一、四六級英語聽力的考查模式
1．對話
聽力部分一般是20個小題,由a和b兩部分組成。第一部分通常是10個對話,每個對話設一個小題,要求同學們根據對話內容從四個選項中選擇正確答案。
2．短文
b部分有兩種形式,一是聽短文。一般是三篇120-140字之間的短文,每篇短文後有三到四個問題,共10道小題。該部分主要測試同學們的整體理解能力。
3．複合式聽寫
b部分的另一種是複合式聽寫。複合式聽寫由兩部分組成。一是單詞聽寫,要求同學們毫無差錯地填出短文所缺單詞。另一種是補全信息。一般是,每段的第一句主題句已經給出,要求填出具體細節內容說明主題,可以使用聽到的原話,也可以使用自己的語言。
二、四六級英語聽力的命題規律和測試重點
對話部分考查的重點有：
1）地點
根據對話內容判斷對話發生的地點或對話中所提事件發生的地點是四六級英語聽力測試中常見的也是比較重要的一個題型。地點題一般有以下幾種：
(1)根據信息詞設題
①w: dear, i feel hungry now. how about you?
m: so do i. let me call room service. hello, room service. please send a menu to 320 right away.
q: where are the two speakers?
a. in a hotel.
b. at a dinner table.
c. in the street.
d. at the man's house.
該題通過hungry和menu來迷惑同學們,引導大家選擇b,其實,本題所藉助的信息詞是room service和320這個房間號,答案是a。
②m: can you stay for dinner?
w: i'd love to. but i have to go and send some registered mail before picking up the children from school.
q: where will the woman go first?
a. to the school.
b. to a friend's house.
c. to the post office.
d. home
本題藉助registered mail設題,答案是c。但這裡同樣也有地點的辨析問題,要求同學們能聽出是"首先到……地方"。
③m: excuse me, i'm looking for the emergency room. i thought that it was on the first floor.
w: this is the basement. take the elevator one flight up and turn left.
q: where did the conversation most probably take place?
a. in a library
b. in a hotel.
c. in a hospital.
d. in an elevator
本題設題所依據的信息詞是emergency room,只要考生了解其語域就可判斷答案為c。
(2)藉助對話中提到的多個地點設題
有時對話中提到的地點不只一個,這時,一般是將所有的地點都包括在選項之中。這種情況下,同學們不必考慮信息詞問題,只要能將地點與其相關事件聯繫起來就可確定答案。如：
①m: i did not see our boss yesterday. has he come back?
w: he was just back from france besides visiting britain, germany, and spain.
q: which country did the woman visit first?
a. france
b. britain
c. germany
d. spain
四個地點都是訪問過的地點,要求同學們能夠分清先後。答案為b。
②m: will mr. smith come to the party at the weekend?
w: he'll be supposed to, but he won't be back from his trip until the next week.
q: where will mr. smith be on saturday?
a. at the party
b. at home
c. still on his trip
d. back from his trip.
本題是將地點與時間連在一起,要求同學們在聽的同時注意區別每個事件所發生的時間,答案為c。
2）職業、身份
根據說話內容判斷說話者的身份和職業是四六級聽力測試中又一常見題型。該題型的題項設計有兩種：
(1)說話者自身的身份或職業
根據談話內容判斷說話者一方的職業或身份：
①w: good evening, professor david. my name is susan gray. i'm with the local newspaper. do you mind if i ask you a few questions?
m: not at all. go ahead, please.
q: what is susan gray?
a. a writer.
b. a teacher.
c. a reporter.
d. a student.
由local newspaper可以判斷說話者是位記者,在採訪。
②m: how about the food i ordered? i've been waiting for 20 minutes already.
w: i'm very sorry, sir. i'll be back with your order in a minute.
q: who is the man most probably speaking to?
a. a shop assistant.
b. a telephone operator.
c. a waitress.
d. a clerk.
與order有關的自然是waitress,答案為a。
(2)說話雙方之間的關係
該題型是上一題型的延伸,要求同學們能判斷說話者雙方的身份,問題經常是what's the relationship between the two speakers?
①w: how long will it take you to fix my watch?
m: i'll call you when it's ready. but it shouldn't take longer than a week.
q: what is the probable relationship between the speakers?
a. librarian and student.
b. operator and caller.
c. boss and secretary.
d. customer and repairman.
既然女士讓男的fix my watch,說明對方是repairman,而自己是customer。
②m: sorry to trouble you. but is there any possibility of borrowing a blanket? i feel cold.
w: i think we've got one. could you wait until after take-off please?
q: what is the probable relationship between the two speakers?
a. a guest and a receptionist.
b. a passenger and an air hostess.
c. a customer and a shop assistant.
d. a guest and a waitress.
take-off一詞的使用說明女的是空姐,答案自然是b。
可以看出,職業、身份以及說話雙方關係的選擇所依據的同樣是信息詞。當然,要判斷雙方的關係,還可以從說話的方式入手。如：
③m: make thirty copies for me and twenty copies for mr. brown.
w: certainly sir. as soon as i make the final corrections on the original.
q: what's the relationship between the two speakers?
a. boss and secretary.
b. lawyer and client.
c. teacher and student.
d. nurse and patient.
兩人間說話的語氣和方式表明是"老闆與秘書"的關係。
3）計算題
計算題在四六級英語聽力中屬於比較難的題型,要求同學們不僅能分辨不同的時間、金錢等數量概念,還應能將聽到的各個數量聯繫起來進行加減運算。如：
①m: your son seems to have made much progress in playing the piano. does he attend any piano classes?
w: yes, he takes lessons twice a week, but from next week on, he will go to the class on saturday evenings, too.
q: how often will the woman's son have piano lessons from next week on?
a. once a week.
b. twice a week.
c. three times a week.
d. four times a week.
兩次加一次自然是三次,答案是c。
②w: professor clark said that the mid-term exam would cover the first 15 lessons.
m: really? i thought it only included the first 12 lessons. then i must spend the weekend going over the rest of the lessons.
q: how many lessons must the man review over the weekend?
a. five lessons.
b. three lessons.
c. twelve lessons
d. fifteen lessons.
這是最簡單的計算題,只要同學們不將答案誤認為是c或d,就不會出錯。
③w: here's a 10-dollar bill. give me two tickets for tonight's show please.
m: sure. two tickets and here is '1,40 change.
q: how much does one ticket cost?
a.'1.40. b.'4.30. c.'6.40. d.'8.60
10美元,兩張票,找零1.40美元,說明每張票為4.30美元。
從以上例子可以看出,含有數量概念的題,對話中提到的數量一般不可能為正確答案,總要同學們進行一些簡單的加減運算。
4）言外之意、弦外之音
推測說話者話中之話是聽力中必考的題型。從試題的設計特點來看,大體有一下幾種：
(1)對虛擬語氣的考查
包含虛擬語氣的聽力考題中一般都有"是與非"相對的選項,這就要求同學們了解虛擬語氣的表意功能,根據虛擬語氣判斷正確選項。
如：
①w: i'm thinking of going to austin for a visit. do you think it's worth seeing?
m: well, i wish i had been there.
q: what do we learn from the conversation?
a. the man is planning a trip to austin.
b. the man has not been to austin before.
c. the man doesn't like austin.
d. the man has been to austin before.
i wish i had been there.說明說話人沒有去過。
②w: if it hadn't been snowing so hard, i might have been home by 9 o'clock.
m: it's too bad you didn't make it. jane was here and she wanted to see you.
q: what happened to the woman?
a. she got home before 9 o'clock.
b. she had a bad cold.
c. she had a car accident.
d. she was delayed.
if it hadn't been snowing so hard, i might have been home by 9 o'clock.說明因為雪太大,說話者未能在9點前到家。也就是說she was delayed。
(2)對建議的考查
建議題要求同學們掌握建議的各種表達方式,根據建議選擇正確選項。如：
①w: the movie starts in 5 minutes and there's bound to be a long time.
m: why don't we come back for the next show? i'm sure it would be less crowded.
q: what is the man suggesting?
a. coming back for a later show.
b. waiting in a queue.
c. coming back in five minutes.
d. not going to the movie today.
why don't…?上一種建議表達方式,根據該句所表達的內容可以判斷答案是a。
②w: we do need another bookshelf in this room. but the problem is the space for it.
m: how about moving the old dining table to the kitchen？
q: what does the man suggest they should do?
a. finding a larger room.
b. sell the old table.
c. buy two bookshelves.
d. rearrange some furniture.
根據moving the dining table to the kitchen來判斷答案為d。
建議的表達方式還有：
why not…? what do you think of…?
if i were you/if i were in your shoes, i would…
shall we…? i suggest….
you'd better/you ought to….
(3)對話題的考查
話題指會話雙方所談論的話題,要求同學們具有概括能力。如：
①w: do you want a day course or an evening course?
m: well, it would have to be an evening course since i work during the day.
q: what are they talking about?
a. the choice of courses.
b. a day course.
c. an evening course.
d. their work.
兩個人談論的是選白天的課還是晚上的課,由此可以判斷答案應該是a。
②m: i was terribly embarrassed when some of the audience got up and left in the middle of the performance.
w: well, some people just can't seem to appreciate the real-life drama.
q: what are they talking about?
a. a movie.
b. a lecture.
c. a play.
d. a speech.
從對話中的audience, performance與其說drama可以判斷他們所談論的是a play。
4)同義表達方式的考查
四六級聽力測試中對隱含意思的考查很大程度上依賴於同義表達方式，也就是同學們對具體句式、短語、詞組甚至單詞的理解。如：
①m: what do you think of professor brown's lecture?
w: the topic was interesting, but the lecture was much more difficult to follow than i had expected.
q: what does the woman say about the lecture?
a. it was a long lecture, but easy to understand.
b. it was not as easy as she had expected.
c. it was as difficult as she had expected.
d. it was interesting and easy to follow.
與much more difficult to follow than i had expected同義的應該是b。
②m: nancy, why were you late today?
w: i overslept and missed the bus.
q: why was nancy late?
a. she got up later than usual.
b. the bus was late.
c. she forgot she had class.
d. her clock was slow.
overslept也就是got up later than usual。
③m: did you mind coming back by coach instead of by train?
w: no, we didn't mind at all. it took a lot longer, but it was very comfortable and it was much cheaper.
q: how did the woman feel about the coming back by coach?
a. she felt it was tiring.
b. she felt it was very nice.
c. she felt it took less time.
d. she thought it was expensive.
從comfortable和much cheaper來看，女士的感覺應該是very nice，答案應該是b。
(5)上下義概念的考查
有些題儘管問題可能問的是含義之類，但其實考查的是同學們對上下義關係的掌握。如：
①m: let me see. i've printed my family name, first name, date of birth and address. anything else?
w: no, that's all right. we'll fill in the rest of it if you just sign your name at the bottom.
q: what has the man been doing?
a. having an interview.
b. filling out a form.
c. talking with a friend.
d. asking for information.
上義詞為概括性詞語，下義詞所表示的則是具體的東西。本題中能夠概括男士所做之事的應該是選項b。
②m: what happened to you? you are so late.
w: the bus i took broke down in front of the hospital and i had to walk from there.
q: why was the woman so late?
a. something went wrong with the bus.
b. she took somebody to hospital.
c. something prevented her from catching the bus.
d. she came on foot instead of taking a bus.
something went wrong是對the bus break down的概括性表述。
對話聽力中其它考查項目，如因果、條件、否定、比較等可參看四六級考試的《聽力分冊》。