1、2014年 12月大学英语四级真题试卷（二）及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay about a course that has impressed you most in college. You should state the reasons and write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. Section A （ A） The man is not good at balanci
2、ng his budget. （ B） She will go purchase the gift herself. （ C） The gift should not be too expensive. （ D） They are going to Janes house-warming party. （ A） He is quite willing to give the woman a hand. （ B） It takes patience to go through the statistics. （ C） He has prepared the statistics for the
3、woman. （ D） The woman should take a course in statistics. （ A） Page 55 is missing from the womans scripts. （ B） They cannot begin their recording right away. （ C） The woman does not take the recording seriously. （ D） The man wants to make some changes in the scripts. （ A） The date of Carls wedding.
4、（ B） The birthday of Carls bride. （ C） A significant event in July. （ D） Preparations for a wedding. （ A） The woman forgot to tell the man in advance. （ B） The man was absent from the weekly meeting. （ C） The woman was annoyed at the mans excuse. （ D） The man was in charge of scheduling meetings. （
5、A） The woman is a marvelous cook. （ B） The woman has just bought an oven. （ C） The man has to leave in half an hour. （ D） The man cannot wait for his meal. （ A） How she can best help the man. （ B） Where the man got the bad news. （ C） What items sell well in the store. （ D） Whether the man can keep h
6、is job. （ A） The woman can sign up for a swimming class. （ B） He works in the physical education department. （ C） The woman has the potential to swim like a fish. （ D） He would like to teach the woman how to swim. （ A） He teaches in a law school. （ B） He loves classical music. （ C） He is a diplomat.
7、 （ D） He is a wonderful lecturer. （ A） Went to see a play. （ B） Watched a soccer game. （ C） Took some photos. （ D） Attended a dance. （ A） She decided to get married in three years. （ B） Her mother objected to Erics flying lessons. （ C） She insisted that Eric pursue graduate studies. （ D） Her father
8、said she could marry Eric right away. （ A） Editor. （ B） Teacher. （ C） Journalist. （ D） Typist. （ A） The beautiful Amazon rainforests. （ B） A new railway under construction. （ C） Big changes in the Amazon valley. （ D） Some newly discovered scenic spot. （ A） In news weeklies. （ B） In newspapers Sunday
9、 editions. （ C） In a local evening paper. （ D） In overseas editions of U. S. magazines （ A） To be employed by a newspaper. （ B） To become a professional writer. （ C） To sell her articles to a news service. （ D） To get her life story published soon. Section B （ A） Nodding ones head. （ B） Waving ones
10、hand. （ C） Holding up the forefinger. （ D） Turning the right thumb down. （ A） Looking away from them. （ B） Forming a circle with fingers. （ C） Bowing ones head to them. （ D） Waving or pointing to them. （ A） Looking ones superior in the eye. （ B） Keeping ones arms folded while talking. （ C） Showing t
11、he sole of ones foot to a guest. （ D） Using a lot of gestures during a conversation. （ A） They had to beg for food after the harvest. （ B） They grew wheat and corn on a small farm. （ C） They shared a small flat with their relatives. （ D） The children walked to school on dirt roads. （ A） Tour Ecuador
12、s Andes Mountains. （ B） Earn an annual income of $2,800. （ C） Purchase a plot to build a home on. （ D） Send their children to school. （ A） The achievements of the Trickle Up Program. （ B） A new worldwide economic revolution. （ C） Different forms of assistance to the needy. （ D） The life of poor peop
13、le in developing countries. （ A） They are highly sensitive to cold. （ B） They are vitally important to our life. （ C） They are a living part of our body. （ D） They are a chief source of our pain. （ A） It has to be removed in time by a dentist. （ B） It is a rare oral disease among old people. （ C） It
14、 contains many nerves and blood vessels. （ D） It is a sticky and colorless film on the teeth. （ A） It can change into acids causing damage to their outer covering. （ B） It greatly reduces their resistance to the attacks of bacteria. （ C） It makes their nerves and blood vessels more sensitive to acid
15、 food. （ D） It combines with food particles to form a film on their surface. （ A） Food particles. （ B） Gum disease. （ C） Unhealthy living habits. （ D） Chemical erosion. Section C 26 Stunt people (替身演员 )are not movie stars, but they are the hidden heroes of many movies. They were around long before f
16、ilms. Even Shakespeare may have used them in fight scenes. To be good, a fight scene has to look real. Punches must【 B1】 _enemies jaws. Sword fights must be fought with【 B2】 _swords. Several actors are usually in a fight scene. Their moves must be set up so that no one gets hurt. It is almost like p
17、lanning a dance performance. If a movie scene is dangerous, stunt people usually【 B3】 _the stars. You may think you see Tom Cruise running along the top of a train. But it is【 B4】 _his stunt double. Stunt people must【 B5】 _ the stars they stand in for. Their height and build should be about the same
18、. But when close-ups are needed, the film【 B6】_the star. Some stunt people【 B7】 _in certain kinds of scenes. For instance, a stunt woman named Jan Davis does all kinds of jumps. She has leapt from planes and even off the top of a waterfall. Each jump required careful planning and expert【 B8】 _. Yaki
19、ma Canutt was a famous cowboy stunt man. Among other stunts, he could jump from a second story window onto a horses back. He【 B9】 _the famous trick of sliding under a moving stagecoach. Canutt also【 B10】 _a new way to make a punch look real. He was the only stunt man ever to get an Oscar. 27 【 B1】 2
20、8 【 B2】 29 【 B3】 30 【 B4】 31 【 B5】 32 【 B6】 33 【 B7】 34 【 B8】 35 【 B9】 36 【 B10】 Section A 36 As an Alaskan fisherman, Timothy June, 54, used to think that he was safe from industrial pollutants(污染物 )at his home in Haines a town with a population of 2,400 people and 4,000 eagles, with 8 million acre
21、s of protected wild land nearby. But in early 2007, June agreed to take part in a【 C1】 _of 35 Americans from seven states. It was a biomonitoring project, in which peoples blood and urine (尿 )were tested for【 C2】 _of chemicals in this base, three potentially dangerous classes of compounds found in c
22、ommon household【 C3】 _like face cream, tin cans, and shower curtains. The results-【 C4】 _ in November in a report called “Is It in Us?“ by an environmental group-were rather worrying. Every one of the participants,【 C5】_from an Illinois state senator to a Massachusetts minister, tested positive for
23、all three classes of pollutants. And while the【 C6】 _presence of these chemicals does not【 C7】 _indicate a health risk, the fact that typical Americans carry these chemicals at all【 C8】 _June and his fellow participants. Clearly, there are chemicals in our bodies that dont【 C9】 _there. A large, ongo
24、ing study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found 148 chemicals in Americans of all ages. And in 2005, the Environmental Working Group found an【 C10】 _of 200 chemicals in the blood of 10 new-borns. “Our babies are being born pre-polluted,“ says Sharyle Patton of Commonw
25、eal, which cosponsored “Is It in US?“ “This is going to be the next big environmental issue after climate change. “ A)analyses I)products B)average J)ranging C)belong K)released D)demonstrated L)shocked E)excess M)simple F)extending N)survey G)habitually O)traces H)necessarily 37 【 C1】 38 【 C2】 39 【
26、 C3】 40 【 C4】 41 【 C5】 42 【 C6】 43 【 C7】 44 【 C8】 45 【 C9】 46 【 C10】 Section B 46 In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isnt Better.Its Brutal A)Young graduates are in debt, out of work and on their parents couches. People in their 30s and 40s cant afford to buy homes or have children. Retirees are ea
27、rning near-zero interest on their savings. B)In the current listless (缺乏活力的 )economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured. But the Labor Departments latest jobs reports and other recent data present a strong case for crowning baby boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的人 )as the greatest victims o
28、f the recession and its dreadful consequences. C)These Americans in their 50s and early 60s those near retirement age who do not yet have access to Medicare and Social Security have lost the most earnings power of any age group, with their household incomes 10 percent below what they made when the r
29、ecovery began three years ago, according to Sentier Research, a data analysis company. Their retirement savings and home values fell sharply at the worst possible time: just before they needed to cash out. They are supporting both aged parents and unemployed young-adult children, earning them the un
30、lucky nickname “Generation Squeeze. “ D)New research suggests that they may die sooner, because their health, income security and mental well-being were battered (重创 )by recession at a crucial time in their lives. A recent study by economists at Wellesley College found that people who lost their job
31、s in the few years before becoming qualified for Social Security lost up to three years from their life expectancy (预期寿命 ), largely because they no longer had access to affordable health care. E)Unemployment rates for Americans nearing retirement are far lower than those for young people, who are re
32、cently out of school, with fewer skills and a shorter work history. But once out of a job, older workers have a much harder time finding another one. Over the last year, the average duration of unemployment for older people was 53 weeks, compared with 19 weeks for teenagers, according to the Labor D
33、epartments jobs report released on Friday. F)The lengthy process is partly because older workers are more likely to have been laid off from industries that are downsizing, like manufacturing. Compared with the rest of the population, older people are also more likely to own their own homes and be le
34、ss mobile than renters, who can move to new job markets. G)Older workers are more likely to have a disability of some sort, perhaps limiting the range of jobs that offer realistic choices. They may also be less inclined, at least initially, to take jobs that pay far less than their old positions. H)
35、Displaced boomers also believe they are victims of age discrimination, because employers can easily find a young, energetic worker who will accept lower pay and who can potentially stick around for decades rather than a few years. I)In a survey of older workers who were laid off during the recession
36、, just one in six had found another job, and half of that group had accepted pay cuts. 14% of the re-employed said the pay in their new job was less than half what they earned in their previous job. “I just say to myself; Why me? What have I done to deserve this? “ said John Agati, 56, whose last fu
37、ll-time job, as a product developer, ended four years ago when his employer went out of business. That position paid $90,000, and his resume lists jobs at companies like American Express, Disney and USA Networks. Since being laid off, though, he has worked a series of part-time, low-wage, temporary
38、positions, including selling shoes at Lord & Taylor and making sales calls for a car company. J)The last few years have taken a toll not only on his familys finances, but also on his feelings of self-worth. “ You just get sad,“ Mr. Agati said. “ I see people getting up in the morning, going out to t
39、heir careers and going home. I just wish I was doing that. Some people dont like their jobs, or they have problems with their jobs, but at least theyre working. I just wish I was in their shoes. “ He said he cannot afford to go back to school, as many younger people without jobs have done. Even if h
40、e could afford it, economists say it is unclear whether older workers like him benefit much from more education. K)“It just doesnt make sense to offer retraining for people 55 and older,“ said Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor. “ Discrimination by age, long-term unemployment, and the fact tha
41、t theyre now at the end of the hiring queue just dont make it sensible to invest in them. “ L)Many displaced older workers are taking this message to heart and leaving the labor force entirely. The share of older people applying for Social Security early rose quickly during the recession as people s
42、ought whatever income they could find. The penalty they will pay is permanent, as retirees who take benefits at age 62 will receive as much as 30% less in each months check for the rest of their lives than they would if they had waited until full retirement age (66 for those bom after 1942). M)Those
43、 not yet qualified for Social Security are increasingly applying for another, comparable kind of income support that often goes to people who expect never to work again. disability benefits. More than one in eight people in their late 50s is now on some form of federal disability insurance program,
44、according to Professor Mark Duggan at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School. N)The very oldest Americans, of course, were battered by some of the same ill winds that tormented (折磨 )those now nearing retirement, but at least the most senior were cushioned by a more readily available social s
45、afety net. More important, in a statistical twist, they may have actually benefited from the financial crisis in the most fundamental way: longer lives. O)Death rates for people over 65 have historically fallen during recessions, according to a November 2011 study by economists at the University of
46、California, Davis. Why? The researchers argue that weak job markets push more workers into accepting relatively undesirable work at nursing homes, leading to better care for residents. 47 Greater mobility puts younger people at an advantage in seeking new jobs. 48 Many of the older workers laid off
47、during the recession had to accept lower pay in their new jobs. 49 Those who lose their jobs shortly before retirement age live a shorter-than-average life. 50 Seniors at nursing homes could benefit from the weak job market. 51 Age discrimination in employment makes it pointless retraining older wor
48、kers. 52 According to recent reports and data analyses, boomers suffer most from the weak economy. 53 Unemployed boomers are at a disadvantage in job-hunting because employers tend to hire younger workers. 54 People in their fifties and early sixties bear the heaviest family burdens. 55 People who t
49、ake benefits from Social Security before official retirement age will get much less for the rest of their lives. 56 Older workers choice of jobs can be limited because of disability. Section C 56 New Yorkers are gradually getting used to more pedaling(骑车的 )passengers on those shining blue Citi Bikes. But what about local bike shops? Is Citi Bike rolling up riders at their expense? At Gotham Bikes in Tribeca, manager W. Ben said the shop has see
