2007年六级英语考试最新模拟试题（三）

10. In the author's opinion .

A. advertising can seldom bring material benefit to man by providing information B. advertising informs people of new ideas rather than wins them overC. there is nothing wrong with advertising in persuading the buyerD. the buyer is not interested in getting information from an advertisement

Passage 3In 1950 it was predicted that eight or ten electronic computers would be sufficient to handle all the scientific and business needs of the United States. Likewise, the chief executive officer of IBM advised the company not to invest time or money in developing computers because he foresaw a limited commercial market. But these predictions were proved totally inaccurate as the computer industry developed into a multibillion-dollar business. Today the computer plays a vital role in the lives of many Americans and is seen as one of the greatest technological developments of all times.

Basically a computer is an electronic machine that is capable of performing mathematical tasks to solve scientific or clerical problems in a relatively short period of time. There are two main elements of any computer system——hardware and software.

Hardware is the physical equipment, i.e. the machinery and electronic components. Certain tasks are performed by the hardware. In very simple terms, these tasks can be described in the following processes:input→storage and/or manipulation→output

Properly prepared pieces of information known as data are put into the computer (input). They are put away for future use (storage) and/or handled for a specific purpose (manipulation). Finally, the results are made available to the users (output). The combination of these tasks is known as data processing. Equally as important as hardware in the operation of computers is software. This term refers to the programs and procedures that make it possible to use the computer. A program is a detailed set of instructions that tells the computer what to do, how to do it, and the proper sequence of steps to follow. Programs are written in special computer languages by trained people called computer programmers. Programmers must be familiar with the computer language used in each program. There are a number of different computer languages used in data processing; COBOL(Common Business Oriented Language) is the one used most frequently in business computer applications.

The technological development of computer hardware and software has affected the modern world in numerous ways. Business is one of the areas in which the effect has been greatest.

11. Since the 1950's the computer industry has .

A. declined B. remained about the same C. increased tremendously D. increased slightly

12. Properly prepared pieces of information that are put into the computer are termed .

A. input B. data C. facts D. information

13. The manipulation step of data processing involves .

A. handling data B. making the results available to the users C. putting the information away for future use D. getting the data into the computer

14. Computer programs tell the computer .

A. what to do B. how to do something C. the proper sequence of steps to follow D. all of the above

15. Computer programs are written by .

A. computer analysts B. computer programmers C. computer operators D. computers

Passage 4In these days of technological triumphs, it is well to remind ourselves from time to time that living mechanisms are often incomparably more efficient than their artificial imitations. There is no better illustration of this idea than the sonar (声纳)system of bats. Ounce for ounce, and watt for watt, it is billions of times more efficient and more sensitive than the radars and sonars contrived (发明) by man.

Of course, the bats have had some 50 million years of evolution to refine their sonar. Their physiological mechanisms for echo location, based on all this accumulated experience, therefore merit our thorough study and analysis.

To appreciate the precision of the bats' echo location, we must first consider the degree of their reliance upon it. Thanks to sonar, an insect-eating bat can get along perfectly well without eyesight. This was brilliantly demonstrated by an experiment performed in the late eighteenth century by the Italian naturalist Lazzaro Spallanzani. He caught some bats in a bell tower, blinded them, and released them outdoors. Four of these blind bats were recaptured after they had found their way back to the bell tower, and on examining heir stomachs' contents, Spallanzani found that they had been able to capture and gorge themselves with flying insects. We know from experiments that bats easily find insects in the dark of night, even when the insects emit no sound that can be heard by human ears. A bat will catch hundreds of soft-bodied, silent-flying moths or gnats in a single hour. It will even detect and chase pebbles or cotton spitballs tossed into the air.

16. According to the author, the sonar system of bats is an example of the idea that .

A. this is the age of technological triumphsB. modern machines are inefficientC. living mechanisms are often more efficient than man-made machinesD. artificial imitations are always less efficient than living mechanisms

17. The author suggests that the sonar system of bats

A. was at the height of its perfection 50 million years agoB. is better than man-made sonar because it has had 50 million years to be refinedC. would have been discovered by man many years agoD. is the same as it was 50 million years ago

18. The fact that“blind bats”will detect and chase cotton spitballs as well as insects is remarkable because .

A. bats do not eat spitballsB. cotton is harder to trackC. Spitballs make no sounds audible to human earsD. there is purpose in the flight of insects

19. This passage was written to illustrate .

A. the deficiencies of man-made sonarB. the dependence of man upon animalsC. that we are living in a machine ageD. that the sonar system of bats is remarkable

20. Which of the following is the main point of the passage?

A. A bat will catch hundreds of gnats in a single hour.B. Here is a perfection in nature which sometimes cannot be matched by man's creative efforts.C. The phrase“blind as bat”is valid.D. director of NIH learned of the abuse.

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.