英语六级真题含答案共套

英

语

六

级

真

题

含

答

案

共

套

Document serial number

【

UU89WT-UU98YT-UU8CB- UUUT-UUT108

】

2013

年

12

月大学英语六级考试真题（第

1

套 ）

Section C

Directions:

There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage

is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For

each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D).

You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding

letter on

Answer Sheet 2

with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

Among the government’s most interesting reports is one

that estimates what parents spend on their children. Not

surprisingly, the costs are steep. For a middle-class, husband-

and-wife family (average pretax income in 2009: $$76,250),

spending per child is about $$12,000 a year. With inflation the

family’s spending on a child will total $$286,050 by age 17.

The dry statistics ought to inform the ongoing deficit

debate, because a budget is not just a catalog of programs and

taxes. It reflects a society’s priorities and values. Our

society does not

—

despite

rhetoric

(

说辞

) to the contrary

—

put

much value on raising children. Present budget policies tax

parents heavily to support the elderly. Meanwhile, tax breaks

for children are modest. If deficit reduction aggravates these

biases, more Americans may choose not to have children or to

have fewer children. Down that path lies economic decline.

Societies that cannot replace their populations discourage

investment and innovation. They have

stagnant

(

萧条的

) or

shrinking markets for goods and services. With older

populations, theyresist change. To stabilize its population

—

discounting immigration

—

women must have an average of two

children. That’s a fertility rate of countries with

struggling economies are well below that.

Though having a child is a deeply personal decision,

it’s

shaped by culture, religion, economics, and government policy.

“No one has

a

good answer” asto why fertility varies among

countries, says sociologist Andrew Cherlin of The Johns

Hopkins

University. Eroding religious belief in Europe may partly

explain lowered birthrates. In Japan young women may be

rebelling against

their mothers’

isolated lives of child

rearing. General optimism and pessimism count. Hopefulness

fueled America’s baby boom. After the Soviet Union’s collapse,

says Cherlin, “anxiety for the future” depressed birthrates

in Russiaand Eastern Europe.

In poor societies, people have children to improve their

economic well-being by increasing the number of family workers

and providing supports for parents in their old age. In wealthy

societies, the logic often reverses. Government now supports

the elderly, diminishing the need for children. By some studies,

the safety nets for retirees have reduced fertility rates by

children in the United States and almost in Western Europe,

reports economist Robert Stein in the journal

National Affairs.

Similarly, some couples

don’t have

children because they

don’t want to sacrifice their own lifestyles to the lime and

expense of a family.

Young Americans already face a bleak labor market that

cannot

instill

(

注入

) confidence about having children. Piling

on higher t

axes won’t help, “If high

er taxes make it more

expensive to raise children,” says Nicholas Eberstadt of the

American Enterprise Institute, “people will think twice about

having another child.” Tha

t seems like common sense, despite

the multiple influences on becoming parents.

注意：此部分试题请在

答题卡

2

上作答。

56. What do we learn from the government report

A) Inflation increases families’ expenses.

B) Raising children is getting expensive.

C) Budget reduction in around the corner.

D) Average family expenditure is increasing.

57. What is said to be the consequence of a shrinking

population

A) Weakened national strength.

downturn.

B) Increased immigration.

instability.

58. What accounted for America’s baby boom

A) Optimism for the future.

beliefs.

B) Improved living conditions.

prosperity.

59. Why do people in wealthy countries prefer to have fewer

children

A) They want to further improve their economic well- being.

B) They cannot afford the time and expenses of rearing

children.

C) They are concerned about the future of the coming

generation.

D) They don’t rely on their children to support them in old

age.

D) Economic

C) Religious

D) Social

C) Economic

60. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage

A) To instill confidence in the young about raising children.

B) To advise couples to think twice before having children.

C) To encourage the young to take care of the elderly.

D) To appeal for tax reduction for raising children.

Passage Two

Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

Space exploration has always been the province of dreamers:

The human imagination readily soars where human

ingenuity

(

创造

力

)struggles to follow.

A Voyage to the Moon

,often cited as the

first science fiction story, was written by Cyrano de Bergerac

in 1649. Cyrano was dead and buried for a good three centuries

before the first manned rockets started to fly.

In 1961, when President Kennedy declared that America would

send a man to the moon by the decade’s end, those words, too,

had a dreamlike quality. They

resonated

(

共鸣

) with optimism and

ambition in much the same way as the most famous dream speech

of all, delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. two years later. By

the end of the decade, both visions had yielded concrete

results and transformed American society. And yet in many ways

the two dreams ended up at odds with each other. The fight for

racial and economic equality is intensely

pragmatic

(

讲求实用的

)

and immediate in its impact. The urge to explore space is just

the opposite. It is figuratively and literally otherworldly in

its aims.

When the dust settled, the space dreamers lost out. There

was no grand follow-up to the Apollo missions. The

technologically compromised space shuttle program has just come

to an end, with no successor. The perpetual argument is that

funds are tight, that we have more pressing problems here on

Earth. Amid the current concerns about the federal deficit,

reaching toward the stars seems a dispensable luxury

—

as if

saving one-

thousandth of a single year’s budget would solve

our problems.

But human ingenuity struggles on. NASA is developing a

series of robotic probes that will get the most bang from a

buck. They will serve as modem Magellans, mapping out the solar

system for whatever explorers follow, whether man or machine.

On the flip side, companies like Virgin Galactic are plotting a

bottom-up assault on the space dream by making it a reality to

the public. Private spaceflight could lie within reach of rich

civilians in a few years. Another decade or two and it could go

mainstream.

The space dreamers end up benefiting all of us

—

not just

because of the way they expand human knowledge, or because of

the spin-off technologies they produce, but because the two

types of dreams feed off each other. Both Martin Luther King

and John Kennedy appealed to the idea that humans can transcend

what were once considered inherent limitations. Today we face

seeming challenges in energy, the environment, health care.

Tomorrow we will transcend these as well, and the dreamers will

deserve a lot of the credit. The more evidence we collect that

our species is capable of greatness, the more we will actually

achieve it.

注意：此部分试题请在

答题卡

2

上作答。

61. The author mentions Cyrano de Bergerac in order to show

that_________.

A) imagination is the mother of invention

B) ingenuity is essential for science fiction writers

C) it takes patience for humans to realize their dreams

D) dreamers have always been interested in science fiction

62. How did the general public view Kennedy’s space

exploration plan

A) It symbolized the American spirit.

B) It was as urgent as racial equality.

C) It sounded very much like a dream.

D) It made an ancient dream come true.

63. What does the author say about America’s aim to explore

space

A) It may not bring about immediate economic gains.

B) It cannot be realized without technological innovation.

C) It will not help the realization of racial and economic

equality.

D) It cannot be achieved without a good knowledge of the

other worlds.

64. What is the author’s attitude toward space programs

A) Critical.

B) Reserved.

C) Unbiased.

D) Supportive.

65. What does the author think of the problems facing human

beings

A) They pose a serious challenge to future human existence.

B) They can be solved sooner or later with human ingenuity.

C) Their solutions need joint efforts of the public and

privatesectors.

D) They can only be solved by people with optimism

andambition.

56~60 BCADD61~65 ACADB

2013

年

12

月大学英语六级考试真题（第

2

套）

Section C

Passage One

Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

There was a time not long ago when new science in the United

States were expected to pursue a career path in academia (

学术

界

).But today, most graduates end up working outside academia,

not only in industry but also in careers such as science policy,

communications, and patent law. Partly this is a result of how

bleak the academic job market is, but there's also a rising

awareness of career options that . scientists haven't trained

for directly

—

but for which they have useful knowledge, skills,

and experience. Still, there's a huge disconnect between the

way we currently train scientists and the actual employment

opportunities available for them, and an urgent need for

dramatic improvements in training programs to help close the

gap. One critical step that could help to drive change would be

to require . students and postdoctoral scientists to follow an

individual development plan (IDP).

In 2002 the . Federation of American Societies for Experimental

Biology recommended that every postdoctoral researcher put

together an IDP m consultation with an adviser. Since then,

several academic institutions have begun to require

IDPsforpostdocs And in June, the . National Institutes of

Health (NIH) Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group

recommended that the NIH require IDPs for the approximately

32,000 postdoctoral researchers they funding agencies, public

and private, are moving in a similar direction.

IDPs have long been used by government agencies and the private

sector to achieve specificgoals for the employee and the

organization. The aim is to ensure that employees have an

explicittool to help them understand their own abilities and

aspirations, determine career possibilities, and set (usually

short-term) goals. In science, graduate students and new .

scientists can use an IDP to identify and navigate an effective

career path.

Afree Web application for this purpose, called my become

available this week. It's designed to guide early-career

scientists through a confidential, rigorous process of

introspection (

内省

)to create a customized career plan. Guided

by expert knowledge from a panel of science-focused career

advisers, each trainee

’

s self-assessment is used to rank a set

of career trajectories(

轨迹

). After the user has identified a

long-term career IDP walks her or him through the process of

setting short-term goals directed toward accumulating new

skills and experiences important for that career choice.

Although surveys reveal the IDP process to be useful, trainees

report a need for additional resources to help them identify a

long-term career path and complete an IDP. Thus, myIDP will be

most effective when it’s embedded in larger career

-development

efforts. For example, universities could incorporate IDPs into

their graduate curricula to help students discuss, plan,

prepare for, and achieve their long- term career goals.

注意：此部分试题请 在答题卡

2

上作答。

56. What do we learn about new science in the United States

today

A) They lack the skills and expertise needed for their jobs.

B) They can choose from a wider range of well-paying jobs.

C) They often have to seek jobs outside the academic circle.

D) They are regarded as the nation’s driving force of change.

57. What does the author say about America’s . training

A) It should be improved to better suit the job market.

B) It is closely linked to future career requirements.

C) It should be re-oriented to careers outside academia.

D) It includes a great variety of practical courses.

58. What was recommended for and postdoctoral researchers

A) They meet the urgent needs of the corporate world.

B) A long-term career goal be set as early as possible.

C) An IDP be made in consultation with an adviser.

D) They acquire an explicit tool to help obtain jobs.

59. Government agencies and the private sector often use IDPs

to __________.

A) bring into full play the skills and expertise of their

postdoctoral researchers

B) help employees make the best use of their abilities to

achieve their career goals

C) place employees in the most appropriate positions

D) hire the most suitable candidates to work for them

60. What do we know about my IDP

A) It is an effective tool of self-assessment and introspection

for better career plans.

B) It enables people to look into various possibilities and

choose the career they love.

C) It promises a long-term career path.

D) It is part of the graduate curricula.

Passage Two

Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

Just over a decade into the 21st century, women’s progress can

be celebrated across a range of fields. They hold the highest

political offices from Thailand to Brazil, Costa Rica to

Australia. A woman holds the top spot at the International

Monetary Fund; another won the Nobel Prize in economics. Self-

made billionaires in Beijing, tech innovators in Silicon Valley,

pioneering justices in Ghana

—

in these and countless other

areas, women are leaving their mark.

But hold the applause. In Saudi Arabia, women aren’t allowed

to drive. In Pakistan, 1,000women die in honor killings every

year. In the developed world, women lag behind men in pay and

political power. The poverty rate among women in the . rose

to % last year.

To measure the state of women’s progress. Newsweek ranked 165

countries, looking at five areas that affect women’s lives;

treatment under the law, workforce participation, political

power, and access to education and health care. Analyzing data

from the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, among

others, and consulting with experts and academics, we measured

28 factors to come up with our rankings.