2012专四真题文本听力原文及答案(六) - 专四真题 - 大家网

来自 : www.topsage.com/english/tem4/t 发布时间：2021-03-25

PART VREADING COMPREHENSIONIn this section there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer.

Mark your answers on Answer Sheet Two. TEXT A Saying thank you is probably the first thing most of us learn to do in a foreign language. After all, we re brought up to be polite, and it is important to make a good impression upon other people especially across national divides.
So, what exactly are you supposed to say when thank you is only the 20th most popular way to express gratitude? According to a recent survey, 19 other ways of expressing appreciation finished ahead of thank you in a poll of 3,000 people.
Pollsters found almost half of those asked preferred the more informal cheers , while others liked to use such expressions as ta , great and nice one .
So, just what is the appropriate form of words to express your thanks?
Fortunately, the clue is in the language itself. Cheers , despite its popularity, is considered an informal way to say thank you and this is a definite clue as to when you can best use it.
For instance, when going for a drink with friends, a smile and a cheers by way of thanks is not only appropriate to the situation, but also culturally accurate.
Ta , originated from the Danish word tak , was the second-most popular expression of thanks, and is also commonly used in informal situations, along with phrases such as nice one , and brilliant . Interestingly, one word that didn t make it into the top 20 was thanks , thank you s shorter, more informal cousin.
Thanks can be useful, as it is able to bridge the divide between the formality of thank you and the downright relaxed cheers .
Certain words can double as an expression of thanks as well as delight. Again, the words themselves offer the clue as to when best to use them.
For example, words like awesome , brilliant and you star featured highly in the new poll and they can hint at both your pleasure at someone s action, as well as serving to express your thanks. If you are on the receiving end of a new thank you, you can respond with a simple no problem , or sure .
Of course, in certain circumstances, a simple wave, nod or smile may be appropriate. For instance, if a car driver slows down to let you cross the road, simply raising your hand in acknowledgement is enough to show that you appreciate the driver s consideration.
Sometimes, formality is necessary, and thank you is still the best choice in such situations. But students should not worry about when exactly to use certain expressions.
Many people in Western countries are worried that good manners are in decline. People are tired of seeing their acts of kindness and service pass without comment. So don t think that your thank you was clumsy or awkwardly formal. The chances are, if you said thank you , you made someone s day. You star.
81. We can tell from the results of the poll that _____.
A. people are unconcerned about politeness nowadays B. thank you remains the best expression of gratitude
C. there is a variety of expressions of appreciation D. there are more formal expressions than informal ones 参考答案： C TIP：选C。从第二段中 According to a recent survey, 19 other ways of expressing appreciation finished ahead of thank you in a poll of 3,000 people 可知，表示感谢的表达方式有很多。
82. Which word/phrase does NOT appear in the top 20?
A. Cheers. B. Thanks. C. Brilliant. D. You star. 参考答案： B TIP：选B。从第七段中 Interestingly, one word that didn t make it into the top 20 was thanks , thank you s shorter, more informal cousin 可知，只有thanks没有进入调查的前20位。
83. According to the passage, which is an appropriate response to awesome or brilliant ?
A. Thanks. B. Cheers. C. Nice one. D. Sure. 参考答案： D TIP：选D。文章第十段提到，对awesome或brilliant的回答可以是简单的 sure 。
84. According to the passage, the way in which we express our gratitude depends on all the following EXCEPT ________.
A. gender B. formality C. culture D. circumstance 参考答案： A TIP：选A。全文没有提及不同性别在表示感谢时有差异。
85. In the last paragraph the author encourages people to __________.
A. continue their acts of kindness B. behave themselves well
C. show their gratitude to others D. stop worrying about bad manners 参考答案： C TIP：选C。作者在最后一段谈到，人们都希望自己的善意和服务得到赞赏，他建议所有人在需要时积极表达 感谢 。 TEXT B

From 2007 to 2010, American households lost $11 trillion in real estate, savings, and stocks. More than half of all U. S. workers either lost their jobs or were forced to take cuts in hours or pay during the recession. The worst may be behind them now, but the shocking losses of the past few years have reshaped nearly every facet of their lives how they live, work, and spend even the way they think about the future.
For Cindy, the recession began when her husband was relocated to Rhinelander, Wisconsin, by his company, forcing the family to move in a hurry. The couple bought a new house but were unable to sell their two-bedroom home in Big Lake, Minnesota. With two mortgages (抵押借款) and two young children to care for, Cindy couldn t imagine how to stretch her husband s paycheck to keep her family fed.
Then she stumbled upon an online community called Blotanical, a forum for gardeners, many with an interest in sustainability. The more I read and discussed these practices, the more I realized this would help not only our budget but also our health, she says.
Cindy admits that before the recession, she was a city girl with no interest in growing her own dinner. I grew flowers mostly I didn t think about plants that weren t visually interesting. But to stretch her budget, she began putting in vegetables and fruit everything from strawberry beds to apple trees and as her first seedlings grew, her spirits lifted. She no longer thinks of gardening and making her own jams as just a money saver; they re a genuine pleasure. It s brought us closer together as a family, too, she says. Her kids voluntarily pitch in with (主动帮助) the garden work, and the family cooks together instead of eating out. The food tastes better it s fresher and organic and the garden handily fulfills its original purpose: cost cutting. Now she spends about $200 to $300 a month on groceries, less than half of the $650 a month that she used to lay out.
After discovering how resourceful she can be in tough times, Cindy is no longer easily discouraged. It makes me feel proud to be able to say I made it myself, she says. I feel accomplished, and I m more confident about attempting things I ve never done before. Now she avoids convenience stores and has begun learning to knit, quilt, and make her own soap. I don t think I would have ever begun this journey if it weren t for the recession, she says. I have a feeling that from now on, it will affect my family s health and happiness for the better. 86. We learn from the first paragraph that the recession _____.
A. affected Americans in certain occupations B. had great impact on Americans work and life
C. had only brought huge losses in savings and stocks D. is over with some of the losses recovered 参考答案： B TIP：选B。在第一段中，作者谈到经济萧条给美国人带来巨大的财产损失，半数以上的工人失业或被减少工作时间及待遇，他们的生活、工作、消费甚至思维方式都发生了巨大改变。
87. What made the family s financial situation even worse was that they _____.
A. moved to Rhinelander in a hurry B. had two children to raise
C. didn t know anyone in Rhinelander D. couldn t sell their home in Big Lake
参考答案： D TIP：选D。Cindy的丈夫因工作原因必须立即搬到外地，他们在新地址买了房子，但原来的住房无法及时卖掉，这更加剧了家庭的负担。
88. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
A. Cindy had seen the benefits of gardening in a different way.
B. Cindy had developed a hobby of gardening before the recession.
C. Cindy had already had a keen interest in sustainability.
D. Cindy had already planned to meet the gardeners. 参考答案： A TIP：选A。根据文章第四段中 She no longer thinks of gardening and making her own jams as just a money saver; they re a genuine pleasure 可知，Cindy认为园艺不仅可以省钱，而且给她及家庭带来了实实在在的快乐。
89. In addition, Cindy views gardening as a genuine pleasure because gardening _____.
A. helped her cut living costs almost by half B. enabled her to know more about plants
C. built up family ties and kids enthusiasm D. enabled her to make her own jams 参考答案： C TIP：选C。Cindy认为 It s brought us closer together as a family, too ，园艺使整个家庭有机会共同劳动，是真正的快乐之源。
90. What does Cindy think of the difficult times she has gone through?
A. It gave the couple and their kids a tough lesson. B. It gave her confidence and optimism.
C. It would come again and affect the family. D. It left a lasting psychological impact on the family.
参考答案： B TIP：选B。文章最后一段提到，Cindy在经历重重困难之后，为自己的行为感到骄傲，并对未来充满了信心。 TEXT C I m a little worried about my future, said Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate. He should be so lucky. All he had to worry about was whether to have an affair with Mrs. Robinson. In the sixties, that was the sum total of post-graduation anxiety syndrome.
Hoffman s modern counterparts are not so fortunate. The Mrs. Robinsons aren t sitting around at home any more, seducing graduates. They are out in the workplace, doing the high-powered jobs the graduates want, but cannot get. For those fresh out of university, desperate for work but unable to get it, there is a big imbalance between supply and demand. And there is no narrowing of the gap in sight.
The latest unemployment figures show that 746,000 of 18-24 year-olds are unemployed a record rate of 18 per cent. Many of those will have graduated this summer. They are not panicking yet, but as the job rejections mount up, they are beginning to feel alarmed.
Of course, it is easy to blame the Government and, in particular, the target that Labour has long trumpeted 50 per cent of school-leavers in higher education. That was not too smart. The Government has not only failed to meet its target the actual figure is still closer to 40 per cent but it has raised expectations to unrealistic levels.
Parents feel as badly let down as the young people themselves. Middle-class families see their graduate offspring on the dole (救济金) queue and wonder why they bothered paying school fees. Working-class families feel an even keener sense of disappointment. For many such families, getting a child into university was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. It represented upward social and financial mobility. It was proof that they were living in a dynamic, economically successful country. That dream does not seem so rosy now.
Graduate unemployment is not, ultimately, a political problem ready to be solved. Job-creation schemes for graduates are very low down in ministerial in-trays. If David Cameron s Conservatives had a brilliant idea for guaranteeing every graduate a well-paid job, they would have unveiled it by now. It is a social problem, though a more deep-seated social problem than people perhaps realize.

91. The author begins with an episode from The Graduate in order to _____.
A. support the fact that more women are working now
B. show that few graduates started working right after graduation
C. demonstrate that there were much fewer graduates than now
D. emphasize the sharp contrast between now and then 参考答案： D TIP：选D。在电影The Graduate中，以Dustin Hoffman饰演角色为代表的60年代毕业生与当今毕业生面临的困境有巨大差别，现在的毕业生面临工作的供需关系严重失衡。
92. With regard to job opportunities for young graduates, the author sounds _____.
A. pessimistic B. hopeful C. indifferent D. furious 参考答案： A TIP：选A。从第二段中 For those fresh out of university, desperate for work but unable to get it, there is a big imbalance between supply and demand. And there is no narrowing of the gap in sight 可知，作者对现在年轻毕业生的就业机会感到很悲观。
93. The author is ____ the Labour Government s target: 50% of school leavers in higher education.
A. in favour of B. doubtful about C. strongly critical of D. mildly critical of 参考答案： D TIP：选D。在文章第四段，作者提到工党制定的目标时，认为有吹嘘的成分，不够现实。 94. Which of the following statements about parents feelings is CORRECT?
A. Working-class parents feel just as disappointed. B. Parents and their children feel equally disappointed.
C. Middle-class parents feel more disappointed. D. Parents feel more disappointed than their children. 参考答案： B TIP：选B。从第五段中 Parents feel as badly let down as the young people themselves 一句可看出，父母与毕业生们一样感到失望。
95. Towards the end of the passage, the author implies that _____.
A. there will be job-creation schemes for graduates
B. graduate unemployment is more of a political issue
C. graduate unemployment is both a political and a social issue
D. the Conservatives are doing far from enough to solve the issue 参考答案： C TIP：选C。文章最后一段，作者认为毕业生的失业问题既是政治问题也是社会问题。 TEXT D

No matter how many times you have seen images of the golden mask of boyking Tutankhamen, come face to face with it in Egypt s Cairo Museum, and you will suck in your breath.
It was on Nov 4, 1923, that British archaeologist Howard Carter stumbled on a stone at the base of the tomb of another pharaoh (法老) in Luxor that eventually led to a sealed doorway.
Then, on Nov 23, Carter found a second door and when he stuck his head through it, what he saw was to stun the world. Inside lay the great stone coffin, enclosing three chests of gilded wood.
A few months later, when a crane lifted its granite cover and one coffin after another was removed, Carter found a solid block of gold weighing 110kg. In it was the mummy (木乃伊) of the 19-year-old Tutankhamen, covered in gold with that splendid funeral mask. And all this lay buried for more than 3,000 years.
Months after my trip to Egypt, I can relive the rush of emotion I felt and sense the hush that descended on the crammed Cairo Museum s Tutankhamen gallery.
Cairo, a dusty city of 20 million people, is a place where time seems to both stand still and rush into utter chaos. It is a place where the ancient and contemporary happily go along on parallel tracks.
Take the Great Pyramids of Giza, sitting on the western edge of the city. Even as the setting sun silhouettes these gigantic structures against the great desert expanse, a call for prayer floats over semi-finished apartment blocks filled with the activity of city life.
While careful planning for the afterlife may lie buried underground in Cairo, it is noise and confusion on the streets. Donkey carts battle for space with pedestrians and the only operative road rule is Might is right. But it is a city that is full of life from the small roadside restaurants to the coffee shops where men and women smoke the shisha (水烟壶).
Donkey carts piled high with flat-breads magically find their way in and out the maddening traffic; young women in long skirts and headscarves hold hands with young men in open collar shirts, while conversations dwell on Kuwait s chances at the soccer World Cup.
96. According to the context, suck in your breath means feel a sense of ____ .
A. awe B. horror C. doubt D. delight 参考答案： A TIP：选A。Suck in one s breath的意思是 抽了一口冷气 ，意为感到 敬畏 。
97. Which of the following statements about the discovery of the mummy is INCORRECT?
A. The mummy was first discovered by a British archaeologist. B. The discovery of the mummy came as a surprise.
C. The mummy was found lying right inside the stone coffin. D. The masked mummy was covered in gold. 参考答案： C TIP：选C。从第三段中 Inside lay the great stone coffin, enclosing three chests of gilded wood 可知，巨石棺材里放的是三个镀金木箱。
98. Which word CANNOT be used to describe the city of Cairo?
A. Crowdedness. B. Quiet. C. Noise. D. Confusion 参考答案： B TIP：选B。从第八段中 While careful planning for the afterlife may lie buried underground in Cairo, it is noise and confusion on the streets 可看出quiet一词不符合对开罗的描述。
99. Which pair of words/phrases indicates contrast?
A. Gigantic structure; great desert expanse. B. A call for prayer; men and women with the shisha.
C. Chaos; maddening. D. Coffee shops; pyramids. 参考答案： A TIP：选A。巨大的建筑和宽广的沙漠形成鲜明的对照。
100. What is the author s attitude towards Cairo?
A. Positive. B. Objective. C. Negative. D. Not clear. 参考答案： B TIP：选B。文章对开罗的描述，直观且客观地展现了整个城市的面貌和特点：古代与现代特征并存，街道熙熙攘攘，充满浓郁的生活气息。