1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 356 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 The best solution is to stop pretending that peoples personal information, such as Social Security account numbers and birth dates, constitutes a univer
2、sal secret password. The phrase “universal secret“ is an oxymoron. For online business transactions, the consumer must be allowed to use a password of his own creation and have procedures in place for changing these passwords in case of suspected compromise.Any Computer Science student worth his sal
3、t will tell you not to use your Social Security account number or birth date as a password. Why allow financial institutions and government agencies to do something in your stead that youre advised not to do for yourself?Theres also an answer to the problem of criminals fraudulently opening new acco
4、unts: states should pass laws that make institutions verify a persons residence before establishing any form of new credit. As things stand now, criminals can often contact financial institutions via the phone or the Internet, pretend to be you by knowing a few pieces of your personal data, and esta
5、blish a credit line. Financial institutions should be required to “physically contact“ customers to establish identification. Obviously, this could be done through having potential customers come in for face-to-face meetings, but it could also be done via the use of mail, perhaps certified.There are
6、 constitutionally allowable measures that can be enacted at the federal level to reduce ID fraud. Federal politicians, in a like manner to state ones, should consider submitting bills calling for all federal agencies to immediately cease using Social Security account numbers and birth dates as unive
7、rsal passwords. Congress should also take steps to employ only the most rigorously scrupulous employees, eliminating hiring practices that include non-job-relevant hiring preferences and to hire employees based only on job-relevant criteria, such as their ability to do the job and their loyalty to t
8、he United States of America. Congress should also take steps to enforce our immigration laws by deporting all illegal immigrants especially those who have worked their way into our information infrastructure. If they re dishonest enough to be here in violation of our immigration laws, theyre probabl
9、y a high risk for doing something dishonest with American citizens personal data. Congress also needs to review the impact of our current immigration laws that allow large numbers of foreigners, even some from terrorist-exporting nations, to come into our country legally via such programs as H1 and
10、L1 and become part of our information infrastructure. Without appropriate action, ID fraud as we know it today may become a mere steppingstone on a course to even greater abuses of consumers by large companies that are politically well-connected.1 The author argues that peoples personal information_
11、.（A）may be suspected as a compromise（B） may serve as a temporary password（C） can hardly be a universal secret password（D）should not be disclosed to any institutions2 By saying “someone worth his salt“, the author refers to someone_.（A）doing his job well（B） much knowledgeable（C） deserving more credit
12、（D）ordinary and industrious3 In the face of criminals fraudulent behavior, financial institutions should_.（A）verify the identification of the customers physically（B） make contact with the potential customers via phone（C） pay a visit to the residence of each customer at intervals（D）keep in touch with
13、 their customers frequently by all means4 The high risk for the fraudulent use of personal data roots in_.（A）the hiring practices prevailing in the U. S.（B） the lack of effective preventive measures（C） the enforcement of current immigration laws（D）financial institutions and government agencies5 The
14、author points out in the text that ID fraud_.（A）increases as a result of the rampant terrorist activities（B） will inevitably lead to even greater abuses of customers（C） can be remarkably reduced by adopting decisive measures（D）occurs predominantly among immigrants from poor nations5 Change is inevit
15、able. It is not something that we can bargain with. It is not something that happens only to other people; change is reality. Accepting this truth is sometimes an excruciating process, and there are many who never achieve it; yet change still occurs. At some point a decision needs to be made that ac
16、cepting change is the first step in releasing the need for control. As intelligent as the human species is, and yet, the word intelligence is subjective, we are not all-powerful. How does accepting the inevitable reality of change produce a sense of freedom? Ironically, allowing truth to be truth, r
17、egardless of how we feel about it, can be liberating. When we realize that we cannot manipulate everything in our lives, it frees us to stop trying. Let me pause here for a moment and reflect on that statement. When I say “we stop trying,“ I am not insinuating that we do not work at bettering our li
18、ves, but that by accepting change, it frees us to dance with it, instead of fighting. This concept has been studied and practiced for more years than I can count. It has roots in the ancient world but it holds as true today as it did then. This shows that life, as humans know it, has not swerved in
19、thousands of years. The human condition has no statute of limitations. As long as our species exists, so too, will the human condition.Sometimes, it helps to truly think about the way other life reacts to change. Animals and plants also are subject to its power, but adaptation has kept many species
20、alive while others were extinguished, unable to live with the ever-changing world. If we apply this to our own lives, the analogy can be used as a map to show where and how we shift in order to move along with change. Perhaps understanding change and accepting it may be a life-long journey, but figh
21、ting it is a waste of precious time that will never return.Learning to be mindful of the present and knowing that it is all we truly have is a gift. It teaches us to cherish each and every moment to the best of our ability and to pull from our inner strength, and those around or above us, to help du
22、ring times of intense struggle. In the end, you will be wiser and strengthened by experiencing life as an ever-changing adventure. Remember the dance; release the struggle.6 The author thinks that change is something that _.（A）has never been argued about（B） occurs or appears invariably（C） makes us i
23、ntensively painful（D）we make every effort to avoid7 The author argues that accepting change _.（A）is a well-informed option for us to make（B） shows the limitation of our intelligence（C） keeps us from trying to resist it in vain（D）frees everyone to better his life at will8 By saying “so too, will the
24、human condition“ in paragraph 3, the author means that _.（A）human life has not changed much ever since（B） living conditions have been greatly improved（C） the human condition exists as our species does（D）living with change is as true as in ancient times9 Like animals and plants, human beings _.（A）ada
25、pt to the inevitable change to survive（B） develop useful skills to deal with changes（C） are able to understand all the changes in life（D）survive in spite of the changes ever happened10 The author primarily advises us to _.（A）unlock inner strength to achieve our goals（B） become more intelligent and s
26、trengthened（C） have the highest regard for each day in life（D）adjust our lives to the ever-changing world10 I was studying physics in college 20 years ago this month, when two chemists at the University of Utah promised that they could unleash the energy of the sun in a test tube at room temperature
27、, and meet the entire worlds energy needs forever with some cooked up water and a couple of electrodes. The exhilaration at the genesis of the new science of “cold fusion“ faded fairly quickly. Scores of scientists around the world tried and failed to replicate the Utah scientists wondrous results.
28、Irksome physicists pointed out that the process the chemists described violated several laws of nature.To me, however, those heady few months bring to mind something more than the hubristic enthusiasm of some overheated men in lab coats. The experience provides a lasting lesson about our faith in te
29、chnology as the solution to our challenges, and the cover it provides to avoid hard choices on things like, say, conserving energy. Its a warning about the pitfalls of our unshakeable belief in the limitless promise of our endeavors, regardless of realitys constraints. It is a lesson about the dange
30、rs of our love affair with progress.Contemplating the economic rubble from our most recent paroxysm of enthusiasm, I wonder whether we should do something about our blind passions. Ive heard the supporting arguments, of course, about how optimism seeds the American Dream, nurturing the entrepreneuri
31、al zeal that supports the nations prosperity. And its true that the Internet bubble bequeathed us the Internet as we know it. Im told optimism also helps patients recover from coronary bypass surgery.Still, I cant help thinking that repackaging the future as a basketful of promise is a con. Recent r
32、esearch from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has found that the son of a poor American father has more than a 40 percent chance of being poor himselfhigher odds than in, say, Britain, Norway or Denmark. The income of the typical American household was lower in 2007 than it
33、was in 1999. This aspect of the American Dream seems like a dream only.I am confident that we shall keep on dreaming, however, regardless of the damage this periodically inflicts. On the anniversary of the “discovery“ in Utah 20 years ago, a Navy chemist breathlessly announced to a meeting of the Am
34、erican Chemical Society in Salt Lake City that her lab had nailed it, finally, finding “significant“ evidence of cold fusion. Now they call the phenomenon a “low-energy nuclear reaction“, presumably to overcome the stigma.11 The Utah scientists_.（A）pioneered the new science of “cold fusion“（B） relea
35、sed the solar energy at room temperature（C） failed to have their discovery verified and accepted（D）ignored some fundamental laws of nature in their research12 The author argues that_.（A）the constrains in reality can never be neglected（B） technology is the sole solution to our problems（C） hard choice
36、s on challenges in life are inevitable（D）dangers are latent in any kind of human progress13 The author thinks that optimism_.（A）is possibly not determined by reason（B） helps us recover from risky surgery（C） supports the prosperity of a nation（D）breeds the Americans with Dream14 The fact that the inc
37、ome of the typical American household fell shows that_.（A）the son of a poor American father is most likely to be poor（B） the American Dream is only a dream for many Americans（C） dreaming inflicts much damage on economic development（D）the economic crisis in America results from blind passions15 The b
38、est title for this text should be_.（A）The Perils of Progress（B） The Dreams Unrealized（C） The Pitfalls of Technology（D）The Loss of Faith in Science15 To some, John Lennons piano is sacred. Most married people consider their wedding rings sacred. Kids with no notion of sanctity will bust a lung wailin
39、g over their lost blanky. Personal investment in inanimate objects might delicately be called sentimentality, but what else is it if not magical thinking? Theres some invisible meaning attached to these things: an essence. A wedding ring or a childhood blanket could be replaced by identical or near-
40、identical ones, but those impostors just wouldnt be the same.What makes something sacred is not its material makeup but its unique history. And whatever causes us to value essence over appearance becomes apparent at an early age. Psychologists Bruce Hood at Bristol University and Paul Bloom at Yale
41、convinced kids ages 3 to 6 that they d constructed a “copying machine. “ The kids were fine taking home a copy of a piece of precious metal produced by the machine, but not so with a clone of one of Queen Elizabeth IIs spoonsthey wanted the original. In many cases the value of an object comes from w
42、ho owned it or used it or touched it, an example of “magical contagion“. In one, study, 80 percent of college students said there was at least a 10 percent chance that donning one of Mr. Rogers sweaters, even without knowing it was his, would endow wearers with some of his “essence“improve their moo
43、d and make them friendlier. Gloria Steinem once related a tale from before she was famous. Another girl had seen her touch members of the Beatles. In turn, the girl asked Steinem for her autograph.Paul Rozin at the University of Pennsylvania and Nemeroff contend that magical contagion may emerge fro
44、m our evolved fear of germs, which, like essences, are invisible, easily transmissible, and have far-reaching consequences. Well before humans had any concept of germ theory, we quarantined the ill and avoided touching dead bodies. The deep intuition that moral or psychological qualities can pass be
45、tween people, or that an object carries its history with it, could just be an extension of the adaptive tendency to pay close attention to the pathways of illness. But that doesnt mean were good at evaluating sources of contagion. Nemeroff found that people draw the germs of their lovers as less sca
46、ry-looking than those of enemies, and they say those germs would make them less ill. She also found that undergrads base condom usage on how emotionally safe they feel with a partner more than on objective risk factors for catching STDs.16 Some people think that John Lennons piano is sacred since it
47、 is_.（A）attached to something sacred and mysterious（B） the one used by a famous musician they admire（C） endowed with an invisible and magical meaning（D）something they cannot replace with identical ones17 The study conducted by two psychologists shows that_.（A）even children value the essence of the o
48、riginal（B） a “copying machine“ produces nothing sacred（C） a copy of a piece of precious metal is valuable（D）the spoons of Queen Elizabeth II are invaluable18 The study mentioned in paragraph 3 shows that the value of an object lies in_.（A）whether it is different from identical ones（B） whether it has
49、 an unknown special history（C） whether it is endowed with some “essence“（D）whether it improves your mood effectively19 The tale related by Gloria Steinem shows_.（A）the great respect for celebrities（B） the effect of magical contagion（C） the magical contagion of essence（D）the magic of highly valued objects20 It is implied in the text that _.（A）any object is invaluable（B） humans are sentimental（C） anything has its history（D）anything can be sacred考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 3
