1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 240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 entitled The Chinese Spring Festival. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese. 1. 春节经常在大约几月 份来临，当时的气候如何 2. 人们如何准备，并如何度过这个节日 3. 近些年来的春节与过去相比，
2、有什么变化，这说明了 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 given
3、 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 Generation XXL A society of obese children Childrens impulses havent changed much in recent decades. But social forces from the disappea
4、rance of home cooking to the rise of fast food and video technology - have converged to make them heavier. Snack and soda companies are spending hundreds of millions a year to promote empty calories, while schools cut back on physical education and outdoor play is supplanted by Nintendo(任天堂游戏机 ) and
5、 Internet. By the governments estimate, some 6 million American children are now fat enough to endanger their health. An additional 5 million are on the threshold, and the problem is growing more extreme even as it becomes more widespread. “The children we see today are 30 percent heavier than the o
6、nes who were referred to in 1990,“ says Dr. Naomi Neufeld, a pediatric endocrinologist(儿科内分泌学家 ) in Los Angeles. Obese kids suffer both physically and emotionally throughout childhood, and those who remain heavy as adolescents tend to stay that way into adulthood. The resulting illnesses diabetes(糖尿
7、病 ), heart disease, high blood pressure, several cancers now claim an estimated half-million American lives each year, while costing us $ 100 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman predicts that obesity will soon rival smoking as a cause of prevent
8、able death, and some health experts are calling for national action to combat it. Meanwhile, the challenge for children and their parents is to swim against the current. Until recently, childhood obesity was so rare that no one tracked it closely. Body-mass index (BMI), the height-to-weight ratio us
9、ed to measure adult weight, seemed irrelevant to people whose bodies are still growing. But that mind-set is changing. In a gesture aimed at parents and pediatricians(儿科医师 ), federal health officials recently published new growth charts that extend the BMI system to children. Unlike the adult charts
10、, which classify anyone with a BMI of 25 or higher as “overweight“ and anyone with a BMI of 30 or more as “obese,“ the childhood charts use population norms from the 1960s to determine healthy weight ranges for kids 2 to 20. According to the new charts, a typical 7-year-old girl stands 4 feet 1 inch
11、 tall and weighs 50 pounds, giving her a BMI of 15. By the age of 17, she stands 5 feet 4 and weighs 125 pounds, for a BMI of 21. To spare parents undue alarm over baby fat or the normal weight gain that precedes growth spurts(冲刺 ), the new charts use a broad definition of healthy weight. The heavy
12、sufferings Even by these lenient(宽松的 )standards, the proportion of kids who are overweight jumped from 5 percent in 1964 to nearly 13 percent in 1994, the most recent year on record; If the trend has continued and many experts believe it has accelerated one child in three is now either overweight or
13、 at risk of becoming so. No race or class has been spared, and many youngsters are already suffering health consequences. Dr. Nancy Krebs, a pediatrician at the University of Colorado, notes that overweight children are now showing up with such problems as fatty liver, a precursor(先兆 )to cirrhosis (
14、硬化 ), and obstructive sleep apnea(呼吸暂停 ), a condition in which the excess flesh around the throat blocks the airway, causing loud snoring, fitful sleep and a chronic lack of oxygen that can damage the heart and lungs. Even Type 2 diabetes known traditionally as “adult-onset“ diabetes turn up in over
15、weight kids. “Ten years ago 1 would have told you that Type 2 diabetes doesnt occur until after 40,“ says Dr. Robin Goland of New Yorks Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, “Now 30 percent of our pediatric patients are Type 2.“ Unlike Type 1 disease, in which the pancreas(胰腺 ) fails to produce the insuli
16、n(胰岛 素 ) needed to transport sugar from the bloodstream into cells, Type 2 diabetes occurs when a persons cells grow resistant to insulin, causing sugar to build up in the blood. Unless its carefully managed, this obesity- related condition can damage blood vessels Within a decade, setting the stage
17、 for kidney failure and blindness as well as amputations(截肢手术 ), heart attacks and strokes. And because children are not routinely screened for Type 2 disease, Goland worries that many cases are going undiagnosed. Even if they dont develop diabetes, chronically overweight kids may become prime candi
18、dates for heart attacks and strokes. In a recent survey of preschoolers at New York City Head Start Centers, Dr. Christine Williams of Columbia University found that overweight kids as young as 3 and 4 showed signs of elevated blood pressure and cholesterol(胆固醇 ). “Theres a lag between the developme
19、nt of obesity and the chronic diseases associated with it,“ says Dr. William Dietz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Were in that trough right now. Very soon well see the rate of cardiovascular(心脏血管的 ) disease among teenagers rising.“ Obesity a struggle of the whole society How doe
20、s a child end up in this predicament? Genes are clearly part of the story. Nine-year-old Emily Hoffman of Humble, Texas, was born weighing nearly 11 pounds. And though she Was raised in ways her pediatricians approved of, everything she ate seemed to turn into fat. By 7 she weighed 180 pounds. But e
21、ven in kids who are prone to obesity, lifestyle is what triggers it. Felice Ramirez weighed 200 pounds when she started eighth grade in Victoria, Texas, three years ago. And though she has since lost 25, she is constantly influenced in the wrong direction. She has a P.E. class at school, but sitting
22、 on the bleachers counts as participation. And though the school cafeteria tries to offer healthy fare, the lines are so long, and the lunch period so short, that kids are often forced to dine on packaged snacks from the vending machines. These are common temptations. Many schools now feature not on
23、ly soda and snack machines but on- site outlets for fast-food chains. At the same time, recess and physical education are vanishing from the schools standard curriculum. Not surprisingly, the proportion of high-school kids in daily gym classes fell from 42 percent to 29 percent during the 90s. 2 The
24、 improvement of the living conditions is one social force that makes children heavier. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 Every year about 50,000 Americans die of diseases resulting from obesity. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 According to Dan Glickman, obesity will rival smoking as a cause of preventable death in th
25、e near future. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 Childhood obesity was never tracked closely before, the reason of which is that childhood obesity used to be rare. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 The proportion of kids who are overweight in 1994 jumped 13 percent compared with that in 1964. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 Ty
26、pe 2 diabetes only occur in adults while Type 1 diabetes may occur in children. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 The research of Dr. Christine Williams shows that overweight kids may become prime sufferers of heart attacks and strokes. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 The author cites the example of Emily Hoffman to
27、show that _ is / are one cause of overweight. 10 The example of Felice Ramirez shows us that in kids who are prone to obesity _ is / are a stimulating factor for overweight. 11 Besides the unhealthy food and drink, the vanishing of _also contributes to the problem of childhood obesity. Section A Dir
28、ections: 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 conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pa
29、use, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. （ A） Swimming. （ B） Playing tennis. （ C） Boating. （ D） Playing golf. （ A） To remind him of the data he should take to the conference, （ B） To see if he is ready for the coming conference. （ C） To tell him
30、something about the conference. （ D） To help him prepare for the conference. （ A） The long wait. （ B） The broken-down computer. （ C） The mistakes in her telephone bill. （ D） The bad telephone service. （ A） They spent three hundred dollars on their vacation. （ B） They drew more money than they should
31、 have from the bank. （ C） They lost their bankbook. （ D） They had only three hundred dollars in the bank, （ A） To find out her position in the company. （ B） To apply for a job. （ C） To offer her a position in the company. （ D） To make an appointment with the sales manager. （ A） He is surprised. （ B）
32、 He feels very happy. （ C） He is indifferent. （ D） He feels very angry. （ A） He hasnt cleaned his room since Linda visited him. （ B） Linda is the only person who ever comes to see him. （ C） Hes been too busy to clean his room. （ D） Cleaning is the last thing he wants to do. （ A） She is a generous wo
33、man by nature. （ B） It doesnt have a back cover. （ C） She feels the mans apology is enough. （ D） It is no longer of any use to her. （ A） At a park. （ B） At the beach. （ C） At Daves house. （ D） By a river. （ A） Six. （ B） Seven. （ C） Eight. （ D） Nine. （ A） She has been working a lot recently. （ B） She
34、 has been taking care of her sick mother. （ C） She has been taking two night classes. （ D） She has been looking for a new job. （ A） Use of library facilities. （ B） Library regulations. （ C） Library personnel. （ D） Location of the library. （ A） Book publishers. （ B） Librarians. （ C） Returning faculty
35、 members. （ D） New university students. （ A） Graduate students. （ B） Undergraduate students. （ C） Professors. （ D） Library employees. （ A） An interview by a talk show host. （ B） A meeting between two trading companies. （ C） An interview between a woman and a man. （ D） An interview between an employe
36、r and an applicant. （ A） He is not satisfied with the company. （ B） He wants more challenging work. （ C） He wants to earn more money. （ D） He wants to enjoy more freedom. （ A） Over-organized. （ B） Working well under pressure. （ C） Not liking challenge. （ D） Not wanting to work in a foreign company.
37、（ A） The man has to wait for some further notice. （ B） The man has succeeded in applying for a job. （ C） The man has failed to present himself. （ D） The man has to go back to his trading company. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you w
38、ill 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） The idea that it reached out to “the end of the world“. （ B） The idea that it would be too hot at the equa
39、tor. （ C） The idea that it is too large. （ D） Both A and B. （ A） There is less salt in the Atlantic Ocean than in any other oceans of the world. （ B） The water of the Atlantic Ocean is saltier than that of the Pacific Ocean. （ C） The water of the Atlantic Ocean is saltier than that of any other plac
40、e in the world. （ D） The Atlantic Ocean has more salt than water in it. （ A） The Saltiest Ocean in the World. （ B） The Atlantic Ocean. （ C） The Atlantic-A Lonely Ocean. （ D） The Water of the Ocean. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read f
41、or the first time, you 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 informa
42、tion. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the 32 Florence Sephton is 77 and lives in North Wales. She is reading for an arts degree. “Im more of a 【 B1】 _ to polish my mind than polish my furniture. The house takes second place while I put the study
43、ing first.“ “I was very happy at school and had 【 B2】 _ teaching. I passed the university 【 B3】 _ examination and was ready to go to university but with World War One I went into 【 B4】 _ . I was paid 1 pound a week. Manchester University kept my place open for three years but I was enjoying the mone
44、y and the freedom, so I turned it down.“ Mrs. Sephton is now in the second year of her Open University 【 B5】 _ and is finding it hard work. “Im feeling tired more 【 B6】 _ . I cant do more than an hours work at a time. The memorys shocking, Im supposed to be 【 B7】 _ and I look up notes I did earlier
45、this year and think, Have you read this before? So Im doing it very slowly one 【 B8】 _ a year, so itll take six years.“ “ 【 B9】 _ . I had an essay failed this week. The professor said I hadnt answered the question. Ive been thinking about it all week. 【 B10】 _ . Im very ordinary really.“ Claiming to
46、 be ordinary and lazy, Mrs. Sephton is still working hard daily at her assignments. 【 B11】 _ . It means I dont care enough about people. I cant say I find comfort in what Ill be learning, so Ill be interested to see if theres a life ahead. 33 【 B1】 34 【 B2】 35 【 B3】 36 【 B4】 37 【 B5】 38 【 B6】 39 【 B
47、7】 40 【 B8】 41 【 B9】 42 【 B10】 43 【 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 passage through carefully before making your choices. Eac
48、h 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. 43 Genetically-modified (GM) foodstuffs are here to stay. Thats not to say that food produced by conv
49、entional agriculture will disappear, but 【 S1】 _ that food-buying patterns will polarize: there will be a niche(合适的 ) market for conventional foodstuffs just as there is for 【 S2】 _ food. It may even be that GM food will become the food of 【 S3】 _ because consumers come to appreciate the health benefits of reduced pesticide use. 【 S4】 _ there are some 20,000 chemicals in use, but the scientists only have d
