英语四级模拟试题。
Questions 76 to 80 are based on the following passage:
Any talk of the energy needs of the United States should include adiscussion of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a successful but sometimesquiet federal agency. The Tennessee valley Authority began life in 1933 asone of the public works agencies designed to help fight the Great Depression.The TVA was first meant to employ thousands of men to build a chain of damsdown the Tennessee River. These dams were to include electric plants forgenerating electricity to provide cheap power for the rural land in thevalley area.
Within ten years, most of the homes in the TVA area had electricity. Intwenty years, there were four times as many homes in the area with power.At first , TVA electrcity cost a penny per kilowatt. Many homes in the arearelied on electricity for heating. This results in criticism now that elec-tricity is more than three pennies per kilowatt. Other criticism has beenaimed at the TVA's other methods of generating power in 1975. The Authoritywas sued(?e??) for polluting the air with its coal-generating plants. Anti-nuclear groups point out that the TVA would soon have a total of seventeenatomic reactor plants supplying power for its service area. But the TennesseeValley Authority has adjusted to the new times. It quickly became a modelfor pollution control at its coal plants. Just as quickly the TVA founditself an energy conserver as well as a producer. The TVA conducts freehome energy consultations and offers cheap loans to consumers who want toinstall insulation storm windows, solar energy equipment or woodburningstoves. The resulting decrease in demand has allowed the TVA to postponeor delay construction of two nuclear reactors. Instead, the Authority isbuilding a plant to extract coal gas from low-grade coal. Their first stepwill be to use the coal gas to make an ammonia(???à) fertilizer for farmersin the TVA service area. Their ultimate goal is to produce a syntheticfuel from the coal gas. The TVA will then be once again producing a cheapersource of energy and helping solve the nation's problems, several at atime.
76. The main idea of this passage is that ____________.
A) electricity purchased by TVA's customers has tripled in price.
B) the TVA has not served its function well.
C) the TVA is dangerous to the environment.
D) the TVA has always been a pioneer in the energy field.
77. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A) The Tennessee Valley Authority was created in 1933.
B) The TVA's initial function was to provide work for the unemployed.
C) The TVA has been making an effort in decreasing the number of nuclear reactor plants it depends on.
D) The TVA is interested in producing coal gas from low-grade coal.
78. We can conclude from the passage that ____________.
A) the TVA no longer supplies electricity for heating
B) before the time of the TVA, few homes in the Tennessee valley had electricity
C) the TVA has not had to rely on atomic reactor for its power
D) coal gas is expensive to produce
79. The passage suggests that ____________.
A) the TVA is now privately owned
B) the TVA is more interested in what is good for the nation than in making money
C) synthetic fule is cheaper to produce than electricity
D) ammonia fertilizers are nonpolluting
80. As used in this passage, the word "extract" means ____________.
A) burn B) reshape
C) defy D) remove from
Questions 81 to 85 are based on the following passage:
In the English educational system, students take three very importantexaminations. The first is the eleven-plus, which is taken at the age ofeleven or a little past. At one time the ability or aptitude shown on theeleven-plus would have determined if a child stayed in school. Now, however,all children continue in"comprehensive"schools, and the eleven-plus determines which courses of study the child will follow. At the age offifteen or sixteen, the students are tested for the Ordinary Level ofthe General Certificate of Education. This examination covers a widerange of subjects; once students have passed this exam, they are allowedto specialize, so that two-thirds or more of their courses will be inphysics, chemistry, classical languages, or whatever they wish to studyat greater length. The final examination, at eighteen, covers only thecontent of the special subjects. Even at the universities, students studyonly in their concentrated area, and very few students ever venture out-side that subject again; in a real sense, the English boy or girl is aspecialist from the age of fifteen.
81. The purpose of this passage is to ______.
A) show why most English students are"specialists"
B) show the superiority of the English educational system
C) describe the three tests that the English educational system is basedon
D) discuss the inequalities of the English educational system
82. The exam for the Ordinary Level of the General Certificate of Education
is administrated at the age of ______.
A) fifteen B) eighteen
C) eleven D) thirteen
83. We may conclude from the passage that______.
A) the exam that is taken at age eighteen is easier than the other two exams
B) failure on the eleven-plus exam excludes a student from further
schooling
C) higher education is much narrower in scope in England than in
American
D) physics and chemistry are the two most popular courses of study
84. The passage suggests that ______.
A) most people in England are college educated
B) schooling is very closely controlled in England
C) the failure rate on eleven-plus exam is quite high
D) England's structured educational system has reduced the illiteracy
rate in that country dramatically
85. As used in the passage, the word "content" (in Line 12) means______.
A) difficulties B) framework
C) material D) pleasure
Questions 86 to 90 are based on the following passage:
What makes it rain? Rain falls from clouds for the same reason any-thing falls to Earth. The Earth's gravity pulls it. But every cloud ismade of water droplets or ice crystals. Why doesn't rain or snow fallconstantly from all clouds? The droplets or ice crystals in clouds areexceedingly small. The effect of gravity on them is minute. Air currentsmove and lift droplets so that the net downward displacement (¨°???￥) iszero, even though the droplets are in constant motion.
Droplets and ice crystals behave somewhat like dust in the air madevisible in a shaft of sunlight. To the casual observer, dust seems to actin a totally random fashion, moving about chaotically without fixed direc-tion. But in fact dust particles are much larger than water droplets andthey finally fall. The cloud droplet of average size is only 1/2500 inchin diameter. It is so small that it would take sixteen hours to fall halfa mile in perfectly still air, and it does not fall out of moving air atall. Only when the droplet grows to a diameter of 1/125 inch or largercan it fall from the cloud. The average raindrop contains a million timesas much water as a tiny cloud droplet. The growth of a cloud droplet toa size large enough to fall out is the cause of rain and other forms ofprecipitation. This important growth process is called"coalescence."
86. What is the main topic of the passage?
A) The mechanics of rain.
B) The climate of North America.
C) How gravity affects air current.
D) Types of clouds.
87. The word "minute"in Line 5 is closest in meaning to which for the
following?
A) Second. B) Tiny. C) Smooth. D) Predictable.
88. Why don't all ice crystals in clouds immediately fall to Earth?
A) They are balanced by the pressure of rain droplets.
B) The effect of gravity at high altitude is random.
C) They are kept in the sky by air currents.
D) They are moving about without fixed directions.
89. What can be inferred about drops of water larger than 1/125 inch
in diameter?
A) They never occur.
B) They are not affected by the force of gravity.
C) In still air they would fall to earth.
D) In moving air they fall at a speed of thirty-two miles per hour.
90. In this passage, what does the term "coalescence" (in Paragraph 2)refer to?
A) The gathering of small clouds to form larger clouds.
B) The growth of droplets.
C) The fall of raindrops and other precipitation.
D) The movement of dust particles in the sunlight.
WRITING
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a compositionon Reading -- The Best means To Acquire Knowledge in three paragraphs. Youare given the main idea of each paragraph in Chinese. You are required todevelop these ideas in English. Your composition should be no less than 120words. Remember to write clearly.
