2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案:仔细阅读
2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案:Passage One答案及解析

2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案:PassageOne答案及解析Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passageProfessor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity”, and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching the fut ure of intelligence as “crucial to the future of our civilization and our species.”Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. “We spend a great deal of time studying history,” Hawking said, “which,let’s face it, is mostly the history of stupidity. So it’s a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence.”While the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising concerns that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates a super-intelligence with a will of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring. “The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge,” he said. “We cannot predict what we might achieve when our own minds are amplified by AI. Perhaps with the tools of this newtechnological revolution, we will be able to undo some of the damage done to the natural world by the last one –industrialization. And surely we will aim to finally eradicate disease and poverty. And every aspect of our lives will be transformed. In short, success in creating AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization.”Huw Price, the centre’s academic director and the Bertrand Russell professor of philosophy at Cambridge University, where Hawking is also an academic, said that the centre came about partially as a result of the university’s Centre for Existential Risk. That institute examined a wider range of potential problems or humanity, while the LCFI has a narrow focus.AI pioneer Margaret Boden, professor of cognitive science at the University of Sussex, praised the progress of such discussions. As recently as 2009, she said, the topic wasn’t taken seriously, even among AI researchers. “AI is hugely exciting,” she said, “but it has limitations, which present grace dangers given uncritical use.”The academic community is not alone in warning about the potential dangers of AI as well as the potential benefits. A number of pioneers from the technology industry, most famously the entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also expressedtheir concerns about the damage that a super-intelligent AI could do to humanity.46. What did Stephen Hawking think of artificial intelligence?A) It would be vital to the progress of human civilization.B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.C) It might present challenges as well as opportunities.D) It would be a significant expansion of human intelligence.46. B. It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.【定位】依据题干Stephen Hawking think of artificial intelligence定位到第一段第一句【解析】“either the best, or the worst thing…”,要么是的,要么是最坏的,与选项B对应。
2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案:PassageTwo答案及解析

2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案:PassageTwo答案及解析Question 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The market for products designed specifically for older adults could reach $30 billion by next year, and startups(初创公司)want in on the action. What they sometimes lack is feedback from the people who they hope will use their products. So Brookdale, the c ountry’s largest owner of retirement communication, has been inviting a few select entrepreneurs just to move in for a few days, show off their products and hear what the residents have to say.That’s what brought Dayle Rodriguez, 28, all the wayfrom England to the dining room of Brookdale South Bay in Torrance, California. Rodriguez is the community andmarketing manager for a company called Sentab. The startup’s product, Sentab TV, enables older adults who may not be comfortable with computers to access email, video chat and social media using just their televisions and a remotecontrol.“It’s nothing new, it’s nothing too complicated andit’s natural because lots of people have TV remotes,” says Rodriguez.But none of that is the topic of conversation in the Brookdale dining room. Instead, Rodriguez solicits residents’ advice on what he should get on his cheeseburger and how heshould spend the afternoon. Playing cards was on the agenda, as well as learning to play mahjong(麻将).Rodriguez says it’s important that residents heredon’t feel like he’s selling them something. “I’ve had more feedback in a passive approach,” he says. “Playing pool, playing cards, having dinner, having lunch,” all work better “than going through a survey of questions. When they get to know me and to trust me, knowing for sure I’m not selling them something –there’ll be more honest feedback from them.”Rodriguez is just the seventh entrepreneur to move into one of Brookdale’s 1,100 senior living communities. Other new products in the program have included a kind of full-body blow dryer and specially designed clothing that allows people with disabilities to dress and undress themselves.Mary Lou Busch, 93, agreed to try the Sentab system. She tells Rodriguez that it might be good for someone, but notfor her.“I have the computer and Face Time, which I talk with my family on,” she explains. She also has an iPad and a smartphone. “So I do pretty much everything I need to do.”To be fair, if Rodriguez had wanted feedback from some more technophobic(可怕技术的) seniors, he might have ended up in the wrong Brookdale community. This one is located in the heart of Southern California’s aerospace corridor. Many residents have backgrounds in engineering, business and academic circles.But Rodriguez says he’s still learning something important by moving into this Brookdale community:“People are more tech-proficient than we thought.”And besides, where else would he learn to play mahjong?51. What does the passage say about the startups?A) They never lose time in upgrading products for seniors.B) They want to have a share of the seniors’ goods market.C) They invite seniors to their companies to try their products.D) They try to profit from promoting digital products to seniors.答案:B【解析】The market for products designed specifically for older adults could reach $30 billion by next year, and startups(初创公司)want in on the action.原句中说专门为老年人定制产品市场在明年将创300亿美元的营业额,而startups初创公司也want in on the action想要从中分取一杯羹。
卓顶精文2019年6月大学英语六级真题、译文及详细解析(仔细阅读卷二).doc

2019年6月大学英语六级考试仔细阅读真题解析(卷二)SectionCDirections:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbys omequestionsorunfinishedstatements.Foreachofthemtherearefourchoicesma rkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondi ngletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.PassageOneQuestions46to50arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Economicallyspeaking,arewebetteroffthanweweretenyearsago?Twentyyea rsago?Intheirthirstforevidenceonthisissue,commentatorsseizedontherecentr eportbytheCensusBureau,whichfoundthataveragehouseholdincomeroseby5.2% in2019.Unfortunately,thatconclusionputstoomuchweightonauseful,butflaw edandincomplete,statistic.AmongthemoresignificantproblemswiththeCensu s’smeasurearethat:1)itexcludestaxes,transfers,andcompensationlikeempl oyer-providedhealthinsurance;and2)itisbasedonsurveysratherthandata.Ev enifpreciselymeasured,incomedataexcludeimportantdeterminantsofeconomi cwell-being,suchasthehoursofworkneededtoearnthatincome.Whilethinkingaboutthequestion,wecameacrossarecentlypublishedarticl ebyCharlesJonesandPeterKlenow,whichproposesaninterestingnewmeasureofe conomicwelfare.Whilebynomeansperfect,itisconsiderablymorecomprehensiv ethanaverageincome,takingintoaccountnotonlygrowthinconsumptionperpers onbutalsochangesinworkingtime,lifeexpectancy,andinequality.Moreover,i tcanbeusedtoassesseconomicperformancebothacrosscountriesandovertime.TheJones-Klenowmethodcanbeillustratedbyacross-countryexample.Suppo sewewanttocomparetheeconomicwelfareofcitizensoftheU.S.andFrancein2019 .In2019,astheauthorsobserve,realconsumptionperpersoninFrancewasonly 60%ashighastheU.S.,makingitappearthatAmericanswereeconomicallymuchbet teroffthantheFrenchonaverage.However,thatcomparisonomitsotherrelevant factors:leisuretime,lifeexpectancy,andeconomicinequality.TheFrenchtak elongervacationsandretireearlier,sotypicallyworkfewerhours;theyenjoya higherlifeexpectancy,presumablyreflectingadvantageswithrespecttohealt hcare,diet,lifestyle,andthelike;andincomeandconsumptionaresomewhatmor eequallydistributedtherethanintheU.S.Becauseofthesedifferences,compar ingFrance’sconsumptionwiththeU.S.’soverstatesthegapineconomicwelfare.SimilarcalculationscanbeusedtocomparetheU.S.andothercountries.Fore xample,thiscalculationputseconomicwelfareintheUnitedKingdomat97%ofU.S .levels,butestimatesMexicanwell-beingat22%.TheJones-Klenowmeasurecanalsoassessaneconomy’sperformanceovertime. Accordingtothismeasure,asoftheearly-to-mid-2019s,theU.S.hadthehighest economicwelfareofanylargecountry.Since2019,economicwelfareintheU.S.ha scontinuedtoimprove.However,thepaceofimprovementhasslowedmarkedly.Methodologically,thelessonfromtheJones-Klenowresearchisthateconomicwelfareismulti-dimensional.Theirapproachisflexibleenoughthatinprinci pleotherimportantquality-oflifechangescouldbeincorporated—forexample ,decreasesintotalemissionsofpollutantsanddeclinesincrimerates.全文翻译及命题分析从经济上讲,我们的生活比十年前或二十年前更好吗?评论员从美国人口普查局最新的一份报告着手,渴望在这个问题上找到证据。
2019年6月英语六级真题及答案详解

2019年6月英语六级真题及答案详解Part Ⅰ Writing (30 minutes)Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic The Impact of the Internet on Interpersonal Communication. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.The Impact of the Internet on Interpersonal CommunicationPart Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (Skimming andScanning)(15minutes)Directions: In this part. You will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A)、B)、C)and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.The Three-Year SolutionHartwick College, a small liberal-arts school in upstate New York, makes New York, makes this offer to well prepared students: earn your undergraduate degree in three years instead of four, and save about 543,000—the amount of one year’s tuition and fees. A number of innovative colleges are making the same offer to students anxious about saving time and money. That’s both an opportunity and a warning for the best higher-education system in the world.The United Stat es has almost all of the world’s best universities. A recent Chinese survey ranks 35 American universities among the top 50, eight among the top 10. Our research universities have been the key to developing the competitive advantages that help Americans produce 25% of all the world’s wealth. In 2007, 623,805 of the world’s brightest students were attracted to American universities.Yet, there are signs of peril (危险)within American higher education. U.S. colleges have to compete in the marketplace. Students may choose among 6,000 public, private, nonprofit, for profit, or religious institutions of higher learning. In addition, almost all of the 532 billion the federal government provides for university research is awarded competitively.But many colleges and universities are stuck in the past. For instance, the idea of the fall-to-spring“school year”hasn’t changed much since before the American Revolution, when we were a summer stretch no longer makes sense. Former George Washington University president Stephen Trachtenberg estimates that a typical college uses its facilities for academic purposes a little more than half the calenda r year.“While college facilities sit idle, they continue to generate maintenance expenses that contribute to the high cost of r unning a college,” he has written.Within academic departments, tenure(终身职位),combined with age-discrimination laws, makes faculty turnover—critical for a university to remain current in changing times—difficult. Instead of protecting speech and encouraging diversity and innovative thinking, the tenure system often stifles(压制)them: younger professors must win the approval of established colleagues for tenure, encouraginglike-mindedness and sometimes inhibiting the free flow of ideas.Meanwhile, tuition has soared, leaving graduating students with unprecedented loan debt. Strong campus presidents to manage these problems are becoming harder to find, and to keep. In fact, students now stay on campus almost as long as their presidents. The average amount of time students now take to complete an undergraduate degree has stretched to six years and seven months as students interrupted by work,inconvenienced by unavailable classes, or lured by one more football season find it hard to graduate.Congress has tried to help students with college costs through Pell Grants and other forms of tuition support. But some of their fixes have made the problem worse. The stack of congressional regulations governing federal student grants and loans now stands twice as tall as I do. Filling out these forms consumes 7% of every tuition dollar.For all of these reasons, some colleges like Hartwick are rethinking the old way of doing things and questioning decades-old assumptions about what a college degree means. For instance, why does it have to take four years to earn a diploma? This fall, 16 first-year students and four second-year students at Hartwick enrolled in the school’s new three year degree program. According to the college, the plan is designed forhigh-ability, highly motivated student who wish to save money or to move along more rapidly toward advanced degrees.By eliminating that extra year, there year degree students save 25% in costs. Instead of taking 30 credits a year, these students take 40. During January, Hartwick runs a four week course during which students may earn three to four credits on or off campus, including a number of international sites. Summer courses are not required, but a student may enroll in them—and pay extra. Three year students get first crack atcourse registration. There are no changes in the number of courses professors teach or in their pay.The three-year degree isn’t a new idea. Geniuses have always breezed through. Judson College, a 350-student institution in Alabama, has offered students a three-year option for 40 years. Students attend “short terms” in May and June to earn the credits required for graduation. Bates College in Maine and Ball State University in Indiana are among other colleges offering three-year options.Changes at the high-school level are also helping to make it easier for many students to earn their undergraduate degrees in less time. One of five students arrives at college today with Advanced Placement (AP) credits amounting to a semester or more of college level work. Many universities, including large schools like the University of Texas, make it easy for these AP students to graduate faster.For students who don’t plan to stop with an undergraduate degree, the three-year plan may have an even greater appeal. Dr. John Sergent, head of Vanderbilt University Medical School’s residency (住院医生) program, enrolled in Vanderbilt’s undergraduate college in 1959. He entered medical school after only three years as did four or five of his classma tes.” My first ye ar of medical school counted as my senior year, which meant I had to take three to four labs a week to get all my sciencesin. I basically skipped my senior year,” says Sergent. He still had time to be a student senator and meet his wife.There are, however, drawbacks to moving through school at such a brisk pace. For one, it deprives students of the luxury of time to roam (遨游) intellectually. Compressing everything into three years also leaves less time for growing up, engaging in extracurricular activities, and studying abroad. On crowded campuses it could mean fewer opportunities to get into a prized professor’s class. Iowa’s Waldorf College has graduated several hundred students in its three-year degree program, but it now phasing out the option. Most Waldorf students wanted the full four-year experience—academically, socially, and athletically. And faculty members will be wary of any change that threatens the core curriculum in the name of moving students into the workforce.“Most hi gh governmental officials seem to conceive of education in this light—as a way to ensure economic competitiveness and continued economic growth,” Derek Bok, former president of Harvard, told The Washington Post. “I strongly disagree with this approach.” An other risk: the new campus schedules might eventually produce less revenue for the institution and longer working hours for faculty members.Adopting a three-year option will not come easily to most school. Those that wish to tackle tradition and make American campus morecost-conscious may find it easier to take Trachtenberg’s advice: open campuses year-round.“You could run two complete colleges, with two complete faculties,”he says.“That’s without cutting the length of students’ vacations, increasing class sizes, or req uiring faculty to teach more.”Whether they experiment with three-year degrees, offer year-round classes, challenge the tenure system—or all of the above—universities are slowly realizing that to stay competitive and relevant they must adapt to a rapidly changing world.Expanding the three-year option may be difficult, but it may be less difficult than asking Congress for additional financial help, asking legislators for more state support, or asking students even higher tuition payments. Campuses willing to adopt convenient schedules along with more focused, less-expensive degrees may find that they have a competitive advantage in attracting bright, motivated students. These sorts of innovations can help American universities avoid the perils of success.注意:此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案【含解析】

2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案【含解析】今年的六级阅读难度和去年12月份的难度持平Passage OneProfessor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence (AI)will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity ”,and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching the futu re of intelligence as “crucial to the future of our civilization and our species”.Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence(LCFI)at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. “We spend a great deal of time studying history,” Hawking said, “which,let’s face it ,is mostly the history of stupidity. So it’s a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence.”While the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising concerns that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates a super-intelligence with a will of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring “The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge”, he said, “We cannot predict what we might achieve when our own minds are amplified by AL. Perhaps with the tools of this newtechnological revolution, we be able to undo some of the damage done to the natural world by the last one—Industrialization. And surely we will aim to finally eradicate disease and poverty. And every aspect of our civilisation.”Huw Price, the c entre’s academic director and the Bertrand Russell professor of philosophy at Cambridge University , where Hawking is also an academic ,said that the centre came about partially as a result if the university’s Center for Existential Risk. That institute examined a wider range of potential problems for humanity, while the LCFI has a narrow focus.AI pioneer Margaret Boden, professor of cognitive at the University of Sussex, praised the progress of such discussions .As recently as 2009, she said, the topic wasn’t taken seriously, even among AI researchers. “AI is hugely exciting.” She said, “but it has limitations, which present grave dangers given uncritical use.”The academic community is not alone in warning about the potential dangers of AI as well as the potential benefits. A number of pioneers from the technology industry, most famously the entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also expressedtheir concerns about the damage that a super-intelligent AI could do to humanity.46. What did Stephen Hawking think of artificial intelligence?A) It would be vital to the progress of human civilization.B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.C) It might present challenges as well as opportunities.D) It would be a significant expansion of human intelligence.47. What did Hawking say about the creation of the LCFI?A) It would accelerate the progress of AI research.B) It would mark a step forward in the AI industry.C) It was extremely important to the destiny of humankind.D) It was an achievement of multi-disciplinary collaboration.48. What did Hawking say was a welcome change in AI research?A) The shift of research focus from the past to the future.B) The shift of research from theory to implementation.C) The greater emphasis on the negative impact of AI.D) The increasing awareness of mankind’s past stupidity.49. What concerns did Hawking raise about AI?A) It may exceed human intelligence sooner or later.B) It may ultimately over-amplify the human mind.C) Super-intelligence may cause its own destruction.D) Super-intelligence may eventually ruin mankind.50. What do we learn about some entrepreneurs from the technology industry?A) They are much influenced by the academic community.B) They are most likely to benefit from AI development.C) They share the same concerns about AI as academics.D) They believe they can keep AI under human control.【参考答案】BCADC46. B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.47. C) It was extremely important to the destiny of humankind.48. A) The shift of research focus from the past to the future.49. D) Super-intelligence may eventually ruin mankind.50. C) They share the same concerns about AI as academics.定位一直是我们在新东方的课堂上,反复强调的做对题目的第一步。
2019年6月大学英语六级考试真题及参考答案(全三套)

2019年6月大学英语六级考试真题及参考答案(全三套)2019年6月大学英语六级考试真题及参考答案(第1套)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on the importance of motivation and methods in learning. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.【参考范文】As an old saying goes, knowledge can change one’s life. In order to acquire knowledge, we have to study hard. However, it can not be ignored that effective learning needs both motivation and scientific methods.It’s not difficult for us to come up w ith several possible reasons accounting for this perspective. In the first place, learning is a kind of serious and hard work. Therefore, not everyone is able to keep going without certain internal motivations. Besides, scientific methods play a significant role in improving learning efficiency. Many of us believe that the longer you study, the better grades you will get. But a lot of experiences of our classmates prove that this view is not entirely correct. In details, studying for a long time is exhausting and it is very likely to decrease study efficiency, which is critical to academic performance.From what has been mentioned above, we can easily draw a conclusion that the importance of motivation and methods in learning is self-evident. And it is necessary for us to develop good learning methods.【参考范文译文】俗话说,知识能改变命运。
2019年6月大学英语六级真题及答案解析卷三

2019年6月大学英语六级真题及答案解析完整版(卷三)Part I WritingDirections: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on the imp ortance of team spirit and communication in the workplace. You can cite examples to illustrate your views. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 wor ds.One of the problems both people and corporation face today is self-isolation and information loss, and many feel there is a great need for team spirit and communicat ion. I believe that working together and communicating with each other offer the bes t solution to the world’s pressing matters.Firstly, team spirit and communication help to deal with information loss. A group share information by working together and communication. Among all the touching f acts relating to this topic, the most impressive one is Bill Gates and Allen. Without te amwork and communication, how could it be possible for Microsoft corporation to ac hieve success? Second, team spirit and communication are beneficial to staff who do not have opportunity to speak all day long staring at the PC. Working with others gi ves them a chance to speak and prevent their speaking skills from deteriorate. More i mportantly, team spirit and communication help to create an amicable working atmos phere. By consulting problems with others, the moderate and friendly atmosphere is t hus created.Overall, team spirit and communication is beneficial in that they eliminate barriers to information loss, and improve the relationship between colleagues as well as the w orking atmosphere. Team spirit and communication are therefore an essential measure, the effects of which will be felt far and wide.【解析】本篇作文属于话题类作文,要求我们就团队精神及沟通在工作中的重要性写一篇作文。
2019年6月英语六级真题及答案(三套全)

英语六级真题和答案听力Passage 1At some 2300 miles in length, the Mississippi is the longest river in the United States. At some 1000 miles, the Mackenzie is the longest river in Canada. But these waterways seem minute in comparison to the world’s 2 lengthies t rivers: the Nile and the Amazon.The Nile which begins in central Africa and flows over 4100 miles north into the Mediterranean hosted one of the world’s great ancient civilizations along its shores. Calm and peaceful for most of the year, the Nile used to flood annually, thereby creating, irrigating and carrying new topsoil to the nearby farmland on which ancient Egypt depended for livelihood. As a means of transportation, the river carried various vessels up and down its length.A journey through the unobstructed part of this waterway today would pass by the splendid valley of the Kings, where the tombs of many of these ancient monarchs have stood for over 3000 years. Great civilizations and intensive settlement are hardly associated with the Amazon, yet this 4000 mile-long south American river carries about 20% of the world’s fresh water more than the Mississippi, Nile and Yangtze combined. Other statistics are equally astonishing. The Amazon is so wide at some points that from its center neither shore can be seen. Each second, the Amazon pours some 55 million gallons of water into the Atlantic. There, at its mouth stands one island larger than Switzerland. Most important of all, the Amazon irrigates the largest tropical rain forest on earth.Passage 19. What can be found in the valley of the Kings?10. In what way is the Amazon different from other big rivers?11. What does the speaker say about the Amazon?Recording 2Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the third in our cities of business seminars in the program “Doing Business Abroad”. (Q19) Today, we are going to look at the intercultural awareness, that is the fact that not everyone is British, not everyone speaks English and not everyone does business in a British way. And, why should they? (Q19) If overseas business people are selling to us, then they will make every effort to speak English and to respect our traditions and methods. It is only polite for us to do the same when we visit them. It is not only polite, it is a central, if we want to sell British products overseas. First, a short quiz. Let’s see how interculturally-aware you are. Question 1: where must you not drink alcohol on the first and seventh of every month. Question 2: where should you never admire your host’s possessions. Question 3: how should you attract the waiter during a business lunch in Bangkok. Question 4: where should you try to make all your appointments either before 2 or after 5:30 pm. OK,everyone had a chance to make some notes. Right! Here are the answers. Although I am sure that the information could equally well apply to countries other than those I have chosen. No.1: (Q20) you must not drink alcohol on the first and seventh of the month in India. In international hotels, you may find it served, but if you are having a meal with an India colleague, remember to avoid asking for a beer. If you are an arrival, coincide with one of those tips. No.2: in Arab countries, the politeness and generosity of the people is without parallel. If you admi re your colleague’s beautiful belt and bowls, you may well find yourself being presented with them as a present. This is not a cheap way to do your shopping, however, as your host will quite correctly expect you to respond by presenting him with a gift of equal worth and beauty. In Thailand, clicking the fingers, clapping your hands or just shouting “Waiter” will embarrass your hosts, fellow diners, the waiter himself and, most of all, you. Place your palm downward and make an inconspicuous waving gesture, which will produce instant and satisfying results. And finally, (Q21) in Spain, some businesses maintain the pattern of working until about 2 o’clock and then returning to the office from 5:30 to 8, 9 or 10 in the evening.Q19: What should you do when doing business with foreigners?Q20: What must you avoid doing with your Indian colleague?Q21: What do we learn about some Spanish people?选词填空儿歌Did Sarah Josepha Hale write “Mary’s Little Lamb,” the eternal nursery rhyme(儿歌)about girl named Mar y with a stubborn lamb? This is still disputed, but it’s clear that the woman 26 reputed for writing it was one of America’s most fascinating 27 characters. In honor of the poem publication on May 24,1830, here’s more about the 28 supposed author’s life.Hale wasn’t just a writer, she was also a 29 fierce social advocate, and she was particularly 30 obsessed with an ideal New England, which she associated with abundant Thanksgivinx xg meals that she claimed had “a deep moral influence,” she began a natio nwide 31 campaign to have a national holiday declared that would bring families together while celebrating the 32 traditional festivals. In 1863, after 17 years of advocacy including letters to five presidents, Hale got it. President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, issued a 33 proclamation setting aside the last Thursday in November for the holiday.The true authorship of “Mary’s Little Lamb” is disputed. According to New England Historical Society, Hale wrote only one part of the poem, but claimed authorship. Regardless of the author, it seems that the poem was 34 inspired by a real event. When young Mary Sawyer was followed to school by a lamb in 1816, it caused some problems. A bystander named John Roulstone wrote a poem about the event, then, at some point, Hale herself seems to have helped write it. However, ifa 1916 piece by her great-niece is to be trusted, Hale claimed for the 35 rest of her life that “Some other people pretended that someone else wrote the poem”.A)campaignB)careerC)charactersD)featuresE)fierceF)inspiredG)latterH)obsessedI)proclamationJ)rectifiedK)reputedL)restM)supposedN)traditionalO)versatile金字塔Scientists scanning and mapping the Giza pyramids say they've discovered that the Great Pyramid of Giza is not exactly even. But really not by much. This pyramid is the oldest of the world’s Seven Wonders. The pyramid’s exact size has 26 puzzled experts for centuries, as the "more than 21 acres of hard, white casing stones" that originally covered it were 27 removed long ago.Reporting in the most recent issue of the newsletter "AERAGRAM," which 28 chronicles the work of the Ancient Egypt Research Associates, engineer Glen Dash says that by using a new measuring approach that involved finding any surviving 29 remnants of the casing in order to determine where the original edge was. They found the east side of the pyramid to be a 30 maximum of 5.55 inches shorter than the west side.The question that most 31 fascinates him, however, isn't how the Egyptians who designed and built the pyramid got it wrong 4,500 years ago, but how they got it so close to 32 perfect. "We can only speculate as to how the Egyptians could have laid out these lines with such 33 precision using only the tools they had," Dash writes. He says his 34 hypothesis is that the Egyptians laid out their design on a grid, noting that the great pyramid is oriented only 35 slightly away from the cardinal directions (its north-south axis runs 3 minutes 54 seconds west of due north, while its east-west axis runs 3 minutes 51 seconds north of due east)—an amount that's "tiny, but similar," Atlas Obscura points out.chroniclesestablishedfascinateshypothesismaximummomentummysteriouslyperfectprecisionpuzzledremnantsremovedrevelationsslightly家用机器人When Elon Musk says, as he did this week, that his new priority is using artificial intelligence to build domestic robots, we should not only take note, but look forward to the day we can put our legs up in admiration.Mr. Musk is a guy who gets things done. The founder of two “moonshot” tech companies, Tesla Motors and SpaceX, is bringing electric vehicles to mass market and 26 humans to live on other planets. Lest this strike the amateur techie—not that readers of The Independent would ever count among them—as so much hot air, you can be reassured that the near $13bn (£8.8bn) fortune this entrepreneur has 27 comes from practical achievements rather than hypothetical ones.A lot of clever people are 28 about artificial intelligence, fearing that robots will one day become so 29 they’ll murder all of us. These fears are mostly30 : as with hysteria about genetic modification, we humans are generally wise enough to manage these problems with alacrity and care.And just think of how wonderful it would be if you had a live-in robot. It could —31 — be like having a babysitter and masseuse rolled into one —or, if that required 32 intelligence beyond the ken of Mr. Musk’s imagined machine, at least some one t o chop the carrots, wash the car and mow the lawn. Once purchased and trained, this would allow the 33 user to save money and time, freeing up 34 space in our busy lives to, for instance, read The Independent.That is why we welcome Mr. Musk’s l atest 35 , and wish him well. As long as robots add to the sum of human happiness, reduce suffering or cumbersome activity, and create time to read world-class journalism, The Independent will be their fans. Especially since journalism is one job robots will never do.B) casualC) emotionalD) enablingE) eventuallyF) exaggeratedG) extravagantH) generouslyI) misleadingJ) preciousK) rewardL) smartM) sphereN) terrifiedO) venture答案:26. D enabling27. A amassed28. N terrified29. L smart30. F exaggerated31. E eventually32. C emotional33. B casual34. J precious35. O venture阅读Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.The Ebro Delta, in Spain, famous as a battleground during the Spanish Civil War, is now the setting for a different contest, one that is pitting rice farmers against two enemies: the rice-eating giant apple snail, and rising sea levels. What happens here will have a bearing on the future of European rice production and the overall health of southern European wetlands.Located on the Mediterranean just two hours south of Barcelona, the Ebro Delta produces 120 million kilograms of rice a year, making it one of the continent’s most important rice-growing areas. As the sea creeps into these fresh-water marshes, however, rising salinity(盐分)is hampering rice production. At the same time, this sea-water also kills off the greedy giant applesnail, an introduced pest that feeds on young rice plants. The most promising strategy has become to harness one foe against the other.The battle is currently being waged on land, in greenhouses at the University of Barcelona. Scientists working under the banner “Project Neurice” are seeking varieties of rice that can withstand the increasing salinity without losing the absorbency that makes European rice ideal for traditional Spanish and Italian dishes.“The project has two sides,” says Xavier Serrat, Neurice project manager and researcher at the University of Barcelona. “the short-term fight against the snail, and a mid- to long-term fight against climate change. But the snail has given the project greater urgency.”Originally from South America, the snails were accidentally introduced into the Ebro Delta by Global Aquatic Tecnologies, a company that raised the snails for fresh-water aquariums(水族馆), but failed to prevent their escape. For now, the giant apple snail’s presence in Europe is limited to the Ebro Delta. But the snail continues its march to new territory, says Serrat. “The question is not if it will reach other rice-growing areas of Europe, but when.”Over the next year and a half investigators will test the various strains of salt-tolerant rice they’ve bred. In 2018, farmers will plant the varieties with the most promi se in the Ebro Delta and Europe’s other two main rice-growing regions—along the Po in Italy, and France’s Rhône. A season in the field will help determine which, if any, of the varieties are ready for commercialization.As an EU-funded effort, the search for salt-tolerant varieties of rice is taking place in all three countries. Each team is crossbreeding a local European short-grain rice with a long-grain Asian variety that carries the salt-resistant gene. The scientists are breeding successive generations to arrive at varieties that incorporate salt tolerance but retain about 97 percent of the European rice genome(基因组).46.Why does the author mention the Spanish Civil War at the beginning of the passage?A. It had great impact on the life of Spanish rice farmers.B. It is of great significance in the records of Spanish history.C. Rice farmers in the Ebro Delta are waging a battle of similar importance.D. Rice farmers in the Ebro Delta are experiencing as hard a time as in the war.47.What may be the most effective strategy for rice farmers to employ in fighting their enemies?A. Striking the weaker enemy firstB. Killing two birds with one stoneC. Eliminating the enemy one by oneD. Using one evil to combat the other48. What do we learn about “Project Neurice”?A. Its goals will have to be realized at a cost.B. It aims to increase the yield of Spanish rice.C. Its immediate priority is to bring the pest under control.D. It tries to kill the snails with the help of climate change.49. What does Neurice project manager say about the giant apple snail?A. It can survive only on southern European wetlands.B. It will invade other rice-growing regions of Europe.C. It multiplies at a speed beyond human imagination.D. It was introduced into the rice fields on purpose.50. What is the ultimate goal of the EU-funded program?A. Cultivating ideal salt-resistant rice varieties.B. Increasing the absorbency of the Spanish rice.C. Introducing Spanish rice to the rest of Europe.D. Popularizing the rice crossbreeding technology.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.Photography was once an expensive, laborious ordeal reserved for life's greatest milestones. Now, the only apparent cost to taking infinite photos of something as common as a meal is the space on your hard drive and your dining companion's patience.But is there another cost, a deeper cost, to documenting a life experience instead of simply enjoying it? "You hear that you shouldn't take all these photos and interrupt the experience, and it's bad for you, and we're not living in the present moment," says Kristin Diehl, associate professor of marketing at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.Diehl and her fellow researchers wanted to find out if that was true, so they embarked on a series of nine experiments in the lab and in the field testing people's enjoyment in the presence or absence of a camera. The results, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, surprised them. Taking photos actually makes people enjoy what they're doing more, not less."What we find is you actually look at the world slightly differently, because you're looking for things you want to capture, that you may want to hang onto," Diehl explains. "That gets people more engaged in the experience, and they tend to enjoy it more."Take sightseeing. In one experiment, nearly 200 participants boarded a double-decker bus for a tour of Philadelphia. Both bus tours forbade the use of cell phones but one tour provided digital cameras and encouraged people to take photos. The people who took photos enjoyed the experience significantly more, and said they were more engaged, than those who didn't.Snapping a photo directs attention, which heightens the pleasure you get from whatever you're looking at, Diehl says. It works for things as boring as archaeological(考古的)museums, wherepeople were given eye-tracking glasses and instructed either to take photos or not. "People look longer at things they want to photograph," Diehl says. They report liking the exhibits more, too.To the relief of Instagrammers(Instagram用户)everywhere, it can even makes meals more enjoyable. When people were encouraged to take at least three photos while they ate lunch, they were more immersed in their meals than those who weren't told to take photos.Was it the satisfying click of the camera? The physical act of the snap? No, they found; just the act of planning to take a photo—and not actually taking it—had the same joy-boosting effect. "If you want to take mental photos, that works the same way," Diehl says. "Thinking about what you would want to photograph also gets you more engaged."51.What does the author say about photo-taking in the past?A. It was a painstaking effort for recording life’s major events.B. It was a luxury that only a few wealthy people could enjoy.C. It was a good way to preserve one’s precious images.D. It was a skill that required lots of practice to master.52.Kristin Diehl conducted a series of experiments on photo-taking to find out __________.A. what kind of pleasure it would actually bring to photo-takersB. whether people enjoyed it when they did sightseeingC. how it could help to enrich people’s life experiencesD. Whether it prevented people enjoying what they were doing53.What do the results of Diehl’s experiments show that people taking photos?A. They are distracted from what they are doing.B. They can better remember what they see or do.C. They are more absorbed in what catches their eye.D. They can have a better understanding of the world.54.What is found about museum visitors with the aid of eye-tracking glasses?A. They come out with better photographs of the exhibits.B. They focus more on the exhibits when taking pictures.C. They have a better view of what are on display.D. They follow the historical events more easily.55.What do we learn from the last paragraph?A. It is better to make plans before taking photos.B. Mental photos can be as beautiful as snapshots.C. Photographers can derive great joy from the click of the camera.D. Even the very thought of taking a photo can have a positive effect.翻译自行车自行车曾经是中国城乡最主要的交通工具,中国一度被称为“自行车王国”。
(完整word版)2019年6月六级阅读试题

2019年6月大学生英语六级考试真题第一套The Best Retailers Combine Bricks and ClicksA) Retail profits are falling sharply. Stores are closing. Malls are emptying. The depressing stories just keep coming. Reading the earnings announcements of large retail stores like Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Target is about as uplifting as a tour of an intensive care unit. The interact is apparently taking down yet another industry. Brick and mortar stores (实体店) seem to be going the way of the yellow pages. Sure enough, the Census Bureau just released data showing that online retail sales surged 15.2 percent between the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.B) But before you dump all of your retail stocks, there are more facts you should consider. Looking only at that 15.2 percent "surge" would be misleading. It was an increase that was on a small base of 6.9 percent. Even when a tiny number grows by a large percentage terms, it is often still tiny.C) More than 20 years after the internet was opened to commerce, the Census Bureau tells us that brick and mortar sales accounted for 92.3 percent of retail sales in the first quarter of 2016. Their data show that only 0.8 percent of retail sales shifted from offline to online between the beginning of 2015 and 2016.D) So, despite all the talk about drone (无人机) deliveries to your doorstep, all the retail executives expressing anxiety over consumers going online, and even a Presidential candidate exclaiming that Amazon has a "huge antitrust problem," the Census data suggest that physical retail is thriving. Of course, the closed stores, depressed executives, and sinking stocks suggest otherwise. What's the real story?E) Many firms operating brick and mortar stores are in trouble. The retail industry is getting reinvented, as we describe in our new book Matchmakers. It's standing in the Path of what Schumpeter called a gale (大风) of creative destruction. That storm has been brewing for some time, and as it has reached gale force, most large retailers are searching for a response. As the CFO of Macy’s put it recently, “We’re frankly scratching our heads.”F) But it’s not happening as experts predicted. In the peak of the dot. com bubble, brick and mortar retail was one of those industries the internet was going to kill-and quickly. The dot.corn bust discredited most predictions of that sort and in the years that followed, onventional retailers’ confidence in the future increased as Census continued to report weak online sales. And then the gale hit.G) It is becoming increasingly clear that retail reinvention isn’t a simple battle to the death between bricks and clicks. It is about devising retail models that work for people who are makingincreasing use of a growing array of internet-connected tools to change how they search, shop, and buy. Creative retailers are using the new technologies to innovate just about everything stores do from managing inventory, to marketing, to getting paid.H) More than drones dropping a new supply of underwear on your doorstep, Apple’s massively successful brick-and-mortar-and-glass retail stores and Amazon’s small steps in the same direction are what should keep old-fashioned retailers awake at night. Not to mention the large number of creative new retailers, like Bonobos, that are blending online and offline experiences in creative ways.I) Retail reinvention is not a simple process, and it’s also not happening on what used to be called "Internet Time." Some internet-driven changes have happened quickly, of course. Craigslist quickly overtook newspaper classified ads and turned newspaper economics upside down. But many widely anticipated changes weren’t quick, and some haven’t really started. With the benefit of hindsight (后见之明), it looks like the interact will transform the economy at something like the pace of other great inventions like electricity. B2B commerce, for example, didn’t move mainly online by 2005 as many had predicted in 2000, nor even by 2016, but that doesn’t mean it won’t do so over the next few decades.J) But the gale is still blowing. The sudden decline in foot traffic in recent years, even though it hasn’t been accompanied by a massive decline in physical sales, is a critical warning. People can shop more efficiently online and therefore don’t need to go to as many stores to find what they want. There’s a surplus of physical shopping space for the crowds, which is one reason why stores are downsizing and closing.K) The rise of the mobile phone has recently added a new level of complexity to the process of retail reinvention. Even five years ago most people faced a choice. Sit at your computer, probably at home or at the office, search and browse, and buy. Or head out to the mall, or Main Street, look and shop, and buy. Now, just about everyone has a smartphone, connected to the internet almost everywhere almost all the time. Even when a retailer gets a customer to walk in the store, she can easily see if there’s a better deal online or at another store nearby.L) So far, the main thing many large retailers have done in response to all this is to open online stores, so people will come to them directly rather than to Amazon and its smaller online rivals. Many are having the same problem that newspapers have. Even if they get online traffic, they struggle to make enough money online to compensate for what they are losing offline.M) A few seem to be making this work. Among large traditional retailers, Walmart recently reported the best results, leading its stock price to surge, while Macy’s, Target, and Nordstrom’s dropped. Yet Walmart’s year-over-year online sales only grew 7 percent, leading its CEO to lament(哀叹), “Growth here is too slow.” Part of the problem is that almost two decades after Amazon filed the one.click patent, the online retail shopping and buying experience is filled with frictions.A recent study graded more than 600 internet retailers on how easy it was for consumers to shop, buy, and pay. Almost half of the sites didn’t get a passing grade and only 18 percent got an A or B.< N) The turmoil on the ground in physical retail is hard to square with the Census data. Unfortunately, part of the explanation is that the Census retail data are unreliable. Our deep 100k into those data and their preparation revealed serious problems. It seems likely that Census simply misclassifies a large chunk of online sales. It is certain that the Census procedures, which lump the online sales of major traditional retailers like Walmart with“non-store retailers"1ike food trucks. can mask major changes in individual retail categories. The bureau could easily present their data in more useful ways. but they have chosen not to.O) Despite the turmoil, brick and mortar won’t disappear any time soon.The big questions are which, if any, of the large traditional retailers will still be on the scene in a decade or two because they have successfully reinvented themselves, which new players will operate busy stores on Main Streets and maybe even in shopping malls, and how the shopping and buying experience will have changed in each retail category. Investors shouldn’t write off brick and mortar. Whether they should bet on the traditional players who run those stores now is another matter36.Although online retailing has existed for some twenty years, nearly half of the internet retailers still fail to receive satisfactory feedback from consumers, according to a recent survey.37.Innovative retailers integrate internet technologies with conventional retailing to create new retail models.38.Despite what the Census data suggest, the value of physical retail’s stocks has been dropping.39.Innovative—driven changes in the retail industry didn’t take place as quickly as widely anticipated.40. Statistics indicate that brick and mortar sales still made up the lion’s share of the retail business.41. Companies that successfully combine online and offline business models may prove to be a big concern for traditional retailers.42.Brick and mortar retailers’ faith in their business was strengthened when the dot com bubble burst.43. Despite the tremendous challenges from online retailing, traditional retailing will be here to stay for quite some time.44. With the rise of online commerce, physical retail stores are likely to suffer the same fate as i the yellow pages.45. The wide use of smartphones has made it more complex for traditional retailers to reinvent their business.Passage oneProfessor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity”, and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching the future of intelligence as “crucial to the future of our civilization and our species.”Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. “We spend a great deal of time studying history,” Hawking said, “which, let’s face it, is mostly the history of stupidity. So it’s a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence.”While the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising concerns that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates a super-intelligence with a will of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring. “The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge,” he said. “We cannot predict what we might achieve when our own minds are amplified by AI. Perhaps with the tools of this new technological revolution, we will be able to undo some of the damage done to the natural world by the last one – industrialization. And surely we will aim to finally eradicate disease and poverty. And every aspect of our lives will be transformed. In short, success in creating AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization.”Huw Price, the centre’s academic director and the Bertrand Russell professor of philosophy at Cambridge University, where Hawking is also an academic, said that the centre came about partially as a result of the university’s Centre for Existential Risk. That institute examined a wider range of potential problems or humanity, while the LCFI has a narrow focus.AI pioneer Margaret Boden, professor of cognitive science at the University of Sussex, praised the progress of such discussions. As recently as 2009, she said, the topic wasn’t taken seriously, even among AI researchers. “AI is hugely exciting,” she said, “but it has limitations, which present grace dangers given uncritical use.”The academic community is not alone in warning about the potential dangers of AI as well as the potential benefits. A number of pioneers from the technology industry, most famously the entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also expressed their concerns about the damage that a super-intelligent AI could do to humanity.46. What did Stephen Hawking think of artificial intelligence?A) It would be vital to the progress of human civilization.B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.C) It might present challenges as well as opportunities.D) It would be a significant expansion of human intelligence.47. What did Hawking say about the creation of the LCFI?A) It would accelerate the process of AI research.B) It would mark a step forward in the AI industry.C) It was extremely important to the destiny of humankind.D) It was an achievement of multi-disciplinary collaboration.48. What did Hawking say was a welcome change in AI research?A) The shift of research focus from the past to the future.B) The shift of research from theory to implementation.C) The greater emphasis on the negative impact of AI.D) The increasing awareness of mankind’s past stupidity.49. What concerns did Hawking raise about AI?A) It may exceed human intelligence sooner or later.B) It may ultimately over-amplify the human mind.C) Super-intelligence may cause its own destruction.D) Super—intelligence may eventually ruin mankind.50. What do we learn about some entrepreneurs from the technology industry?A) They are much influenced by the academic community.B) They are most likely to benefit from AI development.C) They share the same concerns about AI as academic.D) They believe they can keep AI under human control.Passage twoThe market for products designed specifically for older adults could reach $30 billion by next year, and startups(初创公司)want in on the action. What they sometimes lack is feedback from the people who they hope will use their products. So Brookdale, the country’s largest owner of retirement communication, has been inviting a few select entrepreneurs just to move in for a few days, show off their products and hear what the residents have to say.That’s what brought Dayle Rodriguez, 28, all the way from England to the dining room of Brookdale South Bay in Torrance, California. Rodriguez is the community and marketing manager for a company called Sentab. The startup’s product, Sentab TV, enables older adults who may not be comfortable with computers to access email, video chat and social media using just their televisions and a remote control.“It’s nothing new, it’s nothing too complicated and it’s natural because lots of people have TV remotes,” says Rodriguez.But none of that is the topic of conversation in the Brookdale dining room. Instead, Rodriguez solicits residents’ advice on what he should get on his cheeseburger and how he should spend the afternoon. Playing cards was on the agenda, as well as learning to play mahjong(麻将).Rodriguez says it’s important that residents here don’t feel like he’s selling them something. “I’ve had more feedback in a passive approach,” he says. “Playing pool, playing cards, having dinner, having lunch,” all work better “than going through a survey of questions. When they get to know me and to trust me, knowing for sure I’m not selling them something – there’ll be more honest feedback from them.”Rodriguez is just the seventh entrepreneur to move into one of Brookdale’s 1,100 senior living communities. Other new products in the program have included a kind of full-body blow dryer and specially designed clothing that allows people with disabilities to dress and undress themselves.Mary Lou Busch, 93, agreed to try the Sentab system. She tells Rodriguez that it might be good for someone, but not for her.“I have the computer and Face Time, which I talk with my family on,” she explains. She also has an iPad and a smartphone. “So I do pretty much everything I need to do.”To be fair, if Rodriguez had wanted feedback from some more technophobic(害怕技术的) seniors, he might have ended up in the wrong Brookdale community. This one is located in the heart of Southern California’s aerospace corridor. Many residents have backgrounds in engineering, business and academic circles.But Rodriguez says he’s still learning something important by moving into this Brookdale community: “People are more tech-proficient than we thought.”And besides, where else would he learn to play mahjong?51. What does the passage say about the startups?A) They never lose time in upgrading products for seniors.B) They want to have a share of the seniors’ goods market.C) They invite seniors to their companies to try their products.D) They try to profit from promoting digital products to seniors.52. Some entrepreneurs have been invited to Brookdale to .A) have an interview with potential customersB) conduct a survey of retirement communitiesC) collect residents’ feedback on their productsD) show senior residents how to use IT products53. What do we know about SentabTV?A) It is a TV program catering to the interest of the elderly.B) It is a digital TV which enjoys popularity among seniors.C) It is a TV specially designed for seniors to view programs.D) It is a communication system via TV instead of a computer.54. What does Rodriguez say is important in promoting products?A) Winning trust from prospective customers.B) Knowing the likes and dislikes of customers.C) Demonstrating their superiority on the spot.D) Responding promptly to customer feedback.55. What do we learn about the seniors in the Brookdale community?A) Most of them are interested in using the Sentab.B) They are quite at ease with high-tech products.C) They have much in common with seniors elsewhere.D) Most of them enjoy a longer life than average people.第二套Companies Are Working with Consumers to Reduce WasteA) As consumers, we are very wasteful. Annually, the world generates 1.3 billion tons of solid waste. This is expected to go up to 2.2 billion by 2025. The developed countries are responsible for 44% of waste, and in the U.S. alone, the average person throws away their body weight in rubbish every month.B) Conventional wisdom would seem to suggest that companies have no incentive to lengthen the life cycle of their products and reduce the revenue they would get from selling new goods. Yet, more and more businesses are thinking about how to reduce consumer waste. This is partly driven by the rising price of raw materials and metals. It is also partly due to both consumers and companies becoming more aware of the need to protect our environment.C) When choosing what products to buy and which brands to buy from, more and more consumers are looking into sustainability. This is opposed to just price and performance they were concerned about in the past. In a survey of 54 of the world’s leading brands, almost all of them reported that consumers are showing increasing care about sustainable lifestyles. At the same time, surveys on consumers in the U.S. and the U.K. show that they also care about minimizing energy use and reducing waste.D) For the most part, consumers control what happens to a product. But some companies are realizing that placing the burden of recycling entirely on the consumer is not an effective strategy, especially when tossing something away seems like the easiest and most convenient option.E) Some retailers and manufacturers in the clothing, footwear, and electronics industries have launched environmental programs. They want to make their customers interested in preserving their products and preventing things that still have value from going to the garbage dump. By offering services to help expand the longevity of their products, they’re promising quality and durability to consumers, and receiving the reputational gains for being environmentally friendly.F) For example, the Swedish jeans company Nudie Jeans offers free repair at twenty of their shops. Instead of discarding their old worn-out jeans, customers bring them in to be renewed. The company even provides mail-order repair kits and online videos, so that customers can learn how to fix a pair of jeans at home. Their philosophy is that extending the life of a pair of jeans is not only great for the environment, but allows the consumer to get more value out of their product. When customers do want to toss their pair, they can give them back to the store, which will repurpose and resell them. Another clothing company, Patagonia, a high-end outdoor clothing store, follows the same principle. It has partnered with DIY website iFixit to teach consumers how to repair their clothing, such as waterproof outerwear, at home. The company also offers a repair program for their customers for a modest fee. Currently, Patagonia repairs about 40,000 garments a year in their Reno, Nevada, service center. According to the company’s CEO, Rose Marcario, this is about building a company that cares about the environment. At the same time, offering repair supports the perceived quality of its products.G) In Brazil, the multinational corporation Adidas has been running a shoe-recycling program called “Sustainable Footprint” since 2012. Customers can bring shoes of any brand into an Adidas store to be shredded and turned into alternative fuels for energy creation instead of being burned as trash. They are used to fuel cement ovens. To motivate visitors to bring in more old shoes, Adidas Brazil promotes the program in stores by showing videos to educate customers, and it even offers a discount each time a customer brings in an old pair of shoes. This boosts the reputation and image of Adidas by making people more aware of the company’s values.H) Enormous opportunities also lie with e-waste. It is estimated that in 2014 the world produced some 42 million metric tons of e-waste (discarded electrical and electronic equipment and its parts) with North America and Europe accounting for 8 and 12 million metric tons respectively. The materials from e-waste include iron, copper, gold, silver, and aluminum materials that could be reused, resold, salvaged, or recycled. Together, the value of these metals is estimated to be about $52 billion. Electronics giants like Best Buy and Samsung have provided e-waste take-back programs over the past few years, which aim to refurbish (翻新) old electronic components and parts into new products.I) For other companies interested in reducing waste, helping the environment, and providingthe sustainable lifestyles that consumers seek, here are some first steps for building a relationship with customers that focuses on recycling and restoring value to products:J) Find partners. If you are a manufacturer who relies on outside distributors, then retailers are the ideal partner for collecting old products. Power tool maker DeWalt partners with companies, such as Lowes and Napa Auto Parts, to collect old tools at their stores for recycling. The partnership benefits both sides by allowing unconventional partners (for example, two companies from two different industries) to work together on a specific aspect of the value chain, like, in this example, an engine firm with an accessory one.K) Create incentives. Environmental conscientiousness isn’t always enough to make customers recycle old goods. For instance, DeWalt discovered that many contractors were holding on to their old tools, even if they no longer worked, because they were expensive purchases and it was hard to justify bringing them in to recycle. By offering instant discounts worth as much as $100, DeWalt launched a trade-in program to encourage people to bring back tools. As a result, DeWalt now reuses those materials to create new products.L) Start with a trial program, and expect to change the details as you go. Any take-back program will likely change over time, depending on what works for your customers and company goals. Maybe you see low customer participation at first, or conversely, so much success that the cost of recycling becomes too high. Best Buy, for instance, has been bearing the lion’s share of e-waste volume since two of its largest competitors, Amazon and Wal-mart, do not have their own recycling programs. Since the launch of its program, Best Buy changed its policy to add a $25 fee for recycling old televisions in order to keep the program going.M) Build a culture of collective values with customers. A stronger relationship between the retailer/producer and the consumer isn’t just about financial incentives. By creating more awareness around your efforts to reduce waste, and by developing a culture of responsibility, repair, and reuse, you can build customer loyalty based on shared values and responsibilities.N) These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, but they demonstrate how helping customers get more use of their materials can transform value chains and operations. Reducing waste by incorporating used materials into production can cut costs and decrease the price of procurement (采购): less to be procured from the outside and more to be re-utilized from the inside.O) Companies play a big role in creating a circular economy, in which value is generating less from extracting new resources and more from getting better use out of the resources we already have--but they must also get customers engaged in the process.36. Some companies believe that products’ prolonged lifespan benefits both the environment and customers.37. A survey shows shoppers today are getting more concerned about energy conservation and environmental protection when deciding what to buy.38. Companies can build customer loyalty by creating a positive culture of environmental awareness.39. When companies launch environmental programs, they will have their brand reputation enhanced.40. One multinational company offers discounts to customers who bring in old footwear to be used as fuel.41. Recycling used products can help manufacturers reduce production costs.42. Electronic products contain valuable metals that could be recovered.43. It seems commonly believed that companies are not motivated to prolong their products’ lifespan.44. It is advisable for companies to partner with each other in product recycling.45. Some businesses have begun to realize it may not be effective to let consumers take full responsibility for recycling.Passage oneEffective Friday, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has declared a strike against 11 video game publishers over games that went into production after Feb. 17, 2015. The companies include some of the heavyweights of the industry, like Electronic Arts Productions, Insomniac Games, Activision and Disney.The strike comes in light of an unsuccessful 19 months of negotiations after the existing labor contract known as the Interactive Media Agreement expired in late 2014. overall, the strike is an effort to provide more secondary compensation along with other concerns, such as transparency upon hiring talent and on-set (制作中) safety precautions.The video gaming industry has ballooned in recent years. The Los Angeles Times reports that the industry is in the midst of an intense increase in cash flow. In 2015, gaming produced $23.5 billion in domestic revenue.But SAG-AFTRA says voice actors don’t receive residuals (追加酬金) for their gaming work. Instead, they receive a fixed rate, which is typically about $825 for a standard four-hour vocal session. So the voice actors are pushing for the idea of secondary compensation—a performance bonus every time a game sells 2 million copies or downloads, or reaches 2 million subscribers, with a cap at 8 million.“It’s a very small number of games that would trigger this secondary compensation issue,” said voice actor Crispin Freeman, who’s a member of the union’s negotiating committee. “This is an important aspect of what it means to be a freelance (从事自由职业的) performer, who isn’t regularly employed every single day working on projects.”Another major complaint from the actors is the secrecy of the industry. “I can’t imagine if there’s any other acting job in the world where you don’t know what show you’re in, when you’re hired,” says voice actor Keythe Farley, who chairs the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee.“And yet that happens every day in the video game world,” Farley told reporters during a press conference Friday. “I was a main character in Fallout 4, a character by the name of Kellogg, and I never knew that I was doing vocal recording for that game throughout the year and a half.”Scott Witlin, the lawyer representing the video game companies, says voice actors “represent less than one tenth of 1 percent of the work that goes into making a video game.” So “even though they’re the top craftsmen in their field,” Witlin says, “if we pay them under a vastly different system than the people who do the 99.9 percent of the work, that’s going to create far more problems for the video game companies.”46. Why did SAG-AFTRA declare a strike against some video game publishers?A) The labor contract between them had been violated.B) Its appeal to renegotiate the contract had been rejected.C) It had been cheated repeatedly in the 19 months of talks.D) The negotiations between them had broken down.47. What do we learn from the passage about the video gaming industry?A) It has reaped huge profits in recent years.B) It has become more open and transparent.C) It has attracted many famous voice actors.D) It has invested a lot in its domestic market.48. What are the voice actors demanding?A) More regular employment.B) A non-discriminatory contract.C) Extra pay based on sales revenues.D) A limit on the maximum work hours.49. What does Keythe Farley say about voice actors?A) They are kept in the dark about many details of their job.B) They are discriminated against in the gaming industry.C) They are not paid on a regular basis.D) They are not employed full-time.50. What is the argument of lawyer Scott Witlin?A) V oice actors should have a pay raise if they prove to be top craftsmen.B) Changing the pay system would cause the industry more problems.。
六级英语真题2019年6月(第一套)试卷及答案详解

2019年6月六级(第1套)art ,r r i t i11 (e s )Directions : For U戏spa讥,you a ,r e allowed 30 1n初iutes to初讨te an ess a y on the importance �f motivation and methods in learning. You slwuld w讨te al least压Q words but no more than 200 words. a lJ奄Se cti on A c (、)Directions: In tJ砑s section, you 1vill hear two long conversation s. J\l the end吁each conversation , you初ill hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.Aft er y o u hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), BJ, CJ and D). Then mark the cor r esp �nding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line t阮ough the centre.Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1.A) A sLx-n1on出long negotiation.C)A project with a troublesome client.B)Preparations for the party.D)Gift wrapping for the colleagues.2.A) Take wedding photos.B)Advertise her con1pai1y.3.A) Hesitant.B)Neivous.4.A) Start her own bake对B)Improve her baking skill.C)Start a small business.D)Throw a celebration party.C) Flattered.D)Surprised.C)Share her cooking experience.D)Prepare food for the wedding.Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.5.A) They have to spend more time studying.B)They have to participate in club activities.C)They have to be more responsible for what they do.D)They have to choose a specific academic discipline.6 .. A) Get ready for a career. C)Set a long-term goal.B)Make a lot of friends.·D) Behave like adults.7.A) Those who share her academic interes区B)Those who respect her student commitmen区C)Those who can help her when she is in need.D)Those who go to the same clubs as she does.8.A) Those helpful for tapping their poten 血ial.B)Those conducive to improving their social sldlls.C)Those helpful for cultivating individual interests.D)Those conducive to their academic studies.Section BDirections: In this section, y ou will hear tu;o passage s. At the end Qt'each passage , yoii ivill hecir threeor four question s. Both the passage and the qu est ions will be spoken onlu once. A J勋you ,hear a questio n, you must choose the best answer fr o m the 如tr choices 1narked A), B J , CJ 吓d DJ.The n mark the cor>"e spondi ng let te r ;·on Answer Sheet 1 with a S'ingle l初w throiig h the centre.Questions 9 t o 11 are b ase d o n t he pa s sa g e y o u have just heard.9. A) They break awa y fr o1n trad ition al ways of t l un记ng.C) T h ey a r e good a t re fin i n g old formul邸B) They ai、e prep扣�ed to wor k h扛der th扣1anyone e lse. D) They bring their potenti al into full play.10.A) They c o ntlibuted to the popul釭ity of sk i li1g worldwide.B)They resulted in a br叨如ew st-y le of sl出ng technique.C)They pro1uoted the scientific use of sl血g poles.D)They 1nade explosive news in the spo1ts world.11.A) He was recog血ed as a ge11ius in the world o f sports.B)He con1peted in all 1n司or siding events in the world.C)He�r on tlu·ee gold 1nedals il1 one W血er Olympics.D)He broke tlu-ee world sl画g records il1 t肛ee years.Questions 12 to 15 are base d on t h e passage you ha v e just heard.12.A) They appe扣畛·r estless.C)They lose consciousness.B) They beco1ne upset.D)They die almost instantly.13.A) It has an聪团nt effect on your body chemistry.B)It keeps retm面ng to you every now and then.C)It leaves you witl1 a long-I邸ting impression.D)It contributes to the shaping of your m血.14.A) To succeed while feeling initated.B)To fee\ ha p py without good health.C)To be fyee fro1n frustration and failure.D)To enjoy good healtl1 while in dark moods.15.A) They are closely .connected.B)They function in a similar way. Section C C)They are too complex to understand.D)They reinforce each other constantly.Directions: In this section, you will·hear three .recordings of lectures or tal�fallowed by three or four questio邓.Tl花recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must如ose the best answer from the four c加ices marked AJ,. BJ, CJ and DJ. Th砌mark theco汀esponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the c叩re.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.16.A) They differ in their appreciation of music.B)They focus their attention on different things.C)They fmger the piano keys in different ways.D)They choose different pieces of music to play.17.A) They manage to cooperate well with their teammates.B)They use effective tactics to defeat their competitors.C)They try hard to meet the spectators'expectations.D)They att a ch great importance to high perfom1ance.18.A) It marks a breakt虹ough in behavioral science.B)It adopts a conventional approach to research.C)It suppo虑a piece of conventional wisdom.D)It gives rise to controversy among experts.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.19.A) People's envy of slim models.C)The increasing rai1ge of fancy produc区B)People's craze for good health.D)The great variety of slinuning products.20.A) The y appe a r vi g or ou s.B)They appe ru·str an ge、21.A) Cultu r e ai1d upb血gh1g.B)Weal小and social status.C)T h ey lo ok ch ar mi ng.D)111ey loo k un he althy.C)Pe er pr es su re.D)Me dia i皿ue nc e.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the r e co r ding you have just heard.·22. A) The relation between hair叨d sl血.C) The color of huma n skin.B)T l1e g .ro,ving interest il1 sl如studies.D)吓e need of s灼n protect ion.23.A) The necessity to save energy.C)The need to breathe with case.B)Adaptation to the hot envl1'01u11ent.D)Drarnati c c1imate changes on earth.24.A) Lea v es and grass.C)Their sldn color ing.B)Man-111ade shelter.D)Hair on their skin.25.A) T11eir genetic 1nakeup beg扣1to change.B)The让conm1unities beg扣1to grow steadily.C)Their children began to m坎wit h each other.D)Their pace of evolutio n began to quicken.·11g Co1nprel1ension(. 1nu t es) Sect ion 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 bya lett砑;Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a singleline through tlie centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Pasta is no longer off the menu, after a new review of studies suggested that the carbohydrate can form part of a healthy diet, and_even help people lose weight. For years, nutritionists have recommended that pasta be kept to a 26 , to cut calories, prevent fat build-up and stop blood sugar 27 up.The low-carbohydrate food movement gave birth to such diets as the Atkins, Paleo and Keto, w垃ch advised swapping foods like bread, pasta and potatoes for vegetables, fish and meat. More recently the trend of swapping spaghetti for vegetables has been 28 by clean-eating experts.But now a 29 review and analysis of 30 studies by Canadian researchers found that not only does pasta not cause weight gain, but three meals a week can help people drop more than half a kilogram over four months. The reviewers found that pasta had been unfairly demonized (妖魔化)because it had been 30 in with other, more fat-promoting carbohydrates."The study found that pasta�dn't 31 to weight gain or increase in body fat," said l e ad au-thor Dr John Sievenpiper. "In 32 the evidence, we can now say with some confidence that pas扫does not have an 33 effect on body weight outcomes when it is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern." In fact, analysis actually showed a small weight loss. So 34 to concen1s, perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy diet.Those involved in the 35 trials on average ate 3.3 servings of pasta a week西tead of other carbohydrates, one serving equaling around half a cup. They lost釭O皿d half a kilo g ran1 over an averag e follow-up of 12 weeks.A)adverseB)championedC)clinicalD)contrary E)contributeF)intimateG)lun1pedH)magnifiedI)mininnun.J) radiatingI() rationL)shoot jngM)subscribeN)systemati0)we i g血g, ..... , ... __Section BDirections: In t hi s se ction, yo u are going to r ea d a p a ssa g e wi th t e n s t a te ments a tt ached to it. Each s t a t e1ne讥conta ins i可o r niatio n g iv e n i n on e of t h e paragr ap hs. Identif y the paragrap h fromwhi c h t i花?.对orni at i o n is der·i v ed You may ch oo s e a paragraph m ore th a n once. Each parag r aph, is n i a rked'Wi t h a le t ter. A邓wer t h e que s tio邓by m a rking t h e corres p onding letter onAnswer Sheet 2.The Best Retailers Con1bine Bricks and Clicks[A]Reta i l pro fits扛e fallil1g sharply. Stores扛e closing. Mall s are emptying. The d epressing stories ju stk e e p coining. Reading the ean血gs announce1nents of lar ge retail stores like Macy's, Nordstrom, an d际get is about as uplift i l1g as a totrr of叨intensive care unit. The internet is apparently ta ki ngdo\\111 yet another il1dustiy. B忧ck and nior t ar stores (实体店)seem to be going the way of the yellowpages. S ure e nough, the Ce11.Sus B m·eau j ust released d a ta s h owin g that online retail sales surg e d15.2 percent between the fu-st qua1ter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.[B]But before you dmnp all of yom·retail stocks, there are more facts you should consider. L oo ki ngonly at that 15.2 percent "surge" would be misleading. It was an increase t hat was on a small baseof 6.9 percent. Even when a血y number grows by a large percentage terms, it is often still tiny.[C]More than 20 yea1"S after the internet was opened to commerce, the Census Bureau tells us thatb百ck and mo1tar sales accounted for 92.3 percent of retail sales in the frrst quarter of 2016. Theirdata show that 01让y0.8 percent of retail sales shifted from offline to online between the beginningof 2015 and 2016.[D]So, despite all the talk about drone (无人机)deliveries to your doorstep, all the retail executivesexpressing ar议ety over cons�ers going online, and even a Presidential candidate exclaiming thatAmazon has a "huge antitrust problem," the Census data suggest that physical retail is thriving. Ofcourse, the closed stores, depressed executives, and·sinking stocks suggest othenvise. What's thereal story?[E] Many firn15 operating brick and mortar stores are in trouble. The retail industry is getting "reinvented," as we describe in our new book Matchmakers. It's standing in the path of what Schumpetercalled a gale (大风)of creative destruction. That storm has been brewing for some time, and asit has reached gale force, most large retailers are searching for a response. As the CFO of Macy'sput it recently, "We're frankly scratching our heads."[F]But it's not happening as experts predicted. In the peak of the bubble, brick and mortarretail·was one of those industries the internet was going to·kill—and qttickly. The dot. c on1 bustdiscredited most predictions of that sort and in the years that followed, conventional retailers'confidence in the future increased as Census continued to report weak online sales. And then thegale hit.[ G]It is becoming increasingly clear that retail reinvention isn't a simple battle to the death between bricks and clicks. It is about devising retail models that work for people who are making increasingu s e o f a growing array of internet-connected tools to change how they sea:r·c h, shop, and buy. Creative retailers are using the new technologies to inno_vate just about everything stores do fron1 managing inventory, to marketing, to getting paid.[H]More than drones dropping a new supply of underwear on yotff doorstep, Apple's n1assively successful brick-and-mortar-and-glass retail stores and Amazon's small steps in the san1e曲ection ar·e whatshould keep old-fashioned retailers awake at night. Not to n1ention the large ntunber of creative newretailers, like Bonobos, that are blencting online and offline experiences in creative ways.[I]Retail reinvention is not a simple process, and it's also not happening on what used to be called"Internet Time." Some internet-driven chai1ges have happened quickly, of course. Craigslist qtticklyovertook newspaper classified ads and turned newspaper economics upside down. But 1uany widelyanticipated changes weren't quick, and some haven't really started. With the benefit of hindsight·(后见之明),it loo k s like the i n t e rn e t w i l l t ransfonn the e con om y at s omethi ng like th e pace of otherg r eat iI1v enti ons like e lec t ric i ty. B2B c o1nn1e r ce, f o r e x a mpl e, di d n't move mainl y o n l in e by 2005 as1nan y had p re di cted iI1 2000, no r even by 2016, b ut th a t d oe sn't me a n i t w on't do so over the next few decades.[JJ But the gale i s s till blo面ng.T he sudden decline i n f oot t r affic in r e c e n t years, e ven though it h邸n't been accon1p画ed by a 1nassive dee血e in phys i ca l sal es, i s a cr i tical waming. People can shop 1nore effic iently onliI论邸d the r efore don't need to go t o as many stores to fin d what they want.There's a surplus of physical shoppmg space fo r t he cr ow ds, which is one reason why stores are downsizing and closmg.[KJ The rise of tl1e 1nobile phone has recently a d d e d a new level of complexity to the process of retail reinvention. Even five ye釭s ago 1nost p e op l e f a ced a choice. S i t at your co m puter1 probab l y at home or at tl1e office, se扣,ch and browse, and buy. Or head o ut t o th e maJJ, or Main Street, look and shop, 邸d b u y. Now, jttst about everyon e has a s mart p hone, connected to the 1ntemet almost ever ywhere aln1ost a l l tl1e tune. Even when a retailer gets a cust omer to walk in the store, she can eas ily see if tl1ere's a better d e al onlme or at ai1other store nearby.[L]So far, tl1e n1呴晌g1nany匝ge re t a i lers have done in response to all this is to open o咄ne stores, so people ,;v诅con1e to them directl y rather than to Amazon and i岱smaller online rivals. Many ar e ha血g the san1e problem that newspapers have had. Even if they get online traffic, th e y struggle to n1ake enough money online to compensate for what they are losing offline.[M]A few seem to be making tllis work. Among large traditional retailers, W a lmart recently reported the best resul朽,leading its stock price to surge, while Macy's, Target, and Nordstrom's dropped. Yet \�T almaii:'s year-over-y ear online sales only grew 7 percent, leading i区CEO to lament (哀叹),"Growth here is too slow." Part of the problem is that almost two decades after Amazon filed the one-click patent, the online retail shopping and buying experience is filled with frictions. A recent study gr aded more than 600 internet retailers on how easy it was for consumers to shop, buy, and pay. Almost half of the sites didn't get a passing grade and only 18 percent got an A or B.[N]The turmoil on the ground in physical retail is hard to square with the Census data. Unfortunately, part of the explanation is that the Census retail data are unreliable. Our deep look into those data and their preparation revealed serious problems. It seems likely that Census simply m达cl郘sifies a large chunk of online sales. It is certain小at小e Census procedures, which lump the online sales of ma j or traditional retailers like Walmart with "non-store retailers" like food trucks, can mask m aj or changes in individual retail categories. The bureau could easily present their data in more useful ways, but they have chosen not to.[O]Despite the turmoil, brick and mortar won't disappear any rune soon. The big questions are which, if any, of the lar g e traditional retailers will still be on the scene m a decade or two because they haYe successfully reinvented themselves, which new players will operate busy stores on Main汕eemaybe even in shop p ing malls, and how小e shopping and bu yin g experience will have ch邸g ed in each retail catego ry. Investors shouldn't write off brick and mortar. Whether小ey shottld bet on the traditional players who皿1those stores now is another matter.36.Although online retailing h郘existed for some twenty years, nearly half of tl1e皿e1net retailers stillfail to receive satisfactory feedback from consumers, according to a recent stuvey.37.Innovative retailers integrate internet teclmotogies with conventional re皿血g to create nevretail models.38.Despite what the Census data suggest, the valu e of'physical ret a il's stocks has been巾opping.39.Internet-driven changes in the retail indust11r didn't take place as quicldy as·widely皿icipated.40.Statistics indicate that brick and mo1iar sales still n1ade up the lion's share of the retail busil1ess.panies that successfully combine online and offline busmess 1nodels n1ay prove to be a big concem for traditional retailers.42.Brick and 1no1tar retailer s'f a i th in their busin ess was stre n g th e n e d w h e n t he do t.c om bubb le burst.43.Despite the tren1endou s c h a l l e n g es f r onl o咖e re扫iling,tra di tio n al ret ai l ing w i l l b e h ere t o st ay forq田te son1e t ilne.44.With tl1e rise o f o咄ne conunerce, physical re t a i l stores a re l i l<ely t o s可fer the sam e fate邸the yellow pages.45.The ,:\ride use of sn1art p hones has made i t 1nore cornplex for traditional retailers to reinvent t h eirbusiness.Section CDirections: Tliere m·e 2 passages in this se t ion Each passag e is foll o w e d by some question s or unfinished Sta勋nents.F01、each of them there are four choices m a rk e d AJ, BJ, CJ and D). You should如c i如on t加best clwice and mark ti忆con·e sponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a singleline ti矿ough the cen阮.Pa.,sag c On(Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Professo r Step h en Ha,v血g has wai'lled that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) w ill be "eitl1er tl1e best, or the wo区t tl血g,ever to happen to humanity", and praised the creation of an acadenuc institute dedicated to researcl血g the future of intelligence as "crucial to the future of our civilisation and om·species".Hawking was speaking at the ope血g of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) at Can如dge University, a 1nulti-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions啦sed by tl1e rapid pace of development in AI research. " We spend a great deal of time s tu d yin g histo ry," Hawking said, "which, let's face it, is mostly the history of stupidity. So it's a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence."W血e the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising concerns that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates a super-intelligence with a w诅of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring. "The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge," he said. "We cannot predict what we might achieve when our own minds are amplified by AI. Perhaps with the tools of this new technological revolution, we will be able to undo some of the damage done to the natural world by the last one—industrialisation. And surely we will aim to finally eradicate disease and poverty. And every aspect of our lives w山be transformed In sho比success in creating AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation."Huw Price, the centre's ac�demic director and the Bertrand Russell professor of philosophy at Can1-bridge University, where Hawking is also an academic, said that the centre came about partially as a result of the university's Centre for Existential Risk. That institute examined a wider range of potential problems for humanity, while the LCFI has a narrow focus.AI pioneer Margaret Boden, professor of cognitive science at the University of Sussex, praised the progress of such discussions. 心,recently as 2009, she said, the topic wasn't taken se1iously, even am ong AI researchers. "AI .is hugely exciting," she said, "but it has limitations, which present grave dange1'S given uncritical use."The academic community is not alone in warning about the potential dangers of AI as well as the potential benefits. A number of pioneers from the technology industry, most famolIBly the en杠epren画Elon Musk, have also expressed their concerns about the damage that a super-intelligent AI coltld do to hmnanity.46.What did Stephen Hawking think of artificial intelligence?A)It would be vital to the progress of human civilisation.B)It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.C)It might present chaJlenges as well as o pportunities.D)It would be a significant expansion of human intelligence.47.Wl1at did Hawldng say about the creation of the LC FI?A)It would acce ler ate the prog ress of AI resea rch.B)It wou l d 111扛k a s tep fo1--w扛d in the AI indus try.C)It ,,v as ex廿en1e l y ilnpo印nt to the destiny of hurnanl<lnd.D)It ,,v as扣1acl lieve1nent of 111咄i-d i s ciplinary collaboration.48.Wl1at did Ha,vl血g say was a wel cmn e change it1 AI research?A)Tl1e sl血of rese釭ch focus frmn the past to the future.B)The sl血of research fron1 the o i"J to ilnplernentation.C)T11e greater e1nphasis on the negative ilnpact of AI.D)The increasing awareness of 111扣曲nd's p匈stupidity.49."i11at concen1s did Hawl<lng raise about AI?A)It n1ay exceed htun邸血elligence sooner or later.B)It 1nay ulti1nately over-ainplify the luunan m皿C)Super-血elligence1nay cause its own destruction.D)Super沁telligence1nay eventually r面n mankind.50.What do we le血1about son1e entrepreneurs from the technology industry?A)Tl1ey are much influenced by the academic community.B)They are n1ost likely to benefit fron1 AI development.C)They share the same concerns about AI as academics.D)They believe they can keep AI under human control.Pa ssage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The market for products designed specifically for older adults could reach $30 billion by next year, and startups (初创公司)want in on the action. What they sometiines lack is feedback from the people who they hope will use their products. So Brookdale, the country's largest owner of retirement communities, has been inviting a few select en订epreneurs just to move in for a few days, show off their products and hear�r hat th e-residents have to say.That's what brought Dayle Rodriguez, 28, all the way from England to the dining room of Brookdale South Bay in Torrance, California. Rodriguez _is the community and marketing manager for a company called Sen组b.The startup's product, SentabTV, enables older adults who may not be comfortable "ith computers to access email, video chat and social media using just their televisions and a ren1ote control."It's nothing new, it's nothing too complicated and it's natural because lots of people have TV remotes," says Rodriguez.But none of that is the topic of conversation in the Brookdale dining room. Instead, Ro中超uez solicits residents'advice on what he should get on his cheeseburger and how he should spend the afte1noon. Playing cards was on the agenda, as well as learning to play mahjong (麻将).R o driguez says it's important that residents here don't feel like he's selling them son1etl血g.·'I've had more feedback in a passive approach," he says. "P lay i ng pool, play i ng cards, having dinner, having lunch," al l work better "than going through a sur vey of questions. When they get to即ow n1e and to t1--i1st me, 血o咖g for sure I'm not selling them something—there'll be 1nore honest feedback f r o1n then1."Rodriguez is just the seventh entrepreneur to m ove into one of Brookdale's 1,100 senior living con1-munities. Other new products in the program have inclu d e d a kind of f1tll-body blow dryer and specially designed clothing that allows people with disabilities to dress and undress the1nselves.Mary Lou Busch, 93, agreed to try the Sentab sys t e m. She tells Rodrigue z that it might be good for someone, but not for her."I have the comput er and FaceTir ne, which I talk wi t h m y family o n," she ex呻lains.She also has an iPad and a s martphone. "So I do pretty much everything I n e ed to do."To be f血,i f R o 面gu e z had wan ted f ee db ac k from som e more te c hn o pJwbi c (害怕技术的)seniors , he n1ight have ended up in the w i·o ng B roo kdale co m m uni t y . Th is on e is loc ated in the heart of Soutl1em Califo1面a's aero space conidor. Many residen ts h ave backgrounds in engineering, busin ess and acadenuc c让cles.But Rodriguez says he's still le叩血g so m e th i n g i lnporta n t by moving into this Brookdale community: "People are 11ore tech-proficient thru1 we t h ought."知d besides, ,vhere else would he leain to play 1naltjong?51.,¥I1at does the passage say about the s尥1tups ?A)T11ey never lose tilue il1 upg1�ading products for seniors.B)T11ey w·r u1t to have a shat 、e of the senio对goo d s m arket.C)T11ey i11vite se11io1-s to their con1p皿es to try their products.D)They try to profit fron1 pro1110血g digital products to seniors.52.Some entreprenem-s have been invited to Brookdale to. A)have an intervie,v with potential custo1nersB)conduct a smvey of re证e1nent co1nmunitiesC)collect residen 岱'feedback on their productsD)show senior residen岱how to use IT products53.What do we lmow about SentabTV?A)It is a TV program catering to the in�erest of the elderly.B)It is a digital TV which enjoys popularity among seniors.C)It is a TV specially designed for seniors to view programs.D)It is a communication system via TV instead of a computer.54.What does Rodriguez say is important in promoting produc岱?A)Winning trust from prospective customers.B)Knowing the likes and dislikes of customers.C)Demons盯ating their superiority on the spot.D)Responding promptly to customer feedback.55.W地t do we learn about the seniors in the Brookdale community?A)Most of ·them are interested in .using the Sen也b.B)They are q血e at ease with high-tech produc区C)They have much in common with seniors elsewhere.D)Most of them enjoy a longer life than average people.ar anslation c �Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. Y o u slwuld w忧te your answer on Answer Sheet 2.中国幅员辽阔,人口众多,很多地方人们都说自己的方言。
年6月大学英语六级考试仔细阅读真题及详细解析

2019年6月大学英语六级仔细阅读真题及详细解析(卷二)Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Effective Friday, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has declared a strike against 11 video game publishers over games that went into production after Feb. 17, 2015. The companies include some of the heavyweights of the industry, like Electronic Arts Productions, Insomniac Games, Activision and Disney.The strike comes in light of an unsuccessful 19 months of negotiations after the existing labor contract known as the Interactive Media Agreement expired in late 2014. Overall, the strike is an effort to provide more secondary compensation along with other concerns, such as transparency upon hiring talent and on-set (制作中) safety precautions.The video gaming industry has ballooned in recent years. The Los Angeles Times reports that the industry is in the midst of an intense increase in cash flow. In 2015, gaming produced $ billion in domestic revenue.But SAG-AFTRA s ays voice actors don’t receive residuals(追加酬金)for their gaming work. Instead, they receive a fixed rate, which is typically about $825 for a standard four-hour vocal session. So the voice actors are pushing for the idea of secondary compensation —a performance bonus every time a game sells 2 million copies or downloads, or reaches 2 million subscribers, with a cap at 8 million.“It’s a very small number of games that would trigger this secondary compensation issue,” said voice actor Crispin Freeman,who’s a member of the union’s negotiating committee. “This is an important aspect of what it means to be a (从事自由职业的)performer, who isn’t regularly employed every single day working on projects.”Another major complaint from the actors is the secrecy of the industry. “I can’t imagine if there’s any other acting job in the world where you don’t know what show you’re in, when you’re hired,’’ says voice actor Keythe Farley, who chairs the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee.“And yet that happens every day in the video game world,” Farley told reporters during a press conference Friday. “I was a main character in Fallout 4, a character by the name of Kellogg, and I never knew that I was doing vocal recording for that game throughout the year and a half.”Scott Witlin, the lawyer representing the video game companies, says voice actors “represent less than one tenth of 1 percent of the work that goes into making a video game.” So “even though they’re the top craftsmen in their field,” Witlin says, “if we pay them under a vastlydifferent system than the people who do the percent of the work, that’s going to create far more problems for the video game companies.”全文翻译及命题分析美国电视和广播艺术家联合会(saga-aftra)周五宣布,就2015年2月17日之后投产的游戏将对11家电子游戏发行公司举行罢工。
2019年6月大学英语六级考试真题及答案(完整)

2019年6月大学英语六级考试真题及答案(完整)2019年6月大学英语六级考试真题(第1套)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on the importance of motivation and methods in learning. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. PartⅡListening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. A) why Roman Holiday was more famous than Breakfast at Tiffany’s.B)why Audrey Hepburn had more female fans than male ones.C)Why the woman wanted to be like Audrey Hepburn.D)why so many girls adored Audrey Hepburn.2. A)Her unique personality.B)Her physical condition.C)Her shift of interest to performing arts.D)Her family’s suspension of financial aid.3. A) She was not an outgoing person.B)She was modest and hardworkingC)She was easy-going on the whole.D)She was usually not very optimistic.4. A)She was influenced by the roles she played in the films.B)Her parents taught her to symbolize with the needy.C)She learned to volunteer when she was a child.D)Her family benifited from other people’s help.Questions 5 to 8 are based on the recording you have just heard.5. A) Give a presentation.B)Rise some questions.C)Start a new company.D)Ateed a board meeting.6. A) It will cut production costs.B)It will raise productivities.C)No staff willl be dismissed.D)No new staff will be hired.7.A) The timeline of restructuring.B) The reasons for restructuring.C) The communication channels.D) The company’s new missions.8.A) By consulting their own department managers.B) By emailing questions to the man or the woman.C) By exploring various channels of communication.D) By visiting the company’s own computer network.Section BDirections:In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.9.A) It helps passengers to take care of their pet animals.B) It has animals to help passengers carry their language.C) It uses therapy animals to soothe nervous passengers.D) It allows passengers to have animal travel with them.10.A) Avoiding possible dangers.B) Finding their way around.C) Identifying drug smugglers.D) Looking after sick passengers.11.A) Schedule their flights around the animal visits.B) Photograph the therapy animals at the airport.C) Keep some animals for therapeutic purposes.D) Bring their animals on board their plane.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.12.A) Beside a beautifully painted wall in Arles.B) Beside the gate of an ancient Roman city.C) At the site of an ancient Roman mansion.D) At the entrance to a reception hall in Rome.13. A) A number of different images. B) A number of mythological heroes.C) Various musical instruments. D) Paintings by famous French artists.14. A) The originality and expertise shown. B) The worldly sophistication displayed.C)The stunning images vividly depicted. D) The impressive skills and costly dyes.15. A) His artistic taste is superb. B) His identity remains unclear.D) He was a collector of antiques. D) He was a rich Italian merchant.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four questions. The recordings will beplayed only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.16. A) They encourage international cooperation.B) They lay stress on basic scientific research.C) They place great emphasis on empirical studies.D) They favour scientists from its member countries.17. A) Many of them wish to win international recognition.B) They believe that more hands will make light work.C) They want to follow closely the international trend.D) Many of their projects have become complicated.18. A) It requires mathematicians to work independently.B) It is faced with many unprecedented challenges.C) It lags behind other disciplines in collaboration.D) It calls for more research funding to catch up.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.19. A) Scientists tried to send a balloon to Venus.B) Scientists discovered water on Venus.C) Scientists found Venus had atmosphere.D) Scientists observed Venus from a space vehicle.20.A) It resembles Earth in many aspects.B)It is the same as fiction has portrayed.C)It is a paradise of romance for alien life.D)It undergoes geological changes like Earth.21.A) It might have been hotter than it is today.B)It might have been a cozy habitat for life.C)It used to have more water than Earth.D)It used to be covered with rainforests.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.22.A) Causes of sleeplessness.B)Cross-cultural communication.C)Cultural psychology.D)Motivation and positive feelings.23.A) They attach great importance to sleep.B)They often have trouble falling asleep.C)They pay more attention to sleep efficiency.D)They generally sleep longer than East Asians.24.A) By asking people to report their sleep habits.B)By observing people’s sleep patterns in labs.C)By having people wear motion-detecting watches.D)By videotaping people’s daily sleeping processes.25.A) It has made remarkable progress in the past few decades.B)It has not yet explored the cross-cultural aspect of sleep.C)It has not yet produced anything conclusive.D)It has attached attention all over the world.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 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.Pasta is no longer off the menu, after a new review of studies suggested that the carbohydrate can form part of a healthy diet, and even help people lose weight. For years, nutritionists have recommended that pasta be kept to a 26 , to cut calories, prevent fat build-up and stop blood sugar 27 up.The low-carbohydrate food movement gave birth to such diets as the Atkins, Paleo and Keto, which advised swapping foods likebread, pasta and potatoes for vegetables, fish and meat. More recently the trend of swapping spaghetti for vegetables has been 28 by clean-eating experts.But now a 29 review and analysis of 30 studies by Canadian researchers found that not only does pasta not cause weight gain, but three meals a week can help people drop more than half a kilogram over four months. The reviewers found that pasta had been unfairly demonized (妖魔化) because it had been 30 in with other, more ft-promoting carbohydrates.“The study found that pasta didn’t 3 to weight gain or increase in body fat,”said lead author Dr John Sievenpiper. “In 32 the evidence, we can now say with some confidence that pasta does not have an 33 effect on body weigh outcomes when it is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern.”In fact, analysis actually showed a small weigh loss 34 to concerns. perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy dietThose involved in the 35 trials on average ate 3.3 servings of pasta a week instead of other carbohydrates, one serving equaling around half a cup. They lost around half a kilogram over an average follow-up of 12 weeks.A) adverseB) championedC clinicalD) contraryE) contributeF) intimateG) lumpedH) magnified D) minimum J) radiating K) rationL) shooting M) subscribe N) systematic O) weighingSection 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 Best Retailers Combine Bricks and ClicksA) Retail profits are falling sharply. Stores are closing. Malls are emptying. The depressing stories just keep coming. Reading the earnings announcements of large retail stores like Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Target is about as uplifting as a tour of an intensive care unit. The interact is apparently taking down yet another industry. Brick and mortar stores (实体店) seem to be going the way of the yellow pages. Sure enough, the Census Bureau just released data showing that online retail sales surged 15.2 percent between the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.B) But before you dump all of your retail stocks, there are more facts you should consider. Looking only at that 15.2 percent "surge" would be misleading. It was an increase that was on a smallbase of 6.9 percent. Even when a tiny number grows by a large percentage terms, it is often still tiny.C) More than 20 years after the internet was opened to commerce, the Census Bureau tells us that brick and mortar sales accounted for 92.3 percent of retail sales in the first quarter of 2016. Their data show that only 0.8 percent of retail sales shifted from offline to online between the beginning of 2015 and 2016.D) So, despite all the talk about drone (无人机) deliveries to your doorstep, all the retail executives expressing anxiety over consumers going online, and even a Presidential candidate exclaiming that Amazon has a "huge antitrust problem," the Census data suggest that physical retail is thriving. Of course, the closed stores, depressed executives, and sinking stocks suggest otherwise. What's the real story?E) Many firms operating brick and mortar stores are in trouble. The retail industry is getting reinvented, as we describe in our new book Matchmakers. It's standing in the Path of what Schumpeter called a gale (大风) of creative destruction. That storm has been brewing for some time, and as it has reached gale force, most large retailers are searching for a response. As the CFO of Macy’s put it recently, “We’re frankly scratching our heads.”F) But it’s not happening as experts predicted. In the peak of the dot. com bubble, brick and mortar retail was one of those industries the internet was going to kill-and quickly. Thedot.corn bust discredited most predictions of that sort and in the years that followed, onventional retailers’confidence in the future increased as Census continued to report weak online sales. And then the gale hit.G) It is becoming increasingly clear that retail reinvention isn’t a simple battle to the death between bricks and clicks. It is about devising retail models that work for people who are making increasing use of a growing array of internet-connected tools to change how they search, shop, and buy. Creative retailers are using the new technologies to innovate just about everything stores do from managing inventory, to marketing, to getting paid.H) More than drones dropping a new supply of underwear on your doorstep, Apple’s massively successful brick-and-mortar-and-glass retail stores and Amazon’s small steps in the same direction are what should keep old-fashioned retailers awake at night. Not to mention the large number of creative new retailers, like Bonobos, that are blending online and offline experiences in creative ways.I) Retail reinvention is not a simple process, and it’s also not happening on what used to be called "Internet Time." Some internet-driven changes have happened quickly, of course. Craigslist quickly overtook newspaper classified ads and turned newspaper economics upside down. But many widely anticipated changes weren’t quick, and some haven’t really started. With the benefit of hindsight (后见之明), it looks like the interact will transform the economy at something like the pace of other great inventions like electricity. B2B commerce, for example, didn’t move mainly online by 2005 as many had predicted in 2000, nor even by 2016, but that doesn’t mean it won’t do so over the next few decades.J) But the gale is still blowing. The sudden decline in foot traffic in recent years, even though it hasn’t been accompanied by a massive decline in physical sales, is a critical warning. People can shop more efficiently online and therefore don’t need to go to as many stores to find what they want. There’s a surplus of physical shopping space for the crowds, which is one reason why stores are downsizing and closing.K) The rise of the mobile phone has recently added a new level of complexity to the process of retail reinvention. Even five years agomost people faced a choice. Sit at your computer, probably at home or at the office, search and browse, and buy. Or head out to the mall, or Main Street, look and shop, and buy. Now, just about everyone has a smartphone, connected to the internet almost everywhere almost all the time. Even when a retailer gets a customer to walk in the store, she can easily see if there’s a better deal online or at another store nearby.L) So far, the main thing many large retailers have done in response to all this is to open online stores, so people will come to them directly rather than to Amazon and its smaller online rivals.Many are having the same problem that newspapers have. Even if they get online traffic, they struggle to make enough money online to compensate for what they are losing offline.M) A few seem to be making this work.Among large traditional retailers, Walmart recently reported the best results, leading its stock price to surge, while Macy’s, Target, and Nordstrom’s dropped. Yet Walmart’s year-over-year online sales only grew 7 percent, leading its CEO to lament (哀叹), “Growth here is too slow.”Part of the problem is that almost two decades after Amazon filed the one.click patent, the online retail shopping and buying experience is filled with frictions.A recent study gradedmore than 600 internet retailers on how easy it was for consumers to shop, buy, and pay.Almost half of the sites didn’t get a passing grade and only 18 percent got an A or B.N) The turmoil on the ground in physical retail is hard to square with the Census data. Unfortunately, part of the explanation is that the Census retail data are unreliable.Our deep 100k into those data and their preparation revealed serious problems.It seems likely that Census simply misclassifies a large chunk of online sales.It is certain that the Census procedures, which lump the online sales of major traditional retailers like Walmart with“non-store retailers"1ike food trucks.can mask major changes in individual retail categories.The bureau could easily present their data in more useful ways.but they have chosen not to.O) Despite the turmoil, brick and mortar won’t disappear any time soon.The big questions are which, if any, of the large traditional retailers will still be on the scene in a decade or two because they have successfully reinvented themselves, which new players will operate busy stores on Main Streets and maybe even in shopping malls, and how the shopping and buying experience will have changed in each retail category.Investors shouldn’t write off brickand mortar.Whether they should bet on the traditional players who run those stores now is another matter36.Although online retailing has existed for some twenty years, nearly half of the internet retailers still fail to receive satisfactory feedback from consumers, according to a recent survey.37.Innovative retailers integrate internet technologies with conventional retailing to create new retail models.38.Despite what the Census data suggest, the value of physical retail’s stocks has been dropping.39.Innovative—driven changes in the retail industry didn’t take place as quickly as widely anticipated.40. Statistics indicate that brick and mortar sales still made up the lion’s share of the retail business.41. Companies that successfully combine online and offline business models may prove to be a big concern for traditional retailers.42.Brick and mortar retailers’faith in their business was strengthened when the dot com bubble burst.43. Despite the tremendous challenges from online retailing, traditional retailing will be here to stay for quite some time. 44. With the rise of online commerce, physical retail stores are likely to suffer the same fate as i the yellow pages.45. The wide use of smartphones has made it more complex for traditional retailers to reinvent their business.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. Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artifcial intelligence (AI) will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity”, and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching thefuture of intelligence as “crucial to the future of our civilisation and our species”.Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence(LCFI) at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. “We spend a great deal of time studyin history,”Hawking said, “which, let’s face it, is mostly the history of stupidity. So it;s a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence.”While the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising concerns that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates a super-intelligence with a will of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring. “The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge,”he said. “We cannot predict what we might achieve when our own minds are amplified by AI. Perhaps with the tools of this new technological revolution, we will be able to undo some of the damage done to the natural world by the last one-industrialisation. And surely we will aim to finally eradicate disease and poverty. And every aspect of our lives will be transformed. In short, success increating AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation.”Huw Price, the centre’s academic director and the Bertrand Russell professor of philosophy at Cambridge University, where Hawking is also an academic, said that the centre came about partially as a result of the university’s Centre for Existential Risk. That institute examined a wider range of potential problems for humanity, while the LCFI has a narrow focus.AI pioneer Margaret Boden, professor of cognitive science at the University of Sussex, praised the progress of such discussions. As recently as 2009, she said, the topic wasn’t taken seriously, even among AI researchers. “AI is hugely exciting,”she said, “but it has limitations, which present grave dangers given uncritical use.”The academic community is not alone in warning about the potential dangers of AI as well as the potential benefits. A number of pioneers from the technology industry, most famously the entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also expressed their concerns about the damage that a super-intelligent AI could do to humanity.46. What did Stephen Hawking think of artificial intelligence?A) It would be vital to the progress of human civilisation.B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.C) It might present challenges as well as opportunities.D) It would be a significant expansion of human intelligence.47. What did Hawking say about the creation of the LCFI?A) It would accelerate the progress of AI research.B) It would mark a step forward in the AI industry.C) It was extremely important to the destiny of humankind.D) It was an achievement of multi-disciplinary collaboration.48. What did Hawking say was a welcome change in AI research?A) The shift of research focus from the past to the future.B) The shift of research from theory to implementation.C) The greater emphasis on the negative impact of AI.D) The increasing awareness of mankind’s past stupidity.49. What concerns did Hawking raise about AI?A) It may exceed human intelligence sooner or later.B) It may ultimately over-amplify the human mind.C) Super-intelligence may cause its own destruction.D) Super-intelligence may eventually ruin mankind.50. What do we learn about some entrepreneurs from the technology industry?A) They are much influenced by the academic community.B) They are most likely to benefit from AI development.C) They share the same concerns about AI as academics.D) They believe they can keep AI under human control.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.The market for products designed specifically for older adults could reach $30 billion by next year, and startups (初创公司) want in on the action. What they sometimes lack is feedback from the people who they hope will use their products. So Brookdale, the country’s largest owner of retirement communities, has beeninviting a few select entrepreneurs just to move in for a few days, show off their products and hear what the residents have to say. That’s what brought Dayle Rodriguez, 28, all the way from England to the dining room of Brookdale South Bay in Torrance, California. Rodriguez is the community and marketing manager for a company called Sentab. The startup’s product, SentabTV, enables older adults who may not be comfortable with computers to access email, video chat and social media using just their televisions and a remote control.“It’s nothing new, it’s nothing too complicated and it’s natural because lots of people have TV remotes,”says Rodriguez. But none of that is the topic of conversation in the Brookdale dining room. Instead, Rodriguez solicits residents’advice on what he should get on his cheeseburger and how he should spend the afternoon. Playing cards was on the agenda, as well as learning to play mahjong (麻将).Rodriguez says it’s important that residents here don’t feel like he’s selling them something. “I’ve had more feedback in a passive approach,”he says. “Playing pool, playing cards, having dinner, having lunch,”all work better “than going through asurvey of questions. When they get to know me and to trust me, knowing for sure I’m not selling them something—there’ll be more honest feedback from them.”Rodriguez is just the seventh entrepreneur to move into one of Brookdale’s 1,100 senior living communities. Other new products in the program have included a kind of full-body blow dryer and specially designed clothing that allows people with disabilities to dress and undress themselves.Mary Lou Busch, 93, agreed to try the Sentab system. She tells Rodriguez that it might be good for someone, but not for her.“I have the computer and FaceTime, which I talk with my family on,”she explains. She also has an iPad and a smartphone. “So I do pretty much everything I need to do.”To be fair, if Rodriguez had wanted feedback from some more technophobic (害怕技术的) seniors, he might have ended up in the wrong Brookdale community. This one is located in the heart of Southern California’s aerospace corridor. Many residents have backgrounds in engineering, business and academic circles.But Rodriguez says he's still learning something important by moving into this Brookdale community: “People are more tech-proficient than we thought.”And besides, where else would he learn to play mahjong?51. What does the passage say about the startups?A) They never lose time in upgrading products for seniors.B) They want to have a share of the seniors’goods market.C) They invite seniors to their companies to try their products.D) They try to profit from promoting digital products to seniors.52. Some entrepreneurs have been invited to Brookdale toA) have an interview with potential customersB) conduct a survey of retirement communitiesC) collect residents’feedback on their productsD) show senior residents how to use IT products53. What do we know about SentabTV?A) It is a TV program catering to the interest of the elderly.B) It is a digital TV which enjoys popularity among seniors.C) It is a TV specially designed for seniors to view programs.D) It is a communication system via TV instead of a computer.54. What does Rodriguez say is important in promoting products?A) Winning trust from prospective customers.B) Knowing the likes and dislikes of customers.C) Demonstrating their superiority on the spot.D) Responding promptly to customer feedback.55. What do we learn about the seniors in the Brookdale community?A) Most of them are interested in using the Sentab.B) They are quite at ease with high-tech products.C) They have much in common with seniors elsewhere.D) Most of them enjoy a longer life than average people.Part ⅣTranslation (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.成语(Chinese idioms)是汉语中的一种独特的表达方式,大多由四个汉字组成。
2019年6月、12月大学英语六级真题及答案解析(完整版)

2019年6月、12月大学英语六级真题及答案解析(完整版)Part Ⅰ Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on the importance of having a sense of community responsibility. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections:In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions l to 4 are based on the conversations you have just heard.1. A) It focuses exclusively on jazz.B) It sponsors major jazz concerts.C) It has several branches in London.D) It displays albums by new music talents.2. A) It originated with cowboys.B) Its market has now shrunk.C) Its listeners are mostly young people.D) It remains as widespread as hip hop music.3. A) Its definition is varied and complicated.B) It is still going through experimentation.C) It is frequently accompanied by singing.D) Its style has remained largely unchanged.4. A) Learn to play them.B) Take music lessons.C) Listen to them yourself.D) Consul jazz musicians.Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversations you have just heard.5. A) She paid her mortgage.B) She called on the man.C) She made a business plan.D) She went to the bank.6. A) Her previous debt hadn’t been cleared yet.B) Her credit history was considered poor.C) She had apparently asked for too much.D) She didn’t pay her mortgage in time.7. A) Pay a debt long overdue.B) Buy a piece of property.C) Start her own business.D) Check her credit history.8. A) Seek advice from an expert about fund raising.B) Ask for smaller loans from different lenders.C) Build up her own finances step by step.D) Revise her business proposal carefully.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.9. A) It is profitable and environmentally friendly.B) It is well located and completely automated.C) It is small and unconventional.D) It is fertile and productive.10.A) Their urge to make farming more enjoyable.B) Their desire to improve farming equipment.C) Their hope to revitalize traditional farming.D) Their wish to set a new farming standard11.A) It saves a lot of electricity.B) It needs little maintenance.C) It causes hardly any pollution.D) It loosens soil while weeding.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.12.A) It has turned certain insects into a new food source.B) It has started on expand business outside the UK.C) It has imported some exotic foods from overseas.D) It has joined hands with Sainsbury’s to sell pet insects.13.A) It was really unforgettable.B) It was a pleasant surprise.C) It hurt his throat slightly.D) It made him feel strange.14.A) They are more tasty than beef, chicken or pork.B) They are more nutritious than soups and salads.C) They contain more protein than conventional meats.D) They will soon gain popularity throughout the world.15.A) It is environmentally friendly.B) It is a promising industry.C It requires new technology.D) It saves huge amounts of labour.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four questions. The recording will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.16. A)To categorize different types of learners.B) To find out what students prefer to learn.C) To understand the mechanism of the human brain.D) To see if they are inherent traits affecting learning.17. A) It was defective.B)It was misguided.C) It was original in design.D) It was thought-provoking.18. A) Auditory aids are as important as visual aids.B) Visual aids are helpful to all types of learners.C) Reading plain texts is more effective than viewing pictures.D) Scientific concepts are hard to understand without visual aids.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.19. A) Not playing a role in a workplace revolution.B) Not benefiting from free-market capitalism.C) Not earning enough money to provide for the family.D) Not spending enough time on family life and leisure.20. A) People would be working only fifteen hours a week now.B) The balance of power in the workplace would change.C) Technological advances would create many new jobs.D) Most workers could afford to have a house of their own.21. A) Loss of workers’ personal dignity.B) Deprivation of workers’ creativity.C) Deterioration of workers’ mental heal th.D) Unequal distribution of working hours.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.22. A) It is the worst managed airport in German history.B) It is now the biggest and busiest airport in Europe.C) It has become something of a joke among Germans.D) It has become a typical symbol of German efficiency.23. A) The city’s airports are outdated.B) The city had just been reunified.C) The city wanted to boost its economy.D) The city wanted to attract more tourists.24. A) The municipal government kept changing hands.B) The construction firm breached the contract.C) Shortage of funding delayed its construction.D) Problems of different kinds kept popping up.25. A) Tourism industry in Berlin suffers.B)All kinds of equipment gets rusted.C) Huge maintenance costs accumulate.D) Complaints by local residents increase.Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2with 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.The number of devices you can talk to is multiplying—first it was your phone, then your car, and now you can tell your kitchen appliances what to do. But even without gadgets that understand our spoken commands, research suggests that, as bizarre as it sounds, under certain 26 , people regularly ascribe human traits to everyday objects.Sometimes we see things as human because we are 27 . In one experiment, people who reported feeling isolated were more likely than others to attribute 28 to various gadgets. In turn, feeling close to objects can 29 loneliness. When college students were reminded of a time they had been 30 in a social setting, they compensated by exaggerating their number of friends—unless they were first given tasks that caused them to interact with their phone as if it had human qualities. According to the researchers, the participants' phones 31 substituted for real friends.At other times, we personify products in an effort to understand them. One study found that three in four respondents yelled at their computer. Further, the more their computer gave them problems, the more likely the respondents were to report that it had its own “beliefs and 32 .”So how do people assign traits to an object? In part, we rely on looks. On humans, wide faces are 33 with dominance. Similarly, people rated cars, clocks, and watches with wide faces as more dominant-looking than narrow-faced ones, and preferredthem—especially in 34 situations. An analysis of car sales in Germany found that cars with gills (护栅) that were upturned like smiles sold best. The purchasers saw this 35 as increasing a car's friendliness.A) alleviate I) desiresB) apparently J) excludedC) arrogant K) featureD) associated L) lonelyE) circumstances M) separateF) competitive N) spectacularlyG) conceded O) warrantH) consciousnessSection 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.[A] Though he didn’t come from a farming family, from a young age Tim Joseph was fascinated by the idea of living off the land. Reading magazines like The Stockman Grass Farmer and Graze, he got hooked on the idea of grass-fed agriculture. The idea that all energy and wealth comes from the sun really intrigued him He thought the shorter the distance between the sun and the end product, the higher the profit to the farmer.[B] Joseph wanted to put this theory to the test. In 2009, he and his wife Laura launched Maple Hill Creamery, an organic, all grass-fed yogurt company in northern New York. He quickly learned what the market has demonstrated: Demand forgrass-fed products currently exceeds supply. Grass-fed beef is enjoying a 25-30% annual growth rate. Sales of grass-fed yogurt and kefir (发酵乳饮品) on the other hand, have in the last year increased by over 38%. This is in comparison with a drop of just under 1% in the total yogurt and kefir market according to natural and organic marketresearch company SPINS. Joseph’s top priority became getting his hands on enough grass-fed milk to keep customers satisfied, since his own 64-cow herd wasn’t going to suffice[C] His first partnership was with Paul and Phyllis Amburgh, owners of the Dharma Lea farm in New York. The Amburghs, too, were true believers in grass-fed. In addition to supplying milk from their own 85-head herd, they began to help other farmers in the area convent from conventional to certified organic and grass-fed in order to enter the Maple Hill supply chain. Since 2010, the couple has helped 125 small dairy farms convert to grass-fed, with more than 80% of those farms coming on board during the last two years.[D] All this conversion has helped Maple Hill grow 40-50% every year since it began with no end in sight. Joseph has learned that a farmer has to have a certain mindset to successfully convert. But convincing open-minded dairy people is actually not that hard, when you look at the economics. Grass-fed milk can fetch up to 2.5 times the price of conventional milk. Another factor is the squeeze that conventional dairy farmers have felt as the price of grain they feed their cows has gone up, tightening their profit margins. By replacing expensive grain feed with regenerative management practices, grass-fed farmers are insulated from jumps in the price of feed. These practices include grazing animals on grasses grown from the pastureland’s natural seed bunk, and fertil ized by the cows’ own fertilizer[E] Champions of this type of regenerative grazing also point to its animal welfare, climate and health benefits: Grass-fed animals live longer out of confinement. Grazing herds stimulate microbial (微生物的) activity in the soil, helping to capture water and separate carbon. And grass-fed dairy and meat have been shown to be higher in certain nutrients and healthy fats.[F] In the grass fed system, farmers are also not subject to the wildly fluctuating milk prices of the international commodity market. The unpredictability of global demand and the lag-time it takes to add more cows to a herd to meet demand can result in events like the recent cheese surplus. Going grass-fed is a safe refuge, a way for family-scale farms to stay viable. Usually a farmer will get to the point where financially, what they’re doing is not working. That’s when they call Maple Hill. If the farm is well managed and has enough land, and the desire to convert is sincere, a relationship can begin. Through regular regional educational meetings, a large annual meeting, individual farm visits and thousands of phone calls, the Amburghs pass on the principles of pasture management. Maple Hill signs a contract pledging to buy the farmer’s milk at a guaranteed bas e price, plus quality premiums and incentives for higher protein, butter fat and other solids.[G] While Maple Hill's conversion program is unusually hands on and comprehensive, it’s just one of a growing number of businesses committed to slowly changing t he way America farms. Joseph calls sharing his knowledge network through peer-to-peer learning a core piece of the company’s culture. Last summer, Massachusetts grass-fed beef advocate John Smith launched Big Picture Beef, a network of small grass-fed beef farms in New England and New York that is projected to bring to market 2,500 head of cattle from 125 producers this year. Early indications are that Smith will have no shortage of farm members. Since he began to informally announce the network at farming conferences and on social media, he’s received a steady stream of inquiries from interested farmers.[H] Smith says he’ll provide services ranging from formal seminars to on-farm workshops on holistic (整体的) management, to one-on-one hand-holding and an almost 24/7 phone hotline for farmers who are converting. In exchange, he guarantees an above-market price for each animal and a calf-to-customer electronic ear tag ID system like that used in the European Union.[1] Though advocates portray grass fed products as a win-win situation for all, they do have downsides. Price, for one, is an issue. Joseph says his products are priced10-20% above organic versions, but depending on the product chosen, compared to non-organic conventional yogurt, consumers could pay a premium of 30-50% or more for grass-fed. As for the meat, Smith says his grass-fed hamburger will be priced20-25% over the conventional alternative. But a look at the prices on online grocer Fresh Direct suggests a grass-fed premium of anywhere from 35-60%,[J] And not every farmer has the option of going grass-fed. For both beef and dairy production it requires, at least in the beginning, more pastureland. Grass-fed beef production tends to be more labor-intensive as well. But Smith counters that if you factor in the hidden cost of government corn subsidies, environment degradation, and decreased human heath and animal welfare, grass-fed is the more cost-effective model. “The sun provides the lowest cost of production and the cheapest meat,” he says.[K] Another grass-fed booster spurring farmers to convert is EPIC, which makes meat-based protein bars. Founders Taylor Collins and his wife, Katie Forrest, used to be endurance athletes; now they’re advocates of grass-fed meat. Soon after launching EPIC’S mo st successful product - the Bison Bacon Cranberry Bar - Collins and Forrest found they’d exhausted their sources for bison (北美野牛) raised exclusively on pasture. When they started researching the supply chain, they learned that only 2-3% of all bison is actually grass-fed. The rest is feed-lot confined and fed grain and corn. [L] But after General Mills bought EPIC in 2016, Collins and Forrest suddenly had the resources they needed to expand their supply chain. So the company teamed up withWisconsin-based rancher Northstar Bison. EPIC fronted the money for the purchase of $2.5 million worth of young bison that will be raised according to its grass-fed protocols, with a guaranteed purchase price. The message to young people who might not otherwise be able to afford to break into the business is,“You can purchase this $3 million piece of land here, because I’m guaranteeing you today you'll have 1,000 bison on it.’ We’re bringing new blood into the old, conventional farming ecosystem, which is really cool to see,” Collins explains.36. Farmers going grass-fed are not affected by the ever-changing milk prices of the global market.37. Over the years, Tim Joseph’s partners have helped many dairy farmers to switch to grass-fed.38. One advocate believes that many other benefits should be taken into consideration when we assess the cost-effectiveness of grass-fed farming.39. Many dairy farmers were persuaded to switch to grass-fed when they saw its advantage in terms of profits.40. Tim Joseph’s grass-fed program is only one example of how American farming practice is changing.41. Tim Joseph was fascinated by the notion that sunlight brings energy and wealth to mankind.42. One problem with grass-fed products is that they are usually more expensive than conventional ones.43. Grass fed products have proved to be healthier and more nutritious.44. When Tim Joseph started his business, he found grass-fed products fell short of demand.45. A snack bar producer discovered that the supply of purely grass-fed bison met was scarce.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 markedA), 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.Schools are not just a microcosm(缩影) of society: they mediate it too. The best seek to alleviate the external pressures on their pupils while equipping them better to understand and handle the world outside-- at once sheltering them and broadening their horizons. This is ambitious in any circumstances. and in a divided and unequal society the two ideals can clash outright(直接地).Trips that many adults would consider the adventure of a lifetime-treks in Borneo, a sports tour to Barbados-appear to have become almost routine at some state schools. Parents are being asked for thousands of pounds. Though schools cannot profit from these trips, the companies that arrange them do. Meanwhile, pupils arrive at school hungry because their families can’t afford breakfast. The Child Poverty Action Group says nine out of 30 in every classroom fall below the poverty line. The discrepancy is startlingly apparent. Introducing a fundraising requirement for students does not help, as better-off children can tap up richer aunts and neighbours.Probing the rock pools of a local beach or practising French on a language exchange can fire c hildren’s passions, boost their skills and open their eyes to life’s possibilities. Educational outings help bright but disadvantaged students to get better scores inA-level tests. In this globalised age, there is a good case for international travel. and some parents say they can manage the cost of a school trip abroad more easily than a family holiday. Even in the face of immense and mounting financial pressures. some schools have shown remarkable determination and ingenuity in ensuring that all their pupils are able to take up opportunities that may be truly life-changing. They should be applauded. Methods such as whole-school fundraising. with the proceeds(收益) pooled, can help to extend opportunities and fuel community spirit.But £3,000 trips cannot be justified when the average income for families with children is just over £30,000. Such initiatives close doors for many pupils. Some parents pull their children out of school because of expensive field trips. Even parents who can see that a trip is little more than a party or celebration may well feel guilt that their child is left behind.The Department for Education’s guidance says schools can charge only for board and lodging if the trip is part of the syllabus, and that students receiving government aid are exempt from these costs. However, many schools seem to ignore the advice; and it does not cover the kind of glamorous, exotic trips. which are becoming increasinglycommon. Schools cannot be expected to bring together communities single-handed. But the least we should expect is that they do not foster divisions and exclude those who are already disadvantaged.46. What does the author say best schools should do?A) Prepare students to both challenge and change the divided unequal society.B) Protect students from social pressures and enable them to face the world.C) Motivate students to develop their physical as well as intellectual abilities.D) Encourage students to be ambitious and help them to achieve their goals.47. What does the author think about school field trips?A) They enable students from different backgrounds to mix with each other.B)They widen the gap between privileged and disadvantaged students.C) They give the disadvantaged students a chance to see the world.D) They only benefit students with rich relatives and neighbours.48. What does the author suggest can help build community spirit?A) Events aiming to improve community services.B) Activities that help to fuel students’ ingenuity.C) Events that require mutual understanding.D) Activities involving all students on campus.49. What do we learn about low-income parents regarding school field trips?A) They want their children to participate even though they don’t see much benefit.B) They don’t want their kids to participate but find it hard to keep them from going.C) They don’t want their kids to miss any chance to broaden their horizons despite the cost.D)They want their children to experience adventures but they don’t want them to run risks,50. What is the author’s expectat ion of schools?A) Bringing a community together with ingenuity.B) Resolving the existing discrepancies in society.C) Avoiding creating new gaps among students.D) Giving poor students preferential treatment.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.Rising temperatures and overfishing in the pristine(未受污染的) waters around the Antarctic could see king penguin populations pushed to the brink of extinction by the end of the century, according to a new study. The study’s report states that as global warming transforms the environment in the world’s last great wilderness, 70 percent of king penguins could either disappear or be forced to find new breeding grounds.Co-author Céline Le Bohec, from the University of Strasbourg in France, w arned:“If there’re no actions aimed at haling or controlling global warming, and the pace of the current human- induced changes such as climate change and overfishing stays the same, the species may son disappear.” The findings come amid growing concern ov er the future of the Antarctic. Earlier this month a separate study found that a combination of climate change and industrial fishing is threatening the krill (磷虾) population in Antarctic waters, with a potentially disastrous impact on whales, seals and penguins. But today’s report is the starkest warning yet of the potentially devastating impact of climate change and human exploitation on the Antarctic’s delicate ecosystems.Le Bohec said: “Unless current greenhouse gas emissions drop, 70 percent of king penguins - 1.1 million breeding pairs - will be forced to relocate their breeding grounds, or face extinction by 2100.” King penguins are the second-largest type of penguin and only breed on specific isolated islands in the Southern Ocean where there is no ice cover and easy access to the sea. As the ocean warms, a body of water called the Antarctic Polar Front - an upward movement of nutrient-rich sea that supports a hugeabundance of marine life - is being pushed further south, This means that king penguins, which feed on fish and krill in this body of water, have to travel further to their feeding grounds, leaving their hungry chicks for longer. And as the distance between their breeding grounds and their food grows, entire colonies could be wiped out.Le Bohec said:“The plight of the king penguin should serve as a warning about the future of the entire marine environment in the Antarctic. Penguins, like other seabirds and marine mammals, occupy higher levels in the food chain and they are what we call bio-indicators of their ecosystems." Penguins are sensitive indicators of changes in marine ecosystems. As such, they are key species for understanding and predicting impacts of global change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic marine ecosystems. The report found that although some king penguins may be able to relocate to new breeding grounds closer to their retreating food source, suitable new habitats would be scarce. Only a handful of islands in the Southern Ocean are suitable for sustaining large breeding colonies.51. What will happen by 2100, according to a new study?A)King penguins in the Antarctic will be on the verge of dying out.B)Sea water will rise to a much higher level around the Antarctic.C) The melting ice cover will destroy the great Antarctic wilderness.D) The pristine waters around the Antarctic will disappear forever.52. What do we learn from the findings of a separate study?A)Shrinking krill population and rising temperatures could force Antarctic whales to migrate.B)Human activities have accelerated climate change in the Antarctic region in recent years.C)Industrial fishing and climate change could be fatal to certain Antarctic species.D)Krill fishing in the Antarctic has worsened the pollution of the pristine waters.53. What does the passage say about king penguins?A) They will turn out to be the second-largest species of birds to become extinct.B) Many of them will have to migrate to isolated islands in the Southern Ocean.C) They feed primarily on only a few kinds of krill in the Antarctic Polar Front.D) The majority of them may have to find new breeding grounds in the future.54. What happens when sea levels rise in the Antarctic?A) Many baby king penguins can’t have food in time.B) Many king penguins could no longer live on krill.C) Whales will invade king penguins’ breeding grounds.D) Whales will have to travel long distances to find food.55. What do we learn about the Southern Ocean?A)The king penguins there are reluctant to leave for new breeding grounds.B)Its conservation is key to the sustainable propagation of Antarctic species.C)It is most likely to become the ultimate retreat for species like the king penguin.D)Only a few of its islands can serve as huge breeding grounds for king penguins.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.荷花是中国的名花之一,深受人们喜爱。
2019年6月、12月大学英语六级真题及答案解析(完整版)

2019年6月、12月大学英语六级真题及答案解析(完整版)Part Ⅰ Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on the importance of having a sense of community responsibility.You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections:In this section, you will hear two long conversations.At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions.Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions l to 4 are based on the conversations you have just heard.1.A) It focuses exclusively on jazz.B) It sponsors major jazz concerts.C) It has several branches in London.D) It displays albums by new music talents.2.A) It originated with cowboys.B) Its market has now shrunk.C) Its listeners are mostly young people.D) It remains as widespread as hip hop music.3.A) Its definition is varied and complicated.B) It is still going through experimentation.C) It is frequently accompanied by singing.D) Its style has remained largely unchanged.4.A) Learn to play them.B) Take music lessons.C) Listen to them yourself.D) Consul jazz musicians.Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversations you have just heard.5.A) She paid her mortgage.B) She called on the man.C) She made a business plan.D) She went to the bank.6.A) Her previous debt hadn’t been cleared yet.B) Her credit history was considered poor.C) She had apparently asked for too much.D) She didn’t pay her mortgage in time.7.A) Pay a debt long overdue.B) Buy a piece of property.C) Start her own business.D) Check her credit history.8.A) Seek advice from an expert about fund raising.B) Ask for smaller loans from different lenders.C) Build up her own finances step by step.D) Revise her business proposal carefully.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear two passages.At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four questions.Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.9.A) It is profitable and environmentally friendly.B) It is well located and completely automated.C) It is small and unconventional.D) It is fertile and productive.10.A) Their urge to make farming more enjoyable.B) Their desire to improve farming equipment.C) Their hope to revitalize traditional farming.D) Their wish to set a new farming standard11.A) It saves a lot of electricity.B) It needs little maintenance.C) It causes hardly any pollution.D) It loosens soil while weeding.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.12.A) It has turned certain insects into a new food source.B) It has started on expand business outside the UK.C) It has imported some exotic foods from overseas.D) It has joined hands with Sainsbury’s to sell pet insects.13.A) It was really unforgettable.B) It was a pleasant surprise.C) It hurt his throat slightly.D) It made him feel strange.14.A) They are more tasty than beef, chicken or pork.B) They are more nutritious than soups and salads.C) They contain more protein than conventional meats.D) They will soon gain popularity throughout the world.15.A) It is environmentally friendly.B) It is a promising industry.C It requires new technology.D) It saves huge amounts of labour.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four questions.The recording will be played only once.After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C)and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.16.A)To categorize different types of learners.B) To find out what students prefer to learn.C) To understand the mechanism of the human brain.D) To see if they are inherent traits affecting learning.17.A) It was defective.B)It was misguided.C) It was original in design.D) It was thought-provoking.18.A) Auditory aids are as important as visual aids.B) Visual aids are helpful to all types of learners.C) Reading plain texts is more effective than viewing pictures.D) Scientific concepts are hard to understand without visual aids.Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.19.A) Not playing a role in a workplace revolution.B) Not benefiting from free-market capitalism.C) Not earning enough money to provide for the family.D) Not spending enough time on family life and leisure.20.A) People would be working only fifteen hours a week now.B) The balance of power in the workplace would change.C) Technological advances would create many new jobs.D) Most workers could afford to have a house of their own.21.A) Loss of workers’personal dignity.B) Deprivation of workers’ creativity.C) Deterioration of workers’ mental health.D) Unequal distribution of working hours.Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.22.A) It is the worst managed airport in German history.B) It is now the biggest and busiest airport in Europe.C) It has become something of a joke among Germans.D) It has become a typical symbol of German efficiency.23.A) The city’s airports are outdated.B) The city had just been reunified.C) The city wanted to boost its economy.D) The city wanted to attract more tourists.24.A) The municipal government kept changing hands.B) The construction firm breached the contract.C) Shortage of funding delayed its construction.D) Problems of different kinds kept popping up.25.A) Tourism industry in Berlin suffers.B)All kinds of equipment gets rusted.C) Huge maintenance costs accumulate.D) Complaints by local residents increase.Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks.You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage.Read the passage through carefully before making your choices.Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter.Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2with 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.The number of devices you can talk to is multiplying—first it was your phone, then your car, and now you can tell your kitchen appliances what to do.But even without gadgets that understand our spoken commands, research suggests that, as bizarre as it sounds, under certain 26 , people regularly ascribe human traits to everyday objects.Sometimes we see things as human because we are 27 .In one experiment, people who reported feeling isolated were more likely than others to attribute 28 to various gadgets.In turn, feeling close to objects can 29 loneliness.When college students were reminded of a time they had been 30 in a social setting, they compensated by exaggerating their number of friends—unless they were first given tasks that caused them to interact with their phone as if it had human qualities.According to the researchers, the participants' phones 31 substituted for real friends.At other times, we personify products in an effort to understand them.One study found that three in four respondents yelled at their computer.Further, the more their computer gave them problems, the more likely the respondents were to report that it had its own “beliefs and 32 .”So how do people assign traits to an object? In part, we rely on looks.On humans, wide faces are 33 with dominance.Similarly, people rated cars, clocks, and watches with wide faces as more dominant-looking than narrow-faced ones, and preferred them—especially in 34 situations.An analysis of car sales in Germany found that cars with gills (护栅) that were upturned like smiles sold best.The purchasers saw this 35 as increasing a car's friendliness.A) alleviate I) desiresB) apparently J) excludedC) arrogant K) featureD) associated L) lonelyE) circumstances M) separateF) competitive N) spectacularlyG) conceded O) warrantH) consciousnessSection 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.[A] Though he didn’t come from a farming family, from a young age Tim Joseph was fascinated by the idea of living off the land.Reading magazines like The Stockman Grass Farmer and Graze, he got hooked on the idea of grass-fed agriculture.The idea that all energy and wealth comes from the sun really intrigued him He thought theshorter the distance between the sun and the end product, the higher the profit to the farmer.[B] Joseph wanted to put this theory to the test.In 2009, he and his wife Laura launched Maple Hill Creamery, an organic, all grass-fed yogurt company in northern New York.He quickly learned what the market has demonstrated: Demand forgrass-fed products currently exceeds supply.Grass-fed beef is enjoying a 25-30% annual growth rate.Sales of grass-fed yogurt and kefir (发酵乳饮品) on the other hand, have in the last year increased by over 38%.This is in comparison with a drop of just under 1% in the total yogurt and kefir market according to natural and organic market research company SPINS.Joseph’s top priority became getting his hands on enough grass-fed milk to keep customers satisfied, since his own 64-cow herd wasn’t going to suffice[C] His first partnership was with Paul and Phyllis Amburgh, owners of the Dharma Lea farm in New York.The Amburghs, too, were true believers in grass-fed.In addition to supplying milk from their own 85-head herd, they began to help other farmers in the area convent from conventional to certified organic and grass-fed in order to enter the Maple Hill supply chain.Since 2010, the couple has helped 125 small dairy farms convert to grass-fed, with more than 80% of those farms coming on board during the last two years.[D] All this conversion has helped Maple Hill grow 40-50% every year since it began with no end in sight.Joseph has learned that a farmer has to have a certain mindset to successfully convert.But convincing open-minded dairy people is actually not that hard, when you look at the economics.Grass-fed milk can fetch up to 2.5 times the price of conventional milk.Another factor is the squeeze that conventional dairy farmers have felt as the price of grain they feed their cows has gone up, tightening their profit margins.By replacing expensive grain feed with regenerative management practices, grass-fed farmers are insulated from jumps in the price of feed.These practices include grazing animals on grasses grown from the pastureland’s natural seed bunk, and fertilized by the cows’own fertilizer[E] Champions of this type of regenerative grazing also point to its animal welfare, climate and health benefits: Grass-fed animals live longer out of confinement.Grazing herds stimulate microbial (微生物的) activity in the soil, helping to capture water and separate carbon.And grass-fed dairy and meat have been shown to be higher in certain nutrients and healthy fats.[F] In the grass fed system, farmers are also not subject to the wildly fluctuating milk prices of the international commodity market.The unpredictability of global demand and the lag-time it takes to add more cows to a herd to meet demand can result in events like the recent cheese surplus.Going grass-fed is a safe refuge, a way forfamily-scale farms to stay ually a farmer will get to the point where financially, what they’re doing is not working.That’s when they call Maple Hill.If the farm is well managed and has enough land, and the desire to convert is sincere, a relationship can begin.Through regular regional educational meetings, a large annual meeting, individual farm visits and thousands of phone calls, the Amburghs pass on the principles of pasture management.Maple Hill signs a contract pledging to buy the farmer’s milk at a guaranteed base price, plus quality premiums and incentives for higher protein, butter fat and other solids.[G] While Maple Hill's conversion program is unusually hands on and comprehensive, it’s just one of a growing number of businesses committed to slowly changing the way America farms.Joseph calls sharing his knowledge network through peer-to-peer learning a core piece of the company’s st summer, Massachusettsgrass-fed beef advocate John Smith launched Big Picture Beef, a network of small grass-fed beef farms in New England and New York that is projected to bring to market 2,500 head of cattle from 125 producers this year.Early indications are that Smith will have no shortage of farm members.Since he began to informally announce the network at farming conferences and on social media, he’s received a steady stream of inquiries from interested farmers.[H] Smith says he’ll provide services ranging from formal seminars to on-farm workshops on holistic (整体的) management, to one-on-one hand-holding and an almost 24/7 phone hotline for farmers who are converting.In exchange, he guarantees an above-market price for each animal and a calf-to-customer electronic ear tag ID system like that used in the European Union.[1] Though advocates portray grass fed products as a win-win situation for all, they do have downsides.Price, for one, is an issue.Joseph says his products are priced10-20% above organic versions, but depending on the product chosen, compared to non-organic conventional yogurt, consumers could pay a premium of 30-50% or more for grass-fed.As for the meat, Smith says his grass-fed hamburger will be priced20-25% over the conventional alternative.But a look at the prices on online grocer Fresh Direct suggests a grass-fed premium of anywhere from 35-60%,[J] And not every farmer has the option of going grass-fed.For both beef and dairy production it requires, at least in the beginning, more pastureland.Grass-fed beef production tends to be more labor-intensive as well.But Smith counters that if you factor in the hidden cost of government corn subsidies, environment degradation, and decreased human heath and animal welfare, grass-fed is the more cost-effective model.“The sun provides the lowest cost of production and the cheapest meat,”he says.[K] Another grass-fed booster spurring farmers to convert is EPIC, which makes meat-based protein bars.Founders Taylor Collins and his wife, Katie Forrest, used to be endurance athletes; now they’re advocates of grass-fed meat.Soon after launching EPIC’S most successful product - the Bison Bacon Cranberry Bar - Collins and Forrest found they’d exhausted their sources for bison (北美野牛) raised exclusively on pasture.When they started researching the supply chain, they learned that only 2-3% of all bison is actually grass-fed.The rest is feed-lot confined and fed grain and corn.[L] But after General Mills bought EPIC in 2016, Collins and Forrest suddenly had the resources they needed to expand their supply chain.So the company teamed up with Wisconsin-based rancher Northstar Bison.EPIC fronted the money for the purchase of $2.5 million worth of young bison that will be raised according to its grass-fed protocols, with a guaranteed purchase price.The message to young people who might not otherwise be able to afford to break into the business is,“You can purchase this $3 million piece of land here, because I’m guaranteeing you today you'll have 1,000 bison on it.’We’re bringing new blood into the old, conventional farming ecosystem, which is really cool to see,”Collins explains.36.Farmers going grass-fed are not affected by the ever-changing milk prices of the global market.37.Over the years, Tim Joseph’s partners have helped many dairy farmers to switch to grass-fed.38.One advocate believes that many other benefits should be taken into consideration when we assess the cost-effectiveness of grass-fed farming.39.Many dairy farmers were persuaded to switch to grass-fed when they saw its advantage in terms of profits.40.Tim Joseph’s grass-fed program is only one example of how American farming practice is changing.41.Tim Joseph was fascinated by the notion that sunlight brings energy and wealth to mankind.42.One problem with grass-fed products is that they are usually more expensive than conventional ones.43.Grass fed products have proved to be healthier and more nutritious.44.When Tim Joseph started his business, he found grass-fed products fell short of demand.45.A snack bar producer discovered that the supply of purely grass-fed bison met was scarce.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.Schools are not just a microcosm(缩影) of society: they mediate it too.The best seek to alleviate the external pressures on their pupils while equipping them better to understand and handle the world outside-- at once sheltering them and broadening their horizons.This is ambitious in any circumstances.and in a divided and unequal society the two ideals can clash outright(直接地).Trips that many adults would consider the adventure of a lifetime-treks in Borneo, a sports tour to Barbados-appear to have become almost routine at some state schools.Parents are being asked for thousands of pounds.Though schools cannot profit from these trips, the companies that arrange them do.Meanwhile, pupils arrive at school hungry because their families can’t afford breakfast.The Child Poverty Action Group says nine out of 30 in every classroom fall below the poverty line.The discrepancy is startlingly apparent.Introducing a fundraising requirement for students does not help, as better-off children can tap up richer aunts and neighbours.Probing the rock pools of a local beach or practising French on a language exchange can fire children’s passions, boost their skills and open their eyes to life’s cational outings help bright but disadvantaged students to get better scores in A-level tests.In this globalised age, there is a good case for international travel.and some parents say they can manage the cost of a school trip abroad more easily than a family holiday.Even in the face of immense and mounting financial pressures.some schools have shown remarkable determination and ingenuity in ensuring that all their pupils are able to take up opportunities that may be trulylife-changing.They should be applauded.Methods such as whole-schoolfundraising.with the proceeds(收益) pooled, can help to extend opportunities and fuel community spirit.But £3,000 trips cannot be justified when the average income for families with children is just over £30,000.Such initiatives close doors for many pupils.Some parents pull their children out of school because of expensive field trips.Even parents who can see that a trip is little more than a party or celebration may well feel guilt that their child is left behind.The Department for Education’s guidance says schools can charge only for board and lodging if the trip is part of the syllabus, and that students receiving government aid are exempt from these costs.However, many schools seem to ignore the advice; and it does not cover the kind of glamorous, exotic trips.which are becoming increasingly common.Schools cannot be expected to bring together communities single-handed.But the least we should expect is that they do not foster divisions and exclude those who are already disadvantaged.46.What does the author say best schools should do?A) Prepare students to both challenge and change the divided unequal society.B) Protect students from social pressures and enable them to face the world.C) Motivate students to develop their physical as well as intellectual abilities.D) Encourage students to be ambitious and help them to achieve their goals.47.What does the author think about school field trips?A) They enable students from different backgrounds to mix with each other.B)They widen the gap between privileged and disadvantaged students.C) They give the disadvantaged students a chance to see the world.D) They only benefit students with rich relatives and neighbours.48.What does the author suggest can help build community spirit?A) Events aiming to improve community services.B) Activities that help to fuel students’ ingenuity.C) Events that require mutual understanding.D) Activities involving all students on campus.49.What do we learn about low-income parents regarding school field trips?A) They want their children to participate even though they don’t see much benefit.B) They don’t want their kids to participate but find it hard to keep them from going.C) They don’t want their kids to miss any chance to broaden their horizons despite the cost.D)They want their children to experience adventures but they don’t want them to run risks,50.What is the author’s expectation of schools?A) Bringing a community together with ingenuity.B) Resolving the existing discrepancies in society.C) Avoiding creating new gaps among students.D) Giving poor students preferential treatment.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.Rising temperatures and overfishing in the pristine(未受污染的) waters around the Antarctic could see king penguin populations pushed to the brink of extinction by the end of the century, according to a new study.The study’s report states that as global warming transforms the environment in the world’s last great wilderness, 70 percent of king penguins could either disappear or be forced to find new breeding grounds. Co-author Céline Le Bohec, from the University of Strasbourg in France, warned:“If there’re no actions aimed at haling or controlling global warming, and the pace of the current human- induced changes such as climate change and overfishing stays thesame, the species may son disappear.”The findings come amid growing concern over the future of the Antarctic.Earlier this month a separate study found that a combination of climate change and industrial fishing is threatening the krill (磷虾) population in Antarctic waters, with a potentially disastrous impact on whales, seals and penguins.But today’s report is the starkest warning yet of the potentially devastating impact of climate change and human exploitation on the Antarctic’s delicate ecosystems.Le Bohec said: “Unless current greenhouse gas emissions drop, 70 percent of king penguins - 1.1 million breeding pairs - will be forced to relocate their breeding grounds, or face extinction by 2100.”King penguins are the second-largest type of penguin and only breed on specific isolated islands in the Southern Ocean where there is no ice cover and easy access to the sea.As the ocean warms, a body of water called the Antarctic Polar Front - an upward movement of nutrient-rich sea that supports a huge abundance of marine life - is being pushed further south, This means that king penguins, which feed on fish and krill in this body of water, have to travel further to their feeding grounds, leaving their hungry chicks for longer.And as the distance between their breeding grounds and their food grows, entire colonies could be wiped out.Le Bohec said:“The plight of the king penguin should serve as a warning about the future of the entire marine environment in the Antarctic.Penguins, like other seabirds and marine mammals, occupy higher levels in the food chain and they are what we call bio-indicators of their ecosystems." Penguins are sensitive indicators of changes in marine ecosystems.As such, they are key species for understanding and predicting impacts of global change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic marine ecosystems.The report found that although some king penguins may be able to relocate to new breeding grounds closer to their retreating food source, suitable new habitats would be scarce.Only a handful of islands in the Southern Ocean are suitable for sustaining large breeding colonies.51.What will happen by 2100, according to a new study?A)King penguins in the Antarctic will be on the verge of dying out.B)Sea water will rise to a much higher level around the Antarctic.C) The melting ice cover will destroy the great Antarctic wilderness.D) The pristine waters around the Antarctic will disappear forever.52.What do we learn from the findings of a separate study?A)Shrinking krill population and rising temperatures could force Antarctic whales to migrate.B)Human activities have accelerated climate change in the Antarctic region in recent years.C)Industrial fishing and climate change could be fatal to certain Antarctic species.D)Krill fishing in the Antarctic has worsened the pollution of the pristine waters.53.What does the passage say about king penguins?A) They will turn out to be the second-largest species of birds to become extinct.B) Many of them will have to migrate to isolated islands in the Southern Ocean.C) They feed primarily on only a few kinds of krill in the Antarctic Polar Front.D) The majority of them may have to find new breeding grounds in the future.54.What happens when sea levels rise in the Antarctic?A) Many baby king penguins can’t have food in time.B) Many king penguins could no longer live on krill.C) Whales will invade king penguins’ breeding grounds.D) Whales will have to travel long distances to find food.55.What do we learn about the Southern Ocean?A)The king penguins there are reluctant to leave for new breeding grounds.B)Its conservation is key to the sustainable propagation of Antarctic species.C)It is most likely to become the ultimate retreat for species like the king penguin.D)Only a few of its islands can serve as huge breeding grounds for king penguins.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.荷花是中国的名花之一, 深受人们喜爱。
2019年6月英语六级考试真题试卷附答案(完整版 第3套)

Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on th e importance of motivation and methods in learning. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ __________Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)说明:由于2019年6月六级考试全国共考了两套听力,本套真题听力与前2套内容相同,只是选项顺序不同,因此在本套真题中不再重复出现。
Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are require d 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 yo ur 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 throug h the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Steel is valued for its reliability, but not when it gets cold. Most forms of ste el __26__ become brittle(脆的)at temperatures below about -25℃ unless they are mixed with other metals. Now, though, a novel type of steel has been developed that resists __27__ at much lower temperatures, while retaining its strength and toughness—with out the need for expensive __28__.Steel's fragility at low temperatures first became a major concern during the Second World War. After German U-boats torpedoed (用鱼雷攻击)numerous British ships, a 2,700-strong fleet of cheap- and-cheerful "Liberty ships" was introduced to replace the lost vessels, providing a lifeline for the __29__ British. But the steel shells of hundreds of the ships __30__ in the icy north Atlantic, and 12 broke in half and sank.Brittleness remains a problem when building steel structures in cold condition s, such as oil rigs in the Arctic. So scientists have __31__ to find a solution b y mixing it with expensive metals such as nickel.Yuuji Kimura and colleagues in Japan tried a more physical __32__. Rather th an adding other metals, they developed a complex mechanical process involving repeated heating and very severe mechanical deformation, known as t empforming.The resulting steel appears to achieve a combination of strength and toug hness that is __33__ to that of modem steels that are very rich in alloy cont ent and, therefore, very expensive.Kimura's team intends to use its tempformed steel to make ultra-high strengt h parts, such as bolts. They hope to reduce both the number of __34__ need ed in a construction job and their weight—by replacing solid supports with _ _35__ tubes, for example. This could reduce the amount of steel needed to m ake everything from automobiles to buildings and bridges.A)abruptlyB)additivesC)approachD)ardentlyE)besiegedF)channelG)comparableH)componentsI)crackedJ)fracturesK)hollowL)relevantM)reshuffledN)strivedO)violentSection BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statemen ts attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the pa ragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a le tter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sh eet 2.The future of personal satellite technology is here—are we ready for it?A)Satellites used to be the exclusive playthings of rich governments and wealt hy corporations. But increasingly, as space becomes more democratized, they are coming within reach of ordinary people. Just like drones (无人机)before them, miniature satellites are beginning to fundamentally transform our conceptions of who gets to do what up above our heads.B)As a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences highlights, these sa tellites hold tremendous potential for making satellite-based science more a ccessible than ever before. However, as the cost of getting your own satellit e in orbit drops sharply, the risks of irresponsible use grow. The question he re is no longer "Can we?" but "Should we?" What are the potential downside s of having a slice of space densely populated by equipment built by people not traditionally labeled as "professionals" ? And what would the responsible a nd beneficial development and use of this technology actually look like? Som e of the answers may come from a nonprofit organization that has been buildi ng and launching amateur satellites for nearly 50 years.C)Having your personal satellite launched into orbit might sound like an idea str aight out of science fiction. But over the past few decades a unique class of satellites has been created that fits the bill: CubeSats. The "Cube" here simpl y refers to the satellite's shape. The most common CubeSat is a 10cm cube, so small that a single CubeSat could easily be mistaken for a paperweight on your desk. These mini-satellites can fit in a launch vehicle's formerly "wasted space." Multiples can be deployed in combination for more complex missions than could be achieved by one CubeSat alone.D)Within their compact bodies these minute satellites are able to house sensor s and communications receivers/transmitters that enable operators to study E arth from space, as well as space around Earth. They're primarily designed fo r Low Earth Orbit (LEO)—an easily accessible region of space from around 200 to 800 miles above E arth, where human-tended missions like the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station (ISS) hang out. But they can attain more dista nt orbits; NASA plans for most of its future Earth-escaping payloads (to the moon and Mars especially) to carry CubeSats.E)Because they're so small and light, it costs much less to get a CubSat into Ear th's orbit than a traditional communications or GPS satellite. For instance,a r esearch group here at Arizona State University recently claimed their develop mental small CubeSats could cost as little as $3,000 to put in orbit. This decre ase in cost allows researchers, hobbyists and even elementary school groups to put simple instruments into LEO or even having them deployed from the I SS.F)The first CubeSat was created in the early 2000s,as a way of enabling Stanfor d graduate students to design, build, test and operate a spacecraft with similar capabilities to the USSR's Sputnik (前苏联的人造卫星).Since then, NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and even Boeing h ave all launched and operated CubeSats. There are more than 130 currently i n operation. The NASA Educational Launch of Nano Satellite program, which o ffers free launches for educational groups and science missions, is now open t o U. S. nonprofit corporations as well. Clearly, satellites are not just for rocket scientists anymore.G)The National Academy of Sciences report emphasizes CubeSats' importance in scientific discovery and the training of future space scientists and engineers. Yet it also acknowledges that widespread deployment of LEO CubeSats isn't risk-free. The greatest concern the authors raise is space debris—pieces of "j unk" that orbit the earth, with the potential to cause serious damage if they collide with operational units, including the ISS.H)Currently, there aren't many CubeSats and they're tracked closely. Yet as LE O opens up to more amateur satellites, they may pose an increasing threat. As the report authors point out, even near-misses might lead to the "creation of a burdensome regulatory framework and affect the future disposition of science CubeSats."I)CubeSat researchers suggest that now's the time to ponder unexpected an d unintended possible consequences of more people than ever having access t o their own small slice of space. In an era when you can simply buy a CubeS at kit off the shelf, how can we trust the satellites over our heads were devel oped with good intentions by people who knew what they were doing? Some " expert amateurs" in the satellite game could provide some inspiration for ho w to proceed responsibly.J)In 1969.the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) was created in or der to foster ham radio enthusiasts' (业余无线电爱好者)participation in space research and communication. It continued the effort s, begun in 1961, by Project OSCAR—a U. S.-based group that built and launched the very first nongovernmental satellite just four years after Sputnik. As an organization of volunteers, AMSAT was pu tting "amateur" satellites in orbit decades before the current CubeSat craze. And over time, its members have learned a thing or two about responsibility. Here, open-source development has been a central principle. Within the or ganization, AMSAT has a philosophy of open sourcing everything—making tec hnical data on all aspects of their satellites fully available to everyone in the organization, and when possible, the public. According to a member of the te am responsible for FOX 1-A, AMSAT's first CubeSat, this means that there's no way to sneak something like explosives or an energy emitter into an amate ur satellite when everyone has access to the designs and implementation. K)However, they're more cautious about sharing information with nonmembers , as the organization guards against others developing the ability to hijack an d take control of their satellites. This form of "self-governance" is possible wi thin long-standing amateur organizations that, over time, are able to build a sense of responsibility to community members,as well as society in general. But what happens when new players emerge, who don't have deep roots wit hin the existing culture?L)Hobbyists and students are gaining access to technologies without being part of a long-standing amateur establishment. They're still constrained by fi mders, launch providers and a series of regulations—all of which rein in what CubeSat developers can and cannot do. But there's a danger they're ill-equipp ed to think through potential unintended consequences. What these uninten ded consequences might be is admittedly far from clear. Yet we know innovat ors can be remarkably creative with taking technologies in unexpected dire ctions. Think of something as seemingly benign as the cellphone—we have m icrofinance and text-based social networking at one end of the spectrum, an d improvised(临时制作的)explosive devices at the other.M)This is where a culture of social responsibility around CubeSats becomes imp ortant-not simply to ensure that physical risks are minimized, but to engage with a much larger community in anticipating and managing less obvious co nsequences of the technology. This is not an easy task. Yet the evidence fro m AMSAT and other areas of technology development suggests that responsib le amateur communities can and do emerge around novel technologies. The challenge here, of course, is ensuring that what an amateur community c onsiders to be responsible, actually is. Here's where there needs to be a much wider public conversation that extends beyond government agencies and sc ientific communities to include students, hobbyists,and anyone who may potentially stand to be affected by the use of CubeSa t technology.36. Given the easier accessibility to space, it is time to think about how to pr event misuse of satellites.37. A group of mini-satellites can work together to accomplish more comple x tasks.38. The greater accessibility of mini-satellites increases the risks of their irres ponsible use.39. Even school pupils can have their CubeSats put in orbit owing to the lowe red launching cost.40. is careful about sharing information with outsiders to prevent hijacking of their satellites.41. NASA offers to launch CubeSats free of charge for educational and resear ch purposes.42. Even with constraints, it is possible for some creative developers to take the CubeSat technology in directions that result in harmful outcomes.43. While making significant contributions to space science, CubeSats may po se hazards to other space vehicles.44. Mini-satellites enable operators to study Earth from LEO and space around it.45. AMSAT operates on the principle of having all its technical data accessi ble to its members, preventing the abuse of amateur satellites.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by s ome questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four ch oices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and ma rk the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the c entre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.When I re-entered the full-time workforce a few years ago after a decade of solitary self-employment, there was one thing I was looking forward to the most: the opportunity to have work friends once again. It wasn't until I ente red the corporate world that I realized, for me at least, being friends with col leagues didn't emerge as a priority at all. This is surprising when you consid er the prevailing emphasis by scholars and trainers and managers on the i mportance of cultivating close interpersonal relationships at work. So much re search has explored the way in which collegial (同事的)ties can help overcome a range of workplace issues affecting productivity and the quality of work output such as team-based conflict, jealousy, unde rmining, anger, and more.Perhaps my expectations of lunches, water-cooler gossip and caring, deep-a nd-meaningful conversations were a legacy of the last time I was in that kind of office environment. Whereas now, as I near the end of my fourth decad e, I realize work can be fully functional and entirely fulfilling without needing to be best mates with the people sitting next to you.In an academic analysis just published in the profoundly-respected Journal of Management, researchers have looked at the concept of "indifferent rela tionships". It's a simple term that encapsulates (概括) the fact that relationships at work can reasonably be non-intimate, inconsequential, unimportant and even, dare I say it, disposable or substitutab le.Indifferent relationships are neither positive nor negative. The limited resea rch conducted thus far indicates they're especially dominant among those w ho value independence over cooperation, and harmony over confrontati on. Indifference is also the preferred option among those who are socially la zy. Maintaining relationships over the long term takes effort. For some of us, t oo much effort .As noted above, indifferent relationships may not always be the most helpful approach in resolving some of the issues that pop up at work. But there are nonetheless several empirically proven benefits. One of those is efficienc y. Less time chatting and socializing means more time working and(产出).The other is self-esteem. As human beings, we're primed to compare ourselv es to each other in what is an anxiety-inducing phenomenon. Apparently, w e look down on acquaintances more so than Mends. Since the former is most common among those inclined towards indifferent relationships, their predo minance can bolster individuals' sense of self-worth.Ego aside, a third advantage is that the emotional neutrality of indifferen t relationships has been found to enhance critical evaluation, to strength en one's focus on task resolution, and to gain greater access to valuable inf ormation. None of that might be as fun as after-work socializing but, hey, I'll take it anyway.46. What did the author realize when he re-entered the corporate world? A) Making new Mends with his workmates was not as easy as he had anticip ated.B) Cultivating positive interpersonal relationships helped him expel solitary feelings.C) Working in the corporate world requires more interpersonal skills than s elf-employment.D) Building close relationships with his colleagues was not as important as he had ejected.47. What do we learn from many studies about collegial relationships?A) Inharmonious relationships have an adverse effect on productivity. B) Harmonious relationships are what many companies aim to cultivate. C) Close collegial relationships contribute very little to product quality. D) Conflicting relationships in the workplace exist almost everywhere.48. What can be inferred about relationships at work from an academic ana lysis?A) They should be cultivated.B) They are virtually irrelevant.C) They are vital to corporate culture.D) They should be reasonably intimate.49. What does the author say about people who are socially lazy?A) They feel uncomfortable when engaging in social interactions.B) They often find themselves in confrontation with their colleagues.C) They are unwilling to make efforts to maintain workplace relationships. D) They lack basic communication skills in dealing with interpersonal issu es.60. What is one of the benefits of indifferent relationships?A) They provide fun at work.B) They help control emotions.C) They help resolve differences.D) They improve work efficiency.Passage TwoQuestions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.In a few decades, artificial intelligence (AI) will surpass many of the abiliti es that we believe make us special. This is a grand challenge for our age and it may require an "irrational" response.One of the most significant pieces of news from the US in early 2017 was the efforts of Google to make autonomous driving a reality. According to a report, Google's self-driving cars clocked 1,023,330 km, and required human interv ention 124 times. That is one intervention about every 8,047 km of autono mous driving. But even more impressive is the progress in just a single year : human interventions fell from 0.8 times per thousand miles to 0.2, a 400% improvement. With such progress, Google's cars will easily surpass my own driving ability later this year.Driving once seemed to be a very human skill. But we said that about chess, t oo. Then a computer beat the human world champion, repeatedly. The boar d game Go(围棋)took over from chess as a new test for human thinking in 2016, when a comp uter beat one of the world's leading professional Go players. With computer s conquering what used to be deeply human tasks, what will it mean in the fu ture to be human? I worry about my six-year-old son. What will his place bе i n a world where machines beat us in one area after another? He'll never calc ulate faster, never drive better, or even fly more safely. Actually, it all comes down to a fairly simple question: What's so special about us? It can't be skill s like arithmetic, which machines already excel in. So far, machines have a p retty hard time emulating creativity, arbitrary enough not to be predicted by a computer, and yet more than simple randomness.Perhaps, if we continue to improve information-processing machines, well soo n have helpful rational assistants. So we must aim to complement the rati onality of the machine, rather than to compete with it. If I'm right, we shoul d foster a creative spirit because a dose of illogical creativity will complement the rationality of the machine. Unfortunately, however, our education system has not caught up to the approaching reality. Indeed, our schools and universities are structured to mould pupils to be mostly obedient servants of rationality, and to develop outdated skills in interacting with outdated ma chines. We need to help our children learn how to best work with smart comp uters to improve human decision-making. But most of all we need to keep th e long-term perspective in mind: that even if computers will outsmart us, w e can still be the most creative. Because if we aren't, we won't be providing much value in future ecosystems,and that may put in question the foundation for our existence.51. What is the author's greatest concern about the use of AI?A) Computers are performing lots of creative tasks.B) Many abilities will cease to be unique to human beings.C) Computers may become more rational than humans.D) Many human skills are fast becoming outdated.52. What impresses the author most in the field of AI?A) Google's experimental driverless cars require little human intervention. B) Google's cars have surpassed his driving ability in just a single year.C) Google has made huge progress in autonomous driving in a short time. D) Google has become a world leader in the field of autonomous driving. 53. What do we learn from the passage about creativity?A) It is rational.B) It is predictable.C) It is human specific.D) It is yet to be emulated by AI.54. What should schools help children do in the era of AI?A) Cultivate original thinking.B) Learn to work independently.C) Compete with smart machines.D) Understand how AI works.55. How can we humans justify our future existence?A) By constantly outsmarting computers.B) By adopting a long-term perspective.C) By rationally compromising with AI.D) By providing value with our creativity.Part IV Translation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage f rom Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.成语(Chinese idioms)是汉语中的一种独特的表达方式,大多由四个汉字组成。
2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案【含解析】

2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案【含解析】今年的六级阅读难度和去年12月份的难度持平Passage OneProfessor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence (AI)will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity ”,and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching the future of intelligence as “crucial to the future of our civilization and our species”.Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence(LCFI)at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. “We spend a great deal of time studying history,” Hawking said, “which, let’s face it ,is mostly the history of stupidity. So it’s a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence.”While the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising concerns that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates asuper-intelligence with a will of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring “The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge”, he said, “We cannot predict what we might achieve when our own minds are amplified by AL. Perhaps with the tools of this new technological revolution, we be able to undo some of the damage done to the natural world by the last one—Industrialization. And surely we will aim to finally eradicate disease and poverty. And every aspect of our civilisation.”Huw Price, the centre’s academic director and the Bertrand Russell professor of philosophy at Cambridge University , where Hawking is also an academic ,said that the centre came about partially as a result if the university’s Center for Existential Risk. That institute examined a wider range of potential problems for humanity, while the LCFI has a narrow focus.AI pioneer Margaret Boden, professor of cognitive at the University of Sussex, praised the progress of such discussions .As recently as 2009, she said, the topic wasn’t taken seriously, even among AI researchers. “AI is hugely exciting.” She said, “but it has limitations, which present grave dangers given uncritical use.”The academic community is not alone in warning about thepotential dangers of AI as well as the potential benefits.A number of pioneers from the technology industry, most famously the entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also expressed their concerns about the damage that a super-intelligent AI could do to humanity.46. What did Stephen Hawking think of artificial intelligence?A) It would be vital to the progress of human civilization.B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.C) It might present challenges as well as opportunities.D) It would be a significant expansion of human intelligence.47. What did Hawking say about the creation of the LCFI?A) It would accelerate the progress of AI research.B) It would mark a step forward in the AI industry.C) It was extremely important to the destiny of humankind.D) It was an achievement of multi-disciplinary collaboration.48. What did Hawking say was a welcome change in AI research?A) The shift of research focus from the past to the future.B) The shift of research from theory to implementation.C) The greater emphasis on the negative impact of AI.D) The increasing awareness of mankind’s past stupidity.49. What concerns did Hawking raise about AI?A) It may exceed human intelligence sooner or later.B) It may ultimately over-amplify the human mind.C) Super-intelligence may cause its own destruction.D) Super-intelligence may eventually ruin mankind.50. What do we learn about some entrepreneurs from the technology industry?A) They are much influenced by the academic community.B) They are most likely to benefit from AI development.C) They share the same concerns about AI as academics.D) They believe they can keep AI under human control.【参考答案】BCADC46. B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.47. C) It was extremely important to the destiny of humankind.48. A) The shift of research focus from the past to the future.49. D) Super-intelligence may eventually ruin mankind.50. C) They share the same concerns about AI as academics.定位一直是我们在新东方的课堂上,反复强调的做对题目的第一步。
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2019年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案:仔细阅读Passage OneProfessor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence (AI)will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity ”,and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching the futu re of intelligence as “crucial to the future of our civilization and our species”.Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence(LCFI)at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. “We spend a great deal of time studying history,” Hawking said, “which,let’s face it ,is mostly the history of stupidity. So it’s a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence.”While the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising concerns that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates a super-intelligence with a will of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring “The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge”, he said, “We cannot predict what we might achieve when our own minds are amplified by AL. Perhaps with the tools of this new technological revolution, we be able to undo some of the damage done to the natural world by the last one—Industrialization. And surely we will aim to finally eradicate disease and poverty. And every aspect of our civilisation.”Huw Price, the c entre’s academic director and the Bertrand Russell professor of philosophy at Cambridge University , where Hawking is also an academic ,said that the centre came about partially as a result if the university’s Center for Existential Risk. That institute examined a wider range of potential problems for humanity, while the LCFI has a narrow focus.AI pioneer Margaret Boden, professor of cognitive at the University of Sussex, praised the progress of such discussions .As recently as 2009, she said, the topic wasn’t taken seriously, even among AI researchers. “AI is hugely exciting.” She said, “but it has limitations, which present grave dangers given uncritical use.”The academic community is not alone in warning about the potential dangers of AI as well as the potential benefits. A number of pioneers from the technology industry, most famously the entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also expressedtheir concerns about the damage that a super-intelligent AI could do to humanity.46. What did Stephen Hawking think of artificial intelligence?A) It would be vital to the progress of human civilization.B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.C) It might present challenges as well as opportunities.D) It would be a significant expansion of human intelligence.47. What did Hawking say about the creation of the LCFI?A) It would accelerate the progress of AI research.B) It would mark a step forward in the AI industry.C) It was extremely important to the destiny of humankind.D) It was an achievement of multi-disciplinary collaboration.48. What did Hawking say was a welcome change in AI research?A) The shift of research focus from the past to the future.B) The shift of research from theory to implementation.C) The greater emphasis on the negative impact of AI.D) The increasing awareness of mankind’s past stupidity.49. What concerns did Hawking raise about AI?A) It may exceed human intelligence sooner or later.B) It may ultimately over-amplify the human mind.C) Super-intelligence may cause its own destruction.D) Super-intelligence may eventually ruin mankind.50. What do we learn about some entrepreneurs from the technology industry?A) They are much influenced by the academic community.B) They are most likely to benefit from AI development.C) They share the same concerns about AI as academics.D) They believe they can keep AI under human control.【参考答案】BCADC46. B) It might be a blessing or a disaster in the making.47. C) It was extremely important to the destiny of humankind.48. A) The shift of research focus from the past to the future.49. D) Super-intelligence may eventually ruin mankind.50. C) They share the same concerns about AI as academics.温馨提示:考试采取“多题多卷”模式,试题顺序不统一,请依据试题进行核对。
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