2017年12月大学英语四级真题及答案解析(全三套) 四级听力第一套：News Report 1A 9-year-old girl in New Mexico has raised more than $500 for her little brother who needs heart surgery in Houston, Texas this July. Addison Witulski's grandmother Kim Allred, said Addison probably overheard a conversation between family members talking about the funds needed to get her little brother to treatment. "I guess she overheard her grandfather and me talking about how we're worried about how we're going to get to Houston, for my grandson's heart surgery," said Allred. She decided to go outside and have a lemonade stand and make some drawings and pictures and sell them.” That's when Addison and her friends Erika and Emily Borden decided to sell lemonade for 50 cents a cup and sell pictures for 25 cents each.Before Allred knew it, New Mexico State Police Officers were among the many stopping by helping them reach a total of $568. The family turned to social media expressing their gratitude saying, "From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to deeply thank each and every person that stopped by!"1: Who did Addison raise the money for?2: How did Addison raise the money?1.D) Her little brother.2.B) By selling lemonade and pictures.News Report 2:Last week, France announced that the country will pave 621 miles of road with solar panels over the next five years with the goal of providing cheap, renewable energy to five million people. Called the Ward Way, the roads will be built through joint efforts with the French road building company Colas and the National Institute of Solar Energy. The companyspent the last five years developing solar panels that are only about a quarter of inch thick and are strong enough to stand up to heavy highway traffic without breaking or making the roads more slippery. The panels are also designed so that they can be installed directly on top of the existing roadways, making them relatively cheap and easy to install. France is the first country to kick around the idea of paving its roads with solar panels. In November 2015, the Netherlands completed a 229-foot long bike path paved with solar panels as a test for future projects. However, this is the first time a panel has been designed to be laid directly on top existing roads and the first project to install the panels on public highways.3: What was France’s purpose of constructing the Ward Way?4: What is special about the solar panels used in the Ward Way?3.B) Providing clean energy to five million people.4.C) They can be laid right on top of existing highways.News Report 3Lions have disappeared from much of Africa, but for the past few years scientists have wondered if the big cats were hanging on in remote parts of Sudan and Ethiopia. Continuous fighting in the region has made surveys difficult. But scientists released a report Monday documenting with hard evidence the discovery of "lost lions." A team with Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, supported by a charity organization, spent two nights in November camping in a national park in northwest Ethiopia on the Ethiopia-Sudan border. The researchers set out six camera traps, capturing images of lions, and the identified lion tracks. The scientists concluded that lions are also likely to live in a neighboring national park across the border in Sudan. The International Union for Conservation of Nature had previously considered the area a "possible range" for the species, and local people had reported seeing lions in the area, but no one presented convincing evidence.5: What has made it difficult to survey lions in remote parts of Sudan and Ethiopia?6: What was the main purpose of the research?7: What did the researchers find in the national park?5.C)Endless fighing in the region.6.D)To find evidence of the lions'disappearance.7.A)Lions'tracks.Conversation OneM: I beg you’re looking forward to the end of this month. Aren’t you?W: Yes, I am. How did you know?M: David told me you had a special birthday coming up.W: Oh, yes. That’s right. This year would be my golden birthday.M: What does that mean? I’ve never heard of a golden birthday.W: I’ve actually just learned of this concept myself. Fortunately, just in time to celebrate. A golden or lucky birthday is when one turns the age of their birth date. So, for example, my sister’s birthday is December 9th and her golden birthday would have been the year she turns 9 years old. Come to think of it , my parents did throw her a surprise party that year. M: Intere sting. Too bad I missed mine. My golden birthday would’ve been four years ago.I assumedly got a big plan then.W: Actually yes. My husband is planning a surprise holiday for the two of us next week. I have no idea what he’s gotten in mind, but I’m excited to find out. Has he mentioned anything to you?M: He might have.W: Anything you’d like to share? I’m dying to know what kind of trip he has planned where we’re going.M: Yeah, nothing at all.W: Not a clue. Hard to imagine, isn’t it! Though I must say, I think it has been even more fun keeping the secret for me the past few weeks.M: I’m sure both of you will have a fantastic time. Happy golden birthday! I can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back.8. What does the woman looking forward to?9. W hat did the woman’s parents do on her sister’s lucky birthday?10. What is the woman eager to find out about?11. What does the man say at the end of the conversation?8.D) Her "lucky brithday".9.A) Threw her a superise party.10.C) The trip her husband has planned.11.B) He is eager to learn how the couple's holiday turns out.Conversation TwoW: Mr. Green, What do you think makes a successful negotiator?M: Well, It does hard to define, but I think successful negotiators have several things in common. They are always polite and rational people, they are firm, but flexible. They can recognize power and know how to use it. They are sensitive to the dynamics in the negotiation, the way it raises and falls, and how may change the direction. They project the image of confidence, and perhaps most importantly, they know when to stop.W: And what about an unsuccessful negotiator?M: Well, this probably all of us when we start out. We are probably immature and over-trusting, too emotional or aggressive. We are unsure of ourselves and want to be liked by everyone. Good negotiators learn fast, pool negotiators remain like that and go on losing negotiations,W: In your opinion, can the skills of negotiation be taught?M: Well, you can teach someone how to prepare for negotiation. There perhaps six stages in every negotiation, get to know the other side, stay your goals, start the process, clarify there is a disagreement or conflict, reassess your position, making acceptable compromise, and finally reach some agreements and principals. These stages can be studied, and strategies to be used in each can be planned before-hand. But I think the really successfulnegotiator is probably born with the sixth sense that may respond properly to the situation at hand.W: The artistic sense you just described?M: Yes, that’s right12. What’s the man say about good negotiators?13. What does the man say, maybe the most important thing to a successful negotiator?14. How is a good negotiator different from a poor one?15. What’s th e first stage of a negation according to the man?12. A) They are sensitive to the dynamics of a negotiation.13. B) They know when to stop.14. C) They learn quickly.15. D) Get to know the other side.Passage OneSome people wonder why countries spend millions of dollars on space projects. They want to know how space research helps people on earth. Actually, space technology helps people on earth every day. This is called spin-off technology. Spin-off technology is space technology that is now used on earth. In early space programs, such as the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s and in the space shuttle missions today, scientists developed objects for the astronauts to use on the moon and in space. We now use some of these objects every day. For example, we have quartz crystal clocks and watches accurate to within one minute a year. We purify the water we drink with the water filter designed for the astronauts to use in space. The cordless hand held tools we use in our homes, such as vacuum cleaners, flashlights, drills came from the technology of these early space programs. On cold winter days, we can stay warm with battery-operated gloves and socks, especially made coats and jackets. All the clothes are similar to the space suits designs that kept astronauts comfortable in the temperatures of the moon, in our spin offs from space technology. These products are only a few examples of the many ways spacetechnology helps us in our everyday lives. No one knows how new spin off technology from the international space station will help us in the future.16. What do some people want to know about space exploration?17. What did scientist do for the space shuttle missions?18. What does the speaker say about the quartz crystal clocks and watches?16. D) How space research benefits people on Earth.17. B) They developed objects for astronauts to use in outer space.18. C) They are extremely accurate.Passage TwoWell, if I could get back in history and live, I'd like to get back to the 18th century and perhaps in colonial America in Yankee new England where one of my ancestors lived, because it was the beginning of something. By the 18th century, there was a feeling of community that had grown. My ancestor was the preacher traveling around countryside. People lived in small communities. It was fisherman and farmers who provided fresh food that tasted and looked like food. Unlike today’s supermarkets, and there were small towns and New York wasn't that far away. I'm deeply attached to the puritan tradition not in a religious sense. But they believed in working for something, working for goals. And I like that. They worked hard at whatever they did, but they had a sense of achievement. They believed in goodness, in community, and helping one another. I love the colonial fabrics or the silver works, the furnishings, the combination of elegance simplicity. I'd love it. The printing, the books, I’m very attached to all that kind of thing. That may not all be very entertaining in the modern sense of the world, but I would have enjoyed spending my evenings in that environment, discussing new ideas, building a new world, and I can see myself sitting on a small chair by the fire doing needle work.19. Why does the speaker say she would like to go back and live in the 18th century America?20. What does the speaker say about the Puritans?21. What would the speaker like doing if she could go back to the past?19. C)It marked the beginning of something new.20. A)They believed working for goals.21. D)Doing needlework by the fire.Passage threeIf you are lost in the woods, a little knowledge concerned with some people called a hardship into an enjoyable stay away from the troubles of modern society. When you think you're lost,sit down on the log or rock, or lean against the tree, and recite something you are memorized to bring your mind to the point where is under control. Don’t run blindly if you must move, don't follow stream unless you know it, and in that case you're not lost. Streams normally flow through wide land before they reach a lake or river though there are more eatable plants, there may also be wild animals, poisonous snakes, and other hazards. Many experts feel it is the wisest to walk up hill. At the top of most hills and mountains are trails living back to civilizations. If there are no trails, you're much easier to be seen on top of the hill. And you may even spot the highway or railroad from this point. Nowadays, the first way some of you search for you is by air. In the wide lands or in dense grass, we're very hard to spot. Anytime you are going to the woods, somebody should know where you're going, and when you are expected to return, also when someone comes to looking, you should be able to signal to them.22. What does the speaker advise you to do first if you are lost in the woods?23. What will happen if you follow an unknown stream in the woods?24. What do many experts think is the wisest thing to do if you're lost in the woods?25. What should you do before you go into the woods?22. C) Sit down and try to calm yourself23. B) You may expose yourself to unexpected dangers.24. D) Walk uphill.25. A) Inform somebody of your plan.四级听力第二套：答案：1.D) It has got one of its injured.2.C) Its videos were posted on social media.3.A) The distance travelled.4.B) Gas consumption is soaring.5.B) He helps a stranger to carry groceries to his car.6.C) He raised a large sum of money for him.7.A) He works hard to support his family.8. A) Attend an economics lecture9. C) Attend his brother’s birthday party10. D) Join him in his brother’s birthday celebration11. B) By train12. A) Taking a vacation abroad.13. C) Working part time as a waiter.14. B) Save enough money..15. A) He has rich sailing experience.16. D) She was also a Nobel Prize winner.17. B) She developed X-ray facilities for military hospitals.18. A) Both died of blood cancer.19. C) They discovered Iceland in the ninth century.20. D) It was a rocky mass of land covered with ice.21. A) Thee Viking’s ocean explorations.22. C) Dream about the future.23. B) Change what he has for his past imaginary world.24. D) International business.25. B) Be content with what you have.四级阅读第一套：选词填空26. [K] superior27. [D] nuisance28. [M] tip29. [O] visual30. [A] associated31. [F] preventing32. [H] sensitive33. [I] slight34. [C] indicate35. [J] specify匹配题36. [I] Elderly students find it hard to keep up with the rapid changes in education.37. [E] Some believe take-home exams may affect students' performances in others courses.38. [C] Certain professors believe in-class exams are ultimately more helpful to students39. [D] In-class exams are believed to discourage cheating in exams.40. [B] The author was happy to learn she could do some exams at home.41. [H] Students who put off their work until the last moment often find the exams more difficult than they actually are.42. [G] Different students may prefer different types of exams.43. [F] Most professors agree whether to give an in-class or a take-home exam depends on the type of course being taught.44. [A] The author dropped out of college some forty years ago.45. [J] Some students think take-home exams will eat up their free time.仔细阅读46. B They just cannot do anything about it.47. A It might be prevented and treated.48. D It will motivate doctors and pharmacists to find ways to treat aging.49. C They can contribute to people's health only to a limited extent.50. A The human lifespan cannot be prolonged.51. C More males than females are likely to get outstanding letters of recommendation.52. C Men are believed to be better able to excel in STEM disciplines.53. B They contain nothing that distinguishes the applicants.54. D They deleted all information about gender.55. D Start a public discussion on how to raise women's status in academic circles.四级阅读第二套：选词填空We all know there exists a great void（空白）in the public educational system when itcomes to 26 to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics) courses. One educator named Dori Roberts decided to do somethingto change this system. Dori taughthigh school engineering for 11 years. Shenoticed there was a real void in quality STEM education at all 27 ofthe public educational system. She said, “I started Engineering For Kids (EFK)after noticing a real lack of math, science and engineering programs to 28 myown kids in.”She decided to start an afterschool programwhere children 29 in STEM-based competitions. The clubgrew quickly and when it reached 180 members and the kids in the program wonseveral state 30 , she decided to devote all her time tocultivating and 31 it. The global business EFK was born.Dori began operating EFK out of her Virginiahome, which she then expanded to 32 recreation centers. Today, the EFK program 33 over 144 branches in 32 states within theUnited States and in 21 countries. Sales have doubled from $5 million in 2014to $10 million in 2015, with 25 new branches planned for 2016. The EFK websitestates, “Our nation is not 34 enough engineers. Our philosophy is to inspirekids at a young age to understand that engineering is a great 35 .”26. G exposure27. L levels28. F enroll29. O participated30. C championships31. E developing32. M local33. N operates34. J graduating35. B career匹配题36. To be curious, we need to realize first of all thatthere are many things we don’t know.H）Moreover,in order to be curious , ” you have to aware of a gap in your knowledge in thefirst place.” Although Leslie perhaps paints a bit broadly in contending thatmost of usare unaware of how much we don’t know, he’s surely right to pointout that the problem is gro wing:”Google can give us the powerful illusion thatall questions have definite answers.”37. According to Leslie, curiosity is essential to one’ssuccess.D) Thejournalist Ian Leslie, in his new and enjoyable book Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Yo ur Future Depends on It,insists that the answer to that last question is “Yes”. Leslie argues thatcuriosity is a much-overlooked human virtue, crucial to our success, and thatwe are losing it.38. We should feel happy when we pursue knowledge forknowledg e’s sake.O) All of which brings us back to Goodelland the Christie case and Benghazi. Each critic in those examples is charging,in a different way, that someone in authority is intentionally being incurious.I leave it to the reader's political preference to decide which, if any,charges should stick. But let’s be careful about demanding curiosity about theother side’s weaknesses and remaining determinedly incurious about our own. Weshould be delighted to pursue knowledge for its own sake—even when what we findout is something we didn't particularly want to know.39. Political leaders’ lack of curiosity will result inbad consequences.M) AlthoughLeslie’s book isn’t about politics, he doesn’t entirely shy away from theproblem. Political leaders, like leaders of other organizations, should becurious. They should ask questions at crucial moments. There are seriousconsequences, he warns, in not wanting to know.40. There are often accusations about politicians’ andthe media’s l ack of curiosity to find out the truth.B) Theaccusation of incuriosity is one that we hear often, carrying the suggestionthat there is something wrong with not wanting to search out the truth. “I havebeen bothered for a long time about the curious lac k of curiosity,” said aDemocratic member of the New Jersey legislature back in July, referring to aninsufficiently inquiring attitude on the part of an assistant to New JerseyGovernor Chris Christie who chose not to ask hard questions about the GeorgeWashi ngton Bridge traffic scandal. “Isn’t the mainstream media the least bitcurious about what happened?” wrote conservative writer Jennifer Rubin earlierthis year, referring to the attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya.41. The less curious a child is, the less knowledge thechild may turn out to have.L) Schooleducation, he warns, is often conducted in a way that makes children incurious.Children of educated and upper-middle-class parents turn out to be far morecurious, even at early ages, than children of working class and lower classfamilies. That lack of curiosity produces a relative lack of knowledge, and thelack of knowledge is difficult if not impossible to compensate for later on.42. It is widely accepted that academic accomplishmentlies in both intelligence and diligence.K) Citingthe work of psychologists and cognitive（认知的）scientists, Leslie criticizes the received wisdomthat academic success is the result of a combination of intellectual talent andhard work. Curiosity, he argues, is the third key factor—and a difficult one topreserve. If not cultivated, it will not survive：“Childhood curiosity is a collaboration between childand adult. The surest way to kill it is to leave it alone.”43. Visiting a bookshop as curiosity leads us can be agood way to entertain ourselves.J) Somewhatnostalgically（怀旧地），he quote John Maynard Keynes’s justlyfamous words of praise to the bookstore:”One should enter it vaguely, almost ina dream, and allowwhat is there freely to attract and influence the eye. Towalk the rounds of the bookshops, dipping in as curiosity dictates, should bean afternoon’s entertainment.” If only!44. Both the rise of the Internet and reduced appetitefor literary fiction contribute to people’s declining curiosity.G) Lesliepresents considerable evidence for the proposition that the society as a wholeis growing less curious. In the U.S. and Europe, for example, the rise of theInternet has led to a declining consumption of news from outside the reader’sborders. But not e verything is to be blamed on technology. The decline ininterest in literary fiction is also one of the causes identified by Leslie.Reading literary fiction, he says, make us more curious.45.Mankind wouldn’t be so innovative without curiosity.F) Why isthis a problem? Because without curiosity we will lose the spirit of innovationand entrepreneurship. We will see unimaginative governments and dyingcorporations make disastrous decisions. We will lose a vital part of what hasmade humanity as a whole so successful as a species.仔细阅读46. What do we learn from the passage about cities in sub-Saharan Africa?B）They are growing fast without becoming richer47. What does the author imply about urbanisation in other parts of the world?B) It started whe n people’s income was relatively high.48. Why is sub-Saharan Africa unappealing to investors?A) It lacks adequate transport facilities.49. In what way does author say African cities are different?C) They have developed at the expense of nature.50. What might be a solution to the problems facing African cities?D) A more responsible government51. It used to be commonly acknowledged that to succeed in America, one had to have___.B) an ambition to get ahead52. What is the finding of the latest National Journal poll concerning the American dream?C) Americans’ idea of it has changed over the past few decades.53. What do Americans now think of the role of college education in achieving success?A) It still remains open to debate.54. How do some people view college education these days?D) It helps broaden their minds.55. What is one factor essential to success in America, according to Will Fendley?D) A clear aim and high motivation.四级阅读第三套：选词填空26. K superior27. D nuisance28. M tip29. O visual30. A associated31. F preventing32. H sensitive33. I slight34. C indicate35. B examine匹配题36. I37. E38. C39. D40. B41. H42. G43. F44. A45. J仔细阅读46. What do people generally believe about aging?B) They just cannot do anything about it.47. How do many scientists view aging now?A) It might be prevented and treated.48. What does Alex Zhavoronkov think of “describing aging as a disease”?D) It will motivate doctors and pharmacists to find ways to treat aging.49. What do we learn about the medical community?C) They can contribute to people’s health only to a limited extent.50. What does Professor Leonard Hayflick believe?A) The human lifespan cannot be prolonged.51. What do we learn about applicants to postdoctoral positions in geosciences?C) More males than females are likely to get outstanding letters of recommendation.52. What do studies about men and women in scientific research show?C) Men are believed to be better able to excel in STEM disciplines.53. What do the studies find about the recommendation letters for women applicants?B) They contain nothing that distinguishes the applicants.54. What did Dutt and her colleagues do with the more than 1,200 letters of recommendation?D) They deleted all information about gender.55. What does Dutt aim to do with her study?D) Start a public discussion on how to raise women’s status in academic circles.四级翻译一：泰山位于山东省西部。
