（外语类考证）英语六级习题与答案解析5

1、英语六级习题与答案解析51、How Diversity Training Infuriates Men and Fails WomenADecades before Anita Hill,Gretchen Carlson or #MeToo, American companies dreamed updiversity training,typically a course that lasts anywhere from an hour to a couple of days,with the goal of wiping out biases against women and other

2、s from underrepresented groups. For most of its history, diversity training has been pretty much a cudgel,pounding white men into submission with a mix of finger-wagging and guilt-mongering.BThe fist training programs surfaced in the 1950s,after men returned from World War II and were appalled and p

3、erplexed to find women in their offices. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the training took on more urgency.Within a decade,it had morphed into a knee-jerk response to legal actions,after a series of high-profile sex discrimination suits,including one by the women of Newsweek magaz

4、ine，who were stranded（使滞留）in a pink ghetto.Women dont write at Newsweek.If you want to be a writer,go someplace else,the bosses told them,according to Lynn Povich,one of the 46 women who sued.C By the time I entered the workforce in the 1980s,the Newsweek suit and others like itled by women at TIME,

5、the Associated Press and the New York Timeswere mostly forgotten. Diversity training had taken a backseat too.I dont recall ever hearing the phrase until the 1990s. By then,it had been reconstituted as a fee-god exercise in consciousness-raising, White men were told they should include women and min

6、orities because its the right thing to do.It was all about the importance of inclusion.D But heres the thing about diversity training: it doesnt work. Harvard organizational sociology professor Frank Dobbin and others have since delved into why such programs have failed. Dobbin combed through thousa

7、nds of data points and found that for white women and black men and women in management positions,it actually made things worse.Thats right: companies that introduced diversity training would actually employ more women and black men today if they had never had diversity training at all. He singled o

8、ut three situations in which training is doomed to fail: when its mandatory; when it so much as mentions the law; or when it is specific to managers,as opposed to being offered to all employees.Unfortunately,he found,about 75% of firms with diversity-training programs fall into at least one of those

9、 categories.EPerhaps more to the point is the fact that the training infuriates（激怒）the people its intended to educate; white men.Many interpreted the key learning point as having to walk on eggshells around women and minoritieschoosing words carefully so as not to offend. Some surmised（猜测）that it me

10、ant white men were villains,still others assumed that they would lose their jobs to minorities and women,while others concluded that women and minorities were simply too sensitive, executives Rohini Anand and Mary-Frances Winters noted in a 2008 analysis of diversity training in the Academy of Manag

11、ement Learning & Education.F Training done badly can also damage otherwise cordial relationships. Women and minorities often leave training sessions,thinking their co-workers must be even more biased than they had previously imagined. In a more troubling development,it turns out that telling people

12、about others biases can actually heighten their own.Researchers have found that when people believe everybody else is biased, they feel free to be prejudiced themselves.In one study, a group of managers was told that stereotypes are rare,while another group was told that stereotypes are common. Then

13、 both groups were asked to evaluate male and female job candidates. The managers who were told that stereotypes are common were more biased against the women. In a similar study,managers didnt want to hire women and found them unlikable. The evidence is damning.G Yet companies continue to invest hea

14、vily in diversity training spending,by one estimate,almost $8 billion a year.It has led to what the Economist dubbeddiversity fatigue.In a recent article, the magazine suggested that 12 of the most terrifying words in the English language are: Im from human resources, and Im here to organize a diver

15、sity workshop.H Now companies are searching for more effective,less infuriating alternatives. Take tech firms,which have come under fire for being among the worst offenders when it comes to bias. The irony is that they have also been at the forefront of devising new ways to combat it.I Can they turn

16、 around a culture where sexism has not only been tolerated but in many cases celebrated?I sat down with Brian Welle,director of people,analytics at Google,who is tasked with helping lead the latest trend: unconscious-bias training.J We all have prejudices buried so deeply inside of us that we dont k

17、now they exist. Unconscious-bias training is supposed to arm employees with the tools they need to recognize it and neutralize these prejudices. His role,Welle told me,was to ensure thatevery decision we made,from hiring to promotion to pay to performance,didnt have an unintended bias against women

18、or other underrepresented groups. Welle seized on an insight that has proved to be key for anyone who is trying to wipe out hidden biases: if we believe that everyone around us is trying hard to fight against those stereotypes and prejudices,well do the same. Call it peer pressure,or call it a pack

19、mentality. Whatever it is,it works. Our own biases disappear.KWelle and his team ultimately developed a workshop for Google employees that strives to mimic those conditions.In a typical session, he explains the science,so that employees can understand that yes,were all biased,and yes, were all tryin

20、g to fight it,and dont worry,it isnt your fault. He focuses on four ways to interrupt bias,all of which boil down to one word: awareness. He encourages employees to use consistent criteria to measure success and to rely on data rather than on gut reactions when evaluating others.He urges them to not

21、ice how they react to subtle cues. Finally, he encourages employees to call out bias when they see it, even if the culprit is their own boss.LTo be sure,unconscious-bias training isnt a cure-all. Last year,a male Google engineer penned an anti-diversitymanifesto protesting such efforts,and later cal

22、led the firms training just a lot of shaming. The company fired himand he hit back in January,suing Google for discrimination against conservative white males.Google is also fighting U.S.Department of Labor allegations（指控）of extreme underpayment to female Google employees,which the company denies. 3

23、6.By the 1990s diversity training had become a consciousness-enhancing exercise.37.In its history,diversity training usually forces white men to submit by accusing them and making them feel guilty.38.For some reason,diversity training does not have desired effect,sometimes even get an opposite resul

24、t. 39.According to Lynn Povichs boss, women cannot contribute articles at Newsweek.40.Many people interpret the key learning point in diversity training as taking care in getting along with women and minorities,and choosing words in communication to avoid offending them. 41.Of course, unconscious-bi

25、as training is not a panacea.42.Welle encouraged his employees to judge others with data rather than personal preference. 43.Bad diversity training can do harm to former good relationship.44.What is ironical is that companies badly accused of prejudice such as tech companies have also been leading t

26、he trend in combating bias.45.It is proved that peer pressure is important in the elimination of hidden biases.2、. The pressure for quick results leads to product failure, which, in turn, arouses doubts about the applicability of Al technology to agriculture.3、Why more Farmers Are Switching to grass

27、-Fed meat and dairyA Though he didnt come from a farming family,from a young age Tim Joseph was fascinated by the idea of living off the land. Reading magazines like The Stockman Grass Farmer and Graze, he got hooked on the idea of grass- fed agriculturethat all energy and wealth comes from the sun,

28、he explains,and the shorter the distance between the sun and the end product, the higher the profit to the farmer.B Joseph wanted to put this theory to the test,so in 2009, he and his wife Laura launched Maple Hill Creamery,an organic,all grass-fed yogurt company in upstate New York. He quickly lear

29、ned what the market has demonstrated: Demand for grass-fed products currently outstrips supply. Grass-fed beef is enjoying a 25 to 30 percent annual growth rate, while sales of grass-fed yogurt and kefir have in the last year increased by over 38 percent, compared with a drop of just under percent i

30、n the total yogurt and kefir market,according to natural and organic market research company SPINS. Josephs top priority became getting his hands on enough grass-fed milk to keep customers satisfied, since his own 64-cow herd wasnt going to suffice.C His first partnership was with Paul and Phyllis V

31、an Amburgh, owners of the Sharon Springs, N.Y, farm Dhamma Lea. The Van Amburghs, too, were true believers in grass-fed.In addition to supplying milk from their own 85-head herd they began to help other farmers in the area convert from conventional to certified organic and grass-fed in order to ente

32、r the Maple hill supply chain.Since 2010,the couple has helped close to 125 small dairy farms convert to grass-fed, with more than 80 percent of those farms coming on board during the last two years.D All this conversion has helped Maple Hill grow 40 to 50 percent every year since it began. says Jos

33、eph with no end in sight. Joseph has learned that a farmer has to have a certain mindset to successfully convert. But convincing open-minded dairy people is actually not that hard, when you look at the economics. Grass-fed milk can fetch up two-and-a-halftimes the price of conventional milk. Another

34、 factor is the squeeze that conventional dairy farmers have felt as the price of grain they feed their cows has gone up, tightening their profit margins.By replacing expensive grain feed with regenerative management practices grazing animals on grasses coaxed from the pasture lands latent seed bank,

35、 and fertilized by the cows own manuregrass-fed farmers are completely insulated from spikes in the price of feed.E Champions of this type of regenerative grazing also point to its animal welfare,climate and health benefits: Grass-fed animals live longer out of confinement. Grazing herds stimulate m

36、icrobial activity in the soil, helping to capture water and sequester carbon. And grass-fed dairy and meat have been shown to be higher in certain nutrients and healthy fats.F In the grass-fed system,farmers are also not subject to the wildly fluctuating milk prices of the international commodity ma

37、rket. The unpredictability of global demand and the lag-time it takes to add more cows to a herd to meet demand can result in events like the recent cheese glut. Going grass-fed is asafe refuge,says Joseph,a way forfamily-scale farms to stay viable.Usually a farmer will get to the point where financ

38、ially, what theyre doing is not working,says Paul Van Amburgh. Thats when they call Maple Hill.If the farm is well managed,has enough land,and the desire to convert is sincere,a relationship can begin. Through regular regional educational meetings, a large annual meeting, individual farm visits and

39、thousands of phone calls, the Van Amburghs pass on the principles of pasture management.Maple Hill signs a contract pledging to buy the farmers milk at a guaranteed base price plus quality premiums and incentives for higher protein, butterfat and other solids.G While Maple Hills conversion program i

40、s unusually hands-on and comprehensive (Joseph calls sharing his knowledge network through peer-to-peer learninga core piece of our culture),it is just one of a growing number of businesses committed to slowly changing the way America farms. Last summer,Massachusetts grass-fed beef advocate Ridge Sh

41、inn launched Big Picture Beef,a network of small grass-fed beef farms in New England and New York that is projected to bring to market2,500head of cattle from more than 125 producers this year. Early indications are that Shinn will have no shortage of farm members. Since he began to informally annou

42、nce the network at farming conferences and on social media,hes received a steady stream of inquiries from interested farmers.H Shinn says he will provide services ranging from formal seminars to on-farm workshops on holistic management, toone-on-one hand-holding and an almost 24/7 phone hotline for

43、farmers who are converting.In exchange,he guarantees an above-market price for each animal and,for maximum traceability,a calf-to-customer electronic ear tag ID system like that used in the European Union.I Though advocates portray grass-fed products as a win-win situation for all, they do have down

44、sides. Price,for one: Joseph says his products are priced 10 to 20 percent above organic versions, but depending on the product chosen,compared to non-organic conventional yogurt, consumers could pay a premium of 30 to 50 percent or more for grass-fed.As for the meat,Shinn says his grass-fed hamburg

45、er will be priced 20to 25 percent over the conventional alternative. But a peek at the prices on online grocer Fresh Direct suggests a grass-fed premium of anywhere from 35 to 60 percent.J And not every farmer has the option of going grass-fed: For both beef and dairy production,it requires,at least

46、 in the beginning,more pastureland. Grass-fed beef production tends to be more labor intensive as well.But Shinn counters that if you factor in the hidden cost of government corn subsidies,environment degradation,and decreased human health and animal welfare,grass-fed is the more cost-effective mode

47、l.The sun provides the lowest cost of production and the cheapest meat, he says.K Another grass-fed booster spurring farmers to convert is EPIC, which makes meat-based protein bars.Founders Taylor Collins and his wife,Katie Forrest, used to be vegan endurance athletes; now theyre advocates of grass-

48、fed meat. Very soon after launching EPICs most successful product- the Bison Bacon Cranberry Bar-Collins and Forrest found theyd exhausted their sources for bison raised exclusively on pasture.L But after General Mills bought EPIC in 2016, Collins and Forrest suddenly had sources they needed to expa

49、nd their supply chain. So the company teamed up with Wisconsin-based rancher North star Bison.EPIC fronted the money for the purchase of S2.5 million worth of young bison that will be raised according to its grass-fed protocols, with a guaranteed purchase price.36.Farmers going grass-fed are not aff

50、ected by the ever-changing milk prices of the global market.37.Over the years,Tim Josephs partners have helped many dairy farmers to switch to grass-fed.38.One advocate believes that many other benefits should be taken into consideration when we assess the cost-effectiveness of grass-fed farming.39.

51、 Many dairy farmers were persuaded to switch to grass-fed when they saw its advantage in terms of profits.40.Tim Josephs grass-fed program is only one example of how American farming practice is changing.41.Tim Joseph was fascinated by the notion that sunlight brings energy and wealth to mankind.42.

52、One problem with grass-fed products is that they are usually more expensive than conventional ones.43.Grass-fed products have proved to be healthier and more nutritious.44.When Tim Joseph started his business, he found grass-fed products fell short of demand.45.A snack bar producer discovered that t

53、he supply of purely grass-fed bison meat was scarce.4、Children Understand Far More About Other Minds Than Long BelievedA Until a few decades ago, scholars believed that young children know very little?if anything ?about what others are thinking. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget?who is credited with fo

54、unding the scientific study of children s thinking ?was convinced that preschool children cannot consider what goes on in the minds of others. The interviews and experiments he conducted with kids in the middle of the 20th century suggested that they were trapped in their subjective viewpoints, inca

55、pable of imagining what others think, feel or believe.B Much of the subsequent research on early childhood thinking was highly influenced by Piaget7s ideas. Scholars sought to refine his theory and empirically confirm his views. But it became increasingly clear that Piaget seemed to have gravely und

56、erestimated the intellectual powers of very young kids before they can make themselves understood by speech. Researchers began to devise ever more ingenious ways of figuring out what goes on in the minds of babies ?and the resulting picture of their abilities shows subtle variations. Consequently ?t

57、he old view of children s egocentric （自我中心的）nature and intellectual weaknesses has increasingly fallen out of favor and become replaced by a more generous position that sees a budding sense not only of the physical world but also of other minds even in the 44youngest young. ”C Historically ?children

58、 didnt receive much respect for their mental powers.Piaget not only believed that children were egocentric in the sense that they were unable to differentiate between their own viewpoint and that of others; he was also convinced that their thinking was characterized by systematic errors and confusio

59、ns. When playing with others?they dont cooperate because they do not realize there are different roles and perspectives- He was convinced that children literally cannot get their act together : instead of playing cooperatively and truly together ?they play side by side, with little regard for others

60、. And when speaking with others?a young child supposedly cannot consider the listeners viewpoint but talks to himself without listening to others.D Piaget and his followers maintained that children go through something like a dark age of intellectual development before slowly and gradually becoming