2009年12月大学英语四级模拟试题(5)

　　Questions 86 to 90 are based on the following passage:
　　Having no language, infants cannot be told what they need to learn. Yetby the age of three they will have mastered the basic structure of theirnative language and will be well on their way to communicative competence.Acquiring their language is a most impressive intellectual feat. Studies ofhow children learn language generally agree that the most remarkable aspectof this feat is the rapid acquisition of grammar. Nevertheless, the ability
　　of children to conform to grammatical rules is only slightly more wonderfulthan their ability to learn words. It has been estimated that the averagehigh school graduate in the United States has a reading vocabulary of 80,000words, which includes idiomatic expressions and proper names of people andplaces. This vocabulary must have been learned over a period of 16 years.From the figures, it can be calculated that the average child learns at arate of about 13 new words per day. Clearly a learning process of greatcomplexity goes on at a rapid rate in children.
　　86. According to the passage, approximately how long does it take children
　　to learn the basic structure of their native language?
　　A) One year. B) Three years.
　　C) About two and half years. D) Thirteen years.
　　87. What is the main subject of the passage?
　　A) Language acquisition in children.
　　B) Teaching languages to children.
　　C) How to memorize words.
　　D) Communicating with infants.
　　88. The word "feat" in Line 6 is closest in meaning to which of the
　　following?
　　A) Experiment. B) Idea.
　　C) Activity. D) Accomplishment.
　　89. In Line 10, the word "which" refers to _______.
　　A) their ability B) reading vocabulary
　　C) idiomatic expression D) learning process
　　90. According to the passage, what is impressive about the way children learn
　　vocabulary?
　　A) They learn words before they learn grammar.
　　B) They learn even very long words.
　　C) They learn words very quickly.
　　D) They learn the most words in high school.
　　WRITING
　　Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a compositionon A Hundred Years from Now in three paragraphs. You are given the first sen-tence each paragraph. Your part of the composition should be no less than 100words, not including the words given. Remember to write clearly.
　　You should write this composition on the Composition Sheet.
　　A Hundred Years from Now
　　Some people are pessimistic when they think about the future. __________________________________________________________________________
　　Other people believe that man adapts very easily.____________________
　　If we are to have a bright future, we have to take measures now._____
　　__________________________________________________________________________