历年6级阅读真题及翻译

1历年英语六级阅读真题及翻译（2009.06-1999.01）2009年6月英语六级阅读真题PassageOne：Forhundredsofmillionsofyears,turtles(海龟)havestruggledoutoftheseatolaytheireggsonsandybeaches,longbeforetherewerenaturedocumentariestocelebratethem,orGPSsatellitesandmarinebiologiststotrackthem,orvolunteerstohand-carrythehatchlings(幼龟)downtothewater’sedgelesttheybecomedisorientedbyheadlightsandcrawltowardsamotelparkinglotinstead.AformidablewallofbureaucracyhasbeenerectedtoprotecttheirprimenestingontheAtlanticcoastlines.Withallthatattentionpaidtothem,you’dthinkthesecreatureswouldatleasthavethegratitudenottogoextinct.ButNatureisindifferenttohumannotionsoffairness,andareportbytheFishandWildlifeServiceshowedaworrisomedropinthepopulationsofseveralspeciesofNorthAtlanticturtles,notablyloggerheads,whichcangrowtoasmuchas400pounds.TheSouthFloridanestingpopulation,thelargest,hasdeclinedby50%inthelastdecade,accordingtoElizabethGriffin,amarinebiologistwiththeenvironmentalgroupOceana.ThefigurespromptedOceanatopetitionthegovernmenttoupgradethelevelofprotectionfortheNorthAtlanticloggerheadsfrom“threatened”to“endangered”—meaningtheyareindangerofdisappearingwithoutadditionalhelp.Whichraisestheobviousquestion:whatelsedotheseturtleswantfromus,anyway?Itturnsout,accordingtoGriffin,thatwhilewehavedoneagoodjobofprotectingtheturtlesfortheweekstheyspendonland(asegg-layingfemales,aseggsandashatchlings),wehaveneglectedtheyearsspendintheocean.“Thethreatisfromcommercialfishing,”saysGriffin.Trawlers(whichdraglargenetsthroughthewaterandalongtheoceanfloor)andlonglinefishers(whichcandeploythousandsofhooksonlinesthatcanstretchformiles)takeaheavytollonturtles.Ofcourse,likeeveryotherenvironmentalissuetoday,thisisplayingoutagainstthebackgroundofglobalwarmingandhumaninterferencewithnaturalecosystems.Thenarrowstripsofbeachonwhichtheturtleslaytheireggsarebeingsqueezedononesidebydevelopmentandontheotherbythethreatofrisingsealevelsastheoceanswarm.Ultimatelywemustgetahandleonthoseissuesaswell,oracreaturethatoutlivedthedinosaurs(恐龙)willmeetitsendatthehandsofhumans,leavingourdescendantstowonderhowcreaturesouglycouldhavewonsomuchaffection.在数亿年前的时间里，海龟一直在挣扎着离开大海道海滩上产卵，时间远远遭遇自然纪录片的赞扬，或全球定位通讯卫星和海洋生物学家的追踪，又或者志愿者们用手把幼龟放在海边以避免它们受到光线的影响迷失方向，爬向汽车旅馆的停车场。由官方建造的大型围墙用于保护海龟在大西洋沿岸的主要筑巢地。收到了各种各样的关注后，你可能会认为这些生物至少会心怀感激，不至于走向灭亡。但是自然却无视人类的公平观念，由渔业和野生动物服务组织提供的用一份报告显示，北大西洋的数种海龟的种群数量出现了令人担忧的下降，特别是体重可达400磅的红海龟。来自环保组织的Ocean的海洋生物学家伊丽莎白格里芬称，数量最多的佛罗里达州南部穴居种群在过去十年里减少了50%。该数据促使Oceana组织向政府情愿，要求将北大西洋红海龟的保护级别从“受威胁”提升至“濒危”-----这意味着如果没有外界的帮助，它们将会面临灭绝的危险。这就提出了一个明显的问题：这些海龟究竟还要我们做什么？根据格里芬的说法，虽然海龟在陆上的数周时间内，我们可以很好地保护它们（包括产卵的母龟，卵2和幼龟），但是我们忽略了它们在海里的漫长时光。“主要是来自商业捕捞的威胁”格里芬说。拖网渔船（在水中和海床拖行大型的渔网）和延绳钓鱼船（在钓线上装备数以千记的鱼钩，可以延伸至数英里）给海龟造成了惨重的伤亡。当然，就像所有当下的环保问题一样，这也是在全球变暖和人类干预自然生态系统的背景下发生的。海龟产卵的狭窄沙滩一方面收到开发的压榨，另一方面收到海洋变暖导致的海平面上升的威胁。最终我们还要解决这些问题，否则一种比恐龙活得更久的生物将会在人类手中灭绝，让我们的后代困惑于怎么这种丑陋的生物会赢得如此多的关爱。PassageTwo：Therearefewmoresoberingonlineactivitiesthanenteringdataintocollege-tuitioncalculatorsandgaspingastheWebspitsbackasix-figuresum.Buteconomistssayfamiliesabouttogointodebttofundfouryearsofpartying,aswellasstudying,canconsolethemselveswiththeknowledgethatcollegeisaninvestmentthat,unlikemanybankstocks,shouldyieldhugedividends.A2008studybytwoHarvardeconomistsnotesthatthe“labor-marketpremiumtoskill”—ortheamountcollegegraduatesearnedthat’sgreaterthanwhathigh-schoolgraduateearned—decreasedformuchofthe20thcentury,buthascomebackwithavengeance(报复性地)sincethe1980s.In2005,Thetypicalfull-timeyear-roundU.S.workerwithafour-yearcollegedegreeearned$50,900,62%morethanthe$31,500earnedbyaworkerwithonlyahigh-schooldiploma.There’snoquestionthatgoingtocollegeisasmarteconomicchoice.Butalookatthestrangevariationsintuitionrevealsthatthechoiceaboutwhichcollegetoattenddoesn’tcomedownmerelytodollarsandcents.DoesgoingtoColumbiaUniversity(tuition,roomandboard$49,260in2007-08)yielda40%greaterreturnthanattendingtheUniversityofColoradoatBoulderasanout-of-statestudent($35,542)?Probablynot.Doesbeinganout-of-statestudentattheUniversityofColoradoatBoulderyieldtwicetheamountofincomeasbeinganin-statestudent($17,380)there?Notlikely.No,inthisconsumeristage,mostbuyersaren’tevaluatingcollegeasaninvestment,butratherasaconsumerproduct—likeacarorclothesorahouse.Andwithsuchpurchases,priceisonlyoneofmanycrucialfactorstoconsider.Aswithautomobiles,consumersintoday’scollegemarketplacehavevastchoices,andpeoplesearchfortheonethatgivesthemthemostcomfortandsatisfactioninlinewiththeirbudgets.Thisaccountsforthewillingnessofpeopletopaymorefordifferenttypesofexperiences(suchasattendingaprivateliberal-artscollegeorgoingtoanout-of-statepublicschoolthathasagreatmarine-biologyprogram).Andjustastwoautopurchasersmightspendanequalamountofmoneyonverydifferentcars,collegestudents(or,moreaccurately,theirparents)oftenshowawillingnesstopayessentiallythesamepriceforvastlydifferentproducts.Sowhichisit?Iscollegeaninvestmentproductlikeastockoraconsumerproductlikeacar?Inkeepingwiththeautomotiveworld’shottestconsumertrend,maybeit’sbesttocharacterizeitasahybrid(混合动力汽车);anexpensiveconsumerproductthat,overtime,willpayrichdividends.在大学