1、考研英语（二）模拟试卷 25 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 Marriage, and its many ups and downs, still often【C1】_the headlines on newspapers, magazines and the airwaves. Nearly 23m Americans
2、 watched Prince William being joined in holy marriage to Kate Middleton. Millions more have【C2】_in the break-up of Arnold Schwarzeneggers marriage after revelations that he fathered a son with a maid.Less【C3】_are revelations about the sorry state of marriage across the United States. Data from the C
3、ensus Bureau show that married couples, for the first time, now make up【C4】_than half (45%) of all households.The【C5 】_American family, with mom, dad and kids under one roof, is【C6】_. In every state the numbers of unmarried couples, childless households and single-person households are growing faste
4、r than【C7】_comprised of married people with children, finds the 2010【C8】_. The latter accounted【C9】_43% of households in 1950, but now just 20%. And the trend has a distinct【C10】_dimension. Traditional marriage has【C11】_from a universal rite to a luxury for the educated and the【C12】_.There【C13】_was
5、a marriage gap in 1960: only four percentage points separated the wedded ways of college and high-school graduates (76% versus 72%). The gap has since【C14 】_to 16 percentage points, according to the Pew Research Centre. A Census Bureau analysis released this spring found that brides are significantl
6、y more【C15 】_to have a college degree than they were in the mid-1990s.“Marriage has become much more【C16 】_, and thats why the divorce rate has come down,“ said Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The project found that divorce
7、 rates for couples with college degrees are only a third as high as for those with a high-school degree.“Less marriage means less income and more poverty,“ reckons Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She and other researchers have【C17】_as much as half of the inequality of w
8、ealth 18 in America to changes in family【 C19】_: single-parent families (mostly those with a high-school degree or less) are getting poorer while married couples (with educations and dual incomes) are increasingly【 C20】_. “This is a striking gap that is not well understood by the public,“ she says.1
9、 【C1 】（A）hits（B） misses（C） occupies（D）attracts2 【C2 】（A）relieved（B） defended（C） indulged（D）obsessed3 【C3 】（A）sensitive（B） sentimental（C） sensational（D）sensible4 【C4 】（A）less（B） more（C） rather（D）other5 【C5 】（A）unusual（B） commonplace（C） conservative（D）characteristic6 【C6 】（A）evaporating（B） disappearin
10、g（C） vanishing（D）fading7 【C7 】（A）that（B） it（C） those（D）them8 【C8 】（A）census（B） consent（C） consensus（D）censor9 【C9 】（A）on（B） with（C） for（D）at10 【C10 】（A）race（B） faith（C） class（D）gender11 【C11 】（A）revolved（B） devolved（C） involved（D）evolved12 【C12 】（A）elite（B） superior（C） noble（D）eligible13 【C13 】（A）ap
11、parently（B） nearly（C） only（D）barely14 【C14 】（A）widened（B） narrowed（C） closed（D）bridged15 【C15 】（A）probable（B） likely（C） liable（D）possible16 【C16 】（A）unpopular（B） sophisticated（C） selective（D）diversified17 【C17 】（A）contributed（B） tribute（C） attributed（D）distributed18 【C18 】（A）arrangement（B） distribut
12、ion（C） classification（D）layout19 【C19 】（A）foundation（B） composition（C） construction（D）combination20 【C20 】（A）influential（B） abundant（C） plentiful（D）affluentPart ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)20 Where do good idea
13、s come from? For centuries, all credit for these mysterious gifts went to faith, fortune and some fair muses. But to assume creativity is some lofty trait enjoyed by the few is both foolish and unproductive, argues Jonah Lehrer in “Imagine“ , a smart new book about “how creativity works“. Drawing fr
14、om a wide array of scientific and sociological researchand everything from the poetry of W. H. Auden to the films of Pixarhe makes a convincing case that innovation cannot only be studied and measured, but also nurtured and encouraged.Just outside St Paul, Minnesota, sits the corporate headquarters
15、of 3M. The company sells more than 55,000 products, from streetlights to computer touch-screens, and is ranked as the third-most innovative in the world. But when Mr. Lehrer visits, he finds employees engaged in all sorts of frivolous activities, such as playing pinball and wandering about the campu
16、s. These workers are actually pushed to take regular breaks, as time away from a problem can help spark a moment of insight. This is because interrupting work with a relaxing activity lets the mind turn inward, where it can subconsciously puzzle over subtle meanings and connections. “Thats why so ma
17、ny insights happen during warm showers,“ says Joydeep Bhattacharya, a psychologist at Goldsmiths, University of London.But this is just one reason for 3Ms creative output. The company also encourages its employees to take risks, not only by spending masses on research (nearly 8% of gross revenue), b
18、ut also by expecting workers to spend around 15% of their time pursuing speculative ideas. Most of these efforts will fail, but some will generate real profit for the company. The reason why this approach worksand why it has been imitated by other crafty companies such as Googleis because many break
19、throughs come when people venture beyond their area of expertise.This is why young people tend to be the most innovative thinkers in nearly any field, from physics to music. The ignorance of youth “comes with creative advantages,“ writes Mr. Lehrer, as the young are less Jill by custom and experienc
20、e. Still, he reassures readers that anyone can stay creative as long as he works “to maintain the perspective of the outsider“. This can be done by considering new problems at work, travelling to new countries or simply spending more time staring “ at things we dont fully understand. “This is an ins
21、piring and engaging book that reveals creativity as less a sign of rare genius than a natural human potential. Mr. Lehrer points to William Shakespeare, for example, as someone who was largely a man of his time; the culture of Elizabethan London nurtured quite a few poetsmuch like ancient Athens gav
22、e rise to a glut of thinkers and Renaissance Florence inspired many fine artists. Shakespeare knew his way with a pen, but he also lived in a culture that put a premium on ideas, spread education, introduced new patents for inventions and did not always rigorously enforce censorship laws.Mr. Lehrer
23、concludes with a call for better policy to “increase our collective creativity“. He suggests allowing more immigration, inviting more risk and enabling more cultural borrowing and adaptation. He also warns that the work demands a lot of time, sweat and gut. Or as Albert Einstein put it: “creativity
24、is the residue of time wasted. “21 It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that_is necessary for sparking a moment of insight.（A）constant distraction（B） long time of concentration（C） subconscious meditation（D）relaxing mood22 According to Paragraphs 2 and 3, which of the following statements about the co
25、mpany 3M is true?（A）The company has been so successful in nurturing the collective creativity that other companies follow suit.（B） The company has been subjected to great financial loss by encouraging employees to take risks irrationally.（C） The company lays more emphasis on individuality and creati
26、vity than on collaboration.（D）The company expected its employees to spend 15% of their time on speculating ways to increase productivity.23 It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that the old tend to be less creative because_.（A）they have outlived the days when their mind is sharpest and most lively（B）
27、 the easy and comfortable life exhausts their passion to invent and create（C） their perspective as an outsider has been accepted by the mainstream（D）experience and convention restrains them from breaking the rule24 We can conclude from Paragraph 5 that_.（A）innovation is always branded with the limit
28、ation of specific time（B） creativity of human being has reached its summit in several historical periods（C） creativity can be encouraged and nurtured in the right circumstance（D）Shakespeare is merely an ordinary man with no superior creativity 25 By quoting Albert Einsteins saying that “creativity i
29、s the residue of time wasted“ , the author wants to make clear that_.（A）when you have wasted enough time, the creative ideas will come to you naturally（B） the generation of a creative idea requires hard work and intense dedication（C） all talk about creativity but no deeds is just a waste of time（D）c
30、reativity is not something that everyone can capitalize on25 As a giant of the stock market, Apple is unusual. For much of the past 20 years, three companies have alternated in the role of the largest on the American stock market: Exxon Mobil, General Electric and Microsoft. The first two are very b
31、ig companies by Apple standards. But Apple offers the kind of growth prospects that the shareholders of Exxon Mobil and GE can only dream of. Its sales in the latest quarter were almost double those of the previous year, and forecasts for 2013 revenues are nearly treble those recorded in 2010. It is
32、 the epitome of the modern company: short on physical capital but long on brainpower.So what does Apples dominance reveal about the economy and the stock market? First, it is a powerful reminder that the free market can still be remarkably innovative. In the past 11 years Apple has launched three pr
33、oductsthe iPod, iPhone and iPadthat have created brand new markets, fulfilling desires that consumers did not even know they had. It is impossible to imagine any of those designs being dreamed up by a bureaucrat.Second, it shows that the internet industry has come of age. The dotcom bubble of the la
34、te 1990s featured companies that were heavy on ideas but light on revenues or profits. When the bubble burst a decade ago, it was feared that the internet would savage margins by “ commoditizing“ devices like phones and personal computers. Apple has so far proved that it is possible to earn high mar
35、gins with brilliant design and by offering consumers ways to access the internet effortlessly wherever they go. It has made the mobile era its own.Third, Apples rise shows that, even in a period of austerity, consumers are willing to pay for the must-have gadget. The company is a huge beneficiary of
36、 globalization; able not only to source its products at low cost in Asia but to sell the finished goods there as well. A global elite is now willing to pay for the most desirable products, from luxury luggage to premium Scotch. And Americas soft power is still so strong that it can create aspiring b
37、rands for that elite.But does Apples surge to preeminence indicate that the stock market is back to the insane days of the late 1990s? There are certainly warning signs. Brokers are competing to come up with the highest potential price target for Apples shares, and the announcement of a share buy-ba
38、ck should remind investors that companies have a tendency to purchase their own equity at market peaks. But when Cisco, a technology giant, was briefly worth more than $500 billion in 2000, its price-earnings ratio was above 100; Apple trades on only 22 times its 2011 profits. Its new dividend yield
39、 will be almost as generous as that of the overall market. Even if its shares turn out to be overvalued, this would be more like a pimple than a bubble.26 Compared with Exxon Mobil and General Electronics, Apple_.（A）is larger in size and tangible assets（B） is valued lower in stock market（C） is growi
40、ng at an unprecedented rate（D）is more closely linked with finance market27 The point that the author wants to illustrate in Paragraph 2 is that_.（A）in most cases, customers demands are created rather than ready-made（B） the superiority of American market system is still distinct（C） only American comp
41、anies are capable of producing innovative products like iPhone（D）Americans panic over the rise of othe countries is unnecessary28 What does the author mean by saying that“the internet industry has come of age“ (Para. 3) ?（A）The internet industry has declined from its hey day.（B） The internet industr
42、y has become out of date.（C） The internet industry has come into maturity.（D）The bubble in internet industry has burst.29 Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?（A）Economic recession has no effect on the purchasing power of consumers.（B） Most of Apples clients are Asian e
43、lites who are equipped with huge consuming power and obsessed with luxury goods.（C） Apple is substantially the same with those dotcome bubble companies as they are both heavy on ideas but light on revenues.（D）Internet industry is still a booming industry despite the burst of dotcom bubble in the 199
44、0s.30 In the authors opinion, the prospects of Apple in stock market is_.（A）bleak（B） uncertain（C） optimistic（D）pessimistic30 During the recession, job losses were not equitably shared; employment rates fell more for some groups than others. It is also well known that job losses were greater among me
45、n than among women the so-called mancessionlargely because men had been more likely to work in the residential construction and manufacturing industries that were hit hardest.What Im going to reveal is the employment rates separately for married women and unmarried women who were heads of households
46、. Not surprisingly, the latter are somewhat more likely to work. More surprising is that employment rates fell so much more for these unmarried women who were heads of household. Employment per capita fell 4.7 percentage points among the latter, compared with 1.6 percentage points among the former.
47、The job-loss gap associated with marital status turns out to be as large as the more widely recognized job loss gap associated with gender.Neither group of women had many members working in construction, so the decline of construction cannot explain these differences. An “ added-worker effect“ has b
48、een observed during a number of recessions; more married women worked during a recession than during an expansion because wives sometimes begin work to help replace the income lost by their unemployed husbands.The employment rate among nonelderly married men fell 4 percentage points, to 83 percent f
49、rom 87 percent. While that is a large decline by historical standards, it still means that roughly 95 percent of wives whose husbands were employed in 2007 had husbands who continued their employment during the recession. Among the 5 percent of wives who were not so fortunate, roughly two-thirds of them had already been working before the recession and therefore could not react to their husbands unemployment by starting work. There
