1、考研英语-试卷 241 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）_Portable devices are becoming lighter and more appealing. Books are being (1)_ into d
2、igital form by the thousands. The most important (2)_ forward may be in “digital ink,“ the technology used for (3)_ letters on a screen. A small company called E Ink has created a method for (4)_ tiny black and white capsules into words and (5)_ with an electronic charge. Because no power is used (6
3、)_ the reader changes the page, devices with the technology could go (7)_ 20 books between battery charges. The text also looks just as (8)_ as ink on a printed page. Sony is the first major player to take (9)_ of the technology. This year. it will market the Sony Reader, which uses E Ink and closel
4、y (10)_ the size, weight, and (11)_ of a book. The Reader will sell (12)_ about $400. Sony also will offer roughly 10,000 book (13)_ for download from its online store, (14)_ news stones. Other players try to catch the opportunity, too. At least two (15)_ companies are introducing digital readers th
5、is year. And scores of companies, from Google to Random House Inc., are planning other ways to (16)_ from digital books. All this (17)_ to the influence of Apple Computer Inc With its iPod, Apple has (18)_ that millions of people are willing to carry around digital devices with their favorite conten
6、t, (19)_ music, why not novels and nonfiction? According to one CEO with a large publishing company, the iPod led the way in getting people comfortable with a similar device for books. Such things are not only (20)_, but a good idea.（分数：40.00）A.scannedB.compiledC.skimmedD.editedA.paceB.stepC.rhythmD
7、.marchA.displayingB.indicatingC.manifestingD.providingA.organizingB.sortingC.orderingD.arrangingA.visionsB.picturesC.imagesD.sightsA.ifB.untilC.unlessD.asA.as long asB.as soon asC.as early asD.as good asA.clearB.obviousC.sharpD.acuteA.profitB.superiorityC.benefitD.advantageA.mimicsB.imitatesC.estima
8、tesD.stimulatesA.senseB.feelC.feelingD.appearanceA.ofB.forC.atD.outA.listsB.namesC.ranksD.titlesA.in additionB.in spite ofC.as forD.along withA.spareB.moreC.furtherD.extraA.benefitB.enhanceC.promoteD.profitA.belongsB.leadsC.owesD.comesA.displayedB.demonstratedC.determinedD.discoveredA.AfterB.FromC.A
9、partD.BesideA.inevitableB.inexhaustibleC.inexpressibleD.inflexible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._When executives at Google went looking for Wal
10、l Street investment bankers to underwrite the company“s massive initial public offering, they laid down strict terms of engagement: bring us new ideas on how to sell the deal to investors and save the usual political gamesmanship. But with such a huge payday at stakean estimated $100 million in fees
11、 for handling the offeringwould you expect all the big firms to play by the Google rules? Of course not. Just ask Goldman Sachs. To win a chunk of the Google business, Goldman, the nation“s premier investment bank, set free its CEO, Hank Paulson, to pull some strings. Paulson is one of Wall Street“s
12、 best “call men“, who can wave a Palm PDA full of connections when it“s crunch time to bring home a deal. But News week has learned that Paulson tried to sidestep Google“s orders by reaching out to one of Google“s largest investors, Kleiner Perkins, the powerful venture-capital firm that was an earl
13、y Google backer. The move helped doom Goldman“s efforts to win the lead underwriting spot, which went instead to Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley. Paulson thought his best shot was John Doerr, one of Kleiner“s top partners. Bad move. When word of Paulson“s misstep got back to Google“s t
14、op executives, Goldman was quickly bumped from the top of the short list. “The people at Google were such enthusiasts about the rules,“ said one executive who works at a rival Wall Street firm. “When they heard about this, they went ape.“ None of the parties involvedGoogle, Goldman Sachs or Doerrwou
15、ld comment. The two winners, CSFB and Morgan Stanley, managed to keep a low profile. John Mack, CSFB“s famously well-connected chief executive, purposely stayed out of the bidding process for fear that he might tip the scales to another player, people with knowledge of the matter say. Meanwhile, new
16、 rules for Wall Street research analysts appear to have prevented Mary Meeker, Morgan Stanley“s top Internet analyst, from playing a direct role, even though she and Doerr have done business together for years. Goldman, meanwhile, can“t blame its loss just on Paulson. People close to the deal say ba
17、nkers for the firm bragged to Google about the Goldman name, and didn“t generate enough ideas about how to sell shares to investors through an auction. “Their lack of marketing wit may have hurt them more than Paulson,“ said the executive from a rival firm. Sometimes, it really does pay to play by t
18、he rules.（分数：10.00）(1).What can be inferred from the first paragraph?（分数：2.00）A.Google followed the rules of Wall Street.B.Goldman Sachs disobeyed Google“s rules.C.Goldman Sachs followed Google“s rules.D.Big firms in Wall Street are afraid of Google.(2).Hank Paulson“s name is mentioned to show that（
19、分数：2.00）A.he is a famous banker in Wall Street.B.he failed by following Google“s rules.C.he lost Google“s deal by using gamesmanship.D.he lost Google“s deal to his rivals.(3).The speaker in the third paragraph thinks that（分数：2.00）A.John Doerr was the best shot for Paulson.B.Goldman was wrong in Goog
20、le“s deal.C.Google made a fuss about Paulson“s act.D.Google followed the rules perfectly.(4).John Mack and Mary Meeker shared similarities in that they both（分数：2.00）A.behaved with deliberate restraint or modesty.B.purposely stayed out of the bidding process.C.worked together with Doerr for years.D.t
21、ipped the scale to their rivals.(5).Goldman might learn a lesson from Google“s deal that（分数：2.00）A.they should not unleashed its CEO to pull some strings.B.they should always play by the rules.C.Paulson is not the right person to lead the bank.D.it“s vital to have good perception in marketing.Last y
22、ear, America“s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, thought it would be a good idea to organize a robot race across the Nevada desert. The idea of the Grand Challenge, as DARPA dubbed it, was for autonomous robot vehicles to steer a 227 km(142 mile) course and claim a $1 m jackpot. This
23、 would be a first step towards DARPA“s ultimate goal of being able to build unmanned self-driving military vehicles and thus keep American troops out of harm“s way on the battlefield. This year“s crop of 23 entrants were offered an even greater incentivea $2m prize for the winner. That, plus the int
24、ervening 18 months, seems to have done the trick. This time, five vehicles finished the 211 km course. The winner, a modified Volkswagen Touareg dubbed Stanley by its makers, a team from Stanford University, did it in a mere six hours and 54 minutes. Stanley was, of course, specially hardened by its
25、 designers for the rough terrain of the Nevada desert. The clever bit, however, was the vehicle“s brain. This was designed and built by the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL). Stanley“s brain consists of six top-of-the-range Pentium chips wired collaboratively together. It is program
26、med with special software that is able to learn from its mistakes. This software mastered the tricks of collision-avoidance in a series of desert test runs conducted before the race started. Like all brains, Stanley“s has a range of sensory inputs to process. A global positioning system (GPS) receiv
27、er tells it where on the Earth“s surface it is. Television cameras, radar and four laser based distance monitors tell it what its surroundings are like. By comparing its GPS location with its pre-programmed destination (announced only a few hours before the race began), it knew which way it wanted t
28、o go. And, by studying its surroundings, it could work out what looked like the safest route that was also in approximately the right direction. Although Stanley carried off the laurels, the other four finishers did respectably. Sandstorm managed a time just ten minutes behind the winner while her s
29、ister vehicle Highlander came in ten minutes after that. GrayBot and TerraMax, the other two course-completers, came in at seven hours 30 minutes and 12 hours 51 minutes, respectively. So smart, autonomous vehicles can, indeed, find their way across several hundred kilometres of desert. The question
30、 is, what next? DARPA“s answer, of course, will be to go down the military route. But this sort of technology has obvious civilian applications as well, as Sebastian Thrun, the head of both SAIL and the Stanford racing team, is keen to emphasize. Dr. Thrun thinks that it could lead to self-driving r
31、oad vehicles within 30 years andmore immediatelyto greatly improved collision-avoidance systems. Whether the freeways of California will prove as easy to navigate as the gulches of Nevada, though, remains to be seen.（分数：10.00）(1).The purpose of holding a robot race is to（分数：2.00）A.adventure through
32、the Nevada desert.B.delevop unpiloted vehicles for military use.C.win a $lm jackpot.D.keep American troops unharmed.(2).Stanley won the race most probably because（分数：2.00）A.there were only 23 vehicles competing in the race.B.it has 18 months to prepare for the race.C.it is specially made for the des
33、ert.D.the brain of the vehicle was delicate and intelligent.(3).If put in new surroundings, Stanley may（分数：2.00）A.get totally lost.B.need to be controlled by people.C.study and work out its own way.D.wait for orders to move.(4).Dr. Thrun strongly hold that the autonomous vehicles（分数：2.00）A.play an i
34、mportant role in military field.B.will be applied in daily transportation.C.will soon be more accessible for common people.D.have great market value.(5).From the text we can conclude that the robot race（分数：2.00）A.was a waste of time and money.B.attracted nationwide attention.C.encouraged the develop
35、ment of autonomous vehicles.D.will not be organized again.The kakapo is widely regarded as the world“s most absurd bird. It is a flightless, night-active parrot that lives in New Zealand. It is thus a prime example of the sort of evolutionary experiment that happens on islands that lack serious pred
36、ators. Now, sadly, the kakapo population has been reduced to a few dozen individuals. But efforts to preserve the species have led to another sort of experimentone that has produced the best evidence so far for a so called sex-allocation theory. Bruce Robertson, of the University of Canterbury, and
37、his colleagues, have been studying a mystery. To keep the kakapo population going, conservationists have been feeding the birdsin particular, the femalesso that they stay above the minimum weight they need to breed. That worked splendidly as far as it went. Between 1997 and 2005 the adult population
38、 rose from 50 to 83. But the sex ratio went haywire. Those 83 birds are divided into 45 males and 38 females. Moreover, females were producing twice as many sons as daughters. Since another of the kakapo“s peculiarities is its breeding system in which the male plays no part in raising the young, the
39、 survival prospects of the species are not enhanced by this biased sex ratio. Dr. Robertson suspected that the sex ratio was not an accident. In all species the number of descendants left by individual males is more variable than the number left by individual females. That means your daughters are m
40、ore likely to have at least some children than your sons, but successful sons have many more children than successful daughters. In a species like the kakapo, where the males have to display to the females in a fashion show, and where only the showiest males get picked to reproduce, it makes sense t
41、o have sons only if they are likely to be the best males around. Other wise it is better to have daughters. And so it seems to be with the kakapo. By provisioning the birds with as much food as they can eat, females have been brought to the peak of conditionthe ideal state to produce top-class sons.
42、 And they have done so, in abundance. To test the correctness of this idea, Dr. Robertson and his team devised a more sophisticated feeding schedule that took account of each female“s starting weight and fattened her up to the point at which she was capable of reproducing, but not much further, The
43、result, just published in Biology Letters, was that the sex ratio settled down at a more sensible 50:50. Though it did not actually drop to favor daughters, that is still an impressive agreement with theory. It might even save the kakapo from extinction.（分数：10.00）(1).What can be inferred from the de
44、scription of kakapo?（分数：2.00）A.It is the result of an evolutionary experiment.B.It shares many common features of parrot.C.Most parrots can fly and are active in the daytime.D.It is brought to New Zealand by immigrants.(2).The word “haywire“(Paragraph 3) most probably means（分数：2.00）A.unexpected.B.un
45、controllable.C.broken.D.normal.(3).Bruce Robertson and his colleagues have been studying on（分数：2.00）A.the minimum weight of the females needed for breeding.B.the peculiarities of kakapo“s breeding system.C.the causes of uneven sex ratio existed in kakapo.D.the protection of kakapo.(4).The fourth par
46、agraph explained that（分数：2.00）A.male descendants tend to outnumber female descendants.B.female descendants tend to outnumber male descendants.C.kakapos tend to have sons if they are the best males around.D.kakapo females need to be the showiest around.(5).The study proved that the cause of the sex-r
47、atio problem is（分数：2.00）A.the born rate of the male kakapo.B.the feeding amount of the female kakapo.C.the starting weight of the female kakapo.D.the total amount of the male kakapo.IBM“s year-old, $2.5 billion computer-chip plant in East Fishkill, N.Y., is a manufacturing marvel. Three-hundred robo
48、tic tools, six miles of networking cable and more computing power than NASA uses to launch the space shuttle all work together to produce tens of millions of chips a yeareach with circuitry 800 times thinner than a human hair. Not that you“ll find much human hair around the plant. Other chip plants need about 400 employees at all times to operate the Complex machinery. But today at East Fishkill, 100 engineers per shift oversee a totally automated production line. Last winter, when a fierce snowstorm sent everyone home early, the machi
