1、大学英语六级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 222及答案与解析 Section C 0 The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was just as gloomy as anticipated. Unemployment in January jumped to a 16-year high of 7. 6 percent, as 598, 000 jobs were slashed from U. S. payrolls in the worst single-month decline since December, 1974. With
2、1.8 million jobs lost in the last three months, there is urgent desire to boost the economy as quickly as possible. But Washington would do well to take a deep breath before reacting to the grim numbers. Collectively, we rely on the unemployment figures and other statistics to frame our sense of rea
3、lity. They are a vital part of an array of data that we use to assess if were doing well or doing badly, and that in turn shapes government policies and corporate budgets and personal spending decisions. The problem is that the statistics arent an objective measure of reality; they are simply a best
4、 approximation. Directionally, they capture the trends, but the idea that we know precisely how many are unemployed is a myth. That makes finding a solution all the more difficult. First, there is the way the data is assembled. The official unemployment rate is the product of a telephone survey of a
5、bout 60, 000 homes. There is another survey, sometimes referred to as the “payroll survey, that assesses 400, 000 businesses based on their reported payrolls. Both surveys have problems. The payroll survey can easily double-count someone: if you are one person with two jobs, you show up as two worke
6、rs. The payroll survey also doesnt capture the number of self-employed, and so says little about how many people are generating an independent income. The household survey has a larger problem. When asked straightforwardly, people tend to lie or shade the truth when the subject is sex, money or empl
7、oyment. If you get a call and are asked if youre employed, and you say yes, youre employed. If you say no, however, it may surprise you to learn that you are only unemployed if youve been actively looking for work in the past four weeks; otherwise, you are “marginally attached to the labor force“ an
8、d not actually unemployed. The urge to quantify is embedded in our society. But the idea that statisticians can then capture an objective reality isnt just impossible. It also leads to serious misjudgments. Democrats and Republicans can and will take sides on a number of issues, but a more crucial c
9、oncern is that both are basing major policy decisions on guesstimates rather than looking at the vast wealth of raw data with a critical eye and an open mind. 1 What do we learn from the first paragraph? （ A） The U. S. economic situation is going from bad to worse. （ B） Washington is taking drastic
10、measures to provide more jobs. （ C） The U. S. government is slashing more jobs from its payrolls. （ D） The recent economic crisis has taken the U. S. by surprise. 2 What does the author think of the unemployment figures and other statistics? （ A） They form a solid basis for policy making. （ B） They
11、represent the current situation. （ C） They signal future economic trends. （ D） They do not fully reflect the reality. 3 One problem with the payroll survey is that_. （ A） it does not include all the businesses （ B） it fails to count in the self-employed （ C） it magnifies the number of the jobless （
12、D） it does not treat all companies equally 4 The household survey can be faulty in that_. （ A） people tend to lie when talking on the phone （ B） not everybody is willing or ready to respond （ C） some people wont provide truthful information （ D） the definition of unemployment is too broad 5 At the e
13、nd of the passage, the author suggests that _. （ A） statisticians improve their data assembling methods （ B） decision makers view the statistics with a critical eye （ C） politicians listen more before making policy decisions （ D） Democrats and Republicans cooperate on crucial issues 5 At some point
14、in 2008, someone, probably in either Asia or Africa, made the decision to move from the countryside to the city. This nameless person pushed the human race over a historic threshold, for it was in that year that mankind became, for the first time in its history, a predominantly urban species. It is
15、a trend that shows no sign of slowing. Demographers(人口统计 ) reckon that three-quarters of humanity could be city-dwelling by 2050, with most of the increase coming in the fast-growing towns of Asia and Africa. Migrants to cities are attracted by plentiful jobs, access to hospitals and education, and
16、the ability to escape the boredom of a farmers agricultural life. Those factors are more than enough to make up for the squalor (肮脏 ) , disease and spectacular poverty that those same migrants must often at first endure when they become urban dwellers. It is the city that inspires the latest book fr
17、om Peter Smith. His main thesis is that the buzz of urban life, and the opportunities it offers for co-operation and collaboration, is what attracts people to the city, which in turn makes cities into the engines of art, commerce, science and progress. This is hardly revolutionary, but it is present
18、ed in a charming format. Mr. Smith has written a breezy guidebook, with a series of short chapters dedicated to specific aspects of urbanity parks, say, or the various schemes that have been put forward over the years for building the perfect city. The result is a sort of high-quality, unusually rig
19、orous coffee-table book, designed to be dipped into rather than read from beginning to end. In the chapter on skyscrapers, for example, Mr. Smith touches on construction methods, the revolutionary invention of the automatic lift, the practicalities of living in the sky and the likelihood that, as ci
20、ties become more crowded, apartment living will become the norm. But there is also time for brief diversions onto bizarre ground, such as a discussion of the skyscraper index (which holds that a boom in skyscraper construction is a foolproof sign of an imminent recession) . One obvious criticism is
21、that the price of breadth is depth; many of Mr. Smiths essays raise as many questions as they answer. Although that can indeed be frustrating, this is probably the only way to treat so grand a topic. The city is the building block of civilization and of almost everything people do; a guidebook to th
22、e city is really, therefore, a guidebook to how a large and ever-growing chunk of humanity chooses to live. Mr. Smiths book serves as an excellent introduction to a vast subject, and will suggest plenty of further lines of inquiry. 6 In what way is the year 2008 historic? （ A） For the first time in
23、history, urban people outnumbered, rural people. （ B） An influential figure decided to move from the countryside to the city. （ C） It is in this year that urbanization made a start in Asia and Africa. （ D） The population increase in cities reached a new peak in Asia and Africa. 7 What does the autho
24、r say about urbanization? （ A） Its impact is not easy to predict. （ B） Its process will not slow down. （ C） It is a milestone in human progress. （ D） It aggravates the squalor of cities. 8 How does the author comment on Peter Smiths new book? （ A） It is but an ordinary coffee-table book. （ B） It is
25、flavored with humorous stories. （ C） It serves as a guide to arts and commerce. （ D） It is written in a lively and interesting style. 9 What does the author say in the chapter on skyscrapers? （ A） The automatic lift is indispensable in skyscrapers. （ B） People enjoy living in skyscrapers with a view
26、. （ C） Skyscrapers are a sure sign of a citys prosperity. （ D） Recession closely follows a skyscraper boom. 10 What may be one criticism of Mr. Smiths book? （ A） It does not really touch on anything serious. （ B） It is too long for people to read from cover to cover. （ C） It does not deal with any a
27、spect of city life in depth. （ D） It fails to provide sound advice to city dwellers. 10 Amid all the job losses, theres one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for nonhumans. From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught
28、 to carve up animal bodies in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs. Automation isnt just affecting factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mounta
29、ins of legal documents, work that previously was performed by highly-paid human lawyers. “Robots continue to have an impact on blue-collar jobs, and white-collar jobs are under attack by micro-processors,“ says economics professor Edward Learner. The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs.
30、 U. S. gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels, meaning were producing as much as before, only with 6% fewer workers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers out there, with outsourcing(外包 ) stealing far more jobs than automation. Jeff Burnstein, president of the Ro
31、botics Industry Association, argues that robots actually save U. S. jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewer workers, but thats still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas. Its not that robots are cheaper than humans, though often they are. Its that theyr
32、e better. “In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldnt,“ Burnstein says. Same goes for surgeons, whore using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations not because the machines save money but because , than
33、ks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications, says Dr. Myriam Curet. Surgeons may survive the robot invasion, but others at the hospital might not be so lucky, as iRobot, maker of the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, has been showing off Ava, w
34、hich could be used as a messenger in a hospital. And once youre home, recovering, Ava could let you talk to your doctor, so theres no need to send someone to your house. That “mobile telepresence“ could be useful at the office. If youre away on a trip, you can still attend a meeting. Just connect vi
35、a videoconferencing software, so your face appears on Avas screen. Is any job safe? I was hoping to say “journalist“, but researchers are already developing software that can gather facts and write a news story. Which means that a few years from now, a robot could be writing this column. And who wil
36、l read it? Well, there might be a lot of us hanging around with lots of free time on our hands. 11 What do we learn from the first few paragraphs? （ A） The over-use of robots has done damage to American economy. （ B） It is hard for robots to replace humans in highly professional work. （ C） Artificia
37、l intelligence is key to future technological innovations. （ D） The robotic industry has benefited from the economic recession. 12 What caused the greatest loss of jobs in America? （ A） Using microprocessors extensively. （ B） Moving production to other countries. （ C） The bankruptcy of many companie
38、s. （ D） The invasion of migrant workers. 13 What does Jeff Burnstein say about robots? （ A） They help companies to revive. （ B） They are cheaper than humans. （ C） They prevent job losses in a way. （ D） They compete with human workers. 14 Why are robotic systems replacing surgeons in more and more op
39、erations according to Dr. Myriam Curet? （ A） They save lots of money for the patients. （ B） They beat humans in precision. （ C） They take less time to perform a surgery. （ D） They make operations less painful. 15 What does the author imply about robotics? （ A） It will greatly enrich literary creatio
40、n. （ B） It will start a new technological revolution. （ C） It will revolutionize scientific research. （ D） It will be applied in any field imaginable. 15 Youve now heard it so many times, you can probably repeat it in your sleep. President Obama will no doubt make the point publicly when he gets to
41、Beijing: the Chinese need to consume more; they need believe it or not to become more like Americans, for the sake of the global economy. And its all true. But the other side of that equation is that the U. S. needs to save more. For the moment, American households actually are doing so. After the p
42、ersonal-savings rate dipped to zero in 2005, the shock of the economic crisis last year prompted people to snap shut their wallets. In China, the household-savings rate exceeds 20%. It is partly for policy reasons. As weve seen, wage earners are expected to care for not only their children but their
43、 aging parents. And there is, to date, only the flimsiest (脆弱的 ) of publicly-funded health care and pension systems, which increases incentives for individuals to save while they are working. But China is a society that has long esteemed personal financial prudence (谨慎 ). There is no chance that wil
44、l change anytime soon, even if the government creates a better social safety net and successfully encourages greater consumer spending. Why does the U. S. need to learn a little frugality (节俭 ) ? Because healthy savings rates are one of the surest indicators of a countrys long-term financial health.
45、 High savings lead, over time, to increased investment, which in turn generates productivity gains, innovation and job growth. In short, savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest. The U. S. government thus needs to act as well. By running constant deficits, it is dissaving, even as househ
46、olds save more. Peter Orszag, Obamas Budget Director, recently called the U. S. budget deficits unsustainable and hes right. To date, the U. S. has seemed unable to see the consequences of spending so much more than is taken in. That needs to change. (Every time any official in Beijing deliberates p
47、ublicly about seeking an alternative to the U. S. dollar for the $ 2. 1 trillion China holds in reserve, currency traders have a heart attack.) If Americans saved more and spent less, consistently over time, they wouldnt have to worry about all that. 16 How did the economic crisis affect Americans?
48、（ A） They had to tighten their belts. （ B） Their bank savings rate dropped to zero. （ C） Their leadership in the global economy was shaken. （ D） They became concerned about Chinas financial policy. 17 What should be done to encourage Chinese people to consume? （ A） Changing their traditional way of
49、life. （ B） Providing fewer incentives for saving. （ C） Improving Chinas social security system. （ D） Cutting down the expenses on child-rearing. 18 What does the author mean by saying “savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest“ (Line 5, Para. 4)? （ A） The more one saves, the more returns one will reap. （ B） A countrys economy hinges on its savings policy. （ C） Those who keep saving will live an easy life in the end. （ D） A healthy savings rate promotes economic prosperity. 19 In what circumstances do currency trad
