Section B

　　Passage 1

　　Barbie dolls have a particular look to them. They’re thin, tall, long-legged and virtually unlike any real human being. Although over the years Barbie has had more than 180 different careers-including football coach, sign language teacher, ambassador, president and astronaut–her body shape hasn’t changed much.

　　Last year Mattel, the company that makes Barbie dolls, added some Barbies to its line that have different skin tones and hair textures. There are now Barbies with one of seven skin tones, 22 eye colours and 24 hair styles to choose from. Last year Mattel also gave Barbie a flat foot, rather than forcing her to be “in heels” all the time like the original Barbie is.

　　Now they are introducing new Barbies with three slightly different body shapes while the original, tall and thin Barbies will continue to be sold.

　　In a statement on its website, the company says it wants Barbies to look more like real people, and to give girls everywhere infinitely more ways to spark their imagination and play out their stories.

　　Although many people say the new Barbies are a step in the right direction, some people say they don’t go far enough. They say that the new body shapes could be even more different from the original, tall, thin Barbies.

　　Sales of Barbie dolls have been falling “every year since 2012,” according to CBC News.

　　The toys aren’t in stores yet but they will be sold online at the Barbie website, starting this week, for $9.99.

　　Q9. What do we know about the original Barbie dolls?

　　答案: A) They are thin, tall, and unlike real human beings.

　　A) They are thin, tall, and unlike real human beings.

　　B) They have more than twenty different hair textures.

　　C) They have twenty-four different body shapes in total.

　　D) They represent people from virtually all walks of life.

　　Q10. Why do some people feel unsatisfied with the new Barbie dolls?

　　答案: D) Their body shapes have not changed much.

　　A)They do not reflect young girls’ aspirations.

　　B)They are not sold together with the original.

　　C)Their flat feet do not appeal to adolescents.

　　D)Their body shapes have not changed much.

　　Q11. Where will the new Barbie dolls be sold first?

　　答案: C) On the Internet.

　　A)In toy stores.

　　B)In shopping malls.

　　C)On the Internet.

　　D)At Barbie shops.

　　解析：

　　短文1主要描述了芭比娃娃的特点以及最近的变化趋势。第一题考查文章主旨，后面两题为文章细节题。第一题为文章开头的原句。第二题为原文的同义替换，由人们认为新的芭比的形状可以与以前更不同一些反映出人们的不满意。最后一题来自短文最后一句原文。

　　Passage 2

　　The earliest printed book we know today appeared in China in the year 868, and metal type was in use in Korea at the beginning of the fifteenth century, but it was in Germany around the year 1450 that a printing press using movable metal type was invented.

　　Capitalism turned printing from an invention into an industry. Right from the start, book printing and publish­ing were organized on capitalist lines. 'The biggest sixteenth- century printer, Plantin of Antwerp, had twenty-four printing presses and employed more than a hundred workers. Only a small fraction of the population was literate, but the pro­duction of books grew at an extraordinary speed. By 1500 some twenty million volumes had already been printed.

　　The immediate effect of printing was to increase the cir­culation of works that were already popular in the handwritten form, while less popular works went out of circulation. Publishers were interested only in books that would sell fairly quickly in sufficient numbers to cover the costs of production and make a profit. Thus, while printing enormously increased access to books by making cheap, high-volume production possible, it also reduced choice.

　　The great cultural impact of printing was that it facili­tated the growth of national languages. Most early books were printed in Latin, but the market for Latin was limited, and in its pursuit of larger markets the book trade soon produced translations into the national languages emerging at the time. Printing indeed played a key role in standardizing and stabilizing these lan­guages by fixing them in print, and producing dictionaries and grammar books.

　　Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　Q12. What happened in Germany around the year of 1450?

　　答案: A) Movable metal type began to be used in printing.

　　A)Moveable metal type began to be used in printing.

　　B)Chinese printing technology was first introduced.

　　C)The earliest known book was published.

　　D)Metal type was imported from Korea.

　　Q13. What does the speaker say about the printer, Plantin of Antwerp?

　　答案: B) It was the biggest printer in the 16th century.

　　A)It had more than a hundred printing presses.

　　B)It was the biggest printer in the 16th century.

　　C)It helped the German people become literate.

　　D)It produced some 20 million volumes in total.

　　Q14. What was the immediate effect of printing?

　　答案: B) It boosted the circulation of popular works.

　　A)It pushed handwritten books out of circulation.

　　B)It boosted the circulation of popular works.

　　C)It make writing a very profitable career.

　　D)It provided readers with more choices.

　　Q15. What was the great cultural impact of printing?

　　答案: D) It promoted the growth of national languages.

　　A)It accelerated the extinction of the Latin language.

　　B)It standardized the publication of grammar books.

　　C)It turned translation into a welcome profession.

　　D)It promoted the growth of national languages.

　　解析：

　　短文2主要讲述印刷机的传播。第12题，在公元868年中国已有第一本印刷成册的书籍，而德国却到1450年左右才发明铅字印刷机。16世纪最大的铅字印刷机，Plantin of Antwerp由24台印刷机组合而成，并需要雇用超过百名人员才能运作;对应第13题。而印刷术产生的立即影响就是将原来只能由手写的书籍文本更加普及并提升知名著作的发行量，对应第14题。除此之外，原来多用拉丁文撰写的书籍，也因为印刷术的普及，使出版商可以以更低的成本印制营利，出版成一般国家或地区人民能理解的语言，以赚取更大利润。因此印刷术对欧洲地区能代表各地国家语言的发展有着重大影响;对应第15题。

扫描/长按二维码可获取四六级真题答案

获取2017四级真题答案

获取2017六级真题答案

获取四六级成绩查询

获取2018一次通关技巧

四六级万题库下载 | 微信搜索"万题库英语四六级考试"

　　相关推荐：

　　2017年12月英语四六级真题及答案解析※ 关注微信，对答案看解析！

　　四六级评分标准 ※ 最新算分器 ※ 英语四六级万题库估分[手机题库下载]

　　2017年12月四六级成绩查询时间 ※ 微信查分提醒 ※ 四六级合格分数线