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 there are four choices marked A), B), C） and D）. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre .

Passage 1

　　Toward the end of the 19th century scientists believed they were close to a complete description of the universe. They imagined that space was filled everywhere by a continuous medium called the ether. Light rays and radio signals were waves in this ether just as sound is pressure waves in air. All that was needed to complete the theory was careful measurements of the elastic properties of the ether; once they had those nailed down, everything else would fall into place.

　　Soon, however, discrepancies with the idea of an all-pervading ether began to appear. You would expect light to travel at a fixed speed through the ether. So if you were traveling in the same direction as the light, you would expect that its speed would appear to be lower, and if you were traveling in the opposite direction to the light, that its speed would appear to be higher. Yet a series of experiments failed to find any evidence for differences in speed due to motion through the ether.

　　But it was a young clerk named Albert Einstein, working in the Swiss Patent Office in Bern, who cut through the ether and solved the speed-of-light problem once and for all. In June 1905 he wrote one of three papers that would establish him as one of the world's leading scientists - and in the process start two conceptual revolutions that changed our understanding of time, space and reality.

　　In that 1905 paper, Einstein pointed out that because you could not detect whether or not you were moving through the ether, the whole notion of an ether was redundant. Instead, Einstein started from the postulate that the laws of science should appear the same to all freely moving observers. In particular, observers should all measure the same speed for light, no matter how they were moving.

1. Ether was believed to be .
A. a medium in which light travels
B. a substance that travels at the speed of light
C. a concept which explains the universe
D. a unit of measurement for speed

2. Toward the end of the 19th century, scientists believed that .
A. ether was the air in the universe
B. the universe could be explained in terms of ether
C. light could be measured with ether
D. light traveled at a constant speed in ether

3. According to Einstein's 1905 paper.
A. the universe is filled with ether
B. the ether does not exist
C. the speed of ether cannot be measured
D. the speed of light is constant in ether

4. It is implied in the passage that by the time he published his 1905 paper,.
A. Einstein was little known to the public
B. Einstein was the authority on the question of ether
C. Einstein was one of the world's leading scientists
D. Einstein was a firm believer of the substance called ether

5. The article from which the present passage is taken probably deals with .
A. the substance that makes up the universe
B. the personal history of Einstein
C. the theory of relativity
D. theories on the speed of light

Passage 2

　　In the past oysters were raised in much the same way as dirt farmers raised tomatoes - by transplanting them. First, farmers selected the oyster bed, cleared the bottom of old shells and other debris, then scattered clean shells about. Next, they "planted" fertilized oyster eggs, which within two or three weeks hatched into larvae. The larvae drifted until they attached themselves to the clean shells on the bottom. There they remained and in time grew into baby oysters called seed or spat. The spat grew larger by drawing in seawater from which they derived microscopic particles of fooD. Before long, farmers gathered the baby oysters, transplanted them in other waters to speed up their growth, then transplanted them once more into another body of water to fatten them up.

　　Until recently the supply of wild oysters and those crudely farmed were than enough to satisfy people's needs. But today the delectable seafood is no longer available in abundance. The problem has become so serious that some oyster beds have vanished entirely.

　　Fortunately, as far back as the early 1900's marine biologists realized that if new measures were not taken, oysters would become extinct or at best a luxury fooD. So they set up well-equipped hatcheries and went to work. But they did not have the proper equipment or the skill to handle the eggs. They did not know when, what, and how to feed the larvae. And they knew little about the predators that attack and eat baby oysters by the millions. They failed, but they doggedly kept at it. Finally, in the 1940's a significant breakthrough was made.

　　The marine biologists discovered that by raising the temperature of the water, they could induce oysters to spawn not only in the summer but also in the fall, winter, and spring. Later they succeeded in breeding new strains that were resistant to diseases, grew faster and larger, and flourished in water of different salinities and temperatures. In addition, the cultivated oysters tasted better.

6. The best title for the passage would be .
A. The Threatened Extinction of Marine Life
B. The Cultivation of Oysters
C. The Discoveries Made by Marine Biologists
D. The Varieties of Wild Oysters

7. Scientists discover that oysters were in danger .
A. in the early part of the nineteenth century
B. at the beginning of this century
C. in the 1940's
D. just recently

8. According to the passage, the efforts of the marine biologists working with oysters can best be described as.
A.persistent.
B. intermittent.
C. traditional.
D. fruitless.

9. In the passage, the author mentions that the new strains of oysters are.
A.cheaper
B. shaped differently
C. better textured
D. healthier

10. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
A. Step by step description of the evolution of marine biology.
B. Discussion of chronological events concerning oyster production.
C. Random presentation of facts about oysters.
D. Description of oyster production at different geographic locations.

Passage 3

　　Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end - with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy it Now!"

　　The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you've traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed - new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new roaD. The bus driver has a style of driving and it's fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless or daring, the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting But you've got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.

　　The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there's a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passeD. By now you've sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the arm rests - even with your hands crossed behind your heaD. The end comes just at the right time. There are just no more ways to sit.

11. The purpose of this passage is .
A. to give the writer's opinion about long bus trips
B. to persuade you to take a long bus trip
C. to explain how bus trips and television shows differ from one another
D. to describe the billboards along the road

12. The writer of this passage would probably favor .
A. bus drivers who weren't reckless
B. driving alone instead of taking a bus
C. a television set on the bus
D. no billboards along the road

13. The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because .
A. the commercials are fun both on TV shows and billboards along the road
B. they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between
C. the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D. you have to watch commercials on TV and have to see the billboards along the road

14. The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning
A. because both are exciting
B. because both are comfortable
C. because both are tiring
D. because both are boring

15. The best title for this passage is .
A. Long Bus Trip
B. The Similarities Between TV Shows and Long Bus Trips
C. Opinions on TV Commercials and Road Billboards
D. Excitement on Long Bus Rides

Passage 4

　　The first way we can approach language is as a phenomenon of the individual person. It is concerned with describing and explaining language as a matter of human behavior. People speak and write; they also evidently read and understand what they hear. They are not born doing so; they have to acquire these skills. Not everybody seems to developthem to the same degree. People may suffer accidents or diseases, which impair their performance. Language is thus seen as part of human psychology, a particular sort of behavior, the behavior which has as its principal function that of communication.

　　The trouble with the term "behavior" is that it is often taken to refer only to more or less overt, and describable, physical movements and acts. Yet part of language behavior-that of understanding spoken or written language, for example-has little or no physically observable signs. It is true we can sometimes infer that understanding has taken place by the changes that take place in the other person's behavior. When someone has been prohibited from doing something, we may infer that he has understood the prohibition by observing that thereafter he never behaves in that way. We cannot, of course, be absolutely sure that his subsequent behaviour is a result of his understanding; it might be due to a loss of interest or inclination. So behaviour must be taken to include unobservable activity, often only to be inferred from other observable behaviour.

　　Once we admit that the study of language behaviour involves describing and explaining the unobservable, the situation becomes much more complicated, because we have to postulate some set of processes, some internalmechanism, which operates when we speak and understanD. We have to postulate something we can call a minD. The study of language from this point of view can then be seen as a study of the specific properties, processes and states of the mind whose outward manifestations are observable behaviour; what we have to know in order to perform linguistically.

　　This approach to language, as a phenomenon of the individual, is thus principallyconcerned with explaining how we acquire language, and its relation to general human cognitive systems, and with the psychologicalmechanisms underlying the comprehension and production of speech; much less with the problem of what language is for, that is, its function as communication, since this necessarily involves more than a single individual.

16. What is the best title for this passage?
A.Language as Means of Communication
B. Language and Psychology
C. Language and the Individual
D. Language as a Social Phenomenon

17. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Language is often regarded as part of human psychology.
B. People develop language skills of different degrees as a result of different personal experiences.
C. Language is a special kind of psychological behaviour that is born with an individual.
D. People learn to speak and write through imitation and training.

18. What does the term "behaviour" in the second paragraph especially refer to in this passage?
A.It refers to observable and physical movements and acts.
B. It refers to the part of language behaviour that involves understanding or interpretation.
C. It refers to both the overt and the unobservable language behaviours in communicating.
D. It refers to acts of speaking and writing.

19. What does"internalmechanism"(Lin 3, Para 3) mean?
A.secret machine
B. mental processes
C. overt system
D. mechanic operation

20. What can you infer from the passage?
A.Its individualistic approach to language is meant to study the psychological processes of language acquisition.
B. The individualistic approach to language is mainly concerned with how language functions in society.
C. The study of language is sure to involve more than a single individual.
D. Psychological approach to language is concerned with the comprehension and production of speech.

Part III Vocabulary (20 minutes)

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

21. The industrial community should be close enough to the crowded centers but distant enough to reduce hazards.
A.feasible
B. positive
C. potential
D. substantial

22. The water was for several hours while the plumber repaired the pipes.
A.called off
B. pulled off
C. shot off
D. dashed off

23. His influence over union members since his failure to strive higher wages for them.
A.destroyed
B. descended
C. depressed
D. declined

24. A role-play session is particularly useful in bringing together of teaching.
A.cords
B. fibers
C. threads
D. strands

25. Many hunting and gathering people of the late 20th century have recently adopted some form of organized agriculture to their wild food resources.
A.compliment
B. implement
C. supply
D. supplement

26. The indecisive man was persuaded into changing his mind though he wasn't aware of it.
A.hardly
B. voluntarily
C. unwillingly
D. readily

27. The estimate of gains in gross national product suggested a fast recovery from economic recession.
A.introductory
B. possible
C. preliminary
D. primary

28. My father was by the neighbours that we were in the risk of being burgled if we left the house with nobody at home.
A.charged
B. admonished
C. notified
D. warned

29. When typing it is advisable to leave a wide on both sides of the page.
A.border
B. column
C. surround
D. margin

30. It was agreed that the speaker's remarks on Patriotism were to the Independence Day celebration.
A.prevalent
B. proficient
C. pertinent
D. persistent

31. They are taught by their superiors that a soldier who his post in time of war is to be shot.
A.deserts
B. deflects
C. detains
D. threw

32. It demands artistic skill for a manager to disputes among his employees.
A.rectify
B. rebuke
C. negotiate
D. reconcile

33. The local medical officer reported a serious of food-poisoning which alarmed the authorities greatly.
A.state
B. incident
C. outbreak
D. occurrence

34. There could have been a war over the sophisticated issue but in the end the reason .
A.prevailed
B. survived
C. counted
D. accomplished

35. You should fill in the application form before you send it back to the university.
A.regularly
B. properly
C. comprehensively
D. eventually

36. All the commodities sold in that shop are given one year's .
A.assurance
B. warrant
C. guarantee
D. insurance

37. We shall probably never be able to the exact nature of these sub-atomic particles.
A.ascribe
B. ascertain
C. assert
D. assess

38. I was expecting a blame from him, but to my surprise, he made no to our quarrel. I assumed he had forgiven me.
A.statement
B. remarks
C. reference
D. observations

39. An area of rich forests was to life, because you're able to breathe fresh air every day.
A.advantageous
B. decorative
C. attracted
D. privileged

40. Nobody seems to be anxious to me about the events that led up to the dispute.
A.enlighten
B. enchant
C. endow
D. entreat

41. The boy was by a lorry as he ran across the road and seriously injureD.
A.turned down
B. hit on
C. kicked down
D. knocked down

42. The town is compact and beautiful, by a highest mountain in this district.
A.confronted
B. distributed
C. constituted
D. dominated

43. The key point two leaders have agreed upon is that the relationship between different countries should be based on respect.
A.reciprocal
B. persistent
C. inseparable
D. relevant

44. This method of teaching is a of many methods which have been used throughout this country.
A.synthesis
B. symphony
C. spectrum
D. symposium

45. Many local authorities realize the need to make for elderly people in their housing programmes.
A.assistance
B. condition
C. provision
D. aid

46. It is not necessary to boil the drinking water, because it has already been chemically.
A.distilled
B. purified
C. cleared
D. refined

47. With its entry into World War Two, the United States rejected the of isolationism which has been adhered to for many years.
A.preach
B. domination
C. doctrine
D. principle

48. Some animals will modify their behaviour to to their environments while others will not do this.
A.suit
B. adapt
C. adopt
D. reconcile

49. The professor tried to the students' interest in archaeology by taking his students on expeditions.
A.simulate
B. accumulate
C. illuminate
D. stimulate

50. There is a of raw material for the products. As a result, the prices are sky-rocketing.
A.demand
B. surplus
C. scarcity
D. inadequacy

答案：

1.分析与解答：答案为A。本题考察对第一段第二句"space was filled everywhere by a continuous medium called the ether"的理解。
2.分析与解答：答案为B。B为对第一段的概括。
3.分析与解答：答案为B。本题考察对最后一段的理解。
4.分析与解答：答案为A。本题考察对第三段首句"a young clerk named Albert Einstein, working in the Swiss Patent Office in Bern"的理解及推论。
5.分析与解答：答案为C。本题考察对全文大意的把握及推论。
6.分析与解答：答案为B。本题考察对文章主题的概括。
7.分析与解答：答案为B。本题检验寻找特定信息的准确度。答案在第三段"as far back as the early 1900's marine biologists realized ...
oysters would become extinct or at best a luxury food."。
8.分析与解答：答案为A。本题考察对文章的归纳总结能力。
9.分析与解答：答案为D。本题检验对最后一段"new strains that were resistant to diseases"的理解。
10.分析与解答：答案为B。本题检测对文章结构的把握。
11.分析与解答：答案为A。本题考察对作者写作目的的理解。可从第一段得出。
12.分析与解答：答案为D。作选择所需的信息在文章第一段和第二段。
13.分析与解答：答案为B。文章的前两句直接给出了所需信息。 14.分析与解答：答案为A。本题考察对第二段首句的理解。
15.分析与解答：答案为B。本题考察对文章标题的概括能力。
16.分析与解答：从首尾段可以看出答案为C。
17.分析与解答：从第一段第四句可以看出C项内容是错误的，所以答案为C。
18.分析与解答：选C，见第二段第一、二句话。
19.分析与解答：选B，根据上下文可以知道此处是说大脑的思维活动。
20.分析与解答：选A，见最后一段。
21.分析与解答：feasible:可行的；positive:肯定的,积极的；potential:潜在的；substantial:充实的，此处说："减少潜在的危险"，所以选C。
22.分析与解答：call off:下令停止某事,句子说"当水暖工修管道的时候，下令停水几个小时。"所以选A。
23.分析与解答：句子意思是"他没能帮助工人争得高一点的工资，所以在工会成员中的影响受到削弱。"destroy:毁灭；descend:向下；depress:压抑：
decline:变弱,所以，D项正确。
24.分析与解答：cord:线,索,带,fibre:纤维,thread:线；strand:湖,滨。此处应该用thread of teaching，答案是C。
25.分析与解答：D项supplement是"补充"的意思，符合题意，是正确答案。
26.分析与解答：句子说："这个优柔寡断的人在别人劝说下欣然地改变了主意，自己却毫无察觉。"readily：欣然：无困难地，D项是正确答案。
27.分析与解答：introductory:介绍的,导引的；possible:可能的；preliminary:初步的,primary:原始的。句子说："对国民生产总值的初步估算显示出经济从不景气中迅速复苏。"所以选C。
28.分析与解答：charge:控告,索价；admonish:训诫；notify:通知,warn:警告.D项符合句意,是答案。
29.分析与解答：margin指页边空白，符合题意，答案为D。
30.分析与解答：prevalent：流行的，proficient：熟练的；pertinent：中肯的；persistent：坚持的。C项符合句意，是正确答案。
31.分析与解答：desert one's post：(战时)逃兵，所以选A。
32.分析与解答：rectify:改正,矫正；rebuke:指责,非难；negotiate:谈判,磋商。reconcile：使和解，调解。此处说"调解雇员之间的争论"，所以选D。
33.分析与解答：此处是指"食物中毒事件"，outbreak指"爆发，发生"符合题意，所以选C。
34.分析与解答：全句意思是"关于这宗复杂的事件原本可能会发生一场战争，但最终还是理智占了上，风。"prevail：获胜；盛行，符合题意，所以选A。
35.分析与解答：regularly：有规律地；properly：恰当地，正确地；comprehensively：全面地，eventually：最终地，这里是说"正确填写申请表"，所以选B。
36.分析与解答：guarantee：保证，保单，符合句意"那些商店出售的商品给一年的保单。"所以C项是答案。assurance：把握，保证；warrant：授权；
insurance：保险。
37.分析与解答：ascribe:归因于...；ascertain:确切知道；assert:，维护；声明；assess：估计，估定，此处只有B项符合题意，是正确答案。
38.分析与解答：make reference to是固定词组，"提到"，所以答案是C。
39.分析与解答：全句意思是"生活在森林资源丰富的地区是很有益处的，因为你可以每天呼吸到新鲜空 气。"advantageous：有益处的；decorative：装
饰性的；attracted：爱吸引的，privileged：有特权的；可见答案是A。
40.分析与解答：enlighten:启发,开导；enchant:使心醉,喜悦；endow:捐赠；entreat:哀求,肯求；句子说"似乎没有人急于告诉我引起争吵的事件是什么
"所以只有A项符合题意,是答案。
41.分析与解答：那个男孩跑过马路时被一辆大卡车撞倒在地并受了重伤。turn down 翻［领］ hit on 想出（计划）knick down 踢倒knock down 撞倒，
所以D为正确答案。
42.分析与解答："下临高山"be dominated by a high mountain，所以D为正确答案。
43.分析与解答：reciprocal：互惠的，相互的；persistent：坚持的；inseparable：不可分开的；relevant：相关的，只有A项切合题意，是正确答案。
44.分析与解答：synthesis：合成的；symphony：交响乐；spectrum：光谱；symposium：专题论文集，研讨会。只有A项符合题意，是正确答案。
45.分析与解答：assistance：帮助，援助；condition:条件；provision:供应,准备；aid:帮助，援助。此处C项符合题意，是正确答案。
46.分析与解答：全句意思是"没有必要烧开饮用水，因为它已被用化学方法净化过"。distill：蒸馏；purify：净化；clear：清理；refine：精炼(石油
，矿石)。所以答案是B。
47.分析与解答：preach：布道；domination：统治，支配；doctrine：主义，教旨，学说；principle：原则。与后面的isolationism搭配，应该用C项。
48.分析与解答：suit：适合；adapt：适应，适合于(与to搭配)；adopt：采纳，收养；reconcile：调解。此处说"适应环境"，应选B项。
49.分析与解答：simulate 假装accumulate：积累；illuminate：照亮；stimulate：刺激；激发；此处说："激发学生兴趣"，应选D。
50.分析与解答：句子说："生产产品的原材料十分缺乏，导致价格猛涨。"demand：需求，要求；surplus:过剩,盈余；scarcity:缺乏,供不应求；
inadequacy:不足.所以答案为C。
关键字:四六级模拟试题
生词表: