【考研类试卷】考研英语(二)分类真题15及答案解析.doc

1、考研英语(二)分类真题 15 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Part A(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、Text 1(总题数：1，分数：20.00)War has escaped the battlefield and now can, with modern guidance systems on missiles, touch virtually every square yard of the earth“s surface. It no longer involves only th

2、e military profession, but also entire civilian populations. Nuclear weapons have made major war unthinkable. We are forced, however, to think about the unthinkable because a nuclear war could come by accident or miscalculation. We must accept the paradox of maintaining a capacity to fight such a wa

3、r so that we will never have to do so. War has also lost most of its utility in achieving the traditional goals of conflict. Control of territory carries with it the obligation to provide subject peoples certain administrative, health, education, and other social services; such obligations far outwe

4、igh the benefits of control. If the ruled population is ethnically or racially different from the rulers, tensions and chronic unrest often exist which further reduce the benefits and increase the costs of domination. Large populations no longer necessarily enhance state power and, in the absence of

5、 high levels of economic development, can impose severe burdens on food supply, jobs, and the broad range of services expected of modern governments. The benefits of forcing another nation to surrender its wealth are vastly outweighed by the benefits of persuading that nation to produce and exchange

6、 goods and services. Making war has been one of the most persistent of human activities in the 8 centuries since men and women settled in cities and became thereby “civilized“, but the modernization of the past 80 years has fundamentally changed the role and function of war. In pre-modernized societ

7、ies, successful warfare brought significant material rewards, the most obvious of which were the stored wealth of the defeated. Equally important was human laborcontrol over people as slavesand the productive capacity of agricultural lands and mines. Warfare was also the most complex, broad-scale an

8、d demanding activity of premodernized people. The challenges of leading men into battle, organizing, moving and supporting armies, attracted the talents of the most vigorous, enterprising, intelligent and imaginative men in the society. “Warrior“ and “statesman“ were usually synonymous, and the mili

9、tary was one of the few professions in which an able, ambitious boy of humble origin could rise to the top. In the broader cultural context, war was accepted in the premodernized society as a part of the human condition, a mechanism of change, and an unavoidable, even noble, aspect of life. The exci

10、tement and drama of war made it a vital part of literature and legends.（分数：20.00）(1).According to the passage, leaders of pre-modernized society considered war to be _（分数：4.00）A.a valid tool of national policyB.an immoral act of aggressionC.economically wasteful and socially unacceptableD.necessary

11、to spur development of unoccupied lands(2).The author most likely places the word “civilized“ in quotation marks (Para. 3) in order to _（分数：4.00）A.show dissatisfaction at not having found a better wordB.acknowledge that the word was borrowed from another sourceC.express irony that war should be a pa

12、rt of civilizationD.raise a question about the value of war in modernized society(3).The author is primarily concerned with discussing how _（分数：4.00）A.political decisions are reachedB.economic and social conditions have changedC.technology for making war has improvedD.war has lost its value as a pol

13、icy tool(4).The author mentions all of the following as possible reasons for going to war in a pre-modernized society EXCEPT _（分数：4.00）A.possibility of material gainB.promoting deserving young men to higher positionsC.potential for increasing the security of the nationD.desire to capture productive

14、farming lands(5).Which of the following best describes the tone of the passage?（分数：4.00）A.Outraged and indignant.B.Scientific and detached.C.Fearful and alarmed.D.Concerned and optimistic.四、Text 2(总题数：1，分数：20.00)As the Big Three automakers seek a $25 billion federal government bailout to avoid finan

15、cial collapse, angst is rising among the auto behemoths“ suppliers, and in the communities they support. On Monday, an auto industry consulting firm, Planning Perspectives Inc., reported that 68% of participants in a survey of executives for industry suppliers said their companies would have to down

16、size if General Motors declared bankruptcy, while 12% said their businesses would likely close or would definitely do so. In the Midwest alone, some 275,000 jobs would be lost as a result of a GM bankruptcy. “If they go into bankruptcy, it“s going to have a catastrophic effect on businesses across t

17、he board,“ says John W. Henke Jr., president of PPI, based in Birmingham, Mich. Amid the economic downturn, Americans are buying fewer new cars and light-trucks, or even used cars. In recent weeks, GM announced a third-quarter loss of $2.5 billion. And the major automakers have stirred a vigorous de

18、bate over how much, if at all, the federal government should be involved in rescuing yet another ailing industry. Much of the automakers“ argument hinges on the notion that the collapse of any of the key industry players would aggravate an already troubled economy. Fully one-third of automotive indu

19、stry suppliers were deemed at risk of bankruptcy, according to a study earlier this year by Grant Thornton, a Southfield, Michigan, consulting firm. If General Motors files for bankruptcy, it will further impede its ability to pay its suppliers in full, on time. Many suppliers are already burdened w

20、ith debt. So the extra burden will likely destroy suppliers“ operating budgetsand, in turn, cripple their ability to deliver goods to surviving automakers. Experts say the suppliers most vulnerable to collapse are those whose businesses are heavily dependent on the ailing U.S. automakers, or on raw

21、materials for which rising costs cannot be easily passed onto the automakers. Kimberly Rodriguez, automotive industry analyst at Grant Thornton, says concern about how suppliers will be impacted is justified. “It“s not hype. It“s huge.“ To understand how the angst is playing out, consider Tipton, In

22、d., population barely 5,000. In April 2007, the German manufacturer Getrag LLC announced it would build a $455 million plant about an hour“s drive north of Indianapolis. The plant“s sole purpose was to build energy-efficient transmissions for Chrysler. The plant would inject some 1,200 new jobs into

23、 a state whose economy is both ailing and heavily dependent on the automotive industry. Townsfolk talked of a new hotel, a new fast-food restaurant. Earlier this month, however, Getrag announced that the entity established to build the Tipton plant would file for bankruptcy and that the plant would

24、not open, mainly because Chrysler backed out of its agreement. Meanwhile, some people in the industry have been calling and e-mailing their Congressional representatives, urging them to support a bailout for the major automakers. The consequences of a bankruptcy declaration from either of the Big Th

25、ree, Rodriguez fears, are just too severe. “It“d kill us,“ he says.（分数：20.00）(1).By saying that “angst is rising among the auto behemoths“ suppliers“, the author means _（分数：4.00）A.a ray of hope is rising to the country“s industry suppliersB.the auto suppliers are on the verge of going bankruptC.more

26、 executives for industry suppliers are taking actionD.anxiety has increased among the Big Three“s suppliers(2).How can the bankruptcy of the Big Three affect their suppliers?（分数：4.00）A.The Big Three would be unable to pay the suppliers.B.The Big Three would throw the suppliers into debt.C.Surviving

27、automakers would also cut the suppliers“ orders.D.The suppliers would follow the Big Three and go bankrupt.(3).Those suppliers that cannot pass the rising costs of raw material onto automakers _（分数：4.00）A.will have to pass the costs back onto the suppliers of raw materialB.will be more seriously imp

28、acted by the collapse of the auto industryC.will be brought down to bankruptcy by the ailing U.S. automakersD.will turn to surviving automakers for more operating budgets(4).The Tipton example is mentioned to show that _（分数：4.00）A.the auto suppliers“ anxiety is justifiedB.the collapse of the U.S. au

29、tomakers will affect employmentC.German automakers fare no better than U.S. automakersD.the automotive industry is suffering great loss(5).The passage is mainly about _（分数：4.00）A.the dilemma the Big Three find themselves inB.the impact of a GM bankruptcy on employmentC.the effect of a potential coll

30、apse of the U.S. auto industryD.the difficulty the Big Three have in obtaining the bailout五、Text 3(总题数：1，分数：20.00)For an industry said to be on the verge of a renaissance, nuclear power has not been coping very well with an exceptionally hot European summer. On August 8th the firm that runs Finland“

31、s grid announced that the country might run short of power in 2009, partly as a result of the delay in the construction of a new nuclear reactor, Europe“s first in over a decade. Earlier this month the Swedish government ordered the indefinite closure of four reactors while it investigated the failu

32、re of several safety systems during a power surge at one of them. The most serious incident took place at Forsmark I, one of the three reactors 80 miles north of Stockholm. On July 25th a short circuit on the national grid cut the plant off from the mains. An accompanying power surge knocked out two

33、 of the four generators that provide the back-up power needed to shut down the reactor. Somehow, both a mechanism that protects against power surges and an auxiliary connection to the grid failed. Happily, other safety systems worked as advertised, and staff were able to shut the reactor down safely

34、 within 45 minutes. Despite the claims of some alarmist commentators, says Vattenfall, the utility that owns the reactor, it was always several failsafes away from a meltdown. Spokesmen were quick to point out that most of Europe“s reactors follow different designs, and so could not suffer from the

35、same flaw. But the episode has revived a political row over nuclear power ahead of elections next month. In theory, Sweden is weaning itself off nuclear power, as mandated by a referendum in 1980. In practice, the government has not set a date to decommission any of the ten remaining plants, for wan

36、t of a more efficient alternative. In fact, a prolonged drought has been sapping Sweden“s other main source of power, hydroelectric plants. Elsewhere in Europe, hot, dry weather has not only drained reservoirs and pushed up demand for power to run air conditioners; it has also warmed up the rivers u

37、sed as a source of water to cool many nuclear reactors. In most countries, environmental rules prevent nuclear power stations from releasing water above a certain temperature back into rivers. Last month, a few nuclear plants in Spain and Germany had to scale back their operations to meet the rules.

38、 In late July, as a result of all this, European wholesale electricity prices hit record levels. Such spikes will become more frequent if, as many project, global warming brings more stifling summers, and more power-hungry appliances to cope with them. If that happens, Europe will clearly need extra

39、 generating capacitybut the past few weeks have given many reasons to wonder whether nuclear is the right source.（分数：20.00）(1).We learn from the text that Europe“s nuclear plants _（分数：4.00）A.react badly to summer heatB.are getting permits for operationsC.have been subjected to potential meltdownsD.a

40、re being shut down one after another(2).The four reactors were shut down because _（分数：4.00）A.they experienced technical failuresB.there happened a meltdown at one of themC.a short circuit happened at one of themD.some safety systems failed at one of them(3).The company that owns the failed reactor c

41、laimed _（分数：4.00）A.a meltdown was not likely to occur at allB.the design of the reactor was far superiorC.timely shutdown had prevented a meltdownD.a meltdown was not as threatening as some alarmists think(4).By saying that Sweden is “weaning itself off nuclear power“ (Para. 4), the author means Swe

42、den _（分数：4.00）A.will be leading the renaissance of nuclear power in EuropeB.always links its elections with the development of nuclear powerC.will gradually stop developing and utilizing nuclear powerD.will run short of power because of the closure of the four reactors(5).The author“s attitude towar

43、ds developing nuclear power as an alternative is _（分数：4.00）A.positiveB.neutralC.negativeD.indifferent六、Text 4(总题数：1，分数：20.00)For most of my working life I have been a practicing scientist. I have worked in industrial and academic laboratoriesas a laboratory assistantand as a consultant. I have also

44、taught chemistry from “O“ level to the supervision of PhD students. But it is only in recent years that I have begun to look seriously beyond my own personal experience to the role of women in science in a wider context. To my dismay, it seemed that there had been little improvement since I had emba

45、rked on my own career. The dice are still so heavily loaded against girls and women choosing a scientific career that I was astonished that so many had succeeded, against all the odds, rather than that there were so few. Many factors deter girls from choosing a scientific career and one of these is

46、undoubtedly the attitudes adopted by parents, teachers, friends and society in general. It was this area which I decided to investigate and my studies so far have indicated that negative attitudes towards women scientists have always existed and still prevail. These attitudes need to be demonstrated

47、 and combated because they adversely affect women“s careers, role models for girls and boy“s expectations of women. Science is dominated by men, most of its practitioners are men and it is said to have a masculine image. Society does not expect women to become scientists so those that do know that t

48、hey are “stepping out of line. “ This, in itself, makes them “special“ in some way because the men, in a male dominated profession, are not, in any sense, rebels. In an attempt to discover whether women scientists have any other characteristics in common, I have been gathering information about thei

49、r lives, the way they work, the nature of that work and what they say about themselves. If one includes both past and present women scientists one finds, superficially at least, a great diversity, particularly in their backgrounds, which range from poor, working-class to rich aristocracy. Some are married, with children, while some are unmarried and childless. However, it is evident that most of them developed habits of independent thought at an early age. Often these seem to have been fostered by parents who, in some cases