1、考博英语（阅读理解）模拟试卷 128及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 A line in a song asks, “Does anyone really know what time it is?“ This question could easily apply to calendars! Did you know that our ideas about time are affected by religion? Different faiths use different types of calendars to measure time. Odd
2、 structures, such as Stonehenge in England, may have been used to measure time long ago. These ancient rocks stand in a circle like large, gray Legos. Some people think that the rocks relate to the position of the sun. No one knows how people moved them into this formation, but it was probably a lot
3、 of work. If it was a calendar, it sure was a big one! The Aztecs also had a rock calendar that was related to the sun. They had a Sun Stone that showed their sun god in the center. The calendar you are probably most familiar with is also based on the sun. The powerful Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar,
4、first adopted the solar calendar in 46 B.C. The cycle of the year in a solar calendar is measured from one equinox to the next. A solar calendar has to be adjusted every year so often to keep in time with the sun. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII first authorized taking a few days out of every year for th
5、e purpose of adjusting the calendar. People didnt like this one a bit because they thought they were losing time! It took centuries for Europeans to get used to this concept. Eventually, a system was worked out to add a single day to the calendar every four years. So it was synchronized with the sea
6、sons. The extra day made every fourth year 366 days long. These special years are called leap years, and we called the extra day to the month of February. If you know someone whose birthday is February 29, you know that he or she was born in a leap year. This calendar is called the Gregorian calenda
7、r, and it is used in the United States and other Christian countries. Muslims use a different kind of calendar. Their lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, and it is completely different from a solar one. A new Muslim month does not start until two reliable witnesses have seen the new m
8、oon. Muslim families often take walks in the evening to find the first yellow slice of the new moon to start Ramadan, their month-long fast. 1 According to the author of the article, _ has influenced our way of measuring the time. （ A） the universe （ B） the Pope （ C） religion （ D） nature 2 We know f
9、rom the article that _ calendar is based on the cycle of the moon. （ A） Gregorian （ B） solar （ C） Christian （ D） lunar 3 From the article we can infer that Ramadan is a Muslim festival, which lasts for _. （ A） one month （ B） one week （ C） four days （ D） twenty-five days 4 The verb “synchronize“ (Lin
10、e 2, Paragraph 4) probably means _. （ A） to cause to occur four days later （ B） to cause to happen four days earlier （ C） to happen beforehand or afterwards （ D） to cause to happen at the same time 5 The calendar that most people are familiar with was first adopted by _. （ A） the Christian （ B） the
11、Pope （ C） Julius Caesar （ D） the Muslims 5 A great deal of attention is being paid today to the so-called digital divide the division of the world into the info (information) rich and the info poor. And that divide does exist today. My wife and I lectured about this looming danger twenty years ago.
12、What was less visible then, however, were the new, positive forces that work against the digital divide. There are reasons to be optimistic. There are technological reasons to hope the digital divide will narrow. As the Internet becomes more and more commercialized, it is in the interest of business
13、 to universalize access after all, the more people online, the more potential customers there are. More and more governments, afraid their countries will be left behind, want to spread Internet access. Within the next decade or two, one to two billion people on the planet will be netted together. As
14、 a result, I now believe the digital divide will narrow rather than widen in the years ahead. And that is very good news because the Internet may well be the most powerful tool for combating world poverty that weve ever had. Of course, the use of the Internet isnt the only way to defeat poverty. And
15、 the Internet is not the only tool we have. But it has enormous potential. To take advantage of this tool, some impoverished countries will have to get over their outdated anti-colonial prejudices with respect to foreign investment. Countries that still think foreign investment is an invasion of the
16、ir sovereignty might well study the history of infrastructure (the basic structural foundations of a society) in the United States. When the United States built its industrial infrastructure, it didnt have the capital to do so. And that is why Americas Second Wave infrastructure including roads, har
17、bors, highways, ports and so on were built with foreign investment. The English, the Germans, the Dutch and the French were investing in Britains former colony. They financed them. Immigrant Americans built them. Guess who owns them now? The Americans. I believe the same thing would be true in place
18、s like Brazil or anywhere else for that matter. The more foreign capital you have helping you build your Third Wave infrastructure, which today is an electronic infrastructure, the better off youre going to be. That doesnt mean lying down and becoming fooled, or letting foreign corporations run unco
19、ntrolled. But it does mean recognizing how important they can be in building the energy and telecom infrastructures needed to take full advantage of the Internet. 6 Digital divide is something _. （ A） getting worse because of the Internet （ B） the rich countries are responsible for （ C） the world mu
20、st guard against （ D） considered positive today 7 Governments attach importance to the Internet because it _. （ A） offers economic potentials （ B） can bring foreign funds （ C） can soon wipe out world poverty （ D） connects people all over the world 8 The writer mentioned the case of the United States
21、 to justify the policy of _. （ A） providing financial support overseas （ B） preventing foreign capitals control （ C） building industrial infrastructure （ D） accepting foreign investment 9 It seems that now a countrys economy depends much on _. （ A） how well developed it is electronically （ B） whethe
22、r it is prejudiced against immigrants （ C） whether it adopts Americas industrial pattern （ D） how much control it has over foreign corporations 9 Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question.
23、 The organization is deep into a long self-analysis known as the journalism credibility project. Sad to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in the world th
24、ose readers really want. But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a set of standard templates (patterns) into which they plug each days events. In other words, there is a conventional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a
25、ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news. There exists a social and cultural disconnect between journalists and their readers, which helps explain why the “standard templates“ of the newsroom seem alien to many readers. In a recent survey, questionnaires were sent to reporters in
26、five middle-size cities around the country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these communities were phoned at random and asked the same questions. Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own Mercede
27、s, and trade stocks, and theyre less likely to go to church, do volunteer work, or put down roots in a community. Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite. The astonishing distrust of the news media
28、 isnt rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily clash of world views between reporters and their readers. This is an explosive situation for any industry, particularly a declining one. Here is a troubled business that keeps hiring employees whose attitudes vastly annoy the cus
29、tomers. Then it sponsors lots of symposiums and a credibility project dedicated to wondering why customers are annoyed and fleeing in large numbers. But it never seems to get around to noticing the cultural and class biases that so many former buyers are complaining about. If it did, it would open u
30、p its diversity program, not focused narrowly on race and gender, and look for reporters who differ broadly by outlook, values, education, and class. 10 What is the passage mainly about? （ A） Needs of the readers all over the world. （ B） Causes of the public disappointment about newspapers. （ C） Ori
31、gins of the declining newspaper industry. （ D） Aims of a journalism credibility project. 11 The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be _. （ A） quite trustworthy （ B） somewhat contradictory （ C） very illuminating （ D） rather superficial 12 The basic problem of journalists as p
32、ointed out by the writer lies in their _. （ A） working attitude （ B） conventional lifestyle （ C） world outlook （ D） educational background 13 Despite its efforts, he newspaper industry still cannot satisfy the readers owing to its _. （ A） failure to realize its real problem （ B） tendency to hire ann
33、oying reporters （ C） likeliness to do inaccurate reporting （ D） prejudice in matters of race and gender 13 The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions never witnessed. The process sweeps from hyperactive America to Europe and reaches the emerging countries with unsurpasse
34、d might. Many in these countries are looking at this process and worrying: “Wont the wave of business concentration turn into an uncontrollable anti-competitive force?“ Theres no question that the big are getting bigger and more powerful. Multinational corporations accounted for less than 20% of int
35、ernational trade in 1982. Today the figure is more than 25% and growing rapidly. International affiliates account for a fast-growing segment of production in economies that open up and welcome foreign investment. In Argentina, for instance, after the reforms of the early 1990s, multinationals went f
36、rom 43% to almost 70% of the industrial production of the 200 largest firms. This phenomenon has created serious concerns over the role of smaller economic firms, of national businessmen and over the ultimate stability of the world economy. I believe that the most important forces behind the massive
37、 M&A wave are the same that underlie the globalization process: falling transportation and communication costs, lower trade and investment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged operations capable of meeting customers demands. All these are beneficial, not detrimental, to consumers. As
38、productivity grows, the worlds wealth increases. Examples of benefits or costs of the current concentration wave are scanty. Yet it is hard to imagine that the merger of a few oil firms today could recreate the same threats to competition that were feared nearly a century ago in the U.S., when the S
39、tandard Oil trust was broken up. The mergers of telecom companies, such as WorldCom, hardly seem to bring higher prices for consumers or a reduction in the pace of technical progress. On the contrary, the price of communications is coming down fast. In cars, too, concentration is increasing witness
40、Daimler and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan but it does not appear that consumers are being hurt. Yet the fact remains that the merger movement must be watched a few weeks ago, Alan Greenspan warned against the megamergers in the banking industry. Who is going to supervise, regulate and operate as lend
41、er of last resort with the gigantic banks that are being created? Wont multinationals shift production from one place to another when a nation gets too strict about infringements to fair competition? And should one country take upon itself the role of “defending competition“ on issues that affect ma
42、ny other nations, as in the U.S. vs. Microsoft case? 14 What is the typical trend of businesses today? （ A） To take in more foreign funds. （ B） To invest more abroad. （ C） To combine and become bigger. （ D） To trade with more countries. 15 According to the author, one of the driving forces behind M&
43、A wave is _. （ A） the greater customer demands （ B） a surplus supply for the market （ C） a growing productivity （ D） the increase of the worlds wealth 16 From Para. 4 we can infer that _. （ A） the increasing concentration is certain to hurt consumers （ B） WorldCom serves as a good example of both be
44、nefits and costs （ C） the costs of the globalization process are enormous （ D） the Standard Oil trust might have threatened competition 17 Toward the new business wave, the writers attitude can be said to be _. （ A） optimistic （ B） objective （ C） pessimistic （ D） biased 考博英语（阅读理解）模拟试卷 128答案与解析 一、 Re
45、ading Comprehension 1 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 本题为细节题。文章第一段最后一句提到 “不同信仰的人用不同的方式来计算时间 “。因此，本题选 C。 2 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 本题为细节题。通过阅读文章最后一段，其中第一句就提及了 “穆斯林使用不同类型的日历。他们的阴历以月亮的周期为依据，和太阳历完全不同 ”。因此可知，阴历是按月亮的周期计算的。因此答案为 D。 3 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 根据文章最后一段最后一句 “穆斯林家庭经常晚上去散步，以发现新斋月开始的第一缕光来开始斋月，斋月会持续一个月 ”。因此，本题选 A。 4 【正确答案】 D 【试题
46、解析】 文章第四段主要讲了阳历二月 29号四年出现一次的原因。是为了保持每年的季节和日期都是相对应的。不会出现季节和日期错乱不对应的情况。那么可以推测 synchronize在此处有 “使合拍；使同步 ”的意思，因此，本题选 D。 5 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 通过阅读文章第 3段前两句可知 “阳历是我们如今最常用的计时 方式。强大的皇帝，凯撒大帝，在公元前 46年率先采用了阳历 ”，由此可知 C选项符合题意。 6 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 从文章第 1段的内容可知，如今，人们非常关注所谓的数字差距问题 也就是把世界上的国家分成信息资源丰富的国家与信息资源贫乏的国家。这种差距在今天
47、确实存在； 20年前，我和妻子就针对这一隐约显示出的危险做过演讲；然而，一些新的能够预防这些信息差出现的积极因素在那时并不像现在这样突出。据此可知，数字差距是一个潜在的危险，应该提防。 C项与文章的意思相符，因此 C项为正确答案。 7 【正 确答案】 A 【试题解析】 本题可参照文章的第 2段。从中可知，从技术上看这种数字差距有希望减小。伴随着互联网越来越商业化，其使用的普及符合商家的利益。毕竟，上网的人愈多，未来潜在的顾客就愈多。现在，愈来愈多的政府因为害怕自己的国家会落后于别国，所以想扩大互联网的使用范围。在以后的 10 20年里，世界上将有一二十亿人口加入互联网。所以，我认为将来信息差距
48、只会减小，而不会扩大。这是个好消息，因为互联网完全能够成为战胜目前我们所面对的世界贫困的强有力的工具。据此可知，人们之所以重视因特网，是因为它能够为人们 带来商业利益。 A项与文章的意思相符，因此 A项为正确答案。 8 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 本题可参照文章的第 4段。从中可知，那些仍然认为外国的投资是对本国主权的侵犯的国家不妨研究一下美国的基础设施建设史；美国当年建设自己的工业基础设施时没有丰厚的资金。这就是为什么美国的第二次基础设施建设浪潮都是利用外国投资的原因。当时，英国、德国、荷兰以及法国都在这块英国的前殖民地上投资。这些国家给美国提供资金。美国移民建设了美国。现在，拥有美国的
49、是美国人。你拥有的、帮助你发展第三次基础设施建设浪潮的外国资本越多，你就会越富有。但这并不意味着屈从和任人宰割，也不意味着让外国公司的经营不受控制。但是，这确实意味着 应该意识到在建设充分利用互联网所需的能源及电信基础设施的过程中，外国的资本可能有多么重要。据此可知，作者提到美国是为了证明利用外国投资的重要性。 D项与文章的意思相符，因此 D项为正确答案。 9 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 从文章第 2段的内容可知，伴随着互联网越来越商业化，其使用的普及符合商家的利益。毕竟，上网的人愈多，未来潜在的顾客就愈多。现在，愈来愈多的政府因为害怕自己的国家会落后于别国 ，所以想扩大互联网的使用范围。在以后的 1020年里，世界上将有一二十亿人口加入互联网。所以，我认为将来信息差距只会减小，而不会扩大。这是个好消息，因为互联网完全能够成为战胜目前我们所面对的世界贫困的强有力的工具。从第 3段的内容可知，当然，使用互联网并不是战胜贫困的唯一方法。但其具有无限的潜力。从文章最后一段的内容可知，你拥有的、帮助你发展第三次基础设施建设浪潮 也就是当今的电子基础设施
