2014年12月六级阅读答案
It is easy to miss amid the day-to-day headlines of global economic recession, but there is a less conspicuous kind of social upheaval(剧变)underway that is fast altering both the face of the planet and the way human beings live. That change is the rapid acceleration of urbanization. In 2008, for the first time in human history, more than half the world’s population was living in towns and cities. And as a recently published paper shows, the process of urbanization will only accelerate in the decades to come—with an enormous impact on biodiversity and potentially on climate change.
As Karen Seto, the led author of the paper, points out, the wave of urbanization isn’t just about the migration of people into urban environments, but about the environments themselves becoming bigger to accommodate all those people. The rapid expansion of urban areas will have a huge impact on biodiversity hotspots and on carbon emissions in those urban areas.
Humans are the ultimate invasive species—when the move into new territory, the often displace the wildlife that was already living there. And as land is cleared for those new cities—especially in the dense tropical forests—carbon will be released into the atmosphere as well. It’s true that as people in developing nations move from the countryside to the city, the shift may reduce the pressure on land, which could in turn be good for the environment. This is especially so in desperately poor countries, where residents in the countryside slash and burn forests each growing season to clear space for farming. But the real difference is that in developing nations, the move from rural areas to cities often leads to an accompanying increase in income — and that increase leads to an increase in the consumption of food and energy, which in turn causes a rise in carbon emissions. Getting enough to eat and enjoying the safety and comfort of living fully on the grid is certainly a good thing — but it does carry an environmental price.
The urbanization wave can’t be stopped — and it shouldn’t be. But Seto’s paper does underscore the importance of managing that transition. If we do it the right way, we can reduce urbanization’s impact on the environment. “There’s an enormous opportunity here, and a lot of pressure and responsibility to think about how we urbanize,” says Seto. “One thing that’s clear is that we can’t build cities the way we have over the last couple of hundred years. The scale of this transition won’t allow that.” We’re headed towards an urban planet no matter what, but whether it becomes heaven or hell is up to us.
56. What issue does the author try to draw people’s attention to?
A. The shrinking biodiversity worldwide.
B. The rapid increase of world population.
C. The ongoing global economic recession.
D. The impact of accelerating urbanization.
【答案】D
57. In what sense are humans the ultimate invasive species?
A. They are much greedier than other species.
B. They are a unique species born to conquer.
C. They force other species out of their territories.
D. They have an urge to expand their living space.
【答案】C
58. In what way is urbanization in poor countries good for the environment?
A. More land will be preserved for wildlife.
B. The pressure on farmland will be lessened.
C. Carbon emissions will be considerably reduced.
D. Natural resources will be used more effectively.
【答案】B
59. What does the author say about living comfortably in the city?
A. It incurs a high environmental price.
B. It brings poverty and insecurity to an end.
C. It causes a big change in people’s lifestyle.
D. It narrows the gap between city and country.
【答案】A
60. What can be done to minimize the negative impact of urbanization according to Seto?
A. Slowing down the speed of transition.
B. Innovative use of advanced technology.
C. Appropriate management of the process.
D. Enhancing people’s sense of responsibility.
【答案】C
2015年6月英语六级模拟试题及答案：
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage. Yet with economies in free fail, managers also need up-to-date information about what is happening to their businesses, so that they can change course rapidly if necessary. Cisco, an American network-equipment giant, has invested over many years in the technology needed to generate such data .Frank Caideroni, the firm's CFO, says that every day its senior executives can track exactly what orders are coming in from sales teams around the world, and identify emerging trends in each region and market segment. And at the end of each month, the firm can get reliable financial results within four hours of closing its books. Most firms have to wait days or even weeks for such certainty. Admittedly, Cisco's financial results have not made happy reading recently because, in common with many other large technology companies, it has seen demand for its products decline in the downturn. In early February it announced that its fiscal second-quarter revenues of $ 9.1 billion were 7.5% lower than the same period in 2008 and that its profit had fallen by 27%, to $1.5 billion. In response to hard times, Cisco plans to cut $1 billion of costs this year by, among other things, making use of its own video-conferencing and other communications technologies to reduce the amount its executives travel. It is also using these facilities to relay information from employees on the ground to its senior managers, and to get instructions from Cisco's leaders back out to its 67,000 staff. A rapid exchange of information and instructions is especially valuable if the company wants to alter course in stormy times. If everybody in a company can rapidly grasp what they have to do and how it is changing, they are more likely to get the job done. But some firms are reluctant to share their goals with the wider world. Unilever, a big Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods group, has decided against issuing a 2009 financial forecast to investors, arguing that it is difficult to predict what is going to happen, given the dangerous state of the world economy. "We're not just going to provide numbers for the sake of it," explains James Allison, the company's head of investor relations. Other companies that have decided not to provide annual earnings estimates for 2009 include Costco, a big American retailer, and Union Pacific, an American railway company. Some firms, such as Intel, seem to have chosen to take things quarter by quarter. The giant chipmaker(芯片制造商) said in January that it would not issue an official forecast for the first quarter of 2009 after its fourth-quarter 2008 profit decreased by 90%. Several retail chains have also stopped providing monthly sales estimates because they cannot see what the future holds. Retailers, chipmakers and firms in many other industries may have a long wait before the economic fog finally lifts.
61. What can we learn about Cisco from the passage?
A) It will keep a record of the orders from sales teams.
B) It cuts $1 billion cost by solely relying on its own technologies.
C) Unlike other technology companies, its financial reports are encouraging.
D) Only employees can use the video-conferencing to pass information.
62. According to the author, the staff can perform better by__________.
A) getting instructions from their senior managers
B) seizing what to do at hand and what to do next
C) having a financial forecast as a goal
D) sharing their goals with others
63. What is important in the unstable time ff a company wants to change strategies?
A) To issue company's financial reports faster.
B) To obtain the up-to-date information of company's business.
C) To predict what is going to happen in the future.
D) To wait until the economic fog finally lifts.
64. The reason Unilever plans not to issue financial forecast in 2009 lies in__________.
A) its reluctance to share its goal with others
B) its rapid grasp of changes in the markets
C) the unstable economic situation
D) its reduction in the cost of prediction
65. What can we know about the giant chipmaker, Intel in the passage?
A) It did not issue first-quarter forecast for great decrease in January.
B) Inters chain store used to report sales estimates by year.
C) Only retailers and chipmakers are greatly influenced.
D) Intel's profit was greatly decreased in 2008's last quarter.
答案：
61.A)。
定位 由题干中的Cisco定位到文章第一段第二、三句：Cisco，all American network-equipment giant… its senior executives cart track exactly what orders are coming in from sales teams around the world，and identify emerging trends in each region and market segment. 详解 事实细节题。由定位句可知，思科公司的高级主管每天都会跟踪销售团队的订单，确定各个地区的新的发展趋势，A)符合题意。第三段第一句提到Cisco plans to cut$1 billion of costs this year by，among other things，making use of its own video0-conferencing and other communications technologies.由among other things可知，思科公司减少开支的途径不仅仅是依靠自身的技术，故排除B);第二段第一句提到Cisco’s financial results have not made happy readin9，可见思科公司的'财务报告并不乐观，故排除C);第三段第二 句提到It is also using these facilities…to get instructions from Cisco’s leaders.可见思科公司的领导者们同样可以通过此设备下达指令，故排除D)。
62.B)。
定位 由题干中的the staff can perform better by…定位到文章第四段第一句：If everybody in a company can rapidly grasp what they have to do and how it is changing，they are more likely to get the job done。 详解 推理判断题。由定位句可知，如果公司的每一名员工都可以迅速掌握自己目前和下一步该做的事情，他们就能更容易完成工作，即更好地完成工作，B)符合题意。A)对于公司的发展很重要，但是与员工们的表现无关，故排除;第四段第二句确实提到财务预测和财务目标的论述，但是作者并没有将它们与员工的表现联系起来，故排除C)、D)。
63.B)。
定位 由题干中的a company wants to change strategies定位到文章第三段最后一句：A rapid exchange of information and instructions is especially valuable if the company wants to alter course in stormy times. 详解 事实细节题。由定位句可知，如果公司想在动荡时期改变策略，必须迅速交流信息与指示，也就是获得公司最新的业务信息，B)符合题意。第一段最后提到，思科公司可以比其他公司更快得到财务结果，但作者并未明确表 明这样对改变公司的策略很重要，故排除A);第四段第三句提到it is difficult to predict what is going to happen，可见公司预测将来要发生什么很难，而且文章也未涉及预测与改变策略的关系，故排除C);最后一段最后一句提到industries may have a long wait before the economic fog finally lifts，这里是指各行业所面临的困难境况，并不是让他们不采取任何措施，故排除D)。
64.C)。
定位：由题干中的Unilever plans not to issue financial forecast in 2009定位到文章第四段第三句：Unilever…has decided against issuing a 2009 financial forecast to investors，arguing that it is difficult to predict what is going to happen，given the dangerous state of the world economy. 详解：事实细节题。由定位句可知，联合利华不计划发布其2009年的财务预测的原因是：面临世界经济动荡;的不安局势，一切事情都很难预测。可见他们不发布预测就是因为世界经济不稳定(unstable economic situation)，C)符合题意。第四段第二句提到But some firms are reluctant to their goals with the wider world，然后举出了联合利华的例子，可见后者只是前者的补充说明，不是因果关系，故排除A);由定位句可知，目前很难预测将要发生的事情，因此该公司不能很快掌握市场的变化形势，故排除B);D)在文中未提及。
65.D)。
定位：由题干中的the giant chipmaker，Intel定位到文章最后一段第二句：The giant chip marker(芯片制造商)said in January that it would not issue an official forecast for the first quarter of 2009 after its fourth-quarter 2008 profit decreased by 90%. 详解：事实细节题。由定位句可知，根据大型芯片生产巨头英特尔一月份的声明，2008年第四季度其利润F降了90%，因此该公司不会正式发布其2009年第一季度的预估;可见，该公司2008年最后一个季度的利润大幅下降了.D)符合题意。该公司没有发布2009年第一季度官方预测的原因是2008年最后一季度公司利润下降，并不是因为当月利润的减少，故排除A);该段第三句提到Several retail chains have also stopped providing monthly sales estimates，可见他们原来是按月上交销售预测，并不是按年的，故排除B);最后一句指出Retailers，chipmakers and firms in many other industries may have a long wait…可见除了零售商和芯片制造商外，其他很多行业也受到了影响，故排除C)。
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