2008年12月英语四级试题文字版（A卷真题+答案）
Part I Writing (30minutes)
注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上。
Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)(15 minutes)
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1.For questions 1-7,choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C) and D).For questions 8-10,complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
That’s enough, kids
It was a lovely day at the park and Stella Bianchi was enjoying the sunshine with her two children when a young boy, aged about four, approached her two-year-old son and pushed him to the ground.
“I’d watched him for a little while and my son was the fourth or fifth child he’d shoved,” she says.” I went over to them, picked up my son, turned to the boy and said, firmly, ’No, we don’t push,” What happened next was unexpected.
“The boy’s mother ran toward me from across the park,” Stella says,” I thought she was coming over to apologize, but instead she started shouting at me for disciplining her child, All I did was let him know his behavior was unacceptable. Was I supposed to sit back while her kid did whatever he wanted, hurting other children in the process?”
Getting your own children to play nice is difficult enough. Dealing with other people’s children has become a minefield.
In my house, jumping on the sofa is not allowed. In my sister’s house it’s encouraged. For her, it’s about kids being kids:”If you can’t do it at three, when can you do it?”
Each of these philosophies is valid and, it has to be said, my son loves visiting his aunt’s house. But I find myself saying “no” a lot when her kids are over at mine. That’s OK between sisters but becomes dangerous territory when you’re talking to the children of friends or acquaintances.
“Kids aren’t all raised the same,” agrees Professor Naomi White of
In those circumstances, it’s difficult to know whether to approach the child directly or the parent first. There are two schools of thought.
“I’d go to the child first,” says Andrew Fuller, author of Tricky Kids. Usually a quiet reminder that ’we don’t do that here’ is enough. Kids nave finely tuned antennae (直觉) for how to behave in different settings.”
He points out bringing it up with the parent first may make them feel neglectful, which could cause problems. Of course, approaching the child first can bring its own headaches, too.
This is why White recommends that you approach the parents first. Raise your concerns with the parents if they’re there and ask them to deal with it,” she says.
Asked how to approach a parent in this situation, psychologist Meredith Fuller answers:”Explain your needs as well as stressing the importance of the friendship. Preface your remarks with something like: ’I know you’ll think I’m silly but in my house I don’t want…’”
When it comes to situations where you’re caring for another child, white is straightforward: “common sense must prevail. If things don’t go well, then have a chat.”
There’re a couple of new grey areas. Physical punishment, once accepted from any adult, is no longer appropriate. “A new set of considerations has come to the fore as part of the debate about how we handle children.”
For Andrew Fuller, the child-centric nature of our society has affected everyone:” The rules are different now from when today’s parents were growing up,” he says, “Adults are scared of saying: ’don’t swear’, or asking a child to stand up on a bus. They’re worried that there will be conflict if they point these things out – either from older children, or their parents.”
He sees it as a loss of the sense of common public good and public courtesy (礼貌), and says that adults suffer form it as much as child.
Meredith Fuller agrees: “A code of conduct is hard to create when you’re living in a world in which everyone is exhausted from overwork and lack of sleep, and a world in which nice people are perceived to finish last.”
“it’s about what I’m doing and what I need,” Andrew Fuller says. ”the days when a kid came home from school and said, “I got into trouble”. And dad said, ‘you probably deserved it’. Are over. Now the parents are charging up to the school to have a go at teachers.”
This jumping to our children’s defense is part of what fuels the “walking on eggshells” feeling that surrounds our dealings with other people’s children. You know that if you remonstrate(劝诫) with the child, you’re going to have to deal with the parent. it’s admirable to be protective of our kids, but is it good?
“Children have to learn to negotiate the world on their own, within reasonable boundaries,” White says. “I suspect that it’s only certain sectors of the population doing the running to the school –better –educated parents are probably more likely to be too involved.”
White believes our notions of a more child-centred, it’s a way of talking about treating our children like commodities(商品). We’re centred on them but in ways that reflect positively on us. We treat them as objects whose appearance and achievements are something we can be proud of, rather than serve the best interests of the children.”
One way over-worked, under-resourced parents show commitment to their children is to leap to their defence. Back at the park, Bianchi’s intervention(干预) on her son’s behalf ended in an undignified exchange of insulting words with the other boy’s mother.
As Bianchi approached the park bench where she’d been sitting, other mums came up to her and congratulated her on taking a stand. “Apparently the boy had a longstanding reputation for bad behaviour and his mum for even worse behaviour if he was challenged.”
Andrew Fuller doesn’t believe that we should be afraid of dealing with other people’s kids. “look at kids that aren’t your own as a potential minefield,” he says. He recommends that we don’t stay silent over inappropriate behaviour, particularly with regular visitors.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
1. What did Stella Bianchi expect the young boy’s mother to do when she talked to him?
A) make an apology
B) come over to intervene
C) discipline her own boy
D) take her own boy away
2. What does the author say about dealing with other people’s children?
A) it’s important not to hurt them in any way
B) it’s no use trying to stop their wrongdoing
C) it’s advisable to treat them as one’s own kids
D) it’s possible for one to get into lots of trouble
3. According to professor Naomi white of Monash university, when one’s kids are criticized, their parents will probably feel
A) discouraged
B) hurt
C) puzzled
D) overwhelmed
4. What should one do when seeing other people’s kids misbehave according to Andrew fuller?
A) talk to them directly in a mild way
B) complain to their parents politely
C) simply leave them alone
D) punish them lightly
5. Due to the child-centric nature of our society,
A) parents are worried when their kids swear at them
B) people think it improper to criticize kids in public
C) people are reluctant to point our kids’ wrongdoings
D) many conflicts arise between parents and their kids
6. In a world where everyone is exhausted from over work and lack of sleep, .
A) it’s easy for people to become impatient
B) it’s difficult to create a code of conduct
C) it’s important to be friendly to everybody
D) it’s hard for people to admire each other
7. How did people use to respond when their kids got into trouble at school?
A) they’d question the teachers
B) they’d charge up to the school
C) they’d tell the kids to clam down
D) They’d put the blame on their kids
8. Professor white believes that the notions of a more child-centred society should be challenged.
9. According to professor white, today’s parents treat their children as something they can be proud of.
10. Andrew fuller suggests that , when kids behave inappropriately, people should not stay silent.
Part III Listening Comprehension
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A),B),C)and D),and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
11．A)Only true friendship can last long.
B)Letter writing is going out of style.
C)She keeps in regular touch with her classmates.
D)She has lost contact with most of her old friends.
12. A) A painter. C) A porter.
B) A mechanic. D) A carpenter.
13. A) Look for a place near her office. C) Make inquiries elsewhere.
B) Find a new job down the street. D) Rent the $600 apartment.
14.A) He prefers to wear jeans with a larger waist.
B) He has been extremely busy recently.
C) He has gained some weight lately.
D) He enjoyed going shopping with Jane yesterday.
15.A)The woman possesses a natural for art.
B) Women have a better artistic taste than men.
C) He isn’t good at abstract thinking.
D) He doesn’t like abstract paintings.
16.A) She couldn’t have left her notebook in the library.
B) she may have put her notebook amid the journals.
C) she should have made careful notes while doing reading.
D) she shouldn’t have read his notes without his knowing it.
17. A)she wants to get some sleep C) she has a literature class to attend
B) she needs time to write a paper D)she is troubled by her sleep problem
18.A)He is confident he will get the job.
B)His chance of getting the job is slim.
C)It isn’t easy to find a qualified sales manager.
D)The interview didn’t go as well as he expected.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19.A)He can manage his time more flexibly.
B)He can renew contact with his old friends.
C)He can concentrate on his own projects.
D)He can learn to do administrative work.
20.A)Reading its ads in the newspapers.
B)Calling its personnel department.
C)Contacting its manager.
D)Searching its website.
21.A)To cut down its production expenses.
B)To solve the problem of staff shortage.
C)To improve its administrative efficiency.
D)To utilize its retired employees’ resources.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
22.A)Buy a tractor.
B)Fix a house.
C)See a piece of property.
D)Sing a business contract.
23.A)It is only forty miles form where they live.
B)It is a small one with a two-bedroom house.
C)It was a large garden with fresh vegetables.
D)It has a large garden with fresh vegetables.
24.A)Growing potatoes will involve less labor.
B)Its soil may not be very suitable for corn.
C)It may not be big enough for raising corn.
D)Raising potatoes will be more profitable.
B)Equipment
C)Labor
D)Profits
Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short 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 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
B)To comment on a talk by a distinguished guest
C)To address the issue of community security
D)To explain the functions of the city council
B)He is head of the International Police Force
C)He completed his higher education abroad
D)He holds a master’s degree in criminology
B)To get police officers closer to the local people
C)To help the residents in times of emergency
D)To enable the police to take prompt action
B)discouraging
C)effective
D)controversial
Passage Two
B)there are numerous languages in existence
C)Most public languages are inherently vague
D)Big gaps exist between private and public languages
B)in improves with constant practice
C)it is something we are born with
D)it varies from person to person
B)how different languages are related
C)how people create their languages
D)how children learn to use language
Passage Three
B)she was an engineer
C)she was an educator
D)she was a public speaker
34.
A)Basing them on science-fiction movies.
B) Including interesting examples in them
C) Adjusting them to different audiences
D) Focusing on the latest progress in space science
35.
A) Whether spacemen carry weapons
B) How spacesuits protect spacemen
C) How NASA trains its spacemen
D) What spacemen cat and drink
Section C
Directions : In this section .you will hear a passage three time. When the passage is read for first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. when the passage is read for the first time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36to43 with the exact words you have just heard. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
Crime is increasing world wide. There is every reason to believe the (36)____will continue through the next few decades.
Crime rates have always been high in multicultural, industrialized societies such as the
What is driving this crime (42)____?There are no simple answers. Still，there are certain conditions(43) _______with rising crime increasing heterogeneity (混杂) of populations, greater cultural pluralism, higher immigration, democratization of government,(44) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
These conditions are increasingly observable around the world . For instance, cultures that were previously isolated and homogeneous(同种类的) ,such as Japan, Denmark and Greece (45)____________________________________________________________________________
Multiculturalism can be a rewarding, enriching experience, but it can also lead to a clash of values. Heterogeneity in societies will be the rule in the twenty-first century, and (46)_________________________________________________
36 trend
37 phenomenon
38 scene
39 offences
40 murder
41 particularly
42 explosion
43 associated
44 changing national borders, greater economic growth and the lack of accepted social ideas of right and wrong.
45 are now facing the sort of cultural variety that has been common in
46 failure to recognize and plan for such diversity can lead to serious crime problems.
Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in depth)
Section A
Question 47-56
A bookless life is an incomplete life. Books influence the depth and breadth of life. They meet the natural______47_F_____for freedom, for expression, for creativity and beauty of life. Learners, therefore, must have books, and the right type of book, for the satisfaction of their need. Readers turn______48_K____ to books because their curiosity concerning all manners of things, their eagerness to share in the experiences of others and their need to ____49 H_____ from their own limited environment lead them to find in books food for the mind and the spirit. Through their reading they find a deeper significance to life as books acquaint them with life in the world as it was and it is now. They are presented with a __
Books provide ___
A. Abundant
B. Characters
C. Communicating
D. Completely
E. Derive
F. Desire
G. Diversity