1、考博英语-49 及答案解析(总分：94.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、BPart Reading (总题数：5，分数：20.00)Extraordinary creative activity has been characterized as revolutionary, flying in the face of what is established and producing not what is acceptable but what will become accepted. According to this formulation, highly creative acti
2、vity transcends the limits of an existing form and establishes a new principle of organization. However, the idea that extraordinary creativity transcends established limits is misleading when it is applied to the arts, even though it may be valid for the sciences. Differences between highly creativ
3、e art and highly creative science arise in part from a difference in their goals. For the sciences, a new theory is the goal and end result of the creative act. Innovative science produces new propositions in terms of which diverse phenomena can be related to one another in more coherent ways. Such
4、phenomena as a brilliant diamond or a nesting bird are relegated to the role of data, serving as the means for formulating or testing a new theory. The goal of highly creative art is very different: the phenomenon itself becomes the direct product of the creative act. Shakespeare s Hamlet is not a t
5、ract about the behavior of indecisive princes or the uses of political power, nor is Picasso s painting Guernica primarily a propositional statement about the Spanish Civil War or the evils of fascism. What highly creative artistic activity produces is not a new generalization that transcends establ
6、ished limits, but rather an aesthetic particular. Aesthetic particulars produced by the highly creative artist extend or exploit, in an innovative way, the limits of an existing form, rather than transcend that form.This is not to deny that a highly creative artist sometimes establishes a new princi
7、ple of organization in the history of an artistic field; the composer Monteverdi, who created music of the highest aesthetic value, comes to mind. More generally, however, whether or not a composition establishes a new principle in the history of music has little bearing on its aesthetic worth. Beca
8、use they embody a new principle of organization, some musical works, such as the operas of Florentine Cnmerata, are of signal historical importance, but few listeners or musicologists would include these among the great works of music. On the other hand, Mozart s The Marriage of Figaro is surely amo
9、ng the masterpieces of music even though its modest innovations are confined to extending means. It bas been said of Beethoven that he toppled the rules and freed music from the stifling confines of convention. But a close study of his compositions reveals that Beethoven overturned no fundamental ru
10、les. Rather, he was an incomparable strategist who exploited limits the rules, forms, and conventions that he inherited from predecessors such as taydn and Mozart, Handel and Bachin strikingly original ways.（分数：4.00）(1).The author considers a new theory that coherently relates diverse phenomena to o
11、ne another to be the_.（分数：1.00）A.basis for reaffirming a well-established scientific formulationB.byproduct of an aesthetic experienceC.tool used by a scientist to discover a new particularD.result of highly creative scientific activity(2).The author implies that Beethoven s music was strikingly ori
12、ginal because Beethoven_.（分数：1.00）A.strove to outdo his predecessors by becoming the first composer to exploit limitsB.fundamentally changed the musical forms of his predecessors by adopting a richly inventive strategyC.manipulated the established conventions of musical composition in a highly innov
13、ative fashionD.attempted to create the illusion of having transcended the musical form of his predecessors(3).The author regards the idea that all highly creative artistic activity transcends limits with_.（分数：1.00）A.deep skepticismB.strong indignationC.marked indifferenceD.moderate amusement(4).The
14、author implies that an innovative scientific contribution is one that_.（分数：1.00）A.is cited with high frequency in the publications of other scientistsB.is accepted immediately by the scientific communityC.presents the discovery of a new scientific factD.introduces a new valid generalizationThings we
15、re never easy within the family. But at a time when the family was oriented toward the production of goods, which alone made the survival of its members possible, there was an obvious necessity and a rational basis for their living and working together. Dire necessity did not permit putting into que
16、stion the very existence of the family, despite the great emotional demands living together made on each of its members.Today the main economic activities of the family are in the nature of consumptionhowever productive may be what some of its members do in society. And from an early age on, each me
17、mber of the family could survive without its supportsince society at large is ready to provide support. It is quite easy to put the existence of the family into question. This happens very frequently, not just as families separate, or fail to be formed, but also within families which to all outer ap
18、pearance are still intact. But once the family needs seriously to justify its existence, it is no longer intact as a family in the old sense.The modern family, deprived of its ancient and firm basis in economic necessity, now tries to justify its existence through the emotional ties within it. These
19、 always were present, but they were a superstructure good or bad, over the solid foundation of necessity. With the foundation of necessity removed, the emotions either tend to run rampant or to wither away.The more a family tries to justify itself by means af the feelings existing within it, the str
20、onger these are aroused, and the more easily and severely do they get hurt. There is more reason to wish to exculpate oneself, to wish that the blame for what goes wrong should rest with someone else. The young generation easily blames their parents for all the difficulties they encounter within the
21、mselves, society, and the family. Parents prefer to see all that is wrong ascribed either to the indifferent or otherwise nasty behavior of the new generation, to the destructive impact of the peer group, or of society at large. Which is preferred as the target to be blamed depends on the structure
22、of the personality of the individual, the mood of the day, or the most recent headlines.In Civilization and Its Discontent Freud showed why civilization must exact a high price in psychological discomfort for the very great and real advantages it provides us: creating and maintaining a civilized lif
23、e requires considerable and difficult repression and sublimation of many aspects of our selfish drives, although we would prefer them to find immediate gratification. How understandable, then, that as civilization imposes a considerable price in personal psychological frustration, the same is true f
24、or the family, out of which civilization grew. If this is so, why have we such a hard time accepting the frustrations and disappointments which are the unavoidable price we have to pay for living in families?. Why do we wish to blame the hardships of family living on something or somebody, even on o
25、urselves, although blaming these difficulties on each other increases them beyond endurance?（分数：4.00）(1).In the early time, the whole family was closely tied by _.（分数：1.00）A.strong emotional demandB.necessity of survivalC.blood relationshipD.habits in existence(2).According to the passage, the moder
26、n family gives the first priority to the emotional ties because_.（分数：1.00）A.food, clothing and shelter is no longer a matter of great concernB.modern men are civilized by receiving a lot of educationC.parents and children are lacking in communicationD.modern men are more interested in the research o
27、n superstructure(3).Based on Freuds view,_.（分数：1.00）A.its quite normal to have frustration accompany with the civilizationB.civilization can bring along immediate satisfaction free of chargeC.development of civilization costs the human race a large amount of moneyD.it s advisable to blame hardships
28、of family living on each other(4).The passage is mainly about _.（分数：1.00）A.economic foundation and superstructureB.todays generation gapC.the family problems now and thenD.psychological discomfort in a civilized societyIt is curious to note how slowly the mechanism of the intellectual life improves.
29、 Contrast the ordinary library facilities of a middle-class English home, such as the present writer is now working in, with the inconveniences and deficiencies of the equipment of an Alexandrian writer, and one realizes the enormous waste of time, physical exertion, and attention that went on throu
30、gh all the centuries during which that library flourished. Before the present writer lie half a dozen books, and there are good indices to three of them. He can pick up any one of these six books, refer quickly to a statement, verify a quotation, and go on writing. Contrast with the tedious un- fold
31、ing of a rolled manuscript. Close at hand are two encyclopedias, a dictionary, an atlas of the world, a biographical dictionary, and other books of reference. They have no marginal indices, it is true, but that, perhaps, is asking too much at present. There were no such resources in the world in 300
32、 B.C. Alexandria had still to produce the first grammar and the first dictionary. This present book is being written in manuscript; it is then taken by a typist and typewritten very accurately. It can then, with the utmost convenience, be read over, corrected amply, rearranged freely, retyped, and r
33、ecorrected. The Alexandrian author had to dictate or recopy every word he wrote. Before he could turn back to what he had written previously, he had to dry his last words by waving them in the air or pouring sand over them; he had not even blotting-paper. Whatever an author wrote had to be recopied
34、again and again before it could reach any considerable circle of readers, and every copyist introduced some new error. New books were dictated to a roomful of copyists, and so issued in a first edition of some hundreds at least. In Rome, Horace and Virgil seem to have been issued in quite considerab
35、le editions. Whenever a need for maps or diagrams arose, there were fresh difficulties. Such a science as anatomy, for example, depending as it does upon accurate drawing, must have been enormously hampered by the natural limitations of the copyist. The transmission of geographical fact again must h
36、ave been almost incredibly tedious. No doubt a day will come when a private library and writing desk of the year A.D. 1925 will seem quaintly clumsy and difficult; but, measured by the standards of Alexandria, they are astonishingly quick, efficient, and economical of nervous and mental energy.（分数：4
37、.00）(1).In Alexandrian Times, writers _.（分数：1.00）A.didnt have enough sources at their elbowsB.had private libraries with many booksC.had their manuscripts typed accuratelyD.didnt have much interest in writing(2).The first sentence of the passage_.（分数：1.00）A.is written as a conclusion of the passageB
38、.seems to contradict the main idea of the passageC.has no relation to the rest of the passageD.appears to have some connection with the passage(3).In developing his idea, the author used _ in writing.（分数：1.00）A.comparisonB.contrastC.simileD.metaphor(4).This passage chiefly describes _.（分数：1.00）A.the
39、 inconveniences and deficiencies of an Alexandrian writerB.the development of writing and publishing since Alexandrian TimesC.the conveniences and sufficiencys of modern writersD.the similarities and differences between Ancient and Modern TimesMan has long wished to predict earthquakes. Recent findi
40、ngs indicate that reliable earthquake prediction is almost a reality. Before earthquakes occur, there frequently are changes in rock behavior that affect the velocities of other earthquake waves passing through the rocks. The former Soviet seismologists have used earthquake waves from other unrelate
41、d earthquakes to meas- ure the alterations in wave speed through rocks around a fault zone. For months to years before a particular earthquake, the former Soviet scientists observed that the strained rock in the fault zone was deformed in a way that slowed other earthquake wave that passed through t
42、he zone. Similar behavior has preceded earthquakes in California and New York.Changes in electrical resistance, water pressure l rock motion, and leakage of gas also can accompany the lowering of wave velocity. Fractures in the fault zone apparently open, which leads to a lowering of water pressure.
43、 When the fractures are filled by underground water, the continuing stress on the rocks is also exerted on the water in pores, which contributes to pressure within the rocks and ultimately causes further fault movement and earthquakes.These preliminary events have been observed and studied for many
44、earthquakes. The larger the earthquake, apparently the longer the time during which the preliminary events take place. Careful observation and measurement of the early events will precede reliable forecasts. The preliminary events are most evident along normal and reverse fault systems, and strike-s
45、lip faults may not produce the same effect. Although earthquake forecasting is in its infancy, both American and the former Soviet scientists have been able to predict the occurrence of a few earthquakes.Understanding of the causes of earthquakes has opened several possibilities for their control. U
46、nderground nuclear explosions in Nevada have released strain energy stored in certain rocks. In some instances, the shock wave from the explosion has raised the strain on nearby fractures and faults enough to initiate fault movement. All of the resulting earthquakes have been small, but a large eart
47、hquake could conceivably be initiated.In the future, a situation may arise where it is desirable to deliberately initiate an earthquake near a heavily populated area because too large an amount of strain has accumulated on an active fault zone in the vicinity. If hazardous areas were left empty and
48、if emergency services were standing at the ready, such action might be considered necessary to prevent a later much more damaging earthquake. However, the legal, environmental, and human problems would be large in- deed, perhaps too great for such action to be taken.Another possibility for earthquak
49、e control is much more exciting. Increasing water pressures can initiate faulting, as was unintentionally demonstrated by a deep well at the U. S. Army s Rock Mountain Arsenal near Denver, Colorado, in the early 1960s. Disposal of nerve gas wastes in the well triggered movement along deeply buried inactive faults in the region. The liquid waste reduced frictional resistance along fault flat surface in the rocks surrounding the well, leading to movement along the faults. Earthquake activity in the area connected c
