1996年6月大学英语六级考试试题及参考答案

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.

1. A) To change the tennis shoes in the sportswear department.

B) To help his friend find the right department.

C) To find his lost shoes on the tennis court.

D) To buy himself a pair of tennis shoes. （ D ）

2. A) They produce part of their own food.

B) They sell their own produce.

C) They feed their family on cheap food.

D) They buy food from farmers. （ A ）

3. A) Mr. White’s reason for leaving.

B) Mr. White’s new appointment.

C) A vacant position.

D) How to apply for a job. （ C ）

4. A) Be hostile to Nancy.

B) Ask Nancy to come out.

C) Talk to Nancy herself.

D) Write Nancy a letter. （ C ）

5. A) To serve as her tour guide.

B) To serve as her bodyguard.

C) To serve as her driver.

D) To serve as her porter. （ A ）

6. A) He is often asked to go and see exhibits.

B) He would like to go and see the exhibit.

C) He went to see the exhibit last year.

D) He definitely does not want to go. （ D ）

7. A) The environmental problem.

B) The health problem.

C) The educational problem.

D) The international problem. （ A ）

8. A) Bob will see Susan tomorrow evening.

B) Bob might be at home late tomorrow evening.

C) Bob and Susan have decided to go on a holiday.

D) Bob asked the woman to come another time. （ B ）

9. A) They think cinemas are too far away from their homes.

B) They are disappointed with the films produced these days.

C) They both dislike films about adventure stories.

D) They both like the idea of going to the cinema at night. （ B ）

10. 见附图 1

（ C ）

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.

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

11. A) Because he was a cook at a country-music club.

B) Because he performed for guests while he worked as a cook.

C) Because he often sang while cooking.

D) Because he liked singing better than cooking. （ B ）

12. A) His brother.

B) His manager.

C) His father.

D) A businesswoman. （ D ）

13. A) At a club.

B) On a farm.

C) At a construction site.

D) In a record company. （ A ）

14. A) His ability to live independently.

B) His sense of responsibility in whatever he did.

C) His courage in the face of rejections.

D) His hard work in his early days. （ B ）

Questions 15 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.

15. A) How to handle spiders.

B) Spiders in the United States.

C) People’s fear of spiders.

D) A special kind of spider. （ B ）

16. A) Most spiders will not bite even when handled.

B) Most spiders are poisonous and dangerous.

C) Most spiders are likely to attack people.

D) Most spiders have sharp eyes. （ A ）

17. A) Because she cannot find a husband for herself.

B) Because the female spider is larger than the male one.

C) Because the female spider often eats her husband.

D) Because she is a black female spider. （ C ）

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

18. A) Instructions.

B) Medicine.

C) Money.

D) The draft of his speech. （ C ）

19. A) Because she had to type Mr. Bascomb’s speech.

B) Because she had a headache.

C) Because she had to meet some businessmen.

D) Because she had to get her car fixed. （ D ）

20. A) The problem of the city.

B) Himself and his problems.

C) Things he had planned to say to his audience.

D) The plan for his future work as mayor. （ B ）

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:

Three English dictionaries published recently all lay claim to possessing a “new” feature. The BBC English Dictionary contains background information on 1,000 people and places prominent in the news since 1988; the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: Encyclopedic Edition is the OALD plus encyclopedic entries; the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture is the LME plus cultural information.

The key fact is that all three dictionaries can be seen to have a distinctly “cultural” as well as language learning content. That being said, the way in which they approach the cultural element is not identical, making direct comparisons between the three difficult.

While there is some common ground between the encyclopedic/cultural entries for the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, there is a clear difference. Oxford lays claim to being encyclopedic on content whereas Longman distinctly concentrates on the language and culture of the English-speaking world. The Oxford dictionary can therefore stand more vigorous scrutiny for cultural bias than the Longman publication because the latter does not hesitate about viewing the rest of the world from the cultural perspectives of the English-speaking world. The cultural objectives of the BBC dictionary are in turn more distinct still. Based on an analysis of over 70 million words recorded from the BBC World Service and National Public Radio of Washington over a period of four years, their 1,000 brief encyclopedic entries are based on people and places that have featured in the news recently. The intended user they have in mind is a regular listener to the World Service who will have a reasonable standard of English and a developed skill in listening comprehension.

In reality, though, the BBC dictionary will be purchased by a far wider range of language learners, as will the other two dictionaries. We will be faced with a situation where many of the users of these dictionaries will at the very least have distinct socio-cultural perspectives and may have world views which are totally opposed and even hostile to those of the West. Advanced learners from this kind of background will not only evaluate a dictionary on how user-friendly it is but will also have definite views about the scope and appropriateness of the various socio-cultural entries.

21. What feature sets apart the three dictionaries discussed in the passage from traditional ones?

A) The combination of two dictionaries into one

B) The new approach to defining words

C) The inclusion of cultural content

D) The increase in the number of entries （ C ）

22. The Longman dictionary is more likely to be criticized for cultural prejudice ________.

A) its scope of cultural entries the beyond the culture of the English-speaking world

B) it pays little attention to the cultural content of the non-English-speaking countries

C) it views the world purely from the standpoint of the English-speaking world

D) it fails to distinguish language from culture in its encyclopedic entries （ C ）

23. The BBC dictionary differs from Oxford and Longman in that ________.

A) it has a wider selection Of encyclopedic entries

B) it is mainly design to meet the needs of radio listeners

C) it lays more emphasis co language then on culture

D) it is intended to help listeners develop their listening comprehension skills （ D ）

24. It is implied in the last paragraph that, in approaching socio-cultural content in a dictionary, special thought be given to ________.

A) the language levels of its users

B) the number of its prospective purchasers

C) the different tastes of its users

D) the various cultural backgrounds of its users （ D ）

25. What is the passage mainly about?

A) Different ways of treating socio-cultural elements in the three new English dictionaries.

B) A comparison of people’s opinions on the cultural content in the three new English dictionaries.

C) The advantages of the BBC dictionary over Oxford and Longman.

D) The user-friendliness of the three new English dictionaries. （ A ）

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Real policemen hardly recognize any resemblance between their lives and what they see on TV.

The first difference is that a policeman’s real life revolves round criminal law. He has to know exactly what actions are crimes and what evidence can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a professional lawyer, and what is more, he has to apply it on his feet, in the dark and rain, running down a street after someone he wants to talk to.

Little of his time is spent in chatting. He will spend most of his working life typing millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, unimportant people who are guilty of stupid, petty crimes.

Most television crime drama is about finding the criminal: as soon as he’s arrested, the story is over. In real life, finding criminals is seldom much of a problem. Except in very serious cases like murders and terrorist attacks little effort is spent on searching.

Having made an arrest, a detective really start to work. He has to prove his case in court and to do that he often has to gather a lot of different evidence.

At third big difference between the drama detective and the real one is the unpleasant pressures: first, as members of a police force they always have to behave absolutely in accordance with the law. Secondly, as expensive public servants they have to get results. They can hardly ever do both. Most of the time some of them have to break the rules in small ways.

If the detective has to detective the world, the world often deceives him. Hardly anyone he meets tells him the truth. And this separation the detective feels between himself and the rest of the world is deepened by the simples mindedness as he sees it-of citizens, social workers, doctors, law-makers, and judges, who, instead of eliminating crime punish the criminals less severely in the hope that this will make them reform. The result, detectives feel, is that nine-tenths of their work is re-catching people who should have stared behind bars. This makes them rather cynical.

26. A policeman has to be trained in criminal law because ________.

A) he must work hard to help reform criminals

B) he must believe as professional lawyers do

C) he must be able to tell when and where a crime is committed

D) he must justify the arrests he makes of criminals （ D ）

27. What is the most suitable word that describes the work of a policeman according to the passage?

A) Dangerous

B) Demanding

C) Distressing

D) Dramatic （ C ）

28. According to the passage, policemen spend most of their time an efforts ________.

A) patrolling the street, rain or shine

B) tracking and arresting criminals

C) collecting and providing evidence

D) consulting the rules of law （ C ）

29. What’s the policeman’s biggest headache?

A) He has to get the most desirable results without breaking the law in any way.

B) He has to justify his arrests while unable to provide sufficient evidence in most cases.

C) He can hardly find enough time to learn criminal law while burdened with numerous criminal cases.

D) He has to provide the best possible public service at the least possible expense. （ A ）

30. Why do policemen feel separated from the rest of the world?

A) Because they do not receive due support from society.

B) Because they find people insincere with them.

C) Because they feel superior to simple-minded people around them.

D) Because they are suspicious of the people around them. （ B ）

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf’s assertion that social change exists everywhere. Technology, the application of knowledge for practical ends, is a major source of social change.

Yet we would do well to remind ourselves that technology is a human creation; it docs not exist naturally. A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. Until humans use a spear to hunt game or a robot to produce machine parts, neither is much more than a solid mass of matter. For a bird looking for an object on which to rest, a spear or robot serves the purpose equally well. The explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the Russian nuclear accident at Chernobyl drive home the human quality of technology; they provide cases in which well-planned systems suddenly went haywire and there was no ready hand to set them right. Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it. Pessimists worry that we will use out technology eventually to blow our world and ourselves to pieces. But they have been saying this for decades, and so far we have managed to survive and even flourish. Whether we will continue to do so in the years ahead remains uncertain. Clearly, the impact of technology on our lives deserves a closer examination.

Few technological developments have had a greater impact on our lives than the computer revolution. Scientists and engineers have designed specialized machines that can do the tasks that once only people could do. There are those who assert that the switch to an information-based economy is in the same camp as other great historical milestones, particularly the industrial Revolution. Yet when we ask why the industrial Revolution was a revolution, we find that it was not the machines. The primary reason why it was revolutionary is that it led to great social change. It gave rise to mass production and, through mass production, to a society in which wealth was not confined to the few.

In somewhat similar fashion, computers promise to revolutionize the structure of American life, particularly as they free the human mind and open new possibilities in knowledge and communication. The industrial Revolution supplemented and replaced the muscles of humans and animals by mechanical methods. The computer extends this development to supplement and replace some aspects of the mind of human beings by electronic methods. It is the capacity of the computer for solving problems and making decisions that represents its greatest potential and that pees the greatest difficulties in predicting the impact on society.

31. A spear or a robot has the quality of technology only when it ________.

A) is used both as a cultural and a physical object

B) serves different purposes equally well

C) is utilized by man

D) can be of use to both man and animal （ C ）

32. The examples of the Challenger and Chernobyl cited by the author serve to show that ________.

A) if not given close examination, technology could be used to destroy our world

B) technology is a human creation, so we are responsible for it

C) technology usually goes wrong, if not controlled by man

D) being a human creation, technology is liable to error （ B ）

33. According to the author, the introduction of the computer is a revolution mainly because ________.

A) the computer has revolutionized the workings of the human mind

B) the computer can do the tasks that could only be done by people before

C) it has helped to switch to an information technology

D) it has a great potential impact on society （ D ）

34. By using the phrase “the human quality of technology”, the author refers to, the fact that technology ________.

A) has a great impact on human life

B) has some characteristics of human nature

C) can replace some aspects of the human mind

D) does not exist in the natural world （ D ）

35. The passage is based on the author’s ________.

A) keen insight into the nature of technology

B) prejudiced criticism of the role of the industrial Revolution

C) cautious analysis of the replacement of the human mind by computers

D) exaggerated description of the negative consequences of technology （ A ）

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

Now custom has not been commonly regarded as a subject of any great importance. The inner workings of our own brains we feel to be uniquely worthy of investigation, but custom, we have a way of thinking, is behavior at its most commonplace. As a matter of fact, it is the other way around. Traditional custom, taken the world over, is a mass of detailed behavior more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions. Yet that is a rather trivial aspect of the matter. The fact of first-rate importance is the predominant role that custom plays in experience and in belief and the very great varieties it may manifest.

No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking. Even in his philosophical probing he cannot go behind these stereotypes; his very concepts of the true and the false will still have reference to his particular traditional customs. John Dewey has said in all seriousness that the part played by custom in shaping the behavior of the individual as over against any way in which he can affect traditional custom, is as the proportion of the total vocabulary of his mother tongue over against those words of his own baby talk that are taken up into the language of his family. When one seriously studies axial orders that have had the opportunity to develop independently, the becomes no more than an exact and matter-of-fact observation. The life history of the individual is first and foremost an adjustment to the patterns and standards traditionally handed down in his community. From the moment of his birth the customs into which he is born shape his experience and behavior. By the time he can talk, he is the little creature of his culture, and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities, its habits are his habits, its beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities his impossibilities.

36. The author thinks the reason why custom has been ignored in the academic world is that ________.

A) custom reveals only the superficial nature of human behavior

B) the study of social orders can replace the study of custom

C) people are still not aware of the important role that custom plays in forming our world outlook

D) custom has little to do with our ways of thinking （ D ）

37. Which of the following is true according to John Dewey?

A) An individual can exercise very little influence on the cultural tradition into which he is born.

B) Custom is the direct result of the philosophical probing of a group of people.

C) An individual is strongly influenced by the cultural tradition even before he is born.

D) Custom represents the collective wisdom which benefits the individual. （ C ）

38. The world “custom” in this passage most probably means ________.

A) the concept of the true and the false of a society

B) the independently developed social orders

C) the adjustment of the individual to the new social environment

D) the patterns and standards of behavior of a community （ C ）

39. According to the passage a person’s life, from his birth to his death, ________.

A) is constantly shaping the cultural traditions of his people

B) is predominated by traditional custom

C) is continually influenced by the habits of other communities

D) is chiefly influenced by the people around him （ A ）

40. The author’s pump in writing this passage is ________.

A) to urge individuals to follow traditional customs

B) to stress the strong influence of customs on an individual

C) to examine the interaction of man and axial customs

D) to show man’s adjustment to traditional customs （ B ）

Part III Vocabulary and Structure (20 minutes)

Directions: There are 30 incomplete sentences in this pert. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

41. It has been estimated that the earth’s surface temperature has increased ________ one quarter to three quarters of a degree since 1805.

A) to

B) be

C) at

D) with （ A ）

42. The lady dressed in the latest Paris fashion is ________ in her appearance but rude in her speech.

A) elaborate

B) excessive

C) elegant

D) exaggerated （ B ）

43. Many people think that the standards of public ________ have declined.

A) morality

B) rightness

C) awareness

D) mentality （ A ）

44. Iceland lies far north in the Atlantic, with its northernmost tip actually ________ the Arctic Circle.

A) touched

B) touches

C) touching

D) being touched （ C ）

45. You need to rewrite this sentence because it is ________, the readers will have difficulty in understanding it.

A) comprehensive

B) alternative

C) deliberate

D) ambiguous （ D ）

46. People were surprised to find that he had the ability to ________ everything he was involved in.

A) precede

B) dominate

C) effect

D) instruct （ B ）

47. Colin married my sister and I married his brother, ________ makes Colin and me double in-laws.

A) what

B) which

C) that

D) it （ B ）

48. The problems requiring immediate solution will be given ________ at the meeting.

A) priority

B) urgency

C) superiority

D) emergency （ A ）

49. A membership card authorizes ________ the club’s facilities for a period of 12 months.

A) the holder using

B) the holder’s use

C) the holder to use

D) the holder uses （ C ）

50. During the conference the speaker’ tried to ________ his feelings concerning the urgency of a favorable decision.

A) comply

B) impose

C) imply

D) convey （ D ）

51. ________ I admit that there are problems, I don’t think that they cannot be solved.

A) Unless

B) Until

C) As

D) While （ D ）

52. The fact that they reacted so differently was a reflection of their different ________.

A) performances

B) personalities

C) qualities

D) appearances （ B ）

53. Your excuse that an elephant fell on you and made you late is just ________.

A) inevitable

B) indispensable

C) incredible

D) incurable （ C ）

54. Another big issue ________ the new republic is the problem of the education of its citizens.

A) confining

B) confirming

C) conforming

D) confronting （ D ）

55. I tried to relax because I knew I would use up my oxygen sooner ________.

A) the more excited I got

B) I got excited more

C) and more I got excited

D) and I got more excited （ A ）

56. Scientists first ________ the idea of the atom bomb in the 1930s.

A) imagined

B) conceived

C) considered

D) acknowledged （ B ）

57. Cotton production has been ________ the decline these years.

A) down

B) on

C) at

D) under （ B ）

58. The day before my history exam, I still hadn’t ________ reading the first book on the list.

A) as about

B) caught up with

C) got round to

D) sat for （ C ）

59. He has pointed our the dangers ________ in this of nuclear power station.

A) interior

B) inherent

C) insists

D) inner （ B ）

60. Wherever I have an appointment, I like to arrive ________.

A) ahead of time a little

B) a little time

C) a little ahead of time

D) ahead of a little time （ A ）

61. Radar is used to extend the ________ of man’s sense of observing his environment, especially the sense of vision.

A) validity

B) liability

C) capability

D) intensity （ C ）

62. The boy cycling in the street was knocked down by a minibus and received ________ injures.

A) fatal

B) excessive

C) disastrous

D) exaggerated （ A ）

63. It the ocean were free of ice, storm paths would move further north, ________ the plains of North America of rainfall.

A) to deprive

B) deprived

C) depriving

D) deprived （ C ）

64. A window in the kitchen was ________; there was rubbish every where, and the curtains and carpets had been stolen.

A) scattered

B) scraped

C) scratched

D) smashed （ D ）

65. This is an idea site for a university ________ it is far from the downtown area.

A) provided that

B) now that

C) so that

D) in that （ D ）

66. The most ________ technological success in the twentieth century is probably the computer revolution.

A) prominent

B) prosperous

C) solemn

D) prevalent （ A ）

67. Whether their football team will win is a matter of ________ to me.

A) indifference

B) discrimination

C) deviation

D) interests （ A ）

68. He thought he could talk Mr. Robinson ________ buying some expensive equipment.

A) on

B) of

C) round

D) into （ D ）

69. Today the public is much concerned about the way ________.

A) nature is being ruined

B) which nature is ruined

C) on which to ruin nature

D) of nature to be ruined （ A ）

70. Though ________ rich, he was better off than at any other period in his life.

A) by any means

B) by some means

C) by all means

D) by no means （ D ）

Part IV Error Correction (15 minutes)

Directions: This part consists of a short passage. In this passage, there are altogether 10 mistakes, one in each numbered line. You may have to change a word, add a word or delete a word. Mark out the mistakes and put the corrections in the blanks provided. If you change a word, cross it out and write the correct word in the corresponding blank. If you add a word, put an insertion mark ( ∧ ) in the right place and write the missing word in the blank. If you delete a word, cross it and put a slash (/) in the blank.

Example:

Television is rapidly becoming the literature of our periods ╱ . 1. time/times/period
Many of the arguments having ╱ used for the study of literature as 2. _______\_______
a school subject are valid for ∧ study of television. 3. ______the______

One major decision which faces the American students ready to begin higher education is the choice of attending a large university or a small college. The large university provides a wide range of specialized departments, as well numerous (71) courses within such departments. The small college, therefore, (72) generally provides a limited number of courses and specializations but offer a better student-faculty ratio, thus (73) permit individualized attention to students. Because of its large (74) student body (often exceeding 20,000) consisting in many (75) people from different countries the university exposes its students to many different culture, social and out-of-class (76) programmes. On the other hand, the smaller, more homogenous student body of the big college (77) affords greater opportunities in such activities. Finally, the university closely approximates the real world and which (78) provides a relaxed, impersonal, and sometimes anonymous existence, on the contrast, the intimate (79) atmosphere of the small college allows the student four years of structural living in which to expect and preparing for the real (80) world. In making his choice among educational institutions the student must, therefore, consider a great many factors.

Part V Writing (30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic Health Gains in Developing Countries. You must base pour composition on the following instructions (given in Chinese):

1. 以附图 2 为依据描述发展中国家的期望寿命 (life expectancy) 和婴儿死亡率 (infant mortality) 的变化情况 .

2. 说明引起变化的各种原因 .

参考答案

Part I

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Part III Vocabulary and Structure

Part IV Error Correction

71. well → well as

72. therefore → however

73. offer → offers

74. permit → permitting

75. in → of

76. culture → cultural

77. big → small

78. and → / OR: which → this

79. contrast → contrary

80. preparing → prepare

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