2018年上半年英语四级听力真题(卷一)：听力篇章。供考生参考练习。
Passage 1 饥饿强大的推动力
Have you ever felt like you would do just about anything to satisfy your hunger? A new study in mice may help to explain why hunger can feel like such a powerful motivating force. In the study, researchers found that hunger out weights other physical drives including fear, thirst and social needs. To determine which feeling won out, the researchers did a series of experiments. In one experiment, the mice were both hungry and thirsty. When given the choice of either eating food or drinking water, the mice went for the food, the researchers found. However, when the mice were well-fed but thirsty, they opted to drink according to the study. In the second experiment, meant to pit the mice’s hunger against their fear, hungry mice were placed in a cage that has certain fox scented areas and other places that smell safer; in other words, not like an animal that could eat them but also had food. It turned out that when the mice were hungry, they ventured into the unsafe areas for food. But when the mice were well-fed, they stayed in the area of the cage that were considered safe. Hunger also out weights the mice’s social needs, the researchers found. Mice are usually social animals and prefer to be in the company of other mice according to the study. When the mice were hungry, they opted to leave the company of other mice to go get food.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Q16: What is the researchers’ purpose in carrying out the series of experiments with mice?
A) To investigate how being overweight impacts on health.
B) To find out which physical drive is the most powerful.
C) To discover what most mice like to eat.
D) To determine what feelings mice have.
Q17: In what circumstances do mice venture into unsafe areas?
A) When they are hungry.
B) When they are thirsty.
C) When they smell food.
D) When they want company.
Q18: What is said about mice at the end of the passage?
A) They search for food in groups.
B) They are overweight when food is plenty.
C) They prefer to be with other mice.
D) They enjoy the company of other animals.
Passage 2 美国高速公路系统
The United States has one of the best highway systems in the world. Interstate highways connect just about every large and mid-sized city in the country. Did you ever wonder why such a complete system of excellent roads exists? For an answer, you would have to go back to the early 1920s. In those years, just after World War I, the military wanted to build an American highway system for national defense. Such a system could, if necessary, move troops quickly from one area to another. It could also get people out of cities and danger of being bombed. So-called roads of national importance were designated, but they were mostly small country roads. In 1944, Congress passed a bill to upgrade the system but did not fund the plan right away. In the 1950s, the plan began to become a reality. Over 25 billion dollars was appropriated by Congress, and construction began on about 40 thousand miles of new roads. The idea was to connect the new system to existing express ways and freeways. And though the system was built mostly to make car travel easier, defense was not forgotten. For instance, highway overpasses have to be high enough to allow trailers carrying military missiles to pass under them. By 1974, the system was mostly completed. A few additional roads would come later. Quick and easy travel between all parts of the country was now possible.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Q19: What does the speaker say about the American highway system?
A) Its construction started before World War I.
B) Its construction cost more than $ 40 billion.
C) It is efficiently used for transport.
D) It is one of the best in the world.
Q20: What was the original purpose of building a highway system?
A) To improve transportation in the countryside.
B) To move troops quickly from place to place.
C) To enable people to travel at a higher speed.
D) To speed up the transportation of goods.
Q21: When was the interstate highway system mostly completed?
A) In the 1970s.
B) In the 1960s.
C) In the 1950s.
D) In the 1940s.
Passage 3 开车用手机发消息是车祸致死的主要原因/智能方向盘
Texting while driving was listed as a major cause of road deaths among young Americans back in 2013. A recent study said that 40% of American teens claim to have been in a car when the driver used a cellphone in the way that put people in danger. It sounds like a wide-spread disease, but it’s one that technology may now help to cure. TJ Evarts, a 20-year-old inventor, has come up with a novel solution that could easily put texting drivers on notice. It’s called ‘Smart Wheel’. And it’s a design to fit over the steering wheel of most standard vehicles to track whether or not the driver has two hands on the wheel at all times. Evarts’ invention warns the drivers with a light and a sound when they hold the wheel with one hand only. But as soon as they place another hand back on the wheel, the light turns back to green and the sound stops. It also watches for what’s called ‘close-by hands’, where both hands are close together near the top of the wheel, so the driver can type with both thumbs and drive at the same time. All the data Smart Wheel collects is also sent to a connected app. So any parent who installs Smart Wheel can keep track of the teens’ driving habits. If they try to remove or damage the cover that’s reported as well.Question
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Q22. What is a major cause of road deaths among young Americans?
A) Chatting while driving.
B) Messaging while driving.
C) Driving under age.
D) Speeding on highways.
Q23. What is ‘Smart Wheel’?
A) A gadget to hold a phone on the steering wheel.
B) A gadget to charge the phone in a car.
C) A device to control the speed of a vehicle.
D) A device to ensure people drive with both hands.
Q24. What happens if the driver has one hand on the wheel?
A) The car keeps flashing its headlights.
B) The car slows down gradually to a halt.
C) They are alerted with a light and a sound.
D) They get a warning on their smart phone.
Q25. How do parents keep track of their teens’ driving habits?
A) Installing a camera.
B) Using a connected app.
C) Checking their emails.
D) Keeping a daily record.
参考答案：
16. B)To find out which physical drive is the most powerful.
17. A)When they are hungry.
18. C)They prefer to be with other mice.
19. D)It is one of the best in the world.
20. B)To move troops quickly from place to place.
21. A)In the 1970s.
22. B)Messaging while driving
23. D)A device to ensure people drive with both hands.
24. C)They are alerted with a light and a sound.
25. B)Using a connected app.
