1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 208 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 Give the Senate some credit: in shaping the current immigration-reform bill, it has come up with one idea that almost everybody hates. Thats the plan to
2、 create a new class of “guest workers“immigrants who would be allowed to work in the U.S. for three two-year stretches, at most, provided that they return home for a year after each visit. Conservatives dislike the plan because they believe that the guest workers wont return home after their visas e
3、xpire. Liberals dislike it because they believe the program will depress American wages and trap guest workers in a state of serfdom. The only vocal supporters of the provision are businesses that rely heavily on immigrant labor, and theyre presumably just looking out for themselves.With the broader
4、 concerns about the effects of illegal immigration, the hostility to the new plan is understandable. Its also misguided. However imperfect, the guest-worker program is better than any politically viable alternative. Opponents of immigration sometimes imply that adding workers to a workforce automati
5、cally brings wages down. But immigrants tend to work in different industries than native workers, and have different skills, and so they often end up complementing native workers, rather than competing with them. That can make native workers more productive and therefore better off.According to a re
6、cent study by the economists Gianmarco Ottaviano and Giovanni Peri, between 1990 and 2004 immigration actually boosted the wages of most American workers; its only negative effect was a small one, on the wages of workers without a high-school diploma. And if by increasing the number of legal guest w
7、orkers we reduced the number of undocumented workers, the economy would benefit even more.Guest workers are also, paradoxically, less likely than illegal immigrants to become permanent residents. The U.S. already has a number of smallerand less well-designedtemporary-worker programs, and theres no e
8、vidence that workers in those plans routinely overstay their visas. One remarkable study found that after border enforcement was stepped up in 1993 the chances of an illegal immigrant returning to his homeland to stay fell by a third.In fact, whatever benefits the guest-worker program brought to the
9、 U.S. economy or to particular businesses, the biggest winners would be the workers themselves. Congress, of course, is under no obligation to care about foreign workers. But the programs costs to American workers are negligible, the gains for the guest workers are enormous, and the U.S. economy wil
10、l benefit. This is that rare option which is both sensible and politically possible.1 In Paragraph 2, the author holds that the guest-worker program will（A）arouse great concerns about illegal immigration.（B） be a sensible way to solve the immigration problems.（C） be hazardous to the improvement of w
11、orking structure.（D）bring fierce competitions to local laborers.2 Gianmarco Ottaviano and Giovanni Peri point out that immigration（A）is immune from negative effects.（B） has lead to economic prosperity and social stability.（C） has enhanced wages of most American workers.（D）will root out illegal docum
12、entation of workers.3 Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 4?（A）Illegal immigrants have more chances to stay permanently in the U.S. than guest workers.（B） With stepped-up border control, illegal immigrants are more likely to stay in their homeland.（C） Workers in temporary-worker pr
13、ograms usually pay no attention to their visa duration.（D）Guest workers will not stay too long because of the enhanced border enforcement.4 The plan of creating a new class of “guest workers“（A）has aroused criticism from conservatives, liberals and the business world.（B） has allowed immigrants to wo
14、rk in the U.S. for six consecutive years.（C） will benefit both businesses and immigrant labor employers.（D）will give people a good reason to treat such workers as slaves.5 What is the authors attitude towards guest workers plan?（A）Negligible.（B） Obscure.（C） Indifferent.（D）Favorable.5 Dont talk: your
15、 cell phone may be eavesdropping. Thanks to recent developments in “spy phone“ software, a do-it-yourself spook can now wirelessly transfer a wiretapping program to any mobile phone. The programs are inexpensive, and the transfer requires no special skill. The would-be spy needs to get his hands on
16、your phone to press keys authorizing thedownload,but ittakes just a few minutesabout the time needed to download a ringtone.This new generation of user-friendly spy-phone software has become widely available in the last yearand it confers stunning powers. The latest programs can silently turn on han
17、dset microphones even when no call is being made, allowing a spy to listen to voices in a room halfway around the world. Targets are none the wiser neither call logs nor phone bills show records of the secretly transmitted data.More than 200 companies sell spy-phone software online, at prices as low
18、 as $50. Vendors are loath to release sales figures. But some experts claim that a surprising number of people carry a mobile that has been compromised, usually by a spouse, lover, parent or co-worker. Many employees, experts say, hope to discover a supervisors dishonest dealings and tip off the top
19、 boss anonymously. Max Maiellaro, head of Agata Christie Investigation, a private-investigation firm in Milan, estimates that 3 percent of mobiles in France and Germany are tapped, and about 5 percent or so in Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain. James Atkinson, a spy-phone expert at Granite Island Gro
20、up, a security consultancy in Gloucester, Massachusetts, puts the number of tapped phones in the U.S. at 3 percent. Even if these numbers are inflated, clearly many otherwise law-abiding citizens are willing to break wiretapping laws.Spyware thrives on iPhones, BlackBerrys and other smart phones bec
21、ause they have ample processing power. In the United States, the spread of GSM networks, which are more vulnerable than older technologies, has also enlarged the pool of potential victims. Spyware being developed for law-enforcement agencies will accompany a text message and automatically install it
22、self in the victims phone when the message is opened, according to an Italian developer who declined to be identified. One worry is that the software will find its way into the hands of criminals.The current embarrassment is partly the result of decisions by Apple, Microsoft and Research In Motion (
23、producer of the BlackBerry) to open their phones to outside application-software developers, which created the opening for spyware. Antivirus and security programs developed for computers require too much processing power, even for smart phones. Although security programs are available for phones, b
24、y and large users havent given the threat much thought. If the spying keeps spreading, that may change soon.6 The cell phone may be eavesdropping in that（A）the software industry has created a do-it-yourself program.（B） the spy phone software requires no special skills or knowledge.（C） a recent softw
25、are can transfer a wiretapping program to other phones.（D）to download the spy phone software is as easy as pressing keys.7 Which of the following is true of the “spy phone“?（A）Its a complicated and inexpensive wireless transfer software.（B） It can be downloaded to the phone for free.（C） The download
26、 takes less than the time of downloading a ringtone.（D）Its targets are totally unaware that they are spied.8 In pointing out figures related to compromised mobiles, the author suggests that（A）an unexpected number of people are being eavesdropped.（B） many employees hope to discover the boss dishonest
27、 secrets.（C） the popularity of spy-phone software results from low prices.（D）law-abiding people become the victims of spy phone.9 According to Paragraph 4, Spyware（A）increases the processing power of iPhones.（B） enlarges the pool of potential victims.（C） is developed by law-enforcement agencies.（D）m
28、ight serve the devil.10 Which of the following is the best title for this text?（A）How to Deal with Phone Spies?（B） Spyware is Here and There（C） Is Your Cellphone Spying on You?（D）Security Programs for Phones10 For a quarter of a century, surveys of reading habits by the National for the Arts (NEA),
29、a federally-funded body, have been favorite material for anyone who thinks America is dumbing down. Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason“, for example, cites the 2007 NEA report that “the proportion of 17-year-olds who read nothing(unless required todo so forschool) more than double
30、d between 1984 and 2004.“So it is a surprise that this trend seems to have taken a turn for the better. This week the NEA reported that, for the first time since 1982 when its survey began, the number of adults who said they had read a novel, short story, poem or play in the past 12 months had gone
31、up, rising from 47% of the population in 2002 to over 50% in 2008.The increase, modest as it is, has thrown educationalists into excitement “Its just a blip,“ one professor told The New York Times. It is certainly a snapshot. But it is not statistically insignificant. As the NEAs research director,
32、Sunil Iyengar, points out, almost every demographic and ethnic group seems to be reading more. The increase has been most marked in groups whose reading had declined most in the past 25 years, African-Americans and Hispanics (up by 15% and 20% respectively since 2002). It has also been larger among
33、people at lower levels of education: reading among college graduates was flat, but among those who dropped out of high school it rose from under a quarter to over a third.Most remarkable of all has been the rebound among young men. The numbers of men aged 18-24 who say they are reading books (not ju
34、st online) rose 24% in 2002-08. Teachers sometimes despair of young men, whose educational performance has lagged behind that of young women almost across the board. But the reading gap at least may be narrowing. Dana Gioia, the NEAs outgoing chairman, thinks the reason for the turnaround is the pub
35、lic reaction to earlier reports which had sounded the alarm. “There has been a measurable change in societys commitment to literacy,“ he says. “Reading has become a higher priority.“It may also be benefiting from the growing popularity of serious-minded leisure pursuits of many kinds. Museums, liter
36、ary festivals and live opera transmissions into cinemas are all reporting larger audiences. Mr. Iyengar thinks the division between those who read a lot and those who dont is eroding. What has not changed, though, is Americas “functional illiteracy“ rate. Fully 21% of adult Americans did not read a
37、book last year because they couldnt, one of the worst rates in the rich world.11 What does the author mean by “dumbing down“ (line 3, Paragraph 1) ?（A）Becoming illiterate.（B） Becoming noiseless.（C） Getting clumsy.（D）Getting inflexible.12 According to Paragraph 2, the trend seems to have taken a turn
38、 for the better in that（A）adult readers read more widely.（B） more people are advocating reading.（C） the number of educated people is growing.（D）the percentage of adult readers has increased13 Sunil Iyengar, the NEAs research director points out that（A）Hispanics are formerly considered the most reluc
39、tant readers before 2002.（B） college graduates have dramatically increased their reading ranges.（C） the increase has compensated for the decrease during the past 25 years.（D）it seems that American people as a whole are reading more than before.14 The sentence “Most remarkable of all has been the reb
40、ound among young men.“ (Line 1, Paragraph 4) denotes that young men have（A）started to outperform young women in academic studies.（B） enjoyed reading more comprehensively than young women.（C） narrowed the gap with young women in learning.（D）showed a sign of willingness to read more than before.15 Whi
41、ch of the following is true according to the last two paragraphs?（A）The trend of reading more results from self-examination.（B） Reading has become the final aim in peoples daily life.（C） The gap between book lovers and those who dont read widens.（D）Americas functional illiteracy rate remains high.15
42、 Just east of downtown Irvine, in southern California, a pastoral landscape is under construction. Little by little, a former military airport is being dismantled, to be replaced by grass, trees and a canyon 70 feet (21 meters) deep. When it is finished, Orange Countys Great Park will cover 1,350 ac
43、res (550 hectares), more than one-and-a-half times as much as Central Park in New York.Thebiggest landscaped municipal park to be built in more than a century, it reveals much about how American attitudes to open space have changed.Urban parks are back in fashion. In Denver, an 80-acre park opened i
44、n September on the site of another disused airport. New York plans to build a huge park on top of the Fresh Kills landfill in Stat-en Island. Innumerable town squares and pocket parks have been created or beautified, even in places like Detroit. City planners, who once viewed parks as financial drai
45、ns and nests of crime, now see them as magnets for tourists and creative types.The great parks that were built in the second half of the 19th century were intended to counteract the ill effects of city living, and so are the new ones. But the perceived ills have changed. Frederick Olmsted, who desig
46、ned Central Park and many others, wanted to provide people with a break from their tough, dirty jobs. Ken Smith, the Great Parks architect, reckons the residents of Orange County are quite idle enough. What they need is exercise: hence the parks proposed 21 football fields and 12 baseball fields, to
47、gether with some exhausting-looking walks.Another difference is that parks are now expected to function like natural ecosystems as well as looking like them. The Great Park will use recycled water in its lake (older parks often used mains water). The runways will be dismantled and turned into roads
48、and a memorial In a nod to the local-food movement, the park will include land for farming. Even the car park will be situated in an orange orchard.Most striking of all is the new parks deference to history. Americas great 19th-century landscape architects saw the land as a blank slate. An entire vi
49、llage was pulled down to build Central Park. By contrast, Denvers park preserves a control tower, and the Great Park will convert an air-dock into a museum and retain the outline of a runway. A river diverted underground by the marines will be restored to its former course. The preservation lobby is stronger these days. And besides, says Yehudi Gaffen, a partner in the Great Park project, “Southern California has so little history that we should try to keep some of it.“16 Which of the following statements is true of Orange Countys Great Park?（A）It wa
