1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 278 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 A woman with a twin brother has fewer children. Twin brothers can leave quite an impression. The mere presence of a boy in the same womb as his sister c
2、auses her to develop bigger teeth than she otherwise would. Girls with twin brothers perform better on spatial-ability tests. They have better ball skills than most females and are more likely to be short-sighted. Now it seems that sharing the womb also has a harmful effect on the sexual reproductio
3、n of women with a twin brother.Virpi Lummaa of the University of Sheffield, in Britain, and her colleagues made the claim after studying detailed data from several generations of church records from many parishes in Finland. They report that women with a twin brother were 15% less likely to get marr
4、ied than were women with a twin sister. Those with a male twin also had a 25% lower chance of giving birth even though they lived just as long as those with a female twin. When the researchers considered only married women, those with a twin brother on average had two fewer children during their lif
5、etimes than did women with a twin sister. And finallyto rule out any influence of sharing a house as well as a wombDr Lummaa checked the results were the same for women whose twin brothers died before they were three months old. The researchers reported their findings in this weeks Proceedings of th
6、e National Academy of Sciences.As with the teeth, the supposed cause of untypical female biology is early exposure to testosterone. This hormone is made by a male fetuss developing testes from about seven weeks after conception and is thought to diffuse, thus influencing his sisters growth. But the
7、exact mechanism by which a twin brother lowers his sisters chances of reproductive success is unclear.Dr Lummaas results also suggest that, if a woman wishes to maximize the chances of passing on her genes, she would do better to avoid producing pairs of twins consisting of one boy and one girl and
8、go for a single-sex combination instead. Mothers included in the study who produced opposite-sex twins had 19% fewer grandchildren than did mothers who gave birth to same-sex twins.Evolutionary theory thus predicts that there should be fewer pairs of girl-and-boy non-identical twins than single-sex
9、pairs of non-identical twins. Whether that is so requires another set of figures. Finnish church records, helpful as they are, do not distinguish non-identical same-sex twins from identical ones. In the eyes of God, unlike those of natural selection, twin girls are created equal.1 Which of the follo
10、wing can be an impression on the sisters by twin brothers?（A）Better musical skills.（B） Shorter views.（C） More spatial-competence.（D）Stronger teeth.2 According to Virpi Lummaa and her colleagues, women with twin brothers（A）encounter more difficulties in getting married than only-child women.（B） raise
11、 two more children during their lifetime than women with a twin sister.（C） enjoy a much shorter longevity than women whose female twins died early.（D）present a reproduction rate a quarter less than those with a female twin.3 The word “conception“(Line 2, Paragraph 3)has a meaning closest to（A）childb
12、irth.（B） pregnancy.（C） teeth-forming.（D）organs forming.4 It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that（A）maternal genes have slight chances of passing on through same-sex twins.（B） single-sex combination boasts more chances of inheriting maternal genes.（C） a woman should produce twins of the same sex to
13、optimize their genes.（D）Twins receive less genes from their mother than ordinary children. 5 According to the last paragraph, in the future, there are probably more（A）twin sisters than twin brothers.（B） twin brothers than twin sisters.（C） single-sex twins than boy-and-girl twins.（D）boy-and-girl twin
14、s than single-sex twins.5 This week, in Washington and cities across the nation, immigrant advocates, clergy members and labor and business leaders have been meeting to press their case for comprehensive immigration reform. Hopes have been raised before and repeatedly dashed. But this year there is
15、a chanceif the White House provides real leadership and Congressional leaders show the courage and sense they have previously lacked.President Obama has pledged his support for reform that includes a path to citizenship for the undocumented. At the same time, his administration has not done nearly e
16、nough to moderate enforcement policies that unfairly target citizens and legal residentsoften because they are Hispanicwhile feeding the fear and hopelessness of illegal immigrants as they await the opportunity to get right with the law.The Department of Homeland Security has been pressing ahead wit
17、h the old Bush administration strategy of tightening the screws on the 12 million undocumented, particularly by lengthening the long arm of local law enforcement. Make no mistake: Stronger and more effective immigration enforcement should be a pillar of any reform plan. But stricter enforcement must
18、 be coupled with a path to legalization. And poorly designed enforcement without strict checks on errors and abuse is a remedy worse than the disease.The homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, is sticking with the 287(g)program, which deputizes local police departments to enforce immigration
19、 law, despite all-too-frequent errors and abuses. Despite community outrage over racial profiling and mdiscriminate “crime sweeps“ in Maricopa County, Ariz., by the notorious sheriff, Joe Arpaio, he remains a member in good standing of Ms. Napolitanos enforcement team.Immigration and Customs Enforce
20、ment is expanding its Secure Communities program, which automatically checks the immigration status of everyone booked in jail. That sounds benign, but advocates have raised legitimate concerns over its lack of oversight and internal controls. Any blanket checks of arrestees, both innocent and guilt
21、y, could easily provide cover to police departments that use neighborhood sweeps and mass arrests as a pretext to “clean“ communities of unwanted immigrantsnot just violent criminals, but harmless housekeepers, day laborers and gardeners.There could be no quicker way than this to erode the hard-won
22、advances in community policing, through which law enforcement agencies rely on the trust and cooperation of the people they protect. There is a grim contradiction at work here, with the Obama administration simultaneously, and self-de-structively, twisting the dials of hope and fear.6 In the first p
23、aragraph, the author holds that（A）immigrants are disappointed again by the side effects of the reform.（B） US government is expected to advance the immigration reform.（C） immigration reform will contradict current laws and rules.（D）immigration reform is welcomed by every social group.7 Why do illegal
24、 immigrants feel fearful and hopeless?（A）Because they are waiting to become legal residents.（B） Because they find the president is unwilling to support the reform.（C） Because related policies cannot satisfy their demands.（D）Because Hispanics are often discriminated under current laws.8 Poorly design
25、ed enforcement concerning immigration will probably（A）lead the immigrants to a path of legalization.（B） put more emphases on strict checks.（C） regard errors and abuse as a remedy for disease.（D）bring more problems to the original issue.9 The Secure Communities program（A）automatically checks the immi
26、gration status of each citizen.（B） fails to notice the internal changes of the prisoners.（C） is used as an alleged reason to wipe out unwanted immigrants.（D）aims at clearing the community of all the immigrants.10 The text intends to tell us that（A）there will be both hope and concern on immigration.（
27、B） Obama administration will press forward law enforcement reforms.（C） enforcement policy will greatly promote the immigration reform process.（D）immigrant advocates are demanding for more citizen rights.10 What makes a great high school? Americans think a lot of things do, from outstanding academics
28、 or a supportive environment for students to a great football or basketball team. Still, pretty much everyone agrees teaching and learning are central to the mission. High schools are expected to prepare students for further education, work, or the military and eliminate the large gaps in achievemen
29、t separating different ethnic and income groups of students. These are sensible goals.While there are many great high schools among the nearly 22,000 across the country, too many are still not getting the job done. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic students finish high school on time.
30、 Meanwhile, the National Assessment of Education Progress tests, often referred to as “the nations report card,“ show significant achievement gaps separating white students from black and Hispanic high school students.These are not small differences but rather vast gaps that crush opportunity and te
31、ar at our nations social contract. Leave aside the intrinsic value of being an educated citizen; there are practical effects as well. In 2005, the mean annual earnings were about $20,000 for a high school dropout but $54,000 for someone with a bachelors degree. And those differences are growing wide
32、r, not lessening, as our economy becomes more knowledge and skills based. In 1975, a high school dropout earned about half as much as a college graduate, compared with about one third today.This is why U.S. News set some clear criteria for academic quality in its new ranking of American high schools
33、. These criteria mean a lot of schools dont measure uponly 505 schools nationwide earned a silver or gold medal this year. The list illustrates at once the promise and the challenge for high schools today. Only about 1 in 8 of the schools on this list serves a student population that is more than 50
34、 percent low income, and only about 1 in 5 has a majority of nonwhite students. Meanwhile, about 1 in 5 selects students based on academic merit, something that obviously boosts the chances of meeting the criteria.Because the U.S. News list uses more data to judge schools, it paints a clearer pictur
35、e. Of course, no list is perfect. For instance, it is difficult to account for high school graduation rates because states calculate them in different ways. But this one better reflects what policymakers and parents want from high schools, as well as the challenge our nation faces to make our high s
36、chools as good as they need to be.11 American high schools are expected to（A）eliminate large social gaps.（B） remain ethnic diversities.（C） teach students practical skills.（D）prepare students for the future.12 In Paragraph 2, “the nations report card“ is mentioned to show that（A）too many high schools
37、 fail to accomplish the mission of teaching and learning.（B） half of African-American and Hispanic high school students are dropouts.（C） academic achievement gaps are the primary causes of ethnic gaps in America.（D）Achievement gaps among different ethnic groups still remain in American high schools.
38、 13 We can learn from Paragraph 3 that（A）inequality of education breaks the contract America signs with its citizens.（B） income gaps are widened as the economy relies more on knowledge and skills.（C） high school education results in more economic impact than emotional one.（D）high school dropouts use
39、d to earn more in the 1970s than today.14 High schools of silver or gold medalists by U.S. News most probably（A）dedicate to students from low-income families.（B） recruit mainly white students.（C） select students based on academic performance.（D）admit only minority elite students.15 Which of the foll
40、owing is a feature of the U.S. News list?（A）Ideal.（B） Exaggerating.（C） Insightful.（D）Threatening.15 You are what you eat, or so the saying goes. But Richard Wrangham, of Harvard University, believes that this is true in a more profound sense than the one implied by the old proverb. It is not just yo
41、u who are what you eat, but the entire human species. And with Homo sapiens, what makes the species unique in Dr. Wranghams opinion is that its food is so often cooked.Cooking is a human universal. No society is without it. No one other than a few faddists tries to survive on raw food alone. And the
42、 consumption of a cooked meal in the evening, usually in the company of family and friends, is normal in every known society. Moreover, without cooking, the human brain(which consumes 20-25% of the bodys energy)could not keep running. Dr. Wrangham thus believes that cooking and humanity have develop
43、ed alongside. In fact, as he outlined to the American Association for the Advancement of Science(AAAS), in Chicago, he thinks that cooking and other forms of preparing food are humanitys “killer application“: the evolutionary change that underpins all of the otherand subsequentchanges that have made
44、 people such unusual animals.Humans became human, as it were, with the emergence 1.8 million years ago of a species called Homo erectus. This had a skeleton much like modern mansa big, brain-filled skull and a narrow pelvis and rib cage, which imply a small abdomen and thus a small gut. Hitherto, th
45、e explanation for this shift from the smaller skulls and wider pelvises of mans apelike ancestors has been a shift from a vegetable-based diet to a meat-based one. Meat has more calories than plant matter, the theory went. A smaller gut could therefore support a larger brain.Dr. Wrangham disagrees.
46、When you do the sums, he argues, raw meat is still insufficient to bridge the gap. He points out that even modern “raw foodists“, members of a town-dwelling, back-to-nature social movement, struggle to maintain their weightand they have access to animals and plants that have been bred for the table.
47、 Pre-agricultural man confined to raw food would have starved.Start cooking, however, and things change radically. Cooking alters food in three important ways. It breaks starch molecules into more digestible fragments. It “denatures“ protein molecules, so that their amino-acid chains unfold and dige
48、stive enzymes can attack them more easily. And heat physically softens food. That makes it easier to digest, so even though the stuff is no more calorific, the body uses fewer calories dealing with it.16 It can be inferred from the first paragraph that（A）what you eat exerts little impact on who you
49、are.（B） the food makes Homo sapiens different from others.（C） Homo sapiens often cooked its food.（D）Homo sapiens cook food in a unique way.17 Dr. Wrangham holds the view that（A）cooking is a human universal without exception.（B） the human brain could not work without food.（C） eating cooked meat should be accompanied by family.（D）humanity is a precondition for development of cooking.18 It is stated that humans had changed from their apelike ancestors to Homo erectus probably because（A）they could support a larger brain with smaller gut.（B） they had a narrow pel
