1、考研英语（阅读）-试卷 97 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）_Of all the changes that have taken place in English-
2、language newspapers during the past quarter-century, perhaps the most far-reaching has been the inexorable decline in the scope and seriousness of their arts coverage. It is difficult to the point of impossibility for the average reader under the age of forty to imagine a time when high-quality arts
3、 criticism could be found in most big-city newspapers. Yet a considerable number of the most significant collections of criticism published in the 20th century consisted in large part of newspaper reviews. To read such books today is to marvel at the fact that their learned contents were once deemed
4、 suitable for publication in general-circulation dailies. We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews published in England between the turn of the 20th century and the eve of World War II, at a time when newsprint was dirt-cheap and stylish arts criticism was considered an ornam
5、ent to the publications in which it appeared. In those far-off days, it was taken for granted that the critics of major papers would write in detail and at length about the events they covered. Theirs was a serious business, and even those reviewers who wore their learning lightly, like George Berna
6、rd Shaw and Ernest Newman, could be trusted to know what they were about. These men believed in journalism as a calling, and were proud to be published in the daily press. “So few authors have brains enough or literary gift enough to keep their own end up in journalism,“ Newman wrote, “that I am tem
7、pted to define “journalism “as “a term of contempt applied by writers who are not read to writers who are“.“ Unfortunately, these critics are virtually forgotten. Neville Cardus, who wrote for the Manchester Guardian from 1917 until shortly before his death in 1975, is now known solely as a writer o
8、f essays on the game of cricket. During his lifetime, though, he was also one of England“s foremost classical-music critics, a stylist so widely admired that his Autobiography (1947) became a best-seller. He was knighted in 1967, the first music critic to be so honored. Yet only one of his books is
9、now in print, and his vast body of writings on music is unknown save to specialists. Is there any chance that Cardus“s criticism will enjoy a revival? The prospect seems remote. Journalistic tastes had changed long before his death, and postmodern readers have little use for the richly upholstered V
10、icwardian prose in which he specialized. Moreover, the amateur tradition in music criticism has been in headlong retreat.（分数：10.00）(1).It is indicated in Paragraphs 1 and 2 that（分数：2.00）A.arts criticism has disappeared from big-city newspapers.B.English-language newspapers used to carry more arts re
11、views.C.high-quality newspapers retain a large body of readers.D.young readers doubt the suitability of criticism on dailies.(2).Newspaper reviews in England before World War II were characterized by（分数：2.00）A.free themes.B.casual style.C.elaborate layout.D.radical viewpoints.(3).Which of the follow
12、ing would Shaw and Newman most probably agree on?（分数：2.00）A.It is writers“ duty to fulfill journalistic goals.B.It is contemptible for writers to be journalists.C.Writers are likely to be tempted into journalism.D.Not all writers are capable of journalistic writing.(4).What can be learned about Card
13、us according to the last two paragraphs?（分数：2.00）A.His music criticism may not appeal to readers today.B.His reputation as a music critic has long been in dispute.C.His style caters largely to modern specialists.D.His writings fail to follow the amateur tradition.(5).What would be the best title for
14、 the text?（分数：2.00）A.Newspapers of the Good Old DaysB.The Lost Horizon in NewspapersC.Mournful Decline of JournalismD.Prominent Critics in MemoryIn 1784, five years before he became president of the United States, George Washington, 52, was nearly toothless. So he hired a dentist to transplant nine
15、teeth into his jawhaving extracted them from the mouths of his slaves. That“s a far different image from the cherry-tree-chopping George most people remember from their history books. But recently, many historians have begun to focus on the roles slavery played in the lives of the founding generatio
16、n. They have been spurred in part by DNA evidence made available in 1998, which almost certainly proved Thomas Jefferson had fathered at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings. And only over the past 30 years have scholars examined history from the bottom up. Works of several historians reveal
17、 the moral compromises made by the nation“s early leaders and the fragile nature of the country“s infancy. More significantly, they argue that many of the Founding Fathers knew slavery was wrongand yet most did little to fight it. More than anything, the historians say, the founders were hampered by
18、 the culture of their time. While Washington and Jefferson privately expressed distaste for slavery, they also understood that it was part of the political and economic bedrock of the country they helped to create. For one thing, the South could not afford to part with its slaves. Owning slaves was
19、“like having a large bank account,“ says Wiencek, author of An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. The southern states would not have signed the Constitution without protections for the “peculiar institution,“ including a clause that counted a slave as three fi
20、fths of a man for purposes of congressional representation. And the statesmen“s political lives depended on slavery. The three-fifths formula handed Jefferson his narrow victory in the presidential election of 1800 by inflating the votes of the southern states in the Electoral College. Once in offic
21、e, Jefferson extended slavery with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; the new land was carved into 13 states, including three slave states. Still, Jefferson freed Hemings“s childrenthough not Hemings herself or his approximately 150 other slaves. Washington, who had begun to believe that all men were c
22、reated equal after observing the bravery of the black soldiers during the Revolutionary War, overcame the strong opposition of his relatives to grant his slaves their freedom in his will. Only a decade earlier, such an act would have required legislative approval in Virginia.（分数：10.00）(1).George Was
23、hington“s dental surgery is mentioned to（分数：2.00）A.show the primitive medical practice in the past.B.demonstrate the cruelty of slavery in his days.C.stress the role of slaves in the U.S. history.D.reveal some unknown aspect of his life.(2).We may infer from the second paragraph that（分数：2.00）A.DNA t
24、echnology has been widely applied to history research.B.in its early days the U.S. was confronted with delicate situations.C.historians deliberately made up some stories of Jefferson“s life.D.political compromises are easily found throughout the U.S. history.(3).What do we learn about Thomas Jeffers
25、on?（分数：2.00）A.His political view changed his attitude towards slavery.B.His status as a father made him free the child slaves.C.His attitude towards slavery was complex.D.His affair with a slave stained his prestige.(4).Which of the following is true according to the text?（分数：2.00）A.Some Founding Fa
26、thers benefit politically from slavery.B.Slaves in the old days did not have the right to vote.C.Slave owners usually had large savings accounts.D.Slavery was regarded as a peculiar institution.(5).Washington“ s decision to free slaves originated from his（分数：2.00）A.moral considerations.B.military ex
27、perience.C.financial conditions.D.political stand.Stratford-on-Avon,as we all know, has only one industryWilliam Shakespearebut there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which presents superb productions of the plays at the Sha
28、kespeare MemorialTheatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway“s Cottage, Shakespeare“ s birthplace and the other sights. The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their r
29、evenue. They frankly dislike the RSC“s actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It“s all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself an actor (with a beard) and did his share of noise-making. The tourist streams are not en
30、tirely separate. The sightseers who come by busand often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the sidedon“t usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight-seeing along with their playgoing. It is the
31、 playgoers, the RSC contends, who bring in much of the town“s revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall. The townsfolk don“t see it this way and local co
32、uncil does not contribute directly to the subsidy of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally . Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamb
33、urger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive. Anyway, the townsfolk can“t understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 percent
34、occupied all year long and this year they“ll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low. It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford“s most attractive clientele. They come entirely f
35、or the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over)lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeans and sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside the theatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing-room tickets held for the sl
36、eepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m（分数：10.00）(1).From the first two paragraphs, we learn that（分数：2.00）A.the townsfolk deny the RSC“s contribution to the town“ s revenue.B.the actors of the RSC imitate Shakespeare on and off stage.C.the two branches of the RSC are not on go
37、od terms.D.the townsfolk earn little from tourism.(2).It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that（分数：2.00）A.the sightseers cannot visit the Castle and the Palace separately.B.the playgoers spend more money than the sightseers.C.the sightseers do more shopping than the playgoers.D.the playgoers go to no
38、 other places in town than the theater.(3).By saying “Stratford cries poor traditionally“ (Para. 4), the author implies that（分数：2.00）A.Stratford cannot afford the expansion projects.B.Stratford has long been in financial difficulties.C.the town is not really short of money.D.the townsfolk used to be
39、 poorly paid.(4).According to the townsfolk, the RSC deserves no subsidy because（分数：2.00）A.ticket prices can be raised to cover the spending.B.the company is financially ill-managed.C.the behavior of the actors is not socially acceptable.D.the theatre attendance is on the rise. 15. From the text we
40、can conclude that the author(5).From the text we can conclude that the author（分数：2.00）A.is supportive of both sides.B.favors the townsfolk“ s view.C.takes a detached attitude.D.is sympathetic to the RSC.We tend to think of the decades immediately following World War II as a time of prosperity and gr
41、owth, with soldiers returning home by the millions, going off to college on the G. I. Bill and lining up at the marriage bureaus. But when it came to their houses, it was a time of common sense and a belief that less could truly be more. During the Depression and the war, Americans had learned to li
42、ve with less, and that restraint, in combination with the postwar confidence in the future, made small, efficient housing positively stylish. Economic condition was only a stimulus for the trend toward efficient living. The phrase “less is more“ was actually first popularized by a German, the archit
43、ect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who like other people associated with the Bauhaus, a school of design, emigrated to the United States before World War II and took up posts at American architecture schools. These designers came to exert enormous influence on the course of American architecture, but non
44、e more so than Mies. Mies“ s signature phrase means that less decoration, properly organized, has more impact than a lot. Elegance, he believed, did not derive from abundance. Like other modern architects, he employed metal, glass and laminated woodmaterials that we take for granted today but that i
45、n the 1940s symbolized the future. Mies“ s sophisticated presentation masked the fact that the spaces he designed were small and efficient , rather than big and often empty. The apartments in the elegant towers Mies built on Chicago“s Lake Shore Drive, for example, were smallertwo-bedroom units unde
46、r 1,000 square feetthan those in their older neighbors along the city“s Gold Coast. But they were popular because of their airy glass walls, the views they afforded and the elegance of the buildings“ details and proportions, the architectural equivalent of the abstract art so popular at the time. Th
47、e trend toward “less“ was not entirely foreign. In the 1930s Frank Lloyd Wright started building more modest and efficient housesusually around 1,200 square feetthan the spreading two-story ones he had designed in the 1890s and the early 20th century. The “Case Study Houses“ commissioned from talent
48、ed modern architects by California Arts the new land was carved into 13 states, including three slave states. Still, Jefferson freed Hemings“s childrenthough not Hemings herself or his approximately 150 other slaves. Washington, who had begun to believe that all men were created equal after observin
49、g the bravery of the black soldiers during the Revolutionary War, overcame the strong opposition of his relatives to grant his slaves their freedom in his will. Only a decade earlier, such an act would have required legislative approval in Virginia.（分数：10.00）(1).George Washington“s dental surgery is mentioned to（分数：2.00）A.show the primitive medical practice in the past.B.demonstrate the cruelty of slavery
