1、考博英语（阅读理解）历年真题试卷汇编 2及答案解析(总分：40.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：40.00)In 1896 a Georgia couple suing for damages in the accidental death of their two year old was told that since the child had made no real economic contribution to the family, there was no liability for damages. In cont
2、rast, less than a century later, in 1979, the parents of a three year old sued in New York for accidental-death damages and won an award of $ 750, 000. The transformation in social values implicit in just a posing these two incidents is the subject of Viviana Zelizers excellent book, Pricing the Pri
3、celess Child. During the nineteenth century, she argues, the concept of the “useful“ child who contributed to the family economy gave way gradually to the present-day notion of the “useless“ child who, though producing no income for, and indeed extremely costly to, its parents, is yet considered emo
4、tionally “priceless“. Well established among segments of the middle and upper classes by the mid-1800s, this new view of childhood spread through-out society in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries as reformers introduced child-labor regulations and compulsory education laws predicated
5、in part on the assumption that a childs emotional value made child labor taboo. For Zelizer the origins of this transformation were many and complex. The gradual erosion of childrens productive value in a maturing industrial economy, the decline in birth and death rates, especially in child mortalit
6、y, and the development of the companionate family(a family in which members were united by explicit bonds of love rather than duty)were all factors critical in changing the assessment of childrens worth. Yet “expulsion of children from the cash nexus , . although clearly shaped by profound changes i
7、n the economic, occupational, and family structures,“ Zelizer maintains. “Was also part of a cultural process of sacralization of childrens lives. “ Protecting children from the crass business world became enormously important for late-nineteenth-century middle-class Americans, she suggests; this sa
8、cralization was a way of resisting what they perceived as the relentless corruption of human values by the marketplace. In stressing the cultural determinants of a childs worth. Zelizer takes issue with practitioners of the new “ sociological economics“ , who have analyzed such traditionally sociolo
9、gical topics as crime, marriage, education, and health solely in terms of their economic determinants. Allowing only a small role for cultural forces in the form of individual “preferences“ , these sociologists tend to view all human behavior as directed primarily by the principle of maximizing econ
10、omic gain. Zelizer is highly critical of this approach, and emphasizes instead the opposite phenomenon: the power of social values to transform price. As children became more valuable in emotional terms, she argues, their “ exchange“ or “surrender“ value on the market, that is, the conversion of the
11、ir intangible worth into cash terms, became much greater.（分数：10.00）(1).It can be inferred from the passage that accidental death damage awards in America during the nineteenth century tended to be based principally on the_.（分数：2.00）A.earnings of the person at time of deathB.wealth of the party causi
12、ng the deathC.degree of culpability of the party causing the deathD.amount of money that had been spent on the person killed(2).It can be inferred from the passage that in the early 1800s children were generally regarded by their families as individuals who_.（分数：2.00）A.needed enormous amounts of sec
13、urity and affectionB.required constant supervision while workingC.were important to the economic well-being of a familyD.were unsuited to spending long hours in school(3).Which of the following alternative explanations of the change in the cash value of children would be most likely to be put forwar
14、d by sociological economists as they are described in the passage?（分数：2.00）A.The cash value of children rose during the nineteenth century because parents began to increase their emotional investment in the upbringing of their children.B.The cash value of children rose during the nineteenth century
15、because their expected earning over the course of a lifetime increased greatly.C.The cash value of children rose during the nineteenth century because the spread of humanitarian ideals resulted in a whole a sale reappraisal of the worth of an individual.D.The cash value of children rose during the n
16、ineteenth century because compulsory education laws reduced the supply, and thus raised the costs, of available child labor.(4).The primary purpose of the passage is to_.（分数：2.00）A.review the literature in a new academic subfieldB.present the central thesis of a recent bookC.contrast two approaches
17、to analyzing historical changeD.refute a traditional explanation of a social phenomenon(5).Zelizer refers to all of the following as important influences in changing the assessment of childrens worth except changes in_.（分数：2.00）A.the mortality rateB.the nature of industryC.the nature of the familyD.
18、attitudes toward reform movementsA stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street in Petrograd to the great confusion of the traffic and with no small peril to herself. It was pointed out to her that the pavement was the place for pedestrians, but she replied; “Im going to wa
19、lk where I like. Weve got liberty now. “ It did not occur to the dear old lady that if liberty entitled the pedestrian to walk down the middle of the road, then the end of such liberty would be universal chaos. Everybody would be getting in everybody elses way and nobody would get anywhere. Individu
20、al liberty would have become social anarchy. There is a danger of the world getting liberty-drunk in these days like the old lady with the basket, and it is just as well to remind ourselves of what the rule of the road means. It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the lib
21、erties of everybody must be curtailed. When the policeman, say, at Piccadilly Circus steps into the middle of the road and puts out his hand, he is the symbol not of tyranny, but of liberty. You may not think so. You may, being in a hurry, and seeing your car pulled up by this insolence of office, f
22、eel that your liberty has been outraged. How dare this fellow interfere with your free use of the public highway? Then, if you are a reasonable person, you will reflect that if he did not interfere with you, he would interfere with no one, and the result would be that Piccadilly Circus would be a ma
23、elstrom that you would never cross at all. You have submitted to a curtailment of private liberty in order that you may enjoy a social order which makes your liberty a reality. Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract. It is an accommodation of interests. In matters which do not
24、touch anybody elses liberty, of course, I may be as free as I like. If I choose to go down the road in a dressing-gown who shall say me nay? You have liberty to laugh at me, but I have liberty to be indifferent to you. And if I have a fancy for dyeing my hair, or waxing my moustache(which heaven for
25、bid), or wearing an overcoat and sandals, or going to bed late or getting up early, I shall follow my fancy and ask no mans permission. I shall not inquire of you whether I may eat mustard with my mutton. And you will not ask me whether you may follow this religion or that, whether you may prefer El
26、la Wheeler Wilcox to Wordsworth, or champagne to shandy. In all these and a thousand other details you and I please ourselves and ask no ones leave. We have a whole kingdom, in which we rule alone, can do what we choose, be wise or ridiculous, harsh or easy, conventional or odd. But directly we step
27、 out of that kingdom, our personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other peoples liberty. I might like to practice on the trombone from midnight till three in the morning. If I went on to the top of Everest to do it, I could please myself, but if I do it in my bedroom my family will object, a
28、nd if I do it out in the streets then neighbors will remind me that my liberty to blow the trombone must not interfere with their liberty to sleep in quiet. There are a lot of people in the world, and I have to accommodate my liberty to their liberties. We are all liable to forget this, and unfortun
29、ately we are much more conscious of the imperfections of others in this respect than of our own. A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others is the foundation of social conduct. It is in the small matters of conduct, in the observance of the rule of the road, that we pass judgmen
30、t upon ourselves, and declare that we are civilized or uncivilized. The great moments of heroism and sacrifice are rare. It is the little habits of commonplace intercourse that make up the great sum of life and sweeten or make bitter the journey.（分数：10.00）(1).The author might have stated his “rule o
31、f the road“ as_.（分数：2.00）A.do not walk in the middle of the roadB.follow the orders of policemenC.do not behave inconsiderately in publicD.do what you like in private(2).The authors attitude to the old lady in paragraph one is_.（分数：2.00）A.condescendingB.intolerantC.objectiveD.supportive(3).A situati
32、on analogous to the “insolence of office“ described in paragraph 2 would be_.（分数：2.00）A.a teacher correcting grammar errorsB.an editor shortening the text of an articleC.a tax inspector demanding to see someones accountsD.an army office giving orders to a soldier(4).The author assumes that he may be
33、 as free as he likes in_.（分数：2.00）A.all matters of dress and foodB.any situation which does not interfere with the liberty of othersC.anything that is not against the lawD.his own home(5).In the sentence “We are all liable.“ the author is_.（分数：2.00）A.pointing out a general weaknessB.emphasizing his
34、main pointC.countering a general misconceptionD.suggesting a remedyThe name of Florence Nightingale lives in the memory of the world by virtue of the heroic adventure of the Crimea. Had she died as she nearly did upon her return to England, her reputation would hardly have been different; her legend
35、 would have come down to us almost as we know it today that gentle vision of female virtue which first took shape before the adoring eyes of the sick soldiers at Scutari. Yet, as a matter of fact, she lived for more than half a century after the Crimean War; and during the greater part of that long
36、period all the energy and all the devotion of her extraordinary nature were working at their highest pitch. What she accomplished in those years of unknown labor could, indeed, hardly have been more glorious than her Crimean triumphs; but it was certainly more important. The true history was far str
37、anger even than the myth. In Miss Nightingales own eyes the adventure of the Crimea was a mere incident scarcely more than a useful stepping-stone in her career. It was the fulcrum with which she hoped to move the world; but it was only the fulcrum. For more than a generation she was to sit in secre
38、t, working her lever: and her real life began at the very moment when, in popular imagination, it had ended. She arrived in England in a shattered state of health. The hardships and the ceaseless efforts of the last two years had undermined her nervous system; her heart was affected; she suffered co
39、nstantly from fainting-fits and terrible attacks of utter physical prostration. The doctors declared that one thing alone would save her a complete and prolonged rest. But that was also the one thing with which she would have nothing to do. She had never been in the habit of resting; why should she
40、begin now? Now, when her opportunity had come at last; now, when the iron was hot, and it was time to strike? No, she had worked to do; and, come what might, she would do it. The doctors protested in vain; in vain her family lamented and entreated, in vain her friends pointed out to her the madness
41、of such a course. Madness? Mad possessed perhaps she was. A frenzy had seized upon her. As she lay upon her sofa, gasping, she devoured blue-books, dictated letters, and, in the intervals of her palpitations, cracked jokes. For months at a stretch she never left her bed. But she would not rest. At t
42、his rate, the doctors assured her, even if she did not die, she would become an invalid for life. She could not help that; there was work to be done; and, as for rest, very likely she might rest . when she had done it. Wherever she went, to London or in the country, in the hills of Derbyshire, or am
43、ong the rhododendrons at Embley, she was haunted by a ghost. It was the specter of Scutari the hideous vision of the organization of a military hospital. She would lay that phantom, or she would perish. The whole system of the Army Medical Department, the education of the Medical Officer, the regula
44、tions of hospital procedure . rest? How could she rest while these things were as they were, while, if the like necessity were to arise again, the like results would follow? And, even in peace and at home, what was the sanitary condition of the Army? The mortality in the barracks, was, she found, ne
45、arly double the mortality in civil life. “You might as well take 1,100 men every year out upon Salisbury Plain and shoot them,“ she said. After inspecting the hospitals at Chatham, she smiled grimly. “Yes, this is one more symptom of the system which, in the Crimea, put to death 16, 000 men. “ Scuta
46、ri had given her knowledge; and it had given her power too: her enormous reputation was at her back an incalculable force. Other work, other duties, might lie before her; but the most urgent, the most obvious, of all was to look to the health of the Army.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the author, the wo
47、rk done during the last fifty years of Florence Nightingales life was, when compared with her work in the Crimea, all of the following except_.（分数：2.00）A.less dramaticB.less demandingC.less well-known to the publicD.more important(2).Paragraph two paints a picture of a woman who is_.（分数：2.00）A.menta
48、lly shatteredB.stubborn and querulousC.physically weak but mentally indomitableD.purposeful yet tiresome(3).The primary purpose of paragraph 3 is to_.（分数：2.00）A.account for conditions in the armyB.show the need for hospital reformC.explain Miss Nightingales main concernsD.argue that peacetime condit
49、ions were worse than wartime conditions(4).The authors attitude to his material is_.（分数：2.00）A.disinterested reporting of biographical detailsB.over-inflation of a reputationC.debunking a mythD.interpretation as well as narration(5).In her statement(in the last paragraph)Miss Nightingale intended to_.（分数：2.00）A.criticize the conditions in hospitalsB.highlight the unhealthy conditions under which ordinary soldiers were livingC.prove that conditions in the barracks were as bad as those in a mil
