1、考博英语（阅读理解）模拟试卷 50及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 In such a changing, complex society formerly simple solutions to informational needs become complicated.Many of lifes problems which were solved by asking family members, friends or colleagues are beyond the capability of the extended family to reso
2、lve.Where to turn for expert information and how to determine which expert advice to accept are questions facing many people today. In addition to this, there is the growing mobility of people since World War II.As families move away from their stable community, their friends of many years, their ex
3、tended family relationships, the informal flow of information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be trustworthy and reliable.The almost unconscious flow of information about the simplest aspects of living can be cut off.Thus, things once le
4、arned subconsciously through the casual communications of the extended family must be consciously learned. Adding to societal changes today is an enormous stockpile of information.The individual now has more information available than any generation, and the task of finding that one piece of informa
5、tion relevant to his or her specific problem is complicated, time-consuming and sometimes even overwhelming. Coupled with the growing quantity of information is the development of technologies which enable the storage and delivery of more information with greater speed to more locations than has eve
6、r been possible before.Computer technology makes it possible to store vast amounts of data in machine-readable files, and to program computers to locate specific information.Telecommunication developments enable the sending of messages via television, radio, and very shortly, electronic mail to bomb
7、ard people with multitudes of messages. Satellites have extended the power of communications to report events at the instant of occurrence.Expertise can be shared world wide through teleconferencing, and problems in dispute can be settled without the participants leaving their homes and/or jobs to t
8、ravel to a distant conference site.Technology has facilitated the sharing of information and the storage and delivery of information, thus making more information available to more people. In this world of change and complexity, the need for information is of greatest importance.Those people who hav
9、e accurate, reliable up-to-date information to solve the day-to-day problems, the critical problems of their business, social and family life, will survive and succeed.“Knowledge is power“ may well be the truest saying and access to information may be the most critical requirement of all people. 1 T
10、he word “it“ (Line 3, Para.2) most probably refers to_. （ A） the lack of stable communities （ B） the breakdown of informal information channels （ C） the increased mobility of families （ D） the growing number of people moving from place to place 2 The main problem people may encounter today arises fr
11、om the fact that_. （ A） they have to learn new things consciously （ B） they lack the confidence of securing reliable and trustworthy information （ C） they have difficulty obtaining the needed information readily （ D） they can hardly carry out casual communications with an extended family 3 From the
12、passage we can infer that_. （ A） electronic mail will soon play a dominant role in transmitting messages （ B） it will become more difficult for people to keep secrets in an information era （ C） people will spend less time holding meetings or conferences （ D） events will be reported on the spot mainl
13、y through satellites 4 We can learn from the last paragraph that_. （ A） it is necessary to obtain as much （ B） people should make the best use of the information （ C） we should realize the importance of accumulating information （ D） it is of vital importance to acquire needed information efficiently
14、 4 Personality is to a large extent inherent A-type parents usually bring about A-type offspring.But the environment must also have a profound effect, since if competition is important to the parents, it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children. One place where children soak
15、 up A-characteristics is school, which is, by its very nature, a highly competitive institution.Too many schools adopt “the win at all costs“ moral standard and measure their success by sporting achievements.The current passion for making children compete against their classmates or against the cloc
16、k produces a two-layer system, in which competitive A-types seem in some way better than their B-type fellows.Being too keen to win can have dangerous consequences: remember that Pheidippides, the first marathon runner, dropped dead seconds after saying: “Rejoice, we conquer!“ By far the worst form
17、of competition in schools is the disproportionate emphasis on examinations.It is a rare school that allows pupils to concentrate on those things they do well.The merits of competition by examination are somewhat questionable, but competition in the certain knowledge of failure is positively harmful.
18、 Obviously, it is neither practical nor desirable that all A-youngsters change into Bs.The world needs A-types, and schools have an important duty to try to fit a childs personality to his possible future employment.It is top management. If the preoccupation of schools with academic work was lessene
19、d, more time might be spent teaching children surer values.Perhaps selection for the caring professions, especially medicine could be made less by good grades in chemistry and more by such considerations as sensitivity and sympathy.It is surely a mistake to choose our doctors exclusively from A-type
20、 stock.Bs are important and should be encouraged. 5 According to the passage, A-type individuals are usually_. （ A） impatient （ B） considerate （ C） aggressive （ D） agreeable 6 The author is strongly opposed to the practice of examinations at schools because_. （ A） the pressure is too great on the st
21、udents （ B） some students are bound to fail （ C） failure rates are too high （ D） the results of examinations are doubtful 7 The selection of medical professionals are currently based on_. （ A） candidatessensitivity （ B） academic achievements （ C） competitive spirit （ D） surer values 8 From the passa
22、ge we can draw the conclusion that_. （ A） the personality of a child is well established at birth （ B） family influence dominates the shaping of ones characteristics （ C） the development of onespersonality is due to multiple factors （ D） B-type characteristics can find no place in competitive societ
23、y 8 That experiences influence subsequent behaviour is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity called remembering.Learning could not occur without the function popularly named memory.Constant practice has such as effect on memory as to lead to skillful performance on the piano, t
24、o recitation of a poem, and even to reading and understanding these words.So-called intelligent behaviour demands memory, remembering being a primary requirement for reasoning.The ability to solve any problem or even to recognize that a problem exists depends on memory.Typically, the decision to cro
25、ss a street is based on remembering many earlier experiences . Practice (or review) tends to build and maintain memory for a task or for any learned material.Over a period of no practice what has been learned tends to be forgotten; and the adaptive consequences may not seem obvious.Yet, dramatic ins
26、tances of sudden forgetting can seem to be adaptive.In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted to have survived through a process of natural selection in animals.Indeed, when ones memory of an emotionally painful experience lead to serious anxiety, forgetting may produce relief.Neverthe
27、less, an evolutionary interpretation might make it difficult to understand how the commonly gradual process of forgetting survived natural selection. In thinking about the evolution of memory together with all its possible aspects, it is helpful to consider what would happen if memories failed to fa
28、de.Forgetting clearly aids orientation in time, since old memories weaken and the new tend to stand out, providing clues for inferring duration.Without forgetting, adaptive ability would suffer, for example, learned behaviour that might have been correct a decade ago may no longer be.Cases are recor
29、ded of people who (by ordinary standards) forgot so little that their everyday activities were full of confusion.This forgetting seems to serve that survival of the individual and the species. Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibil
30、ity specifically through forgetting.In this view, continual adjustments are made between learning or memory storage (input) and forgetting (output).Indeed, there is evidence that the rate at which individuals forget is directly related to how much they have learned.Such data offers gross support of
31、contemporary models of memory that assume an input-output balance. 9 From the evolutionary point of view,_. （ A） forgetting for lack of practice tends to be obviously inadaptive （ B） if a person gets very forgetful all of a sudden he must be very adaptive （ C） the gradual process of forgetting is an
32、 indication of an individual s adaptability （ D） sudden forgetting may bring about adaptive consequences 10 According to the passage, if a person never forgot,_. （ A） he would survive best （ B） he would have a lot of trouble （ C） his ability to learn would be enhanced （ D） the evolution of memory wo
33、uld stop 11 From the last paragraph we know that_. （ A） forgetfulness is a response to learning （ B） the memory storage system is an exactly balanced input-output system （ C） memory is a compensation for forgetting （ D） the capacity of a memory storage system is limited because forgetting occurs 12
34、In this article, the author tries to interpret the function of_. （ A） remembering （ B） forgetting （ C） adapting （ D） experiencing 12 The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by
35、 spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most.Private businessmen, striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen; and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely determines how these
36、goods and services are produced.Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes, that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are use
37、d to produce it. An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to by producers.In the American economy, this mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands o
38、f consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers.If the product is in short supply relative to the demand, the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market.If, on the other hand, producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase
39、the supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product.Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the American economic system. The important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individuals are allowed to own productive reso
40、urces (private property), and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit.In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including
41、 the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual. 13 In Line 7, Paragraph 1, “the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes“ means_. （ A） Americans are never satisfied with their incomes （ B） Americans tend to overstate their incomes （ C
42、） Americans want to have their incomes increased （ D） Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their incomes 14 The first two sentences in the second paragraph tell us that_. （ A） producers can satisfy the consumers by mechanized production （ B） consumers can express their demands through
43、producers （ C） producers decide the prices of products （ D） supply and demand regulate prices 15 According to the passage, a private-enterprise economy is characterized by_. （ A） private property and rights concerned （ B） manpower and natural resources control （ C） ownership of productive resources
44、（ D） free contracts and prices 16 The passage is mainly about_. （ A） how American goods are produced （ B） how American consumers buy their goods （ C） how American economic system works （ D） how American businessmen make their profits 16 One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one ba
45、nk-issued credit card.They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well.More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or depos
46、it money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open.For many of us the “cashless society“ is not on the horizon-its already here. While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too.Electronic cash registers can do much more than
47、 simply ring up sales.They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom.This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving.Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can th
48、en be made.At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly.And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns.Computers are relied on by manufacturers for
49、similar reasons.Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future, and which to drop.Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself. Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors , bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers. 17 According to the
