《大学英语四级考试真题（优秀5篇）》
《大学英语四级考试真题（优秀5篇）》由精心整编，希望在【大学英语四级考试真题】的写作上带给您相应的帮助与启发。
历年大学英语四级考试真题 篇1
大学英语四级考试真题及答案
PartⅠ
Writing
(30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have twooptions upon graduation: one is to find a job somewhere and the other to start abusiness of your own. You are to make a decision. Write an essay to explain the reasonsfor your decision. 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 newsreport, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report and thequestions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you mustchoose 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 linethrough the centre.
Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.
1. A. It was dangerous to live in.
B. It was going to be renovated.
C. He could no longer pay the rent.
D. He had sold it to the royal family.
2. A. A strike.
B. A storm.
C. A forest fire.
D. A terrorist attack.
Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
3. A. They lost contact with the emergency department.
B. They were trapped in an underground elevator.
C. They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.
D. They sent calls for help via a portable radio.
4. A. They tried hard to repair the elevator.
B. They released the details of the accident.
C. They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.
D. They provided the miners with food and water.
Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.
5. A. Raise postage rates.
B. Improve its services.
C. Redesign delivery routes.
D. Close some of its post offices.
6. A. Shortening business hours.
B. Closing offices on holidays.
C. Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.
D. Computerizing mall sorting processes.
7. A. Many post office staff will lose their jobs.
B. Many people will begin to complain.
C. Taxpayers will be very pleased.
D. A lot of controversy will arise.
Section 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 onlyonce. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choicesmarked A, B, C and D . Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre.
Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
8. A. He will be kept from promotion.
B. He will go through retraining.
C. He will be given a warning.
D. He will lose part of his pay.
9. A. He is always on time.
B. He is a trustworthy guy.
C. He is an experienced press operator.
D. He is on good terms with his workmates.
10. A. She is a trade union representative.
B. She is in charge of public relations.
C. She is a senior manager of the shop.
D. She is better at handling such matters.
11. A. He is skilled and experienced.
B. He is very close to the manager.
C. He is always trying to stir up trouble.
D. He is always complaining about low wages.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
12. A. Open.
B. Friendly.
C. Selfish.
D. Reserved.
13. A. They stay quiet.
B. They read a book.
C. They talk about the weather.
D. They chat with fellow passengers.
14. A. She was always treated as a foreigner.
B. She was eager to visit an English castle.
C. She was never invited to a colleague's home.
D. She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.
15. A. Houses are much more quiet.
B. Houses provide more privacy.
C. They want to have more space.
D. They want a garden of their own.
Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hearthree 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 markedA, B, C and D . Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with asingle line through the centre.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. A. They don't have much choice of jobs.
B. They are likely to get much higher pay.
C. They don't have to go through job interviews.
D. They will automatically be given hiring priority.
17. A. Ask their professors for help.
B. Look at school bulletin boards.
C. Visit the school careers service.
D. Go through campus newspapers.
18. A. Helping students find the books and journals they need.
B. Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.
C. Helping students arrange appointments with librarians.
D. Providing students with information about the library.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
19. A. It tastes better.
B. It is easier to grow.
C. It may be sold at a higher price.
D. It can better survive extreme weathers.
20. A. It is healthier than green tea.
B. It can grow in drier soil.
C. It will replace green tea one day.
D. It is immune to various diseases.
21. A. It has been well received by many tea drinkers.
B. It does not bring the promised health benefits.
C. It has made tea farmers' life easier.
D. It does not have a stable market.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22. A. They need decorations to show their status.
B. They prefer unique objects of high quality.
C. They decorate their homes themselves.
D. They care more about environment.
23. A. They were proud of their creations.
B. They could only try to create at night.
C. They made great contributions to society.
D. They focused on the quality of their products.
24. A. Make wise choices.
B. Identify fake crafts.
C. Design handicrafts themselves.
D. Learn the importance of creation.
25. A. To boost the local economy.
B. To attract foreign investments.
C. To arouse public interest in crafts.
D. To preserve the traditional culture.
Part Ⅲ
Reading Comprehension
(40 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one wordfor each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read thepassage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank isidentified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in thebank more than once.
Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.
When someone commits a criminal act, we always hope the punishment will match the offense.But when it comes to one of the cruelest crimes--animal fighting--things26 work out that way.Dog-fighting victims are 27 and killed for profit and “sport,” yet their criminal abusers oftenreceive a28 sentence for causing a lifetime of pain. Roughly half of all federally-convicted animalfighters only get probation (缓刑).
Some progress has been made in the prosecution (起诉) of animal fighters. But federal judgesoften rely heavily on the U. S. Sentencing GuideLines when they29 penalties, and in the case ofanimal fighting, those guidelines are outdated and extremely30
The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which31 these sentencing guidelines, is revisiting them,proposing to raise the minimum sentence from 6 - 12 to 21 - 27 months. This is a step in the right32, but we'd like to see the U. S. Sentencing Commission make further changes to the guidelines.
Along with this effort, we're working with animal advocates and state and federal lawmakers to33 anti-cruelty laws across the country, as well as supporting laws and policies that assistoverburdened animal 34 that care for animal fighting victims. This help is 35 importantbecause the high cost of caring for animal victims is a major factor that prevents people from gettinginvolved in cruelty cases in the first place.
A. convenient
B. creates
C. critically
D. determine
E. direction
F. hesitate
G. inadequate
H. inspired
I. method
J. minimal
K. rarely
L. shelters
M. strengthen
N. sufferings
O. tortured
Section B
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Eachstatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraphfrom 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 thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.
When Work Becomes a Game
A) What motivates employees to do their jobs well? Competition with coworkers, for some. Thepromise of rewards, for others. Pure enjoyment of problem-solving, for a lucky few.
B) Increasingly, companies are tapping into these desires directly through what has come to be knownas “gamification” : essentially, turning work into a game. “Gamification is about understandingwhat it is that makes games engaging and what game designers do to create a great experience ingames, and taking those learnings and applying them to other contexts such as the workplace andeducation,” explains Kevin Werbach, a gamification expert who teaches at the Wharton School ofBusiness at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.
C) It might mean monitoring employee productivity on a digital leaderboard and offering prizes to thewinner, or giving employees digital badges or stars for completing certain activities. It could alsomean training employees how to do their jobs through video game platforms. Companies fromGoogle to L'Oréalto IBM to Wells Fargo are known to use some degree of gamification in theirworkplaces. And more and more companies are joining them. A recent report suggests that theglobal gamification market will grow from $1.65 billion in to $11.1 billion by .
D) The concept of gamification is not entirely new, Werbach says. Companies, marketers and teachershave long looked for fun ways to engage people's reward-seeking or competitive spirits. Cracker Jackshas been “gamifying” its snack food by putting a small prize inside for more than 100 years, headds, and the turn-of-the-century steel magnate (巨头) Charles Schwab is said to have often comeinto his factory and written the number of tons of steel produced on the past shift on the factoryfloor, thus motivating the next shift of workers to beat the previous one.
E) But the word “gamification” and the widespread, conscious application of the concept only beganin earnest about five years ago, Werbach says. Thanks in part to video games, the generation nowentering the workforce is especially open to the idea of having their work gamified. “We are at apoint where in much of the developed world the vast majority of young people grew up playingvideo games, and an increasingly high percentage of adults play these video games too,” Werbachsays.
F) A number of companies have sprung up--GamEffective, Bunchbail and Badgeville, to name a few--in recent years offering gamification platforms for businesses. The platforms that are most effectiveturn employees' ordinary job tasks into part of a rich adventure narrative. “What makes a gamegame-like is that the player actually cares about the outcome,” Werbach says. “The principle isabout understanding what is motivating to this group of players, which requires some understandingof psychology. ”
G) Some people, Werbach says, are motivated by competition.Sales people often fall into thiscategory. For them, the right kind of gamification might be turning their saies pitches into acompetition with other team members, complete with a digital leaderboard showing who is winningat all times. Others are more motivated by collaboration and social experiences. One companyWerbach has studied uses gamification to create a sense of community and boost employees' morale(士气). When employees log in to their computers, they're shown a picture of one of theircoworkers and asked to guess that person's name.
H) Gamification does not have to be digital. Monica Cornetti runs a company that gamifies employeetrainings. Sometimes this involves technology, but often it does not. She recently designed agamification strategy for a saies training company with a storm-chasing theme. Employees formed“storm chaser teams” and competed in storm-themed educational exercises to earn variousrewards. “Rewards do not have to be stuff,” Cornetti says. “Rewards can be flexible workinghours. ” Another training, this one for pay roll law, used a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfstheme. “Snow White” is available for everyone to use, but the “dwarfs” are still under copyright,so Cornetti invented sound-alike characters (Grumpy Gus, Dopey Dan) to illustrate specific pay rolllaw principles.
I) Some people do not take naturaily to gamified work environments, Cornetti says.In herexperience, people in positions of power or people in finance or engineering do not tend to like thesound of the word. “If we are designing for engineers, I'm not talking about a ' game' at all,”Cornetti says. “I'm talking about a ' simulation' (模拟), I'm talking about ' being able to solvethis problem. '”
J) Gamification is “ not a magic bullet,” Werbach warns.A gamification strategy that is notsufficiently thought through or well tailored to its players may engage people for a little while, but itwill not motivate people in the long term. It can also be exploitative, especially when used withvulnerable populations. For workers, especially low-paid workers, who desperately need their jobsyet know they can be easily replaced, gamification may feel more like the Hunger Games. Werbachgives the example of several Disneyland hotels in Anaheim, Caiifornia, which used large digital leaderboards to display how efficiently laundry workers were working compared to one another.Some employees found the board motivating. To others, it was the opposite of fun. Some began tostop taking bathroom breaks, worried that if their productivity fell they would be fired. Pregnantemployees struggled to keep up. In a Los Angeles Times article, one employee referred to the boardas a “digital whip. ”“It actually had a very negative effect on morale and performance,” Werbachsays.
K) Still, gamification only stands to become more popular, he says, “as more and more people comeinto the workforce who are familiar with the structures and expressions of digitai games. ”“We arefar from reaching the peak,” Cornetti agrees. “There is no reason this will go away. ”
36. Some famous companies are already using gamification and more are trying to do the same.
37. Gamification is not a miracle cure for all workplaces as it may have negative results.
38. To enhance morale, one company asks its employees to identify their fellow workers when startingtheir computers.
39. The idea of gamification was practiced by some businesses more than a century ago.
40. There is reason to believe that gamification will be here to stay.
41. Video games contributed in some ways to the wide application of gamification.
42. When turning work into a game, it is necessary to understand what makes games interesting.
43. Gamification in employee training does not always need technology.
44. The most successful gamification platforms transform daily work assignments into fun experiences.
45. It is necessary to use terms other than “gamification” for some professions.
Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions orunfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C andD . You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
Recently I attended several meetings where we talked about ways to retain students and keepyounger faculty members from going elsewhere.
It seems higher education has become an industry of meeting-holders whose task it is to “solve”problems--real or imagined. And in my position as a professor at three different colleges, the actualproblems in educating our young people and older students have deepened, while the number of peoplehired--not to teach but to hold meetings--has increased significantly. Every new problem creates anew job for an administrative fixer. Take our Center for Teaching Excellence. Contrary to its title, thecenter is a clearing house (信息交流中心) for using technology in classrooms and in online courses.It's an administrative sham (欺诈) of the kind that has multiplied over the last 30 years.
I offer a simple proposition in response: Many of our problems--class attendance, educationalsuccess, student happiness and well-being--might be improved by cutting down the bureaucratic ( 官僚的) mechanisms and meetings and instead hiring an army of good teachers. If we replaced half of ouradministrative staff with classroom teachers, we might actually get a majority of our classes back to 20or fewer students per teacher. This would be an environment in which teachers and students actuallyknew each other.
The teachers must be free to teach in their own way--the curriculum should be flexible enough sothat they can use their individual talents to achieve the goals of the course. Additionally, they should beallowed to teach, and be rewarded for doing it well. Teachers are not people who are great at andconsumed by research and happen to appear in a classroom. Good teaching and research are notexclusive, but they are also not automatic companions. Teaching is an art and a craft, talent andpractice; it is not something that just anyone can be good at. It is utterly confusing to me that peopledo not recognize this, despite the fact that pretty much anyone who has been a student can tell thedifference between their best and worst teachers.
46. What does the author say about present-day universities?
A. They are effectively tackling real or imagined problems.
B. They often fail to combine teaching with research.
C. They are over-burdened with admires“ trative staff.
D. They lack talent to fix their deepening problems.
47. According to the author, what kind of people do universities lack most?
A. Good classroom teachers.
B. Efficient administrators.
C. Talented researchers.
D. Motivated students.
48. What does the author imply about the classes at present?
A. They facilitate students' independent learning.
B. They help students form closer relationships.
C. They have more older students than before.
D. They are much bigger than is desirable.
49. What does the author think of teaching ability?
A. It requires talent and practice.
B. It is closely related to research.
C. It is a chief factor affecting students' learning.
D. It can be acquired through persistent practice.
50. What is the author's suggestion for improving university teaching?
A. Creating an environment for teachers to share their teaching experiences.
B. Hiring more classroom teachers and allowing them to teach in their own way.
C. Using high technology in classrooms and promoting exchange of information.
D. Cutting down meetings and encouraging administrative staff to go to classrooms.
Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
The secret to eating less and being happy about it may have been cracked years ago--byMcDonald's. According to a new study from Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab, small non-foodrewards--like the toys in McDonald's Happy Meals--stimulate the same reward centers in the brain asfood does.
The researchers, led by Martin Reimann, carried out a series of experiments to see if people wouldchoose a smaller meal ff it was paired with a non-food item.
They found that the majority of both kids and adults opted for a haft-sized portion when combinedwith a prize. Both options were priced the same.
Even more interesting is that the promise of a future reward was enough to make adults choose thesmaller portion. One of the prizes used was a lottery ticket ( 彩票), with a $10, $ 50 or $100 payout,and this was as effective as a tangible gift in persuading people to eat less.
”The fact that participants were willing to substitute part of a food item for the mere prospect of a
relatively small monetary award is interesting,“ says Reimann.
He theorizes that it is the emotional component of these intangible prizes that make them effective.In fact, vaguely-stated possibilities of winning a prize were more effective than options with hard oddsincluded.
”One explanation for this finding is that possible awards may be more emotionally provoking thancertrainty Reimann.“ The of added attraction andawards,”saysuncertainty winningprovidesdesirability through emotional ' thrills. ' The possibility of receiving an award also produces a state ofhope--a state that is in itself psychologically rewarding. " In other words, there's a reason why peoplelike to gamble.
How might this knowledge be used to help people eat more healthily?
One possibility is a healthy option that offers the chance to win a spa (温泉疗养) weekend. Ormaybe the reward of a half-sized portion could be a half-sized dessert to be claimed only on a futuredate. That would get you back in the restaurant--and make you eat a little less.
51. What do we learn about McDonald's inclusion of toys in its Happy Meals?
A. It may shed light on people's desire to crack a secret.
B. It has proved to be key to McDonald's business success.
C. It appeals to kid's curiosity to fred out what is hidden inside.
D. It may be a pleasant way for kids to reduce their food intake.
52. What is the finding of the researchers led by Martin Reimann?
A. Reducing food intake is not that difficult if people go to McDonald's more.
B. Most kids and adults don't actually feel hungry when they eat half of their meal.
C. Eating a smaller portion of food does good to the health of kids and adults alike.
D. Most kids and adults would choose a smaller meal that came with a non-food item.
53. What is most interesting in Martin Reimann's fmding?
A. Kids preferred an award in the form of money to one in the form of a toy.
B. Adults chose the smaller portion on the mere promise of a future award.
C. Both kids and adults felt satisfied with only half of their meal portions.
D. Neither children nor adults could resist the temptation of a free toy.
54. How does Martin Reimann interpret his finding?
A. The emotional component of the prizes is at work.
B. People now care more about quality than quantity.
C. People prefer certainty awards to possible awards.
D. The desire for a future reward is overwhelming.
55. What can we infer from Martin Reimann's finding?
A. People should eat much less if they wish to stay healthy and happy.
B. More fast food restaurants are likely to follow McDonald's example.
C. We can lead people to eat less while helping the restaurant business.
D. More studies are needed to find out the impact of emotion on behavior.
Part IV
Translation
( 30 minutes )
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese intoEnglish. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.
在中国文化中，红色通常象征着好运、长寿和幸福。在春节和其他喜庆场合，红色到处可见。人们把现金作为礼物送给家人或亲密朋友时，通常放在红信封里。红色在中国流行的另一个原因是人们把它与中国革命和共产党相联系。然而，红色并不总是代表好运和快乐。因为从前死者的名字常用红色书写，用红墨水书写中国人名被看成是一种冒犯行为。
6月大学英语四级考试真题 篇2
一。写作部分(9：00-9：30)
Part Ⅰ Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write A Letter of Apology according to the outline given below. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese.
1.娱乐活动多种多样
2.娱乐活动可能使人们受益，也可能有危害性
3.作为大学生，我的看法。
二。快速阅读(9：30-9：45)
Media Selection for Advertisements
After determining the target audience for a product or service, advertising agencies must select the appropriate media for the advertisement. We discuss here the major types of media used in advertising. We focus our attention on seven types of advertising: television, newspapers, radio, magazines, out-of-home. Internet, and direct mail.
Television
Television is an attractive medium for advertising because it delivers mass audiences to advertisers. When you consider that nearly three out of four Americans have seen the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? you can understand the power of television to communicate with a large audience. When advertisers create a brand, for example, they want to impress consumers with the brand and its image. Television provides an ideal vehicle for this type of communication.But television is an expensive medium, and not all advertisers can afford to use it.
Television's influence on advertising is fourfold. First, narrowcasting means that television channels are seen by an increasingly narrow segment of the audience. The Golf Channel, for instance.
is watched by people who play golf. Home and Garden Television is seen by those interested in household improvement projects. Thus, audiences are smaller and more homogeneous(具有共同特点的) than they have been in the past. Second, there is an increase in the number of television channels available to viewers, and thus, advertisers. This has also resulted in an increase in the sheer number of advertisements to which audiences are exposed. Third, digital recording devices allow audience members more control over which commercials they watch. Fourth, control over programming is being passed from the networks to local cable operators and satellite programmers.
Newspaper?
After television, the medium attracting the next largest annual ad revenue is newspapers. The New York Times, which reaches a national audience, accounts for $1 billion in ad revenue annually, ii m increased its national circulation (发行量) by 40% and is now available for home delivery in ion ciues. Locally, newspapers are the largest advertising medium.
Newspapers are a less expensive advertising medium than television and provide a way for advertisers to communicate a longer. more detailed message to their audience than they can through 48 hours,meaning newspapers are also a quick way of getting the massage are ofen the most important form of news for a local community, and they develop a high degree of loyalty from local reader.
Radio
Advertising on radio continues to grow Radio is often used in conjunction with outdoor bill-boards (广告牌) and ihe Internet to reach even more customers than television. Advertisers are likely to use radio because it is a less expensive medium than television, which means advertisers can afford to repeal their ads often. Internet companies are also turning 10 radio advertising. Radio provides a way for advertisers to communicate with audience members at all times of the listen to radio on their way to school or work, at work, on the way home, and in the evening hours.
Two major changes―satellite and Internet radio―will force radio advertisers to adapt their methods. Both of these radio forms allow listeners to tune in stations that are more distant than the
local stations they could receive in the past. As a result, radio will increasingly attract target audiences who live many miles apart.
Magazines
Newsweeklies, women’s titles, and business magazines have all seen increases in advertising because they attract the high-end market, magazines are popular with advertisers because of the narrow market that they deliver. A broadcast medium such as network television attracts all types of audience members, but magazine audiences are more homogeneous, if you read sports illustrated, for example, you have much in common with the magazine’s other readers. Advertisers see magazines as an efficient way of reaching target audience members.
Advertiser using the print media-magazines and newspapers-will need to adapt to two main changes. First, the internet will bring larger audiences to local newspapers, these second. Advertisers will have to understand how to use an increasing number of magazines for their target audiences. Although some magazines will maintain national audiences, a large number of magazines will entertain narrower audiences.
Out-of-home advertising
Out-of-home advertising. Also called place-based advertising, has become an increasingly effective way of reaching consumers, who are more active than ever before. Many consumers today do not sit at home and watch television. Using billboards, newsstands, and bus shelters for advertising is an effective way of reaching these on-the-go consumers. More consumers travel longer distances to and from work, which also makes out-of-home advertising effective, technology has changed the nature of the billboard business, making it a more effective medium than in the past.
Using digital printing, billboard companies can print a billboard in 2 hours, compared with 6 days previously. This allows advertisers more variety in the types of messages they create because they.
Can change their messages more quickly.
Internet
As consumers become more comfortable with online shopping, advertisers will seek to reach this market As consumers get more of their news and information from the Internet, the ability of television and radio to get the word out to consumers will decrease. The challenge to Internet advertisers Is to create ads that audience members remember.
Internet advertising will play a more prominent role in organizations' advertising in the near ftuture. Internet audiences tend to be quite homogeneous, but small. Advertisers will have to adjust their methods to reach these audiences and will have to adapt their persuasive strategies to the online medium as well.
Direct mail
A final advertising medium is direct mail, which uses mailings to consumers to communicate a client's message Direct mail includes newsletters. postcards and special promotions. Direct mail is an effective way to build relationships with consumers.For many businesses.direct mail is the most effective from of advertising.
1. Television is an attractive advertising medium in that_____________.
A) it has large audiences
B) it appeals to housewives
C) it helps build up a company's reputation
D) it is affordable to most advertisers
2. With the increase in the number of TV channels_________.
A) the cost of TV advertising has decreased
B) the nuiflber of TV viewers has increased
C) advertisers' interest in other media has decreased
D) the number of TV ads people can see has increased
6月大学英语四级考试真题卷 篇3
Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some
questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices
marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the
corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound.
The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people. And they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.
But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.
Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy(预期寿命), combined with the replacement of generous defined-benefit pension plans with less generous defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management knowhow to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
56. What is happening in the workforce in rich countries?
A) Younger people are replacing the elderly.
B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.
C) Unemployment rates are rising year after year.
D) People with no college degree do not easily find work.
57. What has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and the poor?
A) Longer life expectancies.
B) A rapid technological advance.
C) Profound changes in the workforce.
D) A growing number of the well-educated.
58. What do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?
A) Economic growth will slow down.
B) Government budgets will increase.
C) More people will try to pursue higher education.
D) There will be more competition in the job market.
59. What is the result of policy changes in European countries?
A) Unskilled workers may choose to retire early.
B) More people have to receive in-service training.
C) Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement.
D) People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pension plans.
60. What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?
A) Computers will do more complicated work.
B) More will be taken by the educated young.
C) Most jobs to be done will be creative ones.
D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
Some of the world’s most significant problems never hit headlines. One example comes from agriculture. Food riots and hunger make news. But the trend lying behind these matters is rarely talked about. This is the decline in the growth in yields of some of the world’s major crops. A new study by the University of Minnesota and McGill University in Montreal looks at where, and how far, this decline is occurring.
The authors take a vast number of data points for the four most important crops: rice, wheat, corn and soyabeans(大豆). They find that on between 24% and 39% of all harvested areas, the improvement in yields that took place before the 1980s slowed down in the 1990s and 2000s.
There are two worrying features of the slowdown. One is that it has been particularly sharp in the world’s most populous(人口多的)countries, India and China. Their ability to feed themselves has been an important source of relative stability both within the countries and on world food markets. That self-sufficiency cannot be taken for granted if yields continue to slow down or reverse.
Second, yield growth has been lower in wheat and rice than in corn and soybeans. This is problematic because wheat and rice are more important as foods, accounting for around half of all calories consumed. Corn and soyabeans are more important as feed grains. The authors note that “we have preferentially focused our crop improvement efforts on feeding animals and cars rather than on crops that feed people and are the basis of food security in much of the world.”
The report qualifies the more optimistic findings of another new paper which suggests that the world will not have to dig up a lot more land for farming in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050, as the Food and Agriculture Organisation has argued.
Instead, it says, thanks to slowing population growth, land currently ploughed up for crops might be able to revert(回返)to forest or wilderness.This could happen. The trouble is that the forecast assumes continued improvements in yields, which may not actually happen.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
61. What does the author try to draw attention to?
A) Food riots and hunger in the world.
B) News headlines in the leading media.
C) The decline of the grain yield growth.
D) The food supply in populous countries.
62. Why does the author mention India and China in particular?
A) Their self-sufficiency is vital to the stability of world food markets.
B) Their food yields have begun to decrease sharply in recent years.
C) Their big populations are causing worldwide concerns.
D) Their food self-sufficiency has been taken for granted.
63. What does the new study by the two universities say about recent crop improvement efforts?
A) They fail to produce the same remarkable results as before the 1980s.
B) They contribute a lot to the improvement of human food production.
C) They play a major role in guaranteeing the food security of the world.
D) They focus more on the increase of animal feed than human food grains.
64. What does the Food and Agriculture Organisation say about world food production in the
coming decades?
A) The growing population will greatly increase the pressure on world food supplies.
B) The optimistic prediction about food production should be viewed with caution.
C) The slowdown of the growth in yields of major food crops will be reversed.
D) The world will be able to feed its population without increasing farmland.
65. How does the author view the argument of the Food and Agriculture Organisation?
A) It is built on the findings of a new study.
B) It is based on a doubtful assumption.
C) It is backed by strong evidence.
D) It is open to further discussion.
Part IV Translation (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into
English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.
在西方人心目中，和中国联� 长期以来，大米在中国人的饮食中占据很重要的地位，以至于有谚语说“巧妇难为无米之炊”。中国南方大多种植水稻，人们通常以大米为主食；而华北大部分地区因为过于寒冷或过于干燥，无法种植水稻，那里的主要作物是小麦。在中国，有些人用面粉做面包，但大多数人用面粉做馒头和面条。
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答
6月大学英语四级考试写作真题及参考 篇4
【写作真题】
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the following question. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.
Suppose a foreign friend of yours is coming to your hometown, what is the most interesting place you would like to take him/her to see and why?
【参考范文】
The First Place I Will Show in My Hometown―the Central Avenue
My hometown is Harbin. The most interesting place which I would like to take my foreign friends to is the Central Avenue, if they come to my hometown. The reasons for this can be illustrated as below.
To begin with, as the symbol of Harbin, the Central Avenue not only has a long history, but also a famous food palace. There are a variety of delicious foods for you to choose. Just take the ice-cream brick of Ma Dieer as an example. Many of tourists to the Central Avenue sing their praises for the ice-cream brick of Ma Dieer. In addition, the brilliant historic culture of the Central Avenue can widen people’s vision and enhance their knowledge, which lays a solid foundation for the understanding of this fabulous city―Harbin.
I believe my foreign friends will enjoy themselves in the Central Avenue. Not only can they appreciate the wonderful landscape of Harbin but also taste authentic northeast food. No better place can be chosen than the Central Avenue!
大学英语四级考试真题 篇5
Part I Writing
(三十 minutes)
Direction.s: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the picture below.You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then comment on parents' role in their children's growth. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part IIListening Comprehension ( 30 minutes )
SectionA
Directions : In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end ofeach conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both theconversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will bea 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 AnswerSheet I with a single line through the centre.
1. A. The woman is the manager's secretary.
B. The man found himself in a wrong place.
C. The man is the manager's business associate.
D. The woman was putting up a sign on the wall.
2. A. He needs more time for the report.
B. He needs help to interpret the data.
C. He is sorry not to have helped the woman.
D. He does not have sufficient data to go on.
3. A. A friend from New York.
B. A message from Tony.
C. A postal delivery.
D. A change in the weather.
4. A. She is not available until the end of next week.
B. She is not a reliable source of information.
C. She does not like taking exams.
D. She does not like psychology.
5. A. He will help the woman carry the suitcase.
B. The woman's watch is twenty minutes fast.
C. The woman shouldn't make such a big fuss.
D. There is no need for the woman to be in a hurry.
6. A. Mary is not so easygoing as her.
B. Mary and she have a lot in conmon.
C. She finds it hard to get along with Mary.
D. She does not believe what her neighborssaid.
7. A. At an information service.
B. At a car wash point.
C. At a repair shop.
D. At a dry cleaner's.
8. A. The woman came to the concert at the man's request.
B. The man is already fed up with playing the piano.
C. The piece of music the man played is very popular.
D. The man's unique talents are the envy of many people.
Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
9. A. He has taught Spanish for a couple of years at a local school.
B. He worked at the Brownstone Company for several years.
C. He owned a small retail business in Michigan years ago.
D. He has been working part-time in a school near Detroit.
10. A. He prefers a full-time job with more responsibility.
B. He is eager to find a job with an increased salary.
C. He likes to work in a company close to home.
D. He would rather get a less demanding job.
11. A. Sports.
B. Travel.
C. Foreign languages.
D. Computer games.
12. A. When he is supposed to start work.
B. What responsibilities he would have.
C. When he will be informed about his application.
D. What career opportunities her company can offer.
Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
13. A. She is pregnant.
B. She is over 50.
C. She has just finished her project.
D. She is a good saleswoman.
14. A. He takes good care of Lisa.
B. He is the CEO of a giant company.
C. He is good at business management.
D. He works as a sales manager.
15. A. It is in urgent need of further development.
B. It produces goods popular among local people.
C. It has been losing market share in recent years.
D. It is well positioned to compete with the giants.
Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hoar 3 short passages. At tho end of each passage, you will hoar some questions. Both the passage and tho questions will be spoken only once. After youhoar a question, you must choose tho best answer from the four choices marked A, B,C. and D. Then mark tho corresponding letter on Answer Sheet I with a single linethrough tho centre.Passage One
Questions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16. A. It is lined with tall trees.
B. It was widened recently.
C. It has high buildings on both sides.
D. It used to be dirty and disorderly.
17. A. They repaved it with rocks.
B. They built public restrooms on it.
C. They beautified it with plants.
D. They set up cooking facilities near it.
18. A. What makes life enjoyable.
B. How to work with tools.
C. What a community means.
D. How to improve health.
19. A. They were obliged to fulfill the signed contract.
B. They were encouraged by the city officials' praise.
C. They wanted to prove they were as capable as boys.
D. They derived happiness from the constructive work.
Passage Two
Questions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.
20. A. The majority of them think it less important than computers:
B. Many of them consider it boring and old-fashioned.
C. The majority of them find it interesting.
D. Few of them read more than ten books a year.
21. A. Novels and stories.
B. Mysteries and detective stories.
C. History and science books.
D. Books on culture and tradition.
22. A. Watching TV.
B. Listening to music.
C. Reading magazines.
D. Playing computer games.
Passage Three
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
23. A. Advice on the purchase of cars.
B. Information about the new green-fuel vehicles.
C. Trends for the development of the motor car.
D. Solutions to global fuel shortage.
24. A. Limited driving range.
B. Huge recharging expenses.
C. The short life of batteries.
D. The unaffordable high price.
25. A. They need to be further improved.
B. They can easily switch to natural gas.
C. They are more cost-effective than vehicles powered by solar energy.
D. They can match conventional motor cars in performance and safety.
Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hoar a passage three times. When tho passage is read for tho first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When tho passage is read for tho second time, you are required to fill in tho blanks with tho exact words you have just hoard. Finally, when tho passage is read for tho third time, you should chock what you have written.
My favorite TV. show? “The Twilight Zone. ” I26like the episode called “The Printer'sDevil. ” It's about a newspaper editor who's being27 out of business by a big newspapersyndicate--you know, a group of papers28by the same people.He's about to29when he's interrupted by an old man who says his name is Smith. The editor
is not only offered $ 5,000 to pay off his newspaper's30, but this Smith character also offers hisservices for free. It turns out that the guy operates the printing machine with amazing speed, and soon he's turning out newspapers with31 The small paper is successful again. The editor is32athow quickly Smith gets his stories--only minutes after they happen--but soon he's presented with acontract to sign. Mr. Smith, it seems, is really the devil! The editor is frightened by this news, but he is more frightened by the idea of losing his newspaper, so he agrees to sign. But soon Smith is33the news even before it happens--and it's all terrible--one disaster after another. Anyway, there is a little more to tell, but I don't want to34the story for you. I really like these old episodes of “The Twilight Zone” because the stories are fascinating. They are not realistic. But then again, in a way they are, because they deal with35
Part ill Reading Comprehension(40 minutes} Section A
Directions: In this sectinm, 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 following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices.Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet
2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage. As a teacher, you could bring the community into your classroom in many ways. The parents and grandparents of your students are resources and36for their children. They can be37teachers of their own traditions and histories. Immigrant parents could talk about their country of38and why they emigrated to the United States. Parents can be invited to talk about their jobs or a community project. Parents, of course, are not the only community resources. Employees at local businesses and staff at community agencies have39information to share in classrooms. Field trips provide another opportunity to know the community. Many students don't have the opporttmity to40concerts or visit museums or historical sites except through field trips. A school district should have41for selecting and conducting field trips. Families must be made42of field trips and give permission for their children to participate. Through school projects, students can learn to be43in community projects ranging from planting trees to cleaning up a park to assisting elderly people. Students,44older ones, might conduct research on a community need that could lead to action by a city council or state government. Some schools require students to provide community service by45in a nursing home, child care center or government agency. These projects help students understand their responsibility to the larger
community.
A. Assets I. joining
B. Attend J. naturally
C. Aware K. observe
D. especially L. origin
E. Excellent M. recruited
F. Expensive N. up-to-date
G. guidelines O. volunteering
H. involved
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.
Reaping the Rewards of Risk-Taking
A. Since Steve Jobs resigned as chief executive of Apple, much has been said about him as a peerless business leader who has created immense wealth for shareholders, and guided the design of hit products that are transforming entire industries, like music and mobile communications.
B. All true, but let's think different, to borrow the Apple marketing slogan of years back. Let's look at Mr. Jobs as a role model.
C. Above all, he is an innovator (创新者). His creative force is seen in products such as the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, and in new business models for pricing and distributing music and mobile software online. Studies of innovation come to the same conclusion: you can't engineer innovation, but you can increase the odds of it occurring. And Mr. Jobs' career can be viewed as a consistent pursuit of improving those odds, both for himself and the companies he has led. Mr. Jobs, of course, has enjoyed singular success. But innovation, broadly defined, is the crucial ingredient in all economic progress--higher growth for nations, more competitive products for companies, and more prosperous careem for individuals. And Mr. Jobs, many experts say, exemplifies what works in the innovation game.
D. “We can look at and learn from Steve Jobs what the essence of American innovation is,” says John Kao, an innovation consultant to corporations and governments. Many other nations, Mr. John Kao notes, axe now ahead of the United States in producing what are considered the raw materials of innovation. These include government financing for scientific research, national policies to support emerging industries, educational achievement, engineers and scientists graduated, even the speeds of Internet broadband service.
E. Yet what other nations typically lack, Mr. Kao adds, is a social environment that encourages diversity, experimentation, risk-taking, and combining skills from many fields into products that he calls “recombinant mash-ups (打碎重组),” like the iPhone, which redefined the smartphone category. “The culture of other countries doesn't support the kind of innovation that Steve Jobs exemplifies, as America does,” Mr. John Kao says.
F. Workers of every rank are told these days that wide-ranging curiosity and continuous learning are vital to tturiving in the modern economy. Formal education matters, career counselors say, but real- life experience is often even more valuable.
G. An adopted child, growing up in Silicon Valley, Mr. Jobs displayed those traits early on. He wasfascinated by electronics as a child, building Heathkit do-it-yourself projects, like radios. Mr. Jobs dropped out of Reed College after only a semester and traveled around India in search of spiritual enlightenment, before returning to Silicon Valley to found Apple with his friend, Stephen Wozniak, an engineering wizard (奇才). Mr. Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985, went off and founded two other companies, Next and Pixar, before returning to Apple in and becoming chiefexecutive in .
H. His path was unique, but innovation experts say the pattern of exploration is not unusual. “It's often people like Steve Jobs who can draw from a deep reservoir of diverse experiences that often generate breakthrough ideas and insights,” says Hal Gregersen, a professor at the European Institute of Business Administration.
I. Mr. Gregersen is a co-author of a new book, The Innovator's DNA, which is based on an eight-year study of 5,000 entrepreneurs (创业者。 and executives worldwide. His two collaborators and co- authors are Jeff Dyer, a professor at Brigham Young University, and Clayton Christensen, a professor at the Harvard Business School, whose 1997 book The Innovator's Dilemma popularized the concept of “disruptive ( 颠覆性的。 innovation. ”
J. The academics identify five traits that are common to the disruptive innovators: questioning, experimenting, observing, associating and networking. Their bundle of characteristics echoes the ceaseless curiosity and willingness to take risks noted by other experts. Networking, Mr. Hal Gregersen explains, is less about career-building relationships than a consistent search for new ideas. Associating, he adds, is the ability to make idea-producing connections by linking concepts from different disciplines.
K. “Innovators engage in these mental activities regularly,” Mr. Gregersen says. “It's a habit for them. ” Innovative companies, according to the authors, typically enjoy higher valuations in thestock market, which they call an “innovation premium (溢价). ” It is calculated by estimating the share of a company's value that cannot be accounted for by its current products and cash flow. The innovation premium tries to quantify ( 量化。 investors' bets that a company will do even better in the future because of innovation.
L. Apple, by their calculations, had a 37 percent innovation premium during Mr. Jobs' first term withthe company. His years in exile resulted in a 31 percent innovation discount. After his return, Applee's fortunes inmroved gradv at first, and imp)roved markedly starting in , yielding a 52percent innovation premium since then.
M. There is no conclusive proof, but Mr. Hal Gregersen says it is unlikely that Mr. Jobs could havereshaped industries beyond computing, as he has done in his second term at Apple, without theexperience outside the company, especially at Pixar--the computer-animation (动画制作。 studiothat created a string of critically and commercially successful movies, such as “Toy Story” and
N. Mr. Jobs suggested much the same thing during a commencement address to the graduating class atStanford University in 2005. “It turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing thatcould have ever happened to me,” he told the students. Mr. Jobs also spoke of perseverance ( 坚持。 and will power. “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick,” he said. “Don't losefaith. ”
O. Mr. Jobs ended his commencement talk with a call to innovation, both in one's choice of work andin one's life.Be curious, experiment, take risks, he said to the students.His advice wasemphasized by the words on the back of the final edition of The Whole Earth Catalog, which hequoted: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish. ” “And,” Mr. Jobs said, “I have always wished that formyself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. ”
46. Steve Jobs called on Stanford graduates to innovate in his commencement address.
47. Steve Jobs considered himself lucky to have been fired once by Apple.
48. Steve Jobs once used computers to make movies that were commercial hits.
49. Many governments have done more than the US government in providing the raw materials for innovation.
50. Great innovators are good at connecting concepts from various academic fields.
51. Innovation is vital to driving economic progress.
52. America has a social environment that is particularly favorable to innovation.
53. Innovative ideas often come from diverse experiences.
54. Real-life experience is often more important than formal education for career success.
55. Apple's fortunes suffered from an innovation discount during Jobs' absence.
Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions orunfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C. and D ). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage. Junk food is everywhere. We're eating way too much of it. Most of us know what we're doing andyet we do it anyway.So here's a suggestion offered by two researchers at the Rand Corporation: Why not take a lessonfrom alcohol control policies and apply them to where food is sold and how it's displayed?“Many policy measures to control obesity (肥胖症。 assume that people consciously and rationallychoose what and how much they eat and therefore focus on providing information and more access tohealthier foods,” note the two researchers. “In contrast,” the researchers continue, “many regulations that don't assume people makerational choices have been successfully applied to control alcohol, a substance--like food--of whichimmoderate consumption leads to serious health problems. ” The research references studies of people's behavior with food and alcohol and results of alcoholrestrictions, and then lists five regulations that the researchers think might be pronfising if applied tojunk foods. Among them: Density restrictions: licenses to sell alcohol aren't handed out unplanned to all comers but areallotted (分配。 based on the number of places in an area that already sell alcohol. These make alcoholless easy to get and reduce the number of psychological cues to drink. Similarly, the researchers say, being presented with junk food stimulates our desire to eat it. Sowhy not limit the density of food outlets, particularly ones that sell food rich in empty calories? Andwhy not limit sale of food in places that aren't primarily food stores? Display and sales restrictions: California has a rule prohibiting alcohol displays near the cashregisters in gas stations, and in most places you can't buy alcohol at drive-through facilities. Atsupermarkets, food companies pay to have their wares in places where they're easily seen. One couldremove junk food to the back of the store and ban them from the shelves at checkout lines. The othermeasures include restricting portion sizes, taxing and prohibiting special price deals for junk foods, andplacing warning labels on the products.
56. What does the author say about junk food?
A. People should be educated not to eat too much.
B. It is widely consumed despite its ill reputation.
C. Its temptation is too strong for people to resist.
D. It causes more harm than is generally realized.
57. What do the Rand researchers think of many of the policy measures to control obesity?
A. They should be implemented effectively.
B. They provide misleading information.
C. They are based on wrong assumptions.
D. They help people make rational choices.
58. Why do policymakers of alcohol control place density restrictions?
A. Few people are able to resist alcohol's temptations.
B. There are already too many stores selling alcohol.
C. Drinldng strong alcohol can cause social problems.
D. Easy access leads to customers' over-consumption~
59. What is the purpose of California's rule about alcohol display in gas stations?
A. To effectively limit the density of alcohol outlets.
B. To help drivers to give up the habit of drinking.
C. To prevent possible traffic jams in nearby areas.
D. To get alcohol out of drivers' immediate sight.
60. What is the general guideline the Rand researchers suggest about junk food control?
A. Guiding people to make rational choices about food.
B. Enhancing people's awareness of their own health.
C. Borrowing ideas from alcohol control measures.
D. Resorting to economic, legal and psychological means.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.Kodak's decision to file for bankruptcy (破产。 protection is a sad, though not unexpected, turningpoint for a leading American corporation that pioneered consumer photography and dominated the filmmarket for decades, but ultimately failed to adapt to the digital revolution. Although many attribute Kodak's downfall to “complacency ( 自满 ),” that explanation doesn'tacknowledge the lengths to which the company went to reinvent itself. Decades ago, Kodak anticipatedthat digital photography would overtake film--and in fact, Kodak invented the first digital camera in1975--but in a fateful decision, the company chose to shelf its new discovery to focus on its traditionalfilm business. It wasn't that Kodak was blind to the future, said Rebecca Henderson, a professor at HarvardBusiness School, but rather that it failed to execute on a strategy to confront it. By the time thecompany realized its mistake, it was too late.Kodak is an example of a firm that was very much aware that they had to adapt, and spent a lot ofmoney trying to do so, but ultimately failed. Large companies have a difficult time switching to newmarkets because there is a temptation to put existing assets into the new businesses.
Although Kodak anticipated the inevitable rise of digital photography, its corporate
culture was too rooted in the successes of the past for it to make the clean break necessary to fullyembrace the future. They were a company stuck in time. Their history was so important to them. Nowtheir history has become a liability.Kodak's downfall over the last several decades was dramatic. In 1976, the company commanded90% of the market for photographic film and 85% of the market for cameras. But the 1980s broughtnew competition from Japanese film company Fuji Photo, which undermined Kodak by offering lowerprices for film and photo supplies. Kodak's decision not to pursue the role of official film for the 1984Los Angeles Olympics was a major miscalculation. The bid went instead to Fuji, which exploited itssponsorship to win a permanent foothold in the marketplace.
61. What do we learn about Kodak?
A. It went bankrupt all of a sudden.
B. It is approaching its downfall.
C. It initiated the digital revolution in the film industry.
D. It is playing the dominant role in the film market.
62. Why does the author mention Kodak's Invention of the first digital camera?
A. To show its early attempt to reinvent itself.
B. To show its effort to overcome complacency.
C. To show its quick adaptation to the digital revolution.
D. To show its will to compete with Japan's Fuji Photo.
63. Why do large companies have difficulty switching to new markets?
A. They find it costly to give up their existing assets.
B. They tend to be slow in confronting new challenges.
C. They are unwilling to invest in new technology.
D. They are deeply stuck in their glorious past.
64. What does the author say Kodak's history has become?
A. A burden.
B. A mirror.
C. A joke.
D. A challenge.
65. What was Kodak's fatal mistake?
A. Its blind faith in traditional photography.
B. Its failure to see Fuji Photo's emergence.
C. Its refusal to sponsor the 1984 Olympics.
D. Its overconfidence in its corporate culture.
Part IV Translation( 30 minutes )
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.
在西方人心目中，和中国联� 长期以来，大米在中国人的饮食中占据很重要的地位，以至于有谚语说“巧妇难为无米之炊”。中国南方大多种植水稻，人们通常以大米为主食；而华北大部分地区因为过于寒冷或过于干燥，无法种植水稻，那里的主要作物是小麦。在中国，有些人用面粉做面包，但大多数人用面粉做馒头和面条。