六级考试标准阅读160篇第一篇(Unit one Passage 1)I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year-round sun. You may think people in such a glamorous, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more abiding emotion.Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to glamorous parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells ―happiness‖. But in memoir after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children and profound loneliness.Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he’s honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness. They can dine out ever they want and sleep as late as they want. Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and glamorous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.1.Which of the following is true?A.Fun creates long-lasting satisfaction.B.Fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness.C.Happiness is enduring whereas fun is short-lived.D.Fun that is long-standing may lead to happiness.2.To the author, Hollywood stars all have an important role to play that is to __.A.rite memoir after memoir about their happiness.B.tell the public that happiness has nothing to do with fun.C.teach people how to enjoy their lives.D.bring happiness to the public instead of going to glamorous parties.3.In the author’s opinion, marriage___.A.affords greater fun.B.leads to raising children.C.indicates commitment.D.ends in pain.4.Couples having infant children___.A.are lucky since they can have a whole night’s sleep.B.find fun in tucking them into bed at night.C.find more time to play and joke with them.D.derive happiness from their endeavor.5.If one get the meaning of the true sense of happiness, he will__.A.stop playing games and joking with others.B.make the best use of his time increasing happiness.C.give a free hand to money.D.keep himself with his family.第一篇答案：CBCDB第二篇(Unit one Passage 2)Once it was possible to define male and female roles easily by the division of labor. Men worked outside the home and earned the income to support their families, while women cooked the meals and took care of the home and the children. These roleswere firmly fixed for most people, and there was not much opportunity for women to exchange their roles. But by the middle of this century, men’s and women’s roles were becoming less firmly fixed.In the 1950s, economic and social success was the goal of the typical American. But in the 1960s a new force developed called the counterculture. The people involved in this movement did not value the middle-class American goals. The counterculture presented men and women with new role choices. Taking more interest in childcare, men began to share child-raising tasks with their wives. In fact, some young men and women moved to communal homes or farms where the economic and childcare responsibilities were shared equally by both sexes. In addition, many Americans did not value the traditional male role of soldier. Some young men refused to be drafted as soldiers to fight in the war in Vietnam.In terms of numbers, the counterculture was not a very large group of people. But its influence spread to many parts of American society. Working men of all classes began to change their economic and social patterns. Industrial workers and business executives alike cut down on ―overtime‖ work so that they could spend more leisure time with their families. Some doctors, lawyers, and teachers turned away from high paying situations to practice their professions in poorer neighborhoods.In the 1970s, the feminist movement, or women’s liberation, produced additional economic and social changes. Women of all ages and at all levels of society were entering the work force in greater numbers. Most of them still took traditional women’s jobs as public school teaching, nursing, and secretarial work. But some women began to enter traditionally male occupations: police work, banking, dentistry, and construction work. Women were asking for equal work, and equal opportunities for promotion.Today the experts generally agree that important changes are taking place in the roles of men and women. Naturally, there are difficulties in adjusting to these transformations.1.Which of the following best express the main idea of Paragraph 1?A.Women usually worked outside the home for wages.B.Men and women’s roles were easily exchanged in the past.C.Men’s roles at home were more firmly fixed than women’s.D.Men and women’s roles were usually quite separated in the past.2.Which sentence best expresses the main idea of Paragraph 2?A.The first sentence.B.The second and the third sentences.C.The fourth sentence.D.The last sentence.3.In the passage the author proposes that the counterculture___.A.destroyed the United States.B.transformed some American values.C.was not important in the United States.D.brought people more leisure time with their families.4.It could be inferred from the passage that___.A.men and women will never share the same goals.B.some men will be willing to exchange their traditional male roles.C.most men will be happy to share some of the household responsibilities with their wives.D.more American households are headed by women than ever before.5.The best title for the passage may be ___.A.Results of Feminist MovementsB.New influence in American LifeC.Counterculture and Its consequenceD.Traditional Division of Male and Female Roles.第二篇答案DCBCB第三篇(Unit one Passage 3)Recent research has claimed that an excess of positive ions in the air can have an ill effect on people’s physical or psychological health. What are positive ions? Well, the air is full of ions, electrically charged particles, and generally there is a rough balance between the positive and the negative charged. But sometimes this balance becomes disturbed and a larger proportion of positive ions are found. This happens naturally before thunderstorm, earthquakes when winds such as the Mistral, Hamsin or Sharav are blowing in certain countries. Or it can be caused by a build-up of static electricity indoors from carpets or clothing made of man-made fibres, or from TV sets,duplicators or computer display screens.When a large number of positive ions are present in the air many people experience unpleasant effects such as headaches, fatigue, irritability, and some particularly sensitive people suffer nausea or even mental disturbance. Animals are also affected, particularly before earthquakes, snakes have been observed to come out of hibernation, rats to flee from their burrows, dogs howl and cats jump about unaccountably. This has led the US Geographical Survey to fund a network of volunteers to watch animals in an effort to foresee such disasters before they hit vulnerable areas such as California.Conversely, when large numbers of negative ions are present, then people have a feeling of well-being. Natural conditions that produce these large amounts are near the sea, close to waterfalls or fountains, or in any place where water is sprayed, or forms a spray. This probably accounts for the beneficial effect of a holiday by the sea, or in the mountains with tumbling streams or waterfalls.To increase the supply of negative ions indoors, some scientists recommend the use of ionisers: small portable machines, which generate negative ions. They claim that ionisers not only clean and refresh the air but also improve the health of people sensitive to excess positive ions. Of course, there are the detractors, other scientists, who dismiss such claims and are skeptical about negative/positive ion research. Therefore people can only make up their own minds by observing the effects on themselves, or on others, of a negative rich or poor environment. After all it is debatable whether depending on seismic readings to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than watching the cat.1.What effect does exceeding positive ionization have on some people?A.They think they are insane.B.They feel rather bad-tempered and short-fussed.C.They become violently sick.D.They are too tired to do anything.2.In accordance with the passage, static electricity can be caused by___.ing home-made electrical goods.B.wearing clothes made of natural materials.C.walking on artificial floor coverings.D.copying TV programs on a computer. 3.A high negative ion count is likely to be found___.A.near a pound with a water pump.B.close to a slow-flowing river.C.high in some barren mountains.D.by a rotating water sprinkler.4.What kind of machine can generate negative ions indoors?A.Ionisers.B.Air-conditioners.C.Exhaust-fansD.Vacuum pumps.5.Some scientists believe that___.A.watching animals to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than depending on seismography.B.the unusual behavior of animals cannot be trusted.C.neither watching nor using seismographs is reliable.D.earthquake第三篇答案BCDAA第四篇(Unit one Passage 4)A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics, and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors—or of people very different from our own—can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offer us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly ―political‖ artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros—as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martines—depicted these Mexican artists’deep anger andsadness about social problems.In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are unholy.1.More can be learned about a culture from a study of art history than general history because art history__.A.show us the religious and emotions of a people in addition to political values.B.provide us with information about the daily activities of people in the past.C.give us an insight into the essential qualities of a time and a place.D.all of the above.2.Art is subjective in that__.A.a personal and emotional view of history is presented through it.B.it can easily rouse our anger or sadness about social problems.C.it will find a ready echo in our hearts.D.both B and C.3.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?A.Unlike Francisco Goya, Pablo and several Mexican artists expressed their political opinions in their paintings.B.History books often reveal the compilers’ political views.C.Religious art remained in Europe for centuries the only type of art because most people regarded the Bible as the Holy Book.D.All the above mentioned.4.The passage is mainly discussing__.A.the difference between general history and art history.B.The making of art history.C.What can we learn from art.D.The influence of artists on art history.5.In may be concluded from this passage that__. A.Islamic artists have had to create architectural decorations with images of flowers or geometric forms.B.History teachers are more objective than general history.C.It is more difficult to study art history than general history.D.People and stories from the Bible were painted on churches and other buildings in order to popularize the Bible.第四篇答案：DDDCA第五篇(Unit 2 Passage 1)If the old maxim that the customer is always right still has meaning, then the airlines that ply the world’s busiest air route between London and Paris have a flight on their hands.The Eurostar train service linking the UK and French capitals via the Channel Tunnel is winning customers in increasing numbers. In late May, it carried its one millionth passenger, having run only a limited service between London, Paris and Brussels since November 1994, starting with two trains a day in each direction to Paris and Brussels. By 1997, the company believes that it will be carrying ten million passengers a year, and continue to grow from there.From July, Eurostar steps its service to nine trains each way between London and Paris, and five between London and Brussels. Each train carries almost 800 passengers, 210 of them in first class.The airlines estimate that they will initially lose around 15%-20% of their London-Paris traffic to the railways once Eurostar starts a full service later this year (1995), with 15 trains a day each way. A similar service will start to Brussels. The damage will be limited, however, the airlines believe, with passenger numbers returning to previous levels within two to three years.In the short term, the damage caused by the 1 million people-levels traveling between London and Paris and Brussels on Eurostar trains means that some air services are already suffering. Some of the major carriers say that their passenger numbers are down by less than 5% and point to their rivals-Particularly Air France-as having suffered the problems. On the Brussels route, the railway company had less success, and the airlines report anything from around a 5% drop to no visible decline in traffic.The airlines’ optimism on returning traffic levels is based onhistorical precedent. British Midland, for example, points to its experience on Heathrow Leeds Bradford service which saw passenger numbers fold by 15% when British Rail electrified and modernized the railway line between London and Yorkshire. Two years later, travel had risen between the two destinations to the point where the airline was carrying record numbers of passengers.1.British airlines confide in the fact that__.A.they are more powerful than other European airlines.B.their total loss won’t go beyond a drop of 5% passengers.C.their traffic levels will return in 2-3 years.D.traveling by rail can never catch up with traveling by air.2.The author’s attitude towards the drop of passengers may be described as__.A.worried.B.delightedC.puzzled.D.unrivaled.3.In the passage, British Rail (Para 6) is mentioned to__.A.provide a comparison with Eurostar.B.support the airlines’ optimism.C.prove the inevitable drop of air passengers.D.call for electrification and modernization of the railway.4.The railway’s Brussels route is brought forth to show that__.A.the Eurostar train service is not doing good business.B.the airlines can well compete with the railway.C.the Eurostar train service only caused little damage.D.only some airlines, such as Air France, are suffering.5.The passage is taken from the first of an essay, from which we may well predict that in the following part the author is going to__.A.praise the airlines’ clear-mindedness.B.warn the airlines of high-speed rail services.C.propose a reduction of London/Paris flights.D.advise the airlines to follow British Midland as their model. 第五篇答案：CABCB第六篇(Unit 2 Passage 2)Without regular supplies of some hormones our capacity to behave would be seriously impaired; without others we would soon die. Tiny amounts of some hormones can modify moods and actions, our inclination to eat or drink, our aggressiveness or submissiveness, and our reproductive and parental behavior. And hormones do more than influence adult behavior; early in life they help to determine the development of bodily form and may even determine an individual’s behavioral capacities. Later in life the changing outputs of some endocrine glands and the body’s changing sensitivity to some hormones are essential aspects of the phenomena of aging.Communication within the body and the consequent integration of behavior were considered the exclusive province of the nervous system up to the beginning of the present century. The emergence of endocrinology as a separate discipline can probably be traced to the experiments of Bayliss and Starling on the hormone secretion. This substance is secreted from cells in the intestinal walls when food enters the stomach; it travels through the bloodstream and stimulates the pancreas to liberate pancreatic juice, which aids in digestion. By showing that special cells secret chemical agents that are conveyed by the bloodstream and regulate distant target organs or tissues. Bayliss and starling demonstrated that chemical integration could occur without participation of the nervous system.The term ―hormone‖was first used with reference to secretion. Starling derived the term from the Greek hormone, meaning ―to excite or set in motion. The term ―endocrine‖ was introduced shortly thereafter ―Endocrine‖is used to refer to glands that secret products into the bloodstream. The term ―endocrine‖contrasts with ―exocrine‖, which is applied to glands that secret their products though ducts to the site of action. Examples of exocrine glands are the tear glands, the sweat glands, and the pancreas, which secrets pancreatic juice through a duct into the intestine. Exocrine glands are also called duct glands, while endocrine glands are called ductless.1.What is the author’s main purpose in the passage?A.To explain the specific functions of various hormones.B.To provide general information about hormones.C.To explain how the term ―hormone‖ evolved.D.To report on experiments in endocrinology.2.The passage supports which of the following conclusions?A.The human body requires large amounts of most hormones.B.Synthetic hormones can replace a person’s natural supply ofhormones if necessary.C.The quantity of hormones produced and their effects on the body are related to a person’s age.D.The short child of tall parents very likely had a hormone deficiency early in life.3.It can be inferred from the passage that before the Bayliss and Starling experiments, most people believed that chemical integration occurred only___.A.during sleep.B.in the endocrine glands.C.under control of the nervous system.D.during strenuous exercise.4.The word ―liberate‖ could best be replaced by which of the following?A.EmancipateB.DischargeC.SurrenderD.Save5.According to the passage another term for exocrine glands is___.A.duct glandsB.endocrine glandsC.ductless glandsD.intestinal glands.第六篇答案：BDCBA第七篇(Unit 2 Passage 3)The discovery of the Antarctic not only proved one of the most interesting of all geographical adventures, but created what might be called ―the heroic age of Antarctic exploration‖. By their tremendous heroism, men such as Shakleton, Scott, and Amundsen caused a new continent to emerge from the shadows, and yet that heroic age, little more than a century old, is already passing. Modern science and inventions are revolutionizing the endurance, future journeys into these icy wastes will probably depend on motor vehicles equipped with caterpillar traction rather than on the dogs that earlier discoverers found so invaluable and hardly comparable.Few realize that this Antarctic continent is almost equal in size to South America, and enormous field of work awaits geographers and prospectors. The coasts of this continent remain to be accurately charted, and the maping of the whole of the interior presents a formidable task to the cartographers who undertake the work. Once their labors are completed, it will be possible to prospect the vast natural resources which scientists believe will furnish one of the largest treasure hoards of metals and minerals the world has yet known, and almost inexhaustible sources of copper, coal, uranium, and many other ores will become available to man. Such discoveries will usher in an era of practical exploitation of the Antarctic wastes.The polar darkness which hides this continent for the six winter months will be defeated by huge batteries of light, and make possible the establishing of air-fields for the future inter-continental air services by making these areas as light as day. Present flying routes will be completely changed, for the Antarctic refueling bases will make flights from Australia to South America comparatively easy over the 5,000 miles journey.The climate is not likely to offer an insuperable problem, for the explorer Admiral Byrd has shown that the climate is possible even for men completely untrained for expeditions into those frozen wastes. Some of his parties were men who had never seen snow before, and yet he records that they survived the rigors of the Antarctic climate comfortably, so that, provided that the appropriate installations are made, we may assume that human beings from all countries could live there safely. Byrd even affirms that it is probably the most healthy climate in the world, for the intense cold of thousands of years has sterilize this continent, and rendered it absolutely germfree, with the consequences that ordinary and extraordinary sickness and diseases from which man suffers in other zones with different climates are here utterly unknown. There exist no problems of conservation and preservation of food supplies, for the latter keep indefinitely without any signs of deterioration; it may even be that later generations will come to regard the Antarctic as the natural storehouse for the whole world.Plans are already on foot to set up permanent bases on the shores of this continent, and what so few years ago was regarded as a ―dead continent‖now promises to be a most active center of human life and endeavor.1.When did man begin to explore the Antarctic?A.About 100years ago.B.In this century.C.At the beginning of the 19th century.D.In 1798.2.What must the explorers be, even though they have modern equipment and techniques?A.Brave and toughB.Stubborn and arrogant.C.Well-liked and humorous.D.Stout and smart.3.The most healthy climate in the world is___.A.in South America.B.in the Arctic Region.C.in the Antarctic Continent.D.in the Atlantic Ocean.4.What kind of metals and minerals can we find in the Antarctic?A.Magnetite, coal and ores.B.Copper, coal and uranium.C.Silver, natural gas and uranium.D.Aluminum, copper and natural gas.5.What is planned for the continent?A.Building dams along the coasts.B.Setting up several summer resorts along the coasts.C.Mapping the coast and whole territory.D.Setting up permanent bases on the coasts.第六篇答案：BDCBA第七篇(Unit 2 Passage 3)The discovery of the Antarctic not only proved one of the most interesting of all geographical adventures, but created what might be called ―the heroic age of Antarctic exploration‖. By their tremendous heroism, men such as Shakleton, Scott, and Amundsen caused a new continent to emerge from the shadows, and yet that heroic age, little more than a century old, is already passing. Modern science and inventions are revolutionizing the endurance, future journeys into these icy wastes will probably depend on motor vehicles equipped with caterpillar traction rather than on the dogs that earlier discoverers found so invaluable and hardly comparable.Few realize that this Antarctic continent is almost equal in size to South America, and enormous field of work awaits geographers and prospectors. The coasts of this continent remain to be accurately charted, and the maping of the whole of the interior presents a formidable task to the cartographers who undertake the work. Once their labors are completed, it will be possible to prospect the vast natural resources which scientists believe will furnish one of the largest treasure hoards of metals and minerals the world has yet known, and almost inexhaustible sources of copper, coal, uranium, and many other ores will become available to man. Such discoveries will usher in an era of practical exploitation of the Antarctic wastes. The polar darkness which hides this continent for the six winter months will be defeated by huge batteries of light, and make possible the establishing of air-fields for the future inter-continental air services by making these areas as light as day. Present flying routes will be completely changed, for the Antarctic refueling bases will make flights from Australia to South America comparatively easy over the 5,000 miles journey.The climate is not likely to offer an insuperable problem, for the explorer Admiral Byrd has shown that the climate is possible even for men completely untrained for expeditions into those frozen wastes. Some of his parties were men who had never seen snow before, and yet he records that they survived the rigors of the Antarctic climate comfortably, so that, provided that the appropriate installations are made, we may assume that human beings from all countries could live there safely. Byrd even affirms that it is probably the most healthy climate in the world, for the intense cold of thousands of years has sterilize this continent, and rendered it absolutely germfree, with the consequences that ordinary and extraordinary sickness and diseases from which man suffers in other zones with different climates are here utterly unknown. There exist no problems of conservation and preservation of food supplies, for the latter keep indefinitely without any signs of deterioration; it may even be that later generations will come to regard the Antarctic as the natural storehouse for the whole world.Plans are already on foot to set up permanent bases on the shores of this continent, and what so few years ago was regarded as a ―dead continent‖now promises to be a most active center of human life and endeavor.1.When did man begin to explore the Antarctic?A.About 100years ago.B.In this century.C.At the beginning of the 19th century.D.In 1798.2.What must the explorers be, even though they have modern equipment and techniques?A.Brave and toughB.Stubborn and arrogant.C.Well-liked and humorous.。
