六级与四级的区别：

　　一、词——词汇量5500。

　　二、句——出题考长句子。

　　三、段——所有句子都认识，但不知道整段的意思。But, Yet, However 转折连词后面是重点，常考点。

　　四、选项——有迷惑选项，不像四级那么清晰。

　　原文重现：原文告诉你选什么，你就应该选什么，不能凭感觉和想象。

　　尽量少读：六级更多的对点出题，而不是对面出题。

　　六级四大题型及解题技巧

　　[Page72]

　　In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act, designed to protect species' living areas, and policies that preserve land and forests compete with economic interests. In the 1990's, for example, the woodcutters in the Western United States were challenged legally in their attempt to cut trees for timber in the Cascade Mountains. The challenge was mounted to protect the endangered spotted owl(猫头鹰), whose remaining population occupies these forests and requires the intact, ancient forest for survival. The problematic situation set the interests of environmentalists against those of corporations and of individuals who stood to lose jobs. After months of debate and legal battles, the fate of the woodcutters-and the owls-was still undecided in mid-1992.

　　注：1. controversial的意思是受争议的，同“sharply political issue”，contro表示“反”

　　2. for example前句子是重点

　　3. problematic悬而未决的

　　Similar tensions exist between the developed and the developing nations. Many people in industrialized nations, for example, believe that developing nations in tropical regions should do more to protect their rain forests and other natural areas. But the developing countries may be impoverished (使穷困), with populations growing so rapidly that using the land is a means to temporarily avoid worsening poverty and starvation.

　　注：1. tension张力，冲突

　　2. 看到similar就说明第二段说的和第一段一样。

　　3. But转折是重点

　　Many of the changes to Earth that concern scientists have the potential to rob the planet of its biological richness. The destruction of Earth's ozone layer (臭氧层), for example, could contribute to the general process of impoverishment by allowing ultra-violet rays to harm plants and animals. And global warming could wipe out species unable to quickly adapt to changing climates. Clearly, protecting will come only through coordinated international efforts to control human population, stabilize the composition of the atmosphere, and preserve intact Earth's complex web life.

　　36.Why does the author say that the protection of endangered species is a highly controversial
　　issue?
　　A) Because people can't agree as to what species to protect.
　　B) Because it is difficult to find an effective way to protect such species.
　　C) Because it affects the interests of certain groups of people.
　　D) Because it is a major problem involving a series of legal procedures.

　　注：细节题。第一段economic interests

　　●表示绝对的词--出现在文章中，是非常重要的出题点；如果出现在选项中，很可能是不对的。

　　全无non-nothing-never-seldom-absolutely-hardly-little-few-prevent-exclude-neither...nor

　　全有：all-every-full-either…

　　唯一：only-exactly- best-most

　　37.According to the passage, the preservation of rain forests ________.
　　A) may hamper a developing country in its fight against poverty.
　　B) benefits developed countries rather than developing countries.
　　C) should take priority over the control of human population.
　　D) will help improve the living conditions in developing countries.

　　注：细节题，对应文章第二段。举例前那句话更重要，只要表达出“和经济利益冲突”就对了。

　　38.According to the passage, cutting tress to grow more food _______.
　　A) will widen the gap between the developed and the developing countries.
　　B) is but a short-term relief to the food problem.
　　C) can hardly alleviate the shortage of food.
　　D) proves to be an effective way out for impoverished nations.

　　注：对应文章第二段。Short-term对应temporarily，relief对应avoid。

　　39.Among“humanity's current problems” (Line 6, Para. 3), the chief concern of the scientists
　　is _______.
　　A) the impoverishment of developing countries.
　　B) the explosion of the human population.
　　C) the reduction of biological diversity.
　　D) the effect of global warming.

　　注：第三段。C选项中reduction对应rob，diversity对应richness。

　　40.The author's purpose in writing this passage is ________.
　　A) to describe the difficulties in solving humanity's current problems.
　　B) to present the different views on humanity's current problems.
　　C) to analyze the contradiction between countries in dealing with humanity's current
　　problems.
　　D) to point out that humanity's current problems can only be solved through the cooperation of nations.

　　注：看最后一句话，cooperation of nations 对应coordinated international efforts。

　　[Page80]

　　We sometimes think humans are uniquely vulnerable to anxiety, but stress seems to affect the immune defenses of lower animals too. In one experiment, for example, behavioral immunologist (免疫学家)Mark Laudenslger, at the University of Denver, gave mild electric shocks to 24 rats. Half the animals could switch off the current by turning a wheel in their enclosure, while the other half could mot. The rats in the two groups were paired so that each time one rat turned the wheel it protected both itself and its helpless partner from the shock. Laudenslager found that the immune response was depressed below normal in the helpless rats but not in those that could turn off the electricity. What he has demonstrated, he believes, is that lack of control over an event, not the experience itself, is what weakens the immune system.

　　注：

　　1. vulnerable易受伤害的

　　2. immune defense 免疫系统

　　3. found之后是试验告诉我们的观点

　　4. depress压抑，de往下

　　Other researchers agree. Jay Weiss, a psychologist at Duke University School of Medicine, has shown that animals who are allowed to control unpleasant stimuli don't develop sleep disturbances or changes in brain chemistry typical of stressed rats. But if the animals are confronted with situations they have no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control. Such findings reinforce psychologists' suspicions that the experience or perception of helplessness is one of the most harmful factors in depression.

　　注：

　　1. 看第一句三个单词就知道本段内容和上一段相同。

　　2. passive被动的

　　21. Laudenslager's experiment showed that the immune system of those rats who could turn off the electricity ______.
　　A) was strengthened
　　B) was not affected
　　C) was altered
　　D) was weakened

　　注：定位文章第一段found之后

　　22. According to the passage, the experience of helplessness causes rats to ______.
　　A) try to control unpleasant stimuli
　　B) turn off the electricity
　　C) become abnormally suspicious
　　D) behave passively in controllable situations

　　注：定位第二段But之后那句话

　　23. The reason why the mice in Ader's experiment avoided saccharin was that ______ .
　　A) they disliked its taste
　　B) it affected their immune systems
　　C) it led to stomach pains
　　D) they associated it with stomachaches

　　22. The first paragraph is mainly about _____.
　　(A) the teenagers' criticism of their parents
　　(B) misunderstandings between teenagers and their parents
　　(C) the dominance of the parents over their children
　　(D) the teenagers' ability to deal with crises

　　注：段落主旨，B和C只说了一部分。

　　It is natural for young people to be critical of their parents at times and to blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them. They have always complained, more or less justly, that their parents are out of touch with modern ways; that they are possessive and dominant that they do not trust their children to deal with crises; that they talk too much about certain problems and that they have no sense of humour, at least in parent-child relationships. I think it is true that parents often underestimate their teenage children and also forget how they themselves felt when young. Young people often irritate their parents with their choices in clothes and hairstyles, in entertainers and music. This is not their motive. They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been accepted. So they create a culture and society of their own. Then, if it turns out that their music or entertainers or vocabulary or clothes or hairstyles irritate their parents, this gives them additional enjoyment. They feel they are superior, at least in a small way, and that they are leaders in style and taste.

　　注：1. critical吹毛求疵的，很重要的

　　40. The main idea of this passage is that _____.
　　(A) attention must be directed to the improvement of recreative possibilities
　　(B) better use of greenspace facilities should be made so as to improve the quality of our life
　　(C) the urban environment is providing more recreation activities than it did many years ago
　　(D) priority must be given to the development of obligatory activities

　　Greenspace facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of greenspaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities.

　　注：GF对城乡环境有重要的贡献。

　　The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my opinion resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home, whereas there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open air has to begin at the street-door of the house. The urban environment has to offer as many recreation activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect.

　　The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets, because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street-door of your house is closed after you.

　　23. The passage mainly deals with ______.
　　(A) the life span of the Mojave shrimps
　　(B) the survival of desert shrimps
　　(C) the importance of water to life
　　(D) life in the Mojave Desert

　　注：三段出现shrimp，说明本文主要讲shrimp，排除C和D，A选项life span没出现过。

　　There are desert plants which survive the dry season in the form of inactive seeds. There are also desert insects which survive as inactive larvae (幼虫). In addition, difficult as it is to believe, there are desert fish which can survive through years of drought (干旱) in the form of inactive eggs. These are the shrimps (小虾) that live in the Mojave Desert, an intensely dry region in the south-west of the United States where shade temperatures of over 50C are often recorded.

　　The eggs of the Mojave shrimps are the size and have the appearance of grains of sand. When sufficient spring rain falls to form a lake, once every two to five years, these eggs hatch (孵化). Then the water is soon filled with millions of  tiny shrimps about a millimetre long which feed on tiny plant and animal organisms which also grow in the temporary desert lake. Within a week, the shrimps grow from their original 1 millimetre to a length of about 1.5 centimetres.

　　Throughout the time that the shrimps are rapidly maturing, the water in the lake equally rapidly evaporates. Therefore, for the shrimps it is a race against time. By the twelfth day, however, when they are about 3 centimetre long, hundreds of tiny eggs form on the underbodies of the females. Usually by this time, all that remains of the lake is a large, muddy patch of wet soil. On the thirteenth day and the next, during the final hours of their brief lives, the shrimps lay their eggs in the mud. Then, having ensured that their species will survive, the shrimps die as the last of the water evaporates.

　　If sufficient rain falls the next year to form another lake, the eggs hatch, and once again the shrimps pass rapidly through their cycle of growth, adulthood, egg-laying, and death. Some years there is insufficient rain to form a lake: in this case, the eggs will remain dormant for another years, or even longer if necessary. Very, very occasionally, perhaps twice in a hundred years, sufficient rain falls to form a deep lake that lasts a month or more. In this case, the species passes through two cycles of growth, egg-laying, and death. Thus, on such occasions, the species multiplies considerably, which further ensures its survival.

　　40. The most appropriate title for the passage would be _____.
　　(A) The well-being of Career Women
　　(B) Sources of Mastery and Pleasure
　　(C) Two Aspects of Women's Well-Being
　　(D) Freedom Roles Women in Society

　　注：A选项career缩小了范围，B选项没出现woman，扩大了选项

　　In our culture, the sources of what we call a sense of "mastery" ---feeling important and worth-while-and the sources of what we call a sense "pleasure"-finding life enjoyable-are not always identical. Women often are told "You can't have it all." Sometimes what the speaker really is saying is :" You chose a career, so you can't expect to have closer relationships or a happy family life." or "You have a wonderful husband and children--What's all this about wanting a career?" But women need to understand and develop both aspects of well-being, if they are to feel good about themselves.

　　Our study shows that, for women, well-being has two dimensions. One is mastery, which includes self-esteem (自尊), a sense of control over your life, and low levels of anxiety and depression. Mastery is closely related to the "doing" side of life, to work and activity. Pleasure is the other dimensions, and it is composed of happiness, satisfaction and optimism (乐观). It is tied more closely to the "feeling" side of life. The two are independent of each other. A woman could be high in mastery and low in pleasure, and vice versa. For example, a woman who has a good job, but whose mother has just died, might be feeling very good about herself and in control of her work life, but the pleasure side could be damaged for a time.

　　The concepts of mastery and pleasure can help us identify the sources of well-being for women, and remedy past mistakes. In the past, women were encouraged to look only at the feeling side of life as the source of all well-being. But we know that both mastery and pleasure are critical. And mastery seems to be achieved largely through work. In our study, all the groups of employed women rated significantly higher in mastery than did women who were not employed.

　　A woman's well-being is enhanced (增进) when she takes on multiple roles. At least by middle adulthood, the women who were involved in a combination of roles-marriages, motherhood, and employment were the highest in well-being, despite warnings about stress and strain.

　　30. The best tittle for the passage would be_________.
　　A) Apple's Efforts so Stay Ahead of IBM
　　B) Apple's New Computer Technology
　　C) Apple's New personal Computers
　　D) Apple's Research Activities

　　The competition among producers of personal computers is essentially a race to get the best, most innovative products to the marketplace. Marketers in this environment frequently have to make a judgement as to their competitors' role when making marketing strategy decisions. If major competitors are changing their products, then a marketer may want to follow suit to remain competitive. Apple Computer, Inc. has introduced two new, faster person computers, the Macintosh II and Macintosh SE, in anticipation of the introduction of a new PC by IBM, one of Apple' s major competitors.

　　Apple' s new computers are much faster and more powerful than its earlier models. The improved Macintosh is able to run programs that previously were impossible to run on an Apple PC, including IBM-compatible programs. This compatibility feature illustrates computer manufacturers' new attitude of giving customers the features they want. Malting Apple computers capable of running IBM software is Apple' s effort at making the Mackintosh compatible with IBM computers and thus more popular in the office, where Apple hopes to increase sales, Users of the new Apple can also add accessories to make their machines specialize in specific uses, such as engineering and writing.

　　The new computers represent a big improvement over past models, but they also cost much more. Company officials do not think the higher price will slow down buyers who want to step up to a more powerful computer. Apple wants to stay in the high price end of the personal computer marker to finance research for even faster, more sophisticated computers.

　　Even though Apple and IBM are major competitors, both companies realize that their competitor's computers have certain features that their own models do not. The Apple line has always been popular for its sophisticated color graphics, where-as the IBM machines have always been favored in offices. In the future, there will probably be more compatibility between the two companies' products, which no doubt will require that both Apple and IBM change marketing strategies.

　　25. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
　　A) Computers and the Knowledge Society.
　　B) Service industries in Modern Society.
　　C) Features and Implications of the New Era.
　　D) Rapid Advancement of information Technology

　　注：一个选项能概括每一段的内容或者大多数段的内容，即看每段首句。

　　主旨题的迷惑选项：末段内容、细节内容、加词缩小范围，减词扩大范围。

　　A new era is upon us. Call it what you will: the service economy, the information age, the knowledge society. It all translates to a fundamental change in the way we work. Already we' re partly there. The percentage of people who earn their living by making things has fallen dramatically in the Western World. Today the majority of jobs in America, Europe and Japan (two thirds or more in many of these countries) are in the service industry, and the number is on the rise. More women are in the work force than ever before. There are more part-time jobs. More people are self-employed. But the breadth of the economic transformation can' t be measured by numbers alone, because it also is giving rise to a radical new way of thinking about the nature of work itself. Long-held notions about jobs and careers, the skills needed to succeed, even the relation between individuals and employers-all these are being challenged.

　　We have only to look behind to get some sense of what may lie ahead. No one looking ahead 20 years possibly could have foreseen the ways in which a single invention, the chip, would transform our world thanks to its applications in personal computers, digital communications and factory robots. Tomorrow' s achievements in biotechnology, artificial intelligence or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of dramatic changes. But one thing is certain: information and knowledge will become even more vital, and the people who possess it, whether they work in manufacturing or services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth. Computer knowledge will become as basic a requirement as the ability to read and write. The ability to solve problems by applying information instead of performing routine tasks will be valued above all else. If you cast your mind ahead 10 years, information services will be predominant. It will be the way you do your job.

　　25. Which of the following best summarized the main idea of the passage?
　　A) Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner later be replaced by computers.
　　B) cannot be passed on to future generation unless it is recorded.
　　C) Folk songs cannot spread far unless they are printed on music sheets
　　D) The development of music culture is highly dependent or its material aspect

　　Material culture refers to the touchable, material "things"-physical objects that can be seen, held, felt, used-that a culture produces. Examining a culture's tools and technology can tell us about the group's history and way of life. Similarly, research into the material culture of music can help us to understand the music-culture. The most vivid body of "things" in it, of course, are musical instruments. We cannot hear for ourselves the actual sound of any musical performance before the 1870s when the phonograph was invented, so we rely on instruments for important information about music-cultures it the remote past and their development. Here we have two kinds of evidence: instruments well preserved and instruments pictures in art. Through the study of instruments, as well preserved Paintings, written documents, and so on, we can explore the movement of music from the Neat East to China over a thousand years ago, or we can outline the spread of Near eastern influence to Europe that results in the development of most of the instruments on the symphony orchestra.

　　Sheet music or printed music, too, is material culture. Scholars once defined folk music-cultures as those in with people learn and sing music by ear rather than from print, but research show mutual influence among oral and written sources during the past few centuries in Europe, Britain, and America, printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song, yet they stimulate people to create new and different songs. Besides, the ability to read music notation has a far-reaching effect on musicians and, when it becomes widespread, on the music-culture as a whole.

　　One more important part of music's material culture should be singled out the influence of the electronic media-radio, record player, tape recorder, television, and videocassette, with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This all part of the "information revolution," a twentieth century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modem nations; they have affected music-cultures all over the globe.

　　25. What is the passage mainly about?
　　A) different ways of treating socio-cultural elements in the three new English dictionaries.
　　B) A comparison of people's opinions on the cultural content in the three new English dictionaries.
　　C) The advantages of the BBC dictionary over Oxford and Longman.
　　D) The user-friendliness of the three new English dictionaries.

　　Three English dictionaries published recently all lay claim to possessing a "new" feature. The BBC English Dictionary contains background information on l, 000 people and places prominent in the news since 1988; the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary: Encyclopedic Edition is the OALD plus encyclopedic entries; the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture is the LME plus cultural information.

　　The key fact is that all three dictionaries can be seen to have a distinctly "cultural" as well as language learning content. That being said, the way in which they approach the cultural element is not identical, making direct comparisons between the three difficult.

　　While there is some common ground between the encyclopedic and cultural entries for the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, there is a clear difference. Oxford lays claim to being encyclopedic on content whereas Longman distinctly concentrates on the language and culture of the English-speaking world. The Oxford dictionary can therefore stand more vigorous scrutiny for cultural bias than the Longman publication because the latter does not hesitate about viewing the rest of the world from the cultural perspectives of the English-speaking world. The cultural objectives of the BBC dictionary are in turn more distinct still. Based on an analysis of over 70 million words recorded from the BBC World Service and National Public Radio of Washington over a period of four years, their 1,000 brief encyclopedic entries are based on people and places that have featured in the news recently. The intended user they have in mind is a regular listener to the World Service who will have a reasonable standard of English and a developed skill in listening comprehension.

　　In reality, though, the BBC dictionary will be purchased by a far wider range of language learners, as will the other two dictionaries. We will be faced with a situation where many of the users of these dictionaries will at the very least have distinct socio-cultural perspectives and may have world views which are totally opposed and even hostile to those of the West. Advanced learners from this kind of background will not only evaluate a dictionary on how user-friendly it is but will also have definite views about the scope and appropriateness of the various sociocultural entries.

　　35. What is the passage mainly about?
　　A) Dressing for effect.
　　B) How to dress appropriately.
　　C) Managerial positions and clothing.
　　D) Dressing for the occasion.

　　Clothes play a critical part in the conclusions we reach by providing clues to who people are, who they are not, and who they would like to be. They tell us a good deal about the wearer's background, personality, status, mood, and social outlook.

　　注：critical重要的

　　Since clothes are such an important source of social information, we can use them to manipulate people's impression of us. Our appearance assumes particular significance in the initial phases of interaction that is likely to occur. An elderly middle-class man or woman may be alienated(疏远……) by a young adult who is dressed in an unconventional manner, regardless of the person's education, background, or interests.

　　注：manipulate控制，操纵

　　People tend to agree on what certain types of clothes mean. Adolescent girls can easily agree on the lifestyles of girls who wear certain outfits(套装), including the number of boyfriends they likely have had and whether they smoke or d rink. Newscasters, or the announcers who read the news on TV, are considered to be more convincing, honest, and competent when they are dressed conservatively. And collage students who view themselves as taking an active role in their inter personal relationships say they are concerned about the costumes they must wear to play these roles successfully. Moreover, many of us can relate instances in which the clothing we wore changed the way we felt about ourselves and how we act ed. Perhaps you have used clothing to gain confidence when you anticipated a stressful situation, such as a job interview, or a court appearance.

　　In the workplace, men have long had well defined precedents and role models for achieving success. It has been otherwise for women. A good many women in the business world are uncertain about the appropriate mixture of "masculine" an d "feminine" attributes they should convey by their professional clothing. The variety of clothing alternatives to women has also been greater than that avail able for men. Male administrators tend to judge women more favorably for managerial positions when the women display less "feminine" grooming(打扮)-shorter hair, moderate use of makeup, and plain tailored clothing. As one male administrator confessed, "An attractive woman is definitely going to get a longer interview, but she won't get a job."

　　[方法例外]

　　40. The best title for this passage would be __________.
　　A) Role of Women and Minorities in Management
　　B) The Importance of Being Visible
　　C) Job Performance and Advancement
　　D) Sex and Career Success

　　注：关键句在concludes that那句。本题也可通过文中汉语解释蒙出来。

　　怎么蒙？看给出的解释--重要词汇才给出解释

　　看前面细节题--把提干关键词加起来

　　The more women and minorities make their way into the ranks of management, the more they seem to want to talk about things formerly judged to be best left unsaid. The newcomers also tend to see office matters with a fresh eye, in the process sometimes coming up with critical analyses of the forces that shape everyone’s experience in the organization.

　　Consider the novel views of Harvey Coleman of Atlanta on the subject of getting ahead. Coleman is black. He spent 11 years with IBM, half of them working in management development, and now serves as a consultant to the likes of AT&T, CocaCola, Prudential, and Merch. Coleman says that based on what he's seen at big companies, he weighs the different elements that make for long-term career success as follows: performance counts a mere 10%, image, 30%; and exposure, a full 60%. Coleman concludes that excellent job performance is so common these days that while doing your work well may win you pay increases, it won't secure you the big promotion. He finds that advancement more often depends on how many people know you and your work, and how high up they are.