them worked at airports under threat of terrorists attacks C)terrorists might take advantage of their illegal status D)they were reportedly helping hide terrorists around the airport

• 65.By saying"...we're going to look the other way in terms of what our laws are,"(Line 2, Para.4), Mayor Anderson means________________.

A)we will turn a blind eye to your illegal status B)we will examine the laws in a different way C)there are other ways of enforcing the law D) the existing laws must not be ignored

• 66.What do we learn about Ana Castro from the last paragraph?

A)she will be deported sooner or later. B)She is allowed to stay permanently. C)Her case has been dropped. D)Her fate remains uncertain.

Part V Cloze (15 minutes)

Do you wake up every day feeling too tired, or even upset? if so，then a new alarm clock could be just for you . The clock, called SleepSmart, measures your sleep cycle, and waits (67) you to be in your lightest phase of sleep (68) rousing you. Its makers say that should (69) you wake up feeling refreshed every morning.

As you sleep you pass (70) a sequence of sleep states-light sleep, deep sleep and REM (raid eye movement)sleep-that (71)approximately every 90 minutes .The point in that cycle at which you wake can (72)how you feel later ,and may (73)have a greater impact than how much or little you have slept. Being roused during a light phase (74) you are more likely to wake up energetic.

Sleepsmart (75) the distinct pattern of brain waves (76) during each phase of sleep, via a headband equipped (77) electrodes（电极）and a microprocessor. This measures electrical activity of the wearer’s brain, in much the (78) way as some machines used for medical and research (79), and communicates wirelessly with a clock unit near the bed. You (80) the clock with the later time at (81) you want to be wakened, and it (82) duly (适当地) wakes you during the last light sleep phase before that.

The (83) was invented by a group of students at Brown University in Rhode Island (84) a friend complained of waking up tired and performing poorly on a test. “(85) sleep-deprived people ourselves, we started thinking of (86) to do about it,” says Eric Shashoua, a recent college graduate and now chief executive officer of Axon Sleep Research Laboratories, a company created by the students to develop their idea.

• 67.A)beside B)near C)for D) around
• 68.A)upon B)before C)towards D) till
• 69.A)ensure B)assure C)require D) request
• 70.A)through B)into C)about D) on
• 71.A)reveals B) reverses C)resumes D) repeats
• 72.A)effect B)affect C)reflect D) perfect
• 73.A)already B)ever C)never D) even
• 74.A)means B)marks C)says D) dictates
• 75.A)removes B)relieves C)records D) recalls
• 76.A)proceeded B)produced C)pronounced D)progressed
• 77.A)by B)of C)with D)over
• 78.A)familiar B) similar C)identical D) same
• 79.A) findings B) prospects C) proposals D)purposes
• 80.A) prompt B) program C)plug D) plan
• 81.A)where B)this C)which D) that
• 82.A)then B)also C)almost D) yet
• 83.A)claim B)conclusion C)concept D)explanation
• 84.A)once B)after C)since D) while
• 85.A)Besides B)Despite C)To D)As
• 86.A)what B)how C)whether D)when

part VI Translation (5 minutes)

• 87. Having spent some time in the city, he had no trouble ________________(找到去历史博物馆的路).
• 88. (为了挣钱供我上学)__________________, mother often takes on more work than is good for her.
• 89. The professor required that __________________(我们交研究报告) by Wednesday.
• 90. The more you explain, _________________(我愈糊涂).
• 91. Though a skilled worker, _______________(他被公司解雇了) last week because of the economic crisis.

答案

Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)

1. N 2. Y 3. Y 4. Y 5. N 6. NG 7. N 8. personal freedom of mobility 9. 75 percent of the nation’s freight 10. his vision and leadership

Part III Listening Comprehension

Section A

11. A 12.A 13. C 14. D 15. C 16. A 17. B 18. B 19. B 20. C 21. D 22. D 23. C 24. B 25. D

Section B

26. D 27. A 28. B 29. A 30. C 31. B 32. C 33. D 34. B 35. A

Section C 36. future 37. trained 38. admire 39. schedule 40. considerate 41. waste 42. visible 43. necessarily 44. something that is simply there around them, not something they can use 45. the fast-food industry can be seen as a clear example of American cultural product 46. spread around the world, they have been viewed as symbols of American society and culture

Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)

Section A 47. F 48. B 49. E 50. L 51. K 52. J 53. N 54. A 55. O 56. I Section B 57. D 58. C 59. A 60. B 61. C 62. D 63. B 64. C 65. C 66. D

Part V Cloze

67. C 68. B 69. A 70. A 71. D 72. B 73. D 74. A 75. C 76. B 77. C 78. D 79. D 80. B 81. C 82. A 83. C 84. B 85. D 86. A

Part VI Translation 87. in finding the way to the History Museum 88. in order to earn enough money to afford my education 89. we hand in / submit the research reports 90. the more confused get 91. he was fired by the company