1994年1月大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷

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 suggested answers 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.
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 are 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 centre.
Sample Answer [A] [B] [C] [D]
1. A) At home.
B) In a phone box.
C) In her office.
D) In a friend’s house.
2. A) On the west side of a square.
B) At the end of a street.
C) To the east of the traffic light.
D) On the east side of a square.
3. A) She has to change the time for the trip.
B) She hasn’t decided where to go next month.
C) She can’t afford the time for the trip.
D) She will manage to leave this month.
4. A) The apartment is better furnished.
B) She prefers to live in a quiet place.
C) It’s less expensive to live in an apartment.
D) She finds her roommates difficult to get along with.
5. A) In a hospital.
B) In a library.
C) In a travel agency.
D) In a restaurant.
6. A) Customer and salesperson.
B) Teacher and student.
C) Boss and secretary.
D) Guest and waitress.
7. A) He didn’t buy anything.
B) He got some medicine for his foot.
C) He was sick and couldn’t go shopping.
D) He bought everything except the football.
8. A) Teachers like Professor Janson are rare.
B) Professor Janson has won a million dollars.
C) Professor Janson is lucky to be teaching at that school.
D) There are many teachers as good as Professor Janson.
9. A) She didn’t know her daughter could sing so well.
B) She sings better than her daughter.
C) She doesn’t like her daughter.
D) She herself doesn’t have a good voice.
10. A) He finds history books difficult to understand.
B) He has to read a lot of history books.
C) He doesn’t like the history course.
D) He has lost his history book.

Section B
Passage One
Questions 11 to 14 are based on the passage you have just heard.
11. A) At night.
B) At noon.
C) In the morning.
D) In the afternoon.
12. A) About Germans on strike.
B) About a new-type airplane.
C) About an air crash.
D) About rescue workers in UK Motors.
13. A) They wanted higher pay.
B) They wanted fewer working hours.
C) They wanted better working conditions.
D) They wanted an annual three-week holiday.
14. A) Rainy.
B) Warm.
C) Cold.
D) Changeable.

Passage Two
Questions 15 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.
15. A) He has always lived in America.
B) He has been in America for three years.
C) He visited America three years ago.
D) He has come to America to do research on advertising.
16. A) There were far more advertisements there than he had expected.
B) The advertisements there were well designed.
C) The advertisements there were creative and necessary.
D) He found the advertisements there difficult to understand.
17. A) Be more careful about what they advertise.
B) Spend less money on advertising.
C) Advertise more for their products.
D) Use new advertising techniques.

Passage Three
Questions 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
18. A) He is always in a hurry.
B) He is quick in making decisions.
C) He is always the first to arrive at the airport.
D) He usually doesn’t get the reward he deserves.
19. A) He misses his flight.
B) He can find a good seat.
C) He leaves the airport first at the end of the trip.
D) His luggage comes out last.
20. A) He was told to board the wrong plane.
B) He was not allowed to board the plane.
C) He arrived at the airport without a ticket.
D) He found it difficult to explain why he arrived so early.

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
There are desert plants which survive the dry season in the form of inactive seeds. There are also desert insects which survive as inactive larvae (幼虫). In addition, difficult as it is to believe, there are desert fish which can survive through years of drought (干旱) in the form of inactive eggs. These are the shrimps (小虾) that live in the Mojave Desert, an intensely dry region in the south-west of the United States where shade temperatures of over 50C are often recorded.
The eggs of the Mojave shrimps are the size and have the appearance of grains of sand. When sufficient spring rain falls to form a lake, once every two to five years, these eggs hatch (孵化). Then the water is soon filled with millions of tiny shrimps about a millimetre long which feed on tiny plant and animal organisms which also grow in the temporary desert lake. Within a week, the shrimps grow from their original 1 millimetre to a length of about 1.5 centimetres.
Throughout the time that the shrimps are rapidly maturing, the water in the lake equally rapidly evaporates. Therefore, for the shrimps it is a race against time. By the twelfth day, however, when they are about 3 centimetre long, hundreds of tiny eggs form on the underbodies of the females. Usually by this time, all that remains of the lake is a large, muddy patch of wet soil. On the thirteenth day and the next, during the final hours of their brief lives, the shrimps lay their eggs in the mud. Then, having ensured that their species will survive, the shrimps die as the last of the water evaporates.
If sufficient rain falls the next year to form another lake, the eggs hatch, and once again the shrimps pass rapidly through their cycle of growth, adulthood, egg-laying, and death. Some years there is insufficient rain to form a lake: in this case, the eggs will remain dormant for another years, or even longer if necessary. Very, very occasionally, perhaps twice in a hundred years, sufficient rain falls to form a deep lake that lasts a month or more. In this case, the species passes through two cycles of growth, egg-laying, and death. Thus, on such occasions, the species multiplies considerably, which further ensures its survival.

21. Which of the following is the MOST distinctive feature of Mojave shrimps?
A) Their lives are brief.
B) They feed on plant and animal organisms.
C) Their eggs can survive years of drought.
D) They lay their eggs in the mud.
22. By saying “for the shrimps it is a race against time” (Para. 3, line 2) the author means ________.
A) they have to swim fast to avoid danger in the rapidly evaporating lake
B) they have to swim fast to catch the animal organisms on which they survive
C) they have to multiply as many as possible within thirteen days
D) they have to complete their life cycle within a short span of time permitted by the environment
23. The passage mainly deals with ________.
A) the life span of the Mojave shrimps
B) the survival of desert shrimps
C) the importance of water to life
D) life in the Mojave Desert
24. The word “dormant” (Para. 4, Line 3) most probably means ________.
A) inactive
B) strong
C) alert
D) soft
25. It may be inferred from the passage that ________.
A) appearance and size are most important for life to survive in the desert
B) a species must be able to multiply quickly in order to survive
C) for some species one life cycle in a year is enough to survive the desert drought
D) some species develop a unique life pattern to survive in extremely harsh conditions

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Opportunities for rewarding work become fewer for both men and women as they grow older. After age 40, job hunting becomes even more difficult. Many workers stay at jobs they are too old for rather than face possible rejection. Our youth-oriented, throw-away culture sees little value in older people. In writer Lilian Hellman’s words, they have “the wisdom that comes with age that we can’t make use of. “
Unemployment and economic need for work is higher among older women, especially minorities, than among younger white women. A national council reports these findings: though unemployed longer when seeking work, older women job-hunt harder, hold a job longer with less absenteeism (缺勤), perform as well or better, are more reliable, and are more willing to learn than men or younger women. Yet many older women earn poor pay and face a future of poverty in their retirement years. When “sexism meets ageism, poverty is no longer on the doorstep it moves in,” according to Tish Sommers, director of a special study on older women for the National Organization for Women.
Yet a 1981 report on the White House Conference on Aging shows that as a group, older Americans are the “wealthiest, best fed, best housed, healthiest, most self-reliant older population in our history. “This statement is small comfort to those living below the poverty line, but it does explode some of the old traditional beliefs and fears. Opportunities for moving in and up in a large company may shrink but many older people begin successful small businesses, volunteer in satisfying activities, and stay active for many years. They have few role models because in previous generations the life span was much shorter and expectations of life were fewer. They are ploughing new ground.
Employers are beginning to recognize that the mature person can bring a great deal of stability and responsibility to a position. One doesn’t lose ability and experience on the eve of one’s 65th or 70th birthday any more than one grows up instantly at age 21.

26. After the age of 40, ________.
A) most workers are tired of their present jobs
B) many workers tend to stick their present jobs
C) people find their jobs more rewarding than before
D) people still wish to hunt for more suitable jobs
27. From Heilman’s remark, we can see that ________.
A) full use has been made of the wisdom of older people
B) the wisdom of older people is not valued by American society
C) older people are no less intelligent than young people
D) the wisdom of older people is of great value to American society
28. Tish Sommers argues that ________.
A) older women find it hard to escape poverty
B) older women usually perform better in their jobs
C) the major cause of the poverty of older women is sexism
D) more people have come to believe in sexism and ageism
29. According to the third paragraph, it can be seen that older Americans ________.
A) have more job opportunities than young people
B) live below the poverty line
C) have new opportunities to remain active in society
D) no longer believe in the promise of a happy life upon retirement
30. It can be concluded from the passage that the writer ________.
A) calls attention to the living conditions of older Americans
B) believes that value of older people is gaining increasing recognition
C) attempts to justify the youth-oriented, throw-away culture of the United States
D) argues people should not retire at the age of 65 or 70

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
The most exciting kind of education is also the most personal. Nothing can exceed the joy of discovering for yourself something that is important to you! It may be an idea or a bit of information you come across accidentally—or a sudden insight, fitting together pieces of information or working through a problem. Such personal encounters are the “payoff” in education. A teacher may direct you to learning and even encourage you in it—but no teacher can make the excitement or the joy happen. That’s up to you.
A research paper, assigned in a course and perhaps checked at various stages by an instructor, leads you beyond classroom, beyond the texts for classes and into a process where the joy of discovery and learning can come to you many times. Preparing the research paper is an active and individual process, and ideal learning process. It provides a structure within which you can make exciting discoveries, of knowledge and of self, that are basic to education. But the research paper also gives you a chance to individualize a school assignment, to suit a piece of work to your own interests and abilities, to show others what you can do. Writing a research paper is more than just a classroom exercise. It is an experience in searching out, understanding and synthesizing, which forms the basis of many skills applicable to both academic and nonacademic tasks. It is, in the fullest sense, a discovering, an education. So, to produce a good research paper is both a useful and a thoroughly satisfying experience!
To some, the thought of having to write an assigned number of pages, often more than ever produced before, is disconcerting. To others, the very idea of having to work independently is threatening. But there is no need to approach the research paper assignment with anxiety, and nobody should view the research paper as an obstacle to overcome. Instead, consider it a goal to accomplish, a goal within reach if you use the help this book can give you.

31. According to the writer, personal discoveries ________.
A) will give one encouragement and direction
B) are helpful in finding the right information
C) are the most valuable part of one’s personal education
D) will help one to successfully complete school assignments
32. It can be inferred from the passage that writing a research paper gives one chances ________.
A) to fully develop one’s personal abilities
B) to use the skills learnt in the classroom
C) to prove that one is a productive writer
D) to demonstrate how well one can accomplish school assignment
33. From the context, the word “disconcerting” (Para. 3, Line 2) most probably means ________.
A) misleading
B) embarrassing
C) stimulating
D) upsetting
34. The writer argues in the passage that ________.
A) one should explore new areas in research
B) one should trust one’s own ability to meet course requirements
C) one should consider research paper writing a pleasure, not a burden
D) one should use all one’s knowledge and skills when doing research
35. What will probably follow this passage?
A) How to write a research paper.
B) The importance of research in education.
C) How to make new discoveries for oneself.
D) The skill of putting pieces of information together.

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
In our culture, the sources of what we call a sense of “mastery”—feeling important and worth-while-and the sources of what we call a sense “pleasure”-finding life enjoyable-are not always identical. Women often are told “You can’t have it all.” Sometimes what the speaker really is saying is: “You chose a career, so you can’t expect to have closer relationships or a happy family life.” or “You have a wonderful husband and children—What’s all this about wanting a career?” But women need to understand and develop both aspects of well-being, if they are to feel good about themselves.
Our study shows that, for women, well-being has two dimensions. One is mastery, which includes self-esteem (自尊), a sense of control over your life, and low levels of anxiety and depression. Mastery is closely related to the “doing” side of life, to work and activity. Pleasure is the other dimensions, and it is composed of happiness, satisfaction and optimism (乐观). It is tied more closely to the “feeling” side of life. The two are independent of each other. A woman could be high in mastery and low in pleasure, and vice versa. For example, a woman who has a good job, but whose mother has just died, might be feeling very good about herself and in control of her work life, but the pleasure side could be damaged for a time.
The concepts of mastery and pleasure can help us identify the sources of well-being for women, and remedy past mistakes. In the past, women were encouraged to look only at the feeling side of life as the source of all well-being. But we know that both mastery and pleasure are critical. And mastery seems to be achieved largely through work. In our study, all the groups of employed women rated significantly higher in mastery than did women who were not employed.
A woman’s well-being is enhanced (增进) when she takes on multiple roles. At least by middle adulthood, the women who were involved in a combination of roles-marriages, motherhood, and employment were the highest in well-being, despite warnings about stress and strain.

36. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ________.
A) for women, a sense of “mastery” is more important than a sense of “pleasure”
B) for women, a sense of “pleasure” is more important than a sense of “mastery”
C) women can’t have a sense of “mastery” and a sense of “pleasure” at the same time
D) a sense of “mastery” and a sense of “pleasure” are both indispensable to women
37. The author’s attitude towards women having a career is ________.
A) critical
B) positive
C) neutral
D) realistic
38. One can conclude from the passage that if a woman takes on several social roles, ________.
A) it will be easier for her to overcome stress and strain
B) she will be more successful in her career
C) her chances of getting promoted will be greater
D) her life will be richer and more meaningful
39. Which of the following can be identified as a source of “pleasure” for women?
A) Family life
B) Regular employment
C) Multiple roles in society
D) Freedom from anxiety
40. The most appropriate title for the passage would be ________.
A) The well-being of Career Women
B) Sources of Mastery and Pleasure
C) Two Aspects of Women’s Well-Being
D) Freedom Roles Women in Society

Part III Vocabulary and Structure (35 minutes)
41. He has ________ strange hobbies like collecting bottle tops and inventing secret codes.
A) gone on
B) gone in for
C) gone with
D) gone through with
42. Of all the soldiers they had the ________ of being the fiercest, the most patriotic, the toughest.
A) recognition
B) reservation
C) recreation
D) reputation
43. Why didn’t you tell me you could lend me the money? I ________ it from the bank.
A) haven’t needed to borrow
B) will not need to borrow
C) needn’t have borrowed
D) didn’t need to borrow
44. Advanced computer technology has ________ an answer to accurate weather forecasting.
A) set up
B) come up with
C) filled with
D) faced up to
45. I stared into the blackness and wondered if he was as aware of my presence as ________.
A) I was of his
B) I was of him
C) I did of him
D) I did of his
46. They are sure they have all the facts they need to ________ the existence of a black hole.
A) obtain
B) maintain
C) verify
D) display
47. The new tourist hotel will have ________ for more than one thousand people.
A) convenience
B) accommodations
C) capability
D) capacities
48. Medical doctors sometimes can make mistakes that will cost ________.
A) patients their lives
B) patient lives
C) patients for their lives
D) patients with their lives
49. He had been completely exhausted but felt considerably ________ after a meal and a rest.
A) renewed
B) recreated
C) reshaped
D) refreshed
50. His intelligence and experience will enable him to ________ the complicated situation.
A) cope with
B) settle down
C) intervene in
D) interfere with
51. At last she left her house and got to the airport, only ________ the plane flying away.
A) having seen
B) to have seen
C) saw
D) to see
52. He obviously displays a great ________ for some of your poems.
A) consent
B) admiration
C) respect
D) pleasure
53. This law ________ the number of accidents caused by children running across the road when they get off the bus.
A) intending to reduce
B) intends reducing
C) intended reducing
D) is intended to reduce
54. The fire must have ________ after the staff had gone home.
A) broken down
B) broken up
C) broken out
D) broken off
55. Humidity is so intense in some parts of the tropics that Europeans find they are unable to ________ it.
A) maintain
B) persist
C) endure
D) sustain
56. The sight of a sick horse being driven along the streets of the village remained ________ him for weeks.
A) of
B) on
C) to
D) with
57. A series of border incidents would ________ lead the two countries to war.
A) inevitably
B) consistently
C) uniformly
D) persistently
58. They tried to restrict access to ________ they believed to be dangerous areas.
A) what
B) which
C) that
D) everywhere
59. If each manager makes his usual speech, the meeting will be ________ for forty-five minutes.
A) expanded
B) prolonged
C) delayed
D) exceeded
60. It was only after some progress ________ in the use and development of electric current that men began to realize the importance and possibilities of magnetism.
A) was made
B) would have been made
C) has been made
D) had been made
61. The weatherman broadcasts the ________ in temperature twice a day.
A) diversion
B) variation
C) variety
D) modification
62. I seem to have reached a rather gloomy conclusion, but I think that something cheerful may still be derived ________ it.
A) of
B) off
C) from
D) with
63. Animals can become unusually ________ when they are upset by a sudden environmental change.
A) puzzled
B) predominant
C) vigorous
D) aggressive
64. In no circumstances can more work be got out of a machine than ________.
A) is put into it
B) to put it into it
C) to be put into it
D) that puts into it
65. The winning team loudly ________ its victory.
A) magnified
B) proclaimed
C) signified
D) exclaimed
66. Last year, these ships transported a total of 83.34 million tons of cargo, a 4.4 per cent increase ________ the previous year.
A) over
B) than
C) up
D) beyond
67. With an eighty-hour week and little enjoyment, life must have been very ________ for the nineteenth-century factory workers.
A) hostile
B) anxious
C) tedious
D) obscure
68. The Second World War, ________ the earlier one of 1914, promoted public concern about the physical and intellectual well-being of the country’s human resources.
A) so as
B) as were
C) as did
D) same as
69. Louis was asked to ________ the man who stole her purse.
A) confirm
B) recognize
C) claim
D) identify
70. The bus that ________ outside the inn would soon take the visitors downtown.
A) held back
B) pulled up
C) got down
D) set forth

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 as2. _______\_____
a school subject are valid for ∧ study of television. 3. ______the____

When we consider the comfortable circumstances of a working family today, the life of the working man in 1882 seems miserable indeed. But earlier it had been even hard. At the beginning of the (71) nineteenth century working hours were from sunrise to sunset, pay was awful, and working conditions being poor and dangerous. (72)

The working man had little schooling beyond his craft, and there was little hope that their children would have (73) nothing better. There were no public schools, and besides, the few (74) pennies which the children could earn needed to help support the (75) family, if he was present because of sickness, there was often no (76) job from him when he returned. Since there were always plenty of (77) other workers to take his job, he was likely to be hired if he asked (78) for more pay.

Viewed against today’s standards, the attitude of the nineteenth-century factory owners seems incredible. They believed that was good business to hire men, women and children as cheaply (79) as possible, make them to work as they could and, when (80) they became inefficient, worn out, or unable to work for any reason, discharge them.

Part V Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic We Need to Broaden Our Knowledge. You should write no less than 120 words and you should base your composition on the outline (given in Chinese) below:
1. 科学技术是社会发展所不可缺少的
2. 社会科学和自然科学相互渗透
3. 现代大学生需要广博的知识
Remember to write your composition coherently and neatly.