1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 157 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）_The best solution is to stop pretending that people
2、“s personal information, such as Social Security account numbers and birth dates, constitutes a universal secret password. The phrase “universal secret“ is an oxymoron. For online business transactions, the consumer must be allowed to use a password of his own creation and have procedures in place f
3、or changing these passwords in case of suspected compromise. Any Computer Science student worth his salt will tell you not to use your Social Security account number or birth date as a password. Why allow financial institutions and government agencies to do something in your stead that you“re advise
4、d not to do for yourself? There“s also an answer to the problem of criminals fraudulently opening new accounts: states should pass laws that make institutions verify a person“s residence before establishing any form of new credit. As things stand now, criminals can often contact financial institutio
5、ns via the phone or the Internet, pretend to be you by knowing a few pieces of your personal data, and establish a credit line. Financial institutions should be required to “physically contact“ customers to establish identification. Obviously, this could be done through having potential customers co
6、me in for face-to-face meetings, but it could also be done via the use of mail, perhaps certified. There are constitutionally allowable measures that can be enacted at the federal level to reduce ID fraud. Federal politicians, in a like manner to state ones, should consider submitting bills calling
7、for all federal agencies to immediately cease using Social Security account numbers and birth dates as universal passwords. Congress should also take steps to employ only the most rigorously scrupulous employees, eliminating hiring practices that include non-job-relevant hiring preferences and to hi
8、re employees based only on job-relevant criteria, such as their ability to do the job and their loyalty to the United States of America. Congress should also take steps to enforce our immigration laws by deporting all illegal immigrants especially those who have worked their way into our information
9、 infrastructure. If they“ re dishonest enough to be here in violation of our immigration laws, they“re probably a high risk for doing something dishonest with American citizens“ personal data. Congress also needs to review the impact of our current immigration laws that allow large numbers of foreig
10、ners, even some from terrorist-exporting nations, to come into our country legally via such programs as H1 and L1 and become part of our information infrastructure. Without appropriate action, ID fraud as we know it today may become a mere steppingstone on a course to even greater abuses of consumer
11、s by large companies that are politically well-connected.（分数：10.00）(1).The author argues that people“s personal information_.（分数：2.00）A.may be suspected as a compromiseB.may serve as a temporary passwordC.can hardly be a universal secret passwordD.should not be disclosed to any institutions(2).By sa
12、ying “someone worth his salt“, the author refers to someone_.（分数：2.00）A.doing his job wellB.much knowledgeableC.deserving more creditD.ordinary and industrious(3).In the face of criminal“s fraudulent behavior, financial institutions should_.（分数：2.00）A.verify the identification of the customers physi
13、callyB.make contact with the potential customers via phoneC.pay a visit to the residence of each customer at intervalsD.keep in touch with their customers frequently by all means(4).The high risk for the fraudulent use of personal data roots in_.（分数：2.00）A.the hiring practices prevailing in the U. S
14、.B.the lack of effective preventive measuresC.the enforcement of current immigration lawsD.financial institutions and government agencies(5).The author points out in the text that ID fraud_.（分数：2.00）A.increases as a result of the rampant terrorist activitiesB.will inevitably lead to even greater abu
15、ses of customersC.can be remarkably reduced by adopting decisive measuresD.occurs predominantly among immigrants from poor nationsChange is inevitable. It is not something that we can bargain with. It is not something that happens only to other people; change is reality. Accepting this truth is some
16、times an excruciating process, and there are many who never achieve it; yet change still occurs. At some point a decision needs to be made that accepting change is the first step in releasing the need for control. As intelligent as the human species is, and yet, the word intelligence is subjective,
17、we are not all-powerful. How does accepting the inevitable reality of change produce a sense of freedom? Ironically, allowing truth to be truth, regardless of how we feel about it, can be liberating. When we realize that we cannot manipulate everything in our lives, it frees us to stop trying. Let m
18、e pause here for a moment and reflect on that statement. When I say “we stop trying,“ I am not insinuating that we do not work at bettering our lives, but that by accepting change, it frees us to dance with it, instead of fighting. This concept has been studied and practiced for more years than I ca
19、n count. It has roots in the ancient world but it holds as true today as it did then. This shows that life, as humans know it, has not swerved in thousands of years. The human condition has no statute of limitations. As long as our species exists, so too, will the human condition . Sometimes, it hel
20、ps to truly think about the way other life reacts to change. Animals and plants also are subject to its power, but adaptation has kept many species alive while others were extinguished, unable to live with the ever-changing world. If we apply this to our own lives, the analogy can be used as a map t
21、o show where and how we shift in order to move along with change. Perhaps understanding change and accepting it may be a life-long journey, but fighting it is a waste of precious time that will never return. Learning to be mindful of the present and knowing that it is all we truly have is a gift. It
22、 teaches us to cherish each and every moment to the best of our ability and to pull from our inner strength, and those around or above us, to help during times of intense struggle. In the end, you will be wiser and strengthened by experiencing life as an ever-changing adventure. Remember the dance;
23、release the struggle.（分数：10.00）(1).The author thinks that change is something that _.（分数：2.00）A.has never been argued aboutB.occurs or appears invariablyC.makes us intensively painfulD.we make every effort to avoid(2).The author argues that accepting change _.（分数：2.00）A.is a well-informed option for
24、 us to makeB.shows the limitation of our intelligenceC.keeps us from trying to resist it in vainD.frees everyone to better his life at will(3).By saying “so too, will the human condition“ in paragraph 3, the author means that _.（分数：2.00）A.human life has not changed much ever sinceB.living conditions
25、 have been greatly improvedC.the human condition exists as our species doesD.living with change is as true as in ancient times(4).Like animals and plants, human beings _.（分数：2.00）A.adapt to the inevitable change to surviveB.develop useful skills to deal with changesC.are able to understand all the c
26、hanges in lifeD.survive in spite of the changes ever happened(5).The author primarily advises us to _.（分数：2.00）A.unlock inner strength to achieve our goalsB.become more intelligent and strengthenedC.have the highest regard for each day in lifeD.adjust our lives to the ever-changing worldI was studyi
27、ng physics in college 20 years ago this month, when two chemists at the University of Utah promised that they could unleash the energy of the sun in a test tube at room temperature, and meet the entire world“s energy needs forever with some cooked up water and a couple of electrodes. The exhilaratio
28、n at the genesis of the new science of “cold fusion“ faded fairly quickly. Scores of scientists around the world tried and failed to replicate the Utah scientists“ wondrous results. Irksome physicists pointed out that the process the chemists described violated several laws of nature. To me, however
29、, those heady few months bring to mind something more than the hubristic enthusiasm of some overheated men in lab coats. The experience provides a lasting lesson about our faith in technology as the solution to our challenges, and the cover it provides to avoid hard choices on things like, say, cons
30、erving energy. It“s a warning about the pitfalls of our unshakeable belief in the limitless promise of our endeavors, regardless of reality“s constraints. It is a lesson about the dangers of our love affair with progress. Contemplating the economic rubble from our most recent paroxysm of enthusiasm,
31、 I wonder whether we should do something about our blind passions. I“ve heard the supporting arguments, of course, about how optimism seeds the American Dream, nurturing the entrepreneurial zeal that supports the nation“s prosperity. And it“s true that the Internet bubble bequeathed us the Internet
32、as we know it. I“m told optimism also helps patients recover from coronary bypass surgery. Still, I can“t help thinking that repackaging the future as a basketful of promise is a con. Recent research from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has found that the son of a poor Amer
33、ican father has more than a 40 percent chance of being poor himselfhigher odds than in, say, Britain, Norway or Denmark. The income of the typical American household was lower in 2007 than it was in 1999. This aspect of the American Dream seems like a dream only. I am confident that we shall keep on
34、 dreaming, however, regardless of the damage this periodically inflicts. On the anniversary of the “discovery“ in Utah 20 years ago, a Navy chemist breathlessly announced to a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Salt Lake City that her lab had nailed it, finally, finding “significant“ eviden
35、ce of cold fusion. Now they call the phenomenon a “low-energy nuclear reaction“, presumably to overcome the stigma.（分数：10.00）(1).The Utah scientists_.（分数：2.00）A.pioneered the new science of “cold fusion“B.released the solar energy at room temperatureC.failed to have their discovery verified and acce
36、ptedD.ignored some fundamental laws of nature in their research(2).The author argues that_.（分数：2.00）A.the constrains in reality can never be neglectedB.technology is the sole solution to our problemsC.hard choices on challenges in life are inevitableD.dangers are latent in any kind of human progress
37、(3).The author thinks that optimism_.（分数：2.00）A.is possibly not determined by reasonB.helps us recover from risky surgeryC.supports the prosperity of a nationD.breeds the Americans with Dream(4).The fact that the income of the typical American household fell shows that_.（分数：2.00）A.the son of a poor
38、American father is most likely to be poorB.the American Dream is only a dream for many AmericansC.dreaming inflicts much damage on economic developmentD.the economic crisis in America results from blind passions(5).The best title for this text should be_.（分数：2.00）A.The Perils of ProgressB.The Dreams
39、 UnrealizedC.The Pitfalls of TechnologyD.The Loss of Faith in ScienceTo some, John Lennon“s piano is sacred. Most married people consider their wedding rings sacred. Kids with no notion of sanctity will bust a lung wailing over their lost blanky. Personal investment in inanimate objects might delica
40、tely be called sentimentality, but what else is it if not magical thinking? There“s some invisible meaning attached to these things: an essence. A wedding ring or a childhood blanket could be replaced by identical or near-identical ones, but those impostors just wouldn“t be the same. What makes some
41、thing sacred is not its material makeup but its unique history. And whatever causes us to value essence over appearance becomes apparent at an early age. Psychologists Bruce Hood at Bristol University and Paul Bloom at Yale convinced kids ages 3 to 6 that they“ d constructed a “copying machine. “ Th
42、e kids were fine taking home a copy of a piece of precious metal produced by the machine, but not so with a clone of one of Queen Elizabeth II“s spoonsthey wanted the original. In many cases the value of an object comes from who owned it or used it or touched it, an example of “magical contagion“. I
43、n one, study, 80 percent of college students said there was at least a 10 percent chance that donning one of Mr. Rogers“ sweaters, even without knowing it was his, would endow wearers with some of his “essence“improve their mood and make them friendlier. Gloria Steinem once related a tale from befor
44、e she was famous. Another girl had seen her touch members of the Beatles. In turn, the girl asked Steinem for her autograph. Paul Rozin at the University of Pennsylvania and Nemeroff contend that magical contagion may emerge from our evolved fear of germs, which, like essences, are invisible, easily
45、 transmissible, and have far-reaching consequences. Well before humans had any concept of germ theory, we quarantined the ill and avoided touching dead bodies. The deep intuition that moral or psychological qualities can pass between people, or that an object carries its history with it, could just
46、be an extension of the adaptive tendency to pay close attention to the pathways of illness. But that doesn“t mean we“re good at evaluating sources of contagion. Nemeroff found that people draw the germs of their lovers as less scary-looking than those of enemies, and they say those germs would make
47、them less ill. She also found that undergrads base condom usage on how emotionally safe they feel with a partner more than on objective risk factors for catching STDs.（分数：10.00）(1).Some people think that John Lennon“s piano is sacred since it is_.（分数：2.00）A.attached to something sacred and mysteriou
48、sB.the one used by a famous musician they admireC.endowed with an invisible and magical meaningD.something they cannot replace with identical ones(2).The study conducted by two psychologists shows that_.（分数：2.00）A.even children value the essence of the originalB.a “copying machine“ produces nothing
49、sacredC.a copy of a piece of precious metal is valuableD.the spoons of Queen Elizabeth II are invaluable(3).The study mentioned in paragraph 3 shows that the value of an object lies in_.（分数：2.00）A.whether it is different from identical onesB.whether it has an unknown special historyC.whether it is endowed with some “essence“D.
