1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 343 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 More boys than girls arc born all over the world, but a new study has found that the closer people live to the equator, the smaller the difference becom
2、es. No one knows why.The skewed sex ratio at birth has been known for more than a hundred years, and researchers have found a large variety of social, economic and biological factors that correlate with itwar, economic stress, age, diet, selective abortion or infanticide and more. Teasing out the co
3、ntribution of any single cultural or political variable has proved an almost infinitely complicated exercise.But latitude is a natural phenomenon, unaffected by cultural or economic factors. To look at its effect, Kristen J. Navara of the University of Georgia used the latitude of the capital city i
4、n 202 countries, as well as 10 years of data on sex ratio at birth and annual variations in day length and temperature. To estimate socioeconomic status for each country, she used statistics on unemployment and gross national product. She also calculated a political instability index using an analys
5、is of stale failure and conflict published by the Fund for Peace, a research organization that combines 12 social, economic and political indicators to estimate the relative stability of the worlds nations. Then Dr. Navara performed a statistical analysis to figure out which variables affect sex rat
6、io. The report appeared online April 1 in Biology Letters.The number of boys born was not related to socioeconomic and political factors, but there was a significant correlation between sex ratios skewed in favor of boys and latitude and the climate variables that go with it. African countries produ
7、ced the lowest sex ratios50. 7 percent boys and European and Asian countries had the highest with 51. 4 percent.The effect of latitude, Dr. Navara found, persisted across wide variations in lifestyle and socioeconomic status. There were large differences in sex ratio between tropical regions within
8、23 degrees of the equator and the temperate regions 23 to 50 degrees north or south, but no difference between the temperate regions and the subarctic north of 50 degrees. The population of people living south of 50 degrees was too small to be included in the analysis.The correlation with latitude w
9、as unchanged even after excluding data from Asian and African countries that might have been skewed by abortion or the killing of baby girls. So sex selection by parents before or at birth does not explain the correlation.1 According to a new study. _.（A）sex ratio is determined by where people live（
10、B） sex ratio at birth is skewed all over the world（C） the skewed sex ratio is a natural phenomenon（D）the percentage of boys born varies with latitude2 The sex ratio at birth_.（A）rests to some extent with the distance to equator（B） is mainly determined by abortion or infanticide（C） correlates only wi
11、th cultural or economic factors（D）related to every single cultural or political variable3 The author argues that the sex ratio at birth is_.（A）a natural phenomenon not subject to human activities（B） unaffected by cultural or economic factors in a country（C） related to annual variations in day length
12、 and temperature（D）associated with the relative stability of the worlds nations4 The author asserts that the correlation of sex ratio and latitude is _.（A）affected by variations in socioeconomic status（B） invulnerable to abortion or killing of baby girls（C） vulnerable to sex selection by parents bef
13、ore birth（D）to be verified with evidence of more years of data 5 The proper title for the text should be _.（A）Sex Ratio Seen to Vary by Latitude（B） Climate factors Affecting Sex Ratio（C） Statistics about Human Populations（D）Variations in Socioeconomic Status5 Big decisions make me nervous. Im okay w
14、hen it comes to ordering dinner or buying a new pair of jeans, but if Im selecting a house, a job, or even a mate, some part of me always wonders whether Im making the best choice. Its not that Im a slave to perfection. Its just that Im simply trying to steer clear of future regrets and the anger, f
15、rustration, grief, and self-blame that accompany them and make regret such an unwelcome, energy-draining emotion.In the dark, long days of winter, its natural to spend time internally focused, looking back over our lives. Sifting through the past is how we find meaning, so we can enrich the days to
16、come with greater wisdom and clarity. But sometimes this thought process turns on us, and regret takes on a life of its own, affecting our moods and health. Regret is one of the most felt but least discussed emotions. While directing a stress disorders clinic years ago, I became convinced that self-
17、blame was one of the primary thought patterns that prevented emotional and even physical healing in my(mostly female)patients.Ruminating about how wrong or deficient you are(How could I have been so stupid? or What an idiot I am!)makes you feel small and ashamed. It pulls you out of the present and
18、keeps you stuck in the past, destroys your peace of mind, and elevates the stress hormone Cortisol. High Cortisol levels, in turn, can undermine immunity, memory, metabolism, and even cardiac health.The first step to understanding regret in your own life is to learn how it works. Cornell University
19、psychologist Thomas Gilovich says that regret comes in three emotional flavors: hot, wistful, and despairing. When the guy youve been dating turns out to be married, youre likely to experience regret as the “hot“ emotions of anger, embarrassment, and irritation.When you think about how fast your kid
20、s grew up and wish that youd spent more time with them, your regrets will probably fall into the “wistful“ category, where nostalgia and sentiment prevail. When you realize that you invested your pension with a con artist who skipped town, you may experience regret as helplessness and utter desperat
21、ion.Gilovich also found that short-term regret is stronger for actions you took(you bought a fabulous pair of shoes that cost a weeks salary)than for inactions(you passed up those great shoes and wore your old ones to your best friends wedding). Conversely, long-term regret is stronger for actions a
22、nd opportunities that you passed up(that person you didnt date or the degree you never finished)than for actions you took.6 The author feels nervous when making big decisions because he_.（A）is born indecisive and irresolute（B） dislikes making definite decisions（C） lacks enough intelligence to do so（
23、D）attempts to avoid the ensuing regrets7 It isnt always beneficial to look back over our lives since we may_.（A）fail to find any meaning in our lives（B） feel unsatisfied with the things we did（C） feel regretful about what we did in the past（D）become less courageous to live in the future8 Regret is a
24、 harmful emotion since it_.（A）seriously damages ones health（B） makes one feel small and ashamed（C） is usually accompanied by self-blame（D）deters physical and emotional healing9 If one wants to better understand regret, he should first know something about_.（A）three emotional flavors（B） its working m
25、echanism（C） its typical symptoms（D）its three categories10 According to the text, the person who fails to make big decisions and take actions is likely_.（A）to feel unsatisfied and self-condemned（B） to suffer stronger regrel for a long time（C） to become restless and extremely impatient（D）to be afflict
26、ed by frustration, and self-blame10 Every year, depression affects more that 19 million Americans, but men account for only about one in 10 diagnosed cases. Because of this, depression was once considered a “womans disease“, linked to hormones and premenstrual syndrome. The lingering stereotype of d
27、epression being a female condition may prevent some men from recognizing its symptoms and seeking appropriate treatment. In reality, depression affects both sexes, disrupting relationships and interfering with work and daily activities. The symptoms of depression are similar for both men and women,
28、but they tend to be expressed differently. The most common symptoms of depression include low self esteem, suicidal thoughts, loss of interest in usually pleasurable activities, fatigue, changes in appetite, sleep disturbances, apathy and sexual problems, including reduced sex drive.There are severa
29、l reasons why the symptoms of depression in men are not commonly recognized:Men tend to deny having problems because they are supposed to “be strong“.American culture suggests that expressing emotion is largely a feminine trait. As a result, men who are depressed are more likely to talk about the ph
30、ysical symptoms of their depression, such as feeling tired, rather than those related to emotions.Depression can affect sexual desire and performance. Men often are unwilling to admit to problems with their sexualitymistakenly feeling that the problems are related to their manhood, when in fact they
31、 are caused by a medical problem such as depression. The observable symptoms of male depression are not as well understood as those in women. Men are less likely to show “typical“ signs of depression, such as crying, sadness, loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities, or verbally expressin
32、g thoughts of suicide. Instead, men are more likely to keep their feelings hidden, but may become more irritable and aggressive.For these reasons, many menas well as doctors and other healthcare professionals fail to recognize the problem as depression. Some mental healthcare professionals suggest t
33、hat if the symptoms of depression were expanded to include anger, blame, lashing out and abuse of alcohol, more men might be diagnosed with depression and treated appropriately. Depression in men can have devastating consequences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that men in the
34、 U. S. are about four times more likely than women to commit suicide. A staggering 75-80% of all people who commit suicide in the U. S. are men. Though more women attempt suicide, more men are successful at actually ending their lives. This may be due to the fact that men tend to use more lethal met
35、hods of committing suicide, for example using a gun rather than taking an overdose.11 The notion that depression is a female condition is_.（A）absurd（B） illogical（C） out of date（D）still prevalent12 The symptoms of depression_.（A）are more obvious in women than in men（B） in men are different from those
36、 in women（C） in men are roughly the same as those in women（D）are usually expressed in similar ways for both sexes13 The symptoms of male depression_.（A）are mostly unobservable（B） are likely to be neglected（C） are expressed more violently（D）are usually expressed verbally14 Men are reluctant to admit
37、to their problems in sexuality because of_.（A）their high self-esteem（B） their persistent depression（C） their poor sexual performance（D）their ever decreasing sexual desire15 It is not so easy to diagnose male depression primarily because_.（A）few men lose their interest in enjoyable activities（B） few
38、men are willing to openly express their feelings（C） men tend to use more lethal methods of committing suicide（D）there are fewer men who attempt to commit suicide than women15 We make hundreds of choices everyday in our lives, from the minor to the enormous, and what we are thinking at the time, whet
39、her it be conscious or subconscious, will have a huge effect on our decisions.In fact, there are several things that can affect the decisions that we make, the weather, the time, our mood, but most importantly, our attitude towards life.Its natural that the kind of person you are, would reflect the
40、choices that you make in life.A cynical, pessimistic person, will make decisions based on their world views and ideas and their negativity will be reflected in their choices.When giving a choice, they will assume that the outcome will not be the one they desire and therefore they will not think care
41、fully about the decision itself, but they will think about anything that could go wrong when making the decision, because they genuinely believe it will. And due to their cynical nature, and in believing that they will not have the outcome they desire, they will very often miss out on things that wo
42、uld be good for them, because they think it is too good to be true and they do not trust the person offering them the choice.A positive, optimistic person will make a decision, believing that the outcome will be the one they desire, they will think more carefully about the decision than a negative p
43、erson might, but they will not look at all of the angles and for possible flaws, holes or scams because of their trusting nature. Many people think that an arrogant person will not think about a decision as carefully as the rest, believing themselves to be right no matter what. But in fact, the arro
44、gant person is more likely to think carefully about the decision, but because they think themselves to be such a good judge of everything, they will not think about all of the angles and any possible problems that they may run into. A person who worries a lot is a combination of the above three, the
45、y will think very carefully about the decision, and all of the possible angles. They will make their decision only after a great deal of thought and based on an illogical thought process, they will think more than the other three, but they will not think as clearly.An emotional person will make a de
46、cision based on instinct and the way they feel, they will think about the decision, but the deciding factor, whether they are conscious of it or not, is their gut feeling about the decision.16 The author thinks that what affects ones decisions most is_.（A）his sullen or gloomy state of mind（B） the st
47、ate of his feelings at that time（C） not objective but subjective factors（D）the way he views and treats his life17 It is implied in the text that a cynical person_.（A）disbelieves his ability to make wise decisions（B） lacks self-confidence when making decisions（C） is more likely to make unfavorable de
48、cisions（D）is skeptical of human nature and motives18 The text shows that in making a decision, an optimistic person_.（A）neglects taking all factors into consideration（B） ignores possible flaws in whatever he thinks（C） disregards unfavorable factors deliberately（D）is more likely to make unnecessary e
49、rrors19 The author argues that an arrogant person_.（A）is ready to consider his decision seriously（B） feels pleasure in making a judicious choice（C） displays an exaggerated opinion of his merit（D）scorns to think about his decisions carefully20 According to the text, an emotional person_ .（A）thinks little before making a great decision（B） depends on his impulse to make a decision（C） worries endlessly no matter what he does（D）normally feels a strong sense of pleasur
