1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 382 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 In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell argues that “social epidemics“ are driven in large part by the actions of a tiny minority of special ind
2、ividuals, often called influentials, who are unusually informed, persuasive, or well-connected. The idea is intuitively compelling, but it doesnt explain how ideas actually spread.The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plausible-sounding but largely untested theory called the “two-st
3、ep flow of communication“: Information flows from the media to the influentials and from them to everyone else. Marketers have embraced the two-step flow because it suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials, those selected people will do most of the work for them. The theory
4、 also seems to explain the sudden and unexpected popularity of certain looks, brands, or neighborhoods. In many such cases, a cursory search for causes finds that some small group of people was wearing, promoting, or developing whatever it is before anyone else paid attention. Anecdotal evidence of
5、this kind fits nicely with the idea that only certain special people can drive trends.In their recent work, however, some researchers have come up with the finding that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed. In fact, they dont seem to be required of all.The
6、 researchers argument stems from a simple observation about social influence: With the exception of a few celebrities like Oprah Winfreywhose outsize presence is primarily a function of media, not interpersonal, influenceeven the most influential members of a population simply dont interact with tha
7、t many others. Yet it is precisely these noncelebrity influentials who, according to the two-step-flow theory, are supposed to drive social epidemics, by influencing their friends and colleagues directly. For a social epidemic to occur, however, each person so affected must then influence his or her
8、 own acquaintances, who must in turn influence theirs, and so on; and just how many others pay attention to each of these people has little to do with the initial influential. If people in the network just two degrees removed from the initial influential prove resistant, for example the cascade of c
9、hange wont propagate very far or affect many people.Building on the basic truth about interpersonal influence, the researchers studied the dynamics of social influence by conducting thousands of computer simulations of populations, manipulating a number of variables relating to peoples ability to in
10、fluence others and their tendency to be influenced. They found that the principal requirement for what is called “global cascades“the widespread propagation of influence through networksis the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people.1 By citing
11、the book The Tipping Point, the author intends to（A）analyze the consequences of social epidemics.（B） discuss influentials function in spreading ideas.（C） exemplify people s intuitive response to social epidemics.（D）describe the essential characteristics of influentials.2 The author suggests that the
12、 “two-step flow theory“（A）serves as a solution to marketing problems.（B） has helped explain certain prevalent trends.（C） has won support from influentials.（D）requires solid evidence for its validity.3 What the researchers have observed recently shows that（A）the power of influence goes with social in
13、teractions.（B） interpersonal links can be enhanced through the media.（C） influentials have more channels to reach the public.（D）most celebrities enjoy wide media attention.4 The underlined phrase “these people“ in Paragraph 4 refers to the ones who（A）stay outside the network of social influence.（B）
14、have little contact with the source of influence.（C） are influenced and then influence others.（D）are influenced by the initial influential.5 What is the essential element in the dynamics of social influence?（A）The eagerness to be accepted.（B） The impulse to influence others.（C） The readiness to be i
15、nfluenced.（D）The inclination to rely on others.5 Up until a few decades ago, our visions of the future were largelythough by no means uniformly glowingly positive. Science and technology would cure all the ills of humanity, leading to lives of fulfillment and opportunity for all.Now utopia has grown
16、 unfashionable, as we have gained a deeper appreciation of the range of threats facing us, from asteroid strike to epidemic flu to climate change. You might even be tempted to assume that humanity has little future to look forward to.But such gloominess is misplaced. The fossil record shows that man
17、y species have endured for millions of yearsso why shouldnt we? Take a broader look at our species place in the universe, and it becomes clear that we have an excellent chance of surviving for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years. Look up Homo sapiens in the “Red List“ of threatened species
18、of the International Union for the Conversation of Nature (IUCN) and you will read: “Listed as Least Concern as the species is very widely distributed, adaptable, currently increasing, and there are no major threats resulting in an overall population decline.“So what does our deep future hold? A gro
19、wing number of researchers and organizations are now thinking seriously about that question. For example, the Long Now Foundation has its flagship project a mechanical clock that is designed to still be marking time thousands of years hence.Perhaps willfully, it may be easier to think about such len
20、gthy timescales than about the more immediate future. The potential evolution of todays technology, and its social consequences, is dazzlingly complicated, and its perhaps best left to science fiction writers and futurologists to explore the many possibilities we can envisage. Thats one reason why w
21、e have launched Arc, a new publication dedicated to the near future.But take a longer view and there is a surprising amount that we can say with considerable assurance. As so often, the past holds the key to the future: we have now identified enough of the long-term patterns shaping the history of t
22、he planet, and our species, to make evidence-based forecasts about the situations in which our descendants will find themselves.This long perspective makes the pessimistic view of our prospects seem more likely to be a passing fad. To be sure, the future is not all rosy. But we are now knowledgeable
23、 enough to reduce many of the risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and to improve the lot of those to come.6 Our vision of the future used to be inspired by（A）our desire for lives of fulfillment.（B） our faith in science and technology.（C） our awareness of potential risks.（D）our bel
24、ief in equal opportunity.7 The IUCNs “Red List“ suggest that human beings are（A）a sustained species.（B） the world s dominant power.（C） a threat to the environment.（D）a misplaced race.8 Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 5?（A）Arc helps limit the scope of futurological studies.（B） T
25、echnology offers solutions to social problem.（C） The interest in science fiction is on the rise.（D）Our immediate future is hard to conceive.9 To ensure the future of mankind, it is crucial to（A）explore our planet s abundant resources.（B） adopt an optimistic view of the world.（C） draw on our experien
26、ce from the past.（D）curb our ambition to reshape history.10 Which of the following would be the best title for the text?（A）Uncertainty about Our Future（B） Evolution of the Human Species（C） The Ever-bright Prospects of Mankind（D）Science, Technology and Humanity10 Why has crime in the U.S. declined so
27、 dramatically since the 1990s?Economists and sociologists have offered a bounty of reasons, including more police, more security technology, more economic growth, more immigration, more imprisonment, and so on.The “real“ answer is almost certainly a combination of these factors, rather than one of t
28、hem to the exclusion of the rest. But a new paper adds a surprising variable to the mix. What if the decline of crime in America started with the decline of cash?Cash is critical to the health of an underground economy, because its anonymous, nearly untraceable, and easily stolen. This makes it the
29、lifeblood of the black market.But Americans are rapidly abandoning cash thanks to credit cards, debit cards, and mobile payments. Half a century ago, cash was used in 80 percent of U.S. payments. Now that figure is about 50 percent, according to researchers.In the 1980s, the federal government switc
30、hed from paper money to electronic benefit transfers. They didnt switch all at once. They switched one county at a time within states. This created a kind of randomly controlled environment for the researchers, who studied Missouris counties to establish whether the areas that switched from welfare
31、cash to electronic transfers saw a concurrent decline in crime.The results were striking: The shift away from cash was associated with “a significant decrease in the overall crime rate and the specific offenses of burglary and assault in Missouri and a decline in arrests.“ In other words, the counti
32、es saw a decline in specific crimes when they switched away from cash welfare.Perhaps most interestingly, they found that the switch to electronic transfers reduced robbery but not rape, suggesting that the move away from cash only had an impact on crime related to getting and spending cash.The move
33、 toward cashlessness in the U.S. continues quickly. Google now lets you attach money to e-mails to send to friends, which means that for some shoppers, pulling out your credit card could become as rare as finding exact change in your coin purse. It might seem absurd to imagine Visa, Square, and Goog
34、le Wallet as crime-fighting technologies. But with a better understanding of how cash s availability affects crime, perhaps the government should consider killing more than just the penny.11 Which of the following cannot explain why cash is critical to the health of an underground economy?（A）Cash is
35、 anonymous.（B） Cash is hardly traceable.（C） Cash is easily stolen.（D）Cash is the lifeblood of the black market.12 The government switched one county at a time within states favors researchers because（A）it reduced cash payment in Missouri.（B） it offered a randomly controlled environment.（C） it helped
36、 to extend electronic transfers to the state.（D）it saw a concurrent decline in crimes.13 The shift away from cash in Missouri s counties resulted in（A）an unobvious decrease in the overall crime rate.（B） a decrease in certain crimes such as robbery and rape.（C） a decline in crimes related to the use
37、of cash.（D）a decline in overall crimes.14 It can be learned from the last paragraph that（A）the government is advised to advocate cashless payments.（B） America has become a cashless society.（C） most people now send their friends money by email.（D）it is absurd to fight against crime by using Visa, Squ
38、are, and Google Wallet.15 Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for this text?（A）Why has Crime in America Declined since the 1990s（B） How the Decline of Cash Makes America a Safer Country（C） The Impacts of the Decline of Cash in America（D）The Relations between Cash and Crime15 A
39、ll around the world, lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other professionwith the possible exception of journalism. But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America.During the decade before the economic crisis, spending on legal services in Amer
40、ica grew twice as fast as inflation. The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money, tempting ever more students to pile into law schools. But most law graduates never get a big-firm job. Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.Th
41、ere are many reasons for this. One is the excessive costs of a legal education. There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states: a four-year undergraduate degree in some unrelated subject, then a three-year law degree at one of 200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association a
42、nd an expensive preparation for the bar exam. This leaves todays average law-school graduate with $ 100, 000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts. Law-school debt means that they have to work fearsomely hard.Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers. Sensible ideas have been
43、around for a long time, but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them. One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree. Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school. If the bar exam is truly a s
44、tern enough test for a would-be lawyer, those who can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so. Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business. Except in th
45、e District of Columbia, non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm. This keeps fees high and innovation slow. There is pressure for change from within the profession, but opponents of change among the regulators insist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure
46、to make money rather than serve clients ethically.In fact, allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers, by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improving firms efficiency. After all, other cou
47、ntries, such as Australia and Britain, have started liberalizing their legal professions. America should follow.16 A lot of students take up law as their profession due to（A）the growing demand from clients.（B） the increasing pressure of inflation.（C） the prospect of working in big firms.（D）the attra
48、ction of financial rewards.17 Which of the following adds to the costs of legal education in most American states?（A）Higher tuition fees for undergraduate studies.（B） Admissions approval from the bar association.（C） Pursuing a bachelor s degree in another major.（D）Receiving training by professional
49、associations.18 Hindrance to the reform of the legal system originates from（A）lawyers and clients strong resistance.（B） the rigid bodies governing the profession.（C） the stern exam for would-be lawyers.（D）non-professionals sharp criticism.19 The guild-like ownership structure is considered “restrictive“ partly because it（A）bans outsiders involvement in the profession.（B） keeps lawyers from holding law-firm shares.（C） aggravates the ethical situation in the trade.（D）prevents lawyers from gaining due profits.20 In this text, the author mainly discusses
