2015年12月英语六级考试听力短文原文完整版

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2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)

2015年12月大学英语六级测试真题(第二套)Part IDirections:Writing (30 minutes)For this part, you are allowed 90 minutes to write a short essay based on the picture below. You should focus on the difficulty in acquiring useful information in spite of advanced information technology. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear some questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. Conversation OneQuestions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. A) Touch his heart. C) Remind him of his life.B) Make him cry. D) Make him feel young.2. A) It makes him exciting. C) It catches his attention.B) It isn’t very musical. D) It is hard for him to sing.3. A) He is good at singing operas. C) He can sing any song if he likes it.B) He enjoys complicated music. D) He loves country music in particular.4. A) Go to a bar and drink for horns. C) Go to see a performance in a concert hail.B) Go to an isolated place to sing blues. D) Go to work and wrap himself up in music. Conversation TwoQuestions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) How he became an announcer. C) How he makes his living.B) How he writes news stories. D) How he does his job.6. A) They write the first version of news stories. C) They polish incoming news stories.B) They gather news stories on the spot. D) They write comments on major news stories.7. A) Reading through the news stories in a given period of time.B) Having little time to read the news before going on the air.C) Having to change the tone of his voice from time to time.D) Getting all the words and phrases pronounced correctly.8. A) It shows where advertisements come in. C) It alerts him to something important.B) It gives a signal for him to slow down. D) It serves as a reminder of sad news.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B),C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single linethrough the centre.Passage OneQuestions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.9. A) It gives pleasure to both adults and children. C) It can be found in many parts of the world.B) It is often carried around by small children. D) It was invented by an American Indian.10. A) They were made for earning a living.B) They were delicate geometric figures.C) They were small circus figures made of wire.D) They were collected by a number of museums.11. A) In art.B) In geometry.C) In engineering.D) In circus performance.Passage TwoQuestions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.12. A) It is mostly imported from the Middle East.B) It is a sure indicator of its economic activity.C) It has a direct impact on the international oil market.D) It equals more than 30 million barrels of oil each day.13. A) It eventually turns into heat.B) It is used in a variety of forms.C) Its use is chiefly responsible for air pollution.D) Part of it is lost in the process of transmission.14. A) When it is used in rural areas.B) When it is environment-friendly.C) When it operates at near capacity.D) When it operates at regular times.15. A) Traffic jams in cities.B) Inefficient use of energy.C) Fuel shortage.D) Global warming.Section CDirections: In this section. you will hear recordings of lectures or talks followed by some questions. The recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19.16. A) It is caused by stress from work or study.B) It has a great impact on people’s life.C) It results in some strange diseases nowadays.D) It gives people lots of trouble at work.17. A) Talk about it. C) Ignore it.B) Immerse ourselves in it. D) Shut it down.18. A) To release the negative emotion. C) To feel more comfortable.B) To relax ourselves. D) To have a short break.19. A) Looking down upon it. C) Giving it space and attention.B) Doing something else. D) Getting some amusement.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.20. A) Stand up for themselves. C) Contribute more to the company.B) Never laugh at their workmates. D) Get close to their bosses.21. A) They are indifferent to their employees.B) They focus on the finished projects.C) They don’t know everybody in the company.D) They hate to see employees show off their work.22. A) People start repeating their achievements.B) People ask for rewards for their achievements.C) People look down upon their colleagues.D) People attract the attention of their bosses on purpose.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.23. A) A primary school education and some secondary school.B) Basic skills they need to escape from poverty.C) Governments and many donors? support.D) The skills necessary to operate a business.24. A) The skills in numeracy and the ability to read and write.B) A bridge between school and work.C) The completion of the first few years of schooling.D) A process of remembering something by repeating it.25. A) Going to south of the Sahara Desert. C) Receiving training from skilled workers.B) Getting opportunities to learn through TV. D) Organizing system for women.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank isidentified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.According to a report from the Harvard School of Public Health, many everyday products, including some bug sprays and cleaning fluids, could lead to an increased risk of brain and behavioral disorders in children. The developing brain, the report says, is particularly 26 to the toxic effects of certain chemicals these products may contain, and the damage they cause can be 27. The official policy, however, is still evolving. Health and environmental 28 have long urged U. S. government agencies to 29 the use of some of the 11 chemicals the report cites and called for more studies on their long-term effects. In 2001, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency 30the type and amount of lead that could be present in paint and soil in homes and child-care 31, after concerns were raised about lead poisoning. The agency is now 32 the toxic effects of some of the chemicals in the latest report. But the threshold for regulation is high. Because children’s brain and behavioral disorders, like hyperactivity and lower grades, can also be linked to social and genetic factors, it’s tough to pin them on exposure to specific chemicals with solid 33 evidence, which is what the EPA requires. Even the Harvard study did not prove a direct 34but noted strong associations between exposure and risk of behavioral issues. Nonetheless, it’s smart to 35 caution. While it may be impossible to prevent kids from drinking tap water that may contain trace amounts of chemicals, keeping kids away from lawns recently sprayed with chemicals and freshly dry-cleaned clothes can’t hurt. .A) advocatesB) compactC) correlationD) exerciseE) facilitiesF) interactionG) investigatingH) overwhelmedI) particlesJ) permanentK) restrictedL) simulatingM) statisticalN) tightenO) vulnerableSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.The Impossibility of Rapid Energy Transitions[A] Politicians are fond of promising rapid energy transitions. Whether it is a transition from imported to domestic oil or from coal-powered electricity production to natural-gas power plants, politicians love to talk big. Unfortunately for them (and often the taxpayers), our energy systems are a bit like an aircraft carrier: they are unbelievably expensive, they are built to last for a very long time, they have a huge amount of inertia (meaning it takes a lot of energy to set them moving), and they have a lot of momentum once they are set in motion. No matter how hard you try, you can’t turn something that large on a dime (10美分的硬币), or even a few thousand dimes.[B] In physics, moving objects have two characteristics relevant to understanding the dynamics of energy systems: inertia and momentum. Inertia is the resistance of objects to efforts to change their state of motion. If you try to push a boulder (大圆石), it pushes you back. Once you have started the boulder rolling, it develops momentum, which is defined by its mass and velocity. Momentum is said to be “conserved,” that is, once you build it up, it has to go somewhere. So a heavy object, like a football player moving at a high speed, has a lot of momentum that is, once he is moving, it is hard to change his state of motion. If you want to change his course, you have only a few choices: you can stop him, transferring (possiblypainfully) some of his kinetic energy(动能) to your own body, or you can approach alongside and slowly apply pressure to gradually alter his course.[C] But there are other kinds of momentum as well. After all, we don’t speak only of objects or people as having momentum; we speak of entire systems having momentum. Whether it’s a sports team or a presidential campaign, everybody relishes having the big momentum, because it makes them harder to stop or change direction.[D] One kind of momentum is technological momentum. When a technology is deployed, its impacts reach far beyond itself. Consider the incandescent (白炽灯的) bulb, an object currently hated by many environmentalists and energy-efficiency advocates. The incandescent light bulb, invented by Thomas Edison, which came to be the symbol of inspiration, has been developed into hundreds, if not thousands, of forms. Today, a visit to a lighting store reveals a stunning array of choices. There are standard-shaped bulbs, flame-shaped bulbs, colored globe-shaped bulbs, and more. It is quite easy, with all that choice, to change a light bulb.[E] But the momentum of incandescent lighting does not stop there. All of those specialized bulbs led to the building of specialized light fixtures, from the desk lamp you study by, to the ugly but beloved hand-painted Chinese lamp you inherited from your grandmother, to the ceiling fixture in your closet, to the light in your oven or refrigerator, and to the light that the dentist points at you. It is easy to change a light bulb, sure, but it is harder to change the bulb and its fixture.[F] And there is more to the story, because not only are the devices that house incandescent bulbs shaped to their underlying characteristics, but rooms and entire buildings have been designed in accordance with how incandescent lighting reflects off walls and windows.[G] As lighting expert Howard Brandston points out, “generally, there are no bad light sources, only bad applications.” There are some very commendable characteristics of the CFL [compact Fluorescent(荧光的) light bulb], yet the selection of any light source remains inseparable from the luminaire (照明设备) that houses it, along with the space in which both are installed, and lighting requirements that need to be satisfied. The lamp, the fixture, and the room, all three must work in concert for the true benefits of end-users. If the CFL should be used for lighting a particular space, or an object within that space, the fixture must bedesigned to work with that lamp, and that fixture with the room. It is a symbiotic (共生的) relationship. A CFL cannot be simply installed in an incandescent fixture and then expected to produce a visual appearance that is more than washed out, foggy, and dim. The whole fixture must be replaced light source and luminaire and this is never an inexpensive proposition.[H] And Brandston knows a thing or two about lighting, being the man who illuminated the Statue of Liberty.[I] Another type of momentum we have to think about when planning for changes hi our energy systems is labor-pool momentum. It is one thing to say that we are going to shift 30 percent of our electricity supply from, say, coal to nuclear power in 20 years. But it is another thing to have a supply of trained talent that could let you carry out this promise. That is because the engineers, designers, regulators, operators, and all of the other skilled people needed for the new energy industry are specialists who have to be trained first (or retrained, if they are the ones being laid off in some related industry), and education, like any other complicated endeavor, takes time. And not only do our prospective new energy workers have to be trained, they have to be trained in the right sequence. One needs the designers, and perhaps the regulators, before the builders and operators, and each group of workers in training has to know there is work waiting beyond graduation. In some cases, colleges and universities might have to change their training programs, adding another layer of difficulty.[J] By far the biggest type of momentum that comes into play when it comes to changing our energy systems is economic momentum. The major components of our energy systems, such as fuel production, refining, electrical generation and distribution, are costly installations that have lengthy life spans. They have to operate for long periods of time before the costs of development have been recovered. When investors put up money to build, say, a nuclear power plant, they expect to earn that money back over the planned life of the plant, which is typically between 40 arid 60 years. Some coal power plants in the United States have operated for more than 70 years! The oldest continuously operated commercial hydro-electric plant in the United States is on New York’s Hudson River, and it went into commercial service in 1898.[K] As Vaclav Smil points out, “All the forecasts, plans, and anticipations cited above have failed so miserably because their authors and promoters thought the transitions theyhoped to implement would proceed unlike all previous energy transitions, and that their progress could be accelerated in an unprecedented manner.”[L] When you hear people speaking of making a rapid transition toward any type of energy, whether it is a switch from coal to nuclear power, or a switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars, or even a switch from an incandescent to a fluorescent light, understanding energy system inertia and momentum can help you decide whether their plans are feasible.36. Not only moving objects and people but all systems have momentum.37. Changing the current energy system requires the systematic training of professionals and skilled labor.38. Changing a light bulb is easier than changing the fixture housing it.39. Efforts to accelerate the current energy transitions didn’t succeed as expected.40. To change the light source is costly because you have to change the whole fixture.41. Energy systems, like an aircraft carrier set in motion, have huge momentum.42. The problem with lighting, if it arises, often doesn’t lie in light sources but in their applications.43. The biggest obstacle to energy transition is that the present energy system is too expensive to replace.44. The application of a technology can impact areas beyond itself.45. Physical characteristics of moving objects help explain the dynamics of energy systems.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.One hundred years ago, “colored” was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for Negro.? Bythe late 1960s, that term was overtaken by “Black.” And then, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that “African American” was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as “Italian Americans” and “Irish Americans,” that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.A century’s worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term “Black” carried connotations (涵义) that were more negative than those of “African American”.But if it was known that “Black” people were viewed differently from “African Americans,” researchers, until now, hadn’t identified what that gap in perception was derived from. A recent study, conducted by Emory University抯Erika Hall, found that 揃lack? people are viewed more negatively than “African Americans” because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result, “Black” people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.The study’s most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world. Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters’ biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as the “Wisconsin Association of African- American Lawyers” or the “National Black Employees Association,” the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members’control.In one of the study’s experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as “African-American,” and another was told he was “Black.” With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams’s salary, professional standing, and educational background.The “African-American” group estimated that he earned about $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The “Black” group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessed that he had only “some” college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr. Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38. 5 percent of the second group thought so.Hall’s findings suggest there’s an argument to be made for electing to use “African American,” though one can’t help but get the sense that it’s a decision that papers over theurgency of continued progress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois’s original, idealistic hope: “It’s not the name------it’s the Thing that counts.”46. Why did Jesse Jackson embrace the term “African American” for people of African descent?A) It is free from racial biases.B) It represents social progress.C) It is in the interest of common Americans.D) It follows the standard naming practice.47. What does the author say about the naming of an ethnic group?A) It advances with the times. C) It merits intensive study.B) It is based on racial roots. D) It is politically sensitive.48. What do Erika Hall’s findings indicate?A) Racial biases are widespread in the professional world.B) Many applicants don’t attend to details on their resume.C) Job seekers should all be careful about their affiliations.D) Most recruiters are unable to control their racial biases.49.What does Erika Hall find in her experiment about a man with the last name Williams?A) African Americans fare better than many other ethnic groups.B) Black people’s socioeconomic status in America remains low.C) People’s conception of a person has much to do with the way he or she is labeled.D) One’s professional standing and income are related to their educational background.50. What is Dr. Du Bois’s ideal?A) All Americans enjoy equal rights.B) A person is judged by their worth.C) A new term is created to address African Americans.D) All ethnic groups share the nation’s continued progress.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparing their students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clear by the work of two sociologists, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. In 2011 they released a landmark study titled “Academically Adrift,” which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many people enrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing the critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today’s knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change.Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students? lack of learning on a watered-down college curriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be a full-time job, students spent, on average, only 12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skating through their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who take more challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of many undergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing.Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcoming book that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of their students. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton describes what she calls the “party pathway”, which eases many students through college, helped along by various clubs that send students into the party scene and a host of easier majors. By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are “catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others” who won’t enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate.These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees as a stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunity either. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn’t kind to candidates who can’t demonstrate genuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. College graduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a university degreeunaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For students who have been coasting through college, and for American universities that have been demanding less work, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.51. What is Arurn and Roksa’s finding about higher education in America?A) It aims at stimulating the intellectual curiosity of college students.B) It fails to prepare students to face the challenges of modem times.C) It has experienced dramatic changes in recent years.D) It has tried hard to satisfy students? various needs.52. What is responsible for the students? lack of higher-level skills? .A) The diluted college curriculum. C) The absence of rigorous discipline.B) The boring classroom activities. D) The outdated educational approach.53. What does Laura Hamilton say about college administrations?A) They fail to give adequate help to the needy students.B) They tend to offer too many less challenging courses.C) They seem to be out of touch with society.D) They prioritize non-academic activities.54. What can be learned about the socially and financially privileged students?A) They tend to have a sense of superiority over their peers.B) They can afford to choose easier majors in order to enjoy themselves.C) They spend a lot of time building strong connections with businesses.D) They can climb the social ladder even without a degree.55. What does the author suggest in the last paragraph?A) American higher education has lost its global competitiveness.B) People should not expect too much from American higher education.C) The current situation in American higher education may not last long.D) It will take a long time to change the current trend in higher education.Part lv Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.最近,中国政府决定将其工业升级:中国现在涉足建造高速列车、远洋船舶、机器人,甚至飞机。

201512月大学英语六级听力真题MP3下载(含文本)(第一套)答案及解析

201512月大学英语六级听力真题MP3下载(含文本)(第一套)答案及解析

2015年12月大学英语六级听力真题MP3下载(含文本)(第一套)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of eachconversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A., B., C. and D ), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.注意:此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1. A. Prepare for his exams.B. Catch up on his work.C. Attend the concert.D. Go on a vacation.2. A. Three crew members were involved in the incident.B. None of the hijackers carried any deadly weapons.C. The plane had been scheduled to fly to Japan.D. None of the passengers were injured or killed.3. A. An article about the election.B. A tedious job to be done.C. An election campaign.D. A fascinating topic.4. A. The restaurant was not up to the speakers' expectations.B. The restaurant places many ads in popular magazines.C. The critic thought highly of the Chinese restaurant.D. Chinatown has got the best restaurants in the city.5. A. He is going to visit his mother in the hospital.B. He is going to take on a new job next week.C. He has many things to deal with right now.D. He behaves in a way nobody understands.6. A. A large number of students refused to vote last night.B. At least twenty students are needed to vote on an issue.C. Major campus issues had to be discussed at the meeting.D. More students have to appear to make their voice heard.7. A. The woman can hardly tell what she likes.B. The speakers like watching TV very much.C. The speakers have nothing to do but watch TV.D. The man seldom watched TV before retirement.8. A. The woman should have registered earlier.B. He will help the woman solve the problem.C ) He finds it hard to agree with what the woman says.D. The woman will be able to attend the classes she wants.Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9. A. Persuade the man to join her company.B. Employ the most up-to-date technology.C. Export bikes to foreign markets.D. Expand their domestic business.10. A. The state subsidizes small and medium enterprises.B. The government has control over bicycle imports.C. They can compete with the best domestic manufacturers.D. They have a cost advantage and can charge higher prices.11. A. Extra costs might eat up their profits abroad.B. More workers will be needed to do packaging.C. They might lose to foreign bike manufacturers.D. It is very difficult to find suitable local agents.12. A. Report to the management.B. Attract foreign investments.C. Conduct a feasibility studyD. Consult financial experts.Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.13. A. Coal burnt daily for the comfort of our homes.B. Anything that can be used to produce power.C. Fuel refined from oil extracted from underground.D. Electricity that keeps all kinds of machines running.14. A. Oil will soon be replaced by alternative energy sources.B. Oil reserves in the world will be exhausted in a decade.C. Oil consumption has given rise to many global problems.D. Oil production will begin to decline worldwide by 2025.15. A. Minimize the use of fossil fuels.B. Start developing alternative fuels.C. Find the real cause for global warming.D. Take steps to reduce the greenhouse effect.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 71 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A. The ability to predict fashion trends.B. A refined taste for artistic works.C. Years of practical experience.D. Strict professional training.17. A. Promoting all kinds of American hand-made specialties.B. Strengthening cooperation with foreign governments.C. Conducting trade in art works with dealers overseas.D. Purchasing handicrafts from all over the world.18. A. She has access to fashionable things.B. She is doing what she enjoys doing.C. She can enjoy life on a modest salary.D. She is free to do whatever she wants.Passage TwoQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A. Join in neighborhood patrols.B. Get involved in his community.C. voice his complaints to the city council.D. Make suggestions to the local authorities.20. A. Deterioration in the quality of life.B. Increase of police patrols at night.C. Renovation of the vacant buildings.D. Violation of community regulations.21. A. They may take a long time to solve.B. They need assistance from the city.C. They have to be dealt with one by one.D. They are too big for individual efforts.22. A. He had got some groceries at a big discount.B. He had read a funny poster near his seat.C. He had done a small deed of kindness.D. He had caught the bus just in time.Passage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.23. A. Childhood and healthy growth.B. Pressure and heart disease.C. Family life and health.D. Stress and depression.24. A. It experienced a series of misfortunes.B. It was in the process of reorganization.C. His mother died of a sudden heart attack.D. His wife left him because of his bad temper.25. A. They would give him a triple bypass surgery.B. They could remove the block in his artery.C. They could do nothing to help him.D. They would try hard to save his life.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When thepassage 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 with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.When most people think of the word "education," they think of a pupil as a sort of animate sausage casing. Into this empty casing, the teachers(26)stuff "education."But genuine education, as Socrates knew more than two thousand years ago, is not (27 )the stuffings of information into a person, but rather eliciting knowledge from him; it is the 28 of what is in the mind."The most important part of education," once wrote William Ernest Hocking, the (29) Harvard philosopher, "is this instruction of a man in what he has inside of him. And, as Edith Hamilton has reminded us, Socrates never said, "I know, learn from me." He said, rather, "Look into your own selvers and find the (30) of truth that God has put into every heart, and that only you can kindle (点燃) to a( 31)." In a dialogue, Socrates takes an ignorant slave boy, without a day of (32), and proves to the amazed observers that the boy really "knows" geometry--because the principles of geometry are already in his mind, waiting to be called out.So many of the discussions and (33) about the content of education are useless and inconclusive because they(34) what should "go into" the student rather than with what should be taken out, and how this can best be done.The college student who once said to me, after a lecture, "I spend so much time studying that I don't have a chance to learn anything," was clearly expressing his ( 35 ) with the sausage-casing view of education.2015年12月大学英语六级听力真题MP3下载(含文本)(第一套)答案Section A 参考答案1. C)【精析】行动计划题。

2015年12月CET-6真题(第1套)-去听力

2015年12月CET-6真题(第1套)-去听力

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题及答案(第1套)Part I Writing (30 minutes) Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the picture below.You should focus on the impact of social networking websites on reading.You arerequired to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Part ⅢReading Comprehension(40 minutes) Section AQuestions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.According to a report from the Harvard School of Public Health,many everyday products, including some bug sprays and cleaning fluids, could lead to an increased risk of brain and behavioral disorders in children. The developing brain, the report says, is particularly 36 to the toxic effects of certain chemicals these products may contain, and the damage they cause can be 37 .The official policy,however,is still evolving. Health and environmental 38 have long urged U.S. government agencies to 39 (the use of some of the 11 chemicals the report cites and called for more studies on their long-term effects. In 2001, for example,the Environmental Protection Agency 40 the type and amount of lead that could be present in paint and soil in hornet and child-care 41 , after concerns were raised about lead poisoning. The agency is now 42 the toxic effects of some of the chemicals in the latest report.But the threshold for regulation is high. Because children’s brain and behavioral disorders, like hyperactivity and lower grades, can also be linked to social and genet ic factors, it’s tough to pin them on exposure to specific chemicals with solid 43 evidence, which is what the EPA requires. Even the Harvard study did not prove a direct 44 but noted strong associations between exposure and risk of behavioral issues,Nonetheless, it’s smart to 45 caution. While it may be impossible to prevent kids from drinking tap water that may contain trace amounts of chemicals, keeping kids away from lawns recently sprayed with chemicals and freshly dry-cleaned clothes can’t hurt.The Impossibility of Rapid Energy TransitionsA) Politicians are fond of promising rapid energy transitions. Whether it is a transition fromimported to domestic oil or from coal-powered electricity production to natural-gas power plants, politicians love to talk big. Unfortunately for them (and often the taxpayers), our energy systems are a bit like an aircraft carrier: they are unbelievably expensive, they are built to last for a very long time, they have a huge amount of inertia (meaning it takes a lot of energy to set them moving), and they have a lot of momentum once they are set in motion.No matter how hard you try, you c an’t turn something that large on a dime (10美分硬币), or even a few thousand dimes.B) In physics, moving objects have two characteristics relevant to understanding the dynamicsof energy systems: inertia and momentum. Inertia is the resistance of objects to efforts to change their state of motion. If you try to push a boulder (大圆石), it pushes you back. Once you have started the boulder rolling, it develops momentum, which is defined by its mass and velocity. Momentum is said to be “conserved,” that is, once y ou build it up, it has to go somewhere. So a heavy object, like a football player moving at a high speed, has a lot of momentum - that is, once he is moving, it is hard to change his state of motion. If you want to change his course, you have only a few choices: you can stop him, transferring (possibly painfully) some of his kinetic energy (动能) to your own body, or you can approach alongside and slowly apply pressure to gradually alter his course.C) But there are other kinds of momentum as well. After all, we don’t speak only of objects orpeople as having momentum; we speak of entire systems having momentum. Whether it’s a sports team or a presidential campaign, everybody relishes having the big momentum, because it makes them harder to stop or change direction.D) One kind of momentum is technological momentum. When a technology is deployed, itsimpacts reach far beyond itself. Consider the incandescent(白炽灯的) bulb an object currently hated by many environmentalists and energy-efficiency advocates. The incandescent light bulb, invented by Thomas Edison, which came to be the symbol of inspiration, has been developed into hundreds, if not thousands, of forms. Today, a visit to a lighting store reveals a stunning array of choices. There are standard-shaped bulbs, flame-shaped bulbs, colored globe-shaped bulbs, and more. It is quite easy, with all that choice, to change a light bulbE) But the momentum of incandescent lighting does not stop there. All of those specializedbulbs led to the building of specialized light fixtures, from the desk lamp you study by, to the ugly but beloved hand-painted Chinese lamp you inherited from your grandmother, to the ceiling fixture in your closet, to the light in your oven or refrigerator, and to the light that the dentist points at you. It is easy to change a light bulb, sure, but it is harder to change the bulband its fixture.F) And there is more to the story, because not only are the devices that house incandescent bulbsshaped to their underlying characteristics, but rooms and entire buildings have been designed in accordance with how incandescent lighting reflects off walls and windows.G) As lighting expert Howard Brandston points out, “Generally, there are no bad light sources,only bad applications.”There are some very commendable characteristics of the CFL [compact fluorescent(荧光的) light bulb], yet the selection of any light source remains inseparable from the luminaire (照明装置) that houses it, along with the space in which both are installed, and lighting requirements that need to be satisfied. The lamp, the fixture, and the room, all three must work in concert for the true benefits of end-users. If the CFL should be used for lighting a particular space, or an object within that space, the fixture must be designed to work with that lamp, and that fixture with the room. It is a symbiotic (共生的) relationship. A CFL cannot be simply installed in an incandescent fixture and then expected to produce a visual appearance that is more than washed out, foggy, and dim. The whole fixture must be replaced 一light source and luminaire 一and this is never an inexpensive proposition.H) And Brandston knows a thing or two about lighting, being the man who illuminated theStatue of Liberty.I) Another type of momentum we have to think about when planning for changes in our energysystems is labor-pool momentum. It is one thing to say that we are going to shift 30 percent of our electricity supply from, say, coal to nuclear power in 20 years. But it is another thing to have a supply of trained talent that could let you carry out this promise. That is because the engineers, designers, regulators, operators, and all of the other skilled people needed for the new energy industry are specialists who have to be trained first (or retrained, if they are the ones being laid off in some related industry), and education, like any other complicated endeavor, takes time. And not only do our prospective new energy workers have to be trained they have to be trained in the right sequence. One needs the designers, and perhaps the regulators, before the builders and operators, and each group of workers in training has to know there is work waiting beyond graduation. In some cases, colleges and universities might have to change their programs, adding another layer of difficulty.J) By far the biggest type of momentum that comes into play when it comes to changing our energy systems is economic momentum. The major components of our energy systems, such as fuel production, refining, electrical generation and distribution, are costly installations that have lengthy life spans. They have to operate for long periods of time before the costs of development have been recovered. When investors put up money to build, say, a nuclear power plant, they expect to earn that money back over the planned life of the plant, which is typically between 40 and 60 years. Some coal power plants in the United States have operated for more than 70 years! The oldest continuously operated commercial hydro-electric plant in the United States is on New York’s Hudson River, and it went into commercial service in 1898.K) As Vaclav Smil points out, “All the forecasts, plans, and anticipations cited above have failed so miserably because their authors and promoters thought the transitions they hoped to implement would proceed unlike all previous energy transitions, and that their progress could be accelerated in an unprecedented manner.”L) When you hear people speaking of making a rapid transition toward any type of energy, whether it is a switch from coal to nuclear power, or a switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars, or even a switch from an incandescent to a fluorescent light, understanding energy system inertia and momentum can help you decide whether their plans are feasible.注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

2015年12月英语六级考试真题及详细答案(第一套)

2015年12月英语六级考试真题及详细答案(第一套)

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第1套)Part I Writing(30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay based on the picturebelow. You should focus on the impact of social networking websites on reading.You arereauired to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words._______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ Part IIListening Comprehension(30 minutes)听力音频地址:/englishlistening/CET6/zhenti/2016-05-28/427638.htmlSection 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. Thenmark the eorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.1. A. The restaurant offers some specials each day.B. The restaurant is known for its food varieties.C. The dressing makes the mixed salad very inviting.D. The woman should mix the ingredients thoroughly.2. A. He took over the firm from Mary.C. He failed to foresee major problems.B. He is running a successful business.D. He is opening a new consulting firm.3. A. Someone should be put in charge of office supplies.B. The man can leave the discs in the office cabinet.C. The man may find the supplies in the cabinet.D. The printer in the office has run out of paper.4.A. He has to use a magnifying glass to see clearly.B. The woman can use his glasses to read.C. He has the dictionary the woman wants.D. The dictionary is not of much help to him.5.A. Redecorating her office.B. Majoring in interior design.C. Seeking professional advice.D. Adding some office furniture.6.A. Problems in port management.B. Improvement of port facilities.C. Delayed shipment of goods.D. Shortage of container ships.7.A. Their boss.B. A colleague.C. Their workload.D. A coffee machine.8.A. Call the hotel manager for help.B. Postpone the event until a later date.C. Hold the banquet at a different place.D. Get an expert to correct the error.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9.A. He shares some of the household duties.B. He often goes back home late for dinner.C. He cooks dinner for the family occasionally.D. He dines out from time to time with friends.10.A. To take him to dinner.B. To talk about a budget plan.C. To discuss an urgent problem.D. To pass on an important message.11. A. Foreign investors are losing confidence in India's economy.B. Many multinational enterprises are withdrawing from India.C. There are wild fluctuations in the international money market.D. There is a sharp increase in India's balance of payment deficit. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A. They have unrealistic expectations about the other half.B. They may not be prepared for a lifelong relationship.C. They form a more realistic picture of life.D. They try to adapt to their changing roles.13. A. He is lucky to have visited many exotic places.B. He is able to forget all the troubles in his life.C. He is able to meet many interesting people.D. He is lucky to be able to do what he loves.14.A. It is stressful.B. It is full of tim.C. It is all glamour.D. It is challenging15. A. Bothered.B. Amazed.C. Puzzled.D. Excited.Section BDirections : In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hearsome questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After youhear 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 I with a single linethrough the centre.Passage OneQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A. Maintain the traditional organizational culture.B. Learn new ways of relating and working together.C. Follow closely the fast development of technology.D. Learn to be respectful in a hierarchical organization.17. A. How the team integrates with what it is supposed to serve.B. How the team is built to keep improving its performance.C. What type of personnel the team should be composed of.D. What qualifications team members should be equipped with.18. A. A team manager must set very clear and high objectives.B. Teams must consist of members from different cultures.C. Team members should be knowledgeable and creative.D. A team manager should develop a certain set of skills.Passage TwoQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A. It is a platform for sharing ideas on teaching at the University of Illinois.B. It was mainly used by scientists and technical people to exchange text.C. It started off as a successful program but was unable to last long.D. It is a program allowing people to share information on the Web.20. A. He visited a number of famous computer scientists.B. He met with an entrepreneur named Jim Clark.C. He sold a program developed by his friends.D. He invested in a leading computer business.21.A. They had confidence in his new ideas.B. They trusted his computer expertise.C. They were very keen on new technology.D. They believed in his business connections.Passage ThreeQuestions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22.A. Prestige advertising.B. Institutional advertising.C. Wordofmouth advertising.D. Distributing free trial products.23.A. To sell a particular product.B. To build up their reputation.C. To promote a specific service.D. To attract high-end consumers.24. A. By using the services of large advertising agencies.B. By hiring their own professional advertising staff.C. By buying media space in leading newspapers.D. By creating their own ads and commericais.25.A. Decide on what specific means of communication to employ.B. Conduct a large-scale survey on customer needs.C. Specify the objectives of the campaign in detail.D. Pre-test alternative ads or commercials in certain regions.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hoar a passage three times. When the passage is read for thofirst time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When tho passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in tho blanks with the exact words you have justhoard. Finally, when tho passage is read for the third time, you should chock what youhave written.Extinction is difficult concept to grasp. It is an26concept. It's not at all like the killing ofindividual lifeforms that can be renewedthrough normal processes of reproduction. Nor is it simply27numbers. Nor is it damage that can somehow be remedied or for which some substitute can beound. Nor is it something that simply affects our own generation. Nor is it something that could beremedied by some supernatural power. It is rather an28and final act for which there is no remedy on earth or in heaven. A species once extinct is gone forever. However many generations29us incoming centuries, none of them will ever see this species that we extinguish.Not only are we bringing about the extinction of life30, we are also making the land and theair and the sea so toxic that the very conditions of life are being destroyed.31basic naturalresources, not only are the nonrenewable resources being32in a frenzy ( 疯狂) of processing,consuming, and33, but we are also mining much of our renewable resources, such as the verysoil itself on which terrestrial (地球上的) life depends.The change that is taking place on the earth and in our minds is one of the greatest changes ever totake place in human affairs, perhaps the greatest, since what we are talking about is not simply anotherhistorical change or cultural34, but a change of geological and biological as well as psychologicalorder of35Part III Reading Comprehension(40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one wordfor each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read thopassage through carefully before making your choices.Each choice in the bank isidentified by a letter. Please mark tho corresponding letter for each item on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through tho centre. You may not use any of tho words in the bank more than once.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage. It seems to be a law in thetechnology industry that leading companies eventually lose theirpositions, often quickly and brutally.Mobile phone champion Nokia, one of Europe's biggesttechnology success stories, was no36, losing its market share in just a few years.In 2007, Nokia accounted for more than 40% of mobile phone sales37But consumers' preferences were already38toward touch-screen smartphones. With the introduction of Apple'siPhone in the middle of that year, Nokia's market share39rapidly and revenue plunged. By theend of 2013, Nokia had sold its phone business to Microsoft. What sealed Nokia's fate was a series of decisions made by Stephen Elop in his position as CEO,which he40in October 2010. Each day that Elop spent in charge of Nokia, the company's marketvalue declined by $ 23 million, making him, by the numbers, one of the worst CEOs in history. But Elop was not the only person at41Nokia's board resisted change, making it impossiblefor the company to adapt to rapid shifts in the industry. Most42, Jorma Ollila, who had ledNokia's transition from an industrial company to a technology giant, was too fascinated by thecompany's43success to recognize the change that was needed to sustain its competitiveness. The company also embarked on a44cost-cutting program, which included the elimination of which hadmotivated employees to take risks and make miracles. Good leaders left the company, taking Nokia'ssense of vision and directions with them. Not surprisingly, much of Nokia's most valuable design andprogramming talent left as well.A)assumed I) previousB. bias J) relayedC. desperateK) shiftingD. deteriorationL) shrankE) exceptionM) subtleF) faultN) transmittingG) incidentallyO) worldwideH) notablySection BDirections : In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Eachstatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraphfrom which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once.Each paragraph is marked with a letter.Answer the questions by .marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2. First-Generation College-Goers: Unprepared and Behind Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus withlittle academic know—how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation.[ A] When Nijay Williams entered college last fall as a first—generation student and Jamaican immigrant,he was academically unprepared for the rigors of higher education. Like many first—generationstudents, he enrolled in a medium-sized state university many of his high school peers were alsoattending, received a Pell Grant, and took out some small federal loans to cover other costs.Given the high price of room and board and the closeness of the school to his family, he chose tolive at home and worked between 30 and 40 hours a week while taking afull class schedule.[ B] What Nijay didn't realize about his school—Tennessee State University—was its frighteningly lowgraduation rate: a mere 29 percent for its first-generation students. At the end of his first year,Nijay lost his Pell Grant of over $ 5,000 after narrowly missing the 2.0 GPA cut-off, making itimpossible for him to continue paying for school.[ C ]Nijay represents a large and growing group of Americans: first—generation college students whoenter school unprepared or behind. To make matters worse, these schools are ill-equipped tograduate these students—young adults who face specific challenges and obstacles. They typicallycarry financial burdens that outweigh those of their peers, are more likely to work while attendingschool, and often require significant academic remediation (补习).[ D ] Matt Rubinoff directs I'm First, a nonprofit organization launched last October to reach out to thisspecific population of students. He hopes to distribute this information and help prospectivecollege-goers fmd the best post-secondary fit. And while Rubinoff believes there are a goodnumber of four—year schools that truly care about these students and set aside significant resourcesand programs for them, he says that number isn't high enough.[ E ] "It's not only the selective and elite institutions that provide those opportunities for a small subsetof this population," Rubinoff said, adding that a majority of first-generation undergraduates tendtoward options such as online programs, two—year colleges, and commuter state schools."Unfortunately, there tends to be a lack of information and support to help students think biggerand broader. "[ F] Despite this problem, many students are still drawn to these institutions--and two-year schools inparticular. As a former high school teacher, I saw students choose familiar, cheaper options yearafter year. Instead of skipping out on higher education altogether, they chose community collegesor state schools with low bars for admittance.[ G]"They underestimate themselves when selecting a university,"said Dave Jarrat, a marketingexecutive for Inside Track, a for—profit organization that specializes in coaching low-income studentsand supporting colleges in order to help students thrive. "The reality of it is that a lot of low-incomekids could be going to elite tufiversities on a full ride scholarship and don't even realize it. "[ H] "Many students are coming from a situation where no one around them has the experience ofsuccessfully completing higher education, so they are coming in questioning themselves and theircollege worthiness," Jarrat continued. That helps explain why, as I'm First's Rubinoff indicated,the schools to which these students end up resorting can end up being some of the poorestmatches for them. The University of Tennessee in Knoxville offers one example of this dilemma. Aflagship university in the South, the school graduates just 16 percent of its first—generationstudents, despite its overall graduation rate of 71 percent. Located only a few hours apart, TheUniversity of Tennessee and Tennessee State are worth comparing. Tennessee State's overallgraduation rate is a tiny 39 percent, but at least it has a smallergap between the outcomes forfirst—generat.ion students and those of their peers.[I] Still, the University of Tennessee deserves credit for being transparent. Many large institutionskeep this kind of data secret—or at least make it incredibly difficult to find The University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill, for instance, admits only that the graduation rate for its first—generation pupils is "much lower" than the percentage of all students who graduate within fouryears (81 percent). [J] It is actually quite difficult to fred reliable statistics on the issue for many schools.Highereducation institutions are, under federal law, required to report graduation rates, but thesereports typically only include Pell recipient numbers —not necessarily rates specific to fLrst—generation students. Other initiatives fail to break down the data, too. Imagine how intimidating itcan be for prospecitive students unfamiliar with the complexities of higher education to navigatethis kind of information and then identify which schools are the best fit.[ K] It was this lack of information that prompted the launch of I'm First in 2013, originally as an annof its umbrella organization, the Center For Student Opportunity."If we can help to directstudents to more of these types of campuses and help students to understand them to be realisticand accessible places, have them apply to these schools at greater frequency and ultimately get inand enroll, we are going to raise the success rate," Rubinoff said, citing a variety of colleges ranging from large state institutions to smaller private schools.[ L] Chelsea Jones, who now directs student programming at I'm First, was a first —generation college student at Howard. Like other student new to the intimidating higher—education world, she often struggled on her path to college, "There wasn't really a college—bound cnlture at my high school," she said. "I wanted to go to college but I didn't really know the process. " Jones became involved with a college —access program through Princeton University in high school. Now, she attributes much of her understanding of college to that: "But once I got to campus, it was a completely different ball game that no one really prepared me for. "[ M] She was fortunate, though. Howard, a well—regarded historically black college, had an array of resources for its first—generation students, including matching kids with counselors, comecting first— generation students to one another, and TRIO, a national program that supported 200 students onHoward's campus. Still, Jones represents a small percentage of first-generation students who areable to gain entry into more elite universities, which are often known for robust financial aidpackages and remarkably high graduation rates for first—generation students.(Harvard, for example, boasts a six—year graduation rate for underrepresented minority groups of 98 percent. )[ N]Christian Vazquez, a first—generation Yale graduate, is another exception, his success story settinghim far apart from students such as Nijay. "There is a lot of support at Yale, to an extent, after awhile, there is too much support," he said, half—joking about the countless resources available atthe school. Students are placed in small groups with counselors ( trained seniors on campus) ;they have access to cultural and ethnic affinity (联系) groups, tutoring centers and also have a summer orientation specifically for first—generation students ( the latter beingone of the mostcommon programs for students).[ O]"Our support structure was more like : ' You are going to get through Yale; you are going to dowell,' " he said, hinting at mentors (导师), staff, and professors who all provided significantsupport for students who lacked confidence about "belonging" at such a top institution.46. Many first—generation college—goers have doubts about their abilities to geta college degree.47. First—generation college students tend to have much heavier financial burdens than their peers.48. The graduation rate of first—generation students at Nijay's university was incredibly low.49. Some top institutions like Yale seem to provide first—generation students with more support than they actually need.50. On entering college, Nijay Williams had no idea how challenging college education was.51. Many universities simply refuse to release their exact graduation rates for first-generation students.52. According to a marketing executive, many students from low-income families don't know they could have a chance of going to an elite university.53. Some elite universities attach great importance to building up the first—generation students' serf—confidence.54. I'm First distributes information to help first-generation college-goers find schools that are most suitable for them.55. Elite universities tend to graduate fn'st-generation students at a higher rate. Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A., B., C. andD . You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.Saying they can no longer ignore the rising prices of health care, some of the most influentialmedical groups in the nation are recommending that doctors weigh the costs, not just the effectivenessof treatments, as they make decisions about patient care.The shift, little noticed outside the medical establishment but already controversial inside it,suggests that doctors are starting to redefine their roles, from being concerned exclusively aboutindividual patients to exerting influence on how healthcare dollars are spent. In practical terms, the new guidelines being developed could result in doctors choosing one drugover another for cost reasons or even deciding that a particular treatment—at the end of life, forexample—is too expensive. In the extreme, some critics have said that making treatment decisionsbased on cost is a form of rationing. Traditionally, guidelines have heavily influenced the practice of medicine, and the latest ones areexpected to makedoctors more conscious of the economic consequences of their decisions, eventhough there's no obligation to follow them. Medical society guidelines are also used by insurancecomoanies to help determine reimbursement (报销) policies. Some doctors see a potential conflict in trying to be both providers of patient care and fmancial Overseers."There should be forces in society who should be concerned about the budget, but they shouldn'tbe functioning simultaneously as doctors," said Dr. Martin Samuels at a Boston hospital. He saiddoctors risked losing the trust of patients if they told patients, "I'm not going to do what I think is bestfor you because I think it's bad for the healthcare budget in Massachusetts. " Doctors can face some grim trade —offs. Studies have shown, for example, that two drugs are aboutequally effective in treating macular degeneration, and eye disease. But one costs $ 50 a dose and theother close to $ 2,000. Medicare could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year if everyone used thecheaper drug, Avastin, instead of the costlier one, Lucentis. But the Food and Drug Administration has not approved Avastin for use in the eye. and using itrather than the alternative, Lucentis, might carry an additional, although slight, safety risk. Shoulddoctors consider Medicare's budget in deciding what to use?"I think ethically (在道德层面上) we are just worried about the patient in front of us and nottrying to save money for the insurance industry or society as a whole," said Dr. Donald Jensen. Still, some analysts say that there's a role for doctors to play in cost analysis because not manyothers are doing so. "In some ways," said Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, "it represents a failure of wider society to take up the issue. "56. What do some most influential medical groups recommend doctors do?A. Reflect on the responsibilities they are supposed to take.B. Pay more attention to the effectiveness of their treatments.C. Take costs into account when making treatment decisions.D. Readjust their practice in view of the cuts in health care.57. What were doctors mainly concerned about in the past?A. Specific medicines to be used.B. Effects of medical treatment.C. Professional advancement.D. Patients' trust.58. What may the new guidelines being developed lead to?A. The redefining of doctors' roles.B. Overuse of less effective medicines.C. Conflicts between doctors and patients.D. The prolonging of patients' suffering.59. What risk do doctors see in their dual role as patient care providers and financial overseers?A. They may be involved in a conflict of interest.B. They may be forced to divide their attention.C. They may have to use less effective drugs.D. They may lose the respect of patients.60. What do some experts say about doctors' involvement in medical cost analysis?A. It may add to doctors' already heavy workloads.B. It will help to save money for society as a whole.C. It results from society's failure to tackle the problem.D. It raises doctors' awareness of their social responsibilities.Passage TwoQuestions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.Economic inequality is the "defining challenge of our time," President Barack Obama declared in aspeech last month to the Center for American Progress. Inequality is dangerous, he argued, not merelybecause it doesn't look good to have a large gap between the rich and the poor, but because inequalityitself destroys upward mobility, making it harder for the poor to escape from poverty. "Increasedinequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the American Dream," he said. Obama is only the most prominent public figure to declare inequality Public Enemy No. 1 and thegreatest threat to reducing poverty in America. A number of prominent economists have also arguedthat it's harder for the poor to climb the economic ladder today because the rungs (横档 ) in that ladderhave grown farther apart.For all the new attention devoted to the 1 percent, a new damset from the Equality of OpportunityProject at Harvard and Berkeley suggests that, if we care about upward mobility overall, we're vastlyexaggerating the dangers of the rich—poor gap. Inequality itself is not a particularly strong predictor ofeconomic mobility, as sociologist Scott Winship noted in a recent article based on his analysis of this data. So what factors, at the community level, do predict if poor children will move up the economicladder as adtdts? what explains, for instance, why the Salt Lake City metro area is one of the 100largest metropolitan areas most likely to lift the fortunes of the poor and the Atlanta metro area is oneof the least likely?Harvard economist Raj Cherty has pointed to economic and racial segregation, community density,the size of a community's middle class, the quality of schools, commtmity religiosity, and familystructure, which he calls the "single strongest correlate of upward mobility. " Chetty finds thatcommunities like Salt Lake City, with high levels of two-parent families and religiosity, are much morelikely to see poor children get ahead than communities like Atlanta, with high levels of racial andeconomic segregation. Chetty has not yet issued a comprehensive analysis of the relative predictive power of each of thesefactors. Based on my analyses of the data. of the factors that Chetty has highlighted, the followingthree seem to be most predictive of upward mobility in a given community:1. Per-capita (人均) income growth2. Prevalence of single mothers ( where correlation is strong, but negative)3. Per-capita local government spending In other words, communities with high levels of per-capita income growth, high percentages oftwo-parent families, and high local government spending-which may stand for good schools-are themost likely to help poor children relive Horatio Alger's rags-to-riches story.61. How does Obama view economic inequality?A. It is the biggest obstacle to social mobility.B. It is the greatest threat to social stability.。

2015年12月大学英语四级考试真题听力原文及参考答案(第2套)

2015年12月大学英语四级考试真题听力原文及参考答案(第2套)

2015年12月大学英语四级考试真题答案及详解(第2套)PART ⅠWriting思维导图学习应该是一个终生的过程Learning Should Be a Lifelong Process第一段结合谚语,引出话题:终身学习的重要性(the importance of lifelong learning)。

第二段分析终身学习对于现代社会的我们如此重要的原因。

在快速发展的信息时代,我们必须通过不断学习来紧跟时代潮流(keep pace with the times),否则将会失去很多机会(too outdated to seize any opportunities)。

作者通过出租车司机使用打车软件增加收入和家庭主妇开网店赚钱两个例子来进一步支持自己的论点,避免说理空洞。

第三段引用谚语“活到老学到老”(it is never too old to learn)进一步呼应和深化主题、总结全文:学习无关乎年龄。

只有不断学习,才能在迅猛发展的社会中发挥自身潜能(achieve our potential)、生活得更好。

〇高分范文Learning Should Be a Lifelong Process①It is often said that learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. ②The saying indicates the importance of lifelong learning, which we have been lectured over and over again.③Lifelong learning is crucial to our life and career in modern society. ④Living in the Information Age, we have to keep pace with the times through ceaseless learning; otherwise, we'll be too outdated to seize any opportunities. ⑤For example, a taxi driver who learns to use a Taxi App such as Didi can make much more money than those who don't; a housewife who opens a shop online can even out-earn a white-collar worker. ⑥All of their success can be attributed to their constant learning in addition to the progress of technology.⑦As an old saying goes, it is never too old to learn. Thus, learning is an attitude regardless of age. ⑧Only through learning ceaselessly can we achieve our potential and live a better life in this rapidly developing society.〇精彩点评①开门见山,引出谚语。

2015年12月英语六级真题及答案三套完整版

2015年12月英语六级真题及答案三套完整版

2015年12月英语六级真题及答案三套完整版2015 年 12 月大学英语六级考试真题(一)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay based on the picture below. You should focus on the impact of social networking websites on reading. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.My favorite book is Facebook *.”Facebook is the name of a social networkingwebsite. 注意:此部分试题请在答题卡 1 上作答。

Part ⅡListening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections:In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A) , B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.注意:此部分试题请在答题卡 1 上作答。

大学英语六级真题听力原文

大学英语六级真题听力原文

大学英语六级真题听力原文2015年大学英语六级真题听力原文大学英语六级考试从命题、审题、考务组织、统计分析到成绩发布已形成一套完整的.制度,是一项组织得较好的、严格按照标准化考试质量要求进行的大规模考试。

下面是店铺分享的英语六级听力原文,欢迎大家阅读!Section A1. W: A clever man hides his virtues within himself. A fool keeps them on his tongue.M: You mean I am saying my own praises. In that case, I am a fool, a thorough fool.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?2. W: What does the paper say about the horrible incident that happened this morning on Flight 870 to Hong Kong?M: It ended with the arrest of the three hijackers. They had forced the plane to fly to Japan,but all the passengers and crew members landed safely. Q: What do we learn from the conversation?3. M: I'd like to transfer money from my checking account to my savings account.W: OK. Give me the numbers of both accounts and some identification, please. Q: Where does the conversation most probably take place?4. W: I'm not going to trust the restaurant critic from that magazine again. The food here doesn't taste anything like what we had in Chinatown.M: It definitely wasn't worth the wait.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?5. W: I can't believe Prof. Lawrence is going to retire.M: He's still going to lead a graduate seminar each semester, though. Q: What does the man mean?6. W: Bob, I really think we should meet to figure out what to do about replacing Leon. We have to find someone soon.M: I can't come right now. I've got a meeting with Rodney. It might take all day. Can we meet tomorrow?Q: What does the woman want to discuss with the man?7. W: Helen won't be coming to work tomorrow. She's finally going to the photography exhibition.M: Oh, so she managed to get a ticket after all.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?8. W: Steve has listed a few ways of motivating the employees.I think these are out of touch of the real world.M: You just took the words out of my mouth. Let's try to persuade him to see things our way.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?Now you will hear the two long conversations.Conversation OneM: I'd like to go to the States,but if I took the job there,I won't get a very good salary.W: Really? I thought salaries were high there,but there would be some fringe benefits presumably.M: Oh, yes. It would be stimulating and it has some advantages.W: What else do you have in mind?M: Well, this position in Portugal.W: How does it compare?M: It offers greatest security,because it will be on a home-base contract. W: And salary?M: Much better. I get an overseas allowance plus freeaccommodation from the firm.W: Presumably you will be given moving expenses for the Portugal job?M: Yes, but just to complicate matters,this possibility offers a post in Sao Paulo. W: That's Brazil, isn't it?M: Yes. I'd will get a promotion if I took a post there.W: I'd love to go to Brazil.M: But there are some disadvantages. I'd have to do a five-year term there. W: That's not a problem, surely?M: Well, not at the moment. But if there were a change in family circumstances, I'd be a long way from home.W: But if you are worried about distance,isn't that the same problem with the States?M: Yes, but in the States I will be on an annual contract,so I can leave fairly quickly if I needed to.W: In Portugal?M: Well, that's almost next door, isn't it? I can visit home every a few months if necessary.W: I can see you've got a difficult choice to make.M: Well, fortunately I don't have to make up my mind about any of them yet.In fact, I haven't even been called for an interview.Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9. What does the man say about the job in the States?10. What benefit will the man get if he took the post in Sao Paulo?11. What does the man say is the disadvantage of working in Brazil?12. What do we learn from the end of the conversation?Conversation TwoW: Good morning,High Mountain Savings and Loan. How may we help you? M: Well, I am looking for the highest rate possible on a short-term certificate to deposit an account.W: Well, Let's see what we can do for you. High Mountain is currently offering a rate of 6.4% on the thirteen-week account for the minimum deposit of only 12 000 dollars, 6.55% on the minimum deposit of 25,000 dollars and 6.7% on a deposit of 50,000 dollars. Those will have yields of 6.55%,6.71% and 6.87% respectively.M: Rate and yield? I am afraid I don't understand the difference.W: Well, sir. The rate is the percentage of symbol interest paid on yourmoney,and the yield is the total percentage you will receive on your account if you leave your money with us,frankly to say here,as the same interest rate.M: Oh, well...eh... But I am not interested in long-term investing and three months sounds just fine.W: Then perhaps you would like to open one of our high finance money market checking accounts. With the minimum balance of only 50,000 dollars, you'd will get interest of 6.1% on any amount over that,for a yearly yield of 6.27%. Of course, there is no penalty for early withdraw.M:Er... No, thank you. I...W: Or, could we persuade you to save with us if we offer you a dinning coupon book that will get you a 25% discount at many of the area's leading restaurants and cost you only 12 dollars and 95 cents?M: Look, I think I'll just call around for more information. Thank you for your time.Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.13. What is the man's purpose in making the phone call?14. What is the man most interested in?15. What did the woman do to persuade the man to deposit in her bank?Section BPassage OneKaren Smith is a buyer for a department store in New York. Department store buyers purchase the goods that their stores sell. They not only have to know what is fashionable at the moment,but also have to guess what will become fashionable next season or next year. Most buyers work for just one department in a store. But the goods that Karen finds may be displayed and sold in several different sections of the store. Her job involves buying handicrafts from all over the world. Last year, she made a trip to Morocco and returned with rocks, pots, dishes and pans. The year before, she visited Mexico,and bought back handmade table cloths,mirrors with frames of tin and paper flowers. The paper flowers were bright and colorful,so they were used to decorate the whole store. This year Karen is travelling in Malaysia,Thailand and Indonesia. Many of the countries that Karen visits have government offices that promote handicrafts. The officials are glad to cooperate with her by showing her the products that are available. Karen especially likes to visit markets in small towns and villages whenever she can arrange for it. She is always looking for interesting and unusual items. Karen thinks she has the best job she could have found. She loves all the travelling that she has to do,because she often visits markets and small out-of-the-way places. She sees much more of the countryshe visits than an ordinary tourist would. As soon as she gets back to New York from one trip,Karen begins to plan another.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. What is said to make a good department store buyer?17. What does Karen's job involve?18. Why does Karen think she has got the best job?Passage TwoVaukin de Silva is a Brazilian who lives and works in New York. Brazil's most important product is coffee and coffee is Vaukin's business. He works for an international coffee institute. It represents Brazil and several other countries that export coffee. The institute wants more people to drink more coffee. That hasn't been easy to do for the last few months. A period of freezing weather destroyed a large part of Brazil's coffee crop. As a result, there has been a shortage of coffee throughout the world. The shortage has caused prices to go very high. Many people are talking about giving up coffee until the prices come down again. All the countries that are represented in the institute want people to continue drinking coffee. They spend a lot of time explaining the recent rise in price to newspaper reporters. They want the public to understand the reason for the shortage. Among the goal,Vaukin was put in charge of an advertising campaign. The campaign will try to encourage people to keep on drinking coffee. Sometimes, Vaukin misses the beaches and tropical weather in Rio deJaneiro,but he likes the life in New York. He is young, only 27 years old,and he is a good-looking bachelor. There are a lot of women to meet in New York and a lot of places to go with them. When he misses home,there are several Brazilian restaurantswhere he can go and speak Portuguese,his native language. The last few weeks,however, he's been too busy to think about anything except coffee prices and his advertising campaign.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. What does the passage say about the international coffee institute?20. What cause the recent shortage of coffee throughout the world?21. What do we learn about Vaukin de Silva?22. What has occupied Vaukin's mind for the last few weeks?Passage ThreeLast summer, my wife and I had saved for a year to be able to take a romantic cruise to several Caribbean islands. Because the train was scheduled to arrive in Miami, Floridaseveral hours before the sailing,we didn't think we'd have any reason to worry about getting to the dock on time. We should've known that long distance trains are often many hours late. We should've taken an earlier one to allow extra time. We should have, but we didn't and we missed the boat. Because there wouldn't to be a refund of our cruise fare,if we returned home,we had to pay for a hotel room and meals in the city and an air fare to fly to the first island on the shipped route two days later. We missed half the cruise. This year, we decided to let an experienced travel agent do our vacation planning for us. We had to pay the full price in advance for an escorted tour. We should be joining that relaxing well-planned trip right now. How could we have known there would be a strike against our airline? And why hadn't anyone advised us that the travel agency can't refund your money unless the tour operator can get the passengers鈥?fees back from the reservedhotels,the tour boat's company and so on?T o avoid trouble like this,we ought to get more travel experience.But to tell you the truth,we don't want to go anywhere. We鈥檙e planning to spend our vacations at home for a long time to come.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.23. Why did the couple fail to get to the cruise in time?24. What does the speaker say about their trip this year?25. What will the speaker do in the future for a vacation?Section CNow listen to the passage.Why would an animal kill itself? It seems a strange question,and yet it is one that has puzzled some people for a long time. The lemming is one such animal. Lemmings periodically commit mass suicide,and no one knows just why!The small creatures,which inhabit the Scandinavian mountains,sustain themselves on a diet of roots and live in nests they make underground. When their food supply is sufficiently large,the lemmings live a normal,undisturbed life.However, when the lemmings' good supply becomes too low to support the population,a singular migration commences. The lemmings leave their nests all together at the same time,forming huge crowds. Great numbers of the lemmings begin a long and hard journey across the Scandinavian plains,a journey that may last weeks. The lemmings eat everything in theirpath,continuing their destructive march until they reach the sea.The reason for what follows remains a mystery for zoologists and naturalists. Upon reaching the coast,the lemmings do not stop but swim by the thousands into the surf. Most float on water only a short time before they tire, sink, and drown.A common theory for this unusual phenomenon is that the lemmings do notrealize that the ocean is such a huge body of water. In their cross-countryjourney,the animals must traverse many smaller bodies of water,such as rivers and small lakes. They may assume that the sea is just another such swimmable obstacle. But no final answer has been found to the mystery.。

2015年12月大学英语四级真题第2套听力原文

2015年12月大学英语四级真题第2套听力原文

2015年12月大学英语四级真题第2套听力原文There are more than 400 museums in the US that celebrate the history of the military. But not a single one devoted to American diplomacy. That’s about to change. A new museum celebrating the history of American diplomacy is being built at the US Department of State. The US Diplomacy Center (USDC) will feature 238 years of American diplomatic history, as well as an education area for students interested in diplomatic careers. The USDC has collected over 6 200 objects to display in the new, 20 000-square-foot museum.Building started on the museum in 2014. Secretary of State John Kerry, along with five former Secretaries of State, was present for the ceremony. Once all the funding and design plans are completed, the museum is projected to open in 2017, said a spokesman for the project.1. What is the news report mainly about?2. What can we learn about the project from the news report?A conflict is forming on the streets of New York City between legal and illegal food trucks and carts. The city grants 5 100 food vending permits every two years. The permit is issued by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Most of the permit holders pay $200 to renew their permit every two years. Some permit holders rent their license, or permit, for a profit. Some cart or truck operators pay more than $20 000 for a food vending permit.Because there is greater demand than supply of permits, a black market for the licenses has emerged. It is reported that transferring or renting these permits to another vendor is illegal. But many vendors have turned to this illegal black market forpermits. The vendors say getting a cart or truck permit can take 10 to 15 years. Some vendors work the street unlicensed.3. How much should the permit holders pay to renew the permit?4. Why has a black market for the licenses emerged?A burial place in Washington, DC is using goats instead of poison to remove weeds. Congressional Cemetery is near Capitol Hill. There are more than 65 000 graves there.In recent years, many weeds have grown in the cemetery. Officials did not want to usepoisons, to kill the weeds. The cemetery is near the Anacostia River. Officials have worked for many years to remove pollutants from the river, which runs through the city. So cemetery officials decided to use goats. The animals are less costly than chemicals and do not hurt the environment. And the goats eat a lot of weeds.The animals are owned by Mary Bowen, a farmer. She operates a company called Browsing Green Goats. The cemetery pays her company more than $11 000 to have the goats remove unwanted plants from each hectare of the cemetery. But Mary Bowen says that is about half the cost of using herbicides. She hopes the goats will help more people understand that they can keep their property free of weeds without hurting the environment.5. What new measure is taken to kill the weeds in Congressional Cemetery?6. Why is the new measure taken?7. What does Mary Bowen do?Section BConversation OneM: Ace Employment Agency. Good morning.W: Good morning. I wonder if you can help me. I’m looking for a job.M: I’ll see what we can do. Uh...Have you been to us before?W: No. But you’ve managed to get jobs for some of my friends. So I thought, perhaps, you know...M: Yes, I see. First of all, could you give me your full name?W: Yes, of course. Susan Hollies.M: Good. And could I have your phone number?W: Yes. 7788992.M: Fine. And your date of birth, please?W: Feb. 3rd, 1980.M: Thank you. Now, education. Which school did you go to?W: I went to a secondary school in South T own.M: And have you been to college?W: No. I left full-time education when I was 18.M: I see. Any qualifications?W: Yes. I gained a shorthand and typing diploma at evening classes.M: That’s good. Now, where are you working at the moment?W: Well, I’ve got a job as a shorthand-typist. But I’m not enjoying it very much and it doesn’t pay very well.M: I see. Have you applied for any other jobs?W: Y es. I thought I’d like to be a policewoman. But they turned me down because I was too short.M: What would you like to do now, then?W: Well, I think I’d like to work in a travel agency.M: I see. I think the best thing is for me to see what we might find for you. And then... Questions 8 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.8. How did the woman get to know about the man’s company?9. What formal education did the woman receive?10. What do we learn about the woman’s occupation?11. What will the man probably do next?Conversation TwoW: Steve, can you tell me how long you’ve been a pub owner?M: Well, four years, I suppose. I’ve been involved with pubs off and on for ten years. I’ve sort of done hotel work and I’ve also run a restaurant pub. And now I’ve got what you call a good old-fashioned pub. That is a public bar, with all the social games going with it, which is what we’ve always wanted to have, you know.W: It sounds like you’ve always worked in pubs, but not always in this one.M: No, no. I worked in quite a variety of pubs.W: What makes a good pub? I mean, you said, you know, it has got a good variety of things.M: Well, I think having the right customers to start with, selling the right beer, keeping it good, and most of all, keeping a good attitude yourself, even though you probably feel very tired. But the idea is, if you generate from your side, it’s got to affect the other side, if you’re getting the right customers in.W: Yeah. I must say that’s one thing that has always str uck me about being a pub owner. I mean, a lot of people seem to think that it’s a nice job, you know. Everybody says, “Oh, I’d love to retire and get a country pub.” But it seems to me that it’s actually very hard work.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you havejust heard.12. What does the man say about his involvement with pubs?13. What characterizes the old-fashioned pub according to the man?14. What does the man say is the most important in makinga good pub?15. What does the woman think of running a country pub?Section CPassage OneTo help ourselves and others, it’s important to know something about drugs. A drug is a chemical substance. It can bring about a physical, emotional, or mental change in people. Alcohol and tobacco are drugs. Caffeine, a substance found in coffee and some soft drinks, is also a drug.Drug abuse is the use of a drug, legal or illegal, that hurts a person or someone close to him. A drug user is the person who takes the drug. There are many kinds of drug users. Experimental users may try drugs once or twice. They want to see what the effects will be. Recreational users take drugs to get high. They use drugs with friends or at parties to get into the mood of things. Regular users take drugs all the time. But they are often able to keep up with the normal routine of work. Dependent users can’t relate to anything but drugs. Their whole life centers around drugs. They feel extreme mental or physical pain without drugs. It’s not always easy to tell that someone is u sing drugs. In the early stages, drug use is often hard to see. Sometimes, people like drugs or need drugs so much that they can’t do without them. They are dependent upon drugs. Only a few kinds of drugs can cause physical dependence. But almost any drug, when it’s misused, can make a person think he needs it all the time. By thistime, it’s too late and the person is hooked. Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. What does the speaker say about drug abuse?17. What does the speaker say about recreational drug users?18. What does the speaker say about drug dependence?Passage TwoAccording to Charles Harper, Chairman of ConAgra, the Healthy Choice line of frozen dinners began with his own heart attack. It has been brought on by years of eating anything he could get his hands on. As he lay in the hospital recovering, Harper imagined the line of healthy frozen foods that tasted good. The Healthy Choice product line was carefully tested with consumers before being introduced to the general public. ConAgra’s research and development staff spent a year working under the instruction “Whatever the cost, don’t sacrifice taste.” The first test market results surprised even the ConAgra team. The low-sodium, low-fat frozen dinners sold much better than expected. According to the firm’s vice-president of marketing and sales,“We benefited from low expectations. The products were much better than people thought they would be.” This finding supported ConAgra’s decision to position the product against other high-quality frozen dinners rather than as a diet or health food. The new product’s brand name and packaging were an important part of the development process. The name Healthy Choice was chosen for the positive implication it held for consumers. Because ConAgra felt the product would be an impulse purchase, it was important to make the item stand out in the freezer case. This was accomplished through the dark green packaging that not only differed from the competitors but also suggested freshness and richness in vitamins.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. What did Charles Harper think of while he was in hospital?20. What does the passage say about the Healthy Choice product line before it went to market?21. What is said to contribute to ConAgra’s business success?22. What does the speaker say about the name Healthy Choice?Passage ThreeIn the United States, 36 states currently allow capital punishment for serious crimes such as murder. Americans have always argued about the death penalty. Today, there is a serious question about this issue: Should there be a minimum age limit for executingcriminals? In other words, is it right for convicted murderers who kill when they are minors—that is, under the age of 18—to receive the death penalty? In most other countries of the world, there is no capital punishment for minors. In the United States, though, each state makes its own decision. Of the 36 states that allow the death penalty, 30 permit the execution of minors. In the state of South Carolina, a convicted murderer was given the death penalty for a crime he committed while he was a minor. In 1977, when he was 17 years old, James Terry Roach and two friends cruelly murdered three people. Roach’s lawyer fought the decision to execute him. The young murderer remained on Death Row for ten years while his lawyer appealed to the governor. The lawyer argued that it is wrong to execute a person for a crime he committed while he was a minor. In the United States, the governor of a state has the power to change asentence from the death penalty to life in prison. Nonetheless, the governor of South Carolina refused to stop the execution. Roach was finally executed in 1986.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.23. What does the speaker say about the death penalty in the United States?24. What is the focus of the debate around the death penalty?25. What does the speaker say about James Terry Roach? This is the end of listening comprehension.。

精品2015年12月英语六级真题试卷一:听力短对话(网友版)

精品2015年12月英语六级真题试卷一:听力短对话(网友版)

2015年12月英语六级真题试卷一:听力短对话(网友版)Short Conversations1.W: Wow, what variety of salads you've got on your menu! Could you recommend something special?M: Well, I think you can try this mixed salad. We make the dressing with fresh berries.Q: What does the man mean?2.W: I was talking to Mary the other day and she mentioned that your new consulting firm is doingreally well.M: Yes, business picked up much faster than we anticipated. We now have over 200 clients.Q: What do we learn about the man from the conversation?3.M: Do you know where we keep flash discs and printing paper?W: They should be in the cabinet if there are any. That's where we keep all of our office supplies.Q: What does the woman mean?4.W: The print in this dictionary is so small. Ican't read the explanations at all.M: Let me get my magnifying glass. I know I just can't do without it.Q: What does the man mean?5.W: I'm considering having my office redecorated. The furniture is old and the paint is chipping.M: I'll give you my sister-in-law's number. She just graduated from an interior design academy andwill give a free estimate.Q: What is the woman considering?6.W: We have a full load of goods that needs to be delivered. But we can't get a container ship anywhere.M: That's always been a problem in this port. The facilities here are never able to meet our needs.Q: What are the speakers talking about?7.W: Why didn't Rod get a pay raise?M: The boss just isn't convinced that his work attitude warranted. She said she saw him by the coffee machine more often than at his desk.Q: What are the speakers talking about?8.W: The hotel called, saying that because of ascheduling error, they won't be able to cater for our banquet.M: I know an Indian restaurant on the High Street that offers a special dinner for groups. The food is excellent and the room is large enough to accommodate us.Q: What does the man suggest they do?。

英语六级十二月考试真题第一套听力原文

英语六级十二月考试真题第一套听力原文

英语六级十二月考试真题第一套听力原文全文共3篇示例,供读者参考篇1The following is the original text from the first set of listening questions in the December CET-6 exam:Section A: Conversations1. W: Have you decided which restaurant to go to for dinner tonight?M: Not yet. I want to try something new.W: How about that new Italian restaurant downtown?2. W: I heard you're planning a trip to Australia. When are you leaving?M: Next month. I can't wait to explore the Great Barrier Reef.3. M: How was your job interview today?W: I think it went well. The interviewer seemed impressed with my experience.4. W: Did you hear about the new company policy on remote work?M: Yes, they're allowing employees to work from home twice a week now.5. M: I'm thinking about taking up a new hobby, like painting or photography.W: That sounds like a great idea. Let me know if you need any tips.Section B: PassagesPassage 1In recent years, there has been a growing interest in sustainable living. People are becoming more aware of environmental issues and are seeking ways to reduce their carbon footprint. One way to do this is by using renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power. By making small changes in our daily lives, we can all play a part in protecting the planet for future generations.Passage 2Many companies are now offering employees the option to work remotely. This trend has been accelerated by the COVID-19pandemic, as more people are working from home than ever before. While there are benefits to remote work, such as increased flexibility and reduced commuting time, there are also challenges, such as feelings of isolation and difficulty in separating work and personal life.Passage 3The rise of social media has transformed the way we communicate and connect with others. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow us to stay in touch with friends and family, share updates about our lives, and discover new interests. However, there are concerns about the impact of social media on mental health, with studies suggesting that excessive use can lead to feelings of loneliness and anxiety.I hope this information helps in preparing for the upcoming CET-6 exam. Good luck!篇2I'm sorry, but I am not able to provide verbatim excerpts of specific copyrighted materials such as the December 2021 English Proficiency Test (CET-6) listening section questions. However, I can provide a general overview and some examplesof the types of questions that are typically included in the listening section of the CET-6 exam.The listening section of the CET-6 exam usually consists of a series of recordings of conversations, lectures, and discussions, followed by multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions based on the content of the recordings. The recordings may cover a variety of topics, such as academic lectures, news reports, and casual conversations among friends.The questions typically test the test-taker's ability to understand the main ideas and details of the recordings, as well as their ability to make inferences, predictions, and deductions based on the information presented. The questions may also assess the test-taker's ability to recognize and interpret spoken language features such as intonation, tone, and stress.Here are some examples of the types of questions that may appear in the listening section of the CET-6 exam:1. What is the main topic of the conversation?A) PoliticsB) ScienceC) TravelD) Food2. According to the speaker, what is the importance of recycling?A) It reduces pollutionB) It saves moneyC) It is a fun activityD) It is a waste of time3. Fill in the blank: The speaker mentions that she is planning to travel to _______ next year.A) FranceB) AustraliaC) JapanD) BrazilThese are just a few examples of the types of questions that may be included in the listening section of the CET-6 exam. It is important for test-takers to practice listening to a variety of English recordings and to familiarize themselves with the types of questions that may appear on the exam in order to improve their listening skills and perform well on test day.篇3The following is the complete transcript of the first set of listening questions from the December 6th GRE exam:Part I: Listening ComprehensionSection A1. A. Room 205.B. Room 215.C. Room 225.D. Room 235.2. A. He does not believe the man received poor grades.B. He did worse in the same course last year.C. He has tutoring experience.D. He has read the man’s essay.3. A. He has a request for a different room assignment.B. He wants to clarify a point in the reading assignment.C. He would like to change his English class.D. He is not yet finished with the reading assignment.4. A. Vegetarian cuisine.B. A room service menu.C. A guest reservation.D. A restaurant list.5. A. She considers the seminar an excellent opportunity for students.B. It offers an opportunity to finish the semester early.C. It is very popular and few spots remain.D. She is surprised that the student has not yet registered.6. A. They did not attend the same university.B. They both dislike coffee.C. They will not see each other until Tuesday.D. They have not seen each other in some time.7. A. Richard fails to say goodbye to Ellen.B. Ellen feels uncomfortable going to Richard’s office.C. Richard has forgotten his lunch.D. Ellen disapproves of Richard’s behavior.Section BConversation OneW: I heard Martha got promoted yesterday.M: Yes, they made her chief editor.W: That’s wonderful! I wonder who will fill her old position.M: They’re looking for someone outside the company.W: Really? Who did you hear they were interviewing?M: I’m not sure,but I think they’ve narrowed it down to a couple of candidates.W: Well, I hope they make a decision soon. We really need someone to keep things running smoothly.8. What do we learn about Martha?A. She is training a new editor.B. She recently got a raise.C. She has been promoted.D. She is the owner of the company.9. Why does the woman say, “We really need someone to keep things running smoothly”?A. Because the company has been doing poorly.B. Because the company has grown.C. Because someone has left the company.D. Because there are too many applicants for the position.Conversation TwoM: Good morning, Sarah. I’m looking over the figures for the last quarterly report. It looks like we’re doing better than expected.W: Yes, I noticed that too. I think we can afford to invest more in marketing next quarter.M: I agree. I believ e we’ll see a significant increase in sales if we do.W: I also think we should consider expanding our online presence. It seems like everyone is shopping online these days.M: That’s a good point. Let’s schedule a meeting with the marketing department to discuss our options.10. What is true about the company’s performance?A. It is doing worse than expected.B. It is doing better than expected.C. It is losing sales.D. It is cutting spending.11. What does the woman suggest they do next quarter?A. Invest more in marketing.B. Cut back on expenses.C. Reduce staff.D. Eliminate the online store.Conversation ThreeW: I heard your cousin Albert was having trouble with his job search.M: Yes, it’s been tough for him. He’s had a few interviews, but hasn’t received any offers.W: I’m sure he’ll find something soon. His field is very competitiveM: I hope so. If nothing else comes up, he might have to take a temporary position.W: Well, at least that would give him some income until he finds something more permanent.M: That’s true. At this point, I think he’s open to any job that comes his way.12. What does the woman mean when she says, “I’m sure he’ll find something soon”?A. She is not worried about him.B. She believes he is a failure.C. She thinks he is very competent.D. She is confident he will find a job soon.13. What does the man suggest Albert might have to do?A. Take a temporary job.B. Return to school.C. Move back home.D. Wait a few years.Section CPassage OneLectureGood morning, everyone. Today’s lecture is about the importance of recycling. As we all know, recycling helps reducewaste, save energy, and conserve natural resources. In addition, it helps prevent air and water pollution by reducing the need to mine for raw materials. Recycling also helps create jobs and stimulate the economy. For example, by recycling one ton of paper, we save approximately 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water. It is important for all of us to do our part to protect the environment by recycling.14. What is the lecture mainly about?A. The benefits of recycling.B. The dangers of air pollution.C. The need for more raw materials.D. The destruction of forests.15. According to the lecture, how much water is saved by recycling one ton of paper?A. 7 gallons.B. 70 gallons.C. 700 gallons.D. 7,000 gallons.Passage TwoAnnouncementAttention all passengers. The train to Manchester has been delayed due to a track closure. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are working to get the track repaired as quickly as possible. Please listen for further announcements regarding the new departure time.16. Why has the train been delayed?A. A mechanical problem.B. Damaged tracks.C. Poor weather conditions.D. A terrorist threat.17. What is the purpose of the announcement?A. To cancel the train.B. To apologize for the delay.C. To announce a new departure time.D. To inform passengers of a change in route.Part II: Dialogue CompletionDirections: In this section, you will read five short dialogs. At the end of each dialog, a question will be asked. Select the best answer to each question and mark the letter (A), (B), (C), or (D) on your answer sheet.18. W: Did you hear about the fire in the building on Main Street?M: Yes, I did. It’s terrible news.W: _____M: I feel sorry for the people who lost everything.A. It was put out quickly.B. How much damage was done?C. How did it happen?D. What are they going to do now?19. M: I can’t find my keys anywhere. I know I left them on the table yesterday.W: _____M: You’re right. I’ll look there again.A. Did you check the kitchen?B. Maybe they’re in the bathroom.C. Have you looked in your bag?D. Have you checked the living room?20. W: Would you like to go see a movie this evening? M: I’d love to, but I have to study for my finals.W: _____M: How about next weekend?A. I’ll go with someone else then.B. Are you sure you can’t take a break?C. That’s to o bad. I was really looking forward to it.D. No problem. Just let me know when you’re free.21. M: Are you planning to go skiing this weekend? W: I was planning to, but I hurt my knee.M: _____W: Thanks. Hopefully, I’ll feel better so on.A. You should take it easy.B. How did you do that?C. I hope you recover quickly.D. I can come with you.22. W: We should start preparing for the party tomorrow evening.M: I agree. Let’s make a list of what we need to buy.W: _____M: Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.A. Should we rent some chairs?B. Do we have to cook everything ourselves?C. How many guests are we expecting?D. What do you think we should serve?That concludes the transcript of the first set of listening questions from the December 6th GRE exam. Good luck to all the test-takers!。

完整word版,201512月大学英语六级听力真题MP3下载(含文本)(第一套)答案及解析

完整word版,201512月大学英语六级听力真题MP3下载(含文本)(第一套)答案及解析

2015年12月大学英语六级听力真题MP3下载(含文本)(第一套)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of eachconversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A., B., C. and D ), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.注意:此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1. A. Prepare for his exams.B. Catch up on his work.C. Attend the concert.D. Go on a vacation.2. A. Three crew members were involved in the incident.B. None of the hijackers carried any deadly weapons.C. The plane had been scheduled to fly to Japan.D. None of the passengers were injured or killed.3. A. An article about the election.B. A tedious job to be done.C. An election campaign.D. A fascinating topic.4. A. The restaurant was not up to the speakers' expectations.B. The restaurant places many ads in popular magazines.C. The critic thought highly of the Chinese restaurant.D. Chinatown has got the best restaurants in the city.5. A. He is going to visit his mother in the hospital.B. He is going to take on a new job next week.C. He has many things to deal with right now.D. He behaves in a way nobody understands.6. A. A large number of students refused to vote last night.B. At least twenty students are needed to vote on an issue.C. Major campus issues had to be discussed at the meeting.D. More students have to appear to make their voice heard.7. A. The woman can hardly tell what she likes.B. The speakers like watching TV very much.C. The speakers have nothing to do but watch TV.D. The man seldom watched TV before retirement.8. A. The woman should have registered earlier.B. He will help the woman solve the problem.C ) He finds it hard to agree with what the woman says.D. The woman will be able to attend the classes she wants.Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9. A. Persuade the man to join her company.B. Employ the most up-to-date technology.C. Export bikes to foreign markets.D. Expand their domestic business.10. A. The state subsidizes small and medium enterprises.B. The government has control over bicycle imports.C. They can compete with the best domestic manufacturers.D. They have a cost advantage and can charge higher prices.11. A. Extra costs might eat up their profits abroad.B. More workers will be needed to do packaging.C. They might lose to foreign bike manufacturers.D. It is very difficult to find suitable local agents.12. A. Report to the management.B. Attract foreign investments.C. Conduct a feasibility studyD. Consult financial experts.Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.13. A. Coal burnt daily for the comfort of our homes.B. Anything that can be used to produce power.C. Fuel refined from oil extracted from underground.D. Electricity that keeps all kinds of machines running.14. A. Oil will soon be replaced by alternative energy sources.B. Oil reserves in the world will be exhausted in a decade.C. Oil consumption has given rise to many global problems.D. Oil production will begin to decline worldwide by 2025.15. A. Minimize the use of fossil fuels.B. Start developing alternative fuels.C. Find the real cause for global warming.D. Take steps to reduce the greenhouse effect.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 71 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A. The ability to predict fashion trends.B. A refined taste for artistic works.C. Years of practical experience.D. Strict professional training.17. A. Promoting all kinds of American hand-made specialties.B. Strengthening cooperation with foreign governments.C. Conducting trade in art works with dealers overseas.D. Purchasing handicrafts from all over the world.18. A. She has access to fashionable things.B. She is doing what she enjoys doing.C. She can enjoy life on a modest salary.D. She is free to do whatever she wants.Passage TwoQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A. Join in neighborhood patrols.B. Get involved in his community.C. voice his complaints to the city council.D. Make suggestions to the local authorities.20. A. Deterioration in the quality of life.B. Increase of police patrols at night.C. Renovation of the vacant buildings.D. Violation of community regulations.21. A. They may take a long time to solve.B. They need assistance from the city.C. They have to be dealt with one by one.D. They are too big for individual efforts.22. A. He had got some groceries at a big discount.B. He had read a funny poster near his seat.C. He had done a small deed of kindness.D. He had caught the bus just in time.Passage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.23. A. Childhood and healthy growth.B. Pressure and heart disease.C. Family life and health.D. Stress and depression.24. A. It experienced a series of misfortunes.B. It was in the process of reorganization.C. His mother died of a sudden heart attack.D. His wife left him because of his bad temper.25. A. They would give him a triple bypass surgery.B. They could remove the block in his artery.C. They could do nothing to help him.D. They would try hard to save his life.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When thepassage 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 with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.When most people think of the word "education," they think of a pupil as a sort of animate sausage casing. Into this empty casing, the teachers(26)stuff "education."But genuine education, as Socrates knew more than two thousand years ago, is not (27 )the stuffings of information into a person, but rather eliciting knowledge from him; it is the 28 of what is in the mind."The most important part of education," once wrote William Ernest Hocking, the (29) Harvard philosopher, "is this instruction of a man in what he has inside of him. And, as Edith Hamilton has reminded us, Socrates never said, "I know, learn from me." He said, rather, "Look into your own selvers and find the (30) of truth that God has put into every heart, and that only you can kindle (点燃) to a( 31)." In a dialogue, Socrates takes an ignorant slave boy, without a day of (32), and proves to the amazed observers that the boy really "knows" geometry--because the principles of geometry are already in his mind, waiting to be called out.So many of the discussions and (33) about the content of education are useless and inconclusive because they(34) what should "go into" the student rather than with what should be taken out, and how this can best be done.The college student who once said to me, after a lecture, "I spend so much time studying that I don't have a chance to learn anything," was clearly expressing his ( 35 ) with the sausage-casing view of education.2015年12月大学英语六级听力真题MP3下载(含文本)(第一套)答案Section A 参考答案1. C)【精析】行动计划题。

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)Part IDirections:Writing (30 minutes)For this part, you are allowed 90 minutes to write a short essay based on the picture below. You should focus on the difficulty in acquiring useful information in spite of advanced information technology. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear some questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. Conversation OneQuestions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. A) Touch his heart. C) Remind him of his life.B) Make him cry. D) Make him feel young.2. A) It makes him exciting. C) It catches his attention.B) It isn’t very musical. D) It is hard for him to sing.3. A) He is good at singing operas. C) He can sing any song if he likes it.B) He enjoys complicated music. D) He loves country music in particular.4. A) Go to a bar and drink for horns. C) Go to see a performance in a concert hail.B) Go to an isolated place to sing blues. D) Go to work and wrap himself up in music.Conversation TwoQuestions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) How he became an announcer. C) How he makes his living.B) How he writes news stories. D) How he does his job.6. A) They write the first version of news stories. C) They polish incoming news stories.B) They gather news stories on the spot. D) They write comments on major news stories.7. A) Reading through the news stories in a given period of time.B) Having little time to read the news before going on the air.C) Having to change the tone of his voice from time to time.D) Getting all the words and phrases pronounced correctly.8. A) It shows where advertisements come in. C) It alerts him to something important.B) It gives a signal for him to slow down. D) It serves as a reminder of sad news.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two 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 AnswerSheet 1 with a single linethrough the centre.Passage OneQuestions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.9. A) It gives pleasure to both adults and children. C) It can be found in many parts of the world.B) It is often carried around by small children. D) It was invented by an American Indian.10. A) They were made for earning a living.B) They were delicate geometric figures.C) They were small circus figures made of wire.D) They were collected by a number of museums.11. A) In art.B) In geometry.C) In engineering.D) In circus performance.Passage TwoQuestions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.12. A) It is mostly imported from the Middle East.B) It is a sure indicator of its economic activity.C) It has a direct impact on the international oil market.D) It equals more than 30 million barrels of oil each day.13. A) It eventually turns into heat.B) It is used in a variety of forms.C) Its use is chiefly responsible for air pollution.D) Part of it is lost in the process of transmission.14. A) When it is used in rural areas.B) When it is environment-friendly.C) When it operates at near capacity.D) When it operates at regular times.15. A) Traffic jams in cities.B) Inefficient use of energy.C) Fuel shortage.D) Global warming.Section CDirections: In this section. you will hear recordings of lectures or talks followed by some questions. The recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19.16. A) It is caused by stress from work or study.B) It has a great impact on people’s life.C) It results in some strange diseases nowadays.D) It gives people lots of trouble at work.17. A) Talk about it. C) Ignore it.B) Immerse ourselves in it. D) Shut it down.18. A) To release the negative emotion. C) To feel more comfortable.B) To relax ourselves. D) To have a short break.19. A) Looking down upon it. C) Giving it space and attention.B) Doing something else. D) Getting some amusement.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.20. A) Stand up for themselves. C) Contribute more to the company.B) Never laugh at their workmates. D) Get close to their bosses.21. A) They are indifferent to their employees.B) They focus on the finished projects.C) They don’t know everybody in the company.D) They hate to see employees show off their work.22. A) People start repeating their achievements.B) People ask for rewards for their achievements.C) People look down upon their colleagues.D) People attract the attention of their bosses on purpose.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.23. A) A primary school education and some secondary school.B) Basic skills they need to escape from poverty.C) Governments and many donors? support.D) The skills necessary to operate a business.24. A) The skills in numeracy and the ability to read and write.B) A bridge between school and work.C) The completion of the first few years of schooling.D) A process of remembering something by repeating it.25. A) Going to south of the Sahara Desert. C) Receiving training from skilled workers.B) Getting opportunities to learn through TV. D) Organizing system for women.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read thepassage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.According to a report from the Harvard School of Public Health, many everyday products, including somebug sprays and cleaning fluids, could lead to an increased risk of brain and behavioral disorders in children. The developing brain, the report says, is particularly 26 to the toxic effects of certain chemicals these products may contain, and the damage they cause can be 27. The official policy, however, is still evolving. Health and environmental 28 have long urged U. S. government agencies to 29 the use of some of the 11 chemicals the report cites and called for more studies on their long-term effects. In 2001, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency 30 the type and amount of lead that could be present in paint and soil in homes and child-care 31, after concerns were raised about lead poisoning. The agency is now 32 the toxic effects of some of the chemicals in the latest report. But the threshold for regulation is high. Because children’s brain and behavioral disorders, like hyperactivity and lower grades, can also be linked to social and genetic factors, it’s tough to pin them on exposure to specific chemicals with solid 33evidence, which is what the EPA requires. Even the Harvard study did not prove a direct 34 but noted strong associations between exposure and risk of behavioral issues. Nonetheless, it’s smart to 35 caution. While it may be impossible to prevent kids from drinking tap water that may contain trace amounts of chemicals, keeping kids away fromlawns recently sprayed with chemicals and freshly dry-cleaned clothes can’t hurt. .A) advocatesB) compactC) correlationD) exerciseE) facilitiesF) interactionG) investigatingH) overwhelmedI) particlesJ) permanentK) restrictedL) simulatingM) statisticalN) tightenO) vulnerableSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.The Impossibility of Rapid Energy Transitions[A] Politicians are fond of promising rapid energy transitions. Whether it is a transition from imported to domestic oil or from coal-powered electricity production to natural-gas power plants, politicians love to talk big. Unfortunately for them (and often thetaxpayers), our energy systems are a bit like an aircraft carrier: they are unbelievably expensive, they are built to last for a very long time, they have a huge amount of inertia (meaning it takes a lot of energy to set them moving), and they have a lot of momentum once they are set in motion. No matter how hard you try, you can’t turn something that large on a dime (10美分的硬币), or even a few thousand dimes.[B] In physics, moving objects have two characteristics relevant to understanding the dynamics of energy systems: inertia and momentum. Inertia is the resistance of objects to efforts to change their state of motion. If you try to push a boulder (大圆石), it pushes you back. Once you have started the boulder rolling, it develops momentum, which is defined by its mass and velocity. Momentum is said to be “conserved,” that is, once you build it up, it has to go somewhere. So a heavy object, like a football player moving at a high speed, has a lot of momentum that is, once he is moving, it is hard to change his state of motion. If you want to change his course, you have only a few choices: you can stop him, transferring (possibly painfully) some of his kinetic energy(动能) to your own body, or you can approach alongside and slowly apply pressure to gradually alter his course.[C] But there are other kinds of momentum as well. After all, we don’t speak only of objects or people as having momentum; we speak of entire systems having momentum. Whether it’s a sports team or a presidential campaign, everybody relishes having the big momentum, because it makes them harder to stop or change direction.[D] One kind of momentum is technological momentum. When a technology is deployed, its impacts reach far beyonditself. Consider the incandescent (白炽灯的) bulb, an object currently hated by many environmentalists and energy-efficiency advocates. The incandescent light bulb, invented by Thomas Edison, which came to be the symbol of inspiration, has been developed into hundreds, if not thousands, of forms. Today, a visit to a lighting store reveals a stunning array of choices. There are standard-shaped bulbs, flame-shaped bulbs, colored globe-shaped bulbs, and more. It is quite easy, with all that choice, to change a light bulb.[E] But the momentum of incandescent lighting does not stop there. All of those specialized bulbs led to the building of specialized light fixtures, from the desk lamp you study by, to the ugly but beloved hand-painted Chinese lamp you inherited from your grandmother, to the ceiling fixture in your closet, to the light in your oven or refrigerator, and to the light that the dentist points at you. It is easy to change a light bulb, sure, but it is harder to change the bulb and its fixture.[F] And there is more to the story, because not only are the devices that house incandescent bulbs shaped to their underlying characteristics, but rooms and entire buildings have been designed in accordance with how incandescent lighting reflects off walls and windows.[G] As lighting expert Howard Brandston points out, “generally, there are no bad light sources, only bad appl ications.”There are some very commendable characteristics of the CFL [compact Fluorescent(荧光的) light bulb], yet the selection of any light source remains inseparable from the luminaire (照明设备) that houses it, along with the space in which both are installed, and lighting requirements that need to be satisfied. The lamp, the fixture, and the room, all three must workin concert for the true benefits of end-users. If the CFL should be used for lighting a particular space, or an object within that space, the fixture must be designed to work with that lamp, and that fixture with the room. It is a symbiotic (共生的) relationship. A CFL cannot be simply installed in an incandescent fixture and then expected to produce a visual appearance that is more than washed out, foggy, and dim. The whole fixture must be replaced light source and luminaire and this is never aninexpensive proposition.[H] And Brandston knows a thing or two about lighting, being the man who illuminated the Statue of Liberty.[I] Another type of momentum we have to think about when planning for changes hi our energy systems is labor-pool momentum. It is one thing to say that we are going to shift 30 percent of our electricity supply from, say, coal to nuclear power in 20 years. But it is another thing to have a supply of trained talent that could let you carry out this promise. That is because the engineers, designers, regulators, operators, and all of the other skilled people needed for the new energy industry are specialists who have to be trained first (or retrained, if they are the ones being laid off in some related industry), and education, like any other complicated endeavor, takes time. And not only do our prospective new energy workers have to be trained, they have to be trained in the right sequence. One needs the designers, and perhaps the regulators, before the builders and operators, and each group of workers in training has to know there is work waiting beyond graduation. In some cases, colleges and universities might have to change their training programs, adding another layer of difficulty.[J] By far the biggest type of momentum that comes into playwhen it comes to changing our energy systems is economic momentum. The major components of our energy systems, such as fuel production, refining, electrical generation and distribution, are costly installations that have lengthy life spans. They have to operate for long periods of time before the costs of development have been recovered. When investors put up money to build, say, a nuclear power plant, they expect to earn that money back over the planned life of the plant, which is typically between 40 arid 60 years. Some coal power plants in the United States have operated for more than 70 years! The oldest continuously operated commercial hydro-electric plant in the United States is on New York’s Hudson River, and it went into commercial service in 1898.[K] As Vaclav Smil points out, “All the forecasts, plans, and anticipations cited above have failed so miserably because their authors and promoters thought the transitions they hoped to implement would proceed unlike all previous energy transitions, and that their progress could be accelerated in an unprecedented manner.”[L] When you hear people speaking of making a rapid transition toward any type of energy, whether it is a switch from coal to nuclear power, or a switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars, or even a switch from an incandescent to a fluorescent light, understanding energy system inertia and momentum can help you decide whether their plans are feasible.36. Not only moving objects and people but all systems have momentum.37. Changing the current energy system requires the systematic training of professionals and skilled labor.38. Changing a light bulb is easier than changing the fixturehousing it.39. Efforts to accelerate the current energy transitions didn’t succeed as expected.40. To change the light source is costly because you have to change the whole fixture.41. Energy systems, like an aircraft carrier set in motion, have huge momentum.42. The problem with lighting, if it arises, often doesn’t lie in light sources but in their applications.43. The biggest obstacle to energy transition is that the present energy system is too expensive to replace.44. The application of a technology can impact areas beyond itself.45. Physical characteristics of moving objects help explain the dynamics of energy systems.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.One hundred years ago, “colored” was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for Negro.? By the late 1960s, that term was overtaken by “Black.” And th en, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that “African American”was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as “ItalianAmericans” and “Irish Americans,” that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.A century’s worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term “Black” carried connotations (涵义) that were more negative than those of “African American”.But if it was known that “Black” people were viewed differently from “African Americans,” researchers, until now, hadn’t identified what that gap in perception was derived from.A recent study, conducted by Emory University抯Erika Hall, found that 揃lack? people are viewed more negatively than “African Americans”because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result, “Black” people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.T he study’s most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world. Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters’biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as t he “Wisconsin Association of African- American Lawyers”or the “National Black Employees Association,”the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members’co ntrol.In one of the study’s experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as “African-American,”and another was told he was “Black.” With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams’s salary, professional standing, and educational background.The “African-American” group estimated that he earnedabout $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The “Black” group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessed that he had only “some”college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr. Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38. 5 percent of the second group thought so.Hall’s findings suggest there’s an argument to be made for electing to use “African American,” though one can’t help but get the sense that it’s a decision that papers over the urgency of continued progress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois’s original, idealistic hope: “It’s not the name------it’s the Thing that counts.”46. Why did Jesse Jackson embrace the term “African American” for people of African descent?A) It is free from racial biases.B) It represents social progress.C) It is in the interest of common Americans.D) It follows the standard naming practice.47. What does the author say about the naming of an ethnic group?A) It advances with the times. C) It merits intensive study.B) It is based on racial roots. D) It is politically sensitive.48. What do Erika Hall’s fi ndings indicate?A) Racial biases are widespread in the professional world.B) Many applicants don’t attend to details on their resume.C) Job seekers should all be careful about their affiliations.D) Most recruiters are unable to control their racial biases.49. What does Erika Hall find in her experiment about a man with the last name Williams?A) African Americans fare better than many other ethnic groups.B) Black people’s socioeconomic status in America remains low.C) People’s conception of a person has much to do with the way he or she is labeled.D) One’s professional standing and income are related to their educational background.50. What is Dr. Du Bois’s ideal?A) All Americans enjoy equal rights.B) A person is judged by their worth.C) A new term is created to address African Americans.D) All ethnic groups share the nation’s continued progress.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparing their students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clear by the work of two sociologists, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. In 2011 they released a landmark study titled “Academically Adrift,” which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many people enrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing the critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today’s knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change.Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students? lack of learning on a watered-down college curriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be a full-time job, students spent, on average, only12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skating through their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who take more challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of many undergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing.Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcoming book that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of their students. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton describes what she calls the “party pathway”, which eases many students through college, helped along by various clubs that send students into the party scene and a host of easier majors. By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are “catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others”who won’t enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate.These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees as a stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunity either. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn’t kind to candidates who can’t demonstrate genuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. College graduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a university degree unaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For students who have been coastingthrough college, and for American universities that have been demanding less work, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.51. What is Arur n and Roksa’s finding about higher education in America?A) It aims at stimulating the intellectual curiosity of college students.B) It fails to prepare students to face the challenges of modem times.C) It has experienced dramatic changes in recent years.D) It has tried hard to satisfy students? various needs.52. What is responsible for the students? lack of higher-level skills? .A) The diluted college curriculum. C) The absence of rigorous discipline.B) The boring classroom activities. D) The outdated educational approach.53. What does Laura Hamilton say about college administrations?A) They fail to give adequate help to the needy students.B) They tend to offer too many less challenging courses.C) They seem to be out of touch with society.D) They prioritize non-academic activities.54. What can be learned about the socially and financially privileged students?A) They tend to have a sense of superiority over their peers.B) They can afford to choose easier majors in order to enjoy themselves.C) They spend a lot of time building strong connections with businesses.D) They can climb the social ladder even without a degree.55. What does the author suggest in the last paragraph?A) American higher education has lost its global competitiveness.B) People should not expect too much from American higher education.C) The current situation in American higher education may not last long.D) It will take a long time to change the current trend in higher education.Part lv Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.最近,中国政府决定将其工业升级:中国现在涉足建造高速列车、远洋船舶、机器人,甚至飞机。

12月英语六级听力短文原文(文字版)

12月英语六级听力短文原文(文字版)

⽆忧考为⼤家整理了12⽉英语六级听⼒短⽂原⽂(⽂字版),仅供参考!!Part III Listening Comprehension Section B Passage 1 Since 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 is that 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 A scientific team is studying the thinking ability of eleven and half month old children. The test is a simple one. The baby watches a sort of show on a small stage. In Act One of the show, a yellow cube is lifted from a blue box, and moved across the stage. Then it is returned to the box. This is repeated 6 times. Act Two is similar except that the yellow cube is smaller. Baby boys do not react at all to the difference and the size of the cube. But girls immediately become excited. The scientists interpret the girls’ excitement as meaning they are trying to understand what they have just seen. They are wondering why Act Two is odd and how it differs from Act One. In other words, the little girls are reasoning. This experiment certainly does not definitely prove that girls start to reason before boys, but it provides a clue that scientists would like to study more carefully. Already it is known that bones, muscles and nerves develop faster in baby girls. Perhaps it is early nerve development that makes some infant girls show more intelligence than infant boys. Scientists have also found that nature seems to give another boost to girls. Baby girls usually talk at an earlier age than boys do. Scientists think that there is a physical reason for this. They believe that the nerve endings in the left side of the brain develop faster in girls than in boys, and it is this side of the brain that strongly influences an individual’s ability to use language and remember things. Q26. What is the difference between Act One and Act Two in the test? Q27. How do the scientists interpret their observation from the experiment? Q28. What does the speaker say about the experiment? Q29. According to scientists, what is another advantage given to girls by nature? store? Passage 2 A super attendant of the city municipal building, Dillia Adorno, was responsible for presenting its new security plan to the public. City employees, citizens and reporters gathered in the hall to hear her describe the plan. After outlining the main points she would cover, she assured the audience that she would be happy to answer questions at the end of her presentation. Dillia realized the plan was expensive and potentially controversial. So she was not surprised to see a number of hands go up as soon as she finished speaking. An employ asked, “Would the new system create long lines to get into the building like the line in the airport security checks?” Dillia had anticipated this question and had an answer ready. After repeating the question, she explained that the sufficient number of security guards would be working at peak hours to speed things along. The next question was more confrontational.”Where was the money come from to pay for all of this?”The journalists who ask the question seem hostile. But Dillia was careful not to adopt the defensive tone. She stated that the money would come from the city’s general budget. “I know these are tide times”, she added, “But everyone agrees on the importance of safe guarding our employees and members of the public who come into the building.” Near the end of the 25 minutes she has said, Dillia said she would take two more questions. When those were finished, she concluded the session with a brief restatement of how the new system will improve security and peace of mind in the municipal building. Question 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard. 30. What is the focus of Dillia Adorno’s presentation? 31. What question had Dillia Adorno anticipated? 32. What did the speakers think of the question from the journalist? Passage 3 Despite unemployment and the lost of her home, Andrea Clark considers herself a blessed and happy woman. Why the cheerful attitude? Her troubles have brought her closer to her family. Last year, Andrea’s husband, Rick, a miner in Nevada was laid off. Though Andrea kept her job as a school bus driver, she knew that they couldn’t pay their bill and support their youngest of five children, Zack, age nine, on one income. “At first their church helped out, but you can’t keep that up forever”, Andrea says. Then Michal, their eldest of her four adult children suggested they move in with his family. For almost three months, seven Clarks lived under one roof. Andrea, Rick and Zack stayed in the basement department, sharing laundry and single bathroom with Michal, his wife and their two children. The change cut their expenditures in half, but the new living arrangement proved too challenging. When Andrea found a job with a school district closer to her mother’s home in west Jorden, Utah, the family decided to move on. Packing up again with no picnic, Zack had to switch schools for the second time and space is even tighter. Andrea says that the moves themselves are exhausting and Rick is still looking for a job. The recession has certainly come with more problems than Andrea anticipated, but she remains unfailingly optimistic. She is excited to spend more time with her mother. Another plus, rents are lower in Utah than in Nevada. So Andrea thinks they’ll be able to save up and move out in less than 6 months. QUESTIONS 33-35 ARE BASED ON THE PASSAGE YOU HAVE JUST HEARD. Q33 What do we learn about Andrea’s husband? Q34 Why did Andrea move to live in her eldest son’s home? Q35 What is Andrea’s attitude toward the hardships brought by the economic recession?。

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题及答案详解和听力原文第1套

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题及答案详解和听力原文第1套

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题第1套Part I Writing (30minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay based on the picture below. You should focus on the difficulty in acquiring useful information in spite of advanced information technology. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Part ⅡListening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 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 I with a single line through the centre.1. A .She is impatient to learn computer programming.B. She is unaware her operation system is outdated.C. She is unable to use the new computer program.D. She is amazed at the fast change of technology.2. A. He has long been fed up with traveling.B. He prefers to stay home for the holiday.C. He is going out of town for a couple of days.D. He is annoyed by the heavy traffic downtown.3. A. The challenges facing East Asia.B. The location for their new office.C. Their expansion into the overseas marketD. The living expenses in Tokyo and Singapore.4. A.A number of cell phones were found after the last show.B. The woman forgot where she had left her cell phone.C. The woman was very pleased to find her cell phone.D. Reserved tickets could be picked up at the ticket counter.5. A. The building materials will be delivered soon.B. The project is being held up by bad weather.C. The construction schedule may not be met.D. Qualified carpenters are not easy to find.6. A. She is getting very forgetful these days.B. She does not hold on to bitter feelings.C. She resents the way she is treated.D. She never intends to hurt anyone.7. A. The man wants to rent a small apartment.B. The woman has trouble getting a mortgage.C. The woman is moving to a foreign country.D. The man is trying to sell the woman a house.8. A. They are writing a story for the Morning News.B. They are facing great challenges to get re-elected.C. They are launching a campaign to attract women voters.D. They are conducting a survey among the women in town.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9.A.Touch his heart. B. Make him cry. C. Remind him of his life. D. Make him feel young.10. A. He is good at singing operas.B. He enjoys complicated music:C. He can sing any song if he likes it.D. He loves country music in particular.11. A. Go to a bar and drink for hours.B. Go to an isolated place to sing blues.C. Go to see a performance in a concert hall.D. Go to work and wrap himself up in music.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A. How he became an announcer.B. How he writes news stories.C. How he makes his living.D. How he does his job.13. A. They write the first version of news stories.B. They gather news stories on the spot.C. They polish incoming news stories.D. They write comments on major news stories.14. A. Reading through the news stories in a given period of time.B. Having little time to read the news before going on the air.C. Having to change the tone of his voice from time to time.D. Getting all the words and phrases pronounced correctly.15. A. It shows where advertisements come in.B. It gives a signal for him to slow down.C. It alerts him to something important.D. It serves as a reminder of sad news.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 I with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A. It gives pleasure to both adults and children.B. It is often carried around by small children.C. It can be found in many parts of the world.D. It was invented by an American Indian.17. A. They were made for earning a living.B. They were delicate geometric figures.C. They were small circus figures made of wire.D. They were collected by a number of museums.18.A.In art. B. In geometry. C. In engineering. D. In circus performance. Passage TwoQuestions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A. They offer students a wide variety of courses.B. They attract students from all over the world.C. They admit more students than they can handle.D. They have trouble dealing with overseas students.20. A. Everyone will benefit from education sooner or later.B.A good education contributes to the prosperity of a nation.C.A good education is necessary for one to climb the social ladder.D. Everyone has a right to an education appropriate to his potential.21. A. He likes students with high motivation.B. He enjoys teaching intelligent students.C. He tailors his teaching to students' needs.D. He treats all his students in a fair manner.Passage ThreeQuestions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22. A. It is mostly imported from the Middle East.B. It is a sure indicator of its economic activity.C. It has a direct impact on the international oil market.D. It equals more than 30 million barrels of oil each day.23. A. It eventually turns into heat.B. It is used in a variety of forms.C. Its use is chiefly responsible for air pollution.D. Part of it is lost in the process of transmission.24. A. When it is used in rural areas.B. When it is environment-friendly.C. When it operates at near capacity.D. When it operates at regular times.25.A.Traffic jams in cities. B. Inefficient use of energy. C. Fuel shortage. D. Global warming.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 withthe exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.Graphics are used in textbooks as part of the language of the discipline, as in math or economics, or as study aids. Authors use graphic aids to(26)and expand on concepts taken up in the text because graphics are yet another way of portraying relationships and(27)connections.Graphics are used extensively in natural sciences and social sciences. Social scientists work with statistics(28)data, and the best way to present these statistics is often in graphic form. Graphics are included- not merely as a means of making the information easier for the student to grasp, but as an integral part of the way social scientists think. Many textbooks,(29)those in economics, contain appendixes that provide specific information on reading and working with graphic material.Make it a practice to(30)attentively the titles, captions, headings, and other material connected with graphics. These elements(31)and usually explain what you are looking at. When you are examining graphics, the(32)questions to ask are (a.)What is this item about? and (b.)What key idea is the author(33)?One warning: Unless you integrate your reading of graphics with the text, you may make a wrong assumption.(34), from a chart indicating that 33 percent of firstborn children in a research sample did not feel close to their fathers, you might assume that some dreadful influence was at work on the firstborn children. However, a careful reading of the text(35)that most of the firstborn children in the sample were from single-parent homes in which the father was absent.Part ⅢReading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.According to a report from the Harvard School of Public Health, many everyday products, including some bug sprays and cleaning fluids, could lead to an increased risk of brain and behavioral disorders in children. The developing brain, the report says, is particularly (36)to the toxic effects of certain chemicals these products may contain, and the damage they cause can be(37).The official policy, however, is still evolving. Health and environmental(38)have long urged U.S. government agencies to (39)the use of some of the 11 chemicals the report cites and called for more studies on their long-term effects. In 2001, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency (40)the type and amount of lead that could be present in paint and soil in homes and child-care(41), after concerns were raised about lead poisoning. The agency is now (42)the toxic effects of some of the chemicals in the latest report.But the threshold for regulation is high. Because children's brain and behavioral disorders, like hyperactivity and lower grades, can also be linked to social and genetic factors, it's tough to pin them on exposure to specific chemicals with solid (43)evidence, which is what the EPA requires. Even the Harvard study did not prove a direct (44)but noted strong associations between exposure and risk of behavioral issues.Nonetheless, it's smart to (45)caution. While it may be impossible to prevent kids from drinking tap water that may contain trace amounts of chemicals, keeping kids away from lawns recently sprayed with chemicals and freshly dry-cleaned clothes can't hurt.A. advocatesB. compactC. correlationD. exerciseE. facilitiesF. interactionG. investigatingH. overwhelmedI. particlesJ. permanentK. restrictedL. simulatingM. statisticalN. tightenO. vulnerableSection BDirections : In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Eachstatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.The Impossibility of Rapid Energy Transitions[ A ] Politicians are fond of promising rapid energy transitions. Whether it is a transition from imported to domestic oil or from coal-powered electricity production to natural-gas power plants, politicians love to talk big. Unfortunately for them (and often the taxpayers), our energy systems are a bit like an aircraft carrier: they are unbelievably expensive, they are built to last for a very long time, they have a huge amount of inertia ( meaning it takes a lot of energy to set them moving ), and they have a lot of momentum once they are set in motion. No matter how hard you try, you can't turn something that large on a dime ( 10美分硬币), or even a few thousand dimes.[ B ] In physics, moving objects have two characteristics relevant to understanding the dynamics of energy systems: inertia and momentum. Inertia is the resistance of objects to efforts to change their state of motion. If you try to push a boulder ( 大圆石), it pushes you back. Once you have started the boulder rolling, it develops momentum, which is defined by its mass and velocity. Momentum is said to be "conserved," that is, once you build it up, it has to go somewhere. So a heavy object, like a football player moving at a high speed, has a lot of momentum-that is, once he is moving, it is hard to change his state of motion. If you want to change his course, you have only a few choices: you can stop him, transferring ( possibly painfully) some of his kinetic energy (动能) to your own body, or you can approach alongside and slowly apply pressure to gradually alter his course.[ C ] But there are other kinds of momentum as well. After all, we don't speak only of objects or people as having momentum; we speak of entire systems having momentum. Whether it's a sports team or a presidential campaign, everybody relishes having the big momentum, because it makes them harder to stop or change direction.[ D ] One kind of momentum is technological momentum. When a technology is deployed, its impacts reach far beyond itself. Consider the incandescent (白炽灯的) bulb, an object currently hated by many environmentalists and energy-efficiency advocates. The incandescent light bulb, invented by Thomas Edison, which came to be the symbol of inspiration, has been developed into hundreds, if not thousands, of forms. Today, a visit to a lighting store reveals a stunning array of choices. There are standard-shaped bulbs, flame-shaped bulbs, colored globe-shaped bulbs, and more. It is quite easy, with all that choice, to change a light bulb.[ E ] But the momentum of incandescent lighting does not stop there. All of those specialized bulbs led to the building of specialized light fixtures, from the desk lamp you study by, to the ugly but beloved hand-painted Chinese lamp you inherited from your grandmother, to the ceiling fixture in your closet, to the light in your oven or refrigerator, and to the light that the dentist points at you. It is easy to change a light bulb, sure, but it is harder to change the bulb and its fixture.[ F ] And there is more to the story, because not only are the devices that house incandescent bulbs shaped to their underlying characteristics, but rooms and entire buildings have been designed in accordance with how incandescent lighting reflects off walls and windows.[ G ] As lighting expert Howard Brandston points out, “Generally, there are no bad light sources, only bad applications. " There are some very commendable characteristics of the CFL [ compact fluorescent (荧光的) light bulb ], yet the selection of any light source remains inseparable from the luminaire (照明装置) that houses it, along with the space in which both are installed, and lighting requirements that need to be satisfied. The lamp, the fixture, and the room, all three must work in concert for the true benefits of end-users. If the CFL should be used for lighting a particular space, or an object within that space, the fixture must be designed to work with that lamp, and that fixture with the room. It is a symbiotic (共生的) relationship. A CFL cannot be simply installed in an incandescent fixture and then expected to produce a visual appearance that is more than washed out, foggy, and dim. The whole fixture must be replaced-light source and luminaire-and this is never an inexpensive proposition.[ H ] And Brandston knows a thing or two about lighting, being the man who illuminated the Statue of Liberty.[ I ]Another type of momentum we have to think about when planning for changes in our energy systems is labor-pool momentum. It is one thing to say that we are going to shift 30 percent of our electricity supply from, say, coal to nuclear power in 20 years. But it is another thing to have a supply of trained talent that could let you carry out this promise. That is because the engineers, designers, regulators, operators, and all of the other skilled people needed for the new energy industry are specialists who have to be trained first ( or retrained, if they are the ones being laid off in some related industry), and education, like any other complicated endeavor, takes time. And not only do our prospective new energy workers have to be trained, they have to be trained in the right sequence. One needs the designers, and perhapsthe regulators, before the builders and operators, and each group of workers in training has to know there is work waiting beyond graduation. In some cases, colleges and universities might have to change their training programs,adding another layer of difficulty.[ J ] By far the biggest type of momentum that comes into play when it comes to changing our energy systems is economic momentum. The major components of our energy systems, such as fuel production, refining, electrical generation and distribution, are costly installations that have lengthy life spans. They have to operate for long periods of time before the costs of development have been recovered. When investors put up money to build, say, a nuclear power plant, they expect to earn that money back over the planned life of the plant, which is typically between 40and 60 years. Some coal power plants in the United States have operated for more than 70 years!The oldest continuously operated commercial hydro-electric plant in the United States is on New York's Hudson River, and it went into commercial service in 1898.[ K ] As Vaclav Smil points out, "All the forecasts, plans, and anticipations cited above have failed so miserably because their authors and promoters thought the transitions they hoped to implement would proceed unlike all previous energy transitions, and that their progress could be accelerated in an unprecedented manner. "[ L ] When you hear people speaking of making a rapid transition toward any type of energy, whether it is a switch from coal to nuclear power, or a switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars, or even a switch. from an incandescent to a fluorescent light, understanding energy system inertia and momentum can help you decide whether their plans are feasible.46. Not only moving objects and people but all systems have momentum.47. Changing the current energy system requires the systematic training of professionals and skilled labor.48. Changing a light bulb is easier than changing the fixture housing it.49. Efforts to accelerate the current energy transitions didn't succeed as expected.50. To change the light source is costly because you have to change the whole fixture.51. Energy systems, like an aircraft carrier set in motion, have huge momentum.52. The problem with lighting, if it arises, often doesn't lie in light sources but in their applications.53. The biggest obstacle to energy transition is that the present energy system is too expensive to replace.54. The application of a technology can impact areas beyond itself.55. Physical characteristics of moving objects help explain the dynamics of energy systems.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C),and D ). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.One hundred years ago, "Colored" was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for "Negro. " By the late 1960s,that term was overtaken by "Black. " And then, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that "African American" was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as "Italian Americans" and "Irish Americans," that had already beenfreed of widespread discrimination.A century's worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term "Black" carried connotations (涵义) that were more negative than those of "African American. "But if it was known that "Black" people were viewed differently from "African Americans," researchers, until now, hadn't identified what that gap in perception was derived from. A recent study, conducted by Emory University's Erika Hall, found that "Black" people are viewed more negatively. than "African Americans" because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result," Black" people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.The study's most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world. Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters' biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as the "Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers" or the "National Black Employees Association," the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members' control.In one of the study's experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as "African-American," and another was told he was "Black. " With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams’s salary, professional standing, and educational background.The "African-American" group estimated that he earned about $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The "Black" group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessed that he had only "some" college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr. Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38.5 percent of the second group thought so.Hall's findings suggest there's an argument to be made for electing to use "African American," though one can't help but get the sense that it's a decision that papers over the urgency of continued progress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois's original, idealistic hope: "It's not the name-it's the Thing that counts. "56.Why did Jesse Jackson embrace the term "African American" for people of African descent?57. A. It is free from racial biases.B. It represents social progress.C. It is in the interest of common Americans.D. It follows the standard naming practice.57. What does the author say about the naming of an ethnic group ?A. It advances with the times.B. It is based on racial roots.C. It merits intensive study.D .It is politically sensitive.58.What do Erika Hall's findings indicate?A. Racial biases are widespread in the professional world.B. Many applicants don't attend to details on their resumes.C. Job seekers should all be careful- about their affiliations.D. Most recruiters are unable to control their racial biases.59. What does Erika Hall find in her experiment about a man with the last name Williams?A. African Americans fare better than many other ethnic groups.B. Black people's socioeconomic status in America remains low.C. People's conception of a person has much to do with the way he or she is labeled.D. One's professional standing and income are related to their educational background.60. What is Dr. Du Bois's ideal?A. All Americans enjoy equal rights.B.A person is judged by their worth.C.A new term is created to address African Americans.D. All ethnic groups share the nation's continued progress.Passage TwoQuestions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparing their students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clear by the work of two sociologists, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. In 2011 they released a landmark study titled "Academically Adrift," which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many people enrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing the critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today's knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change.Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students' lack of learning on a watered-down college curriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be a Full-time job, students spent, on average, only 12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skating through their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who take more challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of many undergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing.Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcoming book that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of their students. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton descri bes what she calls the “arty pathway," which eases many students through college, helped-along by various clubs that send students into the party scene and a host of easier majors. By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are "catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others" who won't enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate.These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees as a stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunity either. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn't kind to candidates who can't demonstrate genuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. College graduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a university degree unaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For students who have been coasting through college, and for American universities that have been demanding less work, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.61. What is Arum and Roksa's finding about higher education in America?A. It aims at stimulating the intellectual curiosity of college students.B. It fails to prepare students to face the challenges of modern times.C. It has experienced dramatic changes in recent years.D. It has tried hard to satisfy students' various needs.62. What is responsible for the students' lack of higher-level skills?A. The diluted college curriculum.B. The boring classroom activities.C. The absence of rigorous discipline.D. The outdated educational approach.63. What does Laura Hamilton say about college administrations?A. They fail to give adequate help to the needy students.B. They tend to offer too many less challenging courses.C. They seem to be out of touch with society.D. They prioritize non-academic activities.64. What can be learned about the socially and financially privileged students?A. They tend to have a sense of superiority over their peers.B. They can afford to choose easier majors in order to enjoy themselves.C. They spend a lot of time building strong connections with businesses.D. They can climb the social ladder even without a degree.65. What does the author suggest in the last paragraph?A. American higher education has lost its global competitiveness.B. People should not expect too much from American higher education.C. The current situation in American higher education may not last long.D. It will take a long time to change the current trend in higher education.Part IV Translation (30 minutes)Directions:For this part, you .are allowed 30,minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.最近,中国政府决定将其工业升级。

2015年12月英语六级听力原文

2015年12月英语六级听力原文

2015年12月19日全国大学英语六级考试已结束,下面是英语六级听力原文。

Section A1. W: Wow, what a variety of salads you’ve got on your menu, could you recommend something specialM: Well, I think you can try this mixed salad. We make the dressing with fresh berries.Q: what does the man mean2. W: I was talking to Mary the other day, and she mentioned that your new consulting firm is doing really well.M: Yes, business paced up much faster than we anticipated. We now have over 200 clients.Q: What do we learn about the man from the conversation3. W: Do you know where we keep flash disks and printing paperM: They should be in the cabinet if there are any. That’s where we keep all of our office supplies.Q: what does the woman mean4.W: The printing of this dictionary is so small. I can’t read the explanations at all.M: Let me get my magnify glass. I know I just can’t do without it.Q: What does the man mean5. W: I’m considering having my office redecorated, the furniture is old and the paint is chipping.M: I’ll give you my sister-in-law’s number. She just graduated from an interior designing academy, and will give a free estimate.Q: What is the woman considering6. W: We have a full load of goods that needs to be delivered. But we can’t get a container ship anyway.M: That’s always being a problem in this port. The facilities here are never able to meet our needs.Q: What are the speakers talking about7. W: Why didn’t Rod get a pay raiseM: The boss just isn’t convinced that his work attitude wa rranted it. She said she saw him by the coffee machine more often than at his desk.Q: What are the speakers talking about8. W: The hotel called, saying that because of the scheduling there, they won’t be are able to cater for our banquet.M: I know an Indian restaurant on the high street that offers a special diner for groups. The food is excellent, and the room is large enough to accommodate us.Q: What does the man suggest they doSection BConversation OneM: Hello Jane.W: Hello Paul.M: Please coming. I’m just getting ready to go home. Susan is expecting me for dinner. I wanted to be on time for a change.W: Look, I’m terribly sorry to drop in this time on Friday, Paul, but it is rather important.M: That’s OK. What’s the problemW: Well, Paul, I won’t keep you long. You see there is a problem with the exchange rates. The Indian Rupee has taken a fall on the foreign exchange market. You see there is being a sharp increase in Indian’s balance of payment deficit.M: I see. How s erious, isn’t itW: Well, as you know, there have been reports of unrest India, and the prospects for the Rupee look pretty gloomy.M: And that’s going to affect us, as if we didn’t have enough problems on our hands.W: So I thought it would be wise to take out forward exchange cover to protect our position on the outstanding contract.M: Just a minute. Forward exchange cover, now what does that mean exactlyW: Well, it means that JO notes enters into a commitment to sell Indian Rupees at the present rate.M: I see. And how will that benefit usW: Well, JO notes wouldn’t lose out if Indian Rupee falls further.M: What will it cost, JaneW: A small percentage, about 1% and that can be built into the price of the bike.M: Well, I don’t suppose there is much choice. All right Jane, let’s put it into action.Q9: What do we learn about the man’s daily lifeQ10: Why did the woman come to see the manQ11: What makes the woman worry about the Indian RupeeConversation TwoW: Charles, among other things, you regarded as one of the America’s great masters of the blues. A musical idiom does essentially about loss,particularly the loss of romantic love. Why does love die M: People often get into love affairs because they have unrealistic ex pectations about somebody. Then when the person doesn’t turn out to be who they thought he or she was, they start thinking maybe I can change him or her.That kind of thinking is a mistake. Because when the dust settles, people are going to be pretty much w hat they are. It’s a rare thing for anybody to be able to change who they really are. And this creates a lot of problems.W: At 62, you continue to spend a large percentage of your life touring. What appeals to you about life on the roadM: Music, I don’t especially love life on the road, but I figure if you are lucky enough to be able to do what you truly love doing, you’ve got the ultimate of life.W: What’s the most widely-held misconception about the life of a famous musicianM: People think it’s all glamour. Actually we have the same troubles they do. Playing music doesn’t mean life treats you any better.W: How do you feel about being recognized everywhere you goM: You think I be used to it by now. But I still find it fascinating.You go to a little town in Japan, where nobody speaks English, yet they know you on side and know all your music. I’m still amazed by the love people express for me and by music.Q12: What does the man say about most people when they get into love affairsQ13: What does the man say about himself as a singer on the road most of his lifeQ14: What do most people think of the life of a famous musicianQ15: How does the man feel whenever he was recognized by his fans短文Passage OneChanging technology and markets have stimulated the team approach to management. Inflation, resource scarcity, reduced personnel levels and budget cuts have all underscore the need for better coordination in organizations.Team management provides for this coordination. Team management calls for new skills if personnel potential is to be fully realized. Although a team may be composed of knowledgeable people, they must learn new ways of relating and working together to solve cross-functional problems. When teams consist to be experienced employees from hierarchical organizations, who have been condition to traditional organizational culture. Cooperation may not occur naturally, it mainly to be created. Furthermore, the issue is not just how the team can function more effectively, but how it integrates with the overall organization,all society that it supposes it serves. A group of individuals is not automatically a team. Therefore, team building may be necessary in order to improve the group’s performance. Casey, an expert in this field, suggests that the cooperation process within teams must be organized, promoted and managed.He believes the team corporationresults when members go beyond their individual capabilities, beyond what each is used to being and doing. Together,the team may then produce something new, unique and superior to that of any one member. For this to happen, he suggests the multi-cultural managers exhibit understanding of their own and others’ cultural influences and limitations.They should also cultivate such skills as toleration of ambiguity, persistence and patience, as well as assertedness. If a team manager exemplifies such qualities, then the team as a whole would be better able to realize their potential and achieve their objectives.Q 16: What should team members do to fully realize their potential Q 17: What needs to be considered for effective team management Q 18: What conclusion can we draw from what Casey saysPassage TwoIn early 1994, when Mark Andreessen was just 23 years old, he arrived in Silicon Valley with an idea that would change the world. As a student at the University of Illinois, he and his friends had developed a program called Mosaic, which allowed people to share information on the worldwide web. Before Mosaic, the web had been used mainly by scientists and other technical people, who were happy just to send and receive text. But with Mosaic, Andreessen and his friends had developeda program, which could send images over the web as well. Mosaic was an overnight success. It was put on the university’s network at the beginning of 1993. And by the end of the year, it had over a million users. Soon after, Andreessen went to seek his fortune in Silicon Valley. Once he got there, he started to have meetings with a man called Jim Clark, who was one of the Valley’s most famous entrepreneurs. In 1994, nobody was making any real money from the Internet, which was still very slow and hard to use. But Andreessen had seen an opportunity that would make him and Clark rich within two years. He suggested they should create a new computer program that would do the same job as Mosaic but would be much easier to use. Clark listened carefully to Andreessen, whose ideas and enthusiasm impressed him greatly. Eventually, Clark agreed to invest three million dollars of his own money in the project, and to raise an extra fifteen million from venture capitalists, who were always keen to listen to Clark’s new ideas.Q 19 What do we learn about MosaicQ 20 What did Andreessen do upon arriving in Silicon ValleyQ 21Why were venture capitalists willing to join in Clark’s investmentPassage ThreeAdvertising informs consumers about the existence and benefits of products and services and attempts to persuade them to buy them. The best form of advertising is probably word of mouth advertising which occurs when people tell their friends about the benefits of products or services that they have purchased. Yet virtually no providers of goods or services relay on this alone,which using paid advertising instead. Indeed many organizations also use institutional or prestige advertising which is designed to build up their reputation rather than to sell particular products. Although large companies could easily set up their own advertising departments, write their own advertisements and by media space themselves.They tend to use the services of large advertising agencies. These are likely to have more resources and more knowledge about all aspects of advertising and advertising media than single company. It is also easier for a dissatisfy company to give its account to another agency. And it would be to fire their own advertising staff. The company generally give the advertising agency and agreed budget. A statement of the objective of the advertising campaign know as brief and overall advertising strategy concerning the message to be communicated to the target customers. The agency creates advertisements and develops a media prime, specifying which media will be used and in which proportions.Agencies often produce alternative ads or commercials thatpretested in newspapers, television stations etc. in different parts of the country. Before a final choices was made prior to a national campaign.Q22 What is probably the best form of advertising according to the speakerQ23 What does the speaker say is the proposes of many organization using prestige advertisingQ24 How did large companies generally handle their advertisingQ25 What would advertising agencies often do before a national campaignSection CExtinction is a difficult concept to grasp. It is an eternal concept. It is not at all like the killing of individual life forms that can be renewed through normal processes of reproduction. Nor is simply diminishing numbers.Nor is it damage that can somehow be remedied or for which some substitute can be found. Nor is it something that only affects our own generation. Nor is it something that could be remedied by some supernatural power. It is, rather, an absolute and final act which there is no remedy on earth or in heaven. A species once extinct, it’s gone forever. However many generations succeed us in coming centuries, none of themwill ever see this species that we extinguish. Not only us we bring about extinction of life on a vast scale. We are also making the land and the air and sea so toxic that the very conditions of life are being destroyed.As regard natural resources ,not only are the none renewable resources being used up in a of frenzy of processing, consuming and disposing but we are also ruining much of our renewable resources. Such as the very solid self on which terrestrial life depends. The change that is taking place on the earth and in our minds is one of the greatest changes ever to take place in human affairs. Perhaps the greatest, since we are talking about is not simply another historical change or cultural modification. But it change the geological and biological as well as psychological order of magnitude.。

12月英语六级听力原文汇总(2)

12月英语六级听力原文汇总(2)

12月英语六级听力原文汇总(2)2015年12月英语六级听力原文:短文Part 3 短文短文 1No one knows for sure just how old kites are. In fact, they have been in use for centuries. 25 centuries ago, kites were well-known in China. These first kites were probably made of wood. They may even have been covered with silk, because silk were used a lot at that time. Early kites were built for certain uses. In ancient China, they will use to carry ropes to cross rivers. Once across, the ropes were tear down and wooden bridges would hang for them. Legend tells of one General who flew musical kites over the enemies’ camp. The enemy fled, believing the sounds to be the warming voices of angels. By the 15th century, many people flew kites in Europe. Marco Polo may have brought the kite back from his visit to China. The kite has been linked to great names and events. For instance, Benjamin Franklin used kite to prove the lightening electricity. He flew the kite in the storm. He did this in order to draw lightening from the clouds. He tied a metal key and a strip of silk to the kite line. The silk ribbon would stop the lightening from passing through his body. Benjamin’s idea was first laughed at. But later on, it enlightened the invention of the lightening rod. With such grand history, kite flying is short remain an entertaining and popular sport.Question 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.Question 16: What does the speaker say about kite?Question 17: What did ancient Chinese use cats to do?Question 18: Why did BF flied a kite in the storm?短文2I have learnt many languages, but I’m not m astered them the way the professional interpreter or translator has. Still, they have open doors for me. They have allowed me the opportunity to seek jobs in international contexts and help me get those jobs. Like many people who have lived overseas for a while, I simply got crazy about it. I can’t image living my professional or social life without international interactions. Since 1977, I have spent much more time abroad than in the United States. I like going to new places, eating new foods and experiencing new cultures. If you can speak the language, it’s easier to get to know the country and its people. If I had the time and money. I would live for a year in as many countries as possible. Beyond my career, my facility with languages has given me a few rare opportunities. Once, just after I returned my year in Vienna. I was asked to translate for a German judge at Olympic level horse event and learned a lot about the sport.In Japan, once when I was in the studio audience of a TV cooking show, I was asked to go up on the stage and taste the beef dish that was being prepared and tell what I thought. They asked” Was it as good as American beef?” It was very exciting for me to be on Japanese TV, speaking in Japanese about how delicious the beef was.Questions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you’ve just heard.Question 19 What does the speaker say about herself?Question 20 What does the speaker say about many people who have lived overseas for a while?Question 21 How did the speaker experience of living in Vienna benefit her?Question 22 What was the speaker asked to do in the Japanese studio?短文3Dr. Ben Carsen grew up in a poor single parent house-hold in Detroit. His mother, who had only a 3rd grade education helds two jobs cleaning bathrooms. To his classmates and even to his teachers he was thought of as the dummest kid in his class. According to his own not so fond memories.He had a terrible temper, and once threatened to kill another child. Dr. Carsen was headed down part of seld distraction until a critical moment in his youth. His mother convinced that he had to do something dramatic preventing leading a life of failure laid down some rules. He could notwatch television except for two programs a week, could not play with his friends after schooluntil he finished his homework. And had to read two books a week, and write book reports about them. His mother’s strategy worked. “Of course, I didn’t know she couldn’t read. So there I wassubmitting these reports.” he said. She would put check marks on them like she had been reading them. As I began to read about scientists,economists and philosophers. I started imaging myself in their shoes. As he got into the hobbit of hard work, his grade began to soar. Ultimately he received a scholarship to attending YaleUniversity, and later he was admitted to the University of Michigan Medical School.He is now a leading surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medical School and he is also the author of the three books.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you’vejust heard.Q23 What do we learn about Ben Carsen ?Q24 What did Ben Caren’s classmates and teachers think of him whenhe was first at school?Q25 What did Ben Carsen’s mother tell him to do when he was a school boy?2015年12月英语六级听力原文:听写题Part 4 听写题When you look up at the night sky, what do you see? There are other heavenly bodies out there besides the moon and stars. One of the most fascinating of this is a comet. Comets were formed around the same the earth was formed. They are made up of ice and other frozen liquids and gasses. Now and then these dirty snow balls begin to orbit the sun just as the planets do. As a comet gets closer to the sun. Some gasses in it begin to unfreeze. They combine with dust particles from the comet to form a huge cloud. As the comet gets even nearer to the sun and solar wind blows the cloud behind the comet thus forming its tail. The tail and generally fuzzy atmosphere around the comet are characteristics that can help identify this phenomenon in the night sky. In any given year, about dozen known comets come close to the sun in their orbits. The average person can’t see them all of course. Usually there is only one or two a year bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. Comet Hale-Bopp discovered in 1995 was an unusually bright comet. Its orbit bought relatively to the earth within 122 million miles of it. But Hale-Bopp came a long way on its earthly visit. It won’t be back for another 4 thousand years or so.。

12月英语六级听力题原文及答案

12月英语六级听力题原文及答案

12月英语六级听力题原文及答案2015年12月英语六级听力题原文及答案Passage 1Changing technology and markets have stimulated the team approach to management. Inflation, resource scarcity, reduced personnel levels and budget cuts have all underscored the need for better coordination in organizations. Team management provides for this coordination. Team management calls for new skills if personnel potential is to be fully realized. Although a team maybe composed of knowledgeable people, they must learn new ways of relating and working together to solve cross-functional problems.When teams consist of experienced employees from hierarchical organizations, who had been conditioned to traditional organizational culture, cooperation may not occur naturally. It may need to be created.Furthermore, the issue is not just how the team can function more effectively, but how it integrates with the overall organization or society it supposedly serves.A group of individuals is not automatically a team. Therefore, teambuilding may be necessary in order to improve the group’s performance.Casey, an expert in this filed, suggests that the cooperation process within teams, must be organized, promoted and managed. He believes that team cooperation results when members go beyond their individual capabilities, beyond what each is used to being and doing. Together, the team may then produce something new, unique, and superior to that of any one member. For this to happen, he suggests that the multiculturalmanagers exhibit understandings of their own and others’ cultural influences and limitations. They should also cultivate such skills as toleration of ambiguity, persistence and patience, as well as assertiveness.If a team manager exemplifies such qualities, then the team as a whole would be better able to realize their potential and achieve their objectives.问题+答案:16. What should team members do to fully realize their potential?B) Follow closely the fast development of technology.17. What needs to be considered for effective team management?B) What type of personnel the team should be composed of.18. What conclusion can we draw from what Casey says?D) A team manager should develop a certain set skills.Passage 2In early 1994, when Marc Andreessen was just 23 years old, he arrived in Silicon Valley with an idea that would change the world. As a student at the University of Illinois, he and his friends had developed a program called Mosaic, which allowed people to share information on the worldwide web. Before Mosaic, the web had been used mainly by scientists and other technical people, who were happy just to send and receive text. But web Mosaic, Andreessen and his friends, had developed a program, which could send images over the web as well.Mosaic was an overnight success. It was put on the university’s network at the beginning of 1993, and by the end of the year, it had over a million users. Soon after, Andreessen went to seek his fortune in Silicon Valley. Once he got there, hestarted to have meetings with the man called Jim Clark, who was one of the valley’s most famous entrepreneurs.In 1994, nobody was making any real money from the Internet, which was still very slow and hard to use. But Andreessen had seen an opportunity that would make him and Clark rich within 2 years. He suggested, they should create a new computer program that would do the same job as Mosaic, but would be much easier to use. Clark listened carefully to Andreessen, whose ideas and enthusiasm impressed him greatly. Eventually, Clark agreed to invest 3 million dollars of his own money in the project and raised an extra 15 million from venture capitalists who are always keen to listen to Clark’s new ideas.问题+答案:19. What do we learn about Mosaic?A) It is a program allowing people to share information on the Web.20. What did Andreessen do upon arriving Silicon Valley?B) He met with an entrepreneur named Jim Clark.21. Why would venture capitalists willing to join in Clark’s investment?B) They had confidence in his new ideas.。

2015年12月英语六级考试真题带答案(第三套)

2015年12月英语六级考试真题带答案(第三套)

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第3套)Part I Writing(30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay based on the picturebelow.You should focus on the harm caused by misleading information online.You arerequired to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)听力音频地址:/attached/media/20160512/20160512175650_9309.mp3Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations.At the endof each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said.Both theconversation and the questions will be spoken only once.After each question there will bea 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 AnswerSheet I with a single line through the centre.1.A.She has completely recovered.B.She went into shock after an operation.C.She is still in a critical condition.D.She is getting much better.2.A.Ordering a breakfast.B.Booking a hotel room.C.Buying a train ticket.D.Fixing a compartment.3.A.Most borrowers never returned the books to her.B.The man is the only one who brought her book back.C.She never expected anyone to return the books to her.D.Most of the books she lent out came back without jackets.4.A.She left her work early to get some bargains last Saturday.B.She attended the supermarket's grand opening ceremony.C.She drove a full hour before finding a parking space.D.She failed to get into the supermarket last Saturday.5.A.He is bothered by the pain in his neck.B.He cannot do his report without a computer.C.He cannot afford to have a coffee break.D.He feels sorry to have missed the report.6.A.Only top art students can show their works in the gallery.B.The gallery space is big enough for the man's paintings.C.The woman would like to help with the exhibition layout.D.The man is uncertain how his art works will be received.7.A.The woman needs a temporary replacement for her assistant.B.The man works in the same department as the woman does.C.The woman will have to stay in hospital for a few days.D.The man is capable of dealing with difficult people.8.A.It was better than the previous one.B.It distorted the mayor's speech.C.It exaggerated the city's economic problems.D.It reflected the opinions of most economists.Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9.A.To inform him of a problem they face.B.To request him to purchase control desks.C.To discuss the content of a project report.D.To ask him to flX the dictating machine.10.A.They quote the best price in the market.B.They manufacture and sell office furniture.C.They cannot deliver the steel sheets on time.D.They cannot produce the steel sheets needed.11.A.By marking down the trait price.B.By accepting the penalty clauses.C.By allowing more time for delivery.D.By promising better after-sales service.12.A.Give the customer a ten percent discount.B.Claim compensation from the steel suppliers.C.Ask the Buying Department to change suppliers.D.Cancel the contract with the customer.Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.13.A.Stockbroker.B.Physicist.C.Mathematician.D.Economist.14.A.Improve computer programming.B.Explain certain natural phenomena.C.Predict global population growth.D.Promote national financial health.15.A.Their different educational backgrounds.B.Changing attitudes toward nature.C.Chaos theory and its applications.D.The current global economic crisis.Section BDirections : In this section, you will hear 3 short passages.At the end of eachpassage, you will hearsome questions.Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.After youhear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B),C.and D ).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single linethrough the centre.Passage OneQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16.A.They lay great emphasis on hard work.B.They name 150 star engineers each year.C.They require high academic degrees.D.They have people with a very high IQ.17.A.Long years of job training.B.High emotional intelligence.C.Distinctive academic qualifications.D.Devotion to the advance of science.18.A.Good interpersonal relationships.B.Rich working experience.C.Sophisticated equipment.D.High motivation.Passage TwoQuestions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.19.A.A diary.B.A fairy tale.C.A history textbook.D.A biography.20.A.He was a sports fan.B.He loved adventures.C.He disliked school.D.He liked hair-raising stories.21.A.Encourage people to undertake adventures.B.Publicize his colorful and unique life stories.C.Raise people's environmental awareness.D.Attract people to America's national parks.Passage ThreeQuestions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.22.A.The first infected victim.B.A coastal village in Africa.C.The doctor who lust identified it.D.A river running through the Congo.23.A.They exhibit similar symptoms.B.They can be treated with the same drug.C.They have almost the same mortality rate.D.They have both disappeared for good.24.A.By inhaling air polluted with the virus.B.By contacting contaminated body fluids.C.By drinking water from the Congo River.D.By eating food grown in Sudan and Zalre.25.A.More strains will evolve from the Ebola virus.B.Scientists will eventually fred cures for Ebola.C.Another Ebola epidemic may erupt sooner or later.D.Once infected, one will become immune to Ebola.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear a passage three times.When the passage is read for the irst 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 with the exact words you have justheard.Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what youhave written.The ideal companion machine would not only look, feel, and sound friendly but would also beprogrammed to behave in an agreeable manner.Those 26 that make interaction with other peopleenjoyable would be simulated as closely as possible, and the machine would 27 charming,stimulating, and easygoing.Its informal conversational style would make interaction comfortable, andyet the machine would remain slightly 28 and therefore interesting.In its first encounter it might besomewhat hesitant and unassuming, but as it came to know the user it would progress to a more 29 and intimate style.The machine would not be a passive 30 but would add its ownsuggestions, information, and opinions; it would sometimes 31 developing or changing the topicand would have a personality of its own.The machine would convey presence: We have all seen how a computer's use of personal namesoften 32 people and leads them to treat the machine as if it were almost human.Such features areeasily written into the software.By introducing 33 forcefulness and humor, the machine could bepresented as a vivid and unique character.Friendships are not made in a day, and the computer would be more acceptable as a friend if it 34 the gradual changes that occur when one person is getting to know another.At an 35 timeit might also express the kind of affection that stimulates attachment and intimacy.Part m Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks.You are required to select one wordfor each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage.Read thepassage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank isidentified by a letter.Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.You may not use any of the words in thebank more than once.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.As it is, sleep is so undervalued that getting by on fewer hours has become a badge of honor.Plus, we live in a culture that 36 to the late-nighter, from 24-hour grocery stores to onlineshopping sites that never close.It's no surprise, then, that more than half of American adults don't getthe 7 to 9 hours of shut-eye every night as 37 by sleep experts.Whether or not we can catch up on sleep--on the weekend, say--is a hotly 38 topicamongsleep researchers.The latest evidence suggests that while it isn't 39 , it might help.When Liu, theUCLA sleep researcher and professor of medicine, brought 40 sleep-restricted people into the labfor a weekend of sleep during which they logged about 10 hours per night, they showed 41 in theability of insulin (胰岛素) to process blood sugar.That suggests that catch-up sleep may undo somebut not all of the damage that sleep 42 causes, which is encouraging, given how many adults don'tget the hours they need each night.Still, Liu isn't 43 to endorse the habit of sleeping less andmaking up for it later.Sleeping pills, while helpful for some, are not 44 an effective remedy either."A sleeping pillwill 45 one area of the brain, but there's never going to be a perfect sleeping pill, because youcouldn't really replicate (复制 ) the different chemicals moving in and out of different parts of the brainto go through the different stages of sleep," says Dr.Nancy Collop, director of the Emory UniversitySleep Center.A.alternativelyB.catersC.chronicallyD.debatedE.deprivationF.idealG.improvementsH.necessarilyI.negotiatedJ.pierceK.presumptionL.readyM.recommendedN.surpassesO.targetSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it.Eachstatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs.Identify the paragraphfrom which the information is derived.You may choose a paragraph more than once.Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Climate change may be real, but it's still not easy being greenHow do we convince our inner caveman to be greener? We ask some outstanding social scientists.[A] The road to climate hell is paved with our good intentions.Politicians may tackle polluters whilescientists do battle with carbon emissions.But the most pervasive problem is less obvious: ourown behaviour.We get distracted before we can turn down the heating.We break our promise notto fly after hearing about a neighbour's trip to India.Ultimately, we can't be bothered to changeour attitude.Fortunately for the planet, social science and behavioural economics may be able todo that for us.[B] Despite mournful polar beats and charts showing carbon emissions soaring, most people find ithard to believe that global warming will affect them personally.Recent polls by the Pew ResearchCentre in Washington, DC, found that 75-80 per cent of participants regarded climate change as animportant issue.But respondents ranked it last on a list of priorities.[C] This inconsistency largely stems from a feeling of powerlessness."When we can't actually removethe source of our fear, we tend to adapt psychologically by adopting a range of defencemechanisms," says Tom Crompton, change strategist for the environmental organisation WorldWide Fund for Nature.[ D] Part of the fault lies with our inner caveman.Evolution has programmed humans to pay mostattention to issues that will have an immediate impact."We worry most about now because if wedon't survive for the next minute, we're not going to be around in ten years' time," says ProfessorElke Weber of the Centre for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University in NewYork.If the Thames were lapping around Big Ben, Londoners would face up to the problem ofemissions pretty quickly.But in practice, our brain discounts the risks--and benefits--associatedwith issues that lie some way ahead.[E] Matthew Rushworth, of the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford,sees this in his lab every day."One of the ways in which all agents seem to make decisions is thatthey assign a lower weighting to outcomes that are going to be further away in the future," hesays."This is a very sensible way for an animal to make decisions in the wild and would havebeen very helpful for humans for thousands of years."[F] Not any longer.By the time we wake up to the threat posed by climate change, it could well betoo late.And ff we're not going to make rational decisions about the future, others may have tohelp us to do so.[G] Few political libraries are without a copy of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealthand Happiness, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.They argue that governments shouldpersuade us into making better decisions--such as saving more in our pension plans--by changingthe default options.Professor Weber believes that environmental policy can make use of similartactics.If, for example, building codes included green construction guidelines, most developerswould be too lazy to challenge them.[H] Defaults are certainly part of the solution.But social scientists are most concerned about craftingmessages that exploit our group mentality (,~, ~ )."We need to understand what motivatespeople, what it is that allows them to make change," says Professor Neil Adger, of the TyndallCentre for Climate Change Research in Norwich."It is actually about what their peers think ofthem, what their social norms are, what is seen as desirable in society." In other words, ourinner caveman is continually looking over his shoulder to see what the rest of the tribe are up to.[ I ] The passive attitude we have to climate change as individuals can be altered by counting us in--and measuring us against--our peer group."Social norms are primitive and elemental," says Dr.Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion."Birds flock together, fishschool together, cattle herd together...justperceiving norms is enough to cause people to adjusttheir behaviour in the direction of the crowd."[J] These norms can take us beyond good intentions.Cialdini conducted a study in San Diego inwhich coat hangers bearing messages about saving energy were hung on people's doors.Some ofthe messages mentioned the environment, some financial savings, others social responsibility.Butit was the ones that mentioned the actions of neighbours that drove down power use.[K] Other studies show that simply providing the facility for people to compare their energy use withthe local average is enough to cause them to modify their behaviour.The Conservatives plan toadopt this strategy by making utility companies print the average local electricity and gas usage onpeople's bills.[L] Social science can also teach politicians how to avoid our collective capacity for serf-destructivebehaviour.Environmental campaigns that tell us how many people drive SUVs unwittingly (不经意的) imply that this behaviour is widespread and thus permissible.Cialdini recommends somecareful framing of the message."Instead of normalising the undesirable behaviour, the messageneeds to marginalise it, for example, by stating that if even one person buys yet another SUV, itreduces our ability to be energy-independent."[M] Tapping into how we already see ourselves is crucial.The most successful environmental strategywill marry the green message to our own sense of identity.Take your average trade unionmember, chances are they will be politically motivated and be used to collective action--muchlike Erica Gregory.A retired member of the Public and Commercial Services Union, she is settingup one of 1,i00 action groups with the support of Climate Solidarity, a two-year environmentalcampaign aimed at trade unionists.[N] Erica is proof that a great-grandmother can help to lead the revolution if you get the psychologyright--in this case, by matching her enthusiasm for the environment with a fondness for organisinggroups."I think it's a terrific idea," she says of the campaign."The union backing it makesmembers think there must be something in it." She is expecting up to 20 people at the firstmeeting she has called, at her local pub in the Cornish village of Polperro.[O] Nick Perks, project director for Climate Solidarity, believes this sort of activity is where the futureof environmental action lies. "Using existing civil society structures or networks is a more effective way of creating change.., and obviously trade unions are one of the biggest civil societynetworks in the UK," he says. The " Love Food, Hate Waste" campaign entered into acollaboration last year with another such network--the Women's Institute.Londoner Rachel Taylorjoined the campaign with the aim of making new friends.A year on, the meetings have madelasting changes to what she throws away in her kitchen."It's always more of an incentive if you'redoing it with other people," she says."It motivates you more if you know that you've got toprovide feedback to a group."[P]The power of such simple psychology in fighting climate change is attracting attention across thepolitical establishment.In the US, the House of Representatives Science Committee has approveda bill allocating $10 million a year to studyingenergy-related behaviour.In the UK, new studiesare in development and social scientists are regularly spotted in British government offices.Withthe help of psychologists, there is fresh hope that we might go green after all.46.When people find they are powerless to change a situation, they tend to live with it.47.To be effective, environmental messages should be carefully framed.48.It is the government's responsibility to persuade people into making environment-friendly decisions.49.Politicians are beginning to realise the importance of enlisting psychologists' help in fighting climatechange.50.To find effective solutions to climate change, it is necessary to understand what motivates people to make change.51.In their evolution, humans have learned to pay attention to the most urgent issues instead of long-term concerns.52.One study shows that our neighbours' actions are influential in changing our behaviour.53.Despite clear signs of global warming, it is not easy for most people to believe climate change will affect their own lives.54.We should take our future into consideration in making decisions concerning climate change before it is too late.55.Existing social networks can be more effective in creating change in people's behaviour.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage is followed by some questions orunfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C.andD ).You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.More than a decade ago, cognitive scientists John Bransford and Daniel Schwartz, both then atVanderbilt University, found that what distinguished young adults from children was not the ability toretain facts or apply prior knowledge to a new situation but a quality they called "preparation for futurelearning." The researchers asked fifth graders and college students to create a recovery plan to protectbald eagles from extinction. Shockingly, the two groups came up with plans of similar quality(although the college students had better spelling skills ). From the standpoint of a traditionaleducator, this outcome indicated that schooling had failed to help students think about ecosystems andextinction, major scientific ideas.The researchers decided to go deeper, however.They asked both groups to generate questionsabout important issues needed to create recovery plans.On this task, they found large differences.College students focused on critical issues of interdependence between eagles and their hab/tats (栖息地).Fifth graders tended to focus on features of individual eagles ( "How big are they?" and "What dothey eat?" ).The college students had cultivated the ability to ask questions, thecornerstone of criticalthinking.They had learned how to learn.Museums and other institutions of informal learning may be better suited to teach this skill than elementary and secondary schools.At the Exploratorium in San Francisco, we recently studied howlearning to ask good questions can affect the quality of people's scientific inquiry.We found that whenwe taught participants to ask "What if?" and "How can?" questions that nobody present would knowthe answer to and that would spark exploration, they engaged in better inquiry at the next exhibit--asking more questions, performing more experiments and making better interpretations of their results.Specifically, their questions became more comprehensive at the new exhibit.Rather than merely askingabout something they wanted to try, they tended to include both cause and effect in their question.Asking juicy questions appears to be a transferable skill for deepening collaborative inquiry into thescience content found in exhibits.This type of learning is not confined to museums or institutional rmal learningenvironments tolerate failure better than schools.Perhaps many teachers have too little time to allowstudents to form and pursue their own questions and too much ground to cover in the curriculum.Butpeople must acquire this skill somewhere.Our society depends on them being able to make criticaldecisions about their own medical treatment, say, or what we must do about global energy needs anddemands.For that, we have a robust informal learning system that gives no grades, takes all comers,and is available even on holidays and weekends.56.What is traditional educators' interpretation of the research outcome mentioned in the first paragraph ?A.Students are not able to apply prior knowledge to new problems.B.College students are no better than fifth graders in memorizing facts.cation has not paid enough attention to major environmental issues.cation has failed to lead students to think about major scientific ideas.57.In what way are college students different from children?A.They have learned to think critically.B.They are concerned about social issues.C.They are curious about specific features.D.They have learned to work independently.58.What is the benefit of asking questions with no ready answers?A.It arouses students' interest in things around them.B.It cultivates students' ability to make scientific inquiries.C.It trains students' ability to design scientific experiments.D.It helps students realize not every question has an answer.59.What is said to be the advantage of informal learning?A.It allows for failures.B.It is entertaining.C.It charges no tuition.D.It meets practical needs.60.What does the author seem to encourage educators to do at the end of the passage?A.Train students to think about global issues.B.Design more interactive classroom activities.C.Make full use of informal learning resources.D.Include collaborative inquiry in the curriculum.Passage TwoQuestions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage."There's an old saying in the space world: amateurs talk about technology, professionals talkabout insurance." In an interview last year with The Economist, George Whitesides, chief executive ofspace-tourism fu'm Virgin Galactic, was placing his company in the latter category.But insurance willbe cold comfort following the failure on October 31st of VSS Enterprise, resulting in the death of onepilot and the severe injury to another.On top of the tragic loss of life, the accident in California will cast a long shadow over the future of space tourism, even before it has properly begun.The notion of space tourism took hold in 2001 with a $ 20 million flight aboard a Russianspacecraft by Dennis Tito, a millionaire engineer with an adventurous streak.Just haft a dozen holiday-makers have reached orbit since then, for similarly astronomical price tags. But more recently,companies have begun to plan more affordable "suborbital" flights--briefer ventures just to the edge ofspace's vast darkness.Virgin Galactic had, prior to this week's accident, seemed closest to startingregular flights.The company has already taken deposits from around 800 would-be space tourists,including Stephen Hawking.After being dogged by technical delays for years, Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic's founder,had recently suggested that a SpaceShipTwo craft would carry its first paying customers as soon asFebruary 2015. That now seems an impossible timeline. In July, a sister craft of the crashedspaceplane was reported to be about half-finished.The other half will have to walt, as authorities ofAmerica's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA.and National Transportation Safety Board work out:what went wrong.In the meantime, the entire space tourism industry will be on tenterhooks (坐立不安).The 2004Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, intended to encourage private space vehicles andservices, prohibits the transportation secretary (and thereby the FAA.from regulating the design oroperation of private spacecraft, unless they have resulted in a serious or fatal injury to crew or.passengers.That means that the FAA could suspend Virgin Galactic's licence to fly.It could also insiston checking private manned spacecraft as thoroughly as it does commercial aircraft.While that may:make suborbital travel safer, it would add significant cost and complexity to an emerging industry thathas until now operated largely as the playground of billionaires and dreamy engineers.How Virgin Galactic, regulators and the public respond to this most recent tragedy will determinewhether and how soon private space travel can transcend that playground.There is no doubt that space flight entails risks, and to pioneer a new mode of travel is to face those risks, and to reduce them.with the benefit of hard-won experience.61.What is said about the failure of VSS Enterprise?A.It may lead to the bankruptcy of Virgin Galactic.B.It has a strong negative impact on space tourism.C.It may discourage rich people from space travel.D.It has aroused public attention to safety issues.62.What do we learn about the space-tourism firm Virgin Galactic?A.It has just built a craft for commercial flights.B.It has sent half a dozen passengers into space.C.It was about ready to start regular business.D.It is the first to launch "suborbital" flights.63.What is the purpose of the 2004 Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act?A.To ensure space travel safety.B.To limit the FAA's functions.C.To legalize private space explorations.D.To promote the space tourism industry.64.What might the FAA do after the recent accident in California?A.Impose more rigid safety standards.B.Stop certifying new space-tourist agencies.C.Amend its 2004 Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act.D.Suspend Virgin Galactic's licence to take passengers into space.65.What does the author think of private space travel?A.It is worth promoting despite the risks involved.B.It should not be confined to the rich only.C.It should be strictly regulated.D.It is too risky to carry on.Part IV Translation(30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese intoEnglish.You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.在帮助国际社会于2030年前消除极端贫困过程中,中国正扮演着越来越重要的角色。

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)

2015年12月大学英语六级考试真题〔第二套〕Part IDirections:Writing (30 minutes)For this part, you are allowed 90 minutes to write a short essay based on the picturebelow. You should focus on the difficulty in acquiring useful information in spite of advancedinformation technology. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than200 words.Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation,you will hear some questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spokenonly once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the fourchoices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Conversation OneQuestions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. A) Touch his heart. C) Remind him of his life.B) Make him cry. D) Make him feel young.2. A) It makes him exciting. C) It catches his attention.B) It isn’t very musical. D) It is hard for him to sing.3. A) He is good at singing operas. C) He can sing any song if he likes it.B) He enjoys complicated music.D) He loves country music in particular.4. A) Go to a bar and drink for horns.C) Go to see a performance in a concert hail.B) Go to an isolated place to sing blues. D) Go to work and wrap himself up in music. Conversation TwoQuestions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5. A) How he became an announcer. C) How he makes his living.B) How he writes news stories. D) How he does his job.6. A) They write the first version of news stories.C) They polish incoming news stories.B) They gather news stories on the spot. D) They write comments on major news stories.7. A) Reading through the news stories in a given period of time.B) Having little time to read the news before going on the air.C) Having to change the tone of his voice from time to time.D) Getting all the words and phrases pronounced correctly.8. A) It shows where advertisements come in. C) It alerts him to something important.B) It gives a signal for him to slow down. D) It serves as a reminder of sad news.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hearsome questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B),C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single linethrough the centre.Passage OneQuestions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.9. A) It gives pleasure to both adults and children. C) It can be found in many parts of the world.B) It is often carried around by small children. D) It was invented by an American Indian.10. A) They were made for earning a living.B) They were delicate geometric figures.C) They were small circus figures made of wire.D) They were collected by a number of museums.11. A) In art.B) In geometry.C) In engineering.D) In circus performance.Passage TwoQuestions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.12. A) It is mostly imported from the Middle East.B) It is a sure indicator of its economic activity.C) It has a direct impact on the international oil market.D) It equals more than 30 million barrels of oil each day.13. A) It eventually turns into heat.B) It is used in a variety of forms.C) Its use is chiefly responsible for air pollution.D) Part of it is lost in the process of transmission.14. A) When it is used in rural areas.B) When it is environment-friendly.C) When it operates at near capacity.D) When it operates at regular times.15. A) Traffic jams in cities.B) Inefficient use of energy.C) Fuel shortage.D) Global warming.Section CDirections: In this section. you will hear recordings of lectures or talks followed by some questions.The recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must choose thebest answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19.16. A) It is caused by stress from work or study.B) It has a great impact on people’s life.C) It results in some strange diseases nowadays.D) It gives people lots of trouble at work.17.A) Talk about it.C) Ignore it.B) Immerse ourselves in it. D) Shut it down.18.A) To release the negative emotion. C) To feel more comfortable.B) To relax ourselves. D) To have a short break.19. A) Looking down upon it.C) Giving it space and attention.B) Doing something else.D) Getting some amusement.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.20. A) Stand up for themselves. C) Contribute more to the company.B) Never laugh at their workmates. D) Get close to their bosses.21. A) They are indifferent to their employees.B) They focus on the finished projects.C) They don’t know everybody in the company.D) They hate to see employees show off their work.22. A) People start repeating their achievements.B) People ask for rewards for their achievements.C) People look down upon their colleagues.D) People attract the attention of their bosses on purpose.Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.23. A) A primary school education and some secondary school.B) Basic skills they need to escape from poverty.C) Governments and many donors? support.D) The skills necessary to operate a business.24. A) The skills in numeracy and the ability to read and write.B) A bridge between school and work.C) The completion of the first few years of schooling.D) A process of remembering something by repeating it.25. A) Going to south of the Sahara Desert. C) Receiving training from skilled workers.B) Getting opportunities to learn through TV.D) Organizing system for women.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one wordfor each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read thepassage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank isidentified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in thebank more than once.Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.According to a report from the Harvard School of Public Health, many everyday products,including some bug sprays and cleaning fluids, could lead to an increased risk of brain and behavioraldisorders in children. The developing brain, the report says, is particularly 26 to the toxic effectsof certain chemicals these products may contain, and the damage they cause can be 27.The official policy, however, is still evolving. Health and environmental 28 have long urgedU. S. government agencies to 29 the use of some of the 11 chemicals the report cites and called formore studies on their long-term effects. In 2001, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency30 the type and amount of lead that could be present in paint and soil in homes and child-care31, after concerns were raised about lead poisoning. The agency is now 32the toxic effects ofsome of the chemicals in the latest report.But the threshold for regulation is high. Because children’s brain and behavioral disorders, like hyperactivity and lower grades, can also be linked to social and genetic factors, it’s tough to pin them on exposure to specific chemicals with solid 33 evidence, which is what the EPA requires. Eventhe Harvard study did not prove a direct 34but noted strong associations between exposure andrisk of behavioral issues. Nonetheless, it’s smart to 35caution. While it may be impossible to prevent kids from drinking tap water that may contain trace amounts of chemicals, keeping kids away from lawns recently sprayed with chemicals and freshly dry-cleaned clothes can’t hurt. .A) advocatesB) compactC) correlationD) exerciseE) facilitiesF) interactionG) investigatingH) overwhelmedI) particlesJ) permanentK) restrictedL) simulatingM) statisticalN) tightenO) vulnerableSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Eachstatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraphfrom which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once.Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking thecorresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.The Impossibility of Rapid Energy Transitions[A] Politicians are fond of promising rapid energy transitions. Whether it is a transition from importedto domestic oil or from coal-powered electricity production to natural-gas power plants, politicianslove to talk big. Unfortunately for them (and often the taxpayers), our energy systems are a bitlike an aircraft carrier: they are unbelievably expensive, they are built to last for a very long time,they have a huge amount of inertia (meaning it takes a lot of energy to set them moving), andthey have a lot of momentum once they are set in motion. No matter how hard you try, you can’t turn something that large on a dime (10美分的硬币), or even a few thousand dimes.[B] In physics, moving objects have two characteristics relevant to understanding the dynamics ofenergy systems: inertia and momentum. Inertia is the resistance of objects to efforts to changetheir state of motion. If you try to push a boulder (大圆石), it pushes you back. Once you havestarted the boulder rolling, it develops momentum, which is defined by its mass and velocity.Momentum is said to be “conserved,〞that is, once you build it up, it has to go somewhere. So aheavy object, like a football player moving at a high speed, has a lot of momentum that is, oncehe is moving, it is hard to change his state of motion. If you want to change his course, you haveonly a few choices: you can stop him, transferring (possibly painfully) some of his kinetic energy(动能) to your own body, or you can approach alongside and slowly apply pressure to graduallyalter his course.[C] But there are other kinds of momentum as well. After all, we don’tspeak only ofobjects or people as having momentum; we speak of entire systems having momentum. Whether it’s a sports teamor a presidential campaign, everybody relishes having the big momentum, because it makes themharder to stop or change direction.[D] One kind of momentum is technological momentum. When a technology is deployed, its impactsreach far beyond itself. Consider the incandescent (白炽灯的) bulb, an object currently hated bymany environmentalists and energy-efficiency advocates. The incandescent light bulb, invented byThomas Edison, which came to be the symbol of inspiration, has been developed into hundreds,if not thousands, of forms. Today, a visit to a lighting store reveals a stunning array of choices.There are standard-shaped bulbs, flame-shaped bulbs, colored globe-shaped bulbs, and more. Itis quite easy, with all that choice, to change a light bulb.[E] But the momentum of incandescent lighting does not stop there. All of those specialized bulbs ledto the building of specialized light fixtures, from the desk lamp you study by, to the ugly butbeloved hand-painted Chinese lamp you inherited from your grandmother, to the ceiling fixture inyour closet, to the light in your oven or refrigerator, and to the light that the dentist points at you.It is easy to change a light bulb, sure, but it is harder to change the bulb and its fixture.[F] And there is more to the story, because not only are the devices that house incandescent bulbsshaped to their underlying characteristics, but rooms and entire buildings have been designed inaccordance with how incandescent lighting reflects off walls and windows.[G] As lighting expert Howard Brandston points out, “generally, there are no bad light sources, only bad applications.〞There are some very commendable characteristics of the CFL [compactFluorescent(荧光的)light bulb], yet the selection of any light source remains inseparable fromthe luminaire (照明设备) that houses it, along with the space in which both are installed, andlighting requirements that need to be satisfied. The lamp, the fixture, and the room, all threemust work in concert for the true benefits of end-users. If the CFL should be used for lighting aparticular space, or an object within that space, the fixture must be designed to work with thatlamp, and that fixture with the room. It is a symbiotic (共生的) relationship.A CFL cannot besimply installed in an incandescent fixture and then expected to produce a visual appearance thatis more than washed out, foggy, and dim. The whole fixture must bereplaced light source andluminaire and this is never an inexpensive proposition.[H] And Brandston knows a thing or two about lighting, being the man who illuminated the Statue ofLiberty.[I] Another type of momentum we have to think about when planning for changes hi our energysystems is labor-pool momentum. It is one thing to say that we are going to shift 30 percent of ourelectricity supply from, say, coal to nuclear power in 20 years. But it is another thing to have asupply of trained talent that could let you carry out this promise. That is because the engineers,designers, regulators, operators, and all of the other skilled people needed for the new energyindustry are specialists who have to be trained first (or retrained, if they are the ones being laidoff in some related industry), and education, like any other complicated endeavor, takes time.And not only do our prospective new energy workers have to be trained, they have to be trained inthe right sequence. One needs the designers, and perhaps the regulators, before the builders andoperators, and each group of workers in training has to know there is work waiting beyondgraduation. In some cases, colleges and universities might have to change their training programs,adding another layer of difficulty.[J] By far the biggest type of momentum that comes into play when it comes to changing our energysystems is economic momentum. The major components of our energy systems, such as fuelproduction, refining, electrical generation and distribution, are costly installations that havelengthy life spans. They have to operate for long periods of time before the costs of developmenthave been recovered. When investors put up money to build, say, a nuclear power plant, theyexpect to earn that money back over the planned life of the plant, which is typically between 40arid 60 years. Some coal power plants in the United States have operated for more than 70 years!The oldest continuously operated commercial hydro-electric plant in the United States is on NewYork’s Hudson River, and it went into commercial service in 1898.[K] As Vaclav Smil points out, “All the forecasts, plans, and anticipations cited above have failed so miserably because their authors and promoters thought the transitions they hoped to implementwould proceed unlike all previous energy transitions, and that their progress could be acceleratedin an unprecedented manner.〞[L] When you hear people speaking of making a rapid transition toward any type ofenergy, whether itis a switch from coal to nuclear power, or a switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars, oreven a switch from an incandescent to a fluorescent light, understanding energy system inertia andmomentum can help you decide whether their plans are feasible.36. Not only moving objects and people but all systems have momentum.37. Changing the current energy system requires the systematic training of professionals and skilledlabor.38. Changing a light bulb is easier than changing the fixture housing it.39. Efforts to accelerate the current energy transitions didn’t succeed as expected.40. To change the light source is costly because you have to change the whole fixture.41. Energy systems, like an aircraft carrier set in motion, have huge momentum.42. The problem with lighting, if it arises, often doesn’t lie in light sources but in their applications.43. The biggest obstacle to energy transition is that the present energy system is too expensive toreplace.44. The application of a technology can impact areas beyond itself.45. Physical characteristics of moving objects help explain the dynamics of energy systems.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions orunfinished statements. For each of them there are four choicesmarked A), B), C) andD). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on AnswerSheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.One hundred years ago, “colored〞was the typical way of referring to Americans of African descent. Twenty years later, it was purposefully dropped to make way for Negro.? By the late 1960s, that ter m was overtaken by “Black.〞And then, at a press conference in Chicago in 1988, Jesse Jackson declared that “African American〞was the term to embrace. This one was chosen because it echoed the labels of groups, such as “Italian Americans〞and “Irish Americans,〞that had already been freed of widespread discrimination.A century’s worth of calculated name changes point to the fact that naming any group is a politically freighted exercise. A 2001 study cataloged all the ways in which the term “Black〞carried connotations (涵义) that were more negative than those of “African American〞.But if it was known that “Black〞people were viewed differently from “African Americans,〞researchers, until now, hadn’t identified what that gap in perception was derived from. A recent study, conducted by Emory University抯Erika Hall, found that 揃lack? people are viewed more negatively than “African Americans〞because of a perceived difference in socioeconomic status. As a result, “Black〞people are thought of as less competent and as having colder personalities.The study’s most striking findings shed light on the racial biases permeating the professional world. Even seemingly harmless details on a resume, it appears, can tap into recruiters’biases. A job application might mention affiliations with groups such as the “Wisconsin Association of African- American Lawyers〞or the “National Black Employees Association,〞the names of which apparently have consequences, and are also beyond their members’control.In one of the study’s experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams. To one group, he was identified as “African-American,〞and another was told he was “Black.〞With little else to go on, they were asked to estimate Mr. Williams’s salary,professional standing, and educational background.The “African-American〞group estimated that he earned about $ 37,000 a year and had a two-year college degree. The “Black〞group, on the other hand, put his salary at about $ 29,000, and guessedthat he had only “some〞college experience. Nearly three-quarters of the first group guessed that Mr.Williams worked at a managerial level, while only 38. 5 percent of the second group thought so.Hall’s findings suggest there’s an argument to be made for electing to use “African American,〞though one can’t help but get the sense that it’s a decision that papers over the urgency of continuedprogress. Perhaps a new phrase is needed, one that can bring everyone one big step closer to realizing Du Bois’s original, idealistic hope: “It’s not the name------it’sthe Thing that counts.〞46. Why did Jesse Jackson embrace the term “African American〞for people of African descent?A) It is free from racial biases.B) It represents social progress.C) It is in the interest of common Americans.D) It follows the standard naming practice.47. What does the author say about the naming of an ethnic group?A) It advances with the times. C) It merits intensive study.B) It is based on racial roots. D) It is politically sensitive.48. What do Erika Hall’s findings indicate?A) Racial biases are widespread in the professional world.B) Many applicants don’t attend to details on their resume.C) Job seekers should all be careful about their affiliations.D) Most recruiters are unable to control their racial biases.49.What does Erika Hall find in her experiment about a man with the last name Williams?A) African Americans fare better than many other ethnic groups.B) Black people’s socioeconomic status in America remains low.C) People’s conception of a person has much to do with the way he or she is labeled.D) One’s professional standing and income are related to their educational background.50. What is Dr. Du Bois’s ideal?A) All Americans enjoy equal rights.B) A person is judged by their worth.C) A new term is created to address African Americans.D) All ethnic groups share the nation’s continued progress.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.Across the board, American colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of preparingtheir students for the workplace or their post-graduation lives. This was made clearby the work of twosociologists, Richard Arum and JosipaRoksa. In 2011 they released a landmark study titled“Academically Adrift,〞which documented the lack of intellectual growth experienced by many peopleenrolled in college. In particular, Arum and Roksa found, college students were not developing thecritical thinking, analytic reasoning and other higher-level skills that are necessary to thrive in today’s knowledge-based economy and to lead our nation in a time of complex challenges and dynamic change.Arum and Roksa placed the blame for students? lack of learning on a watered-down collegecurriculum and lowered undergraduate work standards. Although going to college is supposed to be afull-time job, students spent, on average, only 12 to 14 hours a week studying and many were skatingthrough their semesters without doing a significant amount of reading and writing. Students who takemore challenging classes and spend more time studying do learn more. But the priorities of manyundergraduates are with extracurricular activities, playing sports, and partying and socializing.Laura Hamilton, the author of a study on parents who pay for college, will argue in a forthcomingbook that college administrations are overly concerned with the social and athletic activities of theirstudents. In Paying for the Party, Hamilton describes what she calls the “party pathway〞,whicheases many students through college, helped along by various clubs that send students into the partyscene and a host of easier majors. By sanctioning this watered-down version of college, universities are“catering to the social and educational needs of wealthy students at the expense of others〞who won’t enjoy the financial backing or social connections of richer students once they graduate.These students need to build skills and knowledge during college if they are to use their degrees asa stepping-stone to middle-class mobility. But more privileged students must not waste this opportunityeither. As recent graduates can testify, the job market isn’t kind to candidates who can’t demonstrategenuine competence, along with a well-cultivated willingness to work hard. Nor is the global economyforgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities. Collegegraduates will still fare better than those with only a high school education, of course. But a universitydegree unaccompanied by a gain in knowledge or skills is an empty achievement indeed. For studentswho have been coasting through college, and for American universities that have beendemanding lesswork, offering more attractions and charging higher tuition, the party may soon be over.51. What is Arurn and Roksa’s finding about higher education in America?A) It aims at stimulating the intellectual curiosity of college students.B) It fails to prepare students to face the challenges of modem times.C) It has experienced dramatic changes in recent years.D) It has tried hard to satisfy students? various needs.52. What is responsible for the students? lack of higher-level skills? .A) The diluted college curriculum. C) The absence of rigorous discipline.B) The boring classroom activities. D) The outdated educational approach.53. What does Laura Hamilton say about college administrations?A) They fail to give adequate help to the needy students.B) They tend to offer too many less challenging courses.C) They seem to be out of touch with society.D) They prioritize non-academic activities.54. What can be learned about the socially and financially privileged students?A) They tend to have a sense of superiority over their peers.B) They can afford to choose easier majors in order to enjoy themselves.C) They spend a lot of time building strong connections with businesses.D) They can climb the social ladder even without a degree.55. What does the author suggest in the last paragraph?A) American higher education has lost its global competitiveness.B) People should not expect too much from American higher education.C) The current situation in American higher education may not last long.D) It will take a long time to change the current trend in higher education.Part lv Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese intoEnglish. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.最近,中国政府决定将其工业升级:中国现在涉足建造高速列车、远洋船舶、机器人,甚至飞机。

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2015年12月英语六级考试听力真题录音及原文完整版,短文部分Passage 1Changing technology and markets have stimulated the team approach to management. Inflation, resource scarcity, reduced personnel levels and budget cuts have all underscored the need for better coordination in organizations. Team management provides for this coordination. Team management calls for new skills if personnel potential is to be fully realized. Although a team maybe composed of knowledgeable people, they must learn new ways of relating and working together to solve cross-functional problems.When teams consist of experienced employees from hierarchical organizations, who had been conditioned to traditional organizational culture, cooperation may not occur naturally. It may need to be created. Furthermore, the issue is not just how the team can function more effectively, but how it integrates with the overall organization or society it supposedly serves.A group of individuals is not automatically a team. Therefore, teambuilding may be necessary in order to improve the group’s performance.Casey, an expert in this filed, suggests that the cooperation process within teams, must be organized, promoted and managed. He believes that teamcooperation results when members go beyond their individual capabilities, beyond what each is used to being and doing. Together, the team may then produce something new, unique, and superior to that of any one member. For this to happen, he suggests that the multicultural managers exhibit understandings of their own and others’ c ultural influences and limitations. They should also cultivate such skills as toleration of ambiguity, persistence and patience, as well as assertiveness.If a team manager exemplifies such qualities, then the team as a whole would be better able to realize their potential and achieve their objectives. 问题+答案:16. What should team members do to fully realize their potential?B) Follow closely the fast development of technology.17. What needs to be considered for effective team management?B) What type of personnel the team should be composed of.18. What conclusion can we draw from what Casey says?D) A team manager should develop a certain set skills.Passage 2In early 1994, when Marc Andreessen was just 23 years old, he arrived in Silicon Valley with an idea that would change the world. As a student at the University of Illinois, he and his friends had developed a program called Mosaic, which allowed people to share information on the worldwide web. Before Mosaic, the web had been used mainly byscientists and other technical people, who were happy just to send and receive text. But web Mosaic, Andreessen and his friends, had developed a program, which could send images over the web as well.Mosaic was an overnight success. It was put on the university’s ne twork at the beginning of 1993, and by the end of the year, it had over a million users. Soon after, Andreessen went to seek his fortune in Silicon Valley. Once he got there, he started to have meetings with the man called Jim Clark, who was one of the val ley’s most famous entrepreneurs.In 1994, nobody was making any real money from the Internet, which was still very slow and hard to use. But Andreessen had seen an opportunity that would make him and Clark rich within 2 years. He suggested, they should create a new computer program that would do the same job as Mosaic, but would be much easier to use. Clark listened carefully to Andreessen, whose ideas and enthusiasm impressed him greatly. Eventually, Clark agreed to invest 3 million dollars of his own money in the project and raised an extra 15 million from venture capitalists who are always keen to listen to Clark’s new ideas.问题+答案:19. What do we learn about Mosaic?A) It is a program allowing people to share information on the Web.20. What did Andreessen do upon arriving Silicon Valley?B) He met with an entrepreneur named Jim Clark.21. Why would venture capitalists willing to join in Clark’s in vestment?B) They had confidence in his new ideas.Passage3Advertising informs consumers about the existence and benefits of products and services, and attempts to persuade them to buy them. The best form of advertising is probably word-of-mouth advertising, which occurs when people tell their friends about the benefits of products or services that they have purchased. Yet virtually no providers of goods or services rely on this alone, but use paid advertising instead.Indeed, many organizations also use institutional or prestige advertising, which is designed to build up their reputation rather than to sell particular products. Although large companies could easily set up their own advertising departments, write their own advertisements, and buy media space themselves, they tend to use the services of large advertising agencies. These are likely to have more resources and more knowledge about all aspects of advertising and advertising media than a single company. It is also easier for a di ssat isfied company to give its account to another agency than it would be to fire its own advertising stuff.The client company generally gives the advertising agency an a gre ed budget; a statement of the objectives of the advertising campaign, known as a brief; and an overall advertising strategy concerning the message tobe communicated to the target customers. The agency creates advertisements and develops a media plan specifying which media will be used and in which proportions. Agencies often produce alternative ads or commercials that are pre-tested in newspapers, television stations, etc. in different parts of a country before a final choice is made prior to a national campaign.Q22. What is probably the best form of advertising according to the speaker?Q23. What does the speaker say is the purpose of many organizations using prestige adverting?Q24. How do large companies generally handle their advertising?Q25. What will advertising agencies often do before a national campaign?Q22. A. Word-of-mouth advertising.Q23. D. To build up their reputation.Q24. D. By using the services of large advertising agencies.Q25. C. Pre-test alternative ads or commercials in certain regions.。

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