2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题及答案详解和听力原文第三套

Part I Writing (30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the picture below. You should start your essay with a brief description of the picture and then discuss whether there is a shortcut to learning. You should give sound arguments to support your views and 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 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions wiil be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A),B．, C． and D．, and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer r Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.

C. Compromise with his colleague. 1. A．Proceed in his own way.

B． Stick to the original plan. D． Try to change his colleague's mind. 2. A．Mary has a keen eye for style. C． Nancy and Mary went shopping together in Rome. B． Nancy regrets buying the dress. D． Nancy and Mary like to follow the latest fashion. 3. A．Wash the dishes. C． Pick up George and Martha. B． Go to the theatre. D． Take her daughter to hospital. 4. A．She enjoys making up stories about other people. C． She is eager to share news with the woman. B． She can never keep anything to herself for long. D． She is the best informed woman in town. 5. A．A car dealer. B． A mechanic. C． A driving examiner. D． A technical consultant. 6. A．The shopping mall has been deserted recently. C． Lots of people moved out of the downtown area. B． Shoppers can only find good stores in the mall. D． There isn't much business downtown nowadays. 7. A．He will help the woman with her reading. C． He feels sleepy whenever he tries to study. B． The lounge is not a place for him to study in. D． A cozy place is rather hard to find on campus. 8. A．To protect her from getting scratches. C． To prevent mosquito bites. B． To help relieve her of the pain. D． To avoid getting sunburnt. Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 9. A．In a studio. B． In a clothing store. C． At a beach resort. D． At a fashion show. 10. A．To live there permanently. C． To find a better job to support herself. B． To stay there for half a year. D． To sell leather goods for a British company. 11. A．Designing fashion items for several companies. C． Working as an employee for Ferragamo. B． Modeling for a world-famous Italian company. D． Serving as a sales agent for Burberrys. 12. A．It has seen a steady decline in .its profits. C． It has lost many customers to foreign companies. B． It has become much more competitive. D． It has attracted a lot more designers from abroad. Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

1

13. A．It helps her to attract more public attention. C． It strengthens her relationship with students. B．It improves her chance of getting promoted. D．It enables her to understand people better. 14. A．Passively. B． Positively. C． Skeptically. D． Sensitively. 15. A．It keeps haunting her day and night. C． It vanishes the moment she steps into her role. B．Her teaching was somewhat affected by it. D． Her mind goes blank once she gets on the stage. Section B

Directions In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear somequestions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you mustchoose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B．, C． and D ). Then mark the correspondingletter on Answer Sheet I with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard.

16. A．To win over the majority of passengers from airlines in twenty years. B． To reform railroad management in western European countries. C． To electrify the railway lines between major European cities. D． To set up an express train network throughout Europe. 17. A．Major European airlines will go bankrupt. B． Europeans will pay much less for traveling.

C． Traveling time by train between major European cities will be cut by half. D． Trains will become the safest and most efficient means of travel in Europe. 18. A．Train travel will prove much more comfortable than air travel. B． Passengers will feel much safer on board a train than on a plane. C．Rail transport will be environmentally friendlier than air transport. D． Traveling by train may be as quick as, or even quicker than, by air. 19. A．In 1981. B． In 19. C． In 1990. D． In 2000.

Passage Two

Questions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.

20. A．There can be no speedy recovery for mental patients. B．Approaches to healing patients are essentially the same. C． The mind and body should be taken as an integral whole. D． There is no clear division of labor in the medical profession. 21. A．A doctor's fame strengthens the patients' faith in them. B． Abuse of medicines is widespread in many urban hospitals.

C． One third of the patients depend on harmless substances for cure. D． A patient's expectations of a drug have an effect on their recovery. 22. A．Expensive drugs may not prove the most effective. C．Doctors often exaggerate the effect of their remedies. B．The workings of the mind may help patients recover. D．Most illnesses can be cured without medication.Passage Three

Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard. 23. A．Enjoying strong feelings and emotions. C． Being fond of making sensational news. B． Defying all dangers when they have to. D． Dreaming of becoming famous one day. 24. A．Working in an emergency room. C． Listening to rock music. B． Watching horror movies. D． Doing daily routines. 25. A．A rock climber. B． A psychologist. \" C． A resident doctor. D． A career consultant.

Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the

2

blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

If you're like most people, you've indulged in fake listening many times. You go to history class, sit in the third row, and look squarely at the instructor as she speaks. But your mind is far away,26____in the clouds of pleasant daydreams. Occasionally you come back to earth .The instructor writes an important term on the chalkboard, and you 27____copy it in your notebook. Every once in a while the instructor makes a 28____remark, causing others in the class to laugh. You smile politely, pretending that you've heard the remark and found it mildly humorous. You have a vague sense of 29____that you aren't paying close attention, but you tell yourself that any material you miss can 30____ from a friend’s notes. Besides, the instructor's talking about road 31____in ancient Rome, and nothing could be more boring. So back you go into your private little world. Only later do you realize you've missed important information for a test.

Fake listening may be easily exposed, since many speakers 32____facial cues and can tell if you're merely pretending to listen. Your blank expression and the faraway look in your eyes are the cues that33____your inattentiveness.

Even if you're not exposed, there's another reason to avoid fakery: It's easy for this34____ to become a habit. For some people, the habit is so deeply rooted that they automatically start daydreaming when a speaker begins talking on something35____ or uninteresting. As a result, they miss lots of valuable information.

Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes) Section A

Directions: In this section, there 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 centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.

Section A

It was 10 years ago, on a warm July night, that a newborn lamb took her first breath in a small shed in Scotland. From the outside, she looked no different from thousands of other sheep born on 36 farms. But Dolly, as the world soon came to realize, was no 37 lamb. She was cloned from a single cell of an adult female sheep, 38 long-held scientific dogma that had declared such a thing biologically impossible.

A decade later, scientists are starting to come to grips with just how different Dolly was. Dozens of animals have been cloned since that first lamb—mice, cats, cows and, most recently, a dog—and it’s becoming 39 clear that they are all, in one way or another, defective.

It’s 40 to think of clones as perfect carbon copies of the original. It turns out, though, that there are various degrees of genetic 41. That may come as a shock to people who have paid thousands of dollars to clone a pet cat only to discover that the baby cat looks and behaves 42 like their beloved pet—with a different- color coat of fur, perhaps, or a 43 different attitude toward its human hosts.

And these are just the obvious differences. Not only are clones 44 from the original template（模板）by time, but they are also the product of an unnatural molecular mechanism that turns out not to be very good at making 45 copies. In fact, the process can embed small flaws in the genes of clones that scientists are only now discovering.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。 A) abstract E) everything I) nothing M) surrounding B) completely F) identical J) ordinary N) systematically C) deserted G) increasingly K) overturning O) tempting D) duplication H) miniature L) separated O． tempting

Section B

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

3

Should Single-Sex Education Be Eliminated?

[A] Why is a neuroscientist here debating single-sex schooling? Honestly, I had no fixed ideas on the topic when I started researching it for my book, Pink Brain, Blue Brain. But any discussion of gender differences in children inevitably leads to this debate, so I felt compelled to dive into the research data on single-sex schooling. I read every study I could, weighed the existing evidence, and ultimately concluded that single-¬sex education is not the answer to gender gaps in achievement—or the best way forward for today’s young people. After my book was published, I met several developmental and cognitive psychologists whose work was addressing gender and education from different angles, and we published a peer-reviewed Education Forum piece in Science magazine with the provocative title, “The Pseudoscience of Single-Sex Education.”

[B] We showed that three lines of research used to justify single-sex schooling—educational, neuroscience, and social psychology—all fail to support its alleged benefits, and so the widely-held view that gender separation is somehow better for boys, girls, or both is nothing more than a myth. The Research on Academic Outcomes

[C] First, we reviewed the extensive educational research that has compared academic outcomes in students attending single-sex versus coeducational schools. The overwhelming conclusion when you put this enormous literature together is that there is no clear academic advantage of sitting in all-female or all-male classes, in spite of much popular belief to the contrary. I base this conclusion not on any individual study, but on large- scale and systematic reviews of thousands of studies conducted in every major English-speaking country.

*D+ Of course, there’re many excellent single-sex schools out there, but as these careful research reviews have demonstrated, it’s not their single-sex composition that makes them excellent. It’s all the other advantages that are typically packed into such schools, such as financial resources, quality of the faculty, and pro-¬academic culture, along with the family background and pre-selected ability of the students themselves that determine their outcomes.

[E] A case in point is the study by Linda Sax at UCLA, who used data from a large national survey of college freshmen to evaluate the effect of single-sex versus coeducational high schools. Commissioned by the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the raw findings look pretty good for the funders—higher SAT scores and a stronger academic orientation among women who had attended all girls' high schools (men weren’t studied). However, once the researchers controlled for both student and school attributes—measures such as family income, parents’ education, and school resources—most of these effects were erased or diminished.

[F] When it comes to boys in particular, the data show that single-sex education is distinctly unhelpful for them. Among the minority of studies that have reported advantages of single-sex schooling, virtually all of them were studies of girls. There’re no rigorous studies in the United States that find single-sex schooling is better for boys, and in fact, a separate line of research by economists has shown both boys and girls exhibit greater cognitive growth over the school year based on the “dose” of girls in a classroom. In fact, boys benefit even more than girls from having larger numbers of female classmates. So single-sex schooling is really not the answer to the current “boy crisis” in education.

Brain and Cognitive Development

[G] The second line of research often used to justify single-sex education falls squarely within my area of expertise: brain and cognitive development. It's been more than a decade now since the “brain sex movement” began infiltrating（渗入）our schools, and there are literally hundreds of schools caught up in the fad（新潮）. Public schools in Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida and many other states now proudly declare on their websites that they separate boys and girls because “research solidly indicates that boys and girls learn differently,” due to “hard-wired” differences in their brains, eyes, ears, autonomic nervous systems, and more.

[H] All of these statements can be traced to just a few would-be neuroscientists, especially physician Leonard Sax and therapist Michael Gurian. Each gives lectures, runs conferences, and does a lot of professional development on so-called “gender-specific learning.” I analyzed their various claims about sex differences in hearing, vision, language, math, stress responses, and “learning styles” in my book and a long peer-reviewed paper. Other neuroscientists and psychologists have similarly exposed their work. In short, the mechanisms by which our brains learn language, math, physics, and every other subject don’t differ between boys and girls. Of course, learning does vary a lot between individual

4

students, but research reliably shows that this variance is far greater within populations of boys or girls than between the two sexes.

[I] The equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits separation of students by sex in public education that’s based on precisely this kind of “overbroad generalizations about the different talents, capacities, or preferences of males and females.” And the reason it is prohibited is because it leads far too easily to stereotyping and sex discrimination.

Social Developmental Psychology

[J] That brings me to the third area of research which fails to support single-sex schooling and indeed suggests the practice is actually harmful: social-developmental psychology.

*K+ It’s a well-proven finding in social psychology that segregation promotes stereotyping and prejudice, whereas intergroup contact reduces them—and the results are the same whether you divide groups by race, age, gender, body mass index, sexual orientation, or any other category. What’s more, children are especially vulnerable to this kind of bias, because they are dependent on adults for learning which social categories are important and why we divide people into different groups.

*L+ You don’t have to look far to find evidence of stereotyping and sex discrimination in single-sex schools. There was the failed single-sex experiment in California, where six school districts used generous state grants to set up separate boys' and girls' academies in the late 1990s. Once boys and girls were segregated, teachers resorted to traditional gender stereotypes to run their classes, and within just three years, five of the six districts had gone back to coeducation.

[M] At the same time, researchers are increasingly discovering benefits of gender interaction in youth. A large British study found that children with other-sex older siblings（兄弟姐妹）exhibit less stereotypical play than children with same-sex older siblings, such as girls who like sports and building toys and boys who like art and dramatic play. Another study of high school social networks found less bullying and aggression the higher the density of mixed-sex friendships within a given adolescent network. Then there is the finding we cited in our Science paper of higher divorce and depression rates among a large group of British men who attended single-sex schools as teenagers, which might be explained by the lack of opportunity to learn about relationships during their formative years.

[N] Whether in nursery school, high school, or the business world, gender segregation narrows our perceptions of each other, facilitating stereotyping and sexist attitudes. It’s very simple: the more we structure children and adolescents’ environment around gender distinctions and separation, the more they will use these categories as the primary basis for understanding themselves and others.

[O] Gender is an important issue in education. There are gaps in reading, writing, and science achievement that should be narrower. There are gaps in career choice that should be narrower—if we really want to maximize human potential and American economic growth. But stereotyping boys and girls and separating them in the name of fictitious（虚构的）brain differences is never going to close these gaps.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

46. Hundreds of schools separate boys from girls in class on the alleged brain and cognitive differences.

47. A review of extensive educational research shows no obvious academic advantage of single-sex schooling. 48. The author did not have any fixed ideas on single-sex education when she began her research on the subject. 49. Research found men who attended single-sex schools in their teens were more likely to suffer from depression. 50. Studies in social psychology have shown segregation in school education has a negative impact on children.

51. Reviews of research indicate there are more differences in brain and cognitive development within the same sex than between different sexes.

52. The findings of the national survey of college freshmen about the impact of single-sex schooling fail to take into account student and school attributes.

53. It wasn’t long before most of the school districts that experimented with single-sex education abandoned the practice.

54. Boys from coeducational classes demonstrate greater cognitive abilities according to the economists' research.

5

55. As careful research reviews show, academic excellence in some single-sex schools is attributed to other factors than single-sex education.

Section C

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

Passage One

Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

International governments' inaction concerning sustainable development is clearly worrying but the proactive（主动出击的）approaches of some leading-edge companies are encouraging. Toyota, Wal-Mart, DuPont, M&S and General Electric have made tackling environmental wastes a key economic driver.

DuPont committed itself to a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the 10 years prior to 2010. By 2007, DuPont was saving $2.2 billion a year through energy efficiency, the same as its total declared profits that year. General Electric aims to reduce the energy intensity of its operations by 50% by 2015. They have invested heavily in projects designed to change the way of using and conserving energy.

Companies like Toyota and Wal-Mart are not committing to environmental goals out of the goodness of their hearts. The reason for their actions is a simple yet powerful realisation that the environmental and economic footprints fit well together. When M&S launched its “Plan A” sustainability programme in 2007, it was believed that it would cost over £200 million in the first five years. However, the initiative had generated £105 million by 2011/12.

When we prevent physical waste, increase energy efficiency or improve resource productivity, we save money, improve profitability and enhance competitiveness. In fact, there are often huge “quick win” opportunities, thanks to years of neglect.

However, there is a considerable gap between leading-edge companies and the rest of the pack. There are far too many companies still delaying creating a lean and green business system, arguing that it will cost money or require sizable capital investments. They remain stuck in the “environment is cost” mentality. Being environmentally friendly does not have to cost money. In fact, going beyond compliance saves cost at the same time that it generates cash, provided that management adopts the new lean and green model.

Lean means doing more with less. Nonetheless, in most companies, economic and environmental continuous improvement is viewed as being in conflict with each other. This is one of the biggest opportunities missed across most industries. The size of the opportunity is enormous. The 3% Report recently published by World Wildlife Fund and CDP shows that the economic prize for curbing carbon emissions in the US economy is $780 billion between now and 2020. It suggests that one of the biggest levers for delivering this opportunity is “increased efficiency through management and behavioural change”—in other words, lean and green management.

Some 50 studies show that companies that commit to such aspirational goals as zero waste, zero harmful emissions, and zero use of non-renewable resources are financially outperforming their competitors. Conversely, it was found that climate disruption is already costing $1.2 trillion annually, cutting global GDP by 1.6%. Unaddressed, this will double by 2030.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

56. What does the author say about some leading-edge companies? A) They operate in accordance with government policies. B) They take initiatives in handling environmental wastes. C) They are key drivers in their nations，economic growth. D) They are major contributors to environmental problems.

57. What motivates Toyota and Wal-Mart to make commitments to environmental protection? A) The goodness of their hearts. B) A strong sense of responsibility. C) The desire to generate profits. D) Pressure from environmentalists.

58. Why are so many companies reluctant to create an environment-friendly business system?

6

A) They are bent on making quick money. B) They do not have the capital for the investment.

C) They believe building such a system is too costly. D) They lack the incentive to change business practices. 59. What is said about the lean and green model of business? A) It helps businesses to save and gain at the same time. B) It is affordable only for a few leading-edge companies. C) It is likely to start a new round of intense competition. D) It will take a long time for all companies to embrace it.

60. What is the finding of the studies about companies committed to environmental goals? A) They have greatly enhanced their sense of social responsibility. B) They do much better than their counterparts in terms of revenues. C) They have abandoned all the outdated equipment and technology. D) They make greater contributions to human progress than their rivals. Passage Two

Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

If you asked me to describe the rising philosophy of the day, I'd say it is data-ism. We now have the ability to gather huge amounts of data. This ability seems to carry with it certain cultural assumptions—that everything that can be measured should be measured; that data is a transparent and reliable lens that allows us to filter out emotionalism and ideology; that data will help us do remarkable things—like foretell the future.

Over the next year, I’m hoping to get a better grip on some of the questions raised by the data revolution: In what situations should we rely on intuitive pattern recognition and in which situations should we ignore intuition and follow the data? What kinds of events are predictable using statistical analysis and what sorts of events are not?

I confess I enter this in a skeptical frame of mind, believing that we tend to get carried away in our desire to reduce everything to the quantifiable. But at the outset let me celebrate two things data does really well.

First, it's really good at exposing when our intuitive view of reality is wrong. For example, nearly every person who runs for political office has an intuitive sense that they can powerfully influence their odds of winning the election if they can just raise and spend more money. But this is largely wrong.

After the 2006 election, Sean Trende constructed a graph comparing the incumbent（在任者的）campaign spending advantages with their eventual margins of victory. There was barely any relationship between more spending and a bigger victory.

Likewise, many teachers have an intuitive sense that different students have different learning styles: some are verbal and some are visual; some are linear, some are holistic（整体的）.Teachers imagine they will improve outcomes if they tailor their presentations to each student. But there’s no evidence to support this either.

Second, data can illuminate patterns of behavior we haven’t yet noticed. For example, I've always assumed people who frequently use words like “I,” “me,” and “mine” are probably more self-centered than people who don't. But as James Pennebaker of the University of Texas notes in his book, The Secret Life of Pronouns, when people are feeling confident, they are focused on the task at hand, not on themselves. High-status, confident people use fewer “I” words, not more.

Our brains often don’t notice subtle verbal patterns, but Pennebaker’s computers can. Younger writers use more negative and past-tense words than older writers who use more positive and future-tense words.

In sum, the data revolution is giving us wonderful ways to understand the present and the past. Will it transform our ability to predict and make decisions about the future? We’ll see.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。 61. What do data its assume they can do?

A) Transform people’s cultural identity. B) Change the way future events unfold.

C) Get a firm grip on the most important issues. D) Eliminate emotional and ideological bias. 62. What do people running for political office think they can do?

A) Use data analysis to predict the election result. B) Win the election if they can raise enough funds.

7

C) Manipulate public opinion with favorable data. D) Increase the chances of winning by foul means. 63. Why do many teachers favor the idea of tailoring their presentations to different students? A) They think students prefer flexible teaching methods. B) They will be able to try different approaches.

C) They believe students，learning styles vary.

D) They can accommodate students with special needs.

. What does James Pennebaker reveal in The Secret Life of Pronouns? A) The importance of using pronouns properly.

B ) Repeated use of first-person pronouns by self-centered people. C) Frequent use of pronouns and future tense by young people. D) A pattern in confident people’s use of pronouns. 65. Why is the author skeptical of the data revolution?

A) Data may not be easily accessible. B) Errors may occur with large data samples.

C) Data cannot always do what we imagine it can. D) Some data may turn out to be outdated.

PartⅣ Translation (30 minutes)

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

中国将努力确保到2015年就业者接受过平均13.3年的教育。如果这一目标得以实现，今后大部分进入劳动力市场的人都需获得大学文凭。

在未来几年，中国将着力增加职业学院的招生人数：除了关注高等教育外，还将寻找新的突破以确保教育制度更加公平。中国正在努力最佳地利用教育资源，这样农村和欠发达地区将获得更多的支持。

教育部还决定改善欠发达地区学生的营养，并为外来务工人员的子女提供在城市接受教育的同等机会。

2014年12月大学英语六级考试真题答案详解第三套

Part I Writing (30 minutes) 作文解析：学习无止境

这篇文章比较难写之处在于很多学生审题不清，图画看不懂，难上加难在于很多考生不懂图画下方的文字到底是做何解释？其中一个单词比较难的是fiction （虚构的事，小说）。一个学生问图书馆人员，哪里可以找到不学习就可以在学校表现很好的书籍？图书馆人员指向远方，示意他在“虚构的或者小说区”。明显告诉这个学生，学习没有捷径，不读书是不可能取得好成绩的。

其实，题干要求a brief description of the picture and then discuss whether there is a shortcut learning. 考生除了要简要描述图画，还需要讨论一下有没有学习的捷径存在。这才是文章讨论与写作的关键。从当前社会上一些学生一味地寻求学习的捷径这一现象入手，这篇文章只能转化为一片现象类或是问题解决类文章，这样会比较容易写作。毕竟，一味寻求学习的捷径，更倾向于一篇批判类文章写作。 【范文】现象类

As is vividly shown in the caricature, in front of the consulting desk stands a student, asking the librarian where to find a book. Meanwhile, the librarian points to somewhere. Below the cartoon, there is a sentence which says, “ How to do well without studying is over there in the fiction section.”

Simple as the picture is, it does mirror a not uncommon social issue that an increasing number of students depend too much on shortcuts of learning. Taking a look around, numerous cases can be listed with ease. For instance, some students download essays from Internet and copy them to “make” their own paper for the final assignment. Even worse, searching information online and translate the homework just through Google translation. As a result, college students in mounting lost their ability of critical thinking. Attending in college is nothing but a waste of time and money.

The situation being so serious, it is high time that we took effective and efficient measures to solve the problem. Most importantly, we ourselves should take practical actions to learn in an active way and absorb the essence of learning. Only in this way can we taste the fruits of knowledge.

【范文】观点类

8

As is vividly depicted in the picture, before the circulation desk stands a student, who wants to find a shortcut to learning, with the librarian pointing it to him. On the lower part of the picture, we can see some English characters which read “' How To Do Well In School Without Studying' is over there in the fiction section”.

As to me, I think there is no shortcut to success, and the English characters under the picture also mean that the shortcut to success only exist in the virtual world. Whether you can do well in school is based on the effort that you spend on study. That is to say, the more diligent you are, the better your study is. Diligent is momentous and fundamental to people what the soul is vital and significant to us. Had it not been for it, we could not have been success. The story of Ma Yun, founder of China’s online trading empire, best prove the significance of diligent in realizing personal ambition and creating value to the world. “The most crucial part of your life,” once wrote a distinguished professor, “is to cultivate the quality of diligent.”I was, and remains, the supporter of the idea that “There is no shortcut to learning.”

范文译文

正如图画里面生动描述的，在图书馆还书台前站着一个学生，他想要在学习 中找到一个捷径，图书管理员正给他指向图书馆中的一个角落。在图画的下方，我们可以看到一行话：“怎样不学习却能学的很好”在科幻小说中。 就我而言，我认为成功是没有捷径的，而且图画下方的也说明了成功的捷径只存在于科幻小说的虚拟世界中。因为你能否取得好成绩取决于你在学习上付出的努力。也就是说，你越勤奋，你的成绩就会越好。勤奋对于人们的重要性，就如同灵幻对于我们的重要性一样。如果没有它，我们就不能获得成功。马云，中国网上贸易帝国的创始人，他的故事就非常好的证明了勤奋在实现个人目标和为世界创造价值方面的重要性。 一个著名的教授曾经写到：“在你的生命中，最重要的部分就是要培养勤奋的品质。”我过去是，而且现在仍然是这个观点的支持者：成功没有捷径。

Part II Listening Comprehension (30 minutes) Section A

1．C【精析】请求建议题。对话中男士说生物学项目遇到麻烦了，因为他和同事的观点截然不同；女士建议他让步，以实现双方共赢的局面。由此可见，女士建议男士做出让步。

2．B【精析】综合理解题。对话中男士问女士Nancy是否喜欢新买的裙子，女士转述Nancy的话说她如果知道Mary已经有一件同样款式的裙子，她绝对不会买。可见Nancy后悔买了一件与别人同样款式的裙子。

3．A【精析】行动计划题。对话中男士问女士不会等洗完了碗再走吧，接着说如果25分钟内不动身去接George、 和Martha，他们可能无法按时到达剧院；女士回答说Martha来电话说女儿病了，今晚不去了。可见他们不用去接人了，时间就不紧张了，因此女士最有可能先洗碗。

4．C【精析】事实细节题。男士询问女士她在跟谁通电话，女士回答说是Sally，然后说Sally总是有最新消息并且迫不及待地要告诉她。

5．B【精析】综合理解题。女士说她的车总是很难挂上一挡，而且离合器好像打滑；男士让女士把车留在这里，下午给女士修。由此可见，男士最有可能是一名机修工。

6．C【精析】综合理解题。对话中男士问为什么市区看上去十分萧条，女士解释说以前的确有些好店铺，但是很多都搬到商场里去了。可见，C．“现在市区生意不多了”是正确答案。

7．B【精析】推理判断题。对话中女士说在休息室学习很舒服，而男士表示，对他来说，在休息室学习很难做到不打瞌睡。由此可见，男士不适合在休息室里学习。lounge意为“休息室”。

8．C【精析】目的原因题。对话中女士说蚊子咬得她忍不住直挠，男士建议她下次野营时要采取防护措施，如穿长袖衣服。由此可见，男士建议女士穿长袖衣服是为了防止蚊子叮咬

9. Where does this talk most probably take place?

A．【精析】场景推断题。对话开头男士说欢迎来到我们的节目，今晚的嘉宾是一个在意大利工作的伦敦人。由此可见，对话发生在演播室。

10. What was the woman's original plan when shewent to Florence?

B．【精析】细节辨认题。对话中男士问女士在佛罗伦萨生活了多久，女士回答说自从1982年以来一直住在那儿，随后补充说，本来打算只在7tllJl．,待6个月，也就是半年。 11. What has the woman been doing for a living since1988？ A．【精析】事实细节题。对话中女士介绍了自己到佛罗伦萨的工作情况。她从l988年就成为一名自由设计师．为多家意大利公司设计时尚产品。

9

12. What do we learn about the change in Italy'sfashion industry?

B．【精析】事实细节题。对话中男士问1982年以来意大利的时装行业有什么变化，女士回答说竞争更加激烈了。

13. Why does the woman find study in drama and theatre useful? C．【精析】目的原因题。对话中男士询问女士为什么对戏剧如此感兴趣，女士回答说她发现戏剧是研究人的 一种交际方式，可以通过戏剧学习如何读懂别人，故C．“使她更好地理解别人”是正确答案。

14. How did the woman's students respond to herway of teaching English?

B．【精析】语义理解题。女士说她在课堂上经常让学生扮演不同的角色，创作小话剧，学生们对此反映很好。换句话说，学生认可她这种教学方式，所以答案是B)“积极地”。 15. What does the woman say about her stage fright?

C．【精析】细节推断题。女士说她有很严重的舞台恐惧症，但她一进入教室或走上讲台，那种恐惧就消失了。故C．“她一进入角色就不怯场了”是正确答案。

Section B Passage One

16. What is the proposal presented by the Community of European Railways? C．【精析】细节推断题。短文开头提到，19年欧洲铁路协会提议在2020年前修建从瑞典到意大利的西西里、 从葡萄牙到波兰的横贯欧洲的高速铁路网。由此可知，欧洲铁路协会提出的建议是修建横贯欧洲的高速铁路网。

17. What will happen when the proposal becomes areality?

比现在缩短一半。C．是对短文中Journeys„will take half the time的同义转述。 18. Why will business people prefer a three-hour train journey to a one-hour flight?

C．【精析】目的原因题。短文中提到，飞机旅行固然比火车旅行更快，但如果把飞行时间、办理登机手续的时间和往返机场的时间计算在内，乘飞机所用的时间与乘火车所用的时间就差不多。而且，如果你乘坐的飞机因为遇到恶劣天气、航班拥挤或军事袭击等原因而晚点，乘火车的乘客将会先行到达目的地。综合而言，火车旅行可以和飞机旅行一样快，甚至比它还要快。

Passage Two

19. When did France introduce the first high speedtrain service? A．【精析】细节辨认题。短文中明确提到法国在1981年首次开通巴黎和里昂之间时速达260千米的高速列 车。B．“19年”虽在短文中出现过，但那是欧洲铁路协会建议修建横贯欧洲的高速铁路网的时间，要注意时间与事件的对应。

20. According to the speaker, what are western doctors beginning to understand? C．【精析】语义理解题。短文一开始提到西方的医生开始理解传统医师的观点，即人的身体和意识不能分离。故C．“人的意识和身体应被看作是一体的”是正确答案。

21. What does the recent study at a major hospital seem to prove?

C．【精析】推理判断题。短文中间部分提到，多项研究表明药物的药效往往取决于病人对药物的期望程度。而近日在一家大医院做的研究是多项研究中的一个，所以其目的也是为了证明病人对药物的期望程度影响其康复。

22. What evidence does the 1997 study at the University of California produce?

B．【精析】推理判断题。短文最后部分介绍了加利福尼亚大学1997年的研究。研究表明，许多服用非药物无害物质的病人能够在体内释放出像药物一样的化学物质。换句话说，病人的意识有助于病人康复。

Passage Three

23. According to the speaker, what is a common trait among risk-takers?

A．【精析】事实细节题。短文中提到，喜欢冒险的人的一个最常见的特性就是喜欢强烈的感觉和情感。文中的sensations意为“感觉，感情”，与A．中的emotions同义。

24. What do sensation-seekers find boring? C．【精析】语义理解题。短文后半部分提到对喜欢冒险的人来说，每天重复同样的事情是很无聊的。C．Doing daily routines是对原文中repeating the same things every day的同义转述。

25. What is the speaker's profession?

10

B．【精析】推理判断题。短文主要谈论喜欢冒险的人爱做的事情及其原因，结合短文一开始就提到“作为心理学家，我们„„”可知，讲话人的职业是psychologist\心理学家”。

Section C 26．Floating

【精析】句意推断题。分析句子结构可知，此处应该填入动词的现在分词形式作伴随状语。结合录音填入floatinG，意为“飘浮”。

27. dutifully

【精析】修饰关系题。分析句子结构可知，此处应该填入一个副词修饰其后的谓语动词copy。结合录音可知答案为dutifully，意为“尽职尽责地”。

28. witty

【精析】修饰关系题。分析句子结构可知，此处应该填人一个形容词或名词修饰其后的名词remark。结合录音填入witty，意为“说话风趣的，妙趣横生的”。

29. guilt

【精析】语义推断题。由空格前的of可知，此处应该填入一个名词(词组)或动名词(词组)作of的宾语。结合录音可知答案为鲫t，意为“内疚，自责”。

30. be picked up 【精析】句意推断题。由空格前的can可知，此处应该填入一个动词原形或以动词原形开头的词组，与can一起作从句的谓语。结合录音可知答案为be picked up，意为“被获得，被得到”。

31. construction 【精析】语义推断题。由空格前的名词road以及空格后的介词in可知，此处应该填入一个名词与road搭配作about的宾语。结合录音可知答案为construction，意为“建造，建设”。

32. are sensitive to

【精析】语义推断题。分析句子结构可知，此处应该填入一个动词或动词词组作since从句的谓语。结合录音可知答案为are sensitive t0，意为“对„„敏感”。

33. betray

【精析】句意推断题。分析句子结构可知，此处应该填入一个动词或动词词组作定语从句的谓语。结合录音可知答案为betray，意为“出卖，暴露”。

34. behavio(u) r

【精析】语义推断题。由空格前的this以及空格后的t0可知，此处应填入一个名词或名词短语作for的宾语。结合录音可知答案为behavio(u)r，意为“行为，举止”。

35. complex

【精析】并列关系题。分析句子结构可知，此处应该填入一个形容词与uninterestin9并列，修饰somethin9，且意思与uninteresting相近。结合录音可知答案为complex，意为“复杂的，难理解的”。

Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes) Section A 36．【考点】形容词辨析题。

M．【精析】空格位于名词farms前面，介词on后面，故应该填入形容词作定语。此处句意为：多利从外表看并没有和农场上的其他许多羊有任何区别。备选形容词中符合要求的只有surrounding“附近的，四周的”。备选形容词ordinary具有较大的干扰性，但若填入ordinary则强调多利出生时所在的“农场”与众不同，这与文章要表达的“多利”本身与众不同在意思上有所出入，故排除0rdinary。 37．【考点】形容词辨析题。

J．【精析】空格前为n0，后为名词lamb，因此空格处需要填入形容词修饰lamb。由下一句可知，这是一只克隆羊，再结合句首的But可知，此处要表达的是多利与其他的羊不同。备选形容词中，ordinary“普通的”符合句意，故为答案。

38．【考点】动词辨析题。

K．【精析】空格前是一个完整的句子，空格后为由that引导的定语从句修饰的名词短语，故推测空格处应是分词作状语。由后半句可知，科学教条主义认为从生物学角度上来说克隆是不可能实现的，而前半句却阐述了克隆羊出生的事实。备选项中，overturnin9“推翻”符合句子前后逻辑关系，故为答案。

11

39．【考点】副词辨析题。

G．【精析】本句基本结构完整，故空格处应该填入副词修饰clear。此处句意为：清晰的事实是这些克隆动物都会在某个方面存在缺陷。备选副词中符合要求的有completely和increasingly。但由文章最后一句可知，科学家们现在才开始发现，这个过程会让克隆物的基因中嵌入一些细微的瑕疵，故排除completely。综上所述，本题答案为increasingly“不断增加地”。

40．【考点】形容词辨析题。

Ｏ)【精析】空格位于It’S后面，to think of前面，故应该填入形容词，表明“将复制品看作其本体的完美副本”这一想法怎么样。结合本段内容可知，克隆存在这样那样的缺陷，也就是说，这种想法是与事实不相符的，故temptin9“吸引人的”符合要求，表示这一想法虽然诱人，但与事实不符。

41．【考点】名词辨析题。

C．【精析】分析句子结构可知，本空应填入名词，且能与genetic搭配。本句意思是有各种各样不同程度的基因，能够被9enetic修饰的应该是比较专业的名词，且与基因有关，备选词中只有duplication“复制”最合适，故为答案。

42．【考点】副词辨析题。 I．【精析】本句基本结构完整，故空格处应填人副词。根据破折号后面的解释，可知克隆动物和本体是不同的，nothing like“一点也不像”符合旬意，故答案为nothin9“一点也不，根本不”。

43．【考点】副词辨析题。

B．【精析】本句基本结构完整，故空格处应填一个副词修饰different。破折号后面的内容是阐述克隆猫和本体的不同之处，因此选completely“完全地”，completely different attitude表示“完全不同的态度”，与前面的“不同的毛色”呼应。

44．【考点】动词辨析题。 L．【精析】本句是以Not only开头的倒装句，还原成正常语序应是Clones are not only from the original template by time，but．„故推测空格处应填入形容词或分词，且该词能和from搭配。备选项中，separated“把„„区分开来，分清”符合要求，故为答案。

45．【考点】形容词辨析题。

F．【精析】空格位于makin9之后，名词copies之前，故应填入形容词作定语。copies意为“复制品，副本”，克隆的过程就是复制相同的副本，故备选形容词中符合要求的为identical“完全相同的”。

Section B

46．【定位】由题干中的Hundreds of schools，separate boys from girls in class和brain and cognitive differences定位到G．段。

G．【精析】细节推断题。定位段第二句指出，自从“脑部性别运动”盛行以来，已有几百所学校开始跟风。第三句明确点出了一些州的公立学校因为男女生脑部、眼睛、耳朵和自助神经系统等的“先天性”不同而将男女分开教育。题干是对定位段的归纳总结，故答案为G)。

47．【定位】由题干中的review，extensive educationalresearch和no obvious academic advantage定位到C．段第一、二句。

C．【精析】同义转述题。定位句提到，作者回顾了大量的教育学研究，得出的压倒性的结论是单性教育并没有明显的学业优势。题干中的extensiveeducational research能在定位句中找到对应词，no obvious academic advantage对应定位句中的no clear academic advantage，故答案为C．。

48．【定位】由题干中的fixed ideas定位到A．段第二句。A．【精析】同义转述题。定位句提到，作者在刚开始为自己的书进行这个话题的研究时，并没有确定的想法。题干中的did not have any fixed ideas是对定位句中的had no fixed ideas的同义转述，故答案为A．。

49．【定位】由题干中的attended single-sex schools，teens和depression定位到M)段最后一句。

M．【精析】细节归纳题。定位句提到，一项研究发现，很多在青少年时期接受单性教育的英国男性离婚和抑郁的发生率更高。题干中的men whoattended single-sex schools in their teens是对定位句中的men who attended single-sex schools asteenagers的同义转述，题干中的were more likelyto suffer from depression是对定位句中的higherdivorce and depression rates的同义转述，故答案为M．。

50．【定位】 由题干中的social psychology，segregation和a negative impact on children定位到K)段。

12

K．【精析】细节归纳题。定位段第一句指出，社会心理学领域已经证实，隔离会加深模式化和偏见；第二句又提到，这种偏见更易伤害孩子。题干中的social psychology和segregation可在定位段中找到对应词，has a negative impact on children是对第一句中的promotes stereotyping and prejudice和第二句中的children are especially vulnerableto this kind of bias的归纳总结，故答案为K)。

51．【定位】由题干中的more differences，within thesame sex和between different sexes定位到H)段最后一句。 H．【精析】同义转述题。定位句指出，有可靠研究显示，在学习方式方面，男女生内部存在的个体差异比两性之间的差异要大得多。题干中的moredifferences对应定位句中的this variance is fargreater，within the same sex和betweendifferent sexes分别是对定位句中的withinpopulations of boys or girls和between the twosexes的同义转述，故答案为H)。

52．【定位】由题干中的national survey，collegefreshmen和student and school attributes定位到E)段。

E．【精析】细节推断题。由定位段第一句可知，LindaSax利用一项针对大学新生的全国大型调查的数据进行了一项研究。本段最后一句又指出，一旦研究人员将学生和学校的属性纳入考虑，研究结果就会不同，即本句暗示该研究没有考虑到学生和学校的属性。题干中的national survey，collegefreshmen和student and school attributes在定位段中可以找到完全一致的内容，故答案为E)。

53．【定位】由题干中的wasn’t long before，most of

the school districts，experimented和abandoned定位到L)段第二、三句。

L)【精析】细节推断题。定位句提到，加利福尼亚州六个学区推行单性教育实验；但仅在三年中就有五个学区都回归到共同教育模式。题干中的wasn’t long before对应定位句中的within justthree years，most of the school districts和

experimented分别对应定位句中的five of the sixdistricts和experiment，abandoned是对定位句中的failed和gone back to coeducation的推断，故答案为L)。

54．【定位】由题干中的9reater cognitive abilities和economists’research定位到F．段第三句。

F．【精析】同义转述题。定位句提到，经济学家的研究显示，教室中有女生使男生和女生都有更多的认知发展。接下来一句提到，如果班级里有较多的女性同学，男生会比女生更加受益。也就是说，共同教育班级的男孩有更强的认知能力，故答案为F)。

55．【定位】由题干中的careful research reviews，academic excellence和other factors定位到C．段。

C．【精析】同义转述题。定位段提到，周密的研究回顾显示，某些优秀的单性学校之所以优秀并不是因为实施单性教育，而是由于学校的其他优势，如经济资源、教师素质等。题干与定位段意思基本一致，故答案为C．

Section C Passage One 56．【定位】由题干中的leading-edge companies定位到首段第一句。

B．【精析】细节辨认题。由定位句可知，世界各国对可持续发展的不作为令人担忧，但是，一些领先的公司对此积极采取措施却是振奋人心的。由此可见，这些领先的公司的做法是和的行为相反的，他们对环境问题采取了积极的措施，故答案为B)。

57．【定位】由题干中的Toyota and Wal．Mart定位到第三段第一句。

C．【精析】推理判断题。由定位句可知，丰田和沃尔玛致力于环境保护并非出于好心。接下来一句指出，这是因为他们意识到环境和经济是相辅相成的，言外之意就是他们致力于环境保护是为了经济利益，故答案为C．。

58．【定位】由题干中的reluctant to create和environment

friendly business system定位到第五段第二句。C．【精析】细节辨认题。由定位句可知，很多公司迟迟不愿意建立一个精简和绿色的经营是因为他们认为这需要花费金钱或大量的资本投入，故答案为C．。

59．【定位】由题干中的the lean and green model定位到第五段最后一句。

A)【精析】推理判断题。由定位句可知，如果采取新的精简和绿色模式的管理方式的话，这种打破常规‘的做法会在带来收益的同时节省开销，故答案为A)。

60．【定位】由题干中的studies和companies committedt0定位到最后一段首句。

B)【精析】推理判断题。由定位句可知，研究表明，那些致力于实现零废料、零有害排放物和不可再生资源的零使用这些远大目标的公司在经济上都要好于其竞争对手，故答案为B)。

Passage Two

13

61．【定位】由题干中的data-ists和asbMnle定位到首段。

C．【精析】细节辨认题。定位段虽然没有直接使用data．ists一词，但是从定位段第三句中我们可以知道，数据可以用来过滤掉感情主义和意识形态。filter out“过滤”和选项C．中的Eliminate意思相近，故答案为C．。 62．【定位】由题干中的running for political office定位到第四段第二句。

B)【精析】细节辨认题。定位句指出，几乎每一个参加公职竞选的人都有一种直觉：如果能够筹集并花费更多的钱，他们就能强有力地影响赢得竞选的可能性。因此，答案为B)。

63．【定位】根据题干中的teachers和presentations todifferent students定位到第六段第二句。

C．【精析】推理判断题。题干问的是许多教师为什么赞成因材施教这一观点。由定位句上一句可知很多教师直觉上认为不同的学生有不同的学习风格；定位句提到，他们认为因材施教可以提升教学效果，故答案为C．。

．【定位】由题干中的书名The Secret Life of Pronouns定位到倒数第三段最后两句。

C．【精析】推理判断题。定位句指出，当人们感到自信的时候，关注的是手头的工作而不是他们自己，地位高、自信的人会更少而不是更多地使用诸如“我”之类的词。由此可知，该书是在讲自信的人使用代词的方式，故答案为C．。

65．【定位】由题干中的skeptical定位到第三段首句。

C．【精析】推理判断题。定位句指出，作者承认自己是带着一种怀疑的心态进入数字的，人们往往会被试图将每件事简化到可量化的想法弄得忘乎所以。言外之意就是数据分析不可能做所有的事情，故答案为C。

PartⅣ Translation (30 minutes) 参考译文与难点注释

China will endeavour to make sure the employees will have received an average of13.3 years of education by 2015. If we can achieve that, the majority of people entering the labor force market will be required to have a college diploma in future.

For the next few years, China will make the effort to increase the enrollment of vocational colleges, and apart from putting emphasis on higher education, China will seek new breakthroughs to ensure a more equal educational system. China is now trying to optimize the use of educational resources. Hence the rural and underdeveloped areas will get more support.

The Ministry of Education has also decided to improve the nutrition for students from underdeveloped areas and provide equal educational opportunities for children of migrant workers in cities.

1．第一句中的“努力”还可以译成try its best。翻译“到2015年就业者接受过平均13．3年的教育”时要特别注意时态，分析句意可知，应该用将来完成时。

2．第二句的前半句可以翻译为条件状语从句。“大学文凭”可翻译为college diploma。

3．第三句中的“着力„„”可翻译为make the effort to„。

4．第四句中的“正在”提示本句应用现在进行时。“这样”隐含因果关系，可翻译为Hence。

5．第五句中的“教育部”是专有名词，可译成The Ministry of Education。“外来务工人员”是很有中国特色的短语，可以译成migrant workers。

2014年12月英语六级听力原文第3套

Section A

M: The biological project is now in trouble.You know my colleague and I have completely different ideas about how to proceed.

W: Why don't you compromise? Try to make it a win-win situation for you both. Q 1. What does the woman suggest the man do?

M: How does Nancy like the new dress she bought in Rome?

W: She said she would never have bought an Italian style dress if she had known Mary had already got such a dress. Q2. What do we learn from the conversation?

M: You are not going to do all those dishes before we leave, are you? If we don't pick up George and Martha in 25 minutes we'll never get to the theatre on time.

W: Oh, didn't I tell you Martha called to say her daughter was ill and they could not go tonight.

14

Q3: What is the woman probably going to do first?

M: You've been hanging on to the phone for quite a while. Who were you talking with?

W: Oh, it was Sally. You know, she always has the latest news in town and can't wait to talk it over with me. Q4 : What do we learn about Sally from the conversation?

W: It's always been hard to get this car into first gear, and now the clutch seems to be slipping. M: If you leave the car with me,I will fix it for you this afternoon. Q5 : Who is the woman probably speaking to?

M: Kate, why does the downtown area look deserted now?

W: Well, there used to be some really good stores,but lots of them moved out to the mall. Q6: What do we learn from the conversation?

W: I find the lounge such a cozy place to study in. I really like the feeling of sitting on the sofa and doing the reading. M: Well, for me the hardest part about studying here is staying awake. Q7 : What does the man mean?

W: These mosquito bites are killing me. I can't help scratching.

M: Next time you go camping, take some precaution, say, wearing long sleeves. Q8 : Why does the man suggest the woman wear long sleeves? Now you will hear the two long conversations. Conversation One

M: Hello, and welcome to our program “Working Abroad.” Our guest this evening is a Londoner, who lives and works in Italy. Her name's Susan Hill. Susan, welcome to the program. You live in Florence. How long have you been living there?

W: Since 1982. But when I went there in 1982,I planned to stay for only six months. M: Why did you change your mind?

W: Well, I'm a designer. I design leather goods, mainly shoes and handbags. Soon after I arrived in Florence, I got a job with one of Italy's top fashion houses, Ferragamo. So, I decided to stay.

M: How lucky! Do you still work for Ferragamo?

W: No, I've been a freelance designer for quite a long time now. Since 1988, in fact. M: So does that mean you design for several different companies now?

W: Yes, that's right. I've designed many fashion items for a number of Italian companies, and in the last four years, I've also been designing for the British company, Burberrys.

M: What have you been designing for them? W: Mostly handbags and small leather goods.

M: Has the fashion industry in Italy changed since 1982?

W: Oh, yes. It's become a lot more competitive. Because the quality of products from other countries has improved a lot. But Italian quality and design is still world-famous.

M: And do you ever think of returning to live in England?

W: No, not really. Working in Italy is more interesting. I also love the Mediterranean sun and the Italian lifestyle. M: Well, thank you for talking to us, Susan. W: It was a pleasure.

Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 9. Where does this talk most probably take place?

10. What was the woman's original plan when she went to Florence? 11. What has the woman been doing for a living since 1988?

12. What do we learn about the change in Italy's fashion industry? Conversation Two

M: So, Claire, you're into drama!

W: Yes, I've a master's degree in drama and theatre. At the moment,I'm hoping to get onto a PhD program. M: What excites you about drama?

15

W: Well, I find it's a communicative way to study people and you learn how to read people in drama. So usually I can understand what people are saying even though they might be lying.

M: That would be useful.

W: Yeah, it's very useful for me as well. I'm an English lecturer,so use a lot of drama in my classes such as role-plays. And I ask my students to create mini-dramas. They really respond well. At the moment,I'm hoping to get onto a PhD course. I would like to concentrate on Asian drama and try to bring Asian theatre to the world's attention. I don't know how successful I would be but, here's hoping.

M: Oh, I'm sure you'll be successful. Now, Claire, what do you do for stage fright?

W: Ah, stage fright! Well,many actors have that problem. I get stage fright every time I'm going toteach a new class. The night before,I usually can't sleep. M: What? For teaching?

W: Yes. I get really bad stage fright. But the minute I step into the classroom or get onto the stage,it just all falls into place. Then I just feel like:Yeah, this is what I mean to do. And I'm fine.

M: Wow, that's cool!

Questions 13 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 13. Why does the woman find study in drama and theatre useful?

14. How did the woman's students respond to her way of teaching English? 15. What does the woman say about her stage fright? Section B Passage One

In January 19,the Community of European Railways presented their proposal for a high speed pan-European train network extending from Sweden to Sicily,and from Portugal to Poland by the year 2020. If their proposal becomes a reality,it will revolutionize train travel in Europe. Journeys between major cities will take half the time they take today. Brussels will be only one and a half hours from Paris. The quickest way to get from Paris to Frankfurt,from Barcelona to Madrid will be by train, not plane. When the network is complete,it will integrate three types of railway line: totally new high speed lines with trains operating at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour,upgraded lines which allow for speeds up to 200 to 225 kilometers per hour,and existing lines for local connections and distribution of freight. “If business people can choose between a three-hour train journey from city-centre to city-centre and a one-hour flight they'll choose the train,”says an executive travel consultant. “They won't go by plane any more. If you calculate flight time,check-in and travel to and from the airport,you'll find almost no difference. And if your plane arrives late due to bad weather or air traffic jams or strikes,then the train passengers will arrive at their destination first.”Since France introduced the first 260-kilometer-per-hour high speed train service between Paris and Lyons in 1981,the trains have achieved higher and higher speeds. On many routes,airlines have lost up to 90% of their passengers to high speed trains. If people accept the Community of European Railways' plan,the 21st century will be the new age of the train.

Questions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard.

16. What is the proposal presented by the Community of European Railways? 17. What will happen when the proposal becomes a reality?

18. Why will business people prefer a three-hour train journey to a one-hour flight? 19. When did France introduce the first high speed train service? Passage Two

Western doctors are beginning to understand what traditional healers have always known that the body and the mind are inseparable. Until recently, modern urban physicians heal the body, psychiatrist the mind, and priest the soul. However, the medical world is now paying more attention to holistic medicine which is an approach based on the belief that people's state of mind can make them sick or speed their recovery from sickness. Several studies show that the effectiveness of a certain drug often depends on the patients' expectations of it. For example, in one recent study, psychiatrists at a major hospital tried to see how patients could be made calm. They divided them into two groups. One group was given a drug while the other group received a harmless substance instead of medicine without their knowledge. Surprisingly, more patients in the second group showed the desired effect than those in the first group. In study after study, there's a positive

16

reaction in almost one-third of the patients taking harmless substances. How was this possible? How can such a substance have an effect on the body? Evidence from a 1997 study at the University of California shows that several patients who received such substances were able to produce their own natural drug, that is, as they took the substance their brains released natural chemicals that act like a drug. Scientists theorized that the amount of these chemicals released by a person's brain quite possibly indicates how much faith the person has in his or her doctor.

Questions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard.

20. According to the speaker,what are western doctors beginning to understand? 21. What does the recent study at a major hospital seem to prove?

22. What evidence does the 1997 study at the University of California produce? Passage Three

So we've already talked a bit about the growth of extreme sports like rock-climbing. As psychologists, we need to ask ourselves: Why is this person doing this? Why do people take these risks and put themselves in danger when they don't have to? One common trait among risk-takers is that they enjoy strong feelings or sensations. We call this trait sensation-seeking. A sensation-seeker is someone who's always looking for new sensations. What else do we know about sensation-seekers? Well, as I said, sensation-seekers like strong emotions. You can see this trait in many parts of a person's life, not just in extreme sports. For example, many sensation-seekers enjoy hard rock music. They like the loud sound and strong emotion of the songs. Similarly, sensation-seekers enjoy frightening horror movies. They like the feeling of being scared and horrified while watching the movie. This feeling is even stronger for extreme sports where the person faces real danger. Sensation-seekers feel the danger is very exciting. In addition, sensation-seekers like new experiences that force them to push their personal limits. For them, repeating the same things every day is boring. Many sensation-seekers choose jobs that involve risk, such as starting a new business or being an emergency room doctor. These jobs are different every day, so they never know what will happen. That's why many sensation-seekers also like extreme sports. When you do rock-climbing, you never know what will happen. The activity is always new and different.

Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.

23. According to the speaker what is a common trait among risk-takers? 24. What do sensation-seekers find boring? 25. What is the speaker's profession? Section C

If you're like most people,you've indulged in fake listening many times. You go to history class,sit in the third row,and look squarely at the instructor as she speaks. But your mind is far away floating in the clouds of pleasant daydreams. Occasionally you come back to earth: The instructorwrites an important term on the chalkboard, and you dutifully copy it in your notebook. Every once in a while the instructor makes a witty remark,causing others in the class to laugh.You smile politely,pretending that you've heard the remark and found it mildly humorous. You have a vague sense of guilt that you aren't paying close attention, but you tell yourself that any material you miss can be picked up from a friend's notes. Besides, the instructor's talking about road construction in ancient Rome, and nothing could be more boring. So back you go into your private little world. Only later do you realize you've missed important information for a test.Fake listening may be easily exposed,since many speakers are sensitive to facial cues and can tell if you're merely pretending to listen. Your blank expression and the faraway look in your eyes are the cues that betray your inattentiveness Even if you're not exposed,there's another reason to avoid fakery: It's easy for this behavior to become a habit. For some people, the habit is so deeply rooted that they automatically start daydreaming when a speaker begins talking on something complex or uninteresting. As a result, they miss lots of valuable information.

17