2023年06月大学英语六级真题（第1套）及答案解析

M: Hi, Lily, how's the new apartment? W: It's okay. M: What? How can it be just okay when last week you were thrilled about the place and kept posting photos of it online? W: Well, last week when I moved in, the apartment seemed cozy, just the right size for one person. But now it just seems tiny, shabby and solitary. M: Ah, that's the problem. You miss your roommates from university, don't you? W: I'm going to sound like an idiot, because I used to complain to you all the time about how crowded our dormitory room was, and about all the things they did to irritate me, like watching movies late at night without headphones, or talking loudly early in the morning. But now I miss them terribly. M: Of course you do. That's perfectly normal. When I got my first place I remember thinking I couldn't wait to live by myself and get away from my juvenile roommates and all their annoying habits. But then I began missing them and feeling lonely and thinking that our dormitory was like paradise, even though there were six of us guys in one small room. W: I thought it was just me who felt like that. M: Look, you lived at home with us, and then you had three roommates, and this is your first time living alone. So it's hard. But your first apartment is a milestone in your life, and you should celebrate it. Tell me about the apartment. W: Actually, it's not bad. In fact, it's pretty adorable, now that I have decorated it and it has everything I need. I have a kitchen to cook in and a bathroom all to myself, and then another room with my bed at one end, and a sofa, a small table and chairs at the other end. M: That does sound adorable and I can't wait to see it, and neither can mom and dad. person.

W: Welcome to our program Book Talk. Our guest today is Frank Jones, a critic of our education system, and the author of a new book, How to Reform Our Universities. M: Hello, Susan.

Do you ever have the annoying feeling that you don't have time to really think anymore? You are not alone. A variety of factors have conspired to rob us of time for reflection about ourselves and our lives. Today, our preoccupied minds are rarely silent. The average person receives hundreds of texts and voice messages a day, and holidays for many of us are action-packed weeks more likely full of family activities than opportunities for tranquility and contemplation. Regular reflection, however, underlies all great professionals. It's a prerequisite for you to recharge your mental batteries, see things in a new light and tap into your creativity. Almost all of the great advisors that I have studied have found ways to get away from it all and contemplate their life and work. Some researchers in the field of creativity, in fact, believe that insight occurs during the reflection and relaxation that follows a period of intense activity. Schedule time for reflection about your work or a particular project you're engaged in. I usually block out half an hour. Don't answer the phone. Push your papers to the side. Sketch, make lists, draw "mind maps" of ideas that come to you. At the end, write down any emerging ideas. When you're alone, stop worrying and think. A lot of our down time is spent worrying about troublesome things in our lives or fantasizing about how we'd like our lives to be. Revisit things during moments of relaxation after a period of intense work. This is when we are the most creative. are not alone.

Even before Colorado was a state, it had post offices. The first opened in 1859, in a settlement founded by migrants searching for gold. Life could be unpredictable out west—gold failed to appear, drought ruined farmers and settlers clashed with Native Americans. On the settlement's location now stands a sprawling university campus. Amid all the changes, one feature remained constant—the postal service. The maps tracing America's westward expansion are telling. In 1864, there were few postal branches on land controlled by Native Americans, which still accounted for most of the West. Over the next 25 years, post offices grew quickly. Colonization of the West could be regarded as a result of big government rather than pioneers. As federal subsidies and land grants tempted people into the deserts and plains, the post kept them connected. In the mid-19th century, the Post Office Department was far from a centralized bureaucracy. To keep up with migration patterns, postal services were added to existing businesses. The federal government commissioned private wagons to carry the mail. Short-term contracts were granted to local businessmen to act as postmasters. These partnerships enabled the mail to quickly follow migrants, helping knit together remote parts of the country. Mr. Blevins, a digital historian, wrote a book on the history of the US postal service. He used data science to analyze historical trends. Most strikingly, he built an accompanying website, complete with interactive maps. They show readers how, within a generation, the postal service helped colonize a continent. These online interactive maps illustrate the formative power of snail mail. settlement founded by migrants searching for gold.

In last week's lecture, we discussed reasons why people forget things. This week, we will discuss a surprising reason why we might remember some things—anxiety. Think about something as simple as buying a coffee. That may not seem like an experience that would make a deep impression on your memory, but anxiety could change that. In fact, a new study suggests that people with higher anxiety levels might remember certain information better than people with lower anxiety levels. That's because higher levels of anxiety may make people more susceptible to negative feelings, putting them in a more negative state of mind. That in turn may make them able to better remember some events. Let's take a closer look at that new study now. In the study, the researchers started by giving 80 undergraduate students an anxiety test. The test measured the participants' anxiety levels over the preceding two weeks. Then, to test memory, the participants were shown a series of neutral words, one at a time. Some of the words were printed on to photos of negative scenes, meaning images that could affect their emotions negatively, such as a photo of a car accident or a cemetery. The rest of the words were printed on to photos of neutral scenes, such as a photo of a lake or trees. Neutral words included words like "table" or "desk" that don't elicit emotion. Later, the participants were asked to think back to the words they were shown earlier, which caused them to reenter either a negative or a neutral mindset. The participants were then presented with another set of neutral words, and their memory of these new words was tested. The researchers found that the new words presented to people in a negative mindset were better remembered by people with higher levels of anxiety than those with lower levels of anxiety. In other words, when highly anxious individuals took in otherwise emotionally neutral information that was presented to them, it became colored by their negative mindset, making them remember the information better. But these same effects were not seen in people with low levels of anxiety. Previous studies have found that extreme levels of anxiety, such as those experienced by people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, can be quite detrimental to memory and cognitive performance. But the highly anxious people in this study represent individuals who are managing their anxiety and for whom anxiety is not a serious problem. information better than people with lower anxiety levels.

Over the past 20 years, the internet has gradually become a dominant feature of our lives. It has changed how we communicate with each other, and it has definitely transformed the way we do business with each other. Marketing has also changed in a number of ways. For instance, in the past, consumers had to call a phone number and patiently wait on hold, in order to get the information they wanted. Today, they want the information immediately. They'll go to the company's social media page and post comments and questions, expecting to receive an immediate response. If they don't get their questions answered soon, they'll move on to another company that will answer them quickly. Marketing departments today need to follow technological development. For example, this year's smartphone is smarter than last year's; self-driving cars are now on the road. Marketers have to do research on which technologies are coming into being. Otherwise, they risk being left behind in the virtual dust. Marketing has also changed due to the importance of video. People don't just want to read text; they want to watch things happening. Companies now have to explore how they can use video on a consistent basis to share information about their businesses. Fortunately, it's extremely easy to shoot something these days. All you need is a smartphone. But what's the result of all this? Shorter attention spans. We aren't the same people that we were 20 years ago. Not only have we grown accustomed to getting the information we want instantaneously, our attention spans are much shorter. If something doesn't capture our attention within a few seconds, we're on to the next piece of content. Marketers need to figure out ways to speak directly to the customers' emotions, and they need to figure out how to do that as quickly as possible. Once people are emotionally engaged, they'll stick with you. If marketing has changed this much in the past 20 years, imagine what the next 20 years will bring. In a recent survey, only 9% of marketers could say with confidence that their marketing efforts were actually working. Their confidence is being shaken, because the rules of the game change every year. That's why it's important for marketers to pay attention to the latest technological developments and consider collaborating with technological innovators. That way, they'll be moving at the same pace as the tech industry. and post comments and questions, expecting to receive an immediate response.

You might be surprised to learn that the benefits of friendships extend beyond people's social life and into their work, which is interesting when considering the extent to which people sacrifice friendships, or at least the time they spend with friends, because of the extended hours they're devoting to work. Just last week, I was remarking to a colleague that I'm content with only one social engagement per week. But according to recent research, that's evidently not enough. In an initial study of more than 700 respondents, scholars from an American university analyzed the impact that friends, as opposed to family, have on self-esteem and well-being. Friends came out substantially on top. That's because to be someone's mate is a voluntary act, unlike family who people rarely get to choose. The researchers found that when people choose to cultivate and maintain supportive friendships with an individual, it means that the person is valued and worthy of their limited time. Such sentiments of value and worthiness boost our self-esteem. The second study comprised more than 300 participants. It proved that the better we feel about ourselves, the more likely we'll perform our job confidently and competently. This follow-up study found that non-work friends even improve people's job satisfaction. They have as much of an impact on how much they love their jobs as do the friends they have at work, despite not actually being at our place of work. These types of friends tend to be our preferred outlet for venting about work-related matters. This is an avenue that may not be available at the office. So even though friendships can be easy to neglect when confronted by pressures at work, or even pressures at home, neglecting our friends can turn out to be harmful and counterproductive. That's why, when determining how to create a better work-life balance, we need to consider not only how to balance work and family demands, but also how to cultivate and sustain supportive friendships. It's for this reason that managers should never discriminate when it comes to requests from employees for flexible work arrangements. It's irrelevant whether their need for a desired schedule is due to, say, parenting responsibilities, or a craving to hang out with a best mate. What matters is the opportunity to engage in a nourishing activity outside of work. That will definitely have a follow-on effect at work. life and into their work, which is interesting when considering the extent to which people sacrifice friendships ... because of the extended hours they're devoting to work.