2020年12月大学英语四六级考试听力真题及其参考答案（附音频）

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2020年12月12日大学英语四级听力

◆【News report 1】

(1) A poisonous fish which has a sting strong enough to kill a human is invading the Mediterranean, warn the scientist.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has raised concerns after the poisonous fish was spotted in the waters around Turkey, Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean.

Native to the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, the potentially deadly fishhas poisonous barbs and an painful sting capable of killing people.

Although fatalities are rare, the stings can cause extreme pain, and stop people breathing.

The fish, also known as the Devil Firefish, is a highly invasive aspecies, (2) and environmentalists fear its arrival could endanger other types of marine life.

After being spotted in the Med, a marine scientist says: "The fish is spreading, and that's a cause for concern.”

Q1: What is reported in the news?

1.D. A deadly fish has been spotted in the Mediterranean waters.

Q2: What is the environmentalist concern about the spread of devil fire fish in the Mediterranean?

2.B. It could pose a threat to other marine species.

◆【News report 2】

(3) Almost half the center of Paris will be accessible only by foot or bicycle this Sunday to mark World-Car-Free Day. (4) This is in response to rising air pollution that made Paris the most polluted city in the world for a brief time. Mayor Ann Ethogo promoted the first World-Car-Free Day last year. Ethogo also has supported a Pairs-briefs-Day on the first Sunday of every month. Paris clears traffic from eight lanes of the main road. About 400 miles of streets will be closed to cars. It is expected to bring significantreduction in pollution levels. (4) Last year's Car-Free Day showed a 40% drop in pollution levels in some parts of the city. According to an independent air pollution monitor, reports the guardian and sound levels dropped by 50% in the city center. 

Q3: What will happen on World-Car-Free-Day in Paris?

3.C. About half of its city center will be closed to cars.

Q4: What motivated the mayor of Paris to promote the first World-Car-Free Day in her city?

4.D. The rising air pollution in Paris.

◆【News report3】

A Philippine fisherman was feeling down on his luck when a house fireforced him to clear out his possessions and change locations. Then, a good luck charm that hekept under his bed changed his life. (5) The unidentified man fished out a giant pearl from the ocean when his anchor got stuck on the rock while sailing off a coastal island in the Philippines 10 years ago. (6) When he was forced to sell it, (7) the shocked tourist agent at Puerto Francesca told him that the £77 giant pearl that he had kept hidden in his run-down wooden house was the biggest pile in the world, which was valued at £76 million. 

The pearl of Allah, which is currently on display in a New York Museum, only weighs 14 pounds. That is 5 times smaller than the pearl that the fisherman just handed in. The monstrous pearl, measured at 1 foot wide and 2.2 feet long, is going to be verified by local experts and international authorities before hopefully going on display to attract more tourists in the little town. 

Question 5. What happened to the Philippine fisherman one day? 

5.A. His house was burnt down in a fire.

Question 6. What was the fisherman forced to do?

6.C. Sell the pearl he had kept for years.

Question 7. What did the fisherman learn from the tourist agent?

7.B. His monstrous pearl was extremely valuable.

◆【Conversation 1】

W: Mr. Smith, it's a pleasure meeting you.

M: Nice to meet you,too. What can I do for you?

W: Well, I'm here to show you what our firm can do for you. Astro Consultant has branches in over 50 countries, offering different business services. (8) We are a global company with 75 years of history and our clients include some of the world's largest companies.

M: Thank you, Mrs. Houston. I know Astro Consultant is a famous company, but you said you would show me what you could do for me. Well, what exactly can your firm do for my company?

W: We advise businesses on all matters—from market analysis to legalissues. Anything of business like yours could need, our firm offers expert advice. Could I ask you, Mr. Smith, to tell me a little about your company and the challenges you face? That way, I could better respond as to how we can help you.

M: OK, sure. (9) This is a family business started by my grandfather in 1950. We employed just over 100 people. We manufacture an export stone for buildings and other constructions. Our clients usually want a special kind of stone cut in a special design. That's what we do in our factory. (10) Our main challenge is that our national currency is rising and we're losing competitive advantage to stone producers in India.

W: I see. that's very interesting. (11) I would suggest that you let us first conduct a financial analysis of your company,  together with ananalysis of your competitors in India. That way we could offer the best advice on different ways forward for you.

Q8. What do we learn about the woman's company?

8.A. It boasts a fairly long history.

Q9. What does the man say about his own company?

9.D. It is a family business.

Q10. What is the main problem with the man's company?

10.B. Loss the competitive edge.

Q11. What does the woman suggest doing to help the man’s company?

11.D. Conducting a financial analysis for it.

◆【Conversation2】

W: Wow, Congratulations, Simon. The place looks absolutely amazing.

M: Really? You think so? 

W: Of course, I love it! It looks like you had a professional interior designer. But you didn't, did you?

M: No. (12) I did it all by myself—with a little help from my brother Greg. He's actually in the construction business, which was reallyhelpful.

W: Well, honestly, I'm impressed. I knew I could probably repaint the walls in my house over a weekend or something, but not a full renovation. Where did you get your ideas? I wouldn't know where to start.

M: (13) Well, for a while now, I've been regularly buying home designmagazines every now and then, and say the picture I liked. Believe it or not, I had a full notebook of magazine pages. Since my overall style was quite minimal, I thought and hoped the whole renovation wouldn't be too difficult. And sure enough, with Greg's help, it was very achievable.

W: Was it very expensive? I imagine a project like this couldbe.

M: (14) Actually, it was surprisingly affordable. I managed to sell alot of my old furniture, and put that extra money towards the new material. Greg was also able to get some discount of materials from a recent project he was working on as well.

W: Great. If you don't mind, I'd like to pick your brain a bit more. Jonathan and I are thinking of renovating our sitting room, not the whole house—not yet anyway. (15) And we'd love to get some inspiration from your experience. Are youfree to come over for a coffee early next week?

Question 12. What do we learn about the woman from the conversation?

12.B. She is really impressed by the man’s house.

Question 13. Where did the man get his ideas for the project?

13.C. From home design magazines.

Question 14. What did the man say about the project herecently completed?

14.A. The cost was affordable.

Question 15. Why does the woman invite the man to her house nextweek?

15.D. She wants him to share his renovation experience with her.

◆【Passage 1】

(16) Removing foreign objects from ears and noses costs England almost ￡3 million a year,a study suggests. 

Children were responsible for the vast majority of cases. 95% of objects removed from noses, and 85% from ears. Every year, an average of 1,218 nose，and 2,479 ear removals took place between 2010 and 2016. (17) According to England's hospital episodes statistics, children aged 1 to 4 were the most likely to need help from doctors for a foreign object in their nose. 5 to 9 -year-olds come to the hospital with something in their ears the most.

Jewelry items accounted for up to 40% of cases in both the ears and noses of children. Paper and plastic toys for the items removed next most from noses. Cotton buds, and pencils were also found inyears. 

(18)According to the study, the occurrence of foreign objects in children is generally attributed to curiosity. Children have an impulse to explore their noses and ears. This results in the accidental entry of foreign objects. Any ear, nose and throat surgeon has many weird stories about wonderful objects found in the noses and ears of children and adults. Batteries canpose a particular danger. In all cases, prevention is better thancure. This is why many toys contain warnings about smallparts. Recognizing problems early and seeking medical attention is important.

Question16 What does England spend an annual￡3 million on?

16.C. Removing objects from patients’ noses and ears.

Question17 What do we learn from England's hospital episodes statistics?

17.B. Five-to nine-year-olds are the most likely to put things in theirears.

Question18 What is generally believed to account for children putting things in their ears or noses? 

18.D. They are curious about these body parts.

◆【Passage 2】

Good morning. Today, I would like to talkto you about my charity Re-bicycle.  

But before that, let me introduce someone. This is Layla Rahimi. She was so scared when she first moved to new Zealand. Does she struggled to leave the house? I would spend days working up the courage to walk to the supermarket for basic supplies. (19) After a few months of being quite down and unhappy, she was invited to join a local bike club. At this time, Re-bicycle got involved and gave Layla a second-hand bicycle. Within weeks, her depression had begun to ease as she cycled. The bicycle totally changed her life, giving her hope and a true feelingof freedom. (20) To date, Re-bicycle has donated more than 200 bikes to those in need and is now expanding bike-riding lessons as a demand source. With a bike, new comers here can travel farther but for almost no cost. The 3 hours a day they used to spend walking to and from English language lessons has been reduced to just 1 hour.  

Our bike riding lessons are so successful that we are urgently looking formore volunteers, learning to ride a bike is almost always more difficult for an adult. And this can take days and weeks rather than hours. So if any of you have some free time during the weekend, please come join us at Re-bicycle and make a difference in someone’s life.  

Question 19. What did Re-bicycle do to help Layla Rahimi?

19.A. It gave her a used bicycle.

Question 20. What is Re-bicycle doing to help those in need?

20.A. Expanding bike-riding lessons.

Question 21. What do we learn from the passage about Re-bicycle?

21.D. It is a charity organization.

◆【Passage 3】

Thanks to the international space station, (22) we know quite a bitabout the effects of low gravity on the human body, but NASA scientists want to learn more.To that end, they have been studying how other species deal with low gravity, specifically focusing on mice. The results are both interesting and humorous. The scientists first sent some mice and especially designed cage to the international space station.The cage allowed them to study the behavior of the mice remotely from earth, via video. 

As you’ll notice in the video, (23) the mice definitely seem uncomfortable at the beginning of the experiment. They move around clumsily, drifting within the small confines of the cage and do their best to figure out which way is up, but without success. However, it’s not long before the mice beginto catch on. They adapt remarkably well to their new environment, and even use the lack of gravity to their advantage as they push themselves around the cage. That’s when things really get wild. (24) The 11th day of the experiment shows the mice are not just dealing with the gravity change, but actually seem to be enjoying it. Several of the mice are observed running around the cage walls. The scientists wanted to see whether the mice would continue doing the same kinds of activities they were observed doing on earth.

(25) The study showed that the mice kept much of the routines intact, including cleaning themselves and eating when hungry. 

Question 22 : What do NASA scientists want to learn about?

22.A. How animals deal with lack of gravity.

Question 23: What does the passage say about the mice at the beginning of the experiment?

23.C. They were not used to the low-gravity environment.

Question 24: What was observed about the mice on the 11th day of the experiment?

24.B. They already felt at home in the new environment.

Question 25: What did the scientists find about the mice from the experiment?

25.C. They behaved as if they were on Earth. 

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2020年12月12日大学英语六级听力

Conversation1

M: Good morning, safe house insurance. My name is Paul. How can I help you today?

W: Morning. I wouldn’t say that it’s good from where I am standing. This is Miss Wilson, and this is the third time I’ve called this week since receiving your letter about our insurance claim. (1)I’m getting a little fed up with my calls about my claim being completely disregarded.

M: Miss Wilson, thank you for calling back. Can I take some details to help me look at your claim?

W: It’s Miss May Wilson, a 15 south sea road in Cornwall. And the details are that our village was extensively flooded 2 months ago. (2)The entire ground floor of our cottage was submerged in water. And five of us have been living in a caravan ever since. You people are still withholding the money we are entitled to over a bizarre, technical detail. And it’s not acceptable, Paul.

M: Miss Wilson, according to the notes on your account, (3)the bizarre, technical detail that you mentioned refers to the fact that you hadn’t paid house insurance the month before the incident.

W: That money left our account and wow that you should be paying out. You are suddenly saying that you didn’t receive it on time. I’m really skeptical about this claim.

M: The contract does say that any misspayment in a year will affect the terms and conditions of the insurance contract and may affect claims. Of course, I can pass you on to my manager to talk to you more about this.

W: I’ve already spoken to him and you can tell him I’m furious now. And that your company has a lawsuit on its hands. (4) You will be hearing from my lawyer, good bye.

Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

Question 1: What is the woman complaining about?

Question 2: What is the problem the woman’s family encountered?

Question 3: What has caused the socalled bizarre, technical detail according to the man?

Question 4: What does the woman say she will do at the end of the conversation?

Conversation2

W: (5) How do you feel about the future of artificial intelligence? Personally, I feel quite optimistic about it.

M: (5) AI? I’m not so optimistic actually. In fact it's, something we should be concerned about.

W: Well, it will help us humans understand ourselves better and when we have a better understanding of ourselves, we can improve the world.

M: Well, one thing is for sure, technology is evolving faster than our ability to understand it, and in the future AI will make jobs kind of pointless.

W: (6) I think artificial intelligence will actually help create new kinds of jobs, which would require less of our time and allow us to be centered on creative tasks.

M: I doubt that very much. Probably the last job that will be writing AI software and then eventually AI will just write his own software.

W: At that time, we are going to have a lot of jobs which nobody will want to do. So we won’t need artificial intelligence for the robots to take care of the old guys like us.

M: I don't know. (7) There's a risk that human civilization could be replaced by a superior type of digital life. AI will be able to completely simulate a person in every way possible. In fact, some people think we're in a simulation right now.

W: That's impossible. Humans can't even make a mosquito. Computers only have chips, people have brains, and that's where the wisdom comes from.

M: (8) Once it's fully developed, AI will become tired of trying to communicate with humans as we would be much slower thinkers in comparison.

W: I'm not so sure. A computer is acomputer and a computer is just a toy.

M: Computers can easily communicateincredibly fast, so the computer will just get impatient talking to humans.It'll be barely getting any information out.

W: Well, I believe there's a benevolent future with AI. I also think you watch too many science fiction films.

Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

Q5 What do we learn about the speakers from the conversation?

Q6 What will new kinds of jobs be like according to the woman?

Q7 What is the risk the man anticipates?

Q8 What is the man's concern about AI technology?

PassageOne

To achieve financial security. How muchyou save is always more important. Then the amount you earn or how shrewdly youinvest.(9) If you're under 30 years old, your goal should be to save 20% ofyour monthly income after tax deductions. This is irrespective of how much youearn. Approximately 50% should be reserved for essentials, like food and accommodation. The remaining 30% is for recreation and entertainment. But for many young people, it'll be difficult to designate such a large proportion oftheir income for savings. (10) If you find it hard to save any money at all start by cutting all unnecessary spending, allocate a tiny amount of 1 or 2%for savings, and gradually increase that amount. (11)Always keep that 20% goal in mind, prevent yourself from becoming complacent. It can be challenging tostick to such a strict plan. But if you adopt the right mindset, you should beable to make it work for you. So what should you be doing with the money that you are saving? Some must be kept easily accessible. In case you need some cashin an emergency, the largest proportion should be invested in retirement plans, either for your employer, all privately, you can keep some money for high risk, but potentially lucrative investments. Dividends can be reinvested or used to purchase something you like. By following this plan, you should hopefully beable to enjoy your life now, and still be financially secure in the future.

Questions, 9 to 11 are based on thepassage you have just heard.

Q 9. What are people under 30 advised todo to achieve financial security?

Q10. What should people do if they findit difficult to follow the speaker's advice on their financial plan?

Q 11. What does the speaker think isimportant for achieving financial security?

PassageTwo

I work in advertising and I like to keep up with current trends, mainly because I'm aware that we live in an image obsessed world.

(12)However, when I first started myjob, occasionally I’d catch a glimpse of myself in the lifts and find myself thinking that I looked a total mess. Was I being held back by my choice of clothing? The short answer is “Yes”, especially when clients are quick to judgeyou on your style rather than your work. (13) But no one can be unique with her outfit every day. I mean that's why uniforms were invented. So here's what I did. I created my own uniform. To do this, I chose an appropriate outfit. Then Ibought multiple items of the same style in different shades.

Now, I never worry about what I'm wearing in the morning. Even if I do get a bit tired of just wearing the same classic pieces. (14)Overall, when it comes to work, you have to ask yourselfwith looking smarter can enhance my ability to do my job.

For some, this question may not be anissue at all, especially if you work remotely and rarely see your colleagues orclients face to face. But if your job involves interacting with other people,the answer to this is often “yes”. (15) So rather than fighting the system, Ithink we should just do whatever helps us to achieve our goals at work. If that means playing it safe with your image, then let's face it. It's probably worth it.

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.

Q 12. What do we learn about the speaker when she first started her job?

Q 13. Why were uniforms invented according to the speaker?

Q 14. What does the speakers say about looking smarter?

Q 15. What does the speaker advise people to do in an image obsessed world?

RecordingOne

Did you know that Americans have approximately 3 times the amount of space we had 50 years ago? Therefore, you'dthink would have sufficient room for all of our possessions. On the contrary, the personal storage business is now a growing industry.  We've got triple the space, but we've become such enthusiastic consumers that we require even more.(16) This phenomenon has resulted in significant credit card debt, enormous environmental footprints, and perhaps not coincidentally our happiness levels have failed to increase over the same half century.

I'm here to suggest an alternative. They’re having less might actually be a preferable decision. Many of us have experienced at some stage, the pleasure of possessing less. (17) I propose that less stuff and less space can not only help you economize, but also simplify your life. I recently started an innovative project to discover some creative solutions that offered me everything I required. By purchasing an apartment. There was 40 square meters instead of 60. I immediately saved $200,000. Smaller space leads to reduced utility bills and also a smaller carbon footprint, because it's designed around an edited collection of possessions, limited to my favorite stuff. I'm really excited to live there.

How can we live more basically? Firstly, we must briefly cut the unnecessary objects out of our lives to stem consumption. We should think before we buy and ask ourselves: Will it truly make me happier? Obviously, we should possess some great stuff but we want belongings that we’re going to love for years. Secondly, we require space efficiency. We want appliances that are designed for use most of the time, not for occasional use. Why own a six burner when you really use even three burners?

Finally, we need multifunctional spaces and housewares. I combined a movable wall with transforming furniture to get more out of my limited space. Consider my coffee table. It increases in size to accommodate ten. My office is tucked away, easily hidden. My bed simply pops out of the wall. For gas, I can relocate the movable wall and utilize the foldable guest beds I installed. I’m not saying we should all live in tiny apartments, but consider the benefits of an edited life. When you return home and walk through your front door, take a moment to ask yourselves. Could I do with a little life editing? Would that give me more freedom and more time?

Question 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.

Question 16. What has prevented American's happiness levels from increasing?

Question 17. What things should we possess according to the speaker?

Question 18. What do we learn about the items in the speaker’s home?

RecordingTwo

Now, believe it or not, (19) people sometimes lie in order to maintain a good, honest reputation, even if it hurts them to do so. At least, this is what a team of scientists is suggesting with evidence to prove it.

Picture this scenario—you often drivefor work and can be compensated for up to 400 miles per month. Most people at your company drive about 300 miles each month. But this month you drove 400 miles. How many miles do you think you’d claim in your expense report? The scientists asked this exact question as part of the study we’re discussing today. With surprising results, they found that 12% of respondents reported the distance they drove as less than the actual figure, giving an average answer of384 miles. In other words, they lied about the number of miles, even though they would forfeit money they were owed. The researchers believe this was to seem honest with the assumption being that others would be suspicious of a high expense claim.

But why would people fabricate numbers to their own detriment? (20) The researchers explained that many people care agreat deal about their reputation and how they’ll be judged by others. If they care enough, they’re concerned about appearing honest and not losing the respect of others—maybe greater than their desire to actually be honest. The researchers assert that the findings suggest that when people obtain very favorable outcomes, they anticipate other people’s suspicious reactions and prefer lying and appearing honest to telling the truth and appearing as selfishliars.

So why is this research important? Well,experts generally agree there are two main types of lie—selfish lies and liesthat are meant to benefit others. The first, as you may predict, is for selfish gain, such as submitting a fraudulent claim to an insurance company, while the second involves lying to help others or not offend others. For example, tellinga friend whose outfit you don’t like that they look great. But the researchers are suggesting a third type of lying: lying to maintain a good reputation.

Now this hypothesis is new, and some skeptics argue that this isn’t a whole new category of lie. (21)But the findings seem intuitive to me. After all, one of the main motivations for lyingis to increase our worth in the eyes of others. So it seems highly likely that people will lie to seem honest.

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.

Question 19: What did a team of scientists find in their study?

Question 20: why would people fabricate numbers to their own detriment according to the researchers?

Question 21: What does the speaker think of the researchers findings?

RecordingThree

(22) Why do old people dislike new music? As I’ve grown older, I often hear people my age say things like, “Theyjust don’t make good music like they used to.” (22) Why does this happen? Luckily, psychology can give us some insights into this puzzle. Musical taste begins crystallized as early as age 13 or 14. By the time we’re in our early 20s, these tastes get locked into place pretty firmly.

(23) In fact, studies have found that bythe time we turn 33, most of us have stopped listening to new music. Meanwhile, popular songs released when you in the early teens are likely to remain quite popular among your age group for the rest of your life. There could be a biological explanation for this. As there’s evidence that the brain’s ability to make subtle distinctions between different chords, rhythms, and melodies deteriorate rates with age, so to older people, newer, less familiar songs mightall sound the same.

But there may be some simpler reasons for older people’s aversion to new music. (24) One of the most researched laws of social psychology is something called the “mere exposure effect”, which, in essence, means that the more we’re exposed to something, the more we tend to like it. This happens with people we know, the advertisements we see, and the songs we listen to.

When you’re in your early teens, you probably spend a fair amount of time listening to music or watching music videos. Your favorite songs and artists become familiar, comforting parts ofyour routine. For many people over 30, job and family obligations increase. Sothere’s less time to spend discovering new music. Instead, many will simplylisten to old familiar favorites from that period of their lives when they had more free time.

Of course, those teen years weren’t necessarily carefree. They’re famously confusing, which is why so many TV shows and movies revolve around high school turmoil. Psychology research has shown that (25)the emotions that we experience as teens seem more intense than those that come later. And we also know that intense emotions are associated with stronger memories and preferences. Both of these might explain why the songs we listen to during this period become so memorable and beloved. So there’s nothing wrong with your parents because they don’t like your music. Rather, it’s all part of the natural order of things.

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.

Question 22. What does the speaker mainly discuss in this talk?

Question 23. What have studies found about most people by the time they turn 33?

Question 24. What do we learn from one of the most researched laws of social psychology?

Question 25. What might explain the factthat songs people listen to in their teen years are memorable and beloved?

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来源：本文由大民说英语综合自小芳老师、上海发布

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