1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 238 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 Taking a multivitamin around the time of conception may help women lower their risk of delivering low-birth-weight babies, a new research shows. The stu
2、dy, one of the first to look at multivitamin use immediately before and after conception, strengthens the notion that nutritional deficiencies may increase the risk of birth complications.Still, the researchers cautioned that it was too soon to recommend multivitamins for women who are contemplating
3、 pregnancy or already expecting. While some studies have suggested benefits, others have found that women who eat a healthy diet have no need for multivitamins, and that vitamins may even do some harm, especially when their use is continued late into a pregnancy.The study, published in the September
4、 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, analyzed data on nearly 36,000 Danish women enrolled in a national birth registry. The scientists who carried out the research found that a large share of the womenabout 60 percent had been taking multivitamins in the four weeks before and eight
5、weeks after the last menstrual period. After adjusting for a number of risk factors, like smoking, weight and the age of the mother, the study found that women who took a daily multivitamin and were of normal weight had a nearly 20 percent lower chance of delivering a preterm baby, compared with tho
6、se who did not take a daily multivitamin. Women who were overweight did not see the same benefit, though it was unclear why.In 2004, a study by scientists at Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that taking daily multivitamins was a widespread practice among expe
7、ctant mothers in the United States. Up to 78 percent of pregnant women reported taking multivitamins, the study found, compared with only 47 percent of women who were not pregnant.Doctors have long encouraged pregnant women and those contemplating pregnancy to take folic acida B vitamindaily to help
8、 prevent neural tube defects. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, a member of the family of B vitamins that is involved with DNA synthesis and DNA methylation. Because of these crucial functions, folate plays important roles in fetal development and nerve tissue health. And since the late 19
9、90s, the government has also required food makers to add the vitamin to many grain products, including flour and breads. The authors of the latest study suggested that there could be other nutrients in multivitamins besides folic acid that help reduce the risk of birth complications. But they also s
10、aid that more, research was needed, and that they were not recommending that women trying to conceive should start a daily multivitamin regimen.1 The main idea of the passage is that_.（A）taking a multivitamin around the time of conception may help women lower their risk of delivering low birth-weigh
11、t babies（B） women who took a daily multivitamin had a nearly 20 percent lower chance of delivering a preterm baby（C） women trying to conceive should start a daily multivitamin regimen（D）a new research strengthens the notion that taking multivitamins may decrease the risk of birth complications2 Acco
12、rding to Paragraph 2, which one of the followings is not a reason for not recommending multivitamins to pregnant women?（A）women who eat a healthy diet have no need for multivitamins（B） taking multivitamins may increase the risk of birth complications（C） vitamins may even do some harm for pregnant wo
13、men（D）vitamins may especially harm pregnant women during late pregnancy3 According to Paragraph 3, the factor combined with taking multivitamins to decide womens chance of delivering a preterm baby is_.（A）smoking（B） weight（C） age of the mother（D）last menstrual period4 It can be inferred from the fou
14、rth paragraph that_.（A）taking daily multivitamins is not as common a practice among women who are not pregnant as among pregnant women in the United States（B） pregnant women consider taking multivitamin as the most important way to guarantee their nutrition intake（C） women who are not pregnant do no
15、t think taking multivitamins can reduce the risk of birth complications（D）pregnant women in the United States believe that taking multivitamins can reduce the risk of birth complications5 Folate plays important roles in_.（A）DNA synthesis and DNA methylation（B） lowering the chance of delivering a pre
16、term baby（C） fetal development and nerve tissue health（D）avoiding vitamin B deficiency5 The job recovery could perhaps best be described as modest , and Friday s jobs report for May further solidified that description. U. S. employers added 175,000 new jobs last montha strong showing, but only moder
17、ately so. And from the perspective of a central banker, that might be welcome news.An employment report that showed too big of a spike in job creation could spook investors, even as it signals a healthy economy, says Brett Wander, chief investment officer in fixed income at Charles Schwab Investment
18、 Management. “Theres some concernamong investorsthat in turnFederal Reserve Chairman BenBernankes going to take the punch bowl away. Then it may be a very shortlived party. He wants a long sustained jobs growth,“ says Wander.That “punch howl“ is the Feds $85 billion of monthly purchases of bonds and
19、 mortgage backed securities, known as QE3. While Bernanke has mentioned the possibility of tapering in coming months. he has also said he believes sustained and substantial job market improvement will be a prerequisite for dialing back the program. Markets have been watching closely for any signs of
20、 when that might be.Those bond buys have been keeping interest rates very low. However, even Bernankes mention of possible future tapering in a congressional testimony last month sent bond yields spiking. If a job report comes in too strongly, says Wander, it will trigger a bond sell-off, sending bo
21、nd yields upward. In other words, there is a scenario in which a supremely positive jobs report could, ironically, hurt the economy. “Its those low yields that are arguably stimulating the economy,“ says Wander. For example, low bond yields mean low mortgage rates, which could inspire more buyers to
22、 get into the housing market. Higher interest rates could slow that down.On the other hand, its important to remember that low interest rates are not the Feds ultimate goal. Rather, theyre a means to the end of boosting employment. For that reason, it may be that the economic outlook is sunny, wheth
23、er jobs data is modest or booming.“If you take a bullish viewand we are bullishwere kind of in a win-win situation here,“ says Hank Smith, chief investment officer and director at Haverford Trust. “Yes. better data will lead to the fed starting to pull back from its quantitative easing, but better d
24、ata is something that is desired. So that should be good for corporate earnings, which is the ultimate driver of stock prices. “In Smiths opinion, the latest jobs report was better than expected but “still reflective of an economy thats growing at a below-average rate. “ Hes not the only one who con
25、siders economic growth middling. In its latest Beige Book report released Wednesday, the Federal Reserve characterized activity as growing at “modest to moderate pace. “ So while the chatter grows, even among Fed Presidents, about the prospect of tapering, more mixed data could mean a full punch bow
26、l for at least a few more months.6 The word “spook“(Line 1, Paragraph 2)is closest in meaning to _.（A）attract（B） satisfy（C） frighten（D）irritate7 According to Paragraph 3, the prerequisite for taking the punch bowl away is_ .（A）a spike in job creation（B） sustained and substantial job market improveme
27、nt（C） more buyers getting into the housing market（D）high interest rate8 The most accurate description for the word “tapering“ in the passage is_.（A）quantitative easing（B） bond sell-off（C） negative jobs report（D）dialing back QE39 Which one of the following is not a positive effect of “better data“?（A
28、）better data is something that is desired.（B） better data is good for corporate earnings.（C） better data will lead to the fed starting to pull back from its quantitative easing.（D）better data is good for stock prices.10 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that_.（A）the fed will not start to pu
29、ll back from its quantitative easing in the near future（B） the stock price will rise for a few more months（C） recently economy grows at modest to moderate pace（D）interest rate will remain high though this year10 Over the past 50 years, expansive, low density communities have proliferated at the edge
30、s of many cities in the United States and Canada, creating a phenomenon known as suburhan sprawl.Andres Duany, Elizabeth Flater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck, a group of prominent town planners belonging to a movement called New Urbanism, contend that suburban sprawl contributes to the decline of civic lif
31、e and civility. For reasons involving the flow of automobile traffic, they note, zoning laws usually dictate that suburban homes, stores, businesses, and schools be built in separate areas, and this separation robs people of communal space where they can interact and get to know one another. It is a
32、s difficult to imagine the concept of community without a town square or local pub, these town planners contend, as it is to imagine the concept of family independent of the house.Suburban housing subdivisions, Duany and his colleagues add, usually contain homes identical not only in appearance but
33、also in price, resulting in a de facto economic segregation of residential neighborhoods. Children growing up in these neighborhoods, whatever their economic circumstances, are certain to be ill prepared for life in a diverse society. Moreover, because the widely separated suburban homes and busines
34、ses are connected only by “collector roads,“ residents areforccd to drive, often in heavy traffic, in order to perform many daily tasks. Time that would in a town center involve social interaction within a physical public realm is now spent inside the automobile, where people cease to be community m
35、embers andinstead become motorists, competing for road space, often acting antisocially. Pedestrians rarely act in this manner toward each other.Duany and his colleagues advocate development based on early-twentieth century urban neighborhoods that mix housing of different prices and offer residents
36、 a “gratifying public realm“ that includes narrow, tree-lined streets,parks, corner grocery stores, cafes, small-neighborhood schools, all within walking distance. This, they believe, would give people of diverse backgrounds and lifestyles an opportunity to interact and thus develop mutual respect.O
37、pponents of New Urbanism claim that migrationto sprawling suburbs is an expression of peoples legitimate desire to secure the enjoyment and personal mobility provided by the automobile and thelifestyle that it makes possible. However, the New Urbanists do not question peoples right to their own valu
38、es; instead, they suggest that we should take a more critical view of these values and of the sprawl-conducive zoning and subdivision policies that reflect them. New Urbanists are fundamentally concerned with the long-term social costs of the now-prevailing attitude that individual mobility, consump
39、tion, and wealth should be valued absolutely, regardless of their impact on community life.11 Based on the text, which of the following best defines the word “sprawl“(Line 2, Paragraph 1)?（A）spread out（B） decline（C） renew（D）threaten12 According to the second paragraph, “communal space“ is to “commun
40、ity“ as_.（A）town square is to “local pub“（B） home is to “family“（C） business is to “school“（D）store is to “library“13 According to Paragraph 4, which one of the following is not characteristic of early-twentieth century urban neighborhoods?（A）Mixing housing of different prices and styles.（B） Offerin
41、g residents a “gratifying public realm“ .（C） Forcing residents to drive, often in heavy traffic.（D）Giving people of diverse backgrounds and lifestyles an opportunity to interact and thus develop mutual respect.14 To which of the following statements would New Urbanists most likely agree?（A）Suburban
42、sprawl contributes to the thriving of civic life and civility.（B） Children growing up in urban neighborhoods were ill prepared for life in a diverse society.（C） Early-twentieth century urban neighborhoods should be the model for the modern neighborhood development.（D）The automobile and the lifestyle
43、 that it makes possible bring people enjoyment and personal mobility.15 According to the passage, the New Urbanists cite which one of the following as a harmful result of the need for people to travel extensively every day by automobile?（A）It imposes an extra financial burden on the residents of spr
44、awling suburbs.（B） It increases the amount of time people spend in situations in which antisocial behavior occurs.（C） It produces significant amounts of air pollution and thus tends to harm the quality of peoples lives.（D）It decreases the amount of time that parents spend in enjoyable interactions w
45、ith their children.15 We all know(or should know)by now that the carbon dioxide we produce when we burn fossil fuels and cut down forests is the planets single largest contributor to global warming. It persists in the atmosphere for centuries. Reducing these emissions by as much as half by 2050 is e
46、ssential to avoid disastrous consequences by the end of this century, and we must begin immediately.But this is a herculean undertaking, both technically and politically. There is, however, a short-term strategy. We can slow this warming quickly by cutting emissions of four other climate pollutants:
47、 black carbon, a component of soot; methane, the main component of natural gas; lower-level ozone, a main ingredient of urban smog; and hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which are used as coolants. They account for as much as 40 percent of current warming.We can reduce black carbon emissions significantl
48、y in the next few decades by using particulate filters on cars and trucks and switching to low-sulfur diesel. By employing those strategies, California, for instance, has cut the warming effect from diesel emissions by nearly half since the late 1980s. In addition, we can further reduce emissions of
49、 black carbon and carbon monoxide(which produces lower-level ozone)in the developing world simply by turning to efficient biomass cook stoves instead of using traditional mud stoves, by replacing kerosene lamps in villages with solar lamps, and by deploying modern brick kilns.Methane emissions can be cut by nearly a third by reducing leaks from gas pipes, coal mines and hydraulic fracturing, by capturing methane from waste dumps, water treatment plants and manure, and by cutting emissions from rice paddies.These
