2007年6月23日英语六级考试题卷及答案

            Passage One
            Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

            You hear the refrain all the lime: the U.S. economy looks good
            statistically, but il doesn't feel good. Why doesn't ever-greater
            wealth promote ever-greater happiness? It is a question that dates
            at least to the appearance in 1958 of The Affluent {富裕的) Society by
            John Kenneth Galbraith. who died recently at 97.

            The Affluent Society is a modem classic because it helped define a
            new moment in the human condition. For most of history, "hunger,
            sickness, and cold" threatened nearly everyone. Galbraith wrote.
            "Poverty was found everywhere in that world. Obviously ii is not of
            ours." After World War II. the dread of another Great Depression
            gave way to an economic boom. In the 1930s unemploy­ment had
            averaged I8.2 percent; in the 1950s it was 4.5 percent.

            To Galbraith, materialism had gone mad and would breed discontent.
            Through advertising. companies conditioned consumers to buy things
            they didn't really want or need. Because so math spending was
            artificial, it would be unfulfilling. Meanwhile, government spending
            that would make everyone belter off was being cut down because
            people Instinctively—and wrongly—labeled gov­ernment only as "a
            necessary evil."

            It's often said that only the rich are yetting ahead; everyone else
            is standing still or falling behind. Well, there are many
            undeserving rich—overpaid chief executives, for instance. But over
            any meaningful period, most people's incomes are increasing. From
            1995 to 2004. inflation-adjusted average family income rose 14.3
            percent, to $43.200. People feel "squeezed" because their rising
            incomes often don't satisfy their rising wants—for bigger homes,
            more health care, more education.

            The other great frustration is thai ii has not eliminated
            insecurity. People regard job stability as part of their standard of
            living. As corporate layoffs increased, that pan has eroded. More
            workers fear they've become "the disposable American." as Louis
            Uchitelle puts it in his book by the same name.

            Because so much previous suffering and social conflict stemmed from
            poverty, the arrival of widespread affluence Suggested Utopian
            (乌托邦式的) possibilities. Up to a point, affluence succeeds. There is
            much less physical misery than before. People are better off.
            Unfortunately. affluence also creates new complaints and
            contradictions.

            The other great frustration is that i! has not eliminated
            insecurity. People regard job stability as part of their standard of
            living. As corporate layoffs increased, that pan has eroded. More
            workers fear they've become "The disposable American;' as Louis
            Uchitelle puts it in his book bv the same name.

            Advanced societies need economic growth to satisfy the multiplying
            wants of their citizens. Bui the quest for growth lets loose new
            anxieties and economic conflicts that disturb the social order.
            Affluence liberates the individual, promising that everyone can
            choose a unique wa) to self-fulfillment. But the promise is so
            extravagant that it predestines many disappointments and some­times
            inspires choices that have ami-social consequences, including family
            breakdown and obesity (肥胖症). Statistical indicators of happiness
            have not risen with incomes.

            Should we be surprised? Not really. We've simply reaffirmed an old
            truth: the pursuit o(afflu­ence does not always end with happiness.

            52 What question does John Kenneth Galbraith raise in his book The
            Affluent Society?
            A) Why statistics don't tell the truth aboui the- economy.
            B) Why affluence doesn't guarantee happiness
            C) How happiness can be promoted today.
            D) What lies behind an economic boom.
            本题答案:B

            53. Acording to Galbraith. people feel discontented because________.
            A) public spending hasn't been cut down as expected
            B) the government has proved to be a necessary evil
            C） they are in fear of another Great Depression
            D) materialism has run wild in modem society
            本题答案:D

            54. Why do people fee! squeezed when their average income rises
            considerably?
            A) Their material pursuits have gone far ahead of their earnings.
            B) Their purchasing power has dropped markedly with inflation.
            C) The distribution of wealth is uneven between tiie rich and the poor.
            D) Health care and educational costs have somehow gone out of control.
            本题答案:A

            55. What does Louis Uchitelle mean by -the disposable American"
            (Line 3, Para. 5)?
            A) Those who see job stability as pan of their living standard.
            B) People full of Utopian ideas resulting from affluence.
            C) People who have little say in American politics.
            D) Workers who no longer have secure jobs.
            本题答案:D

            56. What has affluence brought to American society
            A) Renewed economic security.
            B) A sense of self-fulfillment.
            C) New conflicts and complaints.
            D）Misery and anti-social behavior.
            本题答案:C