历年四六级英语阅读

As you are probably aware,the latest job markets news isn’t good:Unemployment is still more than9percent,and new job growth has fallen close to zero.That’s bad for the economy,of course.And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now.But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think.

That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover data.After all,existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations,terminations,and retirements.(Yes,people are retiring even in this economy.)In both good times and bad,turnover creates more openings than economic growth does.Even in June of2007,when the economy was still humming along,job growth was only132,000,while turnover was 4.7million!

And as it turns out,even today—with job growth near zero—over4million job hunters are being hired every month.

I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job.It’s true that if total employment were higher,it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from(and compete for).And it’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening,regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.

But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated.They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills;be creative about where and how to look;learn how to present themselves to potential employers;and keep going,even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that2.7million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.

So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up.Four million people get hired every month in the U.S.You can be one of them.

57.The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate______?

A)deprives many people of job opportunities.

B)prevents many people from changing careers.

C)should not stop people from looking for a job.

D)does not mean the U.S.economy is worsening.

58.Where do most job openings come from?

A)Job growth

B)Job turnover

C)Improved economy

D)Business expansion

59.What does the author say about overall job growth?

A)It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.

B)It increases people’s confidence in the economy.

C)It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed.

D)It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed.

60.What is the key to landing a job according to the author?

A)Education

B)Intelligence

C)Persistence

D)Experience

61.What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the US?

A)They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is.

B)They provide the public with the latest information.

C)They warn of the structural problems in the economy.

D)They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job.

57.The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate______?

答案：C.should not stop people from looking for a job.

解析：本题重点考察作者观点。题干问在作者看来，高失业率怎么样？锁定原文第一段，虽然第一段中的bad for the economy，discouraging，change careers等字眼跟选项ABD 当中的词汇很类似，但是要注意的是，真正表达作者观点的是第一段最后一句But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think。其实高失业率跟你没太大关系。包括原文最后一段第一句“So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up.”所以，综上所述，它不该给你找工作带来阻碍，引申意思就是该怎么办就怎么办，不要在意官方统计的高失业率。

58.Where do most job openings come from?

答案：B.Job turnover

解析：本题属于细节考查题。题干问大部分的职位空缺来自于哪里？根据四个选项，可以用排除法将business expansion排除，因为原文并未提及。再剩下的三个选项中，根据原文第二段的第一句job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much asjob turnover data以及turnovercreates more openings than economic growth does.可以确定人员更替（turnover）提供了更多的职位空缺，因此答案为Job turnover。

59.What does the author say about overall job growth?

答案：A.It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.

解析：本题继续考察作者观点。题干问作者对于整体就业增长（overall job growth）的态度是怎样的，可以定位到原文倒数第三段，关键是第一句：I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job.此处用到双重否定，“我并不是说整体就业增长对一个人找工作没有丝毫影响”，也就是说“有一定影响，但是没有那么大”所以答案是A，而BCD选项的confidence，hope，job security 原文并未提及。

60.What is the key to landing a job according to the author?

答案：C.Persistence

解析：本题属于细节考查题。定位原文倒数第二段第一句But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated.关键词是stay motivated

61.What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the US?

答案：D.They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job.

解析：本题属于细节考查题。根据倒数第二段的最后一句The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that2.7million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.可知答案选D，那一部分人已经被排除掉了，所以失业率这个数据是有水分的。

Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age.So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors—or doesn’t it?

While such vigilant（警觉的）tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly.With the percentage of people over age65expected to nearly double by2050,it’s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.

In many cases,screening can lead to additional biopsies and surgeries to remove cancer,which can cause side effects,while the cancers themselves may be

slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients’remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained that when health care experts recommended that women under50and over74stop screening for breast cancer,it caused a riotous reaction among doctors,patients and advocacy groups.

It’s hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data.Certainly,there are people over age75who have had cancers detected by routine screening,and gained several extra years of life because of treatment.And clearly, people over age75who have other risk factors for cancer,such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease,should continue to get screened regularly.But for the remainder,the risk of cancer,while increased at the end of life,must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy（预期寿命）.

A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening-especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population.

It’s not an easy calculation to make,but one that make sense for the whole patient.Dr.Otis Brawley said,“Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves.We need to think about the rational use of health care and stop talking about the rationing of health care.”

That means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients,and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care,more is always better.

62.Why do doctors recommend routine cancer screening for elderly people?

A.It is believed to contribute to long life.

B.It is part of their health care package.

C.The elderly are more sensitive about their health.

D.The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth.

63.How do some researchers now look at routine cancer screening for the elderly?

A.It adds too much to their medical bills.

B.It helps increase their life expectancy.

C.They are doubtful about necessity.

D.They think it does more than good.

64.What is the conventional view about women screening for breast cancer?

A.It applies to women over50.

B.It is a must for adult women.

C.It is optional for young women.

D.It doesn’t apply to women over74.

65.Why do many doctors prescribe routine screening for cancer?

A.They want to protect themselves against medical disputes.

B.They want to take advantage of the medical care system.

C.They want data for medical research.

D.They want their patients to suffer less.

66.What does the author say is the general view about health care?

A.The more,the better.

B.Prevention is better than cure.

C.Better early than late.

D.Better care,longer life.

62. D.The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth.

63. C.They are doubtful about its necessity.

64. B.It is a must for adult women.

65. A.They want to protect themselves against medical disputes.

66. A.The more,the better.

Amid all the job losses of the Great Recession,there is one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for:nonhumans.

From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal carcasses in slaughter-houses,these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs.

Automation isn’t just affecting factory workers,either.Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that previously was performed by highly paid human lawyers.

“Robots continue to have an impact on blue-collar jobs,and white-collar jobs are under attack by microprocessors,”says Edward Leamer,an economics professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, a survey of the U.S.and California economies.Leamer says the recession permanently wiped out 2.5million jobs.U.S.gross domestic product has climbed back to

pre-recession levels,meaning we’re producing as much as before,only with6percent fewer workers.To be sure,robotics are not the only job killers out there,with outsourcing stealing far more gigs than automation.

Jeff Burnstein,president of the Robotics Industry Association,a trade group in Ann Arbor,Mich.,argues that robots actually save U.S.jobs.His logic:companies that embrace automation might use fewer workers,but that’s still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas.

It’s not that robots are cheaper than humans,though often they are.It’s that they are better.“In some cases the quality requirements are so stringent that even if you wanted to have a human do the job,you couldn’t,”Burnstein says.

Same goes for surgeons,who are using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing

list of operations—not because the machines save money but because,thanks to the greater precision of robots,the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications,says Dr.Myriam Curet.

Surgeons may survive the robot invasion,but others at the hospital might not be so lucky,as iRobot,maker of the Roomba,a robot vacuum cleaner,has been showing off Ava,a three-foot-tall droid on wheels that carries a tablet computer.iRobot reckons Ava could be used as a courier in a hospital.And once you’re home, recovering,Ava could let you talk to your doctor,so there’s no need to send someone to your house.That“mobile telepresence”could be useful at the office.If you’re away on a trip,you can still attend a meeting.Just connect via videoconferencing software,so your face appears on Ava’s screen.

Is any job safe?I was hoping to say“journalist,”but researchers are already developing algorithms that can gather facts and write a news story.Which means that a few years from now,a robot could be writing this column.And who will read it? Well,there might be a lot of us hanging around with lots of free time on our hands.

52.What do we learn from the first few paragraphs?

答案：The robotic industry has benefited from the economic recession.

53.What caused the greatest loss of jobs in America?

答案：Moving production to other countries.

54.What does Jeff Burnstein say about robots?

答案：They compete with human workers.

55.What are robotic systems replacing surgeons in more and more operations according to Dr.Myriam Curet?

答案：They beat humans in precision.

56.What does the author imply about robotics?

答案：It will be applied in any field imaginable.

【解析】这是一篇讨论机器人取代人类的科技说明文，话题是考生比较熟悉的科技类文章。文中指出在大萧条时期众多失业的情况下，有一类工人却受益于经济混乱：机器人。机器人和业务外包比自动化分流了更多的岗位。但是专家指出，并不是因为机器人比人廉价，而是它们比人类更优秀。在很多具体工作上，人类无法做到像机器人那样精确。文章最后一段探讨还有那些岗位能免于机器人取代的危机，作者本以为记者行业可以，但是结果却不是这样，几乎所有岗位都面临这种趋势，从而紧扣文章原文题目和主题：Who Needs Humans?人类还有何用？

You've now heard it so many times,you can probably repeat it in your sleep. President Obama will no doubt make the point publicly when he gets to Beijing:the Chinese need to spend more;they need to consume more;they need—believe it or not—to become more like Americans,for the sake of the global economy.

And it's all true.But the other side of that equation is that the U.S.needs to save more.For the moment,American households actually are doing so.After the personal-savings rate dipped to zero in2005,the shock of the economic crisis last year prompted people to snap shut their wallets.

In China,the household-savings rate exceeds20%.It is partly for policy reasons. As we've seen,wage earners are expected to care for not only their children but also their aging parents.And there is,to date,only the flimsiest（脆弱的）of

publicly-funded health care and pension systems,which increases incentives for individuals to save while they are working.But China is a society that has long esteemed personal financial prudence（谨慎）for centuries.There is no chance that will change anytime soon,even if the government creates a better social safety net and successfully encourages greater consumer spending.

Why does the U.S.need to learn a little frugality(节俭)?Because healthy savings rates are one of the surest indicators of a country's long-term financial health. High savings lead,over time,to increased investment,which in turn generates productivity gains,innovation and job growth.In short,savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest.

The https://www.360docs.net/doc/8813300735.html,ernment thus needs to act as well.By running constant deficits, it is dis-saving,even as households save more.Peter Orszag,Obama's Budget Director, recently called the U.S.budget deficits unsustainable and he's right.To date,the U.S.has seemed unable to have what Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has called an "adult conversation"about the consequences of spending so much more than is taken in.That needs to change.And though Hu Jintao and the rest of the Chinese leadership aren't inclined to lecture visiting Presidents,he might gently hint that Beijing is getting a little nervous about the value of the dollar—which has fallen15% since March,in large part because of increasing fears that America's debt load is becoming unmanageable.

That's what happens when you're the world's biggest creditor:you get to drop hints like that,which would be enough by themselves to create international economic chaos if they were ever leaked.(Every time any official in Beijing deliberately publicly about seeking an alternative to the U.S.dollar for the$2.1trillion China holds in reserve,currency traders have a heart attack.)If Americans saved more and spent less,consistently over time,they wouldn't have to worry about all that.

【点评】

本文讲述了在全球经济危机的背景下，美国人要向中国人学习勤俭，学会储蓄。为什么这样做呢？文章中指出良好的储蓄率能够推动经济的繁荣。但即使美国家庭开始储蓄更多，如果政府常年赤字的话，对美国来说还是“反储蓄”的。所以文章的目的是敦促美国政府降低赤字，并在文末再一次强调要坚持向中国学习存多花少，

57.How did the economic crisis affect Americans?

They had to tighten their belts.

【解析】细节题。从原文第二段最后一句话“the shock of the economic crisis last year prompted people to snap shut their wallets”可见，经济危机使得美国民众关紧钱包，即少花钱，也就是答案中tighten their belts（勒紧腰带，节省开支）的意思。所以正确答案为A。

58.What should be done to encourage Chinese people to consume?

Improving China’s social security system.

【解析】细节题。从原文中的“even if the government creates a better social safety net and successfully encourages greater consumer spending”可见，如要鼓励中国人消费更多，这需要提高社会安全系统。

59.What does the author mean by saying“savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest”(Line4,Para.4)?

A healthy savings rate promotes economic prosperity.

【解析】细节题。根据题干提示，定位至第四段最后一句，我们发现这句话是前面几句话的概括，那根据前面“High savings lead,over time,to increased investment,which in turn generates productivity gains,innovation and job growth.”可知，高储蓄率能够促进投资，进而促进生产率、创新和岗位增长，即促进经济的繁荣。所以正确答案为D。

60.In what circumstances do currency traders become scared?

When Beijing mentions in public the huge debts America owes China.

【解析】细节题。从原文中的“Every time any official in Beijing deliberately publicly about seeking an alternative to the U.S.dollar for the$2.1trillion China holds in reserve,currency traders have a heart attack.”可知，每当中国政府公开提到美国欠我国的大量债务，货币交易员们就担惊受怕。因为本段一开始提到作为最大的债权国，财政上的漏洞会造成经济的混乱。所以正确答案为D。

61.What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

To urge the American government to cut defictis.

【解析】主旨题。纵观全文，作者一直在强调美国应该向中国学习勤俭，文中第五段的第一句话“By running constant deficits,it is dis-saving,even as households save more.”也给到我们提示，既然长期运行赤字是不利于储蓄的，那美国政府应该做的是降低赤字。所以正确答案是A。

In times of economic crisis.Americans turn to their families for support.If the Great Depression is any guide,we may see a drop in our skyhigh divorce rate.But this won’t necessarily represent.an increase in happy marriages.In the long run,the Depression weakened American families,and the current crisis will probably do the same.

We tend to think of the Depression as a time when families pulled together to survive huge job losses,By1932.when nearly one-quarter of the workforce was unemployed,the divorce rate had declined by around25%from1929But this doesn’t mean people were suddenly happier with their marriages.Rather,with incomes decreasing and insecure jobs,unhappy couples often couldn’t afford to divorce.They feared neither spouse could manage alone.

Today,given the job losses of the past year,fewer unhappy couples will risk starting separate households,Furthermore,the housing market meltdown will make it more difficult for them to finance their separations by selling their homes.

After financial disasters family members also tend to do whatever they can to help each other and their communities,A1940book.The Unemployed Man and His Family,described a family in which the husband initially reacted to losing his job“with tireless search for work.”He was always active,looking for odd jobs to do.

The problem is that such an impulse is hard to sustain Across the country,many similar families were unable to maintain the initial boost in morale(士气).For some,the hardships of life without steady work eventually overwhelmed their attempts to keep their families together.The divorce rate rose again during the rest of the decade as the recovery took hold.

Millions of American families may now be in the initial stage of their responses to the current crisis,working together and supporting one another through the early months of unemployment.

Today’s economic crisis could well generate a similar number of couples whose relationships have been irreparably(无法弥补地)ruined.So it’s only when the economy is healthy again that we’ll begin to see just how many broken families have been created.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

57.In the initial stage,the current economic crisis is likely to__________.

A)tear many troubled families apart

B)contribute to enduring family ties

C)bring about a drop in the divorce rate

D)cause a lot of conflicts in the family

58.In the Great Depression many unhappy couples close to stick together because

A)starting a new family would be hard

B)they expected things would turn better

C)they wanted to better protect their kids

D)living separately would be too costly

59.In addition to job losses.What stands in the way of unhappy couples getting a divorce?

A)Mounting family debts

B)A sense of insecurity

C)Difficulty in getting a loan

D)Falling housing prices

60.What will the current economic crisis eventually do to some married couples?

A)It will force them to pull their efforts together

B)It will undermine their mutual understanding

C)It will help strengthen their emotional bonds

D)It will irreparably damage their relationship

61.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A)The economic recovery will see a higher divorce rate

B)Few couples can stand the test of economic hardships

C)A stable family is the best protection against poverty.

D)Money is the foundation of many a happy marriage

People are being lured(引诱)onto Facebook with the promise of a fun,free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up toads of personal information.Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.

Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening.Even if they know what the company is up to,they still have no idea what they’re paying for Face book because people don’t really know what their personal data is worth.o m

The biggest problem,however,is that the company keeps changing the rules Early on you keep everything private.That was the great thing about facebook you could create own little private https://www.360docs.net/doc/8813300735.html,st year.The company changed its privacy rules so that many things you city. Your photo,your friends’names-were set,by default(默认)to be shared with every one on the Internet.

According to Facebook’s vice-president Elliot Schrage,the company is simply making changes to improve its service,and if people don’t share information They have a“less satisfying experience”.

Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money.In original business model,which involved selling ads and putting then At the side of the pages totally Who wants to took at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?

The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington.In April.Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy.He also urged the Federal Trade

Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites.“I think the senator rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,”Schrage admits.

I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy,it’s only the beginning.Which is why I’m considering deactivating(撤销)my account.Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t That’s too high a price to pay.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

62.What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?

A)It is a website that sends messages to targeted users.

B)It makes money by putting on advertisements.

C)It profits by selling its users’personal data.

D)It provides loads of information to its users.

63.What does the author say about most Facebook users?

A)They are reluctant to give up their personal information.

B)They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook.

C)They don’t identify themselves when using the website.

D)They care very little about their personal information.

64.Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?

A)To render better service to its users.

B)To conform to the Federal guidelines.

C)To improve its users’connectivity.

D)To expand its scope of business.

65.Why does Senator Charles Schumer advocate?

A)Setting guidelines for advertising on websites.

B)Banning the sharing of users’personal information.

C)Formulating regulations for social-networking sites.

D)Removing ads from all social-networking sites.

66.Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?

A)He is dissatisfied with its current service.

B)He finds many of its users untrustworthy.

C)He doesn’t want his personal data abused.

D)He is upset by its frequent rule changes.

57.B.bring about a drop in the divorce rate

58.C.living separately would be too costly

59.D.Falling housing prices.

60.C.It will irreparably damage their relationship.

61.D.The economic recovery will see a higher divorce rate.

62.D)It profits by selling its user’s personal data.

63C)They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook.

64.C)To render better service to its users.

65.B)Formulating regulations for social-networking sites.

66.C)He doesn’t want his personal data abused.