英语六级真题2.docx

英语六级真题2.docx

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英语六级真题2

2012年12月大学英语六级（CET-6）真题试卷

PartIWriting（30minutes）

Direction:

Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessayentitled ManandComputer bycommentingonthesaying,"Therealdangerisnotthatthecomputerwillbegintothinklikeman,butthatmanwillbegintothinklikethecomputer."Youshouldwriteatleast150wordsbutnomorethan200words.

OnMaintainingTrust

PartIIReadingComprehension（SkimmingandScanning）（15minutes）

Directions:

Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1. Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA）,B）,C）andD）.Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.

Ratesarelow,butconsumerswon’tborrow

TheUSFederalReserve（Fed）'sannouncementlastweekthatitintendedtokeepcreditcheapforatleasttwomoreyearswasaclearinvitationtoAmericans:

Gooutandborrow.

Butmanyeconomistssayitwilltakemorethanlowinterestratestopersuadeconsumerstotakeonmoredebt.Therearealreadysignsthattherecentstockmarketfluctuations,turbulenceinEuropeandtheUSdeficithavescaredconsumers.OnFriday,preliminarydatashowedthattheThomsonReuters/UniversityofMichiganconsumersentimentindexhadfallenthismonthtolowerthanitwasinNovember2008,whentheUnitedStateswasdeepinrecession.

Undernormalcircumstances,theFed'sannouncementmighthaveattractednewhomeandcarbuyersandpromptedcreditcardholderstorackupfreshcharges.Butwithunemploymenthighandthosewithjobsworriedaboutkeepingthem,consumersaremoreconcernedaboutpayingofftheloanstheyalreadyhavethanaddingmoredebt.Andbyshowingitshandforthenexttwoyears,theFedmayhavethoughtlesslyinvitedprospectiveborrowerstoputofflargepurchases.

Lenders,meanwhile,arestilldealingwiththeeffectsoftheboom-gone-bustandareforcingprospectiveborrowerstogotoextraordinarylengthstoprovetheircreditworthiness.

"Idon'tthinklendersaregoingtobeinterestedinextendingalotofdebtinthisenvironment,"saidMarkZandi,chiefeconomistofMoody'sAnalytics,amacroeconomicconsultingfirm."NordoIthinkhouseholdsaregoingtobeinterestedintakingonalotofdebt."

Inhousing,consumershavealreadyshownaslowresponsetolowrates.Applicationsfornewmortgageshavedecreasedthisyeartoa10-yearlow,accordingtotheMortgageBankersAssociation.Salesoffurnitureandfurnishingsremain22%belowtheirpre-recessionpeak,accordingtoSpendingPulse,aresearchreportbyMasterCardAdvisors.

Creditcardrateshaveactuallygoneupslightlyinthepastyear.Theonebrightspotinlendingisthenumberofautoloans,whichisupfromlastyear.Butsomeeconomistssaythatconfidenceamongcarbuyersishittingnewlows.

ForXavierWalter,aformermortgagebankerwhowithhiswife,Danielle,accumulated$20000increditcarddebt,lowrateswillnotchangehisspendinghabits.

Asthehousingmarkettoppedoutfiveyearsago,helosthissix-figureincome.Heandhiswifewereabletomodifythemortgageontheirfour-bedroomhouseinMedford,NewJersey,aswellasnegotiatelowercreditcardpayments.

Twoyearsago,Mr.Walter,a34-year-oldfatherofthree,startedanenergybusiness.Hehasswornoffcredit."I'mnotgoingtogobackindebteveragain,"hesaid."IfIcan'tpayforitincash,Idon'twantit."

Untilnow,oneofthebiggestrestraintsonconsumerspendinghasbeenadebtaftereffect.SinceAugust2008,whenhouseholddebtpeakedat$12.41trillion,ithasdeclinedbyabout$1.2trillion,accordingtoananalysisbyMoody'sAnalyticsofdatafromtheFederalReserveandEquifax,thecreditagency.Alargeportionofthat,though,wassimplywrittenoffbylendersasborrowersdefaultedonloans.

Byothermeasures,householdshaveimprovedtheirposition.Theproportionofafter-taxincomethathouseholdsspendtoremaincurrentonloanpaymentshasfallen.

Still,householddebtremainshigh.Thatpresentsaparadox:

manyeconomistsarguethattheeconomycannotachievetruehealthuntildebtlevelsdecline.Butcredit,madeattractivebylowrates,isatime-testedwaytoincreaseconsumerspending.

Withnewrisksofanotherdownturn,economistsworrythatitwilltakeyearsfordebttoreturntomanageablelevels.Iftheeconomycontractsagain,saidGeorgeMagnus,senioradviseratUBS,then"youcouldfindalotofhouseholdsinadebttrapwhichtheyprobablycannevergetoutof."

Mortgagelenders,meanwhile,burnedbythehousingcrash,areextracarefulaboutapprovingnewloans.InJune,forinstance,FannieMae,thelargestmortgagebuyerintheUnitedStates,saidthatborrowerswhoseexistingdebtexceeded45to50%oftheirincomewouldberequiredtohavestronger"compensating"factors,whichmightincludehighersavings.

Eventhoseborrowersinstrongfinancialpositionsareaskedtoprovideunusualamountsofpaperwork.BobbyandKatieSmithhaveanextremelygoodcreditrecord,tinystudentdebtandacombinedsix-figureincome.Forpartoftheirdownpayment,theyplannedtouseabout$5000theyhadreceivedasweddinggiftsinFebruary.

ButthelenderwouldnotacceptthatmoneyunlesstheSmithsprovidedacertifiedletterfromeachof14guests,statingthatthemoneywasagift,ratherthanaloan.

"Welaughedforagood15or20minutes."recalledMr.Smith.34.

Mr.Smith,aprogramdirectorforaradiostationinOrlando,Florida,saidtheyendedupusingothersavingsfortheirdownpaymenttobuya$300000four-bedroomhouseinApril.

ForthosenotascreditworthyastheSmiths,lowratesareirrelevantbecausetheynolongerqualifyformortgages.Thatleavestheeligiblepoolofloanapplicantswealthier,"olderandwhiter,"saidGuyCecala,publisherofInsideMortgageFinance."It'screatingmuchmoreofadivide,"hesaid,"betweenthehavesandthehave-nots."

Carshopperswiththehighestcreditratingscanalsogetloansmoreeasily,andatlowerrates,saidPaulC.Taylor,chiefeconomistoftheNationalAutomobileDealersAssociation

Duringtherecession,inabilitytoobtaincreditseverelycutautobuyingaslendersrejectedeventhosewithgoodcreditratings.Nowautomakersareincreasingtheirsubprime（次级债的）lendingagainaswell,butremainhesitanttoapprovelargenumbersofriskycustomers.

Thenumberofnewautoloanswasupbyl6%inthesecondquartercomparedwiththepreviousyear,saidMelindaZabritski,directorofautomotivecreditatExperian,theinformationservicescompany.

Butsomeeconomistswarnthatconsumerconfidenceisfalling.AccordingtoCNWMarketingResearch,confidenceamongthosewhointendtobuyacarthisyearisatitslowestsinceitbegancollectingdataonthismeasurein2000.

Oncreditcards,rateshaveactuallyinchedhigherthisyear.largelybecauseofnewrulesthatcurbtheissuer'sabilitytochargefeesorraisecertaininterestratesatwill.

Attheendofthesecondquarter,ratesaveraged14.01%onnewcardoffers,upfrom13.75%ayearearlier,accordingtoMailMonitor,whichtrackscreditcardsforSynovate,amarketresearchfirm.AccordingtodatafromtheFederalReserve,totaloutstandingdebtonrevolvingcreditcardswasdownby4.6%duringthefirsthalfoftheyearcomparedwiththesameperiodayearearlier.

EveniftheFed'sannouncementhelpskeepratessteady.orpushesthemdown,businessesdonotexpectcustomerstosuddenlychargeupastorm.

"It'snotlike,'Oh,creditissocheap.let'sgobacktotheheydays（鼎盛时期）,",saidElizabethCrowell,whoownsSterlingPlace,twohigh-endhomefurnishingandgiftstoresinNewYork."Peoplestillfearfortheirjobs.SoIthinkwheremaybeafterotherrecessionstheymightreturntopreviousspendinghabits,thependulumhasn'tswungbackthesameway."

注意：

此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1.WhatisthepurposeoftheannouncementissuedbytheUSFederalReservelastweek?

A）Tohelpreducethedebtburdenonconsumers.

B）Toforcethebankstolowertheirinterestrates.

C）Toencourageconsumerstogetmorebankloans.

D）Topreventfurtherfluctuationsinthestockmarket.

2.Whyarepeoplereluctanttotakeonmoredebtdespitethelowinterestrates?

A）Theyareafraidoflosingtheirgoodcreditratings.

B）Theyarepessimisticaboutemploymentprospects.

C）TheyhavelittlefaithintheFed'sfinancialpolicies.

D）TheyexpecttheFedtofurtherlowerinterestrates.

3.Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutlendersinthecurrentcreditmarket?

A）Theyarebecomingmorecautious.

B）Theyareeagertooffermoreloans.

C）Theyadviseprospectiveborrowerstoputofflargepurchases.

D）Theyareonlyconcernedabouthowmuchtheycangetback.

4.WhatdoestheauthorwanttosaybycitingXavierWalter'scase?

A）NotmanyAmericanscanaffordtopayincashthesedays.

B）TheFed'spoliciesexertastronginfluenceonborrowers.

C）Peoplenowwon'tbuythingsunlesstheyhavethemoney.

D）ItisbeneficialforAmericanstoborrowintimesofrecession.

5.Whatistheeconomists'concernregardingthecurrenteconomy?

A）Consumers'unwillingnesstospend.C）Theever-loweringinterestrates.

B）Banks'inabilitytorecoverdebt.D）Theunmanageabledebtlevels.

6.WhatdowelearnfromtheSmiths'story?

A）Itisverydifficultforpeopletobuildupagoodcreditrecord.

B）Acertainamountofsavingsisneededforonetobuyahouse.

C）Thepurchaseofahousewillplungeyoungcouplesintoheavydebt.

D）Mortgagelendersarenowcarefulaboutborrowers'qualifications.

7.AccordingtoGuyCecala,thebanks'policyonmortgagelendingwillresultin_.