大学英语六级考试模拟试卷二十（带答案）

大学英语六级考试模拟试卷二十

（总分：710.00,做题时间：130分钟）

PartIWriting（总题数：1,分数：0.00）

1.Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaybased

onthefollowingdrawing.Inyouressay,youshouldfirstdescribethedrawingand

interpretitsmeanings,andthengiveyourcommentonit.Youarerequiredtowrite

atleast150wordsbutnomorethan200words.

（分数：106.50）

正确答案：（［范文］

LettheKidsBeIndependent

Inthepicturetheparentsintearsarebiddingfarewelltotheirsonatthe

airport.Theson,sittingintheplane,criesouttohisparents,"Mornanddad,you

forgottofindanursemaidforme."Judgingfromtheparents1openmouthedand

wide-eyedexpression,wecantellthat,onhearingthewords,theyareshockedand

embarrassed.

Itseemsthattheparentsaresendingtheirsontofurtherhisstudyfaraway

fromhome.However;thesonisnotreadyatallforanindependentlife.Byshowing

thisscene,theartistwantstowarnusthatpamperedchildrenwhogrowinto

dependentyoungadultswon'tstandontheirownfeet.Forexample,someparents

rentanapartmentnearthecampustocookandcleanfortheirchildrenincollege,

whichturnsouttobeharmfulrotheirchildren.Onceleavingtheirparents,theycan

hardlymakealivingoftheirown.

Therefore,it'sofgreatmportanceforchildrentobecomeindependent.On

theonehand,parentsshouldgivetheirkidschancestodotheirownthings.Onthe

otherhand,theyoungadultsshouldlearntorefusetheirparentstobaby-sitthem.）

解析；这是一篇图画作文，要求考生描述图画的内容，解释其深层含义，

然后发表个人看法。围绕图画内容，可以将文章内容安排如下：

第1段描述图画中的内容。

第2段解释图画所表达的隐藏涵义。

第3段对于图画中的这种现象，给出个人看法。

［参考译文］

让孩子们独立

图画中一对父母在机场挥泪告别他们的儿子。而正坐在飞机里的儿子，向

其父母大声哭着喊道：“爸爸妈妈，你们忘记给我请保姆了J根据父母张大的嘴

巴和傻眼的表情判断，我们可以得知，他们听到这些话时是非常的吃惊和尴尬的。

图画中看起来好像是父母在送别即将远行读书深造的儿子。然而，他们的

儿子压根就没准备好过独立的生活。通过展示这一场景，绘图人想警告我们：从

小被溺爱，长大成人后也不独立的人是无法自食其力的。例如，有一些父母在校

园附近租房就为了给孩子做饭和打扫房间，结果却害了自己的孩子。这些孩子一

旦离开父母，就几乎无法自己独立生活。

所以，要让孩子变得独立起来是很重要的。一方面，父母应该给予孩子机

会，让他们做自己分内的事。另一方面，年轻的成年人也应该学会拒绝父母的“保

姆看护”。

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.Neutral.

B.Cautious.

C.Favorable.V

□.Negative.

解析：［听力原文］

M:We'rehavingadebateonadvertisingThursdayeveningandIhavetotake

part.

W;That'sinteresting.Ishouldliketohearwhatpeoplethinkabout

advertising.

M:What'stheretosay?Wemusthaveadvertising,mustn'twe?

W:Why?

M:Well,wewouldn'tknowwhattherewastobuyifwedidn'thave

advertisements.

W:Yes,that'strueuptoapoint.Advertisementsprovideinformationthatwe

need.Ifsomeonehasproducedanewarticle,naturally,thesellerwantstotellus

aboutit.

M:Yes.Andtheadvertisementstelluswhichproductisthebest.

W:Dothey?.Idon'tthinkso.Everymanufacturersaysthathisproductisthe

bestoratleasttriestogivetheimpression.Onlyonecanbethebest,sotheothers

aremisleading,aren'tthey?

M:Well,inaway,Isuppose.Butwedon'thavetobelievethem,dowe?

W:Areyousayingthatadvertisementsaren'teffective?Idon'tthinkthat

intelligentbusinessmenwillspendmillionsofdollarsonadvertisingifnobody

believestheadvertisements,doyou?

M:Perhapsnot.Butafterall,it'stheirmoneythattheyarespending.

W:Isit?Ithinknot.Thecostofadvertisingisaddedtothepriceofthearticle.

YouandIandalltheotherpeoplewhobuythearticlepayfortheadvertising.

M:Well,Isupposewegetsomethingforourmoney...someinformation.

W:Yes,butdon'tforgetit's。代enmisleadinginformation,andsometimes

harmful.

M:Harmful?

W:Whataboutadvertisementsdesignedtopersuadeyoungpeopletosmoke

cigarettes?Wouldn'tyousaytheyareharmful?

M:You'vegivenmealottothinkabout.I'mquitelookingforwardtothe

debatenow.

What'stheman'sattitudetowardsadvertisements?

.Questions5to8arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

5.（分数：28.40）

A.lnadepartmentstore.

B.Atatravelagency.V

C.Atanairportticketcounter.

D.Atahotel.

解析：［听力原文］

W:MayIhelpyou?

M：Yes,mywifeandIwanttotakeavacationthiswintertosomeplace

warmer.

W:Iunderstand.Howmuchtimedoyouhave?

M:OnlyaweekbetweenChristmasandtheNewYear.Thatistheproblem,

yousee.

W:Oh,noproblematall.IcangetyouonaflighttosunnySpainandPortugal

leavingonChristmasandcomingbackNewYear'sEve.Anditwillonlycostyou$500

aroundtrip.

M:Only$500?Wewerethinkingofsomethingless.$1,000isalottospend

forsuchashorttime.Ifwehadamonthmaybe,notjustaweek.

W:DoyouknowabouttheFloridaFuntourtheairlineoffers?Everythingis

reservedforyou.Yourflight,areservedhotelroom,meals,andtheyevengetyouto

andfromtheairportinMiami.

M:Actuallywedon'tgoinmuchforarrangedtours.Weliketodoallthatfor

ourselves.

W:Well,inthatcase,maybewecouldjustarrangeyourflightandtherestto

you.

M:Whatelsedoyouhavetooffer?Floridaisnotexactlyourideaofagreat

vacation.Whataboutsomeplacealittledifferentwherefewtouristsgo?

W:Oh,someplacelikeArizona,right?OrmaybeNewMexico?Sunny,but

quiet,relaxing.

M:Yeah,thatsoundsbetter——NewMexico.1*11talktomywifeaboutitand

thenreturn.

Wheredoesthisconversationmostprobablytakeplace?

SectionB（总题数：7,分数：0.00）

.Questions9to11arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

1.（分数：21.30）

A.Theweatherwillbefine.

B.Rainwillprobablycome.V

C.Therewillbeafog.

D.Fineweatherwillcontinue.

解析：［听力原文］

Nomancanchangetheweather.Nobodycancontroltheweather.Butffyou

studycorrectlythesignsarounduswecantellimportantchangesinweather.This

wayoftellingwhattheweatherwillbeonthefollowingdayortwoiscalledweather

forecasts.

Formanycenturiesandinallcountriespeoplehavestudiedtheweatherand

triedtomakeweatherforecasting.Sometimesdistantobjectssuchashillsandtall

treesseemtobeveryclearandnear.Thisisasignofmuchwatervaporintheair;

andthereforerainwillprobablycome.Ringsroundthesunareasignofcomingrain.

Manypeoplefeelpainintheirbones.Thisisasignofthecomingofwetweather.

Somebirdsflyhighfffineweatheriscoming.Theyflynearthegroundffrainor

stormyweatherisontheway.Itisprobablybecauseoftheinsectswhichtheyare

huntingthattheyflylow.Ifyouseearainbowduringrainyweather;thisisasignthat

theweatherwillbecomeclearandfine.Suchrainbowsalwayscomeintheevening,

ffafogappearsinthemorningjustaboutsunrisethenthedaywillbewarm.Ifthe

starstwinkleclearlyatnight,thenfineweatherwillcontinue.Ifthesunsetismostly

redincolor,thenthefollowingdaywillbefine,fftherainbowappearsinthe

morning,rainyweatherwillprobablycome.

Mostoftheabovesayingshavebeenmadebypeoplewhohaveusedtheir

eyesandbrainstomakeweatherforecasting.

Whatwillhappenwhendistanthillsandtalltreesseemtobeveryclearand

near?

.Questions12to15arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

4.（分数：28.40）

A.Children.

B.Family.

C.Parents.J

D.ASPCA

解析：［听力原文］

Isyourfamilyinterestedinbuyingadog?Adogcanbeahappyadditionto

yourfamily,butifyouchoosethewrongkindofdog,theconsequencescancause

youalotoftrouble.

Familiesshouldsitdownandthoroughlydiscusstheproblemsinvolvedbefore

buyingadog.Evenifthechildreninyourfamilyaretheoneswhowantthedog,the

parentsaretheoneswhoarereallyresponsibleforseeingthattheanimalisproperly

caredfor.Ifyoudon'tknowmuchaboutdogs,it'sagoodideatogotothelibraryor

theASPCAforbooksaboutvariouskindsofdogs,aswellasbooksabouthowtotrain

apuppy.Inreadingaboutthedifferentbreeds,youshouldknowthatadogdescribed

asveryalertmaybetoojumpyandbouncy.Whenabookdescribesadogasanideal

huntingdog,itprobablymeansthatthedogwon'tbehappylivinginasmall

apartment.Dogbreedsvaryinpopularityastheyearsgoby.Oneofthemostpopular

dogsthesedaysistheGermanshepherd,thisisbecauseitprovidesprotectionas

wellascompanionship.Thefamilyshouldbewarnedthatthesedogsgrowuptobe

verybig,andmaybetoopowerfulforchildrentohandle.Ifspaceislimited,atoydog

maybeagoodchoice.Thesedogsareverysmallandeasytotrain.Theydon'tneed

tobewalkeddaily,sincetheycanexerciseinthespaceavailableinthehome.

Whowasreallyresponsibleforthedog'swelfare?

SectionC（总题数：10,分数：0.00）

.Questions16to18arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

1.（分数:42.60）

A.ltwillaffectourphysicalhealth.

B.ltwillaffectourpsychosocialhealth.V

C.ltwillmakeourlivesworse.

D.ltwillmakeuslazierandweaker.

解析：［听力原文］

Hello,everyone.I'mGuyWinch.Todaywe'lltalkaboutNewYear'sresolutions.

Everynewyearwemakealistofresolutions,hopingtobetterourselvesandourlives,

onlytoabandonoureffortsentirelybyFeb.1（ifnotbyJan.2）.Suchfailuresarenot

meredisappointments,astheycancreateemotionalwoundsthatimpactour

psychologicalwell-being.Indeed,toooftentheannualritualthatismeanttoimprove

ourlivesleavesusconcludingwe'relazy,weak,orincapableofchangeandfeeling

evenworseaboutourselvesthanbeforewestarted.

Butarewelazy,weak,andincapableofchange,orarewejudgingourselves

unfairly?Rather;it'sbecauseweneglecttothinkthroughhowweplantoachieveour

goals.Indeed,wetendtomakethreeverybasicbutcrucialerrorsbeforeweeven

start.

Thegoodnewsisthataddressingthesemistakescanradicallyincreaseour

possibilityofstickingtoourresolutionsandfindingsuccess.Someorevenallofthem

willbefamiliartoyou,butdon'tbeatyourselfupaboutpastmistakes.AsIsaid,these

areverycommonerrors.Instead,investyourenergiesinfixingthemthisyear.

ThefirstmistakeisthatmanyofuscomposealistofNewYear'sresolutions

thatislongerthanourchild'slisttoSanta.NewYear'sresolutionsarenotbucketlists,

they'restatementsofshort-termintentions.Therefore,chooseoneortwoitemsat

most,andfocusoncompletingthose.

Thesecondmistakeisthatourgoalsaretoovaguetobemeasuredinsome

way.Forexample,agoalsuchas"Tryharderatwork"soundsgoodbutprovidesno

specificbenchmarksbywhichwecanmeasureourprogress.Toavoidthiserror,make

vaguegoalsmorespecific:"Completeallassignmentsontime,"or"Askformore

responsibilities."

Apartfromtheabovemistakes,themostcommononewemakeistostate

ourresolutionbutputnothoughtintohowwewillattainit.ThenJan.1rollsaround

andwehavenoideawhereorhowtostart.Therefore,investtimeandthoughtinto

howbestyoucanreachyourgoal.Breakitdownintosub-goals,bespecificabout

whatyouwillneedtodotoreacheachone,andfigureouthowyoutodealwith

setbacksanddistractions.Thisisespeciallyimportantforhealthandfitnessgoalsas

setbacksanddistractionswillhappen.

GoodluckandHappyNewYear!

WhatdowelearnaboutfailingtosticktoourNewYear'sresolutions?

.Questions19to22arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

4.（分数：56.80）

A.Newlawswillbepassedtoincreasenewtaxes.

B.Taxeswillbeusedtoretainteachersforthefuture.J

C.SchoolfundingHillbegeneratedbynewtaxes.

D.lncometaxesshouldbeusedtobuildschools.

解析：［听力原文］

Ladiesandgentleman.Ourcountryhascometoacrossroad,andnowyou

havethepowertochangethepoliticallandscapeofAmerica.ASIhavesaidtimeand

timeagain,ifyouelectmetobeyourfaceincongress,thereareseveralthingsIwill

dotoensurethatyourneedsaremetdayinanddayoutacrossthisland.

Firstofall,Iplanonproposingnewlawsthatwillinvestmoretaxdollarsin

ourpublicschools,notonlytomeettheneedsoftoday,buttoencouragedeveloping

mindsforthefuture.Suchnewfundingwouldbeusedtohireandretaingood

teachers,buildnewschools,andreducethetaxofclassroomteachers.Toaccomplish

this,Iamproposingnonewtaxesincreases,butratherarechannelingofourexisting

taxrevenuetomeetthesedemands.Now,thecurrentgovernmentleadershave

beentalkingaboutthisforyearswithlittleprogress.Iplantochangeallofthisnow.

Second,economicdevelopmentisonthemindsofmostofyou,particularly

withregardtoourdowntownarea.Formanyyears,economicprosperityhasbeen

neglectedbycurrentgovernmentleaders,andIplantochangeallofthat.Iam

proposingacitycenterrevitalizationprojectthatwouldpromotenewbusinesses,

newresidentialareas,andnewopengreenareastobringpeoplebacktotheheartof

ourcity.Currentleadershaveallowedthenewcitytodie,preferringtoinvestin

sportfieldsintheremoteareas.

Andthird,Iamproposingtheconstructionofalightrailtrainsystem,tobe

builtoverthenextdecade,tomeetthegrowingdemandsofbetterandmore

efficienttransportationforyearstocome.Myopponentandhisadministrationhave

lackedthevisionoflong-termsolutions,preferringtotakealook-and-seeapproach.

Suchashortsightedstancefailstoconsidertheneedsoffuturegenerations...our

childrenandourgrandchildren.

Andfinally,myopponenthascitedmyinexperienceasareasonwhyyou

shouldn'tvoteforme.However,Iamnotacareerpoliticianwhohaslosttouchwith

theeverydayneedsandconcernsofday-to-daypeople.Myworkasaneducatorand

businessownerhasgivenmeauniqueperspectiveonthepainsandchallengesyou

face.

Ifelected,Ipromisetogivemyalltomyelectedpositionandmakesureyour

issuesandconcernsarefullyaddressedatthelocalandnationallevel.

Thankyou.

Whatdowelearnaboutthecandidate'sproposalontaxes?

.Questions23to25arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

8.（分数：42.60）

A.Droughtmayincreasetheriskofinfectiousdiseases.

B.Floodmayincreasetheriskofpoornutritionamongchildren.

C.Hightemperatureweathermaycausementalhealthproblems.

0.Extremeweathermaycausethedeathofpeople.V

解析：［听力原文］

Goodmorning,I'mPeteMusto.Ourtopictodayisonclimatechangeand

publichealth.Recentresearchfindingsrevealthattheeffectsofclimatechange

couldthreatenthepast50yearsofgainsinpublichealth.Researcherssaythatthe

changesinEarth'sclimatehaveledtoweatherextremes.Theextremescancreate

publichealthrisksthataredangerousandunacceptable.Researchersfindthatthe

changeshaveledtolessrainfall,andthishasbeenlinkedtoadropinagricultural

productivity.Thereducedproductivityhasled,inturn,toanincreaseinmalnutrition,

especiallyamongchildren.Studieshavealsolinkedclimatechangetoanincreased

possibilityoffloodinginsomeareas.Researchersfindthatfloodsarelinkedtoarise

intheratesofinfectiousdiseasesandproblemsthatresultfromabreakdownof

wastetreatmentsystems.Researchersalsonotethattheworldisgettinghotter.In

2003,70,000peopleinEuropediedbecauseofhigherthannormaltemperatures.

TheWorldHealthOrganizationhaswarnedthatseriousactionisrequiredto

reduceglobalwarmingemissions.Ifthereductiondoesnothappen,theWHOsays,

therewillbeseriousresults.By2030,almost250,000peoplewilldieeveryyearfrom

theeffectsofglobalwarming.Studieshavedescribedgrowingevidenceoftheeffects

ofactionstoslowclimatecharge.Suchactionsaregoodforglobalhealth.Outdoor

airpollutionislinkedtoalmostthreemilliondeathsworldwide.About1.2millionof

thosedeathsareinChinaalone.Researcherssaysamovefromcoal-fueledpower

plantstorenewableenergy,suchassunlightandwindpower,cangreatlyreducethat

danger.Researchersalsosaythatmovingtorenewableenergywillleadtofewer

peoplebeingtreatedinhospitalsandadropinhealthcarecosts.Suggestingthat

peopleuseactiveformsoftransportationlikebicyclesmayhelpreducediabetesand

obesity.

Severalwaysaresuggestedtodealwithclimatechange.Theyincludeclosing

coalpowerplants,increasingtheuseofrenewableenergy,investinginhealth

systemsandagreeingtosupportaglobalclimatetreatywhichisexpectedtobe

signedwhenworldleadersaretomeetinParis.

Whatdowelearnabouttheeffectsofclimatechangeonpublichealth?

PartIIIReadingComprehension（总题数：0,分数：0.00）

SectionA（总题数：10,分数：0.00）

.Aristotledefinedafriendas"asinglesouldwellingintwobodies".Howmany

friendswehave,andhoweasilywemake,maintainandlosethem,hasasignificant

impactonouremotionalwell-being.

It'snosurprise,1,thatfriendscanimprovejustabouteveryaspect

ofourlife.Friendscanprotectusfromthe2ofbereavement（丧失亲人）or

divorce.Theydon'tevenhavetobegreatfriends——someofthepositiveeffect

is3downtothecompany:haveapintwithamateandyou'rebydefinition

notsocially4

"Therearefriendsyou'rejustmore5with.Othersmaybemore

interesting,buttheymaybemoreoffended.Reallygoodfriendsdon'ttakeoffence.

Friendshipscanendbecausetheystopbeingequal.Youmaytakedifferent6,

havedifferentexperiences,whichmakeithardertomaintainafriendship."says

educationalpsychologistKarenMajors.

Wefirstrecognisetheimportanceoffriendsinchildhood.Whilesomeofus

mayretainafewchildhoodfriends,thebiggestopportunityforfriendshipcomesin

highereducation.Astudyoflong-termfriendshipsfoundthatfriendshipsformed

duringcollegeyearsstayedclose20yearslater,iftheyscoredhighlyinclosenessas

wellas7tobeginwith."Atcollegeyoucan8closefriendshipsbecause

you'reinsuchclose9forsustainedperiods/'saysGlennSparks,Purdue's

professorofcommunication."Theserelationshipsarerareandhardto10;

they'reveryunusualoutsidefamilyrelationships.

A.proximity

B.rather

C.routes

D.then

E.cultivate

F.aftershocks

G.preferable

H.connected

I.compromising

J.comfortable

K.replicate

L.simply

M.isolated

N.communication

0.possibility（分数：35.50）

1.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：D）

解析：该处去掉空格后并不影响对句意的理解，可见这里缺少的是一个副

词，可以连接上下文。rather和then都有此功能，但只有then放入句中符合句

意，rather则往往含有转折之意。

［参考译文］亚里士多德曾将朋友定义为“居住在两个身体里的同一个灵魂”。

我们有多少朋友，以及我们结交、保持与失去朋友的难易程度，对我们的情绪都

有非常重要的影响。

因此亳不奇怪，朋友能改善我们生活的方方面面。朋友能帮助我们从丧失

亲人的悲痛或者离婚的阴影中走出来。他们甚至不需要是心腹之交一一他们对我

们的积极影响也许就是简单的陪伴：和一个同伴小酌一番，你便不会感到孤独。

“有些朋友，和他们待在一起更舒服。有些朋友可能更有趣，但也更容易

生气。真正的好朋友不会生你的气。友谊会因为双方不平等而终结。你们双方可

能选择了不同的路，有不同的经历，这便使得友谊更难以维持「教育心理学家

克伦・梅杰斯说。

我们最初是在童年时代认识到朋友的重要性。虽然我们会保留一些儿时的

伙伴，但建立友谊最佳的时期是在上大学时。对于长期性友谊的一项研究发现，

大学时期建立的友谊，如果特别亲密、交流特别多的话，可以在20年后依然很

亲密。普渡大学的交际学教授格列•斯帕克斯说，“在大学期间，你可以结交知

心朋友，因为你们在连续的几年里都是非常亲近的。这种关系很少见,很难复制；

他们是在家人之外对你来说非同一般的人。”

2.（分数:3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：F）

解析：空格前有定冠词the修饰，空格后有定语of...,可以判断这里需要

一个名诃。丧失亲人和离婚是两件事，囚此这里的名诃应为宓数形式。诃汇库中

有aftershocks和routes,aftershock本意为“余震”,这里引丰为"悲痛",符合

句意。

3.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：L）

解析：句中的bedownto意思是“归因于"，thecompany意思是"陪伴”。

空格处要填入的是修饰谓语的副词，词汇库中的副词只剩下simply,代入句中表

示“……只是简单的陪伴”。

4.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：M）

解析：根据空格前面系动词are,判断这里需要一个形容词或名词作表语。

有人陪着一起喝酒自然不会觉得isolated"孤独的"，如果填入connected,句意

就会相反，故排除。

5.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：J）

解析：空格前有系动词are,空格后有with,可以判断这里需要一个能与

之组成短语的形容词。词汇库中的comfortable和connected都可以与之搭配，

但connected带入句中表示“有些朋友只是更多联系”，与下文无法衔接，故用

comfortableo

6.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：C）

解析：根据空格前的动词take；判断这里需要一个名词作它的宾语。route

不仅可以指实际的路线，也可指抽象意义上的（生活的）道路，结合句意，这里指

“走不同的路”，所以填routes。

7.（分数：3.55）

填空项上（正确答案：N）

解析：aswellas提示此处应填入名词与closeness构成并列关系，并由后置

定语tobeginwith”展开”修饰。词汇库中只有communication在意思上能

被其修饰，表示“展开交流。

8.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：E）

解析：空格前的情态动词can提示了这里需要填入一个动词，且为原形。

词汇库中符合语法的有cultivate和replicate。再根据其后的宾吾closefriendships,

只有cultivate符合句意，表示“培养亲密的友情”。

9.（分数:3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：A）

解析：根据空格前的such和形容词close判断此空应填入名词。词汇库中

剩下的名词还有和是常见的词组，意思是“亲

proximitypossibilityocloseproximity

密，亲近”，故为答案。

10.（分数：3.55）

填空项1：（正确答案：K）

解析：空格前的不定式to提示这里需要填入一个动词，且为原形。空格前

提到这些关系很稀有（珍贵），那么自然就难以“复制（再得产选replicate。

SectionB（总题数：10,分数：0.00）

There'sGoldinThemthereLandfills

A.InthemovieWALL,E,humankindhasleftEarthinabitofamess.The

planetischokedwithgarbageandallthepeoplehaveshippedout,leavingrobot

WALL•Etocleantheplaceupandmakeithabitableagain.Thingsmaynotbequite

thatbadyet,butthere'snodoubtthatweproduceahugeamountofwaste.Even

withincreasedrecycling,landfillsitesarefillingupbythedayand—intheabsenceof

abraverobot一thewasteexpertsofplanetEarthareworkingonthenextbestthing:

landfillmining.

B.Theideaissimple.Insteadofdisappearingundermountainsofourown

waste,whilepayingthroughthenosefordiminishingcommodities,whynotdigup

andrecyclewhatwehavealreadythrownaway?

C.Nextweek,industryexpertswillgatherinLondonforthefirstglobal

landfillminingconference.Bringingtogetherenvironmentalscientists,economists

andlandfilloperators,theone-daymeetingpromisestoshowdelegateshowtoturn

wasteinto"garbagegold".

D.Landfillmininghasbeentriedbefore.Thefirstschemebeganin1953at

HiriyagarbagedumpoutsideTelAviv,Israel,andaimedtoreclaimfine-particlewaste

richinmineralstoimprovesoilqualityatlocalfruitfarms.Thelandfillclosedin1998,

buttherecyclingplantthatremainsonthesitestillproducessoilimproverfrom

greenwaste.Thenduringthe1960sand1970s,ahandfulofsitesintheUSbegan

separatingwastetorecyclethesteelandtocompostfoodscraps.Inthelate1980s,a

pilotprogrammewassetuptoextractrecyclablesfromasmall,communitylandfillin

thetownofEdinburg,NewYork,andburnthesolidleavingstogenerateenergy.This

pilotproveduneconomicalbutduringtheoilpricerisingofthe1990sinterestinthe

economicvalueofwastesoared.Investorsclaimedtosnapupscrapmetalcompanies,

onlyforthepriceofcommoditiestodropthroughthefloorinthemid-1990s.

E.Yetnowthatcommoditiespricesarerisingoncemore,environmental

issuesarehighoneveryone'slistofprioritiesandlandpricesareincreasing,every

squarekilometreisworthtoomuchtouseforlandfill.Raidingthedumpseemslikea

goodideaagain.Thistimetheprospectsaremorepromising.Thankstoadecadeof

innovationbytherecyclingindustry,thetechnologytoprocesslandfillwasteismore

readilyavailable.

F.Sowhat'sinalandfIIworthrecycling?Forastart,theaveragelandfillis

filledwithvaluable——andsometimesevenprecious——metals.Aluminium,fromdrinks

cans,isjustoneexample.AccordingtoPatrickAtkins,environmentalconsultantfor

privateequityfundPegasusCapitalAdvisors,anduntilrecentlydirectorofenergy

innovationatUSalumniniumproducerAlcoa,Americansthrowaway317aluminium

canseverysecondofeveryday.Aroundhalfofthese,totalling680,000tonnesof

aluminiumeachyear,dodgetherecyclingbasketandendupinlandfill.Giventhat

thecostofaluminiumpeakedat$2,700pertonneinJulythismeansAmericais

buryingupto$1.83billionworthofmetalperyear.Atkinsestimatesthatthereis

nowmorealuminiuminUSlandfillsthancanbeproducedfromoresgloballyinone

year.Andit'snotonlyaluminiumthatishidingdowntherewiththeuseddiapers（尿

布）andgrocerybags.OnetonneofscrapfromdiscardedPCscontainsmoregold

thancanbeproducedfrom16tonnesofore,hesays.Andtheworldthrowsaway18

milliontonnesofelectronicwasteeachyear.

G.Nowadaysitisrelativelyeasytoseparatethemetalyouwantfromthe

junkyoudon'tusingrecyclingtechnologies.Eddycurrent（旋涡流）magnets,for

example,canavertaluminiumandothermetalsfromaflowingstreamofwaste.

Plastic,too,isbecomingeasiertopickout.Ratherthanthemoreexpensiveprocess

ofdoingitbyhand,someplasticsortingplantsarenowusingsomescanners,which

sortdifferenttypesbasedonthespectrumoflighttheyabsorb.Andsincerising

pricesaremakingoilseemlikeanexpensiverawmaterialtoproduceplastics,

recyclingexistingplasticfromlandfillseemssensible.

H.Metalsandplasticsareonlypartofit,saysWilliamHogland,an

environmentalengineerattheUniversityofKalmarinSweden.Allthatsmellyfood

andotherorganicwasterotsdownsoonerorlater.AndastheTelAvivproject

discoveredbackinthe1950s,eventhiscanbeworthdiggingup.

I."Theearthfractionoflandfillcanbeoneofthemostprofitableas

coveragematerial,compost（堆月E）andforlawnimprovement,"Hoglandsays.

There'salsoplentyofflammablematerialinlandfills.Onekilogramofthecoarse

earthfraction—containingparticlesgreaterthan50millimetresacross—yields

between6and10megajoules（兆焦）ofenergy,Hoglan