1、2008 年 12 月大学英语四级真题试卷（无答案）一、Part I Writing (30 minutes)1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Limiting the Use of Disposable Plastic Bags. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese:1. 一次性塑料袋曾被广泛使用。 2. 使用一次性塑料袋带来的问题。 3. 限制使用一
2、次性塑料袋的意义。Limiting the Use of Disposable Plastic Bags _二、Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions attached to the passage. For questions 1-7, mark：Y (for YES) if the sta
3、tement agrees with the information given in the passage;N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage;NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.2 Thats enough, kidsIt was a lovely day at the park and Stella Bianchi was enjoying the sunshine with
4、 her two children when a young boy, aged about four, approached her two-year-old son and pushed him to the ground.“Id watched him for a little while and my son was the fourth or fifth child hed shoved,“ she says. “I went over to them, picked up my son, turned to the boy and said, firmly, No, we dont
5、 push.“ What happened next was unexpected.“The boys mother ran toward me from across the park,“ Stella says. “I thought she was coming over to apologise, but instead she started shouting at me for disciplining her child. All I did was let him know his behaviour was unacceptable. Was I supposed to si
6、t back while her kid did whatever he wanted, hurting other children in the process?“Getting your own children to play nice is difficult enough. Dealing with other peoples children has become a minefield.In my house, jumping on the sofa is not allowed. In my sisters house its encouraged. For her its
7、about kids being kids: “If you cant do it at three, when can you do it?“Each of these philosophies is valid and, it has to be said, my son loves visiting his aunts house. But I find myself saying “no“ a lot when her kids are over at mine. Thats OK between sisters but becomes dangerous territory when
8、 youre talking to the children of friends or acquaintances.“Kids arent all raised the same,“ agrees Professor Naomi White of Monash University. “But theres still an idea that theyre the property of the parents. We see our children as an extension of ourselves, so if youre saying that my child is beh
9、aving inappropriately, then thats somehow a criticism of me.“In those circumstances, ifs difficult to know whether to approach the child directly or the parent first. There are two schools of thought,“Id go to the child first,“ says Andrew Fuller, author of Trick). Kids. “Usually a quiet reminder th
10、at we dont do that here is enough. Kids have finely tuned antennae (直觉) for how to behave in different settings.“He points out that bringing it up with the parent first may make them feel neglectful, which could cause problems. Of course, approaching the child first can bring its own headaches, too.
11、This is why White recommends that you approach the parents first. “Raise your concerns with the parents if theyre there and ask them to deal with it,“ she says.Asked how to approach a parent in this situation, psychologist Meredith Fuller answers: “Explain your needs as well as stressing the importa
12、nce of the friendship. Preface your remarks with something like: I know you will think Im silly but in my house I dont want.“When it comes to situations where youre caring for another child, White is straightforward: “Common sense must prevail. If things dont go well then have a chat.“Therere a coup
13、le of new grey areas. Physical punishment, once accepted from any adult, is no longer appropriate. “Now you cant do it without feeling uneasy about it,“ White says.Men might also feel uneasy about dealing with other peoples children. “Men feel nervous,“ White says. “A new set of considerations has c
14、ome to the fore as part of the debate about how we handle children.“For Andrew Fuller, the child-centric nature of our society has affected everyone. “The rules are different now from when todays parents were growing up,“ he says. “Adults are scared of saying, Dont swear, or asking a child to stand
15、up on a bus. Theyre worried that there will be conflict if they point these things out-either from older children, or their parents.“He sees it as a loss of the sense of common public good and public courtesy(礼貌), and says that adults suffer from it as much as children.Meredith Fuller agrees. “A cod
16、e of conduct is hard to create when youre living in a world in which everyone is exhausted from overwork and lack of sleep, and a world in which nice people are perceived to finish last.“Its about what Im doing and what I need,“ Andrew Fuller says. “The days when a kid came home from school and said
17、, I got into trouble, and dad said, You probably deserved it, are over. Now the parents are charging up to the school to have a go at teachers.“This jumping to our childrens defence is part of what fuels the “walking on eggshells“ feeling that surrounds our dealings with other peoples children. You
18、know that if you remonstrate(劝诫) with the child, youre going to have to deal with the parent. Its admirable to be protective of our kids, but is it good?“Children have to learn to negotiate the world on their own, within reasonable boundaries,“ White says. “I suspect that its only certain sectors of
19、 the population doing the running to the school-better-educated parents are probably more likely to be too involved.“White believes our notions of a more child-centred society should be challenged. “Today we have a situation where, in many families, both parents work, so the amount of time children
20、get from parents has diminished,“ she says.“Also, sometimes when we talk about being child-centred, its a way of talking about treating our children like commodities (商品). Were centred on them but in ways that reflect positively on us. We treat them as objects whose appearance and achievements are s
21、omething we can be proud of, rather than serve the best interests of the children.“One way over-worked, under-resourced parents show commitment to their children is to leap to their defence. Back at the park, Bianchis intervention(干预) on her sons behalf ended in an undignified exchange of insulting
22、words with the other boys mother.As Bianchi approached the park bench where shed been sitting, other mums came up to her and congratulated her on taking a stand. “Apparently the boy had a longstanding reputation for bad behaviour and his mum for even worse behaviour if he was challenged.“Andrew Full
23、er doesnt believe that we should be afraid of dealing with other peoples kids. “Look at kids that arent your own as a potential minefield,“ he says. He recommends that we dont stay silent over inappropriate behaviour, particularly with regular visitors.2 What did Stella Bianchi expect the young boys
24、 mother to do when she talked to him?（A）Make an apology.（B） Come over to intervene.（C） Discipline her own boy.（D）Take her own boy away.3 What does the author say about dealing with other peoples children?（A）Its important not to hurt them in any way.（B） Its no use trying to stop their wrongdoing.（C）
25、Its advisable to treat them as ones own kids.（D）Its possible for one to get into lots of trouble.4 According to Professor Naomi White of Monash University, when ones kids are criticised, their parents will probably feel（A）discouraged（B） hurt（C） puzzled（D）overwhelmed5 What should one do when seeing o
26、ther peoples kids misbehave according to Andrew Fuller?（A）Talk to them directly in a mild way.（B） Complain to their parents politely.（C） Simply leave them alone.（D）Punish them lightly.6 Due to the child-centric nature of our society, _.（A）parents are worded when their kids swear at them（B） people th
27、ink it .improper to criticize kids in public（C） people are reluctant to point our kids wrongdoings（D）many conflicts arise between parents and their kids7 In a world where everyone is exhausted from overwork and lack of sleep, _.（A）its easy for people to become impatient（B） its different to create a
28、code of conduct（C） its important to be friendly to everybody（D）its hard for people to admire each other8 How did people use to respond when their kids got into trouble at school?（A）Theyd question the teachers.（B） Theyd charge up to the school.（C） Theyd tell the kids to calm down.（D）Theyd put the bla
29、me on their kids.9 Professor White believes that the notions of a more child-centred society should be _.10 According to Professor White, todays parents treat their children as something they _.11 Andrew Fuller suggests that, when kids behave inappropriately, people should not _.Section ADirections:
30、 In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you
31、 must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer.（A）Only true friendship can last long.（B） Letter writing is going out of style.（C） She keeps in regular touch with her classmates.（D）She has lost contact with most of her old friends.（A）A painter.（B） A mechanic.（C）
32、 A porter.（D）A carpenter.（A）Look for a place near her office.（B） Find a new job down the street.（C） Make inquiries elsewhere.（D）Rent the $600 apartment.（A）He prefers to wear jeans with a larger waist.（B） He has been extremely busy recently.（C） He has gained some weight lately.（D）He enjoyed going sho
33、pping with Jane yesterday.（A）The woman possesses a natural talent for art.（B） Women have a better artistic taste than men.（C） He isnt good at abstract thinking.（D）He doesnt like abstract paintings.（A）She couldnt have left her notebook in the library.（B） She may have put her notebook amid the journal
34、s.（C） She should have made careful notes while doing reading.（D）She shouldnt have read his notes without his knowing it.（A）She wants to get some sleep.（B） She needs time to write a paper.（C） She has a literature class to attend.（D）She is troubled by her sleep problem.（A）He is confident he will get t
35、he job.（B） His chance of getting the job is slim.（C） It isnt easy to find a qualified sales manager.（D）The interview didnt go as well as he expected.（A）He can manage his time more flexibly.（B） He can renew contact with his old friends.（C） He can concentrate on his own projects.（D）He can learn to do
36、administrative work.（A）Reading its ads in the newspapers.（B） Calling its personnel department.（C） Contacting its manager.（D）Searching its website.（A）To cut down its production expenses.（B） To solve the problem of staff shortage.（C） To improve its administrative efficiency.（D）To utilize its retired e
37、mployees resources.（A）Buy a tractor.（B） Fix a house.（C） See a piece of property.（D）Sign a business contract.（A）It is only forty miles from where they live.（B） It is a small one with a two-bedroom house.（C） It was bought at a price lower than expected.（D）It has a large garden with fresh vegetables.（A
38、）Growing potatoes will involve less labor.（B） Its soil may not be very suitable for com.（C） It may not be big enough for raising com.（D）Raising potatoes will be more profitable.（A）Finances.（B） Labor.（C） Equipment.（D）Profits.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the
39、 end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D.（A）People differ greatly in their ability to communicate.（B） There are numerous langu
40、ages in existence.（C） Most public languages are inherently vague.（D）Big gaps exist between private and public languages.（A）It is a sign of human intelligence.（B） It improves with constant practice.（C） It is something we are born with.（D）It varies from person to person.（A）How private languages are de
41、veloped.（B） How different languages are related.（C） How people create their languages.（D）How children learn to use language.（A）She was a tailor.（B） She was an engineer.（C） She was an educator.（D）She was a public speaker.（A）Basing them on science-fiction movies.（B） Including interesting examples in t
42、hem.（C） Adjusting them to different audiences.（D）Focusing on the latest progress in space science.（A）Whether spacemen carry weapons.（B） How spacesuits protect spacemen.（C） How NASA trains its spacemen.（D）What spacemen eat and drink.（A）To introduce the chief of the citys police force.（B） To comment o
43、n a talk by a distinguished guest.（C） To address the issue of community security.（D）To explain the functions of the city council.（A）He has distinguished himself in city management.（B） He is head of the International Police Force.（C） He completed his higher education abroad.（D）He holds a masters degr
44、ee in criminology.（A）To coordinate work among police departments.（B） To get police officers closer to the local people.（C） To help the residents in times of emergency.（D）To enable the police to take prompt action.（A）Popular.（B） Discouraging.（C） Effective.（D）Controversial:Section CDirections: In this
45、 section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blan
46、ks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the 37 Crime is increasing worldwide. There is every reason to believe the 【B1】_ will continue through the next few decades.Crime rate
47、s have always been high in multicultural industrialized societies such as the United States, but a new 【B2】_ has appeared on the world 【B3】_ -rapidly rising crime rates in nations that previously reported few 【B4】_ . Street crimes such as robbery, rape, 【B5】_ and auto theft are clearly rising, 【B6】
48、_ in eastern European countries such as Hungary and in western European nations such as the United Kingdom.What is driving this crime 【B7】_ ? There are no simple answers. Still, therere certain conditions 【B8】_ with rising crime: increasing heterogeneity(混杂) of populations, greater cultural pluralism, higher immigration, democratization of governments, 【B9】_ These conditions are increasing observable around the world. For instance, cultures that were previously isolated and homogeneous(同种类的 ) such as Japan, Denmark, and Greece, 【B1
