1、大学英语四级（ 2013年 12月考试改革适用）模拟试卷 212及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay. You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then express your views on the burden children are facing. You should write at least 120 words but no m
2、ore than 180 words. Section A （ A） An invention made by architects and engineers. （ B） A new device gathering information about buildings. （ C） An introduction of a three-dimensional model. （ D） New ways of building structures. （ A） The accurate shape of rooms in the building. （ B） The size and posi
3、tion of heating and cooling equipment. （ C） The size and position of windows and doors. （ D） The placement of electrical outlets. （ A） Kids should spend more time outdoors. （ B） Kids all like trees and flowers. （ C） Kids may learn better in green nature. （ D） Kids should learn to protect nature. （ A
4、） They can distract a childs attention. （ B） They are easy to be accepted. （ C） They can hurt a childs health. （ D） They will affect a childs schooling. （ A） Permanent loss of eyesight of pilots. （ B） Loss of consciousness of passengers. （ C） Tragic results of air accidents. （ D） Blackouts of jet fi
5、ghter pilots. （ A） When the airplane slows down very quickly. （ B） When the airplane is making a sharp turn. （ C） When the pilots have a heart disease. （ D） When the pilots lose consciousness. （ A） It is required by the laws and the government. （ B） The air pressure is rather low above the Earths su
6、rface. （ C） The passengers will lose consciousness in the planes. （ D） Lack of oxygen can affect anyone at extreme heights. Section B （ A） Brentwood in America. （ B） London. （ C） Essex in England. （ D） Scotland. （ A） It is a small town next to London. （ B） It has a large population. （ C） It is in th
7、e southeast of Scotland. （ D） It is a poor city. （ A） Its a relatively small town. （ B） The people living there are very rich. （ C） Houses are scarce there. （ D） Its close to London. （ A） The woman is not satisfied with the recreation there. （ B） The man thinks highly of the recreation there. （ C） A
8、ll kinds of recreations are available there. （ D） The man thinks little of the recreation there. （ A） He worked in a painting store. （ B） He worked in a printing factory. （ C） He worked in a gas stand. （ D） He worked in a bookstore. （ A） To print the TV guides. （ B） To edit the TV guides. （ C） To se
9、ll the TV guides. （ D） To prepare the TV guides for distribution. （ A） High pay and short work hours. （ B） Friendly environment and teamwork spirit. （ C） Relaxed atmosphere and valuable experience. （ D） Good friends he made in the factory. （ A） Delightful. （ B） Meaningless. （ C） Terrible. （ D） Cruel
10、. Section C （ A） Take a nap for 15 to 30 minutes. （ B） Use a combination of nap and caffeine. （ C） Have a cup of coffee three times a day. （ D） Do exercise when feeling tired. （ A） About 13% . （ B） About 15% . （ C） About 30% . （ D） About 50% . （ A） Professional athletes. （ B） Amateur athletes. （ C）
11、People who often travel. （ D） People who often lack sleep. （ A） To reduce the costs of waste. （ B） To keep the airport clean and tidy. （ C） To shorten the time of dealing with trash. （ D） To remind the passenger to produce less trash. （ A） They want to reduce costs. （ B） Students there never waste f
12、ood. （ C） They want to reduce food waste. （ D） The university wants to buy software instead. （ A） To lower the costs of hauling food waste. （ B） To save more food for the world. （ C） To keep the dining room clean. （ D） To reduce the efforts of cooking. （ A） It can store measures of how to save food.
13、 （ B） It can calculate the total amount of food offered. （ C） It can help people realize the value of wasted food. （ D） It can connect the food needed with the number of customers. （ A） Some people are treated unfairly. （ B） Some people buy things they do not want. （ C） There are many superiors arou
14、nd us. （ D） Some people do not think highly enough of themselves. （ A） To talk with Dr. Alberti. （ B） To go to see a superior. （ C） To take AT courses. （ D） To speak out for themselves. （ A） Attending Dr. Albertis lecture. （ B） Sharing ones feeling with others. （ C） Talking with a superior. （ D） Cha
15、tting with other people. Section A 26 So-called “green roofs“ urban rooftops covered with grasses, plants and other types of greenery are becoming increasingly popular around the world. In France, newly built commercial rooftops must have either greenery or solar panels, according to a recent law. T
16、he logic is obvious: Green roofs can reduce the retention(滞留 )of【 C1】_in urban areas, help to cool down buildings and thereby lower their energy use, and even pull some carbon dioxide from the air and【 C2】 _it back into plant growth. Plus, they look cool. But the psychological benefits of green roof
17、s to busy office workers may also be【 C3】 _, according to new research. In a study published in the journal Environmental Psychology, the University of Melbournes Kate Lee and a group of colleagues found that interrupting a tedious, attention-demanding task with a 40-second “microbreak“ in which one
18、【 C4】 _looks at a computerized image of a green roof improved focus as well as subsequent【 C5】 _on the task. The research adds to a growing scientific【 C6】 _on the health advantagespsychological and otherwise of being exposed to views of nature in urban settings, for instance through the presence of
19、 parks or trees. Research in this area is so far along, in fact, that researchers are considering whether it might be possible to【 C7】 _the right “dose“ of nature that people need to receive in order to actually【 C8】_significant health benefits. Other psychological benefits of nature views have also
20、 been【 C9】 _in recent literature. In one study, research subjects who viewed a 12-minute nature documentary before playing a game that involved managing a fishery resource engaged in more【 C10】 _behavior. A)accidentally F)feed K)performance B)appearance G)give L)reap C)captured H)heat M)simply D)dif
21、ferent I)identify N)substantial E)easily J)literature O)sustainable 27 【 C1】 28 【 C2】 29 【 C3】 30 【 C4】 31 【 C5】 32 【 C6】 33 【 C7】 34 【 C8】 35 【 C9】 36 【 C10】 Section B 36 Why You Shouldnt Freak Out About Swarming Honeybees and How to Save Bees From Those Who Do A)For many people, the late-spring on
22、set of warm weather conjures up images of barbecues, beach trips and long afternoons spent out in the sun. But if youre a beekeeper, the changing seasons may have an extra significance: Its the start of honeybee swarm season. B)To many, a swarm of honeybees which can number well above 10 000 bees an
23、d take the form of a living, buzzing, basketball-sized clump of insects is the stuff of nightmares. But both scientists and beekeepers(who manage hives of honeybees either for fun or to sell honey commercially)encourage citizens not to kill or attack the bees if they happen upon a swarm. In fact, as
24、 the nation continues to experience widespread honeybee declines, allowing a beekeeper to capture the swarm alive is not only good for the beekeeper it can help save struggling bees, too. C)And thats critical: Concern over protecting honeybees has never been higher. Honeybees have been declining for
25、 several decades, largely thanks to a mysterious phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, which causes bees to suddenly abandon their hives. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that honeybee populations are less than half what they were in the 1940s. D)Most scientists believe the honeybe
26、es plight has been caused by a complex set of factors, including negative effects from pesticides, various diseases and parasites, and habitat degradation. One of the most recent honeybee studies found that beekeepers lost about 40 percent of their commercial colonies in the past year a worrisome st
27、atistic because honeybees play a crucial role in pollinating(授粉 )crops. In fact, many experts are afraid that their continued decline could have a major impact on human food supplies. E)Policy-makers are taking the problem seriously. Last week, the Obama administration released its National Strategy
28、 to Promote the Health of Honeybees and Other Pollinators, which aims to put honeybees on the upturn by reviewing and placing restrictions on certain pesticides and restoring land for use by pollinators. Still, honeybees are not protected under the Endangered Species Act, and there are no federal la
29、ws to prohibit people from killing them, although state-level regulations may vary. This can be unfortunate for honeybee swarms, which tend to appear more menacing than they actually are. F)Swarming is a particular behavior that honeybees exhibit in the late spring or early summer as a way of propag
30、ating(繁殖 )the species, says Andrew Cote, a New York-based beekeeper and founder of the New York City Beekeepers Association. When a colony gets big enough, it splits in two and the queen bee flies off, usually taking a third to a half of the colony with her, in search of a new home.(Back at the home
31、 base, a new queen will take her place and continue on with the old colony.) G)While theyre looking for a suitable new home, these swarms sometimes make brief stopovers on tree branches, walls, road signs or other objects. Their appearance a dripping ball of stinging insects can be menacing, but neu
32、robiologist and bee expert Thomas Seeley says honeybees are at their safest when exhibiting swarming behavior. H)“The reality is that a swarm of bees is not defensive,“ says Seeley, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University, where he specializes in the behavior and social life o
33、f honeybees. Swarming bees are still en route to a new home, meaning they have no nest and no stores of honey to defend, and they tend to be at their most docile(温顺的 ). I)Swarms rarely stay in one place for more than a day or so, says Seeley, so chances are the bees will take off on their own if lef
34、t alone. “A lot of people think that a cluster of bees is a bunch of bees building a nest, and its not,“ he says. “Its just a temporary assemblage.“ But some businesses or homeowners might get antsy(坐立不安的 )about having a huge blob of bees hanging around, particularly if there are children in the are
35、a. In these cases, experts encourage citizens to call a local beekeeper, a person who has experience managing honeybee hives, to come and safely remove the swarm, rather than attempting to spray it with insecticide or hire an exterminator. J)Beekeeper Toni Burnham, founder of the D. C. Beekeepers Al
36、liance and president of the Maryland State Beekeepers Association, Inc., says some exterminators will refuse to destroy honeybees. But even in these cases, some citizens may take matters into their own hands by spraying the swarm with insecticide or other chemicals. K)Seeley says it would be hard to
37、 put a number on the population-level effects of destroying honeybee swarms. “ I dont know if its contributing much to the pressure on the population of honeybee colonies, but every time one is killed it does have some effect for sure,“ he says. “I guess the main thing is theres really no need to de
38、stroy them.“ L)And even swarms that are left alone by humans are homeless and vulnerable to environmental disturbances. Many dont make it to their next hive, says Burnham. But she adds that allowing beekeepers to collect swarms can have other benefits besides just saving the bees. M)Burnham says col
39、lecting swarms can help beekeepers by bolstering(改善 )the genetic pool on their bee farms. A swarm thats found in an urban setting, where there arent too many bee farms around, likely came from a feral(野生的 )colony a colony that isnt being managed by beekeepers and essentially lives in the wild. In or
40、der to survive long enough to produce a swarm in the first place, a feral bee colony must be pretty hardy, she says. N)“Were in a day and age where were trying to find bees that know how to cope with pests and disease, that know how to cope with profound changes in climate. The genes really, really
41、matter,“ Burnham says. “When you have a swarm, you have bees of an unknown background. One thing you do know is that they came from a strong colony, a colony that had existed for a long time.“ O)Seeley, the neurobiologist, agrees that collecting swarms can be an advantage for beekeepers. “If youre n
42、ot in a suburban area or something like that, chances are that the swarm is coming out of a wild colony,“ he says. “Theyve been tested. Theyve had to be living somewhere on their own.“ 37 Beekeepers have lost many honeybees, which may finally result in the decline of human food supplies. 38 Capturin
43、g the swarm alive not only benefits beekeepers but also the decreasing bees. 39 According to a bee expert, swarming bees are actually safe in spite of their threatening appearance. 40 A new policy has been made in order to save honeybees by controlling the use of pesticides. 41 Some individuals may
44、kill honeybees by using some chemicals. 42 Swarms often move to new places, so there may be some who will have to fly alone when they fall behind the group. 43 It is necessary for people to find bees which are genetically good at fighting with pests, disease and the complex climate. 44 Even though t
45、hey are not destroyed by people, swarms are still in poor condition because of the unstable environment. 45 A swarm found in city areas may come from a feral colony which is wild and strong. 46 The phenomenon that bees suddenly leave their hives leads to the quick decline of bees in the last few dec
46、ades. Section C 46 When you run your hands through your lovers hair, youre probably not thinking about your place in the social hierarchy. Give your team-mate or colleague a pat on the back after a setback, and the chances are youre not consciously seeking to change the mix of signalling chemicals i
47、n their brain. It may not seem like it, but these socially important rituals and others like them predate the time our species first walked the African continent. Human behaviours that involve physical social contact have a lot more in common with social grooming activities we typically associate wi
48、th other species than we might initially think. When rhesus monkeys(恒河猴 )or chimpanzees pick through their friends fur, theyre not just helping them remove dirt from hard to reach spots. There is undoubtedly a hygienic benefit, but this behaviour, which animal behaviour researchers call “allogroomin
49、g“, has far greater significance. For example, one chimpanzee is more likely to share food with another that has previously groomed it. Grooming also serves to ease tensions in a chimp troop following an aggressive situation. One of the most complex forms of reconciliation among chimpanzees occurs when two rival males reach a point of stalemate, neither backing down nor escalating the aggressive interaction. Sometimes, a female breaks the deadlock and eases the tension by grooming first one
