1、大学英语六级综合-阅读(二)及答案解析(总分：50.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、(一)(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Passage 1(总题数：1，分数：10.00)AloneA need to belongThe thought of being alone terrifies most of us. It seems we have an inbuilt need to be part of something (a group, an organisation, a team, a tribe, a religion, a family, a gang) or someone e
2、lse. We have an overwhelming urge to be loved, needed, wanted, valued, desired and appreciated. To belong. Without being attached to someone or something many of us feel incomplete, invisible, less valuable and less worthy. Confronted with the possibility of being alone, many people will do strange,
3、 desperate, irrational, embarrassing and even dangerous things. We fear isolation: social, emotional, psychological and physical isolation. We crave to touch and be touched, both literally and metaphorically(隐晦地). Before a baby can understand anything, it understands and craves touch. It also unders
4、tands isolation. We carry that into adulthood.Robinson CrusoeI dont believe were built to be alone; to live an indefinite life of isolation. Were not particularly good at it. And its not always healthy for us. Having said that, I also know that periods of isolation can be an integral and valuable pa
5、rt of our personal growth journey; life changing even. While we dont want to live a life apart (understandably), being constantly attached to someone or something (I am not necessarily talking about a romantic relationship here) is also unhealthy and potentially destructive over the long term.What t
6、errifies us teaches usSometimes the thing that scares us most is exactly what we need to learn, grow, adapt and gain strength (but not what we necessarily want or appreciate at the time). In many cases, what terrifies us teaches us. It can help us discover who we really are (and arent) beyond our at
7、tachment to, or relationship with, someone or something else. In a sense, it can allow us to stop being a part of something (for a while) and to start being an all of something else, all of me, all of you. Some of us have been a part (only) for so long, that it can feel like we lost us long ago.Nois
8、e and distractionSome of us love to immerse ourselves in constant busyness, mayhem(混乱), noise and people. It allows us to keep our head in the sand for just a little bit longer, to numb the pain, to ignore what our heart has been telling us for a long time. Note that I said heart, not head. Although
9、 our mind is an incredible computer with infinite ability, it also has the capacity to deceive, lie and mislead, to sabotage our potential, to get in our way, to stand between us and fulfillment, peace, happiness, nirvana, success, whatever that means for us personally. If we dont control it, it wil
10、l control us. You know what I mean because its often busy in your head isnt it? Too busy. Our heart, on the other hand, speaks only truth. And while the truth can set us free, it also scares us. And of course, we dont like being scared.SilenceWe can all benefit from regular silence, space, solitude
11、and serenitythe four Ss. Sometimes a dose of “alone“ is the best medicine. Many of us live in the middle of mayhem. Periodic mayhem, okay; Constant mayhem, not okay. What our mind wants and what our heart and body need are often poles apart. Being away from the busyness, the crowds and the mayhem me
12、ans listening to that still, small voice, the one weve been so good at ignoring for far too longthe voice of our heart. Whenever were alone, really alone, it commands our attention. Being alone scares some of us because it makes us feel deeply. It makes us face the entirety of us, the good, the bad
13、and the dysfunctional(不成熟的). For many people, silence is completely terrifying, something to be avoided. Its too confronting. It makes them feel and feeling hurts, so noise will be. Their eternal companion is the distraction of the TV, radio, iPod or anything loud enough and constant enough to eradi
14、cate(摧毁) the silence, anything that will drown out that still small voice. Personally, I love silence. I crave it. I miss it when I dont have it. It nourishes my soul, gives me perspective, calm and balance.Not sexyOne of lifes ironies is that the more desperate we are to be loved, needed, accepted
15、and wanted, the less attractive we will be to anyone (person, group, organisation) and the more disconnected we may ultimately be. And Im not just speaking about personal relationships here. Note to self., desperation; not sexy. Over the years I have watched many of my friends, colleagues and client
16、s do stupid (I mean ridiculous) things to impress family and friends, to belong to a group, to attract someone or to keep a hold on a person. Anything from telling major lies, to compromising their values and beliefs, to getting pregnant, to faking illness, to threatening violence, to major cosmetic
17、 surgery. And as you would imagine, those tactics always work out well? Not. Getting to know youIn reality those people dont need anyone or anything else to he complete, or worthy, or amazing, or, beautiful. Neither do you. As long as our self-esteem, our sense of self-worth, our happiness, our conf
18、idence and our identity are totally dependent on any relationship (person, organisation, etc.), we will always be insecure because all relationships are temporary. The only question is: how temporary? You, on the other hand, will always be in your life, so maybe you should spend some quality time wi
19、th you, sooner, rather than later.When you get to know you, you may even like youIf you dont know it already, Ill tell you right nowyou are an amazing, spectacular and beautiful person with more potential than you know. And no, this is not some feel-good, mumbo-jumbo hype; this is absolute truth. If
20、 its not your truth, it needs to be. I know these words wont sit well with some of you (what with that crappy self-esteem and destructive self-talk), but once again, thats just your mind sabotaging your happiness, your potential and your future.Stop it. Enjoy your Friday. And your own company.（分数：10
21、.00）(1).People feel terrified at the thought of being alone, because _.（分数：1.00）A.we are born to be one part of an organizationB.we hunger for a sense of belonging by natureC.we have a strong desire to loveD.we always need help when in danger(2).A babys intense desire for touch before other senses r
22、eveals _.（分数：1.00）A.some people are strange by birthB.human beings naturally dread isolationC.habits formed in childhood could be crucialD.babies are more helpless and fragile(3).According to the author, some periods of isolation _.（分数：1.00）A.are by no means healthy for usB.are necessary for a roman
23、tic relationshipC.are essential and great treasure to our personal maturationD.are destructive in the long run(4).What terrifies us can help us _.（分数：1.00）A.appreciate the hardships in lifeB.learn about the true lifeC.realize the important attachment to someoneD.find out and regain our true selves(5
24、).Some people love to keep themselves busy in order to _.（分数：1.00）A.get away from the true voice of the heartB.make our mind, the incredible computer, function wellC.achieve tremendous personal fulfillmentD.keep the life subject to them(6).When we remain alone in silence, _.（分数：1.00）A.we will feel r
25、elaxed and at easeB.our heart and body will react differentlyC.we will focus our attention on ourselvesD.we will miss the crowds and the mayhem(7).Different from many people, the author prefers to silence, because _.（分数：1.00）A.the noises are too loudB.were constantly surrounded by the TV, radio, etc
26、.C.she doesnt need others companionD.it can strengthen her heart and soul(8).Its ironic that we may be _ to anyone if we are more desperate for love or acceptance.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(9).No relationships are permanent, so whichever we totally rely on, we will feel a sense of _.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(10).Accor
27、ding to the author, we need to believe were brilliant people with _ hidden inside.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_三、Passage 2(总题数：1，分数：5.00)Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves.
28、In his latest book, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care, John Mcwhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter culture as responsible for the decline of formal English.Blaming th
29、e permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. Mcwhorters academic speciality is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of “whom“, for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss of the case
30、endings(词格)of Old English.But the cult of the authentic and the personal, “doing our own thing“, has spelt the death of formal speech, writing, poetry and music. While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing
31、since then has sought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highly personal, performative genre is the only form that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity(自然发生) over craft.Illustrated with an entertai
32、ning array of examples from both high and low culture, the trend that Mr. Mcwhorter documents is unmistakable. But it is less clear, to take the question of his subtitle, why we should, like, care. As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including non-standard ones like
33、Black English, can be powerfully expressivethere exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas. He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper.Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry chunks of memoriz
34、ed poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old fashioned to most English speakers. Mr. Mcwhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical educational reformshe is really grieving over the loss of something
35、beautiful more than useful. We now take our English “on paper plates instead of china“. A shame, perhaps, but probably an inevitable one.（分数：5.00）(1).According to John Mcwhorter, what should take the blame for the degradation of formal English?（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(2).Mr. Mcwhorter feels the decline of f
36、ormal English is but all too natural in language development by the example that “whom“ is _.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(3).Since the 1960s, people have tended to use more and more _ in writing.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(4).As a linguist, Mr. Mcwhorter believes whether were able to _ is not necessarily related to the wa
37、y we talk.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(5).Mr. Mcwhorter is no fan of _, though he doesnt argue that people have to speak formal language.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_四、Passage 3(总题数：1，分数：5.00)In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) listed at over seven f
38、eet. If he had played last season, however, he would have been one of 42. The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years, and managers have been more than willing to adjust team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of bigger, longer frames.The trend in sports, t
39、hough, may be obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have generally stopped growing. Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago, todays peopleespecially those born to families who have lived in the US for many generationsapparently reached their limit in the early 1960s. A
40、nd they arent likely to get any taller. “In the general population today, at this genetic, environmental level, weve pretty much gone as far as we can go,“ says anthropologist William Cameron Chumlea of Wright State University. In the case of NBA players, their increase in height appears to result f
41、rom the increasingly common practice of recruiting players from all over the world.Growth, which rarely continues beyond the age of 20, demands calories and nutrientsnotably, proteinto feed expanding tissues. At the start of the 20th century, under-nutrition and childhood infections got in the way.
42、But as diet and health improved, children and adolescents have, on average, increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years, a pattern known as the secular trend in height. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average height59“ for men, 54“ for womenhasnt r
43、eally changed since 1960.Genetically speaking, there are advantages to avoiding substantial height. During childbirth, larger babies have more difficulty passing through the birth canal. Moreover, even though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet and back continue to struggle with
44、 bipedal (两足动物) posture and cannot easily withstand repeated strain imposed by oversize limbs. “There are some real constraints that are set by the genetic architecture of the individual organism,“ says anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern University.Genetic maximums can change, but dont e
45、xpect this to happen soon. Claire C. Gordon, senior anthropologist at the Army Research Center in Natick, Mass., ensures that 90 percent of the uniforms and workstations fit recruits without alteration. She says that, unlike those for basketball, the length of military uniforms has not changed for s
46、ome time. And if you need to predict human height in the near future to design a piece of equipment, Gordon says that by and large, “you could use todays data and feel fairly confident./（分数：5.00）(1).Wilt Chamberlain is cited as an example to _.（分数：1.00）A.illustrate the change of height of NBA player
47、sB.show the popularity of NBA players in the US.C.compare different generations of NBA playersD.assess the achievements of famous NBA players(2).Which of the following plays a key role in body growth according to the text?（分数：1.00）A.Genetic modification.B.Natural environment.C.Living standards.D.Dai
48、ly exercise.(3).On which of the following statements would the author most probably agree?（分数：1.00）A.Non-Americans add to the average height of the nation.B.Human height is conditioned by the upright posture.C.Americans are the tallest on average in the world.D.Larger babies tend to become taller in
49、 adulthood.(4).We learn from the last paragraph that in the near future _.（分数：1.00）A.the garment industry will reconsider the uniform sizeB.the design of military uniforms will remain unchangedC.genetic testing will be employed in selecting sportsmenD.the existing data of human height will still be applicable(5).The text intends to
