2017年6月英语六级第三套及答案解析

2017

年

6

月大学英 语六级考试真题及答案解析（第三套完整版）

Part I Writing (30 minutes)

Directions: Suppose you are asked to give advice on whether to attend

college at home or abroad, write an essay to state your opinion. You are required

to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

Part II Listening Comprehension

说明：

2017

年

6

月大学英语六级真题全国共考了两套听力。本套（即第三

套）的听力材料与第一套完全一 样，只是选项的顺序不同而已，故本套不再重

复给出。

Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)

Section A

Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are

required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word

bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making

your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the

corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through

the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

Half of your brain stays alert and prepared for danger when you sleep in a new

place, a study has revealed. This phenomenon is often __26__ to as the

“f irst

-night-

effect”. Researchers from Brown University found that a network in the

left hemisphere of the brain “remained more active” than the network in the right side

of the brain. Playing sounds into the right ears (stimulating the left hemisphere) of

__27__ was more likely to wake them up than if the noises were played into their left

ear.

It was __28__ observed that the left side of the brain was more active during

deep sleep. When the researchers repeated the laboratory experiment on the second

and third nights they found the left hemisphere could not be stimulated in the same

way during deep sleep. The researchers explained that the study demonstrated when

we are in a __29__ environment the brain partly remains alert so that humans can

defend themselves against any __30__ danger.

The researchers believe this is the first time that the “first

-night-

effect” of

different brain states has been __31__ in humans. It isn?t, however, the first time it

has ever been seen. Some animal __32__ also display this phenomenon. For example,

dolphins, as well as other __33__ animals, shut down one hemisphere of the brain

when they go to sleep. A previous study noted that dolphins always __34__ control

their breathing. Without keeping the brain active while sleeping, they would probably

drown. But, as the human study suggest, another reason for dolphins keeping their

eyes open during sleep is that they can look out for __35__ while asleep. It also keeps

their physiological processes working.

A) classified B) consciously C) dramatically D) exotic E) identified

F) inherent G) marine H) novel I) potential J) predators

K) referred L) species M) specifically N) varieties O) volunteers

Section B

Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten

statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of

the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived.

You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a

letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer

Sheet 2.

Elite Math Competitions Struggle to Diversify Their Talent Pool

[A] Interest in elite high school math competitions has grown in recent years,

and in light

of last summer?s U.S. win at the International Math Olympiad

(IMO)---the first for an American team in more than two decades

—

the trend is likely

to continue.

[B] But will such contests, which are overwhelmingly dominated by Asian and

white students from middle-class and affluent families, become any more diverse?

Many social and cultural factors play roles in determining which promising students

get on the path toward international math recognition. But efforts are in place to

expose more black, Hispanic, and low-income students to advanced math, in the hope

that the demographic pool of high-level contenders will eventually begin to shift and

become less exclusive.

[C] “The challenge is if certain types of people are doing something, it?s difficult

for oth

er people to break into it,” said Po

-

Shen Loh, the head coach of last year?s

winning U.S. Math Olympiad team. Participation grows through friends and networks

and if “you realize that?s how they?re growing, you can start to take action” and bring

in other students, he said.

[D] Most of the training for advanced-math competitions happens outside the

confines of the normal school day. Students attend after-school clubs, summer camps,

online forums and classes, and university-

based “math circles”, to prepare

for the

competitions.

[E] One of the largest feeders for high school math competitions

—

including

those that eventually lead to the IMO

—

is a middle school program called Math

Counts. About 100,000 students around the country participate in the program?s

competition series, which culminates in a national game-show-style contest held each

May. The most recent one took place last week in Washington, D.C. Students join a

team through their schools, which provide a volunteer coach and pay a nominal fee to

send students to regional and state competitions. The 224 students who make it to the

national competition get an all- expenses- paid trip.

[F] Nearly all members of last year?s winning U.S. IMO team took part in Math

Counts as middle school students, as did Loh

, the coach. “Middle school is an

important age because students have enough math capability to solve advanced

problems, but they haven?t really decided what they want to do with their lives,” said

Loh. “They often get hooked then.”

[G] Another influential feeder for advanced-math students is an online school

called Art of Problem Solving, which began about 13 years ago and now has 15,000

users. Students use forums to chat, play games, and solve problems together at no cost,

or they can pay a few hundred dollars to take courses with trained teachers. According

to Richard Rusczyk, the company founder, the six U.S. team members who competed

at the IMO last year collectively took more than 40 courses on the site. Parents of

advanced- math students and Math Counts coaches say the children are on the website

constantly.

[H] There are also dozens of summer camps

—

many attached to

universities

—

that aim to prepare elite math students. Some are pricey---a three-week

intensive program can cost $$4,500 or more

—

but most offer scholarships. The Math

Olympiad Summer Training Program is a three-week math camp held by the

Mathematical Association of America that leads straight to the international

championship and is free for those who make it. Only about 50 students are invited

based on their performance on written tests and at the USA Math Olympiad.

[I] Students in university towns may also have access to another lever for

involvement in accelerated math: math circles. In these groups, which came out of an

Eastern European tradition of developing young talent, professors teach promising

K-12 students advanced mathematics for several hours after school or on weekends.

The Los Angeles Math Circle, held at the University of California, Los Angeles,

began in 2007 with 20 students and now has more than 250. “These math circles cost

nothing, or they?re very

cheap for students to get involved in, but you have to know

about them,” said Rusczyk. “Most people would love to get students from more

underserved populations, but they just can?t get them in the door. Part of it is

communication; part of it is transport

ation.”

[J] It?s no secret in the advanced

-math community that diversity is a problem.

According to Mark Saul, the director of competitions for the Mathematical

Association of America, not a single African-American or Hispanic student---and

only a handful of girls---has ever made it to the Math Olympiad team in its 50 years

of existence. Many schools simply don?t prioritize academic competitions. “Do you

know who we have to beat?” asked Saul. “The football team, the basketball

team---

that?s our competition

for resources, student time, attention, school dollars,

parent efforts, school enthusiasm.”

[K] Teachers in low-income urban and rural areas with no history of

participating in math competitions may not know about advanced-math opportunities

like Math Counts

—

and those who do may not have support or feel trained to lead

them.

[L] But there are initiatives in place to try to get more underrepresented students

involved in accelerated math. A New York City-based nonprofit called Bridge to

Enter Mathematics runs a residential summer program aimed at getting underserved

students

，

mostly black and Hispanic, working toward math and science careers. The

summer after 7th grade, students spend three weeks on a college campus studying

advanced math for seven hours a day. Over the next five years, the group helps the

students get into other elite summer math programs, high-performing high schools,

and eventually college. About 250 students so far have gone through the program,

which receives funding from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

[M] “If you look at a lot of low

-income communities in the United States, there

are programs that are serving them, but they? re primarily centered around ?Let?s get

these kids? grades up?, and not around ?Let?s get these kids access to t

he same kinds

of opportunities as more-

affluent kids,?” said Daniel Zaharopol, the founder and

executive director of the program. “We?re trying to create that pathway.” Students

apply to the program directly through their schools. “We want to reach parents

who

are not plugged into the system,” said Zaharopol.

[N] In the past few years, Math Counts added two new middle school programs

to try to diversify its participant pool---the National Math Club and the Math Video

Challenge. Schools or teachers who sign up for the National Math Club receive a kit

full of activities and resources, but there?s no special teacher training and no

competition attached.

[O] The Math Video Challenge is a competition, but a collaborative one. Teams

of four students make a video illustrating a math problem and its real-world

application. After the high-

pressure Countdown round at this year?s national Math

Counts competition, in which the top 12 students went head to head solving complex

problems in rapid fire, the finalists for the Math Video Challenge took the stage to

show their videos. The demographics of that group looked quite different from those

in the competition round---of the 16 video finalists, 13 were girls and eight were

African- American students. The video challenge does not put individual students on

the hot seat---

so it?s less intimidating by design. It also adds the element of artistic

creativity to attract a new pool of students who may not see themselves as “math

people”.

36. Middle school is a crucial period when students may become keenly

interested in advanced mathematics.

37. Elite high school math competitions are attracting more interest throughout

the United States.

38. Math circles provide students with access to advanced-math training by

university professors.

39. Students may take advantage of online resources to learn to solve math

problems.

40. The summer program run by a nonprofit organization has helped many

underserved students learn advanced math.

41. Winners of local contests will participate in the national math competition for

free.

42. Many schools don?t place academic competitions at the top of their priority

list.

43. Contestants of elite high school math competitions are mostly Asian and

white students from well-off families.

44. Some math training programs primarily focus on raising students? math

scores.

45. Some intensive summer programs are very expensive but most of them

provide scholarships.

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 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

We live today indebted to McCardell, Cashin, Hawes, Wilkins, and Maxwell,

and other women who liberated American fashion from the confines of Parisian

design. Independence came in tying, wrapping, storing, harmonizing, and

rationalizing that wardrobe. These designers established the modem dress code,

letting playsuits and other active wear outfits suffice for casual clothing, allowing

pants to enter the wardrobe, and prizing rationalism and versatility in dress, in

contradiction to dressing for an occasion or allotment of the day. Fashion in America

was logical and answerable to the will of the women who wore it. Implicitly or

explicitly, American fashion addressed a democracy, whereas traditional Paris-based

fashion was prescriptive and imposed on women, willing or not.

In an earlier time, American fashion had also followed the dictates of Paris, or

even copied and pirated specific French designs. Designer sportswear was not

modeled on that of Euro

pe, as “modem art” would later be; it was genuinely invented

and developed in America. Its designers were not high- end with supplementary lines.

The design objective and the business commitment were to sportswear, and the

distinctive traits were problem-solving ingenuity and realistic lifestyle applications.

Ease of care was most important: summer dresses and outfits, in particular, were

chiefly cotton, readily capable of being washed and pressed at home. Closings were

simple, practical, and accessible, as the modem woman depended on no personal maid

to dress her. American designers prized resourcefulness and the freedom of women

who wore the clothing.

Many have argued that the women designers of this time were able to project

their own clothing values into a new style. Of course, much of this argument in the

1930s-40s was advanced because there was little or no experience in justifying

apparel(

服装

) on the basis of utility. If Paris was cast aside, the tradition of beauty

was also to some degree slighted. Designer sportswear would have to be verified by a

standard other than that of pure beauty; the emulation of a designer?s life in designer

sportswear was a crude version of this relationship. The consumer was ultimately to

be mentioned as well, especially by the likes of Dorothy Shaver, who could point to

the sales figures at Lord & Taylor.

Could utility alone justify the new ideas of the American designers? Fashion is

often regarded as a pursuit of beauty, and some cherished fashion?s trivial relationship

to the fine arts. What the designers of the American sportswear proved was that

fashion is a genuine design art, answering to the demanding needs of service. Of

course these practical, insightful designers have determined the course of late

twentieth-century fashion. They were the pioneers of gender equity, in their useful,