2005年12月四級A卷試題及答案（文字版）

Part I Listening Comprehension (20 minutes)

　　Section A

　　Directions: In this section, you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the question will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked [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 centre.

　　Example: You will hear:

　　You will read:

　　[A] At the office.

　　[B] In the waiting room.

　　[C] At the airport.

　　[D] In a restaurant.

　　From the conversation we know that the two were talking about some work they had to finish in the evening. This conversation is most likely to have taken place at the office. Therefore, [A] “At the office” is the best answer. You should choose [A] on the Answer Sheet and mark it with a single line through the centre.

　　Sample Answer [A] [B] [C] [D]

　　1. W: Carol told us on the phone not to worry about her. Her left leg doesn’t hurt as much as it did yesterday.

　　M: She’d better have it examined by a doctor anyway. And I’ll call her about it this evening.

　　Question: What does the man think Carol should do?

　　{A) See a doctor.}

　　B) Stay in bed for a few days.

　　C) Get treatment in a better hospital.

　　D) Make a phone call to the doctor.

　　2. M: There is a non-stop train for Washington and it leaves at 2:30.

　　W: It’s faster than the 2 o’clock train. Besides, we can have something to eat before getting on the train.

　　Question: What do we learn from the conversation?

　　A) The 2:00 train will arrive earlier.

　　B) The 2:30 train has a dining car.

　　{C) The woman prefers to take the 2:30 train.}

　　D) They are going to have some fast food on the train.

　　3. M: Hi, Melissa, how is your project going? Have you thought about going to graduate school? Perhaps you could get into Harvard .

　　W: Everything is coming along really well. I’ve been thinking about graduate school. But I’ll talk to my tutor Doc. Garcia first and see what she thinks.

　　Question: What do we learn about the woman from the conversation?

　　A) She has been longing to attend Harvard University.

　　B) She’ll consider the man’s suggestion carefully.

　　C) She has finished her project with Dr. Garcia’s help.

　　{D) She’ll consult Dr. Garcia about entering graduate school.}

　　4. W: Did you attend Alice’s presentation last night? It was the first time for her to give a speech to a large audience.

　　M: How she could be so calm in front of so many people is really beyond me!

　　Question: What do we learn from the conversation?

　　{A) Alice didn’t seem to be nervous during her speech.}

　　B) Alice needs more training in making public speeches.

　　C) The man can hardly understand Alice’s presentation.

　　D) The man didn’t think highly of Alice’s presentation.

　　5. W: You’ve been doing weather reports for nearly 30 years. Has the weather got any worse in all these years?

　　M: Well, not necessarily worse. But we’re seeing more swings.

　　Question: What does the man say about the weather?

　　A) It’s worse than 30 years ago.

　　B) It remains almost the same as before.

　　{C) There are more extremes in the weather.}

　　D) There has been a significant rise in temperature.

　　6. M: Excuse me, I am looking for the textbook by Prof. Jordan for the marketing course.

　　W: I am afraid it’s out of stock. You’ll have to order it. And it will take the publisher 3 weeks to send it to us.

　　Question: Where did the conversation most probably take place?

　　A) At a publishing house.

　　{B) At a bookstore.}

　　C) In a reading room.

　　D) In Prof. Jordan’s office.

　　7. M: I am going to New York next week, but the hotel I booked is really expensive.

　　W: Why book a hotel? My brother has 2 spare rooms in his apartment.

　　Question: What does the woman mean?

　　{A) The man can stay in her brother’s apartment.}

　　B) Her brother can help the man find a cheaper hotel.

　　C) Her brother can find an apartment for the man.

　　D) The man should have booked a less expensive hotel.

　　8. M: In my opinion, watching the news on TV is a good way to learn English. What do you think?

　　W: It would be better if you could check the same information in English newspapers afterwards.

　　Question: What does the man say about learning English?

　　A) Priority should be given to listening.

　　B) It’s most helpful to read English newspapers every day.

　　{C) It’s more effective to combine listening with reading.}

　　D) Reading should come before listening.

　　9. M: I hear a newly-invented drug can make people tell the truth, and it may prove useful in questioning terrorists. Isn’t it incredible?

　　W: Simple solutions to complex problems rarely succeed. As far as I know, no such drugs are ever known to work.

　　Question: What does the woman think of the new drug?

　　A) It can help solve complex problems.

　　{B) It will most likely prove ineffective}

　　C) It is a new weapon against terrorists.

　　D) It will help detect all kinds of liars.

　　10.M: You know, the electronics company is coming to our campus to recruit graduate students next week.

　　W: Really? What day? I’d like to talk to them and hand in my resume.

　　Question: What does the woman want to do?

　　A) Help the company recruit graduate students.

　　B) Visit the electronics company next week.

　　C) Get a part-time job on campus before graduation.

　　{D) Apply for a job in the electronics company.}

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Section B

　　Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D].?Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　A new study reports the common drug aspirin greatly reduces life threatening problems after an operation to replace blocked blood vessels to the heart. More than 800,000 people around the world have this heart surgery each year. The doctors who carried out this study say giving aspirin to patients soon after the operation could save thousands of lives. People usually take aspirin to control pain and reduce high body temperature. Doctors also advise some people to take aspirin to help prevent heart attacks. About 10-15 percent of these heart operations end in death or damage to the heart or other organs. The new study shows that even a small amount of aspirin reduced such threats. The doctors said the chance of death for patients who took aspirin would fall by 67%. They claimed this was true if the aspirin was given within 48 hours of the operation. The doctors believe aspirin helps heart surgery patients because it can prevent blood from thickening and blood vessels from being blocked. However, the doctors warned that people who have stomach bleeding or other bad reactions from aspirin should not take it after heart surgery.

　　原文出處：

　　Aspirin After Bypass Surgery

　　A new study says the common drug aspirin greatly reduces life-threatening problems after an operation to replace blocked blood vessels to the heart. The operation involves attaching new blood vessels onto the heart to bypass blockages in the arteries that feed blood to the heart.

　　More than eight-hundred-thousand people around the world have this heart bypass surgery each year. The doctors who carried out the study say giving aspirin to patients soon after the operation could save thousands of lives.

　　People usually take aspirin to control pain and reduce high body temperature. Doctors also advise some people to take aspirin to help prevent heart attacks.

　　About ten to fifteen percent of bypass operations end in death or damage to the heart, kidneys or intestines. The new study said even a small amount of aspirin reduced such threats. The doctors said the chance of death for bypass patients in the hospital who took aspirin fell by sixty-seven percent. They said this was true if the aspirin was given within forty-eight hours of the operation.

　　The research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dennis Mangano (mahn-GAH-no) heads the Ischemia Research and Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization in San Francisco, California. Doctor Mangano led a team that examined the records of more than five-thousand patients in seventeen countries who had a heart bypass operation. Some patients received aspirin daily after the operation. Other patients did not receive aspirin.

　　The doctors believe aspirin aids bypass surgery patients in two ways. They say it prevents blood from thickening and forming clots that block blood vessels. They also believe aspirin reduces inflammation in blood vessels which increases after an operation and can damage organs.

　　Several medical organizations already advise that patients receive aspirin soon after bypass surgery because it helps the new blood vessels. However, many doctors have advised against aspirin both before and after operations. They fear it may cause severe bleeding. Doctor Mangano#39;s team did not report that bleeding was a problem.

　　However, the doctors said people who have stomach or intestinal bleeding or other bad reactions from aspirin should NOT receive it after bypass surgery.

　　Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　11. What is the finding of the new study of aspirin?

　　A) It has been proven to be the best pain-killer.

　　B) It is a possible cure for heart disease.

　　C) It can help lower high body temperature effectively.

　　{D) It reduces the chance of death for heart surgery patients.}

　　12. In what way can aspirin help heart surgery patients according to the doctors?

　　{A} It keeps blood vessels from being blocked.]

　　B) It speeds up their recovery after surgery.

　　C) It increases the blood flow to the heart.

　　D) It adjusts their blood pressure.

　　13. What warning did the doctors give about the use of aspirin?

　　{A) It is harmful to heart surgery patients with stomach bleeding.}

　　B) It should not be taken by heart surgery patients before the operation.

　　C) It will have considerable side effects if taken in large doses.

　　D) It should not be given to patients immediately after the operation.

　　Passage Two

　　Were you the first or last child in your family? Or were you a middle or an only child? Some people think it matters where you were born in your family. But there are different ideas about what birth order means. Some people say that oldest children are smart and strong-willed. They are very likely to be successful. The reason for this is simple: parents have a lot of time for their first child, they give him or her a lot of attention. So this child is very likely to do well. An only child will succeed for the same reason. What happens to the other children in a family? Middle children don’t get so much attention, so they don’t feel that important. If a family has many children, the middle ones sometimes get lost in the crowd. The youngest child, though, often gets special treatment. He or shi is the baby. Often this child grows up to be funny and charming. Do you believe these ideas about birth order too? A recent study saw things quite differently. The study found that first children believe in family rules. They didn’t take many chances in their lives. They usually followed orders. Rules didn’t mean as much to later children in a family. They went out and followed their own ideas. They took chances and they often did better in life.

　　Questions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　Q14. According to common belief, in what way are the first child and the only child alike?

　　A) They strongly believe in family rules.

　　{B) They are very likely to succeed in life.}

　　C) They tend to take responsibility for themselves

　　D) They are in the habit of obeying their parents.

　　Q15. What do people usually say about middle children?

　　A) They grow up to be funny and charming.

　　B) They often have a poor sense of direction.

　　{C) They get less attention from their parents.}

　　D) They tend to be smart and strong-willed.

　　Q16. What do we learn about later children in a family from a recent study of birth order?

　　{A) They usually don’t follow family rules.}

　　B) They don’t like to take chances in their lives.

　　C) They are less likely to be successful in life.

　　D) They tend to believe in their parent’s ideas.

　　Passage Three

　　When my interest shifted from space to the sea, I never expected it would cause such confusion among my friends, yet I can understand their feelings. As I have been writing and talking about space flight for the best part of 20 years, a sudden switch of interest to the depth of the sea does seem peculiar. To explain, I’d like to share my reasons behind this unusual change of mind. The first excuse I give is an economic one. Underwater exploration is so much cheaper than space flight. The first round-trip ticket to the moon is going to cost at least 10 billion dollars if you include research and development. By the end of this century, the cost will be down to a few million. On the other hand, the diving suit and a set of basic tools needed for skin diving can be bought for 20 dollars. My second argument is more philosophical. The ocean, surprisingly enough, has many things in common with space. In their different ways, both sea and space are equally hostile. If we wish to survive in either for any length of time, we need to have mechanical aids. The diving suit helped the design of the space suit. The feelings and emotions of a man beneath the sea will be much like those of a man beyond the atmosphere.

　　Questions 17 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　Q17. How did the speaker’s friends respond to his change of interest?

　　A) They wanted to follow his example.

　　B) They fully supported his undertaking.

　　{C) They were puzzled by his decision.}

　　D) They were afraid he wasn’t fully prepared.

　　Q18. What is one of the reasons for the speaker to switch his interest to underwater exploration?

　　A) It is more exciting than space travel.

　　{B) It is much cheaper than space travel.}

　　C) It is much safer than space travel.

　　D) It is less time-consuming than space travel.

　　Q19. In what way does the speaker think diving is similar to space travel?

　　A) They both attract scientists’ attention

　　{B) They can both be quite challenging}

　　C) They are both thought-provoking.

　　D) They may both lead to surprising findings.

　　Q20. What is the speaker’s purpose in giving this talk?　　

　　A) To show how simple the mechanical aids for diving can be.

　　B) To provide an excuse for his changeable character.

　　C) To explore the philosophical issues of space travel.

　　{D) To explain why he took up underwater exploration.}