2007年六级英语考试最新模拟试题（五）

　　9. The underlined words“conversely, however”(ParA.4) indicate that .A.many topics can be emphasized though they were not covered in the old edition B.many topics can be emphasized though they were usually omitted by instructors C.many topics have been added to the new edition as they were not covered in the old one D.many topics have been added to the new edition though they can be omitted by the instructors

　　10. To meet the needs of a particular course, the teacher of this book can omit some of the contents provided that .A.his selection is based on the request of his students B.he does not omit any chapter completely C.his students are particularly intelligent D.he keeps an eye on the internal relations between the chapters

　　Passage 3

　　Hamletfish are cautious lovers. Each evening at twilight, many times an evening in fact, a pair of them will leave the safety of their Caribbean reef and rush a few yards off the seafloor. Positioning themselves side-to-side, head-to-tail they hurriedly release their eggs and sperm. Then they turn sharply for home, leaves their gametes to mix in silence.

　　Ichthyologist Phillip Lobel of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has found that hamlet fish and many other fish emit“cries of ecstasy" at the appropriate moment.

　　Biologists have long known that a few fish make sounds. The toadfish, for example, is named for its low call, which can be heard even above water. Underwater, however, human ears don't work well. As a result researchers didn't notice how common fish calls were until Lobel started diving with a video camera and an underwater microphone like the kind the Navy uses to listen for submarines.

　　Lobel has learned that the fish playing the role of the male-hamletifish switches roles from one tryst to the next-emits a series of short, low sounds. The female responds with a downward, sweeping sound like a slide whistle. The purpose to these calls, says Lobel, is probably to synchronize spawning, so that sperm and egg have a fighting chance of actually meeting in the water.

　　Then, at the moment of spawning, the female flutters her pectoral fins, contracts her abdominal muscles to squeeze out the eggs, and lets out a soft cry, which in part may simply be the sound of her swim bladder vibrating from all that muscle contraction.“The sound is not a scream, it's only as loud as conversation," says Lobel.

　　Lobel has since recorded sounds from about two dozen other fish species. He thinks fish calls, like some birdcalls, may be a means by which fish recognize suitable mates, and that fish of the same species may even communicate in regional dialects.“Lots of people sit and watch their little fish in their aquarium," Lobel says,“Well, it's like looking at a birdcage behind sound-proof glass. These things are all making sounds."

　　11. The primary purpose of this passage is to .A.refute a misconception that fish don't make soundsB.prove a new discoveryC.explain the time when hamletfish make soundsD.demonstrate the fact that fish are romantic as human beings

　　12. Which of the following is NOT true about fish calls according to this passage?A.Fish calls are commonly regarded as rare.B.Some of sounds produced by fish are not uttered from their mouths.C.Fish calls may be a means by which fish found their mates.D.No sounds can be heard from fish if a person stands on the ground.

　　13. Which of the following best explains“the appropriate moment" for fish to emit cries of ecstasy mentioned in the first paragraph?A.When Phillip Lobel was under the water with a video camera and a microphone.B.When one fish has a tryst with another.C.When the sperm and egg of the fish have a chance to meet in the water.D.When fish are spawning.

　　14. Which of the following is a correct inference from the passage?A.Few biologists have the idea fish may produce sounds underwater.B.A person underwater may clearly hear the call of another person's above water.C.Lobel's original intention to do the experiment was to test whether hamletfish would produce mating calls.D.A hamletfish may play the roles of both male and female at different times.

　　15. The author mentioned birdcalls in the last paragraph in order .A.to demonstrate that birds can be classified into certain fish speciesB.to illustrate that birds, just like fish, produce calls to find their matesC.to prove birdcalls are more common than fishcallsD.to further explain that fish is a kind of animal that may also make sounds when necessary

　　Passage 4

　　With human footprints on the moon, radio telescopes listening for messages from alien creatures (who may or may not exist), technicians looking for celestial (天体的)and planetary sources of energy to support our civilization, orbiting telescopes' data hinting at planetary systems around other stars, and political groups trying to figure out how to save humanity from nuclear warfare that would damage life and elimate on a planet-wide scale, an astronomy book published today enters a world different from the one that greeted books a generation ago. Astronomy has broadened to involve our basic circumstances and our mysterious future in the universe. With eclipese and space missions broadcast live, and with NASA(［美国］国家航空和宇宙航行局)，Europe, and the USSR (苏联)planning and building permanent space stations, astronomy offers adventure for all people, an outward exploratory thrust that may one day be seen as an alternative to mindless consumerism, ideological bickering (争吵)，and wars to control dwinding resources on a closed, finite Earth.

　　Today's astronomy students not only seek an up-to-date summary of astronomical facts: they ask, as people have asked for ages, about our basic relations to the rest of the universe. They may study astronomy partly to seek points of contact between science and other human endeavors: philosophy, history, politics, environmental action, even the arts and religion.

　　Science fiction writers and special effect artists on recent films help today's students realize that unseen worlds of space are real places—not abstract concepts. Today's students are citizens of a more real, more vast cosmos than conceptualized by students of a decade ago.

　　In designing this edition, the Wadsworh editors and I have tried to respond to these developments. Rather than jumping at the start into murky waters of cosmology (宇宙论)，I have begun with the viewpoint of ancient people on Earth and worked outward across the universe. This method of organization automatically (if loosely) reflects the order of humanity's discoveries about astronomy and provides a unifying theme of increasing distance and scale.

　　16. This passage is most probably taken from .A.an article of popular scienceB.the introduction of a book of astronomy C.a lecture given by the author to astronomy students D.the preface of a piece of science fiction