1、考研英语(二)-33 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：100.00)It was the worst tragedy in maritime history, six times more deadly than the Titanic. When the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff was hit by torpedoes fired from a Russian submarine in the final winter of World War , more
2、than 10,000 peoplemostly women, children and old people fleeing the final Red Army push into Nazi Germanywere packed aboard, An ice storm had turned the decks into frozen sheets that sent hundreds of families sliding into the sea as the ship tilted and began to go down. Others desperately tried to p
3、ut lifeboats down. Some who succeeded fought off those in the water who had the strength to try to claw their way aboard. Most people froze immediately. “I“ll never forget the screams,“ says Christa Ntitzmann, 87, one of the 1,200 survivors. She recalls watching the ship, brightly lit, slipping into
4、 its dark graveand into seeming nothingness, rarely mentioned for more than half a century. Now Germany“s Nobel Prize-winning author Gunter Grass has revived the memory of the 9,000 dead, including more than 4,000 childrenwith his latest novel Crab Walk , published last month. The book, which will b
5、e out in English next year, doesn“t dwell on the sinking; its heroine is a pregnant young woman who survives the catastrophe only to say later: “Nobody wanted to hear about it, not here in the West (of Germany) and not at all in the East.“ The reason was obvious. As Grass put it in a recent intervie
6、w with the weekly Die Woche : “Because the crimes we Germans are responsible for were and are so dominant, we didn“t have the energy left to tell of our own sufferings.“ The long silence about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was probably unavoidableand necessary. By unreservedly owning up to the
7、ir country“s monstrous crimes in the Second World War, Germans have managed to win acceptance abroad, marginalize the neo-Nazis at home and make peace with their neighbors. Today“s unified Germany is more prosperous and stable than at any time in its long, troubled history. For that, a half century
8、of willful forgetting about painful memories like the German Titanic was perhaps a reasonable price to pay. But even the most politically correct Germans believe that they“ve now earned the right to discuss the full historical record. Not to equate German suffering with that of its victims, but simp
9、ly to acknowledge a terrible tragedy.（分数：25.00）(1).Why does the author say the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was the worst tragedy in maritime history?（分数：5.00）A.It was attacked by Russian torpedoes.B.Most of its passengers were frozen to death.C.Its victims were mostly women and children.D.It cau
10、sed the largest number of casualties.(2).Hundreds of families dropped into the sea when _.（分数：5.00）A.a strong ice storm tilted the shipB.the cruise ship sank all of a suddenC.the badly damaged ship leaned toward one sideD.the frightened passengers fought desperately for lifeboats(3).The Wilhelm Gust
11、loff tragedy was little talked about for more than half a century because Germans _.（分数：5.00）A.were eager to win international acceptanceB.felt guilty for their crimes in World War C.had been pressured to keep silent about itD.were afraid of offending their neighbors(4).How does Gunter Grass revive
12、the memory of the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy?（分数：5.00）A.By presenting the horrible scene of the torpedo attack.B.By describing the ship“s sinking in great detail.C.By giving an interview to the weekly Die Woche.D.By depicting the survival of a young pregnant woman.(5).It can be learned from the passag
13、e that Germans no longer think that _.（分数：5.00）A.they will be misunderstood if they talk about the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedyB.the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy is a reasonable price to pay for the nation“s past misdeedsC.Germany is responsible for the horrible crimes it committed in World War D.it is wron
14、g to equate their sufferings with those of other countriesGiven the lack of fit between gifted students and their schools, it is not surprising that such students often have little good to say about their school experience. In one study of 400 adults who had achieved distinction in all areas of life
15、, researchers found that three-fifths of these individuals either did badly in school or were unhappy in school. Few MacArthur Prize fellows, winners of the MacArthur Award for creative accomplishment, had good things to say about their precollegiate schooling if they had not been placed in advanced
16、 programs. Anecdotal reports support this. Pablo Picasso, Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, Oliver Goldsmith, and William Butler Yeats all disliked school. So did Winston Churchill, who almost failed out of Harrow, an elite British school. About Oliver Goldsmith, one of his teachers remarked, “Never was s
17、o dull a boy.“ Often these children realize that they know more than their teachers, and their teachers often feel that these children are arrogant, inattentive, or unmotivated. Some of these gifted people may have done poorly in school because their gifts were not scholastic. Maybe we can account f
18、or Picasso in this way. But most fared poorly in school not because they lacked ability but because they found school unchallenging and consequently lost interest. Yeats described the lack of fit between his mind and school: “Because I had found it difficult to attend to anything less interesting th
19、an my own thoughts, I was difficult to teach.“ As noted earlier, gifted children of all kinds tend to be strong-willed nonconformists. Nonconformity and stubbornness (and Yeats“s level of arrogance and self-absorption) are likely to lead to conflicts with teachers. When highly gifted students in any
20、 domain talk about what was important to the development of their abilities, they are far more likely to mention their families than their schools or teachers. A writing prodigy studied by David Feldman and Lynn Goldsmith was taught far more about writing by his journalist father than his English te
21、acher. High-IQ children, in Australia studied by Miraca Gross had much more positive feelings about their families than their schools. About half of the mathematicians studied by Benjamin Bloom had little good to say about school. They all did well in school and took honors classes when available, a
22、nd some skipped grades.（分数：25.00）(1).The main point the author is making about schools is that _.（分数：5.00）A.they should satisfy the needs of students from different family backgroundsB.they are often incapable of catering to the needs of talented studentsC.they should organize their classes accordin
23、g to the students“ abilityD.they should enroll as many gifted students as possible(2).The author quotes the remarks of one of Oliver Goldsmith“s teachers _.（分数：5.00）A.to provide support for his argumentB.to illustrate the strong will of some gifted childrenC.to explain how dull students can also be
24、successfulD.to show how poor Oliver“s performance was at school(3).Pablo Picasso is listed among the many gifted children who _.（分数：5.00）A.paid no attention to their teachers in classB.contradicted their teachers much too oftenC.could not cope with their studies at school successfullyD.behaved arrog
25、antly and stubbornly in the presence of their teachers(4).Many gifted people attributed their success _.（分数：5.00）A.mainly to parental help and their education at homeB.both to school instruction and to their parents“ coachingC.more to their parents“ encouragement than to school trainingD.less to the
26、ir systematic education than to their talent(5).The root cause of many gifted students having bad memories of their school years is that _.（分数：5.00）A.their nonconformity brought them a lot of troubleB.they were seldom praised by their teachersC.school courses failed to inspire or motivate themD.teac
27、hers were usually far stricter than their parentsWhen we worry about who might be spying on our private lives, we usually think about the Federal agents. But the private sector outdoes the government every time. It“s Linda Tripp, not the FBI, who is facing charges under Maryland“s laws against secre
28、t telephone taping. It“s our banks, not the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), that pass our private financial data to telemarketing firms. Consumer activists are pressing Congress for better privacy laws without much result so far. The legislators lean toward letting business people track our financia
29、l habits virtually at will. As an example of what“s going on, consider U.S. Bancorp, which was recently sued for deceptive practices by the state of Minnesota. According to the lawsuit, the bank supplied a telemarketer called MemberWorks with sensitive customer data such as names, phone numbers, ban
30、k account and credit-card numbers, Social Security numbers, account balances and credit limits. With these customer lists in hand, MemberWorks started dialing for dollarsselling dental plans, videogames, computer software and other products and services. Customers who accepted a “free trial offer“ h
31、ad 30 days to cancel. If the deadline passed, they were charged automatically through their bank or credit-card accounts. U.S. Bancorp collected a share of the revenues. Customers were doubly deceived, the lawsuit claims. They didn“t know that the bank was giving account numbers to MemberWorks. And
32、if customers asked, they were led to think the answer was no. The state sued MemberWorks separately for deceptive selling. The company defends that it did anything wrong. For its part, U.S. Bancorp settled without admitting any mistakes. But it agreed to stop exposing its customers to nonfinancial p
33、roducts sold by outside firms. A few top banks decided to do the same. Many other banks will still do business with MemberWorks and similar firms. And banks will still be mining data from your account in order to sell you financial products, including things of little value, such as credit insurance
34、 and credit-card protection plans. You have almost no protection from businesses that use your personal accounts for profit. For example, no federal law shields“ transaction and experience“ informationmainly the details of your bank and credit-card accounts. Social Security numbers are for sale by p
35、rivate firms. They“ve generally agreed not to sell to the public. But to businesses, the numbers are an open book. Self-regulation doesn“t work. A firm might publish a privacy protection policy, but who enforces it? Take U.S. Bancorp again. Customers were told, in writing, that “all personal informa
36、tion you supply to us will be considered confidential.“ Then it sold your data to MemberWorks. The bank even claims that it doesn“t “sell“ your data at all. It merely “shares“ it and reaps a profit. Now you know.（分数：25.00）(1).Contrary to popular belief, the author finds that spying on people“s priva
37、cy _.（分数：5.00）A.is mainly carried out by means of secret tapingB.has been intensified with the help of the IRSC.is practiced exclusively by the FBID.is more prevalent in business circles(2).We know from the passage that _.（分数：5.00）A.legislators are acting to pass a law to provide better privacy prot
38、ectionB.most states are turning a blind eye to the deceptive practices of private businessesC.the state of Minnesota is considering drawing up laws to protect private informationD.lawmakers are inclined to give a free hand to businesses to inquire into customers“ buying habits(3).When the “free tria
39、l“ deadline is over, you“ll be charged without notice for a product or service if _.（分数：5.00）A.you fail to cancel it within the specified periodB.you happen to reveal your credit card numberC.you find the product or service unsatisfactoryD.you fail to apply for extension of the deadline(4).Businesse
40、s do not regard information concerning personal bank accounts as private because _.（分数：5.00）A.its revelation will do no harm to consumers under the current protection policyB.it is considered “transaction and experience“ information unprotected by lawC.it has always been considered an open secret by
41、 the general publicD.its sale can be brought under control through self-regulation(5).We can infer from the passage that _.（分数：5.00）A.banks will have to change their ways of doing businessB.privacy protection laws will soon be enforcedC.consumers“ privacy will continue to be invadedD.“free trial“ pr
42、actice will eventually be bannedIt“s hardly news that the immigration system is a mess. Foreign nationals have long been slipping across the border with fake papers, and visitors who arrive in the U.S. legitimately often overstay their legal welcome without being punished. But since Sept. 11, it“s b
43、ecome clear that terrorists have been shrewdly factoring the weaknesses of our system into their plans. In addition to their mastery of forging passports, at least three of the 19 Sept.11 hijackers were here on expired visas. That“s been a safe bet until now. The Immigration and Naturalization Servi
44、ce (INS) lacks the resources, and apparently the inclination, to keep track of the estimated 2 million foreigners who have intentionally overstayed their welcome. But this laxness toward immigration fraud may be about to change. Congress has already taken some modest steps. The U.S.A. Patriot Act, p
45、assed in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy, requires the FBI, the Justice Department, the State Department and the INS to share more data, which will make it easier to stop watch-listed terrorists at the border. But what“s really needed, critics say, is even tougher laws and more resources aimed at t
46、ightening up border security. Reformers are calling for a rollback of rules that hinder law enforcement. They also want the INS to hire hundreds more border patrol agents and investigators to keep illegal immigrants out and to track them down once they“re here. Reformers also want to see the INS set
47、 up a database to monitor whether visa holders actually leave the country when they are required to. All these proposed changes were part of a new border-security bill that passed the House of Representatives but died in the Senate last week. Before Sept. 11, legislation of this kind had been blocke
48、d by two powerful lobbies: universities, which rely on tuition from foreign students who could be kept out by the new law, and business, which relies on foreigners for cheap labor. Since the attacks, they“ve backed off. The bill would have passed this time but for congressional maneuverings and is e
49、xpected to be reintroduced and to pass next year. Also on the agenda for next year: a proposal, backed by some influential law-makers, to split the INS into two agenciesa good cop that would tend to service functions like processing citizenship papers and a bad cop that would concentrate on border inspections, deportation and other functions. One reason for the division, supporters say, is that the INS has in recent years become too focused on serving tourists and immigrants. After the Sept. 11 tragedy, the INS should
