1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 219及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition, on the topic The Importance of Confidenle. should write at least 150 words following the outline given below: 1. 凡事均应有信 心； 2. 没有信心的原因； 3. 建立信心是可能的。 二、 Part II Reading C
2、omprehension (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 1-4, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if
3、the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Fresh Water Shortage A water crisis is about to explode. Fresh water is a finite resource. The amount of fresh water supply provided by the hydrological cycle does not
4、 increase. Water everywhere on the planet is an integral part of the global hydrologic cycle. Precipitation (降水 ) originates as evaporation from land and the oceans. Soil moisture is used by plants, which return more moisture to the atmosphere, which then returns to the Earth as rain or snow. Barlow
5、 and Clark add, “Unless we dramatically change our ways, between one-half and two-thirds of humanity will be living with severe freshwater shortages within the next quarter-century.“ Humans share the Earth with other creatures who also need water, therefore, a water shortage is also a crisis for wil
6、dlife. Of the 25-biodiversity hot spots designated by Conservation International, 10 are located in water-short regions. Fresh Water in Mans Life Seventy percent of all the fresh water is used for irrigation. Agriculture uses the largest amount of freshwater (70%). Forty percent of the world grain h
7、arvest is produced on irrigated land, therefore, a water shortage will become a food shortage. Countries are importing grain as a way to import water. It takes 1,000 tons of water to grow one ton of grain. On the other hand, exporters of grain are exporting water. (The U.S. annual grain exports of 9
8、0 million tons of grain represent 90 billion tons of water, an amount that exceeds the 67-billion-ton annual flow of the Missouri River. ) Producing one ton of grain requires 1,000 tons of water, but producing one ton of beef requires 15,000 tons of water (and nearly that much is required to produce
9、 a ton of cotton). Producing wheat or soybeans requires only 2% of the water required by beef. Twenty percent of fresh water is used by industry. As water becomes scarce, demand for water in cities and by industry is satisfied by taking water from a countrys agriculture, with imported grain offsetti
10、ng the shortfall. Conservation programs are not applied to industry. Ten percent of fresh water is used for residential purposes. Residential use accounts for 10 percent of fresh water use and about three-fourths of the urban water demand. Each day in the U.S., more than 4.8 billion gallons of drink
11、ing water is flushed down toilets. Showers account for about 20 percent of total indoor water use. The EPA says that by replacing standard 4.5-gallon-per-minute showerheads with 2.5-gallon-per-minute heads, which cost less than $5 each, a family of four can save approximately 20,000 gallons of water
12、 per year. Outdoor residential water use varies greatly, but on average, nationally, lawn care accounts for about 32 percent of the total residential outdoor use. Other outdoor uses include washing automobiles, maintaining swimming pools, and cleaning sidewalks and driveways. Signs of Stress as the
13、Demand for Fresh Water Rivers are running dry. Many major rivers including the Colorado, Ganges, Indus, Rio Grande, and Yellow are so over-tapped that they now run dry for part of the year. Freshwater wetlands have shrunk by about half worldwide. In 1972, the Yellow River in China failed to reach th
14、e sea for the first time in history. That year it failed on 15 days; every year since, it has run dry for a longer period of time, until in 1997, it failed to reach the sea for more than half a year. Water tables are falling on every continent. Aquifer (蓄水池 ) depletion is a new problem. Water tables
15、 are falling from the overpumping of groundwater in large portions of China, India, Iran, Mexico, the Middle East, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. India has the highest volume of annual groundwater overdraft of any nation in the world. In most parts of the country, water mining is
16、 taking place at twice the rate of natural recharge, causing aquifer water tables to drop by 3 to 10 feet per year. This enormous shift from sustainable water use to over-mining began when farmers changed from having oxen withdraw the water from a well, to using electric or diesel-driven (柴油机发动的 ) m
17、otors. Causes of Fresh Water Shortage Global Warming Some scientists say that global warming is the single greatest cause of the fresh water shortage in the world. A rise in average temperature in mountainous regions can alter the precipitation mix between rainfall and snowfall, with more rain and l
18、ess snow. This change means more flooding and more runoff during the rainy season, but also less water held as snow and ice in the mountains for use in the dry season. These mountain glaciers or “reservoirs in the sky“ are all melting. The snow/ice mass in the Himalayas, (the third largest in the wo
19、rld, after the two polar ice caps) is now beginning to shrink at an accelerating rate. Every major river in Asia originates in that snow/ice mass. Privatization of Water In our economic system, “scarcity creates value“, so many corporations are trying to privatize access to water. To facilitate this
20、, corporations want water officially designated as a need, rather than a right. If water is only a “need“, the private sector, through the market, could provide this resource on a for-profit basis. If water is officially recognized as a universal right, governments would be responsible for ensuring
21、that all people would have equal access on a nonprofit basis. Corporations are using the World Trade Organization to force Third World countries to privatize water markets and grant corporations access to them. The World Bank has made privatization of urban water systems a condition for receiving ne
22、w loans and debt restructuring. There are places where people are resisting this trend to privatization of water. In August 2002, the Nicaraguan National Assembly became the first parliament in the world to suspend private profit making in the use of water. Commercial water export would only perpetu
23、ate (长期化 ) the basic problem that has caused the “water crisis“ in the first place: responding to peoples growing demands for water by increasing supply. This demand has led to the draining of lakes, the depletion of aquifers and destruction of aquatic ecosystems around the world. Pollution of Fresh
24、 Water In addition to our using more water than is returned in rain, we are also polluting the water we have. Most of the pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture, sewer overflows, and the oil and grease from roads, eventually run off into the water systems. Other sources of excess nutrients i
25、nclude lawn fertilizers, pet and farm animal waste, decaying plant material, failing septic tanks, and inefficient sewage treatment plants. Industrial plants and municipal wastewater treatment plants can also contribute to the amount of toxic substances entering streams and rivers and ultimately lak
26、es, estuaries (河口 ), and coastal waters. More than 60 percent of U.S. coastal rivers and bays are moderately to severely degraded by nutrient runoff. Every eight months, nearly 11 million gallons of oil run off our streets and driveways into our waters the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. W
27、ater sheds, inland forests, agricultural areas, and population centers are the source of about 80% of marine pollution. This runoff creates harmful algae (藻类 ) blooms and leads to the degradation or loss of seagrass and kelp beds as well as coral reefs, all of which are important for spawning (产卵 )
28、and nursery grounds for fish. Large-scale farms which mass-produce animals, confining them in crowded feedlots (动物养殖场 ) and factory-style barns, create massive amounts of pollution. According to the EPA, U.S. animal feedlots produce about 500 million tons of manure each year, more than three times t
29、he amount of human waste. This animal waste, (with antibiotics) also ends up in groundwater and surface water in huge quantities. The expanding loss of wetlands means these runoff nutrients arent processed and purified by nature before they enter rivers, streams, and ultimately estuaries. The rainfa
30、ll on the European continent is so full of toxic pesticides that much of it is too dangerous to drink. Some Solutions There are solutions: better public and community control of water utilities; repairing old water systems, using less water for agriculture by using drip irrigation, stopping pollutin
31、g the water we do have, increasing water conservation and focusing resources on watershed management. 2 The passage mainly introduces the solution to water shortage problems. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 Not only humans but also wildlife faces the crisis of water shortage. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 In the
32、U.S., the amount of indoor water use surpasses the amount of outdoor water use. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 One solution to fresh water shortage is to to use drip irrigation. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 Agriculture accounts for about_percent of fresh water used in mans life. 7 The Yellow River in China fail
33、ed to reach the sea for the first time in history in the year of_. 8 Water tables are falling because of_in many parts of the world. 9 According to some scientists,_is the single greatest cause of the fresh water shortage in the world. 10 _became the first parliament in the world to suspend private
34、profit making in the use of water. 11 According to the author, except global warming and privatization of water,_is also responsible for fresh water shortage. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or
35、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 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） One. （ B） Two. （ C） Three. （
36、 D） Four. （ A） At a hospital. （ B） At a graduation. （ C） At a wedding. （ D） In a doctors office. （ A） Teacher and student. （ B） Doctor and patient. （ C） Lawyer and client. （ D） Neighbours. （ A） Neither Young nor Silvia has got an M.A. degree till now. （ B） After four years study, both Young and Silv
37、ia have got M.A. degrees. （ C） Young and Silvia have a child in the fourth year of their marriage. （ D） After four years marriage, Young and Silvia decided to start the family with a child. （ A） He hates to be forced to have one more pie. （ B） He wants another piece of banana pie. （ C） He prefers to
38、 try another kind of pie. （ D） He needs some help making banana pie. （ A） Forget the notes and enjoy a cup of tea. （ B） Discuss the notes with Prof. Lubna during the tea time. （ C） Go over the notes right away. （ D） Make no more efforts on the difficult course. （ A） The woman works for a roofing com
39、pany. （ B） The man is afraid of heavy storms. （ C） The womans bedroom roof is leaking. （ D） The mans bedroom roof needs repairing. （ A） The man should pay little attention to Mr. Hoffmans remarks. （ B） The man should persuade Mr. Hoffman to think positively. （ C） The man should take Mr. Hoffmans com
40、ments seriously. （ D） The man should keep himself away from Mr. Hoffman. （ A） He is a stranger to the stock. （ B） He likes the stock very much. （ C） He is confident of his investment. （ D） He is the student of the woman. （ A） If the market goes down, you can buy in and hang on. （ B） If the market go
41、es up, you can buy in and hang on. （ C） If the market keeps changing; you can buy in and hang on. （ D） If the market remains changeless, you can buy in and hang on. （ A） It is easy to invest in the stock market. （ B） Stock investment is really complex. （ C） Fixed interest fields are more profitable.
42、 （ D） A broker is necessary in the stock investment. （ A） A personnel manager. （ B） A business consultant. （ C） A secretary. （ D） An assistant. （ A） Developing a functional organizational structure in the mans company. （ B） Developing the business of the mans company. （ C） Developing the product of
43、the mans company. （ D） Developing the mans ability to organize his company. （ A） Because his company is too small. （ B） Because his company is in a mess. （ C） Because his company is developing rapidly. （ D） Because his company is in bad need. （ A） He will go to somebody else for help. （ B） He will a
44、lter the womans suggestion. （ C） He will organize a new company. （ D） He will follow the womans suggestions. 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. A
45、fter you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） They were created by Galileo in 1610. （ B） They are electrical in nature. （ C） They are created by nature. （ D） They are there for almost thousands of years. （ A） More electrons will be release
46、d into space. （ B） Radio transmission will be disrupted. （ C） The weather may be affected. （ D） The sunspot cycle will be shortened. （ A） The number of sun flares. （ B） The heat of the sun. （ C） The sunspot cycle. （ D） The weather. （ A） By doing homework. （ B） By knowledge from books and parents. （
47、C） By having pocket money from their parents. （ D） By saving what they have. （ A） It can be useless. （ B） It can be useful. （ C） It can be abnormal. （ D） The speaker has no idea about it. （ A） Buying what they want at will. （ B） Helping with homework. （ C） Giving it to a good cause. （ D） Saving it.
48、（ A） It is a new design to keep people warm in winter. （ B） It is closely sea!0d so that cool air cannot go through. （ C） It is a new design without exhausting or harming natural resources. （ D） It is created for gardening or fanning. （ A） They are built to produce more fruits and wheat. （ B） They a
49、re naturally air-conditioning and water-saving houses. （ C） Most of green houses are used only in winter for heating. （ D） People try to save energy as much as possible. （ A） They should cut more trees and not use any materials harmful for human health. （ B） They should exploit fast-growing trees and recyclable materials. （ C） They should avoid cutting down trees. （ D） They should build their houses near the forests so that fresh air is available. （ A） The concept of green houses is changing.
