1、考研英语（一）模拟试卷 214 及答案与解析一、Section I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D. (10 points) 0 Branding an age category might sound like a frivolous exercise. But life stages are primarily social constructs, and history shows
2、 that their emergence can 【C1】_ deep changes in attitudes. Such change is needed 【C2】_ the questions that swirl around rising longevity are to get a 【C3】_ answer.Before 1800 no country in the world had an average life 【C4】_ at birth beyond 40. Today there is not a country that does not. 【C5】_ 1900,
3、more years have been 【C6】_ human life than in the rest of history combined, 【C7】 _ by reducing child mortality and lately by 【C8】_ lifespans. Longevity is one of humanitys great 【C9】_.【C10 】_ it is seen as one of societys great headaches. The problem 【C11 】_ the increasing dependency of the old on t
4、he young. By 2100, the ratio of 65-plussers to “working-age“ people will triple. 【C12】_ the world greys, growth, tax revenues and workforces will 【C13】_ while spending on pensions and health care will increase. So, 【C14】_, goes the orthodoxy.Doom-mongers tend to miss a bigger point, however. Those e
5、xtra years of life are 【C15 】_ healthy ones. Five of the additional six years that a British boy born in 2015 can expect to live, 【 C16】_ one born in 1990, will be healthy, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, at the University of Washington. Too many governments and firms f
6、ail to 【C17】_this fact, instead lumping all the extra years in the damning category of 65 and over. This binary way of thinking, seeing retirement as a cliff edge 【C18】_ which workers and consumers suddenly tumble, 【C19】_ little relation to the real world. It also encourages unimaginative policy, 【C
7、20】_ the retirement age is occasionally moved as lifespans lengthen.1 【C1 】（A）trigger（B） undergo（C） witness（D）reflect2 【C2 】（A）because（B） if（C） although（D）when3 【C3 】（A）decent（B） straight（C） fitting（D）quick4 【C4 】（A）longevity（B） expectancy（C） expansion（D）insurance5 【C5 】（A）Since（B） Before（C） After（D
8、）During6 【C6 】（A）returned to（B） added to（C） adapted to（D）moved to7 【C7 】（A）initially（B） proximately（C） essentially（D）generally8 【C8 】（A）limiting（B） affecting（C） shortening（D）stretching9 【C9 】（A）mortality（B） requirements（C） success（D）accomplishments10 【C10 】（A）Since（B） Yet（C） Thus（D）Although11 【C11 】
9、（A）refers to（B） calls for（C） lies in（D）tends to12 【C12 】（A）When（B） As（C） Since（D）Whereas13 【C13 】（A）decline（B） grow（C） dislocate（D）rearrange14 【C14 】（A）at worst（B） at best（C） at most（D）at least15 【C15 】（A）predominantly（B） dominantly（C） absolutely（D）subordinately16 【C16 】（A）contrary to（B） compared wi
10、th（C） parallel with（D）consistent with17 【C17 】（A）recognise（B） accept（C） ignore（D）twist18 【C18 】（A）on（B） above（C） over（D）down19 【C19 】（A）connects（B） associates（C） affiliates（D）bears20 【C20 】（A）where（B） whereas（C） whereby（D）whenPart ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions belo
11、w each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)20 Theres nothing simple about gun control, a tangle of legal, political and public-health issues complicated by cultural preferences and regional biases. Passions run high on all sides. Lifelong hunters who grew up with firearms, urban victims of gun
12、 violence, Second Amendment scholars, NRA lobbyists , chiefs of policetheyve all got cases to make and they make them well, often contentiously.For the past 15 years, much of the debate has centered on the effectiveness of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, the federal gun-control bill that
13、was passed in 1993. Critics say the focus on law abiding gun buyers doesnt address the real issuebad guys who acquire their weapons illegally. Supporters say that the bill stops thousands of illegal gun purchases and deters crime and violence. Now medical research has come to the rescue, sifting thr
14、ough the data to figure out which legal measures work best to reduce firearm suicides and homicides.In a paper published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Steven Sumner, a third-year med student and Dr. Peter Layde, co-director of the Injury Research Center at the Medi
15、cal College of Wisconsin, found that local background checks, which are optional and used by just a handful of states, were more effective than the federal background checks mandated by the Brady law. The report compared the homicide and suicide rates in states that perform only federal checks with
16、states that do state-level checks and those that perform local-level checks. The local-level checks were associated with a 27 percent lower firearm suicide rate and a 22 percent lower homicide rate among adults 21 and older, the legal age to purchase a gun.Why are local checks so much better? “We hy
17、pothesize that its due to access to additional information thats not available at the federal checks.“ says Layde, “particularly related to mental-health issues and domestic-violence issues.“ All 50 states use the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the minimum-required under B
18、rady, while 17 states also perform state-level checks and 12 do additional local-level checks.“This is the first study thats looked at this issue.“ says Layde. “If the magnitude of impact we found were in fact to apply to all 50 states, you would expect a very substantial reduction in suicides and h
19、omicides linked to firearms, many thousands.“ However, background checks can be both an administrative and a cost burden for strapped and stretched local authorities. There is another way to get the same results: improve the flow of local information to the MCS databases. “In an ideal world,“ says L
20、ayde, “you might not have to have the local agencies involved if you just reliably got all the data they had up to the federal level.“21 We learn from the second paragraph that the Brady Act _.（A）is not effective in deterring violence and crimes（B） imposes very strict restrictions on gun purchase（C）
21、 actually encourages more law-violating guys to acquire guns（D）is more effective in preventing firearm suicide than homicide22 Concerning the reduction of firearm suicides and homicides, Sumner and Laydes study has found _.（A）local background checks are more effective than federal cheeks（B） state-le
22、vel background checks are more effective than federal checks（C） people with mental-health problems are more likely to commit suicide（D）federal background checks are more effective than local background checks23 The Brady Act requires that _.（A）background checks should be made at both Mate and federa
23、l levels（B） all cases of suicide and homicide should be reported to state authorities（C） local background checks should be re-examined at the federal level（D）the data from federal background checks should be used by all states24 In light of their findings, Layde proposes that _.（A）all local authorit
24、ies should make local background checks（B） further study should be made about the effect of the Brady Act（C） data from local background checks should be incorporated into NICS（D）local authorities should receive more funding for background checks25 We can infer from the text that Laydes study _.（A）po
25、ints to one deficiency of the Brady Act（B） provides data in favor of the Brady Act（C） accuses regional biases of complicating gun control（D）imposes a lot of pressure on local authorities25 The NHS (National Health Service) has approved the creation of chains of hospitals for the first time in its hi
26、story in a bid to tackle its deep financial problems and to allow more patients to be cared for by leading doctors in their fields. It will see highly respected institutions, such as Moorfields eye hospital in London and Manchesters Christie cancer centre, providing specialist services to patients p
27、otentially many miles away in another part of England.But the move has prompted fears that it will lead to the running down, and even closure, of small local hospitals which are highly valued by patients as a result of mergers and takeovers. Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, will an
28、nounce the dramatic step in a speech to the CBI on Friday in which he will hail it as part of the “radical reform“ the health service must undergo if it is to remain viable. He has pledged to transform the way the NHS in England works by 2020 so it can withstand the huge pressures caused by the grow
29、ing and ageing population, growth in the number of people with long-term conditions such as diabetes and dementia, and tight budgets expected for years to come.The decision to permit hospitals to band together into chains, which are common in many other countries, overturns 67 years of NHS history.
30、Ed Smith, the chair of NHS financial regulator Monitor, said the era of standalone hospitals such as the foundation trust hospitals introduced by the last Labour government, was dead. Smith said: “These were right at the time, but the economic and clinical circumstances facing the NHS are now differ
31、ent, and our response needs to evolve.“While hospitals would still retain their separate identities for the time being, NHS sources admitted it could lead to big or high-performing hospitals taking over smaller district general hospitals, many of which are increasingly in the red and struggling to p
32、rovide high-class care, especially with a growing shortage of many types of health professionals. Dr. Gives Peedell, an oncologist who co-chairs the National Health Action party, said: “The history of mergers in the NHS, and in the wider world of industry, is by no means one of predictable success.
33、The danger would be that smaller trusts are gobbled up by larger ones in the name of efficiency, leaving services much less accessible for local people. And the evidence from America shows that chains end up squeezing out competition and care is compromised in the quest to maximize profit.“26 Why ha
34、s the NHS approved of the creation of chains of hospitals?（A）To address the serious economic setbacks facing the hospital.（B） To improve the medical facilities of the chains of hospitals.（C） To help more patients receive care from respected institutions.（D）To provide specialist services for more hos
35、pitals to help patients.27 What is the publics concern about this dramatic step in the radical reform?（A）The disappearance of some highly treasured small-sized medical institutions.（B） The pressure caused by the growing and ageing population.（C） The acquisition of chain hospitals threatening the tre
36、atment of some conditions.（D）The tight budgets brought by some long-term conditions such as dementia.28 What can we infer from the third paragraph?（A）The economic factor and medical environment make the chain hospital feasible.（B） Standalone hospitals are no longer supported by the government for po
37、litical reasons.（C） Chain hospitals used to be common in the history of many other countries.（D）The response to the chain hospitals is not right at the time.29 Which of the following is true according to the fourth paragraph?（A）The NHS will take over smaller district hospitals to improve service.（B）
38、 Hospitals will still have their features after the reforming of chain.（C） The hospitals in the red can provide high-class care.（D）High-performing hospitals are struggling to retain their identities.30 What does Dr. Peedell think about the chain hospitals?（A）The mergers of the hospital will be a for
39、eseeable triumph for the NHS.（B） The evidence from America shows the promising future for the chain hospital.（C） The care in the chain hospitals may be improved with the mergers in the NHS.（D）The success of the chain hospitals in the NHS may be uncertain.30 A motion at the Labour party conference, w
40、hich begins on Sunday, is expected to call on the party to take advantage of break clauses in agreements between the government and private operators. Last week, the Labour leader announced that his party would take back routes as contracts expired rather than opening the contracts to new bids.The m
41、otion will cause further anxiety among some shadow cabinet members who believe the party is already too hostile towards big business under Corbyn and his shadow chancellor, John McDonnell.Manuel Cortes, the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, which is behind the conferenc
42、e motion, said Labour should consider speeding up re-nationalization through invoking break clauses. “The franchises should be brought back into public ownership as they expire, but to accelerate this, Labour should think about using break clauses within the franchises if this is in the interests of
43、 passengers.“Every franchise would have a break clause through which the contract could be ended earlier than planned, Cortes said. “If Labour takes over (in 2020), only five franchises are up for (full) renewal over that parliament,“ he said. “The last time a private company (Railtrack) ran the tra
44、cks, we ended up with two major accidents at Hatfield and Potters Bar.“It is understood that TSSA could use provisions for emergency motions to update their wording to welcome Corbyns announcement on public ownership. Train drivers union Aslef is expected to second the call. Its leader, Mick Whelan,
45、 said: “We will support any opportunity for the railways to be bought back into public ownership.“In the run-up to the election, former leader Ed Miliband stopped short of endorsing full re-nationalization , saying that publicly owned enterprises could bid to take back contracts when franchises expi
46、red.In a sign he wants a clearer policy than his predecessor, Corbyn told the Independent on Sunday: “We know there is overwhelming support from the British people for a peoples railway, better and more efficient services, proper integration and fairer fares. On this issue, it wont work to have a ne
47、arly-but-not-quite position. Labour will commit to a clear plan for a fully integrated railway in public ownership.“A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents Network Rail and train operators, questioned the logic of enforced re-nationalization by breaking with existing contracts. “Wh
48、en rail franchising was introduced, the railway ran at a 2bn-a-year loss in terms of its day-to-day costs but today, it virtually covers its running expenses.“ “There is more to do to improve rail services but why get rid of a model that is working for passengers and taxpayers?“31 Why are some cabin
49、et members worried about the motion?（A）The motion causes the relation between the party and big businesses more hostile.（B） The contract will be expired when new bids are opening to the contracts.（C） The government will use break clauses in agreement among operators.（D）The shadow chancellor is hostile to the party agreement and clauses.32 Manuel Cortes believes that Labour party should _.（A）use break clauses to e
