大学英语六级考试模拟试卷十五（带答案）

大学英语六级考试模拟试卷十五

（总分：710.00,做题时间：130分钟）

PartIWriting（总题数：1,分数：0.00）

1.Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessay

toexpressyourviewsonthephenomenonofexcessivespendingamongcollege

students.Youshouldwriteatleast150wordsbutnomorethan200words.

（分数：106.50）

正确答案：（［范文］

ExcessiveSpendingAmongCollegeStudents

Currently,withtheimprovementoflivingstandards,therehasappeareda

commonplacephenomenonthatquiteafewcollegestudentsspendtooexcessively.

Or,putanotherway,theyspendmoneyjustlikerunningwater!

Therearetwomainreasonsaccountableforthisphenomenon.Tobeginwith,

itarisesfrompeerpressure.Whensomecollegestudentsseetheirclassmates

purchasefancyclothesoraccessories,theyjustfollowsuitregardlessoftheirown

actualeconomicconditions.Secondly,manycollegestudentsdon'thavetheslightest

clueastohowtomanagemoneyontheirown.Accordingtoasurvey,morethan90%

ofcollegestudentshavenobudgets.Theytendtospendfarmorelivingexpenses

thanexpected.

Frommyperspective,wecollegestudentsaresupposedtotakeaproper

consumptionviewandalsolearntobudgetourmoney,whichisvitaltoourfuture

life.Anyway,wesurviveonthemoneyourparentsgiveusanditwillbemore

sensibleforustosavemoneyratherthanwasteit.）

解析：

PartIIListeningComprehension（总题数：0,分数：0.00）

SectionA（总题数：8,分数:0.00）

・Questions1to4arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

1.（分数：28.40）

A.Theenormoussizeofitsstores.

B.Numerousvarietiesoffood.J

C.ltsappealingsurroundings.

D.ltsrichandcolorfulhistory.

解析：［听力原文］

W:Tellme,Peter;whatmakesHarrodssofamous?

M:Well,it'sthebiggestdepartmentstoreintheUK,anditsfoodhalland

Egyptianhallareveryfamous.PeoplecometoHarrodsjusttoseethem.

W:Whatisspecialaboutthefoodhall?

M:Itsellsmanydifferentkindsoffood.Forexample,ithas250kindsof

cheesefromallovertheworld,andmorethan180kindsofbread.Customersalso

loveallthedifferentkindsofchocolate.Theybuy100tonseveryyear.

W:That'samazing,andwhyistheEgyptianhallsofamous?

M:Well,whenpeopleseeittheyfeelthey*reinanotherworld.Itlookslikean

Egyptianbuildingfrom4000yearsago,anditsellsbeautifulobjects.Theyarenot

4000yearsold,ofcourse.

W:IsittruethatHarrodsproducesitsownelectricity?

M:Yes,itdoes.70%,enoughforasmalltown.Tolighttheoutsideofthe

buildingweuse11500lightbulbs.

W:Really?Tellme,howmanycustomersdoyouhaveonanaverageday?And

howmuchdotheyspend?

M:About30000peoplecomeonanaverageday.Butduringthesales,the

numberincreasesto300000customersaday.Howmuchdotheyspend?Well,on

average,customersspendabout£1.5millionaday.Therecordforonedayis£9

million.

W:£9millioninoneday?

M:Yes,onthefirstdayoftheJanuarysales.

W:Harrodssaysitsellseverythingtoeverybodyeverywhere.Isthatreally

true?

M:Oh,yes,ofcourse.Absolutelyeverything.

WhatisthefoodhallofHarrodsnotedfor?

.Questions5to8arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

5.（分数：28.40）

A.lnastudio.J

B.lnaclothingstore.

C.Atabeachresort.

D.Atafashionshow.

解析：［听力原文］

M:Hello,andwelcometoourprogram"WorkingAbroad."Ourguestthis

eveningisaLondonerwholivesandworksinItaly.Hername'sSusanHill.Susan,

welcometotheprogram.YouliveinFlorence.Howlonghaveyoubeenlivingthere?

W:Since1982.ButwhenIwenttherein1982,Iplannedtostayforonly6

months.

M:Whydidyouchangeyourmind?

W:Well,I'madesigner.Idesignleathergoods,mainlyshoesandhandbags.

SoonafterIarrivedinFlorence,IgotajobwithoneofItaly'stopfashionhouses,

Ferregamo.So,Idecidedtostay.

M:Howlucky!DoyoustillworkforFerregamo?

W:No,I'vebeenafreelancedesignerforquitealongtimenow.Since1988,in

fact.

M:So,doesthatmeanyoudesignforseveraldifferentcompaniesnow?

W:Yes,that'sright.I'vedesignedmanyfashionitemsforanumberofItalian

companies,andduringthelastfouryears,I'vealsobeendesigningfortheBritish

company,Burberry.

M:Whathaveyoubeendesigningforthem?

W:Mostlyhandbags,andsmallleathergoods.

M:HasthefashionindustryinItalychangedsince1982?

W:Oh,yes.Ithasbecomealotmorecompetitive.Becausethequalityof

productsfromothercountrieshasimprovedalot.ButtheItalianqualityanddesign

isstillworld-famous.

M:AnddoyoueverthinkofreturningtoliveinEngland?

W:No,notreally.WorkinginItalyismoreinteresting.Ialsolovethe

MediterraneansunandtheItalianlifestyle.

M:Well,thankyoufortalkingtous,Susan.

W:Mypleasure.

Wheredoesthistalkmostprobablytakeplace?

SectionB（总题数:7,分数：0.00）

,Questions9to11arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

1.（分数：21.30）

A.Theyoftenfeelinsecureabouttheirjobs.

B.Theyareunabletodecidewhattodofirst.

C.Theyareincompetenttofulfilltheirresponsibilities.

D.Theyfeelburdenedwithnumeroustaskseveryday.V

解析：［听力原文］

Manydaysseemtobringnumeroustasksandresponsibilities,allofwhich

apparentlymustbetackledrightaway.Youspendadayputtingoutfiles,butbythe

endoftheday,youhaven'taccomplishedanyofthereallyimportantthingsyouset

outtodo.Indesperation,youdraftato-dolist一butmostdays,youcanmakelittle

progresswithit.Whenyoulookatthelisteachmorning,abigfatcloudofdoomis

rightatthetop——thosedifficult,complex,importanttasksthataresocrucialtoget

doneandsoeasytoavoid.Plentyofuscreateato-dolisttoaddressfeelingsofbeing

overwhelmed,butwerarelyusethesetoolstotheirbesteffect.Theywindoutbeing

guilt-provokingremindersofthefactthatweareover-committedandlosingcontrol

ofourpriorities.AccordingtoTimithyPikyo,aprofessorofpsychologyatCarlton

UniversityinOttawa,peopleoftendrawupato-dolist,andthenthat'sit.Thelist

itselfbecomestheday'sachievement,allowingustofeelwe'vedonesomething

usefulwithouttakingonanyrealwork.Infact,drawingupthelistbecomesawayof

avoidingtheworkitself."Toooften,thelistisseenastheaccomplishmentfortheday,

reducingtheimmediateguiltofnotworkingonthetasksathandbyinvestingenergy

inthelist,"saysPikyo."Whenalistisusedlikethis,it'ssimplyanotherwayinwhich

welietoourselves."

Whatistheproblemthattroublesmanypeoplenowadaysaccordingtothe

speaker?

.Questions12to15arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

4.（分数:28.40）

A.Theirperformancemayimprove.V

B.Theirimmunesystemmaybereinforced.

C.Theirbloodpressuremayriseallofasudden.

D.Theirphysicaldevelopmentmaybeenhanced.

解析：［听力原文］

Inmanystressfulsituations,thebody'sresponsescanimproveour

performance.Webecomemoreenergetic,morealert,betterabletotakeeffective

action.Butwhenstressisencounteredcontinually,thebody'sreactionsaremore

likelytobeharmfulthanhelpfultous.Thecontinualspeedingupofbodilyreactions

andtheproductionofstress-relatedhormonesseemtomakepeoplemore

susceptibletoheartdisease.Andstressreactionscanreducethediseasefighting

effectivenessofthebody'simmunesystem,therebyincreasingsusceptibilityto

illnessesrangingfromcoldstocancer.Stressmayalsocontributetodiseaseinless

directwaysbyinfluencingmoodsandbehavior.Peopleunderstressmaybecome

anxiousordepressed,andasaresultmayeattoomuchortoolittle,havesleep

difficultiesorfailtoexercise.Thesebehavioralchangesmayinturnbeharmfulto

theirhealth.Inaddition,peoplearemorelikelytopayattentiontocertainbodily

sensationssuchasachesandpainswhentheyareunderstressandtothinkthat

they'resick.Ifthepersonwerenotunderstress,thesamebodilysensationsmight

notbeperceivedassymptomsandthepersonmightcontinuetofeelwell.Some

researchershavesuggestedthatassumingtheroleofasickpersonisonewayin

whichcertainpeopletrytocopewithstress.Insteadofdealingwiththestressful

situationdirectly,thesepeoplefallsick.Afterall,itisoftenmoreacceptableinour

societytobesickandtoseekmedicalhelpthanitistoadmitthatonecannotcope

withthestressesoflife.

Whatdoesthespeakersayaboutpeoplewhoencounterstressonceina

while?

SectionC（总题数：10,分数：0.00）

.Questions16to19arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

1.（分数：56.80）

A.Notusingoffensiveorhurtfullanguage.V

B.Usingmoreencouragingwords.

C.Neverusingslangwordswitholdpeople.

D.Usingsomepopularlanguagewithyoungpeople.

解析：［听力原文］

Everydayconversationisessentialtoseveralaspectsoflifesuchas

maintainingrelationships——businessandpersonal,buildingtrustandcredibilityand

creatingapleasurableexperienceforyourselfandothers.Itcomesasnosurprise

thereforethatconversationskillsareoneofthemostbasicskillsneededtofunction

wellineverydaysociety.Oneofthemostimportantconversationskillsforyouto

haveistheabilitytoavoidusingoffensiveorhurtfullanguage.Thisbecomes

especiallydifficultwhenyouarenotawarethatthewordsyouuseareactually

consideredhurtful.Slangwordscommonlyusedbytheyoungergenerationcanalso

beunknowinglyoffensive.Toassistwiththisconfusion,hereareafewcommon

wordsorphraseswhichyoumayormaynotknowareactuallyhurtful.

Thefirstoneis"Idon'tcare."Thisisaverycommonphraseforsomeoneto

sayinavarietyofsituations,anditisobviousthatitcaneasilyoffend.Itisnevernice

tosaythatyoudon'tcareaboutsomethingorsomeone,eveninajokingmanner.To

thosewhoareabitmoresensitive,theymighttakeyourwordsmoreseriouslythan

youthink.Altogether,itisbesttoassumethatthisphraseisoffensiveinmost

situations.

Thesecondis"Itwasjustajoke."Ifapersonhastroubletoleratingwhatever

youjustsaid,theywon'tbelieveyousayyouweren'tserious.Nomatterhowclose

youareasfriendsorfamily,ifyoumakeanoffensivecommentandexpectthemto

takeitasajoke,itmightbealittletoomuchtoask.Althoughyoumayhavehad

goodintentions,italwayspaystobecarefulaboutwhatyousayoutloud,especially

ifyouknowthepersonisalittlebitsensitive.

Thethirdis"Nevermind,youdon'tgetit."Nobodylikesbeingleftoutofthe

loop,andusedinthewrongcontext,thiscanmakeitsoundlikeyoulefttheperson

outonpurpose.Althoughyoumayhaveonlymeantforittobeaquickdismissalofa

subject,itcouldcomeoffasrude,whichdestroysrelationshipsratherthanmaintains

them.Nexttimetryprovidinganexplanation,nomatterhowbrief.

Thefourthis"What'sthepoint?"Althoughyoumayhaveaskedthisfroma

viewpointofcuriosity,itiseasyforthisstatementtosoundoffensive.Dependingon

thesensitivityorthepersonandthecircumstance,itmightsoundlikeyouare

dismissingtheirexplanationbeforetheyeventryexplaining.Itsoundsrudeand

therearemanymorepolitewaystoaskaboutthepurposeofanaction.

Whatisoneofthemostimportantconversationskillsaccordingtothe

speaker?

,Questions20to22arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

5.（分数:42.60）

A.Companieswerefightingforthegamingmarket.

B.Theysawhigheconomicreturnsinthebusiness.J

C.Moreandmorepeoplewereusingmobiledevices.

D.Smartphoneswerereplacingthetraditionalcomputers.

解析：［听力原文］

Moreandmorepeoplearoundtheworldareusingwirelessormobiledevices.

Insomecountries,smartphonesandothermobiledevicesserveasreplacementsfor

thetraditionaldesktopcomputer.Thisincreaseinmobiledeviceusagehasalsoledto

thegrowthofthemobilegamingindustry.Expertssaytheindustrywillbeworth

morethan$11billionthisyear.

Earlycomputersweretooslowtoprocesstheamountofdataneededfor

realisticpictures,soundandspecialeffects.Butprocessorsoonbecamefasterand

lesscostly.Manufacturerssawtherewasmoneytobemade,sotheydeveloped

machinesdesignedonlyforgames.Now,smartphonesandothermobiledevices

havecreatednewwaystoplaygames.

Largecompaniescompeteinanexpandinggamingmarket.Garnersandgame

developersrecentlyshowedandtestedtheirproductsattheElectronic

EntertainmentExhibitioninLosAngeles,California.TheeventiscalledF3forshort.

GamingindustryleaderslikeXboxandPlayStationdemonstratednewproductsatE3.

FamousAmericanslikecomedianConanO'Brienattendedtheevent.

AppAnniebasedinSanFrancisco,Californiaisamobilegamingmarket

researchcompany.AppAnnie'sMarcosSanchezsayscompaniesthatdevelopgames

formobiledevicesaremakinghugeprofits.

YoshioOsakiisthetopvicepresidentoftheInternationalDevelopmentGroup.

Theofficialsaysnewcompaniesaredoingverywellwithallthedifferentwaysto

providepeoplewithgames.

Thevideogamesarenotjustabouttheconsoleanymore.Andyouseealotof

cross-pollinationandhybridizationacrossSony,Microsoft,Nintendo,EA,and

Activationetc.

Manyofthegamingcompaniesdependonloyalgarnersforfreshideas.And

ageisunimportanttosomecompanies.MichaelSaymanisa17-year-oldFacebook

employee.HespokerecentlywithVoiceofAmerica'sSpanishserviceaboutsomeof

hisFacebookresponsibilities.

“IwillbeworkingonasystemcalledParse,whichispartofFacebookand

workswithmanyapplications,andtheyallconnecttogetherthroughwhatFacebook

doesandwhatthecompanywithinFacebook.Parsealsodoes."Saymansaid.

Parsesoftwareisdesignedtohelpothersdevelopevenmoreapplicationsfor

mobiledevices.

Whydidmanufacturersdevelopmachinesdesignedonlyforgames?

.Questions23to25arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

8.（分数：42.60）

A.Wasteproductswhichcanbepreventedordisposedofsensibly.

B.Artificialandnaturalsubstancesreleasedintotheenvironment.V

C.Advertisingthatpersuadespeopleintobuyingproducts.

D.Nuclearpowerstationsthatcauseecologicalimbalance.

解析：［听力原文］

Peopleallovertheworldtodayarebeginningtohearandlearnmoreand

moreabouttheproblemofpollution.Pollutioniscausedeitherbyman'sreleaseof

completelynewandoftenartificialsubstancesintotheenvironmentorbyreleasing

greatlyincreasedamountsofnaturalsubstances,suchasoilfromoiltankersintothe

sea.

Thewholeindustrialprocesswhichmakesmanyofthegoodsandmachines

weneedanduseinourdailylifeisboundtocreateanumberofwasteproducts,

whichupsettheenvironmentalbalance,ortheecologicalbalanceasitisalsoknown.

Manyofthesewasteproductscanbepreventedordisposedofsensibly,butclearly,

whilemoreandmorenewandcomplexgoodsareproduced,therewillbenew,

dangerouswastestobedisposedof,forexample,thewasteproductsfromnuclear

powerstations.Manypeople,therefore,seepollutionasonlypartofalargerand

morecomplexproblem,thatis,thewholeprocessofindustrialproductionand

consumptionofgoods.Others,again,seetheproblemmainlyinconnectionwith

agriculture,wherenewmethodsarehelpingfarmersgrowmoreandmoreontheir

landtofeedourever-increasingpopulations.However,thelanditself,ifgradually

becomingwornoutasitisbeingused,insomecases,tooheavily,cannotrestorethe

balance.

Whatevertheunderlyingreasonsare,thereisnodoubtthatmuchofthe

pollutioncausedcouldbecontrolledifonlycompanies,individualsandgovernments

wouldmakemoreefforts.Inthehomethereisanobviousneedtocontrollitterand

waste.Foodcomeswrappedupthreeorfourtimesinpackagesthatallhavetobe

disposedof;drinksareincreasinglysoldinbottlesortins,whichcannotbereused.

Thisnotonlycausesalitterproblem,butalsoisagreatwasteofresourcesinterms

ofglass,metalsandpaper.Advertisinghashelpedthisprocessbypersuadingmany

ofusnotonlytobuythingsweneitherwantnorneed,butalsotothrowawaymuch

ofwhatwedobuy.Pollutionandwastecombinetobeaproblemeveryonecanhelp

tosolvebycuttingoutunnecessarybuying,excessconsumptionandcareless

disposaloftheproductsweuseinourdailylife.

Accordingtotherecording,whatmaycausepollution?

PartIIIReadingComprehension（总题数：0,分数：0.00）

SectionA（总题数：10,分数：0.00）

.Itmaycomeasasurprisetomanyanexhaustedmotherorfather-but

thinkingaboutyourchildrencouldimproveyourmemory,astudysuggests.

Researchers1thatwhenthinkingaboutraisingchildren,anadult's

memory"goesupagear".Itseemsthatthe2necessitytoprotectchildren

helpsourbrainstostoreinformationwewouldotherwiseforget.

ResearchersatBinghamtonUniversity,NewYorkcarriedoutaseriesoftests

toseeifthinkingaboutbringingupchildrenimprovedone*ssenseof3and

foundthatitdid.RalphMiller,apsychologyprofessorsaid,"Ourabilitytothinkand

memorizeinformationarisesfromournervoussystems.Asournervoussystemsare

aproductof4andpastexperiences,onecan5expectthathowwell

wememorizeinformationtodayis6bynaturalselectionthatoccurredamong

ourancestorslongago."

ProfessorMillerandhiscolleaguestestedthetheorybyasking7to

imaginetheywerelivingintheancientgrasslandsofAfrica,andtoremembera

seriesofwordssuchasrock,apple,ballandstick.Theywereaskedtoratethe

relevanceofeachitemtohowmuchuseitwastotheirsurvival.Whenpresented

witha8thatinvolvedraisingchildrentheyrememberedmanymoreofthe

words.Butinanothersituation——ataskinvolvingfindingamate——thememorywas

notsogood.

Theresearcherssaidthatwhilebothactivities9tosurvival,our

prehistoricancestorsmaynothaverealizedthatmatingcouldresultinchildren

becauseoftheninemonthsbetweenmatingand10.Thisresearch

demonstratesthatourgenesnotonlyhaveanimpactonouranatomy（解剖构造）

andphysiology,butalsoonthewaysinwhichwethink.

A.biologicalF.influencedK.relate

B.birthG.objectedL.reverse

C.claimH.premierM.scenario

D.consequent1.reasonablyN.simply

E.evolutionJ.recallO.subjects（分数：35.50）

1.（分数:3.55）

填空项1：__________________（正确答案：C）

解析：动词辨析题。本空前是句子的主语Researchers,后面的that从句句

子成分完整，是一个宾语从句，因此本空应填入动词作句子的谓语。本句大意为，

研究人员当考虑抚养孩子时，成年人的记忆力就会“上升”。而且第一段

提到，有研究表明考虑孩子会改善你的记忆力，本段是对第一段观点的进一步解

释，说明that。从句是研究人员的观点，因此应填入含有''持有……观点”含义

的动词，故本题答案为claim。

2.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：A）

解析：形容词辨析题。本空位于定冠词the和名词necessity之间，因此应

填入形容词或名词以修饰necessity。本句大意为，似乎保护孩子的必要有

助于我们的大脑储存我们原本会忘记的信息。众所同知，保护孩子是人类的天性,

是一种生物本能，因此本空应填入含有“天生的，生物的”等类似含义的形容词

或名词。备选项中只有biological符合句意，因此答案为A。

3.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：J）

解析：名词辨析题。本空位于one'ssenseof后面，应填入名词。本句大意

为，研究者进行了一系列实验以查明考虑养育孩子是否会提升人的感觉,

并发现结果确实如此。结合前两段可知，考虑养育孩子会提升人的记忆力，因此

本空应填入含有“记忆”含义的名词，故答案为J。

4.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：E）

解析：名词辨析题。本空位于介词of后面，应填入名词。空格所在句大意

为，因为我们的神经系统是和过去经历的产物。空格后有并列成分past

experiences,而且后半句中提到了naturalselection（自然选择）。综合这两点可以

推断，备选项中只有evolution符合句意，故为本题答案。

5.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：I）

解析：副词辨析题。本空位于情态动词can和谓语动词expect之间，且句

子成分完整，因此应填副词修饰谓语动词。由文章内容可知，我们的记忆力来自

神经系统，而神经系统又是进化和过去经历的产物，因此我们可以预测今天我们

记忆信息的能力与自然选择有关系。由此可见，这种预测是有根据的，因此修饰

expect的副词应含有“有理由，有根据”的含义，所以本题答案是reasonably。

6.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：F）

解析：动词辨析题。由空格后的bynaturalselection可以推断，本句为被动

语态，因此本空应填动词的过去分词。空格所在句大意为，我们今天记忆信息的

程度受很久以前发生在我们祖先当中的自然选择的。通读全文可知，该研

究发现考虑抚养孩子会提升人们的记忆力，而研究人员认为其原因是自然选择的

影响。综合以上信息可知，本空应填有“影响”含义的动词，因此答案为F。

7.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：0）

解析：名词辨析题。本空位于asking之后，应填入表示人的名词构成asksb.

todosth.结构。本段介绍了米勒教授的实验是如何进行的。本句大意为，米勒

教授和他的同事们测试了这一理论，他们让想象自己生活在非洲古老的草

原上。由句意可知，是实验对象被要求想象生活在草原上,因此本空应填subjectso

8.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：M）

解析：名词辨析题。本空前有不定冠词a,因此应填入可数名词的单数形

式。空格所在句与下一句分别介绍了实验的两种情况：当受试者面临涉及抚养孩

子的时能记住更多单词，而在另一种情形下记忆力就不是很好。由此可知，

受试者面临两种不同的情形，空格处应填入situation的近义词，因此本题答案为

scenariOo

9.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：K）

解析：动词辨析题。空格所在的whRe引导的从句中有主语bothactivities

和宾语tosurvival,因此应填入动词作从句的谓语。空格所在从句大意为，尽管

两项活动都生存。bothactivities指的是上一段中受试者面临的两种情形一

—抚养孩子和寻找配偶，而这两件事都与生存相关，因此本空应填入含有“关联，

相关”含义的动词，故答案为K。

10.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：B）

解析：名词辨析题。本空与前面的词构成between...and...结构，因此应填

入名词。本句大意为，我们的史前祖先可能没有意识到交配会带来孩子，因为交

配与之间有9个月。由此可推断，空格处填的名词应该与“孩子”相关，

而且由常识可知，交配与生孩子之间有9个月的间隔，因此本空应填birth。

SectionB（总题数:10,分数:0.00）

HowPovertyChangestheBrain

A.Yousawthepicturesinscienceclass一aprofileviewofthehumanbrain,

sectionedbyfunction.Thepieceattheveryfront,rightbehindwhereaforehead

wouldbeifthebrainwereactuallyinsomeone'shead,isthepre-frontalcortex（前额

皮质）,Ithandlesproblem-solving,goal-setting,andtaskexecution.Anditworkswith

thelimbicsystem（边缘系统），whichisconnectedandsitsclosertothecenterofthe

brain.Thelimbicsystemprocessesemotionsandtriggersemotionalresponses,in

partbecauseofitsstorageoflong-termmemory.

B.Whenapersonlivesinpoverty,agrowingbodyofresearchsuggeststhe

limbicsystemisconstantlysendingfearandstressmessagestotheprefrontalcortex,

whichoverloadsitsabilitytosolveproblems,setgoals,andcompletetasksinthe

mostefficientways.

C.Thishappenstoeveryoneatsomepoint,regardlessofsocialclass.The

overloadcanbepromptedbyanumberofthings,includinganoverlystressfuldayat

workorafamilyemergency.Peopleinpoverty,however,havetheaddedburdenof

ever-presentstress.Theyareconstantlystrugglingtomakeendsmeetandoften

bracingthemselvesagainstclassbiasthataddsextrastrainoreventraumatotheir

dailylives.Andthescienceisclear一whenbraincapacityisusedupontheseworries

andfears,theresimplyisn'tasmuchbandwidthforotherthings.

D.EconomicMobilityPathways,orEMPath,hasbuiltitswhole

service-deliverymodelaroundthisscience,whichitdescribedinits2014report,

"UsingBrainSciencetoDesignNewPathwaysOutofPoverty,"TheBostonnonprofit

startedoutasCrittentonWomen'sUnion,amergeroftwoofthecity'soldest

women-servingorganizations,bothofwhichfocusedonimprovingtheeconomic

self-sufficiencyoffamilies.Itcontinuesthatworkwithanewnameandaburgeoning

（迅速发展的）focusonintergenerationalmobility.Afteryearsofcoachingadultsand

watchingthosebenefitstrickledowntochildren,EMPathhasbroughtchildreninto

thecenterofitsmodel——offeringawayoutofintergenerationalpovertywithbrain

science.

E.ElisabethBabcock,thepresidentandCEOofEMPath,saidpeoplein

povertytendtogetstuckinviciouscycleswherestressleadstobaddecision-making,

compoundingotherproblemsandreinforcingtheideathattheycan'timprovetheir

ownlives.

F."Whatwe'retryingtodoiscreatevirtuouscycleswherepeopletakeastep

andtheyfindouttheycanaccomplishsomethingthattheymightnothavethought

theycouldaccomplish,andtheyfeelbetteraboutthemselves,"Babcocksaid.Maybe

thatstephelpsthemearnmoremoney,solvesachild-careproblemthatleadsto

betterchildbehavior,orsimplyestablishesasenseofcontrolovertheirownlives.All

ofthesethingsreducestress,freeingupmorementalbandwidthforfurtherpositive

steps.

G.It'struethatexposuretotheconstantstressesanddangersofpoverty

actuallychangespeople'sbrains.AlRace,thedeputyco-directoroftheCenteron

theDevelopingChildatHarvardUniversity,whichhasanenduringpartnershipwith

EMPath,sayschildrenwhogrowupinandremaininpovertyaredoublyaffected.But

thesectionsofthebraininquestionarealsoknowntobeparticularly"plastic,"Race

said,meaningtheycanbestrengthenedandimprovedwellintoadulthood.

H.EMPath'sIntergenerationalMobilityProject,knownasIntergen,uses

threetools一oneforadults,oneforkids,andoneforthefamilyasawhole一to

framehowtheythinkabouttheirindividualandcollectivelives.Thechildandadult

toolsuseabridgemetaphortoillustratehowvariousdomainsareallimportantfor

ultimatesuccess一ifasinglepillaronabridgeisweakened,accordingtothe

metaphor,thewholebridgecouldcollapse."TheBridgetoSelf-sufficiency,"foradults,

guidesparentstoconsiderfamilystability,well-being,financialmanagement,

educationandtraining,andemploymentandcareermanagement."TheChildBridge

toaBrighterFuture"similarlyguideschildreninthinkingabouthealthandwell-being,

social-emotionaldevelopment,self-regulation,preparingforindependence,and

educationalprogress."TheFamilyCarpoolLaneTool,"mean