2015年6月大学英语四级考试真题及答案解析(卷2)
2015年6月大学英语四级考试真题及答案解析(卷2)
Part I Writing
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the picture below.You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then comment on this kind of modern life. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.
Part II Listening Comprehension
© Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
1. A. He is pleased to sit on the committee. B. He is willing to offer the woman a hand.
C. He will tell the woman his decision later. D. He would like to become a club member.
2. A. Their planned trip to Vancouver is obviously overpriced.
B. They should borrow a guide book instead of buying one.
C. The guide books in the library have the latest information.
D. The library can help order guide books about Vancouver.
3. A. He regrets having taken the history course.
B. He finds little interest in the history books.
C. He has trouble finishing his reading assignments.
D. He has difficulty writing the weekly book report.
4. A. The man had better choose another restaurant.
B. The new restaurant is a perfect place for dating.
C. The new restaurant caught her fancy immediately.
D. The man has good taste in choosing the restaurant.
5. A. He has been looking forward to spring. B. He has been waiting for the winter sale.
C. He will clean the woman's boots for spring. D. He will help the woman put things away.
6. A. At a tailor's. B. At Bob's home. C. In a clothes store. D. In a theatre.
7. A. His guests favor Tibetan drinks. B. His water is quite extraordinary.
C. Mineral water is good for health. D. Plain water will serve the purpose.
8. A. Report the result of a discussion. B. Raise some environmental issues.
C. Submit an important document. D. Revise an environmental report.
Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
9. A. They pollute the soil used to cover them.
B. They are harmful to nearby neighborhoods.
C. The rubbish in them takes long to dissolve.
D. The gas they emit is extremely poisonous.
10. A. Growing population. B. Packaging materials.
C. Changed eating habits. D. Lower production cost.
11. A. By saving energy. B. By using less aluminum.
C. By reducing poisonous wastes. D. By making the most of materials.
12. A. We are running out of natural resources soon.
B. Only combined efforts can make a difference.
C. The waste problem will eventually hurt all of us.
D. All of us can actually benefit from recycling.
Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
13. A. Miami. B. Vancouver. C. Bellingham. D. Boston.
14. A. To get information on one-way tickets to Canada.
B. To inquire about the price of "Super Saver" seats.
C. To get advice on how to fly as cheaply as possible.
D. To inquire about the shortest route to drive home.
15. A. Join a tourist group. B. Choose a major airline.
C. Avoid trips in public holidays. D. Book tickets as early as possible.
© Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short 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 corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
• Passage One
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. A. There are mysterious stories behind his works.
B. There are many misunderstandings about him.
C. His works have no match worldwide.
D. His personal history is little known.
17. A. He moved to Stratford-on-Avon in his childhood.
B. He failed to go beyond grammar school.
C. He was a member of the town council.
D. He once worked in a well-known acting company.
18. A. Writers of his time had no means to protect their works.
B. Possible sources of clues about him were lost in a fire.
C. His works were adapted beyond recognition.
D. People of his time had little interest in him.
• Passage Two
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
19. A. It shows you have been ignoring your health.
B. It can seriously affect your thinking process.
C. It is an early warning of some illness.
D. It is a symptom of too much pressure.
20. A. Reduce our workload. B. Control our temper.
C. Use painkillers for relief. D. Avoid masking symptoms.
21. A. Lying down and having some sleep. B. Rubbing and pressing one's back.
C. Going out for a walk. D. Listening to light music.
• Passage Three
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22. A. Depending heavily on loans. B. Having no budget plans at all.
C. Spending beyond one's means. D. Leaving no room for large bills.
23. A. Many of them can be cut. B. All of them have to be covered.
C. Their payment cannot be delayed. D. They eat up most of the family income.
24. A. Rent a house instead of buying one. B. Discuss the problem in the family.
C. Make a conservation plan. D. Move to a cheaper place.
25. A. Financial issues plaguing a family. B. Difficulty in making both ends meet.
C. Family budget problems and solutions. D. New ways to boost family income.
© Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
Perhaps because going to college is so much a part of the American dream, many people go for no (26) reason. Some go because their parents expect it, others because it's what their friends are doing. Then, there's the belief that a college degree will (27) ensure a good job and high pay.
Some students 28 through four years, attending classes, or skipping(逃课) them as the case may be, reading only what can't be avoided, looking for less (29) courses, and never being touched or changed in any important way. For a few of these people, college provides no (30) , yet, because of parental or peer pressure, they cannot voluntarily leave. They stop trying in the hope that their teachers will make the decision for them by (31) them.
To put it bluntly (直截了当地) , unless you're willing to make your college years count, you might be (32) doing something else. Not everyone should attend college, nor should everyone who does attend begin right after high school. Many college students (33) taking a year or so off. A year out in the world helps some people to (34) their priorities and goals. If you're really going to get something out of going to college, you have to make it mean something, and to do that you must have some idea why you're there, what you hope to get out of it, and (35) even what you hope to become.
Part III Reading Comprehension
© Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of 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 on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.
It's our guilty pleasure: Watching TV is the most common everyday activity, after work and sleep, in many parts of the world. Americans view five hours of TV each day, and while we know that spending so much time sitting (36) can lead to obesity(肥胖症) and other diseases, researchers have now quantified just how (37) being a couch potato can be.
In an analysis of data from eight large (38) published studies, a Harvard-led group reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association that for every two hours per day spent channel (39) , the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (糖尿病) rose 20％over 8.5 years, the risk of heart disease increased 15％over a (40) , and the odds of dying prematurely (41) 13％during a seven-year follow-up. All of these (42) are linked to a lack of physical exercise. But compared with other sedentary(久坐的) activities, like knitting, viewing TV may be especially (43) at promoting unhealthy habits. For one, the sheer number of hours we pass watching TV dwarfs the time we spend on anything else. And other studies have found that watching ads for beer and popcorn may make you more likely to (44) them.
Even so, the authors admit that they didn't compare different sedentary activities to (45) whether TV watching was linked to a greater risk of diabetes, heart disease or early death compared with, say, reading.
A. climbed B. consume C. decade D. determine
E. effective F. harmful G. outcomes H. passively
I. previously J. resume K. suffered L. surfing
M. term N. terminals O. twisting
© Section B
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.
Essay-Grading Software Offers Professors a Break
A. Imagine taking a college exam, and, instead of handing in a blue book and getting a grade from a professor a few weeks later, clicking the "send" button when you are done and receiving a grade back instantly, your essay scored by a software program. And then, instead of being done with that exam, imagine that the system would immediately let you rewrite the test to try to improve your grade.
B. EDX, the nonprofit enterprise founded by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) to offer courses on the Internet, has just introduced such a system and will make its automated(自动的) software available free on the Web to any institution that wants to use it. The software uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays and short written answers, freeing professors for other tasks.
C. The new service will bring the educational consortium(联盟) into a growing conflict over the role of automation in education. Although automated grading systems for multiple-choice and true-false tests are now widespread, the use of artificial intelligence technology to grade essay answers has not yet received widespread acceptance by educators and has many critics.
D. Anant Agarwal, an electrical engineer who is president of EDX, predicted that the instant-grading software would be a useful teaching tool enabling students to take tests and write essays over and over and improve the quality of their answers. He said the technology would offer distinct advantages over the traditional classroom system, where students often wait days or weeks for grades. "There is a huge value in learning with instant feedback," Dr. Agarwal said. "Students are telling us they learn much better with instant feedback."
E. But skeptics (怀疑者) say the automated system is no match for live teachers. One longtime critic, Les Perelman, has drawn national attention several times for putting together nonsense essays that have fooled software grading programs into giving high marks. He has also been highly critical of studies claiming that the software compares well to human graders.
F. He is among a group of educators who last month began circulating a petition (呼吁) opposing automated assessment software. The group, which calls itself Professionals Against Machine Scoring of Student Essays in High-Stakes Assessment, has collected nearly 2,000 signatures, including some from famous people like Chomsky.
G. "Let's face the realities of automatic essay scoring," the group's statement reads in part. "Computers cannot 'read'. They cannot measure the essentials of effective written communication: accuracy, reasoning, adequacy of evidence, good sense, ethical (伦理的) position, convincing argument, meaningful organization, and clarity, among others."
H. But EDX expects its software to be adopted widely by schools and universities. It offers free online classes from Harvard. MIT and the University of California-Berkeley; this fall, it will add classes from Wellesley, Georgetown and the University of Texas. In all, 12 universities participate in EDX, which offers certificates for course completion and has said that it plans to continue to expand next year, including adding international schools.
I. The EDX assessment tool requires human teachers, or graders, to first grade 100 essays or essay questions. The system then uses a variety of machine—learning techniques to train itself to be able to grade any number of essays or answers automatically and almost instantly. The software will assign a grade depending on the scoring system created by the teacher, whether it is a letter grade or numerical(数字的) rank.
J. EDX is not the first to use the automated assessment technology, which dates to early computers in the 1960s. There is now a range of companies offering commercial programs to grade written test answers, and four states—Louisiana, North Dakota, Utah and West Virginia—are using some form of the technology in secondary schools. A fifth, Indiana, has experimented with it. In some cases the software is used as a "second reader" to check the reliability of the human graders.
K. But the growing influence of the EDX consortium to set standards is likely to give the technology a boost. On Tuesday, Stanford announced that it would work with EDX to develop a joint educational system that will make use of the automated assessment technology.
L. Two start-ups, Coursera and Udacity, recently founded by Stanford faculty members to create "massive open online courses" or MOOCs, are also committed to automated assessment systems because of the value of instant feedback. ''It allows students to get immediate feedback on their work, so that learning turns into a game, with students naturally gravitating(吸引) toward resubmitting the work until they get it right," said Daphne Koller, a computer scientist and a founder of Coursera.
M. Last year the Hewlett Foundation, a grant-malting organization set up by one of the Hewlett Packard founders and his wife, sponsored two $100,000 prizes aimed at improving software that grades essays and short answers. More than 150 teams entered each category. A winner of one of the Hewlett contests, Vik Paruchuri, was hired by EDX to help design its assessment software.
N. "One of our focuses is to help kids learn how to think critically," said Victor Vuchic, a program officer at the Hewlett Foundation. "It's probably impossible to do that with multiple-choice tests. The challenge is that this requires human graders, and so they cost a lot more and they take a lot more time."
O. Mark D. Shermis, a professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, supervised the Hewlett Foundation's contest on automated essay scoring and wrote a paper about the experiment. In his view, the technology—though imperfect—has a place in educational settings.
P. With increasingly large classes, it is impossible for most teachers to give students meaningful feedback on writing assignments, he said. Plus, he noted, critics of the technology have tended to come from the nation's best universities, where the level of teaching is much better than at most schools.
Q. "Often they come from very famous institutions where, in fact, they do a much better job of providing feedback than a machine ever could," Dr. Shermis said. “There seems to be a lack of appreciation of what is actually going on in the real world.”
46. Some professionals in education are collecting signatures to voice their opposition to automated essay grading.
47. Using software to grade students' essays saves teachers' time for other work.
48. The Hewlett contests aim at improving essay grading software.
49. Though the automated grading system is widely used in multiple-choice tests, automated essay grading is still criticized by many educators.
50. Some people don't believe the software grading system can do as good a job as human graders.
51. Critics of automated essay scoring do not seem to know the true realities in less famous universities.
52. Critics argue many important aspects of effective writing cannot be measured by computer rating programs.
53. As class size grows, most teachers are unable to give students valuable comments as to how to improve their writing.
54. The automated assessment technology is sometimes used to double check the work of human graders.
55. Students find instant feedback helps improve their learning considerably.
© Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
• Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
The endless debate about "work-life balance" often contains a hopeful footnote about stay-at-home dads. If American society and business won't make it easier on future female leaders who choose to have children, there is still the ray of hope that increasing numbers of full-time fathers will. But based on today's socioeconomic trends, this hope is, unfortunately, misguided.
It's true that the number of men who have left work to do their thing as full-time parents has doubled in a decade, but it's still very small: only 0.8％of married couples where the stay-at-home father was out of the labor force for a year. Even that percentage is likely inflated by men thrust into their caretaker role by a downsizing. This is simply not a large enough group to reduce the social stigma(污名) and force other adjustments necessary to supporting men in this decision, even if only work more than their family.
Even shorter times away from work for working fathers are already difficult. A study found that 85％of new fathers take some time off after the birth of a child—but for all but a few, it's a week or two at most. Meanwhile, the average for women who take leave is more than 10 weeks.
Such choices impact who moves up in the organization. While you're away, someone else is doing your work, making your sales, taking care of your customers. That can't help you at work. It can only hurt you. Women, of course, face the same issues of returning after a long absence. But with many more women than men choosing to leave the workforce entirely to raise families, returning from an extended parental leave doesn't raise as many eyebrows as it does for men.
Women would make more if they didn't break their earning trajectory(轨迹) by leaving the workforce, or if higher-paying professions were more family-friendly. In the foreseeable future, stay-at-home fathers may make all the difference for individual families, but their presence won't reduce the numbers of high potential women who are forced to choose between family and career.
56. What gives women a ray of hope to achieve work-life balance?
A. More men taking an extended parental leave.
B. People's changing attitudes towards family.
C. More women entering business management.
D. The improvement of their socioeconomic status.
57. Why does the author say the hope for more full-time fathers is misguided?
A. Women are better at taking care of children.
B. Many men value work more than their family.
C. Their number is too small to make a difference.
D. Not many men have the chance to stay at home.
58. Why do few men take a long parental leave?
A. A long leave will have a negative impact on their career.
B. They just have too many responsibilities to fulfill at work.
C. The economic loss will be too much for their family to bear.
D. They are likely to get fired if absent from work for too long.
59. What is the most likely reaction to men returning from an extended parental leave?
A. Jealousy. B. Surprise. C. Admiration. D. Sympathy.
60. What does the author say about high-potential women in the not-too-distant future?
A. They will benefit from the trend of more fathers staying at home.
B. They will find high-paying professions a bit more family-friendly.
C. They are unlikely to break their career trajectory to raise a family.
D. They will still face the difficult choice between career and children.
• Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
Some of the world's most significant problems never hit headlines. One example comes from agriculture. Food riots and hunger make news. But the trend lying behind these matters is rarely talked about. This is the decline in the growth in yields of some of the world's major crops. A new study by the University of Minnesota and McGill University in Montreal looks at where, and how far, this decline is occurring.
The authors take a vast number of data points for the four most important crops: rice, wheat, corn and soyabeans(大豆). They find that on between 24％ and 39％ of all harvested areas, the improvement in yields that took place before the 1980s slowed down in the 1990s and 2000s.There are two worrying features of the slowdown. One is that it has been particularly sharp in the world's most populous(人口多的) countries, India and China. Their ability to feed themselves has been an important source of relative stability both within the countries and on world food markets.
That self-sufficiency cannot be taken for granted if yields continue to slow down or reverse.
Second, yield growth has been lower in wheat and rice than in corn and soyabeans. This is problematic because wheat and rice are more important as foods, accounting for around half of all calories consumed. Corn and soyabeans are more important as feed grains. The authors note that "we have preferentially focused our crop improvement efforts on feeding animals and cars rather than on crops that feed people and are the basis of food security in much of the world".
The report qualifies the more optimistic findings of another new paper which suggests that the world will not have to dig up a lot more land for farming in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050, as the Food and Agriculture Organisation has argued. Instead, it says, thanks to slowing population growth, land currently ploughed up for crops might be able to revert(回返) to forest or wilderness. This could happen. The trouble is that the forecast assumes continued improvements in yields which may not actually happen.
61. What does the author try to draw attention to?
A. Food riots and hunger in the world. B. News headlines in the leading media.
C. The decline of the grain yield growth. D. The food supply in populous countries.
62. Why does the author mention India and China in particular?
A. Their self-sufficiency is vital to the stability of world food markets.
B. Their food yields have begun to decrease sharply in recent years.
C. Their big populations are causing worldwide concerns.
D. Their food self-sufficiency has been taken for granted.
63. What does the new study by the two universities say about recent crop improvement efforts?
A. They fail to produce the same remarkable results as before the 1980s.
B. They contribute a lot to the improvement of human food production.
C. They play a major role in guaranteeing the food security of the world.
D. They focus more on the increase of animal feed than human food grains.
64. What does the Food and Agriculture Organisation say about world food production in the coming decades?
A. The growing population will greatly increase the pressure on world food supplies.
B. The optimistic prediction about food production should be viewed with caution.
C. The slowdown of the growth in yields of major food crops will be reversed.
D. The world will be able to feed its population without increasing farmland.
65. How does the author view the argument of the Food and Agriculture Organisation?
A. It is built on the findings of a new study. B. It is based on a doubtful assumption.
C. It is backed by strong evidence. D. It is open to further discussion.
Part IV Translation
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.
据报道，今年中国快递服务(courier services) 将递送大约120亿件包裹。这将使中国有可能超越美国成为世界上最大的快递市场。大多数包裹里装着网上订购的物品。中国给数百万在线零售商以极具竞争力的价格销售商品的机会。仅在11月11日,中国消费者就从国内最大的购物平台购买了价值90亿美元的商品。中国有不少这样的特殊购物日。因此,快递业在中国扩展就不足为奇了。
答案解析
Part I Writing
行文思路
从漫画中我们可以看出, 文章主要是要讨论电脑对人们生活的影响。在文章开头部分, 可以简单描述漫画内容, 引出话题: 电脑对人们生活产生了巨大影响；在第二段可以从正反两个方面介绍电脑对人们生活的影响, 可侧重于负面影响；最后总结全文, 并呼吁人们应该合理使用电脑。
范文赏析
As is depicted from a series of cartoons that a person is over reliance on computer, no matter when he is working, playing, or at home and sleeping. We have to admit that the computer has had a great impact on people's lives.
There is no doubt that computers are being used in almost any place. With the computer, it's more convenient for us to contact with our families and friends. By using computers, both workers in factories and office workers can improve work efficiency. However, it also has brought us great negative impact. Some of the young people are too obsessed with the network control. Even worse, more and more children have been attracted by online games and neglected their studies. In addition, computers have largely damaged our health.
Indeed, computers play a more and more important role in our life. To properly use computers is the best way in our life.
Part II Listening Comprehension
© Section A
Short Conversations
1. W: Tom, would you be interested in serving on the membership committee this year?
M: Can I get back to you on that in a few days?
Q: What does the man mean?
答案: C
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到女士询问男士今年是否有兴趣在会员委员会中任职, 男士提出能否过几天再给女士答复, 言外之意就是男士希望晚些时候再告诉女士他的决定, 所以选C。
2. W: We should buy a good guide book and study it before our trip to Vancouver.
M: We could. But they are overpriced. What about the library?
Q: What does the man mean?
答案: B
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到, 女士提议在动身去温哥华之前应该购买一本旅行指南, 并好好研究一下, 男士则回答说这样的书太贵, 建议去图书馆借阅。所以选B“他们应该借阅一本而不是买一本”。
3. W: You took a history course this term, didn't you? What can you say about it?
M: Well, the trouble is that I never get through the weekly reading list, though some books are quite interesting.
Q: What does the man mean?
答案：C
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到, 女士说, 男士这周修了历史课, 问他感觉如何, 男士回答说他从未完成每周的阅读作业, 尽管有些书很有意思。所以C“他难以完成阅读作业”符合题意。
4. M: I'm taking my girlfriend to the fancy new restaurant for her birthday tonight.
W: I went there last weekend. I found it rather disappointing.
Q: What does the woman mean?
答案：A
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到, 男士说他今晚打算带女朋友去那家新开的饭店过生日, 女士则回答说, 她上周去过, 结果很是失望。言外之意就是, 建议男士不要去了, 最好另选一家饭店。所以选C。
5. W: Winter is over at last. Time to put away my gloves and boots.
M: I've been waiting for this for months.
Q: What does the man mean?
答案：A
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到, 女士说, 冬天终于结束了, 可以把手套和靴子收起来了。男士回应说为此他已经等了好几个月了。很明显男士和女士一样非常期待冬天的结束, 也就是盼望春天的到来。所以选A。
6. M: Look, the curtain is going up slowly and all the lights over the stage are lit up.
W: Yeah, the play is starting. Oh, something caught my sleeve. Give me a hand please, Bob.
Q: Where are the speakers now?
答案：D
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到, 男士说幕布慢慢升起, 舞台上的灯也都亮起来了；女士说戏剧就要开演了, 可她的袖子被挂住了, 请男士帮她一下。根据对话的背景可知, 对话发生在剧院, 所以选D。
7. W: You only have water to serve your guests?
M: This isn't just plain water. This is mineral water from Tibet.
Q: What does the man imply?
答案：B
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到, 女士问男士, 难道他只打算用水招待客人吗, 男士回答说这不是一般的水, 是来自西藏的矿泉水。言外之意就是他用来招待客人的水不同寻常, 所以B是正确答案。
8. W: When do you have time to discuss our environmental report? I think we will have to make some revisions.
M: I'll be free at 3 o'clock this afternoon. But what exactly needs to be changed?
Q: What are the speakers going to do this afternoon?
答案：D
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到, 女士问男士：When do you have time to discuss our environmental report?“你什么时候有时间讨论环境报告”, 男士说他下午三点钟有时间, 由此可知, 两人下午会针对环境报告进行修改, 选D。
Long Conversations
• Conversation One
W: Why is it important to recycle?
M: There are many reasons. Recycling is one way to keep waste out of landfills. Landfills are places to dump waste. (9) But they are unpopular, because they can pollute the soil used to cover them and that's bad for people who may build new homes there. Recycling also reuses valuable raw materials, such as aluminum and paper. Finally, recycling can leave a lower garbage bill. Recycling lowers the amount of waste put into landfills, therefore, less money is spent for garbage disposal.
W: How has recycling changed over the years?
M: (10) Ten or twenty years ago, you could buy milk in returnable, refillable glass bottles, and many people recycled voluntarily. Now you buy milk and other products in plastic bottles or paper containers. Because of the high cost of disposing of these things in landfills, many city governments now have recycling programs.
W: How does recycling help the environment?
M: (11) Recycling helps the environment mainly by saving energy. For example, it takes 95 percent less energy to produce recycled aluminum than to produce new aluminum.
W: Can one person really make a difference? If only a few people recycle, then what's the point?
M: If not you, then who? (12) If we combine our efforts, we can make a difference. Each of us contributes to the waste problem. All the millions of tons of waste that go into landfills started as an old pair of slippers, a broken TV set, or a used magazine that came from somebody's house—maybe yours!
9. Why are landfills unpopular according to the man?
答案：A
点睛解析：在对话短文中我们可以听到，男士明确提到landfills“垃圾填埋”不受欢迎，But they are unpopular, because they can pollute the soil used to cover them and that's bad for people who may build new homes there.“因为这种垃圾处理方式最终会污染覆盖垃圾的土壤，也不利于可能在那里建新家的人。”所以选A。
10. What does the man say has contributed to the increasing amount of waste over the years?
答案：B
点睛解析：在对话中我们可以听到，男士说， 现在不论是塑料包装还是纸质包装，大多属于抛弃型包装，这增大了污染处理难度，由此可知，包装材料的变化导致废品数量的增加，所以选项B是正确答案。
11. According to the man, how does recycling help the environment?
答案：A
点睛解析：在对话中可以听到，男士说，Recycling helps the environment mainly by saving energy“循环利用主要通过节约能源达到保护环境的效果”，A是原词复现，所以选A。
12. Why does the man say everybody should make an effort to recycle?
答案：B
点睛解析：在对话中，男士说，If we combine our efforts, we can make a difference. Each of us contributes to the waste problem.“如果我们一起努力，就能取得良好的效果。因为我们每个人都是垃圾制造者。”由此选B。
• Conversation Two
W: (13) Could you please give me information on airfares from Miami to Bellingham, Washington? We'd like to buy a good flight as cheaply as possible.
M: (14) Let's see. I want to advise you to pay the normal one-way economy class fare of $555.If you can fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday and buy your tickets at least 21 days in advance, I suggest you book a round-trip excursion flight.
W: But we may not need the return tickets.
M: That's all right. If you don't use them, you should be able to save $89 over the one-way fare. Of course, (15) I'd recommend early booking. You ought to try to reserve the "Super Saver" seats. There are only a few of them and they are 50% cheaper than the others.
W: That sounds like a good idea.
M: Wait, to save another hundred dollars or so, why don't you book a flight to Vancouver, Canada?
W: But that's farther than where we want to go.
M: I know, but you can take a bus from Vancouver back to Bellingham and still save money. And if you are travelling with children, you might be able to get a discount if you fly economy class. But they don't get any discount. But to take the advantage of the airline's guarantee fare policy, you'd have to make reservations and pay for your tickets at least six weeks in advance. Try and begin the search for available seats...
W: No, thank you.
M: Excuse me?
W: I'll call you back if we don't decide to drive.
13. Where is the woman planning to go?
答案：C
点睛解析：在对话开头部分我们可以听到，女士说她想知道由迈阿密飞往华盛顿贝灵翰姆的机票情况，由此可知她要去贝灵翰姆，所以选C。
14. What is the woman's purpose in calling the man?
答案：C
点睛解析：在对话开头我们可以听到We'd like to buy a good flight as cheaply as possible，所以选C。
15. What does the man advise the woman to do?
答案：D
点睛解析：在对话中，男士说I'd recommend early booking.“我建议尽早订票。”所以D“尽早订票”是正确答案。
© Section B
• Passage One
What makes a person famous? This is a mystery that many people have carefully thought about. All kinds of myths surround the lives of well-known people. Most people are familiar with the works of William Shakespeare, one of the greatest English writers of the 16th and 17th centuries. (16) Yet how many know Shakespeare, the person, the man behind the works? After centuries of research, scholars are still trying to discover Shakespeare's personal history. It is not easily found in his writings. Authors of the time could not protect their works. An acting company, for example, could change a play if they wanted to. Nowadays, writers have copyrights that protect their work.
Many myths arose about Shakespeare. Some said he had no formal education. Others believed that he began his career by tending the horses of wealthy men. All of these myths are interesting, but are they true? Probably not. (17) Shakespeare's father was a respected man in Stratford-on-Avon, a member of the town council. He sent young William to grammar school. Most people of Elizabethan times did not continue beyond grammar school; so, Shakespeare did have, at least, an average education. (18) Some parts of Shakespeare's life will always remain unknown. The Great London Fire of 1666 burned many important documents that could have been a source of clues. We will always be left with many questions and few facts.
16. What does the speaker say about William Shakespeare?
答案：D
点睛解析：在短文中我们可以听到作者提出“有多少人了解莎士比亚本人”的问题，接着指出学者们经过几个世纪的研究之后，仍然在不断探索他的个人史。由此可知，莎士比亚的个人史很少有人知道，D“他的个人史很少有人知道”与原文一致，所以D是正确答案。
17. What do we learn about Shakespeare's father?
答案：C
点睛解析：在短文中我们可以听到，Shakespeare's father was a respected man in Stratford-on-Avon, a member of the town council.“莎士比亚的父亲受人尊敬，是埃文河畔斯特拉特福镇议会的一名成员，”选项C“是镇上议会的一名成员”与原文一致，故C为答案。
18. Why does the speaker say parts of Shakespeare's life will remain a mystery?
答案：B
点睛解析：在短文结尾处我们可以听到，1666年伦敦的一场大火把很多重要文件烧毁了，而这些本来可能是了解莎士比亚的线索，因此莎士比亚的一部分生活将永远不为人所知，B“关于他的一些线索的文件在一场大火里丢失了”与原文相符，故B为答案。
• Passage Two
Almost everyone suffers from a headache occasionally. But some people suffer from repeated, frequent headaches. (19) A headache is important because it can be the first warning of a serious condition that could probably be controlled if discovered early. If a person removes the warning, day after day, with a pain-killer, he or she may pass the point of easy control. The professional name for covering up a symptom is "masking".
(20) A headache specialist once said, "Masking symptoms is not the best way of treatment. Sometimes it is wiser to stand still than to advance in darkness." A headache often interferes needlessly with normal, happy living. The employee with a headache does less work. In a flash of temper he or she may upset fellow workers or customers, causing a direct or indirect loss to the organization. The mother with a headache suffers and disturbs the family. She upsets her husband and children. Rest, quiet, and flesh air stop many common headaches. (21) Lying down and possibly falling asleep may help. One can often handle tension headaches by rubbing and pressing back neck muscles. Heat from an electric pad or a warm bath can also help. Because hunger may be overlooked as a headache source, one must make a habit of regular meals. If a meal must be postponed for more than an hour, a snack helps to avoid a hunger headache.
19. Why does the speaker say a headache is important?
答案：C
点睛解析：在短文中我们可以听到A headache is important because it can be the first warning of a serious condition that could probably be controlled if discovered early.“头痛很重要，因为它可能是某种严重疾病的先兆，如果能够引起重视，就可以早发现、早治疗。”所以选C。
20. What do specialists suggest we do with headaches?
答案：D
点睛解析：在文中我们可以听到，A headache specialist once said, “Masking symptoms is not the best way of treatment. Sometimes it is wiser to stand still than to advance in darkness.” 专家认为不应该使用止痛药来缓解头痛，这样反而遮掩了某些症状，与其在不知情的情况下盲目行动，不如先不采取行动。所以选D。
21. What does the speaker say helps relieve the symptoms of common headaches?
答案：A
点睛解析：短文提到Lying down and possibly falling asleep may help.“躺下来休息一下，睡一会儿会有所帮助。”所以选项A是正确答案。
• Passage Three
(25) If your pay check seems to be disappearing into thin air, you may be stuck in money traps. But don't despair. Most people can get unstuck without going bankrupt. (22) The biggest budget mistake is no budget at all. As one reader put it, "we just put all the bills in a pile, and try to decide which to pay". As she and others have learned, however, the money usually runs out before the bills do. The same problem plagues many who do have budget. In letter after letter we read, "It looks good on paper, but it never seems to work." Why not? Often because the budgets are unrealistic. The solution: Make a detailed record of where all your money goes now; then study it carefully. Look for expenses that can be cut back. (23) And don't give up in the face of high fixed expenses. Many of these can be reduced too. In fact, it's often easier to save on essentials than on enjoyable extras. (24) If housing takes more than 25 percent of your income, for example, consider moving to a cheaper place, or renting out an extra room. If utility bills are high, get the whole family involved in a conservation plan. Some bills can be eliminated altogether. When one mother realized that cable TV was costing her $500 a year, she decided that network TV wasn't so bad. If you question every expense, you can find a few that can be reduced.
22. What does the speaker say is the biggest budget mistake?
答案：B
点睛解析：文中提到The biggest budget mistake is no budget at all.“最糟糕的预算错误就是根本没有预算。”所以选B。
23. What does the speaker say about the so-called fixed expenses?
答案：A
点睛解析：短文提到And don't give up in the face of high fixed expenses. Many of these can be reduced too.“不要以为某些支出看上去是固定的，就认为无法节省了。”所以选A。
24. What does the speaker suggest people do to save housing expenses?
答案：D
点睛解析：短文提到，If housing takes more than 25 percent of your income, for example, consider moving to a cheaper place, or renting out an extra room.“如果住房支出超过了收入的25%，那么就要考虑搬去更便宜的地方，或把多余的房间租出去。”所以D“搬去更便宜的地方”符合题意。
25. What is mainly discussed in the talk?
答案：C
点睛解析：短文提到了人们出现家庭财政危机的原因，并提供了一些解决方案和建议，选项C是对全文的概括，所以选C。
© Section C
26. particular
点睛解析：particular 特别的，特定的
27. automatically
点睛解析：automatically 自动地，注意词尾有两个l。
28. drag
点睛解析：drag 拖拉，吃力地行走
29. demanding
点睛解析：要求高的，注意是动词的-ing形式。
30. satisfaction
点睛解析：satisfaction 满意
31. failing
点睛解析：fail 使(某人)不及格
32. better off
点睛解析：better off 最好做某事，注意不要漏掉off。
33. profit from
点睛解析：profit from 从……中受益
34. sort out
点睛解析：sort out 理清，整理
35. probably
点睛解析：probably 可能
Part III Reading Comprehension
© Section A
36. H
点睛解析：空格前面是动词sitting，所以空格处需填入副词。由上文可知“花这么长时间____坐着”指长时间坐着看电视，这不是积极的活动，所以空格处要填入表示“消极”意思的词，备选词中，passively“消极地”符合条件。
37. F
点睛解析：由上文可知，看电视会导致肥胖症和其他疾病，a couch potato指“长时间坐在沙发上看电视的人”，由此可推断，本句是说长时间看电视的坏处，所以答案是harmful“有害的”。
38. I
点睛解析：空格处的词用来修饰published，所以应该是副词。而且published意为“已发布的”，也就是以前发布的，所以答案是previously“以前，先前”。
39. L
点睛解析：channel在此处意为“频道”，而channel surfing是固定搭配，意为“频繁更换电视频道”。
40. C
点睛解析：因为空格处位于不定冠词a之后，所以空格处应填入名词。根据上下文可知，本句是哈佛大学领导小组的研究结果，前后两个研究结果都是历经一段时间的，本句也不例外，所以，空格处需填入与时间段有关的单词，备选词中decade“十年”表示时间，符合题意，所以选C。
41. A
点睛解析：通过分析句子结构可知，该句缺少谓语，所以空格处需填入动词作谓语。根据文意可知，该句仍然在描述看电视带来的坏处，因此过早死亡的几率应该是增加的，所以答案是A。
42. G
点睛解析：由于空前是代词these，所以空格处应填入名词的复数形式。备选词中，只有outcomes和terminals符合。terminal“航空站，终点站”，填入空格处后，逻辑不通，且不符合文意。所以，填入outcomes表示“结果”。
43. E
点睛解析：根据上下文可知，空格处应填入形容词。空格前面提到，所有上述结果都与缺乏体育锻炼有关，本句进行转折，指出与其他久坐不动的行为比起来，看电视可能在促成不健康的习惯方面尤其____。由句意可推断出，看电视可能在使人们养成不健康的习惯方面尤其有效，所以effective“有效的”是正确答案。
44. B
点睛解析：该句意为“其他研究表明，观看啤酒和爆米花的广告使人更有可能____它们。”them指代beer and popcorn，所以空格处应填入表达“吃，喝”意思的动词，因此选consume。
45. D
点睛解析：空格处位于to和weather引导的从句之间，需填入动词。该句意为“即便如此, 作者们承认他们没有比较不同的久坐不动的活动来____与阅读之类的活动相比看电视是否有更高患糖尿病、心脏病或过早死亡的风险”，根据句意可推断出，空格处需要填入表达“确定”的词，正确答案是determine。
© Section B
46. Some professionals in education are collecting signatures to voice their opposition to automated essay grading.
答案：F
点睛解析：题干意思是：一些教育专家正在收集签名以表明他们反对自动化短文评分。F段提到，从上个月起, 由教育工作者组成的一个团体开始散发反对自动化评估软件的请愿书；现已收集到了近2000个签名, 其中也包括一些知名人士, 如诺姆•乔姆斯基等。由此可知题目信息来源于F段。
47. Using software to grade students' essays saves teachers' time for other work.
答案：B
点睛解析：根据题干信息可定位至B段最后一句，该软件利用人工智能对学生的短文和简答题进行评分, 从而将教授们解放出来以开展其他工作。题干中的saves teachers' time for other work是原文中freeing professors for other tasks的同义表述，所以选B。
48. The Hewlett contests aim at improving essay grading software.
答案：M
点睛解析：根据题目信息可定位至M段。M段提到...aimed at improving software that grades essays and short answers.“……旨在对短文和简答题评分软件进行改进”，由此可知题目信息来源于M段。
49. Though the automated grading system is widely used in multiple-choice tests, automated essay grading is still criticized by many educators.
答案：C
点睛解析：文章C段中提到Although automated grading systems for multiple-choice and true-false tests are now widespread, the use of artificial intelligence technology to grade essay answer has not yet received widespread acceptance by educators and has many critics.“虽然现在针对选择题和判断正误题的自动评分系统已经非常普遍, 但利用人工智能技术对短文进行评分尚未得到教育工作者的广泛认可, 而且批评声也很多。”题目信息与原文一致。
50. Some people don't believe the software grading system can do as good a job as human graders.
答案：E
点睛解析：题目意思是：一些人认为软件评分系统做得没有人工打分那么好。文章E段中提到，But skeptics(怀疑者) say the automated system is no match for live teachers.“怀疑人士表示，自动化系统比不上活生生的老师。”由此可知，题干信息是对E段的概括。
51. Critics of automated essay scoring do not seem to know the true realities in less famous universities.
答案：Q
点睛解析：Q段中提到，舍米斯博士认为批评者们大多来自于非常著名的机构，他们给出的反馈的确优于机器的反馈。但是他们似乎缺乏对现实世界中真实情况的了解。题干信息是对该段大意的概括。
52. Critics argue many important aspects of effective writing cannot be measured by computer rating programs.
答案：G
点睛解析：题目信息是反对短文自动化评分软件的原因，而G段提到了“计算机不能'阅读'。它们无法衡量有效书面表达的基本要素：准确性、逻辑、充足的论据、完整的意义、伦理立场、令人信服的论证、有意义的结构和清晰性等等。”由此可知题目信息来源于G段。
53. As class size grows, most teachers are unable to give students valuable comments as to how to improve their writing.
答案：P
点睛解析：P段第一句提到With increasingly large classes, it is impossible for most teachers to give students meaningful feedback on writing assignments...“随着班级规模的不断扩大，大多数老师都不太可能就学生的作文给出有意义的反馈……”题干信息与原文一致。
54. The automated assessment technology is sometimes used to double check the work of human graders.
答案：J
点睛解析：J段最后一句提到In some cases the software is used as a “second reader” to check the reliability of the human graders.“在某些情况下，该软件充当了‘第二阅读者’的角色，用来检验人工评分的可靠性。”由此可知，题干信息来源于J段。
55. Students find instant feedback helps improve their learning considerably.
答案：D
点睛解析：D段最后一句提到Students are telling us they learn much better with instant feedback. “学生们说有了即时反馈，他们学得更好。”题干信息是对该句的同义表述，所以选D。
© Section C
• Passage One
56. B
点睛解析：根据题干信息可定位至第一段。该段第一句、第二句提到，全职父亲的增多给女性职工在工作和家庭之间进行选择的两难境地带来了一丝希望。言外之意就是，越来越多的男性回归家庭，这与传统观念中女性更多地承担家庭责任是相反的，所以B“人们对于家庭的态度的转变”符合题意。
57. C
点睛解析：由题目信息可定位至第二段开头，第二段第一句提到，近十年里放弃工作成为全职父亲的人数翻倍的确是事实，但是这个数字仍然很小，该句是解释这种希望是被误导的原因。C“这个数字太小以至于产生不了什么影响”，是原文的同义表述，所以选项C是正确答案。
58. A
点睛解析：根据题目信息可定位至第四段，该段提到，While you're away，someone else is doing your work，making your sales，taking care of your customers．That can't help you at work．It can only hurt you.“当你离开的时候，其他人会承担你的工作，替你完成销售，照顾你的客户。这些并不能有助于你的工作。这只能伤害你。”由此可知，A“长期休假对他们的事业有负面影响”符合题意。
59. B
点睛解析：文章第四段提到，But with many more women than men choosing to leave the workforce entirely to raise families, returning from an extended parental leave doesn't raise as many eyebrows as it does for men.“但是, 相比男性, 会有更多的女性选择完全离职来照顾家庭, 所以休完延长的产假之后回归工作的女性所引起的惊讶并不会多于男性。”言外之意就是男性完全离职照顾家庭会引起更多惊讶。
60. D
点睛解析：文章最后一段最后一句提到...but their presence won't reduce the numbers of high potential women who are forced to choose between family and career.“但是他们的存在并不能减少那些在工作和家庭之间被迫做选择的很有潜力的女性的数量。”由此可以推断，D选项“女性仍然会面临家庭和事业的两难选择”符合文意。
• Passage Two
61. C
点睛解析：此题考查对短文主旨的理解。短文是总分结构，开头即点明主旨Some of the world's most significant problems...This is the decline in the growth in yields of some of the world's major crops. 与选项C表述相符。要注意有误导性的选项A。
62. A
点睛解析：文章第二段提到Their ability to feed themselves has been an important source of relative stability both within the countries and on world food markets.“它们养活自己的能力是保证两国内和世界粮食市场相对稳定的重要来源。”所以选项A“它们的自给自足对世界粮食市场的稳定性至关重要”与原文一致。
63. D
点睛解析：根据题目信息可定位至第四段。该段提到The authors note that "we have preferentially focused our crop improvement efforts on feeding animals and cars rather than on crops that feed people and are the basis of food security in much of the world." 研究者指出, “我们偏向专注于提高喂养动物和为汽车提供能源的农作物的产量, 而不是能养活人类、作为世界大部分地区食物保障基础的作物。”由此可知选项D“他们更加关注动物饲料而不是人类粮食产量的增加”是正确答案。
64. D
点睛解析：文章第五段提到...the world will not have to dig up a lot more land for farming in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050，as the Food and Agriculture Organisation has argued.“联合国粮食农业组织认为，人们不需要再开垦更多的土地来耕种以养活到2050年的90亿人口。”所以选项D“不增加农田也能养活所有人口”符合文意。
65. B
点睛解析：文章最后一段最后一句即作者的真正观点，该预测的问题在于假设产量会持续增加，但是这未必会发生。选项A“它是基于一项新研究的发现”，是文中提到的事实，不是作者的观点；选项C“它有强有力的证据支持”和选项D“它有待于进一步讨论”在文章中均未提到，因此排除；所以选项B“它是基于不可靠的假设”与原文相符合，是正确答案。
Part IV Translation
According to reports, this year courier services in China will deliver about 12 billion parcels. This will make it possible for China to surpass the United States and become the world's largest express delivery market. Most of the items contained in the parcels were ordered online. China offers the opportunity to millions of online retailers to sell goods at very competitive prices. Only in November 11th, Chinese consumers bought $9 billion worth of goods from the country's largest shopping platform. China has a lot of such special shopping days. Therefore, the courier industry in China is not surprising to have expanded. 超精讲，分类练，英语四级简单过