1、在职申硕同等学力英语（阅读）模拟试卷 31及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension Directions: There are 5 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark the corresponding letter with a single bar acr
2、oss the square brackets on your machine-scoring ANSWER SHEET. 0 Very soon, unimaginably powerful technologies will remake our lives. This could have dangerous consequences, especially because we may not even understand the basic science underlying them. Theres a growing gap between our technological
3、 capability and our underlying scientific understanding. We can do very clever things with the technology of the future without necessarily understanding some of the science underneath, and that is very dangerous. The technologies that are particularly dangerous over the next hundred years are nano-
4、technology, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. The benefits they will bring are beyond doubt but they are potentially very dangerous. In the field of artificial intelligence there are prototype designs for something that might be 50,000 million times smarter than the human brain by the year
5、2010. The only thing not feasible in the film Terminator is that the people win. If youre fighting against technology that is much smarter than you, you probably will not win. Weve all heard of the grey goo problem that self-replicating nanotech devices might keep on replicating until the world has
6、been reduced to sticky goo, and certainly in biotechnology, weve really got a big problem because its converging with nanotechnology. Once you start mixing nanotech with organisms and you start feeding nanotech-enabled bacteria, we can go much further than the Borg in Star Trek, and those superhuman
7、 organisms might not like us very much. We are in a world now where science and commerce are increasingly bedfellows. The development of technology is happening in the context of global free trade regimes which see technological diffusion embedded with commerce as intrinsically a good. We should pre
8、pare for new and unfamiliar forms of argument around emerging technologies. 1 From the text, we know that the authors greatest worry is_. （ A） our lack of technological understanding of the process involved （ B） our lack of technological capability （ C） creating technology without really understandi
9、ng the issues （ D） our refusal to face the consequences of the technology we create 2 It can be inferred from the text that the author_. （ A） thinks people overestimate the capabilities of technology （ B） is not optimistic that artificial intelligence will always be used positively （ C） thinks that
10、we should take science fiction movies more seriously （ D） believes artificial intelligence is the greatest threat we face technologically 3 Why does the author say it is not feasible in the film Terminator that the humans win? （ A） Because the power of the technology was exaggerated. （ B） Because th
11、e strength of the machines would be much greater. （ C） Because machines with that much intelligence would not allow it. （ D） Because even heroic humans would achieve nothing from such a battle. 4 The mixing of nanotech with organisms may_. （ A） produce dangerous viruses capable of killing many peopl
12、e （ B） produce creatures that are unfriendly to humans （ C） upset our balance of nature （ D） reduce the world to sticky glue 5 The authors attitude toward the emerging technologies is_. （ A） critical （ B） skeptical （ C） provocative （ D） alarmist 6 Which one is correct according to this article? （ A）
13、 Humans ability of understanding is faster than new technology. （ B） The future development of the unimaginable science is harder. （ C） Embeding technology with commerce is good only in free trade regimes. （ D） Emerging technologies are a challenge for humans intelligence. 6 Excerpt 1 From 2003 to 2
14、050, the worlds population is projected to grow from 6. 4 billion to 9.1 billion, a 42% increase. If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions(mainly, CO2)will be 42% higher in 2050. But thats too low, because societies that grow richer use m
15、ore energy. We need economic growth unless we condemn the worlds poor to their present poverty and freeze everyone elses living standards. With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050. Excerpt 2 Although the threat of global warming has been known to the world for
16、 decades and all countries and leaders agree that we need to deal with the problem, we also know that the effects of measures, especially harsh measures taken in some countries, would be nullified(抵消 )if other countries do not control their emissions. Whereas the UN team on climate change has found
17、that the emissions of carbon dioxide would have to be cut globally by 60% to stabilize the content of CO2 in the atmosphere, this path is not feasible for several reasons. Such deep cuts would cause a breakdown of the world economy. Excerpt 3 Climate change is one of the most important environmental
18、 issues facing humankind. Climate change may affect natural ecosystems in a variety of ways. In the short term, climate change can alter the mix of plant species in land ecosystems such as grasslands. In the long term, climate change has the potential to dramatically alter the geographic distributio
19、n of major vegetation types savannas, forests, and tundra. Climate change can also potentially alter global ecosystem processes, including the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Moreover, changes in these ecosystem processes can affect and be affected by changes in the plant specie
20、s of the ecosystem and vegetation type. All of the climate change-induced alterations of natural ecosystems affect the services that these ecosystems provide to humans. Excerpt 4 Plants and animals adapt to climate change over centuries. At the current estimate of half a degree centigrade of warming
21、 per decade, vegetation may not keep up. Climatologist James Hansen predicts climate zones will shift toward the poles by 50 to 75 kilometers a year faster than trees can naturally migrate. Species that find themselves in an unfamiliar environment will die. Excerpt 5 Scientists have long warned that
22、 some level of global warming is a done deal due in large part to heat-trapping greenhouse gases humans already have pumped skyward. Now, however, researchers are fleshing out how much future warming and sea-level rise the world has triggered. Excerpt 6 The practical conclusion is that if global war
23、ming is a potential disaster, the only solution is new technology. Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it. 7 Greenhouse emissions will more than double by 2050 because of_. （ A） economic growth （ B） wasteful u
24、se of energy （ C） the widening gap between the rich and poor （ D） the rapid advances of science and technology 8 It is impossible at present to cut 60 % of carbon dioxide emissions globally because_. （ A） it is only a goal to be reached in the future （ B） some people are lacking in imagination （ C）
25、some people are irresponsible （ D） it would cause a collapse of the world economy 9 Excerpt 3 is primarily concerned with_. （ A） the potential impacts of climate change for natural ecosystems （ B） how to minimize the negative consequences of climate change （ C） how to maximize the opportunities that
26、 climate change may offer （ D） the complex, nonlinear nature of natural ecosystems 10 James Hansen predicts that the shift of climate zones will be accompanied by_. （ A） the cutting of many trees （ B） desirable environmental changes （ C） successful migration of species （ D） unsuccessful migration of
27、 trees 11 What is the message the author intends to convey in Excerpt 6? （ A） Global warming is more of a moral issue than a practical one. （ B） The ultimate solution to global warming lies in new technology. （ C） The debate over global warming will lead to technological breakthroughs. （ D） People h
28、ave to give up certain material comforts to stop global warming. 11 Specialization can be seen as a response to the problem of an increasing accumulation of scientific knowledge. By splitting up the subject matter into smaller units, one man could continue to handle the information and use it as the
29、 basis for further research. But specialization was only one of a series of related developments in science affecting the process of communication. Another was the growing professionalization of scientific activity. No clear-cut distinction can be drawn between professionals and amateurs in science:
30、 exceptions can be found to any rule. Nevertheless, the word “amateur“ does carry a connotation that the person concerned is not fully integrated into the scientific community and, in particular, may not fully share its values. The growth of specialization in the nineteenth century, with its consequ
31、ent requirement of a longer, more complex training, implied greater problems for amateur participation in science. The trend was naturally most obvious in those areas of science based especially on a mathematical or laboratory training, and can be illustrated in terms of the development of geology i
32、n the United Kingdom. A comparison of British geological publications over the last century and a half reveals not simply an increasing emphasis on the primacy of research, but also a changing definition of what constitutes an acceptable research paper. Thus, in the nineteenth century, local geologi
33、cal studies represented worthwhile research in their own right; but, in the twentieth century, local studies have increasingly become acceptable to professionals only if they incorporate, and reflect on, the wider geological picture. Amateurs, on the other hand, have continued to pursue local studie
34、s in the old Way. The overall result has been to make entrance to professional geological journals harder for amateurs, a result that has been reinforced by the widespread introduction of refereeing, first by national journals in the nineteenth century and then by several local geological journals i
35、n the twentieth century. As a logical consequence of this development, separate journals have now appeared aimed mainly towards either professional or amateur readership. A rather similar process of differentiation has led to professional geologists coming together nationally within one or two speci
36、fic societies, whereas the amateurs have tended either to remain in local societies or to come together nationally in a different way. Although the process of professionalization and specialization was already well under way in British geology during the nineteenth century, its full consequences wer
37、e thus delayed until the twentieth century. In science generally, however, the nineteenth century must be reckoned as the crucial period for this change in the structure of science. 12 The growth of specialization in the 19th century might be more clearly seen in sciences such as_. （ A） sociology an
38、d chemistry （ B） physics and psychology （ C） sociology and psychology （ D） physics and chemistry 13 We can infer from the passage that_. （ A） there is little distinction between specialization and professionalization （ B） amateurs can compete with professionals in some areas of science （ C） professi
39、onals tend to welcome amateurs into the scientific community （ D） amateurs have national academic societies but no local ones 14 The author writes of the development of geology to demonstrate （ A） the process of specialization and professionalization （ B） the hardship of amateurs in scientific study
40、 （ C） the change of policies in scientific publications （ D） the discrimination of professionals against amateurs 15 The direct reason for specialization is_. （ A） the development in communication （ B） the growth of professionalization （ C） the expansion of scientific knowledge （ D） the splitting up
41、 of academic societies 16 Which statement about the amateur is correct? （ A） Professionals and amateurs are very different from each other in science. （ B） The growth of specialization improves the amateur participation in science. （ C） In the twentieth century, due to the increasing developments of
42、 science, the difference between the professional and amateur becomes larger than before. （ D） A similar process of differentiation occurred in the specific societies of geology. 17 Which one is not the reason that caused the differentiation between the professional geologists and the amateurs? （ A）
43、 Amateurs continued to pursue local studies in the old way. （ B） Amateurs didnt reflect on the wider geological picture. （ C） Professionals and amateurs have separate journals. （ D） Its very had for amateurs to enter professional geological journals. 17 A. Get moving. B. Follow your interest. C. Exp
44、lore other perspectives. D. Reduce screen time. E. Allow for more flexibility. Brainstorming in a group became popular in 1953 with the publication of a business book, Applied Imagination. But its been proven not to work since 1958, when Yale researchers found that the technique actually reduced a t
45、eams creative output: the same number of people generate more and better ideas separately than together. In fact, according to University of Oklahoma professor Michael Mumford, half of the commonly used techniques intended to spur creativity dont work, or even have a negative impact. As for most com
46、mercially available creativity training, Mumford doesnt mince words: its “garbage. “ Whether for adults or kids, the worst of these programs focus solely on imagination exercises, expression of feelings, or imagery. They pander to an easy, unchallenging notion that all you have to do is let your nat
47、ural creativity out of its shell. However, there are some techniques that do boost the creative process. 【 R1】 _ Almost every dimension of cognition improves from 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, and creativity is no exception. The type of exercise doesnt matter, and the boost lasts for at least two
48、hours afterward. However, theres a catch: this is the case only for the physi-cally fit. For those who rarely exercise, the fatigue from aerobic activity counteracts the short-term benefits. 【 R2】 _ Those who study multi-tasking report that you cant work on two projects simultaneously, but the dynam
49、ic is different when you have more than one creative project to complete. In that situation, more projects get completed on time when you allow yourself to switch between them if solutions dont come immediately. This corroborates surveys showing that professors who set papers aside to brew ultimately publish more papers. Similarly, preeminent mathematicians usually work on more than one proof at a time. 【 R3】 _ According to University of Texas professor Elizabeth Vandewater, for every hour a ki
