1、考研英语（二）模拟试卷 18 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) 1 The population of the United States is only 6% the worlds population, but Americans (1)_ one third of all the energy (2)_ in the wo
2、rld. This fact alone says that Americans need to use less energy. And because the price of energy had been rising very rapidly (3)_ the limited supplies of oil in particular, Americans are becoming aware to the need to (4)_ energy. In California we have a California Energy Commission which has set u
3、p in the past five years to (5)_ plan for our future energy rise. We have (6)_ laws in California to help us conserve energy. First of all, our houses in California have been very (7)_ of energy in the past. They were not (8)_ very carefully and so the heat would go out of the house very rapidly. No
4、w we require that the homes have a (9)_ level of insulation, and so the homes built now are much more (10)_.(11)_, in transportation (12)_ a large percentage of oil energy is used, we need to develop more public transportation. In China, of course, you have a very good public-transportation system.
5、And it is a(n) (13)_ for the kind of thing we need to develop more in the United States. Automobiles are also becoming more (14)_ The smaller automobile with efficient engine can help to conserve a large amount of energy along with planning our (15)_ more carefully.Many different studies have shown
6、that we could (16)_ our energy consumption by (17)_ half or two thirds and still have the (18)_ quality of life. And many different types of technologies are currently being researched as to (19)_ they can be built to use (20)_ energy and still supply the same service.（A）conserve（B） consume（C） produ
7、ce（D）supply（A）preserves（B） sources（C） deserts（D）reserves（A）owing to（B） resulting in（C） in spite of（D）in the case of（A）consume（B） conserve（C） exhaust（D）retain（A）generate（B） help（C） conceive（D）originate（A）staged（B） composed（C） developed（D）devised（A）frugal（B） economical（C） wasteful（D）saving（A）insulated
8、（B） insulted（C） resulted（D）separated（A）largest（B） smallest（C） maximum（D）minimum（A）effective（B） sufficient（C） efficient（D）deficient（A）However（B） Also（C） Therefore（D）For example（A）why（B） where（C） who（D）which（A）example（B） responsibility（C） opportunity（D）obligation（A）fashionable（B） luxurious（C） efficien
9、t（D）effective（A）transportation（B） travel（C） energy（D）automobiles（A）condense（B） reduce（C） crush（D）swell（A）at least（B） at most（C） at full（D）at length（A）bottom（B） same（C） mean（D）adequate（A）where（B） why（C） when（D）how（A）adequate（B） sufficient（C） less（D）lackingPart ADirections: Read the following four tex
10、ts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)21 White people tend to be nervous of raising the subject of race and education, but are often voluble on the issue if a black person brings it up. So when Trevor Phillips, chair man of Britains Commission for Racial Equal
11、ity, said that there was a particular problem with black boys performance at school, and that it might be a good idea to educate them apart from other pupils, there was a torrent of comment. Some of it commended his proposal, and some criticized it, but none of it questioned its premise. Everybody a
12、ccepts that black boys are a problem.On the face of it, it looks as though Mr. Phillips is right. Only 27% of Afro-Caribbean boys get five A-C grades at GCSE, the exams taken by 16-year-olds, compared with 47% of boys as a Whole and 44% of Afro-Caribbean girls. Since, in some subjects, candidates wh
13、o score less than 50% get Cs, those who dont reach this threshold have picked up pretty little at school.Mr. Phillipss suggestion that black boys should be taught separately implies that ethnicity and gender explain their underachievement. Certainly, maleness seems to be a disadvantage at school. Th
14、ats true for all ethnic groups: 57% of girls as a whole get five A-Cs, compared with 47% of boys. But its not so clear that blackness is at the root of the problem.Among children as a whole, Afro-Caribbeans do indeed perform badly. But Afro Caribbeans tend to be poor. So to get a better idea of whet
15、her race, rather than poverty, is the problem, one must control for economic status. The only way to do that, given the limits of British educational statistics, is to separate out the exam results of children who get free school meals: only the poor get free grub.Poor childrens results tell a rathe
16、r different story. Afro-Caribbeans still do remark ably badly, but whites are at the bottom of the pile. All ethnic minority groups do better than them. Even Bangladeshis, a pretty deprived lot, do twice as well as the natives in their exams; Indians do better still. And absolute numbers of underper
17、forming whites dwarf those of underperforming Afro-Caribbeans: last year, 131,393 of white boys failed to hit the governments benchmark, compared with 3,151 Afro-Caribbean boys.These figures suggest that, at school at least, black peoples problem is not so much race as poverty. And they undermine th
18、e idea of teaching black boys separately, for if poor whites are doing worse than poor blacks, theres not much argument for singling out blacks for special measures: whites need help just as badly.21 According to the text, the public response to Mr. Philips claim is（A）a nervous impression.（B） a mixe
19、d reception.（C） a particular performance.（D）a critical comment.22 Based on the text, people have reached a consensus that（A）poor children should be taught separately.（B） there is something odd with Mr. Phillips belief.（C） black boys should be educated as a whole.（D）there is something wrong with blac
20、k boys.23 The term “grub“(Paragraph 4) most probably means（A）food.（B） textbook.（C） education.（D）stationery.24 Mr Phillips thought is made unconvincing by（A）the suggestion mentioned in paragraph .（B） the statistics revealed in paragraph .（C） the conclusion made in the last paragraph.（D）the figures be
21、trayed in paragraph .25 Which of the following can be inferred from the text?（A）Objectivity is overstated.（B） Wisdom is eliminated.（C） Economic analysis is ignored.（D）Self-confidence is lost.26 On the ground floor of the Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, there is an electronic game which t
22、ests a visitors skill at setting interest rates. You have to decide how to respond to events such as rising inflation or a stockmarket crash. If you get all the answers right, the machine declares you the next Fed chairman. In real life, because of huge uncertainties about data and how the economy w
23、orks, there is no obviously right answer to the question of when to change interest rates. Nor is there any easy test of who will make the best Fed chairman. So who would The Economist Select for the job?Alan Greenspan will retire as Fed chairman on January 31st, after a mere 18 years in the job. So
24、 George Bush needs to nominate a successor soon. Mr. Bush has a penchant for picking his pals to fill top jobs: last week he nominated his personal lawyer Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. But his personal bank manager really would not cut the mustard as Fed chairman. This is the most important ec
25、onomic-policy job in Americaindeed in the whole world. The Fed chairman sets interest rates with the aim of controlling inflation, which in turn helps determine the value of the dollar, the worlds main reserve currency. It is hardly surprising that financial markets worldwide can rise or fall on his
26、 every word.Financial markets are typically more volatile during the first year after the handover to a new chairman than during the rest of his tenure. In October 1987, barely two months after Mr. Greenspan took office, the stockmarket crashed. Current conditions for a handover are hardly ideal. Am
27、ericas economy has never looked so unbalanced, with a negative household savings rate, a housing bubble, a hefty budget deficit, a record current-account deficit and rising inflation. Figures due on October 14th are expected to show that the 12-month rate of inflation has risen above 4%its highest s
28、ince 1991.26 Which of the following questions does the text discuss?（A）What is the content of the electronic game?（B） Who could fill Alan Greenspans shoes?（C） How to respond to events such as rising inflation?（D）Who could change interest rates?27 The phrase “cut the mustard“ in the second paragraph
29、most probably means（A）be qualified（B） lower interest rate（C） be acquisitive（D）spend spree28 Which of the following words best defines the relationship between the value of dollar and setting of interest rates?（A）Counteractive.（B） Naive.（C） Interactive.（D）Novel.29 Which of the following, according to
30、 the text, is a common phenomenon?（A）Financial markets and stock markets crash due to the handover.（B） Comment by the Fed chairman are invalid in the world financial markets,（C） Inflation rises above 4%record high level.（D）Remarks by the Fed chairman can sway the world financial markets.30 The autho
31、r mentions “a housing bubble“ in the last paragraph so as to（A）clarify the fact that Alan Greenspan will retire as Fed chairman（B） exemplify the rumor that Mr. Bush has a penchant for picking his pals to fill top jobs（C） illustrate the notion that the present situations for a handover are hardly ide
32、al（D）refute the theory that American economy has never looked so unbalanced30 For millions of years before the appearance of the electric light, shift work, allnight cable TV and the Internet, Earths creatures evolved on a planet with predictable and reassuring 24-hour rhythms. Our biological clocks
33、 are set for this daily cycle. Simply put, our bodies want to sleep at night and be awake during the day. Most women and men need between eight and eight and a half hours of sleep a night to function properly throughout their lives. (Contrary to popular belief, humans dont need less sleep as they ag
34、e.)But on average, Americans sleep only about seven and a half hours per night, a marked drop from the nine hours they averaged in 1910. Whats worse, nearly one third of all Americans get less than six hours of sleep on a typical work night. For most people, thats not nearly enough.Finding ways to g
35、et more and better Sleep can be a challenge. Scientists have identified more than 80 different sleep disorders. Some sleeping disorders are genetic. But many problems are caused by staying up late and sleeping in, by traveling frequently between time zones or by working nights. Dr. James F. Jones at
36、 National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver says that sleep disorders are often diagnosed as other discomforts. About one third of the patients referred to him with possible chronic fatigue syndrome actually have treatable sleep disorders. “Before we do anything else, we look at their sle
37、ep, “Jones says.Sleep experts say that most people would benefit from a good look at their sleep patterns. “My motto is Sleep defensively,“ says Mary Carskadon of Brown University. She says people need to carve out sufficient time to sleep, even if it means giving up other things. Sleep routineslike
38、 going to bed and getting up at the same time every dayare important. Pre-bedtime activities also make a difference. As with Elaner, who used to suffer from sleeplessness, a few lifestyle changesavoiding stimulants and late meals, exercising hours before bedtime, relaxing with a hot bathyield better
39、 sleep.31 What is TRUE of human sleep?（A）Most people need less sleep when they grow older.（B） Most people need seven and a half hours of sleep every night.（C） On average, people in the U.S. today sleep less per night than they used to.（D）For most people, less than six hours of sleep on a typical wor
40、k night is enough. 32 For our bodies to function properly, we should_.（A）sleep for at least eight hours per night（B） believe that we need less sleep as we age（C） adjust our activities to the new inventions（D）be able to predict the rhythms of our biological clocks 33 According to the author, many sle
41、eping disorders are caused by_.（A）other diseases（B） pre-bedtime exercises（C） improper sleep patterns（D）chronic fatigue syndrome 34 Which of the following measures can help you sleep better?（A）Staying up late.（B） Taking a hot bath.（C） Having late meals.（D）Traveling between time zones. 35 “Sleep defen
42、sively“ means that_.（A）people should go to a doctor and have their problems diagnosed（B） people should exercise immediately before going to bed every night（C） people should sacrifice other things to get enough sleep if necessary（D）people should give up going to bed and getting up at the same time ev
43、ery day. 35 Its no surprise that Jennifer Seniors insightful, provocative magazine cover story, “ I love My Children , I Hate My Life, “ is arousing much chatternothing gets people talking like the suggestion that child rearing is anything less than a completely fulfilling, life-enriching experience
44、. Rather than concluding that children make parents either happy or miserable, Senior suggests we need to redefine happiness : instead of thinking of it as something that can be measured by moment-to-moment joy, we should consider being happy as a past-tense condition. Even though the day-to-day exp
45、erience of raising kids can be soul-crushingly hard, Senior writes that “ the very things that in the moment dampen our moods can later be sources of intense gratification and delight. “The magazine cover showing an attractive mother holding a cute baby is hardly the only Madonna-and-child image on
46、newsstands this week. There are also stories about newly adoptiveand newly singlemom Sandra Bullock, as well as the usual “Jennifer Aniston is pregnant“ news. Practically every week features at least one celebrity mom, or mom-to-be, smiling on the newsstands.In a society that so persistently celebra
47、tes procreation, is it any wonder that admitting you regret having children is equivalent to admitting you support kitten-killing? It doesnt seem quite fair, then, to compare the regrets of parents to the regrets of the childless. Unhappy parents rarely are provoked to wonder if they shouldnt have h
48、ad kids, but unhappy childless folks are bothered with the message that children are the single most important thing in the world: obviously their misery must be a direct result of the gaping baby-size holes in their lives.Of course, the image of parenthood that celebrity magazines like Us Weekly an
49、d People present is hugely unrealistic, especially when the parents are single mothers like Bullock. According to several studies concluding that parents are less happy than childless couples, single parents are the least happy of all. No shock there, considering how much work it is to raise a kid without a partner to lean on; yet to hear Sandra and Britney tell it, raising a kid on their “own“ (read; with round-the-clock help) is a piece of cake.Its
