1、考研英语(二)-14 及答案解析(总分：85.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Section Use of Eng(总题数：1，分数：10.00)People often think that other people are staring 1 them even when they aren“t, the research 2 by the University of Sydney has found. To be specific, when in doubt, the human brain is more 3 to tell its owner that he“s under the
2、 gaze of another person. To tell if they“re under someone“s gaze, people look at the 4 of the other person“s eyes and the direction of their heads. These 5 cues are then sent to the brain 6 there are specific areas that compute this information. However, the brain doesn“t just 7 receive information
3、from the eyes. The study shows that when people have 8 visual cues, such as in dark conditions or when the other person is wearing sunglasses, the brain 9 with what it “knows“. The researchers created images of faces and asked people to observe where the faces were looking. “We made it 10 for the ob
4、servers to see where the eyes were pointed so they would have to 11 on their prior knowledge to judge the faces“ direction of gaze,“ Professor Clifford explains. “It 12 that we“re likely to believe that others are staring at us, especially when we“re 13 .“ “There are several 14 to why humans have th
5、is bias,“ Professor Clifford says. “Direct gaze can signal dominance or a threat, and if you perceive something as a threat, you would not want to miss it. So assuming 14 the other person is looking at you may simply be a safer strategy. Also, direct gaze is often a social cue that the other person
6、wants to 15 with us, so it“s a signal for an upcoming interaction.“ “It“s important that we find out whether it“s 16 or learnedand how this might affect people with certain mental conditions,“ Professor Clifford said. Research has shown, for example, that people who have autism are 17 able to tell w
7、hether someone is looking at them. People 18 social anxiety, on the other hand, have a higher tendency to think that they are under the stare of others. “So if it is a learned behaviour, we could help them practice this task, letting them observe a lot of faces with different eyes and head direction
8、s, and 19 them feedback on whether their observations are accurate.“（分数：10.00）A.atB.inC.withD.toA.studiedB.preparedC.ledD.discoveredA.happilyB.impossibleC.difficultlyD.likelyA.positionB.colorC.sizeD.shapeA.unusualB.acousticC.obviousD.visualA.whichB.whereC.whenD.whatA.passivelyB.automaticallyC.effect
9、ivelyD.activelyA.limitedB.positiveC.clearD.valuableA.makesB.takesC.hasD.turnsA.easyB.pleasantC.difficultD.colorfulA.decideB.relyC.takeD.searchA.turns toB.turns onC.turns outD.turns intoA.delightfulB.depressedC.cautiousD.uncertainA.methodsB.speculationsC.signalsD.consequencesA.whenB.whetherC.ifD.that
10、A.fightB.negotiateC.communicateD.stayA.inferiorB.innerC.innateD.initialA.moreB.lessC.littleD.muchA.withB.inC.onD.ofA.puttingB.lettingC.helpingD.giving二、Section Reading Co(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、Part A(总题数：0，分数：0.00)四、Text 1(总题数：1，分数：10.00)The old saying of never forgetting a pretty face might be untrue as
11、psychologists believe beautiful people are less likely to be recognized. A new study suggests that attractiveness can actually prevent the recognition of faces, unless a pretty face is particularly distinctive. German psychologists think the recognition of pretty faces is distorted by emotions. Scie
12、ntists at the University of Jena, Germany, discovered that photos of unattractive people were more easily remembered than pretty ones when they showed them to a group of people. Researchers Holger Wiese, Carolin Altmann and Stefan Schweinberger from the university, wrote in their study: “We could sh
13、ow that the test subjects were more likely to remember unattractive faces than attractive ones, when the latter didn“t have any particularly noticeable traits.“ For the study, which was published in science magazine Neuropsychologia , the psychologists showed photos of faces to test subjects. Half o
14、f the faces were considered to be more attractive and the other half as less attractive, but all of them were being thought of as similarly distinctive looking. The test subjects were shown the faces for just a few seconds to memorize them and were shown them again during the test so that they could
15、 decide if they recognized them or not. The scientists were surprised by the result. “Until now we assumed that it was generally easier to memorize faces which are being perceived as attractive, just because we prefer looking at beautiful faces,“ Dr. Wiese said. But the study showed that such a conn
16、ection cannot be easily sustained. He assumes that remembering pretty faces is distorted by emotional influences, which enhance the sense of recognition at a later time. The researchers“ idea is backed up by evidence from EEG-recordings which show the brain“s electric activity, which the scientists
17、used during their experiment. The study also revealed that in the case of attractive faces, considerably more false positive results were detected. In other words, people thought they recognized a face without having seen it before. “We obviously tend to believe that we recognize a face just because
18、 we find it attractive.“ Dr. Wiese said.（分数：10.00）(1).What can be learned from the new study?（分数：2.00）A.Beautiful people are easily recognizable.B.People are reluctant to recognize ugly faces.C.Attractive faces are easy to be recognized.D.Attractiveness sometimes prevents the recognition of faces.(2
19、).Which one is True about the photos of faces mentioned in Paragraph 3?（分数：2.00）A.They were selected at random.B.They were all pretty faces.C.They were easily recognizable.D.They were showed twice to the test subjects.(3).Why do we generally assume it is easier to memorize beautiful faces?（分数：2.00）A
20、.Because beautiful faces are rare.B.Because we love to look at beautiful faces more.C.Because our memory favors beautiful things.D.Because beautiful faces have distinctive traits.(4).How do emotional influences distort remembering pretty faces?（分数：2.00）A.They can enhance the memory later.B.They can
21、change our memory about it gradually.C.They make us tend to remember what we like.D.They make us fail to make sound judgments.(5).What does “false positive results“ (Para. 5) mean?（分数：2.00）A.People recognize fewer faces than they have thought.B.People recognize more ugly faces than pretty ones.C.Peo
22、ple claim to recognize a face they have never seen.D.People actually only recognize a few pretty faces.五、Text 2(总题数：1，分数：10.00)No matter how many times you have seen images of the golden mask of Tutankhamen, come face to face with it in Egypt“s Cairo museum, and you will suck in your breath. It was
23、on Nov 4, 1923, that British archaeologist Howard Carter accidentally found a stone at the base of a tomb in Luxor that eventually led to a sealed doorway. Then, on Nov 23, Carter found a second door and when he stuck his head through it, what he saw was to shock the world. Inside lay a great stone
24、coffin enclosing three chests of gilded wood. A few months later, when the coffins were removed one after another, Carter found a solid block of gold weighing 110 kg. In it was the mummy of the 19-year-old Tutankhamen, covered in gold with that splendid funeral mask. And all this lay buried for more
25、 than 3,000 years. Cairo, a dusty city of 20 million people, is a place where time seems to both stand still and rush into utter chaos. It is a place where the ancient and contemporary happily go along on parallel tracks. Take the Great Pyramids of Giza, sitting on the western edge of the city. Even
26、 as the setting sun silhouettes these gigantic structures against the great desert expanse, a call for prayer floats over semi-finished apartment blocks filled with the activity of city life. While careful planning for the afterlife may lie buffed underground in Cairo, it is noise and confusion on t
27、he streets. Donkey carts battle for space with passers-by and the only operative road rule is “might is right“. But it is a city that is full of lifefrom the small roadside restaurants to the coffee shops. Donkey carts piled high with flat-breads magically find their way in and out the maddening tra
28、ffic; young women in long skirts and headscarves hold hands with young men in open collar shirts, while conversations revolve around Kuwait“s chances at the soccer World Cup.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the context, “suck in your breath“ (Para. 1) means “feel a sense of _“.（分数：2.00）A.respect and fearB
29、.horror and doubtC.doubt and disappointmentD.delight and surprise(2).What do we learn about the mummy?（分数：2.00）A.The masked mummy was covered in pure silver.B.The discovery of the mummy came as a surprise.C.It was first discovered by a British artist.D.It was found lying fight inside the stone coffi
30、n.(3).Which word CANNOT be used to describe Cairo?（分数：2.00）A.Crowded.B.Quiet.C.Noisy.D.Confused.(4).What does the author mean by saying “It is a place where the ancient and contemporary happily go along on parallel tracks.“ (Para. 5)?（分数：2.00）A.Cairo is both ancient and modem.B.Cairo has lots of tra
31、in tracks.C.People in Cairo live more happily than ever.D.People in Cairo get along well with each other.(5).What is the author“s attitude towards Cairo?（分数：2.00）A.Positive.B.Negative.C.Objective.D.Unclear.六、Text 3(总题数：1，分数：10.00)A New Zealand man who was asked by scientists to agree with everything
32、 his wife said had to call off the experiment after 12 days because it was proved so harmful to his mental health. The study was set up to examine the old marriage advice about whether it“s more important to be happy or to be right. Couples therapists sometimes suggest that in a bid to avoid constan
33、t arguments, spouses weigh up whether pressing the point is worth the misery of marital discord. The researchers, who are doctors and professors at the University of Auckland, noticed that many of their patients were adding stress to their lives by insisting on being right, even when it worked again
34、st their well-being. So they found a couple who were willing to record their quality of life on a scale of 1 to 10. They told the man, who wanted to be happy more than right, about the purpose of the study and asked him to agree with every opinion and request his wife had without complaint, even whe
35、n he profoundly didn“t agree. The wife was not informed of the purpose of the study and just asked to record her quality of life. Things went rapidly downhill for the couple. The man“s quality-of-life scores fell, from 7 to 3, over the course of the experiment. The wife“s scores rose modestly, from
36、8 to 8.5, before she became hostile to the idea of recording the scores. Rather than causing harmony, the husband“s agreeableness led to the wife becoming increasingly critical of what he did and said (in the husband“s opinion). After 12 days he broke down and the study was called off because of “se
37、vere adverse outcomes“. The researchers concluded, shockingly, that humans need to be right and acknowledged as right, at least some of the time, to be happy. In politics, people often note that there can be no peace without justice, and that“s true of the domestic sphere as well. The researchers al
38、so noted that this was further proof that if given too much power, humans tend to “assume the alpha position and, as with chimpanzees, they become very aggressive and dangerous.“ Obviously the results are to be taken with extreme caution, since this was just one couple with who-knows- what underlyin
39、g issues beforehand. But the study“s chief author, Dr. Bruce, maintains that the question of happiness vs. rightness, theoretically, could be settled by scientific inquiry with a wider sample. “This would include a randomized controlled trial,“ he says. “However we would be reluctant to do the defin
40、itive study because of the concern about divorce or homicide.“（分数：10.00）(1).What“s the purpose of the study mentioned in the passage?（分数：2.00）A.Illustrate how to live a happier life.B.Test an old piece of advice on marriage.C.Find out the best advice for marriage.D.See if people are happy in marriag
41、e.(2).What do we know about the couple in the study?（分数：2.00）A.Both of them fully knew the purpose of the study.B.Both of them agreed to make no complaints.C.The man wanted to feel being right.D.The woman knew little about the study.(3).What happened to the couple during the experiment?（分数：2.00）A.Bo
42、th the man and his wife felt happier.B.None of the couple felt happier.C.The man became much less happier.D.The wife became much happier.(4).What“s the conclusion made by the researchers?（分数：2.00）A.Sometimes people need to be recognized as right to be happy.B.Humans have something in common with chi
43、mpanzees.C.Marriage needs more justice than peace.D.People can have as much power as they want.(5).What can we learn from Dr. Bruce“s words?（分数：2.00）A.The results of the study is convincing enough.B.The study will definitely lead to divorce or homicide.C.They hope to do more researches with a wider
44、sample.D.They“re unwilling to continue the study for its bad influence.七、Text 4(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Gravity is one of those things we take completely for granted. And there are two things about it that we take for granted: the fact that it is always there, and the fact that it never changes. If the earth
45、“s gravity were ever to change significantly, it would have a huge effect on nearly everything because so many things are designed around the current state of gravity. Gravity is an attractive force between any two atoms. Let“s say you take two golf balls and place them on a table. There will be an
46、incredibly slight gravitational attraction between the atoms in those two golf balls. If you use two massive pieces of lead and some amazingly precise instruments, you can actually measure an infinitesimal attraction between them. It is only when you get a gigantic number of atoms together, that the
47、 force of gravitational attraction is significant. The reason why gravity on Earth never changes is the mass of the Earth never changes. A change in mass great enough to result in a change in gravity isn“t going to happen anytime soon. But let“s ignore the physics and imagine that, suddenly there wa
48、s no force of gravity on planet Earth. This would turn out to be a pretty bad day. We depend on gravity to hold so many things downcars, people, furniture, pencils and papers on your desk, and so on. Everything would start floating. What“s more, two of the more important things held on the ground by
49、 gravity are the atmosphere and the water in the oceans, lakes and rivers. Without gravity, the air in the atmosphere would immediately leap into space. This is the problem the moon has the moon doesn“t have enough gravity to keep an atmosphere around it, so it“s in a near vacuum. Without an atmosphere, any living thing would die immediately and anything liquid would boil away into space. In other words, no one would last long if the planet didn“t have gravity. If gravity were to suddenly double, it would be almost as bad, because everything would be twice as heavy. There would be
