考研英语冲刺试卷

考研英语冲刺试卷

考试时间：180分钟满分：100分

Section I Use of English

Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark [A], [B], [C] or [D] on the ANSWER SHEET.(10 points)

You probably have a long mental list of moments and facts you wish you could remember---but actually you cannot. The good news, 1 , is that while such memories may be currently 2 , they are not entirely gone, and could theoretically be 3 ,according to a new brain research.

In the study, biologist Jeffrey Johnson 4 16 college participants through an FMRI machine (which 5 nervous activity via blood flow) to compare brain patterns 6 memory formation and recall. First, he showed the students various common words and had them 7 a few tasks: say the word backwards in your head, 8 its uses, and picture how an artist would 9 it. Then, 20 minutes later, after the students re-entered the FMRI machine, Johuson showed them the list of words and asked them to recall 10 they could from before. Finally, he compared brain activity from both 11 and what he found will surprise you.

Using 12 is called “pattern analysis”, it’s possible to 13 a unique pattern of brain activity to every individual thing we do. This means that when a participant says the word “apple” backwords the 14 pattern of brain activity is different than when he pictures the fruit. 15 interestingly, there is close similarity between the pattern that emerges when we 16 an activity and when we later recall it. The stronger our memory, the 17 the pattern, but as Johnson found, even at a moment 18 we cannot remember anything, our nerve cells still fire in a way that 19 the activity of when we formed the memory. This 20 that sometime in the future we may be able t o retrieve the memories we thought we’d lost forever.

1. [A]although [B]rather [C]though [D]therefore

2. [A]forgetful [B]absent [C]faultless [D]unavailable

3. [A]retrieved [B]recognized [C]claimed [D]accumulated

4. [A]let [B]put [C]ran [D]got

5. [A]measures [B]calculates [C]assesses [D]evaluates

6. [A]between [B]during [C]across [D]throughout

7. [A]assign [B]display [C]perform [D]overtake

8. [A]bring forward [B]think of [C]check out [D]catch on

9. [A]predict [B]manifest [C]depict [D]specify

10. [A]however [B]whenever [C]whatever [D]whichever

11. [A]procedures [B]sessions [C]progresses [D]sections

12. [A]which [B]that [C]as [D]what

13. [A]attach [B]subject [C]submit [D]stick

14. [A]controversial [B]relevant [C]particular [D]associated

15. [A]Even [B]But [C]So [D]As

16. [A]set about [B]sit for [C]engage in [D]go through

17. [A]stronger [B]closer [C]further [D]weaker

18. [A]when [B]that [C]which [D]as

19. [A]hampers [B]distinguishes [C]duplicates [D]resembles

20. [A]highlights [B]implies [C]entails [D]exclaims

Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions:

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

Text 1

Communication has changed dramatically over the past half-century. The term “Global Village” was first used in the early 1960’s to descr ibe the ways in which the electronic age was reshaping the rapidity and pervasiveness with which information is disseminated across the world. Now, with the enormous growth of the Internet and other forms of digital communication, that idea is all the more applicable. New technology has changed the ways we receive information and the ways we collect and store it.

If you look to past centuries, people have had to rely on word-of-mouth as a way of finding out news beyond their own towns. History itself was passed along through specialized individuals who memorized names and events from the previous centuries. The most well known form of history is myth, which comes from the Greek word for “a spoken or written story.” Many of these stories have been very influential and continue to be read and studied in our own times: the famous examples are the works of the Greek poet Homer.

Many techniques are used to preserve a story, event, history, or myth from generation to generation. Symbols are used as devices to trigger a common connection in the listeners. Repetition of names and families throughout a single story are used as a way to keep important information fresh in the mind. The reliance on a common tradition or reference within a particular culture allows the storyteller to get more meaning across with the fewest words said. These are all memory aids that serve to allow both the teller and the listener to fully realize a story that may have its origins hundreds of years in the past. For instance, native peoples in North America’s Northwest Territory have passed down detailed methods for hunting and storing of reindeer and whale that include geographic information that still hold relevance today.

The need for an oral tradition has diminished in practical value with the advent of the written text and the rapid growth of computers as a means of disseminating information. There are many harmful side effects to the loss of this practice. Younger generations can become alienated from their cultural identity and knowledge about customs, tradition, mores, the natural world and history will disappear. This is especially true in aboriginal cultures such as in Native American, Native Australian and South American peoples, where assimilation into