2015年12月大学英语四级真题试卷及答案(第三套)（Word版）

Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension(40 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks.You are required to select one word foreach blank from a list of choices given, in a word bank following the passage.Read thepassage through carefully before making your choices. Each.choice in the bank isidentified by a letter.Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet2 with a single line through the center.You may not use any of the words in the bankmore than once.
Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.
Children do not think the way adults do.For most of the first year of life, if something is out ofsight, it's out of mind.If you cover a baby's36toy with a piece of cloth, the baby thinks the toyhas disappeared and stops looking for it.A 4-year-old may 37 that a sister has more fruit juicewhen it is only the shapes of the glasses that differ, not the38 of juice.
Yet children are smart in their own way.Like good little scientists, children are always testingtheir child-sized39 about how things work.When your child throws her spoon on the floor for thesixth time as you try to feed her, and you say, "That's enough! I will not pick up your spoon again!"
the child will 40 test your claim.Are you serious? Are you angry? What will happen if she throwsthe spoon again? She is not doing this to drive you41; rather, she is learning that her desires andyours can differ, and that sometimes those42 are important and sometimes they are not.
How and why does children's thinking change? In the 1920s, Swiss psychologist Jean Piagetproposed that children's cognitive (认知的) abilities unfold 43, like the blooming of a flower,almost independent of what else is44in their lives.Although many of his specific conclusions havebeen45 or modified over the years, his ideas inspired thousands of studies by investigators all overthe world.
A.advocate
B.amount
C.confirmed
D.crazy
E. definite
F. differences
G. favorite
H. happening
I. Immediately
J. Naturally
K. Obtaining
L. Primarily
M. Protest
N. Rejected
O. theories
Section B
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with, ten statements attached to it.Eachstatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs.Identify the paragraphfrom which the information is derived.You may choose a paragraph more than once.
Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.The Perfect Essay
A.Looking back on too many years of education, I can identify one truly impossible teacher.Shecared about me, and my intellectual life, even when I didn't.Her expectations were high--impossibly so.She was an English teacher.She was also my mother.
B.When good students turn in an essay, they dream of their instructor returning it to them in exactlythe same condition, save for a single word added in the margin of the finalpage : "Flawless." Thisdream came true for me one afternoon in the ninth grade.Of course, I had heard that genius couldshow itself at an early age, so I was only slightly taken aback that I had achieved perfection at thetender age of 14.Obviously, I did what any professional writer would do; I hurried off to spread thegood news.I didn't get very far.The first person I told was my mother.
C.My mother, who is just shy of five feet tall, is normally incredibly soft-spoken, but on the rareoccasion when she got angry, she was terrifying.I am not sure if she was more upset by my hubris(得意忘形) or by the fact that my English teacher had let my ego get so out of hand.In any event,my mother and her red pen showed me how deeply flawed a flawless essay could be.At the time,I am sure she thought she was teaching me about mechanics, transitions (过渡), structure, styleand voice.But what I learned, and what stuck with me through my time teaching writing atHarvard, was a deeper lesson about the nature of creative criticism.
D.First off, it hurts.Genuine criticism, the type that leaves a lasting mark on you as a writer, alsoleaves an existential imprint (印记) on you as a person.I have heard people say that a writershould never take criticism personally.I say that we should never listen to these people.
E. Criticism, at its best, is deeply personal, and gets to the heart of why we write the way we do.Theintimate nature of genuine criticism implies something about who is able to give it, namely,someone who knows you well enough to show you how your mental life is getting in the way ofgood writing.Conveniently, they are also the people who care enough to see you through thispainful realization.For me it took the form of my first, and I hope only, encounter with writer'sblock--I was not able to produce anything for three years.
F. Franz Kafka once said: "Writing is utter solitude (独处), the descent into the cold abyss (深渊) ofoneself." My mother's criticism had shown me that Kafka is right about the cold abyss, and whenyou make the introspective (内省的) descent that writing requires you are not always pleased bywhat you find.But, in the years that followed, her sustained tutoring suggested that Kafka might bewrong about the solitude.I was lucky enough to find a critic and teacher who was willing to makethe journey of writing with me."It is a thing of no great difficulty," according to Plutarch, "toraise objections against another man's speech, it is a very easy matter; but to produce a better in itsplace is a work extremely troublesome." I am sure I wrote essays in the later years of high schoolwithout my mother's guidance, but I can't recall them.What I remember, however, is how shetook up the "extremely troublesome" work of ongoing criticism.
G. There are two ways to interpret Plutarch when he suggests that a critic should be able to produce "abetter in its place." In a straightforward sense, he could mean that a critic must be more talentedthan the artist she critiques (评论).My mother was well covered on this count.But perhaps
Plutarch is suggesting something slightly different, something a bit closer to Marcus Cicero's claimthat one should "criticize by creation, not by finding fault." Genuine criticism creates a preciousopening for an author to become better on his own terms--a process that is often extremely painful,but also almost always meaningful.
H. My mother said she would help me with my writing, but first I had to help myself.For eachassignment, I was to write the best essay I could.Real criticism is not meant to find obviousmistakes, so if she found any--the type I could have found on my own--I had to start from scratch.From scratch.Once the essay was "flawless," she would take an evening to walk me through myerrors.That was when true criticism, the type that changed me as a person, began.
I. She criticized me when I included little-known references and professional jargon (行话).She hadno patience for brilliant but irrelevant figures of speech."Writers can't bluff (虚张声势) their waythrough ignorance." That was news to me--I would need to freed another way to structure my dailyexistence.
J. She trimmed back my flowery language, drew lines through my exclamation marks and argued forthe value of restraint in expression."John," she almost whispered.I leaned in to hear her:"I can'thear you when you shout at me." So I stopped shouting and bluffing, and slowly my writingimproved.
K. Somewhere along the way I set aside my hopes of writing that flawless essay.But perhaps I missedsomething important in my mother's lessons about creativity and perfection.Perhaps the point ofwriting the flawless essay was not to give up, but to never willingly finish.Whitman repeatedlyreworked "Song of Myself' between 1855 and 1891.Repeatedly.We do our absolute best with apiece of writing, and come as close as we can to the ideal.And, for the time being, we settle.Incritique, however, we are forced to depart, to give up the perfection we thought we had achievedfor the chance of being even a little bit better.This is the lesson I took from my mother: Ifperfection were possible, it would not be motivating.
46.The author was advised against the improper use of figures of speech.
47.The author's mother taught him a valuable lesson by pointing out lots of flaws in his seeminglyperfect essay.
48.A writer should polish his writing repeatedly so as to get closer to perfection.
49.Writers may experience periods of time in their life when they just can't produce anything.
50.The author was not much surprised when his school teacher marked his essay as "flawless".
51.Criticizing someone's speech is said to be easier than coming up with a better one.
52.The author looks upon his mother as his most demanding and caring instructor.
53.The criticism the author received from his mother changed him as a person.
54.The author gradually improved his writing by avoiding fancy language.
55.Constructive criticism gives an author a good start to improve his writing.
Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage is followed by some questions orunfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C.andD .You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the center.
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
Could you reproduce Silicon Valley elsewhere, or is there something unique about it?
It wouldn't be surprising if it were hard to reproduce in other countries, because you couldn'treproduce it in most of the US either.What does it take to make a Silicon Valley?
It's the right people.If you could get the right ten thousand people to move from Silicon Valley toBuffalo, Buffalo would become Silicon Valley.
You only need two kinds of people to create a technology hub (中心) : rich people and nerds (痴迷科研的人).
Observation bears this out.Within the US, towns have become star,up hubs if and only if theyhave both rich people and nerds.Few startups happen in Miami, for example, because although it's fullof rich people, it has few nerds.It's not the kind of place nerds like.
Whereas Pittsburgh has the opposite problem: plenty of nerds, but no rich people.The top USComputer Science departments are said to be MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Carnegie-Mellon.MITyielded Route 128.Stanford and Berkeley yielded Silicon Valley.But what did Carnegie-Mellon yield inPittsburgh? And what happened in Ithaca, home of Cornell University, which is also high on the list?
I grew up in Pittsburgh and went to college at Cornell, so I can answer for both.The weather isterrible, particularly in winter, and there's no interesting old city to make up for it, as there is inBoston.Rich people don't want to live in Pittsburgh or Ithaca.So while there're plenty of hackers (电脑迷) who could start startups, there's no one to invest in them
Do you really need the rich people? Wouldn't it work to have the government invest in the nerds?
No, it would not.Startup investors are a distinct type of rich people.They tend to have a lot ofexperience themselves in the technology business.This helps them pick the right startups, and meansthey can supply advice and connections as well as money.And the fact that they have a personal stakein the outcome makes them really pay attention.
56.What do we learn about Silicon Valley from the passage?
A.Its success is hard to copy anywhere else.
B.It is the biggest technology hub in the US.
C.Its fame in high technology is incomparable.
D.It leads the world in information technology.
57.What makes Miami unfit to produce a Silicon Valley?
A.Lack of incentive for investment.
B.Lack of the right kind of talents.
C.Lack of government support.
D.Lack of famous universities.
58.In what way is Carnegie-Mellon different from Stanford, Berkeley and MIT?
A.Its location is not as attractive to rich people.
B.Its science departments are not nearly as good.
C.It does not produce computer hackers and nerds.
D.It does not pay much attention to business startups.
59.What does the author imply about Boston?
A.It has pleasant weather all year round.
B.It produces wealth as well as high-tech.
C.It is not likely to attract lots of investors and nerds.
D.It is an old city with many sites of historical interest.
60.What does the author say about startup investors?
A.They are especially wise in making investments.
B.They have good connections in the government.
C.They can do more than providing money.
D.They are rich enough to invest in nerds.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
It's nice to have people of like mind around.Agreeable people boost your confidence and allow youto relax and feel comfortable.Unfortunately, that comfort can hinder the very learning that can expandyour company and your career.
It's nice to have people agree, but you need conflicting perspectives to dig out the truth.Ifeveryone around you has similar views, your work will suffer from confirmation bias (偏颇).
Take a look at your own network.Do your contacts share your point of view on most subjects? Ifyes, it's time to shake things up.As a leader, it can be challenging to create an environment in whichpeople will freely disagree and argue, but as the saying goes: From confrontation comes brilliance.
It's not easy for most people to actively seek conflict.Many spend their lives trying to avoidarguments.There's no need to go out and find people you hate, but you need to do some self-assessment to determine where you have become stale in your thinking.You may need to start byencouraging your current network to help you identify your blind spots.
Passionate, energetic debate does not require anger and hard feelings to be effective.But it doesrequire moral strength. Once you have worthy opponents, set some ground rules so everyoneunderstands responsibilities and boundaries.The objective of this debating game is not to win but to getto the truth that will allow you to move faster, farther, and better.
Fierce debating can hurt feelings, particularly when strong personalities are involved.Make sureyou check in with your opponents so that they are not carrying the emotion of the battles beyond thebattlefield.Break the tension with smiles and humor to reinforce the idea that this is friendly discourseand that all are working toward a common goal.
Reward all those involved in the debate sufficiently when the goals are reached.Let your sparringpartners (拳击陪练) know how much you appreciate their contribution. The more they feelappreciated, the more they'll be willing to get into the ring next time.
61.What happens when you have like-minded people around you all the while?
A.It will help your company expand more rapidly.
B.It will create a harmonious working atmosphere.
C.It may prevent your business and career from advancing.
D.It may make you feel uncertain about your own decisions.
62.What does the author suggest leaders do?
A.Avoid arguments with business partners.
B.Encourage people to disagree and argue.
C.Build a wide and strong business network.
D.Seek advice from their worthy competitors.
63.What is the purpose of holding a debate?
A.To find out the truth about an issue.
B.To build up people's moral strength.
C.To remove misunderstandings.
D.To look for worthy opponents.
64.What advice does the author give to people engaged in a fierce debate?
A.They listen carefully to their opponents' views.
B.They show due respect for each other's beliefs.
C.They present their views clearly and explicitly.
D.They take care not to hurt each other's feelings.
65.How should we treat our rivals after a successful debate?
A.Try to make peace with them.
B.Try to make up the differences.
C.Invite them to the ring next time.
D.Acknowledge their contribution.