2012年12月英语六级真题(2)

淘宝店铺：行知小课堂1/152012年12月大学英语六级(CET-6)真题试卷PartIWriting(30minutes)Direction:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessayentitledManandComputerbycommentingonthesaying,Therealdangerisnotthatthecomputerwillbegintothinklikeman,butthatmanwillbegintothinklikethecomputer.Youshouldwriteatleast150wordsbutnomorethan200words.OnMaintainingTrustPartIIReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.Ratesarelow,butconsumerswon’tborrowTheUSFederalReserve(Fed)'sannouncementlastweekthatitintendedtokeepcreditcheapforatleasttwomoreyearswasaclearinvitationtoAmericans:Gooutandborrow.Butmanyeconomistssayitwilltakemorethanlowinterestratestopersuadeconsumerstotakeonmoredebt.Therearealreadysignsthattherecentstockmarketfluctuations,turbulenceinEuropeandtheUSdeficithavescaredconsumers.OnFriday,preliminarydatashowedthattheThomsonReuters/UniversityofMichiganconsumersentimentindexhadfallenthismonthtolowerthanitwasinNovember2008,whentheUnitedStateswasdeepinrecession.Undernormalcircumstances,theFed'sannouncementmighthaveattractednewhomeandcarbuyersandpromptedcreditcardholderstorackupfreshcharges.Butwithunemploymenthighandthosewithjobsworriedaboutkeepingthem,consumersaremoreconcernedaboutpayingofftheloanstheyalreadyhavethanaddingmoredebt.Andbyshowingitshandforthenexttwoyears,theFedmayhavethoughtlesslyinvitedprospectiveborrowerstoputofflargepurchases.Lenders,meanwhile,arestilldealingwiththeeffectsoftheboom-gone-bustandareforcingprospectiveborrowerstogotoextraordinarylengthstoprovetheircreditworthiness.淘宝店铺：行知小课堂2/15Idon'tthinklendersaregoingtobeinterestedinextendingalotofdebtinthisenvironment,saidMarkZandi,chiefeconomistofMoody'sAnalytics,amacroeconomicconsultingfirm.NordoIthinkhouseholdsaregoingtobeinterestedintakingonalotofdebt.Inhousing,consumershavealreadyshownaslowresponsetolowrates.Applicationsfornewmortgageshavedecreasedthisyeartoa10-yearlow,accordingtotheMortgageBankersAssociation.Salesoffurnitureandfurnishingsremain22%belowtheirpre-recessionpeak,accordingtoSpendingPulse,aresearchreportbyMasterCardAdvisors.Creditcardrateshaveactuallygoneupslightlyinthepastyear.Theonebrightspotinlendingisthenumberofautoloans,whichisupfromlastyear.Butsomeeconomistssaythatconfidenceamongcarbuyersishittingnewlows.ForXavierWalter,aformermortgagebankerwhowithhiswife,Danielle,accumulated$20000increditcarddebt,lowrateswillnotchangehisspendinghabits.Asthehousingmarkettoppedoutfiveyearsago,helosthissix-figureincome.Heandhiswifewereabletomodifythemortgageontheirfour-bedroomhouseinMedford,NewJersey,aswellasnegotiatelowercreditcardpayments.Twoyearsago,Mr.Walter,a34-year-oldfatherofthree,startedanenergybusiness.Hehasswornoffcredit.I'mnotgoingtogobackindebteveragain,hesaid.IfIcan'tpayforitincash,Idon'twantit.Untilnow,oneofthebiggestrestraintsonconsumerspendinghasbeenadebtaftereffect.SinceAugust2008,whenhouseholddebtpeakedat$12.41trillion,ithasdeclinedbyabout$1.2trillion,accordingtoananalysisbyMoody'sAnalyticsofdatafromtheFederalReserveandEquifax,thecreditagency.Alargeportionofthat,though,wassimplywrittenoffbylendersasborrowersdefaultedonloans.Byothermeasures,householdshaveimprovedtheirposition.Theproportionofafter-taxincomethathouseholdsspendtoremaincurrentonloanpaymentshasfallen.Still,householddebtremainshigh.Thatpresentsaparadox:manyeconomistsarguethattheeconomycannotachievetruehealthuntildebtlevelsdecline.Butcredit,madeattractivebylowrates,isatime-testedwaytoincreaseconsumerspending.Withnewrisksofanotherdownturn,economistsworrythatitwilltakeyearsfordebttoreturntomanageablelevels.Iftheeconomycontractsagain,saidGeorgeMagnus,senioradviseratUBS,thenyoucouldfindalotofhouseholdsinadebttrapwhichtheyprobablycannevergetoutof.Mortgagelenders,meanwhile,burnedbythehousingcrash,areextracarefulaboutapprovingnewloans.InJune,forinstance,FannieMae,thelargestmortgagebuyerintheUnitedStates,saidthatborrowerswhoseexistingdebtexceeded45to50%oftheirincomewouldberequiredtohavestrongercompensatingfactors,whichmightincludehighersavings.Eventhoseborrowersinstrongfinancialpositionsareaskedtoprovideunusualamountsofpaperwork.BobbyandKatieSmithhaveanextremelygoodcreditrecord,tinystudentdebtandacombinedsix-figureincome.Forpartoftheirdownpayment,theyplannedtouseabout$5000theyhadreceivedasweddinggiftsinFebruary.淘宝店铺：行知小课堂3/15ButthelenderwouldnotacceptthatmoneyunlesstheSmithsprovidedacertifiedletterfromeachof14guests,statingthatthemoneywasagift,ratherthanaloan.Welaughedforagood15or20minutes.recalledMr.Smith.34.Mr.Smith,aprogramdirectorforaradiostationinOrlando,Florida,saidtheyendedupusingothersavingsfortheirdownpaymenttobuya$300000four-bedroomhouseinApril.ForthosenotascreditworthyastheSmiths,lowratesareirrelevantbecausetheynolongerqualifyformortgages.Thatleavestheeligiblepoolofloanapplicantswealthier,olderandwhiter,saidGuyCecala,publisherofInsideMo