英语四级考试听力文章原文.docx

英语四级考试听力文章原文.docx

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英语四级考试听力文章原文

2016年6月英语四级考试听力文章原文

英语四级听力文章A卷

Part

ListeningComprehension

SectionA

NewsReportOne

TheInternationalLaborOrganizationsaysthenumberofpeoplewithoutjobsisincreasing.Initslatestupdateonglobalemploymenttrends,theagencysaysprojectionsofthenumberofunemployedpeoplethisyearrangefrom210milliontonearly240millionpeople.Thereportwarnsthat200millionpoorworkersareatriskofjoiningtheranksofpeoplelivingonlessthan2dollarsperdayinthepast3years.TheDirectorGeneraloftheInternationalLaborOrganizationJuanSomavianotesthatsomecountrieshavetakenmeasurestoaddresstheeffectsoftheglobalcrisis.However,hepointsoutthatmanycountrieshavenotdoneso.Andbasedonpastexperiences,ittakes4to5yearsaftereconomicrecoveryforunemploymenttoreturntopre-crisislevels.Mr.SomaviasaystheInternationalLaborOrganizationisproposingaglobaljob’sagreementtodealwithunemployment.“Itskeyobjectiveistoplacethecenterofrecoveryefforts—measuresthatwouldgeneratehigherlevelsofemploymentandprovidebasicsocialprotectionforthemostvulnerable.”

NewsReportTwo

BigfastfoodchainsinNewYorkCityhavestartedtoobeyafirst-of-its-kindrulerequiringthemtopostcaloriecountsrightonthemenu.CathyNonasiswiththeNewYorkCityDepartmentofHealth.

“Wewantedtogivepeopleanopportunitytoactuallyseethecaloriesbeforetheypurchasethefoodandmakeadecision,aninformeddecisionthatiftheywanttomakethehealthierchoice—iftheywanttoeatfewercalories—theycan.Andweexpectthiswillhaveahugeimpactonobesity.Andofcourse,ifithasanimpactonobesity,itwillhaveanimpactondiabetes,andheartdisease,andhighbloodpressure.

Thenewruleswereintroducedaspartofananti-obesitycampaignthatalsoincludesarecentcitywidebanonartificialtransfatsinrestaurantfood.Themenuruleonlyappliestorestaurantsthatservesstandardizedportionsizesandhave15ormorelocationsnationwide.StartinglastSaturday,chainsbigenoughtofallundertherulewillfacepenaltiesaboutupto2,000dollarsfornotshowingcalorieinformationinaprominentspotontheirmenus,preferablynexttotheprice.

NewsReportThree

Almostallcompaniesrecognizetheimportanceofinnovationtoday.Butnotmanyareabletointegrateinnovationintotheirbusiness.

AcommentaryintheShanghaiDailypointsoutthatinnovationdoesn’tmeanpilesofdocuments.It’ssomethingmorepractical.Thearticlesaysmanypeopletendtoassumethatinnovationjustmeanscreatingsomethingnew,butactuallyit’smorethanthat.It’sanattitudeofdoingthings.Acompanyshouldfindwaystoinnovatenotjustinproductsbutalsoinfunctions,businessmodelsandprocesses.

ThearticlecitestheglobalgiantProcter&Gambleasanexample,sayingarealinnovativecompanyshoulddevelopaninnovationcultureanduseitasaprimarytoolforsuccess.Procter&Gamblehasa“CorporateInnovationFund”whichoffersbigrewardsforhigh-riskideasthatsucceed.Italsohasaspecialinnovationfacilityforitsemployees.Sometimesitsemployeesarereleasedfromtheirdailyjobsforweeksandspendtheirtimeinteractingintheinnovationfacilityinstead.Inconclusion,thearticlesaysinnovativeideasalonedonotensuresuccess.It’spointlessunlessthereisarepeatableprocessinplacetoturninspirationintofinancialperformance.

SectionB

ConversationOne

M:

So,Linzy,doyouliketotextmessageonyourcellphone?

W:

Yeah,Itextmessagealot.

M:

Idon’tdoitsomuch.IprefertomakeacallifI’minahurry.

W:

Yeah,Igobothways.SometimesIdon’treallywanttotalktotheperson.Ijustwanttoaskthemonequestion,soit’smucheasierformejusttotextmessage.IfIcallthem,I’llhavetohavealongconversation.

M:

Yeah,Icanseewhatyoumean.ButIgetoffthephoneprettyquicklywhenIcall.I’mnotabigtalker.

W:

Yeah,that’strue.Youdon’ttalkalot.

M:

Soareyoufastatwritingthemessageswithyourthumb?

W:

Well,whenIfirstgotacellphone,Iwassoslow.IthoughtIwouldnevertextmessage.Butthenpeoplekepttext-messagingme,soIfeltobligedtolearnhowtotextmessage.SonowI’mprettyfast.Whataboutyou?

M:

ActuallyIhavetheoppositeproblem.WhenIfirstgotmycellphone,Ithoughtitwassocooltotextmessageallmyfriendswhohaveone,andIwasprettyfastwithmythumbthen.ButitseemslikenowIdon’tuseitsomuch,I’vegotsloweractually.

W:

Yeah,Ithinktextmessagingactuallysortofhastodowithyourage.Forexample,peopleinhighschool,theytextmessagealot.ButIaskedmyfatherifhetextedmessages,andguesswhathesaid?

M:

What?

W:

Hesaidhe’dnevertextmessage.Hethinksit’sverychildishandunprofessionaltotextmessage.

M:

Yeah,Icanseewhathemeans.It’sconsideredprettyinformaltotextmessagetosomeone.

ConversationTwo

W:

Goodmorning,Mr.Johnson.HowcanIhelpyou?

M:

Well,I’dliketotalktoyouaboutTimBond,thedepartmentmanager.

W:

Whatseemstobetheproblem?

M:

Well,eversinceSandraleftthedepartment,IfeellikeI’vebeentargetedtodoallherworkaswellasmine.I’mexpectedtoattendtoomanymeetingsandIseemtobespendingalotofmytimedoingunnecessarypaperwork.

W:

I’msorrytohearthat.

M:

And,ontopofthat,I’dspecificallyaskedifIcouldleaveearlylastFridayasIdonealotofovertimeduringtheweek.Butthatafternoon,eventhoughI’dfinishedmyassignedwork,Iwastoldtohelpothercolleaguesfinishtheirwork,too.

W:

Butsurelythat’sapositivesignshowingthatMr.Bondhasalotoftrustinyou.

M:

Yes,butothercolleaguesgettoleaveearly,andtheydon’thavesuchalotofworktodo.

W:

Soyoufeelhe’sreallymakingunrealisticdemandsonyou?

M:

Yes,absolutely.

W:

HaveyouapproachedMr.Bondaboutthisparticularproblem?

M:

I’vetried,butitseemslikehejusthasnotimeforme.

W:

Well,atthisstage,itwouldbebetterifyouapproachedhimdirectly.Ifnothingelseshowingthatyou’vetriedtosolvetheproblemyourselfbeforeyoutakeitfurther,makesitclearthatyou’rejustnotacomplainer.Whydon’tyousendanemailrequestingameetingwithhiminprivate?

M:

Hmm,I’vebeenabitworriedabouthisreaction.ButanywayI’llsendhimanemailtorequestameeting,andI’llseewhathappensfromthere.Thanksforyouradvice.

W:

Goodluck.Andletusknowtheoutcome.

SectionC

PassageOne

Themassivedeclineinsleephappenedsoslowlyandquietlythatfewseemedtonoticethetrend.WasitbecauseofthegrowingattractionoftheInternet,videogamesandendlessTVchannels?

Neverdisconnectingfromwork?

Nomatterhowithappened,millionsofAmericansareputtingtheirhealth,qualityoflifeandevenlengthoflifeindanger.

Newevidenceshowswhygettingenoughsleepisatoppriority.Some40%ofAmericansgetlessthan7hoursofshuteyeonweeknights.“Thelinkbetweensleepandhealth,andbadsleepanddiseaseisbecomingclearerandclearer,”saysLawrenceEpstein,asleepexpertatHarvardUniversity.Forexample,sleepdurationhasdeclinedfromsome8hoursinthe1950sto7inrecentyears.Atthesametime,highbloodpressurehasbecomeanincreasingproblem.Bloodpressureandheartratearetypicallyattheirlowestlevelsduringsleep.Peoplewhosleeplesstendtohavehigherbloodpressure,heartattack,diabetes,weightgainandotherproblems.

Sleepingbettermayhelpfightoffillness.“Whenpeoplearesleep-derived,therearehigherlevelsofstresshormonesintheirbodieswhichcandecreaseimmunefunction,”saysDoctorFeliceofNorthwesternUniversityinChicago.AuniversityofChicagostudyshowspeoplewhosleepwelllivelonger.Sosaygoodnightsooneranditmayhelpyoustayactiveandvitaltoaripeoldage.

PassageTwo

Parentsandteacherswilltellyounottoworrywhenapplyingforaplaceatuniversity.Butinthesamebreathwe’llremindyouthatitisthemostimportantdecisionofyourlife.

Thefirstdecisionisyourchoiceofcourse.Itwilldependonwhatyouwanttogetoutofuniversity,whatyouaregoodatandwhatyouenjoy.Thenextdecisioniswheretoapply.Aimhighbutwithinreason.Doyouhavetherightcombinationofsubjectsandareyourexpectedgradeslikelytomeetentryrequirements?

ThedeadlineisJanuary15th.Butitisbesttosubmityourapplicationearlybecauseuniversitiesbeginworkassoonasformsstartrollingin.

Themostimportantpartoftheapplicationisthemuchfearedpersonalstatement.Thisisyourchancetoconveyboundlessenthusiasmforthesubject.Soeconomyofexpressionisforemost.Omitdullandineffectivegeneralitiesandmakesureyougiveconcreteexamples.

Admissionsofficersreadeverypersonalstatementthatarrives.Itisnotconvincingifyousayyouhavechosenthesubjectbecauseyouenjoyit.Youhavetogetacrosswhatitisaboutaparticularareathathasinspiredyou.Theywilllookforevidencethatyouhavereflectedandthoughtaboutthesubject.

Applicantsshouldbehonest.Thereisnopointsayingyourunmarathons,ifyouaregoingtobeoutofbreatharrivingattheinterviewonthesecondfloor.

PassageThree

ItisusuallyagreedthataGerman,KarlBenz,builtthefirstmotorcarin1885.Itwasactuallyatricyclewithapetrolmotorattherear.Soon,membersoftheroyalfamilyandotherwealthypeopletookupmotoringasasport.Theearlycarshad2seats.Therewerenopetrolpumpsandfewgarages,soeverydriverhadtobehisownengineerforthefrequentbreakdowns.

By1905,carsbegantolooklikecarsoftoday,withheadlamps,windscreen,rubbletiresandnumberplates.HenryFord’sModelTintroducedinA