1、考博英语（阅读理解）模拟试卷 46及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike.Progress in both areas is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of the
2、se and all other societies, however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong.We are fortunate that it is, because building new educational systems there and putting enough people through the
3、m to improve economic performance would require two or three generations.The findings of a research institution have consistently shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radical higher productivity and, as a result, radically higher standards of living. Ironically, t
4、he first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States.Not long ago, with the country entering a recession and Japan at its pre-bubble peak.The U.S.workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of primary cause of the poor U.S.economic performance.Japan was, and remains, the global leader
5、in automotive-assembly productivity.Yet the research revealed that the U.S.factories of Honda, Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts a result of the training that U.S.workers received on the job. More recently, while examining housing constru
6、ction, the researchers discovered that illiterate, non-English-speaking Mexican workers in Houston, Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivity standards despite the complexity of the building industrys work. What is the real relationship between education and economic development? We h
7、ave to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments dont force it.After all, thats how education got started.When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didnt have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food.
8、Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things. As education improved, humanitys productivity potential increased as well.When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential, they could in turn afford more education.This
9、increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance.Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broad
10、er formal education.A lack of formal education, however, doesnt constrain the ability of the developing worlds workforce to substantially improve productivity to the forested future.On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isnt developing more quickly there than i
11、t is. 1 The author holds in paragraph 1 that the important of education in poor countries_. （ A） is subject to groundless doubts （ B） has fallen victim of bias （ C） is conventional downgraded （ D） has been overestimated 2 It is stated in paragraph 1 that construction of a new education system_. （ A）
12、 challenges economists and politicians （ B） takes efforts of generations （ C） demands priority from the government （ D） requires sufficient labor force 3 A major difference between the Japanese and U.S.workforces is that_. （ A） the Japanese workforce is better disciplined （ B） the Japanese workforce
13、 is more productive （ C） the U.S.workforce has a better education （ D） the U.S.workforce is more organized 4 The author quotes the example of our ancestors to show that education emerged_. （ A） when people had enough time （ B） prior to better ways of finding food （ C） when people on longer went hung
14、 （ D） as a result of pressure on government 5 According to the last paragraph, development of education_. （ A） results directly from competitive environments （ B） does not depend on economic performance （ C） follows improved productivity （ D） cannot afford political changes 5 If ambition is to be we
15、ll regarded, the rewards of ambition wealth, distinction, control over ones destiny must be deemed worthy of the sacrifices made on ambitions behalf.If the tradition of ambition is to have vitality, it must be widely shared; and it especially must be highly regarded by people who are themselves admi
16、red, the educated not least among them.In an odd way, however, it is the educated who have claimed to have give up on ambition as an ideal.What is odd is that they have perhaps most benefited from ambition-if not always their own then that of their parents and grandparents.There is heavy note of hyp
17、ocrisy in this, a case of closing the barn door after the horses have escaped with the educated themselves riding on them. Certainly people do not seem less interested in success and its signs now than formerly.Summer homes, European travel, BMWs.The locations, place names and name brands may change
18、, but such items do not seem less in demand today than a decade or two years ago.What has happened is that people cannot confess fully to their dreams, as easily and openly as once they could, lest they be thought pushing, acquisitive and vulgar.Instead, we are treated to fine hypocritical spectacle
19、s, which now more than ever seem in ample supply: the critic of American materialism with a Southampton summer home; the publisher of radical books who takes his meals in three-star restaurants; the journalist advocating participatory democracy in all phases of life, whose own children are enrolled
20、in private schools.For such people and many more perhaps not so exceptional, the proper formulation is, “Succeed at all costs but avoid appearing ambitious.“ The attacks on ambition are many and come from various angles; its public defenders are few and unimpressive, where they are not extremely una
21、ttractive.As a result, the support for ambition as a healthy impulse, a quality to be admired and fixed in the mind of the young, is probably lower than it has ever been in the United States.This does not mean that ambition is at an end, that people no longer feel its stirrings and promptings, but o
22、nly that, no longer openly honored, it is less openly underground, or made sly.Such, then, is the way things stand: on the left angry critics, on the right stupid supporters, and in the middle, as usual, the majority of earnest people trying to get on in life. 6 It is generally believed that ambitio
23、n may be well regarded if_. （ A） its returns well compensate for the sacrifices （ B） it is rewarded with money, fame and power （ C） its goals are spiritual rather than material （ D） it is shared by the rich and the famous 7 The last sentence of the first paragraph most probably implies that it is_.
24、（ A） customary of the educated to discard ambition in words （ B） too late to check ambition once it has been let out （ C） dishonest to deny ambition after the fulfillment of the goal （ D） impractical for the educated to enjoy benefits from ambition 8 Some people do not openly admit they have ambitio
25、n because_. （ A） they think of it as immoral （ B） their pursuits are not fame or wealth （ C） ambition is not closely related to material benefits （ D） they do not want to appear greedy and contemptible 9 From the last paragraph the conclusion can be drawn that ambition should be maintained_. （ A） se
26、cretly and vigorously （ B） openly and enthusiastically （ C） easily and momentarily （ D） verbally and spiritually 9 Its a rough world out there.Step outside and you could break a leg slipping on your doormat.Light up the stove and you could burn down the house.Luckily, if the doormat or stove failed
27、to warn of coming disaster, a successful lawsuit might compensate you for your troubles.Or so the thinking has gone since the early 1980s, when juries began holding more companies liable for their customers misfortunes. Feeling threatened, companies responded by writing ever-longer warning labels, t
28、rying to anticipate every possible accident.Today, stepladders carry labels several inches long that warn , among other things, that you might-surprise-fall off.The label on a childs Batman cape cautions that the toy “does not enable user to fly“. While warnings are often appropriate and necessary-t
29、he dangers of drug interactions, for example-and many are required by state or federal regulations, it isnt clear that they actually protect the manufacturers and sellers from liability if a customer is injured.About 50 percent of the companies lose when injured customers take them to court. Now the
30、 tide appears to be turning.As personal injury claims continue as before, some courts are beginning to side with defendants, especially in cases where a warning label probably wouldnt have changed anything.In May, Julie Nimmons, president of Schutt Sports in Illinois, successfully fought a lawsuit i
31、nvolving a football player who was paralyzed in a game while wearing a Schutt helmet.“We re really sorry he has become paralyzed, but helmets aren t designed to prevent those kinds of injuries,“ says Nimmons.The jury agreed that the nature of the game, not the helmet, was the reason for the athletes
32、 injury.At the same time, the American Law Institute-a group of judges, lawyers, and academics whose recommendations carry substantial weight-issued new guidelines for tort law stating that companies need not warn customers of obvious dangers or bombard them with a lengthy list of possible ones.“Imp
33、ortant information can get buried in a sea of trivialities, “ says a law professor at Cornell Law School who helped draft the new guidelines.If the moderate demand of the legal community has its way, the information on products might actually be provided for the benefit of customers and not as prote
34、ction against legal liability. 10 What were things like in 1980s when accidents happened? （ A） Customers might be relieved of their disasters through lawsuits. （ B） Injured customers could expect protection from the legal system. （ C） Companies would avoid being sued by providing new warnings. （ D）
35、Juries tended to find fault with the compensations companies promised. 11 Manufacturers as mentioned in the passage tend to_. （ A） satisfy customers by writing long warnings on products （ B） become honest in describing the inadequacies of their products （ C） make the best use of labels to avoid lega
36、l liability （ D） feel obliged to view customers safety as their first concern 12 The case of Schutt helmet demonstrated that_. （ A） some injury claims were no longer supported by law （ B） helmets were not designed to prevent injuries （ C） product labels would eventually be discarded （ D） some sports
37、 games might lose popularity with athletes 13 The author s attitude towards the issue seems to be_. （ A） biased （ B） indifferent （ C） puzzling （ D） objective 13 In the first year or so of Web business, most of the action has revolved around efforts to tap the consumer market.More recently, as the We
38、b proved to be more than a fashion, companies have started to buy and sell products and services with one another.Such business-to-business sales make sense because business people typically know what product theyre looking for. Nonetheless, many companies still hesitate to use the Web because of do
39、ubts about its reliability.“Businesses need to feel they can trust the pathway between them and the supplier,“ says senior analyst Blane Erwin of Forrester Research.Some companies are limiting the risk by conducting online transactions only with established business partners who are given access to
40、the companys private internet. Another major shift in the model for Internet commerce concerns the technology available for marketing.Until recently, Internet marketing activities have focused on strategies to “pull“ customers into sites.In the past year, however, software companies have developed t
41、ools that allow companies to “push“ information directly out to consumers, transmitting marketing messages directly to targeted customers.Most notably, the PointCast Network uses a screen saver to deliver a continually updated stream of news and advertisements to subscribers computer monitors.Subscr
42、ibers can customize the information they want to receive and proceed directly to a companys Web site.Companies such as Virtual Vineyards are already starting to use similar technologies to push messages to customers about special sales, product offerings, or other events.But push technology has earn
43、ed the contempt of many Web users.Online culture thinks highly of the notion that the information flowing onto the screen comes there by specific request.Once commercial promotion begins to fill the screen uninvited, the distinction between the Web and television fades.Thats a prospect that horrifie
44、s Net purists. But it is hardly inevitable that companies on the Web will need to resort to push strategies to make money.The examples of Virtual Vineyards, A, and other pioneers show that a Web site selling the right kind of products with the right mix of interactivity, hospitality, and security wi
45、ll attract online customers.And the cost of computing power continues to free fall, which is a good sign for any enterprise setting up shop in silicon.People looking back 5 or 10 years from now may well wonder why so few companies took the online plunge. 14 We learn from the beginning of the passage
46、 that Web business_. （ A） has been striving to expand its market （ B） intended to follow a fanciful fashion （ C） tried but in vain to control the market （ D） has been booming for one year or so 15 Speaking of the online technology available for marketing, the author implies that_. （ A） the technolog
47、y is popular with many Web users （ B） businesses have faith in the reliability of online transactions （ C） there is a radical change in strategy （ D） it is accessible limitedly to established partners 16 In the view of Net purists,_. （ A） there should be no marketing messages in online culture （ B）
48、money making should be given priority to on the Web （ C） the Web should be able to function as the television set （ D） there should be no online commercial information without requests 17 We learn from the last paragraph that_. （ A） pushing information on the Web is essential to Internet commerce （
49、B） interactivity, hospitality and security are important to online customers （ C） leading companies began to take the online plunge decades ago （ D） setting up shops in silicon is independent of the cost of computing power 17 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 evidenc
