1、2015年12月大學英語四級考試真題（第三套）PartIWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaycommentingonthesaying“Nevergoouttheretoseewhathappens,goouttheretomakethingshappen.”Youcanciteexamplestoillustratetheimportanceofbeingparticipantsratherthanmereonlookersinlife.Youshouldwriteatlea

2、st120wordsbutnomorethan180words.PartnListeningComprehension(25minutes)(說明：由丁2015年12月六級考試全國共考了2套聽力，本套真題聽力與前2套內容完全一樣，只是順序不一樣，因此在本套真題中不再重復出現)PartmReadingComprehension(40minutes)SectionADirections:Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.Youarerequiredtoselectonewordforeachblankfromalistofchoicesgiven

3、inawordbankfollowingthepassage.Readthepassagethroughcarefullybeforemakingyourchoices.Eachchoiceinthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.PleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitemonAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmorethanonce.Questions26to35arebasedonthefollowingp

4、assage.Childrendonotthinkthewayadultsdo.Formostofthefirstyearoflife,ifsomethingisoutofsight,it'outofmind.Ifyoucoverababy's26toywithapieceofcloth,thebabythinksthetoyhasdisappearedandstopslookingforit.A4-year-oldmay27thatasisterhasmorefruitjuicewhenitisonlytheshapesoftheglassesthatdiffer,notth

5、e28ofjuice.Yetchildrenaresmartintheirownway.Likegoodlittlescientists,childrenarealwaystestingtheirchild-sized29abouthowthingswork.Whenyourchildthrowsherspoononthefloorforthesixthtimeasyoutrytofeedher,andyousay,“That'senough!Iwillnotpickupyourspoonagainthechildwill"30testyourclaim.Areyouseri

6、ous?Areyouangry?Whatwillhappenifshethrowsthespoonagain?Sheisnotdoingthistodriveyou31:rather,sheislearningthatherdesiresandyourscandiffer,andthatsometimesthose32areimportantandsometimestheyarenot.Howandwhydoeschildren'sthinkingchange?Inthe1920s,SwisspsychologistJeanPiagetproposedthatchildrencogni

7、tive(i!知的)abilitiesunfold33,likethebloomingofaflower,almostindependentofwhatelseis34intheirlives.Althoughmanyofhisspecificconclusionshavebeen35ormodifiedovertheyears,hisideasinspiredthousandsofstudiesbyinvestigatorsallovertheworld.A)advocateI)ImmediatelyB)amountJ)NaturallyC)confirmedK)ObtainingD)cra

8、zyL)PrimarilyE)definiteM)ProtestF)differencesN)RejectedG)favoriteO)theoriesH)happeningA SectionBDirections:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattachedtoit.Eachstatementcontainsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.Youmaychoosea

9、paragraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwithaletter.AnswerthequestionsbymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2ThePerfectEssayLookingbackontoomanyyearsofeducation,Icanidentifyonetrulyimpossibleteacher.Shecaredaboutme,andmyintellectuallife,evenwhenIdidn'Herexpectationswerehig任impossiblyso.

10、ShewasanEnglishteacher.Shewasalsomymother.Whengoodstudentsturninanessay,theydreamoftheirinstructorreturningittotheminexactlythesamecondition,saveforasinglewordaddedinthemarginofthefinalpages“Flawless."Thisdreamcametrueformeoneafternoonintheninthgrade.Ofcourse,Ihadheardthatgeniuscouldshowitselfa

11、tanearlyage,soIwasonlyslightlytakenabackthatIhadachievedperfectionatthetenderageof14.Obviously,Ididwhatanyprofessionalwriterwoulddo;Ihurriedofftospreadthegoodnews.Ididn'tgetveryfar.ThefirstpersonItoldwasmymother.B Mymother,whoisjustshyoffivefeettall,isnormallyincrediblysoft-spoken,butontherareoc

12、casionwhenshegotangry,shewasterrifying.Iamnotsureifshewasmoreupsetbymyhubris（得意忘形）orbythefactthatmyEnglishteacherhadletmyegogetsooutofhand.Inanyevent,mymotherandherredpenshowedmehowdeeplyflawedaflawlessessaycouldbe.Atthetime,Iamsureshethoughtshewasteachingmeaboutmechanics,transitions（過渡），structure,s

13、tyleandvoice.ButwhatIlearned,andwhatstuckwithmethroughmytimeteachingwritingatHarvard,wasadeeperlessonaboutthenatureofcreativecriticism.C Firstoff,ithurts.Genuinecriticism,thetypethatleavesalastingmarkonyouasawriter,alsoleavesanexistentialimprint（印記）onyouasaperson.Ihaveheardpeoplesaythatawritershould

14、nevertakecriticismpersonally.Isaythatweshouldneverlistentothesepeople.Criticism,atitsbest,isdeeplypersonal,andgetstotheheartofwhywewritethewaywedo.Theintimatenatureofgenuinecriticismimpliessomethingaboutwhoisabletogiveit,namely,someonewhoknowsyouwellenoughtoshowyouhowyourmentallifeisgettinginthewayo

15、fgoodwriting.Conveniently,theyarealsowloacskthepeoplewhocareenoughtoseeyouthroughthispainfulrealization.Formeittooktheformofmyfirst,andIhopeonly,encounterwithwriter'sIbw：±notabletoproduceanythingforthreeyears.FranzKafkaoncesaid:"Writingisolttede（獨處）,thedescentintothecoldabyss（深淵）ofones

16、elf.My”mother'scriticisrhadshownmethatKafkaisrightaboutthecoldabyss,andwhenyoumaketheintrospective（內省的）descentthatwritingrequiresyouarenotalwayspleasedbywhatyoufind.But,intheyearsthatfollowed,hersustainedtutoringsuggestedthatKafkamightbewrongaboutthesolitude.Iwasluckyenoughtofindacriticandteache

17、rwhowaswillingtomakethejourneyofwritingwithme.“Itisathingofnogreatdifficulty,accordingtoPlutarch,“tcraiseobjectionsagainstanothermarisspeech,itisaveryeasymatter;buttoproduceabetterinitsplaceisaworkextremelytroublesome."IamsureIwroteessaysinthelateryearsofhighschoolwithoutmymother'sguidance,

18、butIcan'treWhlath任emember,however,ishowshetookupthe“extremelytroublesome"workofongoingcriticism.TherearetwowaystointerpretPlutarchwhenhesuggeststhatacriticshouldbeabletoproduce“abetterinitsplace.”Inastraightforwardsense,hecouldmeanthatacriticmustbemoretalentedthantheartistshecritiques（評論）.M

19、ymotherwaswellcoveredonthiscount.ButperhapsPlutarchissuggestingsomethingGenuinecriticHousDreatesapreslightlydifferent,somethingabitclosertoMarcusCicero'sclaimthatoneshoi“criticizebycreation,notbyfindingfaultopeningforanauthortobecomebetteronhisowntermwaprocessthatisoftenextremelypainful,butalsoa

20、lmostalwaysmeaningful.D Mymothersaidshewouldhelpmewithmywriting,butfirstIhadtohelpmyself.Foreachassignment,IwastowritethebestessayIcould.Realcriticismisnotmeanttofindobviousmistakes,soifshefoundan廣thetypeIcouldhavefoundonmyownIhadtostartfromscratch.Fromscratch.Oncetheessaywas“flawless,”shewouldtakea

21、neveningatkmethroughmyerrors.Thatwaswhentruecriticism,thetypethatchangedmeasaperson,began.ShecriticizedmewhenIincludedlittle-knownreferencesandprofessionaljargon（行話）.Shehadnopatienceforbrilliantbutirrelevantfiguresofspeech.“Wterscan'bluff（虛張聲勢）theirwaythroughignorance.ThatwasnewstombIwouldneedto

22、findanotherwaytostructuremydailyexistence.E Shetrimmedbackmyflowerylanguage,drewlinesthroughmyexclamationmarksandarguedforthevalueofrestraintinexpression.“John,shealmostwhispered.Ileanedintohearher:"Ican'thearyouwhenyoushoutatme.”SoIstoppedshoutingandbluffing,andslowlymywritingimproved.Some

23、wherealongthewayIsetasidemyhopesofwritingthatflawlessessay.ButperhapsImissedsomethingimportantinmymother'slessonsaboutcreativityandperfection.Perhapsthepointofwritingtheflawlessessaywasnottogiveup,buttoneverwillinglyfinish.Whitmanrepeatedlyreworked“SongofMyself"between1855and1891.Repeatedly

24、.Wedoourabsolutebestwithapieceofwriting,andcomeascloseaswecantotheideal.And,forthetimebeing,wesettle.Incritique,however,weareforcedtodepart,togiveuptheperfectionwethoughtwehadachievedforthechanceofbeingevenalittlebitbetter.ThisisthelessonItookfrommymother:Ifperfectionwerepossible,itwouldnotbemotivat

25、ing.36. Theauthorwasadvisedagainsttheimproperuseoffiguresofspeech.37. Theauthor'smothertaugimavaluablelessonbypointingoutlotsofflawsinhisseeminglyperfectessay.38. Awritershouldpolishhiswritingrepeatedlysoastogetclosertoperfection.39. Writersmayexperienceperiodsoftimeintheirlifewhentheyjustcan

26、9;tproduceanything.40. Theauthorwasnotmuchsurprisedwhenhisschoolteachermarkedhisessayas“flawless”.41. Criticizingsomeone'sspeechissaidtobeeasierthancomingupwithabetterone.42. Theauthorlooksuponhismotherashismostdemandingandcaringinstructor.43. Thecriticismtheauthorreceivedfromhismotherchangedhim

27、asaperson.44. Theauthorgraduallyimprovedhiswritingbyavoidingfancylanguage.45. Constructivecriticismgivesanauthoragoodstarttoimprovehiswriting.SectionCDirections:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C),an

28、dD).YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.PassageOneQuestions46to50arebasedonthefollowingpassage.CouldyoureproduceSiliconValleyelsewhere,oristheresomethinguniqueaboutit?Itwouldn'tbesurprisingifitwerehatoreproduceinothercountries,

29、becauseyoucouldn'treproduceitinmostoftheUSeitWhatdoesittaketomakeaSiliconValley?It'stherightpeoplfeyoucouldgettherighttenthousandpeopletomovefromSiliconValleytoBuffalo,BuffalowouldbecomeSiliconValley.Youonlyneedtwokindsofpeopletocreateatechnologywb(中心)：richpeopleandnerds(癡迷科研的人).Observationb

30、earsthisout.WithintheUS,townshavebecomestartuphubsifandonlyiftheyhavebothrichpeopleandnerds.FewstartupshappeninMiami,forexample,becausealthoughit'sfullofrichpeople,ithasfewhesdsotthekindofplacenerdslike.WhereasPittsburghhastheoppositeproblem:plentyofnerds,butnorichpeople.ThetopUSComputerScienced

31、epartmentsaresaidtobeMIT,Stanford,Berkeley,andCarnegie-Mellon.MITyieldedRoute128.StanfordandBerkeleyyieldedSiliconValley.ButwhatdidCarnegie-MellonyieldinPittsburgh?AndwhathappenedinIthaca,homeofCornellUniversity,whichisalsohighonthelist?IgrewupinPittsburghandwenttocollegeatCornell,soIcananswerforbot

32、h.Theweatheristerrible,particularlyinwinter,andthere'nointerestingoldcitytomakeupforit,asthereisinBoston.Richpeopledon'twantVeinPittsburghorIthaca.Sowhilethereareplentyofhackers(電月商迷)whocouldstartstartups,there'snoonetoinvestinthem.Doyoureallyneedtherichpeople?Wouldn'itworktohavetheg

33、overnmentinvestinthenerds?No,itwouldnot.Startupinvestorsareadistincttypeofrichpeople.Theytendtohavealotofexperiencethemselvesinthetechnologybusiness.Thishelpsthempicktherightstartups,andmeanstheycansupplyadviceandconnectionsaswellasmoney.Andthefactthattheyhaveapersonalstakeintheoutcomemakesthemreall

34、ypayattention.46. WhatdowelearnaboutSiliconValleyfromthepassage?A) Itssuccessishardtocopyanywhereelse.B) ItisthebiggesttechnologyhubintheUS.C) Itsfameinhightechnologyisincomparable.D) Itleadstheworldininformationtechnology.47. WhatmakesMiamiunfittoproduceaSiliconValley?A) Lackofincentiveforinvestmen

35、t.B) Lackoftherightkindoftalents.C) Lackofgovernmentsupport.D) Lackoffamousuniversities.48. InwhatwayisCarnegie-MellondifferentfromStanford,BerkeleyandMIT?A) Itslocationisnotasattractivetorichpeople.B) Itssciencedepartmentsarenotnearlyasgood.C) Itdoesnotproducecomputerhackersandnerds.D) Itdoesnotpay

36、muchattentiontobusinessstartups.49. WhatdoestheauthorimplyaboutBoston?A) Ithaspleasantweatherallyearround.B) Itproduceswealthaswellashigh-tech.C) Itisnotlikelytoattractlotsofinvestorsandnerds.D) Itisanoldcitywithmanysitesofhistoricalinterest.50. Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutstartupinvestors?A) Theyarees

37、peciallywiseinmakinginvestments.B) Theyhavegoodconnectionsinthegovernment.C) Theycandomorethanprovidingmoney.D) Theyarerichenoughtoinvestinnerds.PassageTwoQuestions51to55arebasedonthefollowingpassage.It'nScetohavepeopleoflikemindaround.Agreeablepeopleboostyourconfidenceandallowyoutorelaxandfeelc

38、omfortable.Unfortunately,thatcomfortcanhindertheverylearningthatcanexpandyourcompanyandyourcareer.It'snicetohavepeopleagree,butyouneedconflictingperspectivestodigoutthetruth.Ifeveryonearoundyouhassimilarviews,yourworkwillsufferfromconfirmationbias(偏頗).Takealookatyourownnetwork.Doyourcontactsshar

39、eyourpointofviewonmostsubjects?Ifyes,it'stimetoshakeAhOngsader,itcanbechallengingtocreateanenvironmentinwhichpeoplewillfreelydisagreeandargue,butasthesayinggoes:Fromconfrontationcomesbrilliance.It'noteasyformostpeopletoactivelyseekconflict.Manyspendtheirlivestryingtoavoidarguments.There'

40、snoneedtgooutandfindpeopleyouhate,butyouneedtodosomeself-assessmenttodeterminewhereyouhavebecomestaleinyourthinking.Youmayneedtostartbyencouragingyourcurrentnetworktohelpyouidentifyyourblindspots.Passionate,energeticdebatedoesnotrequireangerandhardfeelingstobeeffective.Butitdoesrequiremoralstrength.

41、Onceyouhaveworthyopponents,setsomegroundrulessoeveryoneunderstandsresponsibilitiesandboundaries.Theobjectiveofthisdebatinggameisnottowinbuttogettothetruththatwillallowyoutomovefaster,farther,andbetter.Fiercedebatingcanhurtfeelings,particularlywhenstrongpersonalitiesareinvolved.Makesureyoucheckinwith

42、youropponentssothattheyarenotcarryingtheemotionofthebattlesbeyondthebattlefield.Breakthetensionwithsmilesandhumortoreinforcetheideathatthisisfriendlydiscourseandthatallareworkingtowardacommongoal.Rewardallthoseinvolvedinthedebatesufficientlywhenthegoalsarereached.Letyoursparringpartners(拳擊陪練)knowhowmuchyouappreciatetheircontribution.Th