1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 12及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed to write a composition on the topic How to Persuade People to Visit a Pet Fish Market. You may first describe the attraction of such a market, then present details of this source of enjoyment. You should write at lea
2、st 120 words. 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 1-7, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information gi
3、ven 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. 2 Home, Sweet(and Sour) Home On August 15, 1945, the day that war ended, Australia was jubilant. A month later it was more wary. In con
4、versations around the teapot on the kitchen table, there was not often a glowing optimism about the future. It was the best and worst of times for the 550,000 Australian servicemen and women who began to return home from the war. Australia then had only seven million people. Regulations and rationin
5、g abounded. You could get a job, but not a car. Beer was hard to get, telephone calls hard to make. What we ate was stodge and the clothes we wore were often ill-fitting. Life was dull, but safe. Violent crime was almost non-existent, drugs unknown. The new era of the atom bomb was expected to be un
6、safe. Many also predicted unemployment would return just as it returned after World War I. And yet many Australians believed that with determination and purpose they might somehow create a better Australia. Joseph Chifley, the nations Prime Minister, was probably closer to socialism than any other P
7、rime Minister in Australias history. A steam locomotive driver for much of his working life, he had educated himself in nearly everything from public finance to literature after he left school, and now in his sixtieth year his chance had come. In Canberra he and his political colleagues sketched pla
8、ns for providing more social security and economic regulations than Australians had ever known. In the following four years Chifley controlled daily life far more than most Australians would now accept, but in 1945 they gladly accepted regulations in the belief that they were temporary and in the na
9、tions interest in a time of scarcity and transition. There was regulation of rents, regulation of food prices, regulation of the size and design of new houses, regulation of travel, regulation of the workplace of dentists as well as that of unskilled workers. Even after the war various goods continu
10、ed to be rationed. People had to hand in a rationing coupon(票据 ) to buy meat and sugar, butter and tea. Petrol was rationed until 1950. Nearly all communications were still impeded by wartime shortages. In 1942, the sending of congratulatory telegrams for Christmas, New Year or Mothers Day had been
11、banned, and they did not appear again until the first Christmas after the war. In those days a telegram was delivered by a boy on a government bicycle. At that time most houses in Australia possessed no telephone exchange. You did not dial a numberrather you took the phone off the hook and waited fo
12、r someone at the telephone exchange to pick up your call and connect the number you requested. The idea of making an overseas phone call just did not enter most peoples heads. For a year or so after the war, many goods were too scarce to be rationed and were rarely to be found. Beef and cigarettes w
13、ere often in short supply. A thousand items available in shops in 1940 could not be bought at the end of 1945. Early in the war tens of thousands of Australians had predicted shortages and put away small hoards of items likely to become unprocurable: Imported tins of salmon and sardines, bottles of
14、Scotch and imported lime juice and perfume, and many kinds of foods and trinkets. Even when the war ended, many people kept their hoards untouched because the scarcity continued. Farmers, then as now, were struggling. The typical farm was in debt, either to banks or to country storekeepers, many of
15、whom themselves were in debt. We complain about droughts but in the south-eastern quarter of Australia a typical in land farmer and his wife aged about 50 had experienced more droughts and more dust storms than their children and grand children were to experience. Drought parched most wheatlands in
16、the last phase of the war and towns were blinded by dust storms. In November 1944, some trains were halted by sands drifting onto tracks, irrigation channels were filled by sand in stead of water and a frightened citizen of one country town told the local paper that the end of the world must be in s
17、ight. To travel in 1945 from a city to a typical farm was to re-enter the 19th century. There was no electric light and no refrigerator. On a few thousand farms the heavy horses were still used for ploughing although the scarcity of labor was so a cute that many farmers turned to tractorsif they cou
18、ld buy one. On Australian farms the wives were renowned for their hard work but in the war most worked even harder. Even in the cities of 1945 the typical house did not have many laborsaving amenities(设施 ). The most common were the electric iron, the ice chest, and the Singer sewing machine that was
19、 usually pedaled by foot. Most houses did not own a washing machine. Mum was the washing machine, and the spin-dryer was the wind out of doors. Anyone who walked a long a back lane in a suburb on Monday morning could hear the flapping sound coming from the wet washing that was pegged on the clothesl
20、ines in nearby backyards. Passers-by could also smell the wood smoke rising from the washhouse copper where the next batches of clothes were being boiled. Television did not exist. The transistor and the car radio had not yet been invented, if you wanted to hear the radio in the open air, you opened
21、 the kitchen window and turned up the volume. In the evening, while the radio was turned on, the ironing of shirts and dresses and the knitting, patching and mending of clothes were taking place. In those days, holes appeared frequently in toes and heels of socks, and the women of the house darned t
22、hem with needle and wool. The nylon socks and drip-dry synthetic shirts belonged to the future. Eating habits had changed very little in the previous 40 years. A city restaurant or cafe was a rarity, partly because people had no money to spare on luxuries. On the other hand, some of todays luxuries
23、were cheap. In Tasmanian towns the scallops and mutton birds were cheap pleasures in season. Crayfish were not yet exorbitant in price, and a laborer on his way home from the pub on Saturday night might halt at the fish and chip shop to buy a large crayfish wrapped in newspaper. Nurses and airmen ba
24、ck from the war were often reassured to see familiar sights: The bread always placed on the wood en bread board and cut into slices by the head of the household, who rightly sat at the head of the table. Packaged food was still uncommon. The packet of sliced bread was probably unknown in Australia.
25、The idea of a self-service supermarket was unimaginable. In a big city like Sydney, nine of every 10 families lived in walking distance of a grocers shop. The grocer himself, with his white apron and lead pencil behind his ear, was the packager. Much of his time was spent behind the fortress-like co
26、unter, filling and weighing brown paper bags of sugar, flour, salt and whole meal for the porridge, or bags of biscuits taken by hand from the big tin, and handing them over the counter to the customer. Social taboos remained strong. Gambling was virtually prohibited except on the racecourses, and d
27、rinking of alcohol was discouraged by the closing of hotels at six oclock and by the shortage of bottled beer. Divorce was frowned upon: In the whole nation in a typical working week there were only 50 to 60 divorces. Couples were usually married in a church, on a Saturday afternoon, and at their we
28、dding reception the chances were probably 40-60 that no alcohol would be served. A typical marriage involved people of the same religion. A honeymoon in 1945 was almost invariably spent at a nearby resort or city. To travel more than 100 miles for a honeymoon was an adventure and a half. The idea of
29、 flying away for a honey moon was inconceivable, for aircraft tickets were expensive and civilian passengers were unlikely to he allotted a seat. For several hundred thousand Australians back from the war the excitement of 1945 was finding and keeping a job. Unemployment, close to 10 percent on the
30、eve of the war, was almost down to 1 percent. In those days most boys and girls left school after grade eight and entered the workforce. Everywhere was a yearning for the return of big-time sport. International contests, abandoned since 1939, were awaited eagerly by sportstarved fans. The last Test
31、Cricket match had been played at the Oval in August 1938. The ordinary players of games had to wait a while for the return of peacetime equipment. Many tennis bails were hit on the court until they were bald, chipped golf balls were used, and in the playgrounds of schools the children kicked footbal
32、ls made of tight roiled newspaper. In the aftermath of the war the nation was inclined to be very cautious. The future was a puzzle. Nothing could be more contrasting than the optimism after World War Iand the cagey caution of 1945. The soldiers returning from France in 1919 and expecting good fortu
33、ne had been shabbily treated: They found high unemployment with another war 20 years later. But the soldiers, nurses and airmen returning home in 19451946 did not expect too much and were doubly rewarded with an end of full employ melt lasting perhaps a quarter of a century and a freedom from world
34、wars which has now lasted half a century. 2 After World War II most Australians were cautious about prospects for the future. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 Under the leadership of Prime Minister Chifley, Australians gladly accepted socialism. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 Fanning was made more difficult during
35、the war because of drought and the scarcity of labor. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 Old time Australian homes usually had no sliced bread and washing had to be done by hand. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 For religious reasons alcohol was not served at some weddings. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 Players of sport had
36、to wait for new equipment, but big-time sport continued throughout the war. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 Drinking of alcohol was discouraged by the closing of hotels at seven oclock and by the shortage of bottled beer. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 Gambling was virtually prohibited except on the _. 10 Unemploy
37、ment, close to 10 percent on the eve of the war, was almost down to _ percent. 11 In Tasmanian towns the _ and _ were cheap pleasures in sea. 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 wi
38、ll 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 the best answer. （ A） Phillips will not be in this office at all th
39、is week. （ B） He will be here on Tuesday only. （ C） Hell be here on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. （ D） Hell be at this office on Tuesday and Thursday. （ A） She has never eaten such delicious oranges before. （ B） She bets there are better oranges available. （ C） She doesnt understand why the man like
40、s the oranges. （ D） She has had the same oranges before. （ A） She didnt go to Chicago. （ B） She had a good time in Chicago. （ C） She spent her vacation here. （ D） She didnt enjoy her trip. （ A） She will type it next week. （ B） She would rather work on it than do nothing. （ C） It took her an entire w
41、eek to type it. （ D） She still hasnt quite finished with it. （ A） It is the only book for her philosophy class. （ B） All the classes have a lot of reading. （ C） She just has to read for her philosophy class. （ D） Only the philosophy class has a lot of reading. （ A） If Phil is lucky, he might get a s
42、cholarship. （ B） There is no way in which Phil can win a scholarship. （ C） Phil is not going to chance his luck and try for a scholarship. （ D） Phil is not being given a chance to get a scholarship. （ A） Jack was expected to pass the exam. （ B） Jack surprised everybody by taking his exam again. （ C）
43、 No one really expected Jack to pass exams. （ D） Jack wasnt expected to fail his exams again. （ A） Better. （ B） Sick. （ C） Fine. （ D） Tired. （ A） A seafood restaurant. （ B） A very fancy restaurant. （ C） An exclusive restaurant. （ D） An Italian restaurant. （ A） It is urban in tone. （ B） It is up to d
44、ate. （ C） It is expensive. （ D） It is brilliant in colour. （ A） Red meat. （ B） White wine. （ C） Chicken. （ D） Dessert and coffee. （ A） At a fitness centre. （ B） At a clinic. （ C） At a school. （ D） At a club. （ A） He came too early for the appointment. （ B） He missed the bus here. （ C） He went to a w
45、rong address. （ D） He felt very bad when he got up. （ A） A weak heart. （ B） A skin disease. （ C） Bronchitis. （ D） Kidney trouble. （ A） To stay in bed for two or three days. （ B） To have a course of antibiotics. （ C） To take some cough mixture. （ D） To exercise more regularly. Section B Directions: I
46、n 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） Given by the local govern
47、ment. （ B） Born by a large number of bitches. （ C） Bought from different cities and villages. （ D） Captured over grassland. （ A） 11-week course for control duty. （ B） 11-week course for patrol duty. （ C） 9-week course for control duty. （ D） 9-week course for patrol duty. （ A） Catching runaway crimin
48、als. （ B） Scratching the hidden bombs. （ C） Patrolling the dangerous town. （ D） Drug-sniffing and bomb-sniffing. （ A） Gold was discovered. （ B） The Transcontinental Railroad was completed. （ C） The Golden Gate Bridge was constructed. （ D） Telegraph communications were established with the East. （ A）
49、 Two million. （ B） Three million. （ C） Five million. （ D） Six million. （ A） Nineteen million dollars. （ B） Thirty- two million dollars. （ C） Thirty-seven million dollars. （ D） Forty-two million dollars. （ A） On the first day of class. （ B） At the end of the first week of classes. （ C） Halfway through the semester. （ D） Just before the final examination. （ A） The people of the Northeast. （ B） The significance of the Northeast. （ C） The development of the United States. （ D） The location of the nations capital. （
