1、2014 年考研英语（二）真题试卷及答案解析(总分：136.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Use of English(总题数：2，分数：80.00)1.Section I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D.（分数：40.00）_Thinner isn t always better. A number of studies have【C1】_that normal-weight peo
2、ple are in fact at higher risk of some diseases compared to those who are overweight. And there are health conditions for which being overweight is actually【C2】_. For example, heavier women are less likely to develop calcium deficiency than thin women. 【C3】_, among the elderly, being somewhat overwe
3、ight is often an【C4】_of good health. Of even greater【C5】_is the fact that obesity turns out to be very difficult to define. It is often defined【C6】_body mass index, or BMI. BMI【C7】_body mass divided by the square of height. An adult with a BMI of 18 to 25 is often considered to be normal weight. Bet
4、ween 25 and 30 is overweight. And over 30 is considered obese. Obesity, 【C8】_, can be divided into moderately obese, severely obese, and very severely obese. While such numerical standards seem【C9】_, they are not. Obesity is probably less a matter of weight than body fat. Some people with a high BMI
5、 are in fact extremely fit, 【C10】_others with a low BMI may be in poor【C11】_. For example, many collegiate and professional football players【C12】_as obese, though their percentage body fat is low. Conversely, someone with a small frame may have high body fat but a【C13】_BMI. Today we have a(an) 【C14】
6、_to label obesity as a disgrace. The overweight are sometimes【C15】_in the media with their faces covered. Stereotypes【C16】_with obesity include laziness, lack of will power, and lower prospects for success. Teachers, employers, and health professionals have been shown to harbor biases against the ob
7、ese. 【C17】_very young children tend to look down on the overweight, and teasing about body build has long been a problem in schools. Negative attitudes toward obesity, 【C18】_in health concerns, have stimulated a number of anti-obesity【C19】_My own hospital system has banned sugary drinks from its fac
8、ilities. Many employers have instituted weight loss and fitness initiatives. Michelle Obama has launched a high-visibility campaign【C20】_childhood obesity, even claiming that it represents our greatest national security threat.（分数：40.00）(1).【C1】（分数：2.00）A.deniedB.concludedC.doubtedD.ensured(2).【C2】（
9、分数：2.00）A.protectiveB.dangerousC.sufficientD.troublesome(3).【C3】（分数：2.00）A.InsteadB.HoweverC.LikewiseD.Therefore(4).【C4】（分数：2.00）A.indicatorB.objectiveC.originD.example(5).【C5】（分数：2.00）A.impactB.relevanceC.assistanceD.concern(6).【C6】（分数：2.00）A.in terms ofB.in case ofC.in favor ofD.in respect of(7).【
10、C7】（分数：2.00）A.measuresB.determinesC.equalsD.modifies(8).【C8】（分数：2.00）A.in essenceB.in contrastC.in turnD.in part(9).【C9】（分数：2.00）A.complicatedB.conservativeC.variableD.straightforward(10).【C10】（分数：2.00）A.soB.whileC.sinceD.unless(11).【C11】（分数：2.00）A.shapeB.spiritC.balanceD.taste(12).【C12】（分数：2.00）A.s
11、tartB.qualifyC.retireD.stay(13).【C13】（分数：2.00）A.strangeB.changeableC.normalD.constant(14).【C14】（分数：2.00）A.optionB.reasonC.opportunityD.tendency(15).【C15】（分数：2.00）A.employedB.picturedC.imitatedD.monitored(16).【C16】（分数：2.00）A.comparedB.combinedC.settledD.associated(17).【C17】（分数：2.00）A.EvenB.StillC.Yet
12、D.Only(18).【C18】（分数：2.00）A.despisedB.correctedC.ignoredD.grounded(19).【C19】（分数：2.00）A.discussionsB.businessesC.policiesD.studies(20).【C20】（分数：2.00）A.forB.againstC.withD.without二、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：9，分数：52.00)2.Section II Reading Comprehension_3.Part ADirections: Read the following four texts.
13、Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D._What would you do with? $ 590m? This is now a question for Gloria Mackenzie, an 84-year-old widow who recently emerged from her small, tin-roofed house in Florida to collect the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history. If she hopes
14、her new-found fortune will yield lasting feelings of fulfillment, she could do worse than read Happy Money by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton. These two academics use an array of behavioral research to show that the most rewarding ways to spend money can be counterintuitive. Fantasies of great wea
15、lth often involve visions of fancy cars and extravagant homes. Yet satisfaction with these material purchases wears off fairly quickly. What was once exciting and new becomes old-hat; regret creeps in. It is far better to spend money on experiences, say Ms. Dunn and Mr. Norton, like interesting trip
16、s, unique meals or even going to the cinema. These purchases often become more valuable with timeas stories or memories particularly if they involve feeling more connected to others. This slim volume is packed with tips to help wage slaves as well as lottery winners get the most “ happiness bang for
17、 your buck.“ It seems most people would be better off if they could shorten their commutes to work, spend more time with friends and family and less of it watching television(something the average American spends a whopping two months a year doing, and is hardly jollier for it). Buying gifts or givi
18、ng to charity is often more pleasurable than purchasing things for oneself, and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly. This is apparently the reason MacDonald s restricts the availability of its popular McRib a marketing trick that has turned the pork sandwich into an object o
19、f obsession. Readers of Happy Money are clearly a privileged lot, anxious about fulfillment, not hunger. Money may not quite buy happiness, but people in wealthier countries are generally happier than those in poor ones. Yet the link between feeling good and spending money on others can be seen amon
20、g rich and poor people around the world, and scarcity enhances the pleasure of most things for most people. Not everyone will agree with the authors policy ideas, which range from mandating more holiday time to reducing tax incentives for American homebuyers. But most people will come away from this
21、 book believing it was money well spent.（分数：10.00）(1).According to Dunn and Norton, which of the following is the most rewarding purchase?（分数：2.00）A.A big house.B.A special tour.C.A stylish car.D.A rich meal.(2).The author s attitude toward Americans watching TV is_.（分数：2.00）A.criticalB.supportiveC.
22、sympatheticD.ambiguous(3).McRib is mentioned in Paragraph 3 to show that_.（分数：2.00）A.consumers are sometimes irrationalB.popularity usually comes after qualityC.marketing tricks are often effectiveD.rarity generally increases pleasure(4).According to the last paragraph, Happy Money_.（分数：2.00）A.has l
23、eft much room for readers criticismB.may prove to be a worthwhile purchaseC.has predicted a wider income gap in the USD.may give its readers a sense of achievement(5).This text mainly discusses how to_.（分数：2.00）A.balance feeling good and spending moneyB.spend large sums of money won in lotteriesC.ob
24、tain lasting satisfaction from money spentD.become more reasonable in spending on luxuriesAn article in Scientific American has pointed out that empirical research says that, actually, you think you re more beautiful than you are. We have a deep-seated need to feel good about ourselves and we natura
25、lly employ a number of self-enhancing strategies to achieve this. Social psychologists have amassed oceans of research into what they call the “ above average effect“ , or “ illusory superiority“ ,and shown that, for example, 70% of us rate ourselves as above average in leadership, 93% in driving an
26、d 85% at getting on well with othersall obviously statistical impossibilities. We rose-tint our memories and put ourselves into self-affirming situations. We become defensive when criticised, and apply negative stereotypes to others to boost our own esteem. We stalk around thinking we re hot stuff.
27、Psychologist and behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley oversaw a key study into self-enhancement and attractiveness. Rather than have people simply rate their beauty compared with others,he asked them to identify an original photograph of themselves from a lineup including versions that had been alter
28、ed to appear more and less attractive. Visual recognition,reads the study, is “an automatic psychological process occurring rapidly and intuitively with little or no apparent conscious deliberation“. If the subjects quickly chose a falsely flattering image which most did they genuinely believed it w
29、as really how they looked. Epley found no significant gender difference in responses. Nor was there any evidence that those who self-enhanced the most(that is, the participants who thought the most positively doctored pictures were real)were doing so to make up for profound insecurities. In fact, th
30、ose who thought that the images higher up the attractiveness scale were real directly corresponded with those who showed other markers for having higher self-esteem. “ I don t think the findings that we have are any evidence of personal delusion“, says Epley. “Its a reflection simply of people gener
31、ally thinking well of themselves“. If you are depressed, you wont be self-enhancing. Knowing the results of Epley s study, it makes sense that many people hate photographs of themselves so viscerally on one level, they don t even recognise the person in the picture as themselves. Facebook, therefore
32、, is a self-enhancer s paradise, where people can share only the most flattering photos, the cream of their wit, style, beauty, intellect and lifestyle. “It s not that people s profiles are dishonest“, says Catalina Toma of Wisconsin-Madison University, “but they portray an idealized version of them
33、selves“.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the first paragraph, social psychologists have found that_.（分数：2.00）A.our self-ratings are unrealistically highB.illusory superiority is baseless effectC.our need for leadership is unnaturalD.self-enhancing strategies are ineffective(2).Visual recognition is believ
34、ed to be people s_.（分数：2.00）A.rapid watchingB.conscious choiceC.intuitive responseD.automatic self-defence(3).Epley found that people with higher self-esteem tended to_.（分数：2.00）A.underestimate their insecuritiesB.believe in their attractivenessC.cover up their depressionsD.oversimplify their illusi
35、ons(4).The word “viscerally“(Line 2,Para.5)is closest in meaning to_.（分数：2.00）A.instinctivelyB.occasionallyC.particularlyD.aggressively(5).It can be inferred that Facebook is self-enhancer s paradise because people can（分数：2.00）A.present their dishonest profilesB.define their traditional lifestylesC.
36、share their intellectual pursuitsD.withhold their unflattering sidesThe concept of man versus machine is at least as old as the industrial revolution, but this phenomenon tends to be most acutely felt during economic downturns and fragile recoveries. And yet, it would be a mistake to think we are ri
37、ght now simply experiencing the painful side of a boom and bust cycle. Certain jobs have gone away for good, outmoded by machines. Since technology has such an insatiable appetite for eating up human jobs, this phenomenon will continue to restructure our economy in ways we can t immediately foresee.
38、 When there is exponential improvement in the price and performance of technology, jobs that were once thought to be immune from automation suddenly become threatened. This argument has attracted a lot of attention, via the success of the book Race Against the Machine, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andre
39、w McAfee, who both hail from MIT s Center for Digital Business. This is a powerful argument, and a scary one. And yet, John Hagel, author of The Power of Pull and other books, says Brynjolfsson and McAfee miss the reason why these jobs are so vulnerable to technology in the first place. Hagel says w
40、e have designed jobs in the U.S. that tend to be “tightly scripted“ and “highly standardized“ ones that leave no room for “individual initiative or creativity.“ In short, these are the types of jobs that machines can perform much better at than human beings. That is how we have put a giant target si
41、gn on the backs of American workers, Hagel says. It s time to reinvent the formula for how work is conducted, since we are still relying on a very 20th century notion of work, Hagel says. In our rapidly changing economy, we more than ever need people in the workplace who can take initiative and exer
42、cise their imagination “to respond to unexpected events.“ That s not something machines are good at. They are designed to perform very predictable activities. As Hagel notes, Brynjolfsson and McAfee indeed touched on this point in their book. We need to reframe race against the machine as race with
43、the machine. In other words, we need to look at the ways in which machines can augment human labor rather than replace it. So then the problem is not really about technology, but rather, “how do we innovate our institutions and our work practices?“（分数：10.00）(1).According to the first paragraph, econ
44、omic downturns would_.（分数：2.00）A.ease the competition of man vs. machineB.highlight machines threat to human jobsC.provoke a painful technological revolutionD.outmode our current economic structure(2).The authors of Race Against the Machine argue that_.（分数：2.00）A.technology is diminishing man s job
45、opportunitiesB.automation is accelerating technological developmentC.certain jobs will remain intact after automationD.man will finally win the race against machine(3).Hagel argues that jobs in the U.S. are often_.（分数：2.00）A.performed by innovative mindsB.scripted with an individual styleC.standardi
46、zed without a clear targetD.designed against human creativity(4).According to the last paragraph, Brynjolfsson and McAfee discussed_.（分数：2.00）A.the predictability of machine behavior in practiceB.the formula for how work is conducted efficientlyC.the ways machines replace human labor in modern times
47、D.the necessity of human involvement in the workplace(5).Which of the following could be the most appropriate title for the text?（分数：2.00）A.How to Innovate Our Work PracticesB.Machines will Replace Human LaborC.Can We Win the Race Against MachinesD.Economic Downturns Stimulate InnovationsWhen the go
48、vernment talks about infrastructure contributing to the economy the focus is usually on roads, railways, broadband and energy. Housing is seldom mentioned. Why is that? To some extent the housing sector must shoulder the blame. We have not been good at communicating the real value that housing can contribute to economic growth. Then there is the scale of the typical housing project. It is hard to shove for attention among multibillion-
