2011年考研英语模拟题及答案(文都版)

Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions:

Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing [A]，[B]，[C] or [D]. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. （40 points）

Text 1

Prudent investors learned long ago that putting your eggs into lots of baskets reduces risk. Conservationists have now hit on a similar idea: a population of endangered animals will have a better chance of survival if it is divided into interconnected groups. The prospects of the species will be better because the chance that all the constituent subpopulations will die out at the same time is low. And, in the long term, it matters little if one or two groups do disappear, because immigrants from better-faring patches will eventually reestablish the species' old haunts.

One endangered species divided in just this way is the world's rarest carnivore, the Ethiopian wolf, which lives high in the meadows of the Bale Mountains. Just 350 exist in three pockets of meadow connected by narrow' valleys in the Bale Mountains National Park, with a further 150 outside this area.

Two of the main threats to the Ethiopian wolf come from diseases carried by domestic dogs. One of these, rabies, is of particular concern because it is epidemic in the dog population. At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. It would be ambitious, because the prevailing thinking —that all individuals matter and therefore all outbreaks of disease should be completely halted —implies that a large proportion of wolves would need to be vaccinated.

Dan Haydon, of the University of Glasgow, and his colleagues believe that conservation biologists should think differently. With the exception of humans, species are important but individuals are not. Some outbreaks of disease can be tolerated. In a paper published this week in Nature, they recast the mathematics of vaccination with this in mind.

On epidemiologists' standard assumption that every individual counts, vaccination programmes are intended to prevent epidemics by ensuring that each infected animal, on average, passes the disease on to less than one healthy animal. This implies that around two-thirds of all the wolves would need to be vaccinated. A programme that sought to save a species rather than individuals would allow each infected wolf to pass the disease on to more than one healthy animal and hence require fewer vaccinations. Dr Haydon and his colleagues have calculated, using data from a rabies outbreak in 2003, that vaccinating between 10% and 25% would suffice, provided veterinarians gave jabs to those wolves living in the narrow valleys that connect the subpopulations.

 If the threat of rabies arose every five years, targeting all the wolves in the corridors would cut the risk of extinction over a 20-year period by fourfold. If this were backed up by vaccinating a mere 10% of the wolves in the three connected meadows, the chance of extinction would drop to less than one in 1,000. Saving a few seems to be an efficient way of protecting the many.

21. By citing prudent investors' idea, the author wants to illustrate that___________.

[A] conservationists got inspirations from it. 

[B] endangered animals can be protected in a similar way. 

[C] the prospects of some species depend on conservation. 

[D] the subpopulations will die without being put into different groups.

22. The Ethiopian wolf___________.

[A] is facing the risk of extinction as the rarest carnivore. 

[B] is separated into three groups to achieve survival. 

[C] lives in narrow valleys in the Bale Mountains. 

[D] has altogether 350 alive in the world.

23. The idea that nearly all the wolves would need to be vaccinated___________..

[A] is due to that rabies carried by dogs is epidemic. 

[B] is very easy to be realized by local medical administration. 

[C] is based on the thinking that every wolf is necessarily protected. 

[D] is supported by Dan Haydon of the University of Glasgow.

24. From the last two paragraphs, we know that___________.

[A] if each individual counts, one-third of wolves have to be vaccinated. 

[B] Dr. Haydon proved epidemiologists' standard assumption is right. 

[C] to vaccinate 10% to 25% of wolves living in the connected meadows is enough. 

[D] it takes 20 years to reduce risk of extinction if all the wolves are targeted.

25. The main purpose of the text is to___________.

[A] show the dangers Ethiopian wolves are facing with. 

[B] inform people of the prospects Ethiopian wolves. 

[C] teach how to divide Ethiopian wolves into groups. 

[D] tell how to protect Ethiopian wolves from rabies.

Text 2

It is no longer just dirty blue-collar jobs in manufacturing that are being sucked offshore but also white-collar service jobs, which used to be considered safe from foreign competition. Telecoms charges have tumbled, allowing workers in far-flung locations to be connected cheaply to customers in the developed world. This has made it possible to offshore services that were once non-tradable. Morgan Stanley's Mr. Roach has been drawing attention to the fact that the "global labor arbitrage" is moving rapidly to the better kinds of jobs. It is no longer just basic data processing and call centers that are being outsourced to low-wage countries, but also software programming, medical diagnostics, engineering design, law, accounting, finance and business consulting. These can now be delivered electronically from anywhere in the world, exposing skilled white-collar workers to greater competition.

The standard retort to such arguments is that outsourcing abroad is too small to matter much. So far fewer than lm American service-sector jobs have been lost to off-shoring. Forrester Research forecasts that by 2015 a total of 3.4m jobs in services will have moved abroad, but that is tiny compared with the 30m jobs destroyed and created in America every year. The trouble is that such studies allow only for the sorts of jobs that are already being off-shored, when in reality the proportion of jobs that can be moved will rise as IT advances and education improves in emerging economies.

Alan Blinder, an economist at Princeton University, believes that most economists are underestimating the disruptive effects of off-shoring, and that in future two to three times as many service jobs will be susceptible to off-shoring as in manufacturing. This would imply that at least 30% of all jobs might be at risk. In practice the number of jobs off-shored to China or India is likely to remain fairly modest. Even so, the mere threat that they could be shifted will depress wages:

Moreover, says Mr. Blinder, education offers no protection. Highly skilled accountants, radiologists or computer programmers now have to compete with electronically delivered competition from abroad, whereas humble taxi drivers, janitors and crane operators remain safe from off-shoring. This may help to explain why the real median wage of American graduates hat fallen by 6% since 2000, a bigger decline than in average wages.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the pay gap between low-paid, low-skilled workers and high-paid, high-skilled workers widened significantly. But since then, according to a study by David Autor, Lawrence Katz and Melissa Kearney, in America, Britain and Germany workers at the bottom as well as at the top have done better than those in the middle-income group. Office cleaning cannot be done by workers in India. It is the easily standardized skilled jobs in the middle, such as accounting, that are now being squeezed hardest. A study by Bradford Jensen and Lori Kletzer, at the Institute for International Economics in Washington D. C., confirms that workers in tradable services that are exposed to foreign competition tend to be more skilled than workers in non-tradable services and tradable manufacturing industries.

 26. To off-shore services that were once non-tradable results from ___________.

[A] the blue-collar job market 

[B] the geographic location of the Underdeveloped world

[C] the fierce competition among skilled workers 

[D] the dive of telecoms fee

27. Which of the following statements is the typical reply concerning off-shoring?

[A] Service-sector has sustained a great loss. 

[B] White-collar workers will not have a narrow escape. 

[C] Most economists underestimated the effects of off-shoring. 

[D] Outsourcing abroad has no significant impact.

28. According to the text, Forrester Research Prediction might be different if ___________.

[A] outsourcing abroad is large enough to matter much 

[B] the proportion of jobs that can be moved will rise 

[C] more comprehensive factors are taken into account 

[D] education improvement in emerging economies plays a role

29. The narrative of the text in the last three paragraphs concentrates on ___________.

[A] the standard retort to the arguments 

[B] off-shoring and the resulting income 

[C] the future off-shoring 

[D] the counter-measures at hand

30. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

[A] Business consulting. 

[B] Blue-collar jobs. 

[C] Non-tradable services. 

[D] White-collar blues.

Text 3

The mythology of a culture can provide some vital insights into the beliefs and values of that culture. By using fantastic and sometimes incredible stories to create an oral tradition by which to explain the wonders of the natural world and teach lessons to younger generations, a society exposes those ideas and concepts held most important. Just as important as the final lesson to be gathered from the stories, however, are the characters and the roles they play in conveying that message.

Perhaps the epitome of mythology and its use as a tool to pass on cultural values can be found in Aesop's Fables, told and retold during the era of the Greek Empire. Aesop, a slave who won the favor of the court through his imaginative and descriptive tales, almost exclusively used animals to fill the roles in his short stories. Humans, when at all present, almost always played the part of bumbling fools struggling to learn the lesson being presented. This choice of characterization allows us to see that the Greeks placed wisdom on a level slightly beyond humans, implying that deep wisdom and understanding is a universal quality sought by, rather than steanning from, human beings.

Aesop's fables illustrated the central themes of humility and self-reliance, reflecting the importance of those traits in early Greek society. The folly of humans was used to contrast against the ultimate goal of attaining a higher level of understanding and awareness of truths about nature and humanity. For example, one notable fable features a fox repeatedly trying to reach a bunch of grapes on a very high vine. After failing at several attempts, the fox gives up, making up its mind that the grapes were probably sour anyway. The fable's lesson, that we often play down that which we can't achieve so as to make ourselves feel better, teaches the reader or listener in an entertaining way about one of the weaknesses of the human psyche.

The mythology of other cultures and societies reveal the underlying traits of their respective cultures just as Aesop's fables did. The stories of Roman gods, Aztec ghosts and European elves all served to train ancient generations those lessons considered most important to their community, and today they offer a powerful looking glass by which to evaluate and consider the contextual environment in which those culture existed.

31. The author appears to view fables as ______.

[A] the most interesting and valuable form of mythology

[B] entertaining yet serious subjects of study

[C] a remnant tool of past civilizations, but not often used in the modern age

[D] the primary method by which ancient values and ideas were transmitted between generations

32. The way that fables were used in the past is most similar to today's ______.

[A] fairy tales that entertain children at home

[B] stories in children's school textbooks that reinforce the lesson

[C] science documentaries that explain how nature works

[D] movies that depict animals as having human characteristics

33. The main purpose of paragraph 3 is to ______.

[A] examine how one of Aesop's fables sheds light on certain facets of Greek belief

[B] dissect one of Aesop's fables in order to study the elements that make up Greek mythology

[C] learn from the lesson presented in one of Aesop's most well-known fables

[D] illustrate a fable typical of Aesop's style, so as to examine how one goes about studying the meaning behind it

34. The author names the Roman, Aztec and European cultures in order to ______.

[A] identify other cultures in which fables were the primary method by which to pass on traditions and values

[B] explicitly name the various types of characters in those culture's fables

[C] stress that mythology was used by cultures other than the Greeks to convey societal morals

[D] establish them, in addition to the Greeks, as the societies most notable for their mythology

35. The main point of this text is ______.

[A] Aesop's fables provide a valuable glimpse into early Greek thought and beliefs

[B] the most efficient and reliable way to study the values system of an ancient culture is through study of its mythology

 [C] without a thorough examination of a society's fables and other mythology, a cultural study on that society would be only partial

[D] through the study of a culture's mythological tradition, one can discern some of the underlying beliefs that shaped those stories

  Text 4

Much has been written about poverty but none of the accounts seem to get at the root of the problem. It must be noted that the debilitating effects of poverty are not only the result of lack of money but are also the result of powerlessness．The poor are subject to their social situation instead of being able to affect it through action，that is，through behavior that flows from an individual's decisions and plans. In other words，when social scientists have reported on the psychological consequences of poverty，it seems reasonable to believe that they have described the psychological consequences of powerlessness. The solution to poverty most frequently suggested is to help the poor secure more money without otherwise changing the present power relationships. This appears to implement the idea of equality while avoiding any unnecessary threat to the established centers of power. But since the consequences of poverty are related to powerlessness，not to the absolute supply of money available to the poor，and since the amount of power purchasable with a given supply of money decreases as a society acquires a large supply of goods and services，the solution of raising the incomes of the poor is likely，unless accompanied by other measures，to be ineffective in a wealthy society．

In order to reduce poverty —related psychological and social problems in the United States，the major community will have to change its relationship to neighborhoods of poverty in such fashion that families in the neighborhoods have a greater interest in the broader society and can more successfully participate in the decision-making process of the surrounding community. Social action to help the poor should have the following characteristics：the poor should see themselves as the source of the action；the action should effect in major ways the preconceptions of institutions and persons who define the poor；the action should demand much in effect or skill；the action should be successful and the successful self-originated important action should increase the feeling of potential worth and individual power of individuals who are poor.

The only initial resource which a community should provide to neighborhoods of poverty should be on a temporary basis and should consist of organizers who will enable the neighborhoods quickly to create powerful，independent，democratic organizations of the poor. Through such organizations，the poor will then negotiate with the outsiders for resources and opportunities without having to submit to concurrent control from outside． 

36. By“powerless”(sentence 2，Para 1），the author most probably means that the poor__________.

[A] have no right to make individual decisions and plans

[B] can not exercise control over other groups of people

[C] are not in a condition to change their present situation

[D] are too weak to resist any social situation imposed on them

37. The author expresses his opinion in the first paragraph that _________.

[A] the hopeless condition of the poor is caused by their powerlessness rather than lack of money

[B] great efforts should be made to help poor to secure more money without changing present power relationships

[C] it is no use raising the incomes of the poor while not improve their state of powerlessness

[D] in helping the poor attention should be paid to avoiding any unnecessary threat to the established centers of power

38. According to the author，the primary role of the major community in helping the neighborhoods of poverty is _______.

[A] to provide long-term assistance from outside

[B] to offer necessary opportunities of securing more money

[C] to carry out more social programs in the neighborhoods

[D] to lend experienced advice in the formation of democratic self-help organizations

39. What does the word“concurrent”(Para. 3）most probably mean?

[A] Following.

[B] Subsequent.

[C] Previous.

[D] Simultaneous.

40. The main purpose of the author in writing the passage is _______.

[A] to criticize the present methods employed to help the poor

[B] to analyze the social and psychological aspects of poverty

[C] to propose a way in which the poor can be more effectively helped

[D] to describe the attitude of the community towards the poor