1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 87 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）_For hundreds of millions of years, turtles have stru
2、ggled out of the sea to lay their eggs on sandy beaches, long before there were nature documentaries to celebrate them, or GPS satellites and marine biologists to track them, or volunteers to hand-carry the hatchlings down to the water“s edge lest they become disoriented by headlights and crawl towa
3、rds a motel parking lot instead. A formidable wall of bureaucracy has been erected to protect their prime nesting on the Atlantic coastlines. With all that attention paid to them, you“ d think these creatures would at least have the gratitude not to go extinct. But Nature is indifferent to human not
4、ions of fairness , and a report by the Fish and Wildlife Service showed a worrisome drop in the populations of several species of North Atlantic turtles, notably loggerheads, which can grow to as much as 400 pounds. The South Florida nesting population, the largest, has declined by 50% in the last d
5、ecade, according to Elizabeth Griffin, a marine biologist with the environmental group Oceana. The figures prompted Oceana to petition the government to upgrade the level of protection for the North Atlantic loggerheads from “threatened“ to “endangered“meaning they are in danger of disappearing with
6、out additional help. Which raises the obvious question: what else do these turtles want from us, anyway? It turns out, according to Griffin, that while we have done a good job of protecting the turtles for the weeks they spend on land(as egg-laying females, as eggs and as hatchlings), we have neglec
7、ted the years they spend in the ocean. “The threat is from commercial fishing,“ says Griffin. Trawlers(which drag large nets through the water and along the ocean floor)and longline fishers(which can deploy thousands of hooks on lines that can stretch for miles)take a heavy toll on turtles. Of cours
8、e, like every other environmental issue today, this is playing out against the background of global warming and human interference with natural ecosystems. The narrow strips of beach on which the turtles lay their eggs are being squeezed on one side by development and on the other by the threat of r
9、ising sea levels as the oceans warm. Ultimately we must get a handle on those issues as well, or a creature that outlived the dinosaurs will meet its end at the hands of humans, leaving our descendants to wonder how creature so ugly could have won so much affection.（分数：10.00）(1).We can learn from th
10、e first paragraph that（分数：2.00）A.human activities have changed the way turtles survive.B.efforts have been made to protect turtles from dying out.C.government bureaucracy has contributed to turtles“ extinction.D.marine biologists are looking for the secret of turtles“ reproduction.(2).What does the
11、author mean by “Nature is indifferentto humannotions of fairness“(Para 2)?（分数：2.00）A.Nature is quite fair regarding the survival of turtles.B.Turtles are by nature indifferent to human activities.C.The course of nature will not be changed by human interference.D.The turtle population has decreased i
12、n spite of human protection.(3).What constitutes a major threat to the survival of turtles according to Elizabeth Griffin?（分数：2.00）A.Their inadequate food supply.B.Unregulated commercial fishing.C.Their lower reproductive ability.D.Contamination of sea water.(4).How does global warming affect the su
13、rvival of turtles?（分数：2.00）A.It threatens the sandy beaches on which they lay eggs.B.The changing climate makes it difficult for their eggs to hatch.C.The rising sea levels make it harder for their hatchlings to grow.D.It takes them longer to adapt to the high beach temperature.(5).The last sentence
14、 of the passage is meant to（分数：2.00）A.persuade human beings to show more affection for turtles.B.stress that even the most ugly species should be protected.C.call for effective measures to ensure sea turtles“ survival.D.warn our descendants about the extinction of species.In a purely biological sens
15、e, fear begins with the body“s system for reacting to things that can harm usthe so-called fight-or-flight response . “An animal that can“t detect danger can“t stay alive,“ says Joseph LeDoux. Like animals, humans evolved with an elaborate mechanism for processing information about potential threats
16、. At its core is a cluster of neurons deep in the brain known as the amygdala. LeDoux studies the way animals and humans respond to threats to understand how we form memories of significant events in our lives. The amygdala receives input from many parts of the brain, including regions responsible f
17、or retrieving memories. Using this information, the amygdala appraises a situationI think this charging dog wants to bite meand triggers a response by radiating nerve signals throughout the body. These signals produce the familiar signs of distress: trembling, perspiration and fast-moving feet, just
18、 to name three. This fear mechanism is critical to the survival of all animals, but no one can say for sure whether beasts other than humans know they“re afraid. That is, as LeDoux says, “if you put that system into a brain that has consciousness, then you get the feeling of fear.“ Humans, says Edwa
19、rd M. Hallowell, have the ability to call up images of bad things that happened in the past and to anticipate future events. Combine these higher thought processes with our hardwired danger-detection systems, and you get a near-universal human phenomenon: worry. That“s not necessarily a bad thing, s
20、ays Hallowell. “When used properly, worry is an incredible device ,“ he says. After all, a little healthy worrying is okay if it leads to constructive actionlike having a doctor look at that weird spot on your back. Hallowell insists, though, that there“ s a right way to worry. “Never do it alone, g
21、et the facts and then make a plan.“ He says. Most of us have survived a recession, so we“re familiar with the belt-tightening strategies needed to survive a slump. Unfortunately, few of us have much experience dealing with the threat of terrorism, so it“s been difficult to get fact about how we shou
22、ld respond. That“ s why Hallowell believes it was okay for people to indulge some extreme worries last fall by asking doctors for Cipro and buying gas masks.（分数：10.00）(1).The “so-called fight-or-flight response“(Para. 1)refers to（分数：2.00）A.the biological process in which human beings“ sense of self-
23、defense evolves.B.the instinctive fear human beings feel when faced with potential danger.C.the act of evaluating a dangerous situation and making a quick decision.D.the elaborate mechanism in the human brain for retrieving information.(2).From the studies conducted by LeDoux we learn that（分数：2.00）A
24、.reactions of humans and animals to dangerous situations are often unpredictable.B.memories of significant events enable people to control fear and distress.C.people“ s unpleasant memories are derived from their feelings of fear.D.the amygdala plays a vital part in human and animal responses to pote
25、ntial danger.(3).From the passage we know that（分数：2.00）A.a little worry will do us good if handled properly.B.a little worry will enable us to survive a recession.C.fear strengthens the human desire to survive danger.D.fear helps people to anticipate certain future events.(4).Which of the following
26、is the best way to deal with your worries according to Hallowell?（分数：2.00）A.Ask for help from the people around you.B.Use the belt-tightening strategies for survival.C.Seek professional advice and take action.D.Understand the situation and be fully prepared.(5).In Hallowell“s view, people“ s reactio
27、n to the terrorist threat last fall was（分数：2.00）A.ridiculous.B.understandable.C.over-cautious.D.sensible.In the early 20th century, a horse named Clever Hans was believed capable of counting and other impressive mental tasks. After years of great performance, psychologists discovered that though Han
28、s was certainly clever, he was not clever in the way that everyone expected. The horse was cleverly picking up on tiny, unintentional bodily and facial signals given out not only by his trainer, but also by the audience. Aware of the “Clever Hans“ effect, Lisa Lit at the University of California and
29、 her colleagues wondered whether the beliefs of professional dog handlers might similarly affect the outcomes of searches for drugs and explosives. Remarkably, Dr. Lit found, they do. Dr. Lit asked 18 professional dog handlers and their dogs to complete brief searches. Before the searches, the handl
30、ers were informed that some of the search areas might contain up to three target scents, and also that in two cases those scents would be marked by pieces of red paper. What the handlers were not told was that none of the search areas contained the scents of either drugs or explosives. Any “detectio
31、ns“ made by the teams thus had to be false. The findings reveal that of 144 searches, only 21 were clean(no alerts). All the others raised one alert or more. In total, the teams raised 225 alerts. While the sheer number of false alerts struck Dr. Lit as fascinating , it was where they took place tha
32、t was of greatest interest. When handlers could see a red piece of paper, allegedly marking a location of interest, they were much more likely to say that their dogs signalled an alert. The human handlers were not only distracted on almost every occasion by the stimulus aimed at them, but also trans
33、mitted that distraction to their animalswho responded accordingly. To mix metaphors, the dogs were crying “wolf at the unconscious signal of their handlers. How much that matters in the real world is unclear. But it might. If a handler, for example, unconsciously “profiled“ people being sniffed by a
34、 drugor explosive-detecting dog at an airport, false positives could abound. That is not only bad for innocent travellers, but might distract the team from catching the guilty.（分数：10.00）(1).Lisa Lit and her colleagues（分数：2.00）A.questioned the “Clever Hands“ effect.B.discovered the “Clever Hands“ eff
35、ect.C.confirmed the “Clever Hands“ effect.D.rejected the “Clever Hands“ effect.(2).The dog handlers learned before the searches that（分数：2.00）A.each search area contained three target scents.B.there was actually no target scent in the search area.C.some target scents may be labelled with a special ma
36、rk.D.their dogs were expected to find the scents of red paper.(3).What was most significant about the experiments, according to Dr. Lit?（分数：2.00）A.The location of the false alerts.B.The regularity of the false alerts.C.The number of the false alerts.D.The timing of the false alerts.(4).It can be con
37、cluded from the experiments that（分数：2.00）A.dog handlers are more likely to be distracted than their dogs.B.dogs may act in response to their handlers“ bodily signals.C.the cooperation between dogs and their handlers is key to success.D.well-trained dogs can better understand their handlers“ signals.
38、(5).The author thinks that Dr. Lit“ s findings（分数：2.00）A.should raise our concern in real life.B.may not be useful in real situations.C.should be backed up by further evidence.D.will be widely applied in the near future.For centuries in Spain and Latin America, heading home for lunch and a snooze wi
39、th the family was some thing like a national right, but with global capitalism standardizing work hours, this idyllic habit is fast becoming an endangered pleasure. Ironically, all this is happening just as researchers are beginning to note the health benefits of the afternoon nap. According to a na
40、tionwide survey, less than 25 percent of Spaniards still enjoy siestas. And like Spain, much of Latin America has adopted Americanized work schedules, too, with shortened lunch times and more rigid work hours. Last year the Mexican government passed a law limiting lunch breaks to one hour and requir
41、ing its employees to work their eight-hour shift between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m Before the mandate , workers would break up the shiftgoing home midday for a long break with the family and returning to work until about 9 or 10 p.m The idea of siesta is changing in Greece, Italy and Portugal, too, as they r
42、ush to join their more “industrious“ counterparts in the global market. Most Americans I know covet sleep, but the idea of taking a nap mid-afternoon equates with laziness, un employment and general sneakiness. Yet according to a National Sleep Survey poll, 65 percent of adults do not get enough sle
43、ep. Numerous scientific studies document the benefits of nap taking, including one 1997 study on the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation in the journal Internal Medicine . The researchers found that fatigue harms not only marital and social relations but worker productivity. According to Mark R
44、osekind, a former NASA scientist and founder of Solutions in Cupertino, Calif., which educates businesses about the advantages of sanctioning naps, we“re biologically programmed to get sleepy between 3 and 5 p.m. and 3 and 5 a.m Our internal timekeepercalled the circadian clockoperates on a 24-hour
45、rotation and every 12 hours there“ s a dip. In accordance with these natural sleep rhythms, Rosekind recommends that naps be either for 40 minutes or for two hours. Latin American countries, asserts Rosekind, have had it right all along. They“ve been in sync with their clocks; we haven“t. Since most
46、 of the world is sleep-deprived, getting well under the recommended eight hours a night(adults get an average of 6. 5 hours nightly), we usually operate on a kind of idle midday. Naps are even more useful now that most of us forfeit sleep because of insane work schedules, longer commute times and st
47、ress, In a study published last April, Brazilian medical researchers noted that blood pressure and arterial blood pressure dropped during a siesta.（分数：10.00）(1).In the second sentence of Paragraph 1, “all this“ refers to（分数：2.00）A.the habit of napping.B.the standardizing of work hours.C.the decline
48、of the siesta tradition.D.the growth of global capitalism.(2).We can infer from the second paragraph that Mexican workers now（分数：2.00）A.work fewer hours than in the past.B.get home from work much later than in the past.C.work more reasonable hours than in the past.D.finish the workday earlier than i
49、n the past.(3).The word “covet“ in Paragraph 3 most likely means（分数：2.00）A.need.B.desire.C.lack.D.value.(4).The author suggests that most Americans feel that（分数：2.00）A.Spanish culture is inefficient.B.nap-taking will put their jobs at risk.C.nap-taking is a sign of laziness.D.they get plenty of sleep.(5).This text is mainly about（分数：2.00）A.the health benefits of afternoon naps.B.the negative effects of sleep-
