大学英语六级经典阅读1

　　Passage 1

　　It is often claimed that nuclear energy is something we cannot do without . We live in a consumer society where there is an enormous demand for commercial products of all kinds. Moreover， an increase in industrial production is considered to be one solution to the problem of mass unemployment. Such an increase presumes an abundant and cheap energy supply. Many people believe that nuclear energy provides an inexhaustible and economical source of power and that it is therefore essential for an industrially developing society. There are a number of other advantages in the use of nuclear energy. Firstly， nuclear power， except for accidents， is clean. A further advantage is that a nuclear power station can be run and maintained by relatively few technical and administrative staff. The nuclear reactor represents an enormous step in our scientific evolution and ，whatever the anti-nuclear group says， it is wrong to expect a return to more primitive sources of fuel. However， opponents of nuclear energy point out that nuclear power stations bring a direct threat not only to the environment but also to civil liberties. Furthermore， it is questionable whether ultimately nuclear power is a cheap source of energy. There have ，for example， been very costly accidents in America， in Britain and， of course， in Russia.

　　The possibility of increases in the cost of uranium(铀) in addition to the cost of greater safety provisions could price nuclear power out of the market. In the long run， environmentalists argue， nuclear energy wastes valuable resources and disturbs the ecology to an extent which could bring about the destruction of the human race. Thus if we wish to survive， we cannot afford nuclear energy. In spite of the case against nuclear energy outlined above， nuclear energy programmes are expanding. Such an expansion assumes a continual growth in industrial production and consumer demands. However， it is doubtful whether this growth will or can continue. Having weighed up the arguments on.

　　Such an expansion assumes a continual growth in industrial production and consumer demands. However， it is doubtful whether this growth will or can continue. Having weighed up the arguments on both sides， it seems there are good economic and ecological reasons for sources of energy other than nuclear power.

　　1.The writers attitude toward nuclear energy is

　　A) indifferent

　　B) tolerant

　　C) favorable

　　D) negative

　　2. According to the opponents of nuclear energy， which of the following is TRUE of nuclear energy?

　　A)Primitive.

　　B)Cheap

　　C)Exhaustible.

　　D)Unsafe.

　　3. Some people claim that nuclear energy is essential because

　　A)it provides a perfect solution to mass unemployment

　　B)it represents an enormous step forward in our scientific evolution

　　C)it can meet the growing demand of an industrially developing society

　　D)nuclear power stations can be run and maintained by relatively few technical and administrative staff

　　4. Which of the following statements does the writer support?

　　A) The demand for commercial products will not necessarily keep increasing.

　　B) Nuclear energy is something we cannot do without.

　　C) Uranium is a good source of energy for economic and ecological reasons.

　　D) Grater safety provisions can bring about the expansion of nuclear energy programmes.

　　5. The function of the last sentence is to

　　A) advance the final argument

　　B) reflect the writer`s attitude

　　C) reverse previously expressed thoughts

　　D) show the disadvantages of nuclear power

　　Passage 2

　　Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are， who they are not， and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer`s background， personality， status， mood， and social outlook.

　　Since clothes are such an important source of social information， we can use them to manipulate people`s impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle-class man or woman may be alienated (疏远 ) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner， regardless of the person`s education， background， or interests.

　　People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits(套装)， including the number of

　　boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or drink. Newscasters， or the announcers who read the news on TV， are considered to be more convincing， honest， and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their interpersonal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover， many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we acted.

　　Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation， such as a job interview， or a court appearance.

　　In the workplace， men have long had well-defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of masculine and feminine attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that available for men.

　　1.According to the passage ， the way we dress_____.

　　A)provides clues for people who are critical of us

　　B)indicates our likes and dislikes in choosing a career

　　C)has a direct influence on the way people regard us

　　D)is of particular importance when we get on in age

　　2. From the third paragraph of the passage， we can conclude that young adults tend to believe that certain types of clothing can_____.

　　A)change people`s conservative attitudes towards their lifestyles

　　B)help young people make friends with the opposite sex

　　C)make them competitive in the job market

　　D)help them achieve success in their interpersonal relationships

　　3. The word precedent(Line 1，Para.4)probably refers to_____.

　　A)early acts for men to follow as examples

　　B)particular places for men to occupy especially because of their importance

　　C)things that men should agree upon

　　D)men`s beliefs that everything in the world has already been decided

　　4. According to the passage， many career women find themselves in difficult situations because_____.

　　A)the variety of the professional clothing is too wide for them to choose

　　B)women are generally thought to be only good at being fashion models

　　C)men are more favorably judged for managerial positions

　　D)they are not sure to what extent they should display their feminine qualities through clothing

　　5. What is the passage mainly about?

　　A)Dressing for effect

　　B)B)How to dress appropriately

　　C)Managerial positions and clothing

　　D)Dressing for the occasion

　　Passage 3

　　The more women and minorities make their way into the ranks of management ，the more they seem to want to talk about things formerly judged to be best left unsaid. The newcomers also tend to see office matters with a fresh eye， in the process sometimes coming up with critical analyses of the forces that shape everyone`s experience in the organization.

　　Consider the novel views of Harvey Coleman of Atlanta on the subject of getting ahead. Coleman is black. He spent 11years with IBM， half of them working in management development， and now serves as a consultant to the likes of ATT， Coca-Cola， Prudential， and Merch. Coleman says that based on what he`s seen at big companies， he weighs the different elements that make for long-term career success as follows： performance counts a mere 10%， image，30%; and exposure， a full 60%. Coleman concludes that excellent job performance is so common these days that while doing your work well may win you pay increases， it won`t secure you the big promotion. He finds that advancement more

　　He finds that advancement more often depends on how many people know you and your work， and how high up they are.

　　Ridiculous beliefs? Not to many people， especially many women and members of minority races who， like Coleman， feel that the scales (障眼物) have dropped from their eyes. Women and blacks in organizations work under false beliefs， says Kaleel Jamison， a New York-based management consultant who helps corporations deal with these issues.

　　They think that if you work hard ，you ll get ahead-that someone in authority will reach down and give you a promotion. she adds， Most women and blacks are so rightened that people will think theyve gotten ahead because of their sex or color that they play down (使不突出) their visibility. Her advice to those folks： learn the ways that white males have traditionally used to find their way into the spotlight.

　　1. According to the passage， things formerly judged to be best left unsaid(Line 2，Para.1) probably refers to _______.

　　A)criticisms that shape everyones experience

　　B)the opinions which contradict the established beliefs

　　C)the tendencies that help the newcomers to see office matters with a fresh eye

　　D)the ideas which usually come up with new ways of management in the organization

　　2. To achieve success in your career， the most important factor， according to the passage，

　　is to______.

　　A)let your superiors know how good you are

　　B)project a favorable image to the people around you

　　C)work as a consultant to your superiors

　　D)perform well your tasks given by your superiors

　　3. The reason why women and blacks play down their visibility is that they_______.

　　A)know that someone in authority will reach down and give them a promotion

　　B)want to give people the impression that they -work under false beliefs

　　C)don`t want people to think that their promotions were due to sex or color

　　D)believe they can get promoted by reason of their sex or color.

　　4. The author is of the opinion that Colemans beliefs are________.

　　A)biased

　　B)popular

　　C)insightful

　　D)superficial

　　5. The best title for this passage would be______.

　　A)Role of Women and Minorities in Management

　　B)The Importance of Being Visible

　　C)Job Performance and Advancement

　　D)Sex and Career Success

　　Passage 4

　　A few common misconceptions. Beauty is only skin-deep. One`s physical assets and liabilities don`t count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best.

　　Over the last 30 years， social scientists have conducted more than 1，OOO studies of how we react to beautiful and not-so-beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion： Looks do matter， more than most of us realize. The data suggest， for example， that physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents， sought out as friends， and pursued romantically-with the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs， they are also more likely to be hired， paid well ，and promoted.

　　Un-American， you say ， unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again， the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties(虔诚)while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group-college students， perhaps， or teachers or corporate personnel managers-a piece of paper relating an individual s accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the pictures are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person， some an average-looking character， and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes， anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted.

　　Almost invariably， the better looking the person in the picture， the higher the person is rated. In the phrase， borrowed from Sappho， that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception ，what is beautiful is good. In business， however， good looks cut both ways for women， and deeper than for men.

　　A Utah State University professor， who is an authority on the subject， explains： In terms of their careers， the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous， making it easier， for example， for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. On another note， though ，there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire (追求) to managerial positions do not get on as well as women who may be less attractive.

　　21. According to the passage， people often wrongly believe that in pursuing a career as a manager________.

　　A)a persons property or debts do not matter much

　　B)a persons outward appearance is not a critical qualification

　　C)women should always dress fashionably

　　D)women should not only be attractive but also high-minded

　　22.The result of research carried out by social scientists show that________.

　　A)people do not realize the importance of looking one`s best

　　B)women in pursuit of managerial jobs are not likely to be paid well

　　C)good-looking women aspire to managerial positions

　　D)attractive people generally have an advantage over those who are not

　　23.Experiments by scientists have shown that when people evaluate individuals on certain

　　attributes________.

　　A)they observe the principle that beauty is only skin-deep

　　B)they do not usually act according to the views they support

　　C)they give ordinary-looking persons the lowest ratings

　　D)they tend to base their judgement on the individual`s accomplishment

　　24. Good looks cut both ways for women(Line 1，Para.5) means that________.

　　A)attractive women have tremendous potential impact on public jobs

　　B)good-looking women always get the best of everything

　　C)being attractive is not always an advantage for women.

　　D)attractive women do not do as well as unattractive women in managerial positions

　　25. It can be inferred from the passage that in the business world________.

　　A)handsome men are not affected as much by their looks as attractive women are

　　B)physically attractive women who are in the public eye usually do quite well

　　C)physically attractive men and women who are in the public eye usually get along quite well

　　D)good looks are important for women as they are for men

　　答案：Passage 1： DDCAB

　　Passage 2： BCADA

　　Passage 3： BACCB

　　Passage 4： CDABC