1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 152 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 This summer, as Olympic athletes go faster, higher, and stronger in London, a record has fallen in a lab in Hamburg: Scientists have created the worlds
2、lightest material. The new carbon nanomaterial, called Aerographite, weighs 0.2 milligrams per cubic centimeter. Thats less than a quarter the weight of the last record-holder, a nickel-phosphorous microlattice created by American researchers last year. And its six times lighter than air.Nanotechnol
3、ogy researchers have been working with carbon nanotubes for years(as the name suggests, these are very, very small tubes made of carbon atoms), building everything from superlight bicycles to medical implants. What the German team(from the University of Hamburg and the University of Kiel)figured out
4、 was how to build a network of branching nanotu-bules, thereby making the material stronger and a better conductor of electricitytwo qualities that make it much more widely useful in electronics. The unprecedented lightness was an unexpected bonus.Aerographite was created by a clever molecular-scale
5、 version of the lost-wax process: Carbon gas was pumped into a furnace, where it coated a lattice of zinc oxide molecules(think of Dairy Queen hard-shell coating soft-serve ice cream). Then hydrogen gas was pumped into the furnace, bonding with the oxygen in the zinc oxide to form water, which evapo
6、rated, and leaving the zinc to in turn evaporate as gas. What was left was a hollow interconnected web of carbon tubes.Aerographite has a foam-like consistency, so its hard to imagine building Formula One race cars or fighter jets out of it. Because of its extraordinary lightness and strength, thoug
7、h, as well as its compressibility(it can be squashed down by 95 percent without any damage)and ability to conduct electricity, its creators believe it can be used to create better batteries and other electrical components like supercapacitors. Using Aerographite would remove weight, of course, but,
8、more important for power sources, could add energythe anodes in batteries work by storing electrons, and all of the tiny pores in Aerographite are spaces for electrons to become embedded.A cubic centimeter of Aerographite is 99.99 percent air, and perhaps the weirdest thing about it is that all that
9、 air actually makes the material heavier. Normally, things are light because theyre airyas in Styrofoam or cotton candy. Not so with Aerographite, whose carbon nanotubes are actually less dense than the molecules in a cubic centimeter of air(six times less, as youll recall). The air in Aerographite
10、weighs it own. Suck it out somehow, and the stuff would just lift off the table like a helium balloon.1 According to the first paragraph, Aerographite is（A）six times lighter than the last record-holder.（B） created by American researchers in Hamburg.（C） the lightest material in the world so far.（D）le
11、ss than a quarter the weight of air.2 It can be inferred that making the new material lighter（A）is the aim of the nanotechnology researchers.（B） is built into a network of branching nanotubules.（C） can make the material more useful in electronics.（D）is out of nanotechnology researchers expectation.3
12、 According to the passage, Aerographite（A）looks like foam.（B） is hard when builting Formula One race cars.（C） can be used to remove weight.（D）has small pores in it.4 About Aerographite, which of the following is TRUE?（A）Air in this material is its own weight.（B） It is light because its airy.（C） It i
13、s as light as helium balloon.（D）Air makes it heavier than other materials.5 Which of the following is the best title of the passage?（A）How to Make Aerographite（B） A Lighter-Than-Air Building Material（C） The Application of Nanotechnology（D）The Features of Nanotubes5 The Federal Reserve doesnt want an
14、yone to think its taking sides in politics. So in an election year, the Fed is more likely to stand pat. Its less likely to raise rates if thats whats needed, or to cut rates if a rate cut is whats required.But heres the problem: The harder the Fed tries to avoid politicsthe elephant in the roomthe
15、more it allows political thinking to infect its mission. A truly apolitical Fed would do whatever is the right thing for the economy and resolutely ignore the second-guessers in both parties.Eric Rosengren, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, who favors more aggressive action by the Fed
16、 to raise growth and lower unemployment, made the case for a truly apolitical Fed in an interview with the Boston Globe published today. “We dont get to pick the timing of a global slowdown,“ Rosengren told the Globe. “ If theres a slowdown and you have an independent central bank, the appropriate r
17、esponse is to act. I think thats exactly what we should do. “Rosengren did not go quite as far as the Boston Globe story impliedthat is, he did not specifically mention election-year pressures. The Globe writers, Steven Syre and Andrew Caf-frey, paraphrased Rosengren as saying that the Fed should no
18、t worry if further easing is seen as influencing the presidential election. I wrote to them for clarification and Syre responded that “Rosengrens quote was his response to a question about any potential political controversy around a fed stimulus vote two months before an election. “ So it was the r
19、eporters who brought up politics, not Rosengren himself. That might seem like a small point, but in the arcane world of Fed politics, it matters. Tim Duy, a University of Oregon economist who blogs on Fed policy, told the Globe, “to pull back the curtain and say, Theyre doing this for the election,
20、I think is a shift and reflects his level of frustration. “ Thats an overstatement of what Rosengren said.Still, the frustration among doves is real. I wrote this weeks Bloomberg Businessweek cover story on Ben Bernanke. In it, I quoted economist Paul Krugmanas saying on his New York Times blog, “We
21、 have reached a point where the Fed is afraid to do its job, for fear of being accused of helping Obama.“Vincent Reinhart, the chief U. S. economist of Morgan Stanley(MS), whom I interviewed for the Bernanke cover, made a study of Fed decision-making in election years and concluded that the central
22、banks bias was not toward being too loose or too tight but simply toward not doing very much at all. “ It will tend to choose operations that are smaller and time them to keep out of scrutiny,“ Reinhart told me. “This particular year, a higher hurdle for action means you delay doing more accommodati
23、on. Hence, it looks biased. “6 The phrase “stand pat“(Line 2, Para.1)most probably means（A）to stand firm（B） to stay loose（C） to be independent（D）to keep back7 According to Rosengren, when economy slows, the Fed should（A）know what it should do.（B） have an independent central bank.（C） take aggressive
24、action for the economy.（D）not take sides in politics.8 According to the fourth paragraph, we can infer that（A）Rosengren paid a lot of attention to politics in Feds mission.（B） Rosengren mentioned politics himself during the interview.（C） Steven Syre did not directly bright up election-year pressures
25、.（D）Rosengrens words were overstated by other people.9 According to Vincent Reinhart, the real problem for the central bank is（A）its bias between too loose and too tight.（B） that it often chooses smaller operations.（C） that it will delay doing more accommodation.（D）its operations to keep out of scru
26、tiny.10 What is the main idea of the passage?（A）The Fed is political when it tries to avoid being political.（B） The Fed should take some actions in election year.（C） The central bank is apolitical when doing its job.（D）The central bank has no bias in choosing parties.10 Best Buys earnings report is
27、due Tuesday and, like a kid who knows his report card looks grim, the struggling electronics retailer is trying gamely to change the subject. Its board named a new chief executive on Monday, hours after announcing that takeover negotiations with founder and ex-chairman Richard Schulze had fizzled. A
28、 clear sign that the board wont be taking the company private after all, the CEO change flustered investors and left analysts skeptical that Tuesdays earnings call will offer much in the way of a turnaround strategy, especially since the incoming CEO, Hubert Joly, doesnt yet have a U. S. visa.In Fra
29、nce, Joly was until Sunday the head of Carlson, a hospitality company that owns the Radisson and Country Inn chains. Best Buys chairman, HatimTyabji, cited his range and imagination in a statement praising the new CEO. Joly hasnt worked anywhere particularly analogous to Best Buy, but he has some ex
30、perience managing troubled companies, including Electronic Data Systems, now part of Hewlett-Packard(HPQ), and the telecom and digital entertainment company Vivendi(VIVHY).His new challenge, however, may be tougher. Like its fallen brick-and-mortar rivals, from Circuit City to Nobody Beats the Wiz,
31、Best Buy(BBY)has seen its fortunes fade in recent years as consumers turn to Amazon(AMZN)and other Internet retailers. Though Best Buy beat earnings expectations last quarter, its profits fell by 26 percent, and the pivot to Joly suggests things havent improved.“My expectations for tomorrow have gon
32、e down,“ says Daniel Binder, a senior equity research analyst at Jefferies & Co.(JEF). “Youve got potentially not a whole lot new on the turnaround plan, and a CEO were not familiar with. As an investor, youve got potentially a bumpy two- to three-year turnaround. Im a little surprised the board has
33、nt been cooperative with Dick Schulze at this point. “Schulze stepped down as Best Buys chairman in June, after an internal investigation concluded that he had “ acted inappropriately“ by concealing ex-CEO Brian Dunns relationship with a female employee. He still owns a fifth of the company, though,
34、 and sent its stock surging earlier this month with a proposal to buy it outright at a valuation close to $8.5 billion. Mondays announcement erased those gains, sending BBY back below $20 a share. Schulze said in a statement that Jolys appointment and the termination of buyout negotiations “shocked“
35、 him because he was not given advance notice.The palace intrigue serves to distract from what have so far been few details of Best Buys bid for survival. A new CEO may buy the company some time. Binder says he expects Best Buy to expand its higher-end Magnolia appliances brand, a kind of store withi
36、n a store, to more locations. New incentives for employees, like a pay structure based partly on departmental or group profits, may also be in the offing, he says. But the company has been shy to pitch a more radical reform. “We havent heard a whole lot about what the turnaround plan is, so its hard
37、 to say what its going to take,“ Binder says. “But it sounds like theres a lot to do. “11 According to the passage, Hubert Joly（A）has rich experience in similar companies as Best Buy.（B） hasnt worked anywhere out of France.（C） was the head of hotel chains in France.（D）had not worked in the U. S.12 C
38、ircuit City and Nobody Beats the Wiz（A）were fallen Internet electronics retailers.（B） lost competition to Amazon and other Internet retailers.（C） lost competition to Best Buy.（D）have made new fortunes.13 Schulze stepped down because he（A）had relationship with a female employee.（B） acted inappropriat
39、ely in an internal investigation.（C） covered ex-ECOs relationship with a female employee.（D）involved in an internal investigation.14 The phrase “the palace intrigue“(Line 1, Para.6)most probably means（A）the internal plot.（B） the history of a company.（C） the foundation of company.（D）the internal stor
40、y.15 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that（A）the company will not create any new brand.（B） the company will pitch a more radical reform.（C） the companys bid for survival need few details.（D）there will be new incentives for employees in the company.15 In deference to a world enthralled by s
41、hows like Extreme Makeover and Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the public school district in Washington has hired a reality television company to produce videos intended to improve the skills of its teachers. The 80 videos, 5 to 15 minutes in length, are peppered with quick jump cuts, slick screen
42、labels and a jaunty soundtrack. In short interviews and classroom snippets, the districts highest-performing teachers demonstrate how they teach a range of lessons, from adding decimal numbers to guiding students of differing ability levels through a close reading of the Marshall Plan.The videos, fi
43、nanced by a $900,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, were developed as a complement to Washingtons evaluation system, known as Impact, in which teachers are judged on student test scores and classroom observations. Through these evaluations, versions of which are being put in place
44、 across the country, teachers receive feedback on the areas where they need to improve, as well as a numerical rating. But many of Washingtons teachers complained that they needed examples of the highest performing level. Because teachers spend most of their days isolated in their own classrooms, th
45、ey rarely get a chance to observe their peers. The videos give them a way to peek behind the closed doors of their colleagues.Now, with new national curriculum standards driving teachers to modify their longstanding teaching practices, a broad range of school districts, universities, companies and n
46、onprofits are rushing to develop online video libraries showing model teaching. A nonprofit group allied with the New York State Department of Education is developing a series of about 200 videos demonstrating lessons aligned with the Common Core standards for reading and math that 45 states and the
47、 District of Columbia have adopted. Teaching Channel, a nonprofit, has a collection of more than 500 professionally produced videos of teachers recommended by school districts and other teacher organizations. The University of Michigan is indexing about 16,000 videos of fourth-through ninth-grade En
48、glish and math teachers in six urban districts shot by researchers financed by the Gates Foundation. Betterlesson. com, a popular sharing site for lesson plans, is working to develop a video component. And hundreds of amateur clips have been uploaded to YouTube by individual teachers.Education exper
49、ts warn that video needs to be part of a broader program of professional development, comparing the use of video in teaching to how it is used by athletes. In Washington, evaluators and principals will recommend specific videos to teachers. Jill Nyhus, senior director of technology for the Washington schools, said principals or instructional coaches would also convene gatherings where teachers could discuss the videos.16 It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that the public school district in Washington（A）made videos of teaching
