1、考研英语-204 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、BSection Use o(总题数：1，分数：10.00)The United States has historically had higher rates of marriage than those of other industrialized countries. The current annual marriageU (1) /Uin the United States-about 9 new marriages for every 1, 000 people-isU (2) /Uhigher tha
2、n it is in other industrialized countries. However, marriage isU (3) /Uas widespread as it was several decades ago.U (4) /Uof American adults who are marriedU (5) /Ufrom 72 percent in 1970 to 60 percent in 2002. This does not mean that large numbers of people will remain unmarriedU (6) /Utheir lives
3、. Throughout the 20th century, about 90 percent of Americans married at someU (7) /Uin their lives. ExpertsU (8) /Uthat about the same proportion of todays young adults will eventually marry.The timing of marriage has variedU (9) /Uover the past century. In 1995 the average age of women in the Unite
4、d States at theU (10) /Uof their first marriage was 25. The average age of men was about 27. Men and women in the United States marryU (11) /Uthe first time at an average of five years later than peopleU (12) /Uin the 1950s.U (13) /U, young adults of the 1950s married younger than did any previousU
5、(14) /Uin U. S. history. Todays later age of marriage isU (15) /Uthe age of marriage between 1890 and 1940.U (16) /U, a greater proportion of the population was married (95 percent) during the 1950s than at any time beforeU (17) /U. Experts do not agree onU (18) /Uthe “marriage rush“ of the late 194
6、0s and 1950s occurred, but most social scientists believe it represented aU (19) /Uto the return of peaceful life and prosperity after 15 years of severe economicU (20) /Uand war.（分数：10.00）A.ratioB.rateC.percentageD.pollA.potentiallyB.intentionallyC.substantiallyD.randomlyA.not any longerB.no moreC.
7、not any moreD.no longerA.The proportionB.A proportionC.The numberD.A numberA.deterioratedB.declinedC.deducedD.demolishedA.pastB.passingC.throughoutD.throughA.periodB.levelC.pointD.respectA.projectB.planC.promiseD.proposeA.unexpectedlyB.irregularlyC.flexiblyD.consistentlyA.timeB.yearC.stageD.ageA.atB
8、.inC.ofD.forA.doB.didC.marryD.marriedA.BesidesB.HoweverC.WhereasD.NeverthelessA.descendantsB.ascendantsC.generationD.populationA.in line withB.according toC.based onD.caused byA.MoreoverB.LikewiseC.Similarly.D.ThereforeA.and afterB.or afterC.ever sinceD.or sinceA.whyB.howC.whenD.whatA.refusalB.reali
9、zationC.realityD.responseA.repressionB.aggressionC.depressionD.restriction二、BSection Readi(总题数：4，分数：40.00)BText 1/BIf you see a diamond ring on the fourth finger of a womans left hand, you probably know what it means: in America, this has long been the digit of choice for betrothal jewelry, and the
10、lore of the trade traces the symbolism back to ancient times. But if you see a diamond ring on the fourth finger of a womans right hand, you may or may not know that it signifies an independent spirit, or even economic empowerment and changing gender mores. “A lot of women have disposable income,“ K
11、atie Couric said recently on the “Today“ show after showing viewers her Change right-hander. “Why wait for a man to give her a diamond ring?“This notion may be traced back, approximately, to September. Thats when the Diamond Information Center began a huge marketing campaign aimed at articulating th
12、e meaning of right-hand rings-and thus a rationale for buying them. “Your left hand says we ,“ the campaign declares. “Your right hand says me .“ The positioning is brilliant: the wearer may be married or unmarried and may buy the ring herself or request it as a gift. And while it can take years for
13、 a new jewelry concept to work itself thoroughly into the mainstream, the tight-band ring already has momentum.At the higher end of the scale, the jewelry maker Kwiat, which supplies stores like Saks, offers a line of Kwiat Spirit Rings that can retail for as much as 5, 000, and “were selling it fas
14、ter than were manufacturing it,“ says Bill Gould, the companys chief of marketing. At the other end of the stale, mass-oriented retailers that often take a wait-and-see attitude have already jumped on the bandwagon.Firms like Kwiat were given what Gould calls “direction“ from the Diamond information
15、 Center about the new rings attributes-multiple diamonds in a north-south orientation that distinguishes it from the look of an engagement ring, and so on. But all this is secondary to the newly minted meaning. “The idea,“ Morrison says, “is that beyond a trend, this could become a sort of cultural
16、imperative.“A tall order? Well, bear in mind that “a diamond is forever“ is not a saying handed down from imperial Rome. It was handed down from an earlier generation of De Beers marketers. Joyce Jonas, a jewelry appraiser and historian, notes that De Beers, in the 40s and 50s, took advantage of a c
17、hanging American class structure to turn diamond rings into an (attainable) symbol for the masses. By now, Jonans observes, the stone alone “is just a commodity“ . And this, of course, is what makes its invented significance more Crucial than ever.（分数：10.00）(1).A diamond ring on the fourth finger of
18、 a womans left hand suggests that_.（分数：2.00）A.she is marriedB.she is engagedC.she may choose her jewelryD.she has independent spirit(2).“Your right hand says me“ ( Line 4, Para. 2 ) implies that_.（分数：2.00）A.the wearer may be married or unmarriedB.the wearer of the right-hand ring is independentC.the
19、 woman has the right-hand ring as a giftD.the wearer of the tight-hand ring is a self-centered woman(3).Judging from Bill Goulds remarks in Paragraph 3, we may infer that_.（分数：2.00）A.Kwiat has a large supply of jewelryB.Kwiat Spirit Rings are too expensiveC.Kwiat can hardly meet with the demands fro
20、m the consumersD.consumers keep a wait-and-see attitude towards the jewelry(4).According to the author, “a diamond is forever“ is_.（分数：2.00）A.a sort of cultural traditionB.a saying handed down from imperial RomeC.a false symbol for the massesD.a saying of made-up significance(5).The best title of th
21、e passage may be_.（分数：2.00）A.The Right-hand Diamond RingB.Who Wears the Right-hand Diamond Ring?C.The Right-hand Rings MomentumD.A Tall Order for JewelryBText 2/BWhen they were children, Terri Schiavos brother Bobby accidentally locked her in a suitcase. She tried so hard to get out that the suitcas
22、e jumped up and down and screamed. The scene predicted, horribly, how she would end, though by that stage she had neither walked nor talked for more than 15 years. By the time she finally died on March 31 st, her body had become a box out of which she could not escape.More than that, it had become a
23、 box out of which the United States government, Congress, the president, the governor of Florida and an army of evangelical protestors and bloggers would not let her escape. Her life, whatever its quality, became the property not merely of her husband (who had the legal right to speak for her) and h
24、er parents (who had brought her up), but of the courts, the state, and thousands of self-appointed medical and psychological experts across the country.The chief difference between her case and those of Karen Quinlan and Nancy Cruzan, much earlier victims of Persistent Vegetative State (PVS), was th
25、e existence of the internet. When posted videotapes showed Mrs Schiavo apparently smiling and communicating with those around her, doctors called these mere reflex activity, but to the layman they seemed to reveal a human being who should not be killed. On March 20th, a CAT scan of Mrs Schiavos brai
26、n-the grey matter of the cerebral cortex more or lass gone, replaced by cerebrospinal fluid-was posted on a biog. By March 29th, it had brought 390 passionate and warring responses.All this outside interference could only exacerbate the real, cruel dilemmas of the case. After a heart attack in Febru
27、ary 1990, when she was 26, Mrs Schiavos brain was deprived of oxygen for five minutes and irreparably damaged. For a while, her family hoped she might be rehabilitated. Her husband Michael bought her new clothes and wheeled her round art galleries, in case her brain could respond. By 1993, he was su
28、re it could not, and when she caught an infection he did not want her treated. Her parents disagreed, and claimed she could recover.From that point the family split, and litigation started. Each side, backed by legions of supporters, accused the other of money-grubbing and bad faith. A Florida court
29、 twice ordered Mrs Schiavos feeding tube to be removed and Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida, overruled it. The final removal of the tube, on March 18th, was followed by an extraordinary scene, in the early hours of March 21st, when George Bush signed into law a bill allowing Mrs Schiavos parents to
30、 appeal yet again to a federal court. But by then the courts, and two-thirds of Americans, thought that enough was enough. On March 24th the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.（分数：10.00）(1).The first paragraph implies that_.（分数：2.00）A.Terri Schiavo had a miserable childhoodB.Terri Schiavo had a
31、 vicious brother BobbyC.an accidental event indicates Terri Schiavos horrible endingD.Terri Schiavo is an unfortunate woman(2).In the sentence “More than that, it had become a box.“ ( Line 1, Para. 2 ) , “it“_.（分数：2.00）A.refers to Terri Schiavos lifeB.refers to Terri Schiavos bodyC.is used for empha
32、sisD.is used as anticipatory subject(3).Whats doctors opinion on Mrs Schiavos case?（分数：2.00）A.She is lifeless.B.She is conscious.C.She shows sign of life.D.Her brain shows the sign of life.(4).The cruel dilemmas of Schiavos case has in_.（分数：2.00）A.a heart attack in February 1990B.her brain deprived
33、of oxygen for five minutesC.an infection she caught 3 years laterD.the disagreement between her parents and her husband on her treatment(5).From the last paragraph we may infer that on Schiavos case_.（分数：2.00）A.the Florida court and the governor of Florida are in the same opinionB.George Bush stands
34、 on the side of Mrs Schiavos husbandC.two-thirds of Americans support Mrs Schiavos parentsD.the Supreme Court has the final sayBText 3/BBy the 1950s and 60s “going for Chinese“ had become part of the suburban vernacular. In places like New York City, eating Chinese food became intertwined with the t
35、raditions of other ethnic groups, especially that of Jewish immigrants. Many Jewish families faithfully visited their favorite Chinese restaurant every Sunday night. Among the menus in the exhibition are selections from Glatt Wok: Kosher Chinese Restaurant and Takeout in Monsey, N. Y. , and Wok Toy
36、in Cedarhurst, N. Y.Until 1965 Cantonese-speaking immigrants, mainly from the county of Toisan, dominated the industry and menus reflected a standard repertory of tasty but bland Americanizations of Cantonese dishes. But loosening immigration restrictions that year brought a flood of people from man
37、y different regions of China, starting “authenticity revolution,“ said Ed Schoenfeld, a restaurateur and Chinese food consultant.Top chefs who were trained in spicy and more unusual regional specialties, like Hunan and Sic hunan cooking, came to New York then, Mr. Schoenfeld said.President Richard M
38、. Nixons trip to China in 1972 awakened interest in the country and accounts of his meals helped whet diners appetites for new dishes. An illustration of a scowling Nixon with a pair of chopsticks glares down from the wall at the exhibition.Hunan and Sichuan restaurants in New York influenced the ta
39、ste of the whole country, Mr. Schoenfeld said. Dishes like General Tsos chicken and crispy orange beef caught on everywhere.But as with the Cantonese food before it, Mr. Schoenfeld said, the cooking degraded over time, as it became mass produced. Todays batter-fried, syrup-laden version of Chinese f
40、ood, he said, bears little resemblance to authentic cuisine.The real explosion of Chinese restaurants that made them ubiquitous came in the 1980s, said Betty Xie, editor of Chinese Restaurant News. “Now you see there are almost one or two Chinese restaurants in every town in the United States,“ she
41、said.There are signs that some have tired of Chinese food. A 2004 Zagat survey showed that its popularity has ebbed somewhat in New York City.But the journey of the Chinese restaurant remains the story of the American dream, as experienced by a constant but evolving stream of Chinese immigrants who
42、realized the potential of 12-hour days, borrowed capital and a willingness to cook whatever Americans wanted. Sales margins are tight, and wages are low.Restaurants are passed from one family member to the next, or sold by one Chinese family to another. Often a contingency written into Sales contrac
43、ts is that the previous owners train the new owners.“The competition in Chinese communities is cutthroat,“ Mr. Chen, the co-curator, said. “What people realize is you can make much, much better profit in places like Montana.“（分数：10.00）(1).From the first paragraph we know that by the 1950s and 60s Ch
44、inese food was a favorite of_.（分数：2.00）A.the suburban dwellersB.New YorkersC.ethnic immigrantsD.Jewish immigrants(2).What is the factor that contributes to “authenticity revolution“ ?（分数：2.00）A.The arrival of Cantonese-speaking immigrants.B.Bland Americanizations of Cantonese dishes.C.Relaxed contro
45、l over immigration restrictions.D.Great number of people from different regions of China(3).All the following helped the explosion of Chinese restaurants in the U. S. EXCEPT_.（分数：2.00）A.President Richard M. Nixons trip to ChinaB.Hunan and Sichuan dishesC.General Tsos chicken and crispy orange beefD.
46、Todays batter-fried, syrup-laden version of Chinese food(4).According to the author, Chinese food in New York City_.（分数：2.00）A.is on the declineB.remains the story of the American dreamC.serves stream of Chinese immigrantsD.supplies whatever Americans wanted(5).Judging from the context, “cutthroat“
47、in the last paragraph may be replaced by_.（分数：2.00）A.killerB.murdererC.very cruelD.dangerousBText 4/BIt vanished in 2002, a result of a bad fall. As my neurosurgeon explained, when my head hit the ground, my brain sloshed around, which smashed delicate nerve endings in my olfactory system. Maybe the
48、yll repair themselves, she said (in what struck me as much too casual a tone ), and maybe they wont, If I had to lose something, it might as well have been smell; at least nothing about my personality or my memory had changed, as can happen with head trauma. So it seemed almost churlish to feel, as the months went on, so devastated by this particular loss.But I was heartbroken. My sense of smell was always something I took pleasure in. Without scent, I felt as ff I were walking around the city without my contact lenses, dealing with people while wearing earplugs, moving thr
