2020年7月六級考試試題及答案

一.聽力

Conversation 1

-Tonight, we have a very special guest, Mrs. Ana Sanchez is a three time Olympic champion and author of the new book To the Edge. Mrs. Sanchez, thank you for joining us.

-Thank you for having me.

- Let's start with your book. What does the title to the Edge mean? What are you referring to?

-The book is about how science and technology has helped push humans to the edge of their physical abilities. I argue that in the past 20 years we have had the best athletes the world has ever seen. But is this a fair comparison? How do you know how, say, a football player from 50 years ago would compare to one today?

-Well, you are right. 

-That comparison would be perhaps impossible to make. But the point is more about our knowledge today of human biochemistry, nutrition and mechanics. I believe that while our bodies have not changed in thousands of years, what has changed is the scientific knowledge. This has allowed athletes to push the limits of what was previously thought possible.

-That's interesting. Please tell us more about these perceived limits. 

-The world has seen sports records being broken. That could only be broken with the aid of technology, whether this be the speed of a tennis serve or the fastest time in 100 meter dash or 200 meter swimming race.

-Is there any concern that technology is giving some athletes an unfair advantage over others? 

-That is an interesting question and one that has to be considered very carefully. Skis ,for example, went from being made of wood to a metal alloy, which allows for better control and faster speed. There is no stopping technological progress. But as I said, each situation should be considered carefully on a case by case basis.

Questions one to four are based on the conversation you have just heard.

1. What do we learn about Anna Sanchez?

2. What is the woman's book mainly about?

3. What has changed in the past thousands of years?

4. What is the man's concern about the use of technology in sports competitions?

Conversation 2

-I've worked in international trade all my life. My father did so to before me. So I guess you could say it runs in the family.

-What products have you worked with?

-All sorts, really. I've imported textiles, machinery, toys, solar panels, all kinds of things. Over the years, trends in demand come and go. So what needs to be very flexible to succeed in this industry?

-I see. What goods are you trading now?

-I now import furniture from China into Italy and foods from Italy into China. I even use the same container. It's a very efficient way of conducting trade.

-The same container. You mean you own a 40 foot cargo container?

-Yeah, that's right. I have a warehouse in Genoa, Italy, and another in Shanghai. I source mid century modern furniture from different factories in China. It's a very good value for money. I collect it all in my warehouse and then dispatch it to my other warehouse in Italy over there. I do the same, but with Italian foods instead of furniture, things like pasta, cheese, wine, chocolate. And I send all that to my warehouse in China in the same freight container I use for the furniture.

-So I presume you sell both lines of products wholesale in each respective country?

-Of course, I possess a network of clients and partners in both countries. That's the main benefit of having done this for so long. I've made great business contacts over time.

-How many times do you ship?

-I did 12 shipments last year, 18 this year, and I hope to grow to around 25 next year. That's both ways. There and back again. Demand for authentic Italian food in China is growing rapidly. And similarly, sales of affordable, yet stylish wooden furniture are also increasing in Italy. Furniture is marginally more profitable, mostly because it enjoys lower customs duties.

Questions five to eight are based on the conversation you have just heard. 

5. What does the woman think is required to be successful in the international trade?

6. What does the woman say is special about her way of doing change? 

7. What does the woman have in both Italy and China?

8. What does the woman say makes furniture marginally more profitable?

Lecture1

Qualities of a relationship such as openness, compassion and mental stimulation are of concern to most of us regardless of sex, but—judging from the questionnaire response—they are more important to women than to men. Asked to consider the ingredients of close friendship, women rated these qualities above all others. Men assigned a lower priority to them in favor of similarity in interests, selected by 77 percent of men, and responsiveness in a crisis, chosen by 61 percent of male respondents. Mental stimulation, ranked third in popularity by men as well as women, was the only area of overlap. Among men, only 28 percent named openness as an important quality; caring was picked by just 23 percent. It is evident by their selections that when women speak of close friendships, they are referring to emotional factors, while men emphasize the pleasure they find in a friend's company. That is, when a man speaks of “a friend” he is likely to be talking about someone he does things with—a teammate, a fellow hobbyist, a drinking buddy. These activities are the fabric of the friendship; it is a “doing” relationship in which similarity in interests is the key bond. This factor was a consideration of less than 11 percent of women.

Women opt for a warm, emotional atmosphere where communication flows freely; activity is mere background. Lastly, men, as we have seen, have serious questions about each other's loyalty. Perhaps this is why they placed such strong emphasis on responsiveness in a crisis.

Someone I can call on for help. Women, as their testimonies indicate, are generally more secure with each other and consequently are more likely to treat this issue lightly. In follow-up interviews this was confirmed numerous times as woman after woman indicated that “being there when needed was taken for granted.” As for the hazards of friendship, more than a few relationships have been shattered because of cutthroat competition and feelings of betrayal. This applies to both men and women, but unequally. In comparison, nearly twice as many men complained about these issues as women. Further, while competition and betrayal are the main thorns to female friendship, men are plagued in almost equal amounts by two additional issues, lack of frankness and a fear of appearing unmanly. Obviously, for a man, a good friendship is hard to find. 

Question 16 to 18. Based on the recording you have just heard.

16. What quality do men value most concerning friendship according to a questionnaire response?

17. What do women refer to when speaking of close friendships?

18. What may threaten a friendship for both men and women? 

Lecture2

Recording to the partial skeletons of more than 20 dinosaurs and the scattered bones of about 300 more have been discovered in Utah and Colorado. At what is now the Dinosaur National Monument. Many of the best specimens may be seen today at museums of natural history in the largest cities of the United States and Canada. This dinosaur pit is the largest and best preserved deposit of dinosaurs known today. Many people get the idea from the massive bones and the pit bull that some disaster, such as a volcanic explosion or a sudden flood, killed a whole herd of dinosaurs in this area. This could have happened, but it probably did not. The main reasons for thinking otherwise are the scattered bones and the thickness of the deposit.In other deposits where the animals were thought to have died together, the skeletons were usually complete and often all the bones were in their proper places. Rounded pieces of fossil bones have been found here. These fragments got their smooth round shape, though, rolling along the stream bottom.In a mass killing, the bones would have been left on the stream or lake bottom together at the same level. But in this deposit, the bones occur throughout a zone of sandstone about 12 feet thick. The mixture of swamp dwellers and dry land types also seems to indicate that the deposit is a mixture from different places. The pit area is a large dinosaur graveyard, not a place where they died. Most of the remains probably floated down on eastward flowing river until they were left on a shallow sandbar. Some of them may have come from far away dry land areas to the west. Perhaps they drowned trying to cross a small stream or washed away during floods. Some of the swamp dwellers may have got stuck in the very sandbar that became their grave. Others may have floated for miles before being stranded. Even today, similar events take place when floods come in the spring. Sheep, castling, deer are often trapped by rising waters and often drown. Their dead bodies float downstream until the flood recedes and leaves them stranded on a bar or shore where they lie half buried in the sand until they decay. Early travelers on the Missouri River reported that shores and bars were often lined with the decaying bodies of Buffalo that had died during spring floods.

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.

19. Where can many of the best dinosaur specimens be found in North America?

20. What occurs to many people when they see the massive bones in the pit wall?

21. What does the speaker suggest about the large number of dinosaur bones found in the pet? 

Lecture3

I would like particularly to talk about the need to develop a new style of aging in our own society. Young people in this country have been accused of not caring for their parents the way they would have in the old country. And this is true. But it is also true that old people have been influenced by an American ideal of independence and autonomy. So we live alone, perhaps on the verge of starvation in time without friends. But we are independent. This standard American style has been forced on every ethnic group, although there are many groups for whom the ideal is not practical. It is a poor ideal in pursuing it does a great deal of harm. This ideal of independence also contains a tremendous amount of unselfishness. In talking to today's young mothers. I have asked them what kind of grandmothers they think they are going to be. I hear devoted, loving mothers say that when they are through raising their children, they have no intention of becoming grandmothers. They were astonished to hear that in most of the world, throughout most of its history, families have been three or four generation families living under the same roof. We have overemphasized the small family unit, father, mother, small children. We think it is wonderful if grandma and grandpa, if they're still alive, can live alone. We have reached the point where we think the only thing we can do for our children is to stay out of their way. And the only thing we can do for our daughter in law is to see as little of her as possible. All peoples nursing homes. Even the best run are filled with older people who believe the only thing they can do for their children is to look cheerful when they come to visit. So in the end, older people have to devote all their energies to not being a burden. We are beginning to see what a tremendous price we've paid for emphasis on independence and autonomy. We've isolated old people and we've cut off the children from their grandparents. One of the reasons we have as bad a generation gap today as we do is that grandparents have stepped out. Young people are being deprived of the thing they need most perspective to know why their parents behave so peculiarly and why their grandparents say the things they do. 

Questions 22 to 25 based on recording you have just heard.

22. What of young Americans being accused of?

23 What does the speaker say about old people in the United States?

24. What is astonishing to the young mothers interviewed by the speaker?

Passage1

Too many people view their jobs as a five day prison from which they are paroled every Friday, says Joel Goodman, founder of the Humour Project, a humour consulting group in Sara Togher Springs, New York. Humour unlocks the office prison because it lets adults bring some of their childlike spirit to the job. According to Howard Collier, professor of psychology at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an office with humour breaks is an office with satisfied and productive employees. Polio conducted a study that proved humour can help workers excel at routine production tasks. Employees performed better when they have fun in large corporations with a hierarchy of power. There is often no outlet for stress. Every company needs underground ways of poking fun at the organisation, says Lynn Mark, a speaker on workplace humour for St.. Mary's Health Centre in St. Louis. Kodak's Rochester, New York, branch discovered a way for its 20000 employees to uncork that bottled up resentments. There are 1000 square foot humouring features a toy store. Amongst the rooms, many stress reducing gadgets. The main attraction is a boss doll with detachable arms and legs. Employees can take the doll apart as long as they put its arms and legs back in place. Sandy Cohan, owner of a graphic print production business, created the, quote board to document the bizarre phrase, as people say, when under strict deadlines, when you're under stress, you say stupid things, says Cohen. Now we just look at each other and say, that's one for the quote board.

Questions. 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.

9. What does the passage say about humour in the workplace?

10. What does the study by Howard Pouliot show?

11. What can Kodak's employees do in the humour room?

Passage2

Public interest was aroused by the latest discovery of a changed gene in obese mice. The news was made known by Rockefeller University geneticist Jeffrey Friedman. The researchers believe this gene influences development of a hormone that tells the organism how fat or full it is. Those with the change gene may not sense when they have eaten enough or if they have sufficient fatty tissue and thus can't tell when to stop eating. The researchers also reported finding a gene nearly identical to the mouse obesity gene in humans. The operation of this gene in humans has not yet been demonstrated, however. Still, professionals like University of Vermont psychologist Esther Roth Blume reacted enthusiastically. This research indicates that people really are born with a tendency to have a certain weight, just as they are to have a particular skin color or height. Actually, behavioral geneticists believe that less than half of the total weight variation is programed in the genes, while height is almost entirely genetically determined. Whatever role genes play, Americans are getting fatter. A survey by the Center for Disease Control found that obesity has increased greatly over the last 10 years. Such rapid change underlines the role of environmental factors like the abundance of rich foods in Americans over eating. The Center for Disease Control has also found that teens are far less physically active than they were even a decade ago. Excepting that weight is predetermined can relieve guilt for overweight people. But people's belief that they cannot control their weight can itself contribute to obesity.

Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard,

12. What does the Speaker say has aroused public interest?

13. What do we learn about the changed gene?

14. What does University of Vermont psychologist Esther Rothbaum say?

15. What accounts for Americans of obesity, according to a survey by the Center for Disease Control ?

二、閱讀

持續更新...

三、寫作

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay on the sayingThe best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

第一段：【三八大蓋】引語解釋功能段，引出重要性

第二段：【三八大蓋】分析原因段，分析引語內容重要性的原因

第三段：【三八大蓋】觀點結論段，重申引語內容的重要性

    There is an old saying goes like this :“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” It’s the experience of our forefathers, however, it is correct in many cases even today. It implies the great significance of working hard at the present instead of putting things off till tomorrow.

    This argument can be proved by the following facts. First and foremost,only if we make the full use of the present can we grasp the opportunities that we fail to predict, as it is said that chance favors the prepared mind. Additionally, today is under our control while tomorrow is always unpredictable and uncontrollable. We need to set a goal for tomorrow and put it into action today.For example, if you want to win the first prize in an English contest, what you can do is to take advantage of every “today” to practice to ensure a victory.

    Judging from the evidence offered, we might safely draw the conclusion that it is very essential for us to seize the day and be prepared all the time for tomorrow.

四、翻譯

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.

《三國演義》（The Romance of the Three Kingdoms）是中國一部著名的歷史小說，寫于十四世紀。這部文學作品以三國時期的歷史為背景，描寫了從公元二世紀下半葉到公元三世紀下半葉的魏、蜀、吳三國之間的戰爭。小說中刻畫了近千個人物和無數的歷史事件。這些人物和事件雖然大都基于真實的歷史，但都不同程度地浪漫化和戲劇化了。《三國演義》是一部公認的文學杰作。自面世以來，這部小說不斷吸引著一代又一代的讀者，并且對中國文化產生著廣泛而持久的影響。

①《三國演義》（The Romance of the Three Kingdoms）是中國一部著名的歷史小說，寫于十四世紀。

②這部文學作品以三國時期的歷史為背景，描寫了從公元二世紀下半葉到公元三世紀下半葉的魏、蜀、吳三國之間的戰爭。

③小說中刻畫了近千個人物和無數的歷史事件。

④這些人物和事件雖然大都基于真實的歷史，但都不同程度地浪漫化和戲劇化了。

⑤《三國演義》是一部公認的文學杰作。

⑥自面世以來，這部小說不斷吸引著一代又一代的讀者，并且對中國文化產生著廣泛而持久的影響。

①The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a famous Chinese historical novel written in the 14th century.

②Against the backdrop of the Three Kingdoms period, this literary work describes the wars among the three states of Wei, Shu and Wu from the second half of the second century AD to the second half of the third century AD.

③The novel depicts nearly a thousand characters and countless historical events.

④Although most of these characters and events are based on historical facts, they are dramatized and romanticized to various degrees.

⑤The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a recognized literary masterpiece.

⑥This novel continues to attract readers from generation to generation and has a broad and lasting impact on Chinese culture since its born.

精簡結構：

①《三國演義》是...小說，寫于...世紀。

②...作品以...為背景，描寫了...的戰爭。

③小說中刻畫了...人物和...歷史事件。

④...人物和事件雖然...基于...歷史，但都...化和...化了。

⑤《三國演義》是...杰作。

⑥自...以來，...小說...吸引著...讀者，并且對...產生著...的影響。