2012.12 英语六级考试真题试卷（第一套）阅读

Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.

Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.

A key process in interpersonal interaction is that of social comparison, in that we evaluate ourselves in terms of how we compare to others. In particular, we engage in two types of comparison. First, we decide whether we are superior or inferior to others on certain dimensions, such as attractiveness, intelligence, popularity, etc. Here, the important aspect is to compare with an appropriate reference group. For example, modest joggers should not compare their performance with Olympic standard marathon（马拉松）runners. Second, we judge the extent to which we are the same as or different from others. At certain stages of life, especially adolescence, the pressure to be seen as similar to peers is immense. Thus, wearing the right brand of clothes or shoes may be of the utmost importance. We also need to know whether our thoughts, beliefs and ideas are in line with those of other people. This is part of the process of self-validation whereby we employ self-disclosures to seek support for .

People who do not have access to a good listener may not only be denied the opportunity to heighten their self-awareness, but they are also denied valuable feedback as to the validity and acceptability of their inner thoughts and feelings. By discussing these with others, we receive feedback as to whether these are experiences which others have as well, or whether they are less common. Furthermore, by gauging the reactions to our self-disclosures we learn what types are acceptable or unacceptable with particular people and in specific situations. On occasions it is the fear that certain disclosures may be unacceptable to family or friends that motivates an individual to seek professional help. Counsellors will be familiar with client statements such as: "I just couldn't talk about this to my husband." , "I really can't let my mother know my true feelings." Another aspect of social comparison in the counseling context relates to a technique known as normalizing. This is the process whereby helpers provide reassurance to clients that what they are experiencing is not abnormal or atypical（非典型的）, but is a normal reaction shared by others when facing such circumstances. Patient disclosure, facilitated by the therapist, seems also to facilitate the process of normalizing.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。

47. To evaluate ourselves, the author thinks it important for us to compare ourselves with ___________________.
48. During adolescence, people generally feel an immense pressure to appear ______.
49. It is often difficult for people to heighten their self-awareness without _________.
50. What can people do if they find what they think or say unacceptable to family or friends?
51. Counsellors often assure their clients that what they experience themselves is only ________________.

参考答案：
47. an appropriate reference group
48. similar to peers
49. access to a good listener
50. Seek professional help.
51. a normal reaction

Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices maked A),B),C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One
Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

Amid all the job losses, there's no category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans.

From self-service checkout lines at supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal bodies in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs.

Automation isn't just affecting factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that previously was performed by highly-paid human lawyers.
"Robots continue to have an impact on blue-collar jobs, and white-collar jobs are under attack by microprocessors," says economics professor Edward Learner. The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs. US gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels, meaning we're producing as much as before, only with 6% fewer workers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers Out there, with outsourcing（外包）stealing far more jobs than automation.

Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotics Industry Association, argues that robots actually save US jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewer workers, but that's still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas.

It's not that robots are cheaper than humans, though often they are. It's that they're better. "In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn't." Burnstein says.

Same goes for surgeons, who're using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations-not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications, says Dr. Myriam Curet.

Surgeons may survive the robot invasion, but others at the hospital might not be so lucky, as iRobot, maker of the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, has been showing off Ava, which could be used as a messenger in a hospital. And once you're home, recovering, Ava could let you talk to your doctor, so there's no need to send someone to your house. That "mobile telepresence" could be useful at the office. If you're away on a trip, you can still attend a meeting. Just connect via videoconferencing software, so your face appears on Ava's screen.

Is any job safe? I was hoping to say "journalist," but researchers are already developing software that can gather facts and write a news story. Which means that a few years from now, a robot could be writing this column. And it? Well, there might be a lot of us hanging around with lots of free time on our hands.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。

52. What do we learn from the first few paragraphs?
A) The over-use of robots has done damage to American economy.
B) It is hard for robots to replace humans in highly professional work.
C) Artificial intelligence is key to future technological innovations.
D The robotic industry has benefited from the economic recession.

53. What caused the greatest loss of jobs in America?
A) Using microprocessors extensively.
B) Moving production to other countries.
C) The bankruptcy of many companies.
D) The invasion of migrant workers.

54. What does Jeff Burnstein say about robots?
A) They help companies to revive.
B) They are cheaper than humans.
C) They prevent job losses in a way.
D) They compete with human workers.

55. Why are robotic systems replacing surgeons in more and more operations according to Dr. Myriam Curet?
A) They save lots of money for the patients.
B) They beat humans in precision.
C) They take less time to perform a surgery.
D) They make operations less painful.

56. What does the author imply about robotics?
A) It will greatly enrich literary creation.
B) It will start a new technological revolution.
C) It will revolutionize scientific research.
D) It will be applied in any field imaginable.


Passage Two
Questions 57 to 62 are based on the following passage.

You've now heard it so many times, you can probably repeat it in your sleep. President Obama will no doubt make the point publicly when he gets to Beijing: the Chinese need to consume more; they need-believe it or not-to become more like Americans, for the sake of the global economy.

And it's all true. But the other side of that equation is that the US needs to save more. For the moment, American households actually are doing so. After the personal-savings rate dipped to zero in 2005, the shock of the economic crisis last year prompted people to snap shut their wallets.

In China, the household-savings rate exceeds 20%. It is partly for policy reasons. As we've seen, wage earners are expected to care for not only their children but their aging parents. And there is, to date, only the flimsiest（脆弱的）of publicly-funded health care and pension systems, which increases incentives for individuals to save while they are working. But China is a society that has long esteemed personal financial prudence（谨慎）. There is no chance that will change anytime soon, even if the government creates a better social safety net and successfully encourages greater consumer spending.

Why does the US need to learn a little frugality（节俭）? Because healthy savings rates are one of the surest indicators of a country's long-term financial health. High savings lead, over time, to increased investment, which in turn generates productivity gains, innovation and job growth. In short, savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest.

The US government thus needs to act as well. By running constant deficits, it is dis-saving, even as households save more. Peter Orszag, Obama's Budget Director, recently called the US budget deficits unsustainable and he's right. To date, the US has seemed unable to see the consequences of spending so much more than is taken in. That needs to change. And though Hu Jintao and the rest of the Chinese leadership aren't inclined to lecture visiting Presidents, he might gently hint that Beijing is getting a little nervous about the value of the dollar-which has fallen 15% since March, in large part because of increasing fears that America's debt unmanageable.

That's what happens when you're the world's biggest creditor: you get to drop hints like that, which would be enough by themselves to create international economic chaos if they were ever leaked. (Every time any official in Beijing deliberates publicly about seeking an alternative to the US dollar for the $2.1 trillion China holds in reserve, currency traders have a heart attack.) If Americans saved more and spent less, consistently over time, they wouldn't have to worry about all that.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。

57. How did the economic crisis affect Americans?
A) They had to tighten their belts.
B) Their bank savings rate dropped to zero.
C) Their leadership in the global economy was shaken.
D) They became concerned about China's financial policy.

58. What should be done to encourage Chinese people to consume?
A) Changing their traditional way of life.
B) Providing fewer incentives (or saving.
C) Improving China's social security system.
D) Cutting down the expenses on child-rearing.

59. What does the author mean by saying "savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest" (Lines 3-4, Para. 4)?
A) The more one saves, the more returns one will reap.
B) A country's economy hinges on its savings policy.
C) Those who keep saving will live an easy life in the end.
D) A healthy savings rate promotes economic prosperity.

60. In what circumstances do currency traders become scared?
A) When Beijing allows its currency exchange rates to float.
B) When China starts to reduce its current foreign reserves.
C) When China talks about switching its dollar reserves to other currencies.
D) When Beijing mentions in public the huge debts America owes China.

61. What is the author's purpose of writing the passage?
A) To urge the American government to cut deficits.
B) To encourage Chinese people to spend more.
C) To tell Americans not to worry about their economy.
D) To promote understanding between China and America.



2012年12月英语六级真题试卷（第一套）在线练习版
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