2007年六级英语考试最新模拟试题（四）

In Kingston, New York, for example, evidence has been uncovered that indicates that English goods were being smuggled into that city at a time when the Dutch supposedly controlled trading in the area. And in Sacramento an excavation at the site of a fashionable nineteenth-century hotel revealed that garbage had been stashed in the building's basement despite sanitation laws to the contrary.

26. What is the main topic of the passage?A. How the purpose and the methods of historical archaeology have changed. B. How archaeology has been applied to studies of prehistoric cultures.C. The attitude of professional archaeologists hold toward historical archaeology. D. The contributions make to historical archaeology.

27. According to the passage, what is a relatively new focus in archaeology?A. Studying prehistoric cultures. B. Investigating ancient sites in what is now the United States. C. Comparing the culture of North America to that of Europe.D. Studying the recent past.

28. According to the passage, when had historical archaeologists been trained as anthropologists?A. Before the 1930sB. During the 1930s and 1940sC. During the 1950s and 1960sD. After the 1960s

29. In the third paragraph, the author implies the questions and techniques of history and those of social science are . A. of equal value in studying prehistoric cultures B. quite different from each otherC. all aiming to understand people's behaviorD. all highly technical and poorly written

30. The equivalent of the“supposedly" in the last paragraph is .A. rigidlyB. barelyC. seeminglyD. ruthlessly

Passage 3Many of the most damaging and life-threatening types of weather——torrential rains, severe thunderstorm, and tornadoes——begin quickly, strike suddenly, and dissipate rapidly, devastating small regions while leaving neighboring areas untouched. One such event, a tornado, struck the northeastern section of Edmonton, Alberta, in July 1987. Total damages from the tornado exceeded $ 250 million, the highest ever for any Canadian storm. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-lived local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms. In most nations, for example, weather-balloon observations are taken just once every twelve hours at locations typically separated by hundreds of miles. With such limited data, conventional forecasting models do a much better job predicting general weather conditions over large regions than they do forecasting specific local events.Until recently, the observation——intensive approach needed for accurate, very short-range forecasts, or“Nowcast", was not feasible. The cost of equipping and operating many thousands of conventional weather stations was prohibitively high, and the difficulties involved in rapidly collecting and processing the raw weather data from such a network were insurmountable. Fortunately, scientific and technological advances have overcome most of these problems. Radar systems, automated weather instruments, and satellites are all capable of making detailed, nearly continuous observations over large regions at a relatively low cost. Communications satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyze this large volume of weather information. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly. As meteorologists have begun using these new technologies in weather forecasting offices, Nowcasting is becoming a reality.

31.The author mentions the tornado in Edmonton, Canada, in order to .A. indicate that tornadoes are common in the summerB. give an example of a damaging stormC. explain different types of weatherD. show that tornadoes occur frequently in Canada

32. All the following are mentioned as an advance in short-range weather forecasting EXCEPT .A. weather balloonsB. radar systemsC. automated instrumentsD. satellites

33. With Nowcasting, it first became possible to provide information about .A. short-lived local stormsB. radar networksC. long-range weather forecastsD.general weather conditions

34. With which of the following statements is the author most likely to agree?A. Communications satellites can predict severe weather.B. Meteorologists should standardize computer programs.C. The observation-intensive approach is no longer useful.D. Weather predictions are becoming more accurate.

35. Nowcasting would be best illustrated by .A. a five-day forecastB. a warning about a severe thunder-storm on the radioC. the average rainfall for each monthD. a list of temperatures in major cities

Passage 4The relationship between the home and market economies has gone through two distinct stages. Early industrialization began the process of transferring some production processes (e.g. clothmaking, sewing and canning foods) from the home to the marketplace. Although the home economy could still produce these goods, the processes were laborious and the market economy was usually more efficient. Soon, the more important second stage was evident——the marketplace began producing goods and services that had never been produced by the home economy, and the home economy was unable to produce them (eg. electricity and electrical appliances, the automobile, advanced education, sophisticated medical care). In the second stage, the question of whether the home economy was less efficient in producing these new goods and services was irrelevant; if the family were to enjoy these fruits of industrialization, they would have to be obtained in the marketplace. The traditional ways of taking care of these needs in the home, such as in nursing the sick, became socially unacceptable (and, in most serious cases, probably less successful). Just as the appearance of the automobile made the use of the horse-drawn carriage illegal and then impractical, and the appearance of television changed the radio from a source of entertainment to a source of background music, so most of the fruits of economic growth did not increase the options available to the home economy to either produce the goods or services or purchase them in the market. Growth brought with it increased variety in consumer goods, but not increased flexibility for the home economy in obtaining these goods and services. Instead, economic growth brought with it increased consumer reliance on the marketplace. In order to consume these new goods and services, the family had to enter the marketplace as wage earners and consumers. The neoclassical model that views the family as deciding whether to produce goods and services directly or to purchase them in the marketplace is basically a model of the first stage. It cannot accurately be applied to the second (and current) stage.

36. The reason why many production processes were taken over by the marketplace was that .A. it was a necessary step in the process of industrializationB. they depended on electricity available only to the market economyC. it was troublesome to produce such goods in the homeD. the marketplace was more efficient with respect to these processes

37. It can be seen from the passage that in the second stage .A. some traditional goods and services were not successful when provided by the home economyB. the market economy provided new goods and services never produced by the home economyC. producing traditional goods at home became socially unacceptableD. whether new goods and services were produced by the home economy became irrelevant

38. During the second stage, if the family wanted to consume new goods and services, they had to enter the marketplace .A. as wage earnersB. both as manufacturers and consumersC. both as workers and purchasersD. as customers

39. Economic growth did not make it more flexible for the home economy to obtain the new goods and service because .A. the family was not efficient in productionB. it was illegal for the home economy to produce themC. it could not supply them by itselfD. the market for these goods and services was limited

40. The neoclassical model is basically a model of the first stage, because at this stage .A. the family could rely either on the home economy or on the marketplace for the needed goods and servicesB. many production processes were being transferred to the marketplaceC. consumers relied more and more on the market economyD. the family could decide how to transfer production processes to the marketplace

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 the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.