1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 47 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 An Unforgettable Test. You should write at least 120 words according to the outline given below in Chinese: 1. 介绍考试发 生的时间及地点等背景情况 2. 叙述这次考试发生的全过程 3. 对这次考试的体会或感受 An Unfo
2、rgettable Test 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 g
3、iven 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 Sharing Economic Losses Through Insurance Each minute of the day or night, everyone faces a possible financial loss. A home may be d
4、estroyed by fire, damaged by lightning, or leveled by a tornado(龙卷风 ). Personal belongings may be stolen. A car may be damaged in an accident, or it may cause injury to people and property. Income may be lost as the result of the death, disability, or unemployment of a family wage earner. The chance
5、 that a loss of this kind may occur is called an economic risk. Savings provide one way to take care of financial losses. But savings are not the answer to large losses. The best way to guard against large financial losses is through insurance. Insurance Is a Plan for Sharing Risks and Losses Ted Ma
6、ther and four of his friends have a rock group called Quint. Each member of the group owns a valuable instrument. Teds bass alone cost $900. If an instrument was stolen or damaged, it would be a serious financial loss for its owner. Suppose, however, that the members of the group agree to share any
7、losses that occur. For example, if Teds bass is stolen, each member of the group would contribute $180 to replace it. In other words, they would share the loss. This is the principle of insurance. Persons facing the same risk share the losses that occur among them. From an insurance standpoint, howe
8、ver, an informal agreement like that made by Quint would not provide much protection. Why? The reason is that all the instruments might be stolen or damaged at the same time. The group rehearses in the Mathers garage and sometimes leaves their instruments there between rehearsals. They also travel t
9、ogether in a van when they perform. Suppose that a thief broke into the garage and stoic all the instruments. What if the garage caught fire? What if all instruments were damaged in an accident on the way to or from a concert? Each member of the group would have to pay one-fifth of the total loss. F
10、or some members, this might be more than the amount of their own actual loss. The purpose of insurance is to provide protection against financial loss at a reasonable cost. This is possible only when the cost of insurance is shared by many people who face a similar risk. But not all of them are like
11、ly to have actual losses at the same time. You Buy Insurance from Insurance Companies Almost 4,800 companies in the United States are in the business of providing insurance protection. These businesses are called insurance companies. Because 57% percent of the insurance companies operate on a big sc
12、ale, they provide a way for large numbers of people to share their losses. When you buy insurance, you enter into a written agreement with the insurance company. This agreement is called a policy. The person who buys insurance is the policyholder. According to the agreement, the insurance company pr
13、omises to pay the policyholder if certain types of losses occur. The policy states exactly what losses the company will pay for. For this protection, the policyholder makes regular payments to the insurance company. Each payment is called a premium(保险费 ). The premiums paid by all policyholders are u
14、sed to pay those who have losses. In this way, a loss that might result in great financial hardship for one person or household is shared by many people. Because only a portion of those insured will actually have losses, premiums are small compared to the amount of protection provided. Many Kinds of
15、 Risks Can Be Insured Insurance can provide protection against almost any kind of loss. Singers may insure their voices. Photographers may insure their negatives(底片 ). The owner of a home freezer may in sure against food loss in case of power failure. A business owner can insure his or her place of
16、business. A business owner can also insure against a loss of profits during a shutdown following a fire or damaging accident. However. the kinds of insurance protection that most people buy can be divided into three broad groups: property and liability insurance, life insurance, and health insurance
17、. Property insurance provides protection against possible financial losses resulting from dam age to the policyholders property. For example, a homeowner can buy insurance against losses resulting from fire and lightning, windstorm, explosion, riot, and aircraft. Liability insurance protects against
18、 financial losses resulting from injuries to other persons or damage to their property. Injuries or property damage resulting from an automobile accident are examples. Life insurance, of course, protects against financial losses resulting from a persons death. Health insurance protects against finan
19、cial losses resulting from illness or accident. The Cost of Insurance Is Based on Probability Like all private firms, insurance companies must charge enough for protection to pay their operating costs and make a profit. The main factor affecting the price of insurance, however, is the amount of risk
20、 involved. The more risk an insurance company assumes for a policyholder, the higher the premium. Risk is measured in terms of probable losses. An insurance company must collect enough money from all its policyholders to pay the claims of those who have losses. A claim is a request for payment of a
21、toss. It is impossible to tell, of course, which policyholders will have losses. But it is possible to estimate with some ac curacy how many will have losses. A company does this by studying its past losses. For example, from its records, an insurance company can tell how many of its policyholders w
22、ill probably die each year. It can tell how many policyholders will probably be hospitalized(住院 ) and unable to work. It can also predict how many homes will probably catch fire and what the average loss will probably be. Using this information a company can figure out how much it will have to pay i
23、n claims during a year. It can then determine what a policyholder must pay for protection. As some people would say, insurance premiums are based on probability. Some Kinds of Insurance Are Provided by the Government You have learned that needed goods and services cannot always be provided at a prof
24、it by business firm. Then they may be provided by government. This is how it is with some kinds of insurance. An example is flood insurance. To understand why, you need to keep in mind one of the principles of insurance. So, who needs flood insurance? Those who live where floods might occur. But if
25、a flood did occur, it would result in losses to all those living in the flood area. To pay the losses, an insurance company would have to collect more in premium than most people would afford to pay. It would be as if each property owner were paying his or her own entire loss. Flood insurance, there
26、fore, is made available by the federal government in communities that qualify. The federal government also operates a crime insurance program. This insurance protects people and business firms in high crime areas against burglary and robbery. If a private company provided this protection, the loss w
27、ould be so great that most people could not afford it. 2 Savings are as important as insurance to protect people against large financial losses （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 According to the principle of insurance, each member of a group facing the same risk shares the losses that occur among them. （ A） Y
28、 （ B） N （ C） NG 4 The purpose of insurance is fulfilled only when a large number of people share losses that only a few of them will actually have. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 The minority of the American insurance companies provide a way for large numbers of people to share their losses. （ A） Y （ B） N
29、（ C） NG 6 One might share a great financial loss with many people by paying regular payments to the insurance company. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 Compared with property insurance, liability insurance get more protection against possible financial losses. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 This passage gives a gen
30、eral description of the insurance business operated by companies. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 The price of insurance is mainly affected by _, for risk is measured in terms of probable losses. 10 How much people would pay for the insurance company each year is generally based on _. 11 The federal governm
31、ent operates insurance such as _ whose premiums most people could not afford to pay. 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 will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation an
32、d 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） He doesnt put his ideas into practice. （ B） He doesnt have many good ideas. （ C） He has too many dream
33、s. （ D） He likes sleeping much. （ A） His suit is too old to wear. （ B） He doesnt want to buy new clothes. （ C） Both of them need to buy new clothes. （ D） He is just looking forward to buying a new suit. （ A） He decided not to sell the piano. （ B） No one has bought the piano yet. （ C） Hes looking for
34、 a place to store the piano. （ D） He hasnt been able to find an inexpensive piano yet. （ A） He looks happier lately. （ B） He manages his time well. （ C） Hes improved the way he looks. （ D） He follows directions more carefully now. （ A） He agrees with the woman. （ B） He hasnt been to a game recently.
35、 （ C） He doesnt know much about basketball. （ D） He doesnt think the team has been playing well. （ A） Going to the class together tonight. （ B） They both not going to the class. （ C） The woman just forgetting about the class. （ D） Attending the class, but slipping from it halfway. （ A） She strongly
36、disagrees with the man. （ B） She neither knows Steven nor his father at all. （ C） She also admires Stevens relationship with his father. （ D） She also has a close relationship with her daughter now. （ A） He knows less about concepts of engineering. （ B） He cant explain some concepts of engineering.
37、（ C） He gives talks to high school students regularly. （ D） He doesnt want the woman to postpone the talk. （ A） Shes impressed with the ticket sellers. （ B） Shes pleased about the mans purchase. （ C） Shes uncertain about the change in plans. （ D） Shes resigned to the situation. （ A） By writing a per
38、sonal check. （ B） By charging them to their personal account. （ C） By paying in cash. （ D） By using a store credit card. （ A） Stay where he is. （ B） Go home to telephone the order. （ C） Try to get the tickets elsewhere. （ D） Return after lunch. （ A） Two hundred dollars. （ B） Three hundred dollars. （
39、 C） Two thousand dollars. （ D） Three thousand dollars. （ A） To buy some national debt. （ B） To open a savings account. （ C） To ask the interest rate. （ D） To withdraw some money. （ A） He has to use a password. （ B） He has to show his ID card. （ C） He only needs to fill out a withdrawal form. （ D） He
40、 needs to fill out a withdrawal form and hand in the check book. （ A） Both time deposit and current deposit have the same interest rate. （ B） The interest rate is high for current deposit. （ C） The interest rate is low for time deposit. （ D） The interest rate varies with different kinds of deposit.
41、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 choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） Ge
42、t into the car for safety. （ B） Wait patiently for the storm to develop. （ C） Head straight for the center of the storm. （ D） Collect information about a coming storm. （ A） Not to drive in a heavy rain. （ B） To do it in an organized way. （ C） Not to get too close to a storm. （ D） To spend more time
43、on it in summer. （ A） Storm chasing is only fit for young people. （ B） Many storm chasers get killed in the storms. （ C） Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment. （ D） Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world. （ A） Helicopters have only been worked on by man since 1940. （ B）
44、Chinese children were the first to achieve flight in helicopters. （ C） Helicopters were considered more dangerous than the early airplanes. （ D） Some people thought they would become widely used by average individuals. （ A） They are used for rescue work. （ B） They are taking the place of highflying
45、jets. （ C） They have been widely used for various purposes. （ D） They are now used exclusively for commercial projects. （ A） For high speed transportation. （ B） For extremely high altitude flights. （ C） For overseas passenger transportation. （ D） For urgent mission to places inaccessible to other ki
46、nds of craft. （ A） Saves more than 15,000 lives each year. （ B） Reduces road accidents by more than half. （ C） Reduces the death rate in traffic accidents. （ D） Saves lives while driving at a speed up to 30 miles per hour. （ A） Wear a seat belt each time he drives. （ B） Stop children riding in the f
47、ront seat. （ C） Make the front seat passenger wear a seat belt. （ D） Make the front seat children under 14 wear a seat belt. （ A） Someone who is under 14. （ B） Someone who is backing into a parking space. （ C） Someone who is delivering and collecting letters. （ D） Someone who is picking up the child
48、ren from the local school. （ A） Wear a seat belt for health reasons. （ B） Wear no seat belt for health reasons. （ C） Get a valid medical certificate before wearing a seat belt. （ D） Pay a fine rather than wear a seat belt. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. W
49、hen the passage 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 37 The advantages and disadvantages of a large population have long been a subject of discussion amo
