六级考前热身试题二.doc

大学英语六级考试考前热身试题二

Part I Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Credit Cards on Campus. You
should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.
1. 有人认为信用卡进入大学校园是件好事
2. 也有人持反对意见
3. 你的想法
Credit Cards on Campus
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

The Value of Writing Well
It’s that time of year again. No, not “the holiday season”. I mean, it is holiday time, but for professors it doesn’t start feeling like holiday time until final grades are in and the books are closed on another semester. No, for me, it’s paper-grading time, the time of year when I’m reminded over and over of the importance of good writing skills--and of their rarity.
The ability to write well is not a gift. Sure, the special something that sets apart a Tolstoy or Shakespeare or Salman Rushdie or Isabel Allende is a gift, a talent born of disposition, experience, and commitment. But just to be able to communicate clearly with the written word takes no special talent; it’s a skill like any other.
Well, not exactly like any other. Because the words we use to write with are the same words we use to think with, learning to write well has ramifications that go beyond the merely technical. As we improve our writing ability, we improve our ability to think—to build an argument, to frame issues in compelling ways, to weave apparently unrelated facts into a coherent whole.
And despite the recurring hand-wringing and chest-beating about the “end of literacy” and the “death of the printed word”, the reality is that we write more than ever these days. While it’s a rare person who sits down with pen and paper in hand and writes a letter to a friend or loved one, we pour emails into the ether at an astounding rate. We text message, tweet, instant message, blog, comment, and otherwise shoot words at each other in a near-constant flow of communication. We annotate group portraits, LOL-ify cat pictures, and tag... well, everything. At work, we write letters, proposals, PowerPoint presentations, Business requirement documents, memos, speeches, mission statements, position papers, operating procedures, manuals, brochures, package copy, press releases, and dozens of more specialized types of documents.
We are, it seems, writing creatures. Homo scribus, if you will.
It’s no wonder that Businesses repeatedly cite “communication skills” as the single most desirable trait in new employees. The kicker, though, is that we are as a society incredibly bad at writing. Public schools do a poor job of teaching students how to write well—they barely manage to instill the basic rules of grammar and the miserable 5-paragraph essay, let alone how to write with style and verve, how to put together an argument that moves steadily from one point to the next to persuade a reader of some crucial point, how to synthesize ideas and data from multiple sources into something that takes those ideas one step further.
It’s not just the teachers’ fault. Teachers do the best they can with what they’re given, and all too often what they’re given is inadequate resources with which to teach classrooms full of unmotivated students who could care less about writing. Add to that the requirements of mandatory nation-wide tests that reward conformity, not creativity, and the threat of punishment for any school whose students fail to fall within the fairly rigid boundaries of the test’s requirements, and you’ve got a pretty bad situation all around for instilling in students the power to write well.
That is, alas, a great disservice. Being able to write well vastly improves students’—and others’—potential for success, regardless of the field they find themselves in. As I’ve already mentioned, people who write well tend to be better able to think through problems and tease out patterns in outwardly dissimilar situations. More importantly, people who write well have the opportunity to make a mark in the world, because their best ideas aren’t trapped in their own minds for lack of a means of expression.
This is true whether you’re a CEO or a janitor, a marketing expert or an Emergency Medical Technician. The skills that make us better writers make us better explainers, better persuaders. and better thinkers. They are the skills that allow us to “sell” our ideas effectively, whether in giving a presentation to potential funders of our company, proposing a new project to our corporate leadership, or transmitting a new policy to our employees. Being able to write well lessens the chance that we’ll be misunderstood, and increases the likelihood that our ideas will be adopted.
Writing well is not a gift reserved for the few but a set of skills that can be learned by anyone. The technical aspects can be learned in any of several ways: by taking a class, by studying books on writing, by working with a partner or a group and acting on their feedback. But while grammar and structure are an important part of writing, to write well also demands some effort to develop style. Style is what keeps people reading past the first sentence, and what keeps what you’ve written on their minds, impelling them to take action.
Style is rather less teachable than the nuts and bolts of writing, but it is learnable. It demands patience, attention, and most of all practice, but it is possible for anyone who has something to say to learn how to say it well. To move from being merely capable to being a good writer, you need only:
1. Read: Reading is essential to good writing. It is how we learn the vastness of the language and the limits of the grammar—and how to push those limits. The more you read, the greater your understanding of language’s potential becomes.
2, Write: Good writing takes practice. Unfortunately, unless we create opportunities to write, we get far too few opportunities to get that practice after we’ve left school. Start a journal, a blog, a newsletter, or whatever else you can think of to get you writing on at least a semi-regular basis.
3. Read Again: Most people who fail to become better writers fail because they do not read their own writing. They don’t read it before they post/mail/submit/publish/otherwise finish it, and they don’t read it after they’re done with it. Which means they don’t see the awkward parts, the flat bits, the pieces that say something different from what was intended—and they never learn how to fix or, better yet, avoid those problems.
4. Repeat: Writing is personal, and seeing your writing ill-received can strike a blow to the strongest of egos. The only answer for it, though, is persistence—the goal is to become a better writer, not to be perfect out of the gate. Pay attention to criticism, learn from it, but don’t internalize it--there’s no shame in writing poorly, only in failing to try to do better next time.
Today’s world is a world of text; it is the lifeblood of the information economy. In Ancient Rome, it was the orators who ruled, those who could compel obedience, loyalty, and devotion with their spoken words. Today, the written word is dominant, not only because so much of the information that shapes our lives is written down, but because the habits that make us good writers are the same habits that allow us to flourish in the information economy. If you worry about your writing ability, commit yourself now to becoming a solid writer in the year to come. If you are already a decent writer, commit yourself to becoming better. And if you're one of the rare few who write well, reach out to those around you and share your talent, so that others may learn from you. Let that be your gift this holiday season.

1. According to the author, Tolstoy’s ability to write ______.
[A] had nothing to do with gift [B] was attributed to tough training
[C] was a born talent [D] made him well-known
2. Our ability to think is improved when ______.
[A] we observe the world more wisely
[B] our ability to write is improved
[C] what we speak becomes convincing
[D] we write on paper instead of on computer
3. The most desirable ability in new employees now is their ______.
[A] presentation skills [B] computer skills
[C] language skills [D] communication skills
4. The 5-paragraph essay is regarded by the author as ______.
[A] inadequate writing [B] a simple model of writing
[C] the most convenient way of writing [D] the most basic writing skill
5. What negative impact do the mandatory nation-wide tests most probably have on students’ power of writing well?
[A] They make the students unmotivated.
[B] They prohibit students’ creativity due to their requirements.
[C] The students will be severely punished if they fail the tests.
[D] The students care little about writing.
6. What does the author want to illustrate by mentioning a CEO and a janitor?
[A] A janitor may have to work harder for success.
[B] Writing skills are similarly important for them.
[C] A CEO needs a better writing skill than a janitor.
[D] Their abilities have nothing to do with their jobs.
7. The author points out that one’s style of writing is ______.
[A] inheritable [B] unteachable [C] unchangeable [D] learnable
8. Patience, attention and practice are most important for the development of ________________________.
9. If we want to learn the vastness of language and the limits of grammar, we should ________________________.
10. It is mentioned that Ancient Rome was ruled by ________________________.

Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions 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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
11. [A] To invite the man to join them. [B] To suggest politely that he leave.
[C] To offer to let him help cook. [D] To encourage him to have another drink.
12. [A] There is a flood every two years. [B] The flood is the worst ever since the fifties.
[C] There is a serious drought. [D] There is a severe flood.
13. [A] She asks the man to wait for her at the train station.
[B] She will call the man when she arrives at the station.
[C] She and the man will take the 7:50 train.
[D] She is sorry for keeping the man waiting for her for an hour.
14. [A] He is well-prepared. [B] He will finish his paper soon.
[C] He will quit the exam. [D] He never feels prepared enough.
15. [A] Wants the man to write a letter for her.
[B] Wants the man to take her letter to the post office.
[C] Wants the man to correct her letter.
[D] Wants to correct the man’s mistakes.
16. [A] He failed to finish the experiment that day.
[B] He hasn’t had time to do the experiment.
[C] He did only part of the experiment.
[D] The experiment was finished with much time.
17. [A] He refuses to check in the other suitcase.
[B] One of the suitcases he’s carrying isn’t his.
[C] He thinks the woman up ahead should check in the suitcase.
[D] He’s helping the woman up ahead to check in the suitcase.
18. [A] Both speakers were running out of money.
[B] The man lent some money to the woman.
[C] The woman lent some money to the man.
[D] The woman left her money in the library.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19. [A] The definition of eccentricity. [B] Essentiality.
[C] How to keep pets. [D] How to enjoy special food.
20. [A] Being unusual and strange. [B] Charming and special.
[C] Aggressive and hardworking. [D] Common and usual.
21. [A] A poor British man. [B] A rich American.
[C] A rich British man. [D] A poor American.
22. [A] The Victorian surgeon lived at Buckland.
[B] Howard was always a hermit.
[C] A hermit is a person who enjoys communicating with others.
[D] Howard Hughes became a recluse because he was tired of high living.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
23. [A] Confident. [B] Hesitant. [C] Determined. [D] Doubtful.
24. [A] An export salesman working overseas. [B] A trainee working through every branch.
[C] A production manager in a branch. [D] A policy-maker in the company.
25. [A] Trainees are required to sign contracts initially.
[B] Trainees’ performance is evaluated occasionally.
[C] Trainees’ starting salary is 870 pounds.
[D] Trainees cannot quit the management scheme at will.
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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. [A] Satisfying. [B] Tough. [C] Meaningless. [D] Boring.
27. [A] Kathy persuaded her to do so. [B] Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant.
[C] Zoe got tired of the city life. [D] Zoe loved Wales more than London.
28. [A] Tiresome and troublesome. [B] Romantic and peaceful.
[C] Mentally exhausting but healthy. [D] Physically tiring but rewarding.
29. [A] A friend in need is a friend indeed. [B] Kill two birds with one stone.
[C] A misfortune may turn out a blessing. [D] Where there is a will, there is a way.
Passage Two
Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.
30.