大学英语六级真题试卷-1996年1月/上

 

Part I Listening comprehension (20 minutes)

Section A

Directions: In this section, you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the question 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. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

Example:

You will hear:

You will read:

              A) 2 hours.

              B) 3 hours.

              C) 4 hours.

              D) 5 hours.

From the conversation we know that the two were talking about some work they will start at 9 o’clock in the morning and have to finish at 2 in the afternoon. Therefore, D) “5 hours” is the correct answer. You should choose [D] on the Answer Sheet and mark it with a single line through the center.

                           Sample Answer [A] [B] [C] [D]

1. A) The flight has been canceled.

   B) The plane is late.

   C) The plane is on time.

   D) The tickets for this flight have been sold out.

2. A) He is not to blame.

   B) It was his fault.

   C) He will accept all responsibility.

   D) He will be more careful next time.

3. A) The man is a forgetful person.

   B) The typewriter is not new.

   C) The man can have the typewriter later.

   D) The man misunderstood her.

4. A) There will be heavy fog in all areas.

   B) There will be heavy rain by midnight.

   C) There will be heavy fog in the east.

   D) There will be fog in all areas by midnight.

5. A) She’s scornful.

   B) She’s angry.

   C) She’s sympathetic.

   D) She’s worried.

6. A) He likes the job of a dish-washer because it pays well.

   B) He thinks it’s important to have a good job from the beginning.

   C) He hates to be a dish-washer because it’s boring.

   D) He would work as a dish-washer in summer if he has to.

7. A) She must learn to understand John’s humor better.

   B) She enjoys John’s humor a great deal.

   C) She doesn’t appreciate John’s humor.

   D) She thinks John is not funny enough.

8. A) Joan may have taken a wrong train.

   B) Joan will miss the next conference.

   C) Joan won’t come to the conference.

   D) Joan may be late for the opening speech.

9. A) She has been dismissed for her poor performance.

   B) She has been fired by the company.

   C) She has been granted leave for one month.

   D) She has been offered a new job.

10.A) It will last for two weeks.

   B) It has come to a halt.

   C) It will end before long.

   D) It will probably continue.

 

Section B

Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

 

Passage one

Question 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.

11.A) She was an office worker.

   B) She was a physician.

   C) She was a cleaner.

   D) She was a social worker.

12.A) Because she could not sleep well at night.

   B) Because she hoped to earn more money.

   C) Because she could not find a daytime job.

   D) Because she needed a change and a lighter job.

13.A) She works six nights every fortnight.

   B) She does not take part in social activities in her working days.

   C) She has been a night nurse in a hospital for about 25 years.

   D) She is not satisfied with her present job.

 

Passage Two

Questions 14 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.

14.A) A small town in Britain.

   B) A new type of jail.

   C) A labour camp.

   D) A big gymnasium in Scotland.

15.A) Women criminals in Scotland.

   B) Criminals who are given long sentences.

   C) Criminals who are given short sentences.

   D) Criminals in Scotland.

16.A) The reward the prisoners get for their work.

   B) The comfortable accommodation.

   C) The way the prisoners are treated.

   D) The officers’ sympathy for the prisoners.

17.A) To give the prisoners more freedom.

   B) To help the prisoners keep their self-respect.

   C) To help the prisoners develop the sense of independence.

   D) To turn the prisoners into skilled workers.

 

Passage Three

Questions 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.

18.A) On an airplane.

   B) Near the terminal building.

   C) In a coach to the city.

   D) In the waiting room.

19.A) Near the airport hotel.

   B) At the travelers’ information desk.

   C) Outside the Customs Hall.

   D) In the center of the city.

20.A) The departure tax they have to pay on their next international flight.

   B) The distance they have to travel from the airport to the city center.

   C) The prices the major hotels charge.

   D) The place where taxis are waiting to be hired.

 

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is following by some questions or unfinished statements-For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

 

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:

Material culture refers to the touchable, material “things”—physical objects that can be seen, held, felt, used—that a culture produces. Examining a culture’s tools and technology can tell us about the group’s history and way of life. Similarly, research into the material culture of music can help us to understand the music-culture. The most vivid body of “things” in it, of course, are musical instruments. We cannot hear for ourselves the actual sound of any musical performance before the 1870s when the phonograph was invented, so we rely on instruments for important information about music-cultures it the remote past and their development. Here we have two kinds of evidence: instruments well preserved and instruments pictures in art. Through the study of instruments, as well preserved Paintings, written documents, and so on, we can explore the movement of music from the Neat East to China over a thousand years ago, or we can outline the spread of Near eastern influence to Europe that results in the development of most of the instruments on the symphony orchestra.

Sheet music or printed music, too is material culture. Scholars once defined folk music-cultures as those in with people learn and sing music by ear rather than from print, but research show mutual influence among oral and written sources during the past few centuries in Europe, Britain, and America, printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song, yet they stimulate people to create new and different songs. Besides, the ability to read music notation has a far-reaching effect on musicians and, when it becomes widespread, on the music-culture as a whole.

One more important part of music’s material culture should be singled out the influence of the electronic media-radio, record player, tape recorder, television, and videocassette, with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This all part of the “information revolution,” a twentieth century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modem nations; they have affected music-cultures all over the globe.

21.   Research into the material culture of a nation’s of great importance ________.

A) it helps produce new cultural tools and technology

B) it can reflect the development of the nation

C) it helps understand the nation’s Fast and present

D) it can demonstrate the nation’s civilization

22.   It can be learned from this passage that ________.

A) the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese music

B) Near Eastern music had influence on the of the instruments in the symphony orchestra

C) the development of the symphony shows the mutual influence of Eastern and Western music

D) the musical instruments in the symphony basis of Near Eastern music

23.   According to the author, music notation is important because ________.

A) it has a great effect on the music-culture as more and more people are able to read it

B) it tends to standard folk sings when it is used by folk musicians

C) it is the printed version of standardized folk music

D) it encourages people to popularize printed versions of songs

24.   It can be concluded from the passage that the introduction of electronic media into the world of music ________.

A) has brought about an information revolution

B) has speeded up the arrival of a new generation of computers

C) has given rise to new forms of music culture

D) has given to the transformation of traditional musical instruments

25.   Which of the following best summarized the main idea of the passage?

A) Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner later be replaced by computers.

B) Music cannot be passed on to future generation unless it is recorded.

C) Folk songs cannot spread far unless they are printed on music sheets.

D) The development of music culture is highly dependent or its material aspect.

 

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

The question of whether war is inevitable is one which has concerned many of the world’s great writers. Before considering this question, it will useful to introduce some related concepts. Conflict, defined as opposition among social entities directed against one another is distinguished from competition, defined as opposition among social entities independently striving for some thing which is in inadequate supply. Competitors may not be aware of one another, while the parties to a conflict are. Conflict and vice of one another.

Opposition is thus contrasted with cooperation, the process by which social entities function in the service of one another. These definitions are necessary because it is important to emphasize that competition between individuals or groups is inevitable in a world of limited resources, but conflict is not. Conflict, nevertheless, is very likely to occur, and is probably an essential and desirable element of human societies.

Many authors have argued for the inevitability of war from the premise that in the struggle for existence among animal species, only the fittest survive. In general, however this struggle in nature’s competition, not conflict. Social animals, such as monkeys and cattle, fight to win or maintain leadership of the group. The struggle for existence occurs not in such fights but in the competition for limited feeding areas and for the occupancy of areas free from meet-eating animals. Those who fail in competition starve to death or become victims to other species. This struggle for existence does not resemble human war, but rather the competition of individuals for jobs, markets, and materials. The essence of the struggle is the competition for the necessities of life that are insufficient to satisfy all.

Among nations there is competition in developing resources trades, skills, and a satisfactory way of life. The successful nations grow and prosper; the unsuccessful decline. While it is true that this competition may induce efforts to expand territory at the expense of others, and thus lead to conflict, it cannot be said that war-like conflict among nations is inevitable, although competition is.

26.   In the first paragraph, the author gives the definitions of some term in order to ________.

A) argue for the similarities between and human societies

B) smooth out the conflicts in human societies

C) distinguish between two kinds of opposition

D) summarize the that characteristic features of opposition and cooperation

27.   According to the author, competition differs from conflict in that ________.

A) it results in war in most cases

B) it induces efforts to expand territory

C) it is kind of opposition among aria entities

D) it is essentially a struggle for existence

28.   The phrase “function in the disservice of one another” (Para. 1) most probably means “________”.

A) betray each other

B) harm one another

C) help to collaborate with each other

D) benefit on another

29.   The author indicates in the passage that conflict ________.

A) is an inevitable struggle resulting from competition

B) reflects the struggle among social animals

C) is an opposition among individual social animals

D) can be avoided

30.   The passage is probably intended to answer the question “________”.

A) Is war inevitable?

B) Why is there conflict and competition?

C) Is conflict desirable?

D) Can competition lead to conflict?