2014年上半年大学英语六级考试已经结束了半年多了，马上就要迎来12月20日的考试了。还有时间冲刺，小伙伴不要放弃哟，今天小编为大家搜集了历届英语六级阅读理解真题及答案，精彩不容错过哦!
第一篇：
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.
How good are you at saying "no"? For many, it's surprisingly difficult. This is especially true of editors, who by nature tend to be eager and engaged participants in everything they do. Consider these scenarios:
It's late in the day. That front-page package you've been working on is nearly complete; one last edit and it's finished. Enter the executive editor, who makes a suggestion requiring a more-than-modest rearrangement of the design and the addition of an information box. You want to scream: "No! It's done!" What do you do?
The first rule of saying no to the boss is don't say no. She probably has something in mind when she makes suggestions, and it's up to you to find out what. The second rule is don't raise the stakes by challenging her authority. That issue is already decided. The third rule is to be ready to cite options and consequences. The boss's suggestions might be appropriate, but there are always consequences. She might not know about the pages backing up that need attention, or about the designer who had to go home sick. Tell her she can have what she wants, but explain the consequences. Understand what she's trying to accomplish and propose a Plan B that will make it happen without destroying what you've done so far.
Here's another case. Your least-favorite reporter suggests a dumb story idea. This one should be easy, but it's not. If you say no, even politely, you risk inhibiting further ideas, not just from that reporter, but from others who heard that you turned down the idea. This scenario is common in newsrooms that lack a systematic way to filter story suggestions.
Two steps are necessary. First, you need a system for how stories are proposed and reviewed. Reporters can tolerate rejection of their ideas if they believe they were given a fair hearing. Your gut reaction (本能反应) and dismissive rejection, even of a worthless idea, might not qualify as systematic or fair.
Second, the people you work with need to negotiate a "What if ...?" agreement covering "What if my idea is turned down?" How are people expected to react? Is there an appeal process? Can they refine the idea and resubmit it? By anticipating "What if...?" situations before they happen, you can reach understanding that will help ease you out of confrontations.
47. Instead of directly saying no to your boss, you should find out __________.
48. The author's second warning is that we should avoid running a greater risk by __________.
49. One way of responding to your boss's suggestion is to explain the __________ to her and offer an alternative solution.
50. To ensure fairness to reporters, it is important to set up a system for stories to __________.
51. People who learn to anticipate "What if...?" situations will be able to reach understanding and avoid __________.
参考答案
47. what is in your boss's mind
48. challenging our boss's anthority
49. possible consequences
50. be proposed and reviewed
51. feeling uneasy about the confrontations
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.
At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they're bad. Yet the consensus among most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small net boost to the economy. Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from farm produce to new homes, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. So why is there such a discrepancy between the perception of immigrants' impact on the economy and the reality?
There are a number of familiar theories. Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by an inflow of new workers. Others highlight the strain that undocumented immigrants place on public services, like schools, hospitals, and jails. Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners add to the nation's fears and insecurities. There's some truth to all these explanations, but they aren't quite sufficient.
To get a better understanding of what's going on, consider the way immigration's impact is felt. Though its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley, notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants' low-cost labor are businesses and employers – meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, or agricultural businesses in California. Granted, these producers' savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated. Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor. According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9% between 1980-2000.
Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worried them most, in other words, was the fiscal (财政的)burden of immigration. That conclusion was reinforced by another finding: that their opposition appeared to soften when that fiscal burden decreased, as occurred with welfare reform in the 1990s, which curbed immigrants' access to certain benefits.
The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal. Even for those most acutely affected – say, low-skilled workers, or California residents – the impact isn't all that dramatic. "The unpleasant voices have tended to dominate our perceptions," says Daniel Tichenor, a political science professor at the University of Oregon. "But when all those factors are put together and the economists calculate the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one." Too bad most people don't realize it.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
52. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A) Whether immigrants are good or bad for the economy has been puzzling economists.
B) The American economy used to thrive on immigration but now it's a different story.
C) The consensus among economists is that immigration should not be encouraged.
D) The general public thinks differently from most economists on the impact of immigration.
53. In what way does the author think ordinary Americans benefit from immigration?
A) They can access all kinds of public services.
B) They can get consumer goods at lower prices.
C) They can mix with people of different cultures.
D) They can avoid doing much of the manual labor.
54. Why do native low-skilled workers suffer most from illegal immigration?
A) They have greater difficulty getting welfare support.
B) They are more likely to encounter interracial conflicts.
C) They have a harder time getting a job with decent pay.
D) They are no match for illegal immigrants in labor skills.
55. What is the chief concern of native high-skilled, better-educated employees about the inflow of immigrants?
A) It may change the existing social structure.
B) It may pose a threat to their economic status.
C) It may lead to social instability in the country.
D) It may place a great strain on the state budget.
56. What is the irony about the debate over immigration?
A) Even economists can't reach a consensus about its impact.
B) Those who are opposed to it turn out to benefit most from it.
C) People are making too big a fuss about something of small impact.
D) There is no essential difference between seemingly opposite opinions.
Passage Two
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
Picture a typical MBA lecture theatre twenty years ago. In it the majority of students will have conformed to the standard model of the time: male, middle class and Western. Walk into a class today, however, and you'll get a completely different impression. For a start, you will now see plenty more women – the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, for example, boasts that 40% of its new enrolment is female. You will also see a wide range of ethnic groups and nationals of practically every country.
It might be tempting, therefore, to think that the old barriers have been broken down and equal opportunity achieved. But, increasingly, this apparent diversity is becoming a mask for a new type of conformity. Behind the differences in sex, skin tones and mother tongues, there are common attitudes, expectations and ambitions which risk creating a set of clones among the business leaders of the future.
Diversity, it seems, has not helped to address fundamental weaknesses in business leadership. So what can be done to create more effective managers of the commercial world? According to Valerie Gauthier, associate dean at HEC Paris, the key lies in the process by which MBA programmes recruit their students. At the moment candidates are selected on a fairly narrow set of criteria such as prior academic and career performance, and analytical and problem solving abilities. This is then coupled to a school's picture of what a diverse class should look like, with the result that passport, ethnic origin and sex can all become influencing factors. But schools rarely dig down to find out what really makes an applicant succeed, to create a class which also contains diversity of attitude and approach – arguably the only diversity that, in a business context, really matters.
Professor Gauthier believes schools should not just be selecting candidates from traditional sectors such as banking, consultancy and industry. They should also be seeking individuals who have backgrounds in areas such as political science, the creative arts, history or philosophy, which will allow them to put business decisions into a wider context.
Indeed, there does seem to be a demand for the more rounded leaders such diversity might create. A study by Mannaz, a leadership development company, suggests that, while the bully-boy chief executive of old may not have been eradicated completely, there is a definite shift in emphasis towards less tough styles of management – at least in America and Europe. Perhaps most significant, according to Mannaz, is the increasing interest large companies have in more collaborative management models, such as those prevalent in Scandinavia, which seek to integrate the hard and soft aspects of leadership and encourage delegated responsibility and accountability.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
57. What characterises the business school student population of today?
A) Greater diversity.
B) Intellectual maturity.
C) Exceptional diligence.
D) Higher ambition.
58. What is the author's concern about current business school education?
A) It will arouse students' unrealistic expectations.
B) It will produce business leaders of a uniform style.
C) It focuses on theory rather than on practical skills.
D) It stresses competition rather than cooperation.
59. What aspect of diversity does Valerie Gauthier think is most important?
A) Age and educational background.
B) Social and professional experience.
C) Attitude and approach to business.
D) Ethnic origin and gender.
60. What applicants does the author think MBA programmes should consider recruiting?
A) Applicants with prior experience in business companies.
B) Applicants with sound knowledge in math and statistics.
C) Applicants from outside the traditional sectors.
D) Applicants from less developed regions and areas.
61. What does Mannaz say about the current management style?
A) It is eradicating the tough aspects of management.
B) It encourages male and female executives to work side by side.
C) It adopts the bully-boy chief executive model.
D) It is shifting towards more collaborative models.
参考答案
SECTION B
PASSAGE 1
52. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
D) The general public thinks differently from most economists on the impact of immigration.
53. In what way does the author think ordinary Americans benefits from immigration?
B) They can get consumer goods at lower prices.
54. Why do native low-skilled workers suffer most from illegal immigration?
C) They have a harder time getting a job with decent pay.
55. What is the chief concern of native high-skilled, better-educated employees about the inflow of immigrants?
D) It may place great strain on the state budget.
56. What is the irony about the debate over immigration?
C) People are making too big a fuss about something of small impact.
PASSAGE 2
57. What characterizes the business school student population of today?
A) Greater diversity.
58. What is the author's concern about current business school education?
B) It will produce business leaders of a uniform style.
59. What aspect of diversity does Valerie Gauthier think is most important?
C) Attitude and approach to business.
第二篇：
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.
Leadership is the most significant word in today's competitive business environment because it directs the manager of a business to focus inward on their personal capabilities and style. Experts on leadership will quickly point out that "how things get done" influences the success of the outcomes and indicates a right way and a wrong way to do things. When a noted leader on the art of management, Peter Drucker, coined the phrase "Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things," he was seeking to clarify the distinctions he associates with the terms.
When Stephen Covey, founder and director of the Leadership Institute, explored leadership styles in the past decade, he focused on the habits of a great number of highly effective individuals. His Seven Habits of Highly Effective People became a popular bestseller very quickly. His ideas forced a reexamination of the early leadership paradigm (范例), which he observed centered on traits found in the character ethic and the personality ethic. The former ethic suggested success was founded on integrity, modesty, loyalty, courage, patience, and so forth. The personality ethic suggested it was one's attitude, not behavior, that inspired success, and this ethic was founded on a belief of positive mental attitude. In contrast to each of these ideas, Covey advocates that leaders need to understand universal principles of effectiveness, and he highlights how vital it is for leaders to first personally manage themselves if they are to enjoy any hope of outstanding success in their work environments. To achieve a desired vision for your business, it is vital that you have a personal vision of where you are headed and what you value. Business leadership means that managers need to "put first things first," which implies that before leading others, you need to be clear on your own values, abilities, and strengths and be seen as trustworthy.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
47. To be good leaders, managers must pay close attention to their own _____.
48. According to Peter Drucker, leaders should be good at _____.
49. The personality ethic suggests that people are likely to succeed if they have _____.
50. According to Stephen Covey, leaders who hope to achieve outstanding success need first of all to _____.
51. Good leadership requires one to know one's own strengths and be able to win people's _____.
参考答案
47. values, abilities and strengths
48. doing the right things
49. positive mental attitude
50. manage themselves
51. trust
60. What applicants does the author think MBA programmes should consider recruiting?
C) Applicants from outside the traditional sectors.
61. What does Mannaz say about the current management style?
D) It is shifting towards more collaborative models.
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.
What's the one word of advice a well-meaning professional would give to a recent college graduate? China"} India! Brazil! How about trade!
When the Commerce Department reported last week that the trade deficit in June approached $50 billion, it set off a new round of economic doomsaying. Imports, which soared to $200.3 billion in the month, are subtracted in the calculation of gross domestic product. The larger the trade deficit, the smaller the GDP. Should such imbalances continue, pessimists say, they could contribute to slower growth.
But there's another way of looking at the trade data. Over the past two years, the figures on imports and exports seem not to signal a double-dip recession – a renewed decline in the broad level of economic activity in the United States – but an economic expansion.
The rising volume of trade – more goods and services shuttling in and out of the United States – is good news for many sectors. Companies engaged in shipping, trucking, rail freight, delivery,
and logistics (物流) have all been reporting better than expected results. The rising numbers sig¬nify growing vitality in foreign markets – when we import more stuff, it puts more cash in the hands of people around the world, and U.S. exports are rising because more foreigners have the ability to buy the things we produce and market. The rising tide of trade is also good news for people who work in trade-sensitive businesses, especially those that produce commodities for which global demand sets the price – agricultural goods, mining, metals, oil.
And while exports always seem to lag, U.S. companies are becoming more involved in the global economy with each passing month. General Motors sells as many cars in China as in America each month. While that may not do much for imports, it does help GM's balance sheet – and hence makes the jobs of U.S.-based executives more stable.
One great challenge for the U.S. economy is slack domestic consumer demand. Americans are
paying down debt, saving more, and spending more carefully. That's to be expected, given what we've been through. But there's a bigger challenge. Can U.S.-based businesses, large and small, figure out how to get a piece of growing global demand? Unless you want to pick up and move to India, or Brazil, or China, the best way to do that is through trade. It may seem obvious, but it's no longer enough simply to do business with our friends and neighbors here at home.
Companies and individuals who don't have a strategy to export more, or to get more involved in foreign markets, or to play a role in global trade, are shutting themselves out of the lion's share of economic opportunity in our world.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
52. How do pessimists interpret the U.S. trade deficit in June?
A) It reflects Americans' preference for imported goods.
B) It signifies a change in American economic structure.
C) It is the result of America's growing focus on domestic market.
D) It could lead to slower growth of the national economy.
53. What does the author say about the trade data of the past two years?
A) It indicates that economic activities in the U.S. have increased.
B) It shows that U.S. economy is slipping further into recession.
C) It signals decreasing domestic demand for goods and services.
D) It reflects the fluctuations in the international market.
54. Who particularly benefit from the rising volume of trade?
A) People who have expertise in international trade.
B) Consumers who favor imported goods and services.
C) Producers of agricultural goods and raw materials.
D) Retailers dealing in foreign goods and services.
55. What is one of the challenges facing the American economy?
A) Competition from overseas.
B) People's reluctance to spend.
C) Slack trade activities.
D) Decreasing productivity.
56. What is the author's advice to U.S. companies and individuals?
A) To import more cheap goods from developing countries.
B) To move their companies to where labor is cheaper.
C) To increase their market share overseas.
D) To be alert to fluctuations in foreign markets.
Passage Two
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
A recurring criticism of the UK's university sector is its perceived weakness in translating new knowledge into new products and services.
Recently, the UK National Stem Cell Network warned the UK could lose its place among the world leaders in stem cell research unless adequate funding and legislation could be assured. We should take this concern seriously as universities are key in the national innovation system.
However, we do have to challenge the unthinking complaint that the sector does not do enough in taking ideas to market. The most recent comparative data on the performance of universities and research institutions in Australia, Canada, USA and UK shows that, from a relatively weak startingposition, the UK now leads on many indicators of commercialisation activity.
When viewed at the national level, the policy interventions of the past decade have helpedtransform the performance of UK universities. Evidence suggests the UK's position is much stronger than in the recent past and is still showing improvement. But national data masks the very largevariation in the performance of individual universities. The evidence shows that a large number ofuniversities have fallen off the back of the pack, a few perform strongly and the rest chase theleaders.
This type of uneven distribution is not peculiar to the UK and is mirrored across other economies. In the UK, research is concentrated: less than 25% of universities receive 75% of the research funding. These same universities are also the institutions producing the greatest share of PhD graduates, science citations, patents and licence income. The effect of policies generating long-term resource concentration has also created a distinctive set of universities which are research-led and commercially active. It seems clear that the concentration of research and commercialisation work creates differences between universities.
The core objective for universities which are research-led must be to maximise the impact oftheir research efforts. These universities should be generating the widest range of social, economic and environmental benefits. In return for the scale of investment, they should share their expertise in order to build greater confidence in the sector.
Part of the economic recovery of the UK will be driven by the next generation of research commercialisation spilling out of our universities. There are three dozen universities in the UKwhich are actively engaged in advanced research training and commercialisation work.
If there was a greater coordination of technology transfer offices within regions and a simultaneous investment in the scale and functions of our graduate schools, universities could, and should, play a key role in positioning the UK for the next growth cycle.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
57. What does the author think of UK universities in terms of commercialisation?
A) They fail to convert knowledge into money.
B) They do not regard it as their responsibility.
C) They still have a place among the world leaders.
D) They have lost their leading position in many ways.
58. What does the author say about the national data on UK universities' performance in commercialisation?
A) It masks the fatal weaknesses of government policy.
B) It does not rank UK universities in a scientific way.
C) It does not reflect the differences among universities.
D) It indicates their ineffective use of government resources.
59. We can infer from Paragraph 5 that "policy interventions" (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to _____.
A) government aid to non-research-oriented universities
B) compulsory cooperation between universities and industries
C) fair distribution of funding for universities and research institutions
D) concentration of resources in a limited number of universities
60. What does the author suggest research-led universities do?
A) Publicise their research to win international recognition.
B) Fully utilise their research to benefit all sectors of society.
C) Generously share their facilities with those short of funds.
D) Spread their influence among top research institutions.
61. How can the university sector play a key role in the UK's economic growth?
A) By establishing more regional technology transfer offices.
B) By asking the government to invest in technology transfer research.
C) By promoting technology transfer and graduate school education.
D) By increasing the efficiency of technology transfer agencies.
参考答案
Section B
Passage One
53. A
54. C
55. C
56. B .
Passage Two
57. A.
58. B.
59. A.
60. A.
61. C.
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