1、雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 47 及答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 1 READING PASSAGE 2 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-27, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. Fun for the Masses Americans worry that the distribution of income is increasingly unequal. Examining leisure spending changes tha
2、t picture. A Are you better off than you used to be? Even after six years of sustained economic growth, Americans worry about that question. Economists who plumb government income statistics agree that Americansincomes, as measured in inflation-adjusted dollars, have risen more slowly in the past tw
3、o decades than in earlier times, and that some workers real incomes have actually fallen. They also agree that by almost any measure, income is distributed less equally than it used to be. Neither of those claims, however, sheds much light on whether living standards are rising or falling. This is b
4、ecause living standard is a highly amorphous concept. Measuring how much people earn is relatively easy, at least compared with measuring how well they live. B A recent paper by Dora Costa, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, looks at the living-standards debate from an unusua
5、l direction. Rather than worrying about cash incomes, Ms Costa investigates Americansrecreational habits over the past century. She finds that people of all income levels have steadily increased the amount of time and money they devote to having fun. The distribution of dollar incomes may have becom
6、e more skewed in recent years, but leisure is more evenly spread than ever. C Ms Costa bases her research on consumption surveys dating back as far as 1888. The industrial workers surveyed in that year spent, on average, three-quarters of their incomes on food, shelter and clothing. Less than 2% of
7、the average familys income was spent on leisure but that average hid large disparities. The share of a familys budget that was spent on having fun rose sharply with its income: the lowest-income families in this working-class sample spent barely 1% of their budgets on recreation, while higher earner
8、s spent more than 3%. Only the latter group could afford such extravagances as theatre and concert performances, which were relatively much more expensive than they are today. D Since those days, leisure has steadily become less of a luxury. By 1991, the average household needed to devote only 38% o
9、f its income to the basic necessities, and was able to spend 6% on recreation. Moreover, Ms Costa finds that the share of the family budget spent on leisure now rises much less sharply with income than it used to. At the beginning of this century a familys recreational spending tended to rise by 20%
10、 for every 10% rise in income. By 1972-73, a 10% income gain led to roughly a 15% rise in recreational spending, and the increase fell to only 13% in 1991. What this implies is that Americans of all income levels are now able to spend much more of their money on having fun. E One obvious cause is th
11、at real income overall has risen. If Americans in general are richer, their consumption of entertainment goods is less likely to be affected by changes in their income. But Ms Costa reckons that rising incomes are responsible for, at most, half of the changing structure of leisure spending. Much of
12、the rest may be due to the fact that poorer Americans have more time off than they used to. In earlier years, Iow-wage workers faced extremely long hours and enjoyed few days off. But since the 1940s, the less skilled (and lower paid) have worked ever-fewer hours, giving them more time to enjoy leis
13、ure pursuits. F Conveniently, Americans have had an increasing number of recreational possibilities to choose from. Public investment in sports complexes, parks and golf courses has made leisure cheaper and more accessible. So too has technological innovation. Where listening to music used to imply
14、paying for concert tickets or owning a piano, the invention of the radio made music accessible to everyone and virtually free. Compact discs, videos and other paraphernalia have widened the choice even further. G At a time when many economists are pointing accusing fingers at technology for causing
15、a widening inequality in the wages of skilled and unskilled workers, Ms Costas research gives it a much more egalitarian face. High earners have always been able to afford amusement. By lowering the price of entertainment, technology has improved the standard of living of those in the lower end of t
16、he income distribution. The implication of her results is that once recreation is taken into account, the differences in Americans living standards may not have widened so much after all. H These findings are not water-tight. Ms Costas results depend heavily upon what exactly is classed as a recreat
17、ional expenditure. Reading is an example. This was the most popular leisure activity for working men in 1888, accounting for one-quarter of all recreational spending. In 1991, reading took only 16% of the entertainment dollar. But the American Department of Labours expenditure surveys do not disting
18、uish between the purchase of a mathematics tome and that of a best-selling novel. Both are classified as recreational expenses. If more money is being spent on textbooks and professional books now than in earlier years, this could make recreationalspending appear stronger than it really is. I Althou
19、gh Ms Costa tries to address this problem by showing that her results still hold even when tricky categories, such as books,are removed from the sample, the difficulty is not entirely eliminated. Nonetheless, her broad conclusion seems fair. Recreation is more available to all and less dependent on
20、income. On this measure at least, inequality of living standards has fallen. 1 Questions 15-21 Reading Passage 2 has nine paragraphs A-I. From the list of headings below choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph. Write the appropriate numbers (i-xi) in boxes 15-21 on your answer sheet. Lis
21、t of headings Wide differences in leisure activities according to income Possible inconsistencies in Ms Costas data More personal income and time influence leisure activities Investigating the lifestyle problem from a new angle Increased incomes fail to benefit everyone A controversial development o
22、ffers cheaper leisure activities Technology heightens differences in living standards The gap between income and leisure spending closes Two factors have led to a broader range of options for all Have peoples lifestyles improved? High earners spend less on leisure 【 Example】： Paragraph E Answer 1 Pa
23、ragraph A 2 Paragraph B 3 Paragraph C 4 Paragraph D 5 Paragraph F 6 Paragraph G 7 Paragraph H 8 Questions 22-26 Complete each of the following statements (Questions 22-26) using words from the box. Write the appropriate letter A-H in boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet. A Recreational activities B the
24、family budget C holiday time D government expenditure E computer technology F income levels G non-luxury spending H professional reading I high-income earners 8 It is easier to determine _ than living standards. 9 A decrease in _ during the 20th century led to a bigger investment in leisure. 10 Acco
25、rding to Ms Costa, how much Americans spend on leisure has been directly affected by salaries and _. 11 The writer notes both positive and negative influences of _. 12 According to the writer, the way Ms Costa defined _ may have been misleading. 13 Question 27 Choose the appropriate letter A-D and w
26、rite it in box 27 on your answer sheet. 13 The writer thinks that Ms Costa _. （ A） provides strong evidence to support her theory. （ B） displays serious flaws in her research methods. （ C） attempts to answer too many questions. （ D） has a useful overall point to make. 14 READING PASSAGE 1 You should
27、 spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. Coming of Age A Three striking facts highlight the dramatic shift in recent years in the relative economic balance of “first-world“ and “third-world“ economies. Last year, according to our estimates, emerging econ
28、omies produced slightly more than half of world output measured at purchasing-power parity. Second, they also accounted for more than half of the increase in global GDP in current-dollar terms. And third, perhaps most striking of all, the 32 biggest emerging economies grew in both 2004 and 2005. Eve
29、ry previous year during the past three decades saw at least one country in recession-if not a deep crisis. Some economies will inevitably stumble over the coming years, but, thanks to sounder policies, most can look forward to rapid long-term growth. The young emerging economies have grown up in mor
30、e ways than one. B Such happenings are part of the biggest shift in economic strength since the emergence of the United States more than a century ago. As developing countries and the former Soviet block have embraced market-friendly economic reforms and opened their borders to trade and investment,
31、 more countries are industrialising than ever before-and more quickly. During their industrial revolutions America and Britain took 50 years to double their real incomes per head; today China is achieving that in a single decade. In an open world, it is much easier to catch up by adopting advanced c
32、ountries technology than it is to be an economic leader that has to invent new technologies in order to keep growing. The shift in economic power towards emerging economies is therefore likely to continue. This is returning the world to the sort of state that endured through- out most of its history
33、. People forget that, until the late 19th century, China and India were the worlds two biggest economies and todays “emerging economies“ accounted for the bulk of world production. C Many bosses, workers and politicians in the rich world fear that the success of these newcomers will be at their own
34、expense. However, rich countries will gain more than they lose from the enrichment of others. Fears that the third world will steal rich-world output and jobs are based on the old fallacy that an increase in one countrys output must be at the expense of anothers. But more exports give developing cou
35、ntries more money to spend on imports-mainly from developed economies. Faster growth in poor countries is therefore more likely to increase the output of their richer counterparts than to reduce it. The emerging economies are helping to lift world GDP growth at the very time when the rich worlds age
36、ing populations would otherwise cause growth to slow. D Although stronger growth in emerging economies will make developed countries as a whole better off, not everybody will be a winner. Globalisation is causing the biggest shift in relative prices (of labour, capital, commodities and goods) for a
37、century, and this in mm is causing a significant redistribution of income. Low-skilled workers in developed economies are losing out relative to skilled workers. And owners of capital are grabbing a bigger slice of the cake relative to workers as a whole. E As a result of China, India and the former
38、 Soviet Union embracing market capitalism, the global labour force has doubled in size. To the extent that this has made labour more abundant, and capital relatively scarcer, it has put downward pressure on wages relative to the return on capital. Throughout the rich world, profits have surged to re
39、cord levels as a share of national income, while the workers slice has fallen. Hence western workers as a whole do not appear to have shared fully in the fruits of globalisation; many low-skilled ones may even be worse off. However, this is only part of the story. Workers wages may be squeezed, but
40、as consumers they benefit from lower prices. As shareholders and future pensioners, they stand to gain from a more efficient use of global capital. Competition from emerging economies should also help to spur rich-world productivity growth and thus average incomes. F To the extent that rich economie
41、s as a whole gain from the new wealth of emerging ones, governments have more scope to compensate losers. Governments have another vital role to play, too. The intensifying competition from emerging economies makes flexible labour and product markets even more imperative, so as to speed up the shift
42、 from old industries to new ones. That is why Europe and Japan cannot afford to drag their heels over reform or leave workers ill-equipped to take up tomorrows jobs. Developed countries that are quick to abandon declining industries and move up market into new industries and services will fare best
43、as the emerging economies come of age. Those that resist change can look forward to years of relative decline. Those that embrace it can best share in the emerging economies astonishing new wealth. 14 Questions 1-4 The text has 6paragraphs (A-F). Which paragraph contains each of the following pieces
44、 of information? 14 Advice for developed countries. 15 The reason that it is faster to develop nowadays. 16 The fact that in the 30 years before 2004, not all large developing economies grew. 17 The fact that domination of the global economy by Western countries is unusual in global history. 18 Ques
45、tions 5-8 Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text. 18 Developing economies can catch up with developed ones faster because they dont have to _. 19 Growth in developing countries helps developed economies because of spending _. 20 Capital is being used more effic
46、iently because it is _. 21 Economic _ is required in many developed economies. 22 Questions 9-13 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet write TRUE if the information in the text agrees with the statement FALSE if the info
47、rmation in the text contradicts the statement NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this 22 Large developing economies should not have any problems in the future. （ A）真 （ B）假 （ C） NOT GIVEN 23 If one country increases production, another country will have to reduce its production. （ A）真 （ B）假 （ C）
48、 NOT GIVEN 24 Globalisation is causing greater differences in income. （ A）真 （ B）假 （ C） NOT GIVEN 25 Low-skilled workers in developed economies are earning less. （ A）真 （ B）假 （ C） NOT GIVEN 26 Japan is not spending enough on education. （ A）真 （ B）假 （ C） NOT GIVEN 27 READING PASSAGE 3 You should spend a
49、bout 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. Do You Look Your Age? It can be hard to guess someones exact age. A range of factors may leave marks on our appearance, how much sleep weve had-even the way we dress and our view of ourselves. The good news is that just as these factors can add years on to your appearance, it follows that they can also take years off, We dont always have control over some of t
