1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 214 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 That mythical beast, homo economicus, otherwise called Economic man, is utterly clear about the purpose of work: to get paid. He is keener on leisure th
2、an on work, and if money can be got without effort, he downs tools. If real people feel the same, then bountiful out-of-work benefits should be found in the same places as work-shy citizens.Yet a cross-country comparison of benefits and attitudes to work published on January 28th finds precisely the
3、 opposite pattern. Researchers ranked 13 countries according to their generosity (measured by comparing typical benefits to those out of work with the average wage of a production worker) and their citizens commitment to work (gauged by asking whether they would work if they did not need the cash, a
4、nd whether they regarded a job as merely a way to earn a living). They found that the more generous a state is the keener on work its people are. Britons, whose benefits were the stingiest (most ungenerous) after those that Americans get, were least keen of all on work.One reason may be the skills m
5、ake-up of the British workforce. The researchers found, logically enough, that professionals and graduates were more positive about work than the unskilled and non-graduates. Fewer Britons than Norwegians (who came top on work commitment) have professional jobs or degrees. But this does not entirely
6、 explain their comparative immunity to the attractions of toil: Britons of every social class and level of education were less keen on work than their counterparts elsewhere.Could the “dependency culture“ currently exercising British politicians be solved by raising benefits? Unlikely, says Alison P
7、ark, editor of the annual British Social Attitudes Report, in which the study appeared: attitudes to work vary from country to country for many reasons. The report states that the lavishness of what the report terms “encompassing“ states, all Nordic with Lutheran traditions, may have been made possi
8、ble by a strong work ethic, rather than a stronger commitment to work having emerged as a result of it.And work incentives are affected by features of welfare systems other than overall generosity: “corporatist“ states such as Germany, which pay higher benefits to those with a longer work history, m
9、ay be encouraging positive attitudes to work by such conditionality. Britains poor benefits, by contrast, are largely independent of previous employment, which may mean they are seen as an alternative to work, rather than as one of the good things that flow from it.1 Homo economicus is characterized
10、 as _.（A）economical（B） lazy（C） leisure-obsessed（D）benefits-driven2 What can be inferred from the second paragraph?（A）The keener on work its people are, the more generous a state is.（B） People who are keen on work will make their state generous.（C） The benefits which Britons get were the stingiest.（D
11、）Americans got stingier benefits than Britons did.3 By saying “their comparative immunity to the attractions of toil“ (Para. 3), the author means（A）Britons are healthy enough not to feel ill（B） Britons have good immune system（C） Britons are not keen on work（D）Britons are afraid of hard work4 Accordi
12、ng to the British Social Attitudes Report, “encompassing“ states are generous due to _.（A）the dependency culture（B） a strong work ethic（C） the rise of benefits（D）various working attitudes5 Germany is mentioned in the last paragraph to show that _.（A）Germany pays higher benefits to those with a longe
13、r work history（B） corporatist states like Germany provide better benefits than Britain（C） welfare system is also likely to influence work incentives（D）Germany encourages positive work attitudes by paying higher benefits5 As the Senate prepares to vote on legislation to empower the Food and Drug Admi
14、nistration to regulate tobacco products, its members would be wise to consult a recent appeals court decision. The decision makes it clear that the tobacco companies have engaged in deceitful and harmful behavior for many decades and cannot be trusted to reform on their own. Regulatory oversight ist
15、he best chance to rein them in.The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld major elements of a 2006 lower court decision that found big tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and fraud as part of a prolonged campaign to dece
16、ive and addict the public. That 1,742-page opinion, rendered by Judge Gladys Kessler, laid out in painstaking detail how the tobacco companies made false statements and suppressed evidence to deny or play down the addictive qualities and the adverse health effects of smoking.Judge Kessler found that
17、 the companies manipulated the design of cigarettes to deliver addictive doses of nicotine, falsely denied that secondhand smoke caused disease and falsely represented that light and low-tar cigarettes presented fewer health risks.The appeals court not only upheld her decision as legally sound, it s
18、eemed deeply impressed by the “volumes of evidence“ and “countless examples of deliberately false statements“ underlying many of Judge Kesslers findings. It also upheld some but not all of the marketing restrictions and other requirements she imposed to prevent the companies from making future false
19、 claims and engaging in additional fraudulent activities.The companies protested that they should not be subjected to such requirements because they had already agreed to numerous remedies under a settlement agreement with 46 states and the District of Columbia. The appeals panel was rightly unimpre
20、ssed. It upheld the district courts findings that after the settlement went into effect in 1998, the companies almost immediately began to evade and violate various prohibitions against joint activities and false statements.The House has already voted to give the F.D.A power to regulate tobacco. Sen
21、ators, who are getting ready to vote on similar legislation, now have fair warning, if they needed any more, that this is a dishonest industry. It cant be trusted to behave responsibly or even adhere to agreements it has signed. It is time to grant the F.D.A the power to regulate the content and mar
22、keting of tobacco products.6 Why would it be wise for the senators to consult a recent appeals court decision before voting?（A）It reveals to senators tobacco companies incompetence in self-discipline.（B） It makes the senators learn how profitable the tobacco industry is.（C） It helps the senators rea
23、lize the necessity of regulatory oversight.（D）It points out that tobacco companies have been liars for many decades.7 We can infer from Judge Kesslers findings that _.（A）tobacco companies achieve customer addiction at the cost of their health（B） the adverse health effects of smoking have been chroni
24、cally underestimated（C） racketeering and fraud have blinded the tobacco companies for a long time（D）the diseases caused by secondhand smoke have been carelessly denied8 The restrictions and requirements imposed by Judge Kessler _.（A）have entirely been approved by the appeals court（B） will immediatel
25、y be violated by the tobacco companies（C） severely overlap with the previous settlement agreement（D）are meant to prevent tobacco companies from deceiving9 The word “rightly“ (Para. 5) can be best replaced by _.（A）justly（B） understandably（C） evidently（D）appropriately10 Which of the following would be
26、 the best title for the text?（A）Self-regulated Tobacco Industry（B） Once a Liar, Always a Liar（C） Watch Your Vote, Senators（D）A Dishonest Industry10 Writing for an historical series is tricky, and the outcome is not always a success. The best overall European history in English is the old Fontana His
27、tory of Europe, but it was uneven in quality, and it suffered because the volumes appeared so far apart in time. The new Penguin History of Europe has only recently begun. But judging by this second volume in a projected eight-volume se-ries, it is going to be a smashing success.Tim Blanning, a Camb
28、ridge history professor brings to his period knowledge, experience, sound judgment and a colorful narrative style. His broad range is evident from the start when, in place of the usual recitation of politics and battles, he expounds on such themes as communications, transport, demography and farming
29、. Indeed, much of what might be seen as traditional history is pushed back to the fourth and final part of the book. Not the least of Mr. Blannings achievements is his integrated approach to the entire continent. He jumps nimbly from Spain to the Low Countries, from Russia to Austria, from Prussia t
30、o Turkey. Many of Europes royal families were related, after all.The author also expertly places the history of the two greatest rivals of the day, England and France, in its wider European context. Any British Eurosceptic who thinks his countrys history is detached from continental Europes would re
31、alize from even the most inadequate reading of this book how bound up with the continent it has in fact always been.The 17th and 18th centuries in Europe were, above all, a period of war. Indeed, it seemed at times as if France and Austria, the leading martial powers in 1648, did little else but fig
32、ht. Sometimes war helped to stimulate economic and commercial development. But it is striking that it fell to Britain, which enjoyed at least a few years of peace, to pioneer Europes industrialization.The book is stronger on the 18th century than on the second half of the 17th, reflecting the author
33、s own historical bias. Another weakness is that, though there is a reasonable bibliography, it has no footnotes citing sources, a scandalous omission in a work with serious academic pretensions. It also sometimes takes for granted a basic grounding in the history of the period, which may be problema
34、tic for students at whom it is presumably in part aimed. But overall Mr.Blanning has produced a triumphant success.11 Which of the following is true about the old Fontana History of Europe?（A）Some parts are good, while others not.（B） It is an eight-volume historical series.（C） It is not a successful
35、 historical series.（D）It becomes less famous as time goes by.12 In the second volume, Tim Blanning wrote the History of Europe _.（A）in a traditional way（B） in an unconventional way（C） in a separate way（D）in a funny way13 France and Austria are mentioned in Paragraph 4 to show that _.（A）they were the
36、 leading European military powers in the 17th century（B） war between these two countries failed to spur economic and commercial development（C） war was quite a common thing in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe（D）the war between them made them lag behind England in development14 The author thinks
37、Mr. Blannings work is flawed because _.（A）it is ethnically biased（B） it is uneven in quality（C） it lacks bibliography（D）it omits the footnotes15 We can learn from the text that the second volume of the Penguin History of Europe _.（A）is the best book on overall European history（B） overtly criticized
38、British Euroscepticism（C） explored the European history separately（D）is an overall success despite certain flaws15 How long you live has a lot to do with your environment and lifestyle, but exceptional longevity may have even more to do with your genes. For the first time, researchers have identifie
39、d a genetic recipe that accurately predicts who may live to 100 and beyond. Scientists led by Dr. Thomas Perls at the Boston University School of Medicine conducted a genetic analysis of more than 1,000centenarians and their matched controls and found 150 genetic variantsor bits of DNAthat differed
40、between the two groups. These variants identified people who lived to a very old age (past 100) with 77% accuracy, researchers found.Further analysis identified 19 distinct genetic profiles associated with extremely long life; 90% of participants who lived to 100 possessed at least one of the signat
41、ure genetic clusters. Each profile appeared to confer a different tendency to develop common age-related chronic diseases, such as heart disease or brain disorder. “We realize this is a complex genetic puzzle,“ Perls said. “Were quite a ways away still in understanding how the integration of these g
42、enesnot just with themselves but with environmental factorsare playing a role in this longevity puzzle.“Perls has studied many factors that contribute to longevity, and he is the first to acknowledge that living longer isnt likely to be simply a matter of genes. His previous work has shown, for exam
43、ple, that among most elderly people who live into their 70s and 80s, about 70% of their longevity can be ascribed to environmental factors such as not smoking; eating a healthy, low-fat, low-calorie diet; and remaining socially engaged and intellectually active throughout life.Still, it seems clear
44、that those who live to an exceptionally ripe old age are benefiting from a special DNA boost. In fact, Perls believes that the older a person gets, the more likely it is that his or her genes are contributing to those extended years. His current genetic findings support that theory: the 19 most comm
45、on genetic profiles that distinguished the exceptionally long-lived appear to be correlated with lower incidence of certain diseases. For example, some profiles were associated with lower rates of high blood pressure and diabetes, while another was linked to a reduced risk of brain disorder.Although
46、 most of us cant expect to become centenarians, Perls is hoping that his work will lead to better waysperhaps through pharmaceutical interventions based on the genetic clues to longevityto help more of us live like them.16 By analysing the genes of centenarians, scientists found that_.（A）environment
47、 and lifestyle contribute much to longevity（B） centenarians genes are the same as other people（C） many genetic variants may identify centenarians（D）19 genetic profiles of centenarians are different from others17 Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?（A）Chronic diseases are complex
48、genetic puzzles to scientists.（B） How exceptional longevity-related genes function is known.（C） Most centenarians have exceptional longevity-related genes.（D）The integration of genes and environmental factors is important.18 Perls may most likely agree that _.（A）most extremely long-lived benefit fro
49、m not smoking（B） environmental factors play an important role in longevity（C） longevity is only associated with certain genetic profiles（D）intellectually active has nothing to do with living an old age19 By referring to current genetic findings of Perls, the author intends to _.（A）support the idea that extremely longevity are ascribed to genes（B） show some genes are associated with lower rates of certain diseases（C） support the idea that common genes are related to extremely longevity（D）discuss the relation
