2010 6月 12月 英语六级考试真题word版 排版紧凑

2010 6月 12月 英语六级考试真 题 快递公司问题件快递公司问题件货款处理关于圆的周长面积重点题型关于解方程组的题及答案关于南海问题 word版 排版紧凑 2010 6 Part ? Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)(15 minutes) Directions:In this part,you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1.For questions 1-7,choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C) and D),For questions 8-10,complete the sentences with the information given in the passage. Obama’s success isn’t all good news for black Americans Obama,she felt a burden lifting from her shoulers.”In As Erin White watched the election results head towards victory for Barack that one second,it was a validation for my whole race,” she recalls. ”I’ve always been an achiever,”says White ,who is studying for an MBA at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. “But there had always been these things in the back of my mind questioning whether I really can be who I want. It was like a shadow, following me around saying you can only go so far. Now it’s like a barrier has been let down.” White’s experience is what many psychologists had expected-that Obama would prove to be a powerful role model for African Americans. Some hoped his rise to prominence would have a big impact on white Americans, too, challenging those who still harbour racist sentiments.” The traits that characterize him are very contradictory to the racial sterotypes that black people are aggressive and uneducated,” say Ashby Plant of Florida State University.” He’s very intelligent and eloquent.” Sting in the fall Ashby Plant is one of a number of psychologists who seized on Obama’s candidacy to test hypotheses about the power of role models. Their work is already starting to reveal how the “Obama effect” is changing people’s views and behavior. Perhaps surprisingly, it is not all good news there is a sting in the tail of the Obama effect. But first the good news .Barack Obama really is a positive role model for Afican Americans, and he was making an impact even before he got to the White House .Indeed, the Obama effect can be surprisingly immediate and powerful ,as Ray Friedman of Vanderbilt University and his colleagues discovered. They tested four separate groups at four key stages of Obama’s presidential campaign. Each group consisted of around 120 adults of similar age and education, and the test assessed their language skills .At two of these stages, when Obama’s success was less than certain ,the tests showed a clear difference between the scores of the white and black participants-an average of 12.1 out of 20,compared to 8.8,for example .When the Obama fever was at its height, however, the black participants performed much better. Those who had watched Obama’s acceptance speech as the Democrats’ presidential candidate performed just as well ,on average ,as the white subjects. After his election victory ,this was true of all the black participants. Dramatic shift What can explain this dramatic shift? At the start of the test, the participants had to declare their race and were told their results would be used to assess their strengths and weaknesses. This should have primed the subjects with “stereotype threat”-an anxiety that their results will confirm negative stereotypes, which has been shown to damage the performance of African Americans. Obama’s successes seemed to act as a shield against this .”We suspect they felt inspired and energised by his victory, so the stereotype threat would’ t prove a distraction,” says Friedman. Lingering racism If the Obama effect is positive for African Americans, how is it affecting their white compatriots(同胞)? Is the experience of having a charismatic(有魅力的)black president modifying lingering racist attitudes? There is on easy way to measure racism directly; instead psychologists assess what is known as “implicit bias”, using a computer-based test that measures how quickly people associate positive and negative words-such as “love” or “evil” – with photos of black or white faces. A similar test can also measure how quickly subjects associate stereotypical traits – such as athletic skills or mental ability – with a particular group. In a study that will appear in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Plant’s team tested 22 students during the height of the Obama fever. They found that implicit bias had fallen by as much as 90% compared with the level found in a similar study in 2006. “That’s an unusually large drop,” Plant says. While the team can’t be sure their results are due solely to Obama, they also showed that those with the lowest bias were likely to subconsciously associate black skin colour with political words such as “government” or “president”. This suggests that Obama was strongly on their mind, says Plant. Drop in bias Brian Nosek of University of Virginia in Charlottesville, who runs a website that measures implicit bias using similar tests, has also observed a small drop in bias in the 700,000 visitors to the site since January 2007, which might be explained by Obama’s rise to popularity. However, his preliminary results suggest that change will be much slower coming than Plant’s results suggest. Talking honestly ”People now have the opportunity of expressing support for Obama every day,” says Daniel Effron at Stanford University in California. “Our research arouses the concern that people may now be more likely to raise negative views of African Americans.” On the other hand, he says, it may just encourage people to talk more honestly about their feelings regarding race issues, which may not be such a bad thing. Another part of the study suggests far more is at stake than the mere expression of views. The Obama effect may have a negative side. Just one week after Obama was elected president, participants were less ready to support policies designed to address racial inequality than they had been two weeks before the election. Huge obstacles It could, of course, also be that Obama’s success helps people to forget that a disproportionate number of black Americans still live in poverty and face huge obstacles when trying to overcome these circumstances. “Barack Obama’s family is such a salient(出色 的)image, we generalize it and fail to see the larger picture – that there’s injustice in every aspect of American life,” says Cheryl Kaiser of the University of Washington in Seattle. Those trying to address issues of racial inequality need to constantly remind people of the inequalities that still exist to counteract the Obama effect, she says. Though Plant’s findings were more positive, she too warns against thinking that racism and racial inequalities are no longer a problem. “The last thing I want is for people to think everything’s solved.” These findings do not only apply to Obama, or even just to race. They should hold for any role model in any country. “There’s no reason we wouldn’t have seen the same effect on our views of women if Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin had been elected,” says Effron. So the election of a female leader might have a downside for other women. Beyond race We also don’t yet know how long the Obama effect – both its good side and its bad – will last, Political sentiment is notoriously changeable: What if things begin to go wrong for Obama, and his popularity slumps? And what if Americans become so familiar with having Obama as their president hat they stop considering his race altogether? “Over time he might become his own entity,” says Plant. This might seem like the ultimate defeat for racism, but ignoring the race of certain select individuals a phenomenon that psychologists call subtyping – also has an insidious(隐伏的)side. “We think it happens to help people preserve their beliefs, so they can still hold on to the previous stereotypes.” That could turn out to be the cruelest of all the twists to the Obama effect. 1.How did Erin White feel upon seeing Barack Obama’s victory in the election? A)Excited. B)Victorious. C)Anxious. D)Relieved. 2.Before the election, Erin White had been haunted by the question of whether . A)she could obtain her MBA degree B)she could go as far as she wanted in life C)she was overshadowed by her white peers D)she was really an achiever as a student 3.What is the focus of Ashby Plant’s study? A)Racist sentiments in America. B)The power of role models. C)Personality traits of successful blacks. D)The dual character of African Americans. 4.In their experiments, Ray Friedman and his colleagues fond that . A)blacks and whites behaved differently during the election B)whites’attitude towards blacks has dramatically changed C)Obama’s election has eliminated the prejudice against blacks D)Obama’s success impacted blacks’performance in language tests 5.What do Brian Nosek’s preliminary results suggest? A)The change in bias against blacks is slow in coming. B)Bias against blacks has experienced an unusual drop. C)Website visitors’opinions are far from being reliable. D)Obama’s popularity may decline as time passes by. 6.A negative side of the Obama effect is that . A)more people have started to criticize President Obama’s racial policies B)relations between whites and African Americans may become tense again C)people are now less ready to support policies addressing racial inequality D)white people are likely to become more critical of African Americans 7.Cheryl Kaiser holds that people should be constantly reminded that . A)Obama’s success is sound proof of blacks’potential B)Obama’s is but a rare example of blacks’excellence C)racial inequality still persists in American society D)blacks still face obstacles in political participation 8.According to Effron, if Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin had been elected, there would also have been a negative affect on . 9.It is possible that the Obama effect will be short-lived if there is a change in people’s . 10.The worst possible aspect of the Obama effect is that people could ignore his race altogether and continue to hold on to their old racial . Part ? Listening Comprehension Section A Directions: 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 2 with a single line through the centre. 11 A)The man failed to keep his promise. B)The women has a poor memory. C)The man borrowed the book from the library. D)The women does not need the book any more. 12 A) The women is making too big a fuss about her condition. B) Fatigue is a typical symptom of lack of exercise. C) The women should spend more time outdoors. D)People tend to work longer hours with artificial lighting. 13 A)The printing on her T-shirt has faded. B)It is not in fashion to have a logo on a T-shirt. C) She regrets having bought one of the T-shirt. D)It is not a good idea to buy the T-shirt. 14 A)He regrets having published the article. B) Most readers do not share his viewpoints. C)Not many people have read his article. D)The woman is only trying to console him. 15 A) Leave Daisy alone for the time being. B) Go see Daisy immediately. C)Apologize to Daisy again by phone. D)Buy Daisy a new notebook. 16. A)Batteries. B)Garden tools. C)Cameras. D)Light Bubles. 17. A) The speakers will watch the game together. B) The woman feels lucky to have got a ticket. C)The man plays center on the basketball team. D) The man can get the ticket at its original price. 18A)The speakers will dress formally for the concert. B) The man will return home before going to the concert. C) It is the first time the speakers are attending a concert. D) The woman is going to buy a new dress for the concert. Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 19 A) He wants to sign a long-term contract. B) He is good at both language and literature. C) He prefers teaching to administrative work. D) He is undecided as to which job to go for. 20A) They hate exams. B)They all plan to study in Cambridge. C) They are all adults. D) They are going to work in companies. 21. A) Difficult but rewarding. B) Varied and interesting. C) Time-consuming and tiring. D) Demanding and frustrating. Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 22. A) Interviewing a movie star. B) Discussing teenage role models. C) Hosting a television show. D) Reviewing a new biography. 23. A) He lost his mother. B) He was unhappy in California. . C) he rnissed his aunt. D) He had to attend school there. 24. A) He delivered public speeches. B) He got seriously into acting. C) He hosted talk shows on TV.. D) He played a role in East of Eden. 25 A)He made numerous popular movies. B) He has long been a legendary figure. C) He was best at acting in Hollywood tragedies. D) He was the most successful actor of his time. Section B Passage One Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard. 26.A) It carried passengers leaving an island. B) A terrorist forced it to land on Tenerife. C) It crashed when it was circling to land. D) 18 of the passengers survived the crash. 27. A) He was kidnapped eight months ago. B) He failed in his negotiations with the Africans. C) He was assassinated in Central Africa, D) He lost lots of money in his African business. 28. A) The management and Union representatives reached an agreement. B) The workers’ pay was raised and their working hours were shortened. C) The trade union gave up its demand. D) The workers on strike were all fired. 29. A) Sunny. B) Rainy. C) Windy. D)Cloudy. Passage Two Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard. 30 A) Some of them had once experienced an earthquake. B) Most of them lacked interest in the subject. C) Very few of them knew much about geology. D) A couple of them had listened to a similar speech before. 31. A) By reflecting on Americans’ previous failures in predicting earthquakes. B) By noting where the most severe earthquake in U.S. history occurred. C) By describing the destructive power of earthquakes. D) By explaining some essential geological principles. 32. A) Interrupt him whenever he detected a mistake. B) Focus on the accuracy of the language he used. C) Stop him when he had difficulty understanding. D) Write down any points where he could improve. Passage Three Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard./ 33.A) It was invented by a group of language experts in the year of 1887. B) It is a language that has its origin in ancient Polish. C) It was created to promote economic globalization. D) It is a tool of communication among speakers of different languages. 34. A) It aims to make Esperanto a working language in the U.K. B) It has increased its popularity with the help of the media. C) It has encountered increasingly tougher challenges. D) It has supporters from many countries in the world. 35. A) It is used by a number of influential science journals. B) It is widely taught at schools and in universities. C) It has aroused the interest of many young learners. D) It has had a greater impact than in any other country. Section C George Herbert Mead said that humans are talked into humanity. He meant that we gain per-Sonal identiy as we communicate with others. In the earliest years of our lives, our parents tell us who we are. “ you’ re (36)________.” “ you’ re so strong. “ We fist see ourselves through the eyes of others, so their messages form important (37) ________of our self-concepts. Later we interact with teachers, friends, (38) ________partners, and co-workers who communicate their views of us .Thus, how we see ourselves (39) ________the views of us that others communicate. The (40) ________connection between identify and communication is (41) ________evident in children who are (42) ________of human contact. Case studies of children who were isolated from others reveal that they lack a firm self-concept, and their mental and psychological development is severely (43) ________by lack of language. Communication with others not only affects our sense of identity but also directly influences our physical and emotional well-being. Consistently, (44)_________________________________________. People who lack close friends have greater levels of anxiety and depression than people who are close to others.(45) _____________ _______________________________________________________. The conclusion was that social Isolation is statistically as dangerous as high blood pressure, smoking and obesity. Many doctors and researchers believe that (46) ___________________________________________________. Part IV Reading Comprehension ( Reading in Depth ) (25 minutes) Section A Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage. Questions : My ninth-grade art teacher doesn’t give any grade above 94% because, she says, ” There’ s always room for improvement. “ In previous years, I earned a 99% and a 100%. The 94 I received this term does not reflect the hard work that I put into this course. Because of her “improvement “ theory, I got a lower grade than I deserve. Is her grading philosophy ethical( 符合职业道德规范的)? Answer: Your teacher’s grading system may be unwise, but it is not unethical. A teachers deserves wide latitude in selecting the method of grading that best promotes learning in her classroom; that is, after all, the prime function of grades, It is she who has the training and experience to make this decision. Assuming that your teacher is neither biased nor corrupt and that her system conforms to school rules, you can’t fault her ethics. You can criticize her methodology. A 100 need not imply that there is no possibility of improvement, only than a student successfully completed the course work . A ninth grader could get a well-earned 100 in English class but still have a way to go before she writes as well as jane Austen. What’s more, grades are not only an educational device but are also part of a screening system to help assign kids to their next class or program. By capping her grades at 94 while most other teachers grade on a scale that tops out at 100, your teacher could jeopardize a student’s chance of gerring a scholarship or getting into a top college. What it is wrong to condemn her for is overlooking youu hard work. Your diligence is worthy of encouragement, but effort does not equal accomplishment. If scholars suddently discovered that Rembrandt had dashed off “ The Night Watch “ in an afternoon, it would still be “ The Night Watch. “ I could spend months sweating over my own “ paintings “ , but I’d produce something you would’t want to bang in your living room. Or your garage. One feature of a good grading system is that those measurede by it generally regard it as fair and reasonable—not the case here. Simmering(难以平息的) resentment is seldom an aid to education. And so your next step should be to discuss your concerns with your teacher or the principal. 47. The ninth-grader thought that his art teacher should have given him______. 48. According to the answer, a teacher should have the freedom to ______ to encourage learning. 49. We learn from the answer that a student who gets a 100 should still work hard and keep ________. 50. The example of Rembrandt’s painting suggests that a distinction should be made between ________. 51. The ninth-grader is advised to go to his teacher or the principal to ________. Section B Passage One Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage. Only two countries in the advanced world provide on guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a newborn child. Last spring one of the two, Australia, gave up that dubious distinction by establishing paid family leave starting in 2011. I wasn’t surprised when this didn’t make the news here in the United States—we’re now the only wealthy country without such a policy. The United States does have one explicit family policy, the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1933. It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks’ unpaid leave for care of a newborn or dealing with a family medical problem. Despite the modesty of the benefit, the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups fought it bitterly, describing it as “government-run personnel management” and a “dangerous precedent.” In fact, every step of the way, as (usually) Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-family balance measures into the law, business groups have been strongly opposed. As Yale law professor Anne A1stott argues, justifying parental support depends on defining the family as a social good that, in some sense, society must pay for. In her book No Exit: What Parents Owe Their Children and What Society Owes Parents, she argues that parents are burdened in many ways in their lives: there is “no exit” when it comes to children. “Society expects—and needs— parents to provide their children with continuity of care, meaning the intensive, intimate care that human beings need to develop their intellectual, emotional, and moral capabilities. And society expects—and needs—parents to persist in their role for 18 years, or longer if needed.” While most parents do this out of love, there are public penalties for not providing care, What parents do, in other words, is of deep concern to the state, for the obvious reason that caring for children is not only morally urgent but essential for the future of society. The state recognizes this in the large body of family laws that govern children’s welfare, yet parents receive little help in meeting the life-changing obligations society imposes. To classify parents receive little help in meeting the life-changing obligations society imposes. To classify parenting as a personal choice for which there is on collective responsibility is not merely to ignore the social benefits of good parenting; really, it is to steal those benefits because they accrue(不断积累)to the whole of society as today’s children become tomorrow’s productive citizenry(公民). In fact, by some estimates, the value of parental investments in children, investments of time and money (including lost wages), is equal to 20-30% of gross domestic product. If these investments generate huge social benefits—as they clearly do—the benefits of providing more social support for the family should be that much clearer. 52.What do we learn about paid family leave from the first paragraph? A)America is now the only developed country without the policy. B)It has now become a hot topic in the United States. C)It came as a surprise when Australia adopted the policy. D)Its meaning was clarified when it was established in Australia. 53.What has prevented the passing of work-family balance laws in the United States? A)The incompetence of the Democrats. B)The existing Family and Medical Leave Act. C)The lack of a precedent in American history. D)The opposition from business circles. 54.What is Professor Anne Alstott’s argument for parental support? A)The cost of raising children in the U.S. has been growing. B)Good parenting benefits society. C)The U.S. should keep up with other developed countries. D)Children need continuous care. 55.What does the author think of America’s large body of family laws governing children’s welfare? A)They fail to ensure children’s healthy growth. B)They fail to provide enough support for parents. C)They emphasize parents’ legal responsibilities. D)They impose the care of children on parents. 56.Why does the author object to classifying parenting as a personal choice? A)It is regarded as a legal obligation. B)It relies largely on social support. C)It generates huge social benefits. D)It is basically a social undertaking. Passage Two Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage. A new study from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University-shows that today’s youth vote in larger numbers than previous generations, and a 2008 study from the Center for American Progress adds that increasing numbers of young voters and activists support traditionally liberal causes, But there’s no easy way to see what those figures mean in real life. During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama assembled a racially and ideologically diverse coalition with his message of hope and change; as the reality of life under a new administration settles in, some of those supporters might become disillusioned, As the nation moves further into the Obama presidency, will politically engaged young people continue to support the president and his agenda, or will they gradually drift away? The writers of Generation O(short for Obama), a new Newsweek blog that seeks to chronicle the lives of a group of young Obama supporters, want to answer that question. For the next three months, Michelle Kremer and 11 other Obama supporters, ages 19 to 34, will blog about life across mainstream America, with one twist: by tying all of their ideas and experiences to the new president and his administration, the bloggers will try to start a conversation about what it means to be young and politically active in America today. Malena Amusa, a 24-year-old writer and dancer from St. Louis sees the project as a way to preserve history as it happens. Amusa, who is traveling to India this spring to finish a book, then to Senegal to teach English, has ongoing conversations with her friends about how the Obama presidency has changed their daily lives and hopes to put some of those ideas, along with her global perspective, into her posts. She’s excited because, as she puts it. “I don’t have to wait[until] 15 years from now” to make sense of the world. Henry Flores, a political-science professor at St. Mary’s University, credits this younger generation’s political strength to their embrace of technology. “[The Internet] exposes them to more thinking,” he says, “and groups that are like-minded in different parts of the country start to come together.” That’s exactly what the Generation O bloggers are hoping to do. The result could be a group of young people that, like their boomer(二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人)parents, grows up with a strong sense of purpose and sheds the image of apathy(冷漠)they’ve inherited from Generation X(60年代后期和70年代出生的美国人). It’s no small challenge for a blog run by a group of ordinary—if ambitious—young people, but the members of Generation O are up to the task. 57.What is the finding of a new study by CIRCLE? A)More young voters are going to the polls than before. B)The younger generation supports traditionally liberal causes. C)Young voters played a decisive role in Obama’s election. D)Young people in America are now more diverse ideologically. 58.What is a main concern of the writers of Generation O? A) How Obama is going to live up to young people’s expectations. B)Whether America is going to change during Obama’s presidency. C)Whether young people will continue to support Obama’s policy. D)How Obama’s agenda is going to affect the life of Americans. 59.What will the Generation O bloggers write about in their posts? A)Their own interpretation of American politics. B)Policy changes to take place in Obama’s administration. C)Obama’s presidency viewed from a global perspective. D)Their lives in relation to Obama’s presidency. 60.What accounts for the younger generation’s political strength according to professor Henry Flores? A)Their embrace of radical ideas. B)Their desire to change America. C)Their utilization of the Internet. D)Their strong sense of responsibility. 61.What can we infer from the passage about Generation X? A)They are politically conservative. B)They reject conventional values. C)They dare to take up challenges. D)They are indifferent to politics. Part V Cloze (15minutes) A new study found that inner-city kids living in neighborhoods with more green space gained about 13% less weight over a two-year period than kids living amid more concrete and fewer trees. Such 62 tell a powerful story. The obesity epidemic began in the 1980s,and many people 63 it to increased portion sizes and inactivity, but that can’t be everything. Fast foods and TVs have been 64 us for a long time. “Most experts agree that the changes were 65 to something in the environment,” says social epidemiologist Thomas Glass of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. That something could be a 66 of the green. The new researcher, 67 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, isn’t the first to associate greenery with better health ,but it does get us closer 68 identifying what works and why. At its most straightforward, a green neighborhood 69 means more places for kids to play---which is 70 since time spent outdoors is one of the strongest correlates of children’s activity levels. But green space is good for the mind reading 71 : research by environmental psychologists has shown that it has cognitive 72 for children with attention-deficit disorder. In one study, just reading 73 in a green setting improved kids’ symptoms. 62.A) findings C)hypotheses B) theses D)abstract 63.A) adapt C)allocate B)attribute D) alternate 64.A) amongst C)beside B)along D)with 65.A) glued C)tracked B)related D)appointed 66.A) glued C)tracked B) related D)appointed 67.A) published C)illuminated B) simulated D)circulated 68.A) at C)for B) to D)over 69.A) fully C)seriously B) simply D)uniquely 70.A) vital C)fatal B)casual D)subtle 71.A) still C)too B) already D)yet 72.A) benefits C)revenues B)profits D)awards 73.A)outward C)aside B) apart D)outside 74 to grassy areas has also been linked to 75 stress and a lower body mass index among adults. And an 76 of 3,000 Tokyo residents associated walkable green spaces with greater longevity(长寿) among senior citizens. Glass cautions that most studies don’t 77 prove a causal link between greenness and health ,but they’re nonetheless helping spur actionable. In September the U.S. House of Representatives 78 the deliberately named No Child Left Inside Act to encourage public initiatives aimed at exposing kids to the outdoors. Finding green space is not 79 easy, and you may have to work a bit to get your family a little grass and trees. If you live in a suburb or a city with good park, take 80 of what’s there. Your children in particular will love it—and their bodies and minds will be 81 to you. 74.A)immunity C)exposure B)reaction D)addiction 75.A)much C)more B) less D)little 76.A)installment C)analysis B)expedition D)option 77.A)curiously C)necessarily B)negatively D)comfortably 78.A)relieved C)approved B)delegated D)performed 79.A)merely C)mainly B)always D)almost 80.A)advantage C)measure B)exception D)charge 81.A)elevated C)contented B)merciful D)grateful Part V I Translation (5minutes) 82. _____________(他们的独生儿子从未想过)to leave them and strike out on his own though he is in his late twenties. 83.Before you take any actionable, please remember to _________(权衡你的决定会产生的后果)。 84. he assured his friend that under no circumstances____________ (他会违背还钱的承诺)。 85. most educators advise that kids _____________(不要沉迷于电脑游戏)。 86.business major as he is in, he has (还从未考虑过从事推销员的工作)。 2010 12 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Into the Unknown The world has never seen population ageing before. Can it cope? Until the early 1990s nobody much thought about whole populations getting older. The UN had the foresight to convene a “world assembly on ageing” back in 1982, but that came and went. By 1994 the World Bank had noticed that something big was happening. In a report entitled “Averting the Old Age Crisis”, it argued that pension arrangements in most countries were unsustainable. For the next ten years a succession of books, mainly by Americans, sounded the alarm. They had titles like Young vs Old, Gray Dawn and The Coming Generational Storm, and their message was blunt: health-care systems were heading for the rocks, pensioners were taking young people to the cleaners, and soon there would be intergenerational warfare. Since then the debate has become less emotional, not least because a lot more is known about the subject. Books, conferences and research papers have multiplied. International organisations such as the OECD and the EU issue regular reports. Population ageing is on every agenda, from G8 economic conferences to NATO summits. The World Economic Forum plans to consider the future of pensions and health care at its prestigious Davos conference early next year. The media, including this newspaper, are giving the subject extensive coverage. Whether all that attention has translated into sufficient action is another question. Governments in rich countries now accept that their pension and health-care promises will soon become unaffordable, and many of them have embarked on reforms, but so far only timidly. That is not surprising: politicians with an eye on the next election will hardly rush to introduce unpopular measures that may not bear fruit for years, perhaps decades. The outline of the changes needed is clear. To avoid fiscal (财政) meltdown, public pensions and health-care provision will have to be reined back severely and taxes may have to go up. By far the most effective method to restrain pension spending is to give people the opportunity to work longer, because it increases tax revenues and reduces spending on pensions at the same time. It may even keep them alive longer. John Rother, the AARP’s head of policy and strategy, points to studies showing that other things being equal, people who remain at work have lower death rates than their retired peers. Younger people today mostly accept that they will have to work for longer and that their pensions will be less generous. Employers still need to be persuaded that older workers are worth holding on to. That may be because they have had plenty of younger ones to choose from, partly thanks to the post-war baby-boom and partly because over the past few decades many more women have entered the labour force, increasing employers’ choice. But the reservoir of women able and willing to take up paid work is running low, and the baby-boomers are going grey. In many countries immigrants have been filling such gaps in the labour force as have already emerged (and remember that the real shortage is still around ten years off). Immigration in the developed world is the highest it has ever been, and it is making a useful difference. In still-fertile America it currently accounts for about 40% of total population growth, and in fast-ageing western Europe for about 90%. On the face of it, it seems the perfect solution. Many developing countries have lots of young people in need of jobs; many rich countries need helping hands that will boost tax revenues and keep up economic growth. But over the next few decades labour forces in rich countries are set to shrink so much that inflows of immigrants would have to increase enormously to compensate: to at least twice their current size in western Europe’s most youthful countries, and three times in the older ones. Japan would need a large multiple of the few immigrants it has at present. Public opinion polls show that people in most rich countries already think that immigration is too high. Further big increases would be politically unfeasible. To tackle the problem of ageing populations at its root, “old” countries would have to rejuvenate (使年轻) themselves by having more of their own children. A number of them have tried, some more successfully than others. But it is not a simple matter of offering financial incentives or providing more child care. Modern urban life in rich countries is not well adapted to large families. Women find it hard to combine family and career. They often compromise by having just one child. And if fertility in ageing countries does not pick up? It will not be the end of the world, at least not for quite a while yet, but the world will slowly become a different place. Older societies may be less innovative and more strongly disinclined to take risks than younger ones. By 2025 at the latest, about half the voters in America and most of those in western European countries will be over 50 —and older people turn out to vote in much greater number than younger ones. Academic studies have found no evidence so far that older voters have used their power at the ballot box to push for policies that specifically benefit them, though if in future there are many more of them they might start doing so. Nor is there any sign of the intergenerational warfare predicted in the 1990s. After all, older people themselves mostly have families. In a recent study of parents and grown-up children in 11 European countries, Karsten Hank of Mannheim University found that 85% of them lived within 25km of each other and the majority of them were in touch at least once a week. Even so, the shift in the centre of gravity to older age groups is bound to have a profound effect on societies, not just economically and politically but in all sorts of other ways too. Richard Jackson and Neil Howe of America’s CSIS, in a thoughtful book called The Graying of the Great Powers, argue that, among other things, the ageing of the developed countries will have a number of serious security implications. For example, the shortage of young adults is likely to make countries more reluctant to commit the few they have to military service. In the decades to 2050, America will find itself playing an ever-increasing role in the developed world’s defence effort. Because America’s population will still be growing when that of most other developed countries is shrinking, America will be the only developed country that still matters geopolitically (地缘政治上). Ask me in 2020 There is little that can be done to stop population ageing, so the world will have to live with it. But some of the consequences can be alleviated. Many experts now believe that given the right policies, the effects, though grave, need not be catastrophic. Most countries have recognised the need to do something and are beginning to act. But even then there is no guarantee that their efforts will work. What is happening now is historically unprecedented. Ronald Lee, director of the Centre on the Economics and Demography of Ageing at the University of California, Berkeley, puts it briefly and clearly: “We don’t really know what population ageing will be like, because nobody has done it yet. “ 1. In its 1994 report, the World Bank argued that the current pension system in most countries could ______. [A] not be sustained in the long term [B] further accelerate the ageing process [C] hardly halt the growth of population [D] help tide over the current ageing crisis 2. What message is conveyed in books like Young vs Old? [A] The generation gap is bound to narrow. [B] Intergenerational conflicts will intensify. [C] The younger generation will beat the old. [D] Old people should give way to the young. 3. One reason why pension and health care reforms are slow in coming is that ______. [A] nobody is willing to sacrifice their own interests to tackle the problem [B] most people are against measures that will not bear fruit immediately [C] the proposed reforms will affect too many people’s interests [D] politicians are afraid of losing votes in the next election 4. The author believes the most effective method to solve the pension crisis is to ______. [A] allow people to work longer [C] cut back on health care provisions [B] increase tax revenues [D] start reforms right away 5. The reason why employers are unwilling to keep older workers is that ______. [A] they are generally difficult to manage [B] the longer they work, the higher their pension [C] their pay is higher than that of younger ones [D] younger workers are readily available 6. To compensate for the fast-shrinking labour force, Japan would need ______. [A] to revise its current population control policy [B] large numbers of immigrants from overseas [C] to automate its manufacturing and service industries [D] a politically feasible policy concerning population 7. Why do many women in rich countries compromise by having only one child? [A] Small families are becoming more fashionable. [B] They find it hard to balance career and family. [C] It is too expensive to support a large family. [D] Child care is too big a problem for them. 8. Compared with younger ones, older societies are less inclined to ______________________________. 9. The predicted intergenerational warfare is unlikely because most of the older people themselves _____________________. 10. Countries that have a shortage of young adults will be less willing to commit them to ____________________________. Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes) Section A 11. [A] The man is the manager of the apartment building. [B] The woman is very good at bargaining. [C] The woman will get the apartment refurnished. [D] The man is looking for an apartment. 12. [A] How the pictures will turn out. [C] What the man thinks of the shots. [B] Where the botanical garden is. [D] Why the pictures are not ready. 13. [A] There is no replacement for the handle. [B] There is no match for the suitcase. [C] The suitcase is not worth fixing. [D] The suitcase can be fixed in time. 14. [A] He needs a vehicle to be used in harsh weather. [B] He has a fairly large collection of quality trucks. [C] He has had his truck adapted for cold temperatures. [D] He does routine truck maintenance for the woman. 15. [A] She cannot stand her boss’s bad temper. [B] She has often been criticized by her boss. [C] She has made up her mind to resign. [D] She never regrets any decisions she makes. 16. [A] Look for a shirt of a more suitable color and size. [B] Replace the shirt with one of some other material. [C] Visit a different store for a silk or cotton shirt. [D] Get a discount on the shirt she is going to buy. 17. [A] At a “Lost and Found”. [C] At a trade fair. [B] At a reception desk. [D] At an exhibition. 18. [A] Repair it and move in. [C] Convert it into a hotel. [B] Pass it on to his grandson. [D] Sell it for a good price. Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 19. [A] Unique descriptive skills. [C] Colourful world experiences. [B] Good knowledge of readers’ tastes. [D] Careful plotting and clueing. 20. [A] A peaceful setting. [C] To be in the right mood. [B] A spacious room. [D] To be entirely alone. 21. [A] They rely heavily on their own imagination. [B] They have experiences similar to the characters’. [C] They look at the world in a detached manner. [D] They are overwhelmed by their own prejudices. Questions 22 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 22. [A] Good or bad, they are there to stay. [B] Like it or not, you have to use them. [C] Believe it or not, they have survived. [D] Gain or lose, they should be modernised. 23. [A] The frequent train delays. [C]The food sold on the trains. [B] The high train ticket fares. [D] The monopoly of British Railways. 24. [A] The low efficiency of their operation. [B] Competition from other modes of transport. [C] Constant complaints from passengers. [D] The passing of the new transport act. 25. [A] They will be de-nationalised. [C] They are fast disappearing. [B] They provide worse service. [D] They lose a lot of money. Section B Passage One Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard. 26. [A] The whole Antarctic region will be submerged. [B] Some polar animals will soon become extinct. [C] Many coastal cities will be covered with water. [D] The earth will experience extreme weathers. 27. [A] How humans are to cope with global warming. [B] How unstable the West Antarctic ice sheet is. [C] How vulnerable the coastal cities are. [D] How polar ice impacts global weather. 28. [A] It collapsed at least once in the past 1.3 million years. [B] It sits firmly on solid rock at the bottom of the ocean. [C] It melted at temperatures a bit higher than those of today. [D] It will have little impact on sea level when it breaks up. 29. [A] The West Antarctic region was once an open ocean. [B] The West Antarctic ice sheet was about 7,000 feet thick. [C] The West Antarctic ice sheet was once floating ice. [D] The West Antarctic region used to be warmer than today. Passage Two Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard. 30. [A] Whether we can develop social ties on the Internet. [B] Whether a deleted photo is immediately removed from the web. [C] Whether our blogs can be renewed daily. [D] Whether we can set up our own websites. 31. [A] The number of visits they receive. [C] The files they have collected. [B] The way they store data. [D] The means they use to get information. 32. [A] When the system is down. [C] When the URL is reused. [B] When new links are set up. [D] When the server is restarted. Passage Three Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard. 33. [A] Some iced coffees have as many calories as a hot dinner. [B] Iced coffees sold by some popular chains are contaminated. [C] Drinking coffee after a meal is more likely to cause obesity. [D] Some brand-name coffees contain harmful substances. 34. [A] Have some fresh fruit. [C] Take a hot shower. [B] Exercise at the gym. [D] Eat a hot dinner. 35. [A] They could enjoy a happier family life. [B] They could greatly improve their work efficiency. [C] Many cancer cases could be prevented. [D] Many embarrassing situations could be avoided. Section C Psychologists are finding that hope plays a surprisingly vital role in giving people a measurable advantage in realms as (36) _____________ as academic achievement, bearing up in tough jobs and coping with (37) ______________ illness. And, by contrast, the loss of hope is turning out to be a stronger sign that a person may (38) ______________ suicide than other factors long thought to be more likely risks. ”Hope has proven a powerful predictor of (39) ______________ in every study we’ve done so far,” said Dr. Charles R. Snyder, a psychologist who has devised a (40) ______________ to assess how much hope a person has. For example, in research with 3,920 college students, Dr. Snyder and his (41) ______________ found that the level of hope among freshmen at the beginning of their first semester was a more (42) ______________ predictor of their college grades than were their S.A.T. scores or their grade point (43) ______________ in high school, the two measures most commonly used to predict college performance. (44)”___________________________________________________________________________________________,” Dr. Snyder said. “When you compare students of equivalent intelligence and past academic achievements, what sets them apart is hope.” In devising a way to assess hope scientifically, Dr. Snyder (45)________________________ _______________________________. “That notion is not concrete enough, and it blurs two key components of hope,” Dr. Snyder said. (46)”_____________________________________________________________________.” Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes) Section A Most young boys are trained to believe that men should be strong, tough, cool, and detached. Thus, they learn early to hide vulnerable emotions such as love, joy, and sadness because they believe that such feelings are feminine and imply weakness. Over time, some men become strangers to their own emotional lives. It seems that men with traditional views of masculinity are more likely to suppress outward emotions and to fear emotions, supposedly because such feelings may lead to a loss of composure (镇定). Keep in mind, however, that this view is challenged by some researchers. As with many gender gaps, differences in emotionality tend to be small, inconsistent, and dependent on the situation. For instance, Robertson and colleagues found that males who were more traditionally masculine were more emotionally expressive in a structured exercise than when they were simply asked to talk about their emotions. Males’ difficulty with “tender” emotions has serious consequences. First, suppressed emotions can contribute to stress-related disorders. And worse, men are less likely than women to seek help from health professionals. Second, men’s emotional inexpressiveness can cause problems in their relationships with partners and children. For example, men who endorse traditional masculine norms report lower relationship satisfaction, as do their female partners. Further, children whose fathers are warm, loving, and accepting toward them have higher self-esteem and lower rates of aggression and behavior problems. On a positive note, fathers are increasingly involving themselves with their children. And 30 percent of fathers report that they take equal or greater responsibility for their children than their working wives do. One emotion males are allowed to express is anger. Sometimes this anger translates into physical aggression or violence. Men commit nearly 90 percent of violent crimes in the United States and almost all sexual assaults. 47. Most young boys have been trained to believe that men who show tender feelings are considered to be ______________. 48. Some men believe that if they expressed their emotions openly they might ______________. 49. According to the author, men who suppress their emotions may develop ______________. 50. Men who observe traditional masculine norms are said to derive less satisfaction from ______________. 51. When males get angry, they can become ______________ or even commit violence. Section B Passage One In the early 20th century, few things were more appealing than the promise of scientific knowledge. In a world struggling with rapid industrialization, science and technology seemed to offer solutions to almost every problem. Newly created state colleges and universities devoted themselves almost entirely to scientific, technological, and engineering fields. Many Americans came to believe that scientific certainty could not only solve scientific problems, but also reform politics, government, and business. Two world wars and a Great Depression rocked the confidence of many people that scientific expertise alone could create a prosperous and ordered world. After World War ?, the academic world turned with new enthusiasm to humanistic studies, which seemed to many scholars the best way to ensure the survival of democracy. American scholars fanned out across much of the world—with support from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright program, etc.—to promote the teaching of literature and the arts in an effort to make the case for democratic freedoms. In the America of our own time, the great educational challenge has become an effort to strengthen the teaching of what is now known as the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math). There is considerable and justified concern that the United States is falling behind much of the rest of the developed world in these essential disciplines. India, China, Japan, and other regions seem to be seizing technological leadership. At the same time, perhaps inevitably, the humanities—while still popular in elite colleges and universities—have experienced a significant decline. Humanistic disciplines are seriously underfunded, not just by the government and the foundations but by academic institutions themselves. Humanists are usually among the lowest-paid faculty members at most institutions and are often lightly regarded because they do not generate grant income and because they provide no obvious credentials (资质) for most nonacademic careers. Undoubtedly American education should train more scientists and engineers. Much of the concern among politicians about the state of American universities today is focused on the absence of “real world” education—which means preparation for professional and scientific careers. But the idea that institutions or their students must decide between humanities and science is false. Our society could not survive without scientific and technological knowledge. But we would be equally impoverished (贫困的) without humanistic knowledge as well. Science and technology teach us what we can do. Humanistic thinking helps us understand what we should do. It is almost impossible to imagine our society without thinking of the extraordinary achievements of scientists and engineers in building our complicated world. But try to imagine our world as well without the remarkable works that have defined our culture and values. We have always needed, and we still need, both. 52. In the early 20th century Americans believed science and technology could _______. [A] solve virtually all existing problems [C] help raise people’s living standards [B] quicken the pace of industrialization [D] promote the nation’s social progress 53. Why did many American scholars become enthusiastic about humanistic studies after World War?? [A] They wanted to improve their own status within the current education system. [B] They believed the stability of a society depended heavily on humanistic studies. [C] They could get financial support from various foundations for humanistic studies. [D] They realized science and technology alone were no guarantee for a better world. 54. Why are American scholars worried about education today? [A] The STEM subjects are too challenging for students to learn. [B] Some Asian countries have overtaken America in basic sciences. [C] America is lagging behind in the STEM disciplines. [D] There are not enough scholars in humanistic studies. 55. What accounts for the significant decline in humanistic studies today? [A] Insufficient funding. [C] Shortage of devoted faculty. [B] Shrinking enrollment. [D] Dim prospects for graduates. 56. Why does the author attach so much importance to humanistic studies? [A] They promote the development of science and technology. [B] They help prepare students for their professional careers. [C] Humanistic thinking helps define our culture and values. [D] Humanistic thinking helps cultivate students’ creativity. Passage Two Will there ever be another Einstein? This is the undercurrent of conversation at Einstein memorial meetings throughout the year. A new Einstein will emerge, scientists say. But it may take a long time. After all, more than 200 years separated Einstein from his nearest rival, Isaac Newton. Many physicists say the next Einstein hasn’t been born yet, or is a baby now. That’s because the quest for a unified theory that would account for all the forces of nature has pushed current mathematics to its limits. New math must be created before the problem can be solved. But researchers say there are many other factors working against another Einstein emerging anytime soon. For one thing, physics is a much different field today. In Einstein’s day, there were only a few thousand physicists worldwide, and the theoreticians who could intellectually rival Einstein probably would fit into a streetcar with seats to spare. Education is different, too. One crucial aspect of Einstein’s training that is overlooked is the years of philosophy he read as a teenager—Kant, Schopenhauer and Spinoza, among others. It taught him how to think independently and abstractly about space and time, and it wasn’t long before he became a philosopher himself. ”The independence created by philosophical insight is—in my opinion—the mark of distinction between a mere artisan (工匠) or specialist and a real seeker after truth,” Einstein wrote in 1944. And he was an accomplished musician. The interplay between music and math is well known. Einstein would furiously play his violin as a way to think through a knotty physics problem. Today, universities have produced millions of physicists. There aren’t many jobs in science for them, so they go to Wall Street and Silicon Valley to apply their analytical skills to more practical—and rewarding—efforts. ”Maybe there is an Einstein out there today,” said Columbia University physicist Brian Greene, “but it would be a lot harder for him to be heard.” Especially considering what Einstein was proposing. ”The actual fabric of space and time curving? My God, what an idea!” Greene said at a recent gathering at the Aspen Institute. “It takes a certain type of person who will bang his head against the wall because you believe you’ll find the solution.” Perhaps the best examples are the five scientific papers Einstein wrote in his “miracle year” of 1905. These “thought experiments” were pages of calculations signed and submitted to the prestigious journal Annalen der Physik by a virtual unknown. There were no footnotes or citations. What might happen to such a submission today? ”We all get papers like those in the mail,” Greene said. “We put them in the junk file.” 57. What do scientists seem to agree upon, judging from the first two paragraphs? [A] Einstein pushed mathematics almost to its limits. [B] It will take another Einstein to build a unified theory. [C] No physicist is likely to surpass Einstein in the next 200 years. [D] It will be some time before a new Einstein emerges. 58. What was critical to Einstein’s success? [A] His talent as an accomplished musician. [B] His independent and abstract thinking. [C] His untiring effort to fulfill his potential. [D] His solid foundation in math theory. 59. What does the author tell us about physicists today? [A] They tend to neglect training in analytical skills. [B] They are very good at solving practical problems. [C] They attach great importance to publishing academic papers. [D] They often go into fields yielding greater financial benefits. 60. What does Brian Greene imply by saying “... it would be a lot harder for him to be heard” (Lines 1-2, Para. 9)? [A] People have to compete in order to get their papers published. [B] It is hard for a scientist to have his papers published today. [C] Papers like Einstein’s would unlikely get published today. [D] Nobody will read papers on apparently ridiculous theories. 61. When he submitted his papers in 1905, Einstein _______. [A] forgot to make footnotes and citations [B] was little known in academic circles [C] was known as a young genius in math calculations [D] knew nothing about the format of academic papers Part V Cloze (15 minutes) America’s most popular newspaper website today announced that the era of free online journalism is drawing to a close. The New York Times has become the biggest publisher yet to 62 plans for a paywall around its digital offering, 63 the accepted practice that internet users will not pay for news. Struggling 64 an evaporation of advertising and a downward drift in street corner sales, The New York Times 65 to introduce a “metered” model at the beginning of 2011. Readers will be required to pay when they have 66 a set number of its online articles per month. The decision puts the 159-year-old newspaper 67 the charging side of an increasingly wide chasm (鸿沟) in the media industry. But others, including the Guardian, have said they will not 68 internet readers, and certain papers, 69 London’s Evening Standard, have gone further in abandoning readership revenue by making their print editions 70 . The New York Times’s publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, 71 that the move is a gamble: “This is a 72 , to a certain degree, in where we think the web is going.” Boasting a print 73 of 995,000 on weekdays and 1.4 million on Sundays, The New York Times is the third bestselling American newspaper, 74 the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. 75 most US papers focus on a single city, The New York Times is among the few that can 76 national scope—as well as 16 bureaus in the New York area, it has 11 offices around the US and 77 26 bureaus elsewhere in the world. But 78 many in the publishing industry, the paper is in the grip of a 79 financial crisis. Its parent company, the New York Times Company, has 15 papers, but 80 a loss of $70 million in the nine months to September and recently accepted a $250 million 81 from a Mexican billionaire, Carlos Slim, to strengthen its balance sheet. 62. [A] set in [C] carry over [B] set out [D] carry away 63. [A] abusing [C] developing [B] deducting [D] abandoning 64. [A] with [C] along [B] beside [D] by 65. [A] engages [C] deliberates [B] intends [D] signifies 66. [A] exceeded [C] assumed [B] multiplied [D] revealed 67. [A] on [C] over [B] of [D] up 68. [A] cost [C] expend [B] consume [D] charge 69. [A] as for [C] such as [B] far from [D] by far 70. [A] reliable [C] applicable [B] free [D] easy 71. [A] resisted [C] acknowledged [B] certified [D] appealed 72. [A] net [C] bet [B] kit [D] pit 73. [A] evaluation [C] circulation [B] expansion [D] dimension 74. [A] behind [C] before [B] against [D] within 75. [A] If [C] Hence [B] While [D] Because 76. [A] ascend [C] lengthen [B] announce [D] claim 77. [A] contributes [C] maintains [B] disposes [D] encounters 78. [A] like [C] from [B] beyond [D] through 79. [A] heavy [C] rough [B] crude [D] serious 80. [A] targeted [C] suffered [B] suspended [D] tolerated 81. [A] asset [C] account [B] bill [D] loan Part VI Translation (5 minutes) 82. There is no denying that you __________________________________ (越仔细越好) in dealing with this matter. 83. Only when I reached my thirties _____________________________(我才意识到读书是不能被忽视的). 84. Much _________________________________(使研究人员感到惊讶), the outcome of the experiment was far better than they had expected. 85. Oh, my, I can’t find my key; ______________________________(我一定是把它忘在哪儿了). 86. I ____________________________________________ (宁愿加入你们去做义工) than go to the beach for a holiday.