2000年1月英语四级真题及答案

2000 年 1 月英语四级真题及答案 Part I Listening Comprehension (20 mi nutes) Section A Directions:In this section，you will hear 10 short conve rsation s.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 le tter 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 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. A) The woman is close friend of the man. B) The woman has been w orking too hard. C) The woman is seeing a doctor. D) The woman is tired of her work. 2. A) This apple pie tastes very good. B) His mother likes the pie very much. C) This pie can't match his mother's. D) His mother can't make apple pies. 3. A) Take a walk. B) Give a performance. C) Listen to the music. D) Dance to the music. 4. A) Read an article on political science. B) Present a different theory to the class. C) Read more than one article. D) Choose a better article to read. 5. A) The woman would understand if she did Mary's job. B) The woman should do the typing for Mary. C) The woman should work as hard as Mary. D) The woman isn't a skillful typist. 6. A) He wants to make an appointment with Mr.Smith. B) He wants to make sure that Mr.Smith will see him. C) He wants to change the time of the appointment. D) He wants the woman to meet him at three o'clock. 7. A) He gets nervous vesily.. B) He is an inexperienced speaker. C) He is an awful speaker. D) He hasn't prepared his speech well. 8 A) She didn't like the books the man bought. B) There wasn't a large selection at the bookstore. C) The man bought a lot of books. D) She wanted to see what the man bought. 9. A) Buy a ticket for the ten o'clock flight. B) Ask the man to change the ticket for her. C) Go to the airport immediately. D) Switch to a different flight. 10. A) Dr.Lemon is waiting or a patient. B) Dr.Lemon is busy at the moment. C) Dr.Lemon has lost his patience. D) Dr.Lemon has gone out to visit a patient. 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 Questions 11 to 14 are based on the passage you have just heard. 11. A) A car outside the supermarket. B) A car at the bottom of the hill. C) Paul's car. D) The sports car. 12. A) inside the car. B) At the foot of the hill. C) In the garatge. D) In the supermarket. 13. A) The driver of the sports car. B) The two girls inside the car. C) The bus driver. D) Paul. 14. A) Nobody. B) The two girls. C) The man standing nearby. D) The salesman from London. Passage Two Questions 15 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard. 15. A) His friend gave him the wrong key. B) He didn't know where the back door was. C) He couldn't find the key to his mailbox. D) It was too dark to put the key in the lock. 16. A) It was getting dark. B) He was afraid of being blamed by his friend. C) The birds might have flown away. D) His friend would arrive any time. 17. A) He looked silly with only one leg inside the window. B) He knew the policeman would't believe him. C) The torch light made him look very foolish. D) He realised that he had made a mistake.Passage Three Questions 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard. 18. A) The threat of poisonous desert animals and plants. B) The exhaustion of energy resources. C) The destruction of oil wells. D) The spread of the black powder from the fires. 19. A) The underground oil resources have not been affected. B) Most of the desert animals and plants have managed to survive. C) The oil lakes soon dried up and stopped evaporating. D) The underground water resources have not been polluted.. 20. A) To restore the normal production of the oil wells. B) To estimate the losses caused by the fires. C) To remove the oil left in the desert. D) To use the oil left in the oil lakes. Part ⅡReading Comprehension(35 minu tes) Directions: There are 4 passages in this part.Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four choi ces marked A)，B)，C) and D) .You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre. Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage: Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids( 小 行 星 )now ， one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it，say some scientists. Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids( 流 星 )that race acros s the night sky.Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us.But th ere are also thousads whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth. Buy $ 50 million worth of new telescopes right now.Then spend $ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks.By the time we spot a fatal one，the scientists say，we'll have a way to change its course. Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons.But the cost wouldn't be cheap. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs.Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once eve ry 500 ， 000 years.Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall ， it would be the end of the world.“If we don't take care of these big asteroids，they'll take care of us，”says one scientist.“It's that simple.” The cure ， though ， might be worse than the disease.Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth?“The world has less to fear from doomsday(毁灭性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them，” said a New York Times article. 21. What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids? A) They are heavenly bodies different in composition. B) They are heavenly bodies similar in nature. C) There are more asteroids than meteoroids. D) Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids. 22. What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth? A) It is very unlikely but the danger exists. B) Such a collision might occur once every 25 years. C) Collisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected. D) It's still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.. 23. What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids? A) It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem. B) It may create more problems than it might solve. C) It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely. D) Further research should be done before it is proved applicable. 24. We can conclude from the passage that . A) while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world B) asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future C) the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime D) workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth. 25. Which of the following best describes the author's tone in this pass age? A) Optimistic. B) Critical. C) Objective. D) Arbitrary. Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage: Believe it or not，optical illusion (错觉) can cut highway crashes.Japan is a case in point.It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nea rly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion.Bent stripes ， called chevrons ( 人 字 形)painted on the roads make drivers think that they are d riving faster than they really are ， and thus drivers slow down.Now the American Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C.is planning to rep eat Japan's success.Starting next year,the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.Excessive speed plays a major role role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents,according to the foundation .To help reduce those accidents ， the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed - related hazards are the greatest - curves，exit slopes，traffic c ircles ， and bridges.Some studies suggest that straight ， horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half.However ， t raffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bar.Chevrons ， scientists say ， not only give drivers the impress ion that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane sppea r to be narrower.The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents. 26. The passage mainly discusses . A) a new way of highway speed control B) a new pattern for painting highways C) a new approach to training drivers D) a new type of optical illusion 27. On roads painted with chevrons drivers tend to feel that. A) they should avoid speed - related hazards B) they are driving in the wrong lane C) they should slow down their speed D) they are approaching the speed limit 28. The advantage of chevrons over straight ， horizontal bars is that the former . A) can keep drivers awake B) can cut road accidents in half C) will have a longer effect on drivers D) will look more attractive 29. The American Association Foundation for Traffic Safety plans to . A) try out the Japanese method in certain areas B) change the road signs across the country C) replace straight，horizontal bars with chevrons D) repeat the Japanese road patterns 30. What does the author say about straight ，horizontal bars painted acr oss roads? A) They are falling out of use in the United States. B) They tend to be ignored by drivers in a short period of time. C) They are applicable only on broad roads. D) They cannot be applied successfully to traffic circles.. Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage: Amtrak(美国铁路客运公司)was experiencing a downswing in riders hip (客运 量)along the lines comprising its rail system.Of major concern t o Amtrak and its advertising agency DDB Needham ， were the long - distance wester n routes where ridership had been declining significantly.At one time ，trains w ere the only practical way to cross the vast areas of the west.Trains were fast ， ver ， 'luxurious ， and quite convenient compared to other forms of transportation existing at the time.However，times change and the automolile became America's standard of convenience.Also ， air travel had easily established itself as the fastest method of traveling great distances .Therefore ， the task for DDB Needham was to encourage consumers to consider other aspects of train travel in order t o change their attitudes and increase the likelihood that trains would be consid ered for travel in the west.Two portions of the total market were targeted: 1) anxious fliers - those concermed with safety，relaxation，and cleanliness and 2) travel