2009年12月英语六级阅读理解全真模拟题(二)
Unit 3Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
(35 minutes)
Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. 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 the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War Ⅰ and instituted austerity(紧缩) programs to reduce their imports. The result was a sharp drop in farm prices. This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient. They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods. The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell. These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1930s.
In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized. It established the principle of direct interference with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers.
President Hoover's successor attached even more importance to this problem. One of the first measures proposed by President Franklin D.Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was subsequently passed by Congress. This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use. A deliberate scarcity of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices. This law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people. However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result ofresting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation. The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation's soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens. Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid(杂交) grain, and fertilizers.
21. What brought about the decline in the demand for American farm products?
A) The impact of the Great Depression.
B) The shrinking of overseas markets.
C) The destruction caused by the First World War.
D) The increased exports of European countries.
22. The chief concern of the American government in the area of agriculturein the 1920s was .
A) to increase farm production
B) to establish agricultural laws
C) to prevent farmers from going bankrupt
D) to promote the mechanization of agriculture
23. The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to .
A) reduce their scale of production
B) make full use of their land
C) adjust the prices of their farm products
D) be self-sufficient in agricultural production
24. The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act .
A) might cause greater scarcity of farm products
B) didn't give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power
C) would benefit neither the government nor the farmers
D) benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others
25. It was claimed that the new laws passed during the Roosevelt Administration were aimedat .
A) reducing the cost of farming
B) conserving soil in the long-term interest of the nation
C) lowering the burden of farmers
D) helping farmers without shifting the burden onto other taxpayers
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
In the 1950s, the pioneers of artificial intelligence(AI) predicted that, by the end of this century, computers would be conversing with us at work and robots would be performing our housework. But as useful as computers are, they're nowhere close to achieving anything remotely resembling these early aspirations for humanlike behavior. Never mind something as complex as conversation: the most powerful computers struggle to reliably recognize the shape of an object, the most elementary of tasks for a ten-month-old kid.
A growing group of AI researchers think they know where the field went wrong. The problem, the scientists say, is that AI has been trying to separate the highest, most abstract levels of thought, like language and mathematics, and to duplicate them with logical, step-by-step programs. A new movement in AI, on the other hand, takes a closer look at the more roundabout way in which nature came up with intelligence. Many of these researchers study evolution and natural adaptation instead of formal logic and conventional computer programs. Rather than digital computers and transistors, some want to work with brain cells and proteins. The results of these early efforts are as promising as they are peculiar, and the new nature-based AI movement is slowly but surely moving to the forefront of the field.
Imitating the brain's neural (神经的)network is a huge step in the right direction, says computer scientist and biophysicist Michael Conrad, but it still misses an important aspect of natural intelligence. “people tend to treat the brain as if it were made up of color-coded transistors,” he explains. “But it's not simply a clever network of switches. There are lots of important things going on inside the brain cells themselves.” Specifically, Conrad believes that many of the brain’s capabilities stem from the pattern-recognition proficiency of the individual molecules that make up each brain cell. The best way to build an artificially intelligent device, he claims, would be to build it around the same sort of molecular skills.
Right now, the notion that conventional computers and software are fundamentally incapable of matching the processes that take place in the brain remains controversial. But if it proves true, then the efforts of Conrad and his fellow AI rebels could turn out to be the only game in town.
26. The author says that the powerful computers of today .
A) are capable of reliably recognizing the shape of an object
B) are close to exhibiting humanlike behavior
C) are not very different in their performance from those of the 50's
D) still cannot communicate with people in a human language
27. The new trend in artificial intelligence research stems from .
A) the shift of the focus of study on to the recognition of the shapes of objects
B) the belief that human intelligence cannot be duplicated with logical, step-by-step programs
C) the aspirations of scientists to duplicate the intelligence of a ten-month-old child
D) the efforts made by scientists in the study of the similarities between transistors and brain cells
28. Conrad and his group of AI researchers have been making enormous efforts to .
A) find a roundabout way to design powerful computers
B) build a computer using a clever network of switches
C) find out how intelligence developed in nature
D) separate the highest and most abstract levels of thought
29. What's the author's opinion about the new AI movement?
A) It has created a sensation among artificial intelligence researchers but will soon die out.
B) It's a breakthrough in duplicating human thought processes.
C) It's more like a peculiar game rather than a real scientific effort.
D) It may prove to be in the right direction though nobody is sure of its future prospects.
30. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase “the only game in town” (line 3, Para.4)?
A) The only approach to building an artificially intelligent computer.
B) The only way for them to win a prize in artificial intelligence research.
C) The only area worth studying in computer science.
D) The only game they would like to play in town.
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage: お
Cars account for half the oil consumed in the U.S., about half the urban pollution and one fourth the greenhouse(温室) gases. They take a similar toll of (损耗) resources in other industrial nations and in the cities of the developing world. As vehicle use continues to increase in the coming decade, the U.S. and other countries will have to deal with these issues or else face unacceptable economic, health-related and political costs. It is unlikely that oil prices will remain at their current low level or that other nations will accept a large and growing U.S. contribution to global climatic change.
Policymakers and industry have four options: reduce vehicle use, increase the efficiency and reduce the emissions of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, switch to less harmful fuels, or find less polluting driving systems. The last of these—in particular the introduction of vehicles powered by electricity—is ultimately the only sustainable option. The other alternatives are attractive in theory but in practice are either impractical or offer only marginal improvements. For example, reduced vehicle use could solve traffic problems and a host of social and environmental problems, but evidence from around the world suggests that it is very difficult to make people give up their cars to any significant extent. In the U.S., mass-transit ridership and carpooling(合伙用车) have declined since World War Ⅱ. Even in western Europe, with fuel prices averaging more than 1 a liter(about 4 a gallon) and with easily accessible mass transit and dense populations, cars still account for 80 percent of all passenger travel.
Improved energy efficiency is also appealing, but automotive fuel economy has barely made any progress in 10 years. Alternative fuels such as natural gas, burned in internal-combustion engines, could be introduced at relatively low cost, but they would lead to only marginal reductions in pollution and greenhouse emissions(especially because oil companies are already spending billions of dollars every year to do develop less pollution types of gasoline.)
31. From the passage we know that the increased use of cars will .
A) consume half of the oil produced in the world
B) have serious consequences for the well-being of all nations
C) widen the gap between the developed and developing countries
D) impose an intolerable economic burden on residents of large cities
32. The U.S. has to deal with the problems arising from vehicle use because .
A) most Americans are reluctant to switch to public transportation systems
B) the present level of oil prices is considered unacceptable
C) other countries will protest its increasing greenhouse emissions
D) it should take a lead in conserving natural resources
33. Which of the following is the best solution to the problems mentioned in the passage?
A) The designing of highly efficient car engines.
B) A reduction of vehicle use in cities.
C) The development of electric cars.
D) The use of less polluting fuels.
34. Which of the following is practical but only makes a marginal contribution to solving the problem of greenhouse emissions?
A) The use of fuels other than gasoline.
B) Improved energy efficiency.
C) The introduction of less polluting driving systems.
D) Reducing car use by carpooling.
35. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A) The decline of public transportation accounts for increased car use in western Europe.
B) Cars are popular in western Europe even though fuel prices are fairly high.
C) The reduction of vehicle use is the only sustainable option in densely populated western Europe.
D) Western European oil companies cannot sustain the cost of developing new-type fuels.
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
Reebok executives do not like to hear stylish athletic shoes called “footwear for yuppies(雅皮士，少壮高薪职业人士)”. They contend that Reebok shoes appeal to diverse market segments. Especially now that the company offers basketball and children's shoes for the under_18 set and walking shoes for older customers not interested in aerobics (健身操) or running. The executives also point out that through recent acquisitions they have added hiking boots, dress and casual shoes, and high-performance athletic footwear to their product lines, all of which should attract new and varied groups of customers.
Still, despite its emphasis on new markets, Reebok plans few changes in the unmarked(高档消费人群的)retailing network that helped push sales to $1 billion annually, ahead of all other sports shoe marketers. Reebok shoes, which are priced from $27 to $85, will continue to be sold only in better specialty, sporting goods, and department stores, in accordance with the company's view that consumers judge the quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution.
In the past few years, the Massachusetts-based company has imposed limits on the number of its distributors(and the number of shoes supplied to stores), partly out of necessity. At times the unexpected demand for Reeboks exceeded supply, and the company could barely keep up with orders from the dealers it already had. These fulfillment problems seem to be under control now, but the company is still selective about its distributors. At present, Reebok shoes are available in about five thousand retail stores in the United States.
Reebok has already anticipated that walking shoes will be the next fitness-related craze replacing aerobics shoes the same way its brightly colored, soft leather exercise footwear replaced conventional running shoes. Through product diversification and careful market research, Reebok hopes to avoid the distribution problems Nike came across several years ago, when Nike misjudged the strength of the aerobics shoe craze and was forced to unload huge inventories of running shoes through discount stores.
36. One reason why Reebok's managerial personnel don't like their shoes to be called “footwear for yuppies” is that .
A) they believe that their shoes are popular with people of different age groups
B) new production lines have been added to produce inexpensive shoes
C) “yuppies” usually evokes a negative image
D) the term makes people think of prohibitive prices
37. Reebok's view that “consumers judge the quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution” (Line 5, para. 2) implies that .
A) the quality of a brand is measured by the service quality of the store selling it
B) the quality of a product determines the quality of its distributors
C) the popularity of a brand is determined by the stores that sell it.
D) consumers believe that first-rate products are only sold by high-quality stores
38.Reebok once had to limit the number of its distributors because .
A) its supply of products fell short of demand
B) too many distributors would cut into its profits
C) the reduction of distributors could increase its share of the market
D) it wanted to enhance consumer confidence in its products
39. Although the Reebok Company has solved the problem of fulfilling its orders, it .
A) does not want to further expand its retailing network
B) still limits the number of shoes supplied to stores
C) is still particular about who sells its products
D) still carefully chooses the manufacturers of its products
40. What lesson has Reebok learned from Nike's distribution problems? A) A company should not sell its high quality shoes in discount stores.
B) A company should not limit its distribution network.
C) A company should do follow-up surveys of its products.
D) A company should correctly evaluate the impact of a new craze on the market.
Unit3
21.B 22.C 23.A 24.D 25.B 26.D 27.B 28.C 29.D 30.A
31.B 32.C 33.C 34.A 35.B 36.A 37.D 38.A 39.C 40.D
Unit 4
Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
(35 minutes)
Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. 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 the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.
Birds that are literally half-asleep─with one brain hemisphere alert and the other sleeping─control which side of the brain remains awake, according to a new study of sleeping ducks.
Earlier studies have documented half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds. The brain hemispheres take turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves. The eye controlled by the sleeping hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere’s eye stays open and alert. Birds also can sleep with both hemispheres resting at once.
Decades of studies of bird flocks led researchers to predict extra alertness in the more vulnerable, end-of-the-row sleepers. Sure enough, the end birds tended to watch carefully on the side away from their companions. Ducks in the inner spots showed no preference for gaze direction.
Also, birds dozing(打盹) at the end of the line resorted to single-hemisphere sleep, rather than total relaxation, more often than inner ducks did. Rotating 16 birds through the positions in a four-duck row, the researchers found outer birds half-asleep during some 32 percent of dozing time versus about 12 percent for birds in internal spots.
“We believe this is the first evidence for an animal behaviorally controlling sleep and wakefulness simultaneously in different regions of the brain,” the researchers say.
The results provide the best evidence for a long-standing supposition that single-hemisphere sleep evolved as creatures scanned for enemies. The preference for opening an eye on the lookout side could be widespread, he predicts. He’s seen it in a pair of birds dozing side-by-side in the zoo and in a single pet bird sleeping by a mirror. The mirror-side eye closed as if the reflection were a companion and the other eye stayed open.
Useful as half-sleeping might be, it’s only been found in birds and such water mammals(哺乳动物)as dolphins, whales, and seals. Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface occasionally to avoid drowning.
Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep. Jerome M. Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds’ half-brain sleep “is just the tip of the iceberg(冰山).” He speculates that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species.
11.A new study on birds’ sleep has revealed that .
A) half-brain sleep is found in a wide variety of birds
B) half-brain sleep is characterized by slow brain waves
C) birds can control their half-brain sleep consciously
D) birds seldom sleep with the whole of their brain at rest
12.According to the passage, birds often half sleep because .
A) they have to watch out for possible attacks
B) their brain hemispheres take turns to rest
C) the two halves of their brain are differently structured
D) they have to constantly keep an eye on their companions
13.The example of a bird sleeping in front of a mirror indicates that .
A) the phenomenon of birds dozing in pairs is widespread
B) birds prefer to sleep in pairs for the sake of security
C) even an imagined companion gives the bird a sense of security
D) a single pet bird enjoys seeing its own reflection in the mirror
14.While sleeping, some water mammals tend to keep half awake in order to .
A) alert themselves to the approaching enemy
B) emerge from water now and then to breathe
C) be sensitive to the ever-changing environment
D) avoid being swept away by rapid currents
15.By “just the tip of the iceberg” (Line 2, Para. 8), Siegel suggests that .
A) half-brain sleep has something to do with icy weather
B) the mystery of half-brain sleep is close to being sleepers
C) most birds living in cold regions tend to be half sleepers
D) half-brain sleep is a phenomenon that could exist among other species
Passage Two
Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.
A nine-year-old schoolgirl single-handedly cooks up a science-fair experiment that ends up debunking(揭穿…的真相)a widely practiced medical treatment. Emily Rosa’s target was a practice known as therapeutic(治疗的)touch(TT for short), whose advocates manipulate patients’ “energy field” to make them feel better and even, say some, to cure them of various ills. Yet Emily’s test shows that these energy fields can’t be detected, even by trained TT practitioners(行医者). Obviously mindful of the publicity value of the situation, Journal editor George Lundberg appeared on TV to declare, “Age doesn’t matter. It’s good science that matters, and this is good science.”
Emily’s mother Linda Rosa, a registered nurse, has been campaigning against TT for nearly a decade. Linda first thought about TT in the late ‘80s, when she learned it was on the approved list for continuing nursing education in Colorado. Its 100,000 trained practitioners (48,000 in the U.S.) don’t even touch their patients. Instead, they waved their hands a few inches from the patient’s body, pushing energy fields around until they’re in “balance.” TT advocates say these manipulations can help heal wounds, relieve pain and reduce fever. The claims are taken seriously enough that TT therapists are frequently hired by leading hospitals, at up to $70 an hour, to smooth patients’ energy, sometimes during surgery.
Yet Rosa could not find any evidence that it works. To provide such proof, TT therapists would have to sit down for independent testing-something they haven’t been eager to do, even though James Randi has offered more than $1 million to anyone who can demonstrate the existence of a human energy field. (He’s had one taker so far. She failed). A skeptic might conclude that TT practitioners are afraid to lay their beliefs on the line. But who could turn down an innocent fourth-grader? Says Emily: “I think they didn’t take me very seriously because I’m a kid.”
The experiment was straightforward: 21 TT therapists stuck their hands, palms up, through a screen. Emily held her own hand over one of theirs─left or right─and the practitioners had to say which hand it was. When the results were recorded, they’d done no better than they would have by simply guessing. If there was an energy field, they couldn’t feel it.
16. Which of the following is evidence that TT is widely practiced?
A) TT has been in existence for decades.
B) Many patients were cured by therapeutic touch.
C) TT therapists are often employed by leading hospitals.
D) More than 100,000 people are undergoing TT treatment.
17. Very few TT practitioners responded to the $1 million offer because .
A) they didn’t take the offer seriously
B) they didn’t want to risk their career
C) they were unwilling to reveal their secret
D) they thought it was not in line with their practice
18. The purpose of Emily Rosa’s experiment was .
A) to see why TT could work the way it did
B) to find out how TT cured patients’ illnesses
C) to test whether she could sense the human energy field
D) to test whether a human energy field really existed
19. Why did some TT practitioners agree to be the subjects of Emily’s experiment?
A) It involved nothing more than mere guessing.
B) They thought it was going to be a lot of fun.
C) It was more straightforward than other experiments.
D) They sensed no harm in a little girl’s experiment.
20. What can we learn from the passage?
A) Some widely accepted beliefs can be deceiving.
B) Solid evidence weights more than pure theories.
C) Little children can be as clever as trained TT practitioners.
D) The principle of TT is too profound to understand.
Passage Three
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
What might driving on an automated highway be like? The answer depends on what kind of system is ultimately adopted. Two distinct types are on the drawing board. The first is a special purpose lane system, in which certain lanes are reserved for automated vehicles. The second is a mixed traffic system: fully automated vehicles would share the road with partially automated or manually driven cars. A special-purpose lane system would require more extensive physical modifications to existing highways, but it promises the greatest gains in freeway(高速公路) capacity.
Under either scheme, the driver would specify the desired destination, furnishing this information to a computer in the car at the beginning of the trip or perhaps just before reaching the automated highway. If a mixed traffic system was in place, automated driving could begin whenever the driver was on suitable equipped roads. If special-purpose lanes were available, the car could enter them and join existing traffic in two different ways. One method would use a special onramp(入口引道). As the driver approached the point of entry for the highway, devices installed on the roadside would electronically check the vehicle to determine its destination and to ascertain that it had the proper automation equipment in good working order. Assuming it passed such tests, the driver would then be guided through a gate and toward an automated lane. In this case, the transition from manual to automated control would take place on the entrance ramp. An alternative technique could employ conventional lanes, which would be shared by automated and regular vehicles. The driver would steer onto the highway and move in normal fashion to a “transition” lane. The vehicle would then shift under computer control onto a lane reserved for automated traffic. (The limitation of these lanes to automated traffic would, presumably, be well respected, because all trespassers(非法进入者) could be swiftly identified by authorities.)
Either approach to joining a lane of automated traffic would harmonize the movement of newly entering vehicles with those already traveling. Automatic control here should allow for smooth merging, without the usual uncertainties and potential for accidents. And once a vehicle had settled into automated travel, the driver would be free to release the wheel, open the morning paper or just relax.
21. We learn from the first paragraph that two systems of automated highways .
A) are being planned C) are now in wide use
B) are being modified D) are under construction
22. A special-purpose lane system is probably advantageous in that .
A) it would require only minor changes to existing highways
B) it would achieve the greatest highway traffic efficiency
C) it has a lane for both automated and partially automated vehicles
D) it offers more lanes for automated vehicles
23. Which of the following is true about driving on an automated highway?
A) Vehicles traveling on it are assigned different lanes according to their destinations.
B) A car can join existing traffic any time in a mixed lane system.
C) The driver should inform his car computer of his destination before driving onto it.
D) The driver should share the automated lane with those of regular vehicles.
24. We know from the passage that a car can enter a special-purpose lane .
A) by smoothly merging with cars on the conventional lane
B) by way of a ramp with electronic control devices
C) through a specially guarded gate
D) after all trespassers are identified and removed
25. When driving in an automated lane, the driver .
A) should harmonize with newly entering cars
B) doesn’t have to rely on his computer system
C) should watch out for potential accidents
D) doesn’t have to hold on to the steering wheel
Passage Four
Questions 21 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Taking charge of yourself involves putting to rest some very prevalent myths. At the top of the list is the notion that intelligence is measured by your ability to solve complex problems; to read, write and compute at certain levels; and to resolve abstract equations quickly. This vision of intelligence asserts formal education and bookish excellence as the true measures of self-fulfillment. It encourages a kind of intellectual prejudice that has brought with it some discouraging results. We have come to believe that someone who has more educational merit badges, who is very good at some form of school discipline is “intelligent.” Yet mental hospitals are filed with patients who have all of the properly lettered certificates. A truer indicator of intelligence is an effective, happy life lived each day and each present moment of every day.
If you are happy, if you live each moment for everything it’s worth, then you are an intelligent person. Problem solving is a useful help to your happiness, but if you know that given your inability to resolve a particular concern you can still choose happiness for yourself, or at a minimum refuse to choose unhappiness, then you are intelligent. You are intelligent because you have the ultimate weapon against the big N.B.D.─Nervous Break Down.
“Intelligent” people do not have N.B.D.’s because they are in charge of themselves. They know how to choose happiness over depression, because they know how to deal with the problems of their lives.
You can begin to think of yourself as truly intelligent on the basis of how you choose to feel in the face of trying circumstances. The life struggles are pretty much the same for each of us. Everyone who is involved with other human beings in any social context has similar difficulties. Disagreements, conflicts and compromises are a part of what it means to be human. Similarly, money, growing old, sickness, deaths, natural disasters and accidents are all events which present problems to virtually all human beings. But some people are able to make it, to avoid immobilizing depression and unhappiness despite such occurrences, while others collapse or have an N.B.D. Those who recognize problems as a human condition and don’t measure happiness by an absence of problems are the most intelligent kind of humans we know; also, the most rare.
26. According to the author, the conventional notion of intelligence measured in terms of one’s ability to read, write and compute .
A) is a widely held but wrong concept C) is the root of all mental distress
B) will help eliminate intellectual prejudice D) will contribute to one’s self-fulfillment
27. It is implied in the passage that holding a university degree .
A) may result in one’s inability to solve complex real-life problems
B) does not indicate one’s ability to write properly worded documents
C) may make one mentally sick and physically weak
D) does not mean that one is highly intelligent
28. The author thinks that an intelligent person knows .
A) how to put up with some very prevalent myths
B) how to find the best way to achieve success in life
C) how to avoid depression and make his life worthwhile
D) how to persuade others to compromise
29. In the last paragraph, the author tells us that .
A) difficulties are but part of everyone’s life
B) depression and unhappiness are unavoidable in life
C) everybody should learn to avoid trying circumstances
D) good feelings can contribute to eventual academic excellence
30. According to the passage, what kind of people are rare?
A) Those who don’t emphasize bookish excellence in their pursuit of happiness.
B) Those who are aware of difficulties in life but know how to avoid unhappiness.
C) Those who measure happiness by an absence of problems but seldom suffer from N.B. D.’s.
D)Those who are able to secure happiness though having to struggle against trying circumstances
Unit 4
11.C 12.A 13.C 14.B 15.D 16.C 17.C 18.D 19.D 20.A
21.A 22.B 23.C 24.B 25.D 26.A 27.D 28.C 29.A 30.B
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