1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 246 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 Overfishing of one of the oceans top predators has triggered a lethal chain reaction that threatens to decimate populations of bay scallops, oysters, an
2、d clams, warns a new study. Plunging populations of 11 large shark species have caused a spike in the numbers of their prey, including smaller sharks, rays, and skates. These creatures in turn are wiping out other marine organisms and may be destroying sea grass habitat, which serves as a nursery fo
3、r many species.Sharks have had a rough few decades. Demand for their fins and meat has resulted in increasing exploitation, and the creatures are often accidentally captured by swordfish and tuna fishers. As many as 73 million sharks are killed annually, and past studies have indicated many populati
4、ons have been cut by half. Nonetheless, scientists have had difficulty gauging the decline in several shark species over the years because of a lack of data. The effect of this decline on ocean ecosystems has also proven hard to measure.To get a better grip on the problem, marine biologist Julia Bau
5、m of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and colleagues trawled 35 years of marine surveys and fisheries data to document declines in large sharks off the eastern seaboard of the U. S. The numbers, reported today in Science, are stark: The blacktip shark population has plummeted 93% since 1972,
6、 with similar declines for tiger, bull, and smooth hammerhead sharks.Simultaneously, the abundance of 12 of the 14 species that these sharks prey onincluding the little skate, the chain catshark, and the cownose rayincreased dramatically. The latter has seen its numbers swell ten fold. The jump in r
7、ay numbers is especially troubling, notes co author and marine biologist Charles Peterson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, because the fish shred the sea grass that houses crabs and clams. In fact, he notes, by 2004 ray predation had shut down North Carolinas century-old bay scall
8、op fishery.The 11 other shark prey species whose populations rose over the 35-year period could be having similar impacts to that of the cownose ray, says Baum.“The result is profound“ because the high diversity of fishes in the northwest Atlantic has been thought to minimize catastrophic changes in
9、 the food web, says marine scientist Kenneth Frank of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Canada. Sharks are only part of the puzzle, however, Frank warns. Peoples appetites for oysters, clams, and scallops are likely having a more direct impact on these populations, he says.1 The ov
10、erfishing of sharks may result in_.（A）the abundance of sea grass habitat（B） the ruin of nursery for many marine species（C） the obvious increase of most marine species（D）the huge decline of the populations of their prey2 What contributes most to the overfishing of sharks is _,（A）the sharks accidental
11、ly captured by tuna fishers（B） the rough few decades that sharks have suffered（C） the ever-increasing demand for their fins and meat（D）the millions of sharks killed deliberately each year3 Julia Baum studied marine surveys and fisheries data in order to_,（A）prove the fact that shark populations have
12、 fallen sharply（B） cast light on the effect of shark decline on ocean ecosystrems（C） document the shark species which have declined most rapidly（D）understand the subtle relationship between predators and prey4 The rapid increase of the cownose ray results from_.（A）the ten fold increase of its number
13、s in a short time（B） the abundance of the 12 species that sharks prey on（C） the tremendous decline of the number of its predators（D）the decline of sharks off the eastern seaboard of America5 The populations of bay scallops, oysters, and clams are threatened directly by_.（A）the high diversity of fish
14、es in the northwest Atlantic（B） the catastrophic changes in the food web in the Atlantic（C） the lethal reaction triggered by the overfishing of sharks（D）the strong desire of many people for them as their delicious food5 Deane Brown started her legal career at a high-powered firm that tops many new l
15、awyers lists of best places to work. But when her daughter Morgan was born in 1996, the Boston University Law School grad worked nights and weekends to meet the billing requirements, leaving her feeling cheated. “At that point, I knew I needed to go to a smaller firm,“ she says. In 2002, she joined
16、Beermann Swerdlove, working in commercial litigation and employment law. “We appreciate that people have lives outside of the office here,“ she says.Law is a notoriously demanding profession for those with ambition. To become a partner, associates typically have to charge clients for at least 2,000
17、hours of work a year, though that minimum can rise to 2,400 hours at top-tier outfitsor 46 billable hours each and every week of the year. The burden falls especially hard on mothers who have got kids to tend to and households to manage. Little wonder that while half of all law school grads are wome
18、n, only 17. 2% of partners are, according to the Project for Attorney Retention. Beermann Swerdlove lies on the outer slope of this bell curve. Fully half of the Chicago firms 30 attorneys are women, including eight of its 19 partners. The firm -started 50 years ago by four DePaul University College
19、 of Law grads in the Swerdlove familys sewing-machine shop in Bucktowndidnt set out to be so egalitarian. Rather, says partner Miles Beermann, it happened because he and the other founders had a different attitude about work. “I didnt ever want to be involved in running a sweatshop. “ says Beermann,
20、 73. “I want people to want to come here in the morning. “A timely trend in the legal business helped, too. Many women who entered law in the early 1970s specialized in family law, which was becoming one of the firm s specialties. Today about half of Beermann Swerdloves business is in divorce. Its c
21、lients are mostly hoi polloi, but it has represented such headliners as Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, Pamela Hutul, a family lawyer, joined Beermann Swerdlove as its first female partner in 1996. Brown came next.To put its philosophy into practice the firm requires associates to bill a relati
22、vely modest minimum of 1,800 hours a year. Attorneys may work on a flexible schedule or from home as long as the work gets done and the client is happy. There is a tradeoff; Starting salaries for associates are about half of the big firms $ 150,000 or so, and partners rarely make the $ 1 million or
23、more that a partner might earn at a much larger firm.6 According to the text, Deane Brown_.（A）was ambitious for success in her career（B） preferred to work in a less famous company（C） could hardly meet the challenge of a top firm（D）was both competent and hardworking as a lawyer7 The author believes t
24、hat most girl grads from law schools _.（A）are not competent enough to succeed in the law business（B） will fail to become a partner however energetic they are（C） will inevitably sacrifice their career for their family life（D）are reluctant to give up law though it is much demanding8 According to one o
25、f its founders, Beermann Swerdlove_.（A）intended to equally treat its female and male employees（B） used to employ DePaul University College of Law grads（C） specialized in commercial litigation and employment law（D）was established to be less demanding than most other firms9 “Hoi polloi“most probably r
26、efers to _.（A）the populace（B） professionals（C） legendary figures（D）people seeking divorce10 According to the text, Beermann Swerdlove_.（A）eagerly puts its philosophy into practice（B） initiates a timely trend in the legal business（C） lets mothers work humane, flexible schedules（D）suits woman lawyers
27、contented with lower salaries10 Many philosophers have argued that people make decisions about whats right and wrong based on moral principles and rational thought. But other philosophersand more recently, some psychologists and neuroscientistshave argued that theres more to the story. When faced wi
28、th a moral dilemma, these scholars say, we rely on emotional reactions as well as our powers of reasoning. In a study of brain damage, published today, neuroscientists report evidence that emotions indeed exert a powerful influence on moral judgments.In the new study, Antonio Damasio of the Universi
29、ty of Southern California in Los Angeles and colleagues examined moral reasoning in six people who had damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex(VMPC), a brain region that regulates emotions. The researchers presented the patients with moral dilemmas that forced them to decide whether it was acce
30、ptable to sacrifice one persons life to save several others. For example, participants had to decide whether to flip a switch that diverts a runaway trolley from a track leading to five workers to a track leading to just one worker. The researchers also gauged the decisions of 12 people without brai
31、n damage and 12 patients with damage to brain regions unconnected to emotions.In the trolley scenario, most people in all three groups said it was okay to flip the switch. However, the VMPC patients decisions diverged when the scenario required inflicting direct personal harm on one person to save s
32、everal otherssuch as shoving a large person off a bridge to slow a trolley headed for five people. From a strictly rational point of view, its better to save five people instead of one, but the thought of pushing an innocent person to his death is emotionally wrenching. That may explain why only abo
33、ut 20% of people in the control groups said theyd push. The VMPC patients, on the other hand, made the utilitarian choice about twice as often, the researchers report online today in Nature.The findings fit nicely with other evidence that moral judgments often involve a conflict between emotion and
34、reason and that those two competing influences rely on different networks of brain regions, says Joshua Greene, a philosopher and cognitive neuroscientist at Harvard University. But Jordan Grafman, a cognitive neuroscientist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda,
35、 Maryland, isnt convinced that extreme moral dilemmas like the trolley problem evoke the same cognitive processesand involve the same brain regions as moral judgments in the real world involve. Even so, he says, the study “emphasizes that disciplines other than philosophy can contribute to issues re
36、lated to moral behavior. “11 Many philosophers believe that_.（A）most decisions are made morally（B） few decisions are made irrationally（C） decisions are much influenced by emotions（D）moral judgments are usually made rationally12 The trolley problem is presented to illustrate that_.（A）VMPC is a brain
37、region that regulates emotions（B） moral judgments may be influenced by emotions（C） even patients with brain damage can deal with moral dilemmas（D）its a tragedy to sacrifice an innocent person to save several others13 In the trolley scenario, most participants believe that _.（A）its right to flip the
38、switch to save more people（B） its wrong to push an innocent person to his death（C） its better to save five people without hurting anyone else（D）its ridiculous for them to decide whether to flip the switch14 Jordan Grafman thinks that _.（A）philosophy helps little to account for moral behavior（B） the
39、same brain regions are involved in moral judgments（C） moral issues have nothing to do with philosophical study（D）moral issues usually lead to the same cognitive processes15 The best title for the text should be_.（A）The VMPC Patients with a Moral Dilemma（B） The Conflict between Emotion and Reason（C）
40、How the Heart Can Rule the Head（D）How to Face a Moral Dilemma15 Recently anti patent arguments have been advanced with regards to HIV and AIDS drugs. Governments and companies in Brazil, India, Thailand and Uganda have started to challenge patents monopolies on medicine, arguing that human lives are
41、 more important than patents, copyright, international trade laws, and the economic interest of the pharmaceutical industry. Anti-retroviral therapy has long been unaffordable for people suffering from HIV/AIDS in developing countries, and proponents of generic antiviral drugs argue that the human n
42、eed justifies the breach of patent law. When the Thai Government Pharmaceutical Organization started producing generic antiviral drugs in March 2002 the cost of a monthly treatment for one person plummeted from $ 500- $ 750 to $ 30, hence making treatment more affordable. In response the US governme
43、nt placed Thailand on the list of “copyright violators“ despite the fact that the production of antiviral drugs is not subject to copyright, even in the United States. In 2007 the government of Brazil declared Mercks efavirenz anti-retroviral drug a “public interest“ medicine, and challenged Merck t
44、o negotiate lower prices with the government or have Brazil strip the patent by issuing a compulsory license.It is reported that Ghana, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia have similar plans to produce generic antiviral drugs. Western pharmaceutical companies initially responded
45、with legal challenges, but some have now promised to introduce alternative pricing structures for developing countries and NGOs.Campaigns for affordable access to medicines, such as Oxfam, argue that developing countries are dependent on foreign pharmaceutical companies. Quoting a recent World Healt
46、h Organisation report, Trevor Jones argues that patent monopolies do not create monopoly pricing. He argues that the companies given monopolies “set prices largely on the willingness/ability to pay, also taking into account the country, disease and regulation“ instead of receiving competition from l
47、egalized generics.Under World Trade Organization(WTO)rules, a developing country has options for obtaining needed medications under compulsory licensing or importation of cheaper versions of the drugs, even before patent expiration. In July 2008 Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir John Sulston critici
48、sed the “moral corruption“ of the medical industry. Amongst others Sulston said that the world is at a crisis point in terms of getting medicines to sick people, particularly in the developing world, Sulston called for an international biomedical treaty to clear up issues over patents.In response to
49、 these criticisms against pharmaceutical patents it has been pointed out that less than 5% of medicines on the WHOs essential drugs list are subject to patent monopoly and that countries who believe that these monopolies are impeding health care may not be aware that the medicines in question, particularly for HIV/AIDS related drugs, are not patented in their country.16 In face of patents monopolies on medicine, some poor countries_.（A）justified their production of antiviral
