衣帽2006年6月大学英语六级考试真题及答案

2006

年

6

月英语六 级真题

Part I Listening Comprehension (20 minutes)

Section A

Directions: In this section, you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each

conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation

and the question 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 the Answer

Sheet with a single line through the center.

Example: You will hear:

You will read:

A) 2 hours.

B) 3 hours.

C) 4 hours.

D) 5 hours.

From the conversation we know that the two were talking about some work they will start at 9

o’clock in the morning and have to finish at 2 in the afternoon. Therefore, D) “5 hours” is the

correct answer. You should choose [D] on the Answer Sheet and mark it with a single line through

the center.

Sample Answer [A] [B] [C] [D]

1. A) She met with Thomas just a few days ago.

B) She can help with the orientation program.

C) She is not sure she can pass on the message.

D) She will certainly try to contact Thomas.

2. A) Set the dinner table.

B) Change the light bulb

C) Clean the dining room.

D) Hold the ladder for him.

3. A) He’d like a piece of pi

e.

B) He’d like some coffee

C) He’d rather stay in the warm room.

D) He’s just had dinner with his friends.

4. A) He has managed to sell a number of cars.

B) He is contented with his current position.

C) He might get fired.

D) He has lost his job.

5. A)

Tony’s secretary.

B) Paul’s girlfriend.

C) Paul

’

s colleague.

D) Tony

’

s wife.

6. A) He was fined for running a red light.

B) He was caught speeding on a fast lane.

C) He had to run quickly to get the ticket.

D) He made a wrong turn at the intersection.

7. A) He has learned a lot from his own mistakes.

B) He is quite experienced in taming wild dogs.

C) He finds reward more effective than punishment.

D) He thinks it important to master basic training skills.

8. A) At a bookstore.

B) At the dentist’s.

C) In a restaurant.

D) In the library.

9. A) He doesn’t want Jenny to get into trouble.

B) He doesn’t agree with the woman’s remark.

C) He thinks Jenny’s workload too heavy at college.

D) He believes most college students are running wild.

10. A) It was applaudable.

B) It was just terrible.

C) The actors were enthusiastic.

D) The plot was funny enough.

Section B

Directions: 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 the Answer Sheet

with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.

11. A) Social work.

B) Medical care

C) Applied physics

D) Special education.

12. A) The timely advice from her friends and relatives.

B) The two-year professional training she received.

C) Her determination to fulfill her dream.

D) Her parents’ consistent moral support.

13. A) To get the funding for the hospitals.

B) To help the disabled children there.

C) To train therapists for the children there.

D) To set up an institution for the handicapped.

Passage Two

Questions 14 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.

14. A) At a country school in Mexico.

B) In a mountain valley of Spain.

C) At a small American college.

D) In a small village in Chile.

15. A) By expanding their minds and horizons.

B) By financing their elementary education.

C) By setting up a small primary school.

D) By setting them an inspiring example.

16. A) She wrote poetry that broke through national barriers.

B) She was a talented designer of original school curriculums.

C) She proved herself to be an active and capable stateswoman.

D) She made outstanding contributions to children’s education.

17. A) She won the 1945 Nobel Prize in Literature.

B) She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

C) She translated her books into many languages.

D) She advised many statesmen on international affairs.

Passage Three

Question 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.

18. A) How animals survive harsh conditions in the wild.

B) How animals alter colors to match their surroundings.

C) How animals protect themselves against predators.

D) How animals learn to disguise themselves effectively.

19. A) Its enormous size.

B) Its plant-like appearance.

C) Its instantaneous response.

D) Its offensive smell.

20. A) It helps improve their safety.

B) It allows them to swim faster.

C) It helps them fight their predators.

D) It allows them to avoid twists and turns.

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. 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 the

Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

There are good reasons to be troubled by the violence that spreads throughout the media.

Movies. Television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably

ask what’s wrong

with a society that presents videos of domestic violence as entertainment. Most

researchers agree that the causes of real-world violence are complex. A 1993 study by the U.S.

National Academy of Sciences listed “biological, individual, family, peer, sch

ool, and community

factors” as all playing their parts.

Viewing abnormally large amounts of violent television and video games may well contribute

to violent behavior in certain individuals.

The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the

case for causality (

因果关系

). Skeptics were dismayed several years ago when a group of

societies including the

American Medical Association tried to end the debate by issuing a joint statement:

“

At this

time, well over 1

,000 studies… point overwhelmingly to a causal connection between media

violence and aggressive behavior in some children.”

Freedom-of-speech advocates accused the societies of catering to politicians, and even

disputed the number of studies (most were review articles and essays, they said). When Jonathan

Freedman, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto, reviewed the literature, he found

only 200 or so studies of television-

watching and aggression. And when he weeded out “the most

doubtfu

l measures of aggression”, only 28% supported a connection.

The critical point here is causality. The alarmists say they have proved that violent media

cause aggression. But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined. When

labeling games as violent or non-violent, should a hero eating a ghost really be counted as a

violent event? And when experimenters record the time it takes game players to read ‘aggressive’

or ‘non

-

aggressive’ words from a list, can we be sure what they are actua

lly measuring? The intent

of the new Harvard Center on Media and Child Health to collect and standardize studies of media

violence in order to compare their methodologies, assumptions and conclusions is an important

step in the right direction.

Another appropriate ster would be to tone down the criticism until we know more. Several

researchers write, speak and testify quite a lot on the threat posed by violence in the media. That

is,

of course, their privilege. But when doing so, they often come out with statements that the matter

has now been settled, drawing criticism from colleagues. In response, the alarmists accuse critics

and news reporters of being deceived by the entertainment industry. Such clashes help neither

science nor society.

21. Why is there so much violence shown in movies, TV and video games?

A) There is a lot of violence in the real world today.

B) Something has gone wrong with today’s society.

C) Many people are fond of gunplay and bloodshed.

D) Showing violence is thought to be entertaining.

22. What is the skeptics (Line 3. Para.3) view of media violence?

A) Violence on television is a fairly accurate reflection of real-world life.

B) Most studies exaggerate the effect of media violence on the viewers.

C) A causal relationship exists between media and real-world violence.

D) The influence of media violence on children has been underestimated.

23. The author uses the term “alarmists” (Line 1. Para.5) to refer to those who ______.

A) use standardized measurements in the studies of media violence

B) initiated the debate over the influence of violent media on reality

C) assert a direct link between violent media and aggressive behavior

D) use appropriate methodology in examining aggressive behavior

24. In refuting the alarmists, the author advances his argument by first challenging____.

A) the source and amount of their data

B) the targets of their observation

C) their system of measurement

D) their definition of violence

25. What does the author think of the debate concerning the relationship between the media and

violence?

A) More studies should be conducted before conclusions are drawn.

B) It should come to an end since the matter has now been settled.

C) The past studies in this field have proved to be misleading.

D) He more than agrees with the views held by the alarmists.

Passage Two

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

You

’

re in trouble if you have to buy your own brand-name prescription drugs. Over the past

decade, prices leaped by more than double the inflation rate. Treatments for chronic conditions can

easily top

＄

2,000 a month-no wonder that one in four Americans can

’

s afford to fill their

prescriptions. The solution? A hearty chorus of “O Canada.” North of the border, where price

controls reign, those same brand-name drugs cost 50% to 80% less.

The Canadian option is fast becoming a political wake-up call,

“

If our neighbors can buy

drugs at reasonable prices, why can’t we?” Even to whisper that thought provokes anger.

“

Un- American!

”

And- the propagandists

’

trump card (

王牌

)

—

“

Wreck our brilliant health-care

system.” Super

-size drug prices, they claim, fund the research that sparks the next generation of

wonder drugs. No sky-high drug price today, no cure for cancer tomorrow. So shut up and pay up.

Common sense tells you that’s a false alternative. The reward for finding. Say, a cancer cure is so

huge that no one’s going to hang it up. Nevertheless, if Canada

-level pricing came to the United

States, the industry’s profit margins would drop and the

pace of new-drug development would

slow. Here lies the American dilemma. Who is all this splendid medicine for? Should our

health-care system continue its drive toward the best of the best, even though rising numbers of

patients can’t afford it? Or should we direct our wealth toward letting everyone in on today’s level

of care? Measured by saved lives, the latter is almost certainly the better course.

To defend their profits, the drug companies have warned Canadian wholesalers and

pharmacies(

药房

) not to sell to Americans by mail, and are cutting back supplies to those who

dare.

Meanwhile, the administration is playing the fear card. Officials from the Food and Drug

Administration will argue that Canadian drugs might be fake, mishandled, or even a potential

threat to life.

Do bad drugs fly around the Internet? Sure-and the more we look, the more we

’

ll find, But I

haven’t heard of any raging epidemics among the hundreds of thousands of people buying

cross-border.

Most users of prescription drugs don

’

s worry about costs a lot.

They

’

re sheltered by employee insurance, owing just a $$20 co-pay.

The financial blows rain, instead, on the uninsured, especially the chronically ill who need

expensive drugs to live, This group will still include middle-

income seniors on Medicare, who’ll

have to dig deeply into their pockets before getting much from the new drug benefit that starts in

2006.

26. What is said about the consequence of the rocketing drug prices in the U.S.?

A) A quarter of Americans c

an’t afford their prescription drugs.

B) Many Americans can’t afford to see a doctor when they fall ill.

C) Many Americans have to go to Canada to get medical treatment.

D) The inflation rate has been more than doubled over the years.

27. It can be inferred that America can follow the Canadian model and curb its soaring drug

prices by _____.

A) encouraging people to buy prescription drugs online

B) extending medical insurance to all its citizens

C) importing low- price prescription drugs from Canada

D) exercising price control on brand-name drugs

28. How do propagandists argue for the U.S. drug pricing policy?

A) Low prices will affect the quality of medicines in America.

B) High prices are essential to funding research on new drugs.

C) Low prices will bring about the anger of drug manufacturers.

D) High-price drugs are indispensable in curing chronic diseases.

29. What should be the priority of America’s health

-care system according to the author?

A) To resolve the dilemma in the health-care system.

B) To ma

intain America’s lead in the drug industry.

C) To allow the vast majority to enjoy its benefits.

D) To quicken the pace of new drug development.

30. What are American drug companies doing to protect their high profits?

A) Labeling drugs bought from Canada as being fakes.

B) Threatening to cut back funding for new drug research.

C) Reducing supplies to uncooperative Canadian pharmacies.

D) Attributing the raging epidemics to the ineffectiveness of Canadian drugs.

Passage Three

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

Age has its privileges in America. And one of the more prominent of them is the senior

citizen discount. Anyone who has reached a certain age-in some cases as low as 55-is

automatically entitled to a dazzling array of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial

life. Eligibility is determined not by one’s need but by the date on one’s birth certificate.

Practically unheard of a generation ago, the discounts have become a routine part of many

businesses-as common as color televisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners.

People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them

< br>；

yet

，

millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent (

有支付能力的

). Businesses that

would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30 freely offer them to older

Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that “elderly” and “needy”

are synonymous (

同义的

).

Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate

than

the

rest

of

the

population.

To

be

sure,

there

is

economic

diversity

within

the

elderly,

and

many

older Americans are poor, But most of them aren’t. It is impossible to determine the impact of the

discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other

cases the discounts are given at the expense.

Directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant in what

some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations.

Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits

，

which mostly involves a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another

sore point, Buoyed (

支持

) by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are

declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job-thereby lessening employment and

promotion opportunities for younger workers.

Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a formidable

economic privilege to a group with millions of members who don’t need them.

It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve

priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people

can

’

t take care of themselves and need special treatment

；

and they threaten the creation of a new

myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other

age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting

against-discrimination by age.

31. We learn from the first paragraph that____.

A) offering senior citizens discounts has become routine commercial practice

B) senior citizen discounts have enabled many old people to live a decent life

C) giving senior citizens discounts has boosted the market for the elderly

D) senior citizens have to show their birth certificates to get a discount

32. What assumption lies behind the practice of senior citizen discounts?

A) Businesses, having made a lot of profits, should do something for society in return.

B) Old people are entitled to special treatment for the contribution they made to society.

C) The elderly, being financially underprivileged

，

need humane help from society.

D) Senior citizen discounts can make up for the inadequacy of the Social Security system.

33. According to some politicians and scholars, senior citizen discounts will___.

A) make old people even more dependent on society

B) intensify conflicts between the young and the old

C) have adverse financial impact on business companies

D) bring a marked increase in the companies revenues

34. How does the author view the Social Security system?

A) It encourages elderly people to retire in time.

B) It opens up broad career prospects for young people.

C) It benefits the old at the expense of the young

D) It should be reinforced by laws and court decisions

35. Which of the following best summarizes the a

uthor’s main argument?

A) Senior citizens should fight hard against age discrimination.

B) The elderly are selfish and taking senior discounts for granted.

C) Priority should be given to the economic needs of senior citizens.

D) Senior citizen discounts may well be a type of age discrimination.

Passage Four

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

In 1854 my great-grandfather, Morris Marable, was sold on an auction block in Georgia for

＄

500. For his white slave master, the sale was just

“

business as usual.

”

But to Morris Marable

and his heirs, slavery was a crime against our humanity. This pattern of human rights violations

against enslaved African- Americans continued under racial segregation for nearly another century.

The fundamental

problem of American democracy in the 21st century is the problem of “structural

racism” the deep patterns of socio

-economic inequality and accumulated disadvantage that are

coded by race, and constantly justified in public speeches by both racist stereotypes and white

indifference. Do Americans have the capacity and vision to remove these structural barriers that

deny democratic rights and opportunities to millions of their fellow

citizens?

This country has previously witnessed two great struggles to achieve a truly multicultural

democracy.

The

First

Reconstruction

(1865-1877)

ended

slavery

and

briefly

gave

black

men

voting

rights,

but gave no meaningful compensation for two centuries of unpaid labor. The promise of “40 acres

and a mule (

骡子

)

”

was for most blacks a dream deferred (

尚未实现的

).

The Second Reconstruction (1954-1968), or the modern civil rights movement, ended legal

segregation in public accommodations and gave blacks voting rights . But these successes

paradoxically obscure the tremendous human costs of historically accumulated disadvantage that

remain central to black Americans’ lives.

The disproportionate wealth that most whites enjoy today was first constructed from

centuries of unpaid black labor. Many white institutions, including some leading universities,

insurance companies and banks, profited from slavery. This pattern of white privilege and black

inequality continues today.