大学英语六级考试试题.doc

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2000

年

6

月大学英语六级考试试题

Part

Ⅰ

Listening Comprehension

(20 minutes)

Section A

1. A) Buy some traveller' s checks.

B) Borrow some money from a friend.

C) Check the brakes and tires.

D) Spend some time travelling.

2. A) He is very forgiving and tolerant.

B) He probably has a poor memory.

C) He is well liked by his customers.

D) He has been introduced to the staff.

3. A) He thinks the book should include more information.

B) He doesn't think it necessary to provide the answers.

C) The answers will be added in a later edition.

D) The book does include the answers.

4. A) Announce appeals for public service.

B) Hold a charity concert to raise money.

C) Ask the school radio station for help.

D) Pool money to fund the radio station.

5. A) She talked with the consultant about the new program until two.

B) She couldn't talk to the consultant before two.

C) She would talk to the consultant during lunch.

D) She couldn't contract the consultant's secretary.

6. A) They are equally competent for the job.

B) They both graduated from art schools.

C) They majored in different areas of art.

D) They are both willing to draw the posters.

7. A) At a book store.

B) At an art museum.

C) At a newspaper office.

D) At a gymnasium.

8. A) The woman received a phone call from Mark yesterday.

B) The man injured Mark in a traffic accident yesterday.

C) The man met a friend by chance.

D) The woman contacted Mark on business.

9. A) The man should stay up and watch the program.

B) The man should read something exciting instead.

C) The man should go to bed at eleven.

D) The man should give up watching the movie.

10. A) Students with a library card can check any book out.

B) Reference books are not allowed to be checked out.

C) Only students with a library card can check out reference books.

D) The number of books a student can check out is unlimited.

Section B

Passage One

Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.

11. A) To find out whether they take music lessons in their spare time.

B) To find out whether they can name four different musical instruments.

C) To find out whether they enjoy playing musical instruments in school.

D) To find out whether they differ in their preference for musical instruments.

12. A) They find them too hard to play.

B) They think it silly to play them.

C) They find it not challenging enough to play them.

D) They consider it important to be different from girls.

13. A) Children who have private music tutors.

B) Children who are 8 or older.

C) Children who are between 5 and 7.

D) Children who are well-educated.

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Passage Two

Questions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.

14. A) Because there weren't any professional teams in the U.S. then.

B) Because Pele hadn't retired from the Brazilian National Team yet.

C) Because this fast-moving sport wasn't familiar to many Americans.

D) Because good professional players received low salaries.

15. A) When it has a large number of fans.

B) When it plays at home.

C) When it has many international stars playing for it.

D) When the fans cheer enthusiastically for it.

16. A) It wasn't among the top four teams.

B) It didn't play as well as expected.

C) It won the World Cup.

D) It placed fourth.

Passage Three

Questions 17 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.

17. A) Students from America.

B) Students from England.

C) Students from Australia.

D) Students from Japan.

18. A) Those who know how to program computers.

B) Those who get special aid from their teachers.

C) Those who are very hardworking.

D) Those who have well-educated parents.

19. A) Japanese students study much harder than Columbian students.

B) Columbian students score higher than Japanese students in maths.

C) Columbian students are more optimistic about their maths skills.

D) Japanese students have better conditions for study.

20. A) Physics.

B) Mathematics.

C) Environmental science.

D) Life science.

Part

Ⅱ

Reading Comprehension

(35 minutes)

Passage One

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

of

resting

soil

and

providing

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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 agriculture in 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 aimed at______.

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

Passage Two

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 A1 researchers think they know where the field went wrong. The problem, the scientists

say,

is

that

Al

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 Al, 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 Al

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.

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the brain as if it were made up of color-coded transistors,

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 Al 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 Al 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 followings closest in meaning to the phrase

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.

Passage Three

Question 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:

Cars

account

for

half

the

oil

consumed

in

the

U.

S.

,

about

haft

the

urban

pollution

and

one

fourth

the

greenhouse (

温室

) gases. They take a similar toll (

损耗

) of 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

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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 rider ship 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

develop

less

polluting

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.

Passage Four

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:

Reebok executives do not like to hear their stylish athletic shoes called

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 up market (

高档消费人群的

)

retailing network that helped push sales to $$ I billion annually, ahead of all other sports shoe marketers. Reebok

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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

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)

D) the term makes people think of prohibitive prices

37. Reebok's view that

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.

Part

Ⅲ

Vocabulary

( 20 minutes)

41. For many patients, institutional care is the most ______ and beneficial form of care.

A) pertinent

B) appropriate

C) acute

D) persistent

42. Among all the changes resulting from the ______ entry of women into the work force, the transformation that

has occurred in the women themselves is not the least important.

A) massive

B) quantitative

C) surplus

D) formidable

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43. Mr. Smith became very ______ when it was suggested that he had made a mistake.

A) ingenious

B ) empirical

C) objective

D) indignant

44. Rumours are everywhere, spreading fear, damaging reputations, and turning calm situations into ______ ones.

A) turbulent

B ) tragic

C) vulnerable

D) suspicious

45. The ______ cycle of life and death is a subject of interest to scientists and philosophers alike.

A) incompatible

B) exceeding

C) instantaneous

D) eternal

46. She remains confident and ______ untroubled by our present problems.

A) indefinitely

B) infinitely

C) optimistically

D) seemingly

47. Fiber-optic cables can carry hundreds of telephone conversations ______.

A) simultaneously

B) spontaneously

C) homogeneously

D) contemporarily

48. The police were alerted that the escaped criminal might be in the ______.

A) vain

B) vicinity

C) court

D) jail

49. Whether you live to eat or eat to live, food is a major ______ in every family's budget.

A) nutrition

B) expenditure

C) routine

D) provision

50. Now a paper in Science argues that organic chemicals in the rock come mostly from ______ on earth rather

than bacteria on Mars.

A) configuration

B) constitution

C) condemnation

D) contamination

51. There is much I enjoy about the changing seasons, but my favorite time is the ______ from fall to winter.

A) transmission

B) transformation

C) transition

D) transfer

52. I think we need to see an investment ______ before we make an expensive mistake.

A) guide

B) entrepreneur

C) consultant

D) assessor

53. The ______ on this apartment expires in a year's time.

A) treaty

B) lease

C) engagement

D) subsidy

54. The elderly Russians find it hard to live on their state______.

A) pensions

B) earnings

C) salaries

D) donations

55. There is supposed to be a safety ______ which makes it impossible for trains to collide.

A) appliance

B) accessory

C) machine

D) mechanism

56. After four years in the same job his enthusiasm finally ______.

A) deteriorated

B) dispersed

C) dissipated

D) drained

57. No one can function properly if they are ______ of adequate sleep.

A) deprived

B) ripped

C) stripped

D) contrived

58. For years now, the people of that faraway country have been cruelly ______ by a dictator.

A) depressed

B) immersed

C) oppressed

D) cursed

59. Ever since the rise of industrialism, education has been ______ towards producing workers.

A) harnessed

B) hatched

C) motivated

D) geared

60. The prospect of increased prices has already ______ worries.

A) provoked

B) irritated

C) inspired

D) hoisted

61. The suspect ______ that he had not been in the neighbourhood at the time of the crime.

A) advocated

B) alleged

C) addressed

D) announced

62. Although the colonists ______ to some extent with the native Americans, the Indians' influence on American

culture and language was not extensive.

A) migrated

B) matched

C) mingled

D) melted

63.

E-mail

is

a

convenient,

highly

democratic

informal

medium

for

conveying

messages

that

______

well

to

human needs.

A) adheres

B) reflects

C) conforms

D) satisfies

64. The wings of the bird still ______ after it had been shot down.

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A) slapped

B) scratched

C) flapped

D) fluctuated

65. The disagreement over trade restrictions could seriously ______ relations between the two countries.

A) tumble

B) jeopardize

C) manipulate

D) intimidate

66. When you put up wallpaper, should you ______ the edges or put them next to each other?

A) coincide

B) extend

C) overlap

D) collide

67. Under the present system, state enterprises must ______ all profits to the government.

A) turn down

B) turn up

C) turn out

D) turn in

68.

Oil

companies

in

the

U.S.

are

already

beginning

to

feel

the

pressure.

Refinery

workers

and

petroleum-equipment- manufacturing employees are being ______.

A) laid out

B) laid off

C) laid down

D) laid aside

69. We'll ______ you for any damage done to your house while we are in it.

A) compensate

B) remedy

C) supplement

D) retrieve

70. She cut her hair short and tried to ______ herself as a man.

A) decorate

B) disguise

C) fabricate

D) fake

Part

Ⅳ

Error Correction

(15 minutes)

When you start talking about good and bad manners you

immediately start meeting difficulties. Many people just cannot

agree what they mean. We asked a lady, who replied that she

thought you could tell a well-mannered person on the way

S1.______

they occupied the space around them -- for example, when such

a person walks down a street he or she is constantly unaware of

S2.______

others. Such people never bump into other people.

However, a second person thought that this was more a

question of civilized behavior as good manners. Instead, this other

S3.______

person told us a story, it he said was quite well known, about an

S4.______

American who had been invited to an Arab meal at one of the

S5.______

countries of the Middle East. The American hasn't been told very

S6.______

much about the kind, of food he might expect. If he had known

about American food, he might have behaved better.

S7.______

Immediately before him was a very flat piece of bread that

looked, to him, very much as a napkin ( ~ ~ ). Picking it up, he

S8.______

put it into his collar, so that it falls across his shirt. His Arab host,

S9.______

who had been watching, said%f nothing, but immediately copied

S10.______

the action of his guest.

And that, said this second person, was a fine example of good manners.

Part

Ⅴ

Writing

(30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic Is a Test of Spoken

English Necessary? The first sentence has already been written for you.

You should write at least 120 words,

and base your composition on the outline given in Chinese below:

1.< /p>

很多人认为有必要举行口语考试，理由是……

2.

也有人持不同的意见，……

Is a Test of Spoken English Necessary?

A test of spoken English will be included as an optional component of the College English Test (CET).

答案

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