1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 106 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 One day in 2008 an anonymous Twitter user posted a message: “I am certainly not bored, way busy! feel great!“ That is all well and good, one might think
2、, but utterly uninteresting to anyone besides the author and, perhaps, a few friends. Not so, according to Johan Bollen, of Indiana University Bloomington, who collected the tweet, along with plenty of others sent that day. All were rated for emotional content. Many proved similarly chirpy, scoring
3、high on confidence, energy and happiness. Indeed, Dr Bollen reckons, on the day the tweet was posted, Americas collective mood perked up a notch. When he and his team examined all the data for the autumn and winter of 2008, they found that Twitter users collective mood swings coincided with national
4、 events. Happiness shot up around Thanksgiving, for example.The idea of tapping web-based data to build a real-time measure of users emotions and preferences is not new. Nor is that of using the results to predict their behaviour. Interest in internet forecasting was sparked by a paper published in
5、2009 by Hal Varian, Googles chief economist. He found that the peaks and troughs in the volume of Google searches for certain products, such as cars and holidays, preceded fluctuations, in sales of those products. Other researchers have shown that searches for job-related terms are a good predictor
6、of unemployment rates and that mentions of political candidates on Twitter correlate with electoral outcomes.Dr Bollen spotted another curious correlation. When he compared trends in the national mood with movements of the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJIA)he noticed that changes in one of the mood
7、measures seven components, anxiety, predicted swings in the share-price index. Spikes in anxiety levels were followed, around three days later, by dips in the price of shares. Why this happens remains unclear, but one possible explanation is that the falling prices were caused by traders tendency to
8、 exit risky positions when feeling strung up.Dr Bollens algorithm, which he described in a paper published in February in the Journal of Computational Science, has been licensed to Derwent Capital Markets, a hedge fund based in London. Derwent will use it to help guide the investments made with a 25
9、m($41m)fund that the firm hopes to launch in the next few months. Other funds are rumoured to be using similar tricks already.All such initiatives face a problem, though. Humans excel at extracting meaning and sentiment from even the tiniest snippets of text, a task that stumps machines. To a comput
10、er, a tweet that reads “Feeling joyful after my trip to the dentist. Yeah, really“ says that the author has been to the dentist and is now happy. Researchers have recently made strides in teaching machines to recognise such sarcasm, as well as double meanings or cultural references.1 We can infer fr
11、om Paragraph 1 that_.（A）Dr. Bollen has examined all the Internet data of 2008 to do his research（B） tweets of one person is totally boring, even to his/her friends（C） one Tweeter users feeling cannot represent Americas collective mood（D）Tweeter users mood in the second half of 2008 accorded with the
12、 countrys events2 By mentioning Hal Varian, the author intends to state that_.（A）his finding has aroused thinking and research on predictions based on Internet data（B） his finding has predicted the increase of unemployment rate（C） his finding has forecast the price fluctuation of certain products（D）
13、his finding has been highly valued by being published on newspaper3 Share-price goes down probably because of_.（A）the hedge funds tricks having been revealed（B） peoples concern about political election（C） expertsprediction of swings in the index（D）peoples tendency to retreat investment when anxious4
14、 The underlined word “stump“ refers to_.（A）need（B） puzzle（C） surpass（D）redefine5 What does the quoted content of the last paragraph means?（A）The algorithm of computers guided some fund companies investment.（B） Machines cannot tell the hidden meaning of peoples words.（C） The slang about dentist confu
15、ses computers.（D）People are good at analyzing the meaning and mood of a text.5 The good news made headlines nationwide: Deaths from several kinds of cancer have declined significantly in recent years. But the news has to be bittersweet for many cancer patients and their families. Every year, more th
16、an 500000 people in the United States still die of cancer. In fact, more than half of all patients diagnosed with cancer will die of their disease within a few years. And while its true survival is longer today than in the past, the quality of life for these patients is often greatly diminished. Can
17、cerand many of the treatments used to fight itcauses pain, nausea, fatigue, and anxiety that routinely go undertreated or untreated.In the nations single-minded focus on curing cancer, we have inadvertently devalued the critical need for palliative care, which focuses on alleviating physical and psy
18、chological symptoms over the course of the disease. Nothing would have a greater impact on the daily lives of cancer patients and their families than good symptom control and supportive therapy. Yet the National Cancer Institute(NCI), the federal governments leader in cancer research and training, s
19、pent less than one percent of its 1999 budget on any aspect of research or training in palliative care.The nation needs to get serious about reducing needless suffering. NCI should commit to and fund research aimed at improving symptom control and palliative care. NCI also could designate “centers o
20、f excellence“ among the cancer centers it recognizes. To get that designation, centers would deliver innovative, top-quality palliative care to all segments of the populations the centers serve; train professionals in medicine, nursing, psychology, social work, and other disciplines to provide palli
21、ative care; and conduct research.Insurance coverage for palliative and hospice care also contributes to the problem by forcing people to choose between active treatment or hospice care. This “either/or“ approach does not readily allow these two types of essential care to be integrated. The Medicare
22、hospice benefit is designed specifically for people in the final stages of illness and allows enrollment only if patients are expected to survive six months or less. The benefit excludes patients from seeking both palliative care and potentially life-extending treatment.That makes hospice enrollment
23、 an obvious deterrent for many patients. And hospices, which may have the most skilled practitioners and the most experience in administering palliative care, cannot offer their services to people who could really benefit but still are pursuing active treatment.It is innately human to comfort and pr
24、ovide care to those suffering from cancer, particularly those close to death. Yet what seems self-evident at an individual, personal level has not guided policy at the level of institutions in this country. Death is inevitable, but severe suffering is not. To offer hope for a long life of the highes
25、t possible quality and to deliver the best quality cancer care from diagnosis to death, our public institutions need to move toward policies that value and promote palliative care.6 Palliative care is concerned with improving patients_.（A）survival rates（B） quality of life（C） lifespans（D）options for
26、health insurance providers7 According to the author, research on palliative care for cancer_.（A）is more important than research for cancer cures（B） has been overlooked by researchers（C） is virtually non-existent（D）is regarded by researchers as a frivolous topic8 The main problem of insurance coverag
27、e for hospice care and active treatment is that _.（A）it does not allow patients to seek both（B） it only covers patients whose life expectancy is less than six months（C） it deprives patients of the right to choose between two proven treatment methods（D）hospice care is only covered when it may extend
28、a patients life expectancy9 Hospices offer cancer patients_.（A）an alternative to palliative care（B） comfort in their early stages of illness（C） skilled and experienced palliative care（D）an alternative to active treatment10 This text is mainly about_.（A）improving cancer research in the U.S.（B） reform
29、ing insurance coverage for cancer patients（C） understanding different options for cancer treatment and care（D）reducing the suffering of cancer patients10 The devil, as the old saying goes, is in the details. Or, in the case of the new Estonian law setting up a national genetic data bank, there is re
30、ason for concern that the devil may get involved in the actual workings of that countrys Human Gene Research Act.The authors of the 34-section act have made a serious effort to prevent misuse of the data and to protect gene donors rights and privacy. Participation in the project is strictly voluntar
31、y, on the basis of informed consent. It will be illegal to ask anyone if he or she is participating in the free program. People wont be paid for providing a tissue sample, medical, and family history to the Estonian Gene Bank. That information is immediately given “a unique code consisting of at lea
32、st 16 random characters.“ Genetic and medical data become and remain the property of the Estonian Gene Bank except that individual donors have the right, “at any time,“ to request “destruction of the data which enables decoding.“ They can also have their sample materials destroyed if their identity
33、has been unlawfully disclosed.Donors are entitled to their own genetic data, at no charge, as are their designated physicians. No one else has lawful access to this information. Indeed, it is unlawful to askand the act contains specific paragraphs that forbid employers and insurance companies to gat
34、her such information, or to treat “people with different genetic risks“ differently as employees or insurance clients. Genetic information may be released to researchers “only in coded form, as a set of data and on the condition that tissue samples or data concerning at least five gene donors are is
35、sued at a time.“Supporters of the project expect that the Estonian Gene Bank will become a favorite source of information for researchers associated with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies that are expected to pay handsomely for access to the decoded(and anonymous)information. Some firms are
36、 expected to set up shop in Estonia, presumably in or near the university city of Tartu where most Estonian geneticists live and work. The project is expected to “put Estonia on the map“ and lead to an economic bonanza for a newly independent country with few natural resources.Not everybody shares t
37、hat view. Regardless of the favorable poll results, a number of objections have been published in Estonian-language newspapers. These range from the simplistic “If its such a great idea, how come the French and Germans arent doing it already?“ to arguments that the startup money could be spent on be
38、tter things. Some commentators are also concerned about privacy. Information in the data bank could be used for blackmailand is there a data bank in the world that is truly secure from hackers? And what about leaks? Allegations of corruption are a fact of public life in post-Soviet independent state
39、s. Estonias scandals have been less lurid than those of other states, but there have been enough to engender considerable cynicism, not just about leaked data, but also about payoffs where lucrative contracts are involved.11 The saying “The devil is in the details. “ is used to imply that_.（A）Estoni
40、as new genetic data bank has immoral implications（B） while the overall idea is good, the details of the genetic banks workings are flawed（C） despite their efforts, the new laws may not prevent misuse of genetic data（D）it is inherently wrong to collect genetic data12 Under Estonian law, donors may re
41、quest to have their tissue samples destroyed_.（A）at any time（B） if their secret code has been decoded（C） if their identity has been revealed illegally（D）with their physicians approval13 The phrase “put Estonia on the map“(line 5, para. 4)most likely means_.（A）gain international fame for the Estonian
42、 government（B） confirm Estonias post-Soviet independence（C） garner respect for genetics research conducted in Estonia（D）bring global recognition to this little-known country14 From the last paragraph we can infer that, in regard to the new genetic data bank_.（A）public polling was most likely corrupt
43、（B） most Estonians approve of it（C） only less educated citizens are objecting to the new laws（D）Estonians are sharply divided on the issue15 The authors attitude towards Estonias new laws governing the genetic data bank seems to be that of_.（A）ambivalence（B） caution（C） approval（D）skepticism15 Washin
44、gton D.C. ranks first among the 40 cities with the widest gap between the poor and the rich, according to a recent report released by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute on July 22nd. The top 20 percent of households in D.C. have an average yearly income of $186,830, 31 times that of the bottom 20 perc
45、ent, which earns only $6,126 per year.The report also indicates that the widening gap occurred mainly during the 1990s. Over the last decade, the average income of the top 20 percent of households has grown 36 percent, while the average income of the bottom 20 percent has only risen 3 percent.“I bel
46、ieve the concentration of the middle to high-income families in the D.C. area will continue, therefore, the income gap between rich and poor will be hard to bridge,“ David Garrison told the Washington Observer. Garrison is a senior researcher with the Brookings Institution, specializing in the study
47、 of the social and economic policies in the greater Washington D.C. area.The report attributed the persistent income gap in Washington to the areas special job opportunities, which attract high-income households. Especially since the federal government is based in Washington D.C, Government agencies
48、 and other government related businesses such as lobbying firms and government contractors constantly offer high-paying jobs, which contribute to the trend of increasing high-income households in the D.C. area. For example, a single young professional working in a law firm in D.C. can earn as much a
49、s $100,000 in his or her first year out of law school.“In addition, high-quality housing available in Washington D.C. is one of the main reasons why high-income families choose to live here, while middle and low-income families, if they can afford it, choose to move out of Washington D.C. to the Virginia and Maryland suburbs so that their kids can go to better schools,“ stated Garrison.“As rich families continue to move into D.C. and middle and low-income families are moving o
