1992年6月全国大学英语六级考试真题及答案
Part I Listening Comprehension ( 20 minutes)Section A
1. A) She doesn't like the collar. B) She doesn't like silk.
C) She doesn't like white dresses. D) She doesn't think it's her size.
2. A) The scene of the old man's death shocked her.
B) The scene of the old man's death frightened her.
C) The scene of the old man's death moved her.
D) The scene of the old man's death upset her.
3. A) She didn't get what she wanted. B) She was given a vegetable salad.
C) She found the fruit not fresh enough. D) She had been overcharged.
4. A) Jim must have copied from John.
B) He doesn't seen to like the two compositions.
C) John must have copied from Jim.
D) One must have copied from the other.
5. A) They want to wear special clothes.
B) They want other people to watch them dance.
C) They want to celebrate their festivals.
D) They want to enjoy themselves.
6. A) $40. B) $30. C) $25. D) $14.
7. A) An experienced nurse. B) A shop assistant.
C) The man's old friend. D) Secretary of a company.
8. A) Jane is sick. B) Jane is with her sister.
C) Jane won't come. D) Jane will call back this evening.
9. A) She has to take the final exams. ,B) She has to get her paper done.
C) She'll celebrate her 25th birthday. D) She will practise typing.
10. A) Taking a rest. B) Paying a visit.
C) Making a purchase. D) Making an appointment.
Section B
Passage One
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.
11. A) To settle down in the U.S. B) To get his doctor's degree.
C) To become a professor. D) To finish high school.
12. A) In the Ministry of Education. B) In the Ministry of Agriculture.
C) At a university. D) At a hospital.
13. A) Because they think that's where they belong.
B) Because Africa is developing rapidly.
C) Because they are drawn by high salaries.
D) Because they are drawn by good opportunities.
Passage Two
Questions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.
14. A) He offered them to those in need.
B) He kept them for his own use.
C) He sold them to bike shops.
D) He gave them to his relatives as Christmas gifts.
15. A) He wanted to get the man's old bike.
B) He wanted to know the price of the new bike.
C) He wanted to know what was new of the man's bike.
D) He wanted to repair the old bike for the man.
16. A) His interest in doing the job.
B) His wish to help others.
C) His intention to learn a trade.
D) His ambition to become known and popular.
Passage Three
Questions 17 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
17. A) The desigher of the White House. B) The first resident of the White House.
C) one of the U.S. presidents. D) A specialist of American history.
18. A) To add to the beauty of the building.
B) To follow the original design.
C) To wipe out the stains left behind by the War.
D) To make the building look more comfortable.
19. A) Right after it was rebuilt.
B) During the administration of John Adams.
C) When Theodore Roosevelt was president.
D) After many other names had been given to it.
20. A) It has been changed several times.
B) It has never been changed.
C) It was changed after the War of 1812.
D) It was changed during Roosevelt's presidency.
Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
What do Charles Darwin, Nicholas Copernicus and Frank J. Sulloway have in common?
The first two, of course, were revolutionary scientific thinkers: Copernicus established that
the Earth revolves around the sun;Darwin discovered natural selection. And Sulloway? He's a
historian of science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has discovered something else
these two men - and, indeed, most of the major pioneers in science over the last 400 years- have
in common: they were, like Sulloway himself, preceded in birth by at least one other brother or
sister. Birth order, he found, is the most reliable indicator of whether a scientist will embrace or
attack radical new ideas.
The third of four children, Sulloway has spent 20 years searching out the birth order of 2,
784 scientists who were on one side or the other of 28 scientific revolutions since the 16th century. He discovered that 23 of the 28 revolutions were led by later - borns.
Sulloway focused on the male - dominated world of science and the sole issue he measured
was willingness to challenge established opinions. Those least likely to accept new theories were
firstborns with younger brothers or sisters. The most radical were younger sons with at least one
older brother.
According to Sulloway' s theory, firstborn children identify more readily with parental au-
thority because, among other things, they are often put in charge of younger brothers or sisters.
Through this identification, firstborns absorb the norms (规范,准则) and values of society in
ways that subsequent children do not. The older child gets responsibility. They younger one
tests the limits, tries to see what he can get away with.
21. What is the main idea of the passage?
A) Later- borns are more intelligent than firstborns.
B) Revolutionary thinkers tend to recognize the influence of birth order.
C) Major scientists always have something in common in their way of thinking.
D) One's behaviour is often determined by birth order
22. The historian of science mentioned in the passage is of the family.
A) the youngest child
B) neither the eldest nor the youngest child
C) the only child
D) the eldest child
23. The 2,784 scientists Sulloway studied
A) had led 23 of the 28 scientific revolutions
B) were preceded in birth by at least one brother or sister
C) had either supported or opposed revolutionary ideas
D) had dominated the world of science for 400 years
24. According to Sulloway' s theory, who is most likely to challenge established ideas of science?
A) The only son with younger sisters.
B) Those who identify more readily with parental authority.
C) The only child of a family.
D) A person with at least one older brother or sister.
25. The author's attitude towards Sulloway's birth order theory is
A) critical B) defensive C) neutral D) inconsistent
Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
The individual mobility, convenience, and status given by the private passenger car offer a
seemingly unbeatable attraction. In 1987, a record 126,000 cars rolled off assembly lines each
working day, and close to 400 million vehicles choke up the world's streets today.
But the car's usefulness to the individual stands in sharp contrast to the costs and burdens
that society must shoulder to provide an automobile- centered transportation system. Since the
clays of Henry Ford, societies have made a steady stream of laws to protect drivers from each
other and themselves, as well as to protect the general public from the unintended effects of
massive automobile use. Law makers have struggled over the competing goals of unlimited mobility and the individual' s fight to be free of the noise, pollution, and physical dangers that the
automobile often brings.
Prior to the seventies, the auto' s usefulness and assured role in society were hardly questioned. Even worries about uprising gas prices and future fuel availability subsided(减退) in the eighties almost as quickly as they had emerged. Car sales recovered, driving is up, and wealthy
customers are once more shopping for highperformance cars.
The motor vehicle industry's apparent success in dealing with the challenges of the seven-
ties has obscured the harmful long - term trends of automobile centered transportation. Rising
gasoline consumption will before long put increased pressure on oil production capacities. In addition, as more and more people can afford their own cars and as mass motorization takes hold,
traffic jam becomes a tough problem. And motor vehicles are important contributors to urban air
pollution, acid rain, and global warming.
Society's interest in fuel supply security, the integrity of its cities, and protection of the en-
vironment calls for a fundamental rethinking of the automobile's role. Stricter fuel economy and
pollution standards are the most obvious and immediate measures that can be adopted. But they
can only be part of the answer. In the years ahead, the challenge will be to develop innovative
(革新的) transportation policies.
26. Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?
A) A good car indicates its owner's high social position.
B) A good car allows its owner to travel free.
C) A car provides its owner with a sense of safety.
D) A car adds to its owner's attractiveness.
27. The phrase "rolled off assembly lines"(Para. 1, Lines 2 - 3) means
A) "were turned out from factories" B) "moved along production lines"
C) "moved along the streets" D) "were lined up in the streets"
28. The passage states that there is
A) a sharp contrast between the cost and usefulness of the cars
B) a sharp contrast between the cost and performance of the cars
C) a sharp conflict between car drivers and traffic rules
D) a sharp contradiction between the convenience of car owners and the burdens of society
29. It is implied that the auto's assured role in society is
A) threatened by the rising gas prices
B) challenged by a series of fundamental problems
C) protected by law
D) firmly established
30. Stricter fuel economy and pollution standards are
A) only part of the solution to massive automobile use
B) the best way to cope with the massive use of cars
C) innovative transportation policies
D) future policies of the automobile industry
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
While America' s grade - school and high - school system is coming under attack, one fact
remains: U.S. universities are among the best in the world. Since World War II, American scientists - mostly working in universities or colleges - have won more than half of all Nobel Prizes in physics and medicine. Foreign students rush to the United States by the tens of thousands;last year they earned more than one quarter of the doctoral degrees awarded in the country. Yet while American universities produce great research and great graduate programe, they some-times pay little attention to the task that lies at their very core: the teaching of undergraduate students.
In an era of $ 20,000 academic years, college presidents can no longer afford to ignore the
creeping rot at their core. In speeches and interviews the nation' s higher educators have rediscovered teaching. Robert Rosenzweig, president of the Association of American Universities,
said: "Our organization was never very concerned about teaching. In the last 18 months, we
have spent more time on undergraduate education than on any other subject."
Despite such promising efforts, no one doubts that research still outranks teaching at the
leading universities, not least because it is a surer and faster way to earn status. Some people
don' t think it has to be that way. They argue that the reward system for college faculty can be
changed, so that professors will be encouraged to devote more time and effort to teaching. They
say that they are beginning to believe that the 1990s may come to be remembered as the decade
of the undergraduate.
That would bring 'it full circle. For more than two centuries after the founding of Harvard
College in 1636, the instruction of undergraduate students was an essential condition of American higher education.
31. Which of the following would be the best TITLE for this passage?
A) University Education in the U. S.
B) University Education Challenged
C) Teaching and Research in Universities
D) Undergraduate Teaching Rediscovered
32. The first sentence in the second paragraph means that
A) with a budget of $ 20,000, presidents find it difficult to keep their universities going
B) with the increase in fees, educators feel obliged to improve undergraduate teaching
C) with a $ 20,000 budget, presidents find it difficult to stop the creeping rot in their
universities
D) with the decrease in fees, educators can' t afford to lay equal stress on both research
and teaching
33. According to paragraph 3, some people think that the reward system for teachers should be
changed so that
A) more emphasis will be laid on teaching
B) leading universities can further raise their status
C) effort can be directed to graduate instruction
D) the 1990's will become a decade of the-undergraduate
34. According to the passage, at the leading American universities
A) reaearch is declining in importance
B) teaching is now ranked above research
C) teaching is a sure way to gain position
D) more importance is attached to research than to teaching
35. It is implied in the passage that about 150 years ago undergraduate instruction
A) was already threatened by research work
B) began to be neglected in most universities
C) constituted the fundamental part of higher education
D) began to undergo rapid changes
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
In the final years before the beginning of the Civil War, the view that the Negro was
different, even inferior, was widely held in the United States. At Peoria, Illinois, in October 1854,
Abraham Lincoln asked what stand the opponents of slavery should take regarding Negroes.
"Free them, and make them politically and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit
of this; and if mine would, we well know that those of the great mass, of white people will not.
Whether this feeling accords with justice and sound judgement, is not the sole question, if indeed,
it is any part of it. A universal feeling, whether well or ill founded, cannot be safely disregarded.
We cannot, then, make them equals."
The Lincoln statement was clear and direct, and it doubtless represented the views of most
Americans in the 1850' s. Most of those who heard him or read his speech were of the same
opinion as he. In later years, the Peoria speech would be used by those who taught to damage
Lincoln' s reputation as a champion of the rights of the Negro. In 1964, the White Citizens'
Councils reprinted portions of the speech in large advertisements in the daily press and insisted
that Lincoln shared their views on the desirability of maintaining two distinct worlds of race.
Lincoln could not have overcome the nation's strong inclination toward racial separation if
he had tried. And he did not try very hard. When he set about forming Negro troops later, he
was content not only to set Negroes apart in a unit called "U. S. Colored Troops, "but also to
have Negro privates(列兵) receive $10 per month including clothing, while whites of the same
rank received $13 per month plus clothing. Only the firm refusal of many Negro troops to accept
unequal pay finally forced Congress to equalize compensation, for white and Negro soldiers.
The fight for union that became also a fight for freedom never became a fight for equality or for
the creation of one racial world.
36. In 1854, Abraham Lincoln believed that
A) it was practical to give equal rights to Negroes
B) Negroes should have equal rights
C) racial equality for Negroes was impossible
D) most white people would oppose giving freedom to Negroes
37. In the 1850' s, the nation's inclination toward racial separation was
A) disregarded by Congress B) challenged by Lincoln
C) too strong to overcome D) based on round judgement
38. In 1964, the White Citizens' Councils reprinted the Peoria speech in order to
A) damage Lincoln's reputation
B) defend their own viewpoints
C) criticize Lincoln's views on racial equality
D) defend Lincoln's reputation
39. From the passage, we can conclude that Lincoln
A) helped Negroes fight for freedom only
B) gave Negroes equal pay
C) treated white and Negro soldiers equally
D) helped to create one racial world
40. The purpose of the Civil War was
A) to establish equality of all people B) to maintain the union of the country
C) to do away with racial separation D) to end racial in justice
Part III Vocabulary and Structure ( 20 minutes)
41. Susan stood motionless at the end of the diving board, hands at her side, heels slightly
raised, every muscle __ action.
A) anticipating B) to anticipate
C) anticipated D) having anticipated
42. _______ about the bookkeeper's honesty, the company asked him to resign.
A) There be some questions B) There are some questions
C) There have been some questions D) There being some questions
43. He _______ his sorrow beneath a cheerful appearance.
A) retained B) concealed C) conceived D) shielded
44. He finished the paintings, _______ for the exhibition.
A) for some time B) in good time
C) from time to time D) time after time
45. But for his courage, the battle _______
A) was lost B) will be lost
C) would lose D) would have been lost
46. An ambulance must have priority as it usually has to deal with some kind of _______
A) urgency B) danger C) emergency D) crisis
47. Such being the case, I see no _______ for your complaints.
A) foundation B) base C) grounds D) sources
48. News writers are expected to be clear and accurate, the form in which they write or speak is
_______ to that requirement.
A) superior B) secondary C) inferior D) contrary
49. The soil was so _______ that I was hardly able to force a spade into it.
A) muddy B) compact C) slack D) fertile
50. The foreign - language publications are growing in volume and _______
A) appreciation B) circumstance C) rotation D) circulation
51. The wine glasses were so_______ that I was afraid to carry them home by bus.
A) flexible B) delicate C) shaky D) tender
52. The program has been _______ by lack of funds.
A) hampered B) intervened C) hammered D) insulated
53. _______ , heat is produced.
A) Certain chemicals are mixed together
B) That certain chemicals are mixed together
C) Whenever certain chemicals are mixed together
D) The mixing together of certain chemicals
54. Captain Jones _______ that he had fired five bullets from Hoffman's gun and that he had
the shells of those bullets with him.
A) purified B) magnified C) testified D) intensified
55. Much of the equipment was lying _______ because of a lack of spare parts.
A) helpless B) vacant C) idle D) lonely
56. _______ does he know that the police are about to arrest him.
A) Few B) Only C) Seldom D) Little
57. By signing this application, I ask that an account _______ for me and a credit card issued
as I request.
A) be opened B) opens C) is opened D) will be opened
58. The poor reception on your TV is probably due to outside _______
A) interference B) inaccessibility C) interruption D) irregularity
59. Henry Ford's introduction of the assembly vastly reduced the time it took _______
A) on making a car B) to make a car
C) for making a car D) in making a car
The latest survey of 50 young couples in that city shows the average cost for a wedding has
doubled the _______ of 1986.
A) size B) number C) figure D) quantity
It was only after the failure of the talks that the government decided to resort
force.
A) for B) in C) at D) to
62. Even though we had been to her house several times before, we did not remember _______
A) what street it was on B) what the street it was on
C) what street was it on D) what a street it was on
63. The earthquake _______ not have come at a worse time for the war - torn country.
A) could B) must C) would D) might
64. In _______ with the new regulations, all tickets must be stamped.
A) combination B) agreement C) connection D) accordance
65. China has greatly _____ its influence in world affairs.
A) spread B) scattered C) extended D) distributed
66. He asked his sister to look after his children _______ his death.
A) in the event of B) in view of
C) on account of D) on the edge of
67. We are sorry that, because of a fire in our factory, we are unable to fill your order for auto
parts We suggest that you order from Jones Supply Company until we are able to
_______ production.
A) release B) recover C) resume D) regain
68. Lhasa is unique _______ it is the highest city in China.
A) that B) in that C) for that D) but that
69. Why are you always suspicious __ anyone who is kind to you?
A) of B) with C) towards D) for
70. _______ rose in his imagination several interesting specimens that had never appeared on earth before.
A) Here B) It C) Where D) There
Part 1V Error Correction ( 15 minutes)
It is always interesting to visit, another country,
for those who have never travelled a great deal.
Domestic travel can be very educational for anyone. 71.
if he is interested enough to make preparations
at beforehand. Learning the language 72.
of the new country would be difficult the
traveller to attempt, but the benefits of such an 73.
effort would become obvious immediately after
his arrive. It may not seem important to him
when he is comfortably situated at home, but 74.
knows how to order a meal or rent a room is essential
for the newcomer in a familiar country. 75.
without knowing the language, it is very difficult
for the stranger to understand the people of the 76.
new country and his customs.
Of course, in our small world, it is often
possible to find someone who understand our own 77.
but this is only second-best for the traveler. To
be ensure, he can see places and things without 78.
the use of a language, but places and things
are the heart of any country. To get the greatest 79.
benefit from a trip to another country, it is
indeed important for the visitor to have an 80.
understanding of the language.
Part V Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic
Looking Forward to the Twenty - First Century. Your composition should be
based on your answers to the following questions written in Chinese:
1．新世纪科技发展的前景如何?
2．新的科学技术会给社会带来什么好处?
3．新的科学技术会带来什么问题?
4．你怎样对待新世纪的挑战?
Your composition should be no less than 120 words.
Looking Forward to the Twenty - First Century
