2022年12月英语六级第1套听力原文及题目
Section A
Direction: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear 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 I with a single line through the centre.
Conversation 1
M: How’s your dissertation going? I’m proofreading my first draft and will submit it to my professor tomorrow.
W: Oh, I haven’t even started writing mine yet. So I’m really worried about finishing by the end of next semester.
M: You mean you haven’t even begun yours yet? The final draft is due in five months.
W: Of course I’ve started it, but I can’t get to the writing yet as I haven’t found enough resources to use. So I’m still researching the topic.
M: Maybe the problem is the way you’re doing your research. I started by talking to my professor about where to look for information. And based on that, I found books in the library and a lot of reputable journal articles on the Internet.
W: I’ve tried all that, but don’t have enough to write the dissertation as my department’s minimum length is 70 pages. I think the problem is that my topic isn’t viable. And honestly, my professor did warn me at the beginning that I might not be able to find enough material. But I was so interested in the topic that I didn’t let his advice deter me.
M: Well, I suggest you find a new topic. After all, our professors are here to guide us, so it’s best to listen to them.
W: In retrospect, I wish I had listened to him, but I didn’t. And now I don’t want to give up my topic as I’ve already invested so much time and energy.
M: If you’re committed to your current topic, maybe you could make some adjustments rather than abandoning it completely. What is your topic?
W: It’s “Depictions of Femininity in Folklore from the South of the Country”.
M: That’s pretty narrow. You could find more material if you made the topic broader, maybe by including other kinds of depictions.
W: Broadening the topic is a great idea. I’ll start by including folklore from other regions of the country.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What does the woman say about her dissertation?
Question 2: What does the man say about his professor?
Question 3: What does the woman say about her professor?
Question 4: What do we learn the woman will do to complete her dissertation?
1.
A) She hasn’t started writing it.
B) She hasn’t decided on a topic.
C) She is proofreading the first draft.
D) She is working on the references.
2.
A) He lent many books to the man for reference.
B) He offered the man advice on resource hunting.
C) He published a lot in a number of reputable journals.
D) He told the man to be selective when using e-resources.
3.
A) He didn’t think her dissertation topic viable.
B) He wasn’t interested in her dissertation topic.
C) He didn’t want her to rush through her dissertation.
D) He wasn’t specific about the length of her dissertation.
4.
A) Change her research methodology.
B) Narrow down her dissertation topic.
C) Consult her professor more.
D) Follow the man’s advice.
Conversation 2
W: Today on Book Talk, we’re lucky enough to host John Robbins and discuss his new book, Why Americans Are Fat and How We Can Lose Weight. John isn’t just a respected writer, he’s also one of the rare celebrity authors writing about science today.
M: Thanks for having me, Rebecca, but I’m hardly a celebrity.
W: That’s very modest of you to say, considering that your four books have sold a total of 7 million copies worldwide, and they’ve been translated into 12 different languages. What makes people so fascinated with your work?
M: Well, people read my books because more than 60% of Americans are overweight or obese, and other countries are facing similar problems. Basically, we all want to know how to fix things.
W: We certainly do. I’ve read your new book, and it’s fabulous, especially when it comes to the way you make difficult science easy for laymen to understand. That’s no small achievement.
M: I’m glad to hear you find my work accessible, because I was worried when I wrote it that discussing the science might make the book more suited for a specialist audience. My last book was written primarily for the medical community. But this time, I want to help ordinary people take control of their weight.
W: And how do you suggest they do that? Can you give us the basics of your advice for people who want to lose weight?
M: Briefly, I argue that every person needs to consider their metabolism and eat what suits their body’s needs. I don’t advocate one single diet. Some people should eat more carbohydrates than others. And different people need different amounts of protein and fat.
W: But you do have some recommendations for everyone, including eating ten servings of vegetables and three of fruit a day. We’ll talk about those recommendations next, but now we need to take a short break for a message from our sponsor.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What does the woman say about the man in her introduction?
Question 6: What has motivated the man to write his books?
Question 7: Who does the man say his last book was mainly written for?
Question 8: What does the man recommend people do?
5.
A) He has translated 12 books.
B) He is a well-known nutritionist.
C) His books sell well worldwide.
D) His latest book sold a million copies.
6.
A) The desire of Americans to try exotic cuisines.
B) The demand for information about food safety.
C) The fact that over half of Americans are overweight.
D) The fact that science books are difficult to read.
7.
A) The general public.
B) Those who are overweight.
C) Those who want to lose weight.
D) The medical community.
8.
A) Switch to a vegetarian diet.
B) Follow a personalized diet.
C) Adhere to doctors’ advice.
D) Cut carbohydrate intake.
Section B
Direction: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear 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 1 with a single line through the centre.
Passage 1
Stress is often depicted as negative, but research shows that moderate amounts of it can be beneficial for your brain and your body. First, the benefits for the brain. Studies have shown that short periods of stress can actually bolster cognitive functioning. Researchers discovered that placing rats in a stressful situation for just a few hours doubled the growth of new brain cells. The rats also did better on a memory test later on. Scientists think the same thing happens in humans. But how does stress improve memory? It’s simple. When your brain cells multiply, your memory can improve. Viewed from a biological perspective, this makes sense because animals that are better at remembering dangerous situations can avoid them in the future. If an animal encounters a predator and escapes, for example, it’s important to remember where and when that encounter happened. Experts assert that the same principle applies to humans. Now, let’s turn to how stress benefits the body. This may come as a surprise to laymen, but experts say that stress can keep you from getting sick. Scientists concede that chronic stress can make you more prone to illness, but research shows that short periods of stress can actually provide some protection against getting sick because it increases your immune functioning. One study shows that rats that experienced brief stress had a surge of immune cell response, which makes the immune system better prepared to fight illness. For humans, there’s even evidence that experiencing stress before getting vaccinated could help make vaccines more effective.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What did researchers discover about rats placed briefly in a stressful situation?
Question 10: Why do people tend to have clearer memories of dangerous situations they have encountered?
Question 11: What do scientists believe chronic stress can do?
9.
A) The rate of their growth increased dramatically.
B) The growth of their new brain cells doubled.
C) They began to show signs of depression.
D) They began to get irritated and restless.
10.
A) To avoid them in the future.
B) To warn others against them.
C) To make good sense of them.
D) To reflect on their causes.
11.
A) Produce a surprising healing effect.
B) Weaken one’s immunity in the long run.
C) Make people more susceptible to illness.
D) Provide protection against mental illnesses.
Passage 2
For many managers and people who work in leadership positions, dealing with emails is a dilemma. It’s likely the unpredictable, uncontrollable and ongoing nature of day-to-day email in terms of volume, importance and urgency contributes to their levels of anxiety and to diminished leadership skills. That’s because it’s not unusual for many leaders to prioritize email management over people management. An obsession with managing their inbox prevents them from dealing with their employees. As a result, they ignore the issues that might only be mild problems at first, until unfortunately, they inevitably transform into a major problem or crisis by virtue of neglect. As leaders, they are expected to motivate and inspire their team in pursuit of longer-term strategic goals and also, less ambitiously but more practically, to monitor their daily output to set clear expectations and to give regular feedback. When presented with a choice between the appeal of their inbox and other more important activities, many sacrifice the latter. Daily email demands have a negative impact on their goal progress. This is because leaders must divert resources from other tasks to check, filter and respond to emails. The solution is cultivating self-control which is like a muscle. It can be strengthened or improved over time through exercise. Some suggestions include: making space in your diary for the only period during which you will be checking emails; setting a timer for yourself so you don’t become distracted by your inbox for too long; turning off email alerts so you’re not interrupted by them.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What does the speaker say is a common problem with managers?
Question 13: What may happen when managers ignore minor problems?
Question 14: What are leaders expected to do in pursuing their strategic goals?
Question 15: How can a manager best avoid being distracted by email?
12.
A) Placing their own interests over their staff’s.
B) Being overwhelmed by their daily routines.
C) Lacking the ability to relate to their staff.
D) Spending too much time handling email.
13.
A) Their leadership may be challenged.
B) Their companies may go bankrupt.
C) Unexpected events may occur.
D) Major problems may result.
14.
A) Keep an eye on their employees.
B) Motivate and inspire their team.
C) Sacrifice some of the immediate goals.
D) Have greater ambition in overall planning.
15.
A) Cultivate self-control.
B) Filter their email boxes.
C) Respond only after work.
D) Check only when necessary.
Section C
Direction: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four questions. The recordings will be played only once. After you hear 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 1 with a single line through the centre.
Recording 1
In last week’s lecture, we talked about the problems caused by poor eating habits, focusing on how medical professionals are trying to solve these problems. Today, we’ll continue with the topic, but focus on research from a different field — marketing. Now, what can marketing tell us about improving nutrition? Well, a team of marketing professors has studied the importance of the visual aspect of food and how that influences food choices. Those marketing experts assert that the impact of the appearance of food is greater than we might presume, and might hold the key to encouraging better eating. So how important is the appearance of food? Research shows that just seeing an appealing photograph of a hamburger in an advertisement, for example, can cause individuals to imagine the taste or smell of that hamburger. This can make them more likely to purchase and consume it. Of course, that’s the point of advertisements. So isn’t that a good thing? Well, the marketing professors argue that this is actually a problem because the combination of pleasing aesthetics of and easy access to unhealthy foods, such as hamburgers and pizza, may be contributing to a worldwide health crisis. In fact, statistics show that 39% of all adults in the world weigh too much, and another 13% are obese. Now, as we discussed last time, medical professionals have tried to fight the obesity epidemic by focusing on the nutrients found in different foods, emphasizing things like carbohydrate, fat, sugar and calorie content. But they’ve had limited success. The marketing professors believe that the real solution to obesity is making food look appealing and focusing on the pleasure of both looking at and eating that food. That pleasure can be used as a tool to promote healthy food choices. In fact, the research done by the team showed that associating healthy food with pleasant images, experiences and emotions led to greater interest in purchasing or eating. “This is a better strategy,” they claim, “than reminding consumers that a certain food is good for them.” But are they right? Well, the researchers cited a marketing campaign designed to reverse the sales decline of carrots. The campaign didn’t emphasize the carrots’ healthy qualities, but embrace their beauty and the pleasure derived from eating them. For example, the ads focused on the bright, beautiful orange color and crisp texture of the carrots. The campaign led to an impressive increase in product sales of more than 10%. The researchers believe that other companies could bolster sales of healthy foods with similar ads, depicting their products as attractive and a source of pleasure.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What does the speaker say a team of marketing professors has studied?
Question 17: How have medical professionals tried to fight obesity?
Question 18: What can other companies learn from the example of the carrot promotion campaign?
16.
A) The key to increasing healthy food supply.
B) The best way to improve marketing research.
C) The impact of advertisements on consumption.
D) The importance of the appearance of food.
17.
A) By focusing on the nutrients in different foods.
B) By emphasizing the diversity of food.
C) By stressing pleasing aesthetics of food.
D) By winning the support of marketing professors.
18.
A) They can attract customers with the healthy qualities of their products.
B) They can boost sales of healthy foods by making them visually appealing.
C) They can turn to marketing professors for advice.
D) They can rely on advertising for sales promotion.
Recording 2
The household cleaning products industry really began to take off in the 1950s. Prior to that, resourceful housewives who had grown up in a less prosperous era relied on substances that they used in their kitchens such as vinegar used to clean windows. Today, the household cleaning products industry is worth billions of dollars a year and is dominated by large global companies. In recent years, however, many countries have witnessed a surge in the number of small businesses and companies offering more environment-friendly cleaning products. And they’re doing good business, too. One reason for this is that consumers are becoming more aware of environment and sustainability issues. They also want to make their home a safe place, free from toxic chemicals. The third reason is people’s awareness of and knowledge about technology has never been greater. In the past, people might have been skeptical of a new product claimed to be able to achieve amazing cleaning results, but they now have faith in technology’s ability to do what was once thought impossible. There is perhaps no better example of this than a patented cloth sold by one company, which remarkably uses only water rather than traditional cleaning products. The company claims its cloth lifts, traps, and removes dirt and bacteria. And considering that people don’t see these products in shops, or advertised on TV, or in the press, it has been a pretty steep rise. Many of the people behind these companies began testing the viability of their products by selling them at local markets. Then, in many cases, customers are doing the marketing for these product by leaving threads of comments on social media, praising their virtues. There are also TV shows and books dedicated to maintaining home tidiness and cleanliness and the benefits of having a clean home. Having a safe and clean home might be one thing people feel they can control in an increasingly out-of-control world. And there are social media celebrities. One woman in Britain has become a social media sensation with more than 2 million followers for her cleaning tips page.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What does the speaker say about the cleaning products industry in recent years?
Question 20: Why are newly developed cleaning products selling well?
Question 21: What are some customers doing to help promote non-traditional cleaning products?
19.
A) It has witnessed a spectacular surge in demand.
B) It has met much criticism from environmentalists.
C) It has seen more small businesses offering environment-friendly products.
D) It has experienced increasingly fierce competition among global companies.
20.
A) Consumers now know much more about technology.
B) Their mass production has sharply reduced the price.
C) Consumers tend to favor all that is novel.
D) Their quality has been greatly improved.
21.
A) Purchasing only this kind of products for home cleaning.
B) Writing positive comments about them on social media.
C) Demonstrating on TV how effective these products are.
D) Telling one another about their incomparable virtues.
Recording 3
Throwing spare change into a fountain is a time-honored ritual: throw a penny into the water, and your wish might come true. But all that money has to go somewhere. Otherwise, the growing piles of pennies, quarters and euros could clog up the fountain’s works. Today I’m going to talk about where all the coins go. Well, the coins collected can go to all sorts of different places — from fountain maintenance to charity or public service. In New York City, for example, coins collected from fountains in public parks often go towards the fountain’s maintenance itself, though entrepreneurs who don’t mind getting their hands wet often get to it first. There are over 50 beautiful, decorative display fountains in New York City parks. They are cleaned by the park’s staff every few weeks, but most of the coins have already been removed by entrepreneurial New Yorkers and there is not a significant amount left to be collected. Other cities, though, can pull in a much more serious haul. Take for example, Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain: for hundreds of years, visitors have thrown coins over their shoulder into the fountain to ensure that they will return. So many tourists toss in coins that Roman officials have the fountain cleaned every night, reportedly getting as much as $4,000 in loose change from around the world each day. Most of the money collected each night goes towards running a supermarket for the needy. And collecting that cash is serious business. Roman officials have been known to be tough on anyone caught skimming coins from the fountain. In one case in 2005, police arrested four fountain cleaners after they were spotted slipping coins into their own pockets after collecting them. Authorities finally caught one notorious thief named Thomas Morgan and banned him from the fountain after he fished out thousands of dollars in change over 34 years using a magnetic stick. For the most part, money collected from privately-owned fountains in the United States also goes to charity. The fountain in New York City’s Bryant Park is owned and operated by a not-for-profit corporation, which puts the cash collected by cleaners towards the fountain’s own maintenance. Tens of thousands of dollars in coins removed from wishing wells, fountains and ponds in Florida’s Walt Disney World are donated each year to support foster children living in the state. Whether or not your wish comes true after tossing a coin into a fountain, you can rest assured knowing that the change is likely going to someone who needs it.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 22: What problem might be caused by the growing piles of coins in fountains?
Question 23: What does the speaker say about the coins collected from New York City’s Park fountains?
Question 24: What do we learn about the money collected from Rome’s Trevi Fountain?
Question 25: What does the speaker say about Thomas Morgan?
22.
A) Increasing cleaners’ workload.
B) Blocking the fountains’ works.
C) Breaking a time-honored ritual.
D) Polluting the fountains’ water.
23.
A) They are occasionally retrieved by curious tourists.
B) They are regularly donated to charity organizations.
C) They are mostly used for the fountains’ maintenance.
D) They are usually used as wages for fountain cleaners.
24.
A) It is invested in a series of businesses.
B) It is used exclusively for its maintenance.
C) It is used to run a supermarket for the needy.
D) It is estimated to be about $40,000 a month.
25.
A) He was arrested for stealing money from four fountain cleaners.
B) He was sentenced to 34 years’ imprisonment.
C) He collected rare coins from around the world.
D) He stole a lot of money from a fountain with a magnetic stick.
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