2017年12月四级第一套

2017

年

12

月大学 英语四级考试真题

(

第

1

套

)

Part I

Writing

(30 minutes)

Directions: For this part,you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on how to best handle

the relationship between parents and children. You should write at least 120 words but no more

than 180 words. < /p>

________________________________________ _______________________________________

__________________________________________________ _____________________________

__________ __________________________________________________ ___________________

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) 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.

1A) Her grandfather

C) Her friend Erika.

B) Her grandmother

D) Her little brother.

2A) By taking pictures for passers-by

C) By working part time at a hospital.

B) By selling lemonade and pictures

D) By asking for help on social media.

Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.

3A) Testing the efficiency of the new solar panel.

B) Providing clean energy to five million people.

C) Generating electric power for passing vehicles.

D) Finding cheaper ways of highway construction.

4A) They are made from cheap materials.

B) They are only about half an inch thick.

C) They can be laid right on top of existing highways.

D) They can stand the wear and tear of natural elements.

Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.

5A) The lack of clues about the species

C) Endless fighting in the region.

B) Inadequate funding for research

D) The hazards from the desert.

6A) To observe the wildlife in the two national parks.

B) To study the habitat of lions in Sudan and Ethiopia.

C) To identify the reasons for the lions,disappearance.

D)

To find evidence of the existence of the “lost lions”.

7A) Lions’ tracks

C) Some camping facilities.

B) Lions walking

D) Traps set by local hunters.

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 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.

8A) A special gift from the man

C) A call from her dad.

B) Her wedding anniversary

D) Her “lucky birthday”.

9A) Threw her a surprise party

C) Bought her a gold necklace.

B) Took her on a trip overseas

D) Gave her a big model plane.

10A) What her husband and the man are up to.

B) What has been troubling her husband.

C) The trip her husband has planned.

D) The gift her husband has bought.

11A) He wants to find out about the couple’s holiday plan.

B)

He is eager to learn how the couple’s holiday turns out.

C) He will tell the woman the secret if her husband agrees.

D) He w

ill be glad to be a guide for the couple’s holiday trip.

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

12A) They take the rival’s attitude into account.

B) They know when to adopt a tough attitude.

C) They see the importance of making compromises.

D) They are sensitive to the dynamics of a negotiation.

13A) They know when to stop

C) They know when to make compromises.

B) They know how to adapt

D) They know how to control their emotion.

14A) They are patient

C) They are good at expression.

B) They learn quickly

D) They uphold their principles.

15A) Clarify items of negotiation

C) Get to know the other side.

B)

Make clear one’s intentions

D) Formulate one’s strategy.

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 markedA), 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.

16A) How space research benefits people on Earth.

B) When the International Space Station was built.

C) How many space shuttle missions there will be.

D)

When America’s earliest space program started.

17A) They tried to make best use of the latest technology.

B)

They tried to meet astronauts’ specific requirements.

C) They developed objects for astronauts to use in outer space.

D) They accurately calculated the speed of the orbiting shuttles.

18A) They are expensive to make

C) They were first made in space.

B) They are extremely accurate

D) They were invented in the 1970s.

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.

19A) Everything was natural and genuine then.

B) People had plenty of land to cultivate then.

C) It marked the beginning of something new.

D) It was when her ancestors came to America.

20A) They were known to be creative

C) They had all kinds of entertainment.

B) They enjoyed living a life of ease

D) They believed in working for goals.

21A) Chatting with her ancestors

C) Furnishing her country house.

B) Doing needlework by the fire

D) Polishing all the silver work.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.

22A) Sit down and try to calm yourself

C) Use a map to identify your location.

B) Call your family or friends for help

D) Try to follow your footprints back.

23A) You may end up entering a wonderland.

B) You may get drowned in a sudden flood.

C) You may expose yourself to unexpected dangers.

D) You may find a way out without your knowing it.

24A) Walk uphill

C) Start a fire.

B) Look for food

D) Wait patiently.

25A) Check the local weather

C) Prepare enough food and drink.

B) Find a map and a compass

D) Inform somebody of your plan.

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.

Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.

A rat or pigeon might not be the obvious choice to tend to someone who is sick, but these

creatures have some

26

skills that could help the treatment of human diseases.

Pigeons are often seen as dirty birds and an urban

27, but they are just the latest in a long

line of animals that have been found to have abilities to help humans. Despite having a brain no

bigger than the

28of your index finger,pigeons have a very impressive

29memory. Recently

it was shownthat they could be trained to be as accurate as humans at detecting breast cancer in

images.

Rats are often

30with spreading disease rather than

31it, but this long-tailed animal is

highly

32

. Inside a rat’s nose are up to 1,000 different types of olfactory receptors (

嗅觉感受

器

), whereas humans only have 100 to 200 types. This gives rats the ability to detect

33smells. As a result, some rats are being put to work to detect TB (

肺结核

).When the rats detect

the smell, they stop and rub their legs to

34a sample is infected.

Traditionally,a hundred samples would take lab technicians more than two days to35 ,but for

a rat it takes less th

an 20 minutes. This rat detection method doesn’t rely on specialist equipment.

It is also more accurate

—

the rats are able to find more TB infections and, therefore, save more

lives.

A) associated

B) examine

C) indicate

D) nuisance

I) slight

J) specify

K) superior

L) suspicious

E) peak

F) preventing

G) prohibiting

H) sensitive

M) tip

N) treated

O) visual

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.

Do In-Class Exams Make Students Study Harder?

Research suggests they may study more broadly for the unexpected rather than search for answers.

A) I have always been a poor test-taker. So it may seem rather strange that I have returned to

college to finish the degree I left undone some four decades ago. I am making my way through

Columbia

University,surrounded

by

students

who

quickly

supply

the

verbal

answer

while

I

am

still processing the question.

B) Since there is no way for me to avoid exams, I am currently questioning what kind are the

most taxing and ultimately beneficial. I have already sweated through numerous in-class midterms

and finals, and now I have a professor who issues take-home ones. I was excited when I learned

this, figuring I had a full week to do the research, read the texts, and write it all up. In fact, I was

still rewriting my midterm the morning it was due. To say I had lost the thread is putting it mildly.

C) As I was suffering through my week of anxiety, overthinking the material and guessing

my grasp of it, I did some of my own polling among students and professors. David Eisenbach,

who

teaches

a

popular

class

on

U.

S.

presidents

at

Columbia,

prefers

the

in-class

variety.

He

believes

students

ultimately

learn

more

and

encourages

them

to

form

study

groups.

“

That

way

they socialize over history

outside the class, which wouldn’t happen without the pressure of an

in-

class exam,” he explained. “Furthermore

,in-class exams force students to learn how to perform

under pressure, an essential work skill.

”

D)

He

also

says

there

is

less

chance

of

cheating

with

the

in-class

variety.

In

2012,

125

students at Harvard were caught up in a scandal when it was discovered they had cheated on a

take-h

ome exam for a class entitled “Introduction To Congress.” Some col

leges have what they

call an “

honor code,

” though if you are smart enough to get into these schools

,you are either smart

enough to get around any codes or hopefully, too ethical to consider doing so. As I sat blocked and

clueless for two solid days,I

momentarily wondered if I couldn’t just call an expert on the subject

matter which I was tackling,or someone who took the class previously,to get me going.

E) Following the Harvard scandal, Mary Miller, the former dean of students at Yale, made an

impassio

ned

appeal

to

her

school’s

professors

to

refrain

from

take

-

home

exams.

“Students

risk

health and well being, as well as performance in other end-of-term work, when faculty offers take-

home

exams

without

clear,

time-limited

boundaries,

”

she

told

me.

“Resea

rch

now

shows

that

regular

quizzes,

short

essays,

and

other

assignments

over

the

course

of

a

term

better

enhance

learning and retention.”

F) Most college professors agree the kind of exam they choose largely depends on the subject.

A quantitative-based one, for example,is unlikely to be sent home,where one could ask their older

brothers and sisters to help. V

ocational-type classes, such as computer science or journalism, on

the other hand, are often more research-oriented and lend themselves to take-home testing. Chris

Koch,

who

teaches

“

History

of

Broadcast

Journalism

”

at

Montgomery

Community

College

in

Rockville,Maryland,points out that reporting is about investigation rather than the memorization

of minute details. “ In my field

,

it’s not what you know—it’s what you know how to find out

,

” says

Koch. “There is way too much information, and more coming all the time

,for anyone to remember.

I want my students to search out the answers to questions by using all the resources available to

them.”

G)

Students’

test-form

preferences

vary,

too,

often

depending

on

the

subject

and

course

difficulty. “I prefer take

-home essays because it is then really about the writing,so you have time

to edit and do more research,

”

says Elizabeth Dresser,a junior at Barnard. Then there is the stress

factor. Francesca Haass,

a senior at Mddlebury, says, “I find the in

-class ones are more stressful in

the short term, but there is immediate relief as you swallow information like mad, and then you

get to forget it all. Take-homes require thoughtful engagement which can lead to longer term stress

as

there

is

never

a

moment

when

the

time

is

up.

”

Meanwhile,

Olivia

Rubin,

a

sophomore

at

Emory,

says

she

hardly

even

considers

take-

homes

true

exams.

“If

you

understand

the

material

and have the ability to articulate (

说出

)

your thoughts, they should be a breeze. ”

H) How students ultimately handle tests may depend on their personal test-taking abilities.

There are people who always wait until the last minute, and make it much harder than it needs to

be. And then there are those who, not knowing what questions are coming at them, and having no

resources to refer to, can freeze. And then there are we rare folks who fit both those descriptions.

I) Yes, my advanced age must factor into the equation (

等式

),in part because of my inability

to access the information as quickly. As another returning student at Columbia, Kate Marber, told

me,

“

We are learning not only all this information,but essentially how to learn again. Our fellow

students have just come out

of high school. A lot has changed since we were last in school. ”

J) If nothing else,the situation has given my college son and me something to share. When I

asked his opinion on this matter, he responded, “I like in

-class exams because the time is already

reserved, as opposed to using my free time at home to work on a test,

” he re

sponded. It seems to

me that a compromise would be receiving the exam questions a day or two in advance, and then

doing the actual test in class with the ticking clock overhead.

K) Better yet, how about what one Hunter College professor reportedly did recently for her

final exam: She encouraged the class not to stress or even study, promising that,

“It

is going to be a

piece of cake.

” When the students came in, sharpened pencils in

hand, there was not a blue book

in sight. Rather, they saw a large chocolate cake and they each were given a slice.

36Elderly students find it hard to keep up with the rapid changes in education.

37Some believe take-

home exams may affect students’ perform

ance in other courses.

38Certain professors believe in-class exams are ultimately more helpful to students.

39In-class exams are believed to discourage cheating in exams.

40The author was happy to learn she could do some exams at home.

41Students who put off their work until the last moment often find the exams more difficult than

they actually are.

42Different students may prefer different types of exams.

43Most professors agree whether to give an in-class or a take-home exam depends on the type of

course being taught.

44The author dropped out of college some forty years ago.

45Some students think take-home exams will eat up their free time.

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)

andD).

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.

That people often experience trouble sleeping in a different bed in unfamiliar surroundings is

a phenomenon known as the “first

-

night” effect. If a person stays in the same room the following

night they tend to sleep more soundly. Yuka Sasaki and her colleagues at Brown University set out

to investigate the origins of this effect.

Dr.

Sasaki

knew

the

first- night

effect

probably

has

something

to

do

with

how

humans

evolved.

The

puzzle

was

what

benefit

would

be

gained

from

it

when

performance

might

be

affected the following day. She also knew from previous work conducted on birds and dolphins

that these animals put half of their brains to sleep at a time so that they can rest while remaining

alert

enough

to

avoid

predators

(

捕食者

).

This

led

her

to

wonder

if

people

might

be

doing

the

same

thing.

To

take

a

closer

look,

her

team

studied

35

healthy

people

as

they

slept

in

the

unfamiliar

environment

of

the

university’s

Department

of

Psychological

Sciences.

The

participants

each

slept

in

the

department

for

two

nights

and

were

carefully

monitored

with

techniques that looked at the activity of their brains. Dr. Sasaki found, as expected, the participants

slept less well on their first night than they did on their second,taking more than twice as long to

fall

asleep

and

sleeping

less

overall.

During

deep

sleep,

the

participants’

brains

behaved

in

a

similar manner seen in birds and dolphins. On the first night only, the left hemispheres (

半球

)of

their brains did not sleep nearly as deeply as their right hemispheres did.

Curious if the left hemispheres were indeed remaining awake to process information detected

in

the

surrounding

environment,Dr.

Sasaki

re-ran

the

experiment

while

presenting

the

sleeping

participants with a mix of regularly timed beeps (

蜂鸣声

)of the same tone and irregular beeps of a

different tone during the night. She worked out that,if the left hemisphere was staying alert to keep

guard in a strange environment,then it would react to the irregular beeps by stirring people from

sleep and would ignore the regularly timed ones. This is precisely what she found.

46What did researchers find puzzling about the first-night effect?

A) To what extent it can trouble people

C) What circumstances may trigger it.

B) What role it has played in evolution

D) In what way it can be beneficial.

47What do we learn about Dr. Yuka Sasaki doing her research?

A) She found birds and dolphins remain alert while asleep.

B) She found birds and dolphins sleep in much the same way.

C) She got some idea from previous studies on birds and dolphins.

D) She conducted studies on birds,and dolphins

’

sleeping patterns.

48What did Dr. Sasaki do when she first did her experiment?

A) She monitored the brain activity of participants sleeping in a new environment.

B) She recruited 35 participants from her Department of Psychological Sciences.

C) She studied the differences between the two sides of participants,brains.

D) She tested her findings about birds and dolphins on human subjects.

49What did Dr. Sasaki do when re-running her experiment?

A) She analyzed the negative effect of irregular tones on brains.

B)

She recorded participants’ adaptation to changed environment.

C) She exposed her participants to two different stimuli.

D) She compared the responses of different participants.

50What did Dr. Sasaki find about the participants in her experiment?

A) They tended to enjoy certain tones more than others.

B) They tended to perceive irregular beeps as a threat.

C) They felt sleepy when exposed to regular beeps.

D) They differed in their tolerance of irregular tones.

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

It’s

time

to

reevaluate

how

women

handle

conflict

at

work.

Being

overworked

or

over-committed at home and on the job will not get you where you want to be in life. It will only

slow you down and hinder your career goals.

Did

you

know

women

are

more

likely

than

men

to

feel

exhausted?

Nearly

twice

as

many

women

than

men

ages

18-

44

reported

feeling

“very

tired”

or

“exhausted”

,according

to

a

recent

study.

This may not be surprising

given that this is the age range when women have children. It’s

also the age range when many women are trying to balance careers and home. One reason women

may

feel

exhausted

is

that

they

have

a

hard

time

saying

“no.” Women

want

to be able

to

d

o

it

all

—

volunteer for school parties or cook delicious meals

—

and so their answer to any request is

often “Yes

, I can.

”

Women struggle to say “no” in the workplace for similar reasons, including the desire to be

liked by their colleagues. Unfortunately, th

is inability to say “no” may be hurting women’s health

as well astheir career.

At the workplace, men use conflict as a way to position themselves,while women often avoid

conflict

or

strive

to

be

the

peacemaker,

because

they

don’t

want

to

be

viewed

as

aggressive

or

disruptive

at

work.

For

example,

there’s

a

problem

that

needs

to

be

addressed

immediately,resulting in a dispute over who should be the one to fix it. Men are more likely to

face that dispute from the perspective of what benefits them most, whereas women may approach

the

same

dispute

from

the

perspective

of

what’s

the

easiest

and

quickest

way

to

resolve

the

problem

—

even if that means doing the boring work themselves.

This difference in handling conflict could be the deciding factor on who gets promoted to a

leadership position and who does not. Leaders have to be able to delegate and manage resources

wisely

—

including

staff

expertise.

Shouldering

more

of

the

workload

may

not

earn

you

that

promotion. Instead,it may highlight your inability to delegate effectively.

51What does the author say is the problem with women?

A) They are often unclear about the career goals to reach.

B) They are usually more committed at home than on the job.

C) They tend to be over-optimistic about how far they could go.

D) They tend to push themselves beyond the limits of their ability.

52Why do working women of child-bearing age tend to feel drained of energy?

A) They struggle to satisfy the demands of both work and home.

B) They are too devoted to work and unable to relax as a result.

C) They do their best to cooperate with their workmates.

D) They are obliged to take up too many responsibilities.

53What may hinder the future prospects of career women?

A)

Their unwillingness to say “no”

C) An underestimate of their own ability.

B) Their desire to be considered powerful.

D) A lack of courage to face challenges.

54Men and women differ in their approach to resolving workplace conflicts in that

.

A) women tend to be easily satisfied

C) men tend to put their personal interests first

B) men are generally more persuasive

D) women are much more ready to compromise

55What is important to a good leader?

A) A dominant personality

C) The courage to admit failure.

B) The ability to delegate

D) A strong sense of responsibility.

Part IV

Translation

(30 minutes)

Directions:

For

this

part,you

are

allowed

30

minutes

to

translate

a

passage

from

Chinese

into

English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.

泰山位于山东省西部。海拔

< br>1,500

余米，方圆约

400

平方公里。泰山不仅雄伟壮观，而

且是一座历史文化名山，过去

3,000

多年一直是人们前往朝拜的地方。据记载，共有

72

位

帝王曾来此游览。许多作家到泰山获取灵感，

写诗作文，

艺术家也来此绘画。山上因此留下

了许许多 多的文物古迹。泰山如今已成为中国一处主要的旅游景点。

2017

年

12

月大学英语四级考试真题答案与详解

(

第

1

套

)

Part I Writing

审题思路

父母与子女的关系是一个老 生常谈的话题，学生自己也会非常有感触、有话说。因此，

关键是如何组织语言，并把重 点落脚到“

how

”上面。如果采用我们一贯熟悉的“三点式”

来讲怎么做，当然无可厚非。不过，也可以换一种思路，重点从子女如何做下笔，并分析 原

因，使文章显得有理有据。考场上时间紧张，考生思维也易受局限，不管从哪个角度写 ，一

定要先列好提纲，理顺思路。

写作提纲

一、引出话题、提出观点：

1.

父母与子女关系的话题永恒且普遍

(eternal and universal)

2.

对年轻人而言，更多取决于孩子的 做法

(depend more on what children do)

二、分析论证

1.

< br>随着我们长大，父母渐渐衰老甚至落伍

(out- dated)

，从而导致代沟

(invisible generation gap)

2.

如果我们不放慢脚步

(slow down our pace)

，与父母之间必然会形成尴尬的沉默

(an awkward

silence between parents and us)

3.

年轻人应该多与父母交流

(tal k more with parents)

三、重申观点，结束全文：只有经常与父 母交流

(frequent communication)

才 能建立和谐的关

系

范文点评

高分范文

Communication Is the Best Gift for Parents

①

The

relationship between

parents and

children

is

an

eternal

and

universal

topic

for

mankind.

Our

relationship with parents might be different at different

ages.

②

And for young people at their 20s,I think it will

depend more on what children do.

③

The reason why I say so is that as we grow up,

our parents who were our idols before gradually get old

and even out- dated.

④

However hard efforts they make,

they

could

not

catch

up

with

our

steps,

leading

to

the

so-called

invisible

generation

gap.

⑤

Thus,

if

we

cannot

slow

down

our

pace,there

will

definitely

be

an

awkward

silence

between

parents

and

us,which

is

not

rare

now.

⑥

As

a

result,

young

people

should

talk

more

with

parents

to

share

our

feelings

and

to

understand each other better.

Everyone

wants

loving

parents

who

are

open and

supportive.

⑦

Only

through

frequent

communication

with

them,

can

we

establish

such

a

harmonious

relationship

全文翻译

交流是给父母的最好的礼物

精彩点评

①引出话题：父母与子女的关系。

② 表明观点：对年轻人而言，这种

关系更多取决于孩子的做法。

③承接上文，解释原因。

④使用让步状语从句，论证观点。

⑤反面论证，进一步阐述理由。

⑥通过上述论证，使用

Asa

res ult

得出结论：

年轻人应该多与父母交

流。

⑦重申观点：

经常与父母交流 才能

建立和谐的关系。

加分亮点

eternal

永恒的

universal

普遍的，全世界的

idol

偶像

invisible

无形的

awkward

尴尬的

supportive

支持的

establish

建立