1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 822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 Popular Music. You should write at least 120 words and you should base your composition on the outline (given in Chinese) below: 1. 许多年轻人热衷于流行音乐。 2流行音乐受欢迎的原因。 3你的观点、态度。
2、 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 in the pa
3、ssage; 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 Watch out for Falling Satellites What Is Happening? An out-of-control US spy satellite will crash to Earth in the coming months, government offici
4、als say. The satellite is large enough that debris are likely to survive atmospheric re-entry and strike the Earth, sometime in late February or early March, says Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. Is That Normal? “This is relatively routine in that satellites deorbit al
5、l the time,“ says Johndroe. Pieces of uncontrolled debris heavier than two stones mostly discarded rocket stages crash to Earth as often as once every three weeks, says Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and launch observer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts
6、. Many discarded pieces retain some power, so that controllers on Earth can guide them to a point far from human habitation, usually using a final dive into an ocean. In 2001, Russian space officials broke up the old Mir space station in this way over the South Pacific. Thats not the case for this U
7、S one, however. “Obviously, we want to take a look at the potential for it to land in a populated area,“ says Johndroe. “As background, Id like to say that over the past 30 plus years, there have been many satellites and other man-made objects falling from space of course, they falling with very lit
8、tle damage and no injuries. What makes this case a little bit different, however, and in particular for the president in his consideration, was the likelihood that the satellite, upon descent to the Earths surface, could release much of its thousand-plus pounds of hydrazine fuel as a toxic gas. “ Wh
9、at Are the Chances of It Crashing Through My Roof? Exceedingly slim, says McDowell. Remember that some 70% of the Earth is water, and most lands are void of people. “There is no reason for people to get alarmed about it,“ he says. According to the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office, there have been
10、no confirmed instances of serious property damage or injury caused by crashing debris in 40 years. The likelihood of the satellite falling in a populated area is small, and the extent and duration of toxic hydrazine in the atmosphere would be quite limited; nevertheless, if the satellite did fall in
11、 a populated area, there was a possibility of death or injury to human beings beyond that associated with the fall of satellites and other space objects normally, if we can use that word. Specifically, there was enough of a risk for the president to be quite concerned about human life, and on that b
12、asis, he asks us to review our options. What Is This Satellite? Since it is a spy satellite, this isnt public information. But it is likely to be USA 193, which, according to news reports, was launched at the end of 2006 for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and which was lost to ground-based
13、 controllers upon reaching orbit. At the time, amateur sky watchers noticed that its orbit was slightly off and wasnt being corrected. Based on the slight losses in altitude, they had predicted an eventual crash this spring, McDowell says. If the dying satellite is indeed USA 193, its specifications
14、 can be better defined. USA 193 was launched on a Boeing Delta 2 rocket, which limits the size of the satellite to between two and four tonnes and five or six meters in length about the size of a minivan, McDowell says. This satellite is now at an altitude of 250 kilometers and is falling a kilomete
15、r per day. It orbits in the mid-latitudes, between 58 degrees north and south. Where it will fall within that range is impossible to know now, so McDowell says the chance of landing in the United States, for example, is 2%, based on area. Better estimates should be available a day before landing. Is
16、 the “Minivan-sized“ Satellite a Big One? Nowhere near as big as a satellite that fell uncontrollably in 1979: the more-than-70-tonne US Skylab I crashed through the atmosphere and scattered debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. What Will Happen to This One on Entry? The atmosphere w
17、ill tear up the satellite. Aluminum parts and outer layers will burn. Twisted chunks of heavier pieces, like the fuel tank, could survive. McDowell says that the satellite could contain as much as a tonne of hydrazine, a highly toxic propellant which could be hazardous to be near but not dangerous w
18、hen dispersed in the atmosphere. Have Bits of Satellites Survived Re-entry Intact Before? Yes. The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office hosts some pictures of pretty big chunks, including: a 250-kilogram steel fuel tank and a 30-kilogram titanium tank of a launch vehicle that both landed in Texas in 1
19、997, and a 70-kilogram titanium rocket motor casing that landed in Saudi Arabia in 2001. One noteworthy ill-fated satellite actually crash landed through the roof of a workshop supporting its launch in 2006, having fallen from a botched take-off. How Many Things Are There That Could Potentially Fall
20、 Out of Orbit? Yes. NASA Orbital Debris Program Office says there are some 11,000 objects bigger than 10 centimeters tracked by the US Space Surveillance Network. Of course, the biggest man-made object in the sky, by far, is the International Space Station. Nearly 45 meters long and more than 200 to
21、nes heavy, the concern about the ISS is in protecting it from debris, rather than worrying about it becoming debris itself. If It Lands in the Middle of Nowhere, does It Matter? While the impact is likely to be a nonevent, the falling satellite does serve as a reminder that the NRO the United States
22、 “eyes and ears in space“ is having a bad time of things. In 2005, the NRO cancelled a next-generation reconnaissance technology project, called Future Imagery Architecture, after Boeing had spent more than $ 4 billion on it, according to the New York Times. “The NRO has had a bad decade,“ says Jeff
23、rey Lewis, a space policy analyst at the New America Foundation in Washington DC. “We knew this satellite has been dead for a long time. But it reminds us of how much trouble theyve had.“ 2 When will the disabled US spy satellite crash to Earth? （ A） Sometime in next March. （ B） Perhaps in next Febr
24、uary. （ C） On the first day of February. （ D） Maybe in early March. 3 McDowell says that most of the heaviest uncontrolled debris crashing to Earth_. （ A） are satellites which have deorbited （ B） are then discarded in three weeks （ C） come from rocket launchings （ D） still have power to use 4 Why do
25、es Johndroe say that the coming crash of the spy satellite is different? （ A） It will bring very little damage. （ B） It may release much toxic gas. （ C） It may land in a populated area. （ D） It has bothered the president. 5 How would McDowell like the idea that people should be warned of the coming
26、crash? （ A） It is a good idea. （ B） It is reasonable. （ C） It is useless. （ D） It is unnecessary. 6 Who had predicted the crash of USA 193 before the government uncovered it? （ A） Amateur sky watchers. （ B） Jonathan McDowell. （ C） Gordon Johndroe. （ D） Ground-based controllers. 7 What do we know abo
27、ut the satellite USA 193? （ A） It is five or six meters long. （ B） It is of the same shape of a small van. （ C） It is very likely to land in America. （ D） It is more than 70 tonnes. 8 Which part of the dying satellite could survive atmospheric re-entry? （ A） The Aluminum parts. （ B） The propellant c
28、ontainer. （ C） The outer layers. （ D） The 250-kilogram steel fuel tank. 9 According to McDowell, the propellant of USA 193 satellite could lose its toxicity when it is_. 10 To protect the ISS, the US Space Surveillance Network should try to keep it from_. 11 The dead and falling US spy satellite rem
29、inds people that NRO is in big_now. 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 and the questions will be spoken only once. After e
30、ach 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） She can only make it on Sunday. （ B） She doesnt like volleyball. （ C） She doesnt want to play volleyball on Sunday. （ D） She will try to make it on Sun
31、day. （ A） Artistic and economic. （ B） Concrete and observable. （ C） Scientific and historical. （ D） Implicit and abstract. （ A） The relationship of purchases to time spent in shopping. （ B） The length of time required for drugstore shopping, （ C） The increases in the size and stock of drugstores. （
32、D） The purchase of clothing from department stores. （ A） A druggists suggestion. （ B） An article. （ C） An advertisement. （ D） A sales clerks comment. （ A） People enjoy shopping in it. （ B） People spend little time in it. （ C） People are more likely to buy something in it if time is limited. （ D） Peo
33、ple spend too much time reading articles about quick cures sold in the drugstore. （ A） They know what they want to buy. （ B） They have little money to spend. （ C） They talk themselves out of purchase. （ D） They shop at the cheapest stores. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short
34、 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） Crowded air traffic. （ B） The large size of airplanes. （ C） Mi
35、stakes by air traffic controllers. （ D） Bad weather. （ A） 79 and 176. （ B） 69 and 197. （ C） 69 and 176. （ D） 79 and 197. （ A） To show that air travel is far safer than driving a car. （ B） To show the great importance of the pilots. （ C） To give an example of air disasters. （ D） To show the key role
36、played by air traffic controllers. （ A） They are the most attractive women in Britain. （ B） They are the most popular film stars. （ C） They are the first women news announcers on British television. （ D） They appear almost every night in TV plays. （ A） At 10 in the evening. （ B） At 9 in the evening.
37、 （ C） At 9 in the morning. （ D） At 10 in the morning. （ A） People still talk a lot about it. （ B） Fewer people watched Susans programme from then on. （ C） Annas photographs appeared frequently in newspapers. （ D） The number of viewers of her programme that day increased by millions. （ A） Dinners. （
38、B） Movies. （ C） Novels. （ D） Classes. 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 its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks number
39、ed 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 25 From Monday until Friday, most people are busy working or st
40、udying, but in the evenings and on 【 B1】 _ they are free to relax and enjoy themselves. Some watch television or go to the movies; others 【 B2】 _ in sports. It depends on 【 B3】_ interests. There are many different ways to spend our 【 B4】 _ time. Almost everyone has some kinds of 【 B5】 _. It may be a
41、nything from collecting stamps to making model airplane. Some hobbies are very 【 B6】 _, but others dont cost anything at all. Some collections are worth a lot of money, while others are 【 B7】 _ only to their owners. I know a man who has a 【 B8】 _ collection worth several thousand dollars. 【 B9】 _. O
42、n the other hand, my youngest sister collects matchboxes. She has almost 600 of them but I doubt if they are worth any money. 【 B10】 _. Thats what a hobby means, I guess. 【 B11】 _. The value in dollars is not important, but the pleasure it gives us is. 25 【 B1】 26 【 B2】 27 【 B3】 28 【 B4】 29 【 B5】 30
43、 【 B6】 31 【 B7】 32 【 B8】 33 【 B9】 34 【 B10】 35 【 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
44、 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. 36 In the cause of equal rights, feminists(女权主义者 )have had much to complain about. But o
45、ne striking piece of inequality has been【 S1】 : lifespan. In this area, women have the【 S2】 hand. All round the world, they live longer than men. Why they should do so is not【 S3】 obvious. But the same is true in many other【 S4】 . From lions to antelope and from sea lions to deer, males, for some re
46、ason, simply cant go the distance. One theory is that males must【 S5】 for female attention. Females are not subject to such pressure. If this theory is correct, the effect will be especially【 S6】 in those varieties where males rival for the attention of lots of females. Conversely, it will be reduce
47、d or absent where they do not. That obviously takes its toll directly. But a more delicate effect may also be at work. Most scholars of ageing agree that an animals【 S7】 lifespan is set by how long it can reasonably expect to escape predation(掠夺行为 ), disease, accident and damaging【 S8】by others of i
48、ts kind. If it will be killed quickly anyway, there is not much reason for evolution to divert scarce resources into keeping the machine in excellent condition. Those resources should, instead, be【 S9】 to reproduction. And the more【 S10】 the outside world is, the shorter the uppermost lifespan shoul
49、d be. A)overlooked F)threatening K)spontaneous B)upper G)undoubtedly L)devoted C)aggression H)species M)combine D)immediately I)evident N)upright E)clumsy J)compete O)maximum 36 【 S1】 37 【 S2】 38 【 S3】 39 【 S4】 40 【 S5】 41 【 S6】 42 【 S7】 43 【 S8】 44 【 S9】 45 【 S10】 Section B Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is foll
