1、专业英语四级（听写听力）模拟试卷 49及答案与解析 一、 PART I DICTATION (15 MIN) Directions: Listen to the following passage. Altogether the passage will be read to you four times. During the first reading, which will be read at normal speed, listen and try to understand the meaning. For the second and third readings, the pa
2、ssage will be read sentence by sentence, or phrase by phrase, with intervals of 15 seconds. The last reading will be read at normal speed again and during this time you should check your work. You will then be given 2 minute 专业英语四级（听写听力）模拟试卷 49答案与解析 一、 PART I DICTATION (15 MIN) Directions: Listen to
3、 the following passage. Altogether the passage will be read to you four times. During the first reading, which will be read at normal speed, listen and try to understand the meaning. For the second and third readings, the passage will be read sentence by sentence, or phrase by phrase, with intervals
4、 of 15 seconds. The last reading will be read at normal speed again and during this time you should check your work. You will then be given 2 minute 1 【正确答案】 The Obesity Problem Two-thirds of American adults are overweight. This is defined as having a body mass index of 25 or more, which for a man s
5、tanding 175cm tall means a weight of 77kg or more. Alarmingly, 36% of adults and 17% of children are not just overweight but obese, with a BMI of at least 30, meaning they weigh 92kg or more at the same height. If current trends continue, by 2,030 nearly half of American adults could be obese. The r
6、est of the world should not scoff at Americans, because belts in many other places are stretched too. Some continental Europeans remain relatively slender. Swiss women are the slimmest, and most French women dont get fat, as they like to brag (though nearly 15% do). But in Britain 25% of all women a
7、re obese, with men following close behind at 24%. And it is not just the rich world that is too big for its own good. It is plain that obesity has become a huge problem. 【知识模块】 听写 2 【正确答案】 The Origin of Sports When did sport begin? If sport is, in essence, play, the claim might be made that sport is
8、 much older than humankind, for, as we all have observed, the beasts play. Dogs and cats wrestle and play ball games. Fishes and birds dance. The apes have simple, pleasurable games. Young animals, particularly, tumble, chase, run, wrestle, mock, imitate and laugh (or so it seems) to the point of de
9、lighted exhaustion. Their play, and ours, appears to serve no other purpose than to give pleasure to the players, and apparently, to remove us temporarily from the anguish of life in earnest. Some philosophers have claimed that our playfulness is the noblest part of our basic nature. In their genero
10、us conceptions, play harmlessly and experimentally permits us to put our creative forces, fantasy and imagination into action. Play is a release from tedious battles against scarcity and decline which are incessant, and inevitable, tragedies of life. This is a grand conception that excites and provo
11、kes. 【知识模块】 听写 3 【正确答案】 X-Sports Nowadays, more and more young athletes are taking part in some risky, daredevil activities called “extreme sports“, or “X-sports“. In the past, young athletes would play hockey or baseball. Today, they want risk and excitement the closer to the edge, the better. Extr
12、eme sports started as an alternative to more expensive sports. A city kid who doesnt have money to buy expensive sports equipment could get a skateboard and have fun. But now it has become a whole new area of sports, with specialized equipment and high levels of skill. Theres even a special Olympics
13、 for extreme sports, called the Winter X-Games, which includes snow mountain biking and ice climbing. Extreme sports are certainly not for everyone. Most people still prefer to play baseball or basketball or watch sports on TV. But extreme sports are definitely gaining in popularity. 【知识模块】 听写 4 【正确
14、答案】 Valentines Day Valentines Day is celebrated annually with fervor in memory of martyrdom of Saint Valentine on 14th of February every year. The exact historic evolvement of the day is murky. There were numerous priests in the history with the name Valentine. It is hard to make a specific relation
15、 with any of these priests as little historical record is available about them. But the most commonly accepted version is that Saint Valentine was a priest of Rome in the 3rd century. The emperor had an opinion that bachelor men made a better army than the married ones. So, in view of expanding his
16、army base, he prohibited the marriage of young men and forced them to join army to serve the nation. Saint Valentine was, however, against his autocratic law and he continued to perform marriages of young couples in secret. When the Emperor discovered his actions and intentions, he ordered death pen
17、alty for the priest. Therefore, the day is celebrated in remembrance of the martyrdom of the priest for love. 【知识模块】 听写 5 【正确答案】 New Insight into the Roots of Homosexuality For an evolutionary biologist, homosexuality is something of a puzzle. Its a common trait, found in up to 10% of the population
18、. It appears to be run in families, suggesting that it is hereditary, at least in part. And yet it defies the very reason why traits are passed on from generation to generation. How could something that hinders childbearing be passed down so frequently from parents to children? Researchers at the Na
19、tional Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis think they may have an answer. Its not in written in our DNA sequence itself, they suggest, which explains why scientists have failed so far to find “gay genes“, despite intensive investigations. Instead, its written in how our genes are expressed: that is, in certain modifications to how and when DNA is activated. These changes can have environmental roots, so are not normally permanent enough to be passed from parent to child. But occasionally, they are. 【知识模块】 听写
