英语六级历年真题及答案集合

2008年6月21日大学英语六级真题及答案

PartIWriting(30minutes)

WillE-booksReplaceTraditionalBooks?

1.随着信息技术的发展，电子图书越来越多

2.有人认为电子图书会取代传统图书，理由是……

3.我的看法

注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上

PartIIReadingComprehension(SkinmingandScanning)(15minutes)

Whatwilltheworldbelikeinfiftyyears?

Thisweeksometopscientists,includingNobelPrizewinners,gavetheirvisionofhowtheworldwilllookin

2056,frongas-poweredcarstoextraordinaryhealthadvances,JohnInghamreportsonwhattheworld'sfinest

mindsbelieveourfutureswillbe.

Forthoseofusluckyenoughtolivethatlong,2056willbeaworldofalmostperpetualyouth,whereobesityisa

remotememoryandrobotsbecomeourcompanions.

Wewillberubbingshoulderswithaliensandcolonizingouterspace.Betterstill,ourdescendantsmightatlast

liveinaworldatpeacewithitself.

Thepredictionisthatwewillhavefoundasourceofinexhaustible,safe,greenenergy,andthatsciencewill

havekilledoffreligion.Iftheyarerightwewillhaveremovedtwoofthemaincausesofwar-ourdependence

onoilandreligiousprejudice.

Willwereally,astoday'sscientistsclaim,beabletoliveforeveroratleastcheattheageingprocesssothatthe

averagepersonlivesto150?

Ofcourse,allthesepredictionscomewithascientifichealthwarning.HarvardprofessorStevenPinkersays:

'"Thisisaninvitationtolookfoolish,aswiththepredictionsofdomedcitiesandnuclear-poweredvacuum

cleanersthatweremade50yearago.”

Livinglonger

AnthonyAtala,directoroftheWakeForestInstituteinNorthCarolina,belivesfailingorganswillberepaired

byinjectingcellsintothebody.Theywillnaturallytostraighttotheinjuryandhelphealit.Asystemof

injectionswithoutneedlescouldalsoslowtheageingprocessbyusingthesameprocessto"tune”cells.

BruceLahn,professorofhumangeneticsattheUniversityofChicago,anticipatestheabilityto

produce“unlimitedsupplies“oftransplantablehumanorganswithouttheneededaneworgan,suchaskidney,

thesurgeonwouldcontactacommercialorganproducer,givehimthepatient'simmuno-logicalprofileand

wouldthenbesentakidneywiththecorrecttissuetype.

Theseorganswouldbeentirelycomposedofhumancells,grownbyintroducingthemintoanimalhosts,and

alloweingthemtodeveoopintoandorganinplaceoftheanimal'sown.ButProf.Lahnbelievesthatfarmed

brainswouldbe“offlimits”.Hesays:"Veryfewpeoplewouldwanttohavetheirbrainsreplacedbysomeone

else'sandweprobablydon'twanttoputahumanbrainingananimalbody.,,

RichardMiller,aprofessorattheUniversityofMichigan,thinksscientistcoulddevelopt4anthenticanti-ageing

drugs“byworkingouthowcellsinlargeranimalssuchaswhalesandhumanresistmanyformsofinjuries.He

says:"It'sisnowroutine,inlaboratorymammals,toextendlifespanbyabout40%.Turningonthesame

protectivesystemsinpeopleshould,by2056,createthefirstclassof100-year-oldswhoareasvigorousand

productiveastoday'speopleintheir60s”

Aliens

ConlinPillinger,professorofplanerarysciencesattheOpenUniversity,says:??Ifancythatatleastwewillbe

abletoshowthatlifedidistarttoevolveonMarswellasEarth.^Within50yearshehopesscientistswillprove

thatalienlifecamehereinMartianmeteorites（陨石）.

ChrisMcKay,aplanetaryscientistatNASA'sAmesResearchCenter.believesthatin50yearswemayfind

evidenceofalienlifeinancientpermanentforstofMarsoronotherplaners.

HeaddsfThereisevenachancewewillfindalienlifeformshereonEarth.ltmightbeasdifferentasEnglishis

toChinese.

PricetonprofessorFreemanDysonthinksit“likely”thatliteformouterspacewillbediscovereddefore2056

becausethetoolsforfindingit,suchasopticalandradiodetectionanddataprocessing,areimproving.

Heays:"Assoonasthefirstevidenceisfound,wewillknowwhattolookfbrandadditionaldiscoveriesare

likelytofollowquickly.Suchdiscoveriesarelikelytohaverevolutionaryconsequencesfbrbiology,astronomy

andphilosophy.Theymaychangethewaywelookatourselvesandourplaceintheuniverse.

Coloniesinspace

RichardGottprofessorofastrophysicsatPrinceton,hopesmanwillsetupaself-sufficientcolonyonMars,which

wouldbeat4lifeinsurancepolicyagainstwhatevercatastrophes,naturalorotherwise,mightoccuronEarth.

TherealspaceraceiswhetherwewillcoloniseoffEarthontootherworldsbeforemoneyforthespace

programmerunsout.”

Spinalinjuries

EllenHeber-Katz,aprofessorattheWistarInstitudeinPhiladelphia,foreseescuresforinijuriescausingparalysis

suchastheonethatafflicatedSupermanstarChristopherReeve.

Shesaysflbelievethatthedayisnotfaroffwhenwewillbeabletoprofescribedrugsthatcauseseveres（断裂

的）spinalcordstoheal,heartstoregenerateandlostlimbstoregrow.

“Peoplewillcometoexpectthatinjuredordiseasedorgansaremeanttoberepairedfromwithin,inmuchthe

samewaythatwefixanapplianceorautomobile:byreplancingthedamagedpartwithamanufacturer-certified

newpart/'Shepredictthatwithin5to10yearsfingersandtoeswillberegrownandlimbswillstarttobe

regrownafewyearslater.Repariestothenervoussystemwillstartwithopticnervesand,intime,thespinal

cord."Within50yearswholebodyreplacementwillberoutine/,Prof.Heber-Katzadds.

Obesity

SydneyBrenner,seniordistinguishedfellowoftheCrick-JacobsCenterinCalifornia,wonthe2002NoblelPrize

forMedicineandsaysthatifthereisaglobaldisastersomehumanswillsurvive-andevolitionwillfavoursmall

peoplewithbodieslargeenoughtosupporttherequiredamountofbrainpower."Obesity,“hesays.vwillhave

beensolved.^^

Robots

RodneyBrooks,professorofroboticeatMIT,saystheproblemsofdevelopingartificialintelligencefbrrobots

willbeatleastpartlyovercome.Asaresult,“thepossibilitiesfbrrobotsworkingwithpeoplewillopenup

immensely”

Energy

BillJoy,greentechnologyexpertinCalifornia,says:'Themostsignificantbreakthroughtwouldbetohavean

inexhaustiblesourceofsafe,greenenergythatissubstantiallycheaperthananyexistingenergysource.^^

Ideally,suchasourcewouldbesafeinthatitcouldnotbemadeintoweaponsandwouldnotmakehazardousor

toxicwasteorcarbondioxide,themaingreenhousegasblamedforglobalwarming.

Society

GeoffreyMiller,evolutionarypsychologistattheUniversityofNewMexico,saysfTheUSwillfollowtheUKin

realizingthatreligionisnoraprerequisite（前提）fbrordinaryhumandecency.

'This,sciencewillkillreligion-notbyreasonchallengingfaithbutbyofferingamorepracticaLuniwersaland

rewardingmoralframeworkforhumaninteraction.

Healsopredictsthat''absurdlywasteful^displaysofwealthwillbecomeumfashionablewhiletheimportance

ofclose-knitcommunitiesandfamilieswillbecomeclearer.

Thesetherechanger,hesays,willhelpmakeusair'brigheXter,wiser,happierandkinder”.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1.WhatisjohnIngham'sreportabout?

A)Asolutiontotheglobalenergycrisis

B)Extraordinaryadvancesintechnology.

C)Thelatestdevelopmentsofmedicalscience

D)Scientists,visionoftheworldinhalfacentury

2.AccordingtoHarvardprofessorStevenPinker,predictionsaboutthefuture_____.

A)mayinvitetrouble

B)maynotcometrue

C)wiilfoolthepublic

D)domoreharmthangood

3.ProfessorBruceLahnoftheUniversityofChicagopredictsthat.

A)humanswon'thavetodonateorgansfortransplantation

B)morepeoplewilldonatetheirorgansfortransplantation

C)animalorganscouldbetransplantedintohumanbodies

D)organtransplantationwon'tbeasscaryasitistoday

4.AccordingtoprofessorRichardMilleroftheUniversityofMichigan-,proplewill.

A)lifeforaslongastheywish

B)berelievedfromallsufferings

C)lifeto100andmorewithvitality

D)beabletolivelongerthanwhales

5.PricetonprofessorFreemanSysonthinksthat.

A)scientistswillfindalienlifesimilartoours

B)humanswillbeabletosettleonMars

C)alienlifewilllikelybediscovered

D)IifewillstarttoevolveonMars

6.AccordingtoPrincetonprofessorRichardGott,bysettingupaself-sufficientcolonyonMars,

Humans.

A)Mightsurvieallcatastrophesonearth

B)Mightacquireamplenaturalresources

C)WillbeabletotraveltoMarsfreely

D)Willmovetheretoliveabetterlife

7.EllenHeber-Katz,professorattheWistarInstitueinPhiladelpia,predictsthat.

A)humanorganscanbumanufacturedlikeappliances

B)peoplewillbeasstronganddymamicassupermen

C)humannervescanbereplancedbyopticfibers

D)lostfingersandlimbswillbeabletoregrow

8.rodneyBrookssaysthatitwillbepossiblefbrrobotstoworkwithhumansasaresultorthedevelopment

of_artificaialintelligenceforrobots

9.ThemostsignificantbreakthroughpredictedbyBilljoywillbeaninexhaustiblegreenenergysourcethat

can'tbeusedtomake_pollutions

10AccordingtoGeoffreyMiller,sciencewillofferamorepractical,universalandrewardingmoralframework

inplaceofreligion

PartIIIListeningComprehension(35minutes)

SectionA

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答

11.A)ThemanmightbeabletoplayintheWorldCup.

B)Theman'sfootballcareerseemstobeatanend.

C)Themanwasoperatedonafewweeksago.

D)Themanisafanofworld-famousfootballplayers.

12.A)Workoutaplantotightenhisbudget

B)Findouttheopeninghoursofthecafeteria.

C)Applyforaseniorpositionintherestaurant.

D)Solvehisproblembydoingapart-timejob.

13.A)Afinancialburden.C)Arealnuisance.

B)AgoodcompanionD)Awell-trainedpet.

14.A)Theerrorswillbecorrectedsoon.C)Thecomputingsystemistoocomplex.

B)Thewomanwasmistakenherself.D)Hehascalledthewomanseveraltimes.

15.A)Heneedshelptoretrievehisfiles.C)Heneedssometimetopolishhispaper.

B)Hehastotypehispaperoncemore.D)Hewillbeawayforatwo-weekconference.

16.A)Theymighthavetochangetheirplan.

B)Hehasgoteverythingsetfbrtheirtrip.

C)Hehasaheavierworkloadthanthewoman.

D)TheycouldstayinthemountainsuntilJune8.

17.A)Theyhavewaitamonthtoapplyfbrastudentloan.

B)Theycanfindtheapplicationformsinthebrochure.

C)Theyarenoteligibleforastudentloan.

D)Theyarenotlateforaloanapplication.

18.A)Newlawsareyettobemadetoreducepollutantrelease.

B)Pollutionhasattractedlittleattentionfromthepublic.

C)Thequalityofairwillsurelychangeforthebetter.

D)It'lltakeyearstobringairpollutionundercontrol.

Questions19to22arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

19.A)Enormoussizeofitsstores.C)Itsappealingsurroundings.

B)Numerousvarietiesoffood.D)Itsrichandcolorfulhistory.

20.A)Anancientbuilding.C)AnEgyptianmuseum.

B)Aworldofantiques.D)AnEgyptianMemorial.

21.A)Itspowerbillreaches$9millionayear.

B)Itsellsthousandsoflightbulbsaday.

C)Itsuppliespowertoanearbytown.

D)Itgenerates70%oftheelectricityituses.

22.A)11,500C)250,000

B)30,000D)300,000

Questions23to25arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

23.A)Transferringtoanotherdepartment.C)Thinkingaboutdoingadifferentjob.

B)StudyingaccountingatauniversityD)Makingpreparationforherwedding.

24.A)Shehasfinallygotapromotionandapayraise.

B)Shehasgotasatisfactoryjobinanothercompany.

C)Shecouldatlastleavetheaccountingdepartment.

D)Shemanagedtokeepherpositioninthecompany.

25.A)HeandAndreahaveprovedtobeaperfectmatch.

B)Hechangedhismindaboutmarriageunexpectedly.

C)Hedeclaredthathewouldremainsingleallhislife.

D)HewouldmanyAndreaevenwithoutmeetingher.

SectionB

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

PassageOne

Questions26to29arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

26.A)Theyaremotorcyclesdesignatedforwatersports.

B)Theyarespeedyboatsrestrictedinnarrowwaterways.

C)Theyarebecominganefficientfonnofwatertransportation.

D)Theyaregettingmorepopularasameansorwaterrecreation.

27.A)Waterscooteroperators,lackofexperience.

B)Vacationers*disregardofwatersafetyrules.

C)Overloadingofsmallboatsandothercraft.

D)Carelessnessofpeopleboatingalongtheshore.

28.A)Theyscarewhalestodeath.C)Theydischargetoxicemissions.

B)Theyproducetoomuchnoise.D)Theyendangerlotsofwaterlife.

29.A)Expandoperatingareas.C)Limittheuseofwaterscooters.

B)Restrictoperatinghours.D)Enforcenecessaryregulations.

PassageTwo

Questions30to32arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

30.A)Theyarestable.C)Theyarestrained.

C)Theyareclose.D)Theyarechanging.

31.A)Theyarefullyoccupiedwiththeirownbusiness.

B)Notmanyofthemstayinthesameplaceforlong.

C)Notmanyofthemcanwintrustfromtheirneighbors.

D)Theyattachlessimportancetointerpersonalrelations.

32.A)Countoneachotherforhelp.C)Keepafriendlydistance.

B)Giveeachotheracoldshoulder.D)Buildafencebetweenthem.

PassageThree

Questions33to35arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

33.A)Itmayproduceanincreasingnumberofidleyoungsters.

B)ItmayaffectthequalityofhighereducationinAmerica.

C)Itmaycausemanyschoolstogooutofoperation.

D)Itmayleadtoalackofproperlyeducatedworkers.

34.A)Itislessseriousincitiesthaninruralareas.

B)Itaffectsbothjuniorandseniorhighschools.

C)Itresultsfromaworseningeconomicclimate.

D)ItisanewchallengefacingAmericaneducators.

35.A)Allowingthemtochoosetheirfavoriteteachers.

B)Creatingamorerelaxedlearningenvironment.

C)Rewardingexcellentacademicperformance.

D)Helpingthemtodevelopbetterstudyhabits.

SectionC

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

I'minterestedinthecriminaljusticesystemofourcountry.Itseemstomethatsomethinghastob

edoneifweareto(36)surviyeasacountry.Icertainlydon'tknowwhattheanswerstoourproblemsare.

Thingscertainlyget(37)complicatedinahurrywhenyougetintothem.ButIwonderifsomethingcould

n'tbedonetodealwithsomeoftheseproblems.

OnethingI'mconcernedaboutisourpracticeofputting(38)offendersinjailwhohaven'tharmeda

nyone.Whynotworkoutsomesystem(39)wherebytheycanpaybackthedebtstheyowesocietyinstead

of(40)incurringanotherdebtbygoingtoprison,andofcourse,comingunderthe(41)influenceofhardened

criminals?I'malsoconcernedabouttheshortprisonsentencespeopleare(42)servingforseriouscrimes.O

fcourse,onealternativetothisisto(43)restorecapitalpunishment,butI'mnotsureIwouldbeforthat.I'

mnotsureit'srightto熊___________________________________________________________

PartIVReadingComprehension(ReadinginDepth)(25minutes)

SectionA

Questions47to51arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

ifmovietrailers(预告片)aresupposedtocauseareaction,thepreviewfor"United93"morethansucceeds.

Featuringnofamousactors,itbeginswithimagesofabeautifulmorningandpassengersboardinganairplane.

Ittakesyouaminutetorealizewhatthemovie'sevenabout.That'swhenaplanehitstheWorldTradeCenter,

theeffectisvisceral(震撼心灵的).Whenthetrailerplayedbefore"InsideMan"lastweekataHollywood

theater,audiencemembersbegancallingout,'Toosoon!"InNewYorkCity,theresponsewasevenmore

dramatic.TheLoewstheaterinManhattantooktherarestepofpullingthetrailerfromitsscreensafterseveral

complaints.

"United93"isthefirstfeaturefilmtodealexplicitlywiththeeventsofSeptember11,2001,andiscertainto

igniteanemotionaldebate.Isittoosoon?Shouldthefilmhavebeenmadeatall?Moretothepoint,will

anyonewanttoseeit?Other9/11projectsareonthewayasthefifthanniversaryoftheattacksapproaches,

mostnotablyOliverStone'suWorldTradeCenter.1'butastheforerunner,"United93"willtakemostoftheheat,

whetheritdeservesitornot.

TherealUnited93crashedinaPennsylvaniafieldafter40passengersandcrewfoughtbackagainstthe

terrorists.Writer-directorPaulGreengrasshasgonetogreatlengthstoberespectfulinhisdepictionofwhat

occurred,proceedingwiththefilmonlyaftersecuringtheapprovalofeveryvictim*sfamily,"WasIsurprisedat

theagreement?Yes.Very.Usuallythere'reoneortwofamilieswho'remorereluctant/'Greengrasswritesinan

e-mail.*'IwassurprisedattheextraordinarywaytheUnited93familieshavewelcomedusintotheirlivesand

sharedtheirexperienceswithus."CaroleO'Hare,afamilymember,says,"Theywereveryopenandhonest

withus,andtheymadeusapartofthiswholeproject."Universal,whichisreleasingthefilm,planstodonate

10%ofitsopeningweekendgrosstotheFlight93NationalMemorialFund.Thathasn'tstoppedcriticismthat

thestudioisexploitinganationaltragedy.O'Harethinksthat'sunfair,"Thisstoryhastobetoldtohonorthe

passengersandcrewforwhattheydid,"shesays."Butmorethanthat,itraisesawareness.Ourportsaren't

secure.Ourbordersaren'tsecure.Ourairlinesstillaren'tsecure,andthisiswhathappenswhenyouYenot

secure.That'sthemessageIwantpeopletohear."

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答

47.Thetrailerfor"United93"succeededincausingareactionwhenitplayedinthetheatersinHollywoodand

NewYorkCity.

48.Themovie"United93"issuretogiverisetoanemotionaldebate.

49.Whatdidwriter-directorPaulGreengrassobtainbeforeheproceededwiththemovie?

theapprovalofeveryvictim'sfamily

50.Universal,whichisreleasing"United93"，hasbeencriticizedforexploitinganationaltragedy.

51.CaroleO'Harethinksthatbesideshonoringthepassengersandcrewforwhattheydid,thepurposeof

tellingthestoryistoraisetheawarenessaboutsecurity.

SectionB

PassageOne

Questions52to56arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Imaginewakingupandfindingthevalueofyourassetshasbeenhalved.No,you'renotaninvestorinoneof

thosehedgefundsthatfailedcompletely.Withthedollarslumpingtoa26-yearlowagainstthepound,

already-expensiveLondonhasbecomequiteunaffordable.AcoffeeatStarbucks,justasunavoidableinEngland

asitisintheUnitedStates,runsabout$8.

Theonceall-powerfuldollarisn'tdoingaTitanicagainstjustthepound.Itissittingatarecordlowagainstthe

euroandata30-yearlowagainsttheCanadiandollar.EventheArgentinepesoandBrazilianrealarethriving

againstthedollar.

Theweakdollarisasourceofhumiliation,foranation'sself-esteemrestsinpartonthestrengthofitscurrency.

It'salsoapotentialeconomicproblem,sinceadecliningdollarmakesimportedfoodmoreexpensiveandexerts

upwardpressureoninterestrates.AndyettherearesubstantialsectorsofthevastU.S.economy-fromgiant

companieslikeCoca-Colatomom-and-poprestaurantoperatorsinMiami-forwhichtheweakdollarismost

excellentnews.

ManyEuropeansmayviewtheU.S.asanarrogantsuperpowerthathasbecomehostiletoforeigners.But

nothingmakespeoplethinkmorewarmlyoftheU.S.thanaweakdollar.ThroughApril,thetotalnumberof

visitorsfromabroadwasup6.8percentfromlastyear.Shouldthetrendcontinue,thenumberoftouriststhis

yearwillfinallytopthe2000peak?ManyEuropeansnowapparentlyviewtheU.S.thewaymanyAmericans

viewMexico-asacheapplacetovacation,shopandparty,allwhileignoringthefactthatthepoorerlocalscan't

affordtojointhemerrymaking.

Themoneytouristsspendhelpsdecreaseourchronictradedeficit.Sodoexports,whichthanksinparttothe

weakdollar,soared11percentbetweenMay2006andMay2007.Forfirstfivemonthsof2007,thetrade

deficitactuallyfell7percentfrom2006.

IfyouownsharesinlargeAmericancorporations,you,reawinnerintheweak-doliargamble.Lastweek

Coca-Cola'sstickbubbledtoafive-yearhighafteritreportedafantasticquarter.Foreignsalesaccountedfor65

percentofCoke'sbeveragebusiness.OtherAmericancompaniesprofitingfromthistrendincludeMcDonald's

andIBM.

Americantourists,however,shouldn'texpectanyreliefsoon.Thedollarloststrengththewaymanymarriages

breakup-slowly,andthenallatonce.Andcurrenciesdon'tturnonadime.Soifyouwanttoavoidthepain

inflictedbytheincreasinglypatheticdollar,cancelthatsummervacationtoEnglandandlooktoNewEngland.

There,thedollarisstilltreatedwithalittlerespect.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

52.WhydoAmericansfeelhumiliated?

A)TheireconomyisplungingB)Theycan'taffordtripstoEurope

C)TheircurrencyhasslumpedD)Theyhavelosthalfoftheirassets.

53.HowdoesthecurrentdollaraffectthelifeofordinaryAmericans?

A)TheyhavetocanceltheirvacationsinNewEngland.

B)Theyfinditunaffordabletodineinmom-and-poprestaurants.

C)Theyhavetospendmoremoneywhenbuyingimportedgoods.

D)Theymightlosetheirjobsduetopotentialeconomicproblems.

54HowdomanyEuropeansfieelabouttheU.Swiththedevalueddollar?

A)Theyfeelcontemptuousofit

B)Theyaresympatheticwithit.

C)Theyregarditasasuperpoweronthedecline.

D)Theythinkofitasagoodtouristdestination.

55whatistheauthor'sadvicetoAmericans?

A.Theytreatthedollarwithalittlerespect

B.Theytrytowinintheweak-dollargamble

C.Theyvacationathomeratherthanabroad

D.Theytreasuretheirmarriagesallthemore.

56Whatdoestheauthorimplybysaying“currenciesdon'tturnonadime”(Line2,Para7)?

A.Thedollar'svaluewillnotincreaseintheshortterm.

B.Thevalueofadollarwillnotbereducedtoadime

C.Thedollar'svaluewilldrop,butwithinasmallmargin.

D.FewAmericanswillchangedollarsintoothercurrencies.

PassageTwo

Questions57to61arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Inthecollege-admissionswars,weparentsarethetruefights.Wearepushingourkidstogetgoodgrades,

takeSATpreparatorycoursesandbuildresumessotheycangetintothecollegeofourfirstchoice.I'vetwice

beentothewars,andasIsurveythebattlefield,somethingdifferentishappening.Weseeourkids'college

backgroundaseprizedemonstratinghowwellwe'veraisedthem.Butwecan'tacknowledgethatour

obsession（痴迷）ismoreaboutusthanthem.Sowe'vecontrivedvariousjustificationsthatturnouttobe

half-truths,prejudicesormyths.Itactuallydoesn'tmattermuchwhetherAaronandNicolegotoStanford.

Wehaveafull-blownprestigepanic;weworrythattherewon'tbeenoughprizestogoaround.Fearful

parentsurgetheirchildrentoapplytomoreschoolsthanever.Underlyingthehysteria（歇斯底里）isthebelief

thatscarceelitedegreesmustbehighlyvaluable.Theirgraduatesmustenjoymoresuccessbecausetheygeta

bettereducationanddevelopbettercontacts.Allthatisplausibleandmostlywrong.Wehaven'tfound

anyconvincingevidencethatselectivityorprestigematters.Selectiveschoolsdon'tsystematicallyemploy

betterinstructionalapproachesthanlessselectiveschools.Ontwomeasuresprofessors'feedbackandthe

numberofessayexamsselectiveschoolsdoslightlyworse.

Bysomestudies,selectiveschoolsdoenhancetheirgraduates9lifetimeearnings.Thegainisreckonedat

2-4%forevery100-poinntincreaseinaschool'saverageSATscores.Buteventhisadvantageisprobablya

statisticalfluke（偶然）.Awell-knownstudyexaminedstudentswhogotintohighlyselectiveschoolsandthen

wentelsewhere.Theyearnedjustasmuchasgraduatesfromhigher-statusschools.

Kidscountmorethantheircolleges.Gettingintoyalemaysignifyintellgence,talentand

Ambition.Butit'snottheonlyindicatorand,paradoxically,itssignificanceisdeclining.Thereason:somany

similarpeoplegoelsewhere.Gettingintocollegeisnotlifeonlycompetiton.Old-boynetworksarebreaking

down.princetoneconomistAlanKruegerstudiedadmissionstoonetopPh.D.program.HighscoresontheGRE

helpdexplainwhogotin;degreesofprestigiousuniversitiesdidn't.

So,parents,lightenup.thestakeshavebeenvastlyexaggerated.uptoapoint,wecanrationalizeour

pushiness.Americaisacompetitivesociety;ourkidsneedtoadjusttothat.buttoomuchpushinesscanbe

destructive.theveryambitionweimposeonourchildrenmaygetsomeintoHarvardbutmayalsosetthemup

fordisappointment.onestudyfoundthat,otherthingsbeingequal,graduatesofhighlyselectiveschools

experiencedmorejobdissatisfaction.Theymayhavebeensoconditionedtodeingontopthatanythingless

disappoints.

注意此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

57.Whydosetheauthorsaythatparengsarethetinefightersinthecollege-admissionswars?

A.Theyhavethefinalsayinwhichuniversitytheirchildrenaretoattend.

B.Theyknowbestwhichuniversitiesaremostsuitablefortheirchildren.

C.theyhavetocarryoutintensivesurveysofcollegesbeforechildrenmakeanapplication.

D.theycaremoreaboutwhichcollegetheirchildrengotothanthechildrenthemselves.

58.Whydoparentsurgetheirchildrentoapplytomoreschoolthanever?

A.theywanttoincreasetheirchildrenchancesofenteringaprestigiouscollege.

B.theyhopetheirchildrencanenterauniversitythatoffersattractivescholarships.

C.Theirchildreneillhavehaveawiderchoiceofwhichcollegetogoto.

D.Eliteuniversitiesnowenrollfewersyudentthantheyusedto.

59.Whatdoestheauthormeanbykidscountmorethantheircollege（Line1,para.4?

A.Continuingeducationismoreimportanttoapersonsuccess.

B.Apersonhappinessshouldbevaluedmorethantheireducation.

C.Kidsactualabilitiesaremoreimportangthantheircollegebackground.

D.Whatkidslearnatcollegecannotkeepupwithj