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2014 年 12 月大学英语六级考试真题(三)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the picturebelow.You should start
your essay with a brief description of the picture and then discuss what qualities an employer should look for in job
applicants. You should give sound arguments to support your views and write at least 150 words but no more than
200words.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
说明：2014年12月大学英语六级真题全国共考了两套听力。本套（即第三套）的听力材料与第一套完全一
样，只是选项的顺序不同而已，故本套不再重复给出。
SectionC
Directions:Inthissection,youwillhearapassagethreetimes.Whenthepassageisreadforthefirsttime,youshould
listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the
blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should
checkwhatyouhavewritten.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
If you're like most people, you've indulged in fake listeningmany times.You go to history class, sit in the third
row, and look squarely at the instructor as she speaks. But your mind is far away,26inthe clouds of pleasant
daydreams.Occasionallyyoucomebacktoearth:Theinstructorwritesanimportanttermonthechalkboard,andyou
27copy it in your notebook. Every once in a while the instructormakes a 28remark, causing othersin the class to
laugh.You smile politely, pretending that you've heard the remark and found it mildly humorous.You have a vague
senseof 29thatyouaren'tpayingcloseattention,butyou tellyourselfthatanymaterialyoumisscan 30froma
friend's notes. Besides, the instructor's talking about road 31in ancient Rome, and nothing could be more boring.
Sobackyougointoyourprivatelittleworld.Onlylaterdoyourealizeyou'vemissedimportantinformationforatest.
Fake listening may be easily exposed, since many speakers 32facial cues and can tell if you're merely
- 1 -pretendingtolisten.Yourblankexpressionandthefarawaylookinyoureyesarethecuesthat33yourinattentiveness.
Even if you're not exposed, there's another reason to avoid fakery: It's easy for this34tobecome a habit. For some
people, the habit is so deeply rooted that they automatically start day dreaming when a speaker begins talking on
something35oruninteresting.Asaresult,theymisslotsofvaluableinformation.
PartⅢ Reading Comprehension (40minutes)
SectionA
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank
froma list of choicesgivenin a word bankfollowing thepassage. Readthepassagethroughcarefully beforemaking
your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letterfor each item on
AnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecenter.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmorethanonce.
Questions36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Itwas10yearsago,onawarmJulynight,thatanewbornlambtookherfirstbreathinasmallshed
inScotland.From theoutside,shelookedno differentfromthousandsofothersheep born on 36farms. But Dolly,
as the world soon came to realize, was no 37lamb. She was cloned from a single cell of an adult female
sheep,38long-heldscientificdogmathathaddeclaredsuchathingbiologicallyimpossible.
Adecade later, scientistsare startingto come to grips with just how different Dolly was. Dozens of animals have
been cloned since that first lamb_mice, cats, cows and, most recently, a dog--and it's becoming 39clear that they
areall,inonewayoranother,defective.
It's 40to think of clones as perfect carbon copies of the original. It turns out, though, that there are various
degreesofgenetic41.Thatmaycome asashocktopeoplewhohavepaidthousandsofdollarstoclonea petcatonly
todiscoverthatthebabycatlooksandbehaves 42liketheirbelovedpet--withadifferent-colorcoatoffur,perhaps,
ora 43differentattitudetowarditshumanhosts.
And these are just the obvious differences. Not only are clones 44from the original template(模板) by time,
but they are also the product of an unnatural molecular mechanism that turns out not to be very good at making
45copies.Infact,theprocesscanembedsmallflawsinthegenesofclonesthatscientistsareonly nowdiscovering
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
A．abstract F.identical K．overturning
B．completely. G.increasingly L． separated
C．deserted H．miniature M． surrounding
D.duplication I．Nothing N． systematically.
E.everything J.ordinary O． tempting
SectionB
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement
contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived.
You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by
markingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2.
ShouldSingle-SexEducationBeEliminated?
A）Why is a neuroscientist here debating single-sex schooling? Honestly, I had no fixed ideas on the topic when I
started researching it for my book, Pink Brain, Blue Brain. But any discussion of gender differences in children
inevitablyleadsto thisdebate,so I feltcompelledto dive into theresearchdata on single-sexschooling.I readevery
study I could, weighed theexistingevidence, and ultimatelyconcluded that single-sex educationis not the answer to
gender gaps in achievement--or the best way forward for today's young people.After my book was published, I met
several developmental and cognitive psychologists whose work was addressing gender and education from different
angles, and we published a peer-reviewed Education Forum piece in Science magazine with the provocative title,
"ThePseudoscienceofSingle-SexEducation."
B）Weshowedthatthreelinesofresearchusedtojustifysingle-sexschooling--educational,neuroscience,andsocial
psychology--all fail to support its alleged benefits, and so the widely-held view that gender separation is somehow
betterforboys,girls,orbothisnothingmorethanamyth.
- 2 -TheResearchonAcademicOutcomes.
C）First,wereviewedtheextensiveeducationalresearchthathascomparedacademicoutcomesinstudentsattending
single-sex versus coeducational schools. The overwhelming conclusion when you put this enormous literature
together is that there is no clear academic advantage of sitting in all-female or all-male classes, in spite of much
popular belief to the contrary. I base this conclusion not on any individual study, but on large-scale and systematic
reviewsofthousandsofstudiesconductedineverymajorEnglish-speakingcountry.
D）Of course, there’re many excellent single-sex schools out there, but as these careful research reviews have
demonstrated, it's not their single-sex composition that makes them excellent. It's all the other advantages that are
typicallypackedintosuchschools,suchasfinancialresources,qualityofthefaculty,andpro-academicculture,along
withthefamilybackgroundandpre-selectedabilityofthestudentsthemselvesthatdeterminetheiroutcomes.
E）A case in point is the study by Linda Sax at UCLA, who used data from a large national survey of college
freshmen to evaluate the effect of single-sex versus coeducational high schools. Commissioned by the National
Coalition of Girls' Schools, the raw findings look pretty good for the funders--higher SAT scores and a stronger
academic orientation among women who had attended all girls' high schools (men weren't studied). However, once
theresearcherscontrolledforbothstudentandschoolattributes--measuressuchasfamilyincome,parents'education,
andschoolresources--mostoftheseeffectswereerasedordiminished.
F）When it comes to boys in particular, the data show that single-sex education is distinctly unhelpful for them.
Among the minority of studies that have reported advantages of single-sex schooling, virtually all of them were
studies of girls.There're no rigorous studies in the United States that find single-sexschooling is better for boys, and
infact,aseparatelineofresearchbyeconomistshasshownbothboys andgirlsexhibitgreatercognitivegrowthover
the school year based on the "dose" of girls in a classroom. In fact, boys benefit even more than girls from having
larger numbers of female classmates. So single-sex schooling is really not the answer to the current "boy crisis" in
education.
BrainandCognitiveDevelopment
G）The second line of research often used to justify single-sexeducation falls squarely within my area of expertise:
brainandcognitivedevelopment.It'sbeenmorethanadecadenowsincethe"brainsexmovement"beganinfiltrating
(渗入) our schools, and there are literally hundreds of schools caught up in the fad ( 新潮). Public schools in
Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida and many other states now proudly declare on their websites that they separate boys and
girlsbecause"researchsolidlyindicatesthat boys andgirlslearndifferently,"due to "hard-wired"differencesin their
brains,eyes,ears,autonomicnervoussystems,andmore.
H）Allofthesestatementscanbetracedtojustafewwould-beneuroscientists,especiallyphysicianLeonardSaxand
therapist Michael Gurian. Each gives lectures, runs conferences, and does a lot of professional development on
so-called"gender-specificlearning."[analyzedtheirvariousclaimsaboutsexdifferencesinhearing,vision,language,
math, stress responses, and "learning styles" in my book and a long peer-reviewed paper. Other neuroscientists and
psychologistshavesimilarlyexposedtheirwork.Inshort,themechanismsbywhichour brainslearnlanguage,math,
physics, and every other subject don't differ between boys and girls. Of course, learning does vary a lot between
individual students, but research reliably shows that this variance is far greater within populations of boys or girls
thanbetweenthetwosexes.
I）TheequalprotectionclauseoftheUSConstitutionprohibitsseparationofstudentsbysexinpubliceducationthat's
based on precisely this kind of "over broad generalizations about the different talents, capacities, or preferences of
males and females." And the reason it is prohibited is because it leads far too easily to stereotyping and sex
discrimination.
SocialDevelopmentalPsychology
J）Thatbringsmetothethirdareaofresearchwhichfailstosupportsingle-sexschoolingandindeed
suggeststhepracticeisactuallyharmful:socialdevelopmentalpsychology.
K）It'sawell-provenfindinginsocialpsychologythatsegregationpromotesstereotypingandprejudice,whereasinter
groupcontact reducesthem--andthe resultsare thesame whetheryou divide groups by race,age, gender,body mass
index, sexual orientation, or any other category.What's more, children are especially vulnerable to this kind of bias,
because they are dependent on adults for learning which social categories are important and why we divide people
- 3 -intodifferentgroups.
L）Youdon'thavetolookfartofindevidenceofstereotypingandsexdiscriminationinsingle-sexschools.Therewas
thefailed single-sexexperimentin California,where six school districtsused generousstate grants to set up separate
boys' and girls' academics in the late 1990s. Once boys and girls were segregated, teachers resorted to traditional
gender stereotypes to run their classes, and within just three years, five of the six districts had gone back to
coeducation.
M）Atthesametime,researchersareincreasinglydiscoveringbenefitsofgenderinteractioninyouth.AlargeBritish
study found that children with other-sex older siblings (兄弟姐妹) exhibit less stereotypical play than children with
same-sex older siblings, such as girls who like sports and building toys and boys who like art and dramatic play.
Anotherstudyof highschoolsocialnetworksfoundlessbullying andaggressionthehigher the densityofmixed-sex
friendships within a given adolescent network. Then there is the finding we cited in our Science paper of higher
divorceanddepressionratesamongalargegroupofBritishmenwhoattendedsingle-sexschoolsasteenagers,which
mightbeexplainedbythelackofopportunitytolearnaboutrelationshipsduringtheirformativeyears.
N）Whetherinnurseryschool,highschool,orthebusinessworld,gendersegregationnarrowsourperceptionsofeach
other, facilitating stereotyping and sexist attitudes. It's very simple: the more we structure children and adolescents'
environment around gender distinctions and separation, the more they will use these categories as the primary basis
forunderstandingthemselvesandothers.
O）Genderisanimportantissueineducation.Therearegapsinreading,writing,andscienceachievementthatshould
benarrower.There aregapsincareerchoice that shouldbenarrower--ifwe reallywantto maximizehuman potential
and American economic growth. But stereotyping boys and girls them in the name of fictitious (虚拟的) brain
differencesisnevergoingtoclosethesegaps.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
46.Hundredsofschoolsseparateboysfromgirlsinclassontheallegedbrainandcognitivedifferences.
47.Areviewofextensiveeducationalresearchshowsnoobviousacademicadvantageofsingle-sexschooling.
48.Theauthordidnothaveanyfixedideasonsingle-sexeducationwhenshebeganherresearchonthesubject.
49.Researchfoundmenwhoattendedsingle-sexschoolsintheirteensweremorelikelytosufferfromdepression.
50.Studiesinsocialpsychologyhaveshownsegregationinschooleducationhasanegativeimpactonchildren.
51.Reviewsofresearchindicatetherearemoredifferencesinbrainandcognitivedevelopmentwithinthe samesex
thanbetweendifferentsexes.
52.The findings of the national survey of college freshmen about the impact of single-sex schooling fail to take into
accountstudentandschoolattributes.
53. It wasn't long before most of the school districts that experimented with single-sex education abandoned the
practice.
54.Boysfromcoeducationalclassesdemonstrategreatercognitiveabilitiesaccordingtotheeconomists'research.
55. As careful research reviews show, academic excellence in some single-sex schools is attributed to other factors
thansingle-sexeducation.
SectionC
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished
statements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA,B,C,andD．.Youshoulddecideonthebestchoiceand
markthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecenter
.PassageOne
Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
International governments' inaction concerning sustainable development is clearly worrying but the proactive
(主动出击的) approaches of some leading-edge companies are encouraging. Toyota, Wal-Mart, DuPont, M&S and
GeneralElectrichavemadetacklingenvironmentalwastesakeyeconomicdriver.
DuPontcommitteditselftoa 65% reductioningreenhousegasemissionsinthe10yearspriorto2010.By2007,
DuPont was saving $2.2 billion a year through energy efficiency, the same as its total declared profits that year.
GeneralElectric aims to reduce the energy intensityof its operations by 50% by 2015.They have invested heavily in
projectsdesignedtochangethewayofusingandconservingenergy.
- 4 -Companies like Toyota and Wal-Mart are not committing to environmental goals out of the goodness of their
hearts. The reason for their actions is a simple yet powerful realisation that the environmental and economic
footprintsfit well together.When M&S launched its "PlanA" sustainability programme in 2007,it was believed that
itwouldcostover~200millioninthefirstfiveyears.However,theinitiativehadgenerated~105millionby2011/12.
When we prevent physical waste, increase energy efficiency or improve resource productivity, we save money,
improve profitability and enhance competitiveness. In fact, there are often huge "quick win" opportunities, thanks to
yearsofneglect.
However,thereisaconsiderablegapbetweenleading-edgecompaniesandtherestofthepack.Therearefartoo
many companies still delaying creating a lean and green business system, arguing that it will cost money or require
sizablecapitalinvestments.Theyremainstuckinthe"environmentiscost"mentality.Beingenvironmentallyfriendly
does not have to cost money. In fact, going beyond compliance saves cost at the same time that it generates cash,
providedthatmanagementadoptsthenewleanandgreenmodel.
Lean means doing more with less. Nonetheless, in most companies, economic and environmental continuous
improvement is viewed as being in conflict with each other. This is one of the biggest opportunities missed across
most industries. The size of the opportunity is enormous, The 3% Reportrecently published by World Wildlife Fund
andCDPshowsthattheeconomicprizeforcurbingcarbonemissionsintheUSeconomyis$780billionbetweennow
and 2020. It suggests that one of the biggest levers for delivering this opportunity is "increased efficiency through
managementandbehaviouralchange"--inotherwords,leanandgreenmanagement.
Some 50 studies show that companies that commit to such a spirational goals as zero waste, zero harmful
emissions, and zero use of non-renewable resources are financially outperforming their competitors. Conversely, it
wasfoundthatclimatedisruptionisalreadycosting$1.2trillionannually,cuttingglobalGDPby1.6%.Unaddressed,
thiswilldoubleby2030.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
56.Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutsomeleading-edgecompanies?
A．Theyoperateinaccordancewithgovernmentpolicies.
B． Theytakeinitiativesinhandlingenvironmentalwastes.
C． Theyarekeydriversintheirnations'economicgrowth.
D． Theyaremajorcontributorstoenvironmentalproblems.
57.WhatmotivatesToyotaandWal-Marttomakecommitmentstoenvironmentalprotection?
A．Thegoodnessoftheirhearts.
B． Astrongsenseofresponsibility.
C． Thedesiretogenerateprofits.
D． Pressurefromenvironmentalists.
58.Whyaresomanycompaniesreluctanttocreateanenvironment-friendlybusinesssystem?
A．Theyarebentonmakingquickmoney.
B． Theydonothavethecapitalfortheinvestment.
C． Theybelievebuildingsuchasystemistoocostly.
D． Theylacktheincentivetochangebusinesspractices.
59.Whatissaidabouttheleanandgreenmodelofbusiness?A．Ithelpsbusinessestosaveandgainatthesametime.
B．Itisaffordableonlyforafewleading-edgecompanies.
C． Itislikelytostartanewroundofintensecompetition.
D． Itwilltakealongtimeforallcompaniestoembraceit.
60.Whatisthefindingofthestudiesaboutcompaniescommittedtoenvironmentalgoals?
A．Theyhavegreatlyenhancedtheirsenseofsocialresponsibility.
B． Theydomuchbetterthantheircounterpartsintermsofrevenues.
C． Theyhaveabandonedalltheoutdatedequipmentandtechnology.
D． Theymakegreatercontributionstohumanprogressthantheirrivals.
PassageTwo
Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
- 5 -If you asked me to describe the rising philosophy of the day, I'd say it is data-ism. We now have the ability to
gatherhuge amountsofdata.Thisabilityseemsto carrywith itcertainculturalassumptions--thateverythingthat can
be measured should be measured;that data is a transparent and reliable lens that allows us to filter out emotionalism
andideology;thatdatawillhelpusdoremarkablethings--likeforetellthefuture.
Over the next years, I'm hoping to get a better grip on some of the questions raised by the datarevolution: In
whatsituationsshouldwerelyonintuitivepatternrecognitionandinwhichsituationsshouldwe ignoreintuitionand
followthedata?Whatkindsofeventsarepredictableusingstatisticalanalysisandwhatsortsofeventsarenot?
I confess I enter this in a skeptical frame of mind, believing that we tend to get carried away in our desire to
reduceeverythingtothequantifiable.Butattheoutsetletmecelebratetwothingsdatadoesreallywell.
First,it'sreallygoodatexposingwhenourintuitiveviewofrealityiswrong.Forexample,nearlyeveryperson
who runs for political office has an intuitive sense that they can powerfully influence their odds of winning the
electioniftheycanjustraiseandspendmoremoney.Butthisislargelywrong.
Afterthe2006election,SeanTrendeconstructedagraphcomparingtheincumbent(在任者的)
campaign spending advantages with their eventual margins of victory. There was barely any relationship between
morespendingandabiggervictory.
Likewise, many teachers have an intuitive sense that different students have different learning styles: some are
verbal and some are visual; some are linear, some are holistic (整体的). Teachers imagine they will improve
outcomesiftheytailortheirpresentationstoeachstudent.Butthere'snoevidencetosupportthiseither.
Second, data can illuminate patterns of behavior we haven't yet noticed. For example, I've always assumed
people who frequently use words like "I," "me," and "mine" are probably more self-centered than people who don't.
ButasJamesPennebakeroftheUniversityofTexas notesinhisbook,TheSecretLife ofPronouns,whenpeopleare
feelingconfident,theyarefocusedonthetaskathand,notonthemselves.High-status,confidentpeopleusefewer"I"
words,notmore.
Ourbrainsoften don't notice subtleverbalpatterns,but Pennebaker's computerscan.Youngerwritersusemore
negativeandpast-tensewordsthanolderwriterswhousemorepositiveandfuturetensewords.
Insum,thedatarevolutionisgivinguswonderfulwaystounderstandthepresentandthepast.Willit
transformourabilitytopredictandmakedecisionsaboutthefuture?We'llsee.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
61.Whatdodata-istsassumetheycando?
A．Transformpeople'sculturalidentity.
B． Changethewayfutureeventsunfold.
C． Getafirmgriponthemostimportantissues.
D． Eliminateemotionalandideologicalbias.
62.Whatdopeoplerunningforpoliticalofficethinktheycando?
A．Usedataanalysistopredicttheelectionresult.
B． Wintheelectioniftheycanraiseenoughfunds.
C． Manipulatepublicopinionwithfavorabledata.
D． Increasethechancesofwinningbyfoulmeans.
63.Whydomanyteachersfavortheideaoftailoringtheirpresentationstodifferentstudents?
A．Theythinkstudentspreferflexibleteachingmethods.
B．Theywillbeabletotrydifferentapproaches.
C． Theybelievestudents'learningstylesvary.
D． Theycanaccommodatestudentswithspecialneeds.
64.WhatdoesJamesPennebakerrevealinTheSecretLifeofPronouns?
A．Theimportanceofusingpronounsproperly.
B． Repeateduseoffirst-personpronounsbyself-centeredpeople.
C． Frequentuseofpronounsandfuturetensebyyoungpeople.
D． Apatterninconfidentpeople'suseofpronouns.
65.Whyistheauthorskepticalofthedatarevolution?
- 6 -A．Data may not be easily accessible.
B． Errors may occur with large data samples.
C． Data cannot always do what we imagine it can.
D． Some data may turn out to be outdated.
PartⅣ Translation (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should
write your answer on ,Answer Sheet 2.
中国将努力确保到 2015 年就业者接受过平均 13.3 年的教育。如果这一目标得以实现，今后大部分进入劳动
力市场的人都须获得大学文凭。
在未来几年，中国将着力增加职业学院的招生人数；除了关注高等教育之外，还将寻找新的突破以确保教育
制度更加公平。中国正在努力最佳地利用教育资源，这样农村和欠发达地区将获得更多的支持。教育部还决
定改善欠发达地区学生的营养，并为外来务工人员的子女提供在城市接受教育的同等机会。
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。
- 7 -
