英语四级听力考试练习题Model Test One

1.W:The professor's voice is so soft that I can't hear the end of this sentences.

[00:07.68]M:It's because the traffic outside cancels the effect of the microphone.

[00:12.36]Q:What seems to be bothering the students?

[00:16.56]2.M:What did Mary thind of the dance last weekend?

[00:22.26]W:She hasn't been around this week.

[00:25.39]Q:What does the woman mean?

[00:29.07]3.M:Hello,this is Mr Williams.My heater is not getting power and the temperature is going down and down.

[00:38.74]Could you come over and fix it?

[00:41.40]W:OK.I'll send our man there sometime this afternoon.

[00:46.13]Q:Who has Mr Williams called to come over?

[00:50.86]4.W:Do we have enough time for the 7:40 train if we get off right away?

[00:58.02]M:No,it's too late.It's impossible for us to get to the railway station in 20 minutes.

[01:04.65]Q:What time is it now?

[01:07.34]5.W:I hear the mayor is planning a tax reduction.

[01:13.48]M:Yes,it was one of his campaign promises and he's seriously trying to make it a reality.

[01:21.16]Q:What will happen to taxes if the mayor succeeds?

[01:27.33]6.W:I think the hostess really made every effort to see that the guests got the food and drinks they wanted.

[01:35.97]M:Yes,but we would have had a better time at the party if we had known some of the other guests.

[01:42.66]Q:What can we conclude from the conversation?

[01:47.28]7.W:There are two new students in your class,aren't there?

[01:53.45]M:Yes,they are Henry and Jack 1.Henry is from Australia.

[01:58.15]He is a football star.Jack is from Brazil.He likes to go to the cinema occasionally and go fishing a lot.

[02:07.01]Q:What is Jack's hobby?

[02:10.43]8.W:What happened to you? You look so happy?

[02:16.07]M:I found out from my adviser 2 that the graduate school where I'm going to apply has done away with the review test.

[02:23.26]Q:What do we learn from this conversation?

[02:27.41]9.M:Can I borrow your car for the weekend,sister?

[02:32.11]W:It's out of the question.

[02:35.30]Q:What does the woman's response mean?

[02:39.92]10.W:Look at those beautiful parrots over there.I think you can teach them to talk.

[02:48.57]M:Yes,but look at the price tag on them.I'd rather have a pigeon instead.

[02:54.26]Q:Where did this conversation take place?

[02:58.44]Section B

[03:00.11]Passage One

[03:01.73]Human beings are never satisfied.

[03:04.89]They have always wanted things to be easier,faster,more comfortable or more convenient.

[03:12.08]Human history is the history of inventions.

[03:16.21]An invention is something totally original,something that nobody else has thought of.

[03:22.87]It may be something physical,like a new machine,or it may be a new way of doing something,like the reorganization of production methods in a factory.

[03:34.07]The earliset inventions,like boats and weapons,were simple but effective ways of meeting basic need

[03:41.94]and were developed independently by people in different parts of the world who needed to travel or to hunt.

[03:48.88]Modern inventions are more technical and more specialised.

[03:53.67]If you come up with an original idea,the first thing to do is to register your invention at the Patent Office.

[04:01.84]It will be given a special number,which acts as a guarantee against anyone else stealing your idea.

[04:10.93]Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[04:18.06]11.Why are human beings never satisfied?

[04:24.36]12.What inventions are mentioned in this passage?

[04:31.67]13.Which of the following is true about modern inventions?

[04:39.90]Passage  Two

[04:42.07]The United States is a federal union of 50 states.

[04:46.67]The capital of the national government is in Washington D.C.

[04:51.45]The federal constitution sets up the structures of the national government and lists its powers and activities.

[04:58.58]The Constitution gives Congress the authority to make laws which are necessary for the common defense 3 and the good of the nation.

[05:06.26]It also gives the federal government the power to deal with national and international problems that involve more than one state.

[05:15.35]All powers that are not given to the federal government by the Constitution are the responsibility of the individual states.

[05:23.58]The federal government has three branches___the executive,the legislative 4,and the judicial 5

[05:30.79]The legislative branch makes the laws;the executive branch carries out the laws;and the judicial branch interprets the laws.

[05:40.85]The president heads the executive branch and the Supreme 6 Court heads the judicial branch.

[05:47.51]The legislative branch includes both houses of Congress____the Senate and the House of Representatives.

[05:54.17]The Constitution limits the powers of each branch and prevents one branch from gaining too much power.

[06:00.93]For example.Congress can pass a law and the president may sign it.

[06:06.24]Nevertheless,the Supreme Court can declare the law unconstitutional and invalidate it.

[06:14.10]Questions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[06:19.40]14.What does the Constitution set up?

[06:24.71]15.What does the executive branch do?

[06:29.09]16.Who heads the judicial branch?

[06:34.21]Passage Three

[06:36.41]The horse came before man on earth.

[06:40.07]Although the earliest remains 7 of primitive 8 horses have been found on the North American continent,

[06:47.14]many scientists believe this small species traveled over a land mass in the Bering Sea to find the beginning of the modem 9 horse in Asia.

[06:58.32]This primitive horse became extinct in America.

[07:02.58]Other scientists believe that the horse may have originated in Asia.

[07:08.25]In any event the animal soon spread into China,Europe,and the Middle East.

[07:14.36]The first modern horses to be introduced into the American continent came with the early Spanish explorers.

[07:21.99]Horses were bred into many types.

[07:25.23]The heavey horses developed in the low countries of Europe and were used for work and by the medieval knights 10 to hold them with their heavy armor.

[07:34.84]The oldest breed of horses is said to be the Arabian.

[07:39.10]The only true wild horses left in the 20th century are found in Mongolia.

[07:45.19]Horses are said to rate in intelligence after the ape,elephant and dog.

[07:50.86]They have excellent memories and can sometimes find their way home when lost,and sense danger better than their masters.

[07:59.63]The early civilizations of man that had horses and made use of them developed more rapidly than those which did not.

[08:09.82]Qusetions 17 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[08:15.93]17.What are some of the characteristics of the horse?

[08:23.07]18.Where do some people believe the horse originated?

[08:29.20]19.What was man's primary use of the horse in ancient times?

[08:36.81]20.What can be said about the varieties of horses?