1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 132 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）_You may not know it to look at them, but urban plan
2、ners are human and have dreams. One dream many share is that Americans will give up their love affair with suburban sprawl and will rediscover denser, more environmentally friendly, less auto-dependent ways of living. Those dreams have been aroused over the past few months. The economic crisis has d
3、evastated the fast-growing developments on the far suburban fringe. Americans now taste the bitter fruit of their overconsumption. The time has finally come, some writers are predicting, when Americans will finally repent. They“ 11 move back 10 the urban core. They will ride more bicycles, have smal
4、ler homes and tinier fridges and rediscover the joys of dense community and maybe even superior beer. America will, in short, finally begin to look a little more like Amsterdam. Well, Amsterdam is a wonderful city, but Americans never seem to want to live there. And even now, in this moment of chast
5、ening pain, they don“t seem to want the Dutch option. The Pew Research Center just finished a study about where Americans would like to live and what sort of lifestyle they would like to have. The first thing they found is that even in dark times, Americans are still looking over the next horizon. N
6、early half of those surveyed said they would rather live in a different type of community from the one they are living in at present. If you jumble together the five most popular American metro areasDenver, San Diego, Seattle, Orlando and Tampayou get an image of the American Dream circa 2009. These
7、 are places where you can imagine yourself with a stuffed garagefilled with skis, kayaks, soccer equipment, hiking boots and boating equipment. These are places you can imagine yourself leading an active outdoor lifestyle. They offer the dream, so characteristic on this continent, of having it all:
8、the machine and the garden. The wide-open space and the casual wardrobes. The folks at Pew asked one other interesting question: Would you rather live in a community with a McDonald“s or a Starbucks? McDonald“s won, of course, but by a surprisingly small margin: 43 percent to 35 percent. And that, t
9、oo, captures the incorrigible nature of American culture, a culture slowly refining itself through espresso but still in love with the drive-thru. The results may not satisfy those who dream of Holland, but there“s one other impressive result from the Pew survey. Americans may be gloomy and afraid,
10、but they still have a clear vision of the good life. That“s one commodity never in short supply.（分数：10.00）(1).Many urban planners dream that American people will _.（分数：2.00）A.reduce unnecessary consumption and wasteB.have less strong desire to live in the suburbsC.lead a more healthy and extravagant
11、 lifestyleD.enjoy more environmentally friendly lifestyle(2).Americans will be regretful for _.（分数：2.00）A.the extravagant ways of living in the suburbsB.the fast-growing developments in the suburbsC.the devastation caused by the economic crisisD.what they have done over the past few months(3).It is
12、implied in the text that people in Amsterdam _.（分数：2.00）A.particularly aspire to American ways of livingB.escaped the chastening pain in economic crisisC.cherish their wonderful life in a small urban areaD.live an unban life less dependant on automobiles(4).Americans are unwilling to live like the D
13、utch because they _.（分数：2.00）A.love active ways of living in natural environmentB.never give up their rosy dreams even in dark timesC.like to live in places with strong cultural identitiesD.have always had visions of a more perfect residence(5).It can be inferred from the Pew study that Americans _.
14、（分数：2.00）A.feel optimistic about the outlook of economyB.know clearly what a good life means to themC.are always in pursuit of higher quality of lifeD.would rather have McDonald“s than StarbucksThe United States is not the energy hog it once was. Efficiency gains are often measured in terms of “ener
15、gy intensity,“ which is the amount of energy consumed per unit of gross domestic product. Since the energy crisis of the early 1970s, U. S. energy intensity has declined by an average of 2. 1% a year. That“s partly because of an economic shift, with a lot of factories closing or moving overseas. But
16、 mostly it“s because of greater efficiency in areas such as appliances and building standards, as well as fuel economy standards for cars. Still, the rest of the country has been very slow to embrace efficiency measures compared with California. Ours was the first state to implement efficiency stand
17、ards for appliances and buildings, and it still has the toughest in the nation. California“s zeal for creative energy policy hasn“t always paid off for its residents; its disastrous experiment with deregulation in the late 1990s led to rolling blackouts and price gouging. But its efficiency measures
18、 have been a boon. The typical American uses 12,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, while the typical Californian uses less than 7,000. The state has a variety of regulatory schemes encouraging utilities to conserve power and invest in efficiency, but the most important is a concept called “de
19、coupling“. In most states, the more power utilities sell, the more money they make, so they have no incentive to encourage conservation. In California, annual targets are set for utility revenues and electricity use. If more money than expected comes in from high sales, the excess is refunded to con
20、sumers; if there“s a shortfall, the utility is allowed to charge more the following year. Decoupling has spread to a handful of states, but too few. The federal government should encourage more by requiring states to study the issue. California is accelerating its efforts to wring more savings out o
21、f its utilities, and greater energy efficiency is expected to contribute 17% toward the state“s goal of cutting its carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. At the federal level, legislation is pending that could dramatically lower carbon emissions and power use. Both houses of Congress have approve
22、d energy bills, but many of the best energy-efficiency measures were passed by only one house. So, for example, the Senate bill calls for the first boost in fuel economy standards in two decades, while the House version says nothing about vehicle mileage. The House bill, meanwhile, requires more ene
23、rgy-efficient lightbulbs and sets strong national targets for reducing power consumption in buildings, while the Senate“s doesn“t. The two chambers are now working to reconcile their bills, and the future of both the economy and the environment hinges on negotiators making the right choices on effic
24、iency.（分数：10.00）(1).The rapid decline of U. S. energy intensity indicates that_.（分数：2.00）A.there have been tremendous efficiency gainsB.the economic shift is undoubtedly successfulC.per unit of GDP consumes much less energyD.more efficient appliances have been created(2).The efficiency measures take
25、n by California result in_.（分数：2.00）A.considerably reduced consumption of electricityB.its enthusiasm for initiating creative energy policyC.tougher efficiency standards for electric appliancesD.frequent power cut and price cheating for a few years(3).According to the text, decoupling（分数：2.00）A.disc
26、ourages utilities from conserving powerB.persuades residents to consume more energyC.has been introduced to most states in the U. S.D.promotes the long-term investment in efficiency(4).It is obvious that greater energy efficiency（分数：2.00）A.contributes remarkably to power conservationB.is of much ben
27、efit to utilities and consumersC.facilitates the reduction of carbon emissionsD.squeezes out more savings from utilities(5).According to the text, both the Senate bill and the House bill（分数：2.00）A.are infatuated with energy-efficiency measuresB.require people to reduce power consumptionC.appeal to e
28、veryone to fight global warmingD.set strong standards for conserving powerIt seems likely that most people who try to evaluate the intelligence of animals are probahly measuring the wrong things! Yes, there is great importance in the fact that parrots and parakeets can often quickly learn to copy so
29、unds they hear. Similarly, most dogs can be conditioned to behave in specific ways on command. These are certainly aspects which show native intelligence. But I believe that it is important to place higher standards on what is expected. Here is an example of what I consider to be far clearer evidenc
30、e of the native intelligence of one specific dog. As a puppy, a dog of mine was frightened by a very loud sound, the firing of a shotgun just a couple feet away from her. As a result, Deimos always hated loud sounds throughout her life. Even though she was a hunting dog(a Redbone Coonhound)she grew
31、up being very spoiled and somewhat of a sissy, always expecting to be covered up to sleep in her dogbed. Early in her life, I had noticed that when she saw the flash of lightning, she would invariably run to her dogbed and start to shiver. I eventually realized that she wanted not only to be covered
32、, but to have her head covered as well. At the time, I did not understand the implications of that, but there was every appearance that she was frightened of the flash of lightning. It was only after watching this happen many times that 1 finally realized that she had somehow figured out the relatio
33、nship between lightning and thunder! When she would see the bright flash, she had figured out that a few seconds later, there would be a loud boom! So it was not the bright flash at all that she was afraid of, but the thunder that she knew would soon follow. That is amazing analytical thinking! How
34、could a dog discover such a relationship? It actually had some humorous side effects! Whenever a flash camera was used to take a photo of anyone, she would immediately run to her bed and start shivering! 1 would wonder if she was confused as to why there was no sound of thunder then! This example sh
35、ows a combination of good observation and good logic in an analysis and then in arriving at a reliable conclusion. That is pretty close to what is considered the Scientific Method of investigation! That is quite different from an animal simply learning to copy some sound or behavior, or to reinforce
36、 a specific behavior based on treats or praise training.（分数：10.00）(1).The author suggests that parrots（分数：2.00）A.are as intelligent as lovely childrenB.are hardly the most intelligent animalC.have impressive communication skillsD.are able to answer any questions we ask(2).The author cites his dog to
37、 show that dogs_.（分数：2.00）A.are dissimilar to parrots in many aspectsB.are likely to be frightened by loud soundC.have much higher intelligence than birdsD.are animals with high native intelligence(3).It seems that the author“s dog_.（分数：2.00）A.knows what follows a flash of lightningB.hates the flash
38、 of lightning and thunderC.is a spoiled pet afraid of leaving homeD.grew up in a comfortable environment(4).It is implied in the text that some animals_.（分数：2.00）A.have developed the ability to analyze and solve problemsB.can figure out what would happen after a frightening eventC.have limited abili
39、ty to analyze what happens around themD.understand the relationship between lightning and thunder(5).We learn from the text that_.（分数：2.00）A.good logic depends on good observationB.animals may have logical thinking abilityC.animals“ behavior is based on praise trainingD.dogs can make simple scientif
40、ic investigationThe evolution in public policy concerning the manufacture, sale and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons like AK-47s, AR-15s and Uzis has been very disturbing. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and I all supported a ban on these formidable firearms, and
41、 one was finally passed in 1994. When the 10-year ban was set to expire, many police organizations called on Congress and President George W. Bush to renew and strengthen it. But with a wink from the White House, the gun lobby prevailed and the ban expired. An overwhelming majority of Americans, inc
42、luding me and my hunting companions, believe in the right to own weapons, but surveys show that they also support modest restraints like background checks, mandatory registration and brief waiting periods before purchase. A majority of Americans also support banning assault weapons. Many of us who h
43、unt arc dismayed by some of the more extreme policies of the National Rifle Association, the most prominent voice in opposition to a ban, and by the timidity of public officials who yield to the group“s unreasonable demands. Heavily influenced and supported by the firearms industry, N. R. A. leaders
44、 have misled many gullible people into believing that our weapons are going to be taken away from us, and that homeowners will be deprived of the right to protect ourselves and our families. The N. R. A. would be justified in its efforts if there was a real threat to our constitutional right to bear
45、 arms. But that is not the case. Instead, the N. R. A. is defending criminals“ access to assault weapons and use of ammunition that can penetrate protective clothing worn by police officers on duty. In addition, while the N. R. A. seems to have reluctantly accepted current law restricting sales by l
46、icensed gun dealers to convicted felons, it claims that only “law-abiding people“ obey such restrictionsand it opposes applying them to private gun dealers or those who sell all kinds of weapons from the back of a van or pickup truck at gun shows. What are the results of this profligate ownership an
47、d use of guns designed to kill people? In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 30,000 people died from firearms, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all injury deaths. In 2005, every nine hours a child or teenager in the United States was killed in a firearm-relate
48、d accident or suicide. The gun lobby and the firearms industry should reassess their policies concerning safety and accountabilityat least on assault weaponsand ease their pressure on acquiescent politicians who fear N. R. A. disapproval at election time. We can“t let the N. R. A. “s political black
49、mail prevent the banning of assault weaponsdesigned only to kill police officers and the people they defend.（分数：10.00）(1).The author notes that the ban on assault weapons _.（分数：2.00）A.confronts with widespread oppositionB.has been very disturbing to AmericansC.will soon be renewed and strengthenedD.was approved by four former Presidents(2).It is implie
