1、考研英语模拟试卷 203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 Low levels of literacy and numeracy have a damaging impact on almost every aspect of adults, according to a survey published yester
2、day, which offers (1)_ of a developing underclass. Tests and (2)_ with hundreds of people born in a week in 1958 graphically illustrated file (3)_ of educational underachievement. The effects can be seen in unemployment, family (4)_, low incomes, depression and social inactivity. Those who left scho
3、ol at 16 with poor basic skills had been employed for UP to four years less than good readers (5)_ they reached 37. Professor John Bynner, of City University, who carried the research, said that todays (6)_ teenagers would even encounter greater problems because the supply of (7)_ jobs had shrunk. A
4、lmost one fifth of the 1,700 people interviewed for yesterdays report had poor literacy and almost half (8)_ with innumeracy, a proportion (9)_ other surveys for the Basic Skills Agency. Some could not read a childs book, and most found difficult (10)_ written instruction. Poor readers were twice as
5、 likely to be a low wage and four times likely to live in a household where partners worked. Women in this (11)_ were five times as likely to be (12)_ depressed, (13)_ both tended to feel they had no control over their lives, and to trust others (14)_. Those who had low literacy and numeracy were se
6、ldom (15)_ in any community organization and less likely than others to (16)_ in a general election. There had been no (17)_ in the literary level of (18)_. Alan Wells, the agencys director, said: “The results emphasize the dangers of developing an underclass people, who were out of work, (19)_ depr
7、essed and often labeled themselves as (20)_. There is a circle of marginalization, with the dice against these people and their families.“ （ A） proof （ B） witness （ C） testimony （ D） evidence （ A） investigations （ B） interviews （ C） conferences （ D） communications （ A） defect （ B） backwardness （ C）
8、handicap （ D） scarcity （ A） breakdown （ B） breakout （ C） breakaway （ D） breakin （ A） the time （ B） the instant （ C） the moment （ D） the point （ A） illiterate （ B） suffering （ C） poor （ D） unqualified （ A） skilled （ B） mental （ C） manual （ D） mechanical （ A） struggled （ B） faced （ C） encountered （ D）
9、 confronted （ A） in light of （ B） in line with （ C） in case of （ D） in time of （ A） translating （ B） complying （ C） following （ D） obeying （ A） post （ B） condition （ C） status （ D） position （ A） classified （ B） thought （ C） believed （ D） labeled （ A） and （ B） while （ C） for （ D） but （ A） more （ B） m
10、uch （ C） less （ D） little （ A） revolved （ B） dissolved （ C） resolved （ D） involved （ A） claim （ B） join （ C） vote （ D） win （ A） improvement （ B） advancement （ C） development （ D） increase （ A） employees （ B） interviewees （ C） participants （ D） researchers （ A） hardly （ B） seriously （ C） increasingly
11、 （ D） potentially （ A） failures （ B） winners （ C） successors （ D） patients Part A Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points) 21 If you have ever longed for a meat substitute that smelt and tasted like the real thing, but did
12、not involve killing an animal, then your order could be ready soon. Researchers believe it will soon be possible to grow cultured meat in quantities large enough to offer the meat industry an alternative source of supply. Growing muscle cells (the main component of meat) in a nutrient broth is easy.
13、 The difficulty is persuading those cells to form something that resembles real meat. Paul Kosnik, the head of engineering at a firm called Tissue Genesis, is hoping to do it by stretching the cells with mechanical anchors. This encourages them to form small bundles surrounded by connective tissue,
14、an arrangement similar to real muscle. Robert Dennis, a biomedical engineer at the University of North Carolina, believes the secret of growing healthy muscle tissue in a laboratory is to understand how it interacts with its surroundings. In nature, tissues exist as elements in a larger system and t
15、hey depend on other tissues for their survival. Without appropriate stimuli from their neighbours they degenerate. Dr Dennis and his team have been working on these neighbourly interactions for the past three years and report some success in engineering two of the most important those between muscle
16、s and tendons, and muscles and nerves. At the Touro College School of Health Sciences in New York, Morris Benjaminson and his team are working on removing living tissue from fish, and then growing it in culture. This approach has the advantage that the tissue has a functioning system of blood vessel
17、s to deliver nutrients, so it should be possible to grow tissue cultures more than a millimetre thick the current limit. Henk Haagsman, a meat scientist at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, is trying to make minced pork from cultured stem cells with the backing of Stegeman, a sausage com
18、pany. It could be used in sausages, burgers and sauces. But why would anyone want to eat cultured meat, rather than something freshly slaughtered and just off the bone? One answer, to mix metaphors, is that it would allow vegetarians to have their meatloaf and eat it too. But the sausage-meat projec
19、t suggests another reason: hygiene. As Ingrid Newkirk of PETA, an animal-rights group, puts it, “no one who considers whats in a meat hot dog could genuinely express any reluctance at eating a clean cloned meat product.“ Cultured meat could be grown in sterile conditions, avoiding Salmonella, E. col
20、i and other nasties. It could also be made healthier by adjusting its composition introducing heart-friendly omega-3 fatty acids, for example. You could even take a cell from an endangered animal and, without threatening its extinction, make meat from it. 21 From the first two paragraphs, we know th
21、at （ A） meat grown in lab, rather than in the form of animals, could soon be on the menu. （ B） cultured meat may taste as they are newly produced. （ C） it is hard to culture the main component of meat into the form of cells. （ D） by stretching the cells with mechanical anchors, we can get connective
22、 tissues. 22 Robert Dennis thinks that （ A） being elements in a larger system, tissues can hardly live with others dependence. （ B） the key to grow healthy muscle tissues is to learn the influence between different tissues. （ C） the most important success of their study is to find out tissue enginee
23、ring. （ D） tissues will decline in quality if they are affected by their neighbours. 23 The research method of Morris Benjaminson and his team （ A） is to culture living tissue in fish. （ B） is similar with the work at the University of North Carolina. （ C） enables tissue cultures to grow beyond the
24、thickness limited for now. （ D） makes it possible to use cultured meat in sausages, burgers and sauces. 24 What can be the reason of people eating cultured meat instead of the real thing? （ A） meat that is just off the bone is not tasty enough for some people. （ B） vegetarians may consume meat produ
25、ct from the sausage-meat project. （ C） cloned meat product is more hygienic and healthier. （ D） cultured meat can be eaten to get rid of certain diseases. 25 According to the last sentence, we can infer that （ A） some endangered animals may survive for a long time. （ B） giant-panda steak is possible
26、 to be cooked in the future. （ C） we can change the composition of meat as we like. （ D） the new technology will not reduce the quantity of cells. 26 If Bill Gates ever had reason to doubt that the brash young billionaires of Google were out to get him, the time for such uncertainty is now officiall
27、y over. Last months dramatically revised version of its program Google Desktop is a glove slap across the face of Microsofts fabled chief software architect. Obviously Googles update to a previous tool that searched peoples hard drives in addition to the usual lightning-quick survey of the entire Wo
28、rld Wide Web, Google Desktop 2 turns out to be a not-so-stealthy attempt to hijack the desktop from Microsoft. And in a move that must be particularly galling to Gates, the program does it in a way that directly steals thunder from Microsofts upcoming Windows update, Vista. Specifically, Im talking
29、about Googles feature called Sidebar, a stack of small windows that sit on the side of the screen and dynamically draw on Web and personal information to track things like weather, stock prices, your e-mail, your photos, recently opened documents and Web destinations. Several years ago, demonstratin
30、g an early version of Vista, Microsoft proudly showed a column of on-screen “tiles“ that did the same kinds of things. Microsofts name for this upcoming feature (which it still plans to include in Vista when it ships in late 2006): Sidebar. Thats not all. Google product manager Nakhil Bhatla explain
31、s that another purpose of Desktop is to use the search box to quickly locate programs and files that you want to open bypassing the Windows way of clicking on an icon or using the Start menu. Clearly, Google is squatting on Microsofts turf, asking users to live in its environment as opposed to Bills
32、. Microsoft still believes that the central point of personal computing is productivity. Thats why the desktop search in Vista will limit itself to probing the users hard disk. Microsofts explanation for this approach is that mixing Web-search results with hits from your own information is just too
33、confusing. Things go more efficiently, the theory goes, when your personal data pond is segregated from the ocean of information data located elsewhere in the world. (Microsoft offers Web search as a separate program.) In contrast, Google Desktop searches bring results from everywhere your hard disk
34、, your email and billions of Web sites. Thats because the Google mission is organizing and managing all the worlds information. “You shouldnt have to think about where the information comes from,“ says Google VP Susan Wojcicki. Though Google-sites acknowledge difficulties in merging the personal wit
35、h the public, their core belief is that the essence of 21st-century computing springs from the connectivity that allows all human knowledge, from books to instant messages, to be potentially shared. As Google tries to annex new information flows, it increasingly runs smack against issues of privacy,
36、 copyright and censorship. Thats one part of Googles challenge. The other will be fending off Bill Gates, undoubtedly determined to prove that his vision of computing still dominates. 26 From the first sentence we can infer that （ A） the managers of Google are impolite. （ B） there is no longer uncer
37、tainty about Microsofts precedence. （ C） it is true that now Google is surpassing Microsoft. （ D） Bill Gates begins to think Google as his opponent. 27 According to the first paragraph, what is most annoying to Gates? （ A） Google introduced the new program of Google Desktop. （ B） Google Desktop 2 co
38、mpetes directly with Windows Vista. （ C） Googles update can also search the hard drives now. （ D） Google Desktop 2 is not stealthy enough in rivaling with Microsoft. 28 Which of the following is true about Sidebar? （ A） It is a pile of small icons in the middle of the screen in Google. （ B） Everythi
39、ng can be searched with the Microsofts sidebar now. （ C） Microsoft has Sidebar, so does Google. （ D） Microsofts sidebar is made up of a pile of “tiles“. 29 By saying “squatting on Microsofts turf“, the author means that （ A） Google is taking up the market share of Microsoft. （ B） Microsoft is not as
40、 efficient as Google. （ C） for Microsoft, everything develops more quickly. （ D） the mixture of Googles information brings confusion. 30 Which one is true about Google Desktop search? （ A） It is a separate program. （ B） The program is easy to merge the personal with the public. （ C） It only probes t
41、he users hard disk. （ D） It tries to manage information from all over the world. 31 The mythology of a culture can provide some vital insights into the beliefs and values of that culture. By using fantastic and sometimes incredible stories to create an oral tradition by which to explain the wonders
42、of the natural world and teach lessons to younger generations, a society exposes those ideas and concepts held most important. Just as important as the final lesson to be gathered from the stories, however, are the characters and the roles they play in conveying that message. Perhaps the epitome of
43、mythology and its use as a tool to pass on cultural values can be found in Aesops Fables, told and retold during the era of the Greek Empire. Aesop, a slave who won the favor of the court through his imaginative and descriptive tales, almost exclusively used animals to fill the roles in his short st
44、ories. Humans, when at all present, almost always played the part of bumbling fools struggling to learn the lesson being presented. This choice of characterization allows us to see that the Greeks placed wisdom on a level slightly beyond humans, implying that deep wisdom and understanding is a unive
45、rsal quality sought by, rather than stealing from, human beings. Aesops fables illustrated the central themes of humility and self-reliance, reflecting the importance of those traits in early Greek society. The folly of humans was used to contrast against the ultimate goal of attaining a higher leve
46、l of understanding and awareness of truths about nature and humanity. For example, one notable fable features a fox repeatedly trying to reach a bunch of grapes on a very high vine. After failing at several attempts, the fox gives up, making up its mind that the grapes were probably sour anyway. The
47、 fables lesson, that we often play down that which we cant achieve so as to make ourselves feel better, teaches the reader or listener in an entertaining way about one of the weaknesses of the human psyche. The mythology of other cultures and societies reveal the underlying traits of their respectiv
48、e cultures just as Aesops fables did. The stories of Roman gods, Aztec ghosts and European elves all served to train ancient generations those lessons considered most important to their community, and today they offer a powerful looking glass by which to evaluate and consider the contextual environm
49、ent in which those culture existed. 31 The author appears to view fables as （ A） the most interesting and valuable form of mythology. （ B） an entertaining form with serious subjects. （ C） a tool of past civilizations, but not often used in the modern age. （ D） an essential method by which ancient values were transmitted between generations. 32 The way that fables were used in the past is most similar to todays （ A） fairy tales that entertain children at home. （ B
