英语六级考试真题

英语六级考试真题

PartIWriting(30minutes)

Directions:Supposeyouareaskedtogiveadviceonwhetherto

majorinscienceorhumanitiesatcollege,writeanessaytostateyour

opinion.Youarerequiredtowriteatleast150wordsbutnomorethan

200words.

PartIIListeningComprehension(30minutes)

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SectionA

Directions:Inthissection,youwillheartwolongconversations.At

theendofeachconversation,youwillhearfourquestions.Boththe

conversationandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhear

aquestion,youmustchoosethebestanswerfromthefourchoices

markedA),B),C)andD).ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswer

Sheet1withasinglelinethroughthecentre.

Questions1to4arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

1.A)Doingenjoyablework.

B)Havingfriendlycolleagues.

C)Earningacompetitivesalary.

D)Workingforsupportivebosses.

2.A)31%.

B)20%.

C)25%.

D)73%.

3.A)Thoseofasmallsize.

B)Thoserunbywomen.

C)Thosethatarewellmanaged.

D)Thosefullofskilledworkers.

4.A)Theycanhopfromjobtojobeasily.

B)Theycanwinrecognitionoftheirwork.

C)Theycanbetterbalanceworkandlife.

D)Theycantakeonmorethanonejob.

Questions5to8arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

5.A)ItisabookofEuropeanhistory.

B)Itisanintroductiontomusic.

C)ItisaboutthecityofBruges.

D)Itisacollectionofphotos.

6.A)WhenpaintingtheconcerthallofBruges.

B)WhenvacationinginanItaliancoastalcity.

C)Whentakingpicturesforaconcertcatalogue.

D)WhenwritingaboutBelgium'scoastalregions.

7.A)TheentireEuropeancoastlinewillbesubmerged.

B)TherichheritageofEuropewillbelostcompletely.

C)TheseawaterofEuropewillbeseriouslypolluted.

D)ThemajorEuropeanscenicspotswilldisappear.

8.A)Itswaterwaysarebeingincreasinglypolluted.

B)Peoplecannotgetaroundwithoutusingboats.

C)Itattractslargenumbersoftouristsfromhomeandabroad.

D)Touristsusewoodenpathstoreachtheirhotelsinthemorning.

SectionB

Directions:Inthissection,youwillheartwopassages.Attheendof

eachpassage,youwillhearthreeorfourquestions.Boththepassage

andthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,

youmustchoosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)

andD).ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet1witha

singlelinethroughthecentre.

Questions9to12arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

9.A)Theymakecarefulpreparationbeforehand.

B)Theytaketoomanyirrelevantfactorsintoaccount.

C)Theyspendtoomuchtimeanticipatingtheirdefeat.

D)Theytryhardtoavoidgettingoffonthewrongfoot.

10.A)Aperson'snervoussystemismorecomplicatedthan

imagined.

B)Golfersusuallyhavepositivementalimagesofthemselves.

C)Mentalimagesofteninterferewithathletes'performance.

D)Thinkinghasthesameeffectonthenervoussystemasdoing.

11.A)Anticipatepossibleproblems.

B)Makealistofdo'sanddon'ts.

C)Picturethemselvessucceeding.

D)Trytoappearmoreprofessional.

12.A)Sheworeadesignerdress.

B)Shewonherfirstjurytrial.

C)Shedidnotspeakloudenough.

D)Shepresentedmovingpictures.

Questions13to15arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

13.A)Itslong-termeffectsareyettobeproved.

B)Itshealthbenefitshavebeenoverestimated.

C)Ithelpspeopletoavoiddevelopingbreastcancer.

D)Itenablespatientswithdiabetestorecoversooner.

14.A)Itfocusedontheirwaysoflifeduringyoungadulthood.

B)Ittrackedtheirchangeinfoodpreferencesfor20years.

C)Itfocusedontheirdifferencefrommeninfiberintake.

D)Ittrackedtheireatinghabitssincetheiradolescence.

15.A)Fibermayhelptoreducehormonesinthebody.

B)Fibermaybringmorebenefitstowomenthanmen.

C)Fibermayimprovethefunctionofheartmuscles.

D)Fibermaymakebloodcirculationmoresmooth.

SectionC

Directions:Inthissection,youwillhearthreerecordingsoflectures

ortalksfollowedbythreeorfourquestions.Therecordingswillbe

playedonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmustchoosethebest

answerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Thenmarkthe

correspondingletteronAnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthe

centre.

Questions16to18arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

16)A.Observingthechangesinmarketing.

B)Conductingresearchonconsumerbehavior.

C)Studyingthehazardsofyoungpeopledrinking.

D)Investigatingtheimpactofmediaongovernment.

17.A)Itisthecauseofmanystreetriots.

B)Itisgettingworseyearbyyear.

C)Itisachiefconcernofparents.

D)Itisanactofsocialising.

18.A)Theyspentaweekstudyingtheirownpurchasingbehavior.

B)Theyresearchedtheimpactofmobilephonesonyoungpeople.

C)Theyanalysedtheirfamilybudgetsovertheyears.

D)Theyconductedathoroughresearchonadvertising.

Questions19to22arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

19.A)Itishelpingitsbankstoimproveefficiency.

B)Itistryinghardtodoawaywithdirtymoney.

C)Itisthefirstcountrytousecreditcardsintheworld.

D)Itislikelytogiveuppapermoneyinthenearfuture.

20.A)Whetheritispossibletotravelwithoutcarryinganyphysical

currency.

B)Whetheritispossibletopredicthowmuchmoneyoneisgoing

tospend.

C)Whethertheabsenceofphysicalcurrencycausesapersonto

spendmore.

D)Whethertheabsenceofphysicalcurrencyisgoingtoaffect

everydaylife.

21.A)Therewasnofoodserviceonthetrain.

B)Theserviceonthetrainwasnotgood.

C)Therestaurantcaracceptedcashonly.

D)Thecashinherhandbagwasmissing.

22.A)Byputtingmoneyintoenvelopes.

B)Bydrawingmoneyweekbyweek.

C)Bylimitingtheirday-to-dayspending.

D)Byrefusingtobuyanythingoncredit.

Questions23to25arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

23.A)Populationexplosion.

B)Chronichunger.

C)Extinctionofrarespecies.

D)Environmentaldeterioration.

24.A)Theycontributetooverpopulation.

B)Abouthalfofthemareunintended.

C)Theyhavebeenbroughtundercontrol.

D)Themajorityofthemtendtoendhalfway.

25.A)Itisessentialtothewellbeingofallspeciesonearth.

B)Itisbecomingasubjectofinterdisciplinaryresearch.

C)Itisneglectedinmanyofthedevelopingcountries.

D)Itisbeginningtoattractpostgraduates'attention.

PartIIIReadingComprehension(40minutes)

SectionA

Directions:Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.You

arerequiredtoselectonewordforeachblankfromalistofchoices

giveninawordbankfollowingthepassage.Readthepassagethrough

carefullybeforemakingyourchoices.Eachchoiceinthebankis

identifiedbyaletter.Pleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitem

onAnswersheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuse

anyofthewordsinthebankmorethanonce.

AfterbecomingpresidentofPurdueUniversityin2013,Mitch

Danielsaskedthefacultytoprovethattheirstudentshaveactually

achievedoneofhighereducation'smostimportantgoals:critical

thinkingskills.Twoyearsbefore,anationwidestudyofcollegegraduates

hadshownthatmorethanathirdhadmadeno_26_gainsinsuch

mentalabilitiesduringtheirschoolyears.Mr.Danielsneededto_27_

thehighcostofattendingPurduetoitsstudentsandtheirfamilies.After

all,thepercentageofAmericanswhosayacollegedegreeis"very

important"hasfallen_28_inthelast5-6years.

Purduenowhasapilottesttoassessstudents'criticalthinkingskills.

YetlikemanycollegeteachersaroundtheU.S.,thefacultyremain

_29_thattheirworkaseducatorscanbemeasuredbya"learning

_30_"suchasagraduate'sabilitytoinvestigateandreason.However;

theprofessorsneednotworrysomuch.Theresultsofarecent

experimentshowedthatprofessorscanuse_31_metricstomeasure

howwellstudentsdointhreekeyareas:criticalthinking,written

communication,andquantitativeliteracy.

Despitethesuccessoftheexperiment,theactualresultsare

worrisome,andmostly_32_earlierstudies.Theorganizersofthe

experimentconcludedthatfarfewerstudentswereachievingathigh

levelsoncriticalthinkingthantheyweredoingforwritten

communicationorquantitativeliteracy.Andthatconclusionisbasedonly

onstudentsnearinggraduation.

Americanuniversities；despitetheirglobal_33_forexcellencein

teaching,haveonlybeguntodemonstratewhattheycanproducein

real-worldlearning.Knowledge-baseddegreesarestillimportant,but

employersare_34_advancedthinkingskillsfromcollegegraduates.If

theintellectualworthofacollegedegreecanbe_35_measured,more

peoplewillseekhighereducation——andcomeoutbetterthinkers.

A)accuratelyB)confirmC)demandingD)doubtfulE)drasticallyF)

justifyG)monopolizedH)outcomeI)predominanceJ)presumingK)

reputationL)significantM)signifyN)simultaneously0)standardized

SectionB

Directions:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithten

statementsattachedtoit.Eachstatementcontainsinformationgivenin

oneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichthe

informationisderived.Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.

Eachparagraphismarkedwithaletter.Answerthequestionsbymarking

thecorrespondingletteronAnswersheet2.

ThePriceofOilandthePriceofCarbon

A)Fossilfuelpricesarelikelytostay"lowforlong".Notwithstanding

importantrecentprogressindevelopingrenewablefuelsources,low

fossilfuelpricescoulddiscouragefurtherinnovationin,andadoptionof,

cleanerenergytechnologies.Theresultwouldbehigheremissionsof

carbondioxideandothergreenhousegases.

B)Policymakersshouldnotallowlowenergypricestoderailthe

cleanenergytransition.Actiontorestoreappropriatepriceincentives,

notablythroughcorrectivecarbonpricing,isurgentlyneededtolower

theriskofirreversibleandpotentiallydevastatingeffectsofclimate

change.Thatapproachalsooffersfiscalbenefits.

C)Oilpriceshavedroppedbyover60%sinceJune2014.A

commonlyheldviewintheoilindustryisthat"thebestcureforlowoil

pricesislowoilprices".Thereasoningbehindthissayingisthatlowoil

pricesdiscourageinvestmentinnewproductioncapacity,eventually

shiftingtheoilsupplycurvebackwardandbringingpricesbackupas

existingoilfields——whichcanbetappedatrelativelylowmarginalcost—

aredepleted.Infact,inlinewithpastexperience,capitalexpenditurein

theoilsectorhasdroppedsharplyinmanyproducingcountries,

includingtheUnitedStates.Thedynamicadjustmenttolowoilprices

may,however,bedifferentthistimearound.

D)Oilpricesareexpectedtoremainlowerforlonger.Theadventof

newtechnologieshasaddedabout4.2millionbarrelsperdaytothe

crudeoilmarket,contributingtoaglobalover-supply.Inaddition,other

factorsareputtingdownwardpressureonoilprices:changeinthe

strategicbehavioroftheOrganizationofPetroleumExportingCountries,

theprojectedincreaseinIranianexports,thescaling-downofglobal

demand(especiallyfromemergingmarkets),thelong-termdropin

petroleumconsumptionintheUnitedStates,andsomedisplacementof

oilbysubstitutes.Theselikelypersistentforces,likethegrowthofshale

(页岩)oil,pointtoa"lowforlong"scenario.Futuresmarkets,which

showonlyamodestrecoveryofpricestoaround$60abarrelby2019,

supportthisview.

E)Naturalgasandcoal——alsofossilfuels——havesimilarlyseenprice

declinesthatlooktobelong-lived.Coalandnaturalgasaremainlyused

forelectricitygeneration,whereasoilisusedmostlytopower

transportation,yetthepricesofalltheseenergysourcesarelinked.The

NorthAmericanshalegasboomhasresultedinrecordlowpricesthere.

TherecentdiscoveryofthegiantZohrgasfieldofftheEgyptiancoastwill

eventuallyhaveimpactonpricingintheMediterraneanregionand

Europe,andthereissignificantdevelopmentpotentialinmanyother

places,notablyArgentina.Coalpricesalsoarelow,owingtoover-supply

andthescaling-downofdemand,especiallyfromChina,whichbumshalf

oftheworld'scoal.

F)Technologicalinnovationshaveunleashedthepowerof

renewablessuchaswind；hydro,solar,andgeothermal(地热).Even

AfricaandtheMiddleEast,hometoeconomiesthatareheavily

dependentonfossilfuelexports,haveenormouspotentialtodevelop

renewables.Forexample,theUnitedArabEmirateshasendorsedan

ambitioustargettodraw24%ofitsprimaryenergyconsumptionfrom

renewablesourcesby2021.

G)Progressinthedevelopmentofrenewablescouldbefragile,

however,iffossilfuelpricesremainlowforlong.Renewablesaccountfor

onlyasmallshareofglobalprimaryenergyconsumption,whichisstill

dominatedbyfossilfuels——30%eachforcoalandoil,25%fornaturalgas.

Butrenewableenergywillhavetodisplacefossilfuelstoamuchgreater

extentinthefuturetoavoidunacceptableclimaterisks.

H)Unfortunately,thecurrentlowpricesforoil,gas,andcoalmay

providelittleincentiveforresearchtofindevencheapersubstitutesfor

thosefuels.Thereisstrongevidencethatbothinnovationandadoption

ofcleanertechnologyarestronglyencouragedbyhigherfossilfuelprices.

Thesameistruefornewtechnologiesforalleviatingfossilfuel

emissions.

I)Thecurrentlowfossilfuelpriceenvironmentwillthuscertainly

delaytheenergytransitionfromfossilfueltocleanenergysources.

Unlessrenewablesbecomecheapenoughthatsubstantialcarbon

depositsareleftundergroundforaverylongtime,ifnotforever,the

planetwilllikelybeexposedtopotentiallycatastrophicclimaterisks.

J)Someclimateimpactsmayalreadybediscernible.Forexample,

theUnitedNationsChildren'sFundestimatesthatsome11million

childreninAfricafacehunger,disease,andwatershortagesasaresultof

thestrongestElNino(厄尔尼诺)weatherphenomenonindecades.

ManyscientistsbelievethatElNinoevents,causedbywarminginthe

Pacific,arebecomingmoreintenseasaresultofclimatechange.

K)NationsfromaroundtheworldhavegatheredinParisforthe

UnitedNationsClimateChangeConference,COP21,withthegoalofa

universalandpotentiallylegally-bindingagreementonreducing

greenhousegasemissions.Weneedverybroadparticipationtofully

addresstheglobaltragedythatresultswhencountriesfailtotakeinto

accountthenegativeimpactoftheircarbonemissionsontherestofthe

world.Moreover,non-participationbynations,ifsufficientlywidespread,

canunderminethepoliticalwillofparticipatingcountriestoact.

L)ThenationsparticipatingatCOP21arefocusingonquantitative

emissions-reductioncommitments.Economicreasoningshowsthatthe

leastexpensivewayforeachcountryistoputapriceoncarbon

emissions.Thereasonisthatwhencarbonispriced,thoseemissions

reductionsthatareleastcostlytoimplementwillhappenfirst.The

InternationalMonetaryFundcalculatesthatcountriescangenerate

substantialfiscalrevenuesbyeliminatingfossilfuelsubsidiesandlevying

carbonchargesthatcapturethedomesticdamagecausedbyemissions.

Ataxonupstreamcarbonsourcesisoneeasywaytoputapriceon

carbonemissions,althoughsomecountriesmaywishtouseother

methods,suchasemissionstradingschemes.Inordertomaximizeglobal

welfare,everycountry'scarbonpricingshouldreflectnotonlythepurely

domesticdamagefromemissions,butalsothedamagetoforeign

countries.

M)Settingtherightcarbonpricewillthereforeefficientlyalignthe

costspaidbycarbonuserswiththetruesocialopportunitycostofusing

carbon.Byraisingrelativedemandforcleanenergysources,acarbon

pricewouldalsohelpalignthemarketreturntoclean-energyinnovation

withitssocialreturn,spurringtherefinementofexistingtechnologies

andthedevelopmentofnewones.Anditwouldraisethedemandfor

technologiessuchascarboncaptureandstorage,spurringtheirfurther

development.Ifnotcorrectedbytheappropriatecarbonprice,lowfossil

fuelpricesarenotaccuratelysignalingtomarketsthetruesocial

profitabilityofcleanenergy.Whilealternativeestimatesofthedamage

fromcarbonemissionsdiffer,andit'sespeciallyhardtoreckonthelikely

costsofpossiblecatastrophicclimateevents,mostestimatessuggest

substantialnegativeeffects.

N)Directsubsidiestoresearchanddevelopmenthavebeen

adoptedbysomegovernmentsbutareapoorsubstituteforacarbon

price:theydoonlypartofthejob,leavinginplacemarketincentivesto

over-usefossilfuelsandtherebyaddtothestockofatmospheric

greenhousegaseswithoutregardtothecollateral（附带的）costs.

0）ThehopeisthatthesuccessofCOP21opensthedoortofuture

internationalagreementoncarbonprices.Agreementonan

internationalcarbon-pricefloorwouldbeagoodstartingpointinthat

process.Failuretoaddresscomprehensivelytheproblemofgreenhouse

gasemissions,however;exposesallgenerations,presentandfuture,to

incalculablerisks.

36.Anumberoffactorsaredrivingdowntheglobaloilpricesnot

justfornowbutintheforeseeablefuture.

37.Pricingcarbonprovesthemosteconomicalwaytoreduce

greenhousegasemissions.

38.Itisestimatedthatextremeweatherconditionshave

endangeredthelivesofmillionsofAfricanchildren.

39.Thepricesofcoalarelowasaresultofover-supplyand

decreasingdemand.

40.Higherfossilfuelpricesprovetobeconducivetoinnovationand

applicationofcleanertechnology.

41.Iffossilfuelpricesremainlowforalongtime,itmayleadto

higheremissionsofgreenhousegases.

42.Fossilfuelsremainthemajorsourceofprimaryenergy

consumptionintoday'sworld.

43.Evenmajorfossilexportingcountrieshavegreatpotentialto

developrenewableenergies.

44.Greenhousegasemissions,ifnotproperlydealtwith,willpose

endlessrisksformankind.

45.Itisurgentforgovernmentstoincreasethecostofusingfossil

fuelstoanappropriateleveltolessenthecatastrophiceffectsofclimate

change.

SectionC

Directions:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageis

followedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.Foreachofthem

therearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthe

bestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2witha

singlelinethroughthecentre.

PassageOne

Questions46to50arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Opendatasharersarestillintheminorityinmanyfields.Although

manyresearchersbroadlyagreethatpublicaccesstorawdatawould

acceleratescience,mostarereluctanttoposttheresultsoftheirown

laborsonline.

Somecommunitieshaveagreedtoshareonline——geneticists,for

example,postDNAsequencesattheGenBankrepository(库),and

astronomersareaccustomedtoaccessingimagesofgalaxiesandstars

from,say,theSloanDigitalSkySurvey,atelescopethathasobserved

some500millionobjects一buttheseremaintheexception,nottherule.

Historically,scientistshaveobjectedtosharingformanyreasons:itisa

lotofwork;untilrecently,gooddatabasesdidnotexist;grantfunders

werenotpushingforsharing;ithasbeendifficulttoagreeonstandards

forformattingdata;andthereisnoagreedwaytoassigncreditfordata.

Butthebarriersaredisappearing,inpartbecausejournalsand

fundingagenciesworldwideareencouragingscientiststomaketheir

datapublic.Lastyear;theRoyalSocietyinLondonsaidinitsreportthat

scientistsneedto"shiftawayfromaresearchculturewheredatais

viewedasaprivatepreserve".Fundingagenciesnotethatdatapaidfor

withpublicmoneyshouldbepublicinformation,andthescientific

communityisrecognizingthatdatacannowbeshareddigitallyinways

thatwerenotpossiblebefore.Tomatchthegrowingdemand,services

arespringinguptomakeiteasiertopublishresearchproductsonline

andenableotherresearcherstodiscoverandcitethem.

Althoughcallstosharedataoftenconcentrateonthemoral

advantagesofsharing,thepracticeisnotpurelyaltruistic（利他的）.

Researcherswhosharegetplentyofpersonalbenefits,includingmore

connectionswithcolleagues,improvedvisibilityandincreasedcitations.

Themostsuccessfulsharers—thosewhosedataaredownloadedand

citedthemostoften--getnoticed,andtheirworkgetsused.Forexample,

oneofthemostpopulardatasetsonmultidisciplinaryrepositoryDryad

isaboutwooddensityaroundtheworld;ithasbeendownloaded5,700

times.Co-authorAmyZannethinksthatusersprobablyrangefrom

climate-changeresearcherswantingtoestimatehowmuchcarbonis

storedinbiomass,toforesterslookingforinformationondifferent

gradesoftimber."I'dmuchprefertohavemydatausedbythemaximum

numberofpeopletoasktheirownquestions,"shesays.nlt'simportant

toallowreadersandreviewerstoseeexactlyhowyouarriveatyour

results.Publishingdataandcodeallowsyoursciencetobe

reproducible."

Evenpeoplewhosedataarelesspopularcanbenefit.Bymakingthe

efforttoorganizeandlabelfilessootherscanunderstandthem,

scientistsbecomemoreorganizedandbetterdisciplinedthemselves,

thusavoidingconfusionlateron.

46.Whatdomanyresearchersgenerallyaccept?

A)Itisimperativetoprotectscientists'patents.

B)Repositoriesareessentialtoscientificresearch.

C)Opendatasharingismostimportanttomedicalscience.

D)Opendatasharingisconducivetoscientificadvancement.

47.Whatistheattitudeofmostresearcherstowardsmakingtheir

owndatapublic?

A)Opposed.

B)Ambiguous.

C)Liberal.

D)Neutral.

48.Accordingtothepassage,whatmighthinderopendatasharing?

A)Thefearofmassivecopying.

B)Thelackofaresearchculture.

C)Thebeliefthatresearchdataisprivateintellectualproperty.

D)Theconcernthatcertainagenciesmaymakeaprofitoutofit.

49.Whathelpsliftsomeofthebarrierstoopendatasharing?

A)Theever-growingdemandforbigdata.

B)Theadvancementofdigitaltechnology.

C)Thechangingattitudeofjournalsandfunders.

D)Thetrendofsocialandeconomicdevelopment.

50.Dryadservesasanexampletoshowhowopendatasharing

A)isbecomingincreasinglypopular

B)benefitssharersandusersalike

C)makesresearcherssuccessful

D)savesbothmoneyandlabor

PassageTwo

Questions51to55arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Macy'sreporteditssalesplunged5.2%inNovemberandDecember

atstoresopenmorethanayear,adisappointingholidayseason

performancethatcappedadifficultyearforadepartmentstorechain

facingwide-rangingchallenges.ItsflagshipstoresinmajorU.S.cities

dependheavilyoninternationaltouristspending,whichshrankatmany

retailersduetoastrongdollar.Meanwhile,Macy'shassimplystruggled

tolureconsumerswhoaremoreinterestedinspendingontravelor

diningoutthanonnewclothesoraccessories.

ThecompanyblamedmuchofthepoorperformanceinNovember

andDecemberonunseasonablywarmweather."About80%ofour

company'syear-over-yeardeclinesincomparablesalescanbeattributed

toshortfalls（短缺）incold-weathergoods,"saidchiefexecutiveTeny

Lundgreninapressrelease.Thispromptedthecompanytocutits

forecastsforthefullfourthquarter.

However,it'sclearthatMacy'sbelievesitstroublesrundeeperthan

atemporaryaberration（偏离）offthethermometer.Theretailgiantsaid

thepoorfinancialperformancethisyearhaspushedittobegin

implementing$400millionincost-cuttingmeasures.Thecompany

pledgedtocut600back-officepositions,thoughsome150workersin

thoseroleswouldbereassignedtootherjobs.Italsoplanstooffer

"voluntaryseparation**packagesto165seniorexecutives.Itwillslash

staffingatitsfleetof770stores,amoveaffectingsome3,000

employees.

Theretaileralsoannouncedthelocationsof36storesitwillclosein

early2016.Thecompanyhadpreviouslyannouncedtheplanned

closures,buthadnotsaidwhichlocationswouldbeaffected.Noneof

thechain'sstoresintheWashingtonmetropolitanareaaretobeclosed.

Macy'shasbeenmovingaggressivelytotrytoremakeitselffora

neweraofshopping.IthasplanstoopenmorelocationsofMacy's

Backstage,anewly-developedoff-priceconceptwhichmighthelpit

bettercompetewithambitiousT.J.Ma_.It'salsopushingaheadin2016

withanexpansionofBluemercury,thebeautychainitboughtlastyear.

AtatimewhenyoungbeautyshoppersareoftenturningtoSephoraor

Ultainsteadofdepartmentstorebeautycounters,Macy'shopes

Bluemercurywillhelpstrengthenitspositioninthecategory.

OnerelativebrightspotforMacy'sduringtheholidayseasonwas

theonlinechannel,whereitrangup"double-digit"increasesinsalesand

a25%increaseinthenumberofordersitfilled.Thatrelativestrength

wouldbeconsistentwithwhatwasseeninthewilderretailindustry

duringtheearlypartoftheholidayseason.WhileThanksgiving,Black

FridayandCyberMondayallsawrecordspendingonline,in-storesales

plungedovertheholidayweekend.

51.Whatdoestheauthorsayabouttheshrinkingspendingof

internationaltouristsintheU.S.?

A)ItisattributabletotherisingvalueoftheU.S.dollar.

B)Itisadirectresultoftheglobaleconomicrecession.

C)Itreflectsashiftoftheirinterestinconsumergoods.

D)ItposesapotentialthreattotheretailbusinessintheU.S.

52.WhatdoesMacy'sbelieveaboutitsproblems?

A)Theycanbesolvedwithbettermanagement.

B)Theycannotbeattributedtoweatheronly.

C)Theyarenotasseriousinitsonlinestores.

D)Theyc