1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 294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 on the topic of “teaching methods“ in three or four paragraphs. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below Introduction: Basically there are two teaching
2、methods. 1. Lecture method: A. Advantages: Best at passing on content to students Cultivating discipline and self-control B. Disadvantage: Making students totally passive 2. Group learning method: A. Advantages: Encouraging students to be active participants Making students more creative B. Disadvan
3、tage: Neglecting basic skills and background knowledge 3. Your own view(s) A “hybrid“ (综合的 ) method 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
4、. 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 contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Why You Cant Ignore the Changing Climate by Eug
5、ene Linden PARADE Magazine (June 25, 2006) As we learned last year in New Orleans, weather can be a weapon of mass destruction. With the 2006 hurricane season now upon us, scientists say the climate is changing in ways that could produce many more superhurricanes, as well as extreme floods, droughts
6、 and heat waves that could threaten our way of life. Still, its easy to ignore the signs of global warming because weve always had crazy weather. Unfortunately, many of the predicted changes have begun, and they already affect our health and pocketbooks. Heres what we know: Look Outside: The Weather
7、 Already Is Changing Every year since 1997 has been in the Top 10 list of hottest years, and 2005 set a record. The Earth has warmed about 1.4F since the late 19th century, and the warming has accelerated during the past four decades. That increase sounds small, but it has been sufficient to make we
8、ather records fall by the thousands. Studies by Kerry Emmanuel at MIT and others have documented that hurricanes are getting more intense. Extreme storms like the one that flooded New England with more than 10 inches of rain in May are becoming more frequent too. Birds are migrating earlier. Trees a
9、re blooming, and flowers and crops are popping up unseasonably early across the country. The warming has produced clear winners: pests. Mosquitoes love the warmer weather and are celebrating by bringing infectious diseases to new places. A recent Duke University study found that increased carbon dio
10、xide in the atmosphere has led to out-of-control growth of poison ivy (常春藤 ), as well as increased levels of allergy-producing pollen (引起过敏的花粉 ). Beetle populations have exploded in evergreen trees. Why should we care about beetles? It was beetles that killed the trees in Southern California, which
11、provided the dry fuel for the wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes in 2003. Higher temperatures also are causing glaciers (冰川 ) to melt fast. Mount Kilimanjaro (乞力马扎罗山 非洲的最高山峰 ), for instance, has been topped with ice for at least 11,700 years. Within the next 15 years, however, its summit mig
12、ht be ice-free, according to Lonnie Thompson, a glaciologist at Ohio State University. The fastest warming is taking place in the far north, where glaciers are receding. You may think this isnt relevant to those of us farther south, but snow and ice play a big role in balancing Earths climate by ref
13、lecting sunlight back into space. Melting snow and ice could push climates everywhere past a tipping point: As the Earth warms, melting snow and ice expose dark surfaces such as land and oceans, and the switch from heatreflecting to heat-absorbing surfaces could turbo-charge further warming. Were Ma
14、king It Worse “Im changing the climate! Ask me how“ reads a bumper sticker that activists have been plastering on SUVs. Their point is that gas-guzzlers (耗油量大的车 ) contribute to climate change. In a more sober way, the great majority of scientists are saying the same thing: Burning gas or oil in engi
15、nes and furnaces has pushed carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere far above where theyve been for hundreds of thousands of years, and the debate has ended over whether these emissions are making the planet hotter. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of more than 1,500 scientists
16、 from 60 countries, asserts that some portion of the recent warming is the result of human activities. Last year, the worlds leading scientific journal, Science, looked back at all the scientifically credible articles published between 1993 and 2003 that dealt with modern climate change. Not one too
17、k issue with the consensus that humans are contributing to the changes we are seeing. A Darkening Financial Forecast Changing weather already costs you money. Of course, many Americans have felt the impact of hurricanes and floods, but even those not directly affected by extreme weather are paying a
18、 steep price: On May 13, the front page of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune trumpeted the news that State Farm Insurance, Floridas largest property insurer, was seeking to raise rates by more than 70% for houses and 95% for mobile homes. That would jump average insurance costs from about 1,733 to 3,101.
19、But even if you live on Cape Cod more than 1,000 miles from the Gulf Coast insurers are raising rates and pulling out of some markets as they try to adjust to a new world in which the past behavior of hurricanes is no longer a reliable guide to the future. Southern California where water availabilit
20、y is largely determined by snowfall in faraway mountains already must scramble for water. Scarcities will become a severe problem if the snow pack continues to shrink and melt earlier because of warming temperatures, leaving residents extremely thirsty during the summer months. An extended water cri
21、sis will likely hurt house prices, setting off a chain reaction of job losses, foreclosures (回赎权取消 ) and bank failures. Drought in the West already affects hydro-electric power production. Power shortages could reach the Pacific Northwest if the regions river flows dropped below the levels needed to
22、 cool even coal- and gas-fired power plants. For Americas workers, climate change will feel like an enormous tax, stripping savings and imposing costs ranging from disrupted jobs to a rash of health threats. Climate Has Destroyed Past Civilizations From the Fertile Crescent to the Yucatan Peninsula
23、(尤卡坦半岛美洲北部 ), past civilizations made the fatal mistake of assuming that good weather would continue. An abrupt shift to drought in Mesopotamia (美索不达米亚地区 ) 4,200 years ago probably spelled the doom of the Akkadian (古比伦阿卡得人的 ) culture, which united city-states into the first known empire. Others see
24、the fingerprints of climate in the collapse of the Mayans (马雅人 ) around 900 AD., the disappearance of the Anasazi from the American Southwest a few centuries later and the end of Norse expansion into the New World in the 14th century. A recurrent pattern of history has been for civilizations to take
25、 root and flourish while the weather is good, only to fall when the weather suddenly changes. But dont our technology and markets make us different? Absolutely, but 6 billion people still rely on crops grown in fertile areas like the American Midwest areas vulnerable to drought in a warming world. P
26、ast civilizations had no way to know that climates could change. We do. But if we are to prevent disaster from happening, we have to act on our knowledge, and we havent done that yet. 2 The extreme weather we have experienced in the past decades resulted from the ever increasing global warming. （ A）
27、 Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 The warming causes population explosions of mosquitoes as well as beetles, but it has been documented that the latter have done more damage to man than the former have. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 The fastest warming is taking place in the regions around the South Pole, where glacier
28、s are disappearing at an astonishing speed. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 Scientists from many countries agree that the recent warming is caused in part by such human activities as mans ever-increasing consumption of gas or oil. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 As the result of insurance rates rising nationwide, A
29、mericans as a whole are suffering financially, no matter whether they are directly affected by destructive weather or not. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 To a large extent, our ancestors total ignorance of sudden changes in weather led to the destruction of some ancient civilizations. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG
30、 8 The author holds optimistically that with the aid of our knowledge and technology, we will eventually be able to find ways to prevent sudden changes in climates and avoid natural disasters. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 Snow and ice can balance Earths climate by _, but the never-ending melting of snow
31、and ice, could cause land and oceans to switch from _to _ surfaces. 10 Water availability in Southern California is determined largely by _. 11 For Americans, changing weather already costs them money, and it will feel like _. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversation
32、s 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, an
33、d decide which is the best answer. （ A） Hes been in the program for several days. （ B） Hes working hard on the program. （ C） He works only during the day. （ D） He will probably never finish. （ A） The apartments are too small for the students to share. （ B） The apartments are not quite near enough to
34、 campus. （ C） Most students can be reached at their campus address. （ D） Very few students could afford to live there. （ A） She didnt see it. （ B） She wanted to see it again. （ C） She didnt make any money from it. （ D） She found it confusing. （ A） Looking in the library card catalog. （ B） Studying f
35、or an exam. （ C） Reading the newspaper. （ D） Exercising in the gym. （ A） Its extremely hot outside. （ B） They can eat at a sidewalk cafe. （ C） The food should be kept warm. （ D） They should have eggs for supper. （ A） Hes in a hurry to get there. （ B） It would be better to wait an hour for the car. （
36、 C） They should leave later to avoid traffic. （ D） He would rather not drive. （ A） Leave the errors in the paper. （ B） Let the woman use the typewriter. （ C） Read me newspaper again. （ D） Check the paper for mistakes. （ A） Shes not sure how she was able to finish so early. （ B） She wasnt able to man
37、age the project so early. （ C） Shes not sure how to solve the mystery. （ D） She still hasnt heard what was shocking. （ A） 4,000 years ago. （ B） 3,000 years ago. （ C） 2,000 years ago. （ D） 1,000 years ago. （ A） The small bowl was put above the large bowl. （ B） The large bowl was put above the small b
38、owl. （ C） The small bowl was put inside the large bowl. （ D） The large bowl consisted of two equal parts. （ A） Horsemen. （ B） Brass doors. （ C） Drops of water. （ D） Metal balls. （ A） Crowded air traffic. （ B） The large size of airplanes. （ C） Mistakes by air traffic controllers. （ D） Bad weather. （
39、A） They bumped into each other over a swimming pool. （ B） They avoided each other by turning in different directions. （ C） They narrowly escaped crashing into each other. （ D） One plane climbed above the other at the critical moment. （ A） To show the key role played by air traffic controllers. （ B）
40、To show the great responsibility shouldered by the pilots. （ C） To give an example of air disasters. （ D） To show that air travel is far safer than driving a car. （ A） Because he has the idea that examinations have made the goal of exams becomes not learning, but rather the acquisition (获得 ) of the
41、book knowledge. （ B） Because he thinks exams can increase our book knowledge. （ C） Because he thinks exams are completely useless. （ D） Because the examination system has lasted too long in history. （ A） Me advocates keeping students motivation and lightening their study burden. （ B） He encourages t
42、eachers to cram ( 填鸭式地教育 ) more to their students. （ C） He will place more emphasis on continuous assessment throughout the year and on project and assignment work. （ D） None of the above. （ A） Jason Green is an educational psychologist. （ B） Jason Green is completely against the exam system. （ C） E
43、xams are far from being the most suitable way to assess whether learning has taken place. （ D） It is not proper to use exams as the only testing device (测试方法 ) to assess (评估 ) peoples ability. （ A） When to move. （ B） Where to live the following year. （ C） How much time to spend at home. （ D） Whose h
44、ouse to visit. （ A） Take some money to the housing office. （ B） Inform the director of student housing in a letter. （ C） Fill out a form in the library. （ D） Maintain a high grade average. （ A） Both live on campus. （ B） Both live off campus. （ C） The man lives on campus; the woman lives off campus.
45、（ D） The woman lives on campus; the man lives on campus. （ A） Grades. （ B） Privacy. （ C） Sports. （ D） Money. 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. A
46、fter you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） About four days. （ B） Around eight days. （ C） A day and a half. （ D） More than six days. （ A） His father pulled him out in time. （ B） He stayed in an icebox. （ C） He left the area before the ea
47、rthquake. （ D） Their house escaped the earthquake. （ A） Her unique experience. （ B） Her future prospects. （ C） Her favorite job. （ D） Her lonely life. （ A） Authority. （ B） A good relationship. （ C） Good luck. （ D） Independence. （ A） She will live an empty life. （ B） She will work in a bookstore. （ C
48、） She will remain single. （ D） She will earn a lot of money. （ A） She should find a good job. （ B） She should open a small restaurant. （ C） She should have more control over her life. （ D） She should get married. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the pa
49、ssage is read for 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 information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the 38 Michael Jordan is an American【 B1】 _basketball player in the NBA, who led
