2022年12月大学英语六级真题试卷（二）

American colleges and universities are using 64 percent less coal than they did a decade ago, burning 700,000 tons last year, down from 2 million tons in 2008, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report【C1】________yesterday.

All 57 schools that were burning coal in 2008 are using less now, and 20 have【C2】________coal completely, EIA found.

Most universities have turned to natural gas as a【C3】________, with state funding backing the fuel switch.

While academic institutions use less than 0.1 percent of U.S. coal burned for power, campus coal use has a history dating back to the 1800s when【C4】________to power was scarce.

Many universities still operate their own power plants. The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 encouraged more electricity generation by allowing institutions to sell【C5】________power to utilities.

But EIA noted many coal-fired universities have signed onto the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which was launched in 2007.

About 665 schools are part of the program, which aims to【C6】_____greenhouse gas emissions. Thirty percent of the participants have pledged to be carbon【C7】_____within 20 years.

The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, which also leads campaigns for universities to withdraw their【C8】________in coal and other fossil fuels, lists 22 schools that have pledged to move “beyond coal,” including Clemson University, Indiana University, Ohio University, Penn State University, the University of Louisville and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The largest coal use【C9】_____at colleges were in Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee and Indiana. Indiana’s universities alone cut coal【C10】_____by 81 percent between 2008 and 2015.

During the same period, Michigan made an 80 percent cut and Tennessee cut back by 94 percent at state institutions.

A) abandoned E) duplications I) neutral M) slash

B) access F) investments J) reductions N) surplus

C) consumption G) mobilized K) released O) void

D) contrive H) negligent L) replacement

Classical music aims to evolve, build audiences without alienating old guard

[A] In 1913, classical music sparked a riot in Paris. Igor Stravinsky was introducing his revolutionary “Rite of Spring” ballet to the world, with its discordant melodies and unorthodox choreography (编舞), and the purists in the crowd expressed their disapproval loud and clear. It might have been classical music’s version of the time Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival. “The noise, fighting, and shouting in the audience got so loud,” NPR’s music reporter Miles Hoffman said of the Stravinsky debut, “that the choreographer had to shout out the numbers to the dancers so that they knew what they were supposed to do.”

[B] It’s difficult to imagine a similar disturbance occurring today within America’s sacred symphony halls. In fact, it’s hard to picture any kind of disruptive activity at all (unless someone’s cell phone happens to go off, and then you’d better watch your back). A mannerly aura (氛围) hangs over most classical proceedings, and many of the genre’s biggest supporters would have it no other way.

[C] Today, Western audiences for classical music and opera and ballet are almost always well dressed, older, respectful, achingly silent and often very wealthy (one has to be able to afford most tickets). But as many of America’s most storied “highbrow” (高雅的) institutions struggle financially— the Philadelphia Orchestra’s much-publicized rebound from bankruptcy is just one recent example-classical music fans and theorists are wondering how the medium can weave itself into the 21st century’s cultural fabric without sacrificing its integrity.

[D] For example, should we feel OK “clapping” during classical music events, even if nobody else is? Why shouldn’t we cheer for something great, like we do at a rock concert? The Huffing ton Post recently ran a Great Debate on this issue and many commenters came out on the side of silence. “There is no more rewarding experience in life than being part of an audience where everybody is leaning forward in silence, thoroughly carried away by a great performance of a masterpiece,” one commenter wrote. “Why is it so difficult for folks to develop an appreciation and understanding for the mannerisms and traditions of classical music?” asked another.

[E] The truth is that classical music audiences weren’t always so polite. Robert Greenberg, an award-winning composer, said that when Beethoven first performed his 7th Symphony, audiences forced the orchestra to perform encores (重演) of certain movements immediately, applauding wildly. And in the last few decades, he said, many audiences at opera performances have abandoned pretenses, yelling “Bravo” when they feel like it.

[F] “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with an audience showing their enthusiasm for a proper moment by applauding, showing their joy,” Greenberg said, noting that the stuffiness in concert halls is “one aspect of contemporary concert etiquette” he doesn’t understand. “Instead of waiting half an hour to show enthusiasm, why not show it every eight or nine minutes?”

[G] Until the rules about behavior and clothing change, it’s hard to imagine multitudes of young people filling concert halls on their own accord. They’re probably more likely to head to Central Park to watch a free performance with a bottle of wine and their friends. “I think anyone should be able to come into a performance dressed any way they like, and be comfortable any way they like, sitting in that seat ready to enjoy themselves,” Greenberg said. “Because it’s enjoyable.”

[H] Greenberg stressed that he doesn’t want people to start respecting the music less, and he’s not suggesting that we “dumb down” the experience. Rather, it’s about opening up “access.” When operas first instituted subtitles (字幕) during shows, he said, many purists didn’t like the idea, believing that the audience should instead study the works before attending. But now it’s commonplace to find titles on the seatback in front of you—choose a language, sit back, and understand what’s going on.

[I] Allison Vulgamore, president of the Philadelphia Orchestra, is certainly looking to the future. She says certain “classics concerts” dedicated to the old masters will always exist, but not every program has to feature Beethoven and Brahms—or even a stage and seats. “We’re trying to introduce different kinds of concerts in different ways,” she said. “We are an interactive society now, where people like to learn.”

[J] As the Philadelphia Orchestra rebounds from its financial straits, it is also aiming to experiment, without alienating the loyalists. Vulgamore pointed to Cirque de la Symphonie, a recent offering in which jugglers (玩杂耍的人) and acrobats (杂技演员) interacted with musicians. An upcoming collaboration with New York City’s Ridge Theatre, meanwhile, will feature a “suspended dance installation” and other theatrical elements occurring in conjunction with an orchestral piece.

[K] The orchestra also continues to offer $25 annual memberships to Philadelphia students, who can buy rush tickets to every concert on the schedule. “Students line up for the concerts they want, and we get roughly 300 or 350 kids a night coming to these. They take any of the open seats available, 5 minutes before the concert starts,” Vulgamore said. “It’s like the running of the bulls, that energy when the doors open.”

[L] Greenberg thinks that youthful energy needs to be harvested. Conductors don’t have to be arrogant and untouchable—they can be accessible. Perhaps there could even be a “bit of humor” about them, he suggested, and an abandoning of pretension within the high-art institutions themselves. “On one hand, these organizations are all saying the same thing: we want more general audiences, to break down cultural barriers,” he said. “But then they come up with some very snooty (目中无人的) thing that makes you crazy.”

[M] John Terauds, a critic who has covered Toronto’s classical music scene extensively, also wants to do away with the stuffiness. He suggested that the warmer an audience is, the better the musicians themselves will respond. “But the producer or organizer has to let everyone know it’s OK,” he said. “It’s OK to enjoy yourself.” At the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, for example, conductor Peter Oundjian often stops between pieces, taking a moment to talk about the composer or the music in a very amiable way. And some nights, Terauds said, “at least a third” of the audience consists of students who have purchased cheaper tickets. On these nights, the energy of the room drastically shifts. It becomes a less intimidating place.

[N] Back in February, Terauds wrote on his blog about how going to classical performances can be intimidating. Certain people “think they have to dress up,” he wrote. “They think they have to know something about the music before they go. And, I’m sure, sitting in a seat, trembling in fear that this might be the wrong time to applaud, is also one of the factors.”

[O] Everyone in the classical world agrees on the need for increased “accessibility,” but achieving it is often easier said than done. Nowadays, there are unknown, unorthodox opera singers wowing (博得……的喝彩) viewers on TV programs like “America’s Got Talent” and “The Voice”. What can higher institutions do with any of that? And if they appeal to these outlets, do they risk compromising the integrity or the intelligence of the music?

[P] Vulgamore seems to understand this. She thinks an organization can have it both ways, claiming the new while keeping the old. And as she reorganizes the Philadelphia Orchestra, she will attempt to do just that. “The world’s most respected musicians brought together as an orchestra will always exist,” she said. “But it’s essential that we be willing to experiment and fail.”

How can one person enjoy good health, while another person looks old before her time? Humans have been asking this question for thousands of years, and recently, it’s becoming clearer and clearer to scientists that the differences between people’s rates of aging lie in the complex interactions among genes, social relationships, environments and lifestyles. Even though you were born with a particular set of genes, the way you live can influence how they express themselves. Some lifestyle factors may even turn genes on or shut them off.

Deep within the genetic heart of all our cells are telomeres, or repeating segments of noncoding DNA that live at the ends of the chromosomes (染色体). They form caps at the ends of the chromosomes and keep the genetic material together. Shortening with each cell division, they help determine how fast a cell ages. When they become too short, the cell stops dividing altogether. This isn’t the only reason a cell can age—there are other stresses on cells we don’t yet understand very well—but short telomeres are one of the major reasons human cells grow old. We’ve devoted most of our careers to studying telomeres, and one extraordinary discovery from our labs is that telomeres can actually lengthen.

Scientists have learned that several thought patterns appear to be unhealthy for telomeres, and one of them is cynical hostility. Cynical hostility is defined by high anger and frequent thoughts that other people cannot be trusted. Someone with hostility doesn’t just think, “I hate to stand in long lines”; they think, “Others deliberately sped up and beat me to my rightful position in the line!“—and then get violently agitated. People who score high on measures of cynical hostility tend to get more heart disease, metabolic disease and often die at younger ages. They also have shorter telomeres. In a study of British civil servants, men who scored high on measures of cynical hostility had shorter telomeres than men whose hostility scores were low. The most hostile men were 30％ more likely to have short telomeres.

What this means: aging is a dynamic process that could possibly be accelerated or slowed—and, in some aspects, even reversed. To an extent, it has surprised us and the rest of the scientific community that telomeres do not simply carry out the commands issued by your genetic code. Your telomeres are listening to you. The foods you eat, your response to challenges, the amount of exercise you get, and many other factors appear to influence your telomeres and can prevent premature aging at the cellular level. One of the keys to enjoying good health is simply doing your part to foster healthy cell renewal.

Scientists have created by accident an enzyme (酶) that breaks down plastic drinks bottles. The breakthrough could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis by enabling for the first time the full recycling of bottles.

The new research was spurred by the discovery in 2016 of the first bacterium that had naturally evolved to eat plastic at a waste dump in Japan. Scientists have now revealed the detailed structure of the crucial enzyme produced by the bug.

An international team then adjusted the enzyme to see how it had evolved, but tests showed they had accidentally made the molecule even better at breaking down the plastic used for drinks bottles. “What actually turned out was we improved the enzyme, which was a bit of a shock,” said head researcher Prof. McGeehan, at the University of Portsmouth, UK.

Currently, the enzyme takes a few days to start breaking down the plastic, far faster than the centuries it takes in the oceans, but the researchers are optimistic this can be speeded up even further and become a viable large-scale process.

“What we are hoping to do is use this enzyme to turn this plastic back into its original components, so we can literally recycle it back to plastic,” said McGeehan. “It means we won’t need to dig up any more oil and, fundamentally, it should reduce the amount of plastic in the environment.”

About 1 million plastic bottles are sold each minute around the globe and, with just 14％ recycled, many end up in the oceans where they have polluted even the remotest parts, harming marine life and potentially people who eat seafood. “Plastic is incredibly resistant to degradation,” said McGeehan. “It is one of these wonder materials that has been made a little bit too well.”

Currently those bottles that are recycled can only be turned into opaque fibres for clothing or carpets, while the new enzyme indicates a way to recycle old clear plastic bottles back into new clear plastic bottles.

“You are always up against the fact that oil is cheap, so plastic is cheap,” said McGeehan. “It is so easy for manufacturers to generate more of that stuff, rather than even try to recycle, but I believe there is a public interest here: perception is changing so much that companies are starting to look at how they can properly recycle these bottles.”

Prof. Adisa Azapagic, at the University of Manchester in the UK, agreed the enzyme could be useful but added: “A full life-cycle assessment would be needed to ensure that the technology does not solve one environmental problem—waste—at the expense of others, including additional greenhouse gas emissions.”