2013年6月大学英语四级考试真题(第1套)

2013年6月大学英语四级考试真题(第1套)

Part I                             Writing                           (30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay. You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then express your views on the importance of reading literature. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.

Part II         Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)       (15 minutes)

Surviving the Recession

America’s recession began quietly at the end of 2007. Since then it has evolved into a global crisis. Reasonable people may disagree about whom to blame. Financiers who were not as clever as they thought they were? Regulators falling asleep at work? Consumers who borrowed too much? Politicians who thoughtlessly promoted home-ownership for those who could not afford it? All are guilty; and what a mess they have created.

Since 2007 America has shed 5 million jobs. More than 15% of the workforce are jobless or underemployed—roughly 25 million workers. The only industries swelling their payrolls are health care, utilities and the federal government. The value of listed shares in American firms collapsed by 57% from its peak in October 2007 to a low in March this year, though it has since bounced back somewhat. Industrial production fell by 12.8% in the year to March, the worst slide since the Second World War. Mark Zandi, an economist at Moody’s Economy.com, predicts that the recession will shrink America’s economy by 3.5% in total. For most executives, this is the worst business environment they’ve ever seen.

Times are so tough that even bosses are taking pay cuts. Median (中位数的) pay for chief executives of S&P 500 companies fell 6.8% in 2008. The overthrown business giants of Wall Street took the biggest knock, with average pay cuts of 38% and median bonuses of zero. But there was some pain for everyone: median pay for chief executives of non-financial firms in the S&P 500 fell by 2.7%.

Nearly every business has a sad tale to tell. For example, Arne Sorenson, the president of Marriott hotels, likens the crisis to the downturn that hit his business after September 11th, 2001. When the twin towers fell, Americans stopped travelling. Marriott had its worst quarter ever, with revenues per room falling by 25%. This year, without a terrorist attack, the hotel industry is “putting the same numbers on the board”, says Mr Sorenson.

The hotel bust (不景气), like most busts, was preceded by a breathtaking boom. Although many other big firms resisted the temptation to over-borrow, developers borrowed heavily and built bigger and fancier hotels as if the whole world were planning a holiday in Las Vegas. When the bubble burst, demand collapsed. Hotel owners found themselves with a huge number of empty rooms even as a lot of unnecessary new hotels were ready to open.

Other industries have suffered even more. Large numbers of builders, property firms and retailers have gone bankrupt. And a disaster has hit Detroit. Last year the American car industry had the capacity to make 17 million vehicles. Sales in 2009 could be barely half of that. The Big Three American carmakers—General Motors, Ford and Chrysler—accumulated ruinous costs over the post-war years, such as gold-plated health plans and pensions for workers who retired as young as 48. All three are desperately restructuring. Only Ford may survive in its current form.

Hard times breed hard feelings. Few Americans understand what caused the recession. Some are seeking scapegoats (替罪羊). Politicians are happy to take advantage. Bosses have been summoned to Washington to be scolded on live television. The president condemns their greed.

Extravagance (奢侈) is out

Businessfolk are bending over backwards to avoid seeming extravagant. Meetings at resorts are suddenly unacceptable. Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, cancelled a conference in Las Vegas at the last minute and rebooked it in San Francisco, which cost more but sounded less fun.

Anyway, the pain will eventually end. American business will regain its shine. Many firms will die, but the survivors will emerge leaner and stronger than before. The financial sector’s share of the economy will shrink, and stay shrunk for years to come. The importance of non-financial firms will accordingly rise, along with their ability to attract the best talent. America will remain the best place on earth to do business, so long as Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress resist the temptation to interfere too much, and so long as organised labour does not overplay its hand.

The crisis will prove hugely disruptive (破坏性的), however. Bad management techniques will be exposed. Necessity will force the swift adoption of more efficient ones. At the same time, technological innovation (创新) will barely pause for breath, and two big political changes seem likely.

Mr Obama’s plan to curb carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions (排放), though necessary, will be far from cost-free, whatever his sunny speeches on the subject might suggest. The shift to a low-carbon economy will help some firms, hurt others and require every organisation that uses much energy to rethink how it operates. It is harder to predict how Mr Obama’s proposed reforms to the failing health-care system will turn out. If he succeeds in curbing costs—a big if—it would be a huge gain for America. Some businesses will benefit but the vast bulk of the savings will be captured by workers, not their employers.

In the next couple of years the businesses that thrive will be those that are tight with costs, careful of debt, cautious with cash flow and extremely attentive to what customers want. They will include plenty of names no one has yet heard of.

Times change, and corporations change with them. In 1955 Time’s Man of the Year was Harlow Curtice, the boss of GM. His firm was leading America towards “a new economic order”, the magazine wrote. Thanks to men like Curtice, “the bonds of scarcity” had been broken and America was rolling “in an all-time high of prosperity”. Soon, Americans would need to spend “comparatively little time earning a living”.

Half a century later GM is a typical example of poor management. In March its chief executive was fired by Time’s current Man of the Year, Mr Obama. The government now backs up the domestic car industry, lending it money and overseeing its turnaround plans. With luck, this will be short-lived. But there is a danger that Washington will end up micromanaging not only Detroit but also other parts of the economy. And clever as Mr Obama’s advisers are, history suggests they will be bad at this.

注意: 此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1. From the first paragraph, we learn that America’s recession is the result of       .

A) a messy real estate market        C) unregulated competition

B) a combination of causes          D) financiers’ mismanagement

2. At the worst time, the total value of listed shares in American firms shrank by    .

A) 57%                         C) 12.8%

B) 15%                         D) 3.5%

3. According to Arne Sorenson, the president of Marriott hotels, the current recession         .

A) was the worst he had ever seen since World War II

B) reduced his revenues to a quarter of normal years

C) hit his business as hard as the 9/11 terrorist attack

D) spoiled his plans to build more hotels in Las Vegas

4. The Big Three American carmakers need restructuring to survive because       .

A) their production capacity has shrunk to less than half of the previous year

B) their technology has fallen behind their competitors’ elsewhere in the world

C) they have borrowed too heavily and accumulated too large amounts of debt

D) they cannot cope with the ruinous costs accumulated over the post-war years

5. Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, cancelled a conference in Las Vegas in order to        .

A) raise its efficiency                C) avoid seeming wasteful

B) cut unnecessary costs             D) have fun in San Francisco

6. The author of this report seems to be         .

A) against too much government interference in the economy

B) optimistic about Obama’s effort to reduce CO₂ emissions

C) interested in political and economic reforms

D) concerned about the interests of the workforce

7. According to the author, Obama’s plan to limit carbon dioxide emissions will         .

A) not benefit America’s industry        C) do good to the environment

B) benefit the whole nation             D) by no means be inexpensive

8. Because Harlow Curtice’s firm was leading America in creating “a new economic order”, he was named by Time magazine as                in 1955.

9. In March, General Motors’ chief executive was fired by Mr Obama for             .

10. The author is afraid that the Obama administration will end up         America’s economy.

Part III  Listening Comprehension (35 minutes) 

Section A

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

11. A) The woman is the manager’s secretary.

   B) The man found himself in a wrong place.

   C) The man is the manager’s business associate.

   D) The woman was putting up a sign on the wall.

12. A) He needs more time for the report.

   B) He needs help to interpret the data.

   C) He is sorry not to have helped the woman.

   D) He does not have sufficient data to go on.

13. A) A friend from New York.                      C) A postal delivery.

   B) A message from Tony.                        D) A change in the weather.

14. A) She is not available until the end of next week.

   B) She is not a reliable source of information.

   C) She does not like taking exams.

   D) She does not like psychology.

15. A) He will help the woman carry the suitcase.

   B) The woman’s watch is twenty minutes fast.

   C) The woman shouldn’t make such a big fuss.

   D) There is no need for the woman to be in a hurry.

16. A) Mary is not so easygoing as her.

   B) Mary and she have a lot in common.

   C) She finds it hard to get along with Mary.

   D) She does not believe what her neighbors said.

17. A) At an information service.                  C) At a repair shop.

   B) At a car wash point.                       D) At a dry cleaner’s.

18. A) The woman came to the concert at the man’s request.

   B) The man is already fed up with playing the piano.

   C) The piece of music the man played is very popular.

   D) The man’s unique talents are the envy of many people.

Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

19. A) He has taught Spanish for a couple of years at a local school.

   B) He worked at the Brownstone Company for several years.

   C) He owned a small retail business in Michigan years ago.

   D) He has been working part-time in a school near Detroit.

20. A) He prefers a full-time job with more responsibility.

   B) He is eager to find a job with an increased salary.

   C) He likes to work in a company close to home.

   D) He would rather get a less demanding job.

21. A) Sports.                               C) Foreign languages.

   B) Travel.                               D) Computer games.

22. A) When he is supposed to start work.

   B) What responsibilities he would have.

   C) When he will be informed about his application.

   D) What career opportunities her company can offer.

Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

23. A) She is pregnant.                       C) She has just finished her project.

   B) She is over 50.                        D) She is a good saleswoman.

24. A) He takes good care of Lisa.              C) He is good at business management.

   B) He is the CEO of a giant company.        D) He works as a sales manager.

25. A) It is in urgent need of further development.

   B) It produces goods popular among local people.

   C) It has been losing market share in recent years.

   D) It is well positioned to compete with the giants.

Part IV  Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)

Section A

Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.

Just when you had figured out how to manage fat in your diet, researchers are now warning against another common mealtime pitfall (陷阱) —salt.

A study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Stanford University and Columbia University shows that even a  47  decrease in daily salt intake (摄入) can lead to dramatic health benefits. The authors  48  an annual drop of as many as 120,000 cases of heart disease, 66,000  49  of stroke and 99,000 heart attacks  50   by high blood pressure after a 3-g-per-day reduction in salt.

The advantages, not surprisingly, were greater for African Americans, who are more likely to 51  high blood pressure than other ethnic groups, and for the elderly, since blood vessels stiffen with age, which can lead to higher blood pressure.

“Everyone in the U.S. is consuming salt far in  52  of what is good for them,” says lead author Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of UCSF. “What we are suggesting is that a population-wide effort to reduce salt intake, even   53  , will have health benefits. ”

The team conducted a computer-based analysis to determine the   54   of a 3-g-per-day reduction in salt intake on rates of heart disease and death. They also calculated the cost savings emerging from the amount of disease that would be  55  because of lower blood pressure. The conclusion: by cutting salt intake nationwide, the U.S. could save $10 billion to $24 billion  56  in health care costs.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

A) accidents  

B)   annually

C) avoided

D)   caused

E) considerable

F)   develop

G) documented         

H)   dramatically

I ) excess

J ) impact

K) instances

L)   modest

M) revised

N)   slightly

O) undertake

Section B

Passage One

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

The Gatais used to frown when they received power bills that routinely topped $200. Last September the couple moved into a 1,500-square-foot home in Premier Gardens, a subdivision of 95 “zero-energy homes” (ZEH) just outside town. Now they’re actually eager to see their electricity bills. The grand total over the 10 months they’ve lived in the three-bedroom house: $75. For the past two months they haven’t paid a cent.

ZEH communities are the leading edge of technologies that might someday create houses that produce as much energy as they consume. Premier Gardens is one of a half-dozen subdivisions in California where every home cuts power consumption by 50%, mostly by using low-power appliances and solar panels.

Aside from the panels on the roof, Premier Gardens looks like a community of conventional homes. But inside, special windows cut power bills by blocking solar heat in summer and retaining indoor warmth in winter.

The rest of the energy savings comes from the solar units. They don’t just feed the home they serve. If they generate more power than the home is using, the excess flows into the utility’s power grid (电网). The residents are billed by “net metering”: they pay for the amount of power they tap off the grid, less the kilowatts (千瓦) they feed into it. If a home generates more power than it uses, the bill is zero.

That sounds like a bad deal for the power company, but it’s not. Solar homes produce the most power on the hot sunny afternoons when everyone rushes home to turn up the air conditioner. “It helps us lower usage at peak power times,” says solar expert Mike Keesee. “That lets us avoid building costly plants or buying expensive power at peak usage time.”

What’s not to like? Mostly the costs. The special features can add $25,000 or more to the purchase price of a house. Tax breaks bring the cost down, especially in California, but in many states ZEHs can be prohibitively expensive. For the consumer, it’s a matter of paying now for the hardware to save later on the utilities.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

57. Why are the Gatais eager to see their electricity bills now?

   A) They want to see how much they have saved.

   B) They want to cut down their utility expenses.

   C) They want to know if they are able to pay.

   D) They want to avoid being overcharged.

58. What is special about the ZEH communities?

   A) They have created cutting-edge technologies.

   B) They aim to be self-sufficient in power supply.

   C) They are subdivided into half a dozen sections.

   D) They are built in harmony with the environment.

59. How are the residents in the ZEH communities billed for electricity use?

A) They are only charged for the amount of power they consume on rainy days.

B) They needn’t pay a single cent for their power consumption on sunny days.

C) They only pay for the excess power that flows into the utility’s power grid.

D) They pay for the electricity from the grid less their home-generated power.

60. What does the “net metering” practice mean to the power company?

   A) More pressure at peak time.            C) Increased electricity output.

B) Less profits in the short term.           D) Reduced operational costs.

61. The author believes that buying a house in a ZEH community ____________.

A) is but a dream for average consumers

B) gives the owner substantial tax benefits

C) is a worthy investment in the long run

D) contributes to environmental protection

Passage Two

Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.

     Romantic love has clear evolutionary roots but our views about what makes an ideal romantic relationship can be swayed by the society we live in. So says psychologist Maureen O’Sullivan from the University of San Francisco. She suggests that humans have always tried to strengthen the pair-bond to maximise(使最大化) reproductive success.

     Many societies throughout history and around the world today have cultivated strong pressures to stay married. In those where ties to family and community are strong, lifelong marriages can be promoted by practices such as the cultural prohibition of divorce and arranged marriages that are seen as a contract between two families, not just two individuals. In modern western societies, however, the focus on individuality and independence means that people are less concerned about conforming to (遵守) the dictates of family and culture. In the absence of societal pressures to maintain pair-bonds, O’Sullivan suggests that romantic love has increasingly come to be seen as the factor that should determine who we stay with and for how long. “That’s why historically we see an increase in romantic love as a basis for forming long-term relationships,” she says.

According to O’Sullivan culture also shapes the sorts of feelings we expect to have, and actually do experience, when in love. Although the negative emotions associated with romantic love—fear of loss, disappointment and jealousy—are fairly consistent across cultures, the positive feelings can vary. “If you ask Japanese students to list the positive attributes they expect in a romantic partner, they rate highly things like loyalty, commitment and devotion,” says O’Sullivan. “If you ask American college women, they expect everything under the sun: in addition to being committed, partners have to be amusing, funny and a friend.”

We judge a potential partner according to our specific cultural expectations about what romantic love should feel like. If you believe that you have found true romance, and your culture tells you that this is what a long-term relationship should be based on, there is less need to rely on social or family pressures to keep couples together, O’Sullivan argues.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

62. What does the author say about people’s views of an ideal romantic relationship?

   A) They vary from culture to culture.

   B) They ensure the reproductive success.

   C) They reflect the evolutionary process.

   D) They are influenced by psychologists.

63. We can infer from the passage that strong family and community ties      .

   A) largely rely on marriage contracts

   B) can contribute to stable marriages

   C) often run counter to romantic love

   D) make divorces virtually unacceptable

64. Without social pressures to keep pair-bonds, romantic love      .

   A) will be a substitute for marriage in human relationships

   B) plays a key role in maintaining long-term relationships

   C) is likely to replace the dictates of family and society

   D) is a way to develop individuality and independence

65. O’Sullivan believes that when people from different cultures fall in love,       .

   A) they expect different things from their partner

   B) they tend to exaggerate each other’s positive qualities

   C) they often fail to see each other’s negative qualities

   D) they lay more emphasis on commitment and devotion

66. We can conclude from the passage that      .

   A) cultural differences often tear apart a family built on romantic love

   B) marriages are hard to sustain without social or family pressures

   C) romantic love is becoming increasingly important in family relationships

   D) romantic love tends to yield where family or social pressures are strong

Part V  Cloze     (15 minutes)

The work for which Thomas Malthus is still most widely known is his Essay on the Principle of Population, which first appeared in 1798. This book introduced Malthus’s   67   that population inescapably outgrows subsistence (生活资料)，and that this difference   68 population size and the ability to adequately meet the   69   subsistence needs of all of the members of that population “naturally” produces a fundamental struggle for   70  , in which some flourish at the   71   of others.

Charles Darwin’s most important contribution   72   the field of biology, described in his work, On the Origin of Species, was to  73   Malthus’s observation that plants and animals multiply faster than nature can provide for them to his own   74   of the process of “evolution”—the notion that different forms of life develop   75   from a common ancestry (祖先). Combining these elements, Darwin   76   that the factors of “the struggle for existence” and “the survival of the fittest” are the central mechanisms   77   which evolution is based. In this sense, then, Darwin introduced the possibility   78   conflict and struggle are biological phenomena, which are   79   central to human social existence.

A number of more contemporary social thinkers were   80   by Darwin and continued this particular version of the conflict perspective, commonly referred to   81   social Darwinism, into the twentieth century. Thus, for example, Herbert Spencer, a   82   English social theorist, applied these ideas of the natural   83   of conflict and survival of the fittest to his notion of social evolution,   84   William Graham Sumner, an American sociologist, saw the   85   for survival among individual actors as operating to bring about fundamental   86   in the quality of human social life overall.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

67.

A) scheme

B) reference

C) theory

D) illusion

68.

A) between

B) of

C) amid

D) about

69.

A) initial

B) basic

C) low

D) original

70.

A) existence

B) attendance

C) presence

D) appearance

71.

A) pain

B) offense

C) danger

D) expense

72.

A) around

B) to

C) upon

D) over

73.

A) notify

B) simplify

C) rely

D) apply

74.

A) analysis

B) emphasis

C) question

D) decision

75.

A) permanently

B) occasionally

C) gradually

D) constantly

76.

A) promised

B) projected

C) processed

D) proposed

77.

A) from

B) on

C) at

D) in

78.

A) which

B) where

C) that

D) how

79.

A) abruptly

B) absolutely

C) abnormally

D) abstractly

80.

A) charged

B) roused

C) promoted

D) influenced

81.

A) like

B) for

C) as

D) by

82.

A) leading

B) directing

C) heading

D) conducting

83.

A) path

B) route

C) process

D) channel

84.

A) while

B) when

C) unless

D) until

85.

A) rival

B) race

C) compensation

D) competition

86.

A) opportunities

B) advances

C) adventures

D) oppositions

Part VI  Translation  (5 minutes)

Directions: Complete the sentences by translating into English the Chinese given in brackets. Please write your translation on Answer Sheet 2.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答, 只需写出译文部分。

87. He knew France well, _____________      ______________ (似乎他多次去过那个国家).

88. Seeing those pictures, the student couldn’t help __________         ___________(回忆起那些难忘的日子).

89. Only after they had performed hundreds of experiments___                        ____              (他们才成功地解决了这个问题).

90. Some people hold the mistaken belief that our domestic products are ____   _________ ____________(总是次于进口商品).

91. Sometimes giving up _____________________  ______(有助你把时间和精力集中于)the few things that are truly important.