2012年考研英语真题及答案完整解析

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2012考研英语一真题及答案解析(完整版)

2012考研英语一真题及答案解析(完整版)

2012年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a _9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultCome on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seems promising,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.”Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!”pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure. But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as[A] a supplement to the social cure[B] a stimulus to group dynamics[C] an obstacle to school progress[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A] recruit professional advertisers[B] learn from advertisers’experience[C] stay away from commercial advertisers[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to[A] adequately probe social and biological factors[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C] illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors[A] is harmful to our networks of friends[B] will mislead behavioral studies[C] occurs without our realizing it[D] can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableA deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations. Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought V ermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management–especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences.Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to[A] condemning.[B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring.[D] securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A] obtain protection from V ermont regulators.[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.[C] acquire an extension of its business license .[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its[A] managerial practices. [B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals. [D] business vision29. In the author’s view, the Vermont case will test[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.[B] the mature of states’patchwork regulations.[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D] the limits of states’power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “happens”to a discovery claim –a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A] uncertainty and complexity.[B] misconception and deceptiveness.[C] logicality and objectivity.[D] systematicness and regularity.32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires[A] strict inspection. [B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom. [D]persistent innovation.33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.[B]has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B]discoveries today inspire future research.[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded”public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too. John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured. [B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased. [D]fairly adjusted.39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions[A]often run against the current political system.[B]can change people’s political attitudes.[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D]are dominant in the government.40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of[A]disapproval.[B]appreciation.[C]tolerance.[D]indifference.Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution. (42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks ofanyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CSince the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science. Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues considerthe evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language. The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universalsSection III WritingSome internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming”instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20 points)1.【答案】B【解析】从空后信息可以看出,这句表达的是“_ _法官表现得像政治家”的情况下,法庭就不能保持其作为法律法规的合法卫士的形象,所以应该选C,maintain“维持,保持”,其他显然语义不通。

2012考研英语一真题(含答案解析)

2012考研英语一真题(含答案解析)

2012年全国硕士研究生招生考试英语(一)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 SHEET1.(10points)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently.The court cannot1its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law2justices behave like politicians.Yet,in several instances, justices acted in ways that3the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia,for example,appeared at political events.That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be4as impartial judgments.Part of the problem is that the justices are not5by an ethics code.At the very least,the court should make itself6to the code of conduct that7to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases8the question of whether there is still a9between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law10having authority apart from politics.They gave justices permanent positions11they would be free to12those in power and have no need to13political support.Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely14.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social15like liberty and property.When the court deals with social policy decisions,the law it16is inescapably political—whichis why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily17as unjust.The justices must18doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves19to the code of conduct. That would make their rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and,20,convincing as law.1.[A]emphasize[B]maintain[C]modify[D]recognize2.[A]when[B]lest[C]before[D]unless3.[A]restored[B]weakened[C]established[D]eliminated4.[A]challenged[B]compromised[C]suspected[D]accepted5.[A]advanced[B]caught[C]bound[D]founded6.[A]resistant[B]subject[C]immune[D]prone7.[A]resorts[B]sticks[C]leads[D]applies8.[A]evade[B]raise[C]deny[D]settle9.[A]line[B]barrier[C]similarity[D]conflict10.[A]by[B]as[C]through[D]towards11.[A]so[B]since[C]provided[D]though12.[A]serve[B]satisfy[C]upset[D]replace13.[A]confirm[B]express[C]cultivate[D]offer14.[A]guarded[B]followed[C]studied[D]tied15.[A]concepts[B]theories[C]divisions[D]conventions16.[A]excludes[B]questions[C]shapes[D]controls17.[A]dismissed[B]released[C]ranked[D]distorted18.[A]suppress[B]exploit[C]address[D]ignore19.[A]accessible[B]amiable[C]agreeable[D]accountable20.[A]by all means[B]at all costs[C]in a word[D]as a resultSection 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 SHEET1.(40points)Text1Come on—Everybody’s doing it.That whispered message,halfinvitation and half forcing,is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure.It usually leads to no good—drinking,drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club,Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure,in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the world.Rosenberg,the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize,offers a host of examples of the social cure in action:In South Carolina,a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool.In South Africa,an HIV-prevention initiative known as loveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seems promising,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer.Her critique of the lameness of many public-health campaigns is spot-on:they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits,and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.“Dare to be different,please don’t smoke!”pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers—teenagers,who desire nothing more than fitting in.Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers,so skilled at applying peer pressure.But on the general effectiveness of the social cure,Rosenberg is less persuasive.Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful.The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long.Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut.Evidence that the loveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior.An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits—as well as negative ones—spread through networks of friends via social communication.This is a subtle form of peer pressure:we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain,however,is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions.It’s like the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers inthe back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates.The tactic never really works.And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside:in the real world,as in school,we insist on choosing our own friends.21.According to the first paragraph,peer pressure often emerges as__________.[A]a supplement to the social cure[B]a stimulus to group dynamics[C]an obstacle to social progress[D]a cause of undesirable behaviors22.Rosenberg holds that public advocates should_________.[A]recruit professional advertisers[B]learn from advertisers’experience[C]stay away from commercial advertisers[D]recognize the limitations of advertisements23.In the author’s view,Rosenberg’s book fails to__________.[A]adequately probe social and biological factors[B]effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C]illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24.Paragraph5shows that our imitation of behaviors__________.[A]is harmful to our networks of friends[B]will mislead behavioral studies[C]occurs without our realizing it[D]can produce negative health habits25.The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect ofpeer pressure is__________.[A]harmful[B]desirable[C]profound[D]questionableText2A deal is a deal—except,apparently,when Entergy is involved.The company,a major energy supplier in New England,provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it wasreneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.Instead,the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not:challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court,as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running.It’s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since2002,when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant,an aging reactor in Vernon.As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale,the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past2012.In2006,the state went a step further,requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval.Then,too,the company went along.Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments,or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next.A string of accidents,including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in2007and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage,raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety andEntergy’s management—especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe.Enraged by Entergy’s behavior,the Vermont Senate voted26to4last year against allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the2002agreement is invalid because of the2006legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues.The legal issues in the case are obscure:whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power,legalscholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly,there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules.But had Entergy kept its word,that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has nothing left to lose by going to war with the state.But there should be consequences.Permission to run a nuclear plant is a public trust.Entergy runs11other reactors in the United States,including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth.Pledging to run Pilgrim safely,the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another20years.But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC)reviews the company’s application,it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26.The phrase“reneging on”(Line3.para.1)is closest in meaning to_________.[A]condemning[B]reaffirming[C]dishonoring[D]securing27.By entering into the2002agreement,Entergy intended to__________.[A]obtain protection from Vermont regulators[B]seek favor from the federal legislature[C]acquire an extension of its business license[D]get permission to purchase a power plant28.According to Paragraph4,Entergy seems to have problems with its___________.[A]managerial practices[B]technical innovativeness[C]financial goals[D]business vision29.In the author’s view,the Vermont case will test___________.[A]Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises[B]the mature of states’patchwork regulations[C]the federal authority over nuclear issues[D]the limits of states’power over nuclear issues30.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that__________.[A]Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected[B]the authority of the NRC will be defied[C]Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application[D]Vermont’s reputation might be damagedText3In the idealized version of how science is done,facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work.But in the everyday practice of science,discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route.We aim to be objective,but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experiences.Prior knowledge and interests influence what we experience,what we think our experiences mean,and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation,error,and self-deception abound.Consequently,discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience.Similar to newly staked mining claims,they are full of potential.But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery.This is the credibility process,through which the individual researcher’s me,here, now becomes the community’s anyone,anywhere,anytime.Objective knowledge is the goal,not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public,the discoverer receives intellectual credit.But,unlikewith mining claims,the community takes control of what happens next.Within the complex social structure of the scientific community,researchers make discoveries;editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publicationprocess;other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes;and finally,the public (including other scientists)receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology.As a discovery claim works its way through the community,the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process.First,scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect.Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed.The goal is new-search,not re-search.Not surprisingly,newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers.Second,novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief.Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Szent-Györgyi once described discovery as“seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views.Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end,credibility“happens”to a discovery claim—a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind.“We reason together,challenge,revise,and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”31.According to the first paragraph,the process of discovery is characterized by its______.[A]uncertainty and complexity[B]misconception and deceptiveness[C]logicality and objectivity[D]systematicness and regularity32.It can be inferred from Paragraph2that credibility process requires_________.[A]strict inspection[B]shared efforts[C]individual wisdom[D]persistent innovation33.Paragraph3shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it_________.[A]has attracted the attention of the general public[B]has been examined by the scientific community[C]has received recognition from editors and reviewers[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists34.Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that_________.[A]scientific claims will survive challenges[B]discoveries today inspire future research[C]efforts to make discoveries are justified[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind35.Which of the following would be the best title of the text?[A]Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery[C]Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to ScienceText4If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today,he would probably represent civil servants.When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in1960,only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now36%do.In2009the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector.In Britain,more than half of public-sector workers but only about15%of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’thriving.First,they can shut things down without suffering much in the wayof consequences.Second,they are mostly bright and well-educated.A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree.Third,they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way.Britain’s Labor Party,as its name implies,has long been associated with trade unionism.Its current leader,Ed Miliband,owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome.Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions.The teachers’unions keep an eye on schools,the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one.But the real gains come in benefits and work practices.Politicians have repeatedly“backloaded”public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous. Reform has been vigorously opposed,perhaps most egregiously in education,where charter schools,academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles.Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable,teachers’unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer,politicians have begun to clamp down.In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker,the hardline Republican governor.But many within the public sector suffer under the current system,too.John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers.The only American public-sector workers who earn well above$250,000a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States.Bankers’fat pay packets have attracted much criticism,but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36.It can be learned from the first paragraph that_________.[A]Teamsters still have a large body of members[B]Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant[C]unions have enlarged their public-sector membership[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists37.Which of the following is true of Paragraph2?[A]Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B]Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C]Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38.It can be learned from Paragraph4that the income in the state sector is_________.[A]illegally secured[B]indirectly augmented[C]excessively increased[D]fairly adjusted39.The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions__________.[A]often run against the current political system[B]can change people’s political attitudes[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms[D]are dominant in the government40.John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of_________.[A]disapproval[B]appreciation[C]tolerance[D]indifferencePart BDirections:In the following text,some sentences have been removed.For Questions41-45,choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks.There are two extra choices,which do not fit in any of the blanks.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10points)Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying,higher than a bird.Now think of your laptop,thinner than a brown-paper envelope,or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels.You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the20th century saw a collection of geniuses,warriors,entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press,studio and theatre,paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio,the mail as well as the mail carrier.(41)___________.The networked computer is an amazing device,the first media machine that serves as the mode of production,means of distribution,site of reception,and place of praise and critique.The computer is the21st century’s culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer,we must also act with caution.(42)___________.I call it a secret war for two reasons.First,most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode.Second,the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download,but only a few upload.Beavers build dams and birds make nests.Yet for the most part,the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading.Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods—paintings,sculpture and architecture—and superfluous experiences—music,literature,religion and philosophy.(43)___________.For all the possibilities of our new culture machines,most people are still stuck in download mode.Even after the advent of widespread social media,a pyramid of production remains,with a small number of people uploading material,a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content,and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume.(44)___________.Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes.The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)___________.What counts as meaningful uploading?My definition revolves around the concept of“stickiness”—creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A]Of course,it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human.Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills,but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B]Applications like ,which allow users to combine pictures,words and other media in creative ways and then share them,have the potential to add stickiness by amusing,entertaining and enlightening others.[C]Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D]This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading—between passive consumption and active creation—whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E]The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.[F]One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century,much of the world’s media culture has been defined by a single medium—television—and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in50years to reverse the flow,to encourage thoughtful downloading and,even more importantly,meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese.Your translation should be written clearlyon ANSWER SHEET2.(10points)Since the days of Aristotle,a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise.In some ways,this quest for commonalities defines science.Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory framework.(46)In physics,one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme,and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear,however,that such a theory would be a simplification,given the dimensions and universes that it might entail.Nonetheless,unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47)Here,Darwinism seems to offer justification,for if all humans share common origins, it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings.Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection,perhaps the world’s languages,music,social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features.(48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That,at least,is the hope.But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check.Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky,who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar.A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language,which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second,by Joshua Greenberg,takes a more empirical approach to universality,identifying traits (particularly in word order)shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than2,000languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it,whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations.Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis,suggesting that the structures of the languages are lineage-specific and not governed by universals.Section III WritingPart A51.Directions:Some international students are coming to your university.Write them an email in the name of the Students’Union to1)extend your welcome and2)provide some suggestio ns for their campus life here.You should write about100words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your own name at the end of the e“Li Ming”instead.Do not write the address.(10points)Part B52.Directions:Write an essay of160-200words based on the following drawing.In your essay,you should1)describe the drawing briefly,2)explain its intended meaning,and3)give your comments.You should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20points)2012年全国硕士研究生招生考试英语(一)答案详解Section I Use of English一、文章题材结构分析本文摘自The New York Times(《纽约时报》)2011年6月30日一篇题为Ethics,Politics and the law(道德,政治与法律)的文章。

2012年考研英语真题答案与解析

2012年考研英语真题答案与解析

2012年全国硕士研究生入学考试英语试题答案与解析Section Ⅰ Use of EnglishThe ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot 1(B.maintain)its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law 2(A.when) justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that 3(B.weakened)the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that t he court’s decisions will be 4(D.accepted)as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not 5(C.bound)by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself 6(B.subject)to the code of conduct that 7(D.applies)to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases 8(B.raise) the question of whether there is still a 9(A.line)between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law 10(B.as) having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions 11(A.so) they would be free to12(C.upset) those in power and have no need to 13(C.cultivate) political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely 14(D.tied).Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social 15(A.concepts) like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it 16(C.shapes)is inescapably political — which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily 17(A.dismissed) as unjust.The justices must 18(C.address) doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves 19(D.accountable) to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, 20(D.as a result) convincing as law.最近,最高法院法官的道德判断成为了至关重要的事情。

2012年考研英语真题(附参考答案)

2012年考研英语真题(附参考答案)

2012年考研英语真题(附参考答案) Section I Use of EnglishDirections:Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and markA, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot 1 its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law2 justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in waysthat 3 the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial. Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind ofactivity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be 4 as impartialjudgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not 5 by an ethics code. Atthe very least, the court should make itself 6 to the code of conduct that 7 tothe rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases 8 the question of whether there is still a 9 between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law 10 having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions 11 they would be free to12 those in power and have no need to 13 political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely14 .Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social 15 like liberty and property. When the court deals with socialpolicy decisions, the law it 16 is inescapably political---which is why decisionssplit along ideological lines are so easily 17 as unjust.The justices must 18 doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves 19 to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely tobe seen as separate from politics and, 20 , convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked[D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all means [B]at all costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultSection II Reading ComprehensionPart ADirections:Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosingA, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)Passage OneCome on---Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation andhalf forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. Itusually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join theClub, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force throughwhat she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power ofgroup dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the world.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the socialcure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called RageAgainst the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safesex among their peers.The idea seems promising and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Hercritiqueof the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peerpressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding ofpsychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboardcampaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers---teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly thatpublic-healthadvocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Jointhe Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of thesocial and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaringflaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for verylong. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that theLoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior.An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits---as well as negativeones---spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtleform of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see everyday.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can selectour peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacherwho breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behavedclassmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cureengineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing ourown friends.21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as[A] a supplement to the social cure[B] a stimulus to group dynamics[C] an obstacle to school progress[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A] recruit professional advertisers[B] learn from advertisers’ experience[C] stay away from commercial advertisers[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to[A] adequately probe social and biological factors[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C] illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24. Paragraph 5 shows that our imitation of behaviors[A] is harmful to our networks of friends[B] will mislead behavioral studies[C] occurs without our realizing it[D] can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful [B] desirable[C] profound [D] questionablePassage TwoA deal is a deal—except, apparently, when Entergy is involved. The company, amajor energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont lastweek when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide bythe strict nuclear regulations.Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would notchallenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of adesperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s astunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernont. As a condition ofreceiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission fromstate regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiringthat any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval.Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simplydidn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partialcollapse of a cooling tower in 2007 and the discovery of an underground pipe systemleakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’smanagement—especially after the company made misleading statements about thepipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last yearagainst allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatorypower over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure; the SupremeCourt has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, butlegal scholars say the Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far thosepowers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulationsthat could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, thatdebate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is alreadyso battered that it has nothing left to lose by going to war with the state. But thereshould be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a public trust. Entergyruns 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station inPlymouth. Vowing to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission reviews the company’s application, it should keep in mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3. Para.1) is closest in meaning to[A] condemning. [B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring. [D] securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.[C] acquire an extension of its business license .[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its[A] managerial practices. [B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals. [D] business vision29. In the author’s view, the Vermont case will test[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.Passage ThreeIn the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waitingto be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method tocarry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequentlyfollows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannotescape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interestinfluence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar tonewly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutinyand acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is thecredibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomesthe community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not thestarting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit.But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next.Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers makediscoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publicationprocess; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally,the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possiblyaccompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, theinteraction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the scienceand the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into thecommunity’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific worktends to focus on some aspect of prevailing knowledge that is viewed as incomplete orincorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is alreadyknown and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newlypublished discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important andconvincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutationby future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief.NobelLaureate and physiologist Albert Szent-Györgyi once described discovery as “seeingwhat everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking whatnobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not changetheir views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to beaccepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim—a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of themind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoningand each other’s conceptions of reason.”31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A] uncertainty and complexity. [B] misconception and deceptiveness.[C] logicality and objectivity. [D] systematicness and regularity.32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires[A] strict inspection. [B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom. [D]persistent innovation.33. Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.[B] has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.[D] has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B] discoveries today inspire future research.[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.[D] scientific work calls for a critical mind.35. Which of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.[B] Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.[D] Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.Passsage FourIf the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably representcivil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in tenAmerican government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the numberof unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in theprivate sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15%of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shutthings down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they aremostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have auniversity degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their tiesgo back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has longbeenassociated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position tovotes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare ofthe Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget ispatrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA onprisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in theprivate one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians haverepeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modestbut adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous. Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Eventhough there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the mostimportant variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones andpromoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clampdown. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against ScottWalker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector sufferunder the current system, too.John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers.The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year areuniversity sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’fat paypackets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not rewardhigh achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.[D] the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D] Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured. [B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased. [D]fairly adjusted.39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions[A] often run against the current political system.[B] can change people’s political attitudes.[C] may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D] are dominant in the government.40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of[A] disapproval. [B] appreciation.[C] tolerance. [D] indifference.Part BDirections: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 blanks.There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answerson ANSWER SHEET1.10 pointsThink of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window andrealize that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than abrown-paper envelope, or your cell phone in the palm of your hand. Take a momentor two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labor to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier.(41)_____________________________________.The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place ofpraise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine. But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also treadwith caution. (42) ______________________________________.I call it a secret warfor two reasons. First, most people do not realize that there are strong commercialagendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority ofpeople who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significanceof what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds makenests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but thenturn around and use them to create superfluous material goods---paintings, sculptureand architecture and superfluous experiences---music, literature, religion andphilosophy. (43) ______________________________________.For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck indownload mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid ofproduction remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightlylarger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44) _________________.Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after they have turned it on. (45)___________________________.What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture andultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires greatskills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a definingconstituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words andother media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickinessby amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium theyhad also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of peopleevery day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading---between passive consumption and active creation---whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we canonly beginto imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to oneformat being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced byCD players.[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the pasthalf-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium---television---and television is defined by downloading.[G] The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, toencourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments intoChinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)Since the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized thescientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science.Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory framework.(46) In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme,and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all wesee. It isbecoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given thedimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remainsa major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciencestoo. (47) Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it: all humans sharecommon origins; it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also betraced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of humancourtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps theworld’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governedby universal features. (48) To filter out what is unique from what is shared mightenable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it inevolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits publishedonline today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland andhis colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previousattempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity thatdictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold theentire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it soquickly.(49) The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality, identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many languagewhich are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family treesthat between them represent more than 2,000 languages. (50) Chomsky’s grammarshould show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or thepathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strongco-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of thesepatterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languagesare lineage-specific and not governed by universals.Section III WritingPart A51. Directions:Some international students are coming to your university. Write them anemail in thename of the Students’ Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2. Do not sign your name atthe end of the letter. Use “Li Ming” instead.Do not write the address (10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. Inyour essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.20 pointsSection I: Use of English1.B2.A3.B4.D5.C6.B7.D8.B9.A 10.B11.A 12.C 13.C 14.D 15.A16.C 17.A 18.C 19.D 20.DSection II: Reading ComprehensionPart A21.D 22.B 23.A 24.C 25.D26.C 27.D 28.A 29.D 30.A31.A 32.B 33.B 34.D 35.C36.C 37.D 38.B 39.C 40.APart B41. C 42.D 43. A 44.F 45.G46.—47.48.49.()50.( )Section III: Writing Part A (10 points)51. Dear international students, I am the chairman of the Students’Union. I’ve just received the emails from you and got the news that you would cometo our university. Firstly, I’d like to show our warm welcome. On behalf of ouruniversity and all the students here, I really look forward to your coming. In order tomake all of you feel at home, here are some conductive suggestions. Firstly, you’dbetter take some warm clothes with you because it is winter in China now and it isvery cold in Beijing. Secondly, I advise you to prepare some relevant knowledgeabout Chinese culture for better understanding in class. I really hope you’ll find theseproposals useful. And I’m looking forward to your coming! Yours sincerely,。

2012年考研英语二真题(全部答案及解析)(完整版)

2012年考研英语二真题(全部答案及解析)(完整版)

2012年考研英语真题与答案Section 1 Use of EninglishMillions of Americans and foreigners see GI.Joe as a mindless war toy ,the symbol of American military adventurism, but that’s not how it used to be .To the men and women who 1 )in World War II and the people they liberated ,the GI.was the 2) man grown into hero ,the pool farm kid torn away from his home ,the guy who 3) all the burdens of battle ,who slept in cold foxholes,who went without the 4) of food and shelter ,who stuck it out and drove back the Nazi reign of murder .this was not a volunteer soldier ,not someone well paid ,5) an average guy ,up 6 )the best trained ,best equipped ,fiercest ,most brutal enemies seen in centuries.His name is not much.GI. is just a military abbreviation 7) Government Issue ,and it was on all of the article 8) to soldiers .And Joe? A common name for a guy who never 9) it to the top .Joe Blow ,Joe Magrac …a working class name.The United States has 10) had a president or vicepresident or secretary of state Joe.GI .joe had a (11)career fighting German ,Japanese , and Korean troops . He appers as a character ,or a (12 ) of american personalities, in the 1945 movie The Story of GI. Joe, based on the last days of war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Some of the soldiers Pyle(13)portrayde themselves in the film. Pyle was famous for covering the (14)side of the warl, writing about the dirt-snow –and-mud soldiers, not how many miles were(15)or what towns were captured or liberated, His reports(16)the “willie” cartoons of famed S tars and Stripes artist Bill Maulden. Both men(17)the dirt and exhaustion of war, the (18)of civilization that the soldiers shared with each other and the civilians: coffee, tobacco, whiskey, shelter, sleep. (19)Egypt, France, and a dozen more countries, G.I. Joe was any American soldier,(20)the most important person in their lives.1. A、performed B、served C、rebelled D、betrayed2. A、actual B、common C、special D、normal3. A、bore B、cased C、removed D、loaded4. A、necessities B、facilitice C、commodities D、propertoes5. A、and B、nor C、but D、hence6. A、for B、into C、form D、against7. A、meaning B、implying C、symbolizing D、claiming8. A、handed out B、turn over C、brought back D、passed down9. A、pushed B、got C、made D、managed10. A、ever B、never C、either D、neither11. A、disguised B、disturbed C、disputed D、distinguished12. A、company B、collection C、community D、colony13. A、employed B、appointed C、interviewed D、questioned14. A、ethical B、military C、political D、human15. A、ruined B、commuted C、patrolled D、gained16. A、paralleled B、counteracted C、duplicated D、contradicted17. A、neglected B、avoided C、emphasized D、admired18. A、stages B、illusions C、fragments D、advancea19. A、With B、To C、Among D、Beyond20. A、on the contrary B、by this means C、from the outset D、at that pointSection II Resdiong ComprehensionPart ADirections:Read the following four texts. answer the question after each text by choosing A,B,C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(40 points)Text 1Homework has never been terribly popular with students and even many parents, but in recent years it has been particularly scorned. School districts across the country, most recently Los Angeles Unified, are revising their thinking on his educational ritual. Unfortunately, L.A. Unified has produced an inflexible policy which mandates that with the exception of some advanced courses, homework may no longer count for more than 10% of a student’s academic grade.This rule is meant to address the difficulty that students from impoverished or chaotic homes might have in completing their homework. But the policy is unclear and contradictory. Certainly, no homework should be assigned that students cannot do without expensive equipment. But if the district is essentially giving a pass to students who do not do their homework because of complicated family lives, it is going riskily close to the implication that standards need to be lowered for poor children.District administrators say that homework will still be a pat of schooling: teachers are allowed to assign as much of it as they want. But with homework counting for no more than 10% of their grades, students can easily skip half their homework and see vey little difference on their report cards. Some students might do well on state tests without completing their homework, but what about the students who performed well on the tests and did their homework? It is quite possible that the homework helped. Yet rather than empowering teachers to find what works best for their students, the policy imposes a flat, across-the-board rule.At the same time, the policy addresses none of the truly thorny questions about homework. If the district finds homework to be unimportant to its students’ academic achievement, it should move to reduce or eliminate the assignments, not make them count for almost nothing. Conversely, if homework does nothing to ensure that the homework students are not assigning more than they are willing to review and correct.The homework rules should be put on hold while the school board, which is responsible for setting educational policy, looks into the matter and conducts public hearings. It is not too late for L.A. Unified to do homework right.21.It is implied in paragraph 1 that nowadays homework_____.A、is receiving more criticismB、is no longer an educational ritualC、is not required for advanced coursesD、is gaining more preferences22.L.A.Unified has made the rule about homework mainly because poor students_____.A、tend to have moderate expectations for their educationB、have asked for a different educational standardC、may have problems finishing their homeworkD、have voiced their complaints about homework23.According to Paragraph 3,one problem with the policy is that it may____.A、discourage students from doing homeworkB、result in students' indifference to their report cardsC、undermine the authority of state testsD、restrict teachers' power in education24. As mentioned in Paragraph 4, a key question unanswered about homework is whether______. A、it should be eliminatedB、it counts much in schoolingC、it places extra burdens on teachersD、it is important for grades25.A suitable title for this text could be______.A、Wrong Interpretation of an Educational PolicyB、A Welcomed Policy for Poor StudentsC、Thorny Questions about HomeworkD、A Faulty Approach to HomeworkText2Pretty in pink: adult women do not rememer being so obsessed with the colour, yet it is pervasive in our young girls’ lives. Tt is not that pink is intrinsically bad, but it is such a tiny slice of the rainbow and, though it may celebrate girlhood in one way, it also repeatedly and firmly fuses girls’ identity to appearance. Then it presents that connection, even amongtwo-year-olds, between girls as not only innocent but as evidence of innocence. Looking around, I despaired at the singular lack of imagination about girls’ lives and interests.Girls’ attraction to pink may seem unavoidable, somehow encoded in their DNA, but according to Jo Paoletti, an associate professor of American Studies, it is not. Children were not colour-coded at all until the early 20th century: in the era before domestic washing machines all babies wore white as a practical matter, since the only way of getting clothes clean was to boil them. What’s more, both boys and girls wore what were thought of as gender-neutral dresses.When nursery colours were introduced, pink was actually consideredthe more masculine colour, a pastel version of red, which was associated with strength. Blue, with its intimations of the Virgin Mary, constancy and faithfulness, symbolised femininity. It was not until the mid-1980s, when amplifying age and sex differences became a dominant children’s marketing strategy, that pink fully came into its own,when it began to seem inherently attractive to girls, part of what defined them as female, at least for the first few critical years.I had not realised how profoundly marketing trends dictated our perception of what is natural to kins, including our core beliefs about their psychological development. Take the toddler. I assumed that phase was something experts developed after years of research into children’s behaviour: wrong. Turns out, acdording to Daniel Cook, a historian of childhood consumerism, it was popularised as a marketing trick by clothing manufacrurers in the 1930s.Trade publications counselled department stores that, in order to increase sales, they should create a “third stepping stone” between infant wear and older kids’ clothes. Tt was only after “toddler”became a common shoppers’ term that it evolved into a broadly accepted developmental stage. Splitting kids, or adults,into ever-tinier categories has proved a sure-fire way to boost profits. And one of the easiest ways to segment a market is to magnify gender differences – or invent them where they did not previously exist.26.By saying "it is...the rainbow"(Line 3, Para.1),the author means pink______.A、should not be the sole representation of girlhoodB、should not be associated with girls' innocenceC、cannot explain girls' lack of imaginationD、cannot influence girls' lives and interests27.According to Paragraph 2, which of the following is true of colours?A、Colours are encoded in girls' DNA.B、Blue used to be regarded as the colour for girls.C、Pink used to be a neutral colour in symbolising genders.D、White is prefered by babies.28.The author suggests that our perception of children's psychological development was much influenced by_____.A、the marketing of products for childrenB、the observation of children's natureC、researches into children's behaviorD、studies of childhood consumption29.We may learn from Paragraph 4 that department stores were advised to_____.A、focus on infant wear and older kids' clothesB、attach equal importance to different gendersC、classify consumers into smaller groupsD、create some common shoppers' terms30.It can be concluded that girls' attraction to pink seems to be____.A、clearly explained by their inborn tendencyB、fully understood by clothing manufacturersC、mainly imposed by profit-driven businessmenD、well interpreted by psychological expertsText3In2010.afederaljudgeshookAmerica'panieshadwonpatentsforis olatedDNAfordecades-by2005some20%ofhumangeneswereparented.ButinMarch2010ajudgeruledthatgeneswereunpatentable.Exec utiveswereviolentlyagitated.TheBiotechnologyIndustryOrganisation(BIO),atradegroup,assure dmembersthatthiswasjusta“preliminarystep”inalongerbattle.OnJuly29ththeywererelieved,atleasttemporarily.Afederalappealscourtoverturnedthepriordecisi on,rulingthatMyriadGeneticscouldindeedholbpatentstotwogenssthathelpforecastawoman'srisk ofbreastcancer.ThechiefexecutiveofMyriad,acompanyinUtah,saidtherulingwasablessingtofirm sandpatientsalike.Butascompaniescontinuetheirattemptsatpersonalisedmedicine,thecourtswillremainratherbusy .TheMyriadcaseitselfisprobablynotoverCriticsmakethreemainargumentsagainstgenepatents:a geneisaproductofnature,soitmaynotbepatented;genepatentssuppressinnovationratherthanrew ardit;andpatents'monopoliesrestrictaccesstogenetictestssuchasMyriad's.Agrowingnumbersee styearafederaltask-forceurgedreformforpatentsrelatedtogenetictests.InOctoberth eDepartmentofJusticefiledabriefintheMyriadcase,arguingthatanisolatedDNAmol ecule“isnoless aproductofnature...thanarecottonfibresthathavebeenseparatedfromcottonseeds.”Despitetheappealscourt'sdecision,bigquestionsremainunanswered.Forexample,itisunclearwh etherthesequencingofawholegenomeviolatesthepatentsofindividualgeneswithinit.Thecasemay yetreachtheSupremeCourt.AS the industry advances ,however,other suits may have an even greater panies are unlikely to file many more patents for human DNA molecules-most are already patented or in the public domain .firms are now studying how genes intcract,looking for correlations that might be used to determine the causes of disease or predict a drug’s efficacy,companies are eager to win patents for ‘connecting the dits’,expaains hans sauer,alawyer for the BIO.Their success may be determined by a suit related to this issue, brought by the Mayo Clinic, which the Supreme Court will hear in its next term. The BIO rtcently held a convention which included seddions to coach lawyers on the shifting landscape for patents. Each meeting was packed.31.it canbe learned from paragraph I that the biotech companies would like-----A.their executives to be activeB.judges to rule out gene patentingC.genes to be patcntablcD.the BIO to issue a warning32.those who are against gene patents believe that----A.genetic tests are not reliableB.only man-made products are patentableC.patents on genes depend much on innovatiaonD.courts should restrict access to gene tic tests33.according to hans sauer ,companies are eager to win patents for----A.establishing disease comelationsB.discovering gene interactionsC.drawing pictures of genesD.identifying human DNA34.By saying “each meeting was packed”(line4,para6)the author means that -----A.the supreme court was authoritativeB.the BIO was a powerful organizationC.gene patenting was a great concernwyers were keen to attend conventiongs35.generally speaking ,the author’s attitude toward gene patenting is----A.criticalB.supportiveC.scornfulD.objectiveText 4The great recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning. Before it ends,it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. And ultimately, it is likely to reshape our politics,our culture, and the character of our society for years.No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster. Many said that unemployment, while extremely painful, had improved them in some ways; they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent; they were more aware of the struggles of others. In limited respects, perhaps the recession will leave society better off. At the very least, it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses, and put a necessary end to an era of reckless personal spending.But for the most part, these benefits seem thin, uncertain, and far off. In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U.S. ,lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more mean-spirited and less inclusive, and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms. Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases, as does conflict between races and classes.Income inequality usually falls during a recession, but it has not shrunk in this one,. Indeed, this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides, and decrease opportunities to cross them--- especially for young people. The research of Till Von Wachter, the economist in Columbia University, suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed: those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times; it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.In the internet age, it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden winthin American society. More difficult, in the moment , is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society’s character. In many respects, the U.S. was more socially tolerant entering this resession than at any time in its history, and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results. We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric. But they certainly it, and all the more so the longer they extend.36.By saying “to find silver linings”(Line 1,Para.2)the author suggest that the jobless try to___.A、seek subsidies from the govemmentB、explore reasons for the unermploymentC、make profits from the troubled economyD、look on the bright side of the recession37.According to Paragraph 2,the recession has made people_____.A、realize the national dreamB、struggle against each otherC、challenge their lifestyleD、reconsider their lifestyle38.Benjamin Friedman believe that economic recessions may_____.A、impose a heavier burden on immigrantsB、bring out more evils of human natureC、Promote the advance of rights and freedomsD、ease conflicts between races and classes39.The research of Till Von Wachther suggests that in recession graduates from elite universities tend to _____.A、lag behind the others due to decreased opportunitiesB、catch up quickly with experienced employeesC、see their life chances as dim med as the others’D、recover more quickly than the others40.The author thinks that the influence of hard times on society is____.A、certainB、positiveC、trivialD、destructivePart BDirections:Read the following text and answer the questions by finding information from the left column that corresponds to each of the marked details given in the right column. There are two extra choices in the right column. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEERT 1.(10 points)“Universal history, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here,” wrote the Victorian sage Thomas Carlyle. Well, not any more it is not.Suddenly, Britain looks to have fallen out with its favourite historical form. This could be no more than a passing literary craze, but it also points to a broader truth about how we now approach the past: less concerned with learning from forefathers and more interested in feeling their pain. Today, we want empathy, not inspiration.From the earliest days of the Renaissance, the writing of history meant recounting the exemplary lives of great men. In 1337, Petrarch began work on his rambling writing De Viris Illustribus – On Famous Men, highlighting the virtus (or virtue) of classical heroes. Petrarch celebrated their greatness in conquering fortune and rising to the top. This was the biographical tradition which Niccolo Machiavelli turned on its head. In The Prince, the championed cunning, ruthlessness, and boldness, rather than virtue, mercy and justice, as the skills of successful leaders.Over time, the attributes of greatness shifted. The Romantics commemorated the leading painters and authors of their day, stressing the uniqueness of the artist's personal experience rather than public glory. By contrast, the Victorian author Samual Smiles wrote Self-Help as a catalogue of the worthy lives of engineers , industrialists and explores . "The valuable examples which they furnish of the power of self-help, if patient purpose, resolute working and steadfast integrity, issuing in the formulation of truly noble and many character, exhibit,"wrote Smiles."what it is in the power of each to accomplish for himself"His biographies of James Walt, Richard Arkwright and Josiah Wedgwood were held up as beacons to guide the working man through his difficult life.This was all a bit bourgeois for Thomas Carlyle, who focused his biographies on the truly heroic lives of Martin Luther, Oliver Cromwell and Napoleon Bonaparte. These epochal figures represented lives hard to imitate, but to be acknowledged as possessing higher authority than mere mortals.Communist Manifesto. For them, history did nothing, it possessed no immense wealth nor waged batt les:“It is man, real, living man who does all that.” And history should be the story of the masses and their record of struggle. As such, it needed to appreciate the economic realities, the social contexts and power relations in which each epoch stood. For:“Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly found, given and transmitted from the past.”This was the tradition which revolutionized our appreciation of the past. In place of Thomas Carlyle, Britain nurtured Christopher Hill, EP Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm. History from below stood alongside biographies of great men. Whole new realms of understanding —from gender to race to cultural studies —were opened up as scholars unpicked the multiplicity of lost societies. And it transformed public history too: downstairs became just as fascinating as upstairs.Section III Translation46.Directions:Translate the following text from English into Chinese.Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET2.(15 points)When people in developing countries worry about migration,they are usually concerned at the prospect of ther best and brightest departure to Silicon Valley or to hospitals and universities in the developed world ,These are the kind of workers that countries like Britian ,Canada and Australia try to attract by using immigration rules that privilege college graduates .Lots of studies have found that well-educated people from developing countries are particularly likely to emigrate .A big survey of Indian households in 2004 found that nearly 40%of emigrants had more than a high-school education,compared with around 3.3%of all Indians over the age of 25.This "brain drain "has long bothered policymakers in poor countries ,They fear that it hurts their economies ,depriving them of much-needed skilled workers who could have taught at their universities ,worked in their hospitals and come up with clever new products for their factories to make .Section IV WritingPart A47.DirectionsSuppose you have found something wrong with the electronic dictionary that you bought from an onlin store the other day ,Write an email to the customer service center to1)make a complaint and2)demand a prompt solutionYou should write about 100words on ANSERE SHEET 2Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter ,Use "zhang wei "instead .48、write an essay based on the following table .In your writing you should1)describe the table ,and2)give your commentsYou should write at least 150 words(15points)英语二答案:完形填空:1.B2.B3.A4.A5.C6.B7.C8.A9.D 10.B11.D 12.B 13.C 14.D 15.B16.A 17.C 18.B 19.B 20.DTEXT1:21. A 22.C 23.A 24.B 25.DTEXT2:26.A 27.B 28.A 29.C 30.CTEXT3:31.C 32.B 33.A 34.D 35.DTEXT4:36.D 37.D 38.B 39.D 40.A翻译:而发展中国家担心移民,则通常考虑的是,他们最优秀的人才流入了硅谷,或是发达国家的一些医院和大学。

2012年考研英语一真题及答案完整解析

2012年考研英语一真题及答案完整解析

2012年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语(一)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)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)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a _9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designedto set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_. Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by mak ing themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a result Section 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 1Come on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word. Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sexamong their peers.The idea seems promising,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure. But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cureengineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as[A] a supplement to the social cure[B] a stimulus to group dynamics[C] an obstacle to school progress[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A] recruit professional advertisers[B] learn from advertisers’ experience[C] stay away from commercial advertisers[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to[A] adequately probe social and biological factors[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C] illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors[A] is harmful to our networks of friends[B] will mislead behavioral studies[C] occurs without our realizing it[D] can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableText 2A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extensionof the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never really inten ded to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about bo th Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management– especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keepit open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to[A] condemning.[B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring.[D] securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.[C] acquire an extension of its business license .[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its[A] managerial practices.[B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals.[D] business vision29. In the author’s view, the Vermon t case will test[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.Text 3In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is thecredibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking whatnobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim – a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette B aier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A] uncertainty and complexity.[B] misconception and deceptiveness.[C] logicality and objectivity.[D] systematicness and regularity.32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires[A] strict inspection.[B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom.[D]persistent innovation.33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.[B]has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B]discoveries today inspire future research.[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.Text 4If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15%of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep a n eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repea tedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clampdown. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are univers ity sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured.[B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased.[D]fairly adjusted.39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions[A]often run against the current political system.[B]can change people’s political attitudes.[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D]are dominant in the government.40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of[A]disapproval.[B]appreciation.[C]tolerance.[D]indifference.Part BDirections: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 blanks.There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true. The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution. (42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture andarchitecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy.(43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people everyday.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points) Since the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science. Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evol ution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too.(47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universalsSection III WritingPart A51. Directions:Some internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’ Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming” instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20 points)1.【答案】B【解析】从空后信息可以看出,这句表达的是“_ _法官表现得像政治家”的情况下,法庭就不能保持其作为法律法规的合法卫士的形象,所以应该选C,maintain“维持,保持”,其他显然语义不通。

2012年考研英语一真题与答案解析

2012年考研英语一真题与答案解析

2012年考研英语(一)真题与答案解析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)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a _9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social_15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and,_20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultSection 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 1Come on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to nogood-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in whichorganizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seems promising,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.‖ Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!‖ pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as[A] a supplement to the social cure[B] a stimulus to group dynamics[C] an obstacle to school progress[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A] recruit professional advertisers[B] learn fro m advertisers’ experience[C] stay away from commercial advertisers[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to[A] adequately probe social and biological factors[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C] illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors[A] is harmful to our networks of friends[B] will mislead behavioral studies[C] occurs without our realizing it[D] can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableText 2A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s a stunning move.Th e conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management– especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) review s the company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase ―reneging on‖(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to[A] condemning.[B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring.[D] securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.[C] acquire an extension of its business license .[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its[A] managerial practices.[B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals.[D] business vision29. In the author’s view, the Vermont case will test[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.Text 3In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through whichthe individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as ―seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.‖ But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility ―happens‖ to a discovery claim – a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. ―We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.‖31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A] uncertainty and complexity.[B] misconception and deceptiveness.[C] logicality and objectivity.[D] systematicness and regularity.32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires[A] strict inspection.[B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom.[D]persistent innovation.33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.[B]has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B]discoveries today inspire future research.[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.Text 4If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright andwell-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prison s and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly ―backloaded‖ public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.John Donahue at Harvard’s Ke nnedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the pre sident of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured.[B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased.[D]fairly adjusted.39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions[A]often run against the current political system.[B]can change people’s political attitudes.[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D]are dominant in the government.40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of[A]disapproval.[B]appreciation.[C]tolerance.[D]indifference.Part BDirections: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 blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printingpress, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution.(42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the pasthalf-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)Since the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science. Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then suffi cient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so qui ckly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universals[NxtPage]Section III WritingPart A51. Directions:Some internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’ Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use ―Li Ming‖ instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20 points)参考答案与解析:1.B2.A3.B4.D5.C6.B7.D8.B9.A 10.B11.A 12.C 13.C 14.D 15.A16.C 17.A 18.C 19.D 20.D21.D 22.D 23.A 24.C 25.D26.C 27.A 28.A 29.B 30.B31.A 32.D 33.B 34.D 35.D36.C 37.D 38.B 39.A 40.A41.C 42.D 43.A 44.F 45.G1.【答案】B【解析】从空后信息可以看出,这句表达的是―_ _法官表现得像政治家‖的情况下,法庭就不能保持其作为法律法规的合法卫士的形象,所以应该选C,maintain―维持,保持‖,其他显然语义不通。

2012年考研英语真题含参考答案

2012年考研英语真题含参考答案

2012考研英语(一)真题参考答案Section ⅠUse 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)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices became an important issue recently. The court cannot_____ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law______ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that_____ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial。

Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito Jr., for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be____ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _____ by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself_______ to the code of conduct that ______to the rest of the federal judiciary。

(完整word)2012年考研英语一真题及答案完整解析(1),推荐文档

(完整word)2012年考研英语一真题及答案完整解析(1),推荐文档

2012年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语(一)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a_9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultCome on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and hal f forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seems promising,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking amongteenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg arguesconvincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s lik e the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as[A] a supplement to the social cure[B] a stimulus to group dynamics[C] an obstacle to school progress[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A] recruit professional advertisers[B] learn from advertisers’ experience[C] stay away from commercial advertisers[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to[A] adequately probe social and biological factors[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C] illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors[A] is harmful to our networks of friends[B] will mislead behavioral studies[C] occurs without our realizing it[D] can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableA deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious quest ions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management–especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblictrust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning t o[A] condemning.[B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring.[D] securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.[C] acquire an extension of its business license .[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its[A] managerial practices. [B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals. [D] business vision29. In the auth or’s view, the Vermont case will test[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist AlbertAzent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim – a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A] uncertainty and complexity.[B] misconception and deceptiveness.[C] logicality and objectivity.[D] systematicness and regularity.32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires[A] strict inspection. [B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom. [D]persistent innovation.33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.[B]has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B]discoveries today inspire future research.[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of A merica’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices.Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but apublic-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured. [B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased. [D]fairly adjusted.39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions[A]often run against the current political system.[B]can change people’s political attitudes.[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D]are dominant in the government.40. John Donahue’s a ttitude towards the public-sector system is one of[A]disapproval.[B]appreciation.[C]tolerance.[D]indifference.Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution. (42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culturerequires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players. [F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the pasthalf-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CSince the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science. Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universalsSection III WritingSome internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming”instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20 points)1.【答案】B【解析】从空后信息可以看出,这句表达的是“_ _法官表现得像政治家”的情况下,法庭就不能保持其作为法律法规的合法卫士的形象,所以应该选C,maintain“维持,保持”,其他显然语义不通。

2012年考研英语真题及答案完整解析

2012年考研英语真题及答案完整解析

2012年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语(一)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)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)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become animportant issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of therule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justicesacted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent andimpartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind ofactivity makes it less likely that the court’s decisi ons will be _4_ as impartialjudgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code.At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_tothe rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a_9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apartfrom politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to_12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal systemwas designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely_14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted infundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals withsocial policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultSection 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 1Come on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seems promising,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking amongteenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher w ho breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as[A] a supplement to the social cure[B] a stimulus to group dynamics[C] an obstacle to school progress[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A] recruit professional advertisers[B] learn from advertisers’ experience[C] stay away from commercial advertisers[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to[A] adequately probe social and biological factors[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C] illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors[A] is harmful to our networks of friends[B] will mislead behavioral studies[C] occurs without our realizing it[D] can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableText 2A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear powe r plant running. It’s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never real ly intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management–especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to[A] condemning.[B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring.[D] securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.[C] acquire an extension of its business license .[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its[A] managerial practices.[B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals.[D] business vision29. In the author’s view, th e Vermont case will test[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.Text 3In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists usethe new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist AlbertAzent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim – a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A] uncertainty and complexity.[B] misconception and deceptiveness.[C] logicality and objectivity.[D] systematicness and regularity.32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires[A] strict inspection.[B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom.[D]persistent innovation.33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.[B]has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B]discoveries today inspire future research.[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.Text 4If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unio ns keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians h ave repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping thepay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but apublic-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured.[B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased.[D]fairly adjusted.39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions[A]often run against the current political system.[B]can change people’s political attitudes.[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D]are dominant in the government.40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of[A]disapproval.[B]appreciation.[C]tolerance.[D]indifference.Part BDirections: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 blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution. (42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players. [F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the pasthalf-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)Since the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities definesscience. Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, so cial and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universalsSection III WritingPart A51. Directions:Some internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’ Union to1)extend your welcome and2)provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming” instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In youressay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20 points)1.【答案】B【解析】从空后信息可以看出,这句表达的是“_ _法官表现得像政治家”的情况下,法庭就不能保持其作为法律法规的合法卫士的形象,所以应该选C,maintain“维持,保持”,其他显然语义不通。

2012年考研英语二真题试卷(后附答案详解)

2012年考研英语二真题试卷(后附答案详解)

2012考研英语(二)真题及答案解析Section 1 Use of EninglishDirections:Millions of Americans and foreigners see GI.Joe as a mindless war toy,the symbol of American military adventurism,but that’s not how it used to be.To the men and women who 1)in World War II and the people they liberated,the GI.was the 2)man grown into hero,the pool farm kid torn away from his home,the guy who 3)all the burdens of battle,who slept in cold foxholes,who went without the 4)of food and shelter,who stuck it out and drove back the Nazi reign of murder.this was not a volunteer soldier,not someone well paid,5)an average guy,up 6)the best trained,best equipped,fiercest,most brutal enemies seen in centuries。

His name is not much.GI.is just a military abbreviation 7)Government Issue,and it was on all of the article 8)to soldiers.And Joe?A common name for a guy who never9)it to the top.Joe Blow,Joe Magrac…a working class name.The United States has10)had a president or vicepresident or secretary of state Joe。

2012年考研英语真题答案及解析

2012年考研英语真题答案及解析

2012年全国硕士研究生招生考试英语(一)答案详解Section I Use of English一、文章题材结构分析本文摘自The New York Times(《纽约时报》)2011年6月30日一篇题为Ethics,Politics and the law(道德,政治与法律)的文章。

本文是一篇说明性的文章,介绍了法律、政治以及道德之间的关系。

第一、二段通过举例说明法官与政治活动紧密联系使法院作为法律守护者的公正性受到削弱。

第三段承上启下,提出法律和政治之间是否还存在界限。

第四、五段阐明政治和法律之间的紧密联系。

第六段提出维护法院公正性所要遵循的行为规范,从而使法院的裁决更具有信服力。

二、试题解析1.[A]emphasize重视[B]maintain维持[C]modify修改[D]recognize认出【答案】B【考点】动词辨析+上下文语境【解析】本句句意是:法官表现得像政客一样时,法院便不能_____其作为法律守护者的合法性。

由此可知,所选动词要与后面的its legitimacy构成动宾关系,根据具体语境判断应该是“法院便不能维持其作为法律守护者的合法性”。

因此,选项[B]是正确答案。

2.[A]when当……时候[B]lest以免[C]before在……之前[D]unless除非【答案】A【考点】句内逻辑+上下文语境【解析】本句主要考查空格前后两个分句的逻辑关系。

本句意思是:_____法官表现得像政客一样时,法院便不能_____其作为法律守护者的合法性。

根据本段最后一句和随后两段信息可知,作者主要对法官涉及政治事件这一问题展开讨论和批评。

由此可以判断,前一分句是后一分句的前提或条件。

因此,选项[A]是正确答案。

3.[A]restored恢复[B]weakened削弱,损害[C]established建立[D]eliminated剔除,淘汰【答案】B【考点】动词辨析+上下文语境【解析】本句句意是:然而,在一些情况下,法官所采取的这些行为方式_____法院独立、公正的声誉。

2012年考研英语二真题试卷(后附答案详解)

2012年考研英语二真题试卷(后附答案详解)

2012考研英语(二)真题及答案解析Section 1 Use of EninglishDirections:Millions of Americans and foreigners see GI.Joe as a mindless war toy,the symbol of American military adventurism,but that’s not how it used to be.To the men and women who 1)in World War II and the people they liberated,the GI.was the 2)man grown into hero,the pool farm kid torn away from his home,the guy who 3)all the burdens of battle,who slept in cold foxholes,who went without the 4)of food and shelter,who stuck it out and drove back the Nazi reign of murder.this was not a volunteer soldier,not someone well paid,5)an average guy,up 6)the best trained,best equipped,fiercest,most brutal enemies seen in centuries。

His name is not much.GI.is just a military abbreviation 7)Government Issue,and it was on all of the article 8)to soldiers.And Joe?A common name for a guy who never9)it to the top.Joe Blow,Joe Magrac…a working class name.The United States has10)had a president or vicepresident or secretary of state Joe。

2012年考研英语二真题(全部答案及解析)(完整版)

2012年考研英语二真题(全部答案及解析)(完整版)

2012年考研英语真题与答案Section 1 Use of EninglishMillions of Americans and foreigners see GI.Joe as a mindless war toy ,the symbol of American military adventurism, but that’s not how it used to be .To the men and women who 1 )in World War II and the people they liberated ,the GI.was the 2) man grown into hero ,the pool farm kid torn away from his home ,the guy who 3) all the burdens of battle ,who slept in cold foxholes,who went without the 4) of food and shelter ,who stuck it out and drove back the Nazi reign of murder .this was not a volunteer soldier ,not someone well paid ,5) an average guy ,up 6 )the best trained ,best equipped ,fiercest ,most brutal enemies seen in centuries.His name is not much.GI. is just a military abbreviation 7) Government Issue ,and it was on all of the article 8) to soldiers .And Joe? A common name for a guy who never 9) it to the top .Joe Blow ,Joe Magrac …a working class name.The United States has 10) h ad a president or vicepresident or secretary of state Joe.GI .joe had a (11)career fighting German ,Japanese , and Korean troops . He appers as a character ,or a (12 ) of american personalities, in the 1945 movie The Story of GI. Joe, based on the last days of war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Some of the soldiers Pyle(13)portrayde themselves in the film. Pyle was famous for covering the (14)side of the warl, writing about the dirt-snow –and-mud soldiers, not how many miles were(15)or what towns were captured or liberated, His reports(16)the “willie” cartoons of famed Stars and Stripes artist Bill Maulden. Both men(17)the dirt and exhaustion of war, the (18)of civilization that the soldiers shared with each other and the civilians: coffee, tobacco, whiskey, shelter, sleep. (19)Egypt, France, and a dozen more countries, G.I. Joe was any American soldier,(20)the most important person in their lives.1. A、performed B、served C、rebelled D、betrayed2. A、actual B、common C、special D、normal3. A、bore B、cased C、removed D、loaded4. A、necessities B、facilitice C、commodities D、propertoes5. A、and B、nor C、but D、hence6. A、for B、into C、form D、against7. A、meaning B、implying C、symbolizing D、claiming8. A、handed out B、turn over C、brought back D、passed down9. A、pushed B、got C、made D、managed10. A、ever B、never C、either D、neither11. A、disguised B、disturbed C、disputed D、distinguished12. A、company B、collection C、community D、colony13. A、employed B、appointed C、interviewed D、questioned14. A、ethical B、military C、political D、human15. A、ruined B、commuted C、patrolled D、gained16. A、paralleled B、counteracted C、duplicated D、contradicted17. A、neglected B、avoided C、emphasized D、admired18. A、stages B、illusions C、fragments D、advancea19. A、With B、To C、Among D、Beyond20. A、on the contrary B、by this means C、from the outset D、at that pointSection II Resdiong ComprehensionPart ADirections:Read the following four texts. answer the question after each text by choosing A,B,C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(40 points)Text 1Homework has never been terribly popular with students and even many parents, but in recent years it has been particularly scorned. School districts across the country, most recently Los Angeles Unified, are revising their thinking on his educational ritual. Unfortunately, L.A. Unified has produced an inflexible policy which mandates that with the exception of some advanced courses, homework may no longer count for more than 10% of a student’s academic grade.This rule is meant to address the difficulty that students from impoverished or chaotic homes might have in completing their homework. But the policy is unclear and contradictory. Certainly, no homework should be assigned that students cannot do without expensive equipment. But if the district is essentially giving a pass to students who do not do their homework because of complicated family lives, it is going riskily close to the implication that standards need to be lowered for poor children.District administrators say that homework will still be a pat of schooling: teachers are allowed to assign as much of it as they want. But with homework counting for no more than 10% of their grades, students can easily skip half their homework and see vey little difference on their report cards. Some students might do well on state tests without completing their homework, but what about the students who performed well on the tests and did their homework? It is quite possible that the homework helped. Yet rather than empowering teachers to find what works best for their students, the policy imposes a flat, across-the-board rule.At the same time, the policy addresses none of the truly thorny questions about homework. If the district finds homework to be unimportant to its students’ academic achievement, it should move to reduce or eliminate the assignments, not make them count for almost nothing. Conversely, if homework does nothing to ensure that the homework students are not assigning more than they are willing to review and correct.The homework rules should be put on hold while the school board, which is responsible for setting educational policy, looks into the matter and conducts public hearings. It is not too late for L.A. Unified to do homework right.21.It is implied in paragraph 1 that nowadays homework_____.A、is receiving more criticismB、is no longer an educational ritualC、is not required for advanced coursesD、is gaining more preferences22.L.A.Unified has made the rule about homework mainly because poor students_____.A、tend to have moderate expectations for their educationB、have asked for a different educational standardC、may have problems finishing their homeworkD、have voiced their complaints about homework23.According to Paragraph 3,one problem with the policy is that it may____.A、discourage students from doing homeworkB、result in students' indifference to their report cardsC、undermine the authority of state testsD、restrict teachers' power in education24. As mentioned in Paragraph 4, a key question unanswered about homework is whether______. A、it should be eliminatedB、it counts much in schoolingC、it places extra burdens on teachersD、it is important for grades25.A suitable title for this text could be______.A、Wrong Interpretation of an Educational PolicyB、A Welcomed Policy for Poor StudentsC、Thorny Questions about HomeworkD、A Faulty Approach to HomeworkText2Pretty in pink: adult women do not rememer being so obsessed with the colour, yet it is pervasive in our young girls’ lives. Tt is not that pink is intrinsically bad, but it is such a tiny slice of the rainbow and, though it may celebrate girlhood in one way, it also repeatedly and firmly fuses girls’ identity to appearance. Then it presents that connection, even amongtwo-year-olds, between girls as not only innocent but as evidence of innocence. Looking around, I despaired at the singular lack of imagination about girls’ lives and interests.Girls’ attraction to pink may seem unavoidable, somehow encoded in their DNA, but according to Jo Paoletti, an associate professor of American Studies, it is not. Children were not colour-coded at all until the early 20th century: in the era before domestic washing machines all babies wore white as a practical matter, since the only way of getting clothes clean was to boil them. What’s more, both boys and girls wore what were thought of as gender-neutral dresses.When nursery colours were introduced, pink was actually consideredthe more masculine colour, a pastel version of red, which was associated with strength. Blue, with its intimations of the Virgin Mary, constancy and faithfulness, symbolised femininity. It was not until the mid-1980s, when amplifying age and sex differences became a dominant children’s marketing strategy, that pink fully came into its own,when it began to seem inherently attractive to girls, part of what defined them as female, at least for the first few critical years.I had not realised how profoundly marketing trends dictated our perception of what is natural to kins, including our core beliefs about their psychological development. Take the toddler. I assumed that phase was something experts developed after years of research into children’s behaviour: wrong. Turns out, acdording to Daniel Cook, a historian of childhood consumerism, it was popularised as a marketing trick by clothing manufacrurers in the 1930s.Trade publications counselled department stores that, in order to increase sales, they should create a “third stepping stone” between infant wear and older kids’ clothes. Tt was only after “toddler”became a common shoppers’ term that it evolved into a broadly accepted developmental stage. Splitting kids, or adults,into ever-tinier categories has proved a sure-fire way to boost profits. And one of the easiest ways to segment a market is to magnify gender differences – or invent them where they did not previously exist.26.By saying "it is...the rainbow"(Line 3, Para.1),the author means pink______.A、should not be the sole representation of girlhoodB、should not be associated with girls' innocenceC、cannot explain girls' lack of imaginationD、cannot influence girls' lives and interests27.According to Paragraph 2, which of the following is true of colours?A、Colours are encoded in girls' DNA.B、Blue used to be regarded as the colour for girls.C、Pink used to be a neutral colour in symbolising genders.D、White is prefered by babies.28.The author suggests that our perception of children's psychological development was much influenced by_____.A、the marketing of products for childrenB、the observation of children's natureC、researches into children's behaviorD、studies of childhood consumption29.We may learn from Paragraph 4 that department stores were advised to_____.A、focus on infant wear and older kids' clothesB、attach equal importance to different gendersC、classify consumers into smaller groupsD、create some common shoppers' terms30.It can be concluded that girls' attraction to pink seems to be____.A、clearly explained by their inborn tendencyB、fully understood by clothing manufacturersC、mainly imposed by profit-driven businessmenD、well interpreted by psychological expertsText3In2010.afederaljudgeshookAmerica'panieshadwonpatentsforis olatedDNAfordecades-by2005some20%ofhumangeneswereparented.ButinMarch2010ajudgeruledthatgeneswereunpatentable.Exec utiveswereviolentlyagitated.TheBiotechnologyIndustryOrganisation(BIO),atradegroup,assure dmembersthatthiswasjusta“preliminarystep”inalongerbattle.OnJuly29ththeywererelieved,atleasttemporarily.Afederalappealscourtoverturnedthepriordecisi on,rulingthatMyriadGeneticscouldindeedholbpatentstotwogenssthathelpforecastawoman'srisk ofbreastcancer.ThechiefexecutiveofMyriad,acompanyinUtah,saidtherulingwasablessingtofirm sandpatientsalike.Butascompaniescontinuetheirattemptsatpersonalisedmedicine,thecourtswillremainratherbusy .TheMyriadcaseitselfisprobablynotoverCriticsmakethreemainargumentsagainstgenepatents:a geneisaproductofnature,soitmaynotbepatented;genepatentssuppressinnovationratherthanrew ardit;andpatents'monopoliesrestrictaccesstogenetictestssuchasMyriad's.Agrowingnumbersee styearafederaltask-forceurgedreformforpatentsrelatedtogenetictests.InOctoberth eDepartmentofJusticefiledabriefintheMyriadcase,arguingthatanisolatedDNAmol ecule“isnoless aproductofnature...thanarecottonfibresthathavebeenseparatedfromcottonseeds.”Despitetheappealscourt'sdecision,bigquestionsremainunanswered.Forexample,itisunclearwh etherthesequencingofawholegenomeviolatesthepatentsofindividualgeneswithinit.Thecasemay yetreachtheSupremeCourt.AS the industry advances ,however,other suits may have an even greater panies are unlikely to file many more patents for human DNA molecules-most are already patented or in the public domain .firms are now studying how genes intcract,looking for correlations that might be used to determine the causes of disease or predict a drug’s efficacy,companies are eager to win patents for ‘connecting the dits’,expaains hans sauer,alawyer for the BIO.Their success may be determined by a suit related to this issue, brought by the Mayo Clinic, which the Supreme Court will hear in its next term. The BIO rtcently held a convention which included seddions to coach lawyers on the shifting landscape for patents. Each meeting was packed.31.it canbe learned from paragraph I that the biotech companies would like-----A.their executives to be activeB.judges to rule out gene patentingC.genes to be patcntablcD.the BIO to issue a warning32.those who are against gene patents believe that----A.genetic tests are not reliableB.only man-made products are patentableC.patents on genes depend much on innovatiaonD.courts should restrict access to gene tic tests33.according to hans sauer ,companies are eager to win patents for----A.establishing disease comelationsB.discovering gene interactionsC.drawing pictures of genesD.identifying human DNA34.By saying “each meeting was packed”(line4,para6)the author means that -----A.the supreme court was authoritativeB.the BIO was a powerful organizationC.gene patenting was a great concernwyers were keen to attend conventiongs35.generally speaking ,the author’s attitude toward gene patenting is----A.criticalB.supportiveC.scornfulD.objectiveText 4The great recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning. Before it ends,it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. And ultimately, it is likely to reshape our politics,our culture, and the character of our society for years.No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster. Many said that unemployment, while extremely painful, had improved them in some ways; they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent; they were more aware of the struggles of others. In limited respects, perhaps the recession will leave society better off. At the very least, it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses, and put a necessary end to an era of reckless personal spending.But for the most part, these benefits seem thin, uncertain, and far off. In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U.S. ,lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more mean-spirited and less inclusive, and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms. Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases, as does conflict between races and classes.Income inequality usually falls during a recession, but it has not shrunk in this one,. Indeed, this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides, and decrease opportunities to cross them--- especially for young people. The research of Till Von Wachter, the economist in Columbia University, suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed: those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times; it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.In the internet age, it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden winthin American society. More difficult, in the moment , is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society’s character. In many respects, the U.S. was more socially tolerant entering this resession than at any time in its history, and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results. We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric. But they certainly it, and all the more so the longer they extend.36.By saying “to find silver linings”(Line 1,Para.2)the author suggest that the jobless try to___.A、seek subsidies from the govemmentB、explore reasons for the unermploymentC、make profits from the troubled economyD、look on the bright side of the recession37.According to Paragraph 2,the recession has made people_____.A、realize the national dreamB、struggle against each otherC、challenge their lifestyleD、reconsider their lifestyle38.Benjamin Friedman believe that economic recessions may_____.A、impose a heavier burden on immigrantsB、bring out more evils of human natureC、Promote the advance of rights and freedomsD、ease conflicts between races and classes39.The research of Till Von Wachther suggests that in recession graduates from elite universities tend to _____.A、lag behind the others due to decreased opportunitiesB、catch up quickly with experienced employeesC、see their life chances as dimmed a s the others’D、recover more quickly than the others40.The author thinks that the influence of hard times on society is____.A、certainB、positiveC、trivialD、destructivePart BDirections:Read the following text and answer the questions by finding information from the left column that corresponds to each of the marked details given in the right column. There are two extra choices in the right column. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEERT 1.(10 points)“Unive rsal history, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here,” wrote the Victorian sage Thomas Carlyle. Well, not any more it is not.Suddenly, Britain looks to have fallen out with its favourite historical form. This could be no more than a passing literary craze, but it also points to a broader truth about how we now approach the past: less concerned with learning from forefathers and more interested in feeling their pain. Today, we want empathy, not inspiration.From the earliest days of the Renaissance, the writing of history meant recounting the exemplary lives of great men. In 1337, Petrarch began work on his rambling writing De Viris Illustribus – On Famous Men, highlighting the virtus (or virtue) of classical heroes. Petrarch celebrated their greatness in conquering fortune and rising to the top. This was the biographical tradition which Niccolo Machiavelli turned on its head. In The Prince, the championed cunning, ruthlessness, and boldness, rather than virtue, mercy and justice, as the skills of successful leaders.Over time, the attributes of greatness shifted. The Romantics commemorated the leading painters and authors of their day, stressing the uniqueness of the artist's personal experience rather than public glory. By contrast, the Victorian author Samual Smiles wrote Self-Help as a catalogue of the worthy lives of engineers , industrialists and explores . "The valuable examples which they furnish of the power of self-help, if patient purpose, resolute working and steadfast integrity, issuing in the formulation of truly noble and many character, exhibit,"wrote Smiles."what it is in the power of each to accomplish for himself"His biographies of James Walt, Richard Arkwright and Josiah Wedgwood were held up as beacons to guide the working man through his difficult life.This was all a bit bourgeois for Thomas Carlyle, who focused his biographies on the truly heroic lives of Martin Luther, Oliver Cromwell and Napoleon Bonaparte. These epochal figures represented lives hard to imitate, but to be acknowledged as possessing higher authority than mere mortals.Communist Manifesto. For them, history did nothing, it possessed no immense wealth nor waged battles:“It is man, real, living man who does all that.” And history should be the story of the masses and their record of struggle. As such, it needed to appreciate the economic realities, the social contexts and power relations in which each epoch stood. For:“Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly found, given and transmitted from the past.”This was the tradition which revolutionized our appreciation of the past. In place of Thomas Carlyle, Britain nurtured Christopher Hill, EP Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm. History from below stood alongside biographies of great men. Whole new realms of understanding —from gender to race to cultural studies —were opened up as scholars unpicked the multiplicity of lost societies. And it transformed public history too: downstairs became just as fascinating as upstairs.Section III Translation46.Directions:Translate the following text from English into Chinese.Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET2.(15 points)When people in developing countries worry about migration,they are usually concerned at the prospect of ther best and brightest departure to Silicon Valley or to hospitals and universities in the developed world ,These are the kind of workers that countries like Britian ,Canada and Australia try to attract by using immigration rules that privilege college graduates .Lots of studies have found that well-educated people from developing countries are particularly likely to emigrate .A big survey of Indian households in 2004 found that nearly 40%of emigrants had more than a high-school education,compared with around 3.3%of all Indians over the age of 25.This "brain drain "has long bothered policymakers in poor countries ,They fear that it hurts their economies ,depriving them of much-needed skilled workers who could have taught at their universities ,worked in their hospitals and come up with clever new products for their factories to make .Section IV WritingPart A47.DirectionsSuppose you have found something wrong with the electronic dictionary that you bought from an onlin store the other day ,Write an email to the customer service center to1)make a complaint and2)demand a prompt solutionYou should write about 100words on ANSERE SHEET 2Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter ,Use "zhang wei "instead .48、write an essay based on the following table .In your writing you should1)describe the table ,and2)give your commentsYou should write at least 150 words(15points)英语二答案:完形填空:1.B2.B3.A4.A5.C6.B7.C8.A9.D 10.B11.D 12.B 13.C 14.D 15.B16.A 17.C 18.B 19.B 20.DTEXT1:21. A 22.C 23.A 24.B 25.DTEXT2:26.A 27.B 28.A 29.C 30.CTEXT3:31.C 32.B 33.A 34.D 35.DTEXT4:36.D 37.D 38.B 39.D 40.A翻译:而发展中国家担心移民,则通常考虑的是,他们最优秀的人才流入了硅谷,或是发达国家的一些医院和大学。

2012年考研英语一真题-答案及详解

2012年考研英语一真题-答案及详解

2012年考研英语⼀真题-答案及详解2012年考研英语⼀答案详解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)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a _9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultSection 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 1Come on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seems promising,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure. But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed oncestate funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the prob lem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as[A] a supplement to the social cure[B] a stimulus to group dynamics[C] an obstacle to school progress[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A] recruit professional advertisers[B] learn from advertisers’ experience[C] stay away from commercial advertisers[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to[A] adequately probe social and biological factors[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C] illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors[A] is harmful to our networks of friends[B] will mislead behavioral studies[C] occurs without our realizing it[D] can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableText 2A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations. Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporatio n bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requ iring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management–especially after the company made misle ading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews th e company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to[A] condemning.[B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring.[D] securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.[C] acquire an extension of its business license .[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its[A] managerial practices.[B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals.[D] business vision29. In the author’s view, the Vermont case will test[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its pro mises.[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere migh t be affected.[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.Text 3In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound. Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit theirown purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologistAlbert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim –a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of t he mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A] uncertainty and complexity.[B] misconception and deceptiveness.[C] logicality and objectivity.[D] systematicness and regularity.32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires[A] strict inspection.[B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom.[D]persistent innovation.33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.[B]has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi would most likely agree that[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B]discoveries today inspire future research.[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.Text 4If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American govern ment workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position tovotes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions k eep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians hav e repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too. John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and thepresident of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured.[B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased.[D]fairly adjusted.39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions[A]often run against the current political system.[B]can change people’s political attitudes.[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D]are dominant in the government.40. John Donahue’s a ttitude towards the public-sector system is one of[A]disapproval.[B]appreciation.[C]tolerance.[D]indifference.Part BDirections: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 blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels.You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution.(42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like /doc/4513395479.html, which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape ourcollective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)Since the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, t his quest for commonalities defines science. Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of thelanguages are lire age-specific and not governed by universals[NxtPage]Section III WritingPart A51. Directions:Some internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’ Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming”instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20 points)Section Ⅰ Use of English2012年的完型填空是有关美国司法官伦理和政治关系的⼀篇⽂章,出⾃New York Times, June, 30th , 2011的“Ethics, Politics and the Law”⼀⽂。

2012研究生考试英语真题及参考答案(解析)

2012研究生考试英语真题及参考答案(解析)

Section I Use of English 1.【答案】B 【解析】从空后的句⼦“他们解放的⼈们”可以看出,空前的句⼦表⽰的应该是参加了第⼆次⼤战的男⼈和⼥⼈。

只有serve有“服兵役”的意思,所以选B。

其他都不符合题意。

2.【答案】B 【解析】空内信息应该是与hero“英雄”意思相对,后⾯的分句说他背井离乡,经历了很多苦难,显然这⾥应该是说由普通⼈平凡⼈(common man)成长为英雄,所以选B。

3.【答案】A 【解析】本题考查的是词语的搭配关系,承担战争带来的负担,应该⽤动词bear或shoulder,所以这⾥选A,bore。

4.【答案】A 【解析】necessities表⽰“⽣活必需品”,空外信息food和shelter(⾷物和住宿)这些就是维持⽣存最起码的条件。

Facilities 是设备设施,commodities商品,properties财产,均不符合题意。

5.【答案】C 【解析】not…but,“不是,⽽是”表转折,不是⾃愿兵,也没有⾼的报酬,⽽是⼀个普通⼈。

所以选C。

6.【答案】D 【解析】这道题主要考查介词的搭配。

根据up______(the best trained, bestequipped, fiercest, most brutal).enemies可以知道是起来反抗敌⼈,所以选D选项against。

7.【答案】C 【解析】GI。

在军事上是Government Issue 的缩略语,所以,GL。

这个符号就是象征着这个全称Government Issue。

选C。

8.【答案】A 【解析】该句意思为,GI。

这个符号出现在给⼠兵分发的所有物品上,hand out “分发,发放”符合题意。

Turn over “移交”,bring back“带回”,pass down“传承,⼀代⼀代传下来”在句意上都说不通。

9.【答案】C 【解析】空所在句⼦的语境为:Joe是个普通名词,⼀个从未爬到社会顶层的⼈的名字。

2012年考研英语一真题及答案完整解析

2012年考研英语一真题及答案完整解析

2012年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语(一)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot 1 its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law 2 justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court ' s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events.That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court ' s decisions will be _4 as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself 6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases 8 the question of whether there is still a 9 between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law 10 having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12 those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it 16- is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily 17 as unjust.The justices must 18 doubts about the court ' s legitimacy by making themselves 19 to the code of conduct. That would makerulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1.2.[A]when[C]before[B]lest [D] unless3.[A]restoredC]established4.[A]challenged[B]weakened[D] eliminated [B]compromised[C]suspected[D] accepted 5.[A]advanced[C]bound6.[A]resistantC]immune 7.[A]resorts[C]loads 8.[A]evade[C]deny 9.[A]line[C]similarity[B]caught[D]founded[B]subject [D]prone[B]sticks [D]applies[B]raise [D]settle[B]barrier [D]conflict 10.[A]by[D]towards [A]emphasize[B]maintain [C]modify[D] recognize [B]as[C]though11.[A]so [B]since[C]provided [D]though12.[A]serve[C]upset13.[A]confirm[C]cultivate14.[A]guarded[C]studied15.[A]concepts[C]divisions16.[A]excludes17.[A]dismissed[C]ranked18.[A]suppress[C]address19.[A]accessibleable20.[A]by all mesns[B]satisfy[D]replace[B]express[D]offer[B]followed[D]tied[B]theories[D]conceptions[B]questions[D]controls[B]released[D]distorted[B]exploit[D]ignore[B]amiable[D]accountable[B]atall costs[C]shapes[C]agree[C]inaword [D]as aresultCome on — Everybody' s doing it. That whispered message, half invitationandhalf forcing, is what most of us think of when we hearthewords peer pressure. Itusually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club , Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seemspromising ,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of manypubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology . ” Dare to be different, please don ’ t smoke! ” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that makepeer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it ’ spresented here is that it doesn ’ t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There ’ s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day. Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It ’ s lik e the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better- behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that ’ s the problemwith a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21.According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as [A] a supplement to the social cure[B]a stimulus to group dynamics[C]an obstacle to school progress[D]a cause of undesirable behaviors22.Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A]recruit professional advertisers[B]learn from advertisers ' experience[C]stay away from commercial advertisers[D]recognize the limitations of advertisements23.In the author ' s view, Rosenberg ' s book fails to[A]adequately probe social and biological factors[B]effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C]illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24.Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors[A]is harmful to our networks of friends[B]will mislead behavioral studies[C]occurs without our realizing it[D]can produce negative health habits25.The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressureis[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableA deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in NewEngland, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont ' s rules in the federal court, as partof a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It ' s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont; s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant ’ s license be subject to Vermont legislature ’ s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn ’ t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious quest ions about both Vermont Yankee’ s safety and Entergy ’ s management- especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy ’ s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.Nowthe company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damagedthat it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company ’ s application,it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26.The phrase “ reneging on ” (Line is closest in meaning to [A] condemning.[B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring.[D] securing.27.By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A]obtain protection from Vermont regulators.[B]seek favor from the federal legislature.[C]acquire an extension of its business license .[D]get permission to purchase a power plant.28.According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its [A] managerial practices. [B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals. [D] business vision29.In the author ’ s view , the Vermont case will test[A]Entergy ’ s capacity to fulfill all its promises.[B]the mature of states ’ patchwork regulations.[C]the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D]the limits of states ’ power over nuclear issues.30.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A]Entergy ’ s business elsewhere might be affected.[B]the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C]Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D]Vermont ’ s reputation might be damaged.In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. Weaim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similarto newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher ’ s me, here,now becomes the community’ s anyone, anywhere, anytime . Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchersmake discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual ’ s discovery claim into the community ’ s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on someaspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed asincomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search , not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. ” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed maynot change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “happens“ to a discovery claim - a process thatcorresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “ Wereason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other ’ s reasoning and each other ’ s conceptions of reason. ”31.According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A]uncertainty and complexity.[B]misconception and deceptiveness.[C]logicality and objectivity.[D]systematicness and regularity.32.It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires [A] strict inspection. [B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom. [D]persistent innovation.3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it [A] has attracted the attention of the general public. [B]has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers. [D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent- Gy?rgyi would most likely agree that [A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B]discoveries today inspire future research. [C] efforts to make discoveriesare justified. [D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development. [B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science. [D]Challenge to Credibility atthe Gate to Science.If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa ' s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union;now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America ' s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public- sector unions ' thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America" s public -sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain ' s Labor Party, as its nameimplies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that muchof the state ' s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers ' unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPO向n prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded" public -sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers ' unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.John Donahue at Harvard ’ s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers ’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36.It can be learned from the first paragraph that [A] Teamsters still have a large body of members. [B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant. [C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership. [D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37.Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A]Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B]Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C]Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions. [D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38.It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured. [B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased. [D]fairly adjusted.39.The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions [A]often run against the current political system.[B]can change people ’ s political attitudes.[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D]are dominant in the government.40.John Donahue ’ s attitude towards the public -sector system is one of[A]disapproval.[B]appreciation.[C]tolerance.[D]indifference.Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution.(42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humansare unique in theircapacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on. (45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the conceptof "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A]Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define humanculture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to movebeyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B]Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C]Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managedto embedit in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D]This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E]The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.[F]One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow,to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CSince the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science. Newt on' s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomenanto a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to _____its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything —a single generative equation forall we is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47) Here, Darwinism seemsto offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world ' s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. ( 48) To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language —acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49) The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.( 50) Chomsky s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. WhereasGreenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universalsSection III WritingSome internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students ' Union to 1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming “ instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. Inyour essay you should1)describe the drawing briefly2)explain its intended meaning, and3)give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2. (20 points )1.【答案】B【解析】从空后信息可以看出,这句表达的是“_ _法官表现得像政治家”的情况下,法庭就不能保持其作为法律法规的合法卫士的形象,所以应该选C,maintain “维持,保持”,其他显然语义不通。

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2012年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语(一)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)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)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become animportant issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of therule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justicesacted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent andimpartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind ofactivity makes it less likely that the court’s decisi ons will be _4_ as impartialjudgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code.At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_tothe rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a_9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apartfrom politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to_12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal systemwas designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely_14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted infundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals withsocial policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultSection 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 1Come on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seems promising,and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking amongteenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher w ho breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as[A] a supplement to the social cure[B] a stimulus to group dynamics[C] an obstacle to school progress[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should[A] recruit professional advertisers[B] learn from advertisers’ experience[C] stay away from commercial advertisers[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to[A] adequately probe social and biological factors[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure[C] illustrate the functions of state funding[D]produce a long-lasting social effect24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors[A] is harmful to our networks of friends[B] will mislead behavioral studies[C] occurs without our realizing it[D] can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableText 2A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear powe r plant running. It’s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never real ly intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management–especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to[A] condemning.[B] reaffirming.[C] dishonoring.[D] securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.[C] acquire an extension of its business license .[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its[A] managerial practices.[B] technical innovativeness.[C] financial goals.[D] business vision29. In the author’s view, th e Vermont case will test[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.Text 3In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists usethe new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist AlbertAzent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim – a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its[A] uncertainty and complexity.[B] misconception and deceptiveness.[C] logicality and objectivity.[D] systematicness and regularity.32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires[A] strict inspection.[B]shared efforts.[C] individual wisdom.[D]persistent innovation.33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.[B]has been examined by the scientific community.[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.[B]discoveries today inspire future research.[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.Text 4If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unio ns keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians h ave repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping thepay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but apublic-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is[A] illegally secured.[B] indirectly augmented.[C] excessively increased.[D]fairly adjusted.39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions[A]often run against the current political system.[B]can change people’s political attitudes.[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.[D]are dominant in the government.40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of[A]disapproval.[B]appreciation.[C]tolerance.[D]indifference.Part BDirections: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 blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution. (42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players. [F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the pasthalf-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)Since the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities definesscience. Newton’s laws of motion and Dar winian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universalsSection III WritingPart A51. Directions:Some internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’ Union to1)extend your welcome and2)provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming” instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In youressay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20 points)1.【答案】B【解析】从空后信息可以看出,这句表达的是“_ _法官表现得像政治家”的情况下,法庭就不能保持其作为法律法规的合法卫士的形象,所以应该选C,maintain“维持,保持”,其他显然语义不通。

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