2008年12月大学英语六级试题及答案_第3页

Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written. (此部分试题在答题卡2上；请在答题卡2上作答。)

Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)  (25 minutes)

Section A

Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer sheet 2.

Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.

One of the major producers of athletic footwear, with 2002 sales of over $10 billion, is a company called Nike, with corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Forbes magazine identified Nike’s president, Philip Knight, as the 53rd-richest man in the world in 2004. But Nike has not always been a large multimillion-dollar organization. In fact, Knight started the company by selling shoes from the back of his car at track meets.

In the late 1950s Philip Knight was a middle-distance runner on the University of Oregon track team, coached by Bill Bowerman. One of the top track coaches in the U.S., Bowerman was also known for experimenting with the design of running shoes in an attempt to make them lighter and more shock-absorbent. After attending Oregon, Knight moved on to do graduate work at Stanford University; his MBA thesis was on marketing athletic shoes. Once he received his degree, Knight traveled to Japan to contact the Onitsuka Tiger Company, a manufacturer of athletic shoes. Knight convinced the company’s officials of the potential for its product in the U.S.. In 1963 he received his first shipment of Tiger shoes, 200 pairs in total.

In 1964, Knight and Bowerman contributed $500 each to form Blue Ribbon Sports, the predecessor of Nike. In the first few years, Knight distributed shoes out of his car at local track meets. The first employees hired by Knight were former college athletes. The company did not have the money to hire “experts”, and there was no established athletic footwear industry in North America from which to recruit those knowledgeable in the field. In its early years the organization operated in an unconventional manner that characterized its innovative and entrepreneurial approach to the industry. Communication was informal; people discussed ideas and issues in the hallways, on a run, or over a beer. There was little task differentiation. There were no job descriptions, rigid reporting systems, or detailed rules and regulations. The team spirit and shared values of the athletes on Bowerman’s teams carried over and provided the basis for the collegial style of management that characterized the early years of Nike.

47. While serving as a track coach, Bowerman tried to design running shoes that were ____________________.

48. During his visit to Japan, Knight convinced the officials of the Onitsuka Tiger Company that its product would have__________________________________.

49. Blue Ribbon Sports was unable to hire experts due to the absence of____________________ in North America.

50. In the early years of Nike, communication within the company was usually carried out____________.

51. What qualities of Bowerman’s teams formed the basis of Nike’s early management style?

Section B

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the sole measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.

To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so. Medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a predominantly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today. It had minimal effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. In terms of energy use and the nutrients(营养成分)captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.

Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution. Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. Throughout this period food became cheaper, safe and more reliable. However, these changes have also led to habitat(栖息地)loss and to diminishing biodiversity.

What’s more, demand for animal products in developing countries is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050. Yet the growth of cities and industry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.

All this means that agriculture in the 21st century will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th. This will require radical thinking. For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are inevitably more sustainable than new ones. We also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be “zero impact”. The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.

Instead we need a more dynamic interpretation, one that looks at the pros and cons(正反两方面)of all the various way land is used. There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example, that the carbon cost of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.

What is crucial is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.

52. How do people often measure progress in agriculture?

A) By its productivity.  

B) By its sustainability. 

C) By its impact on the environment.

D) By its contribution to economic growth.

53. Specialisation and the effort to increase yields have resulted in________.

A) localised pollution     

B) the shrinking of farmland 

C) competition from overseas

D) the decrease of biodiversity

54. What does the author think of traditional farming practices?

A) They have remained the same over the centuries.

B) They have not kept pace with population growth.

C) They are not necessarily sustainable.

D) They are environmentally friendly.

55. What will agriculture be like in the 21st century?

A) It will go through radical changes.

B) It will supply more animal products.

C) It will abandon traditional farming practices.

D) It will cause zero damage to the environment.

56 What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A) To remind people of the need of sustainable development.

B) To suggest ways of ensuring sustainable food production.

C) To advance new criteria for measuring farming progress.

D) To urge people to rethink what sustainable agriculture is.