1、大学英语六级模拟试卷 512及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the topic of Should Schools Offer Handwriting Lessons?. You should write at least 150 words according to the outline given below. 1. 有人认为学校应该开设书法课 2. 有人则反对 3. 我的看法 Should Schools
2、 Offer Handwriting Lessons? 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions attached to the passage. For questions 1-4, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the
3、information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 Auto-Tune: Why Pop Music Sounds Perfect If you havent been listening to pop radio in the past few months, youve missed
4、the rise of two seemingly opposing trends. In a medium in which mediocre (平庸的 ) singing has never been a bar to entry, a lot of pop vocals suddenly sound great. Better than great: note- and pitch-perfect, as if theres been an unspoken tightening of standards at record labels or an evolutionary leap
5、in the development of vocal cords. At the other extreme are a few hip-hop singers who also hit their notes but with a precision so exaggerated that on first listen, their songs sound comically artificial, like a chorus of 50s robots singing Motown. The force behind both trends is an ingenious plug-i
6、n called Auto-Tune, a downloadable studio trick that can take a vocal and instantly nudge it onto the proper note or move it to the correct pitch. Its like Photoshop for the human voice. Auto-Tune doesnt make it possible for just anyone to sing like a pro, but used as its creator intended, it can tr
7、ansform a wavering (颤抖的 ) performance into something technically flawless. “Right now, if you listen to pop, everything is in perfect pitch, perfect time and perfect tune,“ says producer Rick Rubin. “Thats how widespread Auto-Tune is.“ Auto-Tunes inventor is a man named Andy Hildebrand, who worked f
8、or years interpreting seismic (i.e. relating to earthquakes) data for the oil industry. Using a mathematical formula called autocorrelation, Hildebrand would send sound waves into the ground and record their reflections, providing an accurate map of potential drill sites. Its a technique that saves
9、oil companies lots of money and allowed Hildebrand to retire at 40. He was debating the next chapter of his life at a dinner party when a guest challenged him to invent a box that would allow her to sing in tune. After he worked on autocorrelation for a few months, Auto-Tune was born in late 1996. A
10、lmost immediately, studio engineers adopted it as a trade secret to fix flubbed (搞砸了的 ) notes, saving them the expense and trouble of having to redo sessions. The first time common ears heard Auto-Tune was on the immensely irritating 1998 Cher hit “Believe.“ In the first verse, when Cher sings “I ca
11、nt break through“ as though shes standing behind an electric fan, thats Auto-Tune - but its not the way Hildebrand meant it to be used. The programs retune speed, which adjusts the singers voice, can be set from zero to 400. “If you set it to 10, that means that the output pitch will get halfway to
12、the target pitch in 10 milliseconds,“ says Hildebrand. “But if you let that parameter go to zero, it finds the nearest note and changes the output pitch instantaneously“ - eliminating the natural transition between notes and making the singer sound jumpy and automated. “I never figured anyone in the
13、ir right mind would want to do that,“ he says. Like other trends set by Cher, the creative abuse of Auto-Tune quickly went out of fashion, although it continued to be an indispensable part of the engineers toolbox. But in 2003, T-Pain (Faheem Najm), a little-known rapper and singer, accidentally stu
14、mble onto the Cher effect while Auto-Tuning some of his vocals. “It just worked for my voice,“ says T-Pain in his natural Tallahassee accent. “And there wasnt anyone else doing it.“ Since his 2005 first album, T-Pain has sent a dozen mechanically cheery singles into the Top 10. He contributed to fou
15、r nominated songs at this years Grammys on Feb. 8, and his influence is still spreading. When Kanye West was looking for an effect to match some heartbroken lyrics, he flew T-Pain to Hawaii to see how many ways they could adjust Auto-Tune. Diddy gave a percentage of his upcoming albums profits to T-
16、Pain in exchange for some lessons. Even Prince is rumored to be experimenting with Auto-Tune on his new record. “I know Auto-Tune better than anyone,“ says T-Pain. “And even Im just figuring out all the ways you can use it to change the mood of a record.“ Rubin, whos produced artists as diverse as t
17、he Dixie Chicks and Metallica, worries that the safety net of Auto-Tune is making singers lazy. “Sometimes a singer will do lots of takes when theyre recording a song, and you really can hear the emotional difference when someone does a great performance vs. an average one,“ says Rubin. “If youre pi
18、tch-correcting, you might not bother to make the effort. You might just get it done and put it through the machine so its all in tune.“ Rubin has taken to having an ethical conversation before each new recording session. “I encourage artists to embrace a natural process,“ he says. With the exception
19、 of Milli Vanillis, pop listeners have always been fairly indulgent about performers ethics. Its hits that matter, and the average person listening to just one pop song on the radio will have a hard time hearing Auto-Tunes impact; its effectively deceptive. But when track after track has perfect pit
20、ch, the songs are harder to differentiate from one another - which explains why pop is in a pretty serious lull (停滞 ) at the moment. It also changes the way we hear unaffected voices. “The other day, someone was talking about how Aretha Franklin at the Inauguration was a bit pitchy,“ says Anderson.
21、“I said, Of course! She was singing! And that was a musician talking. People are getting used to hearing things dead on pitch, and its changed their expectations.“ Despite Randy Jacksons stock American Idol critique - “A little pitchy, dawg“ - many beloved songs are actually off-pitch or out of tune
22、. Theres Ringo Starr on “With a Little Help from My Friends,“ of course, and just about every blues song slides into notes as opposed to hitting them dead on. Even Norah Jones, the poster girl of pure vocals, isnt perfect. “Theres some wonderful imperfections of pitch on Dont Know Why from Come Away
23、 with Me,“ says Anderson, “and most of the other tunes on the album as well. But I wouldnt want to change a single note.“ Lets hope that pops fetish for uniform perfect pitch will fade, even if the spread of Auto-Tune shows no signs of slowing. A $99 version for home musicians was released in Novemb
24、er 2007, and T-Pain and Auto-Tunes parent company are finishing work on an iPhone app. “Its gonna be real cool,“ says T-Pain. “Basically, you can add Auto-Tune to your voice and send it to your friends and put it on the Web. Youll be able to sound just like me.“ Asked if that might render him no lon
25、ger unique, T-Pain laughs: “Im not too worried. I got lots of tricks you aint seen yet. Its everybody else that needs to step up their game.“ 2 What is the force of the rise of two trends which appear opposite to each other? （ A） The development of pop radio. （ B） Photoshop that can edit human voice
26、. （ C） A vocal software called Auto-Tune. （ D） The popularity of a pop singer named Cher. 3 Originally the creator intended to use Auto-Tune to _. （ A） change a poorly-sung song into a perfect one （ B） make everyone sing like a professional singer （ C） inject some vitality into the pop industry （ D）
27、 bring the flaw of pop songs into public 4 Before Andy Hildebrand retired at 40, he worked for_. （ A） the seismological bureau （ B） Auto-Tunes parent company （ C） oil companies （ D） a tape-recorder factory 5 Studio engineers benefit greatly from Auto-Tune in that _. （ A） they no longer need to corre
28、ct wrong notes （ B） it helps them keep songs secret before going public （ C） it is totally free and thus saves them lots of money （ D） they dont have to waste time on recording music again 6 What does the author say about the craze for Auto-Tune which trendy Cher started? （ A） It faded soon. （ B） It
29、 lasted for many years. （ C） It made engineers lazy. （ D） It harmed peoples creativity. 7 According to the passage, what happened to T-Pain since 2005? （ A） He had to give up Auto-Tune. （ B） He became very successful. （ C） He made a fortune working for the Prince. （ D） He won fame as teachers of wel
30、l-known singers. 8 According to Rubin, the effect of Auto-Tune on singers may be _. （ A） positive （ B） negative （ C） exaggerated （ D） underestimated 9 During the recording session, singers are encouraged by Rubin to sing in a _. way. 10 In general, when it comes to the issue of pop singers ethics, a
31、verage listeners are _. 11 Although many songs in Norah Joness album were out of tune, Anderson would rather make no _ to the songs. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be ask
32、ed about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. （ A） The first house they saw is too expensive. （ B） She is
33、 happy with the price set by the seller. （ C） They may save some money for the time being. （ D） Less money will be spent in maintaining the house. （ A） Enjoyable. （ B） Inspiring. （ C） Moving. （ D） Dull. （ A） Be hostile to Nancy. （ B） Ask Nancy to come out. （ C） Talk to Nancy herself. （ D） Write Nanc
34、y a letter. （ A） To apply for a job. （ B） To offer her a position in the company. （ C） To find out her position in the company. （ D） To make an appointment with the sales manager. （ A） The stories probably werent true. （ B） Tom usually doesnt tell funny stories. （ C） Shes surprised Tom was so seriou
35、s last night. （ D） She wants to know where Tom heard the stories. （ A） Find a hotel nearby again in a few days. （ B） Accommodate his parents in his dormitory. （ C） Ask his parents not to come until he finds a proper hotel. （ D） Phone a hotel farther from the campus for a reservation. （ A） He is alwa
36、ys punctual for his class. （ B） He rarely notices which students are late. （ C） He wants his students to be on time for class. （ D） He doesnt allow his students to tell jokes in class. （ A） The man forgot to sign for the seminar. （ B） The signing is just a reassurance. （ C） The seminar was actually
37、cancelled. （ D） The woman likes the seminar very much. （ A） It is used too much. （ B） It is more necessary than E-mail. （ C） It is very convenient. （ D） It has more problems than benefits. （ A） The bad manners of cell phone users. （ B） The damage to users ears. （ C） Too much use on little things. （
38、D） Bad effect on others ears （ A） Its disadvantages outweigh its advantages. （ B） It is useful if properly used. （ C） It may well spoil ones vacation plan. （ D） It can raise his efficiency. （ A） Spending more hours on the Internet. （ B） Spending fewer hours on the Internet. （ C） The state of being o
39、n the Internet. （ D） Their brighter expectations not being met. （ A） The Net is healthier than TV. （ B） The Net is not healthy for people. （ C） The Net does not help with peoples communication. （ D） The Net does no good to peoples psychological well-being. （ A） They stay at home longer than before.
40、（ B） They have more friends on the Internet. （ C） They give too much time to the Internet. （ D） They have less face-to-face conversations than before. （ A） The fast-developing technology. （ B） The people who design different applications. （ C） The way how people make use of the Internet. （ D） The in
41、creasing information and communication via the Net. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer
42、 from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） The baby was about to fall into the river. （ B） Ma Shwe was placing the baby on the rock. （ C） The baby was washed away by the rising water. （ D） Ma Shwe was holding the baby against the rushing water. （ A） By taking it away with her. （ B） By carryin
43、g it on her back. （ C） By putting it on a safe spot. （ D） By pressing it against her body. （ A） It was a great comfort. （ B） It was a sign of danger. （ C） It was a call for help. （ D） It was a musical note. （ A） It may come from Columbia. （ B） It may suffer from monkey-pox. （ C） It may enjoy being w
44、ith children. （ D） It may prevent us from being infected. （ A） They attack human beings. （ B） We need to study native animals. （ C） They cant live out of the rain forest. （ D） We do not know much about them yet. （ A） Forbid children to have pets. （ B） Stop buying pets from Africa. （ C） Fight against
45、 more new diseases. （ D） Easily get infected by diseases from dogs. （ A） Silent reading had not been discovered. （ B） Few people could read for themselves. （ C） People relied on reading for entertainment. （ D） There were few places available for private reading. （ A） A change in the nature of readin
46、g. （ B） An increase in the number of books. （ C） A change in the status of educated people. （ D） An increase in the average age of readers. （ A） The effects of healthy reading. （ B） The importance of silent reading. （ C） The value of different types of reading materials. （ D） The information yielded
47、 by books and newspapers. （ A） Encourage the growth of reading. （ B） Change peoples attitudes to reading. （ C） Show how reading methods have been improved. （ D） Explain how present-day reading habits developed. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the pass
48、age is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the mi
49、ssing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the 36 Dogs were first domesticated from wolves at least 17,000 years ago, but perhaps as early as 150,000 years ago based upon recent genetic fossil and DNA evidence. In this time, the dog has developed into hundreds of breeds with a great degree of【 36】 . For example, heights at the【 37】 range from just a few inches to roughly three feet, and colors ra
