1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 124 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 Economists often like to speak of Homo economicusrational economic man. In practice, human economic behaviour is not quite as rational as the relentless
2、 logic of theoretical economics suggests it ought to be. When buying things in a straight exchange of money for goods, people often respond to changes in price in exactly the way that theoretical economics predicts. But when faced with an exchange whose outcome is predictable only on average, most p
3、eople prefer to avoid the risk of making a loss than to take the chance of making a gain in circumstances when the average expected outcome of the two actions would be the same.There has been a lot of discussion about this discrepancy in the economic literaturein particular, about whether it is the
4、product of cultural experience or is a reflection of a deeper biological phenomenon. So Keith Chen, of the Yale School of Management, and his colleagues decided to investigate its evolutionary past. They reasoned that if they could find similar behavior in another species of primate(none of which ha
5、s yet invented a cash economy)this would suggest that loss-aversion evolved in a common ancestor. They chose the capuchin monkey, Cebus apella, a South American species often used for behavioral experiments.First, the researchers had to introduce their monkeys to the idea of a cash economy. They did
6、 this by giving them small metal discs while showing them food. The monkeys quickly learned that humans valued these inedible discs so much that they were willing to trade them for scrumptious pieces of apple, grapes and jelly. Preliminary experiments established the amount of apple that was valued
7、as much as either a grape or a cube of jelly, and set the price accordingly, at one disc per food item. The monkeys were then given 12 discs and allowed to trade them one at a time for whichever foodstuff they preferred.Once the price had been established, though, it was changed. The size of the app
8、le portions was doubled, effectively halving the price of apple. At the same time, the number of discs a monkey was given to spend fell from 12 to nine. The result was that apple consumption went up in exactly the way that price theory(as applied to humans)would predict. Indeed, averaged over the co
9、urse of ten sessions it was within 1% of the theorys prediction. One up to Cebus economicus.The experimenters then began to test their animals risk aversion. They did this by offering them three different trading regimes in succession. Each required choosing between the wares of two experimental “sa
10、lesmen“. In the first regime one salesman offered one piece of apple for a disc, while the other offered two. However, half the time the second salesman only handed over one piece. Despite this deception, the monkeys quickly worked out that the second salesman offered the better overall deal, and ca
11、me to prefer him.1 The capuchin monkey was chosen for the experiments because_.（A）it is from South America（B） it doesnt understand the concept of money（C） it is often used in behavioral experiments（D）it is cute and friendly2 How were the monkeys introduced to the idea of a cash economy?（A）They were
12、told that metal discs could be traded for food.（B） They were given metal discs if they gave the researchers food.（C） They were shown the different values of three different kinds of food.（D）They were given some discs which researchers would exchange for food.3 The researchers reduce the “cost“ of ap
13、ples in order to_.（A）see if the monkeys would “buy“ more apples, as humans would（B） see if the monkeys understood the idea of a cash economy（C） see if the monkeys preferred apples or another kind of food（D）see what the monkeys would buy with only nine metal discs4 The first trading regime mentioned
14、in the final paragraph revealed that_.（A）monkeys dont mind being deceived（B） monkeys like to take risks（C） monkeys dont really understand the concept of a cash economy（D）monkeys will “buy“ from a deceptive person if he offers a better deal5 What is the next paragraph likely to cover?（A）A comparison
15、of the way the monkeys behaved and real economic behavior.（B） A second trading regime.（C） An explanation of the monkeys behavior.（D）A conclusion on how this might affect theoretical economics.5 One soft drink advertisement commands, “Obey your thirst,“ but your taste buds may get trumped by the sway
16、 of brand names. All those commercials and jingles and celebrity endorsements get stored in the brain, apparently biasing preferences, new research shows. The study probed the effect of these cultural influences by returning to the classic blind taste test between Coke and Pepsi. These two products
17、are nearly the same in contents, and yet many consumers have strong feelings about their favorite. Is this because one tastes better?In a study of 67 volunteers, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine tried to isolate the sensory input of tasting from the effects of brand recognition. They found
18、that subjects chose the two colas equally in blind taste tests. But when told that one of the cups they were drinking was Coke, these same subjects picked that cup about 75 percent of the time. This preference for a brand name occurred even though both cups in this round of testing actually containe
19、d Coke. Interestingly, the same was not true in the parallel experiment when one cup was labeled as Pepsi, but both cups were filled with Pepsi. In this case, the subjects chose the labeled cup as often as the unlabeled one.To explore how brand recognition operated in the brain, the scientists scann
20、ed the subjects with functional magnetic resonance imaging(FMRI), which tracks blood flow. While sipping colas, a certain area of the subjects brains showed increased activityapparently because it was the taste reward center.During a blind test, people generally picked the soda that caused more acti
21、vity in this region of their brain. But when a Coke picture flashed in front of the subjects prior to drinking, other parts of the brainsome dealing with memorylit up. The researchers could not detect similar activity when a Pepsi picture was flashed. The implication is that the reference to Coke el
22、icited memories that biased the choice of some of the subjects, but the same recollections did not arise from a Pepsi cueat least not in a way sufficient to override the direct taste sensation.6 Which of the following is NOT suggested in paragraph 1?（A）You are likely to believe what famous people te
23、ll you to believe.（B） A soft drink company is telling potential customers to follow their taste buds.（C） Advertisements indirectly influence the way people taste.（D）People generally remember advertisements very well.7 About the 67 test subjects mentioned in paragraph 2, we can conclude that_.（A）they
24、 generally preferred Coke（B） they generally preferred Pepsi（C） Coke brand recognition was stronger than Pepsi brand recognition（D）there is essentially no difference in taste between Coke and Pepsi8 Why did test subjects generally choose the drink that caused more activity in the taste reward centre?
25、（A）Because that drink tasted better to the test subjects.（B） Because the test subjects were influenced by advertising.（C） Because that part of the brain produced an image of the favoured drink.（D）Because they saw pictures of their favoured drink before choosing.9 The main effect of showing a Coke pi
26、cture to the test subjects before they drank was that（A）their taste reward centre told them to choose Coke rather than Pepsi（B） they suddenly remembered that they preferred Coke to Pepsi（C） they could tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi better than before（D）parts of the brain were stimulated,
27、 implying that the subjects were recalling Coke10 Which of the following is the main purpose of the text?（A）To prove that people think that Coke is tastier than Pepsi.（B） To show that scientists are doing experiments on how peoples brains work.（C） To show that Coke advertising is more effective than
28、 Pepsi advertising.（D）To prove that most people cannot tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi.10 China plans to spend billions of dollars in the next few years to develop media and entertainment companies that it hopes can compete with global giants like the News Corporation and Time Warner.An a
29、mbitious plan, set forth in guidelines last week by Chinas State Council, envisions the creation of entertainment, news and culture companies with a market orientation and with less government backing. China, in short, would like to consolidate its industry into companies resembling Bloomberg, Time
30、Warner and Viacom, analysts say.“There appears to be a feeling at the highest levels of government that they need a media machine commensurate to the rising status and power of China,“ says Jim Laurie, a former ABC News correspondent who teaches at Hong Kong University and recently met with Chinese
31、state broadcasting executives.Beijing hopes the moves will even improve the nations image overseaspart of a longstanding effort to use “soft power,“ rather than military might to win friends abroad.Along the way, Beijing will allow private and foreign companies to invest in everything from music, fi
32、lm and television to theater, dance and opera productionsthough largely through state-owned companies.The News Corporation, Viacom and other Western media giants have for years been frustrated by their inability to win approval to produce films and television programs aimed at Chinese consumers; oft
33、en, they have operated with Chinese joint venture partners and run into delays or political barriers. Several American companies said they were studying the new Chinese rules and declined to comment further on them.In its announcement last week, Beijing said that state-owned groups would be reorgani
34、zed to allow outside financing so that they could “live on their own rather than being attached to government departments as parasites.“The companies will gain greater freedom to finance and produce a wider range of entertainment and cultural content for distribution inside the country, and even for
35、 export.Though China has not provided a detailed plan yet, one exception is likely to be news programming, which falls under the control of the government. China has also been upgrading its state-run news media, with an eye on foreign language publications, wire services and television programs to r
36、each readers and viewers overseas.Among the first companies to benefit from the new government policy will be Shanghai Media Group, one of the countrys biggest state-run news and media conglomerates. In August, the government gave the company approval to reorganize its operations and to issue stock
37、to the public.The government policy bank will become a partner with S.M.G. on a separate $735 million private equity fund. That fund, China Media Capital, will invest in media and entertainment properties and is headed by Mr. Li, the chairman of S.M.G.11 Chinese media industry was characterized by_.
38、（A）free themes（B） strict supervision（C） soft power（D）conglomerate attribute12 What is the essential objective in Chinas move to loosen its control over media?（A）China desires to be a media and entertaining power, not merely an economic one.（B） China is trying to make its media industry more market o
39、riented.（C） China intends to build a decent environment for its flourishing media business.（D）China hopes to change its stereotyped images with soft power.13 What Chinese government is trying to achieve shows that_.（A）China doesnt want its citizens influenced by foreign ideologies（B） the introductio
40、n of foreign investment on media is an inevitable trend（C） media giants such as Viacom deserves Chinas trust during its time-honored efforts（D）China yearns to form its own media empires14 Which of the following facts is true according to the text?（A）State-owned enterprises can make the most of forei
41、gn investment in the future.（B） Foreign media companies can invest in multiple fronts including dance, film and news.（C） Chinese media company will no longer be confined to governmental restrictions.（D）Media enterprises from outside China has never managed to enter Chinese market.15 Which of the fol
42、lowing is not true in S.M.G case?（A）S.M.G will go public in the future.（B） S.M.G has won financial support from a state-owned bank.（C） S.M.G will be a holding company.（D）S.M.G is a big icon in Chinas media industry.15 Rather than being an economic deadweight, the next generation of older Americans i
43、s likely to make a much bigger contribution to the economy than many of todays forecasts predict. Sure, most people slow down as they get older. But new research suggests that boomers will have the ability and the desireto work productively and innovatively well beyond todays normal retirement age.
44、If society can tap their talents, employers will benefit, living standards will be higher, and the financing problems of Social Security and Medicare will be easier to solve. The logic is so powerful that it is likely to sweep aside many of the legal barriers and corporate practices that today keep
45、older workers from achieving their full productive potential.In coming years, more Americans reaching their 60s and 70s are going to want to work, at least part-time. Researchers are finding that far from wearing people down, work can actually help keep them mentally and physically fit. Many highly
46、educated and well-paid workerslawyers, physicians, architectsalready work to advanced ages because their skills are valued. Boomers, with more education than any generation in history, are likely to follow that pattern. And todays rapid obsolescence of knowledge can actually play to older workers ad
47、vantage: It used to be considered wasteful to train people near retirement. But if training has to be refreshed every year, then companies might as well retrain old employees as young ones.Equally important, high-level work is getting easier for the old. Thanks to medical advances, people are stayin
48、g healthy, enabling them to work longer than before. Fewer jobs require physically demanding tasks such as heavy lifting. And technologyfrom memory-enhancing drugs to Internet search engines that serve as auxiliary memorieswill help senior workers compensate for the effects of aging. “Assuming that
49、the improved health trends continue, boomers should be able to work productively into their late 70s if they choose to“, says Elizabeth Zelinski, dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.But realizing that potential requires that government and business discard the outdated rules, practices, and prejudices that prematurely retire people who would prefer to keep working. In many corporations, theres an unspoken assumption that older workers are much less capable than their you
