[外语类试卷]大学英语四级模拟试卷473及答案与解析.doc

1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 473及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic My First. You should write at least 120 words according to the guidelines given below in Chinese: 1. 简要叙述第一次发生的事情 及基本情况 ; 2. 描述事情发展的经过； 3. 我的感受。 My First 二、 Part II Rea

2、ding 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 attached to the passage. For questions 1-7, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for N

3、O) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Sharing Economic Losses Through Insurance Each minute of the day or night, everyone faces a possible financial loss. A home may be destroyed by fire, damaged by

4、lightning, or leveled by a tornado(龙卷风 ). Personal belongings may be stolen: A car may be damaged in an accident, or it may cause injury to people and property. In come may be lost as the result of the death, disability, or unemployment of a family wage earner. The chance that a loss of this kind ma

5、y occur is called an economic risk. Savings provide one way to take care of financial losses. But savings are not the answer to large losses. The best way to guard against large financial losses is through insurance. Insurance Is a Plan for Sharing Risks and Losses Ted Mather and four of his friends

6、 have a rock group called Quint. Each member of the group owns a valuable instrument. Teds bass alone cost $900. If an instrument were stolen or damaged, it would be a serious, financial loss for its owner. Suppose, however, that the members of the group agree to share any losses that occur. For ex

7、ample, if Teds bass is stolen, each member of the group would contribute $180 to replace it. In other words, they would share the loss. This is the principle of insurance. Persons facing the same risk share the losses that occur among them. From an insurance standpoint, however, an informal agreemen

8、t like that made by Quint would not provide much protection. Why? The reason is that all the instruments might be stolen or damaged at the same time. The group rehearses in the Mathers garage and sometimes leaves their instruments there between rehearsals. They also travel together in a van when the

9、y perform. Suppose that a thief broke into the garage and stole all the instruments. What if the garage caught fire.9 What if all instruments were damaged in an accident on the way to or from a concert? Each member of the group would have to pay one-fifth of the total loss. For some members, this mi

10、ght be more than the amount of their own actual loss. The purpose of insurance is to provide protection against financial loss at a reasonable cost. This is possible only when the cost of insurance is shared by many people who face a similar risk. But not all of them are likely to have actual losses

11、 at the same time. You Buy Insurance from Insurance Companies Almost 4,800 companies in the United States are in the business of providing insurance protection. These businesses are called insurance companies. Because most insurance companies operate on a big scale, they provide a way for large numb

12、ers of people to share their losses. When you buy insurance, you enter into a written agreement with the insurance company. This agreement is called a policy. The person who buys insurance is the policyholder. According to the agreement, the insurance company promises to pay the policyholder if cert

13、ain types of losses occur. The policy states exactly what losses the company will pay for. For this protection, the policyholder makes regular payments to the insurance company. Each payment is called a premium(保险费 ). The premiums paid by all policyholders are used to pay those who have losses. In t

14、his way, a loss that might result in great financial hardship for one person or household is shared by many people. Be cause only a portion of those insured will actually have losses, premiums are small compared to the a mount of protection provided. Many Kinds of Risks Can Be Insured Insurance can

15、provide protection against almost any kind of loss. Singers may insure their voices. Photographers may insure their negatives. The owner of a home freezer may insure against food loss in case of power failure. A business owner can insure his or her place of business. A business owner can also insure

16、 against a loss of profits during a shutdown following a fire or damaging accident. However, the kinds of insurance protection that most people buy can be divided into three broad groups: property and liability insurance, life insurance, and health insurance. Property insurance provides protection a

17、gainst possible financial losses resulting from damage to the policy holders property. For example, a homeowner can buy insurance against losses resulting from fire and lightning, windstorm, explosion, riot, aircraft, and vandalism. Liability insurance protects against financial losses resulting fro

18、m injuries to other persons or damage to their property. Injuries or property damage resulting from an automobile accident arc examples. Life insurance, of course, protects against financial losses resulting from a persons death. Health insurance protects against financial losses resulting from illn

19、ess Or accident. The Cost of Insurance Is Based on Probability Like all private firms, insurance companies must charge enough for protection to pay their operating costs and make a profit. The main factor affecting the price of insurance, however, is the a mount of risk involved. The more risk an in

20、surance company assumes for a policyholder the higher the premium. Risk is measured in terms of probable losses. An insurance company must collect enough money from all its policyholders to pay the claims of those who have losses. A claim is a request for payment of a loss. It is impossible to tell,

21、 of course, which policyholders will have losses. But it is possible to estimate with some accuracy how many will have losses. A company does this by studying its past losses. For example, from its records, an insurance company can tell how many of its policyholders will probably die each year. It c

22、an tell how many policyholders will probably be hospitalized and unable to work. It can also predict how many homes will probably catch fire and what the average loss will probably be. Using this information a company can figure about how much it will have to pay in claims during a year. It can then

23、 determine what a policyholder must pay for protection. As some people would say, insurance premiums are based on probability. Some Kinds of Insurance Are Provided by the Government You have learned that needed goods and services cannot always be provided at a profit by business firm. Then they may

24、be provided by government. This is how it is with some kinds of insurance. An example is flood insurance. To understand wily, you need to keep in mind one of the principles of insurance. It works only when a large number of people share losses that only a few of them will have. So, who needs flood i

25、nsurance7 Those who live where floods might occur. But if a flood did occur, it would result in losses to all those living in the flood area. To pay the losses, an insurance company would have to collect more in premium than most people would afford to pay. It would be as if each property owner were

26、 paying his or her own entire loss. Flood insurance, therefore, is made a vailable by the federal government in communities that qualify. The federal government also operates a crime insurance program. This insurance protects people and business firms in high crime areas against burglary and robbery

27、. If a private company provided this protection, the loss would be so great that most people could not afford it. For somewhat the same reason, the federal government makes crop insurance available to farmers. When crop losses occur, they usually affect most of the farmers in an area. The principle

28、of sharing losses in that case would not work. And who hasnt heard of government insurance program best known as social security? The basic purpose of social security is to provide income for retired, disabled, or unemployed workers. 2 In this passage, the author gives a brief introduction of differ

29、ent kinds of insurance policies. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 The purpose of insurance can be realized only when the cost of insurance is shared by many people who face a similar risk. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 There are almost ,00 insurance companies in America, most of which operate on a small scale. （ A

30、） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 In the policy, the exact kinds of losses for which the company will pay will be written. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 Insurance can provide ninny kinds of protection which can be divided into three types. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 Both property insurance and liability insurance protect

31、 against possible financial losses resulting from damage to the policyholders property. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 When a claim is made by a policyholder, it is the insurance companys responsibility to assess the loss. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 It is possible for insurance companies to tell probably, not

32、 exactly, how many claims they need to pay for, so we say that insurance premiums are based on _. 10 When the profit is not tempting to the insurance companies, some kinds of insurance will be pro vided by _. 11 In the area where farmers are likely to sustain crop losses, the government provides the

33、m with _. 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 question there will be

34、 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） The womans luggage is too heavy to carry. （ B） The woman should finish the heavy work before she goes. （ C） The woman should ask Nick to drive her to the airport. （ D） The woman

35、 should leave New York with Nick. （ A） He is hostile. （ B） He is indifferent. （ C） He is helpful. （ D） He is satisfactory. （ A） The man dislikes it. （ B） The man likes it. （ C） Tourists dislike it. （ D） The people here like it. （ A） He is studying at a high school. （ B） He is teaching at a high scho

36、ol. （ C） He is doing business with his brother. （ D） He and his brother are serving in the army. （ A） Apologize to Donna. （ B） Confront Donna directly. （ C） Excuse Donnas behavior. （ D） Write Donna a letter. （ A） Gas station. （ B） Police station. （ C） Lost and Found department. （ D） Bar. （ A） Occasi

37、onally. （ B） Very rarely. （ C） Frequently. （ D） Every day. （ A） The cinema building is made of stone. （ B） The cinema is very near. （ C） The cinema is popular. （ D） The cinema is large. （ A） Tuesday. （ B） Wednesday. （ C） Thursday. （ D） Saturday. （ A） He hurt his knees when a tall ladder fell on him.

38、 （ B） He injured his ankle when he fell from a ladder. （ C） He sprained his hands when he fell off the roof of his house. （ D） He injured his legs when he fell off the roof of his home. （ A） The man should put some ice on his injury. （ B） The man needs to come into the doctors office right away. （ C

39、） The man ought to take it easy for a few days. （ D） The man should come into the doctors office tomorrow. （ A） On how to give presents to others on Christmas. （ B） On how to spend time with grandparents. （ C） On how to play hide-and-seek. （ D） On how to celebrate Christmas. （ A） They cat out at a r

40、estaurant. （ B） They visit close relatives. （ C） They go to see a movie. （ D） They hold a dance party. （ A） Its a time when people exchange gifts with friends, family, and teachers. （ B） Its a holiday when friends give gifts during an elaborate dinner. （ C） Its a day when people think of others with

41、out waiting for a gift in return. （ D） Its a time that you can receive lots of gifts. （ A） Giving presents from classmates. （ B） Having a big dinner with the family. （ C） Sleeping late every day. （ D） Having a vacation from school. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passage

42、s. 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） English settlers. （ B） Native farmers, herdsmen and hunters. （ C） Miss

43、ionaries, civil servants and professional people. （ D） German settlers. （ A） To win over control of Kenya from the Germans. （ B） To take strategic resources from Kenya. （ C） To control Kenya before all others. （ D） To see the Kenyans lives improved. （ A） Because the British didnt have the right to d

44、o so. （ B） Because the soldiers didnt know fanning. （ C） Because the soldiers didnt like to go to Kenya. （ D） Because the land in Kenya is unfit for farming. （ A） Five. （ B） Two. （ C） Four. （ D） Three. （ A） Business people. （ B） People on vacation. （ C） People who want to live in a hotel. （ D） Peopl

45、e who want to live at the seashore. （ A） Ten rooms. （ B） Thirty thousand rooms. （ C） Several hundred rooms. （ D） About three thousand rooms. （ A） The beginning of Spring. （ B） The day before the New Year day. （ C） The New Year day. （ D） The day after the New Year day. （ A） Other beasts. （ B） Any pre

46、y on the earth. （ C） Peoples domestic animals. （ D） The mans opponents. （ A） Observing the conquest of “Nian“. （ B） Scare the beast “Nian“. （ C） A form to thank the old man. （ D） Red is the festival color. （ A） January, 2004. （ B） June, 2004. （ C） July,2004. （ D） November, 200 Section C Directions:

47、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. F

48、or 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 36 U.S. rates of disease and some cancers,【 B1】 _of the breast, are among the highest in the world. Many factors【 B2】 _to c

49、ancer and heart disease, including an individuals genetic【 B3】 _. But when scientists trace the course of diseases across the globe, the role of【 B4】 _stands out sharply. Japan offers an example. Tile【 B5】 _Japanese diet is the direct【 B6】 _of ours: typically they eat rice, vegetables and a little fish, while Americans put a big【 B7】 _of meat in the center of the plate and add a few French fries.【 B8】 _only about a quarter as much fat as we do, and far more carbohydrates, the J