2003年12月大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷(2)Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)Directions: There are four 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 centre. Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following
passage. For years, doctors advised their patients
that the only thing taking multivitamins does is give them extensive urine (尿). After all, true vitamin deficiencies are practically unheard of
in industrialized countries. Now it seems those doctors may have been wrong.
The results of a growing number of studies suggest that even a modest vitamin
shortfall can be harmful to your health. Although proof of the benefits of
multivitamins is still far from certain, the few dollars you spend on them is
probably a good investment. Or at least that’s the argument put forward in the New England Journal of Medicine. Ideally, say Dr. Walter Willett and Dr. Meir Stampfer of Harvard, all vitamin supplements would be evaluated in scientifically rigorous clinical trials. But those studies can take a long time and
often raise more questions than they answer. At some point, while researchers
work on figuring out where the truth lies, it just makes sense to say the
potential benefit outweighs the cost. The best evidence to date concerns folate,
one of the B vitamins. It’s been proved to limit the number of defects in embryos (胚胎), and a recent trial found that folate in combination with vitamin
B 12 and a form of B6 also decreases the re-blockage of arteries after surgical
repair. The news on vitamin E has been more mixed.
Healthy folks who take 400 international units daily for at least two years
appear somewhat less likely to develop heart disease. But when doctors give
vitamin E to patients who already have he art disease, the vitamin doesn’t seem
to help. It may turn out that vitamin E plays a role in prevention but cannot
undo serious damage. Despite vitamin C’s great popularity,
consuming large amounts of it still has not been positively linked to any great
benefit. The body quickly becomes saturated with C and simply excretes (排泄) any excess. The multivitamins question boils down to this: Do you need to wait until all the evidence is in before you take them, or are you willing to accept that there’s enough evidence that they don’t hurt and could help? If the latter, there’s no need to go to
extremes and buy the biggest horse pills or the most expensive bottles. Large
doses can cause trouble, including excessive bleeding and nervous system
problems. Multivitamins are no substitute for exercise and a balanced diet, of course. As long as you understand that any potential
benefit is modest and subject to further refinement, taking a daily
multivitamin makes a lot of sense. 21. At
one time doctors discouraged taking multivitamins because they believed that
multivitamins ________. A) could not easily be absorbed by the human body B) were potentially harmful to people’s
health C) were too expensive for daily consumption D) could not provide any cure for vitamin deficiencies 22. According
to the author, clinical trials of vitamin supplements ________. A) often result in misleading conclusions B) take time and will not produce
conclusive results C) should be conducted by scientists on a larger scale D) appear to be a sheer waste of time and resources 23. It
has been found that vitamin E ________. A) should be taken by patients regularly
and persistently B) can effectively reduce the recurrence
of heart disease C) has a preventive but not curative
effect on heart disease D) should be given to patients with heart
disease as early as possible 24. It
can be seen that large doses of multivitamins ________. A) may bring about serious side effects B) may help prevent excessive bleeding C) are likely to induce the blockage of arteries D) are advisable for those with vitamin deficiencies 25. The
author concludes the passage with the advice that ________. A) the benefit of daily multivitamin
intake outweighs that of exercise and a balanced diet B) it’s risky to take multivitamins
without knowing their specific function C) the potential benefit of multivitamins
can never be overestimated D) it’s reasonable to take a rational
dose of multivitamins daily Passage TwoQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following
passage. Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge (剧增) of women in the workforce may portend a rejection of marriage.
Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse (反面) of this concern is that the
prospects of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriages. In
the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the
marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more
attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to
postpone marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or
are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy rebounds, the number of
marriages also rises. Coincident with the increase in women working
outside the home is the increase in divorce rates. Yet, it may be wrong to jump
to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wife’s work on
divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The
realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a
working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the
reverse is equally plausible. Tensions grounded in financial problems often
play a key role in ending a marriage. Given high unemployment, inflationary
problems, and slow growth in real earnings, a working wife can increase
household income and relieve some of these pressing financial burdens. By
raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s
financial and emotional stability. Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find
fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to
create a stronger and more stable union. Also, a major part of women’s inequality in
marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the
main breadwinners. With higher earning capacity and status occupations outside
of the home comes the capacity to exercise power within the family. A working
wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the
couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal
partnership or it could create new insecurities. 26. The
word “portend” (Line 2, Para. 1) is closest in meaning to “________”. A) defy B) signal C) suffer from D) result from 27. It
is said in the passage that when the economy slides, ________. A) men would choose working women as
their marriage partners B) more women would get married to seek
financial security C) even working women would worry about
their marriages D) more people would prefer to remain
single for the time being 28. If
women find fulfillment through work outside the home, ________. A) they are more likely to dominate their
marriage partners B) their husbands are expected to do more
housework C) their marriage ties can be
strengthened D) they tend to put their career before
marriage 29. One
reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that ________. A) they feel that they have been robbed
of their freedom B) they are afraid of being bossed around
by their husbands C) they feel that their partners fail to
live up to their expectations D) they tend to suspect their husbands’
loyalty to their marriage 30. Which
of the following statements can best summarize the author’s view in the
passage? A) The stability of marriage and the
divorce rate may reflect the economic situation of the country. B) Even when economically independent,
most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage. C) In order to secure their marriage
women should work outside the home and remain independent. D) The impact of the growing female
workforce on marriage varies from case to case. Passage ThreeQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following
passage. For most thinkers since the Greek
philosophers, it was self-evident that the re is something called human nature,
something that constitutes the essence of man. There were various views about
what constitutes it, but there was agreement that such an essence exists—that
is to say, that there is something by virtue of which man is man. Thus man was
defined as a rational being, as a social animal, an animal that can make tools,
or a symbol-making animal. More recently, this traditional view has
begun to be questioned. One reason for this change was the increasing emphasis
given to the historical approach to man. An examination of the history of
humanity suggested that man in our epoch is so different from man in previous
times that it seemed unrealistic to assume that men in every age have had in
common something that can be called “human nature.” The historical approach was
reinforced, particularly in the Another reason for skepticism about the concept of human nature probably lies in the influence of evolutionary thinking. Once man came to be seen as developing in the process of evolution, the idea of a substance which is contained in his essence seemed untenable. Yet I believe it is precisely from an evolutionary standpoint that we can expect new insight into the problem of the nature of man. 31. The
traditional view of “human nature” was strongly challenged by ________. A) the emergence of the evolutionary theory B) the historical approach to man C) new insight into human behavior D) the philosophical analysis of slavery 32. According to the passage, anthropologists believe that human beings ________. A) have some traits in common B) are born with diverse cultures C) are born without a fixed nature D) change their characters as they grow up 33. The author mentioned Aristotle, a great ancient thinker, in order to ________. A) emphasize that he contributed a lot to
defining the concept of “human nature” B) show that the concept of “human
nature” was used to justify social evils C) prove that he had a profound influence
on the concept of “human nature” D) support the idea that some human
traits are acquired 34. The word “untenable” (Line 3) in the last paragraph of the passage most probably means ________. A) invaluable B) imaginable C) changeable D) indefensible 35. Most philosophers believed that human nature ________. A) is the quality distinguishing man from
other animals B) consists of competitiveness and
selfishness C) is something partly innate and partly
acquired D) consists of rationality and
undesirable behavior Passage FourQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following
passage. Richard Satava, program manager for advanced
medical technologies, has been a driving force in bringing virtual reality to
medicine, where computers create a “virtual” or simulated environment for
surgeons and other medical practitioners (从业者). “With virtual reality we’ll be able to put a
surgeon in every trench,” said Satava. He envisaged a time when soldiers who
are wounded fighting overseas are put in mobile surgical units equipped with
computers. The computers would transmit images of the soldiers to surgeons back in the U.S. The surgeons would look at the soldier through virtual reality helmets (头盔) that contain a small screen displaying the image of the wound. The doctors would guide robotic instruments in the battlefield mobile surgical unit that operate on the soldier. Although Satava’s vision may be years away
from standard operating procedure, scientists are progressing toward virtual
reality surgery. Engineers at an international organization in These technological wonders may not yet be
part of the community hospital setting but increasingly some of the machinery
is finding its way into civilian medicine. At During these procedures—operations that are
done through small cuts in the body in which a miniature camera and surgical
tools are maneuvered—surgeons are wearing 3-D glasses for a better view. And
they are commanding robot surgeons to cut away tissue more accurately than
human surgeons can. Satava says, “We are in the midst of a
fundamental change in the field of medicine.” 36. According
to Richard Satava, the application of virtual reality to medicine ________. A) will enable surgeons to be physically
present on every battlefield B) can raise the spirits of soldiers
wounded on the battlefield C) will greatly improve medical
conditions on the battlefield D) can shorten the time for operations on
soldiers wounded on the battlefield 37. Richard Satava has visions of ________. A) using a remote-control technique to treat wounded soldiers fighting overseas B) wounded soldiers being saved by
doctors wearing virtual reality helmets on the battlefield C) wounded soldiers being operated on by
specially trained surgeons D) setting up mobile surgical units
overseas 38. How
is virtual reality surgery performed? A) It is performed by a computer-designed
high precision device. B) Surgeons wear virtual reality helmets
to receive feedback provided by a computer. C) Surgeons move robotic instruments by means of a computer linked to them. D) A 3-D image records the movements of the surgeons during the operation. 39. During
virtual reality operations, the surgeon can have a better view of the cuts in
the body because ________. A) he is looking at the cuts on a computer screen B) the cuts can be examined from
different angles C) the cuts have been highly magnified D) he is wearing 3-D glasses 40. Virtual reality operations are an improvement on conventional surgery in that they ________. A) cause less pain to the wounded B) allow the patient to recover more
quickly C) will make human surgeons’ work less tedious D) are done by robot surgeons with greater precision |