[考研类试卷]考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷412及答案与解析.doc

1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 412 及答案与解析Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)0 Theres a huge hoo-ha in America about an article published on the business website F. It starts off like this: “Guys: a word of advice. Marry pretty wom

2、en or ugly ones. Short ones or tall ones. Just, whatever you do, dont marry a woman with a career.“ The writer, Michael Noer cites a piece in Social Forces, a US research journal that has apparently found marrying a working woman dramatically ups the risk of having a difficult marriage. Even those w

3、ith a “feminist“ outlook are happier when their husband is the primary breadwinner.You can imagine the outcry the article has caused. Women readers arent happy. What is interesting about all of this is that I suspect Noers central pointthat working women are trouble and that youre better off with an

4、 obedient little breeder or, indeed, a trophy wifeis more widely held by men than you or I might imagine.It stems in part from a sweet but inane desire for first class malehoodme man, me provide, me gain big-eyed gratitude for ace wage-earning skillsand from chronic sexual insecurity. If your nice l

5、ittle wife is safely at home all day, instead of running around the boardroom with men who might be somewhat much better than you, shes more likely to admire your manly skills and talents when you come home at night, and not realize what shes missing.Thats the theory, anyway. The practice, I have ob

6、served over the years, is somewhat different. Men love nothing more than coming home to an ordered house, sleeping children, dinner in the oven and a cocktail waiting on the table, but they dont necessarily go a whole hog on the conversation that goes with it: “Such a funny thing happened at playgro

7、up“; “Ive found that if I puree the broccoli, they dont really notice theyre eating it“. And so on. Then women are all surprised when men seem not to listen, or to be distracted.She doesnt want to talk about broccoli either but her brain seems to be withering more and more with the birth of each chi

8、ld. She wants to watch Newsnight but shes too tired. How can she be tired, the husband wonders, when shes at home all day? What does she do? I dont want to get drawn into the unproductive name calling that passes for debate on the question of working versus stay-at-home women. The point, surely, is

9、that women should have the freedom to do exactly what they wish to do with their lives, and that very freedom is only real if it originates from women themselves. Marry a man who is happy for you to be you, happy whether you do or dont work.1 In Michael Noers view, marrying a career woman is risky b

10、ecause（A）career women will usually get unhappy.（B） career women are feminists and demanding.（C） its more likely to lead to an unhappy marriage.（D）the marriage is bound to be difficult.2 The word “outcry“(Line 1, Paragraph 2)is closest in meaning to（A）controversy.（B） consequence.（C） a loud cry.（D）pro

11、test.3 According to the author, many men prefer trophy wives to working women because（A）they feel working women are trouble.（B） they desire first class malehood and sexual security.（C） they feel working women are not safe at home.（D）they love the comfortable home their wives have made.4 The two quot

12、ed sentences in Lines 4-5, Paragraph 4 are used to show that（A）housewives like to talk about trivial things in life.（B） men like to have light conversations with their wives when they arrive at home.（C） men like the feeling of a comfortable home but not necessarily the trivial conversations.（D）women

13、 are energetic and talkative because they dont have to work outside. 5 The author holds in the last paragraph that women should（A）give birth to fewer babies and do less housework.（B） find someone who supports their decisions about their lives.（C） talk with their husbands and then decide what to do w

14、ith their own lives.（D）break up with their husband and get the freedom they want.5 You wrinkle your nose and narrow your eyelids if you see a dead rat in the road, but you open your eyes and mouth wide if you see a live one in your bedroom. Why is that? Facial expressions are usually thought of as s

15、imple tools of communication, but in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Charles Darwin proposed that they may prepare us to react to situations when he noticed that some expressions seemed to be used across cultures and even species. Now Joshua Susskind and his colleagues at

16、the University of Toronto, Canada, have put that idea to the test.Susskinds team wondered whether the characteristic expressions of feareyes wide open, eyebrows raised and mouth agapemight improve how sensory information is acquired and so increase alertness. Conversely disgustwith the face all sque

17、ezed upmight blunt the senses, shielding us from unpleasant sights and smells.The researchers asked subjects to complete various tests while holding a fearful, disgusted or neutral expression. In one they had to identify when a spot entered their field of view. In another they were required to shift

18、 their focus as quickly as possible between two targets on a computer screen. How much air the volunteers breathed in while expressing fear and disgust was also measured.In each case the wide-eyed Home Alone(the movie series starring Macaulay Culkin)face let significantly more of the world in. Subje

19、cts with wide-open eyes detected peripheral objects more quickly and performed side-to-side eye movements faster. They also took in more air with each breath without exerting any extra effort. An Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan showed the nasal cavity was enlarged while subjects held this expression

20、, which the team suggest could be linked with a greater ability to absorb odors.“These changes are consistent with the idea that fear, for example, is a posture towards vigilance, and disgust a posture towards sensory rejection,“ says Susskind. His team is already at work on experiments to explore t

21、o what extent the brain can use this extra information to enhance performance. “What was nice was the number of different ways they got at this question,“ says Elizabeth Phelps at New York University. “They were very creative.“ She thinks the work could open up a whole new way of thinking about faci

22、al expressions.6 Charles Darwins The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals proposed that facial expressions might（A）act as a simple tool of cross-cultural communication.（B） get people ready to the changes of circumstances.（C） be difficult to understand in different cultures.（D）equip people w

23、ith the knowledge of other species.7 In Joshua Susskinds research, the researchers（A）wondered whether there existed other expressions of fear.（B） wanted subjects to use facial expressions to complete tests.（C） wanted to test how much air subjects breathed in normally.（D）wondered whether expressions

24、of disgust blunted our senses.8 By saying “In each case the wide-eyed Home Alone face let significantly more of the world in“(Lines 1-2, Paragraph 4), the author means that（A）wide-eyed expressions would help you understand the world better.（B） facial expressions might result in faster eye movements.

25、（C） wide-eyed expressions would help people breathe in more air.（D）facial expressions might help people notice more things around.9 In the last paragraph, what might be the new thinking of facial expressions?（A）They might tell the brain how to make use of the superficial information.（B） They might e

26、xplain why people consider fear as a posture towards vigilance.（C） They might provide extra information to brains thus refining performance.（D）They might clarify the relationship between brain and environments.10 Elizabeth Phelps would most probably agree that（A）researchers on facial expressions are

27、 always creative.（B） the brain can use extra information to enhance performance dramatically.（C） people are likely to renew their knowledge of facial expressions.（D）the function of the brain will be changed by facial expressions.10 More than any other industry, Americas multi-billion-dollar entertai

28、nment business is caught in the crossfire of the countrys culture war. Media firms have always had to walk a fine line between giving adults realistic shows and shielding children from sex and bad language. But thanks to the current political influence of social conservatives, TV and radio firms are

29、 under more attack than ever for allegedly corrupting Americas youth.Congress is threatening to increase sharply fines for airing indecent material. Over 80% of American homes subscribe either to cable or satellite TV, but only broadcast television, which is technically free, is subject to indecency

30、 regulation. The media industry fears that new rules could damage its business model.The Federal Communications Commission(FCC), the media industrys regulator, defines indecency as language or material that describes sexual actions or organs and which is considered “offensive by contemporary communi

31、ty standards.“ Solely for the sake of children(present in one-third of American homes), indecency is forbidden from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on broadcast TV and radio. In contrast to “obscenity“illegal all the timeindecency mostly consists of swearing, partial nudity and sexuality.Americas current battles

32、over indecency began in 2003 when Bono, a rock star, said “this is really, really fucking brilliant“ at a live awards show. The FCC decided to do nothing. Then came a glimpse of Janet Jacksons breast in Super Bowl, outraging some viewers. Pressed by Congress, the FCC reversed its decision on Bono an

33、d said it would get tough on indecency. In 2004 it fined media firms nearly $8m, five times what it had levied in the previous ten years combined.For these firms such fines are puny. Yet fearing what future measures might be deployed against them, they have increasingly censored themselves. Last yea

34、r several TV stations declined to air “Saving Private Ryan“, a war movie with lots of swearing. The media industry faces a powerful bipartisan coalition of politicians who see votes in cleansing the airwaves. Republicans are leading the effort, but some Democrats are joining innot surprisingly, as m

35、any parents do seem worried.One defensive strategy for the media industry is to play the moralizing wing of the Republican Party off against its substantial libertarian wing, which is opposed to giving the government more power to censor. News Corporation and General Electrics NBC have together enli

36、sted the support of the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform and the US Chamber of Commerce. Advances in technology, these groups argue, mean that the government no longer needs to police the airwaves for indecency. Many parents now have V-chips in their TV sets to block out pornogr

37、aphic material. Set-top boxes for cable and satellite TV also give parents control.11 The phrase “walk a fine line“(Line 3, Paragraph 1)most probably indicates（A）alternate.（B） balance.（C） transfer.（D）distinguish.12 Which of the following is true according to the text?（A）TV and radio firms are corrup

38、ting the young people in America.（B） Broadcast television other than satellite TV is under indecency regulation.（C） Americas battles over indecency have lasted for as long as a decade.（D）A fine of 8 million US dollars is such a huge one for media firms. 13 A major difference between indecency and ob

39、scenity is that（A）obscenity involves more swearing, nudity and sexuality.（B） obscenity is forbidden on all channels all the time.（C） indecency inflicts more harm on children and young adults.（D）indecency is more offensive by contemporary standards.14 The refusal to broadcast “Saving Private Ryan“ by

40、 several TV stations shows that（A）the movie features lots of swearing.（B） media firms have intensified censoring.（C） media firms were afraid of huge fines.（D）the film was defined as indecent.15 What strategy has the media industry adopted to defend itself?（A）Creating bitter quarrels between Republic

41、ans two wings.（B） Protesting the governments power over censorship.（C） Allying with such groups as the American Conservative Union.（D）Arguing that the material is actually under the control of parents.15 Hows this for a coincidence? Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born in the same year, on t

42、he same day: Feb. 12, 1809. Although people hardly think of them in tandem, yet instinctively, we want to say that they belong together. Its not just because they were both great men, and not because they happen to be exact contemporaries. Rather, its because the scientist and the politician each to

43、uched off a revolution that changed the world.They were both revolutionaries in the sense that both men upended realities that prevailed when they were born. They seemand soundmodern to us, because the world they left behind them is more or less the one we still live in. So, considering the joint gr

44、eatness of their contributionsand the coincidence of their conjoined birthdaysit is hard not to wonder: who was the greater man? Its an apples-and-orangesor Superman-vs.-Santacomparison. But if you limit the question to influence, very quickly the balance tips in Lincolns favor.As great as his book

45、on evolution is, it does no harm to remember that Darwin hurried to publish The Origin of Species because he thought he was about to be scooped by his fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. In other words, there was a certain inevitability to Darwins theory. Ideas about evolution surfaced througho

46、ut the first part of the 19th century, and while none of them was as convincing as Darwinsuntil Wallace came alongit was not as though he was the only man who had the idea.Lincoln, in contrast, is unique. Take him out of the picture, and there is no telling what might have happened to the country. T

47、rue, his election to the presidency did provoke secession and, in turn, the war itself, but that war seems inevitablenot a question of if but when. Once in office, he becomes the indispensable man. Certainly we know what happened once he was assassinated: Reconstruction was ad-ministered punitively

48、and then abandoned, leaving the issue of racial equality to dangle for another century.If Darwin were not so irreplaceable as Lincoln, that should not negate his accomplishment. No one could have formulated his theory any more elegantly. Their identical birthdays afford us a superb opportunity to ob

49、serve these men in the shared context of their timehow each was shaped by his circumstances, how each reacted to the beliefs that steered the world into which he was bom and ultimately how each reshaped his corner of that world and left it irrevocably changed.16 Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln belong together in that（A）they were born on the same day.（B） they lived in the same period of time.（C） they brought up revolutions to the world.（D）they were born to be successful men.17 What does the author mean by “an apple