1、2012年 12月大学英语六级真题试卷（第 1套）及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay entitled Man and Computer by commenting on the saying, “The real danger is not that the computer will begin to think like man, but that man will begin to think like the comput
2、er.“ You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. Man and Computer 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions attached to the passage. For question
3、s 1-4, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 1 In a Digital Age, Students Still Cling to Paper Textbooks The
4、y text their friends all day long. At night, they do research for their term papers on laptops and commune with their parents on Skype. But as they walk the paths of Hamilton College, a poster-perfect liberal arts school in this upstate village, students are still hauling around bulky, old-fashioned
5、 textbooks and loving it. “The screen wont go blank,“ said Faton Begolli, a junior from Boston. “There cant be a virus. It wouldnt be the same without books. Theyve defined academia (学术 ) for a thousand years.“ Though the world of print is receding before a tide of digital books, blogs and other Web
6、 sites, a generation of college students growing up with technology appears to be holding fast to traditional textbooks. That loyalty comes at a price. Textbooks are expensive a years worth can cost $700 to $900 and students frustrations with the expense, as well as the emergence of new technology,
7、have produced a perplexing array of options for obtaining them. Internet retailers like Amazon and T are selling new and used books. They have been joined by several Web services that rent textbooks to students by the semester. Some 1,500 college bookstores are also offering rentals this fall, up fr
8、om 300 last year. Here at Hamilton, students this year have a new way to avoid the middleman: a nonprofit Web site, created by the colleges Entrepreneur Club, that lets them sell used books directly to one another. The explosion of outlets and formats including digital books, which are rapidly becom
9、ing more sophisticated has left some students bewildered. After completing the difficult job of course selection, they are forced to weigh cost versus convenience, analyze their own study habits and guess which texts they will want for years to come and which they will not miss. “It depends on the c
10、ourse,“ said Victoria Adesoba, a student at New York University who was standing outside that schools bookstore, a powder-blue book bag slung over her shoulder. “Last semester, I rented for psychology, and it was cheaper. But for something like organic chemistry, I need to keep the book. E-textbooks
11、 are good, but its tempting to go on Facebook, and it can strain your eyes.“ For all the talk that her generation is the most technologically knowledgeable in history, paper-and-ink textbooks do not seem destined to disappear anytime soon. According to the National Association of College Stores, dig
12、ital books make up just under 3% of textbook sales, although the association expects that share to grow to 10-15% by 2012 as more titles are made available as e-books. In two recent studies one by the association and another by the Student Public Interest Research Groups-three quarters of the studen
13、ts surveyed said they still preferred a bound book to a digital version. Many students are reluctant to give up the ability to flip quickly between chapters, write in the margins and highlight passages, although new software applications are beginning to allow students to use e-textbooks that way. “
14、Students grew up learning from print books,“ said Nicole Allen, the textbooks campaign director for the research groups, “so as they transition to higher education, its not surprising that they prefer a format that they are most accustomed to.“ Indeed, many Hamilton students grow passionate about th
15、e weighty volumes they still cany from dorm room to lecture hall to library, even as they compulsively (克制不住地 ) check their smartphones for text messages and e-mails. “I believe that the codex is one of mankinds best inventions,“ said Jonathan Piskor, a junior from North Carolina, using the Latin te
16、rm for book. That passion may be one reason that Barnes they may also become ill. One of the most common dangers to climbers is altitude sickness, which can affect even very【 B2】 _ climbers. Altitude sickness usually begins when a climber goes above 8,000 or 9,000 feet. The higher one climbs, the le
17、ss oxygen there is in the air. When people dont get enough oxygen, they often begin to【 B3】 _ for air. They may also feel【 B4】 _ and light-headed. Besides these symptoms of altitude sickness, others such as headache and【 B5】 _ may also occur. At heights of over 18,000 feet, people may be climbing in
18、 a【 B6】 _daze (恍惚 ). This state of mind can have an【 B7】 _ effect on their judgment. A few【 B8】 _ can help most climbers avoid altitude sickness. The first is not to go too high too fast. If you climb to 1 0,000 feet, stay at that height for a day or two. 【 B9】 _. Or if you do climb higher sooner, c
19、ome back down to a lower height when you sleep. Also, drink plenty of liquids and avoid tobacco and alcohol. 【 B10】_. You breathe less when you sleep, so you get less oxygen. The most important warning is this: if you have severe symptoms and they dont go away, go down! 【 B11】 _. 37 【 B1】 38 【 B2】 3
20、9 【 B3】 40 【 B4】 41 【 B5】 42 【 B6】 43 【 B7】 44 【 B8】 45 【 B9】 46 【 B10】 47 【 B11】 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.
21、47 America continues to get fatter, according to a new report on the nations weight crisis. Statistics for 2008-2010 show that 16 states are experiencing steep increases in adult obesity, and none has seen a notable downturn in the last four years. Even Coloradans, long the nations slimmest citizens
22、, are gaining excess pounds. With an obese population of 19.8%, it is the only state with an adult obesity rate below 20%. But in just the last four years, the ranks of the obese even in Colorado have grown 0.7%. Getting out of the problem will not be simple, said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of
23、 the Trust for Americas Health. The report emphasized the need for a range of measures, including boosting physical activity in schools, encouraging adults to get out and exercise, broadening access to affordable healthy foods and using “pricing strategies“ to encourage Americans to make better food
24、 choices. “Until the government takes on the food industry, well continue to see the appalling numbers in this report,“ said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale Universitys Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. “Government could start by changing agricultural subsidies, by not making it financially
25、attractive for companies to market unhealthy foods, by placing serious restrictions on marketing to children, and with financial policies that make healthy foods cost less and unhealthy foods cost more.“ About 30 years after the United States started seeing a steep rise in the weight of children and
26、 adults, the illnesses most closely linked to obesity have begun a dramatic upturn. Diabetes (糖尿病 ) rates in 12 states have jumped significantly, now affecting as many as 12.2% of adults in Alabama the state with the highest obesity rates. Obesity remains a condition disproportionately affecting tho
27、se with poor education and low income, and closely tied to minority status. Among African American adults, obesity topped 40% in 15 states. Among Latinos, it topped 30% in 23 states. In contrast, among white adults, obesity rates were higher than 30% in only four states, and in no state topped 32.1%
28、. Nearly a third of high school dropouts are obese, compared with 21.5% of those who graduated from college or technical school. For children, the picture from the report is slightly better, said Dr. Francine Kaufman, an obesity specialist at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. “Children are for the mos
29、t part holding steady,“ she said. Kaufman added that the reports clear message that obesity takes its greatest toll in low-income and minority communities underscores that “assistance programs are definitely required“ to help those populations. 48 Compared with people in other states, Coloradans hav
30、e long been considered relatively_ 49 The new report advises encouraging Americans to buy healthy foods by adopting_ 50 To curb the increasing obesity rate, the government should first of all adjust its_ 51 What has happened in the U.S. shows that there is _ between diabetes and obesity. 52 Who are
31、most affected by obesity in the United States according to Francine Kaufman? 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 ch
32、oice. 52 Is 20th-century capitalism failing 21st-century society? Members of the global elite debated that unusual question at the annual World Economic Forum. It is encouraging that more than three years since the global financial crisis, a belated (迟到的 ) process of soul-searching has begun in sear
33、ch of the right lessons to learn from it. There is a great difference, however, between being willing to talk about an issue and being ready to act. It is a difference between those who still believe that all governments can do is get out of the way and those who believe there is a real role for gov
34、ernments in first reviving our economies, and then setting the right rules for future success. If we learned anything from the 1930s, it was that governments cannot shrug their shoulders and watch as their own people are being laid off. Nor should we forget the causes of the current growth and debt
35、crisis as we seek to put our economies on a more sustainable footing. Both the United States and Britain suffered because their economies were overly reliant on the financial sectors artificial profits; living standards for the many worsened while the economic rewards went to the top 1 percent; a ca
36、pitalist model encouraged short-term decision-making oriented toward quarterly profits rather than long-term health; and interest groups like giant banks were deemed too big to fail or too powerful to challenge. We need to recognize that the trickle-down promise (benefits given to the rich will even
37、tually be passed on to the poor) of conservative theorists has turned into a gravity-defying reality in which wealth has flowed upward disproportionately and, too often, undeservedly. To address the problem requires fresh thinking from governments about how people train for their working lives and w
38、hat a living wage should be. Governments can set better - not necessarily more - rules to encourage productive businesses that make and sell real products and services. We need rules that discourage the predatory (掠夺的 ) behavior of those seeking the fast buck through hostile takeovers and asset-stri
39、pping that do not have the interests of the shareholders, the employees or the economy at heart. And governments must remember they are elected to serve the people, not the powerful lobbies who can pay for access or influence. Too often the real enemies of market capitalism are some of the leading b
40、eneficiaries of the current model, which favors big monopolies and consumer exploitation. I believe that changing the rules of capitalism will require a change in what citizens expect and ask of politics. The question is not so much whether 20th-century capitalism is failing 21st-century society but
41、 whether politics can rise to the challenge of changing a flawed economic model. 53 What important lesson could be drawn from the 1930s? （ A） The government should play a role in reviving the economy. （ B） The government should provide subsidies for the unemployed. （ C） The government should not ign
42、ore the role of economists in the nations economy. （ D） The government should not brush aside ideas from the World Economic Forum. 54 What is one of the factors contributing to the recent financial crisis in the United States and Britain? （ A） Their business giants neglect of attending to long-term
43、planning. （ B） Their governments unnecessary intervention in economic affairs. （ C） Their governments failing to provide assistance for the poor and needy. （ D） Their economies relying heavily on the operations of the financial sector. 55 What does the author say about the so-called trickle-down pro
44、mise? （ A） It defies conventional wisdom. （ B） It has failed to materialize. （ C） It will benefit both the rich and the poor once realized. （ D） It will prove fatal to capitalist economy once broken. 56 What rules does the author say governments should set to guarantee sustainable economic developme
45、nt? （ A） Rules that help businesses to expand fast but in a healthy way. （ B） Rules that discourage businesses from making quick money. （ C） Rules that encourage businesses to make and sell real products and services. （ D） Rules that ensure the increase of shareholders dividends and employees pay. 5
46、7 What should the government do about the current economy according to the author? （ A） Eliminate the real enemies of market capitalism. （ B） Undertake to repair the flaws in the economic model. （ C） Prevent the lobbies from exerting too much influence. （ D） Diminish the role politics plays in natio
47、nal economy. 57 Women are half the population but only 15% of board members at big American firms, and 10% in Europe. Companies that fish in only half of the talent pool will lose out to those that cast their net more widely. There is also evidence that mixed boards make better decisions. Mindful of
48、 this, European countries are passing laws that would force companies to promote more women to the executive suite. A new French law requires listed firms to reserve 40% of board seats for women by 2017. Norway and Spain have similar laws; Germany is considering one. The European Parliament declared
49、 this month that such quotas should be applied throughout the European Union. There are two main arguments for compulsory quotas. One is that the men who dominate corporate boards are hopelessly sexist: they promote people like themselves and ignore any female talent. The second argument is more subtle. Talented executives need mentors (导师 ) to help them climb the ladder. Male directors mentor young men but are reluctant to get friendly with you
