英语六级听力冲刺练习.doc

英语六级听力冲刺练习20篇听力材料：SEOUL South Korea is coping with increasingamounts of garbage from electronic devices,also called “e-waste.” To prevent tons of oldcomputers, smartphones and appliances fromending up in landfills, leaking toxic chemicals,some local governments are launchingspecialized e-waste recycling programs.It is the end of the road for these broken, outdated and unwanted electronics.Seoul city throws out some 10 tons of e-waste each year, and about a fifth of that arrives atthis recycling center.Here at the SR Center, devices are taken apart so that valuable metals like gold, copper orrare earths can be extracted - a 3.8 billion-dollar industry, according to the government.But it is not just about earning profits, says the centers CEO Ji Un-geun. It is about protectingthe environment.“Our planet has a limited amount of natural resources, he said. Our company contributes toa sustainable society, by conserving these materials”Ji says about 90 percent of what is brought here gets recycled.Accumulating mounds of electronic trash is not only a concern in technologically-advancedSouth Korea.The United Nations reports millions of tons of the worlds e-waste winds up in developingcountries. There, toxic materials like lead and mercury pose a severe health risk. That isdespite international agreements that ban the export of discarded electronics.Since 2009, the Seoul City government has partnered with the SR Center to collect e-wastefrom the public and private sectors.Seouls Lee Tae-hong says recycling is also a security matter in the digital age.“If devices like phones are not recycled, then they could illegally end up in other countries likeChina or in Southeast Asia, and personal data could be stolen,” he said.Even though recycling centers like this limit the amount of landfill-bound electronics, it is notenough, according to some environmental watchdog groups.Digitally-savvy South Koreans keep buying more gadgets. In the end, some estimate thatabout 21 percent of the countrys total e-waste actually gets properly recycled.That is according to Lee Joo-hong of the Green Consumers Network. He says the averageSouth Korean purchases a new mobile phone every one and a half years.“People change their phones so quickly partially because companies offer big subsidies to buynew products, he said. And Korean consumers do not want to feel left out by not having thelatest model.”Ji Un-geun of Seouls recycling center agrees that consumer habits are a big reason why oldphones keep piling up here. But he says he is doing his part to reduce that.“I have had this same phone for 10 years, he said. It is what I can do to help conserve ournatural resources”Ji says more South Korean cities need to start their own recycling programs to keep up with theincreasing loads of e-waste.听力材料：Salinization is reducing the worlds irrigated lands by 1 to 2 percent annually, according to the U.N.s Food and Agriculture Organization.But that doesnt faze Dutch farmer Marc Van Rijsselberghe, who has used saline water to kill some plants in order to identify which ones are able to thrive.“We put a lot of plants in the field and then we put them in fresh water and in sea water and all varieties between it, and then we see which variety is surviving and which variety is dying.”Working with scientists from the Free University of Amsterdam, Van Rijsselberghe and his team divided a farm into eight plots covered with a network of irrigation pipes.Separate pipes bring fresh water and sea water to a distribution center where a computer-controlled system mixes irrigation water with eight different degrees of salinity.“And then computer says go and then it goes to the fields and dripping irrigation starts to work and we are going to kill plants. Thats it.”Numerous sensors continuously control soil salinity and moisture. Van Rijsselberghe said they were able to harvest vegetables from most of the test plots. Although they were smaller than normal, he said they contain more sugar and salt, so they taste better.“Its a miracle. It shouldnt be a carrot, it should be dying if we look at the data that are available in the world at the moment.”The farm managed to grow carrots, cabbage, onions and beetroot, but potatoes proved to be the most tolerant to saline water. Van Rijsselberghe said four varieties of salt-tolerant potatoes recently were shipped to Pakistan where thousands of hectares of land damaged by salinization are being prepared for testing the Dutch potatoes.听力材料：Some long-stalled trade agreements could moveforward now that there is a new Republicanmajority in the U.S. Senate, but gettingcongressional approval for these deals mayrequire some unusual political alliances.The senator expected-to-be the next majority leader Mitch McConnell, and other Republicanshave fought proposals by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.But unlike many Democrats, Obama speaks in favor of trade agreements, opening the way for adeal with his Republican opponents.“I think he is interested in moving forward, McConnell said. I told him to send us tradeagreements, that we are anxious to look at them.”Trade supporters are trying to work out an agreement that would allow Congress to vote for oragainst trade deals reached by the Obama administration with other nations, but not allowCongress to try to change deals.Controversial billThe administration and congressional Republicans are focusing on a complex andcontroversial bill called the Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA.My guess is you will get negotiations between the administration so they are ready to go witha TPA bill as soon as the Congress comes back, said trade expert Claude Barfield of theAmerican Enterprise Institute.Lori Wallach of Global Trade Watch said the Republican surge means certain Democrats whowere working on compromises to win the votes needed to get TPA approved were pushed outof power. That could have the ironic effect of hurting progress on a Republican goal.I think the chance that there is a trade authority package that can get through the House isslightly diminished, Wallach said.U.S. officials are working on a deal with a number of Pacific nations and a separate agreementwith the European Union.Focus of new agreementsPast trade deals cut tariffs to boost trade by making it cheaper. These new agreements are alsosupposed to harmonize different nations rules governing health, safety and solving businessdisputes.Many U.S. unions say trade deals protect the profits of large multinational corporations,undemocratically change laws, and do too little to protect American jobs.We need to put citizens first, not ignore investment. We will not have economic developmentwithout it, but not this kind of lopsided investment where citizens rights take years, if we everaddress the issues, said Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America.Obama and other supporters of trade deals say they boost the economy and help supportjobs. He has signed agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.听力材料：The United States recently co-sponsored theInternational Day to End Impunity for Crimes AgainstJournalists. On this day and every day, said U.S.Secretary of State John Kerry, we affirm thatending impunity is both a moral imperative and apractical necessity in creating free, open, and stablesocieties around the world.Every day, brave journalists take extraordinary risks to write stories that expose corruption,ask tough questions, or bear witness to the suffering of innocent men, women and childrensubjected to the horrors of war and human rights abuses.In their service to humanity, hundreds of journalists have been targeted and killed in the pastdecade alone, while countless more have been harassed, threatened, imprisoned, and tortured.In the overwhelming majority of these cases, the perpetrators of these senseless crimesagainst journalists sometimes regimes or governments, but also terrorist organizations suchas the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL - go unpunished.Syria has been a particularly deadly country for journalists where the Bashar al-Assad regimeand ISIL continue to censor the media through vicious and heinous attacks, includingdisappearing and kidnapping journalists to stop the free flow of information to the outsideworld.The United States demands an end to impunity for those who use violence to silence theircritics and demands answers on behalf of all the journalists and their families who still have notseen justice served. Moreover, the United States calls on all parties to the Syrian conflict toprotect journalists in Syria and its neighbors. Above all, said Secretary Kerry, We stand inawe of the courage of those who risk their lives to tell the stories the world needs to hear.The United States, said President Barack Obama, commends the priceless contributions byjournalists to the freedom and security of us all, shining light into the darkness and givingvoice to the voiceless.听力材料：During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln called on his countrymen in his famous Gettysburg Address to ensure that liberty shall not perish from the earth. His words have inspired many over the years, including millions in our nations armed services who fought to preserve not only Americas freedom, but that of other nations as well.Today, Veterans Day, America pauses to honor these men and women, and the values of duty and sacrifice they represent. Long after they leave uniform, they symbolize what it means to be a citizen of a free land.The holiday, observed every year on November 11, originated with the armistice that ended The First World War in 1918. The conflict, fought in Asia, Africa, scattered islands in the Pacific and the waters off South America, as well as on the battlefields of Europe, was seen as the war to end all wars. But other wars followed, and in 1954 President Dwight Eisenhower expanded the holiday to honor all who have served in uniform both in war and peace.Our government continues this effort to this day, with program to help veterans leaving the military to find employment and ease their transition into civilian life.Honoring our sacred trust with Americas veterans means doing all we can to help them find work when they come home so they never feel as if the American Dream they fought to defend is out of reach for them and their families, President Barack Obama said.At its core, though, Veterans Day isnt about war. It commemorates no battlefield victory or defeat, it celebrates no advancement of political or territorial ambition. Rather, its a day of remembrance, echoing similar holidays in Great Britain, Canada, South Africa and other nations that honor military veterans for their service and sacrifice.听力材料：The United States is redoubling its efforts toadvance the New Silk Road initiative whicheconomically links Afghanistan with Central andSouth Asia.The region, said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretaryof State for South and Central Asian Affairs Fatema Sumar, “has enormous barriers preventingthe movement of peoples, goods, energy, and ideas.The United States sees an opportunity for people across this region to have a better future.Itis in the economic interest of these states to have stable neighbors, where economic conditionsare enhanced by economic diversification. And this is exactly what the United States issupporting through the New Silk Road initiative, which focuses on four areas: creating aregional energy market, facilitating trade and transit, streamlining customs and borders, andconnecting people and businesses.The United States believes the new North-South trade routes across Central and South Asiacan ultimately complement important East-West routes that tie Europe and East Asia.With regard to energy markets in Central Asia, there is tremendous opportunity to furtherdevelop capacity and seek new markets for export. Several Central Asian countries havealready found a market for their electricity in Afghanistan. Recently, the World Banks CASA-1000 project, which aims to bring surplus summer power from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan toAfghanistan and Pakistan, reached another important milestone with the signing of the transitprice agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan.Action on the development of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India, or TAPI, naturalgas pipeline can provide additional markets for Turkmen natural gas in South Asia, where thedemand for natural gas is critical. In addition, Afghanistan stands to benefit from transitrevenue and jobs as it continues to strengthen its economy.Unlike other regional energyprojects, TAPI can only be financed by the private sector and not the donor community.Therefore, it is critically important to identify an international oil company that is willing to leadthe TAPI consortium and help bring the project to fruition.The U.S. believes the Silk Road initiative is the best way to bring about a stable, secure andprosperous future for South and Central Asia.听力材料：WASHINGTON Close to 900,000 internationalstudents are studying at American universitiesand colleges, more than ever before. About halfof them come from Asia, mostly China. TheUnited States hosts more foreign students thanany other country in the world, and its foreignstudent population is steadily growing.A new report from the Institute of International Education says that in the academic year2013-2014, more than 886,000 foreign students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions,an increase of 8 percent over the year before. There are now twice as many internationalstudents in the U.S. than only a decade ago. That trend is driven to a large extent byincoming undergraduate students from China.In the U.S. they emphasize class discussions, and your opinion, and the capacity to debatewith others, such as professor or teacher, and that is an atmosphere I want to experience,said Eric Xu, a Chinese student studying at Columbia University, in New York.While the enrollment of Chinese students continues to grow, the past academic year saw asignificant increase in students from Kuwait, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and even Iran. More than 4percent of the students in U.S. higher education institutions are foreigners. Educators say thepresence of foreign students in American schools is beneficial, and that about 4,000 U.S.colleges and universities can accommodate more.We know that international students contribute significantly to U.S. classrooms and campusesthrough their global perspectives and by providing international exposure to those Americanstudents who may never have the opportunity to study overseas, said Rajika Bhandari, VicePresident of the Institute of International Education.Enrollment of students from abroad also adds to the U.S. economy.This year, $27 billion was contributed to our economy at the local state and national levels,through payments for tuition, housing and other costs, said Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary ofState for education.The U.S. State Department and the Department of Education also promote study abroad forU.S. students.We believe that study abroad can increase American competitiveness by enabling U.S.students to acquire language skills as well as the regional and global perspectives necessaryto succeed in the 21st century, said Ryan.About 290,000 U.S. students went to study abroad in 2012-2013 for academic credit.Europe, especially Britain, remains the number one destination for American students, but thelatest Open Door report shows that more students now choose to go to Latin Americancountries and China.China now is the number five host country for U.S. students, hosting over 14,000 Americanstudents, said Christine Farrugia of the International Institute of Education.While U.S. schools continue to attract young people from all over the world, student exchanges among other countries also are on the rise.听力材料：Complications from preterm births now outrank allother causes of death for young children. Of themore than 6.3 million deaths of kids under age five in2013, more than one million resulted from pretermproblems.The new study was released November 17, World Prematurity Day, and appears in The Lancetmedical journal. Its a collaborative effort by researchers from the Johns Hopkins BloombergSchool of Public Health, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the WorldHealth Organization.The vast majority the deaths from direct complications of preterm births occurred within thefirst 28 days of life with an additional 125,000 deaths occurring between one month and fiveyears.Dr. Andres de Francisco, interim executive director of the Geneva-based Partnership forMaternal Newborn and Child Health, said, “Over the last few years the proportion of deathsdue to preterm births has been increasing. The reason for this is that we do not really havemajor interventions in place to avoid premature births - and second, to manage them inmost communities where they occur.”He said preterm birth complications are a worldwide problem.“We have countries in Africa, for example Nigeria or in Asia - India and Pakistan - thathave extremely high numbers of kids that are dying related to preterm births. But this is notonly a problem in developing countries, de Francisco said. This is also a problem that affectsdeveloped countries, as well.”India actually tops the list, followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, the DRC, China, Bangladesh,Indonesia, Ethiopia, Angola and Kenya. Researchers warn the Ebola outbreak in West Africaraises the risk of preterm complications in the affected countries.The rise in deaths from preterm birth complicati