星火英语点评历年四级真题2006年12月四级真题

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College English test Band 4

Part III Listening Comprehension

Section A

Directions: In this section, you will hear

8 short conversations and 2 long conversations.

At the end of each conversation,

one or more questions will be asked

about what was said.

Both the conversation and the questions

will be spoken only once.

After each question there will be a pause.

During the pause, you must read the four choices

marked A), B), C) and D),

and decide which is the best answer.

Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2

with a single line through the centre.

Now, let’s begin with the eight short conversations.

11. M: Christmas is round the corner

and I’m looking for a gift for my girlfriend.

Any suggestions?

W: Well, you have to tell me

something about your girlfriend first.

Also, what’s your budget?

Q: What does the woman want the man to do?

12. M: What would you like for dessert?

I think I’ll have apple pie and ice cream.

W: The chocolate cake looks great,

but I have to watch my weight.

You go ahead and get yours.

Q: What will the woman most probably do?

13. W: Having visited so many countries,

you must be able to speak several different languages!

M: I wish I could.

But Japanese and, of course

English are the only languages I can speak.

Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

14. M: Prof. Smith asked me to go to his office after class.

So it is impossible for me

to make it to the bar at 10：00.

W: Then it seems we’ll have to meet

an hour later at the library.

Q: What will the man do first after class?

15. M: It’s already 11:00 now.

Do you mean I ought to wait until Prof.

Bloom comes back from class?

W: Not really. You can just leave a note.

I’ll give it to her later.

Q: What does the woman mean?

16. M: How’s John now?

Is he feeling any better?

W: Not yet. It still seems impossible to make him smile.

Talking to him is really difficult

and he gets upset easily over little things.

Q: What do we learn about John from the conversation?

17. M: Do we have to get the opera tickets in advance?

W: Certainly!

Tickets at the door are usually sold at a higher price.

Q: What does the woman imply?

18. M: The taxi driver must have been speeding.

W: Well, not really! He crashed into the tree

because he was trying not to hit a box

that had fallen off the truck ahead of him.

Q: What do we learn about the taxi driver?

Now you’ll hear the two long conversations.

Conversation One

W: Hey, Bob, guess what?

I’m going to visit Quebec next summer.

I’m invited to go to a friend’s wedding.

But while I’m there,

I’d also like to do some sightseeing.

M: That’s nice, Sherry.

But do you mean

the province of Quebec or Quebec City?

W: I mean the province.

My friend’s wedding is in Montreal,

so I’m going there first.

I’ll stay for 5 days.

Is Montreal the capital city of the province?

M: Well, many people think so

because it’s the biggest city,

but it’s not the capital.

Quebec City is, but Montreal is great.

The St. Lawrence River runs

right through the middle of the city.

It’s beautiful in summer.

W: Wow, and do you think I can get by in English?

My French is OK, but not that good.

I know most people there speak French,

but can I also use English?

M: Well, people speak both French and English there,

but you’ll hear French most of the time.

And all the street signs are in French.

In fact,

Montreal is the third largest French-speaking city in the world.

So you’d better practice your French before you go.

W: Good advice, what about Quebec City?

I’ll visit a friend from college

who lives there now. What’s it like?

M: It’s a beautiful city, very old.

Many old buildings have been nicely restored.

Some of them were built

in the 17th and 18th centuries.

You’ll love it there.

W: Fantastic, I can’t wait to go.

Questions 19 to 21 are based

on the conversation you have just heard.

19. What’s the woman’s main purpose of visiting Quebec?

20. What does the man advise the woman to do before the trip?

21. What does the man say about Quebec City?

Conversation Two

M: Hi, Ms. Rowling.

How old were you when you started to write?

And what was your first book?

W:I wrote my first finished story when I was about 6.

It was about a small animal, a rabbit I mean,

and I’ve been writing ever since.

M: Why did you choose to be an author?

W: If someone asked me how to achieve happiness,

step one would be finding out what you love doing most

and step two would be finding someone to pay you to do it.

I consider myself very lucky indeed

to be able to support myself by writing.

M: Do you have any plans to write books for adults?

W: My first two novels were for adults.

I suppose I might write another one,

but I never really imagine a target audience

when I’m writing.

The ideas come first,

so it really depends on the idea

that grabs me next!

M: Where did the ideas for

the Harry Potter books come from?

W: I’ve no idea where the ideas came from

and I hope I never find out.

It would spoil my excitement if it turned out

I just have a funny little wrinkle

on the surface of my brain,

which makes me think about invisible train platforms.

M: How do you come up

with the names of your characters?

W: I invented some of them,

but I also collect strange names.

I’ve gotten them from ancient saints,

maps, dictionaries, plants,

war memorials, and people I’ve met!

M: Oh, you are really resourceful.

Questions 22 to 25 are based

on the conversation you have just heard.

22. What do we learn from the conversation

about Ms. Rowling’s first book?

23. Why does Ms. Rowling consider herself very lucky?

24. What dictates Ms. Rowling’s writing?

25. According to Ms. Rowling,

where did she get the ideas for the Harry Potter books?

Section B

Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages.

At the end of each passage,

you will hear some questions.

Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.

After you hear a question,

you must choose the best answer from the four choices

marked A), B), C) and D).

Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2

with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Reducing the amount of sleep students get at night

has a direct impact on their performance

at school during the day.

According to classroom teachers,

elementary and middle school students

who stay up late exhibit

more learning and attention problems.

This has been shown by Brown Medical School

and Bradley Hospital research.

In the study,

teachers were not told the amount of sleep students received

when completing weekly performance reports.

Yet they rated the students

who had received eight hours or less

as having the most trouble recalling old material,

learning new lessons, and completing high-quality work.

Teachers also reported that

these students had more difficulty paying attention.

The experiment is the first to ask teachers to report

on the effects of sleep deficiency in children.

“Just staying up late can cause

increased academic difficulty and attention problems

for otherwise healthy, well-functioning kids,

said Garharn Forllone, the study’s lead author.

“So the results provide professionals and parents

with a clear message:

When a child is having learning and attention problems,

the issue of sleep has to be taken into consideration.

“If we don’t ask about sleep and try to improve sleep patterns

in kids’ struggling academically, then we aren’t doing our job,

Forllone said.

For parents, he said, the message is simple:

“Getting kids to bed on time

is as important as getting them to school on time.

Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.

26. What were teachers told to do in the experiment?

27. According to the experiment,

what problem can insufficient sleep cause in students？

28. What message did the researcher intend to convey to parents？

Passage Two

Patricia Pania never wanted to be a national public figure.

All she wanted to be was a mother and a homemaker.

But her life was turned upside down when a motorist,

distracted by his cell phone,

ran a stop sign and crashed into the side of her car.

The impact killed her two-year-old daughter.

Four months later,

Pania reluctantly but courageously decided to

try to educate the public and to fight for laws to

ban drivers from using cell phones while a car is moving.

She wanted to save other children

from what happened to her daughter.

In her first speech, Pania got off to a shaky start.

She was visibly trembling

and her voice was soft and uncertain.

But as she got into her speech,

a dramatic transformation took place.

She stopped shaking and spoke with a strong voice.

For the rest of her talk,

she was a forceful and compelling speaker.

She wanted everyone in the audience to know

what she knew without having to learn it

from a personal tragedy.

Many in the audience were moved to tears, and to action.

In subsequent presentations,

Pania gained reputation as a highly effective speaker.

Her appearance on a talk show was broadcast three times

transmitting her message to over 14,000,000 people.

Her campaign increased public awareness of the problem and

prompted over 300 cities and several states

to consider restrictions on cell phone use.

Questions 29 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.

29. What was the significant change in Patricia Pania’s life?

30. What had led to Pania’s personal tragedy?

31. How did Pania feel when she began her first speech?

32. What could be expected as a result of Pania’s efforts?

Passage Three

Many people catch a cold in the spring time or fall.

It makes us wonder

if scientists can send a man to the moon,

why can’t they find a cure for the common cold?

The answer is easy.

There’re actually hundreds of kinds of

cold viruses out there.

You never know which one you will get,

so there isn’t a cure for each one.

When a virus attacks your body,

your body works hard to get rid of it.

Blood rushes to your nose

and causes a blockage in it.

You feel terrible because you can’t breathe well.

But your body is actually eating the virus.

Your temperature rises and you get a fever.

But the heat of your body is killing the virus.

You also have a running nose

to stop the virus from getting to your cells.

You may feel miserable

but actually your wonderful body

is doing everything it can to kill the cold.

Different people have different remedies for colds.

In the United States and some other countries,

for example,

people might eat chicken soup to feel better.

Some people take hot baths and drink warm liquids.

Other people take medicines

to relieve various symptoms of colds.

There’s one interesting thing to note.

Some scientists say taking medicines

when you have a cold is actually bad for you.

The virus stays in you longer

because your body doesn’t develop a way

to fight it and kill it.

Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

33. According to the passage，

why haven’t the scientists found a cure

for the common cold?

34. What does the speaker say

about the symptoms of the common cold?

35. What do some scientists say about

taking medicines for the common cold

according to the passage?

Section C

Directions: In this section,

you will hear a passage three times.

When the passage is read for the first time,

you should listen carefully for its general idea.

When the passage is read for the second time,

you are required to fill in the blanks

numbered from 36 to 43

with the exact words you have just heard.

For blanks numbered from 44 to 46

you are required to fill in the missing information.

For these blanks,

you can either use the exact words you have just heard

or write down the main points in your own words.

Finally, when the passage is read for the third time,

you should check what you have written.

Now listen to the passage.

You probably have noticed that

people express similar ideas in different ways,

depending on the situation they are in.

This is very natural.

All languages have two general levels of usage:

a formal level and an informal level.

English is no exception.

The difference in these two levels is the situation

in which you use a particular level.

Formal language is the kind of language

you find in textbooks, reference books,

and in business letters.

You would also use formal English

in compositions and essays

that you write in school.

Informal language is used

in conversation with colleagues,

family members and friends,

and when we write personal notes

or letters to close friends.

Formal language is different from informal language in several ways.

First, formal language tends to be more polite.

What we may find interesting is that

it usually takes more words to be polite.

For example,

I might say to a friend or family member,

“Close the door, please,

but to a stranger, I probably would say,

“Would you mind closing the door?

Another difference between formal and informal language

is some of the vocabulary.

There are bound to be some words and phrases

that belong in formal language

and others that are informal.

Let’s say that I really like soccer.

If I am talking to my friend I might say

“I am just crazy about soccer!

But if I were talking to my boss,

I would probably say

“I really enjoy soccer.

Now the passage will be read again.

You probably have noticed that

people express similar ideas in different ways,

depending on the situation they are in.

This is very natural.

All languages have two general levels of usage:

a formal level and an informal level.

English is no exception.

The difference in these two levels is the situation

in which you use a particular level.

Formal language is the kind of language

you find in textbooks, reference books,

and in business letters.

You would also use formal English

in compositions and essays

that you write in school.

Informal language is used

in conversation with colleagues,

family members and friends,

and when we write personal notes

or letters to close friends.

Formal language is different from informal language in several ways.

First, formal language tends to be more polite.

What we may find interesting is that

it usually takes more words to be polite.

For example,

I might say to a friend or family member,

“Close the door, please,

but to a stranger, I probably would say,

“Would you mind closing the door?

Another difference between formal and informal language

is some of the vocabulary.

There are bound to be some words and phrases

that belong in formal language

and others that are informal.

Let’s say that I really like soccer.

If I am talking to my friend I might say

“I am just crazy about soccer!

But if I were talking to my boss,

I would probably say

“I really enjoy soccer.

Now the passage will be read for the third time.

You probably have noticed that

people express similar ideas in different ways,

depending on the situation they are in.

This is very natural.

All languages have two general levels of usage:

a formal level and an informal level.

English is no exception.

The difference in these two levels is the situation

in which you use a particular level.

Formal language is the kind of language

you find in textbooks, reference books,

and in business letters.

You would also use formal English

in compositions and essays

that you write in school.

Informal language is used

in conversation with colleagues,

family members and friends,

and when we write personal notes

or letters to close friends.

Formal language is different from informal language in several ways.

First, formal language tends to be more polite.

What we may find interesting is that

it usually takes more words to be polite.

For example,

I might say to a friend or family member,

“Close the door, please,

but to a stranger, I probably would say,

“Would you mind closing the door?

Another difference between formal and informal language

is some of the vocabulary.

There are bound to be some words and phrases

that belong in formal language

and others that are informal.

Let’s say that I really like soccer.

If I am talking to my friend I might say

“I am just crazy about soccer!

But if I were talking to my boss,

I would probably say

“I really enjoy soccer.

This is the end of listening comprehension.