2019年12月大学英语六级真题（第1套）及答案解析

M: Today our guest is Rosie Mullender, who works as Features Editor for Fashion magazine. Hi, Rosie, you're Features Editor at one of the most widely-read women's magazines in the UK. What kind of responsibilities does that job entail? W: We spend our days looking at ideas from journalists, writing copy for the magazine and website, and editing. We do random things like asking people in the street questions and testing sports clothing. We also do less tangible things like understanding what our readers want. It's certainly varied and sometimes bizarre. M: During your working day, what kind of work might you typically do? W: My day mainly incorporates responding to emails, writing and editing stories and coming up with new feature ideas. M: How does the job of Features Editor differ from that of Fashion Editor, or other editorial positions? W: The features team deals with articles such as careers, reports, confidence and confessions— everything except fashion and beauty. M: A lot of people believe that working at a magazine is a glamorous job. Is this an accurate representation of what you do? W: I'd say it's glamorous to an extent, but not in the way it's portrayed in films. We do have our moments, such as interviewing celebrities and attending parties, which is a huge thrill. Ultimately, though, we're the same as our readers, but working in a job we're all very lucky to have. M: Did you have to overcome any difficulties to reach this point in your career? How did you manage to do this? W: I had to be really persistent and it was very hard work. After three years of working in a petrol station and doing unpaid work, I still hadn't managed to get an entry-level job. I was lucky that my last desperate attempt led to a job. I told myself that all experiences make you a better journalist in the long run—and luckily, I was right!

W: Are you watching any good shows these days? M: Actually, yes. I'm watching a great satire called Frankie. I think you'd like it. W: Really? What's it about? M: It's about a real guy named Frankie. He is a famous comedian in New York and the show's a mixture of comedy and drama loosely depicting his life. W: I'm sorry, do you mean to say, it's a real-life series about a real person? It's non-fiction, is it? M: No... Not really, no. It's fiction, as what happens in every episode is made up. However the lead role is a comedian by the name of Frankie, and he plays himself. So Frankie in both real life and in the TV show lives in New York City, is a comic, is divorced, and has two little daughters. All those things are true, but aside from him, all his friends and family are played by actors. And the plots and events that take place are also invented. W: Oh, I think I see now. That sounds like a very original concept. M: Yes, it is. In fact, the whole show is written, directed, edited and produced by him, and is very funny and has won many awards. W: That's cool. I will try to download it. I'm watching a comedy called The Big Bang Theory. It's a huge hit around the world. M: Oh yes. I've heard of it, but never actually watched it. W: Well, then you should check it out. It's also very funny. It's about four male scientists and a female waitress. The men are very socially awkward but very bright. And this is contrasted by the lady's social skills and common sense. The show has been running for over ten years, and some of the actors are practically global superstars, now that they are such famous celebrities.

Related to the "use it or lose it" law is the "keep moving" principle. We learned about stagnation from nature. A river that stops moving gets smelly. The same thing happens to people who stop moving, either mentally or physically. Those who play contact sports know that the player who usually gets hurt the most is the one who is standing still. Of course, you'll need some time to catch your breath every so often, but the essential message is "keep moving, extending and learning." Ships last a lot longer when they go to sea than when they stay in the harbor. The same is true for airplanes. You don't preserve an airplane by keeping it on the ground. You preserve it by keeping it in service. We also get to live a long healthy life by staying in service. Longevity statistics reveal that the average person doesn't last very long after retirement. The moral here is don't retire. If a fellow says "I'm 94 years old and I worked all my life", we need to realize that is how he got to be 94, by staying involved. George Bernard Shaw won a Nobel Prize when he was nearly 70. Benjamin Franklin produced some of his best writings at the age of 84, and Pablo Picasso put brush to canvas right through his eighties. Isn't the issue how old we think we are? A bonus with the "keep moving" principle is that while we keep moving, we don't have a chance to worry. Hence, we avoid the dreaded "paralysis by analysis". who is standing still.

In 2014, one in 16 Americans visited the hospital emergency room for home injuries. One of the main causes of these accidents? A wandering mind. By one estimate, people daydream through nearly half of their waking hours. Psychologists have recently focused on the tendency to think about something other than the task one is doing. For one experiment, researchers developed an app to analyze the relationship between daydreaming and happiness. They found that the average person's mind wandered most frequently (about 65% of the time) during personal activities, such as brushing their teeth and combing their hair. Respondents' minds tended to wander more when they felt upset rather than happy. They were more likely to wander toward pleasant topics than unpleasant ones. How do daydreams affect daydreamers? A wandering mind leaves us vulnerable when driving. In one study, researchers interviewed 955 people involved in traffic accidents. The majority of them reported having daydreamed just before the accident. Yet other research suggests that daydreaming has benefits. Researchers have found that it gives us a chance to think about our goals and it also seems to increase creativity. In one experiment, 145 undergraduates completed four "unusual uses" tasks, each requiring them to list as many uses as possible for an everyday object. After the first pair of tasks was completed, one group of participants was assigned an undemanding activity intended to cause their minds to wander. When all the participants proceeded to the second pair of tasks, the daydreamers performed 40 percent better than the others.

Dating from as far back as the 12th century, they are claimed to be the rarest historic buildings in western Europe. These buildings offer vital insight into Scandinavia's Viking past. But now, with only 30 wooden churches remaining and their condition deteriorating, experts are working to preserve the structures for future generations. Some of these spectacular churches are no more than small buildings, barely 4 metres wide and 6 metres tall. Others are much larger structures. They soar up to 40 metres into the cold air. Most consist of timber frames that rest on stone blocks. This means that they have no foundations. Although many of the churches appear from the outside to be complex structures, they normally feature only a single storey but numerous different roof levels. Staff from the Norwegian government have carried out conservation work on 10 of the churches over the past two years. Most of these churches date from between the 12th and 14th centuries. Other churches were conserved in previous years. So far, specialists have worked to add preservative materials to the churches' exteriors. They also replaced rotting roofs and halted the sinking of the churches into the ground. In two cases, huge machines have been used to lift the buildings up to 30 centimetres into the air. This was accomplished so that the team could examine and repair the churches' original medieval stone blocks. The team plans to return to around a dozen of the buildings to assess progress and consider further action. The earliest free-standing wooden church was probably built in Norway in around 1080. However, the largest known wooden churches were built from the 1130s onwards. This period was one of inter-elite rivalry in which nobles sought to increase their influence by funding the construction of churches and other buildings. The reason for constructing the buildings from wood is probably that ideally proportioned straight and slender timber was available in large quantities in Scandinavia's vast pine forests. As wood was so plentiful, it was cheaper to use than the stone used in the buildings of other European cultures. The area's ship-building tradition, partly established by the Vikings, also meant that sophisticated carpentry was a major aspect of the local culture. The complex style of the medieval wooden church carvings, and the skills used to make them, almost certainly derive from the ancient Viking tradition. are working to preserve the structures for future generations.

In last week's lecture, we discussed the characteristics of the newly born offspring of several mammals. You probably remember that human infants are less developed physically than other mammals of the same age. But in today's lecture, we'll look at three very interesting studies that hint at the surprising abilities of human babies. In the first study, three-year-olds watched two videos shown side by side, each featuring a different researcher, one of whom they'd met once two years earlier. The children spent longer watching the video showing the researcher they hadn't met. This is consistent with young children's usual tendency to look longer at things that aren't familiar. And really this is amazing. It suggests the children remembered the researcher they'd met just one time when they were only one-year-olds. Of course, as most of us forget memories from our first few years as we grow older, these early long-term memories will likely be lost in subsequent years. Our second study is about music. For this study, researchers played music to babies through speakers located on either side of a human face. They waited until the babies got bored and averted their gaze from the face. And then they changed the mood of the music, either from sad to happy or the other way around. This mood switch made no difference to the three-month-olds; but for the nine-month-olds, it was enough to renew their interest and they started looking again in the direction of the face. This suggests that babies of that age can tell the difference between a happy melody and a sad tune. Our final study is from 1980, but it's still relevant today. In fact, it's one of the most famous pieces of research about infant emotion ever published. The study involved ordinary adults watching video clips of babies nine months or younger. In the video clips, the babies made various facial expressions in response to real-life events including playful interactions and painful ones. The adult observers were able to reliably discern an assortment of emotions on the babies' faces. These emotions included interest, joy, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, and fear. Next week, we'll be looking at this last study more closely. In fact, we will be viewing some of the video clips from that study. And together, see how well we do in discerning the babies' emotions. abilities of human babies.

Today I'd like to talk about the dangers of being too collaborative. Being a good team player is an essential skill in our modern workplace. The ability to work well with others and collaborate on projects is a sought-after ability in nearly every position. However, placing too much emphasis on being a good team player can negatively affect your career growth. Don't be overly focused on gaining consensus. Don't be too concerned with the opinions of others. This can hinder your ability to make decisions, speak up, and gain recognition for your individual skills and strengths. Some people are too subordinate to others' opinions, too focused on decision consensus, too silent about their own point of view, too agreeable to take things on when they don't have time or energy. This leads to building a brand of underconfident, submissive, low-impact non-leaders and hampers their growth and career advancement. Collaboration certainly makes your individual competencies and contributions more difficult for outsiders to identify. Collaborative projects mean you're sharing the spotlight with others. Outsiders may then find it difficult to determine your contributions and strengths. This may end up costing you opportunities for promotions or pay raises. You certainly shouldn't ditch teamwork, but how can you avoid the hazards of being an over-collaborator? Working in a team can have huge benefits. Your team may have repeated successes and often gain recognition. You then have more opportunities to expand your professional network than if you worked alone. However, finding a balance between team efforts and individual projects that give you independent recognition is important for making a name for yourself and providing opportunities for advancement. Be selective in who you work with. This will maximize the benefits and minimize the downsides of being a team player. Collaborate with people who have complementary expertise. Select projects where there's potential for mutual benefit. Perhaps you're bringing your unique knowledge and gaining access to someone else's professional network. Or maybe you're able to learn a new skill by working with someone. Seek out your teammates purposefully rather than jumping on every new group project opportunity. When we're too collaborative, we want everyone to agree with a decision before we proceed. This can create unnecessary delays as you hold meetings trying to achieve a consensus. It's fine to be collaborative when seeking input, but put a deadline on the input stage and arrive at a decision, even if it's a decision that doesn't have consensus. career growth.