1、考研英语-试卷 239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）_Are women really advancing? In Africa, HIV/AIDS has set them back, while in India, pre
2、gnant women (1)_ prefer boys they abort half a million females a year. And in Britain, which saw a (2)_ female prime minister during the 1980s, a report by the nation“s Equal Opportunities Commission says gender equality in public life is “decades away“. (3)_ about 10% of senior positions in large c
3、ompanies and law enforcement are held by women, while the (4)_ for women in Parliament is so slow that equality may (5)_ a couple centuries. In Britain, as in America, there“s a (6)_ that discrimination plays (7)_ of a role in women“s progress in public life as more women stay in favor of motherhood
4、 (8)_ careers in what“s called “choice feminism“. These “choices“, however, are often (9)_.by the high cost of day care or its unavailability. In Japan, (10)_ discrimination against women still remains strong, (11)_ a 1985 law against it. But now that nation, with its low birth rate, faces a labor (
5、12)_ as it ages rapidly, and the government is (13)_ new measures to encourage mothers to return to work after childbirth. The new measures (14)_ more work flexibility for such returning workers, (15)_ day care, and support women entrepreneurs. The Arab world has only recently begun to recognize the
6、 untapped potential of women as leaders. Iraq“s new Constitution required every (16)_ candidate in the recent election to be a woman and that its parliament be 25 percent female. (17)_ the charter also gives a (18)_ role to Islam in writing new laws. (19)_ many measures, from politics to poverty, wo
7、men still have a long way to go toward equality and (20)_.（分数：40.00）A.suchB.soC.tooD.hardlyA.qualifiedB.effectiveC.powerfulD.potentA.OnlyB.SimplyC.JustD.MerelyA.paceB.stepC.pathD.courseA.spendB.costC.takeD.consumeA.recognitionB.intelligenceC.rationalityD.commonsenseA.fewerB.lessC.lowerD.smallerA.tha
8、nB.forC.overD.againstA.indicatedB.predictedC.depictedD.dictatedA.workingB.workforceC.workfareD.workplaceA.thoughB.despiteC.insteadD.exceptA.shortageB.absenceC.deficitD.lackA.puttingB.pushingC.pullingD.haulingA.grantB.permitC.accordD.awardA.advanceB.progressC.developD.improveA.tripleB.threeC.thirdD.t
9、hreefoldA.AndB.EvenC.BesidesD.ButA.primaryB.preliminaryC.directD.primitiveA.ToB.ByC.ForD.WithA.improvementB.enlargementC.enlightenmentD.enhancement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 e
10、ach text by choosing A, B, C or D._Improving the balance between the working part of the day and the rest of it is a goal of a growing number of workers in rich Western countries. Some are turning away from the ideals of their parents, for whom work always came first; others with scarce skills are d
11、emanding more because they know they can get it. Employers, Caught between a falling population of workers and tight controls on immigration, are eager to identify extra perks that will lure more “talent“ their way. Just now they are focusing on benefits (especially flexible working) that offer empl
12、oyees more than just pay. Some companies saw the change of mood some time ago. IBM has more than 50 different programmes promoting work-life balance and Bank of America over 30. But plenty of other firms remain unconvinced and many lack the capacity to cater to such ideas even if they wanted to. Hel
13、en Muftis, with Hay Group, a human-resources consultancy, sees a widening gap between firms “at the creative end of employment“ and those that are not. The chief component of almost all schemes to promote work-life balance is flexible working. This allows people to escape rigid nine-to-five schedule
14、s and work away from a formal office. IBM says that 40% of its employees today work off the company premises. For many businesses, flexible working is a necessity. Globalization has spread the hours in which workers need to communicate with each other and increased the call for flexible shifts. Nell
15、a Barkley, an American who advises companies on work-life balance, says that large firms ale beginning to understand the value of such schemes, “but only slowly“. For most of them, they still mean little more than child care, health care and flexible working. To some extent, the proliferation of wor
16、k-life-balance schemes is a function of today“s labour market. Companies in knowledge, based industries worry about the shortage of skills and how they are going to persuade talented people to work for them. Although white-collar workers are more likely to be laid off nowadays, they are also likely
17、to get rehired. Unemployment among college graduates in America is just over 2%. The same competition for scarce. talent is evident in Britain. For some time to come, talented people in the West will demand more from employers, and clever employers will create new gewgaws to entice them to join. Tho
18、se employers should note that for a growing number of these workers the most appealing gewgaw of all is the freedom to work as and when they please.（分数：10.00）(1).Employees are demanding more from their employers because（分数：2.00）A.they always put their work as the first thing in life.B.they are pursu
19、ing a more balanced lifestyle.C.they are equipped with special skills.D.they are focusing on benefits more than their salary.(2).The present situation about the work-life balance problem is that（分数：2.00）A.many companies have different programmes for this problem.B.many companies are ready to take ef
20、fective solutions.C.companies are at two extremes in solving this problem.D.many companies are indifferent to this problem.(3).IBM is mentioned in the third paragraph to show that（分数：2.00）A.IBM has many different prgrammes enhancing work-life balance.B.flexible working means flexible working time.C.
21、flexible working includes allowing employees to work outside offices.D.flexible working can be realized by flexible shifts.(4).According to the passage, work-life balance schemes（分数：2.00）A.are now adopted by many large firms.B.mainly contain child care, health care and flexible working.C.are welcome
22、d by white-collar workers.D.are the natural result of labour force competition.(5).The word “gewgaws“(Paragraph 6) most probably means（分数：2.00）A.jewelry.B.positons.C.policies.D.payment.Misers everywhere: that Mediterranean cruise could be within reach at last. There“ll be no free ride to the port, a
23、nd no free food or entertainment on board. The cabin will measure 30 meters square and housekeeping will be extra. But the fiberglass suite is easy to clean, and costs as little as 29 a night. Earlier this year, serial entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the man who gave Europe its first budget airli
24、ne, cashed in 14 million of his easyJet shares to fund what he calls a “little shopping spree.“ Boldly expanding his no-frills model into new markets, Stelios (he insists on first-name in formality) plans to open the first easyHotel in London this year with prices from 5 a night, an easy Bus fleet a
25、nd easy Cruise, ready to sail next summer. Also on the list: easy Pizzas and easy Tele com, a mobile-phone service. Can he make it work? The soaring success of easyJet and its rivals was Europe“s great business story of the late 1990s, and yet more carriers are emerging to serve the 10 nations that
26、joined the European Union last week. While copycatting the idea may look like a no-brainer, though, some experts doubt Stelios“s expansion plans have much of a future. “The no-frills model is very fragile.“ says Chris Voss of London Business School. “Stelios is applying it rather indiscriminately.“
27、The entrepreneur“s record is mixed. He launched easyJet in 1995, when he was 28, and it now has 70 planes and revenues of 932 million last year, up nearly 70 percent from 2002. But his first attempt to clone the no-frills model, a Europe-wide chain of Internet cafes launched at the height of the bub
28、ble, has since struggled to make money. His first easy Cinema-tickets for just 50 pence is suffering because big distributors, fearful of undercutting their other business, refuse to allow cheap screenings of new blockbusters. The larger problem: reducing prices is not enough to make no-frills work.
29、 Stelios, for example, likes to sell direct to the customer, preferably online, and avoids corporate accounts on the theory that only individuals care enough about price to be loyal no-kills customers. He chooses only sectors in which the volume of business will clearly rise as prices fall. There“s
30、no point, say, in offering a cut-rate burial service. Says Stelios: “The demand for funerals isn“t going to go upregardless of the price.“（分数：10.00）(1).If one travels on the Mediterranean cruise in the future,（分数：2.00）A.he/she will become a cheapskate.B.it will cost him/her more money.C.it will beco
31、me more economical.D.there will be no free services.(2).Stelios expands his business following the key principle that（分数：2.00）A.it is all about transportation.B.it provides no first-class service.C.it lowers the amount of expenditure.D.it has many chain stores.(3).Some experts, like Chris Voss, thin
32、k that（分数：2.00）A.the no-kills model is very successful.B.Stelios“s expansion plans have great future.C.Stelios can hardly repeat his soaring success in easy Jet.D.Stelios is very careful in applying his model.(4).Stelios“ record is listed in order to show that（分数：2.00）A.His is very successful in run
33、ning easy Jet.B.His Internet cafes failed at last.C.His easy Cinema-tickets ended up nowhere.D.His attempt to expand the no-frills model is immature.(5).What does Stelios mean by talking about funerals?（分数：2.00）A.He only chooses the right and suitable sectors.B.He doesn“t like to deal with corporate
34、 customers.C.The lower price is the key to success.D.He will not offer a poor-quality service.Scientists Johan Feenstra and Rob Hayes think they“ve figured out how a process called electrowetting can make paper that can do anything a videoscreen does. So far, though, all they“ve got to show for thei
35、r efforts is a tiny piece of e-paper one centimeter squareonly 225 pixels, or picture elements. That won“t be nearly enough for headlines and news videos. The only hint of the technology“s potential is a laptop presentation the inventors have set up. It features Professor Shape, Harry Potter“s teach
36、er, holding an electronic newspaper with an embedded video clip. “That“s what we want,“ says Hayes. They“re likely to get it. Late last month in Tokyo, Sony took an important leap in this direction by introducing Librie, an e-book reader. Although it“s available only in black and white, Librie has t
37、he most important characteristic of paper: it reflects natural light. That means it can be read on sunny days or viewed from any angle. You can even choose your own font size. Is this finally the beginning of the end of paper? The answer is closer to “yes“ than you may think. The holdup so far has b
38、een user-unfriendly screens, but now e-paper no longer relies on back-lit displays. A reflective display is easy on the eyes, with twice the contrast of computer screens and up to six times the brightness. It uses power only when changing the page, so a battery can last 300 hours. Several firms are
39、competing for leader ship. The Philip“s display on Librie uses technology from Massachusetts-based E-Ink Corp. An electric charge moves either black or white capsules to the surface of the page in patterns that form images. Gyricon Media uses rotating balls with one black side and one white side for
40、 signs and bill boards. Other companies are focusing on improvements in liquid-crystal displays. The next challenge is to add color. One option for books would be a simple color filter, but that would block two thirds of the light. Guofu Zhou, who runs the E-Ink project for Philips, thinks products
41、with colored ink can be ready for the market within seven years. He“s now focusing on e-paper that can display 16 or more gradations of gray, which would come in handy in medical imaging or to display black-and-white photographs at home. Labs around the world are also racing to design a robust yet f
42、lexible backing. Philips researchers are working on a technology for laminating E-Ink on a plastic layer instead of glass, which would then roll into a pen-sized tube. A flexible product for mobile phones and digital cameras can be ready in three to five years.（分数：10.00）(1).What scientists Johan Fee
43、nstra and Rob Hayes did was that（分数：2.00）A.they made an electronic newspaper.B.they created a piece of videoscreen-like paper.C.they made a tiny piece of primitive e-paper.D.they invented the electrowetting technology.(2).The greatest advance that Librie has is that（分数：2.00）A.it is about the size of
44、 a paperback.B.it will be a great success in market.C.it works just like a real book.D.it equals many books in content.(3).The answer is closer to “yes“(Line 1, Paragraph 3) because（分数：2.00）A.the back-lit displays is already sophisticated.B.the Philip“s display has the latest E-Ink technology.C.Gyri
45、con Media has rotating balls technology.D.the technology barrier is about to be removed.(4).Guofu Zhou would probably agree that（分数：2.00）A.adding a color filter will be a simple solution.B.colored ink remains a tough problem.C.e-paper will be adopted both in the office and at home.D.the obstacle now
46、 is the user-unfriendly screens.(5).According to the passage, it is possible that e-paper（分数：2.00）A.will soon be commercialized and within reach.B.will be printed on paper with E-Ink.C.will replace the traditional paper.D.will be made of plastic layer instead of glass.“My very educated mother just s
47、erved us nine pizzas“. Many American school children are taught this sentence to help them remember the order of the planets of the solar system. Soon though, this may change because, on July 29th, a team of astronomers announced the discovery of a very distant celestial body larger than Pluto. The
48、researchers claim that the new bodywhich they are informally calling Xenashould be classified as a planet. The new bodytemporarily named 2003UB313orbits the Sun once every 560 years. It is currently over 14 billion kilometres away, about three times farther out than Pluto, making it the most distant object ever discovered in the solar system. The researchers think it is part of the Kuiper belt, a ring of rocky objects that extends beyond Neptune. Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology, Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observato
