1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 120 及答案解析(总分：60.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：6，分数：60.00)1.Section II Reading Comprehension（分数：10.00）_2.Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D.（分数：10.00）_That mythical beast, homo economicus, otherwise cal
2、led Economic man, is utterly clear about the purpose of work: to get paid. He is keener on leisure than on work, and if money can be got without effort, he downs tools. If real people feel the same, then bountiful out-of-work benefits should be found in the same places as work-shy citizens. Yet a cr
3、oss-country comparison of benefits and attitudes to work published on January 28th finds precisely the opposite pattern. Researchers ranked 13 countries according to their generosity(measured by comparing typical benefits to those out of work with the average wage of a production worker)and their ci
4、tizens“ commitment to work(gauged by asking whether they would work if they did not need the cash, and whether they regarded a job as merely a way to earn a living). They found that the more generous a state is the keener on work its people are. Britons, whose benefits were the stingiest(most ungene
5、rous)after those that Americans get, were least keen of all on work. One reason may be the skills make-up of the British workforce. The researchers found, logically enough, that professionals and graduates were more positive about work than the unskilled and non-graduates. Fewer Britons than Norwegi
6、ans(who came top on work commitment)have professional jobs or degrees. But this does not entirely explain their comparative immunity to the attractions of toil: Britons of every social class and level of education were less keen on work than their counterparts elsewhere. Could the “dependency cultur
7、e“ currently exercising British politicians be solved by raising benefits? Unlikely, says Alison Park, editor of the annual British Social Attitudes Report, in which the study appeared: attitudes to work vary from country to country for many reasons. The report states that the lavishness of what the
8、 report terms “encompassing“ states, all Nordic with Lutheran traditions, may have been made possible by a strong work ethic, rather than a stronger commitment to work having emerged as a result of it. And work incentives are affected by features of welfare systems other than overall generosity: “co
9、rporatist“ states such as Germany, which pay higher benefits to those with a longer work history, may be encouraging positive attitudes to work by such conditionality. Britain“s poor benefits, by contrast, are largely independent of previous employment, which may mean they are seen as an alternative
10、 to work, rather than as one of the good things that flow from it.（分数：10.00）(1).Homo economicus is characterized as（分数：2.00）A.economical.B.lazy.C.leisure-obsessed.D.benefits-driven.(2).What can be inferred from the second paragraph?（分数：2.00）A.The keener on work its people are, the more generous a st
11、ate is.B.People who are keen on work will make their state generous.C.The benefits which Britons get were the stingiest.D.Americans got stingier benefits than Britons did.(3).By saying “their comparative immunity to the attractions of toil“(Line 4, Paragraph 3), the author means（分数：2.00）A.Britons ar
12、e healthy enough not to feel ill.B.Britons have good immune system.C.Britons are not keen on work.D.Britons are afraid of hard work.(4).According to the British Social Attitudes Report, “encompassing“ states are generous due to（分数：2.00）A.the dependency culture.B.a strong work ethic.C.the rise of ben
13、efits.D.various working attitudes.(5).Germany is mentioned in the last paragraph to show that（分数：2.00）A.Germany pays higher benefits to those with a longer work history.B.corporatist states like Germany provide better benefits than Britain.C.welfare system is also likely to influence work incentives
14、.D.Germany encourages positive work attitudes by paying higher benefits.As the Senate prepares to vote on legislation to empower the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products, its members would be wise to consult a recent appeals court decision. The decision makes it clear that the t
15、obacco companies have engaged in deceitful and harmful behavior for many decades and cannot be trusted to reform on their own. Regulatory oversight is the best chance to rein them in. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia uphel
16、d major elements of a 2006 lower court decision that found big tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and fraud as part of a prolonged campaign to deceive and addict the public. That 1,742-page opinion, rendered by Judge Gladys Kessler, laid out in painstaking detail how the tobacco companies made
17、 false statements and suppressed evidence to deny or play down the addictive qualities and the adverse health effects of smoking. Judge Kessler found that the companies manipulated the design of cigarettes to deliver addictive doses of nicotine, falsely denied that secondhand smoke caused disease an
18、d falsely represented that light and low-tar cigarettes presented fewer health risks. The appeals court not only upheld her decision as legally sound, it seemed deeply impressed by the “volumes of evidence“ and “countless examples of deliberately false statements“ underlying many of Judge Kessler“s
19、findings. It also upheld some but not all of the marketing restrictions and other requirements she imposed to prevent the companies from making future false claims and engaging in additional fraudulent activities. The companies protested that they should not be subjected to such requirements because
20、 they had already agreed to numerous remedies under a settlement agreement with 46 states and the District of Columbia. The appeals panel was rightly unimpressed. It upheld the district court“s findings that after the settlement went into effect in 1998, the companies almost immediately began to eva
21、de and violate various prohibitions against joint activities and false statements. The House has already voted to give the F.D.A. power to regulate tobacco. Senators, who are getting ready to vote on similar legislation, now have fair warning, if they needed any more, that this is a dishonest indust
22、ry. It can“t be trusted to behave responsibly or even adhere to agreements it has signed. It is time to grant the F.D.A. the power to regulate the content and marketing of tobacco products.（分数：10.00）(1).Why would it be wise for the senators to consult a recent appeals court decision before voting?（分
23、数：2.00）A.It reveals to senators tobacco companies“ incompetence in self-discipline.B.It makes the senators learn how profitable the tobacco industry is.C.It helps the senators realize the necessity of regulatory oversight.D.It points out that tobacco companies have been liars for many decades.(2).We
24、 can infer from Judge Kessler“s findings that（分数：2.00）A.tobacco companies achieve customer addiction at the cost of their health.B.the adverse health effects of smoking have been chronically underestimated.C.racketeering and fraud have blinded the tobacco companies for a long time.D.the diseases cau
25、sed by secondhand smoke have been carelessly denied.(3).The restrictions and requirements imposed by Judge Kessler（分数：2.00）A.have entirely been approved by the appeals court.B.will immediately be violated by the tobacco companies.C.severely overlap with the previous settlement agreement.D.are meant
26、to prevent tobacco companies from deceiving.(4).The word “rightly“(Line 3, Paragraph 5)can be best replaced by（分数：2.00）A.justly.B.understandably.C.evidently.D.appropriately.(5).Which of the following would be the best title for the text?（分数：2.00）A.Self-regulated Tobacco IndustryB.Once a Liar, Always
27、 a LiarC.Watch Your Vote, SenatorsD.A Dishonest IndustryThe realization that colds can kill has renewed interest in finding vaccines and treatments. The trouble is that the common cold is caused not by one virus but by hundreds of different ones. This means a vaccine or drug that works a-gainst one
28、of these viruses, or one family of viruses, is usually ineffective against all the others. What“s more, because colds are usually so mild, if treatments cause even minor side effects they can be worse than the disease. Such treatments will never get approval for general use, which is why most compan
29、ies instead focus on drugs that relieve symptoms. Nevertheless, some drugs and vaccines are being developed against the cold viruses most likely to turn nasty . A vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus(RSV), a virus which can cause serious illness in young children and the elderly, is going thr
30、ough clinical trials. It consists of a weakened strain of the virus given as a nasal spray. A treatment for RSV infections, based on RNA interference, is also in development. However, treatments for specific viruses are useless unless your cold is caused by the virus in questionand doctors have no q
31、uick way to work out which virus is to blame for a cold. Systems to do this are under development, mostly based on looking for specific DNA or RNA sequences, but none are near to reaching the market. An alternative approach would be to keep taking drugs that prevent infection throughout the cold sea
32、son, such as a derivative of the anti-smallpox drug cidofovir which has been shown to combat adenoviruses, viruses that can cause upper respiratory infections. But again, as adenoviruses are only responsible for a few percent of colds, the benefits hardly justify the expense and risk of side effects
33、 from remaining on a drug permanently. Short of everyone on the planet isolating themselves for two or three weeks, so existing cold viruses run out of hosts and die out, it is hard to see how we can ever defeat the common cold. Even then, new cold viruses would evolve in time from animal viruses. S
34、ome even question whether it is desirable to try to eliminate colds. “It“s blind speculation,“ says Joel Weinstock of Tufts University in Boston in the US, “but the common cold may protect us from more serious viruses.“ An occasional sniffle might be a price worth paying if it keeps our immune defen
35、ses primed.（分数：10.00）(1).The drugs against colds are usually ineffective because（分数：2.00）A.colds are usually not serious.B.drugs can only relieve the illness.C.drugs against some viruses have side effects.D.hundreds of viruses can lead to colds.(2).The phrase “turn nasty“(Line 2, Paragraph 2)most pr
36、obably means that the cold viruses could be（分数：2.00）A.unpleasant and disgusting.B.fruitless and disappointing.C.dangerous and severe.D.ineffective and painful.(3).It could be inferred from the third paragraph that（分数：2.00）A.specific DNA or RNA sequences are developed to detect the viruses.B.it is no
37、t a quick way to look for DNA sequences.C.systems to detect viruses are working to enter the market.D.treatments for some specific virus are successful.(4).Keeping taking drugs that prevent infection throughout the cold season will（分数：2.00）A.cure infection completely.B.become inexpensive in the long
38、 run.C.increase the risk of addiction to drugs.D.have more side effects than other choices.(5).According to Joel Weinstock, it“s impossible and unnecessary to（分数：2.00）A.try to get rid of the common coldB.produce vaccines to defeat cold.C.protect us from common cold.D.protect us from more serious vir
39、uses.Their defenders say they are motivated, versatile workers who are just what companies need in these difficult times. To others, however, the members of “Generation Y“those born in the 1980s and 1990s, otherwise known as the Net Generationare spoiled, narcissistic idlers who cannot spell and was
40、te too much time on instant messaging and Facebook. Ah, reply the Net Geners, but all that messing around online proves that we are computer-literate multi-taskers who are adept users of online collaborative tools, and natural team players. And, while you are on the subject of me, I need a month“s v
41、acation to reconsider my personal goals. This culture clash has been going on in many organizations and has lately seeped into management books. The Net Geners have grown up with computers; they are brimming with self-confidence; and they have been encouraged to challenge received wisdom, to find th
42、eir own solutions to problems and to treat work as a route to personal fulfillment rather than merely a way of putting food on the table. Not all of this makes them easy to manage. Bosses complain that after a childhood of being spoiled and praised, Net Geners demand far more frequent feedback and a
43、n over-precise set of objectives on the path to promotion. In a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, a consultancy, 61% of chief executives say they have trouble recruiting and integrating younger employees. For those hard-to-please older managers, the current recession is the joyful equivalent o
44、f hiding an alarm clock in a sleeping teenager“s bedroom. Once again, the touchy-feely management fads that always spring up in years of plenty are being ditched in favor of more brutal command-and-control methods. Having grown up in good times, Net Geners have labored under the illusion that the wo
45、rld owed them a living. But hopping between jobs to find one that meets your inner spiritual needs is not so easy when there are no jobs to hop to. And as for that vacation: here“s a permanent one, sunshine. In fact, compromise will be necessary on both sides. Net Geners will certainly have to lower
46、 some of their expectations and take the world as it is, not as they would like it to be. But their older bosses should also be prepared to make concessions. The economy will eventually recover, and demographic trends in most rich countries will make clever young workers even more valuable. Besides,
47、 many of the things that keep Net Geners happy are worth doing anyway. But for the moment at least, the Facebook-ers are under heavy criticism.（分数：10.00）(1).In the eyes of the critics of the Net Generation, the Net Geners are characterized as（分数：2.00）A.aimless and incompetent.B.self-isolated and arr
48、ogant.C.self-centered and indulged.D.selfish and uncooperative.(2).According to Paragraph 2, Net Geners are not easy to manage in that（分数：2.00）A.they“ve attached too much importance to the personal fulfillment.B.they“ve been courageous enough to challenge the authorities.C.they“ve had excessive conf
49、idence in themselves.D.they“ve required excessive responses and goals.(3).The word “touchy-feely“(line 2, Paragraph 3)most probably means（分数：2.00）A.caring.B.cold-blooded.C.recklessD.interesting.(4).We can learn from the last paragraph that the author believes（分数：2.00）A.Net Geners should give up their expectations.B.older bosses should give the Net Geners whatever they want.C.both Net Geners and bosses should face th
