2015年英语四级阅读材料：小满

　　【节日文化】小满(grain buds)是二十四节气之一，夏季的第二个节气。其含义是夏熟作物的籽粒开始灌浆饱满，但还未成熟，只是小满，还未大满。每年5月20日到22日之间视太阳到达黄经60°时为小满。

　　The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24solar terms. Grain Buds, (Chinese: 小满), the 8th solar term of a year, begins on May 21 this year,and ends on June 5. It means that the seeds from the grain are becoming full but are not ripe.

　　In China, the 24 solar terms were created thousands of years ago to guide agricultural production.But the solar term culture is still useful today to guide people’s lives through special foods, culturalceremonies, gardening and even healthy living tips that correspond witheach solar term. Let’ssee what we can do during the "Grain Buds" period.

　　1. A good season for eating fish

　　During the Grain Buds period, the summer harvest is about to begin. A saying about rain duringthis time mentions, "A heavy rainfall makes the river full." Because of the great increase in rainfall,rivers are full of water, which makes fish and shrimp big and fat. This is a good time to eat fish andshrimp. It is also harvest season for fishermen.

　　2. A good season for eating mulberries

　　A Chinese farmer proverb says, "Mulberries become black during the Grain Buds period." Thus it isa good season to eat mulberries.

　　3. Eating herb of common sow thistle

　　Grain Buds is a season for eating the herb of the common sow thistle, which is one of the earliestedible potherbs in China.

　　It tastes a little bitter and tart, but also sweet. It has the function of cooling the blood anddetoxifying the body. It can be made into different types of dishes. People in Ningxia like to eat itblended with salt, vinegar, peppers or garlic. It tastes savory and helps people feel refreshed. Somepeople boil the herb with water and then squeeze out the juice, which can be used to make soup.

　　4. Tips on health preserving in Grain Buds

　　High temperatures and humidity are common during the Grain Buds period. The increase intemperature over this season may also give rise to nettle rash, rheumatism, sweat spots,eczema and other skin diseases.

　　It is also important to exercise to keep healthy during the hot summer days. Walking, jogging andpracticing tai chi are popular.

　　5. Key period for flower management

　　This time is a good period of the quick growth of flowers. It is also a season when plant diseasesand pests are at an all-time high, which makes growing flowers even more critical.

　　Flower trimming and clipping is important. And a systematic fertilized water system should becarried out. Flowers need a lot of water and extra care to ensure the plants remain healthy.Weeding should be done as they grow quickly and have to be extirpated in order to keep the soilloose and from competing with the flowers for nutrients.

　　6. Celebrating silkworm deity birthday

　　Silkworm rearing is a traditional byproduct for people in regions south of the Yangtze River. Duringthe Grain Buds season, silkworms have cocooned. People begin to cook cocoons and prepare thespinning wheel for reeling silk.

　　People in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces regard this season as the birthday of the silkworm deity.Those who engage in the silk industry thank the deity by offering sacrifices and stagingperformances. They pray to the deity for blessings and a boom season for the silk business.(英文文本 via China Daily)

　　重点解析 Key Phrases/Words

　　1. correspond with 与…通信， 与…相一致，切合

　　2. mulberries 桑葚

　　3. sow thistle n. 苣苦菜

　　4. potherb n. 熟食叶用菜(如菠菜)，(煮熟可作为食物的)野菜

　　5. nettle rash n. 风疹

　　6. rheumatism n. <医>风湿病

　　7. eczema n. [医]湿疹

　　8. extirpated v. 消灭，灭绝( extirpate的过去式和过去分词 )

　　9. deity n. 神，女神，上帝

　　2015年6月英语四级考试即将拉开帷幕，最后阶段掌握听力技巧必不可少。有时听力失分问题却并不出在听力本身，在听力之外也有很多细节会影响听力部分的得分，比如以下三点。

　　第一，注意单词的正确拼写。

　　改革前的复合式听写题目要求听写的三个句子虽长，但句中会出现很多考生较为熟悉、拼写非常简单的词。而且，即使考生不能将句子中的所有单词拼写正确，阅卷老师也可能会酌情给分。但改革后的单词及短语听写则对单词的正确拼写提出了更高的要求，考生必须将每个单词都拼写正确才能得分。不仅如此，考生还必须用所听到的录音原文中的单词或短语填空，而不可以替换成与之意思相同或相近的单词或短语。所以，改革后的试题要求考生平时更加注意单词和短语的拼写，尤其是一些容易拼写错的单词，如environment、government (两个词中的“n”常被考生遗漏)、embarrass (考生常漏写其中的一个“r”和“s”)等。为了掌握更多的词汇，考生在平时练习时每次做完听力题之后，要好好地阅读录音原文。除了确保所填的单词及短语都拼写正确外，考生还应该看看原文中是否还有自己不会拼写的单词，有的话可以摘抄下来并加以记忆，以防下次考试会考到。

　　第二，注重语法知识的积累。

　　考生在考试时因心情紧张或耳机接收效果不好等原因，很可能会听不到单词的尾音(如词尾的“-s”“-ed”“-ly”或“-ing”等)，结果在填写答案时少写一两个字母。为避免这样的失误，考生在听写结束后一定要将全文通读一遍，根据语法知识判断所填的单词或短语的词性及形式是否正确。如果空格处填入的是名词，考生要判断应填入名词的单数形式还是复数形式;如果空格处可填入形容词和副词，考生要根据语法知识判断最终哪个词性合适;如果填入的是动词，考生要根据时态、语态、人称、数以及前后搭配来确定动词的形式。以样题第32题为例，根据语法知识，考生可以确定此空格处应填入一个副词，用于修饰空格前面的动词use.由此，考生即使没有听清录音中说的是appropriate还是appropriately，也能根据语法知识判断出此处应填入appropriately.又如，样题中的第27、29、33和34题需填入的动词或动词性短语直接出现在介词后，或出现在介词后用“and”连接的两个动名词短语中，此时考生应判断出空格处填入的动词要使用“-ing”形式。短语部分考查动词性短语的概率比较高，因此考生需加强动词短语方面的学习和记忆。

　　第三，掌握单词的标准发音。

　　考生在平时背单词时一定要注意学习单词的标准发音。有些考生英语基础还算不错，但每次听力部分的得分总是不高，原因就是他们的发音不标准。试想，如果考生的发音不标准，又怎么能听懂听力材料中播放的标准发音呢?所以，要想在听力部分得高分，考生必须要掌握单词的标准发音。考生平时在完成听力练习后，可对照着原文再多听几遍录音并进行跟读。这样不仅可以帮助考生纠正发音，还可以培养考生的语感。

　　综上所述，要考好听力，拼写、语法和发音样样都要注意，听力不只是考验你的耳朵，祝大家考试顺利!