1、大学英语六级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 206及答案与解析 Section C 0 Moving far more quickly than many had thought likely or possible, lawmakers in the 10-member House-Senate committee announced the agreement after less than 24 hours of negotiations. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: “Like any negotiation, this involved give
2、and take, and if you dont mind my saying so that is an understatement.“ The agreement drops the total to $789 billion, while both Senate and House-passed measures exceeded $800 billion. A combination of low and middle income tax cuts, making up about 35 percent of the bill, and domestic spending, it
3、s supporters say it meets President Barack Obamas goal of creating or saving as many as 4 million jobs. Susan Collins of Maine was among only 3 moderate Senate Republicans who joined the Democratic majority there. She says money trimmed from the bill reflects an effort to focus it more sharply to he
4、lp the economy. “It is a fiscally-responsible number that reflects our efforts to truly focus this bill on programs, and policies and tax relief that will help turn our economy around, create jobs and provide relief to the families of our country,“ she said. Collins also pointed out the agreement in
5、creases spending on infrastructure projects, more than $150 billion in the proposed measure. Republican opponents kept up their criticisms, primarily that the measure contains untargeted spending and not the right level of tax relief. House Republican leader John Boehner voiced disappointment with t
6、he agreement, repeating his assertion that the measure will not create jobs quickly enough. “It appears that they have made a bad bill worse by reducing the amount of tax relief for American families and small businesses, and adding more wasteful Washington spending,“ he said. But Senator Arlen Spec
7、ter, another moderate Republican who worked with Democrats, said action was required. “This is obviously a very difficult vote in view of the large deficit and national debt which we have, but I believe it is indispensable, that strong action be taken,“ he said. White House aides, including Chief of
8、 Staff Rahm Emanuel, joined in the negotiations on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers behind the agreement hope a final conference report will be ready in the next 2 days that the House and Senate will vote on. Approval would send the legislation to President Obama for signature. An eventual Senate vote is exp
9、ected to mirror earlier results in which majority Democrats, with help from the 3 Republicans, achieved the 60 votes needed to overcome any procedural block. It remains to be seen how a vote will turn out in the House, where no Republicans supported a House-passed measure, but where Democrats hold a
10、 strong enough majority to pass measures easily. House Republican leaders declined to predict Wednesday how many in their party might support final legislation. 1 “The agreement“(Line 2, Para. 1)is most probably a bill about _. （ A） stimulus for the economy （ B） reform of the legal system （ C） fundi
11、ng for the educational system （ D） expenditure on the national defence 2 Which of the following statements about Harry Reid is TRUE? （ A） He comes from the Republic Party. （ B） He comes from the Democratic Party. （ C） He is optimistic about the future economy. （ D） He is pessimistic about the future
12、 economy. 3 Susan Collins accepted the agreement with _. （ A） mild reservations （ B） reluctant compromise （ C） firm confidence （ D） reasonable skepticism 4 Arlen Specter most probably thought that _. （ A） some senators would become undetermined in the process of voting （ B） the economic problems sho
13、uld be solved immediately （ C） deficit and national debt shouldnt have been neglected （ D） the measures in the agreement would not be as effective as expected 5 It can be inferred about the House from the passage that _. （ A） it is led by a Republican leader （ B） most Republicans are moderate （ C） m
14、easures proposed by the Republicans are seldom passed （ D） measures can be passed without the Republicans support 5 Age has its privileges in America, and one of the more prominent of them is the senior citizen discount. Anyone who has reached a certain age in some cases as low as 55 is automaticall
15、y entitled to a dazzling array of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial life. Eligibility is determined not by ones need but by the date on ones birth certificate. Practically unheard of a generation ago, the discounts have become a routine part of many businesses as common as color t
16、elevisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners. People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them; yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent(有支付能力的 ). Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30
17、freely offer them to older Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that “elderly“ and “needy“ are synonymous(同义的 ). Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population. To be sure, there is econom
18、ic diversity within the elderly, and many older Americans are poor. But most of them arent. It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases the discounts are giveh at the expense, directly or indire
19、ctly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations. Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involves a transfer of resources from the y
20、oung to the old. Employment is another sore point. Buoyed(支持 )by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the jobthereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers. Far from a kind of charity they onc
21、e were, senior citizen discounts have become a formidable economic privilege to a group with millions of members who dont need them. It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the m
22、yth that older people cant take care of themselves and need special treatment; and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Ame
23、ricans are fighting against discrimination by age. 6 We learn from the first paragraph that _. （ A） offering senior citizens discounts has become routine commercial practice （ B） senior citizen discounts have enabled many old people to live a decent life （ C） giving senior citizens discounts has boo
24、sted the market for the elderly （ D） senior citizens have to show their birth certificates to get a discount 7 What assumption lies behind the practice of senior citizen discounts? （ A） Businesses, having made a lot of profits, should do something for society in return. （ B） Old people are entitled
25、to special treatment for the contribution they made to society. （ C） The elderly, being financially underprivileged, need humane help from society. （ D） Senior citizen discounts can make up for the inadequacy of the Social Security system. 8 According to some politicians and scholars, senior citizen
26、 discounts will _. （ A） make old people even more dependent on society （ B） intensify conflicts between the young and the old （ C） have adverse financial impact on business companies （ D） bring a marked increase in the companies revenues 9 How does the author view the Social Security system? （ A） It
27、 encourages elderly people to retire in time. （ B） It opens up broad career prospects for young people. （ C） It benefits the old at the expense of the young. （ D） It should be reinforced by laws and court decisions. 10 Which of the following best summarizes the authors main argument? （ A） Senior cit
28、izens should fight hard against age discrimination. （ B） The elderly are selfish and taking senior discounts for granted. （ C） Priority should be given to the economic needs of senior citizens. （ D） Senior citizen discounts may well be a type of age discrimination. 10 Reebok executives do not like t
29、o hear their stylish athletic shoes called “footwear for yuppies(雅皮士，少壮高薪职业人士 )“. They contend that Reebok shoes appeal to diverse market segments, especially now that the company offers basketball and childrens shoes for the under-18 set and walking shoes for older customers not interested in aerob
30、ics(健身操 )or running. The executives also point out that through recent acquisitions they have added hiking boots, dress and casual shoes, and high-performance athletic footwear to their product lines, all of which should attract new and varied groups of customers. Still, despite its emphasis on new
31、markets, Reebok plans few changes in the upmarket(高档消费人群的 )retailing network that helped push sales to $1 billion annually, ahead of all other sports shoe marketers. Reebok shoes, which are priced from $27 to $85, will continue to be sold only in better specialty, sporting goods, and department stor
32、es, in accordance with the companys view that consumers judge the quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution. In the past few years, the Massachusetts-based company has imposed limits on the number of its distributors(and the number of shoes supplied to stores), partly out of necessity.
33、 At times the unexpected demand for Reeboks exceeded supply, and the company could barely keep up with orders from the dealers it already had. These fulfillment problems seem to be under control now, but the company is still selective about its distributors. At present, Reebok shoes are available in
34、 about five thousand retail stores in the United States. Reebok has already anticipated that walking shoes will be the next fitness-related craze, replacing aerobics shoes the same way its brightly colored, soft leather exercise footwear replaced conventional running shoes. Through product diversifi
35、cation and careful market research, Reebok hopes to avoid the distribution problems Nike came across several years ago, when Nike misjudged the strength of the aerobics shoe craze and was forced to unload huge inventories of running shoes through discount stores. 11 One reason why Reeboks managerial
36、 personnel dont like their shoes to be called “footwear for yuppies“ is that_. （ A） they believe that their shoes are popular with people of different age groups （ B） new production lines have been added to produce inexpensive shoes （ C） yuppies usually evokes a negative image （ D） the term makes pe
37、ople think of prohibitive prices 12 Reeboks view that “consumers judge the quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution“(Line 5, Para. 2)implies that _. （ A） the quality of a brand is measured by the service quality of the store selling it （ B） the quality of a product determines the qual
38、ity of its distributors （ C） the popularity of a brand is determined by the stores that sell it （ D） consumers believe that first-rate products are only sold by high-quality stores 13 Reebok once had to limit the number of its distributors, because _. （ A） its supply of products fell short of demand
39、 （ B） too many distributors would cut into its profits （ C） the reduction of distributors could increase its share of the market （ D） it wanted to enhance consumer confidence in its products 14 Although the Reebok Company has solved the problem of fulfilling its orders, it_. （ A） does not want to fu
40、rther expand its retailing network （ B） still limits the number of shoes supplied to stores （ C） is still particular about who sells its products （ D） still carefully chooses the manufacturers of its products 15 What lesson has Reebok learned from Nikes distribution problems? （ A） A company should n
41、ot sell its high quality shoes in discount stores. （ B） A company should not limit its distribution network. （ C） A company should do follow-up surveys of its products. （ D） A company should correctly evaluate the impact of a new craze on the market. 15 Car makers have long used sex to sell their pr
42、oducts. Recently, however, both BMW and Renault have based their latest European marketing campaigns around the icon of modern biology. BMWs campaign, which launches its new 3-series sports saloon in Britain and Ireland, shows the new creation and four of its earlier versions zigzagging around a lan
43、dscape made up of giant DNA sequences, with a brief explanation that DNA is the molecule responsible for the inheritance of such features as strength, power and intelligence. The Renault offering, which promotes its existing Laguna model, employs evolutionary theory even more explicitly. The company
44、s television commercials intersperse(点缀 )clips of the car with scenes from a lecture by Steve Jones, a professor of genetics at University College London. BMWs campaign is intended to convey the idea of development allied to heritage. The latest product, in other words, should be viewed as the new a
45、nd improved scion(后代 )of a long line of good cars. Renaults message is more subtle. It is that evolution works by gradual improvements rather than sudden leaps and in this, Renault is aligning itself with(与 保持一致 )biological orthodoxy. So, although the new car in the advertisement may look like the o
46、ld one, the external form conceals a number of significant changes to the engine. While these alterations are almost invisible to the average driver, Renault hopes they will improve the cars performance, and ultimately its survival in the marketplace. Whether they actually do so will depend, in part
47、, on whether marketers have read the public mood correctly. For, even if genetics really does offer a useful metaphor for automobiles, employing it in advertising is not without its dangers. That is because DNAs public image is ambiguous. In one context, people may see it as the cornerstone of moder
48、n medical progress. In another, it will bring to mind such controversial issues as abortion, genetically modified food-stuffs, and the sinister subject of eugenics(优生学 ). Car makers are probably standing on safer ground than biologists. But even they can make mistakes. Though it would not be obvious
49、 to the casual observer, some of the DNA which features in BMWs ads for its nice, new car once belonged to a woolly mammotha beast that has been extinct for 10,000 years. Not, presumably, quite the message that the marketing department was trying to convey. 16 Both BMW and Renault use the icon of modern biology in marketing in order to introduce cars _. （ A） that are produced with advanced technologies （ B） that are manufactured on DNA technology （ C） that are improved on the basis of the old ones （ D） that hav
