[考研类试卷]考研英语(阅读)模拟试卷408及答案与解析.doc
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1、考研英语(阅读)模拟试卷 408 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 Partly due to a historical development marked by worldwide colonialism, urbanization, and globalization, in the course of this century humankind is like
2、ly 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 pressured to speak only the dominant language of their community or country. Under one
3、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 controversialespecially those regarding closely related linguistic systems, which are often inaccuratel
4、y 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 groups of individuals whose languages are mutually intelligible may in fact have d
5、istinct 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. Therefore, language preservation depends on the maintenance of the native-speaking human g
6、roups. 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 perspective, a language often begins to die long before the passing of the last speaker: New
7、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 community level.Linguistic diversity itself may be the worst loss at stake, because it
8、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 quantities across languages, often endangered ones. The rapid loss of linguistic diversity
9、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 involvement, especially with government support, has proven essential in slowing or even r
10、eversing 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 appropriately documentation of dead languages is akin to a fossil record, providing only partia
11、l clues about complex cognitive systems.1 According to the first paragraph, language loss(A)is caused partly by colonialism, urbanization and globalization.(B) is the most extreme cultural loss people experiences.(C) is expected to occur in a few centuries.(D)occurs in less than half of the worlds 6
12、,900 languages.2 One of the difficulties in differentiating one language from another is that(A)one language may have many dialects.(B) grammar study on some languages is not enough.(C) they are dialects of the same languages.(D)grammars reflected by languages are different.3 The start of language d
13、ying is indicated by(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.4 Measures that can be taken to prevent language loss include(A)turning endangered languages into dominant lang
14、uages.(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 We can infer from the metaphor in the last paragraph that(A)dead languages are similar to fossils in biological sens
15、e.(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 documented properly.5 In George Orwells Animal Farm the mighty cart-horse, Boxer, inspires the other animals with his heroi
16、c 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 soon as he collapses on the job he is sent to the knackers yard to be turned into glue and bone-meal.Animal Farm looks eve
17、r 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. The Hay Group, a British consultancy which recently surveyed 1,000 people, says that two-thirds of workers report they ar
18、e 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 see the knackers van coming.So far workers have borne all this with remarkable perseverancepartly because they feel lucky
19、 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 that their employers do not appreciate their extra effort. Half report that their current level of work is unsustainable. P
20、eople 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, companies are beginning to notice the downside of all this overstretching. Absenteeism is on the rise. Corporate loyalty i
21、s 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 work elsewhere. These “high-potentials“(HiPos)are doubly frustrated: they have been asked to shoulder a disproportionate shar
22、e 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 overwork? Most obviously they can redouble efforts to make staff feel valued. Cash-strapped companies are making more use of
23、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 strategy is to pay particular attention to high performers. A striking number of companies have introduced “HiPo schemes“ to
24、identify and nurture potential stars. Yet this approach is less divisive than it sounds because some animals are more equal than others.6 By citing the book Animal Farm, the author intends to(A)show the suffering of the cart-horse Boxer.(B) discuss the issue of unemployment.(C) introduce the issue o
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