2010年12月英语六级考试模拟卷(2)
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大学英语六级真题2010年12月(总分710, 做题时间120分钟)Part I Writing (30 minutes)1.Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled My Views on University Ranking. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.1. 目前高校排名相当盛行;2. 对于这种做法人们看法不一;3. 在我看来……My Views on University RankingSSS_TEXT_QUSTI分值: 142答案:My View on University RankingIn recent years, all kinds of University Ranking Lists can be found on some educational websites, or newspapers. The ranking standards also vary. These lists have great influence on students. They are even becoming the only scale to evaluate the colleges and universities.People hold different views toward this phenomenon. Some believe that these lists help the students a lot, especially for those who will choose their university. While some other protest vigorously. Intheir points, the list is really ridiculous and harmful. In my view, the university ranking may have its own reference values, but its disadvantages overweigh its values.For those university-students-to-be, they are supposed to choose the school according to his or her own situation, but not the so-called Ranking List. What’s more, how about the university students? How do they feel about themselves when they see the ranking? The list may become some intangible shackles for them if their own school ranks poorly.In a nutshell, there is no easy method to rank these universities, but the Ranking, only helps students ignore the essentials, namely, their ninety-nine percent perspiration.Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Into the UnknownThe world has never seen population ageing before. Can it cope?Until the early 1990s nobody much thought about whole populations getting older. The UN had the foresight to convene a “world assembly on ageing” back in 1982, but that came and went. By 1994 the World Bank had noticed that something big was happening. In a report entitled “Averting the Old Age Crisis”, it argued that pension arrangements in most countries were unsustainable.For the next ten years a succession of books, mainly by Americans, sounded the alarm. They had titles like Young vs Old, Gray Dawn and The Coming Generational Storm, and their message was blunt: health-care systems were heading for the rocks, pensioners were taking young people to the cleaners, and soon there would be intergenerational warfare.Since then the debate has become less emotional, not least because a lot more is known about the subject. Books, conferences and research papers have multiplied. International organisations such as the OECD and the EU issue regular reports. Population ageing is on every agenda, from G8 economic conferences to NATO summits. The World Economic Forum plans to consider the future of pensions and health care at its prestigious Davos conference early next year. The media, including this newspaper, are giving the subject extensive coverage.Whether all that attention has translated into sufficient action is another question. Governments in rich countries now accept that their pension and health-care promises will soon become unaffordable, and many of them have embarked on reforms, but so far only timidly. That is not surprising: politicians with an eye on the next election will hardly rush to introduce unpopular measures that may not bear fruit for years, perhaps decades.The outline of the changes needed is clear. To avoid fiscal (财政) meltdown, public pensions and health-care provision will have to be reined back severely and taxes may have to go up. By far the most effective method to restrain pension spending is to give people the opportunity to work longer, because it increases tax revenues and reduces spending on pensions at the same time. It may even keep them alive longer. John Rothe r, the AARP’s head of policy and strategy, points to studies showing that other things being equal, people who remain at work have lower death rates than their retired peers.Younger people today mostly accept that they will have to workfor longer and that their pensions will be less generous. Employers still need to be persuaded that older workers are worth holding on to. That may be because they have had plenty of younger ones to choose from, partly thanks to the post-war baby-boom and partly because over the past few decades many more women have entered the labour force, increasing employers’ choice. But the reservoir of women able and willing to take up paid work is running low, and the baby-boomers are going grey.In many countries immigrants have been filling such gaps in the labour force as have already emerged (and remember that the real shortage is still around ten years off). Immigration in the developed world is the highest it has ever been, and it is making a useful difference. In still-fertile America it currently accounts for about 40% of total population growth, and in fast-ageing western Europe for about 90%.On the face of it, it seems the perfect solution. Many developing countries have lots of young people in need of jobs; many rich countries need helping hands that will boost tax revenues and keep up economic growth. But over the next few decades labour forces in rich countries are set to shrink so much that inflows of immigrants would have to increase enormously to compensate: to at least twice their current size in western Europe’s most youthful countries, and three times in the older ones. Japan would need a large multiple of the few immigrants it has at present. Public opinion polls show that peoplein most rich countries already think that immigration is too high. Further big increases would be politically unfeasible.To tackle the problem of ageing populations at its root, “old” countries would have to rejuvenate (使年轻) themselves by having more of their own children. A number of them have tried, some more successfully than others. But it is not a simple matter of offering financial incentives or providing more child care. Modern urban life in rich countries is not well adapted to large families. Women findit hard to combine family and career. They **promise by having just one child.And if fertility in ageing countries does not pick up? It will not be the end of the world, at least not for quite a while yet, but the world will slowly become a different place. Older societies may be less innovative and more strongly disinclined to take risks than younger ones. By 2025 at the latest, about half the voters in America and most of those in western European countries will be over 50—and older people turn out to vote in much greater number than younger ones. Academic studies have found no evidence so far that older voters have used their power at the ballot box to push for policiesthat specifically benefit them, though if in future there are many more of them they might start doing so.Nor is there any sign of the intergenerational warfare predicted in the 1990s. After all, older people themselves mostly have families. In a recent study of parents and grown-up children in 11 European countries, Karsten Hank of Mannheim University found that 85% of them lived within 25km of each other and the majority of them were in touch at least once a week.Even so, the shift in the centre of gravity to older age groupsis bound to have a profound effect on societies, not just economically and politically but in all sorts of other ways too. Richard Jackson and Neil Howe of America’s CSIS, in a thoughtful book called The Graying of the Great Powers, argue that, among other things, the ageing of the developed countries will have a number of serious security implications.For example, the shortage of young adults is likely to make countries more reluctant to commit the few they have to military service. In the decades to 2050, America will find itself playing an ever-increasing role in the developed world’s defence effort. Because America’s population will still be growing when that of most other developed countries is shrinking, America will be the only developed country that still matters geopolitically (地缘政治上).Ask me in 2020There is little that can be done to stop population ageing, so the world will have to live with it. But some of the consequences can be alleviated. Many experts now believe that given the right policies, the effects, though grave, need not be catastrophic. Most countries have recognised the need to do something and are beginning to act.But even then there is no guarantee that their efforts will work. What is happening now is historically unprecedented. Ronald Lee, director of the Centre on the Economics and Demography of Ageing at the University of California, Berkeley, puts it briefly and clearly: “We don’t really know what population ageing will be like, because nobody has done it yet. “注意:此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
2010年12月英语四级考试模拟试题及答案Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: Online Education. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese:1. 目前网络教育形成热潮2. 我认为形成这股热潮的原因是……3. 我对网络教育的评价Online EducationPart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1.For questions 1-7, markY (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage;NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.The World in a Glass: Six Drinks That Changed HistoryTom Standage urges drinkers to savor the history of their favorite beverages along with the taste.The author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses (Walker & Company, June 2005), Standage lauds the libations that have helped shape our world from the Stone Age to the present day."The important drinks are still drinks that we enjoy today," said Standage, a technology editor at the London-based magazine the Economist. "They are relics (纪念物)of different historical periods still found in our kitchens."Take the six-pack, whose contents first fizzed at the dawn of civilization.BeerThe ancient Sumerians, who built advanced city-states in the area of present-day lraq, began fermenting(发酵)beer from barley at least 6,000 years ago."When people started agriculture the first crops they produced were barley or wheat. You consume those crops as bread and as beer," Standage noted. "It’s the drink associated with the dawn of civilization. It’s as simple as that."Beer was popular with the masses from the beginning."Beer would have been something that a common person could have had in the house and made whenever they wanted," said Linda Bisson, a microbiologist at the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis."The guys who built the pyramids were paid in beer and bread," Standage added. "It was the defining drink of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Everybody drank it. Today it’s the drink of the working man, and it was then as well."WineWine may be as old or older than beer—though no one can be certain.Paleolithic humans probably sampled the first "wine" as the juice of naturally fermented wild grapes. But producing and storing wine proved difficult for early cultures."To make wine you have to have fresh grapes," said Bisson, the UC Davis microbiologist. "for beer you can just store grain and add water to process it at any time."Making wine also demanded pottery that could preserve the precious liquid."Wine may be easier to make [than beer], but it’s harder to store," Bisson added. "For most ancient cultures it would have been hard to catch [fermenting grape juice] as wine on its way to [becoming] vinegar."Such caveats and the expense of producing wine helped the beverage quickly gain more cachet(威望)than beer. Wine was originally associated with social elites and religious activities.Wine snobbery may be nearly as old as wine itself. Greeks and Romans produced many grades of wine for various social classes.The quest for quality became an economic engine and later drove cultural expansion."Once you had regions [like Greece and Rome] that could distinguish themselves as making good stuff, it gave them an economic boost," Bisson said. "Beer just wasn’t as special."SpiritsHard liquor, particularly brandy and rum, placated (安抚)sailors during the long sea voyagesof the Age of Exploration, when European powers plied the seas during the 15th, 16th, and early17th centuries.Rum played a crucial part of the triangular trade between Britain, Africa, and the North American colonies that once dominated the Atlantic economy.Standage also suggests that rum may have been more responsible than tea for the independence movement in Britain’s American colonies."Distilling molasses for rum was very important to the New England economy," he explained. "When the British tried to tax molasses it struck at the heart of the economy. The idea of ’no taxation without representation’originated with molasses and sugar. Only at the end did it referto tea."Great Britain’s longtime superiority at sea may also owe a debt to its navy’s drink of rum-based choice, grog(掺水烈酒),which was made a compulsory beverage for sailors in the late18th century."They would make grog with rum, water, and lemon or lime juice," Standage said. "This improved the taste but also reduced illness and scurvy. Fleet physicians thought that this had doubled the efficiency of the fleet."CoffeeThe story of modern coffee starts in the Arabian Peninsula, where roasted beans were first brewed around A.D. 1000. Sometime around the 15th century, coffee spread throughout the Arab world."In the Arab world, coffee rose as an alternative to alcohol, and coffeehouses as alternativesto taverns(酒馆)—both of which are banned by Islam," Standage said.When coffee arrived in Europe it was similarly hailed as an "anti-alcohol" that was quite welcome during the Age of Reason in the 18th century."Just at the point when the Enlightenment is getting going, here’s a drink that sharpens the mind," Standage said. "The coffeehouse is the perfect venue(聚会地点)to get together and exchange ideas and information. The French Revolution started in a coffeehouse."声明:本资料由听力课堂网站收集整理,仅供英语爱好者学习使用,资料版权属于原作者。
之月大学英语六级级2012年12月大学英语六全真预测试题三及答案解析主编:汤敏2010年12月大学英语六级全真预测试题三及答案解析一、阅读理解第1题:Racket,din clamor,noise.Whatever you want to call it,unwanted sound is America's most widespread nuisance.But noise is more than just a nuisance.It constitutes a real and present danger to people's health.Day and night,at home,at work,and at play,noise can produce serious physical and psychological stress.No one is immune to this stress.Though we seem to adjust to noise by ignoring it,the ear,in fact,never closes and the body still responds—sometimes with extreme tension,as to a strange sound in the night.The annoyance we feel when faced with noise is the most common outward symptom of the stress building up inside us.Indeed,because irritability is so apparent,legislators have made public annoyance the basis of many noise abatement(消除)programs.The more subtle and more serious health hazards associated with stress caused by noise traditionally have been given much less attention.Nevertheless,when we are annoyed or made irritable by noise,we should consider these symptoms fair warning that other things may be happening to us,some of which may be damaging to our health.Of the many health hazards related to noise,hearing loss is the most clearly observable and measurable by health professionals.The other hazards are harder to pin down.For many of us, there may be a risk that exposure to the stress of noise increases susceptibility to disease and infection.The more susceptible among us may experience noise as a complicating factor in heart problems and other diseases.Noise that causes annoyance and irritability in healthy persons may have serious consequences for those already ill in mind or body.Noise affects us throughout our lives.For example,there are indications of effects on the unborn child when mothers are exposed to industrial and environmental noise.During infancy and childhood,youngsters exposed to high noise levels may have trouble falling asleep and obtaining necessary amounts of rest.why,then,is there not greater alarm about these dangers?Perhaps it is because the link between noise and many disabilities or diseases has not vet been conclusively demonstrated. Perhaps it is because we tend to dismiss annoyance as a price to pay for living in the modern world.It may also be because we still think of hearing loss as only an occupational hazard.1.The phrase"immune to"(Line3,Para.1)are used to mean________.[A]unaffected by[B]hurt by[C]unlikely to be seen by[D]unknown by2.The author's attitude toward noise would best be described as________.[A]unrealistic[B]traditional[C]concerned[D]hysterical3.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?[A]Noise is a major problem;most people recognize its importance.[B]Although noise can be annoying,it is not a major problem.[C]Noise is a major problem and has not yet been recognized as such.[D]Noise is a major problem about which nothing can be done.4.The author condemns noise essentially because it________.[A]is against the law[B]can make some people irritable[C]is a nuisance[D]is a danger to people's health5.The author would probably consider research about the effects noise has on people to be ________.[A]unimportant[B]impossible[C]a waste of money[D]essential1小题>、【正确答案】:A2小题>、【正确答案】:C3小题>、【正确答案】:C4小题>、【正确答案】:D5小题>、【正确答案】:D【参考解析】:1.A语义题。
2010年12月大学英语六级考试真题及答案详解2010年12月大学英语六级考试真题Part I Writing (30 minutes)Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled My Views on University Ranking. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.1. 目前高校排名相当盛行;2. 对于这种做法人们看法不一;3. 在我看来……My Views on University RankingPart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Into the UnknownThe world has never seen population ageing before. Can it cope?Until the early 1990s nobody much thought about whole populations getting older. The UN had the foresight to convene a “world assembly on ageing” back in 1982, but that came and went. By 1994 the World Bank had noticed that something big was happening. In a report entitled “Averting the Old Age Crisis”, it argued that pension arrangements in most countries were unsustainable.For the next ten years a succession of books, mainly by Americans, sounded the alarm. They had titles like Young vs Old, Gray Dawn and The Coming Generational Storm, and their message was blunt: health-care systems were heading for the rocks, pensioners were taking young people to the cleaners, and soon there would be intergenerational warfare.Since then the debate has become less emotional, not least because a lot more is known about the subject. Books, conferences and research papers have multiplied. International organisations such as the OECD and the EU issue regular reports. Population ageing is on every agenda, from G8 economic conferences to NATO summits. The World Economic Forum plans to consider the future of pensions and health care at its prestigious Davos conference early next year. The media, including this newspaper, are giving the subject extensive coverage.Whether all that attention has translated into sufficient action is another question. Governments in rich countries now accept that their pension and health-care promises will soon become unaffordable, and many of them have embarked on reforms, but so far only timidly. That is not surprising: politicians with an eye on the next election will hardly rush to introduce unpopular measures that may not bear fruit for years, perhaps decades.The outline of the changes needed is clear. To avoid fiscal (财政) meltdown, public pensions and health-care provision will have to be reined back severely and taxes may have to go up. By far the most effective method to restrain pension spending is to give people the opportunity to work longer, because it increases tax revenues and reducesspending on pensions at the same time. It may even keep them alive longer. John Rother, the AARP’s head of policy and strategy, points to studies showing that other things being equal, people who remain at work have lower death rates than their retired peers.Younger people today mostly accept that they will have to work for longer and that their pensions will be less generous. Employers still need to be persuaded that older workers are worth holding on to. That may be because they have had plenty of younger ones to choose from, partly thanks to the post-war baby-boom and partly because over the past few decades many more women have entered the labour force, increasing employers’ choice. But the reservoir of women able and willing to take up paid work is running low, and the baby-boomers are going grey.In many countries immigrants have been filling such gaps in the labour force as have already emerged (and remember that the real shortage is still around ten years off). Immigration in the developed world is the highest it has ever been, and it is making a useful difference. In still-fertile America it currently accounts for about 40% of total population growth, and in fast-ageing western Europe for about 90%.On the face of it, it seems the perfect solution. Many developing countries have lots of young people in need of jobs; many rich countries need helping hands that will boost tax revenues and keep up economic growth. But over the next few decades labour forces in rich countries are set to shrink so much that inflows of immigrants would have to increase enormously to compensate: to at least twice their current size in western Europe’s most youthful countries, and three times in the older ones. Japan would need a large multiple of the few immigrants it has at present. Public opinion polls show that people in most rich countries already think that immigration is too high. Further big increases would be politically unfeasible.To tackle the problem of ageing populations at its root, “old” countries would have to rejuvenate (使年轻) themselves by having more of their own children. A number of them have tried, some more successfully than others. But it is not a simple matter of offering financial incentives or providing more child care. Modern urban life in rich countries is not well adapted to large families. Women find it hard to combine family and career. They often compromise by having just one child.And if fertility in ageing countries does not pick up? It will not be the end of the world, at least not for quite a while yet, but the world will slowly become a different place. Older societies may be less innovative and more strongly disinclined to take risks than younger ones. By 2025 at the latest, about half the voters in America and most of those in western European countries will be over 50—and older people turn out to vote in much greater number than younger ones. Academic studies have found no evidence so far that older voters have used their power at the ballot box to push for policies that specifically benefit them, though if in future there are many more of them they might start doing so.Nor is there any sign of the intergenerational warfare predicted in the 1990s. After all, older people themselves mostly have families. In a recent study of parents and grown-up children in 11 European countries, Karsten Hank of Mannheim University found that 85% of them lived within 25km of each other and the majority of them were in touch at least once a week.Even so, the shift in the centre of gravity to older age groups is bound to have a profound effect on societies, not just economically and politically but in all sortsof other ways too. Richard Jackson and Neil Howe of America’s CSIS, in a thoughtful book called The Graying of the Great Powers, argue that, among other things, the ageing of the developed countries will have a number of serious security implications.For example, the shortage of young adults is likely to make countries more reluctant to commit the few they have to military service. In the decades to 2050, America will find itself playing an ever-increasing role in the developed world’s defence effort. Because America’s population will still be growing when that of most other developed countries is shrinking, America will be the only developed country that still matters geopolitically (地缘政治上).Ask me in 2020There is little that can be done to stop population ageing, so the world will have to live with it. But some of the consequences can be alleviated. Many experts now believe that given the right policies, the effects, though grave, need not be catastrophic. Most countries have recognised the need to do something and are beginning to act.But even then there is no guarantee that their efforts will work. What is happening now is historically unprecedented. Ronald Lee, director of the Centre on the Economics and Demography of Ageing at the University of California, Berkeley, puts it briefly and clearly: “We don’t really know what population ageing will be like, because nobody has done it yet. “注意:此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
之2010年12月大学英语六级全真预测试题一及答案解析2010年12月大学英语六级全真预测试题一及答案解析一、选词填空题第1题:Education is a long process that not only provides us with basic skills such as literacy and numeracy, but is also essential in shaping our future lives. From the moment we enter 1 as small children, and as we progress through primary and secondary education, we are laying the foundation for the life ahead of us. We must2 ourselves to work hard so that we can pass exams and gain the qualifications we will need to3 a good job. We must also acquire 4 life skills so that we can fit in and work with those around us. And of course health education helps us to understand how we can stay 5 and healthy.For most people, this process ends when they are in their mid-to-late teens. For others, however, it is the beginning of a(n)6 of learning. After they finish school, many progress to 7 education where they will learn more useful skills such as computer literacy or basic business management. Others will enroll in a program of 8 education at a university where, with hard work, they will have the opportunity to graduate after three or four years with a well-earned degree. After that, they may work for a while before 9 to study for a higher degree—an M.A., for example, or a PhD. And if they live a long way from a college or university, they might follow a correspondence course using mail and the Internet. In fact, it is 10 due to the proliferation of computers that many people, who have not been near a school for many years, have started to study again and can proudly class themselves as mature students.[A] changing [I] discipline[B] secure [J] fit[C] longer [K] opting[D] kindergarten [L] school[E] higher [M] valuable[F] lifetime [N] heavily[G] deepen [O] further[H] largely【参考答案】:DIBMJFOEKH二、阅读理解第2题:The Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday that it is trying to track down as many as 386 piglets that may have been genetically engineered and wrongfully sold into the U.S. food supply.The focus of the FDA investigation is on pigs raised by researchers at the University ofIllinois in Urbana Champaign. They engineered the animals with two genes: one is a cow gene that increases milk production in the sow; the other, a synthetic gene, makes the milk easier for piglets to digest. The goal was to raise bigger pigs faster.There has been no evidence that either genetically altered plants or animals actually trigger human illness, but critics warn that potential side effects remain unknown. University officials say their tests showed the piglets were not born with the altered genes, but FDA rules require even the offspring of genetically engineered animals to be destroyed so they won't get into the food supply.The FDA, in a quickly arranged news conference on Wednesday prompted by inquiries by USA TODAY, said the University of Illinois would face possible sanctions and fines for selling the piglets to a livestock broker, who in turn sold them to processing plants.Both the FDA and the university say the pigs that entered the market do not pose a risk to consumers. But the investigation follows action by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in December to fine a Texas company that contaminated 500,000 bushels of soybeans with corn that had been genetically altered to produce a vaccine for pigs.Critics see such cases as evidence of the need for more government oversight of a burgeoning(新兴的)area of scientific research. "This is a small incident, but it's incidents like this that could destroy consumer confidence and export confidence," says Stephanie Childs of the Grocery Manufacturers of America. "We already have Europe shaky on biotech. The countries to which we export are going to look at this."The University of Illinois says it tested the DNA of every piglet eight times to make sure that the animal hadn't inherited the genetic engineering of its mother. Those piglets that did were put back into the study. Those that didn't were sold to the pig broker. "Any pig that was tested negative for the genes since 1999 has been sent off to market," says Charles Zukoski, vice chancellor for research.But FDA deputy commissioner Lester Crawford says that under the terms of the university's agreement with the FDA, the researchers were forbidden to remove the piglets without FDA approval. "The University of Illinois failed to check with FDA to see whether or not the animals could be sold on the open market. And they were not to be used under any circumstance for food."The FDA is responsible for regulating and overseeing transgenic animals because such genetic manipulation is considered an unapproved animal drug.1. The 386 piglets wrongfully sold into food supply are from ________.[A] Europe [B] an American research organization[C] a meat processing plant [D] an animal farm2. The purpose of the transgenic engineering research is to ________.[A] get pigs of larger size in a shorter time[B] make sows produce more milk[C] make cows produce more milk[D] make pigs grow more lean meat3. The 4th paragraph shows that the University of Illinois ________.[A] was criticized by the FDA[B] is in great trouble[C] is required by the FDA to call back the sold piglets[D] may have to pay the penalty4. The FDA declares that the wrongfully sold piglets ________.[A] may have side effects on consumers [B] may be harmful to consumers[C] are safe to consumers [D] may cause human illness5. It can be inferred from this passage that ________.[A] all the offspring have their mothers' genetic engineering[B] part of the offspring have their mothers' genetic engineering[C] none of the offspring have their mothers' genetic engineering[D] half of the offspring have their mothers' genetic engineering1小题>、【正确答案】:B2小题>、【正确答案】:A3小题>、【正确答案】:D4小题>、【正确答案】:C5小题>、【正确答案】:B【参考解析】:1.B 推断题。
2010年12月大学英语六级考试真题Part I Writing (30 minutes)Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled My Views on University Ranking. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.1. 目前高校排名相当盛行;2. 对于这种做法人们看法不一;3. 在我看来……My Views on University RankingPart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Into the UnknownThe world has never seen population ageing before. Can it cope?Until the early 1990s nobody much thought about whole populations getting older. The UN had the foresight to convene a “world assembly on ageing” back in 1982, but that came and went. By 1994 the World Bank had noticed that something big was happening. In a report entitled “Averting the Old Age Crisis”, it argued that pension arrangements in most countries were unsustainable.For the next ten years a succession of books, mainly by Americans, sounded the alarm. They had titles like Young vs Old, Gray Dawn and The Coming Generational Storm, and their message was blunt: health-care systems were heading for the rocks, pensioners were taking young people to the cleaners, and soon there would be intergenerational warfare.Since then the debate has become less emotional, not least because a lot more is known about the subject. Books, conferences and research papers have multiplied. International organisations such as the OECD and the EU issue regular reports. Population ageing is on every agenda, from G8 economic conferences to NATO summits. The World Economic Forum plans to consider the future of pensions and health care at its prestigious Davos conference early next year. The media, including this newspaper, are giving the subject extensive coverage.Whether all that attention has translated into sufficient action is another question. Governments in rich countries now accept that their pension and health-care promises will soon become unaffordable, and many of them have embarked on reforms, but so far only timidly. That is not surprising: politicians with an eye on the next election will hardly rush to introduce unpopular measures that may not bear fruit for years, perhaps decades.The outline of the changes needed is clear. To avoid fiscal (财政) meltdown, public pensions and health-care provision will have to be reined back severely and taxes may have to go up. By far themost effective method to restrain pension spending is to give people the opportunity to work longer, because it increases tax revenues and reduces spending on pensions at the same time. It may even keep them alive longer. John Rother, the AARP’s head of policy and strategy, points to studies showing that other things being equal, people who remain at work have lower death rates than their retired peers.Younger people today mostly accept that they will have to work for longer and that their pensions will be less generous. Employers still need to be persuaded that older workers are worth holding on to. That may be because they have had plenty of younger ones to choose from, partly thanks to the post-war baby-boom and partly because over the past few decades many more women have entered the labour force, increasing employers’ choice. But the reservoir of women able and willing to take up paid work is running low, and the baby-boomers are going grey.In many countries immigrants have been filling such gaps in the labour force as have already emerged (and remember that the real shortage is still around ten years off). Immigration in the developed world is the highest it has ever been, and it is making a useful difference. In still-fertile America it currently accounts for about 40% of total population growth, and in fast-ageing western Europe for about 90%.On the face of it, it seems the perfect solution. Many developing countries have lots of young people in need of jobs; many rich countries need helping hands that will boost tax revenues and keep up economic growth. But over the next few decades labour forces in rich countries are set to shrink so much that inflows of immigrants would have to increase enormously to compensate: to at least twice their current size in western Europe’s most youthful countries, and three times in the older ones. Japan would need a large multiple of the few immigrants it has at present. Public opinion polls show that people in most rich countries already think that immigration is too high. Further big increases would be politically unfeasible.To tackle the problem of ageing populations at its root, “old”countries would have to rejuvenate (使年轻) themselves by having more of their own children. A number of them have tried, some more successfully than others. But it is not a simple matter of offering financial incentives or providing more child care. Modern urban life in rich countries is not well adapted to large families. Women find it hard to combine family and career. They often compromise by having just one child.And if fertility in ageing countries does not pick up? It will not be the end of the world, at least not for quite a while yet, but the world will slowly become a different place. Older societies may be less innovative and more strongly disinclined to take risks than younger ones. By 2025 at the latest, about half the voters in America and most of those in western European countries will be over 50—and older people turn out to vote in much greater number than younger ones. Academic studies have found no evidence so far that older voters have used their power at the ballot box to push for policies that specifically benefit them, though if in future there are many more of them they might start doing so.Nor is there any sign of the intergenerational warfare predicted in the 1990s. After all, older people themselves mostly have families. In a recent study of parents and grown-up children in 11 European countries, Karsten Hank of Mannheim University found that 85% of them lived within 25km of each other and the majority of them were in touch at least once a week.Even so, the shift in the centre of gravity to older age groups is bound to have a profound effect on societies, not just economically and politically but in all sorts of other ways too. RichardJackson and Neil Howe of America’s CSIS, in a thoughtful b ook called The Graying of the Great Powers, argue that, among other things, the ageing of the developed countries will have a number of serious security implications.For example, the shortage of young adults is likely to make countries more reluctant to commit the few they have to military service. In the decades to 2050, America will find itself playing an ever-increasing role in the developed world’s defence effort. Because America’s population will still be growing when that of most other developed countries is shrinking, America will be the only developed country that still matters geopolitically (地缘政治上).Ask me in 2020There is little that can be done to stop population ageing, so the world will have to live with it. But some of the consequences can be alleviated. Many experts now believe that given the right policies, the effects, though grave, need not be catastrophic. Most countries have recognised the need to do something and are beginning to act.But even then there is no guarantee that their efforts will work. What is happening now is historically unprecedented. Ronald Lee, director of the Centre on the Economics and Demography of Ageing at the University of California, Berkeley, puts it briefly and clearly: “We don’t really know what population ageing will be like, because nobody has done it yet. “注意:此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
⽂都英语六级:2010年12⽉⼤学英语六级全真预测试题⼆答案解析Part I Writing 【话题分析】 ⼤学⽣消费是⽬前家长及教育界⽐较关注的问题,它所反应的不仅仅是花钱这⼀表⾯现象,⽽是隐藏在这⼀现象之后的⼤学⽣的价值观、⾦钱观等思想层⾯的问题。
【范⽂解析】 Nowadays the campus students seem to have no idea of how money comes from, and not to care about their expenditure. They buy whatever they like for themselves, also for their friends, paying no attention to how much these things cost。
Some people say that it is not a problem for college students to spend much. After all, the society is progressing and the life is being enriched. With the living standard being raised, it is reasonable to improve the expenditure of students. There is nothing to blame。
For me, it is not just a habit of spending more money; it is a reflection of students' outlook on money and value. The students get money from their parents so easily that they have no idea of earning money with their hard work and effort, thus developing an awareness that they want to get things but are unwilling to work hard for their goal. Definitely, that is harmful. The campus students can improve their lives, but with the money earned by themselves。
Part Ⅰ作文题目:1.目前高校排名相当盛行2.对于这种做法,人们看法不一3.我认为...(作文参考范文:略~ 自己掂量吧!>@< 哈)Part Ⅱ快速阅读1.A .not be sustained in the long term.2.B .Intergenerational conflicts will intensify.3.D.politicians are afraid of losing votes in the next election。
4.A.allow people to work longer。
5.D .younger workers are readily available6.B.large numbers of immigrants from overseas7.B.They find it hard to balance career and family.8.take risks9.mostly have families10.military servicePart Ⅲ听力11.A.The man is the manager of the apartment building 12.B.How the pictures will turn out.13.C.The suitcase can be fixed in time.14.B.He needs a vehicle to be used in harsh weather.15.A.She has made up her mind to resign.16.D.Replace the shirt with one of some other material.17.D.At a “Lost and Found”18.C.Convert in into a hotel19.D.Careful pplotting and ciueing.20.D.To be entirely alone.21.C.They look at the world in a detached manner.22.B.Like it or not, you have to use them.23.D.The monopoly of British Railways.24. B .Competition from other modes of transport.25.D.They lose a lot of money.26.C.Many coastal cities will be coveied.27.B.How unstable the West Antarctic ice sheet is.28.A.It collapsed at least once in the past 1.3 million years. 29.A.The West Antarctic region was once an open ocean. 30.B.Whether a deleted photo is immediately removed from the web.31.B.The way they store data.32.C.When the URL is reused.33.A.Some iced coffees have as many calories as a hot dinner. 34.B.Exercies at the gym.35.C.Many cancer cases could be prevented.36.diverse.37.tragic.38.commit.39.outcome.40.scale.41.colleagues42.accurate43.averages44.Students with high hope set themselves higher goals and know how to work to attain them.45.went beyond the simple notion that hope is merely the sense that everything will turn out all right46.Having hope means believing you have both the will and the way to accomplish your goals whatever they may be."原文:Psychologists are finding that hope plays a surprisingly vital role in giving people a measurable advantage in zones of 36.diverse as academic achievement, bearing up in tough jobs and coping with tragic illness. And by contrast, the loss o..Psychologists are finding that hope plays a surprisingly vital role in giving people a measurable advantage in zones of diverse as academic achievement, bearing up in tough jobs and coping with 37.tragic illness. And by contrast, the loss of hope is turning out to be a stronger sign that a person may 38.commit suicide than other factors long thought to be more likely risks."Hope’s proved a powerful predictor of 39.outcome in every study we’ve done so far.” said Doctor Charles R Snider. A psychologist who has devi sed a 40.scale to assess how much hope a person has. For example, in research with 3920 college students, Doctor Snider and his 41.colleagues found that the level of hope among freshmen at the beginning of their first semester was a more 42.accurate predictor of their college grades than were their SAT scores or their grade point 43.averages in high school-the two measures most commonly used to predict college performance."44.Students with high hope set themselves higher goals and know how to work to attain them.” Doctor Snider said. When you compare students of equivalent intelligence and past academic achievements, what sets them apart is hope.In devising a way to assess hope scientifically, Doctor Snider 45.went beyond the simple notion that hope is merely the sense that everything will turn out all right. That notion is not concrete enough and it blurs two keycomponen ts of hope.” Doctor Snider said,"46.Having hope means believing you have both the will and the way to accomplish your goals whatever they may be."PartⅣ阅读SECTIONA47.feminine and weak48.lose composure49.stress-related disorders50.their relationship with partners51.AggressiveSECTIONB(1)52. A .solve virtually existing all problems53.D.They realized that science and technology alone were no guarantee for a better world.54.C.America is lagging behind in the STEMS disciplines. 55.A.Insufficient funding.56. C .Humanistic thinking helps cultivate and define our culture and values.(2)57.D.It will be some time before a new Einstein emerges.58.B.His independent and abstract thinking59.D.They often go into fields yielding greater financial benefits. 60.D.Nobody will read papers on apparently ridiculous theories. 61.B.was little known in academic circlesPartⅤ完形填空62. B set out set out plans63. D abandoning abandon64. A with struggle with65. B intends intend to66. A exceeded67. A on68. D charge69. C such as70. B free71. C acknowledged72. C bet73. C circulation74. A behind75. B While76. D claim77. C maintains78. A like79. D serious80. C suffered81. D loanPart Ⅵ翻译82.There is no denying that you ___________(越仔细越好) in dealing with this matter.无可否认,处理这件事,越仔细越好。
2010年12月大学英语六级考试真题(附听力原文)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled My Views on University Ranking. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below. 1. 目前高校排名相当盛行; 2. 对于这种做法人们看法不一; 3. 在我看来……My Views on University RankingPart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Into the Unknown The world has never seen population ageing before. Can it cope? Until the early 1990s nobody much thought about whole populations getting older. The UN had the foresight to convene a “world assembly on ageing” back in 1982, but that came and went. By 1994 the World Bank had noticed that something big was happening. In a report entitled “Averting the Old Age Crisis”, it argued that pension arrangements in most countries were unsustainable. For the next ten years a succession of books, mainly by Americans, sounded the alarm. They had titles like Young vs Old, Gray Dawn and The Coming Generational Storm, and their message was blunt: health-care systems were heading for the rocks, pensioners were taking young people to the cleaners, and soon there would be intergenerational warfare. Since then the debate has become less emotional, not least because a lot more is known about the subject. Books, conferences and research papers have multiplied. International organisations such as the OECD and the EU issue regular reports. Population ageing is on every agenda, from G8 economic conferences to NATO summits. The World Economic Forum plans to consider the future of pensions and health care at its prestigious Davos conference early next year. The media, including this newspaper, are giving the subject extensive coverage. Whether all that attention has translated into sufficient action is another question. Governments in rich countries now accept that their pension and health-care promises will soon become unaffordable, and many of them have embarked on reforms, but so far only timidly. That is not surprising: politicians with an eye on the next election will hardly rush to introduce unpopular measures that may not bear fruit for years, perhaps decades. The outline of the changes needed is clear. To avoid fiscal (财政) meltdown, public pensions and health-care provision will have to be reined back severely and taxes may have to go up. By far the most effective method to restrain pension spending is to give people the opportunity to work longer, because it increases tax revenues and reduces spending on pensions at the same time. It may even keep them alive longer. John Rother, the AARP’s head of policy and strategy, points to studies showing that other things being equal, people who remain at work have lower death rates than their retired peers. Younger people today mostly accept that they will have to work for longer and that their pensions will be less generous. Employers still need to be persuaded that older workers are worth holding on to. That may be because they have had plenty of younger ones to choose from, partly thanks to the post-war baby-boom and partly because over the past few decades many more women have entered the labour force, increasing employers’ choice. But the reservoir of women able and willing to take up paid work is running low, and the baby-boomers are going grey. In many countries immigrants have been filling such gaps in the labour force as have already emerged (and remember that the real shortage is still around ten years off). Immigration in the developed world is the highest it has ever been, and it is making a useful difference. In still-fertile America it currently accounts for about 40% of total population growth, and in fast-ageing western Europe for about 90%. On the face of it, it seems the perfect solution. Many developing countries have lots of young people in need of jobs; many rich countries need helping hands that will boost tax revenues and keep up economic growth. But over the next few decades labour forces in rich countries are set to shrink so much that inflows of immigrants would have to increase enormously to compensate: to at least twice their current size in western Europe’s most youthful countries, and three times in the older ones. Japan would need a large multiple of the few immigrants it has at present. Public opinion polls show that people in most rich countries already think that immigration is too high. Further big increases would be politically unfeasible. To tackle the problem of ageing populations at its root, “old” countries would have to rejuvenate (使年轻) themselves by having more of their own children. A number of them have tried, some more successfully than others. But it is not a simple matter of offering financial incentives or providing more child care. Modern urban life in rich countries is not well adapted to large families. Women find it hard to combine family and career. They often compromise by having just one child. And if fertility in ageing countries does not pick up? It will not be the end of the world, at least not for quite a while yet, but the world will slowly become a different place. Older societies may be less innovative and more strongly disinclined to take risks than younger ones. By 2025 at the latest, about half the voters in America and most of those in western European countries will be over 50—and older people turn out to vote in much greater number than younger ones. Academic studies have found no evidence so far that older voters have used their power at the ballot box to push for policies that specifically benefit them, though if in future there are many more of them they might start doing so. Nor is there any sign of the intergenerational warfare predicted in the 1990s. After all, older people themselves mostly have families. In a recent study of parents and grown-up children in 11 European countries, Karsten Hank of Mannheim University found that 85% of them lived within 25km of each other and the majority of them were in touch at least once a week. Even so, the shift in the centre of gravity to older age groups is bound to have a profound effect on societies, not just economically and politically but in all sorts of other ways too. Richard Jackson and Neil Howe of America’s CSIS, in a thoughtful book called The Graying of the Great Powers, argue that, among other things, the ageing of the developed countries will have a number of serious security implications. For example, the shortage of young adults is likely to make countries more reluctant to commit the few they have to military service. In the decades to 2050, America will find itself playing an ever-increasing role in the developed world’s defence effort. Because America’s population will still be growing when that of most other developed countries is shrinking, America will be the only developed country that still matters geopolitically (地缘政治上). Ask me in 2020 There is little that can be done to stop population ageing, so the world will have to live with it. But some of the consequences can be alleviated. Many experts now believe that given the right policies, the effects, though grave, need not be catastrophic. Most countries have recognised the need to do something and are beginning to act. But even then there is no guarantee that their efforts will work. What is happening now is historically unprecedented. Ronald Lee, director of the Centre on the Economics and Demography of Ageing at the University of California, Berkeley, puts it briefly and clearly: “We don’t really know what population ageing will be like,because nobody has done it yet. “ 注意:此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
2010年12月英语六级考试模拟卷(2)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: Overseas Study at an Early Age. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below:1. 目前很多父母在子女高中毕业前就送他们出国学习2. 形成这种趋势的原因3. 我对此的看法考试大论坛Overseas Study at an Early AgePart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-4, markY (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage;NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.For question 5-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.The Next Disaster: Are We Ready?Are We Really Prepared?After the attacks on September 11 and the hurricanes that slammed the Gulf Coast last year, you'd expect our major cities to be ready with disaster plans that will save lives and property. There's no doubt we'll be hit again—maybe even harder—because the list of possible calamities(灾难)is long: from a bird flu pandemic to a massive California earthquake, to more monster storms, to another terrorist attack.But are we really prepared to protect people, as well as their homes and businesses? Every major urban area has received federal funding, much of it from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in order to make their cities more secure. But there are no set criteria for measuring preparedness (the feds are working on that), and the quality of disaster plans varies widely throughout the country.So we decided to do an independent assessment of 10 high-risk urban areas, focusing onkey security indicators. We analyzed public data, consulted with federal and local emergency workers, and contacted the mayors' offices to gauge(测量)the readiness of these cities to meet both natural and man-made disasters.Our criteria fell under three main categories: Emergency Readiness, Crisis Communications, and Medical Response.Emergency ReadinessAre there at least 1,000 first responders (such as police, fire and EMTs) per 100,000 residents? They're our first line of protection in almost any disaster situation—professionals who are trained to handle everything from rescuing victims to providing first aid, to enforcing quarantines(封锁), to directing traffic for evacuations(疏散).Are there federal search-and-rescue teams based within 50 miles? Large cities often have specialized teams to deal with such things as high-rise-building rescues or hazardous chemical spills. But these squads are sometimes small, ill-equipped, or run on a shoestring. This is not true of federal urban search-and-rescue task forces that the DHS supports across the country. Each task force is made of 62 members and 4 canines, as well as a "comprehensive cache" of equipment. DHS task forces are not automatically assigned; a city needs to apply and present its case.Has the city or state earned "green status" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? Suppose that in the midst of a flu pandemic or bio terror attack, your city ran low on critical medicines. The CDC stands ready to help by distributing drugs and medical equipment from its Strategic National Stockpile. But the agency wants to know that a city or state is able to quickly mobilize hundreds of health workers and volunteers trained to handle the logistics, and has space set aside for storage and refrigeration. You're best off if your city has earned the CDC's "green status"—even if the state itself has not—because it means local health teams can handle the supplies on their own.Does the city website explain clearly what to do in case of evacuation? Who can forget the images of stranded New Orleans residents, or the 5-mph crawl out of Houston? It turned out that New Orleans's evacuation plans were both inadequate and poorly communicated. One way cities can avoid a similar nightmare is to put clear and easy-to-find evacuation information on their websites. Some cities, such as Boston and Washington, post the preferred street routes. Others,like Las Vegas, won't disclose details due to security fears, but their websites may provide ways to quickly get evacuation details when you need them (such as numbers to call or alert services you can sign up for). Among the more important things to address are people without vehicles of their own (a huge failing in New Orleans) and instructions for pet owners.Does the website include details for residents with special needs? In July 1995, a vicious heat wave killed nearly 500 people in Chicago; a disproportionate number of them were older residents who lived alone. In any crisis, the elderly and disabled can be uniquely vulnerable. That's why cities such as Houston are creating registries of residents who would need special help. Such lists would indicate, for instance, that a certain person in a certain apartment building is wheel-chair-bound. Other cities are instructing people with disabilities to call 911 for assistance—though this relies on phone systems that could be overloaded or go dead. If a city's disaster planning shows no awareness of special-needs people, it isn't complete.Crisis CommunicationsCan first responders—police, fire and medical—talk to one another? On September 11, firefighters died inside the World Trade Center because they could not make contact with police helicopters trying to radio warnings. Incompatible communications is a country-wide problem, and converting or replacing decades-old radio systems can be a long, expensive process. Cities have gotten a big boost if they've taken part in RapidCom, a DHS program providing technical assistance and training that speeds up the transition.Has the city adopted E911? Many cities have upgraded their 911 call centers in recent years, but they're even better prepared if they've incorporated "E911" (or "enhanced 911"). This technology enables emergency operators to identify the precise location of cell-phone callers through GPS systems. If you wind up stranded in floodwaters, E911 could save your life.Does the city provide 24-hour emergency alerts? What if an evacuation order goes out, but it's 3 a.m. and you're sound asleep? Not a problem if your city has a way of alerting you at any time of day. Some rely on street sirens(警报器)to do the trick. Others have used their websites to invite residents to sign up for e-mail notifications or automated phone calls in an emergency.Medical ResponseAre there at least 500 hospital beds for every 100,000 residents? Getting to victims quickly is a critical first step. But you'd better have a place to take them for treatment. A reasonablestandard, according to preparedness experts, is 500 hospital beds for every 100,000 people—a ratio that would likely mean a city could find enough spare beds in an emergency. Of course, beds alone won't s help a massive number of burn victims or people suffering from chemical exposure unless the hospital is prepared to treat them. But all the cities in our survey have specialty units in their hospitals that can handle such cases.Are local teams trained to respond quickly and work together? If and urban area was targeted by weapons of mass destruction, city health officials couldn't just wait for federal help to arrive. First responders and hospital would need to react right away. They could also need medical volunteers—say, to help vaccinate people or distribute medicines and supplies. How to ensure that all these professionals and volunteers work together as seamlessly as possible? If a city is part of DHS's Metropolitan Medical Response System, it has obtained federal assistance in developing plans, and has received critical training and equipment.Are there labs nearby that specialize in biological and chemical threats? The CDC is on the cutting edge with its Laboratory Response Network—integrated labs nationwide that have the equipment and expertise to quickly identify pathogens and toxic chemicals. An LRN lab in Florida was the first to detect anthrax(炭疽热)in terrorist mailings in 2001. Laboratories can be members only if they have highly trained staff and exceptional facilities, as well as track record of testing accuracy. A handful of LRN labs qualify as "Level 1", meaning they can test for chemical poisons such as mustard and nerve agents.1. A bird flu, a massive earthquake, a monster storm and a terrorist attack are all threats to major cities in the U.S.2. The author does an assessment of all high-risk urban areas in the U.S.3. Policemen, firemen and emergency doctors all can be called first responders.4. Each federal urban search-and-rescue task force is made up of at least 60 members.5. If a city has earned the CDC's green status "green status", it means that its local health teams can ________ on their own.6. You can get evacuation details through the ways provided by the website of Las Vegas thoughit doesn't disclose the details due to ________.7. Incompatible communications is a country-wide problem in the U.S. because of the ________ which should be converted or replaced.8. Emergency operators can identify the precise location of cell-phone callers through GPS systems with the use of ________.9. According to preparedness experts, if a city has at least 500 hospital beds for every 100,000 residents, it could find ________ in an emergency.10. As a part of DHS's Metropolitan Medical Response System, a city can obtain ________ indeveloping plansPart III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 8short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked. [A], [B], [C] and [D], and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.11. [A] $80. [B] $60. [C] $90. [D] $15.12. [A] He loves his present work. [B] He is going to open a store.[C] He is about to retire. [D] He works in a repair shop.13. [A] Mary is going to Hawaii. [B] Mary has been to many countries.[C] Mary likes postcards. [D] Mary is traveling on business.14. [A] To save the money for a long time.[B] To buy a new car.[C] To purchase a used car.[D] To get a second car.15. [A] Delivery service manager and driver.[B] Teacher and student.[C] Lawyer and client.[D] Doctor and patient.16. [A] New shopping centers are very common.[B] The shopping center is very old.[C] The city needs more shopping centers.[D] The old house should be turned into stores.17. [A] They are having a party. [B] They are playing the piano.[C] Someone else is having a party. [D] Someone else is funny.18. [A] She was hurt by the man. [B] She lost her temper.[C] She didn't speak to her husband. [D] She missed the dinner party.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19. [A] Computer sales negotiations.[B] A preliminary interview.[C] An Internet seminar meeting.[D] Computer games.20. [A] He managed the sales department.[B] He gave seminars on the Internet.[C] He worked as a custodian.[D] He designed software.21. [A] A web page authoring program.[B] A kind of beverage.[C] A computer game.[D] A kind of software.22. [A] She will call Mr. Taylor in the next few days.[B] She will talk over their discussion with others.[C] She will ask her colleagues to call Mr. Taylor.[D] She will not contact him for further consideration.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23. [A] Raising money. [B] Gathering support from others.[C] Giving speeches. [D] Choosing the official candidate for each political party.24. [A] Interviews. [B] Television ads.[C] Playing with children [D] Speeches.25. [A] There are several small parties in the U.S.[B] There are only two parties in the U.S.[C] The most powerful party in the U.S. is the Democrats.[D] The most powerful party in the U.S. is the Republicans.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear 3 short 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 2 with a single line through the center. Passage OneQuestions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. [A] British. [B] Americans. [C] Germans. [D] Japanese.27. [A] Entirely effective. [B] Totally incorrect.[C] A complete failure. [D] Quite difficult.28. [A] Have a greater sense of duty.[B] Can get higher pay.[C] Can avoid working hard.[D] Can avoid busy traffic.Passage TwoQuestions 29 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.29. [A] A housewife. [B] A singer. [C] A teacher. [D] A musician.30. [A] The violin was too heavy for her.[B] She was too young to play the violin.[C] The violin was too expensive.[D] Her mother wanted her to play the piano.31. [A] To play the violin on a concert.[B] To go to New York City.[C] To apply for a scholarship.[D] To have her performance taped32. [A] In 1928. [B] In 1982. [C] In 1980. [D] In 1920.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33. [A] Winter in Alaska.[B] The brave Alaskan people.[C] Alaskan transportation today.[D] A dog sled race.34. [A] Every year in March. [B] Every other year.[C] From two to three weeks. [D] The winter of 1925.35. [A] Winning. [B] Finding gold. [C] Just to finish. [D] Being able to participate.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.Many workers depend on plans (36) ________ by their employers to help pay for their retirement. There are two major kinds of retirement plans. One is defined by what is paid out, the other by what is paid in.The first is called a defined (37) ________ plan, or pension. It provides set (38) ________ based on the number of years an (39) ________ has worked. These plans often pay for health care and other costs. They might also provide money to family members when the (40) ________ dies.Pensions, however, can be a big cost to employers. In the United States, the change from a (41) ________ economy to a service economy has resulted in fewer and fewer (42) ________ plans.The other major kind of retirement plan is called a defined (43) ________ plan. Two things define how much a worker will get at retirement. (44) ________________________.One popular version is a four-oh-one-k plan, named after a part of the tax law. (45) ________________________.But some plans are very complex. An easier way for small employers to offer retirement savings is through a Savings Incentive Match Plan. (46) ________________________.Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.By the mind-nineteenth century, the term "icebox" had entered the American language, but ice was still only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the United States. The ice trade grew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns(酒馆), and hospitals, and by some forward-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish, and butter. After the Civil War (1861-1865), as ice was used to refrigerate freight cars, it also came into household use. Even before 1880, half of the ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago, went to families for their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience, the icebox, a precursor of the modern fridge, had been invented.Making an efficient icebox as not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century, the knowledge of the physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary(未发展的). The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from melting was of course mistaken, for it was the melting of the ice that performed the cooling. Nevertheless, early efforts to economize ice included wrapping up the ice in blankets, which kept the ice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the nineteenth century did inventors achieve the delicate balance of insulation and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.But as early as 1803, and ingenious Maryland farmer, Thomas Moore, had been on the right track. He owned a farm about twenty miles outside the city of Washington, for which the village of Georgetown was the market center. When he used an icebox of his own design to transport his butter to market, he found that customers would pass up the rapidly melting stuff in the tubs of his competitors to pay a premium price for his butter, still fresh and hard in neat, one-pound bricks. One advantage of his icebox, Moore explained, was that farmers would no longer have to travel to market at night in order to keep their produce cool.47. What is the topic of the passage?48. Where was ice used after the Civil War?49. What was essential to a science of refrigeration according to the passage?50. It can be inferred from the passage that the theoretical foundation of ice box should be that ________.51. Without an ice box, farmers had to go to the market at night because ________.Section BDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.Passage OneQuestions 52 to 66 are based on the following passage.Racket, din clamor, noise. Whatever you want to call it, unwanted sound is America's most widespread nuisance. But noise is more than just a nuisance. It constitutes a real and present danger to people's health. Day and night, at home, at work, and at play, noise can produce serious physical and psychological stress. No one is immune to this stress. Though we seem to adjust to noise by ignoring it, the ear, in fact, never closes and the body still responds—sometimes with extreme tension, as to a strange sound in the night.The annoyance we feel when faced with noise is the most common outward symptom of the stress building up inside us. Indeed, because irritability is so apparent, legislators have made public annoyance the basis of many noise abatement(消除) programs. The more subtle and more serious health hazards associated with stress caused by noise traditionally have been given much less attention. Nevertheless, when we are annoyed or made irritable by noise, we should consider these symptoms fair warning that other things may be happening to us, some of which may be damaging to our health.Of the many health hazards related to noise, hearing loss is the most clearly observable and measurable by health professionals. The other hazards are harder to pin down. For many of us, there may be a risk that exposure to the stress of noise increases susceptibility to disease and infection. The more susceptible among us may experience noise as a complicating factor in heart problems and other diseases. Noise that causes annoyance and irritability in healthy persons mayhave serious consequences for those already ill in mind or body.Noise affects us throughout our lives. For example, there are indications of effects on the unborn child when mothers are exposed to industrial and environmental noise. During infancy and childhood, youngsters exposed to high noise levels may have trouble falling asleep and obtaining necessary amounts of rest.why, then, is there not greater alarm about these dangers? Perhaps it is because the link between noise and many disabilities or diseases has not vet been conclusively demonstrated. Perhaps it is because we tend to dismiss annoyance as a price to pay for living in the modern world. It may also be because we still think of hearing loss as only an occupational hazard.52. The phrase "immune to" (Line 3, Para. 1) are used to mean ________.[A] unaffected by [B] hurt by[C] unlikely to be seen by [D] unknown by53. The author's attitude toward noise would best be described as ________.[A] unrealistic [B] traditional [C] concerned [D] hysterical54. Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?[A] Noise is a major problem; most people recognize its importance.[B] Although noise can be annoying, it is not a major problem.[C] Noise is a major problem and has not yet been recognized as such.[D] Noise is a major problem about which nothing can be done.55. The author condemns noise essentially because it ________.[A] is against the law [B] can make some people irritable[C] is a nuisance [D] is a danger to people's health56. The author would probably consider research about the effects noise has on people to be ___.[A] unimportant [B] impossible[C] a waste of money [D] essentialPassage TwoQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.Freshwater life itself has never come easy in the Middle East. Ever since The Old Testament(旧约全书), God punished man with 40 days and 40 nights of rain. Water supplies here have been dwindling. The rainfall only comes in winter and drains quickly through thesemiarid land, leaving the soil to bake and to thirst for next November.The region's accelerating population, expanding agriculture, industrialization, and higher living standards demand more freshwater. Drought and pollution limit its a availability. War and mismanagement waste it. Said Joyce Starr of the Global Water Summit Initiative, based in Washington, D.C. "Nations like Israel and Jordan are swiftly sliding into that zone where they are suing all the water resources available to them. They have only 15 to 20 years left before their agriculture, and ultimately their food security, is threatened."I came here to examine this crisis in the making, to investigate fears that "water wars" are imminent, that water has replaced oil as the region's most contentious commodity. For more than two months I traveled through three river valleys and seven nations—from southern Turkey down the Euphrates River to Syria, Iraq, and on to Kuwait; to Israel and Jordan, neighbors across the valley of the Jordan; to the timeless Egyptian Nile.Even amid the scarcity there are haves and have-nots. compared with the United States, which in 1990 had freshwater potential of 10,000 cubic meters (2.6 million gallons) a year for each citizen, Iraq had 5,500, Turkey had 4,000, and Syria had more than 2,800. Egypt's potential was only 1,100. Israel had 460. Jordan had a meager 260. But these are not firm figures, because upstream use of river water can dramatically alter the potential downstream.Scarcity is only one element of the crisis. Inefficiency is another, as is the reluctance of some water-poor nations to change priorities from agriculture to less water-intensive enterprises. Some experts suggest that if nations would share both water technology and resources, they could satisfy the region's population, currently 159 million. But in this patchwork of ethnic and religious rivalries, water seldom stands alone as an issue. It is entangled in the politics that keep people from trusting and seeking help from one another. Here, where water, like truth, is precious, each nation tends to find its own water and supply its own truth.As Israeli hydrology professor Uri Shamir told me:" If there is political will for peace, water will not be a hindrance. If you want reasons to fight, water will not be a hindrance. If you want reasons to fight, water will give you ample opportunities."57. Why does the author use the phrase "for next November" (Line 3, Para. 1)?[A] According to the Old Testament freshwater is available only in November.[B] Rainfall comes only in winter starting from November.[C] Running water systems will not be ready until next November.[D] It is a custom in that region that irrigation to crops is done only in November.58. What is NOT the cause for the imminent water war?[A] Lack of water resources. [B] Lack of rainfall.[C] Inefficient use of water. [D] Water has replaced oil.59. One way for the region to use water efficiently is to ________.[A] develop other enterprises that cost less water[B] draw a plan of irrigation for the various nations[C] import water from water-rich nations[D] stop wars of any sort for good and all60. Uri Shamir's viewpoint is that ________.[A] nations in that region are just fighting for water[B] people there are thirsty for peace instead of water[C] water is no problem as long as there is peace[D] those nations have every reason to fight for water61. The author's tone in the article can be described as ________.[A] depressing [B] urgent [C] joking [D] mockingPart V Error Correction (15 minutes)Directions: This part consists of a short passage. In this passage, there are altogether 10 mistakes, one in each numbered line. You may have to change a word, add a word or delete a word. Mark out the mistakes and put the corrections in the blanks provided. If you change a word, cross it out and write the correct word in the corresponding blank. If you add a word, put an insertion mark (∧) in the right place and write the missing word in the blank. If you delete a word, cross it out and put a slash (/) in the blank.Example:Television is rapidly becoming the literature of our periods. 1. time/times/periodMany of the arguments having used for the study of literature 2. /as a school subject are valid for study of television. 3. theThe European Union had approved a number ofgenetically modified crops until late 1998. But growingpublic concern over its supposed environmental and health 62. ________risks led several EU countries to demand a moratorium(暂时禁止)on imports of any new GM produce. By late 1999there were enough such country to block any new approvals 63. ________of GM produce. Last year, America filed a complaint at theWTO about the moratorium, arguing that it was an illegaltrade barrier because there is no scientific base for it. 64. ________As more studies have been completed on the effects ofGM crops, the greens' case for them has weakened. 65. ________Much evidence has emerged of health risks from eating them. 66. ________And, overall, the studies have shown that the environmentaleffects on modified crops are not always as serious as the 67. ________greens claim. Nevertheless, environmentalists continue to findfault of such studies and argue that they are inconclusive. 68. ________While Americans seem be happy enough to consume 69. ________food made from GM crops, opinion polls continue to showtht European consumers dislike the idea. Europeans seem betaking the attitude which, since there remains the slightest 70. ________possibility of adverse consequences and since it is clear how 71. ________they, as consumers, benefit from GM crops, they wouldrather not run the risk.Part VI Translation (5 minutes)Directions: Complete the following sentences on Answer Sheet 2 by translating into English the Chinese given in brackets.72. The Grand Canyon is ________________(最宽处达两万四千米).73. If you had followed my advice, ________________(你现在就能完成工作了).74. In view of the practical need of society, ________________(有越来越多的人对学习英语感兴趣).75. A good book is a best friend ________________(从不拒绝我们).76. It was not until last Friday ________________(他读完了他妈妈送给他的那本书).。