1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 966及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to the mayor of the city about How to solve the traffic problem in the city. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese: 1. 写信缘由 2. 城市交通存在问题 3. 解决办法
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 The Inner Clock That Rules Our Lives Guess what time it is-without looking at your watch! The chances are you will be right within half an hour. O
4、r try waking up at a particular time-without an alarm clock. Youll probably be able to do that, too. Just about everyone can do these things, with a little practice, because the human body has its own built-in clocks. There is a complex series of interacting rhythms in nearly everything the human bo
5、dy does. It sleeps to a rhythm, eats to one, and even shows a rhythm in the electrical waves produced by the brain. Three main rhythmic cycles affect body time: the daily rhythms of the revolving earth; the monthly orbit of the moon around the earth; and the yearly journey of the earth around the su
6、n, A Perfect Time Sense Not only mankind is affected by these great natural fides. All animals and plants feel them; too. Sometimes a body clock can keep accurate time to the precise minute, as in the case of the bean aphid (蚜虫 ), which can either lay eggs or produce live young, according to natural
7、 time that when the daylight lasts longer than 14 minutes, live offspring are born to take full advantage of the extra warmth. If the day is shorter, the aphid lays eggs to hatch at a later time. Mans time sense is both mental and physiological. He feels hungry every three to four hours. His brain c
8、ells show two-to-three-hour cycles of activity. Even dreams run in cycles. During dreaming, the eyes, even under closed eyelids, show rapid scanning movements. Measurements of this movement, during “rapid eye movement“, or “REM“, permit accurate timing of periods of dreaming. Based on this, man appe
9、ars to dream in cycles of about 90 minutes. Circadian Rhythm Mans natural rhythm of life is balanced between the length of the 24-hour solar day and the lunar day, which is 50 minutes longer. For this reason it is called the circadian (昼夜的 ) rhythm. Under normal conditions the circadian rhythm is co
10、nstantly influenced by the rising and setting of the sun. But people isolated from outside stimuli-such as prisoners kept constantly in cells without natural light-revert automatically to a longer natural cycle. The circadian pattern seems to be controlled partly by the hypothalamus-an area in the b
11、ase of the brain close to the pituitary (垂体 ) gland. The hypothalamus can regulate pituitary secretions, and thus, the activity of a number of other endocrine (内分泌 ) gland. Effects on the cortex of the adrenal (肾上腺 ) gland, and changes in release of an adrenal hormone called cortisol (皮质醇 ), appear
12、to be especially important in certain kinds of rhythms. These mechanisms are highly adaptable. Most humans do have contact with natural stimuli, and their slightly shorter version of the circadian rhythm is vitally important to them. Temperature, blood pressure, pulse, breathing, and hormone activit
13、y all rise and fall in time with the worlds slow spin. A Cycle for Illness Similarly, ability, temper, and even resistance to infection are controlled by the circadian clock. This may be why some epileptics have seizures only at certain times of the day or why pregnant women get morning sickness. Ex
14、periments have shown that mice injected with pneumonia germs at 4 a.m. survive better than those injected at any other time of day. This could be important to humans. If vulnerability to disease is rhythmic, then response to vaccination is likely to be rhythmic, too. Circadian rhythms account for th
15、e difference between “owls“, people who are wide awake at night and stay up late, and “larks“, who rise early, do their best work in the morning, and go to bed early. Lark and Owl Patterns Both the lark people and the owl people have quite distinct rhythms, probably because of differences in the rhy
16、thm of their metabolism (新陈代谢 ). The variation is important in that it shows an important difference in rhythmic patterns in members of the same species. Surprisingly, although owls go to bed later than larks, both groups tend to get up at about the same time. In larks body temperature and efficienc
17、y rise more quickly, but by evening they have “peaked out“; whereas owls at that time are still building to their peak. Regular air travelers experience “jet lag“-feeling of bewilderment and lethargy (没有生气 ) when they make rapid journeys from one time zone to another. The phenomenon is caused by the
18、 individuals circadian rhythm being out of step with clock time in his new part of the world. Gradually, he will adapt to new rhythms, but the process may take as long as a week. Oysters Sense the Moon A remarkable experiment with oysters (牡蛎 ) shows that their rhythm is extremely persistent. Oyster
19、s were taken from Long Island some 1,000 miles inland in a sealed and darkened tank. At first, they continued to follow their normal rhythm, opening and closing according to the cycle of the tides on their home beach. But after 15 days their rhythm changed-to what it would have been if the seas tide
20、s had washed over their new home. They opened when the moon-which controls the tides-reached its highest point over their new location. This occurred despite the fact that the oysters were kept in a light-free tank, at a constant temperature, thus ruling out responses to lunar light or temperature c
21、hange. One possibility is that they were responding to subtle changes in atmospheric pressure caused by the moons gravitational pull. In human beings, birth and death follow cycles. Most babies are born-and most heart attacks occur-between midnight and 6 a.m. More babies are conceived in August and
22、September than in February and March. And science has even confirmed some of the age-old beliefs of astrology (占星学 ). The Cosmic Rhythm The sun s own cycle-the 11-year rise and fall of sunspots, which are dark spots that can be seen on the sun at the same time as it hurls vast fountains of energy in
23、to space-also has its effects upon life. In the 1930s the Russian historian A. L. Tchijevsky claimed to have found a link between this cosmic rhythm and wars and epidemics (传染病 ) on earth. Maki Takata, a Japanese professor, discovered a relationship between human blood and the sun. He had developed
24、a method by which gynecologists (妇科医生 ) could check the menstrual cycles of women. This involved comparative tests of the albumin in the blood of both sexes. In January 1938 hospitals throughout the world that used the “Takata reaction“ reported that the results were changing for men as well as wome
25、n. Takata cross-checked and analyzed the results for 20 years and discovered that they changed primarily when a group of sunspots passed across the center of the sun: that is, when the sun was pumping a concentrated stream of radiation toward the earth. The burst of hospital reports corresponded to
26、a sudden surge in the sunspot cycle after several years of quiet. Takata also noticed that his test results showed a sudden change a few minutes before sunrise each day-as if the blood itself “foresaw“ the break of day. “Man,“ Takata declared, “is a living sundial.“ He could just as well have been t
27、alking about animals or plants. Whatever and wherever it is, life seems completely in step with a cosmic clock. 2 Almost everybody can wake up at a particular time without an alarm clock because he has a body clock inside himself. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 According to research, mans sense of time is
28、mainly mental. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 Normally, the rising and setting of the sun has a constant influence on the circadian rhythm. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 It is possible that the occurrence of disease is rhythmic. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 Research has proved that different rhythms of metabolism are
29、 the reason for the different rhythms between lark people and the owl people. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 People who travel by air across time zones will not suffer from “jet lag“ if they get good rest. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 Oysters are found to have a persistent rhythm. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 For a
30、person to recover from “jet lag“, it may take_. 10 It is found that most births and heart attacks occur between_. 11 Mti Takata discovered a relationship between_. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, on
31、e 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, and decide which is the best answer. （ A） The doctor was too busy
32、 to see him. （ B） He doesnt need to see the doctor. （ C） The woman should use the ointment. （ D） His skin condition has gotten worse. （ A） Accept the mans offer. （ B） Walk home. （ C） Give the man a ride. （ D） Go for a walk with the man. （ A） The man is mistaken. （ B） The error will be corrected. （ C
33、） She didnt know about the problem. （ D） Grades were sent late. （ A） Thursdays and Fridays. （ B） Tuesdays and Fridays. （ C） Wednesdays and Thursdays. （ D） Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. （ A） Hes sorry he gave the woman the wrong directions. （ B） His friend works in the deans office. （ C） He cant
34、give the woman directions. （ D） Hes also looking for the deans office. （ A） She wants to eat chicken salad. （ B） The chicken salad is gone. （ C） She dropped the mans food. （ D） Shell bring the tuna salad. （ A） Wait and see how she feels in 24 hours. （ B） Go home and take her medicine. （ C） Return to
35、 the grocery store to pick up some aspirin. （ D） Go to the nearby pharmacy. （ A） He didnt wear a watch. （ B） He had trouble getting to the place. （ C） He didnt want to leave the place. （ D） He had no idea how far it was. （ A） A flight. （ B） Cooking. （ C） Manners. （ D） A problem. （ A） Because somethi
36、ng was wrong. （ B） Because she wanted to pay her bill. （ C） Because she needed to order her meal. （ D） Because she needed to be seated. （ A） Angry. （ B） Concerned. （ C） Pleased. （ D） Disappointed. （ A） Shes in a meeting. （ B） Shes out of the office. （ C） Shes talking with another customer. （ D） Shes
37、 spending her holiday. （ A） A list of software products. （ B） A picture of the newest computers. （ C） Information on after-sales service. （ D） An introduction about the products. （ A） 2:30 pm. （ B） 3:30 pm. （ C） 4:30 下午 （ D） 5:00 下午 （ A） 560-1288. （ B） 560-1828. （ C） 560-2187. （ D） 560-1287. Section
38、 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） A science
39、 fiction cartoon. （ B） A scientific program. （ C） A movie on personality disorders. （ D） A drama set in New York City. （ A） To demonstrate the latest use of computer graphics. （ B） To raise funds for public television programming. （ C） To explain the working of the brain. （ D） To increase membership
40、 in professional medical societies. （ A） Because it is required of all science majors. （ B） Because it was made in New York City. （ C） Because it will be shown after working hours. （ D） Because it will be helpful with course work. （ A） How to find a place to live in. （ B） What kind of apartment you
41、need. （ C） A dilemma: buying or renting a house. （ D） A good way to minimize house search. （ A） Over the radio. （ B） From a house agent. （ C） In the local newspaper. （ D） On the school bulletin board. （ A） To uphold the terms of the contract. （ B） To pay for any regular maintenance. （ C） To have the
42、 carpet or paint renewed. （ D） To cover any damage to the apartment. （ A） Ignorance of the signed agreement can be excused. （ B） The security deposit cannot always be fully returned. （ C） A good roommate is more desirable than an apartment. （ D） Keeping pets or smoking in the apartment is prohibited
43、. （ A） The history of Benjamin Franklin. （ B） The history of the U.S. mail. （ C） The changes of writing letters. （ D） The history of U.S. （ A） To deliver the mail from Boston on horseback to its destination. （ B） To take charge of the mall for all the colonies in North America. （ C） To introduce the
44、 use of stagecoaches to carry mail. （ D） To deliver mail to the communities from railways by horse and wagon. （ A） The British government. （ B） The American government. （ C） Benjamin Franklin. （ D） George Washington. （ A） He established a government service. （ B） He developed a system called “star r
45、outes“. （ C） He built a lot of post offices. （ D） He established the postal system. 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,
46、 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 There are a lo
47、t of good cameras available at tile moment most of these are made in Japan but there are also good【 B1】 _models from Germany and the USA. 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
48、 the different cameras being assessed, our researches【 B5】 _the Olympic BY model as the best auto-focus camera available at the moment. 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
49、 use.【 B9】 _whereas the American versions axe considerably more expensive. The Olympic BY model weights only 320 grams which is quite a bit 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】 _. 38 【 B1】 39 【 B2】 40 【 B3】 41 【 B4】 42 【 B5】 43 【 B6】 44 【 B7】 45 【 B8】 46 【 B9】 47 【 B10】 48 【 B11】 Se
