1、考研英语二（阅读）模拟试卷 13 及答案与解析Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)0 America has seen a drop in crime rates that in earlier years would have been universally viewed as impossible. The overall crime rate has plummeted by 4
2、5% since peaking in 1991 and by 13% just since 2007counterintuitively continuing to drop through the recession and sharp spike in unemployment.Since 1991, according to FBI data, the number of violent crimes has fallen 36% nationally and 64% in the nations largest cities. And in New York and Los Ange
3、les, the nations two largest cities , it has fallen even further. Property crime has also become increasingly rare. Incredibly, in New York City, car thefts have plunged 94% in the past two decades.How is this possible? In the mid-1990s, few saw this decline coming, and many warned that crime would
4、surge once again as teens of that era grew into young adults. Today, criminologists still differ on what has caused the nationwide turnaround in crime rates and why those dire predictions never came to pass. But crime-fighting technology, better policing, aging societies, growing urban populations a
5、nd declining usage of hard drugs are widely cited. For many Americans, the drop in crime has resulted not only in a much higher quality of life but in a reduced economic burden as well. Safer cities generally mean stronger urban economies.In the same category of big surprises, teen-pregnancy rates h
6、ave fallen to their lowest level in more than 30 years, according to the widely respected Guttmacher Institute. They have declined 51% from their 1990 peak, based on the latest available data, and the teenage birthrate is down 43% from that years level. Today, fewer teens are becoming pregnant and b
7、ecoming mothers than at any point since reliable data has been collected by the National Center for Health Statistics. This is also true for women in the 20-to-24 age group. To put it mildly, there were very few predictions to this effect a generation ago. In addition, overall birthrates in the U. S
8、. have turned up for the first time since 2007including for children born to women in a college educationto just shy of 4 million.1 What can we learn from the first paragraph?（A）The crime rates in America remained 13% since 2007.（B） The crime rates have declined in America and other countries.（C） Th
9、e crime rates in America reached its highest level in the year 1991.（D）During the recession and the top level of unemployment crime rates rose.2 We can conclude from the second paragraph that_.（A）property crime has also been increasing like violent crime（B） the number of violent crimes has fallen 36
10、% in the biggest cities（C） in New York City, car thefts have dropped to 94% in the past two decades（D）the violent crimes have become fewer in America, especially in big cities3 Which one is NOT the possible reason of the dropping crime rates?（A）Better policing.（B） Better education.（C） Aging societie
11、s.（D）Declining use of drugs.4 What can we infer from the last paragraph?（A）Birthrates, including for children born to college girls, are slipping all the time.（B） Few people have predicted the drop of teen-pregnancy rates a generation ago.（C） Based on the latest available data, teen-pregnancy rates
12、have dropped 43 % .（D）Fewer women above 24 become pregnant than a generation ago.5 The best title for the text may be_.（A）Americas Crime Rate And Teenage Birthrate: Surprisingly Down（B） Americas Crime Rate Drops While Teen-pregnancy Rate Increases（C） Will Crime Rate And Teenage Birthrate Remain Low
13、in the Future（D）Decline of Crime Rate in the US: Something That Has Been Predicted5 Surveys find entrenched(根深蒂固的)pessimism over the countrys economic outlook and overall trajectory(轨道). In the latest Wall Street Journal poll, 63% of the respondents said the US is on the wrong track. Its not difficu
14、lt to see why. Set aside the gridlock in Washington for a moment and appreciate the weakness of the economic recovery: Households whose finances were too weak to spend. Large numbers of unemployed workers who couldnt do so either. Younger Americans who couldnt afford their own homes. Banks that were
15、 too broken to lend. Yet nearly a year ago, I wrote an essay for Time suggesting that the economy could surprise on the upside. That hypothesis looks even more valid today.Despite the pessimistic mood, America is experiencing a profound comeback. Yes, too many Americans are out of work and have been
16、 for far too long. And yes, there is a huge amount of slack to make up. In fact, if the 2008 collapse had not happened, the US GDP would be $ 1 trillionor more than 5%higher than it is today.But in terms of the growth outlook, the news is good. Goldman Sachs and many private-sector forecasters proje
17、ct a 3. 3% growth rate for the remainder of 2014. The first half of 2014 saw the best job-creation rate in 15 years. Total household wealth and private employment surpassed 2008 levels last year. Bank loans to businesses exceeded previous highs this year. And income growth will soon improve too. Ame
18、rica is finally returning to where it was seven years ago.As halting as the US recovery has been, the economy is now leaner and more capable of health-y, sustained growth through 2016 and beyond. The US outlook shines compared with that of the rest of the industrialized world, as Europe and Japan ar
19、e stagnant. The 2008 economic crisis and Great Recession forced widespread restructuring throughout the US economynot unlike a company gritting its teeth through a lifesaving bankruptcy. Manufacturing costs are down. The banking system has been recapitalized. The excess and abuse that defined the ho
20、using market are gone. And its all being turbocharged by an energy boom nobody saw coming.6 Most respondents of the Wall Street Journal poll_.（A）are pessimistic about Americas general track（B） are optimistic about the countrys outlook（C） appreciate Americas economic recovery（D）feel that they couldnt
21、 afford a house7 According to the second paragraph, which one is true?（A）The US GDP has reached $ 1 trillion in 2008.（B） The 2008 GDP in the US is higher than it is today.（C） America is recovering despite its peoples pessimism.（D）So many Americans are out of work that its economy collapsed.8 Which o
22、ne is NOT the good news mentioned in the text?（A）Bank loans.（B） Housing price.（C） Income growth.（D）Private employment.9 We learn from the last paragraph that_.（A）nobody has predicted the energy boom before（B） Europe and Japans outlook is better than America（C） the 2008 economic crisis has destroyed
23、US Economy（D）the American economy has been stagnant since 200810 What is the authors attitude towards Americas outlook?（A）Skeptical.（B） Indifferent.（C） Pessimistic.（D）Optimistic.10 The countrys biggest challenge now is the plight of lower-income Americans, who are under severe and sustained economic
24、 pressure. Today, America resembles a tale of two cities. Those who own homes or stocks have benefited from the recovery in these asset classes and are moving up again. But 40% of working-age families earn $ 40,000 a year or less. Generally they live within 250% of the official poverty level, which
25、is the eligibility threshold for food stamps. Indeed, judging from current trends, half of todays 20-year-olds will receive food stamps during their adult lives. More broadly, median household income is still 8% below the precrisis level, and those who have not completed college are seeing declines
26、in anticipated lifetime earnings compared with their peers with college degrees.This is the primary economic challenge. If a third of the population has little purchasing power, it will be hard to achieve the desired rate of long-term growth. The US needs to improve the work skills of this group, st
27、rengthen the social safety net and increase the number of young Americans receiving a full college education.Although doing more to relieve the financial burdens of working Americans is good economics, it is also, and perhaps more important, a matter of values. For much of the 20th century Americans
28、 strove, with much success, to build a fairer and more inclusive society. But today, too many working families are living paycheck to paycheck or even in outright poverty, while the toeholds(克服困难的办法)to economic stability become fewer and farther between.With the economys near and medium term economi
29、c outlook strong, now is the time to remove the barriers that are keeping hardworking Americans walking a far too thin financial line.11 The biggest challenge that America faces is_.（A）financial crisis（B） high divorce rate（C） economic pressure（D）lower-income group12 We know from the first paragraph
30、that_.（A）half of Americans receive food stamps during their adult lives（B） most Americans are under severe and sustained economic pressure（C） those who havent finished their college earn more than their peers（D）before the economic crisis, median family income is higher than todays13 In order to achi
31、eve long-term growth, the U. S. needs to do all EXCEPT_.（A）bettering its peoples work skills（B） strengthening the social safety net（C） providing more work opportunities（D）encouraging more students to finish their college14 The last two paragraphs tell us that_.（A）a great number of working families i
32、n America are poor today（B） Americas economy situation has been sustained and stable so far（C） America has a fairer and more inclusive society than other countries（D）many Americans are living under poverty line and the economic outlook is bad15 The underlined phrase “living paycheck to paycheck“(Par
33、a 3, line 4)probably means_.（A）leading a well-off life（B） getting too much paycheck（C） living far better than poverty line（D）living under great economic pressures15 One reason why shareholder activism has been increasing is that regulators have encouraged it, especially on pay. For a decade Britain
34、has required firms to give shareholders a non-binding annual vote on executive pay. The colossal Dodd-Frank act of 2010 gave shareholders in American companies a “ say on pay“ , too.Now comes two new moves. On March 3rd the Swiss voted to oblige firms to hold a binding annual vote on directors pay:
35、in the small print, the referendum also banned golden handshakes and severance packages for board members, and bonuses that encourage the buying or selling of firms. Then on March 5th EU finance ministers(with only Britain objecting)agreed to cap bankers bonuses to 100% of their basic salary, or 200
36、% if shareholders vote for it.If the Swiss had merely given shareholders an annual vote on pay, it would have been a good thing; but the accompanying bans are not. There are times when a golden handshake to a talented manager can be in shareholders interests: far better to let the owners vote on it
37、than restrict the firm from trying it.The EUs proposal has less still to recommend it. The rationale for it is that banking bonuses have encouraged risk taking, because they reward bankers hugely for bets that come off and punish them only slightly for those that dont. But banks have come a long way
38、 since the crisis, by deferring bonuses and making them partly payable in their own debt and equity. Blunt laws could undermine such progress. And bonus caps will either hold pay down, thus sending clever people elsewhere, or push up salaries, thus making pay less responsive to performance. Enpoweri
39、ng shareholders is a good idea; requiring them to channel populist fury is not.16 The Dodd-Frank act of 2010 gave shareholders in American companies_.（A）a right to decide their own interests（B） a right to appoint new executives（C） a right to vote on executive pay（D）a right to increase the salary17 W
40、hat can be learned from the second paragraph?（A）Executives pay and bonuses may be curbed.（B） Employees salaries will be lower than before.（C） Directors pay will be decided by the government.（D）The new moves will be favored by board members.18 On March 5th EU finance ministers agreed to_.（A）give bank
41、ers cap as bonus（B） limit bankers revenues（C） limit bankers basic salaries（D）give bankers a right to vote19 It would be good for Swiss to_.（A）ban shareholders annual vote on pay（B） give managers a right to vote on their pay（C） give talented managers golden handshake（D）give shareholders a vote on pay
42、 without the bans20 We know from the last paragraph that a bonus cap may achieve all EXCEPT_.（A）making talents quit（B） cutting down the salary（C） requiring shareholders to cause populist fury（D）making salary less responsive to performance考研英语二（阅读）模拟试卷 13 答案与解析Part ADirections: Read the following fou
43、r texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)【知识模块】 阅读1 【正确答案】 C【试题解析】 A 项对应原文： The overall crime rate has plummeted by 45since peaking in 1991and by 13just since 2007原文说的是自 2007 年起总体犯罪率降低 13，而非选项中说的保持 13，故该项错误。B项前半句是正确的，错在后半句的 and other countries，因为本文讨论的是美国的犯罪率
44、，并未出现其他国家。C 项对应原文： The overall crime rate has plummeted by 45since peaking in 1991其中 peaking 表示顶点，即 1991 年犯罪率达到顶点，该项是本句话的同义替换，故为答案。选项D对应原文： drop through the recession and sharpspike in unemployment原文提到的一个关键词是 drop，而非该项的rose，故该项错误。【知识模块】 阅读2 【正确答案】 D【试题解析】 选项A 对应原文： Property crime has also become inc
45、reasingly rare文章提到 property crime 是越来越少而不是越来越多，故该项错误。B项对应原文：Since 1991，according toFBI data，the number of violent crimes has fallen 36nationally and 64in the nations largestcities通过阅读该句可以知道，36是全国的数据而非最大城市的数据，最大城市的降幅是 64。故该项错误。选项C对应原文： Incredibly，in New York City，car thefts have plunged94in the past
46、two decades表面看该项和原文几乎是一样的，不一样的地方是 drop to 94和原文的 plunged 94，其中 drop=plunge。plunge 一词原意是“跳水”，引申为“缩水，缩小，减少”的意思，而该项设置的陷阱在于介词 to，原文说“plunged 94减少 94”，而该项说的却是“dropped to 94减少至 94”，故错误。选项D对应该段第一句话： Since 1991，according toFBI data，the number of violent crimes has fallen 36nationally and 64in the nations la
47、rgestcities由此可知，全国暴力犯罪率降低，尤其是大城市，故该项是正确的。【知识模块】 阅读3 【正确答案】 B【试题解析】 根据题干定位到原文第三段第三、四句：Today，criminologists still differ on what hascaused the nationwide turnaround in crime rates and why those dire predictions never came to passBut crimefighting technology ，better policing，aging societies，growing urb
48、an populations and decli ning usage of hard drugs are widely cited大意为：对于犯罪率降低的原因犯罪学家观点不一致，但是，要特别注意 But 一词后面的内容，But 后面列出一系列短语，并说道它们被广泛引述，也就是说广泛认为这些是原因。而选项中只有BBetter education没有出现，故该项为答案。【知识模块】 阅读4 【正确答案】 B【试题解析】 A 项对应最后一句： In addition，overall birthrates in the UShave turned up forthe first time since
49、 2007including for children born to women in a college education-to just shy of4 million关键词是 turned up，即上升的意思，而非下滑，故该项错误。B项对应倒数第二句：To put it mildly，there were very few predictions to this effect a generation ago其中 this effect 指代上文提到的“年轻女孩的怀孕率和生育率下降了”，故该项正确。C项属于偷换概念。原文说的下降 43的是 teenage birthrate(青少年生育率 )，而非该项说的 teen-pregnancy rates(青少年怀孕率)，故该项错误。D项对应倒数第三句：This is also true for women in the 20-to-24 age group原文并未
