1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 614及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write A Letter of Invitation. You should write at least 150 words according to the outlines given below in Chinese: 1此次晚会的目的 2参加晚会的人员及晚会时间和地点 3希望老师能来参加 A Letter of Invitation 二、 Part II Reading Compreh
2、ension (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 the st
3、atement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 2 Why Pop Music Sounds Perfect? If you havent been listening to pop radio in the past few months, youve missed the rise of two seemingly opposing trends. In a medium in which
4、mediocre singing has never been a bar to entry, a lot of pop vocals suddenly sound great. Better than great: note- and pitch-perfect, as if theres been an unspoken tightening of standards at record labels or an evolutionary leap in the development of vocal cords. At the other extreme are a few hip-h
5、op singers who also hit their notes but with a precision so exaggerated that on first listen, their songs sound comically artificial, like a chorus of 50s robots singing Motown. The force behind both trends is an ingenious plug-in called Auto-Tune, a downloadable studio trick that can take a vocal a
6、nd instantly nudge it onto the proper note or move it to the correct pitch. Its like Photoshop for the human voice. Auto-Tune doesnt make it possible for just anyone to sing like a pro, but used as its creator intended, it can transform a wavering performance into something technically flawless. “Ri
7、ght now, if you listen to pop, everything is in perfect pitch, perfect time and perfect tune,“ says producer Rick Rubin. “Thats how ubiquitous Auto-Tune is.“ Auto-Tunes inventor is a man named Andy Hildebrand, who worked for years interpreting seismic data for the oil industry. Using a mathematical
8、formula called autocorrelation, Hildebrand would send sound waves into the ground and record their reflections, providing an accurate map of potential drill sites. Its a technique that saves oil companies lots of money and allowed Hildebrand to retire at 40. He was debating the next chapter of his l
9、ife at a dinner party when a guest challenged him to invent a box that would allow her to sing in tune. After he tinkered with autocorrelation for a few months, Auto-Tune was born in late 1996. Almost immediately, studio engineers adopted it as a trade secret to fix flubbed notes, saving them the ex
10、pense and hassle of having to redo sessions. The first time common ears heard Auto-Tune was on the immensely irritating 1998 Cher hit “Believe.“ In the first verse, when Cher sings “I cant break through“ as though shes standing behind an electric fan, thats Auto-Tune-but its not the way Hildebrand m
11、eant it to be used. The programs retune speed, which adjusts the singers voice, can be set from zero to 400. “If you set it to 10, that means that the output pitch will get halfway to the target pitch in 10 milliseconds,“ says Hildebrand. “But if you let that parameter go to zero, it finds the neare
12、st note and changes the output pitch instantaneously“-eliminating the natural transition between notes and making the singer sound jumpy and automat-ed. “I never figured anyone in their right mind would want to do that,“ he says. Like other trends spawned by Cher, the creative abuse of Auto-Tune qui
13、ckly went out of fashion, although it continued to be an indispensable, if inaudible, part of the engineers toolbox. But in 2003, T-Pain (Faheem Najm), a little-known rapper and singer, accidentally stumbled onto the Cher effect while Auto-Tuning some of his vocals. “It just worked for my voice,“ sa
14、ys T-Pain in his natural Tallahassee drawl. “And there wasnt anyone else doing it.“ Since his 2005 debut album, T-Pain has sent a dozen slightly raunchy, mechanically cheery singles into the Top 10. He contributed to four nominated songs at Grammy Award 2009, and his influence is still spreading. Wh
15、en Kanye West was looking for an effect to match some heartbroken lyrics, he flew T-Pain to Hawaii to see how many ways they could tweak Auto-Tune. Diddy gave a percentage of his upcoming albums profits to T-Pain in exchange for some lessons. Even Prince is rumored to be experimenting with Auto-Tune
16、 on his new record. “I know Auto-Tunebetter than anyone,“ says T-Pain. “And even Im just figuring out all the ways you can use it to change the mood of a record.“ Rubin, whos produced artists as diverse as the Dixie Chicks and Metallica, worries that the safety net of Auto-Tune is making singers laz
17、y. “Sometimes a singer will do lots of takes when theyre recording a song, and you really can hear the emotional difference when someone does a great performance vs. an average one,“ says Rubin. “If youre pitch-correcting, you might not bother to make the effort. You might just get it done and put i
18、t through the machine so its all in tune.“ Rubin has taken to having an ethical conversation before each new recording session. “I encourage artists to embrace a natural process,“ he says. With the exception of Milli Vanillis, pop listeners have always been fairly indulgent (纵容的 ) about performers e
19、thics. Its hits that matter, and the average person listening to just one pop song on the radio will have a hard time hearing Auto-Tunes impact; its effectively deceptive. But when track after track has perfect pitch, the songs are harder to differentiate from one another-which explains why pop is i
20、n a pretty serious lull at the moment. It also changes the way we hear unaffected voices. “The other day, someone was talking about how Aretha Franklin at the Inauguration was a bit pitchy,“ says Anderson. “I said, Of course! She was singing! And that was a musician talking. People are getting used
21、to hearing things dead on pitch, and its changed their expectations.“ Despite Randy Jacksons stock American Idol critique-“A little pitchy, dawg“-many beloved songs are actually off-pitch or out of tune. Theres Ringo Starr on “With a Little Help from My Friends,“ of course, and just about every blue
22、s song slides into notes as opposed to hitting them dead on. Even Norah Jones, the poster girl of pure vocals, isnt perfect. “Theres some wonderful imperfections of pitch on Dont Know Why from Come Away with Me,“ says Anderson, “and most of the other tunes on the album as well. But I wouldnt want to
23、 change a single note.“ Lets hope that pops fetish for uniform perfect pitch will fade, even if the spread of Auto-Tune shows no signs of slowing. A $99 version for home musicians was released in November 2007, and T-Pain and Auto-Tunes parent company are finishing work on an iPhone app. “Its gonna
24、be real cool,“ says T-Pain. “Basically, you can add Auto-Tune to your voice and send it to your friends and put it on the Web. Youll be able to sound just like me.“ Asked if that might render him no longer unique, T-Pain laughs: “Im not too worried. I got lots of tricks you aint seen yet. Its everyb
25、ody else that needs to step up their game.“ 2 Which of the following is described as a “Photoshop for the human voice“? （ A） Vocal cords. （ B） Hip-hop singers. （ C） Motown. （ D） Auto-Tune. 3 Before Andy Hildebrand retired, he worked for _. （ A） a record factory （ B） the oil industry （ C） a consultat
26、ion company （ D） the advertising industry 4 Andy Hildebrand invented Auto-Tune _. （ A） when he was 40 （ B） in the year 1996 （ C） for financial purpose （ D） for his own children 5 It can be inferred from the passage that Cher was _. （ A） a pop singer （ B） a studio engineer （ C） a sound technician （ D
27、） a computer programmer 6 What has happened to T-Pain since 2005? （ A） He went out of fashion soon. （ B） He had to give up Auto-Tune. （ C） He became very successful. （ D） He held concerts worldwide. 7 Who once had to learn the Auto-Tune technique from T-Pain? （ A） Dixie Chicks. （ B） Metallica. （ C）
28、Diddy. （ D） Prince. 8 According to Rubin, Auto-Tune may have a _ effect on singers. （ A） minor （ B） major （ C） positive （ D） negative 9 The issue of performers ethics has always been tolerated by_. 10 Aretha Franklin sounded “a bit pitchy“ at the Inauguration because her voice was_. 11 A special ver
29、sion of Auto-Tune was available at $99 for_. 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 asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once
30、. 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） At a drug store. （ B） At a hospital. （ C） At a doctors office. （ D） At a dentists office. （ A） Preparing for bed. （ B） Walking toward the camp
31、us. （ C） Looking for a place to live. （ D） Inviting some friends to visit. （ A） He always eats more than he can chew. （ B） He eats while studying and working. （ C） He got sick because he ate too much. （ D） Bob is trying to study and work too much. （ A） The old houses should be turned into stores. （
32、B） The city needs even more modernization. （ C） This shopping center is quite old. （ D） New shopping centers are very common. （ A） They have a lot in common. （ B） They havent seen each other for a long time. （ C） They are enjoying seeing each other again. （ D） They often visit each other and talk fo
33、r a long time. （ A） It is in the center of the campus. （ B） It should have a map of the city. （ C） It has information about summer camps. （ D） It probably has a campus map. （ A） To take some more vegetables. （ B） To avoid taking any more food. （ C） To pass the woman the meat. （ D） To help to prepare
34、 the potatoes. （ A） Someone hired by the auto club. （ B） He repaired it himself. （ C） A private mechanic he phoned. （ D） A passing police patrol car. （ A） The surging college cost. （ B） The record of college students. （ C） The reasons for going to famous colleges. （ D） Governments role in college ed
35、ucation. （ A） Less students want to go to college. （ B） Federal and state governments offer less support. （ C） The cost of living is higher than ever before. （ D） College students waste much money on useless items. （ A） Students are becoming more realistic about their future. （ B） Congress has promi
36、sed to endow more money to these families. （ C） Some colleges have increased their financial aid to students. （ D） Higher degrees in expensive colleges will help them pay the debt. （ A） What is so-called Thanksgiving Day. （ B） How to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. （ C） The exact time of Thanksgiving Da
37、y. （ D） The history of Thanksgiving Day. （ A） Go to Church and sing carols. （ B） Have a huge meal with his friends. （ C） Celebrate it with her family. （ D） Eat roast turkey and potatoes for dinner with the man. （ A） They still regard it an important traditional festival to thank God for a good harve
38、st. （ B） They think it a festival for only school children. （ C） They dont think it very important for them. （ D） They only think it time for family to gather together ago. （ A） Because the party for Thanksgiving Day is beginning. （ B） Because they have to rush to the dancing party. （ C） Because she
39、 has talked so much about festivals. （ D） Because she will be late for the class. 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, y
40、ou must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） A bank is closed for one or more days. （ B） Too many clients try to draw out their money at one time. （ C） There is not enough money to pay all its clients at one time. （ D） Tellers of a bank take their own money from th
41、e bank. （ A） Explain why they could not pay out all accounts. （ B） Pay out accounts as requested. （ C） Make the clients believe that the bank was sound. （ D） Pay out money as slowly as possible. （ A） Ease with which they could get their money. （ B） Confidence that Mrs. Vaught showed. （ C） Failure of
42、 several other banks to open. （ D） Confidence shown by other clients of the bank. （ A） Supply their own light. （ B） Locate food and enemies. （ C） Compensate for the lack of light. （ D） Both B and C. （ A） Identifying and collecting food. （ B） Protecting themselves. （ C） Eating food. （ D） Fighting aga
43、inst the enemies. （ A） When hunting for food. （ B） When sleeping. （ C） When being attacked. （ D） When communicating with their cousins. （ A） Foreign words are best suited for announcements. （ B） The ideas expressed in foreign words sound new. （ C） Foreign words make new subjects easier to understand
44、. （ D） The use of foreign words makes the media more popular. （ A） They trust the media. （ B） They respect experts. （ C） They are willing to learn about new things. （ D） They are good at learning foreign languages （ A） Foreign products and experts. （ B） The interest of young Japanese. （ C） Best-sell
45、ing Japanese textbooks. （ D） The media and government papers. （ A） It sells very well in Japan （ B） It is supported by the government. （ C） It is questioned by the old generation. （ D） It causes misunderstanding among the readers. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three
46、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 you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are requir
47、ed 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 Many young people believe good grades and excellent internships will land them their 【 B1】 _job. However,【 B2】 _to what they think, often their major will have little
48、influence over the person who is hiring them for the position. Young adults need to have a【 B3】 _view in order to survive in corporate America. When you apply at a major corporation, do not be surprised if you end up with an 【 B4】 _level position. You usually do not start at the top, but work your w
49、ay up. It is all about “paying your dues“. Hard work and being in the corporation for some time may lead to greater earning【 B5】 _. If you are unable to get a【 B6】 _ after eighteen months,【 B7】 _on the position, it may be time to move on. In interviews, young adults often【 B8】 _of their majors.【 B9】 _. You are there to prove why you can do the position applied for.【 B10】 _ It usually does not hurt to ask for
