2012年12月六级考试真题(3)12865.pdf

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1、2012年12月六级考试真题(3)PartIIReading Comprehension(Skimming andScanning)(15minutes)Directions:In thispart,you will have15 minutesto go over thepassage quicklyandanswerthequestions on AnswerSheet 1.Forquestions 17,choose the bestanswerfromthe fourchoicesmarkedA,B,Cand D.Forquestions 810,completethe sentenc

2、eswiththe informationgiveninthepassage.Thirst grows for living unpluggedMorepeopleare takingbreaks fromtheconnectedlife amidthestillnessandquiet of retreatsliketheJesuit CenterinWernersville,Pennsylvania.About a year ago,I flew to Singaporeto join thewriterMalcolmGladwell,thefashiondesignerMarcEckoa

3、ndthe graphicdesignerStefanSagmeisterin addressinga groupof advertisingpeopleon“Marketing to the Childof Tomorrow.”Soon afterI arrived,the chief executive of the agencythathadinvitedustookmeaside.Whathewasmostinterestedin,hebegan,wasstillnessandquiet.Afew monthslater,Ireadaninterviewwiththewell-know

4、n cutting-edge designerPhilippeStarck.Whatallowedhimto remainso consistently aheadof thecurve?“I neverreadany magazines orwatchTV,”he said,perhapswith a little exaggeration.“Nor do I go to cocktailparties,dinnersoranything like that.”Helived outsideconventionalideas,he implied,because“I live alonemo

5、stly,inthemiddleof nowhere.”Around the same time,I noticedthatthose who partwith$2,285a nightto stay in a cliff-toproomatthePostRanchInnin BigSur,California,pay partly fortheprivilegeof nothavinga TVintheirrooms;the futureof travel,Im reliably told,lies in“black-holeresorts,”which chargehighpricespr

6、ecisely because you cant getonlineintheirrooms.Hasitreally cometothis?The morewayswe have to connect,the moremany of us seem desperateto unplug.InternetrescuecampsinSouthKorea andChinatry tosavekidsaddictedtothescreen.Writerfriendsof minepay goodmoney toget theFreedom softwarethatenables themtodisab

7、lethevery Internetconnectionsthatseemedso emancipatingnotlong ago.EvenIntelexperimented in2007with conferringfour uninterrupted hoursof quiet time(no phone or e-mail)every Tuesdaymorningon 300 engineersandmanagers.Workerswerenotallowedtousethephoneorsende-mail,but simply hadthechancetocleartheirhead

8、sandtohearthemselvesthink.TheaverageAmerican spendsatleasteightanda halfhoursa day in frontof a screen,NicholasCarrnotes in his bookThe Shallows.The average Americanteenagersends or receives 75textmessages a day,thoughone girl managedto handlean averageof 10,000 every 24hoursfor amonth.Sinceluxuryis

9、a functionofscarcity,thechildrenoftomorrowwilllongfornothingmorethanintervalsoffreedomfromalltheblinkingmachines,streamingvideosandscrollingheadlinesthatleavethemfeelingemptyandtoofullallatonce.Theurgencyofslowingdown tofindthetimeandspacetothink isnothingnew,ofcourse,andwisersoulshavealwaysreminded

10、usthatthemoreattentionwe paytothemoment,thelesstimeandenergywe havetoplaceitinsomelargercontext.“Distractionistheonlythingthatconsolesusforourmiseries,”theFrenchphilosopherBlaisePascalwroteinthe17thcentury,“andyetitisitselfthegreatestofourmiseries.”He alsofamouslyremarkedthatallofmansproblemscomefro

11、mhisinabilitytositquietlyina roomalone.Whentelegraphsandtrainsbroughtin theideathatconveniencewasmoreimportantthancontent,HenryDavidThoreauremindedus that“themanwhosehorsetrots(奔跑)amileinaminutedoesnotcarrythemostimportantmessages.”MarshallMcLuhan,whocamecloserthanmosttoseeingwhatwascoming,warned,“W

12、henthingscomeatyouveryfast,naturallyyoulosetouchwithyourself.”We havemoreandmorewaystocommunicate,butlessandlesstosay.Partlybecausewe aresobusycommunicating.Andwe arerushingtomeetso manydeadlinesthatwe hardlyregisterthatwhatwe needmostarelifelines.So whattodo?MoreandmorepeopleI knowseemtobe turningt

13、oyoga,ormeditation(沉思),ortaichi(太极);thesearentNewAgefads(时尚的事物)somuchaswaystoconnectwithwhatcouldbe calledthewisdomofoldage.Twofriendsofmineobservean“Internetsabbath(安息日)”everyweek,turningofftheironlineconnectionsfromFridaynightto Mondaymorning.Otherfriendstakewalksand“forget”theircellphonesathome.A

14、seriesoftestsinrecentyearshasshown,Mr.Carrpointsout,thatafterspendingtimeinquietruralsettings,subjects“exhibitgreaterattentiveness,strongermemoryandgenerallyimprovedcognition.Theirbrainsbecomebothcalmerandsharper.”Morethanthat,empathy(同感，共鸣),aswellas deepthought,depends(asneuroscientistslikeAntonioD

15、amasiohavefound)on neuralprocessesthatare“inherentlyslow.”I turntoeccentricmeasurestotrytokeepmy mindsoberandensurethatI havetimetodonothingatall(whichistheonlytimewhenI canseewhatI shouldbedoingtherestofthetime).I haveyettouseacellphoneandI haveneverTweetedor enteredFacebook.I trynottogoonlinetillm

16、y dayswritingisfinished,andI movedfromManhattantoruralJapaninpartsoI couldmoreeasilysurviveforlongstretchesentirelyon foot.Noneofthisisa matterofasceticism(苦行主义);itisjustpureselfishness.Nothingmakesmefeelbetterthanbeingin oneplace,absorbedin abook,aconversation,or music.Itisactuallysomethingdeeperth

17、anmerehappiness:itisjoy,whichthemonk(僧侣)DavidSteindl-Rastdescribesas“thatkindofhappinessthatdoesntdependon whathappens.”Itisvital,ofcourse,tostayintouchwiththeworld.Butitisonlyby havingsomedistancefromtheworldthatyoucanseeitwhole,andunderstandwhatyoushouldbedoingwithit.Formorethan20 years,therefore,

18、I havebeengoingseveraltimesayear oftenfornolongerthanthreedays toa Benedictinehermitage(修道院),40 minutesdowntheroad,asithappens,fromthePostRanchInn.I dontattendserviceswhenI am there,andI havenevermeditated,thereoranywhere;I justtakewalksandreadandlosemyselfinthestillness,recallingthatitisonlyby step

19、pingbrieflyawayfrommy wifeandbossesandfriendsthatI willhaveanythingusefulto bringto them.ThelasttimeIwasin thehermitage,threemonthsago,Ihappenedtomeetwitha youngish-lookingmanwitha 3-year-oldboyaroundhisshoulders.“YourePico,arentyou?”themansaid,andintroducedhimselfas Larry;we hadmet,Igathered,19 yea

20、rsbefore,whenhe hadbeenlivinginthehermitageasan assistanttooneofthemonks.“Whatareyoudoingnow?”I asked.We smiled.No wordswerenecessary.“Itrytobringmy kidshereasoftenasI can,”he wenton.Thechildoftomorrow,I realized,mayactuallybeaheadofus,intermsofsensingnotwhatisnew,butwhatisessential.1.Whatisspeciala

21、boutthePostRanchInn?AItsroomsarewellfurnishedbutdimlylit.BItmakesguestsfeellikefallingintoa blackhole.CThereisno accesstotelevisioninitsrooms.DItprovidesalltheluxuriesitsguestscanthinkof.2.Whatdoestheauthorsaythechildrenoftomorrowwillneedmost?AConvenienceandcomfortineverydaylife.BTimeawayfromallelec

22、tronicgadgets.CMoreactivitiestofillintheirleisuretime.DGreaterchancesforindividualdevelopment.3.WhatdoestheFrenchphilosopherBlaisePascalsayaboutdistraction?AItleadsustolotsofmistakes.BItrendersusunabletoconcentrate.CIthelpsreleaseourexcessenergy.DItisourgreatestmiseryinlife.4.AccordingtoMarshallMcLu

23、han,whatwillhappenifthingscomeatusveryfast?AWe willnotknowwhattodo withourownlives.BWe willbebusyreceivingandsendingmessages.CWe willfinditdifficulttomeetourdeadlines.DWe willnotnoticewhatisgoingon aroundus.5.Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutyoga,meditationandtaichi?ATheyhelppeopleunderstandancientwisdom.BT

24、heycontributetophysicalandmentalhealth.CTheyarewaystocommunicatewithnature.DTheykeeppeoplefromvariousdistractions.6.Whatis neuroscientistAntonioDamasios finding?AQuietruralsettingscontributealottolonglife.BOnes brainbecomessharpwhenitis activated.CEccentric measuresareneededtokeep ones mindsober.DWh

25、enpeoplethink deeply,theirneuralprocessesareslow.7.The authormoved fromManhattan toruralJapan partly becausehecould.Astay away fromthenoiseof thebigcityBlive withoutmoderntransportationCenjoythebeautifulview of thecountrysideDpracticeasceticisminalocalhermitage8.Inordertoseetheworldwhole,theauthorth

26、inks itnecessary to_.9.Theauthortakes walks andreadsandloses himselfin thestillnessof thehermitageso thathe canbringhiswife andbossesandfriends_.10.Theyoungish-lookingmantakes hislittleboy tothehermitagefrequentlyso thatwhenhe growsuphewill know _.Part IVReadingComprehension(ReadinginDepth)(25minute

27、s)Section ADirections:Inthissection,thereis a shortpassagewith5 questions orincompletestatements.Readthepassagecarefully.Then answerthequestions or completethestatementsin thefewestpossiblewords.Pleasewriteyour answersonAnswerSheet2.Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.A key process

28、 in interpersonalinteractionis thatof social comparison,in thatwe evaluateourselvesin terms of how we compare to others.In particular,we engage in two typesofcomparison.First,we decidewhetherwe aresuperiororinferiorto otherson certaindimensions,such as attractiveness,intelligence,popularity,etc.Here

29、,the importantaspect is to comparewith an appropriatereference group.Forexample,modest joggers should not compare theirperformancewithOlympic standardmarathon(马拉 松)runners.Second,we judge theextent towhich we are the same as or different from others.At certain stages of life,especiallyadolescence,th

30、e pressureto be seen as similarto peersisimmense.Thus,wearingtherightbrandof clothesorshoes may be of theutmostimportance.We also needto know whetherourthoughts,beliefs andideas arein line with those of otherpeople.Thisis partof the processof self-validationwhereby we employ self-disclosures to seek

31、 supportforourself-concept.Peoplewhodonothave accesstoagoodlistener may notonly bedeniedtheopportunitytoheightentheirself-awareness,butthey arealsodeniedvaluable feedback astothevalidityandacceptabilityof theirinnerthoughts andfeelings.By discussing thesewithothers,we receive feedback astowhether th

32、eseareexperiences whichothershave as well,orwhetherthey areless common.Furthermore,by gaugingthereactions toourself-disclosureswe learnwhattypes areacceptable orunacceptable withparticular peopleandinspecificsituations.Onoccasionsitisthefearthatcertain disclosures may beunacceptable tofamilyorfriend

33、sthatmotivatesanindividualto seek professional help.Counsellors willbefamiliar withclientstatements suchas:“Ijust couldnttalk aboutthistomy husband.”,“Ireally cant letmy mother know mytruefeelings.”Another aspectofsocialcomparison inthecounselling context relates toatechnique knownas normalising.Thi

34、sis the processwhereby helpersprovide reassurance to clientsthatwhatthey areexperiencingis notabnormal oratypical(非典型的)，butis a normal reaction sharedby otherswhenfacingsuchcircumstances.Patient disclosure,facilitated by thetherapist,seemsalsotofacilitate theprocessofnormalising.47.Toevaluateourselv

35、es,the authorthinksit importantfor us to compareourselveswith_.48.Duringadolescence,peoplegenerally feelanimmense pressure toappear_.49.It isoftendifficultforpeopletoheightentheirself-awareness without_.50.Whatcanpeopledoif they findwhatthey think orsay unacceptableto family orfriends?51.Counsellors

36、often assure their clients that what theyexperiencethemselvesis only_.Section BDirections:There are 2 passages in this section.Eachpassage is followedby somequestions orunfinishedstatements.Foreach of themthereare fourchoicesmarked A,B,CandD.Youshoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmark thecorresponding let

37、teronAnswer Sheet2 witha singlelinethroughthecentre.Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.Amid all the job losses,theres one category of worker thatthe economicdisruptionhas beengoodfor:nonhumans.From self-servicecheckout lines at the supermarketto industrialrobotsarmedwit

38、h saws andtaughtto carve upanimalbodiesin slaughter-houses,theseever-more-intelligentmachinesarenownotjust assistingworkers butactually kickingthemoutof theirjobs.Automation isnt just affecting factory workers,either.Some law firmsnow use artificialintelligence software to scan and read mountainsof

39、legal documents,workthat previously wasperformed by highly-paidhuman lawyers.“Robotscontinueto have an impact on blue-collarjobs,andwhite-collarjobs areunderattack bymicroprocessors,”says economics professor Edward Leamer.Therecessionpermanentlywipedout2.5millionjobs.U.S.gross domesticproducthas cli

40、mbedback to pre-recessionlevels,meaningwereproducingasmuchasbefore,onlywith6%fewerworkers.To besure,roboticsarenottheonlyjobkillersoutthere,withoutsourcing(外包)stealingfarmorejobsthanautomation.JeffBurnstein,presidentoftheRoboticsIndustryAssociation,arguesthatrobotsactuallysaveU.S.jobs.Hislogic:compa

41、niesthatembraceautomationmightusefewerworkers,butthatsstillbetterthanfiringeveryoneandmovingtheworkoverseas.Itsnotthatrobotsarecheaperthanhumans,thoughoftentheyare.Itsthattheyrebetter.“Insomecasesthequalityrequirementsaresoexactingthatevenifyouwantedtohavea humando thejob,youcouldnt,”Burnsteinsays.S

42、amegoesforsurgeons,whoreusingroboticsystemsto performan ever-growinglistofoperations notbecausethemachinessavemoneybutbecause,thankstothegreaterprecisionofrobots,thepatientsrecoverinlesstimeandhavefewercomplications,saysDr.MyriamCuret.Surgeonsmaysurvivetherobotinvasion,butothersatthehospitalmightnot

43、be so lucky,asiRobot,makeroftheRoomba,a robotvacuumcleaner,hasbeenshowingoffAva,whichcouldbeusedasa messengerina hospital.Andonceyourehome,recovering,Avacouldletyoutalktoyourdoctor,so theresno needtosendsomeonetoyourhouse.That“mobiletelepresence”couldbeusefulattheoffice.Ifyoureawayon atrip,youcansti

44、llattendameeting.Justconnectviavideoconferencingsoftware,soyourfaceappearson Avasscreen.Isanyjobsafe?I washopingtosay“journalist,”butresearchersarealreadydevelopingsoftwarethatcangatherfactsandwritea newsstory.Whichmeansthata fewyearsfromnow,a robotcouldbe writingthiscolumn.Andwhowillreadit?Well,the

45、remightbe a lotofushangingaroundwithlotsoffreetimeon ourhands.52.Whatdo we learnfromthefirstfewparagraphs?ATheover-useofrobotshasdonedamagetoAmericaneconomy.BItishardforrobotstoreplacehumansinhighlyprofessionalwork.CArtificialintelligenceiskeytofuturetechnologicalinnovations.DTheroboticindustryhasbe

46、nefitedfromtheeconomicrecession.53.WhatcausedthegreatestlossofjobsinAmerica?AUsingmicroprocessorsextensively.BMovingproductiontoothercountries.CThebankruptcyofmanycompanies.DTheinvasionofmigrantworkers.54.WhatdoesJeffBurnsteinsayaboutrobots?ATheyhelpcompaniestorevive.BTheyarecheaperthanhumans.CTheyp

47、reventjoblossesina way.DTheycompetewithhumanworkers.55.WhyareroboticsystemsreplacingsurgeonsinmoreandmoreoperationsaccordingtoDr.MyriamCuret?ATheysavelotsofmoneyforthepatients.BTheybeathumansinprecision.CTheytakelesstimetoperforma surgery.DTheymakeoperationslesspainful.56.Whatdoestheauthorimplyabout

48、robotics?AIt will greatly enrich literary creation.BIt will startanewtechnologicalrevolution.CIt will revolutionizescientificresearch.DIt will beappliedinany fieldimaginable.Passage TwoQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.Youvenow heardit so many times,youcan probably repeatit in yo

49、ur sleep.PresidentObama will no doubtmake thepointpubliclywhenhe getsto Beijing:theChineseneedto consumemore;they need believe it ornot to become morelike Americans,forthesake of theglobaleconomy.Andits all true.Buttheotherside of thatequation is thattheU.S.needsto save more.For themoment,Americanho

50、useholdsactuallyaredoingso.Afterthepersonal-savingsratedippedto zeroin2005,theshockof theeconomiccrisis lastyear prompted peopletosnapshuttheirwallets.In China,the household-savingsrateexceeds 20%.It is partly for policy reasons.Asweveseen,wage earnersare expectedto care for not onlytheirchildren bu