1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 475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 short essay entitled The Phenomenon of Empty Nest. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below. 注： “空巢老人 ”指那 到了退休年龄，身边却无子女与之共同生活的老人。 1. 如今的空巢老人逐渐增多 2. 这种现象
2、出现的原因 3.如何解决由此带来的问题 二、 Part II Reading 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 1-4, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the informat
3、ion given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is more than just the worlds largest retailer. It is an economic force, a cultural phenomenon and a lightning
4、 rod for controversy. It all started with a simple philosophy from founder Sam Walton: Offer shoppers lower prices than they get anywhere else. That basic strategy has shaped Wal-Marts culture and driven the companys growth. Now that Wal-Mart is so huge, it has unprecedented power to shape labor mar
5、kets globally and change the way entire industries operate. History of Wal-Mart Sam Walton opened his first five-and-dime in 1950. His vision was to keep prices as low as possible. Even if his margins werent as fat as competitors, he figured he could make up for that in volume. He was right. In the
6、early 1960s, Walton opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. The company continued to grow, going public in 1970 and adding more stores every year. In 1990, Wal-Mart surpassed key rival Kmart in size. Two years later, it surpassed Sears. Walton continued to drive an old pickup truck and share
7、budget-hotel rooms with colleagues on business trips, even after Wal-Mart made him very rich. He demanded that his employees also keep expenses to a bare minimuma mentality that is still al the heart of Wal-Mart culture more than a decade after Waltons death. The company has continued to grow rapidl
8、y after his death in 1992 and now operates four retail divisionsWal-Mart Supercenters, Wal-Mart discount stores, Neighborhood Market stores and Sams Club warehouses. Wal-Mart Strategy Lets start with technology. Wal-Mart pushed the retail industry to establish the universal bar code, which forced ma
9、nufacturers to adopt common labeling. The bar allowed retailers to generate all kinds of informationcreating a subtle shift of power from manufacturers to retailers. Wal-Mart became especially good at exploiting the information behind the bar code. And thus it is considered a pioneer in developing s
10、ophisticated technology to track its stock and cut the fat out of its supply chain. Recently, Wal-Mart became the first major retailer to demand manufacturers use radio frequency identification technology (RFID). The technology, uses radio frequencies to transmit data stored on small tags attached t
11、o pallets (货盘 ) or individual products. RFID tags hold significantly more data than bar codes. The frugal culture, established by Walton. also plays into Wal-Marts success. The company has been criticized for the relatively poor wages and health care plans that it otters to rank-and file employees.
12、It has also been accused of demanding that hourly workers put in overtime without pay. Store managers often work more than 70 hours per week. This culture is also present at the companys headquarters. Wal-Mart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, instead of an expensive city like New York. The
13、 building is unattractive and dull. You wont catch executives in quality cars and you wont see them dragging into work at 9:30 a.m. Executives fly coach and often share hotel rooms with colleagues. They work long hours, typically arriving at work before 6:30 a.m. and working halfdays on Saturdays. T
14、he central goal of Wal-Mart is to keep retail prices lowand the company has been very successful at this. Experts estimate that Wal-Mart saves shoppers at least 15 percent on a typical cart of groceries. Everythingincluding the technology and corporate culturefeeds into that ultimate goal of deliver
15、ing the lowest prices possible. Wal-Mart also pushes its suppliers, some say cruelly, to cut prices. In The Wal-Mart Effect, author Charles Fishman discusses how the price of a four-pack of GE light bulbs decreased from $2.19 to 88 cents during a five-year period. The Power Because of Wal-Marts mass
16、ive size, it has incredible power. It has driven smaller retailers out of business; forced manufacturers to be more efficient, often leading these suppliers to move manufacturing jobs overseas; and changed the way that even large and established industries do business. There is plenty of anecdotal e
17、vidence that a new Wal-Mart in town spells doom for local pharmacies, grocery stores, sporting goods stores, etc. Economist Emek Basker, Ph.D., attempted to quantify the impact. Her study found that in a typical United States county, when a Wal-Mart opens, three other retailers close within two year
18、s and four close within five years. While the Wal-Mart might employ 300 people, another 250 people working in retail lose their jobs within five years in that county. Wal-Mart has life or death decisions over (almost) all the consumer goods industries that exist in the United States, because it is t
19、he number-one supplier-retailer of most of our consumer goodsnot just clothes, shoes, toys, but home appliances, electronic products, sporting goods, bi cycles, groceries, food. The stories of how Wal-Mart pushes manufacturers into selling the same product at lower and lower prices are legendary. On
20、e example is Lakewood Engineering on my only visit to a beautician (美容师 ), the woman said she found my face a challenge. Yet despite these social disadvantages I feel cheerful, happy, confident and secure. I work for a daily newspaper and so get to a lot of places I would otherwise never see. This y
21、ear I went to Ascot to write about the people there. I saw something there that made me realize the stupidity of trying to conform, of trying to be better than anyone else. There was a small, plump woman, all dressed uphuge hat, dress with pink butterflies, long white gloves. She also had a shooting
22、 stick. But because she was so plump, when she sat on the stick it went deep into the ground and she couldnt pull it out. She tugged and tugged, tears of rage in her eyes. When the final tug brought it out, she crashed with it to the ground. I saw her walk away. Her day had been mined. She had made
23、a fool of herself in public she had impressed nobody. In her own sad, red eyes she was a failure. I remember well when I was like that, in the days before I learned that nobody really cared what you do. I remember the pain of my first dance, something that is always meant to be a wonderful occasion
24、for a girl. There was a fashion then for diamante (人造钻石 ) ear-rings, and I wore them so often practicing for the big night that I got two great sores on my ears and had to put sticking-plaster on them. Perhaps it was this that made nobody want to dance with me. Whatever it was, there I sat for four
25、hours and 43 minutes. When I came home, I told my parents that I had a marvelous time and that my feet were sore from dancing. They were pleased at my success and went to bed happily, but I went to my room and tore the bits of sticking-plaster off my ears and felt forlorn (被遗弃的 ) and disconsolate. 4
26、8 By saying “the woman said she found my face a challenge“ (Line 2, Para 1), the author suggests that her face is _. 49 Because of the Ascot womans _, the stick had to be pulled out from the ground. 50 What did the author learn from what she saw in Ascot? 51 According to the author, what was the mai
27、n reason for the failure of her first dance? 52 Why did the author tell a lie to her parents that she had a marvelous time? Section B Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked
28、A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice. 52 The poor old consumer! Wed have to pay a great deal more if advertising didnt create mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only pu
29、rpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods derives largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about
30、. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc, from an advertisement. Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisem
31、ents these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway bylaws while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely-printed columns of news in your da
32、ily paper? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or a newspaper full of the daily ration of calamities. We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers, commercial ration and television companies could not subsist
33、 without this source of revenue. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast pro grams is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price! Another thing we mustnt forget is the “small ads“,
34、which are in virtually every newspaper and magazine. What a tremendously useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called
35、the “hatch, match and dispatch“ column but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or “agony“ column. No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. Its the best advertisement for advertising there is! 53 We are different
36、from the old consumers in that _. （ A） we have cheap goods because of heavy advertising （ B） we know to inform is one of the functions of advertising （ C） we have much knowledge about household goods （ D） we believe the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods 54 What does advertising do with th
37、e products we already know about? （ A） To introduce their new functions. （ B） To compare them with new products of the same sort. （ C） To tell that they are still available. （ D） To correct any impropriate information about them. 55 The railway bylaws most probably refer to _. （ A） newspapers publis
38、hed by railway company （ B） lengthy regulations of the railway company （ C） boring advertisements about useless products （ D） cheerful and witty advertisements on the station 56 By saying that“advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets“, the author means that _. （ A） advertisements are
39、 informative （ B） advertisements are entertaining （ C） advertisements save money for consumers （ D） advertisements serve the whole community 57 Which of the following statements is true about the “agony“ column? （ A） It is classified as a kind of “small ads“. （ B） It is included in the “hatch, match
40、 and dispatch“ column. （ C） It mainly consists of distressful news. （ D） It provides most helpful advertisements for households. 57 It was going to have roughly the effect of a neutron bomb attack on high streets and shop ping malls. The buildings would be left standing but the people would vanish.
41、Such was the superior efficiency of selling things via the Internet that brick-and-mortar stores would be unable to compete on price, choice or even service. Book and music sellers had already been “Amazoned“. Soon web-based “category-killers“, in everything from toys to pet supplies, would overwhel
42、m their physical-world competitors. Shoppers would never be more than a mouse-click from the best deals. Traditional retailers, terrified of cannibalizing (同类相食 ) sales and destroying the value of their expensive properties, were already too late to meet the challenge. “In some categories,“ said Mar
43、y Meeker, a seer (预言家 ) of the Internet at Morgan Stanley, “its already game over.“ These are convenient beliefs for anyone justifying some e-commerce share prices, but they are already mostly wrong. The reasons should surprise no one. The Internet is not a dominant technology but rather a network o
44、f people. It is a rich and highly flexible means of communicating that is rapidly achieving pervasiveness because more and more people find it easy and convenient to use. But it is those peoples preferences that will count; and for most people, shopping is more than just a means to an end. Even if t
45、he Internet provided a perfectly efficient way to shop it would not provide a satisfactory alternative to the physical enjoyment of sniffing a ripe melon, say, or trying on a cashmere sweater. Of course, some products, such as music and banking, can be distributed electronically with success and cos
46、t saving. But most purchases cannot be reduced to digital code. And distributing physical goods is cumbersome (笨重的 ) and expensive. Behind even the most exciting user interface there are old-fashioned warehouses and lorries, customers who decline to sit at home waiting for purchases to arrive, and g
47、oods that must be re-wrapped and expensively returned. No wonder that the cost of getting goods to customers homes so often soaks up the notional price advantages of e-commerce. What Internet shoppers have quickly realized is that the web is an addition to, and not a substitute for, their shopping h
48、abits. It is wonderful for gathering up-to-date information about products and prices. Cyber Dialogue, a research firm, estimates that in 1998 23m Americans sought information online, but then made their purchases offline, compared with only 17.7m who did the whole thing online. 58 The author compar
49、es _ of the online sale to the effect of neutron bomb attack. （ A） the efficiency （ B） the choice （ C） the price （ D） the service 59 According to Mary Meeker, _. （ A） traditional retailers cant compete with online ones on price, choice or service （ B） the battle between traditional retailers and online retailers is over （ C） online retailers have prevailed over traditional ones in the market of certain products （ D） online retailers have destroyed the value of traditional reta
