2021年12月大学英语四级真题（第1套）及答案解析

United Airlines has apologised for mistakenly shipping an American family's pet dog thousands of miles in the wrong direction to Japan. The dog owner's beloved 10-year-old dog named Buddy took an unexpected 16-hour flight to Tokyo following a mix-up by the airline. The dog owner's family are currently in the process of moving. They were meant to be reunited with the pet in their new home city in Texas. But when they arrived at the United Airlines cargo facility in the southern U.S. state, they found a stranger's dog waiting in Buddy's place. Both of the dogs had been sent to the wrong destinations on connecting flights from Denver, with Buddy mistakenly being sent to Japan instead. Buddy was given a physical checkup when he arrived at Tokyo's International Airport. The dog was then sent back to the U.S. on a private charter jet. "I'm so glad he's alive and coming home soon!" said the relieved dog owner. "And an error occurred during the connections in Denver. We have notified our customers that their pets arrived safely. We will arrange to return the pets to them as soon as possible," a spokesperson of United Airlines said. with Buddy mistakenly being sent to Japan instead. It sent two dogs to the wrong destinations.

Officials at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson Arizona are celebrating the birth of a baby elephant. Zoo officials say the baby was born on Monday. It is a female and she weighs nearly 130 kilograms. Semba, her mother, is a 30-year-old African elephant. The pregnancy lasted 22 months. Officials describe the baby elephant as "healthy, standing and nursing". The baby hasn't been given a name yet. Semba has given birth before. Zoo officials said during this pregnancy, she was closely monitored through physical exams and blood tests. Dr. Sue Tygielski is the zoo's director of zoological operations. She said the elephant's birth went smoothly and that there were no complications. The new baby expands the zoo's elephant herd to six. That includes the baby's parents, a sister, a brother and an adult female.

Three years ago, a couple was enjoying a meal at a beach restaurant. The restaurant was built on a wooden structure above the sea-water. During the meal, the man's wedding ring slipped off his finger. It fell through the wooden floorboards, apparently lost forever. Recently, the restaurant manager Ryan Krivoy decided to replace the wooden deck and he found an old gold coin, some $100 bills and a silver wedding ring while replacing the deck. The restaurant waitress Sasha Formica posted a picture of the ring on Facebook. The post was shared about 5,000 times. Three days later, the happy wife called to claim the ring. She even texted pictures of her and her husband eating there in 2017 as proof. The restaurant mailed the ring back to the happy couple. Meanwhile, Krivoy discovered that the gold coin was very rare. It was from 1855 and worth as much as $2,000.

W: I can't believe that duck hunting is still legal in so many parts of the world. The scientific evidence from countries like Australia, Canada and the USA clearly indicates a decline in the birds' numbers. M: But can anyone be sure if the decline is really caused by the hunting or by climate change? W: It's caused by both in fact. We see more droughts in countries like Australia. Ducks are birds that feed and breed in areas where there is a lot of water, but their habitats have been shrinking in recent decades because of the droughts. M: And I guess with fewer places to inhabit, they concentrate in greater numbers in few areas, which surely makes them easier targets for the hunters. W: It does. My grandfather was a duck hunter. He told me hunting ducks and geese began in the 19th century. They were easily found and a plentifully available food source in farming areas, especially for poor immigrants. M: What do they use for hunting during that period? W: They use new types of guns, and birds could easily be shot down in flight. And in such great numbers, their commercial hunting of ducks and geese became an industry. Yet, there's no commercial farming of these birds nowadays. Their meat is hardly eaten in Western countries. M: No, duck hunting seemingly exists as the continuation of a tradition. W: Well, ducks have never been popular with farmers like my grandfather anyway because they sometimes destroy crops. In fact, farmers used to poison them in large numbers. M: That somehow doesn't surprise me. Nobody places much value on the lives of these poor birds or on their meat. Duck hunting remains legal in many parts of the world.

M: Okay, Miss Bright. I've finished calculating. I estimate you have between 210 and 240 square meters of walls and ceiling. W: So, how much would the paint job cost? M: That would depend on the quality of paint you choose. We carry two brands. One costs 60 cents every square meter, and the other 90 cents. The second is guaranteed to look great for about 10 years, whereas the cheaper one will start to dull after around six or seven years. W: In that case, we would prefer the more expensive option. M: All right, then. So including labor costs, taxes, and everything, this job would come to $3,000. W: Um, to be perfectly honest, that's more than I expected. M: Please bear in mind that the price includes moving all the furniture, and the whole task would take two days. W: Really? Why? M: Well, we can't paint the walls without clearing all the furniture first. So every time we paint a room, we first have to move the furniture to another room. So that takes more time. Plus, it requires two people, which works out more expensive. W: I see. But does that mean I could not live here in my own house during those two days? M: That is correct. W: Oh well, that changes everything, I'm afraid. I would have to stay with a friend or check into a hotel. I hadn't considered any of that. I'm starting to realize that painting my house is far more troublesome than I had anticipated. M: This is usually the case. Most of our clients go through the same realization. W: I see. M: You have my number. Please feel free to call me for any further questions. W: Thank you. meters of walls and ceiling.

Homework is an important part of schooling, but the purposes of giving children homework will change as they grow older. At the primary level, the main aim is to cultivate good habits, like learning to plan and exercising self-discipline. During the secondary school years, extending what is learned at school is positively related to academic achievement, so the content of homework becomes more important. So how can you help your child do their best? Creating an ideal working environment will make it easier for them to get down to their assignments quickly. Make sure it's free of distractions, and for primary school children at least somewhere near you, so you can answer questions and offer encouragement. You probably have to help younger children plan their session, but it's important that by the end of primary school it's second nature. Get them to tell you everything they have to do. Then encourage them to establish an order in which they do work. When there are several different assignments, make sure they begin with one they enjoy, so it seems easy to get started. It's best to take on the most difficult task second once they're settled, but before they get tired. If older children have more than an hour of homework, encourage them to schedule a short break to stretch. If you encourage them to tell you what they've learned, they'll absorb the information more deeply and remember it more readily. exercising self-discipline. To prepare for secondary school.

Workers at Mexican oil company will receive a healthy incentive of almost $300 a year if they meet certain body weight standards. To qualify for the bonus, they must maintain a healthy weight. For those who are overweight or obese, they could receive the bonus if they reduce their weight by 10% during the year. Some applaud the policy as fair, because it rewards both the individuals who maintain a healthy weight and those who are working towards achieving it. But critics say the policy contradicts recommendations by many health experts, who warn that a person's weight is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. That means weight can be hard for individuals to control, which makes the bonus unfair. Some experts say the policy is inconsistent with the science of what we know about body weight regulation. These experts argue that focusing on wage is the wrong approach. A more productive method of encouraging health among employees is to promote healthy behaviors. For example, companies can give workers gym memberships, or encourage participation in lectures on healthy eating and living. They can also reduce sweets and provide healthier snacks in the office and healthier meals at the company canteen. Or they can give employees more time during their lunch break to exercise. These are much better and much more productive ways for companies to move forward on their employees' wellbeing. they meet certain body weight standards.

Campaigners have warned that the British government is not doing enough to prevent left-handed pupils from falling behind their peers. They claim that thousands of children are still being "penalized" for being left-handed. This is due to a lack of action from ministers, who've failed to take any meaningful action for years. It is feared that a failure to address early-year challenges, such as poor handwriting, leads to much more serious problems down the line—with these pupils facing reduced career prospects. Studies in recent years show that left-handed children are more likely to suffer with learning difficulties and their scores are lower on IQ tests. Campaigners feel it's strange that children in British schools are penalized because they happen to be left-handed. They don't understand why successive governments have failed to act on this. They want the department of education to record which children are left-handed and what their educational attainments are, since they make up some 10% of the population. 10% In early-year education, left-handed children are struggling and making a mess of their handwriting. Educators don't know how to deal with this. In many cases, there is no active help and a lack of teacher training. Campaigners point out that a high percentage of the prison population is left-handed. They say that these prison numbers are unusually high and ask why it is the case. handed pupils from falling behind their peers.