2015年英语四级考试模拟试题
一、单项选择题
1、阅读下文，回答题
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
Food waste has been a chronic problem for restaurants and grocery stores--with millions of tons lost along the way as crops are hauled hundreds of miles，stored for weeks in refrigerators and prepared on busy restaurant assembly lines. But the historically high price of products is making it an even bigger dragon the bottom line.
Restaurants，colleges，hospitals and other institutions are compensating for the rising costs of waste in novel ways. Some are tracking their trash with software systems，making food in smaller packages or trying to compost(将……制成堆肥)and cut down on trash-hauling costs.
“We have all come to work with this big elephant in the middle of the kitchen，and the elephant is this It’s okay to waste’ belief system，”said Andrew Shackman, president of Lean Path，a company that helps restaurants cut back food waste.
The interest level in cutting food waste “has just skyrocketed in the last six to nine months.” he said.
Roughly 30 percent of food in the United States goes to waste，costing some$48 billion annually，according to a Stockholm International Water Institute study. A University of Arizona study estimated that 40 to 50 percent of food in the United States is wasted. Wholesale food costs have risen more than 8percent this year, the biggest jump in decades，according the National Restaurant Association.
Freshman students at Virginia Tech were surprised this year when they entered two of the campus’s biggest dining halls to find there were no trays.
“You have to go back and get your dishware and your drink，but it’s not that different，”said Caitlin Mewborn, a freshman “It’s not a big trouble. You take less food. and you don’t eat more than you should.”
Getting rid of trays has cut food waste by 38 percent at the dining halls，said Denny Cochrane，manager of Virginia Tech’s sustainability program. Before the program began，students often grabbed whatever looked good at the buffet(自助餐)，only to find at the table that their eyes were bigger than their stomachs，he said.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
High price of products makes the problem of food waste __________.
A.less serious
B.more urgent
C.less noticeable
D.more unsolvable
2、Questions are based on the following passage.
Americans have long prided themselves as being part of an optimistic society.But a new researchdescribes Americans as pessimistic，beheving the nation is in decline and that quality of lifefor 369enerations may be lower than it is today.
Defining the American Dream is not easy，although four definitions dominate people’s 370f whatit means to them，according to researchers at the Xavier University’s Institute for Pohtics and theAmerican Dream：opportunity,freedom，family and financial success.Happiness，wealth，home ownershipare among the things that38as less important in people’s views of what the dream means.
However people define it，they believe the American Dream is harder to achieve for this generationthat it was for their parents’generation.Sixty percent of those一39by Xavier University said that wastheir conclusion.Even more--68 percent--said their children and grandchildren will find it more 40 toachieve than they have.
The results may not be 41 ，given the state of the economy.The deep recession that has grippedthe nation sent the unemployment 42 to9.7 percent.Add to that the damage done to retirementsavings accounts by the 43 decline in the stock market.Today，a majority of Americans--58percent--see the country in decline.A smaller majority--52 percent--beheve the world now 44 tomany other places to see where the future is.It’s little wonder Americans are in a pessimistic 45.
A.looks
B.mood
C.ratio
D.rank
E.surveyed
F.contemporary
G.difficult
H.future
I.rate
J.supported
K.sharp
L.hopes
M.perceptions
N.disappointing
0.surprising
第(36)题应填__________
3、
I Cry, Therefore I Am
A) In 2008, at a German zoo, a gorilla (大猩猩) named Gana gave birth to a male infant, who died after three months. Photographs of Gana, looking stricken and inconsolable (伤心欲绝的), attracted crowds to the zoo. Sad as the scene was, the humans, not Gana, were the only ones crying. The notion that animals can weep has no scientific basis. Years of observations by biologists Dian Fossey, who observed gorillas, and Jane Goodall, who worked with chimpanzees (黑猩猩), could not prove that animals cry tears from emotion.
B)It's true that many animals shed tears, especially in response to pain. Tears protect the eye by keeping it moist. But crying as an expression of feeling is tmique to humans and has played an essential role in human evolution and the development of human cultures.
C)Within two days an infant can imitate sad and happy faces. If an infant does not cry out, it is unlikely to get the attention it needs to survive. Around 34 months, the relationship between the human infant and its environment takes on a more organized commtmicative role, and tearful crying begins to serve interpersonal purposes: the search for comfort and pacification (抚慰). As we get older, crying becomes a tool of social interaction: grief and joy, shame and pride, fear and
manipulation.
D)Tears are as universal as laughter, and grief is more complex than joy. But although we all cry, we do so in different ways. Women cry more frequently and intensely than men, especially when exposed to emotional events. Like crying, depression is, around the world, more commonly seen in women than in men. One explanation might be that women, who despite decades of social advances still suffer from economic inequality, discrimination (歧视) and even violence, might have more to cry about. Men not only cry for shorter periods than women, but they also are less inclined to explain their tears, usually shed them more quietly, and tend more frequently to apologize when they cry openly. Men, like women, report crying at the death of a loved one and in response to a moving religions experience. They are more likely than women to cry when their core identities--as providers and protectors, as fathers and fighters--are questioned.
E) People who score on personality tests as more sympathetic cry more than those who are more rigid or have more self-control. Frequency of crying varies widely: some shed tears at any novel or movie, others only a handful of times in their lives. Crying in response to stress and conflict in the home, or after emotional trauma (创伤), lasts much longer than tears induced by everyday sadness--which in turn last longer than tears of delight and joy.
F) Sadness is our primary association with crying, but the fact is that people report feeling happier after crying. Surveys estimate that 85% of women and 73% of men report feeling better after shedding tears. Surprisingly, crying is more commonly associated with minor forms of depression than with major depression involving suicidal thoughts.
G) People widely report that crying relieves tension, restores emotional balance and provides "catharsis," a washing out of bad feelings. The term "catharsis" has religious implications of removing evil and sin; it's no surprise that religious ceremonies are, around the world, one of the main settings for the release of tears.
H) Crying is a nearly universal sign of grief, though some mourners report that, despite genuine sorrow, they cannot shed tears--sometimes even for years after their loved one has gone. Unlike today, when the privacy of grief is more respected, the public or ceremonial shedding of tears, at the graveside of a spouse or the funeral of a king or queen, was once considered socially or even politically essential.
I) Crying has also served other social purposes. Rousseau wrote in his Confessions that while he considered tears the most powerful expression of love, he also just liked to cry over nothing.
J) The association of tears with art has ancient roots. The classic Greek tragedies of the fifth century
B.C. were primarily celebrations of gods. Tragedies, like poetry and music, were staged religions events. Even then it was recognized that crying in response to drama brought pleasure.
K) I have argued that there are neurobiological (神经生物方面的 ) associations linking the arts and mood disorders. When I lecture on crying, I ask my audience to let me know, by a show of hands, which art forms most move them to tears. About 80% say music, followed closely by novels (74%), but then the figures fall sharply, to 43%, for poetry, and 10-22% for paintings, sculpture and architecture.
L) The physical act of crying is mainly one of breathing in air, which is why we choke up when we weep. This suggests to language scientists that emotional crying evolved before language, perhaps explaining why tears communicate states of mind and feelings that are often so difficult to express in words. Of course, from an evolutionary perspective, recognition of emotion (usually through facial gesture) was essential for survival.
M) The earliest humans arrived sevetal million years ago, but only 150,000 to 200,000 years ago, did cultures, language, religion and the arts arise. Along the way, tears became more than a biological necessity to lubricate (润滑) the eye and developed into a sign of intense emotion and a signal of social bonding. The development of self-consciousness and the notion of individual identity, or ego; storytelling about the origins of the world, the creation of humanity and life after death; and the
ability to feel others' sadness--all were critical parts of the neurobiological changes that made us human
N) More recently, we've learned from neuroscience that certain brain circuits (回路) are activated (激活), rapidly and unconsciously, when we see another in emotional distress. In short, our brain evolved circuits to allow us to experience sympathy, which in turn made civilization, and an ethics based on sympathy, possible. So the next time you reach a tissue box, or sob on a friend's shoulder, or shed tears at the movies, stop and reflect on why we cry and what it means to cry. Becanse ultimately, while we love to cry, we also cry to love.
Nowadays people respect the privacy of grief more than in the past.
4、Questions are based on the following passage.
The question of whether our government should promote science and technology or the liberal arts in higher education isn't an either/or proposition (命题), although the current emphasis on preparing young Americans for STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) -related fields can make it seem that way.
The latest congressional report acknowledges the critical importance of technical training, but also asserts that the study of the humanities (人文科学) and social sciences must remain central components of America's educational system at all levels.Both areas are critical to producing citizens who can participate effectively in our democratic society, become innovative (创新的) leaders, and benefit from the spiritual enrichment that the reflection on the great ideas of mankind over time provides.
Parents and students who have invested heavily in higher education worry about graduates' job prospects as technological advances and changes in domestic and global markets transform professions in ways that reduce wages and cut jobs.Under these circumstances, it's natural to look for what may appear to be the most“practical” way out of the problem:“Major in a subject designed to get you a job” seems the obvious answer to some, though this ignores the fact that many disciplines in the humanities characterized as“soft” often, in fact, lead to employment and success in the long run.Indeed, according to surveys, employers have expressed a preference for students who have received a broadly-based education that has taught them to write well, think critically, research creatively, and communicate easily.
Moreover, students should be prepared not just for their first job, but for their 4th and 5th jobs, as there's little reason to doubt that people entering the workforce today will be called upon to play many different roles over the course of their careers.The ones who will do the best in this new environment will be those whose educations have prepared them to be flexible.The ability to draw upon every available tool and .insight--picked up from science, arts, and technology--to solve the problems of the future, and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, will be helpful to them and the United States.
What does the latest congressional report suggest?
A.STEM-related subjects help students find jobs in the information society.
B.The humanities and STEM subjects should be given equal importance.
C.The liberal arts in higher education help enrich students' spiritual life.
D.Higher education should be adjusted to the practical needs of society.
5、听录音，
回答题
A.The girls got on well with each other.
B.It's understandable that girls don't get along.
C.She was angry with the other young stars.
D.The girls lacked the courage to fight.
6、听录音,回答题
A.Ray Kroc.
B.Two McDonald brothers.
C.A 56-year-old businessman.
D.A man from the McDonald family.
7、Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
A.Its variety of colors.
B.Its unusual texture.
C.The way it is sold.
D.Its main ingredient.
二、简答题
8、中国武术(Chinese Kung Fu)已有数千年的历史，包含有众多搏击方式，是中国传统文化的重要组成部分。其诞生是出于古时对自我防卫、狩猎技巧及军事训练的需要。历史上，中国武术的影响可在书本及亚洲独有的表演艺术中见到。近来，其影响还扩展到目标受众宽广得多的电影及电视业。由此。中国武术的传播已超越其民族根源。对全世界都有着吸引力。
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
9、"Dear Andy How are you? Your mother and I are fine. We both miss you andhope you are doing well. We look forward to seeing you again the next time yourcomputer crashes and you come downstairs for something to eat. Love, Morn andDad "
10、 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay.You should start youressay with a brief description of the picture and then express your views on theimportance of doing small things before undertaking something big.You should write atleast 120 words but no more than 180 words.
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