2014年12月六级真题及答案(共三套)

2014年12月大学英语六级真题试卷（二）(题后含答案及解析)题型有：1. Writing 2. Listening Comprehension 3. 4. Reading Comprehension 5. TranslationPart I Writing1．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 whether there is a shortcut to learning. You should give sound arguments to support your views and write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.正确答案：No Shortcut to Learning Given is a stimulating but thought-provoking cartoon, in which a young man asks where he can find a book named How To Do Well In School Without Studying, and the woman suggests him to find it in the fiction section. Apparently, the cartoon ironically demonstrates a truth that there is no such a thing as a shortcut to learning. It is the nature of study that requires a solid foundation. Just as we cannot build a castle in the air, neither can we obtain advanced knowledge through a shortcut, for even a slight shortcut can shatter the whole foundation. For example, students may choose to cheat to acquire a good score. However, the cheaters will wind up in a total ignorance, let alone dishonesty. In addition, although many students are averse to learning by rote, there is no denying that only by rote can one remember and learn the basic knowledge, thus achieving the possibility to further study in the future. In this case, shortcuts also do not exist. To sum up, students should come to realize that there exists no shortcut in study. Only by hard work can we form the bedrock of good performance in school.Part II Listening ComprehensionSection A听力原文：W: Oh, here’s a piece of cake and a small coffee for you, sir. The total is 35 yuan. For here or to go? M: To go. I’d like to have them in my car. Thank you. Q: Where does this conversation most probably take place?2．A．In a parking lot.B．At a grocery.C．At a fast food restaurant.D．In a car showroom.正确答案：C解析：对话中女店员拿给男士一块蛋糕以及一小杯咖啡，告知总共是35元钱，并询问男士是要在店里吃还是带走，由此可知，这最有可能是在快餐店发生的对话，故答案为C)。

2014年12月6级第一套Part ⅡListening ComprehensionSection A1. A) At a grocery B) In a parking lotC) In a car showroom D) At a fast food restaurant2. A) Have a little nap after lunch B) Get up and take a short walkC) Change her position now and then。

D) Stretch her legs before standing up3. A) The students should practice long-distance running.B) He doesn’t quite believe what the woman says.C) The students’ p hysical condition is not desirable.D) He thinks the race is too hard for the students.4. A) They do not want to have a baby at present.B) They cannot afford to get married right now.C) They are both pursuing graduate studies.D) They will get their degrees in two years.5. A) Twins usually have a lot in common.B) He must have been mistaken for Jack.C) Jack is certainly not as healthy as he is.D) He has not seen Jack for quite a few days.6. A) The man will take the woman to the museum.B) The man knows where the museum is located.C) The woman is asking the way at the crossroads.D) The woman will attend the opening of the museum.7. A) They cannot ask the guy to leave.B) The guy has been coming in for years.C) They should not look down upon the guy.D) The guy must be feeling extremely lonely.8. A) Collect timepieces B) Learn to mend clocksC) Become time-conscious D) Keep track of his daily activitiesQuestions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard9. A) It winds its way to the sea. B) It is eating into its banks.C) It is quickly rising. D) It is wide and deep10. A) Get the trucks over to the other side of the river.B) Take the equipment apart before being ferried.C) Reduce the transport cost as much as possible.D) Try to speed up the operation by any means.11. A) Ask the commander to send a helicopter.B) Halt the operation until further orders.C) Cut trees and build rowing boats.D) Find as many boats as possible.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) Help him join an Indian expedition B) Talk about his climbing experiencesC) Give up mountain climbing altogether D) Save money to buy climbing equipment13. A) He was very strict with his children.B) He climbed mountains to earn a living.C) He had an unusual religious background.D) He was the first to conquer Mt. Qomolangma.14. A) They are like humans. B) They are sacred places.C) They are to be protected. D) They are to be conquered.15. A) It was his father’s training that pulled him through.B) It was a milestone in his mountain climbing career.C) It was his father who gave him the strength to succeed.D) It helped him understand the Sherpa view of mountains.Passage OneQuestions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A) By reviewing what he has said previously.B) By comparing memorandums with letters.C) By showing a memorandum’s structure.D) By analyzing the organization of a letter.17. A) They spent a lot of time writing memorandums.B) They seldom read a memorandum through to the end.C) They placed emphasis on the format of memorandums.D) They ignored many of the memorandums they received.18. A) Style and wording. B) Structure and length.C) Directness and clarity. D) Simplicity and accuracy.19. A) Accurate dating. B) Professional look.C) Direct statement of purpose. D) Inclusion of appropriate humor.Passage TwoQuestions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.20. A) They give top priority to their work efficiency.B) They make an effort to lighten their workload.C) They never change work habits unless forced to.D) They try hard to make the best use of their time.21. A) Self-confidence B) Sense of duty C) Work efficiency D) Passion for work22. A) They are addicted to playing online games.B) They try to avoid work whenever possible.C) They find no pleasure in the work they do.D) They simply have no sense of responsibility.Passage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard。

2014年12月大学英语六级真题试卷（三）(题后含答案及解析)题型有：1. Writing 2. Listening Comprehension 3. 4. Reading Comprehension 5. TranslationPart I Writing1．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 applicants. You should give sound arguments to support your views and write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.正确答案：Degrees Are More Important than Abilities? In the cartoon, an employer expresses his pity to the young interviewee with a master’s degree. Although the graduate has an impressive resume, he fails the interview, for his competitors are all Ph. D. s. The picture proves that nowadays interviewers place greater emphasis upon education background. I, however, assume the ability of job applicants should gain more attention. There are three main reasons to support this view. First and foremost, education background is only a measure of one’s ability, and the cart should not be put before the horse. Besides, in the sole pursuit of high-level education, companies are likely to miss really talented people, who may drop out of school because of financial difficulties or other reasons. For example, Steven Jobs, a real innovator, did not finish his college but started Apple; Bill Gates, one of the richest men on earth, quitted the university, too. One’s talents cannot be only measured by education background. Finally, most of the companies do not specialize in the cutting-edge science, hence, doctors will be a total waste there. In conclusion, I believe job applicants should not be evaluated only by their education background and the recruiters are supposed to appreciate the talents and abilities more.Part II Listening ComprehensionSection A听力原文：M; What do you think of the government’s new tax cut proposal?W: Though it may give some benefit to the poor, its key component is the elimination of tax on dividends. That means the rich will get richer. Q: What does the woman think of the government’s tax cut proposal?2．A．It will mainly benefit the wealthy.B．It will stimulate business activities.C．It will reduce government revenues.D．It will cut the stockholders’ dividends.正确答案：A解析：从女士话中的Though可知，她认为减少税收不会给穷人带来多大好处，相反富人会变得更加富有. 本题听音关键词是That means．答案就是其后的the rich will get richer。

2014年12⽉⼤学英语六级考试听⼒真题及答案 Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension (30 minutes) Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A)， B)， C) and D)，and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre。

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答 1.A) At a grocery B) In a parking lot C) In a car showroom D) At a fast food restaurant。

2. A) Have a little nap after lunch B) Get up and take a short walk C) Change her position now and then。

D) Stretch her legs before standing up。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题(三)注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

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

1. A．Proceed in his own way.B． Stick to the original plan.C. Compromise with his colleague.D． Try to change his colleague's mind.2. A．Mary has a keen eye for style.B． Nancy regrets buying the dress.C． Nancy and Mary went shopping together in Rome.D． Nancy and Mary like to follow the latest fashion.3. A．Wash the dishes.B． Go to the theatre.C． Pick up George and Martha.D． Take her daughter to hospital.4. A．She enjoys making up stories about other people.B． She can never keep anything to herself for long.C． She is eager to share news with the woman.D． She is the best informed woman in town.5. A．A car dealer.B． A mechanic.C． A driving examiner.D． A technical consultant.6. A．The shopping mall has been deserted recently.B． Shoppers can only find good stores in the mall.C． Lots of people moved out of the downtown area.D． There isn't much business downtown nowadays.7. A．He will help the woman with her reading.B． The lounge is not a place for him to study in.C． He feels sleepy whenever he tries to study.D． A cozy place is rather hard to find on campus.8. A．To protect her from getting scratches.B． To help relieve her of the pain.C． To prevent mosquito bites.D． To avoid getting sunburnt.Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9. A．In a studio.B． In a clothing store.C． At a beach resort.D． At a fashion show.10. A．To live there permanently.B． To stay there for half a year.C． To find a better job to support herself.D． To sell leather goods for a British company.11. A．Designing fashion items for several companies.B． Modeling for a world-famous Italian company.C． Working as an employee for Ferragamo.D． Serving as a sales agent for Burberrys.12. A．It has seen a steady decline in .its profits.B． It has become much more competitive.C． It has lost many customers to foreign companies.D． It has attracted a lot more designers from abroad.Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.13. A．It helps her to attract more public attention.B．It improves her chance of getting promoted.C． It strengthens her relationship with students.D．It enables her to understand people better.14. A．Passively.B． Positively.C． Skeptically.D． Sensitively.15. A．It keeps haunting her day and night.B．Her teaching was somewhat affected by it.C． It vanishes the moment she steps into her role.Ｄ． Her mind goes blank once she gets on the stage.Section BDirections 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, you mustchoose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B．, C． and D ). Then mark the correspondingletter on Answer Sheet I with a single line through the centre.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

2014年12月英语六级考试真题（卷一） 12014年12月英语六级考试真题答案（卷一）132014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 support your 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 th e 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 talent s. First of all, academic degrees only represent the applicants’ proficiency in their school work, and cannot demonstrate 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 interviewersgenerally 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真题(三)答案详解作文范文：On Diploma Discrimination in Job InterviewAs is vividly shown in the cartoon,an applicant with a master's degree was rejected in a job interview by an interviewer because all the other applicants are Ph.D.s.The applicant seems quite helpless and embarrassed. Simple as the cartoon may seem,it conveys a thought-provoking message that people are exaggerating the significance of educational degrees excessively,which inevitably exerts a negative influence in society.What factors might contribute to diploma discrimination?Answers to this question may involve many aspects,and here are a few guesses:on the one hand,quite a few employers hold that the higher degree people have,the more competent they will be.Of course this is not necessarily a logical viewpoint,because certificates cannot prove one's capability.On the other hand,due to increase of enrollment,too many students graduate from universities and colleges year after year,and the number is still growing;however,society fails to provide adequate posts,whichresults in the companies'too picky attitude on diploma since they don't worry about lacking candidates.In my opinion,the public should realize that real ability speaks much louder than a piece of paper.Only in this way can China's economy keep booming.Section C26．floating【精析】句意推断题。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题(三)答案与详解PartⅠWriting审题思路本作文话题为大学校阿中令你受益最多的一项活动，非常贴近大学生的生活。

因此，在构思时可以用自己的亲身经历作为材料，着重阐述活动的有益之处。

考生首先应该指明是什么校园活动让你受益最多;接着应对该活动进行描述，说明它让你受益之处，最后总结全文、升华主题。

写作提纲一、指出大学校园中最让“我”受益的活动(benefited me most)二、阐述该活动让“我”受益之处：1、描述活动（a debate competition)2、活动所得(what I have leamt from it)三、升华主题：指出“我”从活动中得到了对未来而言最珍贵的礼物(the most precious gift for future)范文点评1全文翻译最有益处的大学活动每个大学都为学生提供多种多样的校园活动以丰富他们的课外生活。

作为一个年轻的大学生，我从这些精心组织的活动中学到了很多。

但是让我受益最多的是去年参加的那场辩论赛。

那是一次有不同专业学生参与的辩论赛，辩题是理论知识与实践。

最重要的不是辩论的结果，而是我从中学到了什么。

那就是，没有哪个人能够单凭自己就可以完成一项极具挑战性的任务。

要赢得任何一项竞赛，共同努力都极为重要。

我很幸运参加了那场辩论赛，从中我收获了对未来而言最珍贵的礼物：珍惜团队精神和共同努力，这将帮我扫清通往成功道路上的每一个障碍。

PartⅡListening ComprehensionSection A1.W：Simon,could you return the tools I lent you for building the bookshelf last month?M：Oh,well,I hate to tell you this,but I can't seem to find them.Q：What do we learn from the conversation?1.A)The man hates to lend his tools to other people.B)The man hasn’t finished working on the bookshelf.C)The tools have already been returned to the woman.D)The tools the man borrowed from the woman are missing.【预测】选项中多次出现了tools—词，且出现了lend，returned和borrowed,由此可推测对话很可能与工具的借和还有关。

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。

Questions 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 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 has confided to aides (随从) — but listening to Charles Windsor can indeed prove stimulating. The royal __37__ has been promoting radical ideas for most of his adult life. Some of his __38__. which once sounded a bit 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 in 1986, when most shoppers cared only about the low price tag on suspiciously blemish-free (无瑕疵的) vegetables and __40__ large chickens piled high in supermarkets.His warnings on proved farsighted, too. Charles began __41__ action on global warming in 1990 and says he's 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 world's leading conservationists, many British people still think of him as a __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.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。

2014年12月英语六级真题及答案（文字版）Part I WritingDirections: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the following topic. You shoul d write at least 180 words but no more than 200 words.作文题一：学历歧视作文题二：科技与学习作文题三：学习没有捷径Part II ListeningSection 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 an d the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, y ou 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 I with a single line through the centre.Question 1A.At a groceryB.In a parking lotC.In a car showroomD.At a fast food restaurantQuestion 2A.Have a little nap after lunchB.Get up and take a short walkC.Change her position now and thenD.Stretch legs before standing upQuestion 3A.The students should practice long-distance runningB.He doesn’t quite believe what the woman saysC.The students’ physical condition is not desirableD.He thinks the race is too hard for the studentsQuestion 4A.They do not want to have a baby at presentB.They cannot afford to get married right nowC.They are both pursuing graduate studiesD.They will get their degrees in two yearsQuestion 5A.Twins usually have a lot in commonB.He must have been mistaken for JackC.Jack is certainly not as healthy as he isD.He has not seen Jack for quite a few daysQuestion 6A.The man will take the woman wo the museumB.The man knows where the museum is locatedC.The woman is asking the way at the crossroadsD.The woman will attend the opening of the museumQuestion 7A.They cannot ask the guy to leaveB.The guy has been coming in for yearsC.They should not look down upon the guyD.The guy must be feeling extremely lonelyQuestion 8A.Collect timepiecesB.Become time-consciousC.Learn to mend locksD.Keep track of his daily activitiesQuestions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard. Question 9A.It winds its way to the seaB.It is quickly risingC.It is eating into its banksD.It is wide and deepQuestion 10A.Get the trucks over to the other side of the riverB.Take the equipment apart before being ferriedC.Reduce the transport cost as much as possibleD.Try to speed up the operation by any meansQuestion 11A.Ask the commander to send a helicopterB.Halt the operation until further ordersC.Cut trees and build rowing boatsD.Find as many coats as possibleQuestions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.Question 12A.Help him join an Indian expeditionB.Talk about his climbing experiencesC.Give up mountain climbing altogetherD.Save money to buy climbing equipmentQuestion 13A.He was very strict with his childrenB.He climbed mountains to earn a livingC.He had an unusual religious backgroundD.He was the first to conquer Mt. QomolangmaQuestion 14A.They are like humansB.They are sacred placesC.They are to be protectedD.They are to be conqueredQuestion 15A.It was his father’s training that pilled him throughB.It was a milestone in his mountain climbing careerC.It was his father who gave him the strength to succeedD.It helped him understand the Sherpa view of mountainsSection BDirections：In this section，you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage，you will he ar some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a questi on, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D). Then mark the cor responding letter on Answer Sheet I with a single line through the centrePassage OneQuestion 16A. By reviewing what he has said previouslyB.By comparing memorandums with lettersC.By showing a memorandum’ s structureD.By analyzing the organization of a letterQuestion 17A.They spent a lot of time writing memorandumsB.They seldom read a memorandum through to the endC.They placed emphasis on the format of memorandumsD.They ignored many of the memorandums they received Question 18A.Style and wordingB.Structure and lengthC.Directness and clarityD.Simplicity and accuracyPassage TwoQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard. Question 19A.Accurate datingB.Professional lookC.Direct statement of purposeD.Inclusion of appropriate humorQuestion 20A.They give top priority to their work efficiencyB.They make an effort to lighten their workloadC.They never change work habits unless forced toD.They try hard to make the best use of their timeQuestion 21A.Self-confidenceB.Sense of dutyC.Work efficiencyD.Passion for workQuestion 22A.They are addicted to playing online gamesB.They try to avoid work whenever possibleC.They find to pleasure in the work they doD.They simply have no sense of responsibilityPassage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.Question 23A.He lost all his propertyB.He was sold to a circusC.He was forced into slaveryD.He ran away from his familyQuestion 24A.A carpenterB.A businessmanC.A master of hisD.A black drummerQuestion 25A.It named its town hall after Solomon NorthupB.It declared July 24 Solomon Northup DayC.It freedom all blacks in the town from slaveryD.It hosted a reunion for the Northup familySection CDirections：In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the fir st time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, yo u are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage i s read for the third time, you should check what you have written.Section CIntolerance is the art of ignoring any views that differ from your own. It(26)_____ itself a hatred. St ereotypes, prejudice, and(27)_____.Once it intensifies in people, intolerance is nearly impossible to overco me. But why would anyone want to be labeled intolerant. Why would people want to be (28)_____about the world around them? Why would one want to be part of the problem in America, instead of the soluti on?There are many explanations for intolerant attitudes, some (29)_____ childhood. It is likely that intole rant folks grew up (30)_____ intolerant parents and the cycle of prejudice has simply continued for (31)_ ____. Perhaps intolerant people are so set in their ways that they find it easier to ignore anything that mi ght not (32)_____ their limited view of life. Or maybe intolerant students have simply never been (33)__ ___ to anyone different form themselves. But none of these reason is an excuse for allpwing the intoleran ce to continue.Intolerance should not be confused with disagreement.It is,of course,possible as diasgree with an opini on without being intolerant of it.If you understand a belief but still don't believe in that specific belief,tha t's fine.You are (34)_____ your opinion.As a matter of fact.(35)_____ disseniers(持异议者)are important for any belief.If we all believed the same things.we would never grow,and we would never learn about the world around us,does not stem frim disagreement.It stems from fear,And fear stems from fear.And fear s tems from ignorance.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section AHis future subjects have not always treated the Prince of Wales with the respect one XXXX expect. They laughed aloud in 1986 when the heir to the British(36)_____ told a TV reporter that he talked to h is plants at his country house, Highgrove, to stimulate their growth. The Prince was being humorous- “M y sense of humor will get me into trouble one day”, he said to his aids(随从)-but listening to Charles W indsor can indeed prove stimulating. The royal(37)_____ has been promoting radical ideas for most of his adult life. Some of his(38)_____, which once sounded a bit weird, were simply ahead of their time. No w, finally, the world seems to be catching up with him.Take his views on farming. Prince Charles’ Duchy Home Farm went(39)_____ back in 1986. When most shoppers cared only about the low price tag on suspiciously blemish-free(无瑕疵的) vegetables and(4 0)_____ large chickens piled high in supermarkets.His warnings on climate change proved farsighted,too.Charles began(41)_____ action in warming in 1 990 and says he has been worried about the(42)_____ of man on the environment same be was a teenger.Although he was gradually gained international(43)_____ as one of the world's lending conservationist s,many British people still think of him as an(34)_____ person who talks to plants.This year,as it happens, South Korean scientists proved that plants really do(45)_____ to round.So Charles was ahead of the game there,too.A.conformB.eccentricC.environmentalistD.expeditionsE.impactF.notionsanicH.originallyI.recognitionJ.respondK.subordinateL.suppressingM.throneN.unnaturallyO.urgingSection BDirections: In this section，you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each s tatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the infor mation 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.High School Sports Are n’t Killing AcademicsA)In this month’s Atlantic cover article, “The Case Against High-School Sports,” Amanda Riple y arg ues that school-sponsored sports programs should be seriously cut. She writes that, unlike most countries t hat outperform the United States on international assessments, American schools put too much of an emph asis on athletics, “ Sports are embedded in American schools in a way they are not almost anywhere els e,” she writes, “Yet this difference hardly ever comes up in domestic debates about America’s internation al mediocrity(平庸)in education.”B)American student-athletes reap many benefits from participating in sports, but the costs to the scho ols could outweigh their benefits, she argues, In particular, Ripley contends that sports crowd out the acad emic missions of schools: America should learn from South Korea and Finland and every other country at the top level of international test scores, all of whom emphasize athletics far less in school. ”Even in ei ghth grade, American kids spend more than twice the time Korean kids spend playing sports,” she writes, citing a 2010 study published in the Journal of Advanced Academics.C)It might well be true that sports are far more rooted in American high schools than in other count ries. But our reading of international test scores finds no support for the argument against school athletics. Indeed, our own research and that of others lead us to make the opposite case. School-sponsored sports appear to provide benefits that seem to increase, not detract(减少)from, academic success.D)Ripley indulges a popular obsession(痴迷)with international test score comparisons, which show wid e and frightening gaps between the United States and other countries. She ignores, however, the fact that states vary at least as much in test scores as do developed countries. A 2011 report from Harvard Univer sity shows that Massachusetts produces math scores comparable to South Korea and Finland, while Missis sippi scores are closer to Trinidad and Tobago. Ripley’s thesis about sports falls apart in light of this fact. Schools in Massachusetts provide sports programs while schools in Finland do not. Schools in Mississipp i may love football while in Tobago interscholastic sports are nowhere near as prominent. Sports cannot e xplain these similarities in performance. They can’t explain international differences either.E)If it is true that sports undermine the academic mission of American schools, we would expect to see a negative relationship between the commitment to athletics and academic achievement. However, the University of Arkansas’s Daniel Bowen and Jay Greene actually find the oppos ite. They examine this rela tionship by analyzing schools’ sports winning percentages as well as student-athletic participation rates co mpared to graduation rates and standardized test score achievement over a five-year period for all public high schools in Ohio. Controlling for student poverty levels, demographics(人口统计状况), and district fin ancial resources, both measures of a school’s commitment to athletics are significantly and positively relat ed to lower dropout rates as well as higher test scores.F)On-the-field success and high participation in sports is not random-it requires focus and dedication to athletics. One might think this would lead schools obsessed with winning to deemphasize academics. B owen and Greene’s results contradict that argument. A likely explanation for this seemingly counterintuitiv e(与直觉相反的)result is that success in sports programs actually facilitates or reflects greater social capita l within a school’s community.G)Ripley cites the writings of renowned sociologist James Coleman, whose research in education was groundbreaking. Coleman in his early work held athletics in contempt, arguing that they crowded out sch ools’ academic missions. Ripley quotes his 1961 study, The Adolescent Society, where Coleman writes, “Altogether, the t rophy(奖品)case would suggest to the innocent visitor that he was entering an athletic cl ub, not an educational institution.”H)However, in later research Coleman would show how the success of schools is highly dependent o n what he termed social capital, “the social networks, and the relationships between adults and children th at are of value for the child’s growing up.”I)According to a 2013 evaluation conducted by the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago, a progra m called Becoming a Man-Sports Edition creates lasting improvements in the boys’ study habits and grad e point averages. During the first year of the program, students were founds to be less likely to transfer schools or be engaged in violent crime. A year after the program, participants were less likely to have ha d an encounter with the juvenile justice system.J)If school-sponsored sports were completely eliminated tomorrow, many American students would stil l have opportunities to participate in organized athletics elsewhere, much like they do in countries such as Finland, Germany, and South Korea. The same is not certain when it comes to students from more disa dvantaged backgrounds. In an overview of the research on non-school based after-school programs, researc hers find that disadvantaged children participate in these programs at significantly lower rates. They find t hat low-income students have less access due to challenges with regard to transportation, non-nominal fees, and off-campus safety. Therefore, reducing or eliminating these opportunities would most likely deprive disadvantaged students of the benefits from athletic participation, not least of which is the opportunity to in teract with positive role models outside of regular school hours.K)Another unfounded criticism that Ripley makes is bringing up the stereotype that athletic XX are t ypically lousy(蹩脚的)classroom teachers. “American principals, unlike the XX XX of principals around th e world, make many hiring decisions with their sports teams in mind, which does not always end well fo r students,” she writes. Educators who seek employment at schools primarily for the purpose of coaching are likely to shirk(推卸)teaching responsibilities, the argument goes. Moreover, even in the cases where th e employee is a teacher first and athletic coach second, the additional responsibilities that come with coac hing likely comes at the expense of time otherwise spent on planning, grading, and communicating with p arents and guardians.L)The data, however, do not seem to confirm this stereotype. In the most rigorous study on the class room results of high school coaches, the University of Arkansas’s Anna Egalite finds that athletic coaches in Florida mostly tend to perform just as well as their non-coaching counterparts, with respect to raising student test scores. We do not doubt that teachers who also coach face serious tradeoffs that likely come at the expense of time they could dedicate to their academic obligations. However, as with sporting even ts, athletic coaches gain additional opportunities for communicating and serving as mentors(导师)that poten tially help students succeed and make up for the costs of coaching commitments.M)If schools allow student-athletes to regularly miss out on instructional time for the sake of travelin g to athletic c ompetitions, that’s bad. However, such issues would be better addressed by changing school and state policies with regard to the scheduling of sporting events as opposed to total elimination. If the empirical evidence points to anything, it points towards school sponsored sports providing assets that are well worth the costs.N)Despite negative stereotypes about sports culture and Ripley’s presumption that academics and athle tics are at odds with one another, we believe that the greater body of evidence shows that school-sponsor ed sports programs appear to benefit students. Successes on the playing field can carry over to the classro om and vice versa(反之亦然). More importantly, finding ways to increase school communities’ social capit al is imperative to the success of the school as whole, not just the athletes.46.Stunets from low-income families have less access to off-campus sports programs.47.Amanda Ripley argues that America should learn from other countries that rank high in international te sts and lay less emphasis on athletics.48.According to the author,Amanda Ripley fails to note that stunents'performance in exams varies from sta te to state.49.Amanda Ripley thinks that athletic coaches are poor at classroom instruction.50.James Coleman's later resrarch make an argument for a school's social capital.51.Reaearchers find that there is a ppsitive relationship between a school's commitment to athletics and ac ademic achievements.52.Aa rigorous study finds that athletic coaches also do well in raising students'test scores.53.According to an evaluation,spograms contribute to students's academic preformance and character building.54.Amanda Ripley believes the emphasis on school sports shuold be brought up when trying to understand why Aamerican students are mediocre.55.James Coleman suggests in his earlier writings that school athletics would undermine a school's image.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfi nished 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 c entre.Passage oneIt is easy to miss amid the day-to-day headlines of global economic recession, but there is a less co nspicuous 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 i n 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 a ccommodate 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 developi ng 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 di fference 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, wh ich 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 im portance of managing that transition. If we 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 thin k about how we urbanize,” says Seto. “One thing that’s clear is that we can’t build cities the way we ha ve over the last couple of hundred years. The scale of this transition won’t allow that.” We’re headed to wards an urban planet no matter what, but whether it becomes heaven or hell is up to us.56. W hat 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.57. 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.58. 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.59. 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.60. 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 respons ibility.Passage TwoWhen Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched in Feb. 2004, even he could not i magine 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 cu riosity 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 t ame middle class is speaking up against social ills. Silicon Valley executives are being shamed into addin g women to their boards. Political leaders are marshalling the energy of millions for elections and politica l causes. All of this is being done with social media technologies that Facebook and its competitors set fr ee.As does every advancing technology, social media has created many new problems. It is commonly a ddictive and creates risks for younger users. Social media is used by extremists in the Middle East and el sewhere to seek and brainwash recruits. And it exposes us and our friends to disagreeable spying. We ma y 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 the ir 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 crimi nal 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. Go ogle 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 chan ge. The next decade will be even more amazing and unpredictable than the last. Just as no one could pre dict what would happen with social media in the last decade, no one can accurately predict where this te chnology will take us. I am optimistic, however, that a connected humanity will find a way to uplift itsel f.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.62. 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.63. 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.64. 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.65. 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.Part IV TranslationDirections: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into Englis h. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.翻译题一：自从1978年启动改革以来，中国已从计划经济转为以市场为基础的经济，经历了经济和社会的快速发展。

2014年12月英语六级真题及答案（文字版）考试采取“多题多卷”模式，试题顺序不统一，请依据试题进行核对Part I WritingDirections: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the following topic. You shoul d write at least 180 words but no more than 200 words.作文题一：学历歧视作文题二：科技与学习作文题三：学习没有捷径Part II ListeningSection 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 an d the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, y ou 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 I with a single line through the centre.Question 1A.At a groceryB.In a parking lotC.In a car showroomD.At a fast food restaurantQuestion 2A.Have a little nap after lunchB.Get up and take a short walkC.Change her position now and thenD.Stretch legs before standing upQuestion 3A.The students should practice long-distance runningB.He doesn’t quite believe what the woman saysC.The students’ physical condition is not desirableD.He thinks the race is too hard for the studentsQuestion 4A.They do not want to have a baby at presentB.They cannot afford to get married right nowC.They are both pursuing graduate studiesD.They will get their degrees in two yearsQuestion 5A.Twins usually have a lot in commonB.He must have been mistaken for JackC.Jack is certainly not as healthy as he isD.He has not seen Jack for quite a few daysQuestion 6A.The man will take the woman wo the museumB.The man knows where the museum is locatedC.The woman is asking the way at the crossroadsD.The woman will attend the opening of the museumQuestion 7A.They cannot ask the guy to leaveB.The guy has been coming in for yearsC.They should not look down upon the guyD.The guy must be feeling extremely lonelyQuestion 8A.Collect timepiecesB.Become time-consciousC.Learn to mend locksD.Keep track of his daily activitiesQuestions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard. Question 9A.It winds its way to the seaB.It is quickly risingC.It is eating into its banksD.It is wide and deepQuestion 10A.Get the trucks over to the other side of the riverB.Take the equipment apart before being ferriedC.Reduce the transport cost as much as possibleD.Try to speed up the operation by any meansQuestion 11A.Ask the commander to send a helicopterB.Halt the operation until further ordersC.Cut trees and build rowing boatsD.Find as many coats as possibleQuestions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.Question 12A.Help him join an Indian expeditionB.Talk about his climbing experiencesC.Give up mountain climbing altogetherD.Save money to buy climbing equipmentQuestion 13A.He was very strict with his childrenB.He climbed mountains to earn a livingC.He had an unusual religious backgroundD.He was the first to conquer Mt. QomolangmaQuestion 14A.They are like humansB.They are sacred placesC.They are to be protectedD.They are to be conqueredQuestion 15A.It was his father’s training that pilled him throughB.It was a milestone in his mountain climbing careerC.It was his father who gave him the strength to succeedD.It helped him understand the Sherpa view of mountainsSection BDirections：In this section，you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage，you will he ar some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a questi on, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D). Then mark the cor responding letter on Answer Sheet I with a single line through the centrePassage OneQuestion 16A. By reviewing what he has said previouslyB.By comparing memorandums with lettersC.By showing a memorandum’ s structureD.By analyzing the organization of a letterQuestion 17A.They spent a lot of time writing memorandumsB.They seldom read a memorandum through to the endC.They placed emphasis on the format of memorandumsD.They ignored many of the memorandums they received Question 18A.Style and wordingB.Structure and lengthC.Directness and clarityD.Simplicity and accuracyPassage TwoQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard. Question 19A.Accurate datingB.Professional lookC.Direct statement of purposeD.Inclusion of appropriate humorQuestion 20A.They give top priority to their work efficiencyB.They make an effort to lighten their workloadC.They never change work habits unless forced toD.They try hard to make the best use of their timeQuestion 21A.Self-confidenceB.Sense of dutyC.Work efficiencyD.Passion for workQuestion 22A.They are addicted to playing online gamesB.They try to avoid work whenever possibleC.They find to pleasure in the work they doD.They simply have no sense of responsibilityPassage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.Question 23A.He lost all his propertyB.He was sold to a circusC.He was forced into slaveryD.He ran away from his familyQuestion 24A.A carpenterB.A businessmanC.A master of hisD.A black drummerQuestion 25A.It named its town hall after Solomon NorthupB.It declared July 24 Solomon Northup DayC.It freedom all blacks in the town from slaveryD.It hosted a reunion for the Northup familySection CDirections：In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the fir st time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, yo u are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage i s read for the third time, you should check what you have written.Section CIntolerance is the art of ignoring any views that differ from your own. It(26)_____ itself a hatred. St ereotypes, prejudice, and(27)_____.Once it intensifies in people, intolerance is nearly impossible to overco me. But why would anyone want to be labeled intolerant. Why would people want to be (28)_____about the world around them? Why would one want to be part of the problem in America, instead of the soluti on?There are many explanations for intolerant attitudes, some (29)_____ childhood. It is likely that intole rant folks grew up (30)_____ intolerant parents and the cycle of prejudice has simply continued for (31)_ ____. Perhaps intolerant people are so set in their ways that they find it easier to ignore anything that mi ght not (32)_____ their limited view of life. Or maybe intolerant students have simply never been (33)__ ___ to anyone different form themselves. But none of these reason is an excuse for allpwing the intoleran ce to continue.Intolerance should not be confused with disagreement.It is,of course,possible as diasgree with an opini on without being intolerant of it.If you understand a belief but still don't believe in that specific belief,tha t's fine.You are (34)_____ your opinion.As a matter of fact.(35)_____ disseniers(持异议者)are important for any belief.If we all believed the same things.we would never grow,and we would never learn about the world around us,does not stem frim disagreement.It stems from fear,And fear stems from fear.And fear s tems from ignorance.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section AHis future subjects have not always treated the Prince of Wales with the respect one XXXX expect. They laughed aloud in 1986 when the heir to the British(36)_____ told a TV reporter that he talked to h is plants at his country house, Highgrove, to stimulate their growth. The Prince was being humorous- “M y sense of humor will get me into trouble o ne day”, he said to his aids(随从)-but listening to Charles W indsor can indeed prove stimulating. The royal(37)_____ has been promoting radical ideas for most of his adult life. Some of his(38)_____, which once sounded a bit weird, were simply ahead of their time. No w, finally, the world seems to be catching up with him.Take his views on farming. Prince Charles’ Duchy Home Farm went(39)_____ back in 1986. When most shoppers cared only about the low price tag on suspiciously blemish-free(无瑕疵的) vegetables and(4 0)_____ large chickens piled high in supermarkets.His warnings on climate change proved farsighted,too.Charles began(41)_____ action in warming in 1 990 and says he has been worried about the(42)_____ of man on the environment same be was a teenger.Although he was gradually gained international(43)_____ as one of the world's lending conservationist s,many British people still think of him as an(34)_____ person who talks to plants.This year,as it happens, South Korean scientists proved that plants really do(45)_____ to round.So Charles was ahead of the game there,too.A.conformB.eccentricC.environmentalistD.expeditionsE.impactF.notionsanicH.originallyI.recognitionJ.respondK.subordinateL.suppressingM.throneN.unnaturallyO.urgingSection BDirections: In this section，you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each s tatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the infor mation 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.High School Sports Are n’t Killing AcademicsA)In this month’s Atlantic cover article, “The Case Against High-School Sports,” Amanda Ripley arg ues that school-sponsored sports programs should be seriously cut. She writes that, unlike most countries t hat outperform the United States on international assessments, American schools put too much of an emph asis on athletics, “ Sports are embedded in American schools in a way they are not almost anywhere els e,” she writes, “Yet this difference hardly ever comes up in domestic debates about America’s internation al mediocrity(平庸)in education.”B)American student-athletes reap many benefits from participating in sports, but the costs to the scho ols could outweigh their benefits, she argues, In particular, Ripley contends that sports crowd out the acad emic missions of schools: America should learn from South Korea and Finland and every other country at the top level of international test scores, all of whom emphasize athletics far less in school. ”Even in ei ghth grade, American kids spend more than twice the time Korean kids spend playing sports,” she writes, citing a 2010 study published in the Journal of Advanced Academics.C)It might well be true that sports are far more rooted in American high schools than in other count ries. But our reading of international test scores finds no support for the argument against school athletics. Indeed, our own research and that of others lead us to make the opposite case. School-sponsored sports appear to provide benefits that seem to increase, not detract(减少)from, academic success.D)Ripley indulges a popular obsession(痴迷)with international test score comparisons, which show wid e and frightening gaps between the United States and other countries. She ignores, however, the fact that states vary at least as much in test scores as do developed countries. A 2011 report from Harvard Univer sity shows that Massachusetts produces math scores comparable to South Korea and Finland, while Missis sippi scores are closer to Trinidad and Tobago. Ripley’s thesis about sports falls apart in light of this fact. Schools in Massachusetts provide sports programs while schools in Finland do not. Schools in Mississipp i may love football while in Tobago interscholastic sports are nowhere near as prominent. Sports cannot e xplain these similarities in performance. They can’t explain international differences either.E)If it is true that sports undermine the academic mission of American schools, we would expect to see a negative relationship between the commitment to athletics and academic achievement. However, the University of Arkansas’s Daniel Bowen and Jay Greene actually find the opposite. They examine this rela tionship by analyzing schools’ sports winning percentages as well as student-athletic participation rates co mpared to graduation rates and standardized test score achievement over a five-year period for all public high schools in Ohio. Controlling for student poverty levels, demographics(人口统计状况), and district fin ancial resources, both measures of a school’s commitment to athletics are significantly and positively relat ed to lower dropout rates as well as higher test scores.F)On-the-field success and high participation in sports is not random-it requires focus and dedication to athletics. One might think this would lead schools obsessed with winning to deemphasize academics. B owen and Greene’s results contradict tha t argument. A likely explanation for this seemingly counterintuitiv e(与直觉相反的)result is that success in sports programs actually facilitates or reflects greater social capita l within a school’s community.G)Ripley cites the writings of renowned sociologist James Coleman, whose research in education was groundbreaking. Coleman in his early work held athletics in contempt, arguing that they crowded out sch ools’ academic missions. Ripley quotes his 1961 study, The Adolescent Society, where Coleman writes, “Alt ogether, the trophy(奖品)case would suggest to the innocent visitor that he was entering an athletic cl ub, not an educational institution.”H)However, in later research Coleman would show how the success of schools is highly dependent o n what he termed soc ial capital, “the social networks, and the relationships between adults and children th at are of value for the child’s growing up.”I)According to a 2013 evaluation conducted by the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago, a progra m called Becoming a Man-Sports Edition creates lasting improvements in the boys’ study habits and grad e point averages. During the first year of the program, students were founds to be less likely to transfer schools or be engaged in violent crime. A year after the program, participants were less likely to have ha d an encounter with the juvenile justice system.J)If school-sponsored sports were completely eliminated tomorrow, many American students would stil l have opportunities to participate in organized athletics elsewhere, much like they do in countries such as Finland, Germany, and South Korea. The same is not certain when it comes to students from more disa dvantaged backgrounds. In an overview of the research on non-school based after-school programs, researc hers find that disadvantaged children participate in these programs at significantly lower rates. They find t hat low-income students have less access due to challenges with regard to transportation, non-nominal fees, and off-campus safety. Therefore, reducing or eliminating these opportunities would most likely deprive disadvantaged students of the benefits from athletic participation, not least of which is the opportunity to in teract with positive role models outside of regular school hours.K)Another unfounded criticism that Ripley makes is bringing up the stereotype that athletic XX are t ypically lousy(蹩脚的)classroom teachers. “American principals, unlike the XX XX of principals around th e world, make many hiring decisions with their sports teams in mind, which does not always end well fo r students,” she writes. Educators who seek employment at school s primarily for the purpose of coaching are likely to shirk(推卸)teaching responsibilities, the argument goes. Moreover, even in the cases where th e employee is a teacher first and athletic coach second, the additional responsibilities that come with coac hing likely comes at the expense of time otherwise spent on planning, grading, and communicating with p arents and guardians.L)The data, however, do not seem to confirm this stereotype. In the most rigorous study on the class room results of high school coac hes, the University of Arkansas’s Anna Egalite finds that athletic coaches in Florida mostly tend to perform just as well as their non-coaching counterparts, with respect to raising student test scores. We do not doubt that teachers who also coach face serious tradeoffs that likely come at the expense of time they could dedicate to their academic obligations. However, as with sporting even ts, athletic coaches gain additional opportunities for communicating and serving as mentors(导师)that poten tially help students succeed and make up for the costs of coaching commitments.M)If schools allow student-athletes to regularly miss out on instructional time for the sake of travelin g to athletic competitions, that’s bad. However, such issues would be better addresse d by changing school and state policies with regard to the scheduling of sporting events as opposed to total elimination. If the empirical evidence points to anything, it points towards school sponsored sports providing assets that are well worth the costs.N)Despite negative stereotypes about sports culture and Ripley’s presumption that academics and athle tics are at odds with one another, we believe that the greater body of evidence shows that school-sponsor ed sports programs appear to benefit students. Successes on the playing field can carry over to the classro om and vice versa(反之亦然). More importantly, finding ways to increase school communities’ social capit al is imperative to the success of the school as whole, not just the athletes.46.Stunets from low-income families have less access to off-campus sports programs.47.Amanda Ripley argues that America should learn from other countries that rank high in international te sts and lay less emphasis on athletics.48.According to the author,Amanda Ripley fails to note that stunents'performance in exams varies from sta te to state.49.Amanda Ripley thinks that athletic coaches are poor at classroom instruction.50.James Coleman's later resrarch make an argument for a school's social capital.51.Reaearchers find that there is a ppsitive relationship between a school's commitment to athletics and ac ademic achievements.52.Aa rigorous study finds that athletic coaches also do well in raising students'test scores.53.According to an evaluation,spograms contribute to students's academic preformance and character building.54.Amanda Ripley believes the emphasis on school sports shuold be brought up when trying to understand why Aamerican students are mediocre.55.James Coleman suggests in his earlier writings that school athletics would undermine a school's image.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfi nished 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 c entre.Passage oneIt is easy to miss amid the day-to-day headlines of global economic recession, but there is a less co nspicuous 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 i n 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, po ints out, the wave of urbanization isn’t just about the migration of people into urban environments, but about the environments themselves becoming bigger to a ccommodate 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 developi ng 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 di fference 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, wh ich 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. If we 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 thin k about how we urbanize,” says Seto. “One thing that’s clear is that we can’t build cities the way we ha ve over the last couple of hundred years. The scale of this transition won’t allow that.” We’re headed to wards 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.57. 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.58. 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.59. 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.60. 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.Passage TwoWhen Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched in Feb. 2004, even he could not i magine 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 cu riosity 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 t ame middle class is speaking up against social ills. Silicon Valley executives are being shamed into addin g women to their boards. Political leaders are marshalling the energy of millions for elections and politica l causes. All of this is being done with social media technologies that Facebook and its competitors set fr ee.As does every advancing technology, social media has created many new problems. It is commonly a ddictive and creates risks for younger users. Social media is used by extremists in the Middle East and el sewhere to seek and brainwash recruits. And it exposes us and our friends to disagreeable spying. We ma y 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 a ny more. Social media allows government agencies to spy on the ir 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 crimi nal 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. Go ogle 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 chan ge. The next decade will be even more amazing and unpredictable than the last. Just as no one could pre dict what would happen with social media in the last decade, no one can accurately predict where this te chnology will take us. I am optimistic, however, that a connected humanity will find a way to uplift itsel f.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.62. 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.63. 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. Peopl e may disclose their friends’ information unintentionally.D. People’s attention will be easily distractedfrom their work in hand.64. 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.65. 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.Part IV TranslationDirections: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into Englis h. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.翻译题一：自从1978年启动改革以来，中国已从计划经济转为以市场为基础的经济，经历了经济和社会的快速发展。

2014年12月英语六级真题及答案2014年12月CET6真题及答案（文字版）Part I WritingDirect ions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minu tes to write a short essay on the follow ing t opic. You should write at least 180 words but no more tha n 200 words.作文题一：学历歧视作文题二：科技与学习UirfLlHibs ：F'、爪.\ p 叩 ITI " .Ta ttiftitiio <u ATfh' 的 rjf.ii E 站 /■凋冲r 严： 阳OH. J4>w iihimlti rnarf fourntf 曲 a hritf deKrtptton 护尿曲绍nr ar^dll I /M <r«j fzhn*咏］.t ，陷刃何ivn 兀.m i ■上打"卄｝；心、仪“；”「：仆““"郎附曲“护 support jar ynj xwiic at h 、】\ f f 卫 n 门顾 tvtt mor^it^n J作文题二： 学习没有捷径 Dircctiorii ： For Jus pact, yuu arc allcwctl JO nninitcs to write a shoit 碎ay bascci on lhe p.icture be 1 ow. Ycushould slvl your essay with n brieftksciiption of the picture atui then discuss whether there is a ^liortcut tckaniin<>. Yen shculd give 沁imd ar^umcnU to ?uppcrt your views and wdte at leut 150 words but no more than 200 wards.就严屮不得“卿Part II Liste ningSectio n 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) andD) ，and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet I with a single line through the centre.Question 1A. At a groceryB. In a parking lotC. In a car showroomD. At a fast food restaurantQuestion 2A. Have a little nap after lunchB. Get up and take a short walkC. Change her position now and thenD. Stretch legs before standing upQuestion 3A. The students should practice long-distance runningB. He doesn 't quite believe what the woman saysC. The students ' physical condition is not desirableD. He thinks the race is too hard for the studentsQuestion 4A. They do not want to have a baby at presentB. They cannot afford to get married right nowC. They are both pursuing graduate studiesD. They will get their degrees in two yearsQuestion 5A. Twins usually have a lot in commonB. He must have been mistaken for JackC. Jack is certainly not as healthy as he isD. He has not seen Jack for quite a few daysQuestion 6A. The man will take the woman wo the museumB. The man knows where the museum is locatedC. The woman is asking the way at the crossroadsD. The woman will attend the opening of the museum Question 7A. They cannot ask the guy to leaveB. The guy has been coming in for yearsC. They should not look down upon the guyD. The guy must be feeling extremely lonelyQuestion 8A. Collect timepiecesB. Become time-consciousC. Learn to mend locksD. Keep track of his daily activitiesQuestions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard. Question 9A. It winds its way to the seaB. It is quickly risingC. It is eating into its banksD. It is wide and deepQuestion 10A. Get the trucks over to the other side of the riverB. Take the equipment apart before being ferriedC. Reduce the transport cost as much as possibleD. Try to speed up the operation by any means Question 11A. Ask the commander to send a helicopterB. Halt the operation until further ordersC. Cut trees and build rowing boats。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题及答案（一）2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题（一）文库精选版Writing (30 minutes)Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section A1. A) In a parking lot.B) At a grocery.C) At a fast food restaurant.D) In a car showroom.2. A) Change her position now and then.B) Stretch her legs before standing up.C) Have a little nap after lunch.D) Get up and take a short walk.3. A) The students should practice long-distance running.B) The students’ physical condition is not desirable.C) He doesn’t quite believe what the woman says.D) He thinks the race is too hard for the students.4. A) They will get their degrees in two years.B) They are both pursuing graduate studies.C) They cannot afford to get married right now.D) They do not want to have a baby at present.5. A) He must have been mistaken for Jack.B) Twins usually have a lot in common.C) Jack is certainly not as healthy as he is.D) He has not seen Jack for quite a few days.6. A) The woman will attend the opening of the museum.B) The woman is asking the way at the crossroads.C) The man knows where the museum is located.D) The man will take the woman to the museum.7. A) They cannot ask the guy to leave.B) The guy has been coming in for years.C) The guy must be feeling extremely lonely.D) They should not look down upon the guy.8. A) Collect timepieces. B) Become time-conscious.C) Learn to mend clocks. D) Keep track of his daily activities.9. A) It is eating into its banks. B) It winds its way to the sea.C) It is wide and deep. D) It is quickly rising.10. A) Try to speed up the operation by any means.B) Take the equipment apart before being ferried.C) Reduce the transport cost as much as possible.D) Get the trucks over to the other side of the river.11. A) Find as many boats as possible.B) Cut trees and build rowing boats.C) Halt the operation until further orders.D) Ask the commander to send a helicopter12. A) Talk about his climbing experiences.B) Help him join an Indian expedition.C) Give up mountain climbing altogether.D) Save money to buy climbing equipment.13. A) He was the first to conquer Mt. Qomolangma.B) He had an unusual religious background.C) He climbed mountains to earn a living.D) He was very strict with his children.14. A) They are to be conquered.B) They are to be protected.C) They are sacred places.D) They are like humans.15. A) It was his fathe r’s training that pulled him through.B) It was a milestone in his mountain climbing career.C) It helped him understand the Sherpa view of mountains.D) It was his father who gave him the strength to succeed. Section BPassage One16. A) By showing a memorandum’s structure.B) By analyzing the organization of a letter.C) By comparing memorandums with letters.D) By reviewing what he has said previously.17. A) They ignored many of the memorandums they received.B) They placed emphasis on the format of memorandums.C) They seldom read a memorandum through to the end.D) They spent a lot of time writing memorandums.18. A) Style and wording.B) Directness and clarity.C) Structure and length.D) Simplicity and accuracy.19. A) Inclusion of appropriate humor.B) Direct statement of purpose.C) Professional look.D) Accurate dating.Passage Two20. A) They give top priority to their work efficiency.B) They make an effort to lighten their workload.C) They try hard to make the best use of their time.D) They never change work habits unless forced to.21. A) Sense of duty. B) Self-confidence.C) Work efficiency. D) Passion for work.22. A) They find no pleasure in the work they do.B) They try to avoid work whenever possible.C) They are addicted to playing online games.D) They simply have no sense of responsibility.Passage Three23. A) He lost all his property.B) He was sold to a circus.C) He ran away from his family.D) He was forced into slavery.24. A) A carpenter. B) A master of his.C) A businessman. D) A black drummer.25. A) It named its town hall after Solomon Northup.B) It freed all blacks in the town from slavery.C) It declared July 24 Solomon Northup Day.D) It hosted a reunion for the Northup family.Section CIntolerance is the art of ignoring any views that differ from your own.It (26) ________ itself in hatred, stereotypes, prejudice, and (27)________ . Once it intensifies in people, intolerance is nearly impossible to overcome. But why would anyone want to be labeled intolerant? Why would people want to be (28) ________ about the world around them? Why would one want be part of the problem in America, instead of the solution? There are many explanations for intolerant attitudes, some (29) ________childhood. It is likely that intolerant forks grew up (30) ________ intolerant parents and the cycle of prejudice has simply continued for (31) ________ . Perhaps intolerant people are so set in their ways that they find it easier to ignore anything that might not (32) ________ their limited view of life. Or maybe intolerant students have simply never been (33)________ to anyone different from themselves. But none of these reasons is an excuse for allowing the intolerance to continue. Intolerance should not be confused with disagreement. It is, of course, possible to disagree with an opinion without being intolerant of it. If you understand a belief but still don’t believe in that specific belief, that’s fine. You are (34) ________ your opinion. As a matter of fact, (35) ________ dissenters（持异议者）are important for any belief. If we all believed the same things, we would never grow, and we would never learn about the world around us. Intolerance does not stem from disagreement. It stems from fear. And fear stems from ignorance. Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section AIt was 10 years ago, on a warm July night, that a newborn lamb took her first breath in a small shed in Scotland. From the outside, she looked no different from thousands of other sheep born on 36 farms. But Dolly, as the world soon came to realize, was no 37 lamb. She was cloned from a single cell of an adult female sheep, 38 long-held scientific dogma that had declared such a thing biologically impossible.A decade later, scientists are starting to come to grips with just how different Dolly was. Dozens of animals have been cloned since that first lamb—mice, cats, cows and, most recently, a dog—and it’s becoming 39 clear that they are all, in one way or another, defective. It’s 40 to think of clones as perfect carboncopies of the original. It turns out, though, that there are various degrees of genetic 41. That may come as a shock to people who have paid thousands of dollars to clone a pet cat only to discover that the baby cat looks and behaves 42 like their beloved pet—with a different- color coat of fur, perhaps, or a 43 different attitude toward its human hosts. And these are just the obvious differences. Not only are clones 44 from the original template （模板）by time, but they are also the product of an unnatural molecular mechanism that turns out not to be very good at making 45 copies. In fact, the process can embed small flaws in the genes of clones that scientists are only now discovering.A) abstractB) completelyC) desertedD) duplicationE) everythingF) identicalG) increasinglyH) miniatureI) nothingJ) ordinaryK) overturningL) separatedM) surroundingN) systematicallyO) temptingSection 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 Istarted 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 thatsingle-.sex education is not the answer to gender gaps in achievement—or the best way forward for today’s young people. A fter 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 largescale and systematic reviews of thousands of studies conducted in every major Englishspeaking country.[D] Of cours e, there’re many excellent single-sex schools out there, but as these careful research reviews havedemonstrated, it’s not theirsingle-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 we ren’t studied). However, once the researchers controlled for both student and school attributes —measures such as family income, parents’ education, and school r esources—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. It's been morethan 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 a long peer-reviewed paper. Other neuroscientists and psychologists have similarly exposed their work. In short, the mechanisms by which ourbrains 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 educati on that’s based on precisely this kind of “overbroadgeneralizations 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, chi ldren 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 a ndsex 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 oldersiblings（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 highschool 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 adolesc ents’ environment around gender distinctions andseparation, 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 economicgrowth. 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 subject.49. Research found men who attended single-sex schools in their teens were more likely to suffer from depression.50. Studies in social psychology have shown segregation inschool 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 theimpact 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 CPassage OneInternational 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 T oyota and Wal-Mart are not committing to environmental goals out of the goodness of their hearts. Thereason for their actions is a simple yet powerful realisation that the environmental and economic footprints fit well together. When M&S launched its “Plan A” sustainability programme 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 efficiency through management and behavioural chan ge”—in other words, lean and greenmanagement. 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—thateverything 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 fixture.Over the next year, I’m hopin g 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 ofreality is wrong. For example, nearly every person who runs for political office has an intuitive sense that they can powerfully influence 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。

12月英语六级真题答案及解析（网友版）2014年12月英语六级真题答案及解析汇总(网友版)2014年12月英语六级真题答案及解析汇总(网友版)【作文：科技】From this cartoon, we clearly see that the student isasking his teacher about whether or not he can usesome tech support to figure out the problem in hismath class. What’s behind the cartoon is the factthat nowadays students become increasinglydependent on technological devices to help themwith their school work.In my opinion, with the advances in technology,students can learn more efficiently. First of all,technology provides infinite resources for learning. When our parents were students, theycould only learn from their teachers, while nowadays, we can learn much more from theInternet. Second, it’s more convenient to learn with tech support. For example, I got enrolledin a Spanish class in an online school called Hujiang Online Class. All it requires is a PC or asmartphone, and I can learn the lectures anytime and anywhere. Lastly, it’s more economicalto learn online. Besides the courses, free Apps are also easily accessible.As for me, tech support has become an important part in my daily study. I will continue to learnin this way, and I believe that we can learn more efficiently if we are able to utilize thetechnologies around us.【作文：学习无捷径】The comic is an ironical illustration that it is unadvisable to search for a shortcut to learning.The student tries to find a book about how to do well in school without studying in thelibrary,only to be told that it is unrealistic and impractical.The discussion of whether there is a shortcut to learning is essentially the requesting for asupreme learning method –a panacea every learner wishes for. In my opinion, the shortcut tolearning does exist. It is the combination of diligence and intelligence. As Thomas Edisonsays, “Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration.”On one hand, hard work is the premise and prerequisite for achieving academic success.Even the most resourceful ones have to devote their time studying and reading, becauseknowledge does not go automatically into the brain. All efforts will be futile if we idle away ourtime.On the other hand, it is undeniable that there are ways to improve learning efficiency,especially with the support of technology like the Internet. Better learners are always the oneswith cleverer learning skills.To sum up, only when we diligently and skillfully can we achieve academic success.【短对话】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 foundguilty of breaking into a house andstealing some money.W: Well, was he really guilty, judge?M: He admitted that he’d done it, and there were several witnesses saying that he had indeeddone 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 toget 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 house to get money for his familyand 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 withseveral employment agencies, including the state employment agency, but they weren’t anyjobs.W: And he had no luck!M: He had no luck and it’d been some t ime. He had two children and both of them were needingfood and clothing.W: So he was in desperate circumstances. Did you sentence him?M: Yes.W: But what good does 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 toprison 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?【短文一】Many foreign students are attracted 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 surroundingculture. Few foreign universities put much emphasis on the cozy communal life thatcharacterizes American campuses from clubs and sports teams to student publications anddrama societies. “The campus and the American university have become identical in people’sminds,” says Brown University President Vartan Gregorian. “In America it is assumed that astude nt’s daily life is as important as his learning experience.”Foreign students also come in search of choices. America’s menu of options—researchuniversities, state institutions, private liberal-arts schools, community colleges, religiousinstitutions, military academies—is unrivaled. “In Europe,” says history professor JonathanSteinberg, 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 lawor philosophy or chemistry, most American universities insist that students sample natural andsocial sciences, languages and literature before choosing a field of concentration.Such opposing philosophies grow out of different traditions and power structures. In Europeand Japan, universities are answerable only to a ministry of education, which sets academicstandards and distributes money.While centralization ensures that all students are equippedwith roughly the same resourcesand perform at roughly the same level, it also discourages experimentation. “When theymake mistakes, they make big ones,” says Robert Rosenzweig, president of the Association ofAmerican Universities. “They seta system in wrong directions, and it’s like steering asupertanker.”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 United States unrivaled according to the speaker?19. What does the speaker say about universities in Europe and Japan?【短文二】Hello, ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard your Sea-link ferry from Folkestone to Boulogneand wish you a pleasant trip with us. We are due to leave Folkestone in about five minutes anda journey to Boulogne will take approximately two hours. We are getting good reports of theweather in the Channel and in France, so we should have a calm crossing. Sun andtemperatures of 30 degrees celsius are reported on the French coast. For your convenienceon the journey, we'd like to point out that there ar e a number of facilities available on board.There's a snack bar serving sandwiches and hot and cold refreshments situated in the front ofA deck. There is also a restaurant serving hot meals situated on B deck. If you need to changemoney or cash travelers' checks, we have a bank on board. You can find a bank on C deck.Between the ship's office and the duty free shop, toilets are situated on B deck at the rear ofthe ship and on A deck next to the snack bar. For the children, there's a games room onC decknext to the duty free shop. Here children can find a variety of electronic games. Passengers arereminded that the lounge on B deck is for the sole use of passengers traveling with cars andthat there is another lounge on C deck at the front of the ship for passengers traveling withoutcars. Finally, ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to wish you a pleasant journey and hope that you'lltravel with us again in the near future.20. What does the speaker say about the Sea-link ferry?21. Where is the snack bar situated?22. What does the speaker say about the lounge on B deck?【短文三】On Christmas Eve in 1994, humans entered a cave in the mountains of southeastern France forwhat was probably the first time in 20,000 years. The vivid images of more than 300 animalsthat Jean-Marie Chauvet and his assistants found on the cave walls were like none that they hadseen before. Unusual in the Grotte Chauvet, as the cave is now called in honor of its discoverer,are paintings of many flat sheeting animals. Other known caves from the same geographicalarea and time period contain only paintings of plantites. The paintings in this cave refute theold theory that Cro-Magnoon people painted animals that they hunted and then ate. Now manyspecialists believe that cave paintings were not part of a ritual to bring good luck to hunters.They point out that while deer made up a major part of their diet, there're no drawings of deer.They believe that the animals painted were those central to the symbolic and spiritual life ofthe times; animals that represented something deep and spiritual to the people. Scientists arehopeful that Groo Chavie will yield new information about the art and lifestyle of Cro-Magnoonpeople. They readily admit, however, that little isunderstood yet as to the reasons why ice ageartists created their interesting and detailed paintings. Scientists also wonder why somepaintings were done in areas that are so difficult to get to, in caves, for example, that are 2,400feet underground, and accessible only by crawling through narrow passageways.23. How did the cave get its name?24. What is the old theory about the paintings in the cave?25. What do scientists readily admit according to the speaker?【听力填空】If you are attending a local college, especially one without residence halls, you'll probably live athome and commute to classes. This arrangement has a lot of advantages. It's cheaper. Itprovides a comfortable and familiar setting, and it means you'll get the kind of home cookingyou're used to instead of the monotony (单调) that characterizes even the best institutionalfood.However, commuting students need to go out of their way tobecome involved in the life of theircollege and to take special steps to meet their fellow students. Often, this means a certainamount of initiative on your part in seeking out and talking to people in your classes whom youthink you might like.One problem that commuting students sometimes face is their parents' unwillingness torecognize that they're adults. The transition from high school to college is a big one, and ifyou live at home you need to develop the same kind of independence you'd have if you wereliving away. Home rules that might have been appropriate when you were in high school don'tapply. If your parents are reluctant to renegotiate, you can speed the process along by lettingyour behavior show that you have the responsibility that goes with maturity. Parents are morewilling toacknowledge their children as adults when they behave like adults. If, however,there's so much friction at home that it interferes with your academic work, you might wantto consider sharing an apartment with one or more friends. Sometimes this is a happy solutionwhen family tensions make everyone miserable.【选词填空】36-L-inquiring37-O-unfortunately38-C-assumptions39-M-passion40-B-acquiring41-K-impart42-D-convenience43-F-exclude44-E-eventually45-H-exploration【长篇阅读】46-D47-N48-H49-F50-J51-C52-E53-R54-L55-B【仔细阅读】56 A) Books on excellence.57 C) They more or less fall into the same stereotype.58 B) It bases its detailed analysis on large amounts of data.59 A) Focus on quality and revenue.60 B) It has little to offer to businesspeople.61. A) Its comfortable campus life.62. A) Improve their learning environment.63. C) Refrain from making promises they cannot honour.64. B) Whether it is able to deliver what they want.65. D) They are unique one way or another.【翻译题一】自从1978年启动改革以来，中国已从计划经济转为以市场为基础的经济，经历了经济和社会的快速发展。

2014年12月英语六级真题及答案（文字版）Part I WritingDirections: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the following topic. You should write at least 180 words but no more than 200 words.作文题一：学历歧视From the cartoon given above, we can observe that there is a recruiter talking with an interviewee. When looking at the resume submitted by the candidate, the interviewer says,“Sorry, kid… Your resume looks good, but you only have a Master’s degree…All the other applicants are Ph.D. ! ” Having heard these words, the applicant seems to be quite helpless and embarrassed.The cartoon reveals that the society has been placing a higher value on educational degree. What factors might contribute to this phenomenon? Answers to this question may involve many aspects, and here are a few guesses: for one thing, from the subjective aspect, quite a few employers hold that the higher educational degree people have, the more competent they will be. For another, from the objective aspect, with the professions in modern society becoming increasingly segmented, employees are required to acquire higher degree to fulfill their tasks efficiently.Definitely, higher degrees enjoy obvious advantages. However, it is not advisable that employers judge a person only by his/ her educational backgrounds. Let alone “Degree Discrimination”. As for ourselves, we should not only attach a great importance to educational degree, but also spare no efforts to enhance our comprehensive abilities.About a decade ago, college students could find satisfactory and enviable jobs after they acquire Master’s degree. But now, things are quite different. Today＇s university students usually have much pressure in finding fairly good jobs. They always say disappointedly that goods jobs means high diplomas.Why nowadays university students with lower degrees have so much pressure in finding jobs? For my part, this kind of pressure is mainly caused by three reasons. Firstly, the government is enrolling more and more university students year by year. And the growth of the students＇number has surpassed that of the need of the society. So, when so many students graduate at a time, the chance of finding good jobs becomes tiny. Secondly, today＇s university students, most of them are the "only-child", who are more mentally frail. If their first try fails, they will be frustrated and think that it is really hard to find jobs.This situation can be changed. The university students can join in some extracurricular activities on campus to train their abilities of doing things independently and try to do some part-time jobs during weekends and vacations to gain more social experience.作文题二：科技与学习We can see a teacher and a student in the cartoon above. When the teacher asks the student to answer a question written on the blackboard, the student wants to seek tech support rather than work it out by himself. The picture aims to tell us the problem that young students are highly dependent on high technology, overlooking the importance of independent thinking.A large number of people point out that technology has played an irreplaceable part in learning process, while many others are against it. Those in favor of high technology believe we have benefited a lot from the convenience brought by Information Technology. For instance, our work efficiency has improved because computers can do complex calculations faster and more accurately than men. Also, the Internet has made it much easier to get access to information than before. However, many people claim thatover-dependence on technology has done more harm than good.As one of youngsters, I think as long as we can take advantages of hi-tech reasonably, our learning process will be highly beneficial. At the same time, keep it in mind that independent thinking comes first, while tech support just offers assistance. Only in this way, can we benefit most from our learning process.作文题三：学习没有捷径It is a common phenomenon that a large number of students are pursuing success with a wrong belief that there exists a shortcut to learning. The picture given reveals this factin an ironic way. We can easily notice from the cartoon that a student is asking the teacher in the library how to achieve accomplishment in school without studying, while the teacher is pointing to the fiction section to tell him to work hard.Learning is actually a painstaking process in which both students on campuses and employees of working agencies are struggling to acquire knowledge by sparing great efforts. On the contrary, some people in today’s society aim at studying without hard work, following the so-called “shortcut” ways. From my own perspective, there is no shortcut in the way to learn. First and foremost, learning or obtaining knowledge is based on the accumulation step by step. The famous saying that Rome is not built in one day teaches us that no goal is achieved without persistence and accumulation. In addition, the shortcut to learning is extremely appealing to those who are unwilling to spend time and energy studying because they might win by a fluke. However, students advocating the shortcut is unlikely to win every time. Last but not least, the fickleness and negative attitudes towards exams are responsible for the widespread trend of the shortcut belief, and it surely lead to the failure of study to some students. Taking a look around us, we can find that many agencies and people believe in the prediction of the exams, and students may be indulged in the so-called perditions and pay no attention to studying hard.As has been mentioned, learning without hard work tends to be useless and meaningless, for students cannot have a great chance to grow into all-round intellectuals. The picture makes us college students aware of the great significance of true skill and genuine knowledge. Only by making efforts to learn in and after class can we gain solid and real ability and competence.Part II ListeningSection 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 an d the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, y ou 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 I with a single line through the centre.Question 1A.At a groceryB.In a parking lotC.In a car showroomD.At a fast food restaurantQuestion 2A.Have a little nap after lunchB.Get up and take a short walkC.Change her position now and thenD.Stretch legs before standing upQuestion 3A.The students should practice long-distance runningB.He doesn’t quite believe what the woman saysC.The students’ physical condition is not desirableD.He thinks the race is too hard for the students Question 4A.They do not want to have a baby at presentB.They cannot afford to get married right nowC.They are both pursuing graduate studiesD.They will get their degrees in two yearsQuestion 5A.Twins usually have a lot in commonB.He must have been mistaken for JackC.Jack is certainly not as healthy as he isD.He has not seen Jack for quite a few days Question 6A.The man will take the woman wo the museumB.The man knows where the museum is locatedC.The woman is asking the way at the crossroadsD.The woman will attend the opening of the museum Question 7A.They cannot ask the guy to leaveB.The guy has been coming in for yearsC.They should not look down upon the guyD.The guy must be feeling extremely lonely Question 8A.Collect timepiecesB.Become time-consciousC.Learn to mend locksD.Keep track of his daily activitiesQuestions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard. Question 9A.It winds its way to the seaB.It is quickly risingC.It is eating into its banksD.It is wide and deepQuestion 10A.Get the trucks over to the other side of the riverB.Take the equipment apart before being ferriedC.Reduce the transport cost as much as possibleD.Try to speed up the operation by any meansQuestion 11A.Ask the commander to send a helicopterB.Halt the operation until further ordersC.Cut trees and build rowing boatsD.Find as many coats as possibleQuestions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. Question 12A.Help him join an Indian expeditionB.Talk about his climbing experiencesC.Give up mountain climbing altogetherD.Save money to buy climbing equipmentQuestion 13A.He was very strict with his childrenB.He climbed mountains to earn a livingC.He had an unusual religious backgroundD.He was the first to conquer Mt. QomolangmaQuestion 14A.They are like humansB.They are sacred placesC.They are to be protectedD.They are to be conqueredQuestion 15A.It was his father’s training that pilled him throughB.It was a milestone in his mountain climbing careerC.It was his father who gave him the strength to succeedD.It helped him understand the Sherpa view of mountainsSection BDirections：In this section，you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage，you will he ar some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a questi on, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D). Then mark the cor responding letter on Answer Sheet I with a single line through the centrePassage OneQuestion 16A. By reviewing what he has said previouslyB.By comparing memorandums with lettersC.By showing a memorandum’ s structureD.By analyzing the organization of a letterQuestion 17A.They spent a lot of time writing memorandumsB.They seldom read a memorandum through to the endC.They placed emphasis on the format of memorandumsD.They ignored many of the memorandums they receivedQuestion 18A.Style and wordingB.Structure and lengthC.Directness and clarityD.Simplicity and accuracyPassage TwoQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.Question 19A.Accurate datingB.Professional lookC.Direct statement of purposeD.Inclusion of appropriate humorQuestion 20A.They give top priority to their work efficiencyB.They make an effort to lighten their workloadC.They never change work habits unless forced toD.They try hard to make the best use of their timeQuestion 21A.Self-confidenceB.Sense of dutyC.Work efficiencyD.Passion for workQuestion 22A.They are addicted to playing online gamesB.They try to avoid work whenever possibleC.They find to pleasure in the work they doD.They simply have no sense of responsibilityPassage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.Question 23A.He lost all his propertyB.He was sold to a circusC.He was forced into slaveryD.He ran away from his familyQuestion 24A.A carpenterB.A businessmanC.A master of hisD.A black drummerQuestion 25A.It named its town hall after Solomon NorthupB.It declared July 24 Solomon Northup DayC.It freedom all blacks in the town from slaveryD.It hosted a reunion for the Northup familySection CDirections：In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the fir st time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, yo u are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage i s read for the third time, you should check what you have written.Section CIntolerance is the art of ignoring any views that differ from your own. It(26)_____ itself a hatred. St ereotypes, prejudice, and(27)_____.Once it intensifies in people, intolerance is nearly impossible to overco me. But why would anyone want to be labeled intolerant. Why would people want to be (28)_____about the world around them? Why would one want to be part of the problem in America, instead of the soluti on?There are many explanations for intolerant attitudes, some (29)_____ childhood. It is likely that intole rant folks grew up (30)_____ intolerant parents and the cycle of prejudice has simply continued for (31)_____. Perhaps intolerant people are so set in their ways that they find it easier to ignore anything that mi ght not (32)_____ their limited view of life. Or maybe intolerant students have simply never been (33)__ ___ to anyone different form themselves. But none of these reason is an excuse for allpwing the intoleran ce to continue.Intolerance should not be confused with disagreement.It is,of course,possible as diasgree with an opini on without being intolerant of it.If you understand a belief but still don't believe in that specific belief,tha t's fine.You are (34)_____ your opinion.As a matter of fact.(35)_____ disseniers(持异议者)are important fo r any belief.If we all believed the same things.we would never grow,and we would never learn about the world around us,does not stem frim disagreement.It stems from fear,And fear stems from fear.And fear s tems from ignorance.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section AHis future subjects have not always treated the Prince of Wales with the respect one XXXX expect. They laughed aloud in 1986 when the heir to the British(36)_____ told a TV reporter that he talked to h is plants at his country house, Highgrove, to stimulate their growth. The Prince was being humorous- “M y sense of humor will get me into trouble one day”, he said to his aids(随从)-but listening to Charles W indsor can indeed prove stimulating. The royal(37)_____ has been promoting radical ideas for most of his adult life. Some of his(38)_____, which once sounded a bit weird, were simply ahead of their time. No w, finally, the world seems to be catching up with him.Take his views on farming. Prince Charles’ Duchy Home Farm went(39)_____ back in 1986. When most shoppers cared only about the low price tag on suspiciously blemish-free(无瑕疵的) vegetables and(4 0)_____ large chickens piled high in supermarkets.His warnings on climate change proved farsighted,too.Charles began(41)_____ action in warming in 1 990 and says he has been worried about the(42)_____ of man on the environment same be was a teenger.Although he was gradually gained international(43)_____ as one of the world's lending conservationist s,many British people still think of him as an(34)_____ person who talks to plants.This year,as it happens, South Korean scientists proved that plants really do(45)_____ to round.So Charles was ahead of the game there,too.A.conformB.eccentricC.environmentalistD.expeditionsE.impactF.notionsanicH.originallyI.recognitionJ.respondK.subordinateL.suppressingM.throneN.unnaturallyO.urgingSection BDirections: In this section，you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each s tatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the infor mation 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.High School Sports Are n’t Killing AcademicsA)In this month’s Atlantic cover article, “The Case Against High-School Sports,” Amanda Ripley arg ues that school-sponsored sports programs should be seriously cut. She writes that, unlike most countries t hat outperform the United States on international assessments, American schools put too much of an emph asis on athletics, “ Sports are embedded in American schools in a way they are not almost anywhere els e,” she writes, “Yet this difference hardly ever comes up in domestic debates about America’s internation al mediocrity(平庸)in education.”B)American student-athletes reap many benefits from participating in sports, but the costs to the scho ols could outweigh their benefits, she argues, In particular, Ripley contends that sports crowd out the acad emic missions of schools: America should learn from South Korea and Finland and every other country at the top level of internation al test scores, all of whom emphasize athletics far less in school. ”Even in ei ghth grade, American kids spend more than twice the time Korean kids spend playing sports,” she writes, citing a 2010 study published in the Journal of Advanced Academics.C)It might well be true that sports are far more rooted in American high schools than in other count ries. But our reading of international test scores finds no support for the argument against school athletics. Indeed, our own research and that of others lead us to make the opposite case. School-sponsored sports appear to provide benefits that seem to increase, not detract(减少)from, academic success.D)Ripley indulges a popular obsession(痴迷)with international test score comparisons, which show wid e and frightening gaps between the United States and other countries. She ignores, however, the fact that states vary at least as much in test scores as do developed countries. A 2011 report from Harvard Univer sity shows that Massachusetts produces math scores comparable to South Korea and Finland, while Mississippi scores are closer to Trinidad and Tobago. Ripley’s thesis about sports falls apart in light of this fact. Schools in Massachusetts provide sports programs while schools in Finland do not. Schools in Mississipp i may love football while in Tobago interscholastic sports are nowhere near as prominent. Sports cannot e xplain these similarities in performance. They can’t explain international differences either.E)If it is true that sports undermine the academic mission of American schools, we would expect to see a negative relationship between the commitment to athletics and academic achievement. However, the University of Arkansas’s Daniel Bowen and Jay Greene actually find the opposite. They examine this r ela tionship by analyzing schools’ sports winning percentages as well as student-athletic participation rates co mpared to graduation rates and standardized test score achievement over a five-year period for all public high schools in Ohio. Controlling for student poverty levels, demographics(人口统计状况), and district fin ancial resources, both measures of a school’s commitment to athletics are significantly and positively relat ed to lower dropout rates as well as higher test scores.F)On-the-field success and high participation in sports is not random-it requires focus and dedication to athletics. One might think this would lead schools obsessed with winning to deemphasize academics. B owen and Greene’s results contradict that argument. A likely explanation for t his seemingly counterintuitiv e(与直觉相反的)result is that success in sports programs actually facilitates or reflects greater social capita l within a school’s community.G)Ripley cites the writings of renowned sociologist James Coleman, whose research in education was groundbreaking. Coleman in his early work held athletics in contempt, arguing that they crowded out sch ools’ academic missions. Ripley quotes his 1961 study, The Adolescent Society, where Coleman writes, “Altogether, the trophy(奖品)case would suggest to the innocent visitor that he was entering an athletic cl ub, not an educational institution.”H)However, in later research Coleman would show how the success of schools is highly dependent o n what he termed social capital, “the social networks, and the relationships between adults and children th at are of value for the child’s growing up.”I)According to a 2013 evaluation conducted by the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago, a progra m called Becoming a Man-Sports Edition creates lasting improve ments in the boys’ study habits and grad e point averages. During the first year of the program, students were founds to be less likely to transfer schools or be engaged in violent crime. A year after the program, participants were less likely to have ha d an encounter with the juvenile justice system.J)If school-sponsored sports were completely eliminated tomorrow, many American students would stil l have opportunities to participate in organized athletics elsewhere, much like they do in countries such as Finland, Germany, and South Korea. The same is not certain when it comes to students from more disadvantaged backgrounds. In an overview of the research on non-school based after-school programs, researc hers find that disadvantaged children participate in these programs at significantly lower rates. They find t hat low-income students have less access due to challenges with regard to transportation, non-nominal fees, and off-campus safety. Therefore, reducing or eliminating these opportunities would most likely deprive d isadvantaged students of the benefits from athletic participation, not least of which is the opportunity to in teract with positive role models outside of regular school hours.K)Another unfounded criticism that Ripley makes is bringing up the stereotype that athletic XX are t ypically lousy(蹩脚的)classroom teachers. “American principals, unlike the XX XX of principals around th e world, make many hiring decisions with their sports teams in mind, which does not always end well fo r students,” she writes. Educators who seek employment at school s primarily for the purpose of coaching are likely to shirk(推卸)teaching responsibilities, the argument goes. Moreover, even in the cases where th e employee is a teacher first and athletic coach second, the additional responsibilities that come with coac hing likely comes at the expense of time otherwise spent on planning, grading, and communicating with p arents and guardians.L)The data, however, do not seem to confirm this stereotype. In the most rigorous study on the class room results of high school coac hes, the University of Arkansas’s Anna Egalite finds that athletic coaches in Florida mostly tend to perform just as well as their non-coaching counterparts, with respect to raising student test scores. We do not doubt that teachers who also coach face serious tradeoffs that likely come at the expense of time they could dedicate to their academic obligations. However, as with sporting even ts, athletic coaches gain additional opportunities for communicating and serving as mentors(导师)that poten tially help students succeed and make up for the costs of coaching commitments.M)If schools allow student-athletes to regularly miss out on instructional time for the sake of travelin g to athletic c ompetitions, that’s bad. However, such issues would be better addressed by changing school and state policies with regard to the scheduling of sporting events as opposed to total elimination. If the empirical evidence points to anything, it points towards school sponsored sports providing assets that are well worth the costs.N)Despite negative stereotypes about sports culture and Ripley’s presumption that academics and athle tics are at odds with one another, we believe that the greater body of evidence shows that school-sponsor ed sports programs appear to benefit students. Successes on the playing field can carry over to the classro om and vice versa(反之亦然). More importantly, finding ways to increase school communities’ social capit al is imperative to the success of the school as whole, not just the athletes.46.Stunets from low-income families have less access to off-campus sports programs.47.Amanda Ripley argues that America should learn from other countries that rank high in international te sts and lay less emphasis on athletics.48.According to the author,Amanda Ripley fails to note that stunents'performance in exams varies from sta te to state.49.Amanda Ripley thinks that athletic coaches are poor at classroom instruction.50.James Coleman's later resrarch make an argument for a school's social capital.51.Reaearchers find that there is a ppsitive relationship between a school's commitment to athletics and ac ademic achievements.52.Aa rigorous study finds that athletic coaches also do well in raising students'test scores.53.According to an evaluation,spograms contribute to students's academic preformance and character building.54.Amanda Ripley believes the emphasis on school sports shuold be brought up when trying to understand why Aamerican students are mediocre.55.James Coleman suggests in his earlier writings that school athletics would undermine a school's image.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfi nished 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 c entre.Passage oneIt is easy to miss amid the day-to-day headlines of global economic recession, but there is a less co nspicuous 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 i n 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, po ints out, the wave of urbanization isn’t just about the migration of people into urban environments, but about the environments themselves becoming bigger to a ccommodate 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 developi ng 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 di fference 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. If we do it the right way, we can reduce urbanization’s impact o n the environment. “There’s an enormous opportunity here, and a lot of pressure and responsibility to thin k about how we urbanize,” says Seto. “One thing that’s clear is that we can’t build cities the way we ha ve over the last couple of hundred years. The scale of this transition won’t allow that.” We’re headed to wards 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.57. 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.58. 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.59. 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.60. 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.Passage TwoWhen Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched in Feb. 2004, even he could not i magine the forces it would let loose. His intent was to connect college students. Facebook, which is what。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题Writing (30 minutes)Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section A1. A) In a parking lot.B) At a grocery.C) At a fast food restaurant.D) In a car showroom.2. A) Change her position now and then.B) Stretch her legs before standing up.C) Have a little nap after lunch.D) Get up and take a short walk.3. A) The students should practice long-distance running.B) The students’ physical condition is not desirable.C) He doesn’t quite believe what the woman says.D) He thinks the race is too hard for the students.4. A) They will get their degrees in two years.B) They are both pursuing graduate studies.C) They cannot afford to get married right now.D) They do not want to have a baby at present.5. A) He must have been mistaken for Jack.B) Twins usually have a lot in common.C) Jack is certainly not as healthy as he is.D) He has not seen Jack for quite a few days.6. A) The woman will attend the opening of the museum.B) The woman is asking the way at the crossroads.C) The man knows where the museum is located.D) The man will take the woman to the museum.7. A) They cannot ask the guy to leave. B) The guy has been coming in for years.C) The guy must be feeling extremely lonely. D) They should not look down upon the guy.8. A) Collect timepieces. B) Become time-conscious.C) Learn to mend clocks. D) Keep track of his daily activities.9. A) It is eating into its banks. B) It winds its way to the sea.C) It is wide and deep. D) It is quickly rising.10. A) Try to speed up the operation by any means.B) Take the equipment apart before being ferried.C) Reduce the transport cost as much as possible.D) Get the trucks over to the other side of the river.11. A) Find as many boats as possible.B) Cut trees and build rowing boats.C) Halt the operation until further orders.D) Ask the commander to send a helicopter12. A) Talk about his climbing experiences. B) Help him join an Indian expedition.C) Give up mountain climbing altogether. D) Save money to buy climbing equipment.13. A) He was the first to conquer Mt. Qomolangma.B) He had an unusual religious background.C) He climbed mountains to earn a living.D) He was very strict with his children.14. A) They are to be conquered. B) They are to be protected.C) They are sacred places. D) They are like humans.15. A) It was his father’s training that pulled him through.B) It was a milestone in his mountain climbing career.C) It helped him understand the Sherpa view of mountains.D) It was his father who gave him the strength to succeed.Section BPassage One16. A) By showing a memorandum’s structure. B) By analyzing the organization of a letter.C) By comparing memorandums with letters. D) By reviewing what he has said previously.17. A) They ignored many of the memorandums they received.B) They placed emphasis on the format of memorandums.C) They seldom read a memorandum through to the end.D) They spent a lot of time writing memorandums.18. A) Style and wording. B) Directness and clarity.C) Structure and length. D) Simplicity and accuracy.19. A) Inclusion of appropriate humor. B) Direct statement of purpose.C) Professional look. D) Accurate dating.Passage Two20. A) They give top priority to their work efficiency.B) They make an effort to lighten their workload.C) They try hard to make the best use of their time.D) They never change work habits unless forced to.21. A) Sense of duty. B) Self-confidence.C) Work efficiency. D) Passion for work.22. A) They find no pleasure in the work they do. B) They try to avoid work whenever possible.C) They are addicted to playing online games. D) They simply have no sense of responsibility.Passage Three23. A) He lost all his property. B) He was sold to a circus.C) He ran away from his family. D) He was forced into slavery.24. A) A carpenter. B) A master of his.C) A businessman. D) A black drummer.25. A) It named its town hall after Solomon Northup. B) It freed all blacks in the town from slavery.C) It declared July 24 Solomon Northup Day. D) It hosted a reunion for the Northup family.Section CIntolerance is the art of ignoring any views that differ from your own. It (26) ________ itself in hatred, stereotypes, prejudice, and (27)________ . Once it intensifies in people, intolerance is nearly impossible to overcome. But why would anyone want to be labeled intolerant? Why would people want to be (28) ________ about the world around them? Why would one want be part of the problem in America, instead of the solution?There are many explanations for intolerant attitudes, some (29) ________ childhood. It is likely that intolerant forks grew up (30) ________ intolerant parents and the cycle of prejudice has simply continued for (31) ________ . Perhaps intolerant people are so set in their ways that they find it easier to ignore anything that might not (32) ________ their limited view of life. Or maybe intolerant students have simply never been (33)________ to anyone different from themselves. But none of these reasons is an excuse for allowing the intolerance to continue.Intolerance should not be confused with disagreement. It is, of course, possible to disagree with an opinion without being intolerant of it. If you understand a belief but still don’t believe in that specific belief, that’s fine. You are (34) ________ your opinion. As a matter of fact, (35) ________ dissenters （持异议者）are important for any belief. If we all believed the same things, wewould never grow, and we would never learn about the world around us. Intolerance does not stem from disagreement. It stems from fear. And fear stems from ignorance.Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section AIt was 10 years ago, on a warm July night, that a newborn lamb took her first breath in a small shed in Scotland. From the outside, she looked no different from thousands of other sheep born on 36 farms. But Dolly, as the world soon came to realize, was no 37 lamb. She was cloned from a single cell of an adult female sheep, 38 long-held scientific dogma that had declared such a thing biologically impossible.A decade later, scientists are starting to come to grips with just how different Dolly was. Dozens of animals have been cloned since that first lamb—mice, cats, cows and, most recently, a dog—and it’s becoming 39 clear that they are all, in one way or another, defective.It’s 40 to think of clones as perfect carbon copies of the original. It turns out, though, that there are various degrees of genetic 41. That may come as a shock to people who have paid thousands of dollars to clone a pet cat only to discover that the baby cat looks and behaves 42 like their beloved pet—with a different- color coat of fur, perhaps, or a 43 different attitude toward its human hosts.And these are just the obvious differences. Not only are clones 44 from the original template（模板）by time, but they are also the product of an unnatural molecular mechanism that turns out not to be very good at making 45 copies. In fact, the process can embed small flaws in the genes of clones that scientists are only now discovering.A) abstractB) completelyC) desertedD) duplicationE) everythingF) identicalG) increasinglyH) miniatureI) nothingJ) ordinaryK) overturningL) separatedM) surroundingN) systematicallyO) temptingSection 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 thefaculty, and pro-¬academic culture, along with the family background andpre-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. It'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 a long 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 individualstudents, 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 andsexist 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 subject.49. Research found men who attended single-sex schools in their teens were more likely to suffer from 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 CPassage OneInternational governments' inaction concerning sustainable development is clearly worrying but the proactive（主动出击的）approaches of some leading-edgecompanies 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 realisation that the environmental and economic footprints fit well together. When M&S launched its “Plan A” sustainability programme 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 efficiency through management and behavioural 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 thatclimate 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 fixture.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 powerfully influence 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.Translation (30 minutes)中国将努力确保到2015年就业者接受过平均13.3年的教育。

2014年12⽉六级真题及答案（除听⼒）Questions 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 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 has confided to aides (随从) — but listening to Charles Windsor can indeed prove stimulating. The royal __37__ has been promoting radical ideas for most of his adult life. Some of his __38__. which once sounded a bit 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 in 1986, when most shoppers cared only about the low price tag on suspiciously blemish-free (⽆瑕疵的) vegetables and __40__ large chickens piled high in supermarkets.His warnings on proved farsighted, too. Charles began __41__ action on global warming in 1990 and says he's 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 world's leading conservationists, many British people still think of him as a __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.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。