1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 520及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Waste Sorting. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below. 1目前许多人扔垃圾时不分类 2由此带来的问题 3提倡垃圾分类 的意义 Waste Sorting 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Ski
2、mming 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 con
3、tradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 The Great Unknowns in Gulf Oil Spill The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico falls into a distinct category from any other oil catastrophe; its the first blowout (泄露 ) in history to releas
4、e oil in such deep waters, nearly a mile below the surface. As a result, scientists say, the impacts of this spill are likely to go far beyond the oiled birds and dead sea turtles, spoiled beaches and wetlands that we think of when we think “oil spill.“ A substantial piece of the total impact is lik
5、ely occurring under the sea, invisible (for now at least) but no less ominous (有威胁的 ) than the more traditional shoreline effects. Far below the sea, the spill threatens organisms of all kinds and, indirectly, the ecosystem at large, though the extent of the danger is still obscured. Oil on the surf
6、ace of the ocean is a known quantity, says Ed Overton, an oil-spill expert at the Louisiana State University who is analyzing water, sediment, and other samples for NOAAs scientific-support team. “Its going to cause very substantial and noticeable damage but it wont take very long to find the marsh
7、loss and coastal erosion and impact on fisheries,“ he says. The effects of oil in the water column and at the sea floor, on the other hand, remains a mystery. The first scientific mission to assess deepwater impacts of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, conducted from the research ship Pelican and funde
8、d by NOAA, discovered massive plumes (缕 ) of dispersed oil up to 30 miles long by seven miles wide and hundreds of feet thick. Though the data collected by the Pelican was criticized by NOAA as being too preliminary to draw conclusions from, scientists say the finding is not surprising and is in lin
9、e with the results of previous studies. One such study, a 2003 report by the National Research Council, considered what the effects of a deepwater well blowout might be and predicted that such an event, particularly of a reservoir rich in gas (as the Deepwater Horizon reservoir appears to be) would
10、generate diffuse underwater plumes of oil much like what the Pelican scientists found. A few years earlier, the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) organized a study in 2000 in which scientists released oil into deep seas off the coast of Norway, but could only account for a small amount of it on
11、 the surface suggesting that much of it remained in the water column. (While the conditions of this study arent identical to the conditions of the current spill, Overton says the general findings could be expected to apply). Conventional wisdom suggests that oil is lighter than water and therefore f
12、loats, but thats not entirely the case when a complex mixture of crude oil and natural gas is gushing from a well a mile below the surface, at high temperature and pressure, as is happening right now in the gulf. In this case, the gas can effervesce out of the oil, aerosolizing it into tiny droplets
13、, much the way a fine mist emerges from the top of an aerosol can. Some of these droplets may be neutrally buoyant, meaning they move to a point in the water column where they neither rise nor sink, possibly resulting in underwater “plumes“ like the ones reported. Adding subsea (海底的 ) dispersants, w
14、hich similarly break up the oil and are intended to prevent it from reaching the surface, may exacerbate this and could have toxic effects themselves. A major impact of subsea oil plumes is that they lead to a bloom in oil-eating microbes (微 生物 ). These bugs eat the oil, but use oxygen in the proces
15、s meaning that oxygen levels in the water can drop rapidly and threaten the organisms living there. Samantha Joye, one of the principal investigators for the Pelican mission, says her team found that water within the plumes was 30 percent less oxygenated than normal. Thats not enough of a drop to su
16、ffocate (把 闷死 )organisms but she worries that it could get there relatively soon. There is plentiful life in the deep sea thats in danger: fish, deep-sea corals, gelatinous zooplankton like jellyfish, and benthic-dwelling sharks, not to mention the diverse communities of shrimp, crabs, worms, and ot
17、her critters that live near natural methane seeps. “Its like a thriving jungle down there,“ Joye says. Even if oil exposure doesnt kill these organisms, it could have chronic, long-term effects, like impaired growth or reproduction. Over time, any impact on the deep-sea communities is likely to have
18、 more broad effects, since the whole ocean is connected by various biological processes. “All the different zones of life are interactive in one way or another,“ says Lisa Levin, a marine ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. And any oil in the deep-sea environment could persist for
19、a long time. The majority of oil on the surface evaporates, washes up on shore, or is degraded by natural weathering and oil-eating microbes. In the deep sea, on the other hand, its dark and still, meaning no weathering and no evaporation. Microbial degradation is pretty much the only relieving proc
20、ess but its slow. As a result, theres some possibility that deep-sea oil could get churned up by storms and have a limited shoreline impact sometime in the future, Joye says. It could take years to find out the extent of the oils subsea impact, but the scientists interviewed for this article stresse
21、d the importance of beginning the search immediately, even before the gushing well is capped. “If you dont look you wont find,“ says Rick Steiner, a marine biologist who worked on the Exxon Valdez spill back in 1989. “Hats off to the Pelican for doing what they could out there, but they might have s
22、ampled 1 percent or less of the total volume of the impact.“ Many other questions about the plumes remain, Joye says, including whats happening inside them, how are they moving, whether theyre growing or sfirinking, and if there are more of them. Its also essential to get an accurate measure of the
23、amount of oil being released, as this would allow scientists to deduce how much oil could be hiding below the surface based on the size of the oil slick and estimates of other factors like evaporation. On these points, the scientific community has been increasingly critical of the official response
24、to the spill, alleging that both the government and BP have resisted entreaties to either investigate the spills magnitude and subsea impacts themselves or to allow independent scientists to do so. “These deepwater effects are not going to mess the beaches up, and theyre not going to have an immedia
25、te impact on the shrimp fishery, but they could have long-standing impacts,“ Joye says. These hidden impacts and the way they are handled could one day be considered the Deepwater Horizons legacy. 2 The Gulf oil spill is different from any other oil catastrophe in that_. （ A） it involves a world-ren
26、owned firm （ B） it has a limited shoreline impact （ C） the surface of the ocean wasnt affected （ D） the oil was released into deep seas 3 What is said about the spill occurring far below the sea? （ A） It resulted in the death of birds that feed on fish. （ B） It is a threat to the whole ecosystem the
27、re. （ C） It is less harmful than the spill on the surface. （ D） It is easy to assess the likely impacts. 4 According to Ed Overton, the effects of oil on the surface of the ocean_. （ A） will be very obvious （ B） are a complete mystery （ C） are not measurable （ D） remain modest at present 5 Whats the
28、 opinion of scientists about the data collected by the Pelican? （ A） It is a result that should surprise many people. （ B） It is not reliable for them to draw conclusions from. （ C） It contradicts with a report released in the year 2003. （ D） It is similar to the results of the studies done before.
29、6 The study organized by MMS indicated that if oil was released into deep seas,_. （ A） the oil would not disperse but sink to the sea floor （ B） the oil would kill all the fishes and marine plants （ C） much of the oil would remain in the water column （ D） all the oil would rise to the surface very q
30、uickly 7 Why do oil-eating microbes threaten the organisms living in the water within the plumes? （ A） They pollute the waters seriously. （ B） They cause infectious diseases. （ C） They consume too much oxygen. （ D） Their number increases dramatically. 8 If they were exposed to oil, deep-sea organism
31、s including fish and deep-sea corals_. （ A） would definitely become extinct （ B） could have their growth damaged （ C） might enjoy an explosive growth （ D） would stop reproducing permanently 9 Oil degradation occurring in the deep sea is much_compared with that on the surface. 10 During the interview
32、, scientists emphasized that it was important to start an_. 11 The government and BP has been increasingly_by the scientific community for their responses to the Gulf oil spill. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each co
33、nversation, 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 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 long
34、wait. （ B） The mistakes in her telephone bill. （ C） The broken-down computer. （ D） The bad telephone service. （ A） The man is an exceptionally excellent student. （ B） The woman is not allowed to give make-up exams. （ C） The students request will be granted. （ D） The student wont be able to complete
35、the course. （ A） He was furious with his boss. （ B） He was always late for work. （ C） His daughters being sick made him late. （ D） He made a big mistake in his work. （ A） She had a bad cold. （ B） She had a car accident. （ C） She got home before 10 oclock. （ D） She was delayed. （ A） Mr. Smith will be
36、 replaced if he makes another mistake. （ B） Mr. Smith is an admirable chief of the Asian Department. （ C） Mr. Smiths department is more successful than all the others. （ D） Mr. Smith is not available in the office these days. （ A） The classroom was under construction. （ B） He couldnt focus on the cl
37、ass due to the noise. （ C） He felt that his studying was not effective. （ D） He went back to get the book left at home. （ A） Lend the novel to the man. （ B） Check if Alice will lend the novel. （ C） Buy the novel from Alice. （ D） Look for another novel for the man. （ A） He has a darker skin now. （ B）
38、 He went south to get sun-tanned. （ C） He could not recognize his mother. （ D） He works in a southern state. （ A） Put his notes in order ahead. （ B） Ask himself a lot of questions. （ C） Know his own needs and wants. （ D） Figure out what his audience is interested in. （ A） Ask the audience many quest
39、ions. （ B） Summarize the material which is familiar to the listeners. （ C） Give detailed facts and numbers that the audience have known. （ D） Give different ideas which are beyond the audiences understanding. （ A） He knows clearly what he needs and wants. （ B） He has to give his audience some in-dep
40、th views. （ C） He knows its very important to attract the attention of his audience. （ D） He knows how he delivers his speech determines the audiences feedback. Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. （ A） The definition of eccentricity. （ B） Essentiality. （ C） How to k
41、eep pets. （ D） How to enjoy special food. （ A） Being unusual and strange. （ B） Charming and special. （ C） Aggressive and hardworking. （ D） Common and usual. （ A） A poor British man. （ B） A rich American. （ C） A rich British man. （ D） A poor American. （ A） The Victorian surgeon lived at Buckland. （ B
42、） Howard was always a hermit. （ C） A hermit is a person who enjoys communicating with others. （ D） Howard Hughes became a recluse because he was tired of high living. Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short pa
43、ssages. 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） She is good at observing and understanding. （ B） She is never ple
44、ased with her neighbors. （ C） She is unhappy with their life. （ D） She is easy to get along with. （ A） She is selfish and cruel. （ B） She is kind and polite. （ C） She is proud and helpful. （ D） She is lonely and unhappy. （ A） Money is the key to everything. （ B） There is something more important tha
45、n money. （ C） The more money you have, the less happy youll be. （ D） When talking to people we should look into their eyes. （ A） She had met with an accident. （ B） She had caused a scandal. （ C） She was seriously ill. （ D） She was hidden somewhere. （ A） Look into the matter. （ B） Bring Milly back to
46、 life. （ C） Free him from a scandal. （ D） Keep the whole thing a secret. （ A） A farmer. （ B） A policeman. （ C） A country doctor. （ D） A newspaper reporter. （ A） A hotel owner. （ B） A famous accountant. （ C） Its master. （ D） The princes son. （ A） By making up a story. （ B） By constructing a hotel on
47、the hill. （ C） By showing people around his hotel. （ D） By inviting a friend to help him. （ A） To show off. （ B） To make more money. （ C） To remember the loyal dog. （ D） To honor the prince. （ A） A Prince and His Dog （ B） A Profit-making Lie （ C） A Magnificent Hotel （ D） A Faithful but Unlucky Dog S
48、ection C Directions: 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 y
49、ou have just heard. For 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 Personality is to a large extent inherent A-type parents usually bring about A-type【 B1】 _. But the environment must also have a【 B2】 _effect, since if competition is important to the parents, it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children.
