2011年12月英语四级全真预测试卷及答案(3)

　　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.
　　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.
　　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.
　　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.
　　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.
　　Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.
　　30. How many times was Franklin Roosevelt elected president?
　　31. What was Franklin Roosevelt’s biggest achievement?
　　32. When did President Roosevelt die?
　　Passage Three
　　Millions of people around the world cook their food over a smoky fire every day. It is often difficult to find wood for the fire. People who do not have wood must spend large amounts of money on cooking fuel. However, there is a much easier way to cook food using energy from the sun.
　　Solar cookers, or ovens, have been used for centuries. A Swiss scientist made the first solar oven in 1767. Today, people are using solar cookers in many countries around the world. People use solar ovens to cook food and to heat drinking water to kill bacteria and other harmful organisms.
　　There are three kinds of solar ovens. The first is a box cooker. It is designed with a special wall that shines or reflects sunlight into the box. Heat gets trapped under a piece of glass or plastic covering the top of the cooker. A box oven is effective for slow cooking of large amounts of food.
　　The second kind of solar oven is a panel cooker. It includes several flat walls, or panels, that directly reflect the sun’s light onto the food. The food is inside a separate container of plastic or glass that traps heat energy. People can build panel cookers quickly and with very few supplies. They do not cost much. In Kenya, for example, panel cookers are being manufactured for just two dollars.
　　The third kind of solar oven is a parabolic cooker. It has rounded walls that aim sunlight directly into the bottom of the oven. Food cooks quickly in parabolic ovens. However, these cookers are hard to make. They must be re-aimed often to follow the sun. Parabolic cookers can also cause burns and eye injuries if they are not used correctly.
　　Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
　　33. Which of the following is NOT a function of solar ovens?
　　34. What kind of oven is effective for slow cooking of a lot of food?
　　35. Which is the best title for this passage?
　　Section C
　　Directions: In this 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 blanks 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 main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
　　Some people’s ears produce wax like busy little bees. This can be a problem even though earwax appears to serve an important purpose. Experts say it protects and cleans the ear. It (36) traps dirt and other matter and keeps (37) insects out. Doctors think it might also help protect against (38) infections. And the waxy oil keeps ears from getting too dry. So earwax is good. It even has a medical name: cerumen. There are two kinds of cerumen. Most people of (39) European or African ancestry have the “wet” kind: thick and (40) sticky. East Asians commonly have “dry” earwax.
　　But you can’t have too much of a good thing. The glands in the ear canal that produce the wax make too much in some people. Earwax is normally (41) expelled; it falls out of the ear or gets washed away. But extra wax can (42) harden and form a blockage that (43) interferes with sound waves and reduces hearing. (44) People can also cause a blockage when they try to clean out their ears — but only push the wax deeper inside. Earwax removal is sometimes necessary. But you have to use a safe method or you could do a lot of damage.
　　Experts suggest some ways to treat excessive earwax yourself. (45) They say the wax can be softened with mineral oil, or ear drops. Another way to remove wax is known as irrigation. With the head upright, take hold of the outer part of the ear. Gently pull upward to straighten the ear canal. (46) Use a device to gently direct water against the wall of the ear canal. Then turn the head to the side to let the water out.