2015年6月四级真题及答案解析(三套全)

2015年6月四级第一套

Part II Listening Comprehension

Section A

1. A) He is pleased to sit on the committee. B) He is willing to offer the woman a hand.

C) He will tell the woman his decision later. D) He would like to become a club member.

2. A) Their planned trip to Vancouver is obviously overpriced.

B) They should borrow a guide book instead of buying one.

C) The guide books in the library have the latest information.

D) The library can help order guide books about Vancouver.

3. A) He regrets having taken the history course.

B) He finds little interest in the history books.

C) He has trouble finishing his reading assignments.

D) He has difficulty writing the weekly book report.

4. A) The man had better choose another restaurant.

B) The new restaurant is a perfect place for dating.

C) The new restaurant caught her fancy immediately.

D) The man has good taste in choosing the restaurant.

5. A) He has been looking forward to spring. B) He has been waiting for the winter sale.

C) He wi ll clean the woman’s boots for spring.D) He will help the woman put things away.

6. A) At a tailor’s B) At Bob’s home.

C) In a clothes store. D) In a theatre.

7. A) His guests favor Tibetan drinks. B) His water is quite extraordinary.

C) Mineral water is good for health. D) Plain water will serve the purpose.

8. A) Report the result of a discussion. B) Raise some environmental issues.

C) Submit an important document. D) Revise an environmental report.

Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

9. A) They pollute the soil used to cover them. B) They are harmful to nearby neighborhoods.

C) The rubbish in them takes long to dissolve. D) The gas they emit is extremely poisonous.

10. A) Growing population. B) Packaging materials.

C) Changed eating habits. D) Lower production cost.

11. A) By saving energy. B) By using less aluminum.

C) By reducing poisonous wastes. D) By making the most of materials.

12.A) We are running out of natural resources soon.

B) Only combined efforts can make a difference.

C) The waste problem will eventually hurt all of us.

D) All of us can actually benefit from recycling.

Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

13. A) Miami. B) Vancouver. C) Bellingham. D) Boston.

14. A) To get information on one-way tickets to Canada.

B) To inquire about the price of “Super Saver” seats.

C) To get advice on how to fly as cheaply as possible.

D) To inquire about the shortest route to drive home.

15. A) Join a tourist group. B) Choose a major airline.

C) Avoid trips in public holidays. D) Book tickets as early as possible.

Section B

Passage One

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

16. A) There are mysterious stories behind his works.

B) There are many misunderstandings about him.

C) His works have no match worldwide.

D) His personal history is little known.

17. A) He moved to Stratford-on-Avon in his childhood.

B) He failed to go beyond grammar school.

C) He was a member of the town council.

D) He once worked in a well-known acting company.

18. A) Writers of his time had no means to protect their works.

B) Possible sources of clues about him were lost in a fire.

C) His works were adapted beyond recognition.

D) People of his time had little interest in him.

Passage Two

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

19. A) It shows you have been ignoring you health.

B) It can seriously affect your thinking process.

C) It is an early warning of some illness.

D) It is a symptom of too much pressure.

20. A) Reduce our workload. B) Control our temper.

C) Use painkillers for relief. D) Avoid masking symptoms.

21. A) Lying down and having some sleep. B) Rubbing and pressing one’s back.

C) Going out for a walk. D) Listening to light music.

Passage Three

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

22. A) Depending heavily on loans. B) Having no budget plans at all.

C) Spending beyond one’s means.D) Leaving no room for large bills.

23. A) Many of them can be cut. B) Alt of them have to be covered.

C) Their payment cannot be delayed. D) The eat up most of the family income.

24. A) Rent a house instead of buying one. B) Discuss the problem in the family.

C) Make a conservation plan. D) Move to a cheaper place.

25. A) Financial issues plaguing a family. B) Difficulty in making both ends meet.

C) Family budget problems and solutions. D) New ways to boost family income.

Section C

Perhaps because going to college is so much a part of the American dream, many people go for no(26)_____reason. Some go because their parents expect it, others because it’s what their friends are doing. Then,

there’s the belief that a college degree will(27)____ensure a good job and high pay.

Some students (28)____ through for years ,attending classes, or skipping(逃课) them as the case may be, reading only what can’t be avoided, looking for less(29)_____courses, and never being touched or changed in any important way. For a few of these people, college provides no (30)____, yet because of parental or peer pressure, they cannot voluntarily leave. They stop trying in the hope that their teachers will make the decision for them by (31)____ them.

To put it bluntly(直截了当地)，unless you’re willing to make your college years count, you might be (32)_____ doing something else. Not everyone should attend college, nor should everyone who does attend begin right after high school. Many college students (33)_____ taking a year or so off. A year out in the world helps some people to (34)_____their priorities and goals. If you’re really going to get something out of going to college, you have to make it mean something, and to do that you must have some idea why you’re there, what you hope to get out of it, and (35)_____even what you hope to become.

Part III Reading Comprehension

Section A

Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.

It’s our guilty ple asure: Watching TV is the most common everyday activity, after work and sleep, in many parts of the world. Americans view five hours of TV each day, and while we know that spending so much time sitting 36 can lead to obesity (肥胖症) and other diseases, researchers have now quantified just how 37 being a couch potato can be.

In an analysis of data from eight large 38 published studies, a Harvard-led group reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that for every two hours per day spent channel 39 , the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (糖尿病) rose 20% over 8.5 years, the risk of heart disease increased 15% over a 40 , and the odds of dying prematurely 41 13% during a seven-year follow-up. All of these 42 are linked to a lack of physical exercise. But compared with other sedentary (久坐的) activities, like knitting, viewing TV may be especially 43 at promoting unhealthy habits. For one, the sheer number of hours we pass watching TV dwarfs the time we spend on anything else. And other studies have found that watching ads for beer and popcorn may make you more likely to 44 them.

Even so, the authors admit that they didn’t compare different sedentary activities to45 whether TV watching was linked to a greater risk of diabetes, heart disease or early death compared with, say, reading.

Section B

Essay-Grading Software Offers Professors a Break

[A] Imagine taking a college exam, and, instead of handing in a blue book and getting a grade from a professor a

few we eks later, clicking the “send” button when you are clone and receiving a grade back instantly, your essay scored by a software program. And then, instead of being clone with that exam, imagine that the system would immediately let you rewrite the test to try to improve your grade.

[B] EdX, the nonprofit enterprise founded by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to

offer courses on the Internet, has just introduced such a system and will make its automated (自动的) software

available free on the Web to any institution that wants to use it. The software uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays and short written answers, fleeing professors for other tasks.

[C] The new service will bring the educational consortium (联盟) into a growing conflict over the role of

automation in education. Although automated grading systems for multiple-choice and true-false tests are now widespread, the use of artificial intelligence technology to grade essay answers has not yet received widespread acceptance by educators and has many critics.

[D] Anant Agarwal, an electrical engineer who is president of EdX, predicted that the instant- grading software

would be a useful teaching tool, enabling students to take tests and write essays over and over and improve the quality of their answers. He said the technology would offer distinct advantages over the traditional classroom system, where students often wait days or weeks for grades. “There is a huge value in learning with instant feedback,” Dr. Agarwal said. “Students are telling us they learn much better with instant feedback.”

[E] But skeptics(怀疑者) say the automated system is no match for live teachers. One longtime critic, Les

Perelman, has drawn national attention several times for putting together nonsense essays that have fooled software grading programs into giving high marks. He has also been highly critical of studies claiming that the software compares well to human graders.

[F] He is among a group of educators who last month began circulating a petition(呼吁) opposing automated

assessment software. The group, which calls itself Professionals Against Machine Scoring of Student Essays in High-Stakes Assessment, has collected nearly 2,000 signatures, including some from famous people like Noam Chomsky.

[G] “Let’s face the realities of automatic essay scoring,” the group’s statement reads in part. “Computers cannot

‘read.’ They cannot measure the essentials of effective written communication: accuracy, reasoning, adequacy of evidence, good sense, ethical (伦理的) position, convincing argument, meaningful organization, and clarity, among others.”

[H] But EdX expects its software to be adopted widely by schools and universities. It offers free online classes

from Harvard, MIT and the University of California-Berkeley; this fall, it will add classes from Wellesley, Georgetown and the University of Texas. In all, 12 universities participate in EdX, which offers certificates for course completion and has said that it plans to continue to expand next year, including adding international schools.

[I] The EdX assessment tool requires human teachers, or graders, to first grade 100 essays or essay questions. The

system then uses a variety of machine-learning techniques to train itself to be able to grade any number of essays or answers automatically and almost instantly. The software will assign a grade depending on the scoring system created by the teacher, whether it is a letter grade or numerical (数字的) rank.

[J] EdX is not the first to use the automated assessment technology, which dates to early computers in the 1960s.

There is now a range of companies offering commercial programs to grade written test answers, and four states—Louisiana, North Dakota, Utah and West Virginia —are using some form of the technology in secondary schools. A fifth, Indiana, has experimented with it. In some cases the software is used as a “second reader,” to check the reliability of the human graders.

[K] But the growing influence of the EdX consortium to set standards is likely to give the technology a boost. On Tuesday, Stanford announced that it would work with EdX to develop a joint educational system that will make use of the automated assessment technology.

[L] Two start-ups, Coursera and Udacity, recently founded by Stanford faculty members to create “massive open online courses,” or MOOCs, are also committed to automated assessment systems because of the value of instant feedback. “It allows students to get immediate feedback on their work, so that learning turns into a game, with students naturally gravitating(吸引) to ward resubmitting the work until they get it right,” said

Daphne Koller, a computer scientist and a founder of Coursera.

[M]Last year the Hewlett Foundation, a grant-making organization set up by one of the Hewlett-Packard founders and his wife, sponsored two $100,000 prizes aimed at improving software that grades essays and short answers.

More than 150 teams entered each category. A winner of one of the Hewlett contests, Vik Paruchuri, was hired by EdX to help design its assessment software.

[N] “One of our focuses is to help kids learn how to think critically,” said Victor Vuchic, a program officer at the Hewlett Foundation. “It’s probably impossible to do that with multiple-choice tests. The challenge is that this requires human graders, and so they cost a lot more and they take a lot more time.”

[O] Mark D. Shermis, a professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, supervised the Hewlett Foundation’s contest on automated essay scoring and wrote a paper about the experiment. In his view, the technology—though imperfect—has a place in educational settings.

[P] With increasingly large classes, it is impossible for most teachers to give students meaningful feedback on writing assignments, he said. Plus, he noted, critics of the technology have tended to come from the nation’s best universities, where the level of teaching is much better than at most schools.

[Q] “Often they come from very famous institutions where, in fact, they do a much better job of providing feedback than a machine ever could,” Dr. Shermis said. “There seems to be a lack of appreciation of what is actually going on in the real world.”

46. Some professionals in education are collecting signatures to voice their opposition to automated essay grading.

47. Usi ng software to grade students’ essays saves teachers time for other work.

48. The Hewlett contests aim at improving essay grading software.

49. Though the automated grading System is widely used in multiple-choice tests, automated essay grading is still

criticized by many educators.

50. Some people don’t believe the software grading system can do as good a job as human graders.

51. Critics of automated essay scoring do not seem to know the true realities in less famous universities.

52. Critics argue many important aspects of effective writing cannot be measured by computer rating programs.

53. As class size grows, most teachers are unable to give students valuable comments as to how to improve their

writing.

54. The automated assessment technology is sometimes used to double check the work of human graders.

Section C

Passage One

Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

Some of the world’s most significant problems never hit headlines. One example comes from agriculture. Food riots and hunger make news. But the trend lying behind these matters is rarely talked about. This is the decline in the growth in yields of some of the world’s major crops. A new study by the University of Minnesota and McGill University in Montreal looks at where, and how far, this decline is occurring.

The authors take a vast number of data points for the four most important crops: rice, wheat, corn and soyabeans (大豆). They find that on between 24% and 39% of all harvested areas, the improvement in yields that took place before the 1980s slowed down in the 1990s and 2000s.

There are two worrying features of the slowdown. One is that it has been particularly sharp in the world’s most populous(人口多的) countries, India and China. Their ability to feed themselves has been an important source of relative stability both within the countries and on world food markets. That self-sufficiency cannot be taken for granted if yields continue to slow down or reverse.

Second, yield growth has been lower in wheat and rice than in corn and soyabeans. This is problematic

because wheat and rice are more important as foods, accounting for around half of all calories consumed. Com and soyabeans are more important as feed grains. The authors note that “we have preferentially focused our crop improvement efforts on feeding animals and cars rather than on crops that feed people and are the basis of food security in much of the world.”

The report qualifies the more optimistic findings of another new paper which suggests that the world will not have to dig up a lot more land for farming in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050, as the Food and Agriculture Organisation has argued.

Instead, it says, thanks to slowing population growth, land currently ploughed up for crops might be able to revert(回返) to forest or wilderness. This could happen. The trouble is that the forecast assumes continued improvements in yields, which may not actually happen.

56. What does the author try to draw attention to?

A) Food riots and hunger in the world. B) News headlines in the leading media.

C) The decline of the grain yield growth. D) The food supply in populous countries.

57. Why does the author mention India and China in particular?

A) Their self-sufficiency is vital to the stability of world food markets.

B) Their food yields have begun to decrease sharply in recent years.

C) Their big populations are causing worldwide concerns.

D) Their food self-sufficiency has been taken for granted.

58. What does the new study by the two universities say about recent crop improvement efforts?

A) They fail to produce the same remarkable results as before the 1980s.

B) They contribute a lot to the improvement of human food production.

C) They play a major role in guaranteeing the food security of the world.

D) They focus more on the increase of animal feed than human food grains.

59. What does the Food and Agriculture Organisation say about world food production in the coming decades?

A) The growing population will greatly increase the pressure on world food supplies.

B) The optimistic prediction about food production should be viewed with caution.

C) The slowdown of the growth in yields of major food crops will be reversed.

D) The world will be able to feed its population without increasing farmland.

60. How does the author view the argument of the Food and Agriculture Organisation?

A) It is built on the findings of a new study.

B) It is based on a doubtful assumption.

C) It is backed by strong evidence.

D) It is open to further discussion.

Passage Two

Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

The endless debate about “work-life balance” often contains a hopeful footnote about stay-at-home dads. If American society and business won’t make it easier on future female leaders who choose to have children, there is still the ray of hope that increasing numbers of full-time fathers will. But based on today’s socioeconomic trends, this hope is, unfortunately, misguided.

It’s true that the number of men who have left work to do their thing as full-time parents has doubled in a decade, but it’s still very small: only 0.8% of married couples where the stay-at-home father was out of the labor force for a year. Even that percentage is likely inflated by men thrust into their caretaker role by a downsizing. This is simply not a large enough group to reduce the social stigma (污名) and force other adjustments necessary to

supporting men in this decision, even if only for a relatively short time.

Even shorter times away from work for working fathers are already difficult. A study found that 85% of new fathers take some time off after the birth of a child—but for all but a few, it’s a week or two at most. Meanwhile, the average for women who take leave is more than 10 weeks.

Such choices impact who moves up in the organization. While you’re away, someone else is doing your work, making your sales, taking care of your customers. That can’t help you at work. It can only hurt you. Women, of course, face the same issues of returning after a long absence. But with many more women than men choosing to leave the workforce entirely to raise families, returning from an extended parental leave doesn’t raise as many eyebrows as it does for men.

Women would make more if they didn’t break their earning trajectory (轨迹) by leaving the workforce, or if higher-paying professions were more family-friendly. In the foreseeable future, stay-at-home fathers may make all the difference for individual families, but their presence won’t reduce the numbers of high-potential women who are forced to choose between family and career.

61. What gives women a ray of hope to achieve work-life balance?

A) More men taking an extended parental leave.

B) People’s changing attitudes towards family.

C) More women entering business management.

D) The improvement of their socioeconomic status.

62. Why does the author say the hope for more full-time fathers is misguided?

A) Women are better at taking care of children.

B) Many men value work more than their family.

C) Their number is too small to make a difference.

D) Not many men have the chance to stay at home.

63. Why do few men take a long parental leave?

A) A long leave will have a negative impact on their career.

B) They just have too many responsibilities to fulfill at work.

C) The economic loss will be too much for their family to bear.

D) They are likely to get fired if absent from work for too long.

64. What is the most likely reaction to men returning from an extended parental leave?

A) Jealousy. B) Surprise. C) Admiration. D) Sympathy.

65. What does the author say about high-potential women in the not-too-distant future?

A) They will benefit from the trend of more fathers staying at home.

B) They will find high-paying professions a bit more family-friendly.

C) They are unlikely to break their career trajectory to raise a family.

D) They will still face the difficult choice between career and children.

Part IV Translation (30 minutes)

据报道，今年中国快递服务(courier service)将递送大约120亿包裹。这将使中国有可能超越美国成为世界上最大的快递市场。大多数包裹里装着网上订购的物品。中国给数百万在线零售商以极具竞争力的价格销售商品的机会。仅在11月11日，中国消费者就从国内最大的购物平台购买了价值90亿美元的商品。中国有不少这样的特殊购物日。因此，快递业在中国扩展就不足为奇了。

2015年6月四级第二套

Part II Listening Comprehension

Section A

1. A) The woman should go on playing chess.

B) He is willing to play chess with the woman.

C) The woman has good reason to quit the game.

D) He will give the woman some tips on the game.

2. A) She would like to resume contact with Sally.

B) The man can forward the mail to Mary.

C) She can call Mary to take care of the mail.

D) Mary probably knows Sally’s new address.

3. A) He did not attend today’s class. B) His notes are not easy to read.

C) His handwriting has a unique style. D) He is very pleased to be able to help.

4. A) The new restaurant is a perfect place for dating.

B) The new restaurant caught her fancy immediately.

C) The man has good taste in choosing the restaurant.

D) The man had better choose another restaurant.

5. A) He will help the woman put things away.

B) He has been waiting for the winter sale.

C) He has been looking forward to spring.

D) He wi ll clean the woman’s boots.

6. A) The woman often works overtime at weekends.

B) The man often lends books to the woman.

C) The man appreciates the woman’s help.

D) The woman is rather forgetful.

7. A) Take a sightseeing trip. B) Go to work on foot.

C) Start work earlier than usual. D) Take a walk when the weather is nice.

8. A) Temporary closing has disturbed the airport’s operation.

B) The plane is going to land at another airport.

C) All flights have been delayed due to bad weather.

D) The airport’s management is in real need of improvement.

Questions 9 to 12 are based oh the conversation you have just heard.

9. A) It specializes in safety from leaks. B) It is headquartered in London.

C) It has a chemical processing plant. D) It has a partnership with LCP.

10. A) He is a safety inspector. B) He is Mr. Grand’s friend.

C) He is a chemist. D) He is a salesman.

11. A) The public relations officer. B) Head of the personnel department.

C) Mr. Grand’s personal assistant. D) Director of the safety department.

12. A) Send a comprehensive description of their work.

B) Provide details of their products and services.

C) Leave a message for Mr. Grand.

D) Wait for Mr. Grand to call back.

Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

13. A) She listened to recordings of many European orchestras.

B) She read a lot about European musicians and their music.

C) She dreamed of working and living in a European country.

D) She learned playing the violin from a famous French musician.

14. A) She was a pupil of a famous European violinist.

B) She gave her first performance with her father.

C) She became a professional violinist at fifteen.

D) She began taking violin lessons as a small child.

15. A) It was the chance of a lifetime.

B) It was a great challenge to her.

C) It gave her a chance to explore the city.

D) It helped her learn classical French music.

Section B

Passage One

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

16. A) There are mysterious stories behind his works.

B) His personal history is little known.

C) His works have no match worldwide.

D) There are many misunderstandings about him.

17. A) He once worked in a well-known acting company.

B) He moved to Stratfor d-on-Avon in his childhood.

C) He failed to go beyond grammar school.

D) He was a member of the town council.

18. A) People of his time had little interest in him.

B) His works were adapted beyond recognition.

C) Possible sources of clues about him were lost in a fire.

D) Writers of his time had no means to protect their works.

Passage Two

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

19. A) Theft. B) Air crash. C) Cheating. D) Road accidents.

20. A) Learn the local customs. B) Have the right documents.

C) Book tickets well in advance. D) Make hotel reservations.

21. A) Contact your agent. B) Use official transport.

C) Get a lift if possible. D) Have a friend meet you.

Passage Three

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

22. A) Cut down production cost. B) Refine the taste of his goods.

C) Sell inexpensive products. D) Specialize in gold ornaments.

23. A) At a meeting of top British businesspeople.

B) During a local sales promotion campaign.

C) During a live television interview.

D) At a national press conference.

24. A) Discouraged. B) Distressed. C) Puzzled. D) Insulted.

25. A) He is not laughed at, that laughs at himself first.

B) There should be a limit to one’s sense of humor.

C) He who never learns from the past is bound to fail.

D) The words of some businesspeople are just rubbish.

Section C

Looking at the basic biological systems, the world is not doing very well. Yet economic indicators show the world is (26) ______. Despite a slow start at the beginning of the eighties, global economic output increased by more than a fifth during the (27) ______. The economy grew, trade increased, and millions of new jobs were created. How can biological indicators show the (28) ______ of economic indicators?

The answer is that the economic indicators have a basic fault: they show no difference between resource uses that (29) ______ progress and those uses that will hurt it. The main measure of economic progress is the gross national product (GNP). (30) ______, this totals the value of all goods and services produced and subtracts loss in value of factories and equipment. Developed a half-century ago, GNP helped (31) ______ a common way among countries of measuring change in economic output. For some time, this seemed to work (32) ______ well, but serious weaknesses are now appearing. As indicated earlier, GNP includes loss in value of factories and equipment, but it does not (33) ______ the loss of natural resources, including nonrenewable resources such as oil or renewable resources such as forests.

This basic fault can produce a (34) ______ sense of national economic health. According to GNP, for example, countries that overcut forests actually do better than those that preserve their forests. The trees cut down are counted as income but no subtraction is made for (35) ______ the forests.

Part III Reading Comprehension

Section A

Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.

The U.S. Department of Education is making efforts to ensure that all students have equal access to a quality

education. Today it is __36___the launch of the Excellent Educators for All Initiative. The initiative will help states and school districts support great educators for the students who need them most.

“All children are37 to a high-quality education regardless of their race, zip code or family income. It is 38 important that we provide teachers and principals the support they need to help students reach their full 39 ,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “Despite the excellent work and deep40 of our nation's teachers and principals, students in high-poverty, high-minority schools are unfairly treated across our country. We have to do better. Local leaders and educators will 41 their own creative solutions, but we must work together to 42 our focus on how to better recruit, support and 43 effective teachers and principals for all students, especially the kids who need them most.”

Today’s announcement is another important step forward in improving access to quality education, a44 of President Obama’s year of action. Later today, Secretary Duncan will lead a roundtable discussion with principals and school teachers from across the country about the 45 of working in high-need schools and how to adapt promising practices for supporting great educators in these schools.

Section B

The Changes Facing Fast Food

[A] Fast-food firms have to be a thick-skinned bunch. Health experts regularly criticize them severely for selling food that makes people fat. Critics even complain that McDonald’s, whose logo symbolizes calorie excess, should not have been allowed to sponsor the World Cup. These are things fast-food firms have learnt to cope with. But not perhaps for much longer. The burger business faces more pressure from regulators at a time when it is already adapting strategies in response to shifts in the global economy.\

[B] Fat food was once thought to be recession-proof. When consumers need to cut spending, the logic goes, cheap meals like Big Macs and Whoppers become even more attractive. Such “trading down” proved true for much of the latest recession, when fast-food companies picked up customers who could no longer afford to eat at casual restaurants. Traffic was boosted in America, the home of fast food, with discounts and promotions, such as $1 menus and cheap combination meals.

[C] As a result, fast-food chains have weathered the recession better than their more expensive competitors. In 2009 sales at full-service restaurants in America fell by more than 6%, bur total sales remained about the same at fast-food chains. In some markets, such as Japan, France and Britain, total spending on fast food increased. Same-store sales in America at McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food company, did not decline throughout the downturn, Panera Bread, an American fast-food chain known for its fresh ingredients, performed well, too, because it offers higher-quality food at lower prices than restaurants.

[D] But not all fast-food companies have been as fortunate. Many, such as Burger King, have seen sales fall. In a severe recession, while some people trade down to fast food, many others eat at home more frequently to save money. David Palmer, an analyst at UBS, a bank, says smaller fast-food chains in America, such as Jack in the Box and Carl’s Jr., have been hit particularly hard in this downturn because they are competing with the global giant McDonald’s, which increased spending on advertising by more than 7% l ast year as others cut back.

[E] Some fast-food companies also sacrificed their own profits by trying to give customers better value. During the recession companies set prices low, hoping that once they had tempted customers through the door they would be persuaded to order more expensive items. But in many cases that strategy did not work. Last year Burger King franchisees (特许经营人) sued (起诉) the company over its double-cheeseburger promotion, claiming it was

unfair for them to be required to sell these for $1 when they cost $1.10 to make. In May a judge ruled in favor of Burger King. Nevertheless, the company may still be cursing its decision to promote cheap choices over more expensive ones because items on its “value menu”; mow account for around 20% of al l sales, up from 12% last October.

[F] Analysts expect the fast-food industry to grow modestly this year. But the downturn is making companies rethink their strategies. Many are now introducing higher-priced items to entice (引诱) consumers away from $1 specials. KFC, a division of Yum! Brands, which also owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, has launched a chicken sandwich that costs around $5. And in May Burger King introduced barbecue (烧烤)pork ribs at $7 for eight. [G] Companies are also trying to get customers to buy new and more items, including drinks, McDonald’s started selling better coffee as a challenge to Starbucks. Its “McCafe” line now accounts for an estimated 6% of sales in America. Starbucks has sold rights to its Seattle’s Best coffee brand to Burger King, which will start selling it later this year.

[H] As fast-food companies shift from “super size”to “more buys”, they need to keep customer traffic high throughout the day. Many see breakfast as a big opportunity, and just for fatty food. McDonald’s w ill start selling porridge (粥)in America next year. Breakfast has the potential to be very profitable, says Sara Senatore of Bernstein, a research firm, because the margins can be high. Fast-food companies are also adding midday and late-night snacks, such as blended drinks and wraps. The idea is that by having a greater range of things on the menu, “we can sell to consumers products they want all day,”; says Rick Carucci, the chief financial offers of Yun! Brands.

[I] But when about those growing waistlines? So far, fast-food firms have cleverly avoided government regulation. By providing healthy options, like salads and low-calorie sandwiches, they have at least given the impression of doing something about helping to fight obesity (肥胖症). These offerings are not necessarily loss-leaders, as they broaden the appeal of outlets to groups of diners that include some people who don’t want to eat a burger. But customers cannot be forced to order salads instead of fries.

[J] In the future, simply offering a health y option may not be good enough. “Every packaged-food and restaurant company I know is concerned about regulation right now,” says Mr. Palmer of UBS. America’s health-reform bill, which Congress passed this year, requires restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets to put the calorie-content of items they serve to the menu. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which tracked the effects on Starbucks of a similar calorie-posting law in New York City in 2007, found that the average calorie-amount per transaction fell 6% and revenue increased 3% at Starbucks stores where a Dunkin Donuts outlet was nearby—a sign, it is said, that menu-labeling could favor chains that have more healthy offerings.

[K]In order to avoid other legislation in America and elsewhere, fast-food companies will have to continue innovating (创新), Wait Riker of McDonald’s claims the change it has made in its menu means it offers more healthy items than it did a few years ago, “We probably sell more vegetables, more milk, more sala ds, some apples than any restaurant business in the world,”he says. But the recent proposal by a county in California to ban McDonald’s from including toys in its high-calorie “Happy Meals”, because legislators believe it attracts children to unhealthy food, suggest there is a lot more left to do.

46. Some people propose laws be made to stop McDonald’s from attaching toys to its food its food specials for children.

47. Fast-food firms may not be able to cope with pressures from food regulation in the near future.

48. Burger King will start to sell Seattle’s Best coffee to increase sales.

49. Some fast-food firms provide healthy food to give the impression they are helping to tackle the obesity problem.

50. During the recession, many customers turned to fast food to save money.

51. Many people eat out less often to save money in times of recession.

52. During the recession, Burger King’s promotional strategy of offering low-priced items often proved ineffective.

53. Fast-food restaurants can make a lot of money by selling breakfast.

54. Many fast-food companies now expect to increase their revenue by introducing higher-priced items.

55. A newly-passed law asks big fast-food chains to specify the calorie count of what they serve on the menu.

Section C

Passage One

Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

If you think a high-factor sunscreen (防晒霜) keeps you safe from harmful rays, you may be wrong. Research in this week’s Nature shows that while factor 50 reduces the number of melanomas (黑瘤) and delays their occurrence, it can’t prevent them. Melanomas are the most aggressive skin cancers. You have a higher risk if you have red or blond hair, fair skin, blue or green eyes, or sunburn easily, or if a close relative has had one. Melanomas are more common if you have periodic intense exposure to the sun. Other skin cancers are increasingly likely with long-term exposure.

There is continuing debate as to how effective sunscreen is in reducing melanomas—the evidence is weaker than it is for preventing other types of skin cancer. A 2011 Australian study of 1,621 people found that people randomly selected to apply sunscreen daily had half the rate of melanomas of people who used cream as needed. A second study, comparing 1,167 people with melanomas to 1,101 who didn’t have the cancer, found that using sunscreen routinely, alongside other protection such as hats, long sleeves or staying in the shade, did give some protection. This study said other forms of sun protection—not sunscreen—seemed most beneficial. The study relied on people remembering what they had done over each decade of their lives, so it’s not entirely reliable. But it seems reasonable to think sunscreen gives people a false sense of security in the sun.

Many people also don’t use sunscreen properly-applying insufficient amounts, failing to reapply after a couple of hours and staying in the sun too long. It is sunburn that is most worrying-recent shows five episodes of sunburn in the teenage years increases the risk of all skin cancers.

The good news is that a combination of sunscreen and covering up can reduce melanoma rates, as shown by Australian figures from their slip-slop-slap campaign. So if there is a heat wave this summer, it would be best for us, too, to slip on a shirt, slop on (抹上) sunscreen and slap on a hat.

56. What is people’s common expectation of a high-factor sunscreen?

A) It will delay the occurrence of skin cancer. B) It will protect them from sunburn.

C) It will keep their skin smooth and fair. D) It will work for people of any skin color.

57. What does the research in Nature say about a high-factor sunscreen?

A) It is ineffective in preventing melanomas. B) It is ineffective in case of intense sunlight.

C) It is ineffective with long-term exposure. D) It is ineffective for people with fair skin.

58. What do we learn from the 2011Australian study of 1,621 people?

A) Sunscreen should be applied alongside other protection measures.

B) High-risk people benefit the most from the application of sunscreen.

C) Irregular application of sunscreen does women more harm than good.

D) Daily application of sunscreen helps reduce the incidence of melanomas.

59. What does the author say about the second Australian study?

A) It misleads people to rely on sunscreen for protection.

B) It helps people to select the most effective sunscreen.

C) It is not based on direct observation of the subjects.

D) It confirms the results of the first Australian study.

60. What does the author suggest to reduce melanoma rates?

A) Using both covering up and sunscreen. B) Staying in the shade whenever possible.

C) Using covering up instead of sunscreen. D) Applying the right amount of sunscreen.

Passage Two

Questions 62 to 65are based on the following passage.

Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound.

The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.

But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.

Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy (预期寿命), combined with the replacement of generous defined-benefit pension plans with less generous defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management knowhow to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.

61. What is happening in the workforce in rich countries?

A) Younger people are replacing the elderly.

B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.

C) Unemployment rates are rising year after year.

D) People with no college degree do not easily find work.

62. What has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and the poor?

A) Longer life expectancies. B) Profound changes in the workforce.

C) A rapid technological advance. D) A growing number of the well-educated.

63. What do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?

A) Economic growth will slow down.

B) Government budgets will increase.

C) More people will try to pursue higher education.

D) There will be more competition in the job market.

64. What is the result of policy changes in European countries?

A) Unskilled workers may choose to retire early.

B) More people have to receive in-service training.

C) Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement.

D) People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pension plans.

65. What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?

A) Computers will do more complicated work. B) More will be taken by the educated young.

C) Most jobs to be done will be creative ones. D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.

Part IV Translation (30 minutes)

中国是世界上最古老的文明之一。构成现在世界基础的许多元素都起源于中国。中国现在拥有世界上发展最快的经济，并经历着一次新的工业革命。中国还启动了雄心勃勃的太空探索计划，其实包括到2020年建成一个太空站。目前，中国是世界上最大的出口国之一，并正在吸引大量外国投资。同时，它也在海外投资数十亿美元。2011年，中国超越日本成为第二大经济体。

2015年6月四级第三套

听力同第二套

Part III Reading Comprehension

Section A

Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.

As a teacher, you could bring the community into your classroom in many ways. The parents and grandparents of your students are resources and 36 for their children. They can be 37 teachers of their own traditions and histories. Immigrant parents could talk about their country of 38 and why they emigrated to the United States. Parents can be invited to talk about their jobs or a community project. Parents, of course, are not the only community resources. Employees at local businesses and staff at community agencies have 39 information to share in classrooms.

Field trips provide another opportunity to know the community. Many students don’t have the opportunity to 40 concerts or visit museums or historical sites except through field trips.

A school district should have 41 for selecting and conducting field trips. Families must be made 42 of field trips and give permission for their children to participate.

Through school projects, students can learn to be 43 in community projects ranging from planting trees to cleaning up a park to assisting elderly people. Students, 44 older ones, might conduct research on a community need that could lead to action by a city council or state government. Some schools require students to provide community service by 45 in a nursing home, child care center or government agency. These projects help students understand

Section B

Reaping the Rewards of Risk-Taking

[A] Since Steve Jobs resigned as chief executive of Apple, much has been said about him as a

peerless business leader who has created immense wealth for shareholders, and guided the design of hit products that are transforming entire industries, like music and mobile communications.

[B] All true, but let’s think different, to borrow the Apple marketing slogan of years back. Let’s

look at Mr. Jobs as a role model.

[C] Above all, he is an innovator (创新者). His creative force is seen in products such as the iPod,

iPhone, and iPad, and in new business models for pricing and distributing music and mobile software online. Studies of innovation come to the same conclusion: you can’t engineer innovation, but you can increase the odds of it occurring. And Mr. Jobs’ career can be viewed as a consistent pursuit of improving those odds, both for himself and the companies he has led.

Mr. Jobs, of course, has enjoyed singular success. But innovation, broadly defined, is the crucial ingredient in all economic progress—higher growth for nations, more competitive products for companies, and more prosperous careers for individuals. And Mr. Jobs, many experts say, exemplifies what works in the innovation game.

[D] “We can look at and learn from Steve Jobs what the essence of American innovation is,” says

John Kao, an innovation consultant to corporations and governments. Many other nations, Mr.

John Kao notes, are now ahead of the United States in producing what are considered the raw materials of innovation. These include government financing for scientific research, national policies to support emerging industries, educational achievement, engineers and scientists graduated, even the speeds of Internet broadband service.

[E] Yet what other nations typically lack, Mr. Kao adds, is a social environment that encourages

diversity, experimentation, risk-taking, and combining skills from many fields into products that he calls “recombinant mash-ups (打碎重组),”like the iPhone, which redefined the smartphone category. “The culture of other countries doesn’t support the kind of innovation that Steve Jobs exemplifies, as America does,” Mr. John Kao says.

[F] Workers of every rank are told these days that wide-ranging curiosity and continuous learning

are vital to thriving in the modem economy. Formal education matters, career counselors say, but real-life experience is often even more valuable.

[G] An adopted child, growing up in Silicon Valley, Mr. Jobs displayed those traits early on. He

was fascinated by electronics as a child, building Heathkit do-it-yourself projects, like radios.

Mr. Jobs dropped out of Reed College after only a semester and traveled around India in search of spiritual enlightenment, before returning to Silicon Valley to found Apple with his friend, Stephen Wozniak, an engineering wizard (奇才). Mr. Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985, went off and founded two other companies, Next and Pixar, before returning to Apple in 1996 and becoming chief executive in 1997.

[H] His path was unique, but innovation experts say the pattern of exploration is not unusual. “It’s

often people like Steve Jobs who can draw from a deep reservoir of diverse experiences that often generate breakthrough ideas and insights,” says Hal Gregersen, a professor at the European Institute of Business Administration.

[I] Mr. Gregersen is a co-author of a new book, The Inn ovator’s DNA, which is based on an

eight-year study of 5,000 entrepreneurs(创业者) and executives worldwide. His two

collaborators and co-authors are Jeff Dyer, a professor at Brigham Young University, and Clayton Christensen, a professor at the Harvard Business School, whose 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma popularized the concept of “disruptive (颠覆性的) innovation.”

[J] The academics identify five traits that are common to the disruptive innovators: questioning, experimenting, observing, associating and networking. Their bundle of characteristics echoes the ceaseless curiosity and willingness to take risks noted by other experts. Networking, Mr.

Hal Gregersen explains, is less about career-building relationships than a consistent search for new ideas. Associating, he adds, is the ability to make idea-producing connections by linking concepts from different disciplines.

[K] “Innovators engage in these mental activities regularly,” Mr. Gregersen says. “It’s a habit for them.” Innovative companies, according to t he authors, typically enjoy higher valuations in the stock market, which they call an “innovation premium (溢价).” It is calculated by estimating the share of a company’s value that cannot be accounted for by its current products and cash flow. The innovation premium tries to quantify (量化) investors’ bets that a company will do even better in the future because of innovation.

[L] Apple, by their calculations, had a 37 percent innovation premium during Mr. Jobs’ first term with the company. His years in exile resulted in a 31 percent innovation discount. After his return, Apple’s fortunes improved gradually at first, and improved markedly starting in 2005, yielding a 52 percent innovation premium since then.

[M]There is no conclusive proof, but Mr. Hal Gregersen says it is unlikely that Mr. Jobs could have reshaped industries beyond computing, as he has done in his second term at Apple, without the experience outside the company, especially at Pixar—the computer-animation (动画制作) studio that created a string of critically and commercially successful movies, such as “Toy Story” and “Up.”

[N] Mr. Jobs suggested much the same thing during a commencement address to the graduating class at Stanford University in 2005. “It turned out that getting fired from Apple was th e best thing that could have ever happened to me,” he told the students. Mr. Jobs also spoke of perseverance (坚持) and will power. “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick,” he said. “Don’t lose faith.”

[O] Mr. Jobs ended his commencement talk with a call to innovation, both in one’s choice of work and in one’s life. Be curious, experiment, take risks, he said to the students. His advice was emphasized by the words on the back of the final edition of The Whole Earth Catalog, which he quoted: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” “And,” Mr. Jobs said, “I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.”

46. Steve Jobs called on Stanford graduates to innovate in his commencement address.

47. Steve Jobs considered himself lucky to have been fired once by Apple.

48. Steve Jobs once used computers to make movies that were commercial hits.

49. Many governments have done more than the US government in providing the raw materials

for innovation.

50. Great innovators are good at connecting concepts from various academic fields.

51. Innovation is vital to driving economic progress.

52. America has a social environment that is particularly favorable to innovation.

53. Innovative ideas often come from diverse experiences.

54. Real-life experience is often more important than formal education for career success.

55. Apple’s fortunes suffered from an innovation discount during Jobs’ absence.

Section C

Passage One

Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

The Gatais used to frown when they received power bills that routinely topped $200. Last September the couple moved into a 1 500-square-foot home in Premier Gardens, a subdivision of 95 “zero-energy homes”(ZEH) just outside town. Now they’re actually eager to see th eir electricity bills. The grand total over the 10 months they’ve lived in the three-bedroom house: $75. For the past two months they haven’t paid a cent.

ZEH communities are the leading edge of technologies that might someday create houses that produce as much energy as they consume. Premier Gardens is one of a half-dozen subdivisions in California where every home cuts power consumption by 50%, mostly by using low-power appliances and solar panels.

Aside from the panels on the roof, Premier Gardens looks like a community of conventional homes. But inside, special windows cut power bills by blocking solar heat in summer and retaining indoor warmth in winter.

The rest of the energy savings comes from the solar units. They don’t just feed the home they serve. If they generate more power than the home is using, the excess flows into the utility’s power grid (电网). The residents are billed by “net metering” : they pay for the amount of power they tap off the grid, less the kilowatts (千瓦) they feed into it. If a home generates more power than it uses, the bill is zero.

That sounds like a bad deal for the power company, but it’s not. Solar homes produce the most power on the hot sunny afternoons when everyone rushes home to turn up the air conditioner. “It helps us lower usage at peak power times, “says solar expert Mike Keesee. “That lets us avoid building costly plants or buying expensive power at peak usage time.”

What’s not to like? Mostly the costs. The special features can add $25000 or more to the purchase price of a house. Tax breaks bring the cost down, especially in California, but in many states ZEHs can be prohibitively expensive. For the consumer, it’s a matter of paying now for the hardware to save later on the utilities.

56. Why are the Gatais eager to see their electricity bills now?

A) They want to know if they are able to pay. B) They want to cut down their utility expenses.

C) They want to see how much they have saved. D) They want to avoid being overcharged.

57. What is special about the ZEH communities?

A) They have created cutting-edge technologies.

B) They are subdivided into half a dozen sections.

C) They aim to be self-sufficient in power supply.

D) They are built in harmony with the environment.

58. How are the residents in the ZEH communities billed for electricity use?

A) They pay for the electricity from the grid less their home-generated power.

B) They needn’t pay a single cent for their power consumption on sunny days.

C) They only pay for the excess power that flows into the utility’s p ower grid.

D) They are only charged for the amount of power they consume on rainy days.

59. What does the “net metering” practice mean to the power company?

A) More pressure at peak time. B) Reduced operational costs.

C) Increased electricity output. D) Less profits in the short term.

60. The author believes that buying a house in a ZEH community ________.

A) is a worthy investment in the long run B) gives the owner substantial tax benefits

C) is but a dream for average consumers D) contributes to environmental protection Passage Two

Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

Romantic love has clear evolutionary roots but our views about what makes an ideal romantic relationship can be swayed by the society we live in. So says psycholog ist Maureen O’Sullivan from the University of San Francisco. She suggests that humans have always tried to strengthen the pair-bond to maximize (使最大化) reproductive success.

Many societies throughout history and around the world today have cultivated strong pressures to stay married. In those where ties to family and community are strong, lifelong marriages can be promoted by practices such as the cultural prohibition of divorce and arranged marriages that are seen as a contract between two families, not just two individuals. In modern western societies, however, the focus on individuality and independence means that people are less concerned about conforming to (遵守) the dictates of family and culture. In the absence of societal pressures to maintain pair-bon ds, O’Sullivan suggests that romantic love has increasingly come to be seen as the factor that should determine who we stay with and for how long. “That’s why historically we see an increase in romantic love as a basis for forming long-term relationships,” she says.

According to O’Sullivan culture also shapes the sorts of feelings we expect to have, and actually do experience, when in love. Although the negative emotions associated with romantic love-fear of loss, disappointment and jealousy-are fairly consistent across cultures, the positive feelings can vary. “If you ask Japanese students to list the positive attributes they expect in a romantic partner, they rate highly things like loyalty, commitment and devotion,” says O’Sullivan. “If you ask American c ollege women, they expect everything under the suit: in addition to being committed, partners have to be amusing, funny and a friend.”

We judge a potential partner according to our specific cultural expectations about what romantic love should feel like. If you believe that you have found true romance, and your culture tells you that this is what a long-term relationship should be based on, there is less need to rely on social or family pressures to keep couples together. O’Sullivan argues.

61. What does th e author say about people’s views of an ideal romantic relationship?

A) They are influenced by psychologists. B) They ensure the reproductive success.

C) They reflect the evolutionary process. D) They vary from culture to culture.

62. We can infer from the passage that strong family and community ties _________.

A) can contribute to stable marriages B) largely rely on marriage contracts

C) often run counter to romantic love D) make divorces virtually unacceptable

63. Without social pressures to keep pair-bonds, romantic love _________.

A) will be a substitute for marriage in human relationships

B) is likely to replace the dictates of family and society

C) plays a key role in maintaining long-term relationships

D) is a way to develop individuality and independence

64. O’Sullivan believes that when people from different cultures fall in love, _________.

A) they lay more emphasis on commitment and devotion

B) they tend to exaggerate each other’s positive qualities

C) they often fail to see each other’s negative qualities

D) they expect different things from their partner

65. We can conclude from the passage that _________.

A) cultural differences often tear apart a family built on romantic love

B) romantic love is becoming increasingly important in family relationships

C) marriages arc hard to sustain without social or family pressures

D) romantic love tends to yield where family or social pressures are strong

Part IV Translation (30 minutes)

在西方人心目中，和中国联系最为密切的基本食物是大米。长期以来，大米在中国人的饮食中占据很重要的地位，以至于有谚语说“巧妇难为无米之炊”。中国南方大多种植水稻，人们通常以大米为主食;而华北大部分地区由于过于寒冷或过于干燥无法种植水稻，那里的主要作物是小麦。在中国，有些人用面粉做面包，但大多数人用面粉做馒头和面条。

2015年6月英语四级真题答案完整版(试卷二)

写作答案

Using Computer Wisely

The comic reflects the image of our modern world in which technology has been an inseparable part of people’s daily life. As is shown, the man in the picture uses a laptop at work and home, for business and entertainment, so obsessed that he even dreams about bending over his laptop.

It is undeniable that this has been a common scene and the overuse of computers has aroused great concern. In my opinion, people should be cautious of the excessive use of computers for the following reasons. In the first place, it will inevitably affect people’s health if they sit before computers and stare at the screens for long hours, which may result in muscle pain and visual impair. Secondly, playing computers alone isolates people from others. Relationships in the real world are maintained through human contact and spending time with each other instead of chitchatting online. In summary, people should cut down their computer use for health and social reasons. Computers are not controllers but tools in our life.

写作点评

Using Computer Wisely

本题由一幅连环画“This Modern Life: Work Home Play Life”引出话题，探讨电脑在现代生活当中扮演的重要角色。很明显，本题主旨在于评述现代生活中电脑的过度使用这一现象，此话题与生活息息相关。本题难度适中，考生均有话可说，且与2013年曾经出现的互联网系列考题相类似。

考生要做的首先是仔细审题、确立观点。按照题干要求，第一段——Start your essay with a brief description of the picture。因此，第一段：总述图画反映的问题(The comic reflects the image of our modern world in which technology has been an inseparable part of people’s daily life.) + 具