1、考博英语模拟试卷 212及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 As we have seen in earlier chapters, the American definition of success is largely one of acquiring wealth and a higher material standard of living. It is not surprising, therefore, that Americans have valued education for its monetary value. The belief
2、is widely spread in the United States that the more schooling people have, the more money they will earn when they leave school. The belief is strongest regarding the desirability of an undergraduate university degree, or a professional degree such as medicine or law following the undergraduate degr
3、ee. The money value of graduate degrees in “non-professional“ fields such as art, history, or philosophy is not as great. This belief in the monetary value of education is supported by statistics on income. Ben Wattenberg, a social scientist, estimated that in the course of a lifetime a man with a c
4、ollege degree in 1972 would earn about ￥ 380,000 more than a man with just a high school diploma. Perhaps this helps to explain survey findings which showed that Americans who wished they had led their lives differently in some way regretted most of all that they did not get more education. The regr
5、et is shared by those who have made it to the top and by those who have not. Journalist Richard Reeves quotes a black worker in a Ford automobile factory. When I was in the ninth grade, I was getting bad grades and messing around. My father came home in the kitchen one night with a pair of Ford work
6、 pants and he threw them in my face. “Put these on,“ he said, “because youre going to be wearing them the rest of your life if you dont get an education.“ Douglas Fraser, the president of the United Auto Workers Union, regretted not finishing high school so much that he occasionally lied about it. H
7、e told Richard Reeves about his pride in graduating from high school, but then a few minutes later he said, “I wasnt telling the truth about high school. I never finished. I quit in the twelfth grade to take a job. Its funny after all these years, I still lie about it. Because the fact is, I still t
8、hink it was a stupid thing to do. I should have finished my education.“ Even a man like Fraser, a nationally known and successful leader, was troubled by regrets that he did not climb higher on the educational ladder. 1 What is the main idea of this passage? （ A） Americans place a high value on educ
9、ation. （ B） Americans believe it is possible, though difficult, to be successful without an advanced degree. （ C） Americans believe that the more the education, the higher the salary. （ D） A basic American value is acquiring material wealth. 2 Which of the following degrees would probably be most va
10、lued by Americans? （ A） A masters degree in literature. （ B） A masters degree in specialized fields. （ C） A masters degree in pure maths. （ D） A masters degree in anthropology. 3 The survey conducted by Ben suggested that people regretted most _ having not got more education. （ A） who hoped to teach
11、 （ B） who were not content with their own way of living （ C） who were proud of their social positions （ D） who had quit high schools too early 4 When the factory worker in the third paragraph was a teenager, his father _ . （ A） wanted him to start earning a living （ B） wanted him to study harder （ C
12、） wanted him to work with him at the Ford plant （ D） wanted him to stop wearing such messy clothes 5 Which of the following is TRUE about Douglas Fraser? （ A） He was proud to have finished high school. （ B） He became a successful leader thanks to his education. （ C） He wished he hadnt dropped out of
13、 school. （ D） He was a liar. 5 Regardless of the source or kind of light, the ability of light to form an image is dependent upon just one thing-a small hole or a lens to bring the rays to a focus. The principle of image formation was discovered in early Greek Times. Later it was realized that the e
14、ye itself has a lens and that an image is, in fact, formed on the retina, the rear inside surface of the eyeball. Some man inside a cave or a darkened room noticed that light entering through a small hole in the wall formed an image on the far wall. It was observed that if you enlarge the hole, the
15、image blurred and disappeared. On the other hand, the smaller the hole, the sharper the image-down to a certain diameter after which making the hole smaller makes the image worse again. The function of a pinhole is to screen out all light rays except those coming in a perfectly straight line from th
16、e object, thus improving the sharpness of the image. After passing through a point the rays again spread out a little bit, and the size of the image formed will depend upon how far back the wall, screen, or film is from the pinhole. The full exploitation of this phenomenon had to wait for the develo
17、pment of the lens, which gathered in a much larger number of light rays and still brought them to form an image, just as the pinhole did, but with a difference: in a pinhole camera, the light rays form an image that is equally sharp regardless of the distance to the film. When a lens is used, there
18、may be a choice of planes of focus determined by adjusting the lens-to-film distance. Each plane is located some distance behind and relatively parallel to the lens. Actual blown glass was developed early in Egyptian times, and the first lens may have been the bottom of a wine bottle. However, the f
19、irst deliberate grinding of lenses did not take place until the thirteenth century, and the art did not become established until the sixteenth century. A book on the grinding and polishing of lenses was issued by B. Battista della Porta in 1589, but it was not until 1611 that Kepler compared a lens
20、of glass to the lens in the eye and showed that rays from each point of an object were brought to a focus at each corresponding point of an image on the retina. Then, in 1619, Scheiner demonstrated the actual formation of an inverted image on the retina. 6 A good title for this selection would be _
21、. （ A） Modern Lenses （ B） The Modern Camera （ C） Lenses and Image Formation （ D） Development in Photography 7 A camera lens is preferable to a pinhole because it can _ . （ A） offer a choice of planes of focus （ B） gather more light rays （ C） control the size of the image formed on the film （ D） gath
22、er more light rays and bring them to a focus at a given plane 8 The principle of inverted image formation _ . （ A） was discovered by Battista della Porta in 1589 （ B） was not understood until the first lens had been manufactured （ C） is independent of the presence or absence of a lens or pinhole （ D
23、） was demonstrated by a human eye 9 The author compares the pinhole to a lens in order to show _ . （ A） the development of the lens （ B） that both operation on the same principle （ C） how the early camera operated （ D） how primitive scientific thinking was, prior to the 16th century 10 The word “cor
24、responding“ in the last paragraph means _ . （ A） keeping in touch （ B） in harmony （ C） small （ D） different 10 Attacking an increasingly popular Internet business practice, a consumer watchdog group Monday filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, asserting that many online search engines
25、 are concealing the impact special fees have on search results by Internet users. Commercial Alert, a 3-year-old group founded by consumer activist Ralph Nader, asked the FTC to investigate whether eight of the Webs largest search engines are violating federal laws against deceptive advertising. The
26、 group said that the search engines are abandoning objective formulas to determine the order of their listed results and selling the top spots to the highest bidders without making adequate disclosures to Web surfers. The complaint touches a hot-button issue affecting tens of mil-lions of people who
27、 submit search queries each day. With more than 2 billion pages and more than 14 billion hyperlinks on the Web, search requests rank as the second most popular online activity after E-mail. The eight search engines named in Commercial Alerts complaint are: MSN, owned by Microsoft; Netscape, owned by
28、 AOL Time Warner; Directhit, owned by Ask Jeeves; HotBot and Lycos, both owned by Term Lycos; AhaVista, owned by CMGI; LookSmart, owned by LookSmart; and iWon, owned by a privately held company operating under the same name. “Portland, Ore-based Commercial Alert could have named more search engines
29、in its complaint, but focused on the biggest sites that are auctioning off spots in their results,“ said Gary Ruskin, the groups executive director. “Search engines have be-come central in the quest for learning and knowledge in our society. The ability to skew the results in favor of hucksters with
30、out telling consumers is a serious problem,“ Ruskin said. By late Monday afternoon, three of the search engines had responded to The Associated Press inquiries about the complaint. Two, LookSmart and AltaVista, denied the charges. Microsoft spokesman Matt Pilla said MSN is delivering “compelling sea
31、rch results that people want.“ The FTC had no comment about the complaint Monday. The complaint takes aim at the new business plans embraced by more search engines as they try to cash in on their pivotal role as Web guides and reverse a steady stream of losses. To boost revenue, search engines in th
32、e past year have been accepting payments from businesses interested in receiving a higher ranking in certain categories or ensuring that their sites are reviewed more frequently. 11 The consumer group complained about _ . （ A） special fees that Internet users were charged （ B） Federal Trade Commissi
33、on （ C） Commercial Alert （ D） online search engines 12 _ is the most popular activity online. （ A） Sending pages of information （ B） Sending E-mail （ C） Surfing the net （ D） Selling the top spot 13 Which of the following is NOT a correct statement? （ A） There are too many pages or hyperlinks on the
34、Internet, so people usually use search engine to find a certain site. （ B） More than 8 search engines are accused of selling their search engine spots by Commercial Alert. （ C） The headquarters of Commercial Alert is in Portland Oregon. （ D） The search engines are Web guides. 14 All the following sh
35、are one similarity EXCEPT _ . （ A） Term Lycos （ B） CMGI （ C） AhaVista （ D） Microsoft 15 The primary aim of some companies sponsoring the search engines is to _ . （ A） cash in on their important role as Web guides （ B） boost their avenue （ C） reverse a series of losses （ D） have their sites visited b
36、y the internet users more 15 Marcia Seligson calls the wedding dress the “key metaphor“ in the elaborate effort to make the American wedding an “idealized departure from reality“, and notes that in the early 1970s, at a time when love-ins, live-ins, and hippie weddings were throwing brickbats at tra
37、dition, 94 percent of American brides still chose to be married in white. The color has long been associated with weddings because of its supposed symbolic link to virginity. Commenting slyly on the tradition, Judith Martin (1982) observes that an engaged couple needs to decide “whether wearing a wh
38、ite wedding dress will be worth enduring the sneers of people who believe these must be accessorized by intact hymns“. Viewed historically, the link between white and virginity (or, as it is sometimes euphemized, purity) is not as absolute as is often supposed. Brides in ancient Rome married in whit
39、e, but because the color signified joy; they were veiled in bright orange veil, or flammeum, that suggested the flames of passion. In the western Catholic tradition, too, white has always been the color of joy, and it remains the iconographical-ly correct hue for such jubilant occasions as Easter Su
40、nday. Some traditional societies use white to denote the significance of various passage ceremonies, among them funerals as well as weddings. For example, among the Andaman Islanders, said A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, white indicated simply a change of status; and the traditional Chinese white for funeral
41、s was a symbolic representation of hope. The “traditional“ white wedding dress, moreover, is a recent innovation. Barbarar Fober explains that its popularity may owe less to the mystique of virginity than to a curious twist of conspicuous display. “Most Victorian bribes,“ she says, “wore simply thei
42、r best finery on their wedding day, and many wore traditional ethnic costumes.“ The white dress was an ostentatiously impractical innovation that became popular among the upper classes precisely because of its defects: “Victorian bribes“ from privileged backgrounds wore white to indicate that they w
43、ere rich enough to wear a dress for one day only. And throughout the first years of this century, brides from somewhat less privileged backgrounds would trot out the white dress on special occasions through-out the first year of their marriage. The custom of locking the treasure away after the weddi
44、ng-so that, like a toasting glass, it could never be used for a lesser purpose-is less than a hundred years old. 16 According to the passage, wearing a white wedding dress has little to do with _ . （ A） virginity （ B） purity （ C） hope （ D） tradition 17 From historical point of view, the white color
45、has been associated with all of the following EXCEPT _ . （ A） ceremonies of weddings and funerals （ B） flames of passion in new couples （ C） feelings of joy （ D） changes of social status 18 It can be inferred from the passage that white dress _ . （ A） enjoys general popularity （ B） represents modern
46、 style （ C） means something that brings people joy （ D） symbolizes the aristocracy of Victorians 19 Nowadays, after the wedding white dress for brides from ordinary families _ . （ A） was worn throughout the first year （ B） was never worn again （ C） was ware once in a while （ D） was reserved for spec
47、ial purpose 20 The best title for the passage is _ . （ A） Tradition of White Wedding Dress （ B） Origin of Wedding Dress （ C） History of Wedding Dress （ D） Appeal of White Dress 二、 Structure and Vocabulary 21 As the _ to the general strike the management promised to increase the workers payment. （ A）
48、 succession （ B） concession （ C） permission （ D） pledge 22 The passengers were delayed because the flood _ the train service. （ A） analyzed （ B） stabilized （ C） visualized （ D） paralyzed 23 A ship is in great danger. Please point out the ships exact _ . （ A） locality （ B） hazard （ C） loss （ D） distr
49、ict 24 Twins often show great _, but these twins are an exception. （ A） likelihood （ B） resistance （ C） resemblance （ D） contradiction 25 In _, the experiment was more difficult than we had imagined. （ A） response （ B） retrospect （ C） consequence （ D） particular 26 For fear of being scolded by the teacher, the boy gave a _ excuse for his absence. （ A） liberal （ B） temporary （ C） lame （ D） disabled 27 A guide dog for a blind person must show good _ and b
