2024年全国大学生英语竞赛初赛试卷及答案(C类)
National English Contest for College Students
(Level C - Preliminary)
(总分：150分 答题时间：120分钟)
Part I Listening Comprehension (30 marks) Section A (5 marks)
In this section, you will hear five short conversations. Each conversation will be read only once. At the end of each conversation, there will be a twenty-second pause. During the pause, read the question and the three choices marked A, B and C, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the center.
1. Why didn’t the man go to see Macbeth last week? A. He didn’t manage to get a ticket. B. He had to attend a conference.
C. He had a better production to watch.
2. What does “Fill Me In” refer to in this conversation? A. A type of upgraded mobile phone. B. A well-selling magazine. C. A writer’s new book series.
3. Why doesn’t the woman like the bag? A. She doesn’t like the pattern. B. It’s not easy to carry. C. It’s too big for her.
4. What makes a bad CV according to the man?
A. Fake information. B. Terrible writing. C. Undesirable length. 5. How will Cathy continue her Spanish learning? A. She’s going to make a friend in Spain.
B. She’ll communicate with a Spanish friend in Spain. C. She’ll practice speaking Spanish with an English friend.
Section B (10 marks)
In this section, you will hear two long conversation. Each conversation will be read only once. At the end of each conversation, there will be a one-minute pause. During the pause, read the question and the three choices marked A, B and C, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the center.
Conversation One
6. What traffic accident are the speakers talking about? A. A kid was knocked down by a car. B. Two cars crashed into a shop. C. A car ran into a wrong place.
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2024年全国大学生英语竞赛初赛试卷及答案(C类)
7. Why did the accident happen according the woman? A. There were many shops around. B. The crossing is in a wrong place. C. There was no crossing here.
8. Which of the following is the suggestion they made? A. More traffic lights should be installed. B. A speed camera should be mounted. C. More policemen should patrol that area.
9. Where, as the woman mentioned, has got improved traffic? A. Her own neighborhood.
B. Her big brother’s neighborhood. C. Her parents’ neighborhood.
10. How was the man punished for his traffic offence? A. He was fined 100 pounds with extra penalty points. B. He had to pay 150 pounds and got 6 penalty points. C. He finally paid 600 pounds without any penalty points.
Conversation Two
11. Why is the expert opposed to the view that memory aids make your memory worse?
A. There is no evidence showing that memory aids are invalid. B. Human beings’ brain functions mainly through memory aids in an effective way.
C. Memory aids encourage an organized approach which helps the brain function effectively.
12. What is interview’s attitude towards the idea that visual image help the memory A. It is hard to believe. B. It is nothing strange. C. It is obviously nonsense.
13. Who developed the system of memory aids centuries ago? A. Inhabitants on an isolated island. B. The Ancient Greeks. C. A great psychologists.
14. How does mapping out notes affect the brain?
A. It is helpful in reflecting the way people link information in the brain. B. It prevents people from arranging things logically. C. It makes people’s brain function the opposite way. 15. What tends to affect people’s ability to think clearly? A. Upbringing and innate differences. B. Worry and anxiety. C. Their aptitudes.
Section C (5 marks)
In this section, you will hear five short news items. After each item, which will be read
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2024年全国大学生英语竞赛初赛试卷及答案(C类)
only once, there will be a pause. During the pause, read the question and the three choices marked A, B and C, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the center.
16. How can social media influence the presidential election in the USA according to the latest research?
A. It can help voters to choose their president.
B. It can help to ensure the fairness of the elections. C. It can help to increase the number of voters. 17. What honorary title has Yaya Toure been granted? A. The African Player of the Year.
B. 212 Star of the Confederation of African Football. C. The Ivory Coast star.
18. Why did Reshma Saujani set up the organization “Girls Who Code”? A. To raise women’s status in the field of science.
B. To improve girls’ aptitude and performance in STEM. C. To arouse girls’ interest in science and technology.
19. Which tablet computer’s hardware inside is more powerful?
A. The CNET Kum. B. The Google Nexus 7. C. The Apple iPad mini. 20. What does the company announce that it can do for the United States? A. It can reduce the amount of plastic waste. B. It can help to recycle the plastic waste. C. It can increase the amount of exports.
Section D (10 marks)
In this section, you will hear a short passage. There are 10 missing words or phrases. Fill in the blanks with the exact words or phrases you hear. The passage will be read twice. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.
If you (21) ____ smooth skin that glows with youth, the chances are that at some point you will have heard the exhortation to drink lots of water in order to (22) ____ those evil toxins and keep your skin healthy.
The exact amount people suggest varies. US – based advice (23) ____ eight glasses a day, while in hotter climates people are advised to drink to more to (24) ____ higher rates of sweating. But regardless of the exact volume of water suggested, the principle behind the advice remains the same --- taking extra water on board will keep your skin hydrated. In other words, water acts like a moisturizer, but from the inside out.
This is such a common idea you might be surprised at the (25) ____ to back up. You might expect there to be countless studies where people are (26) ____ two groups, one assigned to sip water all day, the other to drink a normal amount. Then the smoothness of the skin could be (27) ____ a month or so later to establish whether sipping more lead to smoother skin.
In fact such studies are rare, partly because water can’t be patented, so it is hard
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2024年全国大学生英语竞赛初赛试卷及答案(C类)
to find anyone to fund such research when there will be no new (28) ____ or cosmetic to sell that could repay the costs. A review by the dermatologist Ronni Wolf at the Kaplan Medical Center in Israel found just one study looking at the effect of
long-term water intake on the skin. But the results were (29) ____. After four weeks, the group who drank mineral water showed a decrease in skin density, which some believe suggests the skin is retaining more moisture, while those who drank tap water showed an increase in skin density. But regardless of the type of water they drank, it made no difference to their (30) ____ or to the smoothness of their skin.
Part II Vocabulary and Structure (15 marks)
There are 15 incomplete sentences in this section. For each blank there are four
choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the answer sheet with a single line through the center.
31. The new star said to the journalists that she ____ the opportunity to show that she could play a serious film role.
A. greeted B. rejoiced C. welcomed D. cheered
32. We haven’t really ____ a solution to the problem yet, which makes the boss really frustrated.
A. built up B. fallen back on C. brought over D. come up with
33. Personally, I am ____ banning cigarette smoking completely, especially in public areas.
A. in touch with B. apart from C. in favor of D. regardless of
34. Until a firm agreement has been reached, I am not ____ to accepting the offer. A. accustomed B. dedicated C. committed D. entitled
35. The government is making every effort to ____ an economic crisis, but it seems nothing could help.
A. eliminate B. avert C. impede D. swerve 36. ____ a serious crime, what exactly should you do? A. Unless you witness B. If you were to witness C. If only you witness D. since you witness
37. During examinations candidates are always supposed to stay in seats, keep their eyes on the work, ____ to anyone. A. and not speak B. but could not speak C. rather than speak D. instead of speaking
38. Realizing that he hadn’t got enough money and ____ to borrow any from his parents, he decided to sell his house. A. wanted not B. not to want C. wanting not D. not wanting
39. There’s no point waiting here any longer. We ____ go and have something to eat. A. can hardly B. are bound to C. might as well D. will have to 40. While many people may refer to up-to-minute news, it is unlikely that television and the Internet ____ the newspapers completely.
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2024年全国大学生英语竞赛初赛试卷及答案(C类)
A. will replace B. replace C. are replacing D. have replaced 41. She married a very nice young architect from Belfast, ____ she met on a bus during her journey to Northern Ireland. A. who B. when C. which D. where 42. It is a kind of illness that can result in total blindness if ____ A. to leave untreated B. is left untreated C. leaving untreated D. left untreated
43. ----I’m so disappointed with my son! He just wouldn’t practice the piano! ----Take it easy. You can lead ____ to water, but you can’t make it drink.
A. a duck B. a horse C. a cow D. a dog
44. ----Good morning, Madam! I’d like some information about the course. ----Certainly. ____
A. I’m afraid I don’t know more than you either. B. Is there anything I can do for you? C. What exactly would you like to know? D. How much information did you know?
45. ---- How do you feel about countries that don’t try to reduce global warming? ---- ____, those countries care more about money than saving the planet.
A. As far as I’m concerned B. It’s none of our business C. We’re not to blame D. Things are under control
Part III Cloze (10 marks)
Read the following passage and fill in each blank with one word. Choose the correct word in one of the following three ways: according to the context, by using the correct form of the given word, or by using the given letters of the word. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.
According to recent surveys, 72% of all Americans believe that the United States government is (46) hi____ information about UFOs. Almost 68% of people think that the government has secret knowledge of extraterrestrial life. It is not (47) ____ (surprise) that the government has come under more and more (48) pr____ to
declassify its UFO records and make them public. A variety of different groups have been involved in these efforts.
One group to become involved is called CFI, the Coalition for Freedom of
Information, John Podesta, who was White House Chief of Staff during Bill Clinton’s (49) ____(president), is one of the many high-powered people active in this group. CFI’s aim is not to prove the (50) ____(exist) of extraterrestrial life, but to make it easier for scientists in general to study unexplained aerial phenomena. Podesta and his group has asked the Pentagon to declassify its UFO records and therefore provide scientists (51) ____ data that will help in the study of UFOs.
CFI has requested the release of information on several UFO cases, starting with the Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, incident. This incident took (52) ____ in 1965 when a large acorn-shaped object, the size of a small car, crashed in Pennsylvania. Some
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2024年全国大学生英语竞赛初赛试卷及答案(C类)
