1996年1月大学英语六级考试(CET6)试题与参考答案

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 center.
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 late.
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 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
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)
Direction: There are 4 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 center.
Passage One
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 tolls and technology can tell us about the group's history and ways 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（留声机）was invented, so we rely on instruments for important information about music-cultures in the remote past and their development. Here we have two kinds of evidence: instruments well preserved and instruments pictured in art. Through the study of instruments, as well as paintings, written documents, and so on, we can explore the movement of music from the Near East to China over a thousand years ago, or we can outline the spread of Near Eastern influence to Europe that resulted 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 which people learn and sing music by ear rather than from print, but research shows 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 song. Besides, the ability to read music notation（乐谱）has a far-reaching effect on musicians and, when it becomes widespread, on the music-culture as whole.
One more important part for 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 is 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 modern nations; they have affected music-music-cultures all over the globe.
21. Research into the material culture of a nation is of great importance because _______.
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 past 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 an influence on the development 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 orchestra were developed on the 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 standardize folk songs 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 computes
C) has given rise to new forms of music culture
D) has led to the transformation of traditional musical instruments
25. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
A) Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.
B) Music cannot be passed on to future generation unless it is recorded.
C) Folk songs cannot be spread far unless they are printed on music sheets.
D) The development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.
Passage Two
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 be 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 something, which is in inadequate supply. Competitors may not be aware of one another, while the parties to a conflict are. Conflict and competition are both categories of opposition, which has been defined as a process by which social entities function in the disservice 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 is 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（占有）of areas free from meat-eating animals. Those who fail in this 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（繁荣）; the unsuccessful decline. While it is true that this competition may induce effort 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 terms in order to _______.
A) argue for the similarities between animal societies and human societies
B) smooth out the conflicts in human societies
C) distinguish between tow kinds of opposition
D) summarize the 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 a kind of opposition among social entities
D) it is essentially a struggle for existence
28. The phrase "function in the disservice of one another" (Para.1, Line 7) most probably means "________".
A) betray each other
B) harm one another
C) help to collaborate with each other
D) benefit one 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 entities
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?
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
As Dr. Samuel Johnson said in a different era about ladies preaching, the surprising thing about computers is not that they think less well than a man, but that they think at all. The early electronic computer did not have much going for it except a marvelous memory and some good math skills. But today the best models can be wired up to learn by experience, follow an argument, ask proper questions and write poetry and music. They can also carry on somewhat puzzling conversations.
Computers imitate life. As computers get more complex, the imitation gets better. Finally, the line between the original and the copy becomes unclear. In another 15 years or so, we will see the computer as a new form of life.
The opinion seems ridiculous because, for one thing, computers lack the drives and emotions of living creatures. But drives can be programmed into the computer's brain just as nature programmed them into our human brains as a part of the equipment for survival.
Computers match people in some roles, and when fast decisions are needed in a crisis, they often surpass them. Having evolved when the pace of life was slower, the human brain has an inherent defect that prevents it from absorbing several streams of information simultaneously and acting on them quickly. Throw too many things at the brain at one time and it freezes up.
We are still in control, but the capabilities of computers are increasing at a fantastic rate, while raw human intelligence is changing slowly, if as all. Computer power has increased ten times every eight years since 1946. In the 1990s, when the sixth generation appears, the reasoning power of an intelligence built out of silicon will begin to match that of the human brain.
That does not mean the evolution of intelligence has ended on the earth. Judging by the past, we can expect that a new species will arise out of man, surpassing his achievements as he has surpassed those of his predecessor. Only a carbon chemistry enthusiast would assume that the new species must be man's flesh-and-blood descendants. The new kind of intelligent life is more likely to be made of silicon.
31. What do you suppose was the attitude of Dr. Samuel Johnson towards ladies preaching?
A) He believed that ladies were born worse preachers than men.
B) He was pleased that ladies could preach, though not as well as men.
C) He disapproved of ladies preaching.
D) He encouraged ladies to preach.
32. Today, computers are still inferior to man in terms of _______.
A) decision making
B) drives and feelings
C) growth of reasoning power
D) information absorption
33. In terms of making quick decisions, the human brain cannot be compared with the computer because _____.
A) in the long process of evolution the slow pace of life didn't require such ability of the human brain.
B) the human brain is influenced by other factors such as motivation and emotion
C) the human brain may sometimes freeze up in a dangerous situation
D) computers imitate life while the human brain does not imitate computers
34. Though he thinks highly of the development of computer science, the author doesn't mean that _______.
A) computers are likely to become a new form of intelligent life.
B) human beings have lost control of computers
C) the intelligence of computers will eventually surpass that of human beings.
D) the evolution of intelligence will probably depend on that of electronic brains.
35. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A) Future man will be made of silicon instead of flesh and blood.
B) Some day it will be difficult to tell a computer from a man.
C) The reasoning power of computers ahs already surpassed that of man.
D) Future intelligent life may not necessarily be made of organic matter.