1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 124 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）_Give the Senate some credit: in shaping the current
2、 immigration-reform bill, it has come up with one idea that almost everybody hates. That“s the plan to create a new class of “guest workers“immigrants who would be allowed to work in the U.S. for three two-year stretches, at most, provided that they return home for a year after each visit. Conservat
3、ives dislike the plan because they believe that the guest workers won“t return home after their visas expire. Liberals dislike it because they believe the program will depress American wages and trap guest workers in a state of serfdom. The only vocal supporters of the provision are businesses that
4、rely heavily on immigrant labor, and they“re presumably just looking out for themselves. With the broader concerns about the effects of illegal immigration, the hostility to the new plan is understandable. It“s also misguided. However imperfect, the guest-worker program is better than any politicall
5、y viable alternative. Opponents of immigration sometimes imply that adding workers to a workforce automatically brings wages down. But immigrants tend to work in different industries than native workers, and have different skills, and so they often end up complementing native workers, rather than co
6、mpeting with them. That can make native workers more productive and therefore better off. According to a recent study by the economists Gianmarco Ottaviano and Giovanni Peri, between 1990 and 2004 immigration actually boosted the wages of most American workers; its only negative effect was a small o
7、ne, on the wages of workers without a high-school diploma. And if by increasing the number of legal guest workers we reduced the number of undocumented workers, the economy would benefit even more. Guest workers are also, paradoxically, less likely than illegal immigrants to become permanent residen
8、ts. The U.S. already has a number of smallerand less well-designedtemporary-worker programs, and there“s no evidence that workers in those plans routinely overstay their visas. One remarkable study found that after border enforcement was stepped up in 1993 the chances of an illegal immigrant returni
9、ng to his homeland to stay fell by a third. In fact, whatever benefits the guest-worker program brought to the U.S. economy or to particular businesses, the biggest winners would be the workers themselves. Congress, of course, is under no obligation to care about foreign workers. But the program“s c
10、osts to American workers are negligible, the gains for the guest workers are enormous, and the U.S. economy will benefit. This is that rare option which is both sensible and politically possible.（分数：10.00）(1).In Paragraph 2, the author holds that the guest-worker program will（分数：2.00）A.arouse great
11、concerns about illegal immigration.B.be a sensible way to solve the immigration problems.C.be hazardous to the improvement of working structure.D.bring fierce competitions to local laborers.(2).Gianmarco Ottaviano and Giovanni Peri point out that immigration（分数：2.00）A.is immune from negative effects
12、.B.has lead to economic prosperity and social stability.C.has enhanced wages of most American workers.D.will root out illegal documentation of workers.(3).Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 4?（分数：2.00）A.Illegal immigrants have more chances to stay permanently in the U.S. than gues
13、t workers.B.With stepped-up border control, illegal immigrants are more likely to stay in their homeland.C.Workers in temporary-worker programs usually pay no attention to their visa duration.D.Guest workers will not stay too long because of the enhanced border enforcement.(4).The plan of creating a
14、 new class of “guest workers“（分数：2.00）A.has aroused criticism from conservatives, liberals and the business world.B.has allowed immigrants to work in the U.S. for six consecutive years.C.will benefit both businesses and immigrant labor employers.D.will give people a good reason to treat such workers
15、 as slaves.(5).What is the author“s attitude towards guest workers plan?（分数：2.00）A.Negligible.B.Obscure.C.Indifferent.D.Favorable.Don“t talk: your cell phone may be eavesdropping. Thanks to recent developments in “spy phone“ software, a do-it-yourself spook can now wirelessly transfer a wiretapping
16、program to any mobile phone. The programs are inexpensive, and the transfer requires no special skill. The would-be spy needs to get his hands on your phone to press keys authorizing thedownload,but ittakes just a few minutesabout the time needed to download a ringtone. This new generation of user-f
17、riendly spy-phone software has become widely available in the last yearand it confers stunning powers. The latest programs can silently turn on handset microphones even when no call is being made, allowing a spy to listen to voices in a room halfway around the world. Targets are none the wiser neith
18、er call logs nor phone bills show records of the secretly transmitted data. More than 200 companies sell spy-phone software online, at prices as low as $50. Vendors are loath to release sales figures. But some experts claim that a surprising number of people carry a mobile that has been compromised,
19、 usually by a spouse, lover, parent or co-worker. Many employees, experts say, hope to discover a supervisor“s dishonest dealings and tip off the top boss anonymously. Max Maiellaro, head of Agata Christie Investigation, a private-investigation firm in Milan, estimates that 3 percent of mobiles in F
20、rance and Germany are tapped, and about 5 percent or so in Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain. James Atkinson, a spy-phone expert at Granite Island Group, a security consultancy in Gloucester, Massachusetts, puts the number of tapped phones in the U.S. at 3 percent. Even if these numbers are inflated,
21、 clearly many otherwise law-abiding citizens are willing to break wiretapping laws. Spyware thrives on iPhones, BlackBerrys and other smart phones because they have ample processing power. In the United States, the spread of GSM networks, which are more vulnerable than older technologies, has also e
22、nlarged the pool of potential victims. Spyware being developed for law-enforcement agencies will accompany a text message and automatically install itself in the victim“s phone when the message is opened, according to an Italian developer who declined to be identified. One worry is that the software
23、 will find its way into the hands of criminals. The current embarrassment is partly the result of decisions by Apple, Microsoft and Research In Motion (producer of the BlackBerry) to open their phones to outside application-software developers, which created the opening for spyware. Antivirus and se
24、curity programs developed for computers require too much processing power, even for smart phones. Although security programs are available for phones, by and large users haven“t given the threat much thought. If the spying keeps spreading, that may change soon.（分数：10.00）(1).The cell phone may be eav
25、esdropping in that（分数：2.00）A.the software industry has created a do-it-yourself program.B.the spy phone software requires no special skills or knowledge.C.a recent software can transfer a wiretapping program to other phones.D.to download the spy phone software is as easy as pressing keys.(2).Which o
26、f the following is true of the “spy phone“?（分数：2.00）A.It“s a complicated and inexpensive wireless transfer software.B.It can be downloaded to the phone for free.C.The download takes less than the time of downloading a ringtone.D.Its targets are totally unaware that they are spied.(3).In pointing out
27、 figures related to compromised mobiles, the author suggests that（分数：2.00）A.an unexpected number of people are being eavesdropped.B.many employees hope to discover the boss“ dishonest secrets.C.the popularity of spy-phone software results from low prices.D.law-abiding people become the victims of sp
28、y phone.(4).According to Paragraph 4, Spyware（分数：2.00）A.increases the processing power of iPhones.B.enlarges the pool of potential victims.C.is developed by law-enforcement agencies.D.might serve the devil.(5).Which of the following is the best title for this text?（分数：2.00）A.How to Deal with Phone S
29、pies?B.Spyware is Here and ThereC.Is Your Cellphone Spying on You?D.Security Programs for PhonesFor a quarter of a century, surveys of reading habits by the National for the Arts (NEA), a federally-funded body, have been favorite material for anyone who thinks America is dumbing down. Susan Jacoby,
30、author of “The Age of American Unreason“, for example, cites the 2007 NEA report that “the proportion of 17-year-olds who read nothing(unless required todo so forschool) more than doubled between 1984 and 2004.“ So it is a surprise that this trend seems to have taken a turn for the better. This week
31、 the NEA reported that, for the first time since 1982 when its survey began, the number of adults who said they had read a novel, short story, poem or play in the past 12 months had gone up, rising from 47% of the population in 2002 to over 50% in 2008. The increase, modest as it is, has thrown educ
32、ationalists into excitement “It“s just a blip,“ one professor told The New York Times. It is certainly a snapshot. But it is not statistically insignificant. As the NEA“s research director, Sunil Iyengar, points out, almost every demographic and ethnic group seems to be reading more. The increase ha
33、s been most marked in groups whose reading had declined most in the past 25 years, African-Americans and Hispanics (up by 15% and 20% respectively since 2002). It has also been larger among people at lower levels of education: reading among college graduates was flat, but among those who dropped out
34、 of high school it rose from under a quarter to over a third. Most remarkable of all has been the rebound among young men. The numbers of men aged 18-24 who say they are reading books (not just online) rose 24% in 2002-08. Teachers sometimes despair of young men, whose educational performance has la
35、gged behind that of young women almost across the board. But the reading gap at least may be narrowing. Dana Gioia, the NEA“s outgoing chairman, thinks the reason for the turnaround is the public reaction to earlier reports which had sounded the alarm. “There has been a measurable change in society“
36、s commitment to literacy,“ he says. “Reading has become a higher priority.“ It may also be benefiting from the growing popularity of serious-minded leisure pursuits of many kinds. Museums, literary festivals and live opera transmissions into cinemas are all reporting larger audiences. Mr. Iyengar th
37、inks the division between those who read a lot and those who don“t is eroding. What has not changed, though, is America“s “functional illiteracy“ rate. Fully 21% of adult Americans did not read a book last year because they couldn“t, one of the worst rates in the rich world.（分数：10.00）(1).What does t
38、he author mean by “dumbing down“ (line 3, Paragraph 1) ?（分数：2.00）A.Becoming illiterate.B.Becoming noiseless.C.Getting clumsy.D.Getting inflexible.(2).According to Paragraph 2, the trend seems to have taken a turn for the better in that（分数：2.00）A.adult readers read more widely.B.more people are advoc
39、ating reading.C.the number of educated people is growing.D.the percentage of adult readers has increased(3).Sunil Iyengar, the NEA“s research director points out that（分数：2.00）A.Hispanics are formerly considered the most reluctant readers before 2002.B.college graduates have dramatically increased th
40、eir reading ranges.C.the increase has compensated for the decrease during the past 25 years.D.it seems that American people as a whole are reading more than before.(4).The sentence “Most remarkable of all has been the rebound among young men.“ (Line 1, Paragraph 4) denotes that young men have（分数：2.0
41、0）A.started to outperform young women in academic studies.B.enjoyed reading more comprehensively than young women.C.narrowed the gap with young women in learning.D.showed a sign of willingness to read more than before.(5).Which of the following is true according to the last two paragraphs?（分数：2.00）A
42、.The trend of reading more results from self-examination.B.Reading has become the final aim in people“s daily life.C.The gap between book lovers and those who don“t read widens.D.America“s functional illiteracy rate remains high.Just east of downtown Irvine, in southern California, a pastoral landsc
43、ape is under construction. Little by little, a former military airport is being dismantled, to be replaced by grass, trees and a canyon 70 feet (21 meters) deep. When it is finished, Orange County“s Great Park will cover 1,350 acres (550 hectares), more than one-and-a-half times as much as Central P
44、ark in New York.Thebiggest landscaped municipal park to be built in more than a century, it reveals much about how American attitudes to open space have changed. Urban parks are back in fashion. In Denver, an 80-acre park opened in September on the site of another disused airport. New York plans to
45、build a huge park on top of the Fresh Kills landfill in Stat-en Island. Innumerable town squares and pocket parks have been created or beautified, even in places like Detroit. City planners, who once viewed parks as financial drains and nests of crime, now see them as magnets for tourists and creati
46、ve types. The great parks that were built in the second half of the 19th century were intended to counteract the ill effects of city living, and so are the new ones. But the perceived ills have changed. Frederick Olmsted, who designed Central Park and many others, wanted to provide people with a bre
47、ak from their tough, dirty jobs. Ken Smith, the Great Park“s architect, reckons the residents of Orange County are quite idle enough. What they need is exercise: hence the park“s proposed 21 football fields and 12 baseball fields, together with some exhausting-looking walks. Another difference is th
48、at parks are now expected to function like natural ecosystems as well as looking like them. The Great Park will use recycled water in its lake (older parks often used mains water). The runways will be dismantled and turned into roads and a memorial In a nod to the local-food movement, the park will
49、include land for farming. Even the car park will be situated in an orange orchard. Most striking of all is the new parks“ deference to history. America“s great 19th-century landscape architects saw the land as a blank slate. An entire village was pulled down to build Central Park. By contrast, Denver“s park preserves a control tower, and the Great Park will convert an air-dock into a museum and retain the outline
