阅读理解六级

Passage One

I'll admit I've never quite understood the obsession（难以破除的成见）surrounding genetically modified (GM) crops. To environmentalist opponents, GM foods are simply evil, an understudied, possibly harmful tool used by big agricultural businesses to control global seed markets and crush local farmers. They argue that GM foods have never delivered on their supposed promise, that money spent on GM crops would be better channeled to organic farming and that consumers should be protected with warning labels on any products that contain genetically modified ingredients. To supporters, GM crops are a key part of the effort to sustainably provide food to meet a growing global population. But more than that, supporters see the GM opposition of many

environmentalists as fundamentally anti-science, no different than those who question the basics of man-made climate change.

For both sides, GM foods seem to act as a symbol: you're pro-agricultural business or anti-science. But science is exactly what we need more of when it comes to GM foods, which is why I was happy to see Nature devote a special series of articles to the GM food controversy. The conclusion: while GM crops haven't yet realized their initial promise and have been dominated by agricultural businesses, there is reason to continue to use and develop them to help meet the enormous challenge of sustainably feeding a growing planet.

That doesn't mean GM crops are perfect, or a one-size-fits-all solution to global agriculture problems. But anything that can increase farming efficiency一the amount of crops we can produce per acre of land一will be extremely useful. GM crops can and almost certainly will be part of that suite of tools' but so will traditional plant breeding, improved soil and crop management一and perhaps most important of all, better storage and transport infrastructure（基础设施）, especially in the developing world. (It doesn't do much good for farmers in places like sub-Saharan Africa to produce more food if they can't get it to hungry consumers.) I'd like to see more non-industry research done on GM crops—not just because we'd worry less about bias, but also because seed companies like Monsanto and Pioneer shouldn't be the only entities working to harness genetic modification. I'd like to see GM research on less commercial crops, like com. I don't think it's vital to label GM ingredients in food, but I also wouldn't be against it一and industry would be smart to go along with labeling, just as a way of removing fears about the technology.

Most of all, though, I wish a tenth of the energy that's spent endlessly debating GM crops was focused on those more pressing challenges for global agriculture. There are much bigger battles to fight.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

56. How do environmentalist opponents view GM foods according to the passage? A) They will eventually ruin agriculture and the environment. B) They are used by big businesses to monopolize agriculture. C) They have proved potentially harmful to consumers' health. D) They pose a tremendous threat to current farming practice.

57. What does the author say is vital to solving the controversy between the two sides of the debate? A) Breaking the GM food monopoly. B) More friendly exchange of ideas. C) Regulating GM food production. D) More scientific research on GM crops. 58. What is the main point of the Nature articles?

A) Feeding the growing population makes it imperative to develop GM crops. B) Popularizing GM technology will help it to live up to its initial promises. C) Measures should be taken to ensure the safety of GM foods. D) Both supporters and opponents should make compromises. 59. What is the author's view on the solution to agricultural problems? A) It has to depend more and more on GM technology. B) It is vital to the sustainable development of human society. C) GM crops should be allowed until better alternatives are found. D) Whatever is useful to boost farming efficiency should be encouraged. 60. What does the author think of the ongoing debate around GM crops? A) It arises out of ignorance of and prejudice against new science. B) It distracts the public attention from other key issues of the world. C) Efforts spent on it should be turned to more urgent issues of agriculture. D) Neither side is likely to give in until more convincing evidence is found. Passage Two

Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

When the right person is holding the right job at the right moment, that person's influence is greatly expanded. That is the position in which Janet Yellen, who is expected to be confirmed as the next chair of the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) in January, now finds herself. If you believe, as many do, that unemployment is the major economic and social concern of our day, then it is no stretch to think Yellen is the most powerful person in the world right now.

Throughout the 2008 financial crisis and the recession and recovery that followed, central banks have taken on the role of stimulators of last resort, holding up the global economy with vast amounts of money in the form of asset buying. Yellen, previously a Fed vice chair, was one of the principal architects of the Fed's $3.8 trillion money dump. A star economist known for her groundbreaking work on labor markets, Yeilen was a kind of prophetess early on in the crisis for her warnings about the subprime（次级债）meltdown. Now it will be her job to

get the Fed and the markets out of the biggest and most unconventional monetary program in history without derailing the fragile recovery.

The good news is that Yellen, 67, is particularly well suited to meet these challenges. She has a keen understanding of financial markets, an appreciation for their imperfections and a strong belief that human suffering was more related to unemployment than anything else.

Some experts worry that Yellen will be inclined to chase unemployment to the neglect of inflation. But with wages still relatively flat and the economy increasingly divided between the well-off and the long-term unemployed' more people worry about the opposite, deflation（通货紧缩）that would aggravate the economy's problems.

Either way, the incoming Fed chief will have to walk a fine line in slowly ending the stimulus. It must be steady enough to deflate bubbles（去泡沫）and bring markets back down to earth but not so quick that it creates another credit crisis.

Unlike many past Fed leaders, Yellen is not one to buy into the finance industry's argument that it should be left alone to regulate itself. She knows all along the Fed has been too slack on regulation of finance.

Yellen is likely to address right after she pushes unemployment below 6%, stabilizes markets and makes sure that the recovery is more inclusive and robust. As Princeton Professor Alan Blinder says' \deeply logical, willing to argue but also a good listener. She can persuade without creating hostility.\traits will be useful as the global economy's new power player takes on its most annoying problems.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

61. What do many people think is the biggest problem facing Janet Yellen? A) Lack of money. B) Subprime crisis. C) Unemployment. D) Social instability. 62. What did Yellen help the Fed do to tackle the 2008 financial crisis? A) Take effective measures to curb inflation. B) Deflate the bubbles in the American economy. C) Formulate policies to help financial institutions. D) Pour money into the market through asset buying. 63. What is a greater concern of the general public? A) Recession. B) Deflation. C) Inequality. D) Income. 64. What is Yellen likely to do in her position as the Fed chief? A) Develop a new monetary program. B) Restore public confidence. C) Tighten financial regulation. D) Reform the credit system. 65. How does Alan Blinder portray Yellen?

A) She possesses strong persuasive power. B) She has confidence in what she is doing. C) She is one of the world's greatest economists. D) She is the most powerful Fed chief in history. Part VI Translation (30 minutes)

2011年是中国城市化(urbanization)进程中的历史性时刻，其城市人口首次超过农村人口。在未来20年里，预计约有3.5亿农村人口将移居到城市。如此规模的城市发展对城市交通来说既是挑战，也是机遇。中国政府一直提倡“以人为本”的发展理念。强调人们以公交而不是私家车出行。它还号召建设“资源节约和环境友好型”社会。有了这个明确的目标，中国城市就可以更好地规划其发展，并把大量投资转向安全、清洁和经济型交通系统的发展上。 Passage One

Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage．

Technology can make us smarter or stupider, and we need to develop a set of principles to guide our everyday behavior and make sure that tech is improving and not hindering our mental processes． One of the big questions being debated today is: What kind of information do we need to have stored in our heads, and what kind can we leave \

An increasingly powerful group within education are championing \literacy\． In their view, skills beat knowledge, developing \literacy\is more important than learning mere content, and all facts are now Google-able and therefore unworthy of committing to memory． But even the most sophisticated digital literacy skills won't help students and workers navigate the world if they don't have a broad base of knowledge about how the world actually operates． If you focus on the delivery mechanism and not the content, you're doing kids a disservice．

Indeed, evidence from cognitive science challenges the notion that skills can exist independent of factual knowledge． Data from the last thirty years leads to a conclusion that is not scientifically

challengeable: thinking well requires knowing facts, and that's true not only because you need something to think about． The very processes that teachers care about most--critical thinking processes—are intimately interwined (交织) with factual knowledge that is stored in long-term memory．

In other words, just because you can Google the date of Black Tuesday doesn't mean you understand why the Great Depression happened or how it compares to our recent economic slump． There is no doubt that the students of today, and the workers of tomorrow, will need to innovate, collaborate and evaluate．But such skills can't be separated from the knowledge that gives rise to them． To innovate, you have to know what came before． To collaborate, you have to contribute knowledge to the joint venture． And to evaluate, you have to compare new information against knowledge you've already mastered．

So here's a principle for thinking in a digital world, in two parts． First, acquire a base of factual

knowledge in any domain in which you want to perform well． This base supplies the essential foundation for building skills, and it can't be outsourced (外包) to a search engine．

Second, take advantage of computers' invariable memory, but also the brain's elaborative memory．Computers are great when you want to store information that shouldn't change． But brains are the superior choice when you want information to change, in interesting and useful ways: to connect up with other facts and ideas, to acquire

successive layers of meaning, to steep for a while in your accumulated knowledge and experience and so produce a richer mental brew．

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

56． What is the author's concern about the use of technology? A． It may leave knowledge \． B． It may misguide our everyday behavior． C． It may cause a divide in the circles of education． D． It may hinder the development of thinking skills．

57． What is the view of educators who advocate digital literacy? A． It helps kids to navigate the virtual world at will． B． It helps kids to broaden their scope of knowledge． C． It increases kid's efficiency of acquiring knowledge． D． It liberates kids from the burden of memorizing facts． 58． What does evidence from cognitive science show? A． Knowledge is better kept in long-term memory． B． Critical thinking is based on factual knowledge． C． Study skills are essential to knowledge acquisition． D． Critical thinking means challenging existing facts． 59． What does the author think is key to making evaluations? A． Gathering enough evidence before drawing conclusions． B． Mastering the basic roles and principles for evaluation． C． Connecting new information with one's accumulated knowledge． D． Understanding both what has happened and why it has happened． 60． What is the author's purpose in writing the passage? A． To warn against learning through memorizing facts． B． To promote educational reform in the information age． C． To explain human brains' function in storing information． D． To challenge the prevailing overemphasis on digital literacy． Passage Two

Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage．

America's recent history has been a persistent tilt to the West--of people, ideas, commerce and even political power． California and Texas are the twin poles of the West, but very different ones． For most of the 20th century the home of Silicon Valley and Hollywood has been the brainier and trendier of the two．Texas has trailed behind: its stereotype has been a conservative Christian in cowboy boots． But twins can change places． Is that happening now?

It is easy to find evidence that California is in a panic． At the start of this month the once golden state started paying creditors in IOUs (欠条)． The gap between projected outgoings and income for the current fiscal (财政的) year has leapt to horrible $26 billion． With no sign of a new budget to close this gulf, one credit agency has already downgraded California's debt． As budgets are cut, universities will let in fewer students, prisoners will be released early and schemes to protect the vulnerable will be rolled back．

By contrast, Texas has coped well with the recession, with an unemployment rate two points below the national average and one of the lowest rates of housing repossession． In part this is because Texan banks, hard hit in the last property bust, did not overexpand this time． Texas also clearly offers a different model, based on small