2022年12月英语四级第2套听力原文及题目

2022年12月英语四级第2套听力原文及题目

Section A
Direction: In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report 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 Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

News Report 1
The World Pipe Band Championships will take place in Glasgow on Saturday. Over 120 of the world’s best pipe bands will compete at the championships. Over 4,000 pipers and drummers are expected to descend on the city for the annual event. It will take place at the Saint James playing fields in Glasgow on Saturday, 18 May from 10:00 am until 7:00 pm. The event is free. Also, a free shuttle bus will run between the event car parks and the competition site. Shuttle buses will run every 15 minutes from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm. Glasgow City Council says it is estimated to bring ￡300,000 to the local economy. The first World Pipe Band Championships were held in Edinburgh in 1947. The event first took place in Glasgow in 1948. It has been held regularly in Glasgow since 1986.
Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.
Question 1: What event will take place in Glasgow?
Question 2: What does Glasgow city council say the event will do?

1.
A) A sports competition.
B) A yearly concert.
C) A free car show.
D) A pipe band contest.

2.
A) Improve the image of Glasgow city.
B) Enrich the local culture of Glasgow.
C) Contribute a lot to the local economy.
D) Entertain people in local communities.

News Report 2
Summer doesn’t begin for two more days, but scientists are already sounding the alarm about dangerous ice melts going on right now in Greenland. The vast island usually locks away enough fresh water in its ice sheet, which if melted can raise global sea levels by 6 meters. And research shows that in recent years its ice has melted faster than ever before. This month, as temperatures in northwestern Greenland approach all-time highs, researchers are encountering unusual, surprising levels of melting ice in the region. The most significant concern here is how early this is all happening. Greenland experiences annual ice melt and growth cycles. But this year the melting season began in early May. That’s a month earlier than normal and something that’s happened only once before in the historical record in 2016. That means that not only is the ice melting very fast. It has more time to melt this summer than it would in a normal climate system. Longer melt seasons like this one seemed to lead to much greater contributions to sea level rise than in previous decades.
Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
Question 3: What is scientists’ warning in the news report?
Question 4: What do we learn about this year’s ice melting season in Greenland?

3.
A) Surprising rise in global sea levels.
B) Dangerous ice melts in Greenland.
C) Changing weather patterns in summer.
D) Record growth of Greenland’s ice sheets.

4.
A) It began in late May.
B) It lasted three months.
C) It started a month earlier than usual.
D) It ended a month earlier than before.

News Report 3
Bundles containing thousands of pounds in cash keep turning up on the streets of Blackhall Colliery in northern England, according to police. Residents of the village have been coming across bundles of￡20 notes — usually worth ￡2,000 — in the former mining village in County Durham. The latest discovery was on Monday, meaning four of these cash bundles have been handed in this year and 13 since 2014. The bundles are usually left in plain sight and had been scattered across the small coastal village. The owner has two weeks to collect the cash, which is then returned to the finder if not claimed, according to Peterlee Police. A Durham Police spokesperson said the money has been returned to the lucky finders in all cases, except yesterday. Policeman John Forster said in a statement: “The circumstances remain a mystery so we would welcome any information that will help us get to the bottom of these random incidents.” He told The Northern Echo: “It isn’t an affluent part of the world, so for them to find cash of that amount and instantly think about taking it to the police stations shows the community spirit there is.”
Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.
Question 5: What happened on the streets of Blackhall Colliery?
Question 6: What do the local police do with the money if not claimed in two weeks?
Question 7: What did the policeman John Forster say about the villagers?

5.
A) Bundles of ￡20 notes kept turning up.
B) A villager was searching for his lost cash.
C) Local policemen came across bundles of ￡20 notes.
D) A bundle containing thousands of pounds got stolen.

6.
A) They give it to charity.
B) They return it to the finder.
C) They hand it over to the local government.
D) They place a notice in The Northern Echo.

7.
A) They cooperated well with the police.
B) They enjoyed a fairly affluent life.
C) They were puzzled by the mystery.
D) They had strong community spirit.

Section B
Direction: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation 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 Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

Conversation 1
W: It’s your birthday next week. What have you got planned?
M: I’m not sure. I often feel strange on my birthday. It’s like my brain decides to have a crisis.
W: It’s not entirely unusual to feel anxious or sad around your birthday. Birthdays can tap into a lot of things people worry about, including their achievements in life in the past decade or their accomplishments of the past year. Many begin to search for the meaning of their existence leading to behaviors such as ending or starting a relationship or plans, like starting a vigorous diet or fitness program.
M: I have wonderful friends and I love celebrating their birthdays. But I don’t like being the center of attention, receiving gifts and having a fuss made. It seems to trigger a type of social anxiety. I think social media too can intensify things as birthdays now play out more publicly. Birthday reminders can be helpful, but I kind of worry, I won’t be able to drum up my own day and show it to look as exciting as it is supposed to be.
W: Well, to deal with the birthday blues, you should not isolate yourself. It’s best to gradually face your birthday with people you trust. That would help you learn self-acceptance or that it’s okay to be the focus.
M: Perhaps or I could perceive my birthday as an opportunity to do something for others like asking people to make a donation instead of buying a gift.
W: Exactly or even simply see your birthday as an opportunity to bring people together for them to have fun.
Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 8: How does the man often feel on his birthday?
Question 9: What does the woman say many people tend to do on their birthday?
Question 10: What does the man say about birthday celebrations?
Question 11: What does the woman suggest the man do about his birthday celebration at the end of the conversation?

8.
A) Excited.
B) Delighted.
C) Indifferent.
D) Strange.

9.
A) Search for the meaning of their life.
B) Look back on their years at school.
C) Call on their relatives and friends.
D) Talk about future plans with friends.

10.
A) He prefers to have them shown on social media.
B) He loves them but does not want to make a fuss.
C) He enjoys celebrating others’ birthdays rather than his own.
D) He looks forward to receiving presents from his close friends.

11.
A) Hold it on a modest scale to remove birthday anxieties.
B) View it as a chance for people to socialize and have fun.
C) Extend invitation to those he trusts most.
D) Make it an occasion to collect donations.

Conversation 2
W: The metro was absolutely terrible this morning.
M: Oh, was there a delay?
W: No, but the train was so packed that I could barely move and it was difficult to breathe too. At every station, more people squeezed in and I got pushed further and further inside. When I got to my station, I could hardly get out. Once I did get out, I was totally exhausted.
M: That sounds like a nightmare. Why didn’t you take the bus?
W: The bus takes twice as long and it’s just as crowded.
M: Well, what’s the alternative? Haven’t you got a car?
W: I’ve got a driver’s license, but that’s all. I’m saving up to buy something reasonably small and cute, but it’s still a bit expensive for me and it’ll take a while before I have enough money.
M: Have you thought about getting an electric motorbike?
W: I considered that for maybe a minute, but honestly, I’ve just seen too many horrible accidents involving those dangerous monsters.
M: What about those popular share bikes? You could register to use one.
W: Yeah, that’s a possibility. There are always several of those bikes out in front of our apartment complex.
M: Or you could just walk to work.
W: Well, it’s 5 kilometers from home to the office, but you’ve given me a thought. I could take a change of clothes and jog to work. But at this time of year the air pollution is a real problem.
M: Oh, yeah, I didn’t think of that. Get a taxi if you really have to.
W: Well, that’s an expensive way to get to work.
M: Not if you use a ride sharing app.
W: Good idea, I’ll download one immediately. Thank you.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 12: What does the woman say about her subway ride?
Question 13: Why hasn’t the woman got her own car?
Question 14: What does the woman say about electric motorbikes?
Question 15: How was the woman going to get to work?

12.
A) It was absolutely exhausting.
B) There was a terrible smell.
C) There was too long a delay.
D) She got off at the wrong station.

13.
A) She hasn’t saved enough money.
B) She is worried about traffic jams.
C) She hasn’t passed the driving test yet.
D) She is used to taking public transport.

14.
A) They are popular.
B) They are dangerous.
C) They are a bit expensive for her.
D) They are environmentally friendly.

15.
A) By bus.
B) By jogging.
C) By renting a bike.
D) By sharing a ride.

Section C
Direction: In this section, you will hear three passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four 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 Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

Passage 1
Steve Miller began his career in IT back in the late 1980s. Being a deaf person in tech required a huge amount of effort and organization. Because there was no email or text message service, everything had to be done face to face or by telephone. Communicating in meetings was very difficult. He needed a sign language interpreter for every meeting, but it was a huge effort to coordinate. “These days, although challenges still remain, it’s a good time to be a deaf person in tech,” says Miller. “Big advances in speech recognition technology have enabled communication tools to turn live speech into text in real time on your smartphone or laptop, and sign language into text as well.” New tech coupled with improvements in hearing aid technology and medical advances means that Miller is able to focus far more on his work. He has benefited to a great extent from a tiny hearing device in his ear. It gives him a degree of hearing, and he can use a variety of communication methods depending on the situation. He can employ lip reading and have meetings via video instead of on the phone. These things have made a huge difference. He no longer has to worry about whether or not he can understand. He can just concentrate on how interesting the meeting might be and what he needs to get out of it in order to progress.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 16: What do we learn about Steve Miller?
Question 17: What does Miller say is making things better for people like him?
Question 18: In what way can Miller benefit from attending meetings via video?

16.
A) He is a sign language interpreter.
B) He is a deaf person working in IT.
C) He doesn’t like speaking at meetings.
D) He doesn’t use email or text messages.

17.
A) Improved communication skills.
B) Speech recognition technology.
C) Big advances in sign language.
D) Transformation in the IT industry.

18.
A) He can avoid being mistaken.
B) He can take notes on the spot.
C) He can understand with ease.
D) He can see the speakers’ images.

Passage 2
Color is now spreading through our homes, up staircases, across wood frames and ceilings, filling in neutral spaces. According to one interior designer when people return home, they want to see colors that cheer them up and give them a hug. Pure white walls simply don’t do that. They don’t look after you. Another interior designer commented that certain combinations can key into something on a deeper level, transporting you to a different moment in time. That’s the power of color. If you are thinking to dry color on some of your neutral walls, the advice is refreshingly simple. Choose a color you actually like. Don’t go for a color because it’s in fashion, or you’ve seen it in a magazine. If you’re wary of full color, test your tolerance with smaller spaces such as the inside of a cupboard or a bright window frame. If it gives you joy every time you open the cupboard, you can start to take it further. One can also paint the wooden frameworks the same color as the walls, helping the rooms look bigger. In the kitchen, painting the overhead cupboards and the walls in the same color can make it feel more spacious. While painting the kitchen counters, a bold color can make everything feel more open and lighter. Additionally, a painted ceiling is a magical thing without being too obvious and can affect how the space feels as well.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 19: What do people want upon returning home according to the passage?
Question 20: What does the passage say people should avoid doing in home decoration?
Question 21: What can one do to make a room look bigger?

19.
A) To find pure white walls shining.
B) To enter a house well looked after.
C) To get a hug from family members.
D) To see cheerful colours all around.

20.
A) Choosing a colour because it is fashionable.
B) Painting the interior of their cupboards.
C) Doing the painting job all by themselves.
D) Designing all window frames the same way.

21.
A) Fit most of the cupboards into walls.
B) Hang landscape paintings all around.
C) Match the room’s ceiling with all the furniture in colour.
D) Paint the wooden frameworks and walls the same colour.

Passage 3
Parents often hear that reading to their children is critical for supporting development, and the message is getting through to them. In fact, in the United States, a little over half of children between the ages of 3 and 5 were read to every day in 2007. And 83% of children in that age group in the same country were read to three or more times per week in 2012. This is good news because reading to young children helps their language and brain development. In fact, recent research has found that both the quality and quantity of shared book reading and infancy predicted later childhood vocabulary and reading skills. In other words, the more time parents spend reading, the greater the developmental benefits in their four-year-old children. This is an important finding, but does it matter what books parents read? A new study has investigated this question. It followed infants across the second 6 months of life and found that when parents showed babies books that had faces or objects with specific label, they learned more. This is in contrast to books that did not name images or books that had the same label under each image. Books that named different characters also promoted greater learning. So what does this mean for parents? Not all books are created equal, so parents need to choose the books they share with their children with great care.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 22: What does the passage say parents increasingly understand?
Question 23: What can predict children’s reading skills according to recent research?
Question 24: What kind of books are said to help babies learn more?
Question 25: What are parents advised to do at the end of the passage?

22.
A) Children must read at least 3 times a week.
B) Reading is a habit every child can develop.
C) Reading to their children is important.
D) Children should start reading at age three.

23.
A) The number of books they have read by age four.
B) The speed of their brain development in infancy.
C) The number and quality of books parents read to them in infancy.
D) The quality and quantity of time parents spend playing with them.

24.
A) Books with specifically labeled images.
B) Books with pictures of dolls and toys.
C) Books describing the lives of animals.
D) Books telling very interesting stories.

25.
A) Read as many books as possible to their children.
B) Choose carefully what to read to their children.
C) Share experience with other parents.
D) Create picture books for their children.

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