2010年冬大学英语四级考试模拟题一

--1大学英语四级考试模拟题一PartIWriting（30minutes）Directions：Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteacompositiononthetopicofCityProblems.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsfollowingtheoutlinegivenbelowinChinese：1.越来越多的人涌入大城市,有些问题随之产生2.比较明显的大问题有……3.我对这种现象的想法CityProblems注意：此部分试题在答题卡I上。PartIIReadingComprehension（SkimmingandScanning）（15minutes）Directions：Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,markY（forYES）ifthestatementagreeswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage;N（forNO）ifthestatementcontradictstheinformationgiveninthepassage;NG（forNOTGIVEN）iftheinformationisnotgiveninthepassage.Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.ScientistsWeighOptionsforRebuildingNewOrleansAsexpertsponderhowbesttorebuildthedevastated（毁坏）city,onequestioniswhethertowalloff—orworkwith—thewater.EvenbeforethedeathtollfromHurricaneKatrinaistallied,scientistsarecautiouslybeginningtodiscussthefutureofNewOrleans.FewseemtodoubtthatthisvitalheartofU.S.commerceandculturewillberestored,butexactlyhowtorebuildthecityanditsdefensestoavoidarepeatcatastropheisanopenquestion.PlansforimprovingitsleveesandrestoringthebarrierofwetlandsaroundNewOrleanshavebeenonthetablesince1998,butfederaldollarsneededtoimplementthemneverarrived.Afterthetragedy,that’sboundtochange,saysJohnDay,anecologistatLouisianaStateUniversity（LSU）inBatonRouge.Andifthereisanupsidetothedisaster,hesays,it’sthat‘nowwe’vegotacleanslatetostartfrom.”ManyarelookingforguidancetotheNetherlands,acountrythat,justlikebowl-shapedNewOrleans,sitsmostlybelowsealevel,keepingthewateratbaywithaconstructionofamazingscaleandcomplexity.Others,pointingtoVenice’slong-standingadaptations,sayit’sbesttoletwaterflowthroughthecity,depositingsedimenttooffsetgeologicsubsidence—amodelthatwouldrequirearadicalrethinkingofarchitecture.Anotherideaistoletnaturehelpbyrestoringthewetlandbuffersbetweenseaandcity.Butbeforetheoptionscanbeweighed,severalunknownswillhavetobeaddressed.Oneispreciselyhowthecurrentdefensesfailed.Toanswerthat,LSUcoastalscientistsPaulKempandHassanMashriquiarepickingtheirwaythroughthedestroyedcityandsurroundingregion,reconstructingthesizeofwatersurgesbymeasuringtelltalemarksleftonthesidesofbuildingsandhighwaystructures.TheyarefeedingthesedataintoasimulationofthewindandwateraroundNewOrleansduringitsordeal.“Wecan’tsayforsureuntilthisjobisdone,”saysDay,“buttheemergingpictureisexactlywhatwe’vepredictedforyears.”Namely,severalcanals—includingtheMRGO,whichwasbuilttospeed--2shippinginthe1960s—havethecombinedeffectoffunnelingsurgesfromtheGulfofMexicorighttothecity’seasternleveesandthelakesystemtothenorth.Thosesurgesaretoblamefortheflooding.“Oneofthefirstthingswe’llseedoneisthecompletebackfillingoftheMRGOcanal,”predictsDay,“whichcouldtakeacoupleofyears.”Thelevees,whichhavebeenprovisionallyrepaired,willbeshoredupfurtherinthemonthstocome,althoughtheirlong-termfateisunclear.Betterleveeswouldprobablyhavepreventedmostofthefloodinginthecitycenter.Toprovidefurtherprotection,amobiledamsystem,muchlikeastormsurgebarrierintheNetherlands,couldbeusedtocloseoffthemouthofLakePontchartrain.Butmostexpertsagreethattheseareshort-termfixes.ThebasicproblemforNewOrleansandtheLouisianacoastlineisthattheentireMississippiRiverdeltaissubsidinganderoding,plungingthecitydeeperbelowsealevelandremovingathickcushionofwetlandsthatoncebufferedthecoastlinefromwindandwaves.Partofthesubsidenceisgeologicandunavoidable,butthereststemsfromtheleveesthathavehemmedintheMississippiallthewaytoitsmouthfornearlyacenturytopreventfloodsandfacilitateshipping.Asaresult,riversedimentisnolongerspreadacrossthedeltabutdumpedintotheGulfofMexico.Withoutaconstantstreamoffreshsediment,thebarrierislandsandmarshesaredisappearingrapidly,withaquarter,roughlythesizeofRhodeIsland,alreadygone.Afteryearsofpoliticalwrangling,abroadgrouppulledtogetherbytheLouisianagovernmentin1998proposedamassive$14billionplantosavetheLouisianacoasts,calledCoast2050（nowmodifiedintoaplancalledtheLouisianaCoastalAreaproject）.Wetlandrestorationwasakeycomponent.“It’soneofthebestandcheapesthurricanedefenses,”saysDay,whochaireditsscientificadvisorycommittee.Althoughtheplanwasnevergivenmorethantokenfunding,ateamledbyDayhasbeenconductingapilotstudysince2000,divertingpartoftheMississippiintothewetlandsdownstreamofthecity.“Theresultsareasgoodaswecouldhavehoped,”hesays,“withlandlevelsrisingatabout1centimeterperyear—enoughtooffsetrisingsealevels”,saysDay.Evenifthewetlandswererestoredandnewleveeswerebuilt,thecombinationofgeologicsubsidenceandrisingsealevelswilllikelysinkNewOrleansanothermeterby2100.Theproblemmightbesolvedbyanotherambitiousplan,saysRoelBoumans,acoastalscientistattheUniversityofVermontinBurlingtonwhodidhisPh.D.atLSU：shoringupthelowestlandwithaslurryofsedimentpipedinfromtheriver.Themajorityofthebuildingsinthefloodedareaswillhavetoberazedanyway,hesays,”sowhynottakethisopportunitytofixtherootoftheproblem？”TherivercoulddepositenoughsedimenttoraisethebottomoftheNewOrleansbowltosealevel“in50to60years,”heestimates.Inthemea