星火英语四级模拟试卷样题及解析

Model T

est

Part

Ⅰ

Writing (30 minutes)

Directions:

For

this

part,

you

are

allowed

30

minutes

to

write

a

short

essay

entitled

The

Decrease

of

Public

Transportation Ticket Fare

. Y

ou should write at least 120 words following the outline given below:

1.

近来一些城市政府实施多项举措降低公共交通票价，大力 发展公共交通；

2.

此措施带来的好处；

3.

作为市民应如何响应政府的号召。

The Decrease of Public Transportation Ticket Fare

The Debate Over Genetically Modified Foods

For

thousands of years farmers have used a process of selection and cross breeding to continually improve

the quality of crops. Traditional breeding methods are slow, requiring intensive labor: while trying to get a desirable

trait in a bred species, undesirable traits will appear and farmers must continue the process over and over again until

all the undesirables are bred out. In contrast, organisms acquire one specific gene or a few genes together through

genetic modification, without other traits included and within a single generation. However, this technology too is

inherently

unpredictable

and

some

scientists

believe

it

can

produce

potentially

dangerous

results

unless

better

testing methods are developed. Traditional breeding is based on sexual reproduction between like organisms. The

transferred genes are similar to genes in the cell they join. They are conveyed in complete groups and in a fixed

sequence that harmonizes with the sequence of genes in the partner cell. In contrast, bioengineers

isolate a gene

from

one

type

of

organism

and collect

it

randomly

into

the

DNA

of

a

dissimilar

species,

disrupting

its

natural

sequence.

One

of the

main

differences

between

conventional

and

genetically

modified

crops

is

that

the former

involves crosses either within species or between very closely related species. However, GM crops can have genes

from closely related species or even from bacteria and viruses. Benefits: one side of the debate Economical? GM

supporters tell farmers that they stand to reap enormous profits from growing GM crops. It takes a shorter time to

produce

the

desired

product.

It

is

precise

and

there

are

no

unwanted

genes. To

produce

the

GM crops,

modern

biotechnology

is

used which

requires

highly

skilled

people

and

sophisticated

and

expensive

equipment.

Large

companies need considerable investments in laboratories, equipment and human resources, hence the reason why

GM crops are more expensive for farmers than traditional crops. Herbicide-resistant crops So what other advantages

do GM crops hold for farmers? GM crops can be produced to be

herbicide

(

除草剂

) resistant. This means that

farmers could spray these crops with herbicide and kill the weeds, without affecting the crop. In effect, the amount

of herbicide used in one season would be reduced, with a subsequent reduction in costs for farmers and consumers.

Biotechnology companies are even experimenting with crops that can be genetically modified to be drought and

salt- tolerant, or less reliant on fertilizer, opening up new areas to be farmed and leading to increased productivity.

1

However, the claims of less herbicide usage with GM crops have till now not been independently supported by facts.

Better quality foods Even animals can be genetically modified to be leaner, grow faster, and need less food. They

could be modified to have special characteristics, such as greater milk production in cows. These modifications

again

lead to improved productivity for farmers and finally lower costs for the consumers. Modified crops could

perhaps prevent outbreaks such as foot and mouth disease, which has badly influenced many farmers and local

economies. No such products have been released to date; however, some are under consideration for release. For

example, GM salmon, capable of growing almost 30 times faster than natural salmon, may soon be approved by the

FDA

(Food and Drug Administration) in the U.S. for release into open waters without a single study on the impact

on human health or the environment. Risks: the other side of the debate Environmental damage The problem with

GM crops is that there is little known about what effect they will have in, say, 20 years time. The genetic structure of

any living organism is complex and GM crop tests focus on short-term effects. Not all the effects of introducing a

foreign gene into the complex genetic structure of an organism are tested. Will the pests that a crop was created to

resist

eventually

become

resistant

to

this

crop?

Then

there

is

always

the

possibility

that we

may

not

be

able

to

destroy

GM crops

once

they

spread

into the

environment.

Risk

to food web.

A

further complication

is

that

the

pesticide produced in the crop may unintentionally harm creatures. GM crops may also pose a health risk to native

animals that eat them. The animals may be poisoned by the built-in pesticides. Tests in the U.S. showed that 44% of

caterpillars

(

毛虫

) of the monarch butterfly died when fed large amounts of

pollen

（花粉）

from GM corn. Disease.

Another concern is disease. Since some crops are modified using the DNA

from viruses and bacteria, will we see

new diseases emerge? What about the GM crops that have antibiotic-resistant marker genes? Marker genes are used

by

scientists

to

determine

whether

their

genetic

modification

of

a

plant

was

successful.

Will

these

antibiotic-resistant genes be transferred to microorganisms that cause disease? We already have a problem with

ineffective antibiotics. How can we develop new drugs to fight these new bugs? Until further studies can show that

GM foods and crops do not pose serious threats to human health or the world's ecosystems, the debate over their

release will continue. Living organisms are complex and tampering with their genes may have unintended effects. It

is

in

our common

interest

to support concerned

scientists

and

organizations,

suc

h

as

Friends

of

the

Earth who

demand required labeling of these food products and independent testing for safety and environmental impacts.

1. What is the main difference between conventional breeding and genetic breeding?

A) The former is based on sexual reproduction between like organisms while the latter can have genes even from

bacteria and viruses.

B) The former is unpredictable while the latter is predictable.

C) The former is applied by farmers while the latter by scientists.

D) The former has a long history while the latter a short one.

2. Which of the following is the possible benefit of GM crops?

2

A) They can be herbicide-resistant. B) They can fertilize the field.

C) They can produce salt. D) They can be more delicious.

3. What will probably happen to the genetically modified animals?

A) They may grow slower. B) They may improve the production.

C) They may digest more food. D) They may spread disease quickly.

4. What can we learn from GM salmon according to the passage?

A) It can grow very slowly. B) It will eat less.

C) It won't do harm to environment. D) It may cause some disease.

5. The reason why GM crops will probably lead to environmental damage is that .

A) GM crop tests do not focus on far- reaching effects

B) there are no GM crop tests before they are being approved of

C) there is no single study on the impact of GM crops on the environment

D) GM crops may bring out foot or mouth disease

6. This article has mentioned risks about GM crops.

A) six B) five C) four D) three

7. The author's attitude towards GM crops is .

A) objective B) biased C) affirmative D) negative

8. The native animals that eat GM crops might be poisoned by__________.

9. Scientists relied on Marker genes to test the results of __________.

10. Friends of the Earth claim that all GM food should be tested fo

r

__________.

Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage

.

More than forty women have been killed in the war in Iraq. Hundreds of others have been ___ 47___.The war

began in March of ___ 48___published books tell two different stories of women who served in Iraq. One

is by Janis Karpinski. She was the Army general who ___ 49___military police at prisons in Iraq. These included the

Army Reserve soldiers who ___ 50___ the Abu Ghraib Prison near Baghdad. Some have received prison ___51_for

mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Miz Karpinski became the highest-level officer to be punished in connection

with the ___ 52___.She left the service in July after being reduced from a brigadier general(

准将

) to a colonel(

上

校

).Her book is called

“

One Woman's Army: The Commanding General of Abu Ghraib Tells Her Story.

”

Miz

Karpinski says she was unfairly blamed for conditions beyond her control. She also tells of her difficulties as a rising

woman ___ 53___in the Army. Another former member of the Army, Kayla Williams, wrote a book called

“

Love

My Rifle More Than Y

ou.

”

The name is taken from a ___ 54___ song. Miz Williams was an Arabic translator in Iraq.

She says her book describes what it is like to be young and ___ 55__ in the Army. One famous 56 called it

“

a frank,

3

hocking and honest look at life in the military.

”

A) abused F) case K) marching

B) female G) commanded L) simply

C) wounded H) soldier M) guarded

D) officer I) reviewer N) beautiful

E) treatments J) recently O) sentences

Section

Directions

:

There

are

2

passages

in

this

section.

Each

passage

is

followed

by

some

questions

or

unfinished

statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on

the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on

Answer Sheet 2

with a single line through the

centre.

Passage One

Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

Iron

production

was

revolutionized

in

the

early

eighteenth

century when coke

was

first

used

instead

of

charcoal

(

木炭

) for refining iron ore. Previously the poor quality of the iron had restricted its use in architecture to

items such as chains and tie bars for supporting arches,

vaults

(

拱顶

),and walls. With the improvement in refining

ore, it was now possible to make cast-iron beams and columns. During the nineteenth century further advances were

made,

notably

Bessemer's

process

for converting

iron

into

steel,

which

made

the

material

more

commercially

feasible.

Iron was rapidly adopted for the construction of bridges, because its strength was far greater than that of stone

or

timber,

but

its

use

in

the

architecture

of

buildings

developed

more slowly.

By

1800

a complete

internal

iron

skeleton

for

buildings

had

been

developed

in

industrial

architecture

replacing

traditional

timber

beams,

but

it

generally remained concealed. Apart from its low cost, the appeal of iron as a building material lay in its strength, its

resistance to fire, and its potential to span vast areas. As a result, iron became increasingly popular as a structural

material for more traditional styles of architecture during the nineteenth century, but it was invariably concealed.

Significantly, the use of exposed iron occurred mainly in the new building types produced by the Industrial

Revolution: in factories, warehouses, commercial offices, exhibition halls, and railroad stations, where its practical

advantages far outweighed its lack of status. Designers of the railroad stations of the new age explored the potential

of iron, covering huge areas with spans that surpassed the great vaults of medieval churches and cathedrals. Paxton's

Crystal

Palace,

designed

to

house

the

Great

Exhibition

of

1851,covered

an

area

of

1848

feet

by

408

feet

in

assembled units of glass set in iron frames. The Paris Exhibition of 1889 included both the widest span and the

greatest height achieved so far with the Halle des Machines, spanning 362 feet, and the Eiffel Tower 1,000 feet high.

However, these achievements were mocked by the artists of Paris as expensive and ugly foolishness. Iron, despite its

4

structural

advantages,

had

little

aesthetic

(

审美的

)

status.

The

use

of

an

exposed

iron

structure

in

the

more

traditional styles of architecture was slower to develop.

52. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A) Advances in iron processing in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

B) The effects of the Industrial Revolution on traditional architectural styles.

C) Advantages of stone and timber over steel as building materials.

D) The evolution of the use of iron in architecture.

53. Iron replaced stone and timber in the building of bridges because iron was considered_________.

A) more beautiful

B) new and modern

C) much stronger

D) easier to transport

54. According to Paragraph 3,the architectural significance of the Halle des Machines was its ________.

A) wide span

B) great height

C) unequaled beauty

D) assembled units of glass

55. How did the artists react to the buildings at the Paris Exhibition?

A) They tried to copy them.

B) They laughed at them.

C) They praised them.

D) They refused to pay to see them.

56. It can be inferred that the delayed

use of exposed iron structures in traditional styles of architecture is best

explained by________.

A) the impracticality of using iron for small, noncommercial buildings

B) the association of iron architecture with the problems of the Industrial Revolution

C) the general belief that iron offered less resistance to fire and harsh weather than traditional materials

D) the general perception that iron structures were not beautiful in appearance

Passage T

wo

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

Four

months

before

Crown

Prince

Felipe

says

“si”

(

“yes”

in

Spanish)

to

television

journalist

Letizia

Ortiz,royal wedding fever is gripping Spain.

Shops are offering the biggest variety of wedding

souvenirs

(

纪念品

),from plates and bottle-openers to copies

5

of the couple's engagement ring.

The couple have made only a few carefully staged public appearances to reduce the

scrutiny

(

仔细检查

).

Spanish people waited for more than a decade for the 36-year-old son of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia to

find a suitable bride. And more important, the May 22 wedding will be a landmark event in other ways.

Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano,31,is the daughter of a nurse and a journalist. So, she will be the first commoner on

a throne once occupied by Queen Isabella, who sent Christopher Columbus to the Americas.

The pretty

, elegant former news

anchor

(

主持人

)will also become Spain's first home-grown queen in more

than a century. The lively and professionally accomplished Letizia has been welcomed by Spanish people as a new

type of queen for a modern monarchy

.

Spanish people were accustomed to seeing her in television news broadcasts and she arouses tremendous

curiosity. Journalists are investigating even the most ordinary aspects of her past which resembles that of so many

other young Spanish professional women.

Spanish people have also taken note that she tried to interrupt the prince when they talked to the press after

getting engaged in November.

“Let me talk,” she told the heir to the Bourbon throne.

Such behavior is regarded as understandable in a woman who went to Mexico by herself at age 23 and later

reported on the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Iraq war for state television TVE.

Her

strong

character,

frankness

and

critical

mind

could

also

be

disadvantages

for

a

royal

who

is

rarely

expected to speak her mind, reporters have said.

The palace has struggled to protect her from scrutiny and to give her time to adapt to her new role.

57. By saying “royal wedding fever” (Line 2,Para.1),

the author means “

_________

”.

A) a lot of royal weddings follow

B) the Spanish people are surprised at the royal wedding

C) the royal wedding makes a stir in the whole country

D) the royal wedding becomes a fashion

58. The most important reason why royal wedding causes such a great interest is that_________ .

A) a commoner is married into a royal family

B) the prince finally finds his bride

C) a famous TV journalist gets married

D) the wedding is expensive

59. Letizia used to be a news anchor who was _________.

A) world-famous

B) frank

C) serious

6

D) capable

60. Letizia's interruption of the prince when they talked to the press was most probably prompted by her_________ .

A) curiosity

B) innocence

C) outspokenness

D) rudeness

61. The difficulty for Letizia to fit in the royal life may lie in _________.

A) how to meet the requirements of the Queen

B) how to change her character to fit in the royal family

C) how to continue her career after marriage

D) how to face her former audience as a princess

Part

Ⅴ

Cloze (15 minutes)

Acupuncture

(

针灸

) is quite mysterious. People see the most is a person with needles sticking out of the flesh.

Understandably being wary ___62___ sharp pointed objects, patients often needs to__63___this obstacle. The best

way to do this is becoming educated about how acupuncture is

__64___, and where it came from. The earliest

__65___ of the use of acupuncture go back to 2,000 years ago. The __66___dates back to as early as the Stone Age.

When

you

experience

pain

it

is

an

instinctive

__67___

to

apply

pressure

to

that

location.

Also

the

body

may

experience pain __68___ the infection is not localized. Y

our body __69___ sends you warning signals. The Ancient

Chinese utilized these warnings, and developed an intricate system of these points__70___ observation. It is easy to

infer that applying pressure to __71___ pain with your hands evolved __72___ the use of needles instead. Tortoise

_73___

have

been

found

recording

the

use

of

acupuncture.

The

first

actual

written

text__74___

the

use

of

acupuncture is called Nei Ching Su Wen. This book basically __75___ all the different points, but it is mostly a book

on theory and concept. The Nei Ching Su Wen __76__the basic rules of philosophy on health. These philosophies

branched from two mainstream_77__ during the Warring States period. The first is Confucianism. The teachings of

this stress that human body is sacred and is __78___ dissection or surgery

. This makes acupuncture a perfect means

of __79___ illness because applying pressure to the __80__ body

, you can relieve internal disease. The other major

__81__of thought is called Taoism. Maintaining harmony is the stressed idea; you must have a balance between Yin

and Y

ang.

62. A) with B) for

C) of D) about

63. A) overcome B) succeed

C) defeat D) fail

64. A) practiced B) executed

7

C) accomplished D) performed

65. A) recordings B) scripts

C) handwritings D) copies

66. A) reason B) origin

C) source D) root

67. A) incentive B) reaction

C) stimulus D) reflection

68. A) which B) what

C) when D) where

69. A) incidentally B) especially

C) naturally D) definitely

70. A) through B) with

C) by D) in

71. A) control B) suffer

C) relive D) inflict

72. A) from B) into

C) out D) as

73. A) claws B) bones

C) shells D) feet

74. A) exclaimed B) acclaimed

C) reclaimed D) claimed

75. A) lays out B) lays about

C) lays aside D) lays down

76. A) observes B) proves

C) sets D) violates

77. A) structures B) religions

C) schools D) conceptions

78. A) from B) for

C) against D) versus

79. A) preserving B) curing

C) recovering D) restoring

80. A) terminal B) personal

C) marginal D) external

8

81. A) series B) train

C) chain D) succession

Part

Ⅵ

T

ranslation (5 minutes)

Directions

:

Complete the sentences by translating into English the Chinese given in brackets. Please write your

translation on

Answer Sheet 2.

82. If you take this kind of medicine three times a day, it________________________ (

可以治愈你的胃病

).

83. Instead of waiting to be asked, you should ________________________ (

主动开始谈话

).

84. The police ________________________ (

正在搜寻一个蓄着胡子的年轻人

),but they haven't found him till

now.

85.

These

courses

________________________

(

使

我

具

备

了

必

要

的

知

识

)for

more

advanced

studies

in

Chemistry.

86. My brother is seriously ill, so I beg to________________________ (

请一周的假

).

Key

Part

Ⅰ

Writing

【审题与构思】①

审题及布局。这篇 作文根据提纲，可以分为三个段落写作。可以根据自己对这三个方

面的了解程度决定详写 和略写的段落。第一段说明一些城市政府实施多项举措降低公共交通票价，大力发

展公共 交通的情况，如果要把这一段作为详写的段落，可以列举城市政府采取的一些具体的措施。第二段

写发展公共交通带来的好处，可以写人们的交通费用降低，同时也可以叙述随着越来越多的人出门乘坐公

共交通工具，降低了私家车的出行频率，从而能缓解交通和环境问题。

< br>

第三段写如何响应政府的号召，

最好的方法就是尽量在 出行时，使用公共交通工具。②语言。注意段落之间、句子之间的衔接，从而使其

成为一 个表达清晰，符合逻辑的整体。

范文点评

The Decrease of Public Transportation Ticket Fare

Recently,

①

some municipal governments have taken a series of measures to develop public transportation

including

decreasing

public

transportation

ticket

fare.

②

On

the

one

hand,

they

strengthen financial

support

to

public transportation companies. On the other hand, IC cards are issued to offer discount of subway and bus ticket

fare.

The benefits can be seen obviously.

③

One advantage is that the daily transportation expense is reduced.

Due to the low prices, more and more people are willing to go out by public vehicles with less cars streaming in the

street,

④

the street is clearer and the air is cleaner.

9

⑤

To my mind, traveling via public vehicles is the best way to respond to governments' appeal. Besides, trying

to make every trip efficient and reducing the frequency of vehicles is also a good answer.

①开门见山，说明一些城市政府实施多项举措降低公共交通票价，大力发展公共交通。

“城市

的”为高分词。

②用

On the one hand

和

On the other hand

，清晰地表明一些城市政府采取的具体措施。

③这段阐述发展公共交通带来的好处，采用了因果法。发展公共交通导致交通费降低，而它又 使更多人选

择公共交通，而其又能缓解交通，改善环境。环环相扣，逻辑严密。

④分别用了

clear

“无堵塞的”和

clean

“清洁的”

，用词简单而生动，说明政府的举措有利于解决交通

问题和污染问题。

⑤表达个人观点，提出了两个建议。

Part

Ⅱ

Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)

本文首先比较传统的作物培育方法 和转基因培育作物的方法，然后讨论转基因作物及食物给人类以及自然

带来的利弊，最后 指出人类必须密切关注转基因技术的发展及其影响。

1. A )

。

［定位］由题干中的

conven tional breeding

和

main difference

定位到本文第四段。

< br>［精析］段首设题。这段明确指出，传统种植过程是在物种之间或者非常相近的物种间进行杂交；