第三套 12大学英语六级.docx

1、第三套 12大学英语六级2013年12月大学英语六级考试真题（第3套） Part IIIReading Comprehension (40 minutes)Section ADirections:In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefu

2、lly before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following pas

3、sage.Cell phones provide instant access to people. They are creating a major 36 in the social experiences of both children and adolescents. In one recent U.S. survey, about half the teens polled said that their cell phone had 37 their communication with friends. Almost all said that their cell phone

4、 was the way they stayed in touch with peers, one-third had used the cell phone to help a peer in need, and about 80% said the phone made them feel safer. Teenagers in Australia, 38 , said that their mobile phones provided numerous benefits and were an39 part of their lives; some were so 40 to their

5、 phones that the researchers considered it an addiction. In Japan, too, researchers are concerned about cell phone addiction. Researchers in one study in Tokyo found that more than half of junior high school students used their phones to exchange e-mails with schoolmates more than 10 times a day.Cel

6、l phones 41 social connections with peers across time and space. They allow young people to exchange moment-by-moment experiences in their daily lives with special partners and thus to have a more 42 sense of connection with friends. Cell phones also can 43 social tolerance because they reduce child

7、rens interactions with others who are different from them. In addition to connecting peers, cell phones connect children and parents. Researchers studying teenagers in Israel concluded that, in that 44 environment, mobile phones were regarded as security objects in parent-teen relationshipsimportant

8、 because they provided the possibility of 45 and communication at all times.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答A) affiliatedB) attachedC) contactD) contendE) continuousF) diminishG) enduranceH) fosterI) hazardousJ) improvedK) instantaneousL) intrinsicM) relativelyN) shiftO) similarlySection BDirections:In this sectio

9、n, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the quest

10、ions marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Waste Not, Want NotFeeding the 9 Billion: The Tragedy of WasteA By 2075, the United Nations mid-range projection for global population is about 9.5 billion. This means that there could be an extra three billion mouths to feed by the end of the

11、century, a period in which substantial changes are anticipated in the wealth, calorie intake and dietary preferences of people in developing countries across the world. Such a projection presents mankind with wide-ranging social, economic, environmental and political issues that need to be addressed

12、 today to ensure a sustainable future for all. One key issue is how to produce more food in a world of finite resources.B Today, we produce about four billion metric tonnes of food per year. Yet due to poor practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, as well as market and consumer wastage,

13、it is estimated that 30-50% of all food produced never reaches a human stomach. Furthermore, this figure does not reflect the fact that large amounts of land, energy, fertilisers and water have also been lost in the production of foodstuffs which simply end up as waste. This level of wastage is a tr

14、agedy that cannot continue if we are to succeed in the challenge of sustainably meeting our future food demands. |Where Food Waste HappensC In 2010,the Institution of Mechanical Engineers identified three principal emerging population groups across the world, based on characteristics associated with

15、 their current and projected stage of economic development. Fully developed, mature, post-industrial societies, such as those in Europe, characterised by stable or declining populations which are increasing in age. Late-stage developing nations that are currently industrialising rapidly, for example

16、 China, which will experience declining rates of population growth, coupled with increasing affluence (富裕）and age profile. Newly developing countries that are beginning to industrialise, primarily in Africa, with high to very high population growth rates, and characterised by a predominantly young a

17、ge profile.D Each group over the coming decades will need to address different issues surrounding food production, storage and transportation, as well as consumer expectations, if we are to continue to feed all our people.E In less-developed countries, such as those of sub-Saharan Africa and South-E

18、ast Asia, wastage tends to occur primarily at the farmer-producer end of the supply chain. Inefficient harvesting, inadequate local transportation and poor infrastructure (基础设施)mean that produce is frequently handled inappropriately and stored under unsuitable farm site conditions.F In mature, fully

19、 developed countries such as the UK, more-efficient farming practices and better transport, storage and processing facilities ensure that a larger proportion of the food produced reaches markets and consumers. However, characteristics associated with modern consumer culture mean produce is often was

20、ted through retail and customer behaviour.G Major supermarkets, in meeting consumer expectations, will often reject entire crops of perfectly edible fruit and vegetables at the farm because they do not meet exacting marketing standards for their physical characteristics, such as size and appearance.

21、H Of the produce that does appear in the supermarket, commonly used sales promotions frequently encourage customers to purchase excessive quantities which, in the case of perishable foodstuffs, inevitably generate wastage in the home. Overall between 30% and 50% of what has been bought in developed

22、countries is thrown away by the purchaser.Better Use of Our Finite ResourcesI Wasting food means losing not only life-supporting nutrition but also precious resources, including land, water and energy. As a global society, therefore, tackling food waste will help contribute towards addressing a numb

23、er of key resource issues.J Land Usage: Over the last five decades, improved farming techniques and technologies have helped to significantly increase crop yields along with a 12% expansion of farmed land use. However, a further increase in farming area without impacting unfavourably on what remains

24、 of the worlds natural ecosystems appears unlikely. The challenge is that an increase in animal-based production will require more land and resources, as livestock (牲畜)farming demands extensive land use.K Water Usage: Over the past century, human use of fresh water has increased at more than double

25、the rate of population growth. Currently about 3.8 trillion m3of water is used by humans per year. About 70% of this is consumed by the global agriculture sector, and the level of use will continue to rise over the coming decades.L Better irrigation can dramatically improve crop yield and about 40%

26、of the worlds food supply is currently derived from irrigated land. However, water used in irrigation is often sourced unsustainably.In processing foods after the agricultural stage, there are large additional uses of water that need to be tackled in a world of growing demand. This is particularly c

27、rucial in the case of meat production, where beef uses about 50 times more water than vegetables. In the future, more effective washing techniques, management procedures, and recycling and purification of water will be needed to reduce wastage.MEnergy Usage: Energy is an essential resource across th

28、e entire food production cycle, with estimates showing an average of 7-10 calories of input being required in the production of one calorie of food. This varies dramatically depending on crop, from three calories for plant crops to 35 calories in the production of beef. Since much of this energy com

29、es from the utilisation of fossil fuels, wastage of food potentially contributes to unnecessary global warming as well as inefficient resource utilisation. N In the modem industrialised agricultural processwhich developing nations are moving towards in order to increase future yieldsenergy usage in

30、the making and application of fertilisers and pesticides represents the single biggest component. Wheat production takes 50% of its energy input for these two items alone. Indeed, on a global scale, fertiliser manufacturing consumes about 3-5% of the worlds annual natural gas supply. With production

31、 anticipated to increase by 25% between now and 2030, sustainable energy sourcing will become an increasingly major issue. Energy to power machinery, both on the farm and in the storage and processing facilities, adds to the energy total, which currently represents about 3.1% of annual global energy

32、 consumption.RecommendationsO Rising population combined with improved nutrition standards and shifting dietary preferences will exert pressure for increases in global food supply. Engineers, scientists and agriculturalists have the knowledge, tools and systems that will assist in achieving productivity increases. However, pressure will grow on finite resources of land, energy and water. The potential to provide 60-100% more food by simply eliminating losses, while simultaneously freeing up land, energy and water resources for oth