2023年12月英语四级听力真题及答案（第二套）

　　00:10:14 说话者1:

　　our guest on today's book talk is john black，the author of the new best seller retire early。

　　00:10:22 说话者2:

　　Thanks for having me on the show，lisa。

　　00:10:25 说话者1:

　　john，your book is getting a lot of attention，partly because you write that most people can retire by 40。Is that realistic？Definitely。

　　00:10:35 说话者2:

　　When researching this book，I interviewed hundreds of people who retired by 40。

　　00:10:41 说话者1:

　　okay，but how much money does a person need to retire？I've read articles recommending $1 million as a good figure for retirement。

　　00:10:51 说话者2:

　　While most financial planners do give numbers，I don't think that's useful as people are living in different areas with different costs of living and have different needs and wants，which is why I suggest that people aim for financial independence。

　　00:11:05 说话者1:

　　What do you mean by financial independence？

　　00:11:09 说话者2:

　　Having investment income that's greater than monthly expenses？

　　00:11:12 说话者1:

　　That sounds risky to me。What if an accident happens or you get ill and need medical treatment？Shouldn't people have extra cash for emergencies？

　　00:11:24 说话者2:

　　Too many people spend their lives working on jobs they hate because they're afraid。So I counsel people to take risks。Retirement doesn't have to be permanent and if people need to they can go back to work。

　　00:11:38 说话者1:

　　But it's not always easy to get back into the workforce after an extended absence。

　　00:11:43 说话者2:

　　True，but if you keep current with your skills，you will be attracted to employers。Maybe。

　　00:11:49 说话者1:

　　But how can anyone save enough to retire by 40 when most people can't retire at 60。

　　00:11:55 说话者2:

　　simple by cutting housing food and transport expenses and investing half your monthly income？

　　00:12:01 说话者1:

　　That sounds impossible。

　　00:12:04 说话者2:

　　I admit it's difficult，but it has worked for thousands。

　　00:12:08 说话者1:

　　Questions？12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard。Question 12，what do we learn about the man's book published recently？Question 13，what do the articles the woman read recommend？Question 14，what does the man say about retirement？Question 15，how does the man say his proposal about retirement can be carried out。

　　00:13:20 说话者2:

　　section c directions。In this section you will hear three passages，end of each passage，you will hear three or four 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 abc and d then mark the corresponding letter on answer sheet one with a single line through the center。