2016年12月英語四級真題(第1套)

1、2016年12月英語四級真題 第一套Part I Writing(30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay.Supposeyou have two options upon graduation: one is to work in a state-owned business and the other in a joint venture. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essayto expla

2、in the reasons for your choice. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)Section ADirections: 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 repor

3、t 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 to 2 are based on the news report you have

4、just heard.1. A) It was dangerous to live in.B) It was going to be renovated.C) He could no longer pay the rent.D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A strike.B) A storm.C) A forest fire.D) A terrorist attack.Questions 3 to 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) They lost con

5、tact with the emergency department.B) They were trapped in an underground elevator.C) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.D) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.4. A) They tried hard to repair the elevator.B) They released the details of the accident.C) They sent supplies to keep t

6、he miners warm.D) They provided the miners with food and water.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) Raise postage rates.B) Improve its services.C) Redesign delivery routes.D) Close some of its post offices.6. A) Shortening business hours.B) Closing offices on holi

7、days.C) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.D) Computerizing mail sorting processes.7. A) Many post office staff will lose their jobs.B) Many people will begin to complain.C) Taxpayers will be very pleased.D) A lot of controversy will arise.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two lon

8、g 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 She

9、et Iwith a single line through the centre.Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A) He will be kept from promotion.B) He will go through retraining.C) He will be given a warning.D) He will lose part of his pay.9. A) He is always on time.B) He is a trustworthy guy.C) H

10、e is an experienced press operator.D) He is on good terms with his workmates.10. A) She is a trade union representative.B) She is in charge of public relations.C) She is a senior manager of the shop.D) She is better at handling such matters.11. A) He is skilled and experienced.B) He is very close to

11、 the manager.C) He is always trying to stir up trouble.D) He is always complaining about low wages.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) Open.B) Friendly.C) Selfish.D) Reserved.13. A) They stay quiet.B) They read a book.C) They talk about the weather.D) They cha

12、t with fellow passengers.14. A) She was always treated as a foreigner.B) she was eager to visit an English castle.C) She was never invited to a colleagues home.D) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.15. A) Houses are much more quiet.B) Houses provide more privacy.C) They want to have mo

13、re space.D) They want a garden of their own.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer f

14、rom 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 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A) They don ' t have much choice of jobs.B) They are likely to get much higher pay.C) They

15、 don ' t have to go through job interviews.D) They will automatically be given hiring priority.17. A) Ask their professors for help.B) Look at school bulletin boards.C) Visit the school careers service.D) Go through campus newspapers.18. A) Helping students find the books and journals they need.

16、B) Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.C) Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.D) Providing students with information about the library.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) It tastes better.B) It is easier to grow.C) It may be sold

17、 at a higher price.D) It can better survive extreme weathers.20. A) It is healthier than green tea.B) It can grow in drier soil.C) It will replace green tea one day.D) It is immune to various diseases.21. A) It has been well received by many tea drinkers.B) It does not bring the promised health bene

18、fits.C) It has made tea farmers ' life easier.D) It does not have a stable market.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) They need decorations to show their status.B) They prefer unique objects of high quality.C) They decorate their homes themselves.D) They care m

19、ore about environment.23. A) They were proud of their creations.B) They could only try to create at night.C) They made great contributions to society.D) They focused on the quality of their products.24. A) Make wise choices.B) Identify fake crafts.C) Design handicrafts themselves.D) Learn the import

20、ance of creation.25. A) To boost the local economy.B) To attract foreign investments.C) To arouse public interest in crafts.D) To preserve the traditional culture.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to

21、select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line

22、through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.Many men and women have long bought into the idea that there are " male and “female " brains, believing that explains just about every difference between th

23、e sexes. A new study (26) that belief, questioning whether brains really can be distinguished by gender.In the study, Tel Aviv University researchers(27) for sex differences throughout the entire human brain.And what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidence for (28) brains as “male” or “f

24、emale, " research shows that brains fall into a wide range, with most people falling right in the middle.Daphna Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there are some gender-based(29)_ , many different types of brain can' always be distinguished by gender.While the “aver

25、age" male and “average" female b-Ons wefferent, you couldn ' t tell it by looking at individual brain scans. Only a small (31) of people had “用 male” or - female" characteristics.Larry Cahill, an American neuroscientist (神經(jīng)科學(xué)家 ),said the study is an important addition to a growing

26、 body of research questioning (32)_beliefs about gender and brain function. But he cautioned against concluding from this study that all brains are the same, (33) of gender.“There a snountain of evidence (34) the importance of sex influences at all levels of brain function,ThheSedttle TimesIf anythi

27、ng, he said, the study (35) that gender plays a very important role in theA) abnormalF) figureK) similaritiesB) appliedG) percentageL) slightlyC) brieflyH) provingM) suggestsD) categorizingI) regardlessN) tastesE) challengesJ) searchedO) traditional力brain “ even when we are not clear exactly how.Sec

28、tion BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked

29、 with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2Can Burglars Jam Your Wireless Security System?A Any product that promises to protect your home deserves careful examination. So it isn ' sturprising that you' llfind plenty of strong opinions about the

30、 potential vulnerabilities of popular home-security systems.B The most likely type of burglary (入室盜竊)by far is the unsophisticated crime of opportunity, usually involving a broken window or some forced entry. According to the FBI, crimes like these accounted for roughly two-thirds of all household b

31、urglaries in the US in 2013.The wide majority of the rest were illegal, unforced entries that resulted from something like a window being left open. The odds of a criminal using technical means to bypass a security system are so small that the FBI doesn' t even track those statistics.'ll tra

32、nsmit a wireless alert signal toC One of the main theoretical home-security concerns is whether or not a given system is vulnerable to being blocked from working altogether. With wired setups, the fear is that a burglar (入室盜賊)might be able to shut your system down simply by cutting the right cable.

33、With a wireless setup, you stick battery-powered sensors up around your home that keep an eye on windows, doors, motion, and more. If they detectsomething wrong while the system is armed, they's to stop a thief from jamming youra base station that will then raise the alarm. That approach will el

34、iminate most cord-cutting concerns but what about their wireless equivalent, jamming? With theright device tuned to the right frequency, what're not unique to security systems. Anysetup and blocking that alert signal from ever reaching the base station?D Jamming concerns are nothing new, and the

35、y all you ' d ndevice that ' built to receive a wireless signal at a specific frequency can be overwhelmed by a stronger signal coming in on the same frequency. For comparison, let ' s say you wanted to “jam” a conversation between two people do is yell in the listener ' s ear.E Secu

36、rity devices are required to list the frequencies they broadcast onthat means that a potential thief can find what they need to know with minimal Googling. They're looking fovdfayoighanwill, however, need so know what system theyyour yard declaring what setup you use, that ' point them in th

37、e right direction,though at that point, we're talking about a highly targetsop histicated attack,and not the sort forced-entry attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. It ' s easier to find and acquire jamming equipment for some frequencies than it is for others.F Wireless security p

38、roviders will often take steps to help combat the threat of jamming attacks. SimpliSafe, winner of our Editor ' Choice distinction, utilizes a special system that ' s capable of separating incidental RF interference from targeted jammingattacks. When the system thinks it's being jammed,

39、it"piUshoaifyryou via送警報）.From there, it ' s up to you to sound the alarm manually.G SimpliSafe was singled out in one recent article on jamming, complete with a video showing the entire system being effectively bypassed with handheld jamming equipment. After taking appropriate measures to

40、contain the RF interference to our test lab, we tested the attack out for ourselves, and were able to verify that it ' s possible with the right equipment. However, we also verified that SimpliSafe ' s anti-jamming system works. It caught us in the act, sent an alert to my smartphone, and al

41、so listed our RF inter ference on the system ' s event log. The team behind the article and video in question make no mention of the system, or whether or not it detected them.'t be a universal magic formula forH We like the unique nature of that software. It means that a thief likely wouldn

42、 able to Google how the system works, then figure out a way around it. Even if they could, SimpliSafe claims that its system is always evolving, and that it varies slightlyfrom system to system, which means there wouldncracking it. Other systems also seem confident on the subject of jamming. The tea

43、m at Frontpoint addresses the issue in a blog on its site, citing their own jam protection software and claiming that there aren ' any documented casesof a successfuljam attack since the company began offering wireless security sensors in the 1980s.I Jamming attacks are absolutely possible. As s

44、aid before, with the right equipment and the right know-how, it ' s possible to jam any wireless transmission. But how probable is it that someone will successfully jam their way into your home and steal your stuff?'re away. So the thiefJ Let ' s imagine that you live in a small home wit

45、h a wireless security setup that offers a functional anti-jamming system. First, a thief is going to need to target your home, specifically. Then, he g6ing to need to know the technical details of your system and acquire the specific equipment necessary for jamming your specific setup.Presumably, yo

46、u keep your doors locked at night and while youwill still need to break in. That means defeating the lock somehow, or breaking a window. He ' ll need to be jamming you at this point, as a broken window or opened door would normally release the alarm. So, too, would the motion detectors in your h

47、ome, so the thief will need to continue jamming once he ' s inside and searching for things to steal. However, he' lheed to do so without tripping the anti-jamming system, the details of which he almost certainly does not have access to.K At the end of the day, these kinds of systems are pri

48、marily designed to protect against the sort of opportunistic smash-and-grab attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. They ' re also only a single layer in what should ideally be a msinedapproach to securing your home, one that includes common sense things like sound locks and proper exte

49、rior lighting at night. No system is impenetrable, and none can promise to eliminate the worst case completely. Every one of them has vulnerabilities that a knowledgeable thief could theoretically exploit. A good system is one that keeps that worst-case setting as improbable as possible while also o

50、ffering strong protection in the event of a less-extraordinary attack.36. It is possible for burglars to make jamming attacks with the necessary equipment and skill.37. Interfering with a wireless security system is similar to interfering with a conversation.38. A burglar has to continuously jam the

51、 wireless security device to avoid triggering the alarm, both inside and outside the house.39. SimpliSafe provides devices that are able to distinguish incidental radio interference from targeted jamming attacks.40. Only a very small proportion of burglaries are committed by technical means.41. It i

52、s difficult to crack SimpliSafe as its system keeps changing.42. Wireless devices will transmit signals so as to activate the alarm once something wrong is detected.43. Different measures should be taken to protect one' s home from burglary in addition tothe wireless security system.44. SimpliSa

53、fe ' s device can send a warning to the house owner' s cellphone.45. Burglars can easily get a security device' s frequency by Internet search.Section CDirections: There are 2 passagesin this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them t

54、here are four choices marked A), B), C), and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.As a person who write about food and drink for a living, I

55、couldn' t tell you the firthing about Bill Perry or whether the beers he sells are that great. But I can tell you that I like this guy. That' becausehe plans to ban tipping in favor of paying his servers an actual living wage.I hate tipping.I hate it because it ' s an obligation disguise

56、d as an option. I hate it f-dirthneipost math it requires of me. But mostly, I hate tipping because I believe I would be in a better place if pay decisions regarding employees were simply left up to their employers, as is the custom in virtually every other industry.Most of you probably think that y

57、ou hate tipping,too. Research suggests otherwise. You actually love tipping! You like to feel that you have a voice in how much money your server makes. No matter how the math works out, you persistently view restaurants with voluntary tipping systems as being a better value, which makes it extremel

58、y difficult for restaurants and bars to do away with the tipping system.One argument that you tend to hear a lot from the pro-tipping crowd seems logical enough: the service is better when waiters depend on tips, presumably because they see a benefit to successfully veiling their contempt for you. W

59、ell, if this were true, we would all be slipping a few 100-dollars bills to our doctors on the way out their doors, too. But as it turns out, waiters see only a tiny bump in tips when they do an exceptional job compared to a passable one. Waiters, keen observers of humanity that they are, are catching on to this; in one poll, a full 30%