2016年六级讲座听力样原文及答案

Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19.

16. A) Urbanization, industrialization, territorial expansion.

B) Industrialization, technology, territorial expansion.

C) Urbanization, technology, territorial expansion.

D) Urbanization, industrialization, technology.

17. A) In 1865. B)

In1881.

C) In 1890. D) In 1902.

18. A) With dirty material.

B) With free gifts.

C) With famous performers.

D) With early movies.

19. A) The first organized performances in America.

B) The first traveling performances in America.

C) The first educational performances in America.

D) The first professional performances in America.

Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.

20. A) His role as a founding father.

B) His career as a prolific inventor.

C) His literary accomplishments.

D) His newspaper editorship.

21. A) In 1732.

B) In 1722.

C) From 1729.

D) In 1748.

22. A) By sharing his opinion about modern topics.

B) By simply reporting on current events of America.

C) By shifting Americans’ awareness from a

Puritanism to rationalism.

D) By following the characteristics of a

modern newspaper columnist.

Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.

23. A) The debate over the beginning and ending dates of the Little Ice Age.

B) The climatic and social changes caused by the Little Ice Age.

C) The diseases caused by the Little Ice Age.

D) The famines of the 1300s and 1600s caused by the Little Ice Age.

24. A) Agricultural production.

B) Economic consequences.

C) Urban migration.

D) Human health.

25. A) They were starving.

B) They were suffering from the Bubonic Plague.

C) They loved Queen Marie Antoinette.

D) They lacked warm clothing.

六级讲座听力样原文及答案

2016-02-04

答案：

16.D 17.B 18.B 19.A 20.C 21.B 22.C 23.B 24.D 25.A

◆听力原文◆

听力原文：

Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 16 to 19.

Moderator:

Hello ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce our speaker for today?s session, Dr. Ellis, professor of American social history. Dr. Ellis, please.

Dr. Ellis:

Thank you for that.

Before we examine the modern American entertainment industry — Broadway shows, Hollywood movies, rock concerts, and all that —let?s take a short look at the beginnings of organized entertainment in America.

Almost since the very beginning of the country, Americans had been able to enjoy performances of one kind or another, shows that traveled around to find their audiences, in towns and villages across the continent. Traveling medicine shows, offering variety

shows and music along with their snake oil and miracle medicine were popular. Then there were Buffalo Bill Cody?s “Wild West Shows”, with trick riders and dramatic-arrangements. Meanwhile, town halls, saloons and music halls, all sprang up across the country, wherever people had some money to burn and were looking for a little fun.

But then, after the Civil War, after 1865, America?s social structure began to change radically. The country began to grow economically, and its cities began to grow, and an American middle class began to develop, with increased spending power and leisure time. This was also a time of industrial growth, and transportation and communication technologies improved rapidly.

[16] And it was at this same time that entertainment became an industry — with the appearance of Vaudeville. Vaudeville was something new — the first mass entertainment. From its beginning, it was geared toward middle-class men and women and families and it very quickly spread nationwide. Its performance halls were alcohol-free and its hall

managers demanded decency — and its performers were denied the use of dirty material. Vaudeville was the first family entertainment.

[17] Theater historians usually date Vaudeville?s beginning at October 24th, 1881, when a former circus director, Tony Pastor, first offered …polite? variety programs in his New York City theaters. [18] Pastor hoped to draw his audiences from the uptown shopping traffic, from the salaried workers and their wives and children. He barred alcohol sales and dirty material from his theaters, and he offered luxurious facilities, and he gave out door prizes like hams and coal to his patrons — and his idea proved so successful that other theater managers soon followed suit. Incredibly, by the 1890s, Vaudeville has already developed into regional and national chains of theaters, with sophisticated booking and contract systems.

In 1902, the new medium of the motion picture, was first incorporated into a Vaudeville bill between the live acts. Thirty years later, on November 16th, 1932, New Y ork?s Palace Theater — offered its first

exclusively cinematic presentation, and this is considered Vaudeville?s official end.

16. What would probably have contributed to the development of Vaudeville?

17.When did Vaudeville officially appear?

18. According to the lecturer, how did Tony Pastor attract his audiences?

19. What is this lecture about?

Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 20 to 22.

Benjamin Franklin was a renowned statesman, a successful property owner, an enthusiastic philosopher, and a productive inventor.

[20] Today, though, I want to argue the case that Franklin?s greatest legacy was not in any of those roles, or as a founding father of the United States, but as a writer. An analysis of Franklin?s writing style, his instincts, his sensibilities and his accomplishments

reveals that he deserves to be mentioned as a literary giant.

Like Hemingway, Franklin began as a newspaper reporter, then moved on to publish essays, journals and books. His most famous books are

Autobi ography, Way to Wealth, and Poor Richard?s Almanack, an annual publication that he founded and authored from 1732 to 1748.[21] Franklin?s first literary contributions were essays printed in 1722 in the New England Courant, a newspaper published by his brot her James. Ben?s writing style at this time was modeled principally upon that of The Spectator, a British paper edited by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. In 1729, he became publisher and editor of The Pennsylvania Gazette, which he developed into a newspaper universally praised as the best in the American colonies.

Franklin made three great contributions to American literature. First was his preference to share his opinion about popular topics, instead of simply reporting on current events — much in the vein of a modern newspaper columnist. [22] Through his

writings, Franklin helped shape America?s national identity, by shifting Americans? consciousness from a spiritual Puritanism to worldly rationalism, which was characteristic of eighteenth century enlightenment.

Franklin?s second contribution was his sense for unusual and interesting news stories, which set a tone that has carried over to modern newspapers. The Pennsylvania Gazette specialized in brief, unconventional articles, like a husband who tried to kill his wife?s lover. Although some criticized this as “yellow” journalism, Franklin?s majestic wisdom and natural wit saturated the short reports and attracted a huge and loyal audience.

Franklin?s third significant contribution to US literature is his writing style, which reflects the philosophy he expressed in a 1732 essay. “Good writing,” he said, “should be quite smooth, clear and short.” He played a leading role in developing journalism as a concise writing form, getting quickly to the point and dwelling on important issues instead of secondary facts. Moreover, Franklin was a

word-economist, finding the shortest way to express a thought. The chief reason Franklin?s sayings remain popular today is due to their briefness.

Given all this, it?s no wond er that Scottish philosopher David Hume called Franklin “America?s first great man of letters.”

20. What aspect of Benjamin Franklin?s life does the speaker mainly discuss?

21. When were Franklin?s first literary contributions printed?

22. How did Frankl in help shape America?s national identity?

Now listen to the following recording and answer questions 23 to 25.

[23] The Little Ice Age, or LIA for short, was a period of fierce climatic and social changes in the northern hemisphere that brought severe winters and unpredictable weather to many parts of the world, particularly Northern Europe. Scientists disagree on the LIA?s precise beginning and ending dates, but

unusual weather has been documented from the early 1300s to the mid-1800s, and [23] it made significant impacts on agriculture, economics, health, and politics and produced weather phenomena that have not been experienced since. London?s Thames

River froze twice, for example, in 1607 and

1814.And in 1300, summers in Northern Europe began growing colder, and in 1315,three years of steady rains led to a European famine.

Whatever the cause, the cold winters and damp summers seriously hindered agricultural production in Northern Europe, as one might expect. At the coldest points of the LIA, the growing season in England was shortened by one to two months. During the LIA, farms in the extreme northern countries, such as Switzerland and Norway, remained buried in snow well into spring, which not only affected crops but also starved the livestock that fed off hay. Economically, the events sparked by the LIA, such as storms, glacier growth, and famines, destroyed farms and depleted fisheries— this in turn led to decreased tax revenues.

[24] Although the agricultural and economic consequences of the LIA were severe indeed, its most fatal impact was on human health. It completely wiped out one entire Northern European group during the1400s — the Greenland Vikings — because they couldn?t grow enough food to survive. The population of Iceland was halved, perhaps due to diseases caused by a volcanic eruption there in 1783. In addition, general malnutrition during the LIA weakened people?s immune systems, leaving them vulnerable to a variety of diseases, including the Bubonic Plague that killed about 25 million Europeans in the mid-1300s.

It might not be surprising that those who survived the worsening climate of the LIA became more and more desperate, and began to demonstrate in a series of public outbursts. In the bitterly cold winter of 1709, which killed lots of people in France, citizens in many cities rioted to stop merchants from selling off the precious remaining little wheat that they had. [25] In 1788, northern France suffered a severe winter followed by an unusually hot summer and a July

hailstorm, which destroyed the grain.This led to demonstrations — riots, in fact — the following year due to lack of bread. And it was during these riots that Queen Marie Antoinette allegedly said, "Let them eat cake," the words that helped accelerate the coming of the French Revolution.

23. What is the lecture mainly about?

24. What area did the LIA have the greatest impact on?

25. What can be inferred about the French people who rioted in 1789?