【考研类试卷】英语-阅读理解(六)及答案解析.doc

1、英语-阅读理解(六)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、Passage 1(总题数：1，分数：20.00)In the world of entertainment, TV talk shows have undoubtedly flooded every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one varies in style and format.

2、But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “trash talk (frigid)“. The topics on his show are as shocking as shocking can be. Fo

3、r example, the show takes the ever-common talk show themes of love, sex, cheating, guilt, hate, conflict and morality to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is a display and exploitation of societys moral catastrophes (灾难), yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing predicaments

4、 (困境) of other peoples lives.Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its extreme, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show focuses on the improvement of society and an individuals quality of life. Topics range from teaching your children responsibility, managing your work

5、week, to getting to know your neighbors.Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being dumped on society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word“. He makes a small speech that sums up the entire moral of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will lear

6、n something very valuable.Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The shows main target audience are middle-class Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and stability to deal with lifes tougher problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of an association with th

7、e young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life involve love, relationship, sex, money and peers. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned underneath the shows exploitation.While the two shows are as different as night and day, both have rule

8、d the talk show circuit for many years now. Each one caters to a different audience while both have a strong following from large groups of fans. Ironically, both could also be considered pioneers in the talk show world.（分数：20.00）(1).Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the

9、 Oprah Winfrey are _.A. more family-oriented B. more profoundC. relatively formal D. unusually popular（分数：4.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear distasteful, the audience _.A. remain indifferent to them B. are willing to get involved in themC. remain fascinated

10、 by them D. are ready to face up to them（分数：4.00）A.B.C.D.(3).Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?A. Street violence. B. Racist hatred.C. A new type of robot. D. Family budget planning.（分数：4.00）A.B.C.D.(4).Despite their different approaches, the two talk shows are

11、 both _.A. cynical B. instructive C. sensitive D. ironical（分数：4.00）A.B.C.D.(5).We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows _.A. are targeted at different audiencesB. appear at different times of the dayC. have monopolized the talk show circuitD. exploit the weaknesses in human nature（分数：4.

12、00）A.B.C.D.三、Passage 2(总题数：1，分数：24.00)Traffic statistics paint a gloomy picture. To help solve their traffic woes, some rapidly growing U.S. cities have simply built more roads. But traffic experts say building more roads is a quick-fix solution that will not alleviate the traffic problem in the lon

13、g run. Soaring land costs, increasing concern over social and environmental disruptions caused by road-building, and the likelihood that more roads can only lead to more cars and traffic are powerful factors bearing down on a 1950s-style construction program.The goal of smart-highway technology is t

14、o make traffic systems work at optimum efficiency by treating the road and the vehicles traveling on them as an integral transportation system. Proponents of the advanced technology say electronic detection systems, closed circuit television, radio communication, ramp metering, variable message sign

15、ing, and other smart-highway technology can now be used at a reasonable cost to improve communication between drivers and the people who monitor traffic.Pathfinder, a Santa Monica, California-based smart-highway project in which a 14-mile stretch of the Santa Monica Freeway, making up what is called

16、 a “smart corridor“, is being instrumented with buried loops in the pavement. Closed-circuit television cameras survey the flow of traffic, while communications linked to properly equipped automobiles advise motorists of the least congested routes or detours.Not all traffic experts, however, look on

17、 smart-highway technology as the ultimate solution to traffic gridlock. Some say the high-tech approach is limited and can only offer temporary solutions to a serious problem.“Electronics on the highway addresses just one aspect of the problem: how to regulate traffic more efficiently,“ explains Mic

18、hael Renner, senior researcher at the World-watch Institute. “It doesnt deal with the central problem of too many cars for roads that cant be built fast enough. It sends people the wrong message. They start thinking Yes, there used to be a traffic congestion problem, but thats been solved now becaus

19、e we have, advanced high-tech system in place.“ Larson agrees and adds, “Smart highway is just one of the tools that we use to deal with our traffic problems. Its not the solution itself, just part of the package. There are different strategies.“Other traffic problem-solving options being studied an

20、d experimented with include car pooling, rapid mass-transit systems, staggered or flexible work hours, and road pricing, a system whereby motorists pay a certain amount for the time they use a highway.It seems that we need a new, major thrust to deal with the traffic problems of the next 20 years. T

21、here has to be a big change.（分数：24.00）(1).What is the appropriate title for the passage?A. Smart Highway ProjectsThe Ultimate Solution to Traffic Congestion.B. A Quick Fix Solution for the Traffic Problems.C. A Venture to Remedy Traffic Woes.D. Highways Get SmartPart of the Package to Relieve Traffi

22、c Gridlock.（分数：4.80）A.B.C.D.(2).The compound word “quick-fix“ in Sentence 3, Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _.A. an optional solution B. an expedient solutionC. a ready solution D. an efficient solution（分数：4.80）A.B.C.D.(3).According to the passage, the smart-highway technology is aimed to _.A.

23、 develop sophisticated facilities on the interstate highwaysB. provide passenger vehicles with a variety of servicesC. optimize the highway capabilitiesD. improve communication between drivers and the traffic monitors（分数：4.80）A.B.C.D.(4).According to Larsen, to redress the traffic problem, _.A. car

24、pooling must be studiedB. rapid mass transit system must be introducedC. flexible work hours must be experimentedD. overall strategies must be coordinated（分数：4.80）A.B.C.D.(5).Which of the following best describes the organization of the whole passage?A. Two contrasting views of a problem are present

25、ed.B. A problem is examined and complementary solutions are proposed or offered.C. Latest developments are outlined in order of importance.D. An innovation is explained with its importance emphasized.（分数：4.80）A.B.C.D.四、Passage 3(总题数：1，分数：20.00)In old days, when a glimpse of stocking was looked upon

26、as something far too shocking to distract the serious work of an office, secretaries were men.Then came the first World War and the male secretaries were replaced by women. A mans secretary became his personal servant, charged with remembering his wifes birthday and buying her presents; taking his s

27、uits to the dry-cleaners; telling lies on the telephone to keep people he did not wish to speak to at bay and, of course, typing and filing and taking shorthand.Now all this may be changing again. The microchip and high technology is sweeping the British office, taking with it much of the routine cl

28、erical work that secretaries did.“Once office technology takes over generally, the status of the job will rise again because it will involve only the high-powered workand then men will want to do it again.“That was said by one of the executives (male) of one of the biggest secretarial agencies in th

29、is country. What he has predicted is already under way in the US. One girl described to me a recent temporary job placing men in secretarial jobs in San Francisco. She noted that all the men she dealt with appeared to be gay so possibly that is just a new twist to the old story.Over here, though, th

30、ere are men coming onto the job market as secretaries Classically, girls have learned shorthand and typing and gone into a company to seek their fortune from the bottomand thats what happened to John Bowman. Although he joined a national grocery chain as secretary to its first woman senior manager,

31、he has since been promoted to an administration job.“I filled in the application form and said I could do audio/typing, and in fact I was the only applicant. The girls were reluctant to work for this young, glamorous new woman with all this power in the firm.“I did typing at school, and then a comme

32、rcial course. I just thought it would be useful finding a job. I never got any funny treatment from the girls, though I admit Ive never met another male secretary. But then I joined the Post Office as a clerk and carelessly played with the typewriter, and wrote letters, and thought that after all se

33、cretaries were getting a good 1,000 a year more than clerks like me. There was a shortage at that time, you see.“It was simpler working for a woman than for a man. I found she made decisions, she told everybody what she thought, and there was none of that male bitchiness, or that stuff ring this num

34、ber for me dear, which men go in for.“Dont forget, we were a teamthats how I feel about itnot boss and servant but two people doing different things for the same purpose.“Once high technology has made the job of secretary less routine, will there be male takeover? Men should beware of thinking that

35、they can walk right into the better jobs. There are a lot of women secretaries who will do the job as well as they because they are as efficient and well trained to cope with word processors and computers, and men.（分数：20.00）(1).Before the first World War, female secretaries were rare because they _A

36、. wore stockingsB. were not as serious as menC. were less efficient than menD. would have disturbed the other office workers（分数：4.00）A.B.C.D.(2).A secretary in the future will _.A. be better paid B. have less work to doC. have higher status D. have more work to do（分数：4.00）A.B.C.D.(3).John Bowman was

37、 given his first job as a secretary because _.A. he was lucky B. no one else appliedC. he had the best qualifications D. he wanted to work for a woman（分数：4.00）A.B.C.D.(4).When he was a post office clerk, secretaries were better paid because _.A. they were in shortage B. they were better trainedC. th

38、ey worked longer hours D. they had greater responsibility（分数：4.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The writer believes that before long _.A. men and women will compete for secretarial workB. men will take over womens jobs as secretariesC. women will operate most office machinesD. men will be better with machines（分数：4.00

39、）A.B.C.D.五、Passage 4(总题数：1，分数：20.00)Most forest fires are caused by human carelessness, negligence, or ignorance. Forest fire prevention, therefore, is mainly a problem of creating a better understanding of the importance of forests, an awareness of the danger of fire in the woods, and a sense of pe

40、rsonal responsibility to safeguard the forests from danger. This is not an easy job. A city dweller, used to paved streets, does not easily change his smoking habits when he goes into the woods.Careless smokers are responsible for thousands of forest fires each year. Many of these are started when c

41、igarette butts and matches are thrown from automobiles. Others are caused by hunters, hikers, fishermen, or woods workers who are careless in disposing of their smoking materials. The Forest Service has posted rules in many of the National Forests that prohibit smoking except in certain designated a

42、reas. Many of the states have laws against throwing lighted materials from automobiles. The prevention of smoker-caused fires, however, depends upon changing the attitudes and behavior of millions of people who smoke in hazardous areas.The most important natural cause of fire is lightning. This acco

43、unts for 11 percent of forest fires on protected land for the entire nation; in the western States, lightning causes a much higher percentage of fires than it does in the East.Advances in knowledge of fire weather are helping forest protection forces to know when to be alert for lightning-caused fir

44、es. Adequate and well-equipped forces can control them quickly and hold the damage to a minimum. Experiments in “seeding“ thunder clouds to prevent or control the lightning itself have been in process for many years, but new breakthroughs are needed for any significant reduction in the lightning-cau

45、sed fires.（分数：20.00）(1).The passage is chiefly about _.A. smoking in forestsB. the chief causes of forest fires and their preventionC. changing the attitudes and behavior of millions of peopleD. advances in knowledge of fire weather（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Preventing smoker-caused forest fires is mainly

46、 a problem of _.A. building the proper knowledge and habits in human beingsB. safeguarding the forests from fireC. posting rules in forestsD. holding the damage to a minimum（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(3).Lightning-caused fires can be controlled quickly by _.A. responsible smokers B. hunters and woods workersC

47、. adequate and well-equipped forces D. changing peoples habits（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(4).Which of the following statements is true?A. The conservation of forests isnt an easy task.B. In forests smoking is prohibited in a few safe areas.C. Lightning, the only natural cause, accounts for 11% of the forest f

48、ires in the Western States.D. New breakthroughs cant be expected from experiments in “seeding“ thunder clouds.（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.六、Passage 5(总题数：1，分数：16.00)Planet Earth was stricken by floods, drought and fire in 1997, a year which ended with the worlds major polluters quarreling about ways to prevent

49、 further environmental disasters.The climate was dominated in the latter part of the year by E1 Nino, an swelling of warmer water off the South American coast which affects global weather patterns. “I think for sure the most dramatic thing has been the E1 Nino phenomenon that has been experienced throughout the tropics,“ said Jeffrey Sayer, director-general of the International Center for Forestry Research. E1 Nino is being blamed for widespread floods and drought in the tropics, and