1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 105 及答案解析(总分：70.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：7，分数：70.00)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）_The battle to prevent or at least slow global warmi
2、ng has intensified in the past year as scientists have learned more about the magnitude of the problem. One of the leading climate experts, Inez Y. Fung, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Center at the University of California, Berkeley, recently showed that the earth may soon lose its ability to
3、 absorb much of the greenhouse gas that israising temperatures. The oceans and continents currently soak up about half the carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels. In the oceans, the gas combines with water to form carbonic acid; on land, plants take in more carbon dioxide and grow fa
4、ster. But computer modeling done by Fung and her colleagues indicates that these carbon sinks will become less effective as the earth continues to warm. For example, as the tropics become hotter and drier in the summer, plants will reduce their respiration of carbon dioxide to avoid water loss. Atmo
5、spheric measurements over the past decade have confirmed this effect. If the oceans and land take in less carbon dioxide, more will remain in the atmosphere and global warming could accelerate catastrophically. Despite these warning signs, the government administration has opposed approval of the Ky
6、oto Protocol, the international treaty mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. But nine states in the northeastern U.S. are attempting to sidestep the federal government“s opposition by taking action on their own. Last August the group reached a preliminary agreement to reduce emissions of
7、 carbon dioxide by 10 percent by 2020. The plan requires approval by the state legislatures, but environmentalists are already hoping that other regions of the U.S. will follow suit. If adopted nationwide, the proposal would lower greenhouse gas emissions by roughly as much as the Kyoto Protocol wou
8、ld have. Steve Howard, chief executive of the Climate Group, is tackling the global-warming problem from a different angle. Founded in 2004, the Climate Group is a coalition of corporations and local governments that have voluntarily committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Members incl
9、ude oil giant BP (British Petroleum Co. PLC), drug-maker Johnson BP, for instance, slashed its energy bills by $650 million over 10 years. “We have seen important evidence about successful emission reduction scattered here and there in the most surprising places all over the globe,“ Howard says. “We
10、 are working to bring all of it together so that it forms a body of evidence.“（分数：10.00）(1).Inez Y. Fung has found in the study that _.（分数：2.00）A.the problem of global warming has attracted great attentionB.the earth cannot accommodate the mounting greenhouse gasC.the carbon dioxide is the main comp
11、onent of the greenhouse gasD.the oceans and continents are able to take in more gas(2).What does “carbon sinks“ (Para. 2) mean?（分数：2.00）A.The process of producing greenhouse gas.B.The gradual process of land submersion.C.The absorbers of carbon dioxide.D.The process of forming carbonic compounds.(3)
12、.Which of the following is true of the reactions of authorities to the global warming?（分数：2.00）A.The government decides to rewrite the Kyoto Protocol.B.Parts of the U.S. will follow the federal government“s advice.C.The U.S. has approved the new plan of gas emissions.D.Nine states in the U.S. will p
13、addle their own canoe.(4).It is suggested in the last paragraph that_.（分数：2.00）A.the government profited from the Climate Group“s gas emission reductionB.energy used more efficiently will bring benefits to economy as well as natureC.energy bills should be slashed in order to maintain a low level of
14、gas emissionD.the Climate Group is tackling the problem through accumulating strong evidence(5).Which of the following would be the best title for the text?（分数：2.00）A.The Climate Group“s CombatB.Less Fossil Fuels, More PlantsC.Clean Air and Blue SkyD.Protections for the ClimateIn the first years of
15、the 21st century, no area of the American economy has excited more emotion than the property market. First came the excitement of soaring prices. Then spirits came crashing down with the subprime crisis, and now homeowners are agonizing over how far values could fall. An even bigger story, however,
16、may be yet to come. America should be bracing itself for the end of the “generational housing bubble“, according to a new study by Dowell Myers and SungHo Ryu of the University of Southern California. As the country“s 78 million baby-boomers retire, the report argues, the housing market will change
17、dramatically. For three decades baby-boomers have helped push prices up: they settled down, and then bought bigger houses and second homes. But as the first of them celebrate their 65th birthdays in 2011, this may change. The old sell more homes than they buy. The ratio of old to working-age people
18、is expected to grow by 67% over the next two decades. Will the younger generation be able to buy all the homes on the market? Young adults make up the bulk of new demand, with most purchasing homes when they reach their early 30s. The flood of elderly people selling their homes, Mr. Myers suggests,
19、may lead to a drawn-out buyers“ market. Prices may fall further as younger people, perceiving a downturn, delay purchasing. This phenomenon will unfold differently across the country. Some states will begin the sell-off later than others. In 15 southern and western statesincluding the retirement mag
20、nets of Florida and Arizona the elderly do not become net sellers until their 70s. Expensive states such as California and the cold states of the mid-west and northeast are likely to lose them more quickly. The mismatch between buyers and sellers may be most acute in the rustbelt, where numbers of y
21、oung people and immigrants are rising slowly, if at all, says William Frey of the Brookings Institution, a think-tank. Of course, there may be other outcomes. Suburbs, which swelled with the baby-boomers, may begin to decline. If the building industry contracts, home prices may remain more stable. O
22、r developers may switch to serving the old, building more compact housing near amenities. Towns may make new efforts to attract immigrants, who already accounted for 40% of the growth in homeownership between 2000 and 2006. Among these unknowns, one thing is more certain: the housing market is about
23、 to enter a long period of transition. The youngest baby-boomers will not turn 65 until 2029.（分数：10.00）(1).“An even bigger story“ in Paragraph 1 implies that American property market will _.（分数：2.00）A.continue to be the most exciting field in the American economyB.experience more dramatic changes in
24、 the following yearsC.make spirits go up with the decreased housing pricesD.have greater impact on the feelings of homeowners(2).According to Dowell, the baby-boomers _.（分数：2.00）A.have been more likely to buy bigger and more homesB.may celebrate their birthdays at the age of 65C.should welcome the f
25、uture change by selling more housesD.have made housing bubbles in the past three decades(3).The word “drawn-out“ (Para. 3) most probably means _.（分数：2.00）A.prolongedB.declinedC.delayedD.enlarged(4).William Frey believes that _.（分数：2.00）A.people in southern states would not lose their homes until the
26、ir 70sB.people in expensive states would lose their money more quicklyC.young people and immigrants hardly increase in the rustbelt areasD.elderly people would not like to retire in Florida and Arizona until their 70s(5).It could be concluded from the passage that _.（分数：2.00）A.suburbs would decline
27、with increased baby-boomersB.housing prices would keep steady in the crisisC.the housing market will experience a period of transformationD.immigrants will be the majority of homeownership in townsMercedes estate cars and Fiat runarounds are being used to test up to 22 different monitors designed to
28、 detect if a driver is falling asleep at the wheel and trigger a series of devices designed to wake them up. The aim of the project, funded by 4 million of European Union money as well as private investment, is to reduce the estimated 30% of fatal accidentswhich are caused in Europe each year by dri
29、vers drifting off at the wheel. The test cars have been fitted with infrared cameras which monitor eye movement, touch-pad sensors that measure the driver“s grip on the steering wheel and chassis monitors which check for veer. Should drivers start to doze off they can be quickly woken by a sudden bl
30、ast of air-conditioned cold air. At the same time a vibrating alarm will sound and the driver“s seat will be made to shake. Daimler Chrysler, owner of Mercedes, as well as Fiat, will own the patent of the awake system,which could be installed in cars as soon as this year. If the trials are successfu
31、l the EU is considering introducing a directive which would make the system compulsory in long-distance lorriesa leading cause of road accidents. According to transport department figures, more than 300 people die each year in Britain in accidents thought to be caused by drivers falling asleep at th
32、e wheel. Ten people died in the Selby rail crash last year when a car driver fell asleep on a motor-way, crashed onto a railway line and derailed a passenger train. Motoring organizations said the new system might prevent accidents such as Selby but were cautious as to whether it would prove practic
33、al. The safety system also monitors braking frequency and can detect eye movement towards the rear and side mirrors. As no one drives in exactly the same way, the system must “learn“ the individual characteristics of its owner or owners. The researchers had considered systems that squirted a refined
34、 version of smelling salts at the dozy motorist, opened the windows and activated the brakes automatically. However, such ideas have been abandoned as potentially dangerous, startling a driver and leading to sudden changes in steering.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the text, if a driver falls asleep in
35、one of the test cars,_.（分数：2.00）A.the car brake will be activated automatically to prevent an accidentB.a refined version of smelling salt will be sprayed at the driverC.the window will be opened to let in fresh airD.a vibrating alarm will sound to wake the driver up(2).Paragraph 2 mainly talks abou
36、t _.（分数：2.00）A.the causes of fatal road accidentsB.the mechanism of the awake systemC.the ways to awake the dozing driversD.the schedule of developing the awake system(3).We can learn from the text that road accidents in Europe are mainly caused by _.（分数：2.00）A.drivers falling asleep at the wheelB.l
37、ong-distance lorry drivingC.cars without a safety systemD.drivers“ sudden changes in steering(4).The author may agree that the Selby crash _.（分数：2.00）A.triggered the development of the awake systemB.happened because the train driver drifted off at the wheelC.highlighted the advantages of installing
38、the awake systemD.caused researchers“ concern about the practicality of the awake system(5).The EU“s attitude towards the awake system is one of_.（分数：2.00）A.cautious optimismB.insufficient supportC.sheer confidenceD.great skepticismDuring uncertain times, people tend to look back and wonder how it g
39、ot to this. They feel more keenly their missed opportunities and failures in judgment. Regretthe sense that things could have turned out better if only a different choice had been madebecomes pervasive. However, regret needn“t be a garment rending, self-whipping emotion. Instead,it can be something
40、to value and use. According to a recent study by Colleen Saffrey at the University of Victoria in Canada and colleagues at the University of Illinois, most people hold regret in high regard. Of all the negative emotions, regret was identified as the most valued in that it helped people make sense of
41、 life events and remedy what went wrong. Regret is hardwired into human biology, underscoring its importance in behavior. Advances in neuro-imaging show that when a person experiences regret, a part of the brain involved in both reasoning and emotion becomes active. Neuroscience also tells us that l
42、earning probably works best when there is an intense emotional component to it, so it could be that regret bolsters our ability to learn from experience. Suggestions listed below may help you manage this emotion and turn it into a tool for growth. Beware of hindsight bias. What you should have done
43、always seems clearer in retrospect than it was at the time. As the Danish philosopher （分数：10.00）(1).According to the first two paragraphs, regret _.（分数：2.00）A.can be avoided if we make a different choiceB.occurs when we look backC.is the most pervasive negative emotionD.can help people learn and imp
44、rove life(2).Colleen Saffrey would most probably agree that_.（分数：2.00）A.people should learn to avoid regretB.regret is no longer a negative emotionC.though negative, regret is of value to peopleD.regret can help people find the problems(3).The word “underscoring“ (Para. 3) is closest in meaning to _
45、.（分数：2.00）A.underminingB.decreasingC.emphasizingD.devaluing(4).The philosopher （分数：2.00）A.show his philosophical ideas about life and regretB.give people suggestion on management of regretC.tell people not to be too hard on themselves in lifeD.explain why people should beware of hindsight bias(5).Re
46、gret can be valued and used to _.（分数：2.00）A.help people to choose a less risky optionB.help you make better decisionsC.help you prioritize your relationshipsD.help people to achieve their personal and career goalsManufacturers of everything from running shoes to deodorants, a substance to remove unp
47、leasant odors, design products specifically for women. One of the latest entries: the first artificial joint created forand heavily advertised tofemales. Doctors say it“s too soon to tell whether the Gender Knee represents a giant leap for womankind or if it gives its maker, Zimmer Holdings Inc., a
48、leg upin the market. In the case of the knees, according to Zimmer, here“s how men and women are different: First, the kneecap, is thinner in women. Also, women“s wider hips create a different angle between the knee and pelvisthe wide, curved group of bones at the level of hips, which can mean the k
49、neecap gets pulled to the side when the muscles contract. And the end of the thighbone is typically narrower in men. Most artificial knees were modeled on the male anatomywhich may explain why knee replacements in women aren“t as successful when measured by reported pain and do-over rates. But will the new (and more expensive) replacement actuall
