2020年9月大学英语六级考试听力真题及答案

Section A

Questions 1 to 4 are hased on the conversation you havejust heard.

M:You are a professor of Physics at the University of Oxford;you're a senior adviser at the European Organization for Nuclear Research;you also seem to tour the globe tirelessly,giving talks.And in addition,you have yourown weekly TV show on science.Where do you get the energy?

W:Oh,well,Iust love what I do.I'm extremel fortunate to have this life,doin what I love doin.

M:Professor,what exactly is your goal?Why do you do all of this?

W:Well,as you said,I do have different thing going on.But these,I think,can be divided into two roups:the education of sciemce and the further understandin of science.

M:Don't these two things get in the way of each other?What I meam is,doesn't giving lectures take time away from the lab?

W:Not really,no.I love teaching.and I don't mind spending more time doing that now than in the past.Also,what  I will sa is that teachin a subect hel s me com rehend it better m self.I find that it furthers my own knowledge when I have to explain something clearly,when I have to aid others in understanding it,and when I have to answer questions about it.Teaching at a high level can bevery stimulating for anyone,no matter how much expertise  they may already have in the field they are instructing.

M:Are there any scientific breakthroughsthat you see on the near honizom,asignificant discovery or invention we can expect soon?

W:The world is always conducting science,and there are constantly new things being discovered.In fact,ri ht now we have too much data sittin in com uters.For example,we have thousandsof photos of planet Mars taken by telescopes that nobody has everseen.We have them,yet nobody has had time to look at them with their own e es,let alone anal ze them.

1.Why does the woman say she can be so enerpetic?

2.What has thewoman been engaged in?

3.What does the woman say about the benefit teaching brings to her?

4.How does the woman say new scientific breakthroughs can be made possible?

Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

M:Do you think dreams have special meanings? 

W:No,I don't think they do.

M:I don't,either.But some people do.I would say people who believe that dreams have specia meanings are superstitious,especially nowadays.In the past,during the timesof ancient Egypt.Greece,or China,people used to believe that dreams could foresee the future.But today.with all the scientific knowledge that we have.I think it's much harder to believe in these sortsof things.

W:My grandmother is superstitious,and she thinks dreams can predict the future.Once she dreamed that the flight she was due to take the following daycrashed.Can youguess what she did?She didn't take that flight.She didn't even bother to go to the air port the followingday.Instead,she took the same flight,but aweeklater.And everything was fine,of course.No plane ever crashed.

M:How funmy!Did you know that flying is actually safer than any other mode of transport?It's been statistically provem.People can be so irrational sometimes.

W:Yes,absolutely.But even if we think they are ridiculous,emotions can be just as powerful as rational thinking.

M:Exactly.People do all sorts of crazy things because of their irational feelins.But in fact,some psychologists believe that ourdreams are the result ofour emotions and memories from that day.I think it was Sigmund Freud who said that children's dreams were usually simple representations of their wishes,things they wished would happen.But in adults,dreams are much more complicated reflections of their more sophisticated sentiments.

W:Isn't it interesting how psychologists try to understand,using the scientificmethod,something ias bizarre as dreams?Psychology is like the rational study of irrational feelings.

5.What do both speakers thinkof dreams?

6.Why didn't the woman's grandmother take her scheduledflight?

7.What does the woman say about people's emotions?

8.What did psychologist Sigmund Freud say about adults' dreams?

Section B

Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.

While some scient sts explore the surface of Antarctica,others are learning more about a giant body of water four kilometers beneath the ice pack.Scientists first dicovered Lake Vostok in the 1970s by using radio wavesthat penetrate the ice.Since then they have used sound waves and even satellites to map this massive body of water.

How does the water in LakeVostok remain liquid beneath an ice sheet?The thick glacier above actslike an insulating blanket andkeepsthe water from freezing,says Martin Siegert,a glaciologist from the University of  Wales.In addition.geothermal heat from deep within the Earth may warm the hidden lake.The scientists suspect that micro or sanisms may be livingin Lake Vostok,closed off from the outside world for more than two million years.Anything found there will be totally alien towhat's on the surface of the Earth,saysSiegert.Scientists aretrying to find a way to drill into the ice and draw water samples without causing contamination.

Again,robots might bethe solution.If all goes as planmed,a drill shaped robot will melt through the surface ice.When it reaches the lake,it will release another robot that canswim in the lake,take picturesand look for  signs of life.The scientists ho e their discoveries will shed li ht on life in outer s ace which mi ht exist in similar dark and airles conditions.Recently,closeup picturesof Jupiter's moon Europa showed signs of water beneath its icy surface.Once tested in Antarctica,robots could be sent to Europa to search for life there,too.

9.What did scientists first use to discover Lake Vostok in the 1970s?

10.What do scientists think about Lake Vostok?

11.What do the scientists hope their discoveries will do?

Questions 12 to 15 are basedon the pass9ge youhave just heard.

The idea to stud the American Indian tribe Tarahumaras came to James Co eland in 1984 when he discovered that ver little research had been done on their lan ua e.Hecontacted a tribe member through a social worker who worked withthe tribesmen in Mexico.At first,the tribe member named Gonzalezwasvery reluctant to cooperate.He told Copeland that no amount of money could buy his language.But after Copeland explained tohim what he intended todo with his researchand howit would benefit the Tarahumaras,Gomzalez agreed to help.He took Co eland to his villa e and served as an intermediar .Copeland says.“Thanks to him,the Tarahumarasunderstood what our mision was and started trusting us.”Entering the world of the Tarahumaras has been a laborious ro ect forCo eland.To reach their homeland,he must drive two and a half days from Houston,Texas.He loads up his vehicle with goods that the tribesmen can'teasily get and gives the goods to them as agesture of friendship.TheTarahumaras,who don'tbelieve in acumulating wealth,take the food and share it among themselves.

For Copeland,the experience has not only been academically satisfying 。but also has enriched his life in  several ways.“I see people rejecting technology and living a very hard,traditional life,which offers me another notion about the meaning of progress in the Western tradition,"he says.“I experienced the sim licit of livin in nature that I would otherwise oml be able to read about.I see a lot of beaut in their sense of sharing and concern foreach other.”

12.Why did James Copeland want to study the American Indian tribe Tarahumaras?

13.How did Gonzalez help James Copeland?

14.What does the speaker say about James Copeland's trip to the Tarahumaras village?

15.What impresses James Copeland about the Tarahumaras tribe?

Section C

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you havejust heard.

What is a radical?It seems today that people are terrifed of the term,particularly of having the label atached to them.Accusing individuals or groups of being radical often serves to silence them into submission,thereby maintaining the existing state of affairs,and,more important,preserving the power of a select minority who are mostly wealthy white males in Westernsociety.

Feminism is a perfect example of this phenomenom.The women's movement has been plagued by stereotypes,misrepresentations by the media andaccusations of man hating and radicalism,when the basic  foundation of feminismis simply that women deserve equal rights in allfacets of life.When faced with a threat  of being labelled radical,women backdown from their worthy cause and consequently participate in theirown  oppressiom.It has gotten to the point that many women are afraid to call themselves feminists because of the stigma attached to the word.If people refuseto be controlled and intimidated by stigmas,the stigmas lose all  their power.Without fear on which they feed,suchstigmas can only die.

To me,a radical is simply someone who rebels against the nom while advocates a change in the existing state of affairs.On closer inspection,it becomes clear that the norm is constantly evolving and therefore is not a constant entity.So why then is deviation from the present situationsuch a threat when the state of affairs itself is unstable and subject to relentless transformatiom?It all goes back to maintaining the power of those who have it and preventing the rights of those who don't.In fact,when we look at the word"radical"in a historical context,nearly every figure we now hold up as a hero wasconsidered a radicalin his or her time.Radicals are people who effect change.Theyare the people about whom history is written. Abolitionists were radicals;civil rights activists were radicas;even the founders ofour country in their fight to win  independence from England were radicak.Their presence in history has changed the way our society  functions,mainly by shifting the balance of power that previously existed.Of course,there are someradicas  who've made a negative impact on humanity.But undeniably,there would simply be no progress without  radical.That being said,next time someone calls me a radical,I will accept that label with pride.

16.What usually happens when peopleare accused of being radical?

17.What is the speaker's definition of a radical?

18.What does the speaker think of most radicas in the American history?

Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you havejust heanl.

We are very susceptible to the influence of the people around us. For instance,you may have known somebody who hasgone overseas for a year or so,and has returned with an accent,perhaps.We becomepart of our immediate emviromment.None of us are immume to the influences of our own world.And let us not kid ourselves that we are untouched by the things and the people in our life.Fred goes off to his new job at a factory.Fred takes hs 10 minute coffee break,but the other workers take a half an hour.Fred says,“What's thematter with you guys?”Two weeks later,Fred is taking 20 minute breaks.A month later,Fred takes his half hour.Fred is saying,“If you can't beat them,join them.Why should I work any harder than the next guy?”

The fascinating thing about being human is that generally we are unaware that there are changes taking place in ourmentality.It is like returningto the city smog after some weeks in the fresh air.Only then do we realise that we have becomeaccustomed to the nasty smells.Mix with critical peopleand we learn to criticize.Mixwith happy people andwe learn about happines.What this meansis that weneed to decide what we want fromlife and then chooseour company accordingly.You may well say,“That is going to take some effort.It may not be comfortable.I may offend some of my present company.”Right!But it is your life.Fred may say,“I'm always broke,frequently depressed.I'm going nowhere and I never do anything exciting.”Then we discovered that Fred's best friends are always broke,frequently depressed,going nowhere and wishing that life was more exciting.This is not coincidence,nor is it our business to stand in judgement to Fred.However,if Fred ever wants to im rovehis ualit of life,the first thin he'll need to do is reco nise what has been oin on all these years.It's no surprise that doctors as a profession suffer a lot of ill health because they spend their lives around sick people.Ps  chiatrists have a hi her incidence of suicide in their profesion for related reasons.Traditionally,nine out of ten children whose parents smoke,smoke themselves.Obesity is in part an envirommental problem.Succesful people have succesful friends.And so the story goes on.

19.What does the speaker say about us as human beings?

20.What does the speaker say Fred should do first to improve his quality of life?

21.What does the speaker say about psychiatrists?

Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you havejust heard.

Virtuall ever Americancan reco mize a dollarbill at a mere lance.Man can identif it bits sound or texture.But few eo le indeed can accuratel describe the world's most owerful,imortant currency.

The American dollar bill is colored with black ink on one side and green on the other.The exact com osition of the a er and ink is a closel arded overnment secret.Despite its weighty importance,the dollar bill actually weighs little.It requires nearly 500 bills to tip the scales at a pound.Not only is the dollar bill lightweight,but it abo has a brief lifespan.Few dollar bills survive longer tham 18 months.

The word“dollar"is taken from the German word“thaler,"the name for the world's most important currency in the 16th century.The thaler was a silver coin first minted in 1518 under the reign of Charles V, Fmperor of Germamy.

The concept of paper money is a relatively recent innovation in the history of American currency.When the  Constitution was signed,people had little regard for paper money because of its steadil decreasing value during the colonial era.Because of this lack of faith,the new American government minted only coins for common currency.Interest bearing bank notes were issued at the same time,but their purpose was limied to providing money for urgent government crises,such asAmerican involvement in the War of 1812.The first noninterest bearing paper currency was authorized by Congress in 1862,at the height of the Civil War.At this point,citizens'old fears of devalued papercurrency had calmed and the dollarbill wasborn.The new green colored papermoneyquickly earned the nickname“greenback.”

Today,the American dollar bill is a product of the Federal Reserve,and is issued from the 12 Federal Reserve banks around the United States.The government keeps a steady supplyof approximately two billion bills in circulation at all times.Controversy continues to surround the true value of the dollar bill American history has seen generations of politicians argue in favor of a gold standard for American currency.However,forthe  present,the American dollar billholds the value that is printed on it,and little more.The onlyother guarantee on the bill is a Federal Reserve pledge as a confirmation in the form of government securities.

22.What does the speaker say about the American dollar bill?

23.What does the speaker say about the exact composition of the American dollar bill?

24.Why did the new American government mint only coins for common currency?

25.What have generations of American politicians argued for?

1.A)【精析】目的原因题。当男士问女士她哪里来的那么多精力时，女士回答说，她只是喜欢自己所做的事情。她非常幸运能有这样的生活，做自己热爱的事情。由此可知，女士精力充沛的原因是她可以全身心投人到追求自己的爱好上。

2.D)【精析】细节辨认题。当男士问女士她的目标是什么以及她为什么要做这么多事情时，女士对自己的多种工作进行了归纳。在她看来，她所做的事情可 以分为两类：一是科学教育；二是对科学的进一步理解，即科学研究。

3.A)【精析】细节辨认题。男士问女士，教学是否会占用做实验的时间。女士明确回答说，她喜欢教学她不介意在这上面花费比以往更多的时间，教授某个学科也可以让自己对该学科有更好的理解。

4.B)【精析】细节推断题。当男士问女士最近是否会有一些新的科学发现时，女士说科学研究一直在进行，总会不断有新的发现。现实是我们电脑里有太多的数据，却没人花时间去查看这些数据，更别说去分析它们了。由此推断，女士认为，如果充分利用现有数据，就会有新的科学突破。

5.B)【精析】细节辨认题。当男士问女士她是否认为梦有特殊的含义时，女士说她不这么认为，男士与女士看法一致。也就是说，两人都不认为梦有特殊的含义。

6.C)【精析】目的原因题。女士说自己的祖母很迷信， 有一次，她梦到自己第二天要乘坐的飞机坠毁了，她便决定不乘坐原定航班，甚至连机场都没去。

7.D)【精析】细节辨认题。女士说虽然情绪看上去很荒谬，却可以和理性思维一样具有强大的影响力。

8.C)【精析】细节辨认题。男士提到，西格蒙德·弗洛伊德说成年人的梦是他们异常复杂的情感的复杂反映。

9.A)【精析】细节辨认题。短文开头部分提到，在20世纪70年代，科学家们通过可以穿透冰层的无线电波首次发现了沃斯托克湖。

10.B)【精析】细节辨认题。短文中提到，科学家们怀疑在沃斯托克湖中有微生物存活，这些微生物可能与外界隔绝长达两百多万年的时间。

11.D)【精析】细节辨认题。短文最后提到，科学家们希望他们的发现能够为外太空存在生命提供线索，它们可能存在于类似的黑暗和真空环境中。

12.A)【精析】目的原因题。短文开头提到，当詹姆斯·科普兰发现对于塔拉胡马拉斯这美国印第安部落的语言几乎没有任何研究时，他便萌发了要对其进行研究的想法。

13.D)【精析】细节辨认题。短文中指出，在冈萨雷斯答应帮助科普兰之后，他充当了中间人的角色，还带着科普兰去了塔拉胡马拉斯村。

14.C)【精析】细节辨认题。短文中提到，对于科普兰来说，进入塔拉胡马拉斯人的世界是件辛苦的 (laborious) 事。从得克萨斯州的休斯顿出发，他要开两天半的车才能抵达。

15.B )【精析】细节辨认题。短文中提到，对科普兰来说这段经历不仅在学术上令人满意，而且在许多方面丰富了他的生活。短文最后引用了他的原话，他说他切身体验到了生活在自然中的简单，否则他只能在书本中读到，他还从人们相互分享、彼此关心中感受到了很多美好。选项中的 sense of sharing and caring是录音中sense of sharing and concern for each other的同义转述。

16.A)【精析】细节辨认题。讲座开头处提到，指责个人或团体激进往往会使他们保持沉默并屈服，从而维持现状。

17.D)【精析】细节推断题。讲座中讲话者明确提到，对他而言，激进分子就是那种反对常规，同时主张改变现状的人。也就是说，讲话者认为，激进分子是反抗现有社会秩序的人。

18.C)【精析】细节推断题。讲座后半部分提到了讲话者对美国历史上激进分子的看法，他说，当我们在历史背景下看“激进分子”这个词的时候，几乎每个被我们视为英雄的人在他或她所处的时代都被认为是激进分子。他们是引起变革的人。也就是 说，讲话者认为，历史上的那些激进分子是推动社会进步的动力。

19.B)【精析】细节辨认题。讲座开头提到，我们很容易 受到周围人的影响，之后又提到，我们没有人可以免受外部世界的影响。

20.D)【精析】细节归纳题。讲座中先提到弗雷德的同事和朋友的状态对他的影响：他的同事工作懒散休息时间长，一段时间下来，弗雷德也慢慢变得和他们样，认为自己没必要比其他人更努力；他的朋友生活困窘，经常情绪低落，没有目标，希望生 活别总这么无聊，这也导致弗雷德有相同的感觉。接下来，讲话者说，弗雷德要想改善自己的生活，首先要做的就是弄明白这些年都发生了什么。也就是说，他需要先弄明白是身边的人对自己产生了负面的影响。

21.A)【精析】细节推断题。讲座最后提到，由于经常接触病人，医生的健康状况不佳。接下来又说，同理，精神科医生自杀的发生率也较高。

22.B)【精析】细节推断题。讲座开头指出，几乎所有的美国人一眼就能认出美元，很多人通过它的声音和质地就能辨认出来，但几乎没有人能够准确地描述这种世界上最强大、最重要的货币。也就是说，很少有人能准确地描述它。

23.C)【精析】细节辨认题。讲座中提到，美钞的一面是黑色墨水，另一面是绿色墨水，纸张和墨水的确切成分是政府严格保守的秘密。

24.A)【精析】目的原因题。讲座中提到，宪法刚刚签署时，殖民时期的纸币不断贬值导致人们不重视纸币，正因为民众的这种不信任，当时的新美国政府 只铸造硬币作为通用货币。

25.C) 【精析】细节辨认题。讲座临近结束时提到，关于美钞真实价值的争议一直在继续。在美国历史上，几代政治家都支持美国货币的金本位制。录音中的gold standard意为“金本位”,即金本位制，就是以黄金为本位币的货币制度。