1、厦门大学考博英语模拟试卷 5及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 In 1998 consumers could purchase virtually anything over the Internet Books, compact discs, and even stocks were available from World Wide Web sites that seemed to spring up almost daily. A few years earlier, some people had predicted that consumers ac
2、customed to shopping in stores would be reluctant to buy things that they could not see or touch in person. For a growing number of time-starved consumers, however, shopping from their home computer was proved to be a convenient alternative to driving to the store. A research estimated that in 1998
3、US consumers would purchase $ 7. 3 billion of goods over the Internet, double the 1997 total Finding a bargain was getting easier owing to the rise of online auctions and Web sites that did comparison shopping on the Internet for the best deal. For all the consumer interest, retailing in cyberspace
4、was still a largely unprofitable business, however. Internet pioneer A, which began selling books in 1995 and liter branched into recorded music and videos, posted revenue of $ 153, 7 million in the third quarter, up from $ 37.9 million in the same period of 1997. Overall, however, the companys loss
5、 widened to $ 45.2 million from $ 9.6 million, and a-nalysis did not expect the company to turn a profit until 2001. Despite the great loss, Amazon, com had a stock market value of many billions, reflecting investors optimism about the future of the industry Internet retailing appealed to investors
6、because it provided an efficient means for reaching millions of consumers without having the cost of operating conventional stores with their armies of salespeople. Selling online carried its own risks, however. With so many companies competing for consumers attention) price competition was intense
7、and profit margins thin or nonexistent One video retailer sold the hit movie Titanic for $ 9.99, undercutting (削价 ) the $ 19.99 suggested retail price and losing about $ 6 on each copy sold With Internet retailing still in its initial stage, companies seemed willing to absorb such losses in an attem
8、pt to establish a dominant market position. 1 Which of the following is TRUE according to the writer? （ A） Consumers are reluctant to buy things on the Internet （ B） Consumers are too busy to buy things on the Internet （ C） Internet retailing is a profitable business. （ D） More and more consumers pr
9、efer Internet shopping. 2 Finding a bargain on the Internet was getting easier partly because_. （ A） there were more and more Internet users （ B） there were more and more online auctions （ C） the consumers had more money to spend （ D） there were more goods available on the Internet 3 “For all the co
10、nsumer interest“ (Paragraph 3) means_. （ A） to the interest of all the consumers （ B） for the interest of all the consumers （ C） though the consumers are very much interested （ D） all the consumers are much interested 4 It can be inferred from the passage that A_. （ A） will probably make a profit in
11、 2001 （ B） is making a profit now （ C） is a company that sells books only （ D） suffers a great loss on the stock market 5 Investors are interested in Internet retailing because_. （ A） selling online involves little risk （ B） Internet retailing is in its initial stage （ C） it can easily reach million
12、s of consumers （ D） they can make huge profits from it 5 It is all very well to blame traffic jams, the cost of petrol and the quick pace of modern life, but manners on the roads are becoming horrible. You might tolerate the rude and inconsiderate driver, but nowadays the well-mannered motorist is t
13、he exception to the rule. Perhaps the situation calls for a “Be Kind to Other Drivers“ campaign, otherwise, it may get completely out of hand. Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense too. It takes the most cool-headed and good-tempered of drivers to resist the temptation to revenge
14、when subjected to uncivilized behaviors. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards relieving the tensions of motoring. A friendly nod or a wave of acknowledgement in response to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance so necessary in modern t
15、raffic conditions. But such acknowledgements of politeness are all too rare today. Many drivers nowadays dont even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it However, improper politeness can also be dangerous. A typical example is the driver who waves a child across a crossing into the path
16、of oncoming vehicles that may be unable to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they care to. A veteran driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if motorists learn to filter correctly into traffic streams one at a time witho
17、ut causing the total blockages (堵塞 ) that give rise to bad temper. Unfortunately, modern motorists cant even learn to drive, let alone be well-mannered on the road. Years ago the experts warned us that the car-ownership explosion would demand a lot more give-and-take from all road users. It is high
18、time for all of us to take this message to heart 6 According to this passage, troubles on the road are primarily caused by_ . （ A） peoples attitude towards drivers （ B） the rhythm of modern life （ C） traffic conditions （ D） the behavior of the driver 7 The sentence “You might tolerate the rude and i
19、nconsiderate driver, but nowadays the well-mannered motorist is the exception to the rule“ implies that_. （ A） our society is unjust towards well-mannered motorists （ B） rude drivers can be met only occasionally （ C） nowadays impolite drivers constitute the majority of motorists （ D） the well-manner
20、ed motorist cannot tolerate the rude driver 8 By “good sense“ (Paragraph 2), the writer means_. （ A） the drivers prompt response to difficult conditions （ B） the drivers ability to understand and react reasonably （ C） the drivers tolerance of bad road conditions （ D） the drivers acknowledgement of p
21、oliteness and regulations 9 Experts have long pointed out that in the face of car-ownership explosion, _. （ A） drivers should be ready to yield to one another （ B） road users should make more sacrifices （ C） drivers should have more communication among themselves （ D） drivers will suffer a great los
22、s if they pay no respect to others 10 In the writers opinion, _. （ A） drivers should apply road politeness properly （ B） strict traffic regulations are badly needed （ C） rude and inconsiderate drivers should be punished （ D） drivers should try their best to avoid traffic jams 10 The most noticeable
23、trend among todays media companies is vertical integration an attempt to control several related aspects of the media business at once, each part helping the other. Besides publishing magazines and books, Time Warner, for example, owns Home Box Office (HBO), Warner movie studios, various cable TV sy
24、stems throughout the United States and CNN as well. The Japanese company Matsushita owns MCA Records and Universal Studios and manufactures broadcast production equipment To describe the financial status of todays media is also to talk about acquisitions. The media are buying and selling each other
25、in unprecedented numbers and forming media groups to position themselves in the marketplace to maintain and increase their profits. In 1986, the first time a broadcast network had been sold, two networks were sold that year ABC and NBC. Media acquisitions have skyrocketed since 1980 for two reasons.
26、 The first is that most big corporations today are publicly traded companies, which means that their stock is traded; on one of the nations stock exchanges. This makes acquisitions relatively easy. A media company that wants to buy a publicly owned company can buy that companys stock when the stock
27、becomes available. The open availability of stock in these companies means that anybody with enough money can invest in the American media industries, which is exactly how Rupert Murdoch joined the media business. The second reason for the increase in media alliances is that beginning in 1980, the F
28、ederal Communications Commission (FCC) gradually deregulated the broadcast media. Before 1980, for example, the FCC allowed one company to own only five TV stations, five AM radio stations, and five FM radio stations; companies also were required to hold onto a station for three years before the sta
29、tion could be sold. The post-1980 FCC eliminated the three-year rule and raised the number of broadcast holdings allowed for one owner. This trend of media acquisitions is continuing throughout the 1990s, as changing technology expands the market for media products. The issue of media ownership is i
30、mportant If only a few corporations direct the media industries in this country, the outlets for differing politioal viewpoints and innovative ideas Could be limited. 11 What do Time Warner and Matsushita have in common? （ A） They both belong to Rupert Murdoch. （ B） They are both big American media
31、corporations. （ C） They are both outlets of differing viewpoints and innovative ideas. （ D） They both own several different but related media businesses. 12 Which of the, following is TRUE of the media? （ A） They used to sell and buy each other in great numbers. （ B） They are trading each other in g
32、reater numbers today. （ C） They used to be controlled by two networks ABC and NBC. （ D） They have stopped the trend of acquisitions in the 1990s. 13 According to the passage, what makes acquisitions easier? （ A） The changing technology employed by the media. （ B） The medias increasing profits in the
33、 marketplace. （ C） The even tougher regulations of the FCC on the media since 1980. （ D） The availability of the medias stocks on stock exchanges. 14 What is the FCCs new policy regarding media alliances? （ A） It allows companies to sell their stocks publicly. （ B） It doesnt allow companies to sell
34、their stocks publicly. （ C） It permits one company to own more media businesses at the same time. （ D） It has eliminated all post-1980 companies. 15 The issue of media ownership is important because_. （ A） it affects the amount of money the stockholders will make （ B） it decides whether we can have
35、different aspects of the media （ C） it concerns the channels through which to express opinions （ D） it means that more and more people will hold onto only a few stations 15 Think about what would make you really, really happy. More money? Wrong. Smiling, well-adjusted kids? Wrong again. The fact is
36、we are terrible at predicting the source of joy. And whatever choices we do make, we likely later decide it was all for the best These are insights from happiness economics, perhaps the hottest field in what used to be called the dismal science. Happiness is everywhere on the best-seller lists, in t
37、he minds of policymakers, and front and center for economists yet it remains elusive. The golden rule of economics has always been that well-being is a simple function of income. Thats why nations and people alike strive for higher incomes-money gives us choice and a measure of freedom. After a cert
38、ain income can, we simply dont get any happier. And it isnt what we have, but whether we have more than our neighbor, that really matters. So the news last week that in 2006 top hedge-fund managers took home $ 240 million, minimum, probably didnt make them any happier, it just made the rest of us le
39、ss so. Now policymakers are racing to figure out what makes people happy, and just how they should deliver it Countries as diverse as Bhutan, Australia, China, Thailand and the U. K. are coming up with “happiness indexer, “ to be used alongside GDP as a guide to societys progress. In Britain, the “p
40、olitics of happiness“ will likely figure prominently in next years elections. Never mind that the worlds top happiness researchers recently gathered at a conference in Rome to debate whether joy is even measurable. Why is this all happening now? Only in the last decade have economists, psychologists
41、, biologists and philosophers begun cross-pollinating in such a way to arrive at “happiness studies“. Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert humorously sums up much of the new wisdom in his book “Stumbling on Happiness“. He says 24-hour television and the Internet have allowed us all to see more seemin
42、gly happy people than ever before. “Were surrounded by the lifestyles of the rich and famous, “says Gilbert, “rubbing our noses in the fact that others have more. “ Of course, the idea that money isnt the real key to happiness isnt new. The 18th-centry British Enlightenment thinker Jeremy Bentham ar
43、gued that public policy should try to maximize happiness, and many prominent economists agreed but could not quite embrace the idea. There was just no way to measure happiness objectively. One of the early revelations of happiness research, from Richard Easterlin at the University of Southern Califo
44、rnia, was that while the rich are typically happier than the poor, the happiness boost from extra cash isnt that great once one rises above the poverty line. The reason, says Easterlin, is the “hedonic cycle“ : we get used to being richer darn quick, and take it for granted or compare it to what oth
45、ers have, not what we used to have. Turns out, keeping up with the Joneses is hard-wired into our brains, thanks to our pack-creature roots. Though many happiness researchers say “work less, play more“ is the formula for happiness, Ruut Veenhoven, a professor at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, sugg
46、ests otherwise. Hard-working Americans ranks 17th on his list; the hard-vacationing French 39th. Human beings do want a European-style safety net, but also want freedom and opportunity. And perhaps our intuitions about happiness should triumph over the fuzzy data, anyway. The economics of happiness
47、has given us a couple of fairly hard and fast rules about well-being-being truly poor is bad, and time with friends and family are good. The good news is that whatever choices we make individually and as societies in the pursuit of happiness theres good chance that theyll seem better in hindsight Ye
48、t another truism, of happiness is that “we all wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to our past decision-making, “ says Gilbert Todays dreadful life choice will likely be tomorrows happy accident Directions: The passage below summarizes the main points of the passage. Read the summary and then se
49、lect the best word or phrase from the box blow according to the passage. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.We are poor at prevision of the origin of hapiness, and we would probably believe the decision we made is the most satisfactory. The Happiness, has become【 B1】_everywhere but tough to define. Nations and people manage to gain higher incomes based on the princ
