2016年12月大学英语六级考试真题第二套
2016年12月大学英语六级考试真题第二套
PART II
Listening Comprehension
Section A
Directions:
in this section,
you will hear two long conversations.
At the end of each conversation,
you will hear some questions.
Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.
After you hear a question, you must choose the best
answer from the four choices marked A), B), C）and D).
Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet
1 with a single line through the centre.
Conversation One
W: What are you giving Julie for Valentine`s Day?
M: Oh, is it that time of the year already?
I`d completely forgotten about it.
W: If you want to keep your wife happy,
you should never forget important days like her birthday,
your wedding anniversary, or Valentine`s Day.
M: It`s so hard for me. Julie has never let me forget
that I missed our anniversary last month.
W: Little things like that mean a lot to women.
M: Well, do you have any good ideas for a gift?
W: I always like a box of chocolates.
M: Julie likes chocolates of course,
but she`s trying to lose weight.
I probably shouldn`t do anything to make it hard for her.
W: How about flowers? That`s something everyone likes.
M: Yes, flowers are nice.
I`m wondering if it should be something a little more special
to make up for my blunder last month.
W: Jewelry is always good.
M: I think you`ve got it. I believe Julie has been hinting
that she`d like a string of pearls.
Every time we go shopping she stops at the jewelry counter to look at pearls.
I think it would make her happy just to see that I have been a little observant.
W: Well, there`s that problem solved. Try not to wait until the last minute.
It`s easier to shop when you don`t feel pressured.
M: Good advice. It`s a really lucky thing to have a friend like you.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
1.Who is Julie?
2.Which of the following is true of the man?
3.What will the man`s wife receive for this year`s Valentine`s Day?
4.What can you learn from the conversation?
Conversation Two
W: Tell me, Peter, what makes Harrods so famous?
M: Well, it`s the biggest department store in the UK,
and its Food Hall and Egyptian Hall are very famous.
People come to Harrods just to see them.
W: What is special about the Food Hall?
M: It sells many different kinds of food.
For example, it has 250 kinds of cheese from all over the world,
and more than 180 kinds of bread.
Customers also love all the different kinds of chocolate.
They buy 100 tons every year.
W: That`s amazing, and why is the Egyptian Hall so famous?
M: Well, when people see it they feel they`re in another world.
It looks like an Egyptian building from 4 000 years ago,
and it sells beautiful objects.
They are not 4 000 years old, of course.
W: Is it true that Harrods produces its own electricity?
M: Yes, it does. 70%, enough for a small town.
To light the outside of the building, we use 11 500 light bulbs.
W: Really? Tell me, how many customers do you have on an average day?
And how much do they spend?
M: About 30 000 people come on an average day.
But during the sales, the number increases to 300 000 customers a day.
How much do they spend?
Well, on average, customers spend about 1.5 million pounds a day.
The record for one day is 9 million pounds.
W: 9 million pounds in one day?
M: Yes, on the first day of the January sales.
W: Harrods says it sells everything to everybody everywhere, is that really true?
M: Oh, yes, of course. Absolutely everything.
Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
5.What is the Food Hall of Harrods noted for?
6. What does the Egyptian Hall seem like to the customers?
7. What may customers find surprising about Harrods?
8.About how many customers come to Harrods on an average day?
Section B
Directions:
In this section,
you will hear two passages.
At the end of each passage,
you will hear three or four questions.
Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.
After you hear a question, you must choose the best
answer from the four choices marked A), B), C）and D).
Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet
1 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
25 years ago, Ray Anderson, a single parent with a one year old son,
witnessed a terrible accident,
which took place when the driver of a truck ran a red light and collided
it with the car of Sandra Drinkens.
The impact of the collision killed Sandra instantly,
but her three month old daughter was left trapped in the burning car.
While others looked on in horror,
Anderson jumped out of his vehicle and crawled into the
car through the shattered rear window to try to free the infant.
Seconds later, the car was enclosed in flames, but to everyone`s amazement,
Anderson was able to pull the baby to safety.
While the baby was all right, Anderson was seriously injured.
Two days later, he died. But his heroic act was published widely in the media.
His son was soon adopted by relatives.
The most remarkable part of this story unfolded only last week.
Karen and her boyfriend Michael were looking through
some old boxes when they came across some old newspaper clippings.
“This is me when I was a new born baby. I was rescued
from a burning car but my mother died in the accident,
explained Karen. Although Michael knew Karen`s mother had died years earlier,
he never fully understood the circumstances until he skimmed over the news paper article.
To Karen`s surprise, Michael was absorbed in the details
of the accident and he began to cry uncontrollably.
Then he revealed that the man that pulled Karen from
the flames was the father he never knew.
The two embraced and shed many tears,
recounting stories told to them about their parents.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
9.What happened 25 years ago?
10.What does the speak say about Michael`s father?
11.Why did Michael cry uncontrollably when he skimmed over the newspaper article?
Passage Two
If the earth gets hotter in the new century,
what will happen to animals and the plants which animals depend on for survival?
The question offers another way of looking at the “greenhouse effect”.
People have talked about the general problem of global warming for sometime.
But they were usually worried about things like whether to buy a home on the coast.
Biologists and other scientists turned their attention to plants
and animals at an important meeting that took place last October.
They reviewed evidence that plants and animals are sensitive to the climate.
Since the Ice Age ended 10,000 years ago
and warmer temperatures returned to the northern latitudes,
many species have migrated north.
If the predictions about the greenhouse are correct,
temperatures will rise by the same amount in the next
one hundred years as they did in the past 10,000 years.
Will animals and plants be able to adapt that quickly to change in the environment?
Many won`t. Certain species will probably become very rare.
Experts say plants under climate stress will be very open to disease and fire.
Forests fires may become more common.
That, in turn, may harm animals that depend on the trees for food or shelter.
Any preserves we set up to protect endangered species may become useless
as the species are forced to migrate along with their natural homes.
“Change is part of life, but rapid change”,
says scientist George Woodwall, “is the enemy of life.”
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
12.What is the concern of ordinary people about the “greenhouse effect”?
13.What has happened since the end of the Ice Age?
14.What will be a possible threat to plants in the future?
15.According to the passage, what will probably happen to the endangered species?
Section C
Directions:
In this section,
you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks
followed by three or four questions.
The recordings will be played only once.After you hear a question,
you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A. B. C.and D.
Then mark the corresponding letter
on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
Recording One
Scientists found sea levels are rising faster
today than anytime over the past 3,000 years.
Another group of scientists found that January temperatures in the Arctic hit a record high.
The sea level researchers gathered information going back 28 centuries.
Their findings were released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Robert Kopp, from Rutgers University in New Jersey,
is the paper`s lead author. He said the 20th century rise was “extraordinary”
when compared to the past 3,000 years.
And, Kopp said, “the rise over the last two decades has been even faster.”
When temperatures rise, so do sea levels.
That is because snow and ice melt, or break off from glaciers.
They flow into the sea. The increased water makes the sea levels rise.
The best estimates show that temperatures around the Earth
have risen more than a half degree Celsius since 1880.
Scientists say that most of that rise is because of emissions,
or gases, released into the air by machines that humans have built.
And it is not going to get better. The water is going to rise,
said Stefan Rahmstorf. He is a professor of ocean physics
at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and the study`s coauthor.
“I think we can definitely be confident that sea level rise
is going to continue to accelerate if there`s further warming,”
he told The New York Times. He said “inevitably there will be more warming”,
which means it will continue to rise.
One question is how much will the sea levels rise? And for how long?
The researchers said the Earth`s sea level could rise more than a meter by the year 2100.
Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration reported
that temperatures at the North Pole hit record highs in January.
This news comes after 2015 has been the hottest year ever recorded.
On average, the North was almost 4 degrees Celsius higher in January
than average temperatures between the years 1951 and 1980. This news comes after
researchers reported a record low amount of sea ice up North.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center said the amount of January
sea ice is 644,000 square kilometers below average.
Scientists point to “The Blob,”
or an unusually warm area of water in the northern Pacific Ocean.
It is millions of kilometers wide and keeps temperatures
about three degrees warmer than usual in that area.
Questions 16 to 19 are based on the recording you have just heard.
16.What`s the main idea of the lecture?
17. According to scientists, what`s the major reason for the rise of temperature?
18.What is the relationship between Professor Robert Kopp and Professor Stefan Rahmstorf?
19.What does The Blob refers to according to the scientists?
Recording Two
This week, our hearts are with the people of Belgium,
as terrorist attacks claimed the lives of more than thirty people.
Yesterday, we learned that at least two Americans were killed.
We pray for their families and loved ones.
At least fourteen Americans were injured.
And we pray for their full recovery
along with everyone else affected by these attacks.
Earlier this week, I called the Prime Minister of Belgium
and offered him our full array of support in bringing to
justice any terrorists involved in planning or aiding this unconscionable
attack on innocent men, women, and children.
Belgium is a close friend and ally of the United States.
And when it comes to our friends, America has their back.
Especially as we fight the scourge of terrorism.
More broadly, we`re going to continue to root out and defeat ISIL.
We`ve been taking out ISIL leadership, and this week,
we removed one of their top leaders from the battlefield permanently.
A relentless air campaign and support for forces
in Iraq and Syria who are fighting ISIL on the ground
has allowed us to take approximately forty percent of the
populated territory that ISIL once held in Iraq.
We`re supporting Iraqi Security Forces who are
beginning to put pressure on the ISIL stronghold of Mosul.
And we will not stop until ISIL`s safe havens are destroyed.
We`re also working to disrupt plots against the United States
and against our friends and allies.
A team of FBI agents is on the ground in Belgium supporting the investigation.
We`ve ramped up our intelligence cooperation so that we can root out ISIL`s operations.
And we constantly review our homeland security posture
to remain vigilant against any efforts to target the United States.
The terrorists will fail.
They want us to abandon our values and our way of life.
We will not. They want us to give in to their vision of the future.
We will defeat them with ours. Because we know that the future
belongs not to those who seek only to destroy
but to those who have the courage to build.
Thanks.
Questions 20 to 22 are based on the recording you have just heard.
20.The people of which country were attacked this week?
21.How many percent of the populated territory of Iraq was taken by US from ISIL?
22.Who did US work to disrupt plots against?
Recording 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 emotions 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 everyday 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 everyday, 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 recording 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?