1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 130 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）_Public health officials grappling with the obesity
2、epidemic have debated a wide range of approaches to helping slim the American waistline. To some degree, everything from building more sidewalks to banning chocolate milk has been explored. Yet few tactics have been as polarizing as the possibility of introducing tariffs on treats. Despite endorseme
3、nt from several respected obesity researchers and politicians, soda taxes, for example, have been subject to severe scrutiny, as critics protested that implementing a tax before verifying that it would achieve the end result was shortsighted and potentially overreaching. So, in attempt to determine
4、just how sin taxes might impact people“s food choices, psychologists from the University of Buffalo decided to put junk food levies to the testin the lab. Researchers recruited shoppers to examine the aisles of a mock supermarket filled with 68 common foods labeled with nutritional information. Part
5、icipants were given a predetermined amount of cash, and were told to use that money to purchase a week“s worth of groceries for a family. The first time, all of the products on the shelves were priced in keeping with local supermarkets. In subsequent trips, however, junk food was taxedan additional
6、12.5%, then 25%or healthier foods were subsidized to reduce cost. The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, revealed that taxes were more effective at getting people to avoid certain products than subsidies were at prompting healthier food purchases. In scenarios where junk foods we
7、re taxed, study participants generally came away with a lower caloric total for their groceries, and a higher ratio of protein to fats and carbohydrates. Yet, in situations where healthy foods were subsidized, the savings were often spent on additional junk food. That is, instead of stocking up on m
8、ore fruits and vegetables because they were cheaper, the study“s shoppers bought their vegetables, and then used the leftover cash to bring home extra treats like chips and soda. In the end, the subsidiesonly scenarios resulted in higher total calorie counts, and didn“t result in overall nutritional
9、 improvement on the week“s groceries. Because the scenario is hypothetical,; the findings certainly shouldn“t be taken as the final word in the sin tax debate, the researchers stress, but should instead be used to inform the ongoing discussion about practical ways to battle obesity. To that end, the
10、y say, the next step should be research to determine whether these results would be replicated in the real world.（分数：10.00）(1).It is suggested in the first paragraph that obesity has（分数：2.00）A.aroused extensive concern.B.affected infrastructure nationwide.C.been analyzed from political aspect.D.led
11、to many polarizing opinions.(2).Psychologists from the University of Buffalo decided to experiment on junk food tax in order to（分数：2.00）A.test whether it would interfere with food option.B.find the best way to curb the obesity epidemic.C.determine how polarizing the solution was.D.examine various po
12、ssibilities of food choices.(3).Which of the following is true of the experiment?（分数：2.00）A.Participants were asked to choose from 68 nutritional items.B.Participants were recruited to buy things from a local supermarket.C.Junk foods were taxed; meanwhile healthier ones were subsidized.D.There were
13、different scenarios for subjects to participate in.(4).The study published in Psychological Science showed that（分数：2.00）A.subsidies would promote healthier food purchases.B.compared with subsidies, taxes seemed to operate more effectively.C.both taxes and subsidies would greatly affect people“s food
14、 choice.D.taxes will help shoppers to stock up on more fruits and vegetables.(5).To which of the following statements would the researchers most likely agree?（分数：2.00）A.Results of the experiment played a vital role in the sin tax debate.B.More subjects should be included in similar researches.C.Thou
15、gh hypothetical, the research was still meaningful.D.The real situation will provide better ways to tackle obesity.Suicide, proclaimed Albert Camus, a French Algerian author, philosopher, and journalist, in “The Myth of Sisyphus“, is the only serious philosophical problem. In France at the moment it
16、 is also a serious management problem. A series of attempted and successful suicides at France Telecommany of them explicitly prompted by troubles at workhas sparked a national debate about life in the modern corporation. There are some insular reasons for this melancholy trend. France Telecom is ma
17、king the difficult transition from state monopoly to multinational company. It has shed 22,000 jobs since 2006, but two-thirds of the remaining workers enjoy civil-service-like job-security. This is forcing it to pursue a toxic strategy : teaching old civil servants new tricks while at the same time
18、 putting new hires on short-term contracts. Yet the problem is not confined to France. And suicide is only the tip of an iceberg of work-related unhappiness. The most obvious reason for the rise in unhappiness is the recession, which is destroying jobs at a startling rate and spreading anxiety throu
19、ghout the workforce. But the recession is also highlighting longer-term problems. Unhappiness seems to be particularly common in car companies, which suffer from global overcapacity, and telecoms companies, which are being strongly impacted by a technological revolution. A second source of misery is
20、 the drive to improve productivity, which is typically accompanied by an obsession with measuring performance. Giant retailers use “workforce management“ software to monitor how many seconds it takes to scan the goods in a grocery cart, and then reward the most diligent workers with prime working ho
21、urs. The public sector, particularly in Britain, is brimming with inspectorates and performance targets. Taylorism , which Charlie Chaplin mocked so memorably in “Modern Times“, has spread from the industrial to the post-industrial economy. In Japan some firms even monitor whether their employees sm
22、ile frequently enough at customers. A more subtle problem lies in the mixed messages that companies send about loyalty and commitment. Many firmsparticularly successful onesdemand extraordinary dedication from their employees. Some provide fringe benefits that are intended to make the office feel li
23、ke a second home. But companies also reserve the right to trim their workforce at the first sign of trouble. Most employees understand that their firms do not feel much responsibility to protect jobs. But they nevertheless find it wrenching to leave a post that has consumed so much of their lives.（分
24、数：10.00）(1).Albert Camus is mentioned to（分数：2.00）A.show suicide is the only serious philosophical problem.B.indicate that France is now suffering from a high suicidal rate.C.introduce the topic of unhappiness at work by starting with suicide.D.show that suicide has prompted great debates among philo
25、sophers.(2).According to Paragraph 2, “a toxic strategy“ denotes（分数：2.00）A.the training of the remaining workers to take up civil-service-like jobs.B.the old and new employees“ differentiating working contract.C.the difficult transition from state monopoly to international company.D.the cruel dismis
26、sal of one-third of its original working forces.(3).In the author“s opinion, recession is（分数：2.00）A.only the tip of an iceberg of the cause of suicide.B.the cause of some serious longer-term problems.C.greatly impacted by global economic changes.D.the evident cause of increased working unhappiness.(
27、4).The word “Taylorism“(line 5, Paragraph 4)most probably means（分数：2.00）A.improving productivity through performance evaluation.B.setting performance targets based on workforce management software.C.providing extra stimulation to employees during working hours.D.monitoring whether employees smile fr
28、equently enough.(5).Which of the following is true of the text?（分数：2.00）A.Suicide might be an easy solution to some working problems.B.Firms demand devotion from workers while reserving the right to fire.C.Most workers know that their companies will protect their job security.D.Employees may leave t
29、heir original posts to seek more happiness.Starting this month, roughly one quarter of the world“s population will lose sleep and gain sunlight as they set their clocks ahead for daylight saving. People may think that with the time shift, they are conserving electricity otherwise spent on lighting.
30、But recent studies have cast doubt on the energy argumentsome research has even found that it ultimately leads to greater power use. Benjamin Franklin is credited with conceiving the idea of daylight saving in 1784 to conserve candles, but the U.S. did not institute it until World War I as a way to
31、preserve resources for the war effort. The first comprehensive study of its effectiveness occurred during the oil crisis of the 1970s, when the U.S. Department of Transportation found that daylight saving trimmed national electricity usage by roughly 1 percent compared with standard time. Scant rese
32、arch had been done since, during which time U.S. electricity usage patterns have changed as air conditioning and household electronics have become more pervasive, observes economist Matthew Kotchen of the University of California, Santa Barbara. But lately, changes to daylight saving policies on sta
33、te and federal levels have presented investigators new chances to explore the before-and-after impacts of the clock shift. In 2006 Indiana instituted daylight saving statewide for the first time. Examining electricity usage and billing since the statewide change, Kotchen and his colleague Laura Gran
34、t unexpectedly found that daylight time led to a 1 percent overall rise in residential electricity use, costing the state an extra $9 million. Although daylight time reduces demand for household lighting, the researchers suggest that it increased demand for cooling on summer evenings and heating in
35、early spring and late fall mornings. Not all recent analyses suggest that daylight saving is counterproductive. Instead of studying the impact daylight saving changes had on just one state, senior analyst Jeff Dowd and his colleagues at the U.S. Department of Energy investigated what effect it might
36、 have on national energy consumption, looking at 67 electric utilities across the country. In their report to Congress, they conclude that the four-week extension of daylight time saved about 0.5 percent of the nation“s electricity per day, or 1.3 trillion watt-hours in total. That amount could powe
37、r 100,000 households for a year. The study did not just look at residential electricity use but commercial use as well, Dowd says. The disparities between regional and national results could reflect climate differences between states. “The effect we saw could be even worse in Florida, where air cond
38、itioning is used heavily,“ Kotchen suggests.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the first two paragraphs, daylight saving（分数：2.00）A.means to set the clock ahead worldwide.B.was proposed to save materials for war effort.C.leads to sleeplessness of millions of people.D.trimmed electricity usage during the oil
39、crisis of the 1970s.(2).The study of the effectiveness of daylight saving（分数：2.00）A.was started by the U.S. Department of Transportation.B.was initiated by Benjamin Franklin in 1784 to save electricity.C.was rarely done as the electricity usage patterns changed.D.needs to be done to help the governm
40、ent change its policies.(3).What effect did daylight saving have on the energy consumption of Indiana?（分数：2.00）A.It saved 1.3 trillion watt-hours in four weeks.B.It reduced demand for household lighting only in spring.C.It resulted in an extra $9 million cost on electricity.D.It reduced demand for c
41、ooling and heating all year around.(4).Jeff Dowd would most probably agree that（分数：2.00）A.daylight saving has negative effects on energy saving.B.the four-week extension of daylight time saves much electricity.C.focusing on the effect of daylight saving on one state is enough.D.a comprehensive study
42、 of daylight time nationwide is unnecessary.(5).The text intends to tell us that（分数：2.00）A.daylight saving actually contributes to nationwide electricity conservation.B.as states differ in climate, different daylight saving policies are necessary.C.whether daylight saving can save energy or not stil
43、l needs further study.D.study of effectiveness of daylight saving policies should be conducted regularly.Parents looking to steer their teens away from drugs may want to encourage them stay in bed longer. Lack of sleep seems to lead to increased drug usenot the other way around, as many researchers
44、previously concludedand this is likely to be a pattern of behaviour that teenagers acquire from their friends. Establishing whether one behaviour leads to another usually requires an experiment in which a particular variable is controled. But in the first analysis of its kind, Mednick and her team u
45、sed changes in the friendship networks of 90,000 teens during the course of a school year as a “natural experiment“ to discover what influences led them to use cannabis. They say their analysis showed not only that cannabis and poor sleep spread together, but also that lack of sleep was causing mari
46、juana use. Having one friend who had less than 7 hours of shut-eye a night increased the likelihood that a teenager had also used marijuana by 20 per cent, the team found. Also, the more sleep-deprived friends the teenager had, the more likely it was that he or she smoked dope. The team also found t
47、hat the most popular teenagers were the ones most likely to sleep poorly, do drugs and pass these behaviours on. To reduce the possibility that a shared environmental factor may explain these connections, Med-nick“s team took into account differences between teenagers, including race, sex, parents“
48、income and education. Another complication is that teenagers tend to pick friends based on a mutual interest, be it football or French or recreational drug use. But Mednick says that the pattern of changes in the social networks show the teens are not simply picking like-minded friends, but that fri
49、ends are driving each other“s behaviour. Mutual friends had more influence on the sleep habits and drug use of one another than pairs where only one person named the other as a friend. Teens whose friendship was not mutually felt by a classmate they named had little or no effect on that friend“s behaviour. Susan Tapert, a psychologist also at UC San Diego who was not involved in the study, agrees that poor s
