1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 408 及答案解析(总分：60.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：10，分数：60.00)1.Section II Reading Comprehension_2.Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D._Partly due to a historical development marked by worldwide colonialism
2、, urbanization, and globalization, in the course of this century humankind is likely to experience its most extreme cultural loss. As K. David Harrison notes in When Languages Die, “The last speakers of probably half of the worlds languages are alive today.“ Their children or grandchildren are press
3、ured to speak only the dominant language of their community or country. Under one estimate, more than 50% of the 6,900 or so languages identified nowadays are expected to become extinct in a matter of a few decades. The precise criteria for what counts as a distinct language are controversialespecia
4、lly those regarding closely related linguistic systems, which are often inaccurately referred to as dialects of the same language. The problem is complicated by the insufficiency of studies about the grammar of many of the worlds endangered languages. In addition, from a cognitive standpoint any two
5、 groups of individuals whose languages are mutually intelligible may in fact have distinct mental grammars. As a cognitive system, a language shows dynamic properties that cannot exist independently of its speakers. This is the sense in which the Anatolian languages and Dalmatian are extinct. Theref
6、ore, language preservation depends on the maintenance of the native-speaking human groups. Unfortunately, the most accelerated loss of distinct languages takes place where economic development is rapid, worsening the breakdown of minority communities that speak different languages. In this perspecti
7、ve, a language often begins to die long before the passing of the last speaker: New generations may start using it only for limited purposes, increasingly shifting to the communitys dominant language. In this process, knowledge of the dying language erodes both at the individual level and at the com
8、munity level. Linguistic diversity itself may be the worst loss at stake, because it may be the most promising and precise source of evidence for the range of variation allowed in the organization of the human cognitive system. For instance, Harrison discusses many strategies for manipulating quanti
9、ties across languages, often endangered ones. The rapid loss of linguistic diversity substantially hinders comparative investigation about the multiple ways in which a single cognitive domain can be organized. Linguists are well aware that their efforts alone cannot prevent this loss. Community invo
10、lvement, especially with government support, has proven essential in slowing or even reversing language loss in different cases(e.g., Basque and Irish). Crucially, endangered languages must be acquired by new generations of speakers. Here the biological metaphor adopted by Harrison applies appropria
11、tely documentation of dead languages is akin to a fossil record, providing only partial clues about complex cognitive systems.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the first paragraph, language loss（分数：2.00）A.is caused partly by colonialism, urbanization and globalization.B.is the most extreme cultural loss pe
12、ople experiences.C.is expected to occur in a few centuries.D.occurs in less than half of the worlds 6,900 languages.(2).One of the difficulties in differentiating one language from another is that（分数：2.00）A.one language may have many dialects.B.grammar study on some languages is not enough.C.they ar
13、e dialects of the same languages.D.grammars reflected by languages are different.(3).The start of language dying is indicated by（分数：2.00）A.the disappearance of its last speakers.B.the fact that new generations stop using it.C.the official ban on speaking it.D.its new generations decreased use of it.
14、(4).Measures that can be taken to prevent language loss include（分数：2.00）A.turning endangered languages into dominant languages.B.protecting minority groups by slowing economic growth.C.relying on the joint efforts of linguists and government.D.conducting comparative investigation across languages.(5
15、).We can infer from the metaphor in the last paragraph that（分数：2.00）A.dead languages are similar to fossils in biological sense.B.documentation is not enough for us to understand dead languages.C.fossil records give a complete picture of ancient lives.D.dead languages can remain alive if they are do
16、cumented properly.In George Orwells Animal Farm the mighty cart-horse, Boxer, inspires the other animals with his heroic cry of “I will work harder“. He gets up at the crack of dawn to do a couple of hours extra ploughing. He even refuses to take a day off. And his reward for all this effort? As soo
17、n as he collapses on the job he is sent to the knackers yard to be turned into glue and bone-meal. Animal Farm looks ever more like an allegory about capitalism as well as socialism. Everybody knows about the plague of unemployment. But unemployment is bringing another plague in its wake overwork. T
18、he Hay Group, a British consultancy which recently surveyed 1,000 people, says that two-thirds of workers report they are putting in unpaid overtime. The reward for all this effort is frozen pay and shrinking perks. The only difference between these overstretched workers and Boxer is that they can s
19、ee the knackers van coming. So far workers have borne all this with remarkable perseverancepartly because they feel lucky to keep their jobs and partly because they want to save their firms from going under. But the Dunkirk spirit is beginning to fade . The Hay survey notes that 63% of workers say t
20、hat their employers do not appreciate their extra effort. Half report that their current level of work is unsustainable. People are wearying of frantic reorganization as well as the added toil-floods of memos and meetings, endless reshuffles, earnest persuasions to do more with less. For their part,
21、 companies are beginning to notice the downside of all this overstretching. Absenteeism is on the rise. Corporate loyalty is on the wane. And the biggest danger for companies is if workers head for the door as the economy picks up. Most problematic of all is when star employees decide to look for wo
22、rk elsewhere. These “high-potentials“(HiPos)are doubly frustrated: they have been asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of the growing burden of work and they have seen senior jobs dry up as older managers try to cling to their positions. What can organizations do to cope with this new era of o
23、verwork? Most obviously they can redouble efforts to make staff feel valued. Cash-strapped companies are making more use of symbolic rewards. A second strategy is to make more use of that old favorite, “empowerment“. This means trying harder to explain why companies are acting as they are. A third s
24、trategy is to pay particular attention to high performers. A striking number of companies have introduced “HiPo schemes“ to identify and nurture potential stars. Yet this approach is less divisive than it sounds because some animals are more equal than others.（分数：10.00）(1).By citing the book Animal
25、Farm, the author intends to（分数：2.00）A.show the suffering of the cart-horse Boxer.B.discuss the issue of unemployment.C.introduce the issue of overwork.D.illustrate the harm of overwork.(2).It is indicated in Paragraph 2 that workers nowadays（分数：2.00）A.have less and less bonus.B.can see their dim fut
26、ure.C.work overtime without payment.D.can see the chance of promotion.(3).The statement “the Dunkirt spirit is beginning to fade“(Lines 2-3, Paragraph 3)most probably means（分数：2.00）A.employees are becoming less loyal to their company.B.employees are becoming less patient with their working condition
27、.C.employees are becoming less devoted to their company.D.more and more employees are absent from work.(4).From Paragraph 4 we can learn that（分数：2.00）A.overwork has a negative impact on company.B.star employees are promoted to senior jobs.C.HiPos left their company due to overwork.D.companies do not
28、 appreciate the star employees.(5).According to the author, the “HiPo schemes“ introduced by many companies are（分数：2.00）A.very useful.B.not that popular.C.not that decisive.D.not that effective.That mythical beast, homo economicus, otherwise called Economic man, is utterly clear about the purpose of
29、 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 cross-country comparison of benefits and attitudes to wor
30、k 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 citizens commitment to work(gauged by asking whether they
31、 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 ungenerous)after those that Americans get, were least keen of
32、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 Norwegians(who came top on work commitment)have professional jo
33、bs 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 culture“ currently exercising British politicians be solved by
34、 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 report terms “encompassing“ states, all Nordic with Lut
35、heran 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: “corporatist“ states such as Germany, which pay higher bene
36、fits to those with a longer work history, may be encouraging positive attitudes to work by such conditionality. Britains poor benefits, by contrast, are largely independent of previous employment, which may mean they are seen as an alternative to work, rather than as one of the good things that flow
37、 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 state is.B.People who are keen on work will make their stat
38、e 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 are healthy enough not to feel ill.B.Britons have good immu
39、ne 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 benefits.D.various working attitudes.(5).Germany is mentione
40、d 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.D.Germany encourages positive work attitudes by paying h
41、igher 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 tobacco companies have engaged in deceitful and harmful be
42、havior 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 upheld major elements of a 2006 lower court decision that foun
43、d 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 false statements and suppressed evidence to deny or play
44、 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 and falsely represented that light and low-tar cigarettes p
45、resented 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 Kesslers findings. It also upheld some but not all of the marketing
46、 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 they had already agreed to numerous remedies under a sett
47、lement agreement with 46 states and the District of Columbia. The appeals panel was rightly unimpressed. It upheld the district courts findings that after the settlement went into effect in 1998, the companies almost immediately began to evade and violate various prohibitions against joint activitie
48、s 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 industry. It cant be trusted to behave responsibly or even adhere
49、 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
