2023年12月英语四级听力真题原文及答案（第二套）

四级听力原文】

00:00:00 说话者1:

College english test，band four，part two，listening comprehension，section a directions。In this section，you will hear three news reports。At the end of each news report，you will hear two or three questions。Both the news report and the questions will be spoken only once。After you hear a question，you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked ab c and d then mark the corresponding letter on answer sheet one with a single line through the center。

00:00:39 说话者2:

News report one。How you noticed how similar you are to your friends。It may be because your brains operate in harmony with each other。We know that friends are more likely to be the same age，gender and ethnic background as each other。Now it seems that brains are alike too。Researchers at the university of california scanned the brains of 42 classmates while they watched videos intended to provoke varying responses。Some people might find a romantic scene touching，for instance，while others would feel it was embarrassing，the activity of friends，brains was more similar than that of people who didn't know each other，particularly in regions involved in attention，emotion and language。This similarity was strong enough used to predict whether two people were already friends or not。The relationship probably goes two ways。We are drawn to people who think like us。We then influence their thoughts over time which may push their brain activity into more closely resembling our own questions。

00:01:58 说话者1:

One and two are based on the news report。You have just heard question one，what may be the reason that friends are similar to each other？According to the recent research？

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00:02:25 说话者1:

Question two，what does the news report say about the relationship between friends？News report two，two men who have been best friends for 60 years have just realized they are actually brothers。It's reported that alan robinson and walter mcdonald met in the 6th grade at a school in hawaii。They have been best friends ever since。Allen was given away for adoption soon after he was born。And walter never knew his father。So recently they made separate attempts on dna matching websites to discover more about their ancestry。Walter was astonished to find that he matched with website user robbie 737。He knew immediately that this was his best friend alan whose friends call him robbie and flew 7:00 30 7:00 airplanes when he was a pilot。The pair were born to the same mother15 months apart。

00:03:44 说话者2:

Questions，three and four are based on the news report。You have just heard。Question three，what did both alan robinson and walter mcdonald attempt to do on dna matching websites？

00:04:14 说话者2:

Question four，what did the news report say about alan robinson and walter mcdonald？

00:04:36 说话者2:

News reports three，amid all the election drama，air pollution problems and disease outbreaks。Five tourists good work is being spread online。Yesterday two male and three female tourists were spotted walking the kilometer long beach，picking up trash。One of the male tourists from australia comments said that although there was a lot of trash，nobody was doing anything。Beach was not as nice or beautiful as it should be。He felt so sad to see such a gorgeous place littered with so much trash。Thus he and his friends decided to grab a few trash bags and clean it all up。A man passing by decided to video their good deed and put it on the internet。It was unclear where the rest of the group was from。They were most likely traveling together。One local woman commented on being embarrassed that tourists were cleaning up their beach。Another mentioned that it was actually the natives who brought food and drinks then left trash all along the island。

00:05:42 说话者1:

Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard。Question five，why did one of the male tourists feel sad？Question six，who put the good deed video on the internet？

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00:06:26 说话者1:

Question seven，why did one local woman say she was embarrassed？Section b directions。In this section，you will hear two long conversations。At the end of each conversation，you will hear four questions，both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once。After you hear a question，you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked ab c and d then mark the corresponding letter on answer，sheet one with a single line through the center。

00:07:20 说话者2:

Conversation one。Hello。

00:07:22 说话者1:

benjamin，dan and I will be going for a run along the canal saturday morning。Would you like to join us？

00:07:29 说话者2:

I'd love to，but I hurt my ankle last weekend playing football with work colleagues。

00:07:34 说话者1:

Dear，is it serious？

00:07:36 说话者2:

No not at all。I landed badly during a fall and twisted it a little but it's no big deal。It's just a little swollen and I should be fine for next saturday if you still want to go for a jog then。

00:07:48 说话者1:

I won't be here next saturday i'm going to the zoo。

00:07:52 说话者2:

00:07:53 说话者1:

My little nephew turns six and he loves the zoo，so the whole family is going。

00:07:58 说话者2:

Then I haven't been to a zoo since I was a kid。

00:08:03 说话者1:

They are nowhere near as popular as they used to be when we were children。I personally feel sorry for the poor animals stuck in cages，but there's no denying they are fun and educational for children。

00:08:16 说话者2:

Do you know if dan will be around next saturday？

00:08:19 说话者1:

Yeah，I think he will just send him a text message。He's always keen on physical activities。That's true。

00:08:27 说话者2:

Dan is extremely fit and healthy。He goes to the gym most days plus tennis 2 or 3 times a week。

00:08:34 说话者1:

What have you been doing to stay busy while you've had that swollen ankle？

00:08:39 说话者2:

I've been catching up on some reading。I was given three books over christmas and i'm only now getting round to reading them。

00:08:47 说话者1:

Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard。Question eight，why can't the man go for a run saturday morning？Question nine，why is the woman's whole family going to the zoo next saturday？Question ten，what do we learn about dan from the man's description？Question 11，what has the man been doing since last weekend？

00:10:12 说话者2:

Conversation two。

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00:10:14 说话者1:

our guest on today's book talk is john black，the author of the new best seller retire early。

00:10:22 说话者2:

Thanks for having me on the show，lisa。

00:10:25 说话者1:

john，your book is getting a lot of attention，partly because you write that most people can retire by 40。Is that realistic？Definitely。

00:10:35 说话者2:

When researching this book，I interviewed hundreds of people who retired by 40。

00:10:41 说话者1:

okay，but how much money does a person need to retire？I've read articles recommending $1 million as a good figure for retirement。

00:10:51 说话者2:

While most financial planners do give numbers，I don't think that's useful as people are living in different areas with different costs of living and have different needs and wants，which is why I suggest that people aim for financial independence。

00:11:05 说话者1:

What do you mean by financial independence？

00:11:09 说话者2:

Having investment income that's greater than monthly expenses？

00:11:12 说话者1:

That sounds risky to me。What if an accident happens or you get ill and need medical treatment？Shouldn't people have extra cash for emergencies？

00:11:24 说话者2:

Too many people spend their lives working on jobs they hate because they're afraid。So I counsel people to take risks。Retirement doesn't have to be permanent and if people need to they can go back to work。

00:11:38 说话者1:

But it's not always easy to get back into the workforce after an extended absence。

00:11:43 说话者2:

True，but if you keep current with your skills，you will be attracted to employers。Maybe。

00:11:49 说话者1:

But how can anyone save enough to retire by 40 when most people can't retire at 60。

00:11:55 说话者2:

simple by cutting housing food and transport expenses and investing half your monthly income？

00:12:01 说话者1:

That sounds impossible。

00:12:04 说话者2:

I admit it's difficult，but it has worked for thousands。

00:12:08 说话者1:

Questions？12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard。Question 12，what do we learn about the man's book published recently？Question 13，what do the articles the woman read recommend？Question 14，what does the man say about retirement？Question 15，how does the man say his proposal about retirement can be carried out。

00:13:20 说话者2:

section c directions。In this section you will hear three passages，end of each passage，you will hear three or four questions，both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once。After you hear a question，you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked abc and d then mark the corresponding letter on answer sheet one with a single line through the center。

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00:14:05 说话者1:

Passage one，new research from america studies the role that the presence of individuals from different social or racial groups has in influencing consumers，food choices。This research found college students were more likely to choose healthy food in the presence of an observer of a different race as opposed to an observer from their own race。The same was true when they were with someone from a different university compared to someone from their own。Researchers say this was because participants anticipated more negative judgment from an outsider group。In contrast，they felt less judged by members of their own group。In one experiment，participants were offered the choice between candy and fruit as a snack when in the presence of an unknown student from their own university，only 12% of students selected the healthier option。However，this number was 31% when in the presence of an unknown student from another university，other experiments showed similar results based on racial group。What's the reason for this pattern？The study found that people feel judged to a larger extent by members of other groups。Because of this，they strategically use healthy food choices to make a positive impression。There have been many attempts to help consumers make healthier choices，but consumers often struggle to maintain a healthy diet。This research finds that one way to promote a healthy diet could be to advertise the social benefits of healthy choices。

00:15:52 说话者2:

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard。Question 16，what was the finding of the new research from america about consumers，food choices？Question 17，when did 31% of students in the experiment select the healthier option？Question 18，how could a healthy diet be promoted according to the findings of the new research？Passage two？For college students under pressure，a dog may be the best stress fighter around according to the finding of a recent study。It's a really powerful finding said patricia henry who led the study。Universities are doing a lot of great work trying to help students succeed academically，especially those who may be at risk due to a history of mental health issues or academic and learning issues。This study shows that traditional stress management approaches answers effective for this population compared with programs that focus on providing opportunities to interact with therapy dogs。The researchers measured executive functioning in the students involved in the study。Executive function is a term for the skills one needs to plan，organize，motivate，concentrate and memorize。These are skills students need to succeed in college。The research has found that students who were most at risk had the most improvements in executive functioning after interacting with therapy dogs。These results remained when researchers followed up 6 weeks later。Many universities provide academic stress management programs and workshops。These are traditionally very similar to college classes。They often talk about ways to get more sleep set goals or manage stress or anxiety。Pendry acknowledges these are really important topics and these workshops help typical students succeed，but they are less helpful for struggling students。Henry believes those students may experience the programs as another lecture，feel even more stressed。

00:18:58 说话者1:

Questions，19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard。Question 19。What does the recent study led by patricia pendry？Aim to examine question 20。What did the new study measure in the participants？Question 21。What does patricia hendrick think traditional stress management programs may do？

00:20:09 说话者1:

Passage three，taking risks in business does not mean going into business blindly and then expecting great results。On the contrary，taking risks in entrepreneurship involves careful planning and hard work。Nobody can really be sure if risks will be met with success，no matter how calculated they may be。But this should not stop you from taking risks as risks are necessary if you want your business to succeed，some risks may not work out，but an optimistic risk taker will always look at failure as an opportunity to learn。The willingness to experiment with new ideas is key to business growth。As the old saying goes，nothing ventured，nothing gained。Failure will teach you how to think and plan strategically，but just remember that not all risks are good ones。And when you fail，learn from it and move forward。Since most people tend to avoid risk，businesses that are brave enough to take risks，already have a competitive advantage。They are the ones setting the standard with new ideas，fresh offers and bold inventions。Risk takers are best at adapting in difficult times，simply put when most individuals stay away from risk。It means less competition for risk takers。We don't know if you'll achieve what these risk takers have achieved。But for as long as you want to stay safe， for as long as you are content with where your business is right now，you will never find out。

00:21:57 说话者2:

questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard。Question 22。What do entrepreneurs have to do when taking risks according to the passage？Question 23。What does the passage say is key to business growth？Question 24。What are we advised to do when we fail？Question 25。What does it mean to risk taking businesses when most people tend to avoid risk？

00:23:28 说话者1:

That's the end of listening comprehension。

00:23:31 说话者2:

听力考试结束，请考生暂停作答。