1、大学英语六级（ 2013年 12月考试改革适用）模拟试卷 207及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic “The Gradual Loss of Social Morality“. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words which should cover:1)describing the meaning of cartoon briefl
2、y:2)stating its main idea:3)giving your comment. Section A （ A） More than a year. （ B） Two months. （ C） More than two weeks. （ D） One or two days. （ A） The man. （ B） The woman. （ C） Bob. （ D） Noel. （ A） One can see the sea through its windows. （ B） It is quite an old cottage. （ C） The cottage is far
3、 from the small farm. （ D） The cottage is quite narrow. （ A） He is a friend of the woman. （ B） He is the woman s ex-husband. （ C） It is a lovely dog. （ D） He is a tenant. （ A） Mother and son. （ B） Teacher and student. （ C） Landlady and tenant. （ D） Sister and brother. （ A） The boy s parents. （ B） Th
4、e boy s summer holiday. （ C） The boy s study. （ D） An illness. （ A） They are very good parents. （ B） They quarrel a lot. （ C） They have only one child. （ D） They love each other very much. （ A） He will spend it in England. （ B） He will study history. （ C） He is going to live in the country. （ D） He
5、is going to learn French. Section B （ A） June 1932. （ B） July 1931. （ C） August 1931. （ D） August 1934. （ A） Chekhov. （ B） Alexander Pope. （ C） Homer. （ D） William Faulkner. （ A） Set in her native Huron County in southwestern Ontario. （ B） Southeast counties of Canada. （ C） The university where she
6、studies English. （ D） Set in the Dundarave, West Vancouver. （ A） A man and a woman. （ B） Two young men. （ C） Two young women. （ D） One person. （ A） On a small farm near a river. （ B） In a big shop of Seattle. （ C） On the campus of Seattle Pacific University. （ D） In the library of Stanford Universit
7、y. （ A） A student in the university. （ B） A policeman who charges this case. （ C） The president of the university. （ D） A teacher in the university. （ A） A small pistol. （ B） A shotgun and a handgun. （ C） A rifle and a shotgun. （ D） A pistol and a rifle. Section C （ A） The life and times of an impor
8、tant modernpoet. （ B） How a poem s images relate to its meaning. （ C） The musical quality of modern poetry. （ D） The poems of Gertrude Stein. （ A） She s the most famous of the modern poets. （ B） She didn t publish any of her works in herlifetime. （ C） She was better known as a prose writer than as a
9、 poet. （ D） She began her career as a writer relatively late in her life. （ A） Read some poems loud. （ B） Research the life of Gertrude Stein. （ C） Compare the poems of Gertrude Stein to the poems of John Ashbery. （ D） Write a few lines of poetry. （ A） Employment in the fishing and whalingindustries
10、. （ B） Nineteenth-century sea captains. （ C） The economic importance of sailing ships. （ D） The development of the steamship. （ A） They were protected by a strong United States Navy. （ B） They were supported by a well-developedrailroad （ C） Most crew members had experience onforeign ships. （ D） As p
11、art owners of the ships, captains gotsome of the profits. （ A） They carried passengersbut not cargo. （ B） They were large, but surprisingly fast. （ C） They were the first successful steam-powered ships. （ D） They were more reliable than other ships of the 1860 s. （ A） Its now taught with the aid of
12、computers. （ B） It isn t considered as important today as it was in the past. （ C） Children today learn it earlier than children did in the past. （ D） A lot of times is spent teaching it. （ A） To indicate the emphasis teachers once placed on penmanship. （ B） To criticize a technique used to motivate
13、 children. （ C） To illustrate the benefits of competition. （ D） To suggest that teachers be recognized fortheir efforts. （ A） How educators create a curriculum. （ B） Why some parents object to the teaching ofpenmanship. （ C） The standards for penmanship in state curricula. （ D） The effects of reward
14、ing good penmanship. （ A） The number of hours per week that mustbe spent teaching penmanship. （ B） The level ofpenmanship a child isexpected to have. （ C） The recommended method for teachingpenmanship. （ D） The reason computers should be used tohelp in the teaching ofpenmanship. Section A 26 Our ape
15、-men forefathers had no obvious natural weapons in the struggle for survival in the open. They had neither the powerful teeth nor the strong claws of the big cats. They could not【 C1】 _with the bear, whose strength, speed and claws provided an impressive small fire weaponry. They could not even defe
16、nd themselves by running swiftly like the horses, zebras or small animals. If the ape-men had attempted to compete on those terms in the open, they would have been【 C2】 _to failure and extinction. But they were【 C3】 _with enormous concealed advantages of a kind not possessed by any of their competit
17、ors. In the search of the picking of the forest, the ape-men had【 C4】 _efficient stereoscopic vision and a sense of colour that the animals of the grasslands did not possess. The ability to see clearly at close range permitted the ape-men to study practical problems in a way that lay far【 C5】 _the s
18、earch of the original inhabitants of the grassland. Good long-distance sight was quite another matter. Lack of long-distance vision had not been a problem for forest-dwelling apes and monkeys because the higher the viewpoint, the greater the range of sightso【 C6】 _they had had to do was climb a tree
19、. Out in the open, however, this simple solution was not【 C7】 _. Climbing a hill would have helped, but in many places the ground was flat. The ape-men【 C8】 _the only possible solution. They reared up as high as possible on their hind limbs and began to walk upright. This vital change of physical po
20、sition brought about considerable disadvantages. It was extremely unstable and it meant that the already slow ape-men became slower still. However, they per severed and their bone structure gradually became【 C9】 _to the new, unstable position that【 C10】 _them the name Homo erectus, upright man. A)co
21、mpare B)driven C)match D)endowed E)doomed F)developed G)all H)adopted I)earned J)generated K)familiarized L)adapted M)available N)beyond O)bestowed 27 【 C1】 28 【 C2】 29 【 C3】 30 【 C4】 31 【 C5】 32 【 C6】 33 【 C7】 34 【 C8】 35 【 C9】 36 【 C10】 Section B 36 A)A federal appeals court on Wednesday for the f
22、irst time employed a landmark Supreme Court decision to declare that the fundamental right to marriage must be extended to gay couples, adding momentum to a remarkably rapid recognition of same-sex marriage by judges nationwide. B)The 2-to-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1
23、0th Circuit upheld a lower court s decision that Utah s constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage could not stand. The ruling came almost exactly one year after the Supreme Court delivered a pair of major gay rights victories and could be instrumental in returning the issue to the high
24、court for the ultimate decision on whether marriage is a fundamental right that cannot be denied to same-sex couples. C)The justices sidestepped that question last June. But the reasoning used by the majority of Supreme Court justices in rejecting the federal definition of marriage as between one ma
25、n and one woman has been cited by lower courts in an unbroken string of victories for supporters of gay rights. Judges have struck down state bans from Virginia to Oregon. D)This has been accompanied by polls that show an increasing public acceptance of same-sex marriage and, its proponents say, by
26、a growing sense of inevitability, the 10th Circuit, which is based in Denver, became the first appeals court to apply the Supreme Court decision and said it compelled the outcome. E)“We hold that the Fourteenth Amendment protects the fundamental right to marry, establish a family, raise children, an
27、d enjoy the full protection of a states marital laws,“ Circuit Judge Carlos F. Lucero wrote. “A state may not deny the issuance of a marriage license to two persons, or refuse to recognize their marriage, based solely upon the sex of the persons in the marriage union.“ F)Lucero, whom President Bill
28、Clinton nominated to the bench, was joined in the decision by Circuit Judge Jerome A. Holmes, a George W. Bush nominee. Circuit Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr., who was nominated by President George H.W. Bush, dissented. That makes him the only federal judge since the Supreme Courts decision in U.S. v. Wind
29、sor last year to say he would leave a state ban in place. G)Kelly said that marriage between people of the same gender is not a fundamental right and that the decision whether to open the institution to gay couples “belongs to the electorate and their representatives.“ He said judges “should resist
30、the temptation to become philosopher-kings, imposing our views under the guise of constitutional interpretation of the 14th Amendment.“ Lucero said it might be “preferable“ to let the national debate play out “through legislative and democratic channels.“ But he added that “the protection and exerci
31、se of fundamental rights are not matters for opinion polls or the ballot box.“ H)There is irony in the fact that Utah, one of the most conservative states, is at the forefront of returning the issue to the Supreme Court. After a federal judge in Salt Lake City overturned the states ban late last yea
32、r, more than 1,000 couples were wed before the high court stayed his decision. That stay will remain in place while the state considers its next step, the appellate panel said. Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes(R)said in a statement that he had not decided whether to ask the full 10th Circuit appe
33、als court to review the panel s decision but that the ultimate question must be decided by the Supreme Court. I)Although Utah lost, he said, “we are pleased that the ruling has been issued and takes us one step closer to reaching certainty and finality for all Utahns on such an important issue.“ Rul
34、ings from the 10th Circuit are binding in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming Of the six, only New Mexico currently allows same-sex marriage. Because the panel stayed its order, the bans in the other states are not affected The same panel of judges has heard an appeal of a lower
35、 courts ruling that Oklahoma s ban is unconstitutional but it has not ruled in that case. J)The issue of same-sex marriage is working its way through appeals courts nationwide. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, for instance, is reviewing a decision that struck down Vi
36、rginias ban. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, based in Cincinnati, will hear arguments in cases involving all four states in its jurisdiction, where bans have been struck down or states have been ordered to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. K)The Supreme Cour
37、t is most likely to take up the issue if various appellate courts disagree about whether the bans are unconstitutional. But most observers say the Supreme Court will need to decide the issue at some point, even if the lower courts are all in agreement. L)In Wednesdays decision, Lucero rejected all o
38、f Utahs arguments that it had legitimate reasons to limit marriage to a man and a woman. He said that limiting marriage to couples that could naturally procreate was not valid, because elderly and infertile heterosexual couples are allowed to marry, as well as those who do not intend to have childre
39、n. M)And he rejected “slippery slope“ arguments that recognizing same-sex marriage would necessarily require the recognition of other relationships. “Unlike polygamous or incestuous marriages, the Supreme Court has explicitly extended constitutional protection to intimate same-sex relationships,“ Lu
40、cero said. N)Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Centre for Lesbian Rights, said the appeals panel s opinion “marks an indelible milestone in our nation s journey to full inclusionand one that will undoubtedly influence other courts in the months to come.“ Opponents were disappointed. “
41、While judges can, by judicial fiat, declare same-sexmarriage legal, they will never be able to make it right,“ said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. “The courts, for all their power, can t overturn natural law.“ O)In a statement on its Web site, the Church of Jesus Christ of L
42、atter-day Saints, based in Utah, said it continues to believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman but that “all people should be treated with respect.“ Anticipating that the final decision will be the Supreme Courts, the church said, “It is our hope that the nations highest court will
43、uphold traditional marriage.“ At the same time that the court in Denver was acting, a federal district judge on Wednesday struck down Indiana s ban on same-sex marriage and allowed gay couples in that state to wed immediately. 37 The 10th Circuit was set up in Denver. 38 The same-sex marriage runs c
44、ounter to state bans from Virginia to Oregon. 39 Since the Supreme Courts decision in U.S. v. Windsor last year, Lucero becomes the solely federal judge. 40 Utah is one of the most conservative states, but it favours same-sex marriage. 41 A federal district judge permits gay couples to marry. 42 Kat
45、e Kendell believes that the opinion of same-sex marriage has a long-range influence on America. 43 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is in Richmond. 44 Kelly believes that the same-sex marriage rights should depend on the public. 45 Carlos F. Lucero was against the fundamental right to m
46、arry and favoured the Fourteenth Amendment. 46 Two thirds of a panel of the U.S. Court calls on 10th Circuit to carry out a constitutional amendment. Section C 46 By education, I mean the influence of the environment upon the individual to produce a permanent change in the habits of behaviour, of th
47、ought and of attitude. It is in being thus susceptible to the environment that man differs from the animals, and the higher animals from the lower. The lower animals are influenced by the environment but not in the direction of changing their habits. Their instinctive responses are few and fixed by
48、heredity. When transferred to an unnatural situation, such an animal is led astray by its instincts. Thus the “ant-lion“ whose instinct implies it to bore into loose sand by pushing backwards with abdomen, goes backwards on a plate of glass as soon as danger threatens, and endeavours, with the utmos
49、t exertions to bore into it. It knows no other mode of flight, “or if such a lonely animal is engaged upon a chain of actions and is interrupted, it either goes on vainly with the remaining actions(as useless as cultivating an unsown field)or dies in helpless inactivity“. Thus a net-making spider which digs a burrow and rims it with a bastion of gravel and bits of wood, when removed from a half finished home, will not begin again, though it will continue another burrow, even one made with a pencil. Advance
