1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 28 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 Control an University Logistic Number, Boycott School Fees RiseOver the last two decades, colleges and universities doubled their full-time support staff
2、 while enrollment increased only 40 percent, according to a new analysis of government data. During the same period, the staff of fulltime instructors, or equivalent personnel, rose about 50 percent, while the number of managers increased slightly more than 50 percent.The data, based on United State
3、s Department of Education filings from more than 2,782 colleges, come from 1987 to 2007, before the current recession prompted many colleges to freeze their hiring.Neither the report nor outside experts on college affordability went so far as to argue that the increase in support staff was directly
4、responsible for soaring tuition. Most experts say that the largest driver of tuition increases has been the decline in state financing for higher education.Still, the findings raise concerns about administrative bloat, and the increasing focus on the social and residential nature of college life, as
5、 opposed to academics.“ On a case-by-case basis, many of these hiring decisions might be good ones, but over all, its not a sustainable trend.“ Said Pat Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.“ At a time when were trying to do something to hold down tuition i
6、ncreases,“ Mr. Callan added, “this gives us a pretty good clue where we ought to be looking. And it does raise questions about the conventional wisdom that you cant do anything to control tuition without affecting academic quality.“The growth in support staff included some jobs that did not exist 20
7、 years ago, like environmental sustainability officers and a broad array of information technology workers. The support staff category includes many different jobs, like residential-life staff, admissions and recruitment officers, fundraisers, loan counselors,etc.“A lot of it is definitely trying to
8、 keep up with the Joneses,“ said Daniel Bennett, a labor economist. “ Universities and colleges are catering more to students, trying to make college a lifestyle, not just people getting an education. Theres more social programs, more athletics, more trainers, more sustainable environmental programs
9、.“On average, public colleges have about 8 employees per 100 students, and private colleges about 9, according to the report.In the 20-year period, the report found, the greatest number of jobs added, more than 630, 000, were instructorsbut three-quarters of those were part-time. Converted to full-t
10、ime equivalents, those resulted in a total of 939,000 teaching jobs, up from 614,000 in 1987.The largest number of full-time jobs added, more than 278,000, were for support staffs, and grew to more than half a million positions in 2007, from 292,000 in 1987. Colleges also added some 65, 000 manageme
11、nt positions, almost all of them full time; all told, they had 185, 000 managers in 2007, up from about 120,000 managers 20 years earlier.1 Why did many colleges stop hiring more staff?（A）Because the rate of support staff growth surpassed that of enrollment growth.（B） Because they had more staff tha
12、n needed.（C） Because the current economic depression caused them to do so.（D）Because the staff expenditure was too high.2 What is believed by most experts to be the main reason for increasing tuition?（A）The increasing number of the full-time support staff.（B） The reduction in the government funding
13、for higher education.（C） The rising inflation in the country.（D）The increasing number of the students.3 Which of the following belongs to support staff?（A）Instructors.（B） IT workers.（C） President.（D）Department dean.4 According to Mr. Bennett, universities and colleges significantly increase the numb
14、er of their full-time support staff because_.（A）they needed more staff to provide more desired services for students（B） they did not want to fall behind the Jones family（C） the student number was on the increase（D）they were trying to make college more than a place to get education5 What can we infer
15、 from the passage?（A）Over the last two decades, colleges altered the composition of their work force.（B） In the past twenty years, the number of full-time instructors increased by 630,000.（C） All the managerial positions added during the period from 1987 to 2007 were full time.（D）There were altogeth
16、er 614,000 teaching positions in the United States in 2007.5 The Persons Achievement Is Mostly Decided by the Day After Tomorrow Develop Rather Than Inborn HeredityIf you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006s World Cup tournament, you would most likely find a notewor
17、thy quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the later months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced.What
18、might account for this strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses: a) certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills; b) winter-born babies tend to have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina; c) soccer-mad parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime, at the
19、annual peak of soccer mania; d) none of the above.Anders Ericsson, a 58-year-old psychology professor at Florida State University, says he believes strongly in “none of the above“. Ericsson grew up in Sweden, and studied nuclear engineering until he realized he would have more opportunity to conduct
20、 his own research if he switched to psychology. His first experiment, nearly 30 years ago, involved memory: training a person to hear and then repeat a random series of numbers. “With the first subject, after about 20 hours of training, his digit span had risen from 7 to 20,“ Ericsson recalls. “He k
21、ept improving, and after about 200 hours of training he had risen to over 80 numbers.“This success, coupled with later research showing that memory itself is not genetically determined, led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing is more of a cognitive exercise than an intuitive one. In othe
22、r words, whatever inborn differences two people may exhibit in their abilities to memorize, those differences are swamped by how well each person “ encodes “ the information. And the best way to learn how to encode information meaningfully, Ericsson determined, was a process known as deliberate prac
23、tice. Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits, in
24、cluding soccer. They gather all the data they can, not just performance statistics and biographical details but also the results of their own laboratory experiments with high achievers. Their work makes a rather startling assertion, the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put anot
25、her way, expert performers whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programmingare nearly always made, not born.6 The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned to_.（A）stress the importance of professional training（B） spotlight the soccer superstars of the World Cup（C） intro
26、duce the topic of what makes expert performance（D）explain why some soccer teams play better than others7 The word “mania“ (Line 8, Para. 2) most probably means_.（A）fun（B） craze（C） hysteria（D）excitement8 According to Ericsson,good memory_.（A）depends on meaningful processing of information（B） results
27、from intuitive rather than cognitive exercises（C） is determined by genetic rather than psychological factors（D）requires immediate feedback and a high degree of concentration9 Ericsson and his colleagues believe that_.（A）talent is a dominating factor for professional success（B） biographical data prov
28、ide the key to excellent performance（C） the role of talent tends to be overlooked（D）high achievers owe their success mostly to nurture10 Which of the following proverbs is closest to the message the text tries to convey_?（A）Faith will move mountains.（B） One reaps what one sows. （C） Practice makes pe
29、rfect. （D）Like father, like son. 10 Thin Just By Way of Satisfy VaingloryNo woman can be too rich or too thin. This saying often attributed to the late Duchess of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times. Being thin is deemed as such a virtue.The problem with such a view is that some peo
30、ple actually attempt to live by it. I myself have fantasies of slipping into narrow designer clothes. Consequently I have been on a diet for the betteror worsepart of my life. Being rich wouldnt be bad either but that wont happen unless an unknown relative dies suddenly in some distant land leaving
31、me millions of dollars.Where did we go off the track? When did eating butter become a sin and a little bit of extra flesh unappealing if not repellent? All religions have certain days when people refrain from eating and excessive eating is one of Christianitys seven deadly sins. However until quite
32、recently most people had a problem getting enough to eat. In some religious groups, wealth was a symbol of probable salvation and high morals and fatness a sign of wealth and well-being.Today the opposite is true. We have shifted to thinness as our new mark of virtue. The result is that being fator
33、even only somewhat overweight is bad because it implies a lack of moral strength.Our obsession with thinness is also fuelled by health concerns. It is true that in this country we have more overweight people than ever before and that in many cases being overweight correlates with an increased risk o
34、f heart and blood vessel disease. These diseases however may have as much to do with our way of life and our high-fat diets as with excess weight. And the associated risk of cancer in the digestive system may be more of a dietary problemtoo much fat and a lack of fiberthan a weight problem.The real
35、concern then is not that we weight too much but that we neither exercise enough nor eat well. Exercise is necessary for strong bones and both heart and lung health. A balance diet without a lot of fat can also help the body avoid many diseases. We should surely stop paying so much attention to weigh
36、t. Simply being thin is not enough? It is actually hazardous if those who get or already are thin think they are automatically healthy and thus free from paying attention to their overall life-style. Thinness can be pure vainglory.11 In the eyes of the author, an odd phenomenon nowadays is that（A）th
37、e Duchess of Windsor is regarded as a woman of virtue（B） looking slim is a symbol of having a large fortune（C） being thin is viewed as a much desired quality（D）religious people are not necessarily virtuous12 Swept by the prevailing trend, the author_.（A）had to go on a diet for the greater part of he
38、r life（B） could still prevent herself from going off the track（C） had to seek help from rich distant relatives（D）had to wear highly fashionable clothes13 In human history, peoples views on weight_.（A）were closely related to their religious beliefs（B） changed from time to time（C） varied between the p
39、oor and the rich（D）led to different moral standards14 The author criticizes womens obsession with thinness_.（A）from an economic and educational perspective（B） from sociological and medical points of view（C） from a historical and religious standpoint（D）in the light of moral principles15 Whats the aut
40、hors advice to women who are absorbed in the idea of thinness?（A）They should be more concerned with their overall lifestyle.（B） They should be more watchful for fatal diseases.（C） They should gain weight to look healthy.（D）They should rid themselves of fantasies about designer clothes.15 The Questio
41、n that the Nobel will KindleUnlike the original five prizes named in Alfred Nobels will more than a century ago, the economics awardformally called the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobelwas created in 1968 by the nations central bank in honor of its 300th anniversary
42、. But it isnt so much bloodlines that have stirred up dismay as the kind of work that has often been honored.“Theyre not engaged in the problems of the actual world.“ Said James K. Galbraith, an economist at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin, voicing
43、 an all too common complaint that much of the Nobel-anointed economic work seems out of touch with reality.Complaints about prize winners generally fall into one of three categories: too ideological; too preoccupied with theory and mathe-matics; or too narrowly focused on problems facing Wall Street
44、 instead of on pressing global issues like inequality, poverty and the environment.Thats not how Gary S. Beckeran economist at the University of Chicago who won the 1992 prize for applying economic theory to a wide range of human behavior, including crime and racial discrimination sees it. “ People
45、have different judgments about what constitutes the biggest contribution,“ he said, but he maintains that the winners “do reflect the most important work in economics“ and that the work being honored is “ useful in understanding how societies work“.The hard-science prizes were certainly the model fo
46、r the newest Nobel. Yet the notion that economics is scientific, said Jeff Madrick, the director of policy research at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School in New York, is “ highly exaggerated“.Mr. Madrick not only doubts that significant contributions in the field can
47、be limited to those based on econometrics but also questions whether that type of work is as unbiased as is often claimed. “The Nobel prize has become quite a political animal,“ he said, “in the disguise of being scientifically pure.“This was the heart of the complaint from the Nobel winner Gunnar M
48、yrdal. In a 1977 letter to a Swedish newspaper, he rejected the idea that the field of economics could claim a Nobel on the basis of its scientific rigor. Economics should concern itself with political and social needs, he argued, and he called for an end to the prize in economics. The free-market c
49、onservative Friedrich von Hayek, who shared the Nobel in economics with Myrdal in 1974 despite being his ideological opposite, agreed on that point.16 The differences between Nobel Prize of economic sciences and that of other subjects lie in that_.（A）the former is honored to Alfred Nobel but not mentioned in his will（B） the latter is included in Alfred Nobels will（C） they focus on different fields（D）all of the above17 Which of the following is NOT the complaint about the Nobel Prize in
