2011年12月英语四级模拟训练及答案（二）

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        　　57. What do we learn from the first paragraph?
        　　A) 30,000 pupils started secondary school with poor math skills.
        　　B) MPs insist more improvements should be made under Labor.
        　　C) Young people need medical lessons to get a job.
        　　D) Half of English schools were not good enough.
        　　58. According to the passage, what happened in 2006?
        　　A) 21% of pupils didn’t meet the Government’s expected standard.
        　　B) The target set for 2006 was 87 percent.
        　　C) ￡2.3 billion was spent on math teaching.
        　　D) The total budget for primary teaching and support staff was ￡5 billion in 2006.
        　　59. What will people probably do to improve math education in England?
        　　A) Spend money on training specialist math teachers.
        　　B) Hire a math specialist for every primary school.
        　　C) Allow pupils to have more mathematical “play”.
        　　D) Spend more time on math education.
        　　60. What do Nick Gibb’s words mean?
        　　A) The British government should put more money into math education.
        　　B) Britain is falling behind in the international knowledge competition.
        　　C) The British government should learn from other countries’ failures.
        　　D) The British government should change their teaching methods every few years.
        　　61. What’s the passage mainly talking about?
        　　A) There aren’t enough math teachers in British primary schools.
        　　B) The British government didn’t spend enough money on math education.
        　　C) British pupils are not good at math.
        　　D) Math lessons in British primary schools need to be improved.
       
            
            

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        　　Passage Two
        　　Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
        　　Bananas, always the fashion victims of the produce section, are wearing another new label this spring. Bananas with “Fair Trade Certified” stickers have been available in the United States since October. They represent the new front of an international effort to help first-world consumers improve the living standards of the third-world farmers who grow much of their food.
        　　By expanding its reach to the produce section, Fair Trade is now trying to reach the American supermarket shopper. Fair Trade deals directly with farmer cooperatives. It helps organize, avoiding brokers (代理人) and middlemen. It guarantees higher prices for the farmers’ goods and helps them set up schools and health clinics.
        　　The Fair Trade movement took root in Europe in the 1990’s as a way of bolstering coffee farmers as prices were collapsing. Since Fair Trade began, more than a million coffee growers and other farmers have joined cooperatives that sell their products through Fair Trade channels instead of directly to a commercial producer.
        　　Not everyone is greeting the Fair Trade label with open arms. Several American coffee importers recently pulled out of Fair Trade, citing TransFair’s “corporate friendly” policies that allow large companies to use the Fair Trade logo in their marketing even if only a small amount of the company’s overall purchases are Fair Trade certified.
        　　Edmund LaMacchia, the national produce coordinator for Whole Foods, said Fair Trade is only one of many consumer choices. “Whole Foods has its own team of inspectors and has no plans to carry Fair Trade products”, Mr. LaMacchia said. “Our standards are higher than Fair Trade’s, actually.” Fair Trade is only one of several labels your bananas might be wearing this year. Another is that of the Rainforest Alliance, which certifies the use of sustainable agriculture methods.
        　　So far, though, Fair Trade is the biggest. A Fair Trade label by itself does not guarantee an organic product, but most Fair Trade bananas are also organic, Ms. Bourque said, because pesticides are usually too costly for the small farmers who grow them. If the bananas are organic, they will be labeled as such, and will probably be wearing a sticker to prove it.
        　　62. Why are bananas wearing “Fair Trade Certified” stickers?
        　　A) It means bananas are the fashion victims of the produce section.
        　　B) It means bananas have got a new label.
        　　C) It means bananas with these stickers are available in the United States.
        　　D) It represents an international effort to help the third-world farmers.
        　　63. What does Fair Trade do?
        　　A) It helps farmers sell their products for a higher profit.
        　　B) It appoints brokers and middlemen to deal with farmer cooperatives.
        　　C) It brings down the price of farmers’ goods.
        　　D) It sets up schools and health clinics for American farmers.
        　　64. What was the original purpose of the Fair Trade movement?
       
            
            

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        　　A) To cooperate with coffee growers and other farmers.
        　　B) To help coffee farmers as prices were collapsing.
        　　C) To prevent farmers from selling their products to commercial producers.
        　　D) To sell products through coffee growers and other farmers.
        　　65. What can we infer from this passage?
        　　A) American coffee importers will never buy their products through Fair Trade channels.
        　　B) Fair Trade is the only label that bananas might be wearing this year.
        　　C) Not every consumer considers Fair Trade products the only choice.
        　　D) Whole Foods and the Rainforest Alliance are more influential than Fair Trade.
        　　66. What is the best title for this passage?
        　　A) Helping the Third World: One Banana at a Time
        　　B) Consumers Face More Choices
        　　C) Fair Trade — the Best Sticker
        　　D) The Fair Trade Movement
        　　Part V Cloze (15 minutes)
        　　Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage.
        　　Everyone knows hand washing is important. But a new study shows how washing your hands 67 , and at the right time, can have a big impact on your family’s risk of getting sick.
        　　Most studies on hand washing focus on 68 and food service workers. But this month’s American Journal of Infection Control focuses on washing hands at 69 as a way to stop infections from 70 . Several studies show hands are the single most important 71 route for all types of infections.
        　　Even though most people know to wash their hands after using the toilet or handling a diaper (尿布), studies 72 many people are still ending up with germs on their hands.
        　　One study looked in homes of 73 recently vaccinated against polio (脊髓灰质炎). After vaccination, the virus is
        　　74 to be shed in the baby’s feces (粪便). Researchers found the virus on 13 percent of bathroom, living room and kitchen surfaces. 75 the virus from the vaccine didn’t pose a health risk, feces-borne viruses can 76 through the home.
        　　Doorknobs and toilet flush handles are key 77 of germ transmission in the home. That’s why people should focus on cleaning such surfaces 78 and always wash their hands after touching them. In one study, a 79 touched a door handle contaminated with a virus. He then shook hands 80 other volunteers, and spread the virus to six people.
       
            
            

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        　　The study authors note that the timing of hand washing is key. It’s 81 to wash hands after using the toilet, before eating or handling food. Other crucial times for hand washing are after 82 a diaper or cleaning up after a pet, or after touching garbage cans, dish rags and utensils that may have come 83 contact with raw food.
        　　While it may be hard to 84 that something as simple as regular hand washing can make a difference in your family’s health, consider what happened during the 2003 outbreak of SARS. The outbreak 85 extensive public and community health measures, including regular hand washing. Not only was the SARS outbreak contained, 86 other cases of illnesses dropped sharply.
        　　67. A) occasionally B) often C) sometimes D) repeatedly
        　　68. A) chemical B) physical C) medical D) mental
        　　69. A) home B) clinics C) hospitals D) school
        　　70. A) living B) spreading C) surviving D) going
        　　71. A) transmit B) transfer C) transferring D) transmission
        　　72. A) claim B) agree C) suggest D) object
        　　73. A) parents B) teachers C) adults D) infants
        　　74. A) known B) said C) moved D) added
        　　75. A) When B) While C) Why D) Which
        　　76. A) travel B) go C) fly D) float
        　　77. A) questions B) opportunities C) ideas D) sources
        　　78. A) always B) frequently C) regularly D) actually
        　　79. A) volunteer B) baby C) worker D) person
        　　80. A) in B) on C) with D) through
        　　81. A) useless B) obvious C) interesting D) thankful
        　　82. A) taking B) using C) changing D) bringing
        　　83. A) of B) for C) from D) into
        　　84. A) dream B) know C) figure D) believe
        　　85. A) triggered B) started C) helped D) saved
        　　86. A) yet B) while C) but D) since
        　　Part VI Translation (5 minutes)
        　　Directions: Complete the sentences by translating into English the Chinese given in brackets.
        　　87. It was after the failure of this attempt that he _____________(诉诸武力).
        　　88. A lot of people nowadays have muscular problems in the neck, the shoulders and the back ___________________(主要是由于工作中的压力和紧张造成的).
       
            
            

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        　　89. This occupation ____________________(关注于计划和监督) the arrangement of exhibitions of collections.
        　　90. ____________________ (令学生失望的是), the books they needed were sold out at the bookstore.
        　　91. A number of women interviewed found ___________________________(获得提升很难).
        　　Part I Writing
        　　One possible version:
        　　Education: Examination-Oriented or Quality-Oriented
        　　From primary school to college, students, teachers and parents all are struggling for high scores. This is because the current education system is not aimed at quality, but only at developing students’ ability to perform well on tests. As a result, many students, even those with high scores, often do poorly when it comes to the practical application of what they’ve learned.
        　　Therefore, China is challenging examination-oriented education by advocating quality-oriented education. The alternative will focus on the students’ ability as a whole. The exam results will no longer play a key role in evaluating a student.
        　　Personally, I firmly believe in the effectiveness of this new policy. I have seen in my mind’s eye the more dedicated study, the looser environment, yet the more creative minds of the future students. Our education, so to speak, will bring up a new generation.
        　　Part II Reading Comprehension
        　　(Skimming and Scanning)
        　　1. B)。纵观全文可知，本文主要讲述的是“有更多的人利用自己掌握的专业知识或技术在网上赚钱”。
        　　2. D)。参见第二段 “LivePerson Inc., a Web site where clients pay for online chat time with professionals and advisers of all fields.”可知，在LivePerson网站上，咨询者付费后可向该网站上各领域的专业人士咨询。
        　　3. B)。参见第四段 “Labor-at-the-keyboard sites are gaining popularity as people increasingly turn to the Web in search of work.”可知，该网站越来越受欢迎是因为有更多的人转向网络寻找工作。
        　　4. C)。参见第七段末句“The site takes a commission of between 30% and 35%.”可知，网站从咨询者交的钱中提取30%到35%的佣金，所以，剩下的部分应该是由那些网络“专家”获得，按照比列应该是65%到70%。
        　　5. C)。根据第十五段“began as a way to help Amazon manage its product database”可知，Mechanical Turk最初的设计目的是“帮助Amazon管理它的产品数据库”。
       
            
            

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        　　6. D)。根据倒数第四段“Mechanical Turk users have an independent site called Turker Nation (turkers.proboards80.com), which reviews the companies that solicit and pay for tasks so that workers can check a company’s record before taking on a task.”可知，Turker Nation是一个专门提供公司业务需求信息和支付情况的网站，网络“专家”在为某家公司提供服务之前，可以对这家公司的业务记录有一个了解。
        　　7. C)。根据倒数第二段第二句可知，Ms. Knutson目前将大部分时间用于为客户转录网络视频和音频。
        　　8. apply for financial aid。参见第五段最后一句“Associated Content pays contributors to write articles on a wide range of subjects, from organic flower gardening to how to apply for financial aid.”可知，Associated Content网站向人们征集稿件，稿件涉及的范围很广，从建造生态花园到申请经济援助。
        　　9. community reviews。参见第七段“LivePerson says it vets contributors’ qualifications, such as medical licenses or financial certification, through a third party, and relies heavily on its community reviews.”可知，LivePerson对这些在网上用知识和技术赚钱的人会进行审核，例如行医许可或经济师证书等，通过以社区论坛为主的第三方进行认证。
        　　10. 100 different countries。参见第十四段“Amazon says that MTurk now has 200,000 workers from 100 different countries ...”可知，MTurk现在有来自100个国家的20万名“网络员工”。
        　　Part III Listening Comprehension
        　　11-15 CABCA 16-20 BCDBD
        　　21-25 CDCCA 26-30 BDBBD
        　　31-35 BBDCA 36. traps
        　　37. insects 38. infections 39. European 40. sticky
        　　41. expelled 42. harden
        　　43. interferes
        　　44. People can also cause a blockage when they try to clean out their ears — but only push the wax deeper inside
        　　45. They say the wax can be softened with mineral oil, or ear drops
        　　46. Use a device to gently direct water against the wall of the ear canal
        　　Tape Script of Listening Comprehension
        　　Section A
        　　Directions: 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 must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer.
       
            
            

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        　　11. M: Would you tell Paul I am sorry that I lost his radio?
        　　W: Hadn’t you better tell him yourself?
        　　Q: What does the woman mean?
        　　12. M: I told Jack many times, but he never seemed to listen to me.
        　　W: You’d better save your energy. He never listened to others’ advice.
        　　Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?
        　　13. W: Maybe we are just wasting each other’s time discussing this silly project.
        　　M: Don’t you think we should meet each other halfway?
        　　Q: What does the man mean?
        　　14. W: You see, Tom is buying that expensive ring.
        　　M: Money burns a hole in his pocket. He won’t have any money left within two days.
        　　Q: What can we infer about Tom?
        　　15. M: Did you catch the school bus this morning?
        　　W: I would have if I had gotten up 5 minutes earlier.
        　　Q: What do we know about the woman?
        　　16. M: I’d like to return this textbook. Some pages are missing.
        　　W: You’ll have to see the manager about that.
        　　Q: Where does this conversation most likely take place?
        　　17. W: Mr. Smith, I wonder whether it’s possible for me to take a vacation early next month?
        　　M: Did you fill out a request form?
        　　Q: What is the probable relationship between the two speakers?
        　　18. M: Mary is in the basement trying to repair the washing machine.
        　　W: Shouldn’t she be working on her term paper?
        　　Q: What does the woman think Mary should do?
        　　Now you’ll hear two long conversations.
       
            
            

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        　　Conversation One
        　　M: This semester has gone so quickly! Our exams are coming to an end.
        　　W: Yes, I’m so excited about the coming winter vacation. I have made all the arrangements for my vacation.
        　　M: What are you planning to do?
        　　W: Well, my family and I have a trip planned to Hawaii. It will be a great place to spend such a cold winter. Besides, we’ve been talking about going there for years, and we finally went to an agent and planned the whole thing out.
        　　M: Wow! That does sound exciting. I am also dreaming about a trip there, but unfortunately, I have never had a chance.
        　　W: I’m sure you’ll be able to go sometime soon. So, what’s your plan for the winter holiday?
        　　M: I intend to look for a part-time job to save a little money for next year. It will also be a good experience.
        　　W: That doesn’t sound too bad, either.
        　　M: You know, I really want to buy a new computer next semester, so I have to save as much money as possible.
        　　W: Yeah, I remember you telling me that before.
        　　M: I’d rather my parents didn’t pay for it. I’d feel proud of myself if I bought it with the money I earned.
        　　W: Sounds like you have a goal this winter.
        　　M: Yes. Next semester you’ll have to tell me all about your trip!
        　　Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
        　　19. What is the woman’s plan for the winter vacation?
        　　20. What does the woman think of the man’s plan for the winter vacation?
        　　21. What does the man want to buy next semester?
        　　Conversation Two
        　　M: Hi, Maggie. Have you made up your mind?
        　　W: What?
        　　M: I mean, have you decided to study abroad or to find a job after graduation?
        　　W: I haven’t made my decision yet. It’s a hard decision.
        　　M: Why’s that? Just a couple of days ago, you were telling me how much you wanted to go overseas to study.
        　　W: Yes, but a vacancy just opened up in the English Department.
        　　M: So?
        　　W: They offered me a position teaching English. So now I don’t know what to do.
       
            
            

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        　　M: What a great opportunity! I see what you mean though, a tough choice.
        　　W: I’ve been preparing and studying to go abroad. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy, and I hate to see it all go to waste.
        　　M: Don’t think about it too much. The job sounds like an excellent opportunity. You should grab it when you have the chance.
        　　W: I’d like to, but I still feel like I should think about it some more.
        　　M: If you can’t make your decision on your own, I suppose you could ask your parents for advice.
        　　W: Come on! My parents don’t want me too far away from them. I don’t think they would allow me to go to America.
        　　M: Oh, too bad! But you should keep your parents’ feelings in mind.
        　　W: Maybe you are right. Being a teacher isn’t bad, right?
        　　Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
        　　22. Why can’t the woman make up her mind?
        　　23. What does the man think of the woman’s job offer?
        　　24. What is the man’s advice to the woman?
        　　25. What will the woman most probably do?
        　　Section B
        　　Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the 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).
        　　Passage One
        　　Hollywood is increasingly looking outside America’s borders for stars and profit.
        　　Jonathan Taplin is a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He says that today, about 54 percent of the ticket sales for Hollywood studios now come from outside the United States.
        　　For the last three months of 2007, foreign sales totaled about 880 million dollars. But there is fierce competition for each movie dollar.
        　　Hollywood has lost market share in some places as other countries develop their own film industries. For example, in the mid 1980s, American films had 80 percent of the market in South Korea. Today that share is about 40 percent.
        　　Hollywood also faces competition from illegally copied movies, a major issue to the Motion Picture Association of America. The trade group estimated more than 18 billion dollars in worldwide losses from piracy in 2005.
        　　Hollywood reporter Alan Silverman says piracy has influenced how American movies are released. In the past, Hollywood studios waited months after the American release of a film to release it in foreign markets. Now, many aim to release films at the same time around the world.
       
            
            

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        　　Foreign markets may also influence how people get their movies. Different nations have different levels of technology.
        　　Efforts to settle on the next-generation DVD got a lot of attention recently. Sony’s Blu-ray technology for high-definition televisions won the competition with Toshiba’s HD DVD format.
        　　Yet DVD sales have dropped in recent years. This may be a sign that people are increasingly getting their movies off the Internet. The Internet is another front in Hollywood’s war on piracy. But more than that, it presents complex business questions for an industry now built mostly on DVD and ticket sales.
        　　Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.
        　　26. What percentage of ticket sales for Hollywood studios come from inside the United States?
        　　27. Why has Hollywood lost market share in South Korea?
        　　28. What are American movie companies doing to fight against piracy?
        　　29. Why have DVD sales dropped in recent years?
        　　Passage Two
        　　Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of the most influential presidents in American history. He was elected president four times. He served more than 12 years, longer than any other president. He led the nation through its worst economic crisis, and through one of its worst wars.
        　　Franklin Roosevelt was first elected president in 1932. As the Democratic candidate, he defeated President Herbert Hoover. Americans were suffering through a terrible economic depression. About 25 percent of American workers had lost their jobs. They had no money. They had no hope. They waited in long lines to receive free food. Americans did not know if the new president could end the economic crisis.
        　　On the day Franklin Roosevelt was elected as the new president, he promised, “This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” During the next three months, he led Congress in passing more major new programs than what the nation had seen for many years. President Roosevelt called his reform program “The New Deal”.
        　　He was reelected president for the fourth time in 1944. Most Americans believed the country should not change its leader in the middle of a war. When he was sworn in, President Roosevelt’s speech lasted only six minutes. He declared that America had learned that we cannot live alone at peace, that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of nations far away.
        　　President Roosevelt did not live to see the victory of the Allies and the end of World War II. He died less than three months later, on April 12th, 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia.