2003年6月大学英语四级考试试题
Reading Comprehension (B卷)
Passage One Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, "The business of America is business." By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world.
Few would argue with Ford's statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as "the entertainment industry" or "show business."
The positive side of Henry Ford's statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance （大量地） because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system creates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life.
The negative side of Henry Ford's statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business--- referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the right to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing---the laying off of thou-sands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high--- creates feelings of insecurity for many.
21. The United States is a typical country ____D____.
A) where all businesses are managed scientifically
B) which encourages free trade at home and abroad
C) which normally works according to the federal budget
D) where people's chief concern is how to make money
22. The influence of business in the U.S. is evidenced by the fact that _ B
A) most newspapers are run by big businesses
B) even arts and entertainment are regarded as business
C) Americans of all professions know how to do business
D) even public organizations concentrate on working for profits
23. According to the passage, immigrants choose to settle in the U.S., dreaming that D
A) they will make a fortune overnight there
B) they can be more competitive in business
C) they can start profitable businesses there
D) they will find better chances of employment
24. Henry Ford's statement can be taken negatively because ___A_____.
A) there is a conflicting relationship between big corporations and labor
B) there are many industries controlled by a few big capitalists
C) public services are not run by the federal government
D) working people are discouraged to fight for their rights
25. A company's efforts to keep expenses low and profits high may result in C
A) a rise in workers' wages
B) improvement of working conditions
C) reduction in the number of employees
D) fewer disputes between labor and management
Passage Two Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
It's no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That's especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It's also true of children who suffer for years in foster homes (收养孩子的家庭) because of parents who can't or won't care for them but refuse to give up custody (监护) rights.
Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an angry custody battle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she's ever known and that her biological parents have "no legal claim" on her.
The ruling, though it may yet be reversed, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That's an important development, one that's long overdue.
Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly's biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn't the Twiggs' own daughter, but Kimberly was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting visiting rights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed.
The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue（起诉）on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit.
Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren't always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.
26. What was the primary consideration in the Florida judge's ruling? D
A) The traditional practice. C) The biological link.
B) The parents' feelings. D) The child's benefits
27. We can learn from the Kimberly case that ___C_____.
A) foster homes bring children more pain and suffering than care
B) the biological link between parent and child should be emphasized
C) children are more than just personal possessions of their parents
D) biological parents shouldn't claim custody rights after their child is adopted
28. The Twiggs claimed custody rights to Kimberly because B
A) they regarded her as their property
B) they were her biological parents
C) they felt guilty about their past mistake
D) they found her unhappy in Mr. Mays' custody
29. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays A
A) for better care C) by sheer accident
B) out of charity D) at his request
30. The author's attitude towards the judge's ruling could be described as D
A) critical C) doubtful
B) cautious D) supportive
Passage Three Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Professor Smith recently persuaded 35 people, 23 of them women, to keep a diary of all their absent-minded actions for a fortnight. When he came to analyses their embarrassing lapses（差错）in a scientific report, he was surprised to find that nearly all of them fell into a few groupings. Nor did the lapses appear to be entirely random（随机的）
One of the women, for instance, on leaving her house for work one morning threw her dog her earrings and tried to fix a dog biscuit on her ear. "The explanation for this is that the brain is like a computer," explains the professor. "People programme themselves to do certain activities regularly. It was the woman's custom every morning to throw her dog two biscuits and then put on her earrings. But somehow the action got reversed in the programme." About one in twenty of the incidents the volunteers reported were these "programme assembly failures."
Altogether the volunteers logged 433 unintentional actions that they found themselves doing ----an average of twelve each. There appear to be peak periods in the day when we are at our zaniest(荒谬可笑的) .These are two hours some time between eight a.m. and noon, between four and six p.m. with a smaller peak between eight and ten p.m. "Among men the peak seems to be when a changeover in brain 'programmes' occurs, as for instance between going to and from work." Women on average reported slightly more lapses ----- 12.5 compared with 10.9 for men --- probably because they were more reliable reporters.
A startling finding of the research is that the absent-minded activity is a hazard of doing things in which we are skilled. Normally, you would expect that skill reduces the number of errors we make. But trying to avoid silly slips by concentrating more could make things a lot worse--- even dangerous.
31. In his study Professor Smith asked the subjects ___B_____.
A) to analyse their awkward experiences scientifically
B) to keep a record of what they did unintentionally
C) to keep track of people who tend to forget things
D) to report their embarrassing lapses at random
32. Professor Smith discovered that __D______.
A) many people were too embarrassed to admit their absent-mindedness
B) men tend to be more absent-minded than women
C) absent-mindedness is an excusable human weakness
D) certain patterns can be identified in the recorded incidents
33. "Programme assembly failures" (Line 6, Para. 2) refers to the phenomenon that people D
A) are likely to mess things up if they are too tired
B) tend to make mistakes when they are in a hurry
C) often fail to programme their routines beforehand
D) unconsciously change the sequence of doing things
34．We learn from the third paragraph that ___A____.
A) absent-mindedness tends to occur during certain hours of the day
B) women experience more peak periods of absent-mindedness
C) men's absent-mindedness often results in funny situations
D) women are very careful to perform actions during peak periods
35. It can be concluded from the passage that ___A_____.
A) people should be careful when programming their actions
B) lapses cannot always be attributed to lack of concentration
C) hazards can be avoided when people do things they are good at
D) people should avoid doing important things during peak periods of lapses
Passage Four Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more than they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞)。 Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports: girls log half that time. All in all, however, children's leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%.
"Children are affected by the same time crunch（危机）that affects their parents," says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of children's timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and ''male breadwinner" households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents, 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.)
All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. "Play is the most powerful way a 'child explores the world and learns about himself," says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School. Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.
The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing "free time" watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they're spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren't replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Let's face it, who's got the time?
36. By mentioning "the same time crunch" (Line I, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means B
A) children have little time to play with their parents
B) both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time
C) both parents and children have trouble managing their time
D) children are not taken good care of by their working parents
37. According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is D
A) partially true C) rather confusing
B) quite convincing D) totally groundless
38. According to the author a child develops better if___C__
A) he has plenty of time reading and studying
B) he is free to interact with his working parents
C) he is left to play with his peers in his own way
D) he has more time participating in school activities
39. The author is concerned about the fact that American kids .C
A) are involved less and less in household work
B) are spending more and more time watching TV
C) are engaged in more and more structured activities
D) are increasingly neglected by their working mothers
40. We can infer from the passage that ___B_____.
A) most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children
B) efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful
C) most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched off
D) extracurricular activities promote children's intelligence
41.A dark suit is ________ to a light one for evening wear.
A. proper B. suitable C. favorable D. preferable
42.I suffered from mental__________ because of stress from my work.
A. fatigue B. damage C. relief D. release
43.You will not be _________ about your food in time of great hunger.
A. particular B. peculiar C. special D .specific
44.Don't let the child play with scissors ___________ he cuts himself.
A. only if B. in case C. now that D. so that
45.The rest of the day was entirely at his __________ for reading or recreation.
A. arrival B. survival C. dismissal D. disposal
46.Not only the professionals but also the amateurs will _________ from the new training facilities.
A. benefit B. derive C. reward D. acquire
47.She ________ her trip to New York because she was ill.
A. went off B. called off C. put up D. closed down
48.He gave a _________ to handle the affaire in a friendly manner.
A. motion B. mission C. pledge D. plunge
49.He was proud of being chosen to participate in the game and he _________ us that he would try as hard as possible.
A. assured B. insured C. assumed D. guaranteed
50.The work was almost complete when we receive orders to _________ no further with it.
A. progress B. march C. proceed D. promote
51.I was about to _______ a match when I remembered Tom's warning.
A. scrape B. rub C. strike D. hit
52.____________ the danger from enemy action, people had to cope with a severe shortage of food, clothing, fuel, and almost everything.
A. As long as B. As far as C. As soon as D. As well as
53.Mr. Smith was the only witness who said that the fire was _____________.
A. meaningful B. deliberate C. innocent D. mature
54.Areas where students have particular difficulty have been treated ____________ particular care.
A. in B. by C. with D. under
55.We should concentrate on sharply reducing interest rates to pull the economy out of ________.
A. retreat B. rejection C. recession D. restriction
56.Crime is increasing worldwide, and there is reason to believe the ___________ will continue into the next decade.
A. pace B. trend C. schedule D. emergency
57.You shouldn't have written in the ___________ since the book belongs to the library.
A. edge B. border C. interval D. margin
58.This is the nurse who _________ to me when I was ill in hospital.
A. entertained B. accompanied C. attended D. shielded
59.Could you take a ________ sheet of paper and write your name at the top?
A. blank B. bare C. hollow D. vacant
60.I waited for him half an hour, but he never __________.
A. turned in B. turned up C. turned down D. turned off
61.A house with a dangerous gas __________ can be broken into immediately.
A. leak B. crack C. split D. mess
62._________ the storm, the ship would have reached its destination on time.
A. In spite of B. In case of C. But for D. Because of
63.The _________ of finding gold in California attracted a lot of people to settle down there.
A. stacks B. speculations C. prospects D. provisions
64.The ___________ of airplane engines announced a coming air raid.
A. roar B. sere C. whistle D. exclamation
65.The advertisement says this material doesn't _________ in the wash, but it has.
A. dissolve B. contract C. slim D. shrink
66.This ticket _________ you to a free boat tour on the lake.
A. grants B. entitles C. appoints D. credits
67.Many people lost their jobs during the business ___________.
A. despair B. decrease C. desperation D. depression
68.It was in the United States that I made the ____________ of Professor Jones.
A. acquaintance B. association C. recognition D. acknowledgement
69.A culture in which the citizens share similar religious beliefs and values is more likely to have laws that represent the wishes of its people than is a culture where citizens come from _________ backgrounds.
A. identical B. influential C. extensive D. diverse
70.Whenever a big company __________ a small one, the product almost always gets worse.
A. cuts down B. puts up with C. takes over D. gets on with
2003年6月21日四级听力试题原文及译文
Section A
W：Gorge, look at the long waiting line. I am glad you've made a reservation.
M：More and more people enjoy eating out now. Beside, this place is especially popular with the overseas students.
Q：Where did the conversation most probably take place?
W: 乔治，看看这里排着这么长的队，真高兴你订到了座位。
M：越来越多的人喜欢在外面吃饭。而且这个地方尤其受留学生亲睐。
Q：对话可能在哪里发生？
M:I wonder if you can drop by tomorrow evening. The Stevensons are coming over to dinner. I'd like you to meet them.
W: Sure, I'd love to. I've heard they are very interesting people.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
M：你明天晚上能到我这来一趟吗？史蒂文森一家明天到我家吃晚饭，我希望你能见见他们。
W：当然，我非常愿意。我听说他们非常有意思。
Q：我们可从该对话中了解到什么？
W: The presentation made by Professor Jacksonwas complicated to understand.
M: Well, I think he didn't speak slowly enough for us
for us to take the notes.
Q: What did the man complain?
W：杰克森教授作的报告太难懂了。
M；我觉得他的语速太快，我们根本没法做笔记。
Q：男士抱怨什么？
W: You've got your apartment furnished, haven't you?
M: I've bought some used furniture from Sunday market. It was a real bargain.
Q: What does the man mean?
W：你买了家俱，是吗？
M：我从周日市场买了一些旧家俱。价钱便宜。
Q：男人什么意思？
M Mary doesn't want me to take the job. She says our child is too young. And the job requires much travelling.
W: You should talk to her again and see if you can find a way out. Think about the gains and losses before you make the decision.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
M：玛丽不想让我干那个工作，她说孩子还些这个工作又需要我经常出差。
W：你应该和她再谈谈，看你们能不能想出个两全其美的办法。权衡一下利弊，再做决定。
Q：从对话中我们可以了解到什么？
M:I haven't got my scores on the GRE test yet. Do you think I should call to make inquiries?
W: There is no hurry. The test scores are released at least eight weeks after the test.
Q: What does the woman advise the man to do?
M：我还不知道GRE考试的分数。你觉得我是不是该打电话问问？
W：不要急。考试的分数至少要在考试后八周之后公布。
Q：女人建议男人干嘛？
M: Have you finished reading the book you bought last month?
W: oh, I didn't read straight through the way you read a novel,I just covered a few chapters which interested me most.
Q: How did the woman read the book?
M：你读上个月你买的那本书了吗？
W：哦，我不象你读小说那样从头读到尾。我读了我感兴趣的几章。
Q：女人采用什么读书方式？
W: Hello, Joe, Haven't seen you for quite a while. Are you fine?
M: Oh,yes, but not a thing to go against me. I had a car accident, only someminor injuries though.
Q: What happened to Joe?
W：你好，乔，很久不见，你好吗？
M：还好，我吉人自有天相，出了车祸，只不过受了轻伤。
m: The taxi is waiting downstairs, let's hurry.
W: Wait a minute. I'll take some food with us. I don't like the meal served on the train.
Q: What are the speakers going to do?
M：出租车在楼下等着，赶紧！
M：等等，我要带点吃的东西。我不喜欢吃火车上供应的食物。
Q：两个谈话者准备做什么？
W: Is that optional course as hard as everybody says?
M: It's actually even worse, believe it or not.
Q :What did the man say about the course?
W：那门选修课象别人说的那么难吗？
M：不管你信不信，难极了。
Q：他们如何评价选修课？
Section B
Passage 1
My father woke me up early one morning when I was fourteen and announced "Get up, you are going with me to cut grass." I felt proud and excited because my father thought I was responsible enough to help him in his business. Still, that first day was very hard. From sunrise to sunset, my father, my younger brother and I cut and t very large yards in well-to-do part of the city. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but I felt good. I put out a hard day's labor and earned six dollars. One day, my father spotted some weeds I have miss cutting and pulled me inside. "Cut that section again!" he said firmly "and don't make me have to tell you again." The message was very clear. Today I stress the importance of doing the job right the first time. Every job I have held from cutting lawns to wash dishes to working a machine on the construction site. I have learned something that help me in my next job. If you work hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.
11 Q: How did the speaker feel when his father asked him to help cut grass?
13 Q: What did his father do when the speaker missed cutting some leaves?
14 Q:What did the speak want to tell us in this passage?
Passage B
I am living in a small village in the country. My wife and I run a village shop. We have a very peaceful live, boring some my say. But we love it. We know all the people in the village. They have plenty of time to stop and chat. I have plenty of time for my hobbies too--gardening, fishing, walking in the country side. I love the outdoor life. It wasn't always like this though I used to have a really stressful job, working so late in the office every evening. I often bring work home at the weekends. The advertising world is very competitive. And when I look back, I can't imagine how I stood it. I have no private life at all. No time for the really important things in life. Because of the pressure of the job, I used to smoke and drink too much. The crisis came when my wife left me. She complaint that she never saw me and I had no time for family life. This made me realize what is really important to me. I talked things through with her and decided to get back together and started a new and better life together. I gave up tobacco and alcohol and searched for new hobbies. Now I am afraid of looking back since the past life seemed like a horrible dream.
14 What did the speaker do for a living?
15 What do we know about the speaker's life in the past?
16 What made the speaker change his life style?
Passage 3
"Where is the university?" is the question many visitors to Cambridge ask. But no one could point at any one direction because there is no campus. The university consists of 31 self-governing colleges. It has lecture halls, libraries, laboratories, museums and offices throughout the city. Individual colleges choose their own students who have to meet their minimum entrance requirements set by the university. And the graduates usually live and study in their colleges but they are taught in very full groups. Lectures and laboratories and practical work are organized by the university and held in university buildings. There are over ten thousand undergraduates and three thousand five hundred post-graduates. About 40% of them are women and some 8% from overseas. As well as teaching, research is of major importance. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, more than sixty university members have won Nobel prizes. The university has a huge number of buildings for teaching and research. It has more than 60 specialist subject libraries as well as the university library, which as the copy-right libraries, is entitled to a copy of every book published in Britain. Examinations are held and degrees are awarded by the university. It allowed women to take the university exams in the 1881, but it was the not until 1941 that they were awarded degrees.
17 Why is it difficult to located Cambridge University?
18 What does the passage tell us about the colleges of the university?
19 What can be learnt from the passage about the libraries in Cambridge University?
20 What does we know from the passage tell us about the women students in Cambridge university?
2003年6月21日大学英语 四级A卷参考答案
Part Ⅰ Listening Compr ehension 1-20∶ DADDA CABCC BCCCA BDBDB
Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension 21-40∶ CBBAC BDDCA DACAD BACDD
Part Ⅲ Vocabulary and Structure 41-70∶ AADAD CBBCA ABDBD CBDAC BDCDA ADDCB
Part Ⅳ Short Answer Questions
S1. great personal charm
S2. desirable and essential
S3. (1) weaknesses and immaturity (2) wrong
S4. a bit of an actor
S5. self-discipline and self-training
S6. methods by which the subjects can best be taught and persons to whom the subjects are to be taught
S7. the children, young people, or adults to whom the subjects are to be taught
S8. full and active co-operation
这是王迈迈教学的答案
１——２０ ＤＡＤＤＡ ＣＡＢＣＣ ＢＣＣＣＡ ＢＤＢＤＢ
２１——４０ ＣＢＢＡＣ ＢＤＤＣＡ ＤＡＣＡＡ ＢＡＣＤＤ
４１——７０ ＡＡＤＡＤ ＣＢＢＣＡ ＡＢＤＢＤ ＣＢＤＡＣ ＢＤＣＤＡ ＡＤＤＣＢ
Short Answer Questions:
S1. lively and attractive personality
S2. desirable and essential
S3. 1) weakness 2) immaturity of human nature
S4. a bit of an actor
S5. He should have self-discipline and self-training.
S6. teaching methods
S7. their students
S8. full and active co-operation
An Eye-Witness Account of a Traffic Accident
My name is Liming. I am studying at college. A week ago I saw a traffic accident , which is still vivid in my mind.
It was at about 9:00 on Saturday morning, June 15th , when I went out of the university to visit a friend of mine at another university. I was walking leisurely on the sidewalk when I heard a loud crash of two vehicles just at the T-junction about 10 metres away . Two taxis crashed together. It was a traffic accident.
I went up and found that the two taxis were badly damaged. Both hoofs were out of shape . One door of a car was knocked off and lying on the road. One driver was blooding and another was shut in the taxi . Some people were trying to help the driver get out of the damaged car. One man was calling to the traffic policeman station. A lot of cars were jammed on the road.
From the stopping track on the road, it is clear that the two taxis were driving too fast. But it is just one of the reasons. In my opinion, the taxi drivers are eager to take more passengers and make a little more money. On the other hand, both drivers don't show concern for one another . Both of them wanted to run in front of another. Therefore, the accident is inevitable. So far, we should let the drivers keep it in their mind that a little slower, a little safer. Taking care of other's lives means taking care of your own life.
恩波学校的答案，与上者小有不同。
四级A卷答案
Listening
1-10 DADDA CABCC
11-20 BCCCA BDBBB
Reading
21-30 CBBAD BDDCA
31-40 DACAD BACAD
Vocabulary and Structure
41-50 AADAD CBBCA
51-60 ABDBD CBDAC
61-70 BDCDA ACDCB
Short Answer Questions
S1. great personal charm
S2. essential personal charm
S3. (1) weaknessses (2) immature
S4. a bit of an actor
S5. by / through self-discipline and self-trainining
S6. teaching methods
S7. those to whom subjects are taught
S8. full and active cooperation
Reading Comprehension (B卷)
Passage One Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, "The business of America is business." By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world.
Few would argue with Ford's statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as "the entertainment industry" or "show business."
The positive side of Henry Ford's statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance （大量地） because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system creates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life.
The negative side of Henry Ford's statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business--- referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the right to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing---the laying off of thou-sands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high--- creates feelings of insecurity for many.
21. The United States is a typical country ____D____.
A) where all businesses are managed scientifically
B) which encourages free trade at home and abroad
C) which normally works according to the federal budget
D) where people's chief concern is how to make money
22. The influence of business in the U.S. is evidenced by the fact that _ B
A) most newspapers are run by big businesses
B) even arts and entertainment are regarded as business
C) Americans of all professions know how to do business
D) even public organizations concentrate on working for profits
23. According to the passage, immigrants choose to settle in the U.S., dreaming that D
A) they will make a fortune overnight there
B) they can be more competitive in business
C) they can start profitable businesses there
D) they will find better chances of employment
24. Henry Ford's statement can be taken negatively because ___A_____.
A) there is a conflicting relationship between big corporations and labor
B) there are many industries controlled by a few big capitalists
C) public services are not run by the federal government
D) working people are discouraged to fight for their rights
25. A company's efforts to keep expenses low and profits high may result in C
A) a rise in workers' wages
B) improvement of working conditions
C) reduction in the number of employees
D) fewer disputes between labor and management
Passage Two Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
It's no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That's especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It's also true of children who suffer for years in foster homes (收养孩子的家庭) because of parents who can't or won't care for them but refuse to give up custody (监护) rights.
Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an angry custody battle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she's ever known and that her biological parents have "no legal claim" on her.
The ruling, though it may yet be reversed, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That's an important development, one that's long overdue.
Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly's biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn't the Twiggs' own daughter, but Kimberly was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting visiting rights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed.
The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue（起诉）on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit.
Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren't always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.
26. What was the primary consideration in the Florida judge's ruling? D
A) The traditional practice. C) The biological link.
B) The parents' feelings. D) The child's benefits
27. We can learn from the Kimberly case that ___C_____.
A) foster homes bring children more pain and suffering than care
B) the biological link between parent and child should be emphasized
C) children are more than just personal possessions of their parents
D) biological parents shouldn't claim custody rights after their child is adopted
28. The Twiggs claimed custody rights to Kimberly because B
A) they regarded her as their property
B) they were her biological parents
C) they felt guilty about their past mistake
D) they found her unhappy in Mr. Mays' custody
29. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays A
A) for better care C) by sheer accident
B) out of charity D) at his request
30. The author's attitude towards the judge's ruling could be described as D
A) critical C) doubtful
B) cautious D) supportive
Passage Three Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Professor Smith recently persuaded 35 people, 23 of them women, to keep a diary of all their absent-minded actions for a fortnight. When he came to analyses their embarrassing lapses（差错）in a scientific report, he was surprised to find that nearly all of them fell into a few groupings. Nor did the lapses appear to be entirely random（随机的）
One of the women, for instance, on leaving her house for work one morning threw her dog her earrings and tried to fix a dog biscuit on her ear. "The explanation for this is that the brain is like a computer," explains the professor. "People programme themselves to do certain activities regularly. It was the woman's custom every morning to throw her dog two biscuits and then put on her earrings. But somehow the action got reversed in the programme." About one in twenty of the incidents the volunteers reported were these "programme assembly failures."
Altogether the volunteers logged 433 unintentional actions that they found themselves doing ----an average of twelve each. There appear to be peak periods in the day when we are at our zaniest(荒谬可笑的) .These are two hours some time between eight a.m. and noon, between four and six p.m. with a smaller peak between eight and ten p.m. "Among men the peak seems to be when a changeover in brain 'programmes' occurs, as for instance between going to and from work." Women on average reported slightly more lapses ----- 12.5 compared with 10.9 for men --- probably because they were more reliable reporters.
A startling finding of the research is that the absent-minded activity is a hazard of doing things in which we are skilled. Normally, you would expect that skill reduces the number of errors we make. But trying to avoid silly slips by concentrating more could make things a lot worse--- even dangerous.
31. In his study Professor Smith asked the subjects ___B_____.
A) to analyse their awkward experiences scientifically
B) to keep a record of what they did unintentionally
C) to keep track of people who tend to forget things
D) to report their embarrassing lapses at random
32. Professor Smith discovered that __D______.
A) many people were too embarrassed to admit their absent-mindedness
B) men tend to be more absent-minded than women
C) absent-mindedness is an excusable human weakness
D) certain patterns can be identified in the recorded incidents
33. "Programme assembly failures" (Line 6, Para. 2) refers to the phenomenon that people D
A) are likely to mess things up if they are too tired
B) tend to make mistakes when they are in a hurry
C) often fail to programme their routines beforehand
D) unconsciously change the sequence of doing things
34．We learn from the third paragraph that ___A____.
A) absent-mindedness tends to occur during certain hours of the day
B) women experience more peak periods of absent-mindedness
C) men's absent-mindedness often results in funny situations
D) women are very careful to perform actions during peak periods
35. It can be concluded from the passage that ___A_____.
A) people should be careful when programming their actions
B) lapses cannot always be attributed to lack of concentration
C) hazards can be avoided when people do things they are good at
D) people should avoid doing important things during peak periods of lapses
Passage Four Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more than they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞)。 Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports: girls log half that time. All in all, however, children's leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%.
"Children are affected by the same time crunch（危机）that affects their parents," says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of children's timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and ''male breadwinner" households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents, 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.)
All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. "Play is the most powerful way a 'child explores the world and learns about himself," says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School. Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.
The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing "free time" watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they're spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren't replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Let's face it, who's got the time?
36. By mentioning "the same time crunch" (Line I, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means B
A) children have little time to play with their parents
B) both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time
C) both parents and children have trouble managing their time
D) children are not taken good care of by their working parents
37. According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is D
A) partially true C) rather confusing
B) quite convincing D) totally groundless
38. According to the author a child develops better if___C__
A) he has plenty of time reading and studying
B) he is free to interact with his working parents
C) he is left to play with his peers in his own way
D) he has more time participating in school activities
39. The author is concerned about the fact that American kids .C
A) are involved less and less in household work
B) are spending more and more time watching TV
C) are engaged in more and more structured activities
D) are increasingly neglected by their working mothers
40. We can infer from the passage that ___B_____.
A) most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children
B) efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful
C) most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched off
D) extracurricular activities promote children's intelligence
41.A dark suit is ________ to a light one for evening wear.
A. proper B. suitable C. favorable D. preferable
42.I suffered from mental__________ because of stress from my work.
A. fatigue B. damage C. relief D. release
43.You will not be _________ about your food in time of great hunger.
A. particular B. peculiar C. special D .specific
44.Don't let the child play with scissors ___________ he cuts himself.
A. only if B. in case C. now that D. so that
45.The rest of the day was entirely at his __________ for reading or recreation.
A. arrival B. survival C. dismissal D. disposal
46.Not only the professionals but also the amateurs will _________ from the new training facilities.
A. benefit B. derive C. reward D. acquire
47.She ________ her trip to New York because she was ill.
A. went off B. called off C. put up D. closed down
48.He gave a _________ to handle the affaire in a friendly manner.
A. motion B. mission C. pledge D. plunge
49.He was proud of being chosen to participate in the game and he _________ us that he would try as hard as possible.
A. assured B. insured C. assumed D. guaranteed
50.The work was almost complete when we receive orders to _________ no further with it.
A. progress B. march C. proceed D. promote
51.I was about to _______ a match when I remembered Tom's warning.
A. scrape B. rub C. strike D. hit
52.____________ the danger from enemy action, people had to cope with a severe shortage of food, clothing, fuel, and almost everything.
A. As long as B. As far as C. As soon as D. As well as
53.Mr. Smith was the only witness who said that the fire was _____________.
A. meaningful B. deliberate C. innocent D. mature
54.Areas where students have particular difficulty have been treated ____________ particular care.
A. in B. by C. with D. under
55.We should concentrate on sharply reducing interest rates to pull the economy out of ________.
A. retreat B. rejection C. recession D. restriction
56.Crime is increasing worldwide, and there is reason to believe the ___________ will continue into the next decade.
A. pace B. trend C. schedule D. emergency
57.You shouldn't have written in the ___________ since the book belongs to the library.
A. edge B. border C. interval D. margin
58.This is the nurse who _________ to me when I was ill in hospital.
A. entertained B. accompanied C. attended D. shielded
59.Could you take a ________ sheet of paper and write your name at the top?
A. blank B. bare C. hollow D. vacant
60.I waited for him half an hour, but he never __________.
A. turned in B. turned up C. turned down D. turned off
61.A house with a dangerous gas __________ can be broken into immediately.
A. leak B. crack C. split D. mess
62._________ the storm, the ship would have reached its destination on time.
A. In spite of B. In case of C. But for D. Because of
63.The _________ of finding gold in California attracted a lot of people to settle down there.
A. stacks B. speculations C. prospects D. provisions
64.The ___________ of airplane engines announced a coming air raid.
A. roar B. sere C. whistle D. exclamation
65.The advertisement says this material doesn't _________ in the wash, but it has.
A. dissolve B. contract C. slim D. shrink
66.This ticket _________ you to a free boat tour on the lake.
A. grants B. entitles C. appoints D. credits
67.Many people lost their jobs during the business ___________.
A. despair B. decrease C. desperation D. depression
68.It was in the United States that I made the ____________ of Professor Jones.
A. acquaintance B. association C. recognition D. acknowledgement
69.A culture in which the citizens share similar religious beliefs and values is more likely to have laws that represent the wishes of its people than is a culture where citizens come from _________ backgrounds.
A. identical B. influential C. extensive D. diverse
70.Whenever a big company __________ a small one, the product almost always gets worse.
A. cuts down B. puts up with C. takes over D. gets on with
2003年6月21日四级听力试题原文及译文
Section A
W：Gorge, look at the long waiting line. I am glad you've made a reservation.
M：More and more people enjoy eating out now. Beside, this place is especially popular with the overseas students.
Q：Where did the conversation most probably take place?
W: 乔治，看看这里排着这么长的队，真高兴你订到了座位。
M：越来越多的人喜欢在外面吃饭。而且这个地方尤其受留学生亲睐。
Q：对话可能在哪里发生？
M:I wonder if you can drop by tomorrow evening. The Stevensons are coming over to dinner. I'd like you to meet them.
W: Sure, I'd love to. I've heard they are very interesting people.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
M：你明天晚上能到我这来一趟吗？史蒂文森一家明天到我家吃晚饭，我希望你能见见他们。
W：当然，我非常愿意。我听说他们非常有意思。
Q：我们可从该对话中了解到什么？
W: The presentation made by Professor Jacksonwas complicated to understand.
M: Well, I think he didn't speak slowly enough for us
for us to take the notes.
Q: What did the man complain?
W：杰克森教授作的报告太难懂了。
M；我觉得他的语速太快，我们根本没法做笔记。
Q：男士抱怨什么？
W: You've got your apartment furnished, haven't you?
M: I've bought some used furniture from Sunday market. It was a real bargain.
Q: What does the man mean?
W：你买了家俱，是吗？
M：我从周日市场买了一些旧家俱。价钱便宜。
Q：男人什么意思？
M Mary doesn't want me to take the job. She says our child is too young. And the job requires much travelling.
W: You should talk to her again and see if you can find a way out. Think about the gains and losses before you make the decision.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
M：玛丽不想让我干那个工作，她说孩子还些这个工作又需要我经常出差。
W：你应该和她再谈谈，看你们能不能想出个两全其美的办法。权衡一下利弊，再做决定。
Q：从对话中我们可以了解到什么？
M:I haven't got my scores on the GRE test yet. Do you think I should call to make inquiries?
W: There is no hurry. The test scores are released at least eight weeks after the test.
Q: What does the woman advise the man to do?
M：我还不知道GRE考试的分数。你觉得我是不是该打电话问问？
W：不要急。考试的分数至少要在考试后八周之后公布。
Q：女人建议男人干嘛？
M: Have you finished reading the book you bought last month?
W: oh, I didn't read straight through the way you read a novel,I just covered a few chapters which interested me most.
Q: How did the woman read the book?
M：你读上个月你买的那本书了吗？
W：哦，我不象你读小说那样从头读到尾。我读了我感兴趣的几章。
Q：女人采用什么读书方式？
W: Hello, Joe, Haven't seen you for quite a while. Are you fine?
M: Oh,yes, but not a thing to go against me. I had a car accident, only someminor injuries though.
Q: What happened to Joe?
W：你好，乔，很久不见，你好吗？
M：还好，我吉人自有天相，出了车祸，只不过受了轻伤。
m: The taxi is waiting downstairs, let's hurry.
W: Wait a minute. I'll take some food with us. I don't like the meal served on the train.
Q: What are the speakers going to do?
M：出租车在楼下等着，赶紧！
M：等等，我要带点吃的东西。我不喜欢吃火车上供应的食物。
Q：两个谈话者准备做什么？
W: Is that optional course as hard as everybody says?
M: It's actually even worse, believe it or not.
Q :What did the man say about the course?
W：那门选修课象别人说的那么难吗？
M：不管你信不信，难极了。
Q：他们如何评价选修课？
Section B
Passage 1
My father woke me up early one morning when I was fourteen and announced "Get up, you are going with me to cut grass." I felt proud and excited because my father thought I was responsible enough to help him in his business. Still, that first day was very hard. From sunrise to sunset, my father, my younger brother and I cut and t very large yards in well-to-do part of the city. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but I felt good. I put out a hard day's labor and earned six dollars. One day, my father spotted some weeds I have miss cutting and pulled me inside. "Cut that section again!" he said firmly "and don't make me have to tell you again." The message was very clear. Today I stress the importance of doing the job right the first time. Every job I have held from cutting lawns to wash dishes to working a machine on the construction site. I have learned something that help me in my next job. If you work hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.
11 Q: How did the speaker feel when his father asked him to help cut grass?
13 Q: What did his father do when the speaker missed cutting some leaves?
14 Q:What did the speak want to tell us in this passage?
Passage B
I am living in a small village in the country. My wife and I run a village shop. We have a very peaceful live, boring some my say. But we love it. We know all the people in the village. They have plenty of time to stop and chat. I have plenty of time for my hobbies too--gardening, fishing, walking in the country side. I love the outdoor life. It wasn't always like this though I used to have a really stressful job, working so late in the office every evening. I often bring work home at the weekends. The advertising world is very competitive. And when I look back, I can't imagine how I stood it. I have no private life at all. No time for the really important things in life. Because of the pressure of the job, I used to smoke and drink too much. The crisis came when my wife left me. She complaint that she never saw me and I had no time for family life. This made me realize what is really important to me. I talked things through with her and decided to get back together and started a new and better life together. I gave up tobacco and alcohol and searched for new hobbies. Now I am afraid of looking back since the past life seemed like a horrible dream.
14 What did the speaker do for a living?
15 What do we know about the speaker's life in the past?
16 What made the speaker change his life style?
Passage 3
"Where is the university?" is the question many visitors to Cambridge ask. But no one could point at any one direction because there is no campus. The university consists of 31 self-governing colleges. It has lecture halls, libraries, laboratories, museums and offices throughout the city. Individual colleges choose their own students who have to meet their minimum entrance requirements set by the university. And the graduates usually live and study in their colleges but they are taught in very full groups. Lectures and laboratories and practical work are organized by the university and held in university buildings. There are over ten thousand undergraduates and three thousand five hundred post-graduates. About 40% of them are women and some 8% from overseas. As well as teaching, research is of major importance. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, more than sixty university members have won Nobel prizes. The university has a huge number of buildings for teaching and research. It has more than 60 specialist subject libraries as well as the university library, which as the copy-right libraries, is entitled to a copy of every book published in Britain. Examinations are held and degrees are awarded by the university. It allowed women to take the university exams in the 1881, but it was the not until 1941 that they were awarded degrees.
17 Why is it difficult to located Cambridge University?
18 What does the passage tell us about the colleges of the university?
19 What can be learnt from the passage about the libraries in Cambridge University?
20 What does we know from the passage tell us about the women students in Cambridge university?
2003年6月21日大学英语 四级A卷参考答案
Part Ⅰ Listening Compr ehension 1-20∶ DADDA CABCC BCCCA BDBDB
Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension 21-40∶ CBBAC BDDCA DACAD BACDD
Part Ⅲ Vocabulary and Structure 41-70∶ AADAD CBBCA ABDBD CBDAC BDCDA ADDCB
Part Ⅳ Short Answer Questions
S1. great personal charm
S2. desirable and essential
S3. (1) weaknesses and immaturity (2) wrong
S4. a bit of an actor
S5. self-discipline and self-training
S6. methods by which the subjects can best be taught and persons to whom the subjects are to be taught
S7. the children, young people, or adults to whom the subjects are to be taught
S8. full and active co-operation
这是王迈迈教学的答案
１——２０ ＤＡＤＤＡ ＣＡＢＣＣ ＢＣＣＣＡ ＢＤＢＤＢ
２１——４０ ＣＢＢＡＣ ＢＤＤＣＡ ＤＡＣＡＡ ＢＡＣＤＤ
４１——７０ ＡＡＤＡＤ ＣＢＢＣＡ ＡＢＤＢＤ ＣＢＤＡＣ ＢＤＣＤＡ ＡＤＤＣＢ
Short Answer Questions:
S1. lively and attractive personality
S2. desirable and essential
S3. 1) weakness 2) immaturity of human nature
S4. a bit of an actor
S5. He should have self-discipline and self-training.
S6. teaching methods
S7. their students
S8. full and active co-operation
An Eye-Witness Account of a Traffic Accident
My name is Liming. I am studying at college. A week ago I saw a traffic accident , which is still vivid in my mind.
It was at about 9:00 on Saturday morning, June 15th , when I went out of the university to visit a friend of mine at another university. I was walking leisurely on the sidewalk when I heard a loud crash of two vehicles just at the T-junction about 10 metres away . Two taxis crashed together. It was a traffic accident.
I went up and found that the two taxis were badly damaged. Both hoofs were out of shape . One door of a car was knocked off and lying on the road. One driver was blooding and another was shut in the taxi . Some people were trying to help the driver get out of the damaged car. One man was calling to the traffic policeman station. A lot of cars were jammed on the road.
From the stopping track on the road, it is clear that the two taxis were driving too fast. But it is just one of the reasons. In my opinion, the taxi drivers are eager to take more passengers and make a little more money. On the other hand, both drivers don't show concern for one another . Both of them wanted to run in front of another. Therefore, the accident is inevitable. So far, we should let the drivers keep it in their mind that a little slower, a little safer. Taking care of other's lives means taking care of your own life.
恩波学校的答案，与上者小有不同。
四级A卷答案
Listening
1-10 DADDA CABCC
11-20 BCCCA BDBBB
Reading
21-30 CBBAD BDDCA
31-40 DACAD BACAD
Vocabulary and Structure
41-50 AADAD CBBCA
51-60 ABDBD CBDAC
61-70 BDCDA ACDCB
Short Answer Questions
S1. great personal charm
S2. essential personal charm
S3. (1) weaknessses (2) immature
S4. a bit of an actor
S5. by / through self-discipline and self-trainining
S6. teaching methods
S7. those to whom subjects are taught
S8. full and active cooperation
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