1、考研英语(一)-542 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)The question of parenting has become of increasing interest to economists. At the American Economic Association“s annual meeting in Denver this year, for example, there was a 1 on the effect of mothers“ employment on their ch
2、ildren, as well as household 2 and child development. Economists are 3 increasingly on studies from epigenetics, which demonstrate the way parenting and other 4 factors transform genes. But 5 most debates regarding nature 6 nurture tend to look at what happens to people during childhood, Janet Curri
3、e, an economist at Columbia University, has looked at the effects that 7 might have on children even before they are born. In a paper 8 as the Richard T. Ely lecture at the A. E. A. meeting, she reviewed studies looking at 9 better maternal education and government food 10 can help raise birth weigh
4、ts among babies, an indicator that can 11 future health. Stopping smoking or taking drugs, not 12 , also improves birth weights. In examining the effects of pollution on birth weight, she 13 that one of the reasons poor, minority mothers tend to live 14 to polluted areas is that such neighborhoods t
5、end to be viewed as blighted by more 15 and white residents, and that 16 home prices or rents are more 17 for those living on low incomes. She also posited the 18 that “some groups are less able to process and act on information about hazards.“ Ms. Currie 19 that because changes made by mothers or f
6、amilies while a baby is in the womb can affect birth weight, and in 20 , future health, “we cannot assume that differences that are present at birth reflect unchangeable, genetic factors.“（分数：10.00）A.boardB.groupC.juryD.panelA.choicesB.decisionsC.choresD.designationsA.consultingB.referringC.relyingD
7、.trustingA.environmentalB.protectiveC.eccentricD.conservativeA.whenB.whileC.whatD.whereasA.versusB.overC.viaD.beforeA.massagingB.parentingC.marriageD.pregnancyA.awardedB.publishedC.donatedD.presentedA.whyB.thatC.howD.whetherA.programsB.platformsC.packagesD.productsA.calculateB.deduceC.speculateD.pre
8、dictA.continuallyB.permanentlyC.surprisinglyD.unusuallyA.anticipatedB.proposedC.intendedD.recommendedA.nextB.priorC.attachedD.closerA.abundantB.affluentC.comfortableD.plentifulA.whereasB.neverthelessC.thereforeD.moreoverA.affordableB.prohibitiveC.luxuriousD.expensiveA.suggestionB.possibilityC.opinio
9、nD.conclusionA.mentionedB.decidedC.concludedD.resolvedA.additionB.effectC.sumD.turn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)Earlier this year Ian Leslie wrote a piece for Intelligent Life about the “filter bubble“, which said that the Internet“s top fiveYahoo
10、!, Google, Facebook, YouTube and Microsoftwere using personalised data filtering to create a “you loop“ in which serendipitous discoveries are replaced by commercial prompts designed to keep us inside our comfort zone. There“s been lots of discussion about the political dangers of what Kunzru calls
11、“the myopic self“, but there has been little about its impact on how we choose and buy books. Theoretically, there“s never been a better time to be an adventurous reader, but despite all those self-published writers, boutique publishers and specialist booksellers, I don“t think I“m the only one stru
12、ggling to translate this theory into reality. When it comes to deciding what to read next, I find myself caught between a paralysing ocean of choice and endless recommendations for E. L. James“s Fifty Shades of Grey . I end up rereading Dorothy Dunnett“s King Hereafter 11th-century Orkney being firm
13、ly within my comfort zone. Of course, we can“t really blame the algorithms. Our reading choices have always been constrained by the natural filter bubble created by our friends, and the pressures of time play as large a role as Google“s search engines. So are there any steps we can take to combat th
14、e natural “you loop“ in our reading tastes? First, I propose we adopt a thoroughly disruptive stance: “If you enjoyed that, then this is the opposite.“ If your sister loves the erotic fantasies of E. L. James, then it“s time for her to take on the metaphysics of Gods and Monsters , and give Hari Kun
15、zru a try. And second when I“ve finished the remaining 700 pages of my Norse epic, I shall ask my Twitter friends: what shouldn“t I read next? And why stop there? How about disloyalty cards, where booksellers give us discounts for clocking up an eclectic range of purchases? Or discomfort zones, with
16、 a “books we can“t stand“ display, complete with little handwritten condemnations: so much more inviting than yet another card explaining why Bleak House is really rather good. Could there be a pop-up sci-fi corner in a romance authors“ convention or critics reviewing novels that are diametrically o
17、pposed in subject matter, style and philosophical outlook, and still liking both? As the season for lazy beach-reading approaches, let us make a stand for the joy of being thoroughly surprised.（分数：10.00）(1).In Paragraph 1, by “you loop“ is meant _.（分数：2.00）A.filter bubbleB.personalized discoveryC.ad
18、vertisement in disguiseD.comfort in adversity(2).From Paragraph 2 we know the author is _.（分数：2.00）A.to be an adventurous readerB.to read Dorothy Dunnett“sKing HereafterC.to read James“sFifty Shades of GreyD.to decide what to read next(3).According to the author, Google“s major role is _.（分数：2.00）A.
19、to constrain our reading choicesB.to help us to find what we wantC.to replace the role of our friendsD.to have less pressure of time(4).“If you enjoyed that, then this is the opposite.“ (Para. 4) most probably means _.（分数：2.00）A.“read it again if you enjoyed it“B.“read what you liked instead of this
20、“C.“read the metaphysics of Gods and Monsters“D.“read what is opposite to what you liked“(5).Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?（分数：2.00）A.Breaking the “You Loop“B.Enjoy Lazy Beach-ReadingC.Breaking the Comfort ZoneD.Enjoy Being an Adventurous Reader五、Text 2(总题数：1，分数：10.00
21、)A good-looking robot is seriously hard to find. Robots can be pretty, some even handsome, but as soon as they get too realistic they start to creep us out. A new system for helping robots to generate more realistic expressions might go some way to help. Many years ago, roboticists realised that as
22、you morph an abstract robot into a human you generate a peak of uneasethe “uncanny valley principle“that makes people feel uncomfortable when a robot looks realistic but not realistic enough. Some say it“s because they remind us of a corpse. However, research has shown that if you manipulate the rob
23、otic images so that they are more attractive, you can bypass this feeling of unease. To create a robot we are more likely to accept, life-like expressions are vital. That“s why Nicole Lazzeri at the University of Pisa, Italy, and her colleagues have designed a “Hybrid Engine for Facial Expressions S
24、ynthesis“ (HEFES)a facial animation engine that gives realistic expressions to a humanoid robot called FACE. To mimic the myriad expressions that facial muscles are capable of achieving, the team placed 32 motors around FACE“s skull and upper torso that manipulate its polymer skin in the same way th
25、at real muscles do. To create expressions they used a combination of motor movements based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS)a system created over 30 years ago which codes facial expressions in terms of organic muscle movements. HEFES is used to control FACE“s expressions. It is essentially a
26、 mathematical programme that creates an “emotional space“ which a person can use to choose an expression for FACE that exists anywhere between one or more basic emotions, including anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. The algorithm then works out which motors need to be moved to c
27、reate that expression or transition between two or more. The team evaluated the accuracy of their expressions by asking five autistic and 15 non-autistic children to identify a set of expressions performed first by FACE and then by a psychologist. Both groups were able to identify happiness, anger a
28、nd sadness but less able to identify fear, disgust and surprise. So is it more attractive? I“m not convinced. But FACE“s ability to smoothly transition between one emotion and another is pretty remarkable. And not too creepy.（分数：10.00）(1).From the first paragraph, we know the author tends more to di
29、scuss _.（分数：2.00）A.the difficulty in generating expressions facially realisticB.the importance of life-like robotsC.the handsomeness of robots able to go a longer wayD.the development of an expression-generating system(2).The word “morph“ in Paragraph 2 seems to mean _.（分数：2.00）A.adaptB.transformC.s
30、witchD.blend(3).Paragraphs 3, 4, and 5 are devoted to a discussion of _.（分数：2.00）A.the way to manipulate the artificial skin to satisfy various needsB.an improvement on FACS for better facial expression codingC.the design available for FACE in expression generationD.an algorithm for movement of expr
31、ession-generating motors(4).According to the author, “emotional space“ (Paragraph 6) suggests _.（分数：2.00）A.a gap in a programme for an in-between expressionB.a programme from which a person can choose an expression for FACEC.a programme from which a basic emotion can be chosen for FACED.a blank in a
32、n algorithm for the basic emotion(5).In the author“s view, FACE“s ability is _.（分数：2.00）A.controversialB.disgustingC.recommendableD.scary六、Text 3(总题数：1，分数：10.00)It is difficult for outsiders to gauge people“s sense of well-being, simply by viewing their lives. And yet despite the difficulty, economi
33、sts seem increasingly determined to do just that, by trying to wrestle life“s intangibles into measurable data. Forty years after the Gross National Happiness index was invented by the King of Bhutan, happiness is finally gaining attraction as a serious national indicator. Last week, economists at t
34、he Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which represents 34 major economies, told a packed auditorium in Paris that they hoped their Better Life Indexlaunched a year agowould persuade governments to focus as much on factors like environment and community cohesiveness, as on
35、GDP measurements like productivity and income. “The index of material conditions is still extremely important,“ the OECD“s chief statistician Martine Durand told the audience of about 350 people, including economists and officials from around the world. “But what we are saying is that there is more
36、to life than just money.“ Now several countries seem to have taken note. The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services is working on a national happiness index for Americans (whose “pursuit of happiness,“ The Washington Post noted, is fundamental to the country) that the U. S. would then track,
37、much as it does income and working hours. And last year, in the midst of massive spending cuts, Britain“s Office of National Statistics began a Well-Being Index, at a cost of $ 3 million a year, collecting statistics on people“s levels of anxiety and confidence. Surprisingly, the first index showed
38、Brits being generally happy with life, with older people being happiest of all. But no effort seems to match the ambition and scope of the OECD“s Better Life Index. Launched in May last year, it collates statistics in 36 countries (Russia and Brazil signed on this month) on 24 indicators; as of this
39、 year, those include gender and inequality. There are factors on the list that seem tricky to quantify, like “work-life balance,“ and “life satisfaction,“ as well as the more obvious ones like education, health, and income. Having worked for years to design the index, OECD statisticians then confron
40、ted the complexities of measuring factors which were subjective and vague. So they launched an online tool called “Your Better Life Index,“ allowing people anywhere to rank how important each factor on the list is to them, and then compare how their ideal stacks up against real-life statistics. In e
41、ffect, the Better Life Index is now whatever each person decides it should be. If education is the most important thing to you, go live in Finland, not Mexico; if work-life balance is most important, Denmark is your place, while the U. S. ranks near bottom.（分数：10.00）(1).By “more to life“ (Line 8, Pa
42、ra. 2), Chief statistician Martine Durand suggests _.（分数：2.00）A.the Gross National Happiness IndexB.economic cooperation and developmentC.natural conditions and spiritual wealthD.happiness, or a sense of well-being(2).The topic sentence of Paragraph 3 is supported by _.（分数：2.00）A.Americans“ pursuit
43、of happinessB.statistics on unease and assuranceC.income and working hoursD.Brits“ general happiness with life(3).From paragraphs 3 and 4 we can know _.（分数：2.00）A.factors like education or health can be quantifiedB.Britain“s Well-Being Index costs most in the worldC.Better Life Index goes without li
44、mitsD.the U. S. national happiness index ranks next to Better Life Index(4).Which of the following would the author agree to?（分数：2.00）A.Objective factors are excluded from statistics for indexes.B.Your Better Life Index is off limits to surfers.C.Your Better Life Index is what is in one“s eyes.D.Wor
45、k-life in the U.S. is the most unbalanced.(5).This text is mainly concerned with _.（分数：2.00）A.comparison of different life indexesB.immigration to one“s ideal countryC.conversion of the impossible to the possibleD.measurement of well-being七、Text 4(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Ideally, a capitalist economy is cons
46、tantly becoming more efficient. The benefits of that newly gained efficiency, however, are not always uniformly distributed. Sometimes it goes to business owners in the form of higher prices, sometimes to consumers in the form of lower prices, and other times to labor as increased wages. You don“t h
47、ave to be an economist to know that for the past generation, workers have gotten the short end of this particular stick. Corporate profits have gone steadily up, consumers have been offered an increasingly wide selection of affordable products, but wages for most of us have stagnated. The reasons fo
48、r this trend are familiar: Globalization has flooded the world labor market with cheap workers from China, India and elsewhere. Good paying manufacturing jobs have migrated overseas, while the U. S. has been left with low-wage, low-skill service jobs like that of a sales associate in the nation“s ma
49、ny retail outlets. Meanwhile, an era of global corporate competition has forced companies to ruthlessly seek to cut expenses wherever they can, keeping wages and benefits in these sorts of jobs depressingly low. But what if the logic behind viewing retail labor as an expense to be cut, rather than as an asset to be invested in, is unsound? Zeynep Ton, a Professor of Operations Management at MIT“s Sloan School of Management, argues just that. Her research has shown that by underinvesting in their employees, retailers
