大学英语六级考试B卷（2）

　　Directions:

　　There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followedbysome questions or unfinished statements. For each of them therearefour choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide onthebest choice and mark the corresponding letter on the AnswerSheetwith a single line through the centre.

　　Passage ONE

　　Questions21 to 25 are based on thefollowingpassage.

　　Throughout the nations more than 15,000 school districts,widelydiffering approaches to teaching science and math haveemerged.Though there can be strength in diversity, a newinternationalanalysis suggests that this variability has insteadcontributed tolackluster (平淡的) achievement scores by U.S. childrenrelative totheir peers in other developed countries.

　　Indeed, concludes William H. Schmidt of Michigan StateUniversity,who led the new analysis, no single intellectuallycoherent visiondominates U.S. educational practice in math orscience. Thereason, he said, is because the system is deeplyand fundamentallyflawed.

　　The new analysis, released this week by the NationalScienceFoundation in Arlington, Va., is based on data collectedfrom about50 nations as part of the Third International MathematicsandScience Study.

　　Not only do approaches to teaching science and math varyamongindividual U.S. communities, the report finds, but thereappears tobe little strategic focus within a school district’scurricula, itstextbooks, or its teachers activities. Thiscontrasts sharply withthe coordinated national programs of mostother countries.

　　On average, U.S. students study more topics within scienceandmath than their international counterparts do. This createsaneducational environment that is a mile wide and an inchdeep,Schmidt notes.

　　For instance, eighth graders in the United States cover about33topics in math versus just 19 in Japan. Among science courses,theinternational gap is even wider. U.S. curricula for this agelevelresemble those of a small group of countries includingAustralia,Thailand, Iceland, and Bulgaria. Schmidt asks whether theUnitedStates wants to be classed with these nations, whoseeducationalsystems share our pattern of splintered (支离破碎的)visions but whichare not economic leaders.

　　The new report couldnt come at a better time, saysGeraldWheeler, executive director of the National ScienceTeachersAssociation in Arlington. The new National ScienceEducationStandards provide that focused vision, including the callto doless, but in greater depth.

　　Implementing the new science standards and their mathcounterpartswill be the challenge, he and Schmidt agree, becausethedecentralized responsibility for education in the UnitedStatesrequires that any reforms be tailored and instituted onecommunityat a time.

　　In fact, Schmidt argues, reforms such as these proposednationalstandards face an almost impossible task, because eventhough theyare intellectually coherent, each becomes only one morevoice inthe babble ( 嘈杂声).

　　21. According to the passage, the teaching of science and mathinAmerica is

　　A) losing its vitality gradually

　　B) characterized by its diversity

　　C) going downhill in recent years

　　D) focused on tapping students potential

　　22. The fundamental flaw of American school education isthat________.

　　A) it attaches too much importance to intensive study ofschoolsubjects

　　B) it relies heavily on the initiative of individual teachers

　　C) it sets a very low academic standard for students

　　D) it lacks a coordinated national program

　　23. By saying that the U.S. educational environment is amilewide and an inch deep (Line 2, . 5), the author meansU.S.educational practice ________.

　　A) scratches the surface of a wide range of topics

　　B) lays stress on quality at the expense of quantity

　　C) encourages learning both in depth and in scope

　　D) offers an environment for comprehensive education

　　24. The new National Science Education Standards are good newsinthat they will

　　A) solve most of the problems in school teaching

　　B) provide depth to school science education

　　C) quickly dominate U.S. educational practice

　　D) be able to meet the demands of the community

　　25. Putting the new science and math standards into practicewillprove difficult because ________.

　　A) many schoolteachers challenge the acceptability ofthesestandards.

　　B) there is always controversy in educational circles

　　C) not enough educators have realized the necessity fordoingso

　　D) school districts are responsible for making theirowndecisions

　　Passage TWO

　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on thefollowingpassage.

　　I had an experience some years ago which taught me somethingaboutthe ways in which people make a bad situation worse byblamingthemselves. One January, I had to officiate at two funeralsonsuccessive days for two elderly women in my community. Both haddiedfull of years, as the Bible would say; both yielded to thenormalwearing out of the body after a long and full life. Theirhomeshappened to be near each other, so I paid condolence (吊唁)calls onthe two families on the same afternoon.

　　At the first home, the son of the deceased (已故的) woman said tome,If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out ofthiscold and snow, she would be alive today. Its my fault thatshedied. At the second home, the son of the other deceased womansaid,If only I hadnt insisted on my mothers going to Florida,shewould be alive today. That long airplane ride, the abruptchange ofclimate, was more than she could take. Its my fault thatshesdead.

　　When things dont turn out as we would like them to, it isverytempting to assume that had we done things differently, thestorywould have had a happier ending. Priests know that any timethereis a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the courseofaction they took turned out badly, they believe that theoppositecourse - keeping Mother at home, postponing the operation –wouldhave turned out better. After all, how could it have turnedout anyworse?

　　There seem to be two elements involved in our readiness tofeelguilt. The first is our pressing need to believe that theworldmakes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and areasonfor everything that happens. That leads us to find patternsandconnections both where they really exist and where they existonlyin our minds.

　　The second element is the notion that we are the cause ofwhathappens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to beashort step from believing that every event has a cause tobelievingthat every disaster is our fault. The roots of thisfeeling may liein our childhood. Psychologists speak of theinfantile myth ofomnipotence (万能). A baby comes to think that theworld exists tomeet his needs, and that he makes everything happenin it. He wakesup in the morning and summons the rest of the worldto its tasks.He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When heis hungry,people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him.Very often,we do not completely outgrow that infantile notion thatour wishescause things to happen.

　　26. What is said about the two deceased elderly women?

　　A) They lived out a natural life.

　　B) They died due to lack of care by family mrs.

　　C) They died of exhaustion after the long plane ride.

　　D) They werent accustomed to the change in weather.

　　27. The author had to conduct the two womens funeralsprobablybecause ________.

　　A) he had great sympathy for the deceased

　　B) he wanted to console the two families

　　C) he was priest of the local church

　　D) he was an official from the community

　　28. People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved onesbecause________

　　A) they believe that they were responsible

　　B) they had neglected the natural course of events

　　C) they couldnt find a better way to express their grief

　　D) they didnt know things often turn out in theoppositedirection

　　29. In the context of the passage, ... the world makessense(Line 2, , 4) probably means that ________.

　　A) we have to be sensible in order to understand the world

　　B) everything in the world is predetermined

　　C) theres an explanation for everything in the world

　　D) the world can be interpreted in different ways

　　30. People have been made to believe since infancythat________.

　　A) every story should have a happy ending

　　B) their wishes are the cause of everything that happens

　　C) life and death is an unsolved mystery

　　D) everybody is at their command

　　Passage THREE

　　Questions 31 to 35 are based on thefollowingpassage.

　　Ive never met a human worth cloning, says cloning expertMarkWesthusin from his lab at Texas A&M University. Its astupidendeavor. Thats an interesting choice of adjective, comingfrom aman who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a13-year-olddog named Missy. So far, he and his team have notsucceeded, thoughthey have cloned two cows and expect to clone acat soon. They justmight succeed in cloning Missy this spring - orperhaps not foranother 5 years. It seems the reproductive system ofmans bestfriend is one of the mysteries of modern science.

　　Westhusins experience with cloning animals leaves him upsetbyall this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on theMissyproject, using hundreds upon hundreds of dogs eggs, theA&Mteam has produced only a dozen or so embryos (胚胎) carryingMissysDNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate (代孕的)mother.The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously abortedfetuses (胎)may be acceptable when youre dealing with cats orbulls, heargues, but not with humans. Cloning is incrediblyinefficient,and also dangerous, he says.

　　Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with aniceresearch payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in1997,Westhusins phone has been ringing with people calling inhopes ofduplicating their cats and dogs, cattle and horses. A lotofpeople want to clone pets, especially if the price is center,saysWesthusin. Cost is no obstacle for Missys mysteriousbillionaireowner; hes put up $3.7 million so far to fundA&Msresearch.

　　Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The ownerwantsa twin to carry on Missys fine qualities after she does die.Theprototype is, by all accounts, athletic, good-naturedandsupersmart. Missys master does not expect an exact copy of her.Heknows her clone may not have her temperament. In a statementofpurpose, Missys owner and the A&M team say they arebothlooking forward to studying the ways that her clones differfromMissy.

　　Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contributeinsightinto the old question of nature vs. nurture. It could alsolead tothe cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangeredanimals.

　　However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows thatevenif he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive,willface the problems shown at birth by other clonedanimals:abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weightproblems~Why would you ever want to clone humans, Westhusin asks,whenwere not even close to getting it worked out in animalsyet?

　　31. By stupid endeavor (Line 2, . 1), Westhusin means tosaythat ________.

　　A) human cloning is a foolish undertaking

　　B) animal cloning is absolutely impractical

　　C) human cloning should be done selectively

　　D) animal cloning is not worth the effort at all

　　32. What does the first graph tell us about Westhusinsdogcloning project?

　　A) Its success is already in sight.

　　B) It is doomed to utter failure.

　　C) It is progressing smoothly.

　　D) Its outcome remains uncertain.

　　33. By cloning Missy, Mark Westhusin hopes to ________.

　　A) examine the reproductive system of the dog species

　　B) find out the differences between Missy and its clones

　　C) search for ways to modify .its temperament

　　D) study the possibility of cloning humans

　　34. We learn from the passage that animal clones are likelytohave ________.

　　A) an abnormal shape

　　B) a bad temper

　　C) defective organs

　　D) immune deficiency

　　35. It can be seen that present cloning techniques ________.

　　A) provide insight into the question of nature vs. nurture

　　B) have been widely used in saving endangered species

　　C) have proved quite adequate for the cloning of humans

　　D) still have a long way to go before reaching maturity

　　Passage FOUR

　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on thefollowingpassage.

　　Frustrated with delays in Sacramento, Bay Area officialssaidThursday they planned to take matters into their own handstoregulate the regions growing pile of electronic trash.

　　A San Jose councilwoman and a San Francisco supervisor saidtheywould propose local initiatives aimed at controllingelectronicwaste if the California law-making body fails to act ontwo billsstalled in the Assembly~ They are among a growing numberofCalifornia cities and counties that have expressed thesameintention.

　　Environmentalists and local governments are increasinglyconcernedabout the toxic hazard posed by old electronic devicesand the costof safely recycling those products. An estimated 6milliontelevisions and computers are stocked in California homes,and anadditional 6,000 to 7,000 computers become outdated everyday. Themachines contain high levels of lead and other hazardoussubstances,and are already banned from California landfills (垃圾填埋场 ).

　　Legislation by Senator Byron Sher would require consumers to payarecycling fee of up to $30 on every new machine containing acathode( 阴极 ) ray tube. Used in almost all video monitors andtelevisions,those devices contain four to eight pounds of leadeach. The feeswould go toward setting up recycling programs,providing grants tonon-profit agencies that reuse the tubes andrewarding manufacturersthat encourage recycling.

　　A sete bill by Los Angeles-area Senator Gloria Romerowouldrequire high-tech manufacturers to develop programs torecycleso-called e-waste.

　　If passed, the measures would put California at the forefrontofnational efforts to manage the refuse of the electronic age.

　　But high-tech groups, including the Silicon ValleyManufacturingGroup and the American Electronics Association, opposethemeasures, arguing that fees of up to $30 will drive consumerstoonline, out-of-state retailers.

　　What really needs to occur is consumer education. Mostconsumersare unaware theyre not supposed to throw computers in thetrash,said Roxanne Gould, vice president of government relationsfor theelectronics association.

　　Computer recycling should be a local effort and partofresidential waste collection programs, she added.

　　Recycling electronic waste is a dangerous and specializedmatter,and environmentalists maintain the state must supportrecyclingefforts and ensure that the job isnt contracted tounscrupulous (毫无顾忌的 ) junk dealers who send the toxic partsoverseas.

　　The graveyard of the high-tech revolution is ending up inruralChina, said Ted Smith, director of the Silicon ValleyToxicsCoalition. His group is pushing for an amendment to Shersbillthat would prevent the export of e-waste.

　　36. What step were Bay Area officials going to takeregardinge-waste disposal.?

　　A) Rally support to pass the stalled bills.

　　B) Lobby the lawmakers of the California Assembly.

　　C) Lay down relevant local regulations themselves.

　　D) Exert pressure on manufacturers of electronic devices.

　　37. The two bills stalled in the California Assembly bothconcern________.

　　A) the reprocessing of the huge amounts of electronic waste inthestate

　　B) regulations on dumping hazardous substances into landfills

　　C) the funding of local initiatives to reuse electronic trash

　　D) the sale of used electronic devices to foreign countries

　　38. Consumers are not supposed to throw used computers inthetrash because __.

　　A) this is banned by the California government

　　B) some parts may be recycled for use elsewhere

　　C) unscrupulous dealers will retrieve them for profit

　　D) they contain large amounts of harmful substances

　　39. High-tech groups believe that if an extra $30 is chargedonevery TV or computer purchased in California, consumerswill_______.

　　A) hesitate to upgrade their computers

　　B) abandon online shopping

　　C) buy them from other states

　　D) strongly protest against such a charge

　　40. We learn from the passage that much of Californiaselectronicwaste has been _

　　A) dumped into local landfills

　　B) exported to foreign countries

　　C) collected by non-profit agencies

　　D) recycled by computer manufacturers