1、MBA 联考-英语(二)-20 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Section Use of Eng(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Parenthood isn“t a career-killer. In fact, economists with two or more kids tend to produce more research, not less, than their one-child or childless colleagues. But female economists 1 can pay a price in terms of produc
2、tivity after becoming mothers, especially 2 they“re young or unmarried. That“s according to a new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. There is widespread 3 that motherhood is 4 costly in terms of professional career advancement. “In particular, it is often 5 that the only way for yo
3、ung women to 6 a challenging career is to remain childless,“ they wrote. Our study of the academic labor market arrives at a somewhat less 7 picture: We do not observe a family gap in research productivity among female academic economists. 8 , motherhood-induced decreases in research productivity ar
4、e less pronounced than usually purported. The authors in early 2012 9 about 10,000 economists through the Research Papers in Economics online platform, 10 the academics“ answers with their publication records. They gauged an economist“s productivity 11 looking at their output: published research, we
5、ighted by journal 12 . Among their findings: Mothers of at least two children are, 13 , more productive than mothers of only one child, and mothers in general are more 14 than childless women. Fathers of 15 two children are also more productive than fathers of one child and childless men. Toward the
6、 end of their careers, however, childless men appear to be somewhat more productive than fathers of one child. Parenthood does appear linked to 16 productivity while the children are 12 and younger: mothers average a 17.4% loss, while fathers average a 5% loss. A female economist with three children
7、, on average, 17 the equivalent of four years of research 18 by the time her kids become teenagers. Women who are married or in a 19 relationship do not have any drop in research productivity in the three years following childbirth. For single mothers, research output drops by roughly a third 20 the
8、 same period.（分数：10.00）A.in principleB.in turnC.in additionD.in particularA.whenB.ifC.becauseD.unlessA.foundationB.traditionC.convictionD.phenomenonA.extremelyB.largelyC.obviouslyD.oppositelyA.insistedB.arguedC.judgedD.concludedA.makeB.chooseC.takeD.engageA.idealB.desirableC.drearyD.agreeableA.There
9、foreB.MoreoverC.OtherwiseD.HoweverA.collectedB.claimedC.investigatedD.surveyedA.matchingB.comparingC.classifyingD.liningA.withB.fromC.byD.inA.sizeB.nameC.quantityD.qualityA.for exampleB.on averageC.in principleD.above allA.productiveB.successfulC.laboriousD.effectiveA.smartB.naughtyC.at leastD.at be
10、stA.increaseB.lowerC.affectD.promoteA.losesB.gainsC.influencesD.changesA.papersB.resultsC.workD.outputA.flexibleB.stableC.balancedD.variableA.overB.forC.amongD.to二、Section Reading Co(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、Part A(总题数：0，分数：0.00)四、Text 1(总题数：1，分数：10.00)A man walks into a conference room at the W hotel in dow
11、ntown Austin. The setting, sleek and quiet, says business. The training shoesred, puffy, and paired with a sports coatadd a wink: new business. “There are crazy awesome start-ups happening in every nook and cranny in this country,“ says Scott Case, the boss of a non-profit start-up, which helps inex
12、perienced entrepreneurs by smoothing their access to private-sector money and mentoring. The idea is that as these young companies grow, they will create jobsnew jobs, good jobsand related economic activity that enriches the entire community. Some of the start-ups may even be “gazelles“, companies t
13、hat grow by leaps and bounds. So people are keen to help. Obama announced a start-up initiative at the beginning of last year, and last month he renewed the call. Congress is considering a Start-up Act that could provide some regulatory exemptions. Regional economic development groups have taken up
14、the idea of economic “gardening“. The philosophy there is that regions should focus on core strengths and home-grown businesses, rather than squabbling with their neighbours in an effort to win a new car plant. This is mostly sensible. Many of the proposals for start-ups are generally sound. And som
15、e start-ups do turn out to be gazelles. Still, there is cause for caution. For one thing, there is some ambiguity over what sort of companies the policymakers are trying to promote. Mr. Obama talks about “start-ups and small businesses“. Private-sector people, however, seem to have less interest in
16、the latter. They would rather live in Silicon Valley than on Main Street. But high-tech concepts are not the only viable business ideas. Another issue is that the effects of start-ups on employment may be modest. Perhaps as a result of the recession, the number of new companies that actually employ
17、people is declining. “What began as a small, two-person start-up working out of a pier in San Francisco has grown to a dozen employees,“ wrote Mike Krieger, the co-founder of America“s fastest-growing social mobile start-up. Even the bigger companies may not be labour-intensive. There is a danger th
18、at start-up jobs will be the next variant of “green jobs“: worthwhile, but slightly overhyped .（分数：10.00）(1).People are keen to help start-ups most probably because _.（分数：2.00）A.they are prevailing in the countryB.they can create a large number of jobs for the societyC.they can enrich the whole comm
19、unityD.they grow by leaps and bounds(2).The idea of economic “gardening“ requires regions _.（分数：2.00）A.to exploit their favorable conditions to the fullB.to make an effort to win every new projectC.to compete with their neighbours fiercelyD.to cooperate with their neighbours(3).Which of the followin
20、g is NOT the difficulty start-ups may meet?（分数：2.00）A.It is hard for their access to private-sector moneyB.It is ambiguous in what sort of companies policies are supportingC.The number of employees is declining due to the recessionD.The jobs created are not so worthwhile as they seemed to be(4).Judg
21、ing from the context, the word “overhyped“ in the last paragraph means _.（分数：2.00）A.pollutedB.profitableC.overstatedD.adventurous(5).The author“s attitude towards start-ups is _.（分数：2.00）A.optimisticB.objectiveC.concernedD.favorable五、Text 2(总题数：1，分数：10.00)It is no longer particularly rare for women
22、to be the main breadwinnerin the US a quarter of wives now earn more than their husbandsbut what is rarer is for such a relationship to work. A book published last week by the journalist Farnoosh Torabi draws together data showing just how hard it is: high-earning women have difficulty finding a hus
23、band, and when they do, he is five times as likely to be unfaithful as other husbands. The woman will probably do more than her share of chores; though in the unusual event that he starts ironing and cooking, he is likely to end his marriage. Either way, divorce beckons. The majority of people, even
24、 very young couples, still seem to be in relationships where the man makes more. One fiercely clever young man says his equally clever feminist girlfriend has told him she could never marry a man who earned less as she didn“t fancy a life spent propping up his ego. One male colleague says his wife“s
25、 habit of making a lot was a godsend for him as he loves money but is too lazy to make much himself. More commonly it comes when the man“s professional ego is not measured in money. Various men at the FT (Financial Times) have wives earning a fortune in the city, freeing them to be relatively poorly
26、 paid hacks. Within the marriage there is the understanding that his career matters as muchif not morethan hers. In the same way, some female journalists support men who are musicians and designers, who love what they do, and (in the best cases) are also happy to take the lead in bringing up the chi
27、ldren. The most interesting cases are when both started together in a similar industry but over the years the woman has overtaken the man. Most of these seem to end badly. But one successful male journalist explained how he had overcome the problem of having an even more successful wife. “It“s the P
28、iketty debate, isn“t it? What matters mostinequality, or overall living standards?“ In the interests of the latter, he has wisely refused to feel any resentment and instead declares himself utterly proud of his wife.（分数：10.00）(1).Which of the following is NOT true according to Paragraph 1?（分数：2.00）A
29、.Today, it“s common for a woman to be the main breadwinnerB.The husband of high-earning woman is more likely to be unfaithfulC.In the US, half of wives earn more than their husbandsD.Many men are difficult to live with a successful wife(2).Women are unwilling to marry a man who earns less than her b
30、ecause such a man _.（分数：2.00）A.can“t support herB.has nothing in common with herC.is easy to be hurtedD.tends to be more conservative(3).The case of “one male collegue“ demonstrates that _.（分数：2.00）A.some men wish to marry a rich womanB.some men are enjoyable to do houseworkC.a successful wife is mo
31、re helpful to her husbandD.a successful wife is more tolerate(4).According to the journalist, how should a man face the more successful wife?（分数：2.00）A.He should try his best to maintain the equality between couplesB.He should learn to appreciate his succesful wifeC.He should keep the balance betwee
32、n work and lifeD.He should learn to express his dissatisfaction in right way(5).It can be inferred from the passage that _.（分数：2.00）A.today it“s still hard for a man to accept a successful wifeB.today the equality between couples is still importantC.women are more open-minded in the marriage bondsD.
33、the ego of men is stronger than women“s六、Text 3(总题数：1，分数：10.00)When global warming finally came, it stuck with a vengeance. In some regions, temperatures rose several degrees in less than a century. Sea levels shot up nearly 400 feet, flooding coastal settlements and forcing people to migrate inland
34、. Deserts spread throughout the world as vegetation shifted drastically in North America, Europe and Asia. After driving many of the animals around them to near extinction, people were forced to abandon their old way of life for a radically new survival strategy that resulted in widespread starvatio
35、n and disease. The adaptation was farming: the global-warming crisis that gave rise to it happened more than 10,000 years ago. As environmentalists convene in Rio de Janeiro this week to ponder the global climate of the future, earth scientists are in the midst of a revolution in understanding how c
36、limate has changed in the pastand how those changes have transformed human existence. Researchers have begun to piece together an illuminating picture of the powerful geological and astronomical forces that have combined to change the planet“s environment from hot to cold, wet to dry and back again
37、over a time period stretching back hundreds of millions of years. Most important, scientists are beginning to realize that the climatic changes have had a major impact on the evolution of the human species. New research now suggests that climate shifts have played a key role in nearly every signific
38、ant turning point in human evolution: from the dawn of primates some 65 million years ago to human ancestors rising up to walk on two legs, from the huge expansion of the human brain to the rise of agriculture. Indeed, the human history has not been merely-touched by global climate change, some scie
39、ntists argue, it has in some instances been driven by it. The new research has profound implications for the environmental summit in Rio. Among other things, the findings demonstrate that dramatic climate change is nothing new for planet Earth. The benign global environment that has existed over the
40、 past 10,000 yearsduring which agriculture, writing, cities and most other features of civilization appearedis a mere bright spot in a much larger pattern of widely varying climate over the ages. In fact, the pattern of climate change in the past reveals that Earth“s climate will almost certainly go
41、 through dramatic changes in the futureeven without the influence of human activity.（分数：10.00）(1).Farming emerged as a survival strategy because man had been obliged _.（分数：2.00）A.to give up his former way of lifeB.to leave the coastal areasC.to follow the ever-shifting vegetationD.to abandon his ori
42、ginal settlement(2).Earth scientists have come to understand that climate _.（分数：2.00）A.is going trough a fundamental changeB.has been getting warmer for 10,000 yearsC.will eventually change from hot to coldD.has gone through periodical changes(3).Scientists believe that human evolution _.（分数：2.00）A.
43、has seldom been accompanied by climatic changesB.has exerted little influence on climatic changesC.has largely been effected by climatic changesD.has had a major impact on climatic changes(4).Evidence of past climatic changes indicates that _.（分数：2.00）A.human activities have accelerated changes of E
44、arth“s environmentB.Earth“s environment will remain mild despite human interferenceC.Earth“s climate is bound to change significantly in the futureD.Earth“s climate is unlikely to undergo substantial changes in the future(5).The message the author wishes to convey in the passage is that _.（分数：2.00）A
45、.human civilization remains glorious though it is affected by climatic changesB.mankind is virtually helpless in the face of the dramatic changes of climateC.man has to limit his activities to slow down the global warming processD.human civilization will continue to develop in spite of the changes o
46、f nature七、Text 4(总题数：1，分数：10.00)That some people make weird associations between the senses has been acknowledged for over a century. The condition has even been given a name: synaesthesia . Odd as it may seem to those not so gifted, synaesthetes insist that spoken sounds and the symbols which repre
47、sent them give rise to specific colours or that individual musical notes have their own hues. Yet there may be a little of this cross-modal association in everyone. Most people agree that loud sounds are brighter than soft ones. Likewise, low-pitched sounds are reminiscent of large objects and high-
48、pitched ones evoke smallness. Anne-Sylvie Crisinel and Charles Spence of Oxford University think something similar is true between sound and smell. Ms. Crisinel and Dr. Spence wanted to know whether an odour sniffed from a bottle could be linked to a specific pitch. To find out, they asked 30 people
49、 to inhale 20 smells. After giving each sample a good sniff, volunteers had to click their way through 52 sounds of varying pitches, and identify which best matched the smell. The results of this study are intriguing. The researchers“ first finding was that the volunteers did not think their request utterly ridiculous. It rather made sense, they told them afterwards. The second was that there was significant agreement between volunteers. Sweet and sour smells were rated as higher-pitched, smoky and woody ones as lower
