1、考研英语-281 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)BDirections:/BRead the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on Answer Sheet 1.“We want Singapore to have the X-factor, that buzz that you get in London, Paris, or New York.“ That is h
2、ow Lee Hsien Loong, Singapores prime minister,U (1) /Uhis governments decision toU (2) /Ugambling in the country,U (3) /Utwo large, Vegas-style casinos. Whether the casinos will indeed help to transform Singapores staid image remains to be seen. But the decision bas alreadyU (4) /Uan uncharacteristi
3、c buzz among the countrys normallyU (5) /Ucitizens.The government has contemplated, and rejectedU (6) /Ucasinos several times in the past. One reason wasU (7) /USingapores economic growth was so rapid that casinos seemed like an unnecessary evil. Buddhism and Islam, two of the countrys main religion
4、s,U (8) /Uon gambling. The government itself has traditionally had strong, and oftenU (9) /U, ideas about how its citizens should behave. Until recently, for example, it refused toU (10) /Uhomosexuals to the civil service. It also used toU (11) /Uchewing gum, which it considers a public nuisance.Now
5、adays,U (12) /U, Singapores electronics industry, the mainstay of the economy, is struggling to cope with cheap competition from places like China. In the first quarter of this year, outputU (13) /Uby 5.8% at an annual rate. So the government wants lo promote tourism and other services toU (14) /Ufo
6、r vanishing jobs in manufacturing.Merrill Lynch, an investment bank,U (15) /Uthe two proposed casinos couldU (16) /Uin as much as $4 billion in the initial investment alone.U (17) /Uits estimates, they would have annual revenues ofU (18) /U$3.6 billion, and pay at least $600 million in taxes and fee
7、s. The government, for its part, thinks the integratedU (19) /U, as it coyly calls the casinos, wouldU (20) /Uas many as 35,000 jobs.（分数：10.00）A.claimedB.maintainedC.announcedD.pronouncedA.draftB.illegalizeC.deviseD.legalizeA.in the name ofB.in the form oC.by the means ofD.in the need ofA.promptedB.
8、quickenedC.perceivedD.predictedA.coolB.calmC.collectedD.quiescentA.licensingB.approvingC.consentingD.guaranteeingA.whyB.thatC.becauseD.forA.relyB.focusC.frownD.fretA.mortalB.moralC.moraleD.moralisticA.giveB.admitC.bringD.takeA.banB.preventC.limitD.authorizeA.thereforeB.howeverC.moreoverD.accordingly
9、A.deflatedB.increasedC.shrankD.appreciatedA.make upB.live upC.face upD.bring upA.includesB.advisesC.beckonsD.reckonsA.turnB.absorbC.bringD.takeA.Due toB.According toC.As toD.Only tooA.up toB.byC.down toD.on toA.waysB.functionsC.resortsD.movesA.stimulateB.motivateC.simulateD.generate二、BSection Readi(
10、总题数：4，分数：40.00)BPart A/BBDirections:/BRead the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on Answer Sheet 1.BText 1/BUntil recently, the main villains of the piece had seemed to be the teachers unions, who have opposed any sort of reform or
11、 accountability. Now they face competition from an unexpectedly destructive force: the court. Fifty years ago, it was the judges who forced the schools to desegregate through Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Now the courts have moved from broad principles to micromanagement, telling schools how m
12、uch money to spend and where - right down to the correct computer or textbook.Twenty four states are currently Stuck in various court cases to do with financing school systems, and another 21 have only recently settled various suits. Most will start again soon. Only five states have avoided litigati
13、on entirely.Nothing exemplifies the power of the courts better than an 11-year-old case that is due to be settled (sort of) in New York City, the home of Americas biggest school system with 1. lm students and a budget nearing $13 billion. At the end of this month, three elderly members of the New Yo
14、rk bar serving as judicial referees are due to rule in a case brought By the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, a leftish advocacy group, against the state of New York: they will decide how much more must Be spent to provide every New York City pupil with a “sound basic“ education.Rare is the politician wi
15、lling to argue that more money for schools is a bad thing. But are the courts doing any good? Two suspicions arise. First, judges are making a lazy assumption that more money means better schools. As the international results show, the link between “inputs“ and “outputs“ is vague-something well docu
16、mented by, among others, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York. Second, the courts are muddling an already muddled system. Over time, they have generally made it harder to get rid of disruptive pupils and bad teachers.The current case could be even worse. The courts have already said
17、that, in order to determine the necessary spending, they may consider everything from class size to the availability of computers, textbooks and even pencils. This degree of intervention is all the more scandalous because the courts have weirdly decided to ignore another set of “inputs“-the archaic
18、work practices of school teachers and janitors. David Schoenbrod and Ross Sandier of New York Law School reckon the demands of the court will simply undermine reform and transform an expensive failure into a more expensive one.And of course, the litigation never ends. Kentucky, for example, is still
19、 in court 16 years after the first decision. A lawsuit first filed against New Jersey for its funding of schools in 1981 was “decided“ four years later-but it has returned to the court nine times since, including early this year, with each decision pushing the court deeper into the management of the
20、 states schools. Bad iudges are even harder to boot out of school than bad pupils.（分数：10.00）(1).The author seems to believe that _.（分数：2.00）A.the courts intervention of the school micromanagement is undesirableB.it is inappropriate for the courts to shift from 15rinciples to daily managementC.teache
21、rs used to support the school reform and assume the responsibilityD.schools were usually at a loss how and where to spend their money(2).The third paragraph is intended mainly to _.（分数：2.00）A.reveal the problems in the American school systemB.show the importance of the case against New York stateC.e
22、xemplify the value of a “sound basic“ educationD.indicate the courts power over the school management(3).Senator D. P. Moynihan would probably agree that _.（分数：2.00）A.more money for schools will damage the further advancementB.better schools will not necessarily result from more moneyC.the relations
23、hip between input and output is widely ignoredD.politicians argue against more money for the schools(4).“Inputs“ as used in the text refer to all of the following Except _.（分数：2.00）A.money budget for the schoolB.teaching practices of teachersC.computers and textbooksD.performance of school janitors(
24、5).What does the lawsuit filed against New Jersey indicate?（分数：2.00）A.Such lawsuits usually stay undecided for an extremely long time.B.Bad judges intend to render the school management a total chaos.C.The courts get more involved into school routine as the lawsuits last.D.The lawsuits are always de
25、eply combined with the funding of schools.BText 2/BIn recent years, Microsoft has focused on three big tasks: building robust security into its software, resolving numerous antitrust complaints against it and upgrading its Windows operating system. These three tasks are now starting to collide.On Au
26、gust 27th the firm said that the successor to its Windows XP operating system, code-named Longhorn, will go on sale in 2007 without one of its most impressive features, a technique to integrate elaborate search capabilities into nearly all desktop applications. (On the bright side, Longhorn will con
27、tain advances in rendering images and enabling different computing platforms to exchange data directly between applications. ) It is a big setback for Microsoft, which considers search technology a pillar of its future growth -not least as it competes against Google.The firms focus on security champ
28、ioned by Bill Gates himself-took resources away from Longhorn, admits Greg Sullivan, a lead product manager in the Windows client division. Programmers have been fixing Windows XP rather than working on Longhorn. In mid- August, Microsoft released Service Pack 2, a huge set of free software patches
29、and enhancements to make Windows XP more secure. Though some of the fixes turned out to have vulnerabilities of their own, the patches have mostly been welcomed. Microsofts decision to forgo new features in return for better security is one that most computer users will probably applaud.Yet ironical
30、ly, as Microsoft slowly improves the security of its products-by, for instance, incorporating firewall technology, anti-virus systems and spam filters its actions increasingly start to resemble those that, in the past, have got the firm into trouble with regulators. Is security software an “adjacent
31、 software market“, in which case Microsoft may be leveraging its dominance of the operating system into it? Integrating security products into Windows might be considered “bundling“ which, with regard to web browsing, so excited Americas trustbusters in the 1990s. And building security directly into
32、 the operating system seems a lot like “commingling“ software code, on which basis the European Commission ruled earlier this year that Microsoft abused its market power through the Windows Media Player. Microsoft is appealing against that decision, and on September 30th it will argue for a suspensi
33、on of the commissions remedies, such as the requirement that it license its code to rivals.Just last month, the European Unions competition directorate began an investigation into Microsoft and Time Warner, a large media firm, on the grounds that their proposed joint acquisition of ContentGuard, a s
34、oftware firm whose products protect digital media files, might provide Microsoft with, undue market power over digital media standards. The commission will rule by January 2005. Microsoft, it seems, in security as elsewhere, is going to have to get used to being punished for its success. Its Windows
35、 monopoly lets it enjoy excessive profits but the resulting monoculture makes it an obvious target for viruses and regulators alike.（分数：10.00）(1).That Microsofts three tasks are colliding is reflected in the fact that _.（分数：2.00）A.the new operating system will be marketed at a discountB.search will
36、be removed from the new operating systemC.all search capabilities will be combined into the desktopD.images and data will be exchanged more directly(2).It is implied in the third paragraph that _.（分数：2.00）A.computer users care a lot about the security of the operating systemB.programmers are disappo
37、inted about the shift of the firms focusC.more resources are being engaged in the development of LonghornD.patches and enhancements are perfect and popular with the users(3).The ironical point is that Microsofts improvement of security（分数：2.00）A.is getting along at a pace dissatisfying to regulators
38、B.brings itself a total control over the operating systemC.will lead to European Commissions stricter licenceD.may be accused of abusing its dominance of the market(4).Which of the following does not belong to the “regulators“ (Para. 4, Line 4)?（分数：2.00）A.“European Commission“.B.“EUs competition dir
39、ectorate“.C.“ContentGuard.D.“Americas trusthusters.(5).It can be concluded from the text that _.（分数：2.00）A.viruses and regulators are invariably aimed at WindowsB.Microsoft both benefits and suffers from its huge successC.European Unions inquiry into the acquisition is ungroundedD.punishments impose
40、d on Windows are mostly justifiedBText 3/BThe Inland Revenue on Thursday accused the British film industry of abusing government aid, with every production of recent years deliberately over-claiming tax relief.Revenue officials called in about 20 members of the film industry and warned them of sever
41、e consequences if the “exploitation“ of tax-relief schemes did not immediately stop.The move, which affects the including low to high-budget film-makers and financiers, is the latest in a series of attempts by the Revenue to clamp down on tax loopholes in an attempt to raise more money for the Exche
42、quer,But the film industry responded on Thursday night, saying the Revenue could drive productions overseas and would confuse investors.A series of tax relief schemes, introduced in 1997, enables those involved in the financing of qualifying British-made films to claim the costs of production agains
43、t future income. The schemes have Become popular with investors seeking a tax shelter, with an estimated 400m invested in the schemes in 1997 rising to about 2bn last year.But the Revenue said the industry was exploiting rules on tax relief by “double dipping“, that is, by claiming relief more than
44、once against a single piece of expenditure. While not illegal, the Revenue said, the industry was “not playing fair“. It said double-dipping was “against the spirit“ of legislation designed to encourage investment in the British film industry.The Revenue said the practice of double dipping was “virt
45、ually universal“, with “every qualifying film it had seen financed on the basis of double dipping“. It warned it would “take all steps to counter such abuse including, where necessary, advising ministers on introducing legislation to put matters beyond doubt“.“Both the Revenue and the government are
46、 becoming increasingly exasperated at the extent to which some parts of the industry are exploiting the film reliefs,“ the Revenue said. “The government remains committed to encouraging film production in the UK through use of the reliefs in the way in which the legislation allows-but this does not
47、extend to deliberate exploitation of those reliefs.“Large film financiers said on Thursday night that the Revenues action could undermine growth prospects for the British film industry.Peter James, managing director of Movision Entertainment, which has produced 16 British-made films in recent years,
48、 including the soon-to-be released “Merchant of Venice“, said while the effect of the Revenues clamp down would not Be “devastating“, it could drive many independent film-makers overseas.Industry observers said on Thursday the Revenues move was likely to confuse investors, who have been accustomed t
49、o the benefits of double-dipping.（分数：10.00）(1).We can learn from the first three paragraphs that _.（分数：2.00）A.film-makers turn to the government for financial helpB.several actions have been taken to stop tax evasionC.officials have phoned up many film makers to protestD.more tax relief is needed to
