1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 54 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）_In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell argu
2、es that “social epidemics“ are driven in large part by the actions of a tiny minority of special individuals, often called influentials, who are unusually informed, persuasive, or well-connected. The idea is intuitively compelling, but it doesn“t explain how ideas actually spread. The supposed impor
3、tance of influentials derives from a plausible-sounding but largely untested theory called the “two-step flow of communication“: Information flows from the media to the influentials and from them to everyone else. Marketers have embraced the two-step flow because it suggests that if they can just fi
4、nd and influence the influentials, those selected people will do most of the work for them. The theory also seems to explain the sudden and unexpected popularity of certain looks, brands, or neighborhoods. In many such cases, a cursory search for causes finds that some small group of people was wear
5、ing, promoting, or developing whatever it is before anyone else paid attention. Anecdotal evidence of this kind fits nicely with the idea that only certain special people can drive trends. In their recent work, however, some researchers have come up with the finding that influentials have far less i
6、mpact on social epidemics than is generally supposed. In fact, they don“t seem to be required of all. The researchers“ argument stems from a simple observation about social influence: With the exception of a few celebrities like Oprah Winfreywhose outsize presence is primarily a function of media, n
7、ot interpersonal, influenceeven the most influential members of a population simply don“t interact with that many others. Yet it is precisely these noncelebrity influentials who, according to the two-step-flow theory, are supposed to drive social epidemics, by influencing their friends and colleague
8、s directly. For a social epidemic to occur, however, each person so affected must then influence his or her own acquaintances, who must in turn influence theirs, and so on; and just how many others pay attention to each of these people has little to do with the initial influential. If people in the
9、network just two degrees removed from the initial influential prove resistant, for example the cascade of change won“t propagate very far or affect many people. Building on the basic truth about interpersonal influence, the researchers studied the dynamics of social influence by conducting thousands
10、 of computer simulations of populations, manipulating a number of variables relating to people“s ability to influence others and their tendency to be influenced. They found that the principal requirement for what is called “global cascades“the widespread propagation of influence through networksis t
11、he presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people.（分数：10.00）(1).By citing the book The Tipping Point, the author intends to（分数：2.00）A.analyze the consequences of social epidemics.B.discuss influentials“ function in spreading ideas.C.exemplify people“ s
12、 intuitive response to social epidemics.D.describe the essential characteristics of influentials.(2).The author suggests that the “two-step flow theory“（分数：2.00）A.serves as a solution to marketing problems.B.has helped explain certain prevalent trends.C.has won support from influentials.D.requires s
13、olid evidence for its validity.(3).What the researchers have observed recently shows that（分数：2.00）A.the power of influence goes with social interactions.B.interpersonal links can be enhanced through the media.C.influentials have more channels to reach the public.D.most celebrities enjoy wide media a
14、ttention.(4).The underlined phrase “these people“ in Paragraph 4 refers to the ones who（分数：2.00）A.stay outside the network of social influence.B.have little contact with the source of influence.C.are influenced and then influence others.D.are influenced by the initial influential.(5).What is the ess
15、ential element in the dynamics of social influence?（分数：2.00）A.The eagerness to be accepted.B.The impulse to influence others.C.The readiness to be influenced.D.The inclination to rely on others.Up until a few decades ago, our visions of the future were largelythough by no means uniformly glowingly p
16、ositive. Science and technology would cure all the ills of humanity, leading to lives of fulfillment and opportunity for all. Now utopia has grown unfashionable, as we have gained a deeper appreciation of the range of threats facing us, from asteroid strike to epidemic flu to climate change. You mig
17、ht even be tempted to assume that humanity has little future to look forward to. But such gloominess is misplaced. The fossil record shows that many species have endured for millions of yearsso why shouldn“t we? Take a broader look at our species“ place in the universe, and it becomes clear that we
18、have an excellent chance of surviving for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years. Look up Homo sapiens in the “Red List“ of threatened species of the International Union for the Conversation of Nature (IUCN) and you will read: “Listed as Least Concern as the species is very widely distributed,
19、 adaptable, currently increasing, and there are no major threats resulting in an overall population decline.“ So what does our deep future hold? A growing number of researchers and organizations are now thinking seriously about that question. For example, the Long Now Foundation has its flagship pro
20、ject a mechanical clock that is designed to still be marking time thousands of years hence. Perhaps willfully, it may be easier to think about such lengthy timescales than about the more immediate future. The potential evolution of today“s technology, and its social consequences, is dazzlingly compl
21、icated, and it“s perhaps best left to science fiction writers and futurologists to explore the many possibilities we can envisage. That“s one reason why we have launched Arc, a new publication dedicated to the near future. But take a longer view and there is a surprising amount that we can say with
22、considerable assurance. As so often, the past holds the key to the future: we have now identified enough of the long-term patterns shaping the history of the planet, and our species, to make evidence-based forecasts about the situations in which our descendants will find themselves. This long perspe
23、ctive makes the pessimistic view of our prospects seem more likely to be a passing fad. To be sure, the future is not all rosy. But we are now knowledgeable enough to reduce many of the risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and to improve the lot of those to come.（分数：10.00）(1).Our v
24、ision of the future used to be inspired by（分数：2.00）A.our desire for lives of fulfillment.B.our faith in science and technology.C.our awareness of potential risks.D.our belief in equal opportunity.(2).The IUCN“s “Red List“ suggest that human beings are（分数：2.00）A.a sustained species.B.the world“ s dom
25、inant power.C.a threat to the environment.D.a misplaced race.(3).Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 5?（分数：2.00）A.Arc helps limit the scope of futurological studies.B.Technology offers solutions to social problem.C.The interest in science fiction is on the rise.D.Our immediate futu
26、re is hard to conceive.(4).To ensure the future of mankind, it is crucial to（分数：2.00）A.explore our planet“ s abundant resources.B.adopt an optimistic view of the world.C.draw on our experience from the past.D.curb our ambition to reshape history.(5).Which of the following would be the best title for
27、 the text?（分数：2.00）A.Uncertainty about Our FutureB.Evolution of the Human SpeciesC.The Ever-bright Prospects of MankindD.Science, Technology and HumanityWhy has crime in the U.S. declined so dramatically since the 1990s? Economists and sociologists have offered a bounty of reasons, including more po
28、lice, more security technology, more economic growth, more immigration, more imprisonment, and so on. The “real“ answer is almost certainly a combination of these factors, rather than one of them to the exclusion of the rest. But a new paper adds a surprising variable to the mix. What if the decline
29、 of crime in America started with the decline of cash? Cash is critical to the health of an underground economy, because it“s anonymous, nearly untraceable, and easily stolen. This makes it the lifeblood of the black market. But Americans are rapidly abandoning cash thanks to credit cards, debit car
30、ds, and mobile payments. Half a century ago, cash was used in 80 percent of U.S. payments. Now that figure is about 50 percent, according to researchers. In the 1980s, the federal government switched from paper money to electronic benefit transfers. They didn“t switch all at once. They switched one
31、county at a time within states. This created a kind of randomly controlled environment for the researchers, who studied Missouri“s counties to establish whether the areas that switched from welfare cash to electronic transfers saw a concurrent decline in crime. The results were striking: The shift a
32、way from cash was associated with “a significant decrease in the overall crime rate and the specific offenses of burglary and assault in Missouri and a decline in arrests.“ In other words, the counties saw a decline in specific crimes when they switched away from cash welfare. Perhaps most interesti
33、ngly, they found that the switch to electronic transfers reduced robbery but not rape, suggesting that the move away from cash only had an impact on crime related to getting and spending cash. The move toward cashlessness in the U.S. continues quickly. Google now lets you attach money to e-mails to
34、send to friends, which means that for some shoppers, pulling out your credit card could become as rare as finding exact change in your coin purse. It might seem absurd to imagine Visa, Square, and Google Wallet as crime-fighting technologies. But with a better understanding of how cash“ s availabili
35、ty affects crime, perhaps the government should consider killing more than just the penny.（分数：10.00）(1).Which of the following cannot explain why cash is critical to the health of an underground economy?（分数：2.00）A.Cash is anonymous.B.Cash is hardly traceable.C.Cash is easily stolen.D.Cash is the lif
36、eblood of the black market.(2).The government switched one county at a time within states favors researchers because（分数：2.00）A.it reduced cash payment in Missouri.B.it offered a randomly controlled environment.C.it helped to extend electronic transfers to the state.D.it saw a concurrent decline in c
37、rimes.(3).The shift away from cash in Missouri“ s counties resulted in（分数：2.00）A.an unobvious decrease in the overall crime rate.B.a decrease in certain crimes such as robbery and rape.C.a decline in crimes related to the use of cash.D.a decline in overall crimes.(4).It can be learned from the last
38、paragraph that（分数：2.00）A.the government is advised to advocate cashless payments.B.America has become a cashless society.C.most people now send their friends money by email.D.it is absurd to fight against crime by using Visa, Square, and Google Wallet.(5).Which of the following would be the most app
39、ropriate title for this text?（分数：2.00）A.Why has Crime in America Declined since the 1990sB.How the Decline of Cash Makes America a Safer CountryC.The Impacts of the Decline of Cash in AmericaD.The Relations between Cash and CrimeAll around the world, lawyers generate more hostility than the members
40、of any other professionwith the possible exception of journalism. But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America. During the decade before the economic crisis, spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast as inflation. The best lawyers made skyscraper
41、s-full of money, tempting ever more students to pile into law schools. But most law graduates never get a big-firm job. Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare. There are many reasons for this. One is the excessive costs of a legal
42、 education. There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states: a four-year undergraduate degree in some unrelated subject, then a three-year law degree at one of 200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam. This leaves today“s av
43、erage law-school graduate with $ 100, 000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts. Law-school debt means that they have to work fearsomely hard. Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers. Sensible ideas have been around for a long time, but the state-level bodies that govern the
44、 profession have been too conservative to implement them. One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree. Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school. If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer, those who can sit it earli
45、er should be allowed to do so. Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third. The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business. Except in the District of Columbia, non-lawyers may not own any share of a la
46、w firm. This keeps fees high and innovation slow. There is pressure for change from within the profession, but opponents of change among the regulators insist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically. In fact, allow
47、ing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers, by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improving firms“ efficiency. After all, other countries, such as Australia and Britain, have started liberalizin
48、g their legal professions. America should follow.（分数：10.00）(1).A lot of students take up law as their profession due to（分数：2.00）A.the growing demand from clients.B.the increasing pressure of inflation.C.the prospect of working in big firms.D.the attraction of financial rewards.(2).Which of the follo
49、wing adds to the costs of legal education in most American states?（分数：2.00）A.Higher tuition fees for undergraduate studies.B.Admissions approval from the bar association.C.Pursuing a bachelor“ s degree in another major.D.Receiving training by professional associations.(3).Hindrance to the reform of the legal system originates from（分数：2.00）A.lawyers“ and clients“ strong resistance.B.the rigid bodies governing th
