决胜四级听力必备 unit20

Section A
[00:02.90]1. W: Mary worked as a secretary for three years.
[00:08.75]Then she became a reporter.
[00:12.30]After that she started writing novels.
[00:16.54]M: I know.She has been doing nothing ever since.
[00:21.58]Q: What is Mary's occupation now?
[00:26.51]2. W: Are you pleased that your son wants to be a dentist?
[00:32.16]M: Not really.I'd rather he managed my store when I retired¹.
[00:37.69]Q: Who is the man?
[00:41.85]3. W: We've talked long enough.
[00:46.21]Now what do you think of my last novel?
[00:50.57]M: Well,it's a great success.
[00:54.41]Q: What is the woman?
[00:58.46]4. M: I'd like to see that brown jacket you have in the window, please.
[01:05.31]W: What size do you take?
[01:08.44]Q: What is the woman likely to be?
[01:14.19]5. W: I don't know how you'll get through your teaching practice.
[01:19.93]M: Oh,I'll manage.I always do.
[01:24.38]I've planned all my lessons.
[01:28.14]Q: What is the man,do you think?
[01:32.97]6. M: Please show me your license².
[01:37.20]You were doing 45 in a 30 miles an hour zone.
[01:42.27]W: Sorry,sir.But I have already been late for an important appointment.
[01:48.41]Q: Can you guess what the man is?
[01:53.37]7. M:I want a single room with a bath,what's the rate?
[01:59.12]W: It's 25 dollars a day.
[02:03.06]Your room number is 213
[02:07.11]It is on the second floor.Here is your key.
[02:11.55]Q: What's the woman's occupation?
[02:16.70]8. M: How long can I keep these books out?
[02:21.84]W: One month.Then you will be fined for every day they are overdue³.
[02:27.49]Q: What's the woman's occupation?
[02:32.92]9. M: What do you intend to do with these children?
[02:38.56]W: I will teach them to read,to write and to be honest people.
[02:44.02]Q: What is the woman's job?
[02:48.96]10. M: Here's a prescription⁴ for some pills.
[02:53.61]Come back and see me in two weeks.
[02:57.87]W: Thank you very much for seeing me.
[03:01.52]Q: What is the man?
[03:06.28]Section B  Passage One
[03:10.82]A long time ago there lived a rich and powerful king.
[03:16.28]He was known everywhere for the splendors⁵ of his courage
[03:21.14]the magnificence of his palace.
[03:24.98]the strength of his army,and the wealth of his treasure.
[03:30.44]At every meal his table held the rarest and best food.
[03:35.90]His life was one of constant comfort and ease.
[03:40.84]The one thought in the minds of each of his servants and courtiers
[03:46.69]was to satisfy every wish of the king.
[03:51.05]The king gave no thought to anything but his own pleasure and desire.
[03:57.90]He never thought about the welfare of his people.
[04:02.05]For years the king lived happily satisfying his every wish and thinking of no one but himself.
[04:09.60] Then one day,he became ill.
[04:13.65]The court doctors could do nothing to save him.
[04:18.01] Fearfully the Chief Physician came to the king
[04:22.77]and told him that he had only few days to live.
[04:28.12]Then the king wept with sorrow and grief.
[04:32.77]"How can I leave my palaces and court.
[04:37.21]How can I lose all my treasure
[04:41.05]and never see my army again?" he cried.
[04:45.70]"It is not fair that this terrible thing should happen to me.
[04:51.34]When at last he knew that he must die.
[04:56.10]he ordered all his servants to parade before him in their richest clothes.
[05:02.37]He asked that all his treasures be laid out in front of him.
[05:07.62]After he had a magnificent banquet.
[05:12.37]he went to the balcony of his palace to watch his army march past.
[05:18.82]with flags flying and music playing.
[05:23.58]While he was standing⁶ on the balcony, he looked down and saw a poor beggar.
[05:32.23]"Oh,how I wish I were poor!" he cried.
[05:37.58]"I would not then regret so much leaving my kingdom and all that I own.
[05:43.72]I would not be filled with regret because I have done so little god.
[05:50.48]for my people while I had the chance."
[05:55.42]11. What do you think of the king in this story?
[06:00.99]12. What did the Chief Physician tell the king?
[06:07.44]13. How did the king prepare for his death?
[06:13.19]14. What did the king regret in the end?
[06:19.35]Passage Two
[06:22.41]The big Town Hall clock was striking midnight when Frank began to cross the bridge.
[06:28.94]The night air was cold and street-lamps gave little light.
[06:34.29]Frank was anxious to get home and his foot-steps rang loudly on the street.
[06:40.95]When he reached the middle of the bridge
[06:45.00]he thought he could hear someone coming near behind him.
[06:49.86]He looked back but could see no one.
[06:54.20]However,the sound continued,and Frank began walking more quickly.
[07:00.55]Then he slowed down again,
[07:04.10]thinking there was nothing to fear in a town as quiet as this.
[07:09.53]The short,quick steps grew louder until they seemed very near.
[07:14.78]Frank found it impossible not to turn round.
[07:19.22]As he did so,he caught sight of a human form coming towards him.
[07:25.36]After reaching the other side of the bridge.
[07:29.49]Frank stopped and pretended to look down at the water.
[07:34.24]From the corner of his eyes he could now make out the form of a man dressed in a large overcoat.
[07:41.40]A hat was pulled down over his eyes and very little of his face could be seen.
[07:47.64]As the man came near,Frank turned towards him
[07:52.89]and said something about the weather in an effort to be friendly.
[07:58.04]The man did not answer but asked roughly where Oakfield House was.
[08:04.18]Frank pointed⁷ to a big house in the distance and the stranger continued his way.
[08:10.45]Frank began following the stranger quietly.
[08:14.89]The man was soon outside the house and Frank saw him look up at the window.
[08:21.73]A light was still on,and the man waited until it went out.
[08:27.66]When about half an hour had passed.
[08:31.43]Frank saw him climb noiselessly over the wall and heard him dry
[08:37.17]on to the ground at the other side.
[08:41.33]Now Frank knew what the man wanted to do.
[08:45.69]He walked quickly and silently across the street towards a telephone-box on the corner.
[08:52.74]15. What was Frank's occupation?
[08:57.99]16. What was the strange man?
[09:02.75]17. Whom would Fank telephone after he found this?
[09:09.09]Passage Three
[09:11.94]The development of Jamestown in Virginia
[09:16.80]during the second half of the seventeenth century
[09:22.05]was closely related to the making and use of bricks.
[09:28.50]There are several practical reasons why bricks became important to the colon⁸.
[09:35.06]Although the forests could initially⁹ supply sufficient wood.
[09:40.52]the process of cutting was extremely difficult.
[09:45.56]particularly because of the lack of road.
[09:50.71]Later,when the wood on the peninsula had been used up.
[09:56.45]wood had to be brought from some distance.
[10:01.50]Building stone was also in short supply.
[10:06.43]However,as earth was plentiful¹⁰.
[10:11.27]it was inevitable¹¹ that the colonists¹² would turn to brickmaking.
[10:18.14]In addition to practical reasons for using brick
[10:24.07]as the principal construction material.
[10:29.00]there was also an ideological¹³ reason.
[10:33.65]Brick represented durability¹⁴ and permanence.
[10:39.11]The Virginia Company of London.
[10:43.66]instructed the colonists to build hospitals and new residences out of brick.
[10:52.12]In 1662,the Town Act of the Virginia Assembly
[11:00.27]provided for the construction of thirty-two brick buildings
[11:06.91]and prohibited the use of wood as a construction material
[11:13.65]Had this law ever been successfully carried out.
[11:19.21]Jamestown would have been a model city.
[11:23.94]Instead,the residents failed to follow the lay.
[11:29.37]and by 1699,Jamestown had collapsed¹⁵ into a pile of stone
[11:37.94]with only three or four habitable houses.
[11:43.97]18. What were most buildings in Jamestown made of?
[11:50.32]19. Which of the following was NOT a reason for using bricks in construction?
[11:58.86]20. According to the passage,what eventually happened to Jamestown

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

3 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

4 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

5 splendors   

n.华丽( splendor的名词复数 )；壮丽；光辉；显赫

参考例句：

• The sun rose presently and sent its unobstructed splendors over the land. 没多大工夫，太阳就出来了，毫无阻碍，把它的光华异彩散布在大地之上。 来自辞典例句
• Her mortal frame could not endure the splendors of the immortal radiance. 她那世人的肉身禁不住炽热的神光。 来自辞典例句

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

11 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

12 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

14 durability   

n.经久性，耐用性

参考例句：

• Nylons have the virtue of durability.尼龙丝袜有耐穿的优点。

15 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。