英语专四考试真题及答案(4)
TEXT C
Graduation speeches are a bit like wedding toasts. A few are memorable. The rest tend to trigger such thoughts as, "Why did I wear such uncomfortable shoes?"
But graduation speeches are less about the message than the messenger. Every year a few colleges and universities in the US attract attention because they've managed to book high-profile speakers. And, every year, the media report some of these speakers' wise remarks.
Last month, the following words of wisdom were spread:
"You really haven't completed the circle of success unless you can help somebody else move forward." (Oprah Winfrey, Duke University).
"There is no way to stop change; change will come. Go out and give us a future worthy of the world we all wish to create together." (Hillary Clinton, New York University).英语专四报名入口
"'This really is your moment. History is yours to bend." (Joe Biden, Wake Forest University).
Of course, the real "get" of the graduation season was first lady Michelle Obama's appearance at the University of California, Merced. "Remember that you are blessed," she told the class of 2009, "Remember that in exchange for those blessings, you must give As advocate and activist Marian Wright Edelman says, 'Service is the rent we pay for living ... it is the true measure, the only measure of success'."
Calls to service have a long, rich tradition in these speeches. However, it is possible for a graduation speech to go beyond cliche and say something truly compelling. The late writer David Foster Wallace's 2005 graduation speech at Kenyon College in Ohio talked about how to truly care about other people. It gained something of a cult after it was widely circulated on the Internet. Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs' address at Stanford University that year, in which he talked about death, is also considered one of the best in recent memory.
But when you're sitting in the hot sun, fidgety and freaked out, do you really want to be lectured about
the big stuff?. Isn't that like trying to maintain a smile at your wedding reception while some relative gives a toast that amounts to "marriage is hard work"? You know he's right; you just don't want to thin
k about it at that particular moment. In fact, as is the case in many major life moments, you can't really manage to think beyond the blisters your new shoes are causing.
That may seem anticlimactic. But it also gets to the heart of one of life's greatest, saddest truths: that our most "memorable" occasions may elicit the fewest memories. It's probably not something most graduation speakers would say, but it's one of the first lessons of growing up.
91. According to the passage, most graduation speeches tend to recall ____ memories.
A. great
B. trivial
C. unforgettable
D. unimaginative
92. "But graduation speeches are less about the message than the messenger" is explained
A. in the final paragraph.
B. in the last but one paragraph.
C. in the first paragraph.
D. in the same paragraph.
93. The graduation speeches mentioned in the passage are related to the following themes EXCEPT
A. death.
B. success.
C. service.
D. generosity.
94. It is implied in the passage that at great moments people fail to
A. remain clear-headed.
B. keep good manners.
C. remember others' words.
D. recollect specific details.
95. What is "one of the first lessons of growing up"?
A. Attending a graduation ceremony.
B. Listening to graduation speeches.
C. Forgetting details of memorable events.
D. Meeting high-profile graduation speakers.
TEXT D
Cultural rules determine every aspect of food consumption. Who eats together defines social units. For example, in some societies, the nuclear family is the unit that regularly eats together. The anthropologist Mary Douglas has pointed out that, for the English, the kind of meal and the kind of food that is served relate to the kinds of social links between people who are eating together. She dis
tinguishes between regular meals, Sunday meals when relatives may come, and cocktail parties for acquaintances. The food served symbolizes the occasion and reflects who is present. For example, only snacks are served at a cocktail party. It would be inappropriate to serve a steak or hamburgers. The distinctions among cocktails, regular meals, and special dinners mark the social boundaries between those guests who are invited for drinks, those who are invited to dinner, and those who come to a family meal. In this example, the type of food symbolizes the category of guest and with whom it is eaten.
In some New Guinea societies, the nuclear family is not the unit that eats together. The men take their meals in a men's house, separately from their wives and children. Women prepare and eat their food in their own houses and take the husband's portion to the men's house. The women eat with their children in their own houses. This pattern is also widespread among Near Eastern societies.
Eating is a metaphor that is sometimes used to signify marriage. In many New Guinea societies, like that of the Lesu on the island of New Ireland in the Pacific and that of the Trobriand Islanders, marriage is symbolized by the couple's eating together for the first time. Eating symbolizes their new status as a married couple. In U.S. society, it is just the reverse. A couple may go out to dinner on a first date. Other cultural rules have to do with taboos against eating certain things. In some societies,
members of a clan, a type of kin (family) group, are not allowed to eat the animal or bird that is their totemic ancestor. Since they believe themselves to be descended from that ancestor, it would be like eating that ancestor or eating themselves.
There is also an association between food prohibitions and rank, which is found in its most extreme form in the caste system of India. A caste system consists of ranked groups, each with a different economic specialization. In India, there is an association between caste and the idea of pollution. Members of highly ranked groups can be polluted by coming into contact with the bodily secretions, particularly saliva, of individuals of lower-ranked castes. Because of the fear of pollution, Brahmans and other high-ranked individuals will not share food with, no
96. According to the passage, the English make clear distinctions between
A. people who eat together.
B. the kinds of food served.
C. snacks and hamburgers.
D. family members and guests.
97. According to the passage, who will NOT eat together?
A. The English.
B. Americans on their first date.
C. Men and women in Near Eastern societies.
D. Newly-weds on the island of New Ireland.
98. According to the passage, eating together indicates all the following EXCEPT
A. the type of food.
B. social relations.
C. marital status.
D. family ties.
99. The last paragraph suggests that in India ____ decides how people eat.
A. pollution
B. food
C. culture
D. social status
100. Which of the following can best serve as the topic of the passage?
A. Different kinds of food in the world.
B. Relations between food and social units.
C. Symbolic meanings of food consumption.
D. Culture and manners of eating.
PART VI WRITING [45 MIN]
SECTION A COMPOSITION [35 MIN]
It was recently reported in a newspaper that six students who shared a dorm at a local
university hired a cleaner to do laundry and cleaning once a week. And each of them paid her 60 yuan a month. This has led to a heated debate as to whether college students should hire cleaners. Write on ANSWER SHEET THREE a composition of about 200 words on the following
topic:
Should College Students Hire Cleaners?
You are to write in three parts.
In the first part, state clearly what your view is.
In the second part, support your view with appropriate reasons.
In the last part, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary.
Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to
follow the instructions may result in a loss of marks.
SECTION B NOTE-WRITING [10 MIN]
Write on ANSWER SHEET THREE a note of about 50-60 words based on the following
situation:
Your good friend, John, is thinking of organizing an end-of-the-term party. Write him a note telling him that you like his idea and offer to help him. You have to be specific about how you can help him. Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness.
DICTATION:
The UK has a well-respected higher education system and some of the top universities and research institutions in the world. But to those who are new to it all, it can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing.
October is usually the busiest month in the academic calendar. Universities have something called Freshers' Week for their newcomers. It's a great opportunity to make new friends, join lots of clubs and settle into university life.
However, having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind,prospect of meeting strangers in classrooms and dormitories can be worrying.. Where do you start? Who should you make friends with? Which clubs should you join?
Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you worrying about starting their university social life on the right foot. So just take it all in slowly. Don't rush into anything that you'll regret for the next three years.
Listening Comprehension:
1-10 DDACA BDCCD
11-20 DBADD BCBDA
21-30 CBADC ABACA
31 B in other words
32 A sounds
33 C so that
34 D upon
35 B combined
36 A written down.
37 D or
38 B associations
39 A filled
40 D and
41 B recall
42 C read and learn
43 B increases.
44 D powerfully
45 A charming
46 C literary
47 B words.
48 D by
49 A move
50 C make
51. D Her Eyes were red from excessive reading
52. A must have gone
53. D strong enough
54. C what
55. B as
56. C Each they have bought the same book.
57. B does he
58. D and
59. C he
60. A hand in
61. D the subject
62. C Many his friends came to the party.
63. A The directors appointed John manager.
64. D yet
65. B not being tall
66. B conflict
67. D out
68. C particpants
69. B bitter
70. D decisive
71. A lately
72. C stagnant
73. D restricting
74. D touches
75. A indulgence
76. C accordingly
77. B very near
78. D make out
79. A generous