1、考研英语模拟试卷 264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 Speech, whether oral or written, is a used commodity. If we are to be heard, we must (1)_ our words from those (2)_ to us within fa
2、milies, peer groups, societal institutions, and political networks. Our utterances position us both in an immediate social dialogue (3)_ our addressee and, simultaneously, in a larger ideological one (4)_ by history and society. We speak as an individual and also, as a student or teacher, a husband
3、or wife, a person of a particular discipline, social class, religion, race, or other socially constructed (5)_. Thus, to varying degrees, all speaking is a (6)_ of others words and all writing is rewriting. As language (7)_, we experience individual agency by infusing our own intentions (8)_ other p
4、eoples words, and this can be very hard. (9)_, schools, like into churches and courtrooms, are places (10)_ people speak words that are more important than they are. The words of a particular discipline, like those of “God the father“ or of “the law“, are being articulated by spokespeople for the gi
5、ven authority. The (11)_ of the addressed, the listener, is to acknowledge the words and their (12)_. In Bakhtins (13)_, “the authoritative word is located in a distanced zone, organically connected with a (14)_ that is felt to be hierarchally higher“. (15)_, part of growing up in an ideological sen
6、se is becoming more “selective“ about the words we appropriate and, (16)_, pass on to others. In Bakhtins (17)_, responsible people do not treat (18)_ as givens, they treat them as utterances, spoken by particular people located in specific ways in the social landscape. Becoming alive to the socio-i
7、deological complexity of language use is (19)_ to becoming a more responsive language user and, potentially, a more playful one too, able to use a (20)_ of social voices, of perspectives, in articulating ones own ideas. （ A） invent （ B） appropriate （ C） coin （ D） change （ A） essential （ B） attainabl
8、e （ C） usable （ D） available （ A） through （ B） by （ C） with （ D） in （ A） created （ B） avowed （ C） invented （ D） attested （ A） schedule （ B） category （ C） archives （ D） index （ A） rewriting （ B） recreating （ C） relearning （ D） revoicing （ A） users （ B） learners （ C） students （ D） educators （ A） out o
9、f （ B） onto （ C） away from （ D） into （ A） Traditionally （ B） Similarly （ C） However （ D） Strangely （ A） in where （ B） in that （ C） in which （ D） what （ A） character （ B） role （ C） function （ D） user （ A） understanding （ B） denotation （ C） sense （ D） significance （ A） terms （ B） views （ C） discourse
10、（ D） opinions （ A） past （ B） present （ C） future （ D） ancient time （ A） Because （ B） Bedsides （ C） Furthermore （ D） And yet （ A） in contrary （ B） in contrast （ C） in turn （ D） in return （ A） argument （ B） points （ C） terms （ D） view （ A） word （ B） a word （ C） the word （ D） words （ A） sensible （ B） c
11、ritical （ C） emergent （ D） urgent （ A） difference （ B） colorfulness （ C） diversity （ D） variation Part A Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points) 21 In most parts of the world, climate change is a worrying subject. Not so i
12、n California. At a recent gathering of green LUMINARIES in a film stars house, naturally, for that is how seriousness is often established in Los Angeles the dominant note was self-satisfaction, at what the state has already achieved. And perhaps nobody is more complacent than Arnold Schwarzenegger.
13、 Unlike Al Gore, a presidential candidate turned prophet of environmental doom, Californias governor sounds cheerful when talking about climate change. As well he might: it has made his political career. Although California has long been an environmentally-conscious state, until recently greens were
14、 concerned above all with smog and redwood trees. “Coast of Dreams“, Kevin Starrs authoritative history of contemporary, California, published in 2004, does not mention climate change. In that year, though, the newly-elected Mr. Schwarzenegger made his first tentative call for western states to seek
15、 alternatives to fossil fuels. Gradually he noticed that his efforts to tackle climate change met with less resistance, and more acclaim, than just about all his other policies. These days it can seem as though he works on nothing else. Mr. Schwarzeneggers transformation from screen warrior to eco-w
16、arrior was completed last year when he signed a bill imposing legally-enforceable limits on greenhouse gas emissions a first for America. Thanks mostly to its lack of coal and heavy industry, California is a relatively clean state. If it were a country it would be the worlds eighth-biggest economy,
17、but only its 16th-biggest polluter. Its big problem is transport meaning, mostly, cars and trucks, which account for more than 40% of its greenhouse-gas emissions compared with 32% in America as a whole. The state wants to ratchet down emissions limits on new vehicles, beginning in 2009. Mr. Schwarz
18、enegger has also ordered that, by 2020, vehicle fuel must produce 10% less carbon: in the production as well as the burning, so a simple switch to composed ethanol is probably out. Thanks in part to Californias example, most of the western states have adopted climate action plans. When it comes to s
19、etting emission targets, the scene can resemble a pose down at a Mr. Olympia contest. Arizonas climate-change scholars decided to set a target of cutting the states emissions to 2000 levels by 2020. But Janet Napolitano, the governor, was determined not to be out-muscled by California. She has decla
20、red that Arizona will try to return to 2000 emission levels by 2012. California has not just inspired other states; it has created a vanguard that ought to be able to prod the federal government into stronger national standards than it would otherwise consider. But California is finding it easier to
21、 export its policies than to put them into practice at home. In one way, Californias serf-confidence is fully justified. It has done more than any other state let alone the federal government to fix Americas attention on climate change. It has also made it seem as though the problem can be solved. W
22、hich is why failure would be such bad news. At the moment California is a beacon to other states. If it fails, It will become an excuse for inaction. 21 According to the author, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger is cheerful chiefly because （ A） climate change is not worrying California anymore. （ B） even fi
23、lm stars become serious about environmental protection. （ C） he has benefited personally from Californias achievements. （ D） his style of administration is always dominated by self-satisfaction. 22 Why did Mr. Schwarzenegger seem to be working on nothing else? （ A） Because California has always been
24、 environmentally-conscious. （ B） Because Kevin Start failed to talk about climate change in his book. （ C） Because his call for alternative fuels has been most strongly echoed. （ D） Because all his other policies met with more acclaim than resistance. 23 Corn-based ethanol might not be chosen as an
25、alternative because （ A） carbon reduction in both fuel production and burning might be hard. （ B） California also intends to cut down emissions from new vehicles. （ C） it is almost impossible for vehicle fuel to produce 10% less carbon. （ D） Californias corns are chiefly transported by cars and truc
26、ks. 24 Janet Napolitano is mentioned in the passage to show that （ A） Arizona is determined to out-muscle California. （ B） female governors often set unrealistic goals. （ C） Arizona will start a Mr. Olympia contest with California. （ D） Californias actions have produced some positive effects. 25 It
27、can be inferred from the text that （ A） California needs further actions to inspire other states. （ B） California has set a perfect model for other states to follow. （ C） California will become an excuse for inaction for other states. （ D） California might find it difficult to execute its own polici
28、es. 26 Michael Porter, who has made his name throughout the business community by advocating his theories of competitive advantages, is now swimming into even more shark-infested waters, arguing that competition can save even Americas troubled health-care system, the largest in the world. Mr. Porter
29、 argues in “Redefining Health Care“ that competition, if properly applied, can also fix what ails this sector. That is a bold claim, given the horrible state of Americas health-care system. Just consider a few of its failings: America pays more per capita for health care than most countries, but it
30、still has some 45m citizens with no health insurance at all. While a few receive outstanding treatment, he shows in heart-wrenching detail that most do not. The system, wastes huge resources on paperwork, ignores preventive care and, above all, has perverse incentives that encourage shifting costs r
31、ather than cutting them outright. He concludes that it is “on a dangerous path, with a toxic combination of high costs, uneven quality, frequent errors and limited access to care“. Many observers would agree with this diagnosis, but many would undoubtedly disagree with this advocacy of more market f
32、orces. Doctors have an intuitive distrust of competition, which they often equate with greed, while many public-policy thinkers argue that the only way to fix Americas problem is to quash the private sectors role altogether and instead set up a government monopoly like Britains National Health Servi
33、ce. Mr. Porter strongly disagrees. He starts by acknowledging that competition, as it has been introduced to Americas health system, has in fact done more harm than good. But he argues that competition has been introduced piecemeal, in incoherent and counter-productive ways that lead to perverse inc
34、entives and worse outcomes: “health-care competition is not focused on delivering value for patients“, he says. Mr. Porter offers a mix of solutions to fix this mess, and thereby to put the sector on a genuinely competitive footing. First comes the seemingly obvious (but as yet unrealized) goal of d
35、ata transparency. Second is a redirection of competition from the level of health plans, doctors, clinics and hospitals, to competition “at the level of medical conditions, which is all but absent“. The authors argue that the right measure of “value“ for the health sector should be how well a patien
36、t with a given health condition fares over the entire cycle of treatment, and what the cost is for that entire cycle. That rightly emphasizes the role of early detection and preventive care over techno-fixes, pricey pills and the other failings of todays system. If there is a failing in this argumen
37、t, it is that he sometimes strays toward naive optimism. Mr. Porter argues, for example, that his solutions are so commonsensical that private actors in the health system could forge ahead with them profitably without waiting for the government to fix its policy mistakes. That is a tempting notion,
38、but it falls into a trap that economists call the fallacy of the $20 bill on the street. If there really were easy money on the pavement, goes the argument, surely previous passers-by would have bent over and picked it up by now. In the same vein, if Mr. Porters prescriptions are so sensible that co
39、mpanies can make money even now in the absence of government policy changes, why in the world have they not done so already? One reason may be that they can make more money in the current suboptimal equilibrium than in a perfectly competitive market which is why government action is probably needed
40、to sweep aside the many obstacles in the way of Mr. Porters powerful vision. 26 What seems to be the biggest problem with Americas health care system? （ A） American spends more money on health care than on other services. （ B） Most Americans couldnt get their health insurance till their old age. （ C
41、） Most American hospitals do not offer outstanding treatment to patients. （ D） The costs of health care are not steered towards a health direction. 27 The word “perverse“(line 5, paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to （ A） harmful. （ B） economic. （ C） strong. （ D） reversed. 28 Mr. Porters argument se
42、ems to be based on the assumption that （ A） doctors do not have faith in the value of competition. （ B） the present health care competition is not patient oriented. （ C） Britains National Health Service is a successful example. （ D） health competition will do more good than harm in the long run. 29
43、Which of the following might Mr. Porter propose to solve the problem? （ A） More statistics should be publicized. （ B） improve a given patients health condition. （ C） More advanced techno-fixes should be offered. （ D） Improve the entire cycle of treatment. 30 We can infer from the last two paragraphs
44、 that （ A） there is no easy money on the pavement for passers by to pick up. （ B） Mr. Porter is very likely to fail in a trap set up by the economists. （ C） competition alone is not enough to cure the health care system. （ D） only government actions can sweep aside the obstacles along the way. 31 If
45、 you are a tourist interested in seeing a baseball game while in New York, you can find out which of its teams are in town simply by sending a message to AskForC. In a few minutes, the answer comes back, apparently supplied by a machine, but actually composed by a human. Using humans to process info
46、rmation in a machine-like way is not new: it was pioneered by the Mechanical Turk, a famed 18th-century chess-playing machine that was operated by a hidden chessmaster. But while computers have since surpassed the human brain at chess, many tasks still baffle even the most powerful electronic brain.
47、 For instance, computers can find you a baseball schedule, but they cannot tell you directly if the Yankees are in town. Nor can they tell you whether sitting in the bleachers is a good idea on a first date. AskForCents can, because its answers come from people. “Whatever question you can come up wi
48、th, theres a person that can provide the answeryou dont have the inflexibility of an algorithm-driven system“, says Jesse Heitler, who developed AskForCents. Mr. Heitler was able to do this thanks to a new software tool developed by Amazon, the online retailer, that allows computing tasks to be farm
49、ed out to people over the internet. Aptly enough, Amazons system is called Mechanical Turk. Amazons Turk is part toolkit for software developers, and part online bazaar: anyone with internet access can register as a Turk user and start performing the Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) listed on the Turk website (mturk. com). Companies can become “requesters“ by setting up a separate account, tied to a bank account that will pay out fees, and then posting th
