1、2015年12月大学英语四级考试真题（第一套）Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the saying “Listening is more important than talking.” You can cite examples to illustrate the importance of paying attention to others opinions. You should write a
2、t least 120 words, but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)Section ADirection: 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. Afte
3、r 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 will be based on the following news item. 1. A) Dismissing employees without giving adva
4、nce notice.B) Checking employees online private messages at work.C) Monitoring employees performance on weekends.D) Closing employees social media during work hours.2. A) He did well in handling his clients queries.B) He created a private account for his fiance.C) He won the case against his employe
5、r recently.D) He was fired because of breaking company rules.Questions 3 and 4 will be based on the following news item.3. A) It is widely used in Kenya.B) It has been increasing in value.C) It makes poor peoples life easier.D) It lowers the buying power of the rich.4. A) It is a non-profit group lo
6、cated in Nairobi, Kenya.B) It works hard on replacing the national currency system.C) It introduced a community currency to a village in Kenya.D) It makes a series of investigations on trade and jobs in Kenya. Questions 5 and 6 will be based on the following news item.5. A) Several states declared a
7、n economic emergency.B) Many women are too old to get pregnant.C) Some babies were born with brain defects.D) Birth rates have fallen down greatly. 6. A) 10B) 29C) 2,400D) 3,1007. A) A mosquito-borne virus.B) A severe chest infection.C) The shortage of medicine.D) Bacteria from Latin America.Section
8、 BDirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation 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), an
9、d D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Conversation OneQuestions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A) It is used by more people than English. B) It is more difficult to learn than English. C) It will be as commonly
10、used as English. D) It will eventually become a world language.9. A) Its popularity with the common people. B) The effect of the Industrial Revolution. C) The influence of the British Empire. D) Its loan words from many languages.10. A) It has a growing number of newly coined words. B) It includes a
11、 lot of words from other languages. C) It is the largest among all languages in the world. D) It can be easily picked up by overseas travelers.11. A) The English grammar is quite easy. B) It is greatly influenced by French. C) It could be pronounced easily. D) It is attractive to England beginners.Q
12、uestions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) To place an order. B) To apply for a job. C) To return some goods. D) To make a complaint.13. A) He works on a part-time basis for the company. B) He has not worked in the sales department for long. C) He is not familiar with
13、 the exact details of the goods. D) He has become somewhat impatient with the woman.14. A) It is not his responsibility. B) It will be free for large orders. C) It depends on a number of factors. D) It costs15 more for express delivery.15. A) Make inquiries with some other companies. B) Report the i
14、nformation to her superior. C) Pay a visit to the saleswoman in charge. D) Ring back when she comes to a decision.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three passage. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.
15、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 OneQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A) No one knows for su
16、re when they came into being. B) No one knows exactly where they were first made. C) No one knows for what purpose they were invented. D) No one knows what they will look like in the future.17. A) Measure the speed of wind. B) Give warnings of danger. C) Pass on secret messages. D) Carry ropes acros
17、s rivers.18. A) To find out the strength of silk for kites. B) To test the effects of the lightning rod. C) To prove that lightning is electricity. D) To protect houses against lightning.Passage TwoQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) She was born with a talent for
18、languages. B) She was tainted to be an interpreter. C) She can speak several languages. D) She enjoys teaching languages.20. A) They want to learn as many foreign languages as possible. B) They have an intense interest in cross-cultural interactions. C) They acquire an immunity to culture shock. D)
19、They would like to live abroad permanently.21. A) She became an expert in horse racing. B) She learned to appreciate classical music. C) She was able to translate for a German sports judge. D) She got a chance to visit several European countries.22. A) Take part in a cooking competition. B) Taste th
20、e beef and give her comment. C) Teach vocabulary for food in English. D) Give cooking lessons on Western food.Passage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.23. A) He had only a third-grade education. B) He once threatened to kill his teacher. C) He often helped his mot
21、her do housework. D) He grew up in a poor single-parent family.24. A) Careless. B) Stupid. C) Brave. D) Active.25. A) Watch educational TV programs only. B) Write two book reports a week. C) Help with housework. D) Keep a diary.Part Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections：In this secti
22、on, 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 correspondin
23、g letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.Scholars of the information society are divided over whether social inequality decreases or increases in a
24、n information-based society. However, they generally agree with the idea that inequality in the information society is 26 different from that of an industrial society. As information progresses in society, the cause and structural nature of social inequality changes as well.It seems that the informa
25、tion society 27 the quantity of information available to the members of a society by revolutionizing the ways of using and exchanging information. But such a view is a 28 analysis based on the quantity of information supplied by various forms of the mass media. A different 29 is possible when the ac
26、tual amount of information 30 by the user is taken into account. In fact, the more information 31 throughout the entire society, the wider the gap becomes between “information haves” and “information have-mots”, leading to digital divide.According to recent studies, digital divide has been caused by
27、 three major 32 class, sex, and generation. In terms of class, digital divide exists among different types of workers and between the upper and middle classes and the lower class. With 33 to sex, digital divide exists between men and women. The greatest gap, however, is between the Net-generation, 3
28、4 with personal computers and the Internet, and the older generation, 35 to an industrial society.A) accustomedB) acquiredC) assemblyD) attributeE) championsF) elementsG) expandsH) familiarI) flowsJ) fundamentallyK) interpretationL) passiveM) regardN) respectivelyO) superficialSection BDirections: I
29、n 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. Ans
30、wer the question by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Joy: A Subject Schools LackBecoming educated should not require giving up pleasure.A When Jonathan Swift proposed, in 1729, that the people of Ireland eat their children, he insisted it would solve three problems at once: feed th
31、e hungry masses, reduce the population during a severe depression, and stimulate the restaurant business. Even as a satire (讽刺), it seems disgusting and shocking in America with its child-centered culture. But actually, the country is closer to his proposal than you might think.B If you spend much t
32、ime with educators and policy makers, youll hear a lot of the following words: “standards”, “results”, “skills”, “self-control”, “accountability”, and so on. I have visited some of the newer supposedly “effective” schools, where children shout slogans in order to learn self-control or must stand beh
33、ind their desk when they cant sit still.C A look at what goes on in most classrooms these days makes it abundantly clear that when people think about education, they are not thinking about what it feels like to be a child, or what makes childhood an important and valuable stage of life in its own ri
34、ght.D Im a mother of three, a teacher, and a developmental psychologist. So Ive watched a lot of children-talking, playing, arguing, eating, studying, and being young. Heres what Ive come to understand. The thing that sets children apart from adults is not their ignorance, nor their lack of skills.
35、Its their enormous capacity for joy. Think of a 3-year-old lost in the pleasures of finding out what he can and cannot sink in the bathtub, a 5-year-old beside herself with the thrill of putting together strings of nonsensical words with her best friends, or an 11-year-old completely absorbed in a f
36、ascinating comic strip. A childs ability to become deeply absorbed in something, and derive intense pleasure from that absorption, is something adults spend the rest of their lives trying to return to.E A friend told me the following story. One day, when he went to get his 7-year-old son from soccer
37、 practice, his kid greeted him with a downcast face and a sad voice. The coach had criticized him for not focusing on his soccer drills. The little boy walked out of the school with his head and shoulders hanging down. He seemed wrapped in sadness. But just before he reached the car door, he suddenl
38、y stopped, crouching (蹲伏) down to peer at something on the sidewalk. His face went down lower and lower, and then, with complete joy he called out, “Dad. Come here. This is the strangest bug Ive ever seen. It has, like, a million legs. Look at this. Its amazing.” He looked up at his father, his feat
39、ures overflowing with energy and delight. Cant we stay here for just a minute? I want to find out what he does with all those legs. This is the coolest ever.F The traditional view of such moments is that they constitute a charming but irrelevant byproduct of youth-something to be pushed aside to mak
40、e room for more important qualities, like perseverance (坚持不懈), obligation, and practicality. Yet moments like this one are just the kind of intense absorption and pleasure adults spend the rest of their lives seeking. Human lives are governed by the desire to experience joy. Becoming educated should
41、 not require giving up joy but rather lead to finding joy in new kinds of things: reading novels instead of playing with small figures, conducting experiments instead of sinking cups in the bathtub, and debating serious issues rather than stringing together nonsense words, for example. In some cases
42、, schools should help children find new, more grown-up ways of doing the same things that are constant sources of joy: making art, making friends, making decisions.G Building on a childs ability to feel joy, rather than pushing it aside, wouldnt be that hard. It would just require a shift in the edu
43、cation worlds mindset (思维模式). Instead of trying to get children to work hard, why not focus on getting them to take pleasure in meaningful, productive activity, like making things, working with others, exploring ideas, and solving problems? These focuses are not so different from the things in which
44、 they delight.H Before you brush this argument aside as rubbish, or think of joy as an unaffordable luxury in a nation where there is awful poverty, low academic achievement, and high dropout rates, think again. The more horrible the school circumstances, the more important pleasure is to achieving
45、any educational success.I Many of the assignments and rules teachers come up with, often because they are pressured by their administrators, treat pleasure and joy as the enemies of competence and responsibility. The assumption is that children shouldnt chat in the classroom because it hinders hard
46、work; instead, they should learn to delay gratification (快乐) so that they can pursue abstract goals, like going to college.J Not only is this a boring and awful way to treat children, it makes no sense educationally. Decades of research have shown that in order to acquire skills and real knowledge i
47、n school, kids need to want to learn. You can force a child to stay in his or her seat, fill out a worksheet, or practice division. But you cant force the child to think carefully, enjoy books, digest complex information, or develop a taste for learning. To make that happen, you have to help the child find pleasure in learning-to see school as a source of joy.K Adults tend to talk about learning as if it were medicine: unpleasant, but necessary and good for you. Why not instead think of learning as if it were foodsomething so valuable to humans that they have evol
