1、会计硕士专业学位联考英语(二)真题 2014 年及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Section Use Englis(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Thinner isn“t always better. A number of studies have 1 that normal-weight people are in fact at higher risk of some diseases compared to those who are overweight. And there are health conditions for which being o
2、verweight is actually 2 . For example, heavier women are less likely to develop calcium deficiency than thin women. 3 , among the elderly, being somewhat overweight is often an 4 of good health. Of even greater 5 is the fact that obesity turns out to be very difficult to define. It is often 6 body m
3、ass index, or BMI. BMI 7 bodymass divided by the square of height. An adult with a BMI of 18 to 25 is often considered to be normal weight. Between 25 to 30 is overweight. And over 30 is considered obese. Obesity, 8 can be divided into moderately obese, severely obese, and very severely obese. While
4、 such numerical standards seem 9 , they are not. Obesity is probably less a matter of weight than body fat. Some people with a high BMI are in fact extremely fit, 10 others with a low BMI may be in poor 11 . For example, many collegiate and professional football players are 12 as obese, though their
5、 percentage body fat is low. Conversely, someone with a small frame may have high body fat but a 13 BMI. Today, we have a(n) 14 to label obesity as a disgrace. The overweight are sometimes 15 in the media with their faces covered. Stereotypes 16 with obesity include laziness, lack of will power, and
6、 lower prospects for success. Teachers, employers, and health professionals have been shown to biases against the obese. 17 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, 18 in health concer
7、ns have stimulated a number of anti-obesity 19 . My own hospital system has banned sugary drinks from its facilities. Many employers have instituted weight loss and fitness initiatives. Michelle Obama has launched a high-visibility campaign 20 childhood obesity, even claiming that it represents our
8、greatest national security threat!（分数：10.00）A.deniedB.concludedC.doubledD.ensuredA.protectiveB.dangerousC.sufficientD.troublesomeA.InsteadB.HoweverC.LikewiseD.ThereforeA.indicatorB.objectiveC.originD.exampleA.impactB.relevanceC.assistanceD.concernA.in terms ofB.in case ofC.in favor ofD.in respect of
9、A.measuresB.determinesC.equalsD.modifiesA.in essenceB.in contrastC.in turnD.in partA.complicatedB.conservativeC.variableD.straightforwardA.soB.whileC.sinceD.unlessA.shapeB.spiritC.balanceD.tasteA.startB.qualifyC.retireD.stayA.strangeB.changeableC.normalD.constantA.optionB.reasonC.opportunityD.tenden
10、cyA.employedB.picturedC.imitatedD.monitoredA.comparedB.combinedC.settledD.associatedA.EvenB.StillC.YetD.OnlyA.despisedB.correctedC.ignoredD.groundedA.discussionsB.businessesC.policiesD.studiesA.forB.againstC.withD.without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.
11、00)What would you do with $590m? This is now a question for Gloria MacKenzie, an 84-year-old widow who recently emerged from hot small, tin-roofed house in Florida to collect the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history. If she hopes her new-found fortune will yield lasting feelings of fulfillme
12、nt, 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 wealth often involve visions of fancy cars and extravagant homes.
13、 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 experience, say Ms. Dunn and Mr. Norton, like interesting trips, unique meals or even going to the cinema. These purchases of
14、ten become more valuable with timeas stories or memoriesparticularly 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 your buck.“ It seems most people would be better off if they cou
15、ld 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 giving to charity is often more pleasurable than purchasing things f
16、or oneself, and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly. This is apparently the reason McDonald“s restricts the availability of its popular Me Riba marketing trick that has turned the pork sandwich into an object of obsession. Readers of Happy Money are clearly a privileged lot,
17、 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 among rich and poor people around the world, and scarcity enhances th
18、e 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 book believing it was money well spent.（分数：10.00）(1).According
19、to Dunn and Norton, which of the following is the most rewarding purchase?（分数：2.00）A.A big houseB.A special tourC.A stylish carD.A rich meal(2).The author“s attitude toward Americans“ watching TV is _.（分数：2.00）A.criticalB.supportiveC.sympatheticD.ambiguous(3).Mc Rib is mentioned in paragraph 3 to sh
20、ow that _.（分数：2.00）A.consumers are sometimes irrationalB.popularity usually comes after qualityC.marketing tricks are after effectiveD.rarity generally increases pleasure(4).According to the last paragraph, Happy Money _.（分数：2.00）A.has left much room for readers“ criticismB.may prove to be a worthwh
21、ile 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.obtain lasting satisfaction from money spentD.become more reaso
22、nable in spending on luxuries五、Text 2(总题数：1，分数：10.00)An article in Scientific America 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 naturally employ a number of self-enhancing
23、(to use the psychological terminology) 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 and
24、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 criticized, and apply negative stereotypes to others to boost our own esteem. We stalk around thinking we“re hot stuff. Ps
25、ychologist and behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley oversaw a key studying 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 al
26、tered 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 imagewhich must didthey genuinely believed it
27、 was really how they looked. Epley found no significant gender difference in responses. Nor was there any evidence that, those who self-enhance the must (that is, the participants who thought the most positively doctored picture were real) were doing so to make up for profound insecurities. In fact
28、those 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. “It“s a reflection simply of people gen
29、erally thinking well of themselves“. If you are depressed, you won“t be self-enhancing. Knowing the results of Epley“s study, it makes sense that people hate photographs of themselves so viscerallyon one level, they don“t even recognize the persons in the picture as themselves. FaceBook, therefore,
30、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 Wiscon Madison University, “but they portray an idealized version of themselve
31、s.“ (People are much more likely to out and out lie on dating websites, to audience of strangers. )（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 leader
32、ship is unnaturalD.self-enhancing strategies are ineffective(2).Visual recognition is believed to be people“s _.（分数：2.00）A.rapid watchingB.conscious choiceC.intuitive responseD.automatic self-defense(3).Epley found that people with higher self-esteem tended to _.（分数：2.00）A.underestimate their insecu
33、ritiesB.believe in their attractivenessC.cover up their depressionsD.oversimplify their illusions(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 b
34、ecause people can _.（分数：2.00）A.present their dishonest profilesB.define their traditional life stylesC.share their intellectual pursuitsD.withhold their unflattering sides六、Text 3(总题数：1，分数：10.00)The concept of man versus machine is at least as old as the industrial revolution, but this phenomenon te
35、nds to be most acutely felt during economic downturns and fragile recoveries. And yet, it would be a mistake to think we are right 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 ap
36、petite for eating up human jobs, this phenomenon will continue to restructure our economy in ways we can“t immediately foresee. When there is rapid improvement in the price and performance of technology, jobs that were once thought to be immune from automation suddenly become threatened. This argume
37、nt has attracted a lot of attention, via the success of the book Race Against the Machine, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew 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, say
38、s Brynjolfsson and McAfee miss the reason why these jobs are so vulnerable to technology in the first place. Hagel says we 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 ar
39、e the types of jobs that machines can perform much better at than human beings. That is how we have put a giant target sign 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, Hag
40、el says. In our rapidly changing economy, we more than ever need people in the workplace who can take initiative and exercise their imagination “to respond to unexpected events.“ That is not something machines are good at. They are designed to perform very predictable activities. As Hagel notes, Bry
41、njolfsson and McAfee indeed touched on this point in their book. We need to reframe race against the machine as race with 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
42、 rather, “how do we innovate our institutions and our work practices?“（分数：10.00）(1).According to the first paragraph, economic downturns would _.（分数：2.00）A.ease the competition of man vsB.highlight machines“ threat to human jobsC.provoke a painful technological revolutionD.outmode our current econom
43、ic structure(2).The authors of Race Against the Machine argue that _.（分数：2.00）A.technology is diminishing man“s job opportunitiesB.automation is accelerating technological developmentC.certain jobs will remain intact after automationD.man will finally win the race against machine(3).Hagel argues tha
44、t jobs in the U.S. are often _.（分数：2.00）A.performed by innovative mindsB.scripted with an individual styleC.standardized 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
45、 in practiceB.the formula for how work is conducted efficientlyC.the ways machines replace human labor in modern timesD.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.Mach
46、ines will Replace Human LaborC.Can We Win the Race Against MachinesD.Economic Downturns Stimulate Innovations七、Text 4(总题数：1，分数：10.00)When the government talks about infrastructure contributing to the economy the focus is usually on roads, railways, broadband and energy. Housing is seldom mentioned.
47、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-pound infrastruct
48、ure project, so it is inevitable that the attention is focused elsewhere. But perhaps the most significant reason is that the issue has always been so politically charged. Nevertheless, the affordable housing situation is desperate. Waiting lists increase all the time and we are simply not building
49、enough new homes. The comprehensive spending review offers an opportunity for the government to help rectify this. It needs to put historical prejudices to one side and take some steps to address our urgent housing need. There are some indications that it is preparing to do just that. The communities minister, Don Foster, has hinted that George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, may introduce more flexibility to the current cap on the amount that local authorities can borrow against their housing stock debt. Ev
