1、2014 年考研英语（一）真题试卷及答案与解析一、Section I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D. (10 points) 0 As many people hit middle age, they often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be. We s
2、uddenly cant remember【B1】_we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old acquaintances name, or the name of an old band we used to love. As the brain【B2】_, we refer to these occurrences as “ senior moments. “【B3】_seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a(n) 【B4】_impact on ou
3、r professional, social, and personal【B5】_.Neuroscientists, experts who study the nervous system, are increasingly showing that theres actually a lot that can be done. It【B6】_out that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do, and the right mental【B7】_can significantly improve our
4、basic cognitive【B8】_. Thinking is essentially a 【B9】_of making connections in the brain. To a certain extent, our ability to【B10】_in making the connections that drive intelligence is inherited.【B11】_, because these connections are made through effort and practice, scientists believe that intelligenc
5、e can expand and fluctuate【B12】_mental effort.Now, a new Web-based company has taken it a step【B13】_and developed the first “ brain training program“ designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental【B14】_.The Web-based program【B15】_you to systematically improve your memory and attent
6、ion skills. The program keeps【B16】_of your progress and provides detailed feedback【B17 】_your performance and improvement. Most importantly, it【B18 】_modifies and enhances the games you play to【B19】_on the strengths you are developingmuch like a(n) 【B20】_exercise routine requires you to increase res
7、istance and vary your muscle use.1 【B1 】（A）where（B） when（C） that（D）why2 【B2 】（A）improves（B） fades（C） recovers（D）collapses3 【B3 】（A）If（B） Unless（C） Once（D）While4 【B4 】（A）uneven（B） limited（C） damaging（D）obscure5 【B5 】（A）wellbeing（B） environment（C） relationship（D）outlook6 【B6 】（A）turns（B） finds（C） poin
8、ts（D）figures7 【B7 】（A）roundabouts（B） responses（C） workouts（D）associations8 【B8 】（A）genre（B） functions（C） circumstances（D）criterion9 【B9 】（A）channel（B） condition（C） sequence（D）process10 【B10 】（A）persist（B） believe（C） excel（D）feature11 【B11 】（A）Therefore（B） Moreover（C） Otherwise（D）However12 【B12 】（A）a
9、ccording to（B） regardless of（C） apart from（D）instead of13 【B13 】（A）back（B） further（C） aside（D）around14 【B14 】（A）sharpness（B） stability（C） framework（D）flexibility15 【B15 】（A）forces（B） reminds（C） hurries（D）allows16 【B16 】（A）hold（B） track（C） order（D）pace17 【B17 】（A）to（B） with（C） for（D）on18 【B18 】（A）irr
10、egularly（B） habitually（C） constantly（D）unusually19 【B19 】（A）carry（B） put（C） build（D）take20 【B20 】（A）risky（B） effective（C） idle（D）familiarPart ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)20 In order to “ change lives for the be
11、tter“ and reduce “ dependency,“ George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the “ upfront work search“ scheme. Only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with a CV, register for online job search, and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefitand then they should report we
12、ekly rather than fortnightly. What could be more reasonable?More apparent reasonableness followed. There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseekers allowance. “Those first few days should be spent looking for work, not looking to sign on. “ he claimed. “ Were doing these things because we know
13、they help people stay off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster. “ Help? Really? On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with “reforms“ to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the ne
14、wly unemployed to find work, and subsidises laziness. What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for “fundamental fairness“protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.Losing a job is hurting: you dont skip dow
15、n to the jobcentre with a song in your heart, delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. It is financially terrifying, psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; you are now excluded from
16、the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life. Worse, the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared. Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always: a job.But in Osborneland, your first instinct is to fall into depend
17、encypermanent dependency if you can get itsupported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood. It is as though 20 years of ever-tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration system never happened. The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself aga
18、inst the risk of unemployment and receive unconditional payments if the disaster happens. Even the very phrase “jobseekers allowance“ is about redefining the unemployed as a “jobseeker“ who had no fundamental right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions. In
19、stead, the claimant receives a time-limited “ allowance,“ conditional on actively seeking a job; no entitlement and no insurance, at 71. 70 a week, one of the least generous in the EU.21 George Osbornes scheme was intended to_.（A）provide the unemployed with easier access to benefits（B） encourage job
20、seekers active engagement in job seeking（C） motivate the unemployed to report voluntarily（D）guarantee jobseekers legitimate right to benefits22 The phrase “to sign on“(Line 2, Para. 2)most probably means_.（A）to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentre（B） to accept the governments restricti
21、ons on the allowance（C） to register for an allowance from the government（D）to attend a governmental job-training program23 What promoted the chancellor to develop his scheme?（A）A desire to secure a better life for all.（B） An eagerness to protect the unemployed.（C） An urge to be generous to the claim
22、ants.（D）A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.24 According to Paragraph 3, being unemployed makes one feel_.（A）uneasy（B） enraged（C） insulted（D）guilty25 To which of the following would the author most probably agree?（A）The British welfare system indulges jobseekers laziness.（B） Osbornes reforms
23、will reduce the risk of unemployment.（C） The jobseekers allowance has met their actual needs.（D）Unemployment benefits should not be made conditional.25 All around the world, lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other professionwith the possible exception of journalism. But there a
24、re few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America.During the decade before the economic crisis, spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast as inflation. The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money, tempting ever more students to pile into law schools. But mos
25、t law graduates never get a big-firm job. Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.There are many reasons for this. One is the excessive costs of a legal education. There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states: a four
26、-year undergraduate degree in some unrelated subject, then a three-year law degree at one of 200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam. This leaves todays average law-school graduate with $ 100,000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts.
27、Law-school debt means that they have to work fearsomely hard. Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers. Sensible ideas have been around for a long time, but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them. One idea is to allow pe
28、ople to study law as an undergraduate degree. Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school. If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer, those who can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so. Students who do not need the extra training could
29、cut their debt mountain by a third.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business. Except in the District of Columbia, non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm. This keeps fees high and innovation slow. There is pressure for change fro
30、m within the profession, but opponents of change among the regulators insist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically.In fact, allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services
31、to customers, by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improving firms efficiency. After all, other countries, such as Australia and Britain, have started liberalizing their legal professions. America should follow.26 A lot of students take up law as
32、 their profession due to_.（A）the growing demand from clients（B） the increasing pressure of inflation（C） the prospect of working in big firms（D）the attraction of financial rewards27 Which of the following adds to the costs of legal education in most American states?（A）Higher tuition fees for undergra
33、duate studies.（B） Admissions approval from the bar association.（C） Pursuing a bachelors degree in another major.（D）Receiving training by professional associations.28 Hindrance to the reform of the legal system originates from_.（A）lawyers and clients strong resistance（B） the rigid bodies governing th
34、e profession（C） the stern exam for would-be lawyers（D）non-professionals sharp criticism29 The guild-like ownership structure is considered “restrictive“ partly because it_.（A）bans outsiders involvement in the profession（B） keeps lawyers from holding law-firm shares（C） aggravates the ethical situatio
35、n in the trade（D）prevents lawyers from gaining due profits30 In this text, the author mainly discusses_.（A）flawed ownership of Americas law firms and its causes（B） the factors that help make a successful lawyer in America（C） a problem in Americas legal profession and solutions to it（D）the role of un
36、dergraduate studies in Americas legal education30 The US $3-million Fundamental Physics Prize is indeed an interesting experiment, as Alexander Polyakov said when he accepted this years award in March. And it is far from the only one of its type. As a News Feature article in Nature discusses, a stri
37、ng of lucrative awards for researchers have joined the Nobel Prizes in recent years. Many, like the Fundamental Physics Prize, are funded from the telephone-number-sized bank accounts of Internet entrepreneurs. These benefactors have succeeded in their chosen fields, they say, and they want to use t
38、heir wealth to draw attention to those who have succeeded in science.Whats not to like? Quite a lot, according to a handful of scientists quoted in the News Feature. You cannot buy class, as the old saying goes, and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels. The
39、new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behind them, say scientists. They could distort the achievement-based system of peer-review-led research. They could cement the status quo of peer-reviewed research. They do not fund peer-reviewed research. They perpetuate the myth of the lone g
40、enius.The goals of the prize-givers seem as scattered as the criticism. Some want to shock, others to draw people into science, or to better reward those who have made their careers in research.As Nature has pointed out before, there are some legitimate concerns about how science prizesboth new and
41、oldare distributed. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, launched this year, takes an unrepresentative view of what the life sciences include. But the Nobel Foundations limit of three recipients per prize, each of whom must still be living, has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of m
42、odern researchas will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson. The Nobels were, of course, themselves set up by a very rich individual who had decided what he wanted to do with his own money. Time, rather than intentio
43、n, has given them legitimacy.As much as some scientists may complain about the new awards, two things seem clear. First, most researchers would accept such a prize if they were offered one. Second, it is surely a good thing that the money and attention come to science rather than go elsewhere. It is
44、 fair to criticize and question the mechanismthat is the culture of research, after allbut it is the prize-givers money to do with as they please. It is wise to take such gifts with gratitude and grace.31 The Fundamental Physics Prize is seen as_.（A）a symbol of the entrepreneurs wealth（B） a possible
45、 replacement of the Nobel Prizes（C） an example of bankers investments（D）a handsome reward for researchers32 The critics think that the new awards will most benefit_.（A）the profit-oriented scientists（B） the founders of the new awards（C） the achievement-based system（D）peer-review-led research33 The di
46、scovery of the Higgs boson is a typical case which involves_.（A）controversies over the recipients status（B） the joint effort of modem researchers（C） legitimate concerns over the new prizes（D）the demonstration of research findings34 According to Paragraph 4, which of the following is true of the Nobe
47、ls?（A）Their endurance has done justice to them.（B） Their legitimacy has long been in dispute.（C） They are the most representative honor.（D）History has never cast doubt on them.35 The author believes that the new awards are_.（A）acceptable despite the criticism（B） harmful to the culture of research（C）
48、 subject to undesirable changes（D）unworthy of public attention35 “The Heart of the Matter,“ the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences(AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democr
49、acy in America. Regrettably, however, the reports failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good. In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by “ federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefact
