1991年1月大学英语四级考试真题

Listening Comprehension (20 minutes)
Section A
Directions:　　In this section, you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the question will be spoken only once. After each question there will be pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a line through the centre.
Example:
You will hear:
You will read:
A) At the office.
B) In the waiting room.
C) At the airport.
D) In a restaurant.
From the conversation we know that the two were talking about some work they had to finish in the evening. This is most likely to have taken place at the office. There fore, A) “At the office” is the best answer. You should choose [A] on the Answer Sheet and mark it with a single line through the centre.
Sample Answer [A] [B] [C] [D]
1.　　A) Bill always comes on time.
B) Bill will be on time.
C) Bill will be late again.
D) Bill won’t come.
2.　　A) They don’t know how to spend the money they have.
B) They don’t know how to spend the next two weeks.
C) They need money badly.
D) They only have part-time jobs.
3.　　A) One.
B) Two.
C) Three.
D) Four.
4.　　A) These figures are not correct.
B) These figures are correct.
C) These figures are probably correct.
D) These figures are probably not correct.
5.　　A) In October.
B) In April.
C) She isn’t certain.
D) Between April and October.
6.　　A) Jane speaks three languages.
B) Jane speaks four languages.
C) Jane speaks English only.
D) Jane does not speak English.
7.　　A) The damage to the store.
B) The possible harm to the people nearby.
C) The punishment given to the crazy man.
D) The reason for the crazy action.
8.　　A) She is going to give up biology.
B) She spends half of her time on biology.
C) To her, biology is difficult, but math is not.
D) To her, math is even more difficult than biology.
9.　　A) There was a shower.
B) There was a car accident.
C) There was a fire.
D) There was a heavy snow.
10.　　A) They are very rewarding.
B) They are too easy.
C) They are inexpensive.
D) They are not worth the trouble.
Section B
Directions:　　In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 11 to 14 based on the passage you have just heard.
11.　　A) The speaker’s friend.
B) The speaker.
C) The friend’s mother.
D) The mother’s friend.
12.　　A) They are strangers.
B) They are neighbours.
C) They are friends.
D) They are old schoolmates.
13.　　A) To return the shoes to the store.
B) To pay the manager a visit.
C) To buy more of the 12-dollar shoes.
D) To complain about the price of the shoes.
14.　　A) 12 dollars
B) 20 dollars
C) Less than 12 dollars
D) More than 12 dollars
Passage Two
Questions 15 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.
15.　　A) Short and cool.
B) Long and cool.
C) Long and hot.
D) Short and hot.
16.　　A) Because the price was too high.
B) Because Alaska has an extremely cold winter.
C) Because they thought Alaska was a useless land.
D) Because the climatic difference there is too great.
17.　　A) No, only a few became rich.
B) No, none became rich.
C) No, very few people had actually found gold.
D) Yes, hundreds of thousands of people became rich.
Passage Three
Questions 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
18.　　A) She was driving along a country road.
B) She was lying near a lonely road, trembling.
C) She was lying in a hospital bed.
D) She was telling an astonishing story to a doctor.
19.　　A) She fainted due to the effects of some drug.
B) She was stopped by a policeman and treated rudely.
C) She was attacked by robbers.
D) She was stopped and forced to enter a flying saucer.
20.　　A) The women made up an astonishing story.
B) The women had intended to leave her husband without a word.
C) The women had been taken over a thousand miles away from her home.
D) The women had been dishonest to her husband.

Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directions:　　There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
The aim of the teacher is to get his pupils as quickly as possible over the period in which each printed symbol is looked at for its shape, and arrive at the stage when the pupil looks at words and phrases, for their meaning, almost without noticing the shapes of the separate letters.
When a good reader is at work he does not look at letters, nor even at words, one by one however quickly; he takes in the meaning of two, three, or four words at a time, in a single moment. Watch carefully the eyes of a person who is reading, and it will be seen that they do not travel smoothly along the lines of print, but they move by jumps separated by very short stops. The eyes of a very good reader move quickly, taking long jumps and making very short halts (停顿); the eyes of a poor reader move more slowly, taking only short jumps and stopping longer at each halt. Sometimes, when he meets a difficulty, he even goes backwards to see again what has already been looked at once.
The teacher’s task is therefore clear: it is to train his pupils to take in several words at a glance (one eye-jump’) and to remove the necessity for going backwards to read something a second time.
This shows at once that letter-by-letter, or syllable-by-syllable, or word-by-word reading, with the finger pointing to the word, carefully fixing each one in turn, is wrong. It is wrong because such a method ties the pupil’s eyes down to a very short jump, and the aim is to train for the long jump. Moreover, a very short jump is too short to provide any meaning or sense; and it will be found that having struggled with three or four words separately, the pupil has to look at them again, all together and in one group, in order to get the meaning of the whole phrase.
21.　　Which of the following is closest in meaning to the first paragraph?
A) Pupils should be trained to reach quickly the stage of reading without having to concentrate on the separate symbols.
B) Pupils should look at each printed symbol for its meaning as well as for its shape.
C) Teachers should help their pupils avoid looking at the shape of the printed symbols.
D) Teachers should tell their pupils the different stages of their study.
22.　　In a single moment, a good reader picks up ________.
A) several words
B) several phrases
C) several sentences
D) several lines
23.　　According to the passage, which of the following is FALSE?
A) The eyes of a good reader make short halts and long jumps.
B) The eyes of a bad reader take in the meaning of one word at a time.
C) The eyes of a bad reader take only short jumps.
D) The eyes of a good reader move steadily.
24.　　One may have to read something a second time if ________.
A) there is enough time
B) one reads too fast
C) the passage is very long
D) one reads word by word
25.　　The main idea of the last paragraph is that ________.
A) word-by-word reading is highly inefficient
B) the pupil’s eyes should focus on groups of syllables instead of single syllables
C) pupils have to move their eyes back and forth when reading
D) finger pointing in reading helps the pupil concentrate on meaning
Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Television has changed the lifestyle of people in every Industrialized country in the world. In the United States, where sociologists have studied the effects, some interesting observations have been made.
Television, although not essential, has become an important part of most people’s lives. It alters peoples’ ways of seeing the world; in many ways, it supports and sustains (维持) modern life. Television has become a baby-sitter, an introducer of conversations, the major transmitter of culture, a keeper of tradition. Yet when what can be seen on TV in one day is critically analyzed, it becomes evident that television is not a teacher but a sustainer; the poor quality of programming does not elevate (提高) people into greater understanding, but rather maintains and encourages the life as it exists.
The primary reason for the lack of quality in American television is related to both the history of TV programming development and the economics of TV. Television in America began with the radio. Radio companies and their sponsors first experimented with television. Therefore, the close relationship which the advertisers had with radio programs became the system for American TV. Sponsors not only paid money for time within programs, but many actually produced the programs.
Thus, in American society, television is primarily concerned with reflecting and attracting society rather than experimenting with new ideas. Advertisers want to attract the largest viewing audience possible, to do so requires that the programs be entertaining rather than educational, attractive rather than challenging.
Television in America today remains, to a large extent, with the same organization and standards as it had thirty years ago. The hope for further development and true achievement toward improving society will require a change in the entire system.
26.　　According to the author American television is poor in quality because ________.
A) advertisers are interested in experimenting with new ideas
B) it is still at an early stage of development, compared with the radio
C) the programs have to be developed in the interests of the sponsors for economic reasons
D) it is controlled by radio companies
27.　　The second paragraph is mainly about ________.
A) TV as the sustainer of American life
B) TV as the major transmitter of culture
C) the educational effect of TV on society
D) the strong influence and the poor quality of American TV
28.　　In the author’s view American TV should ________.
A) be critical but entertaining
B) be creative and educational
C) change with the development of society
D) attract as many viewers as possible
29.　　The author believes that television in the United States has become important to most people because ________.
A) it promotes family unity
B) it helps them develop their speaking ability
C) it affects their life in many ways
D) it challenges society
30.　　The author’s attitude towards American television is ________.
A) critical
B) praising
C) doubtful
D) sympathetic
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
“... We are not about to enter the Information Age but instead are rather well into it.” Present predictions are that by 1990, about thirty million jobs in the United States, or about thirty percent of the job market, will be computer-related. In 1980, only twenty-one percent of all United States high schools owned one or more computers for student use. In the fall of 1985, a new survey revealed that half of United States secondary schools have fifteen or more computers for student use. And now educational experts, administrators, and even the general public are demanding that all students become “computer literate (慢点…的).” “By the year 2000 knowledge of computers will be necessary in over eighty percent of all occupations. Soon those people not educated in computer use will be compared to those who are print illiterate today.”
What is “computer literacy”? The term itself seems to imply soon extent of “knowing” about computers, but knowing what. The current opinion seems to be that this should include a general knowledge of what computers are, plus a little of their history and something of how they operate.
Therefore, it is vital that educators everywhere take a careful look not only at what is being done, but also at what should be done in the field of computer education. Today most adults are capable of utilising a motor vehicle without the slightest knowledge of how the internal-combustion engine works. We effectively use all types of electrical equipment without being able to tell their histories or to explain how they work. Business people for years have made good use of typewriters and adding machines, yet few have ever known how to repair them. Why, then, attempt to teach computers by teaching how or why they work?
Rather, we first must concentrate on teaching the effective use of the computer as the tool is.
“Knowing how to use a computer is what’s going to be important, we don’t talk about ‘automobile literacy. ‘ We just get in our cars and drive them.”
31.　　In 1990, the number of jobs having nothing to do with computers in the United States will be reduced to ________.
A) 79 million
B) 30 million
C) 70 million
D) 100 million
32.　　The expression “Print illiterate” (Para. 1, Line 16) refers to ________.
A) one who has never learnt printing
B) one who is not computer literate
C) one who has never learnt to read
D) one who is not able to use a typewriter
33.　　The first paragraph is mainly about ________.
A) recent predictions of computer-related jobs
B) the wide use of computers in schools
C) the urgency of computer education
D) public interest in computers
34.　　According to the author, the effective way to spread the use of computers is to teach ________.
A) what computers are
B) how to use computers
C) where computers can be used
D) how computers work
35.　　Which of the following statements is FALSE?
A) What to teach about computers should be reconsidered.
B) Those who are not educated in computer use will find it difficult to get a job.
C) Human society has already entered the Information Age.
D) Those who want to use computers should know how computers operate.
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
Editor:
While a new school term is about to begin, perhaps we should reconsider the matter of examinations. In July, two writers (Letters to the Editor) praised the cancellation of exams because they believe “tests don’t tell the whole story.”
As a teacher who has worked in four countries, I have had the experience that a student who earns good marks is generally a good student, and that a student’s final mark in a subject is usually a grade average of the year’s work. Of course there are exceptions, but they do not have the frequency that would give an unfair picture of a student’s ability.
The simple fact is that proper class work, diligent exam studies and good marks are almost certain indicators of a student’s future performance. The opposite, almost certainly, incompetence.
There is no acceptable substitute for competition and examination of quality. How can teachers and future officials determine what a student has learned and remembered? Should we simply take the student word for it? Any institution that “liberates” students from fair and formal exams is misguided, if not ignorant. And surely the “graduates” of such institutions will lack trustworthiness, not to mention being rejected by foreign universities for graduate or other studies.
When all is said and done, I sense that a fear of failure and a fear of unpleasant comparison with others is at the bottom of most ban-exams (废除考试) talk. Excellence and quality fear nothing. On the contrary, they seek competition and desire the satisfaction of being the best.
36.　　Which of the following will the author of this passage probably agree with?
A) Tests are not effective in measuring the students’ abilities.
B) Tests are an effective measure of the students’ abilities.
C) Tests can only measure some of the students’ abilities.
D) Tests may not be useful for measuring students’ abilities.
37.　　The two writers mentioned in the first paragraph ________.
A) opposed judging students by the results of exams
B) must have proposed other ways of testing students
C) regarded exams as a way of punishing students
D) seem to be worried about the poor marks of their students
38.　　According to the letter, a student’s final mark ________.
A) is often encouraging
B) often gives a fair picture of the year’s work
C) often proves unreliable
D) often tells whether he likes the subject of not
39.　　If a student graduated from a university which does not require exams he would ________.
A) have to continue his studies
B) have a feeling of failure
C) be incompetent
D) not be admitted by foreign institutions
40.　　According to the letter, those who dislike the idea of examinations are probably afraid of ________.
A) competing with other students
B) being graded unfairly
C) working too hard
D) being dismissed from school

Vocabulary and Structure (20 minutes)
Directions:　　There are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
41.　　It is not difficult to ________ the idea that machines may communicate information to us.
A) admit
B) receive
C) accept
D) convince
42.　　I have not the least ________ of hurting your feelings.
A) concept
B) intention
C) mind
D) purpose
43.　　As the shortage of certain metals approaches, others must be found to take their ________.
A) share
B) place
C) role
D) shape
44.　　The new power station is reported ________ within three years.
A) to have completed
B) to have been completed
C) having Been completed
D) to complete
45.　　Mary is in bed with a fever and she can’t hope to ________ the cold in a few day.
A) get over
B) get away
C) get off
D) get out
46.　　Although the weather was very had, the buses still ran on ________.
A) list
B) plan
C) schedule
D) arrangement
47.　　The situation today is obviously quite different from ________ it was only 50 years ago.
A) what
B) which
C) when
D) such
48.　　Soon, Americans hope, the rains will return and ease the hardship ________ U.S. farmers.
A) faced
B) faces
C) facing
D) to face
49.　　Ever since the family moved to the suburbs last year, they ________ better health.
A) could have enjoyed
B) have been enjoying
C) had enjoyed
D) are enjoying
50.　　It is much easier to talk about social change than to ________.
A) bring it on
B) bring it about
C) burning it up
D) bring it out
51.　　Jane was hit on the head by the robber and was knocked ________.
A) mindless
B) unaware
C) brainless
D) unconscious
52.　　He likes doing some reading at home to the cinema.
A) than to go
B) than going
C) more than going
D) rather than to go
53.　　________ neglecting our education, my father sent my brother and me to a summer school.
A) Accused of
B) Accusing of
C) That he was accused of
D) To be accused of
54.　　I bought a new house last year, but I ________ my old house yet, so at the moment I have two houses.
A) did not sell
B) do not sell
C) had not sold
D) have not sold
55.　　She didn’t regret paying 200 dollars for the bookcase. As a matter or a fact, she would gladly have paid ________ for it.
A) as much twice
B) much as twice
C) as twice much
D) twice as much
56.　　By the time you get to Beijing tomorrow, I ________ for Shanghai.
A) am leaving
B) should have left
C) will leave
D) have already left
57.　　It was essential that all the necessary documents ________ to the president’s office being the end of this month.
A) be handed in
B) must be handed in
C) should
D) had been handed in
58.　　The car is quite ________ of petrol.
A) economic
B) economical
C) saving
D) sparing
59.　　The traffic was very heavy; otherwise I ________ here 50 minutes sooner.
A) would be
B) should be
C) had been
D) would have been
60.　　________ his great wealth, he always remained a man of simple tastes.
A) Except for
B) With regard to
C) Despite
D) Although
61.　　The socks were too small and it was only by ________ them that he managed to get them on.
A) spreading
B) extending
C) lengthening
D) stretching
62.　　Language can be defined as a tool by which human beings ________ with one another.
A) associate
B) connect
C) communicate
D) correspond
63.　　As a small boy, he was slow ________ learning to read and write.
A) on
B) with
C) in
D) about
64.　　Tony was ________ a mile of the hotel when he ran out of petrol.
A) within
B) inside
C) about
D) off
65.　　It has been rather costly to install the machinery, but it will prove to be worth the money ________.
A) in the long run
B) in conclusion
C) at long last
D) at the end
66.　　I don’t know why he ________ in the middle of a sentence.
A) broke off
B) broke out
C) broke through
D) broke away
67.　　I’m sorry Andy didn’t want to go to the conference. ________ willing to go we would have paid all his expenses.
A) Being
B) Was he
C) He had been
D) Had he been
68.　　The minister was the person ________.
A) whom the state dinner was given in honour
B) for whom the state dinner was given honour
C) whose honour the state dinner was given
D) in whose honour the state dinner was given
69.　　The young driver looked over the engine carefully lest it ________ on the way.
A) goes wrong
B) would go wrong
C) went wrong
D) should go wrong
70.　　John had been working hard and ________.
A) so his brother had
B) so had his brother
C) so was his brother
D) so his brother did

Close (15 minutes)
Directions:　　There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D) on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Albert Einstein is said to have been asked by a student, “what finding helped you most when you were __71__ the theory of relativity?” Einstein replied without __72__ moment’s hesitation. “Finding how to __73__ about the problem.”
The same __74__ is told about Sir Isaac Newton and __75__ other scientists. We have no proof __76__ any of these well-known conversations __77__ took place, but we are prepared to __78__ that they did, and, if so, that the __79__ was the same one Einstein gave, __80__ this is the “way scientists work __81__ science progresses.”
Scientists usually work toward models of the process of structure they are studying. __82__ we have models of the structure __83__ the universe and of the atom, models of the process __84__ which the genetic (遗传的) pattern is passed from one building block of life to __85__ models of the economic system and __86__ on. Some models are mathematical, but a __87__ does not have to have equations (方程) or even diagrams; the __88__ requirement is no doubt that it __89__ an insight (洞察) into the relationships that determine __90__ something works as it does or how it is put together.
71.　　A) designing
B) inventing
C) revealing
D) developing
72.　　A) a
B) the
C) an
D) some
73.　　A) know
B) learn
C) think
D) argue
74.　　A) event
B) news
C) story
D) information
75.　　A) any
B) more
C) few
D) several
76.　　A) that
B) since
C) which
D) as
77.　　A) naturally
B) actually
C) eventually
D) regularly
78.　　A) forget
B) consider
C) believe
D) realize
79.　　A) question
B) answer
C) conversation
D) topic
80.　　A) although
B) because
C) unless
D) once
81.　　A) while
B) or
C) and
D) but
82.　　A) Otherwise
B) Nevertheless
C) Still
D) Thus
83.　　A) of
B) in
C) with
D) over
84.　　A) for
B) by
C) on
D) to
85.　　A) either
B) other
C) both
D) another
86.　　A) so
B) later
C) further
D) straight
87.　　A) structure
B) pattern
C) process
D) model
88.　　A) urgent
B) important
C) original
D) unnecessary
89.　　A) provide
B) will provide
C) provided
D) is provided
90.　　A) when
B) what
C) why
D) whether

Writing (30 minutes)
Directions:　　For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition about “Bicycle – An Important Means of Transport in China”. You should base your composition on the following outline:
1.　　为什么自行车在中国这样普及。
2.　　和汽车比较。
3.　　自行车在中国的前途。
Your composition should be no less than 100 words. Remember to write your composition on the Composition Sheet.
Bicycle – An Important Means of Transport In China.

Part I

1.　　B　　2.　　C　　3.　　B　　4.　　D　　5.　　C
6.　　B　　7.　　B　　8.　　D　　9.　　A　　10.　　A
11.　　A　　12.　　A　　13.　　C　　14.　　D　　15.　　D
16.　　C　　17.　　A　　18.　　B　　19.　　D　　20.　　C
Part II

21.　　A　　22.　　A　　23.　　D　　24.　　D　　25.　　A
26.　　C　　27.　　D　　28.　　C　　29.　　C　　30.　　A
31.　　C　　32.　　C　　33.　　C　　34.　　B　　35.　　D
36.　　B　　37.　　A　　38.　　B　　39.　　D　　40.　　A
Part III

41.　　C　　42.　　B　　43.　　B　　44.　　B　　45.　　A
46.　　C　　47.　　A　　48.　　C　　49.　　B　　50.　　B
51.　　D　　52.　　C　　53.　　A　　54.　　D　　55.　　D
56.　　B　　57.　　A　　58.　　B　　59.　　D　　60.　　C
61.　　D　　62.　　C　　63.　　C　　64.　　D　　65.　　A
66.　　A　　67.　　D　　68.　　D　　69.　　D　　70.　　B
Part IV
71.　　D　　72.　　A　　73.　　C　　74.　　C　　75.　　D
76.　　A　　77.　　B　　78.　　C　　79.　　B　　80.　　B
81.　　C　　82.　　D　　83.　　A　　84.　　B　　85.　　D
86.　　A　　87.　　D　　88.　　B　　89.　　A　　90.　　C