导读
大学英语四六级考试(CET)文章的主要来源是英美报刊杂志。
TIME《时代周刊》
npr 美国国家公共电台
Project Syndicate 报业辛加迪
Financial Times《金融时报》
Interesting Engineering 网站
Smithsonianmag 美国《史密森尼》杂志
The Conversation 解释型新闻网
http://cravingboston.wgbh.org 网站
PMI (即: Project Management Institute) 项目管理协会
Interesting Engineering网站
Harvard Business Review《哈佛商业评论》
The Daily Beast《每日野兽》新闻网站
Wired 美国《连线》杂志
The New York Times《纽约时报》
www.goodtherapy.org网站
Science Friday《科学星期五》
REUTERS 路透社
ABC News (美国)ABC新闻
Today I Found Out 趣事知识分享网站
TRAVELLER
Quartz
energetskiportal
The Atlantic《大西洋报》
Science《科学》杂志
The Mirror 英国《镜报》
Livescience 美国生命科学网
Econotimes《经济时报》
THE Healthy网站
REUTERS 路透社
ABC News (美国)ABC新闻
Today I Found Out 趣事知识分享网站
仔细阅读 （一）
Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
The United States is facing a housing crisis: Affordable housing is inadequate, while luxury homes abound (充裕), and homelessness remains a persistent problem. Despite this, popular culture and the housing industry market happiness as living with both more space and more amenities (便利设施). Big houses are advertized as a reward for hard work and diligence, turning housing from a basic necessity into a luxury.
This is reflected in our homes. The average single family home built in the United States before 1970 was less than 1,500 square feet in size. By 2016, the average size of a new, single-family home was 2,422 square feet. What’s more, homes built in the 2000s were more likely than earlier models to have more of all types of spaces: bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, recreation rooms and garages.
There are consequences of living big. As middle-class houses have grown larger, two things have happened. First, large houses take time to maintain, so cleaners and other low-wage service workers are required to keep these houses in order. Second, once-public spaces, where people from diverse backgrounds used to come together, have increasingly become privatized, leading to a reduction in the number of public facilities available to all, and a reduced quality of life for many. Take swimming pools. While in 1950, only 2, 500 U.S. families owned pools, by 1999 this number was 4 million. At the same time, public municipal pools were often closed, leaving low-income people nowhere to swim.
The trend for bigger housing thus poses ethical questions. Should Americans accept a system in which the middle and upper classes enjoy a luxurious lifestyle, using the low-wage labor of others? Are we willing to accept a system in which an increase in amenities purchased by the affluent means a reduction in amenities for the poor?
I believe neither is acceptable. We must change the way we think: living well does not need to mean having more private spaces; instead, it could mean having more public spaces. A better goal than building bigger houses for some is to create more publicly accessible spaces and amenities for all.
题目Questions46 to 50 are based on the passage.
46. What are big houses promoted to be in the United States?
A) A luxury for the homeless.
B) A reward for industriousness.
C) An abundant source of comforts.
D) An absolute necessity for happiness.
47. What is one of the consequences of living big?
A) Many Americans’ quality of life has become lower.
B) People from diverse backgrounds no longer socialize.
C) People no longer have access to public swimming pools.
D) Many Americans’ private life has been negatively affected.
48. What questions arise from living big?
A) Questions related to moral principles.
B) Questions having to do with labor cost.
C) Questions about what lifestyle to promote.
D) Questions concerning housing development.
49. What kind of social system does the author think is unacceptable?
A) One in which the wealthy exploit the low-wage laborers building their houses.
B) One in which the rich purchase amenities at an increasingly unjustifiable price.
C) One in which the upper classes deprive the lower classes of affordable housing.
D) One in which the affluent enjoy a more comfortable life at the expense of the poor.
50. What does the author advocate for people to live well?
A) Finding ways to turn private spaces into public ones.
B) Building more houses affordable to those less affluent.
C) More public spaces created for everyone to enjoy.
D) All amenities made accessible to the rich and the poor alike.
标题：When it comes to housing, is bigger really better?
来源：Salon
媒体简介：《Salon》是一家美国在线新闻和文化杂志，成立于1995年。它在数字领域提供广泛的报道、评论、分析和文化内容，涵盖政治、社会、科技、娱乐、艺术等各个领域。
内容特点：该杂志的文章以思考深刻和观点独特而著称，经常关注社会正义、人权、性别平等等议题，致力于推动这些话题的讨论和改变。
网址：https://www.salon.com/
略
Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
The United States is facing a housing crisis: Affordable housing is inadequate, while luxury homes abound (充裕), and homelessness remains a persistent problem. Despite this, popular culture and the housing industry market happiness as living with both more space and more amenities (便利设施). Big houses are advertized as a reward for hard work and diligence, turning housing from a basic necessity into a luxury.
This is reflected in our homes. The average single family home built in the United States before 1970 was less than 1,500 square feet in size. By 2016, the average size of a new, single-family home was 2,422 square feet. What’s more, homes built in the 2000s were more likely than earlier models to have more of all types of spaces: bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, recreation rooms and garages.
There are consequences of living big. As middle-class houses have grown larger, two things have happened. First, large houses take time to maintain, so cleaners and other low-wage service workers are required to keep these houses in order. Second, once-public spaces, where people from diverse backgrounds used to come together, have increasingly become privatized, leading to a reduction in the number of public facilities available to all, and a reduced quality of life for many. Take swimming pools. While in 1950, only 2, 500 U.S. families owned pools, by 1999 this number was 4 million. At the same time, public municipal pools were often closed, leaving low-income people nowhere to swim.
The trend for bigger housing thus poses ethical questions. Should Americans accept a system in which the middle and upper classes enjoy a luxurious lifestyle, using the low-wage labor of others? Are we willing to accept a system in which an increase in amenities purchased by the affluent means a reduction in amenities for the poor?
I believe neither is acceptable. We must change the way we think: living well does not need to mean having more private spaces; instead, it could mean having more public spaces. A better goal than building bigger houses for some is to create more publicly accessible spaces and amenities for all.
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
题目Questions 51 to 55 are based on the passage.
51. What does the author think of most entrepreneurs?
A) They are more willing to risk their own lives.
B) They are more ambitious than ordinary people.
C) They achieve greater nonconventional success.
D) They have more positive qualities than most of us.
52. What does the author imply by saying “this isn’t always the case” (Line 1, Para. 3)?
A) Ambitious people may not have a greater chance of success.
B) Ambitious people may not have more positive qualities.
C) Entrepreneurs' ambition does as much good as harm.
D) Entrepreneurs are more naturally driven to success.
53. What does the author say is of extreme importance for one to become a successful entrepreneur?
A) Holding on to one's original vision.
B) Being able to adapt to new situations.
C) Focusing determinedly on one particular goal.
D) Avoiding radical change in one's career direction.
54. How do the most ambitious entrepreneurs regard failure in their endeavor?
A) It will awaken them to reality.
B) It is a lesson they have to learn.
C) It means the end of their career.
D) It will result in a slow recovery.
55. What does the author advise us to do concerning ambition?
A) Distinguish between conventional success and our life goal.
B) Follow the example of the most ambitious entrepreneurs.
C) Avoid taking unnecessary risks when starting a business.
D) Prioritize health and happiness over material success.
标题：Can Excessive Ambition Actually Ruin Your Chances of Success?
来源：Entrepreneur
媒体简介：《Entrepreneur》杂志是一本专注于创业、商业和创新的美国杂志，成立于1977年。它被认为是美国领先的商业出版物之一，与《福布斯》杂志、《财富》杂志和《快公司》等杂志竞争。
内容特点：该杂志主要为创业者、企业家和创新者提供有关创业、管理、领导力、市场营销、科技和财务等领域的信息和资源。
大家如果有创业的想法可以去这个网站上寻找最新的行业讯息哦~
网址：https://www.entrepreneur.com/
略
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
Most of us in the entrepreneurial community are blessed--or cursed--with higher-than-average ambition. Ambitious people strongly desire accomplishments and are willing to take more risks and spend more effort to get them.
Overall, this is a positive quality, especially for people trying to build their own businesses. Apparently, if you' re more naturally driven to set goals, you are more likely to succeed.
Actually, this isn’t always the case. In fact, in some cases, extreme ambition may end up doing more harm than good.
One major side effect of excessive ambition is the tendency to focus too determinedly on one particular vision or end goal. This is problematic because it hinders your ability to adapt to new circumstances, which is vital if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. If a new competitor emerges to threaten your business, you may need to change direction, even if that means straying from your original vision. If you have too much ambition, you'll find this hard, if not impossible.
Few people are successful when they try to build their first brand. Unfortunately, for the most ambitious entrepreneurs, a failure is seen as disastrous, and impossible to recover from.
It’s a clear departure from the intended plan toward the intended goal. For people with limited ambition, however, failure is viewed as something closer to reality. Remember, failure is inevitable, and every failure you survive is a learning experience.
Ambitious people tend to be more materialistically successful than their non ambitious counterparts. However, they’re only slightly happier than their less ambitious counterparts, and tend to live significantly shorter lives. This implies that even though ambitious people are more likely to achieve conventional “success,” such success means nothing for their health and happiness--and if you don’t have health and happiness, what else could possibly matter?
Clearly, some amount of ambition is good for your motivation. Without any ambition, you wouldn’t start your own business, set or achieve goals and get far in life. But an excess of ambition can also be dangerous, putting you at risk of burnout, stubbornness and even a shorter life.
仔细阅读（二）
46. What problem have supermarkets been facing?
A) They are actually on the way to bankruptcy.
B) They have been losing customers and profits.
C) They are forced to use e commerce strategies.
D) They have difficulty adapting to climate change.
47. What does the passage say about the idea of a self-service grocery?
A) It was put forward by King Kullen.
B) It originated in the United States.
C) It has been under constant debate.
D) It proves revolutionary even today.
48. What did supermarkets do by adopting the Fordist factory approach?
A) They modernized traditional groceries in many ways.
B) They introduced cutting-edge layout of their stores.
C) They improved the quality of the food they sold.
D) They revolutionized the distribution of goods.
49. What is the typical supermarket layout intended to do?
A) Arouse customers’ appetite to buy flowers, fruit and vegetables.
B) Provide customers easy access to items they want to buy.
C) Induce customers to make more unplanned purchases.
D) Enable customers to have a more enjoyable shopping experience.
50. What have people long feared about supermarkets?
A) They use tricky strategies to promote their business.
B) They are going to replace the local groceries entirely.
C) They apply corporate black magic to the goods on display.
D) They take advantage of the weaknesses of women shoppers.
标题：How Supermarkets Stay Open, Even in a Pandemic
来源： The Atlantic
媒体简介：《大西洋月刊》（The Atlantic）是一家美国的文化、政治和社会评论杂志，成立于1857年。该杂志以其深刻的分析、严谨的报道和多样的内容而著名，涵盖了政治、文化、科技、社会议题等各个领域。
内容特点：《大西洋月刊》以深入的分析和专题报道见长，经常发布探讨复杂议题的特稿，探讨政治、文化、科技等方面的深层次问题。
网址：https://www.theatlantic.com/
略
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
The traditional school year, with three months of vacation every summer, was first implemented when America was an agricultural society and the summer months were needed for farm work. Since then, we’ve completely changed as a nation. Students no longer spend summers farming, but they aren’t in school, either. The average American student receives 13 weeks off from school each calendar year--with about 11 of those during the summer. Few other countries have more than seven weeks off in a school calendar.
With the U.S. lagging behind other countries in academics, it’s time to consider year-round schooling. One benefit of this change is that students will not fall victim to the “summer slide”, or the well-documented phenomenon where students forget some of the knowledge they have acquired when too much time is taken off from school. Decades of research shows that it can take from 8 to 13 weeks at the beginning of every school year for students to get back to where they were before the summer holiday.
But year-round schooling isn’t just about academics. Teachers and students experience a closer relationship in year-round schools than they do in traditional schools and, in the absence of any long-term break, students do not feel detached from the school environment. These closer bonds and greater attachment pay off. Research shows that students in year-round schools are more self-confident and feel more positive about their schooling experience.
But don’t kids need time to relax? Some childhood development experts believe that time off from school is vital to healthy development as kids are not designed to spend so much of their time inside classrooms and the summer break provides a perfect opportunity to get outside. The problem with this argument is that most children aren’t playing outside or even spending time with other kids. While some children visit summer camps, most stay at home, watching TV or playing games on electronic devices, which hardly benefits them.
The U.S. has changed from a farming economy to a knowledge- and innovation-based economy, so it makes sense for the school year to change as well.
题目Questions 51 to 55 are based on the passage.
51. Why did America’s traditional school year have a three month summer vacation?
A) Students needed to help with farm work.
B) Students needed time to learn necessary farming skills.
C) The agricultural society then attached less importance to academics.
D) America lagged behind other countries in making a scientific school calendar.
52. What benefit will year-round schooling bring students in addition to improving their learning?
A) It will help them get back to where their lessons started.
B) It will enable them to absorb what they have learned.
C) It will familiarize them with the school environment.
D) It will strengthen their relationship with teachers.
53. What do some childhood development experts believe about the long summer vacation?
A) It meets students’ need to study on their own.
B) It enables students to learn about the outside world.
C) It satisfies students’ desire to stay longer at home.
D) It contributes to students’ healthy growth.
54. What is the argument against the experts’ idea of a long summer vacation?
A) It does little good to most students.
B) It benefits few students playing outside.
C) It leads students to neglect their studies.
D) It makes students addicted to computer games.
55. What does the author think of the traditional school year in the U.S. today?
A) Well-grounded.
B) Culture- bound.
C) Outdated.
D) Welcomed.
标题：Year-Round Schooling: How It Affects Students
来源： Education Week
媒体简介："Education Week"（教育周刊）是一家美国教育领域的出版物，成立于1981年。它为教育从业者、政策制定者、学者以及关心教育事务的人士提供深入的报道、分析和评论。
内容特点：该出版物的报道内容面向教育从业者，包括教师、校长、教育管理者和政策制定者。它提供有关教育行业最新发展、最佳实践和问题的深入信息。
网址：https://www.edweek.org
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
The traditional school year, with three months of vacation every summer, was first implemented when America was an agricultural society and the summer months were needed for farm work. Since then, we’ve completely changed as a nation. Students no longer spend summers farming, but they aren’t in school, either. The average American student receives 13 weeks off from school each calendar year--with about 11 of those during the summer. Few other countries have more than seven weeks off in a school calendar.
With the U.S. lagging behind other countries in academics, it’s time to consider year-round schooling. One benefit of this change is that students will not fall victim to the “summer slide”, or the well-documented phenomenon where students forget some of the knowledge they have acquired when too much time is taken off from school. Decades of research shows that it can take from 8 to 13 weeks at the beginning of every school year for students to get back to where they were before the summer holiday.
But year-round schooling isn’t just about academics. Teachers and students experience a closer relationship in year-round schools than they do in traditional schools and, in the absence of any long-term break, students do not feel detached from the school environment. These closer bonds and greater attachment pay off. Research shows that students in year-round schools are more self-confident and feel more positive about their schooling experience.
But don’t kids need time to relax? Some childhood development experts believe that time off from school is vital to healthy development as kids are not designed to spend so much of their time inside classrooms and the summer break provides a perfect opportunity to get outside. The problem with this argument is that most children aren’t playing outside or even spending time with other kids. While some children visit summer camps, most stay at home, watching TV or playing games on electronic devices, which hardly benefits them.
The U.S. has changed from a farming economy to a knowledge- and innovation-based economy, so it makes sense for the school year to change as well.
仔细阅读（三）
题目Questions46 to 50 are based on the passage.
46. Why are many employees opposed to team-building exercises?
A) They consider such exercises annoying.
B) They deem these exercises counter-productive.
C) They see such exercises as harmful to harmony.
D) They find these exercises too demanding.
47. What did Dr Matous and his team do to find out whether team-building activities would improve productivity?
A) They relocated team leaders and their offices.
B) They rearranged the staff and office spaces.
C) They redesigned the staff's work schedules.
D) They reintroduced some cohesive activities.
48. What did the study by Matous' team find about some team-building exercises?
A) They were intended to share personal attitudes and relationships.
B) They implicitly added to the vulnerability of team members.
C) They invariably strengthened connections among colleagues.
D) They were regarded as an intrusion into employees' private lives.
49. How can the self-disclosure approach succeed in increasing interpersonal closeness?
A) By allowing participants freedom to express themselves.
B) By applying it to employees who volunteer to participate.
C) By arranging in proper order the questions participants face.
D) By guiding employees through a series of steps in team building.
50. What does Matous think of the various psychological methods borrowed from other fields for
strengthening relationships?
A) They must be used in combination for an entire collective.
B) They prioritise some psychological aspects over others.
C) They place too much stress on individual relationships.
D) They have to be applied cautiously to be effective.
.
标题：Benefits of team building exercises jeopardized if not truly voluntary
来源：ScienceDaily
媒体简介："ScienceDaily"是一个科学新闻和研究报道的在线平台，旨在为读者提供关于科学、医学、技术和环境等领域的最新消息、研究成果和发展动态。
内容特点：报道各类科学研究的成果，包括学术研究论文、实验结果、发现和创新。读者可以通过它了解科学界的最新成果、趋势和研究进展。
网址：https://www.sciencedaily.com/
There are close to 58 ,000 homeless people in Los Angeles county. That’s a shocking and tragic number for a region that’s home to some of the richest people in the world. At last, the problem became so acute--and so visible--that Los Angeles took extraordinary action. The citizens of this county voted in November 2016 and again in March 2017 to raise their own taxes. The purpose of such action is to fund an enormous multibillion-dollar, 10-year program of housing and social services for the homeless.
As a result, Los Angeles now has its best chance in decades to combat homelessness. This is an opportunity that surely all can agree must not be wasted. It is neither desirable nor morally acceptable nor practical for this county to tolerate the signs of deprivation more commonly associated with the slums (贫民窟) of Rio de Janiero.
How did we get here? For as long as there are homeless people, there is a tendency to blame the victims themselves for their condition- to see their failure to thrive as an issue of character, of moral weakness, of laziness. But contrary to popular belief, the homeless in Los Angeles are not mostly mentally ill or drug addicted or frightening, although a sizable minority meet some of those descriptions. Today, a greater and greater proportion of people living on the streets are there because of bad luck or a series of mistakes, or because the economy forgot them--they lost a job or were evicted (逐出) or fled an abusive marriage just as the housing market was growing increasingly unforgiving.
The challenges are enormous, even if everyone is pulling in the same direction. That reality was driven home this month by a new Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority report showing that the county’s homeless population is growing faster than the supply of new housing.
In the world’s richest nation, homelessness on this scale should be shameful and shocking. But most Los Angeles residents are no longer either shocked or shamed. Increasingly, we are uncomfortable, annoyed, disgusted, scared or unaware. Compassion (同情心) is being replaced by resignation.
题目Questions 51 to 55 are based on the passage.
51. Why did the citizens of Los Angeles vote to raise their own taxes?
A) To combat the county’s homelessness.
B) To reform the county’s service system.
C) To fund the development of local infrastructure.
D) To narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.
52. What do people tend to believe about the homeless?
A) They seldom meet the descriptions of homelessness.
B) They are the victims of fast economic development.
C) They are responsible for their own condition.
D) They account for the majority of drug addicts.
53. What is one of the causes for more and more people in Los Angeles to become homeless?
A) They find it increasingly difficult to afford a place to live.
B) The divorce rate in the county has been on a steady rise.
C) They have been compelled to take low-paying jobs.
D) The society fails to forgive them for their mistakes.
54. What do we learn from the new Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority report?
A) Supplying enough job opportunities for the homeless remains a challenge.
B) Everyone is pulling in the same direction to solve the homelessness problem.
C) The increase in new housing falls short of the demand of the growing homeless population.
D) Los Angeles’ homeless condition is deteriorating faster than many people predict.
55. How do most Los Angeles residents now feel about homelessness?
A) They are increasingly ashamed about its scale.
B) They find it no more scaring than it appears.
C) They are less and less indifferent to it.
D) They no longer find it shocking.
D) Welcomed.
标题：Editorial: Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis is a national disgrace
来源：Los Angeles Times
媒体简介："Los Angeles Times"（洛杉矶时报）是一家美国的主要日报，总部位于加利福尼亚州洛杉矶市。它是南加州地区最大的报纸之一，拥有丰富的历史和深远的影响力。
内容特点：涵盖了从洛杉矶市到全球范围的广泛报道，包括政治、社会、文化、经济、科技和娱乐等各个领域。该报纸以其深入的报道和调查见长，经常发布重要议题的深度报道，揭示背后的故事和影响。
网址：https://www.latimes.com/
There are close to 58 ,000 homeless people in Los Angeles county. That’s a shocking and tragic number for a region that’s home to some of the richest people in the world. At last, the problem became so acute--and so visible--that Los Angeles took extraordinary action. The citizens of this county voted in November 2016 and again in March 2017 to raise their own taxes. The purpose of such action is to fund an enormous multibillion-dollar, 10-year program of housing and social services for the homeless.
As a result, Los Angeles now has its best chance in decades to combat homelessness. This is an opportunity that surely all can agree must not be wasted. It is neither desirable nor morally acceptable nor practical for this county to tolerate the signs of deprivation more commonly associated with the slums (贫民窟) of Rio de Janiero.
How did we get here? For as long as there are homeless people, there is a tendency to blame the victims themselves for their condition- to see their failure to thrive as an issue of character, of moral weakness, of laziness. But contrary to popular belief, the homeless in Los Angeles are not mostly mentally ill or drug addicted or frightening, although a sizable minority meet some of those descriptions. Today, a greater and greater proportion of people living on the streets are there because of bad luck or a series of mistakes, or because the economy forgot them--they lost a job or were evicted (逐出) or fled an abusive marriage just as the housing market was growing increasingly unforgiving.
The challenges are enormous, even if everyone is pulling in the same direction. That reality was driven home this month by a new Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority report showing that the county’s homeless population is growing faster than the supply of new housing.
In the world’s richest nation, homelessness on this scale should be shameful and shocking. But most Los Angeles residents are no longer either shocked or shamed. Increasingly, we are uncomfortable, annoyed, disgusted, scared or unaware. Compassion (同情心) is being replaced by resignation.
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