1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 16 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）_What makes a great high school? Americans think a lo
2、t of things do, from outstanding academics or a supportive environment for students to a great football or basketball team. Still, pretty much everyone agrees teaching and learning are central to the mission. High schools are expected to prepare students for further education, work, or the military
3、and eliminate the large gaps in achieve-ment separating different ethnic and income groups of students. These are sensible goals. While there are many great high schools among the nearly 22,000 across the country, too many are still not getting the job done. Only about half of African-American and H
4、ispanic students finish high school on time. Meanwhile, the National Assessment of Education Progress tests, often referred to as “the nation“s report card,“ show significant achievement gaps separating white students from black and Hispanic high school students. These are not small differences but
5、rather vast gaps that crush opportunity and tear at our nation“s social contract. Leave aside the intrinsic value of being an educated citizen; there are practical effects as well. In 2005, the mean annual earnings were about $20,000 for a high school dropout but $54,000 for someone with a bachelor“
6、s degree. And those differences are growing wider, not lessening, as our economy becomes more knowledge and skills based. In 1975, a high school dropout earned about half as much as a college graduate, compared with about one third today. This is why U.S. News set some clear criteria for academic qu
7、ality in its new ranking of American high schools. These criteria mean a lot of schools don“t measure uponly 505 schools nationwide earned a silver or gold medal this year. The list illustrates at once the promise and the challenge for high schools today. Only about 1 in 8 of the schools on this lis
8、t serves a student population that is more than 50 percent low income, and only about 1 in 5 has a majority of nonwhite students. Meanwhile, about 1 in 5 selects students based on academic merit, something that obviously boosts the chances of meeting the criteria. Because the U.S. News list uses mor
9、e data to judge schools, it paints a clearer picture. Of course, no list is perfect. For instance, it is difficult to account for high school graduation rates because states calculate them in different ways. But this one better reflects what policymakers and parents want from high schools, as well a
10、s the challenge our nation faces to make our high schools as good as they need to be.（分数：10.00）(1).American high schools are expected to _.（分数：2.00）A.eliminate large social gapsB.remain ethnic diversitiesC.teach students practical skillsD.prepare students for the future(2).In Paragraph 2, “the natio
11、n“s report card“ is mentioned to show that _.（分数：2.00）A.too many high schools fail to accomplish the mission of teaching and learningB.half of African-American and Hispanic high school students are dropoutsC.academic achievement gaps are the primary causes of ethnic gaps in AmericaD.Achievement gaps
12、 among different ethnic groups still remain in American high schools(3).We can learn from Paragraph 3 that _.（分数：2.00）A.inequality of education breaks the contract America signs with its citizensB.income gaps are widened as the economy relies more on knowledge and skillsC.high school education resul
13、ts in more economic impact than emotional oneD.high school dropouts used to earn more in the 1970s than today(4).High schools of silver or gold medalists by U.S. News most probably_.（分数：2.00）A.dedicate to students from low-income familiesB.recruit mainly white studentsC.select students based on acad
14、emic performanceD.admit only minority elite students(5).Which of the following is a feature of the U.S. News list?（分数：2.00）A.Ideal.B.Exaggerating.C.Insightful.D.Threatening.It seems to happen with depressing frequencysunny skies turn to rain just as the weekend arrives. Now Spanish researchers say t
15、hey have evidence that in some parts of Europe the weather really does follow a weekly cycle, although not in the straightforward way that the anecdote might suggest. Evidence has been mounting over the years that the weather in certain partsof the world, including the US, Japan and China, can be dr
16、iven by the weekly cycle of human activity. This is because we tend to produce more air pollution during the week and less at the weekend. Evidence that such an effect occurs in Europe is controversial and has been harder to come by. Arturo Sanchez-Lorenzo of the University of Barcelona, Spain, and
17、his colleagues examined data gathered between 1961 and 2004 from weather stations across Spain to see whether such a pattern existed. They claim to have found it in Spain, as well as hints of weekly changes in air circulation more broadly over Western Europe. The result is puzzling, but it is known
18、that airborne pollutants produced by human activity can affect the weather in a variety of ways. For example, particles can be heated by absorbing sunlight, which in turn heats the air and changes air circulation patterns. Pollutant particles can also provide seeds for cloud formation. Exactly which
19、 effect has the greatest influence seems to depend on conditions that vary season by season. They also found signs that air pressure in Western Europe tends to be lower midweek than at the weekend in data from a global database. This suggests that the human influence on weather goes beyond known loc
20、al effects, says team member Josep Calbo of the University of Girona in Spain. However, it is not clear whether the team“s findings are statistically significant, says Thomas Bell of NASA“s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who was part of a team that found a stronger weekly cycle
21、in the US. “This whole enterprise of looking for weekly cycles is rife with possibilities for misleading oneself.“ Why a weekly cycle would be less noticeable in Europe than in the US and Asia is still unknown. No weekly cycle has ever been found in the UK, probably because the weather is dominated
22、by large systems blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. These larger systems may be harder for weekly pollution cycles to influence, points out Douglas Maraun of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, who studies UK precipitation. “I doubt that there is a weekly influence of human activity on such a
23、 large weather system,“ he says.（分数：10.00）(1).In the opening paragraph, Spanish researchers suggest that _.（分数：2.00）A.the weather system of Europe follows a strict weekly cycleB.there is a great possibility of rain in Spain on weekendsC.rain cycles have resulted from the excessive human activitiesD.
24、weather interacts with human activities in a straightforward way(2).The reason why weather changes are possibly due to human factors is that _.（分数：2.00）A.the weather usually follows a weekly cycleB.when people stay at home, they are careful with pollutants productionC.air circulation acts in differe
25、nt manners because of deliberate human interferenceD.different activities on weekdays and weekends have imposed effect on the air(3).Airborne pollutants can affect _.（分数：2.00）A.sunlight absorptionB.air circulationC.cloud movementD.human activities(4).What“s Thomas Bell“s attitude toward the study of
26、 weekly change in weather?（分数：2.00）A.He supports the findings through his own research statistics.B.He agrees that the findings are possibly true.C.He points out that the findings lack in abundant data.D.He is certain that the purpose of study is misleading.(5).The climate in UK is probably _.（分数：2.
27、00）A.under the influence of large weather systemsB.the same to that of the other regions of EuropeC.drawing the attention of global research worldD.less changeable due to weak human activitiesTelecommuting, Internet shopping and online meetings may save energy as compared with in-person alternatives
28、, but as the digital age moves on, its green reputation is turning a lot browner. Last year, E-mailing consumed as much as 1.5 percent of the nation“s electricityhalf of which comes from coal. In 2005 the computers of the world ate up 123 billion kilo-watt hours ofenergy. As a result, the power bill
29、 to run a computer over its lifetime will surpass the cost of buying the machine in the first placegiving Internet and computer companies a business reason to cut energy costs, as well as an environmental one. One of the biggest energy sinks comes not from the computers themselves but from the air-c
30、onditioning needed to keep them from overheating. For every kilowatt-hour of energy used for computing in a data center, another kilowatt-hour is required to cool the furnace like racks of servers. For Internet giant Google, this reality has driven efforts such as the installation of a solar array t
31、hat can provide 30 percent of the peak power needs of its headquarters as well as increasing purchases of renewable energy. But to deliver Web pages within seconds, the firm must maintain hundreds of thousands of computer servers in cavernous buildings. “We are actively working to maximize the effic
32、iency of our data centers, which account for most of the energy Google consumes worldwide.“ remarks Google“s green energy czar Bill Weihl. Google will funnel some of its profits into a new effort, dubbed RE(1).The sentence “its green reputation is turning a lot browner“ (Para. 1) shows that the digi
33、tal industry（分数：2.00）A.does not help save energy any moreB.is not so environmental friendly as beforeC.consumes most of the nation“s electricityD.has ruined its own green reputation(2).One of the biggest energy sinks comes from the air-conditioning in that_.（分数：2.00）A.one kilowatt-hour is needed by
34、air-conditioning to cool the computersB.air-conditioning costs a large sum of moneyC.air-conditioning is needed to prevent computers from overheatingD.a data center needs air-conditioning desperately(3).We learn from the third paragraph that in the near future Google will _.（分数：2.00）A.install solar
35、array panels at its headquartersB.purchase the energy which could be renewedC.make renewable energy cheaper than coalD.channel some of its profits into purchases of energy(4).By citing the example of computer maker Hewlett-Packard, the author intends to show that _.（分数：2.00）A.effort has been made by
36、 the digital industry to save energyB.virtualization could help the company to save energyC.HP has managed to consolidate 86 data centers to just threeD.HP has employed software to create multiple “virtual“ computers(5).Which of the following is true of changes at the computer-chip level?（分数：2.00）A.
37、The multi-core technology helps separate the multiple processors.B.The multi-core technology helps save the energy substantially.C.Circuits on the nanoscale could save energy by sacrificing performance.D.Circuits have been shrunk on the nanoscale in order to be lighter.Women“s fertility is determine
38、d in large part at birth. They are born with their total number of reproductive cells, which normally influences the age at which menopausethe shutting down of female reproductive systembegins. But in the 1990s, researchers proposed that if a child“s energy is depleted by malnutrition, disease, or o
39、ther factors, he or she would be less fertile as an adult. Byusing the natural experiment of migration, researchers demonstrated how differences during childhood do alter the course of reproduction in adult women. Biological anthropologist Gillian Bentley of Durham University in the UK and colleague
40、s compared levels of reproductive hormones in 250 Bangladeshi women, including women who migrated from Sylhet, Bangladesh to London; women who stayed in Sylhet; and Bangladeshi women born in London. In the first stage of their study, they found that women who migrated from Bangladesh as children had
41、 higher levels of reproductive hormones in their saliva than women who lived in Sylhet, but less than women born in London. This had a direct effect on fertility: Migrant women in London had an 11% higher rate of ovulationdischarging of mature ovumduring their lives than did women in Sylhet, the tea
42、m reported in 2007. The team has now studied 900 women between the ages of 35 and 60 to see if the beginning of menopause varies between migrants and women in Sylhet. Bentley presented preliminary results from their measurement of hormones that regulate the maturation of reproductive cells and are i
43、ndirect indices of how many ova they can still produce. Her team found that migrants enter menopause later than did women who stayed in Bangladesh but earlier than did those born in London. “The adult migrants seem to be sensitive to improved conditions,“ says Bentley. The group is trying to find ou
44、t which environmental factors in Bangladesh lower growing girls“ fertility. All the Bangladeshi women in the study came from middle-class, land-owning families, who grew up with adequate calories. However, girls growing up in Bangladesh were probably exposed to more infectious diseases during crucia
45、l developmental years. So, they may have had to make tradeoffs among using energy to grow, to maintain their bodies, or to maximize their reproductive potential as adults. Bentley plans to test that idea next year when her team returns to Bangladesh to see if girls there suffer from more diseases th
46、an do those in London. “In other words,“ says Bentley, “where you spend your childhood influences adult reproductive function.“（分数：10.00）(1).According to the text, which of the following factor in childhood will probably cause an adult to be less fertile?（分数：2.00）A.Menopause period.B.Infectious dise
47、ase.C.Vigorous exercise.D.Reproductive hormones.(2).In Paragraph 2, Gillian Bentley“s research showed us that _.（分数：2.00）A.women staying in Sylhet had a high level of reproductive hormonesB.women born in London were less fertile than those migrates from SylhetC.reproduction level of adult women vari
48、ed in different regionsD.where you spend your childhood might affect the fertility of adult women(3).Migration here in the experiment is _.（分数：2.00）A.a measuring toolB.a research methodologyC.an independent variableD.a controlled condition(4).What could be concluded from the research on the menopaus
49、e of women?（分数：2.00）A.Environment changes would make a difference of one“s reproduction.B.The beginning of menopause symbolized the lessening of hormones.C.The period of menopause demonstrated an adult women“s maturation.D.Migrants entered menopause later than those who stayed in their birth place.(5).Which of the following is the best title for this text?（分数：
