2003年12月英语六级试题及答案_第4页

Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

Early in the age of affluence (富裕) that followed World War 12, an American retailing analyst named Victor Lebow proclaimed, “Our enormously productive economy ... demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption. ... We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever increasing rate.”
Americans have responded to Lebow’s call, and much of the world has followed.
Consumption has become a central pillar of life in industrial lands and is even embedded in social values. Opinion surveys in the world’s two largest economies-Japan and the United Sates -- show consumerist definitions of success becoming ever more prevalent.
Overconsumption by the world’s fortunate is an environmental problem unmatched in severity by anything but perhaps population growth. Their surging exploitation of resources threatens to exhaust or unalterably spoil forests, soils, water, air and climate.
Ironically, high consumption may be a mixed blessing in human terms, too. The time-honored values of integrity of character, good work, friendship, family and community have often been sacrificed in the rush to riches.
Thus many in the industrial lands have a sense that their world of plenty is somehow hollow-that, misled by a consumerist culture, they have been fruitlessly attempting to satisfy what are essentially social, psychological and spiritual needs with material things.
Of course, the opposite of overconsumption-poverty-is no solution to either environmental or human problems. It is infinitely worse for people and bad for the natural world too. Dirpossessed (被剥夺得一无所有的) peasants slash-and-burn their way into the rain forests of Latin America, and hungry nomads (游牧民族) turn their herds out onto fragile African grassland, reducing it to desert.
If environmental destruction results when people have either too little or too much, we are left to wonder how much is enough. What level of consumption can the earth support? When does having more cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction?

38. Why does the author say high consumption is a mixed blessing?
A) Because poverty still exists in an affluent society.
B) Because moral values are sacrificed in pursuit of material satisfaction.
C) Because overconsumption won’t last long due to unrestricted population growth.
D) Because traditional rituals are often neglected in the process of modernization.
39. According to the passage, consumerist culture ________.
A) cannot thrive on a fragile economy
B) will not aggravate environmental problems
C) cannot satisfy human spiritual needs
D) will not alleviate poverty in wealthy countries
40. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A) human spiritual needs should match material affluence
B) there is never an end to satisfying people’s material needs
C) whether high consumption should be encouraged is still an issue
D) how to keep consumption at a reasonable level remains a problem

Part III Vocabulary and Structure (2.0. minutes)
Directions: There are 3.0. incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.
41. I have had my eyes tested and the report says that my _______ is perfect.
A) outlook C) horizon
B) vision D) perspective
42 He was looking admiringly at the photograph published by Collins in _______ with the Imperial Museum.
A) collection C) collaboration
B) connection D) combination
43. In those days, executives expected to spend most of their lives in the same firm and, unless they were dismissed for _______, to retire at the age of 65.
A) integrity C) incompetence
B) denial D) deduction
44. Others viewed the findings with _______, noting that a. cause-and-effect relationship between passive smoking and cancer remains to be shown.
A) optimism C) caution
B) passion D) deliberation
45. The 1986 Challenger space-shuttle _______ was caused by unusually low temperatures immediately before the launch.
A) expedition C) dismay
B) controversy D) disaster
46. When supply exceeds demand for any product, prices are _______ to fall.
A) timely C) subject
B) simultaneous D) liable
47. The music aroused an _______ feeling of homesickness in him.
A) intentional C) intense
B) intermittent D) intrinsic
48. I bought an alarm clock with a(n) _______ dial, which can be seen clearly in the dark.
A) supersonic C) audible
B) luminous D) amplified
49. The results are hardly _______; he cannot believe they are accurate.
A) credible C) critical
B) contrary D) crucial
50. This new laser printer is _______ with all leading software.
A) comparable C) compatible
B) competitive D) cooperative
51. The ball _______ two or three times before rolling down the slope.
A) swayed C) hopped
B) bounced D) darted
52. He raised his eyebrows and stuck his head forward and _______ it in a single nod, a gesture boys .used then for O.K. when they were pleased.
A) shrugged C) jerked
B) tugged D) twisted
53. Many types of rock are _______ from volcanoes as solid, fragmentary material.
A) flung C) ejected
B) propelled D) injected
54. With prices _______ so much, it is difficult for the school to plan a budget.
A) vibrating C) fluttering
B) fluctuating D) swinging
55. The person who _______ this type of approach for doing research deserves our praise.
A) originated C) generated
B) speculated D) manufactured
56. _______ that the demand for power continues to rise at the current rate, it will not be long before traditional sources become inadequate.
A) Concerning C) Assuming
B) Ascertaining D) Regarding
57. Her jewelry _______ under the spotlights and she became the dominant figure at the ball.
A) glared C) blazed
B) glittered D) dazzled
58. Connie was told that if she worked too hard, her health would _______.
A) deteriorate C) descend
B) degrade D) decay
59. We find that some birds _______ twice a year between hot and cold countries.
A) transfer C) migrate
B) commute D) emigrate
60. As visiting scholars, they willingly _______ to the customs of the country they live in.
A) submit C) subject
B) conform D) commit
61. More than 85 percent of French Canada’s population speaks French as a mother tongue and _______ to the Roman Catholic faith.
A) caters C) ascribes
B) adheres D) subscribes
62. The professor found himself constantly _______ the question: “How could anyone do these things?
A) presiding C) pondering
B) poring D) presuming
63. Weeks _______ before anyone was arrested in connection with the bank robbery.
A) terminated C) overlapped
B) elapsed D) expired
64. In order to prevent stress from being set up in the metal, expansion joints are fitted which _______ the stress by allowing the pipe to expand or contract freely.
A) relieve C) reclaim
B) reconcile D) rectify
65. How much of your country’s electrical supply is _______ from water power?
A) deduced C) derived
B) detached D) declined
66. She had recently left a job and had helped herself to copies of the company’s client data, which she intended to _______ in starting her own business.
A) dwell on C) base on
B) come upon D) draw upon
67. The glass vessels should be handled most carefully since they are _______.
A) intricate C) subtle
B) fragile D) crisp
68. Hill slopes are cleared of forests to make way for crops, but this only _______ the crisis.
A) accelerates C) ascends
B) prevails D) precedes
69. He blew out the candle and _______ his way to the door.
A) converged C) strove
B) groped D) wrenched
70. Often such arguments have the effect of _______ rather than clarifying the issues involved.
A) obscuring C) tackling
B) prejudicing D) blocking