2012年12月大学英语六级考试真题
Passage One
Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Amid all the job losses, there’s one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans.
From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal bodies in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs.
Automation isn’t just affecting factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that previously was performed by highly-paid human lawyers.
“Robots continue to have an impact on blue-collar jobs, and white-collar jobs are under attack by microprocessors,” says economics professor Edward Leamer. The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs. U.S. gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels, meaning we’re producing as much as before, only with 6% fewer workers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers out there,
with outsourcing (外包) stealing far more jobs than automation.
Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotics Industry Association, argues that robots actually save U.S. jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewer workers, but that’s still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas.
It’s not that robots are cheaper than humans, though often they are. It’s that they’re better. “In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn’t,” Burnstein says.
Same goes for surgeons, who’re using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations—not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications, says Dr. Myriam Curet. Surgeons may survive the robot invasion, but others at the hospital might not be so lucky, as iRobot, maker of the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, has been showing off Ava, which could be used as a messenger in a hospital. And once you’re home, recovering, Ava could let you talk to your doctor, so there’s no need to send someone to your house. That “mobile telepresence” could be useful at the office. If you’re away on a
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trip, you can still attend a meeting. Just connect via videoconferencing software, so your face appears on Ava’s screen.
Is any job safe? I was hoping to say “journalist,” but researchers are already developing software that can gather facts and write a news story. Which means that a few years from now, a robot could be writing this column. And who will read it? Well, there might be a lot of us hanging around with lots of free time on our hands. 注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
52. What do we learn from the first few paragraphs?
A) The over-use of robots has done damage to American economy. B) It is hard for robots to replace humans in highly professional work. C) Artificial intelligence is key to future technological innovations. D) The robotic industry has benefited from the economic recession. 53. What caused the greatest loss of jobs in America? A) Using microprocessors extensively. B) Moving production to other countries. C) The bankruptcy of many companies. D) The invasion of migrant workers.
54. What does Jeff Burnstein say about robots? A) They help companies to revive. B) They are cheaper than humans. C) They prevent job losses in a way. D) They compete with human workers.
55. Why are robotic systems replacing surgeons in more and more operations according to Dr. Myriam Curet? A) They save lots of money for the patients. B) They beat humans in precision.（精确度） C) They take less time to perform a surgery. D) They make operations less painful.
56. What does the author imply about robotics? A) It will greatly enrich literary creation.
B) It will start a new technological revolution. C) It will revolutionize scientific research. D) It will be applied in any field imaginable. Passage Two
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
You’ve now heard it so many times, you can probably repeat it in your sleep. President Obama will no doubt make the point publicly when he
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gets to Beijing: the Chinese need to consume more; they need—believe it or not—to become more like Americans, for the sake of the global economy.
And it’s all true. But the other side of that equation is that the U.S. needs to save more. For the moment, American households actually are doing so. After the personal-savings rate dipped to zero in 2005, the shock of the economic crisis last year prompted people to snap shut their wallets. In China, the household-savings rate exceeds 20%. It is partly for policy reasons. As we’ve seen, wage earners are expected to care for not only their children but their aging parents. And there is, to date, only
the flimsiest (脆弱的) of publicly-funded health care and pension systems, which increases incentives for individuals to save while they are working. But China is a society that has long esteemed personal
financial prudence (谨慎). There is no chance that will change anytime soon, even if the government creates a better social safety net and successfully encourages greater consumer spending.
Why does the U.S. need to learn a little frugality (节俭)？Because healthy savings rates are one of the surest indicators of a country’s long-term financial health. High savings lead, over time, to increased
investment, which in turn generates productivity gains, innovation and job growth. In short, savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest. The U.S. government thus needs to act as well. By running constant deficits, it is dis-saving, even as households save more. Peter Orszag, Obama’s Budget Director, recently called the U.S. budget deficits
unsustainable and he’s right. To date, the U.S. has seemed unable to see the consequences of spending so much more than is taken in. That needs to change. And though Hu Jintao and the rest of the Chinese leadership aren’t inclined to lecture visiting Presidents, he might gently hint that Beijing is getting a little nervous about the value of the dollar—which has fallen 15% since March, in large part because of increasing fears that America’s debt load is becoming unmanageable.
That’s what happens when you’re the world’s biggest creditor: you get to drop hints like that, which would be enough by themselves to create international economic chaos if they were ever leaked. (Every time any official in Beijing deliberates publicly about seeking an alternative to the U.S. dollar for the $2.1 trillion China holds in reserve, currency traders have a heart attack.) If Americans saved more and spent less, consistently over time, they wouldn’t have to worry about all that.
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57. How did the economic crisis affect Americans? A) They had to tighten their belts.
B) Their bank savings rate dropped to zero.
C) Their leadership in the global economy was shaken. D) They became concerned about China’s financial policy.
58. What should be done to encourage Chinese people to consume? A) Changing their traditional way of life. B) Providing fewer incentives for saving. C) Improving China’s social security system. D) Cutting down the expenses on child-rearing.
59. What does the author mean by saying “savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest” (Line 4, Para. 4)?
A) The more one saves, the more returns one will reap. B) A country’s economy hinges on its savings policy.
C) Those who keep saving will live an easy life in the end. D) A healthy savings rate promotes economic prosperity.
60. In what circumstances do currency traders become scared? A) When Beijing allows its currency exchange rates to float. B) When China starts to reduce its current foreign reserves. C) When China talks about switching its dollar reserves to other currencies.
D) When Beijing mentions in public the huge debts America owes China.
61. What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage? A) To urge the American government to cut deficits. B) To encourage Chinese people to spend more.
C) To tell Americans not to worry about their economy.
47. D) To promote understanding between China and America. 【点评】
本文讲述了在全球经济危机的背景下，美国人要向中国人学习勤俭，学会储蓄。为什么
这样做呢？文章中指出良好的储蓄率能够推动经济的繁荣。但即使美国家庭开始储蓄更多，如果政府常年赤字的话，对美国来说还是“反储蓄”的。所以文章的目的是敦促美国政府降低赤字，并在文末再一次强调要坚持向中国学习存多花少， 57. How did the economic crisis affect Americans? They had to tighten their belts.
【解析】细节题。从原文第二段最后一句话“the shock of the economic crisis last year
prompted people to snap shut their wallets”可见，经济危机使得美国民众关紧钱包，即少花钱，也就是答案中tighten their belts（勒紧腰带，节省开支）的意思。所以正确答案为A。 58. What should be done to encourage Chinese people to consume? Improving China’s social security system.
【解析】细节题。从原文中的“even if the government creates a better social safety net and
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successfully encourages greater consumer spending”可见，如要鼓励中国人消费更多，这需要提高社会安全系统。
59. What does the author mean by saying “savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest” (Line 4, Para. 4)?
A healthy savings rate promotes economic prosperity.
【解析】细节题。根据题干提示，定位至第四段最后一句，我们发现这句话是前面几句话的概括，那根据前面“High savings lead, over time, to increased investment, which in turn
generates productivity gains, innovation and job growth.”可知，高储蓄率能够促进投资，进而促进生产率、创新和岗位增长，即促进经济的繁荣。所以正确答案为D。 60. In what circumstances do currency traders become scared?
When Beijing mentions in public the huge debts America owes China.
【解析】细节题。从原文中的“Every time any official in Beijing deliberately publicly about seeking an alternative to the U.S. dollar for the $2.1 trillion China holds in reserve, currency traders have a heart attack.”可知，每当中国政府公开提到美国欠我国的大量债务，货币交易员们就担惊受怕。因为本段一开始提到作为最大的债权国，财政上的漏洞会造成经济的混乱。所以正确答案为D。
61. What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage? To urge the American government to cut deficits.
【解析】主旨题。纵观全文，作者一直在强调美国应该向中国学习勤俭，文中第五段的第一句话“By running constant deficits, it is dis-saving, even as households save more.”也给到我们提示，既然长期运行赤字是不利于储蓄的，那美国政府应该做的是降低赤字。所以正确答案是A。
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