2014年英语专业四级考试真题

[00:03.22]Test for English Majors
[00:05.18]2014
[00:07.45]Grade Four
[00:08.94]PART ⅠDICTATION
[00:11.34]Listen to the following passage.
[00:13.26]Altogether the passage will be read to you four times.
[00:16.57]During the first reading,
[00:17.74]which will be done at normal speed,
[00:20.12]listen and try to understand the meaning.
[00:22.83]For the second and third readings,
[00:24.63]the passage will be read sentence by sentence,
[00:27.21]or phrase by phrase,
[00:29.17]with intervals of 15 seconds.
[00:31.79]The last reading will be done at normal speed again
[00:34.96]and during this time you should check your work.
[00:37.89]You will then be given 1 minute to check through your work once more.
[00:41.89]Please write the whole passage on ANSWER SHEET ONE.
[00:45.49]Now listen to the passage
[00:48.14]Limiting the Growth of Technology
[00:51.01]Throughout history man has changed his physical environment
[00:54.68]to improve his way of life.
[00:56.97]With the tools of technology，
[00:58.81]man has altered many physical features of the earth.
[01:02.05]However, these changes in the physical environment
[01:05.33]have not always had beneficial results.
[01:08.63]Today, pollution of the air and water is
[01:11.18]a danger to the health of the planet.
[01:14.00]Smoke from factories pollutes the air of industrialized areas
[01:17.67]and the surrounding countryside.
[01:20.34]The pollution of water is equally harmful.
[01:23.54]It is now necessary for man to limit the growth of technology
[01:27.48]in order to survive on earth.
[01:30.41]The second and third readings.
[01:32.62]You should begin writing now.


[01:55.87][01:34.87]Throughout history man has changed his physical environment
[01:59.42][01:38.53]to improve his way of life.
[02:34.17][02:16.44]With the tools of technology，
[03:10.23][02:51.48]man has altered many physical features of the earth.
[03:47.88][03:28.95]However, these changes in the physical environment
[04:24.90][04:06.78]have not always had beneficial results.
[05:04.23][04:43.43]Today, pollution of the air and water is
[05:06.63][04:46.04]a danger to the health of the planet.
[05:46.20][05:24.55]Smoke from factories pollutes the air of industrialized areas
[05:50.06][05:28.46]and the surrounding countryside.
[06:26.47][06:07.78]The pollution of water is equally harmful.
[07:05.36][06:45.39]It is now necessary for man to limit the growth of technology
[07:42.21][07:24.76]in order to survive on earth.


[08:00.32]The last reading.
[08:02.15]Throughout history man has changed his physical environment
[08:05.71]to improve his way of life.


[08:08.05]With the tools of technology，
[08:09.92]man has altered many physical features of the earth.
[08:13.20]However, these changes in the physical environment
[08:16.46]have not always had beneficial results.
[08:19.68]Today, pollution of the air and water is
[08:22.24]a danger to the health of the planet.
[08:25.11]Smoke from factories pollutes the air of industrialized areas
[08:29.12]and the surrounding countryside.
[08:31.45]The pollution of water is equally harmful.
[08:34.63]It is now necessary for man to limit the growth of technology
[08:38.56]in order to survive on earth.
[08:41.35]Now, you have One minute to check through your work.
[09:44.75]That is the end of Part I Dictation.
[09:48.18]PART Ⅱ LISTENING COMPREHENSION
[09:51.34]SECTION A TALK
[09:53.98]In this section you will hear a talk.
[09:56.62]You will hear the talk ONCE ONLY.
[09:59.31]While listening, you may look at ANSWER SHEET ONE
[10:02.56]and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.
[10:06.49]Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are)
[10:10.13]both grammatically and semantically acceptable.
[10:13.24]You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.
[10:16.09]You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.
[10:49.79]Now listen to the talk. When it is over,
[10:53.66]you will be given TWO minutes to complete your work.
[10:57.73]How to Succeed in Your Literature Class
[11:00.98]Good morning everyone,
[11:02.46]our topic today is about how to do well in your literature class
[11:05.79]in your college days.
[11:08.02]Literature courses and assignments tend to
[11:10.50]be extremely different from those of any other discipline
[11:13.74]because of their extreme subjectivity.
[11:16.07]This aspect is what many people tend to
[11:18.10]find most surprising and challenging in an academic setting.
[11:23.13]I am not saying that you can throw reason
[11:25.07]and fact out of the window in literature courses,
[11:27.99]but you are given much more intellectual freedom
[11:30.88]with your personal thoughts and ideas.
[11:33.46]Beginning with the "in advance" piece of wisdom.
[11:36.45]For large lectures students often think it is not that
[11:39.65]important to do the readings since they will not
[11:42.44]be forced to speak up and offer opinions.
[11:45.00]This is completely wrong.
[11:46.81]Why attend a lecture on a piece of writing that
[11:49.05]the professor assumes you have read?
[11:51.24]You will take nothing away from the lecture
[11:53.32]and will not be able to make any sense of whatever notes you take,
[11:56.77]even if you read the material after the fact.
[11:59.76]In small classes that have lots of open discussion,
[12:02.54]professors can always tell who has and
[12:05.07]who has not done the week’s reading.
[12:07.09]Don’t think it won’t affect your participation grade for the course.
[12:10.60]The entire point of a literature class is
[12:12.91]to engross a student in the general aspects of important books,
[12:16.97]to explore many subtle differences of how stories are crafted,
[12:20.51]and to train the college scholar to read and
[12:23.13]digest huge amounts of information.
[12:26.01]You won’t do well in the course without
[12:27.68]making a sincere attempt to read and understand every assigned text.
[12:32.95]Next, make sure you read all material very closely.
[12:37.17]Do not skim through seemingly unimportant passages of long novels,
[12:41.32]or read Spark Notes and think you know what happens in the reading.
[12:45.23]These methods of "reading" leave you
[12:47.34]without any idea of the author’s style or deeper intentions;
[12:51.31]they merely give you plots or surface meanings.
[12:54.45]Reading things halfway will be of no benefit
[12:56.83]to you when it is time to write your papers.
[12:59.13]Literature professors usually want papers
[13:01.24]that are very sharply focused and detailed.
[13:04.02]There is no single answer or interpretation
[13:06.31]to most pieces of literature,
[13:08.15]but students must be able to read closely
[13:10.48]enough to defend a case with textual evidence
[13:13.90]that will support their personal interpretations.
[13:16.69]Finally,
[13:17.46]do not feel defeated if you find a piece of evidence
[13:19.99]in the text that seems to contradict
[13:22.20]the line of thinking you had developed
[13:23.99]about the piece of literature.
[13:25.27]Literature papers and discussions
[13:26.81]should question every theory by offering counterevidence.
[13:31.11]As I previously said,
[13:32.55]clear-cut answers do not exist in any form of literature,
[13:36.13]be it poetry, fiction, essays, or even nonfiction.
[13:40.37]You must read all genres with a discerning eye,
[13:43.20]and instead of avoiding possible conflicts in your papers,
[13:46.59]use them to show that you have fully
[13:48.35]thought through your arguments.
[13:50.32]And the last piece of advice I have to offer:
[13:53.01]look at the reading lists of literature courses
[13:55.36]you are considering so you do not make yourself miserable
[13:58.31]by spending a semester reading literature you have no interest in.
[14:02.30]Literature courses should be enjoyable,
[14:04.45]and their readings stimulating,
[14:06.42]so find one that interests you and begin analyzing everything!
[14:10.22]OK, today I’ve given several tips to you
[14:12.93]regarding the ways of succeeding in your literature class.
[14:16.11]I hope they could help you get your hands
[14:17.57]on the class when you are ready to go.
[14:20.24]Thank you for listening.
[14:23.76]Now, you have TWO minutes to complete your work.
[16:27.39]THIS IS THE END OF SECTION A TALK.
[16:30.73]SECTION B CONVERSATIONS
[16:34.07]In this section you will hear two conversations.
[16:36.96]At the end of each conversation,
[16:38.86]five questions will be asked about what was said.
[16:42.10]Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken ONCE ONLY.
[16:46.83]After each question there will be a ten-second pause.
[16:50.24]During the pause,
[16:51.55]you should read the four choices of A）,B),C) and D),
[16:56.91]and mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.
[17:01.61]You have thirty seconds to preview the questions.
[17:34.56]Now, listen to the conversations.
[17:37.89]Conversation One
[17:40.41]W: Hello, Frank.
[17:41.51]M: Hello, Miriam.
[17:42.69]How's everything going?
[17:44.25]W: Fine.
[17:45.17]M: Would you like to join me for a drink?
[17:47.35]W: OK, thanks.
[17:49.05]M: Any news recently?
[17:51.33]W: Oh, well, yesterday I read the newspaper
[17:53.61]and got very shocking news.
[17:55.49]You know, it's not the federal government
[17:57.47]that sets the calendar for our public schools.
[18:00.18]Public school calendars are set by individual states and districts.
[18:04.37]According to the news,
[18:05.77]our local school decided to keep students
[18:08.07]in class year-round with shorter breaks throughout,
[18:11.80]offering about 20 additional school days.
[18:14.53]M: Mm..., I heard that the education chief said
[18:17.52]in an interview that our current school calendar
[18:20.56]was based upon the agrarian economy
[18:23.33]and the vast majority of the students in our country
[18:26.15]weren't working the fields in the summers.
[18:29.00]So he...he thought it was really an outdated,
[18:32.17]outmoded model.
[18:33.73]It needed to be changed.
[18:35.74]W: I don't agree with him.
[18:37.27]Extending school year seems so completely short-sighted to me.
[18:41.07]More time is no silver bullet for reform.
[18:44.34]Take Miami-Dade County Schools in Florida for example.
[18:47.89]It used an extended day program for three years,
[18:50.93]but dropped it because they didn't see improvement in test scores.
[18:54.72]Besides, it disrupts family life.
[18:57.84]M: Well, surely you must have to admit
[19:00.37]that we have a significantly shorter school year.
[19:03.44]Our students are going to school 180 days a year,
[19:07.37]generally.
[19:08.49]And if in a sports contest,
[19:10.42]one team is practicing three days a week
[19:13.03]and one team is practicing five days a week,
[19:15.95]the team that is practicing more is going to do better.
[19:20.19]W: But simply extending school time in and of itself
[19:22.97]will not produce the desired results.
[19:25.65]M: Well, yes.
[19:27.21]Mm..., but, extending school time does bring some advantages.
[19:31.56]It gives the students learning experiences
[19:33.97]that they might not be able to get over the summertime.
[19:37.77]W: But you ask the teachers and students whether,
[19:40.13]whether they reckon that extending school time brings them advantages.
[19:44.02]I think it goes without saying that no one wants to extend bad time.
[19:47.97]The teachers are fatigued at the end of the day,
[19:50.37]and the students are fatigued and unmotivated.
[19:53.08]The students need summer break to have a good rest.
[19:56.01]M: Yes, you are right.
[19:57.65]But without those camps and other stimulating activities,
[20:00.93]something called summer learning loss occurs.
[20:04.30]Researchers estimate that low-income students
[20:06.74]can lose two months of math and reading achievement
[20:09.84]owing to a lack of reinforcement during the summer break.
[20:13.72]It's particularly true for low-income kids
[20:16.69]who don't have the opportunities that other kids
[20:18.87]have during those big breaks.
[20:21.48]W: But have you considered this?
[20:23.32]Extending the school day is very very expensive.
[20:27.12]The Miami-Dade program costS more than ＄100 million.
[20:31.89]M: Yes, you are right.
[20:33.77]Really it can result in increased costs because more teachers,
[20:37.66]specialists, paraprofessionals, and other staff are deployed.
[20:41.91]But I think it can bring some...some benefits
[20:44.40]to students and teachers as well.
[20:46.66]For example，
[20:47.64]umm, it allows teachers to delve into subject matter in more depth;
[20:52.38]it builds in time for more teacher-student interaction; and,
[20:56.44]it makes it possible for students to spend more time on task.
[21:01.16]This is the end of Conversation One.
[21:03.91]Questions 1 to 5 are based on Conversation One.
[21:08.43]1. Who set the public school calendars?
[21:23.69]2. Why does the education chief support extending the school year?
[21:41.25]3. According to Miriam,
[21:44.60]which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
[21:58.64]4. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of extending the school year cited by Frank?
[22:14.77]5. What do we know about Frank according to the conversation?
[22:31.50]Conversation Two
[22:33.19]W: Good morning, Mr. Smith. Have a seat, please!
[22:35.93]M: Thanks a lot.
[22:37.24]W: What is your major?
[22:38.54]M: My major is Business Administration.
[22:41.15]I am especially interested in "Marketing".
[22:43.89]W: Have you received any degrees?
[22:45.72]M: Yes. First, I received my bachelor's degree in English Literature,
[22:50.29]and then an MBA degree.
[22:52.68]W: Do you feel that you have received good general training?
[22:55.74]M: Yes, I have studied in an English training program
[22:59.12]and a computer training program since I graduated from university.
[23:03.77]I am currently studying Finance at a training school.
[23:07.66]W: Your resume says that you have had one-year experience
[23:11.41]working in a foreign representative office in Shanghai.
[23:14.46]May I ask why you left?
[23:16.75]M: I worked in a foreign rep. office for one year.
[23:19.81]However, I left there two years ago
[23:22.00]because the work they gave me was rather dull.
[23:25.30]W: If you believe you are a good fit for the position,
[23:27.99]please talk about what kind of personality you think you have.
[23:31.43]M: I always approach things very enthusiastically.
[23:35.09]When I begin something,
[23:36.53]I don't like to leave it half-done.
[23:38.93]W: And what are your personal weaknesses?
[23:41.43]M: I'm afraid I'm a poor talker.
[23:43.78]I'm not comfortable talking with the people
[23:45.84]whom I have just met for the first time.
[23:48.72]That is not very good for business,
[23:50.88]so I have been studying public speaking.
[23:54.47]W: It is very difficult for somebody to see one's own weakness.
[23:58.26]Are you more of a leader or a follower?
[24:01.04]M: I don't try to lead people.
[24:03.21]I'd rather cooperate with everybody,
[24:05.32]and get the job done by working together.
[24:08.25]W: You know,
[24:08.49]most workers are working under great pressure.
[24:11.22]How about overtime work?
[24:13.36]M: Overtime work is very common in companies.
[24:16.25]I can work overtime if it's necessary,
[24:19.07]but I don't think we will work overtime every day.
[24:22.44]W: Do you like regular work?
[24:24.05]M: No,
[24:24.66]I don't like regular work.
[24:26.56]I am interested in different projects with new opportunities.
[24:30.66]But I can do regular work if the company needs me to do so.
[24:35.15]W: You performed very well,sir!
[24:37.06]If you have no questions,
[24:38.14]please go through the contract and sign it.
[24:40.50]M: OK. Thank you very much.I have a few questions for you.
[24:45.95]First, I'd like to know if you offer employees sick leave.
[24:51.69]W: Yes, employees can take up to 10 days of sick leave per year.
[24:55.66]However, in order to get paid,
[24:57.16]you'll have to bring in a note from the doctor's.
[24:59.85]M: Even if I'm only sick for one day?
[25:02.46]W: That's correct.
[25:03.63]M: That's pretty strict, if you ask me.
[25:06.22]W: Well, we've had to add that to the contract
[25:08.35]because we found that many of our employees
[25:10.49]were taking almost one sick day a month,
[25:13.21]even though they weren't sick.
[25:15.25]M: I see. I guess that makes sense.
[25:18.26]How many days of paternity leave do you offer?
[25:21.77]W: Men are allowed to take 10 days of paternity leave for their first child.
[25:25.97]M: Why are women allowed so much more time for maternity leave?
[25:30.05]W: Well, women are the ones giving birth.
[25:32.26]I think it's fair to give them more time, don't you?
[25:35.00]M: I guess so. I don't have any other questions.
[25:38.42]Should I sign here then?
[25:40.32]W: Yes, please.
[25:41.85]This is the end of Conversation Two.
[25:44.19]Questions 6 to 10 are based on Conversation Two.
[25:48.65]6. In which did the candidate get a master’s degree?
[26:03.93]7. Why did the candidate leave the foreign representative office?
[26:19.62]8. Which of the following does NOT describe the candidate’s personality?
[26:35.80]9. Which of the following is most acceptable to the candidate?
[26:51.57]10. Which statement about the employment contract is CORRECT?