Archive四月 2020

2019年06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
Cathy: Hi, my name’s Cathy, nice to meet you.
John: Nice to meet you too Kathy, my name’s John. I’m a university friend of the bride. What about you? Who do you know at this party?
Cathy: I am a colleague of Brenda. I was a little surprised to be invited to be honest. We’ve only been working together the last six months, but we quickly became good friends. We just wrapped up a project with a difficult client last week. I bet Brenda is glad it’s done with, and she can focus on wedding preparations.
John: Oh, yes. So you are Cathy from the office. Actually I’ve heard a lot about you in that project, the client sounded like a real nightmare.
Cathy: Oh, he was, I mean we deal with all kinds of people on a regular basis, it’s part of the job, but he was especially particular. Enough about that, what line of work are you in?
John: Well, right out of college I worked in advertising for a while. Recently though, I turn my photography hobby into a small business. I’ll actually be taking photos during the big event as a wedding gift.
Cathy: That sounds wonderful and very thoughtful of you. I bake, just as a hobby. But Brenda has asked me to do the cake for the wedding. I was a bit nervous saying yes because I’m far from a professional.
John: Did you bake the cookies here at the party tonight?
Cathy: Yes, I got the idea from a magazine.
John: They’re delicious! You’ve got nothing to worry about. You are a natural.
Cathy: You really think so?
John: If you hadn’t told me that. I would have guessed they were baked by the restaurant. You know, with your event planning experience you could very well open your own shop.
Cathy: (laughing) One step at a time. First, I’ll see how baking the wedding cake goes. If it’s not a disaster, maybe I’ll give it some more thought.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What did Cathy and Brenda finished doing last week?
Question 2: What is John going to do for Brenda?
Question 3: How did Kathy feel when asked to bake the cake?
Question 4: What does the man suggest the woman do?

1.
A) A six-month-long negotiation.
B) Preparations for the party.
C) A project with a troublesome client.
D) Gift wrapping for the colleagues.

2.
A) Take wedding photos.
B) Advertise her company.
C) Start a small business.
D) Throw a celebration party.

3.
A) Hesitant.
B) Nervous.
C) Flattered.
D) Surprised.

4.
A) Start her own bakery.
B) Improve her baking skill.
C) Share her cooking experience.
D) Prepare for the wedding.

Conversation 2
M: You are heading for a completely different world, now that you are about to graduate from high school.
W: I know it’s the end of high school, but many of classmates are going on to the same university, and we are still required to study hard. So what’s the difference?
M: Many aspects are different here at the university. The most important one is that you have to take more individual responsibility for your actions. It’s up to your own self-discipline—how much efforts you put into study. Living in college dormitories, there are no parents to tell you that study harder or stop wasting time. Lectures have hundreds of students and they are not going to follow you up or question you if you miss the lectures.
W: Nobody cares you mean?
M: It’s not that nobody concerned about you, it’s just that suddenly at the university you are expected to behave like an adult. That means concentrating on the direction of your life in general and your own academic performance specifically.
W: For example…?
M: Well, like you need to manage daily, weekly and monthly schedules, so that you study regularly. Be sure to attend all classes and leave enough time to finish your assignments and prepare well for examinations.
W: Ok, and what else is different?
M: Well, in college there are lots of distractions, and you need to control yourself. You will make interesting friends, but you need only keep the friends who respect your students’ commitments. Also, there are a lot of wonderful clubs, but you shouldn’t allocate too much time to club activities, unless they are directly related to your study. It’s also your choice if you want to go out at night, but you will be foolish to let that affect class performance during the day.
W: Well, I’m determined to do well at the university and I guess I’m going to have to grow up fast.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What does the man say about college students as compared with high schoolers?
Question 6: What are college students expected to do according to the man?
Question 7: What kind of friends does the man suggest the woman make as a college student?
Question 8: What kind of club activities should college students engaging according to the man?

5.
A) They have to spend more time studying.
B) They have to participate in club activities.
C) They have to be more responsible for what they do.
D) They have to choose a specific academic discipline.

6.
A) Get ready for a career.
B) Make a lot of friends.
C) Set a long-term goal.
D) Behave like adults.

7.
A) Those who share her academic interests.
B) Those who respect her student commitments.
C) Those who can help her when she is in need.
D) Those who go to the same clubs as she does.

8.
A) Those helpful for tapping their potential.
B) Those conducive to improving their social skills.
C) Those helpful for cultivating individual interests.
D) Those conducive to their academic studies.

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
Most successful people are unorthodox persons whose minds wonder outside traditional ways of thinking. Instead of trying to refine old formulas, they invent new ones. When Jean-Claude Killy made the French national ski team in the early 1960s, he was prepared to work harder than anyone else to be the best. At the crack of dawn, he would run up the slopes with his skis on, an unbelievably backbreaking activity. In the evening, he would do weightlifting and running. But the other team members were working as hard and long as he was. He realized instinctively that simply training harder would never be enough. Killy then began challenging the basic theories of racing technique. Each week, he would try something different to see if he could find a better, faster way down the mountain. His experiments resulted in a new style that was almost exactly opposite the exact technique of the time. It involved skiing with his legs apart for better balance and sitting back on the skis when he came to a turn. He also used ski poles in an unorthodox way–to propel himself as he skied. The explosive new style helped cut Killy’s racing time dramatically. In 1966 and 1967, he captured virtually every major skiing trophy. The next year, he won three gold medals in the Winter Olympics, a record in ski racing that has never been topped. Killy learned an important secret shared by many creative people: innovations don’t require genius, just a willingness to question the way things have always been done.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What does the speaker say about most successful people?
Question 10: What does the speaker say about Killy’s experiments?
Question 11: What is said to be Killy’s biggest honor in his skiing career?

9.
A) They break away from traditional ways of thinking.
B) They are prepared to work harder than anyone else.
C) They are good at refining old formulas.
D) They bring their potential into full play.

10.
A) They contributed to the popularity of skiing worldwide.
B) They resulted in a brand-new style of skiing technique.
C) They promoted the scientific use of skiing poles.
D) They made explosive news in the sports world.

11.
A) He was recognized as a genius in the world of sports.
B) He competed in all major skiing events in the world.
C) He won three gold medals in one Winter Olympics.
D) He broke three world skiing records in three years.

Passage 2
Scientific experiments have demonstrated incredible ways to kill a guinea pig, a small furry animal. Emotional upsets generate powerful and deadly toxic substances. Blood samples taken from persons experiencing intense fear or anger when injected into guinea pigs have killed them in less than two minutes. Imagine what these poisonous substances can do to your own body. Every thought that you have affects your body chemistry within a split second. Remember how you feel when you are speeding down the highway and a big truck suddenly brakes twenty meters in front of you. A shock wave shoots through your whole system. Your mind produces instant reactions in your body. The toxic substances that fear, anger, frustration and stress produce not only kill guinea pigs but kill us off in a similar manner. It is impossible to be fearful, anxious, irritated and healthy at the same time. It is not just difficult, it is impossible. Simply put, your body’s health is a reflection of your mental health. Sickness will often then be a result of unresolved inner conflicts which in time show up in the body. It is also fascinating how our subconscious mind shapes our health. Do you recall falling sick on a day when you didn’t want to go to school? Headaches brought on by fear? The mind-body connection is such that if, for example, we want to avoid something, very often our subconscious mind will arrange it. Once we recognize that these things happen to us, we are half way to doing something about them.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What happens to guinea pigs when blood samples of angry people are injected into them?
Question 13: What does the speaker say about every thought you have?
Question 14: What does the speaker say is impossible?
Question 15: What does the passage say about our mind and body?

12.
A) They appear restless.
B) They lose consciousness.
C) They become upset.
D) They die almost instantly.

13.
A) It has an instant effect on your body chemistry.
B) It keeps returning to you every now and then.
C) It leaves you with a long lasting impression.
D) It contributes to the shaping of your mind.

14.
A) To succeed while feeling irritated.
B) To feel happy without good health.
C) To be free from frustration and failure.
D) To enjoy good health while in dark moods.

15.
A) They are closely connected.
B) They function in a similar way.
C) They are too complex to understand.
D) They reinforce each other constantly.

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
Teachers and students alike have experienced the curious paradox that beginners, as a rule, tend to think too little about what they are doing because they think too much about what they are doing. Take for example people who are learning to play basketball or the piano. They have to give so much thought and attention to the low-level mechanics of handling the ball or fingering the keys or reading the music, that they are unable to give any thought to the thing that matters – the game, or the music, respectively. With experts, it’s just the other way around. They are open to the tactical possibilities and the musical challenges precisely because they are freed, through skill, from the need to pay attention to the low-level details of how to play. Indeed, when the expert pays attention to the mechanics, this is liable to disrupt performance. This has led some to say that the expert operates in a zone ‘beyond thought’, in a state of flow. But this is misleading. Expert performance is not beyond thought. Smart basketball players or skilled musicians need to pay close attention to the demands of high performance, to the challenges to be overcome. What they don’t need to do – what would be a distraction – is to have to think about where their fingers are, or how to control the ball while running. It’s not mechanics, but the play itself, that absorbs the experts’ intelligence. A nice video published online last month sheds light on expertise and the conscious mind. The video reports a new study using an eye-tracking device. It turns out that the less-skilled pianist spends more time looking at her fingers than does the expert who, in contrast, is more likely to be looking at the sheet music, or looking ahead at keys he’s not yet playing. In general, the expert’s gaze was calmer and more stable. This is not a surprising finding. It supports what we might almost think of as conventional wisdom. But it’s remarkable for all that, nonetheless. The eye tracker gives expert and learning performers a glimpse into what they do without thinking about it. The topic of the nature of skill – and the differences between beginners and experts – has been one of considerable discussion in cognitive science and philosophy.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What does the speaker say about beginners and expert pianists?
Question 17: What do smart basketball players do according to the speaker?
Question 18: What do we learn about the new study published in an online video?

16.
A) They differ in their appreciation of music.
B) They focus their attention on different things.
C) They finger the piano keys in different ways.
D) They choose different pieces of music to play.

17.
A) They manage to cooperate well with their teammates.
B) They use effective tactics to defeat their competitors.
C) They try hard to meet the spectators’ expectations.
D) They attach great importance to high performance.

18.
A) It marks a breakthrough in behavioral science.
B) It adopts a conventional approach to research.
C) It supports a piece of conventional wisdom.
D) It gives rise to controversy among experts.

Recording 2
Every summer when I top up my selection of summer outfits from the department stores, my eyes would nearly pop out of my head. I’m overwhelmed with the wide range of different slimming products each year. And more shockingly, these products are often advocated by very slim models. Having lived in Asia for almost ten years now, I’ve seen various dieting tips come and go. I remember in Japan people heading directly to the food section in the supermarket when the banana diet was at its peak. Then, there was the black tea and oolong tea diet followed by the soybean diet and the tomato juice diet. The list goes on and on. Apart from what people eat, I’ve also seen many interesting slimming products. In Hongkong, I’ve seen girls wrapping their whole body or both legs up with a special type of slimming tape which is supposed to help make them thinner. But it just reminded me of the roasted ham my mother usually puts on the dinner table of Christmas. Then there were the face slimming rollers that were said to improve your blood circulation and make your face smaller. Personally, I do not believe in any of these slimming gadgets. And I think I have a very different perspective when it comes to the definition of what is beautiful. Asian women prefer to avoid the sun because being pale or white is considered beautiful, whereas a tanned complexion is considered much more beautiful and sexy in the west. It is most certainly shaped by a person’s culture as well as how they were raised in their childhood. As each summer season approaches, there’s no escape from it. But it’s not only women who are affected by this pressure to look good. Men aspire to be able to show off their six packs or their V-shape backs and there’s a growing market of slimming pills aimed at men too. I think no matter what diets we follow or what slimming products we obsess ourselves with, at the end of the day there’s no magic trick to shape up for the summer. Eat in a balance way and incorporate the right level of physical activity. For me, this still seems to be the best plan.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What overwhelms the speaker when she buys her summer outfits each year?
Question 20: What does the speaker think of girls wrapping their legs up with slimming tape?
Question 21: What does the speaker think affects people’s interpretation of beauty?
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.

19.
A) People’s envy of slim models.
B) People’s craze for good health.
C) The increasing range of fancy products.
D) The great variety of slimming products.

20.
A) They appear vigorous.
B) They appear strange.
C) They look charming.
D) They look unhealthy.

21.
A) Culture and upbringing.
B) Wealth and social status.
C) Peer pressure.
D) Media influence.

Recording 3
Skin may seem like a superficial human attribute, but it is the first thing we notice about anyone we meet. As a zoologist focusing on the studies of apes and monkeys, I’ve been studying why humans evolved to become the naked ape, and why skin comes in so many different shades around the world. We can make a very good estimate from the fossil record that humans probably evolved naked skin around a million and a half years ago. And meanwhile, they mostly lost their coat of fur. Today, we have a few patches of hair remaining on various parts of our bodies. But compared with apes and monkeys, we have very little. Basically, we turned our skin darker to serve as a natural sun-protector in the place of the hair we lost. We think we lost this hair because of the need to keep ourselves cool, when we were moving around vigorously in a hot environment. We can’t really lose heat by breathing quickly and loudly like dogs. We have to do it by sweating. So we evolved the ability to sweat plentifully, and lost most of our fur. Most animals protect themselves from the sun with fur. What we did in our ancestry was to produce more permanent natural coloring in our skin cells. This was really an important revolution in human history, because it allowed us to continue to evolve in equatorial environments. It really made it possible for us to continue along the path toward modern humans in Africa. For most of the human history, we all had dark skin. What we see today is the product of evolutionary events, resulting from the dispersal of a few human populations out of Africa around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. Our species originated around 200,000 years ago, and underwent tremendous diversification, culturally, technologically, linguistically, artistically, for 130,000 years. After that, a few small populations left Africa to populate the rest of the world. These early ancestors of modern Eurasians disperse into parts of the world that had more seasonal sunshine and much lower levels of sun radiation. It’s in these populations that we begin to see real changes in the genetic makeup of natural coloring. Today, skin color is evolving via new mixtures of people coming together and having children with new mixtures of skin color genes. We can see this in almost every large city worldwide. Not only the coloring genes, but lots of other genes are getting mixed up, too.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 22: What does the speaker mainly talk about?
Question 23: What had probably caused humans to lose most of their hair one and a half million years ago?
Question 24: What does the speaker say protected early humans from the sun?
Question 25: What happened after humans migrated from Africa to other parts of the world?

22.
A) The relation between hair and skin.
B) The growing interest in skin studies.
C) The color of human skin.
D) The need of skin protection.

23.
A) The necessity to save energy.
B) Adaptation to the hot environment.
C) The need to breathe with ease.
D) Dramatic climate changes on earth.

24.
A) Leaves and grass.
B) Man-made shelter.
C) Their skin coloring.
D) Hair on their skin.

25.
A) Their genetic makeup began to change.
B) Their communities began to grow steadily.
C) Their children began to mix with each other.
D) Their pace of evolution began to quicken.

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2019年06月英语六级第2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
W: Wow, I would give anything to be more like Audrey Hepburn.
M: I never really understood why so many girls were such big fans of her. I mean I’ve seen the famous films, Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and a few others, but I still don’t fully get it. Was she that great an actress?
W: Well, for me, my adoration goes beyond her movies. She has such a classic elegance about her. She was always so poised. In part, because she spent years training as a ballet dancer before becoming an actress.
M: Why didn’t she stick to dancing as a career?
W: It seems it was fate. She suffered from inadequate nutrition during the war, and therefore a career as a professional dancer would have been too demanding on her body. So she focused on acting instead. Roman Holiday was her first big break, which made her a star.
M: Was that the film that opened with her shopping for jewelry in New York City? You know, the scene she was wearing a black dress and dark sunglasses with a pearl necklace and long black gloves. I see the photo of her in that costume everywhere.
W: No, that was Breakfast at Tiffany’s. That costume is often referred to as the most famous little black dress of all time. Her character in that film is very outgoing and charming, even though in real life, Audrey always described herself as shy and quiet.
M: So, what did she do after her acting career?
W: She dedicated much of her life to helping children in need. Her family received international aid during the war when she was growing up. I think that left her big impression on her. That’s where I got the idea to volunteer for children’s charity next weekend.
M: I’ll join you. I may not be as charming as Audrey Hepburn, but I’m all for supporting a good cause.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What does the man say he never really understood?
Question 2: What prevented Audrey Hepburn from becoming a professional dancer?
Question 3: What do we learn about Audrey Hepburn in real life?
Question 4: Why did Audrey Hepburn devote much of her life to charity after her acting career?

1.
A) Why Roman Holiday was more famous than Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
B) Why Audrey Hepburn had more female fans than male ones.
C) Why the woman wanted to be like Audrey Hepburn.
D) Why so many girls adored Audrey Hepburn.

2.
A) Her unique personality.
B) Her physical condition.
C) Her shift of interest to performing arts.
D) Her family’s suspension of financial aid.

3.
A) She was not an outgoing person.
B) She was modest and hardworking.
C) She was easy-going on the whole.
D) She was usually not very optimistic.

4.
A) She was influenced by the roles she played in the films.
B) Her parents taught her to sympathize with the needy.
C) She learned to volunteer when she was a child.
D) Her family benefited from other people’s help.

Conversation 2
W: So how is our presentation about the reconstructuring of the company coming along?
M: Fine, I am putting the finishing touches to it now, but we will have to be prepared for questions.
W: Yes, there is already a feeling that this is a top-down change, we really need to get everyone on board.
M: Well, there’s been an extensive consultation period.
W: I know, but there is always the feeling that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
M: People are worried about their jobs too. I think we need to address that while there will be some job changes, there won’t be anyone getting dismissed. In fact, we are looking to take on more staff.
W: Agreed. You can hardly blame people for worrying, though. We need to make it clear that it’s not just change for change’s sake. In other words, we really must make the case for why we are doing it. So, what’s the outline of the presentation?
M: I’ll start with the brief review of the reasons for the change that we really need to make a clean break to restart growth. After that, I’ll outline the new company’s structures and who is going where. Then we will hand it over to you to discuss the timeline and summarize and we’ll take questions together at the end. Anything else?
W: Oh, yeah. We should let the staff know the channels of communication, you know, who they can contact or direct questions to about these changes.
M: Yes, and we can collect some frequently asked questions and present some general answers.
W: Hm, and we will make the presentation and questions available via the company’s own computer network, right?
M: Yes, we’ll make a page on the network where staff can download all the details.
W: Alright, perhaps we should do a practice run of the presentation first.
M: You bet.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What is the man going to do?
Question 6: What does the man say about the restructuring?
Question 7: What will the man explain first?
Question 8: How can the staff learn more about the company’s restructuring?

5.
A) Give a presentation.
B) Raise some questions.
C) Start a new company.
D) Attend a board meeting.

6.
A) It will cut production costs.
B) It will raise productivity.
C) No staff will be dismissed.
D) No new staff will be hired.

7.
A) The timeline of restructuring.
B) The reasons for restructuring.
C) The communication channels.
D) The company’s new missions.

8.
A) By consulting their own department managers.
B) By emailing questions to the man or the woman.
C) By exploring various channels of communication.
D) By visiting the company’s own computer network.

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
Airline passengers have to deal with a lot these days, getting bumped from flights and losing luggage on top of the general line anxiety that nervous passengers always feel. At the Cincinnati northern Kentucky international airport, miniature horses deliver a calming force two times a month.
Denver and Ruby are two of the thirty-fourth therapy horses brought in from a local farm. They can usually be found in the ticket counter area interacting with travelers. More than thirty airports across the country now have therapy dogs. San Francisco has a therapy pig. San Jose, California, began a dog program after the terrorist attacks of September the eleventh.
Since its beginning, the program has now grown and has twenty-one therapy dogs and a therapy cat. The animals don’t get startled. They have had hundreds of hours of airport training, so they are used to having luggage and people crowding around them. These professional animals are probably better at finding their way in the airports than the most frequent of travelers. The passengers often say that seeing animals makes them feel much better and helps them to calm down before a flight.
This little bit of support can sometimes make a big difference. Some passengers enjoy the animals so much that they call the airport to schedule flights around their visits. Visits to nursing homes and schools are also a regular part of the horse’s schedule. Their owner is already working on a new idea for a therapy animal donkeys.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What is special about the Cincinnati northern Kentucky international airport?
Question 10: What are the trained animals probably capable of doing in an airport?
Question 11: What do some passengers try to do?

9.
A) It helps passengers to take care of their pet animals.
B) It has animals to help passengers carry their luggage.
C) It uses therapy animals to soothe nervous passengers.
D) It allows passengers to have animals travel with them.

10.
A) Avoiding possible dangers.
B) Finding their way around.
C) Identifying drug smugglers.
D) Looking after sick passengers.

11.
A) Schedule their flights around the animal visits.
B) Photograph the therapy animals at the airport.
C) Keep some animals for therapeutic purposes.
D) Bring their pet animals on board their plane.

Passage 2
Hello, viewers. Today I’m standing at a two-thousand-year-old Roman-era site. Here the brightly colored scenes that once decorated a mansion are being dug up. These scenes are turning up in the southern French city of Oral, surprising the historians who have been working here since two thousand fourteen, patches of paint still clinging to the stone walls of the bedroom and reception hall. Some of these painted walls are preserved in places to a height of one meter. In addition, thousands of fragments that fell off the walls have been recovered, these pieces have been put back together with great care and display a variety of images. Some of these images include figures never seen before in France, such as a woman playing a stringed instrument, possibly a character from mythology.
The paintings were done with such skill and with such expensive dyes that experts believe the artist originally came from Italy. They were likely hired by one of the city’s elite, perhaps a Roman official wanted Pompeii-like interior to remind him of home. He was probably stationed in this provincial trading port, founded in 46 B.C. as a colony for veterans of the Roman army. Or maybe a wealthy local wanted to show off his worldly sophistication. The paintings may yield even more stunning surprises as additional sections are put together, like pieces of a puzzle, whoever it was that created such magnificent pieces of art, they surely had no idea that their work would still be around thousands of years later.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: Where is the speaker standing?
Question 13: What do the thousands of fragments display when they are put back together?
Question 14: What makes experts think the paintings were done by artists from Italy?
Question 15: What do we learn from the passage about the owner of the mansion?

12.
A) Beside a beautifully painted wall in Arles.
B) Beside the gate of an ancient Roman city.
C) At the site of an ancient Roman mansion.
D) At the entrance to a reception hall in Rome.

13.
A) A number of different images.
B) A number of mythological heroes.
C) Various musical instruments.
D) Paintings by famous French artists.

14.
A) The originality and expertise shown.
B) The stunning images vividly depicted.
C) The worldly sophistication displayed.
D) The impressive skills and costly dyes.

15.
A) His artistic taste is superb.
B) His identity remains unclear.
C) He was a collector of antiques.
D) He was a rich Italian merchant.

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
Good afternoon, class. Today I want to discuss with you a new approach to empirical research. In the past, scientists often worked alone. They were confined to the university or research center where they worked. Today, though, we are seeing mergers of some of the greatest scientific minds, regardless of their location. There has never been a better time for collaborations with foreign scientists. In fact, the European Union is taking the lead. Spurred on by funding policies, half of European research articles had international co-authors in 2007, this is more than twice the level of two decades ago. The European Union’s level of international co-authorship is about twice that of the United States, Japan, and India. Even so, the levels in these countries are also rising. This is a sign of the continued allure of creating scientific coalitions across borders.
Andrew Schubert, a researcher at the institute for science policy research, says that the rising collaboration is partly out of necessity. This necessity comes with the rise of big science. Many scientific endeavors have become more complicated. These new complications require the money and labor of many nations. But he says collaborations have also emerged because of increased possibilities.
The internet allows like-minded scientists to find each other. Simultaneously, dramatic drops in communication costs ease long-distance interactions, and there’s a reward. Studies of citation counts show that international co-authored papers have better visibility. Schubert says international collaboration is a way to spread ideas in wider and wider circles. Caroline Wagner, a research scientist at George Washington University, notes that international collaborations offer additional flexibility. Whereas local collaborations sometimes persist past the point of usefulness, because of social or academic obligations, international ones can be cultivated and dropped more freely. The collaborative trend is true across scientific disciplines. Some feels though have a greater tendency for it. Particle physicist and astronomers collaborate often. This’s because they must share expensive facilities. Mathematicians, by contrast, tend historically towards solitude. As a consequence, they lag behind other disciplines. However, Wagner says partnerships are rising there too. The level of collaboration also varies from country to country. There are historical and political reasons as to why collaborations emerge, says Wagner. This rise is also apparently boosted by policies embedded in European framework funding schemes. These policies underlie funding requirements that often require teamwork.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What do we learn about the research funding policies in the European Union?
Question 17: Why do researchers today favor international collaboration?
Question 18: What do we learn about the field of mathematics?

16.
A) They encourage international cooperation.
B) They lay stress on basic scientific research.
C) They place great emphasis on empirical studies.
D) They favour scientists from its member countries.

17.
A) Many of them wish to win international recognition.
B) They believe that more hands will make light work.
C) They want to follow closely the international trend.
D) Many of their projects have become complicated.

18.
A) It requires mathematicians to work independently.
B) It is faced with many unprecedented challenges.
C) It lags behind other disciplines in collaboration.
D) It calls for more research funding to catch up.

Recording 2
Good evening, in 1959, on the day that I was born, a headline in Life magazine proclaimed Target Venus, There May Be Life There. It told of how scientists rode a balloon to an altitude of 80,000 feet to make telescope observations of Venus’s atmosphere and how their discovery of water raised hopes that there could be living things there. As a kid, I thrilled to tales of adventure and Isaac as most juvenile science fiction novel, Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus. For many of my peers, though, Venus quickly lost its romance. The very first thing that scientists discovered with a mission to another planet was that Venus was not at all the earthly paradise that fiction had portrayed.
It is nearly identical to our own planet and bulk properties such as mass, density, and size. But its surface has been cooked and dried by an ocean of carbon dioxide, trapped in the burning death grip of a runaway greenhouse effect. Venus has long been held up as a cautionary tale for everything that could go wrong on a planet like earth. As a possible home for alien life, it has been voted the planet least likely to succeed. But I have refused to give up on Venus. And over the years, my stubborn loyalty has been justified. The rocky views glimpsed by the Nearer Nine and other Russian landers suggested a tortured volcanic history that was confirmed in the early 1990s by the American Magellan orbiter, which used radar to peer through the planet’s thick clouds and map out a rich, varied and dynamic surface. The surface formed mostly in the last billion years, which makes it fresher and more recently active than any rocky planet other than earth.
Russian and American spacecraft also found hints that its ancient climate might have been wetter, cooler, and possibly even friendly to life. Measurements of density and composition imply that Venus originally formed out of basically the same stuff as earth that presumably included much more water than the tiny trace we find blowing in the thick air today. Thus, our picture of Venus at around that time life was getting started on earth is one of warm oceans, probably rich with organic molecules splashing around rocky shores and volcanic vents. The sun was considerably less bright back then.
So, Venus was arguably a cozy, a habitat for life than earth.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What do we learn from the Life magazine article?
Question 20: What are scientists’ findings about Venus?
Question 21: What information did Russian and American space probes provide about Venus?

19.
A) Scientists tried to send a balloon to Venus.
B) Scientists discovered water on Venus.
C) Scientists found Venus had atmosphere.
D) Scientists observed Venus from a space vehicle.

20.
A) It resembles Earth in many aspects.
B) It is the same as fiction has portrayed.
C) It is a paradise of romance for alien life.
D) It undergoes geological changes like Earth.

21.
A) It might have been hotter than it is today.
B) It might have been a cozy habitat for life.
C) It used to have more water than Earth.
D) It used to be covered with rainforests.

Recording 3
I’m a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, I specialize in cultural psychology, examining similarities and differences between East Asians and North Americans. Our research team has been looking at cultural differences in self-enhancing motivations, help people have positive feelings towards not only themselves but things connected to themselves. For example, when you own something, you view it as more valuable than when you don’t own it. It’s called the endowment effect. The strength of that effect is stronger in western cultures than in East Asian cultures. So we’ve been looking at other ways of seeing whether this motivation to view oneself positively is shaped by cultural experiences.
We’ve also started to look at how culture shapes sleep. We are still in the exploratory stages of this project, although what’s noteworthy that East Asians on average sleep about an hour and a half less each night than North Americans do. And it’s not a more efficient sleep, not like they’re compressing relatively more value out of their hours. Other studies have found that even infants in East Asia sleep about an hour less than European infants. So we’re trying to figure out how culture shapes the way you sleep.
Our experiment does not take place in a sleep lab, instead, we lend people motion-detecting watches and they wear them for a week at a time. Whenever they are not having a shower or swimming, they keep it on. These kinds of watches are used in sleep studies as a way of measuring how long people are sleeping, how efficient the sleep is, and whether they are waking up in the night. Ideally, I’d like to take this into a controlled lab environment. We’ll see where the research points us. We usually start off with the more affordable methods. And if everything looks promising, then it will justify trying to build a sleep lab and study sleep across cultures that way. Why do we study sleep? Sleep is something that has really been an unexplored topic cross-culturally. I’m attracted to it because culture isn’t something that only shapes the way our minds operate, it shapes the way our bodies operate too, and sleep is at the intersection of those.
Question 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 22: What does the speaker mainly study?
Question 23: What does the speaker say about North Americans?
Question 24: How did the speaker conduct the sleep study?
Question 25: What does the speaker say about research on sleep?

22.
A) Causes of sleeplessness.
B) Cross-cultural communication.
C) Cultural psychology.
D) Motivation and positive feelings.

23.
A) They attach great importance to sleep.
B) They often have trouble falling asleep.
C) They pay more attention to sleep efficiency.
D) They generally sleep longer than East Asians.

24.
A) By asking people to report their sleep habits.
B) By observing people’s sleep patterns in labs.
C) By having people wear motion-detecting watches.
D) By videotaping people’s daily sleeping processes.

25.
A) It has made remarkable progress in the past few decades.
B) It has not yet explored the cross-cultural aspect of sleep.
C) It has not yet produced anything conclusive.
D) It has attracted attention all over the world.

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2019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: Today our guest is Rosie Melinda who works as a features editor for Fashion magazine. Hi Rosie, you’re a features editor at one of the most widely read women’s magazines in the U.K. What kind of responsibilities does that job entail?
W: We spend our days looking at ideas from journalists, writing copy for the magazine and website and editing. We do random things like asking people in the street questions and testing sports clothing. We also do less tangible things like understanding what our readers want. It’s certainly varied and sometimes bizarre.
M: During your working day what kind of work might you typically do?
W: My day mainly incorporates responding to emails, writing and editing stories and coming up with new feature ideas.
M: How does the job of features editor differ from that of fashion editor or other editorial positions?
W: The feature’s team deals with articles such as careers, reports, confidence and confessions. Everything except to fashion and beauty.
M: A lot of people believe that working at a magazine is a glamorous job. Is this an accurate representation of what you do?
W: I’d say it’s glamorous to an extent, but not in the way it’s portrayed in films. We do have our moments such as interviewing celebrities and attending parties which is a huge thrill. Ultimately though, we’re the same as our readers. But working in a job we’re all very lucky to have.
M: Did you have to overcome any difficulties to reach this point in your career? How did you manage to do this?
W: I had to be really persistent and it was very hard work. After three years of working in a petrol station and doing unpaid work I still hadn’t managed to get an entry level job. I was lucky that my last desperate attempt led to a job. I told myself that all experiences make you a better journalist in the long run and luckily, I was right.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What is the woman’s profession?
Question 2: What is one of the woman’s main responsibilities?
Question 3: What do many people think about the woman’s job?
Question 4: What helped the woman to get her current position?

1.
A) Magazine reporter.
B) Fashion designer.
C) Website designer.
D) Features editor.

2.
A) Designing sports clothing.
B) Consulting fashion experts.
C) Answering daily emails.
D) Interviewing job-seekers.

3.
A) It is challenging.
B) It is fascinating.
C) It is tiresome.
D) It is fashionable.

4.
A) Her persistence.
B) Her experience.
C) Her competence.
D) Her confidence.

Conversation 2
W: Are you watching any good shows these days?
M: Actually, yes. I’m watching a great satire called Frankie. I think you’d like it.
W: Really? What’s it about?
M: It’s about a real guy named Frankie. He is a famous comedian in New York and shows a mixture of comedy and drama loosely depicting his life.
W: I’m sorry, do you mean to say, it’s a real-life series about a real person? It’s non-fiction, isn’t it?
M: No … Not really, no. It’s fiction, as what happens in every episode is made up. However the lead role is a comedian by the name of Frankie, and he plays himself. So Frankie in both real life and in the TV show lives in New York City, is a comic, is divorced, and has two little daughters. All those things are true, but aside from him, all his friends and family are played by actors. And the plots and the events that take place are also invented.
W: Oh, I think I see now. That sounds like a very original concept.
M: Yes, it is. In fact, the whole show is written, directed, edited and produced by him, and is very funny and has won many awards.
W: That’s cool. I will try to download it. I’m watching a comedy called The Big Bang Theory. It’s a huge hit around the world.
M: Oh yes. I’ve heard of it, but never actually watched it.
W: Well, then you should check it out. It’s also very funny. It’s about four male scientists and a female waitress. The men are very socially awkward but very bright. And this is contrasted by the lady’s social skills and common sense. The show has been running for over ten years, and some of the actors are practically global super stars. Now that they are such famous celebrities.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What does the man think of the satire Frankie he recently watched?
Question 6: What does the man say especial about the satire Frankie?
Question 7: What does the woman say she is going to do with the satire Frankie?
Question 8: What does the woman say about the comedy The Big Bang Theory?

5.
A) It is enjoyable.
B) It is educational.
C) It is divorced from real life.
D) It is adapted from a drama.

6.
A) All the roles are played by famous actors and actress.
B) It is based on the real-life experiences of some celebrities.
C) Its plots and events reveal a lot about Frankie’s actual life.
D) It is written, directed, edited and produced by Frankie himself.

7.
A) Go to the theater and enjoy it.
B) Recommend it to her friends.
C) Watch it with the man.
D) Download and watch it.

8.
A) It has drawn criticisms from scientists.
B) It has been showing for over a decade.
C) It is a ridiculous piece of satire.
D) It is against common sense.

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
Related to the ‘use-it-or-lose-it law’ is the ‘keep-moving principle’. We learned about stagnation from nature. A river that stops moving gets smelly. The same thing happens to people who stop moving, either mentally or physically. Those who play contact sports know that the player who usually gets hurt the most is the one who is standing still. Of course, you’ll need some time to catch your breath every so often, but the essential massage is keep moving, extending and learning. Ships last a lot longer when they go to sea than when they stay in the harbor. The same is true for the airplanes. You don’t preserve an airplane by keeping it on the ground, you preserve it by keeping it in service. We also get to live a long healthy life by staying in service. Longevity statistics reveal that the average person doesn’t last very long after retirement. The more we’ll hear is don’t retire. If a fellow says “I’m 94 years old and I worked all my life”, we need to realize, that is how he got to be 94, by staying involved. George Bernard Shaw won a Nobel Prize when he was nearly 70. Benjamin Franklin produced some of his best writings at the age of 84, and Pablo Picasso put brush to canvas right through his eighties. Isn’t the issue how old we think we are? A bonus with the ‘keep-moving principle’ is that while we keep moving, we don’t have a chance to worry. Hence we avoid the dreaded paralyses by analysis.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What does the speaker say about players of contact sports?
Question 10: What do longevity statistics reveal about the average person?
Question 11: What bonus does the keep moving principle bring us according to the speaker?

9.
A) They are likely to get hurt when moving too fast.
B) They believe in team spirit.
C) They need to keep moving to avoid getting hurt.
D) They have to learn how to avoid body contact.

10.
A) They do not have many years to live after retirement.
B) They tend to live longer with early retirement.
C) They do not start enjoying life until full retirement.
D) They keep themselves busy even after retirement.

11.
A) It prevents us from worrying.
B) It slows down our aging process.
C) It enables us to accomplish in life.
D) It provides us with more chances to learn.

Passage 2
In 2014, one in sixteen Americans visited the hospital emergency room for home injuries. One of the main causes of these accidents? A wandering mind! By one estimate, people daydream through nearly half of their waking hours. Psychologists have recently focused on the tendency to think about something other than the task one is doing. For one experiment, researchers developed an app to analyze the relationship between daydreaming and happiness. They found that the average person’s mind wandered most frequently about 65% of the time during personal activities, such as brushing their teeth and combing their hair. Respondents’ minds tended to wander more when they felt upset rather than happy. They were more likely to wander toward pleasant topics than unpleasant ones. How do daydreams affect daydreamers? A wandering mind leaves us vulnerable when driving. In one study, researchers interview 955 people involved in traffic accidents, the majority of them reported having daydream just before the accident. Yet other research suggests that daydreaming has benefits. Researches have found that it gives us a chance to think about our goals and it also seems to increase creativity. In one experiment, 145 undergraduates completed four unusual uses tasks, each requiring them to list as many uses as possible for everyday object. After the first pair of tasks was completed, one group of participants was assigned an undemanding activity intended to cause their minds to wander. When all the participants proceeded to the second pair of tasks, the daydreamers performed 40% better than the others.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What does the passage say about people’s mind?
Question 13: For what purpose did the researchers develop the new app?
Question 14: How does daydreaming benefit people according to some researchers?
Question 15: What was the finding of the experiment with 145 undergraduates?

12.
A) It tends to dwell upon their joyous experiences.
B) It wanders for almost half of their waking time.
C) It has trouble concentrating alter a brain injury.
D) It tends to be affected by their negative feelings.

13.
A) To find how happiness relates to daydreaming.
B) To observe how one’s mind affects one’s behavior.
C) To see why daydreaming impacts what one is doing.
D) To study the relation between health and daydreaming.

14.
A) It helps them make good decisions.
B) It helps them tap their potentials.
C) It contributes to their creativity.
D) It contributes to their thinking.

15.
A) Subjects with clear goals in mind outperformed those without clear goals.
B) The difference in performance between the two groups was insignificant.
C) Non-daydreamers were more confused on their tasks than daydreamers.
D) Daydreamers did better than non-daydreamers in task performance.

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
Dating from as far back as the 12th century, they are claimed to be the rarest historic buildings in western Europe. These buildings offer vital insight into Scandinavia’s Viking past. But now, with only 30 wooden churches remaining and their condition deteriorating, experts are working to preserve the structures for future generations.
Some of these spectacular churches are no more than small buildings, barely 4 meters wide and 6 meters tall. Others are much larger structures. They soar up to 40 meters into the cold air. Most consist of timber frames that rest on stone blocks. This means that they have no foundations. Although many of the churches appear from the outside to be complex structures, they normally feature only a single storey but numerous different roof levels.
Staff from the Norwegian government have carried out conservation work on 10 of the churches over the past two years. Most of these churches date from between the 12th and 14th centuries. Other churches were conserved in previous years. So far, specialists have worked to add preservative materials to the churches’ exteriors. They also replaced rotting roots and halted the sinking of the churches into the ground. In two cases, huge machines have been used to lift the buildings up to 30 centimeters into the air. This was accomplished so that the team could examine and repair the churches’ original medieval stone blocks. The team plans to return to around a dozen of the buildings to assess progress and consider further action.
The earliest free-standing wooden church was probably built in Norway in around 1080. However, the largest known wooden churches were built from the 1130s onwards. This period was one of inter-elite rivalry, in which nobles sought to increase their influence by funding the construction of churches and other buildings. The reason for constructing the buildings from wood is probably that ideally proportioned straight and slender timber was available in large quantities in Scandinavia’s vast pine forests. As wood was so plentiful, it was cheaper to use than the stone used in the buildings of other European cultures. The area’s ship building tradition, partly established by the Vikings, also meant that sophisticated carpentry was a major aspect of the local culture. The complex style of the medieval wooden church carvings and the skills used to make them almost certainly to derive from the ancient Viking tradition.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: What does the speaker say about the Viking wooden churches?
Question 17: What is special about most of the Viking wooden churches?
Question 18: Why were the Viking churches constructed from wood?

16.
A) They are the oldest buildings In Europe.
B) They are part of the Christian tradition.
C) They are renovated lo attract tourists.
D) They are in worsening condilion.

17.
A) They have a historry of 14 centuries.
B) They are 40 metres tall on average.
C) They are without foundations.
D) They consist of several storeys.

18.
A) Wood was harmonious with nature.
B) Wooden buildings kept the cold out.
C) Timber was abundant in Scandinavia.
D) The Vikings liked wooden structures.

Recording 2
In last week’s lecture, we discussed the characteristics of the newly born offspring of several mammals. You probably remember that human infants are less developed physically than other mammals of the same age. But in today’s lecture, we’ll look at three very interesting studies that hint at surprising abilities of human babies.
In the first study, three-year-olds watch two videos shown side by side. Each featuring a different researcher, one of whom they’d met once two years earlier. The children spend longer watching the video showing the researcher they hadn’t met. This is consistent with young children’s usual tendency to look longer at things that aren’t familiar. And really this is amazing. It suggests the children remember the researcher they’ve met just one time when they were only one-year-olds. Of course, as most of us forget memories from our first few years as we grow older, this early long-turn memories will likely be lost in subsequent years.
Our second study is about music, for this study researchers play music to babies through speakers located on either side of a human face. They waited until the babies got bored and inverted their gaze from the face. And then they change the mood in the music either from sad to happy or the other way around. This mood switch made no difference to the three-month-olds; but for the nine-month-olds, it was enough to renew their interest and they started looking again in the direction of the face. This suggests that babies of that age can tell the difference between a happy melody and a sad tune.
Our final study is from 1980, but it’s still relevant today. In fact, it’s one of the most famous pieces of research about infant emotion ever published. The study involved ordinary adults watching video clips of babies nine months or younger. In the video clips, the babies made various facial expressions in response to real life events including playful interactions and painful ones. The adult observers were able to reliably discern an assortment of emotions on the babies faces. These emotions included interest, joy, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, and fear.
Next week, we’ll be looking at this last study more closely. In fact, we will be viewing some of the video clips from that study. And together, see how well we do in discerning the babies’ emotions.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What are the three interesting studies about?
Question 20: What does the second study find about nine-month-old babies?
Question 21: What is the 1980 study about?

19.
A) Similarities between human babies and baby animals.
B) Cognitive features of different newly born mammals.
C) Adults’ influence on children.
D) Abilities of human babies.

20.
A) They can distinguish a happy tune from a sad one.
B) They love happy melodies more lhan sad ones.
C) They fall asleep easily while listening to music.
D) They are already sensitive lo beats and rhythms.

21.
A) Infants’ facial expressions.
B) Babies’ emotions.
C) Babies’ interaction with adults.
D) Infants’ behaviors.

Recording 3
Today I’d like to talk about the dangers of being too collaborative. Being a good team player is a central skill in our modern workplace. The ability to work well with others and collaborate on projects is a sought-after ability in nearly every position. However, placing too much emphasis on being a good team player can negatively affect your career growth. Don’t be overly focused on gaining consensus. Don’t be too concerned with the opinions of others. This can hinder your ability to make decisions, speak up and gain recognition for your individual skills and strengths. Some people are too subordinate to others’ opinions, too focused on decision consensus, too silent about their own point of view, too agreeable to take things on when they don’t have time or energy. This leads to building a brand of underconfident, submissive, low-impact non-leaders and hampers their growth and career advancement.
Collaboration certainly makes your individual competencies and contributions more difficult for outsiders to identify. Collaborative projects mean you’re sharing the spotlight with others. Outsiders may then find it difficult to determine your contributions and strengths. This may end up costing you opportunities for promotions or pay raises. You certainly shouldn’t ditch teamwork, but how can you avoid the hazards of being an over-collaborator?
Working in a team can have huge benefits. Your team may have repeated successes and often gain recognition. You then have more opportunities to expand your professional network than if you worked alone. However, finding a balance between team efforts and individual projects that give you independent recognition is important for making a name for yourself and providing opportunities for advancement.
Be selective in who you work with. This will maximize the benefits and minimize the downsides of being a team player. Collaborate with people who have complementary expertise. Select projects where there’s potential for mutual benefit. Perhaps you’re bringing your unique knowledge and gaining access to someone else’s professional network, or maybe you’re able to learn a new skill by working with someone. Seek out your teammates purposefully rather than jumping on every new group project opportunity. When we’re too collaborative, we want everyone to agree with a decision before we proceed. This can create unnecessary delays as you hold meetings trying to achieve consensus. It’s fine to be collaborative when seeking input. But put a deadline on the input stage and arrive at a decision, even if it’s a decision that doesn’t have consensus.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 22: What does the speaker say about being over collaborative?
Question 23: What does the speaker say about people engaged in collaborative projects?
Question 24: How do people benefit from working in a team?
Question 25: Why is it undesirable to spend too much time trying to reach consensus?

22.
A) It may harm the culture of today’s workplace.
B) It may hinder individual career advancement.
C) It may result in unwillingness to take risks.
D) It may put too much pressure on team members.

23.
A) They can hardly give expression lo their original views.
B) They can become less motivated to do projects of their own.
C) They may find it hard to get their contributions recognized.
D) They may eventually lose their confidence and creativity.

24.
A) They can enlarge their professional circle.
B) They can get chances to engage in research.
C) They can make the best use of their expertise.
D) They can complete the project more easily.

25.
A) It may cause lots of arguments in a team.
B) It may prevent making a timely decision.
C) It may give rise to a lot of unnecessary expenses.
D) It may deprive a team of business opportunities.

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2019年12月英语六级第2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: Excuse me. Where’s your rock music section?
W: Rock music? I’m sorry, we’re a Jazz store. We don’t have any rock and roll.
M: Oh, you only have Jazz music, nothing else.
W: That’s right. We’re the only record store in London dedicated exclusively to Jazz. Actually, we’re more than just a record store. We have a cafe and library upstairs and a ticket office down the hall where you can buy tickets to all the major Jazz concerts in the city. Also we have our own studio next door where reproduce albums for up and coming artists. We are committed to fostering new music talent.
M: Wow, that’s so cool. I guess there’s not much of a Jazz scene anymore. Not like they used to be. But here you’re trying to promote this great music genre.
W: Yes. Indeed, nowadays most people like to listen to pop and rock music. Hip hop music from America is also getting more and more popular. So as a result, there are fewer listeners of Jazz, which is a great shame because it’s an incredibly rich genre. But that’s not to say there isn’t any good new Jazz music being made out there anymore. Far from it. It’s just a much smaller market today.
M: So how would you define Jazz?
W: Interestingly enough, there’s no agreed upon definition of Jazz. Indeed, there are many different styles of Jazz, some have singing, but most don’t. Some are electric and some aren’t. Some contain live experimentation, but not always. While there’s no simple definition for it. Allow, there are many different styles of Jazz. You simply know it when you hear it. Honestly. The only way to know what Jazz is, listen to it yourself. As the great trumpet player. Louis Armstrong said, if you’ve got to ask, you’ll never know.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 1: What do you learn about the woman’s store?
Question 2: What does the man say about Jazz music?
Question 3: What does the woman say about Jazz?
Question 4: What should you do to appreciate different styles of Jazz according to the woman?

1.
A) It focuses exclusively on jazz.
B) It sponsors major jazz concerts.
C) It has several branches in London.
D) It displays albums by new music talents.

2.
A) It originated with cowboys.
B) Its market has now shrunk.
C) Its listeners are mostly young people.
D) It remains as widespread as hip hop music.

3.
A) Its definition is varied and complicated.
B) It is still going through experimentation.
C) It is frequently accompanied by singing.
D) Its style has remained largely unchanged.

4.
A) Learn to play them.
B) Take music lessons.
C) Listen to them yourself.
D) Consul jazz musicians.

Conversation 2
M: How did it go at the bank this morning?
W: Not well. My proposal was rejected.
M: Really? But why?
W: Bunch of reasons. For starters, they said my credit history was not good enough.
M: Did they say how you could improve that?
W: Yes, they said that after five more years of paying my mortgage, then I will become a more viable candidate for a business loan. But right now it’s too risky for them to lend me money. They fear I will default on any business loan I’m given.
M: That doesn’t sound fair. Your business idea is amazing. Did you show them your business plan? What did they say?
W: They didn’t really articulate any position regarding the actual business plan. They simply looked at my credit history and determined it was not good enough. They said the bank has strict guidelines and requirements as to who they can lend money to. And I simply don’t meet their financial threshold.
M: What if you ask for a smaller amount? Maybe you could gather capital from other sources, smaller loans from more lenders.
W: You don’t get it. It doesn’t matter the size of the loan I ask for, or the type of business I propose. That’s all inconsequential. The first thing every bank will do is study how much money I have and how much debt I have before they decide whether or not to lend me any more money. If I want to continue ahead with this dream of only my own business, I have no other choice. But to build up my own finances, I need around 20% more in personal savings and 50% less debt. That’s all there is to it.
M: I see now. Well, it’s a huge pity that they rejected your request, but don’t lose hope. I still think that your idea is great and that you would turn it into a phenomenal success.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Question 5: What did the woman do this morning?
Question 6: Why was the woman’s proposal rejected?
Question 7: What is the woman planning to do?
Question 8: What does the man suggest the woman do?

5.
A) She paid her mortgage.
B) She called on the man.
C) She made a business plan.
D) She went to the bank.

6.
A) Her previous debt hadn’t been cleared yet.
B) Her credit history was considered poor.
C) She had apparently asked for too much.
D) She didn’t pay her mortgage in time.

7.
A) Pay a debt long overdue.
B) Buy a piece of property.
C) Start her own business.
D) Check her credit history.

8.
A) Seek advice from an expert about fund raising.
B) Ask for smaller loans from different lenders.
C) Build up her own finances step by step.
D) Revise her business proposal carefully.

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
There’s a lot about Leo Sanchez and his farm in Salinas, California. That seems unusual. The national average farm size is around 440 acres, but his is only one acre. The average age of farmers hovers around 58 years old, but he is just 26. And Sanchez constantly attempts to improve everything from seeding techniques out in the field to the promotion and sale of his produce online. This is evidence of an experimental approach. It’s an approach not dictated by the confines of conventional large scale agriculture lead by international corporations. While farming is often difficult for both the body and mind, Sanchez says he and many of his fellow young farmers are motivated by desire to set a new standard for agriculture. Many of them are employing a multitude of technologies, some new and some not so new. Recently, Sanchez bought a hand operated tool which pulls out weeds and loosen soil. It actually dates back to at least 1701. It stands in sharp contrast to Sanchez’s other gadget, a gas powered flame rekiller, invented in 1997. He simply doesn’t discriminate when it comes to the newness of tools. If it works, it works. Farmers have a long history of invention and is no different today. Young farmers are guided by their love for agriculture and aided by their knowledge of technology to find inexpensive and appropriately sized tools. They collaborate and innovate. Sometimes the old stuff just works better or more efficiently.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 9: What do we learn about Leo Sanchez’s farm?
Question 10: What has motivated Leo Sanchez and his fellow young farmers to engage in farming?
Question 11: Why did Leo Sanchez buy a hand operated weeding tool?

9.
A) It is profitable and environmentally friendly.
B) It is well located and completely automated.
C) It is small and unconventional.
D) It is fertile and productive.

10.
A) Their urge to make farming more enjoyable.
B) Their desire to improve farming equipment.
C) Their hope to revitalize traditional farming.
D) Their wish to set a new farming standard.

11.
A) It saves a lot of electricity.
B) It needs little maintenance.
C) It causes hardly any pollution.
D) It loosens soil while weeding.

Passage 2
Eat Grub is Britain’s first new food company that breaks western food boundaries by introducing edible insects as a new source of food. And Sainz Breeze is the first UK supermarket to stock the company’s crunchy roasted crickets. Sainz Breeze insist that such food is no joke and could be a new, sustainable source of protein. Out of curiosity, I paid a visit to Sainz Breeze as I put my hand into a packet of crickets with their tiny eyes and legs. The idea of one going in my mouth made me feel a little sick. But the first bite was a pleasant surprise, a little dry and lacking of taste, but at least a wing didn’t get stuck in my throat. The roasted seasoning largely overpowered any other flavour, although there was slightly bitter after taste. The texture is crunchy, but smelt a little of cat food. Eat Grub also recommends the crickets as a topping for noodles, soups and salads. The company boasts that its dried crickets contain more protein than beef, chicken, and pork, as well as minerals like iron and calcium. Unlike the production of meat, bugs do not use up large amounts of land, water or feed. And insect farming also produces far fewer greenhouse gases. However, despite 2 billion people worldwide already supplementing their diet with insects, consumer disgust remains a large barrier in many western countries. I’m not sure bugs will become a popular snack anytime soon, but they’re definitely food for fort.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Question 12: What do we learn from the passage about the food company Eat Grub?
Question 13: What does the speaker say about his first bite a roasted crickets?
Question 14: What does Eat Grub say about his dried crickets?
Question 15: What does the passage say about insect farming?

12.
A) It has turned certain insects into a new food source.
B) It has started on expand business outside the UK.
C) It has imported some exotic foods from overseas.
D) It has joined hands with Sainsbury’s to sell pet insects.

13.
A) It was really unforgettable.
B) It was a pleasant surprise.
C) It hurt his throat slightly.
D) It made him feel strange.

14.
A) They are more tasty than beef, chicken or pork.
B) They are more nutritious than soups and salads.
C) They contain more protein than conventional meats.
D) They will soon gain popularity throughout the world.

15.
A) It is environmentally friendly.
B) It is a promising industry.
C It requires new technology.
D) It saves huge amounts of labour.

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
Have you ever had someone try to explain something to you a dozen times with no luck? But then when you see a picture, the idea finally clicks. If that sounds familiar, maybe you might consider yourself a visual learner. Or if reading or listening does a trick, maybe you feel like you’re a verbal learner. We call these labels learning styles. But is there really a way to categorize different types of students? Well, it actually seems that multiple presentation formats, especially if one of them is visual, help most people learn. When psychologists and educators test for learning styles, they’re trying to figure out whether these are inherent traits that affect how well students learn instead of just a preference. Usually they start by giving a survey to figure out what style a student favors, like visual or verbal learning. Then they try to teach the students something with a specific presentation style, like using visual AIDS, and do a follow up test to see how much they learned. That way, the researchers can see if the self identified verbal learners really learned better when the information was just spoken aloud, for example. But according to a 2008 review, only one study that followed this design found that students actually learned best with their preferred style. But the study had some big flaws. The researchers excluded 2/3 of the original participants, because they didn’t seem to have any clear learning style from the survey at the beginning. And they didn’t even report the actual test scores in the final paper. So it doesn’t really seem like learning styles are an inherited trait that we all have. But that doesn’t mean that all students will do amazingly, if they just spend all their time reading from a textbook. Instead, most people seem to learn better if they’re taught in several ways, especially if one is visual. In one study, researchers tested whether students remembered lists of words better if they heard them, saw them or both. And everyone seemed to do better if they got to see the words in print. Even the self identified auditory learners, their preference didn’t seem to matter. Similar studies tested whether students learned basic physics and chemistry concepts better by reading plain text or viewing pictures to and everyone do better with the help of pictures.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 16: Why do psychologists and educators study learning styles?
Question 17: What does the speaker say about one study mentioned in the 2008 review?
Question 18: What message does the speaker want to convey about learning at the end of the talk?

16.
A) To categorize different types of learners.
B) To find out what students prefer to learn.
C) To understand the mechanism of the human brain.
D) To see if they are inherent traits affecting learning.

17.
A) It was defective.
B) It was misguided.
C) It was original in design.
D) It was thought-provoking.

18.
A) Auditory aids are as important as visual aids.
B) Visual aids are helpful to all types of learners.
C) Reading plain texts is more effective than viewing pictures.
D) Scientific concepts are hard to understand without visual aids.

Recording 2
Free market capitalism hasn’t freed us. It has trapped us. It’s imperative for us to embrace a workplace revolution. We’re unlikely to spend our last moments regretting that we didn’t spend enough of our lives slaving away at work. We may instead find ourselves feeling guilty about the time we didn’t spend watching our children grow all with our loved ones, or travelling or on the cultural or leisure suits that bring us happiness. Unfortunately, the average full time employee in the world works 42 hours a week. Over a 3rd of the time we’re awake. Some of our all too precious time is being stolen. Office workers do around 2 billion hours of unpaid overtime each year. So it’s extremely welcome that some government coalitions have started looking into potentially cutting the working week to four days. The champions of free market capitalism promised their way of life would bring us freedom, but it wasn’t freedom at all. From the lack of secure, affordable housing to growing job insecurity and rising personal debt, the individual is trapped. Nine decades ago, leading economists predicted that technological advances and rising productivity would mean that would be working a 15-hour week by now. That target has been somewhat missed. Here is the most malignant threat to our personal freedom, particularly as the balance of power in the workplace has been shifted so dramatically from worker to boss. A huge portion of our lives involves the surrender of our freedom and personal autonomy. It’s time in which we are directed by the needs and desires of others, and denied the right to make our own choices. That’s bad for us. It’s hardly surprising that over half a million workers suffer from work related mental health conditions each year. All that 15.4 million working days were lost to work related stress last year, a jump of nearly a quarter. Yes, they’re all those who, far from being overworked, actually seek more hours. But a shorter working week would enable us to redistribute hours from the overworked to the under worked. We need to look at ways of cutting the working week without slashing living standards. After all worlds, workers have already suffered the worst deduction in wages since the early 18 hundreds. And cutting the working week would be conducive to the individual, giving millions of workers more time to spend as they see fit.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 19: What do people often feel guilty about according to the speaker?
Question 20: What did leading economists predict 90 years ago?
Question 21: What is the result of denying workers’ right to make their own choices?

19.
A) Not playing a role in a workplace revolution.
B) Not benefiting from free-market capitalism.
C) Not earning enough money to provide for the family.
D) Not spending enough time on family life and leisure.

20.
A) People would be working only fifteen hours a week now.
B) The balance of power in the workplace would change.
C) Technological advances would create many new jobs.
D) Most workers could afford to have a house of their own.

21.
A) Loss of workers’ personal dignity.
B) Deprivation of workers’ creativity.
C) Deterioration of workers’ mental health.
D) Unequal distribution of working hours.

Recording 3
Today I’m going to talk about Germany’s dream airport in Berlin. The airport looks exactly like every other major modern airport in Europe, except for one big problem. More than seven years after it was originally supposed to open, it still stands empty. Germany is known for its efficiency and refined engineering, but when it comes to its new ghost airport, this reputation could not be further from the truth. Plagued by long delays, perpetual mismanagement, and ever saw ring costs, the airport has become something of a joke among Germans and a source of frustration for local politicians, business leaders and residents alike. Planning for the new airport began in 1989. At the time, it became clear that the newly reunified Berlin would need a modern airport with far greater capacity than its existing airports. The city broke ground on the new airport in 2006. The first major sign of problems came in summer 2010, when the construction corporation pushed the opening from October 2011 to June 2012. In 2012, the city planted opening ceremony. But less than a month before hand, inspectors found significant problems with the fire safety system and push the opening back again to 2013. It wasn’t just the smoke system, many other major problems subsequently emerged. More than 90 meters of cable were incorrectly installed. 4000 doors were wrongly numbered. Escalators were too short. And there was a shortage of check in desks. So why were so many problems discovered? Didn’t the airport corporation decide to give up on the project and start over? The reason is simple. People are often hesitant to terminate a project when they’ve already invested time or resources into it, even if it might make logical sense to do so. The longer the delays continued, the more problems inspectors found. Leadership of the planning corporation has changed hands nearly as many times as the opening date has been pushed back. Initially, rather than appointing a general contractor to run the project, the corporation decided to manage it themselves. Despite lack of experience with an undertaking of that scale. To compound the delays, the unused airport is resulting in massive costs. Every month it remains unopened costs between nine and 10 million euros. Assuming all goes well, the airport should open in October 2020, but the still empty airport stands as the biggest embarrassment to Germany’s reputation for efficiency and a continuing drain on city and state resources.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
Question 22: What does the speaker say about the dream airport in Berlin?
Question 23: Why was there a need for a new airport in Berlin?
Question 24: Why did Berlin postpone the opening of its dream airport again and again?
Question 25: What happens while the airport remains unused?

22.
A) It is the worst managed airport in German history.
B) It is now the biggest and busiest airport in Europe.
C) It has become something of a joke among Germans.
D) It has become a typical symbol of German efficiency.

23.
A) The city’s airports are outdated.
B) The city had just been reunified.
C) The city wanted to boost its economy.
D) The city wanted to attract more tourists.

24.
A) The municipal government kept changing hands.
B) The construction firm breached the contract.
C) Shortage of funding delayed its construction.
D) Problems of different kinds kept popping up.

25.
A) Tourism industry in Berlin suffers.
B) All kinds of equipment gets rusted.
C) Huge maintenance costs accumulate.
D) Complaints by local residents increase.

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