2006年12月英语六级真题及答案解析_新题型(标准完整版)

2006

年

12

月英语六级考试真题

(

新题型

)

Part I

Writing

（

30 minutes

）

Directions:

For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled

The Importance of

Reading Classics

. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.

1.

2.

3.

阅读经典书籍对人的成长至关重要

现在愿意阅读经典的人却越来越少，原因是…

我们大学生应该怎么做

The Importance of Reading Classics

Part II

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 1-4, mark

Y

(for

YES

)

N

(for

NO

)

NG

(for

NOT

GIVEN

)

if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;

if statement contradicts the information given in the passage;

if the information is not given in the passage.

For questions 5-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

Space Tourism

Make your reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are

going for a mere $$20 million for a one- week stay in space. Despite reluctance from National Air and Space

Administration (NASA)

，

Russia made American businessman Dennis Tito the world

?

s first space tourist. Tito

flew into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on April

30,

2001.

The

second

space

tourist,

South

African

businessman

Mark

Shuttleworth,

took

off

aboard

the

Russian Soyuz on April 25, 2002, also bound for the ISS.

Lance Bass of

?

N Sync was supposed to be the third to make the $$20 million trip, but he did not join the

three-man

crew

as

they

blasted

off

on

October

30,

2002,

due

to

lack

of

payment.

Probably

the

most

incredible aspect of this proposed space tour was that NASA approved of it.

These

trips

are

the

beginning

of

what

could

be

a

profitable

21st

century

industry.

There

are

already

several space tourism companies planning to build suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two

decades. These companies have invested millions, believing that the space tourism industry is on the verge of

taking off.

In 1997, NASA published a report concluding that selling trips into space to private citizens could be

worth billions of dollars. A Japanese report supports these findings, and projects that space tourism could be a

$$10 billion per year industry within the next two decades. The only obstacles to opening up space to tourists

are the space agencies, who are

concerned

with safety and the development of a reliable,

reusable launch

vehicle.

Space Accommodations

Russia

?

s

Mir

space

station

was

supposed

to

be

the

first

destination

for

space

tourists.

But

in

March

2001

，

the Russian Aerospace Agency brought Mir down into the Pacific Ocean. As it turned out, bringing

down Mir only temporarily delayed the first tourist trip into space.

The Mir crash did cancel plans for a new reality-based game show from NBC, which was going to be

called

Destination

Mir.

The

Survivor-like

TV

show

was

scheduled

to

air

in

fall

2001,

Participants

on

the

show were to go through training at Russia

?

s

cosmonaut

(

宇航员

) training center, Star City. Each week, one

of

the

participants

would

be

eliminated

from

the

show,

with

the

winner

receiving

a

trip

to

the

Mir

space

station. The Mir crash has ruled out NBC

?

s space plans for now. NASA is against beginning space tourism

until the International Space Station is completed in 2006.

Russia is not alone in its interest in space tourism. There are several projects underway to commercialize

space travel. Here are a few of the groups that might take tourists to space:

??

Space Island Group is going to build a ring-shaped, rotating

“

commercial space

infrastructure

(

基

础结构

)

”

that will resemble the Discovery spacecraft in the movie

“

2001: A Space Odyssey.

”

Space Island

says it will build its space city out of empty NASA space-shuttle fuel tanks (to start, it should take around 12

or

so),

and

place

it

about

400

miles

above

Earth.

The

space

city

will

rotate

once

per

minute

to

create

a

gravitational pull one-third as strong as Earth

?

s.

??

According to their vision statement. Space Adventures plans to

“

fly tens of thousand of people in

space over the next 10-15 years and beyond, around the moon, and back, from spaceports both on Earth and

in space, to and from private space stations, and board dozen of different vehicles

...”

??

Even Hilton Hotels has shown interest in the space tourism industry and possibility of building or

co-funding a space hotel. However, the company did say that it believes such a space hotel is 15 to 20 years

away.

Initially, space tourism will offer simple accommodations at best. For instance, if the International Space

Station is used as a tourist attraction, guests won

?

t find the luxurious surroundings of a hotel room on Earth.

It has been designed for conducting research, not entertainment. However, the first generation of space hotels

should offer tourists a much more comfortable experience.

In regard to a concept for a space hotel initially planned by Space Island, such a hotel could offer guests

every convenience they might find at a hotel on Earth, and some they might not. The small gravitational pull

created

by

the

rotating

space

city

would

allow

space-tourists

and

residents

to

walk

around

and

function

facilities would be possible. Additionally, space tourists would even be able to take space walks.

Many of these companies believe that they have to offer an extremely enjoyable experience in order for

passengers

to

pay

thousands,

if

not

millions,

of

dollars

to

ride

into

space.

So

will

space

create

another

separation between the haves and have- nots?

The Most Expensive Vacation

Will space be an exotic retreat reserved for only the wealthy? Or will middle- class folks have a chance

to take their families to space? Make no mistake about it, going to space will be the most expensive vacation

you ever take. Prices right now are in the tens of millions of dollars. Currently, the only vehicles that can take

you

into

space

are

the

space

shuttle

and

the

Russian

Soyuz,

both

of

which

are

terribly

inefficient.

Each

spacecraft requires millions of pounds of fuel to take off into space, which makes them expensive to launch.

One pound of

payload

(

有效载重

) costs about $$10,000 to put into Earth

?

s orbit.

NASA and Lockheed Martin are currently developing a single-stage-to-orbit launch space plane, called

the VentureStar, that

could

be

launched

for

about

a

tenth of

what the

space

shuttle

costs

to launch.

If

the

VentureStar takes off, the number of people who could afford to take a trip into space would move into the

millions.

In 1998, a joint report from NASA and the Space Transportation Association stated that improvements

in technology could push fares for space travel as low as $$50,000, and possibly down to $$20,000 or $$10,000 a

decade later. The report concluded that a ticket price of $$50,000, there could be 500,000 passengers flying

into space each year. While still leaving out many people, these prices would open up space to a tremendous

amount of traffic.

Since the beginning of the space race, the general public has

said, “Isn?t that great—

when do I get to

go?” Well, our chance might be closer than ever. Within the next 20 years, space planes could be taking off

for the Moon at the same frequency as airplanes flying between New York and Los Angles.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡

1

上作答。

1.

Lance Bass wasn

?

t able to go on a tour of space because of health problems.

2.

Several tourism companies believe space travel is going to be a new profitable industry.

3.

The space agencies are reluctant to open up space to tourists.

4.

Two Australian billionaires have been placed on the waiting list for entering space as private passengers.

5.

The price for the winner in the fall 2001 NBA TV game show would have bee

n ________.

6.

Hilton Hotels believes it won

?

t be long before it is possible to build a ________.

7.

In order for space tourists to walk around and function normally, it is necessary for the space city to

create a ________.

8.

What making going to space the most expensive vacation is the enormous cost involved in ________.

9.

Each

year

500,000

space

tourists

could

be

flying

into

space

if

ticket

prices

could

be

lowered

to

________.

10.

Within the next two decades, ________ could be as intercity air travel.

Part III

Listening Comprehension

(35 minutes)

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.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡

2

上作答。

11.

A) Dr. Smith

?

s waiting room isn

?

t tidy.

B) Dr. Smith enjoys reading magazines.

C) Dr. Smith has left a good impression on her.

D) Dr. Smith may not be a good choice.

12.

A) The man will rent the apartment when it is available.

B) The man made a bargain with the landlady over the rent.

C) The man insists on having a look at the apartment first.

D) The man is not fully satisfied with the apartment.

13.

A) Packing up to go abroad.

B) Drawing up a plan for her English course.

C) Brushing up on her English.

D) Applying for a visa to the United Sates.

14.

A) He is anxious to find a cure for his high blood pressure.

B) He doesn

?

t think high blood pressure is a problem for him.

C) He was not aware of his illness until diagnosed with it.

D) He did not take the symptoms of his illness seriously.

15.

A) To investigate the cause of AIDS.

B) To raise money for AIDS patients.

C) To rally support for AIDS victims in Africa.

D) To draw attention to the spread of AIDS in Asia.

16.

A) It has a very long history.

B) It is a private institution.

C) It was founded by Thomas Jefferson.

D) It stresses the comprehensive study of nature.

17.

A) They can

?

t fit into the machine.

B) They have not been delivered yet.

C) They were sent to the wrong address.

D) They were found to be of the wrong type.

18.

A) The food served in the cafeteria usually lacks variety.

B) The cafeteria sometimes provides rare food for the students.

C) The students find the service in the cafeteria satisfactory.

D) The cafeteria tries hard to cater to the students

?

needs.

Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

19.

A) He picked up some apples in his yard.

B) He cut some branches off the apple tree.

C) He quarreled with his neighbor over the fence.

D) He cleaned up all the garbage in the woman

?

s yard.

20.

A) Trim the apple trees in her yard.

B) Pick up the apples that fell in her yard.

C) Take the garbage to the curb for her.

D) Remove the branches from her yard.

21.

A) File a lawsuit against the man.

B) Ask the man for compensation.

C) Have the man

?

s apple tree cut down.

D) Throw garbage into the man

?

s yard.

22.

A) He was ready to make a concession.

B) He was not intimidated.

C) He was not prepared to go to court.

D) He was a bit concerned.

Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

23.

A) Bad weather.

B) Breakdown of the engines.

C) Human error.

D) Failure of the communications system.

24.

A) Two thousand feet.

B) Twenty thousand feet.

C) Twelve thousand feet.

D) Twenty-two thousand feet.

25.

A) Accurate communication is of utmost importance.

B) Pilots should be able to speak several foreign languages.

C) Air controllers should keep a close watch on the weather.

D) Cooperation between pilots and air controllers is essential.

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 choice marked A) B) C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on

Answer Sheet 2

with a single line through the centre.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡< /p>

2

上作答。

Passage One

Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.

26.

A) His father caught a serious disease.

B) His mother passed away.

C) His mother left him to marry a rich businessman.

D) His father took to drinking.

27.

A) He disliked being disciplined.

B) He couldn

?

t pay his gambling debts.

C) He was expelled by the university.

D) He enjoyed working for a magazine.

28.

A) His poems are heavily influenced by French writers.

B) His stories are mainly set in the State of Virginia.

C) His work difficult to read.

D) Hid language is not refined.

29.

A) He grieved to death over the loss of his wife.

B) He committed suicide for unknown reasons.

C) He was shot dead at the age of 40.

D) He died of heavy drinking.

Passage Two

Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.

30.

A) Women.

B) Manual workers.

C) Prisoners.

D) School age children.

31.

A) He taught his students how to pronounce the letters first.

B) He matched the letters with the sounds familiar to the learners.

C) He showed the learners how to combine the letters into simple words.

D) He divided the letters into groups according to the way they are written.

32.

A) It can help people to become literate within a short time.

B) It was originally designed for teaching the English language.

C) It enables the learners to master a language within three months.

D) It is effective in teaching any alphabetical language to Brazilians.

Passage Three

Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

33.

A) The crop

?

s blooming period is delayed.

B) The roots of crops are cut off.

C) The topsoil is seriously damaged.

D) The growth of weeds is accelerated.

34.

A) It

?

s a new way of applying chemical fertilizer.

B) It

?

s an improved method of harvesting crops.

C) It

?

s an creative technique for saving labor.

D) It

?

s a farming process limiting the use of ploughs.

35.

A) In areas with few weeds and unwanted plants.

B) In areas with a severs shortage of water.

C) In areas lacking in chemical fertilizer.

D) In areas dependent on imported food.

Section C

Directions:

In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time,

you

should

listen

carefully

for

its

general

idea.

When

the

passage

is

read

for

the

second

time,

you

are

required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks

numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either

use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the

passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡

2

Adults are getting smarter about how smart babies are. Not long ago, researchers learned that 4-day-olds

could understand (36) ________ and subtraction. Now, British research (37) ________ Graham Schafer has

discovered

that

infants

can

learn

words

for

uncommon

things

long

before

they

can

speak.

He

found

that

9-month-old infants could be taught, through repeated show-and-tell, to (38) ________ the names of objects

that were foreign to them, a result that (39) ________ in some ways the received (40) ________ that, apart

from learning to (41) ________ things common to their daily lives, children don

?

t begin to build vocabulary

until well into their second year.

“

It

?

s no (42) ________ that children learn words, but the words they tend to

know

are

words

linked

to

(43)

________

situations

in

the

home,

”

explains

Schafer.

“

(44)

________________________________

with

an

unfamiliar

voice

giving

instructions

in

an

unfamiliar

setting.

”

Figuring out how humans acquire language may shed light on why some children learn to read and write

later

than

others,

Schafer

says,

and

could

lead

to

better

treatments

for

developmental

problems.

(45)

________________________________.

“

Language

is

a

test

case

for

human

cognitive

development,

”

says

Schafer. But parents eager to teach their infants should take note (46) ________________________________.

“

This is not about advancing development,

”

he says.

“

It

?

s just about what children can do at an earlier age

than what educators have often thought.

”

Part IV

Reading Comprehension

（

Reading in Depth

）

（

25 minutes

）

Section A

Directions:

In this

section, there is

a short passage with 5 questions

or incomplete

statements.

Read the

passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. Please

write your answers on Answer sheet 2.

Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.

I

?

ve heard from and talked to many people who described how Mother Nature simplified their lives for

them. They

?

d lost their home and many or all of their possessions through fires, floods, earthquakes, or some

other disaster. Losing everything you own under such circumstances can be distressing, but the people I

?

ve

heard from all saw their loss, ultimately as a blessing.

“

The fire saved us the agony of deciding what to keep and what to get rid of,

”

one woman wrote. And

once all those things were no longer there, she and her husband saw how they had weighed them down and

complicate their lives.

“

There was so much stuff we never used and that was just taking up space. We vowed when we started

over, we

?

d replace only what we needed, and this time we

?

d do it right. We

?

ve kept our promise: we don

?

t

have much now, but what we have is exactly what we want.

”

Though we

?

ve never had a catastrophic loss such as that, Gibbs and I did have a close call shortly before

we

decided

to

simplify.

At

that

time

we

lived

in

a

fire

zone.

One

night

a

firestorm

rages

through

and

destroyed

over

six

hundred

homes

in

our

community.

That

tragedy

gave

us

the

opportunity

to

look

objectively at the goods we

?

d accumulated.

We

saw

that

there

was

so

much

we

could

get

rid

of

and

only

never

miss,

but

be

better

off

without.

Having almost lost it all, we found it much easier to let go of the things we knew we

?

d never use again.

Obviously, there

?

s a tremendous difference between getting rid of possessions and losing them through a

natural disaster without having a say in the matter. And this is not to minimize the tragedy and pain such a

loss can generate.

But you might think about how you would approach the acquisition process if you had it to do all over

again. Look around your home and make a list of what you would replace.

Make another list of things you wouldn

?

t acquire again no matter what, and in fact would be happy to be

rid of.

When you

?

re ready to start unloading some of your stuff, that list will be a good place to start.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡

上作答。

47.

Many

people

whose

possessions

were

destroyed

in

natural

disasters

eventually

considered

their

loss

________.

48.

Now that all their possessions were lost in the fire, the woman and her husband felt that their lives had

been ________.

49.

What do we know about the author

?

s house from the sentence

“

Gibbs and did have a close call

...”

(Line

1-2, Para. 4)?

50.

According to the author, getting rid of possessions and losing them through a natural disaster are vastly

________.

51.

What does the author suggest people do with unnecessary things?

Section B

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 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

In a purely biological sense, fear begins with the body

?

s system for reacting to things that can harm us

—

the

so-called

fight-or-flight

response.

“

An

animal

that

can

?

t

detect

danger

can

?

t

stay

alive,

”

says

Joseph

LeDoux.

Like

animals,

humans

evolved

with

an

elaborate

mechanism

for

processing

information

about

potential threats. At its core is a cluster of

neurons

(

神经元

) deep in the brain known as the

amygdale

(

扁桃

核

).

LeDoux studies the way animals and humans respond to threats to understand how we form memories

of

significant

events

in

our

lives.

The

amygdale

receives

input

from

many

parts

of

the

brain,

including

regions responsible for retrieving memories. Using this information, the

amygdale appraises a situation

—

I

think this charging dog wants to bite me

—

and triggers a response by radiating nerve signals throughout the

body. These signals produce the familiar signs of distress: trembling, perspiration and fast-moving feet, just

to name three.

This fear mechanism is critical to the survival of all animals, but no one can say for sure whether beasts

other than humans know they

?

re afraid. That is, as LeDoux says,

“

if you put that system into a brain that has

consciousness, then you get the feeling of fear.

”

Humans, says Edward M. Hallowell, have the ability to call up images of bad things that happened in

the

past

and

to

anticipate

future

events.

Combine

these

higher

thought

processes

with

our

hardwired

danger-detection systems, and you get a near-universal human phenomenon: worry.

That

?

s not necessarily a bad thing, says Hallowell.

“

When used properly, worry is an incredible device,

”

he says. After all, a little healthy worrying is okay if it leads to constructive action

—

like having a doctor look

at that weird spot on your back.

Hallowell insists, though, that there

?

s a right way to worry.

“

Never do it alone, get the facts and then

make

a

plan.

”

He

says.

Most

of

us

have

survived

a

recession,

so

we

?

re

familiar

with

the

belt-tightening

strategies needed to survive a slump.

Unfortunately, few of us have much experience dealing with the threat of terrorism, so it

?

s been difficult

to get fact about how we should respond. That

?

s why Hallowell believes it was okay for people to indulge

some extreme worries last fall by asking doctors for

Cipro

(

抗炭疽菌的药物

) and buying gas masks.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡

2

上作答。

52.

The

“

so-called fight-or-flight response

” (

Line 2, Para. 1) refers to

“

________

”

.

A) the biological process in which human beings

?

sense of self- defense evolves

B) the instinctive fear human beings feel when faced with potential danger

C) the act of evaluating a dangerous situation and making a quick decision

D) the elaborate mechanism in the human brain for retrieving information

53.

From the studies conducted by LeDoux we learn that ________.

A) reactions of humans and animals to dangerous situations are often unpredictable

B) memories of significant events enable people to control fear and distress

C) people

?

s unpleasant memories are derived from their feeling of fear

D) the amygdale plays a vital part in human and animal responses to potential danger

54.

From the passage we know that ________.

A) a little worry will do us good if handled properly

B) a little worry will enable us to survive a recession

C) fear strengthens the human desire to survive danger

D) fear helps people to anticipate certain future events

55.

Which of the following is the best way to deal with your worries according to Hallowell?

A) Ask for help from the people around you.

B) Use the belt-tightening strategies for survival.

C) Seek professional advice and take action.

D) Understand the situation and be fully prepared.

56.

In Hallowell

?

s view, people

?

s reaction to the terrorist threat last fall was ________.

A) ridiculous

B) understandable

C) over- cautious

D) sensible

Passage Two

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

Amitai

Etzioni

is

not

surprised

by

the

latest

headings

about

scheming

corporate

crooks

(

骗子

).

As

a

visiting

professor

at

the

Harvard

Business

School

in

1989,

he

ended

his

work

there

disgusted

with

his

students

?

overwhelming

lust

for

money.

“