四级考试真题.docx

1、四级考试真题2012年12月大学英语四级考试真题（第3套）Part IWriting (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Education Pays based on the statistics provided in the chart below (Weekly earnings of 2010). Please give a brief description of the chart first and then make

2、 comments on it. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. Education: A Worthy InvestmentWeekly earnings in 2010($)Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。Education PaysPart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part,

3、you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Suffering in silenceDespi

4、te a law designed to protect them, many people with disabling conditions are unaware of their rights. Carole Concha-Bell tells of her experiences.Being diagnosed with a disabling condition is always a shock. Learning to live without the guarantee of health is like having to unlearn a previous life.

5、The implications for your working life may seem intimidating.There is the disability Discrimination Act (DDA), of course. But does it really provide the protection in the workplace that parliament intended? Are employers merely paying lip service to the DDA? Or are they even aware of an employers le

6、gal duties and responsibilities?In my experience, it is the latter. I have received little support from employers to whom I have revealed my condition. This has often left me feeling at a disadvantage and wondering why I bothered doing so in the first place.I had been struggling with illness long be

7、fore I was diagnosed. In practical terms the diagnosis did little to aid me. Of course, it enabled me to understand my body, my limitations and set me on a course to stabilize my symptoms. But it brought a new dilemma. Where I had previously struggled to work while ill, ignorant of why my body was m

8、isbehaving, I now had a name for my daily struggle: Lupus (狼疮). This is a chronic (慢性的), auto-immune disorder that can affect virtually any system in the body. It also leaves a huge, dark question hanging over my head when seeking employment: should I tell my employers I have a condition? It is a di

9、lemma that continues to be a root cause of anxiety both for myself and for thousands of other UK employees.The rocky road to my unfortunate enlightenment about work and disability began just after graduation when Id set my sights on a career in communications and landed my dream job with a respected

10、 public relations consultancy (咨询公司) in Bristol. But while I was learning the art of media relations, my body wasnt quite making it in health terms. I often went to work with swollen limbs and fevers. At my first and last performance review, my boss was amazed that, despite my many capabilities, I h

11、adnt quite taken control of my responsibilities. A few months later, my contract wasnt renewed and I plunged further into new depths of ill health.However, I was determined not to be beaten and returned to the interview trail. My next job was in publishing. But despite a shining performance at the i

12、nterview, I felt like a fraud. How long would it be before I sank into ill health and depression again?The job was to end with a monumental bang when I became so poorly I could no longer function. A few feverish weeks in bed ended in a specialist appointment, where I was diagnosed with Lupus and rus

13、hed into hospital for fear that it may have attacked my internal organs.The next 12 months were filled with confusion. I had no idea about benefits, felt alienated (被视为另类) by the medical establishment and lived off my savings until I was broke. I realized I needed help from my family and moved to Lo

14、ndon.As soon as I felt better, I marched into a marketing recruitment consultancy and, within 10 minutes, I had impressed the interviewer enough to be offered a job with the agency. We agreed on a decent salary and I told him I had arthritis (关节炎) and would need to work a four-day week.Things went w

15、ell at the start but soon the client meetings began to fall on my day off, and I rarely left the office on time. I began to slip both in health and professional terms. The 10-hour days crashed around my head; no amount of make-up could disguise my ill health as I battled against the odds to prove to

16、 myself that I could still make it in the business world. I often cried on the bus on the way back from work.Not long before my contract was due to be made permanent, I was called to the bosss office and given the “talk” abut how my performance was slipping, how awful I looked. I felt too weak to fi

17、ght back and agreed to leave. No attempts to offer adjustments to my job, such as being able to work from home, were ever made. I had a case for unfair dismissal under the DDA, but was ignorant of this at the time.An estimated 10 million people in UK, or 17% of the population, qualify for disability

18、 status under the DDA. I have encountered a number of them: the liver-diseased boss; the co-worker with a heart condition; and my asthmatic (哮喘的) trainee-teacher friend. None had disclosed (透露) their conditions to employers, and all were feeling the strain of not doing so.To access your rights under

19、 the DDA and to request “reasonable adjustments” to your working conditions or your workplace requires disclosure. I had warned my former employer about my condition but it served little purpose. They were ignorant about their obligations to their disabled staff.However, there are plenty of forward-

20、thinking organizations that have inclusive recruitment policies; are more likely to employ a worker with a disability; and are more aware of their legal duties. The public sector out-performs the private, but not always the voluntary, according to studies for the Disabilities Rights Commission.I dec

21、ided to give the voluntary sector a go and was surprised to be offered flexible working conditions and other solutions to meet my needs as an employee. But given the choice, I would still prefer a career in the private sector, which for me is more dynamic, has more attractive salaries and offers bet

22、ter prospects than the voluntary or public sectors.Despite the advances of the DDA, there will always be an army of workers who will soldier on, maybe aware of their rights but choosing to remain silent for personal reasons. It is important, though, to recognize the significance of the act, the prot

23、ection it affords and the obligations that employers have to us as employees and as human beings.注意: 此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。1. What is peoples immediate response when they are first diagnosed with a disabling condition?A) They report the situation to their employers.B) They come to realize the value of good

24、 health.C) They feel nervous about their work prospects.D) They try to seek protection from the DDA.2. When the author revealed her condition to her employers, they .A) were quite sympathetic toward her B) did not give her the support she needed.C) made adjustments to meet her needs D) were annoyed

25、not to be informed earlier3. When the author was diagnosed with Lupus, she was in a dilemma whether she should .A) ask for assistance from her fellow workers B) find employment at a different companyC) ignore her limitations and struggle to work D) inform her employers of her disability status4. The

26、 author lost her job at the public relations consultancy in Bristol because .A) her boss had fund a much better replacementB) she was in no mood at all to discharge her dutiesC) her performance was disappointing to her bossD) she failed to show up for her performance review 5. Why did the author fee

27、l like a fraud when she got her second job?A) She knew she would fall ill any time again.B) She was not as competent as she appeared to be.C) She concealed the fact that she had just been fired.D) She pretended to be very keen on the job.6. Why did the author move to London?A) To get help from her f

28、amily. B) To receive better medical care.C) To start a consulting business. D) To seek a more suitable job.7. The author worked hard at the marketing recruitment consultancy in order to .A) earn the bosss appreciation and clients recognitionB) demonstrate her strong willpower to conquer illnessC) pr

29、ovide for herself without protection from the DDAD) prove herself capable of success in the business world8. Although many people qualify for disability status in the UK, they would rather not tell their employers about .9. The author was offered flexible working conditions in the voluntary sector,

30、but if she had a choice, she would still like to work in .10. The author stresses that it is important to recognize employers to their disabled employees.Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes) Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations.

31、 At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the b

32、est answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。11. A) He needs another week for the painting. B) The painting was completed just in time. C) The building wont open until next week. D) His artistic work has been well received.12. A) Go camping. B) Rent a tent. C) Decorate his house. D) Organize a party.13. A) She talked with Mr. Wright on the phone. B) She is about to call Mr. Wrights secretary. C) She will see Mr.