西夏唐古特
听力技能的培养和提高高职高专英语教学的一项重要任务。下面是我精心收集的英语六级听力短文原文，希望大家喜欢!
W: Grag Rosen lost his job as a sales manager nearly three years ago, and is still unemployed.
M: It literally is like something in a dream to remember what is like to actually be able to go outand put in a day's work and receive a day's pay.
W: At first, Rosen bought groceries and made house payments with the help fromunemployment insurance. It pays laid-off workers up to half of their previous wages whilethey look for work. But now that insurance has run out for him and he has to make toughchoices. He's cut back on medications and he no longer helps support his disabled mother. It isdevastating experience. New research says the US recession is now over. But many peopleremain unemployed and unemployed workers face difficult odds. There is literally only one jobopening for every five unemployed workers. So four out of five unemployed workers haveactually no chance of finding a new job. Businesses have downsized or shut down acrossAmerica, leaving fewer job opportunities for those in search of work. Experts who monitorunemployment statistics here in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, say about 28,000 people areunemployed, and many of them are jobless due to no fault of their own. That's where theBucks County CareerLink comes in. Local director Elizabeth Walsh says they provide trainingand guidance to help unemployed workers find local job opportunities. "So here's the jobopening, here's the job seeker, match them together under one roof," she said. But the lack ofwork opportunities in Bucks County limits how much she can help. Rosen says he hopesCongress will take action. This month he launched the 99ers Union, an umbrella organization of18 Internet-based grassroots groups of 99ers. Their goal is to convince lawmakers to extendunemployment benefits. But Pennsylvania State Representative Scott Petri says governmentssimply do not have enough money to extend unemployment insurance. He thinks the bestway to help the long-term unemployed is to allow private citizens to invest in local companiesthat can create more jobs. But the boost in investor confidence needed for the plan to workwill take time. Time that Rosen says still requires him to buy food and make monthly mortgagepayments. Rosen says he'll use the last of his savings to try to hang onto the home he workedfor more than 20 years to buy. But once that money is gone, he says he doesn't know whathe'll do.
W: Earlier this year, British explorer Pen Huddle and his team trekked for three months acrossthe frozen Arctic Ocean, taking measurements and recording observations about the ice.
M: Well we'd been led to believe that we would encounter a good proportion of this older,thicker, technically multi-year ice that's been around for a few years and just gets thicker andthicker. We actually found there wasn't any multi-year ice at all.
W: Satellite observations and submarine surveys over the past few years had shown less ice inthe polar region, but the recent measurements show the loss is more pronounced thanpreviously thought.
M: We're looking at roughly 80 percent loss of ice cover on the Arctic Ocean in 10 years,roughly 10 years, and 100 percent loss in nearly 20 years.
W: Cambridge scientist Peter Wadhams, who's been measuring and monitoring the Arctic since1971 says the decline is irreversible.
M: The more you lose, the more open water is created, the more warming goes on in that openwater during the summer, the less ice forms in winter, the more melt there is the followingsummer. It becomes a breakdown process where everything ends up accelerating until it's allgone.
W: Martin Sommerkorn runs the Arctic program for the environmental charity the WorldWildlife Fund.
M: The Arctic sea ice holds a central position in the Earth's climate system and it's deterioratingfaster than expected. Actually it has to translate into more urgency to deal with the climatechange problem and reduce emissions.
W: Summerkorn says a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warmingneeds to come out of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December.
M: We have to basically achieve there the commitment to deal with the problem now. That'sthe minimum. We have to do that equitably and we have to find a commitment that is quick.
W: Wadhams echoes the need for urgency.
M: The carbon that we've put into the atmosphere keeps having a warming effect for 100 years.So we have to cut back rapidly now, because it will take a long time to work its way through intoa response by the atmosphere. We can't switch off global warming just by being good in thefuture, we have to start being good now.
W: Wadhams says there is no easy technological fix to climate change. He and other scientistssay there are basically two options to replacing fossil fuels, generating energy with renewables,or embracing nuclear power.
M: From a very early age, some children exhibit better self-control than others. Now, a newstudy that began with about 1，000 children in New Zealand has tracked how a child's low self-control can predict poor health，money troubles and even a criminal record in their adultyears. Researchers have been studying this group of children for decades now. Some of theirearliest observations have to do with the level of self-control the youngsters displayed.Parents, teachers, even the kids themselves, scored the youngsters on measures like "actingbefore thinking" and "persistence in reaching goals. " The children of the study are now adultsin their 30s. Terrie Moffitt of Duke University and her research colleagues found that kids withself-control issues tended to grow up to become adults with a far more troubling set of issuesto deal with.
W: The children who had the lowest self-control when they were aged 3 to 10, later on had themost health problems in their 30s, and they had the worst financial situation. And they weremore likely to have a criminal record and to be raising a child as a single parent on a very lowincome.
M: Speaking from New Zealand via skype, Moffitt explained that self-control problems werewidely observed, and weren't just a feature of a small group of misbehaving kids.
W: Even the children who had above-average self-control as pre-schoolers, could havebenefited from more self-control training. They could have improved their financial situation andtheir physical and mental health situation 30 years later.
M: So, children with minor self-control problems were likely as adults to have minor healthproblems, and so on. Moffitt said it's still unclear why some children have better self-controlthan others, though she says other researchers have found that it's mostly a learned behavior,with relatively little genetic influence. But good self-control can be set to run in families in thatchildren who have good self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthy and prosperousparents.
W: Whereas some of the low-self-control study members are more likely to be single parentswith a very low income and the parent is in poor health and likely to be a heavy substanceabuser. So that's not a good atmosphere for a child. So it looks as though self-control issomething that in one generation can disadvantage the next generation.
M: But the good news is that Moffitt says self-control can be taught by parents and throughschool curricula that have proved to be effective. Terrie Moffitt's paper on the link betweenchildhood self-control and adult status decades later is published in the Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences.
我是一只喵
Part III Vocabulary andStructure (20 minutes)
41. Tom________ better than to ask Dick for help.
A) shall know
B) shouldn’t know
C) has known
D) should have known
42. Themagician picked several persons ________ from the audience and asked them tohelp him with the performance.
A) by accident
B) at random
C) on occasion
D) on average
43. Waterenters into a great variety of chemical reactions, ________ have been mentionedin previous pages.
A) a few of it
B) a few of that
C) a few of them
D) a few of which
44. They’llhave you ________ if you don’t pay your taxes.
A) to be arrested
B) arrest
C) arrested
D) being arrested
45. Therewas a knock at the door. It was the second time someone ________ me thatevening.
A) had interrupted
B) would have interrupted
C) to have interrupted
D) to interrupted
46. Despitetheir good service, most inns are less costly than hotels of ________standards.
A) equivalent
B) alike
C) uniform
D) likely
47. ________for your help, we’d never have been able to get over the difficulties.
A) Had it not
B) If it were not
C) Had it not been
D) If we had not been
48. Somepeople either ________ avoid questions of right and wrong or remain neutralabout them.
A) violently
B) enthusiastically
C) sincerely yours
D) deliberately
49. Thereis no easy solution to Japan’s labour ________.
A) decline
B) vacancy
C) rarity
D) shortage
50. I’msure your suggestion will ________ the problem.
A) contribute to solving
B) contribute to solve
C) be contributed to solve
D) be contributed to solving
51. Ileft for the office earlier than usual this morning ________ traffic jam.
A) in line with
B) for the sake of
C) in case of
D) at the risk of
52. Someareas, ________ their severe weather conditions, are hardly populated.
A) due to
B) in spite of
C) but for
D) with regard to
53. Thenew washing machines are ________ at the rate of fifty a day.
A) turned up
B) turned down
C) turned out
D) turned in
54. Onturning the corner, we saw the road ________ steeply.
A) departing
B) descending
C) decreasing
D) depressing
55. Themanaging director took the ________ for the accident, although it was notreally his fault.
A) guilt
B) blame
C) charge
D) accusation
56. Oncethey had fame, fortune, secure futures; ________ is utter poverty.
A) now that all is left
B) now all that is left
C) now all which is left
D) now all what is left
57. Theshop-assistant was straight with his customers. If an article was of ________quality he’d tell them so.
A) humble
B) inferior
C) minor
D) awkward
58. Histastes and habits ________ with those of his wife.
A) combine
B) compete
C) coincide
D) compromise
59. Thebranches could hardly ________ the weight of the fruit.
A) retain
B) sustain
C) maintain
D) remain
60. Withall its advantages, the computer is by no means without its ________.
A) boundaries
B) restraints
C) confinements
D) limitations
61. Visitorsare asked to ________ with the regulations.
A) contrast
B) consult
C) comply
D) conflict
62. He________ so much work that he couldn’t really do it efficiently.
A) put on
B) turned on
C) brought on
D) took on
63. ________should any money be given to a small child.
A) On no account
B) From all accounts
C) Of no account
D) By all accounts
64. Withoutfacts, we cannot form a worthwhile opinion for we need to have factualknowledge ________ our thinking.
A) which to be based on
B) which to base upon
C) upon which to base
D) to which to be based
65. ________that they may eventually reduce the amount of labor needed on constructionsites by 90 percent.
A) so clever are the construction robots
B) so clever the construction robots are
C) such construction robots are clever
D) such clever construction robots are
66. Allflights ________ because of the storm, they decided to take the train.
A) having canceled
B) having been canceled
C) were canceled
D) have been canceled
67. Themicroscope can ________ the object 100 times in diameter.
A) magnify
B) increase
C) develop
D) multiply
68. Languagebelongs to each one of us, to the flower-seller ________ to the professor.
A) as much as
B) as far as
C) the same as
D) as long as
69. We________ Edison’s success to his intelligenceand hard work.
A) subject
B) attribute
C) owe
D) refer
70. Sheonce again went through her composition carefully to ________ all spellingmistakes from it.
A) withdraw
B) diminish
C) abandon
D) eliminate
41. D 42. B 43. D 44. C 45. A
46. A 47. C 48. D 49. D 50. A
51. C 52. A 53. C 54. B 55. B
56. B 57. B 58. C 59. B 60. D
61. C 62. D 63. A 64. C 65. A
66. B 67. A 68. A 69. B 70. D
Part IV Error Correction(15 minutes)
Directions: This part consists of a short passage. In this passage, there arealtogether 10 mistakes, one in each numbered line. You may have to change aword, add a word or delete a word. Mark out the mistakes and put thecorrections in the blanks provided. If you change a word, cross it out andwrite the correct word in the corresponding blank. If you add a word, put aninsertion mark (∧) in theright place and write the missing word in the blank. If you delete a word,cross it and put a slash (/) in the blank.
Example:
Television is rapidlybecoming the literature of our periods╱. 1.time/times/period
Many of the arguments having╱ used for the study of literature as 2. _______\_______
a school subject are valid for ∧ study oftelevision. 3. ______the______
Traditionally, the American farmer has alwaysbeen independent and hard-working. In the eighteenth century farmers were quiteself-sufficient. The farm family grew and made almost nothing it needed. Thesurplus crop (71) would be sold to buy a few items in the local generalstore.
In 1860, because some of the farmpopulation had (72) moved to the city, yet eightypercent of the American population was still in the country. In the latenineteen century, farm work and life were not much changed from that theyhad been in the old days. The farmer aroused at (74) dawn or before and hadmuch work to do, with his own muscles like his chief source of power. Heused axes, (76) spades and other complicated tools. In his house cooking(77) was done in wood-burning stoves, and the kerosene lamp was the onlyimprovement on the candle. The family’s recreation and social life chieflyconsisted a drive in the (78) wagon to the nearby small town or village totransact some business as well as to chat with neighbors who had also come totown. The children attended a small elementary school (often of just oneroom) to that they had to walk (79) every day, possibly for a few miles.The school term was short so that the children could not help on the farm.(80)
Although the whole family worked, and lifewas not easy, farmers as a class were self-reliant and independent.
71. nothing→ everything
72. because→ although
73. nineteen→ nineteenth
74. that→ what
75. aroused→ arose
76. like→ as/being
77. complicated→ simple
78. (consist)→ (consist) of
79. that→ which
80. not→ /
Part V Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a compositionwrite a composition based on the graph below.
Outline:
1. Riseand fall of the rate of car accident as indicated by the graph;
2. Possiblereason(s) for the decline of car accidents in the city;
3. Yourpredictions of what will happen this year.
加一个图表
Yourcomposition should be no less than 120 words and you should quote as fewfigures as possible.
作文范文：
The graph shows the changing rate of caraccidents in Walton city in 1990. The first two months of 1990 showed anincreasing trend. The rate rose to 32 in March but fell to 26 in June. FromJune on the rate was rising again and reached the peak point 39 in August.After August the rate began to decline, and eventually dropped to the lowestpoint 16 at the end of the year.
The highest rate in August was due tounfavorable weather conditions. Humidity and high temperature make driversimpatient, which easily leads to car accidents. The high rate in the first halfof 1990 was also caused by the bad weather condition. In Walton Citythe excessive rain comes at early spring. The rain made road slippery, whichoften resulted in car accidents.
This year the pattern is expected to change.The city government has raised fund to improve the road condition. Two newroads will be finished at the beginning of this year and are expected to opento traffic soon. Furthermore, the new road regulation provides that in summer everycar must be air-conditioned. With all these precautions, I’m sure that the rateof car accidents will be much lower this year.
