2013年12月大学英语六级考试真题(第二套)
I) Indeed, ease of acquisition is the problem. The novelist Edward St Aubyn has a narrator remark of the very rich that, “not having to consider affordability, their desires rambled on like unstoppable bores, relentless (持续不断的) and whimsical（反复无常的）at the same time.” When Boston College, a private research university, wanted a better feel for its potential donors, it asked the psychologist Robert Kenny to investigate the mindset of the super-rich. He surveyed 165 households, most of which had a net worth of $25m or more. He found that many of his subjects were confused by the infinite options their money presented them with. They found it hard to know what to want, creating a kind of existential bafflement. One of them put it like this: “You know, Bob, you can just buy so much stuff, and when you get to the point where you can just buy so much stuff, now what are you going to do?”
J) The internet makes information billionaires out of all of us, and the architects of our online experiences are catching on to the need to make things creatively difficult. Twitter s huge success is rooted in the simple but profound insight that in a medium with infinite space for
self-expression, the most interesting thing we can do is restrict ourselves to 140 characters. The music service This Is My Jam helps people navigate the tens of millions of tracks now available instantly via Spotify and iTunes. Users pick their favourite song of the week to share with others. They only get to choose one. The service was only launched this year, but by the end of
September 650,000 jams had been chosen. Its co-founder Matt Ogle explains its raison d’être (存在的理由) like this: “In an age of endless choice, we were missing a way to say: This. This is the one you should listen to .”
K) Today s world offers more opportunity than ever to follow the advice of the Walker Brothers and make it easy on ourselves. Compared with a hundred years ago, our lives are less tightly bound by social norms and physical constraints. Technology has cut out much of life s
donkeywork, and we have more freedoms than ever: we can wear what we like and communicate with hundreds of friends at once at the click of a mouse. Obstacles are everywhere disappearing. Few of us wish to turn the clock back, but perhaps we need to remind ourselves how useful the right obstacles can be. Sometimes, the best route to fulfilment is the path of more resistance. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
46. The rigorous requirements placed on the writing of poetry stimulate the poet s creativity.
47. With creativity, even old-fashioned instruments may produce spectacular sound effects.
48. More money does not necessarily bring greater happiness.
49. It IS a false assumption that lessons should be made easier to learn.
50. Obstacles deliberately placed in the creation of music contribute to its success.
51. Those who enjoy total freedom may not find themselves happy.
52. Ted Hughes discovered many long poems submitted for poetry competition were composed oncomputers.
53. Maybe we need to bear in bear in mind that the right obstacles help lead us to greater achievements.
54. An investigation found that many of the super-rich were baffled by the infinite choices theirmoney made available.
55. One free social networking website turned out to successful because it limited each posting to one hundred and forty characters.