2012年6月英语六级真题阅读理解答案解析

2012年6月英语六级真题阅读理解及答案解析

Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)(15minutes)

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 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A)、B)、C)and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

The Three-Year Solution

Hartwick College, a small liberal-arts school in upstate New York, makes New York, makes this offer to well prepared students: earn your undergraduate degree in three years instead of four, and save about 543,000the amount of one years tuition and fees. A number of innovative colleges are making the same offer to students anxious about saving time and money. Thats both an opportunity and a warning for the best higher-education system in the world.

The United States has almost all of the worlds best universities. A recent Chinese survey ranks 35 American universities among the top 50, eight among the top 10. Our research universities have been the key to developing the competitive advantages that help Americans produce 25% of all the worlds wealth. In 2007, 623,805 of the worlds brightest students were attracted to American universities.

Yet, there are signs of peril (危险)within American higher education. U.S. colleges have to compete in the marketplace. Students may choose among 6,000 public, private, nonprofit, for profit, or religious institutions of higher learning. In addition, almost all of the 532 billion the federal government provides for university research is awarded competitively.

But many colleges and universities are stuck in the past. For instance, the idea of the fall-to-springschool yearhasnt changed much since before the American Revolution, when we were a summer stretch no longer makes sense. Former George Washington University president Stephen Trachtenberg estimates that a typical college uses its facilities for academic purposes a little more than half the calendar year.While college facilities sit idle, they continue to generate maintenance expenses that contribute to the high cost of running a college, he has written. Within academic departments, tenure(终身职位)，combined with age-discrimination laws, makes faculty turnovercritical for a university to remain current in changing timesdifficult. Instead of protecting speech and encouraging diversity and innovative thinking, the tenure system often stifles(压制)them: younger professors must win the approval of established colleagues for tenure, encouraging like-mindedness and sometimes inhibiting the free flow of ideas.

Meanwhile, tuition has soared, leaving graduating students with unprecedented loan debt. Strong campus presidents to manage these problems are becoming harder to find, and to keep. In fact, students now stay on campus almost as long as their presidents. The average amount of time students now take to complete an undergraduate degree has stretched to six years and seven months as students interrupted by work, inconvenienced by unavailable classes, or lured by one more football season find it hard to graduate.

Congress has tried to help students with college costs through Pell Grants and other forms of tuition support. But some of their fixes have made the problem worse. The stack of congressional regulations governing federal student grants and loans now stands twice as tall as I do. Filling out these forms consumes 7% of every tuition dollar.

For all of these reasons, some colleges like Hartwick are rethinking the old way of doing things and questioning decades-old assumptions about what a college degree means. For instance, why does it have to take four years to earn a diploma? This fall, 16 first-year students and four second-year students at Hartwick enrolled in the schools new three year degree program. According to the college, the plan is designed for high-ability, highly motivated student who wish to save money or to move along more rapidly toward advanced degrees.

By eliminating that extra year, there year degree students save 25% in costs. Instead of taking 30 credits a year, these students take 40. During January, Hartwick runs a four week course during which students may earn three to four credits on or off campus, including a number of international sites. Summer courses are not required, but a student may enroll in themand pay extra. Three year students get first crack at course registration. There are no changes in the number of courses professors teach or in their pay.

The three-year degree isnt a new idea. Geniuses have always breezed through. Judson College, a 350-student institution in Alabama, has offered students a three-year option for 40 years. Students attend short terms in May and June to earn the credits required for graduation. Bates College in Maine and Ball State University in Indiana are among other colleges offering three-year options.

Changes at the high-school level are also helping to make it easier for many students to earn their undergraduate degrees in less time. One of five students arrives at college today with Advanced Placement (AP) credits amounting to a semester or more of college level work. Many universities, including large schools like the University of Texas, make it easy for these AP students to graduate faster.

For students who dont plan to stop with an undergraduate degree, the three-year plan may have an even greater appeal. Dr. John Sergent, head of Vanderbilt University Medical Schools residency (住院医生) program, enrolled in Vanderbilts undergraduate college in 1959. He entered medical school after only three years as did four or five of his classmates. My first year of medical school counted as my senior year, which meant I had to take three to four labs a week to get all my sciences in. I basically skipped my senior year, says Sergent. He still had time to be a student senator and meet his wife.

There are, however, drawbacks to moving through school at such a brisk pace. For one, it deprives students of the luxury of time to roam (遨游) intellectually. Compressing everything into three years also leaves less time for growing up, engaging in extracurricular activities, and studying abroad. On crowded campuses it could mean fewer opportunities to get into a prized professors class. Iowas Waldorf College has graduated several hundred students in its three-year degree program, but it now phasing out the option. Most Waldorf students wanted the full four-year experienceacademically, socially, and athletically. And faculty members will be wary of any change that threatens the core curriculum in the name of moving students into the workforce.

Most high governmental officials seem to conceive of education in this lightas a way to ensure economic competitiveness and continued economic growth, Derek Bok, former president of Harvard, told The Washington Post. I strongly disagree with this approach. Another risk: the new campus schedules might eventually produce less revenue for the institution and longer working hours for faculty members.

Adopting a three-year option will not come easily to most school. Those that wish to tackle tradition and make American campus more cost-conscious may find it easier to take

Trachtenbergs advice: open campuses year-round.You could run two complete colleges, with two complete faculties,he says.Thats without cutting the length of students vacations, increasing class sizes, or requiring faculty to teach more.

Whether they experiment with three-year degrees, offer year-round classes, challenge the tenure systemor all of the aboveuniversities are slowly realizing that to stay competitive and relevant they must adapt to a rapidly changing world.

Expanding the three-year option may be difficult, but it may be less difficult than asking Congress for additional financial help, asking legislators for more state support, or asking students even higher tuition payments. Campuses willing to adopt convenient schedules along with more focused, less-expensive degrees may find that they have a competitive advantage in attracting bright, motivated students. These sorts of innovations can help American universities avoid the perils of success.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1. Why did Hartwick College start three-year degree programs?

A) To create chances for the poor.

B) To cut students expenses.

C) To enroll more students. .

D) To solve its financial problems.

2. By quoting Stephen Trachtenberg the author wants to say that .

A) American universities are resistant to change

B) the summer vacation contributes to student growth

C) college facilities could be put to more effective use

D) the costs of running a university are soaring

3. The author thinks the tenure system in American universities .

A)suppresses creative thinking

B) creates conflicts among colleagues

C) guarantees academic freedom

D) is a sign of age discrimination

4. What is said about the new three-year degree program at Hartwick?

A) Its students have to earn more credits each year.

B) Non-credit courses are eliminated altogether.

C) Its faculty members teach more hours a week.

D) Some summer courses are offered free of charge.

5. What do we learn about Judson Colleges three-year degree program?

A) It has been running for several decades.

B) It is open to the brightest students only.

C) It is the most successful in the country.

D) It has many practical courses on offer.

6. What changes in high schools help students earn undergraduate degrees in three years?

A) Curriculums have been adapted to students needs.

B) More students have Advanced Placement credits.

C) More elective courses are offered in high school.

D) The overall quality of education bas improved.

7. What is said to be a drawback of the three-year college program?

A) Students have to cope with too heavy a workload.

B) Students dont have much time to roam intellectually.

C) Students have little time to gain practical experience.

D) Students dont have prized professors to teach them.

8. College faculty members are afraid that the pretext of moving students into the workforce might pose a threat to .

9. Universities are increasingly aware that they must adapt to a rapidly changing world in order to .

10. Convenient academic schedules with more-focused, less-expensive degrees will be more attractive to .

Reading Comprehension(Reading in Depth)

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.

In face of global warming, much effort has been focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through a variety of strategies. But while much of the research and innovation has concentrated on finding less-polluting energy alternatives, it may be decades before clean technologies like wind and solar meet a significant portion of our energy needs.

In the meantime, the amount of CO2 in the air is rapidly approaching the limits proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). As long as were consuming fossil fuels, were putting out CO2,says Klaus Lackner, a geophysicist at Columbia, University We cannot let the CO2 in the atmosphere rise indefinitely.

That sense of urgency has increased interest in capturing and storing CO2, which the IPCC says could provide the more than 50% reduction in emissions thought needed to reduce global warming.We see the potential for capture and storage to play an integral role in reducing emissions, says Kim Corley, Shells senior advisor of CO2 and environmental affairs. That forward thinking strategy is gaining support. The U.S. Department of Energy recently proposed putting $1 billion into a new $2.4 billion coal-burning energy plant. The plants carbon-capture technologies would serve as a pilot project for other new coal-burning plants.

But what do you do with the gas once youve captured it? One option is to put it to new uses. Dakota Gasification of North Dakota captures CO2 at a plant that converts coal into synthetic natural gas. It then ships the gas 200 miles by pipeline to Canada, where it is pumped underground in oil recovery operations. In the Netherlands, Shell delivers CO2 to farmers who pipe it into their greenhouses, increasing their yield of fruits and vegetables.

However, scientists say that the scale of CO2 emissions will require vast amounts of long-term storage. Some propose storing the CO2 in coal mines or liquid storage in the ocean, Shell favors storing CO2 in deep geological structures such as saline(盐的) formations and exhausted oil and gas fields that exist throughout the world. 。

47. What are suggested as renewable and less-polluting energy alternatives?

48. What does the author say is a forward thinking strategy concerning the reduction of CO2emissions?

49. One way of handing the captured CO2 as suggested by the author is to store it and . 50. Through using CO2, Dutch farmers have been able to .

51. Long-term storage of CO2 is no easy job because of .

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.

As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. Thats partially because it appears people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and exert more effort, to achieve those goals.

Whats far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting.

Newspapers relay daily accounts of goal-setting prevalent in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street , yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-trumpeted practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis , and unethical (不道德的)behavior in general.

Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to exert more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in unethical behaviors, says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penns Wharton School.

It turns out theres no economic benefit to just having a goal---you just get a psychological benefit Schweitzer says. But in many cases, goals have economic rewards that make them more powerful.

A prime example Schweitzer and his colleagues cite is the 2004 collapse of energy-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial incentives to motivate salesmen to meet specificrevenue goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is the actual trades were not profitable.

Other studies have shown that saddling employees with unrealistic goals can compel them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears imposed a sales quota on its auto repair staff. It prompted employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.

Schweitzer concedes his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that commends the many benefits of goal-setting. Advocates of the practice have taken issue with his teams use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-prescribed

In a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes:Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot thrive without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can thrive without goals to provide a sense of purpose.

But Schweitzer contends the mounting causal evidence linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help spotlight issues that merit caution and further investigation. Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects, he says. Goal-setting does help coordinate and motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful oversight, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harm the organization, Schweitzer says.。

52. What message does the author try to convey about goal-setting?

A) Its negative effects have long been neglected.

B) The goal increase peoples work efficiency.

C) Its role has been largely underestimated.

D) The goals most people set are unrealistic.

53. What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show by citing the example of Enron?

A) Setting realistic goals can turn a failing business into success.

B) Businesses are less likely to succeed without setting realistic goals.

C) Financial incentives ensure companies meet specific revenue goals

D) Goals with financial rewards have strong motivational power.

54. How did Sears goal-setting affect its employees?

A) They were obliged to work more hours to increase their sales.

B) They competed with one another to attract more customers.

C) They resorted to unethical practice to meet their sales quota.

D) They improved their customer service on a companywide basis.

55. What do advocates of goal-setting think of Schweitzers research?

A) Its findings are not of much practical value.

B) It exaggerates the side effects of goal-setting.

C) Its conclusion is not based on solid scientific evidence.

D) It runs counter to the existing literature on the subject.

56. What is Schweitzers contention against Edwin Locke?

A) The link between goal-setting and harmful behavior deserves further study.

B) Goal-setting has become too deep-rooted in corporate culture.

C) The positive effects of goal-setting outweigh its negative effects.

D) Studying goal-setting can throw more light on successful business practices.

Passage Two

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

For most of the 20th century, Asia asked itself what it could learn from the modern, innovating West. Now the question must be reversed. What can the Wests overly indebted and sluggish (经济滞长的) nations learn from a flourishing Asia?

Just a few decades ago, Asias two giants were stagnating(停滞不前) under faulty economic ideologies. However, once China began embracing free-market reforms in the 1980s, followed by India in the 1990s, both countries achieved rapid growth. Crucially, as they opened up their markets, they balanced market economy with sensible government direction. As the Indian economist Amartya Sen has wisely said, The invisible hand of the market has often relied heavily on the visible hand of government.

Contrast this middle path with America and Europe, which have each gone ideologically over-board in their own ways. Since the 1980s, America has been increasingly clinging to the ideology of uncontrolled free markets and dismissing the role of government---following Ronald Regans idea that government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. Of course, when the markets came crashing down in 2007, it was decisive government intervention that saved the day. Despite this fact, many Americans are still strongly opposed to big government.

If Americans could only free themselves from their antigovernment doctrine, they would begin to see that the Americas problems are not insoluble. A few sensible federal measures could put the country back on the right path. A simple consumption tax of, say, 5% would significantly reduce the countrys huge government deficit without damaging productivity. A small gasoline tax would help free America from its dependence on oil imports and create incentives for green energy development. In the same way, a significant reduction of wasteful agricultural subsidies could also lower the deficit. But in order to take advantage of these common-sense solutions, Americans will have to put aside their own attachment to the idea of smaller government and less regulation. American politicians will have to develop the courage to follow what is taught in all American public-policy schools: that there are good taxes and bad taxes. Asian countries have embraced this wisdom, and have built sound long-term fiscal (财政的) policies as a result.

Meanwhile, Europe has fallen prey to a different ideological trap: the belief that European governments would always have infinite resources and could continue borrowing as if there were no tomorrow. Unlike the Americans, who felt that the markets knew best, the Europeans failed to anticipate how the markets would react to their endless borrowing. Today, the European Union is creating a $580 billion fund to ward off sovereign collapse. This will buy the EU time, but it will not solve the blocs larger problem.

57. What has contributed to the rapid economic growth in China and India? A) Copying western-style economic behavior.

B) Heavy reliance on the hand of government.

C) Timely reform of government at all levels.

D) Free market plus government intervention.

58. What does Ronald Reagan mean by saying government is the problem (line4, Para. 3)?

A) Many social evils are caused by wrong government policies.

B) Many social problems arise from governments inefficiency.

C) Government action is key to solving economic problems.

D) Government regulation hinders economic development.

59. What stopped the American economy from collapsing in 2007?

A) Self-regulatory repair mechanisms of the free market.

B) Cooperation between the government and businesses.

C) Abandonment of big government by the public.

D) Effective measures adopted by the government.

60. What is the authors suggestion to the American public in face of the public government deficit?

A) They urge the government to revise its existing public policies.

B) They develop green energy to avoid dependence on oil import.

C) They give up the idea of smaller government and less regulation.

D) They put up with the inevitable sharp increase of different taxes.

61. Whats the problem with the European Union?

A) Conservative ideology.

B) Shrinking market.

C) Lack of resources.

D) Excessive borrowing.

答案及解析

Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)

1. A) To cut students expenses.

2. B) college facilities could be put to more effective use. 3. C) suppresses creative thinking

4. A) Its students have to earn more credits each year

5. B) It has been running for several decades. 6. B) More students have Advanced Placement credits.

7. A) Students dont have much time to roam intellectually.

8. the core curriculum

9. stay competitive and relevant

10. bright, motivated students

【解析】

本次六级的快速阅读文章出自2009年10月16日的《每日野兽资讯周刊》，与四级文章的出处一样，在这里要提醒考生们平日里加强此类英美报刊的阅读。

本文属于教育类文章。

文章开头以Hartwick 学院为例，指出许多有创新意识的大学都将学制由四年改为三年的现象。在承认美国具有全世界最好的大学，这些学校吸引了众多聪明的学生后，作者话锋一转，指出美国高等教育存在的一些问题，包括：学校学年的一成不变，设备资源的闲置浪费，终身职位以及反年龄歧视法造成的教务人员冗余以及对自由思想的压制，学生承担不起高额的学费等等。

之后，作者指出正是由于以上的这些问题，许多学校才会进行学制改革并且描述了Hartwick, Judson College等学校在缩短学制后课程方面的一些改革和做法。随后作者指出缩短学制的一些弊端：学生缺少时间进行思考，缺少时间参加课外活动或者出国留学，威胁学校的核心课程体系等。

最后，作者指出实行三年制学制对大多数学校来说都不是易事。但是要比让议会提供资金帮助，让立法人员要求更多的政府帮助，或是要求学生支付更高的学费来得容易。

本次快速阅读题目难度适中，基本上都是细节辨认题，考生做题的时候可根据题干的关键词：人名，学校名等进行快速定位，仔细判断。需要注意的是，考生在做本篇快速阅读的时候最好快速通读一下全文，把握一下文章的大致结构，会更有利于解答问题。

Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)

答案：

47.capturing and storing CO2或者capture and storage of CO2

48. capture and storage

49. put it to new use

50. increase their yield of fruits and vegetables

51. the scale of CO2 emissions 【解析】

这是一篇科技文。文章就降低碳排放这个话题，讨论了捕捉并储存二氧化碳的可能性。主题虽然是碳排放，但是文章科技术语很少，也比较贴近生活，所以难度并不高。题目都是事实细节题，不需要推论，考生只要根据题干的关键词，定位信息，在原文中找到答案，誊抄下来就可以了。此题阅卷的原则就是尽量用原文的话来回答问题，所以注意，尽量少修改原文信息。

Section B

Passage One

52. D. Its negative effects have long been neglected.

53. A. Goals with financial rewards have strong motivational power.

54. B. They resorted to unethical practice to meet their sales quota.

55. B. Its conclusion is not based on solid scientific evidence2012

56. A. Studying goal-setting can throw more light on successful business practices. 【解析】

原文题目为The dark side of goal-setting。 这篇文章有一定难度，尤其是作者的态度一定要把握好。作者并未全盘否定目标制定，而是说一定要制定切合实际的目标，以保证建设性推进计划，避免不道德行为伤害到计划的实施，因此这方面的研究值得继续推进下去，给大家更好的指导。

Passage two

57. D) Free market plus government intervention.

58. B) Government regulation hinders economic development.

59. B) Effective measures adopted by the government.

60. D) They give up the idea of smaller government and less regulation.

61. D) Excessive borrowing. 【解析】

文章改编自资讯网站The Daily Beast的文章Asian Wisdom，主题是那些过度负债、经济增长缓慢的西方国家能从经济繁荣的亚洲学到什么东西。作者认为美国和欧洲都受制于自己的意识形态，并指出一些明智的联邦政府措施就可以使美国重新走上正确的道路;欧洲的问题在于不断增加的债务，必须从根本上寻找解决之道。