1、2016年12月英语四级真题及答案Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay. Suppose you have two options upon graduation: one is to take a job in a company and the other to go to a graduate school. You are to make a choice between the two. Write an essay to
2、explain the reasons for your choice. 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
3、 report 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 1 and 2 are based on the news report you
4、 have just heard.1. A) It was going to be renovated.B) He could no longer pay the rent.C) It was dangerous to live in.D) He had sold it to the royal family.2. A) A storm.B) A strike.C) A forest fire.D) A terrorist attack.Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.3. A) They l
5、ost contact with the emergency department.B) They were injured by suddenly falling rocks.C) They sent calls for help via a portable radio.D) They were trapped in an underground elevator.4. A) They provided the miners with food and water.B) They sent supplies to keep the miners warm.C) They released
6、the details of the accident.D) They tried hard to repair the elevator.Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.5. A) Raise postage rates.B) Improve its services.C) Close some of its post offices.D) Redesign delivery routes.6. A) Closing offices on holidays.B) Shortening busi
7、ness hours.C) Computerizing mail sorting processes.D) Stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.7. A) A lot of controversy will arise.B) Taxpayers will be very pleased.C) Many people will begin to complain.D) Many post office staff will lose their jobs.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear t
8、wo 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)y C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Ans
9、wer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. A) He will lose part of his pay.B) He will go through retraining.C) He will be given a warning.D) He will be kept from promotion.9. A) He is an experienced press operator.B) He is
10、 a trustworthy guy.C) He is always on time.D) He is on good terms with his workmates.10. A) She is a trade union representative.B) She is a senior manager of the shop.C) She is better at handling such matters.D) She is in charge of public relations.11. A) He is always trying to stir up trouble.B) He
11、 is skilled and experienced.C) He is very close to the manager.D) He is always complaining about low wages.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) Open.B) Reserved.C) Selfish.D) Friendly.13. A) They read a book.B) They talk about the weather.C) They stay quiet.D)
12、They chat with fellow passengers.14. A) She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.B) She was never invited to a colleagues home.C) She was eager to visit an English castle.D) She was always treated as a foreigner.15. A) Houses are much more quiet.B) They want to have more space.C) They want a
13、 garden of their own.D) Houses provide more privacy.Section CDirections: 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
14、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) They will automatically be given hiring priority.B) They dont have to go through jo
15、b interviews.C) They are likely to get much higher pay.D) They dont have much choice of jobs.17. A) Visit the school careers service.B) Ask their professors for help.C) Look at school bulletin boards.D) Go through campus newspapers.18. A) Providing students with information about the library.B) Help
16、ing students arrange appointments with librarians.C) Supervising study spaces to ensure a quiet atmosphere.D) Helping students find the books and journals they need.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) It tastes better.B) It may be sold at a higher price.C) It is ea
17、sier to grow.D) It can better survive extreme weathers.20. A) It can grow in drier soil.B) It is immune to various diseases.C) It will replace green tea one day.D) It is healthier than green tea.21. A) It does not have a stable market.B) It has made tea farmers life easier.C) It does not bring the p
18、romised health benefits.D) It has been well received by many tea drinkers.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A) They care more about environment.B) They decorate their homes themselves.C) They prefer unique objects of high quality.D) They need decorations to show the
19、ir status.23. A) They made great contributions to society.B) They could only try to create at night.C) They were proud of their creations.D) They focused on the quality of their products.24. A) Identify fake crafts.B) Make wise choices.C) To arouse public interest in crafts.D) To boost the local eco
20、nomy.25. A) To attract foreign investments.B) To preserve the traditional culture.C) Design handicrafts themselves.D) Learn the importance of creation.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one w
21、ord 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
22、centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Many men and women have long bought into the idea that there are “male” and “female” brains, believing that explains just about every difference between the sexes. A new study _26_ that belief, questioning whether brains really can
23、be distinguished by gender.In the study, Tel Aviv University researchers _27_ for sex differences throughout the entire human brain. And what did they find? Not much. Rather than offer evidence for _28_ brains as “male” or “female,” research shows that brains fall into a wide range, with most people
24、 falling right in the middle.Daphna Joel, who led the study, said her research found that while there are some gender-based _29_ , many different types of brain cant always be distinguished by gender.While the “average” male and “average” female brains were _30_ different, you couldnt tell it by loo
25、king at individual brain scans. Only a small _31_ of people had “all-male” or “all-female” characteristics.Larry Cahill, an American neuroscientist (神经科学家), said the study is an important addition to a growing body of research questioning _32_ beliefs about gender and brain function. But he cautione
26、d against concluding from this study that all brains are the same, _33_ of gender. “Theres a mountain of evidence _34_ the importance of sex influences at all levels of brain function, M he told The Seattle Times. If anything, he said, the study _35_ that gender plays a very important role in the br
27、ain“even when we are not clear exactly how.”A) abnormalB) appliedC) brieflyD) categorizingE) challengesF) figureG) percentageH) provingI) regardlessJ) searchedK) similaritiesL) slightlyM) suggestsN) tastesO) traditionalSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten st
28、atements attached to it. 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 An
29、swer Sheet 2.Can Burglars Jam Your Wireless Security System?A) Any product that promises to protect your home deserves careful examination. So it isnt surprising that youll find plenty of strong opinions about the potential vulnerabilities of popular home-security systems.B) The most likely type of
30、burglary(入室盗窃)by far is the unsophisticated crime of opportunity, usually involving a broken window or some forced entry. According to the FBI, crimes like these accounted for roughly two-thirds of all household burglaries in the US in 2013. The wide majority of the rest were illegal, unforced entri
31、es that resulted from something like a window being left open. The odds of criminal using technical means to bypass a security system are so small that the FBI doesnt even track those statistics.C) One of the main theoretical home-security concerns is whether or not a given system is vulnerable to b
32、eing blocked from working altogether. With wired setups, the fear is that a burglar(入室盗贼)might be able to shut your system down simply by cutting the right cable. With a wireless setup, you stick battery-powered sensors up around your home that keep an eye on windows, doors, motion, and more. If the
33、y detect something wrong while the system is armed, theyll transmit a wireless alert signal to a base station that will then raise the alarm. That approach will eliminate most cord-cutting concernsbut what about their wireless equivalent, jamming? With the right device tuned to the right frequency,
34、whats to stop a thief from jamming your setup and blocking that alert signal from ever reaching the base station?D) Jamming concerns are nothing new, and theyre not unique to security systems. Any device thats built to receive a wireless signal at a specific frequency can be overwhelmed by a stronge
35、r signal coming in on the same frequency. For comparison, lets say you wanted to “jam” a conversation between two peopleall youd need to do is yell in the listeners ear.E) Security devices are required to list the frequencies they broadcast onthat means that a potential thief can find what they need
36、 to know with minimal Googling. They will, however, need to know what system theyre looking for. If you have a sign in your yard declaring what setup you use, thatd point them in the right direction, though at that point, were talking about a highly targeted, semi-sophisticated attack, and not the s
37、ort of forced-entry attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. Its easier to find and acquire jamming equipment for some frequencies than it is for others.F) Wireless security providers will often take steps to help combat the threat of jamming attacks. SimpliSafe, winner of our Editors Choice
38、 distinction, utilizes a special system thats capable of separating incidental RF interference from targeted jamming attacks. When the system thinks its being jammed, itll notify you via push alert (推送警报). From there, its up to you to sound the alarm manually.G) SimpliSafe was singled out in one rec
39、ent article on jamming, complete with a video showing the entire system being effectively bypassed with handheld jamming equipment. After taking appropriate measure to contain the RF interference to our test lab, we tested the attack out for ourselves, and were able to verify that it is possible wit
40、h the right equipment. However, we also verified that SimpliSafes anti-jamming system works. It caught us in the act, sent an alert to my smartphone, and also listed our RF interference on the systems event log. The team behind the article and video in question make no mention of the system, or whet
41、her or not it detected them.H) We like the unique nature of that software. It means that a thief likely wouldnt be able to Google how the system works, then figure out a way around it Even if they could, SimpliSafe claims that its system is always evolving, and that it varies slightly from system to
42、 system, which means there wouldnt be a universal magic formula for cracking it Other systems also seem confident on the subject of jamming. The team at Frontpoint addresses the issue in a blog on its site, citing their own jam protection software and claiming that there arent any documented cases o
43、f a successful jam attack since the company began offering wireless security sensors in the 1980s.I) Jamming attacks are absolutely possible. As said before, with the right equipment and the right know-how, its possible to jam any wireless transmission. But how probable is it that someone will succe
44、ssfully jam their way into your home and steal your stuff?J) Lets imagine that you live in a small home with a wireless security setup that offers a functional anti-jamming system. First, a thief is going to need to target your home, specifically. Then, hes going to need to know the technical detail
45、s of your system and acquire the specific equipment necessary for jamming your specific setup. Presumably, you keep your doors locked at night and while youre away, so the thief will still need to break in. That means defeating the lock somehow, or breaking a window. Hell need to be jamming you at t
46、his point, as a broken window or opened door would normally release the alarm. So, too, would the motion detectors in your home, so the thief will need to continue jamming once hes inside and searching for things to steal. However, hell need to do so without tripping the anti-jamming system, the det
47、ails of which he almost certainly does not have access to.K) At the end of the day, these kinds of systems are primarily designed to protect against the sort of opportunistic smash-and-grab attack that makes up the majority of burglaries. Theyre also only a single layer in what should ideally be a m
48、any-sided approach to securing your home, one that includes common sense things like sound locks and proper exterior lighting at night. No system is impenetrable, and none can promise to eliminate the worst case completely. Every one of them has vulnerabilities that a knowledgeable thief could theoretically exploit. A good system is one that keeps that worst-case setting as improbable as possible wh