1、2009年湖北省考博英语真题试卷及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 In general, our society is becoming one of giant enterprises directed by a bureaucratic management in which man becomes a small, well-oiled cog in the machinery. The oiling is done with higher wages, well-ventilated factories and piped music and by p
2、sychologists and “human-relation“ experts; yet all this oiling does not alter the fact that man has become powerless, that he does not whole heartedly participate in his work and that he is bored with it. In fact, the blue and the white-collar workers have become economic puppets(木偶 )who dance to th
3、e tune of automated machines and bureaucratic management. The workers and employees are anxious, not only because they might find themselves out of a job; they are anxious also because they are unable to acquire any real satisfaction or interest in life. They live and die without ever having confron
4、ted the fundamental realties of human existence as emotionally and intellectually independent and productive human beings. Those higher up on the social ladder are no less anxious. Their lives are no less empty than those of their subordinates. They are even more insecure in some respects. They are
5、in a highly competitive race. To be promoted or to fall behind is not a matter of salary but even more a matter of self-respect. When they apply for their first job, they are tested for intelligence as well as for the right mixture of submissiveness and independence. From that moment on they are tes
6、ted again and again- by psychologists, for whom testing is a big business, and by their superiors, who judge their behavior, sociability, capacity to get along, etC. This constant need to prove that one is as good as or better than ones fellow-competitors creates constant anxiety and stress, the ver
7、y causes of unhappiness and illness. Am I suggesting that we should return to the preindustrial mode of production or to the 19th-century “free-enterprise“ capitalism? Certainly not. Problems are never solved by returning to a stage which one has already outgrown. I suggest transforming our social s
8、ystem from a bureaucratically managed industrialism in which maximal production and consumption are ends in themselves into a humanist industrialism in which man and full development of his potentialities those of love and of reason- are the aims of all social arrangements. Production and consumptio
9、n should serve only as a means to this end, and should be prevented from ruling man. 1 By “a well-oiled cog in the machinery“ the author intends to render the idea that man is_. （ A） an unimportant part in comparison with the rest of the society, though functioning smoothly （ B） a necessary part of
10、the society though each individuals function is negligible （ C） a humble component of the society, especially when working smoothly （ D） working in complete harmony with the rest of the society 2 The real cause of the anxiety of the workers and employees is that_. （ A） they are faced with the fundam
11、ental realties of human existence （ B） they are deprived of their independence and productivity （ C） they are likely to lose their satisfactory jobs （ D） they are farther away from genuine life 3 Those who are on the higher social ladder would feel more peaceful and secure if they could_. （ A） get h
12、igher salary and more self-respect （ B） have more chance to be further promoted （ C） prove better than their fellow-competitors （ D） keep far away from this competitive world 4 To solve the present social problems the author suggests that we should_. （ A） offer higher wages to the workers and employ
13、ees （ B） resort to the production mode of our ancestors （ C） enable man to fully develop his potentialities （ D） take the fundamental realties for granted 5 The authors attitude towards industrialism might be best summarized as one of the_. （ A） approval （ B） dissatisfaction （ C） suspicion （ D） tole
14、rance 5 Coincident with concerns about the accelerating loss of species and habitats has been a growing appreciation of the importance of biological diversity, the number of species in a particular ecosystem, to the health of the Earth and human beings. Much has been written about the diversity of t
15、errestrial organisms, particularly the exceptionally rich life associated with tropical rain-forest habitats. Relatively little has been said, however, about diversity of life in the sea even though coral reef systems are comparable to rain forests in terms of richness of life. An alien exploring th
16、e Earth would probably give priority to the planets dominant, most distinctive feature the ocean. Humans have a bias toward land that sometimes gets in the way of truly examining global issues. Seen from far away, it is easy to realize that landmasses occupy one-third of the Earths surface. Given th
17、at two-thirds of the Earths surface is water and that marine life lives at all levels of the ocean, the total three-dimensional living space of the ocean is perhaps 100 times greater than that of land and contains more than 90 percent of all life on Earth even though the ocean has fewer distinct spe
18、cies. The fact that half of the known species are thought to inhabit the worlds rain forests does not seem surprising, considering the huge numbers of insects that comprise the bulk of species. One scientist found many different species of ants in just one tree from a rain forest. While every specie
19、s is different from every other species, their genetic makeup constrains them to be insects and to share similar characteristics with 750 000 species of insects. If basic, broad categories such as phyla and classes are given more emphasis than differentiating between species, then the greatest diver
20、sity of life is unquestionably the sea. Nearly every major type of plant and animal has some representation there. To appreciate fully the diversity of abundance of life in the sea, it helps to think small. Every spoonful of ocean water contains life on the order of 100 to 100 000 bacterial cells pl
21、us assorted microscopic plants and animals, including larvas or organisms ranging from sponges and corals to starfish and clams and much more. 6 What is the main point of the passage? （ A） Humans are destroying thousands of species. （ B） There are thousands of insect species. （ C） The sea is even ri
22、cher in life than the rain forests. （ D） Coral reefs are similar to rain forests. 7 Why does the author compare coral reefs with rain forests(Para. 1)? （ A） They share many similar species. （ B） They are approximately the same size. （ C） Most of their inhabitants require water. （ D） Both have many d
23、ifferent forms of life. 8 The passage suggests that most rain forest species are_. （ A） insects （ B） bacteria （ C） mammals （ D） birds 9 The author argues that there is more diversity of life in the sea than in the rain forest because_. （ A） there are too many insects to make meaningful distinctions
24、（ B） more phyla and classes of life are represented in the sea （ C） many insect species are too small to divide into categories （ D） marine life-forms reproduce at a faster pace 10 Which of the following conclusions is supported by the passage? （ A） Ocean life is highly adaptive. （ B） Ocean life is
25、primarily composed of plants. （ C） The sea is highly resistant to the damage done by pollutants. （ D） More attention needs to be paid to preserving ocean species and habitats. 10 Science is an enterprise concerned with gaining information about causality, or the relationship between cause and effect
26、. A simple example of a cause is the movement of a paddle as it strikes a ping-pong ball; the effect is the movement of the ball through the air. In psychology and other sciences, the word “cause“ is often replaced by the term “independent variable“. This term implies that the experimenter is often
27、“free“ to vary the independent variable as he or she desires(for example, the experimenter can control the speed of the paddle as it strikes the ball). The term “dependent variable“ replaces the word “effect“, and this term is used because the effect depends on some characteristic of the independent
28、 variable(the flight of the ball depends on the speed of the paddle). The conventions of science demand that both the independent and dependent variables be observable events, as is the case in the ping-pong example. In the case of biorhythm theory, the independent variable is the number of days tha
29、t have elapsed between a persons date of birth and some test day. The dependent variable is the persons level of performance on some specified task on the test day. Notice that although the experimenter is not free to choose a birthday for a given individual, persons with different dates of birth ca
30、n be tested on the same day, or a single subject can be tested on several different days. In order to predict the relationship between independent and dependent variables, many scientific theories make use of what are called intervening variables. Intervening variables are purely theoretical concept
31、s that cannot be observed directly. To predict the flight of a ping-pong ball, Newtonian physics relies on a number of intervening variables; including force, mass, air resistance, and gravity. You can probably anticipate that the intervening variables of biorhythm theory are the three bodily cycles
32、 with their specified time periods. It should be emphasized that not all psychological theories include intervening variables, and some psychologists object to their use precisely because they are not directly observable. The final major component of a scientific theory is its syntax, or the rules a
33、nd definitions that state how the independent and dependent variables are to be measured, and that specify the relationships among independent variables, intervening variables, and dependent variables. It is the syntax of biorhythm theory that describes how to use a persons birthday to calculate the
34、 current status of the three cycles. The syntax also relates the cycles to the dependent variable, performance, by stating that positive cycles should cause high levels of performance whereas low or critical cycles should cause low performance levels. To summarize, the components of a scientific the
35、ory can be divided into four major categories: independent variables, dependent variables, intervening variables, and syntax. 11 Based on the passage, causality may have the meaning that_. （ A） cause and effect can be independent of each other （ B） there is hardly anything that happens without a cau
36、se （ C） dependent and independent variables affect each other （ D） cause and effect may vary respectively in most events 12 According to biorhythm theory, _. （ A） ones behavior can be predicted by knowing his or her birthday （ B） nobody can choose his or her date of birth as he or she wishes （ C） an
37、 individuals performance is irrelevant to his or her birthday （ D） a persons level of performance varies according to the test date 13 Many theories for predicting the relationship between cause and effect_. （ A） testify their complete conformity with general scientific principles （ B） justify the i
38、dentity of dependent, independent, and intervening variables （ C） specify the time periods of bodily cycles in terms of psychological tests （ D） verify their prediction by variables inconsistent with conventions of science 14 The example of the ping-pong ball is used to_. （ A） indicate a hard nut to
39、 crack in physics （ B） predict variables in a persons performance （ C） prove a common feature most theories have （ D） show the negligibility of intervening variables 15 The word “syntax“ used in the last paragraph refers to the_. （ A） rules used for ordering and connecting words in a sentence （ B） p
40、rinciples defining the connections among different variables （ C） definitions describing the impact of biorhythm on ones behavior （ D） criteria measuring a persons performance levels with biorhythm 15 Americans today dont place a very high value on intellect. Our heroes are athletes, entertainers, a
41、nd entrepreneurs, not scholars. Even our schools are where we send our children to get a practical education not to pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Symptoms of pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools arent difficult to find. “Schools have always been in a society where practical is
42、 more important than intellectual, “ says education writer Diane Ravitch. “Schools could be a counterbalance.“ Ravitchs latest book, Left Back : A Century of Failed School Reforms, traces the roots of anti-intellectualism in our schools, concluding they are anything but a counterbalance to the Ameri
43、can distaste for intellectual pursuits. But they could and should be. Encouraging kids to reject the life of the mind leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and control. Without the ability to think critically, to defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others, they cannot fully participate i
44、n our democracy. Continuing along this path, says writer Earl Shorris, “we will become a second-rate country. We will have a less civil society. “ “Intellect is resented as a form of power or privilege, “ writes historian and professor Richard Hofstadter in Anti-intellectualism in American life, a P
45、ulitzer Prize winning book on the roots of anti-intellectualism in U. S. politics, religion, and education. From the beginning of our history, says Hofstadter, our democratic and populist urges have driven us to reject anything that smells of elitism. Practicality, common sense, and native intellige
46、nce have been considered more noble qualities than anything you could learn from a book. Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalist philosophers thought schooling and rigorous book learning put unnatural restraints on children: “We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for 10 or 1
47、5 years and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing. “ Mark Twains Huckleberry Finn exemplified American anti-intellectualism. Its hero avoids being civilized going to school and learning to read so he can preserve his innate goodness. Intellect, according to Hofstadter, is
48、 different from native intelligence, a quality we reluctantly admire. Intellect is the critical, creative, and contemplative side of the mind. Intelligence seeks to grasp, manipulate, reorder, and adjust, while intellect examines, thinks, wonders, theorizes, criticizes and imagines. School remains a
49、 place where intellect is mistrusted. Hofstadter says our countrys educational system is in the grips of people who “joyfully and militantly proclaim their hostility to intellect and their eagerness to identify with children who show the least intellectual promise. “ 16 What do American parents expect their children to acquire in school? （ A） The habit of thinking independently. （ B） Profound knowledge of the world. （ C） Practical abilities for future career. （ D） The confidence in intellectual pursu
