2016年6大学英语四级第2套真题及答案

听力答案：Part III Reading ComprehensionSection A26.【答案】M 27.【答案】A 28.【答案】I 29.【答案】L 30.【答案】C31.【答案】G 32.【答案】F 33.【答案】E 34.【答案】N 35.【答案】DSection B粮食短缺会毁灭文明么36.【答案】F 37.【答案】K 38.【答案】C 39.【答案】L 40.【答案】B 41.【答案】H 42.【答案】M 43.【答案】J 44.【答案】L 45.【答案】GSection C46.【答案】B 47.【答案】D 48.【答案】C 49.【答案】D 50.【答案】A51.【答案】C 52.【答案】A 53.【答案】B 54.【答案】D 55.【答案】C解析部分Part III Reading ComprehensionSection A【空词预测】【话题分类】日常生活【文章大意】本篇讲述了老年父母和孩子相处的现状：大多数父母和孩子一起生活，然而这并不能说明他们关系良好；若父母和孩子观念相投，爱好相似，则能愉快相处，反之父母不会喜欢孩子的陪伴。

【考核技能】综合能力【答案解析】26. M) provide。

根据上下文判断，本空在句中作谓语动词，并与后半句的 and most older people do not feel_____ 构成并列关系，故前后时态应一致，均为一般现在时。

选项中的动词有： A) abandoned（抛弃）；B) advanced（前进）； F) dampens（抑制，减弱）； K) grant（授予，满足）； M) provide（提供）。

其中，M)provide 符合语法和大意。

本句意为：成年的孩子们会尽可能地为年迈的父母提供每一点关心和支持。

27. A) abandoned。

本空位于感官动词 feel 之后，故应选择形容词，选项中的形容词有： A) abandoned （被抛弃的）； B) advanced（先进的）； I) frequent（频繁的，时常的）； C) biased（有偏见的）；G) dependent（依赖的）； H) distant（疏远的）。

2016年6月大学英语四级考试真题（第2套）参考答案Part I WritingDear My Parents,I would like to convey in this letter my heartfelt thanks to you. Without your support and encouragement, I wouldn’t have won the second prize in the National Mathematical Contest in Modeling.First of all, you inspired me to participate in the contest and gave me the confidence that I could achieve a good result if I worked hard enough. In addition, you spent large sums of money on prestigious mathematical modeling teachers to help me with methods of mathematical modeling, thesis writing and computer programming, which laid a solid foundation for my outstanding performance in the contest. Finally, it is also worth mentioning that when I was downhearted in the face of difficulties and setbacks during the contest, it was you who raised me up to press forward.All in all, your support in both spiritual and material terms made it possible for me to win a prize in the contest. So, thanks again for your kind help. I am looking forward to seeing you soon.Affectionately yours,Li MingPart IV TranslationChinese martial art is commonly known as Kung Fu. Its origin can be traced to the need of self-defense, hunting activities and military training in ancient China. It is one of the Chinese traditional sports, which is practiced by both the young and the old. It has gradually evolved into the unique element of Chinese culture. As China’s national treasure, Kung Fu has hundreds ofdifferent styles and is the most practiced martial arts from in the world. Some styles imitate animals’ movements, while others are inspired by Chinese philosophies, myths and legends.Part II Listening Comprehension 听力原文Section AQuestions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.The International Labor Organization says the number of people without jobs is increasing. In its latest update on Global Employment Trends, the agency says projections of the number of unemployed people this year range from 210 million to nearly 240 million people. The report warns that 200 million poor workers are at risk of joining the ranks of people living on less than two dollars per day in the past three years. The Director-General of the International Labor Organization Juan Somavia notes that some countries have taken measures to address the effects of the global crisis. However, he points out that many countries have not done so. And based on past experiences, it takes four to five years after economic recovery for unemployment to return to pre-crisis levels. Mr. Somavia says the International Labor Organization is proposing a global job’s agreement to deal with unemployment.“Its key objective is to place so the center of recovery efforts, measures that would generate high levels of employment and provide basic social protection for the most vulnerable.”1. What is the news report mainly about?2. What does Juan Somavia, the Director-General of the International Labor Organization say?Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.Big fast food chains in New York City have started to obey a first-of-its-kind rule requiring them to post calorie counts right on the menu. Cathy Nurses is with the New York City Department of Health.“We wanted to give people an opportunity to actually see the calories before they purchase the food and make a decision, an informed decision that if they want to make the healthier choice, if they want to eat fewer calories, they can. And we expect this will have a huge impact on obesity. And of course, if it has an impact on obesity, it will have an impact on diabetes and heart disease and high blood pressure.”The new rules will introduce as a part of anti-obesity campaign that also includes a recent citywide ban and artificial trans-fats in restaurant food. The menu rule only applies to restaurants that serve standardized portion sizes and have fifteen or more locations nationwide.Starting last Saturday, chains big enough to fall under the rule will face penalties about 2000 dollars for not showing calorie information in a prominent spot on their menus, preferably next to the price.3. What are big fast food chains in New York City required to do according to the new rule?4. What will happen to big restaurant chains that violate the new rule?Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.Almost all companies recognize the importance of innovation today. But not many are able to integrate innovation into their business. A commentary in the Shanghai Daily points out that innovation doesn’t mean piles of documents. It is something more practical. The article says many people tend to assume that innovation just means creating something new, but actually it's more than that. It's an attitude of doing things. A company should find ways to innovate not just in products but also in functions, business models and processes.The article cites the global giant Procter & Gamble as an example, saying a real innovative company should develop an innovation culture and use it as a primary tool for success. Procter & Gamble has a “Corporate Innovation Fund” which offers big rewards for high-risk ideas that succeed. It also has a special innovation facility for its employees. Sometimes its employees are released from their daily jobs for weeks and spend their time interacting in the innovation facility instead. In conclusion, the article says innovative ideas alone do not ensure success. It’s pointless unless there is a repeatable process in place to turn inspiration into financial performance.5. What is the problem with many companies according to the news report?6. What do many people tend to think of innovation?7. What does the company Procter & Gamble owe its success to?Section BQuestions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.M: So, Lyndsay, do you like to text message on your cell phone?W: Yeah, I text message a lot.M: I don't do it so much. I prefer to make a call if I'm in a hurry.W: Yeah, I go both ways. Sometimes I don’t really want to talk to the person. I just want to ask them one question, so it's much easier for me just to text message. If I call them, I'll have to have a long conversation.M: Yeah, I can see what you mean. But I get off the phone pretty quickly when I call. I'm not a big talker.W: Yeah, that's true. You don't talk a lot.M: So are you fast at writing the messages with your thumb?W: Well, when I first got a cell phone, I was so slow. I thought I would never text message. But then people kept text messaging me, so I felt obliged to learn how to text message. So now I'm pretty fast. What about you?M: Actually I have the opposite problem. When I first got my cell phone, I thought it was so cool to text message all my friends who have one, and I was pretty fast with my thumb then. But it seems like now I don't use it so much, I've got slower actually.W: Yeah, I think text messaging actually is what you have to do with your age. For example, people in high school, they text message a lot. But I ask my father if he texted messages, and guess what he said?M: What?W: He said he'd never text message. He thinks it's very childish and unprofessional to text message.M: Yeah, I can see what he means. It's considered pretty informal to text message someone.8: What does the man say about himself?9: What does the woman tend to do while she is on the phone?10: Why did the man text message all his friends when he first got his cell phone?11: What does the woman's father think of text messaging?Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.W: Good morning, Mr. Johnson. How can I help you?M: Well, I'd like to talk to you about Tim Bond, the department manager.W: What seems to be the problem?M: Well, ever since Sandra left the department, I feel like I've been targeted to do all her work as well as mine. I'm expected to attend too many meetings and I seem to be spending a lot of my time doing unnecessary paper work.W: I'm sorry to hear that.M: And, on top of that, I'd specifically asked if I could leave early last Friday as I’d done a lot of overtime during the week. But that afternoon, even though I'd finished my assigned work, I was told to help other colleagues finish their work, too.W: But surely that's a positive sign showing that Mr. Bond has a lot of trust in you.M: Yes, but other colleagues get to leave early, and they don't have such a lot of work to do.W: So you feel he's been making unrealistic demands on you?M: Yes, absolutely.W: Have you approached Mr. Bond about this particular problem?M: I've tried, but it seems like he just has no time for me.W: Well, at this stage, it would be better if you approached him directly. If nothing else, showing that you've tried to solve the problem yourself, before you take it further, makes it clear that you're just not a complainer. Why don't you send an email requesting a meeting with him in private?M: Hmm, I’d be a bit worried about his reaction. But anyway I'll send him an email to request a meeting, and I'll see what happens from there. Thanks for your advice.W: Good luck. And let us know the outcome.12. What do we learn about the man from the conversation?13. What is the man's chief complaint?14. How does the woman interpret the fact that the man was asked to help his colleagues with their work?15. What did the woman advise the man to do?Section CQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.The massive decline in sleep happened so slowly and quietly that few seemed to notice the trend. Was it because of the growing attraction of the Internet, video games and endless TV channels? Never disconnecting from work? No matter how it happened, millions of Americans are putting their health, quality of life and even length of life in danger.New evidence shows why getting enough sleep is a top priority. Some 40% of Americans get less than 7 hours of shut-eye on weeknights. "The link between sleep and health, and bad sleep and disease is becoming clearer and clearer," says Lawrence Epstein, a sleep expert at Harvard University. For example, sleep duration has declined from some 8 hours in the 1950s to 7 in recent years. At the same time, high blood pressure has become an increasing problem. Blood pressure and heart rate are typically at their lowest levels during sleep. People who sleep less tend to have higher blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes, weight gain and other problems.Sleeping better may help fight off illness. "When people are sleep-deprived, there are higher levels of stress hormones in their bodies which can decrease immune function." says Doctor Felice, of Northwestern University in Chicago. A university of Chicago study shows people who sleep well live longer. So say good night sooner and it may help you stay active and vital to a ripe old age.16. What is the speaker mainly talking about?17. What do we learn from the talk about today's Americans?18. What does the speaker say will happen to people who lack sleep?Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.Parents and teachers will tell you not to worry when applying for a place at a university. But in the same breath we’ll remind you that it is the most important decision of your life.The first decision is your choice of course. It will depend on what you want to get out of university, what you are good at and what you enjoy. The next decision is where to apply. Aim high but within reason. Do you have the right combination of subjects and are your expected grades likely to meet entry requirements? The deadline is January 15th. But it is best to submit your application early because universities begin work as soon as forms start rolling in.The most important part of the application is the much feared personal statement. This is your chance to convey boundless enthusiasm for the subject. So economy of expression is foremost. Omit dull and ineffective generalities and make sure you give concrete examples.Admissions officers read every personal statement that arrives. It is not convincing if you say you have chosen the subject because you enjoy it. You have to get across what it is about a particular area that has inspired you. They will look for evidence that you have reflected and thought about the subject.Applicants should be honest. There is no point saying you run marathons if you are going to be out of breath arriving at the interview on the second floor.19. What is the first decision you should make in preparing to apply for a place at a university?20. What is the most important part of the application?21. What must applicants do in their personal statements?Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.It is usually agreed that a German, Carl Benz, built the first motor car in 1885. It was actually a tricycle with a petrol motor at the rear. Soon, members of the royal family and other wealthy people took up motoring as a sport. Many of the early cars had 2 seats. There were no petrol pumps and few garages, so every driver had to be his own engineer for the frequent breakdowns.By 1905, cars began to look like cars of today, with head lamps, wind screen, rubble tyres and number plates. Henry Ford's Model T introduced in America in 1909 was cheaper because it was made on the assembly line. It brought cars closer towards the reach of ordinary people. With the popularity of the car, registration became a must in 1903 with the Motor Car Act. Competency tests were introduced in 1935.Today, the legal driving age for a car in the UK is 17. You are not allowed to drive a car unsupervised until you have passed a driving test. In 1958, Britain celebrated the opening of its first motorway – the Preston Bypass. Until then, no one really understood what a motorway was, not even the laborers who were building it. The bypass held a new era in motor travel and was greeted with excitement and optimism. Service stations came with the motorway and the legend of the transport cafe was born. Of course, the service station has diversified greatly. But whether it’s an English-cooked breakfast or a coffee and a sandwich, one thing has remained the same: the prices.22. What does the speaker say about the first motor car?23. What was the problem with the early cars in Britain?24. Why did Henry Ford's Model T cars cost less?25. What do we learn about the Preston Bypass?。

2016年6月大学英语四级考试真题及参考答案Part ⅡListening Comprehension（听力部分共有两套）四级第一套Section A1. C) Rising unemployment worldwide.2. A) Many countries have not taken measures to create enough jobs.3. B) Put calorie information on the menu.4. A) They will be fined.C) They will get a warning.5. D) Failure to integrate innovation into their business.6. B) It is the creation of something new.7. C) Its innovation culture.Section B8. D) He does not talk long on the phone.9. B) Talk at length.10. A) He thought it was cool.11. C) It is childish and unprofessional.12. B) He is unhappy with his department manager.13. A) His workload was much too heavy.14. C) His boss has a lot of trust in him.15. D) Talk to his boss in person first.Section C16. A) The importance of sleep to a healthy life.17. C) They get less and less sleep.18. D) Their blood pressure will rise.19. B) What course you are going to choose.20. D) The personal statement.21. C) Indicate they have reflected and thought about the subject.22. B) It was built in the late 19th century.23. D) They often broke down.24. A) They were produced on the assembly line.25. C) It marked a new era in motor travel.Section A1. C) Why sufficient sleep is important for college students.2. C) Making last-minute preparations for tests may be less effective than sleeping.3. B) Whether the British irports Authority should sell off some of its assets.4. D) Lack of runway and terminal capacity.5. D) Report the nicotine content of their cigarettes.6. A) The biggest increase in nicotine content tended to be in brands young smokers like.7. B) They were not prepared to comment on the cigarette study.Section B8. A) Holland.9. D) Learning a language where it is not spoken.10. C) Trying to speak it as much as one can.11. A) It provides opportunities for language practice.12. B) Rules and regulations for driving.13.C) Make cars that are less powerful.14. D) They tend to drive responsibly.15. C) It is not useful.Section C16. D) The card reader failed to do the scanning.17. B) By covering the credit card with a layer of plastic.18. A) Produce many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures.19. A) They vary among different departments.20.D) By contacting the deparmental office.21. B) They specify the number of credits students must earn.22. C) Students in health classes.23. A) Its overemphasis on thinness.24. B) To explain how computer images can be misleading.25. C) To promote her own concept of beauty.Part ⅢReading Comprehension四级第一套Section A26.O) tend28.L) performance29.K) particularly30.N) survive31.E) dropping32.J) mutually33.H) flow34.F) essential35.I) moodSection B36.E）“We thought we would see differences based on the housing types,”said the lead author of the study, Julie Robison, an associate professor of medicine at the university. A reasonable assumption—don't families struggle to avoid nursing homes and suffer real guilt if they can't?37.L）Of course, sons and daughters want to visit the facilities, talk to the administrators and residents and other families, and do everything possible to fulfill their duties. But perhaps they don't have to turn themselves into private investigators or Congressional subcommittees. “Families can look a bit more for where the residents are going to be happy,”Dr. Sloane said. And involving the future resident in the process can be very important.38.B）Does assisted living really mark a great improvement over a nursing home, or has the industry simply hired better interior designers? Are nursing homes as bad as people fear, or is that an out-moded stereotype (固定看法)？Can doing one's homework really steer families to the best places? It is genuinely hard to know.39.H）An elderly person who describes herself as in poor health, therefore, might be no less depressed in assisted living (even if her children preferred it) than in a nursing home. A person who had input into where he would move and has had time to adapt to it might do as well in a nursing home as in a small residential care home, other factors being equal. It is an interaction between the person and the place, not the sort of place in itself, that leads to better or worse experiences. “You can't just say, ‘Let's put this person in a residential care home instead of a nursing home—she will be much better off,’”Dr. Robison said. What matters, she added, “is a combination of what people bring in with them, and what they find there.”40.N）The daughter feared her mother would be ignored there, and so she decided to move her into a more welcoming facility. Based on what is emerging from some of this research, that might have been as rational a way as any to reach a decision.41.J）As I was considering all this, a press release from a respected research firm crossed my desk，announcing that the five-star rating system that Medicare developed in 2008 to help families compare nursing home quality also has little relationship to how satisfied its residents or their family members are. As a matter of fact, consumers expressed higher satisfaction with theone-star facilities, the lowest rated, than with the five-star ones.(More on this study and the star ratings will appear in a subsequent post.)42.F）In the initial results, assisted living residents did paint the most positive picture. They were less likely to report symptoms of depression than those in the other facilities, for instance, and less likely to be bored or lonely. They scored higher on social interaction.43.C）I am about to make things more complicated by suggesting that what kind of facility an older person lives in may matter less than we have assumed. And that the characteristics adult children look for when they begin the search are not necessarily the things that make a difference to the people who are going to move in. I am not talking about the quality of care，let me hastily add. Nobody flourishes in a gloomy environment with irresponsible staff and a poor safety record. But an accumulating body of research indicates that some distinctions between one type of elder care and another have little real bearing on how well residents do.44.I）Such findings, which run counter to common sense, have surfaced before. In a multi-state study of assisted living, for instance, University of North Carolina researchers found that a host of variables—the facility's type, size or age; whether a chain owned it; how attractive the neighborhood was—had no significant relationship to how the residents fared in terms of illness, mental decline, hospitalizations or mortality. What mattered most was the residents' physical health and mental status. What people were like when they came in had greater consequence than what happened once they were there.45.G）But when the researchers plugged in a number of other variables, such differences disappeared. It is not the housing type, they found, that creates differences in residents' responses. “It is the characteristics of the specific environment they are in, combined with their own personal characteristics—how healthy they feel they are, their age and marital status,”Dr. Robison explained. Whether residents felt involved in the decision to move and how long they had lived there also proved significant.Section C46. C) It can be avoided if human values are translated into their language.47.D) They are ill-bred.48. C) By picking up patterns from massive data on human behavior.49. B) Stop to seek advice from a human being.50. A) Determine what is moral and ethical.51. A) to see whether people's personality affects their life span52. D) They are more likely to get over hardship.53. C) Such personality characteristics as self-discipline have no effect on longevity.54. D) Mothers' negative personality characteristics may affect their children's life span.55. B) Longevity results from a combination of mental and physical health.四级第二套Section A26.G) growing27.A) dependent28.C) fast29.F) give30.H) launch31.N) successful32.I) policyl33.B) designed34.O) treatments35.E) gainedSection B36.D)As we begin to examine our life, Soupios says, we come to Rule No. 2: Worry only about things that you can control. “The individual who promoted this idea was a Stoic philosopher. His name is Epictetus,”he says. “And what the Stoics say in general is simply this: There is a larger plan in life. You are not really going to be able to understand all of the dimensions of this plan. You are not going to be able to control the dimensions of this plan.”37.B)The wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers is timeless, says Soupios. The philosophy professor says it is as relevant today as when it was first written many centuries ago. “There is no expiration (失效) date on wisdom,”he says. “There is no shelf life on intelligence. I think that things have become very gloomy these days, lots of misunderstanding, misleading cues, a lot of what the ancients would have called sophistry (诡辩). The nice thing about ancient philosophy as offered by the Greeks is that they tended to see life clear and whole, in a way that we tend not to see life today.”38.F)To have a meaningful, happy life we need friends. But according to Aristotle—a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great—most relationships don't qualify as true friendships. “Just because I have a business relationship with an individual and I can profit from that relationship, it does not necessarily mean that this person is my friend,”Soupios says. “Real friendship is when two individuals share the same soul. It is a beautiful and uncharacteristically poetic image that Aristotle offers.”39.A) Is it possible to enjoy a peaceful life in a world that is increasingly challenged by threats and uncertainties from wars, terrorism, economic crises and a widespread outbreak of infectious diseases? The answer is yes, according to a new book The 10 Golden Rules: Ancient Wisdom from the Greek Philosophers on Living a Good Life. The book is co-authored by Long Island University's philosophy professor Michael Soupios and economics professor Panos Mourdoukoutas.40.L)“This is Aesop, the fabulist (寓言家), the man of these charming little tales, often told in terms of animals and animal relationships,”he says. “I think what Aesop was suggesting is that when you offer a good turn to another human being, one can hope that that good deed will come back and sort of pay a profit to you, the doer of the good deed. Even if there is no concrete benefit paid in response to your good deed, at the very least, the doer of the good deed has the opportunity to enjoy a kind of spiritually enlightened moment.”41.H)“This was the highest and most desirable form of pleasure and happiness for the ancient Epicureans,”Soupios says. “This is something that is very much well worth considering here in the modern era. I do not think that we spend nearly enough time trying to concentrate on achieving a sort of calmness, a sort of contentment in a mental and spiritual way, which was identified by these people as the highest form of happiness and pleasure.”42.C)Soupios, along with his co-author Panos Mourdoukoutas, developed their 10 golden rules by turning to the men behind that philosophy—Aristotle, Socrates, Epictetus and Pythagoras, among others. The first rule—examine your life—is the common thread that runs through the entire book. Soupios says that it is based on Plato's observation that the unexamined life is not worth living. “The Greeks are always concerned about boxing themselves in, in terms of convictions (信念),”he says. “So take a step back, switch off the automatic pilot and actually stop and reflect about things like our priorities, our values, and our relationships.”43.K)Instead, Soupios says, ancient wisdom urges us to do good. Golden Rule No. 10 for a good life is that kindness toward others tends to be rewarded.44.B)The wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers is timeless, says Soupios. The philosophy professor says it is as relevant today as when it was first written many centuries ago. “There is no expiration (失效) date on wisdom,”he says. “There is no shelf life on intelligence. I think that things have become very gloomy these days, lots of misunderstanding, misleading cues, a lot of what the ancients would have called sophistry (诡辩). The nice thing about ancient philosophy as offered by the Greeks is that they tended to see life clear and whole, in a way that we tend not to see life today.”45.J)“This is Hesiod, of course, a younger contemporary poet, we believe, with Homer,”Soupios says. “Hesiod offers an idea—which you very often find in some of the world's great religions, in the Judeo-Christian tradition and in Islam and others—that in some sense, when you hurt another human being, you hurt yourself. That damaging other people in your community and in your life, trashing relationships, results in a kind of self-inflicted (自己招致的) spiritual wound.”Section C46. D) It usually draws different reactions from different age groups.47. A) It does not seem to create a generational divide.48. B) It helps with their mobility.49. A) The location of their residence.50. C) The wealthy.51. C) Their daily routine followed the rhythm of the natural cycle.52. B) It brought family members closer to each other.53. D) Pace of life.54. B) It is varied, abundant and nutritious.55. A) They enjoyed cooking as well as eating.四级第三套Section A26.M) provide27.A) abandoned28.I) frequent29.L) merely30.C) biased31.G) dependent32.F) dampens33.E) commitment34.N) understandably35.O) unrealisticallySection B36.［F］In contrast, the recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse without a reversal in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highly grain-intensive meat products, and the massive diversion （转向）of U.S. grain to the production of bio-fuel.37.［K］In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. Food-import anxiety is even leading to new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries. In spite of such temporary measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order.38.［C］As demand for food rises faster than supplies are growing, the resulting food-price inflation puts severe stress on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets. Indeed, even before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues to worsen, entire nations will break down at an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.39.［L］Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these—the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families40.［B］I can no longer ignore that risk. Our continuing failure to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.41.［H］What about supply? The three environmental trends—the shortage of fresh water, the loss of topsoil and the rising temperatures—are making it increasingly hard to expand the world's grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. Of all those trends, however, the spread of water shortages poses the most immediate threat. The biggest challenge here is in irrigation, which consumes 70% of the world's fresh water. Millions of irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them. The result is falling water tables （地下水位）in countries with half the world's people, including the three big grain producers—China, India and the U.S.42.［M］For many in the development community, the four objectives were seen as positive, promoting development as long as they did not cost too much. Others saw them as politically correct and morally appropriate. Now a third and far more significant motivation presents itself: meeting these goals may be necessary to prevent the collapse of our civilization. Yet the cost we project for saving civilization would amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending. In effect, our plan is the new security budget.43.［J］As the world's food security falls to pieces, individual countries acting in their own self-interest are actually worsening the troubles of many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies and thereby bringing down domestic food prices. Vietnam banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may eliminate the fears of those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left for export.44.［L］Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these—the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families.45.［G］As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the potential for further grain consumption is huge. But that potential pales beside the never-ending demand for crop-basedfuels. A fourth of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.Section C46. B) It weakens in one's later years.47. D) Some of them begin to decline when people are still young.48. C) They function quite well even in old age.49. D) can put what they have learnt into more effective use50. A) find ways to slow down our mental decline51. C) Scholars and policymakers have different opinions about it.52. A) Pre-K achievements usually do not last long.53. B) When it is made part of kids' education.54. D) She is a firm supporter of pre-K.55. C) Early intervention.Part ⅣTranslation四级第一套功夫(Kung Fu)是中国武术（martial arts）的俗称。

2016年6月四级考试真题(第二套)PartⅠWriting(30minutes)Directions：For this part,you are allowed30minutes to write a letter to express your thanks to your parents or any other family member upon making a memorable achievement．You should write at least120words but no more than180words．PartⅡListening Comprehension(25minutes)Section ADirections：In this section，you will hear three news reports．At the end of each news report,you will hear two or three questions．Both the news report 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 l with a single line through the centre．Questions1and2are based on the news report you have just heard．1．A．The International Labour Organization’s key objective．B．The basic social protection for the most vulnerable．C．Rising unemployment worldwide．D．Global economic recovery．2．A．Many countries have not taken measures to create enough jobs．B．Few countries know how to address the current economic crisis．C．Few countries have realised the seriousness of the current crisis．D．Many countries need support to improve their people’s livelihood．Questions3and4are based on the news report you have just heard．3．A．Serve standardised food nationwide．B．Put calorie information on the menu．C．Increase protein content in the food．D．Offer convenient food to customers．4．A．They will be fined．B．They will be closed．C．They will get a warning．D．They will lose customers．Questions5to7are based on the news report you have just heard．5．A．Inability to implement their business plans．B．Inability to keep turning out novel products．C．Lack of a successful business model of their own．D．Failure to integrate innovation into their business．6．A．It is the secret to business success．B．It is the creation of something newC．It is a magic tool to bring big rewards．D．It is an essential part of business culture7．A．Its hardworking employees．B．Its flexible promotion strategy．C．Its innovation culture．D．Its willingness to make investments．Section BDirections：In this section，you will hear two long conversations．At the end of each conversation，you will hear four questions．Both the conversation 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 Sheet1with a single line through the centre．Questions8to11are based on the conversation you have just heard．8．A．He’s got addicted to technology．B．He is not very good at socializingC．He is crazy about text—messaging．D．He does not talk long on the phone．9．A．Talk big．B．Talk at length．C．Gossip a lot．D．Forget herself．10．A．He thought it was cool．B．He needed the practice．C．He wanted to stay connected with them，D．He had an urgent message to send．11．A．It poses a challenge to seniors．B．It saves both time and money．C．It is childish and unprofessional．D．It is cool and convenient．Questions l2to15are based on the conversation you have just heard．12．A．He wants to change his job assignment．B．He is unhappy with his department managerC．He thinks he deserves extra pay for overtime．D．He is often singled out for criticism by his boss13．A．His workload was much too heavy．B．His immediate boss did not trust himC．His colleagues often refused to cooperate．D．His salary was too low for his responsibility14．A．He never knows how to refuse．B．He is always ready to help othersC．His boss has a lot of trust in him．D．His boss has no sense of fairness．15．A．Put all his complaints in writing．B．Wait and see what happens next．C．Learn to say no when necessary．D．Talk to his boss in person first．Section CDirections：In this section，you will hear three passages．At the end of each passage,you will hear three or four questions。

2016年6月大学英语四级真题（第2套)Part I WritingDirections:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letterto express your thanks to one of your school teachers upon entering college. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.ComprehensionSection ADirections: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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 1 with a single line through the centre. Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1. A)How college students can improve their sleep habits.B)Why sufficient sleep is important for college students.C)Why college students are more likely to have stress problems.D)How college students can handle their psychological problems.2. A)It is not easy to improve one’s sleep habits.B)It is not good for students to play video games.C)Students who are better prepared generally get higher scores in examinations.D)Making last-minute preparations for tests may be less effective than sleeping.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A)Whether more airports should be built around London.B)Whether adequate investment is being made to improve airport facilities.C)Whether the British Airports Authority should sell off some of its assets.D)Whether the Spanish company could offer better service.4. A)Inefficient management. B)Poor ownership structure.C)Lack of innovation and competition. D)Lack of runway and terminal capacity. Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A)Report the nicotine content of their cigarettes.B)Set a limit to the production of their cigarettes.C)Take steps to reduce nicotine in their products.D)Study the effects of nicotine on young smokers.6. A)The biggest increase in nicotine content tended to be in brands young smokers like.B)Big tobacco companies were frank with their customers about the hazards of smoking.C)Brands which contain higher nicotine content were found to be much more popular.D)Tobacco companies refused to discuss the detailed nicotine content of their products.7. A)They promised to reduce the nicotine content in cigarettes.B)They have not fully realized the harmful effect of nicotine.C)They were not prepared to comment on the cigarette study.D)They will pay more attention to the quality of their products.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation 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 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A)Indonesia. B)Holland. C)Sweden. D)England.9.A)Getting a coach who can offer real help. B)Talking with her boyfriend in Dutch.C)Learning a language where it is not spoken . D)Acquiring the necessary ability to socialize .10. A)Listening language programs on the radio. B)Trying to speak it as much as one can.C)Making friends with native speakers. D)Practicing reading aloud as often as possible.11.A)It creates an environment for socializing.B)It offers various courses with credit points.C)It trains young people’s leadership abilities.D)It provides opportunities for language practice.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A)The impact of engine design on rode safety. B)The role policemen play in traffic safety.C)A sense of freedom driving gives. D)Rules and regulations for driving.13. A)Make cars with automatic control. B)Make cars that have better brakes.C)Make cars that are less powerful. D)Make cars with higher standards.14. A)They tend to drive responsibly. B)They like to go at high speed.C)They keep within speed limits. D)They follow traffic rules closely.15.A)It is a bad idea. B)It is not useful.C)It is as effective as speed bumps . D)It should be combined with education.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16.A)The card got damaged . B)The card was found invalid.C)The card reader failed to do the scanning. D)The card reader broke down unexpectedly.17. A)By converting the credit card with a layer of plastic.B)By calling the credit card company for confirmation.C)By seeking help from the card reader maker Verifone.D)By typing the credit card number into the cash register.18.A)Affect the sales of high-tech appliances.B)Change the life style of many Americans.C)Give birth to many new technological inventions.D)Produce many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A)They are set by the dean of the graduate school.B)They are determined by the advising board.C)They leave much room for improvement.D)They vary among different departments.20. A)By consulting the examining committee . B)By reading the Bulletin of Information.C)By contacting the departmental office. D)By visiting the university’s website.21. A)They specify the number of credits students must earn.B)They are harder to meet than those for undergraduates.C)They have to be approved by the examining committee.D)They are the same among various divisions of the university.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A)Students majoring in nutrition. B)Students in health classes.C)Ph.D. candidates in dieting. D)Middle and high school teachers.23. A)Its overestimate of the effect of dieting. B)Its mistaken conception of nutrition.C)Its changing criteria for beauty. D)Its overemphasis on thinness.24. A)To illustrate her point that beauty is but skin deep.B)To demonstrate the magic effect of dieting on women.C)To explain how computer images can be misleading.D)To prove that technology has impacted our culture.25. A)To persuade girls to stop dieting.B)To promote her own concept of beauty.C)To establish an emotional connection with students.D)To help students rid themselves of bad living habits.Part III Reading ComprehensionSection 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.Contrary to popular belief, older people generally do not want to live with their children. Moreover, most adult children 26 every bit as much care and support to their aging parents as was the case in the “good old days”, and most older people do not feel 27 .About 80% of people 65years and older have living children, and about 90% of them have 28 contact with their children. About 75% of elderly parents who don’t go to nursing homes livewithin 30 minutes of at least one of their children.However, 29 having contact with children does not guarantee happiness in old age. In fact, some research has found that people who are most involved with their families have the lowest spirits. This research may be 30 , however, as ill health often makes older people more 31 and thereby increases contact with family members. So it is more likely that poor health, not just family involvement, 32 spirits.Increasingly, researchers have begun to look at the quality of relationships, rather than at the frequency of contact, between the elderly and their children. If parents and children share interests and values and agree on childrearing practices and religious 33 , they are likely to enjoy each other’s company. Disagreements on such matters can 34 cause problems. If parents are agreed by their daughter’s divor ce, dislike her new husband, and disapprove of how she is raising their grandchildren, 35 are that they are not going to enjoy her visits.Section 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 ismarked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?[A] For many years I have studied global agricultural, population, environmental and economictrends and their interactions. The combined effects of those trends and the political tensions they generate point to the breakdown of governments and societies. Yet I, too, have resisted the idea that food shortages could bring down not only individual governments but also our global civilization.[B] I can no longer ignore that risk. Our continuing failure to deal with the environmentaldeclinesthat are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.[C] As demand for food rises faster than supplies are growing, the resulting food-price inflationputs severe stress on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets. Indeed, even before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues to worsen, entire nations will break down at an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.[D] States fail when national governments can no longer provide personal security, food securityand basic social services such as education and health care. When governments lose their control on power, law and order begin to disintegrate. After a point, countries can become so dangerous that food relief workers are no longer safe and their programs are halted. Failing states are of international concern because they are a source of terrorists, drugs, weapons and refugees(难民), threatening political stability everywhere.[E] The surge in world grain prices in 2007 and 2008—and the threat they pose to foodsecurity——has a different, more troubling quality than the increases of the past. During the second half of the 20th century, grain prices rose dramatically several times. In 1972, for instance, the Soviets, recognizing their poor harvest early, quietly cornered the world wheat market. As a result, wheat prices elsewhere more than doubled, pulling rice and corn prices up with them. But this and other price shocks were event-driven——drought in the Soviet Union, crop-shrinking heat in the U.S. Corn Belt. And the rises were short-lived: prices typically returned to normal with the next harvest.[F] In contrast, the recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reversewithout a reversal in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highly grain-intensive meat products, and the massive diversion(转向) of U.S. grain to the production of bio-fuel.[G] As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the potential for further grain consumption ishuge. But that potential pales beside the never-ending demand for crop-based fuels. A fourth of this year’s U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.[H] What about supply? The three environmental trends——the shortage of fresh water, the lossof topsoil and the rising temperatures——are making it increasingly hard to expand the world’s grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. Of all those trends, however, the spread of water shortages poses the most immediate threat. The biggest challenge here is irrigation, which consumes 70% th e world’s fresh water. Millions of irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them. The result is falling water tables(地下水位)in countries with half the world’s people, including the three big grain producers——China, India and the U.S.[I] As water tables have fallen and irrigation wells have gone dry, China’s wheat crop, the world’slargest, has declined by 8% since it peaked at 123 million tons in 1997. But water shortages are even more worrying in India. Millions of irrigation wells have significantly lowered water tables in almost every state.[J] As the world’s food security falls to pieces, individual countries acting in their own self-interest are actually worsening the troubles of many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies and thereby bringing down domestic food prices.Vietnam banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may eliminate the fears of those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left for export.[K] In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. Food-import anxiety is even leading to new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries. In spite of such temporary measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order.[L] Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world’s population at eight billion by 2040, completely re move poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have madesubstantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these——the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families.[M]For many in the development community, the four objectives were seen as positive, promoting development as long as they did not cost too much. Others saw them as politically correct and morally appropriate. Now a third and far more significant motivation presents itself: meeting these goals may be necessary to prevent the collapse of our civilization. Yet the cost we project for saving civilization would amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending. In effect, our plan is the new security budget.36.The more recent steep climb in grain prices partly results from the fact that more and morepeople want to consume meat products.37. Social order is breaking down in many countries because of food shortages.38. Rather than superpower conflict, countries unable to cope with food shortages now constitutethe main threat to world security.39. Some parts of the world have seen successful implementation of family planning.40. The author has come to agree that food shortages could ultimately lead to the collapse of worldcivilization.41. Increasing water shortages prove to be the biggest obstacle to boosting the world’s grainproduction.42. The cost for saving our civilization would be considerably less than the world’s currentmilitary spending.43. To lower domestic food prices, some countries limited or stopped their grain exports.44. Environmental problems must be solved to ease the current global food shortage.45. A quarter of this year’s American grain harvest will be used to produce bio-fuel for cars. 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 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Declining mental function is often seen as a problem of old age, but certain aspects of brain function actually begin their decline in young adulthood, a new study suggests.The study, which followed more than 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60, found that certain mental functions—including measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving—started to dull as early as age 27.Dips in memory, meanwhile, generally became apparent around age 37.On the other hand, indicators of a person’s accumulated knowledge—like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge—kept improving with age, according to findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories. Most people’s minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse.“These patterns suggest that some types of mental flexibility decrease relatively early in adulthood, but that the amount of knowledge one has, and the effectiveness of integrating it withone’s abilities, may increase throughout all of adulthood if there are no diseases,” Salthouse said in a news release.The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at the outset and at some point over the next seven years.The tests are designed to detect subtle (细微的) changes in mental function, and involve solving puzzles, recalling words and details from stories, and identifying patterns in collections of letters and symbols.In general, Salthouse and his colleagues found, certain aspects of cognition (认知能力) generally started to decline in the late 20s to 30s.The findings shed light on normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia (痴呆), according to the researchers.“By following individuals over time,” Salthouse said, “we gain insight in cognition changes, and may possibly discover ways to slow the rate of decline.”The researchers are currently analyzing the study participants’ health and lifestyle to see which factors might influence age-related cognitive changes.46. What is the common view of mental function?A)It varies from person to person. B)It weakens in one’s later years.C)It gradually expands with age. D)It indicates one’s health condition.47. What does the new study find about mental functions?A)Some diseases inevitably lead to their decline.B)They reach a peak at the age of 20 for most people.C)They are closely related to physical and mental exercise.D)Some of them begin to decline when people are still young.48. What does Timothy Salthouse say about people’s minds in most cases?A)They tend to decline in people’s later years.B)Their flexibility determines one’s abilities.C)They function quite well even in old age.D)Their functioning is still a puzzle to be solved.49. Although people’s minds may function less flexibly as they age, they _____.A)may be better at solving puzzlesB)can memorize things with more easeC)may have greater facility in abstract reasoningD)can put what they have learnt into more effective use50. According to Salthouse, their study may help us_____.A)find ways to slow down our mental declineB)find ways to boost our memoriesC)understand the complex process of mental functioningD)understand the relation between physical and mental healthPassage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The most important thing in the news last week was the rising discussion in Nashville about the educational needs of children. The shorthand(简写)educators use for this is “pre-K”—meaning instruction before kindergarten—and the big idea is to prepare 4-year-olds andeven younger kids to be ready to succeed on their K-12 journey.But it gets complicated. The concept has multiple forms, and scholars and policymakers argue about the shape, scope and cost of the ideal program.The federal Head Start program, launched 50 years ago, has served more than 30 million children. It was based on concepts developed at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody Coll ege by Susan Gray, the legendary pioneer in early childhood education research.A new Peabody study of the Tennessee V oluntary Pre-K program reports that pre-K works, but the gains are not sustained through the third grade. It seems to me this highlights quality issues in elementary schools more than pre-K, and indicates longer-term success must connect pre-K with all the other issues related to educating a child.Pre-K is controversial. Some critics say it is a luxury and shouldn’t be free to families able to pay. Pre-K advocates insist it is proven and will succeed if integrated with the rest of the child’s schooling. I lean toward the latter view.This is, in any case, the right conversation to be having now as Mayor Megan Barry takes office. She was the first candidate to speak out for strong pre-K programming. The important thing is for all of us to keep in mind the real goal and the longer, bigger picture.The weight of the evidence is on the side of pre-K that early intervention (干预)works. What government has not yet found is the political will to put that understanding into full practice with a sequence of smart schooling that provides the early foundation.For this purpose, our schools need both the talent and the organization to educate each child who arrives at the schoolhouse door. Some show up ready, but many do not at this critical time when young brains are developing rapidly.51.What does the author say about pre-kindergarten education?A)It should cater to the needs of individual children.B)It is essential to a person’s future academic success.C)Scholars and policymakers have different opinions about it.D)Parents regard it as the first phase of children’s development.52.What does the new Peabody study find?A)Pre-K achievements usually do not last long.B)The third grade marks a new phase of learning.C)The third grade is critical to children’s development.D)Quality has not been the top concern of pre-K programs.53.When does the author think pre-K works the best?A)When it is accessible to kids of all families.B)When it is made part of kids’ education.C)When it is no longer considered a luxury.D)When it is made fun and enjoyable to kids.54.What do we learn about Mayor Megan Barry?A)She knows the real goal of education. B)She is a mayor of insight and vision.C)She has once run a pre-K program. D)She is a firm supporter of pre-K.55.What does the author think is critical to kids’ education?A)Teaching method. B)Kids’ interes t.C)Early intervention. D)Parents’ involvement.Part IV TranslationDirections: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.在山东省潍坊市，风筝不仅仅是玩具，而且还是这座城市文化的标志。

2016年6月大学英语四级真题及参考答案Part ⅡListening Comprehension（听力部分共有两套）四级第一套Section A1. C) Rising unemployment worldwide.2. A) Many countries have not taken measures to create enough jobs.3. B) Put calorie information on the menu.4. A) They will be fined.C) They will get a warning.5. D) Failure to integrate innovation into their business.6. B) It is the creation of something new.7. C) Its innovation culture.Section B8. D) He does not talk long on the phone.9.B) Talk at length.10. A) He thought it was cool.11. C) It is childish and unprofessional.12. B) He is unhappy with his department manager.13. A) His workload was much too heavy.14. C) His boss has a lot of trust in him.15. D) Talk to his boss in person first.Section C16. A) The importance of sleep to a healthy life.17. C) They get less and less sleep.18. D) Their blood pressure will rise.19. B) What course you are going to choose.20. D) The personal statement.21. C) Indicate they have reflected and thought about the subject.22. B) It was built in the late 19th century.23. D) They often broke down.24. A) They were produced on the assembly line.25. C) It marked a new era in motor travel.四级第二套Section A1. C) Why sufficient sleep is important for college students.2. C) Making last-minute preparations for tests may be less effective than sleeping.3. B) Whether the British irports Authority should sell off some of its assets.4. D) Lack of runway and terminal capacity.5. D) Report the nicotine content of their cigarettes.6. A) The biggest increase in nicotine content tended to be in brands young smokers like.7. B) They were not prepared to comment on the cigarette study.Section B8. A) Holland.9. D) Learning a language where it is not spoken.10. C) Trying to speak it as much as one can.11. A) It provides opportunities for language practice.12. B) Rules and regulations for driving.13.C) Make cars that are less powerful.14. D) They tend to drive responsibly.15. C) It is not useful.Section C16. D) The card reader failed to do the scanning.17. B) By covering the credit card with a layer of plastic.18. A) Produce many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures.19. A) They vary among different departments.20.D) By contacting the deparmental office.21. B) They specify the number of credits students must earn.22. C) Students in health classes.23. A) Its overemphasis on thinness.24. B) To explain how computer images can be misleading.25. C) To promote her own concept of beauty.Part ⅢReading Comprehensi on四级第一套Section A26.O) tend27.M) review28.L) performance29.K) particularly30.N) survive31.E) dropping32.J) mutually33.H) flow34.F) essential35.I) moodSection B36.E）“We thought we would see differences based on the housing types,”said the lead author of the study, Julie Robison, an associate professor of medicine at the university. A reasonable assumption—don't families struggle to avoid nursing homes and suffer real guilt if they can't?37.L）Of course, sons and daughters want to visit the facilities, talk to the administrators and residents and other families, and do everything possible to fulfill their duties. But perhaps they don't have to turn themselves into private investigators or Congressional subcommittees. “Families can look a bit more for where the residents are going to be happy,”Dr. Sloane said. And involving the future resident in the process can be very important.38.B）Does assisted living really mark a great improvement over a nursing home, or has the industry simply hired better interior designers? Are nursing homes as bad as people fear, or is that an out-moded stereotype (固定看法)？Can doing one's homework really steer families to the best places? It is genuinely hard to know.39.H）An elderly person who describes herself as in poor health, therefore, might be no less depressed in assisted living (even if her children preferred it) than in a nursing home. A person who had input into where he would move and has had time to adapt to it might do as well in a nursing home as in a small residential care home, other factors being equal. It is an interaction between the person and the place, not the sort of place in itself, that leads to better or worse experiences. “You can't just say, ‘Let's put this person in a residential care home instead of a nursing home—she will be much better off,’”Dr. Robison said. What matters, she added, “is a combination of what people bring in with them, and what they find there.”40.N）The daughter feared her mother would be ignored there, and so she decided to move her into a more welcoming facility. Based on what is emerging from some of this research, that might have been as rational a way as any to reach a decision.41.J）As I was considering all this, a press release from a respected research firm crossed my desk，announcing that the five-star rating system that Medicare developed in 2008 to help families compare nursing home quality also has little relationship to how satisfied its residents or their family members are. As a matter of fact, consumers expressed higher satisfaction with theone-star facilities, the lowest rated, than with the five-star ones.(More on this study and the star ratings will appear in a subsequent post.)42.F）In the initial results, assisted living residents did paint the most positive picture. They were less likely to report symptoms of depression than those in the other facilities, for instance, and less likely to be bored or lonely. They scored higher on social interaction.43.C）I am about to make things more complicated by suggesting that what kind of facility an older person lives in may matter less than we have assumed. And that the characteristics adult children look for when they begin the search are not necessarily the things that make a difference to the people who are going to move in. I am not talking about the quality of care，let me hastily add. Nobody flourishes in a gloomy environment with irresponsible staff and a poor safety record. But an accumulating body of research indicates that some distinctions between one type of elder care and another have little real bearing on how well residents do.44.I）Such findings, which run counter to common sense, have surfaced before. In a multi-state study of assisted living, for instance, University of North Carolina researchers found that a host of variables—the facility's type, size or age; whether a chain owned it; how attractive the neighborhood was—had no significant relationship to how the residents fared in terms of illness, mental decline, hospitalizations or mortality. What mattered most was the residents' physical health and mental status. What people were like when they came in had greater consequence than what happened once they were there.45.G）But when the researchers plugged in a number of other variables, such differences disappeared. It is not the housing type, they found, that creates differences in residents' responses. “It is the characteristics of the specific environment they are in, combined with their own personal characteristics—how healthy they feel they are, their age and marital status,”Dr. Robison explained. Whether residents felt involved in the decision to move and how long they had lived there also proved significant.Section C46. C) It can be avoided if human values are translated into their language.47.D) They are ill-bred.48. C) By picking up patterns from massive data on human behavior.49. B) Stop to seek advice from a human being.50. A) Determine what is moral and ethical.51. A) to see whether people's personality affects their life span52. D) They are more likely to get over hardship.53. C) Such personality characteristics as self-discipline have no effect on longevity.54. D) Mothers' negative personality characteristics may affect their children's life span.55. B) Longevity results from a combination of mental and physical health.四级第二套Section A26.G) growing27.A) dependent28.C) fast29.F) give30.H) launch31.N) successful32.I) policyl33.B) designed34.O) treatments35.E) gainedSection B36.D)As we begin to examine our life, Soupios says, we come to Rule No. 2: Worry only about things that you can control. “The individual who promoted this idea was a Stoic philosopher. His name is Epictetus,”he says. “And what the Stoics say in general is simply this: There is a larger plan in life. You are not really going to be able to understand all of the dimensions of this plan. You are not going to be able to control the dimensions of this plan.”37.B)The wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers is timeless, says Soupios. The philosophy professor says it is as relevant today as when it was first written many centuries ago. “There is no expiration (失效) date on wisdom,”he says. “There is no shelf life on intelligence. I think that things have become very gloomy these days, lots of misunderstanding, misleading cues, a lot of what the ancients would have called sophistry (诡辩). The nice thing about ancient philosophy as offered by the Greeks is that they tended to see life clear and whole, in a way that we tend not to see life today.”38.F)To have a meaningful, happy life we need friends. But according to Aristotle—a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great—most relationships don't qualify as true friendships. “Just because I have a business relationship with an individual and I can profit from that relationship, it does not necessarily mean that this person is my friend,”Soupios says. “Real friendship is when two individuals share the same soul. It is a beautiful and uncharacteristically poetic image that Aristotle offers.”39.A) Is it possible to enjoy a peaceful life in a world that is increasingly challenged by threats and uncertainties from wars, terrorism, economic crises and a widespread outbreak of infectious diseases? The answer is yes, according to a new book The 10 Golden Rules: Ancient Wisdom from the Greek Philosophers on Living a Good Life. The book is co-authored by Long Island University's philosophy professor Michael Soupios and economics professor Panos Mourdoukoutas.40.L)“This is Aesop, the fabulist (寓言家), the man of these charming little tales, often told in terms of animals and animal relationships,”he says. “I think what Aesop was suggesting is that when you offer a good turn to another human being, one can hope that that good deed will come back and sort of pay a profit to you, the doer of the good deed. Even if there is no concrete benefit paid in response to your good deed, at the very least, the doer of the good deed has the opportunity to enjoy a kind of spiritually enlightened moment.”41.H)“This was the highest and most desirable form of pleasure and happiness for the ancient Epicureans,”Soupios says. “This is something that is very much well worth considering here in the modern era. I do not think that we spend nearly enough time trying to concentrate on achieving a sort of calmness, a sort of contentment in a mental and spiritual way, which was identified by these people as the highest form of happiness and pleasure.”42.C)Soupios, along with his co-author Panos Mourdoukoutas, developed their 10 golden rules by turning to the men behind that philosophy—Aristotle, Socrates, Epictetus and Pythagoras, among others. The first rule—examine your life—is the common thread that runs through the entire book. Soupios says that it is based on Plato's observation that the unexamined life is not worth living. “The Greeks are always concerned about boxing themselves in, in terms of convictions (信念),”he says. “So take a step back, switch off the automatic pilot and actually stop and reflect about things like our priorities, our values, and our relationships.”43.K)Instead, Soupios says, ancient wisdom urges us to do good. Golden Rule No. 10 for a good life is that kindness toward others tends to be rewarded.44.B)The wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers is timeless, says Soupios. The philosophy professor says it is as relevant today as when it was first written many centuries ago. “There is no expiration (失效) date on wisdom,”he says. “There is no shelf life on intelligence. I think that things have become very gloomy these days, lots of misunderstanding, misleading cues, a lot of what the ancients would have called sophistry (诡辩). The nice thing about ancient philosophy as offered by the Greeks is that they tended to see life clear and whole, in a way that we tend not to see life today.”45.J)“This is Hesiod, of course, a younger contemporary poet, we believe, with Homer,”Soupios says. “Hesiod offers an idea—which you very often find in some of the world's great religions, in the Judeo-Christian tradition and in Islam and others—that in some sense, when you hurt another human being, you hurt yourself. That damaging other people in your community and in your life, trashing relationships, results in a kind of self-inflicted (自己招致的) spiritual wound.”Section C46. D) It usually draws different reactions from different age groups.47. A) It does not seem to create a generational divide.48. B) It helps with their mobility.49. A) The location of their residence.50. C) The wealthy.51. C) Their daily routine followed the rhythm of the natural cycle.52. B) It brought family members closer to each other.53. D) Pace of life.54. B) It is varied, abundant and nutritious.55. A) They enjoyed cooking as well as eating.四级第三套Section A26.M) provide27.A) abandoned28.I) frequent29.L) merely30.C) biased31.G) dependent32.F) dampens33.E) commitment34.N) understandably35.O) unrealisticallySection B36.［F］In contrast, the recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse without a reversal in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highly grain-intensive meat products, and the massive diversion （转向）of U.S. grain to the production of bio-fuel.37.［K］In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. Food-import anxiety is even leading to new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries. In spite of such temporary measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order.38.［C］As demand for food rises faster than supplies are growing, the resulting food-price inflation puts severe stress on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets. Indeed, even before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues to worsen, entire nations will break down at an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.39.［L］Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these—the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families40.［B］I can no longer ignore that risk. Our continuing failure to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.41.［H］What about supply? The three environmental trends—the shortage of fresh water, the loss of topsoil and the rising temperatures—are making it increasingly hard to expand the world's grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. Of all those trends, however, the spread of water shortages poses the most immediate threat. The biggest challenge here is in irrigation, which consumes 70% of the world's fresh water. Millions of irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them. The result is falling water tables （地下水位）in countries with half the world's people, including the three big grain producers—China, India and the U.S.42.［M］For many in the development community, the four objectives were seen as positive, promoting development as long as they did not cost too much. Others saw them as politically correct and morally appropriate. Now a third and far more significant motivation presents itself: meeting these goals may be necessary to prevent the collapse of our civilization. Yet the cost we project for saving civilization would amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending. In effect, our plan is the new security budget.43.［J］As the world's food security falls to pieces, individual countries acting in their own self-interest are actually worsening the troubles of many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies and thereby bringing down domestic food prices. Vietnam banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may eliminate the fears of those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left for export.44.［L］Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these—the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families.45.［G］As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the potential for further grain consumption is huge. But that potential pales beside the never-ending demand for crop-basedfuels. A fourth of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.Section C46. B) It weakens in one's later years.47. D) Some of them begin to decline when people are still young.48. C) They function quite well even in old age.49. D) can put what they have learnt into more effective use50. A) find ways to slow down our mental decline51. C) Scholars and policymakers have different opinions about it.52. A) Pre-K achievements usually do not last long.53. B) When it is made part of kids' education.54. D) She is a firm supporter of pre-K.55. C) Early intervention.Part ⅣTranslation四级第一套功夫(Kung Fu)是中国武术（martial arts）的俗称。

2016年6月英语四级考试真题（第2套）答案、解析、听力Section A News ReportDirections：In this section，you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report，you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question，youmust choose the best answer from the four choices marked A），B），C）and D）. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Directions: Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.Question 1A) How college students can improve their sleep habits.B) Why sufficient sleep is important for college students.C) Why college students are more likely to have stress problems.D) How college students can handle their psychological problems.Question 2A) It is not easy to improve one's sleep habits.B) It is not good for students to play video games.C) Students who are better prepared generally get higher scores in examinations.D) Making last-minute preparations for tests may be less effective than sleeping.Directions: Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.Question 3A) Whether more airports should be built around London.B) Whether adequate investment is being made to improve airport facilities.C) Whether the British Airports Authority should sell off some of its assets.D) Whether the Spanish company could offer better service.Question 4A) Inefficient management.B) Poor ownership structure.C) Lack of innovation and competition.D) Lack of runway and terminal capacity.Directions: Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.Question 5A) Report the nicotine content of their cigarettes.B) Set a limit to the production of their cigarettes.C) Take steps to reduce nicotine in their products.D) Study the effects of nicotine on young smokers.Question 6A) The biggest increase in nicotine content tended to be in brands young smokers like.B) Big tobacco companies were frank with their customers about the hazards of smoking.C) Brands which contain higher nicotine content were found to be much more popular.D) Tobacco companies refused to discuss the detailed nicotine content of their products. Question 7A) They promised to reduce the nicotine content in cigarettes.B) They have not fully realized the harmful effect of nicotine.C) They were not prepared to comment on the cigarette study.D) They will pay more attention to the quality of their products.Section B ConversationDirections：In this section，you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversations you will hear four questions. Both the conversations and the question-s will be spoken only once. After you hear a question. Youmust choose the best answer from the four choices marked A），B），C）and D）. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Question 8A) Indonesia.B) Holland.C) Sweden.D) England.Question 9A) Getting a coach who can offer real help.B) Talking with her boyfriend in Dutch.C) Learning a language where it is not spoken.D) Acquiring the necessary ability to socialize.Question 10A) Listening to language programs on the radio.B) Trying to speak it as much as one can.C) Making friends with native speakers.D) Practicing reading aloud as often as possible.Question 11A) It creates an environment for socializing.B) It offers various courses with credit points.C) It trains young people's leadership abilities.D) It provides opportunities for language practice.Directions: Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.Question 12A) The impact of engine design on road safety.B) The role policemen play in traffic safety.C) A sense of freedom driving gives.D) Rules and regulations for driving.Question 13A) Make cars with automatic control.B) Make cars that have better brakes.C) Make cars that are less powerful.D) Make cars with higher standards.Question 14A) They tend to drive responsibly.B) They like to go at high speed.C) They keep within speed limits.D) They follow traffic rules closely.Question 15A) It is a bad idea.B) It is not useful.C) It is as effective as speed bumps.D) It should be combined with education.Section C PassagesDirections：In this section，you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage，you will hear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question，you must choosethe best answer from the four choices marked A），B），C）and D）.Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Directions:Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.Question 16A) The card got damaged.B) The card was found invalid.C) The card reader failed to do the scanning.D) The card reader broke down unexpectedly.Question 17A) By covering the credit card with a layer of plastic.B) By calling the credit card company for confirmation.C) By seeking help from the card reader maker Verifone.D) By typing the credit card number into the cash register.Question 18A) Affect the sales of high-tech appliances.B) Change the lifestyle of many Americans.C) Give birth to many new technological inventions.D) Produce many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures.Directions: Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.Question 19A) They are set by the dean of the graduate school.B) They are determined by the advising board.C) They leave much room for improvement.D) They vary among different departments.Question 20A) By consulting the examining committee.B) By reading the Bulletin of Information.C) By contacting the departmental office.D) By visiting the university's website.Question 21A) They specify the number of credits students must earn.B) They are harder to meet than those for undergraduates.C) They have to be approved by the examining committee.D) They are the same among various divisions of the university.Directions: Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard. Question 22A) Students majoring in nutrition.B) Students in health classes.C) Ph.D. candidates in dieting.D) Middle and high school teachers.Question 23A) Its overestimate of the effect of dieting.B) Its mistaken conception of nutrition.C) Its changing criteria for beauty.D) Its overemphasis on thinness.Question 24A) To illustrate her point that beauty is but skin deep.B) To demonstrate the magic effect of dieting on women.C) To explain how computer images can be misleading.D) To prove that technology has impacted our culture.Question 25A) To persuade girls to stop dieting.B) To promote her own concept of beauty.C) To establish an emotional connection with students.D) To help students rid themselves of bad living habits.Keys：参考答案1. B)Why sufficient sleep is important for college students.2. D)Making last-minute preparations for tests may be less effective than sleeping.3. C)Whether the British Airports Authority should sell off some of its assets.4. D)Lack of runway and terminal capacity.5. A)Report the nicotine content of their cigarettes.6. A)The biggest increase in nicotine content tended to be in brands young smokers like.7. C)They were not prepared to comment on the cigarette study.8. B)Holland.9. C)Learning a language where it is not spoken.10. B)Trying to speak it as much as one can.11. D)It provides opportunities for language practice.12. D)Rules and regulations for driving.13. C)Make cars that are less powerful.14. A)They tend to drive responsibly.15. B)It is not useful.16 C)The card reader failed to do the scanning.17 A)By covering the credit card with a layer of plastic.18 D)Produce many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures.19. D)They vary among different departments.20. C)By contacting the departmental office.21. A)They specify the number of credits students must earn.22 B)Students in health classes.23 D)Its overemphasis on thinness.24 C)To explain how computer images can be misleading.25 A)To persuade girls to stop dieting.大学英语四级考试2016年6月第二套真题听力原文及解析Section ANews Item 1You probably think college students are experts at sleeping, but parties, preparations for tests, personal problems and general stress can rack a student's sleep habits, which can be bad for the body and the mind. Texas Tech University is even offering a class called Improving Your Sleep Habits. People suffering from sleep loss are at an increased risk from obesity, psychological problems and car crashes. Students who don't get enough sleep have poor attendance and lower grades. On top of all that, (2)a new study published in the journal Learning and Memory finds you are probably better off sleeping than making last-minute preparations for a test. Two hundred college kids were taught to play some unfamiliar video games. Subjects who learned the games in the morning lost some skills when they played again 12 hours later, (1)but they did much better after getting a good night's sleep. So if you really want to do your job well, don't forget to get some sleep.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.What is the news report mainly about?解析：主旨大意题。

2016年6月英语四级真题第二套（文字版整理）Part I Writing （30 minutes）Directions：For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to express your thanks to one of your school teachers upon entering college. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part III Reading Comprehension （40 minutes）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.Contrary to popular belief, older people generally do not want to live with their children. Moreover, most adult children _____(26)every bit as much care and support to their aging parents as was the case in the "good old days", and roost older people do not feel _____(27).About 80% of people 65 years and older have living children, and about 90% of them have _____(28)contact with their children. About 75% of elderly parents who don't go to nursing homes live within 30 minutes of at least one of their children.However, _____(29)having contact with children does not guarantee happiness in old age. In fact, some research has found that people who are most involved with their families have the lowest spirits. This research may be _____(30), however, as ill health often makes older people more _____(31)and thereby increases contact with family members. So it is more likely that poor health, not just family involvement, _____(32)spirits.Increasingly, researchers have begun to look at the quality of relationships, rather than at the frequency of contact, between the elderly and their children. If parents and children share interests and values and agree on childrearing practices and religious _____(33)they are likely to enjoy each other's company. Disagreements on such matters can _____(34)cause problems. If parents are angered by their daughter's divorce, dislike her new husband, and disapprove of how she is raising their grandchildren, _____(35)are that they are not going to enjoy her visits.A.abandonedB.advancedC.biasedD.chancesmitmentF.dampensG.dependentH.distantI.frequentJ.fulfillmentK.grantL.merelyM.provideN.understandablyO.unrealisticallySection 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.Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?[A] For many years I have studied global agricultural, population, environmental and economic trends and their interactions. The combined effects of those trends and the political tensions they generate point to the breakdown of governments and societies. Yet I, too, have resisted the idea that food shortages could bring down not only individual governments but also our global civilization.[B] I can no longer ignore that risk. Our continuing failure to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.[C] As demand for food rises faster than supplies are growing, the resulting food-price inflation puts severe stress on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets. Indeed, even before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues to worsen, entire nations will break down at an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.[D] States fail when national governments can no longer provide personal security, food security and basic social services such as education and health care. When governments lose their control on power, law and order begin to disintegrate. After a point, countries can become so dangerous that food relief workers are no longer safe and their programs are halted. Failing states are of international concern because they are a source of terrorists, drugs, weapons and refugees(难民), threatening political stability everywhere.[E] The surge in world grain prices in 2007 and 2008—and the threat they pose to food security——has a different, more troubling quality than the increases of the past. During the second of the 20th century, grain prices rose dramatically several times. In 1972, for instance, the Soviets. I recognizing their poor harvest early, quietly cornered the world wheat market. As a result, wheat prices elsewhere more than doubled, pulling rice and com prices up with them. But this and other price shocks were event-driven——drought in the Soviet Union, crop-shrinking heat in the U.S. Corn Belt. And the rises were short-lived: prices typically returned to normal with the next harvest.[F]In contrast, recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse without a reversal in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highlygrain-intensive meat products, and the massive diversion(转向)of U.S. grain to the production of bio-fuel.[G]As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the potential for further grain consumption is huge. But that potential pales beside the never-ending demand for crop-based fuels. A fourth of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.[H]What about supply? The three environmental trends——the shortage of fresh water, the loss of topsoil and the rising temperatures——are making it increasingly hard to expand the world's grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. Of all those trends, however, the spread of water shortages poses the most immediate threat. The biggest challenge here is irrigation, which consumes 70% the world's fresh water. Millions of irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them. The result is falling water tables(地下水位)in countries with half the world's people, including the three big grain producers——China, India and the U.S.[I]As water tables have fallen and irrigation wells have gone dry, China's wheat crop, the world's largest, has declined by 8% since it peaked at 123 million tons in 1997. But water shortages are even more worrying in India. Millions of irrigation wells have significantly lowered water tables in almost every state.[J]As the world's food security falls to pieces, individual countries acting in their own self-interest are actually worsening the troubles of many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies and thereby bringing down domestic food prices. Vietnam banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may eliminate the fears of those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left for export.[K]In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. Food-import anxiety is even leading to new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries. In spite of such temporary measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order.[L]Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these——the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families.[M]For many in the development community, the four objectives were seen as positive, promoting development as long as they did not cost too much. Others saw them as politically correct and morally appropriate. Now a third and far more significant motivation presents itself: meeting these goals may necessary to prevent the collapse of our civilization. Yet the cost we project for saving civilizationwould amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending. In effect, our plan is the new security budget.36.The more recent steep climb in grain prices partly results from the fact that more and more people want to consume meat products.37.Social order is breaking down in many countries because of food shortages.38.Rather than superpower conflict, countries unable to cope with food shortages now constitute the main threat to world security.39.Some parts of the world have seen successful implementation of family planning.40.The author has come to agree that food shortages could ultimately lead to the collapse of world civilization.41.Increasing water shortages prove to be the biggest obstante to boosting the world's grain production.42.The cost for saving our civilization would be considerably less than the world's current military spending.43.To lower domestic food prices, some countries limited or stopped their grain exports.44.Environmental problems must be solved to case the current global food shortage.45.A quarter of this year's American grain harvest will be used to produce bio-fuel for cars.Section CPassage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Declining mental function is often seen as a problem of old age，but certain aspects of brain function actually begin their decline in young adulthood, a new study suggests.The study, which followed more than 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60, found that certain mental functions—including measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving—started to dull as early as age 27.Dips in memory, meanwhile, generally became apparent around age 37.On the other hand, indicators of a person’s accumulated knowledge—like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge—kept improving with age, according to findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories. Most people’s minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse."These patterns suggest that some types of mental flexibility decrease relatively early in adulthood, but that the amount of knowledge one has, and the effectiveness of integrating it with one’s abilities，may increase throughout all of adulthood if there are no dispases," Salthouse said in a news release.The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at the outset and at some point over the next seven years.The tests are designed to detect subtle (细微的)changes in mental function, and involve solving Puzzles, recalling words and details from stories, and identifying patterns in collections of letters and symbols.In general, Salthouse and his colleagues found, certain aspects of cognition (认知能力)generally started to decline in the late 20s to 30s.The findings shed light on normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia(痴呆),according to the researchers.“By following individuals over time,” Salthouse said, "we gain insight in cognition changes, and may possibly discover ways to slow the rate of decline.”The researchers are currently analyzing, the study participants' health and lifestyle to see which factors might influence age-related cognitive changes.46.What is the common view of mental function?A.It varies from person to person.C.It gradually expands with age.B.It weakens in one’s later years.D.It indicates one’s health condition.47.What does the new study find about mental functions?A.Some diseases inevitably lead to their decline.B.They reach a peak at the age of 20 for most people.C.They are closely related to physical' and mental exercise.D.Some of them begin to decline when people are still young.48.What does Timothy Salthouse say about people's minds in most cases?A.They tend to decline in people’s later years.B.Their flexibility determines one’s abilities.C.They function quite well even in old age.D.Their functioning is still a puzzle to be solved.49.Although people’s minds may function less flexibly as they age, they_____.A.may be better at solving puzzlesB.can memorize things with more easeC.may have greater facility in abstract reasoningD.can put what they have learnt into more effective use50.According to Salthouse, their study may help us_____.A.find ways to slow down our mental decline6.find ways to boost our memoriesC.understand the complex process of mental functioningD.understand the relation between physical and mental healthPassage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The most important thing in the news last week was the rising discussion in Nashville about the educational needs of children. The shorthand(简写)educators use for this is "pre-K"—meaning instruction before kindergarten—and the big idea is to prepare 4-year-olds and even younger kids to be ready to succeed on their K-12 journey.But it gets complicated. The concept has multiple forms, and scholars and policymakers argue about the shape, scope and cost of the ideal program.The federal Head Start program, launched 50 years ago, has served more than 30million children. It was based on concepts developed at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College by Susan Gray, the legendary pioneer in early childhood education research.A new Peabody study of the Tennessee Voluntary Pre-K program reports that pre-K works, but the gains are not sustained through the third grade. It seems to me this highlights quality issues in elementary schools more than pre-K, and indicates longer-term success must connect pre-K with all the other issues, related to educating a child.Pre-K is controversial. Some critics say it is a luxury and shouldn't be free to families able to pay. Pre-K advocates insist it is proven and will succeed if integrated with the rest of the child's schooling. I lean toward the latter view.This is, in any case, the right conversation to be having now as Mayor Megan Barry takes office. She was the first candidate to speak out for strong pre-K programming. The important thing is for all of us to keep in mind the real goal and the longer, bigger picture.The weight of the evidence is on the side of pre-K that early intervention (干预)works. What government has not yet found is the political will to put that understanding into full practice with a sequence of smart schooling that provides the early foundation.For this purpose, our schools need both the talent and the organization to educate each child who arrives at the schoolhouse door. Some show up ready, but many do not at this critical time when young brains are developing rapidly.51.What does the author say about pre-kindergarten education?A.It should cater to the needs of individual children.B.It is essential to a person's future academic success.C.Scholars and policymakers have different opinions about it.D.Parents regard it as the first phase of children's development.52.What does the new Peabody study find?A.Pre-K achievements usually do not last long.B.The third grade marks a new phase of learning.C.The third grade is critical to children's development.D.Quality has not been the top concern of pre-K programs.53.When does the author think pre-K works the best?A.When it is accessible to kids of all families.B.When it is made part of kids' education.C.When it is no longer considered a luxury.D.When it is made fun and enjoyable to kids.54.What do we learn about Mayor Megan Barry?A.She knows the real goal of education.B.She is a mayor of insight and vision.C.She has once run a pre-K program.D.She is a firm supporter of pre-K.55.What does the author think is critical to kids' education?A.Teaching method.B.Kids' interest.C.Early intervention.D.Parents' involvement.Part IV Translation （30 minutes）Directions： For this part， you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English。

2016年6月大学英语四级考试真题及参考答案Part ⅡListening Comprehension（听力部分共有两套）四级第一套Section A1. C) Rising unemployment worldwide.2. A) Many countries have not taken measures to create enough jobs.3. B) Put calorie information on the menu.4. A) They will be fined.C) They will get a warning.5. D) Failure to integrate innovation into their business.6. B) It is the creation of something new.7. C) Its innovation culture.Section B8. D) He does not talk long on the phone.9. B) Talk at length.10. A) He thought it was cool.11. C) It is childish and unprofessional.12. B) He is unhappy with his department manager.13. A) His workload was much too heavy.14. C) His boss has a lot of trust in him.15. D) Talk to his boss in person first.Section C16. A) The importance of sleep to a healthy life.17. C) They get less and less sleep.18. D) Their blood pressure will rise.19. B) What course you are going to choose.20. D) The personal statement.21. C) Indicate they have reflected and thought about the subject.22. B) It was built in the late 19th century.23. D) They often broke down.24. A) They were produced on the assembly line.25. C) It marked a new era in motor travel.Section A1. C) Why sufficient sleep is important for college students.2. C) Making last-minute preparations for tests may be less effective than sleeping.3. B) Whether the British irports Authority should sell off some of its assets.4. D) Lack of runway and terminal capacity.5. D) Report the nicotine content of their cigarettes.6. A) The biggest increase in nicotine content tended to be in brands young smokers like.7. B) They were not prepared to comment on the cigarette study.Section B8. A) Holland.9. D) Learning a language where it is not spoken.10. C) Trying to speak it as much as one can.11. A) It provides opportunities for language practice.12. B) Rules and regulations for driving.13.C) Make cars that are less powerful.14. D) They tend to drive responsibly.15. C) It is not useful.Section C16. D) The card reader failed to do the scanning.17. B) By covering the credit card with a layer of plastic.18. A) Produce many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures.19. A) They vary among different departments.20.D) By contacting the deparmental office.21. B) They specify the number of credits students must earn.22. C) Students in health classes.23. A) Its overemphasis on thinness.24. B) To explain how computer images can be misleading.25. C) To promote her own concept of beauty.Part ⅢReading Comprehension四级第一套Section A26.O) tend28.L) performance29.K) particularly30.N) survive31.E) dropping32.J) mutually33.H) flow34.F) essential35.I) moodSection B36.E）“We thought we would see differences based on the housing types,”said the lead author of the study, Julie Robison, an associate professor of medicine at the university. A reasonable assumption—don't families struggle to avoid nursing homes and suffer real guilt if they can't?37.L）Of course, sons and daughters want to visit the facilities, talk to the administrators and residents and other families, and do everything possible to fulfill their duties. But perhaps they don't have to turn themselves into private investigators or Congressional subcommittees. “Families can look a bit more for where the residents are going to be happy,”Dr. Sloane said. And involving the future resident in the process can be very important.38.B）Does assisted living really mark a great improvement over a nursing home, or has the industry simply hired better interior designers? Are nursing homes as bad as people fear, or is that an out-moded stereotype (固定看法)？Can doing one's homework really steer families to the best places? It is genuinely hard to know.39.H）An elderly person who describes herself as in poor health, therefore, might be no less depressed in assisted living (even if her children preferred it) than in a nursing home. A person who had input into where he would move and has had time to adapt to it might do as well in a nursing home as in a small residential care home, other factors being equal. It is an interaction between the person and the place, not the sort of place in itself, that leads to better or worse experiences. “You can't just say, ‘Let's put this person in a residential care home instead of a nursing home—she will be much better off,’”Dr. Robison said. What matters, she added, “is a combination of what people bring in with them, and what they find there.”40.N）The daughter feared her mother would be ignored there, and so she decided to move her into a more welcoming facility. Based on what is emerging from some of this research, that might have been as rational a way as any to reach a decision.41.J）As I was considering all this, a press release from a respected research firm crossed my desk，announcing that the five-star rating system that Medicare developed in 2008 to help families compare nursing home quality also has little relationship to how satisfied its residents or their family members are. As a matter of fact, consumers expressed higher satisfaction with theone-star facilities, the lowest rated, than with the five-star ones.(More on this study and the star ratings will appear in a subsequent post.)42.F）In the initial results, assisted living residents did paint the most positive picture. They were less likely to report symptoms of depression than those in the other facilities, for instance, and less likely to be bored or lonely. They scored higher on social interaction.43.C）I am about to make things more complicated by suggesting that what kind of facility an older person lives in may matter less than we have assumed. And that the characteristics adult children look for when they begin the search are not necessarily the things that make a difference to the people who are going to move in. I am not talking about the quality of care，let me hastily add. Nobody flourishes in a gloomy environment with irresponsible staff and a poor safety record. But an accumulating body of research indicates that some distinctions between one type of elder care and another have little real bearing on how well residents do.44.I）Such findings, which run counter to common sense, have surfaced before. In a multi-state study of assisted living, for instance, University of North Carolina researchers found that a host of variables—the facility's type, size or age; whether a chain owned it; how attractive the neighborhood was—had no significant relationship to how the residents fared in terms of illness, mental decline, hospitalizations or mortality. What mattered most was the residents' physical health and mental status. What people were like when they came in had greater consequence than what happened once they were there.45.G）But when the researchers plugged in a number of other variables, such differences disappeared. It is not the housing type, they found, that creates differences in residents' responses. “It is the characteristics of the specific environment they are in, combined with their own personal characteristics—how healthy they feel they are, their age and marital status,”Dr. Robison explained. Whether residents felt involved in the decision to move and how long they had lived there also proved significant.Section C46. C) It can be avoided if human values are translated into their language.47.D) They are ill-bred.48. C) By picking up patterns from massive data on human behavior.49. B) Stop to seek advice from a human being.50. A) Determine what is moral and ethical.51. A) to see whether people's personality affects their life span52. D) They are more likely to get over hardship.53. C) Such personality characteristics as self-discipline have no effect on longevity.54. D) Mothers' negative personality characteristics may affect their children's life span.55. B) Longevity results from a combination of mental and physical health.四级第二套Section A26.G) growing27.A) dependent28.C) fast29.F) give30.H) launch31.N) successful32.I) policyl33.B) designed34.O) treatments35.E) gainedSection B36.D)As we begin to examine our life, Soupios says, we come to Rule No. 2: Worry only about things that you can control. “The individual who promoted this idea was a Stoic philosopher. His name is Epictetus,”he says. “And what the Stoics say in general is simply this: There is a larger plan in life. You are not really going to be able to understand all of the dimensions of this plan. You are not going to be able to control the dimensions of this plan.”37.B)The wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers is timeless, says Soupios. The philosophy professor says it is as relevant today as when it was first written many centuries ago. “There is no expiration (失效) date on wisdom,”he says. “There is no shelf life on intelligence. I think that things have become very gloomy these days, lots of misunderstanding, misleading cues, a lot of what the ancients would have called sophistry (诡辩). The nice thing about ancient philosophy as offered by the Greeks is that they tended to see life clear and whole, in a way that we tend not to see life today.”38.F)To have a meaningful, happy life we need friends. But according to Aristotle—a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great—most relationships don't qualify as true friendships. “Just because I have a business relationship with an individual and I can profit from that relationship, it does not necessarily mean that this person is my friend,”Soupios says. “Real friendship is when two individuals share the same soul. It is a beautiful and uncharacteristically poetic image that Aristotle offers.”39.A) Is it possible to enjoy a peaceful life in a world that is increasingly challenged by threats and uncertainties from wars, terrorism, economic crises and a widespread outbreak of infectious diseases? The answer is yes, according to a new book The 10 Golden Rules: Ancient Wisdom from the Greek Philosophers on Living a Good Life. The book is co-authored by Long Island University's philosophy professor Michael Soupios and economics professor Panos Mourdoukoutas.40.L)“This is Aesop, the fabulist (寓言家), the man of these charming little tales, often told in terms of animals and animal relationships,”he says. “I think what Aesop was suggesting is that when you offer a good turn to another human being, one can hope that that good deed will come back and sort of pay a profit to you, the doer of the good deed. Even if there is no concrete benefit paid in response to your good deed, at the very least, the doer of the good deed has the opportunity to enjoy a kind of spiritually enlightened moment.”41.H)“This was the highest and most desirable form of pleasure and happiness for the ancient Epicureans,”Soupios says. “This is something that is very much well worth considering here in the modern era. I do not think that we spend nearly enough time trying to concentrate on achieving a sort of calmness, a sort of contentment in a mental and spiritual way, which was identified by these people as the highest form of happiness and pleasure.”42.C)Soupios, along with his co-author Panos Mourdoukoutas, developed their 10 golden rules by turning to the men behind that philosophy—Aristotle, Socrates, Epictetus and Pythagoras, among others. The first rule—examine your life—is the common thread that runs through the entire book. Soupios says that it is based on Plato's observation that the unexamined life is not worth living. “The Greeks are always concerned about boxing themselves in, in terms of convictions (信念),”he says. “So take a step back, switch off the automatic pilot and actually stop and reflect about things like our priorities, our values, and our relationships.”43.K)Instead, Soupios says, ancient wisdom urges us to do good. Golden Rule No. 10 for a good life is that kindness toward others tends to be rewarded.44.B)The wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers is timeless, says Soupios. The philosophy professor says it is as relevant today as when it was first written many centuries ago. “There is no expiration (失效) date on wisdom,”he says. “There is no shelf life on intelligence. I think that things have become very gloomy these days, lots of misunderstanding, misleading cues, a lot of what the ancients would have called sophistry (诡辩). The nice thing about ancient philosophy as offered by the Greeks is that they tended to see life clear and whole, in a way that we tend not to see life today.”45.J)“This is Hesiod, of course, a younger contemporary poet, we believe, with Homer,”Soupios says. “Hesiod offers an idea—which you very often find in some of the world's great religions, in the Judeo-Christian tradition and in Islam and others—that in some sense, when you hurt another human being, you hurt yourself. That damaging other people in your community and in your life, trashing relationships, results in a kind of self-inflicted (自己招致的) spiritual wound.”Section C46. D) It usually draws different reactions from different age groups.47. A) It does not seem to create a generational divide.48. B) It helps with their mobility.49. A) The location of their residence.50. C) The wealthy.51. C) Their daily routine followed the rhythm of the natural cycle.52. B) It brought family members closer to each other.53. D) Pace of life.54. B) It is varied, abundant and nutritious.55. A) They enjoyed cooking as well as eating.四级第三套Section A26.M) provide27.A) abandoned28.I) frequent29.L) merely30.C) biased31.G) dependent32.F) dampens33.E) commitment34.N) understandably35.O) unrealisticallySection B36.［F］In contrast, the recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse without a reversal in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highly grain-intensive meat products, and the massive diversion （转向）of U.S. grain to the production of bio-fuel.37.［K］In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. Food-import anxiety is even leading to new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries. In spite of such temporary measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order.38.［C］As demand for food rises faster than supplies are growing, the resulting food-price inflation puts severe stress on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets. Indeed, even before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues to worsen, entire nations will break down at an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.39.［L］Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these—the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families40.［B］I can no longer ignore that risk. Our continuing failure to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.41.［H］What about supply? The three environmental trends—the shortage of fresh water, the loss of topsoil and the rising temperatures—are making it increasingly hard to expand the world's grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. Of all those trends, however, the spread of water shortages poses the most immediate threat. The biggest challenge here is in irrigation, which consumes 70% of the world's fresh water. Millions of irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them. The result is falling water tables （地下水位）in countries with half the world's people, including the three big grain producers—China, India and the U.S.42.［M］For many in the development community, the four objectives were seen as positive, promoting development as long as they did not cost too much. Others saw them as politically correct and morally appropriate. Now a third and far more significant motivation presents itself: meeting these goals may be necessary to prevent the collapse of our civilization. Yet the cost we project for saving civilization would amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending. In effect, our plan is the new security budget.43.［J］As the world's food security falls to pieces, individual countries acting in their own self-interest are actually worsening the troubles of many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies and thereby bringing down domestic food prices. Vietnam banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may eliminate the fears of those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left for export.44.［L］Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these—the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families.45.［G］As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the potential for further grain consumption is huge. But that potential pales beside the never-ending demand for crop-basedfuels. A fourth of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.Section C46. B) It weakens in one's later years.47. D) Some of them begin to decline when people are still young.48. C) They function quite well even in old age.49. D) can put what they have learnt into more effective use50. A) find ways to slow down our mental decline51. C) Scholars and policymakers have different opinions about it.52. A) Pre-K achievements usually do not last long.53. B) When it is made part of kids' education.54. D) She is a firm supporter of pre-K.55. C) Early intervention.Part ⅣTranslation四级第一套功夫(Kung Fu)是中国武术（martial arts）的俗称。

2016年6月大学英语四级考试真题（第2套）Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to express your thanks to your parents or any other family member upon making a memorable achievement. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)Section ADirections:In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.1. A) The International Labour Organization's key objective.B) The basic social protection for the most vulnerable.C) Rising unemployment worldwide.D) Global economic recovery.2. A) Many countries have not taken measures to create enough jobs.B) Few countries know how to address the current economic crisis.C) Few countries have realised the seriousness of the current crisis.D) Many countries need support to improve their people's livelihood.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) Serve standardised food nationwide.C) Increase protein content in the food.B) Put calorie information on the menu.D) Offer convenient food to customers.4. A) They will be fined. C) They will get a warning.B) They will be closed.D) They will lose customers.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) Inability to implement their business plans.B) Inability to keep turning out novel products.C) Lack of a successful business model of their own.D) Failure to integrate innovation into their business.6. A) It is the secret to business success. C) It is a magic tool to bring big rewards.B) It is the creation of something new.D) It is an essential part of business culture.7. A) Its hardworking employees. C) Its innovation culture.B) Its flexible promotion strategy. D) Its willingness to make investments.Section BDirections:In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation 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 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A) He's got addicted to technology. C) He is crazy about text-messaging.B) He is not very good at socializing.D) He does not talk long on the phone.9. A) Talk big.C) Gossip a lot.B) Talk at length. D) Forget herself.10. A) He thought it was cool. C) He wanted to stay connected with them.B) He needed the practice.D) He had an urgent message to send.11. A) It poses a challenge to seniors. C) It is childish and unprofessional.B) It saves both time and money. D) It is cool and convenient.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) He wants to change his job assignment.B) He is unhappy with his department manager.C) He thinks he deserves extra pay for overtime.D) He is often singled out for criticism by his boss.13. A) His workload was much too heavy. C) His colleagues often refused to cooperate.B) His immediate boss did not trust him. D) His salary was too low for his responsibility.14. A) He never knows how to refuse.C) His boss has a lot of trust in him.B) He is always ready to help others.D) His boss has no sense of fairness.15. A) Put all his complaints in writing. C) Learn to say no when necessary.B) Wait and see what happens next.D) Talk to his boss in person first.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A) The importance of sleep to a healthy life.B) Reasons for Americans' decline in sleep.C) Some tips to improve the quality of sleep.D) Diseases associated with lack of sleep.17. A) They are more health-conscious. C) They get less and less sleep.B) They are changing their living habits. D) They know the dangers of lack of sleep.18. A) Their weight will go down. C) Their work efficiency will decrease.B) Their mind function will deteriorate.D) Their blood pressure will rise.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) How much you can afford to pay.B) What course you are going to choose.C) Which university you are going to apply to.D) When you are going to submit your application.20. A) The list of courses studied.C) The references from teachers.B) The full record of scores. D) The personal statement.21. A) Specify what they would like to do after graduation.B) Describe in detail how much they would enjoy studying.C) Indicate they have reflected and thought about the subject.D) Emphasize that they admire the professors in the university.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) It was equipped with rubber tyres.C) It was purchased by the Royal family.B) It was built in the late 19th century.D) It was designed by an English engineer.23. A) They consumed lots of petrol. C) They were difficult to drive.B) They took two passengers only.D) They often broke down.24. A) They were produced on the assembly line. C) They were modeled after British cars.B) They were built with less costly materials. D) They were made for ordinary use.25. A) It made news all over the world. C) It marked a new era in motor travel.B) It was built for the Royal family. D) It attracted large numbers of motorists.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)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.Contrary to popular belief, older people generally do not want to live with their children. Moreover, most adult children 26 every bit as much care and support to their aging parents as was the case in the "good old days", and most older people do not feel 27 .About 80% of people 65 years and older have living children, and about 90% of them have28 contact with their children. About 75% of elderly parents who don't go to nursing homes live within 30 minutes of at least one of their children.However, 29 having contact with children does not guarantee happiness in old age. In fact, some research has found that people who are most involved with their families have the lowest spirits. This research may be 30 , however, as ill health often makes older people more 31 and thereby increases contact with family members. So it is more likely that poor health, not just family involvement, 32 spirits.Increasingly, researchers have begun to look at the quality of relationships, rather than at the frequency of contact, between the elderly and their children. If parents and children share interests and values and agree on childrearing practices and religious 33 , they are likely to enjoy each other's company. Disagreements on such matters can 34 cause problems. If parents are angered by their daughter's divorce, dislike her new husband, and disapprove of how she is raisingSection 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.Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?A) For many years I have studied global agricultural, population, environmental and economic trends and their interactions. The combined effects of those trends and the political tensions they generate point to the breakdown of governments and societies. Yet I, too, have resisted the idea that food shortages could bring down not only individual governments but also our global civilization.B) I can no longer ignore that risk. Our continuing failure to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.C) As demand for food rises faster than supplies are growing, the resulting food-price inflation puts severe stress on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets. Indeed, even before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues to worsen, entire nations will break down at an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.D) States fail when national governments can no longer provide personal security, food security and basic social services such as education and health care. When governments lose their control on power, law and order begin to disintegrate. After a point, countries can become so dangerous that food relief workers are no longer safe and their programs are halted. Failing states are of international concern because they are a source of terrorists, drugs, weapons and refugees (难民) threatening political stability everywhere.E) The surge in world grain prices in 2007 and 2008 --and the threat they pose to food security -- has a different, more troubling quality than the increases of the past. During the second half of the 20th century, grain prices rose dramatically several times. In 1972, for instance, the Soviets, recognizing their poor harvest early, quietly cornered the world wheat market. As a result, wheat prices elsewhere more than doubled, pulling rice and corn prices up with them. But this and other price shocks were event-driven -- drought in the Soviet Union, crop-shrinking heat in the U.S. Corn Belt. And the rises were short-lived: prices typically returned to normal with the next harvest.F) In contrast, the recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse without a reversal in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highly grain-intensive meat products, and the massive diversion (转向) of U.S. grain to the production of bio-fuel.G) As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the potential for further grain consumption is huge. But that potential pales beside the never-ending demand for crop-based fuels.A fourth of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.H) What about supply? The three environmental trends -- the shortage of fresh water, the loss of topsoil and the rising temperatures -- are making it increasingly hard to expand the world's grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. Of all those trends, however, the spread of water shortages poses the most immediate threat. The biggest challenge here is irrigation, which consumes 70% of the world's fresh water. Millions of irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them. The result is falling water tables (地下水位) in countries with half the world's people, including the three big grain producers -- China, India and the U.S.I) As water tables have fallen and irrigation wells have gone dry, China's wheat crop, the world's largest, has declined by 8% since it peaked at 123 million tons in 1997. But water shortages are even more worrying in India. Millions of irrigation wells have significantly lowered water tables in almost every state.J) As the world's food security falls to pieces, individual countries acting in their own self-interest are actually worsening the troubles of many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies and thereby bringing down domestic food prices. Vietnam banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may eliminate the fears of those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left for export.K) In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. Food-import anxiety is evenleading to new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries. In spite of such temporary measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order.L) Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these -- the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families.M) For many in the development community, the four objectives were seen as positive, promoting development as long as they did not cost too much. Others saw them as politically correct and morally appropriate. Now a third and far more significant motivation presents itself: meeting these goals may be necessary to prevent the collapse of our civilization. Yet the cost we project for saving civilization would amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending. In effect, our plan is the new security budget.36. The more recent steep climb in grain prices partly results from the fact that more and more people want to consume meat products.37. Social order is breaking down in many countries because of food shortages.38. Rather than superpower conflict, countries unable to cope with food shortages now constitute the main threat to world security.39. Some parts of the world have seen successful implementation of family planning.40. The author has come to agree that food shortages could ultimately lead to the collapse of world civilization.41. Increasing water shortages prove to be the biggest obstacle to boosting the world's grain production.42. The cost for saving our civilization would be considerably less than the world's current military spending.43. To lower domestic food prices, some countries limited or stopped their grain exports.44. Environmental problems must be solved to ease the current global food shortage.45. A quarter of this year's American grain harvest will be used to produce bio-fuel for cars.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 2with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Declining mental function is often seen as a problem of old age, but certain aspects of brain function actually begin their decline in young adulthood, a new study suggests.The study, which followed more than 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60, found that certain mental functions -- including measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving -- started to dull as early as age 27.Dips in memory, meanwhile, generally became apparent around age 37.On the other hand, indicators of a person's accumulated knowledge -- like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge --kept improving with age, according to findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories. Most people's minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse."These patterns suggest that some types of mental flexibility decrease relatively early in adulthood, but that the amount of knowledge one has, and the effectiveness of integrating it with one's abilities, may increase throughout all of adulthood if there are no diseases," Salthouse said in a news release.The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at the outset and at some point over the next seven years.The tests are designed to detect subtle(细微的) changes in mental function, and involve solving puzzles, recalling words and details from stories, and identifying patterns in collections of letters and symbols.In general, Salthouse and his colleagues found, certain aspects of cognition(认知能力) generally started to decline in the late 20s to 30s.The findings shed light on normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia (痴呆), according to the researchers."By following individuals over time," Salthouse said, "we gain insight in cognition changes, and may possibly discover ways to slow the rate of decline."The researchers are currently analyzing the study participants' health and lifestyle to see which factors might influence age-related cognitive changes.46. What is the common view of mental function?A) It varies from person to person.C) It gradually expands with age.B) It weakens in one's later years.D) It indicates one's health condition.47. What does the new study find about mental functions?A) Some diseases inevitably lead to their decline.B) They reach a peak at the age of 20 for most people.C) They are closely related to physical and mental exercise.D) Some of them begin to decline when people are still young.48. What does Timothy Salthouse say about people's minds in most cases?A) They tend to decline in people's later years.B) Their flexibility determines one's abilities.C) They function quite well even in old age.D) Their functioning is still a puzzle to be solved.49. Although people's minds may function less flexibly as they age, theyA) may be better at solving puzzlesB) can memorize things with more easeC) may have greater facility in abstract reasoningD) can put what they have learnt into more effective use50. According to Salthouse, their study may help us ________.A) find ways to slow down our mental declineB) find ways to boost our memoriesC) understand the complex process of mental functioningD) understand the relation between physical and mental healthPassage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The most important thing in the news last week was the rising discussion in Nashville about the educational needs of children. The shorthand(简写) educators use for this is "pre-K" --meaning instruction before kindergarten --and the big idea is to prepare 4-year-olds and even younger kids to be ready to succeed on their K-12 journey.But it gets complicated. The concept has multiple forms, and scholars and policymakers argue about the shape, scope and cost of the ideal program.The federal Head Start program, launched 50 years ago, has served more than 30 million children. It was based on concepts developed at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College by Susan Gray, the legendary pioneer in early childhood education research.A new Peabody study of the Tennessee V oluntary Pre-K program reports that pre-K works, but the gains are not sustained through the third grade. It seems to me this highlights quality issues in elementary schools more than pre-K, and indicates longer-term success must connect pre-K with all the other issues related to educating a child.Pre-K is controversial. Some critics say it is a luxury and shouldn't be free to families able to pay. Pre-K advocates insist it is proven and will succeed if integrated with the rest of the child's schooling. I lean toward the latter view.This is, in any case, the right conversation to be having now as Mayor Megan Barry takes office. She was the first candidate to speak out for strong pre-K programming. The important thing is for all of us to keep in mind the real goal and the longer, bigger picture.The weight of the evidence is on the side of pre-K that early intervention (干预) works. What government has not yet found is the political will to put that understanding into full practice with a sequence of smart schooling that provides the early foundation.For this purpose, our schools need both the talent and the organization to educate each child who arrives at the schoolhouse door. Some show up ready, but many do not at this critical time when young brains are developing rapidly.51. What does the author say about pre-kindergarten education?A) It should cater to the needs of individual children.B) It is essential to a person's future academic success.C) Scholars and policymakers have different opinions about it.D) Parents regard it as the first phase of children's development.52. What does the new Peabody study find?A) Pre-K achievements usually do not last long.B) The third grade marks a new phase of learning.C) The third grade is critical to children's development.D) Quality has not been the top concern of pre-K programs,53. When does the author think pre-K works the best?A) When it is accessible to kids of all families.B) When it is made part of kids' education.C) When it is no longer considered a luxury.D) When it is made fun and enjoyable to kids.54. What do we learn about Mayor Megan Barry?A) She knows the real goal of education.C) She has once run a pre-K program.B) She is a mayor of insight and vision. D) She is a firm supporter of pre-K.55. What does the author think is critical to kids' education?A) Teaching method. C) Early intervention.B) Kids' interest. D) Parents' involvement.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.功夫(Kung Fu)是中国武术(martial arts)的俗称。