Part II Reading Comprehension
快速阅读原文+答案+点评
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 on Answer sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sen-tences with the information given in the passage.
Welcome,Freshmen. Have an iPod.
Taking a step that many professors may view as a bit counterproductive, some colleges and universities are doling out Apple iPhones and Internet-capable iPods to their students.
The always-on Internet devices raise some novel possibilities, like tracking where students gather together. With far less controversy, colleges could send messages about canceled classes, delayed buses, campus crises or just the cafeteria menu.
While schools emphasize its usefulness —online research in class and instant polling of students, for example — a big part of the attraction is, undoubtedly, that the iPhone is cool and a hit with students. Being equipped with one of the most recent cutting-edge IT products could just help a college or university foster a cutting-edge reputation.
Apple stands to win as well, hooking more young consumers with decades of technology pur-chases ahead of them. The lone losers, some fear, could be professors.
Students already have laptops and cell phones, of course, but the newest devices can take class distractions to a new level. They practically beg a user to ignore the long-suffering professor strug-gling to pass on accumulated wisdom from the front of the room —a prospect that teachers find most irritating and students view as, well, inevitable.
“When it gets a little boring, I might pull it out,” acknowledged Naomi Pugh, a first-year student at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Term.,
referring to her new iPod Touch, which can connect to the Internet over a campus wireless network. She speculated that professors might try even harder to make classes interesting if they were to compete with the devices.
Experts see a movement toward the use of mobile technology in education, though they say it is in its infancy as professors try to come up with useful applications. Providing powerful hand-held devices is sure to fuel debates over the role of technology in higher education.
“We think this is the way the future is going to work,” said Kyle Dickson, co-director of re-search and the mobile learning initiative at Abilene Christian University in Texas, which has bought more than 600 iPhones and 300 iPods for students entering this fall.
Although plenty of students take their laptops to class, they don’t take them everywhere and would prefer something lighter. Abilene Christian settled on the devices after surveying students and finding that they did not like hauling around their laptops, but that most of them always carried a cell phone, Dr. Dickson said.
It is not clear how many colleges and universities plan to give out iPhones and iPods this fall; officials at Apple were unwilling to talk about the subject and said that they would not leak any institution’s plans.
“We can’t announce other people’s news,”said Greg Joswiak, vice president of iPod and iPhone marketing at Apple. He also said that he could not discuss discounts to universities for bulk purchases.
At least four institutions —the University of Maryland, Oklahoma Christian University, Abilene Christian and Freed-Hardeman — have announced that they will give the devices to some or all of their students this fall.
Other universities are exploring their options. Stanford University has hired a student-run com-pany to design applications like a campus map and directory for the iPhone. It is considering whether to issue iPhones but not sure it, snecessary, noting that more than 700 iPhones were registered on the university’s network last year.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, iPhones might already have been everywhere, if AT&T, the wireless carrier offering the iPhone in the United States,
had a more reliable network, said Andrew Yu, mobile devices platform project manager at M.I.T.
“We would have probably gone ahead with this, maybe just getting a thousand iPhones and giving them out,” Mr. Yusaid.
The University of Maryland at College Park is proceeding cautiously, giving the iPhone or iPod Touch to 150 students, said Jeffrey Huskamp, vice president and chief information officer at the university. “We don’t think that we have all the answers,” Mr. Huskamp said. By observing how students use the gadgets, he said, “We’re trying to get answers from the students.”
At each college, the students who choose to get an iPhone must pay for mobile phone service. Those service contracts include unlimited data use. Both the iPhones and the iPod Touch devices can connect to the Internet through campus wireless networks. With the iPhone, those networks may provide faster connections and longer battery life than AT&T’s data network. Many cell phones allow users to surf the Web, but only some newer ones are capable of wireless connection to the local area computer network.
University officials say that they have no plans to track their students (and Apple said it would not be possible unless students give their permission). They say that they are drawn to the prospect of learning applications outside the classroom, though such lesson plans have yet to surface.
“My colleagues and I are studying something called augmented reality (a field of computer research dealing with the combination of real-world and virtual reality),” said Christopher Dede, professor in learning technologies at Harvard University. “Alien Contact,”for example, is an exer-cise developed for middle-school students who use hand-held devices that can determine their location. As they walk around a playground or other area, text, video or audio pops up at various points to help them try to figure out why aliens were in the schoolyard.
“You can imagine similar kinds of interactive activities along historical lines,”like following the Freedom Trail in Boston, Professor Dede said. “It’s important that we do research, so that we know how well something like this works.”
The rush to distribute the devices worries some professors, who say that
students are less likely to participate in class if they are multi-tasking. “I’m not someone who’s anti-technology, but I,m always worried that technology becomes an end in and of itself, and it replaces teaching or it replaces analysis,,’ said Ellen Millender, associate professor of classics at Reed College in Portland, Ore. (She added that she hoped to buy an iPhone for herself once prices fall.)
Robert Summers, who has taught at Cornell Law School for about 40 years, announced this week — in a detailed, footnoted memorandum —that he would ban laptop computers from his class on contract law.
“I would ban that too if I knew the students were using it in class,” Professor Summers said of the iPhone, after the device and its capabilities were explained to him. “What we want to encour-age in these students is an active intellectual experience, in which they develop the wide range of complex reasoning abilities required of good lawyers.”
The experience at Duke University may ease some concerns. A few years ago, Duke began giving iPods to students with the idea that they might use them to record lectures (these older models could not access the Internet).
“We had assumed that the biggest focus of these devices would be consuming the content,” said Tracy Futhey, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Duke.
But that is not all that the students did. They began using the iPods to create their own “content,” making audio recordings of themselves and presenting them. The students turned what could have been a passive interaction into an active one, Ms. Futhey said.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
1. Many professors think that giving out Apple iPhones or Internet-capable iPods to students
A) updates teaching facilities in universities
B) has started a revolution in higher education
C) can facilitate teacher-student interaction
D) may not benefit education as intended
2. In the author’s view, being equipped with IT products may help colleges and universities
A) build an innovative image
B) raise their teaching efficiency
C) track students’ activities
D) excite student interest in hi-tech
3. The distribution of iPhones among students has raised concerns that they will_________ .
A) induce students to buy more similar products
B) increase tension between professors and students
C) further distract students from class participation
D) prevent students from accumulating knowledge
4. Naomi Pugh at Freed-Hardeman University speculated that professors would_________ .
A) find new applications for iPod Touch devices
B) have to work harder to enliven their classes
C) have difficulty learning to handle the devices
D) find iPhones and iPods in class very helpful
5. Experts like Dr. Kyle Dickson at Abilene Christian University think that________ .
A) mobile technology will be more widely used in education
B) the role of technology in education cannot be overestimated
C) mobile technology can upgrade professors’ teaching tool-kit
D) iPhones and iPods will replace laptops sooner or later
6. What do we learn about the University of Maryland at College Park concerning the use of iPhones and iPods?
A) It has sought professors’ opinions.
B) It has benefited from their use.
C) It is trying to follow the trend.
D) It is proceeding with caution.
7. University officials claim that they dole out iPhones and iPods so as to_________ .
A) encourage professors to design newer lesson plans
B) help improve professor-student relationships
C) facilitate students’ learning outside of class
D) stimulate students’ interest in updating technology
8. Ellen Millender at Reed College in Portland is concerned that technology will take the place of
9.Professor Robert Summers at Cornell Law School banned laptop computers from his class because he thinks qualified lawyers need to possess a broad array of_____.
10.The experience at Duke University may ease some concerns because the students have used iPods for active_____.
【点评】：
这是一篇讨论ipod等电子产品是否应该融入课堂的议论文。文章开头提出人们对ipod等电子产品融入课堂的两种相反的观点，反对者认为ipod等电子产品会分散学生在课堂上的注意力,有损他们接受课堂教学的积极性。而支持者则认为，ipod进入课堂会促进学生的课外学习,是发展的潮流。文章最后提到，ipod在有些学校正在进行谨慎的实验,并且实验效果良好,表达了作者对ipod融入教学的乐观。文章整体脉络清晰，论点明确，论据详实。考生只要依照文章顺序，按图索骥，答对本篇阅读中的题目还是相对容易的。
【参考答案】：
1. D. may not benefit education as intended
2. A. build an innovative image
3. C. further distract students from class participation
4. B. have to work harder to enliven their classes
5. A. mobile technology will be more widely used in education
6. D. It is proceeding with caution.
7. C. facilitate students’ learning outside of class
8. teaching or analysis
9. complex reasoning abilities required of good lawyers
10. interaction
Section A 短对话
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 asked 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. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
11.
W: What's wrong with your phone, Gary? I tried to call you all night yesterday. M: I'm sorry. No one's able to get through yesterday. My telephone was disconnected by the phone company.
Q: What does the woman ask the man about?
12.
W: I finally found a really nice apartment that's within my price range.
M: Congratulations! Affordable housing is rare in this city. I've been looking for
a suitable place since I got here six months ago.
Q: What does the man mean?
13.
M: I got this in my mailbox today, but I don't know what it is. Do you have any idea?
W: Oh, that's your number for the new photocopier. It acquires an access code. Everyone got one.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
14.
W: Jane told me that you'll be leaving at soon. Is it true?
M: Yeah, my wife's maternity leave is close to an end. And since she wants to go back to work, I've decided to take a year off to raise the baby.
Q: What does the man mean?
15
M: We'll never find a parking space here. What about dropping you at thesouth gate and I'll find parking somewhere else.
W: Well, OK. It looks like everyone in town came to the mall today.
Q: What does the woman mean?
16
W: When will the computers be back online?
M: Probably not until tomorrow. The problem is more complicated than I thought.
Q: What does the man mean?
17
M: Did you catch Professor Smith on TV last night?
W: I almost missed it, but my mother just happened to be watching at home and gave me a call.
Q: What does the woman imply?
18
M: May I get this prescription refilled?
W: I'm sorry, sir, but we can't give you a refill on that. You'll have to get a new prescription.
Q: What can we infer from the conversation?
Conversation One
W: Well, it’s the South Theater Company. They want to know if we’d be interested in sponsoring a tour they want to make to East Asia.
M: East Asia? uhh… and how much are they hoping to get from us?
W: Well, the letter mentions 20,000 pounds, but I don’t know if they might settle for us.
M: Do they say what they would cover? Have they anything specific in mind? W: No, I think they are just asking all the firms in tongue for as much money as they think they’ll give.
M: And we are worth 20, 000 pounds, right?
W: It seems so.
M: Very flattering. But I am not awfully happy with the idea. What we get out of it?
W: Oh, good publicity I suppose. So what I suggest is not that we just give them a sum of money, but that we offer to pay for something specific like travel or something, and that in return, we ask for our name to be printed prominently in the program, and that they give us free advertising space in it.
M: But the travel bill would be enormous, and we could never manage that. W: I know. But why don’t we offer to pay for the printing of the programs ourselves on condition that on the front cover there's something like This program is presented with the compliments of Norland Electronics, and free advertising of course.
M: Good idea. Well, let’s get back to them and ask what the program they want will cost. Then we can see if we are interested or not.
Questions 19-21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19. What do we learn about the South Theater Company?
20. What benefit does the woman say their firm can get by sponsoring the Theater Company?
21. What does the woman suggest they do instead of paying the South Theater Company’s travel expenses?
Conversation Two
W: Rock stars now face a new hazard --- voice abuse. After last week's announcement that Phil Collins might give up touring because live concerts are ruining his voice, doctors are counseling stars about the dos and don'ts of voice
care. Here in the studio today, we have Mr. Paul Phillips, an expert from the High Field Hospital. Paul, what advice would you give to singers facing voice problems? M: If pop singers have got voice problems, they really need to be more selective about where they work. They shouldn't work in smoky atmospheres. They also need to think about resting their voices after a show. Something else they need to be careful about is medicines. Aspirin, for example, singers should avoid aspirin. It thins the blood. And if a singer coughs, this can result in the bruising of the vocal cords.
W: And is it true that some singers use drugs before concerts to boost their voices when they have voice problems?
M: Yes, this does happen on occasion. They are easily-available on the continent and they are useful if a singer has problems with his vocal cords and has to sing that night. But if they are taken regularly, they cause a thinning of the voice muscle. Most pop singers suffer from three things: lack of training, overuse and abuse of the voice, especially when they are young. They have difficult lives. When they go on tour, they do a vast number of concerts, singing in smoky places.
W: So, what would you advise the singers to do?
M: Warm you voice up before a show and warm it down after.
Questions 22-25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
22. What does last week's announcement say about rock star, Phil Collins?
23. What does Paul Philips say about aspirin?
24. What does Paul Philips say about young pop singers?
25. What are the speakers mainly talking about?
Passage 1
Would you trust a robot to park your car? The question will confront New Yorkers in February as the city's first robotic parking opens in Chinatown.
The technology has been successfully applied overseas, but the only other public robotic garage in the United States has been troublesome, dropping vehicles and trapping cars because of technical problems.
Nonetheless, the developers of the Chinatown garage are confident with the technology and are counting on it to squeeze 67 cars in an apartment-building basement that would otherwise fit only 24, accomplished by removing a maneuver space normally required.
A human-shaped robot won't be stepping into your car to drive it. Rather, the garage itself does the parking. The driver stops the car on a flat platform and gets out. The platform is lowered into the garage, and it is then transported to a vacant parking space by a computer-controlled device similar to an elevator that also runs sideways.
There is no human supervision, but an attendant will be on hand to accept cash and explain the system to newly users. Parking rates will be attracted about $400 monthly or $25 per day, according to Ari Milstein, the director of planning for Automation Parking Systems, which is the U.S. subsidiary of a German company. This company has built automated garages in several countries overseas and in the United States for residents of a Washington, D.C. apartment building.
Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. What do we learn about the robot parking in the U.S. so far?
27. What advantage does robotic parking have according to the developers?
28. What does the attendant do in the automated garage?
29. What does the company say about the parking rate?
Passage 2
A recent study shows that meat consumption is one of the main ways that human can damage the environment, second only to the use of motor vehicles. So how can eating meat have a negative effect on the environment? For a start, all animals, such as cows, pigs and sheep, always gas limed methane, which is the second most common green house gas after carbon dioxide. Many environmental experts now believe that methane is more responsible for global warming than carbon dioxide. It is estimated that 25% of all methane that released into the atmosphere coming from farm animals. Another way in which meat production affects the environment is through the use of water and land. 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of beef. While 20 gallons of water are need to produce one pound of wheat. One acre of farmland use to for raising cows can produce 250 pounds of beef. One acre of farmland use to for crop production can produce 1,500 pounds of tomatoes. Many people now say the benefits of switching to vegetarian diet which excludes meat and fish. Not just for health reasons, but also because it plays a vital role in protecting the environment. However, some nutritionists advise against
switching to a totally strict vegetarian diet. They believe such a diet which includes no products from animal sources can be deficient in many of the necessary vitamins and minerals our bodies need. Today many people have come to realize that help the environment and for the human race to survive, more of us will need to become vegetarian.
Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you've just heard.
30. What does the recent study show?
31. What do some nutritionists say about the strict vegetarian diet?
32. What does the speaker think more people need to do?
Passage 3
Alcoholism is a serious disease. Nearly nine million Americans alone suffer from the illness. Many scientists disagree about what the differences are between the alcohol addict and social drinker. The difference occurs when someone needs to drink. And this need gets in the way of his health or behavior. Alcohol causes a loss of judgment and alertness. After a long period, alcoholism can deteriorate the liver, the brain and other parts of the body. The illness is dangerous, because it is involved in half of all automobile accidents. Another problem is that the victim often denies being an alcohol addict and won’t get help. Solutions do exist. Many hospitals and centers help patients cope. Without the assistance, the victim can destroy his life. He would detach himself from the routines of life. He may lose his employment, home or loved ones.
All the causes of the sickness are not discovered yet. There is no standard for a person with alcoholism. Victims range in age, race, sex and background. Some groups of people are more vulnerable to the illness. People from broken homes and North American Indians are two examples. People from broken homes often lack stable lives. Indians likewise had the traditional life taken from them by white settlers who often encourage them to consume alcohol to prevent them from fighting back. The problem has now been passed on. Alcoholism is clearly present in society today. People have started to get help and information. With proper assistance, victims can put their lives together one day.
Question 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Q33. What is the problem of the victims about alcoholism according to the speaker?
Q34. Why did white settlers introduce alcohol to Indians?
Q35. What does the speaker seem to believe about those affected by alcoholism?
复合式听写
Self-image is the picture you have of yourself, the sort of person you believe you are. Included in your self-image are the categories in which you place yourself, the roles you play and other similar descriptors you use to identify yourself. If you tell an acquaintance you are a grandfather who recently lost his wife and who does volunteer work on weekends, several elements of your self-image are bought to light — the roles of grandparent, widower and conscientious citizen.
But self-image is more than how you picture yourself; it also involves how others see you. Three types of feedback from others are indicative of how they see us: conformation, rejection, and disconfirmation. Conformation occurs when others treat you in a manner consistent with who you believe you are.You believe you have leadership abilities and your boss put you in charge of a new work team. On the other hand, rejection occurs when others treat you in a manner that is inconsistent with yourself definition. Pierre Salinger was appointed senator from California but subsequently lost his first election. He thought he was a good public official, but the voters obviously thought otherwise— Their vote was inconsistent with his self-concept. The third type of feedback is disconfirmation, which occurs when others fail to respond to your notion of self by responding neutrally. A student writes what he thinks is an excellent composition, but the teacher writes no encouraging remarks. Rather than relying on how others classify you, consider how you identify yourself. The way in which you identify yourself is the best refection of yourself-image.
Part IV Reading Comprehension
Section A原文+答案+点评
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.
Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.
Oil is the substance that lubricates the world's economy. Because so many of our modern technologies and services depend on oil, nations, corporations, and institutions that control the trade in oil exercise extraordinary power. The “energy crisis” of 1973-1974 in the United States demonstrated how the price of oil can affect U.S. government policies and the energy-using habits of the nation.
By 1973, domestic U.S. sources of oil. were peaking, and the nation was importing more of its oil, depending on a constant flow from abroad to keep cars on the road and machines running. In addition, at that time a greater percentage of homes and electrical plants were run on petroleum than today. Then, in 1973，the predominantly Arab nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) resolved to stop selling oil to the United States. The move was prompted by OPEC’s desire to raise prices by restricting supply and by its opposition to U.S. support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War. The embargo (禁运) created panic in the West and caused oil prices to shoot up. Short-term oil shortages drove American consumers to wait in long lines at gas pumps.
In response to the embargo, the U.S. government enforced a series of policies designed to reduce reliance on foreign oil. These included developing additional domestic sources (such as those on Alaska’s North Slope), resuming extraction at sites that had been shut down because of cost inefficiency, capping the price that domestic producers could charge for oil, and beginning to import oil from a greater diversity of nations. The government also established a stockpile (贮存) of oil as a short-term buffer (缓冲) against future shortages. Stored underground in large salt caves in Louisiana, this stockpile is called the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and currently contains over 600 million barrels of oil, roughly equivalent to one month’s supply.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
47. We learn from the passage that in today’s world, whoever monopolizes the oil market will be able to _______.
48. Oil prices may exert influence not only on American government policies but on how energy
49. Besides the sharp increase in oil prices, OPEC's 1973 oil embargo caused _______.
50. Over the years before the OPEC’s embargo America had depended heavily on _______.
51. As a measure to counter future shortages, the American government decided to _______ in caves underground.
答案：
47. exercise extraordinary power
48. is used in the nation
49. panic in the West
50. foreign oil
51. establish a stockpile of oil
【点评】：本文介绍的是上世纪70年代的美国石油危机。难度不大，只要根据各个题目的题干句子的意思在文中找到相对应的句子就基本能够用原文中的词来进行填空。
Section B-1原文+答案+点评
Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.
Passage One
Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.
''Depression'' is more than a serious economic downturn. What distinguishes a depression from a harsh recession is paralyzing fear--fear of the unknown so great that it causes consumers, businesses, and investors to retreat and panic. They save up cash and desperately cut spending. They sell stocks and other
assets. A shattering loss of confidence inspires behavior that overwhelms the normal self-correcting mechanisms that usually prevent a recession from becoming deep and prolonged: a depression.
Comparing 1929 with 2007-09, Christina Romer, the head of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, finds the initial blow to confidence far greater now than then. True, stock prices fell a third from September to December 1929, but fewer Americans then owned stocks. Moreover, home prices barely dropped. From December 1928 to December 1929，total household wealth declined only 3%. By contrast, the loss in household wealth between December 2007 and December 2008 was 17%. Both stocks and homes, more widely held, dropped more. Thus traumatized (受到创伤)，the economy might have gone into a free fall ending in depression. Indeed, it did go into free fall. Shoppers refrained from buying cars, appliances, and other big-ticket items. Spending on such "durables" dropped at a 12% annual rate in 2008’s third quarter, a 20% rate in the fourth. And businesses shelved investment projects.
That these huge declines didn’t lead to depression mainly reflects, as Romer argues, counter-measures taken by the government. Private markets for goods, services, labor, and securities do mostly self-correct, but panic feeds on itself and disarms these stabilizing tendencies. In this situation, only government can protect the economy as a whole, because most individuals and companies are involved in the self-defeating behavior of self-protection.
Government’s failure to perform this role in the early 1930s transformed recession into depression. Scholars will debate which interventions this time--the Federal Reserve’s support of a failing credit system, guarantees of bank debt, Obama’s “stimulus” plan and bank "stress test" --counted most in preventing a recurrence. Regardless, all these complex measures had the same psychological purpose: to reassure people that the free fall would stop and, thereby, curb the fear that would perpetuate (使持久）a free fall.
All this improved confidence. But the consumer sentiment index remains weak, and all the rebound has occurred in Americans' evaluation of future economic conditions, not the present. Unemployment (9.8%) is abysmal (糟透的)，the recovery's strength unclear. Here, too, there is an echo from the 1930s. Despite bottoming out in 1933，the Depression didn't end until World War II. Some government policies aided recovery; some hindered it. The good news today is
that the bad news is not worse.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答
52. Why do consumers, businesses and investors retreat and panic in times of depression?
A) They suffer great losses in stocks, property and other assets.
B) They find the self-correcting mechanisms dysfunctioning.
C) They are afraid the normal social order will be paralyzed.
D) They don't know what is going to happen in the future.
53. What does Christina Romer say about the current economic recession?
A) Its severity is no match for the Great Depression of 1929.
B) Its initial blow to confidence far exceeded that of 1929.
C) It has affected house owners more than stock holders.
D) It has resulted in a free fall of the prices of commodities.
54. Why didn’t the current recession turn into a depression according to Christina Romer?
A) The government intervened effectively.
B) Private markets corrected themselves.
C) People refrained from buying durables and big-ticket items.
D) Individuals and companies adopted self-protection measures.
55. What is the chief purpose of all the countermeasures taken?
A) To create job opportunities.
B) To curb the fear of a lasting free fall.
C) To stimulate domestic consumption.
D) To rebuild the credit system.
56. What does the author think of today’s economic situation?
A) It may worsen without further stimulation.
B) It will see a rebound sooner or later.
C) It has not gone from bad to worse.
D) It does not give people reason for pessimism.
【总评】这是一篇经济社会类文章。文章首先解释了什么是经济萧条，以及经济萧条与经济衰退之间的区别。第二段列举了很多数据和事例来比较2007-2009和1929这两个时期的经济表现。第三段指出2007-2009年的经济衰退没有最终导致经济萧条的主要原因是政府采取了一系列应对措施。第四段进一步指出20世纪30年代初期，由于政府没能扮演好经济干预这一角色，最终导致经济衰退演变成了经济萧条。同时本段还强调：政府的干预措施均有一个共同的目的：使人们恢复信心，相信经济不会无止境地下滑。最后作者总结说，虽然当前的经济形势非常糟糕，但是好消息是没有进一步恶化。
【参考答案】：
52. D) They don't know what is going to happen in the future.
53. B) Its initial blow to confidence far exceeded that of 1929.
54. A) The government intervened effectively.
55. B) To curb the fear of a lasting free fall.
56. C) It has not gone from bad to worse.
Passage Two
“Usually when we walk through the rain forest we hear a soft sound from all the moist leaves and organic debris on the forest floor,”says ecologist Daniel Nepstad. “Now we increasingly get rustle and crunch. That’s the sound of a dying forest.”
Predictions of the collapse of the tropical rain forests have been around for years. Yet until recently the worst forecasts were almost exclusively linked to direct human activity, such as clear- cutting and burning for pastures or farms. Left alone, it was assumed, the world’s rain forests would not only flourish but might even rescue us from disaster by absorbing the excess carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gases. Now it turns out that may be wishful
thinking. Some scientists believe that the rise in carbon levels means that the Amazon and other rain forests in Asia and Africa may go from being assets in the battle against rising temperatures to liabilities. Amazon plants, for instance, hold more than 100 billion metric tons of carbon, equal to 15-years of tailpipe and chimney emissions. If the collapse of the rain forests speeds up dramatically, it could eventually release 3.5-5 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year making forests the leading source, of greenhouse gases.
Uncommonly severe droughts brought on by global climate change have led to forest-eating wildfires from Australia to Indonesia, but nowhere more acutely than in the Amazon. Some experts say that the rain forest is already at the brink of collapse.
Extreme weather and reckless development are plotting against the rain forest in ways that scientists have never seen. Trees need more water as temperatures rise, but the prolonged droughts have robbed them of moisture, making whole forests easily cleared of trees and turned into farmland. The picture worsens with each round of El Nino, the unusually warm currents in the Pacific Ocean that drive up temperatures and invariably presage (预示）droughts and fires in the rain forest. Runaway fires pour even more carbon into the air, which increases temperatures, starting the whole vicious cycle all over again.
More than paradise lost, a perishing rain forest could trigger a domino effect sending winds and rains kilometers off course and loading the skies with even greater levels of greenhouse gases—that will be felt far beyond the Amazon basin. In a sense, we are already getting a glimpse of what’s to come. Each burning season in the Amazon, fires deliberately set by frontier settlers and developers hurl up almost half a billion metric tons of carbon a year, placing Brazil among the top five contributors to greenhouse gases in the world.
57. We learn from the first paragraph that _______.
A) dead leaves and tree debris make the same sound
B) trees that are dying usually give out a soft moan
C) organic debris echoes the sounds in a rain forest
D) the sound of a forest signifies its health condition
58. In the second paragraph, the author challenges the view that _______.
A) the collapse of rain forests is caused by direct human interference
B) carbon emissions are the leading cause of current global warming
C) the condition of rain forests has been rapidly deteriorating
D) rain forests should not be converted into pastures or farms
59. The author argues that the rising carbon levels in rain forests may _______.
A) turn them into a major source of greenhouse gases
B) change the weather patterns throughout the world leaves
C) pose a threat to wildlife
D) accelerate their collapse
60. What has made it easier to turn some rain forests into farmland?
A) Rapid rise in carbon levels.
B) Reckless land development.
C) Lack of rainfall resulting from global warming.
D) The unusual warm currents in the Pacific Ocean.
61. What makes Brazil one of the world’s top five contributors to greenhouse gases?
A) The domino effect triggered by the perishing rain forests,
B) Its practice of burning forests for settlement and development,
C) The changed patterns of winds and rains in the Amazon area.
D) Its inability to curb the carbon emissions from industries.
【总评】
本文颠覆了人们根深蒂固的一个观念，即热带雨林能够吸收大量二氧化碳及其他温室气体，
2013年6月英语六级真题及答案（文都版） Part ⅣReading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes) Question 47 to 51 are based on the following passage often assumed musical Highly proficient musicianship is hard won. Although it’s evidence that this isn’t the case. While it seems ability us inherited, there’s abundant that at birth virtually everyone has perfect pitch, the reasons that one child is better than another are motivation and practice. Highly musical children were sung to more as infants and more encouraged to join in song games as kids than less musical ones, long before any musical ability could have been evident. Studies of classical musicians prove that the best ones practiced considerably more from childhood onwards than ordinary orchestral players, and this is because their parents were at them to put in the hours from a very young age. The same was true of children selected for entry to specialist music schools, compared with those who were rejected. The chosen children had parents who had very actively supervised music lessons and daily practice from young ages, giving up substantial periods of leisure time to take the children to lessons and concerts. The singer Michael Jackson’s story, although unusually brutal and extreme, is illumination when considering musical prodigy(天才). Accounts suggest that he was subjected to cruel beatings and emotional torture ,and that he was humiliated (羞辱) constantly by his father, What sets Jackson’s family apart is that his father used his reign of terror to train his children as musicians and dancers. On top of his extra ability Michael also had more drive. This may have been the result of being the closest of his brothers and sisters to his mother. “He seemed other said of him. She different to me from the other children —special,”Michael’s m may not have realized that treating her son as special may have been part of the reason be became like that. All in all, if you want to bring up a Mozart or Bach, the key factor is how hard you
英语六级听力真题及答案 【篇一：2006-2014历年大学英语六级听力真题及答案 (完整版)】 s=txt>答案集合在全部真题之后（复合式听写中的长句无答案） 200606 1. a) she met with thomas just a few days ago. b) she can help with orientation program. c) she is not sure she can pass on the message. d) she will certainly try to contact thomas. 2. a) set the dinner table.b) change the light bulb. c) clean the dining room. d) hold the ladder for him. 3. a) he’d like a piece of pie.b) he’d like some coffee. c) he’d rather stay in the warm room. d) he’d just had dinner with his friends. 4. a) he has managed to sell a number of cars. b) he is contented with his current position. c) he might get fired. d) he has lost his job. 5. a) tony’s secretary. b) paul’s girlfriend. c) paul’s colleague. d) tony’s wife. 6. a) he was fined for running a red light. b) he was caught speeding on a fast lane. c) he had to run quickly to get the ticket.
写作 作文范文：Greed or Greet? The earth has nurtured generations of human beings, offering us with every resource to survive and prosper. Nowadays, with the explosion of population and boom of economy, human’s rel entless exploitation of natural resources has caused crisis of exhaustion of energy and resources. The remark “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” gives out a warning for us all. The ecosystem has remained balanced until man becomes obsessed with their ambition to conquer Nature and they are blinded by greed. On one hand, they are so economy-oriented that they ignore the protection of environment. Increasing pollution not only causes serious problems such as global warming but also could threaten to end human life on our planet. On the other hand, man exploits and abuses non-renewable energy and resources for the sake of developing economy. If man insists on extracting natural resources recklessly, it will be too dreadful to face the consequence. Let us remember that only when we shake off greed and heal the earth can we build a better home for ourselves and our future generations. 【快速阅读】 美国工业制造 1-7 DADAAAB 8 higher 9 the immigrants 10 doing more themselves 听力 11. Why she could not get through to him. 12. He has difficulty finding affordable housing. 13. A code number is necessary to run the copy machine.
2015年6月英语六级考试真题试卷附答案和解析(第1套) 六级写作 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the saying"Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it. " You can give an example or two to illustrate your point of view. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。 听力选择题 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 asked 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. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。 1. A. Prepare for his exams. B. Catch up on his work. C. Attend the concert. D. Go on a vacation. 2. A. Three crew members were involved in the incident. B. None of the hijackers carried any deadly weapons. C. The plane had been scheduled to fly to Japan. D. None of the passengers were injured or killed. 3. A. An article about the election.
DUANG~~DUANG~~DUANG~~，又到一年CET。说到四六级，你第一反应是裸考刷分？还是abandon？是单词书本？还是逝去的青春？考过的，满满都是回忆；将要考的，给你们加油鼓劲！ 2013年英语六级真题及答案汇总 目录 2013年6月英语六级真题及答案 (2) 2013年12月英语六级真题及答案 (25) （为了这份资源，我也蛮拼的）
2013年6月英语六级真题及答案 Part ⅡListening Comprehension Section A 1. C M: The biological project is now in trouble. You know, my colleague and I have completely different ideas about how to proceed. W: Why don’t you compromise? Try to make it a win-win situation for you both. Q: What does the woman suggest the man do? 【听前预测】 1．四项均以动词原形开头。 2．两项提到同事(colleague)。 结论：对话应该是工作场景，可能提问接下来要怎么做或建议某人做什么。 2．B M: How does Nancy like the new dress she bought in Rome? W: She said she would never have bought an Italian style dress if she had known Mary had already got such a dress. Q: What do we learn from the conversation? 【听前预测】 1．四项提及两个人物——Mary和Nancy。 2．三项均与服饰、时尚有关(style，dress，fashion)，两项与购物有关(buying，shopping)。 结论：对话很可能与买衣服有关，注意区分两个人物的行为。 3．A M: You are not going to do all those dishes before we leave, are you?If we don’t pick up George and Martha in 25 minutes, we will never get to the theater on time. W: Oh, didn’t I tell you? Martha called to say her daughter was ill and they could not go tonight. Q: What is the woman probably going to do first? 【听前预测】 1．四项均以动词原形开头。
2010年12月大学英语六级考试真题 Part I Writing (30 minutes) Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled My Views on University Ranking. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below. 1. 目前高校排名相当盛行; 2. 对于这种做法人们看法不一; 3. 在我看来…… My Views on University Ranking . . . 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 on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage. Into the Unknown The world has never seen population ageing before. Can it cope? Until the early 1990s nobody much thought about whole populations getting older. The UN had the foresight to convene a “world assembly on ageing” back in 1982, but that came and went. By 1994 the World Bank had noticed that something big was happening. In a report entitled “Averting the Old Age Crisis”, it argued that pension arrangements in most countries were unsustainable. For the next ten years a succession of books, mainly by Americans, sounded the alarm. They had titles like Young vs Old, Gray Dawn and The Coming Generational Storm, and their message was blunt: health-care systems were heading for the rocks, pensioners were taking young people to the cleaners, and soon there would be intergenerational warfare.
20XX年6月大英语六级考试真题及答案解析 Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on living in the virtual world. Try to imagine what will happen when people spend more and more time in the virtual world instead of interacting in the real world. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes) Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C)and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. A)Project organizer B)Public relations officer. C)Marketing manager. D)Market research consultant. 2.A)Quantitative advertising research. B)Questionnaire design. C)Research methodology. D)Interviewer training. 3.A)They are intensive studies of people’s spending habits. B)They examine relations between producers and customers. C)They look for new and effective ways to promote products. D)They study trends or customer satisfaction over a long period. 4.A)The lack of promotion opportunity. B)Checking charts and tables. C)Designing questionnaires. D)The persistent intensity. Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 5.A)His view on Canadian universities. B)His understanding of higher education. C)His suggestions for improvements in higher education. D)His complaint about bureaucracy in American universities. 6.A)It is well designed. B)It is rather inflexible.
2013年6月英语六级考试真题试卷（第1套） Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this party you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the remark "Good habits result from resisting temptation." You can cite examples to illustrate your point. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上 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 on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A) , B) , C) and D) . For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage. A Nation That's Losing Its Toolbox The scene inside the Home Depot on Weyman Avenue here would give the old-time American craftsman pause. In Aisle 34 is precut plastic flooring, the glue already in place. In Aisle 26 are prefabricated windows. Stacked near the checkout counters, and as colorful as a Fisher-Price toy, is a not-so-serious-looking power tool: a battery-operated saw-and-drill combination. And if you don't want to do it yourself, head to Aisle 23 or Aisle 35, where a help desk will arrange for an installer. It's all very handy stuff, I guess, a convenient way to be a do-it-yourselfer without being all that good with tools. But at a time when the American factory seems to be a shrinking presence, and when good manufacturing jobs have vanished, perhaps never to return, there is something deeply troubling about this dilution of American craftsmanship. This isn't a lament (伤感) - or not merely a lament - for bygone times. It's a social and cultural issue, as well as an economic one. The Home Depot approach to craftsmanship -
2017年12月大学英语六级听力真题解析 2017.12月份的六级考试已经落下帷幕，以下是对听力部分考题的一个解析，希望对同学们有所帮助. Conversation One M: And now, for the latter side of the news, Europe is setting an example for the rest of the world when it comes to food waste. W: That’s right, John. This week, the Italian government passed legislation that aims to dramatically reduce the amount of food waste in the country. Q1:New laws have been put into place that will make it easier for farms and supermarkets to donate and sell foods to those who are in need. M: Yes, in an addition to this, businesses will now be rewarded for successful efforts to cut food waste. W: Italy is not the only country to focus on reducing food waste. Just earlier this year, Q2:the European parliament voted in favor of legislation that would stop grocery giants from unfair trading practices that result in overproduction, thus creating waste. M: In France, Q3:the government has banned supermarkets from throwing away edible foods and imposed harsh penalties on businesses that fail to comply with the regulations. W: While there is still much progress to be made, other countries could learn a thing or two from the example set by France and Italy. In the United Sates, up to 40% of all food goes uneaten. Despite the fact that one in seven American households lacks regular access to good food, Q4:one major cause of this problem is the confusion over food expiration labels, which are currently not regulated by the government. M: All this could change soon. This wave of new laws in Europe will definitely put more pressure on law makers to reduce food waste here. We turn now to a
2019年6月大学英语六级考试真题（第1套） Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on the importance of motivation and methods in learning. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. PartⅡListening Comprehension (30 minutes) Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A），B），C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. A) why Roman Holiday was more famous than Breakfast at Tiffany’s. B)why Audrey Hepburn had more female fans than male ones. C)Why the woman wanted to be like Audrey Hepburn. D)why so many girls adored Audrey Hepburn. 2. A)Her unique personality. B)Her physical condition. C)Her shift of interest to performing arts. D)Her famil y’s suspension of financial aid. 3. A) She was not an outgoing person. B)She was modest and hardworking C)She was easy-going on the whole. D)She was usually not very optimistic. 4. A)She was influenced by the roles she played in the films. B)Her parents taught her to symbolize with the needy. C)She learned to volunteer when she was a child. D)Her family benifited from other people’s help. Questions 5 to 8 are based on the recording you have just heard. 5. A) Give a presentation. B)Rise some questions. C)Start a new company. D)Ateed a board meeting. 6. A) It will cut production costs. B)It will raise productivities. C)No staff willl be dismissed. D)No new staff will be hired. 7. A)The timeline of restructuring.
2016年6月英语六级真题第一套 Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions：For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the use of robots. Try to imagine what will happen when more and more robots take the place of human beings in industry as well as people's daily lives. You are requried to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes) Section A Directions:In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C)and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. A)Project organizer B)Public relations officer. C)Marketing manager. D)Market research consultant. 2.A)Quantitative advertising research. B)Questionnaire design. C)Research methodology. D)Interviewer training. 3.A)They are intensive studies of people’s spending habits. B)They examine relations between producers and customers. C)They look for new and effective ways to promote products. D)They study trends or customer satisfaction over a long period.
2017年6月六级真题一 Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. A. Doing enjoyable work. B. Having friendly colleagues. C. Earning a competitive salary. D. Working for supportive bosses. 2. A. 31%. B. 20%. C. 25%. D. 73%. 3. A. Those of a small size. B. Those run by women. C. Those that are well managed. D. Those full of skilled workers. 4. A. They can hop from job to job easily. B. They can win recognition of their work. C. They can better balance work and life. D. They can take on more than one job. Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 5. A. It is a book of European history. B. It is an introduction to music. C. It is about the city of Bruges. D. It is a collection of photos. 6. A. When painting the concert hall of Bruges. B. When vacationing in an Italian coastal city. C. When taking pictures for a concert catalogue. D. When writing about Belgium's coastal regions. 7. A. The entire European coastline will be submerged. B. The rich heritage of Europe will be lost completely. C. The seawater of Europe will be seriously polluted. D. The major European scenic spots will disappear. 8. A. Its waterways are being increasingly polluted. B. People cannot get around without using boats. C. It attracts large numbers of tourists from home and abroad. D. Tourists use wooden paths to reach their hotels in the morning. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.