2019年大学生英语竞赛（NECCS）D类决赛真题试卷

1. W: Rob, could you do me a favour? M: Of course. What do you need, Cindy? W: Well, I’m going to be out of town for a few days and I was wondering if you could look after a few things for me? M: Like what? W: Well, I’ve cancelled my mail, so you won’t have to pick that up. But could you take care of my dog and goldfish and water my plants for me? M: Of course. That’s what neighbours are for. Question: What doesn’t Rob have to do while Cindy is out? 2. M: Kelly, have you decided on your wedding date yet? W: No. We can’t agree on anything! M: What are the possibilities? W: Well, I would like to get married in October, because I’ve always wanted a fall wedding. But Josh thinks it would be easier for people to travel and attend in August. My parents want it to be in December, because they think the snow would be pretty. Josh’s pick is the most reasonable one, though, so we’ll probably go with that. Question: When will Kelly and Josh probably hold their wedding? 3. W: What are you working on, Sean? M: Hey, Megan. I’m working on my resume. But it’s not going very well. W: Why do you say that? M: Well, I’ve got a lot of years of experience and earned really good grades throughout college. However, I don’t have a lot of extracurricular activities. W: So what? M: I’ve heard employers like people who have a balanced life with unique hobbies and interests. Question: Why is Sean worried about his resume? 4. M: More than six million people live in Santiago, the capital of Chile. Many people work non-stop from morning until afternoon, like in most countries. But the tradition of nap is still important in Chile and many people feel that a break or a short nap is a good idea in today’s busy world. W: I think it’s important to take a nap, especially during work hours, which is a time when people feel a lot of stress. Question: What does the woman think of a nap? 5. M: Did you hear that James got into Boston University’s School of Graduate Studies for philosophy? He’s starting classes in September. W: Yes, I did. I also heard he got a full scholarship. They’re even paying for his apartment and giving him money for books and food. M: That sounds unbelievable! W: Well, but I guess he would be happier if he’d got into Columbia University. M: That was his first choice. Actually he was also accepted by Princeton but they didn’t give him a full scholarship, so he gave it up. W: Well, anyway, he should feel quite contented. Question: Why didn’t James choose to go to Princeton? Pick up the mail. Look after her dog. Water plants. Take care of goldfish.

Fires through the Indonesian countryside are due to a natural phenomenon.Listen to the conversation and mark each statement as either true（T） or false（F） according to what you hear. W: Fires burn through the Indonesian countryside, spreading thick smoke across parts of the country. Do you know what has caused them? M: As far as I know, they aren’t due to extreme weather or any other natural phenomenon, but are instead part of a man-made process called slash and burn. This process of cutting down and burning trees in order to plant new crops is used by many countries. W: Unfortunately, these fires produce thick smog that causes numerous negative health effects, which in turn has disrupted flights and forced the closure of schools in certain regions. M: Yes. And we cannot be sure how long the school will be closed. Every two days we are updated on the situation by the state’s Education Department and determine whether or not to reopen the school. W: Visibility in these conditions is poor—around only 80 metres—and flights to and from the city’s airport have either been delayed or canceled. M: Yes. So far, there have been no arrivals or departures today. Of the 74 flights scheduled for today, 19 have been canceled. As a tour agent, I feel disappointed as many tour groups have ended up canceling their trips. W: The negative health effects of this blanket of smog cannot be underestimated, either. In South Sumatra, one of the main centres of the fires, 22,585 cases of acute respiratory tract infections have been reported in just a few days. M: Countries use slash-and-bum techniques every year, causing similar health problems and disruption to everyday life. I think current laws are not strict enough to prevent this from happening. TRUE FALSE

When did Dr. Evans start to write her book Anger Management?Listen to the conversation. Then read the four choices marked A, B, C, and D, and decide which is the best answer according to what you hear. M: Psychologist Dr. Evans has recently published a book entitled Anger Management. She has come on our show today to highlight the most important points of her new book. Welcome, Dr. Evans. W: Thank you. I’m happy to be here. M: How long have you been writing this book? W: In a sense I’ve been writing it since I became a psychologist twenty years ago. This book is based on all the research I’ve done throughout my career and on my experiences with patients. But I officially began writing it about two years ago, and it just came out in bookstores last month. M: Now could you tell us about some of the most important points in the book? W: One very important point I make at the beginning is actually hardly psychological, but rather sociological. M: Interesting. And what’s that? W: Anger is not a bad thing. In modern society we view anger as something negative, something we want to avoid. That’s a dangerous misconception. Anger is an emotion and we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t feel it. In fact, many sociologists and community organizers strongly promote that we accept anger in society because it’s a strong sign that something is wrong. They say if we use our anger to drive us to improve society and ourselves, then anger can be a very good thing. However, this is easier said than done. M: I see. W: And therefore, what I concentrate on is the type of anger people get and how they express it. In other words, how they manage it. M: What effect does inappropriate expression of anger have on people? W: That depends on the person. But one common inappropriate way of dealing with anger is to bottle it up. This is something I blame on modern society. It’s more acceptable for people to always be calm and coolheaded. Therefore, these people who follow this social norm instead of accepting their anger really suffer. This can lead to physical symptoms such as headaches and hypertension. Psychological symptoms of bottling up anger could be persistent violent thoughts or even nightmares. About two years ago. About twelve years ago. After finishing graduate school. After she became a psychologist 20 years ago.

What has the research found?In this section, you will hear five short news items. Each item will be read only once. After each item, there will be a fifteen-second pause. During the pause, read the question and the four choices marked A， B， C and D, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the centre. 16. According to Business Insider, “Research suggests cats mirror our behaviour and mood. If you’re anxious, this could mean your cat is more fearful and overweight. People with dark personality traits are also more likely to have cats who bully others.” Many have theorized that this occurs because they are surprisingly aware of humans’ emotions. Cats pick up on emotional gestures. 17. A growing number of Earth’s insect populations now exist only in collections in museums. A new review of over 70 studies of insect populations suggests that human pressures are causing insect populations to decrease by as much as a quarter every decade. Their collapse is being driven by human activities, everything from traffic to industrial farming and pesticides to light pollution. 18. According to CNN.com, “Childhood obesity continues to rise around the world,” and the World Health Organization has called it “one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century.” A university assistant professor in New York who has studied childhood obesity on a global scale, wanted to clarify： “There are still more children that are underweight in the world than there are obese, but that’s likely to change pretty soon.” 19. To recruit more American students in STEM fields, the White House five-year strategic plan tries to remove social and financial barriers to a rewarding education and technical fields. University of District of Columbia’s Engineering School’s Dean believes many students avoid STEM because they think they have better options. They see opportunities in sports, philosophy or history or arts. Some experts believe that to compete with countries like China and India, the country needs to encourage STEM education at young age. 20. China will take a host of measures to boost development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), according to a statement issued by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The administration vowed to further regulate TCM health care services, and to greatly improve the capacity and system of technological innovation in TCM. Efforts will also be made to further standardize the TCM industry and expedite the fourth national survey on medicinal resources in the country. Standards should be worked out for establishing overseas TCM centres, so as to expand foreign exchanges and co-operation in TCM. Cats usually like owners with light personality traits. People like to play with their cats in front of a mirror. People with dark personality traits should not keep cats. People’ s behaviour and mood have an effect on their cats.

Dictation Listen to the passage. For questions 21 ~ 25, fill in the blanks with the exact words or phrases you hear. [*] We are very often impressed and excited by amazing predictions made by scientists regarding our future: how we will travel, how we will spend our free time, how we will eat and so on. 【D1】______before long we will have gadgets that let you watch TV while navigating in your auto-pilot car which also makes coffee and sandwiches as you travel to the station. There you will catch an air-train, which flies 【D2】______without touching it and breaks the speed of sound. It would be interesting to be around in 150 years to see how many of these predictions are accurate, but for the moment we can 【D3】______some past predictions about how technology will improve or not. Some of the most important inventions affecting our lives concern travel, and one of these is the aeroplane. We will soon all travel by gigantic flying shopping centres according to some experts, but was everyone convinced by the aeroplane back in the beginning? Some people believed that the aeroplane would just never happen. For example, Mr. Simon Newcomb declared that flight by machines 【D4】______air is insignificant and utterly impossible. Eighteen months later the Wright Brothers flew. Another who believed it was impossible was Lord Kelvin. He should have known better, being a mathematician, physicist and president of the British Royal Society. The brilliant inventor Thomas Edison turned out to be a little short-sighted when looking at the sky: he declared in 1895 that the aeroplane’ s possibilities 【D5】______and that it was better to research something else.In this section， you will hear two short passages. The passages will be read twice. After each passage, there will be a thirty-second pause. During the pause, write the answers on the answer sheet. Dictation Listen to the passage. For questions 21~25, fill in the blanks with the exact words or phrases you hear. We are very often impressed and excited by amazing predictions made by scientists regarding our future: how we will travel, how we will spend our free time, how we will eat and so on. Apparently before long we will have gadgets that let you watch TV while navigating in your auto-pilot car which also makes coffee and sandwiches as you travel to the station. There you will catch an air-train, which flies along a rail without touching it and breaks the speed of sound. It would be interesting to be around in 150 years to see how many of these predictions are accurate, but for the moment we can content ourselves with some past predictions about how technology will improve or not. Some of the most important inventions affecting our lives concern travel, and one of these is the aeroplane. We will soon all travel by gigantic flying shopping centres according to some experts, but was everyone convinced by the aeroplane back in the beginning? Some people believed that the aeroplane would just never happen. For example, Mr. Simon Newcomb declared that flight by machines heavier than air is insignificant and utterly impossible. Eighteen months later the Wright Brothers flew. Another who believed it was impossible was Lord Kelvin. He should have known better, being a mathematician, physicist and president of the British Royal Society. The brilliant inventor Thomas Edison turned out to be a little short-sighted when looking at the sky: he declared in 1895 that the aeroplane’s possibilities were finished and that it was better to research something else.

Summary Listen to the passage. For questions 26 -30, complete the notes using no more than three words for each blank. Elephants are highly intelligent animals with truly remarkable 【D6】______. The average elephant, spends much of its day eating and 【D7】______food. In fact, its memory may reach as far back as 【D8】______to recall a place where it ate in the past. In addition to these mental abilities, elephants can paint abstract pictures with their 【D9】______, and some of the pictures have been sold for a great deal of money to 【D10】______ feeding the elephants in the zoos. [*]Summary Listen to the passage. For questions 26~30, complete the notes using no more than three words for each blank. The mind of an elephant should not be underestimated. They are brilliant creatures blessed with both excellent memory and artistic talent. Elephants each consume approximately 495 pounds of vegetarian food a day. They spend about 16 hours a day eating, but must walk about 4 miles a day in search of food. This extreme need for food is a huge burden to the elephants. The average elephant lives approximately 70 years, and its sharp memory allows it to remember locations where it has found food as long as thirty years earlier, even as a baby. In an elephant’s travels, they come across other elephants also looking for food. Some elephants are friendly, and some are not so nice. Elephants remember every elephant they have ever met. They can even recognize an elephant they perhaps haven’t seen for thirty years. They immediately remember whether this elephant is a threat or a potential friend. When elephants are not searching for food，they sometimes produce art in the sand with their trunks. They seem to enjoy just relaxing and painting in the sand. One day, an elephant zoo-keeper noticed this and gave an elephant a paint brush filled with red paint to see what it would do. The zoo-keeper put a canvas on the ground to see if the elephant would paint on it. Sure enough, it did, and since then elephants in most zoos have been given paint brushes, paints, and canvases. The resulting abstract art has been sold for high prices around the world. The funds go to support feeding the elephants in the zoos. Most felt that the elephants were only capable of painting abstracts. However, they have been trained to paint trees, flowers, and other items in nature. This has enabled us to understand “elephant genius” even more.

Don’t put the______on me! I’m not responsible______your financial problems. guilt; about blame; for excuse; into cause; of burden; to

He was supposed to meet me at ten o’ clock at the railway station, but he______. wasn’t doesn’t wouldn’t didn’t supposed not

—Did you like the new film? —No, it didn’ t______my expectations. make up for fall short of live up to come up with go down with

Mr. Peters had been with us for ten years and______the firm made us all very sad. quitting his quitting being quit by quitting having quit

—Do you know anything about paper-cut? —Well, I’ ve seen it______. being done to be done having done to have done doing

—Yon look different, Maria. Have you done something different to your hair? —Oh yes. I______red. got it dyed got it to dye got it dye got dyed it got dyed

—Has the weather cleared up in New York? —No, it’ s______cold. so far hardly ever ever so too much too rather

—Did Jane get angry at the remark on the Internet? —______it. She was quite pleased. Longer for Far from Sooner than Rather than Instead of

—Will Michael eventually be put on trial? —Not______his old age and poor health. with respect to as for in view of apart for in spite of

They don’ t have to have any riding experience______, and we’ll teach them how to ride. whatsoever wherever however whatever nonetheless

We invited two hundred people to the reception. Had we known that only fifty would turn up, we______so much food. should not prepare would not prepare did not prepare would not have prepared Had not prepare

Suppose we______so hard. Do you think we would have passed the examination? don’ t study are studying will study haven’ t studied hadn’ t studied

—I had to stay up late to work last night. —______ So I had. So had I. So I did. So did I. So you had.

—Concert Choice, thank you for waiting. May I Help you? —Yes, I’ d like two tickets for the New York Philharmonic on May 18th.______ —The orchestra section? Just a minute. There’ re only a few seats left. They’ re on the side. Would those be OK? What’ s available in the orchestra section? How’ s the orchestra section? I play in the school orchestra. Can you recommend any performances in the symphony section? I hope their concert is a huge success.