1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 40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）_The most thoroughly studied intellectuals in the hist
2、ory of the New World are the ministers and political leaders of seventeenth-century New England. According to the standard history of American philosophy, nowhere else in colonial America was “So much importance attached to intellectual pursuits.“ According to many books and articles, New England“s
3、leaders established the basic themes and preoccupations of an unfolding, dominant Puritan tradition in American intellectual life. To take this approach to the New Englanders normally mean to start with the Puritans“ theological innovations and their distinctive ideas about the churchimportant subje
4、cts that we may not neglect. But in keeping with our examination of southern intellectual life, we may consider the original Puritans as carriers of European culture, adjusting to New world circumstances. The New England colonies were the scenes of important episodes in the pursuit of widely underst
5、ood ideals of civility and virtuosity. The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in England. Besides the ninety or so learned ministers who came to Massachusetts churches in the decade after 1629, there were political leaders like John Winthrop, an ed
6、ucated gentleman, lawyer, and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston. These men wrote and published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences, and giving New England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness. We should not forget, however, that most New Englanders wer
7、e less well educated. While few craftsmen or farmers, let alone dependents and servants, left literary compositions to be analyzed, it is obvious that their views were less fully intellectualized. Their thinking often had a traditional superstitious quality. A tailor named John Dane, who emigrated i
8、n the late 1630s, left an account of his reasons for leaving England that is filled with signs. Sexual confusion, economic frustrations, and religious hopeall came together in a decisive moment when he opened the Bible, told his father the first line he saw would settle his fate, and read the magica
9、l words: “come out from among them, touch no unclean thing, and I will be your God and you shall be my people.“ One wonders what Dane thought of the careful sermons explaining the Bible that he heard in puritan churches. Meanwhile, many settles had slighter religious commitments than Dane“s, as one
10、clergyman learned in confronting folk along the coast who mocked that they had not come to the New world for religion. “Our main end was to catch fish.“（分数：10.00）(1).The author holds that in the seventeenth-century New England（分数：2.00）A.Puritan tradition dominated political life.B.intellectual inter
11、ests were encouraged.C.Politics benefited much from intellectual endeavors.D.intellectual pursuits enjoyed a liberal environment.(2).It is suggested in Paragraph 2 that New Englanders（分数：2.00）A.experienced a comparatively peaceful early history.B.brought with them the culture of the Old World.C.paid
12、 little attention to southern intellectual life.D.were obsessed with religious innovations.(3).The early ministers and political leaders in Massachusetts Bay（分数：2.00）A.were famous in the New World for their writings.B.gained increasing importance in religious affairs.C.abandoned high positions befor
13、e coming to the New World.D.created a new intellectual atmosphere in New England.(4).The story of John Dane shows that less well-educated New Englanders were often（分数：2.00）A.influenced by superstitions.B.troubled with religious beliefs.C.puzzled by church sermons.D.frustrated with family earnings.(5
14、).The text suggests that early settlers in New England（分数：2.00）A.were mostly engaged in political activities.B.were motivated by an illusory prospect.C.came from different backgrounds.D.left few formal records for later reference.For the past several years, the Sunday newspaper supplement Parade has
15、 featured a column called “Ask Marilyn.“ People are invited to query Marilyn vos Savant, who at age 10 had tested at a mental level of someone about 23 years old; that gave her an IQ of 228the highest score ever recorded. IQ tests ask you to complete verbal and visual analogies, to envision paper af
16、ter it has been folded and cut, and to deduce numerical sequences, among other similar tasks. So it is a bit confusing when vos Savant fields such queries from the average Joe (whose IQ is 100) as, what“s the difference between love and fondness? Or what is the nature of luck and coincidence? It“s n
17、ot obvious how the capacity to visualize objects and to figure out numerical patterns suits one to answer questions that have eluded some of the best poets and philosophers. Clearly, intelligence encompasses more than a score on a test. Just what does it mean to be smart? How much of intelligence ca
18、n be specified, and how much can we learn about it from neurology, genetics, computer science and other fields? The defining term of intelligence in humans still seems to be the IQ score, even though IQ tests are not given as often as they used to be. The test comes primarily in two forms: the Stanf
19、ord-Binet Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (both come in adult and children“s version). Generally costing several hundred dollars, they are usually given only by psychologists, although variations of them populate bookstores and the World Wide Web. Superhigh scores like vos Sa
20、vant“s are no longer possible, because scoring is now based on a statistical population distribution among age peers, rather than simply dividing the mental age by the chronological age and multiplying by 100. Other standardized tests, such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the Graduate Re
21、cord Exam (GRE), capture the main aspects of IQ tests. Such standardized tests may not assess all the important elements necessary to succeed in school and in life, argues Robert J. Sternberg. In his article “How Intelligent Is Intelligence Testing?“, Sternberg notes that traditional test best asses
22、s analytical and verbal skills but fail to measure creativity and practical knowledge, components also critical to problem solving and life success. Moreover, IQ tests do not necessarily predict so well once populations or situations change. Research has found that IQ predicted leadership skills whe
23、n the tests were given under low-stress conditions, but under high-stress conditions, IQ was negatively correlated with leadershipthat is, it predicted the opposite. Anyone who has toiled through SAT will testify that test-taking skill also matters, whether it“s knowing when to guess or what questio
24、ns to skip.（分数：10.00）(1).Which of the following may be required in an intelligence test?（分数：2.00）A.Answering philosophical questions.B.Folding or cutting paper into different shapes.C.Telling the differences between certain concepts.D.Choosing words or graphs similar to the given ones.(2).What can b
25、e inferred about intelligence testing from Paragraph 3?（分数：2.00）A.People no longer use IQ scores as an indicator of intelligence.B.More versions of IQ tests are now available on the Internet.C.The test contents and formats for adults and children may be different.D.Scientists have defined the import
26、ant elements of human intelligence.(3).People nowadays can no longer achieve IQ scores as high as vos Savant“ s because（分数：2.00）A.the scores are obtained through different computational procedures.B.creativity rather than analytical skills is emphasized now.C.vos Savant“ s case is an extreme one tha
27、t will not repeat.D.the defining characteristic of IQ tests has changed.(4).We can conclude from the last paragraph that（分数：2.00）A.test scores may not be reliable indicators of one“ s ability.B.IQ scores and SAT results are highly correlated.C.testing involves a lot of guesswork.D.traditional test a
28、re out of date.(5).What is the author“ s attitude towards IQ tests?（分数：2.00）A.Supportive.B.Skeptical.C.Impartial.D.Biased.Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves. In
29、 his latest book, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care, John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English. Blaming the
30、 permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter“s academic speciality is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of “whom“, for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss of the case-
31、endings of Old English. But the cult of the authentic and the personal, “doing our own thing“, has spelt the death of formal speech, writing, poetry and music. While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing si
32、nce then has sought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highly personal, performative genre is the only form that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity over craft. Illustrated with an entertaining ar
33、ray of examples from both high and low culture, the trend that Mr. McWhorter documents is unmistakable. But it is less clear, to take the question of his subtitle, why we should, like, care. As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including nonstandard ones like Black En
34、glish, can be powerfully expressivethere exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas. He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper. Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry large chunks of memorize
35、d poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to most English-speakers. Mr. McWhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical education reformshe is really grieving over the loss of something bea
36、utiful more than useful. We now take our English “on paper plates instead of china“. A shame, perhaps, but probably an inevitable one.（分数：10.00）(1).According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English（分数：2.00）A.is inevitable in radical education reforms.B.is but all too natural in language developm
37、ent.C.has caused the controversy over the counter-culture.D.brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s.(2).The word “talking“ (Para. 3) denotes（分数：2.00）A.modesty.B.personality.C.liveliness.D.informality.(3).To which of the following statements would McWhorter most likely agree?（分数：2.00）A
38、.Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk.B.Black English can be more expressive than standard English.C.Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining.D.Of all the varieties, standard English can best convey complex ideas.(4).The description of Russians“ lov
39、e of memorizing poetry shows the author“ s（分数：2.00）A.interest in their language.B.appreciation of their efforts.C.admiration for their memory.D.contempt for their old-fashionedness.(5).According to the last paragraph, “paper plates“ is to “china“ as（分数：2.00）A.temporary is to “permanent“.B.radical is
40、 to “conservative“.C.functional is to “artistic“.D.humble is to “noble“.A century ago, the immigrants from across the Atlantic included settlers and sojourners. Along with the many folks looking to make a permanent home in the United States came those who had no intention to stay, and who would make
41、 some money and then go home. Between 1908 and 1915, about 7 million people arrived while about 2 million departed. About a quarter of all Italian immigrants, for example, eventually returned to Italy for good. They even had an affectionate nickname, “uccelli di passaggio“, birds of passage. Today,
42、we are much more rigid about immigrants. We divide newcomers into two categories: legal or illegal, good or bad. We hail them as Americans in the making, or brand them as aliens to be kicked out. That framework has contributed mightily to our broken immigration system and the long political paralysi
43、s over how to fix it. We don“ t need more categories, but we need to change the way we think about categories. We need to look beyond strict definitions of legal and illegal. To start, we can recognize the new birds of passage, those living and thriving in the gray areas. We might then begin to solv
44、e our immigration challenges. Crop pickers, violinists, construction workers, entrepreneurs, engineers, home health-care aides and physicists are among today“s birds of passage. They are energetic participants in a global economy driven by the flow of work, “money and ideas. They prefer to come and
45、go as opportunity calls them. They can manage to have a job in one place and a family in another. With or without permission, they straddle laws, jurisdictions and identities with ease. We need them to imagine the United States as a place where they can be productive for a while without committing t
46、hemselves to staying forever. We need them to feel that home can be both here and there and that they can belong to two nations honorably. Accommodating this new world of people in motion will require new attitudes on both sides of the immigration battle. Looking beyond the culture war logic of righ
47、t or wrong means opening up the middle ground and understanding that managing immigration today requires multiple paths and multiple outcomes, including some that are not easy to accomplish legally in the existing system.（分数：10.00）(1).“Birds of passage“ refers to those who（分数：2.00）A.find permanent j
48、obs overseas.B.leave their home countries for good.C.immigrate across the Atlantic.D.stay in a foreign country temporarily.(2).It is implied in Paragraph 2 that the current immigration system in the US（分数：2.00）A.needs new immigrant categories.B.has loosened control over immigrants.C.should be adapte
49、d to meet challenges.D.has been fixed via political means.(3).According to the author, today“ s birds of passage want（分数：2.00）A.financial incentives.B.a global recognition.C.opportunities to get regular jobs.D.the freedom to stay and leave.(4).The author suggests that the birds of passage today should be treated（分数：2.00）A.as faithful partners.B.with legal tolerance.C.with economic favors.D.as mighty rivals.(5).Th
