考研专业课试题笔记 贵族课程,平民价格—2011考研英语辅导 凯程 心理学/教育学/ 辅导
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【特别推荐】《考研英语突破》阅读天天练

《考研英语突破》阅读天天练
《考研英语突破》阅读(上)

  【规格描述】
  
  目标消费群:
  希望在研究生入学考试前,重点突击分值比重极大的阅读理解部分,从而有效提高英语总体分数的考生。
  具有一定英语水平,渴望提高英语阅读速度和阅读水平的英语学习者。
  
  
  【作者介绍】
  
  作者刘启升为中国人民大学外语系副教授、全国著名考研辅导专家,授课遍及全国十余个省市。他讲课生动、幽默。题型分析透彻,预测命中率高,深受各地考研班好评。其著作主要有:《四级词汇用书》、《考研阅读突破》、《考研英语应试指导》《考研词汇英汉双解与考点例解》等书。
  
  【内容介绍】
  
  选材新颖。所选短文时代感强,内容涉及英美等发达国家的社会、文化、科技等领域以及世界热点事件,这正是近几年考研英语阅读理解真题的主要选材范围。
  难易适中。考虑到考生在备考过程中的实际需求,本书所选短文与题目综合难度以不低于真题难度为原则。
  注解详尽。为加强考生的自主训练能力,本书的“语言注释”与“答案解析”部分力求详尽,以免除考生翻阅字典或求助他人之烦。
  全真模式。考研英语阅读理解有其特定的出题模式,是作者长期考研辅导经验的总结。考生认真做完本书定会亲身感受并熟练考验阅读的出题定式,达到事半功倍的效果。


Passage 1
Science writer Tom Standage draws apt parallels between the telegraph and the gem of late 20th century technology,the Internet.Both systems grew out of the cutting edge science of their time.The telegraphs land lines,underwater cables,and clicking gadgets reflected the 19th centurys research in electromagnetism.The Internets computers and highspeed connections reflect 20th century computer science,information theory,and materials technology. But,while gizmos make a global network possible,it takes human cooperati on to make it happen.Standagesinsight in this regard adds depth to his technological history.It underscores the relevance to our own time of the struggles of Samuel Morse in America,William Cooke in England,and other telegraph pioneers.They made the technology work efficiently,sold it to a skeptical public,and overcame national and international bureaucratic obstacles.The solutions they found smooth the Internets way today.
Consider a couple of technical parallels.Telegrams were sent from one station to the next,where they were received and retransmitted until they reached their destination.Stations along the way were owned by different entities,incl uding national governments.Internet data is sent from one server computer to an other that receives and retransmits it until it reaches its destination.Again the computers have a variety of owners. Then there is the social impact.The Internet is changing the way we do business and communicate.It makes possible virtual communities for individuals scattered around the planet who share mutual interests.Yet important as this may turn out to be,it is affecting a world that was already well connected by radio, television,and other telecommunications.The Associated Press,Reuters,and other news services would have spread the Starr report quickly without the Internet .In this respect,the global telegraph network was truly revolutionary.The unp recedented availability of global news in real time gave birth to the Associated .Press and Reuters news services.It gave a global perspective to newspapers that had focused on local affairs.A provincialism that geographical isolation had forced on people for millennia was gone forever. Some seers naively hailed this as a force for world peace.They predicted that tensions over cultural and ethnic differences would relax as people interacted in real time.Visionaries say the same about the Internet.While communications can smooth this process,they dont automatically make it happen.As the experience of the past century and a half has shown,peace takes the will to make it work and sustained effort by all parties.
1.What does “the gem of late 20th century technology” refer to?
A) The telegraph.  B) Information theory.
C) Materials technology. D) The Internet.
2.Whats the relevance to our own time of the struggles of telegraph pio
neers?
A) They made todays technology work efficiently.
B) They smooth the way for the popularity of todays technology.

C) They made the Internet a global network.
D) They overcame national and international bureaucratic obstacles.

3.Why is it that the global telegraph network was truly revolutionary?
A) It has changed the way we do business and communicate.
B) It makes virtual communities possible.
C) It makes realtime global news service available.
D) It makes world peace.
4.The Associated Press and Reuters came into being thanks to ____.
A) the development of global telegraph network
B) the popularity of the Internet
C) the breakup of provincialism
D) the wellconnected radio and TV system
5.All of the following facts about the telegraph and the Internet are tru
e EXCEPT the fact that ____.
A) both develop from the most advanced science of their time
B) they are operated similarly in technical terms
C) both help to change the way we do business and communicate
D) both facilitate the communication between cultures and ethnic groups

语言注释
Passage 1
1.electromagnetism n.电磁、电磁学
2.gizmos n.小发明
3.Standages insight in this regard adds depth to his technological history.I
t underscores the relevance to our own time of the struggles of Samuel Morse in
America,William Cooke in England,and other telegraph pioneers.这两句中理解的
难点是句与句之间代词的指代和照应。第一句中in this regard中的this是指人类的合作才
能使全球网络成为事实。而后一句中的it则是指Standage对科技与人类之间的关系的深刻见
解,即Standage强调美国的塞缪尔·摩尔斯、英国的威廉·库克以及其他的电报先驱所做的
一切努力与我们这个时代的关系。
4.bureaucratic adj.官僚的
5.virtual adj.虚拟的;实质的
6.provincialism n.地方主义
7.hail n. & v.赞扬
8.visionary n.空想家,幻想家
答案解析

Passage 1
1.D
本题是细节题,要求考生根据上下文理解单句之间的关系。在文章第一段开头,作者用
暗喻的手法,将互联网比作“二十世纪末的一颗璀璨的宝石”。句中the gem of late 20th
century technology 指下文提到的the Internet。在本句中,the Internet是the gem o
f late 20thcentury technology的同位语。
2.B
本题是主旨题,要求考生区分论点和论据,掌握文章第二段的中心思想,即虽然这些科
技发明使全球网络成为可能,但是仍然需要人类的合作才能使其成为现实。而电报先驱们为
推广他们的发明而做出的努力为互联网的发展铺平了道路。选项A、C、D是具体的论据,而
选项B则概括了文章的论点。因此正确答案为B。
3.C
本题是细节题。文章第四段评论了两种技术对社会的影响。但作者欲擒故纵,文章虽然
先肯定了互联网对人类社会的影响,但评论的重点却是全球电报网络对人类社会的深刻影响
(Yet important as this may turn out to be,it is affecting a world that was alr
eady well connected by radio,television,and other telecommunications.)并且
进一步表明自己的观点“全球电报网的形成和发展带来真正意义上的社会革命——前所未有
地使人类能够及时获得世界新闻报道”。在本题中,考生在阅读中必须抓住重要的信息词,
如yet,in this respect等表示语义转折和概括总结的关联词。
4.A
本题是细节题,要求考生理解文中的具体信息。题中问及美联社、路透社等新闻机构产
生的原因,对于这一点,作者在第四段中做出回答(The unprecedented availability of
global news in real time gave birth to…)。在此,考生必须根据上下文进行有关推理
,即电报网络的发展使即时新闻传播成为可能,而后者促使各种新闻社的产生。故正确答案
为A。选项B、D与问题无关,而选项C是新闻机构产生后所带来的结果。
5.C
本题是细节题,要求考生理解文章的总体结构,把握主旨并进行概括和总结。本文讨论
了电报和互联网在发展基础、发展过程、技术基础、社会影响等方面的相似之处(parallel
s)。选项A(发展基础)、B(技术基础)。选项D中提及新技术为不同文化和种族的交流提
供了便利在文章的最后一段也得到了印证。但文章中未提供明确的信息说明电报技术的运用
改变了人们经商和交流的方式。故答案为C。







[此贴子已经被作者于2003-6-24 13:51:38编辑过]


Passage 2
  Until the end of the 18th century,it was men who lavished attention on their feet.Louis XIV wore high heeled mules to show off his shapely legs; his courtiers adorned their figures and feet with feathers,pink silk,lace,and jewels; even in colonial American,men fussed with their wigs and the bows and buttons on their shoes.The end of that foppery,called “the great renunciation” by his torians,coincided with an epochal shift in politics and society,toward democracy,industry,and reason,away from the aristocracy with its affectations that spoke of rank,parasitism and,to the modern eyes,effeminacy. Womens fashion is now,some believe,at the turning point of similar magnitude,coinciding with the equally dramatic social transformation of the past several decades.The change has been slow: a centurylong move away from the padding,corseting,and decoration that made a woman into a kind of ornate bauble and displayed her familys wealth,and toward the clean,sleek modern lines first introduced with the suffrage movement.But the shift has accelerated in recent years,thanks to changes in the technology and business of fashion.The use by top designers of “weird,fabulous,unrecognizable synthetics,” says Hollander, “has ruined the status of certain fabrics,like linen,which has had a leveling
effect for the sexes and for the classes.” And the emergence of chains like Club Monaco means that “forward looking style is disseminated very fast and very cheaply,” according to Valerie Steele,a historian and curator of “Shoes: A Lexicon of Style,” an exhibition now on view at New Yorks Fashion Institute of Technology.Such store have succeeded,she believes,because “theres substantial group of people with a sophisticated eye for design” who are eager for an affordable version of what was once thought to be “dogwhistle fashion,” pitched so high that only a few would get it. Against that background,the shoes at FIT look like fashions last gasp. The exhibit begins with the most symbolically loaded of womens shoes: high heels,which Steele calls “a prime symbol of womens sexual power over men.” That same defiance of feminine expectations is visible throughout the FIT show: in the boot,for instance,with its connotations of machismo and military power,or the androgynous oxford,made girlish with a big chunky heel.The show ends,fittingly,with the sneaker.No longer simply a downscale kidswear item,the big,brilliantly colored,hightech sneaker has become one of the todays most dramatic fashion statement,asserting street hip and futuristic velocity.Maybe shoes aren't so indifferent to the changes in modern lives,after all.
  1.The end of mens lavish attention to fashion marks ____.
  A) great political and social changes
  B) aristocracy
  C) social ranks
  D) the great renunciation
  2.Throughout last century,a woman adorned herself in an elaborate way to
  ____.
  A) show her importance in society
  B) show her quality as woman
  C) display her familys wealth
  D) challenge mens position in society
  3.The introduction of clean and neatlytailored modern fashion coincided
  
   with ____.
  A) industrialization
  B) the establishment of democracy
  C) the emergence of chain stores
  D) the suffrage movement
  4.What helps to speed up the popularity of modern fashion?
  A) Changes in the technology and business practice.
  B) The use of synthetics instead of linen.
  C) The emergence of chain stores like Club Monaco.
  D) The consumers sophisticated eyes for design and affordable fashions.
  5.The FIT shoes exhibition ____.
  A) popularized the lexicon of shoe style
  B) pitched so high that only a few could appreciate it
  C) expressed a defiance of feminine expectations
  D) shows womens sexual power over men
  语言注释
  Passage 2
  1.lavish v.浪费,滥用
  2.The end of that foppery,called “the great renunciation” by historians
  
  ,coi
  ncided with an epochal shift in politics and society,toward democracy,industry
  ,and reason,away from the aristocracy with its affectations that spoke of rank
  ,parasitism and,to the modern eyes,effeminacy.这种被历史学家称为“伟大的放弃
  ”的纨绔习气的终结反映了当时划时代的政治社会变革。那时社会摒弃了代表地位、寄生生
  活,甚至在现代人看来女气十足的贵族传统,开始向民主、务实和理智转变。
  3.pad v.加衬垫
  4.corset v.束腰
  5.Such stores have succeeded… because “theres substantial group of pe
  
  ople w
  ith a sophisticated eye for design” who are eager for an affordable version of
  what was once thought to be “dogwhistle fashion,” pitched so high that only
  a few would get it.这种服装店大获成功……因为有很多对服装造型独具慧眼的人渴望能
  买得起那些价格不菲,以至于只有少数人才买得起的高档时装。
  6.machismo n.男子气慨
  7.the androgynous oxford 牛津鞋,一种不分男女,结实的脚背上系脚带的矮鞋
  8.downscale adj.按比例缩小的
  9.hip v.喝彩
  答案解析
  Passage 2
  1.A
  本题是细节题。要求考生理解文中的具体信息,区分观点和事实。文中第一段中描述了
  18世纪以前男人对鞋子的种种夸张的装饰。继而评论道:这种时尚的结束反映了当时政治、
  社会的巨大变革。故正确答案为A。而选项D只表明当时人们对这一社会现象的评价:“伟大
  的放弃”,所以不能入选。
  2.C
  本题是细节题。要求考生在掌握文章总体结构和段落之间关系的基础上,理解文章
  中的具体信息。文章第二段将女人和男人注重时尚的原因加以比较,指出过去女人精心装扮
  使她们成为花瓶,并且显示家庭的财富。
  3.D
  本题是细节题。文章第二段中指出简洁、明快的女装在妇女争取选举权的运动中首次亮
  相。故正确答案为D。
  4.A
  本题是细节题。文章第二段中探讨了女装变化速度加快的原因是由于科技和服装业经营
  方式的变化(thanks to changes in the technology and business of fashion)。 故正
  确答案为A。而选项B、C只谈及一个方面,不够全面;选项D是关于服装连锁店成功的原因。
  5.C
  本题要求考生认真阅读文章,区分论点和论据。第四段详细描述了FIT鞋展上几种主要
  的款式来说明鞋展的主题——对传统女性角色的挑战,从而说明女鞋款式的变化反映了现代 生活的变化。
Passage 3
The Masters of Business Administration (MBA),the bestknown business school label,is an introduction to general management.The traditional MBA,Harvard style,has remained largely unaltered since the 1950s,and seeks to provide at horough knowledge of business functions through the case study—a feature incide ntally borrowed from law school.In an similar fashion to law school,the graduate management programs train students to think in a particula way,ultimately teaching future business leaders how to analyze problems quickly and contrive concise solutions.However business comprises more than merely manipulating numbers
or sourcing rational answers to problems.Today,both companies and schools are
increasingly aware that business is a human activity; its ultimately by and a bout people.
John Quelch is a businessschool insider who detects the limitations of the traditional syllabus.According to Quelch,leadership is an area that schools have not fully addressed.“The basic technical training managers need is more widespread.But leadership skills are in short supply.This could become a major constraint on the speed with which multinational companies can expand,” he says. Leadership is notoriously hard to teach,but programs do have the capacity to provide a grounding in nonbusiness areas and personal growth.“You want to
produce graduates who will be effective.To do this,they need to know their own skills.Our job is not only to cram finance down their throats,but help develop them as people,” explains Leo Murray,director of Cranfield School of Manage ment in the U.K. Cranfield uses philosophy in its core,which since 1997 has offered an evening lecture series encompassing both Aristotelian and presentday thinking.Self awareness is crucial at the school,which will grant the theme even more space .“These issues help people think,” states Murray.The better you understand y
ourself,goes the logic,the better you can manage others.The Said Business School (SBS) at Oxford University champions a more integrated approach.John Kay,SBS director,is keen to leverage the intellectual might of the wider university.Access to faculty from other disciplines including philosophy,politics and economics,he believes,could give SBS an edge over other school. These are surely steps in the right direction.But there is more.In future,developing a gut instinct for business may be as important as understanding the figures.To create an MBA to meet the challenges of the 21st century bschools will have to try harder,and they know it.
1.All of the following facts about traditional MBA programs are referred
to by the author EXCEPT the fact that ____.
A) MBA programs,like law school programs,use case study to teach
B) traditional MBA programs emphasize theoretical studies
C) traditional MBA programs has changed markedly
D) traditional MBA syllabus may check the growth of multinational companies
2.It can be inferred from the passage that ____.
A) traditional MBA programs stress the candidates working experience
B) in todays business world technical training alone is far from adequat
e for business leaders
C) leadership can never be taught in MBA programs
D) a gut instinct for business is unreliable in decisionmaking
3.Cranfield offers evening lecture series on philosophy to ____.
A) teach philosophical implications of finance theories
B) promote the candidates personal growth
C) experiment with a more integrated approach to MBA education
D) to compete with the Said Business School
4.The word “champion” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ____.
A) triumph  B) challenge C) advocate D) refute
5.Whats the passage mainly about?
A) The limitation of traditional MBA programs.
B) Philosophical education and the development of leadership.
C) Harvard style of MBA education.
D) Reforming the MBA to meet the challenges of the new century.
语言注释
Passage 3
1.contrive v.设计,以机智或灵巧的方法设计出;发明
2.encompass v.包含,包括
3.Aristotelian adj.亚里士多德的,亚里士多德学派的
4.…leadership is an area that bschools have not fully addressed.……在
商学
院的教育中,领导能力的培养未能得到足够的重视。address意为“处理”。
5.…is keen to leverage the intellectual might of the wider university.(约翰
· 凯教授)积极地开发利用牛津大学作为综合性大学的智力资源优势。leverage意为“通
过杠杆作用进行影响”。
6.Access to faculty from other disciplines including philosophy,politics and e
conomics,he believes,could give SBS an edge over other school.他相信,从事哲
学、政治和经济等其他学科研究的教师的参与会使SBS比其他学校更有竞争优势。give an e
dge over意为“比……更有优势”。
答案解析
Passage 3
1.C
本题是细节题,要求考生理解文中的具体信息。题中问及传统MBA教育的方方面面。由文
章第一段“The traditional MBA,Harvardstyle,has remained largely unaltered si
nce the 1950s”可知,正确答案为C。unalter意为“没有变化”。
2.B
本题是推断题,要求考生根据所获信息进行有关的推理判断。选项A是不相关的干扰项。
文中并为提及MBA教育与工作经验的关系。选项C言过其词,以第三段第一句为依据(Leader
ship is notoriously hard to teach,but…)即可排除。文中最后一段中肯定了直觉(gu
t instinct)的重要性,故D为错误答案。由一、三段末可推断出B是正确答案。
3.B
本题是细节题,要求读者理解文中的具体信息,并在此基础上进行合理归纳。由第四段
开头句可知正确答案为B。
4.C
本题是词汇题,要求读者根据上下文推测生词的词义。由keen to leverage the intellec
tual might of the wider university,access to faculty from other disciplines,gi
ve SBS an edge over等,可知作者表达了积极、肯定的含义。因此可排除refute(驳斥、
反驳)、triumph(赢得胜利)、challenge(挑战)三个选项。advocate意为“提倡、主张
”,符合题义。
5.D
本题是主旨题,要求读者概括全篇的中心思想。选项A、B、C都只谈到问题的某个方面,
没能概括全篇的主旨要义,因此被排除。本文分析了在新的社会形势下,传统的MBA教育的
局限性,进而用Cranfield和SBS两校为例,描述了在改革MBA教育的种种尝试。故正确答案
为D。
Passage 4
  Many critics of the current welfare system argue that existing welfare regulations foster family instability.They maintain that those regulations,which exclude most poor husbandandwife families from Aid to Families with Dependent Children assistance grants,contribute to the problem of family dissolution.Thus,they conclude that expanding the set of families eligible for family assistance plans or guaranteed income measures would result in a marked strengthening of the lowincome family structure. If all poor families could receive welfare,would the incidence of instability change markedly? The unhappily married couple,in most cases,remain together out of a sense of economic responsibility for their children,because of the high costs of separation,or because of the consumption benefits of marriage.The formation,maintenance,and dissolution of the family is in large part a function of the relative balance between the benefits and costs of marriage as seen by the individual members of the marriage.The major benefit generated by the creation of a family is the expansion of the set of consumption possibilities.The
benefits from such a partnership depend largely on the relative dissimilarity of the resources or basic endowments each partner brings to the marriage.Persons with similar productive capacities have less economic “cement” holding their marriage together.Since the family performs certain functions society regards as vital,a complex network of social and legal buttresses has evolved to reinforce marriage.Much of the variation in marital stability across income classes can be explained by the variation in costs of dissolution imposed by society,e.g.
division of property,alimony,child support,and the social stigma attached to divorce.
  Martial stability is related to the costs of achieving an acceptable agree ment on family consumption and production and to the prevailing social price of instability in the marriage partners socialeconomic group.Expected AFDC income exerts pressures on family instability by reducing the cost of dissolution.To the extent that welfare is a form of governmentsubsidized alimony payments,it reduces the institutional costs of separation and guarantees a minimal standard of living for wife and children.So welfare opportunities are a significant determinant of family instability in poor neighborhoods,but this is not the resul t of AFDC regulations that exclude most intact families from coverage.Rather,welfarerelated instability occurs because public assistance lowers both the benefits of marriage and the costs of its disruption by providing a system of gover nmentsubsidized alimony payments.
  1.Some criticize the current welfare regulations because ____.
  A) those regulations encourage family dissolution
  B) the lowincome families are not given enough the family assistance grants
  C) they expand the set of families eligible for family assistance
  
  D) the guaranteed income measures are increased
  2.According to this passage,family stability depends on ____.
  A) the couples earning ability
  B) the relative balance between the benefits and costs of marriage
  
  C) how much possessions the couple have before marriage
  D) a network of social and legal support
  3.All of the following are mentioned by the author as factors tending to
  perpetuate a marriage EXCEPT ____.
  A) the stigma attached to divorce
  B) the social class of the partners
  C) the cost of alimony and child support
  D) the loss of property upon divorce
  4.The author argues that ____.
  A) the agreement between couples reinforce martial stability
  B) expected AFDC income helps to strengthen family stability
  C) AFDC regulations are to blame for family instability
  D) public assistance upsets the balance between benefit and cost of marriage
  5.The tone of the passage can best be described as ____.
  A) confident and optimistic
  B) scientific and detached
  C) discouraged and alarmed
  D) polite and sensitive
  语言注释
  Passage 4
  1.The unhappily married couple,in most cases,remain together out of a sense o
  f economic responsibility for their children,because of the high costs of separ
  ation,or because of the consumption benefits of marriage.大多数情况下,不幸的
  夫妇选择生活在一起是出于对孩子的经济责任感。这或许是因为离异所付出的昂贵代价,或
  许是因为婚姻所带来的消费利益。
  2.The formation,maintenance,and dissolution of the family is in large par
  
  t a function of the relative balance between the benefits and costs of marriage
  
  as seen by the individual members of the marriage.家庭的形成、维持和解体在很大程
  
  度上取决于夫妇双方对婚姻所带来的收益与婚姻成本之间的相对平衡。
  3.endowment n.财产
  4.Persons with similar productive capacities have less economic “cement” hold
  ing their marriage together.在这里作者指出,如果夫妻双方经济实力相当,那么维系
  家庭的经济因素就十分脆弱。cement原意为“水泥”,此处引申为“维系家庭的力量”。
  
  5.alimony n.(离婚后男方给女方的)生活费;赡养费
  6.stigma n.耻辱
  答案解析
  Passage 4
  1.A
  本题是主旨题。第一段中作者引述了人们对现行福利制度的批评——破坏了家庭的稳定
  性。选项B与文中现行福利制度将众多贫困家庭排除在保护之外(…exclude most poor hus
  bandandwife families from…)的观点相矛盾。而C、D是为解决这一问题而提出的解
  决方案。故正确答案为A。
  2.B
  第二段中作者对现行福利制度促使更多家庭解体这一观点提出了质疑,并表明自己的观
  点:家庭稳定与否取决于维持婚姻现状所涉及的利益和成本。故B为正确答案。
  3.B
  本题为细节题,要求考生理解文中具体信息,全面归纳相关事实。文中第二段末尾谈到
  巩固婚姻关系的因素。由此可知正确答案为B。
  4.D
  本题要求考生准确把握作者的观点。文章第三段中,作者对前面两段的论述进行总结,
  并指出造成家庭不稳定的真正原因所在,即家庭的解体并非由于现行福利制度将低收入家庭
  拒之门外,而是由于政府补助不仅降低了婚姻所带来的好处,而且降低了婚姻解体的成本。
  故D为正确答案。
  5.B
  本题要求考生理解作者的态度。文中作者科学而又客观地(scientific and detached
  )分析了造成家庭解体的诸多因素。
 
Passage 5
  In promising to fuse media as diverse as television,telephone communication,video games,music and data transmission,the era of digital convergence goes better than yesterdays celebrated “information superhighway.” Yet achieving this single technology is far from straightforward.There are currently three major television broadcast standards,and they are all incompatible with each an other.But this is nothing compared to the many technologies supporting the Internet,each with a different bandwidth and physical media.The problems faced in designing platforms and communication systems that will be accepted across the world can appear insuperable. Even once global standards are assured,however,a further obstacle lies in wait.The Internet is plagued by long,erratic response times because it is a pull technology,driven by patterns of user demands.Pushtechnology,on the other hand,reverses the relationship: servers simply send information to passive users,as in television and radio.But if some form of combination between one way television flow and interactive Internet is to be the basis of our future media,it is hard to see how it could be operated.Moreover,the problem of fusing Internet with television is also one of defining the services offered.Information,entertainment and relaxation appear at first to be quite different needs.Serious doubts remain over whether consumers will be interested in having to make t he sort of mental effort associated with computing while also settling down in front of a sitcom. Besides the issue of consumer habits,infrastructure costs are set to be immense,and will have to be met by national states or the private sector before being passed on to users.Platform do not necessarily have to be expensive.The mobile phone is a good example of how something that is technologically sophisti cated can almost be given away,with its cost recovered through service charges. Users are then coerced through clever marketing to upgrade to newer phones with more features to reinforce their dependence. Whatever the outcome,it is obvious that technology will play an increasing
part in our everyday lives.Beyond technology,digital convergence embraces the services,industrial practices and social behavior that form modern society.We have in our hands the technology to construct the most sophisticated machines ever built,but if they are unusable,simply because of their operating instructions,then recent lessons have taught us they will not survive.Whatever we design must be simple,reliable and useful.Perhaps this is where artificial intelligence will come in.
  1.By digital convergence,the author means ____.
  A) diversification of the communication systems
  B) separating entertainment and communication
  C) integrating the various means of media
  D) straightforward transmission of data
  2.What is pulltechnology?
  A) It is the Internet system affected by long,uncertain response times.
  
  B) It is the way of business operation driven by user demands.
  C) It is the technology to send information to passive users.
  D) It is a way to blend oneway television with interactive Internet.
  3.Why is it difficult to combine television and the Internet?
  A) Because there are no global standards for the combination.
  B) Because the two are operated on different principles of services.
  C) Because television is uninteractive,while the Internet is interactive.
  D) Because the combination overlooks the consumers different needs.
  4.As far as the cost for digital convergence is concerned,____.
  A) the expenses for building the basic facilities are too immense to be met
  B) the infrastructures cost should be paid by national states and the pr
  
  ivate sector alone
  C) the cost for building a platform can be recovered by collecting ser
  vice charges
  D) the high cost can be covered by effective marketing to attracts more
  
  customers
  5.What may finally help to achieve digital convergence?
  A) Designing platforms and communication systems with global standards.
  B) Winning recognition from users who have different expectations for diff
  erent media.
  C) Developing a network advanced enough to support the integration of me
  
  dia.
  D) Using artificial intelligence to design simple,reliable and useful pr
  
  oducts.
  语言注释
  Passage 5
  1.convergence n.集中,收敛
  2.erratic adj.无确定路线的,不稳定的
  3.infrastructure n.基础设施
  答案解析
  
  Passage 5
  1.C
  本题要求考生理解文中的概念性含义。文中第一段给出了digital convergence(数字
  集成)的定义,即将电视、电话、游戏、音乐和数据传输融为一体(to fuse media as div
  erse as television,telephone communication,video games,music and data transmi
  ssion)。故正确答案为C。
  2.B
  本题要求考生理解文中的概念性含义。第二段中作者谈及在实现数字集成的过程中存在
  的另一障碍——各种媒体不同经营理念(pull technology and push technology)。从上
  下文可知,pull technology是指那种以消费者需求为中心的服务理念。故B为正确答案。
  3.B
  本题是主旨题。文章第二段由总到分,由概括到细节,并以互联网和电视结合的具体困
  难做例子,分析了数字集成难以实现的一个重要原因——各种媒体不同的服务理念。故B为
  正确答案。此题中,考生必须注意区分论点和论据,从具体分析和事例中概括段落主旨。
  4.C
  本题是细节题,要求考生准确理解文中的具体信息。本题问及数字集成过程中存在的另
  一障碍——高额成本。但是本文作者并没有对此展开论述,而是针对这一问题,通过移
  动电话推广成功的实例,提出了解决的方案。故C为正确答案。
  5.D
  本题要求考生准确把握文章的总体结构和段落之间的关系,概括作者的观点。在文章的末尾
  
  作者总结到,数字集成的实现不仅仅是技术支持的问题,它涉及到服务、商业经营和构成现
  代社会的种种社会行为(Beyond technology,digital convergence embraces the serv
  ices,industrial practices and social behavior that form modern society.)
  作者还进一步提出人工智能技术或许能够帮助解决目前的问题。
Passage 6
The introduction of nonindigenous “exotic” species is now seen as a major threat to biodiversity.In 1825,a particularly vigorous female clone of itadori (called Japanese knotweed) was introduced into Holland and later distributed throughout Europe by the plant collector and nurseryman,von Seibold.British gardeners loved it and by 1886 it was even found growing on cinder tips in South Wales.By the turn of the century,the plant had colonized many other sites,and gardeners were advised against planting it in shrubberies.By 1994,it was almost everywhere—railways,riversides,hedgerows,cemeteries—swamping a wide range of habitats and displacing rare species.Botanists fears that the plant is till spreading and may yet colonize other new habitats have generated recent attempts to eradicate it by mechanical and chemical methods,all in vain as yet. The evidence stacked against Japanese knotweed is damning.But there is a deep anxiety that behind the desire to correct human ecological cookups—often manifest as a passion to save endangered species and vulnerable ecosystems—is a thinly disguised xenophobia; that we are simply seeing yet another form of ecological imperialism which defines what is “natural” based on human preferences .
But whatever our reaction to “problem” or alien species is,it must involve moral decisions.And who should make such decisions and to what degree they are accountable must also be up for review.The conclusions of scientists and other sections of society may differ vastly about what to do about the introduced animals and plants that have become a common feature of everyday life.For example,the scheme to control rabbits in Australia by deliberately spreading the disease myxomatosis was a success in that huge numbers of rabbits were wiped out for the greater good—the “health” of Australian ecosystems.But would inflicting such an horrifically slow agonizing death on sentient creatures win popular support if it were proposed today?
Scientists of biodiversity are by their very nature concerned with the organization of species into systems and not necessarily with the interests and well being of individual,particularly those that are seen as a threat to the maintenance of those systems.Yet there is a growing feeling for the democratization of decisions concerning nonhuman life.The movement towards environmental values mst surely involve a movement away from imperialism and a search for a relationship with nature as it truly is,rather than as we would design it.Then,when our lawns have long disappeared,we may yet come to honor the humble dandelion.
1.Botanists have generated attempts to remove the Japanese knotweed because   .
A) it threatens the local biodiversity
B) it is regarded as exotic
C) its so vigorous as to spread everywhere
D) it checks other plants growth
2.In the authors opinion,the attempt to eradicate the Japanese knotweed .
A) is worthy of praises
B) reflects peoples desire to protect ecological biodiversity
C) shows peoples passion to save endangered species and vulnerable ecosy stems
D) is biased by human preferences
3.What does the world “xenophobia” mean?
A) The ecological disorders.
B) The passion to save the endangered ecosystem.
C) The ecological imperialism.
D) The fear for alien species.
4.As for what to do about alien species,the author thinks .
A) who should make such decisions is open to doubt
B) the decisions should be based on scientists conclusions
C) decision making should involve more people other than scientists
D) its morally unacceptable to eradicate all alien species
5.The author pointed out all the following facts EXCEPT that .
A) to eliminate alien species for the sake of the indigenous ones is also ecological imperialism
B) humans efforts to correct ecological disorders is actually based on human preference
C) peoples attitudes towards alien species involve moral considerations
D) human have to design nature to protect biodiversity
答案:
Passage 6
1.A
本题要求考生区分论点和论据。文章第一段的中心是一些外来物种对生物多样性造成了
威胁。作者以日本两耳草为例来支持这一论点。故正确答案为A。
2.D
本题要求考生准确理解作者的观点。第一段中作者讨论了人们普遍接受的一种观点,而
第二段中作者提出了由此问题引出的思考和自己的看法——日本两耳草的命运反映了人们为
维护本地生物多样性而表现出一种排外的心理。人们按照自己的喜好来维护那些所谓“自然
”的东西。
3.D
本题是词汇题,要求考生根据上下文推测生词的词义。由一、二段中的信息,如the in
troduction of nonindigenous “exotic” species,another form of ecological imp
erialism,natural等多处线索可推测xenophobia意为“排外主义,仇外”。
4.C
本题为事实归纳题。文章第三、四段中,作者对如何对待外来物种提出了自己的看法。 如第三段中,作者指出由谁做出决定,在多大程度上他们的决定是合理的都是值得商榷的问
题(And who should make such decisions and to what degree they are accountable m
ust also be up for review.)第四段中作者更加明确地指出
决策民主化的观点(Yet th
ere is a growing feeling for the democratization of decisions concerning nonhuma
n life.)故正确答案为C。
5.D
本题要求考生理解作者的观点和态度。在结尾处作者指出,人们在探索环境的价值的过 程中应该积极地探索大自然的内在规律,而不是凭着人类的喜好去设计自然。故正确答案为 D。
Passage 7
The past 40 years have witnessed an extraordinary evolution.From slow expensive machines controlled by punched cards,computers have become low cost,powerful units taking up no more space than a briefcase.Simultaneously,our world has become interlaced withtelephonewithtelephonewires,optic fibers,undersea cables,microwave links,television channels and satellite communications. At the crossing of these two developments stands the Internet—a direct result of computer technology intersecting with communication technology.But for many in the world of todays media,this is merely a first landmark in what promises to be a giant upheaval in the way people communicate,relax and work.This is the era of digital convergence. According to a recent article in Scientific American,convergence is in pr
inciple “the union of audio,video and data communications into a single source ,received on a single device,delivered by a single connection.” Digital technology has already provided a medium for integrating media that until now required distinct channels of communication: we can now send emails using our televisions or text messages over mobile phones.Realtime video can be transmitted over radio channels,while television and radio can be received on Personal Computers . Full digital convergence promises realtime access to information anywhere
in the world,and global communication through text,graphics,video and audio. In fact,there seems to be no technological limit to what might be possible.“ The reality of ‘anywhere,anytimeaccess to broadband digital networks is going to make our lives freer and fuller,” Gerald Levin,chief executive officer of AOL Time Warner,has promised.But technology alone cannot bring about such a world: as long as consumers and companies do not embrace it,convergence is likely to go the way of several hypedup predecessors.
Over a decade ago,for example,virtual reality was the technology of the future,and many people anticipated a day where we would be wearing headmounted displays and interacting with all manner of virtual environments.At the time there was real concern about changes in industrial practices and social behavior brought about by this technology.So what happened to this vision? Well,we got it wrong.Currently,the home computer is the main interface to the Internet.But relatively few people in the world have access to PCs,and few would argue that they are ideal for the purpose—they can crash and freeze because they were not designed for widespread Internet use.
1.In this passage the extraordinary evolution refers to   .
A) the appearance of the smaller,lowcost and powerful computers
B) the interrelated telephone wires,optic fibers,undersea cables,microwave links
C) the popularity of TV channels and satellite communication
D) the fast development of computer and communication technology
2.According to this passage the Internet .
A) develops with the advance of computer technology
B) combines computer technology and communication technology
C) brings great changes to todays media
D) will give way to digital convergence
3.The medium for integrating media is .
A) the Internet
B) the digital technology
C) the mobile phone
D) Personal Computer
4.The word “convergence” (in Para.3) means .
A) revolution B) communication
C) integration D) transmission
5.Full digital convergence depends on .
A) whether more people have access to PCs
B) the provision of more interfaces to the Internet
C) the improvement of the technology of virtual reality
D) whether the users will accept the new technology or not
答案:
Passage 7
1.D
本题是细节题。考生必须捕捉到computers…simultaneously our world has become in
terlaced with … at the crossing of these two developments …computer technolog
y intersecting with communication technology等关键信息词,才能做出正确的答案。
2.B
本题是细节题。第二段中第一句 (At the crossing of these two developments stand
s the Internet—a direct result of computer technology intersecting with communi
cation technology.)是判断的关键。选项A、C并非基于文章所提供的信息做出的正确判断
,而对事实做出了主观臆测。选项D的问题同样在于过分概括、夸大事实。故正确答案为B。
3.B
本题是细节题。文章第三段中作者介绍了数字集成的定义及其赖以发展的技术支持——
数字传输技术(digital technology)。
4.C
本题是词汇题。第三段对何谓集成下了定义:convergence is …the union of …into
a single source,received on a single device,delivered by a single connection…
integrating media …now required distinct channels。从这些关键的信息词,可推断c
onvergence意为“集中”,与integration (综合)同义。
5.D
本题要求考生能够理解作者陈述的重点。第三段开头,作者用大段笔墨描述全面数字集
成技术为人类带来的便利和舒适。但作者真正想要表达的意图是任何先进科技成果的应用都
必须得到消费者的认可。为了突出强调这一观点,作者通过使用转折连词but来获得这种表
达效果。因此在阅读中,考生必须细心捕捉这种信息词。而选项中关于虚拟现实技术命运、
网络技术推广困难的一段,是支持作者观点的具体论据。
Passage 8
Admittedly,minor accidents and slipups continue to shake public confidence in nuclear power.Given the unquantifiable risks that nuclear power carries, it is only right that the industry be subjected to the test of public opinion and due political process.However,this argues for exceptional vigilance,regulatory scrutiny and accountability—and not for bans or shutdowns.Those nuclea operators with a good safety record deserve to have their licenses renewed,so that existing plants may run to the end of their useful lives. The Bush administrations enthusiastic support goes a lot further than this,however.It also wants to see new plants.Proponents of new nuclearpowerst ations make three arguments in their favor.They will enhance energy security by lessening dependence on fossil fuels; far from being environmentally harmful,they will be beneficial because they will reduce the output of greenhouse gases;
and,most crucially,the economics of nuclear power has improved from the days when it was wholly dependent on bail out and subsidy.
Yet these arguments do not stand up to scrutiny.The claim that governments should support nuclear power to reduce their vulnerability to the OPEC oil cartel is doubly absurd.Little oil is used in power generation: what nuclear power displaces is mostly natural gas and coal,which are not only more plentiful than oil but also geographically better distributed.Security is enhanced not by seeking energy selfsufficiency but through diversification of supplies.Creating lots of fissile material that might be pinched by terrorists is an odd way to look for securityanyway. What about the argument that climate change might be the great savior of nuclear power? Global warming is indeed a risk that should be taken more seriously than the Bush administration has so far done.Nuclear plants do not produce any carbon dioxide,which is the principal greenhouse gas.However,rushing in response to build dozens of new nuclear plants would be both needlessly expensive and environmentally unsound. It would make far more sense to adopt a carbon tax,which would put clean energy sources such as solar and wind on an equal footing with nuclear,whose waste poses an undeniable (if remote) environmental threat of its own for aeons to come.Governments should also dismantle all subsidies on fossil fuels—especially for coal,the dirtiest of all.They should adopt reforms that send proper price signals to those who use power,and so reduce emissions.Global warming certainly provides one argument in favor of nuclear power: but it is not sufficient on its own to justify a nuclear renaissance.
1.What‘s the publics opinion about nuclear industry?
A) People have little confidence in nuclear power for the potential disaster of nuclear accidents.
B) People think it important to exercise strict monitoring and effective management of the existing plants.
C) People believe the best way to avoid nuclear disaster is to shut down all the nuclear power stations.
D) People agree to prohibit the existing nuclear plants from running to the end of their useful lives.
2.The most important reason why the Bush administration support more new nuclearpower plants is that   .
A) they will increase energy security
B) they help lessen dependence on fossil fuels
C) they are environmentally friendly
D) they need little government financial support
3.According to the author energy security can only be achieved by .
A) using less oil in power generation
B) replacing fossil fuels with more nuclear power
C) seeking energy selfsufficiency
D) expanding the sources of power supply
4.According to the passage,which of the following measures is the least helpful in protecting the environment?
A) Encouraging the use of clean energy sources.
B) Cutting off subsidies on all fossil fuels.
C) Adopting price reform to reduce emission.
D) Promoting the resurgence of nuclear power.
5.It’s implied that .
A) nuclear power stations may become the targets of terrorist attack
B) the Bush administration doesn’t give due weight to environment protection
C) carbon dioxide is the principal source of greenhouse gas
D) nuclear waste will turn to be an environmental threat in the longrun term
答案:
Passage 8
1.B
本题是主旨题。文章第一段着重描述了大众对核电技术的种种忧虑和看法。然而这一段
的理解重点应该在转折连词however之后。群众所要求的并非禁止或关闭所有核电站,而强
调“高度警惕” “定期检查评估”,对于运行安全的核反应堆可以续发执照,以便充分利
用现有的核电资源。故正确答案为B。
2.D
本题是细节题。文章第二段列举了布什政府支持建设更多核电站的三个主要原因。在这
里考生需分别主次、轻重。文中在提到第三个原因的时候,用了most crucially(最关键的
是)这样的字句,表明现任政府支持核电发展的最主要的原因是核电站的建设和运营已不再
完全依赖政府的财政援助。
3.D
本题要求考生理解作者的意图和观点。文章第三段探讨了核电的发展是否有助于实现能
源安全的问题。在这里作者提出异议。段中有这样几处关键信息:Yet these arguments do
not stand up to scrutiny…doubly absurd…Security is enhanced not by seeking en
ergy selfsufficiency but through diversification of supplies.Creating lots of
fissile material …an odd way to look for security anyway。由此可以判断正确答案
为D。
4.D
本题是细节题。文章最后一段中作者提出了几点有助于环保的建议——推广使用干净能
源、取消政府对化石燃料的补贴以及通过价格改革控制废气排放。并且在文章的最后作者再
次重申全球气候变暖不足以成为大规模发展核电的理由。
5.B
本题是推断题,要求考生认真理解细节,并区别作者明确陈述的观点和间接含蓄的观点
。在文章中作者都直截了当地阐述了选项A、C、D中所涉及的内容。但在第三段中作者只是
含蓄地批评了布什政府的环境政策(Global warming is indeed a risk that should be t
aken more seriously than the Bush administration has so far done.)
Passage 9
A theoretical specks in a Petri dish has a veritable mob straining for a better view across the industrialized world and beyond: men and women in white coat and religious robes jostle beside parliamentary lords,scruffy environmentalist and patients trembling with Parkinsons disease.The mystery in question is none other than the human embryo cloned à la Dolly.The aim is not to produce people.Through “therapeutic” cloning,scientists would create embryos to harvest stem cells,which may hold the key to treating a wide range of disease.But like most passionate debates,the real issue—commercialization—sits quietly in the background of the emotional din. The debate erupted across the industrially advanced world on January 22nd
when Britain became the first European country to legalize the creation of cloned human embryos.Members of the European Parliament almost immediately expressed their shock and condemned the decision.Yet in many ways,the new law is a logical extension of rules dating back over a decade.Since 1990,UK researchers could create and use embryos for limited research purposes,namely to treat infertility and detect birth defects.The new law widens the field of study to include stem cells,which experts say could revolutionize medicine,offering the possibility of transplants to treat scores of illnesses from Parkinsons disease to diabetes.No one has yet applied for a license to perform such experiments,according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority,which will carefully screen each request.No other uses of cloning would be allowed and a new law has been promised to explicitly ban reproductive cloning.
As expected,the most rigid opposition has come from the Catholic Church, which considers the embryo to be a living person from the moment of conception. Cloning aside,even research involving “spare” embryos (created for infertility treatments but not used) is condemned because it is morally wrong to use a person for the benefit of someone else. At the opposite end of the spectrum lie the hardcore utilitarians of science and business,who are generally astute enough not to announce their politically incorrect views: namely that the embryo is just another batch of cellular sludge that can and should be used like any other biological resource in the pursuit of medical research.

1.The purpose of therapeutic cloning is to   .
A) clone human embryo in Dolly
B) produce people
C) commercialize stem cells
D) treat various diseases


2.What triggered the debate across the industrial countries?
A) A theoretical speck in the experiment of human embryos cloning.
B) The commercialization of cloned human embryos.
C) Legalizing the creation of cloned human embryos in Britain.
D) The European Parliaments harsh criticism on the UKs decision.


3.In the 1990s the British researchers use embryos basically to .
A) harvest stem cells
B) reform the system of medical care
C) treat infertility and detect birth defects
D) study the possibility of organ transplants


4.The Catholic Church argue against human embryos cloning because .
A) it may lead to reproductive cloning
B) it considers the embryo to be a living person
C) cloning creates spare embryos
D) its morally wrong to use a person for the benefit of another one


5.The utilitarians of science and business think .
A) human embryos cloning is a hard choice
B) its politically incorrect to clone human embryos
C) the embryos should be used like any other biological resource
D) human embryos are important samples in the pursuit of medical research
答案:
Passage 9
1.D
本题是细节题。文章第一段提及治疗性克隆的目的——提取对治疗多种疾病至关重要的干
细胞组织(Through “therapeutic” cloning,scientists would create embryos to ha
rvest stem cells,which may hold the key to treating a wide range of disease.)
2.C
文章第二段中交待了引发这场争论的直接原因是英国政府通过法律,承认克隆人类胚胎
的合法性。选项A和B虽是公众反对克隆人的原因,但不是诱发这次争论的直接原因,故不能
入选。而选项D是欧洲议会对英国这项立法决定做出的反应,所以也不能入选。
3.C
本题是细节题。文章第二段比较了新法规和旧法规之间的关系,指出二十世纪九十年代
以来,英国的研究人员克隆人类胚胎的目的只是为了治疗不育症和预测先天性疾病。故C为
正确答案。在解题过程中,考生必须理解句与句之间的关系。文中 “Since 1990,UK rese
archers could create and use embryos for limited research purposes,namely to tr
eat infertility and detect birth defects”一句中,namely表示对前一句进一步解释。
4.B
文章第三段集中表述了天主教对克隆人的强烈反对。教庭方面认为从受孕的那一刻起, 胚胎是一个有生命的人。故正确答案为B。选项C、D与此次争论的焦点无关。它们表明的是教庭对旧法规保护下进行治疗性克隆的反对。
5.C
文章最后一段表述了坚决支持克隆人的科学家和商人的看法。他们认为同其他任何生物 资源一样,在医学研究中人类胚胎只不过是又一个细胞矿,应该被开发和利用。故正确答案
为C。此段理解的难点在于句型结构复杂。全句由一个复杂句构成,而语义重点在namely后的解释中。

好书.
可是我没见过.
以前也没听你说过.
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