大学英语六级（2013年12月考试改革适用）模拟试卷322

For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition entitled China’s Personal Income Tax Reform. You can either analyze its causes or share some means to reduce it. Examples can be cited to illustrate your point. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words. Write your essay on Answer Sheet 1.

M: Hello, this is Land Transport Information at Toronto Airport. How may I help you? W: Oh, Good morning. Um, I’m flying to Toronto Airport next week, and I need to get to a town called urn, Milton. Could you tell me how I can get there? M: Milton, did you say? Let me see. I think that’s about 150 miles southwest of here. In fact it’s 147 miles to be exact, so it’ll take you at least—say, three to four hours by road. W: Wow! Is it as far as that? M: Yes, I’m afraid so. But you have a number of options to get you there and you can always rent a car right here at the airport, of course. W: Right. Well, I don’t really want to drive myself, so I’d like more information about public transport. M: OK. In that case the quickest and most comfortable is a cab and of course there are always plenty available. But it’ll cost you. You can also take a Greyhound bus or there’ s an Airport Shuttle Service to Milton. W: Hmmm, I think for that kind of distance a cab would be way beyond my budget. But the bus sounds OK. Can you tell me how much that would cost? M: Sure. Let’s see, that would be $15 one way, or $27.50 return ... That’s on the Greyhound. W: Oh, that’s quite cheap—great! Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. Where is the woman going next week? 2. How far is the woman’ s destination from Land Transport Information? 3. According to the conversation, how many ways are available for the woman to get there? 4. What public transport does the woman choose? A city named Milton. A town named Milton. Toronto Airport. Milton Airport.

M: Honey, the basketball game is about to start. And could you bring some chips and a bowl of ice cream? And ...Uh ... a slice of pizza from the fridge. W: Anything else? M: Nope, that’s all for now. Hey, honey, you know, they’re organizing a company basketball team, and I’m thinking about joining. What do you think? W: Humph. M: “Humph!“ What do you mean “Humph?“ I was the star player in high school. W: Yeah, twenty-five years ago. Look, I just don’t want you having a heart attack running up and down the court. M: So, what are you suggesting? Should I just abandon the idea? I’m not that out of shape. W: Well... you ought to at least have a physical before you begin. I mean, it has been at least five years since you played at all. M: Well, okay, but... W: And you need to watch your diet and cut back on the fatty foods, like ice cream. And you should try eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. M: Yeah, you’re probably right. W: And you should take up a little weight training to strengthen your muscles or perhaps try cycling to build up your cardiovascular system. Oh, and you need to go to bed early instead of watching TV half the night. M: Hey, you’re starting to sound like my personal fitness instructor! W: No, I just love you, and I want you to be around for a long, long time. Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 5. What does the man want to do? 6. What is the woman’s main concern? 7. What is the woman’ s first suggestion to the man? 8. What does the woman advise about the man’ s diet? Enjoy some snacks. Play basketball with friends from work. Try to get in the company baseball team. Compete in a cycling race.

In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernadino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theatre, then a barbecue(烤肉) restaurant, and then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they added one new concept: quick service, no waiters or waitresses, and no tips. Their hamburgers sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity, for the brothers had developed a strict routine for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks’ sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became incredibly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundreds during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success until they met Ray Kroc. Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954, when he was selling milk shake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the unique appeal of the brothers’ fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise(特许经营) other copies of their restaurants. The agreement struck included the right to duplicate the menu. The equipment, even their red and white buildings with the golden arches(拱门). Today McDonald’ s is really a household name. Its names for its sandwiches have come to mean hamburger in the decades since the day Ray Kroc watched people rush up to order fifteen-cent hamburgers. In 1976, McDonald’s had over $1 billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most incredible success stories in modern American business history. Questions 9 to 12 are based on the passage you have just heard. 9. Which business did Mac and Dick McDonald not run? 10. What is offered in the new menu? 11. How much should we pay for a hamburger and one cheese? 12. What is the main idea of this passage? A theatre. A cinema. A barbecue restaurant. A drive-in restaurant.

Illegal drugs are produced on farms, in laboratories, and in backyards all across the world. Although millions of dollars worth of drugs are produced within our country, millions more also come from other countries on boats, planes and in drug smugglers’ suitcases. Colombia is the source of most of the cocaine and heroin used in the U.S. Drugs, and cocaine are the most widely trafficked drugs worldwide. Before Colombia became our leading supplier, farms in other South American countries grew acres and acres of coca plants, the raw material from which cocaine is made. The U.S. worked with the government of Peru and Bolivia to reduce the drug supply, spraying plant-killing chemicals on acres of drug plantations and paying farmers to grow other crops instead. Coca production was cut in half. The problem is, much of the drug production simply moved from those countries into neighbouring Colombia. The U.S. government is spending $1.3 billion on a detailed Long-Term Anti-Drug plan that helps the Colombian government get rid of its coca farms. However, Colombian farmers—most of whom are very poor and have few other opportunities for employment— say coca brings in the most money and they are unsure the Colombian government will keep its promises to help make other crops just as profitable. Questions 13 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard. 13. Where is the leading cocaine and heroin supplier? 14. How does the U.S. government solve the problem? 15. Why Colombian farmers chose to grow coca? Colombia. Peru. Bolivia. Vietnam.

In the 18th century French economists protested the excessive regulation of business by the government. Their belief was laisser faire. Laisser faire means let the people do as they choose. In the economic sense, this meant that while the government should be responsible for things like maintaining peace and protecting property fights, it should not interfere with private business. It shouldn’ t create regulations that might hinder business growth, nor should it be responsible for providing subsidies to help. In other words, governments should take hands off approach to business. For a while in the United States, laisser faire was a popular doctrine. But things quickly changed. After the Civil War, politicians rarely opposed the government’s generous support of business owners. They were only too glad to support government land grants and loans to railroad owners for example. Their regulations kept tariffs high and that helped protect American industrialists against foreign competition. Ironically in the late 19th century, a lot of people believed that the laisser faire policy was responsible for the countries industrial growth. It was generally assumed that because business owners did not have a lot of external restrictions placed on them by the government, they could pursue their own interests, and this was what made them so successful. But in fact, many of these individuals would not have been able to meet their objective if not for government support. Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 18. 16. What is the talk mainly about? 17. Who first used the motto laisser faire? 18. What is the principle idea of the laisser faire policy? Competition in business. Government grants. A type of economic policy. International transportation practices.

Let’s begin today by discussing enzymes. Enzymes are what make many of the body’ s biochemical reactions pos sible. Actually biochemical reactions can take place without them, but at much lower rates. In fact an enzyme may cause a reaction to proceed billions of times faster than it would otherwise. Before I go on to the biochemical specifics of how this works, let me provide a figurative example. I think it will help illustrate the power of enzymes more clearly. Now, suppose you got a bag and you put a bunch of locks in it. Then you put in all the keys that go with the locks. And you closed the bag and shook it hard. No matter how long you shook, chances are very small that any key would get inserted in any of the locks. But if you took them all out of the bag and this time used your hands to insert the keys in the locks, you could combine them much quicker.Enzymes act like your hands, quickly allowing chemical reactions that would otherwise take much longer. Now, there are two reasons that enzymes are so effective at enabling biochemical reactions. First enzymes greatly reduce the amount of energy required to start the reactions, and with less energy needed the reactions can proceed a lot faster than they could without the enzyme. The second reason is that on a small amount of an enzyme is needed to enable the biochemical reaction. That’s because the chemical structure of the enzyme itself does not become altered as if enables the reaction. So a single enzyme can be used to start the same biochemical reaction over and over again. Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 19 to 21. 19. What point does the professor make about an enzyme when it is involved in a biochemical reaction? 20. What do enzymes do to help start a biochemical reaction? 21. Why does the professor talk about locks and keys? It divides into two different parts. It keeps the same chemical structure. It becomes part of a new chemical compound. It produces more of the enzyme(酶).

Today I’ d like to talk about the sculptor Henry Moore, in particular the ideas his work is based on, and also how he viewed the medium of sculpture. Moore said that to appreciate sculpture a person needs to respond to form in all of its three dimensions. He believed that this is more difficult than responding to art that is done on a flat surface, a surface such as canvas that has only two dimensions. For example, when you’re looking at a painting you don’t have to walk around it. You don’t relate to form and shape in the same way you do when looking a sculpture. Moore paid great attention to shapes in nature such as that of bones and shells and stones. He thought that if you could appreciate the shape of something simple, like a stone then you could go on to appreciate more complex forms. He noticed that many of the stones he picked up had holes in them. One distinctive feature of Moore’ s sculpture is his use of holes or opening to emphasize that he is indeed working in a three-dimensional medium. He believed that the shape of hole itself could have much meaning as that of solid mass, and could even help create a sense of mass or volume. Moore was also interested in representing the human figure, which he sculpted in such materials as bronze, stone, and wood. His sculptures of humans contained one person as in the work reclining figure or several people as in the sculpture family group. Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 22 to 25. 22. What is the talk mainly about? 23. According to Henry Moore, why is sculpture more difficult to appreciate than other forms of art? 24. Why does the professor mention bones and shells? 25. What is one well-known feature of Henry Moore’ s sculptures? The relationship between painting and sculpture. The ideas behind an artist’ s work. The practical value of a work of art. The way the eye perceives shape in sculpture.

Humanity’ s power to control the four-letter code of life has【C1】______by leaps and bounds. A new gene-editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9, which was not discovered until 2012, has been the subject of particular excitement. It allows DNA to be edited easily, raising hopes that it could eventually be used to【C2】______human suffering. This week, however, CRISPR has caused more 【C3】______than optimism, because of claims by a Chinese scientist that he edited the genomes of twin girls when they were embryos, as part of IVF treatment. He Jiankui, of the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen—which was not 【C4】______in the work—says he edited a gene, CCR5, that allows HIV to infect human cell. There is still uncertainty over what Mr. He has done. But it is just a matter of time before someone, somewhere, edits human embryos that are grown into babies. Governments and regulators need to pay heed. Presume that Mr. He’ s assertions are truthful. One day it may【C5】______to edit an embryo—to cure genetic diseases, say. That day has not arrived. The technology is so new that the risks to human subjects cannot possibly justify the benefits. Scientists do not fully understand the scope of the【C6】______damage CRISPR does to DNA elsewhere in the genome or how deactivating CCR5 might leave you【C7】______to other diseases (it may, for instance, make death from flu more likely). It may even be that editing will one day be used on embryos to enhance genomes (to make people cleverer, say), 【C8】______to cure disease. But that requires regulators, policymakers, scientists and civil society to think through deep【C9】______questions. Work is already under way to develop principles for editing reproductive cells. Earlier this year the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a think-tank in Britain, outlined two: that the changes brought about by gene-editing should not increase “disadvantage, discrimination or division in society“ and that such changes should not harm the【C10】______of the future person. Such debate was always going to be needed. Now it is urgent. A) involved B) relieve C) vulnerable D) welfare E) rather than F) advanced G) unease H) make sense I) ethical J) unintended K) endured L) lighten M) get N) accept O) shallow

Sugar—Friend VS Enemy A) Sugar is everywhere. It’s in our drinks, it’s in our foods, and it’s hidden in places we never would think of. Many would call sugar their friend in time of need, but in fact their so-called “good friend“ could turn out to be their worst enemy in disguise. Sugar for many is something they may have been battling with for a long time. Here’ s a simple three-step process to help you start to win back the battle for your health. B) The first step is to be aware of what sugar really does to your body. Most people will say they “know“ that they shouldn’t have sugar, but they really can’t help it. To me that is a lack of true awareness of what sugar does to oneself. I don’t think many people will say that they want to hurt their body on purpose, but unless they know it’ s really happening they will continue down that road. Sugar is slower to impact our health, and it’s that slow destructive process that is the most dangerous. Unfortunately, most people don’t know the damage until it has already been done. C) Sugar increases fat storing. Possibly the most important hormone in the body is insulin(胰岛素 ) ,when it comes to weight loss and health. Insulin is the main hormone that we have full control over daily through our diet and lifestyle. When we eat sugar and it enters into our bloodstream too quickly, we have a spike in blood sugar levels. Now in times of high activity we are able to burn it off, but if we are sitting around this is not a good thing. So in response to that high level of blood sugar, the body will release more insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin will then take the excess glucose(葡萄糖) and try to find a place to store it. If your muscles are all full or have insulin resistance then the best place to put the excess glucose is fat cells. When insulin is high, the fat cells are told to shut down any process of releasing stored fat into the blood for burning. With chronic high insulin spikes comes a resistance to it by your cells, leading to more insulin production, leading to more fat storing, and more resistance, eventually going down a road of diabetes and ill health for the whole body. D) Sugar also disrupts normal brain function. I think most people can relate to mood swings and energy highs / lows that come after a high sugar meal. Sugar can also be the source of many people’ s increased anxiety and depression. Let us not also forget the kids with ever-increasing attention “disorders“ and behavioral issues. Sugar is not helping with that, either. In fact, there have been many studies that show when taking sugar out of a kid’s diet and increasing fat intake, their attention ability increases, their behavior changes for the better. E) Sugar decreases your overall health and makes you age quicker. Too much sugar will lower your overall immune system, increase destructive inflammation, lead to essential mineral deficiencies in the body, feed bad bacteria growth in your gut and other wonderful stuff. Aging is just a fancy word for the body breaking down quicker than it can repair itself, as that is what happens when we get older. Aging also is accelerated by the increasing risks of all degenerative diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease and cancers. We are all going to get older, but it doesn’t mean that we have to “age“ quicker. F) The second step is to realize you are in 100% control of your actions. This could be the most underrated yet the most important step, as we are the only person who controls what we put into our body. Everything starts in what we choose to put in our mouths. Some people may say they can’t control their sugar cravings, but that is already admitting defeat and giving up power to some “cosmic sugar influence“ out there. We can pass on dessert, we don’t need to buy a candy bar, we can drink water instead of soda, but the choice is ours to make. G) Also many like to call it an “addiction“. This is just another way to give up your own personal power of choice. While sugar can have “addictive like“ qualities, it’s not something that you own or is a part of you. Fight the battle and you will get over the addictive feelings, they will go away. But if you call it an addiction and make it part of you, then it is yours to keep forever. Be free from it, let go. Take back control and anything is possible. H) The third step is to just live the daily journey one choice at a time. Life is just a series of present moments, and the choices we make in those moments. So let’ s just focus on what we can do right now instead of worrying about what has happened in the past or may or may not happen in the future. “Now“ is all we have and all we need to focus on. I) Choose to eat more natural foods. Choose whole food proteins, healthy fats and natural sources of carbohydrates(碳水化合物). If it wasn’t around a thousand years ago or is made by man(and not nature), chances are you don’t need it. Note how it says “Choose“ above, as it is your choice. Find the hidden sources of sugars and remove them. Sugar is hidden in places such as sauces, ketchup, soups, processed foods, drinks, so called health bars, and more. Become a label reader and see how much sugar you are consistently putting into your body. Don’t fall for the marketing trick either of “low fat“, because that usually means “more sugar“.

As an immigrant to North American, you will need to ensure that employers and organizations such as colleges and universities properly recognize your international credentials. These may be trade certificates, but also educational qualifications such as degrees or diplomas, that you have completed or partially-completed. It is common for hiring personnel to have little or no training in evaluating an academic background earned outside of North America. But at the same time, employers see formal education as very important when hiring. Education is a hiring requirement for 60% of employment opportunities, but 40% of human resources staff say that if they do not know a lot about the value of documents attained elsewhere, they will not recognize them. Research has shown that sometimes immigrants start with a lower salary level than people who have completed their training in North America. You may want to apply for employment opportunities with companies whose staff understands your situation or more importantly, who know where to send you to get your North American credentials. If you need to complete your training in North America, apprenticeships leading to skilled trades are in high demand. Apprenticeship training is a hands-on program where about 10% is in a classroom setting at community colleges, and 90% of the training is on-the-job. The training involves working for an employer and earning income during the training period. Sometimes there is a limit of 5 years for training. You may be able to use this training toward college or university credits or education. There is a good potential for long-term job security after completion of apprenticeship training. If you earned your papers outside of North America, you will need to get them translated if you want to work or study. It is important for you that your education is assessed by an accredited assessment service when you are applying for jobs, and particularly if the job posting has an education requirement. As well, it is recommended that you include a copy of the report with your cover letter. It is suggested that you provide this information early and do not wait until the time you actually meet with the employer. Getting job interviews is more 50% of the whole process of securing employment; and with an evaluation report, you want to make sure that employers are screening you “in“ rather than “out“.

Every day McDonald’s serves 69m customers, more than the population of Britain or France. The company has what is estimated to be the most valuable fast-food brand in the world, cherished as a cheap dining option for families. But do consumers perceive McDonald’ s as a socially or environmentally responsible company? If they do not, it is in spite of the best efforts of Bob Langert. In 1988, he took a temporary assignment managing a furore over polystyrene “clamshells“ in which the company’s burgers were served, and which were being damned for their contribution to America’ s litter problem. That turned into a 25-year career (he has since left the firm) dealing with the chain’ s various negative external effects. It was a Herculean task, akin to being fashion consultant to Steve Bannon. Apart from litter, he had to deal with animal welfare, environmental destruction, obesity and workers’ rights. When he began, the company’s mascot was being dubbed “Ronald McToxic“ because of the clamshell problem. But he had more success than outsiders might think. His book “The Battle to Do Good: Inside McDonald’ s Sustainability Journey“ is a must-read even for those who are cynical about the business of corporate social responsibility. At times, the fast-food chain did not help itself. In the 1990s, it sued two Greenpeace activists for producing leaflets about its practices. The ensuing “McLibel“ trial gave the claims worldwide publicity and was described as the world’ s biggest corporate-PR disaster. Mr. Langert tried to reduce the damage. The company consulted panels of independent experts and engaged with campaigning groups. On occasion it aimed to keep one step ahead of the activists—McDonald’ s took action even when there was little sign of public concern. Shaving one inch off the napkins saved 3m lbs of paper annually, for example, but few consumers noticed. Environmentalists did attack the firm for its impact on the Amazon rainforest, saying trees were being cut down to make room for cattle pasture or the expansion of soy farming for cattle feed. In 1989 the company announced that it “never has and never will buy beef from recently deforested rainforests“ and it has also worked to limit the expansion of soy farming in the region. The rise of veganism amid doubts about the health effects of eating meat have given McDonald ’ s new worries. Accomplishing change is not just a matter of the company snapping its fingers. Most McDonald ’ s restaurants are operated by franchisees and its goods are bought from a wide range of suppliers, so three or four layers may separate the McDonald’ s head office and the cattle-rancher who supplies the firm’s beef. In the late 1990s, after complaints from campaign groups about the living conditions of hens, Mr. Langert visited an egg facility to find that conditions were indeed terrible. In August 2000 the firm said it would buy eggs only from suppliers that gave hens 72 square inches of space, compared with an industry average of 48 square inches. Suppliers resisted so strongly that McDonald’ s had to find new sources for its eggs. But those who complied found that the mortality rates of hens decreased and egg-laying rates increased, offsetting the extra costs. Mr. Langert found it took a long time to get agreement within the company on a particular subject and then to persuade suppliers to comply. But once he reached that stage, he had enormous clout; McDonald’s is the largest purchaser of beef and pork in America, as well as the second-largest buyer of chicken. Another victory was persuading a supplier to phase out the use of gestation stalls for sows which make it impossible for the animals to move. Human working conditions also caused the company trouble. One day Mr. Langert got a call from a Catholic bishop who was concerned about the low wages paid to tomato-pickers. Another issue was the use of “trans fats“ to cook the restaurant’s fries, which were deemed to increase the risk of heart disease; it took six years for the chain to phase out the practice. But the company has also added more salads and healthy options. Was all the effort worth it? It seems likely that many of the people who care a lot about these issues would never eat a fast-food burger in the first place. But Mr. Langert did more than most to reduce environmental waste and animal cruelty. A decent career record for an obviously decent man.

唐代是中国古典诗歌的鼎盛时期，在不到300年的时间里，产生了许多著名的诗人和诗作。时至今日，有超过5万首唐诗和2000多位唐代诗人为人们所熟知。其中，唐代最著名的诗人是李白和杜甫。李白生性无拘无束，才华横溢，他创作了大量赞美祖国大好河山的诗篇。杜甫年轻时坎坷的生活经历，使他更好地了解了社会的黑暗和人民的困苦。最流行的唐诗作品集或许是由清朝的学者孙洙编著的《唐诗三百首》(300 Tang Poems)。唐诗一直在影响着世界文学和现代诗歌。