2013年12月英语六级(新题型)考试冲刺试卷二

　　Section C

　　Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D ). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

　　56、根据下列短文，回答56-61题。

　　The unique human habit of taking in and employing animals--even competitors like wolves--spurred on human tool-making and language, which have both driven humanity's success, Pat Shipman says, paleoanthropologist of Penn State University. "Wherever you go in the world, whatever ecosystem (生态系统), whatever culture, people live with animals," Shipman said.

　　For early humans, taking in and caring for animals would seem like a poor strategy for survival. "On the face of it, you are wasting your resources. So this is a very weird behavior," Shipman said. But it's not so weird in the context something else humans were doing about 2.6 million years ago: switching from a mostly vegetarian diet to one rich in meat. This happened because humans invented stone hunting tools that enabled them to compete with other top predators. Quite a rapid and bizarre switch for any animal. So we invented the equipment, learned how to track and kill, and eventually took in animals who also knew how to hunt--like wolves and other canines. Others, like goats, cows and horses, provided milk, hair and, finally, hides and meat.

　　Managing all of these animals--or just tracking them--requires technology, knowledge and ways to preserve and convey information. So languages had to develop and evolve to meet the challenges. Tracking game has even been argued to be the origin of scientific inquiry, said Peter Richerson, professor emeritus (名誉退休的) in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis. One of the signs that this happened is in petroglyphs (史前岩画) and other rock art left by ancient peoples. At first they were abstract, geometric patterns that are impossible to decipher (破译). Then they converge on one subject: animals.

　　There have also been genetic changes in both humans and our animals. For the animals those changes developed because human bred them for specific traits, like a cow that gives more mill or a hen that lays more eggs. But this evolutionary influence works both ways. Dogs, for instance, might have been selectively taken in by humans who shared genes for more compassion, Those humans then prospered with the dogs' help in hunting and securing their homes.

　　What do we learn from the first paragraph about animals?

　　A.Animals have driven humanity's success.

　　B.Tool-making and language are uniquely human habits.

　　C.Employing wolves is uniquely human habit.

　　D.People live with animals everywhere.

　　57、Why did Shipman say taking in animal is a poor strategy for survival?

　　A.Early humans were poor in survival resources.

　　B.Taking in animal was a very weird behavior.

　　C.Early humans didn't know how to track and kill.

　　D.Early humans switched from a vegetarian diet to meat.

　　58、Why did languages have to develop and evolve to meet the challenges?

　　A.Early humans should have communication in tracking game.

　　B.Language can enable humans to compete with other top predators.

　　C.Animals should understand the orders given by humans.

　　D.Language could give a rapid and bizarre switch for any animal.

　　59、What do we learn from the statement of Pat Shipman and Peter Richerson?

　　A.Caring for animals seemed common after people invented tools.

　　B.After language developed early humans learned how to track and kill.

　　C.Managing and tracking animals are the origin of modem science.

　　D.Language developed from abstract to specific because of animals.

　　60、What do we learn from the last paragraph?

　　A.Animals changes are developed by themselves.

　　B.Human bred animals for specific genes.

　　C.Evolutionary influence works on both humans and animals.

　　D.Genes could make the dogs help people in hunting.

　　61、根据下列短文，回答{TSE}题。

　　He has influenced generations of artists but John Baldessari's own celebrity came relatively late. A physically imposing 79-year-old, he seemed slightly uncomfortable at a press conference at the Metropolitan Museum, where a travelling retrospective of his work has just opened for its final stop. Asked to distil his art for the many who have not heard of him, he responded cheerfully that it was not the job of an artist to "spoon-feed" viewers but to make them feel intelligent.

　　For decades Mr Baldessari has made art that challenges convention. Though his work is heavily conceptual, it is not designed to alienate--and is often very funny. In the wake of abstract expressionism, when painting was all, Mr Baldessari was investigating what it meant to make a painting, what the rules were, and how far he could stretch them. In the 1960s he created a series of works that featured mostly text on canvas, painted by sign professionals.

　　One, in black letters on canvas, reads "PURE BEAUTY". The words sit there like a taunt (嘲弄), a question, a declaration.

　　"I do not believe in screwing the bourgeoisie," Mr Baldessari explained in an interview. The irony in his work is not designed to reveal what is vacant in art, or what is silly about those who buy it. He just wants people to question what they are looking at. He pokes fun at the art establishment, but he lets viewers in on the joke. Art, he says, supplies"spiritual nourishment". Asked if a show at the Met sat uncomfortably with his subversive streak, Mr Baldessari did not miss a beat: "I would be happy to hang in a broom closet at the Met. It's a huge honour."

　　Mr Baldessari attributes some of his experimentation to having grown up in National City, California, a suburb just north of the Mexican border and well beyond the reach of any art scene. He was culturally isolated, but also free from the pressures of rejection. "I was trying to find out what was irreducibly art." His boldest early work was his "Cremation Project" in 1970, when he ceremonially burned nearly all the paintings he had made between 1953 and 1966. "I really think it's my best piece to date," he wrote of it at the time.

　　He supported himself by teaching, mainly at the progressive California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. He earned a reputation for being a revolutionary and generous teacher who inspired students to renounce painting and view art as something that happens in the brain. "Artists are indebted to him," said Marla Prather, who organised the show at the Met. He taught countless people how to make art from the ordinary stuff of life. Now the man himself is finally getting his due.

　　The main idea of this passage is ________.

　　A.what the progress of Baldessari's art creating is

　　B.how Baldessari defines art

　　C.why Baldessari investigate the roles for art

　　D.how Baldessari became famous

　　62、The word "spoon-feed" (Line 4, Para. 1 ) means _________.

　　A.showing the ideas to people by means of holding a spoon

　　B.forcing people to accept the ideas

　　C.providing people with materials to create art

　　D.cheering up the people seeing the pictures

　　63、Which of the following is not the principal feature of Baldessari's work?

　　A.Conceptual.

　　B.Ironic.

　　C.Isolated.

　　D.Funny.

　　64、What's the purpose of John Baldessari's using irony in his works?

　　A.He hopes people can challenged what they see.

　　B.He uses irony to attract people to buy them.

　　C.He wants to make his work really funny.

　　D.He uses it to reveal what really matters in art.

　　65、The highlight of John Baldessari's job as a teacher is that ________

　　A.he needs much more money to run his travelling shows

　　B.he wants students to readjust their perspective on art

　　C.he thinks school is the best place to create art

　　D.he wants to talk students into giving up painting

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