2016年下半年英语六级考试真题试卷及答案和解析_第7页

　　七、Section C 仔细阅读

　　Section C

　　Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions orunfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A. , B. , C. and D.. Youshould decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer sheet with asingle line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

　　Manufacturers of products that claim to be environmentally friendly will face tighter rules onhow they are advertised to consumers under changes proposed by the Federal TradeCommission.

　　The commission's revised "Green Guides" warn marketers against using labels that make broadclaims, like "eco-friendly". Marketers must qualify their claims on the product packaging andlimit them to a specific benefit, such as how much of the product is recycled.

　　"This is really about trying to cut through the confusion that consumers have when they arebuying a product and that businesses have when they are selling a product," said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the commission.

　　The revisions come at a time when green marketing is on the rise. According to a new study, the number of advertisements with green messages in mainstream magazines has risen since1987, and peaked in 2008 at 10.4%. In 2009, the number dropped to 9%.

　　But while the number of advertisements may have dipped, there has been a rapid spread ofecolabeling. There are both good and bad players in the eco-labeling game.

　　In the last five years or so, there has been an explosion of green claims and environmentalclaims. It is clear that consumers don't always know what they are getting.

　　A handful of lawsuits have been filed in recent years against companies accused of usingmisleading environmental labels. In 2008 and 2009, class-action lawsuits (集体诉讼) were filedagainst SC Johnson for using "Greenlist" labels on its cleaning products. The lawsuits said thatthe label was misleading because it gave the impression that the products had been certifiedby a third party when the certification was the company's own.

　　"We are very proud of our accomplishments under the Greenlist system and we believe that wewill prevail in these cases," Christopher Beard, director of public affairs for SC Johnson, said, while acknowledging that "this has been an area that is difficult to navigate."

　　Companies have also taken it upon themselves to contest each other's green claims.

　　David Mallen, associate director of the Council of Better Business Bureau, said in the last twoyears the organization had seen an increase in the number of claims companies were bringingagainst each other for false or misleading environmental product claims.

　　"About once a week, I have a client that will bring up a new certification I've never even heardof and I'm in this industry, said Kevin Wilhelm, chief executive officer of Sustainable BusinessConsulting. "It's kind of a Wild West, anybody can claim themselves to be green." Mr. Wilhelmsaid the excess of labels made it difficult for businesses and consumers to know which labelsthey should pay attention to.

　　46. What do the revised "Green Guides" require businesses to do?

　　A) Manufacture as many green products as possible.

　　B) Indicate whether their products are recyclable.

　　C) Specify in what way their products are green.

　　D) Attach green labels to all of their products.

　　47. What does the author say about consumers facing an explosion of green claims?

　　A) They can easily see through the businesses' tricks.

　　B) They have to spend lots of time choosing products.

　　C) They have doubt about current green certification.

　　D) They are not clear which products are truly green.

　　48. What was SC Johnson accused of in the class-action lawsuits?

　　A) It gave consumers the impression that all its products were truly green.

　　B) It gave a third party the authority to label its products as environmentally friendly.

　　C) It misled consumers to believe that its products had been certified by a third party.

　　D) It sold cleaning products that were not included in the official "Greenlist".

　　49. How did Christopher Beard defend his company's labeling practice?

　　A) There were no clear guidelines concerning green labeling.

　　B) His company's products had been well received by the public.

　　C) It was in conformity to the prevailing practice in the market.

　　D) No law required the involvement of a third party in certification.

　　50. What does Kevin Wilhelm imply by saying "It's kind of a Wild West" (Line 3，Para. 11)?

　　A) Businesses compete to produce green products.

　　B) Each business acts its own way in green labeling.

　　C) Consumers grow wild with products labeled green.

　　D) Anything produced in the West can be labeled green.

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

　　America's education system has become less a ladder of opportunity than a structure totransmit inequality from one generation to the next.

　　That's why school reform is so critical. This is an issue of equality, opportunity and nationalconscience. It's not just about education, but about poverty and justice.

　　It's true that the main reason inner-city schools do poorly isn't teachers' unions, but poverty. Southern states without strong teachers' ，unions have schools at least as awful as those inunion states. Some Chicago teachers seem to think that they shouldn't be held accountableuntil poverty is solved. There're steps we can take that would make some difference, andMayor Rahm Emanuel is trying some of them—yet the union is resisting.

　　I'd be sympathetic if the union focused solely on higher compensation. Teachers need to bemuch better paid to attract the best college graduates to the nation's worst schools. But, instead, the Chicago union seems to be using its political capital primarily to protect weakperformers.

　　There's solid evidence that there are huge differences in the effectiveness of teachers. The goldstandard study by Harvard and Columbia University scholars found that even in high-povertyschools, teachers consistently had a huge positive or negative impact.

　　Get a bottom 1% teacher, and the effect is the same as if a child misses 40% of the schoolyear. Get a teacher from the top 20%, and it's as if a child has gone to school for an extramonth or two.

　　The study found that strong teachers in the fourth through eighth grades raised the skills oftheir students in ways that would last for decades. Just having a strong teacher for oneelementary year left pupils a bit less likely to become mothers as teenagers, a bit more likelyto go to college and earning more money at age 28.

　　How does one figure out who is a weak teacher? Yes, that's a challenge. But researchers areimproving systems to measure a teacher's performance throughout the year, and, with threeyears of data, ifs usually possible to tell which teachers are failing.

　　Unfortunately, the union in Chicago is insisting that teachers who are laid off—often for beingineffective—should get priority in new hiring. That's an insult to students.

　　Teaching is so important that it should be like other professions, with high pay and goodworking conditions but few job protections for bottom performers.

　　This isn't a battle between garment workers and greedy bosses. The central figures in theChicago schools strike are neither strikers nor managers but 350,000 children. Protecting theunion demand sacrifices those students, in effect turning a blind eye to the injustice in theeducation system.

　　51. What do we learn about America's education system?

　　A) It provides a ladder of opportunity for the wealthy.

　　B) It contributes little to the elimination of inequality.

　　C) It has remained basically unchanged for generations.

　　D) It has brought up generations of responsible citizens.

　　52. What is chiefly responsible for the undesirable performance of inner-city schools?

　　A) Unqualified teachers. C) Unfavorable learning environment.

　　B) Lack of financial resources. D) Subconscious racial discrimination.

　　53. What does the author think the union should do to win popular support?

　　A) Assist the city government in reforming schools. C) Demand higher pay for teachers.

　　B) Give constructive advice to inner-city schools. D) Help teachers improve teaching.

　　54. What is the finding of the gold standard study by Harvard and Columbia Universityscholars?

　　A) Many inner-city school teachers are not equal to their jobs.

　　B) A large proportion of inner-city children often miss classes.

　　C) Many students are dissatisfied with their teachers.

　　D) Student performance has a lot to do with teachers.

　　55. Why does the author say the Chicago unions demand is an insult to students?

　　A) It protects incompetent teachers at the expense of students.

　　B) It underestimates students, ability to tell good teachers from poor ones.

　　C) It makes students feel that they are discriminated against in many ways.

　　D) It totally ignores students，initiative in the learning process.