1、考博英语（阅读理解）模拟试卷 131及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 In recent years many countries of the world have been faced with the problem of how to make their workers more productive. Some experts claim the answer is to make jobs more varied. But do more varied jobs lead to greater productivity? There is evi
2、dence to suggest that while variety certainly makes the workers life more enjoyable, it does not actually make them work harder. As far as increasing productivity is concerned, then variety is not an important factor. Other experts feel that giving the workers freedom to do their jobs in their own w
3、ay is important and there is no doubt that this is true. The problem is that this kind of freedom cannot easily be given in the modern factory with its complicated machinery which must be used in a fixed way. Thus while freedom of choice may be important, there is usually very little that can be don
4、e to create it. Another important consideration is how much each worker contributes to the product he is making. In most factories bosses are now experimenting with having many small production lines rather than one large one, so that each worker contributes more to the production of the cars on his
5、 line. It would seem that not only is degree of worker contribution an important factor, but it is also one we can do something about. To what extent does more money lead to greater productivity? The workers themselves certainly think this important. But perhaps they want more only because the work
6、they do is so boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare time more. A similar argument may explain demands for shorter working hours. Perhaps if we succeed in making their jobs more interesting, they will neither want more, nor will shorter working hours be so important to them. 1 Which of these
7、 possible factors leading to greater productivity is NOT true? （ A） To make jobs more varied. （ B） To give the workers freedom to do their jobs in their own way. （ C） Degree of worker contribution. （ D） Demands of longer working hours. 2 Why do workers want more money? （ A） Because their jobs are to
8、o boring. （ B） In order to enjoy more spare time. （ C） To make their jobs more interesting. （ D） To demand shorter working hours. 3 The last sentence in this passage means that if we succeed in making workers jobs more interesting _. （ A） they will want more money （ B） they will demand shorter worki
9、ng hours are important factors （ C） more money and shorter working hours are important factors （ D） more money and shorter working hours will not be so important to them 4 In this passage, the author tells us _. （ A） how to make the workers more productive （ B） impossible factors leading to greater
10、efficiency （ C） to what extent more money leads to greater productivity （ D） how to make workers jobs more interesting 4 When a Scottish research team startled the world by revealing 3 months ago that it had cloned an adult sheep, President Clinton moved swiftly. Declaring that he was opposed to usi
11、ng this unusual animal husbandry technique to clone humans, he ordered that federal funds not be used for such an experiment although no one had proposed to do so and asked an independent panel of experts chaired by Princeton President Harold Shapiro to report back to the White House in 90 days with
12、 recommendations for a national policy on human cloning. That group the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) has been working feverishly to put its wisdom on paper, and at a meeting on 17 May, members agreed on a near-final draft of their recommendations. NBAC will ask that Clintons 90-day
13、ban on federal funds for human cloning be extended indefinitely, and possibly that it be made law. But NBAC members are planning to word the recommendation narrowly to avoid new restrictions on research that involves the cloning of human DNA or cells-routine in molecular biology. The panel has not y
14、et reached agreement on a crucial question, however, whether to recommend legislation that would make it a crime for private funding to be used for human cloning. In a draft preface to the recommendations, discussed at the 17 May meeting, Shapiro suggested that the panel had found a broad consensus
15、that it would be “morally unacceptable to attempt to create a human child by adult nuclear cloning.“ Shapiro explained during the meeting that the moral doubt stems mainly from fears about the risk to the health of the child. The panel then informally accepted several general conclusions , although
16、some details have not been settled. NBAC plans to call for a continued ban on federal government funding for any attempt to clone body cell nuclei to create a child because current federal law already forbids the use of federal funds to create embryos (the earliest stage of human offspring before bi
17、rth) for research or to knowingly endanger an embryos life, NBAC will remain silent on embryo research. NBAC members also indicated that they will appeal to privately funded researchers and clinics not to try to clone humans by body cell nuclear transfer. But they were divided on whether to go furth
18、er by calling for a federal law that would impose a complete ban on human cloning. Shapiro and most members favored an appeal for such legislation, but in a phone interview, he said this issue was still “up in the air“. 5 We can learn from the first paragraph that _. （ A） federal funds have been use
19、d in a project to clone humans （ B） the White House responded strongly to the news of cloning （ C） NBAC was authorized to control the misuse of cloning technique （ D） the White House has got the panels recommendations on cloning 6 The panel agreed on all of the following except that _. （ A） the ban
20、on federal funds for human cloning should be made a law （ B） the cloning of human DNA is not to be put under more control （ C） it is criminal to use private funding for human cloning （ D） it would be against ethical values to clone a human being 7 NBAC will leave the issue of embryo research undiscu
21、ssed because _. （ A） embryo research is just a current development of cloning （ B） the health of the child is not the main concern of embryo research （ C） an embryos life will not be endangered in embryo research （ D） the issue is explicitly stated and settled in the law 8 It can be inferred from th
22、e last paragraph that _. （ A） some NBAC members hesitate to ban human cloning completely （ B） a law banning human cloning is to be passed in no time （ C） privately funded researchers will respond positively to NBACs appeal （ D） the issue of human cloning will soon be settled 8 Science, in practice,
23、depends far less on the experiments it prepares than on the preparedness of the minds of the men who watch the experiments. Sir Isaac Newton supposedly discovered gravity through the fall of an apple. Apples had been falling in many places for centuries and thousands of people had seen them fall. Bu
24、t Newton for years had been curious about the cause of the orbital motion of the moon and planets. What kept them in place? Why didnt they fall out of the sky? The fact that the apple fell down toward the earth and not up into the tree answered the question he had been asking himself about those lar
25、ger fruits of the heavens, the moon and the planets. How many men would have considered the possibility of an apple falling up into the tree? Newton did because he was not trying to predict anything. He was just wondering. His mind was ready for the unpredictable. Unpredictability is part of the ess
26、ential nature of research. If you dont have unpredictable things, you dont have research. Scientists tend to forget this when writing their cut and dried reports for the technical journals, but history is filled with examples of it. In talking to some scientists, particularly younger ones, you might
27、 gather the impression that they find the “scientific method“ a substitute for imaginative thought. Ive attended research conferences where a scientist has been asked what he thinks about the advisability of continuing a certain experiment. The scientist has frowned, looked at the graphs, and said “
28、the data are still inconclusive.“ “We know that,“ the men from the budget office have said, “but what do you think? Is it worthwhile going on? What do you think we might expect?“ The scientist has been shocked at having even been asked to speculate. What this amounts to, of course, is that the scien
29、tist has become the victim of his own writings. He has put forward unquestioned claims so consistently that he not only believes them himself, but has convinced industrial and business management that they are true. If experiments are planned and carried out according to plan as faithfully as the re
30、ports in the science journals indicate, then it is perfectly logical for management to expect research to produce results measurable in dollars and cents. It is entirely reasonable for auditors to believe that scientists who know exactly where they are going and how they will get there should not be
31、 distracted by the necessity of keeping one eye on the cash register while the other eye is on the microscope. Nor, if regularity and conformity to a standard pattern are as desirable to the scientist as the writing of his papers would appear to reflect, is management to be blamed for discriminating
32、 against the “odd balls“ among researchers in favor of more conventional thinkers who “work well with the team“. 9 The author wants to prove with the example of Isaac Newton that _. （ A） inquiring minds are more important than scientific experiments （ B） science advances when fruitful researches are
33、 conducted （ C） scientists seldom forget the essential nature of research （ D） unpredictability weighs less than prediction in scientific research 10 The author asserts that scientists _. （ A） shouldnt replace “scientific method“ with imaginative thought （ B） shouldnt neglect to speculate on unpredi
34、ctable things （ C） should write more concise reports for technical journals （ D） should be confident about their research findings 11 It seems that some young scientists _. （ A） have a keen interest in prediction （ B） often speculate on the future （ C） think highly of creative thinking （ D） stick to
35、 “scientific method“ 12 The author implies that the results of scientific research _. （ A） may not be as profitable as they are expected （ B） can be measured in dollars and cents （ C） rely on conformity to a standard pattern （ D） are mostly underestimated by management 12 Few creations of big techno
36、logy capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankinds long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascination. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more ha
37、rm than good. The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesnt help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypts leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkeys bid for Fi
38、rst World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam. But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generate
39、s electricity. And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. B
40、ut Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself. Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless an
41、d environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed. Proper scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible wi
42、thout building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You dont need a dam to be saved. 13 The third sentence of Para. 1 implies that _. （ A） people would be happy if they shut their eye
43、s to reality （ B） the blind could be happier than the sighted （ C） over-excited people tend to neglect vital things （ D） fascination makes people lose their eyesight 14 In Para. 5, “the powerless“ probably refers to _. （ A） areas short of electricity （ B） dams without power stations （ C） poor countr
44、ies around India （ D） common people in the Narmada Dam area 15 What is the myth concerning giant dams? （ A） They bring in more fertile soil. （ B） They help defend the country. （ C） They strengthen international ties. （ D） They have universal control of the waters. 16 What the author tries to suggest
45、 may best be interpreted as “ _“. （ A） Its no use crying over spilt milk （ B） More haste, less speed （ C） Look before you leap （ D） He who laughs last laughs best 考博英语（阅读理解）模拟试卷 131答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 1 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 从文中内容可知， D项 (延长工作时间 )在第 3段最后提到，但文中提到的是缩短工作时间，与 D项相反，因此 D项为正确答案。 2 【正确答
46、案】 A 【试题解析】 本题的依据句是第 3段第 3句 “But perhaps they want more only because the work they do is so boring(工人们想得到更多的报酬也许正是因为他们的工作太单调 )”，因此 A项为正确答案。 3 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 本题的依据句是 “Perhaps if we succeed in making their jobs more interesting， they will neither want more， nor will shorter working hours be so import
47、ant to them(或许如果我们能够让他们的工作更加有趣，他们不仅不会要更多的薪水，而且缩短工作时间对他们也不是那么重要了 )”，从中可知 D项为正确答案。短语 neither.nor的意思是 “既不 也不 ” 。 4 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 综观全文，这是一篇讨论如何使工人更加有效地工作的文章，因此A项为正确答案。 B项明显是错误的。而 C和 D两项仅是文章部分段落的中心思想，不是全文的中心思想。 5 【正确答案】 B 【试 题解析】 从文章第 l段的内容可知，当苏格兰的一个研究小组透露， 3个月前他们己克隆了一只成年绵羊后，克林顿总统立即做出反应；他宣称他反对利用这种特殊的畜牧
48、业技术去克隆人，同时下令禁止联邦基金用于此类实验；他还要求成立一个独立专家小组在 90天内向白宫提交报告，为国家有关克隆人的政策提出建议；该小组将其明智的看法写成公文，在 5月 17日举行的会议上，委员们就这份接近定稿的报告书达成了共识。据此可知，美国总统对有关克隆的消息反应强烈，并迅速采取行动。 B项与文章的意思相符，因此 B项为正确答案。 6 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 从文章第 2段的内容可知， NBAC将要求克林顿总统应该无限期延长联邦基金不得用于克隆人的 20天禁令；如有可能，应该将此禁令定为法律；但是 NBAC的成员正在计划准确表达建议报告，以避免对涉及人类 DNA克隆或细胞克
49、隆产生新的限制；不过，专家小组对是否建议将私人基金用于克隆人的行为法定为犯罪行为，尚未达成一致意见；从第 3段的内容可知， Shapiro暗示， “从道义上讲，试图用成人的细胞核克隆出婴儿的做法令人难以接受 ”，专家小组在这一点上己达成共识。据此可知， A、 B和 D三项都是专家小组赞同的；只有 C项与文章第 2段最后一句的意思不符，因此 C项为正确答案。 7 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 本题可参照文章的第 4段。从中可知，因为目前的联邦法律已经禁止联邦基金用于克隆胚胎以进行研究或故意危害胚胎的生命，所以 NBAS将对胚胎研究不发表意见。据此可知， NBAC之所以不讨论胚胎研究问题，是因为联邦法律已经禁止联邦基金用于胚胎研究。 D项与文章的意思相符，因此 D项为正确答案。 8 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 本题可参照文章的最后一段。从中可知， NBAC的成员还暗示，他们将呼吁那些受私人基金 资助的研究人员和专科医院不要尝试通过人体细胞核的移植来克隆人；但是，对于是否进一步要求制定一项完全禁止克隆人的联邦法律， NBAC的成员意见不一致； Shapiro和大多数成员赞成要求
