2012英语六级阅读理解专项练习（附答案）一
第一篇
As Sesame Street kicks off its 40th anniversary season Tuesday, with first lady Michelle Obama and Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda as guests, it is indisputably the most beloved children’s show in history, and one of television’s biggest and most enduring success stories.
The series holds a record 122 Emmy Awards, not including a lifetime-achievement trophy (奖±) award, and has been adapted in more than 120 countries and territories around the globe. An estimated 100,000 Sesame products have been made available internationally, from T-shirts and costumes to high-tech toys such as Elmo Live.
Sesame’s cross-cultural, multi-generational appeal has a lot to do with the specific age group it targets. “The bulk of our audience is in the 2s and 3s, though we shoot for 2 to 4,”says executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente. At that early stage, says Spinney — who is 75, and has been with the show since Day 1 (he plays Oscar as well) —“children are basically the same, and have been thro ugh the years.”
But if preschoolers’fundamental needs and sensibilities haven’t changed much, the world around them has —not least of all on the media landscape, where Sesame Street now competes with many other kids’shows and an ever-expanding array of new media.
In 2000, the Children’s Television Workshop, the organization through which creator Joan Ganz Cooney launched Sesame Street on PBS predecessor NET, changed its title to Sesame Workshop, to reflect its expansion into the digital, interactive age.
Content and presentation continue to evolve on TV as well. The show’s famously catchy theme song, Sunny Day, now has a hip-hop beat and a jazzier arrangement. Parente stresses that it’s just as important “to keep our curriculum current. The ABC’s and 123’s are always there, but we stay relevant by incorporating other things that are interesting and meaningful.”
“We focus on all aspects of development —cognitive needs, social and emotional needs, health needs —and bring in advisers who are experts in each area, to make sure we’re age-appropriate,”says Rosemarie Truglio, vice president of education and research, Sesame Workshop. “But we never talk down to children, and we’re not afraid to explore sensitive topics.”
Sesame has had its critics in the academic community as well.
For Mary Lynn Crow, a clinical psychologist and professor of education at the University of Texas-Arlington, “shows like Sesame Street lack the potentially deep, personal emotional imprint (影响) that can and should occur between a student and teacher in an early educational experience.”
On the other hand, Crow considers Sesame Street “a beautiful model of what I call high-tech learning. They can teach children about letters, numbers, color and size through repetition in ways traditional education can’t, and provide early information about attitudes, values and relationships.”
1. What do we learn about Sesame Street from the first two paragraphs?
A) It rose to fame because of the first lady’s role.
B) It’s successful and gains international popularity.
C) It still has to win a lifetime-achievement award.
D) It is the most successful show in American history.
2. What’s Spinney’s opinion on the target audience of Sesame Street?
A) They are completely different than they were 40 years ago.
B) Many of them are devoted fans of the performance.
C) Their basic needs haven’t changed much through years.
D) They continue to watch the show when they have grown up.
3. The author says that in the current world, Sesame Street _______.
A) has slight edge over other shows targeting children
B) has made some changes so as to keep up with the times
C) tries to cater to adults who accompany their children to the show
D) is doomed to fail due to its out-dated content and presentation
4. What can be inferred about Sesame Street from Rosemarie Truglio’s words?
A) It tries to prepare children both for school and life’s lessons.
B) Its writer has changed the theme of the story for kids.
C) Children seem to be looked down upon in the show.
D) Sensitive topics have always been banned in the show.
5. Mary Lynn Crow is negative about Sesame Street because she thinks it _______.
A) only touches up superficial relationships
B) is too complicated for children to understand
C) goes against ways of traditional education
D) repeats basic knowledge over and over again
第二篇
There he was America’s first President with a MBA, the man who loves to boast about his business background, whose presidential campaign raised unprecedented sums from corporate wallets and whose cabinet is stuffed with chief executives. Faith in the integrity of American business leaders was being undermined(破坏)，George Bush said fiercely, by executives "breaching trust and abusing power". It was time for "a new ethic of personal responsibility in the business community". He was going to "end the days of cooking the books, shading the truth and breaking our laws"。
Only months ago, the idea that George W Bush would publicly lambaste America’s cooperate bosses was laughable. As a candidate, born on the wave of a decade-long economic boom and an unprecedented 18-year bull market, he cashed in on American’s love affair with corporate success. But things are different now. The stock market bubble has burst and, despite signs of economic recovery. Wall Street seems to be sunk in gloom. A string of scandals at some of America’s most high-flying firms--including Enron, Xerox. Tyco, Global Crossing and most recently, World Com??has radically changed the public mood。
As political pressure for reform increases, so too does the heat on Mr Bush. Is the businessman’s president really prepared to take business on and push hard for reform? Despite the set jaw and aggrieved tone in New York. Probably not. Mr. Bush thinks the current crisis stems from a few bad-apple chief executives rather than the system as a whole. Hence he focus on tough
penalties for corrupt businessmen and his plea for higher ethical standards. The president announced the creation of a financial-crimes SWAT team, at the Justice Department to root out corporate fraud, and wants to double the maximum prison sentence for financial fraud from five to ten years. But he offered few concrete suggestions for systemic reform: little mention of changes to strengthen shareholders’rights, not even an endorsement of the Senate corporate-reform bill。
There are few signs yet that cleaning up corporate America is an issue that animates the voters. Polls show that Americans have little faith in their business leaders, but politicians do not seem to be suffering as a result. Mr. Bush’s approval ratings have fallen from their sky-highs, but they are still very strong。
The president, therefore, need do no more than talk tough. This alone will convince ordinary Americans that he is on top of the issue. As the economy rebounds and public outage subsides, the clamor for change will be quieter. Democratic attacks will fizzle, and far-reaching reform bills will be watered down before they become law. Politically, the gamble makes sense. Unfortunately for American capitalism, a great opportunity will be missed。
1 We can infer from the third paragraph that Mr. Bush______。
A) didn’t intend to take business on and push hard for reform
B) did not do anything at all for the presence of the current situation
C) took shareholders’right into account, but he didn’t approve reform bill
D) took some measures to pave the way for the reform
2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A) Bush had to offer concrete suggestions for reform as political pressure increase
B) At present, the maximum prison sentence for financial fraud is five year
C) It is laughable that M Bush publicly attacked America’s corporate bosses
D) Americans have little faith in their business as well as political leaders
3. Which of the following statements about Mr. Bush is mentioned in this passage?
A) M Bush is the second President with an MBA in American history
B) M Bush contributes a lot to decade-long economic boom
C) M Bush’s approval ratings are still high D) M Bush didn’t get support in his presidential campaign
4 The author’s attitude towards the reform is______。
A) indifferent B) optimistic C) skeptical D) favorable
5. The phrase "a great opportunity" mentioned in the last paragraph refers to an opportunity to______。
A) carry out reform B) boom economy C) animate the voters D) attack chief executive
第三篇
As Toyota and Hummer have learned, growing too fast can be a dangerous thing.
From its origins, success in the auto industry has been about scale. In the early decades of the 20th century, Henry Ford was able to democratize the car and dominate the early auto industry because he built, and then continually improved, an assembly line that could make huge
numbers of cars in a short amount of time. Bigger was always better.
But two items from yesterday’s dispatch in the ongoing car dramas indicate why that’s not always true.
Item No. 1: The Toyota debacle (失败). The mass failings of Toyota’s legendary quality-control efforts are now on full display in the hearings that have subjected CEO Akio Toyoda to a ritualized set of apologies and humiliations (羞辱). In recent years Toyota rode its efficiency and better financial management —it didn’t have to contend with the burdensome pension and health-care benefits that sandbagged the Big Three (i.e. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) — to large gains in market share and significant growth. In 2007 Toyota surpassed GM as the largest carmaker in the world.
But something got lost in the process. As Toyoda acknowledged on Wednesday: “I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyota’s priority has traditionally been: first, safety; second, quality; and third, volume. These priorities became confused.” In other words, Toyoda s eemed to admit, the company went wrong by moving size — i.e., volume — to the front of the line.
Item No. 2: After a series of failed efforts to sell it, GM announced that its Hummer brand would be wound down. Hummer had a different problem with bigness than Toyota has. It wasn’t that its production volumes were too high. In 2008 only 2,710 Hummers were sold. Rather, the outsize Hummer was simply too big — too inefficient, too out of step with the times — to succeed in a marketplace in which oil spiked to $150 per barrel and seems to have settled at a plateau above $70 a barrel. As the economy tanked, energy prices rose, and the spirit of the time shifted in favor of conservation, the gas-guzzling Hummer faced a double whammy (厄运): consumers had difficulty affording the vehicle’s high list price as well as difficulty affording its high operating price.
Size does matter when it comes to auto production. But not always in the way manufacturers think.
1. The example of Henry Ford’s assembly line suggests that the success in the auto industry was built on__________ .
2. According to the author, Toyota’s fast growth in recent years was attributed to__________ .
3. CEO Akio Toyoda seemed to admit that Toyota betrayed its tradition of putting __________at top priority.
4. According to the passage, GM decided to gradually bring its Hummer brand to an end because of __________ .
5. According to the passage, whether purchasing or operating a Hummer, consumers found it hard to __________ .
第四篇
The "standard of living" of any country means the average person's share of the goods and services which the country produces. A country's standard of living, therefore, depends first and foremost on its capacity to produce wealth. "Wealth" in this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things that money can buy: "goods" such as food and clothing, and "services" such as transport and entertainment.
A country's capacity to produce wealth depends upon many factors, most of which have an effect on one another. Wealth depends to a great extent upon a country's natural resources, such as coal, gold, and other minerals, water supply and so on. Some regions of the world are well supplied with coal and minerals, and have a fertile soil and a favorable climate; other regions possess perhaps only one of these things, and some regions possess none of them. The U. S. A is one of the wealthiest regions of the world because she has vast natural resources within her borders, her soil is fertile, and her climate is varied. The Sahara Desert, on the other hand, is one of the least wealthy.
Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn them to use. China is perhaps as well off as the U. S. A. in natural resources, but suffered for many years from civil and external wars, and for this and other reasons was. unable to develop her resources. Sound and stable political conditions, and freedom from foreign invasion, enable a country to develop its natural resources peacefully and steadily, and to produce more wealth than another country equally well served by nature but less well ordered. Another important factor is the technical efficiency of a country's people. Old countries that have, through many centuries, trained up numerous skilled craftsmen and technicians are better placed to produce wealth than countries whose workers are largely unskilled. Wealth also produces wealth. As a country becomes wealthier, its people have a large margin for saving, and can put their savings into factories and machines which will help workers to turn out more goods in their working day.
1. A country's wealth depends upon______. ,
A. its standard of living
B. its money
C. its ability to provide goods and services
D. its ability to provide transport and entertainment
2. The word "foremost" means______.
A. most importantly
B. firstly
C. largely
D. for the most part
3. The main idea of the second paragraph is that______.
A. a country's wealth depends on many factors
B. the U. S. A. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world
C. the Sahara Desert is a very poor region
D. natural resources are an important factor in the wealth or poverty of a country
4. The third paragraph mentions some of the advantages which one country may have over another in making use of its resources. How many such advantages are mentioned in this paragraph?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
5. The second sentence.in Paragraph 3 is______.
A. the main idea of the paragraph
B. an example supporting the main idea of the paragraph
C. the conclusion of the paragraph
D. not related to the paragraph
第五篇
The productivity of Americans employed in private businesses has declined. The productivity of workers in countries such as Japan and Germany is increasing. American machine tools, on average, are old, relatively inefficient, and rapidly becoming obsolete, whereas those of our competitors overseas, in comparison, are newer and more efficient. We are no longer the most productive workers in the world. We are no longer the leaders in industrial innovation (革新). We are an immensely
wealthy nation of educated men and women who seem to have lost sight of the fact that everything—from the simplest necessities to the finest luxuries—must be produced through our own collective hard work. We have come to expect automatic increases in our collective standard of living, but we seem to have forgotten that these increases are possible only when our productivity continues to grow.
One thing that must change is the rate at which we substitute capital equipment for human labor. Simply put, our labor force has increased at a far greater rate than has our stock of capital investment. We seem to have forgotten that our past productivity gains, to a large extent, were realized from substitutions of capital for human labor. Today, 3 times as many robots are listed as capital assets by Japanese firms as by United States firms.
There is no doubt that robots will become a common sight in American factories. Representing a new generation of technology, robots will replace factory labor much as the farm tractor replaced the horse. Robot technology has much to offer. It offers higher levels of productivity and quality at lower costs; in promises to free men and women from the dull, repetitious toil of the factory, it is likely to have an impact on society comparable to that made by the growth of computer technology.
1. The word "obsolete"(Para. 1) most probably means_______.
A. weak
B. old
C. new
D. out of date
2. The author is anxious about_______.
A. his people no longer taking the lead in industrial innovation
B. his country no longer being a wealthy nation
C. his people forgetting to raise their productivity
D. his country falling behind other industrial nations
3. According to the author, in his country_______..
A. the proportion of labor force to capital investment is quite low
B. the growth rate of labor force should be greater than that of capital investment
C. the productivity increases should be achieved by the increases of labor force
D. capital investment should have increased more rapidly than labor force
4. So far as the influence on society is concerned, _______.
A. robot technology seems to be much more promising than computer technology
B. computer technology has less to offer than robot technology
C. robot technology can be compared with computer technology
D. robot technology cannot be compared with computer technology
5. The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to show that_______.
A. robots will help increase labor productivity
B. robots will rule American factories
C. robots are cheaper than human laborers
D. robots will finally replace humans in factories
第一篇答案、B C B A A
第二篇答案、A B C D A
第三篇答案、
1. scale
2. its efficiency and better financial management
3. safety
4. a series of failed effort to sell it
5. afford the high prices
第四篇答案、1. C 2. A 3. A 4. B 5. B
第五篇答案、1. D 2. C 3. D 4. C 5. A
2017年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案第1套选词填空 After becoming president of Purdue University in2013, Mitch Daniels asked the faculty to prove that their students have actually achieved one of higher education’s most important goals: critical thinking skills. Two years before, a nationwide study of college graduates had shown that more than a third had made no 26 gains in such mental abilities during their school years. Mr. Daniels needed to__27__ the high cost of attending Purdue to its students and their families. After all, the percentage of Americans who say a college degree is "very important" has fallen 28 in the last 5-6 years. Purdue now has a pilot test to assess students' critical thinking skills. Yet like many college " such as a graduate's ability to investigate and reason. However, the professors need not worry so much. The results of a recent experiment showed that professors can use __31__ metrics to measure how well students do in three key areas: critical thinking, written communication, and quantitative literacy. Despite the success of the experiment, the actual results are worrisome, and mostly __32__ earlier studies. The organizers of the experiment concluded that far fewer students were achieving high levels on critical thinking than they were doing for written communication or quantitative literacy. And that conclusion is based only on students nearing graduation. American universities, despite their global 33__ for excellence in teaching, have only begun to demonstrate what they can produce in real-world learning. Knowledge-based degrees are still important, but employers are still important, but employers are __34__ advanced thinking skills from college graduates. If the intellectual worth of a college degree can be __35__ measured, more people will seek higher education—and come out better thinkers. A. accurately B. confirm C. demanding D. doubtful E. drastically F. justify G. monopolized H. outcome I. predominance J. presuming K. reputation L. significant M. signify N. simultaneously O. standardized 答案：(26)L. significant (27)F. justify (28)E. drastically (29)D. doubtful (30)H. outcome (31)O. standardized (32)B. confirm (33)K. reputation (34)C. demanding (35)A. accurately 2017年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案第1套仔细阅读2篇 Open data sharers are still in the minority in many fields. Although many researchers broadly agree that public access to raw data would accelerate science, most are reluctant to post the results of their own labors online. Some communities have agreed to share online—geneticists, for example, post DNA sequence sat the GenBank repository (库) , and astronomers are accustomed to accessing images of galaxies and stars from, say, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a telescope that has observed some500 million objects—but these remain the excepti on, not the rule. Historically, scientists have objected to sharing for many reasons: it is a lot of work; until recently, good databases did not
大学英语六级阅读理解专题训练 2016年下半年英语四六级迫在眉睫，同学们准备得如何了?下面是网提供给大家关于大学阅读理解专题训练，希望对大家的备考有所帮助。 What is it about Americans and food? We love to eat, but we feel 1 about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We’re 2 with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity(肥胖). Perhaps the 3 to this ambivalence(矛盾情结) lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop(经济作物) wasn’t eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more 4 ways of doing it. The immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nation’s food has come to be 5 by imports—pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country’s most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles. Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation’s defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sit ins at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political 6 . But strong opinions have not brought 7 . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become 8 of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain. The 9 in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. It’s no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage(束缚). It’s w hat we eat—and how we 10 it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a community today. A. answer I. creative B. result J. belief C. share K. suspicious D. guilty L. certainty E. constant M. obsessed F. defined N. identify
2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案：Passage One答案及解析 Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity”, and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching the fut ure of intelligence as “crucial to the future of our civilization and our species.” Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. “We spend a great deal of time studying history,” Hawking said, “which, let’s face it, is mostly the history of stupidity. So it’s a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence.” While the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising concerns that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates a super-intelligence with a will of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring. “The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge,” he said. “We cannot predict what we might achieve when our own minds are amplified by AI. Perhaps with the tools of this new
2018年12月英语六级阅读练习题及答案（五） Everyone has a moment in history, which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person ―the world today‖ or ―life‖ or ―reality‖ he will assume that you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years past. The world, through his unleashed(释放的)emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever. For me, this momentfour years in a moment in historywas the war. The war was and is reality for me. I still instinctively live and think in its atmosphere. These are some of its characteristics: Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the president of the United States, and he always has been. The other two eternal world leaders are Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. America is not, never has been, and never will be what the song and poems call it, a land of plenty. Nylon, meat, gasoline, and steel are rare. There are too many jobs and not enough workers. Money is very easy to earn but rather hard to spend, because there isnt very much to buy. Trains are always late and always crowded with ―service men‖. The war will always be fought very far from America, and it will never end. Nothing in America stands still for very long, including the people who are
2005 年-2012 年六级作文真题及范文 2012 年6 月英语六级作文题 题目：The impact of the Internet on interpersonal communication 要求：commenting on "Dad：Hi sweetie, how was school, today? Daughter: You can read all about it on my blog, Dad" The impact of the Internet on interpersonal communication In contemporary society, our life is filled with a variety of anecdotes or stories, and the following is no exception: "Dad：Hi sweetie, how was school, today? Daughter: You can read all about it on my blog, Dad." Funny as it seems, this conversation can be naturally associated with the impacts of Internet on our life: In an era of Internet, the time for interpersonal communication is impaired by online chats or blogs. Apparently, the impacts of the Internet on interpersonal communication are diverse. For one thing, as a vital invention, Internet brings great convenience to our communication, eliminates the barrier of distance, and helps humans to keep in touch wherever and whenever. For another, it is Internet that does not enables family members, friends or classmates to communicate more in a face-to-face way. One case in point is that youngsters may spend hours chatting with acquaintances through QQ or MSN, but rarely do they talk with other face to face. Unfortunately, it we let this trend to continue as it is, the interpersonal relationship will, definitely, become alienated. To my understanding, it is advisable for people to communicate more with their families, friends and acquaintances in real life instead of merely through the Internet. Do bear in mind: Internet is just a tool. 2011 年12 月英语六级作文题 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled The Way to Success by commenting on Abraham Lincoln s famous remark, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend, the first four sharpening the axe." You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. The Way to Success What is success? In fact, success is a positive feeling, it is a state of confidence after we achieve our ideals So all of us will try our best to get success."If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z..Hardworking is x; y is good methods and z is stop talking and get down to work."It is said by Einstein, who is used to be a winner of the Nobel Prize. According to this Wisdom, we known that if we want to do everything successful, we must follow these ways. When we begin to study, our parents and teachers always told us to study hard. Hardworking, which is an useful way to success, is necessary for us. Hardworking, which means we should try our best to do the things. Besides, if you want to get success, we not only need hardworking, but also have some useful methods. If you have some useful methods, you will feel that it is easier to achieve your goals. What ' s more, we must stop talking and get down to work. Success is base on the actions. Actions, may not let we get success. But if we not action, it can never be successful. Regardless of the dream is big or small, the goal is high or low, from now on, swing it into action. In my opinion, if you follow these important ways to do every things, you will get success at last. 2011 年6 月英语六级作文题 1.现在许多人热衷于各类证书考试 2.其目的各不相同
2014年12月大学英语六级考试备考资料《阅读理解》考前训练（21-30）及答案 考前训练(21) How to Deal With Difficult People In New York City one day, a businesswoman got into a taxi. Because it was rush hour and she was hurrying for a train, she suggested a route. "I've been a cabby(车夫) for 15 years!" the driver yelled. "You think I don't know the best way to go?" The woman tried to explain that she hadn't meant to offend him, but the driver kept yelling. She finally realized he was too upset to be reasonable. So she did the unexpected. "You know, you're right," she told him. "It must seem dumb for me to assume you don't know the best way through the city. " Taken aback, the driver flashed his rider a confused look in the rear-view mirror, turned down the street she wanted and got her to the train on time. "He didn't say another word the rest of the ride," she said, "until I got out and paid him. Then he thanked me. " When you encounter people like this cab driver, there's an irresistible urge to dig in your heels. This can lead to prolonged arguments, soured friendships, lost career opportunities and broken marriages. As a clinical psychiatrist, I've discovered one simple but extremely unlikely principle that can prevent virtually any conflict or other difficult situation from becoming a recipe for disaster. The key is to put yourself in the other person's shoes and look for the truth in what that person is saying. Find a way to agree. The result may surprise you. Sulkers Steve's 14-year-old son, Adam, had been irritable for several days. When Steve asked why, Adam snapped, "Nothing's wrong! Leave me alone!" and stalked off to his room. We all know people like this. When there's problem, they may sulk(生闷气) or act angry and refuse to talk. So what's the solution? First, Steve needs to ask himself why Adam won't talk. Maybe the boy is worried about something that happened at school. Or he might be
Reading Comprehension for CET 6 Passage 1 In the 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia,one scene shows an American newspaper reporter eagerly snapping photos of men looting a sabotaged train.One of the looters,Chief Auda abu Tayi of the Howeitat clan,suddenly notices the camera and snatches it.Am I in this?he asks,before smashing it open.To the dismayed reporter,Lawrence explains,He thinks these things will steal his virtue.He thinks you're a kind of thief. As soon as colonizers and explorers began taking cameras into distant lands,stories began circulating about how indigenous peoples saw them as tools for black magic.The ignorant natives may have had a point.When photography first became available,scientists welcomed it as a more objective way of recording faraway societies than early travelers' exaggerated accounts.But in some ways,anthropological photographs reveal more about the culture that holds the camera than the one that stares back.Up into the 1950s and 1960s,many ethnographers sought pure pictures of primitive cultures,routinely deleting modern accoutrements such as clocks and Western dress.They paid men and women to re-enact rituals or to pose as members of war or hunting parties,often with little regard for veracity.Edward Curtis,the legendary photographer of North American Indians,for example,got one Makah man to pose as a whaler with a spear in 1915--even though the Makah had not hunted whales in a generation. These photographs reinforced widely accepted stereotypes that indigenous cultures were isolated,primitive,and unchanging.For instance,National Geographic magazine's photographs have taught millions of Americans about other cultures.As Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins point out in their 1993 book Reading National Geographic,the magazine since its founding in 1888 has kept a tradition of presenting beautiful photos that don't challenge white,middle-class American conventions.While dark-skinned women can be shown without tops,for example,white women's breasts are taboo.Photos that could unsettle or disturb,such as areas of the world torn asunder by war or famine,are discarded in favor of those that reassure,to conform with the society's stated pledge to present only kindly visions of foreign societies.The result,Lutz and Collins say,is the depiction of an idealized and exotic world relatively free of pain or class conflict. Lutz actually likes National Geographic a lot.She read the magazine as a child,and its lush imagery influenced her eventual choice of anthropology as a career.She just thinks that as people look at the photographs of other cultures,they should be alert to the choice of composition and images. 1.The main idea of the passage is______________. [A]Photographs taken by Western explorers reflect more Westerners’ perception of the indigenous cultures and the Western values. [B]There is a complicated relationship between the Western explorers and the primitive peoples. [C]Popular magazines such as National Geographic should show pictures of the exotic and idealized worlds to maintain high sales. [D]Anthropologists ask the natives to pose for their pictures,compromising the truthfulness of their pictures. 2.We can infer from the passage that early travelers to the native lands often_________. [A]took pictures with the natives [B]gave exaggerated accounts of the native lands
2010 年6 月六级真题 Passage One 发达国家中只有两个国家不能保证提供用于照料新生儿的带薪休假。去年春天，这两个国家中的一个——澳大利亚——放弃了这种令人质疑的殊荣，建立了自2011 年起开始实施的带薪家庭休假制。在美国这并没有成为新闻，我并不感到意外——现在我们是唯一没有这项政策的富有国家。 美国确实有一个明确的家庭政策，这就是于1993 年通过的《家庭和医疗休假法》。它规定要照料新生儿或处理家庭医疗问题的工人有资格享受时间长达12 个星期的不带薪休假。尽管此法案带来的利益不明显，但当时商务部和其他一些商业团体都极力反对，称其为“政府负责的人事管理”和“危险的先例”。事实上，民主党领袖一直都致力于将能促进工作与家庭关系平衡的措施形成法律条文，但每一次的努力都遭到了商业团体的强烈反对。 正如耶鲁大学法学教授Anne Alstott 所辩解的那样，要肯定父母关爱的作用就要将家庭定义为一种社会商品，从某种意义上讲，社会要为此埋单。在她的书《无路可走：父母对孩子的亏欠以及社会对家长的亏欠》中，她认为父母在生活的多个方面都肩负重担：在谈到孩子的话题时，父母们“无路可走”：“社会希望也需要家长们能不间断地照看好他们的孩子，而且是人类用以开发智力、培养情感和树立道德的那种深度的、亲密无间的照看。社会还希望并需要父母们能坚守这一角色，18 年如一日，如有必要，甚至还可以更长。” 大部分父母出于爱都会照顾孩子，不照顾孩子的父母则会受到公众的处罚。换句话说，父母们所做的一切都是这个国家所密切关注的问题，原因很明显，照顾孩子不仅从道德上来说是迫切的而且对这个社会的未来至关重要。国家在大多数保障儿童福利的家庭法律中都认可了这一点，而父母们在履行社会所强加给他们的、会改变其命运的义务时得到的帮助却甚少。把养育孩子视为个人选择、集体没有责任的做法不仅仅忽视了良好家庭教育所产生的社会效益，而且会抹杀这部分社会效益，因为当今天的孩子成为明天的具有生产力的公民时这部分社会效益会属于整个社会。实际上，据估计父母对孩子投入的价值，包括时间和金钱的投入（包括失去的薪水）相当于国内生产总值的20%—30%。如果这些投入能够产生巨大的社会效益——很明显能产生——那么为家庭提供更多的社会支持所带来的效益将会更加显而易见。 Passage Two 塔夫茨大学公民学习和参与信息研究中心(CIRCLE)一份新的调查显示，现在有比以前更多的年轻人参与投票选举，美国发展中心2008 年的一份调查也表明越来越多的年轻选民和活动家开始支持传统的自由事业。但要看出这些调查数字在现实生活中的意义并非易事。在总统竞选期间，巴拉克·奥巴马以希望和改变为宣传口号组成了不同种族之间和不同意识形态之间人们的联盟。当新一届政府执政下的现实生活步入正轨的时候，有些支持者可能会大失所望。随着国家进一步走入奥巴马执政时代，参与政治的年轻人是会继续支持奥巴马及其施政议程还是会渐行渐远？ “O（奥巴马的简称）一代”是《新闻周刊》新开的一个博客，致力于记录那些支持奥巴马的年轻人的生活。“O 一代”的作者们想就上面的问题做出回答。未来的三个月，Michelle Kremer 和其他11 位年龄从19 岁到34 岁不等的奥巴马支持者将会用博客来记录美国社会的主流生活，一个不同之处在于：通过将他们所有的观点和经历与新任总统及其领导下的政府紧密结合，这些博客作者试图开启一场对话，探讨在当今美国，年轻并且在政治方面活跃到底意味着什么。24 岁的Malena Amusa 是该博客的一位作者，也是来自圣路易斯的一位舞者，她将这一项目看做是即时记录历史的一种方式。Amusa 今年春天为了完成其著作前往印度，后来又去塞内加尔教授英语，她和她的朋友一直在谈论奥巴马当政会如何改变他们的日常生活，她希望把其中的一些观点和她的全球性视角写到帖子里。她很兴奋，要看清楚世界，“我不必等上15 年”，她这样解释说。 Henry Flores 是圣玛丽大学的政治学教授，他将年轻一代的政治力量归因于他们对科技的拥护。“网络使他们接触到更多的思想，”他说，“不同地区想法相同的人们就会聚到一起。”这正是“O 一代”博主们所期待的事情。结果可能会出现一群年轻人，就像他们在二战后生育高峰期出生的父母一样，伴随一种强烈的目的感而成长，他们也会改变此前从“X 一代”人身上所继承下来的冷漠形象。由一群普通但有抱负的年轻人来管理博客是个不小的挑战，但“O 一代”的成员能胜任这项任务。
英语六级阅读专项练习题附答案讲解 英语阅读在六级考试中占有很大的分值，加强英语阅读的练习十分 重要。下面小编为大家带来英语六级阅读专项练习题附答案讲解，欢迎 同学们阅读练习。 英语六级阅读专项练习题原文 Sitting in a back room at London's Barbican ans center, which is hosting the Game OnExhibition,Henry Jenkins delivers a line that would have jaws dropping in any gathering of therich and famous. I think games are going to be the most significant art form of the 2lst century, he says. It is, you might think, exactly what would be expected of someone introduced as a professor ofgaming. But Jenkins is much more than that. He is the director of a graduate program in comparativemedia studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, which also covers film,television and other mass media. Games are a significant but not the primary focus of theprogram, he says. Our approach has been to integrate games more fully into the study of media, rather thanapply them in one specialized field. The problem is that video games have yet to achieve respectability. They are often seenroughly of equal status with pornography (色情资料)，providing instant contentment for thesort of people no one would invite to a dinner party.Practically everyone plays video games,butyou may feel guilty if you are caught at it. But things did not go exactly to plan. Jenkins wrote:We were trying to