大学英语六级超真模拟题.docx

大学英语六级超真模拟题.docx

《大学英语六级超真模拟题.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《大学英语六级超真模拟题.docx（37页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

大学英语六级超真模拟题

2012年大学英语六级模拟真题及解析

PartIWriting

Directions:

Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayentitledTheWaytoSuccessbycommentingonAbrahamLincoln’sfamousremark,Givemesixhourstochopdownatree,andIwillspendthefirstfoursharpeningtheaxe.”Youshouldwriteatleast150wordsbutnomorethan200words.

PartIIReadingComprehension（SkimmingandScanning）

Google’splanforworld’sbiggestonlinelibrary:

philanthropyoractofpiracy?

Googlehasalreadyscanned10millionbooksinitsbidtodigitisethecontentsoftheworld’smajorlibraries,butacopyrightbattlenowthreatenstheproject,withAmazonandMicrosoftjoiningauthorsandpublishersopposedtothescheme.

　　Inrecentyearstheworld’smostvenerablelibrarieshaveplayedhosttosomeincongruousvisitors.Industynooksandfar-flungstacks,teamsofworkersdispatchedbyGooglehavebeenbeaveringawaytomakedigitalcopiesofbooks.Sofar,Googlehasscannedmorethan10milliontitlesfromlibrariesinAmericaandEurope–includinghalfamillionvolumesheldbytheBodleianinOxford.Theexactmethoditusesisunclear;thecompanydoesnotallowoutsiderstoobservetheprocess.

　　WhyisGoogleundertakingsuchaventure,soseeminglyout-of-kilterwithitssnazzy,hi-techimage?

Whyisiteveninterestedinallthoseout-of-printlibrarybooks,mostofwhichhavebeengatheringdustonforgottenshelvesfordecades?

Thecompanyclaimsitsmotivesareessentiallypublic-spirited.Itsoverallmission,afterall,isto"organisetheworld’sinformation",soitwouldbeoddifthatinformationdidnotincludebooks.LiketheAncientEgyptianswhoattemptedtobuildalibraryatAlexandriacontainingalltheknownworld’sscrolls,Googleexecutivestalkofconstructingauniversalonlinearchive,atreasuretroveofknowledgethatwillbefreelyavailable–oratleastfreelysearchable–forall.

　　Thecompanylikestopresentitselfashavinglofty,utopianaspirations."Thisreallyisn’taboutmakingmoney"isamantra."Wearedoingthisforthegoodofsociety."AsSantiagodelaMora,headofGoogleBooksforEurope,putsit:

"Bymakingitpossibletosearchthemillionsofbooksthatexisttoday,wehopetoexpandthefrontiersofhumanknowledge."

　　DanClancy,thechiefarchitectofGoogleBooks,offersananalogywiththeinventionoftheGutenbergpress–Google’sbookproject,hesays,willhaveasimilardemocratisingeffect.Hetalksofpeopleinfar-flungpartsbeingabletoaccessknowledgeasneverbefore,ofsearchqueriesleadingthemtotheone,longout-of-printbooktheyneed.

　　Andhedoesseemgenuineinhisconvictionthatthisisprimarilyaphilanthropicexercise."Google’scorebusinessissearchandfind,soobviouslywhathelpsimproveGoogle’ssearchengineisgoodforGoogle,"hesays."Butwehaveneverbuiltaspreadsheetoutliningthefinancialbenefitsofthis,andIhaveneverhadtojustifytheamountIamspendingtothecompany’sfounders."

　　Itiseasy,talkingtoClancyandhiscolleagues,tobesweptalongbytheirmissionaryzeal.ButGoogle’sbook-scanningprojectisprovingcontroversial.Severalopponentshaverecentlyemerged,rangingfromrivaltechgiantssuchasMicrosoftandAmazontosmallbodiesrepresentingauthorsandpublishersacrosstheworld.Inbroadterms,theseopponentshavelevelledtwosetsofcriticismsatGoogle.

　　First,theyhavequestionedwhethertheprimaryresponsibilityfordigitallyarchivingtheworld’sbooksshouldbeallowedtofalltoacommercialcompany.InarecentessayintheNewYorkReviewofBooks,RobertDarnton,theheadofHarvardUniversity’slibrary,arguedthatbecausesuchbooksareacommonresource–thepossessionofusall–onlypublic,not-for-profitbodiesshouldbegiventhepowertocontrolthem.

　　Thesecond,relatedcriticismisthatGoogle’sscanningofbooksisactuallyillegal.ThisallegationhasledtoGooglebecomingmiredinalegalbattlewhosescopeandcomplexitymakestheJarndyceandJarndycecaseinBleakHouselookstraightforward.

　　Atitscentre,however,isonesimpleissue:

thatofcopyright.Theinconvenientfactaboutmostbooks,towhichGooglehasarguablypaidinsufficientattention,isthattheyareprotectedbycopyright.Copyrightlawsdifferfromcountrytocountry,butingeneralprotectionextendsforthedurationofanauthor’slifeandforasubstantialperiodafterwards,thusallowingtheauthor’sheirstobenefit.（InBritainandAmerica,thispost-deathperiodis70years.）Thismeans,ofcourse,thatalmostallofthebookspublishedinthe20thcenturyarestillundercopyright–andlastcenturysawmorebookspublishedthaninallpreviouscenturiescombined.Oftheroughly40millionbooksinUSlibraries,forexample,anestimated32millionareincopyright.Ofthese,some27millionareoutofprint.

　　OutsidetheUS,Googlehasmadesureonlytoscanbooksthatareoutofcopyrightandthusinthe"publicdomain"（workssuchastheBodleian’sfirsteditionofMiddlemarch,whichanyonecanreadforfreeonGoogleBooksSearch）.

　　But,withintheUS,thecompanyhasscannedbothin-copyrightandout-of-copyrightworks.Initsdefence,Googlepointsoutthatitdisplaysonlysnippetsofbooksthatareincopyright–arguingthatsuchdisplaysare"fairuse".Butcriticsallegethatbymakingelectroniccopiesofthesebookswithoutfirstseekingthepermissionofcopyrightholders,Googlehascommittedpiracy.

　　"Thekeyprincipleofcopyrightlawhasalwaysbeenthatworkscanbecopiedonlyonceauthorshaveexpresslygiventheirpermission,"saysPiersBlofeld,oftheSheilLandliteraryagencyinLondon."Googlehasreversedthis–ithassimplycopiedalltheseworkswithoutbotheringtoask."

　　In2005,theAuthorsGuildofAmerica,togetherwithagroupofUSpublishersandpublishers,launchedaclassactionsuitagainstGooglethat,aftermorethantwoyearsofwrangling,endedwithanannouncementlastOctoberthatGoogleandtheclaimantshadreachedanout-of-courtsettlement.Thefulldetailsarestaggeringlycomplicated–thetextalonerunsto385pages–andtryingtosummariseitisnoeasytask."Partoftheproblemisthatitisbasicallyincomprehensible,"saysBlofeld,oneofthesettlement’smostvocalBritishcritics.

　　Broadly,thedealprovidesamechanismforGoogletoreimburseauthorsandpublisherswhoserightsithasbreached（includinggivingthemashareofanyfuturerevenueitgeneratesfromtheirworks）.Inexchangeforthis,therightsholdersagreenottosueGoogleinfuture.

　　ThesettlementstipulatesthatabodyknownastheBooksRightsRegistrywillrepresenttheinterestsofUScopyrightholders.AuthorsandpublisherswithacopyrightinterestinabookscannedbyGooglewhomakethemselvesknowntotheregistrywillbeentitledtoreceiveapayment–intheregionof$60perbook–ascompensation.

　　Additionally,thesettlementhandsGooglethepower–butonlywiththeagreementofindividualrightsholders–toexploititsdatabaseofout-of-printbooks.Itcanincludetheminsubscriptiondealssoldtolibrariesorsellthemindividuallyunderaconsumerlicence.Itisthesecommercialprovisionsthatareprovingthesettlement’smostcontroversialaspect.

　　Criticspointoutthat,bygivingGoogletherighttocommerciallyexploititsdatabase,thesettlementpavesthewayforasubtleshiftinthecompany’srolefromproviderofinformationtoseller."Google’sbusinessmodelhasalwaysbeentoprovideinformationforfree,andselladvertisingonthebasisofthetrafficthisgenerates,"pointsoutJamesGrimmelmann,associateprofessoratNewYorkLawSchool.Now,hesays,becauseofthesettlement’sprovisions,Googlecouldbecomeasignificantforceinbookselling.

　　Interestinthisaspectofthesettlementhasfocusedon"orphan"works,wherethereisnoknowncopyrightholder–thesemakeupanestimated5%to10%ofthebooksGooglehasscanned.Underthesettlement,whennorightsholderscomeforwardandregistertheirinterestinawork,commercialcontrolautomaticallyrevertstoGoogle.Googlewillbeabletodisplayupto20%oforphanworksforfree,includetheminitssubscriptiondealstolibrariesandsellthemtoindividualbuyersundertheconsumerlicence.

　　"ThedealhasineffecthandedGoogleaswathofintellectualcopyright.Itisamammothpotentialbooksellingmarket,"saysBlofeld.HeaddsitisnosurprisethatAmazon,whichcurrentlycontrols90%ofthedigitalbooksmarket,isbecomingworried.

　　ButDanClancyofGoogledismissestheideathat,bygainingcontroloverout-of-printandorphanworks,Googleissecuringforitselfasignificantfuturerevenuestream.Hepointsoutthatout-of-printbooksrepresentonlyatinyfractionofthebooksmarket–between1%and2%."Thisideathatwearegainingaccesstoavastmarkethere–Ireallydon’tthinkthatistrue."

　　JamesGleick,anAmericansciencewriterandmemberoftheAuthorsGuild,broadlyagrees.Hesaysthat,althoughGoogle’sinitialscanningofin-copyrightbooksmadehimuncomfortable,thesettlementitselfisafairdealforauthors.

　　"Thethingthatneedstobeemphasisedisthatthisso-calledmarketoverwhichGoogleisbeinggivendominance–themarketinout-of-printbooks–doesn’tcurrentlyexist.That’swhythey’reoutofprint.Inreallife,Ican’tseewhatthedamageis–it’sonlygood."

　　Itisbynomeanscertainthatthesettlementwillbeenacted–itisthesubjectofafairnesshearingintheUScourts.Butifitisenacted,GooglewillineffectbeoffthehookasfarascopyrightviolationsintheUSareconcerned.Manypeopleareseriouslyconcernedbythis–andthecompanyislikelytofacechallengesinothercourtsaroundtheworld.