2019年英语专业四级真题
发布时间:2020年07月10日
发布人:nanyuzi  

TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2019)

GRADE FOUR

 

TIME LIMIT: 130 MIN

 

PART Ⅰ  DICTATION [10 MIN]

Listen to the following passage. Altogether the passage will be read to you four times. During the first reading, which will be done at normal speed, listen and try to understand the meaning. For the second and third readings, the passage, except the first sentence, will be read sentence by sentence, or phrase by phrase, with intervals of 15 seconds. The last reading will be done at normal speed again and during this time you should check your work. You will then be given ONE minute to check through your work once more.

Write on ANSWER SHEET ONE. The first sentence of the passage is already provided.

 

PART Ⅱ  LISTENING COMPREHENSION [20 MIN]

 

SECTION A  TALK

In this section you will hear a talk. You will hear the talk ONCE ONLY. While listening, you may look at the task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure what you fill in is both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may use the blank sheet for note-taking. You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.

Now listen to the talk. When it is over, you will be given TWO minutes to check your work.

 

Revision of Essay Drafts

 

The initial revision should focus on the essay as a whole.

The first step: (1) ______

·the rough draft

– containing too little or too much material

– discussing things unrelated to (2) ______

·how to revise

– provide (3) ______ to convince your readers

– eliminate unrelated material

The second step: revise for organization

·group similar ideas in the proper order

·produce an outline from the draft to check (4) ______

The third step: revise for length

·mind the stated length

·stick to (5) ______

Revise for (6) ______ of the essay

·(7) ______ by breaking up some longer sentences

·use short sentences to make important points

·use long sentences to (8) ______

·eliminate (9) ______ expressions

·use fresh and interesting descriptions

·write with (10) ______ as much as possible

·write in the active voice

 

SECTION B  CONVERSATIONS

In this section you will hear two conversations. At the end of each conversation, five questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversations and the questions will be spoken ONCE ONLY. After each question there will be a ten-second pause. During the pause, you should read the four choices of A, B, C and D, and mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO. You have THIRTY seconds to preview the choices.

Now, listen to the conversations.

 

CONVERSATION ONE

Questions 1 to 5 are based on Conversation One.

1.

A. Writer.

B. Wells.

C. Writer Wells.

D. Susan Writer Wells.

 

2.

A. She was a career woman.

B. She was then a feminist.

C. She didn’t like her maiden name.

D. She took her husband’s surname.

 

3.

A. She named herself after her profession.

B. She named herself after her hometown.

C. She named herself after a day of the week.

D. She named herself after the sculptor.

 

4.

A. It gives women greater equality.

B. It is a good solution to an old problem.

C. The problem troubling feminists still remains.

D. The surname problem has partly been solved.

 

5.

A. History of surnames in America.

B. Feminist movement in the 1960s.

C. Traditional surnames in Europe.

D. Reasons for inventing surnames.

 

CONVERSATION TWO

Questions 6 to 10 are based on Conversation Two.

6.

A. A reporter from a weekly program.

B. An executive director from a company.

C. A guest on a weekly program.

D. A magazine editor from San Diego.

 

7.

A. To let your boss know that you want a pay rise.

B. To prepare a list of things that you have done.

C. To let everybody know your achievement.

D. To shamelessly promote yourself to your boss.

 

8.

A. Because others may lose trust in you.

B. Because it is unprofessional to do so.

C. Because you will be given more work to do.

D. Because the boss has the data on your work.

 

9.

A. We could earn praise from our boss.

B. We may forget the good things we’ve done.

C. Things change quickly in work situations.

D. The boss will review our performance data.

 

10.

A. Websites.

B. Radio programs.

C. Research reports.

D. Government documents.

 

PART Ⅲ  LANGUAGE USAGE [10 MIN]

There are twenty sentences in this section. Beneath each sentence there are four options marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that best completes the sentence or answers the question.

 

11. Moving from beginning to end by order of time, narration relies on a more natural pattern of organization than ______.

A. do other types of writing

B. other types of writing

C. on other types of writing

D. will other types of writing

 

12. ______ the attempted rescue mission, the hostages might still be alive.

A. If it not had been for

B. If had it not been for

C. Had it not been for

D. Had not it been for

 

13. Members of the Parliament were poised ______ ahead with a bill to approve construction of the oil pipeline.

A. to move

B. moving

C. to moving

D. at moving

 

14. Writers often coupled narration with other techniques to develop ideas and support opinions that otherwise ______ abstract, unclear, or unconvincing.

A. may remain

B. could remain

C. must have remained

D. might have remained

 

15. Protocol was ______ enabled him to make difficult decisions without ever looking back.

A. who

B. what

C. which

D. that

 

16. The woman had persuaded him to do ______ he was hired never to do – reveal the combination for the lock on the entrance.

A. one thing

B. such one thing

C. any one thing

D. the one thing

 

17. The bad news was that he could be a very dangerous person ______ he choose to be.

A. might

B. could

C. should

D. must

 

18. “If not us, who? If not now, when?” These two questions are used as a ______.

A. sign of anger

B. call for action

C. refusal of change

D. denial of commitment

 

19. What is the function of the present progressive in “They are always calling me by the wrong name”?

A. To express unfavorable feelings.

B. To alleviate unnecessary hostility.

C. To indicate uncertainty.

D. To dramatize a fact.

 

20. “Harry was compelled to resign and to come down to London, where he set up as an army coach.” The relative clause in the sentence serves to ______.

A. supply additional information about London

B. describe the antecedent “London”

C. narrate a sequential action taken by Harry

D. put restrictions on the identity of Harry

 

21. A group ______ casinos has urged officials not to grant a license to a facility in the city.

A. opposed to

B. objected to

C. posed against

D. protested against

 

22. After the war, he worked on an island in the Pacific, helping the natives and medical ______ understand each other’s behavior and cultures.

A. members

B. persons

C. personnel

D. faculty

 

23. The subject of manners is complex. If it were not, there would not be so many ______ feelings and so much misunderstanding in international communication.

A. injurious

B. injured

C. injuring

D. injury

 

24. To illustrate the limits of First Amendment free speech, many have noted that the Constitution does not give you the right to falsely ______ “Fire!” in a crowded theater.

A. yelp

B. yank

C. yell

D. yield

 

25. The company announced that it has achieved its mission to create a local food economy that is ______ to any environment.

A. adoptable

B. amendable

C. alterable

D. adaptable

 

26. Although Patterson acknowledges the disappointing season he had with the Vikings, he has no second ______ about how he went about his business.

A. thoughts

B. opinions

C. concerns

D. reasons

 

27. Electronic cigarettes should be subject ______ the same taxes and limitations on public use as traditional tobacco products.

A. about

B. at

C. to

D. on

 

28. FC Barcelona, ______ the most iconic club in world soccer, beat Manchester United 2-0 to claim the UEFA Champions League title.

A. controversially

B. arguably

C. debatably

D. finally

 

29. The store sells liquid vitamins ______ designed for children under 3.

A. explicitly

B. specially

C. speculatively

D. specifically

 

30. The three law ______ officers on the plane came to the rescue of a fellow passenger who was allegedly trying to kill herself.

A. imposition

B. coercion

C. enforcement

D. reinforcement

 

PART Ⅳ  CLOZE [10 MIN]

Decide which of the words given in the box below would best complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blank. The words can be used ONCE ONLY. Marie the letter for each word on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

 

A. daydream

B. disagreement

C. factually

D. if

E. inevitable

F. inseparable

G. lays

H. making

I. perspective

J. resides

K. that

L. thinking

M. thoughtfully

N. ultimately

O. wake

 

To some thinkers, it is machines and their development that drive economic and cultural change. This idea is referred to as technological determinism. Certainly there can be no doubt that machines contributed to the Protestant Reformation and the decline of the Catholic Church’s power in Europe or (31) _______ television has changed the way family members interact. Those who believe in technological determinism would argue that these changes in the cultural landscape were the (32) _______ result of new technology.

But others see technology as more neutral and claim that the way people use technology is what gives it significance. This (33) _______ accepts technology as one of many factors that shape economic and cultural change; technology’s influence is (34) _______ determined by how much power it is given by the people and cultures that use it.

This (35) ______ about the power of technology is at the heart of the controversy surrounding the new communication technologies. Are we more or less powerless in the (36) _______ of advances such as the Internet, the World Wide Web, and instant global audio and visual communication? If we are at the mercy of technology, the culture that surrounds us will not be of our (37) _______ and the best we can hope to do is make our way reasonably well in a world outside our own control. But if these technologies are indeed neutral and their power (38) _______ in how we choose to use them, we can utilize them responsibly and (39) _______ to construct and maintain whatever kind of culture we want. As film director and technophile Steve Spielberg explained, “Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or (40) _______ to imagine something wonderful.”

 

PART Ⅴ  READING COMPREHENSION [35 MIN]

 

SECTION A  MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

In this section there are three passages followed by ten multiple choice questions. For each multiple choice question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer and mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

 

PASSAGE ONE

(1) Life can be tough for immigrants in America. As a Romanian bank clerk in Atlanta puts it, to find a good job “you have to be like a wolf in the forest – able to smell out the best meat.” And if you can’t find work, don’t expect the taxpayer to bail you out. Unlike in some European countries, it is extremely hard for an able-bodied immigrant to live off the state. A law passed in 1996 explicitly bars most immigrants, even those with legal status, from receiving almost any federal benefits.

(2) That is one reason why America absorbs immigrants better than many other rich countries, according to a new study by the University of California. The researchers sought to measure the effect of immigration on the native-born in 20 rich countries, taking into account differences in skills between immigrants and natives, imperfect labor markets and the size of the welfare state in each country.

(3) Their results offer ammunition for fans of more open borders In 19 out of 20 countries, the authors calculated that shutting the doors entirely to foreign workers would make the native-born worse off. Never mind what it would do to the immigrants themselves, who benefit far more than anyone else from being allowed to cross borders to find work.

(4) The study also suggests that most countries could handle more immigration than they currently allow. In America, a one-percentage point increase in the proportion of immigrants in the population made the native-born 0.05% better off. The opposite was true in some countries with generous or ill-designed welfare states, however. A one-point rise in immigration made the native-born slightly worse off in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. In Belgium, immigrants who lose jobs can receive almost two-thirds of their most recent wage in state benefits, which must make the hunt for a new job less urgent.

(5) None of these effects was large, but the study undermines the claim that immigrants steal jobs from natives or drag down their wages. Many immigrants take jobs that Americans do not want, the study finds. This “smooths” the labor market and ultimately creates more jobs for locals. Native-owned grocery stores do better business because there are immigrants to pick the fruit they sell. Indian computer scientists help American software firms expand. A previous study found that because immigrants typically earn less than locals with similar skills, they boost corporate profits, prompting companies to grow and hire more locals.

 

41. Increase in immigration in Austria fails to improve locals’ life mainly because of ______.

A. inadequate skills of immigrants

B. imperfect labor markets

C. low wages for locals

D. the design of the welfare system

 

42. Who will favor the study results by researchers from the University of California?

A. People who have legal status.

B. People who run businesses.

C. People who receive state benefits.

D. People who are willing to earn less.

 

43. It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s attitude is ______ towards immigration.

A. cautiously favorable

B. slightly negative

C. strongly negative

D. quite ambiguous

 

PASSAGE TWO

(1) There was something in the elderly woman’s behavior that caught my eye. Although slow and unsure of step, the woman moved with deliberation, and there was no hesitation in her gestures. She was as good as anyone else, her movements suggested. And she had a job to do.

(2) It was a few years ago, and I had taken a part-time holiday-season job in a video store at the local shopping mall. From inside the store, I’d begun to see the people rushing by outside in the mall’s concourse as a river of humanity.

(3) The elderly woman had walked into the store along with a younger woman who I guessed was her daughter. The daughter was displaying a serious case of impatience, rolling her eyes, huffing and sighing, checking her watch every few seconds. If she had possessed a leash, her mother would have been fastened to it as a means of tugging her along to keep step with the rush of other shoppers.

(4) The older woman detached from the younger one and began to tick through the DVDs on the nearest shelf. After the slightest hesitation, I walked over and asked if I could help her find something. The woman smiled up at me and showed me a title scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper. The title was unusual and a bit obscure. Clearly a person looking for it knew a little about movies, about quality.

(5) Rather than rushing off to locate the DVD for the woman, I asked her to walk with me so I could show her where she could find it. Looking back, I think I wanted to enjoy her company for a moment. Something about her deliberate movements reminded me of my own mother, who’d passed away the previous Christmas.

(6) As we walked along the back of the store, I narrated its floor plan: old television shows, action movies, cartoons, science fiction. The woman seemed glad of the unrushed company and casual conversation.

(7) We found the movie, and I complimented her on her choice. She smiled and told me it was one she’d enjoyed when she was her son’s age and that she hoped he would enjoy it as much as she had. Maybe, she said with a hint of wistfulness, he could enjoy it with his own young children. Then, reluctantly, I had to return the elderly woman to her keeper, who was still tapping her foot at the front of the store.

(8) I escorted the older woman to the queue at the cash register and then stepped back and lingered near the younger woman. When the older woman’s turn in line came, she paid in cash, counting out the dollars and coins with the same sureness she'd displayed earlier.

(9) As the cashier tucked the DVD into a plastic bag, I walked over to the younger woman.

(10) “Is that your morn?” I asked.

(11) I halfway expected her to tell me it was none of my business. But possibly believing me to be tolerant of her impatience, she rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah.” There was exasperation in her reply, half sigh and half groan.

(12) Still watching the mother, I said, “Mind some advice?”

(13) “Sure,” said the daughter.

(14) I smiled to show her I wasn’t criticizing. “Cherish her,” I said. And then I answered her curious expression by saying, “When she’s gone, it’s the little moments that’ll come back to you. Moments like this. I know.”

(15) It was true. I missed my mom still and remembered with melancholy clarity the moments when I’d used my impatience to make her life miserable.

(16) The elderly woman moved with her deliberate slowness back to her daughter’s custody. Together they made their way toward the store’s exit. They stood there for a moment, side by side, watching the rush of the holiday current and for their place in it. Then the daughter glanced over and momentarily regarded her mother. And slowly, almost reluctantly, she placed her arm with apparently unaccustomed affection around her mother’s shoulders and gently guided her back into the crowds.

 

44. What does “she had a job to do” (Para.1) mean according to the context?

A. She had a regular job in the store.

B. She wanted to ask for help.

C. She wanted to buy a DVD.

D. She was thinking of what to buy.

 

45. What does the title of the DVD reveal according to the shop assistant?

A. The elderly woman had some knowledge about movies.

B. The elderly woman liked movies for young children.

C. The elderly woman preferred movies her son liked.

D. The elderly woman liked both old and new movies.

 

46. In the passage the elderly woman’s daughter is described as being ______.

A. impolite

B. uncaring

C. naïve

D. miserly

 

47. While looking for the DVD with the old woman, the shop assistant was ______.

A. hesitant

B. indifferent

C. frustrated

D. patient

 

PASSAGE THREE

(1) Reading award-winning literature may boost your ability to read other people, a new study suggests. Researchers at the New School for Social Research, in New York City, found that when they had volunteers read works of acclaimed “literary fiction”, it seemed to temporarily improve their ability to interpret other people’s emotions. The same was not true of nonfiction or “popular” fiction, the mystery, romance and science-fiction books that often dominate bestseller lists.

(2) Experts said the findings, reported online in Science, suggest that literature might help people to be more perceptive and engaged in their lives.

(3) “Reading literary fiction isn’t just for passing the time It’s not just an escape” said Keith Oatley, a professor emeritus of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto. “It also enables us to better understand others, and then take that into our daily lives.”

(4) Oatley was not involved in the new research, but worked on some of the first studies to suggest that reading literature can boost people’s empathy for others. His team has found that those who read a lot of fiction tend to show greater empathy on standard tests, but the same is not true of avid nonfiction fans.

(5) But, the study by Oatley and his team cannot prove that literature boosts empathy – empathetic folks may just be drawn to reading fiction, whereas the new study does offer some “cause-and-effect” evidence, Oatley said. For the study, researchers set up a series of five experiments in which participants read either literary fiction, popular fiction, nonfiction or nothing at all before taking some standard tests. One of the tests is known as “Reading the Mind in the Eyes”. People have to look at photos of actors’ eyes, and then guess what emotion is being expressed in each. The test is considered a measure of empathy. Overall, study participants fared better on the test after reading literary fiction, versus the other three conditions.

(6) It was a small improvement, according to the principal researcher David Comer Kidd, “It’s not like taking people from a (grade) ‘C’ to an ‘A’,” he said. But, Kidd added, the effect was seen after only about 10 minutes’ reading, and it was a statistically strong finding, meaning it’s unlikely to have been due to chance.

(7) “Literary” fiction has no hard-and-fast definition. So Kidd and his colleagues chose contemporary works that have won or been finalists for outstanding literary awards. They included “The Round House”, by Louise Erdrich, “Salvage the Bones”, by Jesmyn Ward and the short story “Corrie” by Alice Munro. And “popular” fiction included best-sellers like “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, and Danielle Steel’s “The Sins of the Mother”.

(8) What’s so special about literary fiction? “For one, it’s usually more focused on characters than on plot,” Kidd noted. But beyond that, he said, there is usually no single “authoritative narrator” who takes us through the story. “It demands that the reader almost become a writer and fill in the gaps. You really have to think about the characters,” Kidd said.

(9) Oatley agreed. “Alice Munro doesn’t tell you what to think,” he said. “You, yourself, have to make inferences about characters. And that’s often what we’re doing in our real-life conversations.” Or at least that’s what people could do.

(10) Reading literary fiction could also offer a way to “practice” your social skills and use them more in real life, according to another researcher not involved in the study. “It’s like how pilots train in a flight simulator,” said Raymond Mar, an associate professor of psychology at York University, in Toronto, who has collaborated with Oatley. “This is a great study,” Mar said of the new study. But he added that the overall research in this area is “still in its infancy” and one key question is whether literary fiction really is better than other fiction.

(11) Mar and his colleagues recently found that fans of romance novels tended to do best on tests of empathy. Unlike the current study, Mar’s study did not test people after having them read different types of fiction. So it’s possible that there is something else about romance-novel readers that makes them more understanding of others.

(12) Still, according to Mar, it’s too early to tell people to trade in their Danielle Steel for Alice Munro, at least if the goal is boosting empathy.

(13) It’s also possible that plays, movies or even TV shows could build your empathy muscles, according to Kidd. But reading may be special, he said, because it provides no Visuals and you have to engage your imagination more.

(14) Everyone agreed that the findings suggest literature is important beyond entertainment or improving vocabulary. “There’s a common belief that reading literature is frivolous, or not practical,” Mar said. “But there’s a growing body of evidence that it’s important in skills that we need in our lives.”

 

48. According to the new study, what kinds of books are likely to help people better understand others’ feelings?

A. Science fiction.

B. Romance novels.

C. Literary fiction.

D. Nonfiction.

 

49. Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the passage?

A. Oatley and his colleagues were involved in the new study.

B. Mar and his team also tested people after reading fiction.

C. Kidd and his team had people read prestigious fiction.

D. Kidd and his team were uncertain about their study results.

 

50. Which of the following is NOT a special feature of literary fiction?

A. Presence of an authoritative narrator.

B. More focus on character description.

C. Demand on readers’ ability to infer.

D. Presence of readers’ empathetic feelings.

 

SECTION B  SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

In this section there are five short answer questions based on the passages in Section A. Answer the questions with NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS in the space provided on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

 

PASSAGE ONE

51. What does the statement “..., don’t expect the taxpayer to bail you out.” mean?

 

PASSAGE TWO

52. Why did the shop assistant lead the elderly woman to find the DVD instead of finding it for her?

53. What does the last sentence in Para. 16 imply about the daughter’s attitude towards her mother?

 

PASSAGE THREE

54. What are the two main advantages of reading literary fiction according to the passage?

55. Why is reading special when compared with plays and movies?

 

PART Ⅵ  WRITING [45 MIN]

Read carefully the following excerpt, and then write your response in NO LESS THAN 200 WORDS, in which you should:

1) summarize the main message of the excerpt, and then

2) comment on Brewer’s view that parents should join in with their kids rather than limit their media consumption.

You can support yourself with information from the excerpt.

Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.

Write your response on ANSWER SHEET THREE.

 

How much screen time is too much for kids?

Parents have been advised to limit media consumption of their children, but research suggests it’s the nature of it that matters.

For many parents in the digital age, battles with their kids over screen time and devices have

become a depressing part of family life. Many parents will now be relieved to hear that recent research suggests that it’s not so much the length, but the nature of the screen time that matters.

Jocelyn Brewer, a psychologist who specializes in the concept of “digital nutrition”, likens media diets to what’s on our plates: rather than counting calories (or screen time), think about what you’re eating.

“It’s not just about whether you consume any potential digital junk foods, but also your relationship to technology and the role it plays in your family life,” says Brewer.

For young children, the most important thing is whether parents and kids are playing, watching or browsing together.

A study of 20,000 parents published late last year by the Oxford Internet Institute and Cardiff

University determined that there was no correlation between limiting device use and children’s well-being. The study’s lead author Dr Andrew Pryzbylski said: “Our findings suggest the broader family context, how parents set rules about digital screen time, and if they’re actively engaged in exploring the digital world together, are more important than the raw screen time.”

“The consensus is that screen time, in and of itself, is not harmful – and reasonable restrictions vary greatly, depending on a child’s behavior and personality. There is little point in worrying about how many minutes a day your kids are spending with screens,” says Brewer. “Instead, parents should be doing what they can to ensure that what they’re watching, playing and reading is high-quality, age-appropriate and safe – and joining in wherever possible.”