1、考研英语模拟试卷 249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 Political controversy about the public-land policy of the United States began with the America Revolution. (1)_, even before indepe
2、ndence from Britain was (2)_, it became clear that (3)_ the dilemmas surrounding the public domain might prove necessary to (4)_ the Union itself. At the peace negotiation with Britain, Americans obtained a western (5)_ at the Mississippi River. Thus the new nation secured for its birthright a vast
3、internal empire rich in agricultural and mineral resources. But (6)_ their colonial charters, seven states claimed (7)_ of the western wilderness. Virginias claim was the largest, (8)_ north and west to encompass the later states. The language of the charters was (9)_ and their validity questionable
4、, but during the war Virginia reinforced its title by sponsoring Colonel Georgia Rogers Clarks 1778 (10)_ to Vicennes and Kaskaskia, which (11)_ Americas trans-Appalachian pretensions at the peace table. The six states holding no claim to the transmontane region (12)_ whether a confederacy in which
5、territory was so unevenly apportioned would truly prove what it claimed to be, a union of equals. Already New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Isaland, and Maryland were (13)_ the smallest and least populous of the states. (14)_ they levied heavy taxes to repay state war debts, their larger neighbors might r
6、etire debts out of land-sale proceeds. (15)_ by fresh lands and low taxes, people would desert the small states (16)_ the large, leaving the former to fall (17)_ bankruptcy and eventually into political subjugation. All the states shared in the war effort, how then could half of them “be left no sin
7、k under an (18)_ debt, whilst others are enabled, in a short period, to (19)_ all their expenditures from the hard earnings of the whole confederacy?“ As the Revolution was a common endeavor, (20)_ ought its fruits, including the western lands be a common property. （ A） Furthermore （ B） Likewise （ C
8、） Indeed （ D） Therefore （ A） gained （ B） reaped （ C） earned （ D） won （ A） resolving （ B） disposing （ C） approving （ D） retaining （ A） ensure （ B） maintain （ C） preserve （ D） remain （ A） frontier （ B） boundary （ C） border （ D） outline （ A） by （ B） above （ C） under （ D） against （ A） portions （ B） patc
9、hes （ C） fragments （ D） shares （ A） shifting （ B） ranging （ C） stretching （ D） covering （ A） obvious （ B） dismal （ C） gloomy （ D） vague （ A） opening （ B） expedition （ C） route （ D） endeavor （ A） protected （ B） strengthened （ C） lessened （ D） encircled （ A） imagined （ B） asserted （ C） admitted （ D） d
10、oubted （ A） about （ B） outside （ C） among （ D） with （ A） While （ B） Because （ C） Unless （ D） When （ A） Drawn （ B） Pushed （ C） Pulled （ D） Lured （ A） toward （ B） off （ C） from （ D） for （ A） beyond （ B） into （ C） over （ D） upon （ A） sufficient （ B） enormous （ C） indefinite （ D） excessive （ A） purchase
11、 （ B） supplement （ C） replace （ D） exchange （ A） so （ B） even （ C） yet （ D） still Part A Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points) 21 The Catholic Church is changing in America at its most visible point: the parish church wh
12、ere believers pray, sing and clasp hands across pews to share the peace of God. Today there are fewer parishes and fewer priests than in 1990 and fewer of the nations 65 million Catholics in those pews. And theres no sign of return. Some blame the explosive 2002 clergy sexual abuse scandal and its f
13、inancial price tag. But a study of 176 Roman Catholic dioceses shows no statistically significant link between the decline in priests and parishes and the $772 million the church has spent to date on dealing with the scandal. Rather, the changes are driven by a constellation of factors: -Catholics a
14、re moving from cities in the Northeast and Midwest to the suburbs, South and Southwest. -For decades, so few men have become priests that one in five dioceses now cant put a priest in every parish. -Mass attendance has fallen as each generation has become less religiously observant. -Bishops trained
15、 to bless, not to budget lack the managerial skills to govern multimillion-dollar institutions. All these trends had begun years before the scandal piled on financial pressures to cover settlements, legal costs, care and counseling for victims and abusers. The Archdiocese of Boston, epicenter of the
16、 crisis, sold chancery property to cover $85 million in settlements last year, and this year will close 67 churches and recast 16 others as new parishes or worship sites without a full-time priest. Archbishop Sean OMalley has said the crisis and the reconfiguration plan are “in no way“ related. He c
17、ites demographic shifts, the priest shortage and aging, crumbling buildings too costly to keep up. Fargo, N.D., which spent $821,000 on the abuse crisis, will close 23 parishes, but its because the diocese is short of more than 50 priests for its 158 parishes, some with fewer than a dozen families a
18、ttending Mass. They know how this feels in Milwaukee. That archdiocese shuttered about one in five parishes from 1995 to 2003. The city consolidations “gave some people who had been driving back into the city from new homes in the suburbs a chance to say they had no loyalty to a new parish and begin
19、 going to one near their home“, says Noreen Welte, director of parish planning for the Milwaukee Archdiocese. “It gave some people who already were mad at the church for one reason or another excuse to stop going altogether.“ 21 Which of the following reflects the change of Catholic Church? （ A） Few
20、er prayers in the church. （ B） Fewer pews in the parish. （ C） Fewer Catholics in America. （ D） Fewer signs in the peace of God. 22 The relationship between the first two paragraphs can be described as （ A） the Catholic Church of the past compared with that of today. （ B） the problem with the Catholi
21、c Church revealed and explained. （ C） the reform of the catholic Church argued for and against. （ D） the practice of the Catholic Church introduced and condemned. 23 Attendance of the Church has declined because （ A） there are fewer parishes and priests now. （ B） few Catholics observe religious rule
22、s. （ C） people are losing enthusiasm for religion. （ D） the financial pressures are overwhelming. 24 The “reconfiguration plan“(Para. 4) probably refers to （ A） selling the Church property. （ B） covering the cost of settlements. （ C） shutting and remolding churches. （ D） keeping up crumbling buildin
23、gs. 25 Noreen Welte seems to suggest that some people （ A） had difficulty adopting a new parish. （ B） preferred to go to the church near their home. （ C） disliked the church for several reasons. （ D） meant to escape the church. 26 House-price falls are gathering momentum and are spreading across the
24、 UK, according to a monthly poll of surveyors which on Monday delivered its gloomiest reading for nearly 12 years. Fifty-six percent of surveyors contacted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported price falls in the three months to October. Only 3 percent saw prices rise in their are
25、a, compared with 58 percent as recently as May. There was further evidence of slowing activity in the property market as the number of sales per surveyor dived to a nine-year low. Unsold stock on agents books has increased 10 percent since the summer. Ian Perry, Rics national housing spokesman, said
26、 it was now very clear that buyers were unsettled by higher interest rates. The Bank of England raised rates five times to 4.75 percent over the last year to cool the property boom. But he also blamed comments by Mervyn King, the Banks governor, and misleading media headlines for “injecting addition
27、al uncertainty into the market by continued speculation over more serious price declines“. “Mervyn King presumably felt that he had to be more explicit in the summer when people were still buying. His warnings of a drop in property prices then have had the desired effect. “But our concern now is tha
28、t the pendulum is swinging too far“, be said. Last week, the Banks monetary policy committee predicted for the first time that “house prices may fall modestly for a period“ in its November inflation report. The Nationwide and Halifax mortgage lenders both showed a modest monthly decline in house pri
29、ces in their latest loan approval data. Although the majority of surveyors expect prices to fall further in the next three months, Mr. Perry stressed there were signs of stabilizing demand from buyers in London. “London tends to be ahead of the rest of the market. And agents are telling us that more
30、 people are looking to buy. It is much better than it was“, Mr. Perry said. However, falling prices continued to spread from the South of England as surveyors reported the first clear decline in prices in Yorkshire and the Humber, the north and the northwest. Scotland remained the only region with r
31、ising prices. 26 We learn from the passage that （ A） the present house price falls are at most a momentary phenomenon. （ B） the property market is experiencing its most depressing time over the decade. （ C） 58 percent of surveyprs contacted started to encounter house price falls in May. （ D） Rics wi
32、dely-followed headline indicator began to fall since Dec. 1992. 27 Paragraphs 2 and 3 are written to （ A） justify the authors observation in the first paragraph. （ B） contrast the present situation with that in the past. （ C） highlight the discouraging situation of home market. （ D） explain the reas
33、ons of slowing activity in the market. 28 By “the pendulum is swinging too far“, Ian Perry probably means （ A） the number of houses sold by each agent is the lowest in history. （ B） the house market is bound to suffer because of the high interest rates. （ C） both Mr. King and the media worried too m
34、uch over the price falls. （ D） the Bank and the media are helping push the house prices further down. 29 In terms of the future of the property market, Mr. Perry seems （ A） optimistic. （ B） uncertain. （ C） pessimistic. （ D） indifferent. 30 The author probably believes that （ A） the house-price falls
35、 may continue for a while. （ B） peoples uncertainty about the market is ungrounded. （ C） there was always exception to the rule of rising prices. （ D） people are certainly ready to buy more than before. 31 Fiercely independent, 90 year-old Vincenzia Rinaldi wouldnt consider a home health aide or nur
36、sing home. So Louis Critelli, her nephew had to coax the widowed homemaker into assisted living, the nations growing long-term care option for the elderly. For $1,100 a month, Rinaldi became the reluctant resident of an efficiency unit where she could still simmer her much-loved tomato sauce and whe
37、re caregivers would make sure she took her pills. Instead, 30 months later, she died. Not because she was old. But because aides at her new home, Loretto Utica Center, one of the modern, hotel-style facilities that have sprouted across the country over the past decade, mistakenly gave her another re
38、sidents prescription medication. That error led to her death, state inspectors concluded. Neither the state nor Loretto told her nephew about the cause of death. Critelli, thinking his aunt had been properly cared for, only learned of the finding years later from USA TODAY. “When they find something
39、 blatant like that, youd think theyd tell the family“, the shaken nephew told a reporter after a long pause. A USA TODAY investigation shows that Rinaldis death represents the tragic extreme in a pattern of mistakes and violations that lead to scores of injuries and occasional deaths among the estim
40、ated 1 million elderly residents of assisted living facilities. The centers are the state regulated, largely private-pay residences that help seniors with medication and other activities of daily life. In a wide ranging analysis, USA TODAY reviewed two years of inspection records within 2000-02 for
41、more than 5,300 assisted living facilities in seven states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, New York and Texas. The precise time period varied slightly from state to state. The analysis covered a broad range from mom-and-pop facilities with just a few residents to corporate run centers
42、 with scores of beds and many levels of care. It is the first time such data have been gathered and analyzed across so many states. The review included less-detailed data from five other states and focused on broad quality-of-care categories to compensate for variations in regulations from state to
43、state. As affluent and middle-class Americans cope with the infirmities of age, many turn to assisted living as an alternative to a nursing home industry that has been periodically plagued by abuse or neglect scandals. Even though assisted living facilities generally dont provide 24-hour skilled med
44、ical care, they increasingly serve seniors who only a decade ago might have been in nursing homes. 31 The first paragraph implies that （ A） life in the nursing homes is largely regulated by caregivers. （ B） old people are very much unsatisfied with life cared by a home health aide. （ C） Rinaldi knew
45、 better than to live in an efficiency unit with caregivers. （ D） the nations long-term care options for the elderly are limited. 32 Critellis response to the real cause of her aunts death was （ A） disbelief. （ B） indignation. （ C） disapproval. （ D） intensity. 33 The author mentioned Rinaldis death i
46、n the text in order to （ A） show sympathy for Critellis misfortune. （ B） reveal problems in assisted living facilities. （ C） demonstrate inefficiency of caretakers. （ D） exhibit the reliability of USA TODAY. 34 It can be inferred from the text that （ A） assisted living facilities are mostly state-ow
47、ned residences. （ B） USA TODAY conducted the first inspection of assisted living facilities in USA. （ C） data collected and reviewed are not detailed and regulated enough. （ D） previous analyses of inspection records covered limited areas. 35 We learn from the text that （ A） nursing home industry wi
48、ll ultimately disappear from the society. （ B） 24 hour skilled medical care will come into being in the near future. （ C） assisted living is the first choice for many seniors with a good income. （ D） serious problems have always accompanied the assisted living units. 36 You could benefit from flippi
49、ng through the pages of I Cant Believe You Asked That, a book by author Phillip Milano thats subtitled, A No-Holds-Barred Q&A About Race, Sex, Religion, and Other Terrifying Topics. For the past seven years, Milano who describes himself as “a straight, white middle class married guy raised in an affluent suburb of Chicago“ has operated , a Web site that was created to get us talking. Through the posting of probing, provocative and sometimes simply inane questio
