1、2016年 12月大学英语六级真题试卷（二）及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on innovation. Your essay should include the importance of innovation and measures to be taken to encourage innovation. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200
2、words. Section A （ A） They were all good at cooking. （ B） They were particular about food. （ C） They were proud of their cuisine. （ D） They were fond of bacon and eggs. （ A） His parents. （ B） His friends. （ C） His schoolmates. （ D） His parents friends. （ A） No tea was served with the meal. （ B） It w
3、as the real English breakfast. （ C） No one of the group ate it. （ D） It was a little overcooked. （ A） It was full of excitement. （ B） It was really extraordinary. （ C） It was a risky experience. （ D） It was rather disappointing. （ A） The womans relationship with other shops. （ B） The business succes
4、s of the womans shop. （ C） The key to running a shop at a low cost. （ D） The womans earnings over the years. （ A） Improve its customer service. （ B） Expand its business scale. （ C） Keep down its expenses. （ D） Upgrade the goods it sells. （ A） They are sold at lower prices than in other shops. （ B） T
5、hey are very popular with the local residents. （ C） They are delivered free of charge. （ D） They are in great demand. （ A） To follow the custom of the local shopkeepers. （ B） To attract more customers in the neighborhood. （ C） To avoid being put out of business in competition. （ D） To maintain frien
6、dly relationships with other shops. Section B （ A） They can be used to deliver messages in times of emergency. （ B） They deliver pollutants from the ocean to their nesting sites. （ C） They carry plant seeds and spread them to faraway places. （ D） They are on the verge of extinction because of pollut
7、ion. （ A） They migrate to the Arctic Circle during the summer. （ B） They originate from Devon Island in the Arctic area. （ C） They travel as far as 400 kilometers in search of food. （ D） They have the ability to survive in extreme weathers. （ A） They were carried by the wind. （ B） They had become mo
8、re poisonous. （ C） They were less than on the continent. （ D） They poisoned some of the fulmars. （ A） The threats humans pose to Arctic seabirds. （ B） The diminishing colonies for Arctic seabirds. （ C） The harm Arctic seabirds may cause to humans. （ D） The effects of the changing climate on Arctic s
9、eabirds. （ A） It has decreased. （ B） It has been exaggerated. （ C） It has become better understood. （ D） It has remained basically the same. （ A） It develops more easily in centenarians not actively engaged. （ B） It is now the second leading cause of death for centenarians. （ C） It has had no effect
10、ive cure so far. （ D） It calls for more intensive research. （ A） They care more about their physical health. （ B） Their quality of life deteriorates rapidly. （ C） Their minds fail before their bodies do. （ D） They cherish their life more than ever. Section C （ A） They are focused more on attraction
11、than love. （ B） They were done by his former colleague at Yale. （ C） They were carried out over a period of some thirty years. （ D） They form the basis on which he builds his theory of love. （ A） The relationship cannot last long if ho passion is involved. （ B） Intimacy is essential but not absolute
12、ly indispensable to love. （ C） It is not love if you dont wish to maintain the relationship. （ D） Romance is just impossible without mutual understanding. （ A） Which of them is considered most important. （ B） Whether it is true love without commitment. （ C） When the absence of any one doesnt affect
13、the relationship. （ D） How the relationship is to be defined if any one is missing. （ A） Social work as a profession. （ B） The history of social work. （ C） Academic degrees required of social work applicants. （ D） The aim of the National Association of Social Workers. （ A） They try to change peoples
14、 social behavior. （ B） They help enhance the well-being of the underprivileged. （ C） They raise peoples awareness of the environment. （ D） They create a lot of opportunities for the unemployed. （ A） They have all received strict clinical training. （ B） They all have an academic degree in social work
15、. （ C） They are all members of the National Association. （ D） They have all made a difference through their work. （ A） The promotion of social workers social status. （ B） The importance of training for social workers. （ C） Ways for social workers to meet peoples needs. （ D） Social workers job option
16、s and responsibilities. （ A） To fight childhood obesity. （ B） To help disadvantaged kids. （ C） To encourage kids to play more sports. （ D） To urge kids to follow their role models. （ A） They best boost product sales when put online. （ B） They are most effective when appearing on TV. （ C） They are be
17、coming more and more prevalent. （ D） They impress kids more than they do adults. （ A） Always place kids interest first. （ B） Do what they advocate in public. （ C） Message positive behaviors at all times. （ D） Pay attention to their image before children. Section A 26 The tree people in the Lord of t
18、he Rings the Ents can get around by walking. But for real trees, its harder to uproot. Because theyre literally rooted into the ground, they are unable to leave and go【 C1】 _. When a tree first starts growing in a certain area, its likely that the【 C2】_envelope :the temperature, humidity, rainfall p
19、atterns and so on suits it. Otherwise, it would be unable to grow from a seedling. But as it【 C3】 _, these conditions may change and the area around it may no longer be suitable for its【 C4】_. When that happens, many trees like walnuts, oaks and pines, rely【 C5】 _on so-called “scatter hoarders,“ suc
20、h as birds, to move their seeds to new localities. Many birds like to store food for the winter, which they【 C6】 _retrieve. When the birds forget to retrieve their food and they do sometimes a seedling has a chance to grow. The bird Clarks nutcracker, for example, hides up to 100,000 seeds per year,
21、 up to 30 kilometers away from the seed source, and has a very close symbiotic(共生的 )relationship with several pine species, most【 C7】 _the whitebark pine. As trees outgrow their ideal【 C8】 _in the face of climate change, these flying ecosystem engineers could be a big help in【 C9】 _trees. Its a solu
22、tion for usgetting birds to do the work is cheap and effective and it could give【 C10】_oaks and pines the option to truly “make like a tree and leave. “ A)ages I)legacy B)breathing J)notably C)climatic K)offspring D)elsewhere L)replanting E)exclusively M)subsequently F)forever N)vulnerable G)fruitfu
23、l O)withdraws H)habitats 27 【 C1】 28 【 C2】 29 【 C3】 30 【 C4】 31 【 C5】 32 【 C6】 33 【 C7】 34 【 C8】 35 【 C9】 36 【 C10】 Section B 36 The American Workplace Is Broken. Heres How We Can Start Fixing It. AAmericans are working longer and harder hours than ever before. 83% of workers say theyre stressed abo
24、ut their jobs, nearly 50% say work-related stress is interfering with their sleep, and 60% use their smartphones to check in with work outside of normal working hours. No wonder only 13% of employees worldwide feel engaged in their occupation. BGlimmers(少许 )of hope, however, are beginning to emerge
25、in this bruising environment: Americans are becoming aware of the toll their jobs take on them, and employers are exploring ways to alleviate the harmful effects of stress and overwork. Yet much more work remains to be done. To call stress an epidemic isnt exaggeration. The 83% of American employees
26、 who are stressed about their jobs up from 73% just a year before say that poor compensation and an unreasonable workload are their number-one sources of stress. And if you suspected that the workplace had gotten more stressful than it was just a few decades ago, youre right. Stress levels increased
27、 18% for women and 24% for men from 1983 to 2009. Stress is also starting earlier in life, with some data suggesting that todays teens are even more stressed than adults. CStress is taking a significant toll on our health, and the collective public health cost may be enormous. Occupational stress in
28、creases the risk of heart attack and diabetes, accelerates the aging process, decreases longevity, and contributes to depression and anxiety, among numerous other negative health outcomes. Overall, stress-related health problems account for up to 90% of hospital visits, many of them preventable. You
29、r job is “literally killing you,“ as The Washington Post put it. Its also hurting our relationships. Working parents say they feel stressed, tired, rushed and short on quality time with their children, friends and partners. DSeven in 10 workers say they struggle to maintain work-life balance. As tec
30、hnology(and with it, work emails)seeps(渗入 )into every aspect of our lives, work-life balance has become an almost meaningless term. Add a rapidly changing economy and an uncertain future to this 24/7 connectivity, and youve got a recipe for overwork, according to Phyllis Moen. “ Theres rising work d
31、emand coupled with the insecurity of mergers, takeovers, downsizing and other factors,“ Moen said. “ Part of the work-life issue has to talk about uncertainty about the future. “ EThese factors have converged to create an increasingly impossible situation with many employees overworking to the point
32、 of burnout. Its not only unsustainable for workers, but also for the companies that employ them. Science has shown a clear correlation between high stress levels in workers and absenteeism(旷工 ), reduced productivity, disengagement and high turnover. Too many workplace policies effectively prohibit
33、employees from developing a healthy work-life balance by barring them from taking time off, even when they need it most. FThe U. S. trails far behind every wealthy nation and many developing ones that have family-friendly work policies including paid parental leave, paid sick days and breast-feeding
34、 support, according to a 2007 study. The U. S. is also the only advanced economy that does not guarantee workers paid vacation time, and its one of only two countries in the world that does not offer guaranteed paid maternity leave. But even when employees are given paid time off, workplace norms an
35、d expectations that pressure them to overwork often prevent them from taking it. Fulltime employees who do have paid vacation days only use half of them on average. GOur modern workplaces also operate based on outdated time constraints. The practice of clocking in for an eight-hour workday is a left
36、over from the days of the Industrial Revolution, as reflected in the then-popular saying, “ Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest. “ HWeve held on to this workday structure but thanks to our digital devices, many employees never really clock out. Today, the average American spe
37、nds 8.8 hours at work daily, and the majority of working professionals spend additional hours checking in with work during evenings, weekends and even vacations. The problem isnt the technology itself, but that the technology is being used to create more flexibility for the employer rather than the
38、employee. In a competitive work environment, employers are able to use technology to demand more from their employees rather than motivating workers with flexibility that benefits them. IIn a study published last year, psychologists coined the term “workplace telepressure“ to describe an employees u
39、rge to immediately respond to emails and engage in obsessive thoughts about returning an email to ones boss, colleagues or clients. The researchers found that telepressure is a major cause of stress at work, which over time contributes to physical and mental burnout. Of the 300 employees participati
40、ng in the study, those who experienced high levels of telepressure were more likely to agree with statements assessing burnout, like “ Ive no energy for going to work in the morning,“ and to report feeling fatigued and unfocused. Telepressure was also correlated with sleeping poorly and missing work
41、. JHarvard Business School professor Leslie Perlow explains that when people feel the pressure to be always “on,“ they find ways to accommodate that pressure, including altering their schedules, work habits and interactions with family and friends. Perlow calls this vicious cycle the “ cycle of resp
42、onsiveness“ : Once bosses and colleagues experience an employees increased responsiveness, they increase their demands on the employees time. And because a failure to accept these increased demands indicates a lack of commitment to ones work, the employee complies. KTo address skyrocketing employee
43、stress levels, many companies have implemented workplace wellness programs, partnering with health care providers that have created programs to promote employee health and well-being. Some research does suggest that these programs hold promise. A study of employees at health insurance provider Aetna
44、 revealed that roughly one quarter of those taking in-office yoga and mindfulness classes reported a 28% reduction in their stress levels and a 20% improvement in sleep quality. These less-stressed workers gained an average of 62 minutes per week of productivity. While yoga and meditation(静思 )are sc
45、ientifically proven to reduce stress levels, these programs do little to target the root causes of burnout and disengagement. The conditions creating the stress are long hours, unrealistic demands and deadlines, and work-life conflict. LMoen and her colleagues may have found the solution. In a 2011
46、study, she investigated the effects of implementing a Results Only Work Environment(ROWE)on the productivity and well-being of employees at Best Buys corporate headquarters. MFor the study, 325 employees spent six months taking part in ROWE, while a control group of 334 employees continued with thei
47、r normal workflow. The ROWE participants were allowed to freely determine when, where and how they worked the only thing that mattered was that they got the job done. The results were striking. After six months, the employees who participated in ROWE reported reduced work-family conflict and a bette
48、r sense of control of their time, and they were getting a full hour of extra sleep each night. The employees were less likely to leave their jobs, resulting in reduced turnover. Its important to note that the increased flexibility didnt encourage them to work around the clock. “ They didnt work anyw
49、here and all the time they were better able to manage their work,“ Moen said. “Flexibility and control is key,“ she continued. 37 Workplace norms pressure employees to overwork, deterring them from taking paid time off. 38 The overwhelming majority of employees attribute their stress mainly to low pay and an excessive workload. 39 According to Moen, flexibility gives employees better control over their work and time. 40 Flexibility resulting from the use of d
