-
2016
年
12
月英语
四级真题及答案第一套
Part I
Writing
（
30m
inutes
）
（请于正式开考后半小时内完成该部分，之后将进行听力考试）
Directions
：
For
this part
，
you are allowed
30 minutes to write an essay .Suppose you are
two
options
upon
graduation
：
one
is
to
find
a
job
somewhere
and
the
other
to
start
a
business
of
your
own.
You
are
to
make
a
choice
between
the
two.
Write
an
essay
to
explain
the
reasons
for your choice. You
should write at least 120 words but no more than
180 words.
Part II
Listening Comprehension
（
25
minutes
）
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
）
.
Then
mark
the
corresponding
letter
on
the
Answer
sheet1
with
a single line through the centre.
Questions 1and 2 are based on the news
report you have just the heard.
1.
A
）
It was
dangerous to live in.
B
）
It was going
to be renovated.
C
）
He could no
longer pay the rent.
D
）
He had sold it
to the royal family.
2.
A
）
A strike.
B
）
A storm.
C
）
A forest fire.
D
）
A Terrorist attack.
Questions 3and 4 are based on the news
report you have just heard.
3.
A
）
They lost contact with
the emergency department.
B
）
They were
trapped in an underground elevator.
C
）
They were
injured by suddenly falling rocks.
D
）
They sent
calls for help via a portable radio.
4.
A
）
They tried hard to repair
the accident.
B
）
They released the details of the accident.
C
）
They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.
D
）
They provided
the miner with food and water.
Question5 to7 are based on the news
report you have just heard.
5.
A
）
Raise postage rates.
C
）
Redesign delivery routes.
B
）
Improve its services.
D
）
Close some of its post offices.
6.
A
）
Shortening business
hours.
C
）
Stopping mail
delivery on Saturdays.
D
）
Computerizing
mail
sorting
B
）
Closing
offices on holidays.
processes.
7.
A
）
Many post office staff
will lose their jobs
B
）
Many people
will begin to complain
C
）
Taxpayers will
be very pleased
D
）
A lot of
controversy will arise
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 conversation
and the questions will
be spoken only
once. After you hear a
question
，
you must choose
the best answer from four
choice
marked
A
）
< br>，
B
）
，
C
）
and
D
）
.Then
mark
the
corresponding
letter
an
Answer
sheet1
with
a single line though the centre.
Question8 to 11 are based on the
conversation you have just heard.
8.
A
）
He will be kept from
promotion.
B
）
He
will go through retraining.
9. A
）
He is
always on time.
C
）
He
will be given a warning.
D
）
He will lose
part of his pay.
C
）
He is an
experienced press operator.
B
）
He is
trustworthy guy.
D
）
He is on good
terms with his workmates.
C
）
She is a senior
manager of the shop.
D
）
She
is
better
at
handing
such
matters.
C
）
He
is
always
trying
to
stir
up
trouble.
10.
A
）
She is a trade union
representative.
B
）
She is in
charge of public relation.
11.
A
）
He is skilled
and experienced.
B
）
He is very
close to the manager.
D
）
He
is
always
complaining
about
low
wages.
Question12 to 15 are based on the
conversation you have just heard.
12.
A
）
Open.
B
）
Friendly.
13. A
）
They stay
quiet.
C
）
Selfish.
D
）
Reserved.
C
）
They talk about
the weather
B
）
They read a
book.
D
）
They chat with
fellow passengers.
14.
A
）
She was always treated as
a foreigner.
B
）
She was eager
to visit an English castle.
C
）
She was never
invited to a colleague
’
s
home.
D
）
She was
unwilling to make friends with workmates.
15. A
）
House are
much more quiet. C
）
They
want to have more space.
B
）
Houses provide
more privacy.
D
）
They want a garden of their own.
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
）
< br>，
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
）
They
don
’
t have much choice of
jobs.
B
）
They are
likely to get much higher pay.
C
）
They
don
’
t have to go through job
interviews.
D
）
They will automatically be given hiring priority.
17. A
）
Ask their
professors for help.
C
）
Visit the
school careers services.
B
）
Look at school
bulletin boards. D
）
Go
through campus newspapers.
18.
A
）
Helping students find the
books and journals they need.
B
）
Supervising
study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.
C
）
Helping
students arrange appointments with librarians.
D
）
Providing
students with information about the library.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the
passage you have just heard.
19.
A
）
It tastes better.
C
）
It may be sold
at a higher price .
D
）
It can better
survive extreme weathers.
C
）
It will
replace green tea one day.
B
）
It is easier
to grow.
20.
A
）
It is healthier than
green tea.
B
）
It
can grow in drier soil.
D
）
It is immune
to various diseases.
21.
A
）
It has been well received
by many tea drinkers.
B
）
It does not
bring the promised health benefits.
C
）
It
has made tea farmers’ life easier.
D
）
It does not
have a stable market.
Questions 22 to
25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22. A
）
They need
decorations to show their status.
B
）
They prefer unique objects of high quality.
C
）
They decorate
their homes themselves.
D
）
They care more
about environment.
23.
A
）
They were proud of their
creations.
B
）
They could
only try to create at night.
C
）
They made
great contributions to society.
D
）
They focused
on the quality of their products.
24.
A
）
Make wise choices.
C
）
Design handicrafts themselves.
D
）
Learn the
importance of creation.
C
）
To arouse
public interest in crafts.
B
）
Identify fake
crafts.
25.
A
）
To boost the local
economy.
B
）
To
attract foreign investments.
D
）
To preserve the
traditional culture.
PART
Ⅲ
Reading Comprehension
（
40
minutes
）
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.
When
someone
commits
a
criminal
act,
we
always
hope
the
punishment
will
match
the
offense.
But when it comes
to one of the cruelest crimes
—
animal fighting
—
things
26
work out
that
way.
Dog
fighting
victims
are
27
and
killed
for
profit
and
“sport,”
yet
their
criminal
abusers often receive a
28
sentence for causing a
lifetime of pain. Roughly half of all
federally-convicted animal fighters
only get probation(
缓刑
).
Some progress has been made in the
prosecution(
起诉
) of animal
fighters. But federal
judges often rely
heavily on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines when
they
29
penalties, and in
the case of animal fighting, those
guidelines are outdated and
extremely
30
.
The
U.S.
Sentencing
Commission,
which
31
these
sentencing
guidelines,
is
revisiting
them,
proposing to raise the
minimum sentence from 6-12 to 21-27 months. This
is a step in the
right
32
, but we’d like to see the
U.S. Sentencing Commission make further
guidelines.
Simultaneous
to
this
effort,
we’re
working
with
animal
advocates
and
state
and
federal
lawmakers
to
33
anti-cruelty
laws
across
the
country,
as
well
as
supporting
laws
and
policies
that assist overburdened
animal
34
that care for
animal fighting victims. This help is
35
important because the high cost of
caring for animal victims is a major deterrent to
intervening in cruelty cases in the
first place.
A) convenient
F) hesitate
K) rarely
tortured
Section B
Directions
：
In
this
section
，
you
are
gonging
to
read
a
passage
with
ten
statements
attached
B) creates
C) critically
D) determine
E) direction
G) inadequate
H)inspired
I) method
J) minimal
L) shelters
M) strengthen
N)
sufferings
O)
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.
When Work Becomes a Game
[A]
What motivates employees
to do their jobs well? Competition with coworkers,
for some.
The promise of rewards, for
others. Pure enjoyment of problem-solving, for a
lucky few.
[B]
Increasingly, companies
are tapping into these desires directly through
what’s come
to be known as
“gamification:” essentially, turning
work into a game. “Gamification is
about
understanding
what
it
is
that
makes
games
engaging
and
what
game
designers
do
to
create
a
great
experience
in
games,
and
taking
those
learnings
and
applying
them
to
other
contexts
such as the workplace and education,”
explains Kevin Werbach, a gamification
expe
rt who
teaches at the
Wharton School of Business at the University of
Pennsylvania in the United
States..
[C]
It might mean monitoring
employee productivity on a digital leaderboard and
offering
prizes to the winners, or
giving employees digital badges or stars for
completing certain
activities. It could
also mean training employees how to do their jobs
through video game
platforms. Companies
from Google to IBM to Wells Fargo are known to use
some degree of
gamification in their
workplaces. And more and more companies are
joining them. A recent
report suggests
that the global gamification market will grow from
$$1.65 billion in 2015
to $$11.1 billion
by 2020.
[D]
The
concept
of
gamification
is
not
entirely
new,
Werbach
says.
Companies,
marketers
and
teachers hav
e
long looked for fun ways to engage people’s
reward
-seeking or competitive
spirits.
Cracker
Jacks
has
been
“gamifying”
its
snack
food
by
putting
a
small
prize
inside
for
more
than
100
years,
he
adds,
and
the
turn-of-
the-century
steel
magnate
Charles
Schwab
is
said
to
have
often
come
into
his
factory
and
written
the
number
of
tons
of
steel
produced
on the past shift on the factory floor,
thus motivating the next shift of workers to beat
the previous one.
[E
]But the word
“gamification” and the widespread,
co
nscious application
of the
concept
only began in earnest about
five years ago, Werbach says. Thanks in part to
video games,
the generation now
entering the workforce is especially open to the
idea of having their
work gamified.
“We’re at a point where in m
uch of the
developed world the vast majority
of
young
people
grew
up
playing
[video]
games,
and
an
increasingly
high
percentage
of
adults
play these video
games too,” Werbach says.
[F
]A number of companies
have sprung up
—
GamEffective,
Bunchball and Badgeville, to name
a
few
—
in
recent
years
offering
gamification platforms
for
businesses.
The
platforms
that
are most effective turn
employees’ ordinary job tasks into part of a rich
adventure
narrative. “What makes a game
game
-like is that the player actually
cares about the
outcome,”
Werbach
says.
“The
principle
is
understanding
what
is
motivating
to
this
group
of
players, which requires some understanding of
psychology.”
[
G]
Some people,
Werbach says, are motivated by competition. Sales
people often fall into
this
category.
For
them,
the
right
kind
of
gamification
might
be
turning
their
sales
pitches
into a competition with other team
members, complete with a digital leaderboard
showing
who’s
winning
at
all
are
more
motivated
by
collaboration
and
soc
ial
experiences.
One
company
Werbach
has
studied
uses
gamification
to
create
a
sense
of
community and boost
employee morale. When employees log in to their
computers, they’re
shown a picture of
one of their coworkers and asked to guess that
person’s name.
[
H
]Gamification
does not have to be digital. Monica Cornetti runs
a company that gamifies
employee
trainings.
Sometimes
this
involves
technology,
but
often
it
does
not.
She
recently
designed a gamification
strategy for a sales training company
with a storm-chasing
theme.
Employees
formed
“storm
chaser
teams”
and
competed
in
storm
-themed
educational
exercises
to earn various rewards.“Rewards don’t
have to be stuff,” Cornetti says.
“Rewards can
be flextime. Rewards can
be extension time.”Another training,
thi
s one for pay roll law,
used a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
theme. Snow White is public domain, but the dwarfs
are
still
under
copyright, so
Cornetti invented
sound-alike
characters
(Grumpy
Gus, Dopey
Dan) to illustrate specific pay roll
law principles.
[I
]Some
people don’t take as naturally to gamified work
environments, Cornetti says. In
her
experience, people in positions of power or people
in finance or engineering don’t
tend to
like the sound of the word.“If we’re designing for
engineers, I’m not ta
lking
about a ‘game’ at all,” Cornetti says.
“I’m talking about a ‘simulation,’ I’m
talking about ‘be
ing able to
solve this problem.
”
[J
]Gamification is “not a
magic bullet,” Werbach cautions. A gamification
strategy
that’s not sufficiently
thought through
or tailored to its
players may engage people for
a little
while, but it won’t motivate in the long term. It
can also be exploitative,
especially
when
used
with
vulnerable
populations.
For
workers,
especially
low-paid
workers,
who
desperately
need
their
jobs
yet
know
they
can
be
easily
replaced,
gamification
may
feel
more
like
the
Hunger
Games.
Werbach
gives
the
example
of
several
Disneyland
hotels
in
Anaheim,
California, which used large digital
leaderboards to display how efficiently laundry
workers were working compared to one
another. Some employees found the board
motivating.
To others, it was the
opposite of fun. Some began to skip bathroom
breaks, worried that
if their
productivity fell they would be fired. Pregnant
employees struggled to keep up.
In
a
Los
Angeles
Times
article,
one
employee
referred
to
the
board
as
a
“digital
whip.”“It
actually had a very negative effect on
morale and performance,” Werbach says.
[K]
Still,
gamification
only
stands
to
become
more
popular,
he
says,
“as
more
and
more
peop
le
come into
the workforce who are intuitively familiar with
the structures and expressions
of
digital
games.”
“We
are
way
ahead
of
the
tipping
point,”
Cornetti
agrees.
“There’s
no reason this will
go away.”
36.
some
famous
companies
are
already
using
gamification
and
more
are
trying
to
do
the
same.
37
.Gamification is not a
miracle cure for all workplaces as it may have
negative results.
38.
To
enhance morale, one company asks its employees to
identify their fellow works when
starting their computers.
39
.The idea of gamification
was practiced by some businesses more than a
century ago.
40
.There is a
reason to believe that gamification will be here
to stay.
41
.Video games
contributed in some ways to the wide application
of gamification.
42
.When
turning
work
into
a
game,
it
is
necessary
to
understand
what
makes
games
interesting.
43
.Gamification in employee
training does not always need technology.
44
.The most successful
gamification platforms transform daily work
assignments into fun
experiences.
45
.It is necessary to use
terms other than
“gamification”
for some
professions.
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
maked
A
）
，
B
）
，
C
）
and
D
）
.You
should decide on the best choice and
mark the corresponding letter on
Answer
Sheet2
with
a single line
through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the
following passage.
Recently
I
attended
several
meetings
where
we
talked
about
ways
to
retain
students
and
keep younger faculty
members from going elsewhere.
It seems
higher education has become an industry of
meeting-holders whose task it is
to
solve
problems-
real
or
imagined. And
in
my
position
as
a
professor
at
three
different
colleges,
the
actual
problems
in
educating
our
young
people
and
older
students
have
deepened,
while
the
number
of
people
hired-
not
to
teach
but
to
hold
meetings-
has
increased
significantly.
Every new problem creates a new job for an
administrative fixer. Take our
Center
for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title,
the center is a clearing house
(
信
息交流中心
)for
using
technology
in
classrooms
and
in
online
courses.
It's
an
administrative
sham
(
欺诈
) of the kind that has
multiplied over the last 30 years.
I
offer a simple proposition in response: Many of
our problems-class attendance,
educational
success,
student happiness and well-being-might be improved
by cutting down the
bureaucratic
(
官僚的
)
mechanisms
and
meetings
and
instead
hiring
an
army
of
good
teachers.
lf
we
replaced
half
of
our
administrative
staff
with
classroom
teachers,
we
might
actually
get a majority of our classes back to
20 or fewer students per teacher This would be an
environment in which teachers and
students actually knew each other.
The
teachers must be free to teach in their own way-
the curriculum should be flexible
enough so that they can use their
individual talents to achieve the goals of the
course.
Additionally;
they
should
be
allowed
to
teach,
and
be
rewarded
for
doing
it
well.
Teachers
are
not
people
who
are
great
at
and
consumed
by
research
and
happen
to
appear
in
a
classroom.
Good teaching and research are not
exclusive, but they are also not automatic
companions.
Teaching is an art and a
craft, talent and practice; it is not something
that just anyone
can be good at. It is
utterly confusing to me that people do not
recognize this, despite
the fact that
pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell
the difference between
their best and
worst teachers.
does the author say
about present-day universities?
A)They
are effectively tackling real or imagined
problems.
B)They often fail to combine
teaching with research.
C)They are
over-burdened with administrative staff.
D)They lack talent to fix their
deepening problems.
ing to the author,
what kind of people do universities lack most?
A)Good classroom teachers. C)
Talented researchers.
B)Efficient
administrators. D) Motivated students.
does the author imply about the
classes at present?
A)They facilitate
students independent learning.
B)They
help students form closer relationships.
C)They have more older students than
before.
D)They are much bigger than is
desirable.
does the author think of
teaching ability?
A)It requires talent
and practice.
B)It is closely related
to research.
C)It is a chief factor
affecting students 'learning.
D)It can
be acquired through persistent practice.
is the author
’
s
suggestion for improving university teaching?
A)Creating an environment for teachers
to share 'their teaching experiences.
B)Hiring more classroom teachers and allowing them
to teach in their own way.
C)Using
high technology in classrooms and promoting
exchange of information.
D)Cutting
down meetings and encouraging administrative staff
to go to classrooms.
Passage Two
Questions 51to 55 are based on the
following passage.
The secret to eating
less and being happy about it may have been
cracked years ago-by
McDonald's.
According to a new study from Cornell University's
Food and Brand Lab, small
non-food
rewards-like
the
toys
in
McDonald's
Happy
Meals-stimulate
the
same
reward
centers
in the brain as food
does.
The researchers, led by Martin
Reimann, carried out a series of experiments to
see if
people would choose a smaller
meal if it was paired with a non-food items.
They found that the majority of both
kids and adults opted for a half-sized portion
when combined with a prize. Both
options were priced the same.
Even
more
interesting
is
that
the
promise
of
a
future
reward
was
enough
to
make
adults
choose the smaller
of the prizes used was a lottery
ticket
（彩票）
, with a
$$
10,
$$
50
or
$$
100
payout,
and
this
was
as
effective
as
a
tangible
gift
in
persuading
people
to eat less.
fact
that
participants
were
willing
to
substitute
part
of
a
food
item
for
the
mere
prospect of a
relatively small monetary award is
interesting.
”
says Reimann.
He theorizes that it is the emotional
component of these intangible prizes that make
them
effective.
In
fact,
vaguely-
stated
possibilities
of
winning
a
prize
were
more
effective
than options with
hard odds included.
“One
explana
tion for this finding is that
possible awards may be more emotionally
provoking
than
certainty
awards,
says
Reimann.
The
uncertainty
of
winning
provides
added
attraction
and
desirability
through
emotional
‘thrills.'
The
possibility
of
receiving
an
award
also
produces
a
state
of
hope
一
a
state
that
is
in
itself
psychologically
rewarding
·
other words,
there
’
s a reason why people
like to gamble
How might
it
’
s knowledge be used to
help people eat more healthily?
One
possibility is a healthy that offers the chance to
win a spa (
温泉疗养
) weekend.
Or maybe the reward of a half-sized
portion could be a half-sized dessert to be
claimed
only on a future date. That
would get you back in the restaurant-and make you
eat a little
less.
do we
learn about McDonald
’
s
inclusion of toys in its Happy Meals?
A)It may shed light on
people
’
s desire to crack a
secret.
B)It has proved to be key to
McDonald
’
s business success.
C)It appeals to
kid
’
s curiosity to find out
what is hidden inside.
D)It may be a
pleasant way for kids to reduce their food intake.
52. What is the finding of the
researchers led by Martin Reimann?
A)Reducing food intake is not that
difficult if people go to
McDonald
’
s more.
B)Most kids and adults
don
’
t actually feel hungry
when they eat half of their meal.
C)Eating a smaller does good to the
health of kids and adults alike.
D)Most
kids and adults would choose a smaller meal that
came with a non-food item.
is most
interesting in Martin
Reimann
’
s finding?
A)Kids preferred an award in the form
of money to one in the form of a toy.
B)Adults chose the smaller portion on
the mere promise of a future award
C)Both kids and adults felt satisfied
with only half of their meal portions.
D)Neither children nor adults could
resist the temptation of a free toy.
does Martin Reimann interpret his finding?
A)The emotional component of the prizes
is at work.
B)People now care more
about quality than quantity.
C)People
prefer certainty awards to possible awards.
D) The desire for a future reward is
overwhelming.
can we infer from Martin
Reimann
’
s finding?
A)·People should eat much less
if
they ·wish to stay
healthy and happy.
B)More
fast food restaurants are likely to follow
McDonald
’
s example.
C)We can lead people to eat less while
helping the restaurant business.