1997-2019英语专业四级听力真题

2019 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Slang

We often use slang expressions when we talk because they are so vivid and colorful. However, they are usually out of place 格格不入; 不相称; 不适当; in formal writing because of a number of drawbacks. They go out of date quickly and become tiresome 讨厌的; 令人厌烦的; 烦人的if used too much. And they may communicate clearly to some readers, but not to others. In general, we should avoid the use of slang in our writing.

2018 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Emotional reaction to music

No matter who you are, where you live, or what your cultural background is, people get some pleasure from listening to their favorite music. However, some people are simply not capable of enjoying music. This is not because they can’t experience pleasure at all. They don’t have trouble hearing music properly either. Instead they are just indifferent to music. Researchers have conducted studies to find out why some people have no emotional reaction to music. However, despite their efforts, the mystery remains.

2017 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Learning sympathy

A big part of being human is feeling sympathy. But how early on in our lives do we learn this? Scientist find that babies respond to other people by crying when other babies cry. However, babies cannot distinguish between themselves and others until they are 18 to 20 months old. Toddlers start to show concerns about other around this time. Kids also begin to do things like comforting other people. And by the time they are three, most children would try to protect a victim in a fight. toddler英[?t?dl?(r)] n.学步的儿童; 刚学会走路的孩子

2016 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Think positive and feel positive

Are you confident or insecure in a difficult situation? Do you react positively or negatively? The answer may depend in part on whom you are around. A study found that negative thinking can be contagious in some cases. For example, the researchers studied 103 college roommates. They measured each roommate’s tendency towards negative thinking. It was found that thinking patterns can be contagious. Students with a negative-thinking roommate became more depressed themselves. And students with more positive-thinking roommates were more likely to be become more positive as well.

2015 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Male and female roles in marriage

In the traditional marriage, the man worked to earn money for the family. The woman stayed at home to care for her children and her husband. In recent years, many couples continue to have a traditional relationship of this kind. Some people are happy with it, but others think differently. There are two major differences in male and female roles now. One is that both men and women have many more choices. They may choose to marry or stay single. They may choose to work or just stay at home.

2014 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Limiting the growth of technology

Throughout history, man has changed his physical environment to improve his way of life. With the tools of technology, man has altered many physical features of the earth. He has transformed woodland into farmland. He has modified the face of the earth by cutting through mountains to build roads and railways. However, these changes in the physical environment have not always had beneficial results. Pollution of the air and water is the danger to the health of the planet. It is now necessary for man to limit the growth of technology in order to survive on earth.

2013 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

What are dreams for?

One theory is that we dream to release the deep, secret desires. We do not express these desires in real life because of the rules of polite society. Another theory is that dreams allow us to solve problems that we cannot solve in real life. We go to sleep with the problem and wake up with the solution. This may be a way to use our dreams rather than a purpose of dreaming. If you believe that your dreams are important, then analyzing them may help you to focus on the problem. The modern image is that dreams are the brain’s way of cleaning up the computer’s hard disk.

2012 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Eco-tourism

Nowadays, many of us try to live in a way that would damage the environment as little as possible. This is why alternative forms of tourism are becoming popular in the world. There are lots of names for these new forms of tourism: responsible tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism, educational tourism and more. Most people agree that these new forms of tourism should do the following: first they should conserve the wildlife and culture of the area; second they should benefit the local people; third they should make a profit without destroying natural resources; and finally they should provide an experience that tourists want to pay for.

2011 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

British holidaying habits

In the late 1970s, air travel became affordable for the average family in the UK and more people started travelling abroad for their summer holidays. After all, the British weather was not very good even in summer. So, a lot of people left the country for a vacation. In the 1980s and 1990s, young people in the UK became wealthier on average. As a result, they started to go abroad in groups to places such as Spain and Greece. Once they arrived at their destination, they met with other groups of young people and had a long party. British holidaying habits have begun to change however. Climate change means that the UK now has a hotter climate. So, people do not need to go overseas to find good weather. Also going abroad is more expensive. As a result, more British people are choosing to spend their summer holidays in the UK.

2010 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Freshmen’s week

Britain has a well-respected 备受尊重的;受人尊敬的higher education system and some of the

top universities and research institutions 研究机构in the world. But to those who are new to this system, it can sometimes be confusing 难以理解的; 不清楚的. October is usually the busiest month in the academic calendar 校历. Universities have something called freshmen’s week for their newcomers. It’s a great opportunity to make new friends, join lots of clubs, and settle into university life. However, having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind, the p rospect of meeting strangers in classrooms and dormitories can be worrying 令人担忧的; 令人发愁的. Where do you start and who should you make friends with? Which clubs and societies should you join? Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you. They worry about starting their university social life on the right foot 有好的开始. So just take it all in slowly. Do not rush into anything that you will regret for the next three years.

2009 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

New Year’s Eve

For many people in the West, New Year’s Eve is the biggest party 聚会of the year. It’s a time to get together with friends or family and welcome in the coming year 迎接新年,欢庆新春. There is one thing common that all New Year’s Eve parties have in common: the count-down to mid-night 午夜倒计时. When the clock strives twelve, people give a loud cheer and sing songs. It’s also popular to make a promise in new year. This is called a new year’s resolution 新年计划. Typical resolutions include giving up smoking and keeping fit. However, the promise is often broken quite quickly. And people are back to their bad habits within weeks or days.

2008 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Choosing a career

When students graduate from college, many of them do not know how they want to spend their working lives, and they sometimes move from job to job, until they find something that suits them and of equal importance to which they are suited. Others never find a job in which they are really happy. They remain all their lives square pegs in round holes 格格不入. When we choose our careers, we need to ask ourselves two questions. First, what do we think we would like to be? Second, what kind of people are we? The idea, for example, of being a painter or a musician may seem very attractive, but unless we have great talent and are willing to work very hard, we are certain to fail in these occupations, and failure will lead to unhappiness in life. So, it is important to assess our suitability for a certain career in job search.

2007 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Advertising

Advertising has already become a very specialized activity in modern times. In today’s business world, supply is usually greater than demand. There is great competition between manufacturers of the same kind of product because they want to persuade customers to buy their particular brand. They always have to remind their customers of the name and qualities of their products by advertising. The manufacturer advertises in newspapers and on the radio. He sometimes employs sales-girls to distribute samples of his product. He sometimes advertises on the internet as well. In addition, he always has advertisements put into television programs that will accept them. Manufacturers often spend huge sums of money on advertisements. We buy a particular product because we think that is the best. We usually think so because the advertisements say so. People

often don’t ask themselves if the advertisements are telling the truth when they buy advertised products from shops.

2006 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

The Internet

The Internet is the most significant progress in the field of communications. Imagine a book that never ends, a library with a million floors, or imagine a research project with thousands of scientists working around the clock forever. This is the magic of the Internet. Yet the Internet has potential for good and bad. One can find well-organized information-rich websites. At the same time, one can also find wasteful websites. Most websites are known as different Internet applications. These include online games, chat rooms and so on. These applications have great power, too. Sometimes, the power can be so great that young people may easily become victims to their attraction. So we need to recognize the seriousness of the problem. We must work together to use its power for better ends.

2005 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

The wrist watch

It is generally believed that wrist watches are an exception to the normal sequence in the evolution of man’s jewelry. Reversing the usual order, they were first worn by women and then adopted by men. In the old days, queens included wrist watches among their crown jewelry. Later, they were worn by Swiss workers and farmers. Until world war I, Americans associated the watch with fortune hunters (企图通过跟有钱人结婚) 猎财的人，攀龙附凤的人. Then army officers discovered that wrist watch was most practical for active combat. Race car drivers also loved to wear wrist watches. And pilot found them the mo st useful while flying. Soon men dare to wear wrist watches without feeling self-conscious 害羞的，不自然的. By 1924, some 30% of man’s watches were worn on the wrist. Today the figure is 90%. And they are now worn by both men and women for practical purposes rather than for decoration.

2004 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Money

Money is accepted across the world as payment for goods or services. People use money to buy food, clothes, and hundreds of other things. In the past, many different things were used as money. People on Pacific islands once exchanged shells for goods. The Chinese used cloth and knives. In Africa, elephant t usks and salt were used. Even today some people in Africa are still paid in salt. Coins were first invented by the Chinese. Originally, they were round pieces of metal with a hole in the center so that a piece of string could keep them together. This made doing business much easier. But people still found coins inconvenient to carry when they wanted to buy something expensive. To solve this problem, the Chinese again came up with a solution. They began to use paper money for coins. Now paper notes are used throughout the world.

2003 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Salmon

Every year, millions of salmon swim fro m the ocean into mouths of the rivers 河口; 河口区and steadily out of the rivers. Passing through waters around the rocks and waterfalls, the fish finally

reach their original streams or lakes. They dig up nests in the river bed and lay their eggs. Then exhausted by their journey, the parent salmon die. They have finished the task that nature has given them. Months or years later, the young fish start their trip to the ocean. They live in the salt water from 2 to 7 years until they too are ready to swim back to reproduce. Their life cycle helps men provide himself with a basic food fish. When the adult salmon gather a t the river mouths for the annual trip of the rivers, they are in the best possible condition. And nearly every harbor has its salmon fishing fleet ready to catch thousands for markets.

2002 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Disappearing forests

The world forests are disappearing. As much as a third of the total tree cover has been lost since agriculture began some 10,000 years ago. The remaining forests are home to half of the world species, thus becoming the chief resource for their survival. Tropical forests once covered 12% of the land of the planet as well as supporting half of world’s species of plants and animals. These rain forests are home to millions of people. But there are other demands on them. For example, much has been cut for timber建筑等用的木材，木料; (建造房屋用的) 大木料，栋木; (造船用的) and an increasing amount of forest land has been used for industrial purposes or for agricultural development such as crop growing. But the 1990s, less than half of the earth original rain forest remained and they continue to disappear at an alarming rate every year. As a result, the world’s forests are now facing a gradual extinction.

2001 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Characteristics of a good reader

To improve your reading habits, you must understand the characteristics of a good reader. First, the good reader usually reads rapidly. Of course, he did not read every piece of the material at the same rate. But whether he is reading a newspaper or a chapter in a physics text, his reading rate is relatively fast. He has learnt to read for ideas rather than words one at a time. Next the reader can recognize and understand general ideas and specific details. Thus, he is able to comprehend the material with a minimum of effort and a maximum of interest. Finally, the good reader has at his command several special skills which he can apply to reading problems as they occur. For the college student, the most helpful of these skills include making use of the various aids to understanding that most textbooks provide and skim reading for a general survey (句子读不通).

2000 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

What we know about language

Many things about language are a mystery and will remain so. However, we now do know something about it. First, we know that all human beings have a language of some sort. No human race anywhere on earth is so backward 发展迟缓的that it has no language of its own at all. Second, there is no such thing as a primitive language. They are many people whose cultures are undeveloped, but the languages that they speak are by no means决不; 丝毫不; 一点儿也不primitive. In all the languages existing in the world today, they are complexities that much have been developed for years. Third, we know that all languages are perfectly adequate. Each is a perfect means of expressing its culture. And finally, we know that languages change overtime, which is natural and normal if a language is to survive. The language which remains unchanged is nothing

but dead.

1999 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

United Nation’s Day

The 24 of October is celebrated as United Nation’s Day. It is a day that belongs to everyone and it is celebrated in most countries of the world. Some countries celebrate for a week instead of a day. In many parts of the world, schools have special programs for the day. Boys and girls in some communities decorate a UN tree. In other communities, young people put on plays演戏about the UN. Some libraries exhibit children’s artworks from around the world. Schools celebrate it with a song and dances of other countries or give parties where food of other countries are served. No matter how the day is celebrated, the purpose of these celebrations is to help everyone understand the UN and the important roles it plays in world affairs. The UN encourages people to learn about the other lands and their customs. In this way, people can gain a better understanding and appreciation of peoples all over the world.

1998 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

The railways in Britain

The success of early railways such as the lines between big cities led to a great increase in railway building in Victorian time. Between 1835 and 1865, about 25,000 km of track were built. And over 100 railway companies were created. Railway travel transformed people’s lives. Trains were first designed to carry goods. However, a law in the 19th century forced railway companies to run one cheap train a day which stopped at every station and cost only a penny a mile. Soon working-class 工人阶级的passengers found they could afford to travel by rail. Cheap day excursion (尤指集体) 远足，短途旅行train 旅游列车，游览列车became popular and seaside resorts 旅游胜地grew rapidly. The railways also provided thousands of new jobs building carriages, running the railways and repairing the tracks. Railways even changed the time. The need to run the railways on time meant that local time was abolished and clocks showed the same time across the country.

上班族office workers

1997 TEM grade 4 Part I dictation

Legal age for marriage

Throughout the United States, the legal age for marriage shows some difference. The most common age without parents’ consent is 18 for both females and males. However, persons who under age in their home state can get married in another state and then returned to the home state legally married. Each state issues its own marriage license 结婚许可证. Both residents and nonresidents are qualified for such a license. The fees and ceremonies vary greatly from state to state. Most states for instance have a blood test requirement, but a few do not. Most states permit either a civil 世俗的、非宗教的结婚仪式or religious ceremony, but a few require the ceremony to be religious. In most states, a waiting period is required before the license is issued. This period is from 1 to 5 days depending on the state. A three-day wait is the most common. In some states, there is no required waiting period.