2012年12月英语四级试题与答案

2012年12月英语四级真题及答案For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Education PaysYou should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) Why Integrity Matters What is Integrity? "Integrity" is defined as "adherence to moral and ethical principles; honesty." The key to integrity is consistency--not only setting high personal standards for oneself (honesty, responsibility, respect for others, fairness) but also living up to those standards each day. One who has integrity is bound by and follows moral and ethical standards even when making life's hard choices, choices which may be clouded by stress, pressure to succeed, or temptation. What happens if we lie, cheat, steal, or violate other ethical standards? We feel disappointed in ourselves and ashamed. But a lapse of integrity also affects our relationships with others. Trust is essential in any important relationship, whether personal or professional. Who can trust someone who is dishonest or unfair? Thus, integrity must be one of our most important goals. Risky Business We are each responsible for our own decisions, even if the decision-making process has been undermined by stress or peer pressure. The real test of character is whether we can learn from our mistake, by understanding why we acted as we did, and then exploring ways to avoid similar problems in the future. Making ethical decisions is a critical part of avoiding future problems. We must learn to recognize risks, because if we can't see the risks we're taking, we can't make responsible choices. To identify risks, we need to know the rules and be aware of the facts. For example, one who doesn't know the rules about plagiarism may accidentally use words or ideas without giving proper credit, or one who fails to keep careful research notes may unintentionally fail to quote and cite sources as required. But the fact that such a violation is "unintentional" does not excuse the misconduct. Ignorance is not a defense. "But Everybody Does It" Most people who get in trouble do know the rules and facts, but manage to fool themselves about the risks they’re taking by using excuses: "Everyone else does it," "I'm not hurting anyone," or "I really need this grade." Excuses can get very elaborate: "I know I'm looking at another's exam, even though I'm supposed to keep my eyes on my own paper, but that's not cheating because I'm just checking my answers, not copying." We must be honest about our actions, and avoid excuses. If we fool ourselves into believing we're not doing anything wrong, we can't see the real choice we're making--and that leads to bad decisions. To avoid fooling yourself, watch out for excuses and try this test: Ask how you would feel if your actions were public, and anyone could be watching over yourshoulder. Would you feel proud or ashamed of your actions? If you'd rather hide your actions, that's a good indication that you're taking a risk and rationalizing it to yourself. Evaluating Risks To decide whether a risk is worth taking, you must examine the consequences, in the future as well as right now, negative as well as positive, and to others as well as to yourself. Those who take risks they later regret usually focus on immediate benefits ("what's in it for me"), and simply haven't considered what might go wrong. The consequences of getting caught are serious, and may include a "0" on a test or assignment; an "F" in the class; Suspension or Dismissal from school; transcript notation; and a tarnished reputation. In fact, when you break a rule or law, you lose control over your life, and give others the power to impose punishment: you have no control over what that punishment might be. This is an extremely precarious and vulnerable position. There may be some matters of life and death, or highest principle, which might justify such a risk, but there aren't many things that fall in this category. Getting Away With It--Or Not Those who don't get caught pay an even higher price. A cheater doesn't learn from the test, depriving him/herself of an education. Cheating undermines confidence and independence: the cheater is a fraud, and knows that without dishonesty, he/she would have failed. Cheating destroys self-esteem and integrity, leaving the cheater ashamed, guilty, and afraid of getting caught. Worst of all, a cheater who doesn't get caught the first time usually cheats again, not only because he/she is farther behind, but also because it seems "easier." This slippery slope of eroding ethics and bigger risks leads only to disaster. Eventually, the cheater gets caught, and the later he/she gets caught, the worse the consequences. Students have been dismissed from school because they didn't get this simple message: Honesty is the ONLY policy that works. Cheating Hurts Others, Too Cheaters often feel invisible, as if their actions "don't count" and don't really hurt anyone. But individual choices have a profound cumulative effect. Cheating can spread like a disease, and a cheater can encourage others just by being seen from across the room. Recent statistics suggest 30% or more of college students cheat. If a class is graded on a curve, cheating hurts others' grades. Even if there is no curve, cheating "poisons" the classroom, and others may feel pressured to join in. ("If I don't cheat, I can't compete with those who do.") Cheating also has a destructive impact on teachers. The real reward of good teaching is seeing students learn, but a cheater says, "I'm not interested in what you're trying to teach; all I care about is stealing a grade, regardless of the effect on others." The end result is a blatant and destructive attack on the quality of your education. Finally, cheating can hurt the reputation of the University, and harm those who worked hard for their degree. Why Integrity Matters If cheating becomes the norm, then we are in big trouble. We must rely on thehonesty and good faith of others every day. If not, we couldn't put money in the bank, buy food, clothing, or medicine from others, drive across a bridge, get on a plane, go to the dentist--the list is endless. There are many examples of the vast harm that is caused when individuals forget or ignore the effect their dishonesty can have. The savings and loan scandal, the stock market and junk bond swindles, and, of course, Watergate, have undermined the faith of many Americans in the integrity of political and economic leaders and society as a whole. Such incidents take a tremendous toll on our nation's economy and our individual well-being. For example, but for the savings and loan debacle, there might be funds available to reduce the national debt and pay for education. In sum, we all have a common stake in our school, our community, and our society. Our actions do matter. It is essential that we act with integrity in order to build the kind of world in which we want to live. 1. A person of integrity not only sets high moral and ethical standards but also _______. A) sticks to them in their daily life B) makes them known to others C) understands their true values D)sees that others also follow them 2. What role does integrity play in personal and professional relationships? A) It helps to create team spirit B) It facilitates communication C) It is the basis of mutual trust D) It inspires mutual respect 3. why must we learn to identify the risks we are going to take? A. To ensure we make responsible choices. B. To avoid being overwhelmed by stress. C. so that we don’t break any rules. D. so that we don’t run into trouble. 4. Violation of a rule is misconduct even if _______? A. it has caused no harm. B. it is claimed to be unintentional. C. it has gone unnoticed. D. it is committed with good intentions. 5. What should one do if he doesn’t wish to fool himself? A. Avoid making excuses. B. Listen to other people’s advice. C. Make his intensions public. D. Have others watch over his shoulder. 6. Those who take risks they regret later on _______. A. will often become more cautious B. are usually very aggressive C. value immediate benefits most. D. may lose everything in the end 7. According to the author, a cheater who doesn’t get caught right away will _______. A) pay more dearly B) become more confident C) be widely admired D) feel somewhat lucky 8. Cheaters at exam don’t care about their education, all they care about is how to _______ 9. Integrity matters in that all social activities rely on people’s _______ 10. Many Americans lost faith in the integrity of their political leaders asa result of _______. Part III 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. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. 11. W: I just heard about a really beautiful park in the east end of the town. There are a lot of roses in bloom. M: Why don’t we walk over there and see for ourselves? Q: What will the speakers probably do? 12. M: My presentation is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning at the lecture hall.I hope to see you there. W: Oh, sorry. I was about to tell you that I have an appointment with my dentist at 9:00 o’clock tomorrow. Q: What do we learn about the woman? 13. W: How long have you been running this company? M: Twenty years if you can believe that. I brought it from a small operation to what it is today. Q: What do we learn about the man? 14. M: Have you read the news on the campus net? Susan has won the scholarship for next year. W: I knew she would from the very beginning. Such a brilliant and diligent girl! She certainly deserves it. Q: What does the woman mean? 15. W: Taking a bus to Miami, it’s cheaper than going by train. M: That’s true. But I’d rather pay a little more for the added comfort andconvenience. Q: What does the man mean? 16. M: I think it’s time we got rid of all this old furniture. W: You’re right. We need to promote our image besides it’s not a real antique. Q: What do the speakers mean? 17. M: That was some storm yesterday. How was I afraid I couldn’t make it home. W: Yeah, most of the roads to my house were flooded. I didn’t get home from the lab until midnight. Q: What do we learn from the conversation? 18. W: My boys are always complaining that they’re bored. M: Why don’t you get them into some team sports? My son and daughter play soccer every Saturday. And they both look forward to it all week. Q: What does the man mean? Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard. W: I don’t know what to do. I can’t seem to get anyone in the hospital to listen to my complaints and this outdated equipment is dangerous. Just look at it. M: Hmm, uh, are you trying to say that it presents a health hazard? W: Yes, I am. The head technician in the lab tried to persuade the hospital administration to replace it, but they are trying to cut costs. M: You are pregnant, aren’t you? W: Yes, I am. I made an effort to get my supervisor to transfer me to another department, but he urged me not to complain too loudly. Because the administration is more likely to replace me than an X-ray equipment, I’m afraid to refuse to work. But I’m more afraid to expose my unborn child to the radiation. M: I see what you mean. Well, as your union representative, I have to warn you that it would take quite a while to force management to replace the old machines and attempt to get you transferred may or may not be successful. W: Oh, what am I supposed to do then? M: Workers have the legal right to refuse certain unsafe work assignments under two federal laws, the Occupation or Safety and Health Act and the National Labor Relations Act. But the requirements of either of the Acts may be difficult to meet. W: Do you think I have a good case? M: If you do lose your job, the union will fight to get it back for you along with back pay, your lost income. But you have to be prepared for a long wait, maybe after two years. Q19. What does the woman complain about? Q20. What has the woman asked her supervisor to do? Q21. What does the man say about the two federal laws? Q22. What will the union do if the woman loses her job Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. W: Mr. Green, is it fair to say that negotiation is an art? M: Well, I think it’s both an art and science. You can prepare for a negotiation quite scientifically, but the execution of the negotiation has quite a lot to do with one’s artistic quality. The scientific part of a negotiation is in determining your strategy. What do you want out of it? What can you give? Then of course there are tactics. How do you go about it? Do you take an opening position in a negotiation which differs from the eventual goal you are heading for? And then of course there are the behavioral aspects. W: What do you mean by the behavioral aspects? M: Well, that’s I think where the art comes in. In your behavior, you can either be an actor. You can pretend that you don’t like things which you are actually quite pleased about. Or you can pretend to like things which you are quite happy to do without. Or you can be the honest type negotiator who’s known to his partners in negotiation and always plays everything straight. But the artistic part of negotiation I think has to do with responding immediately to cues one gets in the process of negotiation. These can be verbal cues or even body language. This is where the artistic quality comes in. W: So really, you see two types of negotiator then, the actor or the honest one. M: That’ right. And both can work. I would say the honest negotiator can be quite effective in some circumstances. In other circumstances you need an actor. Q23. When is a scientific approach best embodied in a negotiation according to the man? Q24. In what way is a negotiator like an actor according to the man? Q25. What does the man say about the two types of negotiator? 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). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center. Passage 1 Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard. Since I started working part-time at a grocery store, I have learned that a customer is more than someone who buys something. To me, a customer is a person whose memory fails entirely once he or she starts to push a shopping cart. One of the first things customers forget is how to count. There is no other way to explain how so many people get in their express line, which is clearly marked 15 items or less, with 20, 25 or even a cart load of items. Customers also forget why they came to the store in the first place. Just as I finish ringing up an order, a customer will say, “Oops, I forgot to pick up a fresh loaf of bread. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I go get it.” Five minutes later, he is back with the bread, a bottle of milk, and three rolls of paper towels. Strange as it seems, customers also seem to forget that they have to pay for their groceries. Instead of writing a check or looking for a credit card while I am ringing up the groceries, my customers will wait until I announce the total. Then, in surprise, she says, “Oh no, what did I do with mycheck book?” After 5 minutes of digging through her purse, she borrows my pen because she’s forgotten hers. But I have to be tolerant of customers because they pay my salary, and that’s something I can’t afford to forget. Q26. What does the speaker say about customers’ entering the grocery store? Q27. Which customers are supposed to be in the express line? Q28. What does the speaker say some customers do when they arrive at the check-out counter? Q29. What does the speaker say about his job at the end of the talk? Passage 2 Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard. The speech delivery style of Europeans and Asians tends to be very formal. Speakers of these cultures often read oral presentations from carefully written manuscripts. On the other hand, American speakers are generally more informal relative to speakers in other cultures. American audiences prefer natural, spontaneous delivery that conveys a lively sense of communication. They don’t relate well to speakers who read from a manuscript. If you use an outline of your ideas instead of a prepared text, your speech will not only sound more natural, but you will also be able to establish better relationship with your listeners and keep their attention. The language and style you use when making an oral presentation should not be the same as the language and style you use when writing. Well-written information, that is meant to be read, does not work as well when it is heard. It is, therefore, important for you to adapt written texts or outlines for presentations. Good speakers are much more informal when speaking than when writing. They also use their own words and develop their own speaking styles. Whenever possible, they use short words. Listeners appreciate it when speakers use simple, everyday words in a presentation. One advantage is that it’s much easier for speakers to pronounce short words correctly. Another is that long and sophisticated vocabulary choices make listening more difficult. Question 30 to 32 30. What does the speaker say American audiences prefer? 31. What should one pay attention to when making an oral presentation? 32. What does the speaker focus on in the talk? Passage 3 Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard. Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time. If corrected too much, he will stop talking. He compares a thousand times a day the difference between language as he uses it and language as those around him use it. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, kids learning to do all the other things they learn without adult teachers, to walk, run, climb, ride a bike, play games, compare their own performance with what more skilled people do, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to detect his mistakes. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him. Soon he becomes dependent on the expert.We should let him do it himself. Let him figure out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what is the answer to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or that. If right answers need to be given, as in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such tedious work? Our job should be to help children when they tell us that they can’t find a way to get the right answer. Question 33 to 35 33. How does a child learn to do something according to the speaker? 34. What belief do teachers commonly hold according to the speaker? 35. What does the speaker imply about the current way of teaching? 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 to43 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. (听力原文)Time is, for the average American, of utmost importance. To the foreign visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things accomplished on time (according to a predetermined schedule) than they are with developing deep interpersonal relations. Schedules, for the American, are meant to be planned and then followed in the smallest detail. It may seem to you that most Americans are completely controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off abruptly to make it to their next appointment on time. Americans’ language is filled with references to time, giving a clear indication of how much it is valued. Time is something to be “on,” to be “kept,” “filled,” “saved,” “wasted,” “gained,” “planned,” “given,” “made the most of,” even “killed.” The international visitor soon learns that it is considered very rude to be late -- even by 10 minutes -- for an appointment in America. Time is so valued in America, because by considering time to be important one can clearly achieve more than if one “wastes” time and doesn’t keep busy. This philosophy has proven its worth. It has enabled Americans to be extremely productive, and productivity itself is highly valued in America. Many American proverbs stress the value of guarding time, using it wisely, and setting and working toward specific goals. Americans believe in spending their time and energy today so that the fruits of their labor may be enjoyed at a later time. Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) Section A Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letterfor each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Questions 47 to 56 is based on the following passage. So many people use the cell phone so frequantly every day,But ___47__little is certain adout he health effects of its use.Macufacturers___48___that cell phones meet government standards for safe radio- frequency radiation omission,but enough studies are beginning to document a possible ___49___in rare brain tumour(肿瘤)：bendaches and behavioral disorders in children to cause coneem.So far,the avidence isn't___50___on whether the use of cell phones __51__to any uncased risk of cancer.In a new trial,researchers asked 47 yolunteers to ___52__in a project to measure glucose(葡萄糖)consurnption in the brain by scanning the brain to see how cells use energy.For both 50- minute scans,the volunteers had a cell phone __53__to each ear.During be first scan,the devices were turned off,but for the second scan,the phone on the right ear as___54____on and received a recorded- message call,although the yolume was muted(消毒) so the dise wouldn't bias the results.The results of the second scan abowed that the__55__of the brain rarest to the device had higher rales of glucose consumption than the rest of the brain.The study ows that cell phones can change brain activity,and __56__a whole new avenue for scientific quiry,tuough it doesn't say anything about whether cell-phone radiation can cause cancer. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

2012年英语四级阅读真题及答案解析（12月）Part II (15 minutes)1、根据以下内容，回答1-11题。

The Magician The revolution that Steve Jobs led is only just beginning． When it came to putting on a show,nobody else in the computer industry,or any other industry for that matter，could match Steve Jobs．His product launches，at which he would stand alone on a black stage and produce as if by magic an“incredible”new electronic gadget(小器具)in front of an amazed crowd，were the peril,rmances of a master showman．All computers do is fetch and work with numbers，he once exp lained，but do it fast enough and “the results appear to be magic”．Mr．Jobs，who died recently aged 56，spenthis life packaging that magic into elegantly designed，easy-to-use products． The reaction to his death，with people leaving candles and flowers outside Apple stores and politicians singing praises on the internet，is proof that Mr．Jobs had become something much more significant than just a clever money-maker．He stood out in three ways-as a technologist，as a corporate(公司的)leader and as somebody who was able to make people love what had previously been impersonal，functional gadgets．Strangely,it is this last qualitythat may have the deepest effect on the way people live．The era of personal technology is in many ways just beginning． As a technologist，Mr．Jobs was different because he was not an engineer-and that was his great strength．Instead he was keenly interested in product design and aesthetics(关学)，and in making advanced technology simple to use．He repeatedly took an existing but half-formed idea-the mouse-driven computer,the digital musicplayer,the smart phone，the tablet computer(平板电脑)-and showed the rest of the industry how to do it properly．Rival firms competed with each other to follow where he led. In the process he brought about great changes in computing，music，telecoms and the news businessthat were painful for existing firms but welcomed by millions of consumers．Within the wider business world，a man who liked to see himself as fl hippy(嬉皮士)，permanently in rev(It against big companies，ended up being hailed by many of those corporate giants as one of the greatest chief executives of his time．That was partly due to his talents：showmanship，strategic vision，an astonishing attention to detailand，a dictatorial management style which many bosses must have envied，But most of all it was the extraordinary trajectory(轨迹)of his life．His fall from grace in the 1980s followed by his return to Apple in l 996 after a period in the wilderness，is an inspiration to any business sperson whose career has taken a turn for the worse．The way in which Mr．Jobs revived the failing company he had co—founded and turned it into the world’s biggest tech firm (bigger even thanBill Gates’sMicrosoft，the company that had outsmarted Apple so-dramatically in the l980s)，sounds like something from a Hollywood movie． But what was perhaps most astonishing about Mr．Jobs was the absolute loyalty he managed to inspire in customers．Many Apple users feel themselves to be part of a community，with Mr．Jobs as its leader．And there was indeed a personal link．Apple’s products were designed to accord with the boss，s tastes and to meet his extremely high standards．Every iPhone or MacBook has his fingerprints all over it．H is great achievement was to combine an emotional spark with computer technology,and make the resulting product feel personal．And that is what put Mr．Jobs on the right side of history,as technological innovation(创新)has moved into consumer electronics over the past decade. As our special report in this issue(printed before Mr．Jobs’s death)explains，innovation used to spill over from military and corporate laboratories to the consumer market，but lately this process has gone into reverse．Many people’s homes now have more powerful，and more flexible，devices than their offices do；consumer gadgets and online services are smarter and easier to use than most companies’ systems．Familiar consumer products are being adopted by businesses，government and the armed forces．Companies are employing in．house versions of Facebook and creating their own“app stores”to deliver software to employees．Doctors use tablet computers for their work in hospitals．Meanwhile，the number of consumers hungry for such gadgets continues to swell．Apple’s products are now being snapped up in Delhi and Dalian just as in Dublin and Dallas． Mr．Jobs had a reputation as a control freak(怪人)，and hiscritics complained that the products and systems he designed were closed and inflexible，in the name of greater ease of use.Yet he also empowered millions of people by giving them access to cutting-edge technology. His insistence onputting users first，and focusing on elegance and simplicity，has become deep。

2012年12月英语四级真题及答案。

Doctoral degree1,550 1,272 1,038712 626 444 Master ’s degreeBachelor ’s degreeSome college, no degreeHigh school diplomaLess than high school degree 2012年12月大学英语四级(CET-4)真题试卷Part Ⅰ Writing (30 minutes)注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上，请在答题卡1上作答。

Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition entitled E ducation Pays basedon the statistics provided in the chart below (Weekly earnings of 2010). Please write atleast 120 words but no more than 180 words.Education: A Worthy InvestmentWeekly earnings in 2010($)Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEducation PaysPart Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Di rections: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions onAnswer sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B),C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Should Sugar Be Regulated like Alcohol and T obacco?Sugar poses enough health risks that it should be considered a controlled substance just like alcohol andtobacco, argue a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).In an opinion piece called “The T oxic (毒性的) Truth About Sugar ” published Feb.1 in Nature, Robert“There is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose (果糖) can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills —slowly.”Almost everyone’s heard of —or personally experienced —the well-known sugar high, so perhaps the comparison between sugar and alcohol o r tobacco shouldn’t come as a surprise. But it’s doubtful that Americans will look favorably upon regulating their favorite vice. We’re a nation that’s sweet on sugar: the average U.S. adult downs 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to the American Heart Association, and surveys have found that teens swallow 34 teaspoons.To counter our consumption, the authors advocate taxing sugary foods and controlling sales to kids under 17. Already, 17% of U.S. children and teens are obese (肥胖), and across the world the sugar intake(摄入) has increased three times in the past 50 years. The increase has helped create a global obesity plague that contributes to 35 million annual deaths worldwide from noninfectious diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Li nda Matzigkeit, a senior vice president at Children’s Healthcare, said “We have to do something about this or our country is in danger. It’s not good if your state has the second-highest obesity rate. Obese children turn into obese adults.”“There are good calories and bad calories, just as there aregood fats and bad fats, good amino acids (氨基酸) and bad amino acids,” Lustig, director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health program at UCSF, said in a statement. “But sugar is toxic beyond its calo ries.”The food industry tries to imply that “a calorie is a calorie is a calorie,” says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. “But this and other research suggests there is something different about su gar,” says Brownell.The UCSF report emphasizes the metabolic (新陈代谢) effects of sugar. Excess sugar can alter metabolism, raise blood pressure, affect the signaling of hormones and damage the liver —outcomes that sound suspiciously similar to what can happen after a person drinks too much alcohol. Schmidt, co-chair of UCSF’s Community Engagement and Health Policy program, noted on CNN: “When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. Alcohol, after all, is simply made from sugar. Where does vo dka come from? Sugar.”But there are also other areas of impact that researchers have investigated: the effect of sugar on the brain and how liquid calories are interpreted differently by the body than solids. Research has suggested that sugar activates the same reward pathways in the brain as traditional drugs of abuse like morphine or heroin. No one is claiming the effect of sugar is quite that strong, but, says Brownell, “it helps confirm what people tell you sometimes, that they hunger for sugar and have withdrawal symptoms when they stop eating it.”There’s also something particularly tricky about sugary drinks. “When calories come in liquids, the body doesn’t feel as full,”says Brownell. “People are getting more of their caloriesthan ever before from sugared drinks.”Other countries, including France, Greece and Denmark, impose soda taxes, and the concept is being considered in at least 20 U.S. cities and states. Last summer, Philadelphia came close to passing a 2-cents-per-ounce soda tax. The Rudd Center has been a strong advocate of a more modest 1-cent-per-punce tax. But at least one study, from 2010, has raised doubts that soda taxes would result in significant weight loss: apparently people who are determined to eat — and drink — unhealthily will find ways to do it. Teens — no surprise —are good at finding ways to get the things they can’t have, so state policies banning all sugar-sweetened drinks from public schools and providing only water, milk or 100% fruit juices haven’t had the intended effect of steering kids away from drinking sugared drinks: the average teen consumes about 300 calories per day —that’s nearly 15% of his daily calories —in sweetened drinks, and the food and drink industry is only too happy to feed this need.Ultimately, regulating sugar will prove particularly tricky because it goes beyond health concerns; sugar, forapple as an after-school treat today. We don’t do that regularly —it’s the first time this school year, actually —and that’s what made it special. As a society, could we ever reach the point where we’d think apples —not a cupcake —are something to get excited over? Says Brindis, one of the report’s authors and director of UCSF’s Philip R.Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies: “We recognize that there are cult ural and celebratory aspects of sugar. Changing these patterns is very complicated.”For inroads (进展) to be made, say the authors in their statement, people have to be better educated about the hazardsof sugar and agree that something’s got to change: Many of the interventions (干预) that have reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption can be models for addressing the sugar problem, such as imposing special sales taxes, controlling access, and tightening licensing requirements on vending machines(自动售货机) and snack-bars sell high sugar products in schools and workplaces.“We’re not talking prohibition,” Schmidt said. “We’re not advocating a major imposition of the government into people’s lives. We’re talking about gentle ways to make sugar consumption slightly less convenient, thereby moving people away from the concentrated does. What we want is to actually increase people’s choices by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get.”注意: 此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

2012年12月英语四级真题（完整版）Part I Writing【标准版】Nothing Succeeds Without a Strong WillNothing runs smoothly in our life. To achieve things successfully, a strong will is essential. Life is like a Marathon. Many people can’t get to the terminal. This is not becaus e they are lack of vitality but because their will of success is not strong enough.To take quitting smoking as an example, some regard it as a piece of cake. They make up their minds to quit it in the morning, but in the evening they feel that the smell of cigarettes is tempting. Their throats are sore, their mouths are thirsty, and their hands are shaking. After the painful mental struggle, they tell themselves that “One cigarette is enough. Just take one, and the next day I will quit it.” By doing this, they surrender to their weak will. In the end, they have quitted smoking “a hundred times”, but in no time they succeed.Just like quitting smoking, nothing succeeds without a strong will. To be successful in one’s life, a strong will means that you know where you go and you will persist on the road you choose. Undoubtedly success belongs to those who overcome their weak will and who hang in there until the last minute.【文章点评】本文属于话题类作文，只看题目“Nothing Succeeds without a strong will”考生会觉得比较抽象，难以下手。

2012年12月英语四级考试真题及答案(第2套)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay. You should start your essay with a brief account of the increasing use of the mobile phone in people's life and then explain the consequences of overusing it. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Should Sugar Be Regulated like Alcohol and Tobacco?Sugar poses enough health risks that it should be considered a controlled substance just like alcohol and tobacco, argue a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).In an opinion piece called "The Toxic (毒性的) Truth About Sugar" published Feb. 1 in Nature, Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis argue that it's wrong to consider sugar just "empty calories." They write: "There is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose (果糖) can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills-slowly."Almost everyone's heard of-or personally experienced-the well-known sugar high, so perhaps the comparison between sugar and alcohol or tobacco shouldn't come as a surprise. But it's doubtfulthat Americans will look favorably upon regulating their favorite vice. We're a nation that's sweet on sugar: the average US adult downs 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to the American Heart Association, and surveys have found that teens swallow 34 teaspoons.To counter our consumption, the authors advocate taxing sugary foods and controlling sales to kids under 17. Already, 17% of US children and teens are obese (肥胖的), and across the world the sugar intake (摄入) has increased three times in the past 50 years. The increase has helped create a global obesity plague that contributes to 35 million annual deaths worldwide from noninfectious diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Linda Matzigkeit, a senior vice president at Children's Healthcare, said "We have to do something about this or our country is in danger. It's not good if your state has the second-highest obesity rate. Obese children turn into obese adults. ""There are good calories and bad calories, just as there are good fats and bad fats, good amino acids (氨基酸) and bad amino acids," Lustig, director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health program at UCSF, said in a statement. "But sugar is toxic beyond its calories."The food industry tries to imply that "a calorie is a calorie," says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. "But this and other research suggests there is something different about sugar," says Brownell.The UCSF report emphasizes the metabolic (新陈代谢的) effects of sugar. Excess sugar can alter metabolism, raise blood pressure, affect the signaling of hormones and damage the liver-outcomes that sound suspiciously similar to what can happen after a person drinks too much alcohol. Schmidt, co-chair of UCSF's Community Engagement and Health Policy program, noted on CNN: "When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. Alcohol, after all, is simply made from sugar. Where does vodka come from? Sugar. "But there are also other areas of impact that researchers have investigated: the effect of sugar on the brain and how liquid calories are interpreted differently by the body than solids. Research has suggested that sugar activates the same reward pathways in the brain as traditional drugs of abuse like morphine or heroin. No one is claiming the effect of sugar is quite that strong, but, says Brownell, "it helps confirm what people tell you sometimes, that they hunger for sugar and have withdrawal symptoms when they stop eating it."There's also something particularly tricky about sugary drinks. "When calories come in liquids, the body doesn't feel as full," says Brownell. "People are getting more of their calories than ever before from sugared drinks."Other countries, including France, Greece and Denmark, impose soda taxes, and the concept is being considered in at least 20 US cities and states. Last summer, Philadelphia came close to passing a 2-cents-per-ounce soda tax. The Rudd Center has been a strong advocate of a more modest 1-cent-per-ounce tax. But at least one study, from 2010, has raised doubts that soda taxes would result in significant weight loss: apparently people who are determined to eat- anddrink-unhealthily will find ways to do it. Teens-no surprise-are good at finding ways to get the things they can't have, so state policies banning all sugar-sweetened drinks from public schools and providing only water, milk or 100% fruit juices haven't had the intended effect of steering kids away from drinking sugared drinks: the average teen consumes about 300 calories per day-that's nearly 15% of his daily calories-in sweetened drinks, and the food and drink industry is only too happy to feed this need.Ultimately, regulating sugar will prove particularly tricky because it goes beyond health concerns; sugar, for so many people, is love. A plate of cut-up vegetables just doesn't pack the same emotional punch as a tin of home-made chocolate chip cookies (饼干), which is why I took my daughter out for a cupcake and not an apple as an after-school treat today. We don't do that regularly-it's the first time this school year, actually-and that's what made it special. As a society, could we ever reach the point where we'd think apples-not a cupcake-are something to get excited over? Says Brindis, one of the report's authors and director of UCSF's Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies: "We recognize that there are cultural and celebratory aspects of sugar. Changing these patterns is very complicated."For inroads (进展) to be made, say the authors in their statement, people have to be better educated about the hazards of sugar and agree that something's got to change:Many of the interventions (干预) that have reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption can be models for addressing the sugar problem, such as imposing special sales taxes, controlling access, and tightening licensing requirements on vending machine (自动售货机) and snack-bars that sell high sugar products in schools and workplaces."We're not talking prohibition," Schmidt said. "We're not advocating a major imposition of the government into people's lives. We're talking about gentle ways to make sugar consumption slightly less convenient, thereby moving people away from the concentrated dose. What we want is to actually increase people's choices by making foods that aren't loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get."注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

2012年12月大学英语四级考试真题Part I Writing （30 minutes）Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Education Pays based on the statistics provided in the chart below（Unemployment rate in 2010）. Please give a brief description of the chart first and then make comments on it. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension （30 minutes）Section ADirections: 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. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.1. ［A］He needs another week for the painting.［B］The painting was completed just in time.［C］The building won’t open until next week.［D］His artistic work has been well received.2. ［A］Go camping.［B］Rent a tent.［C］Decorate his house.［D］Organize a party.3. ［A］She talked with Mr. Wright on the phone.［B］She is about to call Mr. Wright’s secretary.［C］She will see Mr. Wright at lunch time.［D］She failed to reach Mr. Wright.4. ［A］He is actually very hardworking.［B］He has difficulty finishing his project.［C］He needs to spend more time in the lab.［D］He seldom tells the truth about himself.5. ［A］Rules restricting smoking. ［C］Smokers’ health problems.［B］Ways to quit smoking. ［D］Hazards of passive smoking.6. ［A］He is out of town all morning. ［C］He has been writing a report.［B］He is tied up in family matters. ［D］He has got meetings to attend.7. ［A］He is not easy-going. ［C］He is not at home this weekend.［B］He is the speakers’ boss. ［D］He seldom invites people to his home.8. ［A］Take a break.［B］Refuel his car.［C］Ask the way.［D］Have a cup of coffee.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9. ［A］They are as good as historical films. ［C］They have greatly improved.［B］They give youngsters a thrill. ［D］They are better than comics on film. 10. ［A］The effects were very good. ［C］The plot was too complicated.［B］The acting was just so-so. ［D］The characters were lifelike.11. ［A］They triumphed ultimately over evil in the battle.［B］They played the same role in War of the Worlds.［C］They are popular figures among young people.［D］They are two leading characters in the film.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. ［A］It is scheduled on Thursday night. ［C］It takes place once a week.［B］It is supposed to last nine weeks. ［D］It usually starts at six.13. ［A］To make good use of her spare time in the evening.［B］To meet the requirements of her in-service training.［C］To improve her driving skills as quickly as possible.［D］To get some basic knowledge about car maintenance.14. ［A］Participate in group discussions. ［C］Listen to the teacher’s explanation.［B］Take turns to make presentations. ［D］Answer the teacher’s questions.15. ［A］Most of them are female. ［C］They plan to buy a new car.［B］Some have a part-time job. ［D］A few of them are old chaps.Section BDirections: 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). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. ［A］She is not good at making friends. ［C］She enjoys company.［B］She is not well off. ［D］She likes to go to concerts alone.17. ［A］Their similar social status. ［C］Their common interest.［B］Their interdependence. ［D］Their identical character.18. ［A］Invite Pat to a live concert. ［C］Help take care of Pat’s kids.［B］Buy some gifts for Pat’s kids. ［D］Pay for Pat’s season tickets.19. ［A］It can develop between people with a big difference in income.［B］It can be maintained among people of different age groups.［C］It cannot last long without similar family background.［D］It cannot be sustained when friends move far apart.Passage TwoQuestions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.20. ［A］Priority of students’ academic achievements.［B］Equal education opportunities to all children.［C］Social equality between teachers and students.［D］Respect for students’ individuality.21. ［A］Efficient.［B］Complicated.［C］Lengthy.［D］Democratic.22. ［A］To help them acquire hands-on experience.［B］To try to cut down its operational expenses.［C］To provide part-time jobs for needy students.［D］To enable them to learn to take responsibility.Passage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.23. ［A］The best way to work through a finger maze.［B］Individuals doing better in front of an audience.［C］Researchers having contributed greatly to psychology.［D］Improvements on the classification of human behavior.24. ［A］When you feel encouraged by the audience.［B］When you try to figure out a confusing game.［C］When you already know how to do something.［D］When you complete with other people in a group.25. ［A］Practicing constantly.［B］Working by oneself.［C］Learning by doing.［D］Using proven methods.Section CDirections: 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 secondtime, you are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.Americans today have different eating habits than they had in the past. There is a wide （26）__________ of food available. They have a broader knowledge of nutrition （营养）, so they buy more fresh fruit and vegetables than ever before. At the same time, Americans （27）__________ increasing quantities of sweets and sodas.Statistics show that the way people live （28）__________ the way they eat. American lifestyles have changed. There are now growing numbers of people who live alone, （29）__________ parents and children, and double-income families. These changing lifestyles are responsible for the increasing number of people who must rush meals or sometimes simply （30）__________ them. Many Americans have less time than ever before to spend preparing food. （31）__________ as a consequence of this limited time, over half of all American homes now have microwave ovens. Moreover, Americans eat out nearly four times a week （32）__________.It is easy to study the amounts and kinds of food that people （33）__________. The United States Department of Agriculture and the food industry collect sales statistics and （34）__________. This information not only tells us what people are eating, but also tells us about the changes in attitudes and tastes. Red meat, which used to be the most popular choice for dinner, is no longer an American （35）__________. Instead, chicken, turkey, and fish have become more popular. Sales of these foods have greatly increased in recent years.Part III Reading Comprehension （40minutes）Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.French fries, washed down with a pint of soda, are a favorite part of fast-food lunches and dinners for millions of American youngsters. But ___36___ a cue from health experts, a group of 19 restaurant companies are pledging to offer more-healthful menu options for children at a time when ___37___ is growing over the role of fast food in childhood obesity （肥胖症）.Burger King, the nation’s second-largest fast food chain, for instance, will ___38___ automatically including French fries and soda in its kids’ meals starting this month, although they will still be ___39___. Instead, the company said Tuesday, its employees will ask parents whether they ___40___ such options as milk or sliced apples before assembling the meals.”We’re asking the customers to ___41___ what they want,”said Craig Prusher, the chain’s vice president of government relations. Other participating chains, with a ___42___ of menu options, including Denny’s, Chili’s, Friendly’s and Chevy’s.As part of the Kids Live Well campaign—expected to be announced ___43___ Wednesday—participating restaurants must promise to offer at least one children’s meal that has fewer than 600 calories （卡路里）, no soft drinks and at least two ___44___ from the following food groups:fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins or low-fat dairy. Among other requirements, they must offer a side dish that meets similar ___45___, with fewer than 200 calories and less than 35% of its calories from sugar.［A］adapt ［D］concern ［G］nationwide ［J］recommending ［M］stop ［B］available ［E］criteria ［H］possible ［K］species ［N］taking［C］begin ［F］items ［I］prefer ［L］specify［O］varietySection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from 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 the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Seven Ways to Save the WorldA） Forget the old idea that conserving energy is a form of self-denial—riding bicycles, dimming the lights, and taking fewer showers. These days conservation is all about efficiency: getting the same—or better—results from just a fraction of the energy. When a slump in business travel forced Ulrich Ramer to cut costs at his family-owned hotel in Germany, he replaced hundreds of the hotel’s wasteful light bulbs, getting the same light for 80 percent less power. He bought a new water boiler with a digitally controlled pump, and wrapped insulation around the pipes. Spending about 100,000 on these and other improvements, he slashed his 90,000 fuel and power bill by 60,000. As a bonus, the hotel’s lower energy needs have reduced its annual carbon emissions by more than 200 metric tons. “For us, saving energy has been very, very profitable,”he says. “And most importantly, we’re not giving up a single comfort for our guests.”B） Efficiency is also a great way to lower carbon emissions and help slow global warming. But the best argument for efficiency is its cost—or, more precisely, its profitability. That’s because quickly growing energy demand requires immense investment in new supply, not to mention the drain of rising energy prices. The good news is that the world is full of proven, cheap ways to save energy. Here are the seven that could have the biggest impact:InsulateC）Space heating and cooling eats up 36 percent of all the world’s energy. There’s virtually no limit to how much of that can be saved, as prototype “zero-energy homes”in Switzerland and Germany have shown. There’s been a surge in new ways of keeping heat in and cold out （or vice versa）. The most advanced insulation follows the law of increasing returns: if you add enough, you can scale down or even eliminate heating and air-conditioning equipment, lowering costs even before you start saving on utility bills. Studies have shown that green workplaces （ones that don’t constantly need to have the heater or air-conditioner running）have higher worker productivity and lower sick rates.Change BulbsD）Lighting eats up 20 percent of the world’s electricity, or the equivalent of roughly 600,000 tons of coal a day. Forty percent of that powers old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs—a 19th-century technology that wastes most of the power it consumes on unwanted heat. Compactfluorescent lamps, or CFLs, not only use 75 to 80 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs to generate the same amount of light, but they also last 10 times longer. Phasing old bulbs out by 2030 would save the output of 650 power plants and avoid the release of 700 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year.Comfort ZoneE）Water boilers, space heaters and air conditioners have been notoriously inefficient. The heat pump has altered that equation. It removes heat from the air outside or the ground below and uses it to supply heat to a building or its water supply. In the summer, the system can be reversed to cool buildings as well. Most new residential buildings in Sweden are already heated with ground-source heat pumps. Such systems consume almost no conventional fuel at all. Several countries have used subsidies to jump-start the market, including Japan, where almost 1 million heat pumps have been installed in the past two years to heat water for showers and hot tubs. Remake FactoriesF）From steel mills to paper factories, industry eats up about a third of the world’s energy. The opportunities to save are vast. In Ludwigshafen, German chemicals giant BASF runs an interconnected complex of more than 200 chemical factories, where heat produced by one chemical process is used to power the next. At the Ludwigshafen site alone, such recycling of heat and energy saves the company 200 million a year and almost half its CO2 emissions. Now BASF is doing the same for new plants in China. “Optimizing（优化）energy efficiency is a decisive competitive advantage,”says BASF CEO Jürgen Hambrecht.Green DrivingG）A quarter of the world’s energy—including two thirds of the annual production of oil—is used for transportation. Some savings come free of charge: you can boost fuel efficiency by 6 percent simply by keeping your car’s tires properly inflated（充气）. Gasoline-electric hybrid（混合型的）models like the Toyota Prius improve mileage by a further 20 percent over conventional models.A Better FridgeH）More than half of all residential power goes into running household appliances, producing a fifth of the world’s carbon emissions. And that’s true even though manufacturers have already hiked the efficiency of refrigerators and other white goods by as much as 70 percent since the 1980s. According to an International Energy Agency study, if consumers chose those models that would save them the most money over the life of the appliance, they’d cut global residential power consumption （and their utility bills）by 43 percent.Flexible PaymentI）Who says you have to pay for all your conservation investments? “Energy service contractors”will pay for retrofitting（翻新改造）in return for a share of the client’s annual utility-bill savings. In Beijing, Shenwu Thermal Energy Technology Co. specializes in retrofitting China’s steel furnaces. Shenwu puts up the initial investment to install a heat exchanger that preheats the air going into the furnace, slashing the client’s fuel costs. Shenwu pockets a cut of those savings, so both Shenwu and the client profit.J）If saving energy is so easy and profitable, why isn’t everyone doing it? It has to do with psychology and a lack of information. Most of us tend to look at today’s price tag more than tomorrow’s potential savings. That holds double for the landlord or developer, who won’t actually see a penny of the savings his investment in better insulation or a better heating system might generate. In many people’s minds, conservation is still associated with self-denial. Manyenvironmentalists still push that view.K）The most powerful incentives, of course, will come from the market itself. Over the past year, sky-high fuel prices have focused minds on efficiency like never before. Ever-increasing pressure to cut costs has finally forced more companies to do some math on their energy use. Will it be enough? With global demand and emissions rising so fast, we may not have any choice but to try. Efficient technology is here now, proven and cheap. Compared with all other options, it’s the biggest, easiest and most profitable bang for the buck.46. According to the research, a green workplace which doesn’t need to be constantly heated or air-conditioned, contributes to workers’ productivity and health.47. 36% of all the energy in the world has been consumed by space heating and cooling.48. As an unexpected result, over 200 metric tons of carbon emissions have been reduced thanks to the lower energy demands of the hotel every year.49. Compared with conventional models, such gasoline-electric mixed models as Toyota Prius show an increase in mileage by 20%.50. Just in Ludwigshafen, the company saves 200 million and about 50% of CO2 emissions every year by reusing heat and energy.51. It is well-known that, air conditioners, water boilers and space heaters have had a reputation for inefficiency.52. Every day 20% of the world’s electricity is used by lighting, which amounts to what burning about 600,000 tons of coal could generate.53. At last, under growing pressure, more companies have to budget carefully to reduce their energy consumption.54. Using domestic appliances eats up over 50% of all household power, which produces 20% of the world’s carbon emissions.55. Shenwu wins a share of those savings from the client’s fuel costs, which benefits both Shenwu and the client.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A）, B）, C）and D）. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.As you are probably aware, the latest job markets news isn’t good: Unemployment is still more than 9 percent, and new job growth has fallen close to zero. That’s bad for the economy, of course. And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now. But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think.That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover （人员更替）data. After all, existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations, terminations（解雇）, and retirements. （Yes, people are retiring even in this economy.）In bothgood times and bad, turnover creates more openings than economic growth does. Even in June of 2007, when the economy was still moving ahead, job growth was only 132,000, while turnover was 4.7 million!And as it turns out, even today—with job growth near zero—over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to landa job. It’s true that if total employment were higher, it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from (and compete for). And it’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening, regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills; be creative about where and how to look; learn how to present themselves to potential employers; and keep going, even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. Four million people get hired every month in the U.S. You can be one of them.56. The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______.［A］deprives many people of job opportunities［B］prevents many people from changing careers［C］should not stop people from looking for a job［D］does not mean the U.S. economy is worsening57. Where do most job openings come from?［A］Job growth. ［C］Improved economy.［B］Job turnover. ［D］Business expansion.58. What does the author say about overall job growth?［A］It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.［B］It increases people’s confidence in the economy.［C］It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed.［D］It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed.59. What is the key to landing a job according to the author?［A］Education. ［C］Persistence.［B］Intelligence. ［D］Experience.60. What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the U.S.?［A］They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is.［B］They provide the public with the latest information.［C］They warn of the structural problems in the economy.［D］They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job.Passage TwoQuestions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors—or doesn’t it?While such vigilant（警觉的）tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it’s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.In many cases, screening can lead to surgeries to remove cancer, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients’ remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so deep-rooted that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a riotous reaction among doctors, patients and advocacy groups.It’s hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the remainder, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy （预期寿命）.A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening— especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population.It’s not an easy calculation to make, but one that makes sense for all patients. Dr. Otis Brawley said, “Many doctors are ordering screening tests purely to cover themselves. We need to think about the rational use of health care.”That means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.61. Why do doctors recommend routine cancer screening for elderly people?［A］It is believed to contribute to long life.［B］It is part of their health care package.［C］The elderly are more sensitive about their health.［D］The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth.62. How do some researchers now look at routine cancer screening for the elderly?［A］It adds too much to their medical bills.［C］It helps increase their life expectancy.［B］They are doubtful about its necessity.［D］They think it does more harm than good.63. What is the conventional view about women screening for breast cancer?［A］It applies to women over 50. ［C］It is optional for young women.［B］It is a must for adult women. ［D］It doesn’t apply to women over 74.64. Why do many doctors prescribe routine screening for cancer?［A］They want to protect themselves against medical disputes.［B］They want to take advantage of the medical care system.［C］They want data for medical research.［D］They want their patients to suffer less.65. What does the author say is the general view about health care?［A］The more, the better. ［C］Better early than late.［B］Prevention is better than cure. ［D］Better care, longer life.Part IV Translation （30 minutes）Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.通货膨胀（inflation）指的是某一经济体的商品和服务的总体价格在一段时期内持续上涨的状态。

2012年12月英语四级真题及答案解析完整版Part I Writing【标准版】Nothing Succeeds Without a Strong WillNothing runs smoothly in our life. To achieve things successfully, a strong will is essential. Life is like a Marathon. Many people can’t get to the terminal. This is not bec ause they are lack of vitality but because their will of success is not strong enough.To take quitting smoking as an example, some regard it as a piece of cake. They make up their minds to quit it in the morning, but in the evening they feel that the smell of cigarettes is tempting. Their throats are sore, their mouths are thirsty, and their hands are shaking. After the painful mental struggle, they tell themselves that “One cigarette is enough. Just take one, and the next day I will quit it.” By doing this, they surrender to their weak will. In the end, they have quitted smoking “a hundred times”, but in no time they succeed.Just like quitting smoking, nothing succeeds without a strong will. To be successful in one’s life, a strong will means that you know where you go and you will persist on the road you choose. Undoubtedly success belongs to those who overcome their weak will and who hang in there until the last minute.【文章点评】本文属于话题类作文，只看题目“Nothing Succeeds without a strong will”考生会觉得比较抽象，难以下手。

Part V ClozeStrong emotional bonds between mothers and infants increase children’s willingness to explore the world—an effect that has beenobserved 67 the animal kingdom, in people, monkeys and even spiders. The more secure we are in our 68 to Mom, the more likely we are to try new things and take risks. Now researchers are discovering that this effect continues into adulthood. A 69 reminder of Mom’s touch or the sound of her voice on the phone is70to change people’s minds and moods, 71 their decision making in measurable ways. In astudy 72 online in April in Psychological Science, undergraduate business students had to choose between safe bets and risky gambles—a bond with a guaranteed 4 percent yearly 73 or a riskier stock option, for example. In half the cases, the experimenters patted thestudents 74 on the back of the shoulder for about onesecond 75 providing verbal instructions about the study. Both male and female students who were touched by a female experimenter were 76 more likely to choose the risky alternative 77 were those who had not been touched or were patted by male experimenters. The reassuring（宽慰的）touch of a woman may have induced early associations, 78 the same openness to exploration that is observed in young children of 79 mothers, explains Jonathan Levav, a business professor at Columbia University and lead author of the study.To further 80 that a woman’s touch links feelings ofsecurity 81 risk taking, the researchers asked a 82 group of undergraduates to make financial decisions after a writing exercise. Half of them wrote about a time they felt secure and supported, whereasthe 83 half wrote about feeling insecure and alone. Evoking (唤起) a 84 of insecurity made students in the lattergroup 85 receptive to the gentle shoulder pats from female experimenters and much more willing to take a risk—just as a child leaving for a field trip might steal one last reassuring hug 86 Mom before stepping on the bus.67. A. by B. up C.above D. across68. A. concern B. attachment C.treatment D. appeal69. A. bare B. unique C.mere D. just70. A. enough B. ready C. easy D. quick71. A. generating B. regulating C.affecting D. refining72. A. exhibited B. published C. appeared D. advertised73. A. return B. expense C. cost D. prize74. A. seemingly B. strongly C. partly D. lightly75. A. if B. so C. while D. whereas76. A. rathe B. far C. further D. pretty77. A. than B. as C. whic D. that78. A. intending B. inferring C. inspiring D. instructing79. A. supportive B. lively C. strict D. respectful80. A. enable B. ensure C. consent D. confirm81. A. beyond B. with C. for D. along82. A. relative B. competitive C. different D. successive83. A. next B. other C. minor D. opposite84. A. hint B. clue C. chain D. sense85. A. especially B. specially C. securely D. entirely86. A. toward B. into C. of D. from67. D. across68. C. attachment69. C. mere70. A. enough71. C. affecting72. B. published73. A. return74. D. lightly75. C. while76. B. far77. A. than78. C. inspiring79. A. supportive80. D. confirm81. B. with82. C. different83. B. other84. D. sense85. A. especially86. D. from【总评】完形填空原文源自美国科普杂志《科学美国人》（Scientific American）。

2012年12月四级考试真题（第二套）作文及听力试题Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)Section ADirections: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. Then mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.11. [A] Find a shortcut to the park. [B] Buy some roses from the market.[C] Plant trees in the east end of town. [D] Go to the park to enjoy the flowers.12. [A] She has been invited to give a talk. [B] She is going to meet the man at 9:30.[C] She cannot attend the presentation. [D] She cannot work because of her toothache.13. [A] He is a very successful businessman. [B] He has changed his business strategy.[C] He is making plans to expand his operation. [D] He was twenty when he took over the company.14. [A] She has every confidence in Susan. [B] She has not read the news on the Net.[C] She is a little bit surprised at the news. [D] She is not as bright and diligent as Susan.15. [A] It is more comfortable and convenient to take a bus. [B] It is worth the money taking a train to Miami.[C] It is not always cheaper going by bus. [D] It is faster to go to Miami by train.16. [A] Antiques can improve their image. [B] Preservation of antiques is important.[C] The old furniture should be replaced. [D] They should move into a new office.17. [A] All roads were closed because of the flood. [B] The man stayed at the lab the whole night.[C] The man got home late due to the storm. [D] The storm continued until midnight.18. [A] Many children feel bored when left alone. [B] The woman’s sons might enjoy team sports.[C] The woman’s kids can play soccer with his son.[D] Children should play sports at least once a week. Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19. [A] Make phone calls to promote sales. [B] Arrange business negotiations.[C] Handle complaints from customers. [D] Take orders over the phone.20. [A] They had different business strategies. [B] Customers often mistook one for the other.[C] Conflicts between them could not be properly solved.[D] Customers’ questions could not be answered on the same day.21. [A] They each take a week. [B] They like to spend it together.[C] They have to take it by turns. [D] They are given two weeks each.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.22. [A] At a road crossing. [B] Outside a police station.[C] Near a school. [D] In front of a kindergarten.23. [A] He drove too fast to read it. [B] He did not notice it.[C] It says 45 miles an hour. [D] It is not clearly visible.24. [A] It should have been renewed two months ago. [B] It actually belongs to somebody else.[C] It is no longer valid. [D] It is not genuine.25. [A] He got a ticket. [B] He was fined $ 35.[C] He had his driver’s license canc eled [D] He had to do two weeks’ community service.Section BDirections: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]. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. [A] They care more about an item’s price than its use. [B] They grab whatever they think is a good bargain.[C] They become excited as if they had never been there. [D] They behave as if their memories have failed totally.27. [A] Those with a VIP card. [B] Those with 15 items or less.[C] Those needing assistance. [D] Those paying in cash.28. [A] Go back and pick up more items. [B] Take out some unwanted purchases.[C] Change the items they have picked up. [D] Calculate the total cost of the groceries.29. [A] It calls for carefulness. [B] It requires tolerance.[C] It needs a good knowledge of math. [D] It involves communication skills.Passage TwoQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30. [A] A package of ideas formally presented. [B] A short presentation clearly delivered.[C] A natural and spontaneous style of speech. [D] A clever use of visual aids in presentation.31. [A] The skillful use of gestures and facial expressions.[B] Differences in style between writing and speaking.[C] Different preferences of audiences. [D] The importance of preparation.32. [A] The differences between American and Asian cultures.[B] The significance of cross-cultural communication.[C] The increasing importance of public speaking. [D] The key to becoming a good speaker.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33. [A] By compari ng his performance with others’.[B] By being repeatedly corrected by adults.[C] By observing what their teachers do. [D] By being given constant praise.34. [A] The best students are usually smart by nature. [ B] It is only natural for children to make errors.[C] Children cannot detect their own mistakes. [D] All children should have equal opportunities.35. [A] It is favorable to knowledge accumulation. [B] It is beneficial to independent children.[C] It is unhealthy to stude nts’ upbringing.[D] It is unhelpful to students’ learning.Section CDirections: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 46you 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.Time is, for the average American, of utmost importance. To the (36) _______ visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things (37) _______ on time (according to a predetermined schedule) than they are with developing deep (38) _______ relations. Schedules, for the American, are meant to be planned and then followed in the smallest (39) _______.It may seem to you that most Americans are completely (40) _______ by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off (41) _______ to make it to their next appointment on time.Americans’ language i s filled with (42) _______ to time, giving a clear (43) _______ of how much it is valued. Time is something to be “on,” to be “kept,” “filled,” “saved,” “wasted,” ‘gained,” “planned,” “given,” “made the most of,” even ‘killed. “The international visitor soon learns that (44) ____________________________________________________________________________________.Time is so valued in America because by considering time to be important one can clearly achieve more than if one “wastes” time and doesn’t keep bus y. This philosophy has proven its worth. (45) ____________________________________________________________________________________. Many American proverbs (谚语) stress the value of guarding time, using it wisely and setting and working toward specific goals. (46) ____________________________________________________________________________________.Part III Listening ComprehensionSection A11. W: I just heard about a really beautiful park in theeast end of the town. There are a lot of rosesin bloom.M: Why don’t we walk over there and see for ourselves?Q: What will the speakers probably do? 11.【听前预测】选项描述的都是人的行为动作，由重复出现的to the park推测，本题可能考查去公园做某事。

2012年12月英语六级试题答案(完整版)Part ⅠWritingMy View on University RankingIn recent years, all kinds of University Ranking Lists can be found on some educational websites, or newspapers. The ranking standards also vary. These lists have great influence on students. They are even becoming the only scale to evaluate the colleges and universities.People hold different views toward this phenomenon. Some believe that these lists help the students a lot, especially for those who will choose their university. While some other protest vigorously. In their points, the list is really ridiculous and harmful. In my view, the university ranking may have its own reference values, but its disadvantages overweigh its values.For those university-students-to-be, they are supposed to choose the school according to his or her own situation, but not the so-called Ranking List. What’s more, how about the university students? How do they feel about themselves when they see the ranking? The list may become some intangible shackles for them if their own school ranks poorly.In a nutshell, there is no easy method to rank these universities, but the Ranking, only helps students ignore the essentials, namely, their ninety-nine percent perspiration.此次六级作文的自由度很大，看似给出了提纲，实际上具体的观点全靠个人发挥。

Doctoral degree 1,550 1,272 1,038 712 626 444 Master Master’’s degree Bachelor Bachelor’’s degree Some college, no degree High school diploma Less than high school degree 2012年12月大学英语四级(CET-4)真题试卷Part Ⅰ Writing (30 minutes) 注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上，请在答题卡1上作答。

上作答。

Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition entitled E ducation Pays based on the statistics provided in the chart below (Weekly earnings of 2010). Please write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. Education: A Worthy Investment Weekly earnings in 2010($) Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Education Pays Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Di rections: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), . For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Should Sugar Be Regulated like Alcohol and Tobacco? Sugar Sugar poses poses enough enough health health health risks risks risks that that that it it it should should should be be be considered considered considered a a a controlled controlled controlled substance substance substance just just just like like like alcohol alcohol alcohol and and tobacco, argue a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). In In an an an opinion opinion opinion piece piece piece called called called ““The T oxic (毒性的) ) Truth Truth Truth About About About Sugar Sugar Sugar”” published published Feb.1 Feb.1 Feb.1 in in in Nature, Nature, Nature, Robert Robert “There is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose (果糖) can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills — slowly.”Almost Almost everyone everyone everyone’’s s heard heard heard of of of —— or or personally personally personally experienced experienced experienced —— the the well-known well-known well-known sugar sugar sugar high, high, high, so so so perhaps perhaps perhaps the the comparison between sugar and alcohol or tobacco shouldn ’t come as a surprise. But it ’s doubtful that Americans will will look look look favorably favorably favorably upon upon upon regulating regulating regulating their their their favorite favorite favorite vice. vice. vice. W e W e’’re re a a a nation nation nation that that that’’s s sweet sweet sweet on on on sugar: sugar: sugar: the the the average average average U.S. U.S. adult downs 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to the American Heart Association, and surveys have found that teens swallow 34 teaspoons. To counter our consumption, the authors advocate taxing sugary foods and controlling sales to kids under 17. Already, Already, 17% 17% 17% of of of U.S. U.S. U.S. children children children and and and teens teens teens are are obese (肥胖), ), and and and across across across the the the world world world the the the sugar sugar intake (摄入) ) has has increased three times in the past 50 years. The increase has helped create a global obesity plague that contributes to 35 million annual deaths worldwide from noninfectious diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Linda Matzigkeit, a senior vice president at Children ’s Healthcare, said “We have to do something about this or our country is in danger. It ’s not good if your state has the second-highest obesity rate. Obese children turn into obese adults.”“There are good calories and bad calories, just as there are good fats and bad fats, good amino acids (氨基氨基酸) and bad amino acids,” Lustig, director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health program at UCSF, said in a statement. “But sugar is toxic beyond its calories.” The food industry tries to imply that “a calorie is a calorie is a calorie,” says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Rudd Center Center Center for for for Food Food Food Policy Policy Policy and and and Obesity Obesity Obesity at at at Y ale Y ale University. University. University. ““But But this this this and and and other other other research research research suggests suggests suggests there there there is is something different about sugar,” says Brownell. The UCSF report emphasizes the metabolic (新陈代谢新陈代谢) effects of sugar. Excess sugar can alter metabolism, raise blood pressure, affect the signaling of hormones and damage the liver — outcomes that sound suspiciously similar similar to to to what what what can can can happen happen happen after after after a a a person person person drinks drinks drinks too too too much much much alcohol. alcohol. alcohol. Schmidt, Schmidt, Schmidt, co-chair co-chair co-chair of of of UCSF UCSF UCSF’’s s Community Community Engagement and Health Policy program, noted on CNN: “When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. Alcohol, after all, is simply made from sugar. Where does vodka come from? Sugar.”But there are also other areas of impact that researchers have investigated: the effect of sugar on the brain and and how how how liquid liquid liquid calories calories calories are are are interpreted interpreted interpreted differently differently differently by by by the the the body body body than than than solids. solids. solids. Research Research Research has has has suggested suggested suggested that that that sugar sugar activates the same reward pathways in the brain as traditional drugs of abuse like morphine or heroin. No one is claiming claiming the the the effect effect effect of of of sugar sugar sugar is is is quite quite quite that that that strong, strong, strong, but, but, but, says says says Brownell, Brownell, Brownell, ““it it helps helps helps confirm confirm confirm what what what people people people tell tell tell you you sometimes, that they hunger for sugar and have withdrawal symptoms when they stop eating it.”There There’’s also something particularly tricky about sugary drinks. “When calories come in liquids, the body doesn doesn’’t t feel feel feel as as as full,full,full,”” says says Brownell. Brownell. Brownell. ““People People are are are getting getting getting more more more of of of their their their calories calories calories than than than ever ever ever before before before from from from sugared sugared drinks.drinks.””Other Other countries, countries, countries, including including including France, France, France, Greece Greece Greece and and and Denmark, Denmark, Denmark, impose impose impose soda soda soda taxes, taxes, taxes, and and and the the the concept concept concept is is is being being considered in at least 20 U.S. cities and states. Last summer, Philadelphia came close to passing a 2-cents-per-ounce soda tax. The Rudd Center has been a strong advocate of a more modest 1-cent-per-punce tax. But But at at at least least least one one one study, study, study, from from from 2010, 2010, 2010, has has has raised raised raised doubts doubts doubts that that that soda soda soda taxes taxes taxes would would would result result result in in in significant significant significant weight weight weight loss: loss: apparently apparently people people people who who who are determined are determined to to eat eat eat —— and drink — unhealthily will will find find find ways ways ways to to to do do do it. it. it. Teens Teens Teens —— no surprise — are good at finding ways to get the things they can can’’t have, so state policies banning all sugar-sweetened drinks from public schools and providing only water, milk or 100% fruit juices haven ’t had the intended effect of steering kids away from drinking sugared drinks: the average teen consumes about 300 calories per day — that ’s nearly 15% of his daily calories — in sweetened drinks, and the food and drink industry is only too happy to feed this need. Ultimately, regulating sugar will prove particularly tricky because it goes beyond health concerns; sugar, for so many people, is love. A plate of cut-up vegetables just doesn ’t pack the same emotional a cupcake and not an 4. The food industry tries to relieve the public worry about sugar intake by suggesting that  .5. According to Brownell, liquid sugar . 7. Regulating sugar will prove tricky because . its . snack-bars selling high sugar products be . 10. A gentle way to steer people away from sugar is to make inexpensive, low-sugar foods . American today have different eating habits than they had in the past. There is a wide (36) of food available. They have a broader (37) (38) than ever before. At the same time, Americans (39) Statistics show that the way people live (40) There are now growing numbers of people who live alone, (41) food. (44) . Moreover, Americans eat out nearly four times a week on It is easy to study the amounts and kinds of food that people consume. (45) . This information not only tells us what people eating, but also tells us about the changes in attitudes and tastes. (46) . . Instead, You may not use any ofcenter.words in the bank more than once.47 at all. Seven of the 18 women who are 48 49 This role change is 50 52 51 a majority of jobs in the U.S., including 51.4 percent of managerial and professional 53 is more dramatic among younger people. Women 30 and under make more money, on 55 ended up caring for their children full-time while their wives are the the U.S. who 56 A) appealing I) occupations B) average J) occurring C) conflict K) positions D) currently L) primary E) elementary M) recession F) ensure N) regularly G) female O) unusual H) fill Try Try to to to imagine imagine imagine what what what it it it is is is like like like to to to live live live without without without electricity. electricity. electricity. It It It is is boring, 67 one one thing thing — no no television, television, television, on on on MP3 MP3 MP3 player, player, player, no no video games. And you feel 68 and disconnected as well — no computer, computer, no no no Internet, Internet, Internet, no no no mobile mobile mobile phone. phone. phone. Y ou Y ou can can can read read read books, books, books, of of course — 69 at at night night night you you you won won won’’t t have have have light, light, light, other other other than than than the the flicker (闪烁) ) of of of firewood. firewood. firewood. And And And about about about that that that firewood firewood — you you or or someone in your family had to 70 it during the day, taking you away from more 71 work or schooling, 67. [A] about [B] with [C] as [D] for 68. [A] lonely [B] tedious [C] ignored [D] tough 69. [A] so [B] but [C] since [D] if 70. [A] transfer [B] select [C] assemble [D] gather 71. [A] relative [B] massive [C] productive [D] extensive 72. [A] to [B] of [C] amid [D] under 73. [A] seeking out [B] giving up [C] throwing off [D] carrying away 74. [A] harmful [B] aggressive [C] visible [D] allergic 75. [A] although [B] whereas [C] while [D] because 76. [A]strength [B] power [C] source [D] force 77. [A] desperately [B] oddly [C] marvelously [D] vastly 78. [A] engage [B] insist [C] ensure [D] induce 79. [A] continent [B] location [C] territory [D] planet 80. [A] solemn [B] severe [C] compound [D] comparable 81. [A] that [B] which [C] those [D] ones 82. [A] Unless [B] Though [C] Until [D] Before 83. [A] global [B] fashionable [C] grand [D] famous 84. [A]commanded [B] withdrawn [C] offered [D] received 85. [A] solution [B] target [C] obstacle [D] retreat 86. [A] interrupts [B] affects and in more parts of the world, exposing you 72 danger. That same firewood is used to cook dinner, 73 smoke that can turn the air inside your home far more 74 than that breathed in an industrial city. You may lack access to modern drugs 75 the nearest hospital does not have continuous 76 to keep the medicine refrigerated. You are 77 poor — and the lack of electricity helps to 78 that you’ll stay that way. That is life for the 1.3 billion people around that 79 who lack access to the grid (电网电网). It is a 80 problem of the developing world and the countryside — more than 95% of 81 Without electricity are either in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia, and 84% live in rural areas. 82 it hasn hasn’’t gotten the attention that 83 problems like HIV/AIDS and water shortage have 84 in recent years, lack of power remains a major 85 to any progress in the world’s development. “Lacking Lacking access access access to to to electricity electricity 86 health, health, well-being well-being well-being and and and income,income,income,”” says says Fatih Fatih Fatih Birol, Birol, Birol, the the the chief chief economist of the International Energy Agency. “It It’’s a problem the world has to pay attention to.”[C] halts [D] suspends 87. David turned away and walked quickly down the street, s intellect 89. I read the book last week, but now it is 90. Hardly had John finished his introductory remark 91. If the reaction were to take place, 2012年12月大学英语四级(CET-4)参考答案作文范文Education Pay What is shown in the chart above is that those people with high degree earn more than those with lower. For example, staff with master’s degree receive a better payment than those with bachelor’s degree, according to a survey of the payment to the employee. These survey indicates that education degree does have a relationship with earnings, contrary to the recent theory of useless education. Recently, there is a heated discussion about the significance of the education. Some people hold a view view that that that higher higher higher education education education is is is useless useless useless since since since college college college education education education cannot cannot cannot mesh mesh mesh with with with the the the social social social needs. needs. Some think that higher education is indispensable if you want to go far in both your studies and life. Now that survey has proved which part is wiser. As for me, I definitely support the view that education is necessary for people’s life. Reading can not only make me survive well in this society with fierce competition but also help me make sense of life. I pursue for it for my whole life. 1-5 DCAAD 6-7 BC 8.hazards 9. tightened 10. comparatively easier to get 11-15 BADAA 16-20 DBBCA 21-25 DCDCA 26-30 BCDAC 31-35 DDBCB 36. selection 37. knowledge 38. vegetables 39. purchase 40. determines 41. single 42. responsible 43. rush 44. Partly as a result of this limited time, over half of all American homes now have microwave ovens 45. The United States Department of Agriculture and the food industry collect sales statistics and keep accurate records 46. 46. Red Red Red meat, meat, meat, which which which used used used to to to be be be the the the most most most popular popular popular choice choice choice for for for dinner dinner dinner ,is ,is ,is no no no longer longer longer an an an American American favorite. 47. O 48. D 49. G 50. J 51. H 52. K 53. B 54. M 55. L 56. N 57-61 BCBDA 62-66 CABBC 67-71 DABDC 72-76 ACADB 77-81 ACDBC 82-86 BADCB 87. completely ignoring her presence 88. that separate him from other higher animals 89. nowhere to find 90. when he was interrupted by the audience 91. a tremendous amount of energy would be releasedPart III Listening ComprehensionBill says he’s not working so hard on his biology project.W: But he spends a lot of time in the lab, doesn’t he?Q: What does the woman imply about Bill? 15.M: I have to say i find the new smoking regulations too strict. W: Well, they are for everyone’s health. I have no complaints.Q: What are the speakers talking about? He’s tight up in meetings all morning.16.W: Jack asked me to drop off this report. M: I was hoping he brings it in himself, I need to talk with him about it. M: Well ,did you enjoy it? W: Yes, I enjoy it much more that I thought I would. M: Really? W: Yes, I don’t usually go to science fiction films.I don’t think they are much better than comics on film, if you know what I mean. M : Yes, sure.And a few years ago,they were certainly like that. But they’ve got a lot better now.at I really like. I never miss a good film set in middle ages. Oh, and W: Yes, and historical films, that’s whlove stories, I never miss one on TV. M: Fondly enough, I don’t like those kinds of films at all. But to come back to this one, I personally didn’t ly wasn’t as good as other science fiction films I’ve ever seen.think it was very good . It certainW: Wasn’t it?M: No, not at all. Oh, the effects were very good. W: Yes, I thought they were marvelous. Especially the battle in space, incredable. M: Yes, but I was going to say I thought the acting was terrible. W: Yes. I suppose Jason was too good to be true. And what was the name of the Baddy? M: Cargon? W: Yeah. Cargon was really evil, wasn’t he? But I suppose that’s what these films are all about—good triumphing over evil. And the characters have to be black and white. M: Well ,yes, but not always. Worth the well wasn’t like for example. Anyway, you enjoy the film. That’s the most important. W: Yes, I did. Thanks for taking me. Q: 19. What does the man say about the science fiction films? 20. What opinion did the speakers share about the film they just seen? 21. What to be learned about Jason and Cargon? Long Conversation 2 M: Can I ask you about your evening class? What class do you go to? W: Car maintance. M: What night of the week it on? 22. What does the woman say about her evening class? 23. Why did the wman want to attend to the class? 24.What do the people who attend the class do in the first part of the lesson? 25. What do we learn about participants in the class? Passageswishes and feelings ,she says, “ it’s very important to me to carry my own weight. I’m not comfortable in any ake. ”relationship where all I do is tThe difficult situation finally changed when Aaron moved recently. Pat’s children were with their father, so she took a picnik lunch to her friends new plays, then spend the day helping her unpack and get settled. “ I was so grateful, ” Aarons says, “ but I persuaded Pat to let me return the favour in my own way with season tickets to our little theater group. I think she’s beginning to recognize that she contributes as much to our friendship, but I do”26. What do we learn about Pat? 27. What draws Aaron and Pat together? 28. What does Aaron do to return Pat’s favor?29. What do we learn friendship from the passage? Passage 2 Sun School in the town of Ashbert in England is a day school for children age 10 to 18.It is based on the value of social equality between students and stuff, and has few rules.Sun School believes that the healthy growth of the child is more important than academic success. It offers a variety of lessons and activities for students to choose from. In free time for children to follow their own interests.Classes are small,and based on the individual needs of each child. The timetable is fixed.But democratically decided and students are expected to attend.The weekly school meeting is at the center of the way sun school is orgnized.It mix all the decisions that affect theschool,including rules, the timetable and accepting or rejecting new students and teachers.Participating in thease meetings gives children an understand of democratic decision making and helps them develops their skills of argument and persuasion.The most import advantage of the school meeting is that it shows the children that the school is really their’s.They have the right to decide on changes. And the school’s success or failure depends on their decisions and their behavior.Sun School employs no cooking or cleaning stuff,these jobs are done by students and teachers.Decorating and simple repairs are also done by students, it is believed that school truly belongs to who use it, they must take responsibility for its maintenance. 30. what value is Sun School based on? 31. what is characteristic of the school decision making processur program? 32. why does sun school ask the students to do the maintainance? Passage 3 Well, to continue, as i mentioned earlier, there is also research that demonstrates that individuals perform worse, not better on tasks when other people are there. R.W.Harburt did an interesting experiment. He had his 35. What does Roberts think as a better way to learn new things? habits than they had in the past. There is have a broader knowledge of nutrition, so they buy more fresh fruit before. At the same time, Americans purchase increasing quantities of sweets and sodas. show that the way people live determines growing numbers of people who live families. These changing life styles are responsible for the incresing number of people who must rush meals or  全国英语四级历年真题21 / 21 longer an American favorite. Instead, chicken, turkey, and fish have become more popular. Sales of these foods have greatly increased in recent years. 。

2012年12月英语四级真题及答案（完整版）2012年下半年英语四级考试作文真题及答案From the bar chart given above, we can observe that it reflects the statistics of income among people of different educational background. Those who possess a doctoral degree earn 1,551dollars median weekly, ranking first among people of other education level. The median weekly earnings of people with associate degree and below cannot reach the average of 797 dollars, ranking from 768 dollars to 451 dollars. As for the unemployment rate, 2.5 % of people with doctoral degree will suffer form unemployment. However, the unemployment rate of people with some college, no degree and lower degree surpass the mean value of 7.6%, ranking from 8.7% to 14.1%.The bar chart of Education Pays reveals a phenomenon that there exits some difference in incomes and unemployment rate among people with different educational level. Quite a few reasons can account for this phenomenon: for one thing, with the advancement of technology and the adjustment of industrial structure, quite a few high-tech industries emerge overnight, which leads to a soar demand of workforces with high educational degree, thus, it is natural that graduates with bachelor’ and higher degree get a high pay-packet and enjoy a stable job. Additionally, those with educational background under associate degree are easily dismissed and paid by low salary. They can be replaced any time due to the fact that their jobs are easy and can be finished by average people.Definitely, the higher education degree you get, the more likely you are to enjoy a competitive edge in the employment market. Thus, the authorities should enforce some policies to ensure the equity of education. Only in this way can more people lead a stable and comfortable life. 2012年英语四级答案：12月四级快速阅读答案第一套英语四级快速阅读答案1. A.soil erosion, landslides and floods。

Part II Reading comprehension (skimming and scanning)Universities Branch OutAs never before in their long history, universities have become instruments of national competition as well as instruments of peace. They are the place of the scientific discoveries that move economies forward, and the primary means of educating the talent required to obtain and maintain competitive advantage. But at the same time, the opening of national borders to the flow of goods, services, information and especially people has made universities a powerful force for global integration, mutual understanding and geopolitical stability.In response to the same forces that have driven the world economy, universities have become more self-consciously global: seeking students from around the world who represent the entire range of cultures and values, sending their own students abroad to prepare them for global careers,offering course of study that address the challenges of an interconnected world and collaborative (合作的)research programs to advance science for the benefit of all humanity.Of the forces shaping higher education none is more sweeping than the movement across borders. Over the past three decades the number of students leaving home each year to study abroad has grown at an annual rate of 3.9 percent, from 800,000 in 1975 to 2.5 million in 2004.Most travel from one developed nation to another, but the flow from developing to developed countries is growing rapidly. The reverse flow, from developed to developing countries, is on the rise, too. Today foreign students earn 30 percent of the doctoral degrees awarded in the United States and 38 percent of those in the United Kingdom. And the number crossing borders for undergraduate study is growing as well, to 8 percent of the undergraduates at America‘s best institutions and 10 percent of all undergraduates in the U.K.In the United States,20 percent of the newly hired professors in science and engineering are foreign-born, and in China many newly hired faculty members at the top research universities received their graduate education abroad.Universities are also encouraging students to spend some of their undergraduate years in another country. In Europe, more than 140,000 students participate in the Erasmus program each year, taking courses for credit in one of 2,200 participating institutions across the continent. And in the United States, institutions are helping place students in the summer internships (实习)abroad to prepare them for global careers. Yale and Harvard have led the way, offering every undergraduate at least oneinternational study or internship opportunity—and providing the financial resources to make it possible.Globalization is also reshaping the way research is done. One new trend involves sourcing portions of a research program to another country. Yale professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Tian Xu directs a research center focused on the genetics of human disease at Shanghai‘s Fudan University, in collaboration with faculty colleagues from both schools. The Shanghai center has 95 employees and graduate students working in a 4,300-square-meter laboratory seminars with scientists from both campuses. The arrangement benefits both countries; Xu’s Yale lab is more productive, thanks to t he lower costs of conducting research in China, and Chinese graduate students, postdoctors and faculty get on-the-job training from a world -class scientist and his U.S. team.As a result of its strength in science, the United States has consistently led the world in the commercialization of major new technologies, from the mainframe computer and the integrated circuit of the 1960s to the Internet infrastructure (基础设施)and applications software of the 1990s.the link between university-based science and industrial application is often indirect but sometimes highly visible: Silicon Valley was intentionally created by Stanford University, and Route 128 outside Boston has long housed companies spun off from MIT and Harvard. Around the world, governments have encouraged copying of this model, perhaps most successfully in Cambridge, England, where Microsoft and scores of other leading software and biotechnology companies have set up shop around the university.For all its success, the United States remains deeply hesitant about sustaining the research -university model. Most politicians recognize the link between investment in science and national economic strength, but support for research funding has been unsteady. The budget of the National Institutes of Health doubled between 1998 and 2003,but has risen more slowly than inflation since then. Support for the physical sciences and engineering barely kept pace with inflation during that same period. The attempt to make up lost ground is welcome, but the nation would be better served by steady, predictable increases in science funding at the rate of long-term GDP growth, which is on the order of inflation plus 3 percent per year.American politicians have great difficult recognizing that admitting more foreign students can greatly promote the national interest by increasing international understanding. Adjusted for inflation, public funding for international exchanges and foreign-language study is well below the levels of 40 years ago, in the wake ofSeptember 11,changes in the visa process caused a dramatic decline in the number of foreign students seeking admission to U.S. universities, and a corresponding surge in enrollments in Australia, Singapore and the U.K. Objections from American university and the business leaders led to improvements in the process and reversal of the decline, but the United States is still seen by many as unwelcoming to international students.Most Americans recognize that universities contribute to the nation‘s well-being through their scientific research, but many fear that foreign students threaten American competitiveness by taking their knowledge and skills back home. They fail to grasp that welcoming foreign students to the United States has two important positive effects: first, the very best of them stay in the States and—like immigrants throughout history—strengthen the nation; and second, foreign students who study in the United States become ambassadors for many of its most cherished (珍视)values when they return home. Or at least they understand them better. In America as elsewhere, few instruments of foreign policy are as effective in promoting peace and stability as welcoming international university students.1. From the first paragraph we know that present-day universities have become ________.A)more popularized than ever beforeB)in-service training organizationsC)a powerful force for global integrationD)more and more research-oriented2. Over the past decades, the enrollment of overseas students has increased ________.A)at an annual rate of 8 percentB)at an annual rate of 3.9 percentC)by 800,000D)by 2.5 million3. In the United States, how many of the newly hired professors in science and engineering are foreign-born?A)38% B)10% C)30% D)20%4. How do Yale and Harvard prepare their undergraduates for global careers?A)They give them chances for international study or internship.B)They arrange for them to participate in the Erasmus program.C)They offer them various courses in international politics.D)They organize a series of seminars on world economy.5. An example illustrating the general trend of universities ‘globalization is ________.A)Yale‘s establishing branch campuses throughout the worldB)Yale‘s student exchange program with E uropean institutionsC)Yale‘s helping Chinese universities to launch research projectsD)Yale‘s collaboration with Fudan University on genetic research.6. What do we learn about Silicon Valley from the passage?A)It is known to be the birthplace of Microsoft Company.B)It was intentionally created by Stanford University.C)It is where the Internet infrastructure was built up.D)It houses many companies spun off from MIT and Harvard.7. What is said about the U.S. federal funding for research?A)It has increased by 3 percent.B)It doubled between 1998 and 2003.C)It has been unsteady for years.D)It has been more than sufficient.8. The dramatic decline in the enrollment of foreign students in the U.S. after September 11 was caused by ________.9. Many Americans fear that American competitiveness may be threatened by foreign students who will ________.10. The policy of welcoming foreign students can benefit the U.S. in that the very best of them will stay and ________.PartⅢ Reading Comprehension （Skimming and Scanning）（15 minutes）Section A11.A) He has proved to be a better reader than the woman.B) He has difficulty understanding the book.C) He cannot get access to the assigned book.D) He cannot finish his assignment before the deadline.12.A) She will drive the man to the supermarket.B) The man should buy a car of his own.C) The man needn't go shopping every week.D) She can pick the man up at the grocery store.13.A) Get more food and drinks.B) Ask his friend to come over.C) Tidy up the place.D) Hold a party.14.A) The talks can be held any day except this Friday.B) He could change his schedule to meet John Smith.C) The first-round talks should start as soon as possible.D) The woman should contact John Smith first.15.A) He understands the woman's feelings.B) He has gone through a similar experience.C) The woman should have gone on the field trip.D) The teacher is just following the regulations.16.A) She will meet the man halfway.B) She will ask David to talk less.C) She is sorry the man will not come.D) She has to invite David to the party.17.A) Few students understand Prof. Johnson's lectures.B) Few students meet Prof. Jonson's requirements.C) Many students find Prof. Johnson's lectures boring.D) Many students have dropped Prof. Johnson's class.18.A) Check their computer files.B) Make some computations.C) Study a computer program.D) Assemble a computer.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19.A) It allows him to make a lot of friends.B) It requires him to work long hours.C) It enables him to apply theory to practice.D) It helps him understand people better.20.A) It is intellectually challenging.B) It requires him to do washing-up all the time.C) It exposes him to oily smoke all day long.D) It demands physical endurance and patience.21.A) In a hospital.B) At a coffee shop.C) At a laundry.D) In a hotel.22.A) Getting along well with colleagues.B) Paying attention to every detail.C) Planning everything in advance.D) Knowing the needs of customers.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23.A) The pocket money British children get.B) The annual inflation rate in Britain.C) The things British children spend money on.D) The rising cost of raising a child in Britain.24.A) It enables children to live better.B) It goes down during economic recession.C) It often rises higher than inflation.D) It has gone up 25% in the past decade.25.A) Save up for their future education.B) Pay for small personal things.C) Buy their own shoes and socks.D) Make donations when necessary. 来源:考试大-英语四级考试Section BPassage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the conversation you have just heard.26.A) District managers.B) Regular customers.C) Sales directors.D) Senior clerks.27.A) The support provided by the regular clients.B) The initiative shown by the sales representatives.C) The urgency of implementing the company's plans.D) The important part played by district managers.28.A) Some of them were political-minded.B) Fifty percent of them were female.C) One third of them were senior managers.D) Most of them were rather conservative.29.A) He used too many quotations.B) He was not gender sensitive.C) He did not keep to the point.D) He spent too much time on details.Passage TwoQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30.A) State your problem to the head waiter.B) Demand a discount on the dishes ordered.C) Ask to see the manager politely but firmly.D) Ask the name of the person waiting on you.31.A) You problem may not be understood correctly.B) You don't know if you are complaining at the right time.C) Your complaint may not reach the person in charge.D) You can't tell how the person on the line is reacting.32.A) Demand a prompt response.B) Provide all the details.C) Send it by express mail.D) Stick to the point.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33.A) Fashion designerB) Architect.C) City planner.D) Engineer.34.A) Do some volunteer work.B) Get a well-paid part-time job.C) Work flexible hours.D) Go back to her previous post.35.A) Few baby-sitters can be considered trustworthy.B) It will add to the family's financial burden.C) A baby-sitter is no replacement for a mother.D) The children won't get along with a baby-sitter.Section CAlmost every child, on the first day he sets foot in a school building, is smarter, more (36)______, less afraid of what he doesn't know, better at finding and (37) ______ things out, more confident, resourceful (机敏的), persistent and (38) ______ than he will ever be again in his schooling – or, unless he is very (39) ______ and very lucky, for the rest of his life. Already, by paying close attention to and (40) ______ with the world and people around him, and without any school-type (41)______ instruction, he has done a task far more difficult, complicated and (42)______ than anything he will be asked to do in school, or than any of his teachers has done for years. He has solved the (43) ______ of language. He has discovered it – babies don't even know that language exists –and (44) ________________________________________________. He has done it by exploring, by experimenting, by developing his own model of the grammar of language, (45) ________________________________________________ until it does work. And while he has been doing this, he has been learning other things as well, (46) ________________________________________________, and many that are more complicated than the ones they do try to teach him.Part ⅣReading Comprehension（Reading in Depth）（25 minutes）Section AQuestions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.If our society ever needed a reading renaissance（复兴）, it's now. The National Endowment for the Arts released “Reading at Risk” last year, a study showing that adult reading47 have dropped 10 percentage points in the past decade, with the steepest drop among those 18 to 24. “Only one half of young people read a book of any kind in 2002. We set the bar almost on the ground. If you read one short story in a teen—ager magazine, that would have 48 ,” laments a director of research and analysis. He49 the loss of readers to the booming world of technology, which attracts would—be leisure readers to E—mail, IM chats, and video games and leaves them with no time to cope with a novel.“These new forms of media undoubtedly have some benefits,” says Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You.Video games50 problem—solving skills; TV shows promote mental gymnastics by 51 viewers to follow complex story lines. But books offer experience that can't be gained from these other sources, from52 vocabulary to stretching the imagination. “If they're not reading at all,” says Johnson, “that's a huge problem.”In fact, fewer kids are reading for pleasure. According to data53 last week from the National Center for Educational Statistic's long—term trend assessment, the number of 17—year—olds who reported never or hardly ever reading for fun54 from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004. At the same time, the55 of 17—year—olds who read daily dropped from 31 to 22.This slow but steady retreat from books has not yet taken a toll on reading ability. Scores for the nation's youth have56 constant over the past two decades with an encouraging upswing among 9—year—olds. But given the strong apparent correlation between pleasure reading and reading skills, this means poorly for the future.A. percentB. remainedC. roseD. ratesE. percentageF. countedG. relievedH. presentI. BelievingJ. releasedK. forcing L. improve M. Styles N. building O. attributesSection BPassage OneQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.There is a new type of small advertisement becoming increasingly common in newspaper classified columns. It is sometimes placed among “situations vacant”, alth ough it does not offer anyone a job, and sometimes it appears among “situations wanted”, although it is not placed by someone looking for a job, either. What it does is to offer help in applying for a job.“Contact us before writing your application”, or “Make use of our long experience in preparing your curriculum vitae or job history”, is how it is usually expressed. The growth and apparent success of such a specialized service is, of course, a reflection on the current high levels of unemployment. It is also an indication of the growing importance of the curriculum vitae （or job history）, with the suggestion that it may now qualify as an art form in its own right.There was a time when job seekers simply wrote letters of application. “Just put down your n ame, address, age and whether you have passed any exams”, was about the average level of advice offered to young people applying for their first jobs when I left school. The letter was really just for openers, it was explained, everything else could and should be saved for the interview. And in those days of full employment the technique worked. The letter proved that you could write and were available for work. Your eager face and intelligent replies did the rest.Later, as you moved up the ladder, something slightly more sophisticated was called for. The advice then was to put something in the letter which would distinguish you from the rest. It might be the aggressive approach. “Your search is over. I am the person you are looking for”, was a widely used trick that occasionally succeeded. Or it might be some special feature specially designed for the job interview.There is no doubt, however, that it is increasing number of applicants with university education at all points in the process of engaging staff that has led to the greater importance of the curriculum vitae.57. The new type of advertisement which is appearing in newspaper columns.A）informs job hunters of the opportunities availableB）promises to offer useful advice to those looking for employmentC）divides available jobs into various typesD）informs employers of the people available for work58. Nowadays a demand for this specialized type of service has been created because. A）there is a lack of jobs available for artistic peopleB）there are so many top level jobs availableC）there are so many people out of workD）the job history is considered to be a work of art59. In the past it was expected that first job hunters would.A）write an initial letter giving their life historyB）pass some exams before applying for a jobC）have no qualifications other than being able to read and writeD）keep any detailed information until they obtained an interview60. Later, as one went on to apply for more important jobs, one was advised to include in the letter.A）something that would distinguish one from other applicantsB）hinted information about the personality of the applicantC）one's advantages over others in applying for the jobD）an occasional trick with the aggressive approach61. The curriculum vitae has become such an important document because.A）there has been an increase in the number of jobs advertisedB）there has been an increase in the number of applicants with degreesC）jobs are becoming much more complicated nowadaysD）the other processes of applying for jobs are more complicatedPassage TwoQuestions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord can charge for an apartment. Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments. Their rent cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes. However, the critics say that after a long time,rent control may have negative effects. Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits. Therefore, they invest in other businesses where they can increase their profits. They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent—controlled. As a result, new apartments are not built. Many people who need apartments cannot find any. According to the critics, the end result of rent control is a shortage of apartments in the city.Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way. The federal government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers. The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled, low—paying jobs. However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers. They will replace workers with machinery. The price, which is the wage that employers must pay, increases. Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that employers want decreases. Thus, critics claim, an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment. Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage.Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity. Because of the law, workers cannot sell their services for less than the minimum. Furthermore, employers cannot force workers to accept jobs at unfair wages. Economic theory predicts the results of economic decisions such as decisions about farm production, rent control, and the minimum wage. The predictions may be correct only if “other things are equal”. Economists do not agree on some of the predictio ns. They also do not agree on the value of different decisions. Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it. Economists do agree, however, that there are no simple answers to economic questions.62. There is the possibility that setting maximum rent may.A）cause a shortage of apartmentsB）worry those who rent apartments as homesC）increase the profits of landlordsD）encourage landlords to invest in building apartment63. According to the critics, rent control.A）will always benefit those who rent apartmentsB）is unnecessaryC）will bring negative effects in the long runD）is necessary under all circumstances64. The problem of unemployment will arise.A）if the minimum wage is set too highB）if the minimum wage is set too lowC）if the workers are unskilledD）if the maximum wage is set65. The passage tells us.A）the relationship between supply and demandB）the possible results of government controlsC）the necessity of government controlD）the urgency of getting rid of government controls66. Which of the following statements is NOT true?A）The results of economic decisions can not always be predicted.B）Minimum wage can not always protect employees.C）Economic theory can predict the results of economic decisions if other factors are not changing.D）Economic decisions should not be based on economic theory.Part ⅤCloze （15 minutes）Rumor is the most ___67___way of spreading stories—by passing them on from mouth___68___mouth. But civilized countries in normal times have better ___69___ of news than rumor. They have radio, television, and newspapers. In times of stress and___70___, ___71___, rumor ___72__ and becomes widespread. At such ___73___ the different kinds of news are in___74___,the press, television, and radio versus the grapevine.Especially ___75___ rumors spread when war requires censorship(审查，检查) on many important matters. The customary news sources no longer ___76___ enough information. Since the people cannot learn ___77___ legitimate(合法的，正规的) channel s all ___78___ they are anxious to learn, they pick up “news”___79___they can and when this ___80___, rumor thrives.Rumors are often repeated ___81___ by those who do not believe the tales. There is a fascination about them. The reason is ___82___the cleverly designed rumor gives expression to something deep in the hearts of the victims—the fears, suspicions, forbidden hopes, or daydreams which they hesitate to___83___directly. Pessimistic(悲观的) rumors about defeat and disasters show that the people who repeat them are___84___and anxious. ___85___rumors about record production orpeace soon coming point to complacency(满足，自得) or confidence—and often to ___86___.67. A) primitive B) important C) impossible D) outstanding68. A) till B) to C) for D) by69. A) means B) ways C) sources D) resource70. A) confusion B) peace C) prosperity D) worried71. A) and B) however C) so D) therefore72. A) emerges B) immerge C) immerse D) immense73. A) time B) the times C) times D) the time74. A) compete B) competition C) common D)harmony75. A) do B) did C) are D) were76. A) give up B) give off C) give out D) send off77. A) through B) by C) in D) across78. A) what B) why C) which D) that79. A) wherever B) where C) whatever D) what80. A) happened B) would happen C) happens D) happen81. A) ever B) even C) forever D) much82. A) that B) what C) why D) how83. A) act B) voice C) behave D) do84. A) happy B) relieved C) crazy D) worried85. A) Bad B) Pessimistic C) Optimistic D) Good86. A) overconfidence B) overweight C) overconsiderate D) overproducePart ⅥTranslation （5 minutes）Direction:Complete the sentences on Answer Sheet 2 by translating into English the Chinese given in brackets.87.There are so many kinds of tape-recorders on sale that __________________________ (我都拿不定主意买哪一种).88. The light in the office is still on._________________________ (他忘记关了).89. His composition was so confusing that _____________________________ (我简直看不懂).90.As the saying goes, reading without reflecting is like __________________________ (吃饭不消化).91._______________________ (他的回答是这样) that he didn’t say yes and he didn’t say no.。

201212Part Writing(30minutes)11上作答。

Direction:For this part,you are allowed30minutes to write a composition entitled E ducation Pays based on the statistics provided in the chart below(Weekly earnings of2010).Please write at least120words but no more than180words.Education:A Worthy InvestmentWeekly earnings in2010($)Doctoral degree 1,550Master’s degree 1,272Bachelor’s degree 1,038 Some college, no degree 712High school diploma 626Less than high school degree 444Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEducation PaysPartIn this part,you will have15minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer thequestions on Answer sheet1.For questions1-7,choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C)and D).For questions8-10,complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.The MagicianThe revolution that Steve Jobs led is onlyjust beginningWhen it came to putting on a show,nobody else in the computer industry,or any other industry for that matter,could match Steve Jobs.His product launches,at which he would stand alone on a black stage and produce as if by magic an “incredible” new electronic gadget (小器具) in front of an amazed crowd,were the performances of a master showman.All computers do is fetch and work with numbers,he once explained,but do it fast enough and “the results appear tobe magic” . Mr Jobs, who died recently aged 56, spent his life packaging that magic into elegantly designed, easy-to-use products.The reaction to his death,with people leaving candles and flowers outside Apple stores and politicians singing praises on the internet,is proof that Mr Jobs had become something much more significant than just a clever money-maker.He stood out in three ways-as a technologist,as a corporate ( 公司的) leader and as somebody who was able to make people love what had previously been impersonal,functional gadgets.Strangely,it is this last quality that may have the deepest effect on the way people live. The era of personal technology is in many ways just beginning.As a technologist,Mr Jobs was different because he was not an engineer-and that was his great strength.Instead he was keenly interested in product design and aesthetics(美学),and in making advanced technology simple to use. He repeatedly took an existing but half-formed idea-the mouse-driven computer,the digital music player,the smartphone,the tablet computer(平板电脑) —and showed the rest of the industry how to do it properly. Rival firms competed with each other to follow where he led.In the process he brought about great changes in computing, music,telecoms and the news business that were painful for existing firms but welcomed by millions of consumers.Within the wider business world,a man who liked to see himself as a hippy(嬉皮士), permanently in revolt against big companies,ended up being hailed by many of those corporate giants as one of the greatest chief executives of his time.That was partly due to his talents: showmanship,strategic vision,an astonishing attention to detail and a dictatorial management style which many bosses must have envied.But most of all it was the extraordinary trajectory(轨迹)of his life.His fall from grace in the 1980s,followed by his return to Apple in 1996after a period in the wilderness,is an inspiration to any businessperson whose career has taken a turn for the worse. The way in which Mr Jobs revived the failing company he had co-founded and turned it into the world’s biggest tech firm (bigger even than Bill Gates’s Microsoft,the company that had outsmarted Apple so dramatically in the 1980s), sounds like something from a Hollywood movie.But what was perhaps most astonishing about Mr Jobs was the absolute loyalty he managed to inspire in customers.Many Apple users feel themselves to be part of a community,with Mr Jobs as its leader.And there was indeed a personal link.Apple’s products were designed to accord with the boss’s tastes and to meet his extremely high standards.Every iPhone or MacBook has his fingerprints all over it.His great achievement was to combine an emotional spark with computer technology,and make the resulting product feel personal.And that is what put Mr Jobs on the right side of history,as technological innovation(创新)has moved into consumer electronics over the past decade.As our special report in this issue (printed before Mr Jobs’s death)explains,innovation used to spill over from military and corporate laboratories to the consumer market, but lately this process has gone into reverse.Many people’s homes now have more powerful,and more flexible, devices than their offices do;consumer gadgets and online services are smarter and easier to use than most companies’ systems. Familiar consumer products are being adopted by businesses, government and the armed panies are employing in-house versions of Facebook and creating their own “app stores”to deliver software to employees.Doctors use tablet computers for their work in hospitals.Meanwhile,the number of consumers hungry for such gadgets continues to swell.Apple’s products are now being snapped up in Delhi and Dalian just as in Dublin andDallas.Mr Jobs had a reputation as a control freak(怪人),and his critics complained that the products and systems he designed were closed and inflexible,in the name of greater ease of use. Yet he also empowered millions of people by giving them access to cutting-edge technology.His insistence on putting users first,and focusing on elegance and simplicity,has become deep-rooted in his own company,and is spreading to rival firms too. It is no longer just at Apple that designers ask: “What would Steve Jobs do?”The gap between Apple and other tech firms is now likely to narrow. This week’s announcement of a new iPhone by a management team led by Tim Cook,who replaced Mr Jobs as chief executive in August,was generally regarded as competent but uninspiring.Without Mr Jobs to shower his star dust on the event,it felt like just another product launch from just another technology firm.At the recent unveiling of a tablet computer by Jeff Bezos of Amazon,whose company is doing the best job of following Apple’s lead in combining hardware,software,content and services in an easy-to-use bundle, there were several attacks at Apple. But by doing his best to imitate Mr Jobs, Mr Bezos also flattered (抬举)him. With Mr Jobs gone, Apple is just one of many technology firms trying to arouse his uncontrollable spirit in new products.Mr Jobs was said by an engineer in the early years of Apple to emit a “reality distortion(扭曲)field”,such were his powers of persuasion.But in the end he created a reality of his own, channeling the magic of computing into products that reshaped entire industries.The man who said in his youth that he wanted to “put a ding in the universe” did just that.注意: 1上作答。

2012年12月全国大学英语四级等级考试试题及答案(详解)Part II Reading Comprehension (skimming and scanning)(15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choicesmarked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the informationgiven in the passage.Time Off from Work Gains in ImportanceAmerican workers are saying they need a break. As their number of hours clocked on the job has crept higher, more time off has become a bigger priority. In the past few years, human resources experts say time off has consistently placed among the top three employee concerns, along with compensation and staffing levels, whereas it used to be farther down the list. In a poll taken online in November 2004, 39% of workers said if given the choice, they would choose time off over the equivalent in additional base salary. Of course, most of the 4,600 respondents are still opting for the bigger paycheck, but the desire for time off is up almost 20% from just three years ago when conducted a similar poll.The reasons for this shift are many and varied. Some have to do with the way a new generation is thinking about work, while others are driven by how companies are responding to recent economic pressures.A New GenerationThe results may in part represent the needs of a new breed of workers. The average American is working one month (160 hours) more each year than a generation ago. According to recruiting and human capital management expert John Sumser, younger workers work for meaning first and money second. He goes on to warn employers that these are the people who are the foundation for the next workforce and they may not buy the existing paradigm (范例). A study released in late 2004 by the New York-based Families and Work Institute concludes that the new brand of young workers is rejecting the work-centric style of their parents’ generation. The study, which examines changes in the workforce over the past 25 years, found that younger workers are more likely to be “family-centric” or “dual-centric” (with equal priorities on both career and family) rather than “work-c entric” when compared to members of the Boomer Generation.September 11th and the End of the Roaring NinetiesThe impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11th cut across all age groups of the workforce. We collectively entered a new era, reevaluatin g life’s priorities and making changes in our attitude toward time spent at work versus hobbies and family. “I started looking at things completely differently. I’ve been far less willing to put in the 14-hour days necessary to get noticed and climb the co rporate ladder,” said Tony Jackson, a 43-year-old employee of a New York City-based financial services company. “Frankly, I can’t see that changing.”Even before September 11th, some experts say the slow shift in worker attitudes was already underway due to the end of the roaring 1990’s, when hours were long and significant personal wealth was created. For those who fared well financially, some opted for careers of contract work where they could call more of the shots pertaining to (与……有关的) time off, or new occupations with greater personal rewards. For others, even if their bank accounts were not spilling over from America’s economic heyday (全盛时期), their own energy had been depleted due to unrelenting (毫不松懈的) years of work hours and high stress. They were ready for something less taxing.Families and Work Institute President and co-founder Ellen Galinsky agrees. She says the poll numbers show evidence of an increase in need for time off and a shift in thinking due to the fact that workers have been pushed to their limit in recent years. “This new generation of workers is at the edge of how long they can work. It just feels like too much. They are not slackers (懒虫); they just don’t want more,” says Galinsky.Monetary Needs Less Intense Due to Dual Income Households“We’ve decided we prefer to have more time to ourselves,” says Carol Kornhaber, a New England software programmer in her late twenties. Kornhaber and her husband are both working but have sought out jobs where they are not pressed to put in long hours. Instead, they have insisted upon eight-hour days and having enough vacation time to travel, a major interest they share. Financial pressures are eased by both of them working and keeping a careful watch on their expenses. “We are lucky in a lot of ways to have found bosses who understand our needs.”BurnoutTrying to squeeze more productivity out of workers may be nothing new, but it has become particularly acute in recent years. This has been due in large measure to recession-induced layoffs and other trends such as the rising cost of healthcare benefits. After a layoff, workers who remain behind are often asked to pick up most or even all the load of the people who were let go, requiring more and more hours at the office. As new corporate initiatives are planned, the inverse is also true. As Sumser observes, “the additional workload, which runs across the economy from the office worker to the manufacturing line, seems to be a function of the cost of benefits. The regulations make it cheaper to add workload for existing employees than to hire new players.” The Families and Work Institute reports that nearly one third of U.S. employees often or very often feel overworked or overwhelmed by how much work theyhave to do. Nearly three out of four report that they frequently dream about doing something different from their current job.Show Me the MoneyOverworked or not, the majority in the poll still chose to fatten their paycheck if given the choice. For many, it was a practical matter. Says Peggy Jones, an accountant in a Boston area business services company, “I already get three weeks a year that I can’t use up because I’m so busy. I’d definitely go for the extra money to pay some bills or make a big purchase I’ve been holding off on.” For Jones, the realities of running a household and saving up for college for her children simply need to take precedence over extra free time.Companies Are Already RespondingTo many human resources experts it is inevitable that, given the growing health of the economy and the upcoming population-driven labor shortages as the Boomer Generation moves into retirement, the pendulum of control in the employee-employer relationship will swing back to the employee side. That is expected to begin in just a few years. According to human resources expert, Larry Schumer, at , “since most companies succeed based on a motivated and capable workforce, they have offered and will continue to offer more paid flexibility, whether it be through tried and tested time-off programs or the next great idea.” Where will that new balance of employer versus employee needs lie? Time, or perhaps time off, surely will tell.1. Which of the following has been rising in importance in the past few years?A) Compensation. B) Time off. C) Right to vote. D) Staffing levels.2. According to the passage, we know that the Boomer Generation is concerned ________.A) about family and work equally B) more about workC) more about family D) about neither work nor family3. What can be inferred about Tony Jackson?A) He is 43 years old.B) He works in a financial services company.C) He has changed his life and work attitude.D) He spends 14 hours a day on his work.4. When did American workers gradually begin to change their attitudes towards work?A) After September 11. B) In November 2004.C) In late 2004. D) At the end of the roaring 1990’s.5. According to Ellen Galinsky, why did workers change their mind about work?A) They have been pushed to the limit of their working hours.B) They increased their need to enjoy life.C) They have more rights than before.D) They don’t want to work for a living.6. Carol Kornhaber and her husband don’t have too much financial p ressure because ___________.A) they have parents who are richB) they don’t have children to feedC) they both have a high salaryD) they both have work and they are thrifty7. After a layoff, the employees who keep their jobs usually have to ___________.A) find another job in case they are firedB) do what their bosses tell them toC) work longer hours to avoid being firedD) do the work left by the laid-off workers8. According to , compared with three years ago, the desire for time off is up almost ________________________.9. According to the poll from , the majority of employees preferred to ________________________ if they had the choice.10. Larry Schumer said that most companies succeeded based on a motivated and capable __________________________.Part ⅣReading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)(25 minutes)Section AQuestions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its 47____ lie mainly in blues, rhythm and blues, country, folk, gospel, and jazz. The style subsequently spread to the rest of the world and developed further, leading ultimately to 48 ____rock music.The term “rock and roll” now cov ers at least two different meanings, both in common usage. The American Heritage Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary both 49____ rock and roll as synonymous with rock music.50____ , defines the term as referring specifically to the music of the 1950s.Classic rock and roll is 51____ played with one or two electric guitars, a string bass or an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. In the 52 ____rock and roll styles of the late 1940s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally 53____ or supplemented by the guitar in the middle to late 1950s.The massive popularity and eventual worldwide view of rock and roll gave it a 54____ social impact. Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and in the new medium of television, 55____ lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. It went on to spawn various sub-genres, often without the initially 56____ backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply “rock music” or “rock”.A) define I) followedB) characteristic J) modernC) unique K) explanationD) roots L) ConverselyE) usually M) replacedF) Basically N) prepareG) earliest O) seldom H) influencedSection BPassage OneQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.According to a report, around 30,000 pupils started secondary school last year with the math skills of a seven-year-old. MPs (国会议员) warned that many young people would need “expensive” remedial lessons in later life to get a job — posing major problems for the economy. The findings came just months after Ofsted(教育标准办公室)claimed almost half of math lessons in English schools were not good enough. It said many teachers relied on textbooks and mundane exercises to make sure pupils passed exams at the expense of a proper understanding of the subject. MPs backed the conclusions, saying too many pupils found lesso ns “boring”. They insisted improvements had been made under Labor but achievement had “leveled off” in recent years.In 2008, 79 percent of pupils met the Government’s expected standard at the end of primary school, well short of the 85 percent target set for 2006. Around five percent moved to secondary school with the math skills of a seven- year-old, said the committee. In 2006, ￡2.3 billion was spent teaching the subject. It equates to around a quarter of the ￡10 billion total budget for primary teaching and support staff.The report said the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) needed to “radically rethink its strategy for improving pupil attainment; otherwise we seriously doubt that the department will meet its 2011 target”. The targ et demands that 84.5 percent of pupils will make the necessary progress between 7 and 11.Last year, the DCSF published a major review of math education in England to boost standards. It called for a math specialist in every primary school within 10 years and more emphasis on mathematical “play” in nursery schools. Mr. Leigh said, “The department’s 10-year program to train 13,000 specialist math teachers will not benefit some primary schools for another decade. That’s far too long; the department needs to look for ways to accelerate the program.” Sarah McCarthy Fry, the Schools Minister,said, “We have already accepted the main recommendation from a recent independent review of primary math that every school should have a specialist math teacher and have pledged ￡24 million over the next three years for a training program for teachers.”Nick Gibb, the Tory shadow schools secretary, said, “The Government is not getting value for the money they have piled into education and the country is falling behind in international league tables as a result. The Government has failed to replace methods of teaching which have failed with tried and tested methods used in countries that have much higher levels of math achievement.”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 govern ment 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.Passage TwoQuestions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.Conservationists call them hot spots —habitats that cover just 1.4 percent of the earth’s land surface but are so rich in biological diversity that preserving them could keep an astonishing number of plant and animal species off the endangered list.Since 1988, when Dr. Norman Myers and his colleagues began describing these hot spots in a series of scientific papers and arguing for their protection, they have become a focus of worldwide conservation efforts. Private organizations and government agencies, including the World Bank, have made preserving 25 such ecological arks a top priority for financing and protective legislation. But a growing chorus of scientists is warning that directing conservation funds to hot spots may be a recipe for major losses in the future. Of species that live on land, nearly half of all plants and more than a third of all animals are found only in the hot spots. But they do not include many rare species and major animal groups that live in less biologically rich regions (“cold spots”). And the hot-spot concept does not factor in the importance of some ecosystems to human beings, the scientists argue.This debate has been simmering quietly among biologists for years; however, it is coming to a boil now with the publication of an article in the current iss ue of American Scientist arguing that “calls to direct conservation funding to the world’s biodiversity hot spots may be bad investment advice.” “The hot-spot concept has grown so popular in recent years within the larger conservation community that it now risks eclipsing all other approaches,” write the authors of the paper. “The officers and directors of all too many foundations, non-governmental organizations and international agencies have been seduced by the simplicity of the hot spot idea,” they go on. “We worry that the initially appealing idea of getting the most species per unit area is, in fact, a thoroughly misleading strategy.”But hot spots have their ardent defenders, notably Dr. Norman Myers and Dr. Russell Mittermeier. Dr. Myers says hot spots have been successful at attracting attention and financing for conservation intropical countries. “And that has been good,” he said. “No one is suggesting that one invest solely in hot spots, but if you want to avoid extinctions, you have to invest in them.”62. The best title for this passage would be ________.A) A Debate on Preserving Hot Spots B) An Introduction to Hot SpotsC) Hot Spots vs. Cold Spots D) How to Finance Hot Spots63. Hot spots occupy a small percentage of the eart h’s land surface with _____________.A) a third of all plantsB) many major animal groups living in cold spotsC) rich biological diversityD) many rare species living in cold spots64. Critics of hot spots hold the opinion that ________.A) hot spots are always as important as cold spotsB) it is unwise to invest largely in hot spotsC) governments should choose the best time to invest in hot spotsD) the hot-spot approach is a misleading strategy from the very beginning65. According to Dr. Norman Myers, _________.A) protecting and investing in hot spots can save species from extinctionB) conservation efforts should not center on hot spotsC) governments should invest most in cold spotsD) the hot-spot approach now is not as good as it was in the past66. What is the writer’s attitude towards the hot-spot approach?A) Critical. B) Neutral. C) Supportive. D) Doubtful.Part V Cloze (15 minutes)Directions:There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices markedA), B), C) and D) on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits intothe passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single linethrough the centre.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 m onth’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 she d 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 handl es 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.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 7family’s heal th, 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) repeatedly68. A) chemical B) physical C) medical D) mental69. A) home B) clinics C) hospitals D) school70. A) living B) spreading C) surviving D) going71. A) transmit B) transfer C) transferring D) transmission72. A) claim B) agree C) suggest D) object73. A) parents B) teachers C) adults D) infants74. A) known B) said C) moved D) added75. A) When B) While C) Why D) Which76. A) travel B) go C) fly D) float77. A) questions B) opportunities C) ideas D) sources78. A) always B) frequently C) regularly D) actually79. A) volunteer B) baby C) worker D) person80. A) in B) on C) with D) through81. A) useless B) obvious C) interesting D) thankful82. A) taking B) using C) changing D) bringing83. A) of B) for C) from D) into84. A) dream B) know C) figure D) believe85. A) triggered B) started C) helped D) saved86. A) yet B) while C) but D) sincePart Ⅵ Translation (5 minutes)87. _____________________________( 只要每个中国人) works to his capacity in the construction ofChina’s economy, the rise of Chinese nation is round the corner.88. With a special train ticket you can ___________________________________(任何国家旅行)inEurope for just over 100 pounds.89. In spite of the fact that hotel prices have risen sharply, the number oftourists_________________________ (和以前一样多).90. The hotel manager, ________________________(我向他投诉过) about the service，refunded part ofour bill.91. The Tower of London, _____________________________________________ (在里面曾有许多人丧命) is now a tourist attraction.。

2012 年 12 月大学英语四级真题答案与解析Part I Writing参考范文：第一种图表（即我们试题部分的图表）Education PaysThe bar graph describes the unemployment rates in 2010 for social groups with different education degrees in theUnited States. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics，the better you are educated， the more likely you are to get employed. For example，there are only about1.9% and 4% of people with doctoral degree and master degree respectively who are unemployed，while people with only a high school diploma or less suffer a much higher unemployment rate （ 14.9% and 10.3% respectively ） .These data clearly indicate that education pays in the long run and it is a worthy investment.In this IT age especially ， when knowledge of science and technology is power ， people need tobe well equipped with knowledge and skills in order to be competitive in job hunting and be better paid. A higher degree is definitely an advantage in the first place in the job market.It must be added ， however ， a high degree alone is not enough. It will not ensure a better employment opportunity. In order to succeed in the career ， people must also develop practical skills and techniques as well as good communication ， teamwork and social experience.第二种图表（这也是本次考试的另一份试卷的图表）（见图表2）Education PaysAs is shown in the bar chart above ， the social groups with higher degree are not only more likely to be employed in the first place，but they are also better paid later in the workplace. Thosewith doctoral and professional degrees enjoy a much higher weekly median earning（$1551 and1665 respectively） and suffer a much lower unemployment rate （ 2.5% and 2.4% ）. On the other hand， those with less education suffer a considerably higher unemployment rate and have a muchlower weekly income. For example， there are a total of 23.5% （ 9.4%+14.1% ） of people unemployed with high school diploma or less ， who have only a median weekly income of $545 ，as compared with the average $797.These data clearly indicate that education pays in the long run and it is a worthy investment.In this IT age especially ， when knowledge of science and technology is power ， people need tobe well equipped with knowledge and skills in order to be competitive in job hunting and be better paid. A higher degree is definitely an advantage in the first place in the job market and a competitive edge for workplace promotions.It must be added， however ， a high degree alone is not enough. It will not ensure a better employment opportunity and higher salary. In order to succeed in the career， people must also develop practical skills and techniques as well as good communication ， teamwork and socialexperience.概述四级考试主要的作文命题形式是图表作文，图表作文曾在1991“文示”提纲作文，但不时也考应用文（书信、演讲词等）和年 6 月（表格： Changes in People Diet）和 2002 年 6 月（柱状图： Student Use of Computers），似乎是 10 年考一次，但不排除今后会更频繁地考到。

Part II Reading comprehension (skimming and scanning)Universities Branch OutAs never before in their long history, universities have become instruments of national competition as well as instruments of peace. They are the place of the scientific discoveries that move economies forward, and the primary means of educating the talent required to obtain and maintain competitive advantage. But at the same time, the opening of national borders to the flow of goods, services, information and especially people has made universities a powerful force for global integration, mutual understanding and geopolitical stability.In response to the same forces that have driven the world economy, universities have become more self-consciously global: seeking students from around the world who represent the entire range of cultures and values, sending their own students abroad to prepare them for global careers,offering course of study that address the challenges of an interconnected world and collaborative (合作的)research programs to advance science for the benefit of all humanity.Of the forces shaping higher education none is more sweeping than the movement across borders. Over the past three decades the number of students leaving home each year to study abroad has grown at an annual rate of 3.9 percent, from 800,000 in 1975 to 2.5 million in 2004.Most travel from one developed nation to another, but the flow from developing to developed countries is growing rapidly. The reverse flow, from developed to developing countries, is on the rise, too. Today foreign students earn 30 percent of the doctoral degrees awarded in the United States and 38 percent of those in the United Kingdom. And the number crossing borders for undergraduate study is growing as well, to 8 percent of the undergraduates at America‘s best institutions and 10 percent of all undergraduates in the U.K.In the United States,20 percent of the newly hired professors in science and engineering are foreign-born, and in China many newly hired faculty members at the top research universities received their graduate education abroad.Universities are also encouraging students to spend some of their undergraduate years in another country. In Europe, more than 140,000 students participate in the Erasmus program each year, taking courses for credit in one of 2,200 participating institutions across the continent. And in the United States, institutions are helping place students in the summer internships (实习)abroad to prepare them for global careers. Yale and Harvard have led the way, offering every undergraduate at least oneinternational study or internship opportunity—and providing the financial resources to make it possible.Globalization is also reshaping the way research is done. One new trend involves sourcing portions of a research program to another country. Yale professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Tian Xu directs a research center focused on the genetics of human disease at Shanghai‘s Fudan University, in collaboration with faculty colleagues from both schools. The Shanghai center has 95 employees and graduate students working in a 4,300-square-meter laboratory seminars with scientists from both campuses. The arrangement benefits both countries; Xu’s Yale lab is more productive, thanks to t he lower costs of conducting research in China, and Chinese graduate students, postdoctors and faculty get on-the-job training from a world -class scientist and his U.S. team.As a result of its strength in science, the United States has consistently led the world in the commercialization of major new technologies, from the mainframe computer and the integrated circuit of the 1960s to the Internet infrastructure (基础设施)and applications software of the 1990s.the link between university-based science and industrial application is often indirect but sometimes highly visible: Silicon Valley was intentionally created by Stanford University, and Route 128 outside Boston has long housed companies spun off from MIT and Harvard. Around the world, governments have encouraged copying of this model, perhaps most successfully in Cambridge, England, where Microsoft and scores of other leading software and biotechnology companies have set up shop around the university.For all its success, the United States remains deeply hesitant about sustaining the research -university model. Most politicians recognize the link between investment in science and national economic strength, but support for research funding has been unsteady. The budget of the National Institutes of Health doubled between 1998 and 2003,but has risen more slowly than inflation since then. Support for the physical sciences and engineering barely kept pace with inflation during that same period. The attempt to make up lost ground is welcome, but the nation would be better served by steady, predictable increases in science funding at the rate of long-term GDP growth, which is on the order of inflation plus 3 percent per year.American politicians have great difficult recognizing that admitting more foreign students can greatly promote the national interest by increasing international understanding. Adjusted for inflation, public funding for international exchanges and foreign-language study is well below the levels of 40 years ago, in the wake ofSeptember 11,changes in the visa process caused a dramatic decline in the number of foreign students seeking admission to U.S. universities, and a corresponding surge in enrollments in Australia, Singapore and the U.K. Objections from American university and the business leaders led to improvements in the process and reversal of the decline, but the United States is still seen by many as unwelcoming to international students.Most Americans recognize that universities contribute to the nation‘s well-being through their scientific research, but many fear that foreign students threaten American competitiveness by taking their knowledge and skills back home. They fail to grasp that welcoming foreign students to the United States has two important positive effects: first, the very best of them stay in the States and—like immigrants throughout history—strengthen the nation; and second, foreign students who study in the United States become ambassadors for many of its most cherished (珍视)values when they return home. Or at least they understand them better. In America as elsewhere, few instruments of foreign policy are as effective in promoting peace and stability as welcoming international university students.1. From the first paragraph we know that present-day universities have become ________.A)more popularized than ever beforeB)in-service training organizationsC)a powerful force for global integrationD)more and more research-oriented2. Over the past decades, the enrollment of overseas students has increased ________.A)at an annual rate of 8 percentB)at an annual rate of 3.9 percentC)by 800,000D)by 2.5 million3. In the United States, how many of the newly hired professors in science and engineering are foreign-born?A)38% B)10% C)30% D)20%4. How do Yale and Harvard prepare their undergraduates for global careers?A)They give them chances for international study or internship.B)They arrange for them to participate in the Erasmus program.C)They offer them various courses in international politics.D)They organize a series of seminars on world economy.5. An example illustrating the general trend of universities ‘globalization is ________.A)Yale‘s establishing branch campuses throughout the worldB)Yale‘s student exchange program with E uropean institutionsC)Yale‘s helping Chinese universities to launch research projectsD)Yale‘s collaboration with Fudan University on genetic research.6. What do we learn about Silicon Valley from the passage?A)It is known to be the birthplace of Microsoft Company.B)It was intentionally created by Stanford University.C)It is where the Internet infrastructure was built up.D)It houses many companies spun off from MIT and Harvard.7. What is said about the U.S. federal funding for research?A)It has increased by 3 percent.B)It doubled between 1998 and 2003.C)It has been unsteady for years.D)It has been more than sufficient.8. The dramatic decline in the enrollment of foreign students in the U.S. after September 11 was caused by ________.9. Many Americans fear that American competitiveness may be threatened by foreign students who will ________.10. The policy of welcoming foreign students can benefit the U.S. in that the very best of them will stay and ________.PartⅢ Reading Comprehension （Skimming and Scanning）（15 minutes）Section A11.A) He has proved to be a better reader than the woman.B) He has difficulty understanding the book.C) He cannot get access to the assigned book.D) He cannot finish his assignment before the deadline.12.A) She will drive the man to the supermarket.B) The man should buy a car of his own.C) The man needn't go shopping every week.D) She can pick the man up at the grocery store.13.A) Get more food and drinks.B) Ask his friend to come over.C) Tidy up the place.D) Hold a party.14.A) The talks can be held any day except this Friday.B) He could change his schedule to meet John Smith.C) The first-round talks should start as soon as possible.D) The woman should contact John Smith first.15.A) He understands the woman's feelings.B) He has gone through a similar experience.C) The woman should have gone on the field trip.D) The teacher is just following the regulations.16.A) She will meet the man halfway.B) She will ask David to talk less.C) She is sorry the man will not come.D) She has to invite David to the party.17.A) Few students understand Prof. Johnson's lectures.B) Few students meet Prof. Jonson's requirements.C) Many students find Prof. Johnson's lectures boring.D) Many students have dropped Prof. Johnson's class.18.A) Check their computer files.B) Make some computations.C) Study a computer program.D) Assemble a computer.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19.A) It allows him to make a lot of friends.B) It requires him to work long hours.C) It enables him to apply theory to practice.D) It helps him understand people better.20.A) It is intellectually challenging.B) It requires him to do washing-up all the time.C) It exposes him to oily smoke all day long.D) It demands physical endurance and patience.21.A) In a hospital.B) At a coffee shop.C) At a laundry.D) In a hotel.22.A) Getting along well with colleagues.B) Paying attention to every detail.C) Planning everything in advance.D) Knowing the needs of customers.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23.A) The pocket money British children get.B) The annual inflation rate in Britain.C) The things British children spend money on.D) The rising cost of raising a child in Britain.24.A) It enables children to live better.B) It goes down during economic recession.C) It often rises higher than inflation.D) It has gone up 25% in the past decade.25.A) Save up for their future education.B) Pay for small personal things.C) Buy their own shoes and socks.D) Make donations when necessary. 来源:考试大-英语四级考试Section BPassage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the conversation you have just heard.26.A) District managers.B) Regular customers.C) Sales directors.D) Senior clerks.27.A) The support provided by the regular clients.B) The initiative shown by the sales representatives.C) The urgency of implementing the company's plans.D) The important part played by district managers.28.A) Some of them were political-minded.B) Fifty percent of them were female.C) One third of them were senior managers.D) Most of them were rather conservative.29.A) He used too many quotations.B) He was not gender sensitive.C) He did not keep to the point.D) He spent too much time on details.Passage TwoQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30.A) State your problem to the head waiter.B) Demand a discount on the dishes ordered.C) Ask to see the manager politely but firmly.D) Ask the name of the person waiting on you.31.A) You problem may not be understood correctly.B) You don't know if you are complaining at the right time.C) Your complaint may not reach the person in charge.D) You can't tell how the person on the line is reacting.32.A) Demand a prompt response.B) Provide all the details.C) Send it by express mail.D) Stick to the point.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33.A) Fashion designerB) Architect.C) City planner.D) Engineer.34.A) Do some volunteer work.B) Get a well-paid part-time job.C) Work flexible hours.D) Go back to her previous post.35.A) Few baby-sitters can be considered trustworthy.B) It will add to the family's financial burden.C) A baby-sitter is no replacement for a mother.D) The children won't get along with a baby-sitter.Section CAlmost every child, on the first day he sets foot in a school building, is smarter, more (36)______, less afraid of what he doesn't know, better at finding and (37) ______ things out, more confident, resourceful (机敏的), persistent and (38) ______ than he will ever be again in his schooling – or, unless he is very (39) ______ and very lucky, for the rest of his life. Already, by paying close attention to and (40) ______ with the world and people around him, and without any school-type (41)______ instruction, he has done a task far more difficult, complicated and (42)______ than anything he will be asked to do in school, or than any of his teachers has done for years. He has solved the (43) ______ of language. He has discovered it – babies don't even know that language exists –and (44) ________________________________________________. He has done it by exploring, by experimenting, by developing his own model of the grammar of language, (45) ________________________________________________ until it does work. And while he has been doing this, he has been learning other things as well, (46) ________________________________________________, and many that are more complicated than the ones they do try to teach him.Part ⅣReading Comprehension（Reading in Depth）（25 minutes）Section AQuestions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.If our society ever needed a reading renaissance（复兴）, it's now. The National Endowment for the Arts released “Reading at Risk” last year, a study showing that adult reading47 have dropped 10 percentage points in the past decade, with the steepest drop among those 18 to 24. “Only one half of young people read a book of any kind in 2002. We set the bar almost on the ground. If you read one short story in a teen—ager magazine, that would have 48 ,” laments a director of research and analysis. He49 the loss of readers to the booming world of technology, which attracts would—be leisure readers to E—mail, IM chats, and video games and leaves them with no time to cope with a novel.“These new forms of media undoubtedly have some benefits,” says Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You.Video games50 problem—solving skills; TV shows promote mental gymnastics by 51 viewers to follow complex story lines. But books offer experience that can't be gained from these other sources, from52 vocabulary to stretching the imagination. “If they're not reading at all,” says Johnson, “that's a huge problem.”In fact, fewer kids are reading for pleasure. According to data53 last week from the National Center for Educational Statistic's long—term trend assessment, the number of 17—year—olds who reported never or hardly ever reading for fun54 from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004. At the same time, the55 of 17—year—olds who read daily dropped from 31 to 22.This slow but steady retreat from books has not yet taken a toll on reading ability. Scores for the nation's youth have56 constant over the past two decades with an encouraging upswing among 9—year—olds. But given the strong apparent correlation between pleasure reading and reading skills, this means poorly for the future.A. percentB. remainedC. roseD. ratesE. percentageF. countedG. relievedH. presentI. BelievingJ. releasedK. forcing L. improve M. Styles N. building O. attributesSection BPassage OneQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.There is a new type of small advertisement becoming increasingly common in newspaper classified columns. It is sometimes placed among “situations vacant”, alth ough it does not offer anyone a job, and sometimes it appears among “situations wanted”, although it is not placed by someone looking for a job, either. What it does is to offer help in applying for a job.“Contact us before writing your application”, or “Make use of our long experience in preparing your curriculum vitae or job history”, is how it is usually expressed. The growth and apparent success of such a specialized service is, of course, a reflection on the current high levels of unemployment. It is also an indication of the growing importance of the curriculum vitae （or job history）, with the suggestion that it may now qualify as an art form in its own right.There was a time when job seekers simply wrote letters of application. “Just put down your n ame, address, age and whether you have passed any exams”, was about the average level of advice offered to young people applying for their first jobs when I left school. The letter was really just for openers, it was explained, everything else could and should be saved for the interview. And in those days of full employment the technique worked. The letter proved that you could write and were available for work. Your eager face and intelligent replies did the rest.Later, as you moved up the ladder, something slightly more sophisticated was called for. The advice then was to put something in the letter which would distinguish you from the rest. It might be the aggressive approach. “Your search is over. I am the person you are looking for”, was a widely used trick that occasionally succeeded. Or it might be some special feature specially designed for the job interview.There is no doubt, however, that it is increasing number of applicants with university education at all points in the process of engaging staff that has led to the greater importance of the curriculum vitae.57. The new type of advertisement which is appearing in newspaper columns.A）informs job hunters of the opportunities availableB）promises to offer useful advice to those looking for employmentC）divides available jobs into various typesD）informs employers of the people available for work58. Nowadays a demand for this specialized type of service has been created because. A）there is a lack of jobs available for artistic peopleB）there are so many top level jobs availableC）there are so many people out of workD）the job history is considered to be a work of art59. In the past it was expected that first job hunters would.A）write an initial letter giving their life historyB）pass some exams before applying for a jobC）have no qualifications other than being able to read and writeD）keep any detailed information until they obtained an interview60. Later, as one went on to apply for more important jobs, one was advised to include in the letter.A）something that would distinguish one from other applicantsB）hinted information about the personality of the applicantC）one's advantages over others in applying for the jobD）an occasional trick with the aggressive approach61. The curriculum vitae has become such an important document because.A）there has been an increase in the number of jobs advertisedB）there has been an increase in the number of applicants with degreesC）jobs are becoming much more complicated nowadaysD）the other processes of applying for jobs are more complicatedPassage TwoQuestions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord can charge for an apartment. Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments. Their rent cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes. However, the critics say that after a long time,rent control may have negative effects. Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits. Therefore, they invest in other businesses where they can increase their profits. They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent—controlled. As a result, new apartments are not built. Many people who need apartments cannot find any. According to the critics, the end result of rent control is a shortage of apartments in the city.Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way. The federal government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers. The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled, low—paying jobs. However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers. They will replace workers with machinery. The price, which is the wage that employers must pay, increases. Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that employers want decreases. Thus, critics claim, an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment. Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage.Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity. Because of the law, workers cannot sell their services for less than the minimum. Furthermore, employers cannot force workers to accept jobs at unfair wages. Economic theory predicts the results of economic decisions such as decisions about farm production, rent control, and the minimum wage. The predictions may be correct only if “other things are equal”. Economists do not agree on some of the predictio ns. They also do not agree on the value of different decisions. Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it. Economists do agree, however, that there are no simple answers to economic questions.62. There is the possibility that setting maximum rent may.A）cause a shortage of apartmentsB）worry those who rent apartments as homesC）increase the profits of landlordsD）encourage landlords to invest in building apartment63. According to the critics, rent control.A）will always benefit those who rent apartmentsB）is unnecessaryC）will bring negative effects in the long runD）is necessary under all circumstances64. The problem of unemployment will arise.A）if the minimum wage is set too highB）if the minimum wage is set too lowC）if the workers are unskilledD）if the maximum wage is set65. The passage tells us.A）the relationship between supply and demandB）the possible results of government controlsC）the necessity of government controlD）the urgency of getting rid of government controls66. Which of the following statements is NOT true?A）The results of economic decisions can not always be predicted.B）Minimum wage can not always protect employees.C）Economic theory can predict the results of economic decisions if other factors are not changing.D）Economic decisions should not be based on economic theory.Part ⅤCloze （15 minutes）Rumor is the most ___67___way of spreading stories—by passing them on from mouth___68___mouth. But civilized countries in normal times have better ___69___ of news than rumor. They have radio, television, and newspapers. In times of stress and___70___, ___71___, rumor ___72__ and becomes widespread. At such ___73___ the different kinds of news are in___74___,the press, television, and radio versus the grapevine.Especially ___75___ rumors spread when war requires censorship(审查，检查) on many important matters. The customary news sources no longer ___76___ enough information. Since the people cannot learn ___77___ legitimate(合法的，正规的) channel s all ___78___ they are anxious to learn, they pick up “news”___79___they can and when this ___80___, rumor thrives.Rumors are often repeated ___81___ by those who do not believe the tales. There is a fascination about them. The reason is ___82___the cleverly designed rumor gives expression to something deep in the hearts of the victims—the fears, suspicions, forbidden hopes, or daydreams which they hesitate to___83___directly. Pessimistic(悲观的) rumors about defeat and disasters show that the people who repeat them are___84___and anxious. ___85___rumors about record production orpeace soon coming point to complacency(满足，自得) or confidence—and often to ___86___.67. A) primitive B) important C) impossible D) outstanding68. A) till B) to C) for D) by69. A) means B) ways C) sources D) resource70. A) confusion B) peace C) prosperity D) worried71. A) and B) however C) so D) therefore72. A) emerges B) immerge C) immerse D) immense73. A) time B) the times C) times D) the time74. A) compete B) competition C) common D)harmony75. A) do B) did C) are D) were76. A) give up B) give off C) give out D) send off77. A) through B) by C) in D) across78. A) what B) why C) which D) that79. A) wherever B) where C) whatever D) what80. A) happened B) would happen C) happens D) happen81. A) ever B) even C) forever D) much82. A) that B) what C) why D) how83. A) act B) voice C) behave D) do84. A) happy B) relieved C) crazy D) worried85. A) Bad B) Pessimistic C) Optimistic D) Good86. A) overconfidence B) overweight C) overconsiderate D) overproducePart ⅥTranslation （5 minutes）Direction:Complete the sentences on Answer Sheet 2 by translating into English the Chinese given in brackets.87.There are so many kinds of tape-recorders on sale that __________________________ (我都拿不定主意买哪一种).88. The light in the office is still on._________________________ (他忘记关了).89. His composition was so confusing that _____________________________ (我简直看不懂).90.As the saying goes, reading without reflecting is like __________________________ (吃饭不消化).91._______________________ (他的回答是这样) that he didn’t say yes and he didn’t say no.。