1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 845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 entitled My View on American TV Dramas. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given belo W: 1在中国，美剧越来越受到年轻人 的欢迎 2有人认为看美剧能够提高英语水平，有人认为美剧会给青少年带来不良影响 3我的观点 My View
2、on American TV Dramas 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 inform
3、ation 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 What is an El Nino An El Nino is a temporary change in the climate of the Pacific Ocean, in the region around the equator. Yo
4、u can see its effects in both the ocean and atmosphere, generally in Northern Hemisphere winter. Typically, the ocean surface warms up by a few degrees Celsius. At the same time, the place where strong thunderstorms occur on the equator moves eastward. Although those might seem like small difference
5、s, it nevertheless can. have big effects on the worlds climate. What muses it? Usually, the wind blows strongly from east to west along the equator in the Pacific. This actually piles up water (about half a meters worth) in the western part of the Pacific. In the eastern part, deeper water (which is
6、 colder than the sunwarned surface water) gets pulled up from below to replace the water pushed west. So, the normal situation is warm water (about 30 ; ) in the west, cold (about 22 ) in the east. In an El Nine, the winds pushing that water around get weaker. As a result, some of the warm water pil
7、ed up in the west slumps hack down to the east, and not as much cold water gets pulled up from below. Both these tend to make the water in the eastern Pacific warmer, which is one of the signs of an El Nine. But it doesnt stop there. The warmer ocean then affects the windsit makes the winds weaker!
8、So if the winds get weaker, then the ocean gets warmer, which makes the winds get weaker, which makes the ocean get warmer. This is called a positive feedback, and is what makes an El Nino grow. So what makes it stop growing? The ocean is full of waves, but you might not know how many kinds of waves
9、 there are. Theres one called a Rossby wave that is quite unlike the waves you see when you visit the beach. It is more like a distant cousin to a tidal wave. The difference is that a tidal wave goes very quickly, with all the water moving pretty much in the same direction. In a Rossby wave, the upp
10、er part of the ocean, say the top 100 meters or so, will be leisurely sliding one way, while the lower part, starting at 100 meters and going on down, will be slowly moving the other way. After a while they switch directions. Everything happens very slowly and inside the ocean, and you cant even see
11、 them on the surface. These things are so slow; they can take months or years to cross the oceans. If you had the patience to sit there while one was going by, youd hardly notice it; the water would be moving 100 times slower than walking speed. But they are large, hundreds or thousands of kilometer
12、s in length (Not height! Remember, you can hardly see them on the surface), so they can have an effect on things. Another wave you rarely hear about is called a Kelvin wave, and it had some characteristics in common with Rosaby waves, but is somewhat faster and can only exist closer to the equator (
13、say, within about 5 degrees of latitude around the equator). El Ninos often start with a Kelvin wave spreading from the western Pacific over towards South America. Perhaps you saw, on the TV news, the movie (produced by JPL) for the El Nine of 1997/98? It showed a whitish blob(白色团状物 ) (indicating a
14、sea level some centimeters higher than usual) moving along the equator from Australia to South America. That is one of the hallmarks of a Kelvin wave, the early part of the El Nino process. When an El Nino gets going in the middle or eastern part of the Pacific, it creates Rossby waves that drift sl
15、owly towards Southeast Asia. After several months of traveling, they finally get near the coast and reflect back. The changes in interior ocean temperature that these waves carry with it “cancel out“ the original temperature changes that made the El Nino in the first place. The main point is that it
16、 shuts off when these funny interiorocean waves travel all the way ever to the coast of Asia, get reflected, and travel hack, a process that can take many months. What effects does it have? A strong El Nine is often associated with wet winters over the southern U.S., as well as drought in Indonesia
17、and Australia. Keep in mind that youre not guaranteed these effects even though there is an El Nino going on; but the El Nino does make these effects more likely to happen. How long does it last? A strong El Nino can last a year or more before conditions return to normal. If you read the bit above a
18、bout Rossby and Kelvin waves (you did, didnt you?), then you know that it lasts more or less as long as it takes the interiorocean waves to travel all the way over to the coast of Asia, get reflected, and travel back. How often do we get them? El Nino happens irregularly, but if you want to impress
19、people at cocktail parties, you might mention that we usually get one every three to seven years. Note the word “usually“; sometimes they turn up more frequently, sometimes less. How well can we predict El Nino? On average, complex computer models designed to predict El Nino can successfully do so 1
20、2 to 18 months in advance. However, it seems to vary by periods; sometimes El Nino is predicted quite well, with plenty of advance notice from the models, while other times they are predicted poorly, with the models not picking them up until the El Nino has already started. Trying to fix up the mode
21、ls is one of our research topics here at Scripps. 2 An El Nino causes a permanent change in the climate of the Atlantic Ocean, in the region around the equator. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 The normal situation is warm water (about 30 ) in the east, cold (about 22 ) in the west. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 I
22、n an El Nino, the winds pushing the water around get weaker. As a result, some of the warm water piled up in the west slumps back down to the east, and not as much cold water gets pulled up from below. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 There are some similarities between a Rossby wave and a tidal wave. （ A） Y
23、 （ B） N （ C） NG 6 People can hardly ever observe a Rossby wave since it doesnt occur on the surface and the process is very slow. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 When El Nino reaches a place, the temperature there would change a great deal. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 A strong El Nino is often associated with w
24、et winters over the southern U.S., as well as drought in Indonesia, Philippines and Australia. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 A strong El Nino can last two or three years _. 10 El Nino occurs irregularly and we sometimes can _. 11 Generally, complex computer models can successfully predict El Nino Section
25、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 each question there will be a pause. During t
26、he pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. （ A） At a publishing house. （ B） At a bookstore. （ C） In a reading room. （ D） In Prof. Jordans office. （ A） It is good for the child. （ B） The man says he should. （ C） The law requires it. （ D） His mo
27、ther wants him to. （ A） Better. （ B） Sick. （ C） Fine. （ D） Tired. （ A） At 10:30. （ B） At 10:25. （ C） At 10:40. （ D） At 10:45. （ A） Put her report on his desk. （ B） Read some papers he recommended. （ C） Improve some parts of her paper. （ D） Mail her paper to the publisher. （ A） They didnt have a talk
28、. （ B） They talked about the facts. （ C） They went by plane. （ D） They couldnt lake a walk. （ A） The two speakers are at a loss about what to do. （ B） The man is worried about his future. （ C） The two speakers are seniors at college. （ D） The woman regrets spending her time idly. （ A） Slippers are n
29、ot big enough for the man. （ B） The man has to buy a pair of slippers. （ C） She does not want the man to take off his shoes. （ D） Shell buy a pair of slippers for the man. （ A） She does her shopping. （ B） She drinks extra tea. （ C） She eats a lot of things. （ D） She sleeps a great deal. （ A） Problem
30、s with the teachers. （ B） Problems with family members or friends. （ C） Problems with class work. （ D） Problems with a part-time job. （ A） Talking to someone over the phone. （ B） Drinking some diet coke. （ C） Playing a video game. （ D） Drinking extra tea. （ A） He is too old and boring. （ B） He is no
31、t old but boring. （ C） He looks younger than he is. （ D） He is not boring but too old. （ A） To prepare the exams ahead. （ B） To prepare the exams every day. （ C） To communicate with others. （ D） To memorize more knowledge. （ A） It is easy to understand what she says. （ B） She teaches students how to
32、 learn phrases. （ C） She doesnt like giving students tests. （ D） It is difficult for the man to pass her class. （ A） He can learn many interesting phrases in the class. （ B） He can do much better than others in the class. （ C） The teacher didnt give students homework in the first class. （ D） The tea
33、cher made the first class full of flying colors. 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 fr
34、om the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） An official of the UN. （ B） A coffee shop owner. （ C） A friend of the speaker. （ D） Alexs friend from California. （ A） The public telephones often go wrong in malting a long distance call. （ B） It is not very expensive to make a long distance call on a
35、public telephone. （ C） Youll probably not be charged for dialing a wrong number in matting a long distance call. （ D） Youd better not make a long distance call on a public telephone for it charges too much. （ A） At the library. （ B） In a lecture hall. （ C） On Marthas Vineyard. （ D） At a telephone la
36、boratory. （ A） It was settled more than 300 years ago. （ B） Alexander Graham Bell visited the island. （ C） A large number of its residents were deaf. （ D） Each family living there had many children. （ A） They inherited deafness. （ B） It was an unlucky place. （ C） An epidemic struck the island. （ D）
37、The climate caused hearing loss. （ A） The patterns of marriage have changed. （ B） Many deaf people have regained their hearing. （ C） Most of the original population has left the island. （ D） The island has become famous for its research facilities. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hea
38、r 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 numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to
39、 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 32 There are a lot of good cameras available at tile momentmost of these are made in Japan but there are also good【 B1】 _models from Germany and the USA
40、. We have【 B2】 _a range of different models to see which the best【 B3】 _is for money. After a number of different tests and interviews with people who are【 B4】_with the different cameras being assessed, our researches【 B5】 _the Olympic BY model as the best auto-focus camera available at the moment.
41、It costs $ 200 although you may well want to spend more【 B6】 _as much as another $ 200on buying【 B7】 _lenses and other【 B8】 _. It is a good Japanese camera easy to use.【 B9】 _whereas the American versions axe considerably more expensive. The Olympic BY model weights only 320 grams which is quite a b
42、it less than other cameras of a similar type. Indeed one of the other models we looked at weighted almost twice as much.【 B10】 _All the people we interviewed expressed almost total satisfaction with it.【 B11】 _. 33 【 B1】 34 【 B2】 35 【 B3】 36 【 B4】 37 【 B5】 38 【 B6】 39 【 B7】 40 【 B8】 41 【 B9】 42 【 B1
43、0】 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. Each choice in the bank is iden
44、tified 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 Language is learned primarily through communication with other people. Research shows that the more communication children【 S1
45、】 _at home the better developed their language skills will be. Children need to【 S2】 _well in order to learn well. This is especially important for the development of native language skills since the language is【 S3】 _reinforced by the childs environment outside school. However, the【 S4】 _of communi
46、cation is just as or more important than quantity alone. The language adults use helps children become aware of the many【 S5】_aspects of objects and events around them. For example, during a shopping trip to the market or store, adults can develop childrens concepts by bringing their attention to th
47、e shapes, colors, sounds, textures, and size of objects and events around them. Parents can do this naturally through conversation without【 S6】 _teaching. In other words, conversation with children in【 S7】 _situations expands their minds and develops their thinking skills. In addition to conversing
48、with children, adults can help prepare their children to succeed in school by encouraging them to take an【 S8】 _interest in books and in the print that surrounds them in the environment. The childs first major【 S9】 _in school is learning to read. Children who come to school with knowledge that the p
49、rint around them carries important meanings and with an interest in books and stories will usually【 S10】 _in learning to read rapidly. A seldom F everyday K task B different G number L succeed C read H direct M often D quality I talk N fail E difficult J active O experience 44 【 S1】 45 【 S2】 46 【 S3】 47 【 S4】 48 【 S5】 49 【 S6】 50 【 S7】 51 【 S8】 52 【 S9】 53 【 S10】 Sect
