1、考研英语-试卷 217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）_The (1)_ of the fluorescent tube (2)_ a major revolution in the development of better
2、and cheaper lighting. First shown at the New York and San Francisco World (3)_ in 1939, this more efficient, more diffuse, longer-lived lamp has been (4)_ improved, so that slowly it (5)_ the supremacy of the incandescent household globe. The fluorescent tube (6)_ Australian homes, shops and factori
3、es today is seven or eight times (7)_ the tubes that brought shadow-free lighting to many of Britain“s wartime factories. Its (8)_ too, is much greaterfrom 2,000 hours in 1940 to mc/re than 7, 500 hours today. But (9)_ its (10)_ use for more than 30 years, the fluorescent tube remains a (11)_ to man
4、y of its users. It is built (12)_ a completely different (13)_ from the incandescent light. In the incandescent bulb, a tungsten wire (14)_ than a human hair, is brought to white-hot temperature by passing an electric (15)_ through it. In the fluorescent tube a stream of electrons bombards a gas con
5、taining mercury, (16)_ invisible ultraviolet radiation. The ultraviolet rays hit the fluorescent coating that (17)_ the tube, (18)_ it to grow. A 40 watt fluorescent tube gives twice as much light as a 100.watt tungsten globe, (19)_ about five times as long, and runs cool enough to (20)_ higher leve
6、ls of light.（分数：40.00）A.discoveryB.inventionC.conventionD.creationA.brought inB.brought forC.brought aboutD.brought aroundA.MarketsB.AffairsC.CentersD.FairsA.constantlyB.consistentlyC.permanentlyD.instantlyA.changesB.gainsC.challengesD.lungesA.lightingB.lightedC.litD.lighteningA.more efficient asB.s
7、o efficient thanC.so efficient asD.as efficient asA.lifelineB.lifeworkC.lifespanD.lifeguardA.despiteB.besidesC.exceptD.owing toA.longB.extensiveC.exquisiteD.extremeA.mythB.legendC.secretD.mysteryA.onB.byC.withD.fromA.basisB.principleC.ideaD.thesisA.nicerB.thinnerC.finerD.betterA.currentB.streamC.flo
8、wD.flightA.leading toB.resulting fromC.resulting inD.bringing inA.linesB.darkensC.protectsD.brightensA.makingB.makesC.causesD.causingA.survivesB.remainsC.lastsD.continuesA.allowB.permitC.rejectD.absorb二、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：10，分数：58.00)2.Section II Reading Comprehension_3.Part ADirections: Read
9、the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D._The word conservation has a thrifty(节俭) meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea
10、the human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials; most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless“ and “inexhaustible“. Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate s
11、ystem that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others. Fifty years ago nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; timber was still cheap because it cou
12、ld be bought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems and nobody had yet studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word “conservation“ had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today. For the sake of our
13、selves and those who will come after us, we must now set about repairing the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation“ should, therefore, be made a part of everyone“s daily life. To know about the water table in the ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic arithmetic formulas.
14、We need to know why all watersheds need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to yield their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to kn
15、ow the importance of big, mature trees, because living space for most of man“s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic volume above the earth. In brief, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.（分数：
16、10.00）(1).The author“s attitude towards the current situation in the exploitation of natural resources is_（分数：2.00）A.positiveB.neutralC.suspiciousD.critical(2).According to the author, the greatest mistake of our forefathers was that_（分数：2.00）A.they had no idea about scientific forestryB.they had li
17、ttle or no sense of environmental protectionC.they were not aware of the significance of nature studyD.they had no idea of how to make good use of raw materials(3).It can be inferred from the passage that earlier generations didn“t realize_（分数：2.00）A.the interdependence of water, soils and living th
18、ingsB.the importance of the proper land useC.the harmfulness of soil destruction and river floodsD.the extraordinary rapid growth of population(4).With a view to correcting the mistakes of our forefathers, the author suggests that_（分数：2.00）A.we plant more treesB.we be taught environmental science, a
19、s well as the science of plantsC.environmental education be directed toward everyoneD.we return to nature(5).What does the author imply by saying “living space, is figured, also in cubic volume_above the earth“(in para 3)?（分数：2.00）A.Our living space on the earth is getting smaller and smallerB.Our l
20、iving space should be measured in cubic volumeC.We need to take some measures to protect spaceD.We must create better living conditions for both birds and animalsTraffic statistics paint a gloomy picture. To help solve their traffic woes, some rapidly growing U.S. cities have simply built more roads
21、. But traffic experts say building more roads is a quirk-fix solution that will not alleviate the traffic problem in the long run. Soaring land costs, increasing concern over social and environmental disruptions caused by road-building, and the likelihood that more roads can only lead to more cars a
22、nd traffic are powerful factors bearing do you a 1950s-style construction program. The goal of smart-highway technology is to make traffic systems work at optimum efficiency by, treating the road and the vehicles traveling on them as an integral transportation system. Proponents of this advanced tec
23、hnology say electronic detection systems, closed-circuit television, radio communication, ramp metering, variable message signing, and other smart-highway technology can now be used at a reasonable cost to improve communication between drivers and the people who monitor traffic. Pathfinder, a Santa
24、Monica, California-based smart-highway project in which a 14-mile stretch of the Santa Monica Freeway, making up what is called a “smart corridor“, is being instrumented with buried loops in the pavement. Closed-circuit television cameras survey the flow of traffic, while communications linked to pr
25、operly equipped automobiles advise motorists of the least congested routes or detours. Not all traffic experts, l however, look to smart-highway technology as the ultimate solution to traffic gridlock. Some say the high-tech approach is limited and can only offer temporary solutions to a serious pro
26、blem. “Electronics on the highway addresses just one aspect of the problem: how to regulate traffic more efficiently,“ explains Michael Renner, senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute. “It doesn“t deal with the central problem of too many cars for roads that can“t be built fast enough. It send
27、s people the wrong message. They start thinking. Yes, there used to be a traffic congestion problem, but that“s been solved now because we have an advanced high-tech system in place. Larson agrees and adds, Smart highways is just one of the tools that we will use to deal with our traffic problems. I
28、t“s not the solution itself, just part of the package. There are different strategies.“ Other traffic problem-solving options being studied and experimented with include car pooling, rapid mass-transit systems, staggered or flexible work hours, and road pricing, a system whereby motorists pay a cert
29、ain amount for the time they use a highway. It seems that we need a new, major thrust to deal with the traffic problems of the next 20 years. There has to be a big change.（分数：10.00）(1).What is the appropriate title for the passage?_（分数：2.00）A.Smart Highway ProjectsThe Ultimate Solution to Traffic Co
30、ngestionB.A Quick Fix Solution for the Traffic ProblemsC.A Venture to Remedy Traffic WoesD.Highways Get SmartPart of the Package to Relieve Traffic Gridlock(2).The compound word “quick-fix“ in Paragraph 1, Sentence 3 is the closest in meaning to_（分数：2.00）A.an optimal solutionB.an expedient solutionC
31、.a ready solutionD.an efficient solution(3).According to the passage, the smart highway technology is aimed to_（分数：2.00）A.deploy sophisticated facilities on the interstate highwaysB.provide passenger vehicles with a variety of servicesC.optimize the highway capabilitiesD.improve communication betwee
32、n driver and the traffic monitors(4).According to Larson, to redress the traffic problem_（分数：2.00）A.car pooling must be studiedB.rapid mass-transit systems must be introducedC.flexible work hours, must be experimentedD.overall strategies must be coordinated(5).Which of the following best describes t
33、he organization of the whole passage?_（分数：2.00）A.Two contrasting views of a problem are presentedB.A problem is examined and complementary solutions are proposed or offeredC.Latest developments are outlined in order of importanceD.An innovation is explained with its importance emphasizedThe case for
34、 college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. All high school graduates ought to go, says conventional wisdom and statistical evidence, because college will help them earn more money, become “better“ people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don“t go.
35、 But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone. And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending, those who don“t fit the pattern are becoming more numerous, and more obvious. College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis; college students interfere with ea
36、ch other“s experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school. Others find no stimulation in their studies, and drop outoften encouraged by college administrators. Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselvesthey are
37、spoiled and they are expecting too much. But that“s a c6ndemnation of the students as a whole, and doesn“t explain all campus unhappiness. Others blame the state of the world, and they are partly right. We“ve been, told that young people have to go to college because our economy can“t absorb an army
38、 of untrained eighteen-year-olds either. Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best, the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school. We may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics
39、 upside down, it seems, and through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences. Perhaps college doesn“t make people intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, or quick to learn thingsmaybe it“s just the other way around“, and intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, quick-learning people ar
40、e merely the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place. And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not. This is heresy to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good, more h
41、as to be much better. But contrary evidence is beginning to mount up.（分数：10.00）(1).What does the author believe according to the passage?_（分数：2.00）A.People used to question the value of college educationB.People used to have full confidence in higher educationC.All high school graduates went to coll
42、egeD.Very few high school graduates chose to go to college(2).In the second paragraph, “those who don“t fit the pattern“ refers to_（分数：2.00）A.high school graduates who aren“t suitable for college educationB.college graduates who are selling shoes and driving taxisC.college students who aren“t any be
43、tter for their higher educationD.high school graduates who failed to be admitted to college(3).Why does the drop-out rate of college students seem to go up?_（分数：2.00）A.Young people are disappointed with the conventional way of teaching at collegeB.Many young people are required to join the armyC.You
44、ng people have little motivation in pursuing a higher educationD.Young people don“t like the intense competition for admission to graduate school(4).According to the passage, the problems of college education partly arise from the fact that_（分数：2.00）A.society cannot provide enough jobs for properly
45、trained college graduatesB.high school graduates do not fit the pattern of college educationC.too many students have to earn their own livingD.college administrators encourage students to drop out(5).In this passage the author argues that_（分数：2.00）A.more and more evidence shows college education may
46、 not be the best thing for high schoo graduatesB.college education is not enough if one wants to be successfuC.college education benefits only the intelligent, ambitious, and quick-leaning peopleD.intelligent people may learn quicker if they don“t go to collegeThere are two types of people in the wo
47、rld. Although they have equal degrees of health and wealth and the other comforts of “life, one becomes happy, the other becomes miserable. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons and events, and the resulting effects upon their minds. The people who are to be happ
48、y fix their attention on the conveniences of things, the pleasant parts of conversation, the well-prepared dishes, the goodness of the wines, the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the contrary things. Therefore, they are continually, discontented. By their remarks, they sour the pleasures of society, offend many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind were founded in
