文档内容
2014年6月大学英语六级考试真题(三)
2014 年 6 月大学英语六级考试阅读真题(三)
PartⅢ ReadingComprehension (40 minutes)
SectionA
Directions:In thissection,there isapassage withtenblanks. Youarerequiredtoselectoneword foreachblank
from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before
makingyourchoices.Eachchoiceinthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.Pleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeach
itemonAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmorethan
once.
Questions36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
MillionsofAmericansareenteringtheir60sandaremoreconcernedthaneveraboutretirement.Theyknow
theyneedtosave,buthowmuch?Andwhatexactlyaretheysavingfor—tospendmoretime 36 thegrandkids,go
traveling,orstartanothercareer?Itturnsoutthathusbandsandwivesmayhave 37 differentideasaboutthe
subject.
Thedeepestdivideisinthewayspousesenvisagetheirlifestyle intheirlateryears.FidelityInvestmentsInc.
found41percentofthe500couplesitsurveyed 38 onwhetherbothoratleastonespousewillworkinretirement.
Wivesaregenerallyrightregardingtheirhusbands’retirementage,butmen 39 the age their wives will be
whentheystopworking.Andhusbandsareslightlymore 40 abouttheirstandardoflivingthanwivesare.
Busyjuggling(穷于应付)careersandfamilies,mostcouplesdon’ttakethetimetositdown, 41 ortogether,
andthinkaboutwhattheywouldliketodo5,10or20yearsfromnow.They 42 theyareonthesamepage,butthe
43 istheyhaveavoidedeventalkingaboutit.
Ifyouareself-employedorinajobthatdoesn’thaveastandardretirementage,youmaybemoreapttodelay
thinkingabouttheseissues,Itisoftena 44 retirementdatethatprovidesthecatalyst(催化剂）tostartplanning.
Gettinglaidofforacceptinganearly-retirement 45 canforceyourhand.Butdon’twaituntilyougetaseverance
(遣散费）checktobeginplanning.
A)assume F)illustrating K)radically
B)confidential G)mysteriously L)reality
C)disagree H)observe M)separately
D)formula I)optimistic N)spoiling
E)forthcoming J)package O)underestimate
SectionB
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement
containsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.
You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by
markingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2.
WhatIfMiddle-ClassJobsDisappear?
[A]ThemostrecentrecessionintheUnitedStates beganinDecember 2007andendedinJune2009, accordingtothe
NationalBureauofEconomicResearch.However,twoyearsaftertheofficialendoftherecession,fewAmericans
wouldsaythateconomic troublesare behindus. Theunemployment rate, inparticular, remains above9%. Some
labor market indicators, such as the proportion of long-term unemployed, are worse now than for any postwar
recession.
[B]Therearetwowidelycirculatednarrativestoexplainwhat’sgoingon.TheKeynesiannarrativeisthattherehasbeen
amajordropinaggregatedemand.Accordingtothisnarrative,theslumpcanbelargelycuredbyusingmonetary
andfiscal(财政的）stimulus.Themainanti-Keynesiannarrativeisthatbusinessesaresufferingfromuncertainty
andover-regulation.Accordingtothisnarrative,theslumpcanbecuredbyhavingthegovernmentcommittoand
followamorehands-offapproach.
[C] I want to suggest a third interpretation. Without ruling out a role for aggregate demand or for the regulatory
environment, I wish to suggest that structural change is an important factor in the current rate of high
unemployment. The economy is in a state of transition, in which the middle-class jobs that emerged after World
WarⅡhavebeguntodecline.AsErikBrynjolfssonandAndrewMcAfeeputitinarecente-bookRaceAgainstthe
Machine: “Therootofourproblemsisnotthatwe’reinagreatrecession,oragreatstagnation(停滞）,butrather
thatweareintheearlythroes(阵痛）ofagreatrestructuring.’’
[D] In fact, I believe the Great Depression of the 1930s can also be interpreted in partas an economic transition. The
impact of the internal combustion engine (内燃机）and the small electric motor on farming and manufacturing
reducedthevalueofuneducatedlaborers.Instead,bythe1950s,amiddleclassoflargelyclerical(从事文秘考必
工作的）workers was the most significant part of the labor force. Between 1930 and 1950, the United States
economy underwent a great transition. Demand fell for human effort such as lifting, squeezing, and hammering.
Demandincreasedforworkerswhocouldreadandfollowdirections.Theevolutionaryprocesseventuallychanged
1
淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化2014年6月大学英语六级考试真题(三)
usfromanationoflaborerstoanationofclerks.
[E]Theproportionofemploymentclassifiedas“clericalworkers”grewfrom5.2%in1910toapeakof19.3%in1980.
(However, by 2000 this proportion had edged down to 17. 4%.) Overall, workers classified as clerical workers,
technicalworkers,managersandofficialsexceeded50%ofthelaborforceby2000.Correspondingdeclinestook
placeinthemanualoccupations.Workersclassifiedaslaborers,otherthanfarmhandsorminers,peakedat11.4%
ofthe laborforce in1920butwere barely6%by 1950and lessthan 4%by 2000.Farmers andfarm laborersfell
from33%ofthelaborforcein1910tolessthan15%by1950andonly1.2%in2000.
[F]Theintroductionofthetractorandimprovementsinthefactoryrapidlyreducedthedemandforuneducatedworkers.
Bythe1930s,amarginalfarmhandcouldnotproduceenoughtojustifyhisemployment.Sharecropping,never
muchbetterthanasubsistenceoccupation,wasnolongerviable（可行的）。Meanwhile,machineswerereplacing
manufacturingoccupationslikecigarrollingandglassblowingforlightbulbs.
[G] The structural-transition interpretation of the unemployment problem of the 1930s would be that the demand for
uneducatedworkersintheUnitedStateshadfallen,butthesupplyremainedhigh.Thehighschoolgraduationrate
wasonly8.8%in1912andstilljust29%in1931.By1950,ithadreached59%.Withanewgenerationofworkers
whohadcompletedhighschool,themismatchbetweenskillsandjobshadbeengreatlyreduced.
[H] What took place after World WarⅡ was not the revival of a 1920s economy, with its small farming units, urban
manufacturing, andplurality of laborers. Instead, the 1950s saw the creation of a new suburbaneconomy, with a
plurality of white-collar workers. With an expanded transportation and communications infrastructure(基础设
施)，businesses needed telephone operators, shipping clerks and similar occupations. If you could read, follow
simpleinstructions,andsettleintoaroutine,youcouldfindajobinthepost-wareconomy.
[I]Thetrendawayfrommanuallaborhascontinued.Evenwithinthemanufacturingsector,theshareofproductionand
non-supervisoryworkersinmanufacturingemploymentwentfrom,over85%justafterWorldWarⅡtolessthan
70% in more recent years. To put this another way, the proportion of white- collar work in manufacturing has
doubledoverthepast50years.Onthefactoryflooritself,workhasbecomelessphysicallydemanding.Instead,it
requiresmorecognitiveskillsandtheabilitytounderstandandcarryoutwell-definedprocedures.
[J] As noted earlier, the proportion of clerical workers in the economy peaked in 1980. By that date, computers and
advanced communications equipment had already begun to affect telephone operations and banking. The rise of
the personal computer and the Internet has widened the impact of these technologies to include nearly every
businessandindustry.
[K] Theeconomy todaydiffersfrom thatof agenerationago. Mortgage andconsumerloanunderwriters (风 险评估
人）havebeenreplacedbycreditscoring.Recordstoreshavebeenreplacedbymusicdownloads.Bookstoresare
closing,while salesofbooks onelectronicreadershaveincreased.Data entryhasbeenmovedoffshore.Routine
customersupportalsohasbeenoutsourced(外包）overseas.
[L] These trends serve to limit the availability of well-defined jobs. If a job can be characterized by a precise set of
instructions,thenthatjobisacandidatetobeautomatedoroutsourcedtomodestlyeducatedworkersindeveloping
countries.TheresultiswhatDavidAutorcallsthepolarizationoftheAmericanjobmarket.
[M]UsingthelatestCensusBureaudata,MatthewSlaughterfoundthatfrom2000to2010therealearningsofcollege
graduates(withnoadvanceddegree)fellbymoreinpercentagetermsthantheearningsofhighschoolgraduates.
In fact, over this period the only education category to show an increase in earnings was those with advanced
degrees.
[N] The outlook for mid-skill jobs would not appear to be bright. Communications technology and computer
intelligence continue to improve, putting more occupations at risk. For example, many people earn a living as
drivers, including trucks and taxicabs. However, the age of driverless vehicles appears to be moving closer.
Anotherexample is in thefield ofeducation.In thefallof2011, anexperimentwith anonlinecourseinartificial
intelligenceconductedbytwoStanfordprofessorsdrewtensofthousandsofregistrants（报名者）。Thisincreases
the student-teacher ratio by a factor of close to a thousand. Imagine the number of teaching jobs that might be
eliminatedifthiscouldbedoneformath,economics,chemistry,andsoon.
[O]It’simportanttobearinmindthatwhenweofferastructuralinterpretationofunemployment，a“lossofjobs”means
an increase in productivity. Traditionally, economists have argued that productivity increases are a good thing,
eventhoughtheymaycauseunemploymentforsomeworkersintheshortrun.Inthelongrun,theeconomydoes
notrunoutofjobs.Rather,newjobsemergeasoldjobsdisappear.Thestorywetellisthataveragewell-beingrises,
andthemorepeopleareabletoadapt,themorewidespreadtheimprovementbecomes.
46.Evenfactoryfloorworktodayhasbecomeintellectuallychallengingratherthanphysicallydemanding.
47.Increasesinproductivityprovebeneficialthoughsomepeoplemaylosetheirjobstemporarily.
48.The unemployment rate remained high even two years after the government declared the recent recession was
over.
49.Theauthorsuggeststhattherecenthighunemploymentrateismainlycausedbyadecreaseofmiddle-classjobs.
50.Thecreationofasuburbaneconomyinthe1950screatedlotsofofficejobs.
51.Inthefirstdecadeofthe21stcentury,onlypeoplewithpostgraduatedegreesexperiencedanincreasein
earnings.
22014年6月大学英语六级考试真题(三)
52.Oneeconomicstheorysuggestsusingmonetaryandfiscalstimulustocopewithaneconomicrecession.
53.Thepopularityofonlinecoursesmayeliminatemanyteachingjobs.
54.Computertechnologyhasbroughtaboutrevolutionarychangesintherecordandbookbusiness.
55.White-collarworkersaccountedformorethanhalfofthelaborforcebytheendofthe20thcentury.
SectionC
Directions：Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinished
statements.•ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA)，B)，C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebest
choiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.
PassageOne
Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
“Deepreading”—asopposedtotheoftensuperficialreadingwedoontheWeb—isanendangeredpractice,
oneweoughttotakestepstopreserveaswewouldahistoricbuildingorasignificantworkofart.Itsdisappearance
would jeopardize the intellectual and emotional development of generations growing up online, as well as the
preservationofacriticalpartofourculture: thenovels,poemsandotherkindsofliteraturethatcanbeappreciated
onlybyreaderswhosebrains,quiteliterally, havebeentrainedtounderstandthem.
Recentresearchincognitivescienceandpsychologyhasdemonstratedthatdeepreading—slow, immersive,
richin sensorydetail andemotionaland moral complexity—is a distinctive experience, differentin kindfrom the
mere decoding of words. Although deep reading does not, strictly speaking, require a conventional book, the
built-in limits of the printed page are uniquely helpful to the deep reading experience. A book’s lack of
hyperlinks(超链接）, for example, frees the reader from making decisions—Should I click on this link or
not?—allowinghertoremainfullyimmersedinthenarrative.
That immersion is supported by the way the brain handles language rich in detail, indirect reference and
figuresofspeech:bycreatingamentalrepresentationthatdrawsonthesamebrainregionsthatwouldbeactiveif
thescenewereunfoldinginreallife.Theemotionalsituationsandmoraldilemmasthatarethestuffofliteratureare
alsovigorousexerciseforthebrain?propellingusinsidetheheadsoffictionalcharactersandeven,studiessuggest,
increasingourreal-lifecapacityforempathy(认同）。
Noneofthisislikelytohappenwhenwe’rebrowsingthroughawebsite.Althoughwecalltheactivitybythe
samename,thedeepreadingofbooksandtheinformation-drivenreadingwedoontheWebareverydifferent,both
intheexperiencetheyproduceandinthecapacitiestheydevelop.Agrowingbodyofevidencesuggeststhatonline
readingmaybelessengagingandlesssatisfying,evenforthe“digitalnatives”towhomitissofamiliar.Lastmonth,
forexample, Britain’sNationalLiteracyTrustreleasedtheresultsofastudyof34910youngpeopleaged8to16.
Researchersreportedthat39%ofchildrenandteensreaddailyusingelectronicdevices,butonly28%readprinted
materialseveryday.Thosewhoreadonlyonscreenwerethreetimeslesslikelytosaytheyenjoyreadingverymuch
andathirdlesslikelytohaveafavoritebook.Thestudyalsofoundthatyoungpeoplewhoreaddailyonlyonscreen
werenearlytwotimeslesslikelytobeabove-averagereadersthanthosewhoreaddailyinprintorbothinprintand
onscreen.
56.Whatdoestheauthorsayabout“deepreading”?
A)Itservesasacomplementtoonlinereading.
B)Itshouldbepreservedbeforeitistoolate.
C)Itismainlysuitableforreadingliterature.
D)Itisanindispensablepartofeducation.
57.Whydoestheauthoradvocatethereadingofliterature?
A)Ithelpspromotereaders’intellectualandemotionalgrowth.
B)Itenablesreaderstoappreciatethecomplexityoflanguage.
C)Ithelpsreadersbuildupimmersivereadinghabits.
D)Itisquicklybecominganendangeredpractice.
58.Inwhatwaydoesprinted-pagereadingdifferfromonlinereading?
A)Itensuresthereader’scognitivegrowth.
B)Itenablesthereadertobefullyengaged.
C)Itactivatesadifferentregionofthebrain.
D)Ithelpsthereaderlearnrhetoricaldevices.
59.Whatdothestudiesshowaboutonlinereading?
A)Itgraduallyimpairsone’seyesight.
B)Itkeepsarousingreaders’curiosity.
C)Itprovidesup-to-dateinformation.
D)Itrendersreadinglessenjoyable.
60.WhatdowelearnfromthestudyreleasedbyBritain’sNationalLiteracyTrust?
A)Onscreenreadersmaybelesscompetentreaders.
B)Thosewhodoreadinginprintarelessinformed.
C)Youngpeoplefindreadingonscreenmoreenjoyable.
3
淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化2014年6月大学英语六级考试真题(三)
D)Itisnoweasiertofindafavoritebookonlinetoread.
PassageTwo
Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Many current discussions of immigration issues talk about immigrants in general, as if they were abstract
people in an abstract world. But the concrete differences between immigrants from different countries affect
whethertheircominghereisgoodorbadfortheAmericanpeople.
The very thought of formulating- immigration laws from the standpoint of what is best for the American
peopleseemstohavebeenforgottenbymanywhofocusonhowtosolvetheproblemsofillegalimmigration.
It is hard to look for “ the ideal outcome” on immigration in the abstract. Economics professor Milton
Friedman once said, “The best is the enemy of the good,” which to me meant that attempts to achieve an
unattainableidealcanpreventusfromreachinggoodoutcomesthatarepossibleinpractice.
Toomuchofourcurrentimmigrationcontroversyisconductedintermsofabstractideals,suchas“Wearea
nationofimmigrants.” Ofcourseweareanationofimmigrants.Butwearealsoanationofpeoplewhowearshoes.
Doesitfollowthatweshouldadmitanybodywhowearsshoes?
The immigrants of todayare very differentfrom those who arrived here a hundred years ago. Moreover, the
societyinwhichtheyarriveisdifferent.Tome,itisbettertobuildawallaroundthewelfarestatethanthecountry.
But the welfare state is already here —and, far from having a wall built around it, the welfare state is
expandinginalldirections.Wedonothaveachoicebetweenthewelfarestateandopenborders.Anythingwetryto
do as regards immigration laws has to be done in the context of a huge welfare state that is already a major,
inescapablefactoflife.
Amongotherfactsoflifeutterlyignoredbymanyadvocatesofdefactoamnesty(事实上的大救）isthatthe
freeinternationalmovementofpeopleisdifferentfromfreeinternationaltradeingoods.
Buyingcarsorcameras fromothercountriesis notthesame asadmittingpeoplefrom thosecountriesorany
othercountries.Unlikeinanimateobjects,peoplehaveculturesandnotallculturesarecompatiblewiththeculture
inthiscountrythathasproducedsuchbenefitsfortheAmericanpeopleforsolong.
NotonlytheUnitedStates,buttheWesternworldingeneral,hasbeendiscoveringthehardwaythatadmitting
peoplewithincompatible culturesisanirreversibledecisionwithincalculableconsequences.If wedonotseethat
afterrecentterroristattacksonthestreetsofBostonandLondon,whenwillweseeit?
“Comprehensive immigration reform” means doing everything all together in a rush, without time to look
beforeweleap,andbasingourselvesonabstractnotionsaboutabstractpeople.
61.WhatdoestheauthorsayaboutimmigrantsinAmerica?
A)Theyallhopetogaincitizenshipandenjoythewelfare.
B)TheycometoAmericawithdifferentdreamsandpurposes.
C)TheirbackgroundmaydeterminewhethertheybenefittheAmericanpeople.
D)TheirculturesaffecttheextenttowhichtheywillachievesuccessinAmerica.
62.WhatdoestheauthortrytosaybycitingMiltonFriedman’sremark?
A)ItishardlypracticaltofindanidealsolutiontoAmerica’simmigrationproblem.
B)Idealoutcomescouldbeproducedonlybycomprehensiveimmigrationreform.
C)Asforimmigration,goodresultscannotbeachievedwithoutgoodintentions.
D)ThepropersolutionofimmigrationissuesisanidealoftheAmericanpublic.
63.Whatistheauthor’sviewregardingAmerica’simmigrationpolicy?
A)Americashouldopenitsborderstoimmigrantsfromdifferentcountries.
B)ImmigrantshavecontributedgreatlytothewelfareofAmericanpeople.
C)UnrestrictedimmigrationwillunderminetheAmericanwelfarestate.
D)ThereisnopointbuildingawallaroundtheAmericanwelfarestate.
64.Whatistheauthor’spurposeincitingtherecentterroristattacksonthestreetsofBostonandLondon?
A)ToshowthatAmericashouldjoinhandswithEuropeinfightingterrorists.
B)ToprovethatitishightimeAmericamadecomprehensiveimmigrationreforms.
C)ToprovethatterrorismisthemostdangerousthreattoAmericaandtheworldingeneral.
D)Toshowthatimmigrants’culturalincompatibilitywiththehostcountryhasconsequences.
65.Whatistheauthor’sattitudetowards“comprehensiveimmigrationreform”?
A)Supportive. C)Wait-and-see.
B)Negative. D)Indifferent.
4
