1、考博英语-阅读理解(二)及答案解析(总分：25.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Passage 6(总题数：1，分数：5.00)Quietly malicious chairmanship. There is no sound excuse for this. It is deeply antisocial, and a sudden excess of it would tear great holes in our communal life. But a man can be asked once too often to act as chairman, and to such a m
2、an, despairing of his weakness and feeling a thousand miles from any delight, I can suggest a few devices. In introducing one or two of the chief speakers, grossly over-praise them but put no warmth in your voice, only a metallic flavour of irony. If you know what a speakers main point is, then make
3、 it neatly in presenting him to the audience. During more tremendous peroration which the chap has been working on for days, either begin whispering and passing notes to other speakers or give the appearance of falling asleep in spite of much effort to keep awake. If the funny man takes possession o
4、f the meeting and brings out the old jokes, either look melancholy or raise your eyebrows as high as they will go. Announce the fellow with the weak delivery in your loudest and clearest tones. For any timid speaker, officiously clear a space bang in the middle and offer him water, paper, pencil, a
5、watch, anything. With noisy, cheeky chaps on their feet, bustle about the platform, and if necessary give a mysterious little note to some members of the audience. If a man insists upon speaking from the floor of the hall, ask him for his name, pretend to be rather deaf, and then finally, announce h
6、is name with a marked air of surprise. After that you can have some trouble with a cigarette lighter and then take it to pieces. When they all go on and on, make no further pretence of paying any attention and settle down to drawing outrageous caricatures of the others on the platform, and then at l
7、ast ask some man you particularly dislike to take over the chair, and stalk out, being careful to leave all your papers behind. And if all this fails to bring you any delight, it should at least help to protect you against further bouts of chairmanship.（分数：5.00）(1).The advice in this passage is inte
8、nded to help chairmen to _.A. be less boring B. cut short a meetingC. enliven a dull meeting D. gain useful experience（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(2).A chairman can distract a lengthy speaker by making a show of _.A. shuffling papers B. nodding offC. passing him a note D. muttering to himself（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(
9、3).If a speaker is nervous, the writer suggests that the chairman should _.A. do everything to assist himB. confuse him with unnecessary helpC. offer to take notes for himD. clear the platform for him（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(4).When a speaker shows no sign of stopping, the chairman should _.A. ask him to t
10、ake the chair B. draw a flattering picture of himC. pretend not to be paying attention D. leave ostentatiously（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The tone of this passage is _.A. spiteful B. humorous C. sarcastic D. mischievous（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.二、Passage 7(总题数：1，分数：5.00)Americans are people obsessed with child-rear
11、ing. In their books, magazines, talk shows, parent training courses, White House conferences, and chats over the back fence, they endlessly debate the best ways to raise children. Moreover, Americans do more than debate their theories; they translate them into action. They erect playgrounds for the
12、youngsters pleasure, equip large schools for their education, and train skilled specialists for their welfare. Whole industries in America are devoted to making children happy, healthy and wise.But this interest in childhood is relatively new. In fact, until very recently people considered childhood
13、 just a brief, unimportant prelude to adulthood and the real business of living. By and large they either ignored children, beat them, or fondled them carelessly, much as we would amuse ourselves with a litter of puppies. When they gave serious thought to children at all, people either conceived of
14、them as miniature adults or as peculiar, unformed animals.Down through the ages the experiences of childhood have been as varied as its duration. Actions that would have provoked a beating in one era elicit extra loving care in another. Babies who have been nurtured exclusively by their mothers in o
15、ne epoch are left with day-care workers in another. In some places children have been trained to straddle unsteady canoes, negotiate treacherous mountain passes, and carry heavy bundles on their heads. In other places they have been taught complicated piano concerti and long multiplication tables.Bu
16、t diverse as it has been, childhood has one common experience at its core and that is the social aspect of nurture. All children need adults to bring them up. Because human young take so long to become independent, we think that civilization may have grown up around the need to feed and protect them
17、. Certainly, from the earliest days of man, adults have made provision for the children in their midst.（分数：5.00）(1).The present day American obsession with child-rearing has _.A. resulted in ineffectual actionB. initiated pointless discussionsC. had wide-ranging resultsD. produced endless theories（分
18、数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Children in the past were ill-treated or petted because they were _.A. ignorant of adult lifeB. seen as uninterestingC. considered of no importanceD. conceived of as having animal natures（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(3).How have childhood experiences varied?A. Children have been alternately b
19、eaten and loved through the ages.B. There have been differences in child-rearing in different epochs.C. Parents have increasingly taken control of their childrens nurturing.D. In some places physical training has given way to encouraging creativity.（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(4).According to the author, child
20、ren _.A. need intensive adult nurturingB. are the instigators of civilizationC. remain physically dependent until adulthoodD. have common social experiences（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(5).What is the authors attitude to developments in the perception of childhood?A. Cynical. B. Indifferent.C. Positive. D. Neut
21、ral.（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.三、Passage 8(总题数：1，分数：5.00)Mr. Handforth in his old age, in his second childhoodadvanced by his strokehad kept his wits about him, and they, as old peoples wits sometimes will, inclined him to be critical of those who were nearest and dearest to him.Undoubtedly, it was Judith who
22、 wasor who had beennearest and dearest to him. Throughout the many years of his widowerhoodhow many! she had been at his beck and call, neglecting, as she herself had said and as he had had ample opportunities of confirming, her own family and he had gratefully though guiltily agreed to her suggesti
23、on, that her family would have been larger than it was, that Charlotte might have had brothers and sisters, as Seymour hoped she would have, if she had not felt that her father was her first priority.This combined feeling of guilt and gratitude he had tried to acknowledge to her from time to time, b
24、y presents smaller and greater; and he had made and re-made his will many times, with the object of leaving the residue of his estate, already much reduced by Judiths inroads on it, in unequal shares, to Judith and Hestershares that should seem equal, though they were not. Thus he got his house and
25、its contents valued at a very low figure, well knowing that it would be worth far more at his death, to balance a rather high figure of shares to Hester, the value of which he had good reason for thinking would go down rather than up.Not that he was not fond of Hester, but in his mind and affections
26、 she had always played second fiddle to her sister; though younger, she had married earlier; like an almost unfledged bird she had abandoned the nest, and made another for herself far, far away. It was natural, of course ; Jack had swept her off her feet, she had thrown in her lot with him, leaving
27、her father to Judiths very tender mercies.How can one feel towards someone who, for the most natural reasons in the world, has thrown one over as one feels towards someone who, for the best reasons in the world, has stayed by ones side?But were they the best reasons in the world? No, Mr. Handforth d
28、ecided, they were the worst; everything his daughter Judith had done for him, all her kindness and her assiduous attentions when he had been alone and/or ill, had been inspired by one motive, and only one: the greed of gain. At last she had shown herself in her true coloursthe colours, whatever they
29、 were, of a vampire.（分数：5.00）(1).In paragraph 2 the author implies that Judith helped her father _.A. without expecting any gratitudeB. while ensuring that he recognized her sacrificeC. because she felt her family came firstD. simply out of daughterly affection（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Which phrase descr
30、ibes Judiths character in an ironic way?A. “Judiths very tender mercies“B. “her kindness and her assiduous attentions“C. “the greed of gain“D. “her true colours/（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(3).In his will Mr. Handforth intended to _.A. reward Judith for her sacrificesB. be fair to both sistersC. show Judith he
31、 had noticed her greedD. give Judith less than Hester（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(4).He considered that Hester _.A. had treated him badlyB. did not feel anything for himC. had acted reasonablyD. had got what she deserved（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(5).His skeptical view of Judith _.A. had always been kept secretB. had co
32、me about suddenlyC. continued to shock himD. was encouraged by Hester（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.四、Passage 9(总题数：1，分数：5.00)In a world increasingly fearsome and fragile, TV commercials represent an oasis of calm and reassurance. For six minutes in every hour, viewers know that they will be wafted away from this
33、 cruel world into an idealized well-ordered land. You and I may experience real life as largely harassed and chaotic but in the world of the TV commercials happy families may be relied upon to gather at breakfast-time for convivial bowls of cornflakes, their teeth free of decay, their hair innocent
34、of dandruff, their shirts whiter than snow.TV advertising in Britain, obsessed with the symbols of the good life, exploits a yearning for evidence of old-fashioned security. Things were better in the old days: bread was crusty and beer was a mans drink. But in selling the idea of a better life, it s
35、trikes me that most British commercials fail in their primary function. I cannot be alone among those who usually remember everything about TV advertising except the product it is designed to publicize.In one superb commercial, a distinguished-looking Italian butler drives a car headlong into a vast
36、 dining-hall to serve champagne. What on earth was it selling? The champagne? The car? What car? Search me! Viewers reveled in the medium and forgot the message. American advertisers dont make such mistakes. A typical U. S. commercial features a woman in a kitchen holding a highly-visible bottle of
37、something or other and selling it hard. No art, no craft, just the message. America sells the steak, while Britain sells the sizzle.A nation needs symbols. We need proof that lovely things still endure, like a team of shire horses criss-crossing the landscape at sundown. We want to be reminded that
38、they still exist, that we may still come across pockets of sanity and beauty in a world less sane and less beautiful each day. TV commercials provide us with those symbols. They provide a link with the way we like to think we were. They help us to keep in touch with lost innocence.（分数：5.00）(1).Famil
39、ies in TV commercials are usually depicted as _.A. self-indulgent B. wealthyC. idealistic D. carefree（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(2).British TV advertising concentrates on _.A. the appearance of the productB. the emotional needs of its audienceC. the quality of modem lifeD. the need for good quality products（分
40、数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(3).What does the writer think of the car commercial?A. It was too long.B. It did not achieve its main aim.C. It lacked originality.D. It was poorly produced.（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(4).How are British commercials different from American ones?A. They adopt a more subtle approach.B. They are
41、generally of a lower standard.C. They are more expensively produced.D. They communicate more effectively.（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(5).In the last paragraph, the writer suggests that British TV advertising _.A. accurately reflects modern lifeB. is too old-fashionedC. fulfils a useful functionD. concentrates
42、on unimportant things（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.五、Passage 10(总题数：1，分数：5.00)I must warn you that you may find parts of this article rather difficult to understand. Wait! The sentence you have just read is quite untrue. But that isnt why you were irritated by it. It was, of course, also insulting and few people
43、 enjoy being insulted. By reading this article you are making the claim that you are the sort of person who will understand it; my opening sentence questioned your claim, and that is what made it insulting. In other words, an insult occurs whenever one person denies some aspect of identity which ano
44、ther is claiming, explicitly or otherwise.When describing the course of a disease, pathologists often talk of the body organizing its defences in response to a biological insult. But in everyday life we use the term only when the rules which govern social encounters are breached in the manner descri
45、bed. For social interaction to work it is essential that the participants respect the “face“ of all involved. “Face“ refers to the public image which a person chooses to present in a particular situation. Its importance is obvious when two people are talking to each other, but it cannot be ignored b
46、y the writer who wishes to keep his readers.If I wish to insult you, I must not merely threaten your face, but do so deliberately. Without malicious intent, I am guilty of a social blunder but nothing worse. Some people are famous for dropping bricks, but they are considered socially unskilled or na
47、ive rather than insulting; this can be seen from the fact that their remarks elicit laughter, admittedly strained, rather than anger.What happens when face is lost? It is usually possible to avoid or overlook the insult (“I didnt hear that“/“shes only a child“). If it is not overlooked, the next mov
48、e is conventionally a challenge in which the victim draws attention to the violation (“what do you mean, Ive got the manners of a pig?“). This is an invitation to the offender to restore order by making a response which indicates that the conventions have not after all been violated. He may apologiz
49、e ( “I dont know what came over me“ ) or make compensation ( “Im always throwing my food all over the place“). Alternatively, he can attempt to change the meaning of his remark ( “I was only joking“ / “I cant stand people who eat delicately“ ). Any of these ploys can repair the damage, so long as the wounded party accepts the explanation and the offender confirms his penitence by a display of suitable gratitude.（分数：5.00）(1).What is the authors intention in the opening sentence of this passage
