2013四级考试

2013年12月英语四级真题（第二套）

PartⅠWriting(30minutes)

Directions：Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessaybad

uldstartyouressaywithabriefaccount

oftheincreasinguofthemobilephoneinpeople’slifeandthen

uldwriteatleast120

wordsbutnomorethan,180words.

PartⅡListeningComprehension(30minutes)

SectionA

Directions:Inthisction,youwillhear8shortconversationsand2long

ndofeachconversation,oneormorequestions

econversationandthequestions

thepau,youmustreadthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD),and

rkthecorrespondingletteron

AnswerSheetIwithasinglelinethroughthecentre.

1.A)Gotoaplacehehasvisited.

B)Makeherownarrangements.

C)Consultatravelagent.

D)Joininapackagetour.

2.A)Theyareonalongtripbycar.

B)Theyarestuckinatrafficjam.

C)Theyareudtogettingupearly.

D)Theyaretiredofeatingoutatnight.

3.A)Heisapersondifficulttodealwith.

B)Hedislikesanyformalgathering.

C)Heisunwillingtospeakinpublic.

D)Heoftenkeepsadistancefromothers.

4.A)Workinanotherdepartment.

B)Pursuefurthereducation.

C)Recruitgraduatestudents.

D)Takeanadministrativejob.

5.A)Hewouldnotbeavailabletostartthejobintime.

B)Heisnotquitequalifiedfortheartdirectorposition.

C)Hewouldliketoleavesomemoretimeforhimlf.

D)HewillgethisapplicationletterreadybeforeMay1.

6.A)Cleaner.

B)Mechanic.

C)Porter.

D)Salesman.

7.A)Requestoneortworoommatestodothecleaning.

B)HelpLaurawithhertermpaperduethisweekend.

C)GetLauratocleantheapartmentherlfthistime.

D)AskLauratoputoffthecleaninguntilanotherweek.

8.A)Aproblemcaudbytheconstruction.

B)Anaccidentthatoccurredonthebridge.

C)Thebuildingprojecttheyareworkingon.

D)Thepublictransportationconditions.

Questions9to11arebadontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

9.A)Tolookforajobasasalesperson.

B)TohaveatalkwithMissThompson.

C)Toplaceanorderforsomeproducts.

D)Tocomplainaboutafaultyappliance.

10.A)Thepersoninchargeisnotintheoffice.

B)Thesuppliesareoutofstockforthemoment.

C)Theyfailedtoreachanagreementontheprice.

D)Thecompanyisre-cataloguingtheitems.

11.A)0743,12536extension15.

B)0734,21653extension51.

C)0734,38750extension15.

D)0743,62135extension51.

Questions12to15arebadontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

12.A)Sincehefoundagirlfriend.

B)Sincehetooktoheavysmoking.

C)Sincehebegantoexerciregularly.

D)Sincehestartedtoliveonhisown.

13.A)Heisgettingtoofat.

B)Hesmokestoomuch.

C)Hedoesn’teatvegetables.

D)Hedoesn’tlookwellatall.

14.A)Theyareoverweightfortheirage.

B)Theyarerespectfultotheirparents.

C)Theyarestillintheirearlytwenties.

D)Theydislikedoingphysicalexerci.

15.A)Toquitsmoking.

B)Toreducehisweight.

C)Tofindagirlfriend.

D)Tofollowheradvice.

SectionB

Directions:Inthisction,ndofeach

passage,epassageandthequestions

ouhearaquestion,youmustchoothe

bestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Thenmarkthe

correspondingletteronAnswerSheetIwithasinglelinethroughthe

centre.

PassageOne

Questions16to19arebadonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

16.A)Theyhavedestroyedveralsmalltowns.

B)TheywillsoonspreadtoSanFrancisco.

C)Theyhaveinjuredmanyresidents.

D)Theyareburningoutofcontrol.

17.A)Theyhavebeenhospitalized.

B)Theyhavegotskinproblems.

C)Theywerechokedbythethicksmoke.

D)Theywerepoisonedbytheburningchemical.

18.A)Itfailedbecauofasuddenrocketexplosion.

B)Ithasbeenscheduledforamiddaytakeoff.

C)Ithasbeencanceledduetotechnicalproblems.

D)Itwasdelayedforelevenhoursandthirtyminutes.

19.A)Theymadefrequentlong,distancecallstoeachother.

B)TheyillegallyudgovernmentcomputersinNewJery.

C)Theywerefoundtobesmarterthancomputerspecially.

D)Theywerearrestedforstealinggovernmentinformation.

PassageTwo

Questions20to22arebadonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

20.A)Peaceful.

B)Considerate.

C)Generous.

D)Cooperative.

21.A)Someonedumpedtheclothesleftinthewasheranddryer.

B)Someonebrokethewasheranddryerbyoverloadingthem.

C)MindyLance’slaundryblockedthewaytothelaundryroom.

D)MindyLancethreatenedtotakerevengeonherneighbors.

22.A)Askingtheneighborhoodcommitteeforhelp.

B)Limitingtheamountoflaundryforeachwash.

C)Informingthebuildingmanagerofthematter.

D)Installingafewmorewashersanddryers.

PassageThree

Questions23to25arebadonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

23.A)Sheisbothapopularandhighlyrespectedauthor.

B)SheisthemostloveAfricannovelistofalltimes.

C)Sheisthemostinfluentialauthorsincethe1930’s.

D)Sheisthefirstwritertofocusonthefateofslaves.

24.A)TheBookCriticsCircleAward.

B)TheNobelPrizeforliterature.

C)ThePulitzerPrizeforfiction.

D)TheNationalBookAward.

25.A)SheisarelativeofMorrison’s.

B)SheisaslavefromAfrica.

C)Sheisaskilledstoryteller.

D)Sheisablackwoman.

SectionC

Directions:Inthisction,epassage

isreadforthefirsttime,youshouldlistencarefullyforitsgeneral

epassageisreadforthecondtime,youarerequiredto

y,when

thepassageisreadforthethirdtime,youshouldcheckwhatyouhave

written.

Manycollegestudentstodayownpersonalcomputersthatcostanywherefrom

$1,000toperhaps$5,000ormore.26,itisnotuncommonforthemtopurcha27

costinganotherveralhundreddollars,Twentyyearsago,computerswere28,but

,ifany,29purchadcomputers

eyearsthepriceofthe“guts”ofacomputer—itsmemory—has

declinedtolessthanathousandthofthepriceperunitofmemorythatprevailed

themainreasonwhycomputerscostsomuchlesstodaythan

er,30improvementshavemadeitpossibleto31memory

circuitrythatissmallenoughtofitintotheportablepersonalcomputersthatmany

ofusownandu.32,asthepriceofcomputationhasdeclinedtheaverageconsumer

andbusinesshavespentmoreonpurchasingcomputers.

33,improvedagriculturaltechnology,hybrid(杂交)eds,34animal

breeding,andsoonhavevastlyincreadtheamountofoutputatypicalfarmercan

cesofgoodssuchasmeatsandgrainshavefallensharplyrelative

culturalpriceshavefallen,

oughthe35

ofaproductpurchadgenerallyincreawhenitspricefalls,totalexpenson

itmaydecline.

PartⅢReadingComprehension(40minutes)

SectionA

Directions:Inthisction,required

tolectonewordforeachblankfromalistofchoicesgiveninaword

bankfollowingthepassage:Readthepassagethroughcarefullybefore

oiceinthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.

PleamarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitemonAnswerSheet2with

notuanyofthewordsinthe

bankmorethanonce.

Questions36to45arebadonthefollowingpassage.

Togetanofhowwomenhaveprogresdinscience,takeaquicktourof

thephysicsdepartmentattheUniversityofCalifornia,astoried

place,the36ofsomeofthemostimportantdiscoveriesinmodern

science—startingwithErnestLawrence’sinventionofthecyclotron(回旋加速器)

ationago,femalefaceswere37and,eventoday,visitorswalking

throughthefirstfloorofLeConteHallwilleafullcorridorofexhibits38

themanydistinguishedphysicistswhomadehistoryhere,39allofthemwhite

males.

Butclimbuptothethirdfloorandyou’,among

thephotosofcurrentfacultymembersandstudents,areportraitsofthe41head

ofthedepartment,MarjorieShapiro,andfourotherwomenwhorearch42

everythingfromthemechanicsoftheunivertothesmallestparticlesofmatter.

ghthey’restillonlyabout10

percentofthephysicsfaculty,real43

maybeinthesmallerphotostotheright:graduateandundergraduatestudents,about

earBerkeleyndsitsfreshfemalephysicsPhDs

tothecountry’kesShapirooptimistic,butalso44.

“Ibelievethingsaregettingbetter,”shesays,“butthey’renotgettingbetter

as45asIwouldlike.”

A)circumstance

B)confidence

C)covers

D)current

E)deals

F)different

G)exposing

H)fast

I)honoring

J)hope

K)prently

L)rare

M)realistic

N)site

O)virtually

SectionB

Directions:Inthisction,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatements

atementcontainsinformationgiveninoneofthe

fytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.

ragraphismarkedwith

thequestionsbymarkingthecorrespondingletteron

AnswerSheet2.

IsCollegeaWorthyInvestment?

[A]Whyarewespendingsomuchmoneyoncollege?Andwhyarewesounhappyabout

it?Weallemtoagreethatacollegeeducationiswonderful,andyetstrangely

weworrywhenweefamiliesinvestingsomuchinthissuppodlyesntial

t’stimetoaskaquestionthatemsalmostsacrilegious(大

不敬):isallthisinvestmentincollegeeducationreallyworthit?

[B]Theanswer,Ifear,ncreasingnumberofkids,theextratimeand

moneyspentpursuingacollegediplomawillleavethemworoffthantheywere

beforetheytfootoncampus.

[C]Formyentireadultlife,agoodeducationhasbeenthemostimportantthing

ntsspentmoreeducatingmysisterandme

thantheyspentontheirhou,andthey’renottheonlyones...and,ofcour,

foranincreasingnumberoffamilies,mostofthecostoftheirhouisactually

oningthevalueofacollege

educationemsabitlikequestioningthevalueofhappiness,orfun.

[D]

ducation

thattoday’sstudentsaregettingtwiceasgood?Arenewworkerstwiceassmart?

Havetheybecomesomehowmassivelymoreexpensivetoeducate?

[E]dVedder,anOhioUniversityeconomicsprofessor,says,

“Ilookatthedata,andIecollegecostsrisingfasterthaninflationup

ethemrising3to4percentayear

shappened?Thefederalgovernmenthasstarteddropping

moneyoutofairplanes.”Aidhasincread,subsidized(补贴的)loanshave

becomeavailable,and“theuniversitieshavegottenthemoney.”EconomistBryan

Caplan,whoiswritingabookabouteducation,agrees:“It’sagiantwasteof

resourcesthatwillcontinueaslongasthesubsidiescontinue.”

[F]Promotionalliteratureforcollegesandstudentloansoftenspeaksofdebtas

an“investmentinyourlf.”Butaninvestmentissuppodtogenerateincome

anhaftofallrecentgraduatesareunemployedor

injobsthatdonotrequireadegree,andtheamountofstudent-loandebtcarried

raduateswere

toldthatadiplomawasalltheyneededtosucceed,butitwon’tevengetthem

outofthesparebedroomatMomandDad’y,themostvisibleresult

oftheirfouryearsistheloanpayments,whichnowaveragehundredsofdollars

amonthonloanbalancesinthetensofthousands.

[G]It’strueaboutthemoney—egraduatesnowmake80percentmore

thanpeoplewhohaveonlyahigh-schooldiploma,andthoughtherearenopreci

estimates,thewagepremium(高出的部分)foranoutstandingschoolemstobe

t’’sveryeasytospendfour

yearsmajoringinEnglishliteratureandcomeoutnomoreemployablethanyou

ly,chemicalengineersstraightoutofschool

caneasilymakealmostfourtimesthewagesofanentry-levelhigh-school

graduate.

[H]JamesHeckman,theNobelPrize-winningeconomist,haxaminedhowthereturns

oneducationbreakdownforindividualswithdifferentbackgroundsandlevels

ofability.“Evenwiththehighprices,you’restillfindingahighreturn

forindividualswhoarebrightandmotivated,”therhand,“if

you’renotcollegeready,thentheanswerisno,it’snotworthit.”Experts

tendtoagreethatfortheaveragestudent,collegeisstillworthittoday,

buttheyalsoagreethattherapidincreainpriceiatingupmoreandmore

derlinestudents,tuition(学费)ricanpush

thoreturnsintonegativeterritory.

[I]Everyoneemstoagreethatthegovernment,andparents,shouldberethinking

howweinvestinhighereducation—andthatemployersneedtorethinkthe

increasinguofcollegedegreesascrudescreeningtoolsforjobsthatdon’t

reallyrequirecollegeskills,“Employerseingasurplusofcollegegraduates

andlookingtofilljobsarejustaddingthatrequirement,”saysVedder.“In

fact,acollegedegreebecomesajobrequirementforbecomingabar-tender.”

[J]sdin2007

allowsmanystudentstocaptheirloanpaymentat10percentoftheirincomeand

our,thatdoesn’tcontrolthe

costofeducation;encouragesgraduates

tochoolower-payingcareers,whichreducesthefinancialreturntoeducation

stillfurther.“You’resubsidizingpeopletobecomepriestsandpoetsandso

forth,”saysHeckman.“Youmaythinkthat’sagoodthing,oryoumaynot.”

Eitherwayitwillbeexpensiveforthegovernment.

[K]notesthatwork

alsobuildsvaluableskills—probablymorevaluableforkidswhodon’tnaturally

nagreeswholeheartedly:“Peopleare

different,’swhatwe’velearned,and

publicpolicyshouldrecognizethat.”

[L]Heckmanwouldliketoemoreapprenticeship-style(学徒式)programs,where

kidscanlearnintheworkplacelearnnotjustspecificjobskills,butthekind

of“softskills”,likegettingtoworkontimeandgettingalongwithateam,

thatarecrucialforcareersuccess.“It’sabouthavingmentors(指导者)and

havingworkplace-badeducation,”hesays.“TimeandagainI’veenexamples

ofthiskindofprogramworking.”

[M]Ah,buthowdowegettherefromhere?Withbetterpublicpolicy,hopefully,

butalsobymakingbetterindividualdecisions.“Historicallymarketshavebeen

abletohandlethethings,”saysVedder,“andIthinkeventuallymarkets

esn’timprovesoon,peoplearegoingtowakeup

andask,‘WhyamIgoingtocollege?’”

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

suggeststhatkidswhodon’tloveschoolgotowork.

easingnumberoffamiliesspendmoremoneyonhousinagoodschool

district.

izedloanstocollegestudentsareahugewasteofmoney,accordingto

oneeconomist.

dmorekidsfindtheyfareworwithacollegediploma.

whoarenotpreparedforhighereducation,goingtoCollegeisnotworth

it.

eyearsthecostofacollegeeducationhasincreadalmostby100%.

sdrecentlyallowsmanystudentstopaynomorethanonetenthoftheir

incomefortheircollegeloans.

-classAmericanshavehighlyvaluedagoodeducation.

dsshouldbeencouragedtoparticipateinprogramswheretheycanlearn

notonlyjobskillsbutalsosocialskills.

ftypercentofrecentcollegegraduatesremainunemployedorunableto

findasuitablejob.

SectionC

Directions:ssageisfollowedbysome

hofthemtherearefour

choicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebestchoice

andmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasingleline

throughthecentre.

PassageOne

Questions56to60arebadonfollowingpassage.

Arecentglobalsurveyof2,000high-net-worthindividualsfoundthat60%were

ipants,75%expectedto

continueworkinginsomecapacityevenaftersteppingawayfromfull-timejobs.

“Manyofthepeoplemadetheirwealthbydoingsomethingthey’repassionate(有

激情的)about,”saysDanielEgan,headofbehavioralfinanceforBarclaysWealth

Americas.“Giventhechoice,theyprefertocontinueworking.”Barclayscalls

thepeople“nevertirees”.

UnlikemanyAmericanscompelledintoearlyretirementbycompanyrestrictions,

106-year-oldinvestor

IrvingKahn,headofhisownfamilyfirm,wantstokeepcomingtoworkeveryday,

who’sgoingtostophim?Seventy-eight-year-oldSupremeCourtJusticeRuthBader

Ginsburg’sjobcurityisguaranteedintheConstitution.

,they

’Friedman,aprofessoratUCRiverside,foundinhis

rearchthatthowhoworkhardestandaresuccessfulintheircareersoftenlive

thelongestlives.“Peoplearegenerallybeinggivenbadadvicetoslowdown,take

iteasy,stopworrying,andretiretoFlorida,ribedonestudy

participant,stillworkingattheageof100,whowasrecentlydisappointedtoe

hissonretire.

“We’rebeginningtoeachangeinhowpeopleviewretirement,”saysGeorge

Leeson,nce

retirementwasenasabriefrewardafteralongstrugglethroughsomemirable

job,itisnowakin(近似)tobeingcastaside,WhatLeesonterms“theWarrenBuffett

effect”isbecomingmorebroadlyappealingasindividualscometo“viewretirement

asnotsimplybeinglinkedtoeconomicproductivitybutalsoaboutcontribution.”

Obrversaresplitonwhetherthisisawhollygoodthing,Ontheonehand,

companiesandfinancialfirmscanbenefitfromthewisdomofaresilient(坚韧的)

chief,Ontheother,thenewgenerationcanfinditmoredifficulttoadvance—an

argumentthattypicallyholdslittleswaytoanevertiree.

welearnabouttheso-called“nevertiree”?

A)Theyarepassionateaboutmakingafortune.

B)Theyhavenochoicebuttocontinueworking.

C)Theylovewhattheydoandchoonottoretire.

D)Theywillnotretireunlesstheyarecompelledto.

IrvingKahnandRuthBaderGinsburghaveincommon?

A)Neitherofthemissubjecttoforcedretirement.

B)Neitherofthemdesiresrewardfortheirwork.

C)Bothclingtotheirpositionsdespiteopposition.

D)Botharecapableofcopingwithheavyworkloads.

thefindingofHowardFriedman’srearch?

A)Theharderyouwork,thebiggeryourfortunewillbe.

B)Theearlieryouretire,thehealthieryouwillbe.

C)Elderlypeoplehavetoslowdowntolivelonger.

D)Workingatanadvancedagelengthenspeople’slife.

thetraditionalviewofretirementaccordingtothepassage?

A)Itmeansaburdentotheyoungergeneration.

B)Itisasymbolofamatureandcivilizedsociety.

C)Itisacompensationforone’slife-longhardwork.

D)Ithelpsincreaanation’conomicproductivity.

criticssayabout“nevetfirees”?

A)Theyareanobstacletoacompany’sdevelopment.

B)Theylackthecreativityoftheyoungergeneration.

C)Theycannotworkafficientlyastheyudto.

D)Theypreventyoungpeoplefromgettingahead.

PassageTwo

Questions61to65arebadonthefollowingpassage.

WhenwetalkaboutAmericansbarelyintoadulthoodwhoaresaddledwith

unbearablelevelsofdebt,theconversationisalmostalwaysaboutstudentloandebt.

Butthere’sagrowingbodyofevidencesuggestingthattoday’syoungadultsare

alsodrowningincredit-carddebt-andthatmanyofthemwilltakethisdebttotheir

graves.

Morethan20%overspenttheirincomebymorethan$

theyhaven’tbuiltuptheircredithistoriesyet,it’sasafebetthattheyoung

adultsarepayingrelativelyhighinterestratesontheresultingcreditcarddebt.

Althoughmanyyoungpeopleblame“socializing”asabarriertosavingmoney,

mostofthemaren’tknockingback$20drinksintrendy(时尚的)’re

strugglingwithmuchmoredailyfinancialdemands.

Toadisturbinglylargeextent,theyoungandthebrokearerelyingoncredit

viouslyisn’tsustainableinthe

longrun,andit’sgoingtoputahugedragon,theirspendingpowerevenafter

theyreachtheirpeakearningyears,becauthey’llstillbepayingintereston

thatbottleoforangejuiceorboxofspaghetti(意式面条)theyboughtadecade

earlier.

AnewstudyoutofOhioStateUniversityfoundthatyoungadultsare

accumulatingcreditcarddebtatamorerapidratethanotheragegroups,andthat

they’resloweratpayingitoff,“Ifwhatwefoundcontinuestoholdtrue,wemay

havemoreelderlypeoplewithsubstantialfinancialproblemsinthefuture,”warns

LuciaDuma,professorofeconomicsatOhioState,“Ifourpersist,wemaybefaced

withafinancialcrisisamongelderly,peoplewhocan’tpayofftheircredit

cards.”

Dunnsaysalotoftheyoungpeoplearenevergoingtogetoutfromunder

theircreditcarddebt.“Manypeopleareborrowingoncreditcardssoheavilythat

payoffratesatthelevelsarenotsufficienttorecovertheircreditcarddebt

bytheendoftheirlife,whichcouldhavelossimplicationsforthecreditcard

issuingbanks.”

themainideaofthefirstparagraph?

A)ManyyoungAmericanswillneverbeabletopayofftheirdebts.

B)Creditcardsplayanincreasinglyimportantroleincollegelife.

C)Creditcardsaredoingmoreharmthanstudentloans.

D)TheAmericancreditcardsystemisundercriticism.

oungpeoplehavetopayahigherinterestontheircreditcarddebt?

A)Theytendtoforgetaboutthedeadlines.

B)Theyhaven’tdevelopedacredithistory.

C)Theyareoftenunabletopaybackintime.

D)Theyareinexperiencedinmanagingmoney.

saidtobetheconquenceofyoungadultsrelyingoncreditcardsto

makeendsmeet?

A)Itwillplaceanunnecessaryburdenonsociety.

B)Itwillgivethemnomotivationtoworkhard.

C)Itwillexertpsychologicalpressureonthem.

D)Itwillaffecttheirfuturespendingpower.

llhappentoyoungadultsiftheircreditcarddebtkeepsaccumulating

accordingtoLuciaDunn?

A)Theywillhavetopayanincreasinglyhigherinterestrate.

B)Theymayexperienceafinancialcrisisintheiroldage.

C)Theirqualityoflifewillbeaffected.

D)Theircreditcardsmaybecanceled.

esLuciaDunnthinkmightbeariskforthecreditcardissuingbanks?

A)Theygobankruptasaresultofover-lending.

B)Theylolargenumbersoftheirregularclients.

C)Theirclientsleavetheirdebtsunpaidupondeath.

D)Theirinterestrateshavetobereducednowandthen.

PartⅣTranslation(30minutes)

Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestotranslateapassagefrom

uldwriteyouransweronAnswerSheet2.

中国结（theChineknot）最初是由手工艺人发明的，经过数百年不断的改进，已经

成为一种优雅多彩的艺术和工艺。在古代，人们用它来记录事件，但现在主要用于装饰的目

的。“结”在中文里意味着爱情、婚姻和团聚。中国结常常作为礼物交换或用作饰品祈求好

运和避邪。这种形式的手工艺（handicraft）代代相传，现在已经在中国和世界各地越来越

受欢迎。