2016年6月大学英语四级真题及答案解析(卷2)
2016年6月大学英语四级真题及答案解析(卷2)
Part I Writing
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to express your thanks to one of your school teachers upon entering college. 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 three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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.
Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.
1. A) How college students can improve their sleep habits.
B) Why sufficient sleep is important for college students.
C) Why college students are more likely to have stress problems.
D) How college students can handle their psychological problems.
2. A) It is not easy to improve one's sleep habits.
B) It is not good for students to play video games.
C) Students who are better prepared generally get higher scores in examinations.
D) Making last-minute preparations for tests may be less effective than sleeping.
Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
3. A) Whether more airports should be built around London.
B) Whether adequate investment is being made to improve airport facilities.
C) Whether the British Airports Authority should sell off some of its assets.
D) Whether the Spanish company could offer better service.
4. A) Inefficient management. B) Poor ownership structure.
C) Lack of innovation and competition. D) Lack of runway and terminal capacity.
Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.
5. A) Report the nicotine content of their cigarettes.
B) Set a limit to the production of their cigarettes.
C) Take steps to reduce nicotine in their products.
D) Study the effects of nicotine on young smokers.
6. A) The biggest increase in nicotine content tended to be in brands young smokers like.
B) Big tobacco companies were frank with their customers about the hazards of smoking.
C) Brands which contain higher nicotine content were found to be much more popular.
D) Tobacco companies refused to discuss the detailed nicotine content of their products.
7. A) They promised to reduce the nicotine content in cigarettes.
B) They have not fully realized the harmful effect of nicotine.
C) They were not prepared to comment on the cigarette study.
D) They will pay more attention to the quality of their products.
© Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation you will hear four questions. Both the conversations 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.
Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
8. A) Indonesia. B) Holland. C) Sweden. D) England.
9. A) Getting a coach who can offer real help.
B) Talking with her boyfriend in Dutch.
C) Learning a language where it is not spoken.
D) Acquiring the necessary ability to socialize.
10. A) Listening to language programs on the radio.
B) Trying to speak it as much as one can.
C) Making friends with native speakers.
D) Practicing reading aloud as often as possible.
11. A) It creates an environment for socializing.
B) It offers various courses with credit points.
C) It trains young people's leadership abilities.
D) It provides opportunities for language practice.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
12. A) The impact of engine design on road safety. B) The role policemen play in traffic safety.
C) A sense of freedom driving gives. D) Rules and regulations for driving.
13. A) Make cars with automatic control. B) Make cars that have better brakes.
C) Make cars that are less powerful. D) Make cars with higher standards.
14. A) They tend to drive responsibly. B) They like to go at high speed.
C) They keep within speed limits. D) They follow traffic rules closely.
15. A) It is a bad idea. B) It is not useful.
C) It is as effective as speed bumps. D) It should be combined with education.
© Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. A) The card got damaged. B) The card was found invalid.
C) The card reader failed to do the scanning. D) The card reader broke down unexpectedly.
17. A) By covering the credit card with a layer of plastic.
B) By calling the credit card company for confirmation.
C) By seeking help from the card reader maker Verifone.
D) By typing the credit card number into the cash register.
18. A) Affect the sales of high-tech appliances.
B) Change the lifestyle of many Americans.
C) Give birth to many new technological inventions.
D) Produce many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
19. A) They are set by the dean of the graduate school.
B) They are determined by the advising board.
C) They leave much room for improvement.
D) They vary among different departments.
20. A) By consulting the examining committee. B) By reading the Bulletin of Information.
C) By contacting the departmental office. D) By visiting the university's website.
21. A) They specify the number of credits students must earn.
B) They are harder to meet than those for undergraduates.
C) They have to be approved by the examining committee.
D) They are the same among various divisions of the university.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22. A) Students majoring in nutrition. B) Students in health classes.
C) Ph.D. candidates in dieting. D) Middle and high school teachers.
23. A) Its overestimate of the effect of dieting. B) Its mistaken conception of nutrition.
C) Its changing criteria for beauty. D) Its overemphasis on thinness.
24. A) To illustrate her point that beauty is but skin deep.
B) To demonstrate the magic effect of dieting on women.
C) To explain how computer images can be misleading.
D) To prove that technology has impacted our culture.
25. A) To persuade girls to stop dieting.
B) To promote her own concept of beauty.
C) To establish an emotional connection with students.
D) To help students rid themselves of bad living habits.
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 26 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Contrary to popular belief, older people generally do not want to live with their children. Moreover, most adult children (26) every bit as much care and support to their aging parents as was the case in the "good old days", and roost older people do not feel (27) .
About 80% of people 65 years and older have living children, and about 90% of them have (28) contact with their children. About 75% of elderly parents who don't go to nursing homes live within 30 minutes of at least one of their children.
However, (29) having contact with children does not guarantee happiness in old age. In fact, some research has found that people who are most involved with their families have the lowest spirits. This research may be (30) , however, as ill health often makes older people more (31) and thereby increases contact with family members. So it is more likely that poor health, not just family involvement, (32) spirits.
Increasingly, researchers have begun to look at the quality of relationships, rather than at the frequency of contact, between the elderly and their children. If parents and children share interests and values and agree on childrearing practices and religious (33) they are likely to enjoy each other's company. Disagreements on such matters can (34) cause problems. If parents are angered by their daughter's divorce, dislike her new husband, and disapprove of how she is raising their grandchildren, (35) are that they are not going to enjoy her visits.
A. abandoned B. advanced C. biased D. chances
E. commitment F. dampens G. dependent H. distant
I. frequent J. fulfillment K. grant L. merely
M. provide N. understandably O. unrealistically
© 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.
Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?
A) For many years I have studied global agricultural, population, environmental and economic trends and their interactions. The combined effects of those trends and the political tensions they generate point to the breakdown of governments and societies. Yet I, too, have resisted the idea that food shortages could bring down not only individual governments but also our global civilization.
B) I can no longer ignore that risk. Our continuing failure to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.
C) As demand for food rises faster than supplies, the resulting food-price inflation puts severe stress on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets. Indeed, even before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues to worsen, entire nations will break down at an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.
D) States fail when national governments can no longer provide personal security, food security and basic social services such as education and health care. When governments lose their control on power, law and order begin to disintegrate. After a point, countries can become so dangerous that food relief workers are no longer safe and their programs are halted. Failing states are of international concern because they are a source of terrorists, drugs, weapons and refugees(难民), threatening political stability everywhere.
E) The surge in world grain prices in 2007 and 2008—and the threat they pose to food security—has a different, more troubling quality than the increases of the past. During the second half of the 20th century, grain prices rose dramatically several times. In 1972, for instance, the Soviets, recognizing their poor harvest early, quietly cornered the world wheat market. As a result, wheat prices elsewhere more than doubled, pulling rice and corn prices up with them. But this and other price shocks were event-driven—drought in the Soviet Union, crop-shrinking heat in the U.S. Corn Belt. And the rises were short-lived: prices typically returned to normal with the next harvest.
F) In contrast, recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse without a reversal in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highly grain-intensive meat products, and the massive diversion(转向) of U.S. grain to the production of bio-fuel.
G) As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the potential for further grain consumption is huge. But that potential pales beside the never-ending demand for crop-based fuels. A fourth of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.
H) What about supply? The three environmental trends—the shortage of fresh water, the loss of topsoil and the rising temperatures—are making it increasingly hard to expand the world's grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. Of all those trends, however, the spread of water shortages poses the most immediate threat. The biggest challenge here is irrigation, which consumes 70% the world's fresh water. Millions of irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them. The result is falling water tables(地下水位) in countries with half the world's people, including the three big grain producers—China, India and the U.S.
I) As water tables have fallen and irrigation wells have gone dry, China's wheat crop, the world's largest, has declined by 8% since it peaked at 123 million tons in 1997. But water shortages are even more worrying in India. Millions of irrigation wells have significantly lowered water tables in almost every state.
J) As the world's food security falls to pieces, individual countries acting in their own self-interest are actually worsening the troubles of many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies and thereby bringing down domestic food prices. Vietnam banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may eliminate the fears of those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left for export.
K) In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. Food-import anxiety is even leading to new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries. In spite of such temporary measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order.
L) Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these—the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families.
M) For many in the development community, the four objectives were seen as positive, promoting development as long as they did not cost too much. Others saw them as politically correct and morally appropriate. Now a third and far more significant motivation presents itself: meeting these goals may be necessary to prevent the collapse of our civilization. Yet the cost we project for saving civilization would amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending. In effect, our plan is the new security budget.
36. The more recent steep climb in grain prices partly results from the fact that more and more people want to consume meat products.
37. Social order is breaking down in many countries because of food shortages.
38. Rather than superpower conflict, countries unable to cope with food shortages now constitute the main threat to world security.
39. Some parts of the world have seen successful implementation of family planning.
40. The author has come to agree that food shortages could ultimately lead to the collapse of world civilization.
41. Increasing water shortages prove to be the biggest obstacle to boosting the world's grain production.
42. The cost for saving our civilization would be considerably less than the world's current military spending.
43. To lower domestic food prices, some countries limited or stopped their grain exports.
44. Environmental problems must be solved to case the current global food shortage.
45. A quarter of this year's American grain harvest will be used to produce bio-fuel for cars.
© 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 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
Declining mental function is often seen as a problem of old age, but certain aspects of brain function actually begin their decline in young adulthood, a new study suggests.
The study, which followed more than 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60, found that certain mental functions—including measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving—started to dull as early as age 27.
Dips in memory, meanwhile, generally became apparent around age 37.
On the other hand, indicators of a person's accumulated knowledge—like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge—kept improving with age, according to findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.
The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories. Most people's minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse.
"These patterns suggest that some types of mental flexibility decrease relatively early in adulthood, but that the amount of knowledge one has, and the effectiveness of integrating it with one's abilities, may increase throughout all of adulthood if there are no diseases," Salthouse said in a news release.
The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at the outset and at some point over the next seven years.
The tests are designed to detect subtle (细微的) changes in mental function, and involve solving puzzles, recalling words and details from stories, and identifying patterns in collections of letters and symbols.
In general, Salthouse and his colleagues found, certain aspects of cognition(认知能力) generally started to decline in the late 20s to 30s.
The findings shed light on normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia(痴呆) , according to the researchers.
"By following individuals over time," Salthouse said, "we gain insight in cognition changes, and may possibly discover ways to slow the rate of decline."
The researchers are currently analyzing the study of participants' health and lifestyle to see which factors might influence age-related cognitive changes.
46. What is the common view of mental function?
A. It varies from person to person. B. It weakens in one's later years.
C. It gradually expands with age. D. It indicates one's health condition.
47. What does the new study find about mental functions?
A. Some diseases inevitably lead to their decline.
B. They reach a peak at the age of 20 for most people.
C. They are closely related to physical and mental exercise.
D. Some of them begin to decline when people are still young.
48. What does Timothy Salthouse say about people's minds in most cases?
A. They tend to decline in people's later years.
B. Their flexibility determines one's abilities.
C. They function quite well even in old age.
D. Their functioning is still a puzzle to be solved.
49. Although people's minds may function less flexibly as they age, they__.
A. may be better at solving puzzles
B. can memorize things with more ease
C. may have greater facility in abstract reasoning
D. can put what they have learnt into more effective use
50. According to Salthouse, their study may help us__.
A. find ways to slow down our mental decline
B. find ways to boost our memories
C. understand the complex process of mental functioning
D. understand the relation between physical and mental health
• Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
The most important thing in the news last week was the rising discussion in Nashville about the educational needs of children. The shorthand(简写) educators use for this is "pre-K"—meaning instruction before kindergarten—and the big idea is to prepare 4-year-olds and even younger kids to be ready to succeed on their K-12 journey.
But it gets complicated. The concept has multiple forms, and scholars and policymakers argue about the shape, scope and cost of the ideal program.
The federal Head Start program, launched 50 years ago, has served more than 30 million children. It was based on concepts developed at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College by Susan Gray, the legendary pioneer in early childhood education research.
A new Peabody study of the Tennessee Voluntary Pre-K program reports that pre-K works, but the gains are not sustained through the third grade. It seems to me this highlights quality issues in elementary schools more than pre-K, and indicates longer-term success must connect pre-K with all the other issues, related to educating a child.
Pre-K is controversial. Some critics say it is a luxury and shouldn't be free to families able to pay. Pre-K advocates insist it is proven and will succeed if integrated with the rest of the child's schooling. I lean toward the latter view.
This is, in any case, the right conversation to be having now as Mayor Megan Barry takes office. She was the first candidate to speak out for strong pre-K programming. The important thing is for all of us to keep in mind the real goal and the longer, bigger picture.
The weight of the evidence is on the side of pre-K that early intervention (干预) works. What government has not yet found is the political will to put that understanding into full practice with a sequence of smart schooling that provides the early foundation.
For this purpose, our schools need both the talent and the organization to educate each child who arrives at the schoolhouse door. Some show up ready, but many do not at this critical time when young brains are developing rapidly.
51. What does the author say about pre-kindergarten education?
A. It should cater to the needs of individual children.
B. It is essential to a person's future academic success.
C. Scholars and policymakers have different opinions about it.
D. Parents regard it as the first phase of children's development.
52. What does the new Peabody study find?
A. Pre-K achievements usually do not last long.
B. The third grade marks a new phase of learning.
C. The third grade is critical to children's development.
D. Quality has not been the top concern of pre-K programs.
53. When does the author think pre-K works the best?
A. When it is accessible to kids of all families. B. When it is made part of kids' education.
C. When it is no longer considered a luxury. D. When it is made fun and enjoyable to kids.
54. What do we learn about Mayor Megan Barry?
A. She knows the real goal of education. B. She is a mayor of insight and vision.
C. She has once run a pre-K program. D. She is a firm supporter of pre-K.
55. What does the author think is critical to kids' education?
A. Teaching method. B. Kids' interest.
C. Early intervention. D. Parents' involvement.
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 the Answer Sheet 2.
在山东潍坊市，风筝不仅仅是玩具，而且还是这座城市文化的标志。潍坊以“风筝之都“而闻名，已有将近2 400年放飞风筝的历史。传说中国古代哲学家墨子用了三年时间在潍坊制作了世界上首个风筝，但放飞的第一天风筝就坠落并摔坏了。也有人相信风筝是中国古代木匠鲁班发明的。据说他的风筝用木头和竹子制作，飞了三天后才落地。
答案解析
Part I Writing
行文思路
这篇作文旨在表达对一位老师在考大学时期的帮助写的感谢信，首先引出感谢对象，接着以具体的帮助事例分析，最后总结并抒发对老师的感激之情。
第一段引出感谢对象。
第二段描述具体事例。
第三段总结并抒发感情。
范文赏析
Dear Mrs. White,
I am writing to thank you for your help upon my entering college.
On the eve of the college entrance examination, the school conducted a final month exam and I did not so well, having a bad score. I was depressed and lost confidence in myself. I always remember that you specifically asked me to talk in your office. It was that conversation that changed my mind. You encouraged me not to be discouraged and thought I could make my dream come true. From then on, you paid attention to my mood every day and gave me some suggestions. In the college entrance examination two months later, I did not let you down and achieved good results.
Now I have been admitted to a first-class university, but I can't forget your help. Perhaps without you, I couldn't have done so well.
Yours sincerely,
Robert
Part II 听力原文及答案解析
© Section A
• News Reports
News Report One
You probably think college students are experts at sleeping. But parties, preparations for tests, personal problems and general stress can wreck a student's sleep habits, which can be bad for the body and the mind. Texas Tech University is even offering a class called "Improving Your Sleep Habits". People suffering from sleep loss are at an increased risk from obesity, psychological problems and car crashes. Students who don't get enough sleep have poorer attendance and lower grades. On top of all that, a new study published in the journal Learning & Memory finds you're probably better off sleeping than making last-minute preparations for a test. Two hundred college kids were taught to play some unfamiliar video games. Subjects who learned the games in the morning lost some skills when they played again 12 hours later, but they did much better after getting a good night's sleep. So if you really want to do your job well, don't forget to get some sleep.
1. What is the news report mainly about?
答案：B. Why sufficient sleep is important for college students.
点睛解析：主旨大意题。新闻讲述的是睡眠对大学生的影响，强调睡眠的重要性而不是如何改善睡眠习惯，故答案选B。
2. What is the finding of the new study published in the journal Learning & Memory?
答案：D. Making last-minute preparations for tests may be less effective than sleeping.
点睛解析：听关键词选答案。...in the journal Learning and Memory finds you're probably better off sleeping than making last-minute preparations for a test.选项D是正确答案。
News Report Two
Long queues, delayed flights and overcrowding at airports have become almost as much a topic for conversation in Britain as the traditional complaining about the weather. Meanwhile, there're complaints: the poor service at London's major airports is discouraging foreigners from doing business in Britain. Much of the criticism is directed at the British Airports Authority, which runs seven major airports, including the three main ones serving London. The Competition Commission is now to investigate whether the British Airports Authority needs to sell off some of its assets. The idea is that competition between rival operators would lead to better service at airports. The British Airports Authority recently bought by a Spanish company, says the root cause of the problems is not the ownership structure, but a lack of runway and terminal capacity, which is addressing through a program of heavy investments.
3. What is the Competition Commission going to investigate?
答案：C. Whether the British Airports Authority should sell off some of its assets.
点睛解析：新闻中提到The Competition Commission is now to investigate whether the British Airports Authority needs to sell off some of its assets.选项C是原文重现，故选C。
4. What is the root cause of the poor service at British airports according to the British Airports Authority?
答案：D. Lack of runway and terminal capacity.
点睛解析：新闻中提到...says the root cause of the problems is not the ownership structure, but a lack of runway and terminal capacity...，所以选项D是正确答案。
News Report Three
Under the law in Massachusetts, tobacco companies have to measure the nicotine content of every type of cigarette and report the results. The Department of Public Health in Boston gathers and carefully examines the figures, and then draws its conclusion: 116 brands were looked at for the study. Ninety-two were found to have higher nicotine yields than they did 6 years previously. The biggest increase is tended to be in brands that were popular with young smokers, that worries the Department because of the addicted nature of nicotine. Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine in San Francisco explains why. "The amount of nicotine delivered in every cigarette is 10 percent higher than it was 6 years ago, which means that it's easier to get hooked and harder to quit. The big tobacco companies have always insisted that they are flank with their customers about the dangers of smoking and provide them with enough detail to make an informed decision. However, none of them were prepared to comment on this study or discuss the detailed nicotine content of their products."
5. What do tobacco companies have to do under the law in Massachusetts?
答案：A. Report the nicotine content of their cigarettes.
点睛解析：文中提到Under the law in Massachusetts, tobacco companies have to measure the nicotine content of every type of cigarette and report the results.烟草公司在马萨诸塞州的法律规定下，必须去检测每种香烟的尼古丁含量并汇报结果，故选A。
6. What do we learn from the study by the Department of Public Health in Boston?
答案：A. The biggest increase in nicotine content tended to be in brands young smokers like.
点睛解析：原文重现，选项A与文中The biggest increase is tended to be in brands that were popular with young smokers...几乎一样，were popular with与like同义。故选A。
7. What do we learn from the news report about the big tobacco companies?
答案：C. They were not prepared to comment on the cigarette study.
点睛解析：原文的最后一句提到：...none of them were prepared to comment on this study or discuss the detailed nicotine content of their products.选项C是该句的概括，故选C。
© Section B
• Conversations
Conversation One
M: And you know...one thing that l want to ask you. It's great you have had this experience of teaching in Indonesia. And following up on what you just mentioned, what would you recommend for students who do not live in an English-speaking country? And, you know, they want to learn. I don't know about perfecting, but they want at least to be able to communicate decently. How can they go about this?
W: Yeah, it's really hard. That's the real struggle because...Right now I do live in Holland but I really don't socialize much with Dutch people. And my boyfriend's English is so good that we just basically speak English all the time, so I have to make a real effort to practice. There's as much listening exposure as I want. All I have to do is turn on the TV.
M: And reading also, right?
W: Yeah, reading. There's plenty I can get to read and listen to. But for speaking, there really is no substitute for trying to speak and use the language in a relaxed atmosphere. So I think that's really the challenge for people who live in a country where their target language isn't spoken. And for that...gosh, what would I do? If I didn't have people here, probably, try to find a club...In Sweden they have a really cool system called "study circles", where it's not...it's like a course, but really, you just have a course leader who's there sort of as a coaching guide and to help out...And you don't get grades, and you go just because you want to learn.
8. Where does the woman live right now?
答案：B. Holland.
点睛解析：地点题，原文中提到：I do live in Holland but I really don't socialize much with Dutch people.即女士确实住在荷兰，只是不常和荷兰人交往，故选B。
9. What does the woman say is the real challenge?
答案：C. Learning a language where it is not spoken.
点睛解析：原文中提到：So I think that's really the challenge for people who live in a country where their target language isn't spoken.选项C与题意相符。
10. What does the woman suggest doing to learn to speak a foreign language?
答案：B. Trying to speak it as much as one can.
点睛解析：原文中女士提到尝试去一个俱乐部练习说外语，选项C“尽可能多的去说。”与此相符，故选C。
11. What does the woman say about the study circles in Sweden?
答案：D. It provides opportunities for language practice.
点睛解析：推理题。在对话中女士提到瑞典的学习圈，有一个人在旁边提供帮助，类似于辅导员和引导者，可推理出这种学习圈可以提供语言练习的机会。故选D。
Conversation Two
W: OK, Nathan. So we're talking about driving and are there any rules or regulations that you'd like to change?
M: I'm not sure I want to change rules, but I'd like the police to be stricter on the rules. Like if people jump the traffic lights, I don't know why there isn't a camera at the traffic lights to stop people doing that. All like speeding, it's very easy to put speed cameras in certain places.
W: Maybe car manufacturers should have some responsibility in limiting their power of their engines. What's the point in producing an engine that's big and powerful enough to go like 200km/h when the speed limit is only 100?
M: Right. But do you know there are no speed limits in Germany?
W: People there do drive responsibly, though. Often, people break laws simply because the laws are there. If the law isn't there, people will drive within their ability range. When you've got speed limits, this creates situations that actually present dangers on the road.
M: Do you think Germans have better education about personal responsibility when driving?
W: Possibly, they also have very good cars.
M: Right.
W: If you've got a good car that can go at a high speed then it's really nice to do that.
M: But still with care.
W: So I think it's the restriction that creates the dangers sometimes.
M: OK.
W: Obviously, when driving through a residential area, or where there's a school, you've got to have speed policemen.
M: Speed bumps.
W: Yes. Speed bumps—those speed bumps that force you to slow down. I think they're a good idea.
M: So, you don't think fining people is useful?
W: Not really, because the police don't have time to police every single driver.
12. What are the speakers mainly talking about?
答案：D. Rules and regulations for driving.
点睛解析：对话中第一句女士提到So we're talking about driving and are there any rules or regulations that you'd like to change，对应选D。
13. What does the woman think car manufacturers could do?
答案：C. Make cars that are less powerful.
点睛解析：对话中女士说：也许汽车制造商应该对限制汽车引擎的功率负责，选项C与此对应。
14. What can we learn about people driving in Germany?
答案：A. They tend to drive responsibly.
点睛解析：对话中提到People there do drive responsibly，选项A的They tend to drive responsibly与此对应，故选A。
15. What does the woman think of the police fining drivers?
答案：B. It is not useful.
点睛解析：对话中男士对女士说So, you don't think fining people is useful，女士回答确实没什么用，对应选项中的It is not useful.“没什么用。”故选B。
© Section C
• Passages
Passage One
Behind the cash register at a store in downtown San Francisco, Sam Azar swiped his credit card to pay for a pack of cigarettes. The store's card reader failed to scan the card's magnetic strip. Azar tried again and again. No luck!
As customers began to queue, Mr. Azar reached beneath the counter for a black plastic bag. He wrapped one layer of the plastic around the card and tried again. Success! The sale was completed.
"I don't know how it works. It just does," said Mr. Azar who learned the trick from another clerk. Verifone, the company that makes the store's card reader, would not confirm or deny that the plastic bag trick worked. But it's one of many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures that people without engineering degrees have discovered, often out of desperation, and shared.
Today's shaky economy is likely to produce many more such tricks. "In postwar Japan, the economy wasn't doing so great, so you couldn't get everyday-use items like household cleaners," says Lisa Katayama, author of Urawaza, a book named after the Japanese term for clever lifestyle tips and tricks. "So people look for ways to do with what they had."
Today, Americans are finding their own tips and tricks for fixing malfunctioning devices with supplies as simple as paper and glue. Some, like Mr. Azar's plastic bag, are open to argument as to how they work, or whether they really work at all. But many tech home remedies can be explained by a little science.
16. What happened when Sam Azar swiped his credit card to pay for his purchase?
答案：C. The card reader failed to do the scanning.
点睛解析：原文中提到The store's card reader failed to scan the card's magnetic strip.即当他去刷卡的时候，店里的刷卡机不能刷卡的磁条，故选C。
17. How did Sam Azar manage to complete the sale?
答案：A. By covering the credit card with a layer of plastic.
点睛解析：原文中提到He wrapped one layer of the plastic around the card and tried again. Success!“拿一层塑料裹在卡上试了一下。成功了！”选项A是该句子的同义替换，故选A。
18. What is today's shaky economy likely to do?
答案：D. Produce many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures.
点睛解析：原文中提到：Today's shaky economy is likely to produce many more such tricks.意思为当前不稳定的经济需要更多这样的诀窍。选项D“发明更多低技术修复方法。”更符合题意。
Passage Two
If you are a graduate student, you may depend on your advisor for many things, including help with improving grades, acquiring financial support, forming an examining committee and getting letters of recommendation. If you are a graduate teaching assistant, your advisor also may be your "boss".
Academic departments vary in their procedures for assigning academic advisors to graduate students. In some departments, either the chairman or the director of graduate studies serves for at least a semester as a new student's advisor. Then the student selects an advisor, based on shared academic interests.
In other departments, a new student is assigned a faculty advisor based on some system of distribution of the department's "advising load". Later, students may have the opportunity of selecting the advisor that they prefer.
In any case, new graduate students can learn who their advisors or temporary advisors are by visiting or emailing the departmental office, and asking for the information.
Graduation requirements specify the number of credits you must earn, the minimum grade point average you must achieve, and the distribution of credits you must have from among different departments or fields of study. In addition, it is necessary to "apply for graduation" when you're near the time that you'll be completing your graduation requirements. Since graduation requirements vary among divisions of the university, you should consult the Bulletin of Information. You should also direct your questions to your departmental office or academic advisor.
19. What does the speaker say about the procedures for assigning academic advisors?
答案：D. They vary among different departments.
点睛解析：原文中提到Academic departments vary in their procedures for assigning academic advisors to graduate students.“不同的系分配导师给学生的程序都不一样”。所以选D。
20. How can new graduate students learn who their advisors are?
答案：C. By contacting the departmental office.
点睛解析：原文中提到...by visiting or emailing the departmental office...通过直接拜访或发邮件的方式到系办公室，选项C是该信息的同义替换，故选C。
21. What does the speaker say about graduation requirements?
答案：A. They specify the number of credits students must earn.
点睛解析：原文中提到Graduation requirements specify the number of credits you must earn...选项A属于原文重现，故选A。
Passage Three
Jody Hubbard is a diet and nutrition expert who travels around the state to speak in middle and high schools. She primarily speaks to students in health classes, but sometimes the school will arrange for her to speak to several different groups of girls. Her biggest concern is the emphasis American culture places on thinness and the negative ways of these affected girls today. Jody has a Ph.D. in nutrition, but more importantly, she has personal experience—her mother taught her to diet when she was only 8 years old.
Jody has created several different presentations which she gives to different types of audiences, and she tries to establish an emotional connection with the students so that they will feel comfortable asking questions or talking to her privately. She shows them pictures and images from popular culture of beautiful women and explains how computers are used to make the women look even more thin and "beautiful" than they are in real life. She describes how the definition of beauty has changed over the years and even from culture to culture. She then talks about health issues and the physical damage that can occur as a result of dieting. Finally, she addresses self-respect and the notion that a person's sense of beauty must include more than how much a person weighs.
Sometimes, Jody feels that she succeeds in persuading some students to stop dieting; other times, she feels that she fails.
22. Who does Jody Hubbard primarily speak to?
答案：B. Students in health classes.
点睛解析：原文中She primarily speaks to students in health classes...，选项B是属于该信息的原文重现，故为正确答案。
23. What is Jody Hubbard's biggest concern about American culture?
答案：D. Its overemphasis on thinness.
点睛解析：原文中提到Her biggest concern is the emphasis American culture places on thinness and the negative ways of this affects girls today.选项D属于该信息的原文重现，故为正确答案。
24. Why does Jody Hubbard show pictures of beautiful women to her audiences?
答案：C. To explain how computer images can be misleading.
点睛解析：原文中提到She shows them pictures and images...explains how computers are used to make the women look even more thin and "beautiful" than they are in real life.选项C的computer images can be misleading与此信息相符，故选C。
25. What is Jody Hubbard's main purpose in giving her speeches?
答案：A. To persuade girls to stop dieting.
点睛解析：原文最后两句提到她有时觉得自己成功说服了女生停止节食，有时又觉得自己失败了，可推理出她的主要目的是劝女生不要节食，所以选A。
Part III 阅读答案及解析
© Section A
26. provide
点睛解析：空格处应为动词，且与后面的to连用，所以答案是provide。
27. abandoned
点睛解析：根据空格前的feel可知，空格处应为形容词，abandoned“遗弃的”，advanced“先进的，提前的”，frequent“频繁的”，能与feel搭配的只能是abandoned。
28. frequent
点睛解析：空格处修饰名词contact，所以为形容词，frequent contact意为“频繁的联系”。
29. merely
点睛解析：空格处为副词，修饰having contact，merely“不过，仅仅”，understandably“可理解地”，unrealistically“不现实地”，merely符合语境。
30. biased
点睛解析：空格处为形容词，作表语，biased意为“有偏见的”，可修饰research，与前面的研究相呼应。
31. dependent
点睛解析：空格处为形容词，作宾语older people的补足语。dependent“依赖的”，符合语境。
32. dampens
点睛解析：空格处为动词，该句子中的主语是poor health，所以谓语动词用第三人称单数形式，dampen“使消沉，抑制”，符合语境。
33. commitment
点睛解析：空格处与religious连用，与and前的childrearing practices并列，所以空格处为名词。commitment“委托，托付”，fulfillment“满足”，chances“机会，可能性”，religious commitment更符合语境。
34. understandably
点睛解析：空格处为副词，修饰动词cause，understandably“可理解地”，unrealistically“不现实地”，空格所在句子的意思是：在这种事情上的分歧____产生问题，排除unrealistically。
35. chances
点睛解析：空格处在句子中作主语，名词可以作主语，chances are that是固定用法，即“机会是，可能……”。
© Section B
36. F
点睛解析：题干与F段中...a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highly grain-intensive meat products...相对应。
37. A
点睛解析：题干信息是A段中...food shortages could bring down not only individual governments but also our global civilization.的同义表述。
38. C
点睛解析：题干信息与C段中的最后一句In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.相呼应。
39. L
点睛解析：题干与L段的最后一句Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world...the distribution of family-planning services...相呼应。
40. B
点睛解析：题干与B段中的...the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.相对应。
41. H
点睛解析：H段主要讲述的是水资源的匮乏对农作物产量的影响，与题干相对应。
42. M
点睛解析：M段的最后提到：Yet the cost we project for saving civilization would amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending.与题干相符。
43. J
点睛解析：J段中提到：The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies...与题干相符。
44. L
点睛解析：L段第一句提到：Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed，该信息与题干相对应。
45. G
点睛解析：G段中的A fourth of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.与题干对应。
© Section C
46. C
点睛解析：根据第一段第一句的前半句Declining mental function is often seen as a problem of old age...可知，选项C是正确答案。
47. D
点睛解析：第一段中...but certain aspects of brain function actually begin their decline in young adulthood, a new study suggests.描述了新研究的发现。
48. C
点睛解析：第五段中Most people's minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse.对题目作出了解释。
49. D
点睛解析：根据题干信息可定位至第六段，选项D是对该段的高度概括。
50. A
点睛解析：文章倒数第二段的结尾提到：...we gain insight in cognition changes, and may possibly discover ways to slow the rate of decline.与选项A中的find ways to slow down our mental decline相对应。
51. C
点睛解析：根据题干信息可定位至第二段，该段中提到：The concept has multiple forms, and scholars and policymakers argue about...，选项C是对该信息的概括。
52. A
点睛解析：根据题干中的new Peabody 可定位至第四段，该段中提到：...reports that pre-K works, but the gains are not sustained through the third grade.意味着不会持续很长时间，选A。
53. B
点睛解析：根据题干信息可定位至第五段，该段中Pre-K advocates insist it is proven and will succeed if integrated with the rest of the child's schooling.与选项B相对应。
54. D
点睛解析：第六段中提到She was the first candidate to speak out for strong pre-K programming.选项A、B和C在文中没有体现。选D。
55. C
点睛解析：选项A、B和D在文中均没有明显体现，而选项C中的Early intervention与文中倒数第二段的early intervention (干预) works相对应。
Part IV Translation
In Weifang, Shandong, kites are not only toys, but also a symbol of the city's culture. Weifang is famous for the "kite capital", which has a nearly 2,400-year history of kite flying. There is a legend that ancient Chinese philosopher Mo-tse spent three years making the world's first kite in Weifang, but it crashed and broke when flying on the first day. It is also believed that the kite was invented by Lu Ban, an ancient Chinese carpenter. It is said that his kite was made of wood and bamboo. It took three days to fly to the ground. 超精讲，分类练，英语四级简单过