1、武汉大学考博英语模拟试卷 26及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 Friction between Americas military and its civilian overseers is nothing new. Americas 220-year experiment in civilian control of the military is a recipe for friction. The nations history has seen a series of shifts in decision-making power among the
2、 White House, the civilian secretaries and the uniformed elite(精英 ). However, what may seem on the outside an unstable and special system of power sharing has, without a doubt, been a key to two centuries of military success. In the infighting dates to the revolution, George Washington waged a conti
3、nual struggle not just for money, but to control the actual battle plan. The framers of the Constitution sought to clarify things by making the president the “commander in chief.“ Not since Washington wore his uniform and led the troops across the Alleghenies to quell(镇压 )the Whiskey Rebellion has a
4、 sitting president taken command in the field. Yet the absolute authority of the president ensures his direct command. The president was boss, and everyone in uniform knew it. In the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln dealt directly with his generals, and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton handled administra
5、tive details. Lincoln, inexperienced in military matters, initially deferred(顺从 )to his generals. But when their caution proved disastrous, he issued his General War Order No. 1explicitly commanding a general advance of all Union forces. Some generals, George B. McClellan in particular, bridled at h
6、is hands-on direction. But in constitutional terms, Lincoln was in the right. His most important decision was to put Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union Army in 1864. Left to its own timetable, the military establishment would never have touched Grant. The relationship between the president and
7、his general provides a textbook lesson in civilian control and power sharing. Grant was a general who would take the fight to the enemy, and not second-guess the presidents political decisions. Unlike McClellan, for example, Grant cooperated wholeheartedly in recruiting black soldiers. For his part,
8、 Lincoln did not meddle in operations and did not visit the headquarters in the field unless invited. The balance set up by Grant and Lincoln stayed more or less in place through World War I. Not until World War II did the pendulum finally swing back toward the White House. Franklin Roosevelt, who h
9、ad been assistant Navy secretary during World War I, was as well prepared to be commander in chief as any wartime president since George Washington. 1 According to the author, the system of power sharing between the White House and the generals _. （ A） is unstable and strange （ B） is a guarantee for
10、 American military success （ C） has caused a series of quarrels （ D） undermines the bases Of American military power 2 The phrase “the uniformed elite“ in paragraph one most probably refers to_. （ A） outstanding soldiers （ B） officers （ C） officials （ D） generals 3 According to the passage, Washingt
11、on_. （ A） struggled with the congress only for money （ B） lived up to the code of the constitution that the president was “the commander in chief“ （ C） looked more like a general than a president （ D） did much more than he should as a president 4 Why was the putting of Grant in charge of the Union A
12、rmy an important decision? （ A） Because Lincoln was inexperienced in military affairs, he had to do so. （ B） Grant whole-heartedly believed in Lincoln, and their cooperation proved to be a none-such. （ C） All things considered, Grant wa6 somewhat better than McClellan. （ D） The decision to put Grant
13、 in charge of the Union Army was not against the constitution. 5 In the last paragraph, the author implies that_. （ A） Roosevelt was better prepared to be a wartime president than Lincoln （ B） in the Second World War, the relationship between the White House and the generals was intense （ C） both Li
14、ncoln and Roosevelt were good wartime presidents, although their actual way of dealing things may be different （ D） George Washington was actually the best president 5 In the wake of 11 September, Visionics, a leading manufacturer, issued a fact sheet explaining how its technology could enhance airp
15、ort security. They called it “protecting civilization from the faces of terror“. The companys share price skyrocketed, as did the stocks of other face-recognition companies, and airports across the globe began installing the software and running trials. As the results start to come in, however, the
16、gloss(光滑表面 )is wearing off. No matter what you might have heard about face-recognition software, Big Brother is not so good as expected. The concern was based largely on an independent assessment of face-recognition systems carried out in 2000 in the U.S. by the Department of Defense. These tests fo
17、und that to catch 90 percent of suspects at an airport, face-recognition software would have to raise a huge number of false alarms. One in three people would end up being dragged out of the line and thats assuming everyone looks straight at the camera and makes no effort to disguise himself. Result
18、s from the recent airport trials would seem to justify that concern. Most face-recognition systems use some kind of geometric technique to translate a picture of a face into a set of numbers that capture its characteristics. Once it has identified these boundaries, the software calculates their rela
19、tive sizes and positions and converts this geometry into what Visionics calls a “faceprint“. Feed the software a series of mugshots, and itll calculate their faceprints. Then it can monitor live CCTV images for the faces of known suspects. When it finds a match, it raises an alarm. Even if the syste
20、m does manage to capture a face, the problems arent over. The trouble is that a suspects faceprint taken from live CCTV is unlikely to match the one in the database in every detail. To give themselves the best chance of picking up suspects, operators can set the software so that it doesnt have to ma
21、ke an exact match before it raises the alarm. But theres a price to pay: the more potential suspects you pick up, the more false alarms you get. You have to get the balance just right. Despite the disappointing tests, some people insist that face-recognition technology is good enough to put terroris
22、ts off. After all the claims and counter-claims, with no one able to discern(洞察 )the truth, the industry may soon have to face up to reality. 6 The first paragraph tells us that_. （ A） Visionics produced the best face-recognition software enhancing airport security （ B） Visionicss stocks rose in pri
23、ce （ C） the airports were satisfied with the software （ D） Visionicss software was a great success 7 The second paragraph implies that_. （ A） the surface of the software is not smooth （ B） there is a series of face-recognition software products （ C） the software turns out to be inefficient （ D） the
24、software is not durable 8 What is the fatal defect of the system according to the U.S. Department of Defense? （ A） Too many false alarms were raised. （ B） Everyone should look straight at the camera. （ C） Only 90% of suspects at an airport were found. （ D） Everyone should not disguise himself. 9 Wha
25、t makes it so hard for the face-recognition systems to workeffectively? （ A） The computers are not so advanced. （ B） The faceprints of the mugshots fed in the computers are never identical with those of real persons. （ C） It is very hard for the operators to learn to control the system. （ D） People
26、seldom look straight at the camera. 10 In the last paragraph, the author points out that_. （ A） any way, the face-recognition technology is good enough to frighten the terrorists （ B） the industry will have to recognize the real situation and work hard to improve the technology （ C） all the claims a
27、re premature （ D） we must not expect too much 10 Crossing Wesleyan Universitys campus usually requires walking over colorful messages chalked on the ground. They can be as innocent as meeting announcements, but in a growing number of cases the language is meant to shock. Its not uncommon, for instan
28、ce, to see lewd references to professors sexual preferences scrawled across a path or the mention of the word “Nig“ that African-American students say make them feel uncomfortable. In response, officials and students at schools are now debating ways to lead their communities away from forms of expre
29、ssion that offend or harass(侵扰 ). In the process, theyre butting up against the difficulties of regulating speech at institutions that pride themselves on fostering open debate. Mr. Bennet of Wesleyan says he had gotten used to seeing occasional chalkings filled with four-letter words. Campus tradit
30、ion made any horizontal surface not attached to a building a potential billboard. But when chalkings began taking on a more threatening and lewd tone, Bennet decided to act. “This is not acceptable in a workplace and not acceptable in an institution of higher learning,“ Bennet says. For now, Bennet
31、is seeking input about what kind of message-posting policy the school should adopt. The student assembly recently passed a resolution saying the “right to speech comes with implicit responsibilities to respect community standards.“ Other public universities have confronted problems this year while c
32、onsidering various ways of regulating where students can express themselves. At Harvard Law School, the recent controversy was more linked to the academic setting. Minority students there are seeking to curb what they consider harassing speech in the wake of a series of incidents last spring. At a m
33、eeting held by the “Committee on Healthy Diversity“ last week, the schools Black Law Students Association endorsed a policy targeting discriminatory harassment. It would trigger a review by school officials if there were charges of “severe or pervasive conduct“ by students or faculty. The policy wou
34、ld cover harassment based on, but not limited to, factors such as race, religion, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, and ethnicity(种族划分 ). Boston attorney Harvey Silverglate, says other schools have adopted similar harassment policies that are actually speech codes, punishing students for r
35、aising certain ideas. “Restricting students from saying anything that would be perceived as very unpleasant by another student continues uninterrupted,“ says Silverglate, who attended the Harvard Law town meeting last week. 11 What is the typical scene found in the campus of Wesleyan University? （ A
36、） Pieces of chalk are scattered everywhere on the ground. （ B） There are some meeting announcements on the billboard. （ C） All kinds of messages are written on the paths. （ D） Some people are shocked by the meeting announcements. 12 From the passage we can see that_. （ A） officials and students are
37、debating whether they should have free speech （ B） in the past decade, people did not have any freedom of speech （ C） some students are attacked politically as targets （ D） officials and students are discussing ways of avoiding offending messages 13 Mr. Bennet_. （ A） has gotten used to seeing messag
38、es on the billboard （ B） thinks that it is not acceptable to have chalkings on the ground in an institution of higher learning （ C） is looking for a good policy which can guide the way of students message posting （ D） has decided to chalk some messages to fight against the harassing ones 14 The esse
39、ntial of the problem is to_. （ A） stick up for free speech （ B） cleanse the academic setting （ C） cut the throat of free speech （ D） please the minorities 15 What is the policy adopted by many schools after heated debating? （ A） It is for the universities to clamp down on speech concerning racist co
40、mments or other forms of inappropriate ideas. （ B） It is to teach students to learn how to express themselves more clearly. （ C） It is to give the minority groups/he right to speak freely. （ D） It is to urge students to discuss problems concerning race, religion, national origin and ethnicity. 15 On
41、 the morning of September 11th, I boarded the train from Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan just as usual and went to the Body Positive office in the South Street Seaport of Lower Manhattan. While I was leaving the subway at 8:53 am, a man ran down the street screaming, “Someone just bombed the W
42、orld Trade Center.“ Those around me screamed and shouted “No! “ in disbelief. However, being an amateur photographer, and thinking that I might be able to help out, I ran directly toward the WTC. I stopped just short of the WTC at a corner and looked up. There before me stood the gaping hole and fir
43、e that had taken over the first building. I stood there in shock taking pictures, wanting to run even closer to help out, but I could not move. Soon I saw what looked like little angels floating down from the top of the building. I began to cry when I realized that these “angels“in fact, desperate o
44、ffice workerswere coming down, some one-by-one, some even holding hands with another. Could I actually be seeing this disaster unfold with hundreds of people around me crying, screaming and running for safety? As I watched in horror, another white airliner came from the south and took aim at the Sou
45、th Tower. As the plane entered the building, there was an explosion and fire and soon debris(碎片 )began to fall around me. It was then that I realized that we were being attacked and that this was just not a terrible accident. Yet, I still could not move, until I was pushed down by the crowd on the s
46、treet, many now in a panic running toward the water, as far from the WTC as they could possibly get. All around me were the visual reminders of hundreds of people running in panic. There were shoes, hats, briefcases, pocket-books, newspapers, and other personal items dropped as hundreds of people ra
47、n for safety. Much has been written about the disaster already. We have learned so much in such a small amount of time about appreciating life. In some way we must move forward, bury the dead, build a memorial for those lost, and begin the coping and healing process for the survivors. But healing ta
48、kes time. Some have been able to head right back to work, others seek counseling, while others remain walking through the streets with expressionless faces. However, we are all united in our grief. 16 According to paragraph one, the authors office was_. （ A） at Washington Heights （ B） just beside th
49、e World Trade Center （ C） in the South Street Seaport （ D） far from the WTC 17 The passage tells us that the author_. （ A） was a social worker （ B） worked in the Body Positive office near the WTO （ C） was asked to take some pictures of WTC （ D） ran toward WTC because he wanted to make out what was happening 18 What was his first reflection when he stood at the corner? （ A） There was a terrible accident in which an airliner struck the first building. （ B） A terrorist attack against America had begun. （ C） People were fl
