1、考研英语模拟试卷 81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 On his fifty-fifth birthday the president decided to (1)_ some prisoners of the (2)_ age as a gesture of good will Not too many, but
2、 one, say, from each of the twenty of thirty (3)_ prisons in the small state. They would have to be carefully selected (4)_ not to give trouble once they were out. Men perhaps had been so (5)_ in prison that they had ceased to have and real contact with the outside world. None of them was to be told
3、 a (6)_ of his (7)_ liberty. Mario was therefore (8)_ when he was called to the Governors office one morning and told he was to be set (9)_ next day. He had spent almost three quarters of. his life in (10)_ working out a life sentence (11)_ stabbing a policeman to death. He was a dull-witted man wit
4、h no relations (12)_ and no friends except his prison mates. The following morning was clear and bright. Mario (13)_ no opportunity to say goodbye to (14)_ but a guard (15)_ him to the prison gates and wished him g6dspeed. Alone, he set off up the long white road leading to the town. The traffic, th
5、e incessant noise, the absence (16)_ the secure prison walls terrified him. Presently he sat down by the side of the road to think (17)_. After he had thought for a long time, for his brain worked slowly, he (18)_ a decision. He remained he was, waiting patiently until at last he saw a police car (1
6、9)_ When it was near enough, he darted out into the road, obliging it to stop with a squeal of brakes. He had with him a little knife. When the young police officer got out of the car demanding (20)_ what was wrong, Mario stabbed him very neatly just behind the right ear. （ A） reload （ B） release （
7、C） relax （ D） relate （ A） as （ B） like （ C） same （ D） similar （ A） overgrown （ B） override （ C） overflow （ D） overcrowded （ A） so as （ B） so that （ C） in order that （ D） for the purpose （ A） large （ B） long （ C） wide （ D） big （ A） in the rear （ B） in front （ C） in advance （ D） on the head （ A） impla
8、nting （ B） impelling （ C） improving （ D） impending （ A） astonished （ B） feared （ C） beaten （ D） tortured （ A） flee （ B） free （ C） fresh （ D） fresco （ A） goal （ B） goat （ C） gaol （ D） gale （ A） of （ B） because （ C） for （ D） at （ A） stayed （ B） staying （ C） lived （ D） living （ A） was given （ B） was pr
9、ovided （ C） was ordered （ D） was offered （ A） somebody （ B） anyone （ C） someone （ D） the officers （ A） guarded （ B） protected （ C） escorted （ D） watched （ A） with （ B） for （ C） away （ D） of （ A） a little （ B） a few （ C） some （ D） anyway （ A） arrived （ B） came to （ C） reasoned （ D） reduced （ A） appro
10、ximating （ B） appreciating （ C） approaching （ D） apprehending （ A） to find （ B） know （ C） see （ D） to know Part A Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points) 21 Forget Iraq and budget deficits. The most serious political probl
11、em on both sides of the Atlantic is none of these. It is a difficulty that has dogged the ruling classes for millennia. It is the servant problem. In Britain David Blunkett, the home secretary, has resigned over an embarrassment (or one of many embarrassments, in a story involving his ex-girlfriend,
12、 her husband, two pregnancies and some DNA) concerning a visa for a Filipina nanny employed by his mistress. His office speeded it through for reasons unconnected to the national shortage of unskilled labour. Mr. Blunkett resigned ahead of a report by Sir Alan Budd, an economist who is investigating
13、 the matter at the governments request. In America Bernard Kerik, the presidents nominee for the Department of Homeland Security, withdrew last week because he had carelessly employed a Mexican nanny whose Play-Doh skills were in better order than her paperwork. Mr. Kerik also remembered that he had
14、nt paid her taxes. The nominee has one or two other “issues“ (an arrest warrant in 1998, and allegations of dodgy business dealings and extra-marital affairs). But employing an illegal nanny would probably have been enough to undo him, as it has several other cabinet and judicial appointees in recen
15、t years. There is an easy answer to the servant problem obvious to economists, if not to the less clear-sighted. Perhaps Sir Alan, a dismal scientist of impeccable rationality, will be thoughtful enough to point it out in his report. Parents are not the only people who have difficulty getting visas
16、for workers. All employers face restrictive immigration policies which raise labour costs. Some may respond by trying to fiddle the immigration system, but most deal with the matter by exporting jobs. In the age of the global economy, the solution to the servant problem is simple: rather than import
17、ing the nanny, offshore the children. 21 According to the text, the servant problem is to the ruling class what （ A） the political problem to the ruler. （ B） the embarrassment to the home secretary. （ C） the chronic ailment to the patient. （ D） the governments request to the economist. 22 In paragra
18、ph 1, “both sides of the Atlanti“ probably refers to （ A） the United States and United Kingdom. （ B） the European and American. （ C） the North America and Europe. （ D） the North American continent and the British Isles. 23 Paragraph 2 and 3 are written to （ A） explain Mr. Blunketts resignation. （ B）
19、 refute the conclusion made by Mr. Kerit. （ C） describe the presidents nomination. （ D） illustrate the persistent servant problem. 24 How does the author feel about Mr. Alan? （ A） His dismal thought is impractical. （ B） His relevant argument is acceptable. （ C） His apparent solution is implausible.
20、（ D） His clear-sighted report is most trust-worthy. 25 Which of the following can be inferred from the text? （ A） Getting visa for servants will not be a problem. （ B） Sir Alan is qualified to be a dismal scientist. （ C） The majority gets rid of the traditional solution. （ D） Exporting jobs and fidd
21、ling the immigration system are detrimental. 26 The twin English passions for gardening and long muddy walks may seem puzzling to foreigners, yet they are easily explained in terms of a favourite economists concept: scarcity. Most other nations have lots of countryside. England doesnt, and therefore
22、 its people prize the stuff. One consequence of the rural romance is a word which exists only in English and describes those with a particular sort of hostility to development: Nimbys, who dont mind new housing so long as it is Not In My Back Yard. Another consequence is a problem for the government
23、. Compared with its neighbours economies, Britains has been doing very nicely in recent years. Only one big threat looms: the possibility of a bust in the overheated and volatile housing market, which could feed through to the rest of the economy and lead to recession, as happened in the early 1990s
24、. The government reckons that one reason why house prices have been rising so fast, particularly in the south-east of England, is that, while real wages have been going up and foreigners pouring in, little new housing is being built. Nimbyism helps explain the shortage of new housing in the south-ea
25、st. People living in pretty villages dont want new estates on their doorstep. After all, they spent their hard-earned cash on a view of rolling acres, not of spanking new red-tiled roofs. Nimbys hostility to development acquires legal force through the planning system, which has, in large part, been
26、 controlled by elected local authorities. Although some big new developments including the first new towns since the early 1970s are getting the go-ahead, others are hard-fought. The governments solution is to undermine local planning powers. The new Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, which start
27、s to come into force next month, shifts power from elected county councils to unelected regional bodies, and gives statutory force to the governments estimates of the number of new houses needed in different bits of the country. That will make it harder for councils in overheated areas to turn down
28、developers. The government is right that the planning system is excessively biased against growth: existing property-owners, who control the system through local authorities, have little interest in sanctioning developments which may reduce the value of their houses. But the government was wrong to
29、go about lowering the barriers to development by talking power away from local authorities, thus further centralizing Britains already far-too-centralised political system. 26 According to the text, Downing Street No. 10 is in an awkward predicament of （ A） real estate development. （ B） gardening ex
30、pansion. （ C） hostility to scarcity. （ D） economic recession. 27 According to the text, Nimbys seems to reject （ A） the renovation of the world heritages. （ B） the demolition of their own houses. （ C） the rejuvenation of their national economy. （ D） the construction of new houses in their community.
31、 28 It can be inferred from the text that （ A） unselected regional bodies side with Nimbys. （ B） most of the first new towns get the go-ahead. （ C） elected local authorities fuels the hostility to development. （ D） local planning powers are undermined by Nimbyism. 29 According to the text, the devel
32、opers promise in the overheated areas results from （ A） the discreet planning of big new developments. （ B） the legal function empouered by the new move. （ C） the substantial loss of unselected regional bodies. （ D） the decline of new houses in different bits of the country. 30 The authors comment o
33、n the government can be interpreted as （ A） slight contempt. （ B） enthusiastic support. （ C） strong disapproval. （ D） qualified consent. 31 Education is compulsory in Britain, whether at school “or otherwise“; and “other wise“ is becoming more popular. In 1999, only 12,000 children were listed as be
34、ing home-schooled. Now that figure is 20,000, according to Mike Fortune-Wood, an educational researcher. But he thinks that, as most home-taught children never go near a school and are therefore invisible to officialdom, the total is probably nearer 50,000. As usual, Britain lies between Europe and
35、America. In Germany, home teaching is illegal. In America, its huge: over 1 million children are home-schooled, mainly by religious parents. There are a small minority among British home-educators, who consist mainly of two types: hippyish middle-class parents who dislike schools on principle, and t
36、hose whose children are unhappy at school. The growth is overwhelmingly in this second category, says Roland Meighan, a home-education expert and publisher. One reason is that technology has made home-education easier. The internet allows parents to know as much as teachers. It is also a way of orga
37、nizing get-togethers, sharing tips and outwitting official hassles. That supplements e vents such as the annual home-education festival last week, where 1,600 parents and children enjoyed Egyptian dancing and labyrinth-building on a muddy hillside in Devon. But a bigger reason for the growth is chan
38、ging attitudes. Centralisation, government targets and a focus on exams have made state schools less customer friendly and more boring. Classes are still based strictly on age groups, which is hard for children who differ sharply from the average. Mr. Fortune-Wood notes that the National Health Serv
39、ice is now far more accommodating of patients wishes about timing, venue and treatment. “Its happened in health. Why cant it happen in education?“ he asks. Perhaps because other businesses tend to make more effort to satisfy individual needs, parents are getting increasingly picky. In the past, if t
40、heir child was bullied, not coping or bored, they tended to put up with it. Now they complain, and if that doesnt work they vote with their (childrens) feet. Some educationalists worry that home-schooling may hurt childrens psychological and educational development. Home educators cite statistics sh
41、owing that it helps both educational attainment and the course of grown-up life. Labours latest big idea in education is “personalisation“, which is intended to al low much more flexible timing and choice of subjects. In theory, that might stem the drift to home schooling. Many home-educators would
42、like to be able to use school facilities occasionally in science lessons, say, or to sit exams. But for now, schools, and the officials who regulate them, like the near-monopoly created by the rule of “all or nothing“. 31 The term “otherwise“ (Line 1, Paragraph 1) most probably means （ A） the educat
43、ion in a developed nation. （ B） the wave of compulsory education. （ C） the popularity of teaching at school. （ D） the trend of home-schooling. 32 The third statistics as pointed out in the opening paragraph, in view of Mr. Fortune Wood, is （ A） the actual number of home-taught kids. （ B） the total o
44、f the listed at present. （ C） the additional sum of the unlisted home taught children. （ D） the total number of school taught children. 33 Which of the following is true according to the text? （ A） Britain is the focal point in terms of geography. （ B） The extremes of “otherwise“ can not be found in
45、 UK. （ C） Germany embraces the growth of second category. （ D） Religious parents in America forbid “otherwise“. 34 The description of the National Health Service helps to show （ A） the main cause of the development of home-schooling. （ B） the contempt for the old-fashionedness of “otherwise“. （ C） t
46、he admiration for the medical accommodation. （ D） the interest in the patients various requirements. 35 It is implied in the text that the parents change can be attributed to （ A） the complaint against the compulsory education. （ B） the occasional employment of school facilities. （ C） the intensifie
47、d attempts of other sections with respect to personalization （ D） the more flexible timing and choice of subjects. 36 Some things are doomed to remain imperfect, the United Nations among them. De spite noble aspirations, the organization that more than any other embodies the collective will and wisd
48、om of an imperfect world was created, in the words of one former secretary general, not to take humanity to heaven, but to save it from hell. Is it failing in that task? Alarmed at the bitter dispute over the war in Iraq, and at growing threats from the devastation of AIDS and the danger of failing
49、states to the prospect of terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction that the UNs founding powers hadnt even had night mares about, last year Kofi Annan, the current secretary-general, asked a group of eminent folk to put on their thinking caps. Their report on how the UN might in future better contribute to international peace and security mobilising its own and the worlds re sources to prevent crises where possible and to deal with them more resolutely an
