大学英语四级模拟试题(8)
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Directions： Part One Listening Comprehension (20 minutes)(略) Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes) Directions: There are four reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions. For each question there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. You should choose the One best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET with a pencil. Passage 1 Mrs. Lester kept on asking her husband to take her to the ballet. Mr. Lester hates the ballet, but when his employer invited him and his wife, he could not get out of it. As they drove to the theatre that evening, the fog got worse and worse. The traffic slowed down to a walking pace and almost stopped. When they eventually got to the theatre, the ballet was over. Mrs. Lester could not work out ho w it had taken them so long to get there, even taking the fog into account. The theatre was within walking distance of their house. It took her a long time to g et over the disappointment. A month later, Mrs. Lester found out what had happened. Mr. Lester told a fri end of his that he had taken wrong turning on purpose. This friend told his wife , and the wife immediately went around to tell Mrs. Lester. The two women began to plan a revenge. One day, when Mr. Lester was not in, they broke into his stud y, which he always locked. His hobby was collecting old coins. Mrs. Lester had already worked out how much his collection was worth:$850!They were taking some coins out of the case when they heard a car pull up outside the house. Mrs. Lester quickly switched the light off, and they waited, holding their breath. The front door opened and Mr. Lester came in. They heard him take his coat off. He walked towards the study door and opened it. There was no chance for the women to get away without being seen. Mr. Lester switched the light on and was astounded to see his wife standing there with a handful of valuable coins. It took both husband and wife a long time to get over this. 11. Which of the following is correct? A. Mr. Lester likes to watch ballet. B. Mrs. Lester likes to watch ballet. C. Both of them like to watch ballet D. Neither of them likes to watch ballet. 12. It was quite_____ when they drove to the theatre. A. rainy B. stormy C. cloudy D. foggy 13. The theater is_____ from Mr. and Mrs. Lester's. A. an hour-driving B. in the other side of the city C. very near D. half an hour of bicycle riding 14. The wife of Mr. Lester's friend is a _____. A. social worker B. house cleaner C. baby sitter D. gossip 15. How many persons are mentioned in this story? A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six Passage 2 The motor vehicle has killed and disabled more people in its brief history than any bomb or weapon ever invented. Much of the blood on the street flows essentially from uncivil behavior of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral rights of others. So the massacre on the road may be regarded as a social problem . In fact, the enemies of society on wheels are rather harmless people just ordinary people acting carelessly, you might say. But it is a principle both of law an d common morality that carelessness is no excuse when one's actions could bring death or damage to others. A minority of the killers go even beyond carelessness to total negligence. Researchers have estimated that as many as 80 per cent of all automobile accidents can be attributed to the psychological condition of the driver. Emotional upsets can distort drivers' reactions, slow their judgement, and blind them to dangers that might otherwise be evident. The experts warn that it is vital for every driver to make a conscious effort to keep one's emotions under control. Yet the irresponsibility that accounts for much of the problem is not confined t o drivers. Street walkers regularly violate traffic regulations, they are at fault in most vehicle walker accidents; and many cyclists even believe that they are not subject to the basic rules of the road. Significant legal advances have been made towards safer driving in the past few years. Safety standards for vehicle have been raised both at the point of manufacture and through periodic road-worthiness inspections. In addition, speed limit s have been lowered. Due to these measures, the accident rate has decreased. But the accident experts still worry because there has been little or no improvement in the way drivers behave. The only real and lasting solution, say the experts , is to convince people that driving is a skilled task requiring constant care and concentration. Those who fail to do all these things present a threat to those with whom they share the road. 16. What is the author's main purpose in writing the passage? A. To show that the motor vehicle is a very dangerous invention. B. To promote understanding between careless drivers and street walkers. C. To discuss traffic problems and propose possible solutions. D. To warn drivers of the importance of safe driving. 17. According to the passage, traffic accidents may be regarded as a social problem because _____. A. autos have become most destructive to mankind B. people usually pay little attention to law and morality C. civilization brings much harm to people D. the lack of virtue is becoming more severe 18. Why does the author mention the psychological condition of the driver i n Paragraph Three? A. To give an example of the various reasons for road accidents. B. To show how important it is for drivers to be emotionally healthy. C. To show some of the inaccurate estimations by researchers. D. To illustrate the hidden tensions in the course of driving. 19. Who are NOT mentioned as being responsible for the road accidents? A. Careless bicycle-riders. B. Mindless people walking in the street. C. Irresponsible drivers. D. Irresponsible manufactures of automobiles. 20. Which of the following best reflects the author's attitude toward a future without traffic accident problems? A. Doubtful yet still longing for B. Happy and rather confident C. Surprised and very pleased D. Disappointed and deeply worried Passage 3 In the early days of nuclear power, the United States made money on it. But today opponents have so complicated its development that no nuclear plants have been ordered or built here in 12 years. The greatest fear of nuclear power opponents has always been a reactor “melt down ”. Today, the chances of a meltdown that would threaten U.S. public health are testing new reactors that rely not on human judgment to shut them down but on the laws of nature. Now General Electric is already building two advanced reactors in Japan. But don't expect them even on U.S. shores unless things change in Washington. The procedure for licensing nuclear power plants is a bad dream. Any time during , or even after, construction, an objection by any group or individual can bring everything to a halt while the matter is investigated or taken to court. Meanwhile, the builder must add nice, but not necessary improvements, some of which force him to knock down walls and start over. In every case when a plant has been opposed, the Nuclear Regulation Commission has ultimately granted a license to construct or operate. But the victory often costs so much that the utility ends up abandoning the plant anyway. A case in point is the Shoreham plant on New York's Long Island. Shoreham was a virtual twin to the Millstone plant in Connecticut, both ordered in the mid 60s ' . Millstone, complete for $ 101 million, has been generating electricity for two decades. Shoreham, however, was singled out by antinuclear activists who, by sending in endless protests, drove the cost over $ 5 billion and delayed its use f or many years. Shoreham finally won its operation license. But the plant has never produced a watt power. Governor Mario Cuomo, an opponent of a Shoreharn start?up, used his power to force New York's publicities commission to accept the following settlement: the power company could pass the cost of Shoreham along to its consumers only if it agreed not to operate the plant. Today, a perfectly good facility, capable of servicing hundreds of thousands of homes, sits rusting. 21. The author's attitude towards the development of nuclear power is _____. A. negative B. neutral C. positive D. questioning 22. What has made the procedure for licensing nuclear plants a bad dream? A. The inefficiency of the Nuclear Regulation Commission. B. The enormous cost of construction and operation. C. The length of time it takes to make investigations. D. The objection of the opponents of nuclear power. 23. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that _____. A. there are not enough safety measures in the U.S. for running new nuclear power plants B. it is not technical difficulties that prevent the building of nuclear power plants in the U.S. C. there are already more nuclear power plants than necessary in the U.S. D. the American government will not allow Japanese nuclear reactors to be installed in the U.S. 24. Governor Mario Cuomo's chief intention in proposing the settlement wa s to _____. A. stop the Shoreham plant from going into operation B. urge the power company to further increase its power supply C. permit the Shoreham plant to operate under certain conditions D. help the power company to solve its financial problems 25. From which sentence of the article can you see the attitude of the author and that of Govenor Mario Cuomo respectively? A. the 2nd sentence in the first paragraph, the 3rd sentence in the last paragraph. B. the last sentence, the last sentence but one C. the last sentence in para.2, last sentence but one. D. the last sentence in para.3, the 3rd sentence in the fifth paragraph. Passage 4 Does a bee know what is going on in its mind when it navigates its way to distant food sources and back to the hive (蜂房), using polarized sunlight and the tin y magnet it carries as a navigational aid? Or is the bee just a machine, unable to do its mathematics and dance its language in any other way? To use Dondald Griffin's term, does a bee have “awareness", or to use a phrase I like better, c an a bee think and imagine? There is an experiment for this, or at least an observation, made long ago by Karl von Firsch and more recently confirmed by James Gould in Princeton. Biologist s who wish to study such things as bee navigation, language, and behavior in general have to train their bees to fly from the hive to one or another special place. To do this, they begin by placing a source of sugar very close to the hive s o that the bees (considered by their trainers to be very dumb beasts) can learn w hat the game is about. Then, at regular interval, the dish or whatever is moved progressively farther and farther from the hive, in increments (增加量) of about 25 percent at each move. Eventually, the target is being moved 100 feet or more at a jump, very far from the hive. Sooner or later, while this process is going on, the biologist shifting the dish of sugar will find the bees are out there waiting for them, precisely where the next position had been planned. This is an uncomfortable observation to make. 26. The best title for the passage is _____. A. Teaching the Bees to Navigate B. Testing the Awareness of Bees C. Navigational Techniques of Bees D. Behaviorists Versus Biologists: A Zoological Debate 27. The word “awareness" in paragraph 1 appears in quotation marks in order to _____. A. show the author's preference for the term B. indicate that it is being used humorously C. acknowledge Donald Griffin's previous use of the term D. point out that it was used differently earlier in the passage 28. In the second paragraph Karl von Frischis mentioned _____. A. to introduce his observation on bee behavior B. to contrast his theories with those of James Gould C. acknowledge Donald Griffin's previous use of the term D. point out that it was used differently earlier in the passage 29. According to the author, sugar was used in the study _____. A. to reward the bees for performing the experiment correctly B. to train the bees to travel to a particular place C. to ensure that the bees knew where the hive was D. to ensure that the bees would obey the orders 30. The result of the experiment explained in the passage seems to indicate that _____. A. research using bees is too dangerous to be conducted successfully B. bees are unable to navigate beyond 100 feet their hive C. scientists can teach bees to navigate D. bees are able to perform limited reasoning tasks Part III Vocabulary and Structure (20 minutes) Directions: There are 30 incomplete sentences i n this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A., B., C. and D.. Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet wit h a single line through the centre. 31. We were _____for half an hour in the traffic and so we arrived late. A. kept off B. held up C. put back D. broken down 32. She felt offended at my remarks, but it wasn't my _____to hurt her. A. implication B. indication C. intention D. invasion 33. When they heard the police siren, the thieves dropped their _____and fled. A. limp B. plunder C. lid D. loop 34. It's an interesting old document but there are a lot of words I can't _____. A. pick out B. fill out C. make out D. look out 35. The book looks like an advanced _____text to me. A. economic B. economist C. economics D. economical 36. The doctor used strong medicine to _____the sick child of cold A. restore B. cure C. treat D. recover 37. When confronted with such questions, my mind goes _____, and 2 can hardly remember my own birthday. A. dim B. blank C. vain D. faint 38. One of the famous _____in the United States was Henry Ford. A. industrious B. industries C. industrializations D. industrialists 39. Foreign students find certain structures particularly difficult; _____teachers need a reliable source of practice material to put these points across effectively. A. so that B. in order that C. consequently D. eventually 40. His marked personality changes were _____by a series of unfortunate e vents. A. carried on B. counted on C. brought about D. made up 41. It was mere _____to act surprised when she knew very well it was going to happen. A. nonsense B. foolishness C. insincerity D. honesty 42. _____yesterday, I would have asked him not to do that. A. Had he come B. Provided he came C. If he came D. Has he come 43. Tom was so obviously sorry for his mistake that we _____him. A. forgave B. pardoned C. excused D. forgot 44. His watch _____. I'll go and call him. A. must be stopped B. was to be stopped C. stopped D. must have stopped 45. They voted to _____the office of second vice president. A. decorateB. create C. improveD. abolish 46. They lost their way, _____delayed them considerably. A. as B. whichC. for D. that 47. Today too many young people are _____on their parents. A. dependentB. relativeC. missedD. worthwhile 48. My son is being extremely _____smoke, would you mind smoking outside? A. sensitive of B. sensitive to C. sensible of D. sensible to 49. She has such a bad cold that she lost all _____of smell. A. sensitivity B. means C. sense D. power 50. As a result of his _____work with Loins Armstrong in the late 1920's, Earl Hines has been called the father of modern jazz piano. A. professional B. excellent C. diligent D. pioneering 51. In his speech he _____the importance of education by giving full details of the most serious problems caused by the educational system. A. talked about B. reported on C. dealt with D. dwelt on 52. I don't want to get _____the quarrel between Tom and Mary. A. in touch with B. combined with C. involved in D. engaged in 53. He is wondering _____a doctor. A. whether or not to see B. whether to see or not C. if or not to see D. if to see or not 54. The man escaped by _____a security guard. A. pretending to be B. imitating C. disguising himself as D. duplicating 55. With its expensive furniture, my friend's new room looks very _____. A. luxury B. luxuriant C. luxurious D. luxuriated 56. _____we would have got back home long ago. A. But for the fog B. Only for the fog C. If for the fog D. Not for the fog 57. Don't worry any more, your daughter now is safely _____a nurse. A. in charge of B. in the charge of C. charges D. takes charge of 58. _____measure matter we must have units of weight, volume and len gth. A. In order B. In order to C. So as D. So as t o 59. When Jane won the prize, I _____her on her success. A. congratulated B. appreciated C. approved D. remarked 60. In early New England, _____were required to live with families. A. school teachers B. college students C. bachelors D. ministers Part IV Cloze (15 minutes) Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there a re four choices marked A., B., C. and D. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Today the world's economy is going through two great changes, both bigger than an Asian financial crisis here or a European monetary union there. The first change is that a lot of industrial_61_is moving from the United States, Western Europe and Japan to _62 _countries in Latin America, South-East Asia and Eastern Europe. In 1950, the United States alone _63_ for more than half of the world's economy output. In 1990, it s _64_ was down to a quarter. By 1990, 40% of IBM's employees were non-Americans; Whirlpool, America's leading _65_ of domestic appliances, cut its American labor force _66_ 10%. Quite soon now, many big western companies will have more _67_ (and customers) in poor countries than in rich _68_ . The second great change is _69_ , in the rich countries of the OECD, the balance of economic activity is _70_ from manufacturing to _71_ . In the United States and Britain, the _72_ of workers in manufacturing has _73_ since 1900 from around 40% to barely half that. _74_ in Germany and Japan, which rebuilt so many _75_ after 1945, manufacturing's share of jobs is now below 30%. The effect of the _76_ is increased _77_ manufacturing moves from rich countries to the developing ones, _78_ cheap labor _79_ them a sharp advantage in many of the _80_ tasks required by mass production. 61. A. product B. production C. products D. productivity 62. A. other B. small C. capitalistic D. developing 63. A. accounted B. occupied C. played D. shared 64. A. output B. development C. share D. economy 65. A. state B. consumer C. representative D. supplier 66. A. by B. at C. through D. in 67. A. products B. market C. employees D. changes 68. A. one B. ones C. times D. time 69. A. what B. like C. that D. how 70. A. ranging B. varying C. swinging D. getting 71. A. producing B. products C. servicing D. services 72. A. proportion B. number C. quantity D. group 73. A. changed B. gone C. applied D. shrunk 74. A. Furthermore B. Even C. Therefore D. Hence 75. A. armies B. weapons C. factories D. countries 76. A. question B. manufacturing C. shift D. rebuilding 77. A. with B. as C. given D. if 78. A. while B. whose C. who's D. which 79. A. give B. is giving C. gives D. gave 80. A. repetitive B. various C. creative D. enormous Part V Writing (30 minutes) For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic The Advantages and Disadvantages of Private Tutoring your composition should be based on the outline given below. Your part of the composition should be at least about 100 words . Remember to write clearly. You should write this composition on the composition sheet. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Private Tutoring |
