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2017考研英语一阅读解析

2017考研英语一阅读解析

2017考研英语一阅读解析
2017年考研英语一阅读理解部分难度适中,主要考察了考生对文章的理解能力、推理能力和词汇运用能力。

以下是对2017年考研英语一阅读理解的详细解析:
阅读理解A篇主要讲述了一个人在工作中如何通过改变思维方式和工作方法来提高效率,文章结构清晰,逻辑性强。

问题主要涉及了对文章内容的细节理解,如对作者提出的提高效率的方法的理解和应用。

B篇介绍了一项关于人们如何处理信息的研究,探讨了人们在不同情境下如何选择获取和处理信息的方式。

问题主要涉及对文章内容的推理判断,如对研究结果的推断和理解。

C篇讲述了一个关于人工智能在医疗领域的应用,探讨了人工智能在诊断和治疗疾病方面的潜力和挑战。

问题主要涉及对文章内容的理解和应用,如对人工智能在医疗领域的应用前景的推断。

D篇讨论了全球气候变化对生态系统和人类生活的影响,文章通过实例和数据说明了气候变化对环境和人类社会的影响。

问题主要涉及了对文章内容的理解和应用,如对全球气候变化影响的概括和分析。

从整体上看,2017年考研英语一阅读理解部分对考生的阅读能力和词汇量
要求较高,需要考生具备扎实的英语基础和较强的思维能力。

同时,考生还需要具备对不同题材和领域的了解和认知,以便更好地理解和分析文章内容。

以上是对2017年考研英语一阅读理解的解析,希望对您有所帮助。

2017考研英语阅读理解真题及答案

2017考研英语阅读理解真题及答案

2017考研英语阅读理解真题及答案2017考研英语阅读理解真题及答案下面是为大家整理的考研英语阅读理解真题,希望对大家有所帮助。

Text 1A new study suggests that contrary to most surveys. People art actually more stressed at home than at work. Researchers measured people's cortisol , which is it at stress marker,while they were at work and while they were at home and found it higher at what is supposed to be a place of refuge.“Further contradicting conventional wisdom,we found that women as well as men have lower levels of stress at work than at home,” writes one of the researchers. Sarah Damaske,In fact women say they feel better a t wor k. She notes. “it is men not women. Who report being happier at home than at work,” Another surprise is that the findings hold true for both those with children without,but more so for nonparents. This is why people who work outside the home have better health.What the study doesn't measure is whether people are still doing work when they' re at home,whether it is household work or work brought home from the office. For many men,the end of the workday is a time to kick back. For women who stay home, they never get to leave the office. And for women who work outside the home, they often are playing catch-up-with-household tasks. With the blurring of roles, and the fact that the home front lags well behind the workplace in making adjustments for working women,it' s not surprising that women are more stressed at home.But it's not just a gender thing. At work, people pretty muchknow what they're supposed to be doing:working,making money,doing the tasks they have to do in order to draw an income. The bargain is very pure:Employee puts in hours of physical or mental labor and employee draws out life-sustaining moola.On the home front, however, people have no such clarity. Rare is the household in which the division of labor is so clinically and methodically laid out. There are a lot of tasks to be done,there are inadequate rewards for most of them. Your home colleagues-your family-have no clear rewards for their labor; they need to be talked into it, or if they' re teenagers,threatened with complete removal of all electronic devices. Plus, they' re your family. You cannot fire your family. You never really get to go home from home.So it's not surprising that people are more stressed at home. Not only are the tasks apparently infinite, the co-workers are much harder to motivate.21.According to Paragraph 1,most previous surveys found that home ______.[A]was an unrealistic place for relaxation[B]generated more stress than the workplace[C]was an ideal place for stress measurement[D]offered greater relaxation than the workplace22.According to Damaske, who are likely to be the happiest at home?[A]Working mothers[B]Childless husbands[C] Childless wives[D]Working fathers23 The blurring of working women's roles refers to the factthat ______.[A]they are both bread winners and housewives[B]their home is also a place for kicking back[C]there is often much housework left behind[D]it is difficult for them to leave their office24.The word“moola”(Line 4,Para 4)most probably means ______.[A]energy[B]skills[C]earnings[D]nutrition25.The home front differs from the workplace in that ______.[A]home is hardly a cozier working environment[B]division of labor at home is seldom clear-cut[C]household tasks are generally more motivating[D]family labor is often adequately rewarded【参考答案】21. D 22. B 23. A 24. C 25. B【主要内容】本文主要讲述工作环境压力问题。

2017年考研英语(一)阅读真题及答案解析

2017年考研英语(一)阅读真题及答案解析

2017年考研英语(一)阅读真题及答案解析2017年考研英语考试已经结束!店铺考研网在考后第一时间为大家提供2017年考研英语(一)阅读真题及答案解析,更多考研资讯请关注我们网站的更新!2017年考研英语(一)阅读真题及答案解析英语(一)阅读最后一篇文章有一点升华了,有一点小高潮,谈最高法院,在视频当中反复强调过,一定关注今年考试,一定会关注的重点话题,第三篇文章谈经济,第四篇谈法律题材。

不能仅仅背几个单词,一定要关注这些词、这些概念背后背景,以及词和词之间、概念和概念连接。

美国最高法院,想到谁了,历史惊人相似,2013年第四篇文章,我们最高法庭驳回了奥巴马政府,用一模一样的内容。

他说最高法庭推翻了对于这个人的受贿指控。

但是后面考了一个句子题,下划线句子怎么样,类似2004年这个人再也没有咬他的指甲,当时经济低迷咬指甲显示出他精神紧张。

后面出现了一个but,前面大方向是积极向上的。

这道题同样如此。

我们第一句话说我们驳回了,推翻了有罪,受贿判决。

后面说但是,大方向是向下的。

这道题选择的是对于这个人行为本身,感到了非常的可耻。

令人感到鄙视。

其他选项再比较选项的时候,干扰选项你明白考研命题思路,可以帮你更快更准更高效抓住正确答案。

第二题是细节题,到第四段怎么样,问你的是一个条件,只要什么样情况下我们才认为受贿罪是成立的呢。

其中A选项,给你送礼物的人那里得到非常具体的实在的回报。

这是我们的答案。

对原文做了同义改写。

第三题是目前我们整个法庭宣判,是基于什么样的假设。

我们公共部门的官员们,应该干吗?也是一道细节题。

这是我们说了解美国选举体制,我之所以给你投票唯一原因是干吗?上任以后带来我的好处。

这是非常合理的。

你和我们中国的一些传统文化当中一定有相冲突的地方,我们觉得做公务员干吗叫大公无私。

美国环境里不是这样的。

选民之所以选你因为你能够给我们带来好处。

他认为处理、满足我们的背后这些支持人的需求是理所当然的,是正当的。

2017年考研英语一阅读真题及答案解析

2017年考研英语一阅读真题及答案解析

2017年考研英语一阅读真题及答案解析2017年考研英语考试已经结束!店铺考研网在考后第一时间为大家提供2017年考研英语一阅读真题及答案解析,更多考研资讯请关注我们网站的更新!2017年考研英语一阅读真题及答案解析大家也做了题,也发现今年题目并没有传说中那么难,四篇阅读理解前面三篇中等,不是很难。

第四篇和法律有关的文章大家觉得有点难度。

我今年也去考试了,这就是我的证据。

但是我的反面抄了一些答案,当然有些监考不让抄答案,我很潦草地抄了一些,想看它的难度和我们平常所学的能否挂钩。

前三篇不难,第四篇难度和法律相关,有点像2013年的地四篇文章。

其实这篇文章我刚才查了一下原版出处是CNN里的,推翻了弗吉尼亚前州长贪污罪,他是无辜的。

都是英国美国文章居多。

美国有三篇文章。

第一篇是美国机场安检特别浪费时间。

今年特点是有七八个自然段,不是往年一样四五个自然段。

第一道题,这是一个力争题,往年考题也这么说,通过所谓关键词定位方法无效,一定要把握主要内容是讲什么。

这是讲我们目前为什么有必要进行严格的安全检查。

因为埃及航空公司受到了恐怖袭击,在地中海上空受到恐怖主义袭击。

所以现在要严格安检。

这道词选解释作用。

第二题是上面哪个能够解释为什么美国机场排队队伍很长很长。

这道题文章里给了好几个解释。

第一个原因是因为我们现在经济比较好,机票比较便宜,所以很多人愿意排队。

大家都愿意坐飞机,不愿意开车、不愿意坐火车。

导致排队队伍很长。

第二个原因是有些人要打包,第三段里说的,包裹需要检查,有些人打了好多包,为了逃避托运费。

导致排队比较长。

还有一个这里所说的安检效率降低。

但是我们按照前面的最重要的原因,还是因为美国政府没有注意到现在出行坐飞机的人增多了,导致速度减慢。

这是我们飞机出行人员增加。

23题是猜词题,我们不管上基础课、强化课还是单向课,有我的模糊阅读班,猜词题不能相信所谓构词法,按照EX这个单词是出去的意思。

这里EX给人错觉是出去的意思,但是根据上下文是希望安检越快越好。

考研英语_时文阅读50篇

考研英语_时文阅读50篇

考研英语_时⽂阅读50篇考拉进阶英语时⽂阅读50篇Passage1Dealing With Spam1:Confidence Game(2010.11.18The Economist)[483words]Bill Gates,then still Microsoft’s boss,was nearly rightin2004when he predicted the end of spam in two years.Thanks to clever filters2unsolicited3e-mail has largelydisappeared as a daily nuisance4for most on the internet.But spam is still a menace5:blocked at the e-mail inbox,spammers post messages as comments on websites and increasingly on social networks like Twitter and Facebook.The criminal businesses behind spam are competitive and creative.They vault over6technical fixes as fast as the hurdles7are erected.The anti-spam industry has done applaudable work in saving e-mail.But it is always one step behind.In the end,the software industry’s interest is in making money from the problem(by selling subscriptions to regular security updates)rather than tackling it at its source.Law-enforcement agencies have had some success shutting down spam-control servers in America and the Netherlands.But as one place becomes unfriendly, spammers move somewhere else.Internet connections in poor and ill-run countries are improving faster than the authorities there can police them.That won’t end soon.In any case,the real problem is not the message,but the link.Sometimes an unwise click leads only to a website that sells counterfeit8pills.But it can also lead to a page that infects your computer with a virus or another piece of malicious software that then steals your passwords or uses your machine for other immoral purposes. Spam was never about e-mail;it was about convincing us to click.To the spammer,it needs to be decided whether the link is e-mailed or liked.The police are doing what they can,and software companies keep on tightening security.But spam is not just a hack9or a crime,it is a social problem,too.If you look beyond the computers that lie between a spammer and his mark,you can see allthe classic techniques of a con-man:buy this stock,before everyone else does.Buy these pills,this watch,cheaper than anyone else can.The spammer plays upon the universal human desire to believe that we are smarter than anyone gives us credit for,and that things can be had for nothing.As in other walks of life,people become wiser and take precautions only when they have learned what happens when they don’t.That is why the spammers’new arena10—social networks—is so effective.A few fiddles might help,such as tougher default privacy settings on social networks.But the real problem is man,not the machine.Public behaviour still treats the internet like a village,in which new faces are welcome and anti-social behaviour a rarity.A better analogy would be a railway station in a big city,where hustlers11gather to prey on the credulity12of new arrivals.Wise behaviour in such places is to walk fast,avoid eye contact and be cautious with strangers.Try that online.1.spam/sp?m/n.垃圾邮件2.filter/?f?lt?/n.过滤器;滤光器;筛选过滤程序3.unsolicited/??ns??l?s?t?d/adj.未经请求的,⾃发的4.nuisance/?nju?s?ns/n.⿇烦事,讨厌的⼈或东西5.menace/?men?s/n.威胁,恐吓;危险⽓氛;烦⼈的⼈或事物6.vault over越过7.hurdle/?h??dl/n.障碍;跨栏,栏8.counterfeit/?ka?nt?f?t/n.伪造,仿造,制假9.hack/h?k/n.砍,劈;供出租的马;出租车司机;⾮法侵⼊(他⼈计算机系统)10.arena/??ri?n?/n.圆形运动场,圆形剧场;竞技舞台,活动场所11.hustler/?h?sl?/n.耍诡计骗钱的⼈12.credulity/kr??du?l?t?/n.轻信Passage2A Gene to Explain Depression(2011.1.3Time)[459words]As powerful as genes are in exposing clues to diseases,not even the most passionate geneticist1believes thatcomplex conditions such as depression can be reduced to atell-tale2string of DNA.But a new study confirms earlier evidence that aparticular gene,involved in ferrying3a brain chemical critical to mood known as serotonin4,may play a role in triggering5the mental disorder in some people.Researchers led by Dr.Srijan Sen,a professor of psychiatry at University of Michigan,report in the Archives6of General Psychiatry that individuals with a particular form of the serotonin transporter gene were more vulnerable to developing depression when faced with stressful life events such as having a serious medical illness or being a victim of childhood abuse.The form of the gene that these individuals inherit prevents the mood-regulating serotonin from being re-absorbed by nerve cells in the brain.Having such a low-functioning version of the transporter starting early in life appears to set these individuals up for developing depression later on,although the exact relationship between this gene,stress,and depression isn’t clear yet.Sen’s results confirm those of a ground-breaking7study in2003,in which scientists for the first time confirmed the link between genes and environment in depression.In that study,which involved more than800subjects,individuals with the gene coding for the less functional serotonin transporter were more likely to develop depression following a stressful life event than those with the more functional form of the gene.But these findings were questioned by a2009analysis in which scientistspooled814studies investigating the relationship between the serotonin transporter gene,depression and stress,and found no heightened risk of depression among those with different versions of the gene.“One of the hopes I have is that we can settle this story,and move on to looking more broadly across the genome9for more factors related to depression,”he says.“Ideally we would like to find a panel of different genetic variations that go together to help us predict who is going to respond poorly to stress,and who might respond well to specific types of treatment as opposed to others.”He believes that the2009findings do not contradict those from2003,or the latest results,but rather reflect a difference in the way the study was conducted.Sen stresses,however,that this gene is only one player in the cast of genetic and environmental factors that contribute to depression.“All things considered,this gene is a relatively small factor,and for this finding to be clinically10useful,we really need to find many,many more factors.Ultimately we may identify new pathways that are involved in depression to come up with new and better treatments.”1.geneticist/dnet?s?st/n.遗传学家2.tell-tale/?tel?te?l/adj.暴露实情的,能说明问题的3.ferry/?fer?/vt.渡运,摆渡4.serotonin/?s??rt??n?n/n.[⽣化]⾎清素,5-羟⾊胺(神经递质,易影响情绪等)5.trigger/?tr?ɡ?/vt.触发,引发;开动,启动6.archive/?ɑ?ka?v/n.档案馆;档案⽂件7.ground-breaking/?gra?nd?bre?k??/adj.开创性的;创新的8.pool/pu?l/vt.合伙经营;集中(智慧等);共享,分享9.genome/??i?n??m/n.[⽣]基因组;[⽣]染⾊体组10.clinically/?kl?n?kl?/adv.临床地;冷淡地;通过临床诊断Passage3Second Thoughts on Online Education(2010.9New York Times)[415words]Let the computer do the teaching.Some studies,expertopinion and cost pressures all point toward a continuing shiftof education online.A major study last year,funded by the EducationDepartment,which covered comparative research over12years,concluded that online learning on average beat face-to-face teaching by a modest1but statistically meaningful margin2.Bill Gates,whose foundation funds a lot of education programs,predicted last month that in five years much of college education will have gone online.“The self-motivated learner will be on the Web,”Mr.Gates said,speaking at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe.“College needs to be less place-based.”But recent research,published as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper,comes to a different conclusion.“A rush to online education may come at more of a cost than educators may suspect,”the authors write.The research was a head-to-head experiment,comparing the grades achieved in the same introductory economics class by students—one group online,and one in classroom lectures.Certain groups did notably worse online.Hispanic3students online fell nearly a full grade lower than Hispanic students that took the course in class.Male students did about a half-grade worse online,as did low-achievers,which had college grade-point averages below the mean for the university.The difference certainly was not attributable4to machines replacing a tutorial-style human teaching environment.Instead,the classroom was a large lecture hall seating hundreds of students.Initially,David Figlio,an economist at Northwestern University and co-author of the paper,said he had thought that the flexibility5of the Internet—the ability to“go back and roll the tape”—would probably give the online coursework6an edge over traditional“chalk and talk teaching.”The online lectures were well done,using a professional producer and cameraman7.“It had very much the feel of being in the room,”Mr.Figlio said.So what accounts for the difference in outcomes8?Mr.Figlio has a few theories. For the poorer performance of males and lower-achievers,he says the time-shifting convenience of the Web made it easier for students to put off viewing the lectures and cram9just before the test,a tactic10unlikely to produce the best possible results.It’s partly a stereotype11but also partly true,Mr.Figlio says,that female students tend to be better at timemanagement,spreading their study time over a semester,than males.“And the Internet makes it easier to put off12the unpleasant thing,attending the lecture,”he said.1.modest/?m?d?st/adj.谦虚的,谦恭的;适中的,适度的;些许的2.margin/?mɑ:d??n/n.页边空⽩;边,边缘;差数,差额3.Hispanic/h?s?p?n?k/adj.西班⽛和葡萄⽛的4.attributable/??tr?bj?t?bl/adj.可归因于,可能由于5.flexibility/?fleks??b?l?t?/n.灵活性;柔韧性6.coursework/?k?:sw?:k/n.课程作业7.cameraman/?k?m?r?m?n/n.摄影师8.outcome/?a?tk?m/n.结果9.cram/kr?m/v.挤满,塞满;临时死记硬背10.tactic/?t?kt?k/n.兵法;⽅法,策略;⼿段;招数11.stereotype/?ster??ta?p/n.模式化观念,⽼⼀套,刻板形象12.put off撤销,取消Passage4The Kids Can’t Help It(2010.12.16Newsweek)[372words]What new research reveals about the adolescentbrain—from why kids bully1to how the teen yearsshape the rest of your life.They say you never escape high school.And forbetter or worse,science is lending some credibility tothat old saw.Thanks to sophisticated imaging technology and a raft2of longitudinal3studies,we’re learning that the teen years are a period of crucial brain development subject to a host of environmental and genetic factors.This emerging research sheds4light not only on why teenagers act they way they do,but how the experiences of adolescence—from rejection to binge5 drinking—can affect who we become as adults,how we handle stress,and the way we bond with others.One of the most important discoveries in this area of study,says Dr.Frances Jensen,a neuroscientist at Harvard,is that our brains are not finished maturing by adolescence,as was previously thought.Adolescent brains“are only about80percentof the way to maturity,”she said at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in November.It takes until the mid-20s,and possibly later,for a brain to become fully developed.An excess of gray matter6(the stuff that does the processing)at the beginning of adolescence makes us particularly brilliant at learning—the reason we’re so good at picking up new languages starting in early childhood—but also particularly sensitive to the influences of our environment,both emotional and physical.Our brains’processing centers haven’t been fully linked yet,particularly the parts responsible for helping to check7our impulses8and considering the long-term repercussions9of our actions.“It’s like a brain that’s all revved10up not knowing where it needs to go,”says Jensen.It’s partially because of this developmental timeline that a teen can be so quick to conjure11a stinging remark,or a biting insult,and so uninhibited12in firing it off at the nearest unfortunate target—a former friend,perhaps,or a bewildered parent.The impulse to hurl13an insult14is there,just as it may be for an adult in a stressful situation,but the brain regions that an adult might rely on to stop himself from saying something cruel just haven’t caught up.1.bully/?b?l?/v.恐吓;充当恶霸,恃强凌弱2.raft/rɑ?ft/n.筏;橡⽪艇,充⽓船;⼤量3.longitudinal/?l?ntju?d?nl/adj.纵向的;纵观的;经度的4.shed/?ed/vt.散发出光;去除,摆脱;蜕,落5.binge/b?nd?/n.饮酒作乐;狂饮;狂闹6.gray matter灰质(脑、脊髓内神经元集中的地⽅)7.check/t?ek/v.检查,核验,核对;制⽌,控制8.impulse/??mp?ls/n.冲动;脉冲;刺激,推动⼒9.repercussion/?ri?p??kn/n.(间接的)反响,影响,恶果10.rev/rev/v.(发动机等)加快转速11.conjure/?k?n??/v.变魔术;使变戏法般地出现(或消失)12.uninhibited/??n?n?h?b?t?d/adj.⽆限制的;⽆拘束的,放任的13.hurl/h??l/vt.猛掷,猛扔;⼤声说出14.insult/?n?s?lt/n.侮辱;凌辱;⽆礼Passage5The Power of Posture(2011.1.13The Economist)[486words]“Stand up straight!”“Chest out!”“Shoulders back!”Theseare the perennial1cries of sergeant2majors and fussy3parentsthroughout the ages.Posture certainly matters.Big is dominantand in species after species,humans included,postures thatenhance the posturer’s apparent size cause others to treat him asif he were more powerful.The stand-up-straight brigade4,however,often make a further claim:that posture affects the way the posturer treats himself,as well as how others treat him.To test the truth of this,Li Huang and Adam Galinsky,at Northwestern University in Illinois,have compared posture’s effects onself-esteem with those of a more conventional ego-booster,management responsibility. In a paper just published in Psychological Science they conclude,surprisingly,that posture may matter more.The two researchers’experimental animals—77undergraduate students—first filled out questionnaires5,ostensibly6to assess their leadership capacity.Half were then given feedback forms which indicated that,on the basis of the questionnaires, theywere to be assigned to be managers in a forthcoming7experiment.The other half were told they would besubordinates8.While the participants waited for this feedback, they were asked to help with a marketing test on ergonomic9chairs.In fact,neither of these tests was what it seemed.The questionnaires were irrelevant.V olunteers were assigned to be managers or subordinates at random.The test of posture had nothing to do with ergonomics.And,crucially,each version of the posture test included equal numbers of those who would become“managers”and “subordinates”.Once the posture test was over the participants received their new statuses and the researchers measured theirimplicit10sense of power by asking them to engage in a word-completion task.Participants were instructed to complete a number of fragments11with the first word that came to mind.Seven of the fragments could be interpreted as words related to power(“power”,“direct”,“lead”,“authority”,“control”,“command”and“rich”).Although previous studies suggested a mere title is enough to produce a detectable increase in an individual’s sense of power,Dr Huang and Dr Galinsky found no difference in the word-completion scores of those told they would be managers and those told they would be subordinates.Having established the principle,Dr Huang and Dr Galinsky went on to test the effect of posture on other power-related decisions:whether to speak first in a debate, whether to leave the site of a plane crash to find help and whether to join a movement to free a prisoner who was wrongfully locked up.In all three cases those who had sat in expansive12postures chose the active option(to speak first,to search for help,to fight for justice)more often than those who had sat crouched13. The upshot14,then,is that father(or the sergeant major)was right.Those who walk around with their heads held high not only get the respect of others,they seem also to respect themselves.1.perennial/p??ren??l/adj.[植]多年⽣的;长久的,持续的2.sergeant/?sɑnt/n.[军](英)陆军、空军、海军陆战队中⼠;(美)陆军或空军中⼠3.fussy/?f?s?/adj.挑剔的,⼤惊⼩怪的;紧张不安的4.brigade/?br?ɡe?d/n.旅;伙,帮,派5.questionnaire/?kwestn e?/n.问卷;调查表6.ostensibly/?s?tens?bl?/adv.表⾯上;明显地7.forthcoming/?f??θ?k?m??/adj.即将发⽣的;现成的;乐于提供信息的8.subordinate/s??b??d?n?t/n.下级,部属9.ergonomic/ɡn?m?k/adj.⼈类⼯程学的10.implicit/?m?pl?s?t/adj.不⾔明的,含蓄的11.fragment/?fr?ɡm?nt/n.碎⽚,⽚段12.expansive/?ks?p?ns?v/adj.⼴阔的,辽阔的;⼴泛的,全⾯的;友善健谈的,开朗的13.crouch/kraut?/vt.屈膝,蹲伏,蹲,蹲下14.upshot/??p??t/n.最后结果,结局Passage6How Rest Helps Memory:Sleepy Heads(2010.2.25The Economist)[402words]Mad dogs and Englishmen,so the song has it,go out in themidday sun.And the business practices of England’s linealdescendant1,America,will have you in the office from nine in themorning to five in the evening,if not longer.Much of the world,though,prefers to take a siesta2.And research presented to theAAAS meeting in San Diego suggests it may be right to do so.Ithas already been established that those who siesta are less likely todie of heart disease.Now,Matthew Walker and his colleagues at the University of California,Berkeley,have found that they probably have better memory, too.A post-prandial3snooze4,Dr Walker has discovered,sets the brain up for learning.The role of sleep in consolidating5memories that have already been created has been understood for some time.Dr Walker has been trying to extend this understanding by looking at sleep’s role in preparing the brain for the formation of memories in the first place.He was particularly interested in a type of memory called episodic6memory,which relates to specific events,places and times.This contrasts with procedural memory,of the skills required to perform some sort of mechanical task,such as driving.The theory he and his team wanted to test was that the ability to form new episodic memories deteriorates7with increased wakefulness,and that sleep thus restores the brain’s capacity for efficient learning.They asked a group of39people to take part in two learning sessions,one at noon and one at6pm.On each occasion the participants tried to memorise and recall 100combinations of pictures and names.After the first session they were assigned randomly to either a control group,which remained awake,or a nap group,which had 100minutes of monitored sleep. Those who remained awake throughout the day became worse at learning.Those who napped8,by contrast,actually improved their capacity to learn,doing better in the evening than they had at noon.These findings suggest that sleep is clearing the brain’s short-term memory and making way for new information.The benefits to memory of a nap,says Dr Walker,are so great that they can equal an entire night’s sleep.Hewarns,however,that napping must not be done too late in the day or it will interfere with night-time sleep.Moreover,not everyone awakens refreshed from a siesta.1.lineal descendant直系后裔2.siesta/s??est?/n.午睡,午休3.prandial/?pr?nd??l/adj.膳⾷的,正餐的4.snooze/snu:z/n.⼩睡5.consolidate/k?n?s?l?de?t/vt.使巩固,使加强;合并6.episodic/?ep??s?d?k/adj.偶尔发⽣的,不定期的;有许多⽚段的7.deteriorate/d??t??r??re?t/vi.恶化,退化;变坏8.nap/n?p/vi.⼩睡Passage7Learning Gap Between Rich and Poor Starts Early(2011.2Newsweek)[354words]It’s generally accepted that there is a correlationbetween a child’s educational attainment1and a family’spoverty level,but new research shows that the problemmay take root2earlier than previously thought.A new study in Psychological Science found that at10months old,children from poor families performed just as well as children from wealthier families,but by the time they turned2,children from wealthier families were scoring consistently higher than those from poorer ones.“Poor kids aren’t even doing as well in terms of school readiness,sounding out letters and doing other things that you would expect to be relevant to early learning,”Elliot M.Tucker-Drob of the University of Texas at Austin,lead author of the study, said in a press release.To conduct the study,researchers assessed the mental abilities of about750pairs of fraternal3and identical4twins from all over the U.S.The participants’socioeconomic status was determined based on parents’educational attainment, occupations and family income.Each child was asked to perform tasks that included pulling a string to ring a bell, placing three cubes in a cup,matching pictures and sorting pegs by color first at10 months and again when they were2years old.At this time,researchers discovered that during the14-month window between the aptitude5tests,gaps in cognitive6 development had started to occur.Children from wealthier families had started to consistently outperform those from poorer ones.Researchers attempted to disprove7a genetic explanation by comparing the aptitude tests of each set of twins.Among the2-year-olds from wealthier families, identical twins had much more similar test scores than fraternal twins,who share only half of their genes.However,among2-year-olds from poorer families,identical twins scored no more similar to one another than did fraternal twins.The implication is that children’s genetic potential is subdued8by poverty, though the study stopped short of drawing a scientific conclusion as to what specifically was causing the achievement gaps.Researchers did postulate9that, generally speaking,poorer parents may not have the time or resources to spend playing with their children in stimulating ways.1.attainment/??te?nm?nt/n.达到;成就,造诣2.take root⽣根;开始;建⽴3.fraternal/fr??t??nl/adj.兄弟般的,亲如⼿⾜的4.identical/a??dent?kl/adj.同⼀的,完全相同的5.aptitude/??pt?tju?d/n.天资,天赋6.cognitive/?k?ɡn?t?v/adj.认知的,认识的7.disprove/d?s?pru?v/vt.证明……是错的8.subdue/s?b?dju?/vt.征服;抑制,克制9.postulate/?p?stj?le?t/v.假定,假设Passage8More Than Meets the Mirror:Illusion1Test Links Difficulty Sensing InternalCues2with Distorted3Body-Image(2011.1.4Scientific America)[457words]With all of the New Year’s diet ads claiming you canlose dozens of pounds in seemingly as many days,youprobably are not alone if you looked in the mirror thismorning and saw a less than ideal body.Or maybe you justpicked up a new magazine in which already thin modelshave their remaining flesh scavenged4by Photoshop to make them appear even slimmer.With all of these unrealistic promises and images,it can be hard to gain an accurate sense of one’s own body.But the disjunction5for some people might go deeper than manipulated5photos.A new study shows that the way people perceive their external7appearance is likely linked to how they experience their bodies internally.Researchers found that people who had greater difficulties sensing their own internal bodily states were also more likely to be fooled into believing a rubber hand was part of their own bodies. These results,published online in the issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,may one day help scientists understand how body image can become so distorted in disorders like body dysmorphia8and anorexia nervosa9,says lead author Manos Tsakiris of Royal Holloway,University of London.“The sense of self is built up from a representation of internal states,”says Hugo Critchley,a professor of psychiatry at the University of Sussex in England who was not involved with the study.“This paper is showing that sensitivity of individuals to their internal state predicts the strength of their self-representation.”Most of the time,the image someone has of their body is pretty close to its external appearance.You may see your thighs10as slightly bigger than they actually are,or your arm muscles as slightly smaller,but the discrepancy11is usually minimal12.In some mental disorders,however,body image can become dramatically distorted.Those who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder think that parts of their bodies are malformed13or grotesque14,even when these supposed flaws are not noticeable to others.In eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa patients continue to think they need to lose weight even as their bodies waste away.Crucial to the formation of body image—pathological15and otherwise—is the integration of external and internal cues.What we see in the mirror and what we feel against our skin melds with16our own internal awareness of our bodies to create an overarching17body image.Scientists have historically focused on how external factors like magazines and fashion models affect the creation of an accurate body image.Tsakiris and his colleagues,however,hypothesized that a person’s internal awareness of his or her body,known as interoceptive18awareness,was also related to the creation of an accurate body image.1.illusion/??ljun/n.错觉,幻觉;假象2.cue/kju?/n.提⽰;暗⽰,暗号3.distorted/d?s?t??t?d/adj.变形的,扭曲的;歪曲的,曲解的4.scavenge/?sk?v?n?/v.(从废弃物中)觅⾷,捡破烂;吃(动物⼫体)5.disjunction/d?sk??n/n.分离,分裂6.manipulate/m??n?pj?le?t/vt.控制,操纵;操作,使⽤;正⾻7.external/?k?st??nl/adj.外部的,外⾯的;外界的,外来的;对外的8.dysmorphia/d?s?m??f??/n.[医]畸形,变形9.anorexia nervosa神经性厌⾷症10.thigh /θa?/n.股,⼤腿11.discrepancy/d?s?krep?ns?/n.差异,不符合,不⼀致12.minimal/?m?n?m?l/adj.极⼩的,极少的,最⼩的13.malformed/?m?l?f??md/adj.畸形的14.grotesque/ɡrtesk/adj.怪诞的,荒唐的;奇形怪状的15.pathological/?p?θ??lkl/adj.不理智的,⽆道理的;病态的;病理学的16.meld with与……融合;与……合并17.overarching/v?r?ɑ?t/adj.⾮常重要的,⾸要的18.interoceptive /??nt?r?u?sept?v/adj.内感受(器)的Passage9The Tussle1for Talent(2011.1.6The Economist)[432words]Plato believed that men are divided into three classes:gold,silver and bronze.Vilfredo Pareto,an Italianeconomist,argued that“the vital2few”account for mostprogress.Such sentiments are taboo today in public life.Politicians talk of a“leadership class”or“the vital few”attheir peril3.Schools abhor4picking winners.Universities welcome the masses:more people now teach at British ones than attended them in the 1950s.In the private sector5things could hardly be more different.The world’s best companies struggle relentlessly6to find and keep the vital few.They offer them fat pay packets,extra training,powerful mentors7and more challenging assignments.If anything,businesses are becoming more obsessed with ability.This is partly cyclical8.Deloitte and other consultancies have noticed that as the economy begins to recover,companies are trying harder to nurture raw talent,or to poach9it from their rivals.When new opportunities arise,they hope to have the brainpower to seize them.The acceleration of the tussle for talent is also structural, however.Private-equity firms rely heavilyon a few stars.High-tech firms,for all their sartorial10egalitarianism11,are ruthless12about recruiting the brightest.Firms in emerging markets are desperate to find high-flyer13s—the younger the better—who can cope with rapid growth and fast-changing environments.Successful companies make sure that senior managers are involved with“talentdevelopment”.Jack Welch and /doc/2e5e0328482fb4daa58d4b15.html fley,former bosses of GE and P&G,claimed that they spent40%of their time on personnel.Andy Grove,who ran Intel,a chipmaker14,obliged all the senior people,including himself,to spend at least a week a year teaching high-flyers.Nitin Paranjpe,the boss of Hindustan Unilever,recruits people from campuses and regularly visits high-flyers in their offices.Involving the company’s top brass15in the process prevents lower-level managers from monopolising16high-flyers(and taking credit for their triumphs).It also creates a dialogue between established and future leaders.Successful companies also integrate talent development with their broader strategy.This ensures that companies are more than the sum of their parts.Adrian Dillon,a former chief financial officer of Agilent,a firm that makes high-tech measuring devices,says he would rather build a“repertory17company”than a “collection of world experts”.P&G likes its managers to be both innovative and worldly:they cannot rise to the top without running operations in a country and managing a product globally.Agilent and Novartis like to turn specialists into general managers.Goodyear replaced23of its24senior managers in two years as it shifted from selling tyres to carmakers to selling them to motorists.1.tussle/t?sl/n.扭打;争论;争⽃;奋⽃2.vita l/?va?tl/adj.⽣命的;充满活⼒的;⽣死攸关的;极其重要的3.peril/?per?l/n.严重危险;祸害,险情4.abhor/?b?h??/vt.痛恨,憎恶5.sector/?sekt?/n.[数]扇形;两脚规;部分;部门6.relentlessly/r??lentl?sl?/adv.残酷地,⽆情地;不停地,不减弱地7.mentor /?men?t??/n.私⼈教师,辅导教师;良师益友8.cyclical/?sa?kl?kl/adj.周期的,循环的9.poach/p??t?/vt.⽔煮;偷猎;盗⽤,挖⾛(⼈员)10.sartorial/sɑ??t??r??l/adj.服装的,男装的,⾐着的11.egalitarianism/??ɡ?l??te?r??n?z?m/n.平等主义,平均主义12.ruthless/?ru?θl?s/adj.⽆情的,冷酷的;残忍的13.high-flyer/?ha?fla??/n.抱负极⾼的⼈;有野⼼的⼈14.chipmaker/?t??p?me?k?/n.集成块制造者;半导体(元件)制造商15.top brass要员16.monopolise/m??n?p?la?z/vt.垄断,独占;占去(⼤部分时间、精⼒),霸占17.repertory/?rep?tr?/n.保留剧⽬轮演Passage10What Is a Medically Induced Coma1and Why Is It Used?(2011.1.10Scientific America)[497words]Basically what happens with a medically induced。

考研英语阅读理解精读训练题目及答案解析 UNIT 17

考研英语阅读理解精读训练题目及答案解析 UNIT 17

TEXT ONEBritons’ most searing memories of their encounter with foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 are of the piles of animals slaughtered to try to stop its spread. Such a draconian policy might have been accepted had the disease been controlled quickly. But its ineffectiveness—more than 6m cows, sheep and pigs were culled before the disease was eradicated—led to widespread revulsion and a government rethink.Just as in 2001, if an animal is thought to be infected, its herd will be culled and a quarantine zone set up. But this time, unless the disease is stamped out quickly, animals nearby will also be vaccinated to create a “fire-break” across which it is unlikely to travel. Already 300,000 doses of vaccine have been ordered, so that if government vets decide that slaughter alone is unlikely to be effective, they can start vaccinating straight away.Humans almost never catch foot-and-mouth and it rarely kills the cloven-hooved beasts it affects. But animals produce less milk and meat, so its economic effects are severe. It is also highly contagious: infected livestock produce the virus that causes it in large quantities, and transmit it through saliva, mucus, milk, faeces and even droplets in their breath.Even so, only countries where foot-and-mouth is endemic, as in parts of Latin America, vaccinate all animals. One reason is cost: the disease is caused by a virus with seven main types and tens of sub-types, with a targeted vaccine needed for each strain and shots repeated, perhaps as often as twice a year. It is also because vaccinating damages exports. Places that are free from foot-and-mouth are unwilling to import vaccinated beasts, or fresh meat from them, because they may still carry the disease.The fear of being shut out of foreign markets led to the British government's disastrous foot-dragging over vaccination in 2001. But that same year an outbreak in the Netherlands involving 26 farms was brought under control in just one month by vaccinating 200,000 animals. Though healthy, these beasts then had to be culled so that farmers could return to exporting without restrictions as soon as possible.Not even eternal vigilance on imports can keep a country free of foot-and-mouth disease: the latest outbreak was apparently caused by a breach of bio-security at the Pirbright laboratory complex in Surrey, where government researchers keep the live virus for vaccine research and Merial, an American animal-health company, manufactures vaccine for export. Human action, accidental or deliberate, seems likely to have been involved.Ironically, one reason for eschewing vaccination is that although it provides the best hope of dealing with outbreaks, maintaining the capacity to produce vaccine is itself a risky business. Many earlier episodes of foot-and-mouth in countries normallyfree from the disease have been caused by laboratory escapes; in 1970 a leak from Pirbright's isolation facilities was fortunately contained.1. Which one of the following statements is not TRUE of the foot-and-mouth disease in Briton in 2001?[A] The disease had never been effectively controlled throughout the event.[B] The policy of slaughtering animals to stop the disease spread proved to be a failure.[C] The slaughtering policy was arousing discontent among the public in Britons.[D] The government failed to take immediate actions of creating fire-break around the infected livestock.2. The new policy is different from the policy in 2001 in the following aspects except_____[A] the piles of animals will not be slaughtered as in 2001.[B] animals near the infected herb will be injected with vaccine.[C] a belt of quarantine with vaccinated animals will be erected.[D] it is paying more attention to prevention of the outbreak of the epidemic.3.Only a few countries have all of their animals injected with vaccines because of the following reason except_____[A] it is unnecessary to vaccinate all the animals in counties in which there are little chances of infecting foot-and-mouth.[B] the cost of vaccines against all types of the virus causing the disease is very high.[C] vaccinated animals are less welcomed by importing countries.[D] the vaccine cost will be rising as types of virus causing the disease are increasing. 4.Though vaccinated animals were free from the foot-and-mouth in Britain and Netherlands in 2001, they were still slaughtered because_____[A] they may be more likely to infect the virus than the healthy ones.[B] the exporting restrictions were too strict to let these animals pass the custom.[C] the farmers were afraid of being deprived of the exporting right.[D] the government wanted to regain the former status of exporting animals.5.The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease may be a result of the following situations except_____[A] animals being wrongly or incompletely injected with vaccination.[B] importing animals from the countries with the foot-and-mouth-disease.[C] leak of the virus during the research experimentation.[D] malicious actions by some people with particular purpose.篇章剖析:这篇文章介绍了应对英国口蹄疫的一些情况。

考研英语历年英语阅读真题及答案(2017)

考研英语历年英语阅读真题及答案(2017)

引导语:为了帮助⼤家更好地准备考研,以下是百分⽹店铺为⼤家整理的2017考研英语⼀阅读真题及答案,欢迎阅读! 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 the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points) Text 1 First two hours , now three hours—this is how far in advance authorities are recommending people show up to catch a domestic flight , at least at some major U.S. airports with increasingly massive security lines. Americans are willing to tolerate time-consuming security procedures in return for increased safety. The crash of Egypt Air Flight 804,which terrorists may have downed over the Mediterranean Sea ,provides another tragic reminder of why. But demanding too much of air travelers or providing too little security in return undermines public support for the process. And it should: Wasted time is a drag on Americans’ economic and private lives, not to mention infuriating. Last year, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) found in a secret check that undercover investigators were able to sneak weapons---both fake and real—past airport security nearly every time they tried .Enhanced security measures since then, combined with a rise in airline travel due to the improving Chicago’s O’Hare International .It is not yet clear how much more effective airline security has become—but the lines are obvious. Part of the issue is that the government did not anticipate the steep increase in airline travel , so the TSA is now rushing to get new screeners on the line. Part of the issue is that airports have only so much room for screening lanes. Another factor may be that more people are trying to overpack their carry-on bags to avoid checked-baggage fees, though the airlines strongly dispute this. There is one step the TSA could take that would not require remodeling airports or rushing to hire: Enroll more people in the PreCheck program. PreCheck is supposed to be a win-win for travelers and the TSA. Passengers who pass a background check are eligible to use expedited screening lanes. This allows the TSA wants to enroll 25 million people in PreCheck. It has not gotten anywhere close to that, and one big reason is sticker shock. Passengers must pay $85 every five years to process their background checks. Since the beginning, this price tag has been PreCheck’s fatal flaw. Upcoming reforms might bring the price to a more reasonable level. But Congress should look into doing so directly, by helping to finance PreCheck enrollment or to cut costs in other ways. The TSA cannot continue diverting resources into underused PreCheck lanes while most of the traveling public suffers in unnecessary lines. It is long past time to make the program work. 21. The crash of Egypt Air Flight 804 is mentioned to______. [A] stress the urgency to strengthen security worldwide [B] explain American’s tolerance of current security checks [C] highlight the necessity of upgrading major U.S. Airports [D] emphasize the importance of privacy protection 【答案】B 【解析】答案为B。

2017考研英语二阅读真题及答案【2】

2017考研英语二阅读真题及答案【2】

2017考研英语二阅读真题及答案【2】Part ADirections:Read the following four texts。

Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D。

Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET。

(40 points)Text 1Every Saturday morning,at 9 am,more than 50,000 runners set off to run 5km around their local park。

The Parkrun phenomenon began with a dozen friends and has inspired 400 events in the UK and more abroad。

Events are free, staffed by thousands of volunteers。

Runners range from four years old to grandparents; their times range from Andrew Baddeley’s world record 13 minutes 48 seconds up to an hour。

Parkrun is succeeding where London’s Olympic “legacy” is failing。

Ten years ago on Monday, it was announced that the Games of the 30th Olympiad would be in London。

Planning documents pledged that the great legacy of the Games would be to level a nation of sport lovers away from their couches。

2017考研英语时文精选伦敦街头的涂鸦文化

2017考研英语时文精选伦敦街头的涂鸦文化

2017考研英语时文精选:伦敦街头的涂鸦文化研究过考研英语真题的同学都会发现,考研文章中的素材都是来源于西方的主流期刊和杂志,其中从《经济学人》这个期刊采取的素材较多。

如果考研的同学能够把这些题源的文章作文平常泛读的材料,势必会增强大家对背景知识和语感的把握。

现在为大家精选一些有代表性和话题性的文章为大家解读,希望2017考研的学生能够跟着我们的脚步去复习英语。

打好基础,脚踏实地地在考研的路上越走越顺。

那么,今天我们来分享一篇《经济学人》中的《涂鸦墙上文化》,希望大家能够希望的涂鸦文化有所了解。

下面请看具体文章和词汇解析(红色字体为写作常用词汇)。

Graffiti,The Writing's on the Wall涂鸦墙上文化Having turned respectable, graffiti culture is dying .LONDON'S fastest-changing art gallery is hidden in a sunken ball court on a housing estate in Stockwell, south London. On a sunny Sunday afternoon six or seven men, mostly in their 30s, are busy painting the walls with new designs. They have put up cartoons, names written in elaborate, multi-coloured lettering and clever perspective tricks. Tins of spray paint and beer stand on the ground; ladders lean against the paintings.The atmosphere is not unlike that of a golf course: a mix of concentration and blokey relaxation.Graffiti painting is traditionally a daredevil pursuit. Teenagers dodge security guards to put their names on trains and buses. But over the past decade that has all but disappeared from Britain's cities. Between 2007 and 2012 the number of incidents of graffiti recorded by the British Transport Police fell by 63%.A survey by the environment ministry shows that fewer places are blighted by tags than ever. Graffiti are increasingly confined to sanctioned walls, such as the Stockwell ball courts. In time the practice may die out entirely.The most obvious reason for the decline in tagging and train-painting is better policing, says Keegan Webb, who runs TheLondon Vandal, a graffiti blog. Numerous CCTV cameras mean it is harder to get away with painting illegally. And punishments are more severe.Once-prolific taggers such as Daniel Halpin, who painted his pseudonym “Tox”all over London,have been given long prison sentences. British graffiti artists who want to paint trains usually go abroad to do it these days, says Mr Webb.A generational shift is apparent, too.Fewer teenagers are gettinginto painting walls. They prefer to play with iPads and video games, reckons Boyd Hill, an artist known as Solo One, who in effect runsthe Stockwell ball courts. Those who do get involved tend to prefer street art to graffitiproper (which purists define as letters and names, however elaborately drawn).Some have gone to art school and want to make money from their paintings. Theinternet means that painters can win far more attention by posting pictures online than they can by breaking into a railway yard.Taggers and graffiti artists mostly grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. Those men—and almost all are men—are now older and less willing to takerisks.“We can't runaway from the police any more,”says Ben Eine, who turned from tagging to street art. The hip-hop culture that inspired graffiti in the first place has faded. Video games and comic books provide more inspiration than music.Graffiti may eventually disappear. But for now the hobby is almost respectable. Mr Eine says he has lots of friends who used to paint trains. Now with wives and children, they paint abandoned warehouses at the weekend. It has become something to do on a Sunday afternoon—a slightly healthier alternative to sitting watching the football.涂鸦文化变得让人尊敬,却正在面临着灭绝。

2017考研英语真题阅读5夜10篇精读-赠送资料3(何凯文)

2017考研英语真题阅读5夜10篇精读-赠送资料3(何凯文)

2017考研英语KK五夜十篇AB句阅读总结(出题人思路首次kk全解密)各位2017考研五夜十篇的学员:同意替换就是用不同的表达方式来表达相同的含义。

但这其实是个矛盾的命题:表达不同就必然造成含义在一定程度上的改变。

那么这个度就很难把握了。

必须由出题人亲自来示范我们才能知道:“哦,这样的表达是正确的替换方式。

”每道真题的正确答案就是出题人给出的示范。

所以做AB句的总结是非常有必要的。

A句:原文中答案来源句B句:题干+正确选项在这里专门为五夜十篇的学员们总结了几十组AB句。

大家也可以现在学习群里相互讨论一下对于AB句的总结。

相互的帮助和鼓励更是我们前进的动力!后期还会陆续补充,希望能最大程度地帮到大家。

何凯文2016年9月8日1.原文:While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese educationtends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression.选项:More stress should be placed on the cultivation of creativity.2.原文:Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes (travels to and from work) andcrowded living conditions, but as the old group and family values weaken, thediscomfort is beginning to tell.选项:The change in Japanese life-style is revealed in the fact that the young are less tolerant of discomforts in life.3.原文:It is generally believed that ambition may be well regarded if its returns well compensatefor the sacrifices选项:If ambition is to be well regarded, the rewards of ambition -- wealth, distinction, control over one‟s destiny -- must be deemed worthy of the sacrifices made on ambition‟sbehalf.4.原文:What has happened is that people cannot confess fully to their dreams, as easily andopenly as once they could, lest they be thought pushing, acquisitive and vulgar.选项:Some people do not openly admit they have ambition because they do not want to appear greedy and contemptible.5.原文:As a result, the support for ambition as a healthy impulse, a quality to be admired andfixed in the mind of the young, is probably lower than it has ever been in the UnitedStates.选项:From the last paragraph the conclusion can be drawn that ambition should be maintained openly and enthusiastically.6.原文:NAS‟s report identifies the under treatment of pain and the aggressive use of “ineffectualand forced medical procedures that may prolong and even dishonor the period of dying”as the twin problems of end-of-life care.选项:According to the NAS‟s report, one of the problems in end-of-life care is inadequate treatment of pain.7.原文:Although it ruled that there is no constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide, theCourt in effect supported the medical principle of “double effect”.选项:It is still illegal for doctors to help the dying end their lives.8.原文:But if robots are to reach the next stage of laborsaving utility, they will have to operatewith less human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for themselves-- goals that pose a real challenge.选项:Besides reducing human labor, robots can also make a few decisions for themselves. 9.原文:We can‟t yet give a robot enough …common sense‟ to reliably interact with a dynamicworld.选项:According to the text, what is beyond man‟s ability now is to design a robot that can respond independently to a changing world.10.原文:I also know that people in Japan and Sweden, countries that spend far less on medicalcare, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have.选项:In contrast to the U.S., Japan and Sweden are funding their medical care more cautiously.11.原文:From the beginning of our history, says Hofstadter, our democratic and populist urgeshave driven us to reject anything that smells of elitism.选项:We can learn from the text that Americans have a history of undervaluing intellect. 12.原文:This discrimination, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers todiscrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of thealphabet.选项:Some form of discrimination is too subtle to recognize.选项:Putting things alphabetically may lead to unintentional bias.13.原文:Even those who aren‟t hunting for jobs may find search agents worthwhile.选项:Personal search agents are also helpful to those already employed.14.原文:McWhorter sees the gradual disappearance of “whom,” for example, to be natural and nomore regrettable than the loss of the case-endings of Old English.选项:According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English is but all too natural in language development.15.原文:If you don‟t lik e it, change it.选项:Researchers have come to believe that dreams can be modified in their courses.16.原文:Cartwright believes one can exercise conscious control over recurring bad dreams.选项:Cartwright seems to suggest that dreaming may not entirely belong to the unconscious.17.原文:If the Administration won‟t take the legislative initiative, Congress should help to beginfashioning conservation measures.选项:Administration should take some legislative measures.18.原文:The antismoking lobby was out to destroy our way of life and the government shouldstay out of the way选项:People had the freedom to choose their own way of life19.原文:And since these messages have an agenda -- to lure us to open our wallets -- they makethe very idea of happiness seem unreliable.选项:In the author‟s opinion, advertising creates an illusion of happiness rather than happiness itself20.原文:But the weirdest may be this: artists‟ only job is to explore emotions, and yet they chooseto focus on the ones that feel bad.This wa sn‟t always so.选项:artists have changed their focus of interest21.原文:It‟s a message even more bitter than a clove cigarette, yet, somehow, a breath of fresh air.选项:The anti-happy art is distasteful but refreshing22.原文:Today, surrounded by promises of easy happiness, we need art to tell us, as religion oncedid, Memento mori: remember that you will die, that everything ends, and thathappiness comes not in denying this but in living with it.选项:Religion once functioned as a reminder of misery.(出题人够猥琐吧,就替换了那么一点点。

考研英语阅读理解习题及答案

考研英语阅读理解习题及答案

考研英语阅读理解习题及答案2017年考研英语阅读理解习题及答案阅读理解一People do not analyze every problem they meet. Sometimes they try to remember a solution from the last time they had a similar problem. They often accept the opinions or ideas of other people. Other times they begin to act without thinking; they try to find a solution by trial and error. However, when all these methods fail, the person with a problem has to start analyzing. There are six stages in analyzing a problem.First the person must recognize that there is a problem. For example, Sam's bicycle is broken, and he cannot read it to class as he usually does. Sam must see that there is a problem with his bicycle.Next the thinker must define the problem. Before Sam can repair his bicycle. he must find the reason why it does not work. For instance, he must determine if the problem is with the gears, the brakes, or the frame. He must make his problem more specific.Now the person must look for information that will make the problem clearer and lead to possible solutions. For instance, suppose Sam decided that his bike does not work because there is something wrong with the gear wheels. At this time. he can look in his bicycle repair book and read about gears. He can talk to his friends at the bike shop. He can look at his gears carefully. after studying the problem, the person should have several suggestions for a possible solution. Take Sam as an illustration. His suggestions might be: put oil on the gear wheels; buy new gear wheels and replace the old ones; tighten or loosen the gear wheels.Eventually one suggestion seems to be the solution to the problem. Sometimes the final idea comes very suddenly because the thinker suddenly sees something new or sees something in a new way. Sam, for example, suddenly sees that there is a piece of chewing gum(口香糖)between the gear wheels. He immediately realizes the solution to his problem: he must clean the gear wheels.Finally the solution is tested. Sam cleans the gear wheels and finds that afterwards his bicycle works perfectly. In short, he has solved the problem.1. What is the best title for this passage?A) Six Stages for Repairing Sam's BicycleB) Possible Ways to Problem-solvingC) Necessities of Problem AnalysisD) Suggestions for Analyzing a Problem2. In analyzing a problem we should do all the following except .A) recognize and define the problemB) look for information to make the problem clearerC) have suggestions for a possible solutionD) find a solution by trial or mistake3. By referring to Sam's broken bicycle, the author intends to .A) illustrate the ways to repair his bicycleB) discuss the problems of his bicycleC) tell us how to solve a problemD) show us how to analyses a problem4. Which of the following is NOT true?A) People do not analyze the problem they meet.B) People often accept the opinions or ideas of other people.C) People may learn from their past experienceD) People can not solve some problems they meet.5. As used in the last sentence, the phrase in short means .A) in the long runB) in detailC) in a wordD) in the end1.B2.D3.C4.A5.C阅读理解二The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.As the general standard of living in the country rises, the poverty line does, too. Therefore, even with today's relatively high standard of living, about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. However, if these people had stable jobs, they could have an acceptable standard of living. Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs.For one thing, more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. Over 40 percent of the poor people are children. By law, children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries. A large number of poor people are old. Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old, the normal retirement age.Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons: they are sick, they do not have any motivation(动力). they have family problems, or they donotbelieve that they can find a job.Other poor people look for a job but cannot find one. Many poor adults never went to high school. Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.At the present time, the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the following ways.First, if the national economy grows, businesses and industries hire more workers. Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment. Then they will no longer be below the poverty line.Second, if society invests in the poor, the poor will become more productive. If the government spends money on social programs, education, and training for poor people, the poor will have the skills to offer. Then it is more likely that they can find jobs.Finally, if the government distributes society's income differently, it raises some poor people above the poverty line. The government collects taxes from the non-poor and gives money to the poor. These payments to the poor are called welfare. In 1975 over 18 million people in the United States received welfare.Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time, many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living.1. The author's main purpose to write this article is .A) to define what the poverty line isB) to explain why some people live the poverty lineC) to find solutions to the problem of povertyD) to show sympathy for those poor people2. Which of the following is NOT true?A) Ten percent of the Americans live a poor life.B) Poor people are those who love below the poverty line.C) The poverty line rises as the general standard of living rises.D) The poverty line tends to be at the same level.3. More than 40 percent of the poor people are children. This is mainly because .A) they do not have enough motivationB) they are so young that they are deprived of chances to workC) they fail to get enough educationD) they are very poor in health4. Most of the American poor people are not qualified for employment because .A) they to not have any motivation to workB) they are not very self-confidentC) they are too young or too old to workD) they have physical and family problems5. We may conclude from the passage that .A) better solutions to the poverty problem are not yet foundB) welfare will enable people to be richC) poor people are bound to go out of the poverty line if they have chances to do businessD) employment is the best solution to the poverty problem1.C2.D3.B4.C5.A。

考研英语(一)答案及解析 (17)

考研英语(一)答案及解析 (17)

全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题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 on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)Research on animal intelligence always makes me wonder just how smart humans are.1the fruit-fly experiments described in Carl Zimmer's piece in the Science Times on Tuesday. Fruit flies who were taught to be smarter than the average fruit fly 2to live shorter lives. This suggests that 3bulbs burn longer, that there is an 4in not being too terrifically bright.Intelligence, it 5out, is a high-priced option. It takes more upkeep, burns more fuel and is slow 6the starting line because it depends on learning — a gradual 7— instead of instinct. Plenty of other species are able to learn, and one of the things they've apparently learned is when to8.Is there an adaptive value to9intelligence? That's the question behind this new research.I like it. Instead of casting a wistful glance10at all the species we've left in the dust I.Q.-wise, it implicitly asks what the real11of our own intelligence might be. This is12the mind of every animal I've ever met.Research on animal intelligence also makes me wonder what experiments animals would 13on humans if they had the chance. Every cat with an owner, 14, is running a small-scale study in operant conditioning. we believe that 15animals ran the labs, they would test us to 16the limits of our patience, our faithfulness, our memory for terrain. They would try to decide what intelligence in humans is really 1, not merely how much of it there is. 1819question: Are humans actually aware of the world they live in?20the results are inconclusive.1. [A] Suppose [B] Consider [C] Observe [D] Imagine2. [A] tended [B] feared [C] happened [D] threatened3. [A] thinner [B] stabler [C] lighter [D] dimmer4. [A] tendency [B] advantage [C] inclination [D] priority5. [A] insists on [B] sums up [C] turns out [D] puts forward6. [A] off [B] behind [C] over [D] along7. [A] incredible [B] spontaneous [C] inevitable [D] gradual8. [A] fight [B] doubt [C] stop [D] think9. [A] invisible [B] limited [C] indefinite [D] different10. [A] upward [B] forward [C] afterward [D] backward11. [A] features [B] influences [C] results [D] costs12. [A] outside [B] on [C] by [D] across13. [A] deliver [B] carry [C] perform [D] apply14. [A] by chance [B] in contrast [C] as usual [D] for instance15. [A] if [B] unless [C] as [D] lest16. [A] moderate [B] overcome [C] determine [D] reach17. [A] at [B] for [C] after [D] with18. [A] Above all [B] After all [C] However [D] Otherwise19. [A] fundamental [B] comprehensive[C] equivalent [D] hostile20. [A] By accident [B] In time [C] So far [D] Better stillSection II Reading ComprehensionPart ADirections: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 1Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. "Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd," William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word "habit" carries a negative connotation.So it seems antithetical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.But don't bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus, they're there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately ingrain into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads."The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder," says Dawna Markova, author of "The Open Mind" and an executive change consultant for Professional Thinking Partners. "But we are taught instead to 'decide,' just as our president calls himself 'the Decider.' " She adds, however, that "to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities."All of us work through problems in ways of which we're unaware, she says. Researchers in the late 1960 covered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, relationally (or collaboratively) and innovatively. At puberty, however, the brain shuts down half of that capacity, preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought. "This breaks the major rule in the American belief system — that anyone can do anything," explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book "This Year I Will..." and Ms. Markova's business partner. "That's a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosters commonness. Knowing what you're good at and doing even more of it creates excellence." This is where developing new habits comes in.21. The view of Wordsworth habit is claimed by being ________.A. casualB. familiarC. mechanicalD. changeable22. The researchers have discovered that the formation of habit can be ________A. predictedB. regulatedC. tracedD. guided23. "ruts"(in line one, paragraph 3) has closest meaning to ________A. tracksB. seriesC. characteristicsD. connections24. Ms. Markova's comments suggest that the practice of standard testing ________?A, prevents new habits form being formedB, no longer emphasizes commonnessC, maintains the inherent American thinking modelD, complies with the American belief system25. Ryan most probably agree thatA. ideas are born of a relaxing mindB. innovativeness could be taughtC. decisiveness derives from fantastic ideasD. curiosity activates creative mindsText 2It is a wise father that knows his own child, but today a man can boost his paternal (fatherly) wisdom – or at least confirm that he's the kid's dad. All he needs to do is shell our $30 for paternity testing kit (PTK) at his local drugstore – and another $120 to get the results.More than 60,000 people have purchased the PTKs since they first become available without prescriptions last years, according to Doug Fog, chief operating officer of Identigene, which makes the over-the-counter kits. More than two dozen companies sell DNA tests Directly to the public , ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to more than $2500.Among the most popular : paternity and kinship testing , which adopted children can use to find their biological relatives and latest rage a many passionate genealogists-and supports businesses that offer to search for a family's geographic roots .Most tests require collecting cells by webbing saliva in the mouth and sending it to the company for testing. All tests require a potential candidate with whom to compare DNA.But some observers are skeptical, "There is a kind of false precision being hawked by people claiming they are doing ancestry testing," says Trey Duster, a New York University sociologist. He notes that each individual has many ancestors-numbering in the hundreds just a few centuries back. Yet most ancestry testing only considers a single lineage, either the Y chromosome inherited through men in a father's line or mitochondrial DNA, which a passed down only from mothers. This DNA can reveal genetic information about only one or two ancestors, even though, for example, just three generations back people also have six other great-grandparents or, four generations back, 14 other great-great-grandparents.Critics also argue that commercial genetic testing is only as good as the reference collections to which a sample is compared. Databases used by some companies don't rely on data collected systematically but rather lump together information from different research projects. This means that a DNA database may differ depending on the company that processes the results. In addition, the computer programs a company uses to estimate relationships may be patented and not subject to peer review or outside evaluation.26. In paragraphs 1 and 2, the text shows PTK's ___________.[A] easy availability[B] flexibility in pricing[C] successful promotion[D] popularity with households27. PTK is used to __________.[A] locate one's birth place[B] promote genetic research[C] identify parent-child kinship[D] choose children for adoption28. Skeptical observers believe that ancestry testing fails to__________.[A] trace distant ancestors[B] rebuild reliable bloodlines[C] fully use genetic information[D] achieve the claimed accuracy29. In the last paragraph, a problem commercial genetic testing faces is __________.[A] disorganized data collection[B] overlapping database building[C] excessive sample comparison[D] lack of patent evaluation30. An appropriate title for the text is most likely to be__________.[A] Fors and Againsts of DNA testing[B] DNA testing and It's problems[C] DNA testing outside the lab[D] lies behind DNA testingText 3The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike progress in both area is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong. We are fortunate that is it, because new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations. The findings of a research institution haveconsistently shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radical higher productivity and, as a result, radically higher standards of living.Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. Not long ago, with the country entering a recessing and Japan at its pre-bubble peak. The U.S. workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of primary cause of the poor U.S. economic performance. Japan was, and remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity. Yet the research revealed that the U.S. factories of Honda Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts -- a result of the training that U.S. workers received on the job.More recently, while examining housing construction, the researchers discovered that illiterate, non-English- speaking Mexican workers in Houston, Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivity standards despite the complexity of the building industry's work.What is the real relationship between education and economic development? We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments don't force it. After all, that's how education got started. When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didn't have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food. Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things.As education improved, humanity's productivity potential, they could in turn afford more education. This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance. Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broader formal education. A lack of formal education, however, doesn't constrain the ability of the developing world's workforce to substantially improve productivity for the forested future. On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn't developing more quickly there than it is.31. The author holds in paragraph 1 that the important of education in poor countries___________.[A] is subject groundless doubts[B] has fallen victim of bias[C] is conventional downgraded[D] has been overestimated32. It is stated in paragraph 1 that construction of a new education system __________.[A] challenges economists and politicians[B] takes efforts of generations[C] demands priority from the government[D] requires sufficient labor force33. A major difference between the Japanese and U.S workforces is that __________.[A] the Japanese workforce is better disciplined[B] the Japanese workforce is more productive[C] the U.S workforce has a better education[D] the U.S workforce is more organize34. The author quotes the example of our ancestors to show that education emerged __________.[A] when people had enough time[B] prior to better ways of finding food[C] when people on longer went hung[D] as a result of pressure on government35. According to the last paragraph , development of education __________.[A] results directly from competitive environments[B] does not depend on economic performance[C] follows improved productivity[D] cannot afford political changesText 4The most thoroughly studied in the history of the new world are the ministers and political leaders of seventeenth-century New England. According to the standard history of American philosophy, nowhere else in colonial America was "So much important attached to intellectual pursuits " According to many books and articles, New England's leaders established the basic themes and preoccupations of an unfolding, dominant Puritan tradition in American intellectual life.To take this approach to the New Englanders normally mean to start with the Puritans' theological innovations and their distinctive ideas about the church-important subjects that we may not neglect. But in keeping with our examination of southern intellectual life, we may consider the original Puritans as carriers of European culture adjusting to New world circumstances. The New England colonies were the scenes of important episodes in the pursuit of widely understood ideals of civility and virtuosity.The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in England. `Besides the ninety or so learned ministers who came to Massachusetts church in the decade after 1629,There were political leaders like John Winthrop, an educated gentleman, lawyer, and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston. There men wrote and published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences, and giving New England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness.We should not forget , however, that most New Englanders were less well educated. While few crafts men or farmers, let alone dependents and servants, left literary compositions to be analyzed, The in thinking often had a traditional superstitions quality. A tailor named John Dane, who emigrated in the late 1630s, left an account of his reasons for leaving England that is filled with signs. sexual confusion, economic frustrations , and religious hope-all name together in a decisive moment when he opened the Bible, told his father the first line he saw would settle his fate, and read themagical words: "come out from among them, touch no unclean thing , and I will be your God and you shall be my people." One wonders what Dane thought of the careful sermons explaining the Bible that he heard in puritan churched.Meanwhile, many settles had slighter religious commitments than Dane's, as one clergyman learned in confronting folk along the coast who mocked that they had not come to the New world for religion . "Our main end was to catch fish. "36. The author notes that in the seventeenth-century New England___________.[A] Puritan tradition dominated political life.[B] intellectual interests were encouraged.[C] Politics benefited much from intellectual endeavors.[D] intellectual pursuits enjoyed a liberal environment.37. It is suggested in paragraph 2 that New Englanders__________.[A] experienced a comparatively peaceful early history.[B] brought with them the culture of the Old World[C] paid little attention to southern intellectual life[D] were obsessed with religious innovations38. The early ministers and political leaders in Massachusetts Bay__________.[A] were famous in the New World for their writings[B] gained increasing importance in religious affairs[C] abandoned high positions before coming to the New World[D] created a new intellectual atmosphere in New England39. The story of John Dane shows that less well-educated New Englanders were often __________.[A] influenced by superstitions[B] troubled with religious beliefs[C] puzzled by church sermons[D] frustrated with family earnings40. The text suggests that early settlers in New England__________.[A] were mostly engaged in political activities[B] were motivated by an illusory prospect[C] came from different backgrounds.[D] left few formal records for later referencePart BDirections:Directions: In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions (41-45), choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blank. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the gaps.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)Coinciding with the groundbreaking theory of biological evolution proposed by British naturalist Charles Darwin in the 1860s, British social philosopher Herbert Spencer put forward his own theory of biological and cultural evolution. Spencer argued that all worldly phenomena, including human societies, changed over time, advancing toward perfection. 41.____________.American social scientist Lewis Henry Morgan introduced another theory of cultural evolution in the late 1800s. Morgan, along with Tylor, was one of the founders of modern anthropology. In his work, he attempted to show how all aspects of culture changed together in the evolution of societies.42._____________.In the early 1900s in North America, German-born American anthropologist Franz Boas developed a new theory of culture known as historical particularism. Historical particularism, which emphasized the uniqueness of all cultures, gave new direction to anthropology. 43._____________.Boas felt that the culture of any society must be understood as the result of a unique history and not as one of many cultures belonging to a broader evolutionary stage or type of culture.44._______________.Historical particularism became a dominant approach to the study of culture in American anthropology, largely through the influence of many students of Boas. But a number of anthropologists in the early 1900s also rejected the particularist theory of culture in favor of diffusionism. Some attributed virtually every important cultural achievement to the inventions of a few, especially gifted peoples that, according to diffusionists, then spread to other cultures.45.________________.Also in the early 1900s, French sociologist Émile Durkheim developed a theory of culture that would greatly influence anthropology. Durkheim proposed that religious beliefs functioned to reinforce social solidarity. An interest in the relationship between the function of society and culture—known as functionalism—became a major theme in European, and especially British, anthropology.[A] Other anthropologists believed that cultural innovations, such as inventions, had a single originand passed from society to society. This theory was known as diffusionism.[B] In order to study particular cultures as completely as possible, Boas became skilled inlinguistics, the study of languages, and in physical anthropology, the study of human biology and anatomy.[C] He argued that human evolution was characterized by a struggle he called the "survival of thefittest," in which weaker races and societies must eventually be replaced by stronger, more advanced races and societies.[D] They also focused on important rituals that appeared to preserve a people's social structure, suchas initiation ceremonies that formally signify children's entrance into adulthood.[E] Thus, in his view, diverse aspects of culture, such as the structure of families, forms of marriage,categories of kinship, ownership of property, forms of government, technology, and systems of food production, all changed as societies evolved.[F] Supporters of the theory viewed as a collection of integrated parts that work together to keep asociety functioning.[G] For example, British anthropologists Grafton Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry incorrectly suggested,on the basis of inadequate information, that farming, pottery making, and metallurgy all originated in ancient Egypt and diffused throughout the world. In fact, all of these cultural developments occurred separately at different times in many parts of the world.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written carefully on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)There is a marked difference between the education which everyone gets from living with others, and the deliberate educating of the young. In the former case the education is incidental; it is natural and important, but it is not the express reason of the association. (46) It may be said that the measure of the worth of any social institution is its effect in enlarging and improving experience; but this effect is not a part of its original motive. Religious associations began, for example, in the desire to secure the favor of overruling powers and to ward off evil influences; family life in the desire to gratify appetites and secure family perpetuity; systematic labor, for the most part, because of enslavement to others, etc. (47) Only gradually was the by-product of the institution noted, and only more gradually still was this effect considered as a directive factor in the conduct of the institution. Even today, in our industrial life, apart from certain values of industriousness and thrift, the intellectual and emotional reaction of the forms of human association under which the world's work is carried on receives little attention as compared with physical output.But in dealing with the young, the fact of association itself as an immediate human fact, gains in importance. (48) While it is easy to ignore in our contact with them the effect of our acts upon their disposition, it is not so easy as in dealing with adults. The need of training is too evident; the pressure to accomplish a change in their attitude and habits is too urgent to leave these consequences wholly out of account. (49) Since our chief business with them is to enable them to share in a common life we cannot help considering whether or no we are forming the powers which will secure this ability.If humanity has made some headway in realizing that the ultimate value of every institution is its distinctively human effect we may well believe that this lesson has been learned largely through dealings with the young.(50) We are thus led to distinguish, within the broad educational process which we have been so far considering, a more formal kind of education -- that of direct tuition or schooling. In undeveloped social groups, we find very little formal teaching and training. These groups mainly rely for instilling needed dispositions into the young upon the same sort of association which keeps the adults loyal to their group.Section ⅢWritingPart A51. Directions:Restrictions on the use of plastic bags have not been so successful in some regions. "White pollution "is still going on. Write a letter to the editor(s) of your local newspaper to give your opinions briefly andmake two or three suggestionsYou should write about 100 words. Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use "Li Ming" instead. You do not need to write the address.Part B52. Directions:In your essay, you should1) describe the drawing briefly,2) explain its intended meaning, and then3) give your comments.You should write neatly on ANSHWER SHEET 2. (20 points)2009年考研英语真题答案Section I: Use of English (10 points)Section II: Reading Comprehension (60 points)Part A (40 points)Part B (10 points)Part C (10 points)46. 虽然我们可以说衡量任何一个社会机构价值的标准是其在丰富和完善人生方面所起的作用,但这种作用并不是我们最初的动机的组成部分。

英语时文阅读(考研或六级备战)

英语时文阅读(考研或六级备战)

Ailing Father Finds 'New Dads' for His Young DaughtersUntil that day in 2008 when he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal bone cancer, Bruce Feiler had been living a seemingly charmed life. He was a bestselling author of numerous books. He had a loving marriage and twin three-year-old girls. His doctor's sudden bad news left him stunned."You imagine all the ballet recitals you're not going to see, the walks you're not going to take, [and] the boyfriends you are not going to scowl at, and the things they would wonder about me," Feiler recalls. "Would [my girls] wonder who I was [if I died]? Would they wonder what I thought? Would they yearn for my approval, my discipline, my voice?" Three days later, Feiler awoke before dawn with a big idea: he would assemble a group of trusted men to serve as surrogate fathers after his death. His new book, The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness and the Men Who Could Be Me, recalls that moment:“I started making a list of six men from all parts of my life, beginning when I was a child and stretching through today. These are the men who know me best, the men who share my values, men who traveled with me, studied with me, have been though pain and happiness with me, men who know my voice…" Feiler's wife Linda embraced the idea, and together, they devised some guidelines for whom to ask. For example, they agreed that Council members should be friends, not family, and that they should be men. And each man should embody some key aspect of Feiler himself.Feiler made his first request to Jeff Shumlin, a Vermont farmer. The two became friends just after high school while on a student exchange program in Europe. Feiler wanted Shumlin on his Council of Dads because then as now, he was an adventurer who always said "yes" to life.When Shumlin agreed to his friend's request, Feiler asked him what piece of advice he would give to his girls as they got older. "And he [Shumlin] said 'Be a traveler, not a tourist and approach your trip as a young child might approach a mud puddle. You can bend over and look at your reflection, or you can jump in thrash around, see it what it feels like, what it smells like. I want to see you back at the end of this trip covered in mud!'" Other dads in Feiler's Council of Dads include Ben, an intellectual skeptic who would invite the girls to be relentless in their pursuit of truth and "live the questions," and another buddy, also named Ben, who believes in the power of friendship.David Black, the literary agent and close personal friend who helped Feiler get published back when he was an unknown writer, also made the cut.Black says the role Feiler asked him to assume was a natural fit. "I work to help people's dreams come true," he recalls in his busy Manhattan office. "That's in part what Bruce asked of me, to be a member of the Council."Black, who is a father himself, adds that the Council of Dads has turned out to be about more than just a community of support for Feiler's daughters. It has also been about creating a community of men who can support each other. "Men are not given in our society enough opportunity to be drawn together in something where their love and support is the foundation. That's not what men [are supposed to] do,” he says.Black adds that typically, American men play or watch sports together, drink together and compete. "[But] this [council] is not about competition. This allows the nurturing element of these men, of the six of us, to be at the forefront of the relationship. And that's different."Bruce Feiler points out that when dads support other dads, they can share their experience, their strengths and their wisdom, and that when they do, it's the children who benefit most. "Being a dad is often very lonely," he says, "And one of the things I feel is I am no longer alone, that the Council of Dads is in every room with me and making every decision with me." The medical crisis that led Feiler to reach out to the other fathers has passed. Today, Feiler is cancer-free. But he says his idea has caught on, and he believes that his book, The Council of Dads, and the website is inspiring similar groups to form wherever dads seek strength in the fellowship of fathers.Leaders of the Group of 20 meeting in Toronto, Canada have agreed that the world's most advanced industrialized countries should reduce their budget deficits by half within three years, with further steps to cut debt relative to economic output by 2016.The G20, which includes major industrialized powers in the Group of Eight plus deve loping nations with significant economies such as China and India, agreed to a specific time line for deficit reduction, while giving governments flexibility to adjust the pace of changes based on their own situations.A plan promoted by host Canada will have the most advanced countries cut their budget deficits in half by 2013. By 2016, governments would be required to stabilize or begin reducing the percentage of their debt as measured against total gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced in a given country.Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who in opening the summit said nations are walking an economic "tightrope," noted that the G20 declaration leaves room for continuing stimulus measures and steps to bring down debt."All leaders recognize that fiscal consolidation is not an end in itself," he said. "There will be a continued role for ongoing stimulus in the short-term as we develop the framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth."The declaration calls recovery so far from the global economic crisis uneven and fragile, with unemployment at unacceptable levels in many countries. It says unprecedented and globally coordinated fiscal and monetary stimulus is play ing a major role in helping to restore private demand and lending.Saying serious challenges remain, G20 leaders recognize the risks to recovery from fiscal adjustment across several major economies. But they add that failure to implement fiscal consolidation where it is needed could undermine confidence and hamper growth. President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials argued strongly at the summit against any early slowing of stimulus spending by governments, saying that it might bring about a second global recession.In his concluding news conference, the president was asked about divisions on this issue. He said the declaration reflects policies that the United States has promoted and addresses a range of needs."In each country, what we have to recognize is that the recovery is still fragile, that we still have more work to do to make this recovery durable," he said. "But we also have to recognize that if markets are skittish and don't have confidence that we can tackle the tough problems of our medium- and long-term debt and deficits, then that also is going to undermine our recovery."The president said the declaration shows that G20 nations can bridge their differences and coordinate approaches while continuing to focus on durable growth that puts people to work and broadens prosperity.The G20 declaration recognizes U.S. concerns, say ing that sustaining economic recovery requires nations to follow through on delivering existing stimulus plans, while working to create the conditions for robust private demand.On other key issues, European nations such as Britain, France and Germany failed to win G20 agreement for new taxes on banks as part of efforts to discourage excessiverisk-taking that could lead to another financial crisis. The declaration leaves such a tax up to individual members.G20 nations pledge a medium-term phase out of what they call inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, although this would take into account what they call vulnerable groups and their development needs.Where the world's poorest countries are concerned, the G20 says that narrowing the development gap and reducing poverty are integral to a broader objective of achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth.At the last of bilateral meetings at the G20, Mr. Obama met on Sunday with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan.President Obama discussed the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership, and joint efforts on climate change. Mr. Obama said he looks forward to his trip to India in November. Prime Minister Singh called President Obama a "role model for billions and billions of people" around the world.After the G20, President Obama returns to Washington, where he will be waiting for Congress to give final approval to legislation that will impose sweeping new regulations on the U.S. financial system.G20 leaders say they look forward to their next meetings - in Seoul, South Korea in November, and next year in France. Mexico assumes the G20 chairmanship in 2012.Maternal Mortality Rates in New York Rival Developing CountriesA report released by New York City's health department says the percentage of women who die in pregnancy and childbirth in the New York metro area is double that of the national average. Health officials in New York say the maternal mortality rate in the United States itself rivals that of poorer developed countries like Singapore and Ireland. Dr. Jo Boufford, president of the New York Academy of Medicine, which sponsored the maternal mortality conference where the report was released, says the developed and the developing worlds tend to promote different strategies to fight maternal death. And she says while both approaches have merits, each alone is only partiallyeffective. 、"The difference is the developing countries have focused on public health, prevention and primary and prenatal care in the area of maternal mortality," says Boufford. "And their struggle and barrier is having an adequate health workforce and facilities for the kind of high-tech things that happen to mothers that are at risk …"In contrast, Boufford says developed nations have excellent medical technology."But we have a rather poorly developed system of good primary care and prenatal care," she continues. "And our problem is connecting the prenatal care with the delivery site, making sure the information about a patient travels with that patient when they go into labor and go to the hospital. So we can deal with the high-tech and the crisis. Our problem is we're not focusing upstream on the prevention and the primary care, and the developing countries are just the opposite." Maternal mortality in America is particularly high in New York City, where extremes of wealth and poverty abound, says Deborah Kaplan, who oversees the Bureau of Maternal, Infant and Reproductive Health for New York City's health department. The department analyzed the causes of 161 maternal deaths in New York between 2001 and 2005. The study found that half the women who died were obese and that 56 percent had a chronic illness, such as high blood pressure, heart disease or asthma. Black women were seven times more likely to suffer a pregnancy-related death compared to white women. "And we think the issue for black women is they are more likely to be obese and have chronic illnesses, like high bloodpressure, which put you at higher risk for complications during pregnancy," says Kaplan. "Black women, who are more likely to be uninsured, are living in communities where there is limited access to the healthy foods and exercise and activity that is necessary from childhood on to reduce the likelihood of obesity and chronic illnesses." Kaplan's agency is redoubling its efforts to identify obese women early in their pregnancies and to make sure their health care providers treat them as high-risk patients. It also is issuing health alerts to hospital delivery wards to diminish the risk of death in childbirth due to hemorrhage, which is more likely among obese moms. "We recommended hemorrhage drills just like fire drills. For an event that doesn't happen very often, people need to practice. That's on the clinical end. On the bigger environmental end, our agency is involved in many areas related to obesity prevention that look at increasing access to healthy foods in the community. It's about raising awareness and engaging people in the community so that they are part of this work, so they can prevent obesity and chronic illness that can lead to maternal death," says Kaplan. To promote change at the grassroots level, the city is building coalitions that bring together community and government agencies. It also is encouraging leaders at faith-based communities to educate their congregations about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. "We work to promote breast feeding to prevent childhood obesity, which is where it all begins in terms of child health," says Kaplan. "We work with schools to get unhealthy foods out of the schools and … promote health foods within the school environment. And we work with parents and community residents to really understand why this is so important, and for them to hopefully demand these healthy foods and places to exercise in their own communities." Dr. Boufford says that the medical community also must examine its practices. For example, there may be a correlation between maternal mortality and Caesarean births, or so-called "C-Sections," which are performed in nearly half of all deliveries in some New York hospitals. The report, released Friday, found that 79 percent of New York women who died in childbirth had undergone the procedure. "Now, that may be because they are sicker and they needed it, and C-Sections certainly save lives," says Boufford. "There is no question about that. But we need to understand much more about that. And I think the comfort with technology may have gotten ahead of what may be the best in terms of the management of the patient."Government health departments nationwide are studying new strategies to protect maternal and child health, such as those outlined by the United Nations Millennium Goals,which calls for education, economic development and community empowerment to save lives and eliminate preventable suffering.In the United States, Britain and Japan, Apple's iPhone has reached celerity status. Customers lined up for hours for Apple's newest phone, the iPhone 4. Alex Lee lives in Dubai, but traveled to London for his phone. "The reason why we want to come to this one is because we really want this phone," he said.The iPhone 4 is faster, thinner, has a longer battery life, and it features video calling. Apple is not the only company that makes so-called smartphones that allow users to access the Internet. But loyal customers say its simplicity makes the iPhone stand out."The user friendliness on the IPhone is unbelievable. It's like even a layman can use it," said one man.By the end of July, Apple says the iPhone 4 will be available in 18 additional countries. By the end of September, in 88 countries worldwide.But technology expert Rob Atkinson says smartphones will most like ly not be widely used in many developing nations because of their cost, and the cost of connected on-line data plans. "So I don't think we're going to see a lot of deployment in a region or continent like Africa. You might see some among the smaller groups of higher income users there but what I do think you will see is growth in countries in places like Latin America," he said. Atkinson says countries with a growing middle class will embrace smartphones much faster. "In developing countries, that's going to be a longer process where you'll have perhaps business people, farmers, small business people, professionals who will be the first adopters - the doctors, government officials - and then it will slowly as you get more apps (applications) slowly permeate out probably," he said.Atkinson says Apple's iPhone faces growing competition from other companies, such as Google, that make their own smartphones. With competition, experts expect prices to drop, making smartphones much more accessible to consumers around the world.Romanian Girl Gets Life-Altering SurgeryThis may look like a normal fitting for eyeglasses. But for this 12-year old Romanian girl, it's monumental. "She was different than other children and people behaved differently as well," said her father, Peter Nemethi.At first, Andrea Nemethi's face wasn't flat enough for glasses. A rare tumor behind her right eyeball swelled so much, the tumor and eyeball protruded from the socket."To give you an idea, I think the tumor was, maybe, probably bigger than most orangesthat you see, maybe like two oranges," said Doctor Aaron Fay, a surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. "You know, it was a pretty big thing and certainly much too big to fit inside an eye socket." The tumor was discovered in 2002, when Andrea was 4 years old. Although it was benign, doctors in Romania delivered grim news.The family was told it was inoperable.At school, the bulging tumor made Andrea self-conscious and shy. One of her teachers reached out to foreign doctors for help. Camille Condon, Director of International Programs at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, received the request just one week after this man died. Ray Tye was a Boston philanthropist who was dedicated to helping children get the surgeries they needed, by paying for them."His passion came from his son who died, I believe of cancer," said Condon. "And he was devastated that all the money in the world couldn't save his son, and therefore, for his son, he was going to save other lives." The hospital decided to memorialize Tye by performing a surgery he would have supported. They chose Andrea.Dr. Fay, operating for seven hours, was able to save Andrea's eyelid, eye muscles and socket. He removed the tumor and Andrea's eye. Camelia Rosca, Andrea's host in Boston, says coming to America has transformed the young girl and her family. "When you see people care about your child's life, it's been tremendous for the family and for Andrea," said Rosca. "She now behaves just like any pre-teenage girl."The pre-teen now feels better about herself. Andrea needs two more procedures before she heads home. When she goes back to Romania, she says she'll never forget the kindness of strangers. They too are transformed. "You know it's quite an emotional experience for me," added Dr. Fay. Those former strangers say Andrea won a place in their hearts.Strikes Highlight China's Growing Industrial UnrestOngoing industrial unrest by factory workers in China about low pay and poor working conditions point to the emergence of an influential labor movement in the world'smost-populous country.This week, it was the Toyota workers who laid down tools and demanded higher pay. They follow workers at Honda who went out on strike and eventually received double-digit pay increases.And, the spate of suicides at the Foxconn plant in southern China also helped focus attention on wages and conditions in Chinese factories. The scenes of striking workers at factory gates have become a regular sight in the past month.The industrial unrest for higher pay in China poses two major questions: Does it signal the start of new era of industrial unrest and the rise of militant unionism? And, does it spell the end of cheap labor in China?Independent labor unions have long been banned in China. The official Communist Party-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions has sent in officials to mediate in many of the strikes. But many workers dismiss the federation as useless. Others claim union officials have used violence and other intimidation tactics to force them back to work.Although there is mounting evidence to suggest workers are becoming more organized and sophisticated at collective bargaining for improved welfare, it is unlikely the government would ever allow the situation to get out of hand.Geoffrey Crothall of the Hong-Kong based China Labor Bulletin says the strikes are tolerated because they are private disputes between factory workers and factory bosses. "The government is reasonably tolerant of labor disputes because they are disputes between management and workers. They are not a political threat and should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis," said Crothall.The strikes have mainly hit foreign companies. This is causing problems for those manufacturers that shifted production to China to take advantage of lower labor costs and to cash in on the potential consumer market.But, as factory bosses are forced to offer higher pay to prevent strikes, what does this mean for the faltering global economy?The West has relied on cheap goods from China to help fuel the boom times of the past two decades. Now, it is rely ing on China's cheap labor and the emergence of a consumer culture to help claw the world out of the financial crisis. But some economists say the higher wages will not affect China's competitiveness, in the long term, as companies are likely to move inland to tap cheaper labor markets.Economist Vincent Chan from Credit Suisse in Hong Kong believes the main problem for the government is to manage expectations of the second generation of migrant workers who form the back bone of China's success. And, he says this means the government will have to consider greater social services so as to keep these increasingly demanding workers content."It's about growing expectations. People's expectations have changed," explained Chan. "The first generation of migrant workers didn't mind living in cities. They did not mind doing overtime to earn more money to build a home back in their home village. But for this new generation of migrant workers - no way. So there are different expectations which potentially mean the government, particularly at local level, will need to providemore services to them to incorporate them into becoming urban citizens.And, that will hurt the budget."And with increased salaries, Chinese should purchase more, helping restore parity in trade surpluses on global markets.World Bank economist Louis Kuijs says he is not too concerned by strikes and says he does not see any signs that the industrial unrest will become a major problem for either social stability or for the Chinese and global economies."Wage increases in one particular factory, no matter how large, are unlikely to be representative of what's going on in the rest of the country," said Kuijs. "What we are seeing China is that wages are gradually converging to those levels in the U.S. and Europe, but this convergence is going to take a very long time."The China Labor Bulletin's Geoffrey Crothall says the main legacy of the strikes is the media attention outside of China."Labor conditions in China are getting prominent coverage in the mainstream international media," noted Crothall. "So, clearly, more and more people in the West are becoming aware of conditions in Chinese factories. And, this could help put pressure on international brands to ensure those workers are treated properly and paid a decent wage."With millions of Chinese willing to work, the country's remarkable growth looks set to continue to see more and more Chinese leav ing their fields for a better paid job in the factories and a modern life in the cities. What is becoming clear however, is that Chinese workers are expecting more for their hard work. And, government officials and factory bosses, especially those who run international companies, have to address these rising expectations.UN Eight Percent of Afghan Population Add icted to DrugsA United Nations study released Wednesday says drug use is increasing in the developing word, and a report released earlier this week showed particular problems in Afghanistan, the world's largest opium producer. The U.N. says nearly 8 percent of Afghanistan's population suffers some form of addiction, and many of those using drugs are children.The U.N. study finds nearly one million Afghans between 15 and 64 years old are suffering from some form of drug addiction. That's roughly 8 percent of the war-torn country'spopulation. Over a four year period, the number of regular opium users jumped 53 percent. And the number of regular heroin users jumped a staggering 140 percent."What we are seeing here is another demonstration -- the availability of drugs generates its own addiction," said Antonio Maria Costa, who is with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.Another disturbing statistic, nearly 50 percent of adult drug users in Afghanistan's north and south gave opium to their children, an indication, Costa says, that a generation of Afghan children are at risk.Jason Campbell, with the Rand Corporation, a think tank in suburban Washington, says Afghan and international officials must tackle both the source and the consequences of the nation's drug problem. "First, is to continue to stress the importance of trying to grow alternative crops. As far as addiction goes, start looking more, again, at some of the treatment opportunities, options, because they seem to be largely non-existent right now," he said.Campbell says Afghan and world leaders must look at the socio-economic factors fueling drug use. "The study alludes to things such as hopelessness, the lack of medical care. These are all things that you know if your people have something to live for, the economy starts getting stronger, they start having access to basic medical care, they are going to be overall less likely to turn to drugs," he said.One major problem: some 700,000 Afghans have no access to drug treatment. Only 10 percent have received treatment. Ninety percent of those surveyed felt they needed help. Campbell says an aggressive approach used to combat drug use among Afghan security and police forces might work elsewhere. "Over the last few months, there have been a number of training centers open that are exclusively for members of both the Afghan National Army and the Afghan national police force, and I would say that drug usage and illiteracy are two of the big problems within the security forces that NATO has really made a big priority now. What remains to be seen is whether this will have a long-term effect, positive effect on the security forces, and maybe are there ways we can replicate some of these treatment programs to be more inclusive of the general public," he said. Campbell says Afghanistan's drug problem will take decades to tackle. And it won't go away until the Afghan people understand how it directly affects them."You look at a lot of interviews with farmers and they basically say 'Look, I grow the o pium. Someone collects it. I get paid and I get to feed my family.' To them, for the most part, that drug goes out internationally, to the West and it really doesn't have a personalconnection to them. But as you said, if you start seeing people in your v illage, and even relatives, succumb to addiction, that might again help to make them more receptive to trying to grow these other crops that are a better part of forming a stronger society," he said.In the meantime, the social costs to Afghanistan's population are rising. The U.N. says they include loss of productivity and family income, as well as violence, security problems and traffic and workplace accidents.Vampire Fights for Girlfriend in 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'any film can rival(与…竞争)the World Cup in terms of anticipation by a global legion of fans, it is the new, third installment in the romance of teenager Bella and her beloved, ageless vampire, Edward. Here's a look at The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. (日、月)食"It's starting."It actually started a couple of years ago with the first film adapted from the wildly popular Twilight romance novels written by Stephanie Meyer. The saga continued last year with New Moon, and now in Eclipse, headstrong high school student Bella Swan affirms her love for classmate Edward Cullen, a soulful(深情的)and very pale teenager. Of course, Edward is really more than a century old, but, as a vampire, he remains eternally(永恒的)young. As if that were not enough of an obstacle to their relationship, there is also her lifelong best friend, Jacob Black. Not only is he jealous, he is also a werewolf, sworn enemy to all vampires.The rising tensions between Edward and Jacob must wait, however, because a bigger threat is descending on their mountainside town of Forks, Washington."Someone is creating an army.""An army of vampires?""They are coming here."The approaching danger forces an uneasy alliance between the wolves and the undead. "They're after Bella? What the hell does this mean?""It means an ugly fight with lives lost.""All right, we're in."Taylor Lautner co-stars again as werewolf Jacob and the now 18-year-old says he has grown along with the character."Jacob definitely matures quite a bit because he has been dealing with his new self now, he has come to know his new self and the situation he has been put in - romantic-wise and a lot of stuff," Lautner explains. "He deals with a lot. He becomes frustrated in this one a little bit because he gets this close all the time and then gets told 'no' over and over again. So it's quite a bummer碰撞, but he's persistent."Robert Pattinson is Edward and the English-born actor likes the freedom this latest film gives him to go deeper into the character and his predicament.困境"His flaws, I think, in the first two movies …earlier on the story …were caused by his dislocation from reality," Pattinson says. "So when he finds one thing to hold onto, that's。

2017考研英语二:阅读理解B节(四种备选题型)

2017考研英语二:阅读理解B节(四种备选题型)

2017考研英语⼆:阅读理解B节(四种备选题型)章节分类:◆选择搭配题◆排序题◆信息匹配题◆概括⼤意题◆选择搭配题TEST 1Back in 1979, a fat, unhealthy property developer, Mel Zuckerman, and his exercise-fanatic wife, Enid, opened Canyon Ranch, “America’s first total vacation/fitness resort”, on an old dude ranch in Tucson, Arizona. At the time, their outdoorsy, new age-ish venture seemed highly eccentric. Today Canyon Ranch is arguably the premium health-spa brand of choice for the super-rich. It is growing fast and now operates in several places, including the Queen Mary 2.(1)________________.“There is a new market category called wellness lifestyle, and in a whole range of industries, if you are not addressing that category you are going to find it increasingly hard to stay in business,” enthuses Kevin Kelly, Canyon Ranch’s president. This broad new category, Mr. Kelly goes on, “consolidates a lot of subcategories” including spas, traditional medicine and alternative medicine, behavioural therapy, spirituality, fitness, nutrition and beauty. (2)________________ “You can no longer satisfy the consumer with just fitness, just medical, just spa,” says Mr. Kelly.Canyon Ranch’s strategy reflects this belief. (3) ________________ . This year in Miami Beach it will open the first of what it expects to be many upmarket housing estates built around a spa, called Canyon Ranch Living. Together with the Cleveland Clinic, one of the world’s leading private providers of traditional medicine, it is launching an “executive health”product which combines diagnosis, treatment and, above all, prevention. It also has plans to produce food and skin-care products, a range of clothes and healthy-living educational materials.(4)________________. Mr. Case reckons that one of the roots of today’s health-care crisis, especially in America, is that prevention and care are not suitably joined up. A growing number of employers now promote wellness at work, both to cut costs and to reduce stress and health-related absenteeism, says Jon Denoris of Catalyst Health, a gym business in London. He has been helping the British arm of Harley Davidson, a motorbike-maker, to develop a wellness programme for its workers.The desire to reduce health-care costs is one force behind the rise of the wellness industry; the other is the growing demand from consumers for things that make them feel healthier. Surveys find that three out of four adult Americans now feel that their lives are “out of balance”, says Mr. Kelly. So there is a huge opportunity to offer them products and services that make them feel more “balanced”. This represents a big change in consumer psychology, claims Mr. Kelly, and one that is likely to deepen over time: market research suggests that 35-year-olds have a much stronger desire to lead healthy lifestyles than 65-year-olds.(5)________________. Another will be to maintain credibility in (and for) an industry that combines serious science with snake oil. One problem—or is it an opportunity? —in selling wellness products to consumers is that some of the things they demand may be faddish ornonsensical. Easy fixes, such as new-age therapies, may appeal to them more than harder but proven ways to improve health.One of Canyon Ranch’s answers to this problem has been to hire Richard Carmona, who was America’s surgeon-general until last summer. In that role, he moved prevention and wellness nearer to the centre of public-health policy. The last time a surgeon-general ventured into business, it ended disastrously: during the internet bubble, Everett Koop launched , a medical-information site that went bust shortly after going public and achieving a market capitalisation of over $1 billion. This time around, the wellness boom seems unlikely to suffer such a nasty turn for the worse.(此⽂选⾃The Economist 2007年刊)[A] It is expanding a brand built on $1,000-a-night retreats for the rich and famous in several different directions.[B] Mr. Zuckerman, now a trim and sprightly 78-year-old, remains chairman of the firm.[C] There is growing evidence that focusing holistically on wellness can reduce health-care costs by emphasizing prevention over treatment.[D] One difficulty for wellness firms will be acquiring the expertise to operate in several different areas of the market.[E] It is also one of the leading lights in “wellness”, an increasingly mainstream—and profitable—business.[F] As more customers demand a holistic approach to feeling well, firms that have hitherto specialised in only one or two of those areas are now facing growing market pressure to broaden their business.[G] And there is much debate about the health benefits of vitamin supplements, organic food and alternative medicines, let alone different forms of spirituality.【答案解析】1. E 本⽂以⼀对美国夫妇开办的度假/健⾝庄园引领了美国健康休闲⽣活的新潮流开头,在第⼆段⾸句讲到⼀种新型的wellness lifestyle,可见空缺处内容该引出⽂章话题。

考研英语时文30篇及复习技巧

考研英语时文30篇及复习技巧

:完型填空的基本思路完型填空的全名叫做英语知识与运用,它的主要考点是词汇和逻辑思维,对于考生来说,这个题型不得不做的准备就是要背一些同义词,关于同义词,我会在下面的讲解里和大家说明辨析的四个模式。

可是,要获取比较好的分数,还是要努力背些词,不过这并不是说,考研完型填空就完全靠词汇解决,下面的思路,也是考生解决问题的关键。

1. 明确完型填空阅读方式: 段落对照法读文章的时候必须先细读首句,第一句话必须注意以下部分:主题,表示逻辑关系的词,作者态度。

比如many表示作者对于这句话内容持负评价,这是因为,研究生考试为了表示自己的独特和性格,对于大多数人的说法一般持负评价,因此,此文的态度结构就是先负,后面很可能会提出作者自己的说法,因此谈到其他人的理论的选项,都优先选负面的选项。

其次,要从第一句话读出主题词,这包含重要的信息,决定了整篇文章方向。

第三,逻辑连词必须重视,这个在下文很可能重复出现,具有明显的预测和指导作用。

比如首段的明显的连词是either 和or。

因此我们可以预见,下文的主要关系,就是并列关系。

第四,阅读模式的问题,填空的阅读模式切忌先通读全文,也不能看一个选一个。

理由如下:通读全文,会非常的浪费时间,而考场上对于时间的把握是最重要的,更重要的是,读完全文再回去从头做起,开头获得的信息已经模糊,最清晰的是最后的信息。

而且,从填空的对应选项来说,需要读完全文才可以做对的选项并不多,大多数是一个长句的内容就可以相互印证而得到解决,还有很多的就是开头句的重现。

因此读完全文再做题是不对地。

同上,看一个选一个也是不理性的,因为单个的选项不一定可以准确的定位。

因此,我们提倡:精读首句,以长句或组句为单位,文章和选项对照分段阅读。

2. 明确三个主要概念:逻辑关系,态度,主题逻辑关系是研究生考试的特点,对于完型填空,最为常见的就是并列,因果,转折。

尤其是并列关系,我们在下面的讲解里要重点提及。

每年的填空考试里面都有大量的虚词题,比如连词和介词,都要占到6题以上,解决这个问题,我们可以很容易的获取3分。

哈佛英语时文阅读ab

哈佛英语时文阅读ab

哈佛英语时文阅读ab全文共6篇示例,供读者参考篇1Hello everyone! Today I want to tell you about something super cool – Harvard English Reading! I know it sounds fancy, but it’s actually really fun and interesting. So let’s dive right in!First of all, Harvard English Reading is all about reading articles and stories in English. And let me tell you, there are so many cool things to read – from science to history to funny stories. It’s like going on an adventure right in your own book!One of the best things about Harvard English Reading is that it helps us learn new words and improve our English skills. The more we read, the better we get at understanding and speaking English. And guess what? That’s super important because English is like a superpower that helps us communicate with people from all over the world!But wait, there’s more! Harvard English Reading also helps us learn about different cultures and places. We get to travel to faraway lands and learn about the amazing things people dothere. It’s like going on a magic carpet ride without even leaving our room!So, if you want to have a blast while improving your English skills, give Harvard English Reading a try. Trust me, you won’t regret it! Happy reading, everyone!篇2Hey guys! Today I want to talk to you about something super cool - the Harvard English article I read recently! It was so interesting and I want to share it with all of you.So, this article was all about how important it is to read and how it can help us learn new things. The article said that reading can make our brains smarter and help us do better in school. Isn't that awesome?The article also talked about how reading can help us understand different perspectives and learn about new cultures. It can take us on adventures to faraway places without ever leaving our homes. How cool is that?I learned that even just reading for a few minutes a day can make a big difference. It's like exercising our brains and makingthem stronger. So, next time you have some free time, pick up a book and start reading!I'm so glad I read this article because now I know how important it is to read every day. I can't wait to read more and learn even more cool stuff. Reading is the best!I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about the Harvard English article I read. Remember, reading is awesome and we should all do more of it. Thanks for listening!篇3Hey guys, today I'm gonna talk about this super cool English article I read from Harvard called "ab". It was so interesting and I learned a lot from it!The article started off by talking about the importance of reading in English. It said that reading can help us improve our vocabulary, grammar, and even our writing skills. It also mentioned that reading can expand our knowledge and help us understand different cultures and perspectives.One thing that really caught my attention was when the article talked about the benefits of reading newspapers and magazines in English. It said that reading these kinds of materialscan help us stay updated on current events and trends. It can also improve our critical thinking skills and help us form our own opinions.The article also mentioned the importance of reading books in English. It said that reading books can help us relax and reduce stress. It can also improve our concentration and focus. Plus, reading books in English can help us learn new words and phrases.Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article from Harvard. It made me realize how important it is to read in English and how much it can benefit us. I can't wait to start reading more in English and improving my language skills. Thanks, Harvard, for the awesome tips!篇4Hello everyone! Today I'm going to tell you about a super cool English reading material called "Harvard English Magazine".First off, let me tell you what Harvard is. Harvard is like, a super famous university in the United States. It's like, super fancy and all the smartest people go there. And they have this magazine c alled “Harvard English Magazine”, which is like, all about reading and learning cool stuff in English.In the magazine, they have all kinds of articles about different topics. Like, they talk about science, technology, art, culture, and so much more! You can learn all sorts of interesting things and improve your English at the same time. It's like hitting two birds with one stone!Reading the Harvard English Magazine can help you learn new words, improve your grammar, and even get better at writing. Plus, it's super fun to read about all the cool things happening in the world.So, if you want to be super smart and improve your English skills, you should totally check out the Harvard English Magazine. It's like having a mini Harvard education right at your fingertips!Alright, that's all for today. Have fun reading, and remember to always keep learning and growing! Peace out!篇5Hey guys! Today I want to talk to you about this super cool article I read from Harvard English News. It's all about the importance of reading and how it can help you in school and in life.So, the article says that reading is like a superpower because it can make you smarter and help you learn new things. When you read books or articles, you are not only improving your vocabulary and language skills, but you are also expanding your knowledge about different topics.I know sometimes reading can be boring, especially when you have to read textbooks for school. But the article says that it's important to find books that you enjoy reading, like comic books, fiction stories, or even magazines. When you read something you like, it doesn't feel like work at all!Reading can also help you do better in school. When you read more, you become better at understanding information and answering questions. Plus, you can impress your teachers with all the cool facts you know from reading.So, let's all make a promise to read more books and articles every day. It's fun, it's good for you, and who knows, maybe one day you'll be reading articles from Harvard too!篇6Hey guys, today I want to share with you an article that I read in the Harvard English Newspaper, "The Crimson". It was superinteresting and I learned a lot from it. The article was about climate change and how it's affecting our planet.The article talked about how the Earth's temperature is rising because of all the pollution we're creating. This is causing ice caps to melt, sea levels to rise, and extreme weather events to become more common. It's really scary to think about how our actions are hurting the environment.The article also mentioned some ways that we can help fight climate change, like using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, reducing our waste, and planting trees. It's important for all of us to do our part to protect the planet for future generations.I learned a lot from reading this article and I'm going to try to do my part to help the environment. I hope you guys will too! Let's work together to make the Earth a better place for everyone. Thanks for reading!。

考研英语阅读理解精读及解析-UNIT 17

考研英语阅读理解精读及解析-UNIT 17

TEXT ONEBritons’ most searing memories of their encounter with foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 are of the piles of animals slaughtered to try to stop its spread. Such a draconian policy might have been accepted had the disease been controlled quickly. But its ineffectiveness—more than 6m cows, sheep and pigs were culled before the disease was eradicated—led to widespread revulsion and a government rethink.Just as in 2001, if an animal is thought to be infected, its herd will be culled and a quarantine zone set up. But this time, unless the disease is stamped out quickly, animals nearby will also be vaccinated to create a “fire-break” across which it is unlikely to travel. Already 300,000 doses of vaccine have been ordered, so that if government vets decide that slaughter alone is unlikely to be effective, they can start vaccinating straight away.Humans almost never catch foot-and-mouth and it rarely kills the cloven-hooved beasts it affects. But animals produce less milk and meat, so its economic effects are severe. It is also highly contagious: infected livestock produce the virus that causes it in large quantities, and transmit it through saliva, mucus, milk, faeces and even droplets in their breath.Even so, only countries where foot-and-mouth is endemic, as in parts of Latin America, vaccinate all animals. One reason is cost: the disease is caused by a virus with seven main types and tens of sub-types, with a targeted vaccine needed for each strain and shots repeated, perhaps as often as twice a year. It is also because vaccinating damages exports. Places that are free from foot-and-mouth are unwilling to import vaccinated beasts, or fresh meat from them, because they may still carry the disease.The fear of being shut out of foreign markets led to the British government's disastrous foot-dragging over vaccination in 2001. But that same year an outbreak in the Netherlands involving 26 farms was brought under control in just one month by vaccinating 200,000 animals. Though healthy, these beasts then had to be culled so that farmers could return to exporting without restrictions as soon as possible.Not even eternal vigilance on imports can keep a country free of foot-and-mouth disease: the latest outbreak was apparently caused by a breach of bio-security at the Pirbright laboratory complex in Surrey, where government researchers keep the live virus for vaccine research and Merial, an American animal-health company, manufactures vaccine for export. Human action, accidental or deliberate, seems likely to have been involved.Ironically, one reason for eschewing vaccination is that although it provides the best hope of dealing with outbreaks, maintaining the capacity to produce vaccine is itself a risky business. Many earlier episodes of foot-and-mouth in countries normallyfree from the disease have been caused by laboratory escapes; in 1970 a leak from Pirbright's isolation facilities was fortunately contained.1. Which one of the following statements is not TRUE of the foot-and-mouth disease in Briton in 2001?[A] The disease had never been effectively controlled throughout the event.[B] The policy of slaughtering animals to stop the disease spread proved to be a failure.[C] The slaughtering policy was arousing discontent among the public in Britons.[D] The government failed to take immediate actions of creating fire-break around the infected livestock.2. The new policy is different from the policy in 2001 in the following aspects except_____[A] the piles of animals will not be slaughtered as in 2001.[B] animals near the infected herb will be injected with vaccine.[C] a belt of quarantine with vaccinated animals will be erected.[D] it is paying more attention to prevention of the outbreak of the epidemic.3.Only a few countries have all of their animals injected with vaccines because of the following reason except_____[A] it is unnecessary to vaccinate all the animals in counties in which there are little chances of infecting foot-and-mouth.[B] the cost of vaccines against all types of the virus causing the disease is very high.[C] vaccinated animals are less welcomed by importing countries.[D] the vaccine cost will be rising as types of virus causing the disease are increasing. 4.Though vaccinated animals were free from the foot-and-mouth in Britain and Netherlands in 2001, they were still slaughtered because_____[A] they may be more likely to infect the virus than the healthy ones.[B] the exporting restrictions were too strict to let these animals pass the custom.[C] the farmers were afraid of being deprived of the exporting right.[D] the government wanted to regain the former status of exporting animals.5.The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease may be a result of the following situations except_____[A] animals being wrongly or incompletely injected with vaccination.[B] importing animals from the countries with the foot-and-mouth-disease.[C] leak of the virus during the research experimentation.[D] malicious actions by some people with particular purpose.篇章剖析:这篇文章介绍了应对英国口蹄疫的一些情况。

考研英语第17套题

考研英语第17套题

第十七套题Part ADirections: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 07.8Last year ended with a bang in telecom. During the final three months, Cingular closed its $41 billion acquisition of A T&T Wireless, and Sprint announced a $35 billion mega-merger with Nextel Communications. At a time when interest in traditional telecom companies is as rare as rotary phones, mergers are a sign of the profound cha nges afoot. “These kinds of deals create enormous opportunities to rethink the whole telecom sector,” says Francis McInerney, managing director of consultant North River V entures LLC.By bulking up and bearing down, companies are sparking innovations that will transform communication. More and more, mobile phones will be used to exchange e-mail, music clips, and even video. Likewise, Internet technology will replace old-fashioned phone gear, ushering in an era of souped-up services. Consumers will get voice mail on their PCs and all-you-can-eat phone service for under $25 a month, while businesses hand out mobile phones to road warriors so they can receive calls and e-mail just as if they were in the office.The distinctions among industries will get fuzzy, too. In 2005, telecom giants V erizon Communications Inc. and SBC will pursue licenses to market cable TV. A T&T plans to market security software to corporate customers. Comcast and other cable players are barreling into residential phone markets, and even sports power ESPN expects to unveil hip mobile phone offerings.Competition in those markets will grow even keener. Comcast Corp. is leading a consortium of cable operators that is exploring ways to break into wireless services. There’s a strategic reason for the move: The cable companies are offering home phone service with Internet protocol technology, but without a mobile offering, they lack an essential element of the telecom bundle. The cable companies are trying to work out a partnership with Sprint Nextel or possibly T-Mobile USA to sell consumers a dual-mode phone that would handle their IP calling service inside the house and switch to cellular systems outside. A T&T will unveil a similar service this year.The scrum may spark more consolidation. Cable companies could consider acquiring a wireless company if the partnership approach fails. While SBC and BellSouth Corp. are focused on helping combine A T&T Wireless with Cingular, which SBC and BellSouth co-own, SBC might not be finished. CEO Edward E. Whitacre Jr. has made no secret of his desire to own Cingular outright. “Of course I wish I owned it all,”he told BusinessWeek in October. That could happen by his buying BellSouth’s stake in Cingular or buying BellSouth itself. BellSouth says it’s not interested in being acquired and doubts that regulators would approve such a deal anyway.The battle among providers means lower prices, too. Consider the impact of tiny V onage Holdings Corp. By deploying voice over Internet protocol to offer inexpensive phone service, V onage, unknown a year ago, is now the fastest-growing U.S. phone company. But V onage has competition from some unlikely quarters. A T&T has embarked on a price war with the upstart, resulting in each lowering prices a couple of times in 2004 before bottoming out at less than $25 a month. [530 words]1. “A bang in telecom” in the first paragraph refers to .[A]worries rise over mergers in the telecom industry[B]monopolies held by telecom companies[C]significant changes with telecom consolidations[D]fierce competition in the telecom sector2. According to the text, innovations in the telecom industry will .[A]enable telephone users to get a variety of free services[B]stop the battle between communication companies[C]bring about a combination of communication technologies[D]lead to a decline in the number of telecom companies3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?[A]Comcast is interested in entering the cable TV business.[B]A T&T is planning to provide a dual-mode phone service.[C]SBC is selling some part of its stake to Cingular.[D]BellSouth is going to be acquired soon.4. What is likely to happen in the future telecom sector?[A]Mobile devices may become the primary tool for play.[B]Telecom services are growing ever more advanced.[C]Wireless subscribers will surpass cable subscribers.[D]The price of communications services is expected to climb.5. The word “upstart” (Line 4, Paragraph 6) most probably means someone who.[A]has suddenly risen to a higher economic or social status[B]lacks the skills appropriate for a new and high position[C]has not gained acceptance of others in the field[D]has competed by using improper actionsText 2 06.8Pressure is mounting on Ahold’s embattled supervisory board following the Dutch grocery group’s decision to pay its new chief executive more than C= 10m to lead its recovery from a ruining accounting scandal.Anders Moberg’s pay package—and the timing of its disclosure at a shareholder meeting last week—has confronted Ahold with a new credibility crisis as it struggles to restore confidence after the C=970m ( $1 bn) scandal.The dispute-evident in a sea of critical media comment in the Netherlands at the weekend threatens to divert management from its recovery strategy, built on significant divestments and a likely rights issue to reduce C=11bn in net debt. Units deemed unable to attain first or second position in food retail within three to five years will immediately be put up for sale.The board’s position appears all the more delicate following comments made by Mr. Moberg to the Financial Times, in which he criticized non-executive directors for ignoring his advice to disclose his salary in May, when he agreed his contract.Instead Ahold waited more than four months to make the announcement, on the day share-holders were asked to approve Mr. Moberg’s appointment.“I was the one who said I liked transparency, and I had hoped [the supervisory board]had shown [the salary package]in May to avoid a situation like this,”Mr. Moberg told the FT. As the row prompted the left-leaning Dutch Daily to call for a boycott of Ahold’s Dutch AlbertHeijn supermarket chain where only last week Ahold announced 440 redundancies—it was clear the supervisory board had badly misjudged the reaction.While Henny de Ruiter, supervisory board chairman, said the salary was a fair reflection of what a company in Ahold’s unfavorable circumstances had to pay to attract a top manager,furious investors accused it of pushing through the package regardless of investor opinion. Furthermore, Dutch media commentators noted that the scandal at Ahold had been the trigger for the Dutch government to appoint a commission to strengthen corporate governance.That commission has recommended a limit on executive bonuses, far below the potential two-and-a-half times annual salary that Mr. Moberg could earn.Meanwhile, Mr. Moberg is trying to distance himself from the row and focus on strategy. He told the FT that measures had already been taken to raise its stake in the ICA-Ahold joint venture in Scandinavia.Ahold had included in its forecasts an amount necessary to buy the shares of either of its joint venture partners, who should exercise a “put option”and sell their stake from April 2004.[451 words]6.The decision on Anders Moberg’s pay package has.[A]incurred much criticism from the shareholders[B]helped restore public confidence in Ahold[C]saved the supervisory board from another crisis[D]put pressure on the new chief executive7.The recovery strategy by Ahold’s management includes.[A]avoiding the next accounting scandal[B]diverting investment to other fields[C]issuing rights to more retailers[D]selling the retailers with poor performance8.Anders Moberg thought that if his salary had been announced earlier,.[A]the board’s position would have become less difficult[B]he would have agreed to the contract with Ahold[C]more time could have been devoted to his recovery plan[D]the shareholders wouldn’t have strongly opposed9.Before the scandal at Ahold, the executive bonuses in Dutch companies.[A]were higher than what Moberg earned[B]were regulated by a commission[C]were not monitored by the government[D]were not set by corporate management 10.According to Moberg’s recovery strategy, Ahold will.[A]sell its stake to other joint venture companies[B]buy shares of its Scandinavian partners[C]choose to put money in its chain shops in Scandinavia[D]exercise its potential influence on partnersText 3 07.6剩余At the start of the year, The Independent on Sunday argued that there were three over-whelming reasons why Iraq should not be invaded: there was no proof that Saddam posed an imminent threat; Iraq would be even more unstable as a result of its liberation; and a conflict would increase the threat posed by terrorists. What we did not know was that Tony Blair had received intelligence and advice that raised the very same points.Last week’s report from the Intelligence and Security Committee included the revelationthat some of the intelligence had warned that a war against Iraq risked an increased threat of terrorism. Why did Mr. Blair not make this evidence available to the public in the way that so much of the alarmist intelligence on Saddam’s weapons was published? Why did he choose to ignore the intelligence and argue instead that the war was necessary, precisely because of the threat posed by international terrorism?There have been two parliamentary investigations into this war and the Hutton inquiry reopens tomorrow. In their different ways they have been illuminating, but none of them has addressed the main issues relating to the war. The Foreign Affairs Committee had the scope to range widely, but chose to become entangled in the dispute between the Government and the BBC. The Intelligence Committee reached the conclusion that the Government’s file on Saddam’s weapons was not mixed up, but failed to explain why the intelligence was so hopelessly wrong. The Hutton inquiry is investigating the death of Dr. David Kelly, a personal tragedy of marginal relevance to the war against Iraq.Tony Blair has still to come under close examination about his conduct in the building-up to war. Instead, the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, is being fingered as if he were master-minding the war behind everyone’s backs from the Ministry of Defence. Mr. Hoon is not a minister who dares to think without consulting Downing Street first. At all times he would have been dancing to Downing Street’s tunes. Mr. Blair would be wrong to assume that he can draw a line under all of this by making Mr. Hoon the fall-guy. It was Mr. Blair who decided to take Britain to war, and a Cabinet of largely skeptical ministers that backed him. It was Mr. Blair who told MPs that unless Saddam was removed, terrorists would pose a greater global threat—even though he had received intelligence that suggested a war would lead to an increase in terrorism.Parliament should be the forum in which the Prime Minister is called more fully to account, but Iain Duncan Smith’s support for the war has neutered an already inept opposition. In the absence of proper parliamentary scrutiny, it is left to newspapers like this one to keep asking the most important questions until the Prime Minister answers them.[486 words]11. We learn from the first two paragraphs that.[A]the evidence should have been made available to the Parliament[B]the necessity of war has been exaggerated by the Committee[C]Blair had purposely ignored some of the intelligence he received[D]it was The Independent that first revealed the intelligence12. The author thinks that the Hutton enquiry is.[A]also beside the mark[B]hopelessly wrong[C]illuminating in its way[D]wide in scope13. By “chose to become entangled” (Line 4,Paragraph 3), the author implies that.[A]the dispute between the Government and the BBC was unnecessary[B]the Foreign Affairs Committee had mixed up the argument[C]it was entirely wrong to carry out such investigations[D]the Intelligence Committee shouldn’t mix up with the affair14. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that.[A]most ministers were suspicious of Hoon’s conduct[B]Hoon will not do anything without consulting Blair[C]Blair should not divert his responsibility to his Cabinet[D]MPs think that it is Blair who drags the country into the war15. What is the author’s attitude towards the Parliament?[A]Indignant.[B]Skeptical.[C]Inquisitive.[D]Critical.Text 4 07.8The thousands of oval lakes that dot Alaska’s North Slope are some of the fastest-growing lakes on the planet. Ranging in size from puddles to more than 15 miles in length, the lakes have expanded at rates up to 15 feet per year, year in and year out for thousands of years. The lakes are shaped like elongated eggs with the skinny ends pointing northwest.How the lakes grow so fast, why they’re oriented in the same direction and what gives them their odd shape have puzzled geologists for decades. The field of lakes covers an area twice the size of Massachusetts, and the lakes are unusual enough to have their own name: oriented thaw lakes. “Lakes come in all sizes and shapes, but they’re rarely oriented in the same direction,”said Jon Pelletier, an assistant professor of geosciences at The University of Arizona in Tucson.Now Pelletier has proposed a new explanation for the orientation, shape and speed of growth of oriented thaw lakes. The lakes’unusual characteristics result from seasonal slumping of the banks when the permafrost thaws abruptly, he said. The lakes grow when rapid warming melts a lake’s frozen bank, and the soggy soil loses its strength and slides into the water. Such lakes are found in the permafrost zone in Alaska, northern Canada and northern Russia.Previous explanations for the water bodies’shape and orientation invoked wind-driven lake circulation and erosion by waves. On Alaska’s North Slope, the prevailing winds blow perpendicular to the long axis of the lakes. According to the traditional explanation, such winds set up currents within the lakes that erode the banks, particularly at the lakes’ ends. Such currents would erode coarse-grained, sandy soils faster than fine-grained clay soils.According to Pelletier, one key ingredient for oriented thaw lakes is permafrost—the special mixture of soil and ice that forms the surface of the land in the Far North. On the north coast of Alaska and at similar latitudes throughout the world, the top, or active, layer of the permafrost melts at some point in the summer and refreezes again in the fall.If the temperature warms gradually, the ice portion of the permafrost melts slowly, allowing the water to drain out of the soil and leave relatively firm sand or sediment behind. However, if an early heat wave melts the permafrost’s ice rapidly, the result is a soggy, unstable soil. When such rapidly thawed permafrost is part of the vertical bank of a lake, the bank slumps into the water, enlarging the lake. More of the bank collapses if the soil is fine-grained, rather than sandy. Another ingredient in Pelletier’s explanation is a long, gentle slope. Because Alaska’s oriented lakes are embedded in a gently sloping landscape, the downhill end of a lake always has a shorter bank. According to Pelletier’s computer model, shorter banks melt more and have bigger slumps. Therefore when the lake experiences thaw slumping, Pelletier’s model says the lake grows more in the downhill direction than it does uphill, generating the lakes’ characteristic elongated-egg shape.[527 words]16. The most mysterious part about Alaska’s lakes is .[A]their fast-growing speed[B]their variety in size[C]their elongated-egg shape[D]their uniform orientation17. The word “thaw” (Line 3, Paragraph 2) most probably means .[A]melting[B]erosion[C]freezing[D]growing18. According to Pelletier, the driving force behind the formation of Alaska’s lakes is.[A]the prevailing winds[B]heat wave[C]fine-grained soil[D]permafrost19. Which of the following statement will support Pelletier’s theory?[A]More big lakes occurred on coarse-grained, sandy soils.[B]The lakes are oriented perpendicular to the wind.[C]Larger lakes generally have lower banks.[D]The lakes have indeed grown more in the uphill direction.20. Which of the following is true according to the text?[A]Alaska’s lakes have unique names because of their coverage.[B]Pelletier used a computer model to describe the formation of lakes.[C]Traditional explanations focus on why the lakes grow fast.[D]The permafrost zone in Alaska melts in the fall.Part B 06.5Directions:In the following artic le, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 21-25, choose the most suitable one from the list A-F to fit into each of the numbered blank. There is one extra choice that does not fit in any of the gaps. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points) As more and more material from other cultures became available, European scholars came to recognize even greater complexity in mythological traditions. Especially valuable was the evidence provided by ancient Indian and Iranian texts such as the Bhagavad-Gita and the Zend-A vesta. From these sources it became apparent that the character of myths varied widely, not only by geographical region but also by historical period.(21)He argued that the relatively simple Greek myth of Persephone reflects the concerns of a basic agricultural community, whereas the more involved and complex myths found later in Homer are the product of a more developed society.Scholars also attempted to tie various myths of the world together in some way. From the late 18th century through the early 19th century, the comparative study of languages had led to the reconstruction of a hypothetical parent language to account for striking similarities among the various languages of Europe and the Near East. These languages, scholars concluded, belonged to an Indo-European language family. Experts on mythology likewise searched for a parent mythology that presumably stood behind the mythologies of all the European peoples.(22)For example, an expression like “maiden dawn” for “sunrise” resulted first in personification of the dawn, and then in myths about her.Later in the 19th century the theory of evolution put forward by English naturalist Charles Darwin heavily influenced the study of mythology. Scholars researched on the history of mythology, much as they would dig fossil-bearing geological formations, for remains from the distant past.(23)Similarly, British anthropologist Sir James George Frazer proposed a three-stage evolutionary scheme in The Golden Bough. According to Frazer’s scheme, human beings first attributed natural phenomena to arbitrary supernatural forces (magic), later explaining them as the will of the gods (religion), and finally subjecting them to rational investigation (science).The research of British scholar William Robertson Smith, published in Lectures on the Religion of the Semites (1889), also influenced Frazer. Through Smith’s work, Frazer came to believe that many myths had their origin in the ritual practices of ancient agricultural peoples, for whom the annual cycles of vegetation were of central importance.(24)This approach reached its most extreme form in the so-called functionalism of British anthropologist A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, who held that every myth implies a ritual, and every ritual implies a myth.Most analyses of myths in the 18th and 19th centuries showed a tendency to reduce myths to some essential core—whether the seasonal cycles of nature, historical circumstances, or ritual. That core supposedly remained once the fanciful elements of the narratives had been stripped away. In the 20th century, investigators began to pay closer attention to the content of the narratives themselves.(25)[473 words]\[A\] German-born British scholar Max Müller concluded that the Rig-V eda of ancient India-the oldest preserved body of literature written in an Indo-European language-reflected the earliest stages of an Indo-European mythology. M ller attr ibuted all later myths to misunderstandings that arose from the picturesque terms in which early peoples described natural phenomena.\[B\] The myth and ritual theory, as this approach came to be called, was developed most fully by British scholar Jane Ellen Harrison. Using insight gained from the work of French sociologist Emile Durkheim, Harrison argued that all myths have their origin in collective rituals of a society. \[C\] Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud held that myths—like dreams—condense the material of experience and represent it in symbols.\[D\] This approach can be seen in the work of British anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor. In Primitive Culture (1871), Tylor organized the religious and philosophical development of humanity into separate and distinct evolutionary stages.\[E\] The studies made in this period were consolidated in the work of German scholar Christian Gottolob Heyne, who was the first scholar to use the Latin term myths (instead of fibula, meaning z“fable”) to refer to the tales of heroes and gods.\[F\] German scholar Karl Otfried M ller followed this line of inquiry in his Prolegomena to a Scientific Mythology, 1825).Part C 07.8Directions:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Y our translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2.(10 points)(26)Medicine today focuses primarily on drugs and surgery, genes and germs, microbes and molecules, yet love and intimacy are at the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well. If a new medication had the same impact, failure to prescribe it would be malpractice. Connections with other people affect not only the quality of our lives but also our survival. Study after study find that people who feel lonely are many times more likely to get cardiovascular disease than those who have a strong sense of connection and community. (27)And there is no other factor in medicine—not diet ,not smoking, not exercise, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery—that has a greater impact on our quality of life, incidence of illness and premature death.In part, this is because people who are lonely are more likely to engage in self-destructive behaviors. Getting through the day becomes more important than living a long life when you have no one else to live for. As one patient told me, “I’ve got 20 friends in this pack of cigarettes. They’re always there for me. Y ou want to take away my 20 friends? What are you going to give me instead?”Other patients take refuge in food, alcohol or drugs: “When I feel lonely, I eat a lot of fat—it coats my nerves and n umbs the pain.” But loneliness is not just a barrier to fitness; even when you eat right, exercise and avoid smoking, it increases your risk of early death.(28)Fortunately, love protects your heart in ways that we don’t completely understand. In one study at Y ale, men and women who felt the most loved and supported had substantially less blockage in their coronary arteries. Similarly, researchers from Case Western Reserve University studied al most 10,000 married men and found that those who answered “yes” to this simple question—“Does your wife show you her love?”—had significantly less chest pain. In both studies, the protective effects of love were independent of other risk factors.A wareness is the first step in healing. When we understand the connection between how we live and how long we live, it’s easier to make different choices. (29)Instead of viewing the time we spend with friends and family as luxuries, we can see that these relationships are among the most powerful determinants of our well-being and survival. We are hard-wired to help each other. Science is documenting the healing values of love, intimacy, community, compassion, forgiveness, altruism and service—values that are part of almost all spiritual traditions as well as many secular ones. (30)Seen in this context, being unselfish may be the most self-serving approach to life, for it helps free both the giver and recipient from suffering, disease and premature death. Rediscovering the wisdom of love and compassion may help us survive at a time when an increasingly balkanized world so badly needs it.[491 words]答案1.C2.C3.B4.B5.A6.A7.D8.A9.C10.B11.C12.A13.A14.B15.D16.D17.A18.B19.C20.A21.F22.A23.D24.B25.C26.如今,医学主要致力于药物与手术治疗,基因与病菌以及微生物与分子的研究,然而,在所有决定我们健康与否的因素中,是否拥有关爱与亲密关系才是最为根本的。

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考研时文阅读(17A)(2009-04-04 21:21:15)转载标签:分类:阅读篇考研时文阅读黄涛杂谈篇章分析本文是一篇说明文,主要介绍了两位博士对午睡和健康关系的一项最新研究。

第一段提出了有关午睡的话题,并以一些名人的午睡特点来加以例证,接着介绍了纳斯卡和特里克伯罗斯所进行的研究,说明午睡可以延长人的生命;第二段进一步详细地阐述其研究的结果;第三段作者驳斥了地中海饮食可能影响实验结果可信度的说法;在第四段里,特里克伯罗斯博士建议人们为了健康尽量午睡。

Sloth(怠惰, 懒惰) may be seen as a sin, but some of history's most accomplished men were fond of lounging around. Leonardo da Vinci enjoyed napping. So did Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill. Richard Buckminster Fuller advocated taking 30-minute naps every six hours. No one has yet proved a correlation between napping and artistic brilliance or professional success, but an intriguing study published this week claims to find a link between daytime siestas and good health. A team of researchers led by Androniki Naska and Dimitrios Trichopoulos of Harvard's School of Public Health followed over 23,000 Greek patients with no history of cancer or stroke, for an average of six years. Their conclusion: napping just might save your life.The study found that the group of adults who took 30-minute siestas at least three times a week had a third fewer deaths from heart disease than an equivalent group who did not sleep at all during the day. The benefit was greater for men than for women. It was also greater for working males than for those who had retired.However, a number of previous studies done in the Mediterranean and in parts of Central America (where siestas remain common) have come up with conflicting results, but Dr. Naska and Dr. Trichopoulos argue that those studies have often been flawed. The subjects in some, for example, had survived heart attacks and may therefore have benefited more from napping than healthy individuals do.Given that all of the subjects of this new study were Greeks; could themuch-celebrated Mediterranean diet deserve credit, rather than the siestas? The firm answer from Dr Trichopoulos is “No”. And he is in a good position to say so, for it was he who did the pioneering research that put olive oil and a plant-based diet on the scientific map in the first place. Unlike some other nap studies, his was controlled for diet, smoking, exercise and other relevant variables. The earlier findings about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet are confirmed, he says, and napping seems to help on top of that.Before buying a sofa for the office, however, it might be wise to consider the possibility of selection bias. Dr Trichopoulos concludes that “Type A” personalities, whose hard-working lives may make them prone to heart attacks, are also much less likely to take naps during the day. That bias might be distorting the study's results. Even so, he advises, “Take a nap if you can.”参考译文懒惰也许会被人们认为是一种罪过,但是历史上一些最成功的人士却喜欢悠闲懒散的生活。

列奥纳多·达芬奇喜欢午睡,阿尔伯特爱因斯坦和温斯顿丘吉尔也一样喜欢午睡。

里查德巴克明斯行福勒提倡每隔6个小时就小睡30分钟。

没有人能够证明午睡与杰出的艺术才能或者事业上的成功有相互关系,但是本周一份引人入胜的研究报告声称发现了日间午睡与健康之间的一种联系。

一个由安德罗尼基·纳斯卡和哈佛公共卫生学院的特里克伯罗斯所领导的研究小组对23,000名没有癌症或者中风记录的希腊病人,进行了长达6年的研究,该研究结果表明:午睡有可能延长人的生命。

这项研究发现,那些每周至少午休3次,且每次午睡至少30分钟的成人组与日间从不午休的成人组相比,患心脏病致死的概率低了1/3。

男性从午睡中的获益比女性更加明显。

上班的男性比退休人士的获益更为明显。

但是,在午休仍然普遍的地中海地区和中美洲的部分地区曾进行过的一些研究得到的却是与此矛盾的结果,不过纳斯卡博士和特里克伯罗斯博士认为这些研究都存在问题。

比如,一些曾经有过心脏病发作史的研究对象从午睡中的获益相对于那些健康人要明显得多。

鉴于所有的研究对象都是希腊人,那些影响因素是否是驰名的地中海饮食而不是午休呢?特里克伯罗斯博士坚定地回答说“不”。

他的回答是令人信服的,因为正是他开创性地将橄榄油和以素食为主的饮食放到科学领域内来进行研究。

与其它关于午休研究不同的是,他的研究控制了饮食、吸烟、运动和其他相关的变量。

他说,早前关于地中海饮食益处的研究已经得到了肯定,而午睡在饮食的基础上也起到了最为重要的作用。

在办公室添臵沙发之前,最好还是先考虑一下选择性偏见的可能性。

特里克伯罗斯博士认为那些辛勤工作从而易发心脏病的“A型”个性的人,在白天小睡比较少。

这些偏见也许会与研究报告的结果相矛盾。

即便如此,特里克伯罗斯博士还是建议,“如果可以的话就小睡一会吧”。

考研时文阅读(17B)(2009-04-04 21:24:01)转载标签:黄涛考研时文阅读杂谈分类:阅读篇篇章结构分析本文论述了肥胖在人与人之间的相互影响及其相互影响这一问题。

第一段通过一个最新研究来引出人们越来越肥胖这一话题;第二段用具体数据进一步阐述了这一研究结果;第三段论述了朋友关系对于肥胖的不同影响及其原因;第四段指出家庭关系和兄弟姐妹关系对肥胖有影响,但并不重要,真正重要的原因是其社会标准。

最后一段提出人与人之间的这种相互影响关系也同样适用于减肥。

核心词组participate in 参加,参与in the context of 在…背景下,在…环境下identify…as…把…当作是for one thing 首先,第一have …to do with 与…有关as much …as 与…一样多,与…一样也是be involved in 与…有关,卷入到after all 毕竟According to the new research appearing in the July 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, obesity isn't just spreading; rather, it may be contagious between people, like a common cold. Researchers from Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, reviewed a database of 12,067 densely interconnected people who had all participated in a major American heart study between 1971 and 2003. It was that information that the NEJM authors mined to explore obesity in the context of a social network.From their analysis, when a study participant's friend became obese, that first participant had a 57% greater chance of becoming obese himself. In pairs of people in which each identified the other as a close friend, when one person became obese the other had a 171% greater chance of following suit. James Fowler, a political scientist at UC San Diego says that it's not just that people who share similar lifestyles become friends. For one thing, geographic distance between friends in the study seemed to have no impact: friends who lived a 5-hour drive apart and saw each other infrequently were just as influenced by each other's weight gains as those who lived close enough to share weekly take-out meals or basketball games.The best proof that friendship caused the weight gain, says Fowler, is that people were much more likely to pattern their own behavior on the actions of people they considered friends — but the relationship didn't work in the other direction. If you had named another person as a friend, and your friend became obese, then you were more than 50% more likely to get fat too. But if your friend had not named you as a mutual friend, and you became obese, it would have no significant impact on your friend's weight.Spouses share meals and a backyard, but the researchers found a much smaller risk of gaining weight—a 37% increase—when one spouse became obese. Siblings share genes, but their influence, too, was much smaller, increasing each other's risk 40%. Fowler believes the effect has much more to do with social norms: whom we look to when considering appropriate social behavior. Having fat friends makes being fat seem more acceptable.Fowler and Christakis say that the contagion-effect should hold just as much for weight loss as it does for weight gain. "I would hope this influences individuals to get friends and families involved in decisions about health," Fowler says. After all, he says, a weight-loss plan may be more effective if the people closest to you are on a diet. And, if you're successful, your good health will help others achieve a healthy weight too. The impact extends not just to your friends; it turns out — but also to your friends' friends, and even to their friends.参考译文根据7月26日出版的《新英格兰医学杂志》,肥胖不仅越来越多,而且它会像感冒一样, 在人与人之间传播。

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