2016年12月英语六级考试真题第二套

Part I Writing (30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on invention. Your essay should include the importance of invention and measures to be taken to encourage invention. You are required to write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension (30 minutes) Section A

Directions: 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 1 with a single line through the centre.

Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. A. They were all good at cooking. C. They were proud of their cuisine. B. They were particular about food. D. They were fond of bacon and eggs.2. A. His parents. B. His friends. C. His schoolmates. D. His parents' friends. 3. A. No tea was served with the meal. C. No one of the group ate it. B. It was the real English breakfast. D. It was a little overcooked. 4. A. It was full of excitement. B. It was really extraordinary. C. It was a risky experience. D. It was rather disappointing. Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 5. A. The woman's relationship with other shops. C. The key to running a shop at a low cost. B. The business success of the woman's shop. D. The woman's earnings over the years. 6. A. Improve its customer service. C. Keep down its expenses. B. Expand its business scale. D. Upgrade the goods it sells. 7. A. They are sold at lower prices than in other shops. C. They are delivered free of charge. B. They are very-popular with the local residents. D. They are in great demand. 8. A. To follow the custom of the local shopkeepers. C. To avoid being put out of business in competition. B. To attract more customers in the neighborhood. D. To maintain friendly relationships with other shops.

Section B

Directions: 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.

Questions 9 to 12 are based on the passage you have just heard. 9. A. They can be used to deliver messages in times of emergency. B. They deliver pollutants from the ocean to their nesting sites. C. They carry plant seeds and spread them to faraway places. D. They are on the verge of extinction because of pollution.

10. A. They migrate to the Arctic Circle during the summer. C. They travel as far as 400 kilometers in search of food. B. They originate from Devon Island in the Arctic area. D. They have the ability to survive in extreme weathers. 11. A. They were carried by the wind. C. They were less than on the continent. B. They had become more poisonous. D. They poisoned some of the fulmars. 12. A. The threats humans pose to Arctic seabirds, C. The harm Arctic seabirds may cause to humans. B. The diminishing colonies for Arctic seabirds. D. The effects of the changing climate on Arctic seabirds. Questions 13 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard. 13. A. It has decreased. C. It has become better understood. B. It has been exaggerated. D. It has remained basically the same. 14. A. It develops more easily in centenarians not actively engaged. B. It is now the second leading cause of death for centenarians. C. It has had no effective cure so far.

D. It calls for more intensive research.

15. A. They care more about their physical health. C. Their minds fall before their bodies do. B. Their quality of life deteriorates rapidly. D. They cherish their life more than ever.

Section C

Directions: 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. Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard. 16. A. They are focused more on attraction than love. B. They were done by his former colleague at Yale.

C. They were carried out over a period of some thirty years. D. They form the basis on which he builds his theory of love. 17. A. The relationship cannot last long if no passion is involved. B. Intimacy is essential but not absolutely indispensable to love. C. It is not love if you don't wish to maintain the relationship. D. Romance is just impossible without mutual understanding. 18. A. Which of them is considered most important. B. Whether it is true love without commitment.

C. When the absence of any one doesn't affect the relationship. D. How the relationship is to be defined if any one is missing.

Questions 19 to 22 are based on the recording you have just heard. 19. A. Social work as a profession. C. Academic degrees required of social work applicants. B. The history of social work. D. The aim of the National Association of Social Workers. 20. A. They try to change people's social behavior.

B. They help enhance the well-being of the underprivileged. C. They raise people's awareness of the environment.

D. They create a lot of opportunities for the unemployed. 21. A. They have all received strict clinical training. C. They are all members of the National Association. B. They all have an academic degree in social work. D. They have all made a difference through their work.

22. A. The promotion of social workers' social status. C. Ways for social workers to meet people's needs. B. The importance of training for social workers. D. Social workers' job options and responsibilities.

Questions 23 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard. 23. A. To fight childhood obesity. C. To encourage kids to play more sports. B. To help disadvantaged kids. D. To urge kids to follow their role models.

24. A. They best boost product sales when put online. C. They are becoming more and more prevalent. B. They are most effective when appearing on TV. D. They impress kids more than they do adults.

25. A. Always place kids' interest first. C. Message positive behaviors at all times. B. Do what they advocate in public. D. Pay attention to their image before children.

Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes) Section A

Directions: In this section here is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

It is important that scientists be seen as normal people asking and answering important questions. Good, sound science depends on 26._______ experiments and reasoned methodologies. It requires a willingness to ask new questions and try new approaches. It requires one to take risks and experience failures. But good science also requires 27. _______understanding, clear explanation and concise presentation.

Our country needs more scientists who are willing to step out in the public28._______ and offer their opinions on important matters. We need more scientists who can explain what they are doing in language that is29. _______ and understandable to the public. Those of us who are not scientists should also be prepared to support public engagement by scientists, and to 30._______scientific knowledge into our public communications.

Too many people in this country, including some among our elected leadership, still do not understand how science works or why robust, long-range investments in research vitally matter. In the 1960s, the United States 31._______nearly 17% of discretionary (可酌情支配的)spending to research and development, 32. _______decades of economic growth. By 2008，the figure had fallen into the single 33._______. This occurs at a time when other nations have made significant gains in their own research capabilities.

At the University of California (UC), we 34._______ ourselves not only on the quality of our research, but also on its contribution to improving our world. To 35. _______the development of science from the lab bench to the market place, UC is investing our own money in our own good ideas.

A) arena D) devoted G) hypotheses J) indefinite M) pride B) contextual E) digits H) impairing K) indulge N) reaping C) convincing F) hasten I) incorporate L) inertia O) warrant Section B

Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.

Are we in an Innovation Lull?

*A+Scan the highlights of the year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and you may get a slight feeling of having seen them before. Many of the coolest gadgets this year are the same as the coolest gadgets last year ---or the year before, even. The booths are still exciting, and the demos are still just as crazy. It is still easy to be dazzled by the display of drones (无人机), 3D printers, virtual reality goggles (眼镜)and more “smart” devices than you could ever hope to catalog. Upon reflection, however, it is equally easy to feel like you have seen it all before. And it is hard not to think: Are we in an innovation lull (间歇期)?

[B] In some ways, the answer is yes. For years, Smartphones, televisions, tablets, laptops and desktops have made up a huge part of the market and driven innovation. But now these segments are looking at slower growth curves--- or shrinking markets in some cases—as consumers are not as eager to spend money on new gadgets. Meanwhile, emerging technologies---the drones, 3D printers and smart-home devices of the world--now seem a bit too old to be called “the next big thing”

[C+ Basically the tech industry seems to be in an awkward period now. “There is not any one-hit wonder, and there will not be one for years to come,” said Gary Shapiro, president and chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). In his eyes, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that innovation has stopped. It has just grown up a little. “Many industries are going out of infancy and becoming adolescents,” Shapiro said.

[D] For instance, new technologies that are building upon existing technology have not found their footing well enough to appeal to a mass audience, because, in many cases, they need to work effectively with other devices to realize their full appeal. Take the evolution of the smart home, for example. Companies are pushing it hard but make it almost overwhelming even to dip a toe in the water for the average consumer, because there are so many compatibility issues to think about. No average person wants to figure out whether their favorite calendar software works with their fridge or whether their washing machine and tablet get along. Having to install a different app for each smart appliance in your home is annoying; it would be nicer if you could manage everything together. And while you may forgive your smartphone an occasional fault, you probably have less patience for error messages from your door lock.

[E] Companies are promoting their own standards, and the market has not had time to choose a winner yet as this is still very new. Companies that have long focused on hardware now have to think of ecosystems instead to give consumers practical solutions to their everyday problems. “The dialogue is changing from what is technologically possible to what is technologically meaningful, said economist Shawn DuBravac. DuBravac works for CTA— which puts on the show each year---and said that this shift to a search for solutions has been noticeable as he researched his predictions for 2016.