1、红体字为关键信息，边读边标出来，蓝的为省略不读的信息，大家好好看看吧2012 年 6 月大学英语六级考试真题 2012 年 6 月 16 日大学英语六级考试真题Part Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)(15minutes)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 bes
2、t answer from the four choices marked A)、B)、C)and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.The Three-Year Solution1 Hartwick College, a small liberal-arts school in upstate New York, makes New York, makes this offer to well prepared students: earn your
3、 undergraduate degree in three years instead of four, and save about 543,000the amount of one years tuition and fees. A number of innovative colleges are making the same offer to students anxious about saving time and money. Thats both an opportunity and a warning for the best higher-education syste
4、m in the world.2The United States has almost all of the worlds best universities. A recent Chinese survey ranks 35 American universities among the top 50, eight among the top 10. Our research universities have been the key to developing the competitive advantages that help Americans produce 25% of a
5、ll the worlds wealth. In 2007, 623,805 of the worlds brightest students were attracted to American universities.3 Yet, there are signs of peril (危险)within American higher education. U.S. colleges have to compete in the marketplace. Students may choose among 6,000 public, private, nonprofit, for prof
6、it, or religious institutions of higher learning. In addition, almost all of the 532 billion the federal government provides for university research is awarded competitively.4But many colleges and universities are stuck in the past. For instance, the idea of the fall-to-spring“school year”hasnt chan
7、ged much since before the American Revolution, when we were a summer stretch no longer makes sense. Former George Washington University president Stephen Trachtenberg（2） estimates that a typical college uses its facilities for academic purposes a little more than half the calendar year.“While colleg
8、e facilities sit idle, they continue to generate maintenance expenses that contribute to the high cost of running a college,” he has written.5Within academic departments, tenure(终身职位)，combined with age-discrimination laws, makes faculty turnovercritical for a university to remain current in changing
9、 timesdifficult. Instead of protecting speech and encouraging diversity and innovative thinking, the tenure system often stifles(压制)（3）them: younger professors must win the approval of established colleagues for tenure, encouraging like-mindedness and sometimes inhibiting the free flow of ideas.6 Me
10、anwhile, tuition has soared, leaving graduating students with unprecedented loan debt. Strong campus presidents to manage these problems are becoming harder to find, and to keep. In fact, students now stay on campus almost as long as their presidents. The average amount of time students now take to
11、complete an undergraduate degree has stretched to six years and seven months as students interrupted by work, inconvenienced by unavailable classes, or lured by one more football season find it hard to graduate.7Congress has tried to help students with college costs through Pell Grants and other for
12、ms of tuition support. But some of their fixes have made the problem worse. The stack of congressional regulations governing federal student grants and loans now stands twice as tall as I do. Filling out these forms consumes 7% of every tuition dollar.8 For all of these reasons, some colleges like H
13、artwick are rethinking the old way of doing things and questioning decades-old assumptions about what a college degree means. For instance, why does it have to take four years to earn a diploma? This fall, 16 first-year students and four second-year students at Hartwick enrolled in the schools new t
14、hree year degree program. According to the college, the plan is designed for high-ability, highly motivated student who wish to save money or to move along more rapidly toward advanced degrees.9 By eliminating that extra year, there year degree students save 25% in costs. Instead of taking 30 credit
15、s a year, these students take 40. During January, Hartwick runs a four week course during which students may earn three to four credits on or off campus, including a number of international sites. Summer courses are not required, but a student may enroll in themand pay extra. Three year students get
16、 first crack at course registration. There are no changes in the number of courses professors teach or in their pay.10 The three-year degree isnt a new idea. Geniuses have always breezed through. Judson College, a 350-student institution in Alabama, has offered students a three-year option for 40 ye
17、ars. Students attend “short terms” in May and June to earn the credits required for graduation. Bates College in Maine and Ball State University in Indiana are among other colleges offering three-year options.11 Changes at the high-school level are also helping to make it easier for many students to
18、 earn their undergraduate degrees in less time. One of five students arrives at college today with Advanced Placement (AP) credits amounting to a semester or more of college level work. Many universities, including large schools like the University of Texas, make it easy for these AP students to gra
19、duate faster.12 For students who dont plan to stop with an undergraduate degree, the three-year plan may have an even greater appeal. Dr. John Sergent, head of Vanderbilt University Medical Schools residency (住院医生 ) program, enrolled in Vanderbilts undergraduate college in 1959. He entered medical s
20、chool after only three years as did four or five of his classmates.” My first year of medical school counted as my senior year, which meant I had to take three to four labs a week to get all my sciences in. I basically skipped my senior year,” says Sergent. He still had time to be a student senator
21、and meet his wife.13 There are, however, drawbacks to moving through school at such a brisk pace. For one, it deprives students of the luxury of time to roam (遨游) intellectually. Compressing everything into three years also leaves less time for growing up, engaging in extracurricular activities, and
22、 studying abroad. On crowded campuses it could mean fewer opportunities to get into a prized professors class. Iowas Waldorf College has graduated several hundred students in its three-year degree program, but it now phasing out the option. Most Waldorf students wanted the full four-year experiencea
23、cademically, socially, and athletically. And faculty members will be wary of any change that threatens the core curriculum in the name of moving students into the workforce.14 “Most high governmental officials seem to conceive of education in this lightas a way to ensure economic competitiveness and
24、 continued economic growth,” Derek Bok, former president of Harvard, told The Washington Post. “I strongly disagree with this approach.” Another risk: the new campus schedules might eventually produce less revenue for the institution and longer working hours for faculty members.15 Adopting a three-y
25、ear option will not come easily to most school. Those that wish to tackle tradition and make American campus more cost-conscious may find it easier to take Trachtenbergs advice: open campuses year-round.“You could run two complete colleges, with two complete faculties,”he says.“Thats without cutting
26、 the length of students vacations, increasing class sizes, or requiring faculty to teach more.”16 Whether they experiment with three-year degrees, offer year-round classes, challenge the tenure systemor all of the aboveuniversities are slowly realizing that to stay competitive and relevant they must
27、 adapt to a rapidly changing world.17 Expanding the three-year option may be difficult, but it may be less difficult than asking Congress for additional financial help, asking legislators for more state support, or asking students even higher tuition payments. Campuses willing to adopt convenient sc
28、hedules along with more focused, less-expensive degrees may find that they have a competitive advantage in attracting bright, motivated students. These sorts of innovations can help American universities avoid the perils of success.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡 1 上作答。1. Why did Hartwick College start three-year deg
29、ree programs?A) To create chances for the poor. C) To enroll more students.B) To cut students expenses. D) To solve its financial problems.2. By quoting Stephen Trachtenberg the author wants to say that .A) American universities are resistant to changeB) the summer vacation contributes to student gr
30、owthC) college facilities could be put to more effective useD) the costs of running a university are soaring3. The author thinks the tenure system in American universities .A) suppresses creative thinking C) guarantees academic freedomB) creates conflicts among colleagues D) is a sign of age discrim
31、ination4. What is said about the new three-year degree program at Hartwick?A) Its students have to earn more credits each year.B) Non-credit courses are eliminated altogether.C) Its faculty members teach more hours a week.D) Some summer courses are offered free of charge.5. What do we learn about Ju
32、dson Colleges three-year degree program?A) It has been running for several decades.B) It is open to the brightest students only.C) It is the most successful in the country.D) It has many practical courses on offer.6. What changes in high schools help students earn undergraduate degrees in three year
33、s?A) Curriculums have been adapted to students needs.B) More students have Advanced Placement credits.C) More elective courses are offered in high school.D) The overall quality of education bas improved.7. What is said to be a drawback of the three-year college program?A) Students have to cope with
34、too heavy a workload.B) Students dont have much time to roam intellectually.C) Students have little time to gain practical experience.D) Students dont have prized professors to teach them.8. College faculty members are afraid that the pretext of moving students into the workforce might pose a threat
35、 to .9. Universities are increasingly aware that they must adapt to a rapidly changing world in order to .10. Convenient academic schedules with more-focused, less-expensive degrees will be more attractive to .Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)Directions: In this part
36、, 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.1. A) To cut students
37、expenses.2. B) college facilities could be put to more effective use.3. C) suppresses creative thinking4. A) Its students have to earn more credits each year.5. B) It has been running for several decades.6. B) More students have Advanced Placement credits.7. A) Students dont have much time to roam i
38、ntellectually.8. the core curriculum9. stay competitive and relevant10. bright, motivated students【解析】本次六级的快速阅读文章出自 2009 年 10 月 16 日的每日野兽新闻周刊，与四级文章的出处一样，在这里要提醒考生们平日里加强此类英美报刊的阅读。本文属于教育类文章。文章开头以 Hartwick 学院为例，指出许多有创新意识的大学都将学制由四年改为三年的现象。在承认美国具有全世界最好的大学，这些学校吸引了众多聪明的学生后，作者话锋一转，指出美国高等教育存在的一些问题，包括：学校学年的一成不
39、变，设备资源的闲置浪费，终身职位以及反年龄歧视法造成的教务人员冗余以及对自由思想的压制，学生承担不起高额的学费等等。之后，作者指出正是由于以上的这些问题，许多学校才会进行学制改革并且描述了 Hartwick, Judson College 等学校在缩短学制后课程方面的一些改革和做法。随后作者指出缩短学制的一些弊端：学生缺少时间进行思考，缺少时间参加课外活动或者出国留学，威胁学校的核心课程体系等。最后，作者指出实行三年制学制对大多数学校来说都不是易事。但是要比让议会提供资金帮助，让立法人员要求更多的政府帮助，或是要求学生支付更高的学费来得容易。本次快速阅读题目难度适中，基本上都是细节辨认题，考生做题的时候可根据题干的关键词：人名，学校名等进行快速定位，仔细判断。需要注意的是，考生在做本篇快速阅读的时候最好快速通读一下全文，把握一下文章的大致结构，会更有利于解答问题。
