大学英语六级长篇阅读专项强化真题试卷12(题后含答案及解析)

大学英语六级长篇阅读专项强化真题试卷12 (题后含答案及解析)

题型有：1.

Why the Mona Lisa Stands Out[A]Have you ever fallen for a novel and been amazed not to find it on lists of great books? Or walked around a sculpture renowned as a classic, struggling to see what the fuss is about? If so, you’ve probably pondered the question a psychologist, James Cutting, asked himself: how does a work of art come to be considered great?[B]The intuitive answer is that some works of art are just great: of intrinsically superior quality. The paintings that win prime spots in galleries, get taught in classes and reproduced in books are the ones that have proved their artistic value over time. If you can’t see they’re superior, that’s your problem. It’s an intimidatingly neat explanation. But some social scientists have been asking awkward questions of it, raising the possibility that artistic canons (名作目录) are little more than fossilised historical accidents.[C]Cutting, a professor at Cornell University, wondered if a psychological mechanism known as the “mere-exposure effect “played a role in deciding which paintings rise to the top of the cultural league. Cutting designed an experiment to test his hunch (直觉). Over a lecture course he regularly showed undergraduates works of impressionism for two seconds at a time. Some of the paintings were canonical, included in art-history books. Others were lesser known but of comparable quality. These were exposed four times as often. Afterwards, the students preferred them to the canonical works, while a control group of students liked the canonical ones best. Cutting’s students had grown to like those paintings more simply because they had seen them more. [D]Cutting believes his experiment offers a clue as to how canons are formed. He points out that the most reproduced works of impressionism today tend to have been bought by five or six wealthy and influential collectors in the late 19th century. The preferences of these men bestowed (给予) prestige on certain works, which made the works more likely to be hung in galleries and printed in collections. The fame passed down the years, gaining momentum from mere exposure as it did so. The more people were exposed to, the more they liked it, and the more they liked it, the more it appeared in books, on posters and in big exhibitions. Meanwhile, academics and critics created sophisticated justifications for its preeminence (卓越) . After all, it’s not just the masses who tend to rate what they see more often more highly. As contemporary artists like Warhol and Damien Hirst have grasped, critics’ praise is deeply entwined (交织)with publicity. “Scholars” , Cutting argues,”are no different from the public in the effects of mere exposure. “[E]The process described by Cutting evokes a principle that the sociologist Duncan Watts calls “cumulative advantage” : once a thing becomes popular, it will tend to become more popular still. A few years ago, Watts, who is employed by Microsoft to study the dynamics of social networks, had a similar experience to Cutting’s in another Paris museum. After queuing to see the “ Mona Lisa” in its climate-controlled bulletproof box at the Louvre, he came away puzzled: why was it

considered so superior to the three other Leonardos in the previous chamber, to which nobody seemed to be paying the slightest attention?[F]When Watts looked into the history of “the greatest painting of all time” , he discovered that, for most of its life, the “Mona Lisa” remained in relative obscurity. In the 1850s, Leonardo da Vinci was considered no match for giants of Renaissance art like Titian and Raphael, whose works were worth almost ten times as much as the “ Mona Lisa”. It was only in the 20th century that Leonardo’s portrait of his patron’s wife rocketed to the number-one spot. What propelled it there wasn’t a scholarly re-evaluation, but a theft.[G]In 1911 a maintenance worker at the Louvre walked out of the museum with the “Mona Lisa” hidden under his smock (工作服). Parisians were shocked at the theft of a painting to which, until then, they had paid little attention. When the museum reopened, people queued to see the gap where the “ Mona Lisa” had once hung in a way they had never done for the painting itself. From then on, the “ Mona Lisa” came to represent Western culture itself.[H]Although many have tried, it does seem improbable that the painting’s unique status can be attributed entirely to the quality of its brushstrokes. It has been said that the subject’s eyes follow the viewer around the room. But as the painting’s biographer, Donald Sassoon, dryly notes, “In reality the effect can be obtained from any portrait. “ Duncan Watts proposes that the “ Mona Lisa” is merely an extreme example of a general rule. Paintings, poems and pop songs are buoyed (使浮起 ) or sunk by random events or preferences that turn into waves of influence, passing down the generations.[I]”Saying that cultural objects have value,” Brian Eno once wrote,”is like saying that telephones have conversations. “ Nearly all the cultural objects we consume arrive wrapped in inherited opinion: our preferences are always, to some extent, someone else’s. Visitors to the “ Mona Lisa” know they are about to visit the greatest work of art ever and come away appropriately impressed—or let down. An audience at a performance of “Hamlet” know it is regarded as a work of genius, so that is what they mostly see. Watts even calls the preeminence of Shakespeare a “ historical accident”.[J]Although the rigid high-low distinction fell apart in the 1960s,we still use culture as a badge of identity. Today’s fashion for eclecticism (折衷主义)—”I love Bach, Abba and Jay Z”—is, Shamus Khan, a Columbia University psychologist, argues, a new way for the middle class to distinguish themselves from what they perceive to be the narrow tastes of those beneath them in the social hierarchy.[K]The intrinsic quality of a work of art is starting to seem like its least important attribute. But perhaps it’s more significant than our social scientists allow. First of all, a work needs a certain quality to be eligible to be swept to the top of the pile. The “ Mona Lisa” may not be a worthy world champion, but it was in the Louvre in the first place, and not by accident. Secondly, some stuff is simply better than other stuff. Read “ Hamlet” after reading even the greatest of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, and the difference may strike you as unarguable.[L]A study in the British Journal of Aesthetics suggests that the exposure effect doesn’t work the same way on everything, and points to a different conclusion about how canons are formed. The social scientists are right to say that we should be a little sceptical of greatness, and that we should always look in the next room. Great art and mediocrity (平庸) can get confused, even by experts. But that’s why we need to

see, and read, as much as we can. The more we’re exposed to the good and the bad, the better we are at telling the difference. The eclecticists have it.

1． According to Duncan Watts, the superiority of the “Mona Lisa” to Leonardo’s other works resulted from the cumulative advantage.

正确答案：E

解析：[E]段第一句指出了邓肯·沃茨提出的“累积优势”原则，最后一句又指出了沃茨发现莱昂纳多还有另外三幅画陈列在上一个展厅，但似乎都没有人注意到，人们认为“紫娜丽莎”要比那三幅画好。由此可知，沃茨认为莱昂纳多的“蒙娜丽莎”要比另外三幅画好是因为“累积优势”原则。题干是对该段的概括，题干中的superiority对应原文中的superior，故答案为[E]。

2． Some social scientists have raised doubts about the intrinsic value of certain works of art.

正确答案：B

解析：[B]段最后一句提到，一些社会科学家提出了一些钻的问题，认为经典的艺术作品比僵化的历史事件强不了多少。题干中的raised doubts对应原文中的asking awkward questions，故答案为[B]。

3． It is often random events or preferences that determine the fate of a piece of art.

正确答案：H

解析：[H]段最后一句提到，绘画、诗词和流行歌曲会因某些随机事件或一些有影响力的人的偏好得以传承世代，或被人遗忘。题干中的determine the fate对应原文中的buoyed or sunk；a piece of art对应原文中的Paitings，poems and pop songs,故答案为[H]。

4． In his experiment, Cutting found that his subjects liked lesser known works better than canonical works because of more exposure.

正确答案：C

解析：[C]段最后两句提到，结果，这些学生更喜欢第二类作品，而对照组的学生则更喜欢经典之作。卡汀教授的学生之所以喜欢第二类作品就是因为他们看到这些作品的次数更多。题干中的because of moreexposure对应原文中的because they had seen them more：his subjects对应原文中的Cutting’s students，故答案为[C]。

5． The author thinks the greatness of an art work still lies in its intrinsic value.

正确答案：K

解析：[K]段第一句提到，艺术作品的固有特质似乎已经是最不重要的一个属性了。但实际上，固有特质的重要性要比社会科学家所认为得高。之后阐述了艺术品固有价值的重要性。题干是对该段的概括，题干中的intrinsic value对应原文中的intrinsic quality，故答案为[K]。

6． It is true of critics as well as ordinary people that the popularity of artistic works is closely associated with publicity.

正确答案：D

解析：[D]段最后两句提到，评论家的赞誉和曝光度息息相关。卡汀教授称，“从单纯的曝光效果来看，其对于学者和民众的作用是一样的。”题干中的is closely associated with对应原文中的is deeply entwined with，故答案为[D]。

7． We need to expose ourselves to more art and literature in order to tell the superior from the inferior.

正确答案：L

解析：[L]段最后一句提到，但是，这就是为什么我们需要尽可能地多看，多读。我们接触到更多好的东西、稣的东西，才能更好地明白他们的区别。题于中的superior和inferior分别对应原文中的good和bad，故答案为[L]。

8． A study of the history of the greatest paintings suggests even a great work of art could experience years of neglect.

正确答案：F

解析：[F]段第一句提到，沃茨研究了“有史以来最伟大的油画”的历史后发现，“蒙娜丽莎”在大部分时期都相对默默无闻。题干中的a great work of art指的是原文中的“Mona Lisa”；题干中的experience years ofneglect对应原文中的remained in relative obscurity，故答案为[F]。

9． Culture is still used as a mark to distinguish one social class from another.

正确答案：J

解析：[J]段第一句提到，虽然20世纪60年代就没有严格的等级界限了，但是人们仍然会用文化来区分身份。题干中的distinguish对应原文中的distinction；mark对应原文中的badge，故答案为[J]。

10． Opinions about and preferences for cultural objects are often inheritable.

正确答案：I 解析：[I]段第二句提到，几乎我们所着迷的所有文物都打着前人的观点烙印；在一定程度上，我们的喜好都是别人的喜好。题干中的inheritable对应原文中的inherited，故答案为[I]。

Inequality Is Not Inevitable[A]A dangerous trend has developed over this past third of a century. A country that experienced shared growth after World War II began to tear apart, so much so that when the Great Recession hit in late 2007, one could no longer ignore the division that had come to define the American economic landscape. How did this “shining city on a hill” become the advanced country with the greatest level of inequality?[B]Over the past year and a half, The Great Divide, a series in The New York Times, has presented a wide range of examples that undermine the notion that there are any truly fundamental laws of capitalism. The dynamics of the imperial capitalism of the 19th century needn’t apply in the democracies of the 21st. We don’t need to have this much inequality in America.[C]Our current brand of capitalism is a fake capitalism. For proof of this go back to our response to the Great Recession, where we socialized losses, even as we privatized gains. Perfect competition should drive profits to zero, at least theoretically but we have monopolies making persistently high profits. C. E. O. s enjoy incomes that are on average 295 times that of the typical worker, a much higher ratio than in the past, without any evidence of a proportionate increase in productivity.[D]If it is not the cruel laws of economics that have led to America’s great divide, what is it? The straightforward answer: our policies and our politics. People get tired of hearing about Scandinavian success stories, but the fact of the matter is that Sweden, Finland and Norway have all succeeded in having about as much or faster growth in per capita (人均的) incomes than the United States and with far greater equality.[E]So why has America chosen these inequality-enhancing policies? Part of the answer is that as World War II faded into memory, so too did the solidarity it had created. As America triumphed in the Cold War, there didn’t seem to be a real competitor to our economic model. Without this international competition, we no longer had to show that our system could deliver for most of our citizens.[F]Ideology and interests combined viciously. Some drew the wrong lesson from the collapse of the Soviet system in 1991. The pendulum swung from much too much government there to much too little here. Corporate interests argued for getting rid of regulations, even when those regulations had done so much to protect and improve our environment, our safety, our health and the economy itself.[G]But this ideology was hypocritical (虚伪的). The bankers, among the strongest advocates of laissez-faire (自由放任的) economics, were only too willing to accept hundreds of billions of dollars from the government in the aid programs that have been a recurring feature of the global economy since the beginning of the Thatcher-Reagan era of “free” markets and deregulation.[H]The American political system is overrun by money. Economic inequality translates into political inequality, and political inequality yields increasing economic inequality. So corporate welfare increases as we reduce welfare for the poor. Congress maintains subsidies for rich farmers as we cut back on nutritional support for the needy. Drug companies have been given hundreds of billions of dollars as we limit Medicaid benefits. The banks that brought on the global financial crisis got billions while a tiny bit went to the homeowners and victims of the same banks’ predatory (掠夺性的) lending practices. This last decision was particularly foolish. There were alternatives to throwing money at the banks and hoping it would circulate through increased lending.[I]Our divisions are deep.

Economic and geographic segregation has immunized those at the top from the problems of those down below. Like the kings of ancient times, they have come to perceive their privileged positions essentially as a natural right.[J]Our economy, our democracy and our society have paid for these gross inequalities. The true test of an economy is not how much wealth its princes can accumulate in tax havens (庇护所), but how well off the typical citizen is. But average incomes are lower than they were a quarter-century ago. Growth has gone to the very, very top, whose share has almost increased four times since 1980. Money that was meant to have trickled (流淌) down has instead evaporated in the agreeable climate of the Cayman Islands.[K]With almost a quarter of American children younger than 5 living in poverty, and with America doing so little for its poor, the deprivations of one generation are being visited upon the next. Of course, no country has ever come close to providing complete equality of opportunity. But why is America one of the advanced countries where the life prospects of the young are most sharply determined by the income and education of their parents?[L]Among the most bitter stories in The Great Divide were those that portrayed the frustrations of the young, who long to enter our shrinking middle class. Soaring tuitions and declining in comes have resulted in larger debt burdens. Those with only a high school diploma have seen their incomes decline by 13 percent over the past 35 years.[M]Where justice is concerned, there is also a huge divide. In the eyes of the rest of the world and a significant part of its own population, mass imprisonment has come to define America—a country, it bears repeating, with about 5 percent of the world’s population but around a fourth of the world’s prisoners.[N]Justice has become a commodity, affordable to only a few. While Wall Street executives used their expensive lawyers to ensure that their ranks were not held accountable for the misdeeds that the crisis in 2008 so graphically revealed, the banks abused our legal system to foreclose (取消赎回权) on mortgages and eject tenants, some of whom did not even owe money.[O]More than a half-century ago, America led the way in advocating for the Universal Declaration of Human rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948. today, access to health care is among the most universally accepted rights, at least in the advanced countries. America, despite the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, is the exception. In the relief that many felt when the Supreme Court did not overturn the Affordable Care Act, the implications of the decision for Medicaid were not fully appreciated. Obamacare’s objective—to ensure that all Americans have access to health care—has been blocked: 24 states have not implemented the expanded Medicaid program, which was the means by which Obamacare was supposed to deliver on its promise to some of the poorest.[P]We need not just a new war on poverty but a war to protect the middle class. Solutions to these problems do not have to be novel. Far from it. Making markets act like markets would be a good place to start. We must end the rent-seeking society we have gravitated toward, in which the wealthy obtain profits by manipulating the system.[Q]The problem of inequality is not so much a matter of technical economics. It’s really a problem of practical politics. Inequality is not just about the top marginal tax rate but also about our children’s access to food and the right to justice for all. If we spent more on education, health and infrastructure (基础

设施), we would strengthen our economy, now and in the future.

11． In theory, free competition is supposed to reduce the margin of profits to the minimum.

正确答案：C

解析：[C]段第三句指出了最好的竞争应该是使利润趋于零，至少理论上是这样。题干中的to theminimum对应原文中的to zero；In theory对应原文中的theoretically，故答案为[C]。

12． The United States is now characterized by a great division between the rich and the poor.

正确答案：A

解析：[A]段提到，2007年底，当美国出现大萧条时，人们再也无法无视美国经济面貌的显著分化。题干中的characterized对应原文中的define，故答案为[A]。

13． America lacked the incentive to care for the majority of its citizens as it found no rival for its economic model.

正确答案：E

解析：[E]段提到，由于美国在冷战中大获全胜，似乎我们的经济已没有真正的竞争对手。而一旦失去了国际竞争，我们就没有必要证明我们的能够为大多数公民带来利益。题干中的majority of对应原文中的most of；rival对应原文中的competitor，故答案为[E]。

14． The wealthy top have come to take privileges for granted.

正确答案：I

解析：[I]段第二、三句提到，经济和地理分隔使得处于顶层的人对于底层人群的困难一无所知。正如古时候的国王，他们认为自己的优越感是与生俱来的权利。由此可知，顶层的人认为自己的是理所当然的。题干中的take…for granted对应原文中的perceive…as a natural right，故答案为[I]。

15． Many examples show the basic laws of imperial capitalism no longer apply in present-day America.

正确答案：B

解析：[B]段第一、二句提到，在过去的一年半中，《纽约时报》的“大鸿沟”系列搬道为我们提供了很多事例，这些事例证明，美国已没有任何真正意义上的资本主义基本法则。19世纪帝国资本主义的动力不再适用于21世纪的民主。其中题干中的Many对应原文中的a wide range of；basic laws对应原文中的

fundamentallaws；no longer对应原文中的needn’t，故答案为[B]。

16． The author suggests a return to the true spirit of the market.

正确答案：P

解析：[P]段提到，这些问题的解决并不需要多么新奇的方法。恰恰相反，我们最好的开始方式就是让市场像正常的市场那样去运作。题干是对定位句的概括。故答案为[P]。

17． A quarter of the world’s prisoner population is in America.

正确答案：M

解析：[M]段最后一句提到，如果算上重复入狱的人数，那么这个人口仅为世界人口5％的国家的入狱人数达到了全世界入狱人数的四分之一。题干中的A quarter of的对应原文中的a fourth of，故答案为[M]。

18． Government regulation in America went from one extreme to the other in the past two decades.

正确答案：F 解析：[F]段提到，干预经济的力度从太大转变为太小。题干中的from one extreme to the other对应原文中的from much too much government there to much too little here，故答案为[F]。

19． Justice has become so expensive that only a small number of people like corporate executives can afford it.

正确答案：N

解析：[N]段第一句提到，公平变成了商品，只有少数人才买得起。题干中的afford对应原文中的affordable，故答案为[N]。

20． No country in the world so far has been able to provide completely equal opportunities for all.

正确答案：K

解析：[K]段提到，没有任何一个国家能够近乎达到提供完全平等的机会的目标。题干中的equalopportunities对应原文中的equality of opportunity，故答案为[K]。