1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 76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）_Men are generally better than women on tests of spati
2、al ability, such as mentally rotating an object through three dimensions or finding their way around in a new environment. But a new study suggests that under some circumstances a woman“s way of navigating is probably more efficient. Luis Pacheco-Cobos of the National Autonomous University of Mexico
3、 andhis colleagues discovered this by following mushroom gatherers from a village in the state of Tlaxcala for two rainy seasons. Two researchers, each fitted with GPS navigation devices and heart-rate monitors, followed different gatherers on different days. They recorded the weight of the mushroom
4、s each gatherer collected and where they visited. The GPS data allowed a map to be made of the routes taken and the heart-rate measurements provided an estimate of the amount of energy expended during their travels. The results, to be published in Evolution and Human Behaviour, show that the men and
5、 women collected on average about the same weight of mushrooms. But the men travelled farther, climbed higher and used a lot more energy70% more than the women. The men did not move any faster, but they searched for spots with lots of mushrooms. The women made many more stops, apparently satisfied w
6、ith, or perhaps better at finding, patches of fewer mushrooms. Previous work has shown that men tend to navigate by creating mental maps of a territory and then imagining their position on the maps. Women are more likely to remember their routes using landmarks. The study lends support to the idea t
7、hat male and female navigational skills were honed differently by evolution for different tasks. Modern-day hunter-gatherers divide labor, so that men tend to do more hunting and women more gathering. It seems likely that early humans did much the same thing. The theory is that the male strategy is
8、the most useful for hunting prey; chasing an antelope, say, would mean running a long way over a winding route. But having killed his prey, the hunter would want to make a beeline for home rather than retrace his steps exactly. Women, by contrast, would be better off remembering landmarks and retrac
9、ing the paths to the most productive patches of plants. The research suggests that in certain circumstances women are better at navigating than men, which might lend some comfort to a man desperately searching for an item in a supermarket while his exasperated wife methodically moves around the aisl
10、es filling the shopping trolley. He is simply not cut out for the job, evolutionarily speaking.（分数：10.00）(1).The word “navigating“ (Para 1) most probably means _.（分数：2.00）A.voyagingB.guidingC.pilotingD.maneuvering(2).GPS navigation devices and heart-rate monitors were chosen for the research most pr
11、obably because they can _.（分数：2.00）A.reflect the routes and the amount of used energyB.record the overall weight of the mushrooms gatheredC.estimate the time and energy consumed during travelsD.provide the gatherers with different maps of routes(3).The result of the experiment indicated that women g
12、atherers _.（分数：2.00）A.knew how to regain energyB.were good at remembering landmarksC.were easily contentD.travelled more efficiently(4).By referring to evolution, the author intends to show that _.（分数：2.00）A.men and women are different in spatial conception and abilityB.males are born with the hunte
13、r“s mentality and females the gatherer“sC.different ways of navigation can date back to the ancient timesD.early humans have decided the division of labor for men and women(5).We can infer from the supermarket scene depicted in the last paragraph that man _.（分数：2.00）A.is always impatient when shoppi
14、ng with his wifeB.may not be the right type for finding itemsC.may be suitable to do this routine jobD.is sometimes unable to navigate correctlyFor the past five years, Dr. Stephen Post has been funding research projects that test how altruism (selflessness), compassion, and giving affect people“s l
15、ives and well-being. As head of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love(IRUL), at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, he has sponsored more than 50 studies by scientists from 54 major universities. In a wide range of disciplinesfrom public health to human development to neuroscience,
16、sociology, and evolutionary biologythe studies have demonstrated that love and caring expressed in doing good for others lead people to have healthier, happier, and even longer lives. IRUL research is part of a significant shift under way within key scientific disciplines from focusing just on the d
17、eficit or disease model of human nature to studying the positive, virtuous, and thriving aspects. In the process, the research is broadening the understanding of what contributes to health and longevity. Even some in evolutionary biology, a field long known for proclaiming “the selfish gene,“ are on
18、 board. “A lot of my colleagues view it very positively,“ says David Sloan Wilson, a prominent evolutionary biologist famous for his work on “group selection.“ Dr.Wilson has studied how altruistic teenagers fare within differing social environmentssituations where they thrive and others where they a
19、re under great stressas well as group altruism. He praises the institute for identifying and supporting “a neglected set of subjects“ for research. Research on people diagnosed with various illnesseswhether it be HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, or alcoholism-revealed that those patients involved in co
20、unseling or otherwise serving others show greater improvement in their own health. Volunteerism studies have demonstrated such positive results that some people have called for doctors to prescribe volunteer activities. Post emphasizes, however, that it“s not just the activity itself, but the feelin
21、gs behind the acts that benefit those taking part. Numerous studies on the brain have provided images that confirm the “helper“s high“the warm glow that people feel from helping activities. But Post doesn“t conclude that it“s the selfish pursuit of that high that spurs people to be givers. “It“s not
22、 just from the chemicals. There is this neurological activity in the human body,“ he says, “but I think there is a spiritual presence that enlivens and elevates this kind of natural substrate.“ The institute will then turn very practical, Post says, taking all that has been learned about love and se
23、eing “how it can be applied in interventions to make the world a better place.“（分数：10.00）(1).According to the first two paragraphs, we know that IRUL research _.（分数：2.00）A.has been conducted by Dr. Post and scientists from other 54 universitiesB.aims to find out what contributes to healthier, happie
24、r, and longer livesC.has shown altruistic love results in a healthier and happier lifeD.studies how altruistic teenagers get along in various social environments(2).In the eyes of Dr. Wilson, IRUL research _.（分数：2.00）A.initiates an important changeB.develops evolutionary biologyC.is positive and evo
25、lutionaryD.is praiseworthy for its efforts(3).The examples of the patients are cited in Paragraph 4 to show that_.（分数：2.00）A.people are helping others in order to improve their own healthB.volunteer work proves helpful to patients with various illnessesC.altruistic acts and feelings are contributive
26、 to a healthier lifeD.doctors should prescribe volunteer activities to patients(4).The phrase “helper“s high“ (Para. 5) most probably means _.（分数：2.00）A.the excitement of helping othersB.the pleasure of doing favorsC.the thrill of pursuing happinessD.the passion of offering help(5).We can learn from
27、 the last paragraph that Dr. Post believes _.（分数：2.00）A.altruistic activities are as important as altruistic feelingsB.people help others in order to experience the “helper“s high“C.the “helper“s high“ mainly results from the chemicals in the bodyD.the “helper“s high“ may be more spiritualSummer was
28、, for a while, a child“s time, conferring an inviolate right to laziness. It was a form of education that had nothing to do with adult priorities, providing entire afternoons to watch exactly how many ants would dash out of one hill and what they would bring back. The holiness of that kind of summer
29、 was first diminished by necessity, when overcrowded classrooms brought us theyear-round school calendar. Next, the battle against social promotion forced many an indifferent student into summer schoolwhile the hard-charging students willingly packed into summer school as well, to get a leg up on th
30、e coming year. Then, as though the world of achievement had some sort of legitimate claim on summer, even schools that maintained the old-fashioned schedule began reaching their tentacles into summer. Some school districts start the traditional school year in August, the better to squeeze in a coupl
31、e of more weeks of instruction before the all-important state standardized tests given in spring. Worse, what used to be recommended summer reading lists are now becoming compulsory assignments. And woe to the ambitious student who“s signed up for Advanced Placement classes, and thus a summer-load o
32、f note taking and homework. It“s not just the schools. As a society, we grow itchy at the sight of someoneeven a kidaccomplishing nothing more than fun. Thus parents have become suckers for anything that lends a constructive air to summer. Summer camps used to exist for the purpose of marshmallow ro
33、asts and putting frogs in your bunkmates“ beds. Those still exist, but they compete mightily with the new campsthe ones for improving a child“s writing style, building math skills, honing soccer stardom, learning a foreign language, building dance talents or finessing skills playing a musical instru
34、ment. Even many colleges and universities, such as Johns Hopkins, have climbed on board, mailing out silky brochures about their expensive summer programs for supposedly gifted, or at least financially gifted, students. None of this activity is required, of course. Unluckily, other societal changes
35、also have pushed back at summer. Children can“t get together a pickup game of kickball when their streets are the turf of gangs. And without a shove out the door, today“s youngsters are more likely to spend a day clicking away at video games than swinging in a hammock. Still, it is a decision, howev
36、er unconsciously made, to view summertime as a commodity to be prudently invested, rather than as a gift to be lavishly spent. There is only one sort of skill we are afraid to nurture in our kidsthe ability to do nothing more constructive than make a blade of crabgrass, pressed between our thumbs an
37、d blown, blast a reedy note into the summer air.（分数：10.00）(1).From the first paragraph, we learn that _.（分数：2.00）A.summer was always a great time for laziness and freedomB.summer time was gradually crammed with various coursesC.summer education was especially important for A-list studentsD.summer cl
38、ass was proved to be more helpful to disadvantaged students(2).Schools considered using summer time most probably because they _.（分数：2.00）A.wanted to help students to make full use of the school calendarB.disbelieved that their students would actively do summer homeworkC.would like to encourage more
39、 students to take Advanced Placement testsD.thought achievements had something to do with efforts in summertime(3).The word “itchy“ (Para. 3) denotes _.（分数：2.00）A.comfortlessB.eagerC.criticalD.impulsive(4).In the author“s eye, new camps can be best characterized as _.（分数：2.00）A.artisticB.excitingC.p
40、racticalD.comforting(5).From the text we can conclude that the author considers that summertime should be _.（分数：2.00）A.a satisfying investmentB.a precious presentC.a remarkable experienceD.a well-planned journeyFor decades, ferry boats crossed the cold waters of Michigan“s Straits of Mackinac, shutt
41、ling people and vehicles between the two halves of the split-up state. Since the 1880s, Michigan residents dreamed of a bridge that would span the 4-mile gap between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, an area that limited tourism in Mackinac Island and disturbed commerce in the remote UpperPeninsula. Bec
42、ause construction would be hard, with high winds and harsh winters, some engineers suggested a floating tunnel or a series of small bridges instead. But, by the 1940s, with lines for ferry boats sometimes stretching for 16 miles, the idea of one continuous span won out. And what a span it turned out
43、 to be. Five miles long, the “Mighty Mac,“ which opened to traffic on Nov. 1, 1957, was to become the world“s longest suspension bridge between cable anchorages. Even today, it remains the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere and the third-longest bridge in the world. Designed by engi
44、neer DavidB.Steinman, the bridge was built in just three years, on time and on budget. That was a remarkable feat in itself. But the challenges were so great33 of the bridge“s 34 pieces had to be built under waterthat five workers perished during construction. One man died diving, one fell in a cais
45、son while welding, another drowned, and two fell from a catwalk. The bridge has seen many tragedies since. On Sept. 10, 1978, three National Guard officers in a private plane got lost in a thick fog and crashed into the cables of the north tower. In 1989, a woman was killed when gale force windsand
46、her excessive speedlifted her 1987 Yugo into the air, sending it 150 feet into the water. And in 1997, a sport utility vehicle took the plunge. Although authorities believed the latter incident to have been a suicide, the bridge does not attract jumpers the way, for instance, the Golden Gate does. I
47、n 1977, Lawrence Rubin of the Mackinac Bridge Authority shared his theory on the lack of leapers with the Detroit News: “People who commit suicide like attention. But it“s peaceful here. you could jump off this bridge, and it might take years before anybody found out.“ The bridge authority acknowled
48、ges that the prospect of such excitement may be overwhelming for some, which is why it offers free escorts for gephyrobiacspeople with a fear of crossing bridges. Each year, hundreds of drivers take advantage of the service.（分数：10.00）(1).According to the first paragraph, Michigan“s Straits of Mackin
49、ac _.（分数：2.00）A.realized Michigan residents“ dream to have a bridgeB.became a tourist attraction in Mackinac IslandC.depressed the ferry service in the State of MichiganD.blocked the development of commerce in Upper Peninsula(2).It can be inferred from the text that the reason for building a continuous span is that _.（分数：2.00）A.the con
