1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 247 及答案与解析Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)0 You may not know it to look at them, but urban planners are human and have dreams. One dream many share is that Americans will give up their love affair
2、 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 devastated the fast-growing developments on the far suburban fringe. Americans now taste the bitter fr
3、uit 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 smaller homes and tinier fridges and rediscover the joys of dense community and maybe even superior beer. A
4、merica 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 chastening pain, they dont seem to want the Dutch option.The Pew Research Center just finished a study about
5、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. Nearly half of those surveyed said they would rather live in a different type of community from the one the
6、y 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 are places where you can imagine yourself with a stuffed garagefilled with skis, kayaks, soccer equipment,
7、 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: the machine and the garden. The wide-open space and the casual wardrobes. The folks at Pew asked one other i
8、nteresting question: Would you rather live in a community with a McDonalds or a Starbucks? McDonalds won, of course, but by a surprisingly small margin: 43 percent to 35 percent. And that, too, captures the incorrigible nature of American culture, a culture slowly refining itself through espresso bu
9、t still in love with the drive-thru. The results may not satisfy those who dream of Holland, but theres one other impressive result from the Pew survey. Americans may be gloomy and afraid, but they still have a clear vision of the good life. Thats one commodity never in short supply.1 Many urban pla
10、nners dream that American people will _.（A）reduce unnecessary consumption and waste（B） have less strong desire to live in the suburbs（C） lead a more healthy and extravagant lifestyle（D）enjoy more environmentally friendly lifestyle2 Americans will be regretful for _.（A）the extravagant ways of living
11、in the suburbs（B） the fast-growing developments in the suburbs（C） the devastation caused by the economic crisis（D）what they have done over the past few months3 It is implied in the text that people in Amsterdam _.（A）particularly aspire to American ways of living（B） escaped the chastening pain in eco
12、nomic crisis（C） cherish their wonderful life in a small urban area（D）live an unban life less dependant on automobiles4 Americans are unwilling to live like the Dutch because they _.（A）love active ways of living in natural environment（B） never give up their rosy dreams even in dark times（C） like to l
13、ive in places with strong cultural identities（D）have always had visions of a more perfect residence5 It can be inferred from the Pew study that Americans _.（A）feel optimistic about the outlook of economy（B） know clearly what a good life means to them（C） are always in pursuit of higher quality of lif
14、e（D）would rather have McDonalds than Starbucks5 The United States is not the energy hog it once was. Efficiency gains are often measured in terms of “energy 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
15、 intensity has declined by an average of 2. 1% a year. Thats partly because of an economic shift, with a lot of factories closing or moving overseas. But mostly its because of greater efficiency in areas such as appliances and building standards, as well as fuel economy standards for cars.Still, the
16、 rest of the country has been very slow to embrace efficiency measures compared with California. Ours was the first state to implement efficiency standards for appliances and buildings, and it still has the toughest in the nation. Californias zeal for creative energy policy hasnt always paid off for
17、 its residents; its disastrous experiment with deregulation in the late 1990s led to rolling blackouts and price gouging. But its efficiency measures 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 h
18、as a variety of regulatory schemes encouraging utilities to conserve power and invest in efficiency, but the most important is a concept called “decoupling“. In most states, the more power utilities sell, the more money they make, so they have no incentive to encourage conservation. In California, a
19、nnual targets are set for utility revenues and electricity use. If more money than expected comes in from high sales, the excess is refunded to consumers; if theres a shortfall, the utility is allowed to charge more the following year. Decoupling has spread to a handful of states, but too few. The f
20、ederal government should encourage more by requiring states to study the issue.California is accelerating its efforts to wring more savings out of its utilities, and greater energy efficiency is expected to contribute 17% toward the states goal of cutting its carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
21、 At the federal level, legislation is pending that could dramatically lower carbon emissions and power use. Both houses of Congress have approved 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
22、 fuel economy standards in two decades, while the House version says nothing about vehicle mileage. The House bill, meanwhile, requires more energy-efficient lightbulbs and sets strong national targets for reducing power consumption in buildings, while the Senates doesnt. The two chambers are now wo
23、rking to reconcile their bills, and the future of both the economy and the environment hinges on negotiators making the right choices on efficiency.6 The rapid decline of U. S. energy intensity indicates that_.（A）there have been tremendous efficiency gains（B） the economic shift is undoubtedly succes
24、sful（C） per unit of GDP consumes much less energy（D）more efficient appliances have been created7 The efficiency measures taken by California result in_.（A）considerably reduced consumption of electricity（B） its enthusiasm for initiating creative energy policy（C） tougher efficiency standards for elect
25、ric appliances（D）frequent power cut and price cheating for a few years8 According to the text, decoupling（A）discourages utilities from conserving power（B） persuades residents to consume more energy（C） has been introduced to most states in the U. S.（D）promotes the long-term investment in efficiency9
26、It is obvious that greater energy efficiency（A）contributes remarkably to power conservation（B） is of much benefit to utilities and consumers（C） facilitates the reduction of carbon emissions（D）squeezes out more savings from utilities10 According to the text, both the Senate bill and the House bill（A）
27、are infatuated with energy-efficiency measures（B） require people to reduce power consumption（C） appeal to everyone to fight global warming（D）set strong standards for conserving power10 It seems likely that most people who try to evaluate the intelligence of animals are probahly measuring the wrong t
28、hings! Yes, there is great importance in the fact that parrots and parakeets can often quickly learn to copy sounds 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
29、 to place higher standards on what is expected.Here is an example of what I consider to be far clearer evidence 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
30、 always hated loud sounds throughout her life.Even though she was a hunting dog(a Redbone Coonhound)she grew 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 i
31、nvariably run to her dogbed and start to shiver. I eventually realized that she wanted not only to be covered, 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 on
32、ly after watching this happen many times that 1 finally realized that she had somehow figured out the relationship 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
33、she was afraid of, but the thunder that she knew would soon follow. That is amazing analytical thinking! How 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
34、 shivering! 1 would wonder if she was confused as to why there was no sound of thunder then!This example shows 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 investigat
35、ion! That is quite different from an animal simply learning to copy some sound or behavior, or to reinforce a specific behavior based on treats or praise training.11 The author suggests that parrots（A）are as intelligent as lovely children（B） are hardly the most intelligent animal（C） have impressive
36、communication skills（D）are able to answer any questions we ask12 The author cites his dog to show that dogs_.（A）are dissimilar to parrots in many aspects（B） are likely to be frightened by loud sound（C） have much higher intelligence than birds（D）are animals with high native intelligence13 It seems th
37、at the authors dog_.（A）knows what follows a flash of lightning（B） hates the flash of lightning and thunder（C） is a spoiled pet afraid of leaving home（D）grew up in a comfortable environment14 It is implied in the text that some animals_.（A）have developed the ability to analyze and solve problems（B） c
38、an figure out what would happen after a frightening event（C） have limited ability to analyze what happens around them（D）understand the relationship between lightning and thunder15 We learn from the text that_.（A）good logic depends on good observation（B） animals may have logical thinking ability（C） a
39、nimals behavior is based on praise training（D）dogs can make simple scientific investigation15 The 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.
40、Bush, Bill Clinton and I all supported a ban on these formidable firearms, and 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 lo
41、bby prevailed and the ban expired.An overwhelming majority of Americans, including 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 m
42、ajority of Americans also support banning assault weapons. Many of us who hunt 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 groups unreasonable demands. H
43、eavily influenced and supported by the firearms industry, N. R. A. leaders 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
44、its efforts if there was a real threat to our constitutional right to bear 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.
45、A. seems to have reluctantly accepted current law restricting sales by licensed 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
46、truck at gun shows. What are the results of this profligate ownership and 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
47、 a child or teenager in the United States was killed in a firearm-related 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. dis
48、approval at election time. We cant let the N. R. A. s political blackmail prevent the banning of assault weaponsdesigned only to kill police officers and the people they defend.16 The author notes that the ban on assault weapons _.（A）confronts with widespread opposition（B） has been very disturbing t
49、o Americans（C） will soon be renewed and strengthened（D）was approved by four former Presidents17 It is implied in the text that the White House _.（A）intended to issue a new ban on formidable firearms（B） appeared indifferent to the expired ban on weapons（C） was indefinite about the ban on assault weapons（D）overlooked the constitutional right to own weapons18 According to the text, American public opinion disapproves of_.（A）compulsory registration of private weapons（B） the opposition to a ba
