2010年12月大学英语六级考试真题(word版)

　　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 the statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.

　　Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.

　　Most young boys are trained to believe that men should be strong, tough, cool, and detached. Thus, they learn early to hide vulnerable emotions such as love, joy, and sadness because they believe that such feelings are feminine and imply weakness. Over time, some men become strangers to their own emotional lives. It seems that men with traditional views of masculinity are more likely to suppress outward emotions and to fear emotions, supposedly because such feelings may lead to a loss of composure (镇定). Keep in mind, however, that this view is challenged by some researchers. As with many gender gaps, differences in emotionality tend to be small, inconsistent, and dependent on the situation. For instance, Robertson and colleagues found that males who were more traditionally masculine were more emotionally expressive in a structured exercise than when they were simply asked to talk about their emotions.

　　Males’ difficulty with “tender” emotions has serious consequences. First, suppressed emotions can contribute to stress-related disorders. And worse, men are less likely than women to seek help from health professionals. Second, men’s emotional inexpressiveness can cause problems in their relationships with partners and children. For example, men who endorse traditional masculine norms report lower relationship satisfaction, as do their female partners. Further, children whose fathers are warm, loving, and accepting toward them have higher self-esteem and lower rates of aggression and behavior problems. On a positive note, fathers are increasingly involving themselves with their children. And 30 percent of fathers report that they take equal or greater responsibility for their children than their working wives do.

　　One emotion males are allowed to express is anger. Sometimes this anger translates into physical aggression or violence. Men commit nearly 90 percent of violent crimes in the United States and almost all sexual assaults.

　　注意： 此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

　　47. Most young boys have been trained to believe that men who show tender feelings are considered to be ______________.

　　48. Some men believe that if they expressed their emotions openly they might ______________.

　　49. According to the author, men who suppress their emotions may develop ______________.

　　50. Men who observe traditional masculine norms are said to derive less satisfaction from ______________.

　　51. When males get angry, they can become ______________ or even commit violence.

　　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 marked [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.

　　In the early 20th century, few things were more appealing than the promise of scientific knowledge. In a world struggling with rapid industrialization, science and technology seemed to offer solutions to almost every problem. Newly created state colleges and universities devoted themselves almost entirely to scientific, technological, and engineering fields. Many Americans came to believe that scientific certainty could not only solve scientific problems, but also reform politics, government, and business. Two world wars and a Great Depression rocked the confidence of many people that scientific expertise alone could create a prosperous and ordered world. After World War Ⅱ, the academic world turned with new enthusiasm to humanistic studies, which seemed to many scholars the best way to ensure the survival of democracy. American scholars fanned out across much of the world—with support from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright program, etc.—to promote the teaching of literature and the arts in an effort to make the case for democratic freedoms.

　　In the America of our own time, the great educational challenge has become an effort to strengthen the teaching of what is now known as the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math). There is considerable and justified concern that the United States is falling behind much of the rest of the developed world in these essential disciplines. India, China, Japan, and other regions seem to be seizing technological leadership.

　　At the same time, perhaps inevitably, the humanities—while still popular in elite colleges and universities—have experienced a significant decline. Humanistic disciplines are seriously underfunded, not just by the government and the foundations but by academic institutions themselves. Humanists are usually among the lowest-paid faculty members at most institutions and are often lightly regarded because they do not generate grant income and because they provide no obvious credentials (资质) for most nonacademic careers.

　　Undoubtedly American education should train more scientists and engineers. Much of the concern among politicians about the state of American universities today is focused on the absence of “real world” education—which means preparation for professional and scientific careers. But the idea that institutions or their students must decide between humanities and science is false. Our society could not survive without scientific and technological knowledge. But we would be equally impoverished (贫困的) without humanistic knowledge as well. Science and technology teach us what we can do. Humanistic thinking helps us understand what we should do.

　　It is almost impossible to imagine our society without thinking of the extraordinary achievements of scientists and engineers in building our complicated world. But try to imagine our world as well without the remarkable works that have defined our culture and values. We have always needed, and we still need, both.

　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

　　52. In the early 20th century Americans believed science and technology could _______.

　　[A] solve virtually all existing problems [C] help raise people’s living standards

　　[B] quicken the pace of industrialization [D] promote the nation’s social progress

　　53. Why did many American scholars become enthusiastic about humanistic studies after World WarⅡ?

　　[A] They wanted to improve their own status within the current education system.

　　[B] They believed the stability of a society depended heavily on humanistic studies.

　　[C] They could get financial support from various foundations for humanistic studies.

　　[D] They realized science and technology alone were no guarantee for a better world.

　　54. Why are American scholars worried about education today?

　　[A] The STEM subjects are too challenging for students to learn.

　　[B] Some Asian countries have overtaken America in basic sciences.

　　[C] America is lagging behind in the STEM disciplines.

　　[D] There are not enough scholars in humanistic studies.

　　55. What accounts for the significant decline in humanistic studies today?

　　[A] Insufficient funding. [C] Shortage of devoted faculty.

　　[B] Shrinking enrollment. [D] Dim prospects for graduates.

　　56. Why does the author attach so much importance to humanistic studies?

　　[A] They promote the development of science and technology.

　　[B] They help prepare students for their professional careers.

　　[C] Humanistic thinking helps define our culture and values.

　　[D] Humanistic thinking helps cultivate students’ creativity.

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

　　Will there ever be another Einstein? This is the undercurrent of conversation at Einstein memorial meetings throughout the year. A new Einstein will emerge, scientists say. But it may take a long time. After all, more than 200 years separated Einstein from his nearest rival, Isaac Newton.

　　Many physicists say the next Einstein hasn’t been born yet, or is a baby now. That’s because the quest for a unified theory that would account for all the forces of nature has pushed current mathematics to its limits. New math must be created before the problem can be solved.

　　But researchers say there are many other factors working against another Einstein emerging anytime soon.

　　For one thing, physics is a much different field today. In Einstein’s day, there were only a few thousand physicists worldwide, and the theoreticians who could intellectually rival Einstein probably would fit into a streetcar with seats to spare.

　　Education is different, too. One crucial aspect of Einstein’s training that is overlooked is the years of philosophy he read as a teenager—Kant, Schopenhauer and Spinoza, among others. It taught him how to think independently and abstractly about space and time, and it wasn’t long before he became a philosopher himself.

　　“The independence created by philosophical insight is—in my opinion—the mark of distinction between a mere artisan (工匠) or specialist and a real seeker after truth,” Einstein wrote in 1944.

　　And he was an accomplished musician. The interplay between music and math is well known. Einstein would furiously play his violin as a way to think through a knotty physics problem.

　　Today, universities have produced millions of physicists. There aren’t many jobs in science for them, so they go to Wall Street and Silicon Valley to apply their analytical skills to more practical—and rewarding—efforts.

　　“Maybe there is an Einstein out there today,” said Columbia University physicist Brian Greene, “but it would be a lot harder for him to be heard.”

　　Especially considering what Einstein was proposing.

　　“The actual fabric of space and time curving? My God, what an idea!” Greene said at a recent gathering at the Aspen Institute. “It takes a certain type of person who will bang his head against the wall because you believe you’ll find the solution.”

　　Perhaps the best examples are the five scientific papers Einstein wrote in his “miracle year” of 1905. These “thought experiments” were pages of calculations signed and submitted to the prestigious journal Annalen der Physik by a virtual unknown. There were no footnotes or citations.

　　What might happen to such a submission today?

　　“We all get papers like those in the mail,” Greene said. “We put them in the junk file.”

　　注意： 此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

　　57. What do scientists seem to agree upon, judging from the first two paragraphs?

　　[A] Einstein pushed mathematics almost to its limits.

　　[B] It will take another Einstein to build a unified theory.

　　[C] No physicist is likely to surpass Einstein in the next 200 years.

　　[D] It will be some time before a new Einstein emerges.

　　58. What was critical to Einstein’s success?

　　[A] His talent as an accomplished musician.

　　[B] His independent and abstract thinking.

　　[C] His untiring effort to fulfill his potential.

　　[D] His solid foundation in math theory.

　　59. What does the author tell us about physicists today?

　　[A] They tend to neglect training in analytical skills.

　　[B] They are very good at solving practical problems.

　　[C] They attach great importance to publishing academic papers.

　　[D] They often go into fields yielding greater financial benefits.

　　60. What does Brian Greene imply by saying “... it would be a lot harder for him to be heard” (Lines 1-2, Para. 9)?

　　[A] People have to compete in order to get their papers published.

　　[B] It is hard for a scientist to have his papers published today.

　　[C] Papers like Einstein’s would unlikely get published today.

　　[D] Nobody will read papers on apparently ridiculous theories.

　　61. When he submitted his papers in 1905, Einstein _______.

　　[A] forgot to make footnotes and citations

　　[B] was little known in academic circles

　　[C] was known as a young genius in math calculations

　　[D] knew nothing about the format of academic papers