大学英语四级真题

2015年12月大学英语四级真题试卷一Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaycommentingonthesaying“Learningisadailyexperienceandlifetimemission.”Youcanciteexamplestoillustratetheimportanceoflifelonglearning.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsbutnomorethan180words.FormanyAmericans,2013endedwithanunusuallybittercoldspell.NovemberandDecember36earlysnowandbone-chillingtemperaturesinmuchofthecountry,partofayearwhen,forthefirsttimeintwo37,record-colddayswilllikelyturnouttohaveoutnumberedrecord-warmones.ButtheU.S.wastheexception;Novemberwasthewarmestever38,andcurrentdataindicatesthat2013islikelytohavebeenthefourthhottestyearonrecord.Enjoythesnownow,because39aregoodthat2014willbeevenhotter,perhapsthehottestyearsincerecordshavebeenkept.That’sbecause,scientistsarepredicting,2014willbeanEINiuoyear.EIniuo,Spanishfor“thechild”,40whensurfaceoceanwatersinthesouthernPacificbecomeabnormallywarm.SolargeisthePacific,covering30%oftheplanet’ssurface,thatthe41energygeneratedbyitswarmingisenoughtotouchoffaseriesofweatherchangesaroundtheworld.EINinosare42withabnormallydryconditionsinSoutheastAsiaandAustralia.TheycanleadtoextremeraininpartsofNorthandSouthAmerica,evenassouthernAfrica43dryweather.Marinelifemaybeaffectedtoo;EINinoscan44therisingofthecold,nutrient-rich（营养丰富的）waterthatsupportslargefish45,andtheunusuallywarmoceantemperaturescandestroycoral(珊瑚).ThePerfectEssayA)Lookingbackontoomanyyearsofeducation,Icanidentifyonetrulyimpossibleteacher.Shecaredaboutme,andmyintellectuallife,evenwhenIdidn’t.Herexpectationswerehigh—impossiblyso.ShewasanEnglishteacher.Shewasalsomymother.B)Whengoodstudentsturninanessay,theydreamoftheirinstructorreturningittotheminexactlythesamecondition,saveforasinglewordaddedinthemarginofthefinalpage.“Flawless.”Thisdreamcametrueformeoneafternoonintheninthgrade.Ofcourse,Ihadheardthatgeniuscouldshowitselfatanearlyage,soIwasonlyslightlytakenabackthatIhadachievedperfectionatthetenderageof14.Obviously,Ididwhatandprofessionalwriterwoulddo;Ihurriedofftospreadthegoodnews.Ididn’tgetveryfar.ThefirstpersonItoldwasmymother.C)Mymother,whoisjustshyoffivefeettall,isnormallyincrediblysoft-spoken,butontherareoccasionwhenshegotangry,shewasterrifying.Iamnotsureifshewasmoreupsetbymyhubris（得意忘形）orbythefactthatmyEnglishteacherhadletmyegogetsooutofhand.Inandevent.Mymotherandherredpenshowedmehowdeeplyflawedaflawlessessaycouldbe.Atthetime,Iamsureshethoughtshewasteachingmeaboutmechanics,transitions（过渡）,structure,styleandvoice.ButwhatIlearned,andwhatstuckwithmethroughmytimeteachingwritingatHarvard,wasadeeperlessonaboutthenatureofcreativecriticism.D)Firstoff,ithurts.Genuinecriticism,thetypethatleavesalastingmarkonyouasawriter,alsoleavesanexistentialimprint（印记）onyouasaperson.Ihaveheardpeoplesaythatawritershouldnevertakecriticismpersonally.Isaythatweshouldneverlistentothesepeople.E)Criticism,atitsbest,isdeeplypersonal,andgetstotheheartofwhywewritethewaywedo.Theintimatenatureofgenuinecriticismimpliessomethingaboutwhoisabletogiveit,namely,someonewhoknowsyouwellenoughtoshowyouhowyourmentallifeisgettinginthewayofgoodwriting.Conveniently,theyarealsothepeoplewhocareenoughtoseeyouthroughthispainfulrealization.Formeittooktheformofmyfirst,andIhopeonly,encounterwithwriter’slock—Iwasnotabletoproduceanythingforthreeyears.F)FranzKafkaoncesaid;“Writingisuttersolitude（独处）,thedescentintothecoldabyss（深渊）ofoneself.”Mymother’scriticismhadshownmethatKafkaisrightaboutthecoldabyss,andwhenyoumaketheintrospective（内省的）descentthatwritingrequiresyouarenotalwayspleasedbywhatyoufind.But,intheyearsthatfollowed,hersustainedtutoringsuggestedthatKafkamightbewrongaboutthesolitude,Iwasluckyenoughtofindacriticandteacherwhowaswillingtomakethejourneyofwritingwithme.“Itisathingofnogreatdifficulty.”accordingtoPlutarch,“toraiseobjectionsagainstanotherman’sspeech.itisaveryeasymatter,buttoproduceabetterinitsplaceisaworkextremelytroublesome.”IamsureIwroteessaysinthelateryearsofhighschoolwithoutmymother’sguidance,butIcan’trecallthem.WhatIremember,however,ishowshetookupthe“extremelytroublesome”workofongoingcriticism.G)TherearetwowaystointerpretPlutarchwhenhesuggeststhatacriticshouldbeabletoproduce“abetterinitsplace.”Inastraightforwardsense,hecouldmeanthatacriticmustbemoretalentedthantheartistshecritiques（评论）.Mymotherwaswellcoveredonthiscount.ButperhapsPlutarchissuggestingsomethingslightlydifferent,somethingabitclosertoMarcusCicero’sclaimthatoneshould“criticizebycreation,notbyfindingfault.”Genuinecriticismcreatesapreciousopeningforanauthortobecomebetteronhisownterms—aprocessthatisoftenextremelypainful,butalsoalmostalwaysmeaningful.H)Mymothersaidshewouldhelpmewithmywriting,butfirstIhadtohelpmyself.Foreachassignment,IwastowritethebestessayIcould.Realcriticismisnotmeanttofindobviousmistakes,soifshefoundany—thetypeIcouldhavefoundonmyown—Ihadtostartfromscratch.Fromscratch.Oncetheessaywas“flawless,”shewouldtakeaneveningtowalkmethroughmyerrors.Thatwaswhentruecriticism,thetypethatchangedmeasaperson,began.I)ShecriticizedmewhenIincludedlittle-knownreferencesandprofessionaljargon（行话）.Shehadnopatienceforbrilliantbutirrelevantfiguresofspeech.“Writerscan’tbluff（虚张声势）theirwaythroughignorance.”Thatwasnewstome—Iwouldneedtofindanotherwaytostructuremydailyexistence.J)Shetrimmedbackmyflowerylanguage,drewlinesthroughmyexclamationmarksandarguedforthevalueofrestraintinexpression.“John,”shealmostwhispered.Ileanedintohearher:“Ican’thearyouwhenyoushoutatme.”SoIstoppedshoutingandbluffing,andslowlymywritingimproved.K)SomewherealongthewayIsetasidemyhopesofwritingthatflawlessessay.ButperhapsImissedsomethingimportantinmymother’slessonsaboutcreativityandperfection.Perhapsthepointofwrithingtheflawlessessaywasnottogiveup,buttoneverwillinglyfinish.Whitmanrepeatedlyreworked“songofMyself”between1855and1891.Repeatedly.Wedoourabsolutebestwithapieceofwriting,andcomeascloseaswecantotheideal.And,forthetimebeing,wesettle.Incritique,however,weareforcedtodepart,togiveuptheperfectionwethoughtwehadachievedforthechanceofbeingevenalittlebitbetter.ThisisthelessonItookfrommymother:Ifperfectionwerepossible,itwouldnotbemotivating.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。46.Theauthorwasadvisedagainsttheimproperuseoffiguresofspeech.47.Theauthor’smothertaughthimavaluablelessonbypointingoutlotsofflawsinhisseeminglyperfectessay.48.Awritershouldpolishhiswritingrepeatedlysoastogetclosertoperfection.49.Writersmayexperienceperiodsoftimeintheirlifewhentheyjustcan’tproduceanything.50.Theauthorwasnotmuchsurprisedwhenhisschoolteachermarkedhisessayas“flawless”.51.Criticizingsomeone’sspeechissaidtobeeasierthancomingupwithabetterone.52.Theauthorlooksuponhismotherashismostdemandingandcaringinstructor.53.Thecriticismtheauthorreceivedfromhismotherchangedhisasaperson.54.Theauthorgraduallyimprovedhiswritingbyavoidingfancylanguage.55.Constructivecriticismgivesanauthoragoodstarttoimprovehiswriting.Thewalletisheadingforextinction.Asaday-to-dayessential,itwilldieoffwiththegenerationwhoreadprintnewspapers.Thekindofshopping－whereyouhandovernotesandcountoutchangeinreturn—nowhappensonlyinthemostminorofourretailencounters，likebuyingabarofchocolateorapintofmilkfromacomershop.Attheshopswhereyouspendanyrealmoney,thatmoneyisincreasinglyabstracted.Andthisismoreandmoretrue,thehigherupthescaleyougo.Atthemostcutting-edgeretailstores—VictoriaBeckhamonDoverStreet,forinstance—youdon’tgoandstandatanykindofcashregisterwhenyoudecidetopay.ThestaffareequippedwithiPadstotakeyourpaymentwhileyourelaxonasofa.Whichisnothingmoreorlessthanexcellentservice,ifyouhavethemoney.Butacrosssociety,theabstractionoftheideaofcashmakesmeuneasy.MaybeI’mjustold-fashioned.Butearningmoneyisn’tquickoreasyformostofus.Isn’titabitweirdthatspendingitshouldhappeninhalfablink(眨眼)ofaneye?Doesn’tawallet—thattime-honouredFriday-nightfeelingofpleasing,promisingfatness—representsomethingthatmatters?ButI’llleavetheeconomicstotheexperts.Whatbothersmeaboutthedeathofthewalletisthechangeitrepresentsinourphysicalenvironment.Everythingaboutthelookandfeelofawallet—thewaythefasteningsandmaterialswearandtearandloosenwithage,theplasticandpaperandgoldandsilver,andhandwrittenphonenumbersandprintedcinematickets—istheveryoppositeofwhatourworldisbecoming.TheoppositeofawalletisasmartphoneofaniPad.Theroundededges,coolglass,smoothandunknowableaspebble(鹅卵石).Insteadofdiggingthroughpiecesofpaperandpeeringintocorners,wemoveourfingersleftandright.Nomorecountingoutcoins.Showyourwallet,ifyoustillhaveone.Itmaynotbeheremuchlonger.56.Whatishappeningtothewallet?A)Itisdisappearing.C)itisbecomingcostly.B)Itisbeingfattened.D)Itischanginginstyle.57.Howarebusinesstransactionsdoneinbigmodernstores?A)Individually.C)Intheabstract.B)Electronically.D)Viaacashregister.58.Whatmakestheauthorfeeluncomfortablenowadays?A)Savingmoneyisbecomingathingofthepast.B)ThepleasingFriday-nightfeelingisfading.C)Earningmoneyisgettingmoredifficult.D)Spendingmoneyissofastandeasy.59.Whydoestheauthorchoosetowriteaboutwhat’shappeningtothewallet?A)Itrepresentsachangeinthemodernworld.B)Ithassomethingtodowitheverybody’slife.C)Itmarkstheendofatime-honouredtradition.D)Itistheconcernofcontemporaryeconomists.60.Whatcanweinferfromthepassageabouttheauthor?A)Heisresistanttosocialchanges.B)Heisagainsttechnologicalprogress.C)Hefeelsreluctanttopartwiththetraditionalwallet.D)Hefellsinsecureintheever-changingmodernworld.Everybodysleeps,butwhatpeoplestayuplatetocatch—orwakeupearlyinordernottomiss—variesbyculture.Fromdatacollected,itseemsthethingsthatcauseustolosethemostsleep,onaverage,aresportingevents,timechanges,andholidays.Aroundtheworld,peoplechangedsleeppatternsthankstothestartorendofdaylightsavingstime.Russians,forexample,begantowakeupaboutahalf-hourlatereachdayafterPresidentVladimirPutinshiftedthecountrypermanentlyto“wintertime”startingonOctober26.Russia’sotherlatenightsandearlymorningsgenerallycorrespondtopublicholidays.OnNewYear’sEve,Russianshavetheworld’slatestbedtime,hittingthehayataround3:30am.RussiansalsogetupanhourlateronInternationalWomen’sDay,thedayfortreatingandcelebratingfemalerelatives.Similarly,Americans’latenightslatemornings,andlongestsleepsfallonthree-dayweekends.CanadagottheleastsleepoftheyearthenightitbeatSwedenintheOlympichockey(冰球）final.TheWorldCupisalsochieflyresponsibleforsleepdeprivation(剥夺）,TheworstnightforsleepintheU.K.wasthenightoftheEngland-ItalymatchonJune14.Britsstayedupahalf-hourlatertowatchit,andthentheywokeupearlierthanusualthenextmorningthankstosummernights,thephenomenoninwhichthesunbarelysetsinnortherncountriesinthesummertime.Thatwasnothing,though,comparedtoGermans,Italians,andtheFrench,whostayeduparoundanhourandahalflateronvariousdaysthroughoutthesummertowatchtheCup.Itshouldbemadeclearthatnoteveryonehasadevicetorecordtheirsleeppatterns,insomeofthesenations,it’slikelythatonlytherichestpeopledo.Andpeoplewhoelecttotracktheirsleepmaytrytogetmoresleepthantheaverageperson.Evenifthat’sthecas