2019年12月英语四级真题第二套(卷二)

2019年12月全国大学生英语四级考试第二套（卷二）

Part I Writing (30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to a foreign friend who wants to learn

Chinese. Please recommend a place to him. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.

Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension (25 minutes)

Section A

Directions: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two

or three questions. Both the news report and then 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 Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre.

Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.

1. A) The number of nurses has dropped to a record low.

B) There is a growing shortage of medical personnel.

C) There is discrimination against male nurses.

D) The number of male nurses has gone down..

2. A) Cultural bias. B) Inadequate pay.

C) Educational system. D) Working conditions.

Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.

3. A) He fell out of a lifeboat. B) He lost his way on a beach.

C) He was almost drowned. D) He enjoyed swimming in the sea.

4. A) The beach is a popular tourist resort. B) The emergency services are efficient.

C) The beach is a good place to watch the tide. D) The lifeboats patrol the area round the clock.

Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.

5. A) It became an online star. B) It broke into an office room.

C) It escaped from a local zoo. D) It climbed 25 storeys at one go.

6. A) Send it back to the zoo. B) Release it into the wild.

C) Return it to its owner. D) Give it a physical checkup.

7. A) A raccoon can perform acts no human can.

B) A raccoon can climb much higher than a cat.

C) The raccoon became as famous as some politicians.

D) The raccoon did something no politician could.

Section B

Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear

four questions. Both the conversation 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 Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

8. A) She got a well-paying job in a bank. B) She received a bonus unexpectedly.

C She received her first monthly salary. D) She got a pay raise for her performance.

9. A) Several years ago. B) Two decades ago.

C) Right after graduation. D) Just last month.

10. A) He sent a small check to his parents. B) He took a few of his friends to a gym.

C) He immediately deposited it in a bank. D) He treated his parents to a nice meal.

11. A) Buy some professional clothes. B) Budget her salary carefully.

C) Join her colleagues for gym exercise. D) Visit her former university campus.

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

12. A) He has a difficult decision to make. B) He has been overworked recently.

C) He has just quarreled with his girlfriend. D) He has just too many things to attend to.

13. A) Give priority to things more urgent. B) Turn to his girlfriend for assistance.

C) Think twice before making the decision. D) Seek advice from his family and advisor.

14. A) His parents and advisor have different opinions.

B) He is not particularly keen on the job offered.

C) He lacks the money for his doctoral program.

D) His girlfriend does not support his decision.

15. A) They need time to make preparations. B) They need to save enough money for it.

C) They haven’t started their careers yet. D) They haven’t won their parents’ approval.

Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four

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

Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.

16. A) Acquiring information and professional knowledge.

B) Using information to understand and solve problems.

C) Enriching social and intellectual lives.

D) Expressing ideas and opinions freely.

17. A) Improving mind-reading strategies. B) Reading classic scientific literature.

C) Playing games that challenge one’s mind. D) Traveling to different places in the world.

18. A) Give others freedom to express themselves. B) Expose themselves to different cultures.

C) Discard personal biases and prejudices. D) Participate in debates or discussions.

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.

19. A) The nature of relationships between dogs. B) The reason a great many people love dogs.

C) Why dogs can be faithful friends of humans. D) How dogs feel about their bonds with humans.

20. A) They have an unusual sense of responsibility. B) They can respond to humans’ questions.

C) They can fall in love just like humans. D) They behave like other animals in many ways.

21. A) They have their own joys and sorrows. B) They experience true romantic love.

C) They help humans in various ways. D) They stay with one partner for life.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.

22. A) A cow bone. B) A rare animal.

C) A historical site. D) A precious stone.

23. A) Measuring it. B) Preserving it.

C) Dating it. D) Identifying it.

24. A) The site should have been protected. B) The boy’s family had acted correctly.

C) The boy should have called an expert.

25. A) Search for similar fossils elsewhere.

C) Conduct a more detailed search.

D) The channel needs to interview the boy.

B) Ask the university to reward Jude.

D) Seek additional funds for the search.

Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)

Section A

Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank

from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before

making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for

each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank

more than once.

Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.

Finally, some good news about airplane travel. If you are on a plane with a sick passenger, you are unlikely

to get sick. That is the 26 of a new study that looked at how respiratory viruses 27 on airplanes.

Researchers found that only people who were seated in the same row as a passenger with the flu, for example—or one row in front of or behind that individual—had a high risk of catching the illness. All other passengers had

only a very 28 chance of getting sick, according to the findings. Media reports have not necessarily presented

29 information about the risk of getting infected on an airplane in the past. Therefore, these new findings

should help airplane passengers to feel less 30 to catching respiratory infections while traveling by air.

Prior to the new study, litter was known about the risks of getting 31 infected by common respiratory

viruses, such as the flu or common cold, on an airplane, the researchers said. So, to 32 the risks of infection,

the study team flew on 10 different 33 in the U.S. during the flu season. The researchers found that passengers

sitting within two seats on 34 side of a person infected with flu, as well as those sitting one row in front of

or behind this individual, had about an 80 person chance of getting sick. But other passengers were 35 safe

from infection. They had a less than 3 percent chance of catching the flu.

A) accurate F) explorations K) slim

B) conclusion G) flights L) spread

C) directly H) largely M) summit

D) either I) nearby N) vividly

E) evaluate J) respond O) venerable

Section B

Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to each statement

contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is

derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the

questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.

Is Breakfast Really the Most Important Meal of the Day?

[A] Along with old classics like “carrots give you night vision” and “Santa doesn’t bring toys to misbehaving

children”, one of the most well-worn phrases of tired parents everywhere is that breakfast is the most important

meal of the day. Many of us grow up believing that skipping breakfast is a serious mistake—even if only two

thirds of adults in the UK eat breakfast regularly, according to the British Dietetic Association, and around three-quarters of Americans.

[B] “The body uses a lot of energy stores for growth and repair through the night,” explains diet specialist Sarah

Elder. “Eating a balanced breakfast helps to up our energy, as well as make up for protein and calcium used

throughout the night.” But there’s widespread disagreement over whether breakfast should keep its top spot in

the hierarchy of meals. There have been concerns around the sugar content of cereal and the food industry’s

involvement in pro-breakfast research—and even one claim from an academic that breakfast is “dangerous”.

[C] What’s the reality? Is breakfast a necessary start to the day or a marketing tactic by cereal companies? The

most researched aspect of breakfast (and breakfast-skipping) has been its links to obesity. Scientists have

different theories as to why there’s a relationship between the two. In one US study that analyzed the health data

of 50,000 people over seven years, researchers found that those who made breakfast the largest meal of the day

were more likely to have a lower body mass index (BMI) than those who ate a large lunch or dinner. The

researchers argued that breakfast helps reduce daily calorie intake and improve the quality of our diet—since

breakfast foods are often higher in fiber and nutrients.

[D] But as with any study of this kind, it was unclear if that was the cause—or if breakfast-skippers were just

more likely to be overweight to begin with. To find out, researchers designed a study in which 52 obese women

took part in a 12-week weight loss program. All had the same number of calories over the day, but half had

breakfast, while the other half did not. What they found was that it wasn’t breakfast itself that caused the

participants to lose weight: it was changing their normal routine.

[E] If breakfast alone isn’t a guarantee of weight loss, why is there a link between obesity and skipping breakfast?

Alexandra Johnstone, professor of appetite research at the University of Aberdeen, argues that it may simply be

because breakfast-skippers have been found to be less knowledgeable about nutrition and health. “There are a

lot of studies on the relationship between breakfast eating and possible health outcomes, but this may be because

those who eat breakfast choose to habitually have health-enhancing behaviors such as not smoking and regular

exercise,” she says.

[F] A 2016 review of 10 studies looking into the relationship between breakfast and weight management

concluded there is “limited evidence” supporting or refuting the argument that breakfast influences weight or

food intake, and more evidence is required before breakfast recommendations can be used to help prevent obesity.

[G] Researchers from the University of Surrey and University of Aberdeen are halfway through research looking

into the mechanisms behind how the time we eat influences body weight. Early findings suggest that a bigger

breakfast is beneficial to weight control. Breakfast has been found to affect more than just weight. Skipping

breakfast has been associated with a 27% increased risk of heart disease, a 21% higher risk of type 2 diabetes

men, and a 20% higher risk of type 2 diabetes in women. One reason may be breakfast’s nutritional value—partly because cereal is fortified with vitamins. In one study on the breakfast habits of 1,600 young people in the

UK, researchers found that the fiber and micronutrient intake was better in those who had breakfast regularly.

There have been similar findings in Australia, Brazil, Canada and the US.

[H] Breakfast is also associated with improved brain function, including concentration and language use. A

review of 54 studies found that eating breakfast can improve memory, though the effects on other brain functions

were inconclusive. However, one of the review’s researchers, Mary Beth Spitznagel, says there is “reasonable”

evidence breakfast does improve concentration—there just needs to be more research. “Looking at studies that

tested concentration, the number of studies showing a benefit was exactly the same as the number that found no

benefit,” she says. “And no studies found that eating breakfast was bad for concentration.”

[I] What’s most important, some argue, is what we eat for breakfast. High-protein breakfasts have been found

particularly effective in reducing food and consumption later in the day, according to research by the Australian

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. While cereal remains a firm favorite among

breakfast consumers in the UK and US, a recent investigation into the sugar content of “adult” breakfast cereals

found that some cereals contain more than three quarters of the recommended daily amount of free sugars in

each portion, and sugar was the second or third highest ingredient in cereals.

[J] But some research suggests if we’re going to eat sugary foods, it’s best to do it early. One recruited 200 obese

adults to take part in a 16-week-long diet, where half added dessert to their breakfast, and half didn’t. Those who

added dessert lost an average of 40 pounds more—however, the study was unable to show the long-term effects.

A review of 54 studies found that there is no consensus yet on what type of breakfast is healthier, and concluded

that the type of breakfast doesn’t matter as much as simply eating something.

[K] While there’s no conclusive evidence on exactly what we should be eating and when, the consensus is that

we should listen to our own bodies and eat when we’re hungry. “Breakfast is most important for people who are

hungry when they wake up,” Johnstone says. Every body starts the day differently—and those individual

differences need to be researched more closely, Spitznagel says. “A balanced breakfast is really helpful, but

getting regular meals throughout the day is more important to leave blood sugar stable through the day, which

helps control weight and hunger levels,” says Elder, “Breakfast isn’t the only meal we should be getting right.”

36. According to one professor, obesity is related to a lack of basic awareness of nutrition and health.

37. Some scientists claim that people should consume the right kind of food at breakfast.

38. Opinions differ as to whether breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

39. It has been found that not eating breakfast is related to the incidence of certain diseases in some countries.

40. Researchers found it was a change in eating habits rather than breakfast itself that induced weight loss.

41. To keep oneself healthy, eating breakfast is more important than choosing what to eat.

42. It is widely considered wrong not to eat breakfast.

43. More research is needed to prove that breakfast is related to weight loss or food intake.

44. People who priorities breakfasts tend to have lower calorie but higher nutritional intake.

45. Many studies reveal that eating breakfast helps people memories and concentrate.

Section C

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished

statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best

choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

Textbooks represent an 11 billion dollar industry, up from $8 billion in 2014. Textbook publisher Pearson

is the largest publisher—of any kind—in the world.

It costs about $1 million to create a new textbook. A freshman textbook will have dozens of contributors,

from subject-matter experts through graphic and layout artists to expert reviewers and classroom testers.

Textbook publishers connect professors, instructors and students in ways that alternatives, such as Open E-Textbooks and Open Educational Resources, simply do not. This connection happens not only by means of

collaborative development, review and testing, but also at conferences where faculty regularly decide on their

textbooks and curricula for the coming year.

It is true that textbook publishers have recently reported losses, largely due to students renting or buying

used print textbooks. But this can be chalked up to the exorbitant cost of their books—which has increased over

1,000 percent since 1977. A reshuffling of the textbook industry may well be in order. But this does not mean

the end of the textbook itself.

While they may not be as dynamic as an iPad, textbooks are not passive or lifeless. For example, over the

centuries, they have simulated dialogue in a number of ways. From 1800 to the present day, textbooks have done

this by posing questions for students to answer inductively. That means students are asked to use their individual

experience to come up with answers to general questions. Today’s psychology texts, for example, ask: “How

much of your personality do you think you inherited?” while ones in physics say: “How can you predict where

the ball you tossed will land?”

Experts observe that “textbooks come in layers, something like an onion.” For the active learner, engaging

with a textbook can be an interactive experience: Readers proceed at their own pace. They “customize” their

books by engaging with different layers and linkages. Highlighting, Post-It notes, dog-ears and other techniques

allow for further customization that students value in print books over digital forms of books.

46. What does the passage say about open educational resources?

A) They contribute to teaching as much as to learning.

B) They don’t profit as much as traditional textbooks do.

C) They can’t connect professors and students as textbooks do.

D) They compete fiercely for customers with textbook producers.

47. What is the main cause of the publishers’ losses?

A) Failure to meet student need. B) Industry restructuring

C) Emergence of e-books. D) Falling sales.

48. What does the textbook industry need to do?

A) Reform its structures. B) Cut its retail prices.

C) Find replacements for printed textbooks. D) Change its business strategy periodically.

49. What are students expected to do in the learning process?

A) Think carefully before answering each question.

B) Ask questions based on their own understanding.

C) Answer questions using their personal experience.

D) Give answers showing their respective personality.

50. What do experts say about students using textbooks?

A) They can digitalize the prints easily. B) They can learn in an interactive way.

C) They can purchase customized versions. D) They can adapt the material themselves.

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

When we think of animals and plants, we have a pretty good way of dividing them into two distinct groups:

one converts sunlight into energy and the other has to eat food to make its energy. Well, those dividing lines

come crashing down with the discovery of a sea slug that is truly half animal and half plant. It’s pretty incredible

how it has managed to hijack the genes of the algae on which it feeds.

The slugs can manufacture chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants that captures energy from sunlight, and

hold these genes within their body. The term kleptoplasty is used to describe the practice of using hijacked genes

to create nutrients from sunlight. And so far, this green sea slug is the only known animal that can be truly

considered solar-powered, although some animals do exhibit some plant-like behaviors. Many scientists have

studied the green sea slugs to confirm that they are actually able to create energy from sunlight.

In fact, the slugs use the genetic material so well, they pass it on to their further generations. The babies

retain the ability to produce their own chlorophyll, though they can’t generate energy from sunlight until they’ve

eaten enough algae to steal the necessary genes, which they can’t yet produce on their own.”

“There is no way on earth that genes from an alga should work inside an animal cell,” says Sidney Pierce

from the University of South Florida. “And yet here, they do. They allow the animal to rely on sunshine for its

nutrition. So if something happens to their food source, they have a way of not starving to death until they find

more algae to eat.”

The sea slugs are so good at gathering energy from the sun that they can live up to 9 months without having

to eat any food. They get all their nutritional needs met by the genes that they’ve hijacked from the algae.

51. What is the distinctive feature of a sea slug?

A) It looks like both a plant and an animal. B) It converts some sea animals into plants.

C) It lives half on animals and half on plants. D) It gets energy from both food and sunlight.

52. What enables the sea slug to live like a plant?

A) The genes it captures from the sea plant algae. B) The mechanism by which it conserves energy.

C) The nutrients it hijacks from other species. D) The green pigment it inherits from its ancestors.

53. What does the author say about baby sea slugs?

A) They can live without sunlight for a long time.

B) They can absorb sunlight right after their birth.

C) They can survive without algae for quite some time.

D) They can produce chlorophyll on their own.

54. What does Sidney Pierce say about genes from an alga?

A) They are stolen from animals like the sea slug. B) They can’t function unless exposed to sunlight.

C) They don’t usually function inside animal cells. D) They can readily be converted to sea slug genes.

55. What do we learn about sea slugs from the passage?

A) They behave the way most plant species do. B) They can survive for months without eating.

C) They will turn into plants when they mature. D) They will starve to death without sunlight.

Part Ⅱ Translation (30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You

should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.

中国的家庭观念与其文化传统有关。和睦的大家庭曾非常令人美慕。过去四代同堂并不少见。由于这个传统，许多年轻人婚后继续与父母同住。今天，这个传统正在改变。随着住房条件的改善，越来越多年轻夫妇选择与父母分开住。但他们之间的联系依然很密切。许多老年人仍然帮着照看孙辈。年轻夫妇也抽时间探望父母，特别是在春节和中秋节等重要节日。