1、考研英语-试卷 20 及答案解析(总分：142.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Use of English(总题数：2，分数：80.00)1.Section I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D.（分数：40.00）_These are tough times for Wal-Mart, America“s biggest retailer. Long accused of (1)_ s
2、mall-town America mad condemned for the selfishness of its pay, the company has lately come under (2)_ for its meanness over employees“ health-care benefits. The charge is arguably (3)_: the firm“s health coverage, while (4)_ less extensive than the average for big companies, is on equal terms (5)_
3、other retailers“. But bad publicity, coupled with rising costs, has (6)_ the Bentonville giant to action. WalMart is making changes that should shift the ground in America“s healthcare debate. One (7)_ is to reduce the prices of many generic, or out-of-patent, prescription drugs. Wal-Mart“s critics
4、dismiss the move as a publicity (8)_. The list of drugs includes only 143 different medicines and excludes many popular group. True, but short-sighted. Wal-Mart has (9)_ retailing by using its size to squeeze suppliers and (10)_ the gains on to consumers. It could (11)_ the same with drugs. A “Wal-M
5、art effect“ in drugs will not solve America“s health-costs problem: group account for only a small share of drug costs, which in turn make (12)_ only 10% of overall health spending. But it would (13)_. The firm“s other initiative is more (14)_. Wal-Mart is joining the small but fast-growing group of
6、 employers (15)_ are controlling costs by shifting to health insurance with high deductibles. Early evidence (16)_ these plans do help firms control the cost of health insurance. But critics say that the savings are (17)_. They argue that the plans shift costs to sicker workers, discourage preventat
7、ive care and will anyway do little to (18)_ overall health spending, (19)_ most of the $2 trillion that America (20)_ health care each year goes to people with multiple chronic diseases.（分数：40.00）A.wreckedB.wrecksC.wreckD.wreckingA.dismissionB.fireC.forceD.agitationA.illegalB.unfairC.unreasonableD.i
8、ncorrectA.usuallyB.admittedlyC.obviouslyD.speciallyA.withB.toC.ofD.byA.causedB.expelledC.stirredD.raisedA.problemB.managementC.intrigueD.strategyA.demonstrationB.cheatC.attentionD.stuntA.transformedB.translatedC.transportedD.transactedA.passesB.passedC.passingD.passA.makeB.doC.getD.formA.forB.intoC.
9、outD.upA.receiveB.solveC.fitD.helpA.considerableB.principalC.controversialD.availableA.whoB.whichC.whatD.whereA.suggestsB.proposesC.remindsD.explainsA.interestingB.misleadingC.expressingD.illustratingA.organizeB.regulateC.verifyD.controlA.sinceB.thenC.whenD.because ofA.hangs onB.takes onC.spends onD
10、.goes on二、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：10，分数：58.00)2.Section II Reading Comprehension_3.Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D._Whoever said that victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan, surely had never heard of the World
11、Trade Organization (WTO). In the case of the hapless multilateral trade body and its long suffering representatives, the total failure of the opening meeting of the so called Millennium trade round has lots of people boasting of their roles in the violent physical struggle. Well. That“s just brillia
12、nt. They are proud of being part of a movement that wants to wreck the most important engine of economic growth, prosperity and overall global rising living standards we havethe freedom of trade and movement of people and goods between nations. The 135-member WTO is composed of sovereign governments
13、 wishing to further this goal and ease the settlement of international trade disputes. From the sounds emanating from Seattle, though, it would now seem the WTO has now replaced the Trilateral Commission and the Freemasons as candidate No. 1 to take over the World. Everybody has his favorite Seattle
14、 story. The city“s police chief will have plenty of time to think about his, having now resigned in disgrace over the loss of control of downtown Seattle. The Seattle business community may be more inclined to brood over theirsthe poor fools invested $9 million to attract the meeting to their fine c
15、ity. What stands out more? I would nominate the union of steel workers who were marching in protest. It“s an image that will boggle the mind for years to come. The debate now is over just how effective this anti-globalist coalition will turn out to be. In the heat of the moment, it always looks as t
16、hough the world as we know it is coming to an end. But the overwhelming likelihood is that we have not actually seen a replay of the anti Vietnam War movement, which had much clearer focus, obviously, though its consequences were far-reaching. How long, after all, can you protest against cheap impor
17、ts when those same imports are all over your house? No, the real reason for the disaster in Seattle is political, and reports coming out of the meeting point to President Clinton as a major culprit, which may be both good and bad. Taking the long view, other trade rounds have had difficult beginning
18、s, too. It took years to get the Uruguay Round under way, which finally happened in 1986. Thankfully, we will soon be electing another president, and it should be someone whose actions match his rhetoric. Still, it is a disgrace that the world“s greatest trading nation, i.e. the United States, is cu
19、rrently led by a man whose motivations are so narrowly political and egocentric that he has now wrecked any chance of entering the history books as a champion of free trade.（分数：10.00）(1).The statement “victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan“ (Para. 1) is used to introduce _.（分数：2.00）A.the
20、victory of suffering representatives.B.the failure of WTO“s opening meeting.C.the role of international free trade.D.the dynamics of economic growth.(2).It is implied in the first sentence that the failure of Millennium trade round could be attributed to _.（分数：2.00）A.factors other than a movement.B.
21、violent labor disputes.C.mislead political motivations.D.troubled trade unions.(3).By saying that “It“s an image that will boggle the mind for years to come“, (Paragraph 3) the author means that the debate in Seattle proves to be _.（分数：2.00）A.dubiously-oriented.B.quite transient.C.self-contradictory
22、.D.fairly consequential.(4).The author is obviously critical of President Clinton for _.（分数：2.00）A.his failure to match his words with his actions.B.his lack of historical knowledge about the WTO.C.his putting the issue in a wrong perspective.D.his exaggeration of WTO“s economic role.(5).From the te
23、xt we can see that the writer seems _.（分数：2.00）A.optimistic.B.gloomy.C.disgraced.D.proud.“Popular art“ has a number of meanings, impossible to define with any precision, which range from folklore to junk. The poles are clear enough, but the middle tends to blur. The Hollywood Western of the 1930“s f
24、or example, has elements of folklore, but is closer to junk than to high art or folk art. There can be great trash, just as there is bad high art. The musicals of George Gershwin are great popular art, never aspiring to high art. Schubert and Brahms, however, used elements of popular musicfolk theme
25、sin works clearly intended as high art. The case of Verdi is a different one: he took a popular genre-bourgeois melodrama set to music (an accurate definition of nineteenth-century opera) and, without altering its fundamental nature, transmuted it into high art. This remains one of the greatest achi
26、evements in music, and one that cannot be fully appreciated without recognizing the essential trashiness of the genre. As an example of such a transmutation, consider what Verdi made of the typical political elements of nineteenth-century opera. Generally in the plots of these operas, a hero or hero
27、ineusually portrayed only as an individual, unfettered by classis caught between the immoral corruption of the aristocracy and the doctrinaire rigidity or secret greed of the leaders of the proletariat. Verdi transforms this naive and unlikely formulation with music of extraordinary energy and rhyth
28、mic vitality, music more subtle than it seems at first hearing. There are scenes and arias that still sound like calls to arms and were clearly understood as such when they were first performed. Such pieces lend an immediacy to the otherwise veiled political message of these operas and call up feeli
29、ngs beyond those of the opera itself. Or consider Verdi“s treatment of character. Before Verdi, there were rarely any characters at all in musical drama, only a series of situations which allowed the singers to express a series of emotional states. Any attempt to find coherent psychological portraya
30、l in these operas is misplaced ingenuity. The only coherence was the singer“s vocal technique: when the cast changed, new arias were almost always substituted, generally adapted from other operas. Verdi“s characters, on the other hand, have genuine consistency and integrity. Even if, in many cases,
31、the consistency is that of pasteboard melodrama, the integrity of the character is achieved through the music: once he had become established. Verdi did not rewrite his music for different singers or countenance alterations or substitutions of somebody else“s arias in one of his operas, as every eig
32、hteenth-century composer had done. When he revised an opera, it was only for dramatic economy and effectiveness.（分数：10.00）(1).This passage is mainly _.（分数：2.00）A.a survey of drama music.B.about the elements in popular music.C.a review of popular art.D.about dramatic economy and effectiveness.(2).The
33、 writer asserts that the definition of popular art is _.（分数：2.00）A.quite accurate.B.rather elusive.C.fairly clear.D.very dubious.(3).it can be inferred from the text that the achievements by Verdi _.（分数：2.00）A.are too subtle to recognize.B.defy any precise definition.C.are the envy of his times.D.ea
34、rn him great reputation.(4).The writer mentions the political elements in 19th century opera to illustrate _.（分数：2.00）A.the political messages exposed.B.the universal recognition of high art.C.the intended changes in popular art.D.heroes“ and heroines“ mental states.(5).According to the text, Verdi“
35、s creative treatment of characters is performed through _.（分数：2.00）A.his frequent re-writing of an opera.B.his coherent psychological portrayal.C.his consistent aspiration to high art.D.his effective maneuvers of music.Biologically, there is only one quality which distinguishes us from animals: the
36、ability to laugh. In a universe which appears to be utterly devoid of humor, we enjoy this supreme luxury. And it is a luxury, for unlike any other bodily process, laughter does not seem serve a biologically useful purpose. In a divided world, a laughter is a unifying force. Human beings oppose each
37、 other on a great many issues. Nations may disagree about systems of government and human relations may be plagued by ideological factions and political camps, but we all share the ability to laugh. And laughter, in turn, depends on the most complex and subtle of all-human qualities: a sense of humo
38、r. Certain comic stereotypes have a universal appeal. This can best be seen from the world-wide popularity of Charlie Chaplain“s early films. The little man at odds with society never fails to amuse no matter which country we come from. As that great commentator on human affairs, Dr. Samuel Johnson,
39、 once remarked, “Men have been wise in very different modes; but they have always laughed in the same way“. A sense of humor may take various forms and laughter may be anything from refined tinkle to an earthquaking roar, but the effect is always the same. Humor helps us to maintain a correct sense
40、of values. It is the one quality which political fanatics appear to lack. If we can see the funny side, we never make the mistake of taking ourselves too seriously. We are always reminded that tragedy is not really far removed from comedy, so we never get a lopsided view of things. This is one of th
41、e chief functions of satire and irony. Human pain and suffering are so grim; we hover so often on the brink of war, political realities are usually enough to plunge us into total despair. In such circumstances, cartoons and satirical accounts of somber political events redress the balance. They take
42、 the wind out of pompous and arrogant politicians who have lost their sense of proportion. They enable us to see that many of our most profound actions are merely comic or absurd. We laugh when a great satirist like Swift writes about wars in Gulliver“s Travels. The Lilliputians and their neighbors
43、attack each other because they can“t agree which end to break an egg. We laugh because we are meant to laugh; hut we are meant to weep too. It is no wonder that in totalitarian regimes any satire against the Establishment is wholly banned. It is too powerful weapon to be allowed to flourish. The sen
44、se of humor must be singled out as man“s most important quality because it is associated with laughter. And laughter, in turn, is associated with happiness. Courage, determination, initiativethese are qualities we share with other forms of life. But the sense of humor is an unique human quality. If
45、happiness is one of the great goals of life, then it is the sense of humor that provides the key.（分数：10.00）(1).The author quotes Dr. Samuel Johnson“s words to _.（分数：2.00）A.spotlight the unifying force of a sense of humor.B.stress the harmony between individuals and society.C.highlight the incomparab
46、le luxury of humor.D.show the distinction between humans and animals.(2).According to the author, “political fanatics“ (Para. 2) more often than not fall victim to _.（分数：2.00）A.political realities.B.wild illusions.C.adverse comments.D.noble qualities.(3).According to the 4th paragraph, what interest
47、s the author is that some politicians fail to _.（分数：2.00）A.perceive the value of humor.B.gain a correct sense of values.C.distinguish comedy from tragedy.D.realize dangers of hypocrisy.(4).To which of the following is the author likely to agree?（分数：2.00）A.Government agencies are often an inappropria
48、te subject for humor.B.A sense of humor inevitably prompts us to take ourselves seriously.C.Many issues on trivialities may arise for lack of a sense of humor.D.The pursuit for happiness is one of the greatest goals in our life.(5).The best title for the text may be _.（分数：2.00）A.Various functions of humor.B.Develop all-human qualities.C.Different solutions to conflicts.D.Make use of humor wisely.The housing market has been for two years propping up consumers“ spirits whil
