四级听力

 听力第一套

【News report 1】

(1) A poisonous fish which has a sting strong enough to kill a human is invading the Mediterranean, warn the scientist.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has raised concerns after the poisonous fish was spotted in the waters around Turkey, Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean.

Native to the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, the potentially deadly fish has poisonous barbs and an painful sting capable of killing people.

Although fatalities are rare, the stings can cause extreme pain, and stop people breathing.

The fish, also known as the Devil Firefish, is a highly invasive a species, (2) and environmentalists fear its arrival could endanger other types of marine life.

After being spotted in the Med, a marine scientist says: "The fish is spreading, and that's a cause for concern.”

 

Q1: What is reported in the news?

1.D. A deadly fish has been spotted in the Mediterranean waters.

Q2: What is the environmentalist concern about the spread of devil fire fish in the Mediterranean?

2.B. It could pose a threat to other marine species.

 

【News report 2】

(3) Almost half the center of Paris will be accessible only by foot or bicycle this Sunday to mark World-Car-Free Day. (4) This is in response to rising air pollution that made Paris the most polluted city in the world for a brief time. Mayor Ann Ethogo promoted the first World-Car-Free Day last year. Ethogo also has supported a Pairs-briefs-Day on the first Sunday of every month. Paris clears traffic from eight lanes of the main road. About 400 miles of streets will be closed to cars. It is expected to bring significant reduction in pollution levels. (4) Last year's Car-Free Day showed a 40% drop in pollution levels in some parts of the city. According to an independent air pollution monitor, reports the guardian and sound levels dropped by 50% in the city center. 

Q3: What will happen on World-Car-Free-Day in Paris?

3.C. About half of its city center will be closed to cars.

Q4: What motivated the mayor of Paris to promote the first World-Car-Free Day in her city?

4.D. The rising air pollution in Paris.

 

【News report3】

News Report Three

A Philippine fisherman was feeling down on his luck when a house fire forced him to clear out his possessions and change locations. Then, a good luck charm that he kept under his bed changed his life. (5) The unidentified man fished out a giant pearl from the ocean when his anchor got stuck on the rock while sailing off a coastal island in the Philippines 10 years ago. (6) When he was forced to sell it, (7) the shocked tourist agent at Puerto Francesca told him that the £77 giant pearl that he had kept hidden in his run-down wooden house was the biggest pile in the world, which was valued at £76 million. 

The pearl of Allah, which is currently on display in a New York Museum, only weighs 14 pounds. That is 5 times smaller than the pearl that the fisherman just handed in. The monstrous pearl, measured at 1 foot wide and 2.2 feet long, is going to be verified by local experts and international authorities before hopefully going on display to attract more tourists in the little town. 

Question 5. What happened to the Philippine fisherman one day? 

5.A. His house was burnt down in a fire.

Question 6. What was the fisherman forced to do?

6.C. Sell the pearl he had kept for years.

Question 7. What did the fisherman learn from the tourist agent?

7.B. His monstrous pearl was extremely valuable.

 

【Conversation 1】

W: Mr. Smith, it's a pleasure meeting you.

M: Nice to meet you,too. What can I do for you?

W: Well, I'm here to show you what our firm can do for you. Astro Consultant has branches in over 50 countries, offering different business services. (8) We are a global company with 75 years of history and our clients include some of the world's largest companies.

M: Thank you, Mrs. Houston. I know Astro Consultant is a famous company, but you said you would show me what you could do for me. Well, what exactly can your firm do for my company?

W: We advise businesses on all matters—from market analysis to legal issues. Anything of business like yours could need, our firm offers expert advice. Could I ask you, Mr. Smith, to tell me a little about your company and the challenges you face? That way, I could better respond as to how we can help you.

M: OK, sure. (9) This is a family business started by my grandfather in 1950. We employed just over 100 people. We manufacture an export stone for buildings and other constructions. Our clients usually want a special kind of stone cut in a special design. That's what we do in our factory. (10) Our main challenge is that our national currency is rising and we're losing competitive advantage to stone producers in India.

W: I see. that's very interesting. (11) I would suggest that you let us first conduct a financial analysis of your company,  together with an analysis of your competitors in India. That way we could offer the best advice on different ways forward for you.

Q8. What do we learn about the woman's company?

8.A. It boasts a fairly long history.

Q9. What does the man say about his own company?

9.D. It is a family business.

Q10. What is the main problem with the man's company?

10.B. Loss the competitive edge.

Q11. What does the woman suggest doing to help the man’s company?

11.D. Conducting a financial analysis for it.

 

【Conversation2】

W: Wow, Congratulations, Simon. The place looks absolutely amazing.

M: Really? You think so? 

W: Of course, I love it! It looks like you had a professional interior designer. But you didn't, did you?

M: No. (12) I did it all by myself—with a little help from my brother Greg. He's actually in the construction business, which was really helpful.

W: Well, honestly, I'm impressed. I knew I could probably repaint the walls in my house over a weekend or something, but not a full renovation. Where did you get your ideas? I wouldn't know where to start.

M: (13) Well, for a while now, I've been regularly buying home design magazines every now and then, and say the picture I liked. Believe it or not, I had a full notebook of magazine pages. Since my overall style was quite minimal, I thought and hoped the whole renovation wouldn't be too difficult. And sure enough, with Greg's help,it was very achievable.

W: Was it very expensive? I imagine a project like this could be.

M: (14) Actually, it was surprisingly affordable. I managed to sell a lot of my old furniture, and put that extra money towards the new material. Greg was also able to get some discount of materials from a recent project he was working on as well.

W: Great. If you don't mind, I'd like to pick your brain a bit more. Jonathan and I are thinking of renovating our sitting room, not the whole house—not yet anyway. (15) And we'd love to get some inspiration from your experience. Are you free to come over for a coffee early next week?

Question 12. What do we learn about the woman from the conversation?

12.B. She is really impressed by the man’s house.

Question 13. Where did the man get his ideas for the project?

13.C. From home design magazines.

Question 14. What did the man say about the project he recently completed?

14.A. The cost was affordable.

Question 15. Why does the woman invite the man to her house next week?

15.D. She wants him to share his renovation experience with her.

 

【Passage 1】

(16) Removing foreign objects from ears and noses costs England almost￡3 million a year, a study suggests. 

Children were responsible for the vast majority of cases. 95% of objects removed from noses, and 85% from ears. Every year, an average of 1,218 nose，and 2,479 ear removals took place between 2010 and 2016. (17) According to England's hospital episodes statistics, children aged 1 to 4 were the most likely to need help from doctors for a foreign object in their nose. 5 to 9 -year-olds come to the hospital with something in their ears the most.

Jewelry items accounted for up to 40% of cases in both the ears and noses of children. Paper and plastic toys for the items removed next most from noses. Cotton buds, and pencils were also found in years. 

(18)According to the study, the occurrence of foreign objects in children is generally attributed to curiosity. Children have an impulse to explore their noses and ears. This results in the accidental entry of foreign objects. Any ear, nose and throat surgeon has many weird stories about wonderful objects found in the noses and ears of children and adults. Batteries can pose a particular danger. In all cases, prevention is better than cure. This is why many toys contain warnings about small parts. Recognizing problems early and seeking medical attention is important.

 

Question16 What does England spend an annual￡3 million on?

16.C. Removing objects from patients’ noses and ears.

Question17 What do we learn from England's hospital episodes statistics?

17.B. Five-to nine-year-olds are the most likely to put things in their ears.

Question18 What is generally believed to account for children putting things in their ears or noses? 

18.D. They are curious about these body parts.

 

【Passage 2】

Good morning. Today, I would like to talk to you about my charity Re-bicycle.  

But before that, let me introduce someone. This is Layla Rahimi. She was so scared when she first moved to new Zealand. Does she struggled to leave the house? I would spend days working up the courage to walk to the supermarket for basic supplies. (19) After a few months of being quite down and unhappy, she was invited to join a local bike club. At this time, Re-bicycle got involved and gave Layla a second-hand bicycle. Within weeks, her depression had begun to ease as she cycled. The bicycle totally changed her life, giving her hope and a true feeling of freedom. (20) To date, Re-bicycle has donated more than 200 bikes to those in need and is now expanding bike-riding lessons as a demand source. With a bike, new comers here can travel farther but for almost no cost. The 3 hours a day they used to spend walking to and from English language lessons has been reduced to just 1hour.  

Our bike riding lessons are so successful that we are urgently looking for more volunteers, learning to ride a bike is almost always more difficult for an adult. And this can take days and weeks rather than hours. So if any of you have some free time during the weekend, please come join us at Re-bicycle and make a difference in someone’s life.  

 

Question 19. What did Re-bicycle do to help Layla Rahimi?

19.A. It gave her a used bicycle.

Question 20. What is Re-bicycle doing to help those in need?

20.A. Expanding bike-riding lessons.

Question 21. What do we learn from the passage about Re-bicycle?

21.D. It is a charity organization.

 

【Passage 3】

Thanks to the international space station, (22) we know quite a bit about the effects of low gravity on the human body, but NASA scientists want to learn more.To that end, they have been studying how other species deal with low gravity, specifically focusing on mice. The results are both interesting and humorous. The scientists first sent some mice and especially designed cage to the international space station.The cage allowed them to study the behavior of the mice remotely from earth, via video. 

As you’ll notice in the video, (23) the mice definitely seem uncomfortable at the beginning of the experiment.They move around clumsily, drifting within the small confines of the cage and do their best to figure out which way is up, but without success. However, it’s not long before the mice begin to catch on.They adapt remarkably well to their new environment, and even use the lack of gravity to their advantage as they push themselves around the cage. That’s when things really get wild. (24) The 11th day of the experiment shows the mice are not just dealing with the gravity change, but actually seem to be enjoying it. Several of the mice are observed running around the cage walls. The scientists wanted to see whether the mice would continue doing the same kinds of activities they were observed doing on earth.

(25) The study showed that the mice kept much of the routines intact, including cleaning themselves and eating when hungry. 

 

Question 22 : What do NASA scientists want to learn about?

22.A. How animals deal with lack of gravity.

Question 23: What does the passage say about the mice at the beginning of the experiment?

23.C. They were not used to the low-gravity environment.

Question 24: What was observed about the mice on the 11th day of the experiment?

24.B. They already felt at home in the new environment.

Question 25: What did the scientists find about the mice from the experiment?

25.C. They behaved as if they were on Earth. 

答案：

1. D. A deadly fish has been spotted in the Mediterranean waters.

2. B. It could pose a threat to other marine species.

3. C. About half of its city center will be closed to cars.

4. D. The rising air pollution in Paris.

5. A. His house was burnt down in a fire.

6. C. Sell the pearl he had kept for years.

7. B. His monstrous pearl was extremely valuable.

8. A. It boasts a fairly long history.

9. D. It is a family business.

10. B. Loss the competitive edge.

11. D. Conducting a financial analysis for it.

12. B. She is really impressed by the man’s house.

13. C. From home design magazines.

14. A. The cost was affordable.

15. D. She wants him to share his renovation experience with her.

16. C. Removing objects from patients’ noses and ears.

17. B. Five-to nine-year-olds are the most likely to put things in their ears.

18. D. They are curious about these body parts.

19. A. It gave her a used bicycle.

20. A. Expanding bike-riding lessons.

21. D. It is a charity organization.

22. A. How animals deal with lack of gravity.

23. C. They were not used to the low-gravity environment.

24. B. They already felt at home in the new environment.

25. C. They behaved as if they were on Earth. 

 

四级听力第二套暂缺