文档内容
大学英语四级考试2023年12月真题（第二套）
音频
Part I Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: Suppose the university newspaper is inviting submissions from the students for its coming edition
on the recent development in their hometown. You are now to write an essay for submission. You will have 30
minutes to write the essay. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.
Part II Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)
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 are based on the news report you have just heard.
1. A) He noticed the driver was too young to drive.
B) He found there was no one sitting at the wheel.
C) He thought something must be wrong with the driver.
D) He saw the driver changing lanes much too frequently.
2. A) Buy a sports car. C) Leave California.
B) Drive across town. D) Visit his sister.
Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
3. A) How they change the way we shop. C) How they cause increased headaches.
B) How they alter human skeletons. D) How they affect our communication.
4. A) It loosens. C) It hardens.
B) It brightens. D) It softens.
Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.
5. A) Create Internet pages for him. C) Name an orange tree after him.
B) Ask a local pet shop to adopt him. D) Hold a birthday party for him.
6. A) He is a bold and aggressive pet. C) He once bit a doctor's receptionist.
B) He pays regular visits to village shops. D) He likes to sit on the hairdresser's chair.
7. A) He is fond of luxury cat food. C) He knows everybody in the village.
B) He likes to stay in villagers5 6 7 houses. D) He often seeks food around her pub.
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.
• 2023年12月四级真题（第二套）• 10Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
8. A) Who to order the food. C) When to go for their meal.
B) Whether to have sandwiches. D) Where to have their lunch.
9. A) In the shopping center nearby. C) At the Sandwich Place on Camden Street.
B) In the expensive Italian style diner. D) At the American restaurant they frequent.
10. A) There is to be a conference call. C) There will be crowds of people waiting for her.
B) She has to meet with her boss then. D) She will have a photo taken with Brigette Clark.
11. A) She doesn't deem homemade soup tasty. C) She feels Jeremy would rather dine out.
B) She doesn't think his wife cooks well. D) She has found the soup smells terrible.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
12. A) A landlady. C) A receptionist.
B) A waitress. D) A saleswoman.
13. A) He was involved in a terrible car accident last April. C) He is expected to undergo a knee operation.
B) He has much difficulty getting up and down stairs. D) He prefers to stay next door to the children.
14. A) To please his parents-in-law. C) To satisfy his curiosity.
B) To find the best trip fbr his kids. D) To compare prices.
15. A) Visit a local art gallery. C) Take some photos of the islands.
B) Go on a boat trip. D) Try her hand-made clothing.
Section C
Directions: 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 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 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. A) They are more intelligent than many of us. C) They have begun to affect our social behavior.
B) They have already become our new friends. D) They play increasingly more important roles.
17. A) Whether it might have any effect on the way we negotiate.
B) Whether it might actually outperform human negotiators.
C) Whether it can facilitate business transactions.
D) Whether it can speed up legal procedures.
18. A) Choose to be tough. C) Use deceptive strategies.
B) Sympathize with their opponent. D) Appear to be pleasant.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
19. A) They were perceived differently by some academics.
B) They still existed six months after the course ended.
C) They varied greatly among the course participants.
D) They were only measurable within seven weeks.
11 • 2023年12月四级真题（第二套）20. A) They can be easily seen among participants in a healthy weight range.
B) They should be attributed to participants5 change in diet behaviors.
C) They are linked to cooking confidence and cooking satisfaction.
D) They actually result from eating more fruits and vegetables.
21. A) Gender. C) Health.
B) Confidence. D) Practice.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22. A) It keeps others away. C) It remains visible.
B) It causes discomfort. D) It varies in size.
23. A) It makes us feel uncomfortable. C) It brings the acquaintance closer to us.
B) It renders the acquaintance a stranger. D) It causes the bubble around us to vanish.
24. A) In personal space. C) Within a distance of 18 inches.
B) In social space. D) Over 2 feet away from one another.
25. A) When we begin to feel fear. C) When we are 3 or 4 years old.
B) When we develop a sense of space. D) When we enter our teens.
Part UI Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank
from a list of choices given in a word bank fallowing 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 through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank
more than once.
A number of studies have looked at how family life can affect productivity and satisfaction in the
workplace. However, there has been 26 little research on the influence of leisure activities. So Ciara
Kelly and colleagues recruited 129 hobbyists to look at how the time spent on their hobbies 27 their
work life.
The researchers found that when participants spent longer than 28 on their leisure activity, their
belief in their ability to perform their job was strengthened. But this was only the 29 when they had a
serious hobby that was dissimilar to their job, or when their hobby was similar to their work but they only
did it 30 . When their hobby was both serious and similar to their job, then spending more time on it
actually decreased their work 31 .
Why might that be? To maintain a serious hobby, people need to invest significant psychological
resources, say the authors- so if the activity has the same kinds of demands as their work, they may
be left 32 and unable to perform well at their job. But if their hobby is quite different from their career,
it may not 33 in the same way but instead help them develop other knowledge and skills that can 34 their
confidence at work. "Consider a scientist who is a keen rock climber,says Kelly. "Since climbing is
• 2023年12月四级真题（第二套）• 12so far 35 from their day-to-day work activities, they can still recover from the demands of their job with
plenty of resources.”
A) boost I) normal
B) case J) prevalent
C) casually K) relative
D) efficiency L) removed
E) estate M) scratch
F) exhausted N) shaped
G) faculty O) surprisingly
H) interfere
Section B
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
questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.
More fathers are taking paternity leave, but mothers are still doing all the work
A) Attitudes towards paternity leave (陪产假)have drastically changed in America in the last five years as more
fathers feel comfortable taking extended time off, but gender bias persists when it comes to career prospects
and the home, according to a new study of working parents.
B) Research by the Boston College Center for Work & Family, which surveyed new parents at four large US
companies who were qualified for taking at least six weeks paid parental leave, found that 81% of the 1,240
employees surveyed said the notion of fathers taking leave has become more acceptable.
C) Of those surveyed, 62% of fathers took the maximum amount of time off compared to 93% of mothers, and
around three-quarters of workers said their employer was equally supportive of mothers and fathers taking
parental leave and over half said leave policies had made workplace culture better.
D) The US is one of only three countries in the world not to offer statutory (法定的)paid leave, but increasingly
states and companies are starting to take up the issue. So far, eight states and the District of Columbia have
their own paid family leave laws.
E) Brad Harrington, executive director of the center and lead author of the study, estimates only 20% to 30%
of companies in the US offer paid parental leave. He feels the research findings reflect an obvious change in
corporate attitudes to new fathers taking time off.
F) “We did a study on paternity leave five years ago. Compared with those findings, these numbers were
shocking to me. I did not expect 80% of people to say the organisation finds dads taking this leave acceptable
and three-quarters to say ifs equally supportive of women and men taking leave,“ Harrington said.
G) The previous study found that nearly three-quarters of fathers saw two to four weeks as an appropriate
duration for paternity leave and 76% said they would prefer not to take all their time off at once.
13 •2023年12月四级真题（第二套）・H) Since then, there have been a number of legal cases against companies involving paternity leave- including
cases against JPMorgan Chase and Estee Lauder- which have helped put pressure on companies to make
their parental leave policies gender neutral.
I) However, the study also shows how traditional gender roles endure both at work, where more women than
men reported changes in their perceived career potential, and at home~~even among workers who claim to
have a strong desire for equality.
J) The vast majority of men, 97%, said one of the top reasons to take leave was to share caregiving with their
partner. But when they were asked about how caregiving and household tasks were divided, their answers
painted a different picture. While about 75% of employees said both genders should give the same amount of
care, the majority of men and nearly half of women admitted that in reality the female actually did most of it.
A tiny fraction, 2%, of men said they did more of the childcare.
K) Men and women's experiences of the return to work following parental leave were also considerably
different. Of the women surveyed, 32% reported a downturn in their job satisfaction, while 14% said it
increased. In comparison, 17% of men said their job satisfaction went down and 20% said it went up.
Meanwhile, more women reported an increase in their responsibilities and manager expectations after
childbirth. Half of the women said they used flexible work arrangements after becoming a parent, while just
27% of men did. Similar percentages of men and women said they enjoyed their careers and that it gave them
a sense of achievement, while around half of women and 44% of men said it was a key part of their identity.
L) On the subject of career advancement, 59% of women and 49% of men said leave could be limiting and
both genders said they feared it would have an impact on their progress long-term. But on opportunity for
promotion, more than double the number of women, 30% compared with 15% of men, believed their chances
to be lower after becoming a parent. Despite progress, the struggle fbr women to reach the highest positions
of power is demonstrated in this year's Fortune 500 list, which featured a record 33 female CEOs, but this
still represents a tiny fraction of the total.
M) Harrington said culture change depends on companies putting more focus on men and their responsibilities.
“By that I mean companies need to give men paternity leave and encourage men to take time off to be with
their kids early on in the kids' lift. They also need to recognise that men have to make significant adjustments
when they become parents. Companies cannot do all these things to enhance women's advancement and then
turn around and say,4Oh, but we don't expect the men to take over fbr the women at home.^^^
N) In May, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Outten & Golden LLP announced a historic class
action $5m settlement with JPMorgan Chase on behalf of male employees who claim they were illegally
denied access to paid parental leave. Derek Rotondo, 35, filed the discrimination charge against his company
after he was allegedly told by his HR department that mothers were considered primary caregivers. Thus,
they were allowed to take 16 weeks of paid parental leave. Fathers, however, could take just two weeks.
O) The father of two from Columbus, Ohio, who still works at the company as an associate and investigator, said
he has witnessed a "domino effect (多 米诺效应)“ across companies since the settlement, but that there is still
substantial progress to be made towards changing attitudes towards paternity leave.
P) “I do think there*s still some way to go...there's still going to be sort of the unstated expectation for new dads
to essentially come right back to work, but I think the research is showing thafs starting to change." He said
・2023年12月四级真题（第二套）• 14equal parental leave is an essential component to creating gender equality in the workplace. 4
