1、考研英语二（阅读）-试卷 7 及答案解析(总分：60.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：6，分数：60.00)1.Section II Reading Comprehension（分数：10.00）_2.Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D.（分数：10.00）_America has seen a drop in crime rates that in earli
2、er years would have been universally viewed as impossible. The overall crime rate has plummeted by 45% since peaking in 1991 and by 13% just since 2007counterintuitively continuing to drop through the recession and sharp spike in unemployment. Since 1991, according to FBI data, the number of violent
3、 crimes has fallen 36% nationally and 64% in the nation“s largest cities. And in New York and Los Angeles, the nation“s two largest cities , it has fallen even further. Property crime has also become increasingly rare. Incredibly, in New York City, car thefts have plunged 94% in the past two decades
4、. How is this possible? In the mid-1990s, few saw this decline coming, and many warned that crime would surge once again as teens of that era grew into young adults. Today, criminologists still differ on what has caused the nationwide turnaround in crime rates and why those dire predictions never ca
5、me to pass. But crime-fighting technology, better policing, aging societies, growing urban populations and declining usage of hard drugs are widely cited. For many Americans, the drop in crime has resulted not only in a much higher quality of life but in a reduced economic burden as well. Safer citi
6、es generally mean stronger urban economies. In the same category of big surprises, teen-pregnancy rates have fallen to their lowest level in more than 30 years, according to the widely respected Guttmacher Institute. They have declined 51% from their 1990 peak, based on the latest available data, an
7、d the teenage birthrate is down 43% from that year“s level. Today, fewer teens are becoming pregnant and becoming mothers than at any point since reliable data has been collected by the National Center for Health Statistics. This is also true for women in the 20-to-24 age group. To put it mildly, th
8、ere were very few predictions to this effect a generation ago. In addition, overall birthrates in the U. S. have turned up for the first time since 2007including for children born to women in a college educationto just shy of 4 million.（分数：10.00）(1).What can we learn from the first paragraph?（分数：2.0
9、0）A.The crime rates in America remained 13% since 2007.B.The crime rates have declined in America and other countries.C.The crime rates in America reached its highest level in the year 1991.D.During the recession and the top level of unemployment crime rates rose.(2).We can conclude from the second
10、paragraph that_.（分数：2.00）A.property crime has also been increasing like violent crimeB.the number of violent crimes has fallen 36% in the biggest citiesC.in New York City, car thefts have dropped to 94% in the past two decadesD.the violent crimes have become fewer in America, especially in big citie
11、s(3).Which one is NOT the possible reason of the dropping crime rates?（分数：2.00）A.Better policing.B.Better education.C.Aging societies.D.Declining use of drugs.(4).What can we infer from the last paragraph?（分数：2.00）A.Birthrates, including for children born to college girls, are slipping all the time.
12、B.Few people have predicted the drop of teen-pregnancy rates a generation ago.C.Based on the latest available data, teen-pregnancy rates have dropped 43 % .D.Fewer women above 24 become pregnant than a generation ago.(5).The best title for the text may be_.（分数：2.00）A.America“s Crime Rate And Teenage
13、 Birthrate: Surprisingly DownB.America“s Crime Rate Drops While Teen-pregnancy Rate IncreasesC.Will Crime Rate And Teenage Birthrate Remain Low in the FutureD.Decline of Crime Rate in the US: Something That Has Been PredictedSurveys find entrenched(根深蒂固的)pessimism over the country“s economic outlook
14、 and overall trajectory(轨道). In the latest Wall Street Journal poll, 63% of the respondents said the US is on the wrong track. It“s not difficult to see why. Set aside the gridlock in Washington for a moment and appreciate the weakness of the economic recovery: Households whose finances were too wea
15、k to spend. Large numbers of unemployed workers who couldn“t do so either. Younger Americans who couldn“t afford their own homes. Banks that were too broken to lend. Yet nearly a year ago, I wrote an essay for Time suggesting that the economy could surprise on the upside. That hypothesis looks even
16、more valid today. Despite the pessimistic mood, America is experiencing a profound comeback. Yes, too many Americans are out of work and have been for far too long. And yes, there is a huge amount of slack to make up. In fact, if the 2008 collapse had not happened, the US GDP would be $ 1 trillionor
17、 more than 5%higher than it is today. But in terms of the growth outlook, the news is good. Goldman Sachs and many private-sector forecasters project a 3. 3% growth rate for the remainder of 2014. The first half of 2014 saw the best job-creation rate in 15 years. Total household wealth and private e
18、mployment surpassed 2008 levels last year. Bank loans to businesses exceeded previous highs this year. And income growth will soon improve too. America is finally returning to where it was seven years ago. As halting as the US recovery has been, the economy is now leaner and more capable of health-y
19、, sustained growth through 2016 and beyond. The US outlook shines compared with that of the rest of the industrialized world, as Europe and Japan are stagnant. The 2008 economic crisis and Great Recession forced widespread restructuring throughout the US economynot unlike a company gritting its teet
20、h through a lifesaving bankruptcy. Manufacturing costs are down. The banking system has been recapitalized. The excess and abuse that defined the housing market are gone. And it“s all being turbocharged by an energy boom nobody saw coming.（分数：10.00）(1).Most respondents of the Wall Street Journal pol
21、l_.（分数：2.00）A.are pessimistic about America“s general trackB.are optimistic about the country“s outlookC.appreciate America“s economic recoveryD.feel that they couldn“t afford a house(2).According to the second paragraph, which one is true?（分数：2.00）A.The US GDP has reached $ 1 trillion in 2008.B.The
22、 2008 GDP in the US is higher than it is today.C.America is recovering despite its people“s pessimism.D.So many Americans are out of work that its economy collapsed.(3).Which one is NOT the good news mentioned in the text?（分数：2.00）A.Bank loans.B.Housing price.C.Income growth.D.Private employment.(4)
23、.We learn from the last paragraph that_.（分数：2.00）A.nobody has predicted the energy boom beforeB.Europe and Japan“s outlook is better than AmericaC.the 2008 economic crisis has destroyed US EconomyD.the American economy has been stagnant since 2008(5).What is the author“s attitude towards America“s o
24、utlook?（分数：2.00）A.Skeptical.B.Indifferent.C.Pessimistic.D.Optimistic.The country“s biggest challenge now is the plight of lower-income Americans, who are under severe and sustained economic pressure. Today, America resembles a tale of two cities. Those who own homes or stocks have benefited from the
25、 recovery in these asset classes and are moving up again. But 40% of working-age families earn $ 40,000 a year or less. Generally they live within 250% of the official poverty level, which is the eligibility threshold for food stamps. Indeed, judging from current trends, half of today“s 20-year-olds
26、 will receive food stamps during their adult lives. More broadly, median household income is still 8% below the precrisis level, and those who have not completed college are seeing declines in anticipated lifetime earnings compared with their peers with college degrees. This is the primary economic
27、challenge. If a third of the population has little purchasing power, it will be hard to achieve the desired rate of long-term growth. The US needs to improve the work skills of this group, strengthen the social safety net and increase the number of young Americans receiving a full college education.
28、 Although doing more to relieve the financial burdens of working Americans is good economics, it is also, and perhaps more important, a matter of values. For much of the 20th century Americans strove, with much success, to build a fairer and more inclusive society. But today, too many working famili
29、es are living paycheck to paycheck or even in outright poverty, while the toeholds(克服困难的办法)to economic stability become fewer and farther between. With the economy“s near and medium term economic outlook strong, now is the time to remove the barriers that are keeping hardworking Americans walking a
30、far too thin financial line.（分数：10.00）(1).The biggest challenge that America faces is_.（分数：2.00）A.financial crisisB.high divorce rateC.economic pressureD.lower-income group(2).We know from the first paragraph that_.（分数：2.00）A.half of Americans receive food stamps during their adult livesB.most Ameri
31、cans are under severe and sustained economic pressureC.those who haven“t finished their college earn more than their peersD.before the economic crisis, median family income is higher than today“s(3).In order to achieve long-term growth, the U. S. needs to do all EXCEPT_.（分数：2.00）A.bettering its peop
32、le“s work skillsB.strengthening the social safety netC.providing more work opportunitiesD.encouraging more students to finish their college(4).The last two paragraphs tell us that_.（分数：2.00）A.a great number of working families in America are poor todayB.America“s economy situation has been sustained
33、 and stable so farC.America has a fairer and more inclusive society than other countriesD.many Americans are living under poverty line and the economic outlook is bad(5).The underlined phrase “living paycheck to paycheck“(Para 3, line 4)probably means_.（分数：2.00）A.leading a well-off lifeB.getting too
34、 much paycheckC.living far better than poverty lineD.living under great economic pressuresOne reason why shareholder activism has been increasing is that regulators have encouraged it, especially on pay. For a decade Britain has required firms to give shareholders a non-binding annual vote on execut
35、ive pay. The colossal Dodd-Frank act of 2010 gave shareholders in American companies a “ say on pay“ , too. Now comes two new moves. On March 3rd the Swiss voted to oblige firms to hold a binding annual vote on director“s pay: in the small print, the referendum also banned golden handshakes and seve
36、rance packages for board members, and bonuses that encourage the buying or selling of firms. Then on March 5th EU finance ministers(with only Britain objecting)agreed to cap bankers“ bonuses to 100% of their basic salary, or 200% if shareholders vote for it. If the Swiss had merely given shareholder
37、s an annual vote on pay, it would have been a good thing; but the accompanying bans are not. There are times when a golden handshake to a talented manager can be in shareholders“ interests: far better to let the owners vote on it than restrict the firm from trying it. The EU“s proposal has less stil
38、l to recommend it. The rationale for it is that banking bonuses have encouraged risk taking, because they reward bankers hugely for bets that come off and punish them only slightly for those that don“t. But banks have come a long way since the crisis, by deferring bonuses and making them partly paya
39、ble in their own debt and equity. Blunt laws could undermine such progress. And bonus caps will either hold pay down, thus sending clever people elsewhere, or push up salaries, thus making pay less responsive to performance. Enpowering shareholders is a good idea; requiring them to channel populist
40、fury is not.（分数：10.00）(1).The Dodd-Frank act of 2010 gave shareholders in American companies_.（分数：2.00）A.a right to decide their own interestsB.a right to appoint new executivesC.a right to vote on executive payD.a right to increase the salary(2).What can be learned from the second paragraph?（分数：2.0
41、0）A.Executives“ pay and bonuses may be curbed.B.Employees“ salaries will be lower than before.C.Directors“ pay will be decided by the government.D.The new moves will be favored by board members.(3).On March 5th EU finance ministers agreed to_.（分数：2.00）A.give bankers cap as bonusB.limit bankers“ reve
42、nuesC.limit bankers“ basic salariesD.give bankers a right to vote(4).It would be good for Swiss to_.（分数：2.00）A.ban shareholders“ annual vote on payB.give managers a right to vote on their payC.give talented managers golden handshakeD.give shareholders a vote on pay without the bans(5).We know from t
43、he last paragraph that a bonus cap may achieve all EXCEPT_.（分数：2.00）A.making talents quitB.cutting down the salaryC.requiring shareholders to cause populist furyD.making salary less responsive to performance考研英语二（阅读）-试卷 7 答案解析(总分：60.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：6，分数：60.00)1.Section II Re
44、ading Comprehension（分数：10.00）_解析：2.Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D.（分数：10.00）_解析：America has seen a drop in crime rates that in earlier years would have been universally viewed as impossible. The overall crime rate has pl
45、ummeted by 45% since peaking in 1991 and by 13% just since 2007counterintuitively continuing to drop through the recession and sharp spike in unemployment. Since 1991, according to FBI data, the number of violent crimes has fallen 36% nationally and 64% in the nation“s largest cities. And in New Yor
46、k and Los Angeles, the nation“s two largest cities , it has fallen even further. Property crime has also become increasingly rare. Incredibly, in New York City, car thefts have plunged 94% in the past two decades. How is this possible? In the mid-1990s, few saw this decline coming, and many warned t
47、hat crime would surge once again as teens of that era grew into young adults. Today, criminologists still differ on what has caused the nationwide turnaround in crime rates and why those dire predictions never came to pass. But crime-fighting technology, better policing, aging societies, growing urb
48、an populations and declining usage of hard drugs are widely cited. For many Americans, the drop in crime has resulted not only in a much higher quality of life but in a reduced economic burden as well. Safer cities generally mean stronger urban economies. In the same category of big surprises, teen-pregnancy rates have fallen to their lowest level in more than 30 years, according to the widely respected Guttmacher Institute. They have declined 51% from their 1990 peak
