1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 560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 Pros and Cons of Text Message. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below. 1目前手机短信逐渐成为许多人交流的主要渠 道 2使用手机短信交流的利与弊 3我的看法 Pros and Cons of Text Messa
2、ge 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 information given in the
3、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 Lessons in Longevity This year, the number of pensioners in the UK exceeded the number of minors for the first time in history. Thats remarkable
4、 in its own right, but the real “population explosion“ has been among the oldest of the old the centenarians (百岁老人 ). In fact, this is the fastest-growing demographic in much of the developed world. In the UK, their numbers have increased by a factor of 60 since the early 20th century. And their ran
5、ks are set to swell even further, thanks to the ageing baby-boomer generation: by 2030 there will be about a million worldwide. These trends raise social, ethical and economic dilemmas. Are medical advances artificially prolonging life with little regard for the quality of that life? Old age brings
6、an increased risk of chronic disease, disability and dementia, and if growing numbers of elderly people become dependent on state or familial support, society faces skyrocketing costs and commitments. This is the dark cloud outside the silver lining of increasing longevity. Yet researchers who study
7、 the oldest old have made a surprising discovery that presents a less bleak vision of the future than many anticipate. It is becoming clear that people who break through the 90-plus barrier represent a physical elite, markedly different from the elderly who typically die younger than them. Far from
8、gaining a longer burden of disability, their extra years are often healthy ones. They have a remarkable ability to live through, delay or entirely escape a host of diseases that kill off most of their peers. Super-centenarians people aged 110 or over are even better examples of ageing gracefully. Th
9、e average super-centenarian had freely gone about their daily life until the age of 105 or so, some 5 to 10 years longer even than centenarians, who are themselves the physical equivalent of people 8 to 10 years their junior. This isnt just good news for the oldest old and for society in general; it
10、 also provides clues about how more of us might achieve a long and healthy old age. One of the most comprehensive studies comes from Denmark. In 1998, Kaare Christensen at the University of Southern Denmark, in Odense, exploited the countrys exemplary registries to contact every single one of the 3,
11、600 people born in 1905 who was still alive. Assessing their health over the subsequent decade, he found that the proportion of people who managed to remain independent throughout was constantly around one-third of the total: each individual risked becoming more infirm, but the unhealthiest ones pas
12、sed away at earlier ages, leaving the strongest behind. In 2005, only 166 of the people in Christensens sample were alive, but one-third of those were still entirely self-sufficient. This is good news from both personal and societal perspectives, for it means that exceptional longevity does not nece
13、ssarily lead to exceptional levels of disability. Of course, people can live independently without being entirely healthy, and it is true that most centenarians suffer from some sort of ailment. These range from osteoarthritis which is almost universal and often omitted from studies to simple loneli
14、ness. Neurodegenerative (神经退化性 ) diseases are common too, with around 70 to 85 per cent of centenarians suffering from some form of dementia. But dementia in this group follows a different pattern to the general population. It is more likely to be vascular dementia or rare neurodegenerative conditio
15、ns, such as Picks disease or Lewy body disease. Alzheimers disease, the most common form of dementia, is relatively rare among centenarians yet, intriguingly; autopsies reveal that the brains of the oldest old, who had shown no outward sign of dementia, are sometimes riddled with the lesions associa
16、ted with Alzheimers disease. The basis of this resilience to Alzheimers is largely unknown. The simple fact is that many people who become centenarians seem able to tolerate damage that would significantly harm less robust individuals, and although many suffer from dementia as death draws near, most
17、 remain mentally agile well into their nineties. Not all of the oldest old survive by delaying illness or disability, though many soldier through it. Jessica Evert of Ohio State University in Columbus examined the medical histories of over 400 centenarians. She found that those who achieve extreme l
18、ongevity tend to fall into three categories. About 40 per cent were “delayers“, who avoided chronic diseases until after the age of 80. This “compression of morbidity“, where chronic illness and disability are squeezed into ever-shorter periods at the end of life, is a recent trend among ageing popu
19、lations. Another 40 per cent were “survivors“, who suffered from chronic diseases before the age of 80 but lived longer to tell the tale. The final 20 per cent were “escapers“, who hit their century with no sign of the most common chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hyperten
20、sion and stroke. Intriguingly, one-third of male centenarians were in this category, compared with only 15 per cent of women. So what are the secrets of a long and healthy life? Gerontologists (老年医学家 ) point to four key factors: diet, exercise, “psycho-spiritual“ and social, so anyone aiming for a c
21、entury should not underestimate the power of lifestyle despite the odd centenarian who proudly claims to have smoked 60 cigarettes a day for decades. Thomas Perls, who heads the NECS, believes that up to 70 per cent of longevity is due to non-genetic factors. Nevertheless, many people who live well
22、into old age do tend to have another advantage: an inherited genetic pass. Take a close relative of a centenarian and you can put good money on their chances of living a long life. Among Americans born in 1900, brothers of centenarians were 17 times as likely to reach a century as their peers, and s
23、isters, eight times. The New England study reveals that the children of centenarians are less than one-third as likely to die of cancer as the general population, and less than one sixth as likely to die of heart disease. Further evidence of a genetic link comes from longevity hotspots. Okinawa in J
24、apan is the front runner. At 58 centenarians per 100,000 people, it has the worlds highest proportion in this age group more than five times the level of some developed countries. Like other hotspots, including Sardinia and Iceland, Okinawa is a relatively isolated island community, which leads to h
25、igher levels of inbreeding and a clustering of genetic variants. While such genetic similarity usually has detrimental effects, in these hotspots it seems to have united and maintained genetic variants that predispose people to a long life. Of course, members of isolated communities or families usua
26、lly share a particular environment too, but this alone cannot explain clusters of longevity. Gerontologists have found that the influence of environmental factors such as wealth or education on lifespan fades as we age, while that of genes increases. By comparing 10,000 pairs of Scandinavian twins,
27、Christensen found that genes only start exerting a strong influence on our lifespan after the age of 60. Before then, both identical and non-identical twins have largely independent odds of reaching a given age. Beyond 60, however, the odds of one twin reaching a given age are greatly increased if t
28、heir cotwin has done so, especially if the twins are identical. This makes the “centenarian genome“ a key resource for identifying “longevity genes“, an invaluable step in understanding the physiological processes underlying long lives. Such genes have been found in abundance in other organisms incl
29、uding over 70 in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans (秀丽线虫 ). Unfortunately, its a different story in humans. While many candidate genes have been suggested to affect lifespan, very few have been consistently verified in multiple populations. So far the search for longevity genes in humans has been extr
30、emely difficult, but prospects brighten as genomic technologies become faster and there are more centenarians to study. Only a lucky few win the genetic lottery of longevity, but if we understand what sets them apart, we may be able to make the rest of us more like them by using lifestyle or therape
31、utic interventions to manipulate physiological pathways. Such medical advances will not only extend our lives, but also help us remain healthy and independent for as long as possible. 2 What tendency does the population structure show in many developed countries? （ A） The health condition of the cen
32、tenarians is degrading. （ B） The younger generations burden becomes heavier. （ C） The social status of the centenarians is rising. （ D） The number of centenarians is increasing rapidly. 3 According to the second paragraph, many people think that the increasing number of the elderly （ A） is good news
33、 for those who want to live a long life （ B） indicates that peoples living condition has been enhanced greatly （ C） can put great pressure on the society in terms of costs and commitments （ D） will not be accompanied with various chronic diseases 4 What is the physical condition of the average super
34、-centenarians, according to researchers? （ A） They are healthy enough to take care of themselves in daily life. （ B） They constantly suffer a lot from the diseases of aged people. （ C） They are usually free from diseases due to their strong immune systems. （ D） They are so infirm that they need supp
35、ort from people around them. 5 What does the study conducted in Denmark find? （ A） A number of centenarians are emerging in recent years. （ B） Most people can lead a long life with the right lifestyle. （ C） Disability does not necessarily accompany the oldest people. （ D） All centenarians are faced
36、with great risks of developing diseases. 6 What is the recent trend among ageing populations, according to Jessica Evert? （ A） Their health condition is becoming better and better as the society develops. （ B） They only develop chronic illness and become disabled in a short time before they die. （ C
37、） More and more of them can escape the attack of most common chronic diseases. （ D） The female centenarians increasingly outnumber the male ones. 7 What is gerontologists advice to people who want to live long? （ A） They should have a healthy lifestyle. （ B） They should visit doctors regularly. （ C）
38、 They should keep away from polluted environment. （ D） They should persist in doing exercise every day. 8 What opinion does Thomas Perls express in this passage? （ A） The influence of wealth on lifespan fades as people age. （ B） Most longevity has no relation to genetic factors. （ C） Isolated enviro
39、nment can increase the odds of long life. （ D） Centenarians ability to bear diseases is higher than most people. 9 According to the passage, a clustering of genetic variants in Okinawa results from its relative_. 10 _will exert an increasing influence on lifespan as people grow older, according to t
40、he passage. 11 Besides the number of available centenarians, the advancement of_will make it possible to find longevity genes in humans. 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
41、 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） He is not sociable. （ B） He is crazy about parties
42、. （ C） He has changed his mind. （ D） He never keeps his promises. （ A） She will no longer get letters from Canada. （ B） She cant give the stamps to the mans sister. （ C） She will save the stamps for the mans sister. （ D） She has given the stamps to the mans roommates. （ A） Arguing. （ B） Protesting.
43、（ C） Complaining. （ D） Bargaining. （ A） Tony speaks too fast. （ B） Tonys pronunciation is not clear. （ C） Tony doesnt come to the point （ D） Tony speaks with strong accent. （ A） His computer doesnt work well. （ B） He isnt getting along with his staff. （ C） He didnt register for a proper course. （ D）
44、 He cant apply the theory to his program. （ A） Reading on the campus lawn. （ B） Applying for financial aid. （ C） Depositing money in the bank. （ D） Reviewing a students application. （ A） Sending for a doctor. （ B） Diagnosis of an illness. （ C） The admission of a patient. （ D） The old mans serious co
45、ndition. （ A） Opinions about the book are varied. （ B） The man thinks the book is excellent （ C） You shouldnt believe everything you read. （ D） The woman wonders which newspaper the man is reading. Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard. （ A） Promoting the sales of some
46、thing by telephone. （ B） Talking with the woman about a sports TV program. （ C） Discussing with the woman on how to stay fit. （ D） Bargaining with the woman about a fitness program. （ A） A subscription to a certain kind of newspaper. （ B） A bargain on dance lessons. （ C） A cheap airfare to Hawaii. （
47、 D） A membership to a sports club. （ A） No more phone call to her. （ B） A phone call in a few days. （ C） A change of the salesman. （ D） A discount of the goods. （ A） Theyre cousins. （ B） Theyre lab partners. （ C） Theyre classmates. （ D） Theyre roommates. （ A） He hadnt heard from his family in a whil
48、e. （ B） He thought the woman had been ill. （ C） He couldnt decide on a topic for his paper. （ D） He thought his paper was late. （ A） To identify kinds of honey. （ B） To identify relatives. （ C） To find their way back to the nest. （ D） To locate plant fibers. （ A） Write a paper. （ B） Observe how bees
49、 build nests. （ C） Plan a family reunion. （ D） Visit his parents. 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. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） They have too many shows. （ B） They dont have enough teachers. （ C） They do not have enough regular schools. （ D） They have to wor
