大學英語六級改革適用模擬試卷(含答案)

大學英語六級改革適用（聽力）模擬試卷357（題后含答案及解析）

題型有：1.Whatdoweknowaboutthedemonstrationfromtheconversation?!.

Whatdothetwospeakersmainlydisagreeupon?3.Howdoesthewomanreacttothe

man'spersuasion?4.Whatistheman'spurposeintalkingwiththewoman?

1.

A.Thepolicewillbetherewithteargas.

B.Itwilllastalmost11hourstomorrow.

C.Itwillbeheldonthecampus.

D.Cleo'ssisterwilltakepartinit.

正確答案：A

解析：女士說聽說會有警察持催淚彈站在邊上，故A為答案。男士說游行

只需花女士兩個小時，可見B不對：男士說載著游行學生的公共汽車會在早上

11:30去市區(qū)，然后12：45又回來，可見游行并不是在校園舉行，C不對：女士

最后說要跟妹妹去喝咖啡，只有該處才提到她妹妹，可見D也不對。知識模塊：

聽力

2.

A.Whichcountryshouldbeallowedtohavenuclearweapons.

B.Thetimefortheirnextcoffeeappointment

C.Whetheritismeaningfultogotothedemonstration.

D.Thebusarrangementtoandfromthecampus.

正確答案：c

解析：這個對話圍繞是否去參加demonstration展開，故C正確。nuclear

weapons只是demonstration的導火索，A不是二人爭論焦點。知識模塊：聽力

3.

A.Sheisdeterminednottogetinvolvedasothers.

B.Sheisworriedmoreaboutherstudythananythingelse.

C.Sheisalittleangrywiththeman'sarrangement.

D.Sheisnotveryinterestedinpoliticalscience.

正確答案：A

解析：女士一再表示自己不會像其他人一樣去參與自己不知道對錯的事情，

故A為答案。知識模塊：聽力

4.

A.Topersuadehertotaketheschoolbuswithhim.

B.Toaskforherhelpinphysicsexamination.

C.Tofindoutherattitudetowarddemonstrations.

D.Topersuadehertotakepartinthedemonstration.

正確答案：D

解析：選項均為不定式，推測本題可能問目的。圍繞主題以及女士的反問“你

為什么不讓……去呢?”便可得出答案。知識模塊：聽力

聽力原文：W:Hi,ProfessorHiggins.M:Hi,Julia.W:Wouldyoubeabletohelp

meorganizemyessay?M:Certainly.Whattopichaveyouchosen?W:Womenin

Politics.M:Thattopicisverybroad.Ithinkyoushouldnarrowitdown.W:Doyou

thinkIcouldjustdowomeninEnglishspeakingcountries一saytheUnitedStates,

Canada,Australia,NewZealandandBritain?M:Well,thatwouldbebetter.W:Iam

interestedinthepatternofpoliticalinvolvementofwomeninthosewestern

democracies.WithNewZealandandAustralialeadingtheway,womeninthose

countrieshadthevotesoonaftertheendofWorldWarI.M:Itwouldbegoodto

beginwithadiscussionofwhenwomengottherighttovoteandhowtheyuseit.W:

Therecordofwomeninpoliticsinallthosecountrieshasbeensimilar.Noneofthem

haswomenrepresentedmorethan10percentofmembersofthenationallegislature.

M:Remember,itisnotwhatyouthink.Youmustbackupyouropinionswithfacts.

Supportforallyourideasisessential.Ithinkyoushouldcheckthestatisticsonwhat

percentageofwomenholdpoliticalofficeinthenationalgovernments.W:Okay,I

alsoplantodiscusstheroleoforganizedwomen'srights.M:Thatisagoodidea,but

rememberthisterm-paperisonly5,000wordssoyoumustyou'reyourtopicfocused.

W:CouldIbringyouaroughdraftnextweek?M:Iwouldpreferifyoubroughtan

outline,breakingdownyourmaintopicsandsubtopics.Itmaybeagoodideatobring

someofyourreferencematerialsalong.W:Sure,IwilldothatThankyouverymuch.

5.Whatdoesthewomanwantthemantodo?6.Whatcoresuggestionshastheman

giventhewoman?7.Howwillthewomanprobablybeginherwork?8.Howwouldthe

professorhelpthewomanafterMsdiscussion?

5.

A.Narrowdownthetopicofherarticle.

B.Readandreviseheressay.

C.Providesomefactsforheropinion.

D.Givehersomeadviceonwritingapaper.

正確答案：D

解析：選項都是動詞短語，題目應該詢問做某事。D概括了對話開頭女士跟

男士說到的organizemyessay,因此為正確答案。注意A是男士給女士的建議，

并非女士的請求。知識模塊：聽力

6.

A.Keepinghertopicfocusedandsupportingheropinionswithfacts.

B.Readingextensivelyandcollectingasmuchreferenceaspossible.

C.Avoidingsensitivepoliticalpointsandseekingmorepower.

D.Havingdiscussionswithemployeesandgivingthemmorefreedom.

正確答案：A

解析：教授的第1條建議就是narrowdown；中間用Remember,must提醒：

用facts支持自己的觀點；最后又重申focus。知識模塊：聽力

7.

A.Bylistingwomen'sresponsestodifferentparties.

B.Bydiscussingwomen'svotingrightsindemocracies.

C.Byquotingthepercentageofwomenofficersingovernments.

D.Bycallingforwomen'svotingrightsinherowncountry.

正確答案：B

解析：此題內容也是教授的建議，關鍵詞是discussion,therighttovoteo知

識模塊：聽力

8.

A.Byreadingherpolishedessay.

B.Byproofreadingherfirstdraft.

C.Bybringinghersomereferencebooks.

D.Byexaminingheroutline.

正確答案：D

解析：當女士說下次帶草(roughdraft)來時，教授說preferoutline,故D正確

而B錯。A是修改后的論文，更不可能是下次就帶來的。知識模塊：聽力

SectionB

聽力原文：Americanswhoremember"thegoodolddays“arenotalonein

complainingabouttheeducationalsysteminthiscountry.Immigrantscomplain,too.

LatelyaGermanfriendwasfilledwithangerwhenhelearnedthatthefirst

mathematicstestgiventohissonasacollegefreshmanincludedmultiplicationand

division.JapanesebusinessmeninLosAngelessendtheirchildrentoprivateschools

staffedbyteachersimportedfromJapanwhoteachmathematicsatmoreadvanced

level.ButIwonderIfAmericaneducationissopoor,whyisitthatthisisstillthe

countryofinnovation?WhenIwas12inIndonesia,Ihadtomemorizethenameofall

theworld'smajorcities.Atthesameage,myson,whowasbroughtupaCalifornian,

thoughtthatBuenosAireswasSpanishforgoodfood.However,unlikechildrenofhis

ageinAsiaandEurope,mysonhadstudiedcreativegeography.Whenhewasonly6,

hedrewamapoftheroutethathetraveledtogettoschool,includingthestreets,the

trafficsignsandthehousesthathepassed.DissatisfiedAmericanparentsforgetthat

inthiscountrytheirchildrenareabletoexperimentfreelywithideas:withoutthis

theywillnotbeabletothinkortobelieveinthemselves.CriticsofAmerican

educationcannotgrasponething:freedom.America,Ithink,istheonlycountrythat

extendseventochildrenthelicensetofreelyspeak,writeandbecreative.Ourpublic

educationisnotperfect,butitisbetterthananyother.9.Whoisdissatisfiedwiththe

qualityofAmericaneducation?10.Whatdoesthespeakerwonder?ll.Whatdowe

knowaboutAmericanchildrenfromthispassage?

9.

A.TheJapanesemathematicteachers.

B.BoththespeakerandhisGermanfriend.

C.BothAmericansandimmigrants.

D.Thesonofthespeaker'sGermanfriend.

正確答案：c

解析：錄音提到，那些懷念過去美好時光的美國人并不是唯一抱怨美國教育

體系的人，移民們也在抱怨，故C為正確答案。A、D在文中均有所提及，但并

未提及其對美國教育體系的觀點。B中包含speaker,而他對美國教育體系持支

持態(tài)度，因此不能選B。知識模塊：聽力

10.

A.Dopresent-daychildrenlearnlessthantheirforefathersinthegoodolddays?

B.WhydoJapanesebusinessmensendtheirchildrentoJapanese-staffed

schools?

C.Whycan'tAmericanchildrenmemorizeenoughgeographicinformation?

D.IsAmericaneducationreallyworsethaneducationinothercountries?

正確答案：D

解析：短文中說話者提出了這樣的質疑：”如果美國的教育真的那么差，那

為什么美國仍然是一個以創(chuàng)新自居的國家？”然后說話者進一步以自己和兒子之

間的比較說明了美國教育的優(yōu)越性。由此不難推斷D為正確答案。A、B、C均

涉及美國教育體系中的某些問題，但太片面。知識模塊：聽力

11.

A.ChildreninCaliforniaarenotlikelytolearncreativegeography.

B.ChildreninprivateschoolsrunbyJapanesearesmarter.

C.Theyexperimentfreelywithideasandbecomecreativewhentheygrowup.

D.Theyarelessinnovativethanotherchildrenintheworld.

正確答案：c

解析：短文最后說話者提到，美國是唯一一個讓孩子自由說話，寫作以及創(chuàng)

新的國家。抓住短文大意后，不難判斷只有C才與說話者的觀點相符。知識模

塊：聽力

聽力原文：Musicwhichisoriginalisindividualandpersonal.Thatistosay,

itcanbeidentifiedasbelongingtoaparticularcomposer.Ithasparticularqualities,or

astyle,whicharenotcopiedfromanother.Ifyoucanrecognizethestyleofa

composer,youwillprobablybeabletotellthatacertaincompositionbelongstohim

orhereventhoughyouhaveneverhearditbefore.Abasket-makerhastheskillof

weavinghismaterialstocreatecolorfulpatterns,andanexpertcarpenterhastheskill

ofjoiningtogetherdifferentshapesandsizesofwoodtomakeabeautifulpieceof

furniture.Theseskillsmaybereferredtoas"workmanship”.Similarly,inmusica

composerorganizeshismelodiesandrhythmsandcombinessoundstocreate

harmony.Acomposermaybecapableofthinkingupverygoodandoriginaltunes,yet

iftunesarepoorlyorganizedthefinalresultwillnotbestandard.[13]Goodmusic

expressesfeelingsinawaythatissuitabletothosefeelings.Theremaybejoy,sorrow,

fear,love,anger,orwhatever.Badmusic,ontheotherhand,mayconfuseunrelated

feelings,itmaynotexpressanyimportantfeelingsatall,oritmayexaggeratesome

feelingsandmakethemvulgar.[14]Goodmusicwillstandthetestoftime.Itwillgain

akindofpermanentstatuswhilebadmusicwilldisappearandbeforgotten

quickly.[15]Inpopmusic,wherethegeneralruleseemstobe"thenewerthebetter",

thetestoftimeisthehardesttestofalltopass.12.Whatisthefeatureofapieceof

originalmusic?13.Howarefeelingsexpressedinapieceofgoodmusic?14.What

doesthepassagesayabouttherelationshipbetweentimeandmusic?15.Whatdowe

learnaboutpopmusicaccordingtothepassage?

12.

A.Ithasapersonalstyle.

B.Itsoundsveryfamiliartoourears.

C.Itisonewhosestyleyoucannotrecognize.

D.Itdoesnotbelongtoanycomposer.

正確答案：A

解析：短文開篇就對originalmusic作了解釋：“原創(chuàng)音樂是個性和個人的表

現(xiàn)。”之后還進一步解釋說“這樣的音樂很容易被識別出屬于某個作曲者”。因此，

A為正確答案。B未提及；C、D與原文不符。知識模塊：聽力

13.

A.Itcombinesdifferentfeelingstogether.

B.Itcanexpresssomeveryconfusingfeelings.

C.Itexaggeratessomespecialfeelings.

D.Itexpressesfeelingsinanappropriateway.

正確答案：D

解析：短文提到，好的音樂以一種適合情感的方式來表達情感，由此推斷D

為正確答案。A未提及；B、C有所提及，但更像是badmusic的特征。知識模

塊：聽力

14.

A.Thenewerthemusicis,thelongertimeitwilllast.

B.Itiseasyformusictogainapermanentstatus.

C.Goodmusicalwaysstandsthetestoftime.

D.Goodmusicneedn'tbetestedbytime.

正確答案：c

解析：短文提到，好的音樂能經受住時間的考驗。故C為正確答案。A、B

均未提及，D與原文不符。知識模塊：聽力

15.

A.Popmusic9sbiggesttestisthetestoftime.

B.Popmusic9stunesdonothaveveryclearstyles.

C.Popmusicmaynotexpressanyimportantfeelingatall.

D.Popmusicmayexaggeratesomefeelings.

正確答案：A

解析：預讀選項時可知，題目問的一定是流行音樂的特點，注意聽原文中提

到流行音樂的地方。講到流行音樂時，錄音說“時間是對流行音樂最大的考驗:

其余各項都是對原文細節(jié)內容的張冠李戴。知識模塊：聽力

SectionC

聽力原文：Haveyoueverfoundyourselfinthissituation:Youhearasong

youusedtosingwhenyouwereachild?Butitisnotadistantchildhoodmemory.

Thewordscomebacktoyouasclearlyaswhenyousangthemallthoseyearsago.

Itseemsthereisascientificreasonforthis.ResearchersattheUniversityof

Edinburghstudiedtherelationshipbetweenmusicandrememberingaforeign

language.Theyfoundthatrememberingwordsinasongwasthebestwayto

rememberevenoneofthemostdifficultlanguages.Hereiswhattheydid.

Researcherstook60adultsandrandomlysplitthemintothreegroupsof20.Then

theygavethegroupsthreedifferenttypesof“l(fā)isten-and-repeat“l(fā)earningconditions.

Researchershadonegroupsimplyspeakthewords.Theyhadthesecondgroupspeak

thewordstoarhythm,orbeat.Andtheyaskedthethirdgrouptosingthewords.

AllthreegroupsstudiedwordsfromtheHungarianlanguagefor15minutes.Then

theytookpartinaseriesoflanguageteststoseewhattheyremembered.Why

Hungarian,youask?ResearcherssaidtheychoseHungarianbecausenotmanypeople

knowthelanguage.ItdoesnotshareanyrootswithGermanicorRomancelanguages,

suchasItalianorSpanish.Afterthetestswereover,thesingerscameoutontop.

ThepeoplewholearnedthesenewHungarianwordsbysingingthemshowedahigher

overallperformance.Theydidthebestinfouroutoffiveofthetests.Theyalso

performedtwotimesbetterthanthosewhosimplylearnedthewordsbyspeaking

them.Dr.KatieOverysupervisedthestudyattheuniversity'sReidSchoolof

Music.Shesayssingingcouldleadtonewwaystolearningaforeignlanguage.The

brain,itseems,likestorememberthingswhentheyarecontainedinacatchy,or

memorable,tune.Dr.OveryworkedwithDr.KarenLudkeandProfessor

FernandaFerreiraonthisstudy.Dr.Ludkesaidthefindingscouldhelpthosewho

struggletolearnforeignlanguages.OntheUniversityofEdinburgh'swebsiteDr.

Ludkewrites,“Thisstudyprovidesthefirstexperimentalevidencethata

listen-and-repeatsingingmethodcansupportforeignlanguageleaming.^^16.What

didtheresearchersattheUniversityofEdinburghfind?17.Whatisthereasonfor

choosingHungarianinthestudy?18.Whatistheresultofthetests?19.Whatisthe

significanceofthestudy?

16.

A.Peopleremembersongsinchildhoodclearly.

B.Wordsinsongsaregenerallyeasywords.

C.Weneedmusictolearndifficultlanguages.

D.Musicishelpfulinrememberinglanguages.

正確答案：D

解析：從選項中的song、music>remember和language等關鍵詞可以推測，

問題可能與音樂對記憶語言的作用有關。根據(jù)錄音，研究者們發(fā)現(xiàn)即使是最難的

語言，記歌詞也是最好的記憶方法。因此D項“音樂有助于記憶語言”是正確

答案。A項“人們可清晰地記得兒時的歌曲”并非研究人員的結論。B項“歌曲

里的單詞基本都是簡單的詞匯”曲解了錄音原意，錄音只是說在歌曲里記單詞更

容易。記憶歌詞是最好的辦法，并不是指我們需要音樂來學習難的語言，C項錯

誤。知識模塊：聽力

17.

A.Almosteveryoneknowsthelanguage.

B.Onlyafewpeopleknowthelanguage.

C.ItissimilartoGermaniclanguages.

D.ItsharesmanyrootswithSpanish.

正確答案：B

解析：錄音指出不是很多人懂得匈牙利語，B項“只有很少人懂匈牙利語”

是該錄音信息的同義轉換。A項“幾乎每個人都會這門語言”與錄音原文相反。

匈牙利語與日耳曼語系和羅馬語系的語言，如意大利語或西班牙語，沒有相同的

詞根，C項“匈牙利語與日耳曼語言類似”和D項“它與西班牙語有很多相同

詞根”都與錄音原文相矛盾。知識模塊：聽力

18.

A.Thesinginggrouphadbetteroverallresult.

B.Thesinginggroupdidthebestinallthetests.

C.Thegroupthatspokethewordswastheweakest.

D.Thesinginggroupwasasgoodastheothertwo.

正確答案：A

解析：從選項的內容可推測問題與某活動的結果有關。錄音提到，通過唱歌

來學習匈牙利單詞的小組整體成績更高。因此A項“歌唱組總體成績更好”正

確。歌唱組在五場測試中四場表現(xiàn)最好，B項“所有測試的表現(xiàn)都最好”錯誤。

歌唱組比僅僅讀單詞的小組成績好兩倍，因此D項“所有組一樣好”錯誤。錄

音只說了兩組比較的結果，歌唱組比朗讀組好，但并不表示朗讀組是最差的，C

項錯誤。知識模塊：聽力

19.

A.Itdiscoversthatthebrainlikestorememberthingswithtunes.

B.Ithasfindingsaboutpeoplewhostruggletolearnlanguages.

C.Itintroducesalisten-and-repeatsingingmethodtolearning.

D.Itprovesthatsingingcansupportforeignlanguagelearning.

正確答案：D

解析：由選項中的discovers>introduces>proves等關鍵詞推測問題可能與

某研究的內容或結果有關。錄音最后指出這項研究第一次提供了實驗證據(jù)證明

“聽一重復”的歌唱方法有助于外語學習。D項“這項研究證明了唱歌有利于外

語學習”符合錄音原文。A項“發(fā)現(xiàn)大腦喜歡跟隨旋律來記憶”是研究的一個發(fā)

現(xiàn)，不是其意義所在。這項研究是關于學習方法，而不是關于學習者，所以B

項“找到有外語學習困難的學習者”不符合錄音原文。研究證明了歌唱方法的作

用但并沒有介紹方法本身，C項“把'聽一重復'歌唱方法引入學習中”錯誤。

知識模塊：聽力

聽力原文：Host:Hello!Ladiesandgentlemen.Itgivesmegreatpleasureto

introduceourspeakertoday,MelindaFrenchGates.MelindaFrenchGatesisco-chair

oftheBill&MelindaGatesFoundation,wheresheputsintopracticetheideathat

everylifehasequalvalue.TheBill&MelindaGatesFoundation,foundedin2000,is

thelargestprivatefoundationintheworld.Itworkstohelpallpeopleleadhealthy,

productivelives.Indevelopingcountries,thefoundationfocusesonimproving

people'shealthwithvaccinesandotherlife-savingtoolsandgivingthemachanceto

liftthemselvesoutofhungerandextremepoverty.IntheUnitedStates,itseeksto

dramaticallyimproveeducationsothatallyoungpeoplehavetheopportunitytoreach

theirfullpotential.MelindaFrenchGates:Thankyoufortheintroduction.Oneof

myfavoritepartsofmyjobattheGatesFoundationisthatIgettotraveltothe

developingworld,andIdothatquiteregularly.AndwhenImeetthemothersinso

manyoftheseremoteplaces,I'mreallystruckbythethingsthatwehaveincommon.

Theywantwhatwewantforourchildrenandthatisfortheirchildrentogrowup

successful,tobehealthy,andtohaveasuccessfullife.ButIalsoseelotsofpoverty.

MyfirsttripinIndia,Iwasinaperson'shomewheretheyhaddirtfloors,norunning

water,noelectricity,andthat'sreallywhatIseeallovertheworld.Soinshort,I'm

startledbyallthethingsthattheydon'thave.ButIamsurprisedbyonethingthat

theydohave:Coca-Cola.Cokeiseverywhere.Infact,whenItraveltothe

developingworld,Cokeseemstobeeverywhere.WhenIcomebackfromthesetrips,

I'mthinking,"We'retryingtodelivercondomsorvaccinationstopeople,9,youknow.

Coke'ssuccesskindofstopsandmakesyouwonderhowisitthattheycangetCoke

totheseremoteplaces?Ifeelthat,ifwecanunderstandwhatmakessomethinglike

Coca-Colauniversal,wecanapplythoselessonsthenforthepublicgood.

Ultimately,Coke'ssuccessdependsononecrucialfactthatpeoplewantaCoca-Cola.

What'sthesecrettotheirmarketing?Ithasassociatedthatproductwithakindoflife

thatpeoplewanttolive.Soeventhoughit'saglobalcompany,theytakeaverylocal

approach.Coke'sglobalcampaignsloganis“OpenHappiness."Buttheylocalizeit.

Andtheydon'tjustguesswhatmakespeoplehappy:[22]theygotoplaceslikeLatin

Americaandtheyrealizethathappinessthereisassociatedwithfamilylife.Andin

SouthAfrica,theyassociatehappinesswithcommunityrespect.20.Whatdowelearn

aboutBill&MelindaGatesFoundationfromtheintroduction?!1.WhatdidMelinda

findindevelopingcountries?22.WhatishappinessassociatedwithinLatinAmerica?

20.

A.ItwasfoundedbyMelindaFrenchGatesin2000.

B.Itisthelargestprivatefoundationintheworld.

C.ItfocusesonreducingextremepovertyintheUS.

D.Itworksforbettereducationindevelopingcountries.

正確答案：B

解析：主持人介紹時提到比爾及梅琳達?蓋茨基金會是世界上最大的私人基

金會(thelargestprivatefoundationintheworld),B項復現(xiàn)了錄音原詞，為正確答

案。錄音雖然提到基金會于2000年成立，但并未說是由梅琳達建立的，A項中

的byMelindaFrenchGates缺乏依據(jù)。錄音講到，該基金會在美國試圖大力發(fā)展

教育，使所有年輕人都有機會接受教育、實現(xiàn)自我，而在發(fā)展中國家，則主要致

力于提供疫苗和其他援助來改善人們的健康狀況，幫助他們擺脫饑餓和貧困，因

此C項“該基金會致力于減少美國的極端貧困現(xiàn)象”和D項“在發(fā)展中國家，

該基金會致力于提高教育水平”均屬于張冠李戴。知識模塊：聽力

21.

A.Mothersabusetheirchildren.

B.Peoplehavenodrinkingwater.

C.PeopledrinktoomuchCoca-cola.

D.Peopleliveinextremepoverty.

正確答案：D

解析：梅琳達講到她在發(fā)展中國家發(fā)現(xiàn)了許多貧困問題(seelotsofpoverty),

她第一次到印度時，發(fā)現(xiàn)一個印度人家里非常臟亂，甚至沒有自來水和電，D項

“人們過著極端貧困的生活”與錄音內容相符。錄音中提到梅琳達發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)展中國

家的母親們也同樣對她們的子女寄予厚望，希望他們健康生活并取得成功，A“母

親們虐待自己的小孩”與錄音相反。梅琳達發(fā)現(xiàn)一個印度人家里沒有自來水

(runningwater),而非沒有飲用水(drinkingwater),B項偷換概念。錄音中說梅琳

達驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)展中國家很多東西都沒有，但是卻有可口可樂，C項“人們喝太

多可口可樂”曲解了錄音的意思。知識模塊：聽力

22.

A.Openhappiness.

B.Familylife.

C.Communityrespect.

D.Peaceandprosperity.

正確答案：B

解析：錄音提到可口可樂公司并不只是去主觀地猜想人們認為幸福是什么，

他們會深入到每個地方去了解人們的不同需求，比如，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)在拉丁美洲人們

通常把幸福與家庭生活(familylife)聯(lián)系在一起，因此本題選B項。A項“暢爽開

懷”是可口可樂公司的全球廣告語，C項“社會認同”是通常能讓南美洲人民聯(lián)

想到“幸?！钡囊蛩兀珹、C項都不是可口可樂公司在拉美地區(qū)的廣告語；而D

項“和平與繁榮”未在錄音中提及。知識模塊：聽力

聽力原文：InAmericatoday,lotsofpeoplearegettingtattoos——especially

youngerpeople.Fortypercentofmenandwomenaged26to40haveatleastone

tattoo,accordingtoAstanza,alasertechnologycompany.Asaresult,the

Americantattoobusinessisbooming.In1960,therewereonlyabout50professional

tattooartistsintheUnitedStates,reportedTheAtlantic.By1995,thatnumberhad

soaredtoover10,000.Today,IBISWorldreportstherearealmost55,000people

workingastattooartistsintheU.S.InBritain,tattoosarealsosurgingin

popularity.TheGuardianreportedthatafifthofallBritishadultshavebeen“inked”

一anothertermforbeingtattooed.What'sdrivingthewildpopularityoftattoos?

Itcouldbeasearchforidentity."Tattoos,recentresearchsuggests,don'tjustexpress

identity,theyhelpdefineit,“writesChrisWellerinTheAtlantic.Inaneraofrapid

andunpredictablechange,drivenbytechnology,atattoocanbeasourceofstability

andpermanence."Bodyarthastakenongreatersignificance,andpeoplewanttheir

inktosaysomethingaboutwhotheyare,"hewrites.Thecostoftattoosvaries

widely.Itdependsonthesizeofthetattooandthecomplexityofthedesign.

Professionalartisansusuallycharge$100to$300perhour.Alargetattoocancost

thousandsofdollars.Tattoosarealsomoreexpensiveinbigcitiesandcheaperin

smalltowns.Tattoosaremadebyusinganeedleo