2014年12月大学英语六级长篇阅读匹配1

2014年12月大学英语六级备考长篇阅读练习1EarthquakesA) An earthquake is one of the most terrifying phenomena that nature can dish up. We generally think of the ground we stand on as “rock-solid”and completely stable. An earthquake can shatter (粉碎)that perception instantly, and often with extreme violence.B) Up until relatively recently, scientists only had unproven guesses as to what actually caused earthquakes. Even today there is still a certain amount of mystery surrounding them, but scientists have a much clearer understanding. There has been enormous progress in the past century. Scientists have identified the forces that cause earthquakes, and developed technology that can tell us an earthquake"s magnitude and origin. The next hurdle is to find a way of predicting earthquakes, so they don’t catch people by surprise. In this article, we’ll find out what causes earthquakes, and we’ll also find out why they can have such a devastating effec t on us.C) An earthquake is a vibration(震动)that travels through the earth’s crust. Technically, a large truck that rumbles down the street is causing a mini-earthquake, if you feel your house shaking as it goes by; but we tend to think of earthquakes as events that affect a fairly large area, such as an entire city. All kinds of things can cause earthquakes: volcanic eruptions, meteor(流星)impacts, underground explosions (an underground nuclear test, for example), collapsing structures (such as a collapsing mine). But the majority of naturally-occurring earthquakes are caused by movements of the earth’s plates.D) We only hear about earthquakes in the news every once in a while, but they are actually an everyday occurrence on our planet. According to the United States Geological Survey, more than 3 million earthquakes occur every year. That’s about 8,000 a day, or one every 11 seconds! The vast majority of these 3 million quakes are extremely weak. The law of probability also causes a good number of stronger quakes to happen in uninhabited places where no one feels them. It is the big quakes that occur in highly populated areas that get our attention.E) Earthquakes have caused a great deal of property damage over the years, and they have claimed many lives. In the last hundred years alone, there have been more than 1.5 million earthquake-related fatalities. Usually, it’s not the shaking ground itself that claims lives; it’s the associated destruction of man-made structures and other natural disasters it causes, such as tsunamis, avalanches (雪崩)and landslides.F) The biggest scientific breakthrough in the history of seismology—the study of earthquakes—came in the middle of the 20th century, with the development of the theory of plate tectonics(筑造学).Scientists proposed the idea of plate tectonics to explain a number of peculiar phenomena on earth, such as the apparent movement of continents over time, the clustering of volcanic activity in certain areas and the presence of huge ridges at the bottom of the ocean.G) The basic theory is that the surface layer of the earth—the lithosphere—is comprised ofmany plates that slide over the lubricating (润滑的)asthenosphere layer. At the boundaries between these huge plates of soil and rock, three different things can happen.H) Plates can move apart. If two plates are moving apart from each other, hot, molten rock flows up from the layers of mantle below the lithosphere. This magma (岩浆) comes out on the surface (mostly at the bottom of the ocean), where it is called lava (熔岩).As the lava cools, it hardens to form new lithosphere material, filling in the gap. This is called a divergent plate boundary.I) Plates can push together. If the two plates are moving toward each other, one plate typically pushes under the other one. This plate below sinks into the lower mantle layers, where it melts. At some boundaries where two plates meet, neither plate is in a position to push under the other, so they both push against each other to form mountains. The lines where plates push toward each other are called convergent plate boundaries.J) Plates slide against each other. At other boundaries, plates simply slide by each other—one moves north and one moves south, for example. While the plates don’t drift directly into each other at these transform boundaries, they are pushed tightly together. A great deal of tension builds at the boundary.K) We understand earthquakes a lot better than we did even 50 years ago, but we still can’t do much about them. They are caused by fundamental, powerful geological processes that are far beyond our control. These processes are also fairly unpredictable, so it’s not possible at this time to tell people exactly when an earthquake is going to occur. The first detected earthquake waves will tell us that more powerful vibrations are on their way, but this only gives us a few minutes’ warning, at most.L) So what can we do about earthquakes? The major advances over the past 50 years have been in preparedness, particularly in the field of construction engineering. In 1973, the Uniform Building Code, an international set of standards for building construction,7 added7 specifications7 to7 strengthen7 buildings7 against7 the7 force7 of7 earthquake7 waves.7 This7 includes7 strengthening7 support7 material7 as7 well7 as7 designing buildings so they are flexible enough to absorb vibrations without falling or deteriorating. It’s very important to design structures that can undergo this sort of attack, particularly in earthquake -prone areas.M) Another component of preparedness is educating the public. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other government agencies have produced several brochures explaining the processes involved in an earthquake and giving instructions on how to prepare your house for a possible earthquake, as well as what to do when a quake hits.N) In the future, improvements in prediction and preparedness should further minimize the loss of life and property associated with earthquakes. But it will be a long time, if ever, before we’ll be ready for every substantial earthquake that might occur. Just like severe weather and disease, earthquakes are an unavoidable force generated by the powerful natural processes that shapeour planet. All we can do is increase our understanding of the phenomenon and develop better ways to deal with it.1. Earthquake-related fatalities are usually caused by buildings，collapse and other ensuing natural disasters, not by the shaking ground itself.2. Besides movements of the earth’s plates, other forces such as volcanic eruptions, meteor impacts and so on, can also cause earthquakes.3. Earthquakes actually occur every day; most of them are not big enough to get our attention.4. People generally think the ground beneath their feet is completely stable, but earthquakes shatter that idea in no time.5. We cannot prevent earthquakes but we can actively find better ways to face them.6. Earthquakes are hardly predictable, and people cannot be told when an earthquake is going to occur.7. Scientists have found out forces that cause earthquakes through years of efforts.8. Architects now have designed flexible buildings to minimize the damages of earthquakes.9. Scientists use the theory of plate tectonics to explain the apparent movement of continents over time.10. The convergent plate boundaries refer to the lines where plates push toward each other.答案：ECDAN KBLFI。

2014年12月6级第一套Part IIIReading comprehensionSection AQuestions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.His future subjects have not always treated the Prince of Wales with the respect one might expect. They laughed aloud in 1986 when the heir to the British (36) ________ told a TV reporter that he talked to his plants at his country house, Highgrove, to stimulate their growth. The Prince was being humorous—“My sense of humor will get me into trouble one day,”he said to the aides (随从)—but listening to Charles Windsor can indeed prove stimulating. The royal (37)________ that been promoting radical ideas for most of his adult life, some of his (38) _________ which once sounded a hit weird were simply ahead of their time. Now, finally, the world seems to be catching up with him.Take his views on farming. Prince Charles’ Duchy Home Farm went (39) ___________ back to 1996.when most shoppers cared only about the low price tag on suspiciously blemish-free(无瑕疵的)V egetables and (40) __________ large chickens piled high in supermarkets.His warnings on climate change proved farsighted; too Charles began (41) _________ action on global warming in 1990 and says he has been worried about the (42) ____________ of man on the environment since he was a teenager.Although he has gradually gained international (43) __________ as one of the a world’s leading conservationists, many British people still think of him as an (44) ____________ person who talks to plants This year, as it happens, South Korean scientists proved that plants really do (45) __________ to sound. So Charles was ahead of the game there, too.A. conformB. eccentricC. environmentalistD. expeditionsE. impactF. notionsG. organicH. originallyI. recognition J. respond K. subordinate L. suppressingM. throne N. unnaturally O. urgingSection BShould Single-Sex Education Be Eliminated?[A] Why is a neuroscientist here debating single-sex schooling? Honestly, I had no fixed ideas on the topic when I started researching it for my book, Pink Brain, Blue Brain. But any discussion of gender differences in children inevitably leads to this debate, so I felt compelled to dive into the research data on single-sex schooling. I read every study I could, weighed the existing evidence, and ultimately concluded that single-sex education is not the answer to gender gaps in achievement—or the best way forward for today’s young people. After my book was published, I met several developmental and cognitive psychologists whose work was addressing gender and education from different angles, and we published a peer-reviewed Education Forum piece in Science magazine with the provocative title, “The Pseudoscience of Single-Sex Education.”[B] We showed that three lines of research used to justify single-sex schooling—educational, neuroscience, and social psychology—all fail to support its alleged benefits, and so the widely-held view that gender separation is somehow better for boys, girls, or both is nothing more than a myth.The Research on Academic Outcomes[C] First, we reviewed the extensive educational research that has compared academic outcomes in students attending single-sex versus coeducational schools. The overwhelming conclusion when you put this enormous literature together is that there is no clear academic advantage of sitting in all-female or all-male classes, in spite of much popular belief to the contrary. I base this conclusion not on any individual study, but on large-scale and systematic reviews of thousands of studies conducted in every major English-speaking country.[D] Of course, there’re many excellent single-sex schools out there, but as these careful research reviews have demonstrated, it’s not their single-sex composition that makes them excellent. It’s all the other advantages that are typically packed into such schools, such as financial resources, quality of the faculty, and pro-academic culture, along with the family background and pre-selected ability of the students themselves that determine their outcomes.[E] A case in point is the study by Linda Sax at UCLA, who used data from a large national survey of college freshmen to evaluate the effect of single-sex versus coeducational high schools. Commissioned by the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the raw findings look pretty good for the funders —higher SAT scores and a stronger academic orientation among women who had attended all girls’ high schools (men weren’t studied). However, once the researchers controlled for both student and school attributes—measures such as family income, parents’ education, and school resources—most of these effects were erased or diminished.[F] When it comes to boys in particular, the data show that single-sex education is distinctly unhelpful for them. Among the minority of studies that have reported advantages of single-sex schooling, virtually all of them were studies of girls. There’re no rigorous studies in the United States that find single-sex schooling is better for boys, and in fact, a separate line of research by economists has shown both boys and girls exhibit greater cognitive growth over the school year based on the “dose” of girls in a classroom. In fact, boys benefit even more than girls from having larger numbers of female classmates. So single-sex schooling is really not the answer to the current “boy crisis” in education.Brain and Cognitive Development[G] The second line of research often used to justify single-sex education falls squarely within my area of expertise: brain and cognitive development. I t’s been more than a decade now since the “brain sex movement ” began infiltrating (渗入) our schools, and there are literally hundreds of schools caught up in the fad (新潮). Public schools in Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida and many other states now proudly declare on their websites that they separate boys and girls because “research solidly indicates that boys and girls learn differently,”due to “hard-wired”differences in their brains, eyes, ears, autonomic nervous systems, and more.[H] All of these statements can be traced to just a few would-be neuroscientists, especially physician Leonard Sax and therapist Michael Gurian. Each gives lectures, runs conferences, and does a lot of professional development on so-called “gender-specific learning.”I analyzed their various claims about sex differences in hearing, vision, language, math, stress responses, and “learning styles”in my book and along peer-reviewed paper. Other neuroscientists and psychologists have similarly exposed their work. In short, the mechanisms by which our brains learn language, math, physics, and every other subject don’t differ between boys and girls. Of course, learning does vary a lot between individual students, but research reliably shows that this variance is far greater within populations of boys or girls than between the two sexes.[I] The equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits separation of students by sex in public education that’s based on precisely this kind of “overbroad generalizations about the different talents, capacities, or preferences of males and females.” And the reason it is prohibited is because it leads far too easily to stereotyping and sex discrimination.Social Developmental Psychology[J] That brings me to the third area of research which fails to support single-sex schooling and indeed suggests the practice is actually harmful: social-developmental psychology.[K] It’s a well-proven finding in social psychology that segregation promotes stereotyping and prejudice, whereas intergroup contact reduces them—and the results are the same whether you divide groups by race, age, gender, body mass index, sexual orientation, or any other category. What’s more, children are especially vulnerable to this kind of bias, because they are dependent on adults for learning which social categories are important and why we divide people into different groups.[L] You don’t have to look far to find evidence of stereotyping and sex discrimination in single-sex schools. There was the failed single-sex experiment in California, where six school districts used generous state grants to set up separate boys’ and girls’ academies in the late 1990s. Once boys and girls were segregated, teachers resorted to traditional gender stereotypes to run their classes, and within just three years, five of the six districts had gone back to coeducation. [M] At the same time, researchers are increasingly discovering benefits of gender interaction in youth. A large British study found that children with other-sex older siblings(兄弟姐妹) exhibit less stereotypical play than children with same-sex older siblings, such as girls who like sports and building toys and boys who like art and dramatic play. Another study of high school social networks found less bullying and aggression the higher the density of mixed-sex friendships within a given adolescent network. Then there is the finding we cited in our Science paper of higher divorce and depression rates among a large group of British men who attended single-sex schools as teenagers, which might be explained by the lack of opportunity to learn about relationships during their formative years.[N] Whether in nursery school, high school, or the business world, gender segregation narrows our perceptions of each other, facilitating stereotyping and sexist attitudes. It’s very simple: the more we structure children and adolescents’ environment around gender distinctions and separation, the more they will use these categories as the primary basis for understanding themselves and others. [O] Gender is an important issue in education. There are gaps in reading, writing, and science achievement that should be narrower. There are gaps in career choice that should be narrower—if we really want to maximize human potential and American economic growth. But stereotyping boys and girls and separating them in the name of fictitious(虚构的) brain differences is never going to close these gaps.46. Hundreds of schools separate boys from girls in class on the alleged brain and cognitive differences.47. A review of extensive educational research shows no obvious academic advantage of single-sex schooling.48. The author did not have any fixed ideas on single-sex education when she began her research on the subject49. Research found men who attended single-sex schools in their teens were more likely to sufferfrom depression.50. Studies in social psychology have shown segregation in school education has a negative impact on children.51. Reviews of research indicate there are more differences in brain and cognitive development within the same sex than between different sexes.52. The findings of the national survey of college freshmen about the impact of single-sex schooling fail to take into account student and school attributes.53. It wasn’t long before most of the school districts that experimented with single-sex education abandoned the practice.54. Boys from coeducational classes demonstrate greater cognitive abilities according to the economists’ research.55. As careful research reviews show, academic excellence in some single-sex schools is attributed to other factors than single-sex education.Section CInternational governments’ inaction concerning sustainable development is clearly worrying but the proactive(主动出击的) approaches of some leading-edge companies are encouraging. Toyota, Wal-Mart, DuPont, M&S and General Electric have made tackling environmental wastes a key economic driver.DuPont committed itself to a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the 10 years prior to 2010. By 2007, DuPont was saving $2.2 billion a year through energy efficiency, the same as its total declared profits that year. General Electric aims to reduce the energy intensity of its operations by 50% by 2015. They have invested heavily in projects designed to change the way of using and conserving energy.Companies like Toyota and Wal-Mart are not committing to environmental goals out of the goodness of their hearts. The reason for their actions is a simple yet powerful realization that the environmental and economic footprints fit well together. When M&S launched its “Plan A”sustainability program in 2007, it was believed that it would cost over £200 million in the first five years. However, the initiative had generated £105 million by 2011/12.When we prevent physical waste, increase energy efficiency or improve resource productivity, we save money, improve profitability and enhance competitiveness. In fact, there are often huge “quick win” opportunities, thanks to years of neglect.However, there is a considerable gap between leading-edge companies and the rest of the pack. There are far too many companies still delaying creating a lean and green business system, arguing that it will cost money or require sizable capital investments. They remain stuck in the “environment is cost” mentality. Being environmentally friendly does not have to cost money. In fact, going beyond compliance saves cost at the same time that it generates cash, provided that management adopts the new lean and green model.Lean means doing more with less. Nonetheless, in most companies, economic and environmental continuous improvement is viewed as being in conflict with each other. This is one of the biggest opportunities missed across most industries. The size of the opportunity is enormous. The 3% Report recently published by World Wildlife Fund and CDP shows that the economic prize for curbing carbon emissions in the US economy is $780 billion between now and 2020. It suggests that one of the biggest levers for delivering this opportunity is “increased efficiencythrough management and behavioral change”—in other words, lean and green management.Some 50 studies show that companies that commit to such aspirational goals as zero waste, zero harmful emissions, and zero use of non-renewable resources are financially outperforming their competitors. Conversely, it was found that climate disruption is already costing $1.2 trillion annually, cutting global GDP by 1.6%. Unaddressed, this will double by 2030.56. What does the author say about some leading-edge companies?A. They operate in accordance with government policies.B. They take initiatives in handling environmental wastes.C. They are key drivers in their nations’ economic growth.D. They are major contributors to environmental problems.57. What motivates Toyota and Wal-Mart to make commitments to environmental protection?A. The goodness of their hearts.B. A strong sense of responsibility.C. The desire to generate profits.D. Pressure from environmentalists.58. Why are so many companies reluctant to create an environment-friendly business system?A. They are bent on making quick money.B. They do not have the capital for the investment.C. They believe building such a system is too costly.D. They lack the incentive to change business practices.59. What is said about the lean and green model of business?A. It helps businesses to save and gain at the same time.B. It is affordable only for a few leading-edge companies.C. It is likely to start a new round of intense competition.D. It will take a long time for all companies to embrace it.60. What is the finding of the studies about companies committed to environmental goals?A. They have greatly enhanced their sense of social responsibility.B. They do much better than their counterparts in terms of revenues.C. They have abandoned all the outdated equipment and technology.D. They make greater contributions to human progress than their rivals.Passage TwoIf you asked me to describe the rising philosophy of the day, I’d say it is data-ism. We now have the ability to gather huge amounts of data. This ability seems to carry with it certain cultural assumptions—that everything that can be measured should be measured; that data is a transparent and reliable lens that allows us to filter out emotionalism and ideology; that data will help us do remarkable things— like foretell the future.Over the next year, I’m hoping to get a better grip on some of the questions raised by the data revolution: In what situations should we rely on intuitive pattern recognition and in which situations should we ignore intuition and follow the data? What kinds of events are predictable using statistical analysis and what sorts of events are not?I confess I enter this in a skeptical frame of mind, believing that we tend to get carried away in our desire to reduce everything to the quantifiable. But at the outset let me celebrate two things data does really well.First, it’s really good at exposing when our intuitive view of reality is wrong. For example, nearly every person who runs for political office has an intuitive sense that they can powerfullyinfluence their odds of winning the election if they can just raise and spend more money. But this is largely wrong.After the 2006 election, Sean Trende constructed a graph comparing the incumbent(在任者的) campaign spending advantages with their eventual margins of victory. There was barely any relationship between more spending and a bigger victory. Likewise, many teachers have an intuitive sense that different students have different learning styles: some are verbal and some are visual; some are linear, some are holistic(整体的). Teachers imagine they will improve outcomes if they tailor their presentations to each student. But there’s no evidence to support this either.Second, data can illuminate patterns of behavior we haven’t yet noticed. For example, I’ve always assumed people who frequently use words like “I,”“me,” and “mine” are probably more self-centered than people who don’t. But as James Pennebaker of the University of Texas notes in his book, The Secret Life of Pronouns, when people are feeling confident, they are focused on the task at hand, not on themselves. High-status, confident people use fewer “I” words, not more.Our brains often don’t notice subtle verbal patterns, but Pennebaker’s computers can. Younger writers use more negative and past-tense words than older writers who use more positive and future-tense words.In sum, the data revolution is giving us wonderful ways to understand the present and the past. Will it transform our ability to predict and make decisions about the future? We’ll see.61. What do data-ists assume they can do?A. Transform people’s cultural identity.B. Change the way future events unfold.C. Get a firm grip on the most important issues.D. Eliminate emotional and ideological bias.62. What do people running for political office think they can do?A. Use data analysis to predict the election result.B. Win the election if they can raise enough funds.C. Manipulate public opinion with favorable data.D. Increase the chances of winning by foul means.63. Why do many teachers favor the idea of tailoring their presentations to different students?A. They think students prefer flexible teaching methods.B. They will be able to try different approaches.C. They believe students’ learning styles vary.D. They can accommodate students with special needs.64. What does James Pennebaker reveal in The Secret Life of Pronouns?A. The importance of using pronouns properly.B. Repeated use of first-person pronouns by self-centered people.C. Frequent use of pronouns and future tense by young people.D. A pattern in confident people’s use of pronouns.65. Why is the author skeptical of the data revolution?A. Data may not be easily accessible.B. Errors may occur with large data samples.C. Data cannot always do what we imagine it can.D. Some data may turn out to be outdated.Part IV Translation中国将努力确保到2015年就业者接受过平均13.3年的教育。

indispensable in education. You should give sound arguments to support your views and write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. 6. A) She does not like John at all. C) She does not think John is handsome. B) John has got many admirers. D) John has just got a bachelor's degree. 7. A) He has been bumping along for hours. C) He is involved in a serious accident. B) He has got a sharp pain in the neck. D) He is trapped in a terrible traffic jam. 8. A) She is good at repairing things. C) She should improve her physical condition. B) She is a professional mechanic. D) She cannot go without a washing machine. Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 9. A) Some witnesses failed to appear in court. C) The accused was found guilty of stealing. B) The case caused debate among the public. D) The accused refused to plead guilty in court. 10. A) He was out of his mind. C) His wife deserted him. B) He was unemployed. D) His children were sick. 11. A) He had been in jail before. C) He was unlikely to get employed. B) He was unworthy of sympathy. D) He had committed the same sort of crime. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 12. A) Irresponsible. B) Unsatisfactory. C) Aggressive. D) Conservative. 13. A) Internal communication. C) Public relations. B) Distribution of brochures. D) Product design. 14. A) Placing advertisements in the trade press. C) Advertising in the national press. B) Drawing sketches for advertisements. D) Making television commercials. 15. A) She has the motivation to do the job. C) She is not so easy to get along with. B) She knows the tricks of advertising. D) She is not suitable for the position. 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 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. Passage One Questions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard. 16. A) The cozy communal life. C) Innovative academic programs. B) The cultural diversity. D) Impressive school buildings. 17. A) It is very beneficial to their academic progress. B) It helps them soak up the surrounding culture. C) It is as important as their learning experience. D) It ensures their physical and mental health. 18. A) It offers the most challenging academic programs. B) It has the world's best-known military academies. C) It provides numerous options for students. D) It draws faculty from all around the world. 19. A) They try to give students opportunities for experimentation. B) They are responsible merely to their Ministry of Education. C) They strive to develop every student's academic potential. D) They ensure that all students get roughly equal attention. Passage Two Questions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard. 20. A) It will arrive at Boulogne at half past two. C) It is now about half way to the French coast. B) It crosses the English Channel twice a day. D) It is leaving Folkestone in about five minutes. 21. A) Opposite the ship's office. C) At the rear of B deck. B) Next to the duty-free shop. D) In the front of A deck. 22. A) It is for the sole use of passengers travelling with cars. B) It is much more spacious than the lounge on C deck. C) It is for the use of passengers travelling with children. D) It is for senior passengers and people with VIP cards. Passage Three Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard. 23. A) It was named after its location. C) It was named after a cave art expert. B) It was named after its discoverer. D) It was named after one of its painters. 24. A) Animal painting was part of the spiritual life of the time. B) Deer were worshiped by the ancient Cro-Magnon people. C) Cro-Magnon people painted animals they hunted and ate. D) They were believed to keep evils away from cave dwellers. 25. A) They know little about why the paintings were created. B) They have difficulty telling when the paintings were done. C) They are unable to draw such interesting and fine paintings. D) They have misinterpreted the meaning of the cave paintings. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you you should should should listen listen listen carefully carefully carefully for for for its its its general general general idea. idea. idea. When When When the the the passage passage passage is is is read read read for for for the the the second second second time, time, time, you you you are are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written. If you are attending a local college, especially one without residence halls, you'll probably live at home and commute to classes. This arrangement has a lot of 26 . It's cheaper. It provides a comfortable and familiar setting, and it means you'll get the kind of home cooking you're used to instead of the monotony (单调) that 27 even the best institutional food. However, commuting students need to 28 to become involved in the life of their college and to take special steps to meet their fellow students. Often, this means a certain amount of initiative on your part in 29 and talking to people in your classes whom you think you might like. One problem that commuting students sometimes face is their parents' unwillingness to recognize that they're adults. The 30 from high school to college is a big one, and if you live at home you need to develop the same kind of independence you'd have if you were living away. Home rules that might have been 31 when you were in high school don't apply. If your parents are 32 to renegotiate, you can speed the process along by letting your behavior show that you have the responsibility that goes with maturity. Parents are more willing to 33 their children as adults when they behave like adults. If, however, there's so much friction at home that it 34 your academic work, you might want to consider sharing an apartment with one or more friends. Sometimes this is a happy solution when family 35 make everyone miserable. Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes) Section A Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage. Children are natural-born scientists. They have 36 minds, and they aren't afraid to admit they don't know something. Most of them, 37 , lose this as they get older. They become self-conscious and don't want to appear stupid. Instead of finding things out for themselves they make 38 that often turn out to be wrong. So it's not a case of getting kids interested in science. You just have to avoid killing the 39 for learning that they were born with. It's no coincidence that kids start deserting science once it becomes formalised. Children naturally have a blurred approach to 40 knowledge. They see learning about science or biology or cooking as all part of the same act —it's all learning. It's only because of the practicalities of education that you have to start breaking down the curriculum into specialist subjects. You need to have specialist teachers who 41 what what they they they know. know. know. Thus Thus Thus once once once they they they enter enter enter school, school, school, children children children begin begin begin to to to define define define subjects subjects subjects and and and erect erect boundaries that needn't otherwise exist. Dividing subjects into science, maths, English, etc. is something we do for 42 . In the end it's all learning, but many children today 43 themselves from a scientific education. They think science is for scientists, not for them. Of course we need to specialise 44 . Each of us has only so much time on Earth, so we can't study everything. At 5 years old, our field of knowledge and 45 is broad, covering anything from learning to walk to learning to count. Gradually it narrows down so that by the time we are 45, it might be one tiny little corner within science. A) accidentally B) acquiring C) assumptions D) convenience E) eventually F) exclude G) exertion H) exploration I) formulas J) ignite K) impart L) inquiring M) passion N) provoking O) unfortunately Section B Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2. Meaning Is Healthier Than Happiness [A] For at least the last decade, the happiness craze has been building. In the last three months alone, over 1,000 books on happiness were released on Amazon, including Happy Money, Happy-People-Pills For All, and, for those just starting out, Happiness for Beginners. [B] One of the consistent claims of books like these is that happiness is associated with all sorts of good life outcomes, including —most promisingly —good health. Many studies have noted the connection between a happy mind and a healthy body —the happier we are, the better health outcomes we seem to have. In an overview of 150 studies on this topic, researchers put it like this: "Inductions of well-being lead to healthy functioning, and inductions of ill-being lead to compromised health." [C] [C] But But But a a a new new new study, study, study, just just just published published published in in in the the the Proceedings Proceedings Proceedings of of of the the the National National National Academy Academy Academy of of of Sciences Sciences Sciences (PNAS) (PNAS) challenges the rosy picture. Happiness may not be as good for the body as researchers thought. It might even be bad. [D] Of course, it's important to first define happiness. A few months ago, I wrote a piece called "There's More to Life Than Being Happy" about a psychology study that dug into what happiness really means to people. It specifically explored the difference between a meaningful life and a happy life. [E] It seems strange that there would be a difference at all. But the researchers, who looked at a large sample of people over a month-long period, found that happiness is associated with selfish "taking" behavior and that having a sense of meaning in life is associated with selfless "giving" behavior. [F] [F] "Happiness "Happiness "Happiness without without without meaning meaning meaning characterizes characterizes characterizes a a relatively relatively shallow, shallow, shallow, self-absorbed self-absorbed self-absorbed or or or even even even selfish selfish selfish life, life, life, in in which things go well, needs and desires are easily satisfied, and complicated relationships are avoided," the authors of the study wrote. "If anything, pure happiness is linked to not helping others in need." While being happy is about feeling good, meaning is derived from contributing to others or to society in a bigger way. As Roy Baumeister, one of the researchers, told me, "Partly what we do as human beings is to take care of others and contribute to others. This makes life meaningful but it does not necessarily make us happy." [G] The new PNAS study also sheds light on the difference between meaning and happiness, but on the biological level. Barbara Fredrickson, a psychological researcher at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Steve Cole, a genetics and psychiatry (精神病学) researcher at UCLA, examined the self-reported levels of happiness and meaning in 80 research subjects. [H] Happiness was defined, as in the earlier study, by feeling good. The researchers measured happiness by asking subjects questions like "How often did you feel happy?", "How often did you feel interested in life?" and "How often did you feel satisfied?" The more strongly people endorsed these measures of "hedonic (享乐主义的) well-being," or pleasure, the higher they scored on happiness. [I] Meaning was defined as an orientation to something bigger than the self. They measured meaning by asking questions like "How often did you feel that your life has a sense of direction or meaning to it?" and "How often did you feel that you had something to contribute to society?" The more people endorsed these measures of "eudaimonic (幸福论的) well-being"—or, simply put, virtue —the more meaning they felt in life. [J] After noting the sense of meaning and happiness that each subject had, Fredrickson and Cole, with their research colleagues, looked at the ways certain genes expressed themselves in each of the participants. Like neuroscieritists who use fMRI (功能磁共振成像) scanning to determine how regions in the brain respond to different different stimuli, stimuli, stimuli, Cole Cole Cole and Fredrickson and Fredrickson are are interested interested interested in in in how how how the the the body, body, body, at at the the genetic genetic genetic level, level, level, responds responds responds to to feelings of happiness and meaning. [K] Cole's past work has linked various kinds of chronic adversity to a particular gene expression pattern. When people feel lonely, are grieving the loss of a loved one, or are struggling to make ends meet, their bodies go into threat mode. This triggers the activation of a stress-related gene pattern that has two features: an increase in the activity of pro-inflammatory (促炎症的) genes and a decrease in the activity of genes involved in anti-viral responses. [L] Cole and Fredrickson found that people who are happy but have little to no sense of meaning in their lives have the same gene expression patterns as people who are responding to and enduring chronic adversity. That That is, is, is, the the the bodies bodies bodies of of of these these these happy happy happy people people people are are are preparing preparing preparing them them them for for for bacterial bacterial bacterial threats threats threats by by by activating activating activating the the pro-inflammatory response. Chronic inflammation is, of course, associated with major illnesses like heart disease and various cancers. [M] [M] "Empty "Empty "Empty positive positive positive emotions"emotions"emotions"——like like the the the kind kind kind people people people experience experience experience during during during manic manic manic ((狂喜的) ) episodes episodes episodes or or artificially induced euphoria (欣快) from alcohol and drugs—"are about as good for you as adversity," says Fredrickson. [N] It's important to understand that for many people, a sense of meaning and happiness in life overlap; many people score jointly high (or jointly low) on the happiness and meaning measures in the study. But for many others, there is a dissonance (不一致)—they feel that they are low on happiness and high on meaning or that their lives are very high in happiness, but low in meaning. This last group, which has the gene expression pattern associated with adversity, formed 75 percent of study participants. Only one quarter of the study participants participants had had had what what what the the the researchers researchers researchers call call call "eudaimonic "eudaimonic "eudaimonic predominance"predominance"predominance"——that that is, is, is, their their their sense sense sense of of of meaning meaning outpaced their feelings of happiness. [O] [O] This This This is is is too too too bad bad bad given given given the the the more more more beneficial beneficial beneficial gene gene gene expression expression expression pattern pattern pattern associated associated associated with with with meaningfulness. meaningfulness. People whose levels of happiness and meaning line up, and people who have a strong sense of meaning but are not necessarily happy, showed a de-activation of the adversity stress response. Their bodies were not preparing them for the bacterial infections that we get when we are alone or in trouble, but for the viral infections we get when surrounded by a lot of other people. [P] Fredrickson's past research, described in her two books, Positivity and Love 2.0, has mapped the benefits of positive emotions in individuals. She has found that positive emotions broaden a person's perspective and help protect people against adversity. So it was surprising to her that hedonic well-being, which is associated with positive emotions and pleasure, did so badly in this study compared with eudaimonic well-being. [Q] [Q] "It's "It's "It's not not not the the the amount amount amount of of of hedonic hedonic hedonic happiness happiness happiness that's that's that's a a a problem." problem." problem." Fredrickson Fredrickson Fredrickson tells tells tells me, me, me, "It's "It's "It's that that that it's it's it's not not matched by eudaimonic well-being. It's great when both are in step. But if you have more hedonic well-being than would be expected, that's when this [gene] pattern that's similar to adversity emerged." [R] The terms hedonism and eudaimonism bring to mind the great philosophical debate, which has shaped Western civilization for over 2,000 years, about the nature of the good life. Does happiness lie in feeling good, as hedonists think, or in doing and being good, as Aristotle and his intellectual descendants, the virtue ethicists (伦理学家), think? From the evidence of this study, it seems that feeling good is not enough. People need meaning to thrive. In the words of Carl Jung, "The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it." Jung's wisdom certainly seems to apply to our bodies, if not also to our hearts and our minds. 46. The author's recent article examined how a meaningful life is different from a happy life. 47. It should be noted that many people feel their life is both happy and meaningful. 48. According to one survey, there is a close relationship between hedonic well-being measures and high scores on happiness. 49. According to one of the authors of a new study, what makes life meaningful may not make people happy. 50. Experiments were carried out to determine our body's genetic expression of feelings of happiness and meaning. 51. A new study claims happiness may not contribute to health. 52. According to the researchers, taking makes for happiness while giving adds meaning to life. 53. Evidence from research shows that it takes meaning for people to thrive. 54. With regard to gene expression patterns, happy people with little or no sense of meaning in life are found to be similar to those suffering from chronic adversity. 55. Most books on happiness today assert that happiness is beneficial to health. Section C 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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. Passage One Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage. Nothing Nothing succeeds succeeds succeeds in in in business business business books books books like like like the the the study study study of of of success. success. success. The The The current current current business-book business-book business-book boom boom boom was was launched launched in in in 1982 1982 1982 by by by Tom Tom Tom Peters Peters Peters and and and Robert Robert Robert Waterman Waterman Waterman with with with In In In Search Search Search of of of Excellence. Excellence. Excellence. The The The trend trend trend has has continued with a succession of experts and would-be experts who promise to distil the essence of excellence into three (or five or seven) simple rules. The Three Rules is a self-conscious contribution to this type of writing; it even includes a bibliography of "success studies". Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed work for a consultancy, Deloitte, that is determined to turn itself into more of a thought-leader and less a corporate repairman. They employ all the tricks of the success success books. books. books. They They They insist insist insist that that that their their their conclusions conclusions conclusions are are are "measurable "measurable "measurable and and and actionable"actionable"actionable"——guides guides to to to behaviour behaviour rather than analysis for its own sake. Success authors usually serve up vivid stories about how exceptional businesspeople businesspeople stamped stamped stamped their their their personalities personalities personalities on on on a a a company company company or or or rescued rescued rescued it it it from from from a a a life-threatening life-threatening life-threatening crisis. crisis. MessrsRaynor MessrsRaynor and and and Ahmed Ahmed Ahmed are are are happier happier happier chewing chewing chewing the the the numbers: numbers: numbers: they they they provide provide provide detailed detailed detailed appendices appendices appendices on on "calculating the elements of advantage" and "detailed analysis". The authors spent five years studying the behaviour of their 344 "exceptional companies", only to come up at first with nothing. Every hunch (直觉) led to a blind alley and every hypothesis to a dead end. It was only when they shifted their attention from how companies behave to how they think that they began to make sense of their voluminous material. Management Management is is is all all all about about about making making making difficult difficult difficult tradeoffs tradeoffs tradeoffs in in in conditions conditions conditions that that that are are are always always always uncertain uncertain uncertain and and and often often fast-changing. fast-changing. But But But exceptional exceptional exceptional companies companies companies approach approach approach these these these tradeoffs tradeoffs tradeoffs with with with two two two simple simple simple rules rules rules in in in mind, mind, sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. First: better before cheaper. Companies are more likely to succeed in the long run if they compete on quality or performance than on price. Second: revenue before cost. Companies have more to gain in the long run from driving up revenue than by driving down costs. Most success studies suffer from two faults. There is "the halo (光环) effect", whereby good performance leads commentators to attribute all manner of virtues to anything and everything the company does. These virtues then suddenly become vices when the company fails. MessrsRaynor and Ahmed work hard to avoid these mistakes by studying large bodies of date over several decades. But they end up embracing a different error: error: stating stating stating the the the obvious. obvious. obvious. Most Most Most businesspeople businesspeople businesspeople will will will not not not be be be surprised surprised surprised to to to learn learn learn that that that it it it is is is better better better to to to find find find a a profitable niche (隙缝市场) and focus on boosting your revenues than to compete on price and cut your way to success. The difficult question is how to find that profitable niche and protect it. There, The Three Rules is less useful. 56. What kind of business books are most likely to sell well? A) Books on excellence. C) Books on business rules. B) Guides to management. D) Analyses of market trends. 57. What does the author imply about books on success so far? A) They help businessmen one way or another. B) They are written by well-recognised experts. C) They more or less fall into the same stereotype. D) They are based on analyses of corporate leaders. 58. How does The Three Rules differ from other success books according to the passage? A) It focuses on the behaviour of exceptional businessmen. B) It bases its detailed analysis on large amounts of data. C) It offers practicable advice to businessmen. D) It draws conclusions from vivid examples. 59. What does the passage say contributes to the success of exceptional companies? A) Focuis on quality and revenue. B) Management and sales promotion. C) Lower production costs and competitive prices. D) Emphasis on after-sale service and maintenance. 60. What is the author's comment on The Three Rules? A) It can help to locate profitable niches. C) It is noted for its detailed data analysis. B) It has little to offer to businesspeople. D) It fails to identify the keys to success. Passage Two Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage. When When Harvard Harvard Harvard student student student Mark Mark Mark Zuckerberg Zuckerberg Zuckerberg launched launched launched    in in in Feb. Feb. Feb. 2004, 2004, 2004, even even even he he he could could could not not imagine the forces it would let loose. His intent was to connect college students. Facebook, which is what this website rapidly evolved into, ended up connecting the world. To the children of this connected era, the world is one giant social network. They are not bound —as were previous generations of humans —by what they were taught. They are only limited by their curiosity and ambition. ambition. During During During my my my childhood, childhood, childhood, all all all knowledge knowledge knowledge was was was local. local. local. You You You learned learned learned everything everything everything you you you knew knew knew from from from your your parents, teachers, preachers, and friends. With the high-quality and timely information at their fingertips, today's children are rising above the fears and biases of their parents. Adults are also participating in this revolution. India's normally tame middle class is speaking up against social ills. Silicon Valley executives are being shamed into adding women to their boards. Political leaders are marshalling the energy of millions for elections and political causes. All of this is being done with social media technologies that Facebook and its competitors set free. As As does does does every every every advancing advancing advancing technology, technology, technology, social social social media media media has has has created created created many many many new new new problems. problems. problems. It It It is is is commonly commonly addictive and creates risks for younger users. Social media is used by extremists in the Middle East and elsewhere to seek and brainwash recruits. And it exposes us and our friends to disagreeable spying. We may leave our lights on in the house when we are on vacation, but through social media we tell criminals exactly where we are, when we plan to return home, and how to blackmail (敲诈) us. Governments don't need informers any more. Social media allows government agencies to spy on their own citizens. We record our thoughts, emotions, likes and dislikes on Facebook; we share our political views, social social preferences, preferences, preferences, and and and plans. plans. plans. We We We post post post intimate intimate intimate photographs photographs photographs of of of ourselves. ourselves. ourselves. No No No spy spy spy agency agency agency or or or criminal criminal organization could actively gather the type of data that we voluntarily post for them. The marketers are also seeing big opportunities. Amazon is trying to predict what we will order. Google is trying to judge our needs and wants based on our social-media profiles. We need to be aware of the risks and keep working to alleviate the dangers. Regardless of what social media people use, one thing is certain: we are in a period of accelerating change. The next decade will be even more amazing and unpredictable than the last. Just as no one could predict what 。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题(一)答案与详解Part ⅠWriting1、审题:本次作文是图画作文【考频:★★☆】，这是2013年12月六级改革后第一次出现该类型作文，但体裁仍是常见的议论文。

本次作文给出的图画理解起来难度不大，而且涉及的话题是教育和科技的关系，这是考生比较熟悉的话题，因此写起来并不难。

2、列提纲：3. 语言:对图画的描述要用词准确，议论部分可适当使用从句等高分句型。

Technology and EducationWhat the drawing vividly depicts is that a pupil tells his teacher he needs tech support to solve an extremely easy question on the blackboard. The drawing illustrates that we-are highly dependent on technology, overlooking the importance of independent thinking.Those who favor the significance of technology in education argue that it facilitates learning and enables us to have easier access to infinite learning resources. In contrast, people who hold the opposite opinion maintain that over-dependence on technology is harmful. They think that a student who gets into the habit of doing his homework by downloading answers from the Internet will end up ignorant and being unable to think critically and creatively. And the drawing is a good illustration of this point. For another example, if you always write your homework or reports on a word processor，you may forget how to write the words in no time.As far as I am concerned, technology plays an important but not indispensable role in education. Over-dependence on technology does more harm than good. I suggest that we should master the basic knowledge on our own and learn how to apply technology in education properly. Only in this way can we benefit most from our learning process.PartⅡListening Comprehension1.听力原文：M: Before we play again, I’m going to buy a good tennis racket.W:Your shoes aren’t in a very good shape，either.Q: What does the woman mean?1. A) The man’s tennis racket is good enough.B)The man should get a pair of new shoes.C)She can wait for the man for a little while.D)Physical exercise helps her stay in shape.【预测】由A)“男士的网球拍已经足够好了”、B)“男士应该买双新鞋”和D)“体育锻炼帮她保持身材”可以推测，对话内容与体育锻炼有关。

2014年12⽉六级真题答案解析（第⼀套）2014年12⽉⼤学英语六级考试真题(⼀)Part I Writing (30minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the picture below. Youshould start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then discuss whether technology isindispensable in education. You should give sound arguments to support your views and write at least 150words but no more than 200 words.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension (30minutes)SectionA注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1.A． The man's tennis racket is good enough.B． The man should get a pair of new shoes.C． She can wait for the man for a little while.D． Physical exercise helps her stay in shape.2.A． The woman will skip Dr. Smith's lecture to help the man.B． Kathy is very pleased to attend the lecture by Dr. Smith.C． The woman is good at doing lab demonstrations.D． The man will do all he can to assist the woman.3.A． The woman asked the man to accompany her to the party.B． Steve became rich soon after graduation from college.C． Steve invited his classmates to visit his big cottage.D． The speakers and Steve used to be classmates.4.A． In a bus.B． In a clinic.C． In a boat.D． In a plane.5.A． 10:10.B． 9: 50.C． 9 : 40.D． 9..10.6.A． She does not like John at all.B． John has got many admirers.C． She does not think John is handsome.D． John has just got a bachelor's degree.7.A． He has been bumping along for hours.B． He has got a sharp pain in the neck.C． He is involved in a serious accident.D． He is trapped in a terrible traffic jam.8.A． She is good at repairing things.B． She is a professional mechaniC.C． She should improve her physical condition.D． She cannot go without a washing machine.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9.A． Some witnesses failed to appear in court.B． The case caused debate among the public.C． The accused was found guilty of stealing.D．The accused refused to plead guilty in court.10.A． He was out of his mind.B． He was unemployed.C． His wife deserted him.D． His children were sick.11.A． He had been in jail before.B． He was unworthy of sympathy.C． He was unlikely to get employed.D． He had committed the same sort of crime.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12.A． Irresponsible.B． Unsatisfactory.C． Aggressive.D． Conservative.13.A． Internal communication.B． Distribution of brochures.C． Public relations.D． Product design.14.A． Placing advertisements in the trade press.B．Drawing sketches for advertisementC． Advertising in the national press.D． Making television commercials.15.A． She has the motivation to do the job.B． She knows the tricks of advertising.C． She is not so easy to get along with.D． She is not suitable for the position.SectionBDirections: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear somequestions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, youmust choose the best answer from the four choices marked A ), B ), C ) and D ). Then mark thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. Passage OneQuestions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard. 16.A． The cozy communal life.B． The cultural diversity.C． Innovative academic programs.D． Impressive school buildings.17.A． It is very beneficial to their academic progress.B． It helps them soak up the surrounding culture.C． It is as important as their learning experience.D． It ensures their physical and mental health.18.A． It offers the most challenging academic programs.B． It has the world's best-known military academies.C． It provides numerous options for students.D． It draws faculty from all around the world.19.A． They try to give students opportunities for experimentation. B． They are responsible merely to their Ministry of Education. C． They strive to develop every student's academic potential. D． They ensure that all students get roughly equal attention. Passage TwoQuestions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard. 20.A． It will arrive at Boulogne at half past two.B． It crosses the English Channel twice a day.C． It is now about half way to the French coast.D． It is leaving Folkestone in about five minutes.21.A． Opposite the ship's office.B． Next to the duty-free shop.C． At the rear of B deck.D． In the front of A deck.22.A． It is for the sole use of passengers travelling with cars. B． It is much more spacious than the lounge on C deck.C． It is for the use of passengers travelling with children.D． It is for senior passengers and people with VIP cards.Passage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard. 23.A． It was named after its location.B． It was named after its discoverer.C． It was named after a cave art expert.D． It was named after one of its painters.24.A． Animal painting was part of the spiritual life of the time. B． Deer were worshiped by the ancient Cro-Magnon people.C． Cro-Magnon people painted animals they hunted and ate.D． They were believed to keep evils away from cave dwellers.25.A． They know little about why the paintings were created.B． They have difficulty telling when the paintings were done.C． They are unable to draw such interesting and fine paintings.D． They have misinterpreted the meaning of the cave paintings.Section CDirections.. In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time,you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you arerequired to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read forthe third time,, you should check what you have written. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试第一套答案与详解（卷一）Part ⅠWriting1、审题:本次作文是图画作文【考频:★★☆】，这是2013年12月六级改革后第一次出现该类型作文，但体裁仍是常见的议论文。

本次作文给出的图画理解起来难度不大，而且涉及的话题是教育和科技的关系，这是考生比较熟悉的话题，因此写起来并不难。

2、列提纲：3. 语言:对图画的描述要用词准确，议论部分可适当使用从句等高分句型。

Technology and EducationWhat the drawing vividly depicts is that a pupil tells his teacher he needs tech support to solve an extremely easy question on the blackboard. The drawing illustrates that we-are highly dependent on technology, overlooking the importance of independent thinking.Those who favor the significance of technology in education argue that it facilitates learning and enables us to have easier access to infinite learning resources. In contrast, people who hold the opposite opinion maintain that over-dependence on technology is harmful. They think that a student who gets into the habit of doing his homework by downloading answers from the Internet will end up ignorant and being unable to think critically and creatively. And the drawing is a good illustration of this point. For another example, if you always write your homework or reports on a word processor，you may forget how to write the words in no time.As far as I am concerned, technology plays an important but not indispensable role in education. Over-dependence on technology does more harm than good. I suggest that we should master the basic knowledge on our own and learn how to apply technology in education properly. Only in this way can we benefit most from our learning process.PartⅡListening Comprehension1.听力原文：M: Before we play again, I’m going to buy a good tennis racket.W:Your shoes aren’t in a very good shape，either.Q: What does the woman mean?1. A) The man’s tennis racket is good enough.B)The man should get a pair of new shoes.C)She can wait for the man for a little while.D)Physical exercise helps her stay in shape.【预测】由A)“男士的网球拍已经足够好了”、B)“男士应该买双新鞋”和D)“体育锻炼帮她保持身材”可以推测，对话内容与体育锻炼有关。

2014年12月大学英语6级考试真题及答案（整理总结版）（一）听力部分真题和答案：短对话：1.M: Before we play again, I’m going to buy a good tennis racket.W: Your shoes aren’t in a very good shape either.Q: What does the woman mean?2.M: Barbara, I’d like you could assist me in the lab demonstration. But aren’t you supposed to go to Dr. Smith’s lecture today?W: I ask Cathy to take notes for me.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?3.W: Steve invi ted me to the dinner party on Sunday evening. Have you received your invitation yet? M: Yes, he found me this morning and told me he wanted all his old classmates to come to the reunion.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?4.W: I’m afraid I’m a little bit s easick. I feel dizzy.M: Close your eyes and relax. You’ll be all right as soon as we come at shore.Q: Where does the conversation most probably take place?5.W: I wonder what’s happened to our train. It should have been here twenty minutes ago according to the timetable. But it’s already 9:30.M: There’s no need to get nervous. The announcement says it’s forty minutes late.Q: When is the train arriving?6.M: John is handsome and wealthy. Believe it or not, he is still a bachelor.W: He is a notorious g uy in many girls’ eyes. I’m sick of hearing his name.Q: What does the woman mean?7.M: Cars had lined up bumper to bumper. And I’ve been held up on the express way for the entire hour.W: Really? It must be a pain in the neck. But be patient, anyway, you can do nothing but wait. Q: What do we learn about the man?8.W: Yesterday I was surprised to see Mary using that washing machine you’re going to throw away. M: Yes, it’s quite old and in a very poor condition. Frankly speaking, that she got it working amazes me a lot.Q: What does the man imply about Mary?答案：1. B. The man should get a pair of new shoes.2. A. The woman will skip Dr. Smith’s lecture to help the man.3. D. The speakers and Steve used to be classmates.4. C. In a boat.5. B. 9:50.6. A. She does not like John at all.7. D. He is trapped in a terrible traffic jam.8. A. She is good at repairing things.长对话：Conversation 1M: A recent case I heard was of a man accused and found guilty of breaking into a house and stealing some money.W: Well, was he really guilty, judge?M: He admit ted that he’d done it, and there were several witnesses saying that he had indeed done it. So I can only assume that he was guilty.W: Why did he do it?M: Well, the reasons were little muddied, probably at least it seemed in a trial that he did it to get some money to feed his family. You see, he’d been out of work for some time.W: Well, he’d been out of work and he chose to break into a ho use to get money for his family and apparently in front of people that, err... could see him do it.M: His attorney presented testimony that he had indeed applied for jobs and was listed with several employment agencies, including the state employment agency, but they weren’t any jobs.W: And he had no luck!M: He had no luck and it’d been some time. He had two children and both of them were needing food and clothing.W: So he was in desperate circumstances. Did you sentence him?M: Yes.W: But what good do es it do to put the man into jail when he’s obviously in such need?M: This particular fellow has been in prison before.W: For the same thing?M: No, for a different sort of crime.W: Huh?M: But he did know about crime, so I suppose there are folks that just have to go back to prison several times.9. What did the judge say about the case he recently heard?10. What do we learn about the man at the time of crime?11. What did the judge say about the accused?Conversation 2M: Ah, how do you do, Ms. Wezmore?W: How do you do?M: Do sit down.W: Thank you.M: I’m glad you’re interes ted in our job. Now, let me explain it. We plan to increase our advertising considerably. At present, an advertising agency handles our account, but we haven’t been too pleased with the results lately and we may give our account to another agency.W: What would my work entail?M: You’d be responsible to me for all advertising and to Mr. Grunt for public rel ations.You’d brief the agency whoever it is on the kind of advertising campaign we want. You’d also be responsible for getting our leaflets, brochures and catalogs designed.W: I presume you advertise in the national press as well as the trade press.M: Yes, we do.W: Have you thought about advertising on television?M: We don’t think it’s a suitable medium for us. And it’s much too expensive.W: I can just imagine a scene with a typist sitting on an old-fashioned typing chair, her back aching, exhaus ted, then we show her in one of your chairs. Her back properly supported filling full of energy, typing twice as quickly.M: Before you get carried away with your little scene, Ms. Wezmore, I regret to have to tell you again that we are not planning to go into television.W: That’s a shame. I’ve been doing a lot of television work lately and it interests me enormously.M: Then I really don’t think that this is quite the right job for you here, Ms. Wezmore.12. What does the man think of their present advertising agency?13. What would the woman be responsible for to Mr. Grunt?14. What is the woman most interested in doing?15. What does the man think of the woman applicant?答案：Conversation 19. C. The accused was found guilty of stealing.10. B. He was unemployed.11. A. He had been in jail before.Conversation 212. B. Unsatisfactory.13. C. Public relations.14. D. Making television commercials.15. D. She is not suitable for the position.短文1Many foreign students are attrac ted not only to the academic programs at a particular U.S. college but also to the larger community, which affords the chance to soak up the surrounding culture. Few foreign universities put much emphasis on the cozy communal life that characterizes American campuses from clubs and sports teams to student publications and drama societies. “The campus and the American university have bec ome identical in people’s minds,” says Brown University President Vartan Gregorian. “In America it is assumed that a student’s daily life is as important as his learning experience.”F oreign students also come in search of choices. America’s menu of options—research universities, state institutions, private liberal-arts schools, community colleges, religious institutions, military academies—is unrivaled. “In Europe,” says history profes sor Jonathan Steinberg, who has taught at both Harvard and Cambridge, “there is one system, and that is it.” While students overseas usually must demonstrate expertise in a specific field, whether law or philosophy or chemistry, most American universities insist that students sample natural and social sciences, languages and literature before choosing a field of concentration.Such opposing philosophies grow out of different traditions and power structures. In Europe and Japan, universities are answerable only to a ministry of education, which sets academic standards and distributes money.While centralization ensures that all students are equipped with roughly the same resources and perform at roughly the same level, it also discourages experimentation. “When they make mistakes, they make big ones,” says Robert Rosenzweig, president of the Association of American Universities. “They set a system in wrong directions, and it’s like steering a supertanker.”问题：16. What does the speaker say characterizes American campuses?17. What does Brown University president Vartan Gregorian say about students' daily life?18. In what way is the Uni ted States unrivaled according to the speaker?19. What does the speaker say about universities in Europe and Japan?答案：16. What does the speaker say characterizes American campuses?答案：(A) The cozy communal life.【点评】：细节题。

It's Time to Pay Attention to Sleep A． After being diagnosed with brain and lung cancer in 2011, Lynn Mitchell, 68, was averaging about an hour of solid sleep a night． Stressed about her treatments, she was paying for it in hours of lost sleep． B． The brain cancer was already affecting her mobility--Mitchell was often dizzy and would lose her balance--but the lack of sleep made things worse． Even walking became increasingly difficult．Exhausted in the mornings, she was practically incoherent (精神恍惚)． When her doctors recommend she see a sleep therapist, Mitchell was relieved at how benign it sounded in comparison to the chemotherapy (化学疗法)she had undergone and the gene therapy trial she was undergoing, which had side effects like nausea and fatigue． C． For about nine weeks, Mitchell worked with the sleep therapist to adjust her sleep habits． She went to bed only when she was extremely fired． She quit watching TV in bed． She stopped drinking caffeinated (含咖啡因的) coffee in the evening． She also learned breathing exercises to relax and help her fall asleep． It was all quite simple and common sense, and most importantly, noninvasive and didn't require taking any pills． D． "It's common knowledge that sleep is needed for day to day function," says Dr． David Rapoport, director of the Sleep Medicine Program at NYU School of Medicine． "What isn't common knowledge is that it really matters--it's not just cosmetic．" Rapoport has long seen people seek sleep therapy because they're chronically fired or suffering from insomnia, but an increasing number of patients are being referred to his center for common diseases, disorders, and mental health． E． Researchers have known for some time that sleep is critical for weight maintenance and hormone balance． And too little sleep is linked to everything from diabetes (糖尿病) to heart disease to depression． Recently, mounting evidence indicates that sleep plays a role in nearly every aspect of health． Beyond chronic illnesses, a child's behavioral problems at school could be rooted in mild sleep apnea (呼吸暂停)． And studies have shown children with ADHD (注意⼒缺陷多动症) are more likely to get insufficient sleep． A recent study published in the journal SLEEP found a link between older men with poor sleep quality and cognitive decline． Another study shows sleep is essential in early childhood for development, learning, and the formation and retention of memories． F． But to many of us, sleep is easily sacrificed, especially since lack of it isn't seen as life threatening．Over time, sleep deprivation can have serious consequences, but we mostly sacrifice a night of sleep here and there, and always say that we'll "catch up．" Luckily, it is possible to make up for sleep debt (though it can take a very long time), but most Americans are still chronically sleep deprived． G． While diet and exercise have been a part of public health messaging for decades, doctors and health advocates are now beginning to argue that getting quality sleep may be just as important for overall health． "Sleep is probably easier to change than diet or exercise," says Dr． Michael Grandner , a sleep researcher at the University of Pennsylvania． "It may also give you more of an immediate reward if it helps you get through your day．" Sleep experts claim that it is one of the top three, and sometimes the most, important lifestyle adjustments one can make, in addition to diet and exercise． And while there's more evidence linking diet and exercise as influential health factors, sleep is probably more important in terms of brain and hormonal function． "Among a small group of sleep researchers, it's always been said that eating, exercise, and sleep are the three pillars of health," says Dr． Rapoport． H． In our increasingly professional and digital lives, carving out time for sleep is not only increasingly difficult, but also more necessary． Using technology before bed stimulates us and interferes with our sleep, yet 95% of Americans use some type of electronics like a computer, TV, or cell phone at least a few nights a week within the hour before we go to bed, according to a 2011 National Sleep Foundation survey． "Many doctors, lawyers, and executives stay up late and get up early and bum the candle at both ends," says Dr． Richard Lang, chair of Preventative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic．"Making sure they pay attention to sleep in the same way they pay attention to diet and exercise is crucial．" I． To some, sleep has become a powerful cure to mental health． Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, advocates that sleep is the secret to success, happiness, and peak performance． After passing out a few years ago from exhaustion and cracking a cheekbone against her desk, Huffington has become something of a sleep evangelist (传道者)． In a 2010 TED Women conference, Huffington said, "The way to a more productive, more inspired, more joyful life is getting enough sleep．" Research linking high-quality sleep with better mental health is growing;a 2013 study found that treating depressed patients for insomnia can double their likelihood of overcoming the disorder． J． While 70% of physicians agree that inadequate sleep is a major health problem, only 43% counsel their patients on the benefits of adequate sleep． But there's growing pressure on primary care physicians to address, and even prescribe, sleep during routine check-ups． In a recent study published in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, the researchers concluded that health professionals should prescribe sleep to prevent and treat metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes． K． On the other hand, overlooking sleep as a major health issue can also have deadly consequences． It was recently reported that the operator of the Metro-North train that derailed in New York last year, killing four people and injuring more than 70, had an undiagnosed case of sleep apnea． L． Sleep therapies can range from simply learning new lifestyle behaviors to promote sleep, to figuring out how to position oneself in bed． More drastic measures involve surgery to open up an airway passage for people suffering from disorders like sleep apnea． Sleeping pills can be prescribed too, to get much needed rest, but sleep therapists tend to favor other approaches because of possible dependencies developing． M． A large part of reaping the benefits of sleep is known when you're not getting the right amount．According to a 2013Gallup survey, 40% of Americans get less than the recommended seven to eight hours a night． While the typical person still logs about 6．8 hours of sleep per night, that's a drop from the 7．9 Americans were getting in the 1940s． N． When it comes to adequate sleep, it's much more personalized than previously thought． Some people feel great on five hours of rest, while others need ten． The best way to determine if you're getting the right amount, doctors say, is to find out how many hours of sleep you need to be able to wake up without an alarm and feel rested, refreshed, and energetic throughout the day． O． Since reforming her sleep habits, Mitchell has been clocking up to seven hours of shuteye a night for the past two months． "I'm alert in the morning, my balance is better, and I feel more energetic," says Mitchell． Getting enough sleep has helped her better deal with her cancers, and its symptoms． The best news is that she recently found out that her brain tumor is shrinking, and there are fewer cancerous spots on her lungs．46． According to Rapoport, people fail to fully realize the importance of sleep．47． The amount of time for an adequate sleep actually varies from person to person, and thus relies on personal judgment．48． The positive role of sleep therapy in treating depression indicates that sleep also contributes to mental health．49． Compared to the sleep therapy, the other therapies that Mitchell has to go through have some negative side effects．50． Now work and electronic products may play a role in depriving Americans of time for sleep．51． Mitchell has benefited much from sleep therapy in the fight against her brain and lung cancers．52． Among the various methods in sleep therapy, sleeping pills are usually the last choice by health professionals．53． It is recommended that physicians should adopt sleep as a way to prevent or treat some illnesses．54． It is now argued that high-quality sleep is no less important than diet and exercise in affecting health．55． Recent studies show that sleep is related to the behavioral problems of the kids and the cognitive abilities of the old．。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试备考资料《阅读理解-长篇阅读（匹配）》考前冲刺题及答案（二）A: Pizza Hut was started in 1958, by two brothers in Wichita, Kansas. Frank and Dan Carney had the idea to open a pizza parlor. They borrowed $600 from their mother, and opened the very first Pizza Hut. In 1959, the first franchise unit opened in Topeka, Kansas. Almost a decade later, Pizza Hut would be serving one million customers a week in their 310 locations. In 1970, Pizza Hut was put on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PIZ.B: In 1986, Pizza Hut introduced delivery service, something no other restaurant was doing. By the 1990's Pizza Hut sales had reached $4 billion worldwide. In 1998, Pizza Hut celebrated their 40th anniversary, and launched their famous campaign "The Best Pizzas Under One Roof." In 1996, Pizza Hut sales in the United States were over $5 million. Out of all the existing pizza chains, Pizza Hut had the largest market share, 46.4%. However, Pizza Hut's market share has slowly eroded because of intense competition from their rivals Domino's, Little Caesar's and newcomer Papa John's. Home delivery was a driving force for success, especially for Pizza Hut and Domino's.C: However, this forced competitors to look for new methods of increasing their customer bases. Many pizza chains decided to diversify and offer new non-pizza items such as buffalo wings, and Italian cheese bread. The current trend in pizza chains today is the same. They all try to come up with some newer, bigger, better, pizza for a low price. Offering special promotions and new pizza variations are popular today as well. For example, chicken is now a common topping found on pizzas.D: In the past, Pizza Hut has always had the first mover advantage. Their marketing strategy in the past has always been to be first. One of their main strategies that they still follow today is the diversification of the products they offer. Pizza Hut is always adding something new to their menu, trying to reach new markets. For example, in 1992 the famous buffet was launched in Pizza Hut restaurants worldwide. They were trying to offer many different food items for customers who didn't necessarily want pizza.E: Another strategy they used in the past and are still using is the diversification of their pizzas. Pizza Hut is always trying to come up with some innovative way to make a pizza into something slightly different - different enough that customers will think it’s a whole new product. For example, let's lo ok at some of the pizzas Pizza Hut has marketed in the past. In 1983, Pizza Hut introduced their Pan Pizza, which had a guarantee of being ready to eat in 5 minutes when dining at Pizza Hut restaurants. In 1993, they introduced the "BigFoot," which was two square feet of pizza cut into 21 slices. In 1995, they introduced "Stuffed Crust Pizza," where the crust would be filled with cheese. In 1997, they marketed "The Edge," which had cheese and toppings all the way to the edge of the pizza. Currently, they are marketing "The Big NewYorker," trying to bring the famous New York style pizza to the whole country.F: Another opportunity that Pizza Hut has is their new ordering online system. Anyone with Internet access can order whatever they wish and get it delivered to their house without even speaking to someone. This program has just been started, so we do not have any numbers to support whether or not it will be a success.G: Lastly, Pizza Hut has always valued customer service and satisfaction. In 1995, Pizza Hut began two customer satisfaction programs: a 1-800 number customer hotline, and a customer call-back program. These were implemented to make sure their customers were happy, and always wanted to return. In our plan, we will first give a situation analysis of current and relevant environmental conditions that affect our plan. Next, we will give a brief analysis of the current fast food industry, and any trends or changes that might occur in the future.H: However, the fact that Pizza Hut does have a restaurant to run is also a weakness. Pizza Hut has higher overhead costs, due to the restaurant that other competitors don't have to deal with. Another result of higher overhead costs is higher prices Pizza Hut must charge. Obviously, Pizza Hut is not the low cost producer. They rely on their quality pizza and good service to account for their higher prices.I: An indirect weakness that Pizza Hut has is that they have lost a lot of their customers and market share due to such intense competition with competitors. Pizza Hut's opportunities are almost endless. They can increase revenue with their new innovative pizzas, and increase brand loyalty with good customer service.J: Pizza Hut's number one threats are from their competitors. Currently, their closest competitor is Domino's Pizza. Domino's main competitive advantage over Pizza Hut is their price. It is generally lower than Pizza Hut. Also, Domino's was very profitable when they ran the promotional deal of delivering a pizza within 30 minutes. However, many lawsuits have been filed against Domino's in the past for reckless driving by their drivers, so Domino's withdrew the promotion. Little Caesar's is another one of Pizza Hut's competitors, right behind Domino's in market share. Little Caesar's is famous for offering large quantities of pizza for less money. Other competitors include Papa John's, Sbarro, and Pizza Inn.K: A problem facing all of the pizza chains is that each of their individual competitive advantages are pretty much everyone's competitive advantages. Most if not all the top pizza chains offer free delivery, and always have some sort of promotional deal offering large pizzas at reduced prices. Other competitors to take into consideration are frozen pizzas and make-it-yourself pizzas that are purchased in grocery stores. Some examples of these are Tombstone Pizzas, Boboli, and Di'Gornio pizzas.1. Pizza Hut expanded its business into many parts of the country by the time of 1969.2. Pizza Hut has not always dominated the market.3. buffalo wings, and Italian cheese bread are now commonly served at pizza restaurants.4. The diversification strategy is not to be the first mover.5. In Pizza Hut, a Pan Pizza was guaranteed to serve in 5 minutes.6. If you want a pizza from Pizza Hut delivered directly to your house, you have to have Internet access in the first place.7. In order to make sure their customers were happy, Pizza Hut introduced two customer satisfaction programs.8. The higher overhead costs of Pizza Hut obviously accounted for higher prices of their pizzas.9. The reason why Domino’s withdrew their promotion was that they suffered legally from reckl ess driving by their drivers.10. Major pizza makers have to face the problem that their competitive advantages are the same.答案1. A2. B3. C4. D5. E6. F7. G8. H9. J 10. K（三）How to Make Attractive and Effective PowerPoint PresentationsA) Microsoft PowerPoint has dramatically changed the way in which academic and business presentations are made. This article outlines few tips on making more effective and attractive PowerPoint presentations.The TextB) Keep the wording clear and simple. Use active, visual language. Cut unnecessary words—a good rule of thumb is to cut paragraphs down to sentences, sentences into phrases, and phrases into key words.Limit the number of words and lines per slide. Try the Rule of Five-five words per line, five lines per slide. If too much text appears on one slide, use the AutoFit feature to split it between two slides. Click within the placeholder to display the AutoFit Options button (its symbol is two horizontal lines with arrows above and below), then click on the button and choose Split Text between Two Slides from the submenu.C) Font size for titles should be at least 36 to 40, while the text body should not be smaller than e only two font styles per slide—one for the title and the other for the text. Choose two fonts that visually contrast with each other. Garamond Medium Condensed and Impact are good for titles, while Garamond or Tempus Sans can be used for the text body.D) Embed the fonts in your presentation, if you are not sure whether the fonts used in the presentation are present in the computer that will be used for the presentation. To embed the fonts: (1) On the File menu, click Save As. (2) On the toolbar, click Tools, click Save Options, select the Embed TrueType Fonts check box, and then select Embed characters in use only.E) Use colors sparingly; two to three at most. You may use one color for all the titles and another for the text body. Be consistent from slide to slide. Choose a font color that contrasts well with the background.F) Capitalizing the first letter of each word is good for the title of slides and suggests a more formal situation than having just thefirst letter of the first word capitalized. In bullet point lines, capitalize the first word and no other words unless they normally appear capped. Upper and lower case lettering is more readable than all capital letters. Moreover, current styles indicate that using all capital letters means you are shouting. If you have text that is in the wrong case, select the text, and then click Shift+F3 until it changes to the case style that you like. Clicking Shift+F3 toggles the text case between ALL CAPS, lower case, and Initial Capital styles.G) Use bold or italic typeface for emphasis. Avoid underlining, it clutters up the presentation.Don’t c enter bulleted lists or text. It is confusing to read. Left align unless you have a good reason not to. Run “spell check” on your show when finished.The BackgroundH) Keep the background consistent. Simple, light textured backgrounds work well. Complicated textures make the content hard to read. If you are planning to use many clips in your slides, select a white background. If the venue of your presentation is not adequately light-proof, select a dark-colored background and use any light color for text.M inimize the use of “bells and whistles” such as sound effects, “flying words” and multiple transitions. Don’t use red in any fonts or backgrounds. It is an emotionally overwhelming color that is difficult to see and read.The ClipsI) Animations are best used subtly; too much flash and motion can distract and annoy viewers. Do not rely too heavily on those images that were originally loaded on your computer with the rest of Office. You can easily find appropriate clips on any topic through Google Images. While searching for images, do not use long search phrases as is usually done while searching the web-use specific words.J) When importing pictures, make sure that they are smaller than two megabytes and are in a .jpg format. Larger files can slow down your show. Keep graphs, charts and diagrams simple, if possible. Use bar graphs and pie charts instead of tables of data. The audience can then immediately pick up the relationships.The PresentationK) If you want your presentation to directly open in the slide show view, save it as a slide show file using the following steps. Open the presentation you want to save as a slide show. On the File menu, click Save As. In the Save as type list, click PowerPoint Show. Your slide show file will be saved with a ppt file extension. When youdouble-click on this file, it will automatically start your presentation in slide show view. When you’re done, PowerPoint automatically closes and you return to the desktop. If you want to edit the slide show file, you can always open it from PowerPoint by clicking Open on the File menu.L) Look at the audience, not at the slides, whenever possible. If using a laser pointer, don’t move it too fast. For example, if circling a number on the slide, do it slowly. Never point the laser at the audience. Black out the screen (use “B” on the keyboard) after the point has been made, to put the focus on you. Press the key again to continue your presentation.M) You can use the shortcut command [Ctrl]P to access the Pen tool during a slide show. Click with your mouse and drag to use the Pen tool to draw during your slide show. To erase everything you’ve drawn, press the E key. To turnoff the Pen tool, press [Esc] once.MiscellaneousN) Master Slide Set-Up: The “master slide” will allow you to make changes that are reflected on every slide in your presentation. You can change fonts, colors, backgrounds, headers, and footers at the “master slide” level. First, go to the “View” menu. Pull down the “Master” menu. Select the “slide master” menu. You may now make changes at this level that meet your presentation needs.1. The ways in which academic and business presentations are made have been changed by Microsoft PowerPoint.2. When making the PowerPoint, the wording of the text should not be complicated.3. In each slide, the font styles for the title and the text should contrast with each other.4. A more formal situation is capitalizing the first letter of the first word.5. Centering bulleted lists or text can not help to read.6. Sound effects should be used as less frequently as possible.7. When importing pictures, make sure that they are smaller than two megabytes.8. When making the presentation, you should look at the audience as possible as you can.9. Pressing the E key can help you to erase everything you've drawn.10. In order to meet your presentation needs, you can make changes at the “slide master” level.1.A A段讲到了微软的PowerPoint对学术及商业陈述形式的改变，可以直接定位到文章的首段。

2014年12月大学英语四级考试备考资料《阅读理解-长篇阅读（匹配）》最新练习题及答案Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section B(原快速阅读理解调整为长篇阅读理解，篇章长度和难度不变。

篇章后附有10个句子，每句一题。

每句所含的信息出自篇章的某一段落，要求考生找出与每句所含信息相匹配的段落。

有的段落可能对应两题，有的段落可能不对应任何一题。

)Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Beauty and Body Image in the Media[A] Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women—and their body parts —sell everything from food to cars. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Some have even been known to faint on the set from lack of food. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those last twenty pounds, they’ll have it all—the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career.[B] Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger and more mature than any of the models? The roots, some analysts say, are economic. By presenting an ideal difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. And it’s 6no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. If not all women need to lose weight,for sure they’re all aging, says the Quebec Action Network for Women’s Health in its 2001 report. And, according to the industry, age is a disaster that needs to be dealt with.[C] The stakes are huge. On the one hand, women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion (U.S.) a year selling temporary weight loss (90% to 95% of dieters regain the lost weight). On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.[D ] The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control—including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative (泻药)abuse, and self-induced vomiting. The pressure to be thin is also affecting young girls: the Canadian Women’s Health Network warns that weight control measures are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6. American statistics are similar. Several studies, such as one conducted by Marika Tiggemann and Levina Clark in 2006 titled “Appearance Culture in 9- to 12-Year-Old Girls: Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction,” indicate that nearly half of all preadolescent girls wish to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in a diet or are aware of the concept of dieting. In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 percent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70 percent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight. Overall research indicates that 90% of women are dissatisfied with their appearance in some way. Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, “Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of whichmake us feel anxious about our weight.”[ E] Perhaps the most disturbing is the fact that media images of female beauty are unattainable for all but a very small number of women. Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions, for example, found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel.A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea (慢性腹泻)and eventually die from malnutrition. Jill Barad, President of Mattel (whichmanufactures Barbie), estimated that 99% of girls aged 3 to 10 years old own at least one Barbie doll. Still, the number of real life women and girls who seek a similarlyunderweight body is epidemic, and they can suffer equally devastating health consequences. In 2006 it was estimated that up to 450, 000 Canadian women were affected by an eating disorder.[F ] Researchers report that women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and overthree-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance—by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery. Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a woman’s worth. Canadian researcher Gregory Fouts reports that over three-quarters of the female characters in TV situation comedies are underweight, and only one in twenty are above average in size. Heavier actresses tend to receive negative comments from male characters about their bodies (“How about wearing a sack?，，)，and 80 percent of these negative comments are followed by canned audience laughter.[G] There have been efforts in the magazine industry to buck (才氐制，反抗)the trend. For several years the Quebec magazine Coup de Pouce has consistently included full-sized women in their fashion pages and Chatelaine has pledged not to touch up photos and not to include models less than 25 years of age. In Madrid, one of the world’s biggest fashion capitals, ultra-thin models were banned from the runway in 2006. Furthermore Spain has recently undergone a project with the aim to standardize clothing sizes through using a unique process in which a laser beam is used to measure real life women’s bodies in order to find the most true to life measurement.[ H] Another issue is the representation of ethnically diverse women in the media.A 2008 study conducted by Juanita Covert and Travis Dixon titled “A Changing View: Representation and Effects of the Portrayal of Women of Color in Mainstream Women’s Magazines” found that although there was an increase in the representation of women of colour, overall white women were overrepresented in mainstream women’s magazines from 1999 to 2004.[I] The barrage of messages about thinness, dieting and beauty tells“ordinary” women that they are always in need of adjustment—and that the female body is an object to be perfected. Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real women’s bodies have become invisible in the mass media. The real tragedy, Kilbourne concludes, is that many women internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industry’s standards. Women learn to compare themselves toother women, and to compete with them for male attention. This focus on beauty and desirability “effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate.”46. A report in Teen magazine showed that 50% to 70% girls with normal weight think that they need to lose weight.47. On the whole, for 6 years white women had been occupying much more space in mainstream women’s magazines since 1999.48. Some negative effects such as depression and unhealthy eating habits in females are related to their being exposed to images of thin and young female bodies.49. The mass media has helped boost the cosmetic and the diet industries.50. It is reported that there is at least one message about the methods for women to change their bodily appearance on more than three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines.51. Some film and television actresses even faint on the scene due to eating too little.52. Too much concern with appearance makes it impossible to change such abnormal trend.53. Researchers found that a real woman with Barbie-doll proportions would eventually die from malnutrition.54. The Quebec magazine Coup (e Pouce resists the trend by consistently including full-sized women in their fashion pages for several years.5 5. According to some analysts, the fundamental reason of imposing standards of beauty on women is economic profits.PartⅢ Reading ComprehensionSection B46. [D]47. [H]48. [C]49. [B]50. [F]51. [A]52. [I]53. [E]54. [G]55. [B]A: Pizza Hut was started in 1958, by two brothers in Wichita, Kansas. Frank and Dan Carney had the idea to open a pizza parlor. They borrowed $600 from their mother, and opened the very first Pizza Hut. In 1959, the first franchise unit opened in Topeka, Kansas. Almost a decade later, Pizza Hut would be serving one million customers a week in their 310 locations. In 1970, Pizza Hut was put on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PIZ.B: In 1986, Pizza Hut introduced delivery service, something no other restaurant was doing. By the 1990's Pizza Hut sales had reached $4 billion worldwide. In 1998, Pizza Hut celebrated their 40th anniversary, and launched their famous campaign "The Best Pizzas Under One Roof." In 1996, Pizza Hut sales in the United States were over $5 million. Out of all the existing pizza chains, Pizza Hut had the largest market share, 46.4%. However, Pizza Hut's market share has slowly eroded because of intense competition from their rivals Domino's, Little Caesar's and newcomer Papa John's. Home delivery was a driving force for success, especially for Pizza Hut and Domino's.C: However, this forced competitors to look for new methods of increasing their customer bases. Many pizza chains decided to diversify and offer new non-pizza items such as buffalo wings, and Italian cheese bread. The current trend in pizza chains today is the same. They all try to come up with some newer, bigger, better, pizza for a low price. Offering special promotions and new pizza variations are popular today as well. For example, chicken is now a common topping found on pizzas.D: In the past, Pizza Hut has always had the first mover advantage. Their marketing strategy in the past has always been to be first. One of their main strategies that they still follow today is the diversification of the products they offer. Pizza Hut is always adding something new to their menu, trying to reach new markets. For example, in 1992 the famous buffet was launched in Pizza Hut restaurants worldwide. They were trying to offer many different food items for customers who didn't necessarily want pizza.E: Another strategy they used in the past and are still using is the diversification of their pizzas. Pizza Hut is always trying to come up with some innovative way to make a pizza into something slightly different - different enough that customers will think it’s a whole new product. For example, let's look at some of the pizzas Pizza Hut has marketed in the past. In 1983, Pizza Hut introduced their Pan Pizza, which had a guarantee of being ready to eat in 5 minutes when dining at Pizza Hut restaurants. In 1993, they introduced the "BigFoot," which was two square feet of pizza cut into 21 slices. In 1995, they introduced "Stuffed Crust Pizza," where the crust would be filled with cheese. In 1997, they marketed "The Edge," which had cheese and toppings all the way to the edge of the pizza. Currently, they are marketing "The Big NewYorker," trying to bringthe famous New York style pizza to the whole country.F: Another opportunity that Pizza Hut has is their new ordering online system. Anyone with Internet access can order whatever they wish and get it delivered to their house without even speaking to someone. This program has just been started, so we do not have any numbers to support whether or not it will be a success.G: Lastly, Pizza Hut has always valued customer service and satisfaction. In 1995, Pizza Hut began two customer satisfaction programs: a 1-800 number customer hotline, and a customer call-back program. These were implemented to make sure their customers were happy, and always wanted to return. In our plan, we will first give a situation analysis of current and relevant environmental conditions that affect our plan. Next, we will give a brief analysis of the current fast food industry, and any trends or changes that might occur in the future.H: However, the fact that Pizza Hut does have a restaurant to run is also a weakness. Pizza Hut has higher overhead costs, due to the restaurant that other competitors don't have to deal with. Another result of higher overhead costs is higher prices Pizza Hut must charge. Obviously, Pizza Hut is not the low cost producer. They rely on their quality pizza and good service to account for their higher prices.I: An indirect weakness that Pizza Hut has is that they have lost a lot of their customers and market share due to such intense competition with competitors. Pizza Hut's opportunities are almost endless. They can increase revenue with their new innovative pizzas, and increase brand loyalty with good customer service.J: Pizza Hut's number one threats are from their competitors. Currently, their closest competitor is Domino's Pizza. Domino's main competitive advantage over Pizza Hut is their price. It is generally lower than Pizza Hut. Also, Domino's was very profitable when they ran the promotional deal of delivering a pizza within 30 minutes. However, many lawsuits have been filed against Domino's in the past for reckless driving by their drivers, so Domino's withdrew the promotion. Little Caesar's is another one of Pizza Hut's competitors, right behind Domino's in market share. Little Caesar's is famous for offering large quantities of pizza for less money. Other competitors include Papa John's, Sbarro, and Pizza Inn.K: A problem facing all of the pizza chains is that each of their individual competitive advantages are pretty much everyone's competitive advantages. Most if not all the top pizza chains offer free delivery, and always have some sort of promotional deal offering large pizzas at reduced prices. Other competitors to take into consideration are frozen pizzas and make-it-yourself pizzas that are purchased in grocery stores. Some examples of these are Tombstone Pizzas, Boboli, and Di'Gornio pizzas.1. Pizza Hut expanded its business into many parts of the country by the time of 1969.2. Pizza Hut has not always dominated the market.3. buffalo wings, and Italian cheese bread are now commonly served at pizza restaurants.4. The diversification strategy is not to be the first mover.5. In Pizza Hut, a Pan Pizza was guaranteed to serve in 5 minutes.6. If you want a pizza from Pizza Hut delivered directly to your house, you have to have Internet access in the first place.7. In order to make sure their customers were happy, Pizza Hutintroduced two customer satisfaction programs.8. The higher overhead costs of Pizza Hut obviously accounted for higher prices of their pizzas.9. The reason why Domino’s withdrew their promotion was that they suffered legally from reckless driving by their drivers.10. Major pizza makers have to face the problem that their competitive advantages are the same.答案：1.A2. B3. C4. D5. E6. F7. G8. H9. J10. KHow to Make Attractive and Effective PowerPoint PresentationsA) Microsoft PowerPoint has dramatically changed the way in which academic and business presentations are made. This article outlines few tips on making more effective and attractive PowerPoint presentations.The TextB) Keep the wording clear and simple. Use active, visual language. Cut unnecessary words—a good rule of thumb is to cut paragraphs down to sentences, sentences into phrases, and phrases into key words.Limit the number of words and lines per slide. Try the Rule of Five-five words per line, five lines per slide. If too much text appears on one slide, use the AutoFit feature to split it between two slides. Click within the placeholder to display the AutoFit Options button (its symbol is two horizontal lines with arrows above and below), then click on the button and choose Split Text between Two Slides from the submenu.C) Font size for titles should be at least 36 to 40, while the text body should not be smaller than e only two font styles per slide —one for the title and the other for the text. Choose two fonts that visually contrast with each other. Garamond Medium Condensed and Impactare good for titles, while Garamond or Tempus Sans can be used for the text body.D) Embed the fonts in your presentation, if you are not sure whether the fonts used in the presentation are present in the computer that will be used for the presentation. To embed the fonts: (1) On the File menu, click Save As. (2) On the toolbar, click Tools, click Save Options, select the Embed TrueType Fonts check box, and then select Embed characters in use only.E) Use colors sparingly; two to three at most. You may use one color for all the titles and another for the text body. Be consistent from slide to slide. Choose a font color that contrasts well with the background.F) Capitalizing the first letter of each word is good for the title of slides and suggests a more formal situation than having just the first letter of the first word capitalized. In bullet point lines, capitalize the first word and no other words unless they normally appear capped. Upper and lower case lettering is more readable than all capital letters. Moreover, current styles indicate that using all capital letters means you are shouting. If you have text that is in the wrong case, select the text, and then click Shift+F3 until it changes to the case style that you like. Clicking Shift+F3 toggles the text case between ALL CAPS, lower case, and Initial Capital styles.G) Use bold or italic typeface for emphasis. Avoid underlining, it clutters up the presentation.Don’t center bulleted lists or text. It is confusing to read. Left align unless you have a good reason not to. Run ‚spell check‛ on your show when finished.The BackgroundH) Keep the background consistent. Simple, light textured backgrounds work well. Complicated textures make the content hard to read. If you are planning to use many clips in your slides, select a white background. Ifthe venue of your presentation is not adequately light-proof, select a dark-colored background and use any light color for text. Minimize the use of ‚bells and whistles‛ such as sound effects, ‚flying words‛ and multiple transitions. Don’t use red in any fonts or backgrounds. It is an emotionally overwhelming color that is difficult to see and read.The ClipsI) Animations are best used subtly; too much flash and motion can distract and annoy viewers. Do not rely too heavily on those images that were originally loaded on your computer with the rest of Office. You can easily find appropriate clips on any topic through Google Images. While searching for images, do not use long search phrases as is usually done while searching the web-use specific words.J) When importing pictures, make sure that they are smaller than two megabytes and are in a .jpg format. Larger files can slow down your show. Keep graphs, charts and diagrams simple, if possible. Use bar graphs and pie charts instead of tables of data. The audience can then immediately pick up the relationships.The PresentationK) If you want your presentation to directly open in the slide show view, save it as a slide show file using the following steps. Open the presentation you want to save as a slide show. On the File menu, click Save As. In the Save as type list, click PowerPoint Show. Your slide show file will be saved with a ppt file extension. When you double-click on this file, it will automatically start your presentation in slide show view. When you’re done, PowerPoint automatically closes and you return to the desktop. If you want to edit the slide show file, you can always open it from PowerPoint by clicking Open on the File menu.L) Look at the audience, not at the slides, whenever possible. If using a laser pointer, don’t move it too fast. For example, if circling a numberon the slide, do it slowly. Never point the laser at the audience. Black out the screen (use ‚B‛ on the keyboard) after the point has been made, to put the focus on you. Press the key again to continue your presentation.M) You can use the shortcut command [Ctrl]P to access the Pen tool during a slide show. Click with your mouse and drag to use the Pen tool to draw during your slide show. To erase everything you’ve drawn, press the E key. To turn off the Pen tool, press [Esc] once.MiscellaneousN) Master Slide Set-Up: The ‚master slide‛ will allow you to make changes that are reflected on every slide in your presentation. You can change fonts, colors, backgrounds, headers, and footers at the ‚master slide‛ level. First, go to the ‚View‛ menu. Pull down the ‚Master‛menu. Select the ‚slide master‛ menu. You may now make changes at this level that meet your presentation needs.1. The ways in which academic and business presentations are made have been changed by Microsoft PowerPoint.2. When making the PowerPoint, the wording of the text should not be complicated.3. In each slide, the font styles for the title and the text should contrast with each other.4. A more formal situation is capitalizing the first letter of the first word.5. Centering bulleted lists or text can not help to read.6. Sound effects should be used as less frequently as possible.7. When importing pictures, make sure that they are smaller than two megabytes.8. When making the presentation, you should look at the audience as possible as you can.9. Pressing the E key can help you to erase everything you've drawn.10. In order to meet your presentation needs, you can make changes at the ‚slide master‛ level.答案：1.A2.B3.C4.F5.G6.H7.J8.L9.M10.NPaper--More than Meets the EyeA)We are surrounded by so much paper and card that it is easy to forget just how complex it is. There are many varieties and grades of paper materials, and whilst it is fairly easy to spot the varieties, it is far more difficult to spot the grades.B)It needs to be understood that most paper and card is manufactured for a specific purpose, so that whilst the corn-flake packet may look smart, it is clearly not something destined for the archives. It is made to look good, but only needs a limited life span. It is also much cheaper to manufacture than high grade card.C)Paper can be made from an almost endless variety of cellulose-based material which will include many woods, cottons and grasses or which papyrus is an example and from where we get the word "paper". Many of theseare very specialized, but the preponderance of paper making has been from soft wood and cotton or rags, with the bulk being wood-based.Paper from WoodD) In order to make wood into paper it needs to be broken down into fine strands. Firstly by powerful machinery and then boiled with strong alkalies such as caustic soda, until a fine pulp of cellulose fibers is produced. It is from this pulp that the final product is made, relying on the bonding together of the cellulose into layers. That, in a very small nutshell, is the essence of paper making from wood. However, the reality is rather more complicated. In order to give us our white paper and card, the makers will add bleach and other materials such as china clay and additional chemicals.E) A further problem with wood is that it contains a material that is not cellulose. Something called lignin. This is essential for the tree since it holds the cellulose fibres together, but if it is incorporated into the manufactured paper it presents archivists with a problem. Lignin eventually breaks down and releases acid products into the paper. This will weaken the bond between the cellulose fibers and the paper will become brittle and look rather brown and careworn. We have all seen this in old newspapers and cheap paperback books. It has been estimated that most paper back books will have a life of not greater than fifty years. Not what we need for our archives.F)Since the lignin can be removed from the paper pulp during manufacture, the obvious question is "why is it left in the paper?" The answer lies in the fact that lignin makes up a considerable part of the tree. By leaving the lignin in the pulp a papermaker can increase his paper yield from a tree to some 95%. Removing it means a yield of only 35%. It is clearly uneconomic to remove the lignin for many paper and card applications.G) It also means, of course, that lignin-free paper is going to be more expensive, but that is nevertheless what the archivist must look for in his supplies. There is no point whatsoever in carefully placing our valuable artifacts in paper or card that is going to hasten their demise. Acid is particularly harmful to photographic materials, causing them to fade and is some cases simply vanish!H)So, how do we tell a piece of suitable paper or card from one that is unsuitable? You cannot do it by simply looking, and rather disappointingly, you cannot always rely on the label. "Acid-free" might be true inasmuch as a test on the paper may indicate that it is a neutral material at this time. But lignin can take years before it starts the inevitable process of breaking down, and in the right conditions it will speed up enormously.I)Added to this, as I have indicated earlier, paper may also contain other materials added during manufacture such as bleach, china clay, chemical whiteners and size. This looks like a bleak picture, and it would be but for the fact that there are suppliers who will guarantee the material that they sell. If you want to be absolutely sure that you are storing in, or printing on, the correct material then this is probably the only way.J)Incidentally, acids can migrate from material to material. Lining old shoe boxes with good quality acid-free paper will do little to guard the contents. The acid will get there in the end.Paper from RagK) Paper is also commonly made from cotton and rag waste. This has the advantage of being lignin-free, but because there is much less cotton and rag than trees, it also tends to be much more expensive than wood pulp paper. You will still need to purchase from a reliable source though, since even rag paper and card can contain undesirable additives.L) A reliable source for quality rag papers is a recognized art stockiest. Many water color artists insist on using only fine quality rag paper and board.M) The main lesson to learn from this information is that you cannot rely on purchasing archival materials from the high street. The only safe solution is to purchase from specialist suppliers. It may cost rather more, but in the end you will know that your important and valuable data and images have the best home possible.1. The corn-flake packet is cheaper than high grade card.2. There are a lot of materials which can be used for making paper, but the superiority ones are soft wood, cotton and rags.3. During the whole manufacturing process, the final product is made from a pulp of cellulose fibres.4. In order to make white paper and card, the makers will add bleach.5. Liguin is essential for the tree but it will make paper easy to break.6. Many paper producers will preserve lignin during manufacture, because leaving the lignin will make more paper from a tree.7. Acid is particularly harmful to photographic materials.8. If the lignin is removed from the paper, the paper will be more。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题(一)答案与详解Part Ⅰ Writing审题思路本篇题目一改过去常写的议论文，要求写对自己影响最大的大学同学。

根据题目要求，写作重点应当是描述，而不是议论。

考生首先应直接或间接地引出主题，然后通过具体事例阐释该同学对“我”产生重大影响的原因,最后发表议论，照应前文，升华主题。

由此可知，题目要求写一篇夹叙夹议，以叙述为主的作文。

写作提纲一、提出观点：同学“Tom ”改变了“我”（be subject to being pessimistic ，strive to encourage, appreciate)二、阐释主题：1、在他的帮助下，我发现英语没那么难(be confused about ，make progress)2、他教我如何面对挫折(live through setbacks) 三、升华主题：l 、“Tom”让我认识到了自信和乐观的重要性(the significance of self-confidence and optimism )2、这种态度使人受益终身(benefit people all his life)范文点评全文翻译对我影响最大的大学同学我曾经对自己的学习并不那么自信，而且遇到挫折时就容易悲观。

然而，当我的一个大学同学汤姆竭尽全力鼓励我的时候，我发现自己渐渐地有所改变。

我非常感激他对我的帮助。

以前我的英语不好，然而每当我对老师的讲解感到迷惑不解时，汤姆总是用清晰明了的方式给我解释。

渐高分范文 精彩点评A Classmate Who Has Influenced Me Most in College ① Once upon a time, I was not so confident about my study and was subject to being pessimistic when confronted with frustrations. ② However, I found myself gradually changing as Tom, one of my classmates in college, strived to encourage me. ③ I really appreciate his help. ④ I used not to be good at English ； however, whenever I was confused about the teacher’s explanation, he always interpreted it to me in- an explicit way. Gradually, I found English not so difficult and made progress day by day. ⑤ In addition, it was Tom who kept guiding me how to live through all kinds of setbacks in life. ⑥ I’l l never forget the very day when I failed my speech contest and I was overwhelmed and ashamed.⑦ Tom told me that nobody can defeat a person if he is determined to stand upto every failure. ⑧With his encouragement, I regained confidence, realizing that optimism was always the key to success. ⑨ Thanks to Tom, I eventually learned the significance ofself-confidence and optimism. They not only serve as indispensable characteristics of personality but also will benefit people all his life.① ②通过描述那个曾经缺乏自信而且悲观的 “我”渐渐地有所改变引出文章主题——对 “我”影响最大的大学同学，他竭尽全力鼓励“我”。

2014年12月英语六级真题及答案（卷一）目录2014年12月英语六级考试真题（卷一） (1)2014年12月英语六级考试真题答案（卷一） (13)2014年12月英语六级考试真题（卷一）Part I WritingDirections：For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write on essay based on the picture below. You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then discuss what qualities an employer should look for in job applicants. You should give sound arguments to support your views and write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.2014年12月英语六级作文真题范文1：学历歧视Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the picture below. You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then discuss what qualities an employer should look for in job applicant. You should give sound arguments to supportyour views and write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.According to the picture, an employer turns down a job applicant, for his degree is less advanced than the other applicants, even though he has a good resume. Actually, what’s behind the cartoon is the tendency that employers focus on academic performance when hiring.No one disputes that a college or higher degree opens doors. Despite that, as far as I’m concerned, academic degree should not be the primary criteria in selecting talents. First of all,academic degrees only represent the applicants’proficiency in their school work, and cannotdemonstrate their personality or other abilities. For instance, the responsibility of a human resources manager is to deal with people, and thus it requires advanced people skill which is by no means shown in the diploma. Second, emphasis on degrees may stall the development of the company. They will lose real talents if they judge people only by their educational background, while it is often the case that college drop-outs like Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, etc., run wildly successful enterprises.Therefore, instead of running after applicants with higher degrees, companies shouldbecome more concerned about what it takes to do the job and what a college education actually provides.2014年12月英语六级作文真题范文2：学历歧视【真题范文】In the modern society, with competition becomes increasingly fierce, to find a job is too difficult for the young generation. Academic qualification, as a job a stepping-stone, is an essential factor during the job hunting.Some people think that the highly educated must be able to find a good job, because education can prove that a person has a good capacity. Therefore, it is commonly believe that a job seeker with a master degree must be easier to find a promising job than a undergraduate. However, now the company interviewers generally prefer to required a even higher academic qualification, like a doctor degree. Otherwise, the applicants, even though he or she has tremendous potential, will be refused relentlessly.As far as I am concerned, education should not be the single standard in an interview. As for the companies, it is not necessarily a good principle as well. Now the whole community often talk about working ability and efficiency. For example, some people may have high academic qualification, but actually his ability is very limited. So both the individual and the community ought to change their attitude on academic qualification. We should realize that it is the operational capability and service ability which can help you to find a good job.【范文译文】在现代社会，随着竞争越来越激烈，找工作对于年轻人来说异常困难。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试备考资料《阅读理解-长篇阅读（匹配）》最新练习题及答案Into the UnknownThe world has never seen population ageing before. Can it cope?[A] 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.[B] For the next ten years a succession of books, mainly by Americans, sounded the alarm. They had titles like Young 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.[C] Since then the debate has become less emotional, not least because a lot more is known about the subject. Books, conferences and research papers have multiplied. International organisations such as the OECD and the EU issue regular reports. Population ageing is on every agenda, from G8 economic conferences to NATO summits. The World Economic Forum plans to consider the future of pensions and health care at its prestigious Davos conference early next year. The media, including this newspaper, are giving the subject extensive coverage.[D ] Whether all that attention has translated into sufficient action is another question. Governments in rich countries now accept that their pension and health-care promises will soon become unaffordable, and many of them have embarked on reforms, but so far only timidly. That is not surprising: politicians with an eye on the next election will hardly rush to introduce unpopular measures that may not bear fruit for years, perhaps decades.[E ] The outline of the changes needed is clear. To avoid fisca(财政的)meltdown, public pensions and health-care provision will have to be reined back severely andtaxes may have to go up. By far the most effective method to restrain pension spending is to give people the opportunity to work longer, because it increases tax revenues and reduces spending on pensions at the same time. It may even keep them alive longer. John Rother, the AARP’s h ead of policy and strategy, points to studies showing that other things being equal, people who remain at work have lower death rates than their retired peers.[F] Younger people today mostly accept that they will have to work for longer and that their pensions will be less generous. Employers still need to be persuaded that older workers are worth holding on to. That may be because they have had plenty of younger ones to choose from, partly thanks to the post-war baby-boom and partly because over the past few decades many more women have entered the labour force, increasing employers’ choice. But the reservoir of women able and willing to take up paid work is running low, and the baby-boomers are going grey.[G] In many countries immigrants have been filling such gaps in the labour force as have already emerged (and remember that the real shortage is still around ten years off). Immigration in the developed world is the highest it has ever been, and it is making a useful difference. In still-fertile America it currently accounts for about 40% of total population growth, and in fast-ageing western Europe for about 90%.[H] On the face of it, it seems the perfect solution. Many developing countries have lots of young people in need of jobs; many rich countries need helping hands that will boost tax revenues and keep up economic growth. But over the next few decades labour forces in rich countries are set to shrink so much that inflows of immigrants would have to increase enormously to compensate: to at least twice their current size in western Europe’s most youthful countries, and three times in the older ones. Japan would need a large multiple of the few immigrants it has at present. Public opinion polls show that people in most rich countries already think that immigration is too high. Further big increases would be politically unfeasible.[I] To tackle the problem of ageing populations at its root, “old” countries would have to rejuvenate(使年轻) themselves by having more of their own children.A number of them have tried, some more successfully thanothers. But it is not a simple matter of offering financial incentives or providing more child care. Modern urban life in rich countries is not well adapted to large families. Women find it hard to combine family and career. They oftencompromise by having just one child.[J] And if fertility in ageing countries does not pick up? It will not be the end of the world, at least not for quite a while yet, but the world will slowly become a different place. Older societies may be less innovative and more strongly disinclined to take risks than younger ones. By 2025 at the latest, about half the voters in America and most of those in western European countries will be over 50—and older people turn out to vote in much greater number than younger ones. Academic studies have found no evidence so far that older voters have used their power at the ballot box to push for policies that specifically benefit them, though if in future there are many more of them they might start doing so.[K] Nor is there any sign of the intergenerational warfare predicted in the 1990s. After all, older people themselves mostly have families. In a recent study of parents and grown-up children in 11 European countries, Karsten Hank of Mannheim University found that 85% of them lived within 25km of each other and the majority of them were in touch at least once a week.[L] Even so, the shift in the centre of gravity to older age groups is bound to have a profound effect on societies, not just economically and politically but in all sorts of other ways too. Richard Jackson and Neil Howe of America’s CSIS, in a thoughtful book called The Graying of the Great Powers, argue that, among other things, the ageing of the developed countries will have a number of serious security implications.[M] For example, the shortage of young adults is likely to make countries more reluctant to commit the few they have to military service. In the decades to 2050, America will find itself playing an ever-increasing role in the developed world’s defence effort. Because America’s population will still be growing when that of most other developed countries is shrinking, America will be the only developed country that still matters geopoliticallyi 地缘政治上).Ask me in 2020[ N] There is little that can be done to stop population ageing, so the world will have to live with it. But some of the consequences can be alleviated. Many experts now believe that given the right policies, the effects, though grave, need not be catastrophic. Most countries have recognised the need to do something and are beginning to act.[ O] But even then there is no guarantee that their efforts will work. What is happening now is historically unprecedented. Ronald Lee, director of the Centre on the Economics and Demography of Ageing at the University of California, Berkeley, puts it briefly and clearly: “We don’t really know what population ageing will be like, because nobody has done it yet. ”46. Employers should realise it is important to keep older workers in the workforce.47. A recent study found that most old people in some European countries had regular weekly contact with their adult children.48. Few governments in rich countries have launched bold reforms to tackle the problem of population ageing.49. In a report published some 20 years ago, the sustainability of old age pension systems in most countries was called into doubt.50. Countries that have a shortage of young adults will be less willing to send them to war.51. One-child families are more common in ageing societies due to the stress of urban life and the difficulties of balancing family and career.52. A series of books, mostly authored by Americans, warned of conflicts between the older and younger generations.53. Compared with younger ones, older societies tend to be less innovative and take fewer risks.54. The best solution to the pension crisis is to postpone the retirement age.55.Immigration as a means to boost the shrinking labour force may meet with resistance in some rich countri中国新年是中国最重要的传统节日，在中国也被称为春节。

2014年英语六级阅读真题及答案解析（第一套）Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: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) College tuition has become a heavy burden for the students.B) College students are in general politically active nowadays.C)He took part in many protests when he was at college.D)He is doubtful about the effect of the students’ action,2. A) The class has kept the party a secret from Jay.B) Jay is organizing a party for the retiring dean.C) Jay is surprised to learn of the party for him.D) The dean will come to Jay's birthday party.3. A) He found his wallet in his briefcase.B) He went to the lost-and-found office.C) He found the woman to go and pick up his car.D) He left his things with his car in the garage.4. A) The show he directed turned out lo be a success.B) He watched only those comedies by famous directors.C) TV comedies have not improved much since the 1960s.D) New comedies are exciting, just like those in the 1960s.5. A) The man should stop boiling the vegetables.B) The man should try out some new recipes.C) Overcooked vegetables are often tasteless.D) All vegetables should be cooked fresh.6 A) Help them tidy up the house.B) Sort out I heir tax returns.C) Help them to decode a message.D) Figure out a way to avoid taxes.7 A) The woman remains a total mystery to him.B) The woman is still trying to finish her work.C) He has devoted a whole month to his research.D) He didn't expect to complete his work so soon8 A) He has failed to register for the course.B) He would like to major in psychology too.C) There should be more time for registration.D) Developmental psychology is newly offered.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard9. A) The brilliant product design.B) The unique craftsmanship.C) The new color combinations.D) The texture of the fabrics.10. A) Fancy products.B) Local handicrafts.C) Traditional Thai silks.D) Unique tourist attractions.11. A) It will start tomorrow.B) It will last only one day.C) It will be out into the countryside.D) It will be on the following weekend.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard12. A) A year of practical training.B) A happy childhood.C) A pleasant neighborhood.D) A good secondary education.13. A) He is good at carpentry.B) He is academically gifted.C) He should be sent to a private school.D) He ought to get good vocational training.14. A) Donwell School.B) Carlton AbbeyC) Enderby High.D) Enderby Comprehensive.15. A) Find out more about the five schools.B) Send their children to a better private school.C) Talk with their children about their decision.D) Put keith in a good boarding school.Section BDirections: 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 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.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1. Ban sugary drinks that will add fuel to the obesity war[A] On a train last Thursday, I sat opposite a man who was so fat he filled more than one seat. He was pale and disfigured and looked sick to death, which he probably was: obesity(肥胖的)leads to many nasty ways of dying. Looking around the carriage, I saw quite a few people like him, including a couple of fatty children with swollen checks pressing against their eyes. These people are part of what is without exaggeration an epidemic(流行病)of obesity.[B] But it is quite unnecessary: there is a simple idea- far from new- that could spare millions of such people a lifetime of chronic(长期的)ill health, and at the same time save the National Health Service(NHS)at least ￡14 billion a year in England and Wales. There would, you might think, be considerable public interest in it. This simple idea is that sugar is as good- or as bad- as poison and should be avoided. It is pure, white and deadly, as Professor John Yudkin described it40 years ago in a revolutionary book of that name. The subtitle was How Sugar Is Killing Us.[C] In its countless hidden forms, in ready meals, junk food and sweet drinks, sugar leads to addiction(瘾), to hormonal upsets to the appetite, to metabolic(新陈代谢的)malfunctions and obesity and from there to type 2 diabetes(糖尿病)and its many horrible complication. If people really grasped that, they would try to kick the habit, particularly as Britain is the ―fat man of Europe. They might even feel driven to support government measures to prevent people from consuming this deadly stuff. Yet so far this idea has met little but resistance.[D] It is not difficult to imagine the vested interests(既得利益集团)lined up against any sugar control- all the food and drink manufacturers, processors, promoters and retailers who make such easy pickings out of the magic powers of sugar. Then there are the liberals, with whom I would normally side, who protest that government regulation would be yet another instance of interference in our lives.[E]That is true, but people should realize that you cannot have a welfare state without a nanny state(保姆国家), to some degree. If we are all to be responsible for one another’s health insurance, through socialized medicine, then we are all closely involved i n one another’s health, including everyone’s eating and drinking. That has already been admitted, finally, with smoking. But it has yet to be admitted with overeating, even though one in four adults in this country is obese and that number is predicted to double by the year 2050.Quite apart from anything else, obesity will cripple the NHS.[F]Recently, though, there have been signs that the medical establishment is trying to sound the alarm. Last month the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges(AMRC)published a report saying that obesity is the greatest public health issue affecting the UK and urging government to do something.[G]The report offers 10 recommendations, of which the first is imposing a tax of 20 percent on sugary drinks for at least a year, on top of the existing 20 percent value-added tax. That at least would be an excellent start. The amounts of sugar in soft drinks are horrifying, and turn straight to fat. As Professor Terence Stephenson, head of the AMRC, has said, sugary soft drinks are ―the ultimate bad food. You are just consuming neat sugar. Your body didn’t evolve to handle this kind of thing.[H]Precisely. The risks of eating too much fat or salt(which are very different)pale into insignificant compared with the harm done by sugar. And it is everywhere.[I]It is difficult to buy anything in a supermarket, other than plain, unpre pared meat, fish or vegetables, that doesn’t havea large amount of sugar in it. This has come about because the prevailing scientific views of the 1960s and 1970s ignored the evidence about sugar, and instead saw fat as the really serious risk, both to the heart and other organs, as well as the cause of obesity.[J]The fashion was to avoid fat. But finding that food with much of its fat removed is not very appetizing, food producers turned to sugar as a magic alternative flavor enhancer, often in the forms of syrups(糖浆)that had recently been developed from corn, and put it generously into most prepared foods and soft drinks.[K]This stuff is not just fattening. It is addictive. It interferes with the body’s metabolism, possibly via the activity of an appetite-cont rolling hormone. There’s plenty of evidence for this, for those who will accept the truth.[L]Theoretically, people ought to make ―healthy choices and avoid overeating. But sugar additives are not easy to identify and are hard to avoid. So the snacking, over-drinking and over eating that makes people fat is not really their own fault: obesity is in large part something that is being done to them. It should be stopped, or rather the government should stop it.[M]Going round my local supermarket, I am constantly astonished that it is still legal to sell all the poisons stacked high on the shelves. The problem is that they are worse than useless. They are poisonous. They are known to be addictive. They are known to make people obese. And giving small children sweet drinks or bottles of fake juice all day long is nothing less than child abuse.[N]Clearly, the sale of such stuff ought to be illegal. I hate to think of yet more government regulation. But a bit of tax on sweet soda and a little more health education, a bit of cooking in schools and banning vending machines(自动售货机)here and there —as suggested try the AMRC report —is not going to achieve very much. Labelling is quite inadequate. What is needed is legislation banning high levels of sugary syrups used in foods and drinks.[O]In June 2012, the then minister for public health said the government was not scared of the food industry and had not ruled out legislation, because of the costs of obesity to the NHS. However, nothing has happened yet. Why not have another Jammie Dodger biscuit and forget about it.46、Avoiding over-consumption of sugar can improve people’s health as well as save medical expenses.47、Laws should be passed to make it illegal to produce overly sweet foods or drinks.48、Giving small children sweet juices to drink all the time is equal to child abuse.49、Looking around, the author found obesity quite widespread.50、The number of obese people is expected to increase quickly in the next few decades.51、If people really understood the horrible consequences of sugary foods and drinks, they would support government measures against sugar consumption.52、It would be a very good beginning to improve an additional tax on sugary drinks.53、The government has not yet taken any action to regulate sugar consumption although it indicated its intention to do so some time ago.54、Sugar is far more harmful to health than fat and salt.55、Consumers of sweet foods are not really to blame because they cannot tell what food is sugary.46—50 BNMAE 51—55 CGCHL2. Growing Up Colored[A] You wouldn't know Piedmont anymore—my Piedmont, I mean—the town in West Virginia where I learned to be a colored boy.[B] The 1950s in Piedmont was a time to remember, or at least to me. People were always proud to be from Piedmont—lying at the foot of a mountain, on the banks of the mighty Potomac. We know God gave America no more beautiful location. I never knew colored people anywhere who were crazier about mountains and water, flowers and trees, fishing and hunting. For as long as anyone could remember, we could outhunt, outshoot, and outswim the white boys in the valley.[C] The social structure of Piedmont was something we know like the back of our hands. It was an immigrant town; white Piedmont was Italian and Irish, with a handful of wealthy WASPs (盎格鲁撒克逊人的白人新教徒) on East Hampshire Street, and “ethnic”neighborhoods of working-class people everywhere else, colored and white.[D] For as long as anyone can remember. Piedmoent's character has been completely bound up with the Westvaco paper mill: its prosperous past and doubtful future. At first glance, the town is a typical dying mill center. Many once beautiful buildings stand empty, evidencing a bygone time of spirit and pride. The big houses on East Hampshire Street are no longer proud, as they were when I was a kid.[E] Like the Italians and the Irish, most of the colored people migrated to Piedmont at the turn of the 20th century to work at the paper mill, which opened in 1888. All the colored men at the paper mill worked on “the platform”—loading paper into tricks until the craft unions were finally integrated in 1968. Loading is what Daddy did every working day of his life. That's what almost every colored grown—up I knew did.[F] Colored people lived in three neighborhoods that were clearly separated. Welcome to the Colored Zone, a large stretched banner could have said. And it felt good in there, like walking around your house in bare feet and underwear, orsnoring (打制) night out loud on the couch in front of the TV—enveloped by the comforts of home, the warmth of those you love.[G] Of course, the colored world was not so much a neighborhood as a condition of existence. And though our own world was seemingly self-contained, it impacted on the white world of Piedmont in almost every direction. Certainly, the borders of our world seeped to be impacted on when some white man or woman showed up where he or the did not belong, such as at the black Legion Hall. Our space was violated when one of them showed up at a dance or a party. The rhythms would be off. The music would sound not quite right. Everybody would leave early.[I] “It's no disgrace to be colored,”the black entertainer Bert Williams famously observed early in the century, “but it is awfully inconvenient.” For most of my childhood, we couldn't eat in restaurants or sleep in hotels, we couldn't use certain bathrooms or try on clothes in stores. Mama insisted that we dress up when we went to shop. She was carefully dressed when she went to clothing stores, and wore white pads called shields under her arms so her dress or blouse would show no sweat. “We'd like to try this on,”she'd say carefully, uttering her words precisely and properly. “We don't buy clothes we can't try on,”she'd say when they declined, and we'd walk out in Mama's dignified (有尊严的) manner. She preferred to shop where we had an account and where everyone knew who she was.[J] At the Cut-Rate Drug Store, no one colored was allowed to sit down at the counter or tables, with one exception: my father. I don't know for certain why Carl Dadisman, the owner, wouldn't stop Daddy from sitting down. But I believe it was in part because Daddy was so light-colored, and in part because, during his shift at the phone company, be picked up orders for food and coffee for the operators. Colored people were supposed to stand at the counter, get their food to go, and leave. Even when Young Doc Bess would set up the basketball team with free Cokes after one of many victories, the colored players had to stand around and drink out of paper cups while the white players and cheerleaders set down in comfortable chairs and drank out of glasses.[K] I couldn't have been much older than five or six as I sat with my father at the Cut-Rate one afternoon, enjoying ice cream. Mr. Wilson, a stony-faced Irishman, walked by.“Hello, Mr. Wilson,” my father said.“Hello, George.”[L] I was genuinely puzzled. Mr. Wilson must have confused my father with somebody else, but who? There weren't any Georges among the colored people in Piedmont. “Why don't you tell him your name, Daddy?” I asked loudly. “Your name isn't George.”“He knows my name, boy,” my father said after a long pause. “He calls all colored people George.”[M] I knew we wouldn't talk about it again; even at that age, I was given to understand that there were some subjects it didn't do to worry to death about. Now that I have children, I realize that what distressed my father wasn't so much the Mr. Wilsons of the world as the painful obligation to explain the racial facts of life to someone who hadn't quite learned them yet. Maybe Mr. Wilson couldn't hurt my father by calling him George; but I hurt him by asking to know why.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

2014年12月英语六级仔细阅读真题及答案（卷一）Section CDirections: 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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage oneIt is easy to miss amid the day-to-day headlines of global economic recession, but there is a less conspicuous kind of social upheaval(剧变)underway that is fast altering both the face of the planet and the way human beings live. That change is the rapid acceleration of urbanization. In 2008, for the first time in human history, more than half the world’s population was living in towns and cities. And as a recently published paper shows, the process of urbanization will only accelerate in the decades to come—with an enormous impact on biodiversity and potentially on climate change.As Karen Seto, the led author of the paper, points out, the wave of urbanization isn’t just about the migration of people into urban environments, but about the environments themselves becoming bigger to accommodate all those people. The rapid expansion of urban areas will have a huge impact on biodiversity hotspots and on carbon emissions in those urban areas.Humans are the ultimate invasive species—when the move into new territory, the often displace the wildlife that was already living there. And as land is cleared for those new cities—especially in the dense tropical forests—carbon will be released into the atmosphere as well. It’s true that as people in developing nations move from the countryside to the city, the shift may reduce the pressure on land, which could in turn be good for the environment. This is especially so in desperately poor countries, where residents in the countryside slash and burn forests each growing season to clear space for farming. But the real difference is that in developing nations, the move from rural areas to cities often leads to an accompanying increase in income — and that increase leads to an increase in the consumption of food and energy, which in turn causes a rise in carbon emissions. Getting enough to eat and enjoying the safety and comfort of living fully on the grid is certainly a good thing — but it does carry an environmental price.The urbanization wave can’t be stopped — and it shouldn’t be. But Seto’s paper does underscore the importance of managing that transition. Ifwe do it the right way, we can reduce urbanization’s impact on the environment. “There’s an enormous opportunity here, and a lot of pressure and responsibility to think about how we urbanize,” says Seto. “One thing that’s clear is that we can’t build cities the way we have over the last couple of hundred years. The scale of this transition won’t allow that.” We’re headed towards an urban planet no matter what, but whether it becomes heaven or hell is up to us.56. What issue does the author try to draw people’s attention to?A. The shrinking biodiversity worldwide.B. The rapid increase of world population.C. The ongoing global economic recession.D. The impact of accelerating urbanization.【答案】D57. In what sense are humans the ultimate invasive species?A. They are much greedier than other species.B. They are a unique species born to conquer.C. They force other species out of their territories.D. They have an urge to expand their living space.【答案】C58. In what way is urbanization in poor countries good for the environment?A. More land will be preserved for wildlife.B. The pressure on farmland will be lessened.C. Carbon emissions will be considerably reduced.D. Natural resources will be used more effectively.【答案】B59. What does the author say about living comfortably in the city?A. It incurs a high environmental price.B. It brings poverty and insecurity to an end.C. It causes a big change in people’s lifestyle.D. It narrows the gap between city and country.【答案】A60. What can be done to minimize the negative impact of urbanization according to Seto?A. Slowing down the speed of transition.B. Innovative use of advanced technology.C. Appropriate management of the process.D. Enhancing people’s sense of responsibility.【答案】CPassage TwoWhen Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched in Feb. 2004, even he could not imagine the forces it would let loose. His intent was to connect college students. Facebook, which is what this website rapidly evolved into, ended up connecting the world.To the children of this connected era, the world is one giant social network. They are not bound — as were previous generations of humans— by what they were taught. They are only limited by their curiosity and ambition. During my childhood, all knowledge was local. You learned everything you knew from your parents, teachers, preachers, and friends. With the high-quality and timely information at their fingertips, today’s children are rising normally tame middle class is speaking up against social ills. Silicon Valley executives are being shamed into adding women to their boards. Political leaders are marshalling the energy of millions for elections and political causes. All of this is being done with social media technologies that Facebook and its competitors set free.As does every advancing technology, social media has created many new problems. It is commonly addictive and creates risks for younger users. Social media is used by extremists in the Middle East and elsewhere to seek and brainwash recruits. And it exposes us and our friends to disagreeable spying. We may leave our lights on in the house when we are on vacation, but through social media we tell criminals exactly where we are, when we plan to return home, and how to blackmail(敲诈)us. Governments don’t need informers any more. Social media allows government agencies to spy on their own citizens. We record our thoughts, emotions, likes and dislikes on Facebook; we share our political views, social preferences, and plans. We post intimate photographs of ourselves. No spy agency or criminal organization could actively gather the type of data that we voluntarily post for them.The marketers are also seeing big opportunities. Amazon is trying to predict what we will order. Google is trying to judge our needs and wants based on our social-media profiles. We need to be aware of the risks and keep working to alleviate the dangers.Regardless of what social media people use, one thing is certain: we are in a period of accelerating change. The next decade will be even more amazing and unpredictable than the last. Just as no one could predict what would happen with social media in the last decade, no one can accurately predict where this technology will take us. I am optimistic, however, that a connected humanity will find a way to uplift itself.61. What was the purpose of Facebook when it was first created?A. To help students connect with the outside world.B. To bring university students into closer contact.C. To help students learn to live in a connected era.D. To combine the world into an integral whole.【答案】B62. What difference does social media make to learning?A. Local knowledge and global knowledge will merge.B. Student will become more curious and ambitious.C. People are able to learn wherever they travel.D. Sources of information are greatly expanded.【答案】D63. What is the author’s greatest concern with social media technology?A. Individuals and organizations may use it for evil purposes.B. Government will find it hard to protect classified information.C. People may disclose their friends’ information unintentionally.D. People’s attention will be easily distractedfrom their work in hand.【答案】A64. What do businesses use social media for?A. Creating a good corporate image.B. Conducting large-scale market surveys.C. Anticipating the needs of customers.D. Minimizing possible risks and dangers.【答案】B65. What does the author think of social media as a whole?A. It will enable human society to advance at a faster pace.B. It will pose a grave threat to our traditional ways of life.C. It is bound to bring about another information revolution.D. It breaks down the final barriers in human communication.【答案】A。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试备考资料《阅读理解-长篇阅读（匹配）》解题技巧分析继2005年6月大学英语改革实施以来，全国大学英语考试委员会又对自2013年12月起的大学英语四、六级考试题型做了一次比较大的调整。

就阅读而言，主要有两大调整：（1）将原来四、六级的快速阅读调整为长篇阅读；（2）六级的问答题调整为选词填空，和四级题型保持一致。

其中，长篇阅读是考生比较陌生的一种题型。

与以往的快速阅读相比，改革后的长篇阅读信息匹配题篇章长度和难度不变。

四级约1000词，六级约1200词。

阅读速度四级约每分钟100词；六级约每分钟120词。

全国大学英语考试委员会给出的样卷中可以看到，4级长篇阅读来自2007年12月的快速阅读文章，6级的来自2010年12月份的6级快速阅读文章。

但是考察的模式和题型却有着很大的变化。

改革后，篇章后附有10个句子，每句一题。

每句所含的信息出自篇章的某一段落，要求考生找出与每句所含信息相匹配的段落。

有的段落可能对应两题，有的段落可能不对应任何一题。

2．长篇阅读段落信息匹配和快速阅读的比较初接触这种题型，学生都觉得这题不好做。

原来的快速阅读行文顺序和题目基本一致，也就是1题的答案一般都在2题的前面，学生可以先看一两个题，再到文章去查找，然后再看题，再接着做。

但是调整后，可能第一题信息来自文章最后一段，最后一题信息又来自第一段，如果用以前做快速阅读的方法做这个题肯定是行不通的。

从题目的设置来看，样卷中的题比原来的快速阅读难度有所增加。

以6级样卷为例，在原快速阅读中，第一题In its 1994 report，the World Bank argued that the current pension system in most countries could ______.学生能够根据1994 report 和专有名词World Bank将该题迅速定位到篇章第一段第三句和第四句“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 were unsustainable.”然后选出答案A “not be sustained in the long term”。

（自我意识）Children are natural-born scientists. They have inquiring minds, and they aren’t afraid to admit they don’t know something. Most of them, unfortunately, lose this as they get older. They become self-conscious and don’t want to appear stupid. Instead of finding things out for themselves they make assumption that often turn out to be wrong.vt.So it’s not a case of getting kids interested in science. You just have to avoid killing the passion for learning that they were born with. It’s no coincidence that kids start deserting science once it becomes formalised. Children naturally have a blurred approach to acquiringknowledge. They see learning about science or biology or cooking as all part of the same act---it’s all learning. It’s only because of the practicalities of education that you have to start breaking down the curriculum into specialist subjects. You need to have specialist teachers who impart what they know. Thus once they enter school, children begin to define subjects and erect boundaries that needn’t otherwise exist.Dividing subjects into science, maths, English, etc. is something we do for convenience. In the end it’s all learning, but many children today exclude themselves from a scientific education. They think science is forscientists, not for them.（直到）Of course we need to specialise eventually. Each of us has only so much time on Earth, so we can’t study everything. At 5 years old, our field of knowledge andexploration is broad, covering anything from learning to walk to learning to count. Gradually it narrows down so that by the time we are 45, it might be one tiny little corner within science.。