1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 358 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 What if the United States of America, uniquely founded to preserve liberty, ceased to exist as a free and independent nation? What if the legal principl
2、es upon which the nation was founded, those that recognize the natural rights of man, were submerged and harmonized with the laws of other nations, laws alien to the traditions of freedom bequeathed to the nation by the brilliant wisdom of the Founding Fathers? Would individuals continue to be free
3、to pursue their dreams? Would parents continue to be free to impart their own values to their children and to work for their future? Or would a veil of oppression slowly obscure the American dream?It seems preposterous, but the question of the age is whether America shall remain free and independent
4、 or whether it will be subordinated to some alien bureaucracy that will prevent our great country from pursuing its own destiny. An agreement was reached in 1993 through which international legal structures might actually force the abandonment of the entire governmental framework built so carefully
5、by the Founding Fathers. That agreement was the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA)and upon it, as its proponents have argued, can be built the future integration of Canada and Mexico with the United States. Indeed, NAFTA alone already has had a substantially deleterious effect on the well-be
6、ing of the citizens of the nation. But if left unchallenged, it poses a greater threat for the future: the potential final dissolution of the United States through the harmonization of U. S. law with that of Canada and Mexico.The American dream is made possible by our national independence and perso
7、nal freedom. But internationalists have a conflicting dream, that of an integrated hemisphere modeled after the European Union. And that integration is coming quickly if internationalists have their way. In its report entitled Building a North American Community, the influential New York-based Counc
8、il on Foreign Relations(CFR)calls for “the creation by 2010 of a North American community. . . Its boundaries will be defined by a common external tariff and an outer security perimeter within which the movement of people, products, and capital will be legal, orderly, and safe.“ Its a plan that has
9、the support of President Bush who, at the White House on February 16, 2001, announced that the United States, with Canada and Mexico, “will strive to consolidate a North American economic community. “ It is NAFTA that is the basis for this planned integration.NAFTA is not about creating jobs and pro
10、sperity, as its backers allege. Instead, NAFTA is about formulating a North American Union, the next steps of which are just over the horizon. If, for future generations, we wish to preserve the American way of life, we must keep America free and independentand that means withdrawing from NAFTA befo
11、re its too late.1 By asking several questions in the first paragraph, the author intends to show that_.（A）America is no longer a free and independent nation（B） the American dream has been totally abandoned（C） the tradition of freedom is an invaluable legacy（D）the American way of life is being threat
12、ened2 The word “preposterous“(Line 1, Paragraph 2)most probably means_.（A）absurd（B） prevalent（C） deleterious（D）controversial3 The author argues that with the agreement reached in 1993,_.（A）America will still be a free and independent nation（B） America will prevent itself from pursuing its own dream（
13、C） America will be forced to abandon its own values entirely（D）America will be harmoniously integrated with its neighbors4 The author asserts that NAFTA_.（A）threatens the future of North American nations seriously（B） calls for the compromise between U. S. and its neighbors（C） facilitates the harmoni
14、zation of U. S. with other countries（D）prevents U. S. from maintaining its national independence5 The supporters of NAFTA claims that it_.（A）creates jobs and prosperity for North America nations（B） sets about to consolidate a North American community（C） preserves the American way of life for future
15、generations（D）formulates a free and independent North American Union5 The inherency of good or evil in humans is a trick question. One must assume, since there is no moral code in the animal kingdom, that humans are neither inherently good nor evil and that morality is nothing more than a valuable h
16、uman invention. At one point, Humans were little more than advanced apes. We lived according to the food chain, wandering in small bands, left to the mercy of the environment and one another. We fought over women, land and food as we drudged through the very slow infancy of our species. Over this st
17、retch of time, our minds began the assent to intelligence and we slowly went about developing communities and primitive forms of government. Our morality began to grow within these primitive cultures.It isn t hard to imagine how developing a moral code would be useful in preserving and strengthening
18、 a community. It is always preferable to not kill, rape or steal from your neighbor in that it builds solidarity and trust. One might occasionally lend a hand in the hopes that one day he or she would be repaid in some way.In these modest beginnings we find the bud that is now the flower of our mora
19、lity, our sense of good and evil.Through moral eyes, we put qualities or draws on things that arent necessarily good or evil. A driver who lets us into his lane during a traffic gridlock is good. The corner of your doorframe that you constantly stub your foot against is a piece of shit. When you wat
20、ch a nature channel and see a lion chasing a gazelle, the lion is the bad guy.One might define “good“ in this way: good is anything that strengthens, preserves or enables the positive movement and evolution of our communities, countries and our species. This is an extremely broad definition, one tha
21、t must be open to revision and question(I warn the reader that the process of proving the good to be good is ridiculous and tedious). Obviously, anything bad would be the opposite of the defined good.Labeling a newborn as inherently evil is, frankly, nothing more than religious stupidity. One must s
22、afely say that they are good, and that they are innocent and worthy of love, care and deserve an upbringing in the most positive environment possible. Humanity presupposes morality; therefore it is not possible for a human to be born inherently moral or immoral. The truth is simple and devastating:
23、humans are inherently human.6 The author assumes that humans_.（A）inherit morality from their ancestors（B） have limited sense of morality at birth（C） are born with no sense of morality at all（D）have the ability to tell right from wrong7 The author thinks that humans_.（A）live and die in the world just
24、 like animals（B） developed their morality in the evolution（C） have disposition to be kind and forgiving（D）are still at the mercy of the Mother Nature8 The author argues that a moral code_.（A）defines suitable activity for a community（B） is based upon well-defined value systems（C） cultivates and regul
25、ates all social activities（D）arises from the development of self-identity9 In the authors opinion, the definition of good_.（A）is inseparable from social mores（B） varies widely in different cultures（C） varies according to circumstances（D）is subject to challenge and change10 According to the text, hum
26、ans at their birth_.（A）deserve living in a positive environment（B） are innocent and worthy of love and care（C） can be labeled neither moral nor immoral（D）inherit valuable legacy from predecessors10 The United States economy produced roughly $15 trillion worth of goods and services in 2008, making it
27、 easily the largest in the world. China is next, at about $ 12 trillion, according to one widely used estimate. Per person, the American economy has the fourth largest outputmore than $45,000 for every man, woman and child, on averagebehind Luxembourg, Bermuda and Liechtenstein, all havens for offsh
28、ore banking.In 2007, the American economy began to slow significantly, mostly because of a real-estate slump and related financial problems. In December 2007, the economy entered a recession, according to a committee of academic economists, overseen by the National Bureau of Economic Research, that
29、is widely considered the arbiter of recessions.The committee defines a recession as a broad-based and protracted downturn in economic activity, and its members typically wait many months before announcing that a recession has ended. By nearly all accounts, the recession continued into early 2009, ma
30、king it the longest one in decades.The economy was last in recession in 2001. Contrary to widespread belief, the terrorist attacks of 2001 did not cause the downturn that year. The economy slowed as the dot-com bubble started leaking in early 2000 and began to shrink in early 2001. The recession end
31、ed in November 2001.Over the last few decades, recessions have become less common than they once were. Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, and others have described this development as the “great moderation“. While the economy used to swing between expansion and contraction every few year
32、s, there had been only two relatively brief recessions over the last 25 years before the current downturn.Perhaps the most important reason for the change is the new flexibility of businesses. Executives can now track the ups and downs of their sales and inventories more closely than they used to, t
33、hanks in large part to computers. Better transportation, like FedEx, also helps companies to keep their warehouses lean. So a company is less likely to find itself suddenly stuck with too many workers and productsand then have to make sharp cutbacks.Yet there are also now increasing worries that a b
34、oom in consumer spending, helped along by more consumer debt, played a large role in lifting economic growthand moderating its swingsover the last generation. If this is the caseand if the end of the debt boom leads to slower consumer spending, as seems to be happeningeconomic growth may slow signif
35、icantly in coming years, even after the recession ends.11 It is implied in the text that the United States is _.（A）clearly behind several European countries in economy（B） a country with the highest output value in the world（C） likely to fall behind China soon in the value of output（D）much more produ
36、ctive than other developed countries12 The economic recession in the United States _.（A）deserves particular attention of academic economists（B） is on doubt unprecedented in the severity and duration（C） embodies in the prolonged decline of economic activity（D）came after the financial crisis sweeping
37、around the world13 The last economic recession in 2001 in the U. S._.（A）resulted from the dot-com bubble burst（B） was caused by the September 11th event（C） was not in accord with what was expected（D）reflected the inevitability of economic law14 Economic recessions have become fewer since_.（A）there i
38、s a new mechanism to avoid economic swing（B） businesses have become more flexible in production（C） new technologies have been employed in businesses（D）no companies keep too many workers and products15 The author suggests that_contributes to economic growth.（A）the expected spending boom（B） the reduct
39、ion of national debt（C） the end of economic recession（D）the robust consumer spending15 Some publications that rank schools and colleges say they do it to promote accountability; others say they do it to provide information to consumers. Those of us who work with students and parents have grave doubt
40、s about these motivations, doubts that were confirmed when The Wall Street Journal s reporter told one of us that “this type of story gets a lot of readers“. Indeed. Our belief is that rankings exist not because they help, but because they sell.The reality we see every day is that the choice of a co
41、llege is a very personal matter, one that takes into account many different factors that all combine, sometimes mysteriously, into what we can only characterize as the right “fit. “ Rankings never help us find that fit, for they misuse data in suggesting one can capture a general reality for all app
42、licants, failing to understand the great differences we see between individual human beings trying to make sense of their own situations amid a wide array of options. If there is any type of ranking to be developed, it can only be a personal one, done based on ones own unique set of criteria. No one
43、 ranking “fits“ all.Far more important than where one goes to college is how well one engages with the opportunities afforded by that college, how much one learns at that college, and how well one is prepared for further study and adult lifes real challenges. Some highly ranked places turn out tragi
44、cally wrong for students who manage to get in but find the burden of additional competition just too much to bear, while less-publicized colleges turn out to be powerfully positive places for young people we know. Each year, especially in the selective, college-preparatory, tuition-conscious schools
45、 where we work, we see students and parents who are vulnerable to the rankings-driven reasoning that they must matriculate at a certain set of places; otherwise, goes the conventional wisdom, they will have failed at someone elses notion of what constitutes early adult success. We understand the des
46、ire to simplify the complex, to quantify the qualitative, to post a Top 10 or a ranking to satisfy the market-driven need to sell ad space an publications. But we reject doing so when it comes to colleges and schools. We who counsel young people and their parents would urge that such ratings and ran
47、kings concern matters of entertainment, not the educations of individual human beings who need more real help from the adults in their lives.16 The author believes that ranking schools and colleges helps publications become more_.（A）marketable（B） informative（C） trustworthy（D）well-known17 The author
48、points out that the choice of a college for an applicant is_.（A）a unique ranking of schools and colleges（B） consistent with his ideal and qualifications（C） a rational rather than an impulsive decision（D）based on a sensible analysis of many factors18 It is true that_.（A）any ranking of colleges must b
49、e based on a set of criteria（B） each applicant has his own ranking of schools and colleges（C） the “fit“ ranking of colleges for all applicants is to be developed（D）there is hardly any right “fit“ ranking of schools for each applicant19 According to the text, highly ranked colleges_.（A）are not necessarily suitable for all applicants（B） turn out to be terribly wrong for some top students（C） are no doubt perfect places for ambitious young people（D）offer applicants more opportuni
