2013 年 12 月英语四级真题(第三套)
Part I
Writing
(30 minutes)
Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessaybased
on the picture below. You should start your essay with a brief account
of the impact of the Internet on the way people communicate and then
explain whether electronic communication can replace face-to-face
contact.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan,180words.
Part Ⅱ
Listening Comprehension
(30 minutes)
(说明:由于 2013 年 12 月六级考试全国共考了 2 套听力,本套真题听力与前 2 套内容完全
一样,只是顺序不一样,因此在本套真题中不再重复出现)
Part Ⅲ
Section A
Reading Comprehension
(40 minutes)
Directions: In this section, there isa passagewithten blanks.Youarerequired
toselectonewordforeachblankfromalistofchoicesgiveninaword
bank following the passage: Read the passage through carefully before
making yourchoices.Eachchoice inthebank isidentified bya letter.
PleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitemonAnswerSheet2with
asinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthe
bank more than once.
Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.
The mobile phone is a magic device widely used these days. Although it has been
nearly 30 years since the first commercial mobile-phone network was launched,
advertisers have yet to figure out how to get their
36
out to mobile-phone users
in a big way. There are 2.2 billion cell-phone users worldwide, a
37
that is
growing by about 25% each year. Yet spending on ads carried over cell-phone networks
last year 38
to just $1.5 billion worldwide, a fraction of the $424 billion global
ad market.
But as the number of eyeballs glued to
39
screens multiplies, so too does the
mobile phone’s value as a pocket billboard(广告的). Consumers are
40
using their
phones for things other than voice calls, such as text messaging, downloading songs
and games, and
41
the Internet. By 2010, 70 million Asians are expected to be
watching videos and TV programs on mobile phones. All of these activities give
advertisers
42
options for reaching audiences. During soccer’s World Cup last
summer, for example, Adidas used real-time scores and games to
43
thousands of
fans to a website set up for mobile-phone access. “Our target audience was males
aged 17 to 25,” says Marcus Spurrell, Adidas regional manager for Asia. “Their
mobiles are always on, always in their pocket—you just can’t
44
cell phones as
an advertising tool.” Mobile-phone marketing has become as
45
a platform as TV,
online or print.
A) accessing
B) amounted
C) approaching
D) attract
E) casual
F) characters
G) fresh
H) ignore
Section B
I) increasingly
J) messages
K) patiently
L) tiny
M) total
N) violated
O) vital
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements
attachedtoit.Eachstatementcontainsinformationgiveninoneofthe
paragraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.
Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwith
a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on
Answer Sheet 2.
A Mess on the Ladder of Success
[A] Throughout American history there has almost always been at least one central
economic narrative that gave the ambitious or unsatisfied reason to pack up and
seek their fortune elsewhere. For the first 300 or so years of European
settlement, the story was about moving outward: getting immigrants to the
continent and then to the frontier to clear the prairies (大草原), drain the
wetlands and build new cities.
[B] By the end of the 19th century, as the frontier vanished, the US had a mild panic
attack. What would this energetic, enterprising country be without new lands to
conquer? Some people, such as Teddy Roosevelt, decided to keep on conquering (Cuba,
the Philippines, etc.), but eventually, in industrialization, the US found a new
narrative of economic mobility at home. From the 1890s to the 1960s, people moved
from farm to city, first in the North and then in the South. In fact, by the 1950s,
there was enough prosperity and white-collar work that many began to move to the
suburbs. As the population aged, there was also a shift from the cold Rust Belt
to the comforts of the Sun Belt, We think of this as an old person’s migration,
but it created many jobs for the young in construction and health care, not to
mention tourism, retail and restaurants.
[C] For the last 20 years—from the end of the cold war through two burst bubbles
in a single decade—the US has been casting about for its next economic narrative.
And now it is experiencing another period of panic, which is bad news for much
of the workforce but particularly for its youngest members.
[D] The US has always been a remarkably mobile country, but new data from the Census
Bureau indicate that mobility has reached its lowest level in recorded history.
Sure, some people are stuck in homes valued at less than their mortgages (抵
押 贷 款 ), but many young people—who don’t own homes and don’t yet have
families—are staying put, too. This suggests, among other things, that people
aren’t packing up for new economic opportunities the way they used to. Rather
than dividing the country into the 1 percenters versus (与……相对) everyone
else, the split in our economy is really between two other classes: the mobile
and immobile.
[E] Part of the problem is that the country’s largest industries are in decline.
In the past, it was perfectly clear where young people should go for work (Chicago
in the 1870s, Detroit in the 1910s, Houston in the 1970s) and, more or less, what
they’d be doing when they got there (killing cattle, building cars, selling oil).
And these industries were large enough to offer jobs to each class of worker,
from unskilled laborer to manager or engineer. Today, the few bright spots in
our economy are relatively small (though some promise future growth) and
decentralized. There are great jobs in Silicon Valley, in the biotech research
capitals of Boston and Raleigh-Durham and in advanced manufacturing plants along
the southern I-85 corridor. These companies recruit all over the country and the
globe for workers with specific abilities. (You don’t need to be the next Mark
Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, to get a job in one of the microhubs (微中心),
by the way. But you will almost certainly need at least a B, A. in computer science
or a year or two at a technical school.) This newer, select job market is national,
and it offers members of the mobile class competitive salaries and higher
bargaining power.
[F] Many members of the immobile class, on the other hand, live in the America of
the gloomy headlines. If you have no specialized skills, there’s little reason
to uproot to another state and be the last in line for a low-paying job at a new
auto plant or a green-energy startup. The surprise in the census (普查) data,
however, is that the immobile workforce is not limited to unskilled workers. In
fact, many have a college degree.
[G] Until now, a B.A. in any subject was a near-guarantee of at least middle-class
wages. But today, a quarter of college graduates make less than the typical
worker without a bachelor’s degree. David Autor, a prominent labor economist
at M.I.T., recently told me that a college degree alone is no longer a guarantor
of a good job. While graduates from top universities are still likely to get
a good job no matter what their major is, he said, graduates from less-famous
schools are going to be judged on what they know. To compete for jobs on a national
level, they should be armed with the skills that emerging industries need,
whether technical or not.
[H] Those without such specialized skills—like poetry, or even history, majors—are
already competing with their neighbors for the same sorts of second-rate,
poorer-paying local jobs like low-level management or big-box retail sales. And
with the low-skilled labor market atomized into thousands of microeconomies,
immobile workers are less able to demand better wages or conditions or to acquire
valuable skills.
[I] So what, exactly, should the ambitious young worker of today be learning?
Unfortunately, it’s hard to say, since the US doesn’t have one clear national
project. There are plenty of emerging, smaller industries, but which ones are
the most promising? (Nanotechnology’s (纳米技术) moment of remarkable growth
seems to have been 5 years into the future for something like 20 years now.) It’s
not clear exactly what skills are most needed or if they will even be valuable
in a decade.
[J] What is clear is that all sorts of government issues education, health-insurance
portability, worker retraining—are no longer just bonuses to already prosperous
lives but existential requirements. It’s in all of our interests to make sure
that as many people as possible are able to move toward opportunity, and,
America’s ability to invest people and money in exciting new ideas is still
greater than that of most other wealthy countries. (As recently as five years
ago, U.S. migration was twice the rate of European Union states.) That, at least,
is some comfort at a time when our national economy seems to be searching for
its next story line.
46. Unlike in the past, a college degree alone does not guarantee a good job for
its holder.
47. The census data is surprising in that college graduates are also among the
immobile workforce.
48. New figures released by the government show that Americans today are less mobile
than ever before.
49. The migration of old people from cold to warm places made many jobs available
to the young.
50. America is better at innovation than most other rich nations.
51. Early American history is one of moving outward.
52. Young people don’t know what to learn because it is hard to predict what skills
are most needed or valued ten years from now.
53. Computer or other technical skills are needed to get a well-paying job in
high-tech, or advanced manufacturing.
54. When the frontier vanished about a century ago, America found new economic
mobility in industrialization.
55. America today can be divided into two classes: those who move and those who
don’t.
Section C
Directions: Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysome
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 following passage.
A new study shows a large gender gap on economic policy among the nation’s
professional economists, a divide similar to the gender divide found in the general
public.
“As a group, we are pro-market,” says Ann Marl May, co-author of the study
and a University of Nebraska economist. “But women are more likely to accept
government regulation and involvement in economic activity than our male
colleagues.”
“It’s very puzzling,” says free market economist Veronique de Rugy of the
Mercatus Center at George Mason University. “Not a .day goes by that I don’t ask
myself why there are so few women economists on the free market side.”
A native of France, de Rugy supported government intervention (干预) early in
her life but changed her mind after studying economics. “We want many of the same
things as liberals—less poverty, more health care—but have radically different
ideas on how to achieve it.”
Liberal economist Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic Policy and
Research, says male economists have been on the inside of the profession, confirming
each other’s antiregulation views. Women, as outsiders, “are more likely to think
independently or at least see people outside of the economics profession as forming
their peer group,” he says.
The gender balance in economics is changing. One-third of economics doctorates
(博士学位) now go to women. “More diversity is needed at the table when public policy
is discussed,” May says.
Economists do agree on some things. Female economists agree with men that Europe
has too much regulation and that Wal-mart is good for society. Male economists agree
with their, female colleagues that military spending is too high.
The genders are most divorced from each other on the question of equality for
women. Male economists overwhelmingly think the wage gap between men and women is
largely the result of individuals’ skills, experience and voluntary choices. Female
economists overwhelmingly disagree by a margin of 4-to-1.
The biggest disagreement: 76% of women say faculty opportunities in economics
favor men. Male economists point the opposite way: 80% say women are favored or the
process is neutral.
56. What is the finding of the new study?
A) The gender divide is a big concern of the general public.
B) Men and women understand economics quite differently.
C) The gap between male and female economists needs to be closed.
D) Male and female economists disagree widely on economic policy.
57. What does Ann Mari May say about female economists?
A) They are strongly against male domination in the economics profession.
B) They tend to support government intervention in economic activity.
C) They usually play an active role in public policy-making.
D) They are mostly strong advocates of free market economy.
58. What do we learn about economist Veronique de Rugy?
A) She represents most female economists’ standpoint.
B) She devotes herself to eliminating women’s poverty.
C) Her study of economics changed her view on government’s role in economic
activities.
D) Her academic background helped her get into the inner circle of the economics
profession.
59. What does Ann Marl May imply about public policy, making?
A) More female economists should get involved.
B) It should do justice to female economists’ studies.
C) More attention should be paid to women’s rights.
D) It should aim at sustainable development.
60. On what issue do male and female economists differ most?
A) Government regulation.
B) Job creation.
C) Military spending.
D) Gender equality.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
The number of postgraduate students travelling from non-EU countries to study
at UK universities has fallen for the first time in 16 years, fuelling fears that
the government’s immigration crackdown is discouraging thousands of the brightest
students from continuing their studies in Britain.
Jo Beall, British Council director of education and society, said the fall would
cause alarm among UK vice-chancellors (大学行政主管). “The sector was expecting
a decline in growth, but the actual reduction in postgraduate numbers is of real
concern as international-students make up the majority of numbers in many
postgraduate courses and research teams in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics.”
“Attracting the brightest and most ambitious postgraduate and research
students is critical if the UK is to maintain its quality reputation for research,”
Beall said.
Universities get a third of their tuition (学费 ) fee revenue from non-EU
students. There is growing fear among vice-chancellors that this revenue—as well
as the cultural, academic and economic benefit international students bring—is
being put at risk.
Tim Westlake, director for the student experience at Manchester University,
said students whose families relied on them working in the UK after their studies
to gain experience and repay the fees were starting to look elsewhere.
Last month the home secretary, Theresa May, announced that embassy staff would
interview more than 100,000 applicants in an attempt to prevent bogus(假冒的) ones
entering the country. She also said immigrants were responsible for pushing up UK
house prices. The comments followed the introduction of new limitations on
students’ right to work during and after their studies.
Beall said: “Government statistics for the first time provide real evidence
that the changes to UK visa regulations may have discouraged many students from
applying to the UK, and in particular postgraduate students who are so important
to the UK’s research output. The UK enjoys an excellent reputation around the world
for the high quality of our education system, so the government needs to ensure that
institutions have all the support they need to attract international students who
make a tremendous academic, cultural and economic contribution to the UK.”
61. What has caused the decline of the number of non-EU postgraduates in the UK?
A) The increase in tuition and fees.
B) The ever-rising living expenses.
C) Changed immigration policies.
D) Universities’ tightened budgets.
62. What is UK vice-chancellors’ biggest concern?
A) How to obtain financial support from the government.
B) How to keep the academic reputation of their institutions.
C) How to prevent bogus applicants entering their universities.