考研英语阅读unit-16

Unit 16The shortest answer is doing.最简单的回答就是干。

P art ADirections：Read the following texts. Answer the questions blow each text by choosing [A],[B],[C] or [D].Text 1Truth in advertising is a concept central to the American free market economic system. According to this theory, companies that advertise their products to mass audiences must strictly deliver on their promises, and the quality of their goods must live up to the hype put out by the sellers. In order to examine just how important truthful advertising is, let us consider for a moment a world in which there was no such constraint imposed upon sellers. It would be a world where advertisers were free to exaggerate or even lie as they pleased, doing anything to make their products look great, even when it’s of inferior quality.Firstly, the unreliability of the goods in question would no doubt shatter consumer confidence. Wary buyers would shop much less, thus decreasing the volume of trade and leading to a weakened overall economy. Further, the market would find itself stagnating, the lack of growth attributable to the fact that everyone is reluctant to buy products of which they are uncertain. Without growth, no progress is achieved.Innovation on all fronts would suffer as well. With consumers constantly on guard against getting ripped off, brand loyalty, would be more important than ever; Buyers would simply stick with products that they know to be of good quality and be very hesitant to spend their money on “riskier,”unfamiliar ones. This would make entry into the market by new sellers or producers almost impossible, even if their products were of better quality than existing ones, simply because no one would be willing to give them a try. With new players effectively barred from the game，we’re left with the same goods in the market, day after day, year after year.In the real world, however, truth in advertising allows American consumers to trust the boasts of producers. Thus, brand loyalty is less of an impenetrable barrier to entry. In order to enter into the market, new sellers or producers would simply have to create a better product and then announce the fact. Those who violate the principle of truth in advertising by making false claims of quality are punished on two fronts. The first is by the law and the second, perhaps more effectively, is by the buyers themselves, who will refuse to do business with the dishonest seller in the future. Imposed by both law and market forces, the principle of truth in advertising is a usefultool that allows for a more efficient, pliable market poised for growth and constantly reinvigorating itself with new producers and goods. These producers are constantly competing against one another for the right to sing the praises of their products — truthfully, of course.1. According to paragraph 1, the author[A] believes truthful advertising is worthy of serious study.[B] wholly supports the concept of truthful advertising.[C] intends to educate the reader on the effects of truthful advertising.[D] considers truthful advertising the most important in economic system.2. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that[A] economic growth guarantees a country’s overall development.[B] when growth is not occurring, shoppers will buy less goods.[C] customers are reluctant to buy goods which are unreliable.[D] if an economy is experiencing growth it will be a strong one.3. The first sentence of Paragraph 4 tells us that[A] truthful advertising helps avoid the negative results previously mentioned.[B] once exaggeration and lies are avoided, truthful advertising feasibly occurs.[C] because of laws, the quality of a product can live up to its producer’s boasts.[D] in the real economy, consumers trust the boasts of producers.4. The author would most likely agree with the principle that[A] the boasts of consumers must be exactly accurate, no matter what.[B] to protect consumers, producers must not be permitted to falsely advertise.[C] to avoid stagnation in the economy, truthful advertising must be enforced.[D] truthful advertising is the best way to avoid decline of the American economy.5. The main point of the text is that[A] a lack of truthful advertising laws must be avoided at all costs.[B] the truthful advertising laws ensure the prosperity the economy.[C] the American economic system functions well because of truth in advertising.[D] the result of a lack of truthful advertising laws in the U.S. is examinable.Text 2Mr. Mitsuyasu Ota, the Mayor of Hirate, in western Japan, made this week’s news columns after imposing a one-day-a-week ban on the use of computer equipment in the t own’s municipal offices. The step was taken on the grounds that young staff “mistakenly think they are working” when sitting raptly at their computer screens. At the same time, Mr. Ota lamented that “young people are not in the habit of writing by hand any more”.One of the favorite arguments brought out by the opposition in technology wars is the notion that a technical short cut is simultaneously a kind of mental impoverishment, and that the man with the pen will think and write more effectively than the man with the Compaq.Leaving aside the question of whether advanced technology makes you think less dynamically, the idea that there should be recognizable stylistic discrepancies between the work of pen-pushers and key-tappers shouldn’t in the least surpr ise us. Historically, literary styles have always borne a strong relationship to the available technology. The quill pen, most obviously, allowed its owner only a certain number of words between refills, thereby encouraging all thoselengthy Gibbonian sentences bristling with subordinate clauses. The fountain pen —which allowed you to write as many words as you wanted — and the manual typewriter wrought further revolutions. It is not particularly far-fetched, for example, to suggest that the staccato, elliptical prose of early-20th-century Modernist masters such as Hemingway derives in part from its having been typed, rather than written down.But what about the computer screen? What effect does that have on the elemental patterns by which the writer downloads the words in his or her head? Without wanting to sound like Mayor Ota, I suspect that to a certain kind of writer it is as much a hindrance as a help. A single glance at the average bookshop will demonstrate that novels are getting longer. There are excellent aesthetic reasons for that, of course, but there is also a technical explanation, which is to say that computers allow you to write more words and to write them more quickly, without the restraint of having to alter everything by hand and then rewrite.Every so often, as a reviewer, one stumbles with a sinking heart across one of these enormous rambling affairs, which, however assiduous the attentions of its editor, betrays its origin as a screen-abetted mental show-off. Perhaps, like the municipal employees of Mayo Ota’s Hirate, we should all try banning computers one day a week.6. According to the author, new writing instrument[A] makes sentences lengthier and lengthier. [B] renders prose pleasanter to read.[C] causes stylistic differences among the users. [D] makes writing shorter and more compact.7. In what way is the computer a hindrance to a writer?[A] A writer may run his writing long just for a mental show-off.[B] A writer is less willing to rewrite his novel to make it better.[C] Ideas are put into words before they are made clearer in the mind.[D] The computer allows a writer to write without careful choice of words.8. The word “assiduous” (Line 2, Para 5) probably means[A] cautious. [B] intentional. [C] conscious. [D] purposeless.9. The author’s attitude towards Mayor Ota’s ban is one of[A] acknowledgement. [B] opposition. [C] neutrality. [D] enthusiasm.10. Which of the following statements does the author support?[A] Frequent use of computer leads to mental impoverishment.[B] Computer users think less effectively than pen users.[C] Computers give a writer more freedom in expression.[D] Frequent computer users can’t concentrate on what they do.Text 3Until recently there was much talk of the impending death of dividends. But a confluence of events has conspired of late to make bosses and investors think again. Stock markets have sagged, making investors notice the minimal amounts of cash they were earning from their shares.The declining role of dividends was encouraged by the theories of academics, many of whom instructed today’s top managers in business school. One Nobel-Prize-winning theory suggested that whether or not a firm paid a dividend should make no difference to the value of a firm to investors. According to this “irrelevance theory”, every share’s value is based on the future cash flows from a company; it does not matter at all whether those cash flows are paid out in dividends or kept as cash on hand by the firm.Anyway the bubble in American share prices in the 1990s has led some academics to ask if the markets can be relied upon to think rationally about anything, including dividends. But in the real world there remains one overwhelming reason why dividend policy is not irrelevant: tax. The way dividends are taxed can have wide-ranging consequences for how a firm is run. In particular, it can influence whether a firm finances itself primarily through equity or debt, and how it chooses to return profits to its shareholders.Taxes may largely explain the growing popularity of share buybacks compared with dividends in recent years. Buybacks are, in theory, just another way to return cash to shareholders, by buying up shares on the open market and retiring them. The reduction in the number of shares outstanding means that profits are spread over a smaller base of shares, which should lift share prices for investors who do not sell them back to the firm.In most countries, tax rules allow firms to treat interest payments on debt as a tax-deductible expense, whereas cash payments to equity holders in the form of dividends or share repurchases come out of after-tax income. All else being equal, therefore, the tax system typically makes debt a cheaper source of finance for a firm, at the margin, than equity.In recent years, governments almost everywhere have become increasingly concerned about the impact of taxation on companies. By and large, they have favored tax reforms that are intended to boost business activity, such as cutting marginal tax rates—though in practice their reforms have often had unpredictable results. For example, in 1997 Britain ended all tax exemptions for dividends, ostensibly to encourage reinvestment of profits by firms, but there is no evidence that it achieved this aim, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London.11. The “irrelevance theory” argues that[A] every share’s value is related to the future cash flows from a firm.[B] dividend a firm paid is relevant to tax.[C] every share’s value has nothing to do with market.[D] the value of a firm is directly related to the dividend.12. The way that dividends are taxed influences how[A] a firm returns profits to its workers.[B] a firm buys up shares on the open market.[C] a firm finances itself.[D] a firm returns cash to its shareholders.13. The word “outstanding”(Line 4, Para.4) most probably means[A] excellent. [B] conspicuous. [C] not yet paid. [D] already issued.14. Tax reforms in Britain are used to illustrate that[A] governments have become increasingly concerned about the taxation.[B] results of tax reforms are unpredictable.[C] tax reforms have had achieved predictable aims.[D] British government has ended all tax exemptions for dividends.15.What is author’s attitude towards dividend, according to the text?[A] Skeptical. [B] Puzzled. [C] Objective. [D] Critical.Text 4When Oxford University mooted the idea of establishing a business school six years ago,outraged Oxonians unleashed volleys of Ciceronian oratory, arguing that the groves of academe should be out of bounds to commerce. How times have changed. Frustrated by the British government’s reluctance to let the university charge real-world tuition fees, demoralized by mounting charges of elitism, with research and teaching stifled by inadequate state subsidies, the dons are realizing that capitalism might just be the key to their future. At the traditional 800-year-old institution, increasing numbers of them are calling for their university to be privatized.That’s a hugely controversial proposal in a country that still clings fiercely to the ideal of providing a free, state-funded education to anyone who merits it. Prime Minister Tony Blair wants 50 percent of Britain’s under-30s in full-time education by 2006, and given his no-new-taxes style, universities suspect they’ll be responsible for finding a large proportion of the $ 15 million that will cost. Already Oxford is having trouble paying salaries sufficient to attract top teachers; a full professor gets $ 68,400 —roughly half the salaries of their U.S. counterparts. For Oxford, for long the global epitome of top-drawer education, the question is whether the university’s days as a bastion of world-class excellence might be over.Lately the issue seems to have taken on a new urgency. Newspapers reported mini-scandal just last week that a 19-year-old deaf student, Anastasia Fedotova, failed to win place despite high exam scores. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown lambasted the admissions system as “more reminiscent of the old-boy network...than genuine justice in our society.” This highlighted just how vulnerable Oxford remains to charges of elitism.“More and more people are saying the only solution is independence,” says classics professor Richard Jenkyns. In the end, Oxford may be hoping for some in-between solution. Since 1998 it has been pumping funds into a private company called ISIS Innovation, set up to commercialize researchers’discoveries. Of a total of 28 fledgling spin-offs, all are still in business. While big payoffs are still a long way off, “that could quickly change”, says managing director Tim Cook, “if one of them hits the jackpot.” More immediately, Oxford bigwigs report that permission to charge the full cost of tuition will almost certainly be given in government report due this November. Oxford still isn’t likely to let business interests run wild over its hallowed greensward. But it is learning that the academic freedom it so prizes can be preserved only at a price.16. Which one of the following is the major reason for Oxford University’s lack of funding?[A] The idea of building of a business school has been rejected by the teachers.[B] The government is reluctant to let it charge the students high tuition fees.[C] It has to pay sufficient salaries to attract top teachers.[D] The government can’t afford the high research subsidies.17. By citing the example of Anastasia Fedotova, the author intends to show that[A] the university has taken on a new urgency.[B] the university holds a strong discrimination against the disabled.[C] the university is in favor of a network of older applicants.[D] the university puts too much emphasis on elitism.18. The phrase “hits the jackpot”(Line 6, Para.4) probably means[A] get out of business suddenly.[B] be discovered accidentally by foresighted businessman.[C] make a lot of money unexpectedly.[D] prove to be very useful in daily life by chance.19. On which of the following statements would the author most probably agree?[A] Oxford University will gradually become a private university like Harvard.[B] Oxford University is beginning to think of commercial ways to collect money.[C] The only solution to Oxford University’s problems is being independent.[D] The British government will offer Oxford University more subsidies.20. The text is mainly about[A] the future orientation of Oxford University.[B] the financial and moral problems of Oxford University and the solution.[C] the influence of government’s policy on Oxford University.[D] the purity of Oxford University in its field of academic researchPart BDirections: In the article, following sentences have been removed. For Questions 21-25, 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.Many scientists have wondered whether there is some quirk in the way depression is inherited, such that a depressed parent or grandparent is more likely to pass on a predisposition for the disorder to female than to male descendants. Based on studies that trace family histories of depression, the answer to that question appears to be no. 21. _____________________ .Simply tracing family histories, though, without also considering environmental influences, might not offer a complete picture of how depression is inherited.Indeed, Kenneth S. Kendler and his colleagues at the Medical College of Virginia found in a study of 2, 060 female twins that genetics might contribute to how women respond to environmental pressures. The researchers examined twins with and without a family history of depression; some twins in both groups had recently undergone a trauma, such as the death of a loved one or a divorce. The investigators found that among the women who did not have a family history of depression, stressful events raised their risk for depression by only 6 percent. 22. ___________________.A similar study has not been done in men, leaving open the question of whether environmental stress and genetic risk for depression interact similarly in both sexes. But research is being done to determine whether men and women generally experience similar amounts and types of stress. Studies of key hormones hint that they do not. Hormones are not new to depression researchers. Many have wondered whether the gonadola steroids estrogen and progesterone —whose cyclic fluctuations in women regulate menstruation— might put women at a greater risk for depression. There are at least two ways in which they might do so.First, because of differences between the X and Y chromosomes, male and female brains are exposed to different hormonal milieus. 23. _______________________.Indeed, animal experiments show that early hormonal influences have marked behavioral consequences later on, although the phenomenon is of course difficult to study in humans.Second, the fact that post-pubertal men and women have different levels of circulating gonadal steroids might somehow put women at higher risk for depression. Research shows girls become more susceptible to depression than boys only after puberty, when they beginmenstruating and experience hormonal fluxes. 24. _________________________.For example, Peter J. Schmidt and David R. Rubinow of the National Institute of Mental Health recently reported that manipulations of estrogen and progesterone did not affect mood, except in women who suffer from severe premenstrual mood changes.It now appears, however, that estrogen might set the stage for depression indirectly by priming the body’s stress response. During stressful times, the adrenal glands — which sit on top of the kidneys and are controlled by the pituitary gland in the brain — secrete higher levels of a hormone called cortisol, which increases the activity of the body’s metabolic and immune systems, among others. 25.__________________________.Evidence is emerging that estrogen might not only increase cortisol secretion but also decrease cortisol’s ability to shut down its own secretion. The result might be a stress response that is not only more pronounced but also longer-lasting in women than in men.[A] But the same risk rose almost 14 percent among the women who did have a family history ofdepression. In other words, these women had seemingly inherited the propensity to become depressed in the wake of crises.[B] To figure out why depression is more common among women, scientists have to study howgenetics and environment divide the sexes —and how the two conspire to produce the symptoms we describe as depression.[C] In the normal course of events, stress increases cortisol secretion, but these elevated levelshave a negative feedback effect on the pituitary, so that eortisol levels gradually return to normal.[D] Despite their importance, estrogen and cortisol are not the only hormones involved in femaledepression, mid stress is not the only environmental influence that might hold more sway over women than men.[E] These hormonal differences may affect brain development so that men and women havedifferent vulnerabilities — and different physiological reactions to environmental stresses later in life.[F] Even so, scientists have never been able to establish a direct relation between emotional statesand levels of estrogen mid progesterone in the blood of women.[G] Women and men with similar heritage seem equally likely to develop the disorder.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese.Travel ecology is a community tourism planning approach uniting the themes of social development and ecological sustainability. 26)We argue that sustainable t ourism and “sustainable community tourism development” have failed to emphasize the constraints and opportunities associated with the development of local social and political institutions. We contend that tourism planning should help create equitable, sustainable communities resilient enough to survive in a highly volatile international environment, rather than “sustaining” tourism or specific aspects of tourism development. 27)The term travel ecology indicates theoretical affinity with the fields of political ecology and cultural ecology，as well as an attempt to move away from sustainable tourism models. From global political ecology，the approach incorporates an impact analysis of international economic and political conditions on community sustainability. From Americancultural ecology, the approach borrows the environmental ethics of Leopold and Muir as well as the democratic pragmatism of John Dewey. The travel ecology approach is based upon six broadly conceived principles: discovery, mutuality, locality, historicity, potentiality, and enhancement. We view these principles as contributing to tourism planning theory, rather than constituting a definitive model or process.Discovery is the beginning of dialogue among residents, during which they discover mutual fears and expectations. 28)It is during this phase that the tourism planner must assist with the construction of goals and objectives, assist inventory development, facilitate public dialogue, and at times mitigate conflict between stakeholder groups. The sustainable tourism literature places little emphasis on potential conflicts arising over resource distribution and use. The travel ecology approach recognizes that conflict is a necessary part of the “good” community as a method of social learning.Mutuality means residents engage in a common language emphasizing shared values, ideas, and concerns, while at the same time respecting individual perspectives. The travel ecology approach views sustainability as a matter of strengthening social networks and civic institutions. Many tourism planners fail to enlist local social and civic groups when building support for community tourism development. 29)The creation of social capital becomes important to tourism development not only for generating hospitality that helps make a community a desirable destination, but also for sharing scarce resources required for creating a successful product.Locality begins with the notion that environmental awareness toward environments such as rainforests and savannas begins with an awareness of common place environments. 30)This is not to advocate an abandonment of “endangered” environments, only that awareness of locality is critical to the development of “sense of place”— often mentioned as an aesthetic component of sustainability. The travel ecology approach is based upon the belief that the community is both a socially constructed experience and an ecologically grounded place. Social networks and natural and built environments in which such networks takes place are mutually reinforcing elements of community.做题点拨与全文翻译Part AText 1语境词汇1.deliver vt.(on)履行诺言；递送，传送2. hype n.&vt.（天花乱坠的广告宣传）3. impose vt.强迫，强加；课税vi.利用4. shatter vt.毁坏，大大扰乱；砸碎5. front n.活动的领域或范围；前面；前线6. rip off 欺骗；欺诈；撕掉7.impenetrable a.不能穿过的，不能通过的8. pliable a.能适应的；柔顺的；易弯的9. poise a.使做好准备10. reinvigorate vt.使再振作，使复兴难句突破1.[According to this theory]，companies(that advertise their products to mass audiences) must strictly deliver on their promises, and the quality of their goods must live up to the hype (put out by the sellers).【分析】并列复合句。