英语四级模拟训练题三附答案.docx

1、英语四级模拟训练题三附答案Model Test 3Part I Writing Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter. Suppose you are Wang Ling who is going to provide accommodation to Nancy, an exchange student from Australia. Write to her to show your welcome and give her a brief introduction of the li

2、ves in your community. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese: 1. 对她到这个城市学习表示欢迎。 2简要介绍你为她准备的食宿安排。 3提醒她来之前要注意的事项。Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer

3、the questions on Answer sheet1.New Energy Sources to the Rescue As petrol prices rise, policy makers and venture capitalists are suddenly embracing alternatives. Will the trend last? Reasons for the change In his long career in country music, Willie Nelson has always been on the left side of all thi

4、ngs. Now, at 73, he is in the vanguard. Mr. Nelson, who lives on a big farm outside Austin, powers his car with the help of vegetable oil. He has even created his own line of this cleaner-burning diesel blend (混合柴油). He called it BioWillie, which is distributed at several sites in Texas and is going

5、 national, too. Mr. Nelson argues that it will help Americas farmers, truckers and the environment while, at the same time, reducing dependence on foreign petroleum. With high petrol prices causing troubles in Washington, D.C., everyone is trying to find out alternatives. Soya beans, canola (rapesee

6、d), switch grass, anything, is being investigated Even George Bush, a former oilman who supports loyally the industrial development, called last week for more research into ethanol (酒精) and bio-diesel-two key types of bio-fuels (生物燃料) and boldly predicted that ethanol will replace gasoline consumpti

7、on. Jim Woolsey, a former head of the CIA notes that developing bio-fuels is in the national interest, since it is high time America stopped its reliance on petroleum from foreign countries and so stopped funding some fanatical religious organizations.Future: convenience and pains The federal govern

8、ment is beginning to formulate policy to promote the use of bio-fuels. In Montana, Hawaii and Minnesota all petrol must contain 10% ethanol, while Washington State requires petrol and diesel to contain 2% renewable fuel by volume. For both ethanol and bio-diesel, Congress has required a near-doublin

9、g of production by 2012. Both blends, notes Mr. Woolsey approvingly, need little new infrastructure to support them (unlike, say, hydrogen fuel-cell cars). Ethanol can be dispensed at regular petrol stations and works, within limits, in todays cars. Bio-diesel fuelling stations, such as those for Bi

10、oWillie, are popping up around America. Unfortunately for Mr. Bushs political fortunes, a bio-fuels revolution will not happen in time to ease Americas current pain at the pump. Right now, ethanol-a clean-burning, high-octane alcohol typically derived from com in America, or sugar in Brazil-accounts

11、 for just 3% of Americas petrol use, though American cars can handle a 10% ethanol blend. Bio-diesel is used even less. Moreover, ethanol is typically blended with regular fuel, and a widespread shift to an ethanol blend (a result of another provision of last years energy bill) has contributed to so

12、me petrol shortages in Texas and elsewhere, as the supply chain creaks into life. Skeptics argue that growing crops for ethanol will bum more petrol than it will save. But others are persuaded, despite the pains at the beginning stage. If I had to bet $100, Id bet on bio-fuels, says Hunter Lovins, c

13、o-author of Natural Capitalism, adding that she would favor them even over other renewable energy sources. Rich investors also believe as growth. Richard Branson, a British entrepreneur who heads the Virgin conglomerate, recently announced plans to invest up to $400 in ethanol production.Growing pro

14、duction? Can production be scaled up? A recent bioengineering breakthrough means that it should soon be possible to convert plant products far more efficiently to ethanol. This lends promise to cellulosic ethanol a product that can be made from agricultural waste, such as corn cobs or weeds, which i

15、s widely available. (Once corn kernels and sugar-cane sap have been taken away for sugar, they leave plenty of stalks and leaves behind.) The most promising source of cellulosic ethanol, say experts, is switch grass, a native American grass that grows naturally in the prairie heartland and thrives i

16、n the poor Mississippi Delta. Bio-diesel, as yet, is a smaller enterprise. Its plants require less capital than those for ethanol. It is growing fastsales volume tripled, to 75m gallons, between 2004 and 2005-but that is still a drop in the tanker of the 60 billion gallons of diesel that Americans c

17、onsume each year. Much of the stuff is made from soya beans, and Jeff Plowman of Austin Bio-fuels, a tiny start-up, notes that soya bean futures are tracking the price of heating oil for the first time. In Texas, Mr. Plowman also sees potential for cottonseed oil, a byproduct of cotton production. E

18、lsewhere, there is even talk of producing bio-diesel from pig manure. Troubles are still occurring, having pushed back the enthusiasm. In Minnesota, a requirement to have 2% of diesel made from soya was suspended last year when truckers began to complain of clogged filters, though it was fairly quic

19、kly reinstated.Bio-fuels and American farms Could bio-fuels, in addition to easing the strain on the environment and on wallets, help to save American farms? Some policymakers certainly hold out this dream, particularly in the Midwest, where ethanol and bio-diesel production is concentrated. Montana

20、s Democratic governor, Brian Schweitzer, who uses bio-diesel (made for example from canola) in his own Volkswagen Jetta, imagined with optimism about a technology that he hopes will jump-start rural America. He points out that America exports masses of wheat, soya beans and corn, and talks ofconvert

21、ing those export acres to bio-fuels. When the 2007 farm bill is debated, he hopes for a vision that helps American farmers once again produce their own horsepower on their own farms. This vision would include federal crop insurance for farmers who grow canola, safflower and camellia, bringing them u

22、p to the level of wheat and soya beans. The notion of American farmers defying the tide of capitalism to grow their own fuel is a glorious delusion. It seems great, yet its not practical. However, Mr. Schweitzer is fight that Congress has some big decisions to make about bio-fuels. To what extent, i

23、f any, should government subsidize this newlyemerged industry? Already it has received plenty of help. Ethanol producers get a tax credit worth 51 cents a gallon, much to the delight of the industry. There is also a 54 cents-a-gallon tariff on imports of ethanol from Brazil. Starting with the remova

24、l of that tariff, Congress needs to rethink its misleading energy policies. Nathanael Greene, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, argues that the federal governments most important immediate step should be to enact a loan guarantee to create Americas first cellulosic ethanol plant, which would

25、 probably be built in Idaho. If bio-fuels do take off, environmentalists and policymakers will still be unable to relax. Mr. Greene emphasizes, rightly, that bio-fuels alone might not solve all the problems. His organization argues that although American production could rise to 100 billion gallons

26、of bio-fuels by 2050, such changes also need to be combined with improved fuel efficiency and better city planning. More flex-fuel vehicles, which can take up to 85% ethanol blended with petrol, would be particularly sensible.1.The passage is primarily concerned with the emergence of a new energy so

27、urce, governments and the publics attitude toward its use, and its influence on American farming.2. In writing this passage, the author has first explained a general situation, and then presented his/her own opinion with supportive examples.3. The U.S. government and some of the American people beli

28、eve that reducing Americas dependence on foreign petroleum is one of the reasons to start research into the possibility of using ethanol.4. The unstable international status has caused panic among American public who are worrying about the resulting petroleum shortage.5. Despite the governments prom

29、otion, the development of bio-fuels is not a smooth process without any trouble.6. An entrepreneur from Britain has recently planned to invest heavily in ethanol production because he believed its promising future.7. Recent breakthrough in bioengineering technology has enabled the increased scale of

30、 producing both ethanol and bio-diesel.8. Some policymakers believe that bio-fuel could help to save American farm, besides relieving pressure on_.9. The idea of American farmers growing their own fuel is regarded as a_.10. It is argued by an organization that to solve energy problems, _should also

31、be taken into account in addition to increased production of bio-fuels.Part Listening ComprehensionSection ADirections: At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question ther

32、e will be a pause. During the pause, you must rend the four choices marked A、B、C and D, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. 11. A To tell the woman something about the car. B To look for his wife. C To show the woman his wifes car. D To ask his wife to answer the phone. 12. A Childrens health. B Social manners. C Money. D Old peoples health. 13. A New York. B Boston. C Michigan. D Washington. 14. A He enjoys playing c