1、大学英语四级（ 2013年 12月考试改革适用）模拟试卷 254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. It is very common in college that many students are absent from the class and some teach
2、ers tend not to care about it. What do you think of this phenomenon? Section A （ A） 15 schools have started social studies. （ B） 15 schools have used digital textbooks. （ C） Students are ready to use electronic resources. （ D） Digital textbooks are used for social studies. （ A） $ 1 million. （ B） $2
3、million. （ C） $3 million. （ D） $4 million. （ A） To reduce the number of pilots on duty. （ B） To prevent pilots from working overtime. （ C） To ensure an adequate amount of sleep. （ D） To fix the amount of work for each pilot. （ A） They had only covered cargo plane pilots. （ B） They had failed to cove
4、r all the pilots. （ C） They would be put into effect in two years. （ D） They would be too costly if carried out. （ A） Slapping their children in the face or head. （ B） Spanking. （ C） Beating their children with a closed fist. （ D） Threatening to lock their children outside. （ A） India. （ B） The Phil
5、ippines. （ C） Egypt. （ D） Not mentioned. （ A） To reveal cultural differences and similarities. （ B） To expose cases of child abuse and punishment. （ C） To analyze child behavior across countries. （ D） To investigate ways of physical punishment. Section B （ A） Young couple. （ B） Middle-aged couple. （
6、 C） Classmates. （ D） Teammates. （ A） Take exercise. （ B） Keep on a diet. （ C） Join a basketball team. （ D） Keep fit. （ A） The mans heart. （ B） A physical checkup. （ C） The man will fail to join the team. （ D） The health of the man. （ A） Watch his diet. （ B） Have a physical checkup. （ C） Take up a tr
7、aining. （ D） Go to bed early. （ A） He likes Sweden better than England. （ B） He prefers hot weather to cold weather. （ C） He is an Englishman living in Sweden. （ D） He visits London nearly every winter. （ A） The bad weather. （ B） The gloomy winter. （ C） The cold houses. （ D） The long night. （ A） Del
8、ightful. （ B） Painful. （ C） Depressing. （ D） Refreshing. （ A） They often stay up late reading. （ B） They work hard and play hard. （ C） They like to go camping in summer. （ D） They try to earn more and spend more. Section C （ A） Vanilla. （ B） Chocolate or syrup. （ C） Food. （ D） Nuts, fruit and whippe
9、d cream. （ A） Nobody knows. （ B） One Sunday in the 1890s. （ C） In the 1890s. （ D） In the 1980s. （ A） Sunday. （ B） The name of the customer. （ C） The name of the owner. （ D） The name of the ice-cream parlor. （ A） Americans art music. （ B） American s street music. （ C） American s black music. （ D） Ame
10、rican s classic music. （ A） Harmony and melody are from Africa and rhythm from Europe. （ B） Harmony and melody are from Europe and rhythm from Africa. （ C） Harmony and rhythm are from Africa and melody from Europe. （ D） Melody and rhythm are from Europe and harmony from Africa. （ A） The player inven
11、ts the music in advance. （ B） The player makes up the music while playing. （ C） A good jazz player plays the same music twice. （ D） It s like hearing a piece of music that was written long ago. （ A） The role of Florida in the American Revolution. （ B） The discovery of Florida by Ponce de Leon in 151
12、3. （ C） The history of the cultivation of oranges in Florida. （ D） The popularity of Florida oranges in London in the 1770s. （ A） London. （ B） St. Augustine. （ C） The Antilles. （ D） New York. （ A） Jesse Fish. （ B） Ponce de Leon. （ C） Columbus. （ D） British sailors. （ A） Because oranges tended to dry
13、 out during shipping. （ B） Because Florida oranges were very small. （ C） Because there was no great demand for oranges in Europe. （ D） Because oranges were plentiful in their home country. Section A 26 Who doesnt love being in love? A true love listens to you talk about work, lets you have that last
14、【 C1】 _of pie, and usually remembers to take out the trash. He is ready to forget all kinds of【 C2】 _. And he always thinks youre beautiful, even without【 C3】 _. Scientists have long been keen to prove that love gives us health【 C4】 _too. Researchers cant say for sure that a lover is more important
15、than a loving family or warm friendship when it comes to wellness. But they are learning more about how a romantic partner makes us【 C5】 _, with health gains that【 C6】 _from faster healing and better control over illnesses to living longer. The benefits of love are【 C7】 _and measurable. A study last
16、 year from the University of Pittsburgh found that women in good marriages have a much lower risk of heart disease than those in high-stress relationships. The National Love and Health Study has been【 C8】 _more than a million subjects since 1979. The study shows that married people live longer, have
17、 fewer heart attacks and lower cancer rates, and even get pneumonia less frequently than singles. A new study from the University of Iowa also found that cancer patients with a strong sense of connection to others and in【 C9】_relationship were better able to fight off cancer. It seems that love help
18、s people【 C10】 _their immune system. A)range B)makeup C)stronger D)righteous E)tracking F)slice G)health H)strengthen I)benefits J)refreshing K)misunderstandings L)designing M)satisfying N)suggested O)explicit 27 【 C1】 28 【 C2】 29 【 C3】 30 【 C4】 31 【 C5】 32 【 C6】 33 【 C7】 34 【 C8】 35 【 C9】 36 【 C10】
19、 Section B 36 When Mom and Dad Grow Old A)The prospect of talking to increasingly fragile parents about their future can be “one of the most difficult challenges adult children will ever face, “ says Clarissa Green, a Vancouver therapist. “People often tell me they dont want to raise sensitive issue
20、s with their parents about bringing in caregivers or moving, “ she says. “Theyll say, I dont want to see dad cry.“ But Green usually responds, “What s wrong with that?“ Adult children, she says, need to try to join their parents in grieving their decline, acknowledge their living arrangements may no
21、 longer work and, if necessary, help them say goodbye to their beloved home. “It s sad. And it s supposed to be. Its about death itself.“ B)There are almost four million men and women over age 65 in Canada. Nearly two thirds of them manage to patch together enough support from family, friends, priva
22、te and government services to live independently until virtually the day they die, according to Statistics Canada. C)Of the Canadian seniors who live to 85 and over, almost one in three end up being moved sometimes kicking to group living for the last years of their lives. Even in the best-case scen
23、arios(可能出现的情况 ), such dislocations can bring sorrow. “Often the family feels guilty, and the senior feels abandoned“ says Charmaine Spencer, a professor in the gerontology department of Simon Fraser University. Harassed with their own careers and children, adult children may push their parents too f
24、ast to make a major transition. D)Val MacDonald, executive director of the B.C. Seniors Services Society, cautions adult children against imposing their views on aging parents. “Many baby boomers can be quite patronizing(高人一等的 ), “ she says. Like many who work with seniors, Macdonald suggests adult
25、children devote many conversations over a long period of time to collaborating on their parents future, raising feelings, questions and options gently, but frankly. However, many middle-aged adults, according to the specialists, just muddle(应付 )through with their aging parents. E)When the parents of
26、 Nancy Woods of Mulmur Hills, Ont., were in their mid-80s, they made the decision to downsize from their large family home to an apartment in Toronto. As Wood s parents, George and Bernice, became frailer(更虚弱的 ), she believed they knew she had their best interests at heart. They agreed to her sugges
27、tion to have meals on Wheels start delivering lunches and dinners. However, years later, after a crisis, Woods discovered her parents had taken to throwing out the prepared meals. Her dad had appreciated them, but Bernice had come to believe they were poisoned. “My father was so loyal, “ says Woods,
28、 “he had hid that my mother was overwhelmed by paranoia(偏执狂 ).“ To her horror, Woods discovered her dad and mom were “living on crackers and oatmeal porridge“ and were weakening from the impoverished diet. Her dad was also falling apart with the stress of providing for Bernice a common problem when
29、one spouse tries to do everything for an ailing partner. “The spouse who s being cared for might be doing well at home, “ says Spencer, “but often the other spouse is burned out and ends up being hospitalized.“ F)Fortunately, outside help is often available to people struggling through the often-dis
30、tressing process of helping their parents explore an important shift. Sons and daughters can bring in brochures or books on seniors issues, as well as introduce government health-care workers or staff at various agencies, to help raise issues and open up discussions, says Val Macdonald, whose nonpro
31、fit organization responds to thousands of calls a year from British Columbians desperate for information about how to weave through the dizzying array of seniors services and housing options. The long list of things to do, says MacDonald, includes assessing their ability to live independently: deter
32、mining your comfort level with such things as bathing a parent: discussing with all household members whether it would be healthy for an elderly relative to move in: monitoring whether, out of pure duty, youre overcommitting yourself to providing a level of care that could threaten your own well-bei
33、ng. G)The shock phone call that flung Nancy Woods and her parents into action came from her desperate dad. “I got this call from father that he couldnt cope anymore. My mother was setting fires in the apartment, “ she says. “He didnt want to see it for what it was. Up to then hed been in denial.“ Wi
34、thout knowing she was following the advice of experts who recommend using outside sources to stimulate frank discussion with parents, Woods grabbed a copy of The 36-Hour Day: a family guide to caring for persons with Alzheimer disease, related dementing illness, and memory loss in later life. She re
35、ad sections of the book to her dad and asked him, “Who does that sound like? “ Her father replied, “It s mother. It s dementia(痴呆 ).“ At that point, Woods said, her dad finally recognized their tragic plight(困境 ). She told her father she would help them move out of their apartment. “He nodded. He di
36、dnt yell or roar. He took it on the chin(忍受痛苦 ).“ H)Woods regrets that she “had not noticed small details signaling moms dementia.“ But shes satisfied her dad accepted his passage into a group residence, where he and his wife could stay together in a secure unit where staff were trained to deal with
37、 patients with dementia. “From the moment they moved into the Toronto nursing home, their physical health improved. On the other hand, it was the beginning of the end in terms of their mental abilities. Perhaps they couldnt get enough stimulation. Perhaps it was inevitable.“ I)After my father died i
38、n 2002, the grim reality of my mothers sharply declining memory set in starkly. With her expanding dementia, mom insisted on staying in her large North Shore house, even though she was confused about how to cook, organize her day or take care of herself. For the next three years we effectively impos
39、ed decisions on her, most of them involving bringing in caregivers, including family members. In 2005 mom finally agreed, although she barely knew what was happening, to move to a nearby nursing home, where, despite great confusion, she is happier. As Spencer says, the sense of dislocation that come
40、s with making an important passage can be “a very hard adjustment for a senior at the best of times. But it s worse if it s not planned out.“ 37 Clarissa Green suggests that adult children should try to share their fragile parents grieving feelings. 38 When Nancy Woods father got to know their tragi
41、c situation, he finally moved out of their apartment. 39 When Nancy Woods parents reached their mid-80s, they moved into an apartment. 40 Despite knowing little about what was happening, his mother lived more happily in a nearby nursing home. 41 Val MacDonald s organization is non-profit and helps a
42、dult children cope with their aging parent issues through phone calls. 42 Under stress from their own careers and children, adult children will always push their parents to group living. 43 Most Canadian seniors older than 65 live independently until they die, Statistics Canada, reported. 44 Val Mac
43、Donald hopes baby boomers not to force their parents to understand their ideas. 45 Since Nancy Woods parents moved into the Toronto nursing home, they became physically healthier, but had new problems with their mental abilities. 46 When her mother set fires in the apartment, Nancy Woods father coul
44、dn t handle it. Section C 46 Over the past decade, the environmental movement has exploded onto the mind of mainstream consumers, a fact not lost on marketers and advertisers. Green advertising started in the mid-1980s when issues of the environment muscled their way to the forefront of marketing. A
45、dvertisers saw the consumer desire for environmentally safe products and tried to meet the demand as quickly as possible. Not surprisingly, this first wave suffered from rough and poorly conceived marketing efforts. Many advertisers embraced a genuine concern for the environment. But consumers reali
46、zed that some companies made false claims and exploited the movement, using such nebulous(模糊的 )terms as “environmentally friendly“ and “green.“ Consumers grew wary of environmental appeals, and advertisers reacted by reducing its emphasis. To avoid future trouble, many companies waited for state and
47、 federal governments to define terms and provide legal guidelines, which paved the road to a second wave. In 1992 the Federal Trade Commission established guidelines for green marketing, followed shortly by state governments. California passed particularly strict laws, setting definitions for terms
48、like “ozone friendly, “ “biodegradable, “ and “recycled.“According to the states court, “California seeks to guard against potentially specious: claims or ecological puffery(吹捧 )about products with minimal environmental attributes. “Texas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Tennessee, Connecticut, and Washin
49、gton soon followed the Golden State s lead. The rigid regulations have left a number of advertisers confused and frustrated, although some feel that environmental claims have already peaked and are on their way out. Some believe that we ve now entered green advertising s third wave, where environmental concern is now part of the mainstream. 47 What were some early problems with Green advertisements? （ A） They were expensive. （ B） No one believed them. （ C） They were unsuccessful. （ D）
