2020年上半年大学英语四级听力美文精选汇编

1、【篇一】 2020 年上半年大学英语四级听力美文people with disabilities acomprise a large part of the population.it is estimated that over 35 million americans have physical, mental, or other disabilities.about half of these disabilities are“developmental ” , i.e., th eyoccur prior to the individual'stwenty-second bir

2、thday, often from genetic conditions, and are severe enough to affect threeor more areas of development, such as mobility, communication, employment, etc.most other disabilities are considered“adventitious ” , i.e.,accidental or caused by outsideforces.prior to the 20th century, only a small percent

3、age of people with disabilities survived for long.medical treatment for these disabilities was unavailable.advancements in medicine and social services have created a climate in which people withdisabilities can expect to have such basic needs as food, shelter, and medical treatment.unfortunately, t

4、hese basics are often not available.civil liberties such as the right to vote, marry, get an education, and gain employment havehistorically been denied on the basis of disability.in recent decades, the disability rights movementhas been organized to fight against theseinfringements of civil rights.

5、congress responded by passing major legislation recognizing people with disabilities as aprotected class under civil rights statutes.still today, people with disabilities must fight to live their lives independently.it is estimated that more than half of qualified americans with disabilities are une

6、mployed, and a majority of those who do work are underemployed.about two-thirds live at or below the official poverty level.significant barriers, especially in transportation and public awareness, prevent disabledpeople from taking part in society.for example, while no longer prohibited by law from

7、marrying, a person with no access totransportation is effectively excluded from community and social activities which mightlead to the development of long-term relationships.【篇二】 2020 年上半年大学英语四级听力美文it was once thought that air pollution affected only the area immediately around large citieswith fact

8、ories and/or heavy automobile traffic.today, we know that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem isliterally worldwide.on several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered theentire eastern half of the united states and led to health w

9、arnings even in rural areas awayfrom any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic.in fact, the climate of the entire earth may be affected by air pollution.some scientists feel that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resultingfrom the burning of fossil fuels

10、 (coal and oil) is creating a “ greenhouse effect ” holding inheat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature.if this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of thepolar ice cap will melt and cities such as new york, boston, mi

11、ami, and new orleans will beunder water.another view, less widely held, is that increasing particulate matter in the atmosphere isblocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature a result that would be equallydisastrous.a drop of just a few degrees could create something close to new ice a

12、ge and would makeagriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas.at present we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though onerecent government report prepared by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouseeffect is very likely).perhaps, if we

13、 are very lucky, the two tendencies will offset each other and the world'stemperature will stay about the same as it is now.【篇三】 2020 年上半年大学英语四级听力美文hearing can soothe and comfort.the snapping of logs in the fireplace, the gossipy whisper of a broom, the inquisitive wheezeof a drawer opening all

14、are savored sounds that make us feel at home.in a well-loved home, every chair produced a different, recognizable creak, every window adifferent click, groan or squeak.the kitchen by itself is a source of many pleasing sounds.every place, every event has a sound dimension.the sense of hearing can pe

15、rhaps be restored to modern manif he better understands itsworth and how it works.most people would be surprised to discover how far the sense can be pushed by cultivation.at a friend's house recently, mywife opened her purse and somecoins spilled out, one afteranother, onto the floor.“three qua

16、rters, two dimes, a nickel and three pennies,” said ourhost as he came in from thenext room.and as an afterthought:“ one of the quarters is silver. ”he was right, down to the last penny.“ how did you do it? ” we asked.“ try it yourself. ” he said.we did, and with a little practice we found it easy.c

17、uriously, evidence indicates that people need sound.when we are lost in thought, we involuntarily drum with our fingers or tap with a pencil areminder that we are still surrounded by a world outside ourselves.just cutting down reflected sound can produce some odd results.the nearest thing on earth to the silence of outer space, for example,