1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 153及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: Styles of Living. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese: 1有些人愿意和父母居住在一起 2 有些人想自己独立居住 3我的看法 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension
2、(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 given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement
3、 contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Scientists Weigh Options for Rebuilding New Orleans As experts ponder how best to rebuild the devastated(毁坏 )city, one question is whether to wall off-or work-with-the water. Even
4、before the death toll from Hurricane Katrina is tallied, scientists arc cautiously beginning to discuss the future of New Orleans. Few seem to doubt that this vital heart of U.S. commerce and culture will be restored, but exactly how to rebuild the city and its defenses to avoid a repeat catastrophe
5、 is an open question. Plans for improving its levees and restoring the barrier of wetlands around New Orleans have been on the table since 1998, but federal dollars needed to implement them never arrived. After the tragedy, thats bound to change, says John Day, an ecologist at Louisiana State Univer
6、sity (LSU) in Baton Rouge. And if there is an upside to the disaster, he says, its that “now weve got a clean slate to start from.“ Many are looking for guidance to the Netherlands, a country that, just like bowl-shaped New Orleans, sits mostly below sea level, keeping the water at bay with a constr
7、uction of amazing scale and complexity. Others, pointing to Venices longstanding adaptations, say its best to let water flow through the city, depositing sediment to offset geologic subsidence-a model that would require a radical rethinking of architecture. Another idea is to let nature help by rest
8、oring the wetland buffers between sea and city. But before the options can be weighed, several unknowns will have to be addressed. One is precisely how the current defenses failed. To answer that, LSU coastal scientists Paul Kemp and Hassan Mashriqui are picking their way through the destroyed city
9、and surrounding region, reconstructing the size of water surges by measuring telltale marks left on the sides of buildings and highway structures. They are feeding these data into a simulation of the wind and water around New Orleans during its ordeal. “We cant say for sure until this job is done,“
10、says Day, “but the emerging picture is exactly what weve predicted for years.“ Namely, several canals-including the MRGO, which was built to speed shipping in the 1960s-have the combined effect of funneling surges from the Gulf of Mexico right to the citys eastern levees and the lake system to the n
11、orth. Those surges are to blame for the flooding. “One of the first things well see done is the complete backfilling of the MRGO canal,“ predicts Day, “which could take a couple of years.“ The levees, which have been provisionally repaired, will be shored up further in the months to come, although t
12、heir long-term fate is unclear. Better levees would probably have prevented most of the flooding in the city center. To provide further protection, a mobile clam system, much like a storm Surge barrier in the Netherlands, could be used to close off the mouth of Lake Pontchartrain. But most experts a
13、gree that these are short-term fixes. The basic problem for New Orleans and the Louisiana coastline is that the entire Mississippi River delta is subsiding and eroding, plunging the city deeper below sea level and removing a thick cushion of wetlands that once buffered the coastline from wind and wa
14、ves. Part of the subsidence is geologic and unavoidable, but the rest stems from the levees that have hemmed in the Mississippi all the way to its mouth for nearly a century to prevent floods and facilitate shipping. As a result, river sediment is no longer spread across the delta but dumped into th
15、e Gulf of Mexico. Without a constant stream of fresh sediment, the barrier islands and marshes are disappearing rapidly, with a quarter, roughly the size of Rhode Island, already gone. After years of political wrangling, a broad group pulled together by the Louisiana government in 1998 proposed a ma
16、ssive $14 billion plan to save the Louisiana coasts, called Coast 2050 (now modified into a plan called the Louisiana Coastal Area project). Wetland restoration was a key component. “Its one of the best and cheapest hurricane defenses,“ says Day, who chaired its scientific advisory committee. Althou
17、gh the plan was never given more than token funding, a team led by Day has been conducting a pilot study since 2000, diverting part of the Mississippi into the wetlands downstream of the city. “The results are as good as we could have hoped,“ he says, with land levels rising at about 1 centimeter pe
18、r year-enough to offset rising sea levels, says Day. Even if the wetlands were restored and new levees were built, the combination of geologic subsidence and rising sea levels will likely sink New Orleans another meter by 2100. The problem might be solved by another ambitious plan, says Roel Boumans
19、, a coastal scientist at the University of Vermont in Burlington who did his Ph.D. at LSU: shoring up the lowest land with a slurry of sediment piped in from the river. The majority of the buildings in the flooded areas will have to be razed anyway, he says, “so why not take this opportunity to fix
20、the root of the problem?“ The river could deposit enough sediment to raise the bottom of the New Orleans bowl to sea level “in 50 to 60 years,“ he estimates. In the meantime, people could live in these areas Venice-style, with buildings built on stilts. Boumans even takes it a step further: “You wou
21、ld have to raise everything about 30 centimeters once every 30 years, so why not make the job easier by making houses that can float.“ Whether that is technically or politically feasible-Day, for one, calls it “not likely“-remains to be seen, especially because until now, the poorest residents lived
22、 in the lowest parts of the city. Any decision on how best to protect the city in the future will be tied to how many people will live there, and where. “There may be a large contingent of residents and businesses who choose not to return,“ says Bill Good, an environmental scientist at LSU and manag
23、er of the Louisiana Geological Surveys Coastal Processes section. It is also not yet clear how decisions about the reconstruction will be made, says Good, “Since there is no precedent of comparable magnitude.“ Every level of government is sure to be involved, and “the process is likely to be ad hoc.
24、“ Even with the inevitable mingling of science and politics, we still have “a unique chance to back out of some bad decisions,“ says Good, who grew up in New Orleans. “I hope that we dont let this once-in-history opportunity slip through our fingers in the rush to rebuild the city.“ 2 The canals hav
25、e nothing to do with the flooding. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 The passage gives a general description of the suggestions to reconstruct New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 Two examples to deal with water are Netherlands and Venice. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 The levees will be sho
26、red up further with clear long-term fate. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 The basic problem for New Orleans is the subsidence of Mississippi River delta. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 The key component of Coast 2050 is wetland restoration. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 The plan of Coast 2050 will get billions of federa
27、l funding. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 New Orleans will likely sink _ by 2100. 10 Another ambitious plan is to shoring up the lowest land with a slurry of sediment _? 11 How decisions about the reconstruction will be made is also _. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversati
28、ons 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. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D,
29、and decide which is the best answer. （ A） A post office. （ B） A department store. （ C） A bookstore. （ D） A drug store. （ A） Father and daughter. （ B） Doctor and patient. （ C） Teacher and student. （ D） Boss and secretary. （ A） 50 minutes. （ B） 15 minutes. （ C） 45 minutes. （ D） 35 minutes. （ A） She fi
30、nds they are a happy couple. （ B） They quarrel with some people. （ C） She is tired of them. （ D） They are very good people. （ A） She will take the test. （ B） She will take a delayed-test. （ C） She will not take the test. （ D） The test has been postponed. （ A） $5. （ B） $4. （ C） $6. （ D） $3. （ A） Comp
31、uter science. （ B） Chemistry. （ C） Physics. （ D） Mathematics. （ A） How to solve problems. （ B） Someone who will listen to them. （ C） Someone whom they can rely on. （ D） What a real friend should be. （ A） He drives too fast. （ B） His radio wakes her children up. （ C） He plays his guitar too loudly. （
32、 D） His friends are too noisy. （ A） At midnight. （ B） When the neighbors son leaves for work. （ C） In the morning. （ D） When the car is turned off. （ A） Nancy should introduce her children to the neighbors. （ B） Nancy should bring the neighbors a gift. （ C） Nancy should ask to see the neighbors son
33、in person. （ D） Nancy should call the neighbors to complain. （ A） In 15th century. （ B） Before 15th century. （ C） In the 17th century. （ D） After 17th century. （ A） Horses and donkeys. （ B） Cars and E-mails. （ C） Trains, ships, and planes. （ D） Satellites. （ A） From the name of the horse first used
34、to carry mails. （ B） From the name of the city where this service first started. （ C） From the name of the office along the road. （ D） From the name of the stopping places for messengers. （ A） They do routine work and speak a few languages. （ B） They see the world and earn a lot of money. （ C） They
35、look pretty and look after passengers. （ D） They see the world and do routine work. （ A） Being confident. （ B） Looking pretty. （ C） Having hotel experience. （ D） Having a quick mind. （ A） She must look after the passengers and do routine work. （ B） She must fulfill special duties under all situation
36、s. （ C） She must remain calm in case of an emergency. （ D） She must keep the plane in normal order. （ A） To notify her of her promotion. （ B） To inform her of new equipment. （ C） To inquire about the office problems. （ D） To discuss meeting of the board. （ A） That there was no effect. （ B） That it i
37、mproved operations. （ C） That operations became less efficient. （ D） That the employees became dissatisfied. （ A） As unusually good. （ B） As quite ordinary. （ C） As not very good. （ D） As unsatisfactory. （ A） About opening a restaurant. （ B） About how to spend the vacation. （ C） About working in the
38、 laboratory. （ D） About where to travel. （ A） It was famous for its film industry. （ B） It became one of the biggest cities in California. （ C） It was only a small village. （ D） It became a suburb of Los Angeles. （ A） He discovered oil in and around Hollywood. （ B） He turned Hollywood into a big dis
39、trict of film industry. （ C） He set up oil wells in the neighborhood of Hollywood. （ D） He set up a film-producing workshop in Hollywood. （ A） In a open field. （ B） Along the seaside. （ C） In a workshop. （ D） On a fine day. （ A） More television films are produced. （ B） Man-made lighting has taken th
40、e place d natural light. （ C） More films are taken for the ordinary people. （ D） Oil production has become more important than the film industry. 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 i
41、ts 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 required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact
42、 words you have just heard or write down the 36 Have you ever seen a movie in which a building was burned down or a bridge was【 B1】 _ ? Have you seen a film in which a train【 B2】 _ or a ship sank into the ocean? If so, you may have【 B3】 _ how these things could happen without harming the people in t
43、he film. The man who knows the answer is the “special-effect“ man. He has one of the most important jobs in the film industry. He may be【 B4】 _ to create a flood or to make a battlefield【 B5】 _ But he may also be asked to create a special effect which is much less exciting,【 B6】 _ just as important
44、to the success of the film. In a【 B7】 _ for one movie there was a big glass【 B8】 _ filled with water in which small fish were swimming. The director of the movie wanted the fish【 B9】 _ Then the director wanted the fish to stop staring and swim away.【 B10】_ . It was quite a problem. The special-effec
45、t man thought about this problem for quite a long time.【 B11】_ First he applied electricity to the fish bowl, causing the fish to be absolutely still. Then he rapidly reduced the amount of electricity, allowing the fish to swim away. Thus he got the humorous effect that the director wanted. 37 【 B1】
46、 38 【 B2】 39 【 B3】 40 【 B4】 41 【 B5】 42 【 B6】 43 【 B7】 44 【 B8】 45 【 B9】 46 【 B10】 47 【 B11】 Section A Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passa
47、ge through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item with a single line through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. 47 A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is
48、a mobile phone. But can you 【 S1】_ the two to do something for your local 【 S2】 _ ? It may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to 【 S3】 _ it in the garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower. 【 S4】 _ , a biodegradable (生物可降解的 ) mobile phone was intro
49、duced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage 【 S5】 _ to recycle. Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other 【 S6】 _ and can be hard or soft, and able to change shape. Overtime it can also break down into the soil without giving out any toxic 【 S7】 _ . British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When
