1、考研英语-试卷 161及答案解析(总分：142.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Use of English(总题数：2，分数：80.00)1.Section I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D.（分数：40.00）_The first two stages in the development of civilized man were probably the invention o
2、f primitive weapons and the discovery of fire, although nobody knows exactly when people acquired the use of (1)_. The (2)_ of language is also obscure. No doubt it began very gradually. Animals have a few cries that serve (3)_ signals, (4)_ even the highest apes have not been found able to pronounc
3、e words (5)_ with the most intensive professional instruction. The superior brain of man is apparently (6)_ for the mastering of speech. When man became sufficiently intelligent, we must suppose that he (7)_ the number of cries for different purposes. It was a great clay (8)_ he discovered that spee
4、d could be used for narrative. There are those who think that (9)_ picture language preceded oral language. A man (10)_ a picture on the wall of his cave to show (11)_ direction he had gone, or (12)_ prey he hoped to catch. Probably picture language and oral language developed side by side. I am inc
5、lined to think that language (13)_ the most important single factor in the development of man. Two important stages came not (14)_ before the dawn of written history. The first was the domestication of animals; the second was agriculture. Agriculture was (15)_ in human progress to which subsequently
6、 there was nothing comparable (16)_ our own machine age. Agriculture made possible (17)_ immense increase in the number of the human species in the regions where it could be successfully practised. (18)_ were, at first, only those in which nature fertilized the soil (19)_ each harvest. Agriculture m
7、et with violent resistance from the pastoral nomads, but the agricultural way of life prevailed in the end (20)_ the physical comforts it provided.（分数：40.00）A.the latterB.the laterC.the secondD.the latestA.sourceB.resourceC.inventionD.originA.likeB.withC.asD.byA.andB.butC.moreoverD.forA.even ifB.eve
8、nC.even thoughD.even asA.a necessityB.necessitiesC.necessarilyD.necessityA.should gradually increaseB.gradually increaseC.gradually increasedD.has gradually increasedA.thatB.at whichC.whichD.whenA.with the respectB.on this respectC.in this respectD.at this respectA.could drawB.should drawC.must draw
9、D.was drawingA.at whichB.in whichC.on whichD.with whichA.of whichB.thatC.whichD.whatA.isB.wasC.has beenD.is beingA.too longB.such longC.as longD.since longA.a stageB.a walkC.a developmentD.a wayA.untilB.withC.forD.toA.theB.anC.thatD.aA.ThoseB.TheseC.ThereD.TheyA.afterB.withC.beforeD.atA.sinceB.forC.
10、becauseD.because of二、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：10，分数：58.00)2.Section II Reading Comprehension_3.Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D._Why is English so difficult? It is often thought that the number of words in the English lang
11、uage is a major reason, but this is not the real answer. Certainly, there are over half million words in the Oxford English Dictionary, but only about 10,000 are in general everyday use. A much stronger reason is the rich variety of sources from which English comessources that are due to the differe
12、nt people who have conquered or settled in parts of the British Isles over the past 1,300 years-and knowing more about the way English has evolved over this period makes its difficulties easier to understand. What do we mean by an “English“ word? Many words are English in the sense that they can be
13、traced back to the Anglo-SaxonsGermanic tribes which settled in England from around the fifth century A.D. They gave us many common words like book, house, cat and dog. Earlier still were the Celtic people whose speech survives in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, in Welsh, and in the local languages of tw
14、o extremities of the British Isles, Manx and Cornish. There is practically no Celtic influence in English. This is because the Celts were forced back in to the fringes of the British Isles by the Anglo-Saxon invaders, and there was little cultural interaction. The next important influence on the mai
15、n vocabulary of English came in the ninth and tenth centuries when much of the east side of England was in the hands of Danish invaders, and England as a whole had a Danish king Cnut (Canute) for a time. The Danes had much more contact with the Anglo-Saxons than did the Celts, and their short period
16、 of occupation has left its mark in the number of Scandinavian words taken into our language. Many of these are still in use, such as take and law, names of parts of the body such as leg and skull. Many more Scandinavian words are preserved in some dialects of the east side of England, in place-name
17、s and in street-names. The last time that England was successfully invaded was in 1052 when William of Normandy defeated the English king Harold at the Battle of Hastings. The arrival of the Normans brought a further decisive influence on the languageFrench. French, together with Italian, Spanish, P
18、ortuguese and Romanian is known as a Romance language, and has its roots in Latin. For several centuries, French was the language of the aristocracy in England and a large number of French words came into the language. Many of these words are to do with government, like justice, council and tax, and
19、 many are abstract terms like liberty, charity and conflict. Most of the words taken into the language over the years were adopted either because there was a basic need for them and they were useful or because they were preferable m some way to the words already in use. Often the old word disappeare
20、d altogether. In many cases, however, the new word and the old continued in use side by side on a roughly equal footing. This had produced pairs of words which are both in use today, like shut and close or buy and purchase, in which the second word of each pair is French in origin. In the first year
21、s after the Norman Conquest many new words were used only by the ruling class and professionals associated with them, such as scribes and clerks. The language of the common people remained largely unaffected. It was the spread of literacy and the development of printing that brought the French words
22、 into more general use. Often these were technical words, or words with an official ring, such as commence and purchase. The result was a mixture of types of words. For many meanings we now have a choice of formal and informal words, the formal ones often being used only in very specific situations.
23、（分数：10.00）(1).Why is English difficult according to the text?（分数：2.00）A.English comes from a great variety of sources.B.There are over half a million words in English vocabulary.C.The number of the words in the English language is the main reason.D.Many English words can be traced back to the Anglo-
24、Saxons tribes.(2).Which of the following words is French in origin?（分数：2.00）A.House.B.Skull,C.Law.D.Tax.(3).Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?.（分数：2.00）A.French has its roots in Latin.B.There is no Celtic influence in English.C.The Celts had much contact with the An
25、glo-Saxon.D.Many Scandinavian words were taken into English.(4).Why are many foreign words adopted into the English language?（分数：2.00）A.England was invaded again and again in history.B.The English language has a very large vocabulary.C.The language of the common people remained unchanged.D.They were
26、 preferable to the words already in use.(5).What had brought French words into more general use?（分数：2.00）A.These words were often technical words.B.Many common people were able to read and write.C.The formal words are not only used in specific situations.D.The arrival of the Normans exerted the infl
27、uence on English.It is impossible to find out exactly how many volunteers are at work today in the United States. Thirty-seven million or so are known to belong to organizations like the Pink Ladies, Travelers“ Aid, or Big Brothers; but those who work alone or in small informal groups cannot be coun
28、ted. The total number of men and women who give their time to help others appears to be between fifty and sixty-eight million. Volunteers start community projects too small to attract the attention of organized agencies, or work at jobs for which no funds are available. A handful of city folk will t
29、urn an empty lot into a playground for the children of their neighborhood; others decide to repair and paint a few dilapidated houses in their street. Somewhere else women cook and deliver two hot meals a day to elderly people living alone, and too sick or too tired to prepare their own food. Anothe
30、r group calls lonely old people once a day to chat a little and find out if they are all right. Some college students teach English, mathematics, or drawing to the inmates of a local jail. Young men and women spend part of their weekends collecting empty cans and bottles for the recycling center of
31、their community, and some children pick up the trash left on the beach by the crowd of a summer holiday. Anywhere one looks, the army of volunteers is hard at worknot Only in the United States, but also in many other countries where volunteerism is spreading. Fifteen years ago, the typical volunteer
32、 was a married woman between twenty-five and forty-five, who had children in school and time on her hands. She was rather well educated, with a high-school or a college degree, and she didn“t need to earn a salary. She was therefore free to devote her time and talents to those who seemed to need the
33、m. Some women volunteered out of boredom, because they needed to find an occupation outside their house. But the great majority were prompted only by the desire to relieve some distress, to be useful. There have always been such women ready to give of themselves unselfishly and quietly. At the begin
34、ning of the American Civil War, around 1846, a schoolteacher named Clara Barton undertook to deliver to wounded soldiers all sorts of supplies-food, clothes, tobacco, and even medicinethat they could not get easily. She paid for these out of her own money at first, and later from the funds that she
35、could collect from other generous people. She also ventured on the battlefields, during or after battles, to help the wounded and the dying. After the war, the government asked her to help search for missing soldiers. She helped later in other wars in Europe and attracted a number of women willing t
36、o share her work. The group grew and eventually became the American Red Cross, which now counts about 1,140,000 volunteers, with a budget of eighty-two million dollars, all from voluntary contributions. Another pioneer of the same period, Dorothea Dix, fought to improve the living conditions in the
37、hospitals for the mentally iii, which were not well run at the time. Her efforts finally caused state governments to take financial responsibility for these institutions. Many organizations have been launched by a determined group of volunteers, from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America to the
38、Sierra Club, devoted to the protection of nature, and to the Gray Panthers, who fight discrimination against the elderly and try to keep them active, happy, and politically important by encouraging them to vote.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the passage, all the following statements are true EXCEPT_.（分数
39、：2.00）A.the exact number of volunteers in America is difficult to find outB.there are thirty-seven million volunteers at work in the United StatesC.American Red Cross counts about 1,140,000 volunteers with a large budgetD.the total number of volunteers in America ranges from fifty to sixty-eight mil
40、lion(2).The most probable reason for the people to become volunteers is that_.（分数：2.00）A.they volunteer out of boredomB.they want to be useful for othersC.they can collect money from the generousD.they fight to improve people“s living conditions(3).During the war, Clara Barton appeared on battlefiel
41、ds to_.（分数：2.00）A.search for missing soldiersB.attract many other womenC.help the wounded and the dyingD.collect funds from the generous(4).The aim of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America is_.（分数：2.00）A.to protect the natureB.to encourage old peopleC.to fight against discriminationD.to help the
42、 mentally ill people(5).The best title for the passage may be_.（分数：2.00）A.Volunteers in the United StatesB.How Volunteers Work in the United StatesC.The Growth of Volunteers in the United StatesD.Volunteers from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts“It should be possible to make a precious stone that not o
43、nly looks like the real thing, but that is the real thing“, said a chemist many years ago. “The only difference should be that one crystal would be made by man, the other by nature.“ At first this did not seem like a particularly hard task. Scientists began to try making synthetic diamonds towards t
44、he end of the eighteenth century. It was at this time that a key scientific fact was discovered: diamonds are a form of carbon, which is a very common element. Graphite, the black mineral that is used for the lead in your pencil, is made of it, too. The only difference, we know today, is that the ca
45、rbon atoms have been packed together in a slightly different way. The chemists were fired with enthusiasm: Why not change a cheap and plentiful substance, carbon, into a rare and expensive one, diamond? You have probably heard about the alchemists who for centuries tried to turn plain lead or iron i
46、nto gold. They failed because gold is completely different from lead or iron. Transforming carbon into diamonds, however, is not illogical at all. This change takes place in nature, so it should be possible to make it happen in the laboratory. It should be possible, but for one hundred and fifty yea
47、rs efforts failed. During this period, none the less, several people believed that they had solved the diamond riddle. One of these was a French scientist who produced crystals that seemed to be the real thing. After the man“s death, however, a curious rumour began to go the rounds. The story told t
48、hat one of the scientist“s assistants had simply put tiny pieces of genuine diamonds into the carbon mixture. He was bored with the work, and he wanted to make the old chemist happy. The first real success came more than sixty years later in the laboratories of the General Electric Company. Scientists there had been working for a number of years on a process designed to duplicate nature“s work. Far below the earth“s surface, carbon is subjected to incredibly heavy pressure and extremely high temperature. Under these c
