[考研类试卷]考研英语（二）模拟试卷105及答案与解析.doc

1、考研英语（二）模拟试卷 105 及答案与解析一、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. (10 points) 0 Aging poses a serious challenge to OECD (Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, in particular, how to p

2、ay for future public pension liabilities. And early retirement places an【C1】_ burden on pension financing. There is no easy solution, but【C2】_ retirement could help.Early retirement may seem like a worthy individual goal, but it is a socially【C3 】_ one, and makes the present public pension system di

3、fficult to sustain for long. The【C4】_ reason is that more people are retiring early and living longer. That means more retirees depending on the【C5】_ of those in work for their income. The【C6】_ is worrying. In the next 50 years, low fertility rates and【C7】_ life expectancy in OECD countries will cau

4、se this old-age dependency rate to roughly double【C8 】_ size. Public pension payments, which afford 30% 80% of total retirement incomes in OECD countries, are【C9】_ to rise, on average, by over three percentage points in GDP and by as much as eight percentage points in some countries.【C10】_ is the pr

5、essure on pension funds that there is a danger of todays workers not getting the pensions they expected or felt they【C11】_ for.Action is needed,【C12 】_ simply aiming to reduce the【C13】_ (and cost) of public pensions, or trying to【C14】_ the role of privately funded pensions within the system, though

6、necessary steps, may be【C15 】_ to deal with the dependency challenge. After years of【C16】_ early retirement schemes to avoid【C17】_ and higher unemployment, many governments are now looking【C18】_ persuading people to stay in work until they are older. Surely, the thinking goes, if we are healthier no

7、w and jobs are physically less【C19】_ and unemployment is down, then perhaps the【C20 】_ rate should rise anew.1 【C1 】（A）unsolvable（B） additional（C） unsustainable（D）undue2 【C2 】（A）delaying（B） retaining（C） detaining（D）hindering3 【C3 】（A）ultimate（B） unattainable（C） specific（D）expensive4 【C4 】（A）substant

8、ial（B） essential（C） potential（D）controversial5 【C5 】（A）donating（B） sponsoring（C） subsidizing（D）funding6 【C6 】（A）outlook（B） outcome（C） outbreak（D）outset7 【C7 】（A）prolonging（B） expanding（C） soaring（D）rising8 【C8 】（A）in（B） on（C） by（D）for9 【C9 】（A）conceived（B） reckoned（C） expected（D）meant10 【C10 】（A）As（

9、B） Such（C） So（D）It11 【C11 】（A）should pay（B） paying（C） be paid（D）would pay12 【C12 】（A）but（B） for（C） and（D）thus13 【C13 】（A）multitude（B） implementation（C） application（D）generosity14 【C14 】（A）exaggerate（B） augment（C） magnify（D）multiply15 【C15 】（A）insufficient（B） influential（C） inefficient（D）intrinsic16

10、【C16 】（A）advancing（B） previous（C） ahead（D）preceding17 【C17 】（A）suspensions（B） abundances（C） redundancies（D）discrepancies18 【C18 】（A）for（B） to（C） about（D）at19 【C19 】（A）turbulent（B） strenuous（C） compact（D）intricate20 【C20 】（A）dependency（B） fertility（C） present（D）mortalityPart ADirections: Read the fol

11、lowing four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)20 Of all the changes that have taken place in English-language newspapers during the past quarter-century, perhaps the most far-reaching has been the inexorable decline in the scope and seriousness of their

12、 arts coverage.It is difficult to the point of impossibility for the average reader under the age of forty to imagine a time when high-quality arts criticism could be found in most big-city newspapers. Yet a considerable number of the most significant collections of criticism published in the 20th c

13、entury consisted in large part of newspaper reviews. To read such books today is to marvel at the fact that their learned contents were once deemed suitable for publication in general-circulation dailies.We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews published in England between th

14、e turn of the 20th century and the eve of World War II, at a time when newsprint was dirt-cheap and stylish arts criticism was considered an ornament to the publications in which it appeared. In those far-off days, it was taken for granted that the critics of major papers would write in detail and a

15、t length about the events they covered. Theirs was a serious business, and even those reviewers who wore their learning lightly, like George Bernard Shaw and Ernest Newman, could be trusted to know what they were about. These men believed in journalism as a calling, and were proud to be published in

16、 the daily press. “So few authors have brains enough or literary gift enough to keep their own end up in journalism,“ Newman wrote, “that I am tempted to define journalism as a term of contempt applied by writers who are not read to writers who are.“Unfortunately, these critics are virtually forgott

17、en. Neville Cardus, who wrote for the Manchester Guardian from 1917 until shortly before his death in 1975, is now known solely as a writer of essays on the game of cricket. During his lifetime, though, he was also one of Englands foremost classical-music critics, a stylist so widely admired that hi

18、s Autobiography (1947) became a best-seller. He was knighted in 1967, the first music critic to be so honored. Yet only one of his books is now in print, and his vast body of writings on music is unknown save to specialists.Is there any chance that Carduss criticism will enjoy a revival? The prospec

19、t seems remote. Journalistic tastes had changed long before his death, and postmodern readers have little use for the richly upholstered Vicwardian prose in which he specialized. Moreover, the amateur tradition in music criticism has been in headlong retreat.21 It is indicated in Paragraphs 1 and 2

20、that_.（A）arts criticism has disappeared from big-city newspapers（B） English-language newspapers used to carry more arts reviews（C） high-quality newspapers retain a large body of readers（D）young readers doubt the suitability of criticism on dailies22 Newspaper reviews in England before World War II w

21、ere characterized by_.（A）free themes（B） casual style（C） elaborate layout（D）radical viewpoints23 Which of the following would Shaw and Newman most probably agree on?（A）It is writers duty to fulfill journalistic goals.（B） It is contemptible for writers to be journalists.（C） Writers are likely to be te

22、mpted into journalism.（D）Not all writers are capable of journalistic writing.24 What can be learned about Cardus according to the last two paragraphs?（A）His music criticism may not appeal to readers today.（B） His reputation as a music critic has long been in dispute.（C） His style caters largely to m

23、odern specialists.（D）His writings fail to follow the amateur tradition.25 What would be the best title for the text?（A）Newspapers of the Good Old Days.（B） The Lost Horizon in Newspapers.（C） Mournful Decline of Journalism.（D）Prominent Critics in Memory.25 Over the past decade, thousands of patents ha

24、ve been granted for what are called business methods. Amazon, com received one for its “one-click“ online payment system. Merrill Lynch got legal protection for an asset allocation strategy. One inventor patented a technique for lifting a box.Now the nations top patent court appears completely ready

25、 to scale back on business-method patents, which have been controversial ever since they were first authorized 10 years ago. In a move that has intellectual-property lawyers abuzz the U.S. court of Appeals for the federal circuit said it would use a particular case to conduct a broad review of busin

26、ess-method patents. In re Bilski, as the case is known ,is “a very big deal“ ,says Dennis D. Crouch of the University of Missouri School of law. It “has the potential to eliminate an entire class of patents.“Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the federal c

27、ircuit itself that introduced such patents with is 1998 decision in the so-called state Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets. That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging internet companies trying to stake out exclu

28、sive rights to specific types of online transactions. Later, move established companies raced to add such patents to their files, if only as a defensive move against rivals that might beat them to the punch. In 2005, IBM noted in a court filing that it had been issued more than 300 business-method p

29、atents despite the fact that it questioned the legal basis for granting them. Similarly, some Wall Street investment films armed themselves with patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice.The Bilski case involves a claimed patent on a method for

30、hedging risk in the energy market. The Federal circuit issued an unusual order stating that the case would be heard by all 12 of the courts judges, rather than a typical panel of three, and that one issue it wants to evaluate is whether it should “reconsider“ its state street Bank ruling.The Federal

31、 Circuits action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the supreme Court that has narrowed the scope of protections for patent holders. Last April, for example the justices signaled that too many patents were being upheld for“ inventions“ that are obvious. The judges on the Federal ci

32、rcuit are “reacting to the anti-patent trend at the Supreme Court“, says Harold C. Wegner, a patent attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.26 Business-method patents have recently aroused concern because of_.（A）their limited value to business（B） their connection with asset

33、 allocation（C） the possible restriction on their granting（D）the controversy over authorization27 Which of the following is true of the Bilski case?（A）Its ruling complies with the court decisions.（B） It involves a very big business transaction.（C） It has been dismissed by the Federal Circuit.（D）It ma

34、y change the legal practices in the U. S. .28 The word “about-face“ (Para 3) most probably means_.（A）loss of good will（B） increase of hostility（C） change of attitude（D）enhancement of dignity29 We learn from the last two paragraphs that business-method patents_.（A）are immune to legal challenges（B） ar

35、e often unnecessarily issued（C） lower the esteem for patent holders（D）increase the incidence of risks 30 Which of the following would be the subject of the text?（A）A looming threat to business-method patents.（B） Protection for business-method patent holders.（C） A legal case regarding business-method

36、 patents.（D）A prevailing trend against business-method patents.30 In spite of “endless talk of difference,“ American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is“ the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of deference“ characteristic of po

37、pular culture. People are absorbed into “ a culture of consumption“ launched by the 19th-century department stores that offered “ vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite,“ these were stores“ anyone could enter, regardless of class or

38、 background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act. The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization.Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration

39、Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that todays immigration is neither at unprecedented levels nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9. 8 percent of population; in 1990, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10 years prior

40、 to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices of assimilationlanguage, home ownership and intermarriage.The 1990 Census revealed that “a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English well or very well after ten years of residence. “The chi

41、ldren of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. “By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families.“ Hence the description of America as a “graveyard“ for languages. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrived before 1970 had a home

42、ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans.Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics “have higher rates of intermarriage than do U. S. -born whites and blacks.“ By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percen

43、t of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians.Rodriguez notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet“ some Americans fear that immigrants living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nations assi

44、milative power. “Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething anger in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against Americas turbulent past, todays social indices hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment.31 The word “homog

45、enizing“ (Paragraph 1) most probably means_.（A）identifying （B） associating（C） assimilating（D）monopolizing32 According to the author, the department stores of the 19th century_.（A）played a role in the spread of popular culture（B） became intimate shops for common consumers（C） satisfied the needs of a

46、knowledgeable elite（D）owed its emergence to the culture of consumption33 The text suggests that immigrants now in the U. S._.（A）are resistant to homogenization（B） exert a great influence on American culture（C） are hardly a threat to the common culture（D）constitute the majority of the population34 Wh

47、y are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?（A）To prove their popularity around the world.（B） To reveal the publics fear of immigrants.（C） To give examples of successful immigrants.（D）To show the powerful influence of American culture.35 In the authors opinion, the absorpti

48、on of immigrants into American society is_.（A）rewarding（B） successful（C） fruitless（D）harmful35 Bankers have been blaming themselves for their troubles in public. Behind the scenes, they have been taking aim at someone else; the accounting standard-setters. Their rules, moan the banks, have forced th

49、em to report enormous losses, and its just not fair. These rules say they must value some assets at the price a third party would pay, not the price managers and regulators would like them to fetch.Unfortunately, banks lobbying now seems to be working. The details may be unknowable, but the independence of standard-setters, essential to the proper functioning of capital markets, is being com