月英语六级真题汇总及答案解析

2013

年

6

月英语六 级真题及答案（文都版）

Part

Ⅳ

Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)

(25 minutes)

Question 47 to 51 are based on the following passage

Highly

proficient

musicianship

is

hard

won.

Although

it’s

often

assumed

musical

ability us inherited, there’s abundant

evidence that this isn’t the case. While it seems

that at birth virtually everyone has perfect pitch, the reasons that one child is better

than another are motivation and practice.

Highly musical children were sung to more as infants and more encouraged to join in

song

games

as

kids

than

less

musical

ones,

long

before

any

musical

ability

could

have been evident. Studies of classical musicians prove that the best ones practiced

considerably more from childhood onwards than ordinary orchestral players, and this

is because their parents were at them to put in the hours from a very young age.

The

same

was

true

of

children

selected

for

entry

to

specialist

music

schools,

compared with those who were rejected. The chosen children had parents who had

very actively supervised music lessons and daily practice from young ages, giving up

substantial periods of leisure time to take the children to lessons and concerts.

The

singer

Michael

Jackson

’

s

story,

although

unusually

brutal

and

extreme,

is

illumination when considering musical prodigy(

天才

). Accounts suggest that he was

subjected to cruel beatings and emotional torture ,and that he was humiliated (

羞辱

)

constantly by his father, What sets Jackson’s family apart is that his father used his

reign of terror to train his children as musicians and dancers.

On

top

of

his

extra

ability

Michael

also

had

more

drive.

This

may

have

been

the

result

of

being

the

closest

of

his

brothers

and

sisters

to

his

mother.

“He

seemed

different to me from the other children

—special,”Michael’s m

other said of him. She

may

not

have

realized

that

treating

her

son

as

special

may

have

been

part

of

the

reason be became like that.

All in all, if you want to bring up a Mozart or Bach, the key factor is how hard you

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are prepared to crack the whip. Thankfully, most of us will probably settle for a bit of

fun

on

the

recorder

and

some

ill-executed

pieces

of

music- on

the

piano

from

our

children.

47. According to the author, a child

’

s musical ability has much to do with their ___.

48.

In

order

to

develop

the

musical

ability

of

their

children,

many

parents

will

accompany them during their practice sacrificing a lot of then own ___.

49. Because of their father’s pressure and strict training, Michael Jackson and some

of his brothers and sisters eventually became ___.

50. Michael’s extra drive for music was partly due to the fact that he was

___ by his

mother.

51. To bring up a great musician like Mozart or Bach, willingness to be strict with

your child is ___.

Section B

Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based pm the following passage.

In

2011,

many

shoppers

chose

to

avoid

the

frantic

crowds

and

do

their

holiday

shopping from the comfort of their computer. Sales at online retailers gained by more

than

15%,

making

it

the

biggest

season

ever.

But

people

are

also

returning

those

purchases at record rates, up 8% from last year.

What went

wrong? Is the lingering

shadow of the global financial crisis

making

it

harder

to

accept

extravagant

indulgences?

Or

that

people

shop

more

impulsively

—

and therefore make bad decisions

—

when online? Both arguments are

plausible. However, there is a third factor: a question of touch. We can love the look

but, in an online environment, we cannot feel the quality of a texture, the shape of the

fit,

the

fall

of

a

fold

or,

for

that

matter,

the

weight

of

an

earring.

And

physically

interacting with an object makes you more committed to your purchase.

When

my

most

recent

book

Brandwashed

was

released,

I

teamed

up

with

a

local

bookstore

to

conduct

an

experiment

about

the

difference

between

the

online

and

offline shopping experience. I carefully instructed a group of volunteers to promote

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my book in two different ways. The first was a fairly hands- off approach. Whenever

a customer would inquire about my book, the volunteer would take them over to the

shelf

and

point

to

it.

Out

of

20

such

requests,

six

customers

proceeded

with

the

purchase.

The second option also involved going over to the shelf but, this time, removing the

book and them subtly holding onto it for just an extra moment before placing it in the

customer’s hands. Of the 20 people who were handed the book, 13 ended up buying

it. Just physically passing the book showed a big difference in sales. Why? We feel

something similar to a sense of ownership when we hold things in our hand. That’s

why we establish or reestablish connection by greeting strangers and friends with a

handshake.

In

this

case,

having

to

then

let

go

of

the

book

after

holding

it

might

generate a subtle sense of loss, and motivate us to make the purchase even more.

A

recent

study

also

revealed

the

power

of

touch,

in

this

case

when

it

came

to

conventional mail. A deeper and longer-lasting impression of a message was formed

when delivered in a letter, as opposed to receiving the same message online. Brain

imaging showed that, on touching the paper, the emotional center of the brain was

activated,

thus

forming

a

stronger

bond.

The

study

also

indicated

that

once

touch

becomes part of the process, it could translate into a sense of possession.

This

sense

of

ownership

is

simply

not

part

of

the

equation

in

the

online

shopping

experience.

52. Why do people prefer shopping online according to the author?

A) It is more comfortable and convenient.

B) It saves them a lot of money and time.

C) It offers them a lot more options and bargains.

D) It gives them more time to think about their purchase.

53. Why do more customers return their purchases bought online?

A) They regretted indulging in costly items in the recession.

B) They changed their mind by the time the goods were delivered.

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C) They had no chance to touch them when shopping online.

D) They later found the quality of goods below their expectations.

54. What is the purpose of author’s experiment?

A) To test his hypothesis about online shopping.

B) To find out people’s reaction to his recent

book.

C) To find ways to increase the sale of his new book.

D) To try different approaches to sales promotion.

55. How might people feel after letting go of something they held?

A) A sense of disappointment

C) A subtle loss of interest

B) More motivated to own it.

D) Less sensitive to its texture.

56. What does train imaging in a recent study reveal?

A) Conventional letters contain subtle messages.

B) A lack of touch is the chief obstacle to e-commerce.

C) Email lacks the potential to activate the brain.

D) Physical touch helps form a sense of possession.

Passage Two

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

Apparently everyone knows that global warming only makes climate more extreme.

A

hot,

dry

summer

has

triggered

another

flood

of

such

claims.

And,

while

many

interests are at work, one of the players that benefits the most from this story are the

media: the notion of “extreme” climate simply makes for more compelling news.

Consider Paul Krugman writing breathlessly in the New Yo

rk Times about the “rising

incidence

of

extreme

events,”

He

claims

that

global

warming

caused

the

current

drought

in

America’s

Midwest,

and

that

supposedly

record

-high

corn

prices

could

cause a global food crisis.

But

the

United

Nations

climate

panel’s

lat

est

assessment

tells

us

precisely

the

opposite. For “North America there is medium confidence that there has an overall

slight tendency toward less dryness” Moreover, there is no way that Krugman could

have

identified

this

drought

as

being

caused

by

global

warming

without

a

time

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machine

。

Climate models estimate that such detection will be possible by 2048, at

the earliest.

And, fortunately, this year

’

s drought appears unlikely to cause a food crisis, as global

rice

and

wheat

supplies

retain

plentiful.

Moreover,

Krugman

overlooks

inflation:

Prices

have

increased

six-fold

since

1969.

so,

while

com

futures(

期货

)

did

set

a

record of about S8 per bushel(

葡式耳

)in late July, the inflation-adjusted price of corn

was higher throughout most of the 1970s, reaching 516 in1974.

Finally,

Krugman

conveniently

forgets

that

concerns

about

global

warming

are

the

main reason that corn prices have skyrocketed since 2005. Nowadays 40 percent of

corn

grown

in

the

United

States

is

used

to

produce

ethanol

（乙醇）

,which

does

absolutely

nothing

for

the

climate,

but

certainly

distorts

the

price

of

corn

—

at

the

expense of many of the world’s poorest people.

Bill

Mickbben

similarly

worries

in

The

Guardian

about

the

Midwest

drought

and

corn

prices.

He

confidently

tells

us

that

raging

wildfires

from

New

Mexico

and

Colorado to Siberia are “exactly” what the early stages of global warming look like.

In fact, the latest overview of global wildfire suggests that fire intensity has declined

over the past 70 years and is now close to its preindustrial level.

When well-meaning campaigners want us to pay attention to global warming, they

often end up pitching beyond the facts. And, while this may seem justified by a noble

goal, such “policy by people” tactics rarely work, and often backfire.

Remember how, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Al Gore claimed that we

were in store for ever more destructive hurricanes? Since then, hurricane incidence

has

dropped

off

the

charts.

Exaggerated

claims

merely

fuel

public

distrust

and

disengagement.

That

is

unfortunate,

because

global

warming

is

a

real

problem,

and

we

do

need to

address it.

57. In what way do the media benefit from extreme weather?

A) They can attract peopl

e’s attention to their reports.

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B) They can choose from a greater variety of topics.

C) They can make themselves better known.

D) They can give voice to different views.

58. What is the author’s comment on Krugman’s claim about the curren

t drought in

America’s Midwest?

A) A time machine is needed to testify to its truth.

B) It is based on an erroneous climate model.

C) It will eventually get proof in 2048.

D) There is no way to prove its validity.

59. What is the chief reason for the rise in corn prices according to the author?

A) Demand for food has been rising in the developing countries.

B) A considerable portion of corn is used to produce green fuel.

C) Climate change has caused corn yields to drop markedly.

D) Inflation rates have been skyrocketing since the 1970s.

60. What does the author say about global wildfire incidence over the past 70 years?

A) It has got worse with the rise in extreme weathers.

B) It signals the early stages of global warming.

C) It has dropped greatly.

D) It is related to drought.

61. What does the author think of the exaggerated claims in the media about global

warming?

A) They are strategies to raise public awareness.

B) They do a disservice to addressing the problem.

C) They aggravate public distrust about science.

D) They create confusion about climate change.

六级深度阅读参考答案：

Section A

47. motivation and practice

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48. leisure time

49. musicians and dancers

50. treated as special

51. the key factor

Section B

Passage one

52. A. It is more comfortable and convenient.

53. C. They had no chance to touch them when shopping.

54. To test his hypothesis about online shopping.

55. B. More motivated to own it.

56. D. Physical touch helps form a sense of possession.

Passage two

57. A) They can attract people’s attention to their reports.

58.D) There is no way to prove its validity.

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