2014年英语四级听力短文答案及点评

　　Part III Listening Comprehension

　　Passage 1

　　Donna Fredricks served with the Peace Corps for two years in Brazil. She joined the Peace Corps after she graduated from the college because she wanted to do something to help other people. She had been brought up on a farm, so the Peace Corps assigned her to an agricultural project. Before she went to Brazil, she studied Portuguese for three months. She also learnt a great deal about its history and culture. During her two years with the Peace Corps, Donna lived in a village in northeast Brazil. That part of Brazil is very dry and farming is often difficult there. Donna helped the people of the village to organise an irrigation project, and she also advised them on planting crops that didnt require much water. When Donna returned to the States, she couldnt settle down. She tried several jobs, but they seemed very boring to her. She couldnt get Brazil out of her mind. Finally, one day she got on a plane and went back to Brazil. She wasnt sure what shes going to do. She just wanted to be there. After a few weeks, Donna found a job as an English teacher, teaching five classes a day. Like most of the teachers, she doesnt make much money. She shares a small apartment with another teacher. And she makes a little extra money by sending stories to newspapers in the States. Eventually she wants to quit teaching and work as a full-time journalist.

　　Question 1

　　Why did Donna join the Peace Corps after she graduated from college?

　　Question 2

　　What was Donna assigned to do in Brazil?

　　Question 3

　　Why did Donna go back to Brazil once again?

　　Question 4

　　How did Donna make extra money to support herself?

　　答案：

　　1. A She had a desire to help others.

　　2. B Work on an agricultural project.

　　3. D She could not get the country out of her mind.

　　4. B By writing stories for American newspaper.

　　点评

　　本篇短文主要讲述了Donna Fredrick的职业发展，大学毕业之后加入和平队，参加农业项目，两年的时间她住在巴西的东北部，开展灌溉项目，帮助当地居民种植无需很多水的农作物。回到美国之后尝试了几个工作，但仍心心念念巴西。最终回到巴西任英语老师，同时兼职给美国报纸写文章，来赚取额外的生活费。最后Donna想辞去教师工作专心做全职记者。

　　本篇文章基本上没有生僻的词汇，以叙述为主;不知道Peace Corps的意思不会影响做题，只需将其定义为一个组织名，中间涉及的Brazil，Portuguese也都是大家较熟悉的单词。四个题目都是考查考生对事实细节的抓取能力。

　　Passage 2

　　Results of a recent Harrys poll on free time showed that the average work week for many Americans is 50 hours. With the time spent eating, sleeping and taking care of the household duties, theres little time left for leisure activities for many Americans. However, having free time to relax and pursue hobbies is important. People need time away from the pressures of study or work to relax and enjoy time with friends and family. In different countries free time is spent in different ways. The results of a Harrys poll showed that reading was the most popular spare time activity in the US. This was followed by watching TV. In a UK survey on leisure time activities, watching TV and videos was the most popular. Listening to the radio came second. In a similar survey conducted in Japan, the most popular free time activity was eating out. The second most popular activity was driving. There were also differences in the most popular outdoor pursuits between the three countries. The most popular outdoor activity for Americans was gardening. In the UK, it was going to the pub. In Japan, going to bars ranked eighth in popularity and gardening ranked ninth. Although people around the world may enjoy doing similar things in their free time, theres evidence to suggest that these interests are changing. In the US, for example, the popularity of computer activities is increasing. Many more people in the States are spending their free time surfing the web, emailing friends or playing games online.

　　Question 5

　　What is the recent Harrys poll about?

　　Question 6

　　What was the most popular leisure activity in the US?

　　Question 7

　　What was the most popular outdoor pursuit in the UK?

　　答案：

　　5. C Time spent on leisure activities.

　　6. A Reading.

　　7. C Going to the pub.

　　点评

　　本篇短文围绕休闲娱乐活动展开，是大家熟悉的话题。Harry最近一次民意调查结果表明许多美国人没有多少时间用于休闲活动。但是人们需要一些休息时间来调节学习工作压力。接着文章举例子说明不同国家的休闲活动不同。美国最流行的休闲活动是阅读，而在英国是看电视，在日本是外出吃饭;而且这三国最流行的户外活动也有所不同。最后指出虽然全世界的人们有着相似的休闲活动，但是有证据表明这些兴趣正在改变。

　　本篇难度不大，题目都是考查学生对于原文事实细节的理解，第二个题目是问美国最流行的娱乐活动，而第三个题目是问英国最流行的户外活动，考生要区别开来，避免混淆。其中关注下几个单词：poll 民意测验;household家庭的;leisure空闲;popularity流行;pursuit追求;outdoor户外的;spare多余的。

　　Passage 3

　　On March 13th, while on duty Charles Mclaughlin, a very careless driver employed by the company Lummis was involved in another accident. The accident occurred in Riverside California. Not paying attention to his driving, Mclaughlin turned right on main street and 33rd street and hit Volkswagen rabbit. This caused minor damage to his truck and serious damage to the car. On the basis of the police report, the Lummis accident committee correctly determined that Mclaughlin had been quite careless. As a result of the committees conclusion, the branch manager Mr. David Rossi reported that he had talked with Mclaughlin about his extremely poor driving record. Further evidence of Mclaughlins irresponsibility occurred on May 6th when he was returning from his shift. That day he ran into a roll-up door at the Lummis facility in Valero, causing significant damage to the door. Damage to the truck, however, was minor. Finally, on June 7th, Mclaughlin once again demonstrated his carelessness by knocking down several mail boxes near the edge of the companys parking lot. There was damage to the mailboxes and minor damage to the truck. Mr. David Rossi stated that he had spoken with Mclaughlin on several occasions about his driving record. He added that he had warned Mclaughlin that three preventable accidents in one year could lead to his discharge, as indeed it should.

　　8. What did the Lummis accident committee find out about the accident that occurred on March 13th?

　　9. What did Mclaughlin do on June 7th near the edge of the companys parking lot?

　　10. What is most probably going to happen to Mclaughlin?

　　8. 答案：D) Mclaughlins carelessness resulted in the collision.

　　9. 答案：B) He knocked down several mailboxes.

　　10. 答案：A) He will lose his job.

　　点评

　　本篇短文主要讲了Charles Mclaughlin一年之内因粗心大意所发生的三次交通事故。

　　第一次：时间：3月13日;经过：Mclaughlin驾驶货车在主大街第33大街向右拐弯撞上一辆小轿车。原因：Mclaughlin粗心大意;造成的后果：卡车轻微受损，小轿车严重损坏;

　　第二次：时间：5月6日;经过：Mclaughlin在换班的时候驾驶货车撞到一个卷帘门;原因：Mclaughlin不负责任，粗心;造成的后果：卷帘门严重损坏，卡车受损;

　　第三次：时间：6月7日;经过：Mclaughlin驾驶货车在公司停车场附近撞翻了几个邮筒;原因：Mclaughlin粗心大意;造成的后果：邮筒严重受损，卡车轻微受损。

　　本篇文章是听力第三篇短文，难度不大。文章虽然出现了一些人名和地名，但是同学们不需要知道它们是什么意思，人名地名不会作为考察点放在题目中，同学们需要重点分辨的是这三次事故发生的时间，题目重点考察同学对短文信息细节的抓取能力。但是其中有几个短语和单词需要关注一下：pay attention to 注意;重视;run into 撞上;撞到;roll-up door 卷帘门;knock down 撞翻;parking lot 停车场;mailbox 邮箱，邮筒;preventable 可预防的;as的用法。理解了这些词的意思，对本篇听力的整体理解基本就没有什么障碍了。