2013年12月六级真题第2套.docx

2013年12月大学英语六级考试真题（第2套）Part I Writing (30 minutes)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on happiness by referring to the saying “Happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to deal with them.” You can cite examples to illustrate your point and then explain how you can develop your ability to deal with problems and be happy. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes)Section ADirections: 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 1 with a single line through the centre.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。1. A) The rock band needs more hours of practice.B) The rock band is going to play here for a month.C) Their hard work has resulted in a big success.D) He appreciates the womans help with the band.2. A) Go on a diving tour in Europe.C) Travel overseas on his own.B) Add 300 dollars to his budget.D) Join a package tour to Mexico. 3. A) In case some problem should occur.C) To avoid more work later on. B) Something unexpected has happened.D) To make better preparations.4. A) The woman asked for a free pass to try out the facilities.B) The man is going to renew his membership in a fitness center.C) The woman can give the man a discount if he joins the club now.D) The man can try out the facilities before he becomes a member.5. A) He is not afraid of challenge. B) He is not fit to study science.C) He is worried about the test.D) He is going to drop the physics course6. A) Pay for part of the picnic food.C) Buy something special for Gary.B) Invite Garys family to dinner.D) Take some food to the picnic.7. A) Bus drivers working conditions.C) Public transportation.B) A labor dispute at a bus company.D) A corporate takeover.8. A) The bank statement.C) The payment for an order.B) Their sales overseas.D) The check just deposited.Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard.9. A) A hotel receptionist.C) A shop assistant.B) A private secretary.D) A sales manager.10. A) Voice.C) Appearance.B) Intelligence.D) Manners.11. A) Arrange one more interview.C) Report the matter to their boss.B) Offer the job to David Wallace.D) Hire Barbara Jones on a trial basis.Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.12. A) He invented the refrigerator.C) He got a degree in Mathematics.B) He patented his first invention.D) He was admitted to university.13. A) He distinguished himself in low temperature physics.B) He fell in love with Natasha Willoughby.C) He became a professor of Mathematics.D) He started to work on refrigeration.14. A) Finding the true nature of subatomic particles.B) Their work on very high frequency radio waves.C) Laying the foundations of modem mathematics.D) Their discovery of the laws of cause and effect.15. A) To teach at a university.C) To spend his remaining years.B) To patent his inventions.D) To have a three-week holiday.Section BDirections: 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 he 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 Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。Passage OneQuestions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.16. A) They have fallen prey to wolves.B) They have become a tourist attraction.C) They have caused lots of damage to crops.D) They have become a headache to the community.17. A) To celebrate their victory.C) To scare the wolves.B) To cheer up the hunters.D) To alert the deer.18. A) They would help to spread a fatal disease.B) They would pose a threat to the children.C) They would endanger domestic animals.D) They would eventually kill off the deer.Passage TwoQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.19. A) She is an interpreter.C) She is a domestic servant.B) She is a tourist guide.D) She is from the royal family.20. A) It was used by the family to hold dinner parties.B) It is situated at the foot of a beautiful mountain.C) It was frequently visited by heads of state.D) It is furnished like one in a royal palace.21. A) It is elaborately decorated.B) It has survived some 2,000 years.C) It is very big, with only six slim legs.D) It is shaped like an ancient Spanish boat.22. A) They are uncomfortable to sit in for long.B) They do not match the oval table at all.C) They have lost some of their legs.D) They are interesting to look at.Passage ThreeQuestions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.23. A) It in an uncommon infectious disease.B) It destroys the patients ability to think.C) It is a disease very difficult to diagnose.D) It is the biggest crippler of young adults.24. A) Search for the best cure.C) Write a book about her life.B) Hurry up and live life.D) Exercise more and work harder.25. A) Aggressive.C) Sophisticated.B) Adventurous. D) Self-centered.Section CDirections: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read fort 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 with the exact words you have just heard. 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1上作答。Its difficult to estimate the number of youngsters involved in home schooling, where children are not sent to school and receive their formal education from one or both parents. (26)_ and court decisions have made it legally possible in most states for parents to educate their children at home, and each year more people take advantage of that opportunity. Some states require parents or a home tutor to meet teacher certification standards, and many require parents to complete legal forms to verify that their children are receiving (27) _ in state-approved curricula.Supports of home education claim that its less expensive and far more (28) _ than mass public education. Moreover, they cite several advantages: alleviation of school overcrowding, strengthened family relationships, lower (29) _ rates, the fact that students are allowed to learn at their own rate, increased (30) _, higher standardized test scores, and reduced (31) _ problems.Critics of the home schooling movement (32) _ that it creates as many problems as it solves. They acknowledge that, in a few cases, home schooling offers educational opportunities superior to those found in most public schools, but few parents can provide such educational advantages. Some parents who withdraw their children from the schools (33) _ homeschooling have an inadequate educational background and insufficient formal training to provide a satisfactory education for their children. Typically, parents have fewer technological resources (34) _ than do schools. However, the relatively inexpensive computer technology that is readily available today is causing some to challenge the notion that home schooling is in any way (35) _ more highly structured classroom education.Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections: 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.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.Cell phones provide instant access to people. They are creating a major 36 in the social experiences of both children and adolescents. In one recent U.S. survey, about half the teens polled said that their cell phone had 37 their communication with friends. Almost all said that their cell phone was the way they stayed in touch with peers, one-third had used the cell phone to help a peer in need, and about 80% said the phone made them feel safer. Teenagers in Australia, 38 , said that their mobile phones provided numerous benefits and were an 39 part of their lives; some were so 40 to their phones that the researchers considered it an addiction. In Japan, too, researchers are concerned about cell phone addiction. Researchers in one study in Tokyo found that more than half of junior high school students used their phones to exchange e-mails with schoolmates more than 10 times a day.Cell phones 41 social connections with peers across time and space. They allow young people to exchange moment-by-moment experiences in their daily lives with special partners and thus to have a more 42 sense of connection with friends. Cell phones also can 43 social tolerance because they reduce children's interactions with others who are different from them. In addition to connecting peers, cell phones connect children and parents. Researchers studying teenagers in Israel concluded that, in that 44 environment, mobile phones were regarded as “security objects” in parent-teen relationshipsimportant because they provided the possibility of 45 and communication at all times.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答A) affiliatedB) attachedC) contactD) contendE) continuousF) diminishG) enduranceH) fosterI) hazardousJ) improvedK) instantaneousL) intrinsicM) relativelyN) shiftO) similarlySection BDirections: 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 marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Waste Not, Want NotFeeding the 9 Billion: The Tragedy of WasteA）By 2075, the United Nations mid-range projection for global population is about 9.5 billion. This means that there could be an extra three billion mouths to feed by the end of the century, a period in which substantial changes are anticipated in the wealth, calorie intake and dietary preferences of people in developing countries across the world. Such a projection presents mankind with wide-ranging social, economic, environmental and political issues that need to be addressed today to ensure a sustainable future for all. One key issue is how to produce more food in a world of finite resources.B）Today, we produce about four billion metric tons of food per year. Yet due to poor practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, as well as market and consumer wastage, it is estimated that 30-50% of all food produced never reaches a human stomach. Furthermore, this figure does not reflect the fact that large amounts of land, energy, fertilisers and water have also been lost in the production of foodstuffs which simply end up as waste. This level of wastage is a tragedy that cannot continue if we are to succeed in the challenge of sustainably meeting our future food demands. Where Food Waste HappensC）In 2010, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers identified three principal emerging population groups across the world, based on characteristics associated with their current and projected stage of economic development. Fully developed, mature, post-industrial societies, such as those in Europe, characterised by stable or declining populations which are increasing in age. Late-stage developing nations that are currently industrialising rapidly, for example China, which will experience declining rates of population growth, coupled with increasing affluence (富裕) and age profile. Newly developing countries that are beginning to industrialise, primarily in Africa, with high to very high population growth rates, and characterised by a predominantly young age profile.D）Each group over the coming decades will need to address different issues surrounding food production, storage and transportation, as well as consumer expectations, if we are to continue to feed all our people.E）In less-developed countries, such as those of sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia, wastage tends to occur primarily at the farmer-producer end of the supply chain. Inefficient harvesting, inadequate local transportation and poor infrastructure (基础设施) mean that produce is frequently handled inappropriately and stored under unsuitable farm site conditions.F）In mature, fully developed countries such as the UK, more-efficient farming practices and better transport, storage and processing facilities ensure that a larger proportion of the food produced reaches markets and consumers. However, characteristics associated with modern consumer culture mean produce is often wasted through retail and customer behaviour.G） Major supermarkets, in meeting consumer expectations, will often reject entire crops of perfectly edible fruit and vegetables at the farm because they do not meet exacting marketing standards for their physical characteristics, such as size and appearance.H）Of the produce that does appear in the supermarket, commonly used sales promotions frequently encourage customers to purchase excessive quantities which, in the case of perishable foodstuffs, inevitably generate wastage in the home. Overall between 30% and 50% of what has been bought in developed countries is thrown away by the purchaser.Better Use of Our Finite ResourcesI）Wasting food means losing not only life-supporting nutrition but also precious resources, including land, water and energy. As a global society, therefore, tackling food waste will help contribute towards addressing a number of key resource issues.J）Land Usage: Over the last five decades, improved farming techniques and technologies have helped to significantly increase crop yields along with a 12% expansion of farmed land use. However, a further increase in farming area without impacting unfavourably on what r