1、大学英语四级 239及答案解析(总分：746.54，做题时间：130 分钟)一、Writing (30 minutes)(总题数：1，分数：30.00)1.For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Employment in Manufacturing and Services in Five Countries between 1970 and 1993. Describe the information presented in the diagram, and compare
2、 the changes which have taken place in the five countries. You should write at least 120 words. （分数：30.00）_二、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：1，分数：71.00)Does Economic Growth Improve Human Morale? During the mid-1980s my family and I spent a sabbatical year in the historic town of St. Andrews, Scotland. Comp
3、aring life there with life in America, we were impressed by a seeming disconnection between national wealth and well-being. To most Americans, Scottish life would have seemed Spartan (清贫的) . Incomes were about half that in the U. S. Among families in the Kingdom of Fife surrounding St. Andrews, 44 p
4、ercent did not own a car, and we never met a family that owned two. Central heating in this place not far south of Iceland was, at that time, still a luxury. In hundreds of conversations during our year there and during three half-summer stays since, we repeatedly noticed that, despite their simpler
5、 living, the Scots appeared no less joyful than Americans. We heard complaints about Margaret Thatcher, but never about being underpaid or unable to afford wants. With less money there was no less satisfaction with living, no less warmth of spirit, no less pleasure in one anothers company. Are Rich
6、Americans Happier? Within any country, such as our own, are rich people happier? In poor countries, such as Bangladesh and India, being relatively well-off does make for somewhat greater well-being. Psychologically as well as materially, it is much better to be high caste (印度的社会等级) than low caste. W
7、e humans need food, rest, warmth, and social contact. But in affluent (富裕的) countries, where nearly everyone can afford lifes necessities, increasing affluence matters surprisingly little. In the U. S., Canada and Europe, the correlation between income and happiness is, as University of Michigan res
8、earcher Ronald Inglehart noted in the 1980s 16-nation study, “surprisingly weak (indeed, virtually negligible).“ Happiness is lower among the very poor. But once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns. The second piece of pie, or the second $ 50,000, never tastes as good as the first.
9、So far as happiness is concerned, it hardly matters whether one drives a BMW or, like so many of the Scots, walks or rides a bus. Even very rich people the Forbes 100 wealthiest Americans surveyed by University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener are only slightly happier than average. With net worth
10、s all exceeding $ 100 million, providing ample (足够的) money to buy things they dont need and hardly care about, 4 in 5 of the 49 people responding to the survey agreed that “Money can increase OR decrease happiness, depending on how it is used.“ And some were indeed unhappy. One fabulously wealthy ma
11、n said he could never remember being happy. One woman reported that money could not undo misery caused by her childrens problems. Does Happiness Rise with Affluence? We have scrutinized the American dream of achieved wealth and well-being by comparing rich and unrich countries, and rich and unrich p
12、eople. That leaves the final question: Over time, does happiness rise with affluence? Typically not. Lottery winners appear to gain but a temporary jolt of joy from their winnings. Looking back, they feel delighted to have won. Yet the euphoria (愉快和兴奋的感觉) doesnt last. In fact, previously enjoyed act
13、ivities such as reading may become less pleasurable. Compared to the high of winning a million dollars, ordinary pleasures pale. On a smaller scale, a jump in our income can boost our morale, for a while. “But in the long run,“ notes Inglehart, “neither an ice cream cone nor a new car nor becoming r
14、ich and famous produces the same feelings of delight that it initially did. Happiness is not the result of being rich, but a temporary consequence of having recently become richer.“ Ed Dieners research confirms that those whose incomes have increased over a 10-year period are not happier than those
15、whose income has not increased. Wealth, it therefore seems, is like health: Although its utter absence can breed misery, having it does not guarantee happiness. Happiness is less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have. Are We Happier Today? We can also ask whether, over time,
16、our collective happiness has floated upward with the rising economic tide. Are we happier today than in 1940, when two out of five homes lacked a shower or bathtub, heat often meant feeding a furnace wood or coal, and 35 percent of homes had no toilet? Or consider 1957, when economist John Galbraith
17、 was about to describe the United States as The Affluent Society. Americans per person income, expressed in todays dollars, was less than $ 8,000. Today it is more than $ 16,000, thanks to increased real wages into the 1970s, increased nonwage income, and the doubling of married womens employment. C
18、ompared to 1957, we are therefore “the doubly affluent society“ with double what money buys including twice as many cars per person, not to mention microwave ovens, big screen color TVs, home computers, and $ 200 billion a year spent in restaurants and bars two and a half times our 1960 inflation-ad
19、justed restaurant spending per person. From 1960 to 1990, the percentage of us with -dishwashers zoomed from 7 to 45 percent, -clothes dryers rose from 20 to 69 percent, -air conditioners soared from 15 to 70 percent. Not the Best of Times for the Human Spirit So, believing that a little more money
20、would make us a little happier, and having seen our affluence ratchet upward little by little over nearly four decades, are we now happier? We are not. Since 1957, the number telling the University of Chicagos National Opinion Research Center that they are “very happy“ has declined from 35 to 30 per
21、cent. Twice as rich, and a little less happy. In fact, between 1956 and 1988, the percentage of Americans saying they were “pretty well satisfied with your present financial situation“ dropped from 42 to 30 percent. We are also more often downright miserable. Among Americans born since World War II,
22、 depression has increased dramatically tenfold, reports University of Pennsylvania clinical researcher Martin Seligman. Todays twenty-five year olds are much more likely to recall a time in their life when they were despondent (失望的，沮丧的) and despairing than are their 75-year-old grandparents, despite
23、 the grandparents having had many more years to suffer all kinds of disorder, from broken legs to the anguish (极度痛苦) of depression. Researchers debate the actual extent of rising depression. . . but no matter how we define depression, the findings persist: Todays youth and young adults have grown up
24、 with much more affluence, slightly less overall happiness, and much greater risk of depression, not to mention tripled teen suicide and all the other social pathologies (病理学) we have considered. Never has a culture experienced such physical comfort combined with such psychological misery. Never hav
25、e we felt so free, or had our prisons so overstuffed. Never have we been so sophisticated about pleasure, or so likely to suffer broken relationships. These are the best of times materially, “a time of elephantine (巨大的) vanity and greed,“ observes Garrison Keillor, but they are not the best times fo
26、r the human spirit. William Bennett, no critic of free market economies, is among those who recognize the futility (无效，无益) of economics without ethics and money without a mission: “If we have full employment and greater economic growth if we have cities of gold and alabaster (雪花石膏) but our children
27、have not learned how to walk in goodness, justice, and mercy, then the American experiment, not matter how gilded, will have failed.“ （分数：71.00）(1).Obvious disconnection between national wealth and well-being struck the author during his stay in St. Andrew, Scotland.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(2).The Scots
28、were unsatisfied with the simple life and complained a lot.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(3).Once people have enough income for comfortable life, then more income provides diminishing returns.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(4).In poor countries, affluence means surprisingly little while in rich countries affluence matters
29、 a great deal.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(5).Money could either increase or decrease happiness, depending on how it is used.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(6).Health and wealth are both blessings, yet having both does not ensure happiness.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(7).America, Canada and some countries in Europe are the riche
30、st countries in the world.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(8).The causes of the rising income of Americans are_.（分数：7.10）_(9).According to the author, the consequence of becoming rich is_.（分数：7.10）_(10).The main idea of the passage is_.（分数：7.10）_三、Listening Comprehens(总题数：1，分数：15.00)A.At a theatre.B.At a booking
31、 office.C.At a railway station.D.At a restaurant.A.The man is inviting the woman to dinner.B.The woman is too busy to join the man for dinner.C.The woman is a friend of the Stevensons.D.The man is going to visit the Stevensons.A.The professors presentation was not convincing enough.B.The professors
32、lecture notes were too complicated.C.The professor spoke with a strong accent,D.The professor spoke too fastA.The furnished apartment was inexpensive.B.The apartment was provided with some old furniture.C.The furniture in the market was on sale every Sunday.D.The furniture he bought was very cheap.A
33、.The man is thinking about taking a new job.B.The man likes a job that enables him to travel.C.The man is sure that he will gain more by taking the job.D.The man doesnt want to stay home and take care of their child.A.Take the GRE test again in 8 weeks.B.Call to check his scores.C.Be patient and wai
34、t.D.Inquire when the test scores are released.A.She read it selectively.B.She went over it chapter by chapter.C.She read it slowly.D.She finished it at a stretch.A.He was kept in hospital for a long time.B.He was slightly injured in a traffic accident.C.He was seriously wounded in a mine explosion.D
35、.He was fined for speeding.A.Wait for a taxi.B.Buy some food.C.Go on a trip.D.Book train tickets.A.Its not as hard as expected.B.Its too tough for some students.C.Its much more difficult than people think.D.Its believed to be the hardest optional course.四、Section B(总题数：2，分数：10.00)A.Artists.B.Musicia
36、ns.C.Grocers.D.Tour guides.A.An instrument.B.A concert.C.A theater.D.A city.A.As interesting.B.As cold.C.As popular.D.As huge.A.The man is complaining about something.B.The man is the womans husband.C.The man wants to arrange the policy over the phone.D.The man is the womans friend.A.21 November 198
37、0.B.12 December 1980.C.12 September 1980.D.12 November 1980.A.Hes working at the moment.B.He is a full-time student at Sydney University.C.He is a part-time student at Sydney University.D.He is a full-time student at London University.A.Meditating in their homes to find peace.B.Jogging in fashionabl
38、e clothes.C.Losing weight by doing different sports.D.The search for physical fitness.A.Because they are trying to find better jobs.B.Because they want to educate their children.C.Because they want to keep themselves busy.D.Because they want to meet new friends there.A.Self-improvement, A Search for
39、 Physical Fitness.B.Different Forms of Self-improvement in America.C.Self-improvement, A Good Way to Spend Leisure Time.D.Adult Education and Self-improvement.A.Anxious and worried.B.Proud and excited.C.Nervous and confused.D.Inspired and confident.A.His father scolded him severely.B.His father took
40、 back the six dollars.C.His father made him do the cutting again.D.His father cut the leaves himself.A.One can benefit a lot from working with his father.B.Manual laborers shouldnt be looked down upon.C.One should always do his job earnestly.D.Teenagers tend to be careless.A.Its a rich country.B.Its
41、 a beautiful country.C.Its a free country.D.Its a welfare country.A.Two-thirds of all Canadian households.B.Three-fourths of all Canadian households.C.Half of the Canadian households.D.All of the Canadian households.A.Telephones.B.CD players.C.Video camera recorders.D.Home computers.A.$295,000.B.$59
42、,746.C.$50,171.D.$29,490.六、Section C(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Sand covers not just sea-shores, but also ocean beds, deserts and mountains. It is one of the most common substances on earth. And it is a (36) 1element in man-made materials too (37) 2is largely sand, while glass is made by melting sand and some o
43、ther elements. What exactly is sand? In fact, according to the most generally (38) 3scheme of measurement, devised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, grains qualify as sand if their (39) 4is greater than 0.06 of a millimeter and less than 0.6 of a millimeter. Depending on its age and (40)
44、 5, particular sand can consist of tiny pebbles or porous granules. Its grains may have the shape of (41) 6or spirals, their edges jagged or smooth. They have come from the (42) 7of rocks, or from the skeletons of marine organisms, which accumulate on the (43) 8of the oceans, or even from volcanic e
45、ruptions. Usually, the older the granule, (44) 9. The fine, white beaches of northern Scotland, for instance, are recycled from sandstone several hundred million years old. (45) 10. Sand is an irreplaceable industrial factor, which has many uses; but it has one vital function you might never even no
46、tice. Sand cushions our land from the seas impact, (46) 11. （分数：10.00）填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_七、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：2，分数：355.00)Why does cream go bad faster than butter? Some researchers think they have the answer, and it comes down to the st
47、ructure of the food, not its chemical composition a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives. Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances, so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions tiny globules (小球) of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in whats in the globules and whats in the surrounding liquid, says Brocklehurst, who led the investigation. In cream, fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter, globules
