2006年12月大学英语新六级试题

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大学英语新六级试题2006年12月

Part I Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled The Importance of Reading Classics. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.
1．阅读经典书籍对人的成长至关重要
2．现在愿意阅读经典的人却越来越少，原因是……
3．我们大学生应该怎么做

Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)

Space Tourism
       Make you reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are going for a mere $20 million for a one-week stay in space. Despite reluctance from National Air and Space Administration (NASA), Russia made American businessman Dennis Tito the world’s first space tourist. Tito flew into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on April 30,2001. The second space tourist, South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth, took off aboard the Russian Soyuz on April 25,2002, also bound for the ISS.
       Lance Bass of ’N Sync was supposed to be the third to make the $20 million trip, but he did not join the three-man crew as they blasted off on October 30, 2002, due to lack of payment. Probably the most incredible aspect of this proposed space tour was that NASA approved of it.
       These trips are the beginning of what could be a profitable 21st century industry. There are already several space tourism companies planning to build suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two decades. These companies have invested millions, believing that the space tourism industry is on the verge of taking off.
            
            

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分页标题#e#       In 1997, NASA published a report concluding that selling trips into space to private citizens could be worth billions of dollars. A Japanese report supports these findings, and projects that space tourism could be a $10 billion per year industry within the next two decades. The only obstacles to opening up space to tourists are the space agencies, who are concerned with safety and the development of a reliable, reusable launch vehicle.

Space Accommodations
       Russia’s Mir space station was supposed to be the first destination for space tourists. But in March 2001, the Russian Aerospace Agency brought Mir down into the Pacific Ocean. As it turned out, bringing down Mir only temporarily delayed the first tourist trip into space.
       The Mir crash did cancel plans for a new reality-based game show from NBC, which was going to be called Destination Mir. The Survivor-like TV show was scheduled to air in fall 2001. Participants on the show were to go through training at Russia’s cosmonaut (宇航员) training center, Star City. Each week, one of the participants would be eliminated from the show, with the winner receiving a trip to the Mir space station. The Mir crash has ruled out NBC’s space plans for now. NASA is against beginning space tourism until the International Space Station is completed in 2006.
       Russia is not alone in its interest in space tourism. There are several projects underway to commercialize space travel. Here are a few of the groups that might take tourists to space:
·Space Island Group is going to build a ring-shaped, rotating “commercial space infrastructure(基础结构)” that will resemble the Discovery spacecraft in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Space Island says it will build its space city out of empty NASA space-shuttle fuel tanks (to start, it should take around 12 or so), and place it about 400 miles above Earth. The space city will rotate once per minute to create a gravitational pull one-third as strong as Earth’s.
·According to their vision statement, Space Adventures plans to “fly tens of thousands of people in space over the next 10-15 years and beyond, around the moon, and back, from spaceports both on Earth and in space, to and from private space stations, and aboard dozens of different vehicles…”
·Even Hilton Hotels has shown interest in the space tourism industry and the possibility of building or co-funding a space hotel. However, the company did say that it believes such a space hotel is 15 to 20 years away.
       Initially, space tourism will offer simple accommodations at best. For instance, if the International Space Station is used as a tourist attraction, guests won’t find the luxurious surroundings of a hotel room on Earth. It has been designed for conducting research, not entertainment. However, the first generation of space hotels should offer tourists a much more comfortable experience.
            
            

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       In regard to a concept for a space hotel initially planned by Space Island, such a hotel could offer guests every convenience they might find at a hotel on Earth, and some they might not, The small gravitational pull created by the rotating space city would allow space-tourists and residents to walk around and function normally within the structure. Everything from running water to a recycling plant to medical facilities would be possible. Additionally, space tourists would even be able to take space walks.
       Many of these companies believe that they have to offer an extremely enjoyable experience in order for passengers to pay thousands, if not millions, of dollars to ride into space. So will space create another separation between the haves and have-nots?

The Most Expensive Vacation
       Will space be an exotic retreat reserved for only the wealthy? Or will middle-class folks have a chance to take their families to space? Make no mistake about it, going to space will be the most expensive vacation you ever take. Prices right now are in the tens of millions of dollars. Currently, the only vehicles that can take you into space are the space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz, both of which are terribly inefficient. Each spacecraft requires millions of pounds of fuel to take off into space, which makes them expensive to launch. One pound of payload(有效载重) $10,000 to put into Earth’s orbit.
       NASA and Lockheed Martin are currently developing a single-stage-to-orbit launch space plane, called the VentureStar, that could be launched for about a tenth of what the space shuttle costs to launch. If the VentureStar takes off, the number of people who could afford to take a trip into space would move into the millions.
       In 1998, a joint report from NASA and the Space Transportation Association stated that improvements in technology could push fares for space travel as low as $50,000, and possibly down to $20,000 or $10,000 a decade later. The report concluded that at a ticket price of $50,000, there could be 500,000 passengers flying into space each year. While still leaving out many people, these prices would open up space to a tremendous amount of traffic.
       Since the beginning of the space rece, the general public has said, “Isn’t that great—when do I get to go?” Well, our chance might be closer than ever. Within the next 20 Years, space planes could be taking off for the Moon at the same frequency as airplanes flying between New York and Los Angeles.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1. Lance Bass wasn’t able to go on a tour of space because of health problems.
            
            

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2. Several tourism companies believe space travel is going to be a new profitable industry.
3. The space agencies are reluctant to open up space to tourists.
4. Two Australian billionaires have been placed on the waiting list for entering space as private passengers.
5. The prize for the winner in the fall 2001 NBC TV game show would have been _______.
6. Hilton Hotels believes it won’t be long before iit is possible to build a _______.
7. In order for space tourists to walk around and function normally. It is necessary for the space city to create a ________.
8. What makes going to space the most expensive vacation is the enormous cost involved in _______.
9. Each year 500,000 space tourists could be flying into space if ticket prices could be lowered to _______.
10. Within the next two decades, ________ could be as common as intercity air travel.

Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

Section A
11. A. Dr. Smith’s waiting room isn’t tidy.
   B. Dr. Smith enjoys reading magazines.
   C. Dr. Smith has left a good impression on her.
   D. Dr. Smith may not be a good choice.
12. A. The man will rent the apartment when it is available.
   B. The man made a bargain with the landlady over the rent.
   C. The man insists on having a look at the apartment first.
   D. The man is not fully satisfied with the apartment.
13. A. Packing up to go abroad.
            
            

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分页标题#e#   B. Brushing up on her English.
   C. Drawing up a plan for her English course.
   D. Applying for a visa to the United States.
14. A. He is anxious to find a cure for his high blood pressure.
   B. He doesn’t think high blood pressure is a problem for him.
   C. He was not aware of his illness until diagnosed with it.
   D. He did not take the symptoms of his illness seriously.
15. A. To investigate the causes of AIDS.
   B. To raise money for AIDS patients.
   C. To rally support for AIDS victims in Africa.
   D. To draw attention to the spread of AIDS in Asia.
16. A. It has a very long history.
   B. It is a private institution.
   C. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson.
   D. It stresses the comprehensive study of nature.
17. A. They can’t fit into the machine.
   B. They have not been delivered yet.
   C. They were sent to the wrong address.
   D. They were found to be of the wrong type.
18. A. The food served in the cafeteria usually lacks variety.
   B. The cafeteria sometimes provides rare food for the students.
   C. The students find the service in the cafeteria satisfactory.
   D. The cafeteria tries hard to cater to the students’ needs.
19. A. He picked up some apples in his yard.
   
            
            

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分页标题#e#B. He cut some branches off the apple tree.
   C. He quarreled with his neighbor over the fence.
   D. He cleaned up all the garbage in the woman’s yard.
20. A. Trim the apple trees in her yard.
   B. Pick up the apples that fell in her yard.
   C. Take the garbage to the curb for her.
   D. Remove the branches from her yard.
21. A. File a lawsuit against the man.
   B. Ask the man for compensation.
   C. Have the man’s apple tree cut down.
   D. Throw garbage into the man’s yard.
22. A. He was ready to make a concession.
   B. He was not prepared to go to court.
   C. He was not intimidated.
   D. He was a bit concerned.
23. A. Bad weather.      
B. Human error.
   C. Breakdown of the engines.  
D. Failure of the communications system.
24. A. Two thousand feet.                           B. Twelve thousand feet.
   C. Twenty thousand feet.                       D. Twenty-two thousand feet.
25. A. Accurate communication is of utmost importance.
   B. Pilots should be able to speak several foreign languages.
   C. Air controllers should keep a close watch on the weather.
            
            

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分页标题#e#   D. Cooperation between pilots and air controllers in essential.

Section B
26. A. His father caught a serious disease.
   B. His mother passed away.
   C. His mother left him to marry a rich businessman.
   D. His father took to drinking.
27. A. He disliked being disciplined.
   B. He was expelled by the university.
   C. He couldn’t pay his gambling debts.
   D. He enjoyed working for a magazine.
28. A. His poems are heavily influenced by French writers.
   B. His stories are mainly set in the State of Virginia.
   C. His work is difficult to read.
   D. His language is not refined.
29. A. He grieved to death over the loss of his wife.
   B. He committed suicide for unknown reasons.
   C. He was shot dead at the age of 40.
   D. He died of heavy drinking.
30. A. Women                                           B. Prisoners.
   C. Manual workers.                              D. School age children.
31. A. He taught his students how to pronounce the letters first.
   B. He matched the letters with the sounds familiar to the learners.
   C. He showed the learners how to combine the letters into simple words.
            
            

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   D. He divided the letters into groups according to the way they are written.
32. A. It can help people to become literate within a short time.
   B. It was originally designed for teaching the English language.
   C. It enables the learners to master a language within three months.
   D. It is effective in teaching any alphabetical language to Brazilians.
33. A. The crop’s blooming period is delayed.
   B. The roots of crops are cut off.
   C. The topsoil is seriously damaged.
   D. The growth of weeds is accelerated.
34. A. It’s a new way of applying chemical fertilizer.
   B. It’s an improved method of harvesting crops.
   C. It’s a creative technique for saving labor.
   D. It’s a farming process limiting the use of ploughs.
35. A. In areas with few weeds and unwanted plants.
   B. In areas with a severe shortage of water.
   C. In areas lacking in chemical fertilizer.
   D. In areas dependent on imported food.

       Adults are getting smarter about how smart babies are. Not long ago, researchers learned that 4-day-olds could understand (36) ________ and subtraction. Now. British research (37) ________ Graham Schafer has discovered that infants can learn words for uncommon things long before they can speak. He found that 9-month-old infants could be taught, through repeated show-and-tell, to (38) ________ the names of objects that were foreign to them, a result that (39) _________ in some ways the received (40) _________ that, apart from learning to (41) _________ things common to their daily lives, children don’t begin to build vocabulary until well into their second year. “It’s no (42) ___________ that children learn words, but the words they tend to know are words linked to (43) _________ situations in the home.” Explains Schafer. “(44)______________
_______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________ with an unfamiliar voice giving instructions in an unfamiliar setting.”
            
            

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       Figuring out how humans acquire language may shed light on why some children learn to read and write later than others, Schafer says, and could lead to better treatments for developmental problems. (45) ______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________ “Language is a test case for human cognitive development,” says Schafer. But parents eager to teach their infants should take note: (46) _____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________. “This is not about advancing development,” he says, “It’s just about what children can do at an earlier age than what educators have often thought.”

Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)

Section A
       I’ve heard from and talked to many people who described how Mother Nature simplified their lives for them. They’d lost their home and many or all of their possessions through fires, floods, earthquakes, or some other disaster. Losing everything you own under such circumstances can be distressing, but the people I’ve heard from all saw their loss, ultimately, as a blessing.
       “The fire saved us the agony of deciding what to keep and what to get rid of,” one woman wrote. And once all those things were no longer there, she and her husband saw how they had weighed them down and complicated their lives.
       “There was so much stuff we never used and that was just taking up space. We vowed when we started over, we’d replace only what we needed, and this time we’d do it right, We’ve kept out promise: we don’t have much now, but what we have is exactly what we want.”
       Though we’ve never had a catastrophic loss such as that, Gibbs and I did have a close call shortly before we decided to simplify. At that time we lived in a fire zone. One night a firestorm raged through and destroyed over six hundred homes in our community. That tragedy gave us the opportunity to look objectively at the goods we’d accumulated.
       We saw that there was so much we could get rid of and not only never miss, but be better off without. Having almost lost it all, we found it much easier to let go of the things we knew we’d never use again.
       Obviously, there’ a tremendous difference between getting rid of possessions and losing them through a natural disaster without having a say in the matter. And this is not to minimize the tragedy and pain such a loss can generate.
       But you might think about how you would approach the acquisition process if you had it to do all over again. Look around your home and make a list of what you would replace.
            
            

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       Make another list of things you wouldn’t acquire again no matter what, and in fact would be happy to be rid of.
       When you’re ready to start unloading some of your stuff, that list will be a good place to start.
47. Many people whose possessions were destroyed in natural disasters eventually considered their loss _________.
48. Now that all their possessions were lost in the fire, the woman and her husband felt that their lives had been __________.
49. What do we know about the author’s house from the sentence “Gibbs and I did have a close call…” (Lines 1-2, Para. 4)?
50. According to the author, getting rid of possessions and losing them through a natural disaster are vastly ________.
51. What does the author suggest people do with unnecessary things?

Section B

Passage One
       In a purely biological sense, fear begins with the body’s system for reacting to things that can harm us— the so-called fight-or-flight response. “An animal that can’t detect danger can’t stay alive.” Says Joseph LeDoux. Like animals, humans evolved with an elaborate mechanism for processing information about potential threats. At its core is a cluster of neurons(神经元) deep in the brain known as the amygdale(扁桃核).
       LeDoux studies the way animals and humans respond to threats to understand how we form memories of significant events in our lives. The amygdale receives input from many parts of the brain, including regions responsible for retrieving memories. Using this information, the amygdale appraises a situation- I think this charging dog wants to bite me –and triggers a response by radiating nerve signals throughout the body. These signals produce the familiar signs of distress. trembling, perspiration and fast-moving feet, just to name three.
       This fear mechanism is critical to the survival of all animals, but no one can say for sure whether beasts other than humans know they’re afraid. That is, as LeDoux says, “if you put that system into a brain that has consciousness, then you get the feeling of fear.”