1、考研英语-123 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、BSection Use o(总题数：1，分数：10.00)BDirections:/BRead the following text. Choose the best word (s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on Answer Sheet 1.In October 2002, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche BankU (1) /Ua new electronic market (www. gs. com/econderivs
2、) for economic indices thatU (2) /Usubstantial economic risks, such as nonfarm payroll (a measure of job availability) and retail sales. This new market was made possible by aU (3) /Utrading technology, developed by Longitude, a New York company providing software for financial markets,U (4) /Uthe P
3、arimutuel Digital Call Auction. This is “digital“U (5) /Uof a digital option: ie, it pays out only if an underlying index lies in a narrow, discrete range. In effect, Longitude has created a horse race, where each “horse“ wins if andU (6) /Uthe specified index falls in a specified range. By creating
4、 horses for every possibleU (7) /Uof the index, and allowing people to betU (8) /Uany number of runners, the company has produced a liquid integrated electronic market for a wide array of options on economic indices.Ten years ago it wasU (9) /Uimpossible to make use of electronic information about h
5、ome values. Now, mortgage lenders have online automated valuation models that allow them to estimate values and toU (10) /Uthe risk in their portfolios. This has led to a proliferation of types of home loan, some ofU (11) /Uhave improved risk-management characteristics.We are also beginning to see n
6、ew kinds ofU (12) /Ufor homes, which will make it possible to protect the value ofU (13) /U, for most people, is the single most importantU (14) /Uof their wealth. The Yale University-Neighbourhood Reinvestment Corporation programme,U (15) /Ulast year in the city of Syracuse, in New York State, may
7、be a model for home-equity insurance policies thatU (16) /Usophisticated economic indices of house prices to define theU (17) /Uof the policy. Electronic futures markets that are based on econometric indices of house prices by city, already begun by City Index and IG Index in Britain and nowU (18) /
8、Udeveloped in the United States, will enable home-equity insurers to hedge the risks that they acquire by writing these policies.These examples are not impressive successes yet. But theyU (19) /Uas early precursors of a technology that should one day help us to deal with the massive risks of inequal
9、ity thatU (20) /Uwill beset us in coming years.（分数：10.00）A.createdB.generatedC.initiatedD.originatedA.reproduceB.restoreC.representD.resumeA.sophisticatedB.expensiveC.availableD.establishedA.madeB.calledC.askedD.readA.in the courseB.in the eventC.in the lightD.in the senseA.whenB.untilC.now thatD.on
10、ly ifA.extentB.rangeC.lineD.areaA.forB.inC.onD.upA.virtuallyB.admittedlyC.absolutelyD.originallyA.assumeB.assessC.dismissD.eraseA.themB.whichC.thatD.whomA.managementB.insuranceC.securityD.techonologyA.whatB.thoseC.whereD.itA.guaranteeB.protectionC.componentD.sourceA.securedB.sponsoredC.releasedD.lau
11、nchedA.look toB.set upC.lay downD.rely onA.termsB.specificationsC.conceptsD.consequencesA.isB.beingC.beenD.areA.emergeB.appearC.standD.ariseA.somehowB.anywayC.otherwiseD.thereby二、BSection Readi(总题数：4，分数：40.00)BPart A/BBDirections:/BRead the following four reacts. Answer the questions below each text
12、 by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on Answer Sheet 1.BText 1/BThe study of law has been recognized for centuries as a basic intellectual discipline in European universities. However, only in recent years has it become a feature of undergraduate programs in English-Canadian universities. Tr
13、aditionally, legal learning has been viewed in such institutions as the special preserve of lawyers, rather than a necessary part of the intellectual equipment of an educated person. Happily, the older and more continental view of legal education is establishing itself in a number of Canadian univer
14、sities and some have even begun to offer undergraduate degrees in law.If the study of law is beginning to establish itself as part and parcel of a general education, its aims and methods should appeal directly to journalism educators. Law is a discipline which encourages responsible judgment. On the
15、 one hand, it provides opportunities to analyze such ideas as justice, democracy and freedom. On the other, it links these concepts to everyday realities in a manner which is parallel to the links journalists forge on a daily basis as they cover and comment on the news. For example, notions of evide
16、nce and fact, of basic rights and public interest are at work in the process of journalistic judgment and production just as in courts of law. Sharpening judgment by absorbing and reflecting on law is a desirable component of a journalists intellectual preparation for his or her career.But the idea
17、that the journalist must understand the law more profoundly than an ordinary citizen turns on an understanding of the established conventions and special responsibilities of the news media. Politics or, more broadly, the functioning of the state, is a major subject for journalists. The better inform
18、ed they are about the way the state works, the better their reporting will be. In fact, it is difficult to see how journalists who do not have a clear grasp of the basic features of the Canadian Constitution can do a competent job on political stories.Furthermore, the legal system and the events whi
19、ch occur within it are primary subjects for journalists. While the quality of legal journalism varies greatly, there is an undue reliance amongst many journalists on interpretations supplied to them by lawyers. While comment and reaction from lawyers may enhance stories, it is preferable for journal
20、ists to rely on their own notions of significance and make their own judgments. These can only come from a well- grounded understanding of the legal system.（分数：10.00）(1).In the first paragraph, the author is mainly concerned with _.（分数：2.00）A.making several contrastsB.illustrating his opinionC.givin
21、g some criticismsD.making a few comments(2).It is implied in the second paragraph that _.（分数：2.00）A.law education is intended primarily for journalistsB.journalists will comment on the news from the perspective of justiceC.journalists have more opportunities to reflect on democracy and freedomD.the
22、study of law will encourage journalists to concentrate on the facts(3).According to the passage, sound journalistic judgment _.（分数：2.00）A.represents good production in courts of lawB.depends exclusively on evidence and factC.feeds off a profound understanding of lawD.constitutes an essential part of
23、 a professionals career(4).Which of the following is the least desirable to a journalist according to the author?（分数：2.00）A.the study of law,B.the conventions of the news media.C.the way the state works.D.the lawyers interpretations of law.(5).The author writes this article primarily in order to _.（
24、分数：2.00）A.celebrate the establishment of legal education in Canadian universitiesB.stress the importance of legal learning to journalistsC.introduce the aims and methods of law educationD.explain the components of a journalists intellectual preparationBText 2/BAfter a shaky start, the Martian flotil
25、la that has arrived over the past few weeks is getting down to business. Two of the five craft in it seem to be working perfectly. Two are lost, And a fifth is sick, but undergoing treatment.The most spectacular pictures so far have been provided by Mars Empress, the European Space Agencys contribut
26、ion to the fleet. On January 28th this reached its final working orbit (which takes it over both poles, and thus allows it to see the whole of Mars over the course of a few days as the planet revolves beneath it). It has, however, been sending back data since shortly after it arrived, and a few days
27、 ago its controllers released a series of beautiful photographs, including a stereo image of Valles Marineris, a huge canyon that may have been formed by flowing water.The most scientifically significant result, though, has come from Opportunity, Americas second Mars rover. One of Opportunitys camer
28、as has photographed evidence of stratification. in nearby rocks. Such stratification indicates that the rocks concerned are sedimentary. The layers could be repeated wind-blown deposits, or consist of ash from successive volcanic eruptions. But the terrestrial rocks they most resemble are ones that
29、have formed under water.The reason everyone is getting so excited is Because there is a widespread assumption that any form of tire which might dwell on Mars would need liquid water to live-or, even if it could now subsist by extracting moisture from ice, would have needed liquid water to evolve to
30、that stage. Mars has seen more probes launched towards it than all of the other planets put together precisely because of this hope that it might harbour life. So there is a lot riding on the answer-not least the funding of future missions.Besides its scientific significance, the success of Opportun
31、ity has also helped to distract attention from the sudden refusal of Spirit, the first American rover to arrive on Mars, to talk to its controllers. This craft had tentatively, but successfully, nosed its way off its landing platform, and was about to drill its way into a nearby rock prior to doing
32、a spot of chemical analysis, when it went silent.However, the engineers at NASA, Americas space agency, are nothing if not resourceful, and they have a good record of carrying out running repairs on spacecraft that are millions of kilometres away. In the case of Spirit, they think that one of the cr
33、afts memory chips has got cluttered up with files created On the journey to Mars. That caused another chip, which manages the first, to throw a wobbly and to keep rebooting the computer. They are currently testing this idea by loading a diagnostic program on to the computer. In addition, as a precau
34、tion, they have deleted excess files from the equivalent memory chip on Opportunity.Spirits spirits may thus revive. As to the failures, the Japanese abandoned their fly-by craft Nozomi in December, and the British team in charge of Beagle 2, which is presumed to have landed on December 25th but fro
35、m which no signal has been received, also seems to have called it quits. Still, a 4060% success rate (depending on whether Spirit is brought back into commission) is not bad by the historical standards of missions to Mars. Now, the real science begins.（分数：10.00）(1).Mars Express is mentioned because
36、_.（分数：2.00）A.it has been sending data back to the EarthB.it illustrates Europes contribution to the projectC.it is the first craft to have ever landed on the MarsD.it can help researchers see the whole of the Mars(2).What does the word “they“ (Para. 3, Line 5) refer to?（分数：2.00）A.“the layers“B.“wind
37、-blowa deposits“C.“volcanic eruptions“D.“the terrestrial rocks“(3).We can learn from the passage that peoples enthusiasm for Mars _.（分数：2.00）A.could subsist despite the discovery of iceB.is aroused by the wish to find life thereC.depends largely on the funding of these projectsD.might turn out to be
38、 a waste of resources(4).Spirit failed to talk to its controllers probably because of _.（分数：2.00）A.its failure to move down the platformB.its doing too little chemical analysisC.the damage done to its componentsD.the excess files in its memory chips(5).The author of this passage is mainly concerned
39、with _.（分数：2.00）A.the significance of discovery of water on the MarsB.the achievements of U. S. in exploring the MarsC.the performance of five craft launched to MarsD.the fate of the science of Mars explorationBText 3/BSuccess, it is often said, has many fathers-and one of the many fathers of comput
40、ing, that most successful of industries, was Charles Babbage, a 19th-century British mathematician. Exasperated by errors in the mathematical tables that were widely used as calculation aids at the time, Babbage dreamed of building a mechanical engine that could produce flawless tables automatically
41、. But his attempts to make such a machine in the 1920s failed, and the significance of his work was only rediscovered this century.Next year, at last, the first set of printed tables should emerge from a calculating “difference engine“ built to Babbages design. Babbage will have been vindicated. But
42、 the realization of his dream will also underscore the extent to which he was a man born ahead of his time.The effort to prove that Babbages designs were logically and practically sound began in 1985, when a team of researchers at the Science Museum in London set out to build a difference engine in
43、time for the 200th anniversary of Babbages birth in 1992. The team, led by the museums curator of computing, Doron Swade, constructed a monstrous device of bronze, iron and steel. It was 11 feet long, seven feet tall, weighed three tons, cost around $500 000 and took a year to piece together. And it
44、 worked perfectly, cranking out successive values of seventh-order polynomial equations to :31 significant figures. But it was incomplete. To save money, an entire section of the machine, the printer, was omitted.To Babbage, the printer was a vital part of design. Even if the engine produced the cor
45、rect answers, there was still the risk that a transcription or typesetting error would result in the finished mathematical tables being inaccurate. The only way to guarantee error-free tables was to automate the printing process as well. So his plans included specifications for a printer almost as c
46、omplicated as the calculating engine itself, with adjustable margins, two separate fonts, and the ability to print in two, three or four columns.In January, after years of searching for a sponsor for the printer, the Science Museum announced that a backer had been found. Nathan Myhrvold, the chief t
47、echnology officer at Microsoft, agreed to pay for its construction (which is expected to cost $373 000 with one Proviso: that the Science Museum team would build him an identical calculating engine and printer to decorate his new home on Lake Washington, near Seattle). Construction of the printer wi
48、ll begin-in full view of the public-at the Science Museum later this month. The full machine will be completed next year.It is a nice irony that Babbages plans should be realized only thanks to an infusion of cash from a man who got rich in the computer revolution that Babbage helped to foment. More
49、 striking still, even using 20th-century manufacturing technology the engine will have cost over $830 000 to build. Allowing for inflation, this is roughly a third of what it might have cost to build in Babbages day-in contrast to the cost of electronic-computer technology, which halves in price every 18 months. T
