1、2006年考研英语真题试卷及答案与解析 一、 Section I Use of English Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D. (10 points) 1 The homeless make up a growing percentage of Americas population. 【 B1】 homelessness has reached such proportions that local gover
2、nment cant possibly 【 B2】 .To help homeless people 【 B3】 independence, the federal government must support job training programs, 【 B4】 the minimum wage, and fund more low-cost housing. 【 B5】 everyone agrees on the numbers of Americans who are homeless. Estimates 【 B6】 anywhere from 600,000 to 3 mil
3、lion. 【 B7】 the figure may vary, analysts do agree on another matter: that the number of the homeless is 【 B8】 , one of the federal governments studies 【 B9】 that the number of the homeless will reach nearly 19 million by the end of this decade. Finding ways to 【 B10】 this growing homeless populatio
4、n has become increasingly difficult. 【 B11】 when homeless individuals manage to find a 【 B12】 that will give them three meals a day and a place to sleep at night, a good number still spend the bulk of each day 【 B13】 the street. Part of the problem is that many homeless adults are addicted to alcoho
5、l or drugs. And a significant number of the homeless have serious mental disorders. Many others, 【 B14】 not addicted or men tally ill, simply lack the everyday 【 B15】 skills needed to turn their lives 【 B16】 . Boston Globe reporter Chris Reidy notes that the situation will improve only when there ar
6、e 【 B17】 programs that address the many needs of the homeless. 【 B18】 Edward Blotkowsk, director of community service at Bentley College in Massachusetts, 【 B19】 it. “There has to be 【 B20】 of programs. What we need is a package deal“. 1 【 B1】 （ A） Indeed （ B） Likewise （ C） Therefore （ D） Furthermor
7、e 2 【 B2】 （ A） stand （ B） cope （ C） approve （ D） retain 3 【 B3】 （ A） in （ B） for （ C） with （ D） toward 4 【 B4】 （ A） raise （ B） add （ C） take （ D） keep 5 【 B5】 （ A） Generally （ B） Almost （ C） Hardly （ D） Not 6 【 B6】 （ A） cover （ B） change （ C） range （ D） differ 7 【 B7】 （ A） Now that （ B） Although （ C
8、） Provided （ D） Except that 8 【 B8】 （ A） inflating （ B） expanding （ C） increasing （ D） extending 9 【 B9】 （ A） predicts （ B） displays （ C） proves （ D） discovers 10 【 B10】 （ A） assist （ B） track （ C） sustain （ D） dismiss 11 【 B11】 （ A） Hence （ B） But （ C） Even （ D） Only 12 【 B12】 （ A） lodging （ B） she
9、lter （ C） dwelling （ D） house 13 【 B13】 （ A） searching （ B） strolling （ C） crowding （ D） wandering 14 【 B14】 （ A） when （ B） once （ C） while （ D） whereas 15 【 B15】 （ A） life （ B） existence （ C） survival （ D） maintenance 16 【 B16】 （ A） around （ B） over （ C） on （ D） up 17 【 B17】 （ A） complex （ B） compr
10、ehensive （ C） complementary （ D） compensating 18 【 B18】 （ A） So （ B） Since （ C） As （ D） Thus 19 【 B19】 （ A） puts （ B） interprets （ C） assumes （ D） makes 20 【 B20】 （ A） supervision （ B） manipulation （ C） regulation （ D） coordination Part A Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questio
11、ns below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points) 21 In spite of “endless talk of difference“, American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. This is “the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of consumption “launched by the 19th-cent
12、ury department stores that offered vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere“ Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite, these were stores “anyone could enter, regardless of class or background“. This turned shopping into a public anti democratic act“. The mass media, advertisi
13、ng and sports are other forces for homogenization. Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory-Rodriguez reports that todays immigration is neither at unprecedented level n
14、or resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices of assimilationlanguage, home owner
15、ship and intermarriage. The 1990 Census revealed that “a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English well or very well after ten years of residence“. The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. “By the third generation,
16、 the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families“. Hence the description of America as a graveyard for language. By 1996 foreign born immigrants who had arrive before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native born Americans. Fo
17、reign-born Asians and Hispanics “have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S.-born whites and blacks“. By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians. Rodriguez notes that children in remote villa
18、ges around world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet some Americans fear that immigrant living within, the United States remain somehow immune to the nations assimilative power. Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething anger in America? Indeed. It is big
19、enough to have a bit of every thing. But particularly when viewed against Americas turbulent past, todays social induces suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment. 21 The word “homogenizing“ (Line 1, Paragraph 1) most probably means _. （ A） identifying （ B） associating （ C） assimilating （
20、D） monopolizing 22 According to the author, the department stores of the 19th century _. （ A） played a role in the spread of popular culture （ B） became intimate shops for common consumers （ C） satisfied the needs of a knowledgeable elite （ D） owed its emergence to the culture of consumption 23 The
21、text suggests that immigrants now in the U.S. _. （ A） are resistant to homogenization. （ B） exert a great influence on American culture. （ C） are hardly a threat to the common culture. （ D） constitute the majority of the population. 24 Why are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Para
22、graph 5? （ A） To prove their popularity around the world. （ B） To reveal the publics fear of immigrants. （ C） To give examples of successful immigrants. （ D） To show the powerful influence of American culture. 25 In the authors opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is _. （ A） r
23、ewarding （ B） successful （ C） fruitless （ D） harmful 26 Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry William Shakespeare but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (ASC), which presents superb productions of the plays a
24、t the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaways Cottage, Shakespeares birthplace and the other sights. The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to
25、their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSCs actors, then with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. Its all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earned his living, was himself an actor (with a beard) and did his share of noise-making. The tourist streams are no
26、t entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side dont usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight-seeing along with their play going. It
27、is the playgoers, the ESC con tends, who bring in much of the towns revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall. The townsfolk dont see it this way and loc
28、al council does not contribute directly to the subsidy of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cock tail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet
29、 Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive. Anyway, the townsfolk cant understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has bro ken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 per
30、cent occupied all year long and this year theyll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low. It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratfords most attractive clientele. They come entirel
31、y for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over) lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeans and sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside the theatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing-room tickets held for th
32、e sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m. 26 From the first two paragraphs, we learn that _. （ A） the townsfolk deny the RSCs contribution to the towns revenue （ B） the actors of the RSC imitate Shakespeare on and off stage （ C） the two branches of the RSC are not on good t
33、erms （ D） the townsfolk earn little from tourism 27 It can be inferred from Para 3 that _. （ A） the sightseers cannot visit the Castle and the Palace separately （ B） the playgoers spend more money than the sightseers （ C） the sightseers do more shopping than the playgoers （ D） the playgoers go to no
34、 other places in town than the theater 28 By saying “Stratford cries poor traditionally“ (Line 2, Paragraph 4), the author implies that _. （ A） Stratford cannot afford the expansion projects （ B） Stratford has long been in financial difficulties （ C） the town is not really short of money （ D） the to
35、wnsfolk used to be poorly paid 29 According to the townsfolk, the RSC deserves no subsidy because _. （ A） ticket prices can be raised to cover the spending （ B） the company is financially ill-managed （ C） the behavior of the actors is not socially acceptable （ D） the theatre attendance is on the ris
36、e 30 From the text we can conclude that the author _. （ A） is supportive of both sides （ B） favors the townsfolks view （ C） takes a detached attitude （ D） is sympathetic 31 When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strange happened to the large animals. They suddenly became e
37、xtinct. Smaller species survived. The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans. That the seas are being overfished has been known for years. What researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have show
38、n is just how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do nut attempt to estimate the actual biomass (the amount of living biological matter) of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomas
39、s over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators (animals that kill and eat other animals) in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then. Dr. Worm a
40、cknowledges that the figures are conservative. One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Todays vessels can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real differen
41、ce between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since no baited hooks would have been available to trap them, leading
42、to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around now. Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm argue that their work gives a correct basel
43、ine, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the data support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the “shifting baseline“. The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking bac
44、k only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the maximum sustainable yield that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to do busine
45、ss. 31 The extinction of large prehistoric animals is noted to suggest that _. （ A） large animal were vulnerable to the changing environment （ B） small species survived as large animals disappeared （ C） large sea animals may face the same threat today （ D） slow-growing fish outlive fast-growing ones
46、 32 We can infer from Dr. Myers and Dr. Worms paper that _. （ A） the stock of large predators in some old fisheries has reduced by 90% （ B） there are only half as many fisheries as there were 15 years ago （ C） the catch sizes in new fisheries are only 20% of the original amount （ D） the number of la
47、rger predators dropped faster in new fisheries than in the old 33 By saying these figures are conservative (Line 1, Paragraph 3), Dr. Worm means that _. （ A） fishing technology has improved rapidly （ B） the catch-sizes are actually smaller than recorded （ C） the marine biomass has suffered a greater
48、 loss （ D） the data collected so far are out of date 34 Dr. Myers and other researchers hold that _. （ A） people should look for a baseline that cant work for a longer time （ B） fisheries should keep the yield below 50% of the biomass （ C） the ocean biomass should restore its original level （ D） peo
49、ple should adjust the fishing baseline to changing situation 35 The author seems to be mainly concerned with most fisheries _. （ A） management efficiency （ B） biomass level （ C） catch-size limits （ D） technological application 36 Many things make people think artists are weird and the weirdest may be this: artists only job is to explore emotions, and yet they choose to focus on the ones that feel bad. This wasnt always so. The earliest forms of art, like painting and music
