2011年12月大学英语四级考试模拟试题(六)

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　　Part I Writing (30 minutes)
        　　Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the topic of To Get
        　　along with Your Roommates. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below.
        　　1. 室友之间的冲突在校园里常有发生
        　　2. 冲突的主要原因
        　　3. 室友之间如何和睦相处
        　　To Get along with Your Roommate
        　　注意：此部分试题在答题卡 1 上。
        　　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 17, mark
        　　Y (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 810,
        　　complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
        　　Early Childhood Education
        　　‘Education To Be More’ was published last August. It was the report of the New Zealand
        　　Government’s Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. The report argued for enhanced equity (公平) of access and better funding for childcare and early childhood education institutions. Unquestionably, that’s a real need? but since parents don’t normally send children to preschools until the age of three, are we missing out on the most important years of all?
        　　A 13year study of early childhood development at Harvard University has shown that, by the age of three, most children have the potential to understand about 1000 words – most of the language they will use in ordinary conversation for the rest of their lives.
        　　Furthermore, research has shown that while every child is born with a natural curiosity, it can be suppressed dramatically during the second and third years of life. Researchers claim that the human personality is formed during the first two years of life, and during the first three years children learn the basic skills they will use in all their later learning both at home and at school.
       
            
            

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        　　Once over the age of three, children continue to expand on existing knowledge of the world. It is generally acknowledged that young people from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds tend to do less well in our education system. That’s observed not just in New Zealand, but also in
        　　Australia, Britain and America. In an attempt to overcome that educational underachievement,anationwide program called ‘Headstart’ was launched in the United States in 1965. A lot of money was poured into it. It took children into preschool institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school.
        　　Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing. It is thought that there are two explanations for this. First, the program began too late. Many children who entered it at the age of
        　　three were already behind their peers in language and measurable intelligence. Second, the parents were not involved. At the end of each day, ‘Headstart’ children returned to the same disadvantaged home environment.
        　　As a result of the growing research evidence of the importance of the first three years of a child’s life and the disappointing results from ‘Headstart’, a pilot program was launched in
        　　Missouri in the US that focused on parents as the child’s first teachers. The ‘Missouri’ program was predicated on research showing that working with the family, rather than bypassing the parents, is the most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life. The fouryear pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a crosssection of socioeconomic status, age and family configurations (结构). They included singleparent and twoparent families, families in which both parents worked, and families with either the mother or father at home. The program involved trained parent educators visiting the parents’ home and working with the parent, or parents, and the child. Information on child development, and guidance on things to look for and expect as the child grows were provided, plus guidance in fostering the child’s intellectual, language, social and motorskill development. Periodic checkups of the child’s educational and sensory development (hearing and vision) were made to detect possible handicaps that interfere with growth and development. Medical problems were referred to professionals.
        　　Parenteducators
        　　made personal visits to homes and monthly group meetings were held with other new parents to share experience and discuss topics of interest. Parent resource centers, located in school buildings, offered learning materials for families and facilities for child.
        　　At the age of three, the children who had been involved in the ‘Missouri’ program were evaluated alongside a crosssection of children selected from the same range of socioeconomic backgrounds and family situations, and also a random sample of children that age. The results were phenomenal. By the age of three, the children in the program were significantly more advanced in language development than their peers, had made greater strides in problem solving and other intellectual skills, and were further along in social development. In fact, the average child on the program was performing at the level of the top 15 to 20 per cent of their peers in such things as auditory comprehension, verbal ability and language ability.
       
            
            

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        　　Most important of all, the traditional measures of ‘risk’, such as parents’ age and education, or whether they were a single parent, bore little or no relationship to the measures of achievement
        　　and language development. Children in the program performed equally well regardless of socioeconomic disadvantages. Child abuse was virtually eliminated. The one factor that was found to affect the child’s development was family stress leading to a poor quality of parentchild interaction. That interaction was not necessarily bad in poorer families.
        　　These research findings are exciting. There is growing evidence in New Zealand that children from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds are arriving at school less well developed and that our
        　　school system tends to perpetuate (使永存) that disadvantage. The initiative outlined above could break that cycle of disadvantage. The concept of working with parents in their homes, or at their place of work, contrasts quite markedly with the report of the Early Childhood Care and Education
        　　Working Group. Their focus is on getting children and mothers access to childcare and institutionalized early childhood education. Education from the age of three to five is undoubtedly vital, but without a similar focus on parent education and on the vital importance of the first three years, some evidence indicates that it will not be enough to overcome educational inequity.
        　　1. The skills learned by children at age of three will be used in all their later learning in life.
        　　2. The ‘Headstart’ program finally succeeded in its aim.
        　　3. The ‘Missour’ program supplied many forms of support and training to parents.
        　　4. Most ‘Missouri’ program threeyearolds scored highly in areas such as listening, speaking, reasoning and interacting with others.
        　　5. ‘Missouri’ program children of young, uneducated, single parents scored less highly on the tests.
        　　6. The richer families in the ‘Missouri’ program had higher stress levels.
        　　7. Educational inequity cannot be overcome for children from different family backgrounds.
        　　8. The aim of ‘Headstart’ program is to help children from poor families overcome ____________________.
        　　9. The most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life is ____________________.
        　　10. The concept of working with parents in their homes contrasts quite markedly with the report of the Early Childhood Core and ____________________.
       
            
            

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        　　Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)
        　　Section A
        　　Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short 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 section 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 centre.
        　　11. A) To order some medicine for Aunt Margaret.
        　　B) To get some exercise.
        　　C) To buy some items.
        　　D) To see their aunt.
        　　12. A) Anyone can do it.
        　　B) No one can do it.
        　　C) Alex can probably do it.
        　　D) Alex probably shouldn’t do it.
        　　13. A) Tea is better than coffee.
        　　B) The man should switch to tea.
        　　C) There are two reasons not to drink coffee.
        　　D) The man shouldn’t drink either.
        　　14. A) At a hairdresser’s. B) At a tailor’s.
        　　C) At a butcher’s. D) At a photographer’s.
        　　15. A) Angry. B) Tired. C) Hungry. D) Disappointed.
        　　16. A) She would like some soup.
        　　B) She’s inviting the man to lunch.
        　　C) She wants to know if the man likes chicken.
        　　D) She ate lunch earlier.
        　　17. A) Very few people come to it.
        　　B) A good name hasn’t been found for it.
        　　C) People don’t like climbing the stairs to get there.
        　　D) She has decided to phone the ticket office.
       
            
            

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        　　18. A) It was designed by modern artists.
        　　B) It will color black and white prints.
        　　C) Its merchandise must be carefully sorted through.
        　　D) Its best selection is of modern art prints.
        　　Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
        　　19. A) A class presentation they’re preparing.
        　　B) A television program the man is watching.
        　　C) Visiting a close fiend of theirs.
        　　D) Studying for a test.
        　　20. A) He’s taking a break from studying.
        　　B) He has already finished studying.
        　　C) He was assigned to watch a program by his professor.
        　　D) He’s finding out some information for a friend.
        　　21. A) He didn’t know that she was enrolled in a mathematic course.
        　　B) He thought she preferred to study alone.
        　　C) He thought she had made arrangements to study with
        　　D) He had told her that he had done poorly on a recent test.
        　　22. A) He and Elizabeth argued recently.
        　　B) He heard Elizabeth did poorly on the last test.
        　　C) He doesn’t want to bother Elizabeth so late in the evening.
        　　D) He’d rather study in his own dormitory.
       
            
            

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        　　Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
        　　23. A) They look darker.
        　　B) They look smaller.
        　　C) They look clearer.
        　　D) They look cloudier.
        　　24. A) It stops working.
        　　B) It becomes sharper.
        　　C) It confuses odors.
        　　D) It defects fewer odors.
        　　25. A) They both have leg injuries.
        　　B) They’re too tired to walk any farther.
        　　C) They have no umbrella with them.
        　　D) They’ve seen no signs to give them directions.
        　　Section B:
        　　Directions: 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 centre.
        　　Passage One
        　　Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
        　　26. A) To do as much as you can.
        　　B) To do only what is necessary.
        　　C) To act carefully and quickly.
        　　D) To do what is necessary as carefully and quickly as possible.
       
            
            

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        　　27. A) Leave him lying where he is.
        　　B) Do as much as you can to save him.
        　　C) Put his arms and legs in place.
        　　D) Roll him up in a blanket.
        　　28. A) Stop the flow of blood if the person is bleeding.
        　　B) Perform the operation whenever necessary.
        　　C) Do artificial respiration if the person has stopped breathing.
        　　D) Do the best you can until a doctor arrives.
        　　Passage Two
        　　Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
        　　29. A) A few inches above the knee.
        　　B) A little below the knee.
        　　C) Down to the ankle.
        　　D) Floorlength.
        　　30. A) Boots. B) Sneakers. C) Slippers. D) Leather shoes.
        　　31. A) Fashions change overtime.
        　　B) Men are thriftier than women.
        　　C) Skirts and shoes are more important than other clothing.
        　　D) Some clothing may suit all occasions.
        　　Passage Three
        　　Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
        　　32. A) Energy conservation.
        　　B) Transportation of the future.
        　　C) Strip cities.
        　　D) Advantages of air transportation over railroads.
       
            
            

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        　　33. A) A lack of available flights.
        　　B) Long delays at the airport.
        　　C) Tiredness on long flights.
        　　D) Long trips to and from airports.
        　　34. A) It uses nuclear energy.
        　　B) It rests on a cushion of pressurized air.
        　　C) It flies over magnetically activated tracks.
        　　D) It uses a device similar with engine
        　　35. A) They are subject to fires.
        　　B) They become less fuelefficient.
        　　C) They produce too much noise.
        　　D) They have trouble staying on the tracks.
        　　Section C:
        　　Directions: 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.
        　　Doctors are starting to believe that laughter not only improves your state of mind, but actually affects your entire physical wellbeing.
        　　Britain’s first (36) ________ therapist, Robert
        　　Holden says: “Instinctively we know that laughing help us feel healthy and alive. Each time we
        　　laugh we feel better and more (37) __________.”
        　　A French newspaper found that in 1930 the French laughed on average for nineteen minutes
        　　per day. By 1980 this had fallen to six minutes. Eight per cent of the people (38) _________ said
        　　that they would like to laugh more. Other (39) _________ suggests that children laugh on average
        　　about 400 times a day, but by the time they reach (40) __________ this had been (41) _________
        　　to about fifteen times. Somewhere in the process of growing up we lose an (42) _______ 385 laughs a day.
        　　William Fry, a psychiatrist from California studied the (43) _________of laughter on the
       
            
            

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        　　body. He got patients to watch funny films, and monitored their blood pressure, heart rate and
        　　muscle tone. He found that laughter has a similar effect to physical exercise. (44) _________
        　　_________________________________________________________________________. It also
        　　makes our facial and stomach muscles work. Fry thinks laughter is a type of jogging on the spot.
        　　Laughter can even provide a kind of pain relief. Fry had proved that laughter produces
        　　endorphinschemicals
        　　in the body that relieve pain. Researchers divided forty university students
        　　into four groups. The first group listened to a funny cassette for twenty minutes. The other three
        　　groups (45) _____________________________________________________________________
        　　______________________________________________________. Researchers found that if they
        　　produce pain in the students, (46) ___________________________________________________
        　　________________________________________________. Some doctors are convinced that
        　　humor should be a part of every medical consultation, as there is evidence to suggest that laughter
        　　stimulates the immune system.
       
            
            

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        　　Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
        　　Section A
        　　Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are requested to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
        　　Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
        　　For many environmentalists, the world seems to be getting worse. They have developed a hitlist of our main fears: natural resources are 47 out? the population is ever growing, leaving less and less to eat? species are becoming 48 in vast numbers, and the planet’s air and water are becoming ever more polluted.
        　　But a quick look at the facts shows a different picture. First, energy and other natural resources have become more 49 not less so, since the book ‘The Limits to Growth’ was published in 1972 by a group of scientists. Second, more food is now produced per 50 of the world’s population than at any time in history. Fewer people are 51 . Third, although species are indeed becoming extinct, only about 0.7% of them are expected to disappear in the next 50 years, not 25~50%, as has so often been 52 . And finally, most forms of environmental pollution either appear to have been 53 , or are transient – associated with the early stages of industrialization and therefore best cured not by restricting economic growth, but by 54 it. One form of pollution – the release of greenhouse gases that causes global warming – does appear to be a phenomenon that is going to extend well into our future, but its total impact is unlikely to 55 a devastating (令人心神不安的) problem. A bigger problem may well turn out to be an inappropriate response to it.
        　　Yet opinion polls suggest that many people nurture the belief that environmental standards are declining and some factors seem to cause this disjunction between 56 and reality.
        　　A) pose I) starving
        　　B) exaggerated J) head
        　　C) accelerating K) running
        　　D) extinct L) predicted
        　　E) exist M) abundant
        　　F) perception N) conception
        　　G) wealthy O) reducing
        　　H) magnified