全国英语六级考试模拟试卷（八）

Section BPassage One

In America, where labor costs are so high,“do-it-yourself” is a way of life. Many people repair own cars, build their own garages, even rebuild their own houses. Soon many of them will also be writing their own books. In Hollywood there is a company that publishes children’s books with the help of computers. Although other book companies also publish that way, this company is not like the others. It allows the reader to become the leading character in the stories with the help of computers. Here is how they do it. Let us suppose the child is named Jenny. She lives in New York, and has a dog named Hody. The computer uses this information to make up a story with pictures. The story is then printed up. A child who receives such a book might say, “this book is about me,” so the company calls itself the “Me-Books Publishing Company.”
Children like the me-books because they like to see in print their own names and the names of their friends and their pets. But more important, in this way readers are much more interested in reading the stories. Me-books are helping a child to learn how to read.
11.Why do Americans do most things by themselves?
12.What distinguishes this company from the others?
13.What are the “Me-books”?

Passage Two

Robert Edwards was blinded in an automobile accident nine years ago. He was also partially deaf because of old age. Last week, he was strolling near his home when a thunderstorm approached. He took refuge under a tree and was struck by lightning. He was knocked to the ground and woke up some 20 minutes later, lying face down in water below a tree. He went into the house and lay down in bed. A short time later, he woke, his legs were numb and he was trembling, but, when he opened his eyes, he could see the clock across the room fading in and out in front of him. When his wife entered, he saw her for the first time in nine years. Doctors confirm that he has regained his sight and hearing apparently from the flash of lightning, but they are unable to explain the occurrence. The only possible explanation offered by one doctor was that, since Edwards lost his sight as a result of emotional shock in a terrible accident, perhaps the only way it could be restored by another emotional shock.

14.What caused Robert Edwards’s blindness?
15.Why was he also partially deaf?
16.What’s the reason given by one doctor to explain that Edwards regained his sight?
17.Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

Passage Three

Life in the twentieth century must demand preparations. Today, all individuals in a country must have adequate schooling to prepare them for their work as well as for their responsibilities as citizens. With this faith in mind, national leaders everywhere placing more emphasis on the education of the young.
In the United States, government officials, parents, and teachers are working hard to give the children-tomorrow’s decision-makers-best preparation available.
There is no national school policy in the United States. Each of the fifty states makes its own rules and regulations for its schools, but there are many similarities among the fifty school systems. Public schools in all states are supported by taxes paid by the citizens of the individual state. In most states the children are required to attend school until they reach the age of sixteen.
When they become six years old, children begin elementary school. After six years in elementary, they go into junior high school and remain there for three years. The last three years of their public school education are spent in senior high school from which they graduate at the age of eighteen.
A great number of high school graduates continue their education in one of the many colleges or universities in the country. After four years, they receive a bachelor’s degree. Some continue studying for a master’s degree and perhaps a doctor’s degree.

18.What is the main topic of the talk?
19.Where do public schools get their financial aid?
20.At what age do most students get their first degree?