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2013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
2013 年 12 月六级考试真题（第一套）
Part I Writing
Directions:Forthispartyouareallowed30minutestowriteanessaycommentingontheremark“Thegreatestuseoflife
isto spendit for something that will outlast it.” Youcan give examples to illustrateyour pointand then
explainwhatyouwilldotomakeyourlifemoremeaningfulYoushouldwriteatleast150wordsbutno
morethan200words.
Part Ⅱ ListeningComprehension
Section A
Directions:Inthissection,youwillhear8shortconversationsand2longconversations.Attheendofeachconversation,
oneormorequestionswillbeaskedaboutwhatwassaid.Boththeconversationandthequestionswillbe
spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four
choicesmarkedA),B),C)andD),anddecidewhichisthebestanswer.Thenmarkthecorrespondingletter
onAnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.
1. A)Weatherconditions. C)Anerrorintheorder.
B)Laborproblems. D)Misplacingofgoods.
2. A)Whatthewomansaysmakesalotofsense.
B)Therichareopposedtosocialwelfare.
C)HeagreeswithMr.Johnson’sviews.
D)Heissympatheticwithpoorpeople.
3. A)Hehasworktofinishintime. C)Hehasatoughproblemtosolve.
B)Hewillbepracticingsoccer. D)Hewillbeattendingameeting.
4. A) Marywillnotbeabletokeepadoginthebuilding.
B)Maryshouldgetridofherpetassoonaspossible.
C) Marymightaswellsendherdogtoherrelative.
D) Maryisnothappywiththebanonpetanimals.
5. A)Hedoesnotbelievetheyaretwinsisters.C)LisaandGalearenotverymuchalike.
B)Thewomanseemsabithardofhearing.D)Thetwins,voicesarequitedifferent.
6. A)TheseriouseconomiccrisisinBritain. C)ApackagedealtobesignedinNovember.
B)Amessagefromtheirbusinessassociates.D)Theirabilitytodealwithfinancialproblems.
7. A)Cleaningthepantswilltakelongerthanusual.
B)Themanwillbechargedextrafortheservice.
C)Themanhastogotothemaincleaningfacility.
D)Itisimpossibletoremovethestaincompletely.
8. A)Europeanmarkets. C)Luxurygoods.
B)Importedproducts. D)Aprotestrally.
Questions9to12arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.2013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
9. A)Hemadeabusinesstrip.
B)HehadaquarrelwithMarsha.
C)Hetalkedtoheronthephone.
D)Heresolvedabudgetproblem.
10. A)Shemayhavetobefiredforpoorperformance.
B)Shehasdevelopedsomeseriousmentalproblem.
C)Sheisinchargeofthefirm'sbudgetplanning.
D)Shesupervisesanumberofimportantprojects.
11. A)Shefailedtoarriveattheairportontime.
B)Davidpromisedtogoonthetripinherplace.
C)Somethingunexpectedhappenedatherhome.
D)Shewasnotfeelingherselfonthatday.
12. A)Hefrequentlygetsthingsmixedup.
B)HeisalwaysfindingfaultwithMarsha.
C)HehasbeentryinghardtocoverforMarsha.
D)Heoftenfailstofollowthroughonhisprojects.
Questions13to15arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.
13. A)Theyarebettershelteredfromalltheoutsidetemptations.
B)Theytakeanactivepartinmoreextracurricularactivities.
C)Theyareusuallymoremotivatedtocompetewiththeirpeers.
D)Theyhavemoreopportunitiestodeveloptheirleadershipskills.
14. A)Itsstudentsaimatmanagerialposts. C)Itschiefpositionsareheldbewomen.
B)Itsstudentsarerolemodelsofwomen. D)Itsteachingstaffconsistsofwomenonly.
15.A)Theyhaveampleopportunitiestomeettheoppositesex.
B)Theyaremoreorlessisolatedfromtheoutsideworld.
C)Itistraditionalbutcolourful.
D)Itisunderadequatecontrol.
Section B
Directions:Inthissection,youwillhear3shortpassages.Attheendofeachpassage,youwillhearsomequestions.Boththe
passage and thequestionswill bespoken only once. After youhear aquestion, you must choose thebest
answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer
Sheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.
PassageOne
Questions16to19arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.
16. A)Byspeakingwiththelocalagent. C)Bymakinggesturesatstrategicpoints.
B)Byspeakinginadeep,loudvoice. D)Byinvadingthepersonalspaceoflisteners.
17. A)Topromotesportsmanshipamongbusinessowners.
B)Toraisemoneyforaforthcominglocalsportsevent.
22013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
C)Toencouragepeopletosupportlocalsportsgroups.
D)Toshowhisfamily’scontributiontothecommunity.
18. A)Theywouldcertainlyappealtohisaudience.
B)Theyareknowntobethestyleofthesportsworld.
C)Theyarebelievedtocommunicatepowerandinfluence.
D)Theyrepresentthelatestfashioninbusinesscircles.
19. A)Tocreateawarmpersonalatmosphere. C) Toallowtheaudiencetobetterenjoyhisslides.
B)Tocoveruphisownnervousness. D) Toenhancetheeffectofbackgroundmusic.
PassageTwo
Questions20to22arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.
20. A)ShewasthefirstAfrican-Americanslavetopublishabook.
B)Shewasbornaboutthetime-oftheWarofIndependence.
C)ShewasthegreatestfemalepoetinColonialAmerica.
D)ShewasthefirsteducatedslaveofJohnWheatley’s.
21.A)Turntothecolonialgovernorforhelp. C) Obtainconsentfromherowner.
B)Gothroughascholarlyexamination. D) Reviseitanumberoftimes.
22.A)ReligiousscriptspopularamongslavesinAmerica.
B)Literaryworkscallingfortheabolitionofslavery.
C)Arichstockofmanuscriptsleftbyhistoricalfigures.
D)LotsoflostworkswrittenbyAfrican-Americanwomen.
PassageThree
Questions23to25arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.
23. A)Itisatraitofgenerouscharacter. C)Itisasignofhappinessandconfidence.
B)Itisareflectionofself-esteem. D)Itisanindicatorofhighintelligence.
24. A)Itwastheessenceofcomedy. C)Itwasself-defeating.
B)Itwassomethingadmirable. D)Itwasaggressive.
25. A)Itisafeatureofagivenculture. C)Itisaresultofbothnatureandnurture.
B)Itisadouble-edgedsword. D)Itisauniquegiftofhumanbeings.
Section C
Directions:Inthissection,youwillhearapassagethreetimes.Whenthepassageisreadforthefirsttime,youshouldlisten
carefullyfor itsgeneral idea. When thepassage isread for thesecond time, youare requiredtofill inthe
blankswiththeexactwordsyouhavejustheard.Finally,whenthepassage isreadfor thethirdtime, you
shouldcheckwhatyouhavewritten.
Itisimportantthatwebemindfuloftheearth,theplanetoutofwhichwearebornandbywhich
wearenourished,guided,healed—theplanet,however,whichwehave 26 toaconsiderabledegreeinthesepasttwo
centuriesof 27 exploitation.Thisexploitationhasreachedsuch 28 thatpresentlyitappearsthatsomehundredsof
thousandsofspecieswillbe 29 beforetheendofthecentury.
Inourtimes,humanshrewdnesshasmasteredthedeep 30 oftheearthatalevelfarbeyondthecapacitiesofearlier
peoples.Wecanbreakthemountainsapart;wecandraintheriversandfloodthevalleys.Wecanturnthemostluxuriant
forestsintothrowawaypaperproducts.Wecan 31 thegreatgrasscoverofthewesternplainsandpour 32 chemicalsinto
thesoiluntilthesoilisdeadandblowsawayinthewind.Wecanpollutetheairwithacids,theriverswithsewage(污水),the
32013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
seas withoil.Wecan inventcomputers 33 processingtenmillioncalculationspersecond.Andwhy? Toincreasethe
volumeandthespeedwithwhichwemovenaturalresourcesthroughtheconsumereconomytothejunkpileorthewaste
heap.Ourmanagerialskillsaremeasuredbythecompetence 34___________________in accelerating this process. If in
theseactivities thephysical featuresof theplanet aredamaged,if theenvironment ismadeinhospitablefor 35 living
species,thensobeit.Weare,supposedly,creatingatechnologicalwonderworld.
Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension
Section A
Directions：Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.Youarerequiredtoselectonewordforeachblankfromalist
ofchoicesgiveninawordbankfollowingthepassage.Read thepassagethroughcarefullybeforemakingyour
choices.Eachchoiceinthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.Pleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitemon
AnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmorethan
once.
Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.
Quite often, educators tell families of children who are learning English as a second language to speak only English,
and not their native language, at home. Although these educators may have good 36 ,their advice to families is misguided,
and it 37 from misunderstandings about the process of language acquisition. Educators may fear that children hearing two
languages will become 38 confused and thus their language development will be 39 ; this concern is not documented in
the literature. Children are capable of learning more than one language, whether 40 or sequentially（依次地）In fact, most
children outside of the United States are expected to becoming bilingual or even, in many cases, multilingual. Globally,
knowing more than one language is viewed as an 41 and even a necessity in many areas.
It is also of concern that the misguided advice that students should speak only English is given primarily to poor
families with limited educational opportunities, not to wealthier families who have many educational advantages. Since
children from poor families often are 42 as at-risk for academic failure, teachers believe that advising families to speak
English only is appropriate. Teachers consider learning two languages to be too 43 for children from poor families,
believing that the children are already burdened by their home situations.
If families do not know English or have limited English skills themselves, how can they communicate in English?
Advising non-English-speaking families to speak only English is 44 to telling them not to communicate with or interact
with their children. Moreover, the 45 message is that the family’s native language is not important or valued.
A)asset I)permanently
B)delayed J)prevalent
C)deviates K)simultaneously
D)equivalent L)stems
E)identified M)successively
F)intentions N)underlying
O)visualizing
G) G)object
H) H)overwhelming
Section B
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains
informationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.
42013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwithaletter.Answerthequestions
bymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2.
TheUsesofDifficulty
Thebrainlikesachallenge—andputtingafewobstaclesinitswaymaywellboostitscreativity.
[A] JackWhite,theformerfrontmanoftheWhiteStripesandaninfluentialfigureamongfellowmusicians,likestomake
thingsdifficultforhimself.Heusescheapguitarsthatwon’tstayinshapeorintune.Whenperforming,hepositionshis
instrumentsinawaythatisdeliberatelyinconvenient,sothatswitchingfromguitartoorganmid-songinvolvesamad
dashacrossthestage.Why?Becausehe’sontherunfromwhathedescribesasadiseasethatpreysoneveryartist:“ease
ofuse”.Whenmakingmusicgetstooeasy,saysWhite,itbecomeshardertomakeitsing.
[B] It’sanoddthought.Whywouldanyonemaketheirworkmoredifficultthanitalreadyis?Yetweknowthatdifficulty
canpayunexpecteddividends.In1966,soonaftertheBeatleshadfinishedworkon“RubberSoul”,PaulMcCartney
lookedintothepossibilityofgoingtoAmericatorecordtheirnextalbum.TheequipmentinAmericanstudioswasmore
advancedthananythinginBritain,whichhadledtheBeatles’greatrivals,theRollingStones,tomaketheirlatestalbum.
“Aftermath”,inLosAngeles.McCartneyfoundthat EMI’s(百代唱片）contractual clauses made it prohibitively
expensivetofollowsuit,andtheBeatleshadtomakedowiththeprimitivetechnologyofAbbeyRoad.
[C] Luckyforus.Overthenexttwoyearstheymadetheirmostgroundbreakingwork,turningtherecordingstudiointoa
magicalinstrumentofitsown.Preciselybecausetheywereworkingwithold-fashionedmachines,GeorgeMartinand
his team of engineers were forced to apply every ounce of their creativity to solve the problems posed to them by
LennonandMcCartney.Songslike“TomorrowNeverKnows”.“StrawberryFieldsForever”,and“ADayintheLife”
featuredrevolutionarysoundeffectsthatdazzledandmystifiedMartiniAmericancounterparts.
[D] Sometimesit’sonlywhenadifficultyisremovedthatwerealisethatitwasdoingforus.Formorethantwodecades,
starting in the 1960s, the poet Ted Hughes sat on the judging panel of an annual poetry competition for British
schoolchildren.Duringthe1980shenoticedanincreasingnumberoflongpoemsamongthesubmissions,withsome
runningto70or80pages.Thesepoemswereverballyinventiveandfluent,butalso“strangelyboring”.Aftermaking
inquiries Hughes discovered that they were being composed on computers, then just finding their way into British
homes.
[E] Youmighthavethoughtanytoolwhichenablesawritertogetwordsontothepagewouldbeanadvantage.Butthere
maybeacosttosuchfacility.InaninterviewwiththeParisReviewHughesspeculatedthatwhenapersonputspento
paper,“youmeettheterribleresistanceofwhathappenedyourfirstyearatit,whenyoucouldn’twriteatall”.Asthe
brainattemptstoforcetheunsteadyhandtodoitsbidding,thetensionbetweenthetworesultsinamorecompressed,
psychologicallydenserexpression.Removethatresistanceandyouaremorelikelytoproducea70-pageramble(不着
边际的长篇大论).
[F] Ourbrainsrespond bettertodifficultythanwe imagine. Inschools, teachersand pupilsalikeoften assume that ifa
concepthasbeeneasytolearn,thenthelessonhasbeensuccessful.Butnumerousstudieshavenowfoundthatwhen
classroommaterialismadehardertoabsorb,pupilsretainmoreofitoverthelongterm,andunderstanditonadeeper
level.
[G] Asapoet,TedHugheshadanacutesensitivitytothewayinwhichconstraintsonself-expression,likethedisciplinesof
metreandrhyme（韵律）,spurcreativethought.Whatappliestopoetsandmusiciansalsoappliestoourdailylives.We
tendtoequate（等同）happinesswithfreedom, but,asthepsychotherapistandwriterAdamPhillipshasobserved,
withoutobstaclestoourdesiresit’shardertoknowwhatwewant,orwherewe’reheading.Hetellsthestoryofapatient,
afirst-timemotherwhocomplainedthatheryoungsonwasalwaysclingingtoher,wrappinghimselfaroundherlegs
wherever she went. She never had a moment to herself, she said, because her son was “always in the way”. When
52013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
Phillipsaskedherwhereshewouldgoifhewasn’tintheway,sherepliedcheerfully,“Oh,Iwouldn’tknowwhereI
was!”
[H] Takeanothercommonobstacle:lackofmoney.Peopleoftenassumethatmoremoneywillmakethemhappier.But
economists who study the relationship between money and happiness have consistently found that, above a certain
income,thetwodonotreliablycorrelate.Despitetheeasewithwhichtherichcanacquirealmostanythingtheydesire,
theyarejustaslikelytobeunhappyasthemiddleclasses.Inthisregardatleast,F.ScottFitzgeraldwaswrong.
[I] Indeed,easeofacquisitionistheproblem.ThenovelistEdwardStAubynhasanarratorremarkoftheveryrichthat,
“nothavingtoconsideraffordability,theirdesiresrambledonlikeunstoppablebores,relentless(持续不断的）and
whimsical(反复无常的）atthesametime.”WhenBostonCollege,aprivateresearchuniversity,wantedabetterfeelfor
itspotentialdonors,itaskedthepsychologistRobertKennytoinvestigatethemindsetofthesuper-rich.Hesurveyed
165households,mostofwhichhadanetworthof$25mormore.Hefoundthatmanyofhissubjectswereconfusedby
the infinite options their money presented them with. They found it hard to know what to want, creating a kind of
existentialbafflement.Oneofthemputitlikethis:“Youknow,Bob,youcanjustbuysomuchstuff,andwhenyouget
tothepointwhereyoucanjustbuysomuchstuff,nowwhatareyougoingtodo?”
[J] Theinternetmakesinformationbillionairesoutofallofus,andthearchitectsofouronlineexperiencesarecatchingon
totheneedtomakethingscreativelydifficult.Twitter’shugesuccessisrootedinthesimplebutprofoundinsightthatin
a medium with infinite space for self-expression, the most interesting thing we can do is restrict ourselves to 140
characters. The music service This Is My Jam helps people navigate the tens of millions of tracks now available
instantly via Spotify and iTunes. Users pick their favouritesong of the week to share with others. They only get to
chooseone.Theservicewasonlylaunchedthisyear,butbytheendofSeptember650,000jamshadbeenchosen.Its
co-founderMattOgleexplainsitsraisondetre(存在的理由)likethis:“Inanageofendlesschoice,weweremissinga
waytosay:‘This.Thisistheoneyoushouldlistento.”
[K] Today’sworldoffers moreopportunitythan ever to followtheadvice of theWalker Brothersand make it easy on
ourselves.Comparedwithahundredyearsago,ourlivesarelesstightlyboundbysocialnormsandphysicalconstraints.
Technologyhascutoutmuchoflife’sdonkeywork,andwehavemorefreedomsthanever:wecanwearwhatwelike
andcommunicatewithhundredsoffriendsatonceattheclickofamouse.Obstaclesareeverywheredisappearing.Few
of us wish to turn the clock back, but perhaps we need to remind ourselves how useful the right obstacles can be.
Sometimes,thebestroutetofulfillmentisthepathofmoreresistance.
46. Therigorousrequirementsplacedonthewritingofpoetrystimulatethepoet’screativity.
47. Withcreativity,evenold-fashionedinstrumentsmayproducespectacularsoundeffects.
48. Moremoneydoesnotnecessarilybringgreaterhappiness.
49. Itisafalseassumptionthatlessonsshouldbemadeeasiertolearn.
50. Obstaclesdeliberatelyplacedinthecreationofmusiccontributetoitssuccess.
51. Thosewhoenjoytotalfreedommaynotfindthemselveshappy.
52. TedHughesdiscoveredmanylongpoemssubmittedforpoetrycompetitionwerecomposedoncomputers.
53. Maybeweneedtobearinmindthattherightobstacleshelpleadustogreaterachievements.
54. Aninvestigationfoundthatmanyofthesuper-richwerebaffledbytheinfinitechoicestheirmoneymadeavailable.
55. Onefreesocialnetworkingwebsiteturnedouttobesuccessfulbecauseitlimitedeachpostingtoonehundredandforty
characters.
Section C
Directions:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.For
eachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebestchoiceand
62013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
markthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.
PassageOne
Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
TherewasatimenotlongagowhennewsciencePh.D.sintheUnitedStatedwereexpectedtopursueacareerpathin
academia（学术界）.Buttoday,mostgraduatesendupworkingoutsideacademia,notonlyinindustrybutalsoincareerssuch
assciencepolicy,communications,andpatentlaw.Partlythisisaresultofhowbleaktheacademicjobmarketis,butthere’s
alsoarisingawarenessofcareeroptionsthatPh.D.scientistshaven’ttrainedfordirectly—butforwhichtheyhaveuseful
knowledge, skills, and experience. Still, there’s a huge disconnect between the way we currently train scientists and the
actualemploymentopportunitiesavailableforthem,andanurgentneedfordramaticimprovementsintrainingprogramsto
help closethegap. Onecritical step that couldhelp todrive change wouldbe torequirePh.D. studentsand postdoctoral
scientiststofollowanindividualdevelopmentplan(IDP).
In2002, theU.S.Federationof American Societiesfor Experimental Biology recommended thatevery postdoctoral
researcher put together an IDP in consultation with an adviser. Since then, several academic institutions have begun to
require IDPs for postdocs. And in June, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biomedical Research Workforce
WorkingGrouprecommendedthattheNIHrequireIDPsfortheapproximately32,000postdoctoralresearcherstheysupport.
Otherfundingagencies,publicandprivate,aremovinginasimilardirection.
IDPshavelongbeenusedbygovernmentagenciesandtheprivatesectortoachievespecificgoalsfortheemployeeand
theorganization.Theaimistoensurethatemployeeshaveanexplicittooltohelpthemunderstandtheirownabilitiesand
aspirations,determinecareer possibilities,andset (usuallyshort-term)goals. Inscience, graduatestudentsandnewPh.D.
scientistscanuseanIDPtoidentifyandnavigateaneffectivecareerpath.
A new Web application for this purpose, called my IDP, has become available this week. It’s designed to guide
early-careerscientiststhroughaconfidential,rigorousprocessofintrospection(内省）tocreateacustomizedcareerplan.
Guidedbyexpertknowledgefromapanelofscience-focusedcareeradvisers,eachtrainee’sself-assessmentisusedtorank
asetofcareertrajectories (轨迹).Aftertheuserhasidentifiedalong-termcareergoal,myIDPwalksherorhimthrough
theprocess of settingshort-termgoals directedtoward accumulatingnewskills andexperiences important for thatcareer
choice.
Although surveys reveal the IDP process to be useful, trainees report a need for additional resources to help them
identify a long-termcareer pathandcompletean IDP.Thus, my IDPwill bemost effective when ifs embeddedinlarger
career-developmentefforts.Forexample,universitiescouldincorporateIDPsintotheirgraduatecurriculatohelpstudents
discuss,plan,preparefor,andachievetheirlong-termgoals.
56.WhatdowelearnaboutnewsciencePh.D.sintheUnitedStatestoday?
A) Theylacktheskillsandexpertiseneededfortheirjobs.
B) Theycanchoosefromawiderrangeofwell-payingjobs.
C) Theyoftenhavetoseekjobsoutsidetheacademiccircle.
D) Theyareregardedasthenation’sdrivingforceofchange.
57.WhatdoestheauthorsayaboutAmerica’sPh.D.training?
A) Itshouldbeimprovedtobettersuitthejobmarket.
B) Itiscloselylinkedtofuturecareerrequirements.
C) Itshouldbere-orientedtocareersoutsideacademia.
D) Itincludesagreatvarietyofpracticalcourses.
58.WhatwasrecommendedforPh.D.sandpostdoctoralresearchers?
A) Theymeettheurgentneedsofthecorporateworld.
72013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
B) Along-termcareergoalbesetasearlyaspossible.
C) AnIDPbemadeinconsultationwithanadviser.
D) Theyacquireanexplicittooltohelpobtainjobs.
59.GovernmentagenciesandtheprivatesectoroftenuseIDPsto____________________.
A) bringintofallplaytheskillsandexpertiseoftheirpostdoctoralresearchers
B) helpemployeesmakethebestuseoftheirabilitiestoachievetheircareergoals
C) placeemployeesinthemostappropriatepositions
D) hirethemostsuitablecandidatestoworkforthem
60.WhatdoweknowaboutmyIDP?
A) Itisaneffectivetoolofself-assessmentandintrospectionforbettercareerplans.
B) Itenablespeopletolookintovariouspossibilitiesandchoosethecareertheylove.
C) Itpromisesalong-termcareerpath.
D) Itispartofthegraduatecurricula.
PassageTwo
Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Justoveradecadeintothe21stcentury, women’sprogresscanbecelebratedacrossarangeoffields.Theyholdthe
highestpoliticalofficesfromThailandtoBrazil,CostaRicatoAustralia.AwomanholdsthetopspotattheInternational
Monetary Fund; another won the Noble Prize in economics. Self-made billionaires in Beijing, tech innovators in Silicon
Valley,pioneeringjusticesinGhana—intheseandcountlessotherareas,womenareleavingtheirmark.
Butholdtheapplause.InSaudiArabia,womenaren’tallowedtodrive.InPakistan,1,000womendieinhonorkillings
everyyear.Inthedevelopedworld,womenlagbehindmeninpayandpoliticalpower.Thepovertyrateamongwomeninthe
U.S.roseto14.5%lastyear.
Tomeasurethestateofwomen’sprogress,Newsweekranked165countries,lookingatfiveareasthataffectwomen’s
lives:treatmentunderthelaw,workforceparticipation,politicalpower,andaccesstoeducationandhealthcare.Analyzing
datafromtheUnitedNationsandtheWorldEconomicForum,amongothers,andconsultingwithexpertsandacademics,we
measured28factorstocomeupwithourrankings.
CountrieswiththehighestscorestendtobeclusteredintheWest,wheregenderdiscriminationisagainstthelaw,and
equalrightsareconstitutionallyenshrined（神圣化）Butthereweresomesurprises.Someotherwisehigh-rankingcountries
hadrelativelylowscoresforpoliticalrepresentation.Canadarankedthirdoverallbut26thinpower,behindcountriessuchas
CubaandBurundi.Doesthissuggestthatawomaninanation’stopofficetranslatestobetterlivesforwomeningeneral?Not
exactly.“Tryingtoquantifyormeasuretheimpactofwomeninpoliticsishardbecauseinveryfewcountieshavetherebeen
enoughwomeninpoliticstomakeadifference,”saysAnne-MarieGoetz,peaceandsecurityadviserforU.N.Women.
Ofcourse,noindexcanaccountforeverything.Declaringthatonecountryisbetterthananotherinthewaythatittreats
more than half its citizens means relying on broad strokes and generalities. Some things simply can’t be measured. And
cross-culturalcomparisonscan’taccountfordifferencesofopinion.
Certainconclusionsarenonethelessclear.Foronething,ourindexbacksupasimplebutprofoundstatementmadeby
Hillary Clinton at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. “When we liberate the economic potential of
women, we elevate the economic performance of communities, nations, and the world,” she said. “There’s a stimulative
effect that kicks in when women have greater access to jobs and the economic lives of our countries: Greater political
stability. Fewer military conflicts. More food. More educational opportunity for children. By harnessing the economic
potentialofallwomen,weboostopportunityforallpeople.”
82013年12月六级考试真题（第一套）
61. Whatdoestheauthorthinkaboutwomen’sprogresssofar?
A) Itstillleavesmuchtobedesired.
B) Itistooremarkabletobemeasured.
C) Ithasgreatlychangedwomen’sfate.
D) Itisachievedthroughhardstruggle.
62.Inwhatcountrieshavewomenmadethegreatestprogress?
A) Wherewomenholdkeypostsingovernment.
B) Wherewomen’srightsareprotectedbylaw.
C) Wherewomen’sparticipationinmanagementishigh.
D) Wherewomenenjoybettereducationandhealthcare.
63.WhatdoNewsweekrankingsrevealaboutwomeninCanada?
A) Theycarelittleaboutpoliticalparticipation.
B) Theyaregenerallytreatedasequalsbymen.
C) Theyhaveasurprisinglylowsocialstatus.
D) Theyareunderrepresentedinpolitics.
64.WhatdoesAnne-MarieGoetzthinkofawomanbeinginanation’stopoffice?
A) Itdoesnotnecessarilyraisewomen’spoliticalawareness.
B) Itdoesnotguaranteeabetterlifeforthenation’swomen.
C) Itenhanceswomen’sstatus.
D) Itboostswomen’sconfidence.
65.WhatdoesHillaryClintonsuggestwedotomaketheworldabetterplace?
A) Givewomenmorepoliticalpower.
B) Stimulatewomen’screativity.
C) Allowwomenaccesstoeducation.
D) Tapwomen’seconomicpotential.
Part IV Translation
Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestotranslateapassagefromChineseintoEnglish.Youshouldwriteyour
answeronAnswerSheet2.
闻名于世的丝绸之路是一系列连接东西方的路线。丝绸之路延伸6,000多公里，得名于古代中国的丝绸贸易。
丝绸之路上的贸易在中国、南亚、欧洲和中东文明发展中发挥了重要作用。正是通过丝绸之路，中国的造纸、火
药、指南针、印刷术等四大发明才被引介到世界各地。同样，中国的丝绸、茶叶和瓷器(porcelain)也传遍全球。物
质文化。
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