1998 年 1 月英语四级真题及答案
Part I Listening Comprehension (20 minutes)
Section A
Directions: Inthissection,youwillhear10shortconversations.Attheendofeach
conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both the
conversationandthequestionwillbespokenonlyonce.Aftereachquestion
therewillbeapause.Duringthepause,youmustreadthefourchoicesmarked
A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the
corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the
center.
Example:
You will hear:
You will read:
A) 2 hours.
B) 3 hours.
C) 4 hours.
D) 5 hours.
From the conversation we know that the two were talking about some work they will
start at 9 o’clock in the morning and have to finish at 2 in the afternoon. Therefore,
D) “5 hours” is the correct answer. You should choose [D] on the Answer Sheet and
mark it with a single line through the center.
Sample Answer [A] [B] [C] [D]
1.
A) The man wants to attend tomorrow’s show.
B) There aren’t any tickets left for tonight’s show.
C) There aren’t any tickets left for tomorrow’s show.
D) The man doesn’t want to attend tomorrow’s show.
2.
A) Detective stories.
B) Stories about jail escapes.
C) Love stories.
D) Stories about royal families.
3.
A) It was a long lecture, but easy to understand.
B) It was not as easy as she had thought.
C) It was as difficult as she had expected.
D) It was interesting and easy to follow.
4.
A) To put him through to the director.
B) To have a talk with the director about his work.
C) To arrange an appointment for him with the director.
D) To go and see if the director can meet him right now.
5.
A) Margaret wanted to return some magazines to the woman.
B) Margaret wanted to lend some magazines to the woman.
C) Margaret wanted to borrow some magazines from the woman.
D) Margaret wanted to get some magazines back from the woman.
6.
A) He doesn’t care much about it.
B) He enjoys it very much.
C) He doesn’t mind even though it’s tedious.
D) He hates working overtime.
7.
A) The woman doesn’t think it exciting to travel by air.
B) They’ll stay at home during the holidays.
C) They are offered some plane tickets for their holidays.
D) They’ll be flying somewhere for their vacation.
8.
A) Something went wrong with the bus.
B) She took somebody to hospital.
C) Something prevented her from catching the bus.
D) She came on foot instead of taking a bus.
9.
A) Do her homework.
B) Clean the backyard.
C) Wash clothes.
D) Enjoy the beautiful day.
10. A) The man is looking for a place to live in.
B) The man has a house for rent.
C) The woman is a secretary.
D) The two speakers are old friends.
Section B Compound Dictation
Directions: Inthissection,youwillhearapassagethreetimes.Whenthepassageis
readforthefirsttime,youshouldlistencarefullyforitsgeneralidea.
Thenlistento thepassage again.Whenthe passageis read forthesecond
time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from S1 to S7 with
theexactworksyouhavejustheard.ForblanksnumberedfromS8toS10you
arerequiredtofillinthemissinginformation.Youcaneitherusetheexact
worksyouhavejustheardorwritedownthemainpointsinyourownwords.
Finally,whenthepassageisreadforthethirdtime,youshouldcheckwhat
you have written.
Very few people can get college degree before 11, but Michael was an exception.
He started high school when he was 5, finish in just nine months. He became the (S1)
________ youngest college graduate when he was 10 years and 4 months old, earning an
(S2) ________ degree. Now at 11 Michael’s working on a master’s degree in (S3) ________
intelligence.
But Michael’s (S4) ________ hasn’t always come easy. (S5) ________ his
intelligence. He still lacks important life (S6) ________.
In one class, he had to struggle to understand (S7) ________ novels, because, he
says, “I’m 11. I’ve never been in love before.”
Another challenge was his size. (S8) ________.
He likes computers so much (S9) ________
He wants to make robots do all the heavy tasks. (S10) ________
Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some
questionsorunfinishedstatements.Foreachofthemtherearefourchoices
markedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthe
corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the
center.
Passage One
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.
In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child’s acquisition(学
会) of each new skill-the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the
beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his
natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states
of worry in the child: This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use
a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows
the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone
too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for
life and his desire to find out new things for himself.
Patents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some
may be especially strict in money matters. Others are sever over times of coming home
at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the controls imposed represent the needs
of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child’s own happiness.
As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency
is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the
next is no foundation for morality(道德). Also, parents should realize that “example
is better than precept”. If they are not sincere and do not practise what they preach
(说教), their children may grow confused, and emotionally insecure when they grow old
enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.
A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents’ principles and
their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.
11. Eagerly watching the child’s acquisition of new skills ________.
A) should be avoided
B) is universal among parents
C) sets up dangerous states of worry in the child
D) will make him lose interest in learning new things
12. In the process of children’s learning new skills parents ________.
A) should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they
read
B) should not expect too much of them
C) should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their
own
D) should create as many learning opportunities as possible
13. The second paragraph mainly tells us that ________.
A) parents should be strict with their children
B) parental controls reflect only the needs of the parents and the values of the
community
C) parental restrictions vary, and are not always enforced for the benefit of the
children alone
D) parents vary in their strictness towards their children according to the
situation
14. The word “precept” (Line 3, Para. 3) probably means “________”.
A) idea
B) punishment
C) behavior
D) instruction
15. In moral matters, parents should ________.
A) observe the rules themselves
B) be aware of the marked difference between adults and children
C) forbid things which have no foundation in morality
D) consistently ensure the security of their children
Passage Two
Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.
A good modern newspaper is an extraordinary piece of reading. It is remarkable first
for what it contains: the range of news from local crime to international politics,
from sport to business to fashion to science, and the range of comment and special
features (特写) as well, from editorial page to feature articles and interviews to
criticism of books, art, theatre and music. A newspaper is even more remarkable for
the way one reads it: never completely, never straight through, but always by jumping
from here to there, in and not glancing at one piece, reading another article all the
way through, reading just a few paragraphs of the next. A good modern newspaper offers
variety to attract many different readers, but far more than nay one reader is interested
in. What brings this variety together in one place is its topicality (时事性), its
immediate relation to what is happening in your world and your locality now, but
immediacy and the speed of production that goes with it mean also that much of what
papers in a newspaper has no more than transient(短暂的) value. For all these reasons,
no two people really read the same paper: what each person does is to put together out
of the pages of that day’s paper, his own selection and sequence, his own newspaper.
For all these reasons, reading newspapers efficiently, which means getting what you
want from them without missing things you need but without wasting time, demands skill
and self-awareness as you modify and apply the techniques of reading.
16. A modern newspaper is remarkable for all the following except its ________.
A) wide coverage
B) uniform style
C) speed in reporting news
D) popularity
17. According to the passage, the reason why no two people really read the “same”
newspaper is that ________.
A) people scan for the news they are interested in
B) different people prefer different newspapers
C) people are rarely interested in the same kind of news
D) people have different views about what a good newspaper is
18. It can be conclude from the passage that newspaper readers ________.
A) apply reading techniques skillfully
B) jump from one newspaper to another
C) appreciate the variety of a newspaper
D) usually read a newspaper selectively
19. A good newspaper offers “a variety” to readers because ________.
A) it tries to serve different readers
B) it has to cover things that happen in a certain locality
C) readers are difficult to please
D) readers like to read different newspapers
20. The best title for this passage would be “________”.
A) The Importance of Newspaper Topicality
B) The Characteristics of a Good Newspaper
C) The Variety of a Good Newspaper
D) Some Suggestions on How to Read a Newspaper
Passage Three
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
American society is not nap (午睡) friendly. In fact, says David Dinges, a sleep
specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “There’s even a
prohibition against admitting we need sleep.” Nobody wants to be caught napping or
found asleep at work. To quote proverb: “Some sleep five hours, nature requires seven,
laziness nine and wickedness eleven.”
Wrong. The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them. “We
have to totally change our attitude toward napping”, says Dr. William Dement of
Stanford University, the godfather of sleep research.
Last year a national commission led by Dement identified an “American sleep debt”
which one member said was as important as the national debt, the commission was concerned
about the dangers of sleepiness: people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep
while driving. This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House. According
to recent reports, president Clinton is trying to take a half-hour snooze(打瞌睡) every
afternoon.
About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity. We seem to have
“a midafternoon quiet phase” also called “a secondary sleep gate.” Sleeping 15
minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed.
Clearly, we were born to nap.
We Superstars of Snooze don’t nap to replace lost shut-eye or to prepare for a
night shift. Rather, we “snack” on sleep, whenever, wherever and at whatever time
we feel like it. I myself have napped in buses, cars, planes and on boats; on floors
and beds; and in libraries, offices and museums.
21. It is commonly accepted in American society that too much sleep is ________.
A) unreasonable
B) criminal
C) harmful
D) costly
22. The research done by the Dement commission shows that Americans ________.
A) don’t like to take naps
B) are terribly worried about their national debt
C) sleep less than is good for them
D) have caused many industrial and traffic accidents
23. The purpose of this article is to ________.
A) warn us of the wickedness of napping
B) explain the danger of sleepiness
C) discuss the side effects of napping
D) convince the reader of the necessity of napping
24. The “American sleep debt” (Line 1, Para. 3) is the result of ________.
A) the traditional misconception the Americans have about sleep
B) the new sleep policy of the Clinton Administration
C) the rapid development of American industry
D) the Americans’ worry about the danger of sleepiness
25. The second sentence of the last paragraph tells us that it is ________.
A) preferable to have a sound sleep before a night shift
B) good practice to eat something light before we go to bed
C) essential to make up for cost sleep
D) natural to take a nap whenever we feel the need for it
Passage Four
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct
regions. Most of the great performers if the late 19th and early 20th centuries were
born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s
greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. “It is very clear,” he told me.
“They were all Jews ( 犹 太 人 ) and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and
ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields,
but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every
Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport
to the West.
Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values
excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing
societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with
stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stem, children are ready to test their
limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after
World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a
discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated
as the Japanese.
That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work,
biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach,
for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had
significant careers in music.
26. Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school
because ________.
A) it would allow them access to a better life in the West
B) Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent
C) they wanted their children to enter into the professional field
D) it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country
27. Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that, ________.
A) enforce strong discipline on students who want to achieve excellence
B) treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development
C) encourage people to compete with each other
D) promise talented children high positions
28. Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to ________.
A) all-round development
B) the learning of Western music
C) strict training of children
D) variety in academic studies
29. Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according
to the passage?