1、Part I writing (30 minutes)注意：此部分试题在答题卡 1 上:参考范Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and scanning) (15 minutes)Supersize surpriseAsk anyone why there is an obesity epidemic and they will tell you that its al down to eating too much and burning too few calories. That explanation appeals to common s
2、ense and has dominated efforts to get to the root of the obesity epidemic and reverse it/ yet obesity researchers are increasingly dissatisfied with it. Many now believe that something else must have changed in our environment to precipitate(促成) such dramatic rises in obesity over the past 40 years
3、or so. Nobody is saying that the “big two” reduced physical activity and increased availability of food are not important contributors to the epidemic, but they cannot explain it all.Earlier this year a review paper by 20 obesity experts set out the 7 most plausible alternative explanations for the
4、epidemic. Here they are.1. Not enough sleepIt is widely believed that sleep is for the brain, not the body. Could a shortage of shut-eye also be helping to make us fat?Several large-scale studies suggest there may be a link. People who sleep less than 7 hours a night tend to have a higher body mass
5、index than people who sleep more, according to data gathered by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Similarly, the US Nurses Health Study, which tracked 68,000 women for 16 years, found that those who slept an average of 5 hours a night gained more weight during the study period
6、 than women who slept 6 hours, who in turn gained more than whose who slept 7. Its well known that obesity impairs sleep, so perhaps people get fat first and sleep less afterwards. But the nurses study suggests that it can work in the other direction too: sleep loss may precipitate weight gain.Altho
7、ugh getting figures is difficult, it appears that we really are sleeping less. In 1960 people in the US slept an average of 8.5 hours per night. A 2002 poll by the National Sleep Foundation suggests that the average has fallen to under 7 hours, and the decline is mirrored by the increase in obesity.
8、2. Climate controlWe humans, like all warm-blooded animals, can keep our core body temperatures pretty much constant regardless of whats going on in the world around us. We do this by altering our metabolic(新陈代新的) rate, shivering or sweating. Keeping warm and staying cool take energy unless we are i
9、n the “thermo-neutral zone”, which is increasingly where we choose to live and work.There is no denying that ambient temperatures(环境温度) have changed in the past few decades. Between 1970 and 2000, the average British home warmed from a chilly 13C to 18C. In the US, the changes have been at the other
10、 end of the thermometer as the proportion of homes with air conditionings rose from 23% to 47% between 1978 and 1997. In the southern states where obesity rates tend to be highest the number of houses with air conditioning has shot up to 71% from 37% in 1978.Could air conditioning in summer and heat
11、ing in winter really make a difference to our weight?Sadly，there is some evidence that it does-at least with regard to heating. Studies show that in comfortable temperatures we use less energy.3.Less smokingBad news: smokers really do tend to be thinner than the rest of us,and quitting really does p
12、ack on the pounds, though no one isn sure why. It probably has something to do with the fact that nicotine is an appetite suppressant and appears to up your metabolic rate.Katherine Flegal and colleagres at the US National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville,Maryland, have calculated that pe
13、ople kicking the habit have been respousible for a small but significant portion of the US epidemic of fatness.From data collected aroud 1991 by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,they worked out that people who had quit in the previous decade were much more likely to be overwei
14、ght than smokers and people who had never smoked .Among men, for example, nearly half of quitters were overweight compared with 37% of non-smokers and only 28%of smokers.4. Genetic effectsYours chances of becoming fat may be set,at least in part,before you were even born.children of boese mothers ar
15、e much more likely to become obest themselves later in life.Offspring of mice fed a high-fat diet during pregnancy are much more likely to become fat than the offspring of identical mice fed a normal diet. Intriguingly,the effect persists for two or three generations.Grand-children of mice fed a hig
16、h-fat diet grow up fat even if their own mother is fed normally-so you fate may have been sealed even before you were conceived.5.A little olderSome groups of people just happen to be fatter than others.surveys carried out by the US national center for health statisties found that adults aged 40 to
17、79 were around three times as likely to be obese as younger people.non-white females also tend to fall at the fatter end of the spectreum:Mexican-american women are 30% more likely than white women to be obsess,and black women have twice the risk.In the US,these groups account for an increasing perc
18、entage of the population.between 1970 and 2000 the US population aged 35 to 44 grew by 43%.the proportion of Hispanic-americans also grew,from under 5% to 12.5% of the population,while the proportion of black Americans increased from 11% to 12.3%.these changes may account in part for the increased p
19、revalence of obesity.6.mature mumsMothers around the world are getting older.in the UK,the mean age for aving a frist child is 27.3,compared with 23.7 in 1970 .mean age at frist birth in the US has also increased, rising from 21.4 in 1970 to 24.9 in 2000.This would be neither here nor there if it we
20、ret for the observation that having an older mother seems to be an independent risk factor for obesity. Results from the US national heart,lung and blood institutes study found that the odds of a child being obese increase 14% for every five extra years of their mothers age , though why this should
21、be so is not entirely clear.Michael Symonds at the university of Nottingham,UK,found that first-bron children have more fat than younger ones. As family size decreases, firstbrons account for a greather share of the population. In 1964, british women gave birth to an average of 2.95 children;by 2005
22、 that figure had fallen to 1.79. in the US in 1976, 9.6% of woman in their 40s had only one chile;in 2004 it was 17.4%. this combination of older mothers and more single children could be contributing to the obesity epidemic.7.Like marrying likeJust as people pair off according to looks, so they do
23、for size. Lean people are more likely to marry lean an d fat more likely to marry fat. On its own, like marrying like cannot account for any increase in obesity. But combined with others- particularly the fact that obesity is partly genetic, and that heavier people have more children-it amplifies th
24、e increase form other causes.1. A)effects of obesity on peoples healthB)the link between lifestyle an obesityC)New explanations for the obesity epidemicD)possible ways to combat the obesity epidemic2. A)gained the least weightB)were inclined to eat lessC)found their vigor enhanced D)were less suscep
25、tible to illness3. A)it makes us sleepyB)it causes sleep lossC)it increases our appetiteD)it results from lack of sleep4. A)it makes us stay indoors moreB)it accelerates our metabolic rateC)it makes us feel more energeticD)it contributes to our weight gain5. A)it threatens their healthB)it heightens
26、 their spiritsC)it suppresses their appetiteD)it slows down their metabolism6. A)heavy smokersB)passive smokersC)those who never smokeD)those who quit smoking7. A)the growing number of smokers among young peopleB)the rising proportion of minorities in its populationC)the increasing consumption of hi
27、gh-calorie foodsD)the improving living standards of the poor people8.according to the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the reason why older mothers children tend to be obese remains 9.According to Michael Symonds, one factor contributing to the obesity epidemic is decrease of 10 when two
28、 heavy people get married, chances of their children getting fat increase, because obesity is 听力部分:11-46:听力原文及答案 Section A11. A)He is quite easy to recognizeB)he is an outstanding speakerC)he looks like a movie starD)he looks young for his age答案:A12. A)consult her dancing teacherB)take a more intere
29、sting classC)continue her dancing classD)improve her dancing skills答案:D13. A)the man did not believe what the woman saidB)the man accompanied the woman to the hospitalC)the woman may be suffering from repetitive strain injuryD)the woman may not followed the doctors instructions答案:D14. A)they are not
30、 in style any moreB)they have cost him far too muchC)they no longer suit his eyesightD)they should be cleaned regularly答案:C15. A)he spilled his drink onto the floorB)he has just finished wiping the floorC)he was caught in a shower on his way homeD)he rushed out of the bath to answer the phone答案:D16.
31、 A)fixing some furnitureB)repairing the toy trainC)reading the instructionsD)assembling the bookcase答案:D17. A)urge Jenny to spend more time on studyB)help Jenny to prepare for the coming examsC)act towards Jenny in a more sensible wayD)send Jenny to a volleyball training center答案:A18. A)The building
32、 of the dam needs a large budgetB)the proposed site is near the residential areaC)the local people fel insecure about the damD)the dam poses a threat to the local environment答案:C2008 年 12 月六级听力短对话原文11.M: Im asked to pick up the guest speaker Bob Russel at the airport this afternoon, do you know what
33、 he looks like?W: Well, hes in his sixties, he stands out, hes bald, tall and thin and has a beard.Q: What do we conclude from the womans remarks about Bob Russel?12. W: Im considering dropping my dancing class. Im not making any progressM: If I were you, Id stick with it. Its definitely worth time
34、and effort.Q: What does the man suggest the woman do?13. W: You see I still have this pain in my back, this medicine the doctor gave me was supposed to make me feel better by now.M: Maybe you shouldve taken it three times a day as you were told.Q: What do we learn from the conversation?14. M: Frankl
35、y, when I sat at the back of the classroom, I cant see the words on the board clearly.W: Well, youve been wearing those same glasses as long as Ive known you. Why not get a new pair, it wont cost you too much.Q: What does the woman imply about the mans glasses?15. W: How come the floor is so wet? I
36、almost slipped, what happened?M: Oh, sorry! The phone rang the moment I got into the shower, anyway, Ill wipe it up right now.Q: Why was the floor wet according to the man?16. M: The instructions on the package say that you need to some assembly yourself. Ive spent all afternoon trying in vain to pu
37、t this bookcase together,W: I know what you mean, last time I tried to assemble a toy train for my son and I almost gave up.Q: What does the man find difficult?17. M: Im getting worried about Jennys school work. All she talks about these days is volleyball games and all she does is practice, trainin
38、g and things like that.W: Her grades on the coming exams will fall for sure. Its high time we talk(ed) some sense to her.Q: What are the speakers probably going to do?18. W: Do you understand why the local people are opposed to the new dam up the river?M: They are worried about the potential danger
39、if the dam should break. The river is very wide above the proposed site.Q: What do we learn from the conversation? 2008 年 12 月六级考试长对话 1 原文W: Mr. White, what changes have you seen in the champagne market in the last ten to fifteen years?M: Well the biggest change has been the decrease in sales since
40、the great boom years of the 1980s when champagne production and sales reached record levels. W: Which was the best year?M: Well the record was in 1989 when 249 million bottles of champagne was sold. The highest production level was reached in 1990 with a total of 293 million bottles. Of course since
41、 those boom years sales have fallen.W: Has the market been badly hit by the recession?M: Oh certainly, the economic problems in champagnes export markets thats Europe, the United States, Japan, and of course the domestic market in France, the economic problems have certainly been one reason for the
42、decrease in champagne sales.W: And the other reasons?M: Another important factor has been price. In the early 90s, champagne was very overpriced, so many people stop buying it. Instead they bought sparkling wines from other countries, in particular from Australia and Spain. And then there was anothe
43、r problem for champagne in the early 90s.W: What was that?M: There was a lot of rather bad champagne on the market. This meant the popularity of good sparkling wines increased even more. People was surprised by their quality and of course they were a lot cheaper than champagne. W: Do you think the c
44、hampagne market will recover in the future?M: Oh, Im sure it will. When the economic situation improves, I believe the market will recover.Questions 19-21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.Question 19: What does the man say about champagne in 1980s?Question 20: Why did sparkling wine
45、s become more popular than champagne in the early 90s?Question 21: What does the man think of the champagne market in the future?Question19 to21 are based on the conversation you have just heard 19 A. It saw the end of its booming years worldwide B. Its production and sales reached record levels.C.
46、It became popular in some foreign countriesD. Its domestic market started to shrink rapidly.答案:B20. A. They cost less. B. They tasted better. C. They were in fashion.D. They were widely advertised.答案:A21. A. It is sure to fluctuate . B. It is bound to revive. C. It will remain basically stable.D. It
47、 will see no more monopoly 答案:BW: Right, well, in the studio this morning, for our interview spot is Peter Wilson. Peter works for Green Peace. So, Peter, welcome.M: Thanks a lot. Its good to be here.W: Great! Now, Peter, perhaps you can tell us something about Green Peace and your job there.M: Sure
48、. Well, Ill start by telling you roughly what Green Peace is all about. I actually work in London for the Green Peace organization. Weve been going for a few decades and were a non-violent, non-political organization. Were involved in anti-nuclear activity, conservation and protection of animals and
49、 protection and support of our eco-system. Im the action organizer and arrange any protests.W: Great! A pretty important role, Peter. What sort of protest would you organize?M: Well, recently weve been involved in anti-nuclear campaigns. I, personally arranged for the demonstration against radioactive waste dumping in the Atlantic Ocean. Weve got a few small Green Peace boats that we harass the dumping ship with.W: Hey? Hold on, Peter. I thought you said your organization was non-violent. What do you mean by “h
