英語六級閱讀理解訓(xùn)練

心之所向，所向披靡

心之所向，所向披靡

2011年12月英語六級閱讀理解訓(xùn)練

(1)

AsSesameStreetkicksoffits40thanniversaryseasonTuesday,withfirstladyMichelleObama

andBroadwaystarLin-ManuelMirandaasguests,itisindisputablythemostbelovedchildren's

showinhistory,andoneoftelevision'sbiggestandmostenduringsuccessstories.

Theseriesholdsarecord122EmmyAwards,notincludingalifetime-achievementtrophy

(獎土)award,andhasbeenadaptedinmorethan120countriesandterritoriesaroundtheglobe.

Anestimated100,000Sesameproductshavebeenmadeavailableinternationally,fromT-shirts

andcostumesiohigh-techtoyssuchasElmoLive.

Sesame'scross-cultural,multi-generationalappealhasalottodowiththespecificagegroup

ittargets."Thebulkofouraudienceisinthe2sand3s,thoughweshootfor2to4,“says

executiveproducerCarol-LynnParente.Atthatearlystage,saysSpinney—whois75,andhas

beenwiththeshowsinceDay1(heplaysOscaraswell)——“childrenarcbasicallythesame,and

havebeenthroughtheyears.”

Butifpreschoolers*fundamentalneedsandsensibilitieshaven'tchangedmuch,theworld

aroundthemhas-notleastofallonthemedialandscape,whereSesameStreetnowcompetes

withmanyotherkids'showsandanever-expandingarrayofnewmedia.

In2000,theChildren,sTelevisionWorkshop,theorganizationthroughwhichcreatorJoan

GanzCooneylaunchedSesameStreetonPBSpredecessorNET,changeditstitletoSesame

Workshop,toreflectitsexpansionintothedigital,interactiveage.

ContentandpresentationcontinuetoevolveonTVaswell.Theshow'sfamouslycatchy

themesong,SunnyDay,nowhasahip-hopbeatandajazzierarrangement.Parentestressesthat

itfsjustasimportantatokeepourcurriculumcurrent.TheABC,sand123'sarealwaysthere,

butwestayrelevantbyincorporatingotherthingsthatareinterestingandmeaningful.”

“Wefbcusonallaspectsofdevelopment-cognitiveneeds,socialandemotionalneeds,

healthneeds—andbringinadviserswhoareexpertsineacharea,tomakesurewe're

agc-appropriatc,MsaysRosemarieTruglio,vicepresidentofeducationandresearch,Sesame

Workshop."Butwenevertalkdowntochildren,andwe'renotafraidtoexploresensitivetopics.^^

Sesamehashaditscriticsintheacademiccommunityaswell.

ForMaryLynnCrow,aclinicalpsychologistandprofessorofeducationaltheUniversityof

Texas-Arlington,“showslikeSesameStreetlackthepotentiallydeep,personalemotionalimprint

(影響)thatcanandshouldoccurbetweenastudentandteacherinanearlyeducational

experience.^^

Ontheotherhand,CrowconsidersSesameStreet“abeautifulmodelofwhatIcallhigh-tech

learning.Theycanteachchildrenaboutletters,numbers,colorandsizethroughrepetitioninways

traditionaleducationcan't,andprovideearlyinformationaboutattitudes,valuesand

relationships.”

1.WhatdowelearnaboutSesameStreetfromthefirsttwoparagraphs?

A)Ilrosetofamebecauseofthefirstlady'srole.

B)It'ssuccessfulandgainsinternationalpopularity.

C)Itstillhastowinalifetime-achievementaward.

D)ItisthemostsuccessfulshowinAmericanhistory.

2.What'sSpinney'sopiniononthetargetaudienceofSesameStreet?

A)Theyarecompletelydifferentthantheywere40yearsago.

B)Manyofthemaredevotedfansoftheperformance.

C)Theirbasicneedshaven'tchangedmuchthroughyears.

D)Theycontinuetowatchtheshowwhentheyhavegrownup.

3.Theauthorsaysthatinthecurrentworld,SesameStreet.

A)hasslightedgeoverothershowstargetingchildren

B)hasmadesomechangessoastokeepupwiththetimes

C)triestocatertoadultswhoaccompanytheirchildrentotheshow

D)isdoomedtofailduetoitsout-datedcontentandpresentation

4.WhatcanbeinferredaboutSesameStreetfromRosemarieTruglio"swords?

A)Ittriestopreparechildrenbothforschoolandlife'slessons.

B)Itswriterhaschangedthethemeofthestoryforkids.

C)Childrenseemtobelookeddownuponintheshow.

D)Sensitivetopicshavealwaysbeenbannedintheshow.

5.MaryLynnCrowisnegativeaboutSesameStreetbecauseshethinksit.

A)onlytouchesupsuperficialrelationships

B)istoocomplicatedforchildrentounderstand

C)goesagainstwaysoftraditionaleducation

D)repeatsbasicknowledgeoverandoveragain

(2)

TherehewasAmerica'sfirstPresidentwithaMBA,themanwholovestoboastabouthis

businessbackground,whosepresidentialcampaignraisedunprecedentedsumsfromcorporate

walletsandwhosecabinetisstuffedwithchiefexecutives.FaithintheintegrityofAmerican

businessleaderswasbeingundermined(破壞)，GeorgeBushsaidfiercely,byexecutives

"breachingtrustandabusingpower*.Itwastimefor"anewethicofpersonalresponsibilityinthe

businesscommunity".Hewasgoingto"endthedaysofcookingthebooks,shadingthetruthand

breakingourlaws”。

Onlymonthsago,theideathatGeorgeWBushwouldpubliclylambasteAmerica,s

cooperatebosseswaslaughable.Asacandidate,bornonthewaveofadecade-longeconomic

boomandanunprecedented18-yearbullmarket,hecashedinonAmerican*sloveaffairwith

corporatesuccess.Butthingsaredifferentnow.Thestockmarketbubblehasburstand,despite

signsofeconomicrecovery.WallStreetseemstobesunkingloom.Astringofscandalsatsomeof

America'smosthigh-flyingfirms-includingEnron,Xerox.Tyco,GlobalCrossingandmost

recently.WorldCom??hasradicallychangedthepublicmood。

Aspoliticalpressureforreformincreases,sotoodoestheheatonMrBush.Isthe

businessman'spresidentreallypreparedtotakebusinessonandpushhardforreform?Despitethe

setjawandaggrievedtoneinNewYork.Probablynot.Mr.Bushthinksthecurrentcrisisstems

fromafewbad-applechiefexecutivesratherthanthesystemasawhole.Hencehefocusontough

penaltiesforcorruptbusinessmenandhispleafbrhigherethicalstandards.Thepresident

announcedthecreationofafinancial-crimesSWTYTteam,attheJusticeDepartmenttorootout

corporatefraud,andwantstodoublethemaximumprisonsentenceforfinancialfraudfromfiveto

tenyears.Butheofferedfewconcretesuggestionsfbrsystemicreform:littlementionofchanges

iostrengthenshareholders'rights,notevenanendorsementoftheSenatecorporate-reformbillo

TherearefewsignsyetthatcleaningupcorporateAmericaisanissuethatanimatesthe

voters.PollsshowthatAmericanshavelittlefaithintheirbusinessleaders,butpoliticiansdonot

seemtobesufferingasaresult.Mr.Bush'sapprovalratingshavefallenfromtheirsky-highs,but

theyarestillverystrongo

Thepresident,therefore,needdonomorethantalktough.Thisalonewillconvinceordinary

Americansthatheisontopoftheissue.Astheeconomyreboundsandpublicoutagesubsides,the

clamorforchangewillbequieter.Democraticattackswillfizzle,andfar-reachingreformbillswill

bewatereddownbeforetheybecomelaw.Politically,thegamblemakessense.Unfortunatelyfor

Americancapitalism,agreatopportunitywillbemissed。

IWecaninferfromthethirdparagraphthatMr.Bush。

A)didn'tintendtotakebusinessonandpushhardfbrreform

B)didnotdoanythingatallfbrthepresenceofthecurrentsituation

C)tookshareholders'rightintoaccount,buthedidn'tapprovereformbill

D)tooksomemeasurestopavethewayfbrthereform

2.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingstatementsisTRUE?

A)Bushhadtoofferconcretesuggestionsforreformaspoliticalpressureincrease

B)Atpresent,themaximumprisonsentenceforfinancialfraudisfiveyear

C)ItislaughablethatMBushpubliclyattackedAmericarscorporatebosses

D)Americanshavelittlefaithintheirbusinessaswellaspoliticalleaders

3.WhichofthefollowingstatementsaboutMr.Bushismentionedinthispassage?

A)MBushisthesecondPresidentwithanMBAinAmericanhistory

B)MBushcontributesalottodecade-longeconomicboom

C)MBush,sapprovalratingsarestillhighD)MBushdidn,tgetsupportinhispresidential

campaign

4Theauthor*sattitudetowardsthereformis。

A)indifferentB)optimisticC)skepticalD)favorable

5.Thephrase"agreatopportunity"mentionedinthelastparagraphreferstoanopportunity

to?

A)carryoutreformB)boomeconomyC)animatethevotersD)attackchiefexecutive

(3)

AsToyotaandHummerhavelearned,growingtoofastcanbeadangerousthing.

Fromitsorigins,successintheautoindustryhasbeenaboutscale.Intheearlydecadesofthe

20thcentury,HenryFordwasabletodemocratizethecaranddominatetheearlyautoindustry

becausehebuilt,andthencontinuallyimproved,anassemblylinethatcouldmakehugenumbers

ofcarsinashortamountoftime.Biggerwasalwaysbetter.

Buttwoitemsfromyesterday'sdispatchintheongoingcardramasindicatewhythat'snot

alwaystrue.

ItemNo.1:TheToyotadebacle(失敗).ThemassfailingsofToyota*slegendary

quality-controleffortsarenowonfulldisplayinthehearingsthathavesubjectedCEOAkio

Toyodatoaritualizedsetofapologiesandhumiliations(羞辱).InrecertyearsToyotarodeits

efficiencyandbetterfinancialmanagement——itdidn'thavetocontendwiththeburdensome

pensionandhealth-carebenefitsthatsandbaggedtheBigThree(i.e.GeneralMotors,Ford,and

Chrysler)—iolargegainsinmarketshareandsignificantgrowth.In2(X)7ToyotasurpassedGM

asthelargestcarmakerintheworld.

Butsomethinggotlostintheprocess.AsToyodaacknowledgedonWednesday:"Ifearthe

paceatwhichwehavegrownmayhavebeentooquick.IwouldliketopointoutherethatToyota1

spriorityhastraditionallybeen:first,safety;second,quality;andthird,volume.Thesepriorities

becameconfiised.”【notherwords,Toyodaseemedtoadmit,thecompanywentwrongbymoving

size—i.e.,volume—tothefrontoftheline.

ItemNo.2:Afteraseriesoffailedeffortstosellit,GMannouncedthatitsHummerbrand

wouldbewounddown.HummerhadadifferentproblemwithbignessthanToyotahas.Itwasn't

thatitsproductionvolumesweretcohigh.In2