新东方发布：2015年6月四级考试解析

Passage One

16. A. There are mysterious stories behind his works.

B. His personal history is little known.

C. His works have no match worldwide.

D. There are many misunderstandings about him.

答案：B) His personal history is little known.  （理解、推理）

17. A. He once worked in a well-known acting company.

B. He moved to Stratford-on-Avon in his childhood.

C. He failed to go beyond grammar school.

D. He was a member of the town council.

答案：D) He was a member of the town council.（视听一致）

18. A. People of his time had little interest in him.

B. His works were adapted beyond recognition.

C. Possible sources of clues about him were lost in afire.

D. Writers of his time had no means to protect theirworks.

答案：C) Possible sources of clues about him were lost in afire.（视听一致+同意替换）

What makes a person famous? This is a mystery thatmany people have carefully thought about. All kinds of myths surround the livesof well-known people.

Most people are familiar with the works of WilliamShakespeare, one of the greatest English writers of the 16th and 17th centuries.Yet how many know Shakespeare the person, the man behind the works?

After centuries of research, scholars are still tryingto discover Shakespeare's personal history. It is not easily found in hiswritings. Authors of the time could not protect their works. An acting company,for example, could change a play if they wanted to. Nowadays, writers havecopyrights that protect their work.

Many myths arose about Shakespeare. Some said he hadno formal education. Others believe that he began his career by tending thehorses of wealthy men. All of these myths are interesting, but are they true? Probably not. Shakespeare'sfather was a respected man in Stratford-on-Avon, amember of the town council. He sent young William to grammar school.Most people of Elizabethan times did not continue beyond grammar school; so,Shakespeare did have, at least, an average education.

Some parts of Shakespeare's life will always remainunknown. The Great London Fire of l666 burnedmany important documents that could have been a source of clues. We willalways be left with many questions and few facts.

Question16 What does the speaker say about WilliamShakespeare?

Question 17 What do we learn about Shakespeare'sfather?

Question 18 Why does the speaker say parts of Shakespeare'slife will remain a mystery?

Passage One

16. What does the speaker say about WilliamShakespeare?

答案：B) His personal history is little known.

【点评】本题考查事实细节。文章中作者先提出“有多少人了解莎士比亚本人”的问题，接着指出各学者经过几个世纪的研究之后，仍然在不断探索发现他的个人史。由此可知，莎士比亚的个人史很少有人知道。

17. What do we learn about Shakespeare's father?

答案：D) He was a member of the town council.

【点评】本题考查事实细节。文章中提到莎士比亚的父亲受人尊敬，是Stratford-on-Avon镇议会的一名成员。选项a member of the town council与原文完全对应。

18. Why does the speaker say parts of Shakespeare'slife will remain a mystery?

答案：C) Possible sources of clues about him were lost in a fire.

【点评】本题考查事实细节。文章中提到莎士比亚一部分的生活将永远不为人所知。因为1666年伦敦的一场大火把很多重要文件烧毁了，而这些本来可能是了解莎士比亚的重要线索。所以答案选择Possible sources of clues about him were lost in afire。

Passage Two

19. A. Theft.

B. Air crash.

C. Cheating.

D. Road accidents.

答案：A) Theft.

20. A. Learn the local customs.

B. Have the right documents.

C. Book tickets well in advance.

D. Make hotel reservations.

答案：B) Have the right documents.

21. A. Contact your agent.

B. Use official transport.

C. Get a lift if possible.

D. Have a friend meet you.

答案：B) Use official transport

19. What is mentioned as a most common danger whenpeople go travelling abroad?

答案：A) Theft.

【点评】本题考查事实细节。原文开篇就提到人们在外出旅游时会遇到很多危险，而其中最为常见的就是盗窃。根据所听即所得，可选出正确答案。

20. What is the most important thing to do when youprepare for your trip abroad?

答案：B) Have the right documents.

【点评】本题考查事实细节。原文中提到在准备出国旅游时，一定要确保文件正确，避免出现签证错误、过期护照等情况。因此答案应选正确的文件。选项中的documents与文中的paperwork对应。

21. What does the speaker suggest you do when youarrive at your destination?

答案：B) Use official transport.

【点评】文章最后提到，到达目的地后要选择乘坐正式的交通工具，不要搭乘陌生人的车。选项use official transport和文中完全一致，所听即所得可得出答案。

Passage 3

22. A. Cut down production cost.

B. Refine the taste of his goods.

C. Sell inexpensive products.

D. Specialize in gold ornament.

答案：C) Sell inexpensive products.  （视听一致+同意替换+最高级定位词）

23. A. At a meeting of top British businesspeople.

B. During a local sales promotion campaign.

C. During a live television interview.

D. At a national press conference.

答案：A) At a meeting of top British businesspeople.（视听一致+转折词but定位）

24. A. Discouraged.

B. Distressed.

C. Puzzled.

D. Insulted.

答案：D) Insulted.（视听一致）

25. A. He is not laughed at, that laughs at himselffirst.

B. There should be a limit to one’s sense ofhumor.

C. He who never learns from the past is bound to fail.

D. The words of some businesspeople are just rubbish.

答案：B) There should be a limit to one's sense of humor.（理解、推理）

The British are supposed to be famous for laughing atthemselves, but even their sense of humour has a limit, as the British retailerGerald Ratner found out to his cost. When Ratner took over his father's chainof 130 jewelry shops in 1984, he introduced a very clear company policy. He decided that his shops should sell down marketproducts at the lowest possible prices. It was a great success. TheBritish public loved his cheap gold earrings and his tasteless silverornaments. By 1991, Ratner's company had 2,400 shops and it was worth over 680million pounds. But in April of thatyear, Gerald Ratner made a big mistake. At abig meeting of top British businesspeople, he suited up and explained thesecret of his success. People say "How can we sell our goods forsuch a low price?" I say "Because they are absolute rubbish."His audience roared with laughter. But the British newspapers and the Britishpublic were not so amused. People feltinsulted and stayed away from Ratner's shops. Sales fell and 6 monthsafter his speech, Ratner's share price had fallen by 42%. The following year,things got worse and Gerald Ratner was forced to resign. By the end of 1992, helost his company, his career and his house. Even worse, 25,000 of his employeeshad lost their jobs. It had been a very expensive joke.

Question 22 What did Gerald Ratner decide to do whenhe took over his father's shops?

Question 23 On what occasion did Gerald Ratnerexplained the secret of his success?

Question 24 How did people feel when they leaned ofGerald Ratner's remarks?

Question 25 What does the story of Gerald Ratnersuggest?

短文3 答案

22. C) Sell inexpensive products.

23. A) At a meeting of top British businesspeople.

24. D) Insulted.

25. B) There should be a limit to one's sense ofhumour.

Spot Dictation

Looking at the basic biology systems, the world is notdoing very well. Yet economic indicators show the world is prospering. Despitea slow start at the beginning of the eighties, global economic output increasedby more than a fifth during the decade. The economy grew, trade increased, andmillions of new jobs were created. How can biological indicators show theopposite of economic indicators?

The answer is that the economic indicators have abasic fault: they show no difference between resources uses that sustainprogress and those uses that will hurt it. The main measure of economicprogress is the gross national product (GNP). In simple terms, this totals thevalue of all goods and services produced and subtracts loss in value offactories and equipment. Developed a half-century ago, GNP helped establish acommon way among countries of measuring change in economic output. For sometime, this seemed to work reasonably well, but serious weakness are nowappearing. As indicated earlier, GNP includes loss in value of factories andequipment, but it does not take into account the loss of natural resources,including nonrenewable resources such as oil or renewable resources such asforests.

This basic fault can produce a misleading sense ofnational economic health. According to GNP, for example, countries that overcutforest actually do better than those that preserve their forest. The trees cutdown are counted as income but no subtraction is made for using up the forests.

听力填空答案

26. prospering

27. decade

28. opposite

29. sustain

30. In simple terms

31. establish

32. reasonably

33. take into account

34. misleading

35. using up