专四口试真题

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专四口试真题

Task1: Retelling a story
①I once knew an old man whose bad memory made
him famous. John Smith was so forgetful that he
sometimes forget what he was talking about in the
middle of a sentence. His wife had to constantly
remind him about his meetings, his classes – even
his meals! ②Once he forgot he had eaten breakfast
twice, at home and at school. His wife liked to remind
her neighbors, “If John didn’t have his head tied on.
He would forget that too!” ③Since Smith was a
professor at a well-known university, his
forgetfulness was often an embarrassment. It wasn’t
that he was not clever, as some critical people tended
to say, but just very, very absent-minded.
④One hot summer day, Professor Smith decided to
take his children to a seaside town about a
three- hour train ride away. To make the trip more
interesting for his young children, he kept the name
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of the town a secret. ⑤However, by the time they
arrived at the station, Smith forgot the name of the
town he was planning to visit. Luckily, a friend of his
happened to be in the station. He offered to take
care of the children while Smith hurried back home
to find out where he was going.
⑥The professor’s wife was surprised to see him
again so soon.
“Oh, my dear, I forgot the name the town.”
“What? You forgot the name? Maybe one day you
will forget my name! Now I’ll write the name of that
town on a piece of paper, and you put it in your
pocket and please, please don’t forget where you
put it.”
⑦Satisfied that she had solved the problem, she sent
her husband off again. Ten minutes later she was
astonished to see him outside the house for the third
time.
“What is the matter now?”
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“As you told me, I didn’t forget where I put the
name of that town, but I forgot where I left our
children!”
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Directions: Describe a teacher of yours whom you
find unusual.
Task3: Role-playing
Directions: Many high school graduates in China are
going overseas for their college education. A friend
of yours is graduating this year and would like to ask
for your advice on whether it is a good idea for a high
school graduate to go abroad to study.
Student A: You think this friend should go by all
means, and you should try to convince your partner.
Remember you should start the conversation.
Student B: You think this friend should finish college
in China before thinking about going abroad, and
you should try to convince your partner. Remember
your partner will start the conversation.
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2002:
Task1: Retelli
ng a story
①Whenever Mr. Smith goes to Westgate, he stays at
the Grand Hotel. In spite of its name, it is really not
very “grand,” but it is cheap, clean, and comfortable.
②Since he knows the manger well, he never has to
go to the trouble of reserving a room. The fact is that
he always gets the same room. It is situated at the far
end of the building and overlooks a beautiful bay.
③On his last visit, Mr. Smith was told that he could
have his usual room, but the manager added
apologetically that it might be a little noisy. So great
was the demand for rooms, the manager said, that
the hotel had decided to build a new wing. Mr. Smith
said he did not mind. It amused him to think that the
dear old Grand Hotel was making an effort to live up
to its name.
④During the first day Mr. Smith hardly noticed the
noise at all. The room was a little dusty, but that was
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natural. ⑤The following afternoon, he borrowed a
book from the hotel library and went upstairs to read.
No sooner had he sat down than he heard someone
hammering loudly at the wall. ⑥At first he paid no
attention, but after a while he began to feel very
uncomfortable. His clothes were slowly being
covered with fine white powder. ⑦Soon there was so
much dust in the room that he began to cough. The
hammering was now louder than ever and bits of
plaster were coming away from the walls. It looked as
though the whole building was going to fall. ⑧Mr.
Smith went immediately to complain to the manager.
They both returned to the room, but everything was
very quiet. As they stood there looking at each other,
Mr. Smith felt rather embarrassed for having dragged
the manager all the way up the stairs for nothing. ⑨
All of a sudden, the hammering began again and a
large brick landed on the floor. Looking up, they saw
a sharp metal tool had forced its way through the
wall, making a very large hole right above the bed!
Task2: Talking on a given topic
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Direction: Describe an embarrassing situation in
which you got very angry.
Task3: Role-playing
Directions: The geology department of a major
university is planning to admit 30 male and 5 female
students. However, the results of the college
entrance examination show that by average, of all the
applicants, females have scored higher than most
males. Should the department stick to its original
plan?
Student A: You think the department should still stick
to the original plan, and you should try to convince
your partner. Remember you should start the
conversation.
Student B: You don’t think the department should
stick to the original plan, and you should try to
convince your partner. Remember your partner will
start the conversation.
2003:
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Task1: Retelling a story
①Just as Jane was joyfully expecting her first child,
her active, energetic mother began losing her battle
with a brain disease. For ten years, the fiercely
independent and courageous mother had fought,
but none of the surgeries or treatments had bee
n successful. At only fifty-five, she became totally
disabled- unable to speak, walk, eat or dress on her
own.
②As the mother grew closer and closer to death, the
baby grew closer and closer to life. Jane was afraid
that her mother and her baby would never know
each other. Her fear seemed well-founded. A few
weeks before her due date, her mother lapsed into a
deep coma. The doctors did not hold any hope. It was
useless to put in a feeding tube, they said, for Mother
would never awaken. So Jane brought Mother to her
own bed in her own house. As often as she could, she
sat beside her mother, talking about the baby
moving inside her.
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④On February 3, 1989, at about the same time Jane
began to feel birth pains, Mother opened her eyes.
Jane called home.
“Mom, listen. My baby is coming! You’re going to
have a new grandchild. Do you understand!”
“Yes,” Mother answered.
What a wonderful word! The first clear word she’d
spoken in months.
⑤By the time Jane brought her son home, her
mother was sitting in her chair, dressed and ready to
welcome the baby. For two weeks, Mother clucked,
smiled and held the new-born baby. Then she quietly
became unconscious and, after visits from all her
children, was finally free of the pain.
⑥For Jane, memories of her son’s birth will always be
bittersweet, but it was at this time that she learned an
important truth about living. While both joy and
sorrow pass quickly, and often come together at the
same time, love has the power to overcome both.
And love can last forever.
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2005：
Task1: Retelling a story
①A little girl whose parents had died lived with her
grandmother and slept in an upstairs bedroom.
②One night there was a fire in the house and the
grandmother died while trying to rescue the child.
The fire spread quickly, and the first floor of the
house was soon engulfed in flames.
③Neighbors called the fire department, then stood
helplessly by, unable to enter the house because
flames blocked all the entrances. The little girl
appeared at an upstairs window, crying for help, just
as word spread among the crowd that the firefighters
would be delayed a few minutes because they were
all at another fire.
④Suddenly, a man appeared with a ladder, put it up
against the side of the house and disappeared inside.
When he reappeared, he had the little girl in his arms.
He delivered the child to the waiting arms below,
then disappeared into the night.
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⑤An investigation revealed that the child had no
living relatives, and weeks later a meeting was held in
the town hall to determine who would take the child
into their home and bring her up.
⑥A teacher said she would like to raise the child. She
pointed out that she could ensure her a good
education. A farmer offered her an upbringing on his
farm. He pointed out that living on a farm was
healthy and satisfying. Others spoke, giving their
reasons why it was to the chil
d’s advantage to live with them.
Finally, the town’s richest resident rose and said, “I
can give this child all the advantages that you have
mentioned here, plus money and everything that
money can buy.”
Throughout all this, the child remained silent, her
eyes on the floor.
⑦“Does anyone else want to speak?” asked the
meeting chairman. A man came forward from the
back of the hall. He walked slowly and appeared to
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be in pain. When he got to the front of the room, he
stood directly in front of the little girl and held out his
arms. His hands and arms were terribly scarred.
The child cried out. “This is the man who rescued
me!” With a leap, she threw her arms around the
man’s neck. She buried her face in his shoulder and
sobbed for a few moments. Then she looked up and
smiled at him.
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Direction: Please tell us one incident in which
someone was trying to help others despite danger to
his own safety.
Task3: Role-playing
Student A: The manager of a world-famous hotel
wants to recruit a new member as the hotel’s bellboy,
offering him a salary of 3000 yuan per month. Many
university graduates are competing for the position.
As a sophomore in the university, you think that they
are applying for a job unworthy for their talents. Try
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to persuade your partner that you are right.
Remember you will initiate the conversation.
Student B: The manager of a world-famous hotel
wants to recruit a new member as the hotel’s bellboy,
offering him a salary of 3000 yuan per month. Many
university graduates are competing for the position.
As a sophomore in the university, you think that it is
courageous for them to make such a decision and
they have made the correct choice. Try to persuade
your partner that you are right. Remember your
partner will initiate the conversation.
2004:
Task1: Retelling a story
①When she was 22 years old Pat Jones decided that
she wanted to travel around the world and see as
many foreign places as she could while she was
young. When she finished college at home in Britain,
Pat chose to visit Latin America first, so she managed
to get a job as an English teacher in a secondary
school in Bolivia. Pat spoke a little Spanish, so she
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was able to communicate with her students even
though they did not know much English.
②A sentence she had once read somewhere stuck in
her mind: if you dream in a foreign language, it
means that you have really mastered it. Pat repeated
this sentence to her students and she hoped that
someday she would dream in Spanish and they
would dream in English.
③One day, Tim, one of the worst students in her class,
came up to her and explained in Spanish that he had
not done his homework. He said that he had gone to
bed early and had slept badly. Pat was quite angry
with him, for she did not think that his explanation
had anything to do with his homework. But Tim told
her that he dreamed all night and his dream was in
English.
④“In English!” Pat thought. She was greatly
surprised, since Tim was such a bad student. She was
also secretly jealous. Her dreams were still not in
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Spanish, but she decided to encourage her student
and asked him to tell her about his dream.
“All the people in my dream spoke English,” Tim
said. “And all the signs were in English. All the
newspapers and magazines and all the TV programs
were in English.”
“But that’s wonderful,” said Pat. “What did all the
people say to you?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. Miss Jones, That’s why I slept so badly
all through the night. I didn’t understand a word
they said. It was a nightmare!” Tim answered.
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Directions: Describe one of the most unpleasant
dreams you’ve ever had.
Task3: Role-playing
Student A: Nowadays higher education is getting
more and more expensive. To quite a number of
families it has become a big financial burden. You try
to discuss this problem with student B. You think that
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parents should pay tuition for their children since
college students do not yet have any regular income.
Student B: Nowadays higher education is getting
more and more expensive. To quite a number of
families it has become a big financial burden. You try
to discuss this problem with student A. Your opinion
is that it is unfair to put this big burden on parents
since college students are already adults. Students
themselves should find ways to pay their own tuition.
2006：
Task1: Retelling a story
①A philosophy professor stood before his class and
had some items in front of him. When class began,
wordlessly he picked up a large empty glass jar and
proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks
about two inches in diameter.
②He then asked the students if the jar was full. They
agreed that it was.
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The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and
poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The
pebbles, of course, rolled into the open spaces
between the rocks. The students laughed.
③He asked his students again if the jar was full. They
agreed: yes, it was.
The professor then picked up a box of sand and
poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up all the remaining space.
④“Now.” said the professor, “I want you to
recognize that this is your life.”
The rocks are the important things – your family,
your partner, your health, your children – anything
that is so important to you that if it were lost, you
would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other
things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The
pebbles represent things like your job, your house,
your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff.
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⑤If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first,
there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for
your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the
small stuff, or material things, you will never have
room for the things that are truly most important.
Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life.
Play with your children. Take your partner out
dancing. Talk with your parents. There will always be
time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner
party and fix the disposal. “Take care of the rocks
first – the things that really matter. Set your
priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand. They will
take care of themselves.”
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Directions: Describe a lesson you have learned which
has enriched your life experience.
Task3: Role-playing
Student A: You and your friend are discussing what
you are going to do together during this coming
summer vacation. Your friend prefers to work in a big
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company to earn some money. You prefer to do
some voluntary work for society. You try to persuade
each other by giving various reasons. Remember you
will initiate the conversation.
Student B: You and your friend are discussing what you are
going to do together during this coming summer vacation.
Your friend prefers to do some voluntary work for society. You
prefer to work in a big company to earn some money. You try
to persuade each other by giving various reasons. Remember
your partner will initiate the conversation.
2007:
Task1: Retelling a story
①Anne was a science teacher in a primary school.
She loved her job and believed very strongly in
practical work as a means of teaching science
effectively. ②Once she decided to show her pupils’
parents how well their children were learning. To
demonstrate the effectiveness of her methods she
invited all the parents to come to the school to see
the results of one of the children’s experiments. She
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scheduled this event for a Saturday evening, so all of
the parents would be sure to come.
③The children were studying how plants grow. To
see this process for themselves the students had
planted four pots of beans. They had put poor soil in
one pot to see what effect this would have on the
growth of the beans. The other three pots of beans
had good soil, but one pot had been placed in a dark
room for several days and another pot was not
watered for the same length of time. In this way the
children were learning the effects of soil, water and
sunlight on the growth of plants.
④At the end of the lesson on Friday afternoon, Anne
put labels on the four pots. One label said, “The
beans in this pot were planted in poor soil.” Another
one said, “This pot has been kept in the dark for four
days.” The third label read, “These beans have had
no water for four days.” And the last one went like
this: “These beans have had good soil, plenty of light
and regular water.” Then she went home.
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⑤She returned to school on Saturday evening, half
an hour before the parents were due to come. She
was surprised to find a note beside the pots. It said:
“We read your notes to the school cleaning staff
and decided to help them with y
our plants, so we watered all the plants, changed the
earth in one with poor soil, and left the light on
above the one that had been left in the dark for four
days. We hope that the plants will now grow better.”
Signed “The Boy Scouts”.
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Directions: Talk about an experience you have had in
which you tried to help someone but actually caused
trouble.
Task3: Role- playing
Student A: Nowadays lots of college students take all
kinds of tests to get different kinds of certificates.
You think it necessary because these certificates are
useful in helping the students find good jobs. But
your partner doesn’t agree with you. Try to convince
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himher. Remember you should start the
conversation.
Student B: Nowadays lots of college students take all
kind of tests to get different kinds of certificates. You
don’t think it necessary because most of these
certificates are actually of no use. But your partner
doesn’t agree with you. Try to convince himher.
Remember your partner should start the
conversation.
2008：
Task1: Retelling a story
It was shortly after one o’clock in the morning and
Mr. Fairfax was really tired. He had been driving for
over five hours, heading for a small town far away
from home. The weather was clear but it was dark
and Mr. Fairfax could not find a motel to spend the
night. Completely exhausted, he decided to stop by
the roadside for a few hours’ sleep at the wheel of
his car. He fell asleep almost the moment he closed
his eyes. But soon he was awakened by a man
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tapping on the car window. “I say, you don’t happen
to know the time, do you?” the stranger asked.
Mr. Fairfax wound down the window and thrust his
head out. “It’s around one o’clock,” he answered.
Then he wound up his window and soon fell back
into a deep slumber.
Half an hour later, another guy came up and knocked
on his window who also inquired about the time.
Once again, Mr. Fairfax gathered his thoughts and
told him that it was just after one- thirty.
When the same thing happened yet again, Mr. Fairfax
became increasingly irritated. Sleep-deprived, he
began to raise his voice at the passer-by: “It’s two o’
clock, God damn it! And why can’t you get yourself a
watch like the rest of us?”
This time when he was winding up the window, Mr.
Fairfax figured out how to make sure no one else
disturbed him. He found some paper and a pencil
and wrote a note that he placed on the windscreen of
his car. It said: “I don’t know what time it is!”
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Amused by his good idea, he happily drifted off back
to sleep again.
Not long afterwards, the note was spotted by a
policeman on his night patrol. Intent on fulfilling his
duty to assist motorists, he tapped on Mr. Fairfax’s
car window.
“Well, sir,” the policeman said. “Now it is five past
three!”
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Describe a situation in which you tried every means
to avoid trouble, but
in vain.
Task3: Role-playing
Student A: Today in China, lots of famous people,
such as athletes, are admitted to famous universities
without taking the college entrance exam. You and
your partner are discussing the issue. You think these
people deserve a chance since they have contributed
a lot to the country. Your partner does not agree. Try
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to convince himher. Remember you should start the
conversation.
Student B: Today in China, lots of famous people,
such as athletes, are admitted to famous universities
without taking the college entrance exam. You and
your partner are discussing the issue. You don’t think
these people should be given this chance since it is
unfair to the other people who work so hard to pass
the exam. Your partner does not agree. Try to
convince himher. Remember your partner will start
the conversation.





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