1、武汉大学考博英语模拟试卷 33及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 As a business model, the world of publishing has always been a somewhat sleepy enclave, but now all that seems poised to change. Several companies have moved aggressively into a new business endeavor whose genesis comes from the question: Who owns the
2、 great works of literature? Text-on-demand is not a completely new idea, of course. In the 1990s, the Gutenberg project sought volunteers to type literary classics that had expired copyrights into word processing files so that scholars would have searchable databases for their research. Most of the
3、works of Shakespeare, Cervantes, Proust, and Moliere were to be found free online by as early as 1995. However, now large-scale companies have moved into the market, with scanners and business plans, and are looking for bargain basement content. These companies are striking deals with libraries, and
4、 some publishers, to be able to provide their content, for a price, to individual buyers over the Internet. At stake are the rights to an estimated store of 30 million books, most of which are now out of print. Many of these books are now also in the public domain, giving any company the right to se
5、ll them online. Still, a good portion of the books a general audience want to buy is still under copyright. The urgent question:Who owns those copyrights? In the case of all too many books put out more than 20 years ago by now-defunct publishing companies, the answer is unclear a situation the new t
6、ext-on-demand companies are eager to exploit. An association of publishers has sued, claiming massive copyright infringement. The case is several years away from trial. 1 The primary purpose of the passage is to_. （ A） present the results of a statistical analysis and propose further study （ B） expl
7、ain a recent development and explore its consequence （ C） identify the reasons for a trend and recommend measures to address it （ D） outline several theories about a phenomenon and advocate one of them 2 It can be inferred from the passage that the works of Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Moliere_. （ A）
8、 are some of the most popular works of literature （ B） are no longer copyrighted （ C） are among the works for which the association of publishers is suing text-on-demand companies （ D） do not currently exist as searchable databases 3 Which of the following is an example of a book that a text-on-dema
9、nd company would not have to acquire the rights to? （ A） A book still under copyright. （ B） A book more than 20 years old. （ C） A book in the public domain. （ D） A book a general audience might want to buy. 4 It can be inferred from the passage that text-on-demand companies are _. （ A） using scanner
10、s to find books they want to acquire （ B） creating business plans well before they have any actual business （ C） buying content at premium prices （ D） acquiring the rights to books for as little as possible 4 Founded at the dawn of the modern industrial era, the nearly forgotten Womens Trade Union L
11、eague(WTUL)played an instrumental role in advancing the cause of working women throughout the early part of the twentieth century. In the face of considerable adversity, the WTUL made a contribution far greater than did most historical footnotes. The organizations successes did not come easily; conf
12、lict beset the WTUL in many forms. During those early days of American unions, organized labor was aggressively opposed by both industry and government. The WTUL, which represented a largely unskilled labor force, had little leverage against these powerful opponents. Also, because of the skill level
13、 of its workers as well as inherent societal gender bias, the WTUL had great difficulty finding allies among other unions. Even the large and powerful American Federation of Labor(AFL), which nominally took the WTUL under its wing, kept it at a distance. Because the AFLs power stemmed from its highl
14、y skilled labor force, the organization saw little economic benefit in working with the WTUL. The affiliation provided the AFL with political cover, allowing it to claim support for women workers; in return, the WTUL gained a potent but largely absent ally. The WTUL also had to overcome internal dis
15、cord. While the majority of the groups members were working women, a sizable and powerful minority consisted of middle-class and upper-class social reformers whose goals extended beyond labor reform. While workers argued that the WTUL should focus its efforts on collective bargaining and working con
16、ditions, the reformers looked beyond the workplace, seeking state and national legislation aimed at education reform and urban poverty relief as well as workplace issues. Despite these obstacles, the WTUL accomplished a great deal. The organization was instrumental in the passage of state laws manda
17、ting an eight-hour workday, a minimum wage for women, and a ban on child labor. It provided seed money to women who organized workers in specific plants and industries, and also established strike funds and soup kitchens to support striking unionists. After the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Company fir
18、e of 1911, the WTUL launched a four-year investigation whose conclusions formed the basis of much subsequent workplace safety legislation. The organization also offered a political base for all reform-minded women, and thus helped develop the next generation of American leaders. Eleanor Roosevelt wa
19、s one of many prominent figures to emerge from the WTUL. The organization began a slow death in the late 1920s, when the Great Depression choked off its funding. The organization limped through the 1940s; the death knell eventually rang in 1950, at the onset of the McCarthy era. A turn-of-the-centur
20、y labor organization dedicated to social reform, one that during its heyday was regarded by many as “radical, “ stood little chance of weathering that storm. This humble ending, however, does nothing to diminish the accomplishments of an organization that is yet to receive its historical due. 5 The
21、primary purpose of this passage is to （ A） describe the barriers confronting women in the contemporary workplace （ B） compare and contrast the methods of two labor unions （ C） critique the methods employed by an important labor union （ D） call readers attention to an overlooked contributor to Americ
22、an history 6 Which of the following best characterizes the American Federation of Labors view of the Womens Trade Union League, as it is presented in the passage? （ A） The WTUL was an important component of the AFLs multifront assault on industry and its treatment of workers. （ B） Because of Eleanor
23、 Roosevelts affiliation with the organization, the WTUL was a vehicle through which the AFL could gain access to the White House. （ C） The WTUL was to be avoided because the radical element within it attracted unwanted government scrutiny. （ D） The WTUL offered the AFL some political capital but lit
24、tle that would assist it in labor negotiations. 7 Each of the following is cited in the passage as an accomplishment of the Womens Trade Union League EXCEPT_. （ A） It organized a highly skilled workforce to increase its bargaining power （ B） It contributed to the development of a group of leaders in
25、 America （ C） It provided essential support to striking women （ D） It helped fund start-up union for women 8 The passage suggests which of the following about“ the middle-class and upper-class social reformers“ mentioned in the second sentence in paragraph 3? （ A） They did not understand, nor were t
26、hey sympathetic to, the plight of poor women workers. （ B） Their naive interest in Communism was ultimately detrimental to the Womens Trade Union. （ C） It was because of their social and political power that the Womens Trade Union League was able to form an alliance with the American Federation of L
27、abor. （ D） They sought to advance a broad political agenda of societal improvement. 8 It has long been a tenet of business theory that the best decisions are made after careful review and consideration. Only after weighing all the options and studying projections, say most professionals of business,
28、 can a practical decision be made. Now that model is being questioned by some business thinkers in the light of the theories of Malcolm Gladwell, who states that human beings often make better decisions in the blink of an eye. It is, at first glance, a theory so counter-intuitive as to seem almost l
29、udicrous. Behind any decision, Gladwell posits, there is a behind-the-scenes subconscious process in which the brain analyzes; ranks in order of importance; compares and contrasts vast amounts of information; and dismisses extraneous factors, seemingly almost instantaneously, often arriving at a con
30、clusion in less than two seconds. Citing a multitude of studies and examples from life, Gladwell shows how that split-second decision is often better informed than a drawn-out examination. Evanston and Cramer were the first to apply this theory to the business world. Evanston videotaped the job inte
31、rviews of 400 applicants at different firms. He then played only 10 seconds of each videotape to independent human resources specialists. The specialists were able to pick out the applicants who were hired with an accuracy of over 90%. Cramer took the experiment even further, using only 5 seconds of
32、 videotape, without sound. To his astonishment, the rate of accuracy with which the HR specialists were able to predict the successful applicants fell only to 82%. Critics argue that these results illustrate a problem with stereotyping that impedes human resources specialists from hiring the best ca
33、ndidates even when they have the time to get below the surface: going for the candidate who “looks the part. “ Gladwell argues that, on the contrary, the human mind is able to make complicated decisions quickly, and that intuition often trumps an extended decision-making process. 9 The primary purpo
34、se of the passage is to_. （ A） discuss reasons an accepted business theory is being reexamined （ B） present evidence that resolves a contradiction in business theory （ C） describe a tenet of business practices and how that tenet can be tested in todays economic environment （ D） argue that a counter-
35、intuitive new business idea is, in the final analysis, incorrect 10 According to the passage, all of the following are examples of the subconscious processes by which the brain makes a decision EXCEPT_. （ A） analysis of information （ B） ranking of information （ C） comparison and contrast of informat
36、ion （ D） consulting a multitude of studies and examples 11 The authors attitude toward the long-held view that decisions should be made carefully over time expressed in the first paragraph can best be described as_. （ A） dismissive and scornful （ B） respectful but questioning （ C） admiring but defer
37、ential （ D） uncertain but optimistic 12 The author most likely mentions the results of Cramers extension of Evanstons experiment in order to （ A） show that Cramers hypothesis was correct while Evanstons hypothesis turned out to be incorrect （ B） show that Evanstons hypothesis was correct, while Cram
38、ers hypothesis turned out to be incorrect （ C） demonstrate that while both experiments were scientifically rigorous, neither ended up being scientifically valid （ D） illustrate that the principle of subconscious decisions continues to work even when less information is available 12 What is it that k
39、eeps the developing world in an apparent state of perpetual poverty? Poor education, lack of basic medical care, and the absence of democratic structures all certainly contribute to these nations plight. However, according to Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, the overriding cause is the overwhelm
40、ing prevalence of black market activity, well outside the formal economy, in these countries. The losses incurred from this condition are twofold. First, they deny the government tax revenues which could be used to improve education, medical treatment, and government efficiency. More important, howe
41、ver, they deny earners the chance to accumulate assets recognized by law and thus prevent them from leveraging those assets to borrow. Reforming these nations legal systems in order to confer ownership through tilting, de Soto argues, would help the poor there access the assets their work should be
42、generating. These assets could then be used to buy homes and construct businesses, thus building a more stable and prosperous economy. De Soto estimates the value of these assets, which he terms “dead capital, “at nearly $ 10 trillion world wide. De Soto is not the first to locate the developing wor
43、lds problems in the domain of property rights. Others have tried property rights reform and failed. According to de Soto, this is because his predecessors attempted to model their plans on existing, successful property rights systems. In other words, they tried to transplant American and British pro
44、perty law to an inhospitable host. De Soto argues that, within many of the extralegal markets of the developing world, mutually agreed upon rules for distributing assets and recognizing property rights already exist. Rather than force these markets to adjust to a new, foreign system of property tilt
45、ing, reformers should focus on codifying the existing systems wherever it is practical to do so. This would facilitate a quicker, more natural transition to an economy that builds wealth rather than squanders it. 13 The author s primary goal in the passage is to_. （ A） compare several failed attempt
46、s to address a problem （ B） respond to criticism of a new theory （ C） identify the problems inherent in a new economic theory （ D） describe a novel approach to an old problem 14 According to the passage, de Soto believes that the quickest way to address poverty in the developing world is to （ A） inc
47、rease funding for education （ B） build the infrastructure to support lending （ C） ensure medical care for all citizens （ D） aggressively root out corruption in government 15 The authors assertion that “reformers should focus on codifying the existing systems wherever it is practical to do so“ sugges
48、ts that （ A） in some instances, current systems are inadequate to meet the needs of a market economy （ B） these systems are already written down and need only be enacted as law （ C） where it is impractical to codify existing systems, countries should adopt American property law （ D） the existing sys
49、tems are superior to those currently in use in modern industrialized countries 16 The term“ dead capital“ refers to （ A） loans that are never repaid （ B） failed investments in new businesses （ C） cities ruined by over-industrialization （ D） the proceeds of extralegal commerce 16 As the American workforce gets grayer, age discrimination will likely become a more prominent issue in the courts. It is, of course, illegal to discriminate against an employee because of his or her age, and yet it is not illegal to dismiss a w
