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2017年6月大学英语六级真题
Part Ⅰ Writing (30 minutes)
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled The Certificate Craze. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below.
1．现在许多人热衷于各类证书考试
2．其目的各不相同
3．在我看来……
The Certificate Craze
注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上。
Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sen tences with the information given in the passage.
Minority Report
American universities are accepting more minorities than ever. Graduating them is another matter.
Barry Mills, the president of Bowdoin College, was justifiably proud of Bowdoin"s efforts to recruit minority students. Since 2003 the small, elite liberal arts school in Brunswick, Maine, has boosted the proportion of so-called under-represented minority students in entering freshman classes from 8% to 13%. "It is our responsibility to reach out and attract students to come to our kinds of places," he told a NEWSWEEK reporter. But Bowdoin has not done quite as well when it comes to actually graduating minorities. While 9 out of 10 white students routinely get their diplomas within six years, only 7 out of 10 black students made it to graduation day in several recent classes.
"If you look at who enters college, it now looks like America," says Hilary Pennington, director of postsecondary programs for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has closely studied enrollment patterns in higher education. "But if you look at who walks across the stage for a diploma, it"s still largely the white, upper-income population."
The United States once had the highest graduation rate of any nation. Now it stands 10th. For the first time in American history, there is the risk that the rising generation will be less well educated than the previous one. The graduation rate among 25- to 34-year-olds is no better than the rate for the 55- to 64-year-olds who were going to college more than 30 years ago. Studies show that more and more poor and non-white students want to graduate from college – but their graduation rates fall far short of their dreams. The graduation rates for blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans lag far behind the graduation rates for whites and Asians. As the minority population grows in the United States, low college graduation rates become a threat to national prosperity.
The problem is pronounced at public universities. In 2007 the University of Wisconsin-Madison – one of the top five or so prestigious public universities – graduated 81% of its white students within six years, but only 56% of its blacks. At less-selective state schools, the numbers get worse. During the same time frame, the University of Northern Iowa graduated 67% of its white students, but only 39% of its blacks. Community colleges have low graduation rates generally – but rock-bottom rates for minorities. A recent review of California community colleges found that while a third of the Asian students picked up their degrees, only 15% of African-Americans did so as well.
Private colleges and universities generally do better, partly because they offer smaller classes and more personal attention. But when it comes to a significant graduation gap, Bowdoin has company. Nearby Colby College logged an 18-point difference between white and black graduates in 2007 and 25 points in 2006. Middlebury College in Vermont, another top school, had a 19-point gap in 2007 and a 22-point gap in 2006. The most selective private schools – Harvard, Yale, and Princeton – show almost no gap between black and white graduation rates. But that may have more to do with their ability to select the best students. According to data gathered by Harvard Law School professor Lani Guinier, the most selective schools are more likely to choose blacks who have at least one immigrant parent from Africa or the Caribbean than black students who are descendants of American slaves.
"Higher education has been able to duck this issue for years, particularly the more selective schools, by saying the responsibility is on the individual student," says Pennington of the Gates Foundation. "If they fail, it"s their fault." Some critics blame affirmative action – students admitted with lower test scores and grades from shaky high schools often struggle at elite schools. But a bigger problem may be that poor high schools often send their students to colleges for which they are "undermatched": they could get into more elite, richer schools, but instead go to community colleges and low-rated state schools that lack the resources to help them. Some schools out for profit cynically increase tuitions and count on student loans and federal aid to foot the bill – knowing full well that the students won"t make it. "The school keeps the money, but the kid leaves with loads of debt and no degree and no ability to get a better job. Colleges are not holding up their end," says Amy Wilkins of the Education Trust.
A college education is getting ever more expensive. Since 1982 tuitions have been rising at roughly twice the rate of inflation. In 2008 the net cost of attending a four-year public university – after financial aid – equaled 28% of median (中间的)family income, while a four-year private university cost 76% of median family income. More and more scholarships are based on merit, not need. Poorer students are not always the best-informed consumers. Often they wind up deeply in debt or simply unable to pay after a year or two and must drop out.
There once was a time when universities took pride in their dropout rates. Professors would begin the year by saying, "Look to the right and look to the left. One of you is not going to be here by the end of the year." But such a Darwinian spirit is beginning to give way as at least a few colleges face up to the graduation gap. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the gap has been roughly halved over the last three years. The university has poured resources into peer counseling to help students from inner-city schools adjust to the rigor (严格要求)and faster pace of a university classroom –and also to help minority students overcome the stereotype that they are less qualified. Wisconsin has a "laserlike focus" on building up student skills in the first three months, according to viceprovost (教务长)Damon Williams.
State and federal governments could sharpen that focus everywhere by broadly publishing minority graduation rates. For years private colleges such as Princeton and MIT have had success bringing minorities onto campus in the summer before freshman year to give them some prepara tory courses. The newer trend is to start recruiting poor and non-white students as early as the seventh grade, using innovative tools to identify kids with sophisticated verbal skills. Such pro grams can be expensive, of course, but cheap compared with the millions already invested in scholarships and grants for kids who have little chance to graduate without special support.
With effort and money, the graduation gap can be closed. Washington and Lee is a small, selective school in Lexington, Va. Its student body is less than 5% black and less than 2% Latino. While the school usually graduated about 90% of its whites, the graduation rate of its blacks and Latinos had dipped to 63% by 2007. "We went through a dramatic shift," says Dawn Watkins, the vice president for student affairs. The school aggressively pushed mentoring (辅导) of minorities by other students and "partnering" with parents at a special pre-enrollment session. The school had its first-ever black homecoming. Last spring the school graduated the same proportion of minorities as it did whites. If the United States wants to keep up in the global economic race, it will have to pay systematic attention to graduating minorities, not just enrolling them.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。
1. What is the author"s main concern about American higher education?
A) The small proportion of minority students.
B) The low graduation rates of minority students.
C) The growing conflicts among ethnic groups.
D) The poor academic performance of students.
2. What was the pride of President Barry Mills of Bowdoin College?
A) The prestige of its liberal arts programs.
B) Its ranking among universities in Maine.
C) The high graduation rates of its students.
D) Its increased enrollment of minority students.
3. What is the risk facing America?
A) Its schools will be overwhelmed by the growing number of illegal immigrants.
B) The rising generation will be less well educated than the previous one.
C) More poor and non-white students will be denied access to college.
D) It is going to lose its competitive edge in higher education.
4. How many African-American students earned their degrees in California community colleges according to a recent review?
A) Fifty-six percent. C) Fifteen percent.
B) Thirty-nine percent. D) Sixty-seven percent.
5. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton show almost no gap between black and white graduation rates mainly because .
A) their students work harder C) their classes are generally smaller
B) they recruit the best students D) they give students more attention
6. How does Amy Wilkins of the Education Trust view minority students" failure to get a degree?
A) Universities are to blame.
B) Students don"t work hard.
C) The government fails to provide the necessary support.
D) Affirmative action should be held responsible.
7. Why do some students drop out after a year or two according to the author?
A) They have lost confidence in themselves.
B) They cannot afford the high tuition.
C) They cannot adapt to the rigor of the school.
D) They fail to develop interest in their studies.
8. To tackle the problem of graduation gap, the University of Wisconsin-Madison helps minority students get over the stereotype that _______.
9. For years, private colleges such as Princeton and MIT have provided minority students with _______ during the summer before freshman year.
10. Washington and Lee University is cited as an example to show that the gap of graduation rates between whites and minorities can _______.
Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the correspond ing letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
11. A) She will give him the receipt later.
B) The man should make his own copies.
C) She has not got the man"s copies ready.
D) The man forgot to make the copies for her.
12. A) She phoned Fred about the book. C) She ran into Fred on her way here.
B) She was late for the appointment. D) She often keeps other people waiting.
13. A) Mark is not fit to take charge of the Student Union.
B) Mark is the best candidate for the post of chairman.
C) It won"t be easy for Mark to win the election.
D) Females are more competitive than males in elections.
14. A) It failed to arrive at its destination in time.
B) It got seriously damaged on the way.
C) It got lost at the airport in Paris.
D) It was left behind in the hotel.
15. A) Just make use of whatever information is available.
B) Put more effort into preparing for the presentation.
C) Find more relevant information for their work.
D) Simply raise the issue in their presentation.
16. A) The man has decided to choose Language Studies as his major.
B) The woman isn"t interested in the psychology of language.
C) The man is still trying to sign up for the course he is interested in.
D) The woman isn"t qualified to take the course the man mentioned.
17. A) They are both to blame.
B) They are both easy to please.
C) They can manage to get along.
D) They will make peace in time.
18. A) They are in desperate need of financial assistance.
B) They hope to do miracles with limited resources.
C) They want to borrow a huge sum from the bank.
D) They plan to buy out their business partners.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19. A) We simply cannot help reacting instinctively that way.
B) We wish to hide our indifference to their misfortune.
C) We derive some humorous satisfaction from their misfortune.
D) We think it serves them right for being mean to other people.
20. A) They want to show their genuine sympathy.
B) They have had similar personal experiences.
C) They don"t know how to cope with the situation.
D) They don"t want to reveal their own frustration.
21. A) They themselves would like to do it but don"t dare to.
B) It"s an opportunity for relieving their tension.
C) It"s a rare chance for them to see the boss lose face.
D) They have seen this many times in old films.
22. A) To irritate them. C) To relieve her feelings.B) To teach them a lesson. D) To show her courage.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
23. A) Smuggling drugs into Hong Kong. C) Stealing a fellow passenger"s bag.
B) Having committed armed robbery. D) Bringing a handgun into Hong Kong.
24. A) He said not a single word during the entire flight.
B) He took away Kumar"s baggage while he was asleep.
C) He was travelling on a scholarship from Delhi University.
D) He is suspected of having slipped something in Kumar"s bag.
25. A) Give him a lift. C) Check the passenger list.B) Find Alfred Foster. D) Search all suspicious cars.
Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
Passage One
Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. A) They think travel has become a trend.
B) They think travel gives them their money"s worth.
C) They find many of the banks untrustworthy.
D) They lack the expertise to make capital investments.
27. A) Lower their prices to attract more customers.
B) Introduce travel packages for young travelers.
C) Design programs targeted at retired couples.
D) Launch a new program of adventure trips.
28. A) The role of travel agents. C) The number of last-minute bookings.B) The way people travel. D) The prices of polar expeditions.
Passage Two
Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
29. A) The old stereotypes about men and women.
B) The changing roles played by men and women.
C) The division of labor between men and women.
D) The widespread prejudice against women.
30. A) Offer more creative and practical ideas than men.
B) Ask questions that often lead to controversy.
C) Speak loudly enough to attract attention.
D) Raise issues on behalf of women.
31. A) To prove that she could earn her living as a gardener.
B) To show that women are more hardworking than men.
C) To show that women are capable of doing what men do.
D) To prove that she was really irritated with her husband.
Passage Three
Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
32. A) Covering major events of the day in the city.
B) Reporting criminal offenses in Greenville.
C) Hunting news for the daily headlines.
D) Writing articles on family violence.
33. A) It is a much safer place than it used to be.
B) Rapes rarely occur in the downtown areas.
C) Assaults often happen on school campuses.
D) It has fewer violent crimes than big cities.
34. A) There are a wide range of cases.
B) They are very destructive.
C) There has been a rise in such crimes.
D) They have aroused fear among the residents.
35. A) Write about something pleasant. C) Offer help to crime victims.B) Do some research on local politics. D) Work as a newspaper editor.
Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
