2013年12月英语六级真题阅读
2013年12月英语六级阅读真题及答案（卷二）
2013年12月英语六级阅读真题及答案（卷二）Part3 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 asking your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.To get a sense of how women have progressed in science, take a quick tour of the physics department at the University of California, Berkeley. This is a storied place, the 36 of some of the most important discoveries in modern science--- starting with Ernest Lawrence’s invention of the cyclotron (回旋加速器）in 1931.A generation ago, female faces were 37 and, even today, visitors walking through the first floor of LeConte Hall will see a full corridor of exhibits 38 the many distinguished physicists who made history here, 39 all of them white males.But climb up to the third floor and you’ll see a 40 display. There, among the photos of current faculty members and students, are portraits of the 41 head of the department, Marjorie Shapiro, and four other women whose research 42 everything from the mechanics of the universe to the smallest particles of matter.A sixth woman was hired just two weeks ago. Althoughthey're still only about 10 percent of the physics faculty, women are clearly a presence here. And the real 43 may be in the smaller photos to the right: graduate and undergraduate students, about 20 percent of them female. Every year Berkeley sends its fresh female physics PhDs to the country's top universities. That makes Shapiro optimistic, but also 44 "I believe things are getting better，" she says, "but they're not getting better as 45 as I would like."注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
2013年12月英语六级真题(含答案)(共三套)最新排版整理
2013年12月大学英语六级考试真题（第3套）Part I Writing (30 minutes)（请于正式开考后半小时内完成该部分，之后将进行听力考试）请用黑色签字笔在答题卡1指定区域内作答作文题，在试题册上的作答无效！Part ⅡListening Comprehension(30 minutes)Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section AQuestions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.Cell phones provide instant access to people. They are creating a major 36 in the social experiences of both children and adolescents. In one recent U.S. survey, about half the teens polled said that their cell phone had 37 their communication with friends. Almost all said that their cell phone was the way they stayed in touch with peers, one-third had used the cell phone to help a peer in need, and about 80% said the phone made them feel safer. Teenagers in Australia, 38 ,said that their mobile phones provided numerous benefits and were an39 part of their lives; some were so 40 to their phones that the researchers considered it an addiction. In Japan, too, researchers are concerned about cell phone addiction. Researchers in one study in Tokyo found that more than half of junior high school students used their phones to exchange e-mails with schoolmates more than 10 times a day.Cell phones 41 social connections with peers across time and space. They allow young people to exchange moment-by-moment experiences in their daily lives with special partners and thus to have a more 42 sense of connection with friends. Cell phones also can 43 social tolerance because they reduce children's interactions with others who are different from them. In addition to connecting peers, cell phones connect children and parents. Researchers studying teenagers in Israel concluded that, in that 44 environment, mobile phones were regarded as "security objects" in parent-teen relationships―im portant because they provided the possibility of 45 and communication at all times.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答A) affiliatedB) attachedC) contactD) contendE) continuousF) diminishG) enduranceH) foster I) hazardous J) improved K) instantaneous L) intrinsicM) relatively N) shiftO) similarlySection BWaste Not, Want Not Feeding the 9 Billion: The Tragedy of Waste[A] By 2075, the United Nations' mid-range projection for global population is about 9.5 billion.This means that there could be an extra three billion mouths to feed by the end of the century,a period in which substantial changes are anticipated in the wealth, calorie intake and dietarypreferences of people in developing countries across the world. Such a projection presents mankind with wide-ranging social, economic, environmental and political issues that need to be addressed today to ensure a sustainable future for all. One key issue is how to produce more food in a world of finite resources.[B] Today, we produce about four billion metric tonnes of food per year. Yet due to poor practicesin harvesting, storage and transportation, as well as market and consumer wastage, it is estimated that 30-50% of all food produced never reaches a human stomach. Furthermore, this figure does not reflect the fact that large amounts of land, energy, fertilisers and water have also been lost in the production of foodstuffs which simply end up as waste. This level of wastage is a tragedy that cannot continue if we are to succeed in the challenge of sustainably meeting our future food demands. |Where Food Waste Happens[C] In 2010,the Institution of Mechanical Engineers identified three principal emerging populationgroups across the world, based on characteristics associated with their current and projected stage of economic development.• Fully developed, mature, post-industrial societies, such as those in Europe, characterised by stable or declining populations which are increasing in age.• Late-stage developing nations that are currently industrialising rapidly, for example China, which will experience declining rates of population growth, coupled with increasing affluence (富裕）and age profile.• Newly developing countries that are beginning to industrialise, primarily in Africa, with high to very high population growth rates, and characterised by a predominantly young age profile.[D] Each group over the coming decades will need to address different issues surrounding foodproduction, storage and transportation, as well as consumer expectations, if we are to continue to feed all our people.[E] In less-developed countries, such as those of sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia, wastagetends to occur primarily at the farmer-producer end of the supply chain. Inefficient harvesting, inadequate local transportation and poor infrastructure (基础设施)mean that produce is frequently handled inappropriately and stored under unsuitable farm site conditions.[F] In mature, fully developed countries such as the UK, more-efficient farming practices andbetter transport, storage and processing facilities ensure that a larger proportion of the food produced reaches markets and consumers. However, characteristics associated with modern consumer culture mean produce is often wasted through retail and customer behaviour. [G] Major supermarkets, in meeting consumer expectations, will often reject entire crops ofperfectly edible fruit and vegetables at the farm because they do not meet exacting marketing standards for their physical characteristics, such as size and appearance.[H] Of the produce that does appear in the supermarket, commonly used sales promotionsfrequently encourage customers to purchase excessive quantities which, in the case of perishable foodstuffs, inevitably generate wastage in the home. Overall between 30% and 50% of what has been bought in developed countries is thrown away by the purchaser.Better Use of Our Finite Resources[I] Wasting food means losing not only life-supporting nutrition but also precious resources,including land, water and energy. As a global society, therefore, tackling food waste will help contribute towards addressing a number of key resource issues.[J] Land Usage: Over the last five decades, improved farming techniques and technologies have helped to significantly increase crop yields along with a 12% expansion of farmed land use.However, a further increase in farming area without impacting unfavourably on what remains of the world's natural ecosystems appears unlikely. The challenge is that an increase in animal-based production will require more land and resources, as livestock (牲畜)farming demands extensive land use.[K] Water Usage: Over the past century, human use of fresh water has increased at more than double the rate of population growth. Currently about 3.8 trillion m3of water is used by humans per year. About 70% of this is consumed by the global agriculture sector, and the level of use will continue to rise over the coming decades.[L] Better irrigation can dramatically improve crop yield and about 40% of the world's food supply is currently derived from irrigated land. However, water used in irrigation is often sourced unsustainably.In processing foods after the agricultural stage, there are large additional uses of water that need to be tackled in a world of growing demand. This is particularly crucial inthe case of meat production, where beef uses about 50 times more water than vegetables. In the future, more effective washing techniques, management procedures, and recycling and purification of water will be needed to reduce wastage.[M]Energy Usage: Energy is an essential resource across the entire food production cycle, with estimates showing an average of 7-10 calories of input being required in the production of one calorie of food. This varies dramatically depending on crop, from three calories for plant crops to 35 calories in the production of beef. Since much of this energy comes from the utilisation of fossil fuels, wastage of food potentially contributes to unnecessary global warming as well as inefficient resource utilisation.[N] In the modem industrialised agricultural process—which developing nations are moving towards in order to increase future yields—energy usage in the making and application of fertilisers and pesticides represents the single biggest component. Wheat production takes 50% of its energy input for these two items alone. Indeed, on a global scale, fertiliser manufacturing consumes about 3-5% of the world's annual natural gas supply. With production anticipated to increase by 25% between now and 2030, sustainable energy sourcing will become an increasingly major issue. Energy to power machinery, both on the farm and in the storage and processing facilities, adds to the energy total, which currently represents about 3.1% of annual global energy consumption.Recommendations[O] Rising population combined with improved nutrition standards and shifting dietary preferences will exert pressure for increases in global food supply. Engineers, scientists and agriculturalists have the knowledge, tools and systems that will assist in achieving productivity increases. However, pressure will grow on finite resources of land, energy and water. The potential to provide 60-100% more food by simply eliminating losses, while simultaneously freeing up land, energy and water resources for other uses, is an opportunitythat should not be ignored. In order to begin tackling the challenge, the Institution recommends that:•The UN Food and Agriculture Organisat ion work with the international engineering community to ensure governments of developed nations put in place programmes that transfer engineering knowledge, design know-how, and suitable technology to newly developing countries. This will help improve produce handling in the harvest, and immediate post-harvest stages of food production.• Governments of rapidly developing countries incorporate waste minimisation thinking into the transport infrastructure and storage facilities currently being planned, engineered and built.• Governments in developed nations devise and im plement policy that changes consumer expectations. These should discourage retailers from wasteful practices that lead to the rejection of food on the basis of cosmetic characteristics, and losses in the home due to excessive purchasing by consumers.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
最新2013年12月六级阅读(适中难度)2
It being not only possible but even easy to predict which ten-year-old boys are at greatest risk of growing up to be persistent offenders, what are we doing with the information? Just about the last thing that we should do is to wait until their troubles have escalated in adolescence and then attack them with the provisions of the new Criminal Justice Bill.If this bill becomes law, magistrates will have the power to impose residential care orders. More young people will be drawn into institutional life when all the evidence shows that this worsens rather than improves their prospects. The introduction of short sharp shocks in detention centers will simply give more young people a taste of something else they don’t need; the whole regime of detention centers is one of toughening delinquents, and if you want to train someone to be anti-establishment, “I can’t think of a better way to do it,”says the writer of this report.The Cambridge Institute of Criminology comes up with five key factors that are likely to make for delinquency: a low income family a large family, parents deemed by social workers to be bad at raising children, parents who themselves have a criminal record, and low intelligence in the child. Not surprisingly, the factors tend to overlap. Of the 63 boys in the sample who had at least three of them when they were ten, half became juvenile delinquents—compared with only a fifth of the sample as a whole.Three more factors make the prediction more accurate: being judged troublesome by teachers at the age of ten, having a father with at least two criminal convictions and having another member of the family with a criminal record. Of the 35 men who had at least two of these factors in their background 18 became persistent delinquents and 8 more were in trouble with the law.Among those key factors, far and away the most important was having a parent with a criminal record, even if that had been acquired in the distant past, even though very few parents did other than condemn delinquent behavior in their children.The role of the schools emerges as extremely important. The most reliable prediction of all on the futures of boys came from teachers’ ratings of how troublesome they were at the age of ten. If the information is there in the classroom there must be a response that brings more attention to those troublesome children: a search for things to give them credit for other than academic achievement, a refusal to allow them to go on playing truant, and a fostering of ambition and opportunity which should start early in their school careers.1. According to the author, delinquency should be tackled ___.A. before adolescenceB. during institutional treatmentC. during adolescenceD. when the problem becomes acute2. The number of young offenders could be reduced by the way of ___.A. new legal measuresB. better residential careC. brief periods of harsh punishmentD. examination of their backgrounds3. What is the outcome result of putting young offenders into detention centers?A. They become more violentB. They receive useful trainingC. They become used to institutionsD. They turn against society4. Ten-year-old children likely to become offenders are usually ___.A. spoilt children from small families.B. bright children in a poor family.C. dull children with many brothers and sisters.D. children whose parents have acquired wealth dishonestly.5. The writer concludes that potential offenders could be helped by ___.A. spending more time at schoolB. more encouragement at schoolC. more activities outside schoolD. stricter treatment from teachersADDCBIn the past century Irish painting has changes from a British-influenced lyrical tradition to an art that evokes the ruggedness and roots of an Irish Celtic past. At the turn of the twentieth century Irish painters, including notables Walter Frederick Osborne and Sir William Orpen, looked elsewhere for influence. Osborne’s exposure to “plein air”painting deeply impacted his stylistic development; and Orpen allied himself with a group of English artists, while at the same time participated in the French avant-garde experiment, both as painter and teacher.However, nationalist energies were beginning to coalesce (接合)，reviving interest in Irish culture-including Irish visual arts. Beatrice Elvery’s (1907), a landmark achievement, merged the devotional simplicity of fifteenth-century Italian painting with the iconography (肖像画法) of Ireland’s Celtic past, linkingthe history of Irish Catholicism with the still-nascet (初生的) Irish republic. And, although also captivated by the French plein air school, Sir John Lavery invoked the mythology of his native land for a 1928 commission to paint the central figure for the bank note of the new Irish Free State. Lavery chose as this figure, with her arm on a Celtic harp (竖琴)，the national symbol of independent Ireland.In Irish painting from about 1910, memories of Edwardian romanticism coexisted with a new sense of realism,exemplified by the paintings of Paul Henry and Se Keating, a student of Orpen’s. realism also crept into the work of Edwardians Lavery and Orpen, both of whom made paintings depicting World WarⅠ,Lavery with a distanced Victorian nobility, Orpen closer to the front, revealing a more sinister and realistic vision. Meanwhile, counterpoint to the Edwardians and realists came Jack B. Yeats, whose travels throughout the rugged and more authentically Irish West led him to depict subjects ranging from street scenes in Dublin to boxing matches and funerals. Fusing close observations of Irish life and icons with an Irish identity in a new way, Yeats changed the face of Irish painting and became the most important Irishartist of his century.1. Which of the following art most probably exerted the greatest influence on Irish painting in the 19th century?A. British lyrical traditionB. French avant-garde experimentC. notionalist energiesD. Italian painting2. It is implied _____ was least influenced by the contemporary art of Frence.A. Sir John LaveryB. Sir William OrpenC. Beatrice ElveryD. Se Keating3. Which of the following best explains the author’s use of the word “counterpoint” in referring to Yeats?A. Yeats’ paintings differed significantly in subject matter from those of his contemporaries in Ireland.B. Yeats reacted to the realism of his contemporary artists by invoking nineteenth-century naturalism in his own painting style.C. Yeats avoided religious and mythological themes in favor of mundane portrayals of Irish life.D. Yeats built upon the realism painting tradition, elevating it to unprecedented artistic heights.4. The author points out the coexistence of romanticism and realism most probably in order to show that _____.A. Irish painters of the early twentieth century tended to romanticize the harsh reality of warB. for a time painters from each school influenced painters from the other schoolC. Yeats was influenced by both the romantic and realist schools of Irish paintingD. the transition in Irish painting from one predominant style to the other was not an abrupt one5. The most likely topic of the paragraph followed is _____.A. The Role of Celtic Mythology in Irish PaintingB. Who Deserves Credit for the Preeminence of Yeats among Irish Painters?C. Realism vs. Romanticism: Ireland’s Struggle for National IdentityD. Irish Paintings: Reflections of an Emerging Independent StateAAADDProxemics(空间关系学) is the study of what governs how closely one person stands to another. People who feel close will be close, though the actual distances will vary between cultures. For Amreicans we can discern four main categories of distance: intimate, personal, social and public. Intimate ranges from direct contact to about 45 centimeters. This is for the closest relationships such as those between husband and wife. Beyond this comes personal distance. This stands at between 45 and 80 centimeters. It is the most usual distance maintained for conversations between friends and relatives. Social distance covers people who work together or are meeting at social gatherings. Distances here tend to be kept between 1.30 to 2 meters. Beyond this comes public distance, such as that between a lecturer and his audience.All cultures draw lines between what is an appropriate and what is an inappropriate social distance for different types of relationship. They differ, however, in where they draw these lines. Look at an international reception withrepresentatives from the US and Arabic countries conversing and you will see the Americans pirouetting(快速旋转) backwards around the hall pursued by their Arab partners. The Americans will be trying to keep the distance between themselves and their partners which they have grown used to regarding as “normal”. They probably will not even notice themselves trying to adjust the distance between themselves and their partners, though they may have vague feeling that their Arab neighbors are being a bit “pushy”. The Arab, on the other hand, coming from a culture where much closer distance is the norm, may be feeling that the Americans are being “stand-offish”. Finding themselves happier standing close to and even touching those they are in conversation with they will persistently pursue the Americans round the room trying to close thedistance between them.The appropriateness of physical contact varies between different cultures too. One study of the number of times people conversing in coffee shops over a one hour period showed the following interesting variations: London, 0; Florida, 2; Paris, 10; and Puerto Rico 180. Not only dose it vary between societies, however, it also varies between different subcultures within one society. Young people in Britain, for example, are more likely to touch and hug friends than are the older generation. This may be partly a matter of growing older, but it also reflects the fact that the older generation grew up at a time when touching was less common for all age groups. Forty years ago, for example, footballers would never hug and kiss one another on the field after a goal as they do today.1. In proxemics, ____ governs the standing space between two persons.A. distanceB. cultureC. conversationD. relationship2. The word “stand-offish”(Line 14, Para. 2) could best be replaced by ______.A. cold and distant in behaviourB. ungentlemanlike in behaviourC. inhuman in behaviourD. polite in behaviour3. In conversation with an American partner at an international reception, an Arab deems that close distant is _____.A. appropriateB. inappropriateC. rashD. impetuous4. We can infer from the third paragragh that the appropriateness of physical contact also varies with ______.A. timeB. cityC. countryD. people5. The best title for the passage would be ______.A. ProxemicsB. Appropriateness of Social DistanceC. Appropriateness Relationships Between Two PersonsD. Appropriateness Physical Contact Between Two PersonsDAAAAWhat does the future hold for the problem of housing? A good deal depends, of course, on the meaning of “future”. If one is thinking in terms of science fiction and the space age, it is at least possible to assume that man will have solved such trivial and earthly problems as housing. Writers of science fiction,from H.G. Wells onwards, have had little to say on the subject. They have conveyed the suggestion that men will live in great comfort, with every conceivable apparatus to make life smooth, healthy and easy, if not happy. But they have not said what his house will be made of. Perhaps some new building material, as yet unimagined, will have been discovered or invented at least. One may be certain that bricks and mortar(泥灰，灰浆) will long have gone out of fashion.But the problems of the next generation or two can more readily be imagined. Scientists have already pointed out that unless something is done either to restrict the world’s rapid growth in population or to discover and develop new sources of food (or both), millions of people will be dying of starvation or at the best suffering from underfeeding before this century is out. But nobody has yet worked out any plan for housing these growing populations. Admittedly the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world, where housing can be light structure or in backward areas where standards are traditionally low. But even the minimum shelter requires materials of some kind and in the teeming, bulging towns the low-standard “housing” of flattened petrol cans and dirty canvas is far more wasteful of ground space than can be tolerated.Since the war, Hong Kong has suffered the kind of crisis which is likely to arise in many other places during the next generation. Literally millions of refugees arrived to swell the already growing population and emergency steps had to be taken rapidly to preventsqualor(肮脏)and disease and the spread crime. The city is tackling the situation energetically and enormous blocks of tenements(贫民住宅)are rising at an astonishing aped. But Hong Kong is only one small part of what will certainly become a vast problem and not merely a housing problem, because when population grows at this rate there are accompanying problems of education, transport, hospital services, drainage, water supply and so on. Not every area may give the same resources as Hong Kong to draw upon and the search for quicker and cheaper methods of construction must never cease.1. What is the author’s opinion of housing problems in the first paragraph?A. They may be completely solved at sometime in the future.B. They are unimportant and easily dealt with.C. They will not be solved until a new building material has been discovered.D. They have been dealt with in specific detail in books describing the future.2. The writer is sure that in the distant future ____.A. bricks and mortar will be replaced by some other building material.B. a new building material will have been invented.C. bricks and mortar will not be used by people who want their house to be fashionable.D. a new way of using bricks and mortar will have been discovered.3. The writer believes that the biggest problem likely to confront the world before the end of the century ___.A. is difficult to foresee.B. will be how to feed the ever growing population.C. will be how to provide enough houses in the hottest parts of the world.D. is the question of finding enough ground space.4. When the writer says that the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world or in backward areas, he is referring to the fact that in these parts ___.A. standards of building are low.B. only minimum shelter will be possible.C. there is not enough ground space.D. the population growth will be the greatest.5. Which of the following sentences best summarizes Paragraph 3?A. Hong Kong has faced a serious crisis caused by millions of refugees.B. Hong Kong has successfully dealt with the emergency caused by millions of refugees.C. Hong Kong’s crisis was not only a matter of housing but included a number of other problems of population growth.D. Many parts of the world may have to face the kind of problems encountered by Hong Kong and may find it much harder to deal with them.AABDD。
2013 年 12 月大学英语六级真题
2013 年12 月大学英语六级真题Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes) Section A Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2. Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.How good are you at saying "no"? For many, it's surprisingly difficult. This is especially true of editors, who by nature tend to be eager and engaged participants in everything they do. Consider these scenarios:It's late in the day. That front-page package you've been working on is nearly complete; one lastedit and it's finished. Enter the executive editor, who makes a suggestion requiring a more-than-modest rearrangement of the design and the addition of an information box. You want to scream: "No! It's done!" What do you do?The first rule of saying no to the boss is don't say no. She probably has something in mind when she makes suggestions, and it's up to you to find out what. The second rule is don't raise the stakes by challenging her authority. That issue is already decided. The third rule is to be ready to cite options and consequences. The boss's suggestions might be appropriate, but there are always consequences. She might not know aboutthe pages backing up that need attention, or about the designer who had to go home sick. Tell her she can have what she wants, but explain the consequences. Understand what she's trying to accomplish and propose a Plan B that will make it happen without destroying what you've done so far.Here's another case. Your least-favorite reporter suggests a dumb story idea. This one should beeasy, but it's not. If you say no, even politely, you risk inhibiting further ideas, not just from that reporter, but from others who heard that you turned down the idea. This scenario is common in newsrooms that lack a systematic way to filter story suggestions. Two steps are necessary. First, you need a system for how stories are proposed and reviewed. Reporters can tolerate rejection of their ideas if they believe they were given a fair hearing.Your gut reaction (本能反应) and dismissive rejection, even of a worthless idea, might notqualify as systematic or fair.Second, the people you work with need to negotiate a "What if ...?" agreement covering "What if my idea is turned down?" How are people expected to react? Is there an appeal process? Can they refine the idea and resubmit it? By anticipating "What if...?" situations before they happen, youcan reach understanding that will help ease you out of confrontations.47.Instead of directly saying no to your boss, you should find out .48.The author's second warning is that we should avoid running a greater risk by .49.One way of responding to your boss's suggestion is to explain the to her and offer an alternative solution.50.To ensure fairness to reporters, it is important to set up a system for stories to .51.People who learn to anticipate "What if...?" situations will be able to reach understanding and avoid .Section B英语六级考试网（ ）为您提供最优最精的英语六级考试辅导信息！ 1Directions: 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 2with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they're bad. Yet the consensus among most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small net boost to the economy. Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from farm produce to new homes, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. So why is theresuch a discrepancy between the perception of immigrants' impact on the economy and the reality? There are a number of familiar theories. Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by an inflow of new workers. Others highlight the strain that undocumented immigrants place on public services, like schools, hospitals, and jails. Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners add to the nation's fears and insecurities. There's some truth to all these explanations, but they aren't quite sufficient.To get a better understanding of what's going on, consider the way immigration's impact is felt. Though its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley, notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants' low-cost labor are businesses and employers –meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, or agricultural businesses in California. Granted, these producers' savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated.Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor. According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9% between 1980-2000.Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worried them most, in other words, was the fiscal (财政的)burden of immigration. That conclusion was reinforced by another finding: that their opposition appeared tosoften when that fiscal burden decreased, as occurred with welfare reform in the 1990s, which curbed immigrants' access to certain benefits.The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal. Even for those most acutely affected –say, low-skilled workers, or California residents –the impact isn't all that dramatic. "The unpleasant voices have tended to dominate our perceptions," says Daniel Tichenor, a political science professor at the University of Oregon. "But when all those factors are put together and the economists calculate the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one." Too bad most people don't realize it.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。
2013年12月英语六级（新题型）考试试卷+答案详解
2013年12⽉英语六级（新题型）考试试卷+答案详解2013年12⽉全国⼤学⽣英语六级考试试卷Part ⅠWriting (30 minutes) Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Digital Age. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below: 1．如今数字化产品得到越来越⼴泛的使⽤，例如……2．数字化产品的使⽤对⼈们的⼯作、学习、⽣活产⽣的影响。
Digital Age__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Part ⅡListening Comprehension (30 minutes) Section ADirections: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.1. A) Proceed in his own way. C) Compromise with his colleague.B) Stick to the original plan. D) Try to change his colleague’s mind.2. A) Mary has a keen eye for style. C) Nancy and Mary went shopping together in Rome.B) Nancy regrets buying the dress. D) Nancy and Mary like to follow the latest fashion.3. A) Wash the dishes. C) Pick up George and Martha.B) Go to the theatre. D) Take her daughter to hospital.4. A) She enjoys making up stories about other people.B) She can never keep anything to herself for long.C) She is eager to share news with the woman.D) She is the best informed woman in town.5. A) A car dealer. C) A driving examiner.B) A mechanic. D) A technical consultant.6. A) The shopping mall has been deserted recently.B) Shoppers can only find good stores in the mall.C) Lots of people moved out of the downtown area.D) There isn’t much business downtown nowadays.7. A) He will help the woman with her reading.B) The lounge is not a place for him to study in.C) He feels sleepy whenever he tries to study.D) A cozy place is rather hard to find on campus.8. A) To protect her from getting scratches. C) To prevent mosquito bites.B) To help relieve her of the pain. D) To avoid getting sunburnt.Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9. A) In a studio. C) At a beach resort.B) In a clothing store. D) At a fashion show.10. A) To live there permanently. C) To find a better job to support herself.B) To stay there for half a year. D) To sell leather goods for a British company.11. A) Designing fashion items for several companies.B) Modeling for a world-famous Italian company.C) Working as an employee for Ferragamo.D) Serving as a sales agent for Burberrys.12. A) It has seen a steady decline in its profits.B) It has become much more competitive.C) It has lost many customers to foreign companies.D) It has attracted a lot more designers from abroad.Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.13. A) It helps her to attract more public attention.B) It improves her chance of getting promoted.C) It strengthens her relationship with students.D) It enables her to understand people better.14. A) Passively. B) Positively. C) Skeptically. D) Sensitively.15. A) It keeps haunting her day and night.B) Her teaching was somewhat affected by it.C) It vanishes the moment she steps into her role.D) Her mind goes blank once she gets on the stage.Section BDirections: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre. Passage OneQuestions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A) To win over the majority of passengers from airlines in twenty years.B) To reform railroad management in western European countries.C) To electrify the railway lines between major European cities.D) To set up an express train network throughout Europe.17. A) Major European airlines will go bankrupt.B) Europeans will pay much less for traveling.C) Traveling time by train between major European cities will be cut by half.D) Trains will become the safest and most efficient means of travel in Europe.18. A) Train travel will prove much more comfortable than air travel.B) Passengers will feel much safer on board a train than on a plane.C) Rail transport will be environmentally friendlier than air transport.D) Traveling by train may be as quick as, or even quicker than, by air.19. A) In 1981. B) In 1989. C) In 1990. D) In 2000. Passage TwoQuestions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.20. A) There can be no speedy recovery for mental patients.B) Approaches to healing patients are essentially the same.C) The mind and body should be taken as an integral whole.D) There is no clear division of labor in the medical profession.21. A) A doctor’s fame strengthens the patients’ faith in them.B) Abuse of medicines is widespread in many urban hospitals.C) One third of the patients depend on harmless substances for cure.D) A patient’s expectations of a drug have an effect on their recovery.22. A) Expensive drugs may not prove the most effective.B) The workings of the mind may help patients recover.C) Doctors often exaggerate the effect of their remedies.D) Most illnesses can be cured without medication.Passage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.23. A) Enjoying strong feelings and emotions. C) Being fond of making sensational news.B) Defying all dangers when they have to. D) Dreaming of becoming famous one day.24. A) Working in an emergency room. C) Listening to rock music.B) Watching horror movies. D) Doing daily routines.25. A) A rock climber. B) A psychologist.C) A resident doctor. D) A career consultant.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are top of a global league table of university reputation—in a top 100 26 by U.S. institutions.Cambridge and Oxford make the top 10—but other U.K. universities have 27 , while Asian institutions have risen.The rankings are based on the 28 of 17,000 academics. This list is an attempt to quantify the elusive but important quality of 29 in higher education—with its findings 30 the opinions of academics around the world.The fast such ranking by the Times Higher Education magazine, published last year, had the same top five as this year—with the two Boston-based 31 , Harvard and M1T, in first and second place.Cambridge was once again the highest ranking U.K. university in third place, 32 Stanford and University of California, Berkeley. But Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education rankings, says there is an 33 picture of U.K. universities downwards—with fewer in the top 100 and a 34 for others including Imperial College London and University College London. "Our global reputation as the home of outstanding universities has been hit," he said.Reflecting the rise of Asian countries as the new education superpowers, there is an increasing presence for countries such as People’s Republic of China, Japan, Singapore and SouthKorea.35 its size and population, Switzerland is also seen as performing well, with three universities in the world’s top 100 universities.Such rankings published by the Times Higher Education magazine do not have an official status, but they have become an increasingly significant part of how universities market themselves to students, particularly as higher education has become more globalized.Part ⅢReading Comprehension (40 minutes) Section ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.Women in 2011 made no significant gains in winning more top US business jobs, according to a study, but the head of the study said women are poised to make 36 in the year ahead.The number of women who were board directors, corporate officers or top earners at Fortune 500 companies remained 37 unchanged, said the study by Catalyst, a nonprofit group that 38 opportunities for women in business.The percentage of companies with women on the board of directors was 15.1 percent this year, compared with 14.8 percent in 2010, Catalyst said.Also, the percentage of corporate officer positions 39 by women was 15.7 percent in 2011 and 15.4percent in 2010, it said. The percentage of top earners in 2011 who were women was 6.2 percent, compared to 6.7percent in 2010, it said.The research on the Fortune 500 companies was 40 on data as of March 31, 2011. The slight changes in the numbers are not considered 41 significant, Catalyst said.Nevertheless, given the changes in U. S. politics, the future for women in business looks more 42 , said Ilene Lang, president and chief executive 43 of Catalyst."Overall we’re44 to see change next year," Lang said. "When we look at shareholders, decision makers, the general public, they’re looking for change. ""What they’re basically saying is, ‘Don’t give us45 of the status quo (现状). Get newSection 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.How Marketers Target KidsA) Kids represent an important demographic to marketers because they have their own purchasing power, they influencetheir parents’ buying decisions and they are the adult consumers of the future. Industry spending on advertising to children has exploded in the past decade, increasing from a mere $100 million in 1990 to more than $2 billion in 2000.B) Parents today are willing to buy more for their kids because trends such as smaller family size, dual incomes and postponing children until later in life mean that families have more disposable income. As well, guilt can play a role in spending decisions as time-stressed parents substitute material goods for time spent with their kids. Here are some of the strategies marketers employ to target kids:Pester(纠缠)PowerC) Today’s kids have more autonomy and decision-making power within the family than in previous generations, so it follows that kids are vocal about what they want their parents to buy. "Pester power" refers to children’ ability to nag their parents into purchasing items they may not otherwise buy. Marketing to children is all about creating pester power, because advertisers know what a powerful force it can be.D) According to the 2001 marketing industry book Kidfluence, pestering or nagging can be divided into two categories —"persistence" and "importance". Persistence nagging (a plea, that is repeated over and over again) is not as effective as the more sophisticated "importance nagging". This latter method appeals to parents’ desire to pr ovide the best for their children, and plays on any guilt they may have about not having enough time for their kids.The Marriage of Psychology and MarketingE) To effectively market to children, advertisers need to know what makes kids tick. With the help of well-paid researchers and psychologists, advertisers now have access to in-depth knowledge about children’s developmental, emotional and social needs at different ages. Using research that analyzes children’s behaviour, fantasy’ lives, art work, even their dreams, companies are able to craft sophisticated marketing strategies to reach young people.F) The issue of using child psychologists to help marketers target kids gained widespread public attention in 1999, when a group of U. S. mental health professionals issued a public letter to the American Psychological Association (APA) urging them to declare the practice unethical. The APA is currently studying the issue.Building Brand Name LoyaltyG) Canadian author Naomi Klein tracks the birth of "brand" marketing in her 2000 book No Logo. According to Klein, the mid-1980s saw the birth of a new kind of corporation—Nike, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, to name a few—which changed their primary corporate focus from producing products to creating an image for their brand name. By moving their manufacturing operations to countries with cheap labour, they freed up money to create their powerful marketing messages. It has been a tremendously profitable formula, and has led to the creation of some of the most wealthy and powerful multi-national corporations the world has seen.H) Marketers plant the seeds of brand recognition in very young children, in the hopes that the seeds will grow into lifetime relationships. According to the Center for a New American Dream, babies as young as six months of age can form mental images of corporate logos and mascots. Brand loyalties can be established as early as age two, and by the time children head off to school most can recognize hundreds of brand logos. While fast food, toy and clothingcompanies have been cultivating brand recognition in children for years, adult-oriented businesses such as banks and automakers are now getting in on the act.Buzz or Street MarketingI) The challenge for marketers is to cut through the intense advertising clutter( 杂乱) in young people’s lives. Many companies are using "buzz marketing" —a new twist on the tried-and-true "word of mouth" method. The idea is to find the coolest kids in a community and have them use or wear your product in order to create a buzz around it. Buzz, or "street marketing", as it’s also called, can help a company to successfully connect with the elusive (难找的) teen market by using trendsetters to give them products "cool" status.J) Buzz marketing is particularly well-suited to the Internet, where young "Net promoters" use chat rooms and blogs to spread the word about music, clothes and other products among unsuspecting users.Commercialization in EducationK) School used to be a place where children were protected from the advertising and consumer messages that permeated their world—but not anymore. Budget shortfalls ( 亏空，差额) are forcing school boards to allow corporations access to students in exchange for badly needed cash, computers and educational materials.L) Corporations realize the power of the school environment for promoting their name and products. A school setting deliversa captive youth audience and implies the endorsement of teachers and the educational system. Marketers are eagerly exploiting this medium in a number of ways, including: 1) sponsored educational materials; 2) supplying schools with technology in exchange for high company visibility; 3) advertising posted in classrooms, school buses, on computers in exchange for funds; 4) contests and incentive programs: for example, the Pizza Hut reading incentives program in which children receive certificates for free pizza if they achieve a monthly reading goal; 5) sponsoring school events.The InternetM) The Internet is an extremely desirable medium for marketers wanting to target children. It’s part of youth culture. This generation of young people is growing up with the Internet as a daily and routine part of their lives. Kids are often online alone, without parental supervision. Unlike broadcasting media, which have codes regarding advertising to kids, the Internet is unregulated. Sophisticated technologies make it easy to collect information from young people for marketing research, and to target individual children with personalized advertising.Marketing Adult Entertainment to KidsN) Children are often aware of and want to see entertainment meant for older audiences because it is actively marketed to them. In a report released in 2000, the U. S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed how the movie, music and video games industries routinely market violent entertainment to young children.O) The FTC studied 44 films rated "Restricted", and discovered that 80 per cent were targeted to children under 17. Marketing plans included TV commercials run during hours when young viewers were most likely to be watching. The FTC report also highlighted the fact that toys based on characters from mature entertainment are often marketed to young children. Mature rated video games are advertised in youth magazines; and toys based on "Restricted" movies and M-rated video games are marketed to children as young as four.46. Guilt can affect parents’ spending decisions because they don’t have enough time for theirkids.47. The Center for a New American Dream pointed out that brand loyalties could be formed as early as age two.48. School boards allow corporations to access to students because they need money and educational materials badly.49. The FTC report highlighted the fact that toys based on characters from mature entertainment are often marketed to young children.50. For this generation of young people, the Interact is a daily and routine part of their lives.51. According to Kidfluence, "persistence nagging" is less effective than the more sophisticated "importance nagging".52. According to a report released by the U. S. Federal Trade Commission, the movie, music and video games industries usually market violent entertainment to young children.53. Buzz marketing is well-suited to the Internet because the interactive environment can spread messages effectively.54. A group of U. S. mental health professionals think that it is unethical to use child psychologists to help marketers target kids.55. According to the Pizza Hut reading incentives program, children will receive certificates for free pizza if they achieve a monthly reading goal.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.Like most people, I’ve long underst ood that I will be judged by my occupation, that my profession is a gauge people use to see how smart or talented I am. Recently, however, I was disappointed to see that it also decides how I’m treated as a person.Last year I left a professional position as a small-town reporter and took a job waiting tables. As someone paid to serve foodto people, I had customers say and do things to me I suspect they’d never say or do to their most casual acquaintances. One night a man talking on his cell phone waved me away, then beckoned ( ⽰意) me back with his finger a minute later, complaining he was ready to order and asking where I’d been.I had waited tables during summers in college and was treated like a peon (勤杂⼯) by plenty of people. But at 19 years old, I believed I deserved inferior treatment from professional adults. Besides, people responded to me differently after I told them I was in college. Customers would joke that one day I’d be sitting at their table, waitin g to be served.Once I graduated I took a job at a community newspaper. From my first day, I heard a respectful tone from everyone who called me. I assumed this was the way the professional world worked—cordially.I soon found out differently. I sat several feet away from an advertising sales representative with a similar name. Our calls would often get mixed up and someone asking for Kristen would be transferred to Christie. The mistake was immediately evident. Perhaps it was because money was involved, but people used a tone with Kristen that they never used with me.My job title made people treat me with courtesy. So it was a shock to return to the restaurant industry.It’s no secret that there’s a lot to put up with when waiting tables, and f ortunately, much of it can be easily forgotten when you pocket the tips. The service industry, by definition, exists to cater to others’ needs. Still, it seemed that many of my customers didn’t get the difference between server and servant.I’m now applying to graduate school, which means someday I’ll return to a profession where people need to be nice to me in order to get what they want. I think I’ll take them to dinner first, and see how they treat someone whose only job is to serve them.56. The author was disappointed to find that ________.A) one’s position is used as a gauge to measure one’s intelligenceB) talented people like her should fail to get a respectable jobC) one’s occupation affects the way one is treated as a personD) professionals tend to look down upon manual workers57. What does the author intend to say by the example in the second paragraph?A) Some customers simply show no respect to those who serve them.B) People absorbed in a phone conversation tend to be absent-minded.C) Waitresses are often treated by customers as casual acquaintances.D) Some customers like to make loud complaints for no reason at all.58. How did the author feel when waiting tables at the age of 19?A) She felt it unfair to be treated as a mere servant by professionals.B) She felt badly hurt when her customers regarded her as a peon.C) She was embarrassed each time her customers joked with her.D) She found it natural for professionals to treat her as inferior.59. What does the author imply by saying ". . . many of my customers didn’t get the difference between server and servant" (Line 3, Para. 7)?A) Those who cater to others’ needs are destined to be looked down upon.B) Those work ing in the service industry shouldn’t be treated as servants.C) Those serving others have to put up with rough treatment to earn a living.D) The majority of customers tend to look on a servant as a server nowadays.60. The author says she’ll one day take her clients to dinner in order to ________.A) see what kind of person they areB) experience the feeling of being servedC) show her generosity towards people inferior to herD) arouse their sympathy for people living a humble lifePassage TwoQuestions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.What’s hot for 2007 among the very rich? A $7.3 million diamond ring. A trip to Tanzania to hunt wild animals. Oh, and income inequality.Sure, some leftish billionaires like George Soros have been railing against income inequality for years. But increasingly, centrist and right-wing billionaires are starting to worry about income inequality and the fate of the middle class.In December, Mortimer Zuckerman wrote a column in U. S. News & World Report, which lie owns. "Our nation’s core bargain with the middle class is disintegrating, " lamented (哀叹) the117th-riehest man in America. "Most of our economic gains have gone to people at the very top of the income ladder. Average income for a household of people of working age, by contrast, has fallen five years in a row. " He noted that "Tens of millions of Americans live in fear that a major health problem can reduce them to bankruptcy. "Wilbur Ross Jr. has echoed Zuckerman’s anger over the bitter struggles faced by middle-class Americans. "It’s an outrage that any American’s life expectancy should be shortened simply because the company they worked for went bankrupt and ended health-care coverage, " said the former chairman of the International Steel Group.What’s happening? The very rich are just as trendy as you and I, and can be so when it comes to politics and policy. Given the recent change of control in Congress, the popularity of measures like increasing the minimum wage, and efforts by California’s governor to offer universal health care, these guys don’t need their own personal weathermen to know which way the wind blows.It’s possible that plutocrats (有钱有势的⼈) are expressing solidarity with the struggling middle class as part of an effort to insulate themselves from confiscatory (没收性的) tax policies. But the prospect that income inequality will lead to higher taxes on the wealthy doesn’t keep plutocrats up at night. They can live with that.No, what they fear was that the political challenges of sustaining support for global economic integration will be more difficult in the United States because of what has happened to the distribution of income and economic insecurity.In other words, if middle-class Americans continue to struggle financially as the ultrawealthy grow ever wealthier, it will be increasingly difficult to maintain political support for the free flow of goods, services, and capital across borders. And when the United States places obstacles in the way of foreign investors and foreign goods, it’s likely to encourage reciprocal action abroad. For people who buy and sell companies, or who allocate capital to markets all around the world, that’s the real nightmare.61. What is the current topic of common interest among the very rich in America?A) The fate of the ultrawealthy people.B) The disintegration of the middle class.C) The inequality in the distribution of wealth.D) The conflict between the left and the right wing.62. What do we learn from Mortimer Zuckerman’s lamentation?A) Many middle-income families have failed to make a bargain for better welfare.B) The American economic system has caused many companies to go bankrupt.C) The American nation is becoming more and more divided despite its wealth.D) The majority of Americans benefit little from the nation’s growing wealth.63. From the fifth paragraph we can learn that ________.A) the very rich are fashion-consciousB) the very rich are politically sensitiveC) universal health care is to be implemented throughout AmericaD) Congress has gained popularity by increasing the minimum wage64. What is the real reason for plutocrats to express solidarity with the middle class?A) They want to protect themselves from confiscatory taxation.B) They know that the middle class contributes most to society.C) They want to gain support for global economic integration.D) They feel increasingly threatened by economic insecurity.65. What may happen if the United States places obstacles in the way of foreign investors and foreign goods?A) The prices of imported goods will inevitably soar beyond control.B) The investors will have to make great efforts to reallocate capital.C) The wealthy will attempt to buy foreign companies across borders.D) Foreign countries will place the same economic barriers in return.Part ⅣTranslation (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.中医(Traditional Chinese Medicine)是中华⽂化不可分割的⼀部分，为振兴华夏做出了巨⼤的贡献。
六级试卷2013年12月卷-推荐下载
2013年12月卷Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections:In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.Some performance evaluations require supervisors to take action. Employees who receive a very favorable evaluation may deserve some type of recognition or even a promotion. If supervisors do not acknowledge such outstanding performance, employees may either lose their36 and reduce their effort or search for a new job at a firm that will37 them for high performance. Supervisors should acknowledge high performance so that the employee will continue to perform well in the future.Employees who receive unfavorable evaluations must also be given attention. Supervisors must 38 the reasons for poor performance. Some reasons, such as a family illness, may have a temporary adverse 39 on performance and can be corrected. Other reasons, such as a bad attitude, may not be temporary. When supervisors give employees an unfavorable evaluation, they must decide whether to take any 40 actions. If the employees were unaware of their own deficiencies, the unfavorable evaluation can pinpoint(指出) the deficiencies that employees must correct. In this case, the supervisor may simply need to monitor the employees 41 and ensure that the deficiencies are corrected.If the employees were already aware of their deficiencies before the evaluation period, however, they may be unable or unwilling to correct them. This situation is more serious, and the supervisor may need to take action. The action should be 42 with the firm’s guidelines and may include reassigning the employees to new jobs, 43 them temporarily, or firing them. A supervisor’s action toward a poorly performing worker can 44 the attitudes of other employees. If no 45 isimposed on an employee for poor performance, other employees may react by reducing their productivity as well.注意：此部分题请在答题卡2上作答。
2013年12月六级真题及答案(共三套)
2013年12月大学英语六级考试真题（第1套）Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections:In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.Some performance evaluations require supervisors to take action. Employees who receive a very favorable evaluation may deserve some type of recognition or even a promotion. If supervisors do not acknowledge such outstanding performance, employees may either lose their36 and reduce their effort or search for a new job at a firm that will37 them for high performance. Supervisors should acknowledge high performance so that the employee will continue to perform well in the future.Employees who receive unfavorable evaluations must also be given attention. Supervisors must 38 the reasons for poor performance. Some reasons, such as a family illness, may have a temporary adverse 39 on performance and can be corrected. Other reasons, such as a bad attitude, may not be temporary. When supervisors give employees an unfavorable evaluation, they must decide whether to take any 40 actions. If the employees were unaware of their own deficiencies, the unfavorable evaluation can pinpoint(指出) the deficiencies that employees must correct. In this case, the supervisor may simply need to monitor the employees 41 and ensure that the deficiencies are corrected.If the employees were already aware of their deficiencies before the evaluation period, however, they may be unable or unwilling to correct them. This situation is more serious, and the supervisor may need to take action. The action should be 42 with the f irm‟s guidelines and may include reassigning the employees to new jobs, 43 them temporarily, or firing them. A supervisor‟s action toward a poorly performing worker can 44 the attitudes of other employees. If no 45 isimposed on an employee for poor performance, other employees may react by reducing their productivity as well.Section BDirections:In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.The College Essay: Why Those 500 Words Drive Us CrazyA) Meg is a lawyer-mom in suburban Washington, D.C., where lawyer-moms are thick on theground. Her son Doug is one of several hundred thousand high-school seniors who had a painful fall. The deadline for applying to his favorite college was Nov. 1,and by early October he had yet to fill out the application. More to the point, he had yet to settle on a subject for the personal essay accompanying the application. According to college folklore, a well-turned essay has the power to seduce (诱惑) an admissions committee. “He wanted to do one thing ata time,”Meg says, explaining her son‟s delay. “But really, my son is a huge procrastinator (拖延者). The essay is the hardest thing to do, so he‟s put it off the longest.” Friends and other veterans of the process have warned Meg that the back and forth between editing parent and writing student can be traumatic (痛苦的).B) Back in the good old days—say, two years ago, when the last of my children suffered theordeal (折磨)—a high-school student applying to college could procrastinate all the way to New Year‟s Day of their senior year, assuming they could withstand the paren tal pestering (烦扰).But things change fast in the nail-biting world of college admissions.The recent trend toward early decision and early action among selective colleges and universities has pushed the traditional deadline of January up to Nov. 1 or early December for many students.C) If the time for heel-dragging has been shortened, the true source of the anxiety and panicremains what it has always been. And it‟s not the application itself. A college application is a relatively straightforward questionnaire asking for the basics: name, address, family history employment history. It would all be innocent enough—20 minutes of busy work—except it comes attached to a personal essay.D) “There are good reasons it causes such anxiety,” says Lisa Sohmer, directo r of collegecounseling at the Garden School in Jackson Heights, N.Y. “It‟s not just the actual writing. By noweverything else is already set. Your course load is set, your grades are set, your test scores are set. But the essay is something you can still control, and it‟s open-ended. So the temptation is to write and rewrite and rewrite.” Or stall and stall and stall.E) The application essay, along with its mythical importance, is a recent invention. In the1930s,when only one in 10 Americans had a degree from a four-year college, an admissionscommit tee was content to ask for a sample of applicants‟ school papers to assess their writing ability. By the 1950s, most schools required a brief personal statement of why the student had chosen to apply to one school over another.F) Today nearly 70 percent of graduating seniors go off to college, including two-year andfour-year institutions. Even apart from the increased competition, the kids enter a process that has been utterly transformed from the one baby boomers knew. Nearly all application materials are submitted online, and the Common Application provides a one-size-fits form accepted by more than 400 schools, including the nation‟s most selective.G) Those schools usually require essays of their own, but the longest essay, 500 words maximum,is generally attached to the Common Application. Students choose one of six questions.Applicants are asked to describe an ethical dilemma they‟ve faced and its impact on them, or discuss a public issue of special concern to them, or tell of a fictional character or creative work that has profoundly influenced them. Another question invites them to write about the importance (to them, again) of diversity―a word that has assumed magic power in American higher education. The most popular option: write on a topic of your choice.H) “Boys in particular look at the other questions and say, …Oh, that‟s too much work,‟” says JohnBoshoven, a counselor in the Ann Arbor, Mich., public schools. “They think if they do a topic of their choice, “I‟ll just go get that history paper I did last year on the Roman Empire and turn it into a first-person application essay!‟ And they end up producing something utterly ridiculous.”I) Talking to admissions professionals like Boshoven, you realize that the list of “don‟ts” in essaywriting is much longer than the “dos.”“No book reports, no history papers, no character studies,”says Sohmer.J) “It drives you cra zy, how easily kids slip into clichés(老生常谈),”says Boshoven. “They don‟t realize how typical their experiences arc. …I scored the winning goal in soccer against our arch-rival.‟…My grandfather served in World War II, and I hope to be just like him someday.‟That may mean a lot to that particular kid. But in the world of the application e ssay, it‟s nothing. You‟ll lose the reader in the first paragraph.”K) “The greatest strength you bring to this essay,” says the College Board‟s how-to book, “is 17 years or so of familiarity with the topic: YOU. The form and style are very familiar, and best of all, you are the world-class expert on the subject of YOU ... It has been the subject of your close scrutiny every morning since you were tall enough to see into the bathroom mirror.”Thekey word in the Common Application prompts is “you.”L) The college admission essay contains the grandest American themes―status anxiety, parental piety (孝顺), intellectual standards—and so it is only a matter of time before it becomes infected by the country‟s culture of excessive concern with self-esteem. Even if the question is ostensibly (表面上) about something outside the self (describe a fictional character or solve a problem of geopolitics), the essay invariably returns to the favorite topic: what is its impact on YOU?M)“For all the anxiety the essay causes,”says Bill McClintick of Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, “it‟s a very small piece of the puzzle. I was in college admissions for 10 years. I saw kids and parents beat themselves up over this. And at the vast majority of places, it is simply not a big variable in the college‟s decision-making process.”N) Many admissions officers say they spend less than a couple of minutes on each application, including the essay. According to a recent survey of admissions officers, only one in four private colleges sa y the essay is of “considerable importance” in judging an application.Among public colleges and universities, the number drops to roughly one in 10. By contrast,86 percent place “considerable importance” on an applicant‟s grades, 70 percent on “strengthof curriculum.”O) Still, at the most selective schools, where thousands of candidates may submit identically high grades and test scores, a marginal item like the essay may serve as a tie-breaker between two equally qualified candidates. The thought is certainly enough to keep the pot boiling under parents like Meg, the lawyer-mom, as she tries to help her son choose an essay topic. For a moment the other day, she thought she might have hit on a good one. “His father‟s fromFrance,” she says. “I said maybe you could write about that, as something that makes you different. You know: half French, half American. I said, …You could write about your identity issues.‟He said, …I don‟t have any identity issues!‟And he‟s right. He‟s a well-adjusted, normal kid. B ut that doesn‟t make for a good essay, does it?”注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
六级2013年12月阅读理解两篇
Reading ComprehensionPassage oneThere was a time not long ago when new science PhDs in the United States were expected to pursue a career path in academia(学术界). But today, most graduates end up working outside academia, not only in industry but also in careers such as science policy, communications, and patent law. Partly this is a result of how bleak the academic job market is, but there’s also a rising awareness of career options that PhD scientists haven’t trained for directly—but for which they have useful knowledge, skills, and experience. Still, there’s a huge disconnect between the way we currently train scientists and the actual employment opportunities available for them, and an urgent need for dramatic improvements in training programs to help close the gap. One critical step that could help to drive change would be to require PhD students and postdoctoral scientists to follow an individual development plan (IDP).In 2002, the U.S. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology recommended that every postdoctoral researcher put together an IDP in consultation with an adviser. Since then, several academic institutions have begun to require IDPs for postdocs. And in June, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group recommended that the NIH require IDPs for the approximately 32,000 postdoctoral researchers they support. Other funding agencies, public and private, are moving in a similar direction.IDPs have long been used by government agencies and the private sector to achieve specific goal for the employee and the organization. The aim is to ensure that employees have an explicit tool to help them understand their own abilities and aspirations, determine career possibilities, and set (usually short-term) goals. In science, graduate students and new PhD scientists can use an IDP to identify and navigate an effective career path.A free Web application for this purpose, called myIDP, has become available this week. It’s designed to guide early-career scientists through a confidential, rigorous process of introspection (内省) to create a customized career plan. Guided by expert knowledge from a panel of science focused career advisers, each trainee’s self-assessment is used to rank a set of career trajectories (轨迹). After the user has identified a long-term career goal, myIDP walks her or him through the process of setting short-term goals directed toward accumulating new skills and experiences important for that career choice.Although surveys reveal the IDP process to be useful, trainees report a need for additional resources to help them identify a long-term career path and complete an IDP. Thus, myIDP will be most effective when it’s embedded in larger career-development efforts. For example, universities could incorporate IDPs into their graduate curricula to help students discuss, plan, prepare for, and achieve their long-term career goals.56. What do we learn about new science PhDs in the United Stated today?A)They lack the skills and expertise needed for their jobs.B)They can choose from a wider range of well-paying jobs.C)They often have to seek jobs outside the academic circle.D)They are regarded as the nation’s driving force of change.57. What does the author say about America’s PhD training?A)It should be improved to better suit the job market.B)It is closely linked to future career requirements.C)It should be re-oriented to careers outside academia.D)It includes a great variety of practical courses.58. What was recommended for PhDs and postdoctoral researchers?A)They meet the urgent needs of the corporate world.B) A long-term career goal be set as early as possible.C)An IDP be made in consultation with an adviser.D)They acquire an explicit tool to help obtain jobs.59. Government agencies and the private sector often use IDPs to .A)bring into full play the skills and expertise of their postdoctoral researchersB)help employees make the best use of their abilities to achieve their career goalsC)place employees in the most appropriate positionsD)hire the most suitable candidates to work for them60. What do we know about myIDP?A)It is an effective tool of self-assessment and introspection for better career plans.B)It enables people to look into various possibilities and choose the career they love.C)It promises a long-term career path.D)It is part of the graduate curricula.答案：CACBA（更换字体颜色可见）Passage twoJust over a decade into the 21st century, women’s progress can be celebrated across a range of fields. They hold the highest political offices from Thailand to Brazil, Costa Rica to Australia. A woman holds the top spot at the International Monetary Fund; another won the Nobel Prize in economics. Self-made billionaires in Beijing, tech innovators in Silicon Valley, pioneering justices in Ghana—in these and countless other areas, women are leaving their mark.But hold the applause. In Saudi Arabia, women aren’t allowed to drive. In Pakistan, 1,000 women die in honor killings every year. In the developed world, women lag behind men in pay and political power. The poverty rate among women in the U.S. rose to 14.5% last year.To measure the state of women’s progress, Newsweek ranked 165 countries, looking at five areas that affect women’s lives: treatment under the law, workforce participation, political power, and access to education and health care. Analyzing data from the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, among others, and consulting with experts and academics, we measured 28 factors to come up with our rankings.Countries with the highest scores tend to be clustered in the West, where gender discrimination is against the law, and equal rights are constitutionally enshrined (神圣化). But there were some surprises. Some otherwise high-ranking countries had relatively low scores for political representation. Canada ranked third overall but 26th in power, behind countries such asCuba and Burundi. Does this suggest that a woman in a nation’s top office translates to better lives for women in general? Not exactly. “Trying to quantify or measure the impact of women in politics is hard because in very few countries have there been enough women in politics to make a difference.” says Anne-Marie Goetz, peace and security adviser for U.N. Women.Of course, no index can account for everything. Declaring that one country is better than another in the way that it treats more than half its citizens means relying on broad strokes and generalities. Some things simply can’t be measured. And cross-cultural comparisons can’t account for differences of opinion.Certain conclusions are nonetheless clear. For one thing, our index backs up a simple but profound statement made by Hillary Clinton at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. “When we liberate the economic potential of women, we elevate the economic performance of communities, nations, and the world,” she said. “There’s a stimulative effect that kicks in when women have greater access to jobs and the economic lives of our countries: Greater political stability. Fewer military conflicts. More educational opportunity for children. By harnessing the economic potential of all women, we boost opportunity for all people.”61. What does the author thing about women’s progress so far?A)It still leaves much to be desired.B)It is too remarkable to be measured.C)It has greatly changed women’s fate.D)It is achieved through hard struggle.62. In what countries have women made the greatest progress?A)Where women hold key posts in government.B)Where women’s rights are protected by law.C)Where women’s participation in management is high.D)Where women enjoy better education and health care.63. What do Newsweek rankings reveal about women in Canada?A)They care little about political participation.B)They are generally treated as equals by men.C)They have a surprisingly low social status.D)They are underrepresented in politics.64. What does Anne-Marie Goetz thing of a woman being in a nation’s top office?A)It does not necessarily raise women’s political awareness.B)It does not guarantee a better life for the nation’s women.C)It enhances women’s status.D)It boosts women’s confidence.65. What does Hillary Clinton suggest we do to make the world a better place?A)Give women more political power.B)Stimulate women’s creativity.C)Allow women access to education.D)Tap women’s economic potential.答案：ABDBD（更换字体颜色可见）。
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Passage OneQuestions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.Among the government’s most interesting reports is one that estimates what parents spend on their children. Not surprisingly, the costs are steep. For a middle-class, husband-and-wife family (average pretax income in 2009: $76,250), spending per child is about $12,000 a year. With inflation the family’s spending on a child will total $286,050 by age 17.The dry statistics ought to inform the ongoing deficit debate, because a budget is not just a catalog of programs and taxes. It reflects a society’s priorities and values. Our society does not—despite rhetoric(说辞) to the contrary—put much value on raising children. Present budget policies tax parents heavily to support the elderly. Meanwhile, tax breaks for children are modest. If deficit reduction aggravates these biases, more Americans may choose not to have children or to have fewer children. Down that path lies economic decline.Societies that cannot replace their populations discourage investment and innovation. They have stagnant (萧条的) or shrinking markets for goods and services. With older populations, theyresist change. To stabilize its population—discounting immigration—women must have an average of two children. That’s a fertility rate of 2.0.Many countries with struggling economies are well below that.Though having a child is a deeply personal decision, it’s shaped by culture, religion, economics, and government policy. “No one has a good answer” asto why fertility varies among countries, says sociologist Andrew Cherlin of The Johns Hopkins University. Eroding religious belief in Europe may partly explain lowered birthrates. In Japan young women may be rebelling against their mothers’ isolated lives of child rearing. General optimism and pessimism count. Hopefulness fueled America’s baby boom. After the Soviet Union’s collapse, says Cherlin, “anxiety for the future” depressed birthrates in Russiaand Eastern Europe.In poor societies, people have children to improve their economic well-being by increasing the number of family workers and providing supports for parents in their old age. In wealthy societies, the logic often reverses. Government now supports the elderly, diminishing the need for children. By some studies, the safety nets for retirees have reduced fertility rates by 0.5 children in the United States and almost 1.0 in Western Europe, reports economist Robert Stein in the journal National Affairs. Similarly, some couples don’t have children because they don’t want to sacrifice their own lifestyles to the lime and expense of a family.Young Americans already face a bleak labor market that cannot instill (注入) confidence about having children. Piling on higher t axes won’t help, “If higher taxes make it more expensive to raise children,” says Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute, “people will think twice about having another child.” Tha t seems like common sense, despite the multiple influences on becoming parents.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
56. What do we learn from the government report?A) Inflation increases families’ expenses.B) Raising children is getting expensive.C) Budget reduction in around the corner.D) Average family expenditure is increasing.57. What is said to be the consequence of a shrinking population?A) Weakened national strength. C) Economic downturn.B) Increased immigration. D) Social instability.58. What accounted for America’s baby boom?A) Optimism for the future. C) Religious beliefs.B) Improved living conditions. D) Economic prosperity.59. Why do people in wealthy countries prefer to have fewer children?A) They want to further improve their economic well-being.B) They cannot afford the time and expenses of rearing children.C) They are concerned about the future of the coming generation.D) They don’t rely on their children to support them in old age.60. What is the author’s purpose in writing the p assage?A) To instill confidence in the young about raising children.B) To advise couples to think twice before having children.C) To encourage the young to take care of the elderly.D) To appeal for tax reduction for raising children.Passage TwoQuestions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.Space exploration has always been the province of dreamers: The human imagination readily soars where human ingenuity (创造力)struggles to follow. A Voyage to the Moon,often cited as the first science fiction story, was written by Cyrano de Bergerac in 1649. Cyrano was dead and buried for a good three centuries before the first manned rockets started to fly.In 1961, when President Kennedy declared that America would send a man to the moon by the decade’s end, those words, too, had a dreamlike quality. They resonated(共鸣) with optimism and ambition in much the same way as the most famous dream speech of all, delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. two years later. By the end of the decade, both visions had yielded concrete results and transformed American society. And yet in many ways the two dreams ended up at odds with each other. The fight for racial and economic equality is intensely pragmatic (讲求实用的) and immediate in its impact. The urge to explore space is just the opposite. It is figuratively and literally otherworldly in its aims.When the dust settled, the space dreamers lost out. There was no grand follow-up to the Apollo missions. The technologically compromised space shuttle program has just come to an end, with no successor. The perpetual argument is that funds are tight, that we have more pressing problems here on Earth. Amid the current concerns about the federal deficit, reaching toward the stars seems a dispensable luxury—as if saving one-thousandth of a single year’s budget would solve our problems.But human ingenuity struggles on. NASA is developing a series of robotic probes that will get the most bang from a buck. They will serve as modem Magellans, mapping out the solar system for whatever explorers follow, whether man or machine. On the flip side, companies like Virgin Galactic are plotting a bottom-up assault on the space dream by making it a reality to the public. Private spaceflight could lie within reach of rich civilians in a few years. Another decade or two and it could go mainstream.The space dreamers end up benefiting all of us—not just because of the way they expand human knowledge, or because of the spin-off technologies they produce, but because the two types of dreams feed off each other. Both Martin Luther King and John Kennedy appealed to theidea that humans can transcend what were once considered inherent limitations. Today we face seeming challenges in energy, the environment, health care. Tomorrow we will transcend these as well, and the dreamers will deserve a lot of the credit. The more evidence we collect that our species is capable of greatness, the more we will actually achieve it.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。