1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 88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）_A woman with a twin brother has fewer children. Twin
2、brothers can leave quite an impression. The mere presence of a boy in the same womb as his sister causes her to develop bigger teeth than she otherwise would. Girls with twin brothers perform better on spatial-ability tests. They have better ball skills than most females and are more likely to be sh
3、ort-sighted. Now it seems that sharing the womb also has a harmful effect on the sexual reproduction of women with a twin brother. Virpi Lummaa of the University of Sheffield, in Britain, and her colleagues made the claim after studying detailed data from several generations of church records from m
4、any parishes in Finland. They report that women with a twin brother were 15% less likely to get married than were women with a twin sister. Those with a male twin also had a 25% lower chance of giving birth even though they lived just as long as those with a female twin. When the researchers conside
5、red only married women, those with a twin brother on average had two fewer children during their lifetimes than did women with a twin sister. And finallyto rule out any influence of sharing a house as well as a wombDr Lummaa checked the results were the same for women whose twin brothers died before
6、 they were three months old. The researchers reported their findings in this week“s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As with the teeth, the supposed cause of untypical female biology is early exposure to testosterone. This hormone is made by a male fetus“s developing testes from abou
7、t seven weeks after conception and is thought to diffuse, thus influencing his sister“s growth. But the exact mechanism by which a twin brother lowers his sister“s chances of reproductive success is unclear. Dr Lummaa“s results also suggest that, if a woman wishes to maximize the chances of passing
8、on her genes, she would do better to avoid producing pairs of twins consisting of one boy and one girl and go for a single-sex combination instead. Mothers included in the study who produced opposite-sex twins had 19% fewer grandchildren than did mothers who gave birth to same-sex twins. Evolutionar
9、y theory thus predicts that there should be fewer pairs of girl-and-boy non-identical twins than single-sex pairs of non-identical twins. Whether that is so requires another set of figures. Finnish church records, helpful as they are, do not distinguish non-identical same-sex twins from identical on
10、es. In the eyes of God, unlike those of natural selection, twin girls are created equal.（分数：10.00）(1).Which of the following can be an impression on the sisters by twin brothers?（分数：2.00）A.Better musical skills.B.Shorter views.C.More spatial-competence.D.Stronger teeth.(2).According to Virpi Lummaa
11、and her colleagues, women with twin brothers（分数：2.00）A.encounter more difficulties in getting married than only-child women.B.raise two more children during their lifetime than women with a twin sister.C.enjoy a much shorter longevity than women whose female twins died early.D.present a reproduction
12、 rate a quarter less than those with a female twin.(3).The word “conception“(Line 2, Paragraph 3)has a meaning closest to（分数：2.00）A.childbirth.B.pregnancy.C.teeth-forming.D.organs“ forming.(4).It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that（分数：2.00）A.maternal genes have slight chances of passing on through
13、 same-sex twins.B.single-sex combination boasts more chances of inheriting maternal genes.C.a woman should produce twins of the same sex to optimize their genes.D.Twins receive less genes from their mother than ordinary children.(5).According to the last paragraph, in the future, there are probably
14、more（分数：2.00）A.twin sisters than twin brothers.B.twin brothers than twin sisters.C.single-sex twins than boy-and-girl twins.D.boy-and-girl twins than single-sex twins.This week, in Washington and cities across the nation, immigrant advocates, clergy members and labor and business leaders have been m
15、eeting to press their case for comprehensive immigration reform. Hopes have been raised before and repeatedly dashed. But this year there is a chanceif the White House provides real leadership and Congressional leaders show the courage and sense they have previously lacked. President Obama has pledg
16、ed his support for reform that includes a path to citizenship for the undocumented. At the same time, his administration has not done nearly enough to moderate enforcement policies that unfairly target citizens and legal residentsoften because they are Hispanicwhile feeding the fear and hopelessness
17、 of illegal immigrants as they await the opportunity to get right with the law. The Department of Homeland Security has been pressing ahead with the old Bush administration strategy of tightening the screws on the 12 million undocumented, particularly by lengthening the long arm of local law enforce
18、ment. Make no mistake: Stronger and more effective immigration enforcement should be a pillar of any reform plan. But stricter enforcement must be coupled with a path to legalization. And poorly designed enforcement without strict checks on errors and abuse is a remedy worse than the disease. The ho
19、meland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, is sticking with the 287(g)program, which deputizes local police departments to enforce immigration law, despite all-too-frequent errors and abuses. Despite community outrage over racial profiling and mdiscriminate “crime sweeps“ in Maricopa County, Ariz.
20、, by the notorious sheriff, Joe Arpaio, he remains a member in good standing of Ms. Napolitano“s enforcement team. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is expanding its Secure Communities program, which automatically checks the immigration status of everyone booked in jail. That sounds benign, but ad
21、vocates have raised legitimate concerns over its lack of oversight and internal controls. Any blanket checks of arrestees, both innocent and guilty, could easily provide cover to police departments that use neighborhood sweeps and mass arrests as a pretext to “clean“ communities of unwanted immigran
22、tsnot just violent criminals, but harmless housekeepers, day laborers and gardeners. There could be no quicker way than this to erode the hard-won advances in community policing, through which law enforcement agencies rely on the trust and cooperation of the people they protect. There is a grim cont
23、radiction at work here, with the Obama administration simultaneously, and self-de-structively, twisting the dials of hope and fear.（分数：10.00）(1).In the first paragraph, the author holds that（分数：2.00）A.immigrants are disappointed again by the side effects of the reform.B.US government is expected to
24、advance the immigration reform.C.immigration reform will contradict current laws and rules.D.immigration reform is welcomed by every social group.(2).Why do illegal immigrants feel fearful and hopeless?（分数：2.00）A.Because they are waiting to become legal residents.B.Because they find the president is
25、 unwilling to support the reform.C.Because related policies cannot satisfy their demands.D.Because Hispanics are often discriminated under current laws.(3).Poorly designed enforcement concerning immigration will probably（分数：2.00）A.lead the immigrants to a path of legalization.B.put more emphases on
26、strict checks.C.regard errors and abuse as a remedy for disease.D.bring more problems to the original issue.(4).The Secure Communities program（分数：2.00）A.automatically checks the immigration status of each citizen.B.fails to notice the internal changes of the prisoners.C.is used as an alleged reason
27、to wipe out unwanted immigrants.D.aims at clearing the community of all the immigrants.(5).The text intends to tell us that（分数：2.00）A.there will be both hope and concern on immigration.B.Obama administration will press forward law enforcement reforms.C.enforcement policy will greatly promote the imm
28、igration reform process.D.immigrant advocates are demanding for more citizen rights.What makes a great high school? Americans think a lot of things do, from outstanding academics or a supportive environment for students to a great football or basketball team. Still, pretty much everyone agrees teach
29、ing and learning are central to the mission. High schools are expected to prepare students for further education, work, or the military and eliminate the large gaps in achievement separating different ethnic and income groups of students. These are sensible goals. While there are many great high sch
30、ools among the nearly 22,000 across the country, too many are still not getting the job done. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic students finish high school on time. Meanwhile, the National Assessment of Education Progress tests, often referred to as “the nation“s report card,“ show si
31、gnificant achievement gaps separating white students from black and Hispanic high school students. These are not small differences but 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 e
32、ffects 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“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
33、 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 quality 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 thi
34、s 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 list 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 stu
35、dents based on academic merit, something that obviously boosts the chances of meeting the criteria. Because the U.S. News list uses more 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 becaus
36、e states calculate them in different ways. But this one better reflects what policymakers and parents want from high schools, as well as 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 so
37、cial gaps.B.remain ethnic diversities.C.teach students practical skills.D.prepare students for the future.(2).In Paragraph 2, “the nation“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 learning.B.half of African-American and Hi
38、spanic high school students are dropouts.C.academic achievement gaps are the primary causes of ethnic gaps in America.D.Achievement gaps 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 Am
39、erica signs with its citizens.B.income gaps are widened as the economy relies more on knowledge and skills.C.high school education results in more economic impact than emotional one.D.high school dropouts used to earn more in the 1970s than today.(4).High schools of silver or gold medalists by U.S.
40、News most probably（分数：2.00）A.dedicate to students from low-income families.B.recruit mainly white students.C.select students based on academic performance.D.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
41、.Threatening.You are what you eat, or so the saying goes. But Richard Wrangham, of Harvard University, believes that this is true in a more profound sense than the one implied by the old proverb. It is not just you who are what you eat, but the entire human species. And with Homo sapiens, what makes
42、 the species unique in Dr. Wrangham“s opinion is that its food is so often cooked. Cooking is a human universal. No society is without it. No one other than a few faddists tries to survive on raw food alone. And the consumption of a cooked meal in the evening, usually in the company of family and fr
43、iends, is normal in every known society. Moreover, without cooking, the human brain(which consumes 20-25% of the body“s energy)could not keep running. Dr. Wrangham thus believes that cooking and humanity have developed alongside. In fact, as he outlined to the American Association for the Advancemen
44、t of Science(AAAS), in Chicago, he thinks that cooking and other forms of preparing food are humanity“s “killer application“: the evolutionary change that underpins all of the otherand subsequentchanges that have made people such unusual animals. Humans became human, as it were, with the emergence 1
45、.8 million years ago of a species called Homo erectus. This had a skeleton much like modern man“sa big, brain-filled skull and a narrow pelvis and rib cage, which imply a small abdomen and thus a small gut. Hitherto, the explanation for this shift from the smaller skulls and wider pelvises of man“s
46、apelike ancestors has been a shift from a vegetable-based diet to a meat-based one. Meat has more calories than plant matter, the theory went. A smaller gut could therefore support a larger brain. Dr. Wrangham disagrees. When you do the sums, he argues, raw meat is still insufficient to bridge the g
47、ap. He points out that even modern “raw foodists“, members of a town-dwelling, back-to-nature social movement, struggle to maintain their weightand they have access to animals and plants that have been bred for the table. Pre-agricultural man confined to raw food would have starved. Start cooking, h
48、owever, and things change radically. Cooking alters food in three important ways. It breaks starch molecules into more digestible fragments. It “denatures“ protein molecules, so that their amino-acid chains unfold and digestive enzymes can attack them more easily. And heat physically softens food. T
49、hat makes it easier to digest, so even though the stuff is no more calorific, the body uses fewer calories dealing with it.（分数：10.00）(1).It can be inferred from the first paragraph that（分数：2.00）A.what you eat exerts little impact on who you are.B.the food makes Homo sapiens different from others.C.Homo sapiens often cooked its food.D.Homo sapiens cook food in a unique way.(2).Dr. Wrangham holds the view that
