为了帮助大家备考2017年大学英语四级，下面小编整理了2016年12月第二套大学英语四级听力原文，希望能帮到大家!

　　Part Ⅱ

　　Listening Comprehension

　　Section A

　　Directions:

　　In this section, you will hear three news reports. At the end of each news report, you will hear two or three questions. Both the news report and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

　　News Report One

　　New York State plans to shut off the thundering waters of Niagara Falls—again. At least, the American side of the falls. This "once in a lifetime" event actually may take place twice in some folks' lives. The New York State parks system wants to turn off the falls on the American side sometime in the next two to three years to replace two 115-year-old stone bridges that allow pedestrians, park vehicles and utilities access to Goat Island. The American side of the falls were shut off in 1969 to study the buildup of rock at the base of the falls. When that happened, people came from all over the world to see the falls turned off. People are curious by nature. They want to see what's underneath. In fact, those who first came to have a look did see something. They found millions of coins on the bottom.

　　Questions 1 and 2 are based on the news report you have just heard.

　　1. Why does New York State want to turn off Niagara Falls?

　　2. What did people find when Niagara Falls were shut off in 1969?

　　News Report Two

　　The Tunisian government said Monday that 45 people have been killed after gunmen attacked a town near the border with Libya. The Interior and Defense ministries said that the Tunisian government has closed its two border crossings with Libya because of the attack. The Tunisian military has sent reinforcements and helicopters to the area, and authorities have been hunting several attackers who were still at large. The violence came amid increasing international concern about Islamic State extremists in Libya. Officials of the Tunisian government are especially worried after dozens of tourists were killed in the attacks in Tunisia last year. Defense Minister Farhat Horchani said last week that German and American security experts were expected to come to help Tunisia devise a new electronic video supervision system on its border with Libya. Tunisia was targeted last year by three attacks that left 70 people dead and were claimed by Islamic State.

　　Questions 3 and 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.

　　3. What did the Tunisian government do after the gunmen's attack?

　　4. What were German and American security experts expected to do in Tunisia?

　　News Report Three

　　Three university students in Santiago, Chile, have developed a plant-powered device to charge their mobile phones. The three engineering students got the idea for the device while sitting in their school's courtyard. Their invention is a small biological circuit they call E-Kaia. It captures the energy which plants produce during photosynthesis— a process of converting sunlight into energy. A plant uses only a small part of the energy produced by that process. The rest goes into the soil. E-Kaia collects that energy. The device plugs into the ground and then into a mobile phone. The E-Kaia solved two problems for the engineering students. They needed an idea for a class project. They also needed an outlet to plug in their phones. One of the student inventors, Camila Rupcich, says the device changes the energy released from the plant into low-level power to charge phones. The E-Kaia is able to fully recharge a mobile phone in less than two hours.

　　Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.

　　5. What did the three university students invent?

　　6. When did they get the idea for the invention?

　　7. What does the speaker say about the invention?

　　Section B

　　Directions:

　　In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

　　Conversation One

　　M: Good morning. What can I do for you?

　　W: Good morning. Could I talk to Jeffry Harding please?

　　M: Speaking.

　　W: Hello, Jeff. It's Helen. I got your message on the answering machine. What's the problem?

　　M: Oh, Helen. Well, it's the Grimsby plant again, I'm afraid. The robots on Line 3 have gone wrong. And the line is at a standstill.

　　W: Can't you replace them with the stand-ins?

　　M: I'm afraid not. The stand-ins are already in use on Line

　　6. And the ones from Line 6 are being serviced.

　　W: When did this happen, Jeff?

　　M: Well, they've been making a low continuous sound for a day or two. But they finally went dead at 2:30 this afternoon.

　　W: I see. What did you do? Have you tried the whole plant?

　　M: Not yet, Helen. I thought I'd better get your OK first.

　　W: OK. Get on the phone to Tom, and try to get their stand-ins over tonight. We have to be back at full capacity tomorrow morning. Is it a major job to repair our robots?

　　M: About a week. That's what the maintenance engineer says.

　　W: Right. Well, if you can get the ones from Hall, please ask Tom to inform Sheffield that he may need their stand-ins in case of emergency during the next week.

　　M: OK. Thank you very much, Helen.

　　W: You are most welcome.

　　M: Sorry to spoil your day off.

　　W: It doesn't matter.

　　Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

　　8. What did the man do before the telephone conversation?

　　9. What does the man say about line 3 in the Grimsby plant?

　　10. What is the man's purpose in calling the woman?

　　11. Where is the woman at the time of the conversation?