1、北京大学考博英语-12 及答案解析(总分：54.50，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Part Vocabulary(总题数：20，分数：18.50)1.The attack of the World Trade Center will leave a _ impression on those who have witnessed the explosion.（分数：1.00）A.longB.foreverC.lastingD.lively2.The magician picked out several persons _ from the audience and asked them to
2、help him with the performance.（分数：1.00）A.by accidentB.on averageC.on occasionD.at random3.British hopes of a gold medal in the Olympic Games suffered _ yesterday, when Hunter failed to qualify during the preliminary heats.（分数：1.00）A.a sharp set-backB.severe set-backC.a severe blown-upD.sharp blown-u
3、p4.Mary and John took a long time in saying good night in order to postpone the _ of parting.（分数：1.00）A.jealousyB.reliefC.anguishD.appreciation5.The government will prosecute those individuals who unlawfully possess_material.（分数：1.00）A.classifiedB.bizarreC.personalD.legitimate6.Since no one could_hi
4、s scribbling, the chief editor decided to replace him with another columnist.（分数：1.00）A.encodeB.decipherC.clearD.identify7.If you want to go to the concert, you“ll have to make a _ ,or there will be no tickets.（分数：0.50）A.reservationB.punctualityC.complimentD.clarity8.Hong Kong was not a target for t
5、error attacks, the Government insisted yesterday, as the US _ closed for an apparent security review.（分数：1.00）A.ConsultationB.ConstitutionC.ConsulateD.Consular9.Apple pie is _ neither good nor bad; it is the way it is used that determines its value.（分数：1.00）A.at itselfB.as itselfC.on itselfD.in itse
6、lf10.Remember to ask for a_ of quality for the consumer goods; otherwise they will not of- fer any maintenance.（分数：0.50）A.certificateB.markC.warrantyD.receipt11._ commutation via the telegraph began in the 1840s, just before the Civil War, and via the telephone just afterward (1870s).（分数：1.00）A.Inst
7、antaneousB.SpontaneousC.SimultaneousD.Instinctive12.We have been hearing_accounts of your work.（分数：1.00）A.favoredB.favorableC.favoriteD.favoring13.Bystanders, _, _ as they walked past lines of ambulances.（分数：1.00）A.bloody and covered with dust, looking dazedB.bloodied and covered with dust, looked d
8、azedC.bloody and covered with dust, looked dazedD.bloodied and covered with dust, looking dazed14.Unloved and unwanted youngsters may be tempted to run away from home to escape their problems, _ bigger ones in cities plagued with crime, drugs, and immorality.（分数：1.00）A.have only foundB.only findingC
9、.only foundD.only to find15.Living constantly in the atmosphere of slave, he became infected _ the unconscious _ their psychology. No one can shield himself _ such an influence.（分数：1.00）A.onB.byC.fromD.through16.The negotiations which _ the signing of the treaty took place over a number of years.（分数
10、：0.50）A.precededB.prescribedC.proceededD.processed17.A comet is distinguished from other bodies in the solar system _.（分数：1.50）A.into its appearanceB.off its appearanceC.by its appearanceD.to its appearance18.Some readers, especially children, find his works among the most_books they have ever read.
11、（分数：1.00）A.captivatingB.captivatedC.capturableD.captious19.The negotiations which _ the signing of the treaty took place over a number of years.（分数：0.50）A.precededB.prescribedC.proceededD.processed20._ a declining birth rate, there will be an over-supply of 27, 000 primary school places by 2010, _ l
12、eaving 35 schools idle.（分数：1.00）A.Coupled with, equals toB.Coupling with, equivalent toC.Coupled with, equivalent toD.Coupling with, equals to二、Part Reading Compr(总题数：5，分数：11.00)The early retirement of experienced workers is seriously harming the US economy, according to a new report from the Hudson
13、 Institute, a public policy research organization. Currently, many older experienced workers retire at an early age. According to the recently issued statistics, 79 percent of qualified workers begin collecting retirement benefits at age 62; if that trend continues, there will be a labor shortage th
14、at will hinder the economic growth in the twenty-first century. Older Americans constitute an increasing proportion of the population, according to the US Census Bureau, and the population of those over age 65 will grow by 60% between 2001 and 2020. During the same period, the group aged 18 to 44 wi
15、ll increase by only 4%. Keeping older skilled workers employed, even part time, would increase US economic output and strengthen the tax base; but without significant policy reforms, massive early retirement among baby boomers seems more likely. Retirement at age 62 is an economically rational decis
16、ion today. Social Security and Medicaid earnings limits and tax penalties subject our most experienced workers to marginal tax rates as high as 67%. Social Security formulas encourage early retirement. Although incomes usually rise with additional years of work, any pay increases after the 35-year m
17、ark result in higher social Security taxes but only small increases in benefits. Hudson Institute researchers believe that federal tax and benefit policies are at fault and reforms are urgently needed, but they disagree with the popular proposal that much older Americans will have to work because So
18、cial Security will not support them and that baby boomers are not saving enough for retirement. According to the increase in 401 (k) and Keogh retirement plans, the ongoing stock market on Wall Street, and the likelihood of large inheritances, there is evidence that baby boomers will reach age 65 wi
19、th greater financial assets than previous generations. The Hudson institute advocates reforming government policies that now discourage work and savings, especially for older worker. Among the report“s recommendations: Tax half of all Social Security benefits. regardless of other income; provide 8%
20、larger benefits for each year beyond 65; and permit workers nearing retirement to negotiate compensation packages that may include a lower salary but with greater healthcare benefits. However, it may take real and fruitful planning to find the right solution to the early retirement of older experien
21、ced workers; any measures taken must be allowed to prolong the serviceability of older experienced workers.（分数：0.00）(1).According to Hudson Institute researchers, the effect of the early retirement of qualified workers in the U. S. economy is _A.constructiveB.significantC.inconclusiveD.detrimental(2
22、).The older experienced workers in America tend to retire early because their prolonged service may _A.do harm to younger generationsB.end up with few or no benefitsC.give play to their potentialsD.shed light on social trends(3).The second paragraph is written chiefly to show that _A.there will be a
23、n acute labor shortage in the near futureB.baby-boomers contribute much to the US economic outputC.government policies concerning older people are out-datedD.alder workers are enthusiastic about collecting social benefitsIn the next century we“ll be able to alter our DNA radically, encoding our visi
24、ons and vanities while concocting new life-forms. When Dr. Frankenstein made his monster, he wrestled with the moral issue of whether he should allow it to reproduce, “Had I the right, for my oval benefit, to inflict the curse upon everlasting generations?“ Will such questions require us to develop
25、new moral philosophies? Probably not. Instead, we“ll reach again for a time-tested moral concept, one sometimes called the Golden Rule and which Kant, the millennium“s most prudent moralist, conjured up into a categorical imperative: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; treat each pers
26、on as an individual rather than as a means to some end. Under this moral precept we should recoil at human cloning, because it inevitably entails using humans as means to other humans“ ends and valuing them as copies of others we loved or as collections of body parts, not as individuals in their own
27、 right. We should also draw a line, however fuzzy, that would permit using genetic engineering to cure diseases and disabilities but not to change the personal attributes that make someone an individual (IQ, physical appearance, gender and sexuality). The biotech age will also give us more reason to
28、 guard our personal privacy. Aldous Huxley in Brave New World, got it wrong: rather than centralizing power in the hands of the state, DNA technology has empowered individuals and families. But the state will have an important role, making sure that no one, including insurance companies, can look at
29、 our genetic data without our permission or use it to discriminate against us. Then we can get ready for the breakthroughs that could come at the end of the next century and the tech nology is comparable to mapping our genes: plotting the 10 billion or more neurons of our brain. With that informatio
30、n we might someday be able to create artificial intelligences that think and experience consciousness in ways that are indistinguishable from a human brain. Eventually we might be able to replicate our own minds in a “dry-ware“ machine, so that we could live on without the “wet-ware“ of a biological
31、 brain and body. The 20th century“s revolution in infotechnology will thereby merge with the 21st century“s revolution in biotechnology. But this is science fiction. Let“s turn the page now and get back to real science.（分数：0.00）(1).Dr. Frankenstein“s remarks are mentioned in the text _A.to give an e
32、pisode of the DNA technological breakthroughsB.to highlight the importance of a means to some everlasting endsC.to show how he created a new form of life a thousand years agoD.to introduce the topic of moral philosophies incurred in biotechnology(2).It can be concluded from the text that the technol
33、ogy of human cloning should be employed _A.excessively and extravagantlyB.reasonably and cautiouslyC.aggressively and indiscriminatelyD.openly and enthusiastically(3).From the text, we learn that Aldous Huxley is of the opinion that _A.DNA technology should be placed in the charge of individualsB.go
34、vernment should assume less control over individualsC.people need government to protect their DNA informationD.old moral precepts should be abolished on human cloningYet these global trends hide starkly different national and regional stories. Vittorio Colao, the boss of Vodafone, which operates or
35、partially owns networks in 31 countries, argues that the farther south you go, the more people use their phones, even past the equator: where life is less organized, people need a tool, for example to rejig appointments. “Culture influences the lifestyle, and the lifestyle influences the way we comm
36、unicate,“ he says. “lf you don“t leave your phone on in a meeting in Italy, you are likely to miss the next one.“ Other mundane factors also affect how phones are used. For instance, in countries where many people have holiday homes they are more likely to give out a mobile number, which then become
37、s the default where they can be reached, thus undermining the use of fixed-line phones. Technologies are always “both constructive and constructed by historical, social, and cultural contexts,“ writes Mizuko Ito, an anthropologist at the University of California in Irvine, who has co-edited a book o
38、n Japan“s mobile-phone subculture. Indeed, Japan is a good example of how such subcultures come about. In the 1990s Americans and Scandinavians were early adopters of mobile phones. But in the next decade Japan was widely seen as the model for the mobile future, given its early embrace of the mobile
39、 Internet. For some time Wired, a magazine for technology lovers, ran a column called “Japanese schoolgirl watch“, serving readers with a stream of mobile oddities. The implication was that what Japanese schoolgirls did one day, everyone else would do the next. The country“s mobile boom was arguably
40、 encouraged by underlying social conditions. Most teenagers had long used pagers to keep in touch. In 1999 NTT, Japan“s dominant operator, launched i-mode, a platform for mobile-Internet services. It allowed cheap e-mails between networks and the Japanese promptly signed up in droves for mobile inte
41、rnet. Ms Ito also points out that Japan is a crowded place with lots of rules. Harried teenagers, in particular, have few chances for private conversations and talking on the phone in public is frowned upon, if not outlawed. Hence the appeal of mobile data services. The best way to grasp Japan“s mob
42、ile culture is to take a crowded commuter train. There are plenty of signs advising you not to use your phone. Every few minutes announcements are made to the same effect. If you do take a call, you risk more than disapproving gazes. Passengers may appeal to a guard who will quietly but firmly expla
43、in: “dame desu“ - it“s not allowed. Some studies suggest that talking on a mobile phone on a train is seen as worse than in a theatre. Instead, hushed passengers type away on their handsets or read mobile-phone novels (written Japanese allows more information to be displayed on a small screen than l
44、anguages that use the Roman alphabet).（分数：5.00）(1).According to the passage, an Italian would leave his phone on in a meeting for which of the following reason?（分数：1.00）A.He is afraid of missing a business opportunityB.His family members may call him in emergencyC.He thinks it is rude to leave a cal
45、l unansweredD.He needs to get posted about the latest change in the work schedule(2).Which of the following statements is best supported by the passage?（分数：1.00）A.How we use our phones reflect where we liveB.Technologies determine the way we communicateC.Culture influences the development of technol
46、ogiesD.Social conditions dictate the mobile future(3).The author suggests that Japan leads the world in the mobile-phone culture in that（分数：1.00）A.the Japanese are the earliest mobile phone usersB.the Japanese are the chattiest mobile phone usersC.the Japanese use mobile Internet early onD.Japan pro
47、vides the best mobile phone services(4).It can be inferred from the passage that the Japanese teenagers are fond of the mobile data services because（分数：1.00）A.they like to play electronic gamesB.they like to talk to their friends on the phoneC.they can read novels on the phoneD.they can communicate
48、with their friends more conveniently(5).Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage, based on its content?（分数：1.00）A.the Japanese phone cultureB.culture and technologyC.all alike, all differentD.handy, if you are thriftyThe early retirement of experienced workers is seriousl
49、y harming the US economy, according to a new report from the Hudson Institute, a public policy research organization. Currently, many older experienced workers retire at an early age. According to the recently issued statistics, 79 percent of qualified workers begin collecting retirement benefits at age 62; if that trend continues, there will be a labor shortage that will hinder the economic growth in the twenty-first century. Older American
