1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 167 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 The Nobel Prize is a mysterious incarnation of power and authority, an anointed ritual whose claims are accepted as part of the order of things. The Nob
2、el Prize is at once a relic of the past and a self-admiring mirror of our democratized, scientized, secularized modern culture. After a century of existence, the Nobel has become a problematic part of modern history: it helps shape our perception of ourselves for better or worse.Like monarchy, the N
3、obel Prize surrounds itself with mystery and extraordinary secretiveness. Indeed, the media have more easily breached the privacy of the British royal family than that of the Nobel institution. The prizes present themselves as if handed down from eternity. But as even a cursory inspection will revea
4、l, the juries that pick the laureates have often shown bias, lapses of judgment and bitter infighting. In the sciences, a number of quarrels, scandals, and even lawsuits have erupted over claims to priority or credit for collaborations honored by Nobles. And while widely admired, the science prizes
5、have also been charged with swaying research goals and funding, however inadvertently, and more insidiously with corrupting scientific ambitions by the lure of Nobel fames. Such controversies, together with public dissent from several prizes, have been part of the Nobel history since its beginning.
6、All prizes stir arguments; the Nobels fame simply magnifies this hugely.The very glory and stature of the Nobel Prizes prompt some sharp questions. Should such high endeavors of the human spirit as science, literature, and peace be treated as competitions, however exalted? Should these priceless eff
7、orts be paid the enormous, though “honorary,“ price lavished on the winners? Would it matter if there never had been a Nobel Price? Or if it vanished tomorrow? The problem is that the prices are not merely awards and medals but are aspects of power woven into our lives: it was once and future Nobeli
8、sts who built the nuclear bombs that still hang fatefully over us; Nobelists now play an important part in public and military policy.It is also true that the Nobel Prizes show modern fame: the Nobel Prize pays honor to some of the highest human adventures in nature and matter, creativity and justic
9、e. Where else, moreover, can both the unfamed and the general public find a replacement for the authority and coherence, to whatever degree, the Nobel has come to possess? In a world and age as inwardly fractured as ours this is a question not lightly dismissed.1 The Nobel has been a problematic par
10、t of modern history because（A）the standard for the prize is unclear and arouses many questions.（B） it reflects the modern world and results in many follow-up questions.（C） the prize cannot be seen as a driving force for social development.（D）it dismisses authority and coherence.2 Which of the follow
11、ing statements is true about the Nobel Prize?（A）Prejudice does not exist among the panel of judges any longer.（B） The prizes need to be diversified.（C） The prize manifests authority and coherence.（D）The prizes are unexpected to the winners.3 The authors attitude towards Nobel Prize is（A）critical.（B）
12、 negative.（C） ambiguous.（D）objective.4 We can infer from the word “fractured“(Line 5, Paragraph 4)that（A）the world is diversified and Nobel does not necessarily mean authority.（B） people are stratified and separated by modern technology.（C） alienation is seen as one of the problems of modern world.（
13、D）the Nobel Prize is accepted by people from all walks of life.5 The probable title of this text is（A）A mirror of Modern Culture.（B） Nobel and the Modern World.（C） The Authority of Nobel.（D）On the Glory of Nobel.5 By 2010 the European Commission predicts transcontinental freight traffic will have ri
14、sen 50 percent as a result of European expansion, and much of that will have to cross the enormous obstacle of the Alps. Right now the only practical way for most heavy traffic to get through is by truck and. tunnel. And while that could change if safer and cleaner rail lines were opened, the chance
15、s are that they wont happen anytime soon.Several private trucking companies have adapted quickly and creatively to the demands of European unification. Some of the bigger truckers trace cargoes with the Global Positioning System and sophisticated computers. And if trucks also bring more road hazards
16、 and pollution, at present there is no alternative. Right now only 8 percent of European merchandise moves by rail, compared with more than 40 percent in the United States. Delays are so common that the average speed for freight is about 18 km an hour. The railways have had trouble outgrowing a heri
17、tage of national rivalries and open warfare between Europes countries. The result is what another European Commission report calls “a mosaic of badly interconnected national systems. “ Language barriers remain a problem, requiring crew changes at some borders. Switching systems and signals differ.An
18、d efficiency is more of a dream than a goal. Europes railroads still have to deal with “phantom trains“ that run so late they combine with others and disappear from the railroads records. In an era when many companies depend on a “just-in-time“ inventories to make a profit, railroads are rarely on t
19、ime at all.Yet there is little official enthusiasm for changing the system. The reality is that governments have helped create the imbalance between road and rail in Europeand government action will likely be needed to fix it. The French emphasis on using rail to move people instead of goods, for in
20、stance, has helped cripple freight service. “All the investments went to passenger traffic,“ says Denis Doute, director of freight services for the French rail company SNCF. Freight trains have had to find “windows“ to run in between passenger trains, unlike those in the United States, which often t
21、ravel on separate tracks. The further development of the freight network requires massive investments to modernize existing infrastructure and open new ones. However, the political will to fund that kind of investment is lacking, which means the citizens will have to hold their noses for a while lon
22、ger.6 From the second paragraph, we can infer that the major reason for road hazards is that（A）the global positioning system is not advanced enough.（B） the volume of freight traffic on the roads is too heavy.（C） the bigger truckers are not so flexible and efficient.（D）the trucks and tunnels are too
23、heavily loaded.7 According to the author, the badly interconnected national system results from（A）serious conflicts between countries.（B） different language systems.（C） the bad manners of crew at borders.（D）the lack of safer rail lines.8 The word “phantom“(Line 2, Paragraph 4)probably means（A）troubl
24、e.（B） ghost.（C） hero.（D）turtle.9 Denis Doute thinks that（A）European governments have much difficulty in improving the railway system.（B） freight trains in the United States often travel on separate tracks.（C） the French government puts too little emphasis on the freight traffic.（D）the surplus passen
25、ger trains should be changed into freight trains.10 The authors purpose of writing this passage is to（A）alert the public and the environmental groups about the freight traffic.（B） show the European Commission to the consequence of the blind expansion.（C） elaborate the freight traffic problems and th
26、eir causes in Europe.（D）appeal to the governments to invest more money in freight traffic.10 This was the World Cup the French would rather forget. The Blues returned without a single goal to their creditan ignominious first for a defending champion. “ Twisted and blinded by success and money,“ ran
27、a typical editorial in Le Figaro , “the players and those around them neglected the most important thing: the football field. “ The charge is a familiar one across Europe, where most of the sports superstars play for salaries that have an obscene number of zeros in them. The worry, however, is less
28、that footballers are becoming too spoiled to play well than their teams are driving themselves to financial ruin.Each of the official footballing nations has its own specific problems, but the bottom line for many clubs is the same. “The increase in expenditure has simply exceeded the increase in re
29、venue,“ says Thomas Kurth of G14, the loose association that groups Europes top clubs. Real Madrid had fallen $382 million into debt before selling off its training ground to developers last year.The scale of debts is tough to square with massive uptick in revenues the sport as a whole has enjoyed o
30、ver the past decade. Rupert Murdoch set the ball rolling in 1992 when he outbid the BBC for the rights to show live matches of Englands Premier League on his BSkyB satellite channel. Competition intensified as other TV magnates quickly recognized the games potential as a means of pushing their new p
31、ay channels.Obviously club owners are the ones handing out the outlandish paychecks. “You can have highly talented businessmen who have run their own companies with huge success. But when the door shuts behind them at a club they become someone else,“ says Jean-Paul de la Fuente of Media Content, a
32、sports-rights consultancy. These bosses are typically spared the more rigorous disciplines of the marketplace, including angry shareholders and stingy banks. Says Oliver Butler of Research Service Soccer Investor: “The financial authorities dont regulate clubs as if they were limited companiesand th
33、e banks dont want to be firebombed by the fans. “To avert ruin, however, clubs must learn the dreary business of cost control. One idea being discussed is to limit the team salary caps. Any form of compulsory cap, though, might fall afoul of EU anti-competition rules. Besides, such regulations wont
34、be welcome to the select band of clubsmostly from the Premier Leaguethat have already learned to balance their books and live by orthodox business codes. Other teams could learn a thing or two about winning from them.11 According to the passage, the common problem of many football clubs is that（A）th
35、ey neglected the most important thingthe football field.（B） the increase in expenditure has exceeded the increase in revenue.（C） they pay too much to lure superstars from other teams.（D）they are increasingly dependent on advertising.12 The word “uptick“(Line 1, Paragraph 3)probably means（A）scale.（B）
36、 rise.（C） reputation.（D）benefit.13 The TV magnates are competing with each other for the right to（A）attach themselves to an elite football club.（B） show advertisements made with superstars.（C） show live football matches of Premier League.（D）sponsor the football matches because of their potential.14
37、From the fourth paragraph, we can infer that（A）owners of football clubs are highly talented businessmen.（B） football clubs owners enjoy more privileges in the marketplace.（C） the financial authorities have no right to regulate football clubs.（D）football fans can protect football clubs against the ba
38、nks accusation.15 Which one of the following solutions is the author in favor of for the business of cost control?（A）Football clubs must implement the team salary caps.（B） Football clubs should have its characteristic way of controlling costs.（C） Football clubs should not be commercially-oriented.（D
39、）Some football clubs could learn from the select band of clubs.15 Mysterious night-shining clouds that light up the polar skies have become more shining and frequent in recent years and climate change may be the culprit, scientists announced. So-called noctilucent clouds, which streak across the sky
40、 in sparking colors during polar summers, are ten times brighter than previously believed, according to recent data from NASAs AIM satellite. The data, collected during two polar cloud seasons, also suggest the formations appear daily, are more widespread, and have started to form at lower latitudes
41、 than before.Night-shining clouds are made mostly of ice particles that form when water vapor condenses onto atmospheric dust. The AIM mission is the “first detailed exploration of the clouds, which form about 50 miles above Earths surface“literally on the edge of space,“ AIM principal investigator
42、said. The air there is a thousand times drier than the Sahara, and the temperature can drop to minus 235 degrees Fahrenheitideal conditions for creating clouds. A likely explanation for the clouds surge is that temperatures in the upper atmosphere have gotten even colder due to the build-up of carbo
43、n dioxide in the atmosphere. Yearly emissions of carbon dioxide levels have grown about 20 percent since 1990. Most scientists agree the build-up is causing climate change and heating up Earths surface. In the upper atmosphere, however, carbon dioxide does not act like a thick, heat-trapping blanket
44、.Instead it forms a thin layer, allowing heat to escape, temperatures to drop, and ice particles to form. These clouds are the mines canary of global warming.The evidence linking carbon dioxide to changes in night-shining clouds is still tentative. But in all honesty, we dont know of any other plaus
45、ible reasons why it wouldnt be global climate change. If thats true, that says not only are we changing the atmosphere where were living, were changing a very remote, rarified part of our atmosphere. Such far-reaching change means that we need to be concerned. If the cloud changes are indeed tied to
46、 carbon dioxide build-up, heres another confirming reason we should strive to do something about it.AIM also discovered “dramatic changes“ in cloud behavior, said Scott Bailey, AIMs deputy principal investigator. The data suggest the clouds are highly variable, rotating every five days according to
47、minute shifts in temperature. “ These clouds are exquisite thermometers. Now were able to see the whole life cycle of a cloud for the first time,“ Bailey told National Geographic.16 From the first paragraph, we learn that（A）night-shining clouds have become more shining but the formation becomes less
48、 frequent.（B） scientists believed that climate change contributes to the formation of night-shining clouds.（C） night-shining clouds become widespread and have started to form at lower latitudes.（D）the formation of night-shining clouds is ten times more frequent than previously believed.17 What does
49、the word “culprit“(Line 2, Paragraph 1)probably mean ?（A）consequence（B） sinner（C） impact（D）cultivation18 What are the ideal conditions for creating clouds?（A）The temperature is as low as minus 235 degrees Fahrenheit.（B） The air is a million times drier than that of Sahara.（C） Extremely dry air and low enough temperature.（D）A mild climate and the build-up of carbon dioxide.19 What is implied in the sentence “These clouds are the mines canary of global warming. “(Lines 12-13, Paragraph 2)?（A）Night-shining clouds may be a sign of global warming.（B）
