新东方大学英语四级考试模拟题1-201605范文听力原文及答案.

听力原文及答案

2016年5月大学英语四级考试模拟题一

Part I Writing

The quotation mentioned in the directions really makes a lot of sense. No doubt, everyone wishes for success either at his work or in his personal life. Still, a lot of us couldn’t make it. The only reason is that we didn’t try hard enough for our dream, or we just dreamed but took no action at all. If we’ve got a goal in our life, we have to take our prompt action and put out constant efforts along the way to final success, not just sitting on our hands and dreaming.

As the saying teaches us, it’s essential for us to take action to realize our dream or initial goal. Success won’t come to you if you are not willing to try for it. Numerous examples in human history illustrate the importance of taking action instead of daydreaming. For now, let’s take high school senior students for example. Every one of them wishes for a chance to be admitted into an ideal university. But, obviously, this goal won’t come by itself. Every student must study hard and fight for his dream. He has to work diligently to have a positive mindset first, and more importantly he has to deal with tons of test papers on all the subjects he learnt. Only in this way, can he be enrolled in a desirable school.

It’s easily said than done. To take action and make constant efforts along the way to success is not easy. One needs to have a strong will in the first place. In addition, a maximal amount of self discipline is a must.

Part II Listening Comprehension

Section A

Directions: 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 will be based on the following news item.

At least 11 people have died after three coaches of a train derailed in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, railway officials say. The accident took place near Anekal, about 40km from the state capital, Bangalore, on Friday morning. Officials said the figure was likely to rise as many bodies were trapped in the wreckage. Seventeen people are injured.

There have been numerous train accidents in India in recent years, killing hundreds of people. India’s railway network operates 9,000 passenger trains and carries some 18 million passengers every day.

Railway officials said the Bangalore-Ernakulam Intercity Express left Bangalore a little after 06:00 local time and that the accident took place 90 minutes later. “I had dozed off when there was a sudden jerk and people started falling off,” Vinay, who works for an IT software company, told BBC.

1. What is the news report mainly about?

2. How many people were injured in the process?

1. D

2. C

Questions 3 and 4 will be based on the following news item.

Macau is a good tourist destination. But what to buy for your friends and relatives when you come to Macau? The following recommend the most famous souvenirs in Macau.

The main shopping areas are Avenida Almeida Ribeiro, or commonly known to the Chinese as San Man Lo, where you find brand name fashions, duty-free cosmetics, high quality children’s wear, and bargain-priced electronics. However, the place is more famous for its salted fish, especially to the Hong Kong visitors as they claimed that the salted fish available for sale here is the best in Asia.

Besides, Jewelry shops found throughout the city are famous for its gold, precious metals and gems as they are imported duty-free into Macau. They are bought by the Chinese as an investment. The employees in jewelry shops speak good English and do not mind browsers.

3. What will Hong Kong visitors probably buy in Macau as souvenirs?

4. Why would the Chinese like to buy jewelry in Macau?

3. A

4. B

Questions 5 to 7 will be based on the following news item.

If you’ve ever been to Liverpool before, you’ll know that shopping is always on the agenda for the locals. Liverpool ONE is home to the full range of shops, beauty luxury and those desirable designer labels like Michael Kors, Karen Millen and Flannels. It’s probably what we would call a “shoppers’ paradise. ”

You’ll find high-street favourites New Look, Miss Selfridge and Topshop spread across 3 floors of fashion. Sports fans can run wild in Nike and Adidas and kids can run even wilder in The Disney Store and LEGO. With over 160 stores to choose from, there’s something for everyone here.

But there’s more than shopping on the agenda at Liverpool ONE, head upstairs for simple golf games. Up on the Terrace and Chavasse Park there’s plenty of places to dine in style, and during summer it is a beautiful place for a picnic!

5. What is mentioned of the local people in Liverpool?

6. What can sports fans do in Liverpool ONE?

7. What else can customers do besides shopping in Liverpool ONE?

5. C

6. D

7. C

Section B

Directions: 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.

Conversation One

W: Morning, Ted.

M: Good morning, Lucy. How’re things going?

W: Fine, thanks. You see, I’m busy preparing a PowerPoint presentation for our group meeting next week.

M: I feel for you. I’ve just finished a presentation for my team meeting.

W: Great. Any suggestions for me to make a high productivity PowerPoint presentation?

M: In fact, it’s quite easy. But, there’re certain rules you should keep in mind before starting your work. Such as, you’re supposed to start your presentation with a detailed agenda. With the agenda, you can make sure all the participants know what the meeting is about. And, you should give the agenda as a handout and include it at the very beginning of the PowerPoint presentation.

W: Yes, I see. That’ll be helpful for participants to know clearly what your goals and direction are for the meeting.

M: Quite right. Once you state the goals in the beginning of the meeting, you should stay focused on these goals, conducting your meeting around them. D on’t run away with irrelevant topics raised in the course of the meeting.

W: How can I deal with new and irrelevant problems cropping up during the meeting?

M: Easy. You can just write down those questions and remember to address them after the meeting or at another time.

W: Good. Another question, how can I deal with opinions from other members of the group?

M: Constructive suggestions have to be taken good care of, because they might be very conducive to your work. But, you should mind some dominant personalities in your group. He or she might take over the meeting, or even ruin the meeting completely.

W: That’s something I’ll try to prevent in the meeting.

M: Ok, as long as you’re prepared psychologically for such accidents, you’ll navigate the meeting very well.

W: I hope so. Do I have to take breaks during the meeting?

M: Yes, you’d better if you can manage to spare some time. Attending a long meeting might be a tiring job for most people.

W: Ok, I’ll mind that.

M: Don’t worry too much. You’d be good if you can picture possible problems beforehand.

W: That’s right. But, without your advice, I would feel at a loss about the meeting.

M: Never mind. My pleasure to help in some way.

W: Anyway, thanks, Ted.

Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

8. What’s Lucy busy doing now?

9. What does Ted suggest Lucy do at the very beginning of the meeting?

10. How can Lucy deal with new problems appearing during the meeting?

11. What might participants with dominant personality help with the meeting?

8. B 9. C 10. A 11. D

Conversation Two

M: How’s your job-hunting going?

W: Very well. I’m selecting among several job offers.

M: Sounds great. So, you’ll have to get prepared for your coming job interviews.

W: That’s right.

M: You’ll be ok if you stayed focused. If you watch elite athletes right before a competition, you’ll see they are fiercely focused.

W: I wish I could do like that.

M: You will make it if you accomplish last-minute job interview preparations.

W: Last-minute job interview preparations?

M: Yes, that means what you should do right before you’re on the way to your interview.

W: That sounds horrifying. What can I do, precisely?

M: First, check Twitter and the company’s website one last time.

W: What for?

M: On your way, tap on Twitter and the company’s website to see if there is any company breaking news you might be able to relevantly reference. It will make you seem interested, informed and help you stand out from other candidates.

W: Yes, that’s what I should learn by heart.

M: Secondly, check yourself out, too. That really matters. Try to make a good first impression, especially if your appointment is after lunch, find a mirror and do a quick check on your teeth.

W: I know what you mean. A stain in teeth may be very embarrassing.

M: No doubt. Be careful with your clothes. Sometimes, due to the limited time for preparation, some

candidates may wear their clothes inside-out. That appears to be very ridiculous.

W: Right. First impression really counts in job interviews.

M: Respect the front desk, too. I also want to mention this to you.

W: Why the front desk particularly?

M: Don’t ignore the security team or receptionist at the front desk.

W: I’ll try to show them a proper amount of respect.

M: Good. You’ll never regret it. He or she may be a spy for your future boss. In fact, he or she holds more power than you think. Having a bad relationship with him or her might prematurely end your candidacy for the position.

W: Wow, I’d better not mess with the person at the front desk.

M: So, remember to finish your cell phone conversations before you enter the building and take care not to bring any trouble to him or her.

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

12. What is the woman doing now?

13. What is the man’s first suggestion before attending a job interview?

14. How can the woman ensure a good first impression?

15. What is said about the receptionist at the front desk?

12. C 13. B 14. D 15. A

Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear three 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 1 with a single line through

the centre.

Passage One

Pride and Prejudice is one of the best books I’ve ever read, if not the best. It is like a textbook on how to pace a story, which is a hard thing to do, for me at least. It is a perfect social comedy. The dialogue is both believable, natural-seeming, and yet ten million times more interesting, witty and articulate than anything real people say.

The characters are so well-drawn, interesting, and deep that you get drawn into the story from the first page. Elizabeth Bennet is such a charming, funny, wonderful character—Jane Austen wrote, in a letter, about Elizabeth: “I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least I do not know…”.

One thing I love about Jane Austen is that she never takes herself seriously, yet she clearly loves her characters, even when they are behaving stupidly. She seems to have had a great eye for the

ridiculous in people and society, but not a bitter, hateful one.

I’ve read many essays about the feminism of Jane Austen’s writing; she clearly saw the desperation and despair of the social position of women: Unable to work, or even to inherit, they had to marry, and marry well, or live in poverty. And Jane Austen clearly saw women as intellectually equal to men.

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.

16. How does the speaker consider the dialogue in the novel concerned?

17. What did Jane Austen say about Elizabeth Bennet?

18. What did Jane Austen write about the social position of women?

16. A 17. C 18. B

Passage Two

Today, I’d like to talk about eating habits in China. Unlike the West, where everyone has their own plate of food, in China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody shares. If you are being treated by a Chinese host, be prepared for a ton of food. Chinese are very proud of their culture of cooking style and will do their best to show their hospitality.

And sometimes the host will serve some dishes with his or her own chopsticks to guests to show his or her hospitality. This is a sign of politeness. The appropriate thing to do would be to eat the whatever-it-is and say how yummy it is. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you can just say a polite “thank you”and leave the food there. There are some other rules that are suggested you follow to make your stay in China happier, though you will be forgiven if you have no idea of what they are.

First, never stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl, lay them on your dish instead. Otherwise, it is regarded as extremely impolite to the host and seniors present. The reason for this is that when somebody dies, the place for worshiping them contains a bowl of sand or rice with two sticks of incense stuck upright in it. So if you stick your chopsticks in the rice bowl, it is equivalent to wishing death upon a person at the table……

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.

19. What does the speaker say about a Chinese host?

20. How can foreigners treat those rules about eating habits when in China?

21. Why are westerners advised not to stick chopsticks upright in the bowl?

19. B 20. A 21. C

Passage Three

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was involved in politics from his early adult years. Born into the planter class of Virginia, Jefferson was highly educated and valued his years at the College of William and Mary. He became a lawyer and planter, building on the estate and slaves received from his father.

His father was Peter Jefferson, a planter and major slaveholder, and a surveyor in Albemarle County. His ancestors had come to America from Wales, although this remains unclear. His mother was Jane Randolph, daughter of a ship’s captain and sometime planter. Later in 1752, Peter Jefferson was appointed to the leader of the county, an important position at the time. After he died in 1757, his son Thomas Jefferson obtained his estate, including about 20-40 slaves.

On October 1, 1765, when Jefferson was 22, his oldest sister Jane died at the age of 25. He fell into a period of deep mourning, as he was already saddened by the absence of his sisters Mary and Martha, who had been married several years before. Both of them lived at their husbands’ residences. He drew little comfort from the younger sisters and brothers, as they did not provide him with the same intellectual encouragement as the older sisters had. In a sense, while growing up Jefferson struggled with loneliness and abandonment issues that eventually developed into a habit of avoiding the company of other people as an adult.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.

22. What did Thomas Jefferson do to make a living after leaving college?

23. What’s mentioned about Jane Randolph, Jefferson’s mother?

24. Who died when Jefferson was 22?

25. How was Jefferson’s personality when he grew up as an adult?

22. C 23. A 24. A 25. B

Part III Reading Comprehension

Section A

26. E 27. C 28. A 29. N 30. H

31. B 32. L 33. D 34. F 35. O

Section B

36. G 37. F 38. H 39. N 40. I

41. L 42. E 43. J 44. D 45. K

Section C

Passage One

46. B 47. C 48. B 49. C 50. A

Passage two

51. B 52. C 53. B 54. A 55. D

Part IV Translation

According to a survey made by Beijing’s Haidian District People’s Court, Chinese people aged above 30, especially 30-39, are most likely to say ‘no’ to their marriage, though many are financially stable and have children to care for. Over the past two decades, the public’s ideas about marriage have changed a lot, as older couples are ready to separate if their marriage fails their expectations of a happy marital life, while young people become more cautious about tying the knot. Among the more than 600 divorce cases surveyed, divorcees between 30 to 40 years of age account for 46.5 percent in 2003, up 9.5 percent in 1981. On the contrary, people aged under 30 tend to stay inside the family circle, with only 6.6 percent getting divorced in 2003, a big drop from 37 percent 22 years ago.