1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 230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 “Is Frustration a Bad Thing?“ You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below. 1. 有些人认为挫折是坏事。 2. 更多的人并不这么看。 3. 谈一谈你的想法。 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimm
2、ing 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 contr
3、adicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Gender Inequality In Western society, traditional male and female roles are not only substantially different, but also highly unequal. As we have seen, the male is given the dominant pos
4、ition. In a sense he is the star actor, whereas the female often plays only a supporting role. Psychologically, the male is trained to play the role of decision maker, whereas the female is encouraged to be submissive and obedient. This same gender inequality is reflected in our basic institutions.
5、In education, employment, and politics, women clearly are treated as inferiors. Education In the past, women faced open discrimination in almost every aspect of our educational system. Far more boys than girls were enrolled in primary and secondary schools, and most of the best colleges did not admi
6、t women at all. Changing cultural expectations and new antidiscrimination laws broke down most of these barriers, and great progress has been made. Today, more females than males graduate from high school and from college. Yet men still maintain some important educational advantages. For one thing,
7、men receive over 60 percent of professional degrees and doctorates. There are also important differences in the majors women and men pursue. More females are in the liberal arts and humanities, while more men major in such fields as science, mathematics, and engineering, which are most likely to lea
8、d directly to high-paying career. Although the reasons for these differences are not entirely clear, several factors appear to be important. It seems that traditional gender role stereotypes no longer stop females from pursuing an education, but women are discouraged from going into academic areas t
9、hat are overwhelmingly dominated by males. For example, one recent study shows that the lack of female role models among faculty members in mathematics, science, and engineering subtly conveys the message to young women that those fields are not for them. Womens preference for a more general liberal
10、 education may also reflect the fact that women expect to carry more child-rearing responsibilities than their male counterparts. As a result, they may shy away from majors leading to demanding careers that would interfere with those responsibilities. Employment Womens role in the work force has und
11、ergone a remarkable change. Fifty years ago, fewer than a quarter of all adult women in the United States worked outside the home. Today, that figure has more than doubled, and the number of working women continues to increase. In the next decade, six of every ten new workers in the United States ar
12、e expected to be women. Although the gap between mens and womens pay has narrowed in recent years, it continues to be a large one. In 1975 women earned only about 60 percent as much as men, but by 1992, that figure was around 75 percent. Unfortunately, the reason the gap has closed is due more to a
13、decline in mens earnings than to an increase in womens pay. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute concluded that over two-thirds of that improvement was caused by the drop in mens wages and only a third by increasing womens wages. Many women receive smaller paychecks than men because they ent
14、er lower-paying occupations and hold lower-ranking jobs within their field. Yet there are substantial differences in pay even among men and women who do the same type of work. Women in sales earn only 56 percent as much as salesmen, and women professionals about 72 percent as much as their male coun
15、terparts. A Business Week survey found that the starting salaries of male graduates of the best MBA programs in the United States are 12 percent higher than the starting salaries of female graduates. Even when workers break out of the traditional occupational stereotypes, women still come up short.
16、Although 94 percent of all registered nurses are female, male nurses earn about 10 percent more than their female co-workers. Women who cross the gender barrier to join the building trades, on the other hand, earn about 25 percent less than male construction workers. Many occupations are clearly “se
17、x-typed“; that is, they are considered either mens jobs or womens jobs. Almost 60 percent of all university professors are men, as are 86 percent of police officers and 92 percent of engineers. In contrast, 75 percent of primary and secondary teachers, 84 percent of librarians, and 98 percent of all
18、 secretaries are women. “Womens jobs“ almost always have lower pay and lower status than comparable “male“ positions. Jobs that are relatively autonomous are usually typed as male, as in the case of truck drivers or traveling sales personnel. There are, nonetheless, some hopeful signs. As Francine D
19、. Blau and Marianne A. Ferber point out, there has been a slow but steady decrease in occupational segregation since the 1960s, and many women have managed to breach the walls that kept them out of better-paying “mens jobs“. In 1960, only about 6.5 percent of U.S. physicians were women; today that n
20、umber is over 20 percent. Women have made similar strides in the legal profession: In 1960, fewer than 1 out of 20 lawyers and judges was a woman, but today the ratio is more than 1 in 5. Political Power Politics has traditionally been considered a mans business. Women were not even allowed to vote
21、in most democracies until this century. The few women who have gained top positions of power have often had the benefit of family connections to overcome objections to their sex. In 1993, only 7 percent of the members of the U.S. Senate and 11 percent of the House were women. No woman has ever held
22、a key position of power in the U.S. Congress, such as majority leader or Speaker of the House, and women are still largely locked out of the inner circles of power in the White House including, of course, the presidency itself. In the judicial branch, only two women in the history of the United Stat
23、es have ever been on the Supreme Court. Women, nonetheless, have enormous political potential. Most of the volunteer workers essential to political campaigns are women. Even more significant is the fact that women outnumber men and could outvote them if they voted as a block. Until recently, women v
24、oted much as their husbands did, but in the last decade a significant “gender gap“ between the voting patterns of men and women had developed. Polls show that women look more favorably on welfare programs and environmental protection and are more likely to oppose military spending and an aggressive
25、foreign policy. In the last three presidential elections, substantially more women than men voted for the Democratic candidate. So far, the gender gap has not been a decisive factor in U.S. politics, but the potential is certainly there. 2 Sexual discrimination still exists in Western society. （ A）
26、Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 In the United States, the number of males and females is not in proportion. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 The pay gap between women and men tends to be bigger. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 Fifty years ago, more than 75 percent of all adult women in the U.S. had no jobs. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG
27、 6 Women earn less money than men even if they do the same type of work. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 Women earn more money than their counterparts of the opposite sex only in nursing. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 So far, the gender gap has been a decisive factor in U.S. politics. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 Acad
28、emic areas are mainly controlled by _. 10 Today, more than _ percent of U.S. physicians are women. 11 In the last three presidential elections, more women than men voted for _. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each con
29、versation, 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 the best answer. （ A） They wont
30、come if they dont call. （ B） She is sure that the people will come to the party. （ C） She will cancel the party since nobody called. （ D） There is plenty of food for all the people. （ A） He will fix the sink himself. （ B） He will ask someone to do the work. （ C） He will move into the apartment. （ D）
31、 He will buy a new sink. （ A） He is nervous. （ B） He is disappointed （ C） He is surprised. （ D） He is anxious. （ A） The woman should pay the fee at the library. （ B） The woman should wait in line. （ C） The woman should pay the fee at another office. （ D） The woman should pay cash only. （ A） The typi
32、st has completed it already. （ B） Hell need some help later on. （ C） He completed the typing himself. （ D） He wants the woman to type more carefully. （ A） Wait for the next bus. （ B） Ask someone else. （ C） Walk to the housing office. （ D） Get on this bus. （ A） Students with a proper ID can check any
33、 book out. （ B） Only the students with special permission can check out reference books. （ C） Only professors can check out the reference books. （ D） The reference books are not allowed to be checked out. （ A） The convention was cancelled. （ B） The convention was put off. （ C） The convention was hel
34、d last Wednesday. （ D） The convention was overcrowded. （ A） To invite him to attend a seminar. （ B） To inform him about some changes in the arrangement for his seminar. （ C） To invite him to visit the lab. （ D） To inform him that the seminar has been postponed. （ A） A projector and a wireless microp
35、hone. （ B） A PowerPoint projector and an overhead projector. （ C） A projector and a microphone on the podium. （ D） A wireless microphone and a microphone on the podium. （ A） He is disappointed. （ B） He is pleased. （ C） He is indifferent. （ D） He is angry. （ A） They are little sheep. （ B） They are mi
36、ce. （ C） They are lambs. （ D） They are little pigs. （ A） Animals with the exact same genes can be different in sizes and character traits. （ B） Animals with the exact same genes can only be the sizes and character traits. （ C） Animals with different genes can be the same in sizes and character trait
37、s. （ D） Animals with different genes have been cloned all over the world. （ A） By cloning endangered species. （ B） By preventing them from being killed. （ C） By watching over them carefully. （ D） By conducting many experiments. （ A） At the beginning of the 3rd semester. （ B） At the end of the 3rd se
38、mester. （ C） At the beginning of the 2nd semester. （ D） At the beginning of the 1st semester. （ A） He wants to know what interesting places to visit and how to get there. （ B） He is lost and cant find the Palace Museum. （ C） He doesnt know the way back to the Beijing Hotel. （ D） He needs a tour guid
39、e to help him sightsee Beijing. （ A） The Summer Palace and then the Yuanmingyuan. （ B） Tianan men Square and then the Palace Museum. （ C） The Palace Museum and then the Summer Palace. （ D） The Palace Museum and then the Yuanmingyuan. （ A） The Summer Palace and then the Yuanmingyuan. （ B） The Palace
40、Museum and then the Great Wall. （ C） The Summer Palace and then the Great Wall. （ D） The Palace Museum and then the Yuanmingyuan. （ A） He could take a taxi, and then change to a bus. （ B） He must first take the underground and then change to the shuttle bus. （ C） He could take bus, shuffle bus, or t
41、he underground. （ D） He could take the underground, and then take a taxi. 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
42、choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） Brushing teeth. （ B） Watering grass. （ C） Washing clothes. （ D） Using dishwashers. （ A） Paying 50. （ B） Fining your neighbor. （ C） Reusing washing machine water. （ D） Taking baths instead of showers. （ A） The division of labor m
43、eans that workers are general. （ B） The division of labor means that workers are specialized. （ C） The division of labor means that each worker is in charge of the whole operation. （ D） The division of labor means each worker has to be an expert in one area. （ A） An assembly line in an automobile fa
44、ctory is a very good example of the division of labor. （ B） One worker stays in one place and waits for a conveyor belt to move the product to him. （ C） One worker has the responsibility of producing an entire car each year. （ D） One worker has a particular duty to install a door or add lights. （ A）
45、 The assembly line permits mass production of automobiles. （ B） The assembly line enables the workers to be more responsible. （ C） The assembly line guarantees the quality of its products. （ D） The assembly line helps to arouse the enthusiasm of the workers. （ A） Workers are not satisfied with worki
46、ng on one small duty day after day. （ B） Few people understand all aspects of a whole operation. （ C） Workers earn more money. （ D） Few people know how to produce an entire car. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, y
47、ou should listen carefully for its 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 blan
48、ks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the 36 Reliable knowledge of early civilizations of the Americas is 【 B1】 _ to archeological records, since so much of the 【 B2】 _ culture was destroyed by early 【 B3】 _ . Nevertheless, evidence of impressive achievements in mo
49、numental 【 B4】 _ as well as in the art of healing, 【 B5】 _ , mathematics, and engineering has been 【 B6】 _ that commands respect as well as 【 B7】 _ for the loss of this knowledge. In the field of agriculture, these civilizations left a 【 B8】 _ that has greatly enriched the food of todays planet. White potatoes, corn, beans, tomatoes, squash, chocolate, tapioca, vanilla, and turkey are just 【 B9】 _ Lost, however, are the secrets of the Mayan astronomers and the Inca builder
