1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 815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 How to Improve the Physical Quality of Students? You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below： 1 目前中国学生的身体素质令人担忧 2有人认为这是不良生活习惯引起的 3如何改善学生的身体素质，我的建议
2、是 How to Improve the Physical Quality of Students? 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 sta
3、tement agrees with the information 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 Heat Damages Colombia Coffee, Raising Prices Like most of the small landowners in Colombias lush
4、 mountainous Cauca region, Luis Garzon, 80, and his family have thrived for decades by supplying shade-grown, rainforest-friendly Arabica coffee for top foreign brands like Nespresso and Green Mountain. A sign in the center of a nearby town proclaims, “The coffee of Cauca is No. 1!“ But in the last
5、few years, coffee yields have plummeted (暴跌 )here and in many of Latin Americas other premier coffee regions as a result of rising temperatures and more intense and unpredictable rains, phenomena that many scientists link partly to global warming. Coffee plants require the right mix of temperature,
6、rainfall and spells of dryness for beans to ripen properly and maintain their taste. Coffee pests thrive in the warmer, wetter weather. The Consequences of Reduced Coffee Production Bean production at the Garzons farm is therefore down 70 percent from five years ago, leaving the family little money
7、for clothing for toddlers and “thinking twice“ about sending older children to college, said Mr. Garzons 44-year-old son, Albeiro. The shortage of high-end Arabica coffee beans is also being felt in New York supermarkets and Paris cafes, as customers blink at escalating (逐渐上涨的 )prices. Purveyors (供应
8、商 )fear that the Arabica coffee supply from Colombia may never rebound that the world might, in effect, hit “peak coffee.“ Brands like Maxwell, Yuban and Folgers have increased the retail prices of many grinds by 25 percent or more since the middle of last year in light of tight supply and higher wh
9、olesale prices. Profits of high-end coffee chains like Starbucks and Green Mountain have been eroded. Coffee futures of Arabica, the high-end bean that comes predominantly from Latin America, have risen more than 85 percent since last June, to $ 2.95 a pound, partly over concerns about supply, extre
10、me weather and future quality, said George Kopp, an analyst at the International Futures Group in Chicago. Yet as stockpiles of some of the best coffee beans shrink, global demand is soaring as the rising middle classes of emerging economies like Brazil, India and China develop the coffee habit. The
11、 Effects of Climate Change on Coffee Production “Coffee production is under threat from global warming, and the outlook for Arabica in particular is not good,“ said Peter Baker, a coffee specialist with CABI, a research group in Britain that focuses on agriculture and the environment, noting that cl
12、imate changes, including heavy rains and droughts, have harmed crops across many parts of Central and South America. A top coffee scientist, he has rattled trade forums by warning, Cassandra-like, of the possibility of “peak coffee,“ meaning that, like oil supplies, coffee supplies might be headed f
13、or an inexorable (不可阻挡的 )decline unless growers make more concerted efforts to expand production globally. Arabica and Robusta coffee account for virtually all consumption. With its more delicate taste and lower caffeine content, Arabica is more popular and more expensive, though generally more fini
14、cky (苛求的 )in its weather needs. Robusta production dominates in Asia and Africa. Colombia is the No. 2 Arabica exporter after Brazil, where production is centered on larger, more mechanized farms and continues to grow. The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation says high fertilizer prices have also den
15、ted (损害 )yields. But it agrees with a 2009 report from the International Coffee Organization that concluded, “Climatic variability is the main factor responsible for changes in coffee yields all over the world.“ Average temperatures in Colombias coffee regions have risen nearly one degree in 30 year
16、s, and in some mountain areas the increase has been double that, says Cenicafe, the national coffee research center. Rain in this area was more than 25 percent above average in the last few years. At the new, higher temperatures, the plants buds abort or their fruit ripens too quickly for optimum qu
17、ality. Heat also brings pests like coffee rust, a devastating fungus (菌类 )that could not survive the previously cool mountain weather. The heavy rains damage the fragile Arabica blossoms, and the two-week dry spells that prompt the plant to flower and produce beans occur less often, farmers say. Ara
18、bica beans take about seven months to mature. “Half a degree can make a big difference for coffee it is adapted to a very specific zone,“ said Nestor Riano, a specialist in agroclimatology for Cenicafe. “If temperature rises even a bit, the growth is affected, and the plagues and diseases rise.“ Whi
19、le climate scientists agree that the increase in temperature is a clear signal of global warming and high ocean temperatures are generally associated with more frequent storms, scientists are uncertain whether the peculiar weather patterns in the area are directly related to warming, said Stephen E.
20、 Zebiak, director general of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University. “It is hard to know whether this severe weather represents natural fluctuations or is a climate change signal, though from a risk management sense, there is good reason to consider how t
21、o cope with these extreme events,“ Dr. Zebiak said. Restoring Coffee Output In the hope of restoring coffee output, researchers at Cenicafes labs are toiling on a mission that seems as pressing a priority for Colombia as curing cancer is for medical researchers. Agronomists are teaching the farmers
22、how to control the pests that arrived with the change in the weather. Climatologists are working to provide better local weather predictions. Geneticists are breeding plants that are more resistant to diseases or that can withstand torrential rains or a hotter environment. The Coffee Growers Federat
23、ion has advised farmers to switch to a newer, hardier strain of Arabica that has been developed by plant breeders at Cenicafe over the last two decades. While the federation says it tastes the same as traditional variants, farmers have resisted because they can ill afford to forgo the income of a ye
24、arly crop as they wait for new plants to mature. They have also been wary that a switch could affect flavor. Taste, quality and supply are delicate issues for an industry whose aficionados (狂热爱好者 )are notoriously picky. Coffee companies are “working with farmers across the region to address the impa
25、ct of changing weather patterns that are a direct result of climate change,“ said Lisa Magnino, a spokeswoman for Starbucks. Starbucks has already bought enough coffee to last until 2012, she added. Luis Fernando Samper, a spokesman for Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, said that the beans that d
26、o make it to breakfast tables in the United States will yield coffee that is as good as ever. The problem is for Colombian farmers, who are producing far fewer beans over all and “more defective beans“ that do not meet export standards. For decades, said Luis Garzon, who started growing coffee at 7,
27、 it was dry from June 1 to Sept. 8 in Timbio. Several years ago, the perplexing weather arrived. “It can start raining at 6 a.m. and go on for 24 hours,“ he said. First, yields declined. Then last year, the coffee rust fungus arrived at the Garzon farm, killing entire fields. “We learned our lesson,
28、“ he said, stroking the mottled yellowed leaves of some damaged plants. Now, the family is planting the new, hardier Arabica variant, called castillo. The coffee federation hopes that such innovation will allow growers to keep expensive Arabica coffee on American tables. 2 The coffee yields in Colom
29、bias Cauca region declined sharply due to_. （ A） the thriving of coffee pests （ B） reduction in the use of fertilizer （ C） unfavorable weather conditions （ D） a rampant epidemic 3 Why do the Garzons have to reconsider sending older children to college? （ A） The decreasing coffee bean production brin
30、gs the family little profit. （ B） More hands are needed to help them with the work on the, farm. （ C） His older children are willing to help support the family. （ D） The college tuition fees are well beyond their means. 4 What prompts the global demand for the best coffee beans to be on the rise? （
31、A） Famous coffee chains begin to store away coffee beans. （ B） New consumers in emerging countries take a fancy to drinking coffee. （ C） More companies want to make a profit out of coffee trade. （ D） New findings reveal that drinking coffee has a lot of benefits. 5 Peter Baker thinks one cure for pr
32、eventing coffee supplies from dropping is to _. （ A） construct larger mechanized farms （ B） adopt new cultivating techniques and methods （ C） make joint efforts to multiply production globally （ D） encourage more people to grow coffee 6 What do we know about Arabica and Robusta coffee? （ A） Robusta
33、coffee is less expensive and more popular. （ B） Robusta coffee is demanding in weather patterns. （ C） Arabica coffee has more delicate taste and less caffeine. （ D） Arabica production ranks first in Asia and Africa. 7 According to the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, coffee bean yields have drop
34、ped partly because （ A） modern coffee farms havent been built yet （ B） scientists fail to develop new breeds of coffee in time （ C） the destruction of some funguses has been underestimated （ D） fertilizer is unaffordable for the coffee growers 8 What do we know about coffee rust? （ A） Its a kind of
35、serious coffee disease. （ B） It can survive low temperature. （ C） It does no harm to coffees growth. （ D） It may grow well in warm weather. 9 Though they reach a general agreement on certain issues, scientists are uncertain whether the severe weather in Cauca region is directly related to_. 10 New c
36、offee plants are being bred by geneticists to withstand extreme weather and be_. 11 Colombian farmers are facing one problem because the beans they are producing are not only smaller in number but fail to_. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long convers
37、ations. 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. 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 th
38、e best answer. （ A） A patient. （ B） A teacher. （ C） A customer. （ D） A manager. （ A） Write a recommendation letter for the man. （ B） Get more jobs in the rest of the season. （ C） Ask for salary rise from her manager. （ D） Ask for a letter of reference from her manager. （ A） His college friend is com
39、ing to the barbecue too. （ B） There are too many people in the barbecue. （ C） Hes sorry the woman cant come to the barbecue. （ D） The woman should bring her college student to the barbecue. （ A） The forest with green vegetation. （ B） The special farm for vegetables. （ C） The desert with rock layers.
40、 （ D） The desert with different vegetables. （ A） Two single rooms. （ B） A commercial room. （ C） A double room. （ D） A single room. （ A） She enjoys her new life. （ B） She is regretting marrying the wrong man. （ C） She isnt satisfied with her mother-in-law. （ D） She likes her mother-in-law. （ A） The m
41、ans wife will not receive roses this year. （ B） Roses are the gifts to the mans wife this year. （ C） The man will make a special card for his wife. （ D） The woman wants some roses and cards. （ A） The new museum. （ B） The new poster. （ C） The history department. （ D） The special tour to New York. （ A
42、） He is researching conflicts between work and family. （ B） He is probably a writer on childhood education. （ C） He feels confused about how to educate children. （ D） He finds young people are eager to learn. （ A） Communicating. （ B） Critical thinking. （ C） Taking on challenges. （ D） Self-control. （
43、 A） It is based on researches from both schools and workplaces. （ B） It lists things that help kids now and in the future. （ C） It is about skills that most people need. （ D） It is an inspiring book that wont make parents feel guilty. （ A） Different places in the US. （ B） Elementary education. （ C）
44、Art history. （ D） Psychology. （ A） Hes a great traveler. （ B） Hes a gifted writer. （ C） Hes a passionate writer. （ D） Hes a great artist. （ A） The design of the storyline. （ B） The description of peoples characters. （ C） The thought he wants to explain. （ D） The description of different places. （ A）
45、 The desire to travel. （ B） The benefit of travel. （ C） The love of the US. （ D） The passion for Charley. 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. Afte
46、r you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） By employing more and more salesmen. （ B） By customers introduction and recommendation. （ C） By the advertisements on TV, newspapers and websites. （ D） By calling the potential customers directly.
47、 （ A） More information can be put on websites. （ B） It is more flexible and attractive. （ C） The information can spread more quickly. （ D） It saves people much money to advertise on websites. （ A） By visiting potential customers websites constantly. （ B） By posting messages on potential customers Fa
48、cebook wall. （ C） By responding potential customers complains online. （ D） By using account to put out business information constantly. （ A） It can save people a lot of money and time. （ B） It will improve our quality of daily life. （ C） It offers convenience and saves our strength. （ D） It is safer
49、 and more convenient. （ A） We dont know whom we make a transaction with. （ B） We dont know the sellers reputation and personality. （ C） We cant identify whether the goods are real or not. （ D） We dont know whether a credit card can be used or not. （ A） Receiving fake goods. （ B） Losing the goods we ordered. （ C） Delaying the delivery. （ D） Being overcharged. （ A） They always spend more than they can afford. （ B） They are bad at managing finance. （ C） They show interest in economics. （ D） They look
