1、考研英语-试卷 250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）_With Airbus“s giant A380 airliner about to take to the skies, you might think planes c
2、ould not get much bigger and you would be right. For a given design, it turns (1)_, there comes a point where the wings become too heavy to generate (2)_ lift to carry their own weight. (3)_ a new way of designing and making materials could (4)_ that problem. Two engineers (5)_ University College Lo
3、ndon have devised an innovative way to customise and control the (6)_ of a material throughout its three dimension al structure. In the (7)_ of a wing, this would make possible a material that is dense, strong and load-bearing at one end, close to the fuselage, (8)_ the extremities could be made les
4、s dense, lighter and more (9)_. It is like making bespoke materials, (10)_ you can customise the physical properties of every cubic millimetre of a structure. The new technique combines existing technologies in a(n) (11)_ way. It starts by using finite-element-analysis software, of the type commonly
5、 used by engineers, (12)_ a virtual prototype of the object. The software models the stresses and strains that the object will need to (13)_ throughout its structure. Using this information it is then (14)_ to calculate the precise forces acting on millions of smaller subsections of the structure. (
6、15)_ of these subsections is (16)_ treated as a separate object with its own set of forces acting on itand each subsection (17)_ for a different microstructure to absorb those local forces. Designing so many microstructures manually (18)_ be a huge task, so the researchers apply an optimisation prog
7、ram, called a genetic algorithm, (19)_. This uses a process of randomisation and trial-and-error to search the vast number of possible microstructures to find the most (20)_ design for each subsection.（分数：40.00）A.offB.outC.awayD.inA.manyB.muchC.enoughD.necessaryA.ButB.AndC.OrD.YetA.findB.discoverC.g
8、et downD.get aroundA.ofB.atC.inD.fromA.propertiesB.natureC.qualitiesD.characteristicsA.sampleB.caseC.conditionD.situationA.whileB.whichC.whatD.whereA.easyB.flexibleC.reflectiveD.compatibleA.asB.sinceC.becauseD.so long asA.novelB.strangeC.oddD.peculiarA.createsB.and createsC.creatingD.to createA.stan
9、dB.sustainC.understandD.withstandA.possibleB.impossibleC.likelyD.unlikelyA.EachB.OneC.EveryD.AllA.nextB.thenC.afterD.sinceA.asksB.callsC.demandsD.requiresA.is toB.shouldC.wouldD.has toA.in orderB.in placeC.in spiteD.insteadA.perfectB.completeC.suitableD.proper二、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：10，分数：58.00)2
10、.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._Shortly after dawn on February 17th 2003, the world“s most ambitious road-pricing experiment will start in London. Though cordon toll schemes have been
11、operating in Nor-way for years, and Singapore has an electronic system, no one has ever tried to charge motorists in a city of the size and complexity of London. For decades, transport planners have been demanding that motorists should pay directly for the use of roads. According to the professional
12、s, it is the only way of civilizing cities and restraining the growth of inter-urban traffic. Politicians have mostly turned a deaf ear, fearing that charging for something what was previously free was a quick route to electoral suicide. But London“s initiative suggests that the point where road pri
13、cing he-comes generally accepted as the most efficient way to restrain traffic is much nearer than most drivers realize. The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has pinned his political reputation on the scheme“s success. If it works, cities around the world will rush to copy it. If it fails, he will
14、be jeered from office when he seeks reelection in 2004. But how will success be judged? The mayor claims that congestion charging will produce 130m in net annual revenues, reduce traffic in central London by 15% and reduce traffic delays by about a quarter. Unfortunately these ambitious targets are
15、unlikely to be met. For a start, the low level at which the charge has been set owes more to politics than traffic planning. Its impact, modest in comparison with the already high 4 an hour on-street parking charges in the area, may be less than anticipated. But most transport experts are cautiously
16、 optimistic that it will help improve the capital“s chaotic transport system. As for the mayor, his political prospects look good. Those who drive cars in the center of London during the day are a tiny fraction of the millions who walk or use public transport to get to work. London“s willingness to
17、take the plunge has moved congestion charging from the realm of transport planners into mainstream politics. Yet the low-tech solution it has adopted has been overtaken by modern microwave radio systems allowing cars to communicate with roadside charging units. The next generation of technology will
18、 use global positioning satellites (GPS) to track the position of vehicles wherever they are, on a second-to-second basis. The brave new world of paying as you go is not far away. For those who drive in rural areas, the cost will come down. But for motorists who spend most of their time in congested
19、 urban areas, travel is rightly going to become much more expensive.（分数：10.00）(1).We can learn from the first paragraph that in the world the scheme of tolling systems is（分数：2.00）A.out of the question.B.anything but new.C.for the sake of safety.D.nowhere near success.(2).The implementation of road p
20、ricing in London is primarily intended to（分数：2.00）A.restrain the capital% traffic growth.B.produce net annual municipal revenues.C.remove on-street parking lots.D.meet ambitious political aims.(3).We learn from the text that traffic planners are more concerned about（分数：2.00）A.the attitude of drivers
21、 in London.B.taking a political standpoint.C.sophisticated toiling systems.D.imposing congestion charging.(4).According to the text, the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone seems to be very supportive of the congestion charging scheme because of（分数：2.00）A.his interest in traffic.B.the weak response of
22、politicians.C.his political motives.D.the complexity of the problem.(5).The best title for Sis passage may be（分数：2.00）A.More Expensive Trips in London.B.Road Pricing: Queue or Pay?C.A Return to the Mass Transit.D.Traffic Planning: a Dilemma?Plans for buildings that are not just big but truly huge ad
23、orn the walls of Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), an architectural firm in New York. Few people aspire to 200 storeys. In the aftermath of the World Trade Centre“s collapse 18 months ago, such towering schemes seemed to have no chance of becoming reality. Yet in April KPF will complete work on a Tokyo compl
24、ex with a central skyscraper that will feature one of the highest floors in Japan. Submissions are being readied for still bigger projects in several different countries. Whether “bigness“ makes business sense is the subject of intense debate. Europe has largely stayed out of the skyscraper race. A
25、proposed 66-storey London Bridge Tower, which would be the continent“s largest building, may eventually go up. It would not stand out in Manhattan. Executives in the City of London, Europe“s largest financial market, contend that even in a non-earthquake-prone area, once a building rises much above
26、50 storeys the demand for additional elevators, stairwells and structural supports makes them unacceptably inefficient. True, up to a point, says Paul Katz, the architect at KPF, but the most efficient building is not necessarily the most valuable. There are some explicit benefits from skyscrapers,
27、notably efficient energy usage, plus less tangible ones such as the savings and benefits that come from clustering employees in one place. Typically, where firms most like to operate, sites are scarce. As a result, it often makes sense to add floors, even at ever greater cost. Skyscrapers have risen
28、 slowly in Japan due to earthquake fears, but now they are going up. With New York“s economy suffering, redundancies mounting and continuing fear of terrorism, it is hard to imagine anybody financing new construction in the city, let alone a vast new skyscraper on a site that many believe should be
29、used only as a memorial. But even before the events of September 11th, construction techniques were changing to resolve shortcomings that existed in the 1960s when work began on the World Trade Center. Rather than being supported merely by steel curtain walls, the new skyscrapers have concrete cores
30、 linked to strong columns in the outer walls. Nobody now underestimates the devastation that would be caused if an aircraft strikes a building; but at the least, the new crop of tall buildings are designed so that they would not collapse if hit by even the largest passenger plane. That may not sound
31、 particularly reassuring to anyone asked to work on the 100th floor. But the business of building to the sky dates back at least to the tower of Babeland no disaster has stopped it for long.（分数：10.00）(1).The best title for this passage may be（分数：2.00）A.A Construction Company under Fire.B.Fears Haunt
32、ed in the World.C.A Debate on Building Upwards.D.Skyscrapers on the Boom.(2).When the writer says that the London Bridge Tower would not stand in Manhattan, he means（分数：2.00）A.its residents are unlikely to embrace skyscrapers.B.Europe is one of the largest financial markets.C.Americans hold a contin
33、uing fear of terrorism.D.KPF has been subjected to strong criticisms.(3).In the wake of September 11th, the construction techniques of skyscrapers are innovated so as to make them（分数：2.00）A.look incredibly smart in design.B.more resistant to potential disasters.C.sound particularly luxurious.D.more
34、protective to their occupants.(4).It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that in Japan skyscrapers（分数：2.00）A.are already under construction.B.prove to be quake-resistant.C.are absolutely prohibited.D.turn out to be energy-efficient.(5).The author“s attitude toward the construction of skyscrapers seems
35、to be that of（分数：2.00）A.opposition.B.indifference,C.approval.D.suspicion.Could money cure sick health-care systems in Britain, which will be the place to look for proof in 2003. The National Health Service (NHS), which offers free health care financed by taxes, is receiving an emergency no-expense-s
36、pared injection of cash. By 2007, total health spending in Britain will reach over 9% of GDPthe same share France had when it was rated the world“s best health service by the World Health Organization in 2000. The Labor government“s response was not to conduct a fundamental review about how best to
37、reform health care for the 21st century. Rather, it concluded that shortage of money, not the form of financing or provision, was the main problem. In 2002, Gordon Brown, the powerful chancellor of the exchequer, used a review of the NHS“s future financing requirements to reject alternative funding
38、models that would allow patients to sign up with competing insurers and so exercise greater control over their own health care. Alan Milburn, the health minister, has made some tentative steps back towards the internal market introduced by the Conservative government. It means that a dozen top-ranki
39、ng hospitals will also have been given greater freedom to run their own affairs. However, these reforms will not deliver real consumer power to patients. As a result, the return on the money pouring into the NHS looks set to be disappointingly meager. Already there are worrying signs that much of th
40、e cash cascade will be soaked up in higher pay and shorter hours for staff and bear little relation to extra effort, productivity and quality. Some improvements will occur but far less than might be expected from such a financial windfall. Health-care systems in the developed world share a common hi
41、story, argues David Cutler at Harvard University. First governments founded generous universal systems after the Second World War. With few controls over the demand for medical care or its supply, costs then spiraled up. Starting in the 1980s there was a drive to contain expenditure, often through c
42、rude constraints on medical budgets which ran counter to rising patient expectations Now this strategy has run its course: a third wave of reforms is under way to increase efficiency and restrain demand through cost-sharing between insurers and patients. Viewed from this perspective, the government“
43、s plan to shower cash on a largely unreformed NHS looks anomalous. But before more fundamental change can be contemplated in Britain, the old system must be shown to be incapable of cure through money. This harsh lesson is likely to be learnt as early as 2003.（分数：10.00）(1).In contrast to Britain, Fr
44、ance is funding their medical care（分数：2.00）A.more extravagantly.B.more cautiously.C.more consistently.D.more reasonably.(2).Concerning health-care systems in Britain, the author is likely to agree to the statement that（分数：2.00）A.the Labor government conducted a review about how to cut down on costs.
45、B.the money pouring into the NHS did bring with it productivity and quality.C.the problem of funds put into medical care should be thoroughly reexamined.D.the health-care systems in Britain will become the envy of the rest of the world.(3).The proposed “alternative funding models“ (Paragraph 2) migh
46、t be more clearly based on（分数：2.00）A.cost-sharing between insurers and patients.B.moderate constraints on medical budgets.C.delivering consumers“ costs to tax-payers.D.generous allocations of money to hospitals.(4).The views of Alan Milburn and David Culter on the reforms of health-care systems are（
47、分数：2.00）A.compatible.B.opposite.C.complementary.D.identical.(5).The basic problem of health-care systems in Britain as pointed out by the writer seems to lie in（分数：2.00）A.restrained freedom.B.shortage of funds.C.patients“ complaints.D.radical changes.During the 1990s boom Dell Computer“s customers g
48、ot hooked on speed. Most were willing to pay a premium to have their computers shipped by overnight air express. But today, the equation has flipped. Customers prize cost savings over speed. “Now, most of our computers (in the U.S.) are shipped on the groundand we can still reach just about everyone within two days,“ says Fred Montoya, Dell“s vice-president for worldwide logistics. Express air shipping isn“t in a death spiral. But recession-spooked consumers and manufacturers are less willing to pay for overnight delivery, which is three to
