1993 年 6 月英语六级真题及答案
Part I Listening Comprehension (20 minutes)
Section A
1.
A) No, it’s open only to teachers and postgraduates.
B) Yes, he can study there if he is writing a research paper.
C) Yes, because he is a senior student.
D) Yes, but he needs the approval by his professor.
2.
A) It was pretty good.
B) It was rather dull.
C) It was not well organized.
D) It was attended by many people.
3.
A) The effects of the flood.
B) The heroic fight against a flood.
C) The cause of the flood.
D) Floods of the past twenty years.
4.
A) They were both busy doing their own work.
B) They waited for each other at different places.
C) They went to the street corner at different times.
D) The man went to the concert but the woman didn’t.
5.
A) The air is polluted.
B) The people there are terrible.
C) It’s too windy.
D) The beaches are dirty.
6.
A) In Mexico.
B) In California.
C) In the city.
D) In New Mexico.
7.
A) The woman blames the man for his absence.
B) The woman thinks that everything was all right.
C) The woman thanks the man for his efforts.
D) The woman doesn’t think it was the man’s fault.
8.
A) He has too many dreams.
B) He likes to sleep.
C) He doesn’t put his ideas into practice.
D) He doesn’t have many good ideas.
9.
A) Getting extra credits.
B) The requirements of an M. A. degree.
C) The credit hours required for an M. A. degree.
D) Taking more optional courses.
10. A) They get a bargain right away.
B) They have a look at the advertisement.
C) They sell their TV set.
D) They go and buy a big TV set.
Section B
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Passage One
11. A) Because many people don’t know how to behave in social situations.
B) Because most people are shy by nature.
C) Nobody will laugh at you for being shy.
D) Shyness is difficult to overcome.
12. A) By prediction.
B) By recording.
C) Through observation.
D) Through interviewing.
13. A) To observe people’s attitude towards strangers.
B) To see how people get along with their friends.
C) To change people’s behaviour in social life.
D) To find out how shy people are.
Passage Two
Questions 14 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.
14. A) A housewife.
B) A singer.
C) A teacher.
D) A musician.
15. A) The violin was too expensive.
B) She was too young to play the violin.
C) The violin was too big for her.
D) Her mother wanted her to play the piano.
16. A) To play the violin once again.
B) To go to the United States.
C) To apply for a scholarship.
D) To have her performance taped.
17. A) To live a more comfortable life.
B) To give performances.
C) To be a pupil of a famous violinist.
D) To enter a famous university.
Passage Three
Questions 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
18. A) Because they have had little exposure to high level of sounds.
B) Because they suffer from hearing loss.
C) Because they don’t know how to operate stereo systems.
D) Because they are not qualified engineers.
19. A) A year ago.
B) A decade ago.
C) Three years ago.
D) Five years ago.
20. A) Providing a warning light when the sound is too loud.
B) Producing more personal stereo systems.
C) Restricting the use of personal stereos.
D) Setting up a standardized hearing test.
Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
“There is a senseless notion that children grow up and leave home when they’re
18, and the truth is far from that,” says sociologist Larry Bumpass of the University
of Wisconsin. Today, unexpected numbers of young adults are living with their parents,
“There is a major shift in the middle class,” declares sociologist Allan Schnaiberg
of Northwester University, whose son, 19, moved back in after an absence of eight months.
Analysts cite a variety of reasons for this return to the nest. The marriage age
is rising, a condition that makes home and its pleasantness particularly attractive
to young people. A high divorce rate and a declining remarriage rate are sending
economically pressed and emotionally hurt survivors back to parental shelters. For some,
the expense of an away-from-home college education has become so excessively great that
many students now attend local schools. Even after graduation, young people find their
wings clipped by skyrocketing housing costs.
Living at home, says Knighton, a school teacher, continues to give her security
and moral support. Her mother agreed, “It’s ridiculous for the kids to pay all that
money for rent. It makes sense for kids to stay at home.” But sharing the family home
requires adjustments for all. There are the hassles over bathrooms, telephones and
privacy (不受干扰的生活). Some families, however, manage the delicate balancing act.
But for others, it proves too difficult. Michelle Del Turco, 24, has been home three
times-and left three times. “What I considered a social drink, my dad considered an
alcohol problem,” she explains. “He never liked anyone I dated (约会), so I either
had to hide away or meet them at friends’ house.”
Just how long should adult children live with their parents before moving on? Most
psychologists feel lengthy homecomings are a mistake. Children, struggling to establish
separate identities, can end up with “a sense of inadequacy, defeat and failure.”
And aging parents, who should be enjoying some financial and personal freedom, find
themselves stuck with responsibilities. Many agree that brief visits, however, can work
beneficially.
21. According to the author, there was once a trend in the U.S. ________.
A) for young adults to leave their parents and live independently
B) for middle class young adults to stay with their parents
C) for married young adults to move back home after a lengthy absence
D) for young adults to get jobs nearby in order to live with their parents
22. Which of the following does not account for young adults returning to the nest?
A) Young adults find housing costs too high.
B) Young adults are psychologically and intellectually immature.
C) Young adults seek parental comfort and moral support.
D) Quite a number of young adults attend local schools.
23. One of the disadvantages of young adults returning to stay with their parents is
that ________.
A) there will inevitably be inconveniences in every day life
B) most parents find it difficult to keep
C) the young adults tend to be overprotected by their parents
D) public opinion is against young adults staying with their parents
24. The word “hassles” in the passage (Line 3, Para. 3) probably means ________.
A) agreements
B) worries
C) disadvantages
D) quarrels
25. According to the passage what is the best for both parents and children?
A) They should adjust themselves to sharing the family expenses.
B) Children should leave their parents when they are grown-up.
C) Adult children should visit their parents from time to time.
D) Parents should support their adult children when they are in trouble.
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
The word conservation has a thrifty (节俭) meaning. To conserve is to save and
protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such good condition that others may also
share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase
faster than the supplies of raw materials; most of them, even until very recently, had
the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless” and “inexhaustible”. Most of
the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and
delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body,
an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others.
Fifty years ago nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry
was a new idea; timber was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from
distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody
had yet studied long-terms climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the
word “conservation” had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today.
For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about
repairing the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should, therefore, be made a
part of everyone’s daily life. To know about the watertable (水位) in the ground is
just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic arithmetic formulas. We need to
know why all watersheds(上游源头森林地带集水区) need the protection of plant life and
why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to yield their full benefit
to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of
planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, mature
trees, because living space for most of man’s fellow creatures on this planet is figured
not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic volume above the earth. In brief,
it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.
26. The author’s attitude towards the current situation in the exploitation of natural
resources is ________.
A) positive
B) neutral
C) suspicious
D) critical
27. According to the author, the greatest mistake of our forefathers was that ________.
A) they had no idea about scientific forestry
B) they had little or no sense of environmental protection
C) they were not aware of the significance of nature study
D) they had no idea of how to make good use of raw materials
28. It can be inferred from the third paragraph that earlier generations didn’t realize
________.
A) the interdependence of water, soil, and living things
B) the importance of the proper use of land
C) the harmfulness of soil destruction and river floods
D) the value of the beauty of nature
29. To avoid correcting the mistake of our forefathers, the author suggests that
________.
A) we plant more trees
B) natural science be taught to everybody
C) environmental education be directed toward everyone
D) we return to nature
30. What does the author imply by saying “living space... is figured... also in cubic
volume above the earth” (Lines 7-8, Para. 3)?
A) Our living space on the earth is getting smaller and smaller.
B) Our living space should be measured in cubic volume.
C) We need to take some measure to protect space.
D) We must preserve good living conditions for both birds and animals.
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Judging from recent surveys, most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is
virtually an epidemic(流行病) of sleepiness in the nation. “I can’t think of a single
study that hasn’t found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to,” says Dr.
David. Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with
more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit(睡眠不足) crisis can be traced to the invention
of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries and other personal accounts from
the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the
average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night. “The best sleep habits once were
forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was
dark.” By the 1950s and 1960s, the sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to
between 7.5 and eight hours, and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. “People
cheat on their sleep, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it,” says Dr. David.
“They think they’re okay because they can get by on 6.5 hours, when they really need
7.5, eight or even more to feel ideally vigorous.”
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researchers say is the complexity of
the day. Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community mount, many people
consider sleep the least expensive item on his programme. “In our society, you’re
considered dynamic if you say you only need 5.5 hours’ sleep. If you’re got to get
8.5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition.”
To determine the consequences of sleep deficit, researchers have put subjects
through a set of psychological and performance tests requiring them, for instance, to
add columns of numbers or recall a passage read to them only minutes earlier. “We’ve
found that if you’re in sleep deficit, performance suffers,” says Dr. David.
“Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to
concentrate.”
31. People in the 18th and 19th centuries used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night because
they had ________.
A) no drive and ambition
B) no electric lighting
C) the best sleep habits
D) nothing to do in the evening
32. According to Dr. David, Americans ________.
A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressure of life
B) often neglect the consequences of sleep deficit
C) do not know how to relax themselves properly
D) can get by on 6.5 hours of sleep
33. Many Americans believe that ________.
A) sleep is the first thing that can be sacrificed when one is busy
B) they need more sleep to cope with the complexities of everyday life
C) to sleep is something one can do at any time of the day
D) enough sleep promotes people’s drive and ambition
34. The word “subjects” (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to ________.
A) the performance tests used in the study of sleep deficit
B) special branches of knowledge that are being studied
C) people whose behavior or reactions are being studied
D) the psychological consequences of sleep deficit
35. It can be concluded from the passage that one should sleep as many hours as is
necessary to ________.
A) improve one’s memory dramatically
B) be considered dynamic by other people
C) maintain one’s daily schedule
D) feel energetic and perform adequately
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
The concept of personal choice in relation to health behaviors is an important one.
An estimated 90 percent of all illness may be preventable if individuals would make
sound personal health choices based upon current medical knowledge. We all enjoy our
freedom of choice and do not like to see it restricted when it is within the legal and
moral boundaries of society. The structure of American society allows us to make almost
all our own personal decisions that may concern our health. If we so desire, we can
smoke, drink excessively, refuse to wear seat belts, eat whatever food we want, and
live a completely sedentary life-style without any exercise. The freedom to make such
personal decisions is a fundamental aspect of our society, although the wisdom of these
decisions can be questioned. Personal choices relative to health often cause a
difficulty. As one example, a teenager may know the facts relative to smoking cigarettes
and health but may be pressured by friends into believing it is the socially accepted
thing to do.
A multitude of factors, both inherited and environmental, influence the development
of health-related behaviors, and it is beyond the scope of this text to discuss all
these factors as they may affect any given individual. However, the decision to adopt
a particular health-related behavior is usually one of personal choice. There are
healthy choices and there are unhealthy choices. In discussing the morals of personal
choice, Fries and Crapo drew a comparison. They suggest that to knowingly give oneself
over to a behavior that has a statistical probability of shortening life is similar
to attempting suicide. Thus, for those individuals who are interested in preserving