【考研类试卷】中国科学院硕士英语-14及答案解析.doc

1、中国科学院硕士英语-14 及答案解析(总分：93.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Part Reading Compr(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Section A(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、Passage 1(总题数：1，分数：12.00)Lately I got a chance to read People magazine“s most recent compilation of “The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.“ It was fabulous. In addition to offering helpful groo

2、ming tips, the issue involves an attempt to answer one of the most difficult questions of our time: Which is ultimately more influential, nature or nurture? Consider first the extreme nurturists, who abstain from the notion that anything is biologically fixed. There“s John Watson, famous for the sta

3、tement: “Give me a child and let me control the total environment in which he is raised, and I will turn him into whatever I wish.“ A nurture viewpoint is also advanced by TV star Jenna Elfman, who attributes her beauty to drinking 100 ounces of water a day, and using a moisturizer that costs $1,000

4、 a pound. However, even a beginner in the study of human developmental biology might easily note that no degree of expensive moisturizers would get, say, me on People“s beauty list. Naturally, similarly strong opinions come from the opposing, nature factionthe genetic determinists among the Most Bea

5、utiful. Perhaps the cockiest of this school is Josh Brolin, an actor whose statement could readily serve as a manifesto for those in his profession: “I was given my dad“s good genes.“ One searches the pages for a middle ground, for the interdisciplinary synthesizer who perceives the contributions of

6、 both nature and nurture. At last, we find Monica, a singer, who has an absolutely wondrous skill for applying makeup. This, at first, seems like just more nurture propaganda. But where does she get this cosmetic aptitude? Her mother supplies the answer: it“s something that“s inborn. One gasps at th

7、e insight: There is a genetic influence on how one interacts with the environment. Too bad a few more people can“t think this way when figuring out what genes have to do with intelligence, substance abuse, or violence. In matters of human beauty, hardwired preferences matter but can be overcome. Nov

8、elist George Eliot was strikingly homely, but her magnetic character inspired Henry James to write in a letter: “She is magnificently uglydeliciously hideous. She has a dull grey eye, a vast pendulous nose, a huge mouth, and full of uneven teeth. Now in this vast ugliness resides a most powerful bea

9、uty which, in a very few minutes, steals forth and charms the mind, so that you end as I ended, in falling in love with her.“（分数：12.00）(1).The article suggests that People magazine regularly _.（分数：2.00）A.provides a list of the most beautiful people in the worldB.gives advice about how to look like i

10、nternational beautiesC.provides guidance on answering complex questionsD.offers help in dealing with marriage or family problems(2).What John Watson said can best be interpreted as _.（分数：2.00）A.parents“ oversight guides a child“s growthB.one“s upbringing determines what they becomeC.a change of envi

11、ronment affects one“s healthD.child-raising is by no means easy(3).According to Paragraph 3, the author believes _.（分数：2.00）A.one can get prettier if drinking enough water every dayB.Jenna Elfman“s experience is worth publicizingC.the secrets of beauty are found in human biologyD.beauty must depend

12、on more than one or two factors(4).According to the author, Josh Brolin“s statement shows that the actor is _.（分数：2.00）A.over-charmingB.over-assertiveC.over-confidentD.over-sensitive(5).As an example in favor of both nature and nurture, the author feels that Monica“s mother is rather _.（分数：2.00）A.in

13、sightfulB.absurdC.justifiableD.irrelevant(6).As he wrote, Henry James fell in love with George Eliot because of _.（分数：2.00）A.her unique uglinessB.her attractive characterC.her masculine beautyD.her skillful writing四、Passage 2(总题数：1，分数：12.00)All countries have obvious incentives to learn from past mi

14、stakes, but those that have successfully risen to the status of great powers may be less inclined to adapt quickly in the future. When it comes to learning the right lessons, paradoxically, nothing fails like prior success. This wouldn“t seem to make sense. After all, strong and wealthy states can a

15、fford to devote a lot of resources to analyzing important foreign-policy problems. But then again, when states are really powerful, the negative consequences of foolish behavior rarely prove fatal. Just as America“s “Big Three“ automakers were so large and dominant they could resist reform and innov

16、ation despite ample signs that foreign competition was rapidly overtaking them, strong and wealthy states can keep misguided policies in place and still manage to limp along for many years. The history of the Soviet Union offers an apt example of this phenomenon. Soviet-style communism was woefully

17、inefficient and brutally inhumane, and its Marxist-Leninist ideology both alarmed the capitalist world and created bitter splits within the international communist movement. Yet the Soviet Union survived for almost 70 years and was one of the world“s two superpowers for more than four decades. The U

18、nited States has also suffered serious self-inflicted wounds on the foreign-policy front in recent decades, but the consequences have not been so severe as to compel a broader reassessment of the ideas and strategies that have underpinned many of these mistakes. The tendency to cling to questionable

19、 ideas or failed practices will be particularly strong when a set of policy initiatives is bound up in a great power“s ruling ideology or political culture. Soviet leaders could never quite abandon the idea of world revolution, and defenders of British and French colonialism continued to see it as t

20、he “white man“s burden. “Today, U.S. leaders remain stubbornly committed to the goals of nation-building and democracy promotion despite their discouraging track record with these endeavors. Yet because the universal ideals of liberty and democracy are core American principles, it is hard for U.S. l

21、eaders to acknowledge that other societies cannot be readily remade in America“s image. Even when U.S. leaders recognize that they cannot create “some sort of Central Asian Valhalla,“ as Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged in 2009, they continue to spend billions of dollars trying to build d

22、emocracy in Afghanistan, a largely traditional society that has never had a strong central state, let alone a democratic one.（分数：12.00）(1).Concerning improvement based on past history, great powers often _.（分数：2.00）A.fail to distinguish right from wrongB.understate all their wrongdoingsC.mention the

23、ir prior success aloneD.ignore having made mistakes(2).America“s “Big Three“ automakers are used as an example to show that _.（分数：2.00）A.nations would need to adapt for their futureB.businesses would learn from failuresC.countries could survive their faultsD.enterprises could defeat their rivals(3).

24、The passage suggests that the Soviet Union _.（分数：2.00）A.had long been in crisis before it fellB.used to be number one in the worldC.lasted for a long time because of its brutalityD.caused separatism in western countries(4).The US sees the troubles with its foreign affairs as _.（分数：2.00）A.a vital blo

25、w to its world positionB.resulting from its ideological flawsC.suffering temporary setbacksD.a sign of deficiencies in its policies(5).Britain and France are mentioned as those who _.（分数：2.00）A.had their own forms of democracyB.used to be enemies of the Soviet UnionC.were once superior to the USD.wa

26、nted to be world leaders(6).The author most likely intends to give great powers _.（分数：2.00）A.adviceB.supportC.sympathyD.threats五、Passage 3(总题数：1，分数：12.00)Much of the debate about multiculturalism in the UK is crass, ignorant and misconceived. The new critics, from the left in particular, risk contri

27、buting to the very processes they decry, since they are so dismissive of the achievements that mark this country out from others, particularly in Europe. I can“t think of any other EU state that has been more successful than the UK in managing cultural diversity. In this country, we need more multic

28、ulturalism, not less. That is to say, we should concentrate upon developing further links between different ethnic and cultural communities, and upon dialogue even when on the surface it seems to create problems. Jack Straw“s remarks about women who wear the veil have provoked huge controversy. But

29、he was right to raise the issue, because he was emphasizing the importance of connection and communication. In a pluralistic society all groups should accept the need for interrogation from others, it is the condition of producing mutual respect, rather than undermining it. He was not suggesting any

30、 sort of coercion. Pakistani groups in particular featured in the riots that happened in Oldham, Leeds and Bradford in the 1990s and early 2000s. At that time as well, multiculturalism came in for a bashing: it was widely blamed in the press for creating segregation between Pakistani and local white

31、 communities. These claims were made, however, by writers with scant knowledge of the neighbourhoods in question. A sociologist at the University of Leeds, Ludi Simpson, later studied the communities concerned in depth andsomething often neglectedover time. He found that segregation was far lower th

32、an most outside commentators had suggested. Many Pakistani families originally living in the inner-city areas had in fact moved out across the years to middle-class neighbourhoods or rural areas. Contrary to the idea that the Asian (mostly Muslim) groups wanted to keep to themselves, the evidence sh

33、owed a desire for more mixing, with most wanting independent lifestyles away from too much ethnic clustering. For much of the 20th century the main perceived social problem was that of class conflict. Class differences continue to overlap with cultural and ethnic divisions. But for us today the perc

34、eived social problem is that of the management of diversity: delivering its benefits, which are many, while containing the conflicts and costs that it can incur. We shan“t get anywhere in pursuing such goals if we abandon multiculturalism.（分数：12.00）(1).According to the author, the new critics are _.

35、（分数：2.00）A.reluctant to understand the differences between culturesB.getting into a position contrary to their own argumentC.ignorant of the reasons why UK stands out in EuropeD.going to the extreme left in criticizing multiculturalism(2).Jack Straw“s remarks as mentioned probably convey the idea th

36、at _.（分数：2.00）A.any kind of culture in the world deserves respectB.gender bias remains the obstacle to women“s liberationC.women“s veil wearing shows cultural backwardnessD.social hierarchy remains a problem in Islamic countries(3).As suggested by the author, the Pakistani groups in the 1990s and ea

37、rly 2000s _.（分数：2.00）A.suffered from wide blame in the mediaB.made strong criticism of multiculturalismC.had conflicts with the local white communitiesD.rose in rebellion against the government(4).The author suggests that the blame put on multiculturalism was due to the lack of _.（分数：2.00）A.close in

38、vestigation into the reasons for the racial segregationB.in-depth knowledge about the cultural groups involvedC.an acute awareness of the feelings of the innercity dwellersD.a full understanding of the gap between different social classes(5).Ludi Simpson“s study showed that _.（分数：2.00）A.the cluster

39、of mixed ethnic groups likely gave rise to ethnic tensionB.the Pakistani groups tended to live peacefully much more than beforeC.the Muslim community mostly kept separate from other communitiesD.the wish to live exclusively with one“s own ethnic groups was a myth(6).The boldfaced word “containing“ i

40、n the last paragraph can best be replaced by the word _.“（分数：2.00）A.controllingB.compromisingC.coveringD.considering六、Passage 4(总题数：1，分数：12.00)NASA“s new Mars probe, a $2.5 billion, nuclear-powered rover the size of a small car, is at the Florida launch site being prepared for its nine-month journey

41、 to the red planet, with one key issue still unresolvedwhere to land. The Mars Science Laboratory, nicknamed Curiosity, will delve deeper than any previous science mission to answer the age-old question about whether there is life beyond Earth. The goal of the project is to determine if the region w

42、here Curiosity lands has or ever had the fight conditions to support microbial life. Scientists spent years poring over pictures and analyzing chemical data collected by a fleet of robotic spacecraft circling Mars before narrowing down the options to four finalists: Eberswalde Crater, Mawrth Vallis,

43、 Holden Crater and Gale Crater. “Each site has things that make it good and things that make it not quite so good,“ said planetary scientist Matt Golombek. “It“s kind of hard to select because it boils down to which kind of science is important to you, and that“s almost personal.“ The rover will tou

44、ch down within a 12.4-by-15.5 mile targeted area. a relatively small patch of real estate for interplanetary travel. Being able to make a precision touchdown hasn“t made things easy for scientists tapped to choose Curiosity“s landing spot. In the past, lots of scientifically interesting sites were e

45、liminated because of concerns the spacecraft wouldn“t be able to make a safe landing. Eberswalde Crater stands out among the four contenders because of a single, stunning geologic featurea delta, believed to be a buildup of sediment left by flowing water. “If you want a site that probably has the hi

46、ghest chance of preserving organics and biosignatures that might have existed, this is the place,“ Golombek said. “It“s just a spectacular example where water came and built up a sediment.“ The attractive Eberswalde site, however; has a serious drawback as well. If its deposits turn out to be nothin

47、g more than clay-dusted rocks, the mission would be largely a bust. The next candidate site, Mawrth Vallis, is an open book of Martian history, with exposed valley walls that date back about 3.7 billion years, nearly as old as the planet itself. Its clays, known as phyllosilicates, form in the prese

48、nce of water, believed to be a necessary ingredient for life. Mawrth“s short-coming is that scientists don“t understand how it formed. Water that once flowed in the valley could have been far too acidic for life to flourish.（分数：12.00）(1).The primary purpose of the passage is to discuss _.（分数：2.00）A.

49、the controversy over the mission carried out by CuriosityB.the age-old efforts to search for life beyond the earthC.the power of the nuclear-driven probe in collecting dataD.the best place for the landing of a new Mars probe(2).According to the passage, the four options _.（分数：2.00）A.cater to a small group of scientists“ tastesB.represent different disciplines of scienceC.have advantages as well as disadvantagesD.differ from others in the goals that they serve(3).What is true about Eber