2017年12月英语六级真题及答案(卷三)

　　Section C

　　Passage One

　　Question 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

　　At the base of a mountain in Tanzania’s Gregory Rift, Lake Natron burns bright red, surrounded by the remains of animals that were unfortunate enough to fall into the salty water. Bats, swallows and more are chemically preserved in the pose in which they perished, sealed in the deposits of sodium carbonate in the water. The lake’s landscape is bizarre and deadly- and made even more so by the fact that it’s the place where nearly 75percent of the world’s flamingos(火烈鸟) are born.

　　The water is so corrosive that it can burn the skin and eyes of unadapted animals. Flamingos, however, are the only species that actually makes life in the midst of all that death. Once every three or four years, when conditions are right, the lake is covered with the pink birds as they stop flight to breed. Three –quarters of the world’s flamingos fly over from other salt lakes in the Rift Valley and nest on salt- crystal islands that appear when the water is at specific level- too high and the birds can’t build their nests, too low and predators can more briskly across the lake bed and attack. When the water hits the right level. The baby birds are kept safe form predators by a corrosive ditch.

　　“Flamingos have evolved very leathery skin on their legs so they can tolerate the salt water,” says David Harper, a professor at the University of Leicester. “ Humans cannot, and would die if their legs were exposed for any length of time.” So far this year, water levels have been too high for the flamingos to nest.

　　Some fish, too, have had limited success vacationing at the lake as less salty lagoons (泻湖) form on the outer edges from hot springs flowing into Lake Natron. Three species of tilapia (罗非鱼) thrive there part-time. “Fish have a refuge in the streams and can expand into the lagoons when the lake is low and the lagoons are separate,” Harper said. “All the lagoons join when the lake is high and fish must retreat to their stream refuges or die.” Otherwise, no fish are able to survive in the naturally toxic lake.

　　This unique ecosystem may soon be under pressure. The Tanzanian government has once again started mining the lake for soda ash, used for making chemicals, glass and detergents. Although the planned operation will be located more than 40 miles away, drawing the soda ash in through pipelines, conservationists worry it could still upset the natural water cycle and breeding grounds. For now, though, life prevails – even in a lake that kills almost everything it touches.

　　46. What can we learn about Lake Natron?

　　A) It is simply uninhabitable for most animals.

　　B) It remains little known to the outside world.

　　C) It is a breeding ground for a variety of birds.

　　D) It makes an ideal habitat for lots of predators.

　　A. 原文第一段，在坦桑尼亚GF山脚，Lake Natron有着亮红色的光，它被不幸落入盐湖的动物的尸体包围着。蝙蝠，燕子和更多其他动物，被化学地以他们生还最后一个的姿势保存，封印在水中的碳酸钠沉淀中。这个湖的地貌是奇特并且致命的，以及被一个事实——这个地方是世界上几乎75%的火烈鸟的出生地，变得更加如此。因此可以得出，这个湖水对于大部分动物是致命的，不适宜生存，选A。 B选项，外界不了解这个地点，未提及。C选项，它是各种鸟的生殖区域未提及。D选项对于很多捕食者是理想的居住地，未提及。

　　47. Flamingos nest only when the lake water is at a specific level so that their babies can ______.

　　A) find safe shelter more easily C) stay away from predators

　　B) grow thick feathers on their feet D) get accustomed to the salty water

　　C.原文第二段第四句开始，清晰定位water is at a specific level，世界上3/4的火烈鸟从其他盐湖地区飞到Rift Valley并在盐结晶岛上筑巢，这些盐结晶岛只有在特定水位时才会出现——水位太高时鸟无法筑巢，水位太低捕食者能吃迅速越过湖床并且攻击他们。当水位处于正确高度时，婴儿火烈鸟是安全的由于一个腐蚀性的沟壑阻止了捕食者。C选项为正解。

　　48. Flamingos in the Rift Valley are unique in that _______.

　　A) they can move swiftly across lagoons C) they breed naturally in corrosive ditches

　　B) they can survive well in salty water D) they know where and when to nest

　　B. 此题并不能清晰定位，根据顺序原则，找到第三段第一句，火烈鸟已经进化出了非常厚的的皮肤因此他们能够忍耐高盐的水。直接选B，ACD未提及。

　　49. Why can certain species of tilapia sometimes survive around Lake Natron?

　　A) They can take refuge in the less salty waters.

　　B) They can flee quick enough from predators.

　　C) They can move freely from lagoon to lagoon.

　　D) They can stand the heat of the spring water.

　　A. Tilapia 定位至全文第四段第二句，3/4的罗非鱼能够幸存在那里一些时候。鱼类有着庇护所在小溪中并且他们能够去到泻湖里当湖水低并且泻湖是分离的时候，H说。当水位高时，所有泻湖联合在一起，鱼类必须撤回到他们的小溪避难所中，否则他们就会死亡。

　　“Fish have a refuge in the streams and can expand into the lagoons when the lake is low and the lagoons are separate,” Harper said. “All the lagoons join when the lake is high and fish must retreat to their stream refuges or die.”

　　50. What may be the consequence of Tanzanian government’s planned operation?

　　A) The accelerated extinction of flamingos.

　　B) The change of flamingos’ migration route.

　　C) The overmining of Lake Natron’s soda ash.

　　D) The disruption of Lake Natron’s ecosystem.

　　D. 全文最后一段第一句，这种独特的生态系统面临压力。原因就是紧接第二句，政府计划。同时末段第三句，虽然计划位置为40英里外，但环保主义者们依然担心它会影响生态系统和繁殖区域。所以正选为D项。

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

　　It is the season for some frantic last-minute math across the country, employees of all stripe are counting backward in an attempt to figure out just how much paid time-off they have left it their reserves. More of them, though, will skip those calculations altogether and just power through the holidays into 2017: More than half of American workers don’t use up all of their allotted vacation days each year.

　　Not so long ago, people would have turned up their noses at that kind of dedication to the job. As marketing professors Silvia Bellezza, Neeru Paharia, and Anat Keinan recently explained in Harvard Business Review (HBR), leisure time was once seen as an indicator of high social status, something attainable only for those at the top. Since the middle of the 20th century, though, things have turned the opposite way – these days, punishing hours at your desk, rather than days off, are seen as the mark of someone important.

　　In a series of several experiments, the researchers illustrated just how much we’ve come to admire busyness, or at least the appearance of it. Volunteers read two passages, on about a man who led a life of leisure and another about a man who was over-worked and over –scheduled; when asked to determine which of the two had a higher social status, the majority of the participants said the latter. The same held true for people who used products that implied they were short on time: In one experiment, for example, customers of the grocery-delivery service Peapod were seen as of higher status than people who shopped at grocery stores that were equally expensive; in another, people wearing wireless headphones were considered further up on the social ladder than those wearing regular headphones, even when both were just used to listen to music.

　　51. What do most employees plan to do towards the end of the year?

　　A) Go for a vacation. C) Set an objective for next year.

　　B) Keep on working. D) Review the year’s achievements.

　　A. 第一段末句，尽管许多假期没休，但他们不再算计这件事情，直接将假期推到下一年。

　　52.How would people view dedication to work in the past?

　　A) They would regard it as a matter of course.

　　B) They would consider it a must for success.

　　C) They would look upon it with contempt.

　　D) They would deem it a trick of businessmen.

　　C。 第二段第一句话说，不久之前，人们会轻视那些沉迷工作的的情况。

　　53. What did the researchers find through a series of experiments?

　　A) The busier one appears, the more respect one earns.

　　B) The more one works, the more one feels exploited.

　　C) The more knowledge one has, the more competent one will be.

　　D) The higher one’s status, the more vacation time one will enjoy.

　　A。清晰定位第三段，研究者展示出，我们多么的钦佩忙碌这个事情。

　　54. What may account for the change of people’s attitude towards being busy?

　　A) The fast pace of life in modern society.

　　B) The fierce competition in the job market.

　　C) The widespread use of computer technology.

　　D) The role of knowledge in modern economy.

　　55. What does the author advise us to do at the end of the passage ?

　　A) Schedule our time properly for efficiency.

　　B) Plan our weekends in a meaningful way.

　　C) Plan time to relax however busy we are.

　　D) Avoid appearing busy when we are not.

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