大学英语四六级考试-模拟试题-2008年大学英语四级考试备考模拟试题(4)

大学英语四级考试备考模拟试题(4)Part Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topicA High Diploma and a Good Job. You should write at least 0 words following the outline given below in Chinese:1. 有人认为高学历必然能得到好工作；2. 有人认为高学历未必能得到好工作；3. 你的看法。Part Reading Comprehension ( Skimming and Scanning ) ( minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have minutes to go over the passage quickly.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. For questions 8-, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Whats the Fastest Way to Board a Plane?A free-for-all, like Southwest Airlines? Boarding by window, middle seat or aisle, like United Airlines? Or by zone, like AirTran Airways?If you answered none of the above, youre probably right. Fermilabs Jason Steffen recently published a research paper in the Journal of Air Transport Management that concluded loading smaller groups of passengers in every other row could accelerate the process by up to times.And if you said, who cares? - well, I am with you on that, too.Youd assume airlines would just want to get us on the plane as quickly as possible. But nothing could be further from the truth. Generally speaking, airline boarding procedures are as short on logic as they are long.For example, United Airlines elite customers are allowed to board first from a red carpet, While the rest of us poor guys stand next to them on the black airport carpet, says Lee Paulson, a manager for a nonprofit organization in Washington. Its elitist snobbery. Besides, its also inefficient.I dont mean to pick on United Airlines, so in the interest of fairness, let me also pick on Delta Airlines. Its Breezeway (有顶过道) - a dedicated entrance at each gate that allows elite passengers priority boarding anytime - is equally flawed, to hear passengers talk about it. Its a joke, says Marge Purnell, who works for an employment services provider in Moline, Illinois. And the announcements they make during boarding are even more ridiculous. This is just my opinion.You dont have to be an overpaid airline analyst to know that the airline industry would prefer that passengers feel good about the boarding process than for it to actually work better.I mean, come on. Do you really think allowing an elite passenger to board at any time is going to speed up the boarding process? Wait, and let me back up a minute. Can anyone tell me why these high-status frequent fliers need to be on the plane first, to begin with? Do they really have to sit there in their oversize leather seats and sip champagne while the rest of us shuffle slowly to the back of the plane?Im not hopeful that anything I write will change the way in which these chronically unprofitable companies operate. But maybe I can change the way you do, to help you get on the plane faster. Here are five secrets for boarding a plane quickly.Pack Tight and LightNo doubt youve heard that almost every airline now charges extra for a second checked bag. You might be tempted to cram more into your carry-on, but youre better off resisting that temptation. I recently made the mistake of bringing a large bag on board and ended up having to gate-check it under less than desirable circumstances. The fact is that the lighter your load, the faster youll board. And, the passengers standing in line behind you will be able to board faster, too.Be First in LineEven if youre assigned a seat in the last zone to board, you should make every effort to be the first member of your group. Why? Because early boarders are rewarded with more generous overhead compartment space, access to pillows and blankets and can stake out armrest space (oh, please dont get me started on the armrest wars). Latecomers, on the other hand, are disadvantaged in many ways. There may not be enough room for their carry-on bags. Pillows and blankets are usually gone as well. The smartest air travelers stand in the boarding area at least one zone before theyre called. As that zone winds down, they move in closer, anticipating their number will be next. And theyre at the gate before its their turn. Dont Hold up the FlightNothings worse than moving aimlessly down that seemingly empty jetway, only to be brought up short by a logjam (混杂) of 50 people and have to stand around, waiting for people to finish stuffing their oversized carry-on in the overhead compartment, says Kathryn Morrical, who works for a software company in Silver Spring, Maryland. How true. You may get to your seat with time to spare, but there are no extra points for winning that race. Its only when everyone else is seated that the plane can be cleared for takeoff. How do you avoid the jam? Arrange your luggage quickly and get out of the aisle immediately so that others can pass you.Mind Your MannersFor example, dont put your luggage in the bin above someone elses seat. Thats an old trick used by in-the-know passengers on back-to-front boarding airlines. (If you store your bag in the front of the plane, youre guaranteed a spot for your luggage.) In my experience, most of the quarrels between passengers and crewmembers involve luggage disputes during boarding. Debra OBryan, a medical claims auditor from Chicago, suggests a little courtesy might cause fewer delays. OBryan often travels with a cane, and is knocked into, shoved and bypassed rudely by elite flyers when she tries to board first. They are so rude,she adds. If they backed off a little, the boarding process might become more orderly - if not faster.Better yet, Bring Nothing (or Close to It)Why travel light when you can travel luggage-free? Is it impossible? No. Todays laptop computers fit in manila (马尼拉纸) envelopes. Smart travelers ship their luggage directly to their destination. And how quickly we forget the liquid scare from a few summers ago, when carry-ons were banned. It was absolutely proven that carry-on luggage is the single biggest inhibitor of efficient boarding, remembers Robert Wing, a software consultant from Penfield, New York. The planes, both large and small, that I was on during that period, boarded in literally half the normal time. Ive thought of the elimination of carry-on luggage in the past but Wing doesnt think an extended ban on carry-ons has a prayer. And I agree with him. Still, you can downsize your carry-ons so that you dont slow down the process.Boarding the plane faster is not difficult. Just downsize your luggage, dont be the last person in line, be considerate of other passengers, and youll overcome the inefficient ways in which airlines insist on boarding their flights.And make no mistakes. Ultimately its up to the airlines to find a boarding system that works instead of making excuses for the schedules they cant keep or making a select few passengers feel special.Brian Cohen, a senior information technology specialist based in Costa Mesa, California, says airlines need to reform their boarding procedures by strictly controlling which group boards the plane, practicing better crowd control, enforcing carry-on limits and, at least pretending they care. He told me hes tired of indifferent gate agents that allow chaos in the boarding area, and understands they think it is acceptable behavior because theyre underpaid and mistreated. But as long as they continue to cash their paychecks, he adds, I will never accept that as an excuse for not doing their jobs.1. Airlines want to get passengers on the plane in the shortest possible time. 2. At the United Airlines, customers of different social status board the airplane at the same time, which is inefficient.3. The majority of American airline companies treat passengers differently based on their social status.4. It seems that the writer is not in favor of the practice that some airlines employ for in boarding their passengers.5. The tighter and lighter you pack, the faster you and the passengers in front of you will be able to board.6. In order not to delay the flight, you should put your baggage in place quickly and make room for other passengers to walk through.7. Because the less luggage passengers take with them, the faster they will board planes, in the future more passengers will take no luggage with them.8. Fermilabs Jason Steffen recently published a research paper that concluded loading smaller groups of passengers in every other row could speed up _.9. Latecomers are at a disadvantage because they might not be able to find enough space for _. Brian Cohen said he was fed up with the attitude of gate agents who allowed mess in the boarding area simply because they thought they were _.Part III Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)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 identified by a letter. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions to 20 are based on the following passage.The torch is a tradition carried over from ancient Greece, when fire was admired as a gift from the god Prometheus. Greeks would hold relay races, passing a torch between and light a cauldron (大锅) during their games as a of purity, reason and peace.The flame was reintroduced to the Olympics at the 28 Amsterdam Games， but the first modern torch relay was at the 36 Berlin Summer Games, when a flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, and to the opening ceremony in Germany. Since the 64 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, every Olympics has begun with a torch relay from Greece to the ceremony.Each torch must be of withstanding wind, rain, sleet, snow and extremes of climate. It must carry enough fuel to last its leg of the journey but be enough for each runner to carry .Although the design of the torch from year to year, the overall modern look was created by a Disney artist, John Hench, who created the torch for the 60 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.Between ,000 and ,000 torches are made to carry the flame for each relay.Though the original flame for any Olympic relay is still lit by the sun, modern torches are by pressurized liquid fuel. Earlier torches burned a variety of materials, including olive oil and gunpowder. At the 56 games，a mixture of magnesium (镁) and aluminum (铝) used to light the final torch 20 burning chunks that fell and burned the runners arm. A) varies I) opening B) frighteningly J) frequently C) able K) carried D) athletes L) capable E) comfortably M) powered F) thick N) light G) produced O) sacrifice H) symbol Section B Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished sentences. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice.Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.The magnitude 7.9 quake struck Sichuan province on May at around noontime, which may have increased the human death toll because many people were at school, and the school buildings turned out to be especially vulnerable to collapse because of poor construction. More than 69,000 people have been confirmed dead so far, and more than 374,000 injured, with fears of further casualties because several lakes created by rockfall dams may give way and cause sudden flooding.Clark Burchfiel, Schlumberger Professor of Geology, and Leigh Royden, professor of geology and geophysics in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT, have been doing extensive research in that region of China and the Tibetan plateau for more than two decades, but had found no hints that suggested such a large earthquake might strike the area.The team operated an array of 25 broadband seismograph (地震仪) stations in this region of western Sichuan for more than a year. Nobody was thinking there would be a major earthquake in that area, Royden says. This earthquake was quite unusual, and may have involved a simultaneously severe break of two separate but neighboring faults (断层),she continued.The region is extremely unusual geologically, Royden says, because of the very steep slopes at the boundary between the Sichuan Basin to the east and the Tibetan plateau to the west. The elevation rises sharply by about 3,500 meters (more than two miles) over a span of only about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles).The area where the quake occurred is part of the boundary between two of the Earths structural plates, where the Indian and Asian plates meet in an ongoing collision that has created the Himalayan mountains and the Tibetan plateau. But in central and eastern Tibet, unlike most other areas of continental collision, much of the movement of crust is hidden from view. Instead of thickening the entire crust by folding and faulting, the surface of the eastern Tibetan plateau is not deformed and is being lifted upward by thickening of a weak crustal layer more than km below the surface. 21. Why did the school buildings collapse in the earthquake, according to the passage? A) They were crowded with students and teachers. B) They were poorly built. C) They had too long a history. D) They were damaged by the earthquake. 22. Based on Para. 1, why does the writer think that more people will be killed or injured after the earthquake? A) Because there will be more aftershocks after the major quake. B) Because more school buildings will collapse after the quake. C) Because destructive flooding caused by rockfall dams is likely to occur. D) Because there was not enough medical care for the injured in the area. 23. What can we infer from this passage? A) There was no prediction that such a large-scale quake might occur there. B) Researchers had done little research in that area before the earthquake struck it. C) The 5. earthquake was the most destructive in the world. D) If more research had been done, the destruction could have been avoided. 24. Which of the following can be inferred from this passage? A) Earthquakes can never be predicted. B) Earthquakes occur frequently. C) Earthquakes are difficult to predict. D) Earthquakes can be avoided. 25. What does this passage mainly talk about? A) The 5. earthquake caused great causalities. B) The 5. earthquake was very frightening. C) The causes of the earthquake are still unclear. D) The 5. earthquake was extremely unusual. Passage Two Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.The International Olympic Committee named a shortlist of five cities as possible hosts for the Olympics. The five - London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris - became official candidates, beginning a -month race that ended with the selection of a winning bid by the IOCs assembly in Singapore in July .Havana, Leipzig, Rio de Janeiro and Istanbul were the victims in , as the field was cut down from nine applicants.Geography would appear to favor a European city after the Summer Games in Asia - Beijing - and the Winter Games in North America - Vancouver.IOC president Jacques Rogge said the list could be further cut in the next month if any of the bidding cities fall short of IOC expectations. What we have done today is retained five cities which we believe will deliver, but we will have to check if they do deliver, said Rogge. I do not like the word rejection and this in no way reflects that we do not trust these countries.The nine original contenders launched their bids in January, with the emphasis on compact and easily accessible venues.Favorites Paris and London promoted the attractions of their landmarks, Madrid promised an environmentally friendly Games while New York called itself the world city.Paris bid organizers said they would stage beach volleyball at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and host many of the events at two clusters on the edge of the French capital.Our experience with previous bids has taught us a great deal about the needs and aspirations of the IOC, Paris bid chief Philippe Baudillon said. We firmly believe that Paris will meet those needs. London organizers countered it by promising to hold the beach volleyball competition in Horse Guards Parade.Seventeen sports, including athletics and swimming, would be staged at a new venue in the citys deprived East End.I am very pleased that London has been named a candidate city for the Olympic Games. But I am not surprised we have cleared this most important hurdle, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a statement. 26. Why is it likely that the Olympics will be held in a European city? A) Because its impossible for two successive Olympics to be held on the same continent. B) Because the Summer and Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing and Vancouver respectively. C) Because geographically speaking, its time to hold the Games in a non-Asian and non-American country. D) European cities turn out to be more suitable to host the Games. 27. The sentence what we have done today is retained five cities which we believe will deliver in Para. 6 can be best paraphrased as _. A) what we have done today is chosen five cities which we believe can live up to our expectations. B) what we have done today is cut five cities which we believe will fail. C) what we have done today is picked five cities which we believe will make a good speech. D) what we have done tod