新浪教育[微博]讯 2013年12月14日全国大学英语六级考试已结束，本次考试为多题多卷，新浪外语第一时间收集整理不同版本试题，供考生参考，以下是全国大学英语六级考试阅读练习及答案汇总

　　Homing pigeons are placed in a training program from about the time they are twenty-eight days of age. They are taught to enter the cage through a trap and to exercise above and around the loft(鸽棚) , andgradually they are taken away for short distances in willow baskets andreleased. They are then expected to find their way home in the shortestpossible time。

　　In their training flights or in actualraces, the birds are taken to prearranged distant points and released to findtheir way back to their own lofts. Once the birds are liberated, their owners,who are standing by at the home lofts, anxiously watch the sky for the returnof their entries. Since time is of the essence, the speed with which the birdscan be induced to enter the loft trap may make the difference between gaining awin or a second place。

　　The head of a homing pigeon iscomparatively small, but its brain is one quarter larger than that of theordinary pigeon. The homing pigeon is very intelligent and will persevere tothe point of stubbornness; some have been known to fly a hundred miles offcourse to avoid a storm。

　　Some homing pigeon experts claim thatthis bird is gifted with a form of built-in radar that helps it find its ownloft after hours of flight, for hidden under the head feathers are two verysensitive ears, while the sharp, prominent eyes can see great distances indaytime。

　　Why do homing pigeons fly home? They arenot unique in this inherent skill; it is found in most migratory birds, inbees, ants, toads, and even turtles, which have been known to travel hundredsof miles to return to their homes. But in the animal world, the homing pigeonalone can be trusted with its freedom and trained to carry out the missionsthat people demand。

　　1. This passage is mainly about_______。

　　A. homing pigeons and their training

　　B. how to buy a homing pigeon

　　C. protection of homing pigeons againstthe threat of extinction

　　D. liberation of homing pigeons

　　2. According to the passage, whathappens to homing pigeons when they are about a month old?

　　A. They are kept in a trap。

　　B. They enter their first race。

　　C. They begin a training program。

　　D. They get their wings clipped andmarked。

　　3. According to the passage, thedifference between a homing pigeon and an ordinary one is_______。

　　A. the span of the wings B. the shape ofthe eyes

　　C. the texture of the feathers D. thesize of the brain

　　4. The author mentions all of thefollowing attributes that enable a homing pigeon to

　　return home EXCEPT_______。

　　A. instinct B. air sacs

　　C. sensitive ears D. good eyes

　　5. Why does the author mention bees,ants, toads, and turtles in the last paragraph?

　　A. To describe some unusual kinds ofpets。

　　B. To measure distances traveled byvarious animals。

　　C. To compare their home-findingabilities with those of homing pigeons。

　　D. To interest the reader in learningabout other animals。

　　答案：ACDBC

　　Are some people born clever, and othersborn stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and ourexperiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes. Tosome extent our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of specialeducation can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On theother hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop hisintelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus thelimits of a person's intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not hereaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held bymost experts, can be supported in a number of ways。

　　It is easy to show that intelligence isto some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationshipbetween two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus ifwe take two unrelated people at random(任意的) from the population,it is likely thattheir degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the otherhand we take two identical (完全相同的) twins they will very likely be asintelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents andchildren, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligencedepends on birth。

　　Imagine now that we take two identicaltwins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example,to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We wouldsoon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates thatenvironment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested bythe fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are notrelated at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence。

　　26. Which of these sentences bestdescribes the writer's point in Paragraph 1?

　　A. To some extent, intelligence is givenat birth。

　　B. Intelligence is developed by theenvironment。

　　C. Some people are born clever andothers born stupid。

　　D. Intelligence is fixed at birth, butis developed by the environment。

　　27. It is suggested in this passagethat_______。

　　A. unrelated people are not likely tohave different intelligence

　　B. close relations usually have similarintelligence

　　C. the closer the blood relationshipbetween people, the more different they are likely to be in intelligence

　　D. people who live in close contact witheach other are not likely to have similar degrees of intelligence

　　28. Brothers and sisters are likely to_______。

　　A. have similar intelligence B. havedifferent intelligence

　　C. go to the same university D. go tothe same factory

　　29. In Paragraph 1, the word"surroundings" means_______。

　　A. intelligence B. life

　　C. environments D. housing

　　30. The best title for this articlewould be_______。

　　A. On Intelligence

　　B. What Intelligence Means

　　C. We Are Born with Intelligence

　　D. Environment Plays a Part inDeveloping Intelligence

　　答案：DBACA

　　In the last 12 years total employment in the United Statesgrew faster than at any time in the peacetime history of any country – from 82to 110 million between 1973 and 1985 – that is, by a full one third. The entiregrowth, however, was in manufacturing, and especially in no – blue-collar jobs…　　This trend is the same in all developedcountries, and is, indeed, even more pronounced in Japan. It is therefore highlyprobable that in 25 years developed countries such as the United States andJapan will employ no larger a proportion of the labor force I n manufacturingthan developed countries now employ in farming – at most, 10 percent. Today theUnited Statesemploys around 18 million people in blue-collar jobs in manufacturingindustries. By 2010, the number is likely to be no more than 12 million. Insome major industries the drop will be even sharper. It is quite unrealistic,for instance, to expect that the American automobile industry will employ morethan one –third of its present blue-collar force 25 years hence, even thoughproduction might be 50 percent higher。

　　If a company, an industry or a country does notin the next quarter century sharply increase manufacturing production and atthe same time sharply reduce the blue-collar work force, it cannot hope toremain competitive – or even to remain “developed。” The attempt to preservesuch blue – collar jobs is actually a prescription for unemployment…

　　This is not a conclusion that Americanpoliticians, labor leaders or indeed the general public can easily understandor accept. What confuses the issue even more it that the United Statesis experiencing several separate and different shifts in the manufacturingeconomy. One is the acceleration of the substitution of knowledge and capitalfor manual labor. Where we spoke of mechanization a few decades ago, we nowspeak of “robotization “ or “automation。” This is actually more a change interminology than a change in reality. When Henry Ford introduced the assemblyline in 1909, he cut the number of man – hours required to produce a motor carby some 80 percent in two or three years –far more than anyone expects toresult from even the most complete robotization. But there is no doubt that weare facing a new, sharp acceleration in the replacement of manual workers bymachines –that is, by the products of knowledge。

　　1.According to the author, the shrinkage in themanufacturing labor force demonstrates______。

　　A.the degree to which a country’s production is robotized

　　B.a reduction in a country’s manufacturing industries

　　C.a worsening relationship between labor and management

　　D.the difference between a developed country and a developing country

　　2.According to the author, in coming 25years, a developed country or industry,in order t remain competitive, ought to ______。

　　A.reduce the percentage of the blue-collar work force

　　B.preserve blue – collar jobs for international competition

　　C.accelerate motor – can manufacturing in Henry Ford’s style

　　D.solve the problem of unemployment

　　3.American politicians and labor leaders tend to dislike_____。

　　A.confusion in manufacturing economy

　　B.an increase in blue – collar work force

　　C.internal competition in manufacturing production

　　D.a drop in the blue – collar job opportunities

　　4.The word “prescription” in “a prescription for unemployment” may be theequivalent to ______

　　A.something recommended as medical treatment

　　B.a way suggested to overcome some difficulty

　　C.some measures taken in advance

　　D.a device to dire

　　5.This passage may have been excepted from ________

　　A.a magazine about capital investment

　　B.an article on automation

　　C.a motor-car magazine

　　D.an article on global economy

　　答案：AADCD

　　What does the future hold for the problem ofhousing? A good deal depends, of course, on the meaning of “future”. If one isthinking in terms of science fiction and the space age, it is at least possibleto assume that man will have solved such trivial and earthly problems ashousing. Writers of science fiction, from H.G. Wells onwards, have had littleto say on the subject. They have conveyed the suggestion that men will live ingreat comfort, with every conceivable apparatus to make life smooth, healthyand easy, if not happy. But they have not said what his house will be made of.Perhaps some new building material, as yet unimagined, will have beendiscovered or invented at least. One may be certain that bricks and mortar(泥灰，灰浆) will long have gone outof fashion。

　　But the problems of the next generation or twocan more readily be imagined. Scientists have already pointed out that unlesssomething is done either to restrict the world’s rapid growth in population orto discover and develop new sources of food (or both)， millions of people willbe dying of starvation or at the best suffering from underfeeding before thiscentury is out. But nobody has yet worked out any plan for housing thesegrowing populations. Admittedly the worst situations will occur in the hottestparts of the world, where housing can be light structure or in backward areaswhere standards are traditionally low. But even the minimum shelter requiresmaterials of some kind and in the teeming, bulging towns the low-standard“housing” of flattened petrol cans and dirty canvas is far more wasteful ofground space than can be tolerated。

　　Since the war, Hong Konghas suffered the kind of crisis which is likely to arise in many other placesduring the next generation. Literally millions of refugees arrived to swell thealready growing population and emergency steps had to be taken rapidly toprevent squalor(肮脏)and disease and the spread crime. The city is tacklingthe situation energetically and enormous blocks of tenements(贫民住宅)are rising at anastonishing aped. But Hong Kong is only onesmall part of what will certainly become a vast problem and not merely ahousing problem, because when population grows at this rate there areaccompanying problems of education, transport, hospital services, drainage,water supply and so on. Not every area may give the same resources as Hong Kong to draw upon and the search for quicker andcheaper methods of construction must never cease。

　　1.What is the author’s opinion of housing problems in the first paragraph?

　　A.They may be completely solved at sometime in the future。

　　B.They are unimportant and easily dealt with。

　　C.They will not be solved until a new building material has been discovered。

　　D.They have been dealt with in specific detail in books describing the future。

　　2.The writer is sure that in the distant future ___。

　　A.bricks and mortar will be replaced by some other building material。

　　B.a new building material will have been invented。

　　C.bricks and mortar will not be used by people who want their house to befashionable。

　　D.a new way of using bricks and mortar will have been discovered。

　　3.The writer believes that the biggest problem likely to confront the worldbefore the end of the century ___。

　　A.is difficult to foresee。

　　B.will be how to feed the ever growing population。

　　C.will be how to provide enough houses in the hottest parts of the world。

　　D.is the question of finding enough ground space。

　　4.When the writer says that the worst situations will occur in the hottestparts of the world or in backward areas, he is referring to the fact that inthese parts ___。

　　A.standards of building are low。

　　B.only minimum shelter will be possible。

　　C.there is not enough ground space。

　　D.the population growth will be the greatest。

　　5.Which of the following sentences best summarizes Paragraph 3?

　　A.Hong Kong has faced a serious crisis caused by millions of refugees。

　　B.Hong Kong has successfully dealt with the emergency caused by millions ofrefugees。

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