大学英语六级真题试卷-2005年12月(A卷）/中

 

Passage Three

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

Public distrust of scientists stems in part from the blurring of boundaries between science and technology, between discovery and manufacture. Most government, perhaps all governments, justify public expenditure on scientific research in terms of the economic benefits the scientific enterprise ha brought in the past and will bring in the future. Politicians remind their voters of the splendid machines ‘our scientists’ have invented, the new drugs to relieve old ailments (病痛), and the new surgical equipment and techniques by which previously intractable (难治疗的) conditions may now be treated and lives saved. At the same time, the politicians demand of scientists that they tailor their research to ‘economics needs’, that they award a higher priority to research proposals that are ‘near the market’ and can be translated into the greatest return on investment in the shortest time. Dependent, as they are, on politicians for much of their funding, scientists have little choice but to comply. Like the rest of us, they are members of a society that rates the creation of wealth as the greatest possible good. Many have reservations, but keep them to themselves in what they perceive as a climate hostile to the pursuit of understanding for its own sake and the idea of an inquiring, creative spirit.

In such circumstances no one should be too hard on people who are suspicious of conflicts of interest. When we learn that the distinguished professor assuring us of the safety of a particular product holds a consultancy with the company making it, we cannot be blamed for wondering whether his fee might conceivably cloud his professional judgment. Even if the professor holds no consultancy with any firm, some people many still distrust him because of his association with those who do, or at least wonder about the source of some his research funding.

This attitude can have damaging effects. It questions the integrity of individuals working in a profession that prizes intellectual honesty as the supreme virtue, and plays into the hands of those who would like to discredit scientists by representing then a venal (可以收买的). This makes it easier to dismiss all scientific pronouncements, but especially those made by the scientists who present themselves as ‘experts’. The scientist most likely to understand the safety of a nuclear reactor, for example, is a nuclear engineer declares that a reactor is unsafe, we believe him, because clearly it is not to his advantage to lie about it. If he tells us it is safe, on the other hand, we distrust him, because he may well be protecting the employer who pays his salary.

 

31.   What is the chief concern of most governments when it comes to scientific research?

A) Support from the votes.

B) The reduction of public expenditure.

C) Quick economics returns.

D) The budget for a research project.

32.   Scientist have to adapt their research to ‘economic needs’ in order to ________.

A) impress the public with their achievements

B) pursue knowledge for knowledge’s sake

C) obtain funding from the government

D) translate knowledge into wealth

33.   Why won’t scientists complain about the government’s policy concerning scientific research?

A) They think they work in an environment hostile to the free pursuit of knowledge.

B) They are accustomed to keeping their opinions to themselves.

C) They know it takes patience to win support from the public.

D) They think compliance with government policy is in the interests of the public.

34.   According to the author, people are suspicious of the professional judgment of scientists because ________.

A) their pronouncements often turn out to be wrong

B) sometimes they hide the source of their research funding

C) some of them do not give priority to intellectual honesty

D) they could be influenced by their association with the project concerned

35.   Why does the author say that public distrust of scientists can have damaging effects?

A) It makes things difficult for scientists seeking research funds.

B) People would not believe scientists even when they tell the truth.

C) It may dampen the enthusiasm of scientists for independent research.

D) Scientists themselves may doubt the value of their research findings.

 

Passage Four

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

In many ways, today’s business environment has changed qualitatively since the late 1980s. The end of the Cold War radically altered the very nature of the world’s politics and economics. In just a few short years, globalization has started a variety of trends with profound consequences: the opening of markets, true global competition, widespread deregulation (解除政府对…的控制) of industry, and an abundance of accessible capital. We have experienced both the benefits and risks of a truly global economy, with both Wall Street and Main Street (平民百姓) feeling the pains of economic disorder half a world away.

At the same time, we have fully entered the Information Age, Starting breakthroughs in information technology have irreversibly altered the ability to conduct business unconstrained by the traditional limitations of time or space. Today, it’s almost impossible to imagine a world without intranets, e-mail, and portable computers. With stunning speed, the Internet is profoundly changing the way we work, shop, do business, and communicate.

As a consequence, we have truly entered the Post-Industrial economy. We are rapidly shifting from an economy based on manufacturing and commodities to one that places the greatest value on information, services, support, and distribution. That shift, in turn, place an unprecedented premium on “knowledge workers,” a new class of wealthy, educated, and mobile people who view themselves as free agents in a seller’s market.

Beyond the realm of information technology, the accelerated pace of technological change in virtually every industry has created entirely new business, wiped out others, and produced a Pervasive (广泛的) demand for continuous innovation. New product, process, and distribution technologies provide powerful levers for creating competitive value. More companies are learning the importance of destructive technologies—innovations that hold the potential to make a product line, or even an entire business segment, virtually outdated.

Another major trend has been the fragmentation of consumer and business markets. There’s a growing appreciation that superficially similar groups of customers may have very different preferences in terms of what they want to buy and how they want to buy it. Now, new technology makes it easier, faster, and cheaper to identify and serve targeted micro-markets in ways that were physically impossible or prohibitively expensive in the past. Moreover, the trend feeds on itself, a business’s ability to serve sub-markets fuels customers’ appetites for more and more specialized offerings.

36.   According to the first paragraph, the chances in the business environment in the past decades can be attributed to ________.

A) technological advances

B) worldwide economic disorder

C) the fierce competition in industry

D) the globalization of economy

37.   what idea does the author want to convey in the second paragraph?

A) The rapid development of information technology has taken businessmen by surprise.

B) Information technology has removed the restrictions of time and space in business transactions.

C) The Internet, intranets, e-mail, and portable computers have penetrated every corner of the world.

D) The way we do business today has brought about startling breakthroughs in information technology.

38.   If a business wants to thrive in the Post-Industrial economy, ________.

A) it has to invest more capital in the training of free agents to operate in a seller’s market

B) it should try its best to satisfy the increasing demands of mobile knowledgeable people

C) it should not overlook the importance of information, services, support, and distribution

D) it has to provide each of its employees with the latest information about the changing market

39.   In the author’s view, destructive technologies are innovations which ________.

A) can eliminate an entire business segment

B) demand a radical change in providing services

C) may destroy the potential of a company to make any profit

D) call for continuous improvement in ways of doing business

40.   With the fragmentation of consumer and business markets ________.

A) an increasing number of companies have disintegrated

B) manufacturers must focus on one special product to remain competitive in the market

C) it is physically impossible and prohibitively expensive to do business in the old way

D) businesses have to meet individual customers’ specific needs in order to succeed

 

Part III Vocabulary (20 minutes)

41.   It seems somewhat ________ to expect anyone to drive 3 hours just for a 20-minute meeting.

A) eccentric

B) impossible

C) absurd

D) unique

42.   This area of the park has been specially ________ for children, but accompanying adults are also welcome.

A) inaugurated

B) designated

C) entitled

D) delegated

43.   The girl’s face ________ with embarrassment during the interview when she couldn’t answer the tough question.

A) beamed

B) dazzled

C) radiated

D) flushed

44.   Slavery was ________ in Canada in 1833, and Canadian authorities encouraged the slaves, who escaped from America, to settle on its vast virgin land.

A) diluted

B) dissipated

C) abolished

D) resigned

45.   Unfortunately, the new edition of dictionary is ________ in all major bookshops.

A) out of reach

B) out of stock

C) out of business

D) out of season

46.   The hands on my alarm clock are ________, so I can see what time it is in the dark.

A) exotic

B) gorgeous

C) luminous

D) spectacular

47.   Psychologists have done extensive studies on how well patients ________ with doctors’ orders.

A) comply

B) correspond

C) interfere

D) interact

48.   In today’s class, the students were asked to ________ their mistakes on the exam paper and put in their possible corrections.

A) cancel

B) omit

C) extinguish

D) erase

49.   The Government’s policies will come under close ________ in the weeks before the election.

A) appreciation

B) specification

C) scrutiny

D) apprehension

50.   Police and villagers unanimously ________ the forest fire to thunder and lightning.

A) ascribed

B) approached

C) confirmed

D) confined

51.   In some remote places there are still very poor people who can’t afford to live in ________ conditions.

A) gracious

B) decent

C) honorable

D) positive

52.   Since our knowledge is ________ none of us can exclude the possibility of being wrong.

A) controlled

B) restrained

C) finite

D) delicate

53.   You shouldn’t ________ your father’s instructions. Anyway he is an experienced teacher.

A) deduce

B) deliberate

C) defy

D) denounce

54.   The company management attempted to ________ information that was not favorable to them, but it was all in vain.

A) suppress

B) supplement

C) concentrate

D) plug

55.   It is my hope that everyone in this class should ________ their errors before it is too late.

A) refute

B) exclude

C) expel

D) rectify

56.   The boy’s foolish question ________ his mother who was busy with housework and had no interest in talking.

A) intrigued

B) fascinated

C) irritated

D) stimulated

57.   Millions of people around the world have some type of physical, mental, or emotional ________ that severely limits their abilities to manage their daily activities.

A) scandal

B) misfortune

C) deficit

D) handicap

58.   It is believed that the feeding patterns parents ________ on their children can determine their adolescent and adult eating habits.

A) compel

B) impose

C) evoke

D) necessitate

59.   If the value-added tax were done away with, it would act as a ________ to consumption.

A) progression

B) prime

C) stability

D) stimulus

60.   The bride and groom promised to ________ each other through sickness and health.

A) nourish

B) nominate

C) roster

D) cherish

61.   They’re going to build a big office block on that ________ piece of land.

A) void

B) vacant

C) blank

D) shallow

62.   Without any hesitation, she took off her shoes, ________ up her skirt and splashed across the stream.

A) tucked

B) revolved

C) twisted

D) curled

63.   Very few people could understand his lecture because the subject was very ________.

A) faint

B) obscure

C) gloomy

D) indefinite

64.   Professor Smith explained the movement of light ________ that of water.

A) by analogy with

B) by virtue of

C) in line with

D) in terms of

65.   Tom is bankrupt now. He is desperate because all his efforts ________ failure.

A) tumbled to

B) hinged upon

C) inflicted on

D) culminated in

66.   While fashion is thought of usually ________ clothing, it is important to realize that it covers a much wider domain.

A) in relation to

B) in proportion to

C) by means of

D) on behalf of

67.   The meaning of the sentence is ________; you can interpret it in several ways.

A) skeptical

B) intelligible

C) ambiguous

D) exclusive

68.   Cancer is a group of diseases in which there is uncontrolled and disordered growth of ________ cells.

A) irrelevant

B) inferior

C) controversial

D) abnormal

69.   At that time, the economy was still undergoing a ________, and job offers were hard to get.

A) concession

B) supervision

C) recession

D) deviation

70.   I could hear nothing but the roar of the airplane engines which ________ all other sounds.

A) overturned

B) drowned

C) deafened

D) smoothed