2008年1月六级真题答案
1997年1月大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷及参考答案
1997年1月大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷及参考答案Part I Listening Comprehension (20 minutes)Section ADirections: In this section you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both theconversation and the question will be spoken only once. After eachquestion there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the foursuggested answers marked A)，B)，C), and D) and decide which is thebest answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet witha single line through the centre.Example:You will hear:You will read:A) 2 hours.B) 3 hours.C) 4 hours.D) 5 hours.From the conversation we know that the two are talking about some work they will start at 9 o’clock in the morning and have to finish at 2 in the afternoon. Therefore, D) “5 hours” is the correct answer. You should choose [D] on the Answer Sheet and mark it with a single line through the centre.Sample Answer [A] [B] [C] [D]1. A) Their parents cut back the loan.B) The woman doesn’t want Frank to take another English course.C) They can’t pay the rent this month.D) The woman’s boss refused to give her a raise.2. A) Ask Dr. Smith to alter his decision.B) Ask Dr. Smith to call the library.C) Get the book directly from Dr. Smith.D) Get Dr. Smith’s written permission.3. A) $120B) $108C) $90D) $404. A) He feels unsympathetic.B) He feels it’s a pity.C) He feels it’s unfair.D) He feels glad.5. A) Doing business.B) Taking pictures.C) Buying cameras.D) Making movies.6. A) Looking for an apartment.B) Looking for a job.C) Taking a suburban excursion.D) Asking the man for his opinions.7. A) She’ll go to her uncle’s.B) She has an appointment with her friend.C) She’ll have an appointment with her friend.D) She’ll have a visitor.8. A) He made a sudden turn.B) He drove the bus over a bicycle.C) He tried to avoid hitting the truck.D) He was driving too fast.9. A) He is curious.B) He is impatient.C) He is exhausted.D) He is satisfied.10. A) She didn’t know how to use the new oven.B) She wanted her refrigerator to be fixed.C) There is something wrong with the oven.D) There is something wrong with the food.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage,you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will bespoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the bestanswer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark thecorresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through thecentre.Passage OneQuestions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.11. A) Because he led his teams to many championships.B) Because he set as many as 65 different records.C) Because he still played the game after he retired.D) Because he didn’t stop playing even when he was seriously injured.12. A) He lost the final chance to win a championship.B) He was knocked out during one contest.C) He broke a bone in the wrist during a match.D) He was awarded with a $1.5 million house.13. A) To break the previous records.B) To buy a luxury house.C) To win one more championship for his team.D) To play against the New York team once again.Passage TwoQuestions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.14. A) To enjoy a good story.B) To see the actors and actresses.C) To experience an exciting life.D) To escape their everyday life.15. A) They feel that everything on the screen is familiar to them.B) They are touched by the life stories of the actors and actresses.C) They try to turn their dreams into reality.D) They become so involved that they forget their own problems.16. A) Because they are well made and the stories are interesting.B) Because the heroes have to cope with many problems and frustrations.C) Because the characters in the movies are free to do whatever they like.D) Because good guys in the movies always win in the end.Passage ThreeQuestions 17 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.17. A) Because the bottle was empty and useless.B) Because he wanted to lighten the load of his small plane.C) Because the bottle might be useful to the native Africans.D) Because he wanted to amuse the local tribes people.18. A) A message from the outside world.B) A warning from the gods.C) A symbol of misfortune.D) A gift from the gods.19. A) The local Africans are peace loving people.B) Soda bottles are very precious in some remote areas.C) A trivial thing may sometimes bring about undesirable consequences.D) Caution must be taken in introducing new technology.20. A) They thought that the gods were all crazy.B) They were isolated from the outside world.C) They enjoyed living in the peaceful desert.D) They worshipped the gods all the more after the incident.Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them the re are fourchoices marked A)，B)，C), and D). you should decide on the best choiceand mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single linethrough the centre.Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.More and more, the operations of our businesses, governments, and financial institutions are controlled by information that exists only inside computer memories. Anyone clever enough to modify this information for his own purposes can reap substantial rewards. Even worse, a number of people who have done this and been caught at it have managed to get away without punishment.It’s easy for computer crimes to go undetected if no one checks up on what thecomputer is doing. But even if the crime is detected, the criminal may walk away not only unpunished but with a glowing recommendation from his former employers.Of course, we have no statistics on crimes that go undetected. But it’s disturbing to note how many of the crimes we do know about were detected by accident, not by systematic inspections or other security procedures. The computer criminals who have been caught may been the victims of uncommonly bad luck.For example, a certain keypunch (键盘打孔) operator complained of having to stay overtime to punch extra cards. Investigation revealed that the extra cards she was being asked to punch were for dishonest transactions. In another case, dissatisfied employees of the thief tipped off (向…透露) the company that was being robbed.Unlike other lawbreakers, who must leave the country, commit suicide, or go to jail, computer criminals sometimes escape punishment, demanding not only that they not be charged but that they be given good recommendations and perhaps other benefits. All too often, their demands have been met.Why? Because company executives are afraid of the bad publicity that would result if the public found out that their computer had been misused. They hesitate at the thought of a criminal boasting in open court of how he juggled (耍弄) the most confidential records right under the noses of the company’s executives, a accountant, and security staff. And so another computer criminal departs with just the recommendations he needs to continue his crimes elsewhere.21. It can be concluded from the passage that ________.A) it is still impossible to detect computer crimes todayB) computer crimes are the most serious problem in the operation of financialinstitutionsC) computer criminals can escape punishment because they can’t be detectedD) people commit computer crimes at the request their company22. It is implied in the third paragraph that ________.A) many more computer crimes go undetected than are discoveredB) the rapid increase of computer crimes is a troublesome problemC) most computer criminals are smart enough to cover up their crimesD) most computer criminals are smart enough to cover up their bad luck23. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?A) A strict law against computer crimes must be enforced.B) Companies need to impose restrictions on confidential information.C) Companies will guard against computer crimes to protect their reputation.D) Companies usually hesitate to uncover computer crimes.24. What may happen to computer criminals once they are caught?A) With a bad reputation they can hardly find another job.B) They will be denied access to confidential records.C) They may walk away and easily find another job.D) They must leave the country or go to jail.25. The passage is mainly about ________.A) why computer crimes are difficult to detect by systematic inspectionsB) why computer criminals are often able to escape punishmentC) how computer criminals manage to get good recommendation from their formeremployersD) why computer crimes can’t be eliminatedQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.It is often claimed that nuclear energy is something we cannot do without. We live in a consumer society where there is an enormous demand for commercial products of all kinds. Moreover, an increase in industrial production is considered to be one solution to the problem of mass unemployment. Such an increase presumes an abundant and cheap energy supply. Many people believe that nuclear energy provides an inexhaustible and economical source of power and that it is therefore essential for an industrially developing society. There are a number of other advantages in the use of nuclear energy. Firstly, nuclear power, except for accidents, is clean. A further advantage is that a nuclear power station can be run and maintained by relatively few technical and administrative staff. The nuclear reactor represents an enormous step in our scientific evolution and, whatever the anti nuclear group says, it is wrong to expect a return to more primitive sources of fuel. However, opponents of nuclear energy point out that nuclear power stations bring a direct threat not only to the environment but also to civil liberties.Furthermore, it is questionable whether ultimately nuclear power is a cheap source of energy. There have, for example, been very costly accidents in America, in Britain and, of course, in Russia. The possibility of increases in the cost of uranium (铀) in addition to the cost of greater safety provisions could price nuclear power out of the market. In the long run, environmentalists argue, nuclear energy wastes valuable resources and disturbs the ecology to an extent which could bring about the destruction of the human race. Thus, if we wish to survive, we cannot afford nuclear energy. In spite of the case against nuclear energy outlined above, nuclear energy programmes are expanding. Such an expansion assumes a continual growth in industrial production and consumer demands. However, it is doubtful whether this growth will or can continue. Having weighed up the arguments on both sides, it seems there are good economic and ecological reasons for sources of energy other than nuclear power.26. The writer’s attitude toward nuclear energy is ________.A) indifferentB) favorableC) tolerantD) negative27. According to the opponents of nuclear energy, which of the following is true ofnuclear energy?A) PrimitiveB) ExhaustibleC) CheapD) Unsafe28. Some people claim that nuclear energy is essential because ________.A) it provides a perfect solution to mass unemploymentB) it represents an enormous step forward in our scientific evolutionC) it can meet the growing demand of an industrially developing societyD) nuclear power stations can be run and maintained by relatively few technical andadministrative staff29. Which of the following statements does the writer support?A) The demand for commercial products will not necessarily keep increasing.B) Nuclear energy is something we cannot do without.C) Uranium is a good source of energy for economic and ecological reasons.D) Greater safety provisions can bring about the expansion of nuclear energyprogrammes.30. The function of the last sentence is to ________.A) advance the final argumentB) reflect the writer’s attitudeC) reverse previously expressed thoughtsD) show the disadvantages of nuclear powerQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are, who they are not, and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer’s background, personality, status, mood, and social outlook.Since clothes are such an important source of social information, we can use them to manipulate people’s impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle class man or woman may be alienated (疏远…) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner, regardless of the person’s education, background, or interests.People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits (套装), including the number of boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or drink. Newscasters, or the announcers who read the news on TV, are considered to be more convincing, honest, and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their inter-personal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover, many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we act ed. Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation, such as a job interview, or a court appearance.In the workplace, men have long had well defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business wor ld are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of “masculine” and “feminine” attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that avail able for men. Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less “feminine” grooming (打扮)-shorter hair, moderate use of make up, and plain tailored clothing. As one male administrator confessed, “An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview, but she won’t get a job.”31. According to the passage, the way we dress ________.A) provides clues for people who are critical of usB) indicates our likes and dislikes in choosing a careerC) has a direct influence on the way people regard usD) is of particular importance when we get on in age32. From the third paragraph of the passage, we can conclude that young adults tend tobelieve that certain types of clothing can ________.A) change people’s conservative attitudes toward their lifestyleB) help young people make friends with the opposite sexC) make them competitive in the job marketD) help them achieve success in their interpersonal relationships33. The word “precedent” (Line 1, Para. 4) probably refers to ________.A) early acts for men to follow as examplesB) particular places for men to occupy especially because of their importanceC) things that men should agree uponD) men’s beliefs that everything in the world has already been decided34. According to the passage, many career women find themselves in difficultsituations because ________.A) the variety of professional clothing is too wide for them to chooseB) women are generally thought to be only good at being fashion modelsC) men are more favorably judged for managerial positionsD) they are not sure to what extent they should display their feminine qualitiesthrough clothing35. What is the passage mainly about?A) Dressing for effect.B) How to dress appropriately.C) Managerial positions and clothing.D) Dressing for the occasion.Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.The more women and minorities make their way into the ranks of management, the more they seem to want to talk about things formerly judged to be best left unsaid. The newcomers also tend to see office matters with a fresh eye, in the process sometimes coming up with critical analyses of the forces that shape everyone’s experience in the organization.Consider the novel views of Harvey Coleman of Atlanta on the subject of getting ahead. Coleman is black. He spent 11 years with IBM, half of them working in management development, and now serves as a consultant to the likes of AT&T, Coca Cola, Prudential, and Merch. Coleman says that based on what he’s seen at big companies, he weighs the different elements that make for long term career success as follows: performance counts a mere 10%, image, 30%; and exposure, a full 60%. Coleman concludes that excellent job performance is so common these days that while doing your work well may win you pay increases, it won’t secure you the big promotion. He finds that advancement more often depends on how many people know you and your work, and how high up they are.Ridiculous beliefs? Not to many people, especially many women and members of minority races who, like Coleman, feel that the scales (障眼物) have dropped from their eyes. “Women and blacks in organizations work under false beliefs,” says Kaleel Jamison, a New York based management consultant who helps corporations deal with these issues. “They think that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead—that someone in authority will reach down and give you a promotion.” She adds, “Most women and blacks are so frightened that people will think they’ve gotten ahead because of their sex or color that they play down (使不突出) their visibility.” Her advice to those folks: learn the ways that white males have traditionally used to find their way into the spotlight. 36. According to the passage, “things formerly judged to be best left unsaid” (Line 2,Para. 1) probably refers to “________”.A) criticisms that shape everyone’s experienceB) the opinions which contradict the established beliefsC) the tendencies that help the newcomers to see office matters with a fresh eyeD) the ideas which usually come up with usually come up with new ways ofmanagement in the organization37. To achieve success in your career, the most important factor, according to thepassage, is to ________.A) let your superiors know how good you areB) project a favorable image to the people around youC) work as a consultant to your superiorsD) perform well your tasks given by your superiors38. The reason why women and blacks play down their visibility is that they ________.A) know that someone in authority will reach down and give them a promotionB) want to give people the impression that they work under false beliefsC) don’t want people to think that their promotions were due to sex or colorD) believe they can get promoted by reason of their sex or color39. The author is of the opinion that Coleman’s beliefs are ________.A) biasedB) popularC) insightfulD) superficial40. The best title for this passage would be ________.A) Role of Women and Minorities in ManagementB) The Importance of Being VisibleC) Job Performance and AdvancementD) Sex and Career SuccessPart III Vocabulary and Structure (20 minutes)Directions: There are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A)，B)，C), and D). Choose the ONE that bestcompletes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the AnswerShe et with a single line through the centre.41. As a ________ actor, he can perform, sing, dance and play several kinds of musicalinstruments.A) flexibleC) sophisticatedD) productive42. There are not many teachers who are strong ________ of traditional methods inEnglish teaching.A) sponsorsB) contributorsC) advocatesD) performers43. We managed to reach the top of the mountain, and half an hour later we began to________.A) ascendB) descendC) declineD) plunge44. Competition, they believe, ________ the national character than corrupt it.A) enforcesB) confirmsC) intensifiesD) strengthens45. The accident ________ him of his sight and the use of his legs.A) excludedB) disabledC) deprivedD) gripped46. On weekends my grandma usually ________ a glass of wine.A) subscribes toB) engages inC) hangs onD) indulges in47. The people living in these apartments have free ________ to that swimming pool.A) accessC) excursionD) recreation48. At the party we found that shy girl ________ her mother all the time.A) depending onB) coinciding withC) adhering toD) clinging to49. When a psychologist does a general experiment about the human mind, he selectspeople ________ and ask them questions.A) at lengthB) at randomC) in essenceD) in bulk50. I think she hurt my feelings ________ rather than by accident as she claimed.A) virtuallyB) deliberatelyC) literallyD) appropriately51. Even though he was guilty, the ________ judge did not send him to prison.A) mercifulB) impartialC) conscientiousD) conspicuous52. The education ________ for the coming year is about $4 billion, which is muchmore than what people expected.A) allowanceB) reservationC) budgetD) finance53. They had fierce ________ as to whether their company should restore the traderelationship which was broken year ago.A) debateC) disagreementD) context54. They tossed your thoughts back and forth for over an hour, but still could not make________ of them.A) impressionB) comprehensionC) meaningD) sense55. The politician says he will ________ the welfare of the people.A) prey onB) take onC) get atD) see to56. If you ________ the bottle and cigarettes, you’ll be much healthier.A) take offB) keep offC) get offD) set off57. He was ________ to steal the money when he saw it lying on the table.A) draggedB) temptedC) elicitedD) attracted58. Beijing somewhat short sighted, she had the habit of ________ at people.A) glancingB) peeringC) gazingD) scanning59. Of the thousands of known volcanoes in the world, the ________ majority areinactive.A) tremendousB) demandingC) intensiveD) overwhelming60. In general, matters which lie entirely within state borders are the ________ concernof state governments.A) extinctB) excludingC) excessiveD) exclusive61. The poetry of Ezra Pound is sometimes difficult to understand because it containsso many ________ references.A) obscureB) acuteC) notableD) objective62. The mayor was asked to ________ his speech in order to allow his audience to raisequestions.A) constrainB) conductC) condenseD) converge63. The morning news says a school bus ________ with a train at the junction and agroup of policemen were sent there immediately.A) bumpedB) collidedC) crashedD) struck64. Sometimes patients suffering from severe pain can be helped by “drugs” that aren’treally drugs at all ________ sugar pills that contain no active chemical elements.A) or ratherB) rather thanC) but ratherD) other than65. We are writing to the manager ________ the repairs recently carried out at theabove address.A) with the exception ofB) with the purpose ofC) with reference toD) with a view to66. When I said goodbye to her, she ________ the door.A) saw me atB) set me offC) sent me toD) showed me to67. In the meantime, the question facing business is whether such research is ________the costs.A) worthB) worth ofC) worthyD) worthwhile68. During the nineteen years of his career, France Batiste has won the ________ of awide audience outside Italy.A) enjoymentB) appreciationC) evaluationD) reputation69. Although most dreams apparently happen ________, dream activity may beprovoked by external influences.A) spontaneouslyB) simultaneouslyC) homogeneouslyD) instantaneously70. He is holding a ________ position in the company and expects to be promoted soon.A) subordinateB) succeedingC) successiveD) subsequentPart IV Short Answer Questions (15 minutes)Directions: In this part there is a short passage with five questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions orcomplete the statements in the fewest possible words.Joe Templer should have known better: after all, he works for a large auto insurance company. It won’t hurt to leave the key in the truck this once, he thought, as he filled his gas tank at a self service gas station. But moments latter as he was paying the money he saw the truck being driven away.In 1987, 1.6 million motor vehicles were stolen in the United States-one every 20 seconds. If current trends continue, experts predict annual vehicle thefts could exceed two million by the end of the decade.Vehicle theft is a common phenomenon, which has a direct impact on over four million victims a year. The cost is astonishing.Many police officials blame professional thieves for the high volume of thefts. It is a major money maker for organized crime. Typically, stolen cars are taken to pieces and the parts sold to individuals. But as many as 200,000 cars a re smuggled out of the country every year. Most go to Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.Only about 15 percent car thefts result in an arrest, because few police departments routinely conduct in depth auto investigations. When thieves are arrested, judges will often sentence them to probation (缓刑), not immediately put them in prison because the prisons are overcrowded with violent criminals.One exception is a Michigan program that assigns 92 police officers to work full time on the state’s 65,000 car theft cases a year. Since 1986, when the effort began, the state’s auto theft rate has fallen from second in the nation to ninth.How can you protect your car? If you live in a high theft area or drive an expensive model, consider a security system. It may cost anywhere from $25 to $1,000. Some systems engage automatically simply removing the key disables the fuel pump and the starter. When cars are equipped with such systems, thefts may drop by one third. In some states, you may be able to use a device that transmits radio signals, allowing stolen cars to be tracked by police.Questions:71. What is the passage mainly about?________________________________________________________________.72. What does the author think Joe Templer should be blamed for?________________________________________________________________. 73. How serious did the author predict the annual vehicle theft could in the UnitedStates in 1989?________________________________________________________________.74. What are the two ways thieves sell the stolen cars?________________________________________________________________.75. What type of security system can help the police track down a stolen car?________________________________________________________________.Part V Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic Haste Makes Waste.You should write at least 120 words and youshould base your composition on the outline (given in Chinese) below:1. 为什么说“欲速则不达”。
2008年12月大学英语六级真题试题及答案(A卷)
之2008年12月大学英语六级真题试题及答案(A卷)2008年12月大学英语六级真题试题及答案(A卷)一、阅读理解第1题：sustainable development is applied to just about eberything from energy to clean water and economic growth,and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use.this is especially true in agriculture,where sustainable development is often taken as the sole measure of progress without a proper appreciation of histrorcal and cultural perspectives.To start with,it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history,and will continue to do so .medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed,clothed and shelered a predominantly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today.it had minimal effect on biodiversity,and any pollution it caused was typically localized.in termsof energy use and the nutrients captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial petion from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields.throughout this period food became cheaper,safe and more reliable.however,these changes have alsoled to habitat loss and to diminishing biodiversity.What’smore,demand for animal products in d eveloping countrics is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050.yet the growth of cities and in dustry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.All this means that agriculture in the 21st century will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th.this will require radical thinking.for example,we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are inevitably more sustainable than new ones.we also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be “zero impact”. The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static measures of sustainability,which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.instead we need a more dynamic interpretation,one that looks at the pros and cons of all the various way land is used.there are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield:energy use, environmental costs,water purity,carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example,that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from spain to the UK Is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting.but we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.What is crucial is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.1. How do people ofen measure progress in agriculture?A) By its productivity C) By its impact on the environmetB) By its sustainability D) By its contribution to economic growth2. Specialisation and the effort to incease yields have esulted in________.A) Localised pollution C) competition from overseasB) the shrinking of farmland D) the decrease of biodiversity3.What does the author think of traditional farming practices?A)They have remained the same over the centuriesB)They have not kept pace with population growthC)They are not necessarily sustainableD)They are environmentally friendly4.What will agriculture be like in the 21st centuryA) It will go through radical changesB) It will supply more animal productsC) It will abandon traditional farming practicesD) It will cause zero damage to the environment5 What is the author’s purpose in writing this pass age?A) To remind people of the need of sustainable developmentB) To suggest ways of ensuring sustainable food productionC) To adance new criteria for measuring farming progressD) To urge people to rethink what sustainable agriculture is1小题>、【正确答案】：B2小题>、【正确答案】：D3小题>、【正确答案】：C4小题>、【正确答案】：A5小题>、【正确答案】：D【参考解析】：无第2题：The percentage of immigrants(including those unlawfully present) in the United states has been creeping upward for years. At 12.6 percent, it is now higher than at any point ince the mid1920s We are not about to go back to the days when Congress openly worried about inferior races polluing America’s bloodstream. But once again we are wondering whether we have too many of the wrong sort fo necomers.Their loudest citecs argue that the new wave of immigrants cannot,and indeed do not want to, fit in as previous generations did.We now know that these racist views were wrong.In time, Italians, Romanians and members of other so-called inferior races became exemplary Americans and contributed greatly, in ways too numerous to detail , to the building of this magnificent nation. There is no reason why these new immigrants should not have the same success.Although children of Mexican immigrants do better, in terms of educational and professional attainment, than thir parents UCLA sociologist Edward Telles has found that the gains don’t continme. Indeed, the fouth generation is marginally worse off than the third James Jackson,of the University of Michigan,has foud a simila rend among black Caribbean immigrants,Tells fears that Mexican-Americans may be fated to follow in the footsteps of American blacks-that largeparts of the community may become mired in a seemingly state of poverty and Underachievement . Like African-Americans, Mexican-americans are increasingly relegated to (降入)segregated, substandyrd schools, and their dropout rate is the highest for any 儿童会nic group in the country.We have learned much about the foolish idea of excluding people on the presumption of the ethnic/racial inferiority. But what we have not yet learned is how to make the process of Americanization work for all. I am not talking about requiring people to learn English or to adoptAmerican ways; those things happen pretty much on their own, but as arguments about immigration hear up the campaign trail, we also ought to ask some broader question about assimilation, about ho wto ensure that people , once outsiders , don’t fovever remain marginalized within these shores.That is a much larger question than what should happen with undocumented workers, or how best to secure the border, and it is one that affects not only newcomers but groups that have been here for generations. It will have more impact on our future than where we decide to set the admissions bar for the lasest ware of would-be Americans. And it would be nice if we finally got the answer right。
2008六级真题答案解析
2008六级真题答案解析年六级真题答案解析年的六级考试是众多英语考生备战的重要一年，很多人都翘首期盼着能够在这次考试中取得好成绩。
然而，备考之初，许多考生就遇到了一项艰巨的任务：寻找年六级真题答案。
为了帮助各位考生更好地备考，本文将对年六级真题的答案进行解析，并提供一些备考建议，希望对大家有所帮助。
在解析答案之前，我们首先需要了解年六级考试的整体情况。
年的六级考试分为听力、阅读、写作和翻译四个部分。
听力部分包括长对话、短对话和听力理解，考察考生对于英语听力的理解能力。
阅读部分包括选词填空、仔细阅读和阅读理解，考察考生对于英语文章的阅读和理解能力。
写作部分要求考生根据提供的话题进行写作，考察考生的写作能力。
翻译部分则要求考生将中文翻译成英文，考察考生的翻译能力。
在看待这些题目时，我们要注意到这些题目背后所考察的技能，帮助我们更好地组织复习。
听力部分考察的是我们对于英语口语的理解能力，可以通过多听英语音频、学习英语口语表达习惯等方式来提高。
阅读部分考察的是我们对于英语文章的阅读理解能力，可以通过多读英语文章、学习阅读技巧等方式来提高。
写作部分考察的是我们的写作能力，可以通过多写英文作文、学习写作技巧等方式来提高。
翻译部分考察的是我们的翻译能力，可以通过翻译练习、学习翻译技巧等方式来提高。
接下来，我们来解析具体的年六级真题答案。
在听力部分的长对话中，答案分别是ABD。
在短对话中，答案分别是CBA。
在听力理解中，答案分别是BDDAB。
阅读部分的选词填空的答案分别是CBDAC。
仔细阅读的答案分别是CBACB。
阅读理解的答案分别是AABDC。
写作部分的答案是根据考生的实际写作情况而定，所以无法给出具体的答案。
但是，在备考写作时，我们要注意提高自己的语法和词汇水平，多读英语优秀范文，学习写作技巧。
翻译部分的答案是根据考生的实际翻译情况而定，所以无法给出具体的答案。
但是，在备考翻译时，我们要注意提高自己的词汇量和翻译技巧，多进行翻译练习，积累翻译素材。
2008年6月英语六级真题及答案解析(标准完整版)
2008年6月英语六级真题及答案Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Will E-books Replace Traditional Books? You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.1.随着信息技术的发展，电子图书越来越多2.有人认为电子图书会取代传统图书，理由是……3.我的看法Will E-books Replace Traditional Books?Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions:In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.What will the world be like in fifty years?This week some top scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, gave their vision of howthe world will look in 2056,fron gas-powered cars to extraordinary health advances, John Ingham reports on what the world’s finest minds believe our futures will be.For those of us lucky enough to live that long,2056 will be a world of almost perpetual youth, where obesity is a remote memory and robots become our companions.We will be rubbing shoulders with aliens and colonizing outer space. Better still, our descendants might at last live in a world at peace with itself.The prediction is that we will have found a source of inexbaustible, safe, green energy,and that science will have killed off religion. If they are right we will have removed twoof the main causes of war-our dependence on oil and religious prejudice.Will we really, as today’s scientists claim, be able to live for ever or at least cheatthe ageing process so that the average person lives to 150?Of course, all these predictions come with a scientific health warning. Harvard professor Steven Pinker says: “This is an invitation to look foolish, as with the predictions of domed cities and nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners th at were made 50 year ago.”Living longerAnthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute in North Carolina, belives failing organs will be repaired by injecting cells into the body. They will naturally to straightto the injury and help heal it. A system of injections without needles could also slow the ageing process by using the same process to “tune” cells.Bruce Lahn, professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, anticipates theability to produce“unlimited supplies” of transpla ntable human organs without the needed a new organ, such as kidney, the surgeon would contact a commercial organ producer, give him the patient’s immuno-logical profile and would then be sent a kidney with the correct tissue type.These organs would be entirely composed of human cells, grown by introducing them into animal hosts, and alloweing them to deveoop into and organ in place of the animal’s own. But Prof. Lahn believes that farmed brains would be “off limits”.He says: “Very few people would want to have their brains replaced by someone else’s and we probably don’t want to put a human brain ing an animal body.”Richard Miller, a professor at the University of Michigan, thinks scientist could develop“an thentic anti-ageing drugs” by working out how cells in larger animals such as whales and human resist many forms of injuries. He says:“It’s is now routine, in laboratory mammals, to extend lifespan by about 40%. Turning on the same protective systems in people should, by 2056, create the first class of 100-year-olds who are as vigorous and productive as today’s people in their 60s”AliensConlin Pillinger ,professor of planerary sciences at the Open University,says:”I fancy that at least we will be able to show that life didi start to evolve on Mars well as Earth.”Within 50years he hopes scientists will prove that alien life came here in Martian meteorites(陨石).Chris McKay,a planetary scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center.believes that in 50 years we may find evidence of alien life in ancient permanent forst of Mars or on other planers.He adds:”There is even a chance we will find alien life forms here on Earth.It mightbe as different as English is to Chinese.Priceton professor Freeman Dyson thinks it “likely” that life form outer space will be discovered defore 2056 because the tools for finding it, such as optical and radio detection and data processing,are improving.He ays:”As soon as the first evidence is found,we will know what to look for and additional discoveries are likely to follow quickly.Such discoveries are likely to have revolutionary consequences for biology, astronomy and philosophy. They may change the way we look at ourselves and our place in the universe.Colonies in spaceRichard Gottprofessor of astrophysics at Princeton,hopes man will set up a self-sufficient colony on Mars,which would be a “life insurance policy against whatever catastrophes,natural or otherwise,might occur on Earth.“The real space race is whether we will colonise off Earth on to other worlds before money for the space programme runs out.”Spinal injuriesEllen Heber-Katz,a professor at the Wistar Institude in Philadelphia,foresees cures for inijuries causing paralysis such as the one that afflicated Superman star Christopher Reeve.She says:”I believe that the day is not far off when we will be able to profescribe drugs that cause severes(断裂的) spinal cords to heal,hearts to regenerate and lost limbs to regrow.“People will come to expect that injured or diseased organs are meant to be repaired from within,inmuch the same way that we fix an appliance or automobile:by replancing thedamaged part with a manufacturer-certified new part.”She predict that within 5 to 10 years fingers and toes will be regrown and limbs will start to be regrown a few years later. Reparies to the nervous system will start with optic nerves and,in time,the spinal cord.”Within 50years whole body replacement will be routine,”Prof.Heber-Katz adds.ObesitySydney Brenner,senior distinguished fellow of the Crick-Jacobs Center in California,won the 2002 Noblel Prize for Medicine and says that if there is a global disaster some humans will survive-and evolition will favour small people with bodies large enough to support the required amount of brain power.”Obesity,”he says.”will have been solved.”RobotsRodney Brooks,professor of robotice at MIT,says the problems of developing artificial intelligence for robots will be at least partly overcome.As a result,”the possibilities for robots working with people wil l open up immensely”EnergyBill Joy,green technology expert in Califomia,says:”The most significant breakthrought would be to have an inexhaustible source of safe,green energy that is substantially cheaper than any existing energy source.”Ideally,such a source would be safe in that it could not be made into weapons and would not make hazardous or toxic waste or carbon dioxide,the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.SocietyGeoffrey Miller,evolutionary psychologist at the Universi ty of New Mexico,says:”The US will follow the UKin realizing that religion is nor a prerequisite (前提)for ordinary human decency.“This,science will kill religion-not by reason challenging faith but by offering a more practical,uniwersal and rewarding m oral frameworkfor human interaction.”He also predicts that “ahsurdly wasteful”displays of wealth will become umfashionable while the importance of close-knit communities and families will become clearer.These there changer,he says,will help make us all”brighe\ter,wiser,happier and kinder”.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
2008年6月大学英语六级考试试题及参考答案
2008年6月大学英语六级考试试题及参考答案Part Ⅰ(30 minutes)注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上Part ⅡReading Comprehension(Skimming and Scanning)(15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1 For questions 1-7,choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C)and D. For questions 8-10,complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.What will the world be like in fifty years?This week some top scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, gave their vision of how the world will look in 2056,fron gas-powered cars to extraordinary health advances, John Ingham reports on what the world‟s finest minds believe our futures will be.For those of us lucky enough to live that long,2056 will be a world of almost perpetual youth, where obesity is a remote memory and robots become our companions.We will be rubbing shoulders with aliens and colonizing outer space. Better still, our descendants might at last live in a world at peace with itself.The prediction is that we will have found a source of inexbaustible, safe, green energy, and that science will have killed off religion. If they are right we will have removed two of the main causes of war-our dependence on oil and religious prejudice.Will we really, as today‟s scientists claim, be able to live for ever or at least cheat the ageing process so that the average person lives to 150?Of course, all these predictions come with a scientific health warning. Harvard professor Steven Pinker sa ys: “This is an invitation to look foolish, as with the predictions of domed cities and nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners that were made 50 year ago.”Living longerAnthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute in North Carolina, belives failing organs will be repaired by injecting cells into the body. They will naturally to straight to the injury and help heal it. A system of injections without needles could also slow the ageing process by using the same process to “tune” cells.Bruce Lahn, professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, anticipates the ability to produce“unlimited supplies” of transplantable human organs without the needed a new organ, such as kidney, the surgeon would contact a commercial organ producer, give him the patien t‟s immuno-logical profile and would then be sent a kidney with the correct tissue type.These organs would be entirely composed of human cells, grown by introducing them into animal hosts, and alloweing them to deveoop into and organ in place of the anima l‟s own. But Prof. Lahn believes that farmed brains would be “off limits”.He says: “Very few people would want to have their brains replaced by someone else‟s and we probably don‟t want to put a human brain ing an animal body.”Richard Miller, a professor at the University of Michigan, thinks scientist could develop“an thentic anti-ageing drugs” by working out how cells in larger animals such as whales and human resist many forms of injuries. He says:“It‟s is now routine, in laboratory mammals, to extend lifespan by about 40%. Turning on the same protective systems in people should, by 2056, create the first class of 100-year-olds who are as vigorous and productive as today‟s people in their 60s”AliensConlin Pillinger ,professor of planerary sciences at th e Open University,says:”I fancy that at least we will be able to show that life didi start to evolve on Mars well as Earth.”Within50years he hopes scientists will prove that alien life came here in Martian meteorites(陨石). Chris McKay,a planetary scientist at NASA‟s Ames Research Center.believes that in 50 years we may find evidence of alien life in ancient permanent forst of Mars or on other planers. He adds:”There is even a chance we will find alien life forms here on Earth.It mightbe as different as English is to Chinese.Priceton professor Freeman Dyson thinks it “likely” that life form outer space will be discovered defore 2056 because the tools for finding it, such as optical and radio detection and data processing,are improving.He ays:”As soon as the first evidence is found,we will know what to look for and additional discoveries are likely to follow quickly.Such discoveries are likely to have revolutionary consequences for biology, astronomy and philosophy. They may change the way we look at ourselves and our place in the universe.Colonies in spaceRichard Gottprofessor of astrophysics at Princeton,hopes man will set up a self-sufficient colony on Mars,which would be a “life insurance policy against whatever catastrophes,natural or otherwise,might occur on Earth.“The real space race is whether we will colonise off Earth on to other worlds before money for the space programme runs out.”Spinal injuriesEllen Heber-Katz,a professor at the Wistar Institude in Philadelphia,foresees cures for inijuries causing paralysis such as the one that afflicated Superman star Christopher Reeve. She says:”I believe that the day is not far off when we will be able to profescribe drugs that cause severes(断裂的) spinal cords to heal,hearts to regenerate and lost limbs to regrow.“People will come to expect that injured or diseased organs are meant to be repaired from within,inmuch the same way that we fix an appliance or automobile:by replancing the damaged part with a manufacturer-certified new part.”She predict that withi n 5 to 10 years fingers and toes will be regrown and limbs will start to be regrown a few years later. Reparies to the nervous system will start with optic nerves and,in time,the spinal cord.”Within 50years whole body replacement will be routine,”Prof.Hebe r-Katz adds.ObesitySydney Brenner,senior distinguished fellow of the Crick-Jacobs Center in California,won the 2002 Noblel Prize for Medicine and says that if there is a global disaster some humans will survive-and evolition will favour small people with bodies large enough to support the required amount of brain power.”Obesity,”he says.”will have been solved.”RobotsRodney Brooks,professor of robotice at MIT,says the problems of developing artificial intelligence for robots will be at least partly overc ome.As a result,”the possibilities for robots working with people will open up immensely”EnergyBill Joy,green technology expert in Califomia,says:”The most significant breakthrought would be to have an inexhaustible source of safe,green energy that is substantially cheaper than any existing energy source.”Ideally,such a source would be safe in that it could not be made into weapons and would not make hazardous or toxic waste or carbon dioxide,the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.SocietyGe offrey Miller,evolutionary psychologist at the University of New Mexico,says:”The US will follow the UKin realizing that religion is nor a prerequisite (前提)for ordinary human decency. “This,science will kill religion-not by reason challenging faith but by offering a more practical,uniwersal and rewarding moral frameworkfor human interaction.”He also predicts that “ahsurdly wasteful”displays of wealth will become umfashionable while the importance of close-knit communities and families will become clearer.These there changer,he says,will help make us all”brighe\ter,wiser,happier and kinder”.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
英语六级听力真题长对话
英语六级听力真题长对话英语六级听力真题（长对话）（通用8篇）随着时间的推移，一年一度的六级考试马上就要到来了。
听力一直是六级考试的难点。
下面是yjbys网店铺提供给大家关于英语六级听力真题(长对话)，供大家参考。
英语六级听力真题长对话篇1Conversation OneM: So how long have you been a Market Research Consultant?W: Well, I started straight after finishing university.M: Did you study market research?W: Yeah, and it really helped me to get into the industry, but I have to say that it's more important to get experience in different types of market research to find out exactly what you're interested in.M: So what are you interested in?W: Well, at the moment, I specialize in quantitative advertising research, which means that I do two types of projects. Trackers, which are ongoing projects that look at trends or customer satisfaction over a long period of time. The only problem with trackers is that it takes up a lot of your time. But you do build up a good relationship with the client. I also do a couple of ad-hoc jobs which are much shorter projects.M: What exactly do you mean by ad-hoc jobs?W: It's basically when companies need quick answers to their questions about their consumers' habits. They just ask for one questionnaire to be sent out for example, so the time you spend on an ad-hoc project tends to be fairly short.M: Which do you prefer, trackers or ad-hoc?W: I like doing both and in fact I need to do both at the sametime to keep me from going crazy. I need the variety.M: Can you just explain what process you go through with a new client?W: Well, together we decide on the methodology and the objectives of the research. I then design a questionnaire. Once the interviewers have been briefed, I send the client a schedule and then they get back to me with deadlines. Once the final charts and tables are ready, I have to check them and organize a presentation.M: Hmm, one last question, what do you like and dislike about your job?W: As I said, variety is important and as for what I don't like, it has to be the checking of charts and tables.Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.Q1: What position does the woman hold in the company?Q2: What does the woman specialize in at the moment?Q3: What does the woman say about trackers?Q4: What does the woman dislike about her job?Conversation TwoW: Hello, I'm here with Frederick. Now Fred, you went to university in Canada?M: Yeah, that's right.W: OK, and you have very strong views about universities in Canada. Could you please explain?M: Well, we don't have private universities in Canada. They’re all public. All the universities are owned by the government, so there is the Ministry of Education in charge of creating the curriculum for the universities and so there is not much room for flexibility. Since it's a government operatedinstitution, things don't move very fast. If you want something to be done, then their staff do not have so much incentive to help you because he's a worker for the government. So I don't think it's very efficient. However, there are certain advantages of public universities, such as the fees being free. You don't have to pay for your education. But the system isn't efficient, and it does not work that well.W: Yeah, I can see your point, but in the United States we have many private universities, and I think they are large bureaucracies also. Maybe people don't act that much differently, because it’s the same thing working for a private university. They get paid for their job. I don’t know if they're that much more motivated to help people. Also, we have a problem in the United States that usually only wealthy kids go to the best schools and it's kind of a problem actually.M: I agree with you. I think it's a problem because you're not giving equal access to education to everybody. It’s no t easy, but having only public universities also might not be the best solution. Perhaps we can learn from Japan where they have a system of private and public universities. Now, in Japan, public universities are considered to be the best.W: Right. It's the exact opposite in the United States.M: So, as you see, it's very hard to say which one is better.W: Right, a good point.Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.Q5: What does the woman want Frederick to talk about?Q6: What does the man say about the curriculum in Canadian universities?Q7: On what point do the speakers agree?Q8: What point does the man make at the end of the conversation?英语六级听力真题长对话篇2Lecture 1The negative impacts of natural disasters can be seen everywhere. In just the past few weeks, the world has witnessed the destructive powers of earthquakes in Indonesia, typhoons in the Philippines, and the destructive sea waves that struck Samoa and neighboring islands.A study by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters finds that, between 1980 and 2007, nearly 8,400 natural disasters killed more than two-million people. These catastrophic events caused more than $1.5 trillion in economic losses.U.N. weather expert Geoffrey Love says that is the bad news. "Over the last 50 years, economic losses have increased by a factor of 50. That sounds pretty terrible, but the loss of life has decreased by a factor of 10 simply because we are getting better at warning people. We are making a difference. Extreme events, however, will continue to occur. But, the message is that they may not be disasters."Love, who is director of Weather and Disaster Risk Reduction at the World Meteorological Organization, says most of the deaths and economic losses were caused by weather, climate, or water-related extremes. These include droughts, floods, windstorms, strong tropical winds and wildfires.He says extreme events will continue. But, he says extreme events become disasters only when people fail to prepare for them."Many of the remedies are well-known. From a planning perspective, it is pretty simple. Build better buildings. Don’tbuild where the hazards will destroy them. From an early-warning perspective, make sure the warnings go right down to the community level. Build community action plans. ”The World Meteorological Organization points to Cuba and Bangladesh as examples of countries that have successfully reduced the loss of life caused by natural disasters by taking preventive action.It says tropical cyclones formerly claimed dozens, if not hundreds of lives, each year, in Cuba. But, the development of an early-warning system has reversed that trend. In 2008, Cuba was hit by five successive hurricanes, but only seven people were killed.Bangladesh also has achieved substantial results. Major storm surges in 1970 and 1991 caused the deaths of about 440,000 people. Through careful preparation, the death toll from a super tropical storm in November 2007 was less than 3,500.Q16. What is the talk mainly about?Q17. How can we stop extreme events from turning into events?Q18. What does the example of Cuba serve to show?Lecture 2As U.S. banks recovered with the help of American government and the American taxpayers, president Obama held meetings with top bank execut ives, telling them it’s time to return the favor. “The way I see it are banks now having a greater obligation to the goal of a wide recovery,” he said. But the president may be giving the financial sector too much credit. “It was in a free fall, and it was a very scary period.” Economist Martin Neil Baily said. After the failure of Lehman Brothers, many of the world’s largest banks feared the worst as the collapse ofthe housing bubble exposed in investments in risky loans.Although he says the worst is just over, Bailey says the banking crisis is not. More than 130 US banks failed in 2009. He predicts high failure rates for smaller, regional banks in 2010 as commercial real estate loans come due."So there may actually be a worsening of credit availability to small and medium sized businesses in the next year or so."Analysts say the biggest problem is high unemployment, which weakens demand and makes banks reluctant to lend. But US Bankcorp chief Richard Davis sees the situation differently."We're probably more optimistic than the experts might be.With that in mind, we're putting everything we can, lending is the coal to our engine, so we want to make more loans. We have to find a way to qualify more people and not put ourselves at risk."While some economists predict continued recovery in the future, Baily says the only certainty is that banks are unlikely to make the same mistakes - twice. "You know, forecasting's become a very hazardous business so I don't want to commit myself too much. I don't think we know exactly what's going to happen but it's certainly possible that we could get very slow growth over the next year or two.”If the economy starts to shrink again, Baily says it would make a strong case for a second stimulus -- something the Obama administration hopes will not be necessary.Q19. What dose president Obama hope the banks will do?Q20. What is Martin Neil Baily’s prediction about the financial situation in the future?Q21. What does U.S. Bankcorp chief Richard Davis say about its future operation?Q22. What does Martin Neil Baily think of a second stimulus to the economy?英语六级听力真题长对话篇3Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of eachconversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will bespoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer. from the fourchoices marked A), B),C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with asingle line through the centre.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
2008年6月英语六级真题及答案解析(标准完整版)
2008年6月英语六级考试真题Part I Writing （30 minutes) Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Will E—books Replace Traditional Books? You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below。
1.随着信息技术的发展，电子图书越来越多2.有人认为电子图书会取代传统图书，理由是……3.我的看法Will E-books Replace Traditional Books？Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning）(15 minutes)Directions:In this part，you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1—7，choose the best answer from the four choices marked ［A]，[B］, ［C] and [D]。
For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage。
What will the world be like in fifty years?This week some top scientists, including Nobel Prize winners，gave their vision of how the worldwill look in 2056,fron gas—powered cars to extraordinary health advances, John Ingham reports on whatthe world's finest minds believe our futures will be。
2008年12月20日大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷(A卷)+听力原文+答案详解
2008年12月20日大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷(A卷)Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled How to improve psychological health? You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.1. 学生心理健康的重要性2. 学校应该怎样做3. 学生自己应该怎样做How to improve psychological healthPart II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Supersize Surprise Ask anyone why there is an obesity epidemic and they will tell you that it's all down to eating too much and burning too few calories. That explanation appeals to common sense and has dominated efforts to get to the root of the obesity epidemic and reverse it. Yet obesity researchers are increasingly dissatisfied with it. Many now believe that something else must have changed in our environment to precipitate (促成) such dramatic rises in obesity over the past 40 years or so. Nobody is saying that the ―big two‖ –reduced physical activity and increased availability of food – are not important contributors to the epidemic, but they cannot explain it all. Earlier this year a review paper by 20 obesity experts set out the 7 most plausible alternative explanations for the epidemic. Here they are.1. Not enough sleepIt is widely believed that sleep is for the brain, not the body. Could a shortage of shut-eye also be helping to make us fat?Several large-scale studies suggest there may be a link. People who sleep less than 7 hours a night tend to have a higher body mass index than people who sleep more, according to data gathered by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Similarly, the US Nurses' Health Study, which tracked 68,000 women for 16 years, found that those who slept an average of 5 hours a night gained more weight during the study period than women who slept 6 hours, who in turn gained more than those who slept 7.It's well known that obesity impairs sleep, so perhaps people get fat first and sleep less afterwards. But the nurses' study suggests that it can work in the other direction too: sleep loss may precipitate weight gain.Although getting figures is difficult, it appears that we really are sleeping less. In 1960 people in the US slept an average of 8.5 hours per night. A 2002 poll by the National Sleep Foundation suggests that the average has fallen to under 7 hours, and the decline is mirrored by the increase in obesity.2. Climate controlWe humans, like all warm-blooded animals, can keep our core body temperatures pretty much constant regardless of what's going on in the world around us. We do this by altering our metabolic (新陈代新的) rate, shivering or sweating. Keeping warm and staying cool take energy unless we are in the ―thermo-neutral zone‖, which is increasingly where we choose to live andwork.There is no denying that ambient temperatures (环境温度) have changed in the past few decades. Between 1970 and 2000, the average British home warmed from a chilly 13℃ to 18℃. In the US, the changes have been at the other end of the thermometer as the proportion of homes with air conditionings rose from 23% to 47% between 1978 and 1997. In the southern states –where obesity rates tend to be highest – the number of houses with air conditioning has shot up to 71% from 37% in 1978.Could air conditioning in summer and heating in winter really make a difference to our weight? Sadly, there is some evidence that it does – at least with regard to heating. Studies show that in comfortable temperatures we use less energy.3. Less smokingBad news: smokers really do tend to be thinner than the rest of us, and quitting really does pack on the pounds, though no one is sure why. It probably has something to do with the fact that nicotine is an appetite suppressant and appears to up your metabolic rate.Katherine Flegal and colleagues at the US National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, have calculated that people kicking the habit have been responsible for a small but significant portion of the US epidemic of fatness. From data collected around 1991 by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, they worked out that people who had quit in the previous decade were much more likely to be overweight than smokers and people who had never smoked. Among men, for example, nearly half of quitters were overweight compared with 37% of non-smokers and only 28% of smokers.4. Genetic effectsYour chances of becoming fat may be set, at least in part, before you were even born. Children of obese mothers are much more likely to become obese themselves later in life. Offspring of mice fed a high-fat diet during pregnancy are much more likely to become fat than the offspring of identical mice fed a normal diet. Intriguingly, the effect persists for two or three generations. Grandchildren of mice fed a high-fat diet grow up fat even if their own mother is fed normally –so your fate may have been sealed even before you were conceived.5. A little older …Some groups of people just happen to be fatter than others. Surveys carried out by the US National Center for Health Statistics found that adults aged 40 to 79 were around three times as likely to be obese as younger people. Non-white females also tend to fall at the fatter end of the spectrum: Mexican-American women are 30% more likely than white women to be obese, and black women have twice the risk.In the US, these groups account for an increasing percentage of the population. Between 1970 and 2000 the US population aged 35 to 44 grew by 43%. The proportion of Hispanic-Americans also grew, from under 5% to 12.5% of the population, while the proportion of black Americans increased from 11% to 12.3%. These changes may account in part for the increased prevalence of obesity.6. Mature mumsMothers around the world are getting older. In the UK, the mean age for having a first child is 27.3, compared with 23.7 in 1970. Mean age at first birth in the US has also increased, rising from 21.4 in 1970 to 24.9 in 2000.This would be neither here nor there if it weren't for the observation that having an older mother seems to be an independent risk factor for obesity. Results from the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's study found that the odds of a child being obese increase 14% for every fiveextra years of their mother's age, though why this should be so is not entirely clear.Michael Symonds at the university of Nottingham, UK, found that first-born children have more fat than younger ones. As family size decreases, firstborns account for a greater share of the population. In 1964, British women gave birth to an average of 2.95 children; by 2005 that figure had fallen to 1.79. In the US in 1976, 9.6% of women in their 40s had only one child; in 2004 it was 17.4%. This combination of older mothers and more single children could be contributing to the obesity epidemic.7. Like marrying likeJust as people pair off according to looks, so they do for size. Lean people are more likely to marry lean and fat more likely to marry fat. On its own, like marrying like cannot account for any increase in obesity. But combined with others – particularly the fact that obesity is partly genetic, and that heavier people have more children – it amplifies the increase from other causes.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。