[外语类试卷]大学英语六级模拟试卷378及答案与解析.doc

1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 378及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 Directions: The following table gives statistics showing the aspects of quality of life in five countries. Write a composition describing the information in the table below. You should write at least 150 words.二、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Sk

2、imming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions attached to the passage. For questions 1-4, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement co

3、ntradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Is College Really Worth the Money? The Real World Este Griffith had it all figured out. When she graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in April 2001, she had her sights set on o

4、ne thing: working for a labor union. The real world had other ideas. Griffith left school with not only a degree, but a boatload of debt. She owed $15.000 in student loans and had racked up $4,000 in credit card debt for books, groceries and other expenses. No labor union job could pay enough to bai

5、l her out. So Griffith went to work instead for a Washington, D.C. firm that specializes in economic development. Problem solved? Nope. At age 24, she takes home about $1,800 a month, $1,200 of which disappears to pay her rent. Add another $180 a month to retire her student loans and $300 a month to

6、 whittle down her credit card balance. “You do the math,“ she says. Griffith has practically no money to live on. She brown-bags (自带午餐 ) her lunch and bikes to work. Above all, she fears shell never own a house or be able to retire. Its not that she regrets getting her degree. “But they dont tell yo

7、u that the trade-off is the next ten years of your income,“ she says. Thats precisely the deal being made by more and more college students. Theyre mortgaging their futures to meet soaring tuition costs and other college expenses. Like Griffith, theyre facing a one-two punch at graduation: hefty (沉重

8、的 ) student loans and smothering credit card debt not to mention a job market that, for now anyway, is dismal. “We axe forcing our children to make a choice between two evils,“ says Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law professor and expert on bankruptcy. “Skip college and face a life of diminished opport

9、unity, or go to college and face a life shackled (束缚 ) by debt.“ Tuition Hikes For some time, colleges have insisted their steep tuition hikes are needed to pay for cutting-edge technologies, faculty and administration salaries, and rising health care costs. Now theres a new culprit (犯人 ): shrinking

10、 state support. Caught in a severe budget crunch, many states have sharply sealed back their funding for higher education. Someone had to make up for those lost dollars. And you can guess who especially if you live in Massachusetts, which last year hiked its tuition and fees by 24 percent, after fun

11、ding dropped by 3 percent, or in Missouri, where appropriations (拨款 ) fell by 10 percent, but tuition rose at double that rate. About one-third of the states, in fact, have increased tuition and fees by more than 10 percent. One of those states is California, and Janet Burrells family is feeling the

12、 pain. A bookkeeper in Torrance, Burrell has a daughter at the University of California at Davis. Meanwhile, her sons attend two-year colleges because Burrell cant afford to have all of them in four-year schools at once. Meanwhile, even with tuition hikes, Californias community colleges are so strap

13、ped for cash they dropped thousands of classes last spring. The result: 54,000 fewer students. Collapsing Investments Many families thought they had a surefire plan: even if tuition kept skyrocketing, they had invested enough money along the way to meet the costs. Then a funny thing happened on the

14、way to Wall Street. Those investments collapsed with the stuck market. Among the losers last year: the wildly popular “529“ plans federal tax-exempt college savings plans offered by individual states, which have attracted billions from families around the country. “We hear from many parents that wha

15、t they had set aside declined in value so much that they now dont have enough to see their students through,“ says Penn State financial aid director Anna Griswold, who witnessed a 10 percent increase in loan applications last year. Even with a market that may be slowly recovering, it will take time,

16、 perhaps several years, for people to recoup (补偿 ) their losses. Nadine Sayegh is among those who didnt have the luxury of waiting for her college nest egg to grow back. Her father had invested money toward her tuition, but a large chunk of it vanished when stocks went south. Nadine was then only pa

17、rtway through college. By graduation, she had taken out at least $10,000 in loans, and her mother had borrowed even more on her behalf. Now 22, Nadine is attending law school, having signed for yet more loans to pay for that. “There wasnt any way to do it differently,“ she says, “and Im not happy ab

18、out it. Ive sat down and calculated how long it will take me to pay off everything. Ill be 35 years old.“ Thats if shes very lucky: Nadine based her calculation on landing a job right out of law school that will pay her at least $120,000 a year. Dependent on Loans and Credit Cards The American Counc

19、il on Education has its own calculation that shows how students are more and more dependent on loans. In just five years, from 1995 to 2000, the median loan debt at public institutions rose from $10,342 to $15,375. Most of this comes from federal loans, which Congress made more tempting in 1992 by e

20、xpanding eligibility (home equity no longer counts against your assets) and raising loan limits (a dependent undergraduate can now borrow up to $23,000 from the federal government). But students arent stopping there. The College Board estimates that they also borrowed $4.5 billion from private lende

21、rs in the 2000 2001 academic year, up from $1.5 billion just five years earlier. For lots of students, the worst of it isnt even the weight of those direct student loans. Its what they rack up on all those plastic cards in their wallets. As of two years ago, according to a study by lender Nellie Mae

22、, more than eight out of ten undergrads had their own credit cards, with the typical student carrying four. Thats no big surprise, given the in-your-face marketing by credit card companies, which set up tables on campus to entice (诱惑 ) students to sign up. Some colleges ban or restrict this hawking,

23、 but others give it a boost. You know those credit cards emblazoned with a schools picture or its logo? For sanctioning such a card a must-have for some students a college department or association gets payments from the issuer. Meanwhile, from freshman year to graduation, according to the Nellie Ma

24、e study, students triple the number of credit cards they own and double their debt on them. As of 2001, they were in the hole an average $2,327. A Wise Choice? One day, Moyer sat down with his mother, Janne ODonnell, to talk about his goal of going to law school. Dont count on it, ODonnell told him.

25、 She couldnt afford the cost and Moyer doubted he could get a loan, given how much he owed already. “He said he felt like a failure,“ ODonnell recalls. “He didnt know how he had gotten into such a mess.“ A week later, the 22-year-old hanged himself in his bedroom, where his mother found him. ODonnel

26、l is convinced the money pressures caused his suicide. “Sean tried to pay his debts off,“ she says. “And he couldnt take it.“ To be sure, suicides are exceedingly rare. But despair is common, and it sometimes leads students to rethink whether college was Worth it. In fact, there are quite a few jobs

27、 that dont require a college degree, yet pay fairly well. On average, though, college graduates can expect to earn 80 percent more than those with only a high school diploma. Also, all but two of the 50 highest paying jobs (the exceptions being air traffic controllers and nuclear power reactor opera

28、tors) require a four-year college degree. So foregoing a college education is often not a wise choice. Merit Mikhail, who graduated last June from the University of California, Riverside, is glad she borrowed to get through school. But she left Riverside owing $20,000 in student loans and another $7

29、,000 in credit card debt. Now in law school, Merit hopes to become a public-interest attorney, yet she may have to postpone that goal, which bothers her. To handle her debt, shell probably need to start with a more lucrative (有利的 ) legal job. Like so many other students, Mikhail took out her loans o

30、n a kind of blind faith that she could deal with the consequences. “You say to yourself. I have to go into debt to make it work, and whatever it takes later. Ill manage.“ Later has now arrived, and Mikhail is finding out the true cost of her college degree. 2 Griffith worked for a firm that speciali

31、zed in economic development in Washington D.C. because she needed money to pay for her debt. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 The only problem the students ere facing at graduation is the dismal job market. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 One reason why colleges increase tuition and fees is that the state support is

32、 shrinking. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 Nearly all the families can manage to meet the soaring tuition costs through various investment plans. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 According to Nadines calculation, she can pay off all her debt when she is _ if she can get a salary of $120.000 a year fight out of law

33、school. 7 Students get money from not only federal loans but also _. 8 The college department or association can get payments from the issuer if it sanctions credit cards decorated with _. 9 ODonnell thinks that the cause of her 22-year-old sons suicide is _. 10 The author says that foregoing a coll

34、ege education is often not a wise choice because _ of the 50 highest paying jobs require a four-year college degree except for air traffic controllers and nuclear power reactor operators. 11 Merit will have to start with a more lucrative legal job instead of her favorite position a public-interest a

35、ttorney because she has to _. 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 qu

36、estion 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. （ A） She plans to apply for a part-time job. （ B） Shes too busy to run for class president. （ C） She wants the man to help her with her studies. （ D） She hasnt co

37、nsidered running for class president. （ A） The airport is closed due to bad weather. （ B） The flight is following its regular schedule. （ C） The plane will return to its point of departure. （ D） An earlier closure affected the airports schedule. （ A） Its an unwise decision. （ B） Individual projects

38、are much better. （ C） The decision will definitely be rejected. （ D） Many people try to lose weight nowadays. （ A） He has decided how hes going to spend the prize money. （ B） He doesnt know how much his rent is going to increase. （ C） Hes already planning to enter next years essay contest. （ D） He h

39、as already paid his landlord for next years rent. （ A） The new comedy opening in town is well worth watching. （ B） Shed prefer to see a different type of movie than a comedy. （ C） She wont be able to go to the movie because of her research paper. （ D） The man should help finish the research paper if

40、 she goes to the movie with him. （ A） Shell be away from the office for two days. （ B） The man should continue using the medicine. （ C） The man doesnt need anything for his cough. （ D） Shell give the man a new prescription right away. （ A） The location of the session has been changed. （ B） She will

41、definitely go to the session this evening. （ C） Shell probably be too tired to walk to the session. （ D） The session might be canceled because of a heavy snow. （ A） Take a class together with Mary. （ B） Ask Mary to help him choose a topic. （ C） Change the topic of his research project. （ D） Sign up

42、for a different political science course. （ A） She is writing a competitive paper for a scholarship. （ B） She is doing a paper. （ C） She missed the lecture. （ D） She is planning to attend the scholarship award ceremony. （ A） Why species dont avoid extinction by adapting. （ B） Why species become exti

43、nct at the rate they do. （ C） Why humans arent extinct. （ D） How many species arent extinct. （ A） Because every species becomes extinct. （ B） Because humans beings are powerful enough to kill other species. （ C） Because of over-population. （ D） Because human being is still a young species though it

44、is exptoiting the environment. （ A） They are looking for an apartment to live in. （ B） They are discussing living places and childrens education. （ C） They are complaining about their children. （ D） They are planning for the next weekend. （ A） Theres much to do besides work and study. （ B） Its conve

45、nient for people to go anywhere. （ C） The natural environment is beneficial to children. （ D） The countryside is a perfect place for weekends. （ A） The children are too young to benefit from city life. （ B） Even adults themselves cannot go everywhere in the city. （ C） There is a lot to see and do fo

46、r children and adults. （ D） There isnt a lot to see and do for children. （ A） She is a full-time housewife. （ B） She does not care for her children. （ C） She used to live in the suburbs in her childhood. （ D） She will go to a museum next weekend. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear

47、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. （ A） An environment protector. （ B） A visiting scholar. （ C）

48、 An engineer on construction. （ D） A tourist who have visited Alaska. （ A） It was the largest city of Alaska. （ B） It was a city of 40,000 people. （ C） There were a lot of wild animals around it. （ D） There was no sign of human presence around it.- （ A） More and more people moved in this city. （ B）

49、Oil was found in this area. （ C） There are more and more forests outside the city. （ D） The housing and transportation are improved greatly. （ A） Homeshcooling can provide more time for the families to get together. （ B） Homeschooling solves the problem of congestion (拥挤 ) in one class. （ C） Homeschooling has a lot of organizations to provide teaching materials. （ D） Parents have their own religious beliefs. （ A） Learning social skills. （ B） Learning more know