2009 年 6 月英语四级真题及答案
真题:
Part I Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: Forthispart,youareallowed30minutetowriteashortessayonthe
topicofstudentsselectingtheirlectures.Youshouldwriteatleast
120 words following the outline given bellow:
1. 越来越多的博物馆免费对外开放的目的是什么?
2. 也会带来一些问题
3. 你的看法?
Free admission to museums
Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)
Directions: In this part, you will have15 minutes to go over thepassage quickly
and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose
the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C) and D). For
questions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthe
passage.
How Do You See Diversity?
As a manager, Tiffany is responsible for interviewing applicants for some of
the positions with her company .During one interview, she noticed that the candidate
never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled and somewhat disappointed because
she liked the individual otherwise.
He had a perfect resume and gave good responses to her questions, but the fact
that he never looked her in the eye said “untrustworthy,” so she decided to offer
the job to her second choice.
“It wasn’t until I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person
we passed over was the perfect person,” Tiffany confesses. What she hadn’t known
at the time of the interview was that the candidate’s “different” behavior was
simply a cultural misunderstanding . He was an Asian-American raised in a household
where respect for those in authority was shown by averting(避开) your eyes.
“I was just thrown off by the lack of ye contact; not realizing it was
cultural,” Tiffany says. “I missed out ,but will not miss that opportunity again.”
Many of us have had similar encounters with behaviors we perceive as different.
As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming
essential to expand our under-standing of others and to reexamine some of our false
assumptions .
Hire Advantage
At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult ,employers
who can eliminate invalid biases( 偏 爱 ) from the process have a distinct
advantage .My company, Mindsets LLC ,helps organizations and individuals see their
own blind spots . A real estate recruiter we worked with illustrates the positive
difference such training can make .
“During my Mindsets coaching session ,I was taught how to recruit a
diversified workforce. I recruited people from different cultures and skill
sets .The agents were able to utilize their full potential and experiences to build
up the company .When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had
a diverse agent pool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer
than others in the same profession.”
Blinded by Gender
Dale is an account executive who attended one of my workshops on supervising
a diverse workforce . “Through one of the sessions ,I discovered my personal
bias ,” he recalls . “I learned I had not been looking at a person as a whole person ,
and being open to differences .” In his case , the blindness was not about culture
but rather gender .
“I had a management position open in my department ;and the two finalists were
a man and a woman . Had I not attended this workshop , I would have automatically
assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit
of extensive travel . My reasoning would have been that even though both candidates
were great and could have been successful in the position , I assumed the woman would
have wanted to be home with her children and not travel .”Dale’s assumptions are
another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an
organization’s ability to tap into the full potential of a diverse workforce .
“I learned from the class that instead of imposing my gender biases into the
situation , I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and
expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision .” Dale
credits the workshop , “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness .”
Year of the Know-It-All
Doug is another supervisor who attended one of my workshops .He recalls a major
lesson learned from his own employee.
“One of my most embarrassing moments was when I had a Chinese-American employee
put in a request to take time off to celebrate Chinese New Year . In my ignorance ,
I assumed he had his dates wrong , as the first of January had just passed . When
I advised him of this , I gave him a long talking-to about turning in requests early
with the proper dates .
“He patiently waited , then when I was done , he said he would like Chinese
New Year did not begin January first , and that Chinese New Year ,which is tied to
the lunar cycle ,is one of the most celebrated holidays on the Chinese calendar .
Needless to say , I felt very embarrassed in assuming he had his dates mixed up .
But I learned a great deal about assumptions , and that the timing of holidays varies
considerably from culture to culture .
“Attending the diversity workshop helped me realize how much I could learn
by simply asking questions and creating dialogues with my employees , rather than
making assumptions and trying to be a know-it-all ,” Doug admits . “The biggest
thing I took away from the workshop is learning how to be more ‘inclusive’ to
differences.”
A better Bottom Line
An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations internally , it is
profitable as well . These comments from a customer service representative show how
an inclusive attitude can improve sales .”Most of my customers speak English as
a second language . One of the best things my company has done is to contract with
a language service that offers translations over the phone . It wasn’t until my
boss received Mindsets’ training that she was able to understand how important
inclusiveness was to customer service . As result , our customer base has
increased .”
Once we start to see people as individuals . and discard the stereotypes , we
can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone . Diversity is about coming
together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities . It is about
building better communities and organizations that enhance us as individuals and
reinforce our shared humanity .
When we begin to question our assumptions and challenge what we think we have
learned from our past , from the media, peers , family , friends , etc , we begin
to realize that some of our conclusions are flawed(有缺陷的) or contrary to our
fundamental values . We need to train our-selves to think differently , shift our
mindsets and realize that diversity opens doors for all of us ,creating opportunities
in organizations and communities that benefit everyone .
1. What bothered Tiffany during an interview with her candidate?
A) He just wouldn’t look her in the eye.
B) He was slow in answering her questions.
C) His answers to some of her questions were irrelevant.
D) His answers to some of her questions were irrelevant .
2. Tiffany’s misjudgment about the candidate stemmed from
.
A) Racial stereotypes.
C) Racial stereotypes.
B) Invalid personal bias
.
D) Emphasis on physical appearance
3. What is becoming essential in the course of economic globalization according
to the author?
A) Hiring qualified technical and management personnel.
B) Increasing understanding of people of other cultures.
C) Constantly updating knowledge and equipment.
D) Expanding domestic and international markets.
4. What kind of organization is Mindsets LLC?
A) A real estate agency.
C) A cultural exchange organization.
B) A personnel training company.
D) A hi-tech company
5. After one of the workshops ,account executive Dale realized that
.
A) He had hired the wrong person.
B) He could have done more for his company.
C) He had not managed his workforce well.
D) He must get rid of his gender bias.
6. What did Dale think of Mindsets LLC’s workshop?
A) It was well-intentioned but poorly conducted.
B) It tapped into the executives’ full potential.
C) It helped him make fair decisions.
D) It met participants’ diverse needs.
7. How did Doug, a supervisor, respond to a Chinese-American employee’s
request for leave?
A) He told him to get the dates right.
C)He flatly turned it down
B) He demanded an explanation.
D)He readily approved it.
8. Doug felt
when he realized that his assumption was wrong.
9. After attending Mindsets’ workshops, the participants came to know the
importance of
to their business.
10. When we view people as individuals and get rid of stereotypes , we can
achieve diversity and benefit from the
between us.
Part IV Reading Comprehension (reading in depth) (25 minutes)
Section A
Directions: Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.Youarerequired
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 bank is identified by a
letter.Please markthe correspondingletter foreachitem onAnswer
Sheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyof
the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Every year in the first week of my English class, some students inform me that
it . They fine the
writhing is too hard. They never write, unless assignments 47
writing process
and difficult.
48
How awful to be able to speak in a language but not to write in it-
49
English , with its rich vocabulary . Being able to speak but not write is like living
in an
50 mansion(豪宅) and never leaving one small room . When I meet students
who think they can’t write, I know as a teacher my
is to show them the rest
of the rooms . My task is to build fluency while providing the opportunity inherent
in any writing activity to
the moral and emotional development of my students .
One great way to do this is by having students write in a journal in class every
day.
51
52
Writing ability is like strength training. Writing needs to be done 53
, just
like exercise ; just as muscles grow stronger with exercise , writing skills improve
quickly with writing practice. I often see a rise in student confidence and
54
after only a few weeks of journal writing .
Expressing oneself in writing is one of the most important skills I teach to
strengthen the whole student. When my students practice journal writing, they are
practicing for their future academic, political, and
lives . They build skills
so that some day they might write a great novel, a piece of sorely needed legislation,
or the perfect love letter. Every day that they write in their journals puts them
a step
to fluency , eloquence (雄辩), and command of language .
55
56
A) closer
B) daily
C) emotional
D) enhance
E) enormous
F) especially
G) hinder
H) mission
Section B
I) painful
J) performance
K) profession
L) remarkably
M) require
N) sensitive
O) urge
Directions: Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysome
questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four
choicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebestchoice
andmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasingleline
through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
The January fashion show, called FutureFashion , exemplified how far green
design has come. Organized by the New York-based nonprofit Earth Pledge, the show
inspired many top designers to work with sustainable fabrics for the first time.
Several have since made pledges to include organic fabrics in their lines.
The designers who undertake green fashion still face many challenges. Scott
Hahn, cofounder with Gregory of Rogan and Loomstate, which uses all-organic cotton,
says high-quality sustainable materials can still be tough to fine . “Most designers
with existing labels are finding there aren’t comparable fabrics that can just
replace what you’re doing and shat your customers are used to,” he says. For example,
organic cotton and non-organic cotton are virtually indistinguishable once woven
into a dress. But some popular synthetics, like stretch nylon, still have few
eco-friendly equivalents.
Those who do make the switch are finding they have more support. Last year the
influential trade show Designers & Agents stopped charging its participation fee
for young green entrepreneurs(企业家) who attend its two springtime shows in Los
Angeles and New York and gave special recognition to designers whose collections
are at least 25% sustainable . It now counts more than 50 green designers, up from
fewer than a dozen two years ago. This week Wal-Mart is set to announce a major
initiative aimed at helping cotton farmers go organic: it will buy transitional(过
渡型 的) cotton at higher prices , thus helping to expand the supply of a key
sustainable material . “Mainstream is about to occur,” says Hahn.
Some analysts(分析师) are less sure . Among consumers, only 18%are even aware
that ecofashion exists, up from 6% four years ago. Natalie Hormilla, a fashion writer,
is an example of the unconverted consumer, when asked if she owned any sustainable
clothes, she replied: “Not that I’m aware of.” Like most consumers, she finds
little time to shop, and when she does, she’s on the hunt for “cute stuff that
isn’t too expensive.” By her own admission, green just isn’t yet on her mind.
But –thanks to the combined efforts of designers, retailers and suppliers –one
day it will be.
57. What is said about FutureFashion?
A) It inspired many leading designers to start going green.
B) It showed that designers using organic fabrics would go far.
C) It served as an example of how fashion shows should be organized.
D) It convinced the public that fashionable clothes should be made durable.
58. According to Scott Hahn, one big challenge to designers who will go organic is
that
.
A) much more time is needed to finish a dress using sustainable materials .
B) they have to create new brands for clothes made of organic materials .
C) customers have difficulty telling organic from non-organic materials .
D) quality organic replacements for synthetics are not readily available .
59. We learn from Paragraph 3 that designers who undertake green fashion
.
A) can attend various trade shows free .
B) are readily recognized by the fashion world
C) can buy organic cotton at favorable prices .
D) are gaining more and more support .
60. What is Natalie Hormilla’s attitude toward ecofashion?
A) She doesn’t seem to care about it.
value.
B) She doesn’t think it is sustainable
idea
C) She is doubtful of its practical
D) She is very much opposed to the
61. What does the author think of green fashion?
A) Green products will soon go mainstream.
B) It has a very promising future.
C) Consumers have the final say.
D) It will appeal more to young people.
Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
Scientists have devised a way to determine roughly where a person has lived
using a strand(缕) of hair , a technique that could help track the movements of
criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims .
The method relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show
up in people’s hair.
“You’re what you eat and drink, and that’s recorded in you hair,” said Thure
Cerling, a geologist at the University of Utah.
While U.S diet is relatively identical, water supplies vary. The differences
result from weather patterns. The chemical composition of rainfall changes slightly
as raid clouds move.
Most hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water are stable , but traces of both elements
are also present as heavier isotopes (同位素) . The heaviest raid falls first .As
a result, storms that form over the Pacific deliver heavier water to California than
to Utah.
Similar patterns exist throughout the U.S. By measuring the proportion of
heavier hydrogen and oxygen isotopes along a strand of hair, scientists can construct
a geographic timeline. Each inch of hair corresponds to about two months.
Cerling’s team collected tap water samples from 600 cities and constructed
a mop of the regional differences. They checked the accuracy of the map by testing
200 hair samples collected from 65 barber shops.
They were able to accurately place the hair samples in broad regions roughly
corresponding to the movement of raid systems.
“It’s not good for pinpointing (精确定位),” Cerling said . “It’s good for
eliminating many possibilities.”
Todd Park, a local detective, said the method has helped him learn more about
an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found near Great Salt Lake.
The woman was 5 feet tall. Police recovered 26 bones, a T-shirt and several
strands of hair.
When Park heard about the research, he gave the hair samples to the researchers.
Chemical testing showed that over the two years before her death, she moved about