2001年6月英语六级真题及答案

Part I Listening Comprehension (20 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 10 short conversations. At the end of each conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the question will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

Example: You will hear:
You will read:
A) 2 hours.
B) 3 hours.
C) 4 hours.
D) 5 hours.
From the conversation we know that the two were talking about some work they will start at 9 o’clock in the morning and have to finish at 2 in the afternoon. Therefore, D) “5 hours” is the correct answer. You should choose [D] on the Answer Sheet and mark it with a single line through the center.
Sample Answer [A] [B] [C] [D]
1. A) He will tell Mary how to operate the dishwasher.
B) He will wash the dishes himself instead.
C) He will help Bill to translate the manual.
D) He himself will operate the dishwasher.
2. A) Lose weight.
B) Quit smoking.
C) Weigh himself frequently.
D) Have a talk with the doctor.
3. A) The woman should have complained to her neighbor.
B) The woman should stay out until the neighbors are quiet.
C) The woman should have stayed at the library.
D) The lab will be a better place for reading.
4. A) Check the figures later today.
B) Bring a calculator tomorrow.
C) Bring a calculator tomorrow.
D) Calculate the number right now.
5. A) She doesn’t remember much about the city.
B) She’s never been to the city.
C) She would find someone else to help.
D) She would talk to the man later.
6. A) She thinks the man should have helped earlier.
B) She doesn’t need the man’s help.
C) She doesn’t know the boxes are heavy.
D) She wants the man to help with the boxes.
7. A) She let the man use her books for the weekend.
B) She brought the books the man asked for.
C) She borrowed the books from the man.
D) She offered to help the man.
8. A) She’d like to have the windows open.
B) She likes to have the air conditioner on.
C) The air is heavily polluted.
D) The windows are already open.
9. A) He’s going to visit a photo studio.
B) He’s just had his picture taken.
C) He’s on the way to the theater.
D) He’s just returned from a job interview.
10. A) At a gas station.
B) In a park.
C) In an emergency room.
D) At a garage.

Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

Passage one
Question 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.
11. A) One sixth of them are seriously polluted.
B) One third of them are seriously polluted.
C) Half of them are seriously polluted.
D) Most of them are seriously polluted.
12. A) There was no garbage left to clean up.
B) There was more garbage than before and they had to work harder.
C) The river had become so clean that a lot of water-birds came back.
D) The river was much cleaner and they had to search for garbage.
13. A) Most of them would be indifferent and keep on throwing garbage into the river.
B) They would join the students in changing the situation.
C) They would become more aware of the pollution problem.
D) They would think twice before they went swimming or fishing in the river.

Passage Two
Questions 14 to 17 are based on the passage you have just heard.
14. A) Why people hold back their tears.
B) Why people cry.
C) How to restrain one’s tears.
D) How tears are produced.
15. A) What chemicals tears are composed of.
B) Whether crying really helps us feel better.
C) Why some people tend to cry more often than others.
D) How tears help people cope with emotional problems.
16. A) Only one out of four girls cries less often than boys.
B) Of four boys, only one cries very often.
C) Girls cry four times as often as boys.
D) Only one out of four babies doesn’t cry often.
17. A) Only humans respond to emotions by shedding tears.
B) Only humans shed tears to get rid of irritating stuff in their eyes.
C) Only human tears can resist the invading bacteria.
D) Only human tears can discharge certain chemicals.

Passage Three
Questions 18 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.
18. A) They make decisions by tossing coins.
B) They are not physically separated.
C) They think exactly the same way.
D) They share most of their vital organs.
19. A) Few of them can live long.
B) Few of them get along well with each other.
C) Most of them live a normal life.
D) Most of them differ in their likes and dislikes.
20. A) They go to a regular school.
B) They attend a special school.
C) They are taught by their parents.
D) They have a private tutor.

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Direction: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B) C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gestures we use are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to summon a person from the Philippines to one’s side, or that in Italy and some Latin-American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.
Those private citizens who sent packages to our troops occupying Germany after World War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty payments did not bother to find out that “Gift” means poison in German. Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to be at least 3 feet or an arm’s length away form others. Latins and Middle Easterners like to come closer and touch, which makes Americans uncomfortable.
Our linguistic（语言上的）and cultural blindness and the casualness with which we take notice of the developed tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing us friends, business and respect in the world.
Even here in the United States, we make few concessions to the needs of foreign visitors. There are no information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we do not have multilingual（多语的）guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have translations, and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our transportation systems have maps in English only and often we ourselves have difficulty understanding them.
When we go abroad, we tend to cluster in hotels and restaurants where English is spoken. The attitudes and information we pick up are conditioned by those natives—usually the richer—who speak English. Our business dealings, as well as the nation’s diplomacy, are conducted through interpreters.
For many years, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance. After all, America was the most powerful country of the free world, the distributor of needed funds and goods.
But all that is past. American dollars no longer buy all good things, and we are slowly beginning to realize that our proper role in the world is changing. A 1979 Harris poll reported that 55 percent of Americans want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs; we want to have a hand in the important decisions of the next century, even though it may not always be the upper hand.
21. It can be inferred that Americans being approached too closely by Middle Easterners would most probably ______________.
A) stand still
B) jump aside
C) step forward
D) draw back
22. The author gives many examples to criticize Americans for their ___________.
A) cultural self-centeredness
B) casual manners
C) indifference toward foreign visitors
D) arrogance towards other cultures
23. In countries other than their own most Americans _______________.
A) are isolated by the local people
B) are not well informed due to the language barrier
C) tend to get along well with the natives
D) need interpreters in hotels and restaurants
24. According to the author, Americans’ cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance will ____________.
A) affect their image in the new era
B) cut themselves off from the outside world
C) limit their role in world affairs
D) weaken the position of the US dollar
25. The author’s intention in writing this article is to make Americans realize that ________.
A) it is dangerous to ignore their foreign friends
B) it is important to maintain their leading role in world affairs
C) it is necessary to use several languages in public places
D) it is time to get acquainted with other cultures

Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
In department stores and closets all over the world, they are waiting. Their outward appearance seems rather appealing because they come in a variety of styles, textures, and colors. But they are ultimately the biggest deception that exists in the fashion industry today. What are they? They are high heels — a woman’s worst enemy (whether she knows it or not). High heel shoes are the downfall of modern society. Fashion myths have led women to believe that they are more beautiful or sophisticated for wearing heels, but in reality, heels succeed in posing short as well as long term hardships. Women should fight the high heel industry by refusing to use or purchase them in order to save the world from unnecessary physical and psychological suffering.
For the sake of fairness, it must be noted that there is a positive side to high heels. First, heels are excellent for aerating（使通气）lawns. Anyone who has ever worn heels on grass knows what I am talking about. A simple trip around the yard in a pair of those babies eliminates all need to call for a lawn care specialist, and provides the perfect-sized holes to give any lawn oxygen without all those messy chunks of dirt lying around. Second, heels are quite functional for defense against oncoming enemies, who can easily be scared away by threatening them with a pair of these sharp, deadly fashion accessories.
Regardless of such practical uses for heels, the fact remains that wearing high heels is harmful to one’s physical health. Talk to any podiatrist（足病医生）, and you will hear that the majority of their business comes from high-heel-wearing women. High heels are known to cause problems such as deformed feet and torn toenails. The risk of severe back problems and twisted or broken ankles is three times higher for a high heel wearer than for a flat shoe wearer. Wearing heels also creates the threat of getting a heel caught in a sidewalk crack or a sewer-grate（阴沟栅）and being thrown to the ground—possibly breaking a nose, back, or neck. And of course, after wearing heels for a day, any woman knows she can look forward to a night of pain as she tries to comfort her swollen, aching feet.
26. What makes women blind to the deceptive nature of high heels?
A) The multi-functional use of high heels.
B) Their attempt to show off their status.
C) The rich variety of high heel styles.
D) Their wish to improve their appearance.
27. The author’s presentation of the positive side of high heels is meant ______________.
A) to be ironic
B) to poke fun at women
C) to be fair to the fashion industry
D) to make his point convincing
28. The author uses the expression “those babies” (Line 3, Para.2) to refer to high heels __________.
A) to show their fragile characteristics
B) to indicate their feminine features
C) to show women’s affection for them
D) to emphasize their small size
29. The author’s chief argument against high heels is that ____________.
A) they pose a threat to lawns
B) they are injurious to women’s health
C) they don’t necessarily make women beautiful
D) they are ineffective as a weapon of defense
30. It can be inferred from the passage that women should _______________.
A) see through the very nature of fashion myths
B) boycott the products of the fashion industry
C) go to a podiatrist regularly for advice
D) avoid following fashion too closely

Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
It is hardly necessary for me to cite all the evidence of the depressing state of literacy. These figures from the Department of Education are sufficient: 27 million Americans cannot read at all, and a further 35 million read at a level that is less than sufficient to survive in our society.
But my own worry today is less that of the overwhelming problem of elemental literacy than it is of the slightly more luxurious problem of the decline in the skill even of he middle-class reader, of his unwillingness to afford those spaces of silence, those luxuries of domesticity and time and concentration, that surround the image of the classic act of reading. it has been suggested that almost 80 percent of America’s literate, educated teenagers can no longer read without an accompanying noise (music) in the background or a television screen flickering（闪烁）at the corner of their field of perception. We know very little about the brain and how it deals with simultaneous conflicting input, but every common-sense intuition suggests we should be profoundly alarmed. This violation of concentration, silence, solitude（独处的状态）goes to the very heart of our notion of literacy; this new form of part-reading, of part-perception against background distraction, renders impossible certain essential acts of apprehension and concentration, let alone that most important tribute any human being can pay to a poem or a piece of prose he or she really loves, which is to learn it by heart. Not by brain, by heart; the expression is vital.
Under these circumstances, the question of what future there is for the arts of reading is a real one. Ahead of us lie technical, psychic（心理的）, and social transformations probably much more dramatic than those brought about by Gutenberg, the German inventor in printing. The Gutenberg revolution, as we now know it, took a long time; its effects are still being debated. The information revolution will touch every facet of composition, publication, distribution, and reading. No one in the book industry can say with any confidence what will happen to the book, as we’ve known it.
31. The picture of the reading ability of the American people, drawn by the author, is _____.
A) rather bleak
B) fairly bright
C) very impressive
D) quite encouraging
32. The author’s biggest concern is ____________.
A) elementary school children’s disinterest in reading classics
B) the surprisingly low rate of literacy in the U.S.
C) the musical setting American readers require for reading
D) the reading ability and reading behavior of the middle class
33. A major problem with most adolescents who can read is ___________.
A) their fondness of music and TV programs
B) their ignorance of various forms of art and literature
C) their lack of attentiveness and basic understanding
D) their inability to focus on conflicting input
34. The author claims that the best way a reader can show admiration for a piece of poetry or prose is ____________.
A) to be able to appreciate it and memorize it
B) to analyze its essential features
C) to think it over conscientiously
D) to make a fair appraisal of its artistic value
35. About the future of the arts of reading the author feels ____________.
A) upset
B) uncertain
C) alarmed
D) pessimistic

Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Appolo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show of technological muscle during the cold war.
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
Today Mars looms（隐约出现）as humanity’s next great terra incognita（未探明之地）. And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet’s reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: Are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space?
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet once had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite（陨石）from Mars. A more conclusive answer about life on Mars, past or present, would give researchers invaluable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe.
36. According to the passage, the chief purpose of explorers in going to unknown places in the past was ______________.
A) to display their country’s military might
B) to accomplish some significant science
C) to find new areas for colonization
D) to pursue commercial and state interests
37. At present, a probable inducement for countries to initiate large-scale space ventures is _____________.
A) international cooperation
B) nationalistic reasons
C) scientific research
D) long-term profits
38. What is the main goal of sending human missions to Mars?
A) To find out if life ever existed there.
B) To see if humans could survive there.
C) To prove the feasibility of large-scale space ventures.
D) To show the leading role of science in space exploration.
39. By saying “With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been” (Line 1, Para.4), the author means that _________________.
A) with Mars the risks involved are much greater than any previous space ventures
B) in the case of Mars, the rewards of scientific exploration can be very high
C) in the case of Mars, much more research funds are needed than ever before
D) with Mars, scientists argue, the fundamental interests of science are at issue
40. The passage tells us that proof of life on Mars would _______________.
A) make clear the complex chemistry in the development of life
B) confirm the suggestion that bacterial fossils traveled to Earth on a meteorite
C) reveal the kind of conditions under which life originates
D) provide an explanation why life is common in the universe

Part III Vocabulary and Structure (20 minutes)
Directions: There are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

41. If you want this painkiller, you’ll have to ask the doctor for a ______________.
A) transaction B) permit
C) settlement D) prescription
42. The _____________ from childhood to adulthood is always a critical time for everybody.
A) conversion B) transition
C) turnover D) transformation
43. It is hard to tell whether we are going to have a boom in the economy or a __________.
A) concession B) recession
C) submission D) transmission
44. His use of color, light and form quickly departed from the conventional style of his ________ as he developed his own technique.
A) descendants B) predecessors
C) successors D) ancestors
45. Failure in a required subject may result in the ______________ of a diploma.
A) refusal B) betrayal
C) denial D) burial
46. To help students understand how we see, teachers often draw an _____________ between an eye and a camera.
A) image B) analogy
C) imitation D) axis
47. A 1994 World Bank report concluded that ______________ girls in school was probably the single most effective anti-poverty policy in the developing world today.
A) assigning B) admitting
C) involving D) enrolling
48. The author of the report is well ______________ with the problems in the hospital because he has been working there for many years.
A) acquainted B) informed
C) accustomed D) known
49. When the farmers visited the city for the first time, they were _________________ by its complicated traffic system.
A) evoked B) bewildered
C) diverted D) undermined
50. If Japan ________________ its relation with that country it will have to find another supplier of raw materials.
A) precludes B) terminates
C) partitions D) expires
51. They were ________________ in their scientific research, not knowing what happened just outside their lab.
A) submerged B) drowned
C) immersed D) dipped
52. You should _______________ to one or more weekly magazines such as Time or Newsweek.
A) ascribe B) order
C) reclaim D) subscribe
53. The automatic doors in supermarkets ____________ the entry and exit of customers with shopping carts.
A) furnish B) induce
C) facilitate D) allocate
54. Each workday, the workers followed the same schedules and rarely _________ from this routine.
A) deviated B) disconnected
C) detached D) distorted
55. The little girl was ________________ by the death of her dog since her affection for the pet had been real and deep.
A) grieved B) suppressed
C) oppressed D) sustained
56. A visitor to a museum today would notice __________ changes in the way museums are operated.
A) cognitive B) rigorous
C) conspicuous D) exclusive
57. Most people tend to think they are so efficient at their job that they are ___________.
A) inaccessible B) irreversible
C) immovable D) irreplaceable
58. Being impatient is __________________ with being a good teacher.
A) intrinsic B) ingenious
C) incompatible D) inherent
59. For a particular reason, he wanted the information to be treated as ______________.
A) assured B) reserved
C) intimate D) confidential
60. Fortune-tellers are good at making _____ statements such as “Your sorrows will change.”
A) philosophical B) ambiguous
C) literal D) invalid
61. The tenant must be prepared to decorate the house __________ the terms of the contract.
A) in the vicinity of B) in quest of
C) in accordance with D) in collaboration with
62. The winners of the football championship ran off the field carrying the silver cup ______.
A) turbulently B) tremendously
C) triumphantly D) tentatively
63. He said that they had _________ been obliged to give up the scheme for lack of support.
A) gravely B) regrettably
C) forcibly D) graciously
64. The law on drinking and driving is ___________ stated.
A) extravagantly B) empirically
C) exceptionally D) explicitly
65. Their claims to damages have not been convincingly __________.
A) refuted B) overwhelmed
C) depressed D) intimidated
66. Please don’t _________ too much on the painful memories. Everything will be all right.
A) hesitate B) linger
C) retain D) dwell
67. The jobs of wildlife technicians and biologists seemed ______________ to him, but one day he discovered their difference.
A) identical B) vertical
C) parallel D) specific
68. Mary became ______________ homesick and critical of the United States, so she fled from her home in west Bloomfield to her hometown in Austria.
A) completely B) sincerely
C) absolutely D) increasingly
69. Despite almost universal ________ of the vital importance of women’s literacy, education remains a dream for far too many women in far too many countries of the world.
A) identification B) compliment
C) confession D) acknowledgement
70. In today’s medical field, little agreement exists on the ______ for defining mental illness.
A) legislation B) requirement
C) criteria D) measures

Part IV Error Correction (15 minutes)
Directions: This part consists of a short passage. In this passage, there are altogether 10 mistakes, one in each numbered line. You may have to change a word, add a word or delete a word. Mark out the mistakes and put the corrections in the blanks provided. If you change a word, cross it out and write the correct word in the corresponding blank. If you add a word, put an insertion mark (∧) in the right place and write the missing word in the blank. If you delete a word, cross it out and put a slash (／) in the blank.
Example:

Television is rapidly becoming the literatures of our periods.  1. time/times/period
Many of the arguments having used for the study of literature.  2. ／___________
As a school subject are valid for ∧ study of television.  3. the___________

More people die of tuberculosis (结核病) than of any 
other disease caused by a single agent. This has probably 
been the case in quite a while. During the early stages of  71. __________
the industrial revolution, perhaps one in every seventh  72. __________
deaths in Europe’s crowded cities were caused by the  73. __________
disease. From now on, though, western eyes, missing the  74. __________
global picture, saw the trouble going into decline. With 
occasional breaks for war, the rates of death and 
infection in the Europe and America dropped steadily  75. __________
through the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 1950s, the 
introduction of antibiotics (抗菌素) strengthened the 
trend in rich countries, and the antibiotics were allowed 
to be imported to poor countries. Medical researchers  76. __________
declared victory and withdrew. 
They are wrong. In the mid-1980s the frequency of  77. __________
infections and deaths started to pick up again around the 
world. Where tuberculosis vanished, it came back; in  78. __________
many places where it had never been away, it grew better.  79. __________
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.7 
billion people (a third of the earth’s population) suffer 
from tuberculosis. Even the infection rate was 
falling, population growth kept the number of clinical 
cases more or less constantly at 8 million a year. Around  80. __________
3 million of those people died, nearly all of them in poor 
countries. 

Part V Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a letter. Suppose you are Zhang Ying. Write a letter to Xiao Wang, a schoolmate of yours who is going to visit you during the week-long holiday. You should write a t least 120 words according to the suggestions given below in Chinese.

   1. 表示欢迎
   2. 提出对度假安排的建议
   3. 提醒应注意的事项
A letter to a Schoolmate
June 23, 2001
Dear Xiao Wang,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Zhang Ying

答案：
1. B  2. A  3. C  4. B  5. A  6. B  7. C  8. A  9. D  10. D
11. B 12. D 13. C 14. B 15. D 16. C 17. A 18. B 19. A 20. A
21. D 22. A 23. B 24. C 25. D 26. D 27. A 28. C 29. B 30. D
31. A 32. D 33. C 34. A 35. B 36. D 37.C  38. A 39. B 40. C
41. D 42. B 43. B 44. B 45. C 46. B 47. D 48. A 49. B 50. B
51. C 52. D 53. C 54. A 55. A 56. C 57. D 58. C 59. D 60. B
61. C 62. C 63. B 64. D 65. A 66. D 67. A 68. D 69. D 70. C
71. in  for 72. seventh  seven
73. were  was 74. now  then
75. the  / 76. imported  exported
77. are  were 78. vanished  had ~
79. better  worse 80. constantly  constant