1、厦门大学考博英语-4 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、 Reading comprehens(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Part A(总题数：3，分数：30.00)In 1998 consumers could purchase virtually anything over the Internet. Books, compact discs, and even stocks were available from World Wide Web sites that seemed to spring up almost dally. A few years e
2、arlier, some people had predicted that consumers accustomed to shopping in stores would be reluctant to buy things that they could not see or touch in person. For a growing number of time-starved consumers, however, shopping from their home computer was proved to be a convenient alternative to drivi
3、ng to the store.A research estimated that in 1998 US consumers would purchase $ 7.3 billion of goods over the Internet, double the 1997 total. Finding a bargain was getting easier owing to the rise of online auctions and Web sites that did comparison shopping on the Internet for the best deal.For al
4、l the consumer interest, retailing in cyberspace was still a largely unprofitable business, however. Internet pioneer Amazon. com, which began selling books in 1995 and liter branched into recorded music and videos, posted revenue of $ 153.7 million in the third quarter, up from $ 37.9 million in th
5、e same period of 1997. Overall, however, the companys loss widened to $ 45.2 million from $ 9.6 million, and analysis did not expect the company to turn a profit until 2001. Despite the great loss, Amazon. com had a stock market value of many billions, reflecting investors optimism about the future
6、of the industry Internet retailing appealed to investors because it provided an efficient means for reaching millions of consumers without having the cost of operating conventional stores with their armies of salespeople. Selling online carried its own risks, however. With so many companies competin
7、g for consumers attention, price competition was intense and profit margins thin or nonexistent. one video retailer sold the hit movie Titanic for $ 9. 99, undercutting (削价) the $ 19.99 suggested retail price and losing about $ 6 on each copy sold. With Internet retailing still in its initial stage,
8、 companies seemed willing to absorb such losses in an attempt to establish a dominant market position.（分数：10.00）(1).Which of the following is TRUE according to the writer?A. Consumers are reluctant to buy things on the Internet.B. Consumers are too busy to buy things on the Internet.C. Internet reta
9、iling is a profitable business.D. More and more consumers prefer Internet shopping.（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Finding a bargain on the Internet was getting easier partly because _ .A. there were more and more Internet usersB. there were more and more online auctionsC. the consumers had more money to spend
10、D. there were more goods available on the Internet（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).“For all the consumer interest“ (Paragraph 3) means _ .A. to the interest of all the consumersB. for the interest of all the consumersC. though the consumers are very much interestedD. all the consumers are much interested（分数：2.0
11、0）A.B.C.D.(4).It can be inferred from the passage that Amazon. com _ .A. will probably make a profit in 2001 B. is making a profit nowC. is a company that sells books only D. suffers a great loss on the stock market（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).Investors are interested in Internet retailing because _ .A. sel
12、ling online involves little risk B. Internet retailing is in its initial stageC. it can easily reach millions of consumers D. they can make huge profits from it（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.It is all very well to blame traffic jams, the cost of petrol and the quick pace of modem life, but manners on the roads ar
13、e becoming horrible. You might tolerate the rude and inconsiderate driver, but nowadays the well-mannered motorist is the exception to the rule. Perhaps the situation calls for a “Be Kind to Other Drivers“ campaign, otherwise, it may get completely out of hand.Road politeness is not only good manner
14、s, but good sense too. It takes the most cool-headed and good-tempered of drivers to resist the temptation to revenge when subjected to uncivilized behaviors. on the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards relieving the tensions of motoring. A friendly nod or a wave of acknowledgemen
15、t in response to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance so necessary in modem traffic conditions. But such acknowledgements of politeness are all too rare today. Many drivers nowadays dont even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.However, improper
16、 politeness can also be dangerous. A typical example is the driver who waves a child across a crossing into the path of oncoming vehicles that may be unable to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they care to.A veteran driver, whose manners
17、are faultless, told me it would help if motorists learn to filter correctly into traffic streams one at a time without causing the total blockages (堵塞) that give rise to bad temper. Unfortunately, modem motorists cant even learn to drive, let alone be well-mannered on the road. Years ago the experts
18、 warned us that the car-ownership explosion would demand a lot more give-and-take from all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.（分数：10.00）(1).According to this passage, troubles on the road are primarily caused by _ .A. peoples attitude towards drivers B. the rhyth
19、m of modem lifeC. traffic conditions D. the behavior of the driver（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).The sentence “You might tolerate the rude and inconsiderate driver, but nowadays the well-mannered motorist is the exception to the rule“ implies that _ .A. our society is unjust towards well-mannered motoristsB.
20、rude drivers can be met only occasionallyC. nowadays impolite drivers constitute the majority of motoristsD. the well-mannered motorist cannot tolerate the rude driver（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).By “good sense“ (Paragraph 2), the writer means _ .A. the drivers prompt response to difficult conditionsB. the
21、drivers ability to understand and react reasonablyC. the drivers tolerance of bad road conditionsD. the drivers acknowledgement of politeness and regulations（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(4).Experts have long pointed out that in the face of car-ownership explosion, _ .A. drivers should be ready to yield to one a
22、notherB. road users should make more sacrificesC. drivers should have more communication among themselvesD. drivers will suffer a great loss if they pay no respect to others（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).In the writers opinion, _ .A. drivers should apply road politeness properlyB. strict traffic regulations a
23、re badly neededC. rude and inconsiderate drivers should be punishedD. drivers should try their best to avoid traffic jams（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.The most noticeable trend among todays media companies is vertical integration-an attempt to control several related aspects of the media business at once, each p
24、art helping the other. Besides publishing magazines and books, Time Warner, for example, owns Home Box office (HBO), Warner movie studios, various cable TV systems throughout the United States and CNN as well. The Japanese company Matsushita owns MCA Records and Universal Studios and manufactures br
25、oadcast production equipment.To describe the financial status of todays media is also to talk about acquisitions. The media are buying and selling each other in unprecedented numbers and forming media groups to position themselves in the marketplace to maintain and increase their profits. In 1986, t
26、he first time a broadcast network had been sold, two networks were sold that year-ABC and NBC.Media acquisitions have skyrocketed since 1980 for two reasons. The first is that most big corporations today are publicly traded companies, which means that their stock is traded on one of the nations stoc
27、k exchanges. This makes acquisitions relatively easy.A media company that wants to buy a publicly owned company can buy that companys stock when the stock becomes available. The open availability of stock in these companies means that anybody with enough money can invest in the American media indust
28、ries, which is exactly how Rupert Murdoch joined the media business.The second reason for the increase in media alliances is that beginning in 1980, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gradually deregulated the broadcast media. Before 1980, for example, the FCC allowed one company to own onl
29、y five TV stations, five AM radio stations, and five FM radio stations; companies also were required to hold onto a station for three years before the station could be sold. The post1980 FCC eliminated the three-year rule and raised the number of broadcast holdings allowed for one owner. This trend
30、of media acquisitions is continuing throughout the 1990s, as changing technology expands the market for media products.The issue of media ownership is important. If only a few corporations direct the media industries in this country, the outlets for differing political viewpoints and innovative idea
31、s could be limited.（分数：10.00）(1).What do Time Warner and Matsushita have in common?A. They both belong to Rupert Murdoch.B. They are both big American media corporations.C. They are both outlets of differing viewpoints and innovative ideas.D. They both own several different but related media busines
32、ses.（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Which of the following is TRUE of the media?A. They used to sell and buy each other in great numbers.B. They are trading each other in greater numbers today.C. They used to be controlled by two networks-ABC and NBC.D. They have stopped the trend of acquisitions in the 1990s.
33、（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).According to the passage, what makes acquisitions easier?A. The changing technology employed by the media.B. The medias increasing profits in the marketplace.C. The even tougher regulations of the FCC on the media since 1980.D. The availability of the medias stocks on stock exch
34、anges.（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(4).What is the FCCs new policy regarding media alliances?A. It allows companies to sell their stocks publicly.B. It doesnt allow companies to sell their stocks publicly.C. It permits one company to own more media businesses at the same time.D. It has eliminated all post-1980
35、companies.（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The issue of media ownership is important because _ .A. it affects the amount of money the stockholders will makeB. it decides whether we can have different aspects of the mediaC. it concerns the channels through which to express opinionsD. it means that more and more
36、people will hold onto only a few stations（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.三、Part B(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Think about what would make you really, really happy. More money? Wrong. Smiling, well-adjusted kids? Wrong again. The fact is we are terrible at predicting the source of joy. And whatever choices we do make, we likely
37、 later decide it was all for the best.These are insights from happiness economics, perhaps the hottest field in what used to be called the dismal science. Happiness is everywhere-on the best-seller lists, in the minds of policymakers, and front and center for economists-yet it remains elusive. The g
38、olden role of economics has always been that well-being is a simple function of income. Thats why nations and people alike strive for higher incomes-money gives us choice and a measure of freedom. After a certain income can, we simply dont get any happier. And it isnt what we have, but whether we ha
39、ve more than our neighbor, that really matters. So the news last week that in 2006 top hedge-fund managers took home $ 240 million, minimum, probably didnt make them any happier, it just made the rest of us less so.Now policymakers are racing to figure out what makes people happy, and just how they
40、should deliver it. Countries as diverse as Bhutan, Australia, China, Thailand and the U. IC are coming up with “happiness indexer,“ to be used alongside GDP as a guide to societys progress. In Britain, the “politics of happiness“ will likely figure prominently in next years elections. Never mind tha
41、t the worlds top happiness researchers recently gathered at a conference in Rome to debate whether joy is even measurable.Why is this all happening now? only in the last decade have economists, psychologists, biologists and philosophers begun cross-pollinating in such a way to arrive at “happiness s
42、tudies“. Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert humorously sums up much of the new wisdom in his book “Stumbling on Happiness“. He says 24-hour television and the Internet have allowed us all to see more seemingly happy people than ever before. “Were surrounded by the lifestyles of the rich and famous,
43、“ says Gilbert, “rubbing our noses in the fact that others have more.“of course, the idea that money isnt the real key to happiness isnt new. The 18th-centry British Enlightenment thinker Jeremy Bentham argued that public policy should try to. maximize happiness, and many prominent economists agreed
44、 but could not quite embrace the idea. There was just no way to measure happiness objectively.one of the early revelations of happiness research, from Richard Easterlin at the University of SouthernCalifornia, was that while the rich are typically happier than the poor, the happiness boost from extr
45、a cash isnt that great once one rises above the poverty line. The reason, says Easterlin, is the “hedonic cycle“: we get used to being richer dam quick, and take it for granted or compare it to what others have, not what we used to have. Tums out, keeping up with the Joneses is hard-wired into our b
46、rains, thanks to our pack-creature roots.Though many happiness researchers say “work less, play more“ is the formula for happiness, Ruut Veenhoven, a professor at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, suggests otherwise. Hard-working Americans ranks 17th on his list; the hard-vacationing French 39th. Hum
47、an beings do want a European-style safety net, but also want freedom and opportunity.And perhaps our intuitions about happiness should triumph over the fuzzy data, anyway. The economics of happiness has given us a couple of fairly hard and fast roles about well-being-being truly poor is bad, and tim
48、e with friends and family are good. The good news is that whatever choices we make individually and as societies in the pursuit of happiness theres good chance that theyll seem better in hindsight. Yet another truism of happiness is that “we all wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to our past de
49、cision-making,“ says Gilbert. Todays dreadful life choice will likely be tomorrows happy accident. We are poor at prevision of the origin of hapiness, and we would probably believe the decision we made is the most satisfactory. The Happiness has become 16 everywhere but tough to define. Nations and people manage to gain higher incomes based on the principle of economics that 17 are related to hapiness, but that is not 18 .Wealth alone isnt necessarily what makes us happy. It makes different if we possess
