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2012年6月全国大学英语六级考试试卷

PartⅣ Reading Comprehension(Reading in Depth) (25minutes) Section A

Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2 Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.

In face of global warming, much effort has been focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through a variety of strategies. But while much of the research and innovation has concentrated on finding less-polluting energy alternatives, it may be decades before clean technologies like wind and solar meet a significant portion of our energy needs.

In the meantime, the amount of CO2 in the air is rapidly approaching the limits proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “As long as we’re consuming fossil fuels, we’re putting out CO2,”says Klaus Lackner, a geophysicist at Columbia, University” We cannot let the CO2 in the atmosphere rise indefinitely.”

That sense of urgency has increased interest in capturing and storing CO2, which the IPCC says could provide the more than 50% reduction in emissions thought needed to reduce global warming.“We see the potential for capture and storage to play an integral role in reducing emissions,” says Kim Corley, Shell’s senior advisor of CO2 and environmental affairs. That forward thinking strategy is gaining support. The U.S. Department of Energy recently proposed putting $1 billion into a new $2.4 billion coal-burning energy plant. The plant’s carbon-capture technologies would serve as a pilot project for other new coal-burning plants.

But what do you do with the gas once you’ve captured it? One option is to put it to new uses. Dakota Gasification of North Dakota captures CO2 at a plant that converts coal into synthetic natural gas. It then ships the gas 200 miles by pipeline to Canada, where it is pumped underground in oil recovery operations. In the Netherlands, Shell delivers CO2 to farmers who pipe it into their greenhouses, increasing their yield of fruits and vegetables.

However, scientists say that the scale of CO2 emissions will require vast amounts of long-term storage. Some propose storing the CO2 in coal mines or liquid storage in the ocean, Shell favors storing CO2 in deep geological structures such as saline(盐的) formations and exhausted oil and gas fields that exist throughout the world. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

47. What are suggested as renewable and less-polluting energy alternatives?

48. What does the author say is a forward thinking strategy concerning the reduction of CO2 emissions?

49. One way of handing the captured CO2 as suggested by the author is to store it and . 50. Through using CO2, Dutch farmers have been able to . 51. Long-term storage of CO2 is no easy job because of . Section B

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 Answer sheet 2 with a

single line through the centre. Passage One

Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That's partially because it appears people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and exert more effort, to achieve those goals.

What's far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting.

Newspapers relay daily accounts of goal-setting prevalent in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street , yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-trumpeted practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis , and unethical (不道德的)behavior in general.

“Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to exert more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in unethical behaviors,” says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penn’s Wharton School.

“It turns out there’s no economic benefit to just having a goal---you just get a psychological benefit” Schweitzer says. “But in many cases, goals have economic rewards that make them more powerful.”

A prime example Schweitzer and his colleagues cite is the 2004 collapse of energy-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial incentives to motivate salesmen to meet specific revenue goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is the actual trades were not profitable.

Other studies have shown that saddling employees with unrealistic goals can compel them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears imposed a sales quota on its auto repair staff. It prompted employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.

Schweitzer concedes his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that commends the many benefits of goal-setting. Advocates of the practice have taken issue with his team’s use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-prescribed

In a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes:“Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot thrive without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can thrive without goals to provide a sense of purpose.” But Schweitzer contends the “mounting causal evidence” linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help spotlight issues that merit caution and further investigation. “Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects,” he says.

“Goal-setting does help coordinate and motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful oversight, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harm the organization,” Schweitzer says. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

52. What message does the author try to convey about goal-setting? A) Its negative effects have long been neglected. B) The goal increase people’s work efficiency.

C) Its role has been largely underestimated. D) The goals most people set are unrealistic.

53. What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show by citing the example of Enron? A) Setting realistic goals can turn a failing business into success.

B) Businesses are less likely to succeed without setting realistic goals. C) Financial incentives ensure companies meet specific revenue goals. D) Goals with financial rewards have strong motivational power. 54. How did Sears’ goal-setting affect its employees?

A) They were obliged to work more hours to increase their sales. B) They competed with one another to attract more customers. C) They resorted to unethical practice to meet their sales quota. D) They improved their customer service on a companywide basis. 55. What do advocates of goal-setting think of Schweitzer’s research? A) Its findings are not of much practical value. B) It exaggerates the side effects of goal-setting.

C) Its conclusion is not based on solid scientific evidence. D) It runs counter to the existing literature on the subject.

56. What is Schweitzer’s contention against Edwin Locke?

A) The link between goal-setting and harmful behavior deserves further study. B) Goal-setting has become too deep-rooted in corporate culture. C) The positive effects of goal-setting outweigh its negative effects.

D) Studying goal-setting can throw more light on successful business practices. Passage Two

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

For most of the 20th century, Asia asked itself what it could learn from the modern, innovating West. Now the question must be reversed. What can the West’s overly indebted and sluggish (经济滞长的) nations learn from a flourishing Asia? Just a few decades ago, Asia’s two giants were stagnating(停滞不前) under faulty economic ideologies. However, once China began embracing free-market reforms in the 1980s, followed by India in the 1990s, both countries achieved rapid growth. Crucially, as they opened up their markets, they balanced market economy with sensible government direction. As the Indian economist Amartya Sen has wisely said, “The invisible hand of the market has often relied heavily on the visible hand of government.”

Contrast this middle path with America and Europe, which have each gone ideologically over-board in their own ways. Since the 1980s, America has been increasingly clinging to the ideology of uncontrolled free markets and dismissing the role of government---following Ronald Regan’s idea that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. “Of course, when the markets came crashing down in 2007, it was decisive government intervention that saved the day. Despite this fact, many Americans are still strongly opposed to “big government.”

If Americans could only free themselves from their antigovernment doctrine, they would begin to see that the America’s problems are not insoluble. A few sensible federal measures could put the country back on the right path. A simple consumption tax of, say, 5% would significantly reduce the country’s huge government deficit without damaging productivity. A