1、国家公共英语（四级）笔试历年真题试卷汇编 1及答案与解析 PART A Directions: For Questions 1-5, you will hear a conversation. While you listen, fill out the table with the information you have heard. Some of the information has been given to you in the table. Write only 1 word in each numbered box. You will hear the recording t
2、wice. You now have 25 seconds to read the table below. 1 PART B Directions: For Questions 6-10, you will hear a passage. Use not more than 3 words for each answer. You will hear the recording twice. You now have 25 seconds to read the sentences and the questions below. 6 PART C Directions: You will
3、hear three dialogues or monologues. Before listening to each one, you will have 5 seconds to read each of the questions which accompany it. While listening, answer each question by choosing A, B, C or D. After listening, you will have 10 seconds to check your answer to each question. You will hear e
4、ach piece ONLY ONCE. 11 What is Blakemore s explanation on the jump in brain size? （ A） Fantastic cultural change. （ B） Simple natural selection. （ C） Sudden genetic change. （ D） Gradual genetic evolution. 12 The expansion of human brains improved man s ability to （ A） predict climate changes. （ B）
5、avoid danger and crises. （ C） formulate new ideas. （ D） find rich resources. 13 According to Blakemore, acquisition of skills depends on （ A） genetic traits. （ B） powerful brains. （ C） linguistic abilities. （ D） common knowledge. 14 Cat owners take part in the shows for （ A） fun. （ B） money. （ C） tr
6、aveling. （ D） exchanges. 15 Which of the following is true of the general rules and procedures of cat shows? （ A） They are adopted in four competitions. （ B） They are the same in all associations. （ C） They dont apply to household pets. （ D） They vary in different associations. 16 How many cats are
7、given top awards in a category? （ A） 4. （ B） 10. （ C） 15. （ D） 20 17 Why did Nupedia fail? （ A） Its theory was too general. （ B） The volunteers are too hasty. （ C） Its model was too academic. （ D） The operation was too costly. 18 For what purpose are users allowed to edit Wikipedia? （ A） To stimulat
8、e people s participation. （ B） To demonstrate the openness of the Internet. （ C） To inspire volunteers interest. （ D） To ensure the best quality of entries. 19 What does Wikipedia rank among the most popular websites? （ A） No. 5. （ B） No. 15. （ C） No. 50. （ D） No. 100. 20 What would Wikipedia do in
9、case of financial difficulties? （ A） Remove advertising. （ B） Attract donations. （ C） Get public support. （ D） Cut costs. 一、 Section II Use of English (15 minutes) Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. 20 It is repo
10、rted that the French culture minister, Fleur Pellerin, had not read any of Nobel prizewinner Patrick Modiano s novels. This revelation has met 【 C1】_dismay in France. But then, how many of us really have time to read anymore? A survey found that almost 4 million British adults never read books 【 C2】
11、_pleasure, and as in Pellerin s case, a lack of time was the dominant factor. In Britain, these people are working more than 48 hours a week, with one 【 C3】 _25 men working more than 60 hours a week. Men generally read 【 C4】 _ than women, and our long hours culture is undoubtedly a factor. The man I
12、 live with is usually 【 C5】 _exhausted to read more than a couple of pages in the evening. 【 C6】_, he stores up the things he wants to read, then indulges in reading 【 C7】_his time off. Yet if we 【 C8】 _our holidays hungrily reading, doesn t it show that we 【 C9】 _want to read, and learn fictional w
13、orlds? It s a question of time, we say. Yet we make time for other 【 C10】 _: drinking, arguing, or Twittering. The internet in particular is frequently blamed for the death of the novel. It changes the 【 C11】 _we read: We scan from one page to the 【 C12】_, trying to pick the diamonds 【 C13】 _the scr
14、ap. Researchers say we are developing new, digital brains that are eclipsing the deep reading circuitry that has 【 C14】 _over centuries. This kind of reading feeds our imaginations and in them, we create people and places and experiences. It s not that the internet is making us stupid, 【 C15】 _that
15、we re losing what comes with that deep reading: immersion, relaxation, escapism. 21 【 C1】 22 【 C2】 23 【 C3】 24 【 C4】 25 【 C5】 26 【 C6】 27 【 C7】 28 【 C8】 29 【 C9】 30 【 C10】 31 【 C11】 32 【 C12】 33 【 C13】 34 【 C14】 35 【 C15】 Part A 35 Resemblances between Roman history and the history of Great Britain
16、or the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries have often been noted. Like America s, the Roman economy evolved from a simple agrarianism to a complex urban system with problems of unemployment, gross disparity of wealth, and financial crises. Like the British Empire, the Roman Empire was found
17、ed on conquest. And like both the British and American empires, the Roman Empire justified itself by celebrating the peace its conquest allegedly brought to the world. Ultimately, however, such parallels are superficial. 【 B1】 _. The Romans distained industrial activities: they had no idea of the mo
18、dern national state. The Romans never developed an adequate representative government, and they never solved the problem of succession to imperial power. Roman social relations were also in no way comparable with those of more recent centuries. The Roman economy rested on slavery to a degree unmatch
19、ed in any modern society. Technology was primitive, social stratification was extreme, and gender relations were profoundly unequal. 【 B2】 _. Nevertheless, Roman civilization exerted a great influence on later cultures. 【 B3】_. Roman law was handed down to the Middle Ages and on into modern times. R
20、oman sculpture provided the model on which virtually all modern sculpture rests, and Roman authors set the standards for prose composition in Europe and America until the 20th century. Even the organization of the Catholic Church was adapted from the structure of the Roman state: today the pope bear
21、s the title of supreme pontiff, once born by the emperor in his role as head of the Roman civic religion. But perhaps the most important of all Rome s contributions to the future was its role in transmitting Greek civilization throughout the length and breadth of its empire. 【 B4】_. Each of these ci
22、vilizations would be characterized by a distinctive religious tradition, and each would adopt and adapt different aspect of its Roman inheritance. What these three Western civilizations shared, however, was a common cultural inheritance derived from Greece by way of Rome an inheritance of urbanism,
23、cosmopolitanism, imperialism, and learning that would forever mark the West as a unique experiment in human history. This cultural inheritance would be Rome s epitaph: and in the mid-third century C. E. , it must have seemed that an epitaph was the only thing needed to bring Roman Empire to an end.
24、But in fact, the Roman Empire did not collapse. It went on to enjoy another several centuries of life. Rome did not fall in the third century, or even the fifth. 【 B5】_. It is to those transformations that we now turn. A But it was transformed: and in this transformed state the Roman inheritance wou
25、ld pass to the Western civilizations of the Middle Ages. B Roman religion rested on the assumption that religious practice and political life were inseparable from one another, and Roman emperors were worshiped as living gods. C Attention to the dynamics of Rome s decline in the west should not caus
26、e us to overlook the many ways in which Roman society was a towering success. D Roman architectural forms survive to this day in the design of many of our government buildings, and Roman styles of dress continue to be worn by the clergy of various Christian churches. E Until the third century crisis
27、, the Romans had maintained a relatively stable currency and a prosperous international trade for four centuries without any of the mechanisms or safeguards of a modern market economy. F Rome was an ancient, not a modern, society that differed profoundly from any of the societies of the modern Weste
28、rn world. G When, finally, the Roman Empire did collapse, three different successor civilizations would emerge to occupy Romes former territories: Byzantine, Islam, and western Europe. 36 【 B1】 37 【 B2】 38 【 B3】 39 【 B4】 40 【 B5】 Part B Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions
29、 below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 40 In the weeks since IBM s computer, Watson, defeated two flesh-and-blood champions in the quiz show “Jeopardy!“ , human intelligence has been punching back. Watson doesnt “know“ anything, experts say. It doesnt laugh
30、at jokes, cannot carry on a conversation, has no sense of self, and commits embarrassing mistakes no human would consider. What s more, it s horribly inefficient, requiring a roomful of computers to match what we carry between our ears. And it probably would not have won without its inhuman speed on
31、 the buzzer. This is all enough to make you feel energetic to be human. But focusing on Watson s short-comings misses the point. It risks distracting people from the transformation that Watson all but announced on its “Jeopardy!“ debut: These question-answering machines will soon be working alongsid
32、e us in offices and laboratories. Watson is an early sighting of a highly disturbing force. The key is to regard these computers not as human wannabes but rather as powerful tools, ones that can handle jobs currently held by people. The “intelligence“ of the tools matters little. What counts is the
33、information they deliver. In our history of making tools, we have long adjusted to the disturbances they cause. Imagine an Italian town in the 17th century, a man who has a special sense for the weather, called Luigi. Using his magnificent brain, he picks up on signals changes in the wind, certain o
34、dors, perhaps the flight paths of birds or noises coming from the barn. And he spreads word through the town that rain will be coming in two days, or that a cold front might freeze the crops. Luigi is a valuable member of society. Along comes a traveling salesman who carries a new instrument invente
35、d in 1643 by Evange-lista Torricelli. It s a barometer, and it predicts the weather about as well as Luigi. It s certainly not as smart as him, if it can be called smart at all. It has no sense of self, is deaf to the animals in the barn, blind to the flight patterns of birds. Yet it comes up with v
36、aluable information. In a world with barometers, Luigi and similar weather experts must find other work for their fabulous minds. Perhaps using the new tool, they can deepen their analysis of weather patterns, keep careful records and then draw conclusions about optimal farming techniques. Maybe som
37、e of them drop out of the weather business altogether. The new tool creates both displacement and economic opportunity. It forces people to reconsider how they use their heads. 41 One reason for Watson s victory over human intelligence is that it （ A） is more intelligent than human beings. （ B） does
38、 not make embarrassing mistakes. （ C） has a much faster speed on the buzzer. （ D） cares much less of itself. 42 It is indicated in Paragraph 2 that （ A） human beings wont be as intelligent as Watson. （ B） adjustment has to be made to defeat computers. （ C） machines like Watson distract us from think
39、ing. （ D） we have to get used to being accompanied by computers. 43 The author holds that Watson and the like should be taken as （ A） powerful tools. （ B） intelligent devices. （ C） potential employees. （ D） mans friends. 44 According to the text, Luigi differs from a barometer in that he （ A） predic
40、ts the weather better. （ B） depends solely on his brain. （ C） provides more valuable information. （ D） earns more fame for his ability. 45 The author suggests in the last paragraph that new tools （ A） add to human power to conquer the world. （ B） are very similar to the human mind in principle. （ C）
41、 can be an incentive for human intellectual improvement. （ D） will overtake the human mind in the near future. 45 A few years ago it was feared that the investors buying up one media company after another and loading them with debt would ruin their purchases. As it turns out, some have also ruined t
42、hemselves. On August 17th the Reader s Digest Association, publisher of America s most widely read magazine, said it would seek bankruptcy protection to restructure $2. 2 billion in debt. Reader S Digest is now a global business: It generates less than half of its revenue in America. Most of its mon
43、ey comes from direct marketing and sales of things as varied as wine, vitamins and books. Readers Digest began in the 1920s by summarizing books and “articles of lasting interest“ from other publications. Gradually it acquired its own editorial voice, and with it a somewhat boring image. The magazin
44、e emphasized common values and leaned to the right Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were fans. In the 1970s it sold as many as 18 million copies a month. The Wall Street Journal described it as the greatest publishing success since the Bible. Yet cracks were appearing. The magazine came to depend on
45、competitions and gambling, particularly to lure younger subscribers. Forced out of that business by public and legal pressure, Readers Digest attempted to reinvent itself as a celebrity-heavy lifestyle magazine. Despite heroic (and expensive)efforts to keep up the numbers, circulation has fallen rut
46、hlessly. It now stands at 8.2 million in America not many more than Better Homes and Gardens. These days Readers Digest is aiming for a circulation of about 5. 5 million, having dropped the notion of being all things to all readers. Instead it will emphasize the heartland values of family and practi
47、cality. Other initiatives point in a similar direction. In 2006 the firm successfully launched a magazine featuring Rachael Ray, a cheerful and uncomplicated television cook. Earlier this year it formed a publishing alliance with Rick Warren, whose book, The Purpose-Driven Life, has a more plausible
48、 claim to be the greatest publishing success since the Bible. Mr. Warren is conservative but pointedly non-political. This is wise. There are a lot of people in the heartland, and not just in America. Reader s Digest s talent for distilling complex arguments ought to be more valuable in an era of in
49、formation overload. In the past year Every Day with Rachael Ray and the American edition of Reader s Digest have lost less than a tenth of their advertising pages, according to Mediaweek far less than the competition. If it can escape that troublesome debt, the least sexy of publishing companies ought to be around for a while yet. 46 Who should take the blame for the bankruptcy of media companies? （ A） The debtors. （ B） The investor
