2021年12月大学英语四级冲刺模拟题第六套(含答案)

1、PAGE PAGE 242021年12月大学英语四级冲刺模拟题 第六套（含答案）Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: Precious Water. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below:1. 举例说明水对人类的重要性2. 举例说明我国所面临的水资源问题3. 为了生存和发展人们要Precious W

2、aterPart 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 question 8-1

3、0, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Pollution: A Life and Death IssueOne of the main themes of Planet under Pressure is the way many of the Earths environmental crises reinforce one another. Pollution is an obvious example-we do not have the option of growing food, or

4、 finding enough water, on a squeaky-clean planet, but on one increasingly tarnished and trashed by the way we have used it so far.Cutting waste and clearing up pollution cost money. Yet time and again it is the quest for wealth that generates much of the mess is the first place. Living in a way that

5、 is less damaging to the Earth is not easy, but it is vital, because pollution is pervasive and often life-threatening.Air: the World Health Organization (WHO) says three million people are killed worldwide by outdoor air pollution annually from vehicles and industrial emissions, and 1.6 million ind

6、oors through using solid fuel. Most are in poor countries.Water: diseases carried in water are responsible for 80% of illnesses and deaths in developing countries, killing a child every eight seconds. Each year 2.1 million people die from diarrhoeal (痢疾的) diseases associated with poor water.Soil: co

7、ntaminated land is a problem in industrialized countries, where former factories and power stations can leave waste like heavy metals in the soil. It can also occur in developing countries, sometimes used for dumping pesticides. Agriculture can pollute land with pesticides, nitrate-rich fertilizers

8、and slurry from livestock. And when the contamination reaches rivers it damages life there, and can even create dead zones off the coast, as in the Gulf of Mexico.Chronic ProblemChemicals are a frequent pollutant. When we think of chemical contamination it is often images of events like Bhopal that

9、come to mind. But the problem is widespread. One study says 720% of cancers are attributable to poor air and pollution in homes and workplaces. The WHO, concerned about chemicals that persist and build up in the body, especially in the young, says we may be conducting a large-scale experiment with c

10、hildrens health.Some man-made chemicals, endocrine (内分泌) disruptors like phthalates (酞酸盐) and nonylphenol-a breakdown product of spermicides (杀精子剂), cosmetics and detergents-are blamed for causing changes in the genitals of some animals. Affected species include polar bears-so not even the Arctic is

11、 immune. And the chemicals climb the food chain, from fish to mammals, and to us.About 70,000 chemicals are on the market, with around 1,500 new ones appearing annually. At least 30,000 are thought never to have been comprehensively tested for their possible risks to people.At first glance, the plas

12、tic buckets stacked in the corner of the environmental NGO office look like any others. But the containers are an unlikely weapon in one poor communitys fight against oil companies which they say are responsible for widespread ill-health caused by years of pollution. The vessels are used by a networ

13、k of local volunteers, known as the Bucket Brigade, to gather air samples in neighborhoods bordering oil refineries, as part of a campaign to monitor and document air pollution which they believe is coming from the plants.In South Africa, as in many developing and newly industrialized countries, leg

14、islation on air pollution has failed to keep pace with mushrooming industries. So local residents, like many in poor communities around the globe, have faced the problem of investigating their claim that industries on their doorsteps are making them sick.Trade-offBut the snag is that modern society

15、demands many of them, and some are essential for survival. So while we invoke the precautionary principle, which always recommends erring on the side of caution, we have to recognize there will be trade-offs to be made.The pesticide DDT does great damage to wildlife and can affect the human nervous

16、system, but can also be effective against malaria (疟疾). Where does the priority lie?The industrialized world has not yet cleaned up the mess it created, but it is reaping the benefits of the pollution it has caused. It can hardly tell the developing countries that they have no right to follow suit.A

17、nother complication in tackling pollution is that it does not respect political frontiers. There is a U.N. convention on trans-boundary air pollution, but that cannot cover every problem that can arise between neighbors, or between states which do not share a border. Perhaps the best example is clim

18、ate change-the countries of the world share one atmosphere, and what one does can affect everyone.For One and All.One of the principles that are supposed to apply here is simple-the polluter pays. Sometimes it is obvious who is to blame and who must pay the price, but it is not always straightforwar

19、d to work out just who is the polluter, or whether the rest of us would be happy to pay the price of stopping the pollution.One way of cleaning up after ourselves would be to throw less away, designing products to be recycled or even just to last longer.Previous generations worked on the assumption

20、that discarding our waste was a proper way to get rid of it, so we used to dump nuclear materials and other potential hazards at sea, confident they would be dispersed in the depths.We now think that is too risky because, as one author wrote, theres no such place as away, and theres no such person a

21、s the other.Irritating AirDespite recent improvements, however, the health problems are still there. A 2002 medical study, carried out by Durbans Nelson Mandela School of Medicine and a U.S. university, found that an abnormally high 52% of students and teachers at a primary school bordering the Enge

22、n plant suffered from asthma (哮喘). It found that increases in air pollution tended to aggravate asthma symptoms in children.The petrol producers do not dispute the findings but argue that researchers were unable to establish a causal link between air pollution and the high prevalence of asthma among

23、 the school population.For the community, the next step is to take legal action. But, according to internationally recognized environmentalist Bobby Peek, targeting the companies would be difficult as it would be near-impossible to prove that illnesses suffered were caused by pollution coming from a

24、 particular plant.Mr. Peek, who grew up beneath Engens stacks, says the activists are now considering taking action against the authorities. We are now looking at suing the government on constitutional grounds, for failing to ensure our right to protection from a harmful environment as stipulated in

25、 the constitution, he said.Legislative ChangeA new batch (批) of environmental laws, the National Air Quality Management Act, has just been passed by the South African parliament to replace outdated 1965 legislation with tighter controls and tougher sanctions.Martinus van Schalkwyk, the minister of e

26、nvironmental affairs and tourism, visited the south Durban basin earlier this year and said there were measures in place to improve the situation. I share the anger and frustration of this community. It is long overdue, he told the South African Broadcasting Corporation.The local authorities have al

27、so established a Multi-Point Plan for the area. They say it is a powerful model for tackling pollution and points to a 40% reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions in recent years.1. According to World Health Organization, how many people are killed by outdoor air pollution?A 3 millionB 2.1 millionC 1

28、.6 millionD 3.2 million2. Land can be polluted by _ from agriculture.A heavy metalsB pesticides and nitrate-poor fertilizersC slurry from livestockD rubbish3. What kind of animal affected by man-made chemicals is not referred in the passage?A Polar bears.B Mammals.C People.D Birds.4. What do local r

29、esidents claim for?A They are sick because of years of pollution.B They are sick because of industries on their doorsteps.C They are sick because of pesticides from agriculture.D They are sick because of air pollution.5. The pesticide DDT can be effective against _.A malariaB wildlifeC animalsD huma

30、n nervous system6. There is a U.N. convention that can cover _.A problem between neighborsB problem between states which do not share a borderC problems on air pollutionD trans-boundary air pollution7. What is not said to be a way of cleaning up after ourselves?A Throw less away.B Design recycled pr

31、oducts.C Dont use it again.D Last longer.8. It found that increases in air pollution tended to _.9. According to Bobby Peek, targeting the companies would be difficult as it would be near-impossible to prove that illnesses suffered were caused by _.10. Martinus van Schalkwyk, the minister of environ

32、mental affairs and tourism, visited the south Durban basin earlier this year and said there were measures in place to _.SectionPart IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read t

33、he passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words on Answer Sheet 2.Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.The bacteria that cause a common food-borne illness show low drug resistance in Australia, unlike similar strains from the U

34、nited States and Europe, a study has found. Scientists behind the finding say Australias de facto ban on certain antibiotics in poultry (家禽) and other livestock helps explain why.In the study, researchers analyzed samples of Campylobacter jejuni (空肠弯曲杆菌) bacteria from 585 patients in five Australian

35、 states.Scientists found that only 2 percent of the samples were resistant to ciprofloxacin (环丙沙星), one of the group of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolonones. By contrast, 18 percent of Campylobacter (弧形杆菌) samples in U.S. patients are immune to fluoroquinolonones, which have been used in the U.S.

36、 to prevent or treat respiratory (呼吸的) disease in poultry for a decade.The study, led by Leanne Unicomb, a graduate student at Australian National University in Canberra, was published in the May issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.The findings add to the growing body of evidence sugge

37、stive of the problems of using fluoroquinolonones in food-producing animals, Unicomb wrote in an email.Campylobacter is the most common food-borne disease in the U.S. and many other industrialized countries.People can contract the pathogen (病原体) by consuming undercooked poultry or meat, raw milk, or

38、 contaminated (被污染的) water.Symptoms include fever, vomiting, and diarrhea (腹泻). In rare cases, the disease can trigger paralysis or death.In most industrial countries Campylobacter is more commonly reported than Salmonella (沙门氏菌), a better-known cause of food poisoning, Unicomb said.The number of ca

39、ses of Campylobacter has been on the rise in Australia since the early 90s.In the U.S., about 1.4 million people contracted Campylobacter infections last year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.While the infection rate in the U.S. has dropped

40、over the last decade, the bacteria have grown more drug-resistant.According to the CDC, surveys between 1986 and 1990 found no signs of resistance to the antibiotics in U.S. Campylobacter infections. But by 1997, strains resistant to the antibiotics accounted for 12 percent of human cases. In 2001 t

41、he figure climbed to 18 percent.Public health experts say many factors contribute to Campylobacters drug resistance; the widespread use of fluoroquinolonones by U.S. poultry farmers over the past decade is one of them.Fluoroquinolones were first approved for use in humans by the U.S. Food and Drug A

42、dministration (FDA) in 1986. In 1995 the FDA granted poultry farmers permission to the use the drugs in livestock. Last year the FDA banned the antibiotic from food-producing animals, citing the concerns raised by public health experts over drug-resistant bacteria.Frederick Angulo, an epidemiologist

43、 with the CDC, monitors the drug resistance of food-borne pathogens in the U.S. food supply. The people who are most likely to get infected with food-borne diseases include the most vulnerable people in the population-infants and young children and also the elderly, he said. He says that Campylobact

44、er infections are entirely preventable, as is the bacterias antibiotic resistance. In many ways whats occurring with Campylobacter is an indicator for a broader issue, which is.antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the food supply, he said.47. Why do food-borne pathogens in Australia show low drug resist

45、ance?48. In many industrialized countries, the most common food-borne disease is _.49. The food-borne disease may cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea and even _.50. The FDA banned the use of antibiotic from food-producing animals because public health experts were concerned about _.51. What does Angulo

46、say about the bacterias antibiotic resistance?Section BDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 le

47、tter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.At some time in your life, you may have a strong desire to do something strange or terrible. However, chances are that you dont act on your impulse, but let it pass instead.

48、You know that to commit the action is wrong in some way and that other people will not accept your behavior.Perhaps the most interesting thing about the phenomenon of taboo behavior is how it can change over the years within the same society, how certain behavior and attitude once considered taboo c

49、an become perfectly acceptable and natural at another point in time. Topics such as death, for example, were once considered so upsetting and unpleasant that it was a taboo to even talk about them. Now with the publication of important books such as On Death and Dying and Learning to Say Goodbye, pe

50、ople have become more aware of the importance of expressing feelings about death and, as a result, are more willing to talk about this taboo subject.One of the newest taboos in American society is the topic of fat. Unlike many other taboos, fat is a topic that Americans talk about constantly. Its no

51、t taboo to talk about fat; its taboo to be fat. The in look is thin, not fat. In the work world, most companies prefer youthful-looking, trim executives to sell their images as well as their products to the public. The thin look is associated with youth, vigor, and success. The fat person, on the ot

52、her hand, is thought of as lazy and lacking in energy, self-discipline, and self-respect. In an image-conscious society like the U.S., thin is in, fat is out.Its not surprising, then, that millions of Americans have been obsessed with staying slim and in shape. The pursuit of a youthful physical app

53、earance is not, however, the sole reason for Americans fascination with diet and exercise. Recent research has shown the critical importance of diet and exercise for personal health. As in most technologically developed nations, the life style of North Americans has changed dramatically during the c

54、ourse of the last century. Modern machines do all the physical labor that people were once forced to do by hand. Cars and buses transport us quickly from point to point. As a result of inactivity and disuse, peoples bodies can easily become weak and vulnerable to disease. In an effort to avoid such

55、a fate, millions of Americans are spending more of their time exercising.52. From the passage we can infer taboo is _.A a strong desire to do something strange or terribleB a crime committed on impulseC behavior considered unacceptable in societys eyesD an unfavorable impression left on other people

56、53. Based on the ideas presented in the passage we can conclude being fat _ in American society.A will always remain a tabooB is not considered as a taboo by most peopleC has long been a tabooD may no longer be a taboo someday54. The topic of fat is _ many other taboo subjects.A the same asB differe

57、nt fromC more popular thanD less often talked about than55. What does thin is in, and fat is out mean?A Thin is inside, and fat is outside.B Thin is diligent, and fat is lazy.C Thin is youthful, and fat is spiritless.D Thin is fashionable, and fat is unfashionable.56. Apart from this new understandi

58、ng of the correlation between health and exercise, the main reason the passage gives for why so many Americans are exercising regularly is _.A their changed life styleB their eagerness to stay thin and youthfulC their appreciation of the importance of exerciseD the encouragement they have received f

59、rom their companiesPassage TwoQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.We can begin our discussion of population as global issue with what most persons mean when they discuss the population problem: too many people on earth and a too rapid increase in the number added each year. The fac

60、ts are not in dispute; it was quite right to employ the analogy that likened demographic growth to a long, thin powder fuse that burns steadily and haltingly until it finally reaches the charge and explodes.To understand the current situation, which is characterized by rapid increases in population,