大学英语六级阅读历年真题训练unit1(A)

大学英语六级阅读理解训练附答案Early in the age of affluence富裕that followed World War II, an American retailing analystnamed Victor Lebow proclaimed, "Our enormously productive economy... demands that wemake consumptionour way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals,that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption...We need thingsconsumed, burned up, wornout, replaced and discarded at an ever increasing rate."Americans have responded to Lebow's call, and much of the world has followed.Consumption has become a central pillar of life in industrial lands and is even embedded insocial values.Opinion surveys in the world's two largest economies-Japan and the UnitedStates-show consumerist definitions of success becoming ever more prevalent.Overconsumption by the world's fortunate is an environmental problem unmatched in severityby anything but perhaps population growth. Their surging exploitation of resourcesthreatens toexhaust or unalterably spoil forests, soils, water, air and climate.Ironically, high consumption may by a mixed blessing in human terms, too.The time-honored values of integrity of character, good work, friendship, family andcommunity have often been sacrificed in the rush to riches.Thus many in the industrial lands have a sense that their world, of plenty is somehow hollow-that, misled by a consumerist culture, they have been fruitlessly attempting to satisfy whatareessentially social. psychological and spiritual needs with material things.Of course,. the opposite of overconsumption-poverty-is no solution to either environmentalor human problems. It is infinitely worse for people and bad for the natural worldtoo.Dispossessed被剥夺得一无所有的 peasants slash-and-burn their way into the rain forests ofLatin American, and hungry nomads 游牧民族 turn theirherds out onto fragile Africangrassland, reducing it codesert.If environmental destruction results when people have either too little or too much, we arc leftto wonder how much is enough. What level of consumption can the earth support? When doeshavingmore cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction?在随第二次世界大战之后来临的富裕年代的早期，有位名叫维克多·勒波的美国零售业分析师声称：“[1]我们巨大的、多产的经济……要求我们把消费当做我们的生活方式，要求我们把商品的购买和使用变成生活习惯，要求我们在消费的过程中寻求精神满足和自我满足……我们需要以越来越快的速度消耗、燃掉、用掉、替换并扔掉物品。

2021-2022年江苏省淮安市大学英语6级大学英语六级真题一卷(含答案) 学校:________ 班级:________ 姓名:________ 考号:________一、2.Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)(20题)1.The beggars in London ______ speak with anyone who talked about America. 2.Being a volunteer is helpful because volunteer assignments can provide you with chances to meet ___________________ people.3.The Stock Exchange provides the large companies with a way to reach into the pockets of the public.A.YB.NC.NG4.To people living in the Arctic, the melting of some glaciers may permit new opportunities for ______.5.______measures the annual energy output per square meter of area swept by the turbine blades as they rotate.6.The fusion process of sun gave off ______.7.Bionics is now developed to a remarkable level.A.YB.NC.NG8. What do researchers think is the drive for many everyday preferences?A.The haste judgment.B.The mechanism of self-feedback.C.The interaction with others.D.The expectation for the future.9.Dr. Horvitz recently demonstrated a voice based system that could show ______ to patients.10.Nike has a new television advertisement showing that an athlete with HIV______.11.What largely gives rise to Google's "goodness"?A.Adam Smith's economic theories.B.Google aims at benefiting the society.C.A useful service Google provides.D.Google makes profits for itself.12.It is ______ that drives birds to become intelligent.A.society necessityB.physical needC.genetic informationD.psychological request13.It is necessary that birds should be trained to get back home.A.YB.NC.NG14.Wilcox's father had occasionally sold the relics found in his land since 1951.A.YB.NC.NG15.When did hydroelectric power was universally considered as an environmentally safe and clean means of electricity generator?A.Around 250 BC.B.In 1982.C.In the middle .years of 20th century.D.Until only recently.16. College education is to blame for the failure of America's math and science education.17. Traditional media outlets such as ______ may still hoax their audiences nowadays.18. YouTube can hardly generate profit because______.A.its content can be illegalB.it is only part of GoogleC.it is not well-known enoughD.it sets too many limits to users19.For many people, the biggest challenge in the workplace would be interacting efficiently with others.A.YB.NC.NG20.DivorceFor every 1,000 married couples in the UK, 13 end up divorced according to statistics. Divorce is often a complicated and messy process, and throws up many pities.Divorce IssuesSuch painful issues as whether to sell your home, which parent will look after your children, and how it will affect any loans you may have, will all have to be resolved. And if you are divorcing your partner in Scotland rather than in England and Wales then another set of laws will apply.For many couples, obtaining a divorce has never been easier. The old-fashioned concept of establishing that one party is at fault has been committed to history and the important fact to establish now is that the relationship has "irreparably broken down".In Court or Online?It is even possible to divorce your partner online, allowing you to save on legal costs—and according to online experts, this can save you about ￡700from the average ￡800.However, this method is only suitable for very straight forward anduncontested divorces. Alternatively, you can apply for divorce at a county court in England and Wales, but to do this, couples must have been married for at least a year.The first stage of divorce is obtaining what is known as a "Decree nisi(日后才生效的离婚判决书)". This is granted if the court is satisfied the marriagehas "irreparably broken down", and this is proven by showing one of five things: adultery(通奸行为);unreasonable behavior; desertion on the part ofone partner for at least two years; that the couple have been separated for two years and both spouses agree to divorce; or that the couple have been separated for five years. Your spouse's "unreasonable behavior" must be so intolerable that nobody could reasonably expect you to carry on living with him or her. It could include, for example, financial carelessness, drinking, gambling, or lack of emotional support. You cannot base your divorce on this if you then live together for a period of more than six months afterwards. This rule also applies to desertion, and the discovery that adultery has taken place. The second and final stage is obtaining a "Decree absolute(绝对判决)". Thedivorce can be stopped at any time until this is granted, so it is advisable to sort out all the financial and practical details first.Using a Divorce LawyerIf as in the vast majority of cases, your relationship is complicated, it is advisable to seek legal advice from a famous family law advisor, who will be able to properly advise you about your rights and responsibilities.If you are unsure how to go about choosing a lawyer then it might be a good idea to consult the Law Society or the Family Law Solicitors Association, who keep a list of qualified lawyers. Alternatively visit the Citizen's Advice Bureau who has a great deal of information regarding such matters.What Are the Alternatives?Negotiation is a voluntary service that allows you and your partner to meet with a trained and impartial negotiator to clarify the issues, discuss the available options, and reach decisions acceptable to you both. While the negotiator will manage the process of negotiation, he or she is not there to promote either person's interests. The decisions are finally yours.You will still require the services of a lawyer to put your decisions on property or financial matters into legal form. The government is keen for people to attend negotiation, and the number of people offering this service has vastly increased in the last few years. You may be required to attend negotiation meetings if your divorce is funded by legal aid. For more information visit our feature on Negotiation.What About the Children?Divorce can be especially confusing for children, who are likely to feelconfused by events and may even blame themselves for their parents splitting up. So it is impA.YB.NC.NG二、3.Listening Comprehension(20题)21.(42)22.听力原文：M: Can I make a flight reservation for Los Angeles on July 17th.W: Sorry, Sir. It's fully booked on the 17th. But you can catch a flight the next day.What does the woman tell the man?(17)A.He can take another flight on the same day.B.He can take a flight on another day.C.He can get his ticket the next day.D.He can get a confirmation file next day.23.【B10】24.(27)A.He does not think the "digital divide" ever exists.B.He thinks that to people in developing countries to be healthy is more important.C.He has given large amounts of money to help poor people use computers and Internet.D.He attended the conference held in Seattle and made an impressive speech there.25.Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which isthe best answer.听力原文：M: What a beautiful dress you've got! I guess you must have spent no less than $200 for it.W: Thanks. Not so expensive, actually. The salesgirl charged me $180, but I bargained with her and finally I bought it $50 cheaper.Q: How much did the woman pay for her dress?(12)A.$200.B.$130.C.$180.D.$50.26.听力原文：Is your family interested in buying a dog? A dog can be a happy addition to your family, but if you choose the wrong kind of dog, the consequences can cause you a lot of trouble.Families should sit down and thoroughly discuss the problems involved before buying a dog. [29] Even if the children in your family are the ones who want the dog, the parents are the ones who are really responsible for seeing that the animal is properly cared for. If you don't know much about dogs, it's a good idea to go to the library or the ASPCA for books about various kinds of dogs, as well as books about how to train a puppy. In reading about the different breeds, you should know that a dog described as very alert may be too jumpy and bouncy. When a book describes a dog as an ideal hunting dog, it probably means that the dog won't be happy living in a small apartment. Dog breeds vary in popularity as the years go by. [30] One of the most popular dogs these days is the German shepherd, this is because it provides protection as well as comRanionship. The family should be warned that these dogs grow up to be very big, and may be too powerful for children to handle. If space is limited, a toy dog may be a good choice. There dogs are very small and easy to train. [3] They don't need to be walked daily, since they can exercise in the space available in the home.(33)A.Children.B.Family.C.Parents.D.ASPCA27.听力原文：M: How was the trip, Ellen?W: It was all right, only the plane should have taken off at 14:00, but it was grounded for two hours and fifteen minutes because of bad weather.Q: When did the plane take off?(15)A.At 6:15.B.At 5:50.C.At 16:05.D.At 16:15.28.【B9】29.听力原文：W: Jerry, last night we held a discussion in that small room numbered 405 on the third floor and you were so conspicuous by your absence. M: Well, I made a mistake about the room number and stayed in room 415 for an hour waiting.Q: What do we learn about Jerry?(13)A.He stayed in a room on the third floor for an hour.B.He was absent when the discussion was being held.C.Nobody but the woman noticed that he was absent.D.He did not leave room 405 until an hour had passed.30.(25)A.It is but a dream and will never come tree.B.It is still at a trial period.C.It starts being used for the time being.D.It has been widely practiced31.听力原文：M: Do you think it's about to rain? Look at the sky and the cloud．I guess it Will rain0．W: Rain? It's about to pour．Also I wish to have a storm. These days it's so dry，Q: What does the woman mean?(18)A.There will be a lot of rain.B.Rain is very unlikely.C.It’s already raining.D.She's not sure.32.(36)A.You should have long hair.B.You should be in casual dress.C.You should dress according to personal taste.D.You should dress appropriately.33.(22)A.She requests the man not to call her again.B.She requests the man to call her in a few days.C.She requests to change a salesman.D.She requests a cheaper price for what the man offers.34.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down theTwo United Nations agencies have【B1】______ for more money to supply food to【B2】______ camps in Africa. They say they have had to cut food aid to hundreds of thousands of people. Most are in West Africa and the Great Lakes area.The two agencies say the cuts have created【B3】______ among those【B4】______ . Special feeding programs for young children,【B5】______ women and new mothers have also been reduced.In Sudan, the World Food Program reported a【B6】______ problem: a shortage of airplane【B7】______ at the worst time of year. Aid workers call it the hunger season. The agency says it had to cut in half its 【B8】______ food shipments in August to more than one million people in the south. The fuel shortage also affected efforts in the Darfur area in western Sudan.【B9】_________________________ .It follows rain shortages and a locust (蝗虫) invasion last year.【B10】________________________ . The medical aid group says tens of thousands of children still require immediate assistance. Last week, the World Food Program reported "good progress" in its work in Niger. The aim is to supply food to more than three and one-half million people.【B11】________________________ . The next harvest in most ofNiger is several weeks away.【B1】35.(28)A.When the ecological balance of the river is lost.B.When people consume more fish than they used to.C.When large numbers of algae, fish and birds are killed.D.When the production of marine petroleum is increased.36.听力原文：M: Jane, could you do me a favor, please? I am in a hurry to get to the airport before 4. Can I borrow your car?W: I wish I could, but I don't even have a garage.Q: What does the woman mean?(15)A.She will lend her car to the man.B.Her car is in her garage.C.She is not able to help the man.D.Her car is under poor conditions.37.【B6】38.(45)39.(29)A.To let them know another language.B.To enable them to succeed in business.C.To let them know the fact that China is the fastest growing country.D.To make learning Mandarin a national trend.40.(41)三、4.Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)(20题)41.The recession usually washes away women's yearnings for ______.42.According to the passage, DNA fingerprinting can be unreliable when ______ .A.the methods used of blood cell calculation are not accurateB.two different individuals of the same ethnic group may have the same DNA fingerprinting patternC.a match is by chance left with fingerprints that happen to belong to two different individualsD.two different individuals leave two DNA samples43.According to this passage, a Soul Catcher will be ______ .A.a new invention in order to capture and preserve human thoughtsB.made by British scientists to offer a semblance of immortalityC.made of silicon circuits which can index people's nervous activityD.a new machine on which radical research measures have already made44.Section BDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice. Concern with money, and then more money, in order to buy the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, has brought great changes to the lives of most Frenchmen. More people are working than ever before in France. In the cities the traditional leisurely midday meal is disappearing. Offices, shops, and factories are discovering the great efficiency of a short lunch hour in company lunchrooms. In almost all lines of work emphasis now falls on ever-increasing output. Thus the "typical" Frenchman produces more, earns more, and buys more goods than his counterpart of the last generation. He gains in creating comforts and ease of life. What he loses to some extent is his sense of persona, uniqueness, or individuality.Some say that France has been Americanized. This is because the U.S. is a world symbol of the technological society and its consumer products. The so-called Americanization of France has its critics. They fear that "assembly-line life" will lead to the disappearance of the pleasures of the more graceful and leisurely (but less productive) old French style. What will happen, they ask,to taste, elegance, and the cultivation of the good things in life--joy in the smell of a freshly picked apple, a stroll by the river, or just happy hours of conversation in a local cafe?Since the late 1950s life in France has indeed taken on qualities of rush, tension, and the pursuit of material gain. Some of the strongest critics of the new way of life are the young, especially university students. They are concerned with the future, and they fear that France is threatened by the triumph of this competitive, goods-oriented culture. Occasionally, they have reacted against the trend with considerable violence.In spite of critics, however, countless Frenchmen are committed to keeping France in the forefront of the modern economic world. They find that the present life brings more rewards, conveniences, and pleasures than that of the past. They believe that a modem, industrial France is preferable to the old. The old French way of life is characterized by ______.A.leisure, elegance, and efficiencyB.elegance, efficiency, and tasteC.leisure, elegance, and tasteD.leisure, efficiency, and taste45.What is the author's main purpose?A.To highly praise Ms. Harris's work.B.To counter Ms. Harris's work.C.To objectively report on Ms. Harris's work.D.To. critically comment on Ms. Harris's work.46.According to Paragraph 3, the newest group of singles are ______.A.warm and light heartedB.on either side of marriageC.negative and gloomyD.healthy and wealthy47.One implication of the final sentence in the passage is that ______.A.the reader should turn next to commentaries on general fictionB.there is no reason for any reader not to like science fictionC.all fiction consists of six basic elements.D.those who can read and analyze fiction can also do so with science fiction48.【C3】49.What is the purpose of Tek. Xam?A.It aims to verify students' technical skills.B.It is expected to assist students in handling problems in reality.C.It aims at overwhelming LSAT and CPA.D.It aims to substitute liberal-arts course in independent colleges.50.Section ADirections: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.The Olympic Games originated in 776 B.C. in Olympia, a small town in Greece. Participants in the first Olympiad are said to have run a 200-yard race, but as the Games were held every four years, they expanded in scope. Only Greek amateurs were allowed to participate in this festival in honor of the god Zeus. The event became a religious, patriotic, and athletic occasion where winners were honored with wreaths and special privileges. There was a profound change in the nature of the Games under the Roman emperors. They were banned in 394 A. D. by Emperor Theodosius, after they became professional circuses and carnivals.The modern Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896 as a result of the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator whose desire was to promote international understanding through athletics. Nine nations participated in the first Games; over 100 nations currently compete.The taint of politics and racial controversy, however, has impinged upon the Olympic Games in our epoch. In 1936 Hitler, whose country hosted the Games, affronted Jesse Owens, a black American runner, by refusing to congratulate Owens for the feat of having won four gold medals. In the 1972 Munich Games, the world was appalled by the deplorable murder of eleven Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists. The next Olympic Games in Montreal were boycotted by African nations. In 1980, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, sixty-two nations caused great dismay to their athletes by refusing to participate in the Games. The consensus among those nations was that their refusal would admonish the Soviet.According to the passage, the first Olympic Games were held as ______.51.The word "it" (Line 3, Para. 6) probably refers to ______.A.carbon dioxideB.nitrogenC.atmosphereD.coal52.If the assumption about the delay of a new Ice Age is correct, _____.A.the increased levels of carbon dioxide could warm up the earth more quicklyB.ice would soon cover the southern hemisphereC.the best way to overcome the cooling effect would be to burn more fuelsD.the greenhouse effect could work to the advantage of the earth53.Common reactions of parents to bad TV content are ______.A.rudenessB.silenceC.scoldingD.warning54.From the very moment when men apply for heir first job, they are tested constantly by ______.55.According to the author, cats ______.A.are not domestic animals at allB.are fiercer than dogsC.are both meek and independentD.can sometimes be very hostile to people56.According to the passage, male marmoset and tamarin monkeys ______A.can't defend more than one femaleB.practice monogamyC.get more offspringD.invest heavily in their partners and the young57.Why does the author mention the formation of glaciers in Iceland and Antarctica in the third paragraph?A.To show the temperature in the two places.B.To show the environment in the two places.C.To show the importance of temperature and the rate of snowfall in the formation of glaciers.D.To show these two places contain the oldest glaciers in the world.58.John Ryan is president of the State University of New York and ______ as well.59.At least one sample of a third of bottled water brands tested by NRDC failed to meet60.Person who has A characteristics is______.四、5.Error Correction(5题)61.【S9】62.【S6】63.【S10】64.【S8】65.【S3】五、6.Translation(5题)66. Mrs. Smith shut the window lest ___________________(外面的噪音会影响她儿子的睡眠).67. __________(我们一旦让他知道了真相), we experience the nightmare.68. If Aristotle worked in a university today，__________(他就会有很大的机会教授计算机)．69. Unable to control themselves，some teenagers get hooked by online games，________________(这成了老师和家长始终担心的事)．70. If the building project ______ (打算月底前完成的) is delayed, the construction company will be fined.参考答案1.were afraid towere afraid to 解析：由文章第九段得知，这些乞丐(beggars)非常害怕和那些提到"America"这个可怕字眼的人说话。

2016年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第1套)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on invention. Youressay should include the importance of invention and measures to be taken to encourageinvention. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Part ⅡListening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of eachconversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and thequestions 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 corresponding letter on Answer Sheet I with a single linethrough the centre.Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. A. It tries to predict the possible trends of global climate change.B. It studies the impacts of global climate change on people's lives.C. It links the science of climate change to economic and policy issues.D. It focuses on the efforts countries can make to deal with global warming.2. A. It will take a long time before a consensus is reached on its impact.B. It would be more costly to deal with its consequences than to avoid it.C. It is the most pressing issue confronting all countries.D. It is bound to cause endless disputes among nations.3. A. The transition to low-carbon energy systems.B. The cooperation among world major powers.C. The signing of a global agreement.D. The raising of people's awareness.4. A. Carry out more research on it.B. Cut down energy consumption.C. Plan well in advance.D. Adopt new technology.Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A. When luck plays a role.B. what determines success.C. Whether practice makes perfect.D. How important natural talent is.6. A. It knocks at your door only once in a while.B. It is something that no one can possibly create.C. It comes naturally out of one's self-confidence.D. It means being good at seizing opportunities.7. A. Luck rarely contributes to a person's success.B. One must have natural talent to be successful.C. One should always be ready to seize opportunities.D. Practice is essential to becoming good at something.8. A. Putting time and effort into fun things is profitable.B. People who love what they do care little about money.C. Being passionate about work can make one wealthy.D. People in need of money work hard automatically.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hearthree or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices markedA, B, C and D. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with asingle line through the centre.Questions 9 to 12 are based on the passage you have just heard.9. A. The stump of a giant tree.B. A huge piece of rock.C. The peak of a mountain.D. A tall chimney.10. A. Human activity.B. Wind and water.C. Chemical processes.D. Fire and fury.11. A. It is a historical monument.B. It was built in ancient times.C. It is Indians' sacred place for worship.D. It was created by supernatural powers.12. A. By sheltering them in a cave.B. By killing the attacking bears.C. By lifting them well above the ground.D. By taking them to the top of a mountain.Questions 13 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.13. A. They will buy something from the convenience stores.B. They will take advantage of the time to rest a while.C. They will have their vehicles washed or serviced.D. They will pick up some souvenirs or gift items.14. A. They can bring only temporary pleasures.B. They are meant for the extremely wealthy.C. They should be done away with altogether.D. They may eventually drive one to bankruptcy.15. A. A good way to socialize is to have daily lunch with one's colleagues.B. Retirement savings should come first in one's family budgeting.C. A vacation will be affordable if one saves 20 dollars a week.D. Small daily savings can make a big difference in one's life.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talksfollowed by three orfour questions. The recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, youmust choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. Thenmark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.16. A. They should be done away with.B. They are necessary in our lives.C. They enrich our experience.D. They are harmful to health.17. A. They feel stressed out even without any challenges in life.B. They feel too overwhelmed to deal with life's problems.C. They are anxious to free themselves from life's troubles.D. They are exhausted even without doing any heavy work. ~18. A. They expand our mind.B. They prolong our lives.C. They narrow our focus.D.They lessen our burdensQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the recording you have just heard.19. A. It is not easily breakable.B. It came from a 3D printer.C. It represents the latest style.D. It was made by a fashion designer.20. A. When she had just graduated from her college.B. When she attended a conference in New York.C. When she was studying at a fashion design school.D. When she attended a fashion show nine months ago.21. A. It was difficult to print.B. It was hard to come by.C. It was hard and breakable.D. It was extremely expensive.22. A. It is the latest model of a 3D printer.B. It is a plastic widely used in 3D printing.C. It gives fashion designers room for imagination.D. It marks a breakthrough in printing material.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.23. A. They arise from the advances in technology.B. They have not been examined in detail so far.C. They are easy to solve with modern technology.D. They can't be solved without government support.24. A. It is attractive to entrepreneurs.B. It demands huge investment.C. It focuses on new products.D. It is intensely competitive.25. A.Cooperation with big companies.B. Recruiting more qualified staff.C. In-service training of IT personnel.D. Sharing of costs with each other.Part ⅢReading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word foreach blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read thepassage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank isidentified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bankmore than once.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.It is important that scientists be seen as normal people asking and answering important questions.Good, sound science depends on 26, experiments and reasoned methodologies. It requires awillingness to ask new questions and try new approaches. It requires one to take risks and experiencefailures. But good science also requires 27 understanding,clear explanation and concisepresentation.Our country needs more scientists who are willing to step out in the public 28 and offer theiropinions on important matters. We need more scientists who can explain what they are doing inlanguage that is 29 and understandable to the public. Those of us who are not scientists should alsobe prepared to support public engagement by scientists, and to 30 scientific knowledge into ourpublic communications.Too many people in this country, including some among our elected leadership, still do notunderstand how science works or why robust, long-range investments in research vitally matter. In the1960s, the United States 31 nearly 17% of discretionary (可酌情支配的) spending to research anddevelopment,32 decades of economic growth. By 2008, the figure had fallen into the single33 This occurs at a time when other nations have made significant gains in their own researchcapabilities.At the University of California (UC), we 34 ourselves not only on the quality of our research,but also on its contribution to improving our world. To 35 the development of science from the labbench to the market place, UC is investing our own money in our own good ideas.A. ArenaB. contextualC. ConvincingD. devotedE. DigitsF. hastenG. Hypotheses H. impairingI. Incorporate J. indefiniteK. Indulge L. inertiaM. Pride N. reapingO. WarrantSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Eachstatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraphfrom which the information is derived. You may choose aparagraph more than once.Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Are We in an Innovation Lull?[A] Scan the highlights of this year's Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ), and you may get a slightfeeling of having seen them before. Many of the coolest gadgets this year are the same as thecoolest gadgets last year--or the year before, even. The booths are still exciting, and the demosare still just as crazy. It is still easy to be dazzled by the display ofdrones (无人机),3D printers,virtual reality goggles ( 眼镜) and more "smart" devicesthan you could ever hope to catalog.Upon reflection, however, it is equally easy to feel like you have seen it all before. And it is hardnot to think: Are we in an innovation lull ( 间歇期) ?[B] In some ways, the answer is yes. For years, smartphones, televisions, tablets, laptops anddesktops have made up a huge part of the market and driven innovation. But now these segmentsare looking at slower growth curves--or shrinking markets in some cases--as consumers are notas eager to spend money on new gadgets. Meanwhile, emerging technologies--the drones,3Dprinters and smart-home devices of the world--now seem a bit too old to be called "the next bigthing. "[C] Basically the tech industry seems to be in an awkward period now. "There is not any one-hitwonder, and there will not be one for years to come," said Gary Shapiro, president and chiefexecutive of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). In his eyes, however, that doesn'tnecessarily mean that innovation has stopped. It has just grown up a little. "Many industries aregoing out of infancy and becoming adolescents," Shapiro said.[D] For instance, new technologies that are building upon existing technology have not found theirfooting well enough to appeal to a mass audience, because, in many cases, they need to workeffectively with other devices to realize their full appeal. Take the evolution of the smart home,for example. Companies are pushing it hard but make it almost overwhelming even to dip a toe inthe water for the average consumer, because there are so many compatibility issues to thinkabout. No average person wants to figure out whether their favorite calendar software works withtheir fridge or whether their washing machine and tablet get along. Having to install a different appfor each smart appliance in your home is annoying; it would be nicer if you could manageeverything together. And while you may forgive your smartphone an occasional fault, youprobably have less patience for error messages from your door lock.[E] Companies are promoting their own standards, and the market has not had time to choose awinner yet as this is still very new. Companies that have long focused on hardware now have tothink of ecosystems instead to give consumers practical solutions to their everyday problems."The dialogue is changing from what is technologically possible to what is technologicallymeaningful," said economist Shawn DuBravac. DuBravac works for CTA--which puts on theshow each year--and said that this shift to a search for solutions has been noticeable as heresearched his predictions for 2016.[F] "So much of what CES has been about is the cool. It is about the flashiness and the gadgets,"said John Curran, managing director of research at Accenture. "But over the last couple of years,and in this one in particular, we are starting to see companies shiftfrom what is the largest screensize, the smallest form factor or the shiniest object and more into what all of these devices do thatis practical in a consumer's life. " Even the technology press conferences, which have been high-profile in the past and reached a level of drama and theatrics fitting for a Las Vegas stage, have adifferent bent to them. Rather than just dazzling with a high cool factor, there is a focus on thepractical. Fitbit, for example, released its first smartwatch Monday, selling with a clearpurpose--to improve your fitness--and promoting it as a "tool, not a toy. " Not only that, itsupports a number of platforms: Apple's iOS, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows phone.[G] That seems to be what consumers are demanding, after all. Consumers are becoming increasinglybored with what companies have to offer: A survey of 28,000 consumers in 28 countries releasedby Accenture found consumers are not as excited about technology as they once were. Forexample, when asked whether they would buy a new smartphone this year, only 48 percent saidyes--a six-point drop from 2015.[H] And when it comes to the hyper-connected super-smart world that technology firms are paintingfor us, it seems that consumers are growing more uneasy about handing over the massive amountsof consumer data needed to provide the personalized, customized solutions that companies needto improve their services. That could be another explanation for why companies seem to bestrengthening their talk of the practicality of their devices.[I] Companies have already won part of the battle, having driven tech into every part of our lives,tracking our steps and our very heartbeats. Yet the persistent question of " Why do I needthat?"--or, perhaps more tellingly, "Why do you need to know that?"--dogs the steps of manynew ventures. Only 13 percent of respondents said that they were interested in buying asmartwatch in 2016, for example--an increase of just one percent from the previous year despite ayear of high-profile launches. That is bad news for any firm that may hope that smartwatches canmake up ground for maturing smartphone and tablet markets. And the survey found flat demandfor fitness monitors, smart thermostats (恒温器) and connected home cameras, as well.[J] According to the survey, that lack of enthusiasm could stem from concerns about privacy andsecurity. Even among people who have bought connected devices of some kind,37 percent saidthat they are going to be more cautions about using these devices and services in the future. A full18 percent have even returned devices until they feel they can get safer guarantees against havingtheir sensitive information hacked.[K] That, too, explains the heavy Washington presence at this year's show, as these new technologiesintrude upon heavily regulated areas. In addition to many senior officials from the Federal Tradeand Federal Communications commissions, this year's list of policy makers also includesappearances from Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, to talk about smart cities, and FederalAviation Administration Administrator Michael Huerta, to talk about drones.[L] Curran, the Accenture analyst, said that increased government interest in the show makes senseas technology becomes a larger part of our lives. "There is an incompatibility in the rate at whichthese are advancing relative to the way we're digesting it," he said. "Technology is becomingbigger and more aspirational, and penetrating almost every aspect of our lives. We have tounderstand and think about the implications, andbalance these great innovations with thepotential downsides they naturally carry with them. "36. Consumers are often hesitant to try smart-home devices because they are worried aboutcompatibility problems.37. This year's electronics show featured the presence of many officials from the federal government.38. The market demand for electronic devices is now either declining or not growing as fast as before.39. One analyst suggests it is necessary to accept both tlie positive and negative aspects of innovativeproducts.40. The Consumer Electronics Show in recent years has begun to focus more on the practical value thanthe showiness of electronic devices.41. Fewer innovative products were found at this year's electronic products show.42. Consumers are becoming more worried about giving personal information to tech companies to getcustomized products and services.43. The Consumer Technology Association is the sponsor of the annual Consumer Electronics Show.44. Many consumers wonder about the necessity of having their fitness monitored.45. The electronic industry is maturing even though no wonder products hit the market.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions orunfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C andD. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.The Paris climate agreement finalised in December last year heralded a new era for climate action.For the first time, the world's nations agreed to keep global warming well below 2℃.This is vital for climate-vulnerable nations. Fewer than 4% of countries are responsible for morethan half of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. In a study published in Nature Scientific Reports,we reveal just how deep this injustice runs.Developed nations such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and European countries areessentially climate "free-riders": causing the majority of the problems through high greenhouse gasemissions, while incurring few of the costs such as climate change's impact on food and water. In otherwords, a few countries are benefiting enormously from the consumption of fossil fuels, while at thesame time contributing disproportionately to the global burden of climate change.On the flip side, there are many "forced riders", who are suffering from the climate changeimpacts despite having scarcely contributed to the problem. Many of the world's most climatevulnerable countries, the majority of which are African or small island states, produce a very smallquantity of emissions. This is much like a non-smoker getting cancer from second-hand smoke, whilethe heavy smoker is fortunate enough to smoke in good health.The Paris agreement has been widely hailed as a positive step forward in addressing climate changefor all, although the details on addressing "climate justice" can be best described as sketchy.The goal of keeping global temperature rise "well below" 2~C is commendable but the emissions-reduction pledges submitted by countries leading up to the Paris talks are very unlikely to deliver onthis.More than $100 billion in funding has been put on the table for supporting developing nations toreduce emissions. However, the agreement specifies that there is no formal distinction betweendeveloped and developing nations in their responsibility to cut emissions, effectively ignoring historicalemissions. There is also very little detail on who will provide the funds or, importantly, who isresponsible for their provision. Securing these funds, and establishing who is responsible for raisingthem will also be vital for the future of climate-vulnerable countries.The most climate-vulnerable countries in the world have contributed very little to creating theglobal disease from which they now suffer the most. There must urgently be a meaningful mobilisationof the policies outlined in the agreement if we are to achieve national emissions reductions whilehelping the most vulnerable countries adapt to climate change.And it is clearly up to the current generation of leaders from high-emitting nations to decidewhether they want to be remembered as climate change tyrants or pioneers.46. The author is critical of the Paris climate agreement becauseA. it is unfair to those climate-vulnerable nationsB. it aims to keep temperature rise below 2℃ onlyC. it is beneficial to only fewer than 4% of countriesD. it burdens developed countries with the sole responsibility47. Why does the author call some developed countries climate "free-riders"?A. They needn't worry about the food and water they consume.B. They are better able to cope with the global climate change.C. They hardly pay anything for the problems they have caused.D. They are free from the greenhouse effects affecting "forced riders".48. Why does the author compare the "forced riders" to second-hand smokers?A. They have little responsibility for public health problems.B. They are vulnerable to unhealthy environmental conditions.C. They have to bear consequences they are not responsible for.D. They are unaware of the potential risks they are confronting.49. What does the author say about the $100 billion funding?A. It will motivate all nations to reduce carbon emissions.B. There is no final agreement on where it will come from.C. There is no clarification of how the money will be spent.D. It will effectively reduce greenhouse emissions worldwide.50. what urgent action must be taken to realise the Paris climate agreement?A. Encouraging high-emitting nations to take the initiative.B. Calling on all the nations concerned to make joint efforts.C. Pushing the current world leaders to come to a consensus.D. Putting in effect the policies in the agreement at once.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.Teenagers at risk of depression, anxiety and suicide often wear their troubles like a neon (霓虹灯)sign. Their risky behaviors--drinking too much alcohol, using illegal drugs, smoking cigarettes andskipping school--can alert parents and teachers that serious problems are brewing.But a new study finds that there's another group of adolescents who are in nearly as much dangerof experiencing the same psychiatric symptoms: teens who use tons of media, don't get enough sleepand have a sedentary (不爱活动的) lifestyle.Of course, that may sound like a description of every teenager on the planet. But the study warnsthat it is teenagers who engage in all three of these practices in the extreme who are truly in jeopardy.Because their behaviors are not usually seen as a red flag, these young people have been dubbed the"invisible risk" group by the study's authors."In some ways they're at greater risk of falling through the cracks," says researcher VladimirCarli. "While most parents, teachers and clinicians would react to an adolescent using drugs or gettingdrunk, they may easily overlook teenagers who are engaging in inconspicuous behaviors."The study's authors surveyed 12,395 students and analyzed nine risk behaviors, including excessivealcohol use, illegal drug use, heavy smoking, high media use and truancy (逃学). Their aim was todetermine the relationship between these risk behaviors and mental health issues in teenagers.About 58% of the students demonstrated none or few of the risk behaviors. Some 13% scored highon all nine of the risk behaviors. And 29%, the "invisible risk" group, scored high on three inparticular: They spent five hours a day or more on electronic devices. They slept six hours a night orless. And they neglected "other healthy activities."The group that scored high on all nine of the risk behaviors was most likely to show symptoms ofdepression; in all, nearly 15% of this group reported being depressed, compared with just 4% of thelow-risk group. But the invisible group wasn't far behind the high-risk set, with more than 13% of themexhibiting depression.The findings caught Carli off guard. "We were very surprised," he says. "The high-risk group andlow-risk group are obvious. But this third group was not only unexpected, it was so distinct and solarge--nearly one third of our sample--that it became a key finding of the study. "Carli says that one of the most significant things about his study is that it provides new early-warning signs for parents, teachers and mental health-care providers. And early identification, supportand treatment for mental health issues, he says, are the best ways to keep them from turning into full-blown disorders.51. What does the author mean by saying "Teenagers at risk of depression, anxiety and suicide oftenwear their troubles like a neon sign" (Lines 1 - 2, Para.1 ) ?A. Mental problems can now be found in large numbers of teenagers.B. Teenagers' mental problems are getting more and more attention.C. Teenagers' mental problems are often too conspicuous not to be observed.D. Depression and anxiety are the most common symptoms of mental problems.52. What is the finding of the new study?A. Teenagers' lifestyles have changed greatly in recent years.B. Many teenagers resort to drugs or alcohol for mental relief.C. Teenagers experiencing psychological problems tend to use a lot of media.D. Many hitherto unobserved youngsters may have psychological problems.53. Why do the researchers refer to teens who use tons of media, don't get enough sleep and have asedentary lifestyle as the "invisible risk" group?A. Their behaviors can be an invisible threat to society.B. Their behaviors do not constitute a warning signal.C. Their behaviors do not tend towards mental problems.D. Their behaviors can be found in almost all teenagers on earth.54. What does the new study find about the invisible group?A. They are almost as liable to depression as the high-risk group.B. They suffer from depression without showing any symptoms.C. They do not often demonstrate risky behaviors as their peers.D. They do not attract the media attention the high-risk group does.55. What is the significance of Vladimir Carli's study?A. It offers a new treatment for psychological problems among teenagers.B. It provides new early-warning signals for identifying teens in trouble.C. It may have found an ideal way to handle teenagers with behavioral problems.D. It sheds new light on how unhealthy behaviors trigger mental health problems.Part ⅣTranslation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese intoEnglish. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.随着生活水平的提高，度假在中国人生活中的作用越来越重要。

2020年大学英语六级阅读专项练习1I 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， moreabiding emotion.Going to an amusement park or ball game， watching amovie or television， are fun activities that help us relax，temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. Butthey do not bring happiness， because their positive effects end when the fun ends.I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a roleto 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”。

大学英语六级阅读训练题含答案Sleeping Position Reveals Personality TraitsWhether it’s curled up in the fetal position, flat onthe stomach or stretched out across the bed, theway people sleep reveals their personality, a Britishsleep expert said. The expert has identified sixmon sleeping positions and what they mean. "We are all aware of our body language when we areawake but this is the first time we have been able tosee what our subconscious says about us," he said. Crouched in the fetal position is the mostpopular sleep pattern and favored by 51 percent of women, aording to the results of thestudy he conducted for a large hotel group. Fetal sleepers tend to be shy and sensitive whilepeople who assume the soldier position, flat on their back with arms at their sides, are quietand reserved. Sleeping on one’s side with legs outstretched and arms down in what he refersto as the log, indicates a social, easygoing personality. But if the arms are outstretched in theyearning position, the person tends to be more suspicious. The free fall, flat on the tummywith the hands at the sides of the head, is the most unusual position. Only 6. 5 percent ofpeople prefer it and they are usually brash and gregarious. Unassuming, good listeners usuallyadopt the starfish position — on the back withoutstretched arms and legs. The expert, whoidentified the positions by paring personality traits of people.Ⅰ. There a re some adjectives describing people’s persona lity in the a rticle and please matchthem with phrases :( brash, unassuming, reserved, easygoing, suspicious, gregarious)1. relaxed in manner and easy to deal with———2. preferring to be with others rather than alone———3. thinking that someone might be guilty of doing something wrong or dishonest, withoutbeing sure ———4. confident in a rude or aggressive way———5. showing no desire to be noticed or given special treatment———6. quiet and unwilling to express your emotions or talk about your problems———Ⅱ. Answer the following question:How many sleeping positions have the expert identified and what are they?Ⅰ. 1. easygoing 2. gregarious 3. suspicious 4.brash 5. unassuming 6. reservedⅡ. There are six positions, they are fetalposition,soldier position, log position, yearning position, freefall position and starfish position.。

大学英语六级考试真题及答案解析第一套完整版6月大学英语六级考试真题及答案解析（第一套完整版）Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: Suppose you are asked to give advice on whether to attend a vocational college or a university, write an essay to state your opinion. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.【参考范文】Whether to Attend a Vocational College or a University?It’s an undisputable truth that virtually all high school graduates will encounter the choices between a vocational college and a university. And when it comes to this question, students’ ideas are not cut from the same cloth. In point of which to choose and what to be taken into consideration, my advices are as follow.In the first place, we should be conscious of the fact that both of the two choices have its own superiorities. For instance, a vocational college specializes in cultivating human resources with practical capabilities; while a university serves as the cradle of academic researchers in different fields. Then it does follow that high school graduates should have a clear picture of themselves. That is to say, they should know their merits and demerits and their choices must give play to their strengths whilst circumvent weaknesses. In addition, interest is the best teacher and it’s also the premise of learning on one’s own initiative. Thus interest must be taken into account because it can not only decide how far one can reach academically and professionally but also how happy and fulfilled one will be.In brief, all above just goes to show that there really is no one-size-fits-all answer for the question. The key lies in a clear cognition, accurate self-positioning and the interest of oneself. Only then can every one find a right path that works best for us.Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. A) He would feel insulted. B) He would feel very sad.C) He would be embarrassed. D) He would be disappointed.【答案】A【解析】题目问如果男士在二手书店中发现了自己写的书，那么男士会感觉怎样。

历年英语六级阅读真题(2012,6---2006,12)2012 年12 月英语六级阅读真题(1) Passage OneAmid all the job losses of the Great Recession, there is one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans.From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal carcasses in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs.Automation isn’t just affecti ng factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that previously was performed by highly paid human lawyers.“Robots continue to have an impact on blue-collar jobs, and white-collar jobs are under attack by microprocessors,” says Edward Leamer, an economics professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, a survey of the U.S. and California economies. Leamer says the recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs. U.S. gross domestic product has climbedback to pre-recession levels, meaning we’re producing as much as before, only with 6 percent fewer workers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers out there, with outsourcing stealing far more gigs than automation.Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotics Industry Association, a trade group in Ann Arbor, Mich., argues that robots actually save U.S. jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewe r workers, but that’s still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas.It’s not that robots are cheaper than humans, though often they are. It’s that they are better. “In some cases the quality requirements are so stringent that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn’t,” Burnstein says.Same goes for surgeons, who are using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations—not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications, says Dr. Myriam Curet.Surgeons may survive the robot invasion, but others at the hospital might not be so lucky, as iRobot, maker of the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, has been showing off Ava, a three-foot-tall droid on wheels that carries a tablet computer. iRobot reckons Ava could be used as a courier in a hospital.And once you’re home, recovering, Ava could let you talk to your doctor, so there’s no need to send someone to your h ouse. That “mobile telepresence” could be useful at the office. If you’re away on a trip, you can still attend a meeting. Just connect via videoconferencing software, so your face appears on Ava’s screen.Is any job safe? I was hoping to say “journalist,” but researchers are already developing algorithms that can gather facts and write a news story. Which means that a few years from now, a robot could be writing this column. And who will read it? Well, there might be a lot of us hanging around with lots of free time on our hands.(2) Passage TwoYou've now heard it so many times, you can probably repeat it in your sleep. President Obama will no doubt make the point publicly when he gets to Beijing: the Chinese need to spend more; they need to consume more; they need —believe it or not — to become more like Americans, for the sake of the global economy.And it's all true. But the other side of that equation is that the U.S. needs to save more. For the moment, American households actually are doing so. After the personal-savingsrate dipped to zero in 2005, the shock of the economic crisis last year prompted people to snap shut their wallets.In China, the household-savings rate exceeds 20%. It is partly for policy reasons. As we've seen, wage earners are expected to care for not only their children but also their aging parents. And there is, to date, only the flimsiest（脆弱的）of publicly-funded health care and pension systems, which increases incentives for individuals to save while they are working. But China is a society that has long esteemed personal financial prudence（谨慎）for centuries. There is no chance that will change anytime soon, even if the government creates a better social safety net and successfully encourages greater consumer spending.Why does the U.S. need to learn a little frugality(节俭). Because healthy savings rates are one of the surest indicators of a country's long-term financial health. High savings lead, over time, to increased investment, which in turn generates productivity gains, innovation and job growth. In short, savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest.The U.S. government thus needs to act as well. By running constant deficits, it is dis-saving, even as households save more. Peter Orszag, Obama's Budget Director, recently called the U.S. budget deficits unsustainable and he's right. Todate, the U.S. has seemed unable to have what Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has called an "adult conversation" about the consequences of spending so much more than is taken in. That needs to change. And though Hu Jintao and the rest of the Chinese leadership aren't inclined to lecture visiting Presidents, he might gently hint that Beijing is getting a little nervous about the value of the dollar —which has fallen 15% since March, in large part because of increasing fears that America's debt load is becoming unmanageable.That's what happens when you're the world's biggest creditor: you get to drop hints like that, which would be enough by themselves to create international economic chaos if they were ever leaked. (Every time any official in Beijing deliberately publicly about seeking an alternative to the U.S. dollar for the $2.1 trillion China holds in reserve, currency traders have a heart attack.) If Americans saved more and spent less, consistently over time, they wouldn't have to worry about all that.2012 年6 月英语六级阅读真题(3)Passage OneAs anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realisticgoal-setting generally produces the best results. That's partially because it appears people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and exert more effort, to achieve those goals.What's far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting.Newspapers relay daily accounts of goal-setting prevalent in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street , yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-trumpeted practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis , and unethical （不道德的）behavior in general.“Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to exert more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in unethical behaviors,” says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penn’s WhartonSchool.“It turns out there’s no economic benefit to just having a goal---you just get a psychological benefit” Schweitzer says.“But in many cases, go als have economic rewards that make them more powerful.”A prime example Schweitzer and his colleagues cite is the 2004 collapse of energy-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial incentives to motivate salesmen to meet specific revenue goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is the actual trades were not profitable.Other studies have shown that saddling employees with unrealistic goals can compel them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears imposed a sales quota on its auto repair staff. It prompted employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.Schweitzer concedes his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that commends the many benefits ofgoal-setting. Advocates of the practice have taken issue with his team’s use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-prescribedIn a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr. Edwin Lockewrites:“Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot thrive without being focused on their desired end results anymore than an individual can thrive without goals to provide a sense of purpose.”But Schweitzer contends the “mounting causal evidence” linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help spotlight issues that merit caution and further investigation. “Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects,” he says.“Goal-setting does help coordinate and motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful oversight, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harm the organization,” Schweitzer says.(4) Passage twoFor most of the 20th century, Asia asked itself what it could learn from the modern, innovating West. Now the question must be reversed. What can the West’s overly indebted and sluggish (经济滞长的) nations learn from a flourishing Asia?Just a few decades ago, Asia’s two giants were stagnati ng(停滞不前) under faulty economic ideologies. However, once China began embracing free-market reforms in the 1980s, followed by India in the 1990s, both countries achieved rapidgrowth. Crucially, as they opened up their markets, they balanced market economy with sensible government direction. As the Indian economist Amartya Sen has wisely said, “The invisible hand of the market has often relied heavily on the visible hand of government.”Contrast this middle path with America and Europe, which have each gone ideologically over-board in their own ways. Since the 1980s, America has been increasingly clinging to the ideology of uncontrolled free markets and dismissing the role of government---following Ronald Regan’s idea that “government is not the solution to o ur problem; governmentis the problem. “Of course, when the markets came crashing down in 2007, it was decisive government intervention that saved the day. Despite this fact, many Americans are still strongly opposed to “big government.”If Americans could only free themselves from their antigovernment doctrine, they would begin to see that the America’s problems are not insoluble. A few sensible federal measures could put the country back on the right path. A simple consumption tax of, say, 5% would significantly reduce the country’s huge government deficit without damaging productivity. A small gasoline tax would help freeAmerica from its dependence on oil imports and create incentives for green energy development. In the same way, a significant reduction of wasteful agricultural subsidies could also lower the deficit. But in order to take advantage of these common-sense solutions, Americans will have to put aside their own attachment to the idea of smaller government and less regulation. American politicians will have to develop the courage to follow what is taught in all American public-policy schools: that there are good taxes and bad taxes. Asian countries have embraced this wisdom, and have built sound long-term fiscal (财政的) policies as a result.Meanwhile, Europe has fallen prey to a different ideological trap: the belief that European governments would always have infinite resources and could continue borrowing as if there were no tomorrow. Unlike the Americans, who felt that the markets knew best, the Europeans failed to anticipate how the markets would react to their endless borrowing. Today, the European Union is creating a $580 billion fund to ward off sovereign collapse. This will buy the EU time, but it will not solve the bloc’s larger problem.2011 年12 月英语六级阅读真题(5) Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.What's the one word of advice a well-meaning professional would give to a recent college graduate? China"} India! Brazil! How about trade!When the Commerce Department reported last week that the trade deficit in June approached $50 billion, it set off a new round of economic doomsaying. Imports, which soared to $200.3 billion in the month, are subtracted in the calculation of gross domestic product. The larger the trade deficit, the smaller the GDP. Should such imbalances continue, pessimists say, they could contribute to slower growth.But there's another way of looking at the trade data. Over the past two years, the figures on imports and exports seem not to signal a double-dip recession – a renewed decline in the broad level of economic activity in the United States – but an economic expansion.The rising volume of trade – more goods and services shuttling in and out of the United States – is good news for many sectors. Companies engaged in shipping, trucking, rail freight, delivery,and logistics (物流) have all been reporting better than expected results. The rising numbers signify growing vitality in foreign markets – when we import more stuff, it puts more cash in the hands of people around the world, and U.S. exports are rising because more foreigners have the ability to buy the things we produce and market. The rising tide of trade is also good news for people who work in trade-sensitive businesses, especially those that produce commodities for which global demand sets the price – agricultural goods, mining, metals, oil.And while exports always seem to lag, U.S. companies are becoming more involved in the global economy with each passing month. General Motors sells as many cars in China as in America each month. While that may not do much for imports, it does help GM's balance sheet – and hence makes the jobs of U.S.-based executives more stable.One great challenge for the U.S. economy is slack domestic consumer demand. Americans arepaying down debt, saving more, and spending more carefully. That's to be expected, given what we've been through. But there's a bigger challenge. Can U.S.-based businesses, large and small, figure out how to get a piece of growing global demand? Unless you want to pick up and move to India, orBrazil, or China, the best way to do that is through trade. It may seem obvious, but it's no longer enough simply to do business with our friends and neighbors here at home.Companies and individuals who don't have a strategy to export more, or to get more involved in foreign markets, or to play a role in global trade, are shutting themselves out of the lion's share of economic opportunity in our world.(6) Passage TwoA recurring criticism of the UK's university sector is its perceived weakness in translating new knowledge into new products and services.Recently, the UK National Stem Cell Network warned the UK could lose its place among the world leaders in stem cell research unless adequate funding and legislation could be assured. We should take this concern seriously as universities are key in the national innovation system.However, we do have to challenge the unthinking complaint that the sector does not do enough in taking ideas to market. The most recent comparative data on the performance of universities and research institutions in Australia, Canada, USA and UKshows that, from a relatively weak starting position, the UK now leads on many indicators of commercialisation activity.When viewed at the national level, the policy interventions of the past decade have helped trans form the performance of UK universities. Evidence suggests the UK's position is much stronger than in the recent past and is still showing improvement. But national data masks the very large variation in the performance of individual universities. The evidence shows that a large number of universities have fallen off the back of the pack, a few perform strongly and the rest chase the leaders.This type of uneven distribution is not peculiar to the UK and is mirrored across other economies. In the UK, research is concentrated: less than 25% of universities receive 75% of the research funding. These same universities are also the institutions producing the greatest share of PhD graduates, science citations, patents and licence income. The effect of policies generating long-term resource concentration has also created a distinctive set of universities which areresearch-led and commercially active. It seems clear that the concentration of research and commercialisation work creates differences between universities.The core objective for universities which are research-led must be to maximise the impact oftheir research efforts. These universities should be generating the widest range of social, economic and environmental benefits. In return for the scale of investment, they should share their expertise in order to build greater confidence in the sector.Part of the economic recovery of the UK will be driven by the next generation of research commercialisation spilling out of our universities. There are three dozen universities in the UKwhich are actively engaged in advanced research training and commercialisation work.If there was a greater coordination of technology transfer offices within regions and a simultaneous investment in the scale and functions of our graduate schools, universities could, and should, play a key role in positioning the UK for the next growth cycle.2011 年6 月英语六级阅读真题(7) Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they're bad. Yet the consensus among most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small net boost to the economy. Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from farm produce to new homes, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. So why is there such a discrepancy between the perception of immigrants' impact on the economy and the reality?There are a number of familiar theories. Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by an inflow of new workers. Others highlight the strain that undocumented immigrants place on public services, like schools, hospitals, and jails. Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners add to the nation's fears and insecurities. There's some truth to all these explanations, but they aren't quite sufficient.To get a better understanding of what's going on, consider the way immigration's impact is felt. Though its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley, notesthat the ones who profit most directly from immigrants'low-cost labor are businesses and employers – meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, or agricultural businesses in California. Granted, these producers' savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated. Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor. According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9% between 1980-2000.Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worried them most, in other words, was the fiscal (财政的)burden of immigration. That conclusion was reinforced by another finding: that their opposition appeared to soften when that fiscal burden decreased, as occurred with welfare reform in the 1990s, which curbed immigrants' access to certain benefits.The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal. Even for those most acutely affected – say, low-skilled workers, or California residents –the impact isn't all that dramatic. "The unpleasant voices have tended to dominate our perceptions," says Daniel Tichenor, a political science professor at the University of Oregon. "But when all those factors are put together and the economists calculate the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one." Too bad most people don't realize it.(8) Passage TwoPicture a typical MBA lecture theatre twenty years ago. In it the majority of students will have conformed to the standard model of the time: male, middle class and Western. Walk into a class today, however, and you'll get a completely different impression. For a start, you will now see plenty more women – the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, for example, boasts that 40% of its new enrolment is female. You will also see a wide range of ethnic groups and nationals of practically every country.It might be tempting, therefore, to think that the old barriers have been broken down and equal opportunity achieved. But,increasingly, this apparent diversity is becoming a mask for a new type of conformity. Behind the differences in sex, skin tones and mother tongues, there are common attitudes, expectations and ambitions which risk creating a set of clones among the business leaders of the future.Diversity, it seems, has not helped to address fundamental weaknesses in business leadership. So what can be done to create more effective managers of the commercial world? According to Valerie Gauthier, associate dean at HEC Paris, the key lies in the process by which MBA programmes recruit their students. At the moment candidates are selected on a fairly narrow set of criteria such as prior academic and career performance, and analytical and problem solving abilities. This is then coupled to a school's picture of what a diverse class should look like, with the result that passport, ethnic origin and sex can all become influencing factors. But schools rarely dig down to find out what really makes an applicant succeed, to create a class which also contains diversity of attitude and approach – arguably the only diversity that, in a business context, really matters.Professor Gauthier believes schools should not just be selecting candidates from traditional sectors such as banking,consultancy and industry. They should also be seeking individuals who have backgrounds in areas such as political science, the creative arts, history or philosophy, which will allow them to put business decisions into a wider context.Indeed, there does seem to be a demand for the more rounded leaders such diversity might create. A study by Mannaz, a leadership development company, suggests that, while the bully-boy chief executive of old may not have been eradicated completely, there is a definite shift in emphasis towards less tough styles of management – at least in America and Europe. Perhaps most significant, according to Mannaz, is the increasing interest large companies have in more collaborative management models, such as those prevalent in Scandinavia, which seek to integrate the hard and soft aspects of leadership and encourage delegated responsibility and accountability.2010 年12 月英语六级阅读真题(9) Passage OneIn the early 20th century, few things were more appealing than the promise of scientific knowledge. In aworld struggling with rapid industrialization, science and technology seemed to offer solutions to almost every problem. Newly created state colleges and universities devoted themselves almost entirely to scientific, technological, and engineering fields. Many Americans came to believe that scientific certainty could not only solve scientific problems, but also reform politics, government, and business. Two world wars and a Great Depression rocked the confidence of many people that scientific expertise alone could create a prosperous and ordered world. After World War Ⅱ, the academic world turned with new enthusiasm to humanistic studies, which seemed to many scholars the best way to ensure the survival of democracy. American scholars fanned out across much of the world—with support from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright program, etc.—to promote the teaching of literature and the arts in an effort to make the case for democratic freedoms.In the America of our own time, the great educational challenge has become an effort to strengthen the teaching of what is now known as the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math). There isconsiderable and justified concern that the United States is falling behind much of the rest of the developed world in these essential disciplines. India, China, Japan, and other regions seem to be seizing technological leadership.At the same time, perhaps inevitably, the humanities—while still popular in elite colleges and universities—have experienced a significant decline. Humanistic disciplines are seriously underfunded, not just by the government and the foundations but by academic institutions themselves. Humanists are usually among the lowest-paid faculty members at most institutions and are often lightly regarded because they do not generate grant income and because they provide no obvious credentials (资质) for most nonacademic careers.Undoubtedly American education should train more scientists and engineers. Much of the concern among politicians about the state of American universities today is focused on the absence of “real world” education—which means preparation for professional and scientific careers. But the idea that institutions ortheir students must decide between humanities and science is false. Our society could not survive without scientific and technological knowledge. But we would be equally impoverished (贫困的) without humanistic knowledge as well. Science and technology teach us what we can do. Humanistic thinking helps us understand what we should do.It is almost impossible to imagine our society without thinking of the extraordinary achievements of scientists and engineers in building our complicated world. But try to imagine our world as well without the remarkable works that have defined our culture and values. We have always needed, and we still need, both.(10) Passage TwoWill there ever be another Einstein? This is the undercurrent of conversation at Einstein memorial meetings throughout the year. A new Einstein will emerge, scientists say. But it may take a long time. After all, more than 200 years separated Einstein from his nearest rival, Isaac Newton.Many physicists say the next Einstein hasn’t been born yet, or is a baby now. That’s because the quest for a unified theory that would account for all the forces of nature has pushed current mathematics to its limits. New math must be created before the problem can be solved.But researchers say there are many other factors working against another Einstein emerging anytime soon.For one thing, physics is a much different field today. In Einstein’s day, there were only a few thousand physicists worldwide, and the theoreticians who could intellectually rival Einstein probably would fit into a streetcar with seats to spare.Education is different, too. One crucial aspect of Einstein’s training that is overlooked is the years of philosophy he read as a teenager—Kant, Schopenhauer and Spinoza, among others. It taught him how to think independently and abstractly about space and time, and it wasn’t long before he became a philosopher himself.“The independence created by philosophical insight is—in my opinion—the mark of distinction between a mere artisan (工匠) or specialist and a real seeker after。

英语六级考试阅读真题训练2017年英语六级考试阅读真题训练除了课堂上的学习外,平时的积累与练习也是学生提高成绩的重要途径,下面是店铺为大家搜索整理的2017年英语六级考试阅读真题训练，希望能给大家带来帮助!Part Ⅰ WritingDirections:1.【题干】For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to writea short essay on the use of robots. Try to imagine what will happen when more and more robots take the place of human beings in industry as well as people's daily lives. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.【答案】It is held by some people that knowledge is power, especially scientific and technological knowledge. Science and technology are the motive power of the social development, which constitute a primary productive force. The use of robots is the produce of development of science and technology.People’s views on the use of robots vary from person to person. Some hold that human life cannot continue without the use of robots. For many years, human society has developed with the use of science and technology. So the life with the use of robots we are living now is more efficient than that of our fore fathers. They go on to point out that the use of robots has brought about many changes in people‘s life. For example, through the use of robots can improve the work efficiency and avoid dangerous events happening in our life in that we can require robots to do some works with danger instead of human beings.Science and technology of robots are the crystallization of human wisdom. It brought a glorious past to humanity, also will bring bright future to mankind.Part Ⅲ Reading ComprehensionSection ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Pursuing a career is an essential part of adolescent development. "The adolescent becomes an adult when he_____(27)a real job." To cognitive researchers like Piaget, adulthood meant the beginning of an_____(28).Piaget argued that once adolescents enter the world of work, their newly acquired ability to from hypotheses allows them to create representations that are too ideal. The_____(29)of such ideals, without the tempering of the reality of a job or profession, rapidly leads adolescents to become_____(30)of the non-idealistic world and to press for reform in a characteristically adolescent way. Piaget said: "True adaptation to society comes_____(31)when the adolescent reformer attempts to put his ideas to work."Of course, youthful idealism is often courageous, and no one likes to give up dreams. Perhaps, taken_____(32)out of context, Piaget's statement seems harsh. What he was_____(33), however, is the way reality can modify idealistic views. Some people refer to such modification as maturity. Piaget argued that attainingand accepting a vocation is one of the best ways modify idealized views and to mature.As careers and vocations become less available during times of_____(34)，adolescents may be especially hard hit. Such difficult economic times may leave many adolescents _____(35)about their roles in society. For this reason, community interventions and government job programs that offer summer and vacation work are not only economically____(36)but also help to stimulate the adolescent's sense of worth.【选项】A.automatically 自动地;机械地;无意识地B.beneficial 有益的'C.capturing 捕捉D.confused 困惑的E.emphasizing 强调F.entrance 入口G.excited 激动的H.existence 存在I.incidentally 顺便;偶然地J.intolerant 无法忍受的K.occupation 职业;占有L.promises 承诺M.recession 衰退;不景气N.slightly 轻微的O.undertakes 承担;从事27.【题干】_____【答案】O【解析】28.【题干】_____【答案】K【解析】29.【题干】_____【答案】H【解析】30.【题干】_____【答案】J【解析】31.【题干】_____【答案】A【解析】32.【题干】_____【答案】N【解析】33.【题干】_____【答案】E【解析】34.【题干】_____【答案】M【解析】35.【题干】_____【答案】D【解析】36.【题干】_____【答案】B【解析】Section BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You maychoose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Can societies be rich and green?[A]"If our economies are to flourish, if global poverty is to be eliminated and if well-being of the world's people enhanced-not just in this generation but in succeeding generations-we must make sure we take care of the natural environment and resources on which our economic activity depends." That statement comes not, as you might imagine, from a stereotypical tree-hugging, save-the-world greenie(环保主义者), but from Gordon Brown, a politician with a reputation for rigour, thoroughness and above all, caution.[B]A surprising thing for the man who runs one of the world's most powerful economies to say? Perhaps; though in the run-up to the five-year review of the Millennium(千年的)Goals, he is far from alone. The roots of his speech, given in March at the roundtable meeting of environment and energy ministers from the G20 group of nations, stretch back to 1972, and the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm.[C]"The protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue which affects the well-being of peoples and economic development throughtout the world," read the final declaration from this gathering, the first of a sequence which would lead to the Rio de Janerio Earth Summit in 1992 and the World Development Summit in Johannesburg three years ago.[D]Hunt through the reports prepared by UN agencies and development groups-many for conferences such as this year's Millennium Goals review-and you will find that the linkagebetween environmental protection and economic progress is a common thread.[E]Managing ecosystems sustainably is more profitable than exploiting them, according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. But finding hard evidence to support the thesis is not so easy. Thoughts turn first to some sort of global statistic, some indicator which would rate the wealth of nations in both economic and environmental terms and show a relationship between the two.[F]If such an indicator exists, it is well hidden. And on reflection, this is not surprising; the single word "environment" has so many dimensions, and there are so many other factors affecting wealth-such as the oil deposits-that teasing out a simple economy-environment relationship would be almost impossible.[G]The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a vast four-year global study which reported its initial conclusions earlier this year, found reasons to believe that managing ecosystem sustainably-working with nature rather than against it-might be less profitable in the short term, but certainly brings long-term rewards.[H]And the World Resources Institute (WRI) in its World Resources 2005 report, issued at the end of August, produced several such examples from Africa and Asia; it also demonstrated that environmental degradation affects the poor more than the rich, as poorer people derive a much higher proportion of their income directly from the natural resources around them.[I]But there are also many examples of growing wealth by trashing the environment, in rich and poor parts of the world alike, whether through unregulated mineral extraction, drasticwater use for agriculture, slash-and-burn farming, or fossil-fuel-guzzling(大量消耗)transport. Of course, such growth may not persist in the long term-which is what Mr. Brown and the Stockholm declaration were both attempting to point out. Perhaps the best example of boom growth and bust decline is the Grand Bank fishery. For almost five centuries a very large supply of cod(鳕鱼)provided abundant raw material for an industry which at its peak employed about 40000 people, sustaining entire communities in Newfoundland. Then, abruptly, the cod population collapsed. There were no longer enough fish in the sea for the stock to maintain itself, let alone an industry. More than a decade later, there was no sign of the ecosystem rebuilding itself. It had, apparently, been fished out of existence; and the once mighty Newfoundland fleet now gropes about frantically for crab on the sea floor.[J]There is a view that modern humans are inevitably sowing the seeds of a global Grand Banks-style disaster. The idea is that we are taking more out of what you might call the planet's environmental bank balance than it can sustain; we are living beyond our ecological means. One recent study attempted to calculate the extent of this "ecological goods and services-the implication being that at some point the debt will be called in, and all those services-the things which the planet does for us for free-will grind to a halt.[K]Whether this is right, and if so where and when the ecological axe will fell, is hard to determine with any precision-which is why governments and financial institutions are only beginning to bring such risks into their economic calculations. It is also the reason why development agencies are not united in their view of environmental issues; while some, like the WRI,maintain the environmental progress needs to go hand-in-hand with economic development, others argue that the priorty is to build a thriving economy, and then use the wealth created to tackle environmental degradation.[L]This view assumes that rich societies will invest in environmental care. But is this right? Do things get better or worse as we get richer? Here the Stockholm declaration is ambiguous. "In the developing countries," it says, "most of the environmental problems are caused by underdevelopment." So it is saying that economic development should make for a cleaner world? Not necessary; "In the industrialised countries, environmental problems are generally related to industrialisation and technological development," it continues. In other words, poor and rich both over-exploit the natural world, but for different reasons. It's simply not true that economic growth will surely make our world cleaner.[M]Clearly, richer societies are able to provide environmental improvements which lie well beyond the reach of poorer communities. Citizens of wealthy nations demand national parks, clean rivers, clean air and poison-free food. They also, however, use for more natural resources-fuel, water (all those baths and golf courses) and building materials.[N]A case can be made that rich nations export environmental problems, the most graphic example being climate change. As a country's wealth grows, so do its greenhouse gas emissions. The figures available will not be completely accurate. Measuring emissions is not a precise science, particularly when it comes to issues surrounding land use; not all nations have released up-to-date data, and in any case, emissions from some sectors such as aviation are notincluded in national statistics. But the data is exact enough for a clear trend to be easily discernible. As countries become richer, they produce more greenhouse gases; and the impact of those gases will fall primary in poor parts of the world.[O]Wealth is not, of course, the only factor involved. The average Norwegian is better off than the average US citizen, but contributes about half as much to climate change. But could Norway keep its standard of living and yet cut its emissions to Moroccan or even Ethiopian levels? That question, repeated across a dozen environmental issues and across our diverse planet, is what will ultimately determine whether the human race is living beyond its ecological means as it pursues economic revival.【选项】A.AB.BC.CD.DE.EF.FG.GH.HI.IJ.JK.KL.LM.MN.NO.OL37.【题干】Examples show that both rich and poor countriesexploited the environment for economic progress.【答案】I【解析】38.【题干】Environmental protection and improvement benefit people all over the world.【答案】C【解析】39.【题干】It is not necessarily true that economic growth will make our world cleaner.【答案】L【解析】40.【题干】The common theme of the UN reports is the relation between environmental protection and economic growth.【答案】D【解析】41.【题干】Development agencies disagree regarding how to tackle environment issues while ensuring economic progress.【答案】K【解析】42.【题干】It is difficult to find solid evidence to prove environmental friendliness generations more profits than exploiting the natural environment.【答案】E【解析】43.【题干】Sustainable management of ecosystems will prove rewarding in the long run.【答案】G【解析】44.【题干】A politician noted for being cautious asserts thatsustainable human development depends on the natural environment.【答案】A【解析】45.【题干】Poor countries will have to bear the cost for rich nations' economic development.【答案】N【解析】46.【题干】One recent study warns us of the danger of the exhaustion of natural resources on Earth.【答案】J【解析】Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneInteractive television advertising, which allows viewers to use their remote controls to click on advertisements, has been pushed for years. Nearly a decade ago it was predicted that viewers of "Friends", a popular situation comedy, would soon be able to purchase a sweater like Jennifer Aniston's with a few taps on their remote control. "it's been the year of interactive television advertising for the last ten or twelve years," says Collin Dixon of a digital-media consultancy.So the news that Cablevision, an American cable company, was rolling out interactive advertisements to all its customers on October 6th was greeted with some skepticism. Duringcommercials, an overlay will appear at the bottom of the screen, prompting viewers to press a button to request a free sample or order a catalogue. Cablevision hopes to allow customers to buy things with their remote controls early next year.Television advertising could do with a boost. Spending fell by 10% in the first half of the year. The popularization of digital video recorders has caused advertisers to worry that their commercials will be skipped. Some are turning to the Internet, which is cheaper and offers concrete measurements like click-through rates-especially important at a time when marketing budgets are tight. With the launch of interactive advertising, "many of the dollars that went to the Internet will come back to the TV," says David Kline of Cablevision. Or so the industry hopes.In theory, interactive advertising can engage viewers in a way that 30-second spot or not. Unilever recently ran an interactive campaign for its Axe deodorant(除臭剂), which kept viewers engaged for more than three minutes on average.The amount spent on interactive advertising on television is still small. Magna, an advertising agency, reckons it will be worth about $138 million this year. That falls far short of the billions of dollars people once expected it to generate. But DirecTV, Comcast and Time Warner Cable have all invested in it. A new effort led by Canoe Ventures, a coalition of leading cable providers, aims to make interactive advertising available across America later this year. BrightLine iTV, which designs and sells interactive ads, says interest has argued: it expects its revenues almost to triple this year. BSkyB, Britain's biggest satellite-television service, already provides 9 million customers with interactive ads.Yet there are doubts whether people watching television, a"lean back" medium, crave interaction. Click-through rates have been high so far (around3-4%, compared with less than 0.3% online), but that may be a result of the novelty. Interactive ads and viewers might not go well together.47.【题干】What does Colin Dixon mean by saying "It's been the year of interactive television advertising for the last ten or twelve years" (Line 4-5, Para.1)?【选项】A.Interactive television advertising will become popular in 10-12 years.B.Interactive television advertising has been under debate for the last decade or so.C.Interactive television advertising is successful when incorporated into situation comedies.D.Interactive television advertising has not achieved the anticipated results.【答案】C【解析】第一段Nearly a decade ago it was predicted that viewers of "Friends", a popular situation comedy, would soon be able to purchase a sweater like Jennifer Aniston's with a few taps on their remote control. "it's been the year of interactive television advertising for the last ten or twelve years," says Collin Dixon of a digital-media consultancy.48.【题干】What is the public's response to Cablevision's planned interactive TV advertising program?【选项】A.Pretty positive.B.Totally indifferent.C.Somewhat doubtful.D.Rather critical.【解析】第二段第一句So the news that Cablevision, an American cable company, was rolling out interactive advertisements to all its customers on October 6th was greeted with some skepticism.49.【题干】What is the impact of the wide use of digital video recorders on TV advertising?【选项】A.It has made TV advertising easily accessible to viewers.B.It helps advertisers to measure the click-through rates.C.It has placed TV advertising at a great disadvantage.D.It enables viewers to check the sales items with ease.【答案】C【解析】四五两段50.【题干】What do we learn about Unilever's interactive campaign?【选项】A.It proves the advantage of TV advertising.B.It has done well in engaging the viewers.C.It helps attract investments in the company.D.It has boosted the TV advertising industry.【答案】B【解析】第四段，观看广告的观众更多且增加了时长。

1993年1月大学英语六级阅读理解真题及答案Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.Protests at the use of animals in research have taken a new and fearful character in Britain with the attempted murder of two British scientists by the terrorist technique of the pre-planted car-bomb.The research community will rightly be alarmed at these developments, which have two objectives: to arouse public attention and to frighten people working in research with animals. The first need is that everything should be done to identify those responsible for the crimes and to put them on trail. The Defence Research Society has taken the practical step of offering a reward of 10,000 pounds for information leading to those responsible, but past experience is not encouraging. People are unlikely to be tempted by such offers. The professional police will similarly be confronted by the usual problem of finding a needle in a haystack.That is why the intellectual (知识分子) community in Britain and elsewhere must act more vigorously in its own defence. There are several steps that can be taken, of which the chief one is to demand of all the organizations that exist with the declared objectives of safeguarding the interests of animals that they should declare clearly where they stand on violence towards people. And it will not be enough for the chairmen and chairwomen of these organizations to utter placatory (安抚的) statements on behalf of all their members. These people should also undertake that it will be a test of continuing membership in their organizations that members and would be members should declare that they will take no part in acts of violence against human beings. Even such undertakings would not be fully effective: people, after all, can lie. But at least they would distinguish the organizations entitled to a continuing voice in the dialogue with the research community about the rights of animals in research from the organizations that deserve no say.21. The words “these developments” (Para. 2, Line 1) most probably refer to ________.A) the acts of violence against scientistsB) the use of animals in researchC) the techniques of planting bombs in carsD) the establishment of new animal protection organization22. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?A) The police abandoned their efforts to find the criminals.B) The terrorists escaped with the help of their organizations.C) The attempted murder caused grave anxiety among British scientists.D) People sympathized murder caused grave anxiety among British scientists.23. The author’s purpose in writing his article is to demand that animal-protecting organizations ________.A) declare their objectives clearlyB) give up the use of violenceC) continue the dialogue with the scientific communityD) help to find those responsible for the attempted murder24. In the author’s opinion ________.A) since people can lie, the prob lem about their rights of scientists can’t be solvedB) animal-protecting organizations about be held responsible for acts of violence against scientistsC) animal protection organizations should be declared illegalD) the scientists should take effective measures to protect themselves25. What does the word “they” (Para. 3, Line 3) refer to?A) The animal-protecting organizations.B) The organizations that will talk with the research community.C) Those who support the use of animals in research.D) Those who support the animal-protection organizations.Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.The earlier type of suburb, which was most dependent on the railroad, had a special advantage that could be fully appreciated only after it had disappeared. These suburbs, spread out along a railroad line, were discontinuous and properly spaced; and without the aid of legislation (法规) they were limited in population as well as area; for the biggest rarely held as many as ten thousand people, and under five thousand was more usual. In 1950, for example, Bronxville, New York, a typical upper-class suburb, had 6,778 people, while Riverside, Illinois, founded as early as 1869, had only 9.153.The size and scale of the suburb, that of neighborhood unit, was not entirely the result of its open planning, which favored low densities. Being served by a railroad line, with station stops from three to five miles apart, there was a natural limit to the spread of any particular community. House h ad to be sited “within easy walking distance of the railroad station,” as some old residents would point out; and only those wealthy enough to afford a horse and a carriage dared to penetrate farther into the open country.Through its spaced station stops, the railroad suburb was at first kept from spreading or excessively increasing in numbers, for a natural greenbelt, often still under cultivation as park, gardens, remained between the suburbs and increased the available recreation area. Occasionally, in a few happy areas like Westchester, between 1915 and 1935 a parkway, like the Bronx River parkway, accompanied by continuous strip of park for pedestrian (散步的人) use, not yet overrun by a constant stream of urban traffic, added to the perfection of the whole suburban pattern. Whatever one might say of the social disadvantages this was in many ways a perfect physical environment. But it lasted less than a generation.26. What was the special advantage of the old type of suburb?A) Its nearness to the railroad.B) The vastness of its open space.C) Its small size in area and population.D) The high social status of its residents.27. The size of the old suburb was limited because ________.A) people wanted to live near a railroad stationB) it was originally planned by railroad companiesC) there was a law governing the size of the suburbD) local inhabitants didn’t like to out in the country28. “Happy areas” (Para. 3, Line 3) were areas where ________.A) life was enjoyed by everyoneB) more roads were built to bypass the heavy trafficC) a greenbelt was available solely for recreationD) people could have lots of fun29. It is evident that the writer ________.A) finds urban life uncomfortableB) prefers life in the countrysideC) feels disappointed in the changes of suburbsD) advocates the idea of returning to nature30. The topic discussed in the passage is “________”.A) the size and scale of suburban neighborhood unitsB) the advantage of old-type suburbsC) the location of railroad stationsD) the concept of the suburban patternQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.Recent stories in the newspapers and magazines suggest that teaching and research contradict each other, that research plays too prominent a part in academic promotions, and that teaching is badly underemphasized. There is an element of truth in these statements, but they also ignore deeper and more important relationships.Research experience is an essential element of hiring and promotion at a research university because it is the emphasis on research that distinguishes such a university from an arts college. Some professors, however, neglect teaching for research and that presents a problem.Most research universities reward outstanding teaching, but the greatest recognition is usually given for achievements in research. Part of the reason is the difficulty of judging teaching. A highly responsible and tough professor is usually appreciated by top students who want to be challenged, but disliked by those whose records are less impressive. The mild professor gets overall ratings that are usually high, but there is a sense of disappointment in the part of the best students, exactly those for whom the system should present the greatest challenges. Thus, a university trying to promote professors primarily on the teaching qualities would have to confront this confusion.As modern science moves faster, two forces are exerted on professor: one is the time needed to keep on with the profession; the other is the time needed to teach. The training of new scientists requires outstanding teaching at the research university as well as the arts college. Although scientists are usually “made” in the elementary schools, scientists can be “lost” by poor teaching at the college and graduate school levels. The solution is not to separate teaching and research, but to recognize that the combination is difficult but vital. The title of professor should be given only to those who profess, and it is perhaps time for universities to reserve it for those willing to be an earnest part of the community of scholars. Professor unwilling to teach can be called “distinguished research investigators” or something else.The pace of modern science makes it increasingly difficult to be a great researcher and agreat teacher. Yet many are described in just those terms. Those who say we can separate teaching and research simply do not understand the system but those who say the problem will disappear are not fulfilling their responsibilities.31. What idea does the author want to convey in the first paragraph?A) It is wrong to overestimate the importance of teaching.B) Teaching and research are contradictory to each other.C) Research can never be emphasized too much.D) The relationship between teaching and research should not be simplified.32. In academic promotions research universities still attach more importance to research partly because ________.A) research improves the quality of teachingB) students who want to be challenged appreciate research professorsC) it is difficult to evaluate teaching quality objectivelyD) professor with achievements in research are usually responsible and tough33. According to the fourth paragraph, which of the following will the author probably agree with?A) Distinguished professors at research universities should concentrate on research only.B) The separation of teaching from research can lower the quality of future scientists.C) It is of utmost importance to improve teaching in elementary schools in order to train new scientists.D) The rapid developments of modern science make it impossible to combine teaching with research.34. The title of professor should be given only to those who, first and foremost, do ________.A) teachingB) field workC) scientific researchD) investigation35. The phrase “the problem” (Para. 5, Line 3) refers to ________.A) raising the status of teachingB) the combination of teaching with researchC) the separations of teaching from researchD) improving the status of researchQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happened to be that put upon member of society-a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and th e like, the more I’m convinced that things are being run solely to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a new motto (座右铭) for the so-called ‘service’ organization-Staff Before Service. How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there aren’t enough staff on duty at all the service counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to increase counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that bringing all their cash registers into operation at any time would increase expenses. And thePost Office says we cannot expect all their service counters to be occupied ‘at times when demand is low’.It’s the same with hotels. Becau se waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is diminished. As for us guests (and how the meaning of that word has been cut away little by little), we just have to put up with it. There’s also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been gradually with drawn from service in the interests of ‘efficiency’ (i.e. profits) and replaced by coin-eating machines which supply everything from beer to medicine, not to mention the creeping threat of the tea-making set in your room: a kettle with teabags, milk bags sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I don’t, especially when I am paying for ‘service’.Our only hope is to hammer our irritation whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, restore that other, older saying-Take Our Custom (买卖) Elsewhere.36. The author feels that nowadays customers are ________.A) not worthy of special treatmentB) not provided with proper serviceC) considered to be inferior members of societyD) regarded as privileged37. In the author’s opinion, the quality of service is changing because ________.A) the staff are less considerate than employersB) customers are becoming more demandingC) customers unwilling to pay extra moneyD) more consideration is given to the staff than customers38. According to the author, long queues at counters are caused by ________.A) the diminishing supply of good staffB) lack of cooperation among staffC) inefficient staffD) deliberate understaffing39. The disappearance of old-style hotel porters can be attributed to the fact that ________.A) self-service provides a cheaper alternativeB) the personal touch is less appreciated nowadaysC) machines are more reliable than human beingsD) few people are willing to do this type of work40. The author’s final solution to the problem discussed in the passage is ________.A) to put up with whatever service is providedB) to make strong complaints wherever necessaryC) to fully utilize all kinds of coin-eating machinesD) to go where good service is available21. A 22. C 23. B 24. D 25. A26. B 27. A 28. C 29. C 30. B31. D 32. C 33. B 34. A 35. C36. B 37. D 38. D 39. A 40. D1993年6月大学英语六级阅读理解真题及答案Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.“There is a senseless notion that children grow up and leave home when they’re 18, and the truth is far from that,” says sociologist Larry Bumpass of the University of Wisconsin. Toda y, unexpected numbers of young adults are living with their parents, “There is a major shift in the middle class,” declares sociologist Allan Schnaiberg of Northwester University, whose son, 19, moved back in after an absence of eight months.Analysts cite a variety of reasons for this return to the nest. The marriage age is rising, a condition that makes home and its pleasantness particularly attractive to young people. A high divorce rate and a declining remarriage rate are sending economically pressed and emotionally hurt survivors back to parental shelters. For some, the expense of an away-from-home college education has become so excessively great that many students now attend local schools. Even after graduation, young people find their wings clipped by skyrocketing housing costs.Living at home, says Knighton, a school teacher, continues to give her security and moral support. Her mother agreed, “It’s ridiculous for the kids to pay all that money for rent. It makes sense for kids to stay at home.” But sharing the family home requires adjustments for all. There are the hassles over bathrooms, telephones and privacy (不受干扰的生活). Some families, however, manage the delicate balancing act. But for others, it proves too difficult. Michelle Del Turco, 24, has been home three times-and left three times. “What I considered a social drink, my dad considered an alcohol problem,” she explains. “He never liked anyone I dated (约会), so I either had to hide away or meet them at friends’ house.”Just how long should adult children live with their parents before moving on? Most psychologists feel lengthy homecomings are a mistake. Children, struggling to establish separate identities, can end up with “a sense of inadequacy, defeat and failure.” And aging parents, who should be enjoying some financial and personal freedom, find themselves stuck with responsibilities. Many agree that brief visits, however, can work beneficially.21. According to the author, there was once a trend in the U.S. ________.A) for young adults to leave their parents and live independentlyB) for middle class young adults to stay with their parentsC) for married young adults to move back home after a lengthy absenceD) for young adults to get jobs nearby in order to live with their parents22. Which of the following does not account for young adults returning to the nest?A) Young adults find housing costs too high.B) Young adults are psychologically and intellectually immature.C) Young adults seek parental comfort and moral support.D) Quite a number of young adults attend local schools.23. One of the disadvantages of young adults returning to stay with their parents is that ________.A) there will inevitably be inconveniences in every day lifeB) most parents find it difficult to keepC) the young adults tend to be overprotected by their parentsD) public opinion is against young adults staying with their parents24. The word “hassles” in the passage (Line 3, Para. 3) probably means ________.A) agreementsB) worriesC) disadvantagesD) quarrels25. According to the passage what is the best for both parents and children?A) They should adjust themselves to sharing the family expenses.B) Children should leave their parents when they are grown-up.C) Adult children should visit their parents from time to time.D) Parents should support their adult children when they are in trouble.Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.The word conservation has a thrifty (节俭) meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials; most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless” and “inexhaustible”. Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others.Fifty years ago nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; timber was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long-terms climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word “conservation” had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today.For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about repairing the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation s hould, therefore, be made a part of everyone’s daily life. To know about the water table (水位) in the ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic arithmetic formulas. We need to know why all watersheds (上游源头森林地带集水区) need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to yield their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, mature trees, because living space for most of man’s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic volume above the earth. In brief, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.26. The author’s attitude towards the current situation in the exploitation of natural resources is ________.A) positiveB) neutralC) suspiciousD) critical27. According to the author, the greatest mistake of our forefathers was that ________.A) they had no idea about scientific forestryB) they had little or no sense of environmental protectionC) they were not aware of the significance of nature studyD) they had no idea of how to make good use of raw materials28. It can be inferred from the third paragraph that earlier generations didn’t realize ________.A) the interdependence of water, soil, and living thingsB) the importance of the proper use of landC) the harmfulness of soil destruction and river floodsD) the value of the beauty of nature29. To avoid correcting the mistake of our forefathers, the author suggests that ________.A) we plant more treesB) natural science be taught to everybodyC) environmental education be directed toward everyoneD) we return to nature30. What does the author imply by saying “living space... is figured... also in cubic volume abov e the earth” (Lines 7-8, Para. 3)?A) Our living space on the earth is getting smaller and smaller.B) Our living space should be measured in cubic volume.C) We need to take some measure to protect space.D) We must preserve good living conditions for both birds and animals.Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.Judging from recent surveys, most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic (流行病) of sleepiness in the nation. “I can’t think of a single study that hasn’t found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to,” says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with more rest.The beginning of our sleep-deficit (睡眠不足) crisis can be traced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries and other personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night. “The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was dark.” By the 1950s and 1960s, the sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours, and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. “People cheat on their sleep, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it,” says Dr. David. “They think they’re okay because they can get by on 6.5 hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideally vigorous.”Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researchers say is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on his programme. “In our society, you’re considered dynamic if you say you onl y need 5.5 hours’ sleep. If you’re got to get 8.5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition.”To determine the consequences of sleep deficit, researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performance tests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall a passage read to them only minutes earlier. “We’ve found that if you’re in sleep deficit, performance suffers,” says Dr. David. “Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrat e.”31. People in the 18th and 19th centuries used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night because they had ________.A) no drive and ambitionB) no electric lightingC) the best sleep habitsD) nothing to do in the evening32. According to Dr. David, Americans ________.A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressure of lifeB) often neglect the consequences of sleep deficitC) do not know how to relax themselves properlyD) can get by on 6.5 hours of sleep33. Many Americans believe that ________.A) sleep is the first thing that can be sacrificed when one is busyB) they need more sleep to cope with the complexities of everyday lifeC) to sleep is something one can do at any time of the dayD) enough sleep promotes people’s drive and ambition34. The word “subjects” (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to ________.A) the performance tests used in the study of sleep deficitB) special branches of knowledge that are being studiedC) people whose behavior or reactions are being studiedD) the psychological consequences of sleep deficit35. It can be concluded from the passage that one should sleep as many hours as is necessary to ________.A) improve one’s memory dramaticallyB) be considered dynamic by other peopleC) maintain one’s daily scheduleD) feel energetic and perform adequatelyQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.The concept of personal choice in relation to health behaviors is an important one. An estimated 90 percent of all illness may be preventable if individuals would make sound personal health choices based upon current medical knowledge. We all enjoy our freedom of choice and do not like to see it restricted when it is within the legal and moral boundaries of society. The structure of American society allows us to make almost all our own personal decisions that may concern our health. If we so desire, we can smoke, drink excessively, refuse to wear seat belts, eat whatever food we want, and live a completely sedentary life-style without any exercise. The freedom to make such personal decisions is a fundamental aspect of our society, although the wisdom of these decisions can be questioned. Personal choices relative to health often cause adifficulty. As one example, a teenager may know the facts relative to smoking cigarettes and health but may be pressured by friends into believing it is the socially accepted thing to do.A multitude of factors, both inherited and environmental, influence the development of health-related behaviors, and it is beyond the scope of this text to discuss all these factors as they may affect any given individual. However, the decision to adopt a particular health-related behavior is usually one of personal choice. There are healthy choices and there are unhealthy choices. In discussing the morals of personal choice, Fries and Crapo drew a comparison. They suggest that to knowingly give oneself over to a behavior that has a statistical probability of shortening life is similar to attempting suicide. Thus, for those individuals who are interested in preserving both the quality and quantity of life, personal health choices should reflect those behaviors that are associated with a statistical probability of increased vitality and longevity.36. The concept of personal choice concerning health is important because ________.A) personal health choices help cure most illnessB) it helps raise the level of our medical knowledgeC) it is essential to personal freedom in American societyD) wrong decisions could lead to poor health37. To “live a completely sedentary life-style” (Line 7, Para. 1) in the passage means ________.A) to “live an inactive life”B) to “live a decent life”C) to “live a life with complete freedom”D) to “live a life of vice”38. Sound personal health choice is often difficult to make because ________.A) current medical knowledge is still insufficientB) there are many factors influencing our decisionsC) few people are willing to trade the quality of lifeD) people are usually influenced by the behavior of their friends39. To knowingly allow oneself to purse unhealthy habits is compared by Fried and Crapo to ________.A) improving the quality of one’s lifeB) limiting on e’s personal health choiceC) deliberately ending one’s lifeD) breaking the rules of social behavior40. According to Fries and Crapo sound health choices should be based on ________.A) personal decisionsB) society’s lawsC) statistical evidenceD) friends’ opinions21. A 22. B 23. A 24. D 25. C26. D 27. B 28. A 29. C 30. D31. B 32. B 33. A 34. C 35. D。

2018年12月大学英语六级考试真题（第1套）Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on how to balance work and leisure. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words._______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections:In this section, you will hear two long conversations At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. A) It can benefit professionals and non-professionals alike.B) It lists the various challenges physicists are confronting.C) It describes how some mysteries of physics were solved.D) It is one of the most fascinating physics books ever written.2. A) Physicists’ contribution to humanity.B) Stories about some female physicists.C) Historical evolution of modern physics.D) Women’s changing attitudes to physics.3. A) By exposing a lot of myths in physics.B) By describing her own life experiences.C) By including lots of fascinating knowledge.D) By telling anecdotes about famous professors.4. A) It avoids detailing abstract concepts of physics.B) It contains a lot of thought-provoking questions.C) It demonstrates how they can become physicists.D) It provides experiments they can do themselves.Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) He is too busy to finish his assignment in time.B) He does not know what kind of topic to write on.C) He does not understand the professor’s instructions.D) He has no idea how to proceed with his dissertation.6. A) It is too broad. B) It is a bit outdated.C) It is challenging. D) It is interesting.7. A) Biography. B) Nature. C) Philosophy. D) Beauty.8. A) Improve his cumulative grade. B) Develop his reading ability.C) Stick to the topic assigned. D) List the parameters first.Section BDirections:In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three orletter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.9. A) The unprecedented high temperature in Greenland.B) The collapse of ice on the northern tip of Greenland.C) The unusual cold spell in the Arctic area in October.D) The rapid change of Arctic temperature within a day.10. A) It has created a totally new climate pattern.B) It will pose a serious threat to many species.C) It typically appears about once every ten years.D) It has puzzled the climate scientists for decades.11. A) Extinction of Arctic wildlife.B) Iceless summers in the Arctic.C) Emigration of indigenous people.D) Better understanding of ecosystems.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.12. A) A good start.B) A detailed plan.C) A strong determination.D) A scientific approach.13. A) Most people get energized after a sufficient rest.B) Most people tend to have a finite source of energy.C) It is vital to take breaks between demanding mental tasks.D) It is most important to have confidence in one’s willpower.14. A) They could keep on working longer.B) They could do more challenging tasks.C) They found it easier to focus on work at hand.D) They held more positive attitudes toward life.15. A) They are part of their nature.B) They are subject to change.C) They are related to culture.D) They are beyond control.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four questions. The recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.16. A) About half of current jobs might be automated.B) The jobs of doctors and lawyers would be threatened.C) The job market is becoming somewhat unpredictable.D) Machine learning would prove disruptive by 2013.17. A) They are widely applicable for massive open online courses.B) They are now being used by numerous high school teachers.C) They could read as many as 10,000 essays in a single minute.D) They could grade high-school essays just like human teachers.C) It has to rely on huge amounts of previous data.D) It is slow when it comes to tracking novel things.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.19. A) The engineering problems with solar power.B) The generation of steam with the latest technology.C) The importance of exploring new energy sources.D) The theoretical aspects of sustainable energy.20. A) Drive trains with solar energy.B) Upgrade the city’s train facilities.C) Build a new ten-kilometre railway line.D) Cut down the city’s energy consumption.21. A) Build a thank for keeping calcium oxide.B) Find a new material for storing energy.C) Recover super-heated steam.D) Collect carbon dioxide gas.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.22. A) The lack of supervision by both the national and local governments.B) The impact of the current economic crisis at home and abroad.C) The poor management of day centres and home help services.D) The poor relation between national health and social care services.23. A) It was mainly provided by voluntary services.B) It mainly caters to the needs of the privileged.C) It called for a sufficient number of volunteers.D) It has deteriorated over the past sixty years.24. A) Their longer lifespans.B) Fewer home helpers available.C) Their preference for private services.D) More of them suffering serious illnesses.25. A) They are unable to pay for health services.B) They have long been discriminated against.C) They are vulnerable to illnesses and diseases.D) They have contributed a great deal to society.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes) Section ADirections:In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.Just off the coast of Southern California sits Santa Cruz Island, where a magical creature called the island fox 26 . A decade ago, this island’s ecosystem was in 27 . Wild pigs attracted golden eagles from the mainland, and those flying 28 crashed the fox population. So the Nature Conservancythe fastest-ever recovery of a mammal, joining peers like the Louisiana black bear as glowing successes in the history of the Endangered Species Act.But the recovery of Santa Cruz Island isn’t just about the fox. The Nature Conservancy has 30 war on a multitude of invasive species here, from sheep to plants to the 31 Argentine ant. “Our philosophy with the island has always been, ‘OK, 32 the threats and let the island go back to what it was,’” says ecologist Christina Boser. And it appears to be working. Native plants are coming back, and the fox once again bounds about carefree.But keeping those foxes from harm will occupy Boser and her colleagues for years to come. You see, humans are still allowed on Santa Cruz Island, and they bring dogs. So Boser has to vaccinate her foxes against various diseases. “We’re obligated to keep a pulse on the population for at least five years after the foxes are delisted,” says Boser. That includes tagging the foxes and 33 their numbers to ensure nothing goes wrong.This is the story of the little fox that has come back, and the people who have 34 their lives to protecting it. This is the story of wildlife conservation in the age of mass 35 .Section BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Do Parents Invade Children’s Privacy When They Post Photos Online?[A] When Katlyn Burbidge’s son was 6 years old, he was performing some ridiculous song and dance typical of a first-grader. But after she snapped a photo and started using her phone, he asked her a serious question:“Are you going to post that online?” She laughed and answered, “Yes, I think I will.” What he said next stopped her. “Can you not?”[B] That’s when it dawned on her: She had been posting photos of him online without asking his permission. “We’re big advocates of bodily autonomy and not forcing him t o hug or kiss people unless he wants to, but it never occurred to me that I should ask his permission to post photos of him online,” says Burbidge, a mom of two in Wakefield, Massachusetts. “Now when I post a photo of him online, I show him the photo and g et his okay.”[C] When her 8-month-old is 3 or 4 years old, she plans to start asking him in an age-appropriate way, “Do you want other people to see this?” That’s precisely the approach that two researchers advocated before a room of pediatricians (儿科医生) last week at the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting, when they discussed the 21st century challenge of “sharenting,” a new term for parents’ online sharing about their children. “As advocates of children’s rights, we believe that children should have a voice about what information is shared about them if possible,” says Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at thedigitally “kidnapped”, or that their photos don’t end up on a half dozen child pornography (色情) sites, as one Australian mom discovered, parents and pediatricians are increasingly aware of the importance of protecting children’s digital presence. Steinberg and Bahareh Keith, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine, say most children will likely never experience problems related to what their parents share, but a tension still exists between parents’ rights to share their experiences and their children’s rights to privacy.[E] “We’re in no way trying to silence parents’ voices,” Steinberg says. “At the same time, we recognize that children might have an interest in entering adulthood free to create their own digital footprint.” They cited a study presented earlier this year of 249 pairs of parents and their children in which twice as many children as parents wanted rules on what parents could share. “The parents said, ‘We don’t need rules—we’re fine,’ and the children said, ‘Our parents need rules,’” Keith says. “The children wanted autonomy about this issue and were worried about their parents sharing information about them.”[F] Although the American Academy of Pediatrics offers guidelines recommending that parents model appropriate social media use for their children, it does not explicitly discuss oversharing by parents. “I think this is a very legitimate concern, and I appreciate their drawing our attention to it,” David Hill, a fat her of five, says. He sees a role for pediatricians to talk with parents about this, but believes the messaging must extend far beyond pediatricians’ offices. “I look forward to seeing researchers expand our understanding of the issue so we can translate i t into effective education and policy,” he says.[G] There’s been little research on the topic, Steinberg wrote in a law article about this issue. While states could pass laws related to sharing information about children online, Steinberg feels parentsth emselves are generally best suited to make these decisions for their families. “While we didn’t want to create any unnecessary panic, we did find some concerns that were troublesome, and we thought that parents or at least physicians should be aware of tho se potential risks,” Steinberg says. They include photos repurposed for inappropriate or illegal means, identity theft, embarrassment, bullying by peers or digital kidnapping.[H] But that’s the negative side, with risks that must be balanced against the b enefits of sharing. Steinberg pointed out that parental sharing on social media helps build communities, connect spread-out families, provide support and raise awareness around important social issues for which parents might be their children’s only voice.[I] A C.S. Mott survey found among the 56 percent of mothers and 34 percent of fathers who discussed parenting on social media, 72 percent of them said sharing made them feel less alone, and nearly as many said sharing helped them worry less and gave them advice from other parents. The most common topics they discussed included kids’ sleep, nutrition, discipline, behavior problems and day care and preschool.[J] “There’s this peer-to-peer nature of health care these days with a profound opportunity for parents to learn helpful tips, safety and prevention efforts, pro-vaccine messages and all kinds of other messages from other parents in their social communities,” says Wendy Sue Swanson, a pediatrician and executive director of digital health at Seattle Chil dren’s Hospital, where she blogs about her own parenting journey to help other parents. “They’re getting nurtured by people they’ve already selected that they trust,” she says.[K] “How do we weigh the risks, how do we think about the benefits, and how do we alleviate the risks?” she says. “Those are the questions we need to ask ourselves, and everyone can have a different answer.”[L] Some parents find the best route for them is not to share at all. Bridget O’Hanlon and her husband, who live in Cleveland, decided before their daughter was born that they would not post her photos online. When a few family members did post pictures, O’Hanlon and her husband made their wishes clear. “It’s been hard not to share pictures of her because people always want to know how babies and toddlers (学走路O’Hanlon said. Similarly, Alison Jamison of New York decided with her husband that their child had a right to their own online identity. They did use an invitation-only photo sharing platform so that friends and family, including those far away, could see the photos, but they stood firm, simply refusing to put their child’s photos on other social media platforms.[M] “For most families, it’s a journey. Sometimes it goes wrong, but most of the time it doesn’t,” says Swanson, who recommends starting to ask children permission to post narratives or photos around ages 6 to 8. “We’ll learn more and more what our tolerance is. We can ask our kids to help us learn as a society what’s okay and what’s not.”[N] Indeed, that learning process goes both ways. Bria Dunham, a mother in Somerville, Massachusetts, was so excited to watch a moment of brotherly bonding while her first-grader and baby took a bath together that she snapped a few photos. But when she considered posting them online, she took the perspective of her son: How would he feel if his classmates’ parents saw photos of him chest-up in the bathtub? “It made me think about how I’m teaching him to have ownership of his own body and how what is shared today endures into the future,” Dunham says. “So I kept the pictures to myself and accepted this as one more step in supporting his increasing autonomy.”36. Steinberg argued parental sharing online can be beneficial.37. According to an expert, when children reach school age, they can help their parents learn what canand cannot be done.38. One mother refrained from posting her son’s photos online when she considered the matter from herson’s perspective.39. According to a study, more children than parents think there should be rules on parents’ sharing.40. Katlyn Burbidge had never realized she had to ask her son’s approval to put his photos online.41. A mother decided not to post her son’s photo online when he asked her not to.42. A woman pediatrician tries to help other parents by sharing her own parenting experience.43. There are people who decide simply not to share their children’s photos online.44. Parents and physicians should realize sharing information online about children may involve risks.45. Parents who share their parenting experiences may find themselves intruding into their children’s privacy.Section CDirections: T here are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some question or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C)and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Perhaps it is time for farmers to put their feet up now that robots are used to inspect crops, dig up weeds, and even have become shepherds, too. Commercial growing fields are astronomically huge and take thousands of man-hours to operate. One prime example is one of Australia’s most isolated cattle stations, Suplejack Downs in the Northern Territory, extending across 4,000 square kilometers, taking over 13 hours to reach by car from the nearest major town—Alice Springs.The extreme isolation of these massive farms leaves them often unattended, and monitored only once or twice a year, which means if the livestock falls ill or requires assistance, it can be a long time for farmers to discover.However, robots are coming to the rescue.Robots are currently under a two-year trial in Wales which will train “farmbots” to herd, monitor the health of livestock, and make sure there is enough pasture for them to graze on. The robots are equipped“You’ve also got color, texture and shape sensors looking down at the ground to check pasture quality,”says Salah Sukkarieh of the University of Sydney, who will carry out trials on several farms in central New South Wales.During the trials, the robot algorithms (算法) and mechanics will be fine-tuned to make it better suited to ailing livestock and ensure it safely navigates around potential hazards including trees, mud, swamps, and hills.“We want to improve the quality of animal health and make it easier for farmers to maintain large landscapes where animals roam free,” says Sukkarieh.The robots are not limited to herding and monitoring livestock. They have been created to count individual fruit, inspect crops, and even pull weeds.Many robots are equipped with high-tech sensors and complex learning algorithms to avoid injuring humans as they work side by side. The robots also learn the most efficient and safest passages, and allow engineers and farmers to analyze and better optimize the attributes and tasks of the robot, as well as provide a live stream giving real-time feedback on exactly what is happening on the farms.Of course, some worry lies in replacing agricultural workers. However, it is farmers that are pushing for the advancements due to ever-increasing labor vacancies, making it difficult to maintain large-scale operations.The robots have provided major benefits to farmers in various ways, from hunting and pulling weeds to monitoring the condition of every single fruit. Future farms will likely experience a greater deal of autonomy as robots take up more and more farm work efficiently.46. What may farmers be able to do with robots appearing on the farming scene?A)Upgrade farm produceB) Enjoy more leisure hours.C) Modify the genes of crops.D) Cut down farming costs.47. What will “farmbots” be expected to do?A)Take up many of the farmers’ routines.B)Provide medical treatments for livestock.C)Lead the trend in farming the world over.D)Improve the quality of pastures for grazing.48. What can robots do when equipped with high-tech sensors and complex learning algorithms?A)Help farmers choose the most efficient and safest passages.B)Help farmers simplify their farming tasks and management.C)Allow farmers to learn instantly what is occurring on the farm.D)Allow farmers to give them real-time instructions on what to do.49. Why are farmers pressing for robotic farming?A)Farming costs are fast increasing.B)Robotics technology is maturing.C)Robotic farming is the trend.D)Labor short is worsening50. What does the author think future farms will be like?A)More and more automated.B)More and more productive.C)Larger and larger in scale.D)Better and better in condition.The public must be able to understand the basics of science to make informed decisions. Perhaps the most dramatic example of the negative consequences of poor communication between scientists and the public is the issue of climate change, where a variety of factors, not the least of which is a breakdown in the transmission of fundamental climate data to the general public, has contributed to widespread mistrust and misunderstanding of scientists and their research.The issue of climate change also illustrates how the public acceptance and understanding of science (or the lack of it) can influence governmental decision-making with regard to regulation, science policy and research funding.However, the importance of effective communication with a general audience is not limited to hot issues like climate change. It is also critical for socially charged neuroscience issues such as the genetic basis for a particular behavior, the therapeutic potential of stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, or the use of animal models, areas where the public understanding of science can also influence policy and funding decisions. Furthermore, with continuing advances in individual genome (基因组) sequencing andthe advent of personalized medicine, more non-scientists will need to be comfortable analyzing complex scientific information to make decisions that directly affect their quality of life.Science journalism is the main channel for the popularization of scientific information among the public. Much has been written about how the relationship between scientists and the media can shape the efficient transmission of scientific advances to the public. Good science journalists are specialists in making complex topics accessible to a general audience, while adhering to scientific accuracy.Unfortunately, pieces of science journalism can also oversimplify and generalize their subject material to the point that the basic information conveyed is obscured or at worst, obviously wrong. The impact of a basic discovery on human health can be exaggerated so that the public thinks a miraculous cure is a few months to years away when in reality the significance of the study is far more limited.Even though scientists play a part in transmitting information to journalists and ultimately the public, too often the blame for ineffective communication is placed on the side of the journalists. We believe that at least part of the problem lies in places other than the interaction between scientists and members of the media, and exists because for one thing we underestimate how difficult it is for scientists to communicate effectively with a diversity of audiences, and for another most scientists do not receive formal training in science communication.51. What does the example of climate change serve to show?A)The importance of climate data is increasingly recognized.B)Adequate government funding is vital to scientific research.C)Government regulation helps the public understand science.D)Common folks’ scientific knowledge can sway policy making.52. What should non-scientists do to ensure their quality of life?A)Seek personalized medical assistance from doctors.B)Acquire a basic understanding of medical science.C)Have their individual genome sequenced.D)Make informed use of animal models.53.Why is it important for scientists to build a good relationship with the media?A)It helps them to effectively popularize new scientific information.B)It enables the public to develop a positive attitude toward science.C)It helps them to establish a more positive public image.D)It enables them to apply their findings to public health.B)It tends to oversimplify people’s health problems.C)It may give inaccurate or distorted information to the public.D)It may provide information open to different interpretations.55.What should scientists do to impart their latest findings to the public more effectively?A)Give training to science journalists.B)Stimulate public interest in science.C)Seek timely assistance from the media.D)Improve their communication skills.Part IV Translation (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.近年来，中国越来越多的博物馆免费向公众开放。