M：Then you ought to go to bed.What are you writing，anyway？
W：An article I hope I can sell.
M：Oh，another of your newspaper pieces？What's this one about？
W：Do you remember the trip I took last month？
M：The one up to the Amazon？
W：Well，that's what I'm writing about-the new highway and the changes it's making in the Amazon valley.
M：It should be interesting.
W：It is.I guess that's why I forgot all about the time.
M：How many articles have you sold now？
W：About a dozen so far.
M：What kind of newspapers buy them？
W：The papers that carry a lot of foreign news.They usually appear in the big Sunday editions where they need a lot of background stories to help fill up the space between the ads.
M：Is there any future in it？
W：I hope so.There's a chance I may sell this article to a news service.
M：Then your story would be published in several papers，wouldn't it？
W：That's the idea.And I might even be able to do other stories on a regular basis.
M：That would be great.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
12.What is the woman's occupation？
A.Teacher.
B.Journalist.
C.Editor.
D.Typist.
13.What is the woman writing about？
A.Some newly discovered scenic spot.
B.Big changes in the Amazon valley.
C.A new railway under construction.
D.The beautiful Amazon rain forests.
14.Where do the woman's articles usually appear？
A.In news weeklies.
B.In a local evening paper.
C.In newspapers'Sunday editions.
D.In overseas editions of U.S.magazines.
15.What does the woman expect？
A.To become a professional writer.
B.To be employed by a newspaper.
C.To get her life story published soon.
D.To sell her articles to a news service.
解析：这是一篇较简单的日常对话。女士是教师，偶尔给报刊杂志供稿。男士询问女士正在写作的文章内容和发表前景。
第12题，答案A。职业身份题。根据男士问Don't you have an early class to teach tomorrow morning？女士回答Yes，at seven o'clock.My commuter class，the students who go to work right after their lesson.可以推论女士的身份为教师。
第13题，答案B。出题点为W：Well，that's what I'm writing about-the new highway and the changes it's making in the Amazon valley.
第14题，答案C。出题点为W：…They usually appear in the big Sunday editions where…四个选项都是in…可归为地点方位类，听音时注意涉及发表文章刊物的说法，录音中同样用了in…
第15题，答案D。出题点为W：I hope so.There's a chance I may sell this article to a news service.文章结尾处，谈及未来的发展前景，听到什么选什么。
综上所述，长对话同样以日常生活及工作场景为主，注重实际交流，测试考生口头信息的获取能力，遵循“视听一致”的原则。
2.长对话听力的解题技巧
熟悉常考题材及题型
长对话主要涉及学生学习生活的日常场景、商务场合的简单对话以及围绕社会文化生活的人物访谈。主要考查的题型有：
①主旨大意题：询问谈话的主要话题。这种题型一般可以在对话的开头或结尾定位答案，同时考生也要注意在对话中反复出现的一些关键词，有助于总结对话的主题。
②职业身份题：询问说话者的职业、身份或者询问谈话双方的关系。这种题的解题关键在于寻找与职业身份相关的关键词，同时从语气、用词等判断双方关系。
③地点方位题：询问对话发生的地点与场景。考生应注意对话中与特定地点有关的特定关键词，通过关键词判断地点。常见的地点场景有学校、银行、医院、餐馆、宾馆、机场、车站、邮局等。
④时间数字题：询问对话中与时间数字相关的信息，偶尔涉及简单计算。
⑤观点态度题：询问说话者对某事或某话题的看法和观点。考生应该熟悉表达观点的一些常用句型，如I think…，It seems to me that…，As far as I'm concerned，I could say…等。同时要注意关于建议和请求的句型（详见样题分析第11题）。
掌握出题形式，抓住听音重点
在长对话的几道题中，考点分布还是比较有特点可循的。除了以上提到的常考题型以外，考生应该注意到，虽然长对话是两个人在谈话，但只有一个人是主要的信息提供者。另一个人在对话中的主要功能就是不断提问，引出答案，而回答的内容才是理解对话和解题的关键。
预读选项，有的放矢
放音前预读选项，根据选项特点预测即将听到的问题以及对话谈论的主题，这样在听音时会更有目的地捕捉有用信息，提高正确率。在录音只放一遍的情况下，有效地预读选项非常重要。
视听一致，边听边选择
一般来说，细节题出题的顺序会和对话发展的顺序一致，考生应该一边听音，一边将与录音内容一致的选项标记出来，等问题被读到时，再对照此选项是否与问题相对应即可。千万不可听完后再选择，那样可能会遗忘一些细节，降低正确率。
注意语言功底的积累
英语语言水平的提高是通过四级考试的必备基础。在语音方面，考生应特别注意连读、失去爆破、句子重音、强弱读等常见的口语语音现象；在词汇方面，注意积累听力常见的词汇以及口语习惯用语。
第三节听力篇章
1.样题解析
听力篇章的题材多样，涵盖科学、文化、教育、风俗、历史、人物、日常生活等各方面的内容，体裁一般可分为记叙文、说明文、议论文和应用文。主要考查考生理解文章中心思想，捕捉重要细节的能力。篇章信息量大、题材广泛、句子较长、句式复杂，使得解题难度大大增加。从2016年6月四级考试开始，篇章部分的分值比例提高了20%，如果不充分准备，这可能会成为考生失分的重灾区。从样题来看，篇章部分的选材长度、题材及考查点并无明显改变。我们先分析样题：
Section C
Directions：In this section，you will hear three passages.At the end of each passage，you will hear some questions.Both the passage 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.
Passage One
In today's class，we'll discuss Toni Morrison's novel Beloved.As I'm sure you all know，Morrison is both a popular and a highly respected author，and it's not easy to be both.Born in 1931，Morrison has written some of the most touching and intelligent works on the African-American experience ever written by anyone，and yet to call her an"African-American writer"doesn't seem to do her justice.In many ways，she's simply an American writer-and certainly one of our best.
Beloved is a truly remarkable work.It was recommended for nearly every major literary prize，including the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award，and it in fact won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988.Morrison herself is distinguished for having won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993.
What makes Beloved unique is the skillful，sure way in which Morrison blends intensely personal storytelling and American history，racial themes and gender themes，the experience of Blacks with the experience of all people everywhere，the down-to-earth reality of slavery with a sense of mysterious spirituality.
We'll be paying special attention to these themes as we discuss this work.I'm particularly interested in your views on the relative importance of race and gender in this book.Is it more important that Sethe，the main character，is black or that she's a woman？Which contributes more to her being？What does Morrison tell us about both？
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.
16.What do we learn about Toni Morrison？
A.She is both a popular and a highly respected author.
B.She is the first writer to focus on the fate of slaves.
C.She is the most loved African novelist of all times.
D.She is the most influential author since the 1930's.
17.What honor did Toni Morrison receive in 1993？
A.The Book Critics Circle Award.
B.The Nobel Prize for literature.
C.The Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
D.The National Book Award.
18.What does the speaker tell us about Sethe，the main character in Morrison's novel Beloved？
A.She is a relative of Morrison's.
B.She is a slave from Africa.
C.She is a skilled storyteller.
D.She is a black woman.
解析：篇章属于文学类主题，介绍了美国著名黑人女小说家托妮·莫里森及其代表作《宠儿》。如果有相关背景知识，则很容易做出判断。
第16题，答案A。出题点在篇章开头：As I'm sure you all know，Morrison is both a popular and a highly respected author，and it's not easy to be both.
第17题，答案B。考查与时间相关的细节。出处在：Morrison herself is distinguished for having won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993.