2011年12月英语六级冲刺预测试题及答案(2)

　　Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)

　　Section A

　　Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.

　　Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.

　　Currently, there are an increasing number of new types of small advertisement becoming increasingly common in newspaper classified columns. It is sometimes placed among "situations vacant", although it does not offer anyone a job, and sometimes it appears among "situations wanted", although it is not placed by someone looking for a job, either. What it does is to offer help in applying for a job.

　　"Contact us before writing your application", or "Make use of our long experience in preparing your curriculum vitae or job history", is how it is usually expressed. The growth and apparent success of such a specialized service is, of course, a reflection on the current high levels of unemployment. It is also an indication of the growing importance of the curriculum vitae (or job history), with the suggestion that it may now qualify as an art form in its own right.

　　There was a time when job seekers simply wrote letters of application. "Just put down your name, address, age and whether you have passed any exams", was about the average level of advice offered to young people applying for their first jobs when I left school. The letter was really just for openers, it was explained, everything else could and should be saved for the interview. And in those days of full employment the technique worked. The letter proved that you could write and were available for work. Your eager face and intelligent replies did the rest.

　　Later, as you moved up the ladder, something slightly more sophisticated was called for. The advice then was to put something in the letter which would distinguish you from the rest. It might be the aggressive approach. "Your search is over. I am the person you are looking for", was a widely used trick that occasionally succeeded. Or it might be some special feature specially designed for the job interview.

　　There is no doubt, however, that it is the increasing number of applicants with university education at all points in the process of engaging staff that has led to the greater importance of the curriculum vitae.

　　47. There are an increasing number of new types of small advertisement in newspaper columns ______.

　　48. Nowadays a demand for this specialized type of service has been created because ______.

　　49. In the past it was expected that first job hunters would ______.

　　50. Later, as one went on to apply for more important jobs, one was advised to include ______ in the letter.

　　51. The curriculum vitae has become such an important document because ______.

　　Section B

　　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.

　　Computers are now employed in an increasing number of fields in our daily life. Computers have been taught to play not only checkers, but also championship chess, which is a fairly accurate yardstick for measuring the computer’s progress in the ability to learn from experience.

　　Because the game requires logical reasoning, chess would seem to be perfectly suited to the computer. All a programmer has to do is to give the computer a program evaluating the consequences of every possible response to every possible move, and the computer will win every time. In theory this is a sensible approach; in practice it is impossible. Today, a powerful computer can analyze 40,000 moves a second. That is an impressive speed. But there are an astronomical number of possible moves in chess—literally trillions. Even if such a program were written (and in theory it could be, given enough people and enough time), there is no computer capable of holding that much data.

　　Therefore, if the computer is to compete at championship levels, it must be programmed to function with less than complete data. It must be able to learn from experience, to modify its own program, to deal with a relatively unstructured situation—in a word, to "think" for itself. In fact, this can be done. Chess-playing computers have yet to defeat world champion chess players, but several have beaten human players of only slightly lower ranks. The computers have had programs to carry them through the early, mechanical stages of their chess games. But they have gone on from there to reason and learn, and sometimes to win the game.

　　There are other proofs that computers can be programmed to learn, but this example is sufficient to demonstrate the point. Granted, winning a game of chess is not an earthshaking event even when a computer does it. But there are many serious human problems, which can be fruitfully approached as games. The Defense Department uses computers to play war games and work out strategies for dealing with international tensions. Other problems—international and interpersonal relations, ecology and economics, and the ever-increasing threat of world famine can perhaps be solved by the joint efforts of human beings and truly intelligent computers.

　　52. According to the passage, computers can not be used to ______.

　　A) solve the threat of world famine

　　B) ease international tension

　　C) defeat world champion chess player

　　D) work out solutions to the industrial problems

　　53. In the author’s opinion, ______.

　　A) playing chess shows computer’s program has been developed into a new stage

　　B) it is practically possible now that computer can win every chess game now

　　C) computers even with less than complete data can be programmed to defeat the world champion chess player

　　D) computers can be programmed to play and reason but not learn

　　54. The author’s attitude toward the future use of computer is ______.

　　A) negative

　　B) positive

　　C) indifferent

　　D) critical

　　55. In order to "think", computer should ______.

　　A) be programmed to have more than enough data

　　B) learn from the experience and to reason

　　C) deal with all the unstructured situation

　　D) predicate every move in the chess

　　56. Today, the chess-playing computer can be programmed to ______.

　　A) have trillions of responses in a second to each possible move and win the game

　　B) store complete data and beat the best players

　　C) learn from chess-playing in the early stage and go on to win the game

　　D) predicate every possible move but may fail to give the right response each time

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

　　Large animals that inhabit the desert have evolved a number of adaptations for reducing the effects of extreme heat. One adaptation is to be light in color, and to reflect rather than absorb the sun’s rays. Desert mammals also depart from the normal mammalian practice of maintaining a constant body temperature. Instead of trying to keep down the body temperature deep inside the body, which would involve the expenditure of water and energy, desert mammals allow their temperatures to rise to what would normally be fever height, and temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius have been measured in Grant’s gazelles. The overheated body then cools down during the cold desert night, and indeed the temperature may fall unusually low by dawn, as low as 34 degrees Celsius in the camel. This is an advantage since the heat of the first few hours of daylight is absorbed in warming up the body, and an excessive buildup of heat does not begin until well into the day.

　　Another strategy of large desert animals is to tolerate the loss of body water to a point that would be fatal for non-adapted animals. The camel can lose up to 30 percent of its body weight as water without harm to itself, whereas human beings die after losing only 12 to 13 percent of their body weight. An equally important adaptation is the ability to replenish this water loss at one drink. Desert animals can drink huge volumes in a short time, and camels have been known to imbibe (吸收) over 100 liters in a few minutes. A very dehydrated person, on the other hand, cannot drink enough water to rehydrate at one session, because the human stomach is not sufficiently big and because a too rapid dilution of the body fluids causes death from water intoxication. The tolerance of water loss is of obvious advantage in the desert, as animals do not have to remain near a water hole but can obtain food from grazing sparse pastures. Desert-adapted mammals have the further ability to feed normally when extremely dehydrated. It is a common experience in people that appetite is lost even under conditions of moderate thirst.

　　57. What is the passage mainly about?

　　A) Animals developed different strategies to survive.

　　B) Large animals can take strategies to reduce the effect of extreme heat.

　　C) Animals can tolerate the loss of body water.

　　D) A very dehydrated person can drink enough water to rehydrate.

　　58. Why light in color is important to large animals in deserts?

　　A) It helped them maintain a constant normal body temperature.

　　B) It reflects rather than absorbs the sun-light.

　　C) It helps them see their peers at night.

　　D) It helps them keep cool during the night.

　　59. What will be fatal to non-adapted animals?

　　A) Keeping a normal body temperature.

　　B) Drinking polluted water.

　　C) Drinking huge volumes of water in a short time.

　　D) Feeding when dehydrated.

　　60. What does the author imply about desert-adapted mammals?

　　A) They do not need to eat much food.

　　B) They can eat large quantities quickly.

　　C) They easily lose their appetites.

　　D) They can travel long distances looking for food.

　　61. What is the following strategy not mentioned by the author?

　　A) The body temperature can be extremely high and cold.

　　B) Tolerate the loss of body water and replenish it immediately.

　　C) Lost appetite under the condition of moderate thirsty.

　　D) To be light in color.

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