大学英语六级真题试卷-1999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 suggested answers 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 with near:

You will read:

               A) 2 hours.

               B) 3 hours.

               C) 4 hours.

               D) 5 hours.

From the conversation we know that the two are 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 centre.

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

1. A) She’s going away for a while.

   B) She did well on the test.

   C) She worked hard and earned a lot of money.

   D) She’s didn’t have to work hard for the exam.

2. A) Susan is fast worker.

   B) Susan did Jack’s homework.

   C) Susan didn’t do the homework on her own.

   D) Susan has not finished her homework.

3. A) He read the cabinet report.

   B) He read the newspaper.

   C) He listened to a radio report.

   D) He’s secretary telephoned him.

4. A) Hurry to the conference.

   B) Skip the conference.

   C) Take the subway.

   D) Take a bus.

5. A) He is confident.

   B) He is worried.

   C) He is bored.

   D) He is angry.

6. A) He used to be a workman himself.

   B) He likes to do repairs and make things himself.

   C) He is professional builder.

   D) He paid workmen to decorate the house.

7. A) The woman doesn’t like jam.

   B) The woman forgot where she had left the jar.

   C) The man had an accident.

   D) The man broke the jar.

8. A) Opinions about the book are varied.

   B) The man thinks the book is excellent.

   C) You shouldn’t believe everything you read.

   D) The woman wonders which newspaper the man is reading.

9. A) It’s quite normal.

   B) It’s too high.

   C) It’s cheap indeed.

   D) It could be cheaper.

10.A) The admission of a patient.

   B) Diagnosis of an illness.

   C) The old man’s serious condition.

   D) Sending for a doctor.

 

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 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 center.

Passage one

Questions 11 to 14 are based on the passage you have just heard.

11.A) The color of the dog.

   B) The price of the dog.

   C) Whether the dog will fit the environment.

   D) Whether the dog will get along with the other pets in the house.

12.A) It must be trained so it won’t bite.

   B) It needs more love and care.

   C) It demands more food and space.

   D) It must be looked after carefully.

13.A) They are less likely to run away.

   B) It’s easier for their masters to train them.

   C) They are less likely to be shy with human beings.

   D) It’s easier for them to form a relationship with their masters.

 

Passage Two

Questions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.

14.A) They often go for walks at a leisurely pace.

   B) They usually have a specific purpose in mind.

   C) They like the seaside more than the countryside.

   D) They seldom plan their leisure activities in advance.

15.A) Their hardworking spirit.

   B) Their patience in waiting for theatre tickets.

   C) Their delight in leisure activities.

   D) Their enthusiasm and for the arts.

16.A) The Polish people can now spend their leisure time in various ways.

   B) The Polish people are fond of walking leisurely in the countryside.

   C) The Polish people enjoy picking wild fruit in their leisure time.

   D) The Polish people like to spend their holidays abroad.

 

Passage There

Questions 17 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.

17.A) They will be much bigger.

   B) They will have more seats.

   C) They will have three wheels.

   D) They will need intelligent drivers.

18.A) It doesn’t need to be refueled.

   B) It will use solar energy as fuel.

   C) It will be driven by electrical power.

   D) It will be more suitable for long distance travel.

19.A) Passengers in the car may be seated facing on another.

   B) The front seats will face forward and the back seats backward.

   C) Special seats will be designed for children.

   D) More seats will be added.

20.A) Choose the right route.

   B) Refuel the car regularly.

   C) Start the engine.

   D) Tell the computer where to go.

 

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

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

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

Many Americans harbour a grossly distorted and exaggerated view of most of the risks surrounding food. Fergus Clydesdale, head of the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, says bluntly that if the dangers from bacterially contaminated chicken were as great as some people believe, “the streets would be littered with people lying here and there.”

Though the public increasingly demands no-risk food, there is no such thing. Bruce Ames, chairman of the biochemistry department at the University of California, Berkeley, points out that up to 10% of a plant’s weight is made up of natural pesticides (杀虫剂). Says he: “Since plants do not have jaws or teeth to protect themselves, they employ chemical warfare.” And many naturally produced chemicals, though occurring in tiny amounts, prove in laboratory tests to be strong carcinogens-a substance which can cause cancer. Mushrooms (磨菇) might be banned if they were judged by the same standards that apply to food additives (添加剂). Declares Christina Stark, a nutritionist at Cornell University: “We’ve got fat worse natural chemicals in the food supply than anything man-made.”

Yet the issues are not that simple. While Americans have no reason to be terrified to sit down at the dinner table, they have every reason to demand significant improvements in food and water safety. They unconsciously and unwillingly take in too much of too many dangerous chemicals. If food already contains natural carcinogens, it does not make much sense to add dozens of new man-made ones. Though most people will withstand the small amounts of contaminants generally found in food and water, at least a few individuals will probably get cancer one day be cause of what they eat and drink.

To make good food and water supplies even better, the Government needs to tighten its regulatory standards, stiffen its inspection program and strengthen its enforcement policies. The food industry should modify some long-accepted practices or turn to less hazardous alternatives. Perhaps most important, consumers will have to do a better job of learning how to handle and cook food properly. The problems that need to be tackled exist all along the food-supply chain, from fields to processing plants to kitchens.

21.   What does the author think of the Americans’ view of their food?

A) They overstate the government’s interference with the food industry.

B) They are overoptimistic about the safety of their food.

C) They overestimate the hazards of their food.

D) They overlook the risks of the food they eat.

22.   The author considers it impossible to obtain no-risk food because ________.

A) no food is free from pollution in the environment

B) pesticides are widely used in agriculture

C) many vegetables contain dangerous natural chemicals

D) almost all foods have additives

23.   By saying “they employ chemical warfare” (Line 4, Para. 2), Bruce Ames means “________”.

A) plants produce certain chemicals to combat pests and diseases

B) plants absorb useful chemicals to promote their growth

C) farmers use man-made chemicals to dissolve the natural chemicals in plants

D) farmers use chemicals to protect plants against pests and diseases

24.   The reduction of the possible hazards in food ultimately depends on ________.

A) the government

B) the consumer

C) the processor

D) the grower

25.   What is the message the author wants to convey in the passage?

A) Eating and drinking have become more hazardous than before.

B) Immediate measures must be taken to improve food production and processing.

C) Health food is not a dream in modern society.

D) There is reason for caution but no cause for alarm with regard to food consumption.

 

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

There are some each phenomena you can count on, but the magnetic field, someday is not of them. It fluctuates in strength, drifts from its axis, and every few 100,000 years undergo, dramatic polarity reversal-a period when North Pole becomes South Pole and South Pole becomes North Pole. But how is the field generated, and why is it so unstable?

Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery. Using 80 metres of deep sea sediment (沉淀物) core, they have obtained measurements lots of magnetic-field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years. The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well-defined rhythm. Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short term, there seems to be an inevitable long-term decline preceding each polarity reversal. When the poles flip—a process that takes several hundred thousand years-the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and the cycle is repeated.

The results have caused a stir among geophysicists. The magnetic field is thought to originate from molten (熔化的) iron in the outer core, 3,000 kilometers beneath the earth’s surface. By studying mineral grains found in material ranging from rocks to clay articles, previous researchers have already been able to identify reversals dating back 170 million years, including the most recent switch 730,000 years ago. How and why they occur, however, has been widely debated. Several theories link polarity flips to external disasters such as meteor (陨星) impacts. But Peter Olson, a geophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says this is unlikely if the French researchers are right. In fact, Olson says intensity that predictably declines from one reversal to the next contradicts 90 percent of the models currently under study. If the results prove to be valid geophysicists will have a new theory to guide them in their quest to understand the earth’s inner physics. It certainly points the direction for future research.

26.   Which of the following titles is most appropriate to the passage?

A) Polarity Reversal: A Fantastic Phenomenon of Nature.

B) Measurement of the Earth’s Magnetic-Field Intensity.

C) Formation of the Two Poles of the Earth.

D) A New Approach to the Study or Geophysics.

27.   The word “flip” (Line 6, Para. 2) most probably means “________”.

A) decline

B) intensify

C) fluctuate

D) reverse

28.   What have the two French geophysicists discovered in their research?

A) Some regularity in the changes of the earth’s magnetic field.

B) Some causes of the fluctuation of the earth’s magnetic field.

C) The origin of the earth’s magnetic field.

D) The frequency of polarity reversals.

29.   The French geophysicists’ study is different from currently prevailing theories in ________.

A) its identification of the origin of the earth’s magnetic field

B) the way the earth’s magnetic intensity is measured

C) its explanation of the shift in the earth’s polarity

D) the way the earth’s fluctuation rhythm is defined

30.   In Peter Oslo’s opinion the French experiment ________.

A) is likely to direct further research in the inner physics of the earth

B) has successfully solved the mystery of polarity reversals

C) is certain to help predict external disasters

D) has caused great confusion among the world’s geophysicists