2012年12月英语六级真题及答案(含听力原文)第一套.pdf

全国英语六级历年真题1/302012 年年 12 月大学英语六级月大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷真题试卷Part IWriting(30 minutes)Direction:For this part,you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay entitled Man andComputer by commenting on the saying,“The real danger is not that the computer willbegin to think like man,but that man will begin to think like the computer.”You shouldwrite at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.Man and ComputerPart 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 thequestions on Answer Sheet 1.For questions 1-7,choose the best answer from the fourchoices marked A),B),C)and D).For questions 8-10,complete the sentences with theinformation given in the passage.Thirst grows for living unpluggedMore people are taking breaks from the connected life amid the stillness and quiet of retreatslike the Jesuit Center in Wernersville,Pennsylvania.About a year ago,I flew to Singapore to join the writer Malcolm Gladwell,the fashion designerMarc Ecko and the graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister in addressing a group of advertising peopleon“Marketing to the Child of Tomorrow.”Soon after I arrived,the chief executive of the agencythat had invited us took me aside.What he was most interested in,he began,was stillness and quiet.A few months later,I read an interview with the well-known cutting-edge designer PhilippeStarck.What allowed him to remain so consistently ahead of the curve?“I never read any magazines orwatch TV,”he said,perhaps with a little exaggeration.“Nor do I go to cocktail parties,dinners oranything like that.”He lived outside conventional ideas,he implied,because“I live alone mostly,inthe middle of nowhere.”全国英语六级历年真题2/30Around the same time,I noticed that those who part with$2,285 a night to stay in a cliff-toproom at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur,California,pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV intheir rooms;the future of travel,Im reliably told,lies in“black-hole resorts,”which charge highprices precisely because you cant get online in their rooms.Has it really come to this?The more ways we have to connect,the more many of us seem desperate to unplug.Internetrescue camps in South Korea and China try to save kids addicted to the screen.Writer friends of mine pay good money to get the Freedom software that enables them todisable the very Internet connections that seemed so emancipating not long ago.Even Intelexperimented in 2007 with conferring four uninterrupted hours of quiet time(no phone or e-mail)every Tuesday morning on 300 engineers and managers.Workers were not allowed to use thephone or send e-mail,but simply had the chance to clear their heads and to hear themselves think.The average American spends at least eight and a half hours a day in front of a screen,NicholasCarr notes in his book The Shallows.The average American teenager sends or receives 75 textmessages a day,though one girl managed to handle an average of 10,000 every 24 hours for amonth.Since luxury is a function of scarcity,the children of tomorrow will long for nothing more thanintervals of freedom from all the blinking machines,streaming videos and scrolling headlines thatleave them feeling empty and too full all at once.The urgency of slowing downto find the time and space to thinkis nothing new,of course,and wiser souls have always reminded us that the more attention we pay to the moment,the lesstime and energy we have to place it in some larger context.“Distraction is the only thing thatconsoles us for our miseries,”the French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in the 17th century,“andyet it is itself the greatest of our miseries.”He also famously remarked that all of mans problemscome from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone.When telegraphs and trains brought in the idea that convenience was more important thancontent,Henry David Thoreau reminded us that“the man whose horse trots(奔跑),a mile in aminute does not carry the most important messages.”Marshall McLuhan,who came closer than most to seeing what was coming,warned,“Whenthings come at you very fast,naturally you lose touch with yourself.”We have more and more ways to communicate,but less and less to say.Partly because we areso busy communicating.And we are rushing to meet so many deadlines that we hardly register thatwhat we need most are lifelines.So what to do?More and more people I know seem to be turning to yoga,or meditation(沉思),or tai chi(太极)；these arent New Age fads(时尚的事物)so much as ways to connect with whatcould be called the wisdom of old age.Two friends of mine observe an“Internet sabbath(安息日)”every week,turning off their online connections from Friday night to Monday morning.Otherfriends take walks and“forget”their cellphones at home.A series of tests in recent years has shown,Mr.Carr points out,that after spending time in quietrural settings,subjects“exhibit greater attentiveness,stronger memory and generally improved全国英语六级历年真题3/30cognition.Their brains become both calmer and sharper.”More than that,empathy(同感，共鸣)，as well as deep thought,depends(as neuroscientists like Antonio Damasio have found)on neuralprocesses that are“inherently slow.”I turn to eccentric measures to try to keep my mind sober and ensure that I have time to donothing at all(which is the only time when I can see what I should be doing the rest of the time).Ihave yet to use a cellphone and I have never Tweeted or entered Facebook.I try not to go online tillmy days writing is finished,and I moved from Manhattan to rural Japan in part so I could moreeasily survive for long stretches entirely on foot.None of this is a matter of asceticism(苦行主义)；it is just pure selfishness.Nothing makes mefeel better than being in one place,absorbed in a book,a conversation,or music.It is actuallysomething deeper than mere happiness:it is joy,which the monk(僧侣)David Steindl-Rastdescribes as“that kind of happiness that doesnt depend on what happens.”It is vital,of course,to stay in touch with the world.But it is only by having some distancefrom the world that you can see it whole,and understand what you should be doing with it.For more than 20 years,therefore,I have been going several times a yearoften for no longerthan three daysto a Benedictine hermitage(修道院)，40 minutes down the road,as it happens,from the Post Ranch Inn.I dont attend services when I am there,and I have never meditated,thereor anywhere;I just take walks and read and lose myself in the stillness,recalling that it is only bystepping briefly away from my wife and bosses and friends that I will have anything useful to bringto them.The last time I was in the hermitage,three months ago,I happened to meet with ayoungish-looking man with a 3-year-old boy around his shoulders.“Youre Pico,arent you?”the man said,and introduced himself as Larry;we had met,Igathered,19 years before,when he had been living in the hermitage as an assistant to one of themonks.“What are you doing now?”I asked.We smiled.No words were necessary.“I try to bring my kids here as often as I can,”he went on.The child of tomorrow,I realized,may actually be ahead of us,in terms of sensing not what is new,but what is essential.1.What is special about the Post Ranch Inn?A)Its rooms are well furnished but dimly lit.B)It makes guests feel like falling into a black hole.C)There is no access to television in its rooms.D)It provides all the luxuries its guests can think of.2.What does the author say the children of tomorrow will need most?A)Convenience and comfort in everyday life.B)Time away from all electronic gadgets.全国英语六级历年真题4/30C)More activities to fill in their leisure time.D)Greater chances for individual development.3.What does the French philosopher Blaise Pascal say about distraction?A)It leads us to lots of mistakes.B)It renders us unable to concentrate.C)It helps release our excess energy.D)It is our greatest misery in life.4.According to Marshall McLuhan,what will happen if things come at us very fast?A)We will not know what to do with our own lives.B)We will be busy receiving and sending messages.C)We will find it difficult to meet our deadlines.D)We will not notice what is going on around us.5.What does the author say about yoga,meditation and tai chi?A)They help people understand ancient wisdom.B)They contribute to physical and mental health.C)They are ways to communicate with nature.D)They keep people from various distractions.6.What is neuroscientist Antonio Damasios finding?A)Quiet rural settings contribute a lot to long life.B)Ones brain becomes sharp when it is activated.C)Eccentric measures are needed to keep ones mind sober.D)When people think deeply,their neural processes are slow.7.The author moved from Manhattan to rural Japan partly because he could _.A)stay away from the noise of the big city.B)live without modern transportation.C)enjoy the beautiful view of the countryside.D)practice asceticism in a local hermitage8.In order to see the world whole,the author thinks it necessary to _.9.The author takes walks and reads and loses himself in the stillness of the hermitage so that he canbring his wife and bosses and friends _.10.The youngish-looking man takes his little boy to the hermitage frequently so that when hegrows up he will know _.全国英语六级历年真题5/30Part IIIListening Comprehension（35 minutes）Section ADirections:In this section,you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations.At the endof each conversation,one or more questions will be asked about what was said.Boththe conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.After each question therewill be a pause.During the pause,you must read the four choices marked A）,B）,C）and D）,and decide which is the best answer.Then mark the corresponding letteron Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.11.A)She can count on the man for help.C)She can lend the man a sleeping bag.B)She has other plans for this weekend.D)She has got camping gear for rent.12.A)The man should keep his words.C)Karen always supports her at work.B)She regrets asking the man for help.D)Karen can take her to the airport13.A)He cant afford to go traveling yet.C)He usually checks his brakes before a tripB)His trip to Hawaii was not enjoyable.D)His trip to Hawaii has used up all his money.14.A)There was nothing left except some pie.C)The woman is going to prepare the dinner.B)The man has to find something else to eat.D)Julie has been invited for dinner.15.A)Submit no more than three letters.C)Apply to three graduate schools.B)Present a new letter of reference.D)Send Professor Smith a letter.16.A)He declines to join the gardening club.B)He is a professional gardener in town.C)He prefers to keep his gardening skills to himself.D)He wishes to receive formal training in gardening.17.A)Sculpture is not a typical form of modern art.B)Modern art cannot express peoples true feelings.C)The recent sculpture exhibit was not well organized.D)Many people do not appreciate modern art.18.A)Bob does not have much chance to win.C)Bob cannot count on her vote.B)She will vote for another candidate.D)She knows the right person for the positionQuestions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.19.A)Poor management of the hospital.C)Decisions made by the head technician.全国英语六级历年真题6/30B)The health hazard at her work place.D)The outdated medical testing procedures.20.A)Transfer her to another department.C)Cut down her workload.B)Repair the X-ray equipment.D)Allow her to go on leave for two months.21.A)They are virtually impossible to enforce.C)Both of them have been subject to criticism.B)Neither is applicable to the womans case.D)Their requirements may be difficult to meet.22.A)Organize a mass strike.C)Try to help her get it back.B)Compensate for her loss.D)Find her a better paying job.Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.23.A)In giving concessions.C)In stating your terms.B)In the concluding part.D)In the preparatory phase.24.A)He behaves in a way contrary to his real intention.B)He presents his arguments in a straightforward way.C)He responds readily to the other partys proposals.D)He uses lots of gestures to help make his points clear.25.A)Both may fail when confronting experienced rivals.B)The honest type is more effective than the actor type.C)Both can succeed depending on the specific situation.D)The actor type works better in tough negotiations.Section BDirections:In this section,you will hear 3 short passages.At the end of each passage,you will hearsome questions.Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.After youhear a question,you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B),C)and D).Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single linethrough the centre.Passage OneQuestions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.26.A)The shape of the cubes used.C)The number of times of repeating the process.B)The size of the objects shown.D)The weight of the boxes moving across the stage.全国英语六级历年真题7/3027.A)Boys enjoy playing with cubes more than girls.B)Girls tend to get excited more easily than boys.C)Girls seem to start reasoning earlier than boys.D)Boys pay more attention to moving objects than girls.28.A)It is a breakthrough in the study of the nerve system.B)It may stimulate scientists to make further studies.C)Its result helps understand babies language ability.D)Its findings are quite contrary to previous research.29.A)The two sides of their brain develop simultaneously.C)Their bones mature earlier.B)They are better able to adapt to the surroundings.D)They talk at an earlier age.Passage TwoQuestions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.30.A)The new security plan for the municipal building.B)The blueprint for the development of the city.C)The controversy over the new office regulations.D)The citys general budget for the coming year.31.A)Whether the security checks were really necessary.B)How to cope with the huge crowds of visitors to the municipal buildingC)Whether the security checks would create long queues at peak hours.D)How to train the newly recruited security guards.32.A)Irrelevant.B)Straightforward.C)Ridiculous.D)Confrontational.Passage ThreeQuestions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.33.A)He used to work as a miner in Nevada.C)He considers himself a blessed man.B)He works hard to support his five kids.D)He once taught at a local high school34.A)To be nearer to Zacs school.C)To cut their living expenses.B)To look after her grandchildren.D)To help with the household chores.35.A)Skeptical.B)Optimistic.C)Indifferent.D)Realistic.Section C全国英语六级历年真题8/30Directions:In this section,you will hear a passage three times.When the passage is read for thefirst time,you should listen carefully for its general idea.When the passage is read forthe second time,you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with theexact words you have just heard.For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are requiredto fill i