1、同等学历人员申请硕士学位英语-阅读理解(一)及答案解析(总分：30.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、专项练习(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Passage One(总题数：1，分数：6.00)Just over three years old and about four-feet tall. Methuselah is growing well. “Its lovely.“ Dr. Sarah Sallon said of the date palm，whose parents may have provided food for the besieged Jews at Masada s
2、ome 2 000 years ago. The little tree was sprouted in 2005 from a seed recovered from Masada, where rebelling Jews committed suicide rather than surrender to Roman attackers.Radiocarbon dating of seed fragments clinging to its root, as well as other seeds found with it that didnt sprout, indicate the
3、y were about 2 000 years oldthe oldest seed known to have been sprouted and grown.Sallon, director of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah Medical Organization in Israel, updates the saga of Methuselah in Fridays edition of the journal Science.One thing they dont know yet
4、 is whether its a boy or girl. Date palms differ by sex, but experts cant tell the difference until the tree is six or seven years old, Sallon said.She hopes theres a chance to use it to restore the extinct Judean date palm, once prized not only for its fruit but also for medicinal uses.The research
5、ers have had a look at the plants DNA, however, and found it shares just over half its genes with modern date cultivars(栽培品种)“Part of our project is to preserve ancient knowledge of how plants were used,“ Sallon said in a telephone interview. “To domesticate them so we have a ready source of raw mat
6、erial. “Her Middle Eastern Medicinal Plant Project is working to conserve and reintroduce plants to the region where they once lived.“Many species are endangered and becoming extinct. Raising the dead is very difficult, so its better to preserve them before they become extinct,“ she said.The oldest
7、documented seed to be grown previously was a 1 300-year-old lotus, Sallon said.（分数：6.00）(1).It can be learned that Methuselah _A. is an ancient tree about 2 000 years oldB. is grown from a seed about 2 000 years oldC. had already become extinct 2 000 years agoD. has been the food source since 2 000
8、years ago（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(2).The word “saga“ in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to “_“. A. extraordinary story B. special functionC. detailed information D. latest development（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(3).What do we know about Methuselahs sex?A. It will be made clear within a year or two.B. It will remain
9、 a myth for at least a decade.C. It wont be known until several years later.D. It wont be decided without ancient knowledge.（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(4).The author seems to suggest that _. A. the attempt to grow the Judean palm date will end in failureB. the effort to reintroduce the Judean palm date is sur
10、e to pay offC. the researchers are likely to create a new species of the Judean palm dateD. the researchers stand a chance of success to renew the Judean palm date（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(5).Which of the following can best summarize Sallons Plant Project?A. Discovering new species.B. Protecting rare specie
11、s.C. Restoring extinct species.D. Reforming existing species.（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(6).The purpose of the passage is to _A. enlarge our knowledge of the plantsB. provide latest information on plant usageC. introduce a successful project concerning a plantD. emphasize the importance of rare plant preserva
12、tion（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.三、Passage Two(总题数：1，分数：6.00)Why is Valentines Day, a holiday dedicated to the sweet bloom of love, celebrated in a cold month more suited to hats and gloves than to thoughts of love?“Its very mysterious,“ says Henry Kelly, director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Stud
13、ies at the University of California. Kelly theorizes lovers everywhere can thank two guys from the 14th century: renowned poet Geoffrey Chaucerfamous for penning “The Canterbury Tales“and a not-so-famous saint who went by the name of Valentine.In 1381, Chaucer was busy composing a poem in honor of t
14、he arranged marriage between Englands Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. Chaucer was looking for just the right saint to honor on May 3, the day Richard II signed the papers of engagement to his Bohemia beauty.His search ended, Kelly guesses, when Chaucer learned that a Saint Valentine of Genoa had an
15、honorary feast day on May 3. So he wrote the poem “The Parliament of Fowls“ in the couples honor.“The Parliament of Fowls“ literally means “the meeting of birds“ , says Kelly. “Chaucer dreamed up the idea that all birds chose their mates on May 3rd. When the spring brought its sunny smile back to th
16、e earth, it was easy to imagine the winged animals fluttering about and flirting with their lovers. “After Chaucers death in ld00, Valentines Day celebrations got pushed back to February. The date may have changed because the first song birds that traditionally warble(鸟鸣) after a winter tend to debu
17、t in mid-February.But the holiday that honors lovebirds everywhere with rhymed verse and colored candy hearts has not always been so popular.The very celebration of Valentines Day has gone in and out of vogue. In the 16th century in Genoa you have it, but there is not much notice of it in other coun
18、tries.The sweet-toothed holiday experienced renewed vigor in England just prior to 1800, and publishing companies came to the aid of tongue-tied lovers by distributing booklets of passages lovers could use to stir hearts. If they couldnt find the words in their hearts, companies figured, at least th
19、ese Romeos could find some coins in their pocket to make their sweethearts happy.The celebration suffered a popularity plunge in the 19th century, but by the next century, Americans had rescued Valentines Day from the trash heap, turning it into a commercial bonanza.（分数：6.00）(1).For Chaucer, May 3 w
20、as a special date because it was the day when _?A. Richard II became engaged to Anne of BohemiaB. Richard II married Anne of BohemiaC. Saint Valentine of Genoa was honoredD. all birds chose their mates（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Henry Kellys research on Valentines Day _. A. is a widely accepted explanation
21、B. is well-based on conclusive evidenceC. is a reasonable speculationD. is just a wild and unreliable guess（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(3).The celebration of Valentines Day on February. 14 _. A. coincides with the coming of springB. remains unexplained in terms of its originC. was a choice made by Chaucer and
22、Saint ValentineD. started in the 14th century and has continued till today（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(4).The celebration of Valentines Day became unfashionable in the _ century.A. 14th B. 15th C. 17th D. 19th（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The word “bonanza“ in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to _. A. myth B. c
23、hallenge C. celebration D. success（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(6).The passage is mainly about _. A. how people celebrate Valentines DayB. how Valentines Day originated and evolvedC. what is the best way to promote Valentines DayD. why people have different attitudes toward Valentines Day（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.四、Pass
24、age Three(总题数：1，分数：6.00)Whats a label worth? A lot, it seems, when it comes to towels in a New York shop. Two Harvard University researchers, Michael Hiscox and Nicholas Smyth conducted an experiment on two sets of towels. One lot carried a label with the logo “Fair and Square“ and the following mes
25、sage:These towels have been made under fair labor conditions, in a safe and healthy working environment which is free of discrimination, and where management has committed to respecting the rights and dignity of workers.The other set had no such label. Over five months, the researchers observed the
26、impact of making various changes such as switching the label to the other set of towels and raising prices. The results were striking: not only did sales of towels increase when they carried the Fair and Square label, they carried on increasing each time the price was raised.No wonder companies are
27、keen to appeal to ethically minded consumers, whether on labor standards or green credentials. On greenery, British consumers are divided into four broad groups. About one in ten is passionately green and will go out of their way to shop accordingly. At the other end of the spectrum one-quarter are
28、not interested. In-between are those who care but want green consumption to be easy, and those who are vaguely concerned but dont see how they can make a difference. That represents an opportunity: three-quarters of British consumers are interested in the green theme in some way.But even the keenest
29、 ethical consumer faces complicated trade-offs, and sometimes the apparently obvious ethical choice turns out to be the wrong one. Surely it must be greener for Britons to buy roses from the Netherlands than ones air-freighted from Kenya? In fact, a study at Cranfield University showed the carbon fo
30、otprint of the Dutch roses to be six times as large because they had to be grown in heated greenhouses.Consumers are right to be suspicious of the ethical claims made for many products. A recent study of the labels of 1 018 products in big stores in North America by TerraChoice, an environmental mar
31、keting agency, found that almost all of them were guilty of some form of “green washing“. They did not tell outright lies, but nor did they tell the whole truth.（分数：6.00）(1).According to the experiment, the towels with the “ Fair and Square“ label _. A. sold better at a higher priceB. became more po
32、pular at a lower priceC. were more competitive even with an increased priceD. were thought to be of higher quality even with a lower price（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(2).The towel experiment shows that _. A. we should appeal to more people to be ethical consumersB. the influence of ethical consumers is increas
33、ingly on the riseC. fair working conditions has become the core value in societyD. fair working conditions should be encouraged even at some cost（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(3).The phrase “go out of their way to shop accordingly“ in paragraph 4 means “to _“ . A. enjoy green shopping far away from homeB. make a
34、 special effort to buy green productsC. do unusual things to support green consumptionD. go shopping only in places with green products（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(4).The example of the roses emphasizes the _. A. the difficulty for ethical consumers to identify green productsB. the necessity of giving more inf
35、ormation to ethical consumersC. the importance of making the right choice in green consumptionD. the controversy of whether or not to continue green consumption（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(5).What point does the author want to make in the last paragraph?A. There is no such thing as green shopping.B. Consumers
36、have the right to know the truth.C. The green labels on products are mostly misleading.D. Producers should feel guilty for deceiving consumers.（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(6).In the passage the author tries to convey the message that _. A. buying ethical may not be as good as it seemsB. buying ethical is the r
37、ight choice for consumersC. the concept of buying ethical has caught on in the UKD. the question of buying ethical is heatedly debated in the UK（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.五、Passage Four(总题数：1，分数：6.00)Faith in medicine runs deep in America. We spend more per person on health care than any other nation. Whether
38、 we eat too much or exercise too little, whether were turning gray or feeling blue, we look to some pill or procedure to make us better.We assume that devoting ever more dollars to medicine will bring us longer, healthier lives. But there is mounting evidence that each new dollar we devote to the cu
39、rrent health care system brings small and diminishing returns to public health. Today the United States spends more than $4 500 per person per year on health care. Costa Rica spends less than $ 300. Yet life expectancy at birth is nearly identical in both countries.Despite the highly publicized“ lon
40、gevity revolution,“ life expectancy among the elderly in the United States is hardly improving. Yes, we are an aging society, but primarily because of falling birthrates. Younger Americans, meanwhile, are far more likely to be disabled than they were 20 years ago. Most affected are people in their t
41、hirties, whose disability rates increased by nearly 130 percent, due primarily to overweight.Why has our huge investment in health care left us so unhealthy? Partly it is because so many promised“ miracle cures,“ from Interferon to gene therapies, have proven to be ineffective or even dangerous. Par
42、tly its because health care dollars are so concentrated on the terminally ill and the very old that even when medical interventions “work,“ the gains to average life expectancy are small. And partly it is because of medical errors and adverse reaction to prescription drugs, which cause more deaths t
43、han motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS. Each year roughly 200 000 seniors suffer fatal or life-threatening “adverse drug events“ due to improper drug use or drug interaction.Why dont Americans live any longer than Costa Ricans? Overwhelmingly, its because of differences in behavior. Amer
44、icans exercise less, eat more, drive more, smoke more, and lead more socially isolated lives. Even at its best, modern medicine can do little to promote productive aging, because by the time most people come in contact with it their bodies are already compromised by stress, indulgent habits, environ
45、mental dangers and injuries.（分数：6.00）(1).Americans in general believe that _. A. more money spent on health care may not result in better healthB. medicine may provide an effective cure for various health problemsC. health problems caused by bad habits can hardly be solved by medicineD. higher birth
46、rate can better solve the problem of aging society than medicine（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(2).Compared with the Americans, Costa Ricans _. A. have a healthier way of lifeB. enjoy a longer life expectancyC. are more dependent on medicineD. are less concerned about their health（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(3).The biggest
47、problem affecting the health of younger Americans may be summarized as the problem of _. A. overwork B. depression C. stress D. lifestyle（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(4).Which of the following is NOT a reason why health care investment fails to bring a longer life?A. Drug reaction due to improper use of drugs.B
48、. Imbalanced distribution of health care money.C. Soaring prices of both drugs and new therapies.D. Failure of many highly-evaluated medical treatments.（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(5).It is implied in the last paragraph that _. A. medicine should be taken timely before it is too lateB. it is reasonable to ques
49、tion the effectiveness of medicineC. poor health conditions leave little room for medicine to workD. great efforts should be made to develop new types of medicine（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.(6).The passage is mainly focused on _. A. the limits of medicineB. the life hazards in the U.S.C. the harriers to a longer lifeD. the problems in health investment（分数：1.00）A.B.C.D.六、Passage Five(总题数：1，分数：6.00)For decades, researchers have grappled with the problem of creating a
