[考研类试卷]考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷478及答案与解析.doc

1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 478 及答案与解析Part B (10 points) 0 Throughout history and through a cross-section of cultures, women have transformed their appearance to conform to a beauty ideal. American and European women in the 1800s cinched in their waists so tightly that some suffered internal damage. The North Amer

2、ican ideal of beauty has continually focused on women s bodies: the tiny waist of the Victorian period, and the voluptuous curves that were the measure of beauty between the 1930s and 1950s. 【R1】_However, this relentless pursuit of thinness is not just an example of women trying to look their best,

3、it is also a struggle for control, acceptance and success.【R2 】_One of the negative psychological side effects associated with eating disorders is the patient s distortion of their own body image, body image being defined as the picture a person has in his mind of his own body, that is, the way his

4、body appears to him. Many women who are caught up in the relentless pursuit of thinness also experience some degree of disturbed body image. 【R3】_【R4 】_Women with perfectly normal bodies see themselves as being heavy; so that the definition of “normal“ becomes inaccurate and this perceived normalcy

5、is represented by a very small percentage of women. It follows that if body image is so closely linked to self-image, it is important for women to learn to feel comfortable with the body they live in, despite any “imperfections“.【R5 】_Advertising is a major vehicle for presenting images and forming

6、attitudes. The majority of ads incorporate young, beautiful, slender models to present their products and services. While individual ads may not be seen as a big issue, it is the cumulative, unconscious impact that has an effect on attitudes toward women, and in womens attitudes toward themselves. A

7、s women are consistently exposed to these feminine forms through both print and television, it becomes difficult to distinguish what is normal, and even more difficult not to compare themselves to this form.AThe experiences and practices of women who “simply diet“ are not radically different from th

8、ose who are diagnosed with eating disorders. For some women, achieving the “perfect“ body form becomes the most important goal in life.BCurrent standards emphasize a toned, slender look, one that exudes fitness, youth, and health. According to psychologist Eva Szekely, “Having to be attractive at th

9、is time. means unequivocally having to be thin. In North America today, thinness is a precondition for being perceived by others and oneself as healthy“.CThe images that are presented in advertising are designed to create an illusion, a fantasy ideal that will keep women continually consuming. Adver

10、tisers are well aware of the insecurities that most women feel about their own bodies.DSo why is it that during this process of development so many women become dissatisfied, self-critical, and judgmental about their own bodies? One of the reasons may have to do with the media and various forms of a

11、dvertising. Ads sell more than just products; they present an idea of normalcy, who we are and who we should be.EWhile women continue to struggle for equality on an economic scale and within their relationships, they still maintain control over their own bodies. It is important that women begin to a

12、ccept themselves for who they are, regardless of their body type, and to feel comfortable with the body they live in.FIn attempting to mould their appearance to meet the current ideal, numerous women are literally starving themselves to death. The incidence of eating disorders has doubled during the

13、 last two decades. This increase is no longer limited to women in their teens and twenties, but is increasingly diagnosed in patients in their thirties and forties.GFeelings about body are closely related to a womans sense of self; the body is perceived as acceptable or unacceptable, providing a fou

14、ndation for self-concept. It is alarming, then, that almost 80% of women think theyre overweight. Body image has very little to do with the way a person actually looks; many women who appear to fit the ideal body type are actually dissatisfied with their appearance.1 【R1 】2 【R2 】3 【R3 】4 【R4 】5 【R5

15、】5 Nonverbal communication is hugely important in any interaction with others; its importance is multiplied across cultures. This is because we tend to look for nonverbal cues when verbal messages are unclear or ambiguous, as they are more likely to be across cultures. 【R1】_Low-context cultures like

16、 the United States and Canada tend to give relatively less emphasis to nonverbal communication. This does not mean that nonverbal communication does not happen, or that it is unimportant, but that people in these settings tend to place less importance on it than on the literal meanings of words them

17、selves. In high-context settings such as Japan or Colombia, understanding the nonverbal components of communication is relatively more important to receiving the intended meaning of the communication as a whole.【R2 】_For instance, it may be more socially acceptable in some settings in the United Sta

18、tes for women to show fear, but not anger, and for men to display anger, but not fear. At the same time, interpretation of facial expressions across cultures is difficult. In China and Japan, for example, a facial expression that would be recognized around the world as conveying happiness may actual

19、ly express anger or mask sadness, both of which are unacceptable to show overtly.【R3 】_For a Westerner who understands smiles to mean friendliness and happiness, this smile may seem out of place and even cold, under the circumstances. Even though some facial expressions may be similar across culture

20、s, their interpretations remain culture-specific. It is important to understand something about cultural starting-points and values in order to interpret emotions expressed in cross-cultural interactions.【R4 】_In a comparison of North American and French children on a beach, a researcher noticed tha

21、t the French children tended to stay in a relatively small space near their parents, while US children ranged up and down a large area of the beach.【R5 】_These examples of differences related to nonverbal communication are only the tip of the iceberg. Careful observation, ongoing study from a variet

22、y of sources, and cultivating relationships across cultures will all help develop the cultural fluency to work effectively with nonverbal communication differences.AThese differences of interpretation may lead to conflict. Suppose a Japanese person is explaining her absence from negotiations due to

23、a death in her family. She may do so with a smile, based on her cultural belief that it is not appropriate to inflict the pain of grief on others.BAnother variable across cultures has to do with ways of relating to space. Crossing cultures, we encounter very different ideas about polite space for co

24、nversations and negotiations. North Americans tend to prefer a large amount of space, perhaps because they are surrounded by it in their homes and countryside. Europeans tend to stand more closely with each other when talking, and are accustomed to smaller personal spaces.CAmericans are serious abou

25、t standing in lines, in accordance with their beliefs in democracy and the principle of “first come, first served“ The French, on the other hand, have a practice of line jumping, that irritates many British and US Americans. DSince nonverbal behavior arises from our cultural common sense, we use dif

26、ferent systems of understanding gestures, posture, silence, spatial relations, emotional expression, touch, physical appearance, and other nonverbal cues. Cultures also attribute different degrees of importance to verbal and nonverbal behavior.EThe difficulty with space preferences is not that they

27、exist, but the judgments that get attached to them. If someone is accustomed to standing or sitting very close when they are talking with another, they may see the others attempt to create more space as evidence of coldness, or a lack of interest.FIt is said that a German executive working in the Un

28、ited States became so upset with visitors to his office moving the guest chair to suit themselves that he had it bolted to the floor.GSome elements of nonverbal communication are consistent across cultures. For example, research has shown that the emotions of enjoyment, anger, fear, sadness, disgust

29、, and surprise are expressed in similar ways by people around the world. Differences surface with respect to which emotions are acceptable to display in various cultural settings, and by whom.6 【R1 】7 【R2 】8 【R3 】9 【R4 】10 【R5 】10 We have a problemand the odd thing is we not only know about it, were

30、 celebrating it. Just today, someone boasted to me that she was so busy she s averaged four hours of sleep a night for the last two weeks. She wasnt complaining; she was proud of the fact. She is not alone.Why are typically rational people so irrational in their behavior? The answer, I believe, is t

31、hat we re in the midst of a bubble; one so vast that to bealive today in the developed world is to be affected, or infected, by it. 【R1】_The nature of bubbles is that some asset is absurdly overvalued untileventuallythe bubble bursts, and we re left scratching our heads wondering why we were so irra

32、tionally exuberant in the first place. The asset were overvaluing now is the notion of doing it all, having it all, achieving it all; what Jim Collins calls “the undisciplined pursuit of more.“This bubble is being enabled by an unholy alliance between three powerful trends: smart phones, social medi

33、a, and extreme consumerism. 【R2】_In the process, we have been sold a bill of goods: that success means being supermen and superwomen who can get it all done. Of course, we back-door-brag about being busy: its code for being successful and important.Not only are we addicted to the drug of more, we ar

34、e pushers too. 【R3】_And with them, busyness, sleep deprivation and stress.Luckily, there is an antidote to the undisciplined pursuit of more: the disciplined pursuit of less, but better. A growing number of people are making this shift. I call these people Essentialists. These people are designing t

35、heir lives around what is essential and eliminating everything else. 【R4】_They trade off time on Facebook and call those few friends who really matter to them. Instead of running to back-to-back in meetings, they put space on their calendars to get important work done.A hundred years from now, when

36、people look back at this period, they will marvel at the stupidity of it all: the stress, the motion sickness, and the self-neglect we put ourselves through.So we have two choices. 【R5】_AOn one hand, our children are given more free time to dominate and on the other hand they are usually immersed in

37、 what we regards invaluable.BThe result is not just information overload, but opinion overload. We are more aware than at anytime in history of what everyone else is doing and, therefore, what we “should“ be doing.CIn the race to get our children into “a good college“ we have added absurd amounts of

38、 homework, sports, clubs, dance performances and ad infinitum extra curricul aractivities.DIts the bubble of bubbles: it not only mirrors the previous bubbles(whether of the Tulip, Silicon Valley or Real Estate variety), it undergirds them all. I call it “The More Bubble.“EWe can be among the last p

39、eople caught up in the “more bubble“ when it bursts, or we can see the madness for what it is and join the growing community of Essentialists and get more of what matters in our one precious life.FThe bubble makes people live in a self-thinking world, considering whether they should be proud of or h

40、ate their busy work. This paradoxical feeling worries most people.GThese people take walks in the morning to think and ponder, they negotiate to have actual weekends(i.e. during which they are not working), they turn technology off for set periods every night and create technology-free zones in thei

41、r homes.11 【R1 】12 【R2 】13 【R3 】14 【R4 】15 【R5 】15 Curiously, for a publication called a newspaper, no one has ever coined a standard definition of news. But for the most part, news usually falls under one broad classification the abnormal. It is human folly, mechanical failures and natural disaster

42、s that often “make the news“.【R1 】_Occasionally, a reporter will go to jail rather than reveal the name of a confidential source for a news story. American newspapers proudly consider themselves the fourth branch of governmentthe watchdog branch that exposes legislative, executive and judicial misbe

43、havior.【R2 】_Others are called general assignment reporters, which means they are on call for a variety of stories such as accidents, civil events and human-interest stories. Depending on a newspapers needs during the daily news cycle, seasoned reporters easily shift between beat and general-assignm

44、ent work.(New reporters once were called cubs, but the term is no longer used.)【R3 】_They are our chroniclers of daily life, sorting, sifting and bringing a sense of order to a disorderly world.【R4 】_Other editorssports, photo, state, national, features and obituary, for examplemay also report to th

45、e managing editor.【R5 】_Once the city or metro editor has finished editing a reporters raw copy, the story moves from the composition system via the computer network to another part of the news division, the copy desk. Here, copy editors check for spelling and other errors of usage. They may also lo

46、ok for “holes“ in the story that would confuse readers or leave their questions unanswered. If necessary, copy editors may check facts in the newspapers library, which maintains a large collection of reference books, microfilm and online copies of stories that have appeared in the paper.AAll reporte

47、rs are ultimately responsible to an editor. Depending on its size, a newspaper may have numerous editors, beginning with an executive editor responsible for the news division. Immediately below the executive editor is the managing editor, the person who oversees the day-to-day work of the news divis

48、ion.BReporters are a newspaper s front-line eyes and ears. Reporters glean information from many sources, some public, such as police records, and others private, such as a government informant.CNewspapers are increasingly doing this work, called pagination, with personal computers using software av

49、ailable at any office supply store. Microsoft Windows, Word and Quark Express are three programs that, though not designed for newspaper production, are easily adapted for it.DHowever, the best known and in some ways the most crucial editor is the city or metro editor. This is the editor that reporters work for directly. The city or metro editor assigns stories, enforces deadlines and is the first to see reporters