1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 828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 on the topic of Should Schools Offer Handwriting Lessons? You should write at least 150 words according to the outline given below. 1有人认为学校应该开设书法课 2有人则反对 3我的看法 Should Schools Offer
2、Handwriting Lessons? 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 informa
3、tion 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 Auto-Tune: Why Pop Music Sounds Perfect If you havent been listening to pop radio in the past few months, youve missed the ris
4、e of two seemingly opposing trends. In a medium in which mediocre(平庸的 )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 de
5、velopment of vocal cords. At the other extreme are a few hip-hop 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
6、Auto-Tune, a downloadable studio trick that can take a vocal and 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
7、 wavering(颤抖的 )performance into something technically flawless. “Right now, if you listen to pop, everything is in perfect pitch, perfect time and perfect tune,“ says producer Rick Rubin. “Thats how widespread Auto-Tune is.“ Auto-Tunes inventor is a man named Andy Hildebrand, who worked for years in
8、terpreting seismic(i.e. relating to earthquakes)data for the oil industry. Using a mathematical 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
9、 lots of money and allowed Hildebrand to retire at 40. He was debating the next chapter of his life at a dinner party when a guest challenged him to invent a box that would allow her to sing in tune. After he worked on autocorrelation for a few months, Auto-Tune was born in late 1996. Almost immedia
10、tely, studio engineers adopted it as a trade secret to fix flubbed(搞砸了的 )notes, saving them the expense and trouble 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 throug
11、h“ as though shes standing behind an electric fan, thats Auto-Tune but its not the way Hildebrand meant 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
12、in 10 milliseconds,“ says Hildebrand. “But if you let that parameter go to zero, it finds the nearest note and changes the output pitch instantaneously“ eliminating the natural transition between notes and making the singer sound jumpy and automated. “I never figured anyone in their right mind would
13、 want to do that,“ he says. Like other trends set by Cher, the creative abuse of Auto-Tune quickly went out of fashion, although it continued to be an indispensable part of the engineers toolbox. But in 2003, T-Pain(Faheem Najm), a little-known rapper and singer, accidentally stumble onto the Cher e
14、ffect while Auto-Tuning some of his vocals. “It just worked for my voice,“ says T-Pain in his natural Tallahassee accent. “And there wasnt anyone else doing it.“ Since his 2005 first album, T-Pain has sent a dozen mechanically cheery singles into the Top 10. He contributed to four nominated songs at
15、 this years Grammys on Feb. 8, and his influence is still spreading. When 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 adjust Auto-Tune. Diddy gave a percentage of his upcoming albums profits to T-Pain in exchange for
16、 some lessons. Even Prince is rumored to be experimenting with Auto-Tune on his new record. “I knowAuto-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 Me
17、tallica, worries that the safety net of Auto-Tune is making singers lazy. “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 mi
18、ght not bother to make the effort. You might just get it done and put it 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, po
19、p listeners have always been fairly indulgent about performers ethics. It 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 harde
20、r to differentiate from one another which explains why pop is in a pretty serious lull(停滞 )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
21、 singing! And that was a musician talking. People are getting used 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
22、 Little Help from My Friends“, of course, and just about every blues 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
23、most of the other tunes on the album as well. But I wouldnt want to 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-Tu
24、nes parent company are finishing work on an iPhone app. “Its gonna 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
25、not too worried. I got lots of tricks you aint seen yet. Its everybody else that needs to step up their game.“ 2 What is the force of the rise of two trends which appear opposite to each other? （ A） The development of pop radio. （ B） Photoshop that can edit human voice. （ C） A vocal software called
26、Auto-Tune. （ D） The popularity of a pop singer named Cher. 3 Originally the creator intended to use Auto-Tune to_. （ A） change a poorly-sung song into a perfect one （ B） make everyone sing like a professional singer （ C） inject some vitality into the pop industry （ D） bring the flaw of pop songs int
27、o public 4 Before Andy Hildebrand retired at 40, he worked for_. （ A） the seismological bureau （ B） Auto-Tunes parent company （ C） oil companies （ D） a tape-recorder factory 5 Studio engineers benefit greatly from Auto-Tune in that_. （ A） they no longer need to correct wrong notes （ B） it helps them
28、 keep songs secret before going public （ C） it is totally free and thus saves them lots of money （ D） they dont have to waste time on recording music again 6 What does the author say about the craze for Auto-Tune which trendy Cher started? （ A） It faded soon. （ B） It lasted for many years. （ C） It m
29、ade engineers lazy. （ D） It harmed peoples creativity. 7 According to the passage, what happened to T-Pain since 2005? （ A） He had to give up Auto-Tune. （ B） He became very successful. （ C） He made a fortune working for the Prince. （ D） He won fame as teachers of well-known singers. 8 According to R
30、ubin, the effect of Auto-Tune on singers may be_. （ A） positive （ B） negative （ C） exaggerated （ D） underestimated 9 During the recording session, singers are encouraged by Rubin to sing in a_way. 10 In general, when it comes to the issue of pop singers ethics, average listeners are_. 11 Although ma
31、ny songs in Norah Joness album were out of tune, Anderson would rather make no_to the songs. 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 convers
32、ation 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 does not have a good hearing. （ B） He has been driving madly for a year. （ C） He never take
33、s what she says seriously. （ D） He is always impatient with her. （ A） She lost a finger. （ B） Someone hit her in the nose. （ C） She became a surgical nurse. （ D） She had an operation on her nose. （ A） Attending the party. （ B） Visiting some friends. （ C） Studying for an exam. （ D） Writing a letter o
34、f apology. （ A） Teachers like Prof. Johnson are rare. （ B） Prof. Johnson has won a million dollars. （ C） There are many teachers as good as Prof. Johnson. （ D） Prof. Johnson is likely to be teaching at that school. （ A） She did well on the test. （ B） Shes going away for a while. （ C） She didnt have
35、to work hard for the exam. （ D） She worked hard and earned a lot of money. （ A） He believes the Browns have done a sensible thing. （ B） He believes it is better for the Browns to invest later. （ C） He doesnt think the Browns investment is a wise move. （ D） He doesnt think the Browns should move to a
36、nother place. （ A） The man can use her computer. （ B） She cant afford a computer right now. （ C） She cant finish her assignment, either. （ D） The man should buy a computer right away. （ A） Dr. Johnson and the guest speaker were schoolmates. （ B） Dr. Johnson invited the economist to visit their schoo
37、l. （ C） The guest lecturers opinion is different from Dr. Johnsons. （ D） The economist and Dr. Johnson come from different schools. （ A） In the neighborhood of the university or near a bus stop. （ B） Near a railway line or close to a park. （ C） Near a bus stop or in the neighborhood of a shopping ce
38、ntre. （ D） Close to the university or by the side of a supermarket. （ A） A balcony and a dishwasher. （ B） A dishwasher and air-conditioning. （ C） A swimming pool and air-conditioning. （ D） Air-conditioning and a balcony. （ A） Hes not concerned about money. （ B） Hes a bit anxious to find an apartment
39、. （ C） Hes quite experienced in apartment hunting. （ D） Hes working in a university. （ A） Playing cards. （ B） Preparing snacks. （ C） Studying with a partner. （ D） Learning how to design bridges. （ A） Quit the game and go away. （ B） Watch her partner playing cards. （ C） Teach the man how to play brid
40、ge. （ D） Play cards in cooperation with her partner. （ A） Stay up too late. （ B） Miss her card game. （ C） Indulge in playing games. （ D） Take too heavy a workload next semester. （ A） He doesnt have a partner. （ B） He doesnt like to play games. （ C） He already knows how to play. （ D） He doesnt have e
41、nough free time. 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,
42、 C and D. （ A） When they are with a baby-sitter. （ B） When they are with another baby. （ C） When they are with a strange adult. （ D） When they are with an elderly person. （ A） They show fear. （ B） They start to cry. （ C） They turn to adults. （ D） They reach out to touch them. （ A） Ask elderly adults
43、 to attend them. （ B） Hire an experienced baby-sitter. （ C） Keep them in family-based day care centers. （ D） Let them stay with their parents or teachers. （ A） Historic significance. （ B） Splendor and peacefulness. （ C） Cultural appeal. （ D） Beauty and comfort. （ A） Visiting the capital of Salt Lake
44、 City. （ B） Visiting the Temple Square. （ C） Hiking through national parks. （ D） Hiking remote Indian reservations. （ A） All transportations during the tour. （ B） Three formal meals a day. （ C） Two nights stay in Salt Lake City. （ D） Equipment for the hiking adventure. （ A） Silent reading had not be
45、en discovered. （ B） Few people could read for themselves. （ C） People relied on reading for entertainment. （ D） There were few places available for private reading. （ A） A change in the nature of reading. （ B） An increase in the number of books. （ C） A change in the status of educated people. （ D） A
46、n increase in the average age of readers. （ A） The effects of healthy reading. （ B） The importance of silent reading. （ C） The value of different types of reading materials. （ D） The information yielded by books and newspapers. （ A） Encourage the growth of reading. （ B） Change peoples attitudes to r
47、eading. （ C） Show how reading methods have been improved. （ D） Explain how present-day reading habits developed. Section 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
48、 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 required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or wri
49、te down the 36 Things have changed in your life. Most notably, you are no longer employed. Perhaps youve been laid off from your【 B1】 _workplace. Perhaps you are in the【 B2】 _of starting a business. Perhaps you are staying home to care for a child youve recently【 B3】 _. You decide to apply for a variety of【 B4】 _that will help you manage the risks【 B5】 _ in life(health, life, disability). A few weeks after filling ou
