大学英语四级改革适用（听力）模拟试卷447

People from London like to call the ringing of Big Ben “bongs.“ They mark the start of a new hour. The bell, known as “Big Ben“ in London, started making its bongs 158 years ago. But beginning on August 21, it will go silent for four years. The bell will ring for the last time at 12 noon. The bell will be disconnected from the clock as crews launch a major repair project in the tower. The clock, however, will continue to tell the time, silently. The only time people in London will hear the bells will be on Remembrance Sunday, which falls on November 12th this year, and New Year’s Eve. The renovation project will cost about $40 million, said Steve Jaggs. He is known as “The Keeper of the Great Clock.“ Jaggs said the goal is to keep the building safe and the famous timepiece working for future generations to enjoy. The clock faces and many of the clock’s moving parts will be taken apart and cleaned. Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard. 1. What does the speaker say about Big Ben? 2. What is the purpose of the renovation project? It will be disconnected for repainting. It has bonged for more than 168 years. It will stop ringing four years later. It will stop ringing for four years.

Tennis players must wear almost all white at Wimbledon. That includes shorts, shirts, hats, dresses, shoes and socks. But when they get to New York in the late summer for the US Open, they let their personalities come out through their clothing. On Monday night, Maria Sharapova played in her first major tournament in over a year. She was suspended for taking a banned drug in early 2016. She impressed the crowd with a shiny black dress. The dress shined because it was embedded with crystals. Among the male players at the tournament, people are talking about the clothing worn this week by Alexander Zverev from Germany. Zverev was the fourth-ranked player in the tournament. Tennis experts thought he could win the title. Against Darian King of Barbados, Zverev was wearing a tennis outfit similar to the one worn by Swedish star Bjorn Borg in the 1970s. He had a white headband with thin stripes holding back his long hair. He wore a similarly styled shirt and even completed the throwback look with high white socks. Tennis players have not worn those socks since the early 1980s. Zverev said his look was designed by singer Pharrell Williams. Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard. 3. What can we learn about tennis players at Wimbledon? 4. What can we learn about Zverev? They must show their personalities through clothing. They must wear almost all white. They must wear high white socks. They must impress the crowd with their clothing.

Many people on an island in western Ireland are excited. They are celebrating a new beach. But actually, it is the return of an old beach. The people live in Dooagh, a small community on Achill Island. Older residents of Dooagh remember travelling down to the coastline and walking on the sand. But during a storm in the 1980s, the beach was washed away. All that remained were rocks, seaweed and small pools of water. In recent weeks, the beach returned. Sean Molloy works for the Achill Island Tourist Office. He told reporters that the sand began returning to Dooagh Bay last year. He said the water seemed brighter because there was more sand below. Then this year, after a series of storms in April when the wind was blowing hard, the sand appeared along the coastline. Residents woke up one morning after low tide to see 300 meters of soft sand. Achill Island is one of the western-most parts of Europe. A bridge connects the island with the rest of Ireland. Sean Molloy said he hopes the beach becomes the sixth Blue Flag beach on Achill Island. Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard. 5. What makes residents of Dooagh excited? 6. What did Sean Molloy say about the beach? 7. What can we learn about Achill Island? A newly formed beach. The revived travel business. The return of an old beach. The return of seaweed.

W: John, are you sure you haven’t seen the missing file? I could have brought it into this office with some other files. Please have a look everywhere. It’s marked “Confidential“ and it has a limited circulation. M: Oh, Mary. Do go away. I’ve got much worse troubles than a lost file. W: But it’s serious. The file has got all the details of the new desk range. Mr. Parker says if anyone copied our designs, it could put the work on the new desks back at least a year! And we’re supposed to be launching them at the International Office Equipment Exhibition. M: Mary, please, something much worse has just happened. W: Why, what’s the matter? M: I’ve got the security officer coming up in a minute. It’s just a matter of a loss of $300 in cash. W: Oh, no! When did that happen, and how? M: Somebody came in this morning, bought $300 worth of office furniture and paid in cash. W: How odd. Don’t most people pay by cheque? M: Yes, usually, well, there was no one in the Accounts Department, so I went to get the key of the safe. When I got back, the money had gone. W: How terrible, John. Is it your responsibility? Will they expect you to replace the money? M: Well, I haven’t got $30, let alone $300... Oh, here’s the security officer now. W: Oh, before you start, I’m afraid I have to report the loss of an important file. It’s a very serious matter. Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 8. What does the woman want the man to do for her? 9. What will the speakers’ company launch at the International Office Equipment Exhibition? 10. Why is the security officer coming up soon? 11. What does the woman think of the person paying in cash? Look for a missing file. Mark “Confidential“ on a file. Make a copy of a file. Circulate a file to the staff.

M: Hi, everyone, today we’re going to talk about British politeness. Lots of people think that the British are very polite. I think it’s quite old-fashioned. London certainly doesn’t feel very polite in rush hour in the morning. W: I think one thing that makes people think we’re polite is that we say “please“ and “thank you“ a lot. I don’t think people say “please“ and “thank you“ so much in other places. M: Really? W: Yeah. My Spanish friend said that when she first came to visit Britain, when she went to a café, she’d say “A coffee.“ not “A coffee, please.“ That’s because in Spain, people don’t say “please“ so often. For me, it feels quite rude, quite impolite, if you don’t say “please“ when you ask for something in a shop. M: Yeah, but it can get silly sometimes, saying “please“ and “thank you“ all the time. Anyway, just saying “please“ and “thank you“ a lot doesn’t mean you’re polite. I think London feels quite impolite. W: Well, capital cities are often very different from the rest of the country. The other thing my friend thought was funny about English is our polite language, like, “Excuse me, I’m very sorry, but I wonder if I could ask you a question.“— that kind of thing. M: Yeah, we seem to use a lot of words to say things when we want to be polite. But that’s polite language— does that mean that we’re really more polite than people in other countries? I have to say, I don’t really think we are, actually. W: To be honest, I don’t either. I don’t really think the British are especially polite. It’s probably the same everywhere— some people are very polite— and some people are not so polite. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 12. What do foreigners generally think of British people according to the man? 13. What does the woman say about her Spanish friend? 14. What does the man think of saying “please“ and “thank you“ all the time? 15. What do British people usually do when they want to be polite? Open. Polite. Creative. Selfish.

Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. In most Western countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. Primary education generally begins when children are four to seven years of age. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about twelve years of age. Some educational systems have separate middle schools for that period. Primary and secondary education together are sometimes, in particular, in Canada and the United States, referred to as “K-12“ education. Typically, primary education is provided in schools. The child will stay, in steadily advancing classes, until they complete it and move on to secondary schooling. Children are usually placed in classes with one teacher who will be primarily responsible for their education and welfare for that year. This teacher may be assisted to varying degrees by some teachers in certain subject areas, often music or physical education. The continuity with a single teacher and the opportunity to build up a close relationship with the class is a notable feature of the primary education system. Over the past few decades, schools have been testing various arrangements which break from the one-teacher, one-class pattern. The major goals of primary education are establishing foundations in science, geography, history and other social sciences. The relative priority of various areas, and the methods used to teach them, are an area of considerable political debate. Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard. 16. What can we learn about the division between primary and secondary education? 17. What is an important feature of the primary education system? 18. What is an area of political dispute over primary education? It is based on knowledge level. It is based on cognitive level. It is random. It is controversial.

Most of us know that the risk of getting ill is reduced when we look after ourselves. Taking regular exercise has proven to be good for our health. Scientists have found that the risk of getting cancer and heart disease is reduced when we take part in physical activity. Now they’ve found cycling to work is one of the best activities to do this. The five-year study of 250,000 UK commuters also showed walking had some benefits over sitting on public transport or taking the car. Cycling to work is already popular in many cities across the world. Some forward-thinking authorities have built cycle lanes to make the commute safer, as well as providing secure places to lock them up. Some companies also provide facilities for their employees to get changed and cleaned up when they arrive at work. It all makes good sense. According to people surveyed in this study, regular cycling cut the risk of death from any cause by 41%, the incidence of cancer by 45% and heart disease by 46%. For me, cycling to work is quicker and cheaper than using public transport and it’s my only form of exercise. And whereas going to the gym to lose a few pounds takes effort and commitment, cycling has just become part of the work routine. But what exactly is it that is making cycling a much healthier option? The research found it wasn’t the result of weight loss. It could be that cyclists are leaner and have lower levels of pain in the body. Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard. 19. What is one of the measures forward-thinking authorities have taken to promote cycling? 20. What is an advantage of cycling comparing to going to the gym? 21. What makes cycling a healthier choice? Building cycle paths on the road. Publicizing the advantages of cycling. Providing facilities for cyclists. Raising fares of public transport.

Take five colours: red, black, blue, green and purple. How do they make you feel? Red is, of course, considered fortunate in China. Studies have indicated that red “raises blood pressure,“ and claim that it stands out from other colours. Hemingway says it appears to be “coming towards you,“ and so is useful for emergency and alarm signs, and also for conveying “urgency“ in general. Black has a different sense. In the West, it’s associated with death, but that hasn’t stopped it becoming a mysterious colour. Hemingway says it’s the colour of luxury brands: things like “designer watches“ are often black. Blue, by contrast, is cool and peaceful. The colour is a constant presence in our lives, says Hemingway, being the colour of the sky and the sea. That gives it an air of being reliable, which makes it a firm choice with “banks and corporations.“ Hemingway says this is also why emergency services often choose the colour. Green is, unsurprisingly, the colour of nature and the environment. Giving a product green packaging creates the impression it is environmentally friendly. Hemingway also says that green is the colour of growth and movement: it’s used to indicate “go“ on traffic lights. Finally, we have purple, which is associated with valuable things. In the past, purple dye was expensive because it was very difficult to produce, and it became the colour worn by royalty in many Western countries. These days, companies still use purple to make their product seem more exclusive, whether they’re selling chocolate or cigarettes. Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard. 22. What is the feature of red according to studies? 23. Why do banks and corporations tend to choose blue? 24. What is the reason for green to be used for packaging? 25. What makes purple associated with valuable things? It is soothing. It is striking. It is luxurious. It is fortunate.