2024年大学英语六级考试阅读理解

12月大学英语六级考试真题（第1套）

SectionB

Directions:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattachedtoit.Each

statementcontainsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhich

(heinformationisderived.Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphis

markedwithaletter.

MeaningIsHealthierThanHappiness

[A]Foratleastthelastdecade,thehappinesscrazehasbeenbuilding.Inthelastthreemonths

alone,over1,000booksonhappinesswerereleasedonAmazon,includingHappyMoney,

Happy-People-PillsForAll,and,forthosejuststartingout,HappinessforBeginners.

|B]Oncoftheconsistentclaimsofbooksliketheseisthathappinessisassociatedwithallsortsof

goodlifeoutcomes,including-mostpromisingly-goodhealth.Manystudieshavenotedthe

connectionbetweenahappymindandahealthybody-thehappieryouare,(hebetterhealth

outcomesweseemtohave.Inameta-analysis(overview)of150studiesonthistopic,researchers

putitlike(his:uInductionsofwell-beingleadtohealthyfunctioning,andinductionsofill-being

leadtocompromisedhealth.n

[C]Butanewstudy,justpublishedintheProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences

(PNAS)challengestherosypicture.Happinessmaynotbeasgoodforthebodyasresearchers

thought.Itmightevenbebad.

|D]Ofcourse,it'simportanttofirstdefinehappiness.Afewmonthsago,Iwroteapiececalled

uThere'sMoretoLifeThanBeingHappywaboutapsychologystudythatdugintowhat

happinessreallymeanstopeople.Itspecificallyexploredthedifferencebetweenameaningfullife

andahappylife.

[E]Itseemsstrangethattherewouldbeadifferencea(all.Buttheresearchers,wholookedata

largesampleofpeopleoveramonth-longperiod,foundthathappinessisassociatedwithselfish

utaking"behaviorandthathavingasenseofmeaninginlifeisassociatedwithselfless44givingn

behavior.

[F]"Happinesswithoutmeaningcharacterizesarelativelyshallow,self-absorbedorevenselfish

life,inwhichthingsgowell,needsanddesirearceasilysatisfied,anddifficultortaxing

entanglementsareavoided,'theauthorsofthestudywrote."Ifanything,purehappinessislinked

tonothelpingothersinneed.MWhilebeinghappyisaboutfeelinggood,meaningisderivedfrom

contributingtoothersortosocietyinabiggerway.AsRoyBaumeister,oneoftheresearchers,

toldme,"Partlywhatwedoashumanbeingsistolakecareofothersandcontributetooihers.

Thismakeslifemeaningfulbutitdoesnotnecessarilymakeushappy.”

[G|ThenewPNASstudyalsoshedslightonthedifferencebetweenmeaningandhappiness,but

onthebiologicallevel.BarbaraFredrickson,apsychologicalresearcherwhospecializesin

positiveemotionsattheUniversityofNorthCarolina-ChapelHill,andSteveCole,ageneticsand

psychiatricresearcheratUCLA,examinedtheself-reportedlevelsofhappinessandmeaningin80

researchsubjects.

|H]Happincsswasdefined,asintheearlierstudy,byfeelinggood.Theresearchersmeasured

happinessbyaskingsubjectsquestionslike“Howoftendidyoufeelhappy?”"Howoftendid

youfeciinterestedinlife?”and"Howoftendidyoufeelsatisfied?MThemorestronglypeople

endorsedthesemeasuresofhedonicwell-being,orpleasure,(hehigher(heyscoredon

happiness.

|"Meaningwasdefinedasanorientation(osomethingbiggerthan(heself.Theymeasured

meaningbyaskingquestionslike“Howoftendidyoufeelthatyourlifehasasenseofdirection

ormeaningtoit?”,“Howoftendidyoufeelthatyouhadsomethingtocontributetosociety?M,

and“Howoftendidyoufeelthatyoubelongedtoacommunitysocialgroup?”Themorepeople

endorsedthesemeasuresof“eudaimonicwell-being°-or,simplyput,virtue-themoremeaning

theyfeltinlife.

[JJAftcrnotingthesenseofmeaningandhappinessthateachsubjecthad,FredricksonandCole,

withtheirresearchcolleagues,lookedatthewayscertaingenesexpressedthemselvesineachof

theparticipants.LikeneuroscientistswhousefMRIscanningtodeterminehowregionsinthe

brainrespondtodifferentstimuli.ColeandFredricksonareinterestedinhowthebody,atthe

geneticlevel,respondstofeelingsofhappinessandmeaning.

[K|Cole'spastworkhaslinkedvariouskindsofchronicadversitytoaparticulargeneexpression

pattern.Whenpeoplefeellonely,aregrievingthelossofalovedone,orarestrugglingtomake

endsmeet,theirbodiesgointothreatmode.Thistriggers(heactivationofastress-relatedgene

patternthathastwofeatures:anincreaseintheactivityofpron-inflammatorj/genesanda

decreaseintheactivityofgenesinvolvedinanti-viralresponses.

stressresponse.Theirbodieswerenotpreparingthemforthebacterialinfectionsthatwegetwhen

wearcaloneorintrouble,butfortheviralinfectionswegetwhensurroundedbyalotofother

people.

[PJFredrickson'spastresearch,describedinhertwobooks,PositivityandLove2.0,hasmapped

(hebenefitsofpositiveemotionsinindividuals.Shehasfoundihalpositiveemotionsbroadena

person,sperspectiveandbufferspeopleagainstadversity.Soitwassurprisingtoherthat

hedonisticwell-being,whichisassociatedwithpositiveemotionsandpleasure,didsobadlyin

thisstudycomparedwitheudaimonicwell-being.

[Q]"It'snottheamountofhedonichappinessthat'saproblem,“Fredricksontellsme,uIt'sthat

it'snotmatchedbyeudaimonicwell-being.It'sgreatwhenbothareinstep.Butifyouhavemore

hedonicwell-beingthanwouldbeexpected,that'swhenthis[gene]patternthat'sakintoadversity

emerged.0

[R]Thetermshedonismandeudemonismbringtomindthegreatphilosophicaldebate,whichhas

shapedWesterncivilizationforover2,000years,aboutthenatureof(hegoodlife.Doeshappiness

lieinfeelinggood,ashedoniststhink,orindoingandbeinggood,asAristotleandhisintellectual

descendants,thevirtueethicists,think?Fromtheevidenceofthisstudy,itseemsthatfeelinggood

isnotenough.Peopleneedmeaningtothrive.InthewordsofCarlJung,“Theleastofthingswith

ameaningisworthmoreir.lifethanthegreatestofthingswithoutit."Jung'swisdomcenainly

seemstoapplytoourbodies,ifnotalsotoourheartsandourminds.

46.Theauthor'srecentarticleexaminedhowameaningfullifeisdifferentfromahappylife.

47.Itshouldbenotedthatmanypeoplefeeltheirlifeisbothhappyandmeaningful.

48.Accordingtoonesurvey,thereisacloserelationshipbetweenhedonicwell-beingmeasures

andhighscoresonhappiness.

49.Accordingtooneof(heauthorsofanewstudy,whatmakeslifemeaningfulmaynotmake

peoplehappy.

50.Experimentswerecarriedouttodetermineourbody'sgeneticexpressionoffeelingsof

happinessandmeaning.

51.Anewstudyclaimshappinessmaynotcontribute(ohealth.

52.Accordingtoresearchers,takingmakesforhappinesswhilegivingaddsmeaningtolife.

53.Evidencefromresearchshowsthatittakesmeaningforpeopletothrive.

54.Withregardtogeneexpressionpatterns,happypeoplewithlittleornosenseofmeaningin

lifearefoundtobesimilartothosesufferingfromchronicadversity.

55.Mostbooksonhappinesstodayassertthathappinessisbeneficialtohealth.

PassageOne

Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Nothingsucceedsinbusinessbookslikethestudyofsuccess.Thecurrentbusiness-bookboom

waslaunchedin1982byTomPetersandRobertWatermanwith“InSearchofExcellenceIthas

beenkeptgoingeversincebyasuccessionofgurusandwould-beguruswhopromisetodistilthe

essenceofexcellenceintothree(orfiveorseven)simplerules.

TheThreeRulesisasclf-consciouscontributiontothistype;itevenincludesabibliographyof

usuccessstudiesn.MessrsRaynorandMumtazAhmedworkforaconsultancy,Deloitte,thatis

determinedtoturnitselfintomoreofathought-leaderandlessacorporaterepairman.They

employallthetricksofthesuccessgenre.Theyinsistthattheirconclusionsareumeasurableand

actionable°-guidetobehaviorratherthananalysisfbritsownsake.Successauthorsusuallyserve

upvividstoriesabouthowexceptionalbusiness-peoplestampedtheirpersonalitiesonacompany

orrescueditfromalife-threateningcrisis.MessrsRaynorandAhmedarehappierchewingthe

numbers:theyprovidedetailedappendicesonucalculatingtheelementsofadvantageMand

udetailedanalysisn.

Theauthorsspentfiveyearsstudyingthebehavioroftheir344uexceptionalcompaniesM.only

tocomeupatfirstwithnotliing.Everyhunch（直觉）ledtoablindalleyandeveryhypothesistoa

deadend.Itwasonlywhentheyshiftedtheirattentionfromhowcompaniesbehavetohowthey

thinkthattheybegantomakesenseoftheirvoluminousmaterial.

Managementisallaboutmakingdifficulttradeoffsinconditionsthatarealwaysuncertainand

ever-changing.Butexceptionalcompanies'approachthesetrade-offswithtwosimplerulesin

mind,sometimesconsciously,sometimesunconsciously.First:belterbeforecheaper.Companies

aremorelikelytosucceedinthelongruniftheycompeteonqualityorperformancethanonprice.

Second:revenuebeforecost.Companieshavemoretogaininthelongrunfromdrivingup

revenuethanbydrivingdowncosts.

Mostsuccessstudiessufferfromtwofaults.Thereis44thehalo（光环）effect"，wherebygood

performanceleadscommentatorstoattributeallmannerofvirtuestoanythingandeverythingthe

companydocs.Thesevirtuesthensuddenlybecomeviceswhenthecompanyfails.MessrsRaynor

andAhmedworkhardtoavoidthesemistakesbystudyinglargebodiesofdataoverseveral

decades.Buttheyendupembracingadifferenterror:statingtheobvious.Mostbusinesspeople

willnotbesurprisedtolearn（hatitisbettertofindaprofitableniche（缝隙市场）andfocuson

boostingyourrevenuesihantocompeteonpriceandcutyourwaytosuccess.Thedifficult

questionishowtofindthatprofitablenicheandprotectit.There.TheThreeRulesislessuseful.

56.Whatkindofbusinessbooksaremostlikelytosellwell?

ABooksonexcellence.

BGuidestomanagement.

CBooksonbusinessrules.

DAnalysesofmarkettrends.

57.Whatdoestheauthorimplyaboutbooksonsuccesssofar?

ATheyhelpbusinessmenonwayoranother.

BTheyarewrittenbywell-recognizedexperts.

CTheymoreorlessfallintothesamestereotype.

DTheyarebasedonanalysesofcorporateleaders.

58.HowdoesTheThreeRulesdifferentfromothersuccessbooksaccordingtothepassage?

AItfocusesonthebehaviorofexceptionalbusinessmen.

BItbasesitsdetailedanalysisonlargeamountofdata.

CItofferspracticableadvicetobusinessmen.

DItdrawsconclusionfromvividexamples.

59.Whatdocsthepassagesaycontributestothesuccessofexceptionalcompanies?

AFocusonqualityandrevenue.

BManagementandsalespromotion.

CLowerproductioncostsandcompetitiveprices.

DEmphasisonafter-saleserviceandmaintenance.

60.Whatistheauthor'scommentonTheThreeRules?

AItcanhelptolocateprofitableniches.

BIthaslittletooffertobusinesspeople.

CItisnotedforitsdetaileddataanalysis.

DItfailstoidentifythekeystosuccess.

PassageTwo

Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Untilrecently,theUniversityofKentprideditselfonitsfriendlyimage.Notanymore.Overthe

pastfewmonthsithasbeenworkinghard.Withthehelpofmediaconsultants,toplaydownits

cosyreputationinfavourofsomethingmoreacademicandserious.

Kentisnotaloneinconsideringanimagerevamp（翻新）.Changestonextyear's

fundingregimeareforcinguniversitiestojustifychargingstudentsupto£9.000infees.

Nowadaysuniversitiesareputtingmuchmoreofafocusontheirbrandsandwhattheirvalue

propositionsarc.Whileinthepastuniversitieshaveoftenfocusedonstudentsociallifeand

attractionsoftheuniversitytowninrecruitmentcampaigns,theyarcnowconcentratingonmore

tangible(实在的)attractions,suchasemploymentprospects,engagementwithindustry,and

lecturercontacthours,makingclearexactlywhatstudentsaregoingtogetfortheirmoney.

Theproblemfbruniversitiesisthatifthosebenefitsfailtomaterialize,studentsnotice.That

worriesRobBehrens,whodealswithstudentcomplaints.uUniversitiesneedtobeextremely

carefulindescribingwhat'sgoinglohappenlostudentsMhesays."Ascompetitionisgoingtoget

greaterforattractinggiftedstudents,thereisadangerthatuniversitieswillgotheextramile.w

Oneuniversitytoldprospectiveengineeringstudentstheywouldbeabletodesignacarand

raceitatBrandsHatch,whichneverhappened,hesays.Othershavepromiseduseofsophisticated

equipmentthatturnedouttobebrokenorunavailable."Ifuniversitiesspentasmuchmoneyon

handlingcomplaintsandappealsappropriatelyastheyspendonmarketing,theywoulddobetter

atkeepingstudents,andintheNationalStudentSurveyreturns,nhesays.

Ongoingresearch(rackingprospectivestudentssuggeststhat(heyarenotonlybecoming

moretimeresearchingevidencetobackupinstitutionalclaims.

Hencethegrowingimportanceofthestudentsurvey.FromnextSeptember.Allinstitutionswill

alsobeexpectedtopublishontheirwebsiteskeyinforma：ionsets,allowingeasiercomparison

betweeninstitution,betweenpromisesandreality,andthetypesofjobsandsalariesgraduatesgo

onto.

Asaresult,itishardlysurprisingthatuniversitiesarebeginningtochangethewaytheymarket

themselves.Whilethebestformofmarketingfbrinstitutionsistobegoodatwhattheydo,they

alsoneedtobeclearabouthowtheyarcdifferentfromothers.

Anditisvitalthatonceaninstitutionclaimstobeparticularlygoodatsomething,itmustlive

uptoit,themomentyoupositionyourself,youbecomeexposed,andifyoufailinthatyouarein

trouble.

61.WhatwastheUniversityofKentfamousFor?

AItscomfortablecampuslife.

BItsup-to-datecourseofferings.

CItsdistinguishedteachingstaff.

DItsdiverseacademicprograms.

62.Whatareuniversitiestryingtodotoattractstudents?

AImprovetheirlearningenvironment.

BUpgradetheircampusfacilities.

COffermorescholarshipstothegifted.

DPresentabetteracademicimage.

63.WhatdoesRobBehrenssuggestuniversitiesdoinmarketingthemselves?

APublicizetheachievementsoftheirgraduates.

BGotoextralengthstocatertostudents'needs.

CRefrainfrommakingpromisestheycannothonor.

DSurveytheexpectationsoftheirprospectivestudents.

64.Whatisstudents'chiefconsiderationinchoosingauniversity?

AWhetheritpromisesthebestjobprospects.

BWhetheritisabletodeliverwhattheywant.

CWhetheritrankshighamongsimilarinstitutions.

DWhetheritoffersopportunitiesforpracticaltraining.

65.Whatmustuniversitiesshow（owinrecruitmenlcampaigns?

ATheyarepositionedtomeetthefutureneedsofsociety.

BTheyareresponsibletostudentsfortheirgrowth.

CTheyareeverreadytoimprovethemselves.

DTheyareuniqueonewayoranother.

46.正确答案是D

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率8%,最轻易被选错的选项为C解

析：D段第二句提到，几个月之前，作者写了一篇有关心理学研究的文章，深入探讨了愉

快对于人们来说到底意味着人们;接着最后一句提到作者在这篇文章中还专门探索了故意义

的生活与愉快的生活之间的区分。题干中的recent对应原文中的afewmonthago;examined

howameaningfullifeisdifferentfromahappylife对应原文中的exploredthedifference

betweenameaningfullifeandahappylife。笔记：

47.正确答案是N

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率3%,最轻易被选错的选项为B解

析：N段第一句提到，对于诸多人而言，人生的意义感和愉快感是相互重叠的；在衡量人

生愉快与意义的研究当中，诸多人同时得高分（或同时得低分）。其中overlap（重叠）这个词

表述出“同时拥有的”意思,由此可知题干中manypeoplefeeltheirlifeisbothhappyand

meaningful对应原文中的formanypeople,asenseofmeaningandhappinessinlifeoverlap0笔

记：

48.正确答案是H

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率5%,最轻易被选错的选项为B解

析：H段最后一句提到，人们对“享乐幸福”或“愉快”的这些衡量措施越赞同，他们的

愉快指数就越高。由此可知，享乐幸福的衡量措施与愉快的高指数之间存在着紧密的联系。

题干中的hedonicwell-beingmeasures对应原文中的thesemeasuresoF'hedomic（享乐主义

的）well-being”;highscoresonhappiness对应原文中的thehighertheyscoredonhappiness0笔

记：

49.正确答案是F

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率5%,最轻易被选错的选项为0解

析：F段最后一句提到，正如其中的研究人员罗伊•鲍迈斯特告诉我的：“作为人类，我们

的一部分天性就是要照顾他人并为他人做贡献。这虽然会令生活变得故意义，但并不一定会

使我们愉快「罗伊•鲍迈斯特从事的研究是该段第一句提到的研究，即C段第一句提到的

刚才刊登在《美国国家科学院院刊》（简称PNAS）上的一项新研究，由此可知罗伊•纳迈斯

也是新研究的作者之一。题干中whatmakeslifemeaningfulmaynotmakepeoplehappy对应

原文中的Thismakeslifemeaningfulbutitdoesnotnecessarilymakeushappyo笔记：

50.正确答案是J

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率4%,最轻易被选错的选项为G解

析：J段最后一句提到，科尔和弗雷德里克松感兴趣的是身体怎样在基因的层面上对愉快

和意义的感受产生应反。题干中ourbody'sgeneticexpressionoffeelingsofhappinessand

meaning对应原文中的thebody,atthegeneticlevel,respondstofeelingsofhappinessand

meaning,,笔记：

51.正确答案是C

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率7%,最轻易被选错的选项为B解

析：C段第一句提到，刚才刊登在《美国国家科学院院刊》上的一项新研究对这一乐观描

述发起了挑战，及挑战的是B段最后一句的观点“Inductionsofwell-beingleadtohealthy

functioning,andinductionsofill-beingleadtocompromisechealth.v紧接着C段最后两句详细

解释了该研究的观点，愉快也许并不像研究人员因此为的那样有利于身体健康，它甚至也许

对身体健康有害。笔记：

52.正确答案是E

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答539次，总正确率6%,最轻易被选错的选项为I解

析：E段最后一句提到，研究人员在为期一个月的时间里，调查了大量的试样人群，发觉

愉快与自私的“索取”行为有关，而人生意义感则与无私的“予以”行为有关。题干中的匕king

measuresforhappiness对应原文中的happinessisassociatedwithselfish"taking"behavior;

givingaddsmeaningtolife对应原文中的havingasenseofmeaninginlifeisassociatedwith

selfless"giving"behavioro笔记：

53.正确答案是R

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率0%,最轻易被选错的选项为0解

析：R段第三句提到，从该研究的证据来看，只有感觉良好似乎不够；紧接着该段第四句

表白人们需要人生意义才能长寿。题干中的Evidencefromresearch对应原文中的Fromthe

evidenceofthisstudy;ittakesmeaningforpeopletothrive对应原文中的Peopleneedmeaning

tothriveo笔记：

54.正确答案是L

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率4%,最轻易被选错的选项为0解

析：L段第一句提到，科尔和弗雷德里克松发觉，感到愉快但只有极少或根本没有人生意

义的人，与应对并忍受长期逆境的人拥有相同的基因体现谱。题干中happypeoplewithlittle

ornosenseofmeaninginlife对应原文中peoplewhoarehappybuthavelittletonosenseof

meaningintheirlives：sufferingfrom对应原文中的enduring.笔记:

55.正确答案是B

统计：全站统计：本题共被作答538次，总正确率5%,最轻易被选错的选项为A解

析：B段第一句提到，此类书籍的一贯主张之一是，愉快和所有的良好生活情况有关，其

中包括良好的健康情况，这也是最重要的一点。原文