大学英语六级综合-阅读(十六)及答案解析.doc

1、大学英语六级综合-阅读(十六)及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Section A(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、Passage One(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Many countries have a holiday to celebrate workers fights on or around May 1, but Labour Day in Canada is celebrated on the first Monday of September.Canadas Labour D

2、ay was (1) celebrated in the spring but it was moved to the fall after 1894. The origins of Labour Day can be traced back to April 15, 1872, when the Toronto Trades Assembly organized Canadas first significant (2) for workers rights. The aim was to release the 24 leaders of the Toronto Typographical

3、 Union who were imprisoned for (3) to campaign for a nine-hour working day. At this time, trade unions were still illegal and what they did was seen as a criminal conspiracy to (4) trade. In spite of this, the Toronto Trades Assembly was already a significant organization and encouraged workers to f

4、orm trade unions, (5) in disputes between employers and employees and signaled the (6) of workers.There was (7) public support for the demonstration and the authorities could no longer deny the important role that the trade unions had to play in the (8) Canadian democratic society. A few months late

5、r, a similar demonstration was organized in Ottawa and passed the house of Canadas first prime minister, Sir John Macdonald. Later in the day, he appeared before the gathering and promised to (9) all Canadian laws against trade unions. This happened in the same year and (10) led to the founding of t

6、he Canadian Labour Congress in 1883.A similar holiday, Labor Day is held on the same day in the United States of America. Canadian trade unions are proud that this holiday was inspired by their efforts to improve workers rights.A. disrupt B. enormous C. lashed D. muttering E. strikingF. mediated G.

7、originally H. perpetual I. eventually J. emergingK. gesture L. mistreatment M. abolish N. parade O. practically（分数：10.00）填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_四、Passage Two(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Some marriages seem to collapse so suddenly that youd need a crystal ball to pre

8、dict their demise (灭亡). In other cases, though, the seeds of marital (1) are not only easier to see but they may be planted even before the honeymoon bills come (2) . According to UCLA psychologist Thomas Bradbury, Ph. D., the way a newlywed (3) when his or her spouse is facing a personal problem is

9、 a surprisingly good window into their marital future.Bradbury and Lauri Pasch, Ph. D., invited 57 couples, all married less than six months, to discuss a difficulty that each partner was having. While some couples proved to be superstars at providing emotional support, others were (4) inept (笨拙的).T

10、wo years later, nine of the couples had already (5) and five other marriages were intact but hanging by a thread. These 14 couples, it turned out, had been far less likely to provide support to one another as newlyweds than the other 43 couples whose marriages were (6) . Bradbury thinks a couples (7

11、) to help each other through tough times is what often blossoms into full-fledged marital discordand (8) divorce.All of which suggests an obvious antidote to the sky-high divorce rate: if couples can learn how to provide emotional support before they marry, they (9) a better chance of staying togeth

12、er. The trouble, Bradbury says, is that couples who go for premarital (10) where they can learn such skillstend to be the ones with a lesser risk for marital problems in the first place.A. thriving B. comments C. inability D. regretfully E. committingF. dissolution G. stand H. intends I. due J. reac

13、tsK. ultimately L. durable M. split N. regularly O. counseling（分数：10.00）填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_五、Section B(总题数：0，分数：0.00)六、Passage One(总题数：1，分数：20.00)Five Myths about College DebtAThe trillion-dollar student debt burden has caused many debates about the

14、 value of college. Some argue that we educate too many young people. Indeed, average tuition costs have gone up faster than the rate of inflation. The cost of college today is, in inflation-adjusted terms, roughly double what it was in 1980. This creates legitimate concerns about the continued affor

15、dability of a college education.BBut the debaters often have their facts wrong. Very few Americans graduate with 100,000 in debt; college makes more sense today than ever; and no, our universities arent blowing their money to fund college dorms and football stadiums.Myth 1: The financial return for

16、going to college is less now than it used to be.CIf anything, the value of an investment in college is higher now than its ever been. The college premium (the difference between the earnings of college graduates and high school graduates) is at its highest level ever.DIt is true that in the years si

17、nce the Great Recession, wages for recent college graduates have declined about 5 percent, but wages for those without a college degree have declined more than twice that, between 10 and 12 percent, increasing the college premium. Furthermore, the proportion of recent graduates who have gotten jobs

18、coming out of college has been virtually unchanged from before the recession. In contrast, the employment rate for nigh school graduates and associate-degree holders has dropped by 8 to 10 percent. Similarly, throughout the recession, the overall unemployment rate for bachelors degree holders has co

19、nsistently been half that of non-college graduates.Myth 2: Colleges are not preparing students with the skills needed in the current workplace.EAll of the economic data suggests the exact oppositethat the productivity of U.S. college graduates in the workplace is increasing. The broadest measure of

20、the productivity differential between high school graduates and college graduates is how much employers are willing to pay for the latter over the former. This is known as the “college premium“, and it has increased steadily since the 1970s. This is not due to a diminished supply of college graduate

21、s (indeed, the supply has risen over that period).FThe college premium is larger in the United States than in virtually any other economically developed country. Across the 34 countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), employers on average are willing to

22、 pay 1.8 times as much for a college graduate as they are for an unskilled worker. But in the United States, employers pay 2.6 times as much for a college graduate.GA recent Milken Institute study found that for each additional year of college attained by the residents of a region, the per capita gr

23、oss domestic product of the region increases a remarkable 17.4 percent. The authors argue that the increased regional productivity is largely the result of the increased productivity of a college-educated workforce. (Interestingly, they do not see a similar jump in productivity for additional educat

24、ion at the high school level.)Myth 3: On average, students are now borrowing _ to pay for their college education.HThis is a myth, or at the very least misleading, for almost any figure reported in the national press. (Though the reported figures vary, the amount is generally more than 25,000.) Ther

25、e are several reasons for this, principally that the data being reported are generally based on one or another report of outstanding student loan balances or average debt levels for those with loans.IWhat most people are interested in, and what most people interpret these figures to represent, is ho

26、w much a typical student must borrow to finance an undergraduate (bachelors) degree. Unfortunately, most figures reported lump together all student loan debtfor both undergraduate degrees and professional degrees. Furthermore, they report data on the average (mean) debt level among those who borrowe

27、d, not the median debt among all students, both those who borrowed and those who did not.JData on debt levels at time of graduation is far harder to obtain. The Department of Education periodically gathers this information, but its most recent report only covers those who received bachelors degrees

28、in 2008.Myth 4: College debt is at a crisis level.KCollege debt now exceeds total credit-card debt and total auto loans, both of which have dropped since the beginning of the recession. It is in fact the only kind of household debt that continued to increase throughout the recession.LThere are three

29、 reasons for the increase. First, more students are going to college. Second, a higher percentage of them are borrowing to finance their education. And third, the amount they are borrowing has increased. Obviously, the first reason is to be applauded. It is in the interest of the students and the na

30、tion that more high school graduates go on to college.MThe fact that more students are borrowing more to attend college is the result of several different factors, only partly the increased cost of tuition. Another major factor is a marked decline in college savings. According to Moodys, during the

31、past three years, the proportion of families with any college savings dropped from 60 percent to 50 percent, and those who saved set aside an average of only 11,781, down from 21,615 three years ago (a 45 percent decline).NWhat this means is that more families are substituting debt for college savin

32、gs. But these are just alternative ways of spreading the cost of college over multiple years. This is certainly no more worrisome than the switch from buying refrigerators with debt rather than layaway plans.OBut even more important is the fact that college spending is an investment in human capital

33、. The Hamilton Project estimates that a students spending on college has a financial return of over 15 percent, more than twice the average return of a stock market investment over the past 60 years. When corporate America increases its debt to invest in physical capitalnew factories, etc.we do not

34、consider it a crisis. It is a positive investment in future productivity. Similarly, when individuals borrow to invest in their own human capital, this is an investment in future productivity. We should arguably celebrate the fact that college debt, an investment in the future, exceeds credit-card d

35、ebt, which represents current consumption.Myth 5: College costs are increasing faster than inflation largely because of wasteful spending on lavish dorms, recreation centers etc.PIn a universitys overall budget, capital costs for “sweetness“ (such as recreation centers) constitute a very small fract

36、ion of the budget. Amortized (分期偿还) over the life of the asset, they may account for a few dollars of the annual tuition bill, but not much more.QIronically, one of the main factors pushing up costs at universities is the fact that the college premiumthe wages paid to highly educated employeesis hig

37、her than ever. College costs are dominated by employee salaries, and most of these employees (whether faculty, staff or administrators) are themselves highly educated. So the same phenomenon that increases the financial return of going to college for students also increases the cost of attending col

38、lege!（分数：20.00）(1).Higher college premium accounts for part of the cost increase at universities.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(2).Since the recession, the employment rate of recent college graduates has almost remained the same.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(3).Some loan figures combine the student debts for bachelors degrees

39、 and professional degrees.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(4).Taking inflation into consideration, the average college cost today is almost twice as much as that in 1980.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(5).There is no need to worry about replacing college savings with debt.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(6).A regions economic growth can be stron

40、gly affected by the increased productivity of a college-educated workforce, according to a study.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(7).Investment in physical capital is quite similar to that in human capital.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(8).The fact that more high school students enter colleges benefits America.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(9

41、).In recent years, the proportion of families with any college savings decreased.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(10).Usually employers are paying more for a college graduate than an unskilled worker.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_七、Passage Two(总题数：1，分数：20.00)TsunamisAUp until December of 2004, the phenomenon of tsunami was not o

42、n the minds of most of the worlds population. That changed on the morning of December 24, 2004 when an earthquake of moment magnitude 9.1 occurred along the oceanic trench off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. This large earthquake resulted in vertical displacement of the sea floor and generated a

43、tsunami that eventually killed 280,000 people and affected the lives of several million people.BAlthough people living on the coastline near the epicenter of the earthquake had little time or warning of the approaching tsunami, those living farther away along the coasts of Thailand, Sri Lanka, India

44、, and East Africa had plenty of time to move to higher ground to escape.CBut, there was no tsunami warning system in place in the Indian Ocean, and although other tsunami warning centers attempted to provide a warning, there was no effective communication system in place. Unfortunately, it has taken

45、 a disaster of great magnitude to point out the failings of the worlds scientific community and to educate almost every person on the planet about tsunami.How Tsunamis Are GeneratedDThere is an average of two destructive tsunamis per year in the Pacific basin Pacific wide tsunamis are a rare phenome

46、non, occurring every 10-12 years on the average. Most of these tsunamis are generated by earthquakes that cause displacement of the seafloor.EEarthquakes cause tsunami by causing a disturbance of the seafloor. Thus, earthquakes that occur along coastlines or anywhere beneath the oceans can generate

47、tsunami. The size of the tsunami is usually related to the size of the earthquake, with larger tsunami generated by larger earthquakes.FBut the sense of displacement is also important. Tsunamis are generally only formed when an earthquake causes vertical displacement of the seafloor. The 1906 earthq

48、uake near San Francisco California had a Richter Magnitude of about 7.1, yet no tsunami was generated because the motion on the fault (断层) was strike-slip motion with no vertical displacement. Thus, tsunamis only occur if the fault generating the earthquake has normal or reverse displacement.GBecause of this, most tsunamis ar