1、考研英语(二)-37 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：100.00)I had an experience some years ago which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to officiate at two funerals on successive days for two elderl
2、y women in my community. Both had died “full of years,“ as the Bible would say: both yielded to the normal wearing out of the body after a long and full life. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence calls on the two families on the same afternoon. At the first home, the son
3、of the deceased woman said to me, “If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It“s my fault that she died.“ At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn“t insisted on my mother“s going to Florida, she w
4、ould be alive today. That long airplane ride, the abrupt change of climate, was more than she could take. It“s my fault that she“s dead.“ When things don“t turn out as we would like them to, it is very tempting to assume that had we done things differently, the story would have had a happier ending.
5、 Priests know that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out badly, they believe that the opposite coursekeeping Mother at home, postponing the operationwould have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
6、 There seem to be two elements involved in our readiness to feel guilt. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist a
7、nd where they exist only in our minds. The second element is the notion that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may l
8、ie in our childhood. Psychologists speak of the infantile myth of omnipotence. A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to
9、 him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that infantile notion that our wishes cause things to happen.（分数：25.00）(1).What is said about the two deceased elderly women?（分数：5.00）A.They lived out a natural life.B.They died
10、of exhaustion after the long plane ride.C.They weren“t accustomed to the change in weather.D.They died due to lack of care by family members.(2).The author had to conduct the two women“s funerals probably because _.（分数：5.00）A.he wanted to console the two familiesB.he was an official from the communi
11、tyC.he had great sympathy for the deceasedD.he was priest of the local church(3).People feet guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because _.（分数：5.00）A.they couldn“t find a better way to express their griefB.they believe that they were responsibleC.they had neglected the natural course of events
12、D.they didn“t know things often turn out in the opposite direction(4).In the context of the passage, “. the world makes sense“ (Line 2, Para, 4) probably means that _. A. everything in the world is predetermined B. the world can be interpreted in different ways C there“s an explanation for everythin
13、g in the world D. we have to be sensible in order to understand the world（分数：5.00）A.B.C.D.(5).People have been made to believe since infancy that _.（分数：5.00）A.everybody is at their commandB.life and death is an unsolved mysteryC.every story should have a happy endingD.their wishes are the cause of e
14、verything that happensFrustrated with delays in Sacramento, Bay Area officials said Thursday they planned to take matters into their own hands to regulate the region“s growing pile of electronic trash. A San Jose councilwoman and a San Francisco supervisor said they would propose local initiatives a
15、imed at controlling electronic waste if the California law making body fails to act on two bills stalled in the Assembly. They are among a growing number of California cities and counties that have expressed the same intention. Environmentalists and local governments are increasingly concerned about
16、 the toxic hazard posed by old electronic devices and the cost of safely recycling those products. An estimated 6 million televisions and computers are stocked in California homes, and an additional 6,000 to 7,000 computers become outdated every day. The machines contain high levels of lead and othe
17、r hazardous substances, and are already banned from California landfills. Legislation by Senator Byron Sher would require consumers to pay a recycling fee of up to $30 on every new machine containing a cathode ray tube. Used in almost all video monitors and televisions, those devices contain four to
18、 eight pounds of lead each. The fees would go toward setting up recycling programs, providing grants to non-profit agencies that reuse the tubes and rewarding manufacturers that encourage recycling. A separate bill by Los Angeles-area Senator Gloria Romero would require high-tech manufacturers to de
19、velop programs to recycle so-called e-waste. If passed, the measures would put California at the forefront of national efforts to manage the refuse of the electronic age. But high-tech groups, including the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and the American Electronics Association, oppose the measu
20、res, arguing that fees of up to $30 wilt drive consumers to online, out-of-state retailers. “What really needs to occur is consumer education. Most consumers are unaware they“re not supposed to throw computers in the trash,“ said Roxanne Gould, vice president of government relations for the electron
21、ics association. Computer recycling should be a local effort and part of residential waste collection programs, she added. Recycling electronic waste is a dangerous and specialized matter, and environmentalists maintain the state must support recycling efforts and ensure that the job isn“t contracte
22、d to unscrupulous junk dealers who send the toxic parts overseas. “The graveyard of the high-tech revolution is ending up in rural China,“ said Ted Smith, director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. His group is pushing for an amendment to Sher“s bill that would prevent the export of e-waste.（分
23、数：25.00）(1).What step were Bay Area officials going to take regarding e-waste disposal?（分数：5.00）A.Exert pressure on manufacturers of electronic devices.B.Lay down relevant local regulations themselves.C.Lobby the lawmakers of the California Assembly.D.Rally support to pass the stalled bills.(2).The
24、two bills stalled in the California Assembly both concern _.（分数：5.00）A.regulations on dumping hazardous substances into landfillsB.the sale of used electronic devices to foreign countriesC.the funding of local initiatives to reuse electronic trashD.the reprocessing of the huge amounts of electronic
25、waste in the state(3).Consumers are not supposed to throw used computers in the trash because _.（分数：5.00）A.they contain large amounts of harmful substancesB.this is banned by the California governmentC.some parts may be recycled for use elsewhereD.unscrupulous dealers will retrieve them for profit(4
26、).High-tech groups believe that if an extra $30 is charged on every TV or computer purchased in California, consumers will _.（分数：5.00）A.abandon online shoppingB.buy them from other statesC.strongly protest against such a chargeD.hesitate to upgrade their computers(5).We learn from the passage that m
27、uch of California“s electronic waste has been _.（分数：5.00）A.collected by non-profit agenciesB.dumped into local landfillsC.exported to foreign countriesD.recycled by computer manufacturersThroughout the nation“s more than 15,000 school districts, widely differing approaches to teaching science and ma
28、th have emerged. Though there can be strength in diversity, a new international analysis suggests that this variability has instead contributed to lackluster achievement scores by U.S. children relative to their peers in other developed countries. Indeed, concludes William H. Schmidt of Michigan Sta
29、te University, who led the new analysis, “no single intellectually coherent vision dominates U.S. educational practice in math or science.“ The reason, he said, “is because the system is deeply and fundamentally flawed.“ The new analysis, released this week by the National Science Foundation in Arli
30、ngton, Va., is based on data collected from about 50 nations as part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Not only do approaches to teaching science and math vary among individual U. S. communities, the report finds, but there appears to be little strategic focus within a school
31、 district“s curricula, its textbooks, or its teachers“ activities. This contrasts sharply with the coordinated national programs of most other countries. On average, U.S. students study more topics within science and math than their international counterparts do. This creates an educational environm
32、ent that “is a mile wide and an inch deep,“ Schmidt notes. For instance, eighth graders in the United States cover about 33 topics in math versus just 19 in Japan. Among science courses, the international gap is even wider. U.S. curricula for this age level resemble those of a small group of countri
33、es including Australia, Thailand, Iceland, and Bulgaria. Schmidt asks whether the United States wants to be classed with these nations, whose educational systems “share our pattern of splintered visions“ but which are not economic leaders. The new report “couldn“t come at a better time,“ says Gerald
34、 Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association in Arlington. “The new National Science Education Standards provide that focused vision,“ including the call “to do less, but in greater depth.“ Implementing the new science standards and their math counterparts will be the ch
35、allenge, he and Schmidt agree, because the decentralized responsibility for education in the United States requires that any reforms be tailored and instituted one community at a time. In fact, Schmidt argues, reforms such as these proposed national standards “face an almost impossible task, because
36、 even though they are intellectually coherent, each becomes only one more voice in the babble.“（分数：25.00）(1).According to the passage, the teaching of science and math in America is _.（分数：5.00）A.focused on tapping students“ potentialB.characterized by its diversityC.losing its vitality graduallyD.go
37、ing downhill in recent years(2).The fundamental flaw of American school education is that _.（分数：5.00）A.it lacks a coordinated national programB.it sets a very low academic standard for studentsC.it relies heavily on the initiative of individual teachersD.it attaches too much importance to intensive
38、study of school subjects(3).By saying that the U.S. educational environment is “a mile wide and an inch deep“ (Line 2, Para.5), the author means U.S. educational practice（分数：5.00）A.lays stress on quality at the expense of quantityB.offers an environment for comprehensive educationC.encourages learni
39、ng both in depth and in scopeD.scratches the surface of a wide range of topics(4).The new National Science Education Standards are good news in that they will _.（分数：5.00）A.provide depth to school science educationB.solve most of the problems in school teachingC.he able to meet the demands of the com
40、munityD.quickly dominate U.S. educational practice(5).Putting the new science and math standards into practice will prove difficult because _.（分数：5.00）A.there is always controversy in educational circlesB.not enough educators have realized the necessity for doing soC.school districts are responsible
41、 for making their own decisionsD.many schoolteachers challenge the acceptability of these standards“I“ve never met a human worth cloning,“ says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from his lab at Texas AM University. “It“s a stupid endeavor.“ That“s an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man wh
42、o has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two cows and expect to clone a cat soon. They just might succeed in cloning Missy this springor perhaps not for another 5 years. It seems the reproductiv
43、e system of man“s best friend is one of the mysteries of modern science. Westhusin“s experience with cloning animals leaves him upset by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of dog“s eggs, the A he“s put up $3.7 million so far to f
44、und A he“s put up $3.7 million so far to fund A&M“s research. Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy“s fine qualities after she does die. The prototype is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and supersmart. Missy“s master does not expect an e
45、xact copy of her. He knows her clone may not have her temperament. In a statement of purpose, Missy“s owner and the A&M team say they are “both looking forward to studying the ways that her clones differ from Missy.“ Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old questi
46、on of nature vs. nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals. However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned anima
47、ls: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems. “Why would you ever want to clone humans,“ Westhusin asks, “when we“re not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?“（分数：25.00）(1).By “stupid endeavor“ (Line 2, Para.1), Westhusin means to say that _.（分数：5.00）A.animal clo
48、ning is not worth the effort at allB.animal cloning is absolutely impracticalC.human cloning should be done selectivelyD.human cloning is a foolish undertaking 解析：(2).What does the first paragraph tell us about Westhusin“s dog cloning project?（分数：5.00）A.Its success is already in sight.B.Its outcome
49、remains uncertain. C.It is doomed to utter failure.D.It is progressing smoothly.解析：(3).By cloning Missy, Mark Westhusin hopes to _.（分数：5.00）A.study the possibility of cloning humansB.search for ways to modify its temperamentC.examine the reproductive system of the dog speciesD.find out the differences between Missy and its clones 解析：(4).We learn from the passage that animal clones are likely to have _.（分数：5.00）A.a bad temperB.immune deficiencyC.defective organs D.an abnormal shape解析：(5).It can be seen that prese
