2012年12月英语六级听力原文及答案解析汇总
2012年12月六级真题及答案解析汇总(完整版)
2012年12月英语六级真题及答案汇总（完整版）Part I WritingA 【标准版】Man and ComputerEver since the birth of it, the computer has largely changed human being’s life and there has been a hot debate about its effects on humans. Undeniably, computers have taken the place of humans in many areas and it seems that computers begin to think like man, but this does not necessarily lead to the danger that man will think like computers.The reasons, in my opinion, are as follows. Firstly, when computers release human from repetitive tasks, humans themselves can spend more time on creative works, such as scientific research, which require imagination and cannot be completed by computers. Meanwhile, thanks to computers, humans get more spare time with their friends and family, which enhances their happiness. Moreover, even though computers can work automatically, the premise is that the program, which is written by humans, has been installed in it.In conclusion, humans, unlike computers, have creative ability, emotionalde sires and social bounds. Thus, I don’t think that there will be the danger that man will begin to think like the computer.【高分版】Man and ComputerIt is believed that the computer is bringing the world into a brand new era. At the time the computer was invented, scientists, marveling at its calculating speed, felt that they had created a miracle. Nowadays, the function of the computer is no longer confined to calculation; it permeates people’s daily lives and has become an inseparable part of human society.People become so heavily dependent on computers that it is hard to imagine the life without computers. Therefore, some people are worried that “The real danger is not that the computer will think like man, but man will think like the computer.” Their concern does make sense. Indeed, some people spend such a long time working on computers that they have few interactions with people in real life. According to a research, too many hours in front of a computer may lead to a poker face and interpersonal isolation. This fact should arouse our attention, because unlike computers, human beings are social creatures that need emotional connections with others.Yet, it is also unnecessary for us to be overwhelmed by the negative impactsof computers. After all, we humans are intelligent and will be able to figure out better ways to make improvements.本次六级作文的题目是人与电脑，对“真正的危险不是电脑开始像人一样思考，而是人开始像电脑一样思考。
2012年12月英语六级答案及解析(3)
2012年12月大学英语六级(CET-6)参考答案Ⅰ【作文】Computer and Man（1）It is believed that the computer can do almost every thing. At the time the computer was invented, scientists, carried away by its calculating speed, felt that they had created a miracle. It was gradually used not only in mathematics, physics, chemistry and astronomy, but in places like the library, hospital and military army to replace the work of man. For the work of man. For this reason, the computer was entiled “Electronic Brain” in terms of appreci ation。
Can man be controlled by computers? The answer is negative. Although a computer works much faster and accurately than man , a fact is undeniable; it is designed, manufactured and programmed by man, and therefore by human beings. Of course, science fictions have made up many fascinating stories about a computer, or rather robot, who conquers man and the earth, even the whole universe; however, they are only unrealistic imaginatio. A horse helps man a lot runs much faster than we, but it is only a slave。
2012年12月英语六级真题及答案
2012年12月英语六级真题及答案详解Part I Writing(30minutes)Directions:For this part,you are allowed30minutes to write an essay entitled Man and Computer by commenting on the saying,“The real danger is not that the computer will begin to think like man,but that man will begin to think like the computer.”You should write at least150words but no more than200words.Man and ComputerPart II Reading Comprehension（Skimming and Scanning）（15minutes）Directions:In this part,you will have15minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on A nswer Sheet1.For questions1-7,choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C)and D).For questions8-10,complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Thirst grows for living unpluggedMore people are taking breaks from the connected life amid the stillness and quiet of retreats like the Jesuit Center in Wernersville,Pennsylvania.About a year ago,I flew to Singapore to join the writer Malcolm Gladwell,the fashion designer Marc Ecko and the graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister in addressing a group of advertising people on“Marketing to the Child of Tomorrow.”Soon after I arrived,the chief executive of the agency that had invited us took me aside.What he was most interested in,he began,was stillness and quiet.A few months later,I read an interview with the well-known cutting-edge designer Philippe Starck.What allowed him to remain so consistently ahead of the curve?“I never read any magazines or watch TV,”he said,perhaps with a little exaggeration.“Nor do I go to cocktail parties,dinners or anything like that.”He lived outside conventional ideas,he implied, because“I live alone mostly,in the middle of nowhere.”Around the same time,I noticed that those who part with$2,285a night to stay in a cliff-top room at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur,California,pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV in their rooms;the future of travel,I’m reliably told,lies in“black-hole resorts,”which charge high prices precisely because you can’t get online in their rooms.Has it really come to this?The more ways we have to connect,the more many of us seem desperate to unplug. Internet rescue camps in South Korea and China try to save kids addicted to the screen.Writer friends of mine pay good money to get the Freedom software that enables them to disable the very Internet connections that seemed so emancipating not long ago.Even Intel experimented in2007with conferring four uninterrupted hours of quiet time(no phone ore-mail)every Tuesday morning on300engineers and managers.Workers were not allowed to use the phone or send e-mail,but simply had the chance to clear their heads and to hear themselves think.The average American spends at least eight and a half hours a day in front of a screen, Nicholas Carr notes in his book The Shallows.The average American teenager sends or receives75text messages a day,though one girl managed to handle an average of10,000 every24hours for a month.Since luxury is a function of scarcity,the children of tomorrow will long for nothing more than intervals of freedom from all the blinking machines,streaming videos and scrolling headlines that leave them feeling empty and too full all at once.The urgency of slowing down—to find the time and space to think—is nothing new,of course,and wiser souls have always reminded us that the more attention we pay to the moment,the less time and energy we have to place it in some larger context.“Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries,”the French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in the17th century,“and yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries.”He also famously remarked that all of man’s problems come from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone.When telegraphs and trains brought in the idea that convenience was more important than content,Henry David Thoreau reminded us that“the man whose horse trots(奔跑),a mile in a minute does not carry the most important messages.”Marshall McLuhan,who came closer than most to seeing what was coming,warned,“When things come at you very fast,naturally you lose touch with yourself.”We have more and more ways to communicate,but less and less to say.Partly because we are so busy communicating.And we are rushing to meet so many deadlines that we hardly register that what we need most are lifelines.So what to do?More and more people I know seem to be turning to yoga,or meditation(沉思),or tai chi(太极)；these aren’t New Age fads(时尚的事物)so much as ways to connect with what could be called the wisdom of old age.Two friends of mine observe an“Internet sabbath(安息日)”every week,turning off their online connections from Friday night to Monday morning.Other friends take walks and“forget”their cellphones at home.A series of tests in recent years has shown,Mr.Carr points out,that after spending time in quiet rural settings,subjects“exhibit greater attentiveness,stronger memory and generally improved cognition.Their brains become both calmer and sharper.”More thanthat,empathy(同感，共鸣)，as well as deep thought,depends(as neuroscientists like Antonio Damasio have found)on neural processes that are“inherently slow.”I turn to eccentric measures to try to keep my mind sober and ensure that I have time to do nothing at all(which is the only time when I can see what I should be doing the rest of the time).I have yet to use a cellphone and I have never Tweeted or entered Facebook.I try not to go online till my day’s writing is finished,and I moved from Manhattan to rural Japan in part so I could more easily survive for long stretches entirely on foot.None of this is a matter of asceticism(苦行主义)；it is just pure selfishness.Nothing makes me feel better than being in one place,absorbed in a book,a conversation,or music.It is actually something deeper than mere happiness:it is joy,which the monk(僧侣)David Steindl-Rast describes as“that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.”It is vital,of course,to stay in touch with the world.But it is only by having some distance from the world that you can see it whole,and understand what you should be doing with it.For more than20years,therefore,I have been going several times a year—often for no longer than three days—to a Benedictine hermitage(修道院)，40minutes down the road,as it happens,from the Post Ranch Inn.I don’t attend services when I am there,and I have never meditated,there or anywhere;I just take walks and read and lose myself in the stillness, recalling that it is only by stepping briefly away from my wife and bosses and friends that I will have anything useful to bring to them.The last time I was in the hermitage,three months ago,I happened to meet with a youngish-looking man with a3-year-old boy around his shoulders.“You’re Pico,aren’t you?”the man said,and introduced himself as Larry;we had met, I gathered,19years before,when he had been living in the hermitage as an assistant to one of the monks.“What are you doing now?”I asked.We smiled.No words were necessary.“I try to bring my kids here as often as I can,”he went on.The child of tomorrow,I realized,may actually be ahead of us,in terms of sensing not what is new,but what is essential.1.What is special about the Post Ranch Inn?A)Its rooms are well furnished but dimly lit.B)It makes guests feel like falling into a black hole.C)There is no access to television in its rooms.D)It provides all the luxuries its guests can think of.2.What does the author say the children of tomorrow will need most?A)Convenience and comfort in everyday life.B)Time away from all electronic gadgets.C)More activities to fill in their leisure time.D)Greater chances for individual development.3.What does the French philosopher Blaise Pascal say about distraction?A)It leads us to lots of mistakes.B)It renders us unable to concentrate.C)It helps release our excess energy.D)It is our greatest misery in life.4.According to Marshall McLuhan,what will happen if things come at us very fast?A)We will not know what to do with our own lives.B)We will be busy receiving and sending messages.C)We will find it difficult to meet our deadlines.D)We will not notice what is going on around us.5.What does the author say about yoga,meditation and tai chi?A)They help people understand ancient wisdom.B)They contribute to physical and mental health.C)They are ways to communicate with nature.D)They keep people from various distractions.6.What is neuroscientist Antonio Damasio’s finding?A)Quiet rural settings contribute a lot to long life.B)One’s brain becomes sharp when it is activated.C)Eccentric measures are needed to keep one’s mind sober.D)When people think deeply,their neural processes are slow.7.The author moved from Manhattan to rural Japan partly because he could_______.A)stay away from the noise of the big city.B)live without modern transportation.C)enjoy the beautiful view of the countryside.D)practice asceticism in a local hermitage8.In order to see the world whole,the author thinks it necessary to__________.9.The author takes walks and reads and loses himself in the stillness of the hermitage so that he can bring his wife and bosses and friends___________.10.The youngish-looking man takes his little boy to the hermitage frequently so that when he grows up he will know__________.Part III Listening Comprehension（35minutes）Section ADirections:In this section,you will hear8short conversations and2long conversations.At the end of each conversation,one or more questions will be asked about what was said.Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.After each question there will be a pause.During the pause,you must read the four choices marked A）,B）,C）and D）,and decide which is the best answer.Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet2witha single line through the centre.11.A)Ask his boss for a lighter schedule.B)Trade places with someone else.C)Accept the extra work willingly.D)Look for a more suitable job.12.A)It is unusual for his wife to be at home now.B)He is uncertain where his wife is at the moment.C)It is strange for his wife to call him at work.D)He does not believe what the woman has told him.13.A)The man is going to send out the memo tomorrow.B)The man will drive the woman to the station.C)The speakers are traveling by train tomorrow morning.D)The woman is concerned with the man’s health.14.A)The suite booked was for a different date.B)The room booked was on a different floor.C)The room booked was not spacious enough.D)A suite was booked instead of a double room.15.A)The reason for low profits.B)The company’s sales policy.C)The fierce competition they face.D)The lack of effective promotion.16.A)Go and get the groceries at once.B)Manage with what they have.C)Do some shopping on their way home.D)Have the groceries delivered to them.17.A)The hot weather in summer.B)The problem with the air conditioner.C)The ridiculous rules of the office.D)The atmosphere in the office.18.A)Set a new stone in her ring.B)Find the priceless jewel she lost.C)Buy a ring with precious diamond.D)Shop on Oxford Street for a decent gift.Questions19to22are based on the conversation you have just heard.19.A)Damaging public facilities.B)Destroying urban wildlife.C)Organising rallies in the park.D)Hurting baby animals in the zoo.20.A)He had bribed the park keepers to keep quiet.B)People had differing opinions about his behaviour.C)The serious consequences of his doings were not fully realised.D)His behaviour was thought to have resulted from mental illness.21.A)Brutal.B)Justifiable.C)Too harsh.D)Well-deserved.22.A)Encouraging others to follow his wrong-doing.B)Stealing endangered animals from the zoo.C)Organising people against the authorities.D)Attacking the park keepers in broad daylight.Questions23to25are based on the conversation you have just heard.23.A)She has already left school.B)She works for the handicapped.C)She is fond of practical courses.D)She is good at foreign languages.24.A)He is interested in science courses.B)He attends a boarding school.C)He speaks French and German.D)He is the brightest of her three kids.25.A)Comprehensive schools do not offer quality education.B)Parents decide what schools their children are to attend.C)Public schools are usually bigger in size than private schools.D)Children from low income families can’t really choose schools.Section BDirections:In this section,you will hear3short passages.At the end of each passage,you will hear some questions.Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.After you hear a question,you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C) and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet2with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions26to29are based on the passage you have just heard.26.A)Encourage the students to do creative thinking.B)Help the students to develop communication skills.C)Cultivate the students’ability to inspire employees.D)Focus on teaching the various functions of business.27.A)His teaching career at the Harvard Business School.B)His personal involvement in business management.C)His presidency at college and experience overseas.D)His education and professorship at Babson College.28.A)Development of their raw brain power.B)Exposure to the liberal arts and humanities.C)Improvement of their ability in capital management.D)Knowledge of up-to-date information technology.29.A)Reports on business and government corruption.B)His contact with government and business circles.C)Discoveries of cheating among MBA students.D)The increasing influence of the mass media.Passage TwoQuestions30to32are based on the passage you have just heard.30.A)They have better options for their kids than colleges.B)The unreasonably high tuition is beyond their means.C)The quality of higher education may not be worth the tuition.D)They think that their kids should pay for their own education.31.A)They do too many extracurricular activities.B)They tend to select less demanding courses.C)They take part-time jobs to support themselves.D)They think few of the courses worth studying.32.A)Its samples are not representative enough.B)Its significance should not be underestimated.C)Its findings come as a surprise to many parents.D)Its criteria for academic progress are questionable.Passage ThreeQuestions33to35are based on the passage you have just heard.33.A)A newly married couple.B)A business acquaintance.C)Someone good at cooking.D)Someone you barely know.34.A)Obtain necessary information about your guests.B)Collect a couple of unusual or exotic recipes.C)Buy the best meat and the freshest fruit.D)Try to improve your cooking skills.35.A)Losing weight.B)Entertaining guests.C)Making friends.D)Cooking meals.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 forthe second time,you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from36to43with the exact words you have just heard.For blanks numbered from44to46you 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 the main points in your own words.Finally,when the passage is readfor the third time,you should check what you have written.People with disabilities comprise a large but diverse segment of the population.It is(36) ______that over35million Americans have physical,mental,or other disabilities.(37)______half of these disabilities are“developmental,”i.e.,they occur prior to the individual’s twenty-second birthday,often from(38)______conditions,and are severe enough to affect three or more areas of development,such as(39)______,communication and employment. Most other disabilities are considered(40)______,i.e.,caused by outside forces.Before the20th century,only a small(41)______of people with disabilities survived for long.Medical treatment for such conditions as stroke or spinal cord(42)______was unavailable.People whose disabilities should not have inherently affected their life span were often so mistreated that they(43)______.Advancements in medicine and social services have created a climate in which(44).Unfortunately, these basics are often all that is available.Civil liberties such as the right to vote,marry,get an education,and gain employment have historically been denied on the basis of disability.(45)_______________________________________________________________________. Disabled people formed grassroots coalitions to advocate their rights to integration and meaningful equality of opportunity.(46).In the mid-1970s, critical legislation mandated（规定）access to education,public transportation,and public facilities,and prohibited employment discrimination by federal agencies or employers receiving federal funds.PartⅣReading Comprehension（Reading in Depth）（25minutes）Section ADirections:In this section,there is a short passage with5questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully.Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.Please write your answers on Answer Sheet2.Questions47to54are based on the following passage.A key process in interpersonal interaction is that of social comparison,in that we evaluate ourselves in terms of how we compare to others.In particular,we engage in two types of comparison.First,we decide whether we are superior or inferior to others on certain dimensions,such as attractiveness,intelligence,popularity,etc.Here,the important aspect is to compare with an appropriate reference group.For example,modest joggers should not compare their performance with Olympic standard marathon(马拉松)runners.Second,we judge the extent to which we are the same as or different from others.At certain stages of life, especially adolescence,the pressure to be seen as similar to peers is immense.Thus,wearing the right brand of clothes or shoes may be of the utmost importance.We also need to know whether our thoughts,beliefs and ideas are in line with those of other people.This is part of the process of self-validation whereby we employ self-disclosures to seek support for ourself-concept.People who do not have access to a good listener may not only be denied the opportunity to heighten their self-awareness,but they are also denied valuable feedback as to the validity and acceptability of their inner thoughts and feelings.By discussing these with others,we receive feedback as to whether these are experiences which others have as well,or whether they are less common.Furthermore,by gauging the reactions to our self-disclosures we learn what types are acceptable or unacceptable with particular people and in specific situations.On occasions it is the fear that certain disclosures may be unacceptable to familyor friends that motivates an individual to seek professional help.Counsellors will be familiar with client statements such as:“I just couldn’t talk about this to my husband.”,“I really can’t let my mother know my true feelings.”Another aspect of social comparison in the counselling context relates to a technique known as normalising.This is the process whereby helpers provide reassurance to clients that what they are experiencing is not abnormalor atypical(非典型的),but is a normal reaction shared by others when facing such circumstances.Patient disclosure,facilitated by the therapist,seems also to facilitate the process of normalising.47.To evaluate ourselves,the author thinks it important for us to compare ourselves with_______.48.During adolescence,people generally feel an immense pressure to appear_______.49.It is often difficult for people to heighten their self-awareness without_______.50.What can people do if they find what they think or say unacceptable to family or friends?51.Counsellors often assure their clients that what they experience themselves is only_______.Section BDirections:There are2passages 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 thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet2with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions52to56are based on the following passage.Amid all the job losses,there’s 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 bodies 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 affecting 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 economics professor Edward Leamer.The recession permanently wiped out2.5million jobs.U.S.gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels,meaning we’re producing as much as before,only with6%fewer workers.To be sure,robotics are not the only job killers out there,with outsourcing(外包) stealing far more jobs than automation.Jeff Burnstein,president of the Robotics Industry Association,argues that robots actually save U.S.jobs.His logic:companies that embrace automation might use fewer 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’re better.“In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted to have a human do the job,you couldn’t,”Burnstein says.Same goes for surgeons,who’re 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,which could be used as a messenger 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 house.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 software 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.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
六级2012-12-2听力答案
六级2012年12月卷（二）听力原文及答案Listening ComprehensionSection A11. W: It’s a miracle that Robert came out of the air crash alive.M: That’s indeed a miracle. All the other passengers were killed.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?【听前预测】根据意思相反的两个选项中有一个可能是答案的命题规律，将答案锁定在[A]和[C]之间。
【解析】选[A]。
对话中女士提到Robert…alive（罗伯特…活着），[A]中的survived对应alive，故答案为[A]。
12. M: Isn’t it rather cold outside, Sally?W: It is a bit, but I can’t stand the terrible smoke inside. I’d rather stay here if you don’t mind.Q: Why does the woman want to stay outside?【听前预测】选项中的smoke a cigarette，the smell of smoke inside等表明，对话与吸烟有关。
【解析】选[D]。
对话中女士提到but I can’t stand the terrible smoke inside（但我受不了里面的烟味）。
[D]中的doesn’t like the smell of smoke inside是对此的同义转述，故答案为[D]。
but后的内容常为考点。
13. W: I’m going over to see a car someone has for sale.With all your experience as a mechanic, I’dappreciate your opinion.M: That was twenty years ago. Cars have changed so much. I’m not sure how much help I might be, butsure I’ll come along for the ride.Q: What does the man imply?【听前预测】由选项中的The woman shouldn’t，He doesn’t know可知，男士的话为听音重点。
2012年12月英语六级真题及答案详细解析版(3)
2012年12月大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷Part I Writing (30 minutes)Direction: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay entitled Man and Computer by co mmenting on the saying, “The real danger is not that the computer willbegin to thin k like man, but that man will begin to think like the computer.” You shouldwrite at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Man and ComputerPart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C) and D).For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.In a Digital Age, Students Still Cling to Paper TextbooksThey text their friends all day long. At night, they do research for their term papers on laptops and commune with their parents on Skype. But as they walk the paths of Hamilton College, aposter-perfect liberal arts school in this upstate village, students are still hauling around bulky,old-fashioned textbooks-and loving it."The screen won't go blank," said Faton Begolli, a junior from Boston. "There can't be a virus. It wouldn't be the same without books. They've defined 'academia' (学术) for a thousand years." Though the world of print is receding before a tide of digital books, blogs and other Web sites, a generation of college students growing up with technology appears to be holding fast to traditional textbooks. That loyalty comes at a price. Textbooks are expensive-a year's worth can cost$700to$900-and students' frustrations with the expense, as well as the emergence of new technology, have produced a perplexing array of options for obtaining them.Internet retailers like Amazon and are selling new and used books. They have been joined by several Web services that rent textbooks to students by the semester. Some 1 500 college bookstores are also offering rentals this fall, up from 300 last year. Here at Hamilton, students this year have a new way to avoid the middleman: a nonprofit Web site, created by the college'sEntrepreneur Club, that lets them sell used books directly to one another. 专家授课权威讲解考试必过The explosion of outlets and formats-including digital books, which are rapidly becoming more sophisticated- has left some students bewildered. After completing the difficult job of course selection, they are forced to weigh cost versus convenience, analyze their own study habits and guess which texts they will want for years to come and which they will not miss."It depends on the course," said Victoria Adesoba, a student at New York University who was standing outside that school's bookstore, a powder-blue book bag slung over her shoulder “Last semester, I rented for psychology, and it was cheaper. But for something like organic chemistry, I need to keep the book. E-textbooks are good, but it's tempting to go on Facebook, and it can strain your eyes."For all the talk that her generation is the most technologically knowledgeable in history,paper-and-ink textbooks do not seem destined to disappear anytime soonAccording to the National Association of College Stores, digital books make up just under 3% of textbook sales, although the association expects that share to grow to 10-15% by 2012 as more titles are made available as e-books.In two recent studies-one by the association and another by the Student Public Interest Research Groups-three- quarters of the students surveyed said they still preferred a bound book to a digital version.Many students are reluctant to give up the ability to flip quickly between chapters, write in the margins and highlight passages, although new software applications are beginning to allow students to use e-textbooks that way."Students grew up learning from print books." said Nicole Allen. the textbooks campaign director for the research groups, "so as they transition to higher education, it's not surprising that they prefer a format that they are most accustomed to."Indeed, many Hamilton students grow passionate about the weighty volumes they still carry from dorm room to lecture hall to library, even as they compulsively(克制不住地)check their smartphones for text messages and c-mails."I believe that the codex is one of mankind's best inventions," said Jonathan Piskor, a junior from North Carolina, using the Latin term for book.That passion may be one reason that Barnes & Noble College Booksellers is working so hard to market its new software application, NOOKstudy, which allows students to navigate c-textbooks on Macs and PCs. The company, which operates 636 campus bookstores nationwide, introduced the free application last summer in hopes of luring more students to buy its electronic textbooks. "The real obstacle is getting them to try it," said Tracey Weber, the company's executive vicepresident.The company is giving away "College Kick-Start Kits" to students who download NOOKstudy in the fall semester, with a dozen classic c-books like The Canterbury Tales and The Scarlet Letter. CourseSrnart is letting students try any c-textbook free for two weeks.But not every textbook is available in digital or rental format. At Hamilton, for instance, only about one-fifth of the titles are sold as c-textbooks this fall. A stroll through the campus store revealed the price difference. A book on constitutional law,for instance, was$189.85 new $142.40 usedand$85.45 for rent. (Typically, an e-textbook is cheaper than a used book, though more expensive than a rental.)The expense of college textbooks, which is estimated to have risen four times the inflation rate in recent years, has become such a concern that some politicians are taking up the cause. Last month, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York urged more college stores to rent books, after a survey of 38 campus bookstores in New York City and on Long Island by his office found that 16 did not offer the option.On Thursday, students at more than 40 colleges nationwide are planning an Affordable Textbooks Day of Action to encourage faculty members to assign texts that are less expensive, or offered free online.For now, buying books the old-fashioned way-new or used-prevails. Charles Schmidt, the spokesman for the National Association of College Stores, said that if a campus store sold a new book for$100, it would typically buy the book back for$50 at semester's end and sell it to the next student for$75.The buy-back price plunges, however, if the professor drops the book from the syllabus or if the bookstore has bought enough books to meet demand. When Louis Boguchwal, majoring in economics and math, tried to sell a$100 linear algebra(线性代数)textbook back to the college bookstore, he was offered$15."It was insulting," he said. "They give you next to nothing."Thus, the creation of Hamilton's new nonprofit Web site, get my textbooks. org. So far, traffic has been light: only about 70 books have been sold this fall. But Jason Mariasis, president of the Entrepreneur Club, said he expected sales to pick up as word spread.Mr. Begolli. a member of the club, recently sold three German novels for$17 on the site. "If I had sold them back to the bookstore, I would have gotten$7 or$8,"he said. "The bookstore is king when it comes to textbook sales. We felt there should be something for students, by students."Yet some students have to go it alone. Rosemary Rocha, an N.Y.U. student pursuing a degree in hospitality and tourism management, added up her required reading for the semester: $600. "It's harsh," she said. "I'm currently collecting unemployment, so that's not going to happen."Instead, she waits to borrow the few copies her professors leave on reserve at the library, or relies on the kindness of classmates. "My friends will let me borrow their books in exchange for coffee or a slice of pizza," she said. "I very seldom buy the textbooks, but I'm always like a chicken without a head."注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
2012年12月六级真题听力2
Part III Listening ComprehensionSection A11.M: I’d like to go camping with you this weekend, but I don’t have a sleeping bag.W: No problem. You can count on me to get one for you. My family has tons of camping gear. Q: What does the woman mean?12.M: I know I promise to drive you to the airport next Thursday, but I’m afraid something has come up. They’ve called a special meeting at work.W: No big deal. Karen said she was available as a back-up.Q: What does the woman mean?13.W: Have you saved enough money for a trip to Hawaii?M: Not even close. My uncle must put the brakes on my travelling plans.Q: What does the man mean?14.M: I’m starving. Do we still have any pie left from the dinner yesterday?W: Oh, Julia invited her friends over in the afternoon and they ate it all.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?15.W: Three letters of recommendation are required to apply to graduate schools. I was wondering if the one professor Smith wrote for me last year could still be used.M: It’s a bit dated. You’d better submit a recent one.Q: What does the man suggest the woman do?16.W: I’ve noticed that you spend a lot of time tending your garden. Would you like to join ourgardening club? We meet every other Wednesday.M: Oh, thanks for the invitation, but this is how I relax. I’d rather not make it somethingformal and structured.Q: What can we infer about the man?17.M: I heard the recent sculpture exhibit was kind of disappointing.W: That’s right. I guess a lot of other people feel the way I do about modern art.Q: What does the woman mean?18.M: Bob is running for chairman of the student union. Would you vote for him?W: Oh, I can’t decide right now because I have to find out more about the other candidates.Q: What does the woman mean?。
2012年12月英语四六级真题答案及详解（完整版）
2012年12月英语六级试题答案(完整版)Part ⅠWritingMy View on University RankingIn recent years, all kinds of University Ranking Lists can be found on some educational websites, or newspapers. The ranking standards also vary. These lists have great influence on students. They are even becoming the only scale to evaluate the colleges and universities.People hold different views toward this phenomenon. Some believe that these lists help the students a lot, especially for those who will choose their university. While some other protest vigorously. In their points, the list is really ridiculous and harmful. In my view, the university ranking may have its own reference values, but its disadvantages overweigh its values.For those university-students-to-be, they are supposed to choose the school according to his or her own situation, but not the so-called Ranking List. What’s more, how about the university students? How do they feel about themselves when they see the ranking? The list may become some intangible shackles for them if their own school ranks poorly.In a nutshell, there is no easy method to rank these universities, but the Ranking, only helps students ignore the essentials, namely, their ninety-nine percent perspiration.此次六级作文的自由度很大，看似给出了提纲，实际上具体的观点全靠个人发挥。
2012年12月英语六级听力原文及答案
2012年12月Part III Listening Comprehension （35 minutes）Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A）, B）, C） and D）, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.11. A) Ask his boss for a lighter schedule.B) Trade places with someone else.C) Accept the extra work willingly.D) Look for a more suitable job.12. A) It is unusual for his wife to be at home now.B) He is uncertain where his wife is at the moment.C) It is strange for his wife to call him at work.D) He does not believe what the woman has told him.13. A) The man is going to send out the memo tomorrow.B) The man will drive the woman to the station.C) The speakers are traveling by train tomorrow morning.D) The woman is concerned with the man’s health.14. A) The suite booked was for a different date.B) The room booked was on a different floor.C) The room booked was not spacious enough.D) A suite was booked instead of a double room.15. A) The reason for low profits.B) The company’s sales policy.C) The fierce competition they face.D) The lack of effective promotion.16. A) Go and get the groceries at once.B) Manage with what they have.C) Do some shopping on their way home.D) Have the groceries delivered to them.17. A) The hot weather in summer.B) The problem with the air conditioner.C) The ridiculous rules of the office.D) The atmosphere in the office.18. A) Set a new stone in her ring.B) Find the priceless jewel she lost.C) Buy a ring with precious diamond.D) Shop on Oxford Street for a decent gift.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19. A) Damaging public facilities.B) Destroying urban wildlife.C) Organising rallies in the park.D) Hurting baby animals in the zoo.20. A) He had bribed the park keepers to keep quiet.B) People had differing opinions about his behaviour.C) The serious consequences of his doings were not fully realised.D) His behaviour was thought to have resulted from mental illness.21. A) Brutal.B) Justifiable.C) Too harsh.D) Well-deserved.22. A) Encouraging others to follow his wrong-doing.B) Stealing endangered animals from the zoo.C) Organising people against the authorities.D) Attacking the park keepers in broad daylight.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23. A) She has already left school.B) She works for the handicapped.C) She is fond of practical courses.D) She is good at foreign languages.24. A) He is interested in science courses.B) He attends a boarding school.C) He speaks French and German.D) He is the brightest of her three kids.25. A) Comprehensive schools do not offer quality education.B) Parents decide what schools their children are to attend.C) Public schools are usually bigger in size than private schools.D) Children from low income families can’t really choose schools.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. A) Encourage the students to do creative thinking.B) Help the students to develop communication skills.C) Cultivate the students’ ability to inspire employees.D) Focus on teaching the various functions of business.27. A) His teaching career at the Harvard Business School.B) His personal involvement in business management.C) His presidency at college and experience overseas.D) His education and professorship at Babson College.28. A) Development of their raw brain power.B) Exposure to the liberal arts and humanities.C) Improvement of their ability in capital management.D) Knowledge of up-to-date information technology.29. A) Reports on business and government corruption.B) His contact with government and business circles.C) Discoveries of cheating among MBA students.D) The increasing influence of the mass media.Passage TwoQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30. A) They have better options for their kids than colleges.B) The unreasonably high tuition is beyond their means.C) The quality of higher education may not be worth the tuition.D) They think that their kids should pay for their own education.31. A) They do too many extracurricular activities.B) They tend to select less demanding courses.C) They take part-time jobs to support themselves.D) They think few of the courses worth studying.32. A) Its samples are not representative enough.B) Its significance should not be underestimated.C) Its findings come as a surprise to many parents.D) Its criteria for academic progress are questionable.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33. A) A newly married couple.B) A business acquaintance.C) Someone good at cooking.D) Someone you barely know.34. A) Obtain necessary information about your guests.B) Collect a couple of unusual or exotic recipes.C) Buy the best meat and the freshest fruit.D) Try to improve your cooking skills.35. A) Losing weight.B) Entertaining guests.C) Making friends.D) Cooking meals.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 the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.People with disabilities comprise a large but diverse segment of the population. It is (36) ______ that over 35 million Americans have physical, mental, or other disabilities. (37) ______ half of these disabilities are “developmental,” i.e., they occur prior to the individual’s twenty-second birthday, often from (38) ______ conditions, and are severe enough to affect three or more areas of development, such as (39) ______, communication and employment. Most other disabilities are considered (40) ______, i.e., caused by outside forces.Before the 20th century, only a small (41) ______ of people with disabilities survived for long. Medical treatment for such conditions as stroke or spinal cord (42) ______ was unavailable. People whose disabilities should not have inherently affected their life span were often so mistreated that they (43) ______. Advancementsin medicine and social services have created a climate in which (44) . Unfortunately, these basics are often all that is available. Civil liberties such as the right to vote, marry, get an education, and gain employment have historically been denied on the basis of disability.(45) _______________________________________________________________________. Disabled people formed grassroots coalitions to advocate their rights to integration and meaningful equality of opportunity.(46) . In the mid-1970s, critical legislation mandated（规定）access to education, public transportation, and public facilities, and prohibited employment discrimination by federal agencies or employers receiving federal funds.Ⅲ【听力】Section A11.M: I’d like to go camping with you this weekend,but I don’t have a sleeping bag.W: No problem. You can count on me to get one for you. My family has tons of camping gear.Q: What does the woman mean?答案：She can lend the man a sleeping bag.【解析】这是一道较为简单的推理题，前提是考生需知道camping gear表示“野餐用具，露营装备”，由此可知，camping gear包括sleeping bag，即女士能借给男士一个睡袋，此题的设置稍微绕了个小弯，为考生解题设置了一定难度。
2012年12月大学英语六级第二套真题听力原文
Section A11. M: This is the second time this week my boss asked me to work extra hours. I’m glad to get abigger paycheck, but I don’t want such a heavy schedule.W: Better watch your step. A lot of people would like to trade places with you.Q: What does the woman imply the man should do?12. W: Oh, there you are. Your wife just called. I told her you were around somewhere, but Icouldn’t find you. She’s like you to call her at home.M: At home? She should be at work. I hope nothing is wrong.Q: What does the man imply?13. M: We have to get up early tomorrow if we want to be at the railway station by 8:00. Perhapswe should go to bed now.W: I suppose so, but I have to finish this memo and put it in the mail.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?14. W: Let me check, sir. A suite on the third floor was reserved by a Mr. Colmar form July 10th to16th.M: I’m afraid there’s a mistake, madam. I told my secretary to book a specious double room rather than a luxurious suite.Q: What is the wrong of the reservation?15. W: Profits are down considerably this quarter. Do you have any idea what might be theproblem?M: I guess it’s just that this is a slack time of the year. I hear other companies are having the same problem.Q: What are the speakers talking about?16. M: I forgot to pick up the groceries on the way home. I’ll just rest a minute and then go and getthem.W: No problem. We can make do with what’s left here, and get them tomorrow.Q: What does the woman suggest they man do?17. W: Somebody should do something about the air-conditioning. It’s ridiculous. I have to wear asweater to work in the middle of summer.M: I agree. It’s been like this for weeks.Q: What are the speakers talking about?18. W: I lost the diamond out of my ring. Do you know where I could have it replaced?M: I’ve never had a stone put in anything, but I know that the jewelry shop on Oxford Street has a good reputation.Q: What does the woman intend to do?Now you’ll hear two long conversionsConversation OneW: Mr. Stern, may I ask you? Do you think it was necessary and fair to arrest Steve Bril?M: I don’t know whether you realise that this man has been eating a part of park for five years. And he is encouraging other people to do the same thing every single day. He has been organizing groups to destroy our urban wildlife.W: But Mr. Stern, this situation has been going on happily for five years. Why do you suddenly decide to do something about it?M: Well, at first, we just thought he was eccentric person, a bit odd, you know. But over the years we came to realise that he is a dangerous guy. He has been ruining our city environment. Parks are to look at, not to eat. It’s just as if you’re going to allow people walk through a zoo, and eat the baby bears.W: But surely you or your park keepers, Mr. Stern, could have discouraged Mr. Bril from his activity without going such drastic measures, without arresting him.M: Steve is a nice fellow, but what he is doing is illegal. He knows an awful lot about wild weeds.We’ll be very happy to let him organize tours if he just wouldn’t eat the plants and wouldn’t encourage other people to do so, too. You never know what this could lead to, all sorts of people ruining our park in all sorts of ways. This kind of thing is very definitely criminal behavior and must be stopped.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard19. What does the man say Steve Bril has been doing?20. Why was Steve Bril not arrested years ago?21. What does the woman think of the action taken against Steve Bril?22. What finally net to Steve Bril’s arrest?Conversation TwoM: Mary, are your children still at school?W: Yes, my eldest boy, Martin, left school last year. He works at a day center nearby for physically handicapped adults. My daughter Liz is in the fourth year at a comprehensive school.M: How is her foreign language?W: Very good. She likes French and German. She is not very scientific. Christopher, my youngest child, is in the last year of junior school. He is much more practically oriented, strong in math and science.M: He will be going to a comprehensive school, I suppose.W: We have the choice of three comprehensive schools.M: Really? It’s unusual to have so many to choose from.W: Well, yes. Parter school seems to have done all right. We’re err…um.... There’re certain criticisms about it, but on the whole, we are not too dissatisfied.M: Well, generally speaking, what do you think one considers when one is trying to choose? Well, I don’t know if one can really choose one school actually you tend to. Children go where they’re sent.W: You can’t err…um…very easily unless you are very rich and can afford to choose a private school. And since we’re not very rich, we’ve got all three children to consider. We can’t do that.So they go to the local comprehensive school. What really matters is, you know, the quality of the staff, the size of the school. I think the size of the school has a lot of to do with it.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23. What do we learn about the woman’s daughter Liz?24. What does the woman say about her youngest child, Christopher?25. What can we conclude from the conversation?Section BPassage OneYears ago, when I was a young assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, I thought that the key to developing managerial leadership lay in raw brain power. I thought the role of business schools was to develop future managers who knew all about the various functions of business. My thinking gradually became tempered by living and working outside the United States and by serving seven years as a college president. During my presidency of Babson College, I added several traits or skills that I felt a good manager must possess. The first is the ability to express oneself in a clear, articulate fashion. Good oral and written communication skills are absolutely essential if one is to be an effective manager. Second, one must possess the required set of qualities called leadership skills. To be a good leader, one must understand and be sensitive to people and be able to inspire them toward the achievement of common goals. Next, I concluded that effective managers must be broad human beings who not only understand the world of business but also have a sense of the cultural, social,political, historical, and the international aspects of life and society. This suggests that exposure to the liberal arts and humanities should be part of every manager’s education. Finally, as I pondered the business and government-related scandals that have occupied the front pages of newspapers, it became clear that a good manager in today’s world must have courage and a strong sense of integrity. He must know where to draw the line between right and wrong.Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. What did the speaker use to think business schools should do to produce managers?27. What might have changed the speaker’s view of point?28. What does the speaker stress as part of manager’s education?29. What convinced the speaker that managers need a sense of integrity?Passage TwoWith top colleges charging as much as $50,000 per year, the idea that students may spend their first two years learning next-to-nothing is enough to make parents pause. How can you make that investment worthwhile? And does going to college really make you smarter? It depends on what you study and whether you study enough. A discussion at The New York Times this week tackled the issue, with several academics weighing in on whether college is worthwhile, and whether schools are dumbing down their curricula to appeal to more people. In their new book Academically Adrift, sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa found that 32 percent of the students they followed did not take “any courses with more than 40 pages of reading per week” in a typical semester, and half of the students didn’t take “any courses in which they had to write more than 20 pages for the class”. Using these criteria, they determined that 45 percent of college students make little academic progress during the first two years of a four-year degree. Their research raises a few red flags. On the one hand, is it any surprise that a public school system forced to “teach to the test” produces large numbers of students who are unwilling to think analytically, learn on their own, or write a research paper? On the other, does the number of pages read plus the number of pages written equals an accurate assessment of academic progress? A literature or history major, for instance, would have far more reading to do than a math major, but the math workload isn’t lighter lifting just because it involves reading fewer pages per week.Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30. Why do parents hesitate to pay for their kids’ college education according to the speaker?31. What does the survey by the 2 sociologists show about the students?32. What does the speaker imply about the research by the 2 sociologists?Passage ThreeEntertaining a close circle of friends isn’t usually difficult. You all know each other so there’s no problem about conversation. And even if the food is a bit sketchy, no one really minds because they’ve come to see you, not a free meal. Well, most of them anyway. It’s the guests you don’t know very well who present unexpectable traps. Therefore, in such categories, as the new husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend of an intimate friend, the business acquaintances who may be useful to your career, worst of all, the totally unpredictable friend of a friend, my advice in such cases is if you’re an indifferent cook, don’t do any cooking. It’s far better to stick to coffee and drinks, with a few expensive biscuits on the side. You can always plead that your flat is so small for more than 2 to eat comfortably, that you get home too late to prepare a decent meal, that your oven is on the blink. Any reasonable excuses will do, even it’s not believed. If you fancy yourself as a cook, and are anxious to make a good impression, do your homework first. Nothing is more discouraging than to spend hours preparing a delicious meat dish followed by, say, fresh strawberries, only to discover that your first-time guest is a strict vegetarian or is on a slimming diet. This may result in the rest of you tucking into a vast meal while your guest toys suspiciously with a few sides of tomato. “No, thank you, I won’t have any creamed carrots out for my waist line.”Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33. What kind of guest is most likely to give you a hard time according to the speaker?34. What should you do before preparing a meal for your guests?35. What is the speaker mainly talking about?Section CPeople with disabilities comprise a large but diverse segment of the population. It is estimatedthat over 35 million Americans have physical, mental, or other disabilities. Approximately, half of these disabilities are “developmental,” i.e., they occur prior to the individual’s twenty-second birthday, often from genetic conditions, and are severe enough to affect three or more areas of development, such as mobility, communication and employment. Most other disabilities are considered accidental, i.e., caused by outside forces.Before the 20th century, only a small percentage of people with disabilities survived for long. Medical treatment for such conditions as stroke or spinal cord injury was unavailable. People whose disabilities should not have inherently affected their life span were often so mistreated that they perished. Advancements in medicine and social services have created a climate in which people with disabilities can expect to have such basic needs as food, shelter and medical treatment met. Unfortunately, these basics are often all that is available. Civil liberties, such as the right to vote, marry, get an education, and gain an employment have historically been denied on the basis of disability.In recent decades, the disability rights movement has been organized to combat these violations of civil rights. Disabled people formed grassroots coalitions to advocate their rights to integration and meaningful equality of opportunity. Congress responded by passing major legislation, recognizing people with disabilities as a protected class. In the mid-1970s, critical legislation mandated access to education, public transportation, and public facilities, and prohibited employment discrimination by federal agencies or employers receiving federal funds.。
2012年12月大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷(含答案和听力原文)
2012年12月大学英语六级考试CET6真题Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay entitled Man and Computer by commenting on the saying, “The real danger is not that the computer will begin to think like man, but that man will begin to think like the computer.” You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Man and ComputerPart II Reading Comprehension （Skimming and Scanning）（15 minutes）Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Thirst grows for living unpluggedMore people are taking breaks from the connected life amid the stillness and quiet of retreats like the Jesuit Center in Wernersville, Pennsylvania.About a year ago, I flew to Singapore to join the writer Malcolm Gladwell, the fashion designer Marc Ecko and the graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister in addressing a group of advertising people on “Marketing to the Child of Tomorrow.” Soon after I arrived, the chief executive of the agency that had invited us took me aside. What he was most interested in, he began, was stillness and quiet.A few months later, I read an interview with the well-known cutting-edge designer Philippe Starck.What allowed him to remain so consistently ahead of the curve? “I never read any magazines or watch TV,” he said, perhaps with a little exaggeration. “Nor do I go to cocktail parties, dinners or anything like that.” He lived outside conventional ideas, he implied, because “I live alone mostly, in the middle of nowhere.”Around the same time, I noticed that those who part with $2,285 a night to stay in a cliff-top room at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California, pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV in their rooms; the future of travel, I’m reliably told, lies in “black-hole resorts,” whi ch charge high prices precisely because you can’t get online in their rooms.Has it really come to this?The more ways we have to connect, the more of us seem desperate to unplug. Internet rescue camps in South Korea and China try to save kids addicted to the screen.Writer friends of mine pay good money to get the Freedom software that enables them to disable the very Internet connections that seemed so emancipating not long ago. Even Intel experimented in 2007 with conferring four uninterrupted hours of quiet time (no phone or e-mail) every Tuesday morning on 300 engineers and managers. Workers were not allowed to use the phone or send e-mail, but simply had the chance to clear their heads and to hear themselves think.The average American spends at least eight and a half hours a day in front of a screen, Nicholas Carr notes in his book The Shallows. The average American teenager sends or receives 75 text messages a day, though one girl managed to handle an average of 10,000 every 24 hours for a month.Since luxury is a function of scarcity, the children of tomorrow will long for nothing more than intervals of freedom from all the blinking machines, streaming videos and scrolling headlines that leave them feeling empty and too full all at once.The urgency of slowing down—to find the time and space to think—is nothing new, of course, and wiser souls have always reminded us that the more attention we pay to the moment, the less time and energy we have to place it in some larger context. “Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries,” the French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in the 17th century, “and yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries.” He also famously remarked that all of man’s problems come from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone.When telegraphs and trains brought in the idea that convenience was more important than content, Henry David Thoreau reminded us that “the man whose horse trots (奔跑), a mile in a minute does not carry the most important messages.”Marshall McLuhan, who came closer than most to seeing what was coming, warned, “When things come at you very fast, naturally you lose touch with yourself.”We have more and more ways to communicate, but less and less to say. Partly because we are so busy communicating. And we are rushing to meet so many deadlines that we hardly register that what we need most are lifelines.So what to do? More and more people I know seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation (沉思), or tai chi (太极) ；these aren’t New Age fads (时尚的事物) so much as ways to connect with what could be called the wisdom of old age. Two friends of mine observe an “Internet Sabbath (安息日)” every week, turning off their online connections from Friday night t o Monday morning. Other friends take walks and “forget” their cellphones at home.A series of tests in recent years has shown, Mr. Carr points out, that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory a nd generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” More than that, empathy (同感，共鸣) ，as well as deep thought, depends (as neuroscientists like Antonio Damasio have found) on neural processes that are “inherently slow.”I turn to eccentric measures to try to keep my mind sober and ensure that I have time to do nothing at all (which is the only time when I can see what I should be doing the rest of the time).I have yet to use a cellphone and I have never Tweeted or entered Facebook. I try not to go online till my day’s writing is finished, and I moved from Manhattan to rural Japan in part so I could more easily survive for long stretches entirely on foot.None of this is a matter of asceticism (苦行主义) ；it is just pure selfishness. Nothing makes me feel better than being in one place, absorbed in a book, a conversation, or music. It is actually something deeper than mere happiness: it is joy, which the monk (僧侣) David Steindl-Rast describes as “that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.”It is vital, of course, to stay in touch with the world. But it is only by having some distance from the world that you can see it whole, and understand what you should be doing with it.For more than 20 years, therefore, I have been going several times a year—often for no longer than three days—to a Benedictine hermitage (修道院) ，40 minutes down the road, as it happens, from the Post Ranch Inn. I don’t attend services when I am there, and I have never meditated, there or anywhere; I just take walks and read and lose myself in the stillness, recalling that it is only by stepping briefly away from my wife and bosses and friends that I will have anything useful to bring to them. The last time I was in the hermitage, three months ago, I happened to meet with a youngish-looking man with a 3-year-old boy around his shoulders.“You’re Pico, aren’t you?” the man said, and introduced himself as Larry; we had met, I gathered, 19 years before, when he had been living in the hermitage as an assistant to one of the monks.“What are you doing now?” I asked.We smiled. No words were necessary.“I try to bring my kids here as often as I can,” he went on. The child of tomorrow, I realized, may actually be ahead of us, in terms of sensing not what is new, but what is essential.1. What is special about the Post Ranch Inn?A) Its rooms are well furnished but dimly lit.B) It makes guests feel like falling into a black hole.C) There is no access to television in its rooms.D) It provides all the luxuries its guests can think of.2. What does the author say the children of tomorrow will need most?A) Convenience and comfort in everyday life.B) Time away from all electronic gadgets.C) More activities to fill in their leisure time.D) Greater chances for individual development.3. What does the French philosopher Blaise Pascal say about distraction?A) It leads us to lots of mistakes.B) It renders us unable to concentrate.C) It helps release our excess energy.D) It is our greatest misery in life.4. According to Marshall McLuhan, what will happen if things come at us very fast?A) We will not know what to do with our own lives.B) We will be busy receiving and sending messages.C) We will find it difficult to meet our deadlines.D) We will not notice what is going on around us.5. What does the author say about yoga, meditation and tai chi?A) They help people understand ancient wisdom.B) They contribute to physical and mental health.C) They are ways to communicate with nature.D) They keep people from various distractions.6. What is neuroscientist Antonio Demario’s finding?A) Quiet rural settings contribute a lot to long life.B) One’s brain becomes sharp when it is activated.C) Eccentric measures are needed to keep one’s mind sober.D) When people think deeply, their neural processes are slow.7. The author moved from Manhattan to rural Japan partly because he could _______.A) stay away from the noise of the big city.B) live without modern transportation.C) enjoy the beautiful view of the countryside.D) practice asceticism in a local hermitage8. In order to see the world whole, the author thinks it necessary to __________.9. The author takes walks and reads and loses himself in the stillness of the hermitage so that he can bring his wife and bosses and friends ___________.10. The youngish-looking man takes his little boy to the hermitage frequently so that when he grows up he will know __________.Part III Listening Comprehension （35 minutes）Section ADirections:In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A）, B）, C） and D）, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.11. A) Ask his boss for a lighter schedule.B) Trade places with someone else.C) Accept the extra work willingly.D) Look for a more suitable job.12. A) It is unusual for his wife to be at home now.B) He is uncertain where his wife is at the moment.C) It is strange for his wife to call him at work.D) He does not believe what the woman has told him.13. A) The man is going to send out the memo tomorrow.B) The man will drive the woman to the station.C) The speakers are traveling by train tomorrow morning.D) The woman is concerned with the man’s health.14. A) The suite booked was for a different date.B) The room booked was on a different floor.C) The room booked was not spacious enough.D) A suite was booked instead of a double room.15. A) The reason for low profits.B) The company’s sales policy.C) The fierce competition they face.D) The lack of effective promotion.16. A) Go and get the groceries at once.B) Manage with what they have.C) Do some shopping on their way home.D) Have the groceries delivered to them.17. A) The hot weather in summer.B) The problem with the air conditioner.C) The ridiculous rules of the office.D) The atmosphere in the office.18. A) Set a new stone in her ring.B) Find the priceless jewel she lost.C) Buy a ring with precious diamond.D) Shop on Oxford Street for a decent gift.Q uestions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19. A) Damaging public facilities.B) Destroying urban wildlife.C) Organizing rallies in the park.D) Hurting baby animals in the zoo.20. A) He had bribed the park keepers to keep quiet.B) People had differing opinions about his behavior.C) The serious consequences of his doings were not fully realized.D) His behavior was thought to have resulted from mental illness.21. A) Brutal.B) Justifiable.C) Too harsh.D) Well-deserved.22. A) Encouraging others to follow his wrong-doing.B) Stealing endangered animals from the zoo.C) Organizing people against the authorities.D) Attacking the park keepers in broad daylight.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23. A) She has already left school.B) She works for the handicapped.C) She is fond of practical courses.D) She is good at foreign languages.24. A) He is interested in science courses.B) He attends a boarding school.C) He speaks French and German.D) He is the brightest of her three kids.25. A) Comprehensive schools do not offer quality education.B) Parents decide what schools their children are to attend.C) Public schools are usually bigger in size than private schools.D) Children from low income families can’t really choose schools.Section BDirections:In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. A) Encourage the students to do creative thinking.B) Help the students to develop communication skills.C) Cultivate the students’ ability to inspire employees.D) Focus on teaching the various functions of business.27. A) His teaching career at the Harvard Business School.B) His personal involvement in business management.C) His presidency at college and experience overseas.D) His education and professorship at Babson College.28. A) Development of their raw brain power.B) Exposure to the liberal arts and humanities.C) Improvement of their ability in capital management.D) Knowledge of up-to-date information technology.29. A) Reports on business and government corruption.B) His contact with government and business circles.C) Discoveries of cheating among MBA students.D) The increasing influence of the mass media.Passage TwoQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30. A) They have better options for their kids than colleges.B) The unreasonably high tuition is beyond their means.C) The quality of higher education may not be worth the tuition.D) They think that their kids should pay for their own education.31. A) They do too many extracurricular activities.B) They tend to select less demanding courses.C) They take part-time jobs to support themselves.D) They think few of the courses worth studying.32. A) Its samples are not representative enough.B) Its significance should not be underestimated.C) Its findings come as a surprise to many parents.D) Its criteria for academic progress are questionable.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33. A) A newly married couple. B) A business acquaintance.C) Someone good at cooking.D) Someone you barely know.34. A) Obtain necessary information about your guests.B) Collect a couple of unusual or exotic recipes.C) Buy the best meat and the freshest fruit. D) Try to improve your cooking skills.35. A) Losing weight.B) Entertaining guests.C) Making friends.D) Cooking meals.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 the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.People with disabilities comprise a large but diverse segment of the population. It is (36) ______ that over 35 million Americans have physical, mental, or other disabilities. (37) ______ half of these disabilities are “developmental,” i.e., they occur prior to the individual’s twenty-second birthday, often from (38) ______ conditions, and are severe enough to affect three or more areas of development, such as (39) ______, communication and employment. Most other disabilities are considered (40) ______, i.e., caused by outside forces.Before the 20th century, only a small (41) ______ of people with disabilities survived for long. Medical treatment for such conditions as stroke or spinal cord (42) ______ was unavailable. People whose disabilities should not have inherently affected their life span were often so mistreated that they (43) ______. Advancements in medicine and social services have created a climate in which (44) . Unfortunately, these basics are often all that is available. Civil liberties such as the right to vote, marry, get an education, and gain employment have historically been denied on the basis of disability.(45) _______________________________________________________________________. Disabled people formed grassroots coalitions to advocate their rights to integration and meaningful equality of opportunity. (46) . In the mid-1970s, critical legislation mandated（规定）access to education, public transportation, and public facilities, and prohibited employment discrimination by federal agencies or employers receiving federal funds.Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension （Reading in Depth）（25 minutes）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. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.Questions 47 to 54 are based on the following passage.A key process in interpersonal interaction is that of social comparison, in that we evaluate ourselves in terms of how we compare to others. In particular, we engage in two types of comparison. First, we decide whether we are superior or inferior to others on certain dimensions, such as attractiveness, intelligence, popularity, etc. Here, the important aspect is to compare with an appropriate reference group. For example, modest joggers should not compare their performance with Olympic standard marathon (马拉松) runners. Second, we judge the extent to which we are the same as or different from others. At certain stages of life, especially adolescence, the pressure to be seen as similar to peers is immense. Thus, wearing the right brand of clothes or shoes may be of the utmost importance. We also need to know whether our thoughts, beliefs and ideas are in line with those of other people. This is part of the process of self-validation whereby we employ self-disclosures to seek support for our self-concept.People who do not have access to a good listener may not only be denied the opportunity to heighten their self-awareness, but they are also denied valuable feedback as to the validity and acceptability of their inner thoughts and feelings. By discussing these with others, we receive feedback as to whether these are experiences which others have as well, or whether they are less common. Furthermore, by gauging the reactions to our self-disclosures we learn what types are acceptable or unacceptable with particular people andin specific situations. On occasions it is the fear that certain disclosures may be unacceptable to family or friends that motivates an individual to seek professional help. Counsellors will be familiar with client statements such as: “I just couldn’t talk about this to my husband.”, “I really can’t let my mother know my true feelings.” Another aspect of social comparison in the counselling context relates to a technique known as normalizing. This is the process whereby helpers provide reassurance to clients that what they are experiencing is not abnormal or atypical (非典型的), but is a normal reaction shared by others when facing such circumstances. Patient disclosure, facilitated by the therapist, seems also to facilitate the process of normalizing.47. To evaluate ourselves, the author thinks it important for us to compare ourselves with _______.48. During adolescence, people generally feel an immense pressure to appear _______.49. It is often difficult for people to heighten their self-awareness without _______.50. What can people do if they find what they think or say unacceptable to family or friends?51. Counsellors often assure their clients that what they experience themselves is only _______.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 and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.Amid all the job losses, there’s 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 bodies 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 affecting 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 economics professo r Edward Leamer. The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs. U.S. gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels, meaning we’re producing as much as before, only with 6% fewer workers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers out there, with outsourcing (外包) stealing far more jobs than automation.Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotics Industry Association, argues that robots actually save U.S. jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewer work ers, 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’re better. “In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted t o have a human do the job, you couldn’t,” Burnstein says.Same goes for surgeons, who’re 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 Cruet.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, which could be used as a messenger 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 house. 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 software 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.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
2012年12月大学英语六级(CET-6)参考答案(一)
2012年12月大学英语六级(CET-6)参考答案Ⅰ【作文】On Maintaining TrustTrustis crucial and indispensable in maintaining a relationship. Without trust, wecannot get along well with other people, let alone cooperate with them or gethelp from them. People are social animals. Without interacting with otherpeople, life would be dull and meaningless。
Nowadays,the whole society is faced with “credit crisis”. We become unwillingly tobelieve the governments, friends, colleagues and strangers. This poses a greatthreat to the building of a harmonious society. And sometimes, we even believedthat we might be deceived if we trust too much. But in our everyday life, if wedon’t trust other people, we could live in torment. Since trust is of greatsignificance, what should we do to improve our sense of trust? First of all, wecannot lie to those who trust us. Secondly, it’s never too late to apologize toothers for our mistakes. What’s more, we should strike a trust balance between ourselves and others。
2012年12月份英语六级试卷(附带答案)
大学英语六级真题2012年12月1149Part Ⅰ WritingDirections: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay entitled Man and Computer by commenting on the saying, "The real danger is not that the computer will begin to think like man, but that man will begin to think like the computer." You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.1、Man and ComputerPart Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)Rates are low, but consumers won't borrowWith heavy debt loads and high joblessness, Americans are cautious.The U.S. Federal Reserve(Fed)'s announcement last week that it intended to keep credit cheap for at least two more years was a clear invitation to Americans: Go out and borrow.But many economists say it will take more than low interest rates to persuade consumers to take on more debt. There are already signs that the recent stock market fluctuations, turbulence in Europe and the U.S. deficit have scared consumers. On Friday, preliminary data showed that the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index had fallen this month to lower than it was in November 2008, when the United State was deep in recession.Under normal circumstances, the Fed's announcement might have attracted new home and car buyers and prompted credit card holders to rack up fresh charges. But with unemployment high and those with jobs worried about keeping them, consumers are more concerned about paying off the loans they already have than adding more debt. And by showing its hand for the next two years, the Fed may have thoughtlessly invited prospective borrowers to put off large purchases.Lenders, meanwhile, are still dealing with the effects of the boom-gone-bust and are forcing prospective borrowers to go to extraordinary lengths to prove their creditworthiness."I don't think lenders are going to be interested in extending a lot of debt in this environment," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, a macroeconomic consulting firm. "Nor do I think households are going to be interested in taking on a lot of debt."In housing, consumers have already shown a slow response to low rates. Applications for new mortgages have decreased this year to a 10-year low, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Sales of furniture and furnishings remain 22% below their pre-recession peak, according to SpendingPulse, a research report by MasterCard Advisors.Credit card rates have actually gone up slightly in the past year. The one bright spot in lending is the number of auto loans, which is up from last year. But some economists say that confidence among car buyers is hitting new lows.For Xavier Walter, a former mortgage banker who with his wife, Danielle, accumulated $20,000 in Credit card debt, low rates will not change his spending habits.As the housing market topped out five years ago, he lost his six-figure income. He and his wife were able to modify the mortgage on their four-bedroom house in Medford, New Jersey, as well as negotiate lower credit card payments.Two years ago, Mr. Walter, a 34-year-old father of three, started an energy business. He has sworn off credit. "I'm not going to go back in debt ever again," he said. "If I can't pay for it in cash, I don't want it."Until now, one of the biggest restraints on consumer spending has been a debt aftereffect. Since August 2008, when household debt peaked at $12.41 trillion, it has declined by about $1.2 trillion, according to an analysis by Moody's Analytics of data from the Federal Reserve and Equifax, the credit agency. A large portion of that, though, was simply written off by lenders as borrowers defaulted on loans.By other measures, households have improved their position. The proportion of after-tax income that households spend to remain current on loan payments has fallen.Still, household debt remains high. That presents a paradox: many economists argue that the economy cannot achieve true health until debt levels decline. But credit, made attractive by low rates, is a time-tested way to increase consumer spending.With new risks of another downturn, economists worry that it will take years for debt to return to manageable levels, ff the economy contracts again, said George Magnus, senior adviser at UBS, then "you could find a lot of households in a debt trap which they probably can never get out of." Mortgage lenders, meanwhile, burned by the housing crash, are extra careful about approving new loans. In June, for instance, Fannie Mae, the largest mortgage buyer in the United States, said that borrowers whose existing debt exceeded 45 to 50% of their income would be required to have stronger "compensating" factors, which might include higher savings.Even those borrowers in strong financial positions are asked to provide unusual amounts of paperwork. Bobby and Katie Smith have an extremely good credit record, tiny student debt and a combined six-figure income. For part of their down payment, they planned to use about $5,000 they had received as wedding gifts in February.But the lender would not accept that money unless the Smiths provided a certified letter from each of 14 guests, stating that the money was a gift, rather than a loan."We laughed for a good 15 or 20 minutes," recalled Mr. Smith, 34.Mr. Smith, a program director for a radio station in Orlando, Florida, said they ended up using other savings for their down payment to buy a $300,000 four-bedroom house in April.For those not as creditworthy as the Smiths, low rates are irrelevant because they no longer qualify for mortgages. That leaves the eligible pool of loan applicants wealthier, "older and whiter," said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. "It's creating much more of a divide," he said, "between the haves and the have-nots."Car shoppers with the highest credit ratings can also get loans more easily, and at lower rates, said Paul C.Taylor, chief economist of the National Automobile Dealers Association.During the recession, inability to obtain credit severely cut auto buying as lenders rejected even those with good credit ratings. Now automakers are increasing their subprime(次级债的) lending again as well, but remain hesitant to approve large numbers of risky customers.The number of new auto loans was up by 16% in the second quarter compared with theprevious year, said Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit at Experian, the information services company.But some economists warn that consumer confidence is falling. According to CNW Marketing Research, confidence among those who intend to buy a car this year is at its lowest since it began collecting data on this measure in 2000.On credit cards, rates have actually inched higher this year, largely because of new rules that curb the issuer's ability to charge fees or raise certain interest rates at will.At the end of the second quarter, rates averaged 14.01% on new card offers, up from 13.75% a year earlier, according to Mail Monitor, which tracks credit cards for Synovate, a market research firm. According to data from the Federal Reserve, total outstanding debt on revolving credit cards was down by 4.6% during the first half of the year compared with the same period a year earlier. Even if the Fed's announcement helps keep rates steady, or pushes them down, businesses do not expect customers to suddenly charge up a storm."It's not like, 'Oh, credit is so cheap, let's go back to the heydays(鼎盛时期),'" said Elizabeth Crowell, who owns Sterling Place, two high-end home furnishing and gift stores in New York. "People still fear for their jobs. So I think where maybe after other recessions they might return to previous spending habits, the pendulum hasn't swung back the same way."1、What is the purpose of the announcement issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve last week?A) To help reduce the debt burden on consumers. B) To force the banks to lower their interest rates.C) To encourage consumers to get more bank loans. D) To prevent further fluctuations in the stock market.2、Why are people reluctant to take on more debt despite the low interest rates?A) They are afraid of losing their good credit ratings.B) They are pessimistic about employment prospects.C) They have little faith in the Fed's financial policies.D) They expect the Fed to further lower interest rates.3、What does the author say about lenders in the current credit market?A) They are becoming more cautious.B) They are eager to offer more loans.C) They advise prospective borrowers to put off large purchases.D) They are only concerned about how much they can get back.4、What does the author want to say by citing Xavier Walter's case?A) Not many Americans can afford to pay in cash these days.B) The Fed's policies exert a strong influence on borrowers.C) People now won't buy things unless they have the money.D) It is beneficial for Americans to borrow in times of recession.5、What is the economists' concern regarding the current economy?A) Consumers' unwillingness to spend. B) Banks' inability to recover debt.C) The ever-lowering interest rates. D) The unmanageable debt levels.6、What do we learn from the Smiths' story?A) It is very difficult for people to build up a good credit record.B) A certain amount of savings is needed for one to buy a house.C) The purchase of a house will plunge young couples into heavy debt.D) Mortgage lenders are now careful about borrowers' qualifications.7、According to Guy Cecala, the banks' policy on mortgage lending will result in ______.A) a wider gap between the rich and the poor B) a bigger down payment for house buyersC) a higher debt level for the less wealthy D) a greater pressure on senior buyers8、During the recession, the number of car buyers decreased because it was difficult to ______.9、Credit card interest rates have gradually increased recently because new rules do not allow the issuers to raise certain interest rates or ______.10、According to Elizabeth Crowell, the current recession, unlike previous ones, has not seen a swing back in people's ______.Part Ⅲ Listening ComprehensionSection A11、A) She can count on the man for help. B) She has other plans for this weekend.C) She can lend the man a sleeping bag. D) She has got camping gear for rent.12、A) The man should keep his words. B) She regrets asking the man for help.C) Karen always supports her at work. D) Karen can take her to the airport.13、A) He can't afford to go traveling yet. B) His trip to Hawaii was not enjoyable.C) He usually checks his brakes before a trip. D) His trip to Hawaii has used up all his money.14、A) There was nothing left except some pie. B) The man has to find something else to eat.C) The woman is going to prepare the dinner. D) Julie has been invited for dinner.15、A) Submit no more than three letters. B) Present a new letter of reference.C) Apply to three graduate schools. D) Send Professor Smith a letter.16、A) He declines to join the gardening club.B) He is a professional gardener in town.C) He prefers to keep his gardening skills to himself.D) He wishes to receive formal training in gardening.17、A) Sculpture is not a typical form of modem art.B) Modern art cannot express people's true feelings.C) The recent sculpture exhibit was not well organized.D) Many people do not appreciate modem art.18、A) Bob does not have much chance to win. B) She will vote for another candidate.C) Bob cannot count on her vote. D) She knows the right person for the position. Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19、A) Poor management of the hospital. B) The health hazard at her work place.C) Decisions made by the head technician. D) The outdated medical testing procedures.20、A) Transfer her to another department. B) Repair the x-ray equipment.C) Cut down her workload. D) Allow her to go on leave for two months.21、A) They are virtually impossible to enforce. B) Neither is applicable to the woman's case.C) Both of them have been subject to criticism. D) Their requirements may be difficult to meet.22、A) Organize a mass strike. B) Compensate for her loss.C) Try to help her get it back. D) Find her a better paying job.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23、A) In giving concessions. B) In the concluding part.C) In stating your terms. D) In the preparatory phase.24、A) He behaves in a way contrary to his real intention.B) He presents his arguments in a straightforward way.C) He responds readily to the other party's proposals.D) He uses lots of gestures to help make his points clear.25、A) Both may fail when confronting experienced rivals.B) The honest type is more effective than the actor type.C) Both can succeed depending on the specific situation.D) The actor type works better in tough negotiations.Section BPassage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26、A) The shape of the cubes used. B) The size of the objects shown.C) The number of times of repeating the process. D) The weight of the boxes moving acrossthe stage.27、A) Boys enjoy playing with cubes more than girls.B) Girls tend to get excited more easily than boys.C) Girls seem to start reasoning earlier than boys.D) Boys pay more attention to moving objects than girls.28、A) It is a breakthrough in the study of the nerve system.B) It may stimulate scientists to make further studies.C) Its result helps understand babies' language ability.D) Its findings are quite contrary to previous research.29、A) The two sides of their brain develop simultaneously.B) They are better able to adapt to the surroundings.C) Their bones mature earlier.D) They talk at an earlier age.Passage TwoQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30、A) The new security plan for the municipal building.B) The blueprint for the development of the city.C) The controversy over the new office regulations.D) The city's general budget for the coming year.31、A) Whether the security checks were really necessary.B) How to cope with the huge crowds of visitors to the municipal building.C) Whether the security checks would create lone queues at peak hours.D) How to train the newly recruited security guards.32、A) Irrelevant. B) Straightforward. C) Ridiculous. D) Confrontational. Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33、A) He used to work as a miner in Nevada.B) He works hard to support his five kids.C) He considers himself a blessed man.D) He once taught at a local high school.34、A) To be nearer to Zac's school. B) To look after her grandchildren.C) To cut their living expenses. D) To help with the household chores.35、A) Skeptical. B) Optimistic. C) Indifferent. D) Realistic. Section CMountain climbing is becoming a popular sport, but it is also a (36) dangerous one. People can fall; they may also become ill. One of the most common dangers to climbers is altitude sickness, which can affect even very (37) climbers.Altitude sickness usually begins when a climber goes above 8,000 or 9,000 feet. The higher one climbs, the less oxygen there is in the air. When people don't get enough oxygen, they often begin to (38) for air. They may also feel (39) and light-headed. Besides these symptoms of altitude sickness, others such as headache and (40) may also occur. At heights of over 18,000 feet, people may be climbing in a (41) daze(恍惚). This state of mind can havean (42) effect on their judgment.A few (43) can help most climbers avoid altitude sickness. The first is not to go too high too fast. If you climb to 10,000 feet, stay at that height for a day or two. (44) . Or if you do climb higher sooner, come back down to a lower height when you sleep. Also, drink plenty of liquids and avoid tobacco and alcohol. (45) . You breathe less when you sleep, so you get less oxygen. The most important warning is this: if you have severe symptoms and they don't go away, go down! (46) .Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)Section AFor many families, figuring out how many after-school activities are too many is a struggle. For parents who fear they're "over-scheduling" their children, a new study carries a comforting message. The paper, published last week by the Society for Research in Child Development, is the first to take a data-driven look at the issue—and whether being so busy is really a bad thing. The study suggests the phenomenon is more isolated than media reports suggest: in fact, 40% of children (ages 5-18) are engaged in no activities, typical kids spend just five hours a week in structured activities, and very few children—3-6%—spend 20 hours a week. On average, most kids spend far more time watching TV and playing games. And for kids who're extremely busy, there's also good news: the more activities they do, the better kids perform on measures of educational achievement and psychological adjustment. "This popular concern [aboutover-scheduling] has been generated by a couple of parenting books and the media," says Yale professor and lead author Joseph Mahoney. But looking at the data, "it's hard to argue that kids are over-scheduled."That news will be welcome in households like the Oviedos', in Highland Park, Ill. Nine-year-old Bianca spends six hours a week in rhythmic-gymnastics classes and three hours a week at ballet, plus a half-hour piano lesson. "The alternative would be playing on the computer or watching TV," says her mother, Anca, who believes Bianca benefits by learning to focus, making new friends and acquiring new skills.The new paper doesn't sway some experts who've advocated against activity-creep. They say kids are far busier—and overstressed by it all—than the numbers suggest. "This is an example of researchers using big data sets to dispute the lived experience of many, many parents and families," says William Doherty, a University of Minnesota family-studies professor. Some skeptics question whether the self-reported time-dimly data are really accurate; others say they don't account for all the time spent getting between activities. Alvin Rosenfeld, co-author of TheOver-Scheduled Child, says: "If people follow this advice and do more activities, I think it'll bepretty damaging."Despite the doubters, the new data are a small step toward a better understanding of what's best for kids. And no matter what the numbers show, there's no disputing that every child is different—and some will absolutely do better with less. Lisa Dilg of South Lyon, Mich., feels as though her 6-year-old twins are the only kids in town who don't take skiing and ice-skating lessons. "There is nothing wrong with cuddling up(依偎) on the couch with Morn and Dad," says Lisa. And for families who prefer to bond on the sidelines of soccer fields, the latest research can provide a different kind of comfort.47、The question in dispute in the passage is whether or not children are ______.48、It can be inferred that a good way to keep children away from TV and video games is to engage them in ______.49、According to the new study, children will ______ academically and psychologically if they involve themselves in more after-school activities.50、There are skeptics who raise doubts about the new study, saying that its data may be______.51、In spite of the controversy, the new study may help people see more clearly ______.Section BPassage OneWho's poor in America? That's a question hard to answer. Hard because there's no conclusive definition of poverty. Low income matters, though how low is unclear. Poverty is also a state of mind that fosters self-defeating behavior—bad work habits, family breakdowns, and addictions. Finally, poverty results from bad luck: accidents, job losses, disability.Despite poverty's messiness, we've measured progress against it by a single statistic: the federal poverty line. By this measure, we haven't made much progress. But the apparent lack of progress is misleading for two reasons.First, it ignores immigration. Many immigrants are poor and low-skilled. They add to the poor. From 1989 to 2007, about three quarters of the increase in the poverty population occurred among Hispanics (西班牙裔美国人)—mostly immigrants and their children.Second, the poor's material well-being has improved. The official poverty measure obscures this by counting only pre-tax cash income and ignoring other sources of support, including food stamps and housing subsidies. Although many poor live from hand to mouth, they've participated in rising living standards. In 2005, 91% had microwaves, 79% air-conditioning, and 48% cell phones.The existing poverty line could be improved by adding some income sources and subtracting some expenses. Unfortunately, the administration's proposal for a "supplemental poverty measure" in 2011 goes beyond that. The new poverty number would compound public confusion. It also raises questions about whether the statistic is tailored to favor a political agenda.The "supplemental measure" ties the poverty threshold to what the poorest third of Americans spend on food, housing, clothing, and utilities. The actual threshold will probably be higher than today's poverty line. Many Americans would find this weird: people get richer, but "poverty" stays stuck.What produces this outcome is a different view of poverty. The present concept is an absolute one: the poverty threshold reflects the amount estimated to meet basic needs. By contrast, the new measure embraces a relative notion of poverty: people are automatically poor if they're a given distance from the top, even if their incomes are increasing.The new indicator is a "propaganda device" to promote income redistribution by showing that poverty is stubborn or increasing. The Census Bureau has estimated statistics similar to the administration's proposal. In 2008, the traditional poverty rate was 13.2%; estimates of the new statistic range up to 17%. The new poverty statistic exceeds the old, and the gap grows larger over time.As senator Daniel Moynihan said, the administration is defining poverty up. It's legitimate to debate how much we should aid the poor or reduce economic inequality. But the debate should not be swayed by misleading statistics that few Americans could possibly understand. Government statistics should strive for political neutrality(中立). This one fails.52、What is the main idea of the first paragraph?A) Poverty is very often defined as a state of mind.B) Poverty is a problem hard to tackle in America.C) Bad work habits and bad luck lead to poverty.D) There is no consensus on the concept of poverty.53、What does the author say about the poor in America?A) Their living standards have actually improved.B) Most of them are immigrants and their descendants.C) Their chances of rising above the poverty line are slim.D) Most of them rely on government subsidies for survival.54、What does the author think of the administration's proposal for a "supplemental poverty measure"?A) It is intended to further help the poor.B) It is made to serve political purposes.C) It is a positive response to changed circumstances.D) It is an attempt to combat the economic recession.55、What is characteristic of the new measure of poverty?A) It defines poverty by the gap between the rich and the poor.B) It raises the threshold for the poor to get welfare benefits.C) It is more accurate and scientific in terms of statistics.D) It truly reflects the practical needs of the poor.56、What does the author want to say by quoting Daniel Moynihan?A) Economic equality is but an empty dream. B) Political neutrality can never be achieved.C) The administration's statistics are biased. D) The debate over poverty will get nowhere.Passage TwoEleven summers ago I was sent to a management program at the Wharton School to be prepared for bigger things. Along with lectures on finance and entrepreneurship and the like, the program included a delightfully out-of-place session with A1 Filreis, an English professor at the University of Pennsylvania, on poetry.For three hours he talked us through "The Red Wheelbarrow" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." The experience—especially when contrasted with the horrible prose of our other assigned reading—sent me fleeing to the campus bookstore, where I resumed along-interrupted romance with meter and rhyme(韵).Professor Filreis says that he is "a little shocked" at how intensely his Wharton students respond to this unexpected deviation from the businesslike, not just as a relief but as a kind of stimulus. Many write afterward asking him to recommend books of poetry. Especially now. "The grim economy seems to make the participants keener than ever to think out of the box' in the way poetry encourages," he told me.Which brings me to Congress, an institution stuck deeper inside the box than just about any other these days. You have probably heard that up on Capitol Hill(美国国会山), they're very big on prayer breakfasts, where members gather over scrambled eggs and ask God for wisdom. You can judge from the agonizing debt spectacle we've watched this summer how well that's working. Well, maybe it's time to add some poetry readings to the agenda.I'm not suggesting that poetry will guide our legislators to wisdom any more than prayer has. Just that it might make them a little more human. Poetry is no substitute for courage or competence, but properly applied, it is a challenge to self-certainty, which we currently have in excess. Poetry serves as a spur to creative thinking, a reproach to dogma and habit, a remedy to the current fashion for pledge signing.The poet Shelley, in defense of poetry nearly two centuries ago, wrote, "A man, to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and of many others; the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own." Shelley concludes that essay by calling poets "the unacknowledged legislators of the world," because they bring imagination to the realm of "reasoners and mechanists."The relevance of poetry was declared more concisely in five lines from the love poem "Asphodel, That Greeny Flower," by William Carlos Williams:It is difficultto get the news from poemsyet men die miserably every dayfor lackof what is found there.57、Why did the author participate in the Wharton School management program?A) He was a passionate lover of classical poetry.B) He was being trained for an important position.C) He had just been promoted to top management.D) He was interested in finance and entrepreneurship.58、What did the author think of Professor Filreis's poetry session?A) It diverted students' attention from the assigned reading.B) It made the management program appear romantic.C) It was extremely appealing to the students.D) It pulled students out of prose reading sessions.59、What was the impact of the poetry session on the program participants according to Professor Filreis?A) It inspired them to view things from broader perspectives.B) It led them to think poetry indispensable to management.C) It helped them develop a keener interest in literature.D) It encouraged them to embark on a political career.60、What does the author think of Capitol Hill's prayer over breakfast?A) It is a ritual that has lost its original meaning.B) It doesn't really help solve the economic problems.C) It provides inspiration as poetry reading does.D) It helps people turn away from the debt spectacle.61、What do we learn from Shelley's essay?A) Poetry can relieve people of pains and sufferings.B) It takes poetic imagination to become a legislator.C) Legislators should win public acknowledgement.D) It is important to be imaginative and sympathetic.Part Ⅴ Cloze"My job is killing me." Who among us hasn't issued that complaint at least once? Now a new study suggests that your dramatic complaint may (62) some scientific truth.The 20-year study, by researchers at Tel Aviv University, (63) to examine the relationship between the workplace and a person's risk of death. Researchers (64) 820 adults who had undergone a (65) physical exam at a health clinic in 1988, and then interviewedthem (66) detail about their workplace conditions—asking how nice their colleagues were, whether their boss was supportive and how much (67) they had in their position.The participants (68) in age from 25 to 65 at the start of the study and worked in a variety of (69) , including finance, health care, manufacturing and insurance. Theresearchers (70) the participants through their medical records: by the study's conclusion in 2008, 53 people had died—and they were significantly more likely than those who survived to report having a (71) work environment.People who reported having little or no (72) support from their co-workers were 2.4 times more likely to die (73) the course of the study than those who said they had close, supportive (74) with their workmates. Interestingly, the risk of death was (75) only to people's perceptions of their coworkers, not their bosses. People who reported negative。
2012年12月英语六级真题(含答案)
2012年12月英语六级真题及答案详解Part IWriting (30 minutes)Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay entitled Man and Computer by commenting on the saying, “The real danger is not that the computer will begin to think like man, but that man will begin to think like the computer.” You should write at least 150words but no more than 200words.Man and ComputerPart II Reading Comprehension （Skimming and Scanning）（15 minutes）Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on A nswer Sheet 1.For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Thirst grows for living unpluggedMore people are taking breaks from the connected life amid the stillness and quiet of retreats like the Jesuit Center in Wernersville, Pennsylvania.About a year ago, I flew to Singapore to join the writer Malcolm Gladwell, the fashion designer Marc Ecko and the graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister in addressing a group of advertising people on “Marketing to the Child of Tomorrow.” Soon after I arrived, the chief executive of the agency that had invited us took me aside. What he was most interested in, he began, was stillness and quiet.A few months later, I read an interview with the well-known cutting-edge designer Philippe Starck.What allowed him to remain so consistently ah ead of the curve? “I never read any magazines or watch TV,” he said, perhaps with a little exaggeration. “Nor do I go to cocktail parties, dinners or anything like that.” He lived outside conventional ideas, he implied, because “I live alone mostly, in the middle of nowhere.”Around the same time, I noticed that those who part with $2,285 a night to stay in a cliff-top room at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California, pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV in their rooms; the future of travel, I’m reliably told, lies in “black-hole resorts,” which charge high prices precisely because you can’t get online in their rooms.Has it really come to this?The more ways we have to connect, the more many of us seem desperate to unplug. Internet rescue camps in South Korea and China try to save kids addicted to the screen.Writer friends of mine pay good money to get the Freedom software that enables them to disable the very Internet connections that seemed so emancipating not long ago. Even Intel experimented in 2007 with conferring four uninterrupted hours of quiet time (no phone or e-mail) every Tuesday morning on 300 engineers and managers. Workers were not allowed to use the phone or send e-mail, but simply had the chance to clear their heads and to hear themselves think.The average American spends at least eight and a half hours a day in front of a screen, Nicholas Carr notes in his book The Shallows. The average American teenager sends or receives 75 text messages a day, though one girl managed to handle an average of 10,000 every 24 hours for a month.Since luxury is a function of scarcity, the children of tomorrow will long for nothing more than intervals of freedom from all the blinking machines, streaming videos and scrolling headlines that leave them feeling empty and too full all at once.The urgency of slowing down—to find the time and space to think—is nothing new, of course, and wiser souls have always reminded us that the more attention we pay to the moment, the less time and energy we have to pl ace it in some larger context. “Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries,” the French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in the 17th century, “and yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries.” He also famously remarked that all of man’s problems come from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone.When telegraphs and trains brought in the idea that convenience was more important than content, Henry David Thoreau reminded us that “the man whose horse trots (奔跑), a mile in a minute does not carry the most important messages.”Marshall McLuhan, who came closer than most to seeing what was coming, warned, “When things come at you very fast, naturally you lose touch with yourself.”We have more and more ways to communicate, but less and less to say. Partly because we are so busy communicating. And we are rushing to meet so many deadlines that we hardly register that what we need most are lifelines.So what to do? More and more people I know seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation (沉思), or tai chi(太极)；these aren’t NewAge fads (时尚的事物) so much as ways to connect with what could be called the wisdom of old age. Two friends of mine observe an “Internet sabbath(安息日)” every week, turning off their online connections from Friday night to Monday morning. Other friends take walks and “forget” their cellphones at home.A series of tests in recent years has shown, Mr. Carr points out, that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” More thanthat, empathy(同感，共鸣)，as well as deep thought, depends (as neuroscientists like Antonio Damasio have found) on neural processes that are “inherently slow.”I turn to eccentric measures to try to keep my mind sober and ensure that I have time to do nothing at all (which is the only time when I can see what I should be doing the rest of the time).I have yet to use a cellphone and I have never Tweeted or entered Facebook. I try not to go online till my day’s writing is finished, and I moved fromManhattan to rural Japan in part so I could more easily survive for long stretches entirely on foot.None of this is a matter of asceticism(苦行主义)；it is just pure selfishness. Nothing makes me feel better than being in one place, absorbed in a book, a conversation, or music. It is actually something deeper than mere happiness: it is joy, which the monk(僧侣) David Steindl-Rast describes as “that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.”It is vital, of course, to stay in touch with the world. But it is only by having some distance from the world that you can see it whole, and understand what you should be doing with it.For more than 20 years, therefore, I have been going several times a year—often for no longer than three days—to aBenedictine hermitage(修道院)，40 minutes down the road, as it happens, from the Post Ranch Inn. I don’t attend services when I am there, and I have never meditated, there or anywhere; I just take walks and read and lose myself in the stillness, recalling that it is only by stepping briefly away from my wife and bosses and friends that I will have anything useful to bring to them. The last time I was in the hermitage, three months ago, I happened to meet with a youngish-looking man with a 3-year-old boy around his shoulders.“You’re Pico, aren’t you?” the man said, and introduced himself as Larry; we had met, I gathered, 19 years before, when he had been living in the hermitage as an assistant to one of the monks.“What are you doing now?” I asked.We smiled. No words were necessary.“I try to bring my kids here as often as I can,” he went on. The child of tomorrow, I realized, may actually be ahead of us, in terms of sensing not what is new, but what is essential.1. What is special about the Post Ranch Inn?A) Its rooms are well furnished but dimly lit.B) It makes guests feel like falling into a black hole.C) There is no access to television in its rooms.D) It provides all the luxuries its guests can think of.2. What does the author say the children of tomorrow will need most?A) Convenience and comfort in everyday life.B) Time away from all electronic gadgets.C) More activities to fill in their leisure time.D) Greater chances for individual development.3. What does the French philosopher Blaise Pascal say about distraction?A) It leads us to lots of mistakes.B) It renders us unable to concentrate.C) It helps release our excess energy.D) It is our greatest misery in life.4. According to Marshall McLuhan, what will happen if things come at us very fast?A) We will not know what to do with our own lives.B) We will be busy receiving and sending messages.C) We will find it difficult to meet our deadlines.D) We will not notice what is going on around us.5. What does the author say about yoga, meditation and tai chi?A) They help people understand ancient wisdom.B) They contribute to physical and mental health.C) They are ways to communicate with nature.D) They keep people from various distractions.6. What is neuroscientist Antonio Damasio’s finding?A) Quiet rural settings contribute a lot to long life.B) One’s brain becomes sharp when it is activated.C) Eccentric measures are needed to keep one’s mind sober.D) When people think deeply, their neural processes are slow.7. The author moved from Manhattan to rural Japan partly because he could _______.A) stay away from the noise of the big city.B) live without modern transportation.C) enjoy the beautiful view of the countryside.D) practice asceticism in a local hermitage8. In order to see the world whole, the author thinks it necessary to __________.9. The author takes walks and reads and loses himself in the stillness of the hermitage so that he can bring his wife and bosses and friends ___________.10. The youngish-looking man takes his little boy to the hermitage frequently so that when he grows up he will know __________.Part III ListeningComprehension （35 minutes）Section ADirections:In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A）, B）, C）and D）, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2with a single line through the centre.11. A) Ask his boss for a lighter schedule.B) Trade places with someone else.C) Accept the extra work willingly.D) Look for a more suitable job.12. A) It is unusual for his wife to be at home now.B) He is uncertain where his wife is at the moment.C) It is strange for his wife to call him at work.D) He does not believe what the woman has told him.13. A) The man is going to send out the memo tomorrow.B) The man will drive the woman to the station.C) The speakers are traveling by train tomorrow morning.D) The woman is concerned with the man’s health.14. A) The suite booked was for a different date.B) The room booked was on a different floor.C) The room booked was not spacious enough.D) A suite was booked instead of a double room.15. A) The reason for low profits.B) The company’s sales policy.C) The fierce competition they face.D) The lack of effective promotion.16. A) Go and get the groceries at once.B) Manage with what they have.C) Do some shopping on their way home.D) Have the groceries delivered to them.17. A) The hot weather in summer.B) The problem with the air conditioner.C) The ridiculous rules of the office.D) The atmosphere in the office.18. A) Set a new stone in her ring.B) Find the priceless jewel she lost.C) Buy a ring with precious diamond.D) Shop on Oxford Street for a decent gift.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19. A) Damaging public facilities.B) Destroying urban wildlife.C) Organising rallies in the park.D) Hurting baby animals in the zoo.20. A) He had bribed the park keepers to keep quiet.B) People had differing opinions about his behaviour.C) The serious consequences of his doings were not fully realised.D) His behaviour was thought to have resulted from mental illness.21. A) Brutal.B) Justifiable.C) Too harsh.D) Well-deserved.22. A) Encouraging others to follow his wrong-doing.B) Stealing endangered animals from the zoo.C) Organising people against the authorities.D) Attacking the park keepers in broad daylight.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23. A) She has already left school.B) She works for the handicapped.C) She is fond of practical courses.D) She is good at foreign languages.24. A) He is interested in science courses.B) He attends a boarding school.C) He speaks French and German.D) He is the brightest of her three kids.25. A) Comprehensive schools do not offer quality education.B) Parents decide what schools their children are to attend.C) Public schools are usually bigger in size than private schools.D) Children from low income families can’t really choose schools. Section BDirections:In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage andthe 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 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. A) Encourage the students to do creative thinking.B) Help the students to develop communication skills.C) Cultivate the students’ ability to inspire employees.D) Focus on teaching the various functions of business.27. A) His teaching career at the Harvard Business School.B) His personal involvement in business management.C) His presidency at college and experience overseas.D) His education and professorship at Babson College.28. A) Development of their raw brain power.B) Exposure to the liberal arts and humanities.C) Improvement of their ability in capital management.D) Knowledge of up-to-date information technology.29. A) Reports on business and government corruption.B) His contact with government and business circles.C) Discoveries of cheating among MBA students.D) The increasing influence of the mass media.Passage TwoQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30. A) They have better options for their kids than colleges.B) The unreasonably high tuition is beyond their means.C) The quality of higher education may not be worth the tuition.D) They think that their kids should pay for their own education.31. A) They do too many extracurricular activities.B) They tend to select less demanding courses.C) They take part-time jobs to support themselves.D) They think few of the courses worth studying.32. A) Its samples are not representative enough.B) Its significance should not be underestimated.C) Its findings come as a surprise to many parents.D) Its criteria for academic progress are questionable.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33. A) A newly married couple.B) A business acquaintance.C) Someone good at cooking.D) Someone you barely know.34. A) Obtain necessary information about your guests.B) Collect a couple of unusual or exotic recipes.C) Buy the best meat and the freshest fruit.D) Try to improve your cooking skills.35. A) Losing weight.B) Entertaining guests.C) Making friends.D) Cooking meals.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 the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.People with disabilities comprise a large but diverse segment of the population. It is (36) ______ that over 35 million Americans have physical, mental, or other disabilities. (37) ______ half of these disabilities are “developmental,” i.e., they occur prior to the individual’s twenty-second birthday, often from (38) ______ conditions, and are severe enough to affect three or more areas of development, such as (39) ______, communication and employment. Most other disabilities are considered (40) ______, i.e., caused by outside forces.Before the 20th century, only a small (41) ______ of people with disabilities survived for long. Medical treatment for such conditions as stroke or spinal cord (42) ______ was unavailable. People whose disabilities should not have inherently affected their life span were often so mistreated that they (43) ______. Advancements in medicine and social services have created a climate in which(44). Unfortunately, these basics are often all that is available. Civil liberties such as the right to vote, marry, get an education, and gain employment have historically been denied on the basis of disability.(45)_______________________________________________________________________. Disabled people formed grassroots coalitions to advocate their rights to integration and meaningful equality of opportunity.(46). In the mid-1970s, criticallegislation mandated（规定）access to education, public transportation, and public facilities, and prohibited employment discrimination by federal agencies or employers receiving federal funds.Part ⅣReading Comprehension （Reading in Depth）（25 minutes）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. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.Questions 47 to 54 are based on the following passage.A key process in interpersonal interaction is that of social comparison, in that we evaluate ourselves in terms of how we compare to others. In particular, we engage in two types of comparison. First, we decide whether we are superior or inferior to others on certain dimensions, such as attractiveness, intelligence, popularity, etc. Here, the important aspect is to compare with an appropriate reference group. For example, modest joggers should not compare their performance with Olympic standard marathon(马拉松) runners. Second, we judge the extent to which we are the same as or different from others. At certain stages of life, especially adolescence, the pressure to be seen as similar to peers is immense. Thus, wearing the right brand of clothes or shoes may be of the utmost importance. We also need to know whether our thoughts, beliefs and ideas are in line with those of other people. This is part of the process of self-validation whereby we employself-disclosures to seek support for our self-concept.People who do not have access to a good listener may not only be denied the opportunity to heighten their self-awareness, but they are also denied valuable feedback as to the validity and acceptability of their inner thoughts and feelings. By discussing these with others, we receive feedback as to whether these are experiences which others have as well, or whether they are less common. Furthermore, by gauging the reactions to our self-disclosures we learn what types are acceptable or unacceptable with particular people and in specific situations. Onoccasions it is the fear that certain disclosures may be unacceptable to family or friends that motivates an individual to seek professional help. Counsellors will be familiar with client statements such as: “I just c ouldn’t talk about this to my husband.”, “I really can’t let my mother know my true feelings.” Another aspect of social comparison in the counselling context relates to a technique known as normalising. This is the process whereby helpers provide reassurance to clients that what they are experiencing is not abnormal or atypical (非典型的), but is a normal reaction shared by others when facing such circumstances. Patient disclosure, facilitated by the therapist, seems also to facilitate the process of normalising.47. To evaluate ourselves, the author thinks it important for us to compare ourselves with _______.48. During adolescence, people generally feel an immense pressure to appear _______.49. It is often difficult for people to heighten their self-awareness without _______.50. What can people do if they find what they think or say unacceptable to family or friends?51. Counsellors often assure their clients that what they experience themselves is only _______.Section BDirections:There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For eachof them there are four choices marked A）, B）, C）and D）.You should decide on the best choice and mark the correspondingletter on Answer Sheet 2with a single line through thecentre.Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.Amid all the job losses, there’s 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 bodies 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 affecting 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, andwhite-collar jobs are under attack by microprocessors,” says economics professor Edward Leamer. The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs. U.S. gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels, meaning we’re producing as much as before, only with 6% fewerworkers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers out there, with outsourcing(外包) stealing far more jobs than automation.Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotics Industry Association, argues that robots actually save U.S. jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewer 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’re better. “In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn’t,” Burnstein says.Same goes for surgeons, who’re 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, which could be used as a messenger 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 house. That “mobile telepresence” could be useful at the office. If you’re away on a trip, yo u 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 software 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.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
2012年12月六级听力真题及原文
听力原文：11.W: I just heard about a really beautiful park in the east end of the town. There are a lot of roses in bloom.M: Why don’t we walk over there and see for ourselves?Q: What will the speakers probably do?12.M: My presentation is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning at the lecture hall. I hope to see you there.W: Oh, sorry. I was about to tell you that I have an appointment with my dentist at 9:00 o’clock tomorrow.Q: What do we learn about the woman?13.W: How long have you been running this company?M: Twenty years if you can believe that. I brought it from a small operation to what it is today. Q: What do we learn about the man?14.M: Have you read the news on the campus net? Susan has won the scholarship for next year. W: I knew she would from the very beginning. Such a brilliant and diligent girl! She certainly deserves it.Q: What does the woman mean?15.W: Taking a bus to Miami, it’s cheaper than going by train.M: That’s true. But I’d rather pay a little more for the added comfort and convenie nce.Q: What does the man mean?16.M: I think it’s time we got rid of all this old furniture.W: Y ou’re right. We need to promote our image besides it’s not a real antique.Q: What do the speakers mean?17.M: That was some storm yesterday. How was I afraid I couldn’t make it home.W: Y eah, most of the roads to my house were flooded. I didn’t get home from the lab until midnight.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?18.W: My boys are always complaining that they’re bored.M: Why don’t you get them into some team sports? My son and daughter play soccer every Saturday. And they both look forward to it all week.Q: What does the man mean?Conversation 1W: So John, I hear you and Arthur share a job, don’t you?M: Y es. We’ve shared a sales job at Sonatech f or about two years now.W: Well, how do you divide up your schedule?M: Y ou know we are both sales representatives, and we take orders over the phone. When we started job sharing it was difficult, because we both worked all day Monday. I worked Tuesday and Thursday and Arthur worked Wednesday and Friday. The problem was that when I was in the office on Tuesday. I would talk to people, then they would call back on Wednesday with a question. But Arthur couldn’t answer the question and he couldn’t ask me about it because I wasn’t in the office. So he had to ask the people to call me back the next day, Thursday. Of course, they didn’t like to wait until the next day to have their questions answered.W: Yes, that sounds like a problem.M: So, finally we decided that Arthur would work in the mornings and I would work in theafternoons. Now if someone calls with the question for me in the morning, Arthur tells them to call me in the afternoon. This way, people get their questions answered the same day.W: What do you do about vacations?M: Well, Sonatech gives the usual two weeks of vacation to full-time employees, I take a week and Arthur takes a week.W: It sounds like job sharing has worked out well for you.M: Y es, it has. We are both happy with it.Q19. What do John and author do at Sonatech?Q20. What problem did John and Arthur have when they started job sharing?Q21. What does John say about their annual vacation?Conversation 2W: May I see your license, please?M: But officer, did I do something wrong?W: Do you mean to say you didn’t see the speed limit sign back there?M: Um, no, madam, I guess I didn’t.W: In other words, you drove by too fast to read it. The sign says 35m/h. A school is just nearby, you know?M: Don’t get me wrong, but my speedometer didn’t read much faster than that.W: Then, why is it that my radar showed you are going 45? Let me put it another way. I’m going to give you a ticket. Again, may I see your license, please?M: Here it is, officer. But let me explain. I was late for an important appointment and I was worried that I wouldn’t make it on time. So...W: Uha, just a minute, here. Y our license is no longer valid. Y ou should have renewed it two weeks ago. I’m going to have to write you up for that, too.M: What? Really?W: Y our license becomes invalid on your birthday and that was two weeks ago according to the date here. Y ou are in violation of the law—driving without a valid license.M: I’m sorry, madam. I hadn’t realized that.W: Here’s the ticket for not having a valid license. But I’m only going to give you a warning about exceeding the speed limit. Be careful next time.M: Y es, madam, officer, I will. Thank you.Q22. Where was the man stopped by the police officer?Q23. What did the man claim about the speed limit sign?Q24. What did the woman say about the man’s driving license?Q25. What was the man’s penalty?Passage 1Since I started working part-time at a grocery store, I have learned that a customer is more than someone who buy something. To me, a customer is a person whose memory fails entirely once he or she starts to push a shopping card. One of the first things customers forget is how to count. There is no other way to explain how so many people get in their express line, which is clearly marked 15 items or less, with 20, 25 or even a cart load of items. Customers also forget why they came to the store in the first place. Just as I finish ringing up an order, a customer will say, “Oops, I forgot to pick up a fresh loaf of bread. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I go get it.” Five minutes later, he’s back with the bread, a bottle of milk, and three rolls of paper towels. Strange isthat seems customers also seem to forget that they have to pay for their groceries. Instead of writing a check or looking for a credit card while I am ringing up the groceries, my customers will wait until I announce the total. Then, in surprise, she says, “Oh no, what did I do with my check book?” After 5 minutes of digging through her purse, she borrows my pen because she’s forgotten hers. But I have to be tolerant of customers because they pay my salary, and that’s something I can’t afford to forget.Q26. What does the speaker say about customers’ entering the grocery store?Q27. Which customers are supposed to be in the express line?Q28. What does the speaker say some customers do when they arrive at the check-out counter?Q29. What does the speaker say about his job at the end of the talk?Passage 2The speech delivery style of Europeans and Asians tends to be very formal. Speakers of these cultures often read oral presentations from carefully retain manual scripts. On the other hand, American speakers are generally more informal relative to speakers and other cultures. American audiences prefer natural, spontaneous delivery that conveys a lively sense of communication. They don’t relay well to speakers who read from a manual script. If you use an outline of your ideas instead of a prepare text, your speech will not only sound more natural, but you will also be able to establish better relationship with your listeners and keep their attention. The language and style you use when making an oral presentation should not be the same as the language in style you use when writing. Well retain information, that is meant to be read, does not work as well when it is heard. It is, therefore, important for you to adapt retain texts or outlines for presentations. Good speakers are much more informal when speaking than when writing. They also use their own words and develop their own speaking styles. Whenever possible, they use short words. Listeners are appreciated when speakers use simple, everyday words in a presentation. One advantage is that it is much easier for speakers to pronounce short words correctly. Another is that long and sophisticated vocabulary choices make listening more difficult.Question 30 to 3230. What does the speaker say American audiences prefer?31. What should one pay attention to when making an oral presentation?32. What does the speaker focus on in the talk?Passage 3Let children learn to judge their own workA child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time. If corrected too much, he will stop talking. He compares a thousand times a day the difference between language as he uses it and language as those around him use it. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, kids learning to do all the other things they learn without adult teachers, to walk, run, climb, ride a bike, play games, compare their ow n performance with what more skilled people do, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to detect his mistakes. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him. Soon he becomes dependent on the expert. We should let him do it himself. Let him figure out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what is the answer to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or that.If right answers need to be given, as in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let himcorrect his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such tedious work? Our job should be to help the children when they tell us that the y can’t find the way to get the right answer. Question 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.Q33 How does a child learn to do something according to the speaker?Q34 What belief do teachers commonly hold according to the speaker?Q35 What does the speaker imply about the current way of teaching?复合式听写Mountain climbing is becoming a popular sport, but it is also a potentially dangerous one. People can fall. They may also become ill. One of the most common dangers to climbers is altitude sickness, which can affect even very experienced climbers. Altitude sickness usually begins when a climber goes above 8,000 to 9,000 feet. The higher one climbs, the less oxygen there is in the air. When people don’t get enough oxygen, they often begin to ga sp for air. They may also feel dizzy and light-headed. Besides these symptoms of altitude sickness, others such as headache and fatigue may also occur. At heights of over 18,000 feet, people may be climbing in a constant daze. Their state of mind can have adverse affect on their judgment. A few precautions can help most climbers avoid altitude sickness. The first is not to go too high, too fast. If you climb to 10,000 feet, stay at that height for a day or two. Y our body needs to get used to a high altitude before you climb to a even higher one. Or if you do climb higher sooner, come back down to a lower height when you sleep. Also, drink plenty of liquids and avoid tobacco and alcohol. When you reach your top height, do like activities rather than sleep too much. Y ou breathe less when you sleep, so you get less oxygen. The most important warning is this: if you have severe symptoms, then don’t go away, go down. Don’t risk injury or death because of over-confidence or lack of knowledge.真题部分：Part III Listening Comprehension （35 minutes）Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A）, B）, C）and D）, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.11. A) Ask his boss for a lighter schedule.B) Trade places with someone else.C) Accept the extra work willingly.D) Look for a more suitable job.12. A) It is unusual for his wife to be at home now.B) He is uncertain where his wife is at the moment.C) It is strange for his wife to call him at work.D) He does not believe what the woman has told him.13. A) The man is going to send out the memo tomorrow.B) The man will drive the woman to the station.C) The speakers are traveling by train tomorrow morning.D) The woman is concerned with the man’s health.14. A) The suite booked was for a different date.B) The room booked was on a different floor.C) The room booked was not spacious enough.D) A suite was booked instead of a double room.15. A) The reason for low profits.B) The company’s sales policy.C) The fierce competition they face.D) The lack of effective promotion.16. A) Go and get the groceries at once.B) Manage with what they have.C) Do some shopping on their way home.D) Have the groceries delivered to them.17. A) The hot weather in summer.B) The problem with the air conditioner.C) The ridiculous rules of the office.D) The atmosphere in the office.18. A) Set a new stone in her ring.B) Find the priceless jewel she lost.C) Buy a ring with precious diamond.D) Shop on Oxford Street for a decent gift.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19. A) Damaging public facilities.B) Destroying urban wildlife.C) Organising rallies in the park.D) Hurting baby animals in the zoo.20. A) He had bribed the park keepers to keep quiet.B) People had differing opinions about his behaviour.C) The serious consequences of his doings were not fully realised.D) His behaviour was thought to have resulted from mental illness.21. A) Brutal.B) Justifiable.C) Too harsh.D) Well-deserved.22. A) Encouraging others to follow his wrong-doing.B) Stealing endangered animals from the zoo.C) Organising people against the authorities.D) Attacking the park keepers in broad daylight.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23. A) She has already left school.B) She works for the handicapped.C) She is fond of practical courses.D) She is good at foreign languages.24. A) He is interested in science courses.B) He attends a boarding school.C) He speaks French and German.D) He is the brightest of her three kids.25. A) Comprehensive schools do not offer quality education.B) Parents decide what schools their children are to attend.C) Public schools are usually bigger in size than private schools.D) Children from low income families can’t really choose schools.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. Passage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. A) Encourage the students to do creative thinking.B) Help the students to develop communication skills.C) Cultivate the students’ ability to inspire employees.D) Focus on teaching the various functions of business.27. A) His teaching career at the Harvard Business School.B) His personal involvement in business management.C) His presidency at college and experience overseas.D) His education and professorship at Babson College.28. A) Development of their raw brain power.B) Exposure to the liberal arts and humanities.C) Improvement of their ability in capital management.D) Knowledge of up-to-date information technology.29. A) Reports on business and government corruption.B) His contact with government and business circles.C) Discoveries of cheating among MBA students.D) The increasing influence of the mass media.Passage T woQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30. A) They have better options for their kids than colleges.B) The unreasonably high tuition is beyond their means.C) The quality of higher education may not be worth the tuition.D) They think that their kids should pay for their own education.31. A) They do too many extracurricular activities.B) They tend to select less demanding courses.C) They take part-time jobs to support themselves.D) They think few of the courses worth studying.32. A) Its samples are not representative enough.B) Its significance should not be underestimated.C) Its findings come as a surprise to many parents.D) Its criteria for academic progress are questionable.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33. A) A newly married couple.B) A business acquaintance.C) Someone good at cooking.D) Someone you barely know.34. A) Obtain necessary information about your guests.B) Collect a couple of unusual or exotic recipes.C) Buy the best meat and the freshest fruit.D) Try to improve your cooking skills.35. A) Losing weight.B) Entertaining guests.C) Making friends.D) Cooking meals.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 the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.People with disabilities comprise a large but diverse segment of the population. It is (36) ______ that over 35 million Americans have physical, mental, or other disabilities. (37) ______ half of these disabilities are “developmental,” i.e., they occur prior to the individual’s twenty-second birthday, often from (38) ______ conditions, and are severe enough to affect three or more areas of development, such as (39) ______, communication and employment. Most other disabilities are considered (40) ______, i.e., caused by outside forces.Before the 20th century, only a small (41) ______ of people with disabilities survived for long. Medical treatment for such conditions as stroke or spinal cord (42) ______ was unavailable. People whose disabilities should not have inherently affected their life span were often so mistreated that they (43) ______. Advancements in medicine and social services have created a climate in which (44) . Unfortunately, these basics are often all that is available. Civil liberties such as the right to vote, marry, get an education, and gain employment have historically been denied on the basis of disability.(45)______________________________________________________________. Disabled people formed grassroots coalitions to advocate their rights to integration and meaningful equality of opportunity. (46) . In the mid-1970s, critical legislation mandated（规定）access to education, public transportation, and public facilities, and prohibited employment discrimination by federal agencies or employers receiving federal funds.。
2012年12月英语六级答案及解析(3)
2012年12月大学英语六级(CET-6)参考答案Ⅰ【作文】Computer and Man（1）It is believed that the computer can do almost every thing. At the time the computer was invented, scientists, carried away by its calculating speed, felt that they had created a miracle. It was gradually used not only in mathematics, physics, chemistry and astronomy, but in places like the library, hospital and military army to replace the work of man. For the work of man. For this reason, the computer was entiled “Electronic Brain” in terms of appreci ation。
Can man be controlled by computers? The answer is negative. Although a computer works much faster and accurately than man , a fact is undeniable; it is designed, manufactured and programmed by man, and therefore by human beings. Of course, science fictions have made up many fascinating stories about a computer, or rather robot, who conquers man and the earth, even the whole universe; however, they are only unrealistic imaginatio. A horse helps man a lot runs much faster than we, but it is only a slave。
2012月12月六级考试真题(第二套)作文及听力答案解析
2012年12月六级考试真题（第二套）作文及听力答案解析Part I WritingSection A11. M: I’d like to go camping with you thisweekend, but I don’t have a sleeping bag.W: No problem. You can count on me to get one for you. My family has tons ofcamping gear.Q: What does the woman mean? 11.【听前预测】选项中的weekend，sleeping bag，campinggear等提示，对话可能与周末出去野营有关。
A)说的是她可以找男士帮忙，C)说的是她可以帮男士，两者意思相反，根据命题规律，A)或C)为答案的可能性大。
【解析】选C)。
对话中男士说很乐意周末跟女士去野营但没睡袋。
女士回答说没问题，男士可以找她要（You can count on me…），因为她家有很多野营用具。
由此可知，女士会借睡袋给男士，故答案为C)。
count on意为“依靠，指望”。
12. M: I know I promised to drive you to theairport next Thursday, but I’m afraidsomething has come up. They’ve called aspecial meeting at work.W: No big deal. Karen said she was available as a back-up.Q: What does the woman mean? 12.【听前预测】从A)和B)中的The man should，keep hiswords，She regrets，asking the man for help推测，对话可能与男士没有实现帮助女士的承诺有关，女士的话为听音重点。
20121222六级听力全部听力原文
Short Conversations11.M：This is the second time this week my boss asked me to work extra hours. I’m glad to get a bigger paycheck, but I don’t want such a heavy schedule.W: Better watch your step.A lot of people would like to trade places with you.Q: What does the woman imply the man should do?12.W: Oh, there you are. Y our wife just called. I told her you were around somewhere, but I couldn’t find you. She’s like you to call her at home.M: At home? She should be at work.I hope nothing is wrong.Q：What does the man imply?13．M: We have to get up early tomorrow, if we want to be at the railway station by 8. Perhaps we should go to bed now.W: I suppose so,but I have to finish this memo and put it in the mail.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?14.W: Let me check, sir.A suite on the third floor was reserved by a Mr. Clomer form July 10th to 16th.M: I’m afraid there’s a mistake, madam. I told my secretary to book a specious double room rather than the luxurious suite.Q: What is the wrong of the reservation?15. W: Profits are down considerably this quarter, do you have any idea what might be the problem?M: I guess it’s just that this is a slack time of the year. I hear other companies are having the same problem.Q: What are the speakers talking about?16. M: I forgot to pick up the groceries on the way home. I’ll just rest a miniute and then go get them.W: No problem, we can make do with what left here, and get them tomorrow.Q: What does the woman suggest they man do?17.W: Somebody should do something about the air-conditioning. It’s ridiculous I have to wear a sweater to work in the middle of summer.M: I agree, i t’s been like this for weeks.Q: What are the speakers talking about?18. W: I lost the diomand out of my ring. Do you know where I could have it replaced?M: I’ve never had a stone put in anything, but I know that the jewery shop on Oxford street has a good reputationQ: What does the woman intend to do?Long Conversation 1W: Mr. Stern, may I ask you, do you think it was necessary and fair to arrest Steve Bril?M: I don’t know whether you realize that this man has been eating a part park for five years. And he is encouraging other people to do the same thing every single day. He has been organizing groups to destroy our urban wildlife.W: But Mr. Stern, this situation has been going on happily for five years, why do you suddenly decide to do something about it?M: |Well, at first, we just thought he was eccentric person, a bit odd, you know. But over the years we came to realize that he is a dangerous guy. He has been ruining our city environment. Parks are to look at, not to eat. It’s just a few going to allow people walk through a zoo, and eat the baby bears.W: But surely you or your park keepers Mr. Stern, could have discouraged Mr Bril from his activity without going to such drastic measures without arresting him?M: Steve is a nice fellow, but what he is doing is illegal. He knows an awful lot about wild weeds. We’ll be very happy to let him organize tours if he just wouldn’t eat the plants and wouldn’t encourage other people to do so, too. Y ou never know what this could lead to, all sorts of people ruining our park in all sorts of ways. This kind of thing is very definitely criminal behavior and must be stopped.Q:19. What does the man say Steve Bril has been doing ?20. Why was Steve Bril not arrested years ago?21. What does the woman think of the action taken against Steve Bril?22. What finally net to Steve Bril’s arrest?Long conversation 2M: Mary, are your children still at school?W: yes, my eldest boy Martin, left school last year. He works at a day center nearby for physically handicaped adults. My daughter Lize is in the fourth year at a comprehensive school.M: How is her foreign language?M: V ery good. She likes French and German.She is not very scientific. Cristepher, my youngest child, is in the last year of junior school. He is much more practically oriented, strong in maths and science.M: He will be going to a comprehensive school, I suppose.W: We have the choice of three comprehensive schools.M: Really? I t’s unusual to have so many to choose from.W: Well, yes. Parter school seems to have done all right. We’re ur..uhm..., there’re certain critisisms about it,but on the whole, we are not too disatisfed.M: Well, generally speaking, what do you think one considers when one is trying to choose.Well, I don’t know if one can really choose one school actually. Y ou tend to..ur... children where they’re sent.W: Y ou can’t very easily unless you are very rich and can afford to choose a private school. And since we’re not very rich, we’ve got all three children to consider. We can’t do that. So they go to the local comprehensive school. What really matters is you know, the quality of the staff, the size of the school. I think the size of the school has a lot of to do with it.Q:13. What do we learn about the woman’s daughter Lize?14. What does the woman say about her youngest child, Cristepher ?15. What can we conlude from the conversation?Passage 1Y ears ago, when I was a young assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, I though that the key to developing managerial leadership lay in raw brain power. I thought the role of business schools was to develop future managers who knew all about the various functions of business to teach them how to define problems succinctly, analyze these problems and identify alternatives in a clear, logical fashion and finally, to teach them to make an intelligent decision.My thinking gradually became tempered by living and working outside the United States and by serving seven years as a college president. During my presidency of Babson College, I added several additional traits or skills that I felt a good manager must possess.The first is the ability to express oneself in a clear articulate fashion. Good oral and written communication skills are absolutely essential if one is to be an effective manager.Second, one must possess that intangible set of qualities called leadership skills. To be a good leader one must understand and be sensitive to people and be able to inspire them toward the achievement of common goals.Next I concluded that effective managers must be broad human beings who not only understand the world of business but also have a sense of the cultural, social, political, historical,and (particularly today) the international aspects of life and society. This suggests that exposure to the liberal arts and humanities should be part of every manager’s education.Finally, as I pondered the business and government-related scandals that have occupied the front pages of newspapers, it became clear that a good manager in today’s world must have courage and a strong sense of integrity. He must know where to draw the line between right and wrong. Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26. What does the speaker used to think business schools should do to produce managers?27. What might have changed the speaker’s view of point?28. What does the speaker stress as part of manager education?29. What convinced the speaker that managers need a sense of integrity?Passage 2With top-tier colleges charging as much as $50,000 per year, the idea that students may spend their first two years learning next-to-nothing is enough to make parents pause. How can you make that investment worthwhile? And does going to college really make you smarter?It depends on what you study-and whether you study enough. A discussion at the New Y ork Times earlier this week tackled the issue, with several academics weighing in on whether college is worthwhile, and whether schools are dumbing down their curricula to appeal to more people. In their new book, "Academically Adrift," sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa found that 32 percent of the students they followed did not take "any courses with more than 40 pages of reading per week" in a typical semester, and half of the students didn't take any course in which they had to write more than 20 pages for the class." Using these criteria, they determined that 45 percent of college students make little academic progress during the first two years of a four-year degree. Their research raises a few red flags. On the one hand: Is it any surprise that a public school system forced to "teach to the test" produces large numbers of students who are unwilling to thinking analytically, learn on their own, or write a research paper? On the other: Does the number of pages read plus the number of pages written equals an accurate assessment of academic progress? A literature or history major, for instance, would have far more reading to do than a math major, but the math workload isn't lighter lifting just because it involves reading fewer pages per week.Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30. Why do parents hesitate to pay for their kids’ college education according to the speaker?31. What does the survey by the 2 sociologists show about the students?32. What does the speaker imply about the research by the 2 sociologists?Passage 3Entertaining a close circle of friends isn’t usually difficult. Y ou all know each other so that there’s no problem about conversation. Even the food is a bit sketchy, no one really minds because they’ve come to see you, not a free meal. Well, most of them anyway. It’s the guests you don’t know very well who present unexpectable traps. Therefore, in such categories, as the new husband or wife, boyfriend of girlfriend, or an intimate friend, the business acquaintances who may beuseful to your career, worst of all, the totally unpredictable friend of a friend. My tries in such cases is if you’re an indifferent cook, don’t do any cooking. It’s far better to stay to coffee and drinks, with few expensive biscuits on the side, you can always plead that your flat is so small for more than 2 to eat comfortably, that you get home too late to prepare a decent meal, that your oven is on the blink, any reasonable excuses do, even it’s not believed. If you fancy yourself as a cook, and are anxious to make a good impression, do your homework first. Nothing is more discouraging than to spend hours preparing a delicious meat dish followed by, say, fresh strawberries, only to discover that your first-time guest is a strict vegetarian or is on a spinning diet. This may result in the rest of you tucking into a vast meal while your guest ties suspiciously with a few sides of tomato. “No, thank you, I won’t have any creamed carrots ? from my waist line.”Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33. What kind of guest is most likely to give you a hard time according to the speaker?34. What should you do before preparing a meal for your guests?35. What is the speaker mainly talking about?Compound DictationPeople with disabilities comprise a large but diverse segment of the population. It is estimated further over 3.5 million Americans have physical mental or other disabilities. Approximately, half of these disabilities are developed mental, i.e. they occur prior to the individual’s 22nd birthday, often from genetic conditions and are severe enough to affect 3 or more areas of development such as mobility, communication and employment. Most other disabilities are conceited accidental, ie caused by outside forces. Before the 20th century, only a small percentage of people with disabilities survived for long. Medical treatment for such conditions as stroke-cause spinal cord injury was unavailable. People whose disablilities should not have inherently affected their life span were often soon as treated that they perished. Advancement in medicine and social services have created a climate in which people with disabilities can expect to have such basic needs as food, shelter andmedical treatment met. Unfortunately, these basics are often all that is available. Civil liberties, such as the right to vote, marry, get an education and gain an employment has historically been denied on the basis of disability.In recent decades, the disability rights movement has been organized to combat these violations of civil rights. Disabled people formed grassroots colitions to advocate their rights to integration and meaningful equality of opportunity. Congress responded by passing major legislation, recognizing people with disabilities as a protected class. In the mid 1970s, critical legislation mandated access to education, public transportation and public facilities and prohibited employment discrimination by federal agencies or employers receiving federal funds.。
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2012年12月英语六级听力原文及答案解析汇总Part III Listening ComprehensionSection A11.M: I’d like to go camping with you this weekend, but I don’t have a slee ping bag.W: No problem. You can count on me to get one for you. My family has tons of camping gear.Q: What does the woman mean?答案：She can lend the man a sleep ing bag.【解析】这是一道较为简单的推理题，前提是考生需知道camping gear表示“野餐用具，露营装备”，由此可知，camping gear包括sl eeping bag，即女士能借给男士一个睡袋，此题的设置稍微绕了个小弯，为考生解题设置了一定难度。
go camping：去野餐，去露营;slee ping bag：睡袋。
12.答案：He can’t afford to go travelin g yet.【解析】此题为推理题。
从男士的回答“我叔叔对我的旅行计划加以限制了。
”中可推断出，这位男士还没有足够的钱去旅行。
put the br akes on sth.表示“对……加以限制”，即使考生不知道这个短语的引申含义，但听到brake “刹车”应该也能大概判断出来答案。
14.M: I’m starving. Do we still have a ny pie left from the dinner yesterday?W: Oh, Julia invited her friends ov er in the afternoon and they ate it all.Q: What do we learn from the con versation?答案：The man has to find somethi ng else to eat.【解析】此题为简单的推理题。
从对话中可知，女士回答说Julie下午邀请了她的朋友，他们把剩的饼都吃光了，由此可推断出这位男士不得不找别的东西吃。
starving：adj. 饥饿的。
15.W: Three letters of recommendatio n are required to apply to graduate sc hools. I was wondering if the one prof essor Smith wrote for me last year co uld still be used.M: It’s a bit dated. You’d better su bmit a recent one.Q: What does the man suggest the woman do?答案：Present a new letter of refere nce.【解析】此题为细节题。
只要考生抓住这位男士回答中的关键词dated和recent，就不难找出正确答案，而且，整个答句也很短，均是简单句，易于考生理解。
letter of recommend ation和letter of reference意思相似，均可表示“推荐信”。
16.W: I’ve noticed that you spend a l ot of time tending your garden. Would you like to join our gardening club? We meet every other Wednesday.M: Oh, thanks for the invitation, b ut this is how I relax. I’d rather not make it something formal and structur ed.Q: What can we infer about the m an?答案：He declines to join the garde ning club.【解析】此题为暗示推理题，有一定难度。
抓住问题中的关键词“infer”，这位男士暗示了什么?从男士的回答“谢谢邀请，但这是我放松的方式，我宁愿我的花园不那么条条框框”中可推断出，这位男士间接拒绝了参加园艺俱乐部的邀请。
17.M: I heard the recent sculpture ex hibit was kind of disappointing.W: That’s right. I guess a lot of ot her people feel the way I do about m odern art.Q: What does the woman mean?答案：Many people do not appreciat e modern art.【解析】此题为简单的推理题。
只要考生能理解女士的回答“我猜许多其他人对现代艺术和我的感觉是一样的。
”，即可选出答案，而且答句中没有一个生难单词。
sculpture exhibit：雕塑展。
18.M: Bob is running for chairman of the student union. Would you vote for him?W: Oh, I can’t decide right now be cause I have to find out more about t he other candidates.Q: What does the woman mean?答案：Bob cannot count on her vote.【解析】此题为推理题。
这位女士回答说她现在还没决定选谁，因为她还要看看其他候选人的资料和表现，由此可推断出，Bob不能依赖这位女士的选票。
run for：竞选;chairman of the student union：学生会主席;vote for：投票赞成。
Conversation OneW: I don’t know what to do. I ca n’t seem to get anyone in the hospital to listen to my complaints and this o utdated equipment is dangerous. Just l ook at it.M: Hmm, uh, are you trying to say that it presents a health hazard?W: Yes, I am. The head technician in the lab tried to persuade the hospi tal administration to replace it, but th ey are trying to cut costs.M: You are pregnant, aren’t you?W: Yes, I am. I made an effort to get my supervisor to transfer me to a nother department, but he urged me n ot to complain too loudly. Because the administration is more likely to replac e me than an X-ray equipment, I’m afr aid to refuse to work. But I’m more af raid to expose my unborn child to the radiation.M: I see what you mean. Well, as your union representative, I have to w arn you that it would take quite a whi le to force management to replace the old machines and attempt to get you transferred may or may not be success ful.W: Oh, what am I supposed to do then?M: Workers have the legal right to refuse certain unsafe work assignments under two federal laws, the Occupat ion or Safety and Health Act and the National Labor Relations Act. But the r equirements of either of the Acts may be difficult to meet.W: Do you think I have a good ca se?M: If you do lose your job, the uni on will fight to get it back for you alo ng with back pay, your lost income. B ut you have to be prepared for a long wait, maybe after two years.Q19. What does the woman compl ain about?Q20. What has the woman asked h er supervisor to do?Q21. What does the man say abou t the two federal laws?Q22. What will the union do if the woman loses her job?【答案】19. The health hazard at her work place.20. Transfer her to another depart ment.21. Their requirements may be diff icult to meet.22. Try to help her to get it back.点评：本篇长对话是关于一名怀孕的员工就工作中的辐射伤害向工会投诉。