1、考博英语（阅读理解）-试卷 87 及答案解析(总分：34.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：34.00)When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strange happened to the large animals. They suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived. The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were q
2、uickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans. That the seas are being overfished has been known for years. What researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown is just how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fish
3、eries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass(the amount of living biological matter)of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predato
4、rs(animals that kill and eat other animals)in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then. Dr. Worm acknowledges that these figures are conservative. One reason for this is that fishing technology
5、has improved. Todays vessels can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch si
6、zes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since no baited hooks would have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fis
7、hing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around now. Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm argue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the date support an
8、idea current among marine biologists, that of the “shifting baseline“. The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the ma
9、ximum sustainable yield that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to be business.（分数：8.00）(1).The extinction of large prehistoric animals is noted to suggest that_.（分数：2.00
10、）A.large animal were vulnerable to the changing environmentB.small species survived as large animals disappearedC.large sea animals may face the same threat todayD.Slow-growing fish outlive fast-growing ones(2).We can infer form Dr. Myers and Dr. Worms paper that_.（分数：2.00）A.the stock of large preda
11、tors in some old fisheries has reduced by 90%B.there are only half as many fisheries are there were 15 years agoC.he catch sizes in new fisheries are only 20% of the original amountD.the number of larger predators dropped faster in new fisheries than in the old(3).By saying “these figures are conser
12、vative“(paragragh 3), Dr. Worm means that_.（分数：2.00）A.fishing technology has improved rapidlyB.the catch-sizes are actually smaller than recordedC.the marine biomass has suffered a greater lossD.the data collected so far are out of date(4).Dr. Myers and other researchers hold that_.（分数：2.00）A.people
13、 should look for a baseline that cant work for a longer timeB.fisheries should keep their yield below 50% of the biomassC.the ocean biomass should be restored to its original levelD.people should adjust the fishing baseline to the changing situationWhen it comes to the slowing economy, Ellen Spero i
14、snt biting her nails just yet. But the 47-year-old manicurist isnt cutting, filling or polishing as many nails as shed like to, either. Most of her clients spend $ 12 to $ 50 weekly, but last month two longtime customers suddenly stopped showing up. Spero blames the softening economy. “Im a good eco
15、nomic indicator,“ she says, “I provide a service that people can do without when theyre concerned about saving some dollars. “ So Spero is downscaling, shopping at middle-brow Dillards department store near her suburban Cleveland home, instead of Neiman Marcus. “I dont know if other clients are goin
16、g to abandon me, too,“ she says. Even before Alan Greenspans admission that Americas red-hot economy is cooling, lots of working folks had already seen signs of the slowdown themselves. From car dealerships to Gap outlets, sales have been lagging for months as shoppers temper their spending. For ret
17、ailers, who last year took in 24 percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time. Already, experts say, holiday sales are off 7 percent from last years pace. But dont sound any alarms just yet. Consumers seem only concerned, not panicked
18、, and many say they remain optimistic about the economys long-term prospects even as they do some modest belt-tightening. Consumers say theyre not in despair because, despite the dreadful headlines, their own fortunes still feel pretty good. Home prices are holding steady in most regions. In Manhatt
19、an, “theres a new gold rush happening in the $4 million to $ 10 million range, predominantly fed by Wall Street bonuses,“ says broker Barbara Corcoran. In San Francisco, prices are still rising even as frenzied overbidding quiets. “Instead of 20 to 30 offers, now maybe you only get two or three,“ sa
20、ys John Tealdi, a Bay Area real-estate broker. And most folks still feel pretty comfortable about their ability to find and keep a job. Many folks see silver linings to this slowdown. Potential home buyers would cheer for lower interest rates. Employers wouldnt mind a little fewer bubbles in the job
21、 market. Many consumers seem to have been influenced by stock-market swings, which investors now view as a necessary ingredient to a sustained boom. Diners might see an upside, too. Getting a table at Manhattans hot new Alain Ducasse restaurant need to be impossible. Not anymore. For that, Greenspan
22、 & Co. may still be worth toasting.（分数：8.00）(1).How do the public feel about the current economic situation?（分数：2.00）A.Optimistic.B.Confused.C.Carefree.D.Panicked.(2).When mentioning “the $4 million to $10 million range“(paragraph 3)the author is talking about_.（分数：2.00）A.gold marketB.real estateC.s
23、tock exchangeD.venture investment(3).Why can many people see “silver linings“ to the economic showdown?（分数：2.00）A.They would benefit in certain ways.B.The stock market shows signs of recovery.C.Such a slowdown usually precedes a boom.D.The purchasing power would be enhanced.(4).To which of the follo
24、wing is the author likely to agree?（分数：2.00）A.A new boom, on the horizon.B.Tighten the belt, the single remedy.C.Caution all right, panic notD.The more ventures, the more chances.Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope with work that is dangerous, borin
25、g, burdensome, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has resulted in robotics the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines. And if scientists have yet to create the mechanical version of science fiction, they have begun to come close. As a result, the modern world is increasingly
26、populated by intelligent gizmos whose presence we barely notice but whose universal existence has removed much human labor. Our factories hum to the rhythm of robot assembly arms. Our banking is done at automated teller terminals that thank us with mechanical politeness for the transaction. Our subw
27、ay trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers. And thanks to the continual miniaturization of electronics and micro-mechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy far greater precision than highly skilled physicians ca
28、n achieve with their hands alone. But if robots are to reach the next stage of laborsaving utility, they will have to operate with less human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for themselves goals that pose a real challenge. “While we know how to tell a robot to handle a speci
29、fic error,“ says Dave Lavery, manager of a robotics program at NASA, “we cant yet give a robot enough common sense to reliably interact with a dynamic world. “ Indeed the quest for true artificial intelligence has produced very mixed results. Despite a spell of initial optimism in the 1960s and 1970
30、s when it appeared that transistor circuits and microprocessors might be able to copy the action of the human brain by the year 2010, researchers lately have begun to extend that forecast by decades if not centuries. What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brains roughly o
31、ne hundred billion nerve cells are much more talented and human perception far more complicated than previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognize the error of a machine panel by a fraction of a millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But the human mind can glimpse a rapidly
32、 changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 percent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the monkey at the side of a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer systems on Earth cant approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists s
33、till dont know quite how we do it.（分数：8.00）(1).Human ingenuity was initially demonstrated in_.（分数：2.00）A.the use of machines to produce science fictionB.the wide use of machines in manufacturing industryC.the invention of tools for difficult and dangerous workD.the elites cunning tackling of dangero
34、us and boring work(2).The word “gizmos“(paragraph 2)most probably means_.（分数：2.00）A.programsB.expertsC.devicesD.creatures(3).According to the text, what is beyond mans ability now is to design a robot that can_.（分数：2.00）A.fulfill delicate tasks like performing brain surgeryB.interact with human bein
35、gs verballyC.have a little common senseD.respond independently to a changing world(4).Besides reducing human labor, robots can also_.（分数：2.00）A.make a few decisions for themselvesB.deal with some errors with human interventionC.improve factory environmentsD.cultivate human creativityAs researchers l
36、earn more about how childrens intelligence develops, they are increasingly surprised by the power of parents. The power of the school has been replaced by the home . To begin with, all the factors which are part of intelligence the childs understanding of language, learning patterns, curiosity are e
37、stablished well before the child enters school at the age of six. Study after has shown that even after school begins, childrens achievements have been far more influenced by parents than by teachers, This is particularly true about leaning that is language-related, The school rather than the home i
38、s given credit for variations in achievement in subjects such as science. In view of their power its sad to see so many parents not making the most of their intelligence. Until recently parents had been by educators who asked them not to educate their children. Many teachers now realize that childre
39、n cannot be educated only at school and being asked to contribute both before and after the child enters school. Parents have been particularly afraid to teach reading at home. Of course, children shouldnt be pushed to read by their parents, but educators have discovered that reading is best taught
40、individually and the easiest place to do this is at home. Many four and five-year-olds who have been shown a few letters and taught their sounds will compose single words of their own with them even before they have been taught to read.（分数：10.00）(1).What have researchers found out about the influenc
41、e of parents and the school on childrens intelligence?（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(2).What do researchers conclude about childrens about childrens learning patterns?（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(3).In which area may school play a more important role?（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(4).Why did many parents fail to make the most of their chi
42、ldrens intelligence?（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(5).The author suggests in the last paragraph that parents should be encouraged to 1.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_考博英语（阅读理解）-试卷 87 答案解析(总分：34.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：34.00)When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strange happened
43、to the large animals. They suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived. The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans. That the seas are being overfished has been known for years. What researchers s
44、uch as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown is just how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass(the amount of living biological matter)of fish species in particular parts of th
45、e ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators(animals that kill and eat other animals)in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it
46、 has halved again since then. Dr. Worm acknowledges that these figures are conservative. One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Todays vessels can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the
47、 sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since no baited hooks would
48、have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around now. Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm a
49、rgue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the date support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the “shifting baseline“. The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory
