大学英语四级考试2021年12月真题（第三套）Part IWriting(30 minutes)Directions:Suppose you have just participated in a school project of collecting used books on campus.You arenow to write a report about the project,which may include its aim,organizers,participants and activities.Youwill have 30 minutes to write the report.You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.Listening Comprehension(25 minutes)特别说明：由于多题多卷，官方第三套真题的听力试题与第二套真题的一致，只是选项顺序不同，因此，本套试卷不再提供听力部分。Reading Comprehension(40 minutes)SectionADirections:In this section,there is a passage with ten blanks.You are required to select one word for each blank froma list of choices given in a word bank following the passage.Read the passage through carefully before making yourchoices.Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter:Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.The sheets are damp with sweat.You're cold,but your heart is racing as if a killer just chased you down adark street.It was just a nightmare,you tell yourself;there's nothing to be afraid of.But you're still filledwith 26.Given how unsettling and haunting nightmares can be,is there a way for dreamers to 27,or even tumoff,these bad dreams as they happen?Research is 28,but some studies suggest that people who can master lucid dreaming-that is,the abilityto be 29 that a nightmare is happening and possibly even control it without waking up-may hold the 30Nightmares are part of the human experience,especially for kids.Doctors31don't consider occasionalnightmares a problem.They can just be symptoms of a sleep disorder that can 32from an unpleasantexperience,stress,or certain drugs.To treat the disorder,there are a number of medicines and therapies that are backed by 33 research,according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine,which analyzed the available research on the treatmentHowever,nightmares are complicated,and researchers are still struggling to understand them,said Dr.RachelSalas,an expert on sleep disorders and an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.What we doknow is that people 35to have different kinds ofnightmares at different points during the sleep cycle.A)amount1)mechanicalB)answerJ)resultC)avoidK)reviewD)awareL)rigorousE)departM)tendF)drasticallyN)timidityG)fearO)typicallyH)limitedSection BDirections:In this section,you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it.Each statementcontains information given in one of the paragraphs.Identify the paragraph from which the information isderived.You may choose a paragraph more than once.Each paragraph is marked with a letter.Answer thequestions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Why it matters that teens are reading lessA)Most of us spend much more time with digital media than we did a decade ago.But today's teens have grownup with smartphones.Compared with teens a couple of decades ago,the way they interact with traditionalmedia like books and movies is fundamentally different.B)Analysis of surveys of over one million teens in the United States collected since 1976 reveals a major shift inhow teens are spending their leisure time.Paper books are being ignored,in favor of screens.Digital devicesare changing other behaviors,too.More and more,young people choose spending time on their electronicdevices over engaging in other activities,regardless of the type.Indeed,by 2016,the average Americanhigh school senior said they spent six hours a day writing text messages,on social media,and online duringtheir free time.And that covers just three activities,and if other digital media activities were included,thatestimate would no doubt rise.C)Teens did not always spend that much time with digital media.Online time has doubled since 2006,andsocial media use has moved from a periodic activity to a daily one in the same period.By 2016,nearly nineout of ten young women in the 12th grade said they visited social media sites every day.Meanwhile,timespent playing video games rose from under an hour a day to an hour and a half on average.One out of tenAmerican 8th grade students in 2016 spent 40 hours a week or more playing video games.Let me emphasizethat this is equal to the time most adults spend per week at work.D)If teens are spending so much time using electronic devices,does that mean they have to give up some otheractivities?Maybe not.Over the years,many scholars have insisted that time online does not necessarily takeaway time spent engaging with traditional media or on other activities.Some people,they argue,are justmore interested in certain kinds of media and entertainment.Thus,using more of one type of media does notnecessarily mean less of the other.E)That may be true,but that still does not tell us much about what happens across a whole generation of peoplewhen time spent on digital media grows.Large surveys conducted over the course of many years tells usthat American youth are not going to the cinema nearly as often as they did in the past.While 70 percentof 8th and 10th grade students used to go to the movies once a month or more,now only about half do this.More and more,watching a movie is something teens choose to do on their electronic devices.Why is thisa problem?One reason is that going to the cinema is generally a social activity.Now,watching movies issomething that most teens do alone.This fits a larger pattern.In another analysis,researchers found thattoday's teens go out with their friends much less often than previous generations did.F)But the trends related to movies are less disturbing compared with the change in how teens spend their timeResearch has revealed an enormous decline in reading.In 1980,about 60 percent of senior high schoolstudents said they read a book,newspaper or magazine every day that was not assigned for school.By 2016,only 16 percent did.This is a huge drop and it is important to note that this was not merely a decline inreading paper books,newspapers or magazines.The survey allowed for reading materials on a digital device.G)Indeed,the number of senior high school students who said they had not read any books for pleasure in thelast year was one out of three by 2016.That is triple the number from two decades ago.For today's youth,books,newspapers and magazines have less and less of a presence in their daily lives.Of course,teens arestill reading.But they are generally reading short texts.Most of them are not reading long articles or booksthat explore deep themes and require critical thinking and reflection.Perhaps not accidentally,in 2016 readingscores were the lowest they have ever been since 1972.H)This might present problems for young people later on.When high school students go on to college,theirpast and current reading habits will influence their academic performance.Imagine going from reading textsas short as one or two sentences to trying to read entire books written in complex language and containingsophisticated ideas.Reading and comprehending longer books and chapters takes practice,and Americanteens are no longer getting that practice.I)So how can this problem be solved?Should parents and teachers take away teens'smartphones and replacethem with paper books?Probably not.Research has shown that smartphones are currently American teens'main form of social communication.This means that,without a smartphone,teens are likely to feel isolatedfrom their peers.However,that does not mean teens need to use electronic devices as often as they do now.Data connecting excessive digital media time to mental health issues suggests a limit of two hours a dayof free time spent with screens,a restriction that will also allow time for other activities-like going to themovies with friends or reading longer,more complicated texts.J)The latter is especially important.I would argue that of all the changes brought about by the widespreaduse of digital devices,the huge decline in reading is likely to have the biggest negative impact on today'steens because reading books and longer articles is one of the best ways to leam critical thinking.It helpspeople to understand complex issues and to separate fact from fiction.Thus,deep reading is crucial forbeing a good citizen,a successful college student and a productive employee.If serious reading dies,a lotwill go with it.36.Many years'surveys reveal that young people in America are going to the cinema much less often than theyused to.37.Survey analysis shows American teens now spend their leisure time on digital devices rather than readingprinted books.38.The number of senior high schoolers not reading books for pleasure in a year increased three times over 20years.39.Many scholars claim that spending time on electronic devices doesn't necessarily mean a decrease of time forother activities.40.Most people spend much more time interacting with digital media than they did ten years ago.41.The author claims that it will be a great loss if we no longer read books and longer articles.42.Over a decade or so,American teens'social media use shifted from an occasional activity to a routine one.43.A more disturbing trend in America today is that teens are spending far less time reading than around fourdecades ago.44.Some five years ago,high school seniors in America generally spent more than six hours a day on electronicdevices.45.It was found that American youngsters today don't socialize nearly as much as the earlier generations.Section CDirections:There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinishedstatements.For each of them there are four choices marked A),B),C)and D).You should decide on the bestchoice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Have you ever wondered how acceptable it is to hug or touch someone?While it may sound safe to avoidall physical contact so as not to offend anyone,the lack of touching might imply cold attitudes or indifference ininterpersonal relationships.So,what should we do?The simple answer is to thoroughly leam unique cultural norms for physical contact.In nonverbal communication terminology ()physical contact and the study of touching are generallyreferred to as haptics.Haptics in communication often suggest the level of intimacy.They are usually classified into two groups:high-contact and low-contact.Asia and quite surprisingly the United States,Canada and Britain belong to low-contact cultures.Peoplefrom the rest of the world,such as Latin America,are considered to be in high-contact cultures,where theytend to expect touching in social interactions and feel more comfortable with physical closeness.Despite theclassification,there are more complex factors such as relational closeness,gender,age,and context that can affecthow someone views physical contact.One common French custom of greetings is cheek-kissing,but it is mostly restricted to friends,closeacquaintances and family members.While cheek-kissing for Latin Americans is also a universal greeting form,it does not require such a high degree of relational closeness.However,gender matters more for them becausecheek-kissing often only happens between women or a man and a woman but not two men.In contrast,in certain Arabian,African,and Asian countries,men can publicly hold hands or showphysical affection as signs of brotherhood or friendship while these behaviors may suggest a romanticrelationship in other parts of the world.Although men's touching is more normal in these cultures,physicalcontact between persons of opposite sexes who are not family members is negatively perceived in Arabiancountries.These factors could definitely affect the degree to which someone is comfortable with factile (communication and physical intimacy.Therefore,if you are someone who loves to show physical affection,youshould not be afraid to show it or drastically change your behaviors-just ask for consent beforehand!46.What does the author say in the first paragraph about physical contact?A)Its role in interpersonal relationships is getting increasingly important.B)It is becoming more acceptable to many who used to think it offensive.C)Its absence might suggest a lack of warmth in interpersonal relationships.D)It might prompt different responses from people of different social backgrounds.47.What does physical contact in communication suggest?A)What social class people belong to.C)What family background people come from.B)How civilized the communicators are.D)How close the communicators'relationships are.48.What do we learn about people in high-contact cultures?A)They are sensitive to the way people express their emotions.B)They take touching as a cultural norm in social interactions.C)They attach great importance to close ties among people.D)They tend to be more open in interpersonal relationships.49.What do we learn about social customs in Arabian countries?A)Men can show friendship in public through physical affection.B)Non-traditional romantic relationships are simply unacceptableC)Physical contact between unfamiliar people is negatively perceived.D)People of different ages and genders show affection in different ways.50.What does the author tell us to do concerning tactile communication?A)Lay emphasis on nonverbal communication.C)Pay attention to the differences between genders.B)Learn to use appropriate body language first.D)Take other people's preference into consideration.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.From climate change to the ongoing pandemic and beyond,the issues facing today's world areincreasingly complex and dynamic.Yet solving problems like these requires new approaches that extend beyondtraditional ways of thinking.A study led by Yale Professor of Psychology,Paul O'Keefe,found that having agrowth mindset(思雏倾向)of interest may spark this type of innovation.Professor O'Keefe established in earlier studies that people hold different beliefs about the nature of interest.Those with a growth mindset of interest tend to believe that interests can be developed and cultivated,whilethose with a fixed mindset of interest tend to believe that interests are inherent(与生俱有的)and simply need tobe 'found.'Building on these findings,the latest research examined how a growth mindset of interest can boostintegrative thinking across the traditional disciplinary boundaries of arts and sciences.For example,in one task,research participants were instructed to create new college majors by combiningtwo or more existing academic Arts or Science programs at their university.After coding and analyzing the ideasthey generated,the team found that people with a growth mindset of interest were more likely to bridge programsacross the arts and sciences to create new majors like computational economics rather than creating majors thatdrew from only one of those areas,like computational chemistry.As Professor O'Keefe pointed out,"This research provides a useful direction for organizations whoseproducts and services call for integrated and creative solutions.Take smartphones for example.You need notonly computer science and engineering knowledge,but also an understanding of psychology and visual designto create a better product.Employees with a growth mindset may be more likely to devise innovative ideas thatbridge multiple areas of knowledge to achieve better solutions."The benefits of a growth mindset of interest may also extend to those seeking employment.This is a pressingissue because many people are becoming unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Having a growth mindsetof interest can help job seekers expand their interests and become more adaptable to different fields,and take theinitiative to learn new skills.