2021年6月大學(xué)英語(yǔ)六級(jí)考試聽力真題及答案（二）

Section A

Conversation One

1-M:How are you enjoying your new job?

2-W:So far,so good.I don't miss having managers who deliver blunt,harsh feedback in the name of efficiency.

3-M:From the way you described your last company,no wonder they had a problern with high staff turnover.

4-W:Yeah.I couldn't wait to getout of there once my contract expired.The problem with a companyculture that prizes directness above all else is that it creates a toxic culture of brilliant jerks thatdrives people out and erodes itself from within.

5-M:My company's managers tend to be accommodating and kind,overlooking mistakes or issues soas not to hurt feelings.Issues often get ignored there until they build up and reach a crisis point.

6-W:That's not surprising.My new company seems toemploy a feedback policy that combinescompassion and directness,Employees have the power to speak up,give feedback,disagree anddiscuss problems in real time.It seems to help us tocourse correct,improve and meet challengeswhile also building teams that collaborate and care for one another.

7-M:But that would be based on an atmosphere of mutual trust,wouldn't it?Otherwise,people mightinterpret feedback as some kind of personal attack.

8-W:True.Without an atmosphere of trust,feedback can create stress and self-doubt.But I think whenwe get fedback from someone we trust,we understand that the feedback isn't some kind ofpersonal attack.It's actually a kind of support because it's offered in the spirit of helping usimprove.I think sometimes people need to shift their mindsets around how they receive feedback.

9-M:Yes.Constructive feedback,after all,is how we learn and grow.It's the basis for healthyparenting,lasting friendships,career development,and so much more.If we shelter our children,friends,and colleagues from information that might enrich and enhance their lives,we're not beingcaring.We're actually doing harm to them.

10-W:That's exactly right.

Q1:How does the woman describe her previous company's culture?

Q2:What does the man say about his company's managers?

Q3:What does the woman say the employees in her new company can do?

Q4:What does the man say about constructive feedback?

Conversation Two

1-W:How was your holiday?Not toomany other tourists around,were there?

2-M:No,very few relatively.But I found myself moving from one accommodation to another,tryingto find the perfect place.It made me realize that indecision is a big problem for me.Instead ofrelaxing,I was looking for the best spot.

3-W:It seems you suffer from“Fear of Better Options,”I've read about it.It describes this loop ofindecision as part of our programming.Essentially,we have this tendency to keep stretching outthe decision-making process.Because as human beings,we are hard-wired to optimize.We havealways looked to get the best things we can as a sort of survival of the fittest.Optimizing isn't theproblem,but rather the process that we go through.

4-M:Well,that makes me feel better.But I think thanks to technology,we can make comparisonsmore easily and have more access to choice and customization.We can now see what we couldhave,how we might get it,and what others have that we might want.We keep looking over andreturn to the same options again and again.

5-W:Yes.“Fear of Better Options”offers little benefit.It's an ailment of abundance.You must havechoices to have that fear of missing out on better options.

6-M:Yes,I need to note when I'm worrying about inconsequential things,Iguess.If I'm spending toomuch time worrying over what to have for lunch,I'm robbing myself of the energy to focus on thethings that matter.

7-W:Exactly.But for more important matters,I think gutinstinct might be overrated.When youhave 30 odd options,trusting your gut is not practical.What you need to do is research—haveaprocess,invest time exploring your options,and eliminate as many things as you can.The most toxic part of decision making is going over the same options time and time again.

Q5:What does the man say about his holiday?

Q6:What does the woman say people tend to do when making decisions?

Q7:What has made decision making increasingly difficult?

Q8:Acording to the woman,what should people do when making important decisions?

Section B

Passage One

I The roleof homework in classrooms is not a new debate.Many parents and teachers are ardentsupporers of homework.But do all students benefit from homework?A 2006 research papersuggested some correlation between the amount of homework done by a student and future academicachievement for middle and high school students—but not so much for younger kids.

Ⅱ A Stanford study in 2014 suggested the same was true for students in California's affluentcommunities.The findings challenged the idea that homework was “inherently good.”The researchersconcluded that there was an upper limit to the correlation between homework and achievement,suggesting that high school students shouldn't be doing more than two hours of homework a night,Andthe most valuable kind of homework for elementary-level children was simply assignedfree reading.

Ⅲ The topic gets more complicated when we talk about the divide between rural and urbancommunities.Studies found that in remote areas,the poor quality or lack of internet access can putstudents at a disadvantage because 70%of teachers in these areas assign homework that requires internetaccess.But one in three households doesn't have internet.Experts assert homework requiring thenternet isn't fair.

IV While the debate continues about the effect of homework on academic achievements,there arestudiesfocusing on other benefits of homework.A study in Germany found that homework could havean effect on students'personalities,suggesting that doing homework might help kids to become moreconscientious and independent learners.

Q9:What did the 2006 research find about homework?

Q10:What do experts think of homework requiring internet access?

Q11:What conclusion could be drawn from the study in Germany?

Passage Two

I Robert Goddard,an American born in 1882,is widely regarded as the world's first rocket scientist.

Ⅱ At age 27,Goddard published hisfirstbook in which he hypothesized that a rocket launched from Earthcouldreach the Moon.Like many visionaries,the young scientist encountered numerous skeptics.InJanuary 1920,The New York Times ridiculed Goddard's theory that rockets could be utilized for spaceexploration.Forty-nine years later,Apollo ll reached the Moon and the famed newspaperpublished an apologyto Goddard.

Ⅲ Goddard launched his first rocket from an aunt's farm in his native Massachusetts in March,1926.His maiden rocketvoyage lasted a mere 3 seconds.Itscaled an altitude of only 12 meters.Nonetheless.it was a milestone in rocket science.

IV Goddard later consulted with a weather expert and determined that the climate of New Mexicowas ideal for yearound rocket launches.In 1930,Goddard and his family relocated there,to a remotevalley in the southwest of the country.There he established a laboratory and test range.

V However,the ambitious scientist received negligible support from the government.For fouryears,wealthy businessman Daniel Guggenheim providedGoddard with an annual 25.000 dollars grant topursue his dreams,Other rocket enthusiasts also raised funds for him.Over time,Goddard's rocketgrew more sophisticated and included the installation of instruments.

VI In spite of his many successes,Goddard was never able to interest the US military inrocket-propelled weapons. He was granted over 200 patents and continued to pioneer rockettechnology until his death in 1945.

Q12:What do we learn about Goddard's idea ofusing rockets for space exploration?

Q13:What does the passage say about Goddard's first rocket voyage?

Q14:Why did Goddard move to New Mexico?

Q15:What does the passage say about Goddard's achievements?

Section C

Recording One

I Working for a new venture comes with a lot of risks.There's instability,unclearresponsibilities,and the need to be a master of all trades.But the primary benefit is usually the passionand excitement asociated with playing a role in a promising new company.The person to thankforthatpassion and excitement is almost always the entrepreneur.

Ⅱ There's somethingabout the founder's energy and enthusiasm that infects the rest of the team.The willingness to take risks may inspire others to be more courageous.The optimism and positivity maymotivate people to focus less on trivial and unimportant matters.The celebration of milestones mayprompt staff to be more grateful about their own accomplishments and privileges.

Ⅲ What becomes set in the firm's culture is acontagious collection of affirmative and positiveemotions which are usually shared among the team.Science has already done a good job of proving theresults that follow.These include better processes,greater team cohesion,reduced conflict andsharper alertness.

IV But what is yet to be demonstrated is whether the founder's passion leads to increased teamperformance.This was recently tested in research,which analyzed the teams of 73 new companies acrossa range ofindustries such as IT,medicine and energy.The CEOs were consulted once again,years afterthe initial analysis.And most shared their firm's performance reports,so that their success could bemore objectively measured.

V Entrepreneurial teams generally progress through three phases.The first is inventing a productor service,the second isfounding the venture to sell that product or service,and the third is developingthe firm so it continues to grow.

VI The researchers discovered that when the team is passionate about the third phase—developingthe firm—there's a clear link to performance.But the first phase—a passion for invention—is not areliable indicator that the firm will still be open for business a few years later.Likewise,the second—apassion for founding the venture—doesn'tnecessarily translate into great success.

VII The solution to great team performance stems from a willingness to recruit others who coulddirect their passion towards the third phase of entrepreneurialism:developing the business.Employingmore staff can in itself be a risk for an entrepreneur,as is paying them big dollars to attract them.On many occasions,the entrepreneurs reported not paying themselves a wage at all initially,in order tocover salaries and expenses.

Q16:What does the speaker say about working for a new venture?

Q17:What has science demonstrated regarding the positive culture of a new venture?

Q18:What does the speaker say about entrepreneurs at the initial stage of a new venture?

Recording Two

I Ageing is a curious thing and people's desire to beat it—and death—has become an industryworth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Ⅱ Despite the huge investment into research,ageing remains somewhat obscure,although there arecertain things researchers do understand.They know that women tend to have longer lifespans,living onaverage six years longer than men.No one is really certain of the reason for this,although thespeculation centers around the idea that women are more capable of surviving or handling disease than men.For virtually every disease,the effects aregreater on men than they are on women.

Ⅲ Some suggest thatwomen's immune systems benefit from theirtendeney to prioritize and nurturesocial connections.But for me,this explanation is hardly convincing.

IV Researchers also know,to an extent,what causes ageing.For 60 years,it was believed that cellswould continue to divide forever.It was only uncovered in relatively recent times that older people's cellsdivide a smaller number of times than younger people's.Only cancer cells,in fact,are capable of dividingforever.Human cells have a limited reproductive ability.To an extent,we can postpone the eventualstop of cells'dividing through nutrition,exercise,good sleep,and even relaxation techniques.But wecannot stop the ageing process.

V And researchers are yet to answer the ultimate question of ageing.Why does the body ultimatelyfall to pieces?

VI In the opinion of some of the world's best scientific minds on the subject,part of the reason wedon't yethave an answer is because many researchers are looking in the wrong direction.Many publiehealth policy makers believe that the resolution of age-associated disease will tell us somethingfundamental about the ageing process,but say some top scientists,that's completely erroneous.Theypoint to when the diseases of childhood were eliminated,but this did not provide any insight intochildhood development.In the same way,the idea that the resolution of age-associated disease like heartdisease and stroke will inform us about ageing is not based on sound science or logic.

VII At best,if the major causes of death in developed countries were eliminated,this would only adda decade to average life expectancy.But while there is money available to be spent on it,the search tounderstand the secrets of ageing will be ongoing.

Q19:What do we learn about the possible reason why women tend to live longer?

Q20:What is the recent discovery about human cells?

Q21:What do many public health policy makers believe?

Recording Three

I Good afternoon.In today's talk,we'll discuss how managers can get their staff to do what theyare asked.

Ⅱ Much to their frustration,managers often struggle to get their staff to comply with even simpleinstructions.Often they blame their employees:“They don't read emails,they don't listen,they don'tcare”—that kind of thing.But according to recent research conducted in Australia,it looks like it's notthe employees'fault but the managers'.

Ⅲ It's easy to understand why people sometimes disobey procedures intentionally.Oecasionally,it'sbecause they're pressured to finish in a short time.At other times,they may disagree with the spirit ofthe procedure—the effort demanded,the time consumed,the lack of potential effectiveness.And everynow and then,they just don't wantto,maybe deliberately or out of stubbornness.

IV So apart from that,what else gets in the way of procedural compliance?The research scholarssurveyed 152 blue-collar workers from two separate sites in the mining industry.They asked the workersa range of procedurerelated questions,such as whether they found the procedures useful,how confidenttheyfelt intheir job,how comfortable they were to speak up in the workplace,and how closely theyfollowed any new procedures set by their managers.They were also asked to rate the extent to whichthey perceived their supervisors to be helpful.

V That last statement was the most instructive because,as the researchers found,there was aremarkably strong correlation between how helpful supervisors were perceived to be and how likely theiremployees were to follow their directives.Supervisors'helping behavior was found to be motivational innature.It increased employees'perception of thelikelihoodof success in the attainment of job goals,andtherefore fostered a willingness to dedicate their effort and ability to their work.

VI In short,managers should be ongoing role models for the change.As the saying goes:“Do as I do,notas I say".To affect behavioral change,what's most required is interaction and involvement—the humanouch—and,naturally,processes that add value.Although procedures are designed to guide and supportemployees'work,employees,it seems,can't always be expected to comply with procedures that are not seen asuseful.And of course,managers shouldn't keep resending emails.They're an effective tool for the sharing ofdata and reports,but they're a hopeless tool if what a manager is desiring is a change in behavior.

Q22:Why are managers often frustrated with their employees?

Q23:Why do employees sometimes disobey procedures intentionally?

Q24:When are employees more likely to follow instructions,according to the researchers?

Q25:What does the speaker say about emails?