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2013 年 6 月六级考试阅读真题（第二套）
Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension
SectionA
Directions：Inthissection, thereisapassagewithtenblanks. Youarerequired toselect oneword
fareach blankfromalistof choices given inawordbankfollowing thepassage. Read thepassage
throughcarefully beforemaking your choices. Each choice in thebankis identified byaletter.
PleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitemonAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthe
centre. You maynot use anyof thewordsin thebank morethan once.
Questions36to 45are basedon thefollowing passage.
Properstreet behaviourintheUnited Statesrequiresanicebalanceofattentionandinattention.
Youaresupposedtolookatapasserbyjustenoughtoshowthatyouareawareofhis 36 Ifyoulook
toolittle, you appear haughty(目中无人的),too much and you are inquisitive（过分好奇
地）.Usuallywhathappensisthatpeopleeyeeachotheruntiltheyareabouteightfeetapart,atwhich
pointboth cast down their eyes.Sociologist Erving Goffman describes thisas “akindof 37 of
lights”.
Much ofeye behaviour isso 38 that we react to itonly ontheintuitive level. The next time
youhaveaconversationwithsomeonewhomakes youfeel liked,noticewhathedoes withhiseyes.
Chances arehelooksat you moreoften than isusualwith 39 alittlelongerthan thenormal. You
40 thisasasign—apoliteone— thatheisinterestedinyouasapersonratherthanjustinthetopic
ofconversation. Probably you also feel thathe is both self-confident and sincere.
Allthishas been demonstrated in 41 experiments. Subjectssit andtalk inthepsychologist’s
laboratory, 42 ofthefact thattheireye behaviour isbeing observed from aoneway visionscreen.
In onefairly typical experiment,subjects were 43 to cheat whileperforming atask, then were
interviewed and observed. It was found that thosewho had cheated met theinterviewer’s eyes less
oftenthanwas 44 ,anindicationthat“shiftyeyes”— tousethemysterywriters’stockphrase—
can 45 be atip-off(表明）to an attempt todeceive orto feelings of guilt.
A)innocent I) actually
B) interpret J) subtle
C)sights K)induced
D)dimming L) hiding
E)normal M)presence
F)deceived N)doubtfully
G)glances O) elaborate
H)obscure
SectionB
Directions:In thissection, you aregoing toread apassagewithten statements attached to it.Each
statement contains informationgiven in one ofthe paragraphs.Identify theparagraph fromwhich
theinformationisderived.Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarked
with aletter. Answer thequestions bymarking the corresponding letter onAnswer Sheet 2.
ANation That’sLosing Its Toolbox
[A]The scene insidetheHomeDepot onWeyman Avenue here would give theold-timeAmerican
craftsmanpause. In Aisle34is precut plasticflooring, theglue already inplace. In Aisle26are
prefabricated windows. Stacked near thecheckout counters, and as colourful as aFisher-Price
toy, is anot-so-serious-looking power tool:abattery-operated saw-and-drill combination. And
ifyou don’t want to doityourself, head toAisle 23orAisle35,where a help desk will arrange
foran installer.
[B] It’s all very handy stuff, I guess, aconvenient way tobe ado-it-yourselferwithout being all that
goodwithtools.ButatatimewhentheAmericanfactoryseemstobeashrinkingpresence,and
whengood manufacturing jobs have vanished, perhaps never toreturn, there issomething
deeply troubling about thisdilutionof American craftsmanship.
[C]Thisisn’t a lament(伤感)—ornot merely a lament —for bygone times. It’s asocial and
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淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化cultural issue, as well as an economic one.The HomeDepot approach to craftsmanship—
simplify it,dumbit down, hirea contractor—is onesignal that mastering tools and working
withone’shandsisrecedinginAmericaasahobby,asavaluedskill,asaculturalinfluencethat
shaped thinkingand behaviour in vastsections ofthecountry.
[D]Thatshouldbeamatterofconcerninapresidentialelectionyear.YetneitherBarackObamanor
MittRomneypromotes himselfas tool-savvy(使用工具很在行的）presidential timber, inthe
moldofaJimmyCarter,askilledcarpenterandcabinetmaker.TheObamaadministrationdoes
worry publicly about manufacturing, afirst cousin ofcraftsmanship. WhentheFord Motor
Company, for example, recentlyannounced that itwas bringing someproduction home, the
WhiteHousecheered. “Whenyou seethings likeFord movingnewproductionfrom Mexicoto
Detroit, instead oftheother way around, you knowthings are changing,” says Gene Sperling,
directorof theNational EconomicCouncil.
[E]Ask theadministration ortheRepublicans ormost academics why America needs more
manufacturing, and they respond thatmanufacturing gives birth toinnovation, brings downthe
tradedeficit, strengthens thedollar, generates jobs, arms themilitary and brings about a
recovery from recession. But rarely, ifever,dothey publiclytake theargument astep further,
assertingthatagrowingmanufacturingsectorencouragescraftsmanshipandthatcraftsmanship
is,ifnot abirthright, then a vitalingredient oftheAmerican self-imageas acan-do, inventive,
we-can-make-anything people.
[F]Traditionalvocational traininginpublichigh schoolsisgraduallydeclining, strandingthousands
ofyoung peoplewhoseek training for acraft without going tocollege. Colleges, for theirpart,
havesince 1985graduated fewerchemical, mechanical, industrialand metallurgical(冶金的）
engineers,partlyinresponsetothereducedroleofmanufacturing,abigemployer ofthem.The
declinestartedinthe1950s,whenmanufacturinggeneratedasturdy28%ofthenationalincome,
orgross domesticproduct, and employed one-third of theworkforce. Today, factory output
generates just12% ofGDP and employs barely 9% ofthenation’s workers.
[G]Masslayoffsandplantclosingshavedrawnplentyofheadlinesandpublicdebateovertheyears,
and theystilloccasionally do.But the damagetoskilland craftsmanship —what’s needed to
buildacomplex airlineroratractor, orforaworker tomoveupfrom assemblertomachinistto
supervisor—went largely unnoticed.
[H]“In an earliergeneration, welost ourconnection tothe land, and now weare losing our
connection tothe machinery we depend on,”says Michael Hout, asociologist at theUniversity
ofCalifornia, Berkeley. “Peoplewho work with theirhands,”hewent on,“are doing things
today that wecall servicejobs, in restaurants and laundries, or inmedical technology and the
like.”
[I]That’soneexplanationforthedeclineintraditionalcraftsmanship.Lackofinterestisanother.The
bigmoneyisinfieldslikefinance.Startinginthe1980s,skillinfinancegrewinimportance,and,
as depicted in thenews mediaand the movies, became amore appealing source ofincome. By
lastyear, Wall Street traders, bankers and thosewho deal in real estategenerated 21% ofthe
national income, doubletheirshare in the1950s.And Warren Buffett, thegood-natured
financier, became a homespunfolk hero, without thetools andoveralls (工作服).
[J]“Young peoplegrow upwithoutdeveloping the skillsto fix things around thehouse,” says
RichardCurtin,directoroftheThomsonReuters/UniversityofMichiganSurveysofConsumers.
“They knowabout computers, ofcourse, butthey don’tknow howto buildthem.”
[K]Manufacturing’s shrinking presence undoubtedly helps explain thedeclineincraftsmanship, if
onlybecausemanyofthenation’sassemblylineworkerswereskilledincraftwork,ifnotonthe
jobthen in theirspare time. In alate1990s study ofblue-collar employees at a General Motors
plant(nowclosed)inLinden,NJ,thesociologistRuthMilkmanofCityUniversityofNewYork
foundthatmanylineworkers,intheiroff-hours,didhomerenovationandotherskilledwork.“I
haveoften thought,” MsMilkman says, “that theseextracurricular jobswere an effort onthe
part oftheworkers toregain theirdignity after suffering thedegradation ofrepetitiveassembly
linework in thefactory.”
[L] Craft work has higher status in nationslikeGermany, which investsin apprenticeship（学徒）
2programmes for high school students. “Corporations in Germany realised that there was an
interesttobeservedeconomicallyandpatrioticallyinbuildingupaskilledlabourforceathome;
weneverhadthatethos（风气）,”saysRichardSennett,aNewYorkUniversitysociologistwho
has written about theconnection ofcraft and culture.
[M]Thedamage to American craftsmanship seems toparallel thesteep slideinmanufacturing
employment. Though the declinestarted inthe 1970s, itbecame much steeper beginning in
2000.Sincethen, some5.3million jobs,or one-third of theworkforce in manufacturing, have
been lost. Astated goal of theObama administrationis to restore abigchunk of this
employment, alongwith themultitude ofskillsthat manyof thejobsrequired.
[N]As for craftsmanship itself, theissueis howtopreserveit as a valued skillin thegeneral
population.Ms Milkman, thesociologist, argues that American craftsmanship isn’t
disappearingasquicklyassomewouldargue—thatithasinsteadshiftedtoimmigrants.“Pride
incraft, it is alivein theimmigrant world,”she says.
[O]Sol Axelrod, 37,themanager oftheHomeDepot here, fittingly learned tofix hisowncar as a
teenager, even changing thebrakes. Nowhefinds immigrant craftsmen. gathered in abundance
outsidehis storein theearly morning, waiting for itto open sothey can buysupplies for the
day’sworkascontractors.Skilleddaylaborers,alsomostlyimmigrants,waitquietlyinhopesof
being hired bythecontractors. Mr Axelrodalso says therecession and persistently high
unemployment have forced many people to try to save moneybydoingmore themselves, and
HomeDepot inresponse offers classes in fixingwater taps andothersimplerepairs. The
teachers are storeemployees, many of themolder andsemi-retired from askilled trade, orlaid
off.“Ourcustomersmaynotbebuildingcabinetsoroutdoordecks;wetrytodothatforthem,’’
MrAxelrod says, “but someare trying tobuild upskillso they candomore forthemselves in
thesehard times.”
46.Mastering toolsand working with one’shands shapes people’s thinkingand behaviour.
47.Thefactorthat people can earn more money infields otherthan manufacturing contributes tothe
declineintraditional craftsmanship.
48.According to theauthor, manufacturing encourages craftsmanship.
49.According to Ruth Milkman,American craftsmanship,instead ofdisappearing, is being taken up
byimmigrants.
50.TheWhiteHouse welcomed Ford’s announcement to bring someproduction back to America.
51.According to MrAxelrod of HomeDepot, people are trying to rideout therecession bydoing
morethemselves.
52.America’s manufacturing in the1950s constituted 28%ofthegross domesticproduct.
53.In RuthMilkman’s opinion, many assembly lineworkers didhomerenovationand otherskilled
work in theiroff-hours inorder to regain theirdignity.
54.Theauthorfelt troubled about theweakening of American craftsmanship.
55.Compared with that inAmerica, thestatus ofcraft work inGermany ishigher.
SectionC
Directions:There are2passages in thissection. Each passage isfollowedby somequestions or
unfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshould
decideonthe best choice andmarkthecorresponding letter onAnswer Sheet2with asingleline
throughthecentre.
Passage One
Questions56to 60are basedon thefollowing passage.
Thereport from theBureau ofLabour Statistics was justas gloomy as anticipated.
Unemployment inJanuary jumped to a 16-year high of 7.6percent, as 598,000jobs were slashed
from U.S. payrolls in theworst single-month decline sinceDecember, 1974.With 1.8million jobs
lostin thelast three months,there is urgent desire toboost the economy as quickly as possible. But
Washington would dowell to takeadeep breath before reacting to thegrim numbers.
Collectively, we rely onthe unemployment figures and other statisticsto frame oursense of
reality. They are avital part ofan array ofdata that we usetoassess ifwe’re doingwell or doing
badly, andthat in turn shapes government policies and corporatebudgets and personal spending
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淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化decisions. Theproblem is that thestatisticsaren’t anobjective measure ofreality; they aresimply a
bestapproximation. Directionally, they capture thetrends, but theidea that weknow precisely how
many are unemployed is amyth. That makes finding a solutionall themoredifficult.
First, there isthe way thedata isassembled. Theofficial unemployment rate is theproduct of a
telephonesurvey ofabout 60,000homes. There isanother survey, sometimesreferred to as the
“payroll survey”,that assesses 400,000businesses based ontheir reported payrolls. Both surveys
haveproblems.Thepayrollsurveycan easilydouble-countsomeone:ifyouareoneperson withtwo
jobs,you showupas two workers. Thepayroll survey also doesn’tcapture thenumberof self-
employed, and so says little about howmany people are generating an independent income.
Thehouseholdsurveyhasalargerproblem.Whenaskedstraightforwardly,peopletendtolieor
shadethetruth when thesubject is sex,money oremployment. If you get a call and are asked if
you’reemployed, and you say yes, you’re employed. If you sayno,however, it may surprise you to
learn that you are only unemployed if you’vebeen actively lookingfor work in thepast four weeks;
otherwise, you are “marginally attached to thelabourforce”and not actually unemployed.
Theurge toquantify isembedded in oursociety. But theidea that statisticians can thencapture
an objectivereality isn’tjust impossible. It alsoleads to serious misjudgments. Democrats and
Republicanscanandwilltakesidesonanumberofissues,butamorecrucialconcernisthatbothare
basingmajorpolicydecisionsonguesstimatesratherthanlookingatthevastwealthofrawdatawith
acritical eye and an open mind.
56.Whatdowe learn from thefirst paragraph?
A)TheUS economic situationis going from bad to worse.
B) Washington istaking drastic measures toprovidemore jobs.
C) TheUS government is slashing morejobs from its payrolls.
D)Therecent economiccrisis has taken theUS bysurprise.
57.Whatdoes theauthor think oftheunemployment figures and otherstatistics?
A)They form asolid basis forpolicy making. C)They signal future economictrends.
B) They represent thecurrent situation. D)They donot fully reflect thereality.
58. Oneproblem with thepayroll survey is that .
A) itdoes not includeall thebusinesses C)itmagnifies thenumber ofthe jobless
B) itfails to count in theself-employed D)itdoes not treat all companies equally
59. Thehousehold survey canbe faulty in that .
A)peopletend toliewhen talking onthephone
B) noteverybody is willingor ready to respond
C) somepeople won’tprovide truthful information
D)thedefinition ofunemployment is too broad
60. At theendofthepassage, theauthorsuggests that .
A)statisticians improvetheirdata assembling methods
B) decision makers view thestatistics witha critical eye
C) politicians listen morebefore making policy decisions
D)Democrats and Republicans cooperateoncrucial issues
Passage Two
Questions61to 65are basedon thefollowing passage.
At somepoint in 2008,someone, probably in eitherAsiaor Africa, made thedecision to move
from thecountryside tothe city. Thisnameless person pushed thehuman race overa historic
threshold,foritwasinthatyearthatmankindbecame,forthefirsttimeinitshistory,apredominantly
urban species.
It is a trend that shows nosign ofslowing. Demographers(人 口统计学家）reckon that
three-quarters ofhumanity could becity-dwelling by2050,with most oftheincrease comingin the
fast-growing towns of Asiaand Africa. Migrants to citiesare attracted byplentifuljobs, access to
hospitalsand education, and theabilityto escapethe boredom ofa farmer’sagricultural life. Those
factorsaremorethanenoughtomakeupforthesqualor（肮脏）diseaseandspectacularpovertythat
thosesame migrants mustoften at first endure when they become urban dwellers.
It is thecity that inspires the latestbookfrom PeterSmith. Hismain thesis is that thebuzzof
4urbanlife, andtheopportunitiesitoffersforcooperationandcollaboration,iswhatattractspeopleto
thecity, which in turn makes cities into theengines ofart, commerce, science and progress. This is
hardly revolutionary, butit is presented in acharming format. MrSmith has written abreezy
guidebook, witha series of short chapters dedicated to specific aspects of urbanity —parks, say, or
thevariousschemesthathavebeenputforwardovertheyearsforbuildingtheperfectcity.Theresult
isasortofhigh-quality, unusuallyrigorouscoffee-tablebook,designedtobedipped intoratherthan
read from beginning to end.
In thechapter onskyscrapers, for example, MrSmith touches onconstruction methods, the
revolutionary invention oftheautomaticlift, the practicalitiesof livingin theskyand the likelihood
that,as cities become morecrowded, apartment living willbecome thenorm. But there isalso time
forbrief diversions onto bizarreground, such as adiscussion ofthe skyscraper index (which holds
thata boom inskyscraper construction is afoolproof sign ofan imminent recession).
Oneobvious criticism isthat theprice of breadth isdepth: many of MrSmith’s essays raise as
manyquestionsastheyanswer.Althoughthatcanindeedbefrustrating,thisisprobablytheonlyway
totreatsograndatopic.Thecityisthebuildingblockofcivilisationandofalmosteverythingpeople
do;aguidebooktothecityisreally,therefore,aguidebooktohowalargeandever-growingchunkof
humanitychooses to live.Mr Smiths bookserves as an excellent introduction to avast subject, and
willsuggest plenty offurther lines of inquiry.
61. In what way isthe year 2008historic?
A)For thefirst timein history, urban people outnumbered rural people.
B) An influential figure decided to movefrom thecountrysideto thecity.
C) It is in this year thaturbanisation made astart in Asiaand Africa.
D)Thepopulation increase incities reached a newpeak in Asiaand Africa.
62. Whatdoes theauthor say about urbanisation?
A)Its impact is not easy to predict. C)It is a milestonein human progress.
B) Its process will not slowdown. D)It aggravates the squalorofcities.
63. Howdoes theauthor comment onPeter Smith’snew book?
A)It is butan ordinary coffee-tablebook. C)It serves as aguide to art and commerce.
B) It is flavoured with humorous stories. D) It is written ina lively and interesting style.
64. Whatdoes theauthor say in thechapter onskyscrapers?
A)Theautomatic liftis indispensable inskyscrapers.
B) Peopleenjoy livingin skyscrapers with aview.
C) Skyscrapers are asure sign ofacity’s prosperity.
D)Recession closely follows askyscraperboom.
65. Whatmay be onecriticism ofMrSmith’sbook?
A)It does not really touch onanything serious.
B) It is too long forpeople to read from cover to cover.
C) It does not deal with any aspect ofcity life in depth.
D)It fails toprovidesound advice to city dwellers.
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