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12012年12月大学英语六级考试真题PartIWriting(30minutes)Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessayentitledManandComputerbycommentingonthesaying,“Therealdangerisnotthatthecomputerwillbegintothinklikeman,butthatmanwillbegintothinklikethecomputer.”Youshouldwriteatleast150wordsbutnomorethan200words.ManandComputerPartIIReadingComprehension（SkimmingandScanning）（15minutes）Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.ThirstgrowsforlivingunpluggedMorepeoplearetakingbreaksfromtheconnectedlifeamidthestillnessandquietofretreatsliketheJesuitCenterinWernersville,Pennsylvania.Aboutayearago,IflewtoSingaporetojointhewriterMalcolmGladwell,thefashiondesignerMarcEckoandthegraphicdesignerStefanSagmeisterinaddressingagroupofadvertisingpeopleon“MarketingtotheChildofTomorrow.”SoonafterIarrived,thechiefexecutiveoftheagencythathadinvitedustookmeaside.Whathewasmostinterestedin,hebegan,wasstillnessandquiet.Afewmonthslater,Ireadaninterviewwiththewell-knowncutting-edgedesignerPhilippeStarck.Whatallowedhimtoremainsoconsistentlyaheadofthecurve?“IneverreadanymagazinesorwatchTV,”hesaid,perhapswithalittleexaggeration.“NordoIgotococktailparties,dinnersoranythinglikethat.”Helivedoutsideconventionalideas,heimplied,because“Ilivealonemostly,inthemiddleofnowhere.”Aroundthesametime,Inoticedthatthosewhopartwith$2,285anighttostayinacliff-toproomatthePostRanchInninBigSur,California,paypartlyfortheprivilegeofnothavingaTVintheirrooms;thefutureoftravel,I’mreliablytold,liesin“black-holeresorts,”whichchargehighpricespreciselybecauseyoucan’tgetonlineintheirrooms.Hasitreallycometothis?Themorewayswehavetoconnect,themoremanyofusseemdesperatetounplug.InternetrescuecampsinSouthKoreaandChinatrytosavekidsaddictedtothescreen.WriterfriendsofminepaygoodmoneytogettheFreedomsoftwarethatenablesthemtodisabletheveryInternetconnectionsthatseemedsoemancipatingnotlongago.EvenIntelexperimentedin2007withconferringfouruninterruptedhoursofquiettime(nophoneore-mail)everyTuesdaymorningon300engineersandmanagers.Workerswerenotallowedtousethephoneorsende-mail,butsimplyhadthechancetocleartheirheadsandtohearthemselvesthink.TheaverageAmericanspendsatleasteightandahalfhoursadayinfrontofascreen,NicholasCarrnotesinhisbookTheShallows.TheaverageAmericanteenagersendsorreceives75textmessagesaday,thoughonegirlmanagedtohandleanaverageof10,000every24hoursforamonth.Sinceluxuryisafunctionofscarcity,thechildrenoftomorrowwilllongfornothingmorethanintervalsoffreedomfromalltheblinkingmachines,streamingvideosandscrollingheadlinesthatleavethemfeelingemptyandtoofullallatonce.Theurgencyofslowingdown—tofindthetimeandspacetothink—isnothingnew,ofcourse,andwisersoulshavealwaysremindedusthatthemoreattentionwepaytothemoment,thelesstimeandenergywehavetoplaceitinsomelargercontext.“Distractionistheonlythingthatconsolesusforourmiseries,”theFrenchphilosopherBlaisePascalwroteinthe17thcentury,“andyetitisitselfthegreatestofourmiseries.”Healsofamouslyremarkedthatallofman’sproblemscomefromhisinabilitytositquietlyinaroomalone.2Whentelegraphsandtrainsbroughtintheideathatconveniencewasmoreimportantthancontent,HenryDavidThoreauremindedusthat“themanwhosehorsetrots(奔跑),amileinaminutedoesnotcarrythemostimportantmessages.”MarshallMcLuhan,whocamecloserthanmosttoseeingwhatwascoming,warned,“Whenthingscomeatyouveryfast,naturallyyoulosetouchwithyourself.”Wehavemoreandmorewaystocommunicate,butlessandlesstosay.Partlybecausewearesobusycommunicating.Andwearerushingtomeetsomanydeadlinesthatwehardlyregisterthatwhatweneedmostarelifelines.Sowhattodo?MoreandmorepeopleIknowseemtobeturningtoyoga,ormeditation(沉思),ortaichi(太极)；thesearen’tNewAgefads(时尚的事物)somuchaswaystoconnectwithwhatcouldbecalledthewisdomofoldage.Twofriendsofmineobservean“Internetsabbath(安息日)”everyweek,turningofftheironlineconnectionsfromFridaynighttoMondaymorning.Otherfriendstakewalksand“forget”theircellphonesathome.Aseriesoftestsinrecentyearshasshown,Mr.Carrpointsout,thatafterspendingtimeinquietruralsettings,subjects“exhibitgreaterattentiveness,strongermemoryandgenerallyimprovedcognition.Theirbrainsbecomebothcalmerandsharper.”Morethanthat,empathy(同感，共鸣)，aswellasdeepthought,depends(asneuroscientistslikeAntonioDamasiohavefound)onneuralprocessesthatare“inherentlyslow.”IturntoeccentricmeasurestotrytokeepmymindsoberandensurethatIhavetimetodonothingatall(whichistheonlytimewhenIcanseewhatIshouldbedoingtherestofthetogoonlinetillmyday’swritingisfinished,andImovedfromManhattantoruralJapaninpartsoIcouldmoreeasilysurviveforlongstretchesentirelyonfoot.Noneofthisisamatterofasceticism(苦行主义)；itisjustpureselfishness.Nothingmakesmefeelbetterthanbeinginoneplace,absorbedinabook,aconversation,ormusic.Itisactuallysomethingdeeperthanmerehappiness:itisjoy,whichthemonk(僧侣)DavidSteindl-Rastdescribesas“thatkindofhappinessthatdoesn’tdependonwhathappens.”Itisvital,ofcourse,tostayintouchwiththeworld.Butit