1、大学英语四级（ 2013年 12月考试改革适用）模拟试卷 155及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the following topic. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. In your opinion, what is the most effective way to learn about a foreign culture and why
2、? Section A （ A） The woman still thinks that she speaks pretty good English. （ B） The woman speaks poor English so people cannot understand her. （ C） The woman has to improve her spoken English. （ D） The woman does not speak English loudly enough. （ A） To pay for transportation. （ B） To make a phone
3、 call. （ C） To do shopping. （ D） To give them to the woman. （ A） Wait for Mr. Whites call. （ B） Make another call later. （ C） Pay the manager a visit. （ D） Speak in a louder voice. （ A） She has been longing to attend Harvard University. （ B） Shell consider the mans suggestion carefully. （ C） She has
4、 finished her project with Dr. Garcias help. （ D） Shell consult Dr. Garcia about entering graduate school. （ A） listening to the radio. （ B） Reading a newspaper. （ C） Watching television. （ D） Watching a sports game. （ A） They are very rewarding. （ B） They are too time-consuming. （ C） They are not h
5、elpful at all. （ D） They are too troublesome. （ A） She thinks curly hair is very fashionable. （ B） She is going to attend a special meeting. （ C） She is going to attend a party tonight. （ D） She is accustomed to trying different styles. （ A） He is ashamed of Professor Wang. （ B） He will congratulate
6、 Professor Wang. （ C） He will help Professor Wang paint his car. （ D） He will tell Professor Wang the bad news. （ A） Calm. （ B） Angry. （ C） Interested. （ D） Funny. （ A） Go to the library. （ B） Pay the money. （ C） Go through registration. （ D） Get a checklist-release card. （ A） Give up registration a
7、nd leave. （ B） Talk to the admissions representative. （ C） Go to the library immediately. （ D） Wait until the woman processes his registration. （ A） Doctor. （ B） Government official. （ C） Teacher. （ D） Babysitter. （ A） He is always ill. （ B） He is too active. （ C） He speaks too little. （ D） He does
8、a bad thing. （ A） His parents disagree with that. （ B） His parents cant be with him. （ C） His parents think it is unhealthy. （ D） His parents order him to stay at home. （ A） It is signed by the state government. （ B） It could raise money from parents. （ C） It has been drawn up to protect children. （
9、 D） It could help to fund afternoon programs. Section B （ A） Exposure to excessive noise. （ B） Lack of rest. （ C） Unpreventable accident. （ D） Intense work pressure. （ A） Moderate noise is harmless. （ B） Sound above 80 decibels can hurt hearing. （ C） Noise can make people feel stressed. （ D） There i
10、s no noise on campus. （ A） Do medical checkup regularly. （ B） Avoid making noise. （ C） Limit exposure to harmful noise. （ D） Live in the place without noises. （ A） Measure damaging noises on campus. （ B） Make a list of campus noises. （ C） Figure out how to fight against noise. （ D） Explain the conce
11、pt of noise. （ A） It costs no more than the normal construction. （ B） It does a poor job of facing extreme weather. （ C） It holds up much better to extreme weather. （ D） It impacts weather changes and the economy. （ A） Wildfires. （ B） Famine. （ C） Flood. （ D） Plague. （ A） Make people come up with ro
12、ugh numbers and estimates. （ B） Make people use less energy and generate fewer gases. （ C） Help scientists figure out what the future will bring. （ D） Encourage companies to emit more carbon dioxide. （ A） You will be delighted. （ B） You will not be affected. （ C） You may feel depressed. （ D） You wil
13、l feel lonely. （ A） Social bonds will stay steady. （ B） One will lose many friends. （ C） People can make friends more easily （ D） A social network will be destroyed. （ A） Transmit happy feelings to others. （ B） Reach out to people who need help. （ C） Pay more attention to lonely people. （ D） Interac
14、t with a happy person frequently. Section C 26 Todays lecture is on the subject of Pronunciation Achievement Factors. As an introduction we should ask ourselves three questions. Why should it be difficult for adults to learn【 B1】 _pronunciation in a foreign language? Secondly, why do some people ach
15、ieve better results than others? And thirdly, what factors【 B2】 _ who will achieve good pronunciation? There have been several research studies【 B3】 _ factors that affect performance. Firstly, and perhaps the most significant, was the mother tongue. The closer the students own language is to English
16、 to【 B4】 _, the greater the chance of high achievement. Secondly, the learners【 B5】 _towards pronunciation makes a difference: Students who believe in the importance of pronunciation tend to make more progress. Thirdly, conversation with native speakers of the language has strong【 B6】 _effects on pr
17、onunciation. Fourthly, and possibly the least important, was the students own natural ability. A good ear and the ability to【 B7】 _help, but are far less significant than the other three factors. Two other factors were tested but found to be of little overall importance: the sex of the student and t
18、he【 B8】 _ whether the learner is outgoing or shy. What conclusions can【 B9】 _these studies? We cant change the first factor the mother tongue but we can control the second and third. Therefore, we have【 B10】_influence over our own progress with pronunciation. 27 【 B1】 28 【 B2】 29 【 B3】 30 【 B4】 31 【
19、 B5】 32 【 B6】 33 【 B7】 34 【 B8】 35 【 B9】 36 【 B10】 Section A 36 SHOPPING for salad in supermarkets is too easy. A bag of ready-washed vegetables costs only $ 3 at Walmart, and takes no time to lift from the shelf. So a new breed of food lovers spends hours foraging(搜索 |)for plants in city parks and【
20、 C1】_lots. Many wild American plants are edible but【 C2】 _in supermarkets. But not everyone recognises them. Enter the foraging group, who teach hipsters(时髦人群 )how to pluck on the wild side. “Green Deane“ Jordan charges $ 30 for a foraging tour in Orlando, Florida: demand【 C3】 _supply, he says. New
21、foraging apps, websites and books are making it easier than ever to score free food. But this is only part of the story. Foraging fits the anti-corporate【 C4】 _of many hipsters. “ People are【 C5】_for something thats real“ , says Frank Grindrod, who teaches foraging in Massachusetts. Urban parks【 C6】
22、 _offer more plant varieties than similarly sized wilderness areas. And city greenery holds more calories per acre than wildlands that are picked over by deer, says “Wildman“ Steve Brill, who sells a 26-language “Wild Edibles“ app and gives foraging tours in New York city parks. Wild food【 C7】 _bett
23、er than you might expect, enthusiasts say. Roughly 18% of Americans forage at least once a year, up from 13% in 1999, says Maria Emery, a geographer at the U. S. Forest Service. For-ageSF, a San Francisco firm, serves $ 100 dinners with foraged【 C8】 _. Iso Rabins, the founder, had hoped to employ st
24、aff foragers but found that the praiseworthy【 C9】 _of folks willing to forage full-time did not include promptness in returning calls or【 C10】 _He now uses freelances instead. A)attributes B)absent C)crushes D)defect E)devoting F)exceeds G)faith H)ingredients I)intentionally J)punctuality K)tastes L
25、)typically M)unavailable N)vacant O)yearning 37 【 C1】 38 【 C2】 39 【 C3】 40 【 C4】 41 【 C5】 42 【 C6】 43 【 C7】 44 【 C8】 45 【 C9】 46 【 C10】 Section B 46 Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills A)Effective communication is one of the most important life skills we can learn yet one we dont usuall
26、y put a lot of effort into. Whether you want to have better conversations in your social life or get your ideas across better at work, here are some essential tips for learning to communicate more effectively. B)Listen, Really Listen The best thing you can do to improve your communication skills is
27、to learn to really listen to pay attention and let the other person talk without interrupting. Its hard work, we know, but “ A good conversation is a bunch of words elegantly connected with listening. “ Then, even if your communication styles dont match, at least youre both working off the same page
28、. And hopefully the other person will be attentively listening to you too. C)Up Your Empathy Communication is a two-way street. If you practice taking the opposing viewpoint, you can reduce the difficulty and anxiety that sometimes arises when trying to truly communicate with others.(For example, kn
29、owing what your significant other really means when she says shes too tired to talk.)Developing empathy helps you better understand even the unspoken parts of your communication with others, and helps you respond more effectively. D)Be Brief Yet Specific Theres actually a BRIEF acronym Background, R
30、eason, Information, End, Follow-up to help you keep your emails short without leaving anything out. Its a good policy for both written and verbal communication.(Ive always felt that my job as a writer was to clearly get the point across and then get off the page as soon as possible. Just two more it
31、ems on this list!)Clear and concise are two of the 7 Cs of communication, along with concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous. E)Tailor Your Message to Your Audience The best communicators adjust how they talk based on whom theyre speaking to: youd probably use a different style of commu
32、nication with co-workers or your boss compared to when youre speaking with your significant other, kids, or elders. Always try to keep the other persons perspective in mind when you try to get your message across. F)Put Away the Distractions Its pretty rude to use your phone while someones talking t
33、o you or youre supposed to be hanging out with them. Maybe we cant get rid of all our distractions or put away technology completely, but just taking the time to look up could vastly improve our communication with each other. G)Ask Questions and Repeat the Other Person Lets face it, weve all drifted
34、 off when someone else was talking or misheard the other person. Asking questions and repeating the other persons last few words shows youre interested in what they say, keeps you on your toes, and helps clarify points that could be misunderstood(e. g. “ So to recap, youre going to buy the tickets f
35、or Saturday?“). H)It also helps for small talk and to fill in awkward silences. Instead of trying to stir up conversation on mundane topics like the weather, ask the other person questions(e. g. “Got any plans for the summer?“ or “What are you reading lately?“)and engage in their answers. Its more i
36、mportant to be interested than to be interesting. I)Tell a Story Stories are powerful. They activate our brains, make presentations suck less, make us more persuasive, and can even help us ace interviews. Learn the secrets of becoming a phenomenal storyteller with these rules from Pixar or by simply
37、 using the word “but“ more to structure your narrative. Everyones got at least one great story in them. J)Have a Script for Small Talk and Other Occasions Small talk is an art that not many people have mastered. For the inevitable, awkward silences with people you hardly know, it helps to have a pla
38、n. The FORD(family, occupation, recreation dreams)method might help you come up with topics to discuss, and you can also turn small talk into conversation by sharing information that could help you and the other person find common ground. Hey, all that small talk could make you happier in the long r
39、un. K)Get Rid of Unnecessary Conversation Fillers Urns and ahs do little to improve your speech or everyday conversations. Cut them out to be more persuasive and feel or appear more confident. One way is to start keeping track of when you say words like “um“ or “ah“. You could also try taking your h
40、ands out of your pockets or simply relaxing and pausing before you speak. Those silences seem more awkward to you than they do to others, trust us. L)Watch Your Body Language You tell your partner youre open to discussion but your arms are crossed: say youre listening but havent looked up from your
41、phone yet. Our non-verbal and non-written cues often reveal more than we think they do. Whether its how you make eye contact or how you hold yourself during a video interview, dont forget that youre constantly communicating even when youre not saying a word. One strange way to tap into your body for
42、 better communication? Think about your toes. Or adopt a power pose if you need to boost your confidence before a big talk. Or learn how to read other peoples body language so that you can respond appropriately. 47 Applying more twists in your story will make it more attractive. 48 Asking questions
43、and being involved in the answers is better than talking about cliches. 49 Being attentive to what others say is a good policy to carry out a good conversation. 50 Despite the importance, effective communication skills havent received its due attention. 51 It is highly recommended to adapt your styl
44、e and communication strategies to the people you are talking to. 52 It would be easy to get “absent-minded“ when others dominate the conversation. 53 Its impolite to talk on the phone when youre interacting with others. 54 Sharing another persons feelings and emotions facilitates communication. 55 S
45、mall talk can be used to ease communication and make it easier for strangers to find common ground. 56 Sometimes your body language tells more than what your lips say. Section C 56 The United States of America is often seen as a nation in which the pursuit of happiness is not a dream but a reality.
46、The sad truth is that although portrayed as an unusually easy life, life in America is as much of a struggle as in any other nation. For example, higher level education for Americans does not come easy. Although there are scholarships , grants and loans available, if the student fails to meet the cr
47、iteria he is left with only personal resources to draw from. This takes him into a life with not only a school schedule follow but perhaps, also, a work schedule and family life. These are often the difficulties that are not portrayed through the TV and movies. These are also the difficulties which
48、many believe they will not encounter by attending an American college. In the second place, there is financial security. Many times what is portrayed of life in America is a life where “money“ is no object. The fallacy in this is that, in spite of the comparatively higher wages available, the cost o
49、f living is also higher. Even though it may seem like one is making more money, just as much is spent in surviving. Each person has their own personal struggle and money is an object for the majority of the people. Thirdly is the belief that in American way of life, everyone has a good job. With the increasing advancements in technology, a well-paying job for those currently in the work force is getting harder to find. Those who have
