1、国家公共英语（四级）笔试模拟试卷 263及答案与解析 PART A Directions: For Questions 1-5, you will hear a conversation. While you listen, fill out the table with the information you have heard. Some of the information has been given to you in the table. Write only 1 word in each numbered box. You will hear the recording twi
2、ce. You now have 25 seconds to read the table below. 1 PART B Directions: For Questions 6-10, you will hear a passage. Use not more than 3 words for each answer. You will hear the recording twice. You now have 25 seconds to read the sentences and the questions below. 6 When will showers reach south-
3、west England and the southern coast of Wales? 7 What will the minimum temperature be in the south during the night? 8 On what day of the week do you think this weather forecast was given? 9 What will be the general feeling about the weekend in the Netherlands? 10 What part of England will be cloudy
4、and dry over the weedend? PART C Directions: You will hear three dialogues or monologues. Before listening to each one, you will have 5 seconds to read each of the questions which accompany it. While listening, answer each question by choosing A, B, C or D. After listening, you will have 10 seconds
5、to check your answer to each question. You will hear each piece ONLY ONCE. 11 What kind of person is called “mall rat“? （ A） One spends so much time at malls. （ B） One steals at malls. （ C） One sees dentists at malls. （ D） One eats a lot at malls. 12 Which of the following is NOT the reason why peop
6、le like malls? （ A） They feel safe because malls have police station of private security guards. （ B） They can be served free meals after doing shopping. （ C） They can do about everything at malls. （ D） The weather inside is always fine. 13 How many cars can be parked in the Mall of America? （ A） 35
7、0 （ B） 2750 （ C） 7500 （ D） 1965 14 According to the speaker, what should one pay special attention to if he wants to save up? （ A） Family debts （ B） Bank savings （ C） Monthly bills （ D） Spending habits 15 How much can a person save by retirement if he gives up his pack-a-day habit? （ A） $190,000 （ B
8、） $330,000 （ C） $500,000 （ D） $1,000,000 16 What should one do before paying monthly bills, if he wants to accumulate wealth? （ A） Invest into a mutual fund （ B） Use the discount tickets （ C） Quit his eating-out habit （ D） Use only paper bills and save coins 17 Which word best describes the lawyers
9、prediction of the change in divorce rate? （ A） Fall. （ B） Rise. （ C） V-shape. （ D） Zigzag. 18 What do people nowadays desire to do concerning their marriage? _ （ A） To embrace changes of thought. （ B） To adapt to the disintegrated family life. （ C） To return to the practice in the 60s and 70s. （ D）
10、To create stability in their lives. 19 Why did some people choose not to divorce 20 years ago? _ （ A） They feared the complicated procedures. （ B） They wanted to go against the trend. （ C） They were afraid of losing face. （ D） They were willing to stay together. 20 Years ago a divorced man in a comp
11、any would have_. （ A） been shifted around the country （ B） had difficulty being promoted （ C） enjoyed a happier life （ D） tasted little bitterness of disgrace 一、 Section II Use of English (15 minutes) Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C
12、or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. 20 College sports in the United States are a huge deal. Almost all major American universities have football, baseball, basketball and hockey programs, and 21 millions of dollars each year to sports. Most of them earn millions 22 as well, in television revenues, sponsorships.
13、 They also benefit 23 from the added publicity they get via their teams. Big-name universities 24 each other in the most popular sports. Football games at Michigan regularly 25 crowds of over 90,000. Basketballs national collegiate championship game is a TV 26 on a par with (与 相同或相似 ) any other spor
14、ting event in the United States, 27 perhaps the Super Bowl itself. At any given time during fall or winter one can 28 ones TV set and see the top athletic programsfrom schools like Michigan, UCLA, Duke and Stanford 29 in front of packed houses and national TV audiences. The athletes themselves are 3
15、0 and provided with scholarships. College coaches i-dentify 31 teenagers and then go into high schools to 32 the countrys best players to attend their universities. There are strict rules about 33 coaches can recruitno recruiting calls after 9 p. m. , only one official visit to a campus but they are
16、 often bent and sometimes 34 . Top college football programs 35 scholarships to 20 or 30 players each year, and those student-athletes, when they arrive 36 campus, receive free housing, tuition, meals, books, etc. In return, the players 37 the program in their sport. Football players at top colleges
17、 38 two hours a day, four days a week from January to April. In summer, its back to strength and agility training four days a week until mid-August, when camp 39 and preparation for the opening of the September-to-December season begins 40 . During the season, practices last two or three hours a day
18、 from Tuesday to Friday. Saturday is game day. Mondays are an officially mandated day of rest. （ A） attribute （ B） distribute （ C） devote （ D） attach （ A） out （ B） by （ C） in （ D） back （ A） directly （ B） indirectly （ C） apart （ D） indirect （ A） compete for （ B） compete in （ C） compete against （ D） c
19、ompete over （ A） draw （ B） amuse （ C） govern （ D） handle （ A） spectator （ B） spectacle （ C） spectrum （ D） spectacles （ A） save （ B） saving （ C） saved （ D） to save （ A） flip on （ B） flap at （ C） fling away （ D） flush out （ A） battle （ B） to battle （ C） battling （ D） battled （ A） recruited （ B） reconc
20、iled （ C） rectified （ D） reserved （ A） promising （ B） pleasing （ C） prominent （ D） professional （ A） contrive （ B） convince （ C） convert （ D） convict （ A） which （ B） what （ C） how （ D） whether （ A） ignored （ B） neglected （ C） remembered （ D） noticed （ A） offer （ B） afford （ C） award （ D） reward （ A）
21、 in （ B） on （ C） at （ D） around （ A） commit themselves to （ B） commit themselves on （ C） commute themselves to （ D） comply themselves to （ A） work in （ B） work out （ C） work over （ D） work off （ A） recalls （ B） enlists （ C） convenes （ D） collects （ A） in principle （ B） in confidence （ C） in name （ D
22、） in earnest Part B Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 40 There are advantages in 1997, if you want to look for them. The air is cleaner, and there seem to be fewer colds. The crime rate has
23、dropped. With the police car too expensive, policemen are back on their beats. More important, the streets are full. Legs are king, and people walk everywhere far into the night. There is mutual protection in crowds. If the weather isnt too cold, people sit out front. If it is hot, the open air is t
24、he only air-conditioning they get. At least, the street lights still burn. Indoors, few people can afford to keep lights burning after supper. As for the winterwell, it is inconvenient to be cold, with most of what furnace fuel is allowed hoarded for the dawn. But sweaters are popular indoor wear. S
25、howers are not an everyday luxury. It is sore in the suburbs, which were born with the auto, lived with the auto, and are dying with the auto. Suburbanites from associations that assign turns to the procurement and distribution of food. Pushcarts creak from house to house along the posh suburban roa
26、ds, and every bad snowstorm is a disaster. It isnt easy to hoard enough food to last till the roads are open. What energy is left must be conserved for agriculture. The great car factories make trucks and farm machinery almost exclusively. The American population isnt going up much any more, but the
27、 food supply must be kept high even though the prices and difficulty of distribution force each American to eat less. Food is needed for export to pay for some trickles of oil and for other resources. The rest of the world is not as lucky as we are. Theyre starving out there because earths populatio
28、n has continued to rise. The population on earth is 5. 5 billionup by 1. 5 billion since 1997and outside the United States and Europe, not more than one in five has enough to eat at any given time. There is a high infant mortality rate. Its more than just starvation, though. There are those who mana
29、ge to survive on barely enough to keep the body working, and that proves to be not enough for the brain. It is estimated that nearly two billion people in the world are permanently braindamaged by undernutrition, and the number is growing. At least the big armies are gone. Only the United States and
30、 the Soviet Union can maintain a few tanks, planes, and shipswhich they dare not move for fear of biting into limited fuel reserves. Machines must be replaced by human muscle and beasts of burden. People are working longer hours, and with lighting restricted, television only three hours a night, new
31、 books few and printed in small editionswhat is there to do with leisure? Work, sleep, and eating are the great trinity of 1997, and only the first two are guaranteed. 41 What is the passage about? _ （ A） It is a history of life in 1997. （ B） It is the description of life after a war. （ C） It is an
32、imaginary account of life in 1997. （ D） It is a scientific study of life in 1997. 42 Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage? _ （ A） Energy will be more expensive and in short supply. （ B） Most people will be on their legs. （ C） The air will be cleaner in 1997. （ D） Th
33、ere will be more cars than ever in 1997. 43 In 1997, people will_. （ A） not use any electricity （ B） use more electricity than they do today （ C） use less electricity than they do today （ D） not like electricity any more 44 Why will American need to export food in 1997? _ （ A） Because the farmers wi
34、ll need a lot of money. （ B） Because it will need money to buy oil. （ C） Because it will have too much food for its own use. （ D） Because it wants to help other countries. 45 Which of the following can best describe the authors tone?_ （ A） Pessimistic. （ B） Cheerful. （ C） Excited. （ D） Optimistic. 4
35、5 Much of the language used to describe monetary policy,such as “steering the economy to a soft landing“ or “a touch on the brakes“, makes it sound like a precise science. Nothing could be further from the truth. The link between interest rates and inflation is uncertain. And there are long,variable
36、 lags before policy changes have any effect on the economy. Hence the analogy that likens the conduct of monetary policy to driving a car with a blackened windscreen, a cracked rear-view mirror and a faulty steering wheel. Given all these disadvantages, central bankers seem to have had much to boast
37、 about of late. Average inflation in the big seven industrial economies fell to a mere 2.3% last year, close to its lowest level in 30 years, before rising slightly to 2.5% this July. This is a long way below the double-digit rates which many countries experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s. It is
38、 also less than most forecasters had predicted. In late 1994 the panel of economists which The Economist polls each month said that Americas inflation rate would average 3.5% in 1995. In fact,it fell to 2.6%in August, and is expected to average only about 3%for the year as a whole. In Britain and Ja
39、pan inflation is running half a percentage point below the rate predicted at the end of last year. This is no flash in the pan; over the past couple of years, inflation has been consistently lower than expected in Britain and America. Economists have been particularly surprised by favourable inflati
40、on figures in Britain and the United States, since conventional measures suggest that both economies,and especially Americas, have little productive slack. Americas capacity utilization, for example, hit historically high levels earlier this year, and its jobless rate (5. 6% in August) has fallen be
41、low most estimates of the natural rate of unemploymentthe rate below which inflation has taken off in the past. Why has inflation proved so mild? The most thrilling explanation is, unfortunately, a little defective. Some economists argue that powerful structural changes in the world have upended the
42、 old economic models that were based upon the historical link between growth and inflation. 46 According to the text, making monetary policy changes_. （ A） is comparable to driving a car （ B） is similar to carrying out scientific work （ C） will not influence the economy immediately （ D） will have an
43、 immediate impact on the inflation rate 47 From the text we learn that_. （ A） there is a clear relationship between inflation and interest rates （ B） the economy always follows particular trends （ C） the current economic problems are entirely predictable （ D） the present economic situation is better
44、 than expected 48 The text suggests that_. （ A） the previous economic models are still applicable （ B） an extremely low jobless rate will lead to inflation （ C） a high unemployment rate will result from inflation （ D） interest rates have an immediate effect on the economy 49 By saying “This is no fl
45、ash in the pan“ (line 5, paragraph 3), the author means that （ A） the low inflation rate will continue （ B） the inflation rate will rise again （ C） inflation will disappear entirely （ D） there is no inflation at present 50 How does the author feel about the present situation? _ （ A） Tolerant. （ B） I
46、ndifferent. （ C） Disappointed. （ D） Surprised. 50 Humour, which ought to give rise to only the most light-hearted and gay feelings, can often stir up vehemence and animosity. Evidently it is dearer to us than we realize. Men will take almost any kind of criticism except the observation that they hav
47、e no sense of humour. A man will admit to being a coward or a liar or a thief or a poor mechanic or a bad swimmer, but tell him he has a dreadful sense of humour and you might as well have slandered his mother. Even if he is civilized enough to pretend to make light of your statement, he will still
48、secretly believe that he has not only a good sense of humour but are superior to most. He has, in other words, a completely blind spot on the subject. This is all the more surprising when you consider that not one man in ten million can give you any kind of intelligent answer as to what humour is or
49、 why he laughs. One day when I was about twelve years old, it occurred to me to wonder about the phenomenon of laughter. At first I thought it is easy enough to see what I laugh at and why I am amused, but why at such times do I open my mouth and exhale in jerking gasps and wrinkle up my eyes and throw back my head and halloo like an animal? Why do not I instead rap four times on the top of my head or whistle or whirl about? That was over twenty years ago and I am still wondering, except that I n
