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2015 年 12 月大学英语四级考试真题(第 3 套)
PartⅠ Writing (30minutes)
Directions: For this part, you areallowed 30 minutes to write an essay commentingon the saying" Never go out
theretoseewhathappens,gooutthereto makethingshappen."Youcancitexamplestoillustrate theimportance
ofbeingparticipantsratherthanmereonlookersinlife.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan180
words.
PartⅡ Listening Comprehension (30minutes)
Sheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.
1.A.Childrenshouldbetaughttobemorecareful.
B.Childrenshouldn'tdrinksomuchorangejuice.
C.Thereisnoneedforthemantomakesuchafuss.
D.Timmyshouldlearntodothingsintherightway.
2. A.Fitnesstraining. B.Thenewjoboffer.
C.Computerprogramming. D.Directorshipoftheclub.
3.A.Heneedstobuyanewsweater. B.Hehasgottosaveonfuelbills.
C.Thefuelpricehasskyrocketed. D.Theheatingsystemdoesn'twork.
4. A.Committingtheft. B.Takingpictures.
C.Windowshopping. D.Posingforthecamera.
5. A.Sheistakingsomemedicine. B.Shehasnotseenadoctoryet.
C.Shedoesnottrusttheman'sadvice. D.Shehasalmostrecoveredfromthecough.
6. A.Pamela'sreportisnotfinishedasscheduled. B.Pamelahasahabitofdoingthingsinahurry.
C.Pamelaisnotgoodatwritingresearchpapers. D.Pamela'smistakescouldhavebeenavoided.
7.A.Intheleft-luggageoffice. B.Atthehotelreception.
C.Inahotelroom. D.Atanairport.
8. A.Shewasanexcellentstudentatcollege. B.Sheworksintheentertainmentbusiness.
C.Sheisfondoftellingstoriesinherspeech. D.Sheisgoodatconveyinghermessage.
Questions9to11arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.
9.A.Arrangingthewoman'sappointmentwithMr.Romero.
B.Fixingthetimeforthedesigner'slatestfashionshow.
C.TalkingaboutanimportantgatheringonTuesday.
D.PreparingforthefilmingonMondaymorning.
10.A.HertraveltoJapan. B.Theawardsceremony.
C.Theproperhairstyleforhernewrole. D.Whentostartthemake-upsession.
11.A.HeisMr.Romero'sagent. B.Heisanentertainmentjournalist.
C.Heisthewoman'sassistant. D.Heisafamousmoviestar.
Questions12to15arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.
12.A.Makeanappointmentforaninterview. B.Sendinanapplicationletter.
C.Fillinanapplicationform. D.Makeabriefself-introductiononthephone.
13.A.Someonehavingacollegedegreeinadvertising.
B.Someoneexperiencedinbusinessmanagement.
C.Someonereadytotakeonmoreresponsibilities.
D.Someonewillingtoworkbeyondregularhours.
14.A.Travelopportunities. B.Handsomepay.
C.Prospectsforpromotion. D.Flexibleworkinghours.
15.A.Itdependsontheworkinghours. B.Itisabout500poundsaweek.
C.ItwillbesetbytheHumanResources. D.Itistobenegotiated.SectionB
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
AnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecenter.
PassageOne
Questions16to19arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.
16.A.Togivecustomersawiderrangeofchoices.
B.Tomakeshoppersseeasmanyitemsaspossible.
C.Tosupplyasmanyvarietiesofgoodsasitcan.
D.Tosavespaceformoreprofitableproducts.
17.A.Onthetopshelves. B.Onthebottomshelves.
C.Oneasilyaccessibleshelves. D.Onclearlymarkedshelves.
18.A.Manyofthembuythingsonimpulse. B.Afewofthemarefatherswithbabies.
C.Amajorityofthemareyoungcouples. D.Over60%ofthemmakeshoppinglists.
19.A.Salesassistantspromotinghighmargingoods. B.Salesassistantsfollowingcustomersaround.
C.Customerscompetingforgoodbargains. D.Customerslosingallsenseoftime.
PassageTwo
Questions20to22arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.
20.A.Teachingmathematicsataschool. B.Doingresearchinaninstitute.
C.Studyingforacollegedegree. D.Workinginahi-techcompany
21.A.Hestudiedthedesignsofvariousclocks. B.Hedidexperimentsondifferentmaterials.
C.Heboughtanalarmclockwithapigface. D.Heaskeddifferentpeoplefortheiropinions.
22.A.Itsautomaticmechanism. B.Itsmanufacturingprocess.
C.Itswayofwakingpeopleup. D.Itsfunny-lookingpigface.
PassageThree
Questions23to25arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.
23.A.Itisoftencausedbyachangeofcircumstances.
B.Itactuallydoesn'trequireanyspecialtreatment.
C.Itusuallyappearsallofasudden.
D.Itgenerallylastsforseveralyears.
24.A.Theycannotmixwellwithothers. B.Theyirrationallyannoytheirfriends.
C.Theydependheavilyonfamilymembers. D.Theyblameothersforignoringtheirneeds.
25.A.Theylackconsistentsupportfrompeers. B.Theydoubttheirownpopularity.
C.Theywerebornpsychologicallyweak. D.Theyfocustoomuchonthemselves.
PartⅢ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)
SectionA
Directions: In this section, thereis apassagewith ten blanks.You arerequiredto selectonewordfor 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 Sheet2 with a single line through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank
morethanonce.
Questions36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Childrendonotthinkthewayadultsdo.For mostofthefirstyearoflife, ifsomethingisoutofsight,it's out
of mind. If you cover a baby's36toy with a piece of cloth, the baby thinks the toyhas disappeared and stops
looking for it.A4-year-old may 37 that a sister has more fruit juice when it is only the shapes of the glasses that
differ,notthe38ofjuice.Yet children are smart in their own way. Like good little scientists, children are always testing their
child-sized39abouthowthings work.Whenyour childthrowsherspoononthefloorforthesixth timeasyoutry
to feed her, and you say, "That's enough! I will not pick up your spoon again!" the child will 40 test your claim.
Are you serious?Are you angry? What will happen if she throws the spoon again? She is not doing this to drive
you41; rather, she is learning that her desires and yours can differ,and that sometimes those42 are important and
sometimestheyarenot.
How and why does children's thinking change? In the 1920s, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget proposed that
children's cognitive (认知的) abilities unfold 43, like the blooming of a flower, almost independent of what else
is44in their lives. Although many of his specific conclusions havebeen45 or modified over the years, his ideas
inspiredthousandsofstudiesbyinvestigatorsallovertheworld.
A.Advocate B.amount C.confirmed D.crazy E.definite
F.Differences G.favorite H.happening I.Immediately J.Naturally
K.Obtaining L.Primarily M.Protest N.Rejected O.theories
SectionB
Directions: 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 with a letter. Answer the
questionsbymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2.
ThePerfectEssay
A. Looking back on too many years of education, I can identify one truly impossible teacher. She cared
about me, and my intellectual life, even when I didn't. Her expectations were high--impossibly so. She was an
Englishteacher.Shewasalsomymother.
B. When good students turn in an essay, they dream of their instructor returning it to them in exactly the
same condition, save for a single word added in the margin of the final page : "Flawless." This dream came true
for me one afternoon in the ninth grade. Of course, I had heard that genius could show itself at an early age, so I
was only slightly taken aback that I had achieved perfection at the tender age of 14.Obviously, I did what any
professional writer would do; I hurried off to spread the good news. I didn't get very far. The first person I told
wasmymother.
C. My mother, who is just shy of five feet tall, is normally incredibly soft-spoken, but on the rare occasion
when she got angry, she was terrifying. I am not sure if she was more upset by my hubris(得意忘形) or by the
factthat my English teacher had let my ego get so out of hand. In any event, my mother and her red pen showed
me how deeply flawed a flawless essay could be.At the time, I am sure she thought she was teaching me about
mechanics,transitions (过渡), structure, style andvoice. But whatI learned,andwhatstuck with me through my
timeteachingwritingatHarvard,wasadeeperlessonaboutthenatureofcreativecriticism.
D. First off, it hurts. Genuine criticism, the type that leaves a lasting mark on you as a writer, also leaves an
existential imprint (印记) on you as a person. I have heard people say that a writer should never take criticism
personally.Isaythatweshouldneverlistentothesepeople.
E. Criticism, at its best, is deeply personal, and gets to the heart of why we write the way we do. The
intimate nature of genuine criticism implies something about whois able to give it, namely,someone who knows
you well enough to show you how your mental life is getting in the way of good writing. Conveniently, they are
also the people who care enough to see you through this painful realization. For me it took the form of my first,
andIhopeonly,encounterwithwriter'sblock--Iwasnotabletoproduceanythingforthreeyears.
F. Franz Kafka once said: "Writing is utter solitude (独处), the descent into the cold abyss (深渊) of
oneself." My mother's criticism had shown me that Kafka is right about the cold abyss, and when you make the
introspective (内省的) descent that writing requires you are not always pleased by what you find. But, in theyears that followed, her sustained tutoring suggested that Kafka might be wrong about the solitude. I was lucky
enough to find a critic and teacher who was willing to make the journey of writing with me."It is a thing of no
great difficulty," according to Plutarch, "to raise objections against another man's speech, it is a very easy matter;
buttoproduceabetterinitsplaceisaworkextremelytroublesome."IamsureIwroteessaysinthelateryearsof
highschoolwithoutmymother's guidance,butIcan'trecallthem.WhatIremember,however,ishowshetookup
the"extremelytroublesome"workofongoingcriticism.
G.Therearetwoways tointerpretPlutarchwhenhesuggests thatacriticshouldbeabletoproduce"a better
in its place." In a straightforward sense, he could mean that a critic must be more talented than the artist she
critiques(评论).Mymotherwaswellcoveredonthiscount.Butperhaps
Plutarch is suggesting something slightly different, something a bit closer to Marcus Cicero's claim that one
should "criticize by creation, not by finding fault." Genuine criticism creates a precious opening for an author to
becomebetteronhisownterms--aprocessthatisoftenextremelypainful,butalsoalmostalwaysmeaningful.
H.Mymothersaidshewouldhelpmewithmywriting, butfirstIhadtohelpmyself.For eachassignment,I
was to write the bestessay I could. Real criticism is notmeant to find obvious mistakes, so if she found any--the
typeIcouldhavefoundonmyown--I hadtostartfromscratch.Fromscratch.Oncetheessaywas"flawless,"she
wouldtakeaneveningtowalkmethroughmyerrors.Thatwaswhentruecriticism,thetypethatchangedmeasa
person,began.
I. She criticized me when I included little-known references and professional jargon (行话).She hadno
patience for brilliant but irrelevant figures of speech."Writers can't bluff (虚张声势) their way through
ignorance."Thatwasnewstome--Iwouldneedtofreedanotherwaytostructuremydailyexistence.
J. She trimmed back my flowery language, drew lines through my exclamation marks and argued for the
value of restraint in expression."John," she almost whispered. I leaned in to hear her: "I can't hear you when you
shoutatme."SoIstoppedshoutingandbluffing,andslowlymywritingimproved.
K. Somewhere along the way I set aside my hopes of writing that flawless essay. But perhaps I missed
something important in my mother's lessons about creativity and perfection. Perhaps the point of writing the
flawless essay was not to give up, but to never willingly finish. Whit man repeatedly reworked "Song of Myself'
between1855and1891.Repeatedly.Wedoour absolutebestwith apiece ofwriting, andcome as close as we can
to the ideal. And, for the time being, we settle. In critique, however, we are forced to depart, to give up the
perfection we thought we had achieved for the chance of being even a little bit better. This is the lesson I took
frommymother:Ifperfectionwerepossible,itwouldnotbemotivating.
46.Theauthorwasadvisedagainsttheimproperuseoffiguresofspeech.
47.The author's mother taught him a valuable lesson by pointing out lots of flaws in his seemingly perfect
essay.
48.Awritershouldpolishhiswritingrepeatedlysoastogetclosertoperfection.
49.Writersmayexperienceperiodsoftimeintheirlifewhentheyjustcan'tproduceanything.
50.Theauthorwasnotmuchsurprisedwhenhisschoolteachermarkedhisessayas"flawless".
51.Criticizingsomeone'sspeechissaidtobeeasierthancomingupwithabetterone.
52.Theauthorlooksuponhismotherashismostdemandingandcaringinstructor.
53.Thecriticismtheauthorreceivedfromhismotherchangedhimasaperson.
54.Theauthorgraduallyimprovedhiswritingbyavoidingfancylanguage.
55.Constructivecriticismgivesanauthoragoodstarttoimprovehiswriting.
SectionC
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished
statements. For eachofthem therearefour choicesmarkedA, B, C. and D .Youshould decide onthe best choice
andmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecenter.PassageOne
Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
CouldyoureproduceSiliconValleyelsewhere,oristheresomethinguniqueaboutit?
It wouldn't be surprising if it were hard to reproduce in other countries, because you couldn't reproduce it in
mostoftheUSeither.WhatdoesittaketomakeaSiliconValley?
It's the right people. If you could get the right ten thousand people to move from Silicon Valley to Buffalo,
BuffalowouldbecomeSiliconValley.
You only need two kinds of people to create a technology hub (中心) : rich people and nerds (痴迷科研的
人).
Observation bears this out. Within the US, towns have become star, up hubs if and only if they have both
richpeopleandnerds.Few startupshappeninMiami, forexample,becausealthough it's fullofrichpeople,ithas
fewnerds.It'snotthekindofplacenerdslike.
Whereas Pittsburgh has the opposite problem: plenty of nerds, but no rich people.The top US Computer
Science departments are said to be MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Carnegie-Mellon. MIT yielded Route
128.Stanford and Berkeley yielded Silicon Valley. But what did Carnegie-Mellon yield in Pittsburgh? And what
happenedinIthaca,homeofCornellUniversity,whichisalsohighonthelist?
I grew up in Pittsburgh and went to college at Cornell, so I can answer for both. The weather is terrible,
particularly inwinter,andthere's nointeresting oldcity to make upfor it, as there is in Boston.Rich peopledon't
wantto live in Pittsburgh or Ithaca. So while there're plentyof hackers (电脑迷) who could start startups, there's
noonetoinvestinthem
Doyoureallyneedtherichpeople?Wouldn'titworktohavethegovernmentinvestinthenerds?
No, it would not. Start up investors are a distinct type of rich people. They tend to have a lot of experience
themselves in the technology business.This helps them pick the right startups, and means theycan supply advice
andconnections as wellas money.Andthe factthat theyhave a personalstake in the outcome makes them really
payattention.
56.WhatdowelearnaboutSiliconValleyfromthepassage?
A.Itssuccessishardtocopyanywhereelse.
B.ItisthebiggesttechnologyhubintheUS.
C.Itsfameinhightechnologyisincomparable.
D.Itleadstheworldininformationtechnology.
57.WhatmakesMiamiunfittoproduceaSiliconValley?
A.Lackofincentiveforinvestment.
B.Lackoftherightkindoftalents.
C.Lackofgovernmentsupport.
D.Lackoffamousuniversities.
58.InwhatwayisCarnegie-MellondifferentfromStanford,BerkeleyandMIT?
A.Itslocationisnotasattractivetorichpeople.
B.Itssciencedepartmentsarenotnearlyasgood.
C.Itdoesnotproducecomputerhackersandnerds.
D.Itdoesnotpaymuchattentiontobusinessstartups.
59.WhatdoestheauthorimplyaboutBoston?
A.Ithaspleasantweatherallyearround.
B.Itproduceswealthaswellashigh-tech.
C.Itisnotlikelytoattractlotsofinvestorsandnerds.
D.Itisanoldcitywithmanysitesofhistoricalinterest.60.Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutstartupinvestors?
A.Theyareespeciallywiseinmakinginvestments.
B.Theyhavegoodconnectionsinthegovernment.
C.Theycandomorethanprovidingmoney.
D.Theyarerichenoughtoinvestinnerds.
PassageTwo
Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
It's nice to have people of like mind around.Agreeable people boost your confidence and allow you to relax
andfeelcomfortable. Unfortunately,thatcomfortcanhinderthevery learningthatcanexpandyour companyand
yourcareer.
It's nice to have people agree, but you need conflicting perspectives to dig out the truth .If everyone around
youhassimilarviews,yourworkwillsufferfromconfirmationbias(偏颇).
Take a look at your own network. Do your contacts share your point of view on most subjects? If yes, it's
time to shake things up .As a leader, it can be challenging to create an environment in which people will freely
disagreeandargue,butasthesayinggoes:Fromconfrontationcomesbrilliance.
It's not easy for most people to actively seek conflict. Many spend their lives trying to avoid arguments.
There's no needto go outand find people you hate, but you need to do some self-assessment to determine where
you have become stale in your thinking.You may need to start by encouraging your current network to help you
identifyyourblindspots.
Passionate, energetic debate does not require anger and hard feelings to be effective. But it does require
moral strength. Onceyou have worthy opponents,set some ground rules so everyone understands responsibilities
and boundaries. The objective of this debating game is not to win but to get to the truth that will allow you to
movefaster,farther,andbetter.
Fiercedebatingcanhurtfeelings,particularlywhenstrongpersonalitiesareinvolved.Makesureyoucheck
inwithyouropponentssothattheyarenotcarryingtheemotionofthebattlesbeyondthebattlefield.Breakthe
tensionwithsmilesandhumortoreinforcetheideathatthisisfriendlydiscourseandthatallareworkingtoward
acommongoal.
Reward all those involved in the debate sufficiently when the goals are reached. Let your sparring partners
(拳击陪练) know how much you appreciate their contribution. The more they feel appreciated, the more they'll
bewillingtogetintotheringnexttime.
61.Whathappenswhenyouhavelike-mindedpeoplearoundyouallthewhile?
A.Itwillhelpyourcompanyexpandmorerapidly.
B.Itwillcreateaharmoniousworkingatmosphere.
C.Itmaypreventyourbusinessandcareerfromadvancing.
D.Itmaymakeyoufeeluncertainaboutyourowndecisions.
62.Whatdoestheauthorsuggestleadersdo?
A.Avoidargumentswithbusinesspartners.
B.Encouragepeopletodisagreeandargue.
C.Buildawideandstrongbusinessnetwork.
D.Seekadvicefromtheirworthycompetitors.
63.Whatisthepurposeofholdingadebate?
A.Tofindoutthetruthaboutanissue.
B.Tobuilduppeople'smoralstrength.
C.Toremovemisunderstandings.
D.Tolookforworthyopponents.64.Whatadvicedoestheauthorgivetopeopleengagedinafiercedebate?
A.Theylistencarefullytotheiropponents'views.
B.Theyshowduerespectforeachother'sbeliefs.
C.Theypresenttheirviewsclearlyandexplicitly.
D.Theytakecarenottohurteachother'sfeelings.
65.Howshouldwetreatourrivalsafterasuccessfuldebate?
A.Trytomakepeacewiththem.
B.Trytomakeupthedifferences.
C.Invitethemtotheringnexttime.
D.Acknowledgetheircontribution.
PartⅣ Translation (30minutes )
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You
shouldwriteyouransweronAnswerSheet2.
今年在长沙举行了一年一度的外国人汉语演讲比赛.这项比赛证明是促进中国和世界其他地区文化交
流的好方法.它为世界各地的年轻人提供了更好地了解中国的机会.来自87个国家共计126位选手聚集在湖
南省省会参加了从7月6日到8月5日进行的半决赛和决赛.比赛并不是唯一的活动.选手们还有机会参观
了中国其他地区的著名景点和历史名胜.
