1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 436 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 than any other industry, Americas multi-billion-dollar entertainment business is caught in the crossfire of the countrys culture war. Media firms h
2、ave always had to walk a fine line between giving adults realistic shows and shielding children from sex and bad language. But thanks to the current political influence of social conservatives, TV and radio firms are under more attack than ever for allegedly corrupting Americas youth.Congress is thr
3、eatening to increase sharply fines for airing indecent material. Over 80% of American homes subscribe either to cable or satellite TV, but only broadcast television, which is technically free, is subject to indecency regulation. The media industry fears that new rules could damage its business model
4、.The Federal Communications Commission(FCC), the media industrys regulator, defines indecency as language or material that describes sexual actions or organs and which is considered “offensive by contemporary community standards.“ Solely for the sake of children(present in one-third of American home
5、s), indecency is forbidden from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on broadcast TV and radio. In contrast to “obscenity“illegal all the timeindecency mostly consists of swearing, partial nudity and sexuality.Americas current battles over indecency began in 2003 when Bono, a rock star, said “this is really, really fu
6、cking brilliant“ at a live awards show. The FCC decided to do nothing. Then came a glimpse of Janet Jacksons breast in Super Bowl, outraging some viewers. Pressed by Congress, the FCC reversed its decision on Bono and said it would get tough on indecency. In 2004 it fined media firms nearly $8m, fiv
7、e times what it had levied in the previous ten years combined.For these firms such fines are puny. Yet fearing what future measures might be deployed against them, they have increasingly censored themselves. Last year several TV stations declined to air “Saving Private Ryan“, a war movie with lots o
8、f swearing. The media industry faces a powerful bipartisan coalition of politicians who see votes in cleansing the airwaves. Republicans are leading the effort, but some Democrats are joining innot surprisingly, as many parents do seem worried.One defensive strategy for the media industry is to play
9、 the moralizing wing of the Republican Party off against its substantial libertarian wing, which is opposed to giving the government more power to censor. News Corporation and General Electrics NBC have together enlisted the support of the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform and th
10、e US Chamber of Commerce. Advances in technology, these groups argue, mean that the government no longer needs to police the airwaves for indecency. Many parents now have V-chips in their TV sets to block out pornographic material. Set-top boxes for cable and satellite TV also give parents control.1
11、 The phrase “walk a fine line“(Line 3, Paragraph 1)most probably indicates（A）alternate.（B） balance.（C） transfer.（D）distinguish.2 Which of the following is true according to the text?（A）TV and radio firms are corrupting the young people in America.（B） Broadcast television other than satellite TV is u
12、nder indecency regulation.（C） Americas battles over indecency have lasted for as long as a decade.（D）A fine of 8 million US dollars is such a huge one for media firms. 3 A major difference between indecency and obscenity is that（A）obscenity involves more swearing, nudity and sexuality.（B） obscenity
13、is forbidden on all channels all the time.（C） indecency inflicts more harm on children and young adults.（D）indecency is more offensive by contemporary standards.4 The refusal to broadcast “Saving Private Ryan“ by several TV stations shows that（A）the movie features lots of swearing.（B） media firms ha
14、ve intensified censoring.（C） media firms were afraid of huge fines.（D）the film was defined as indecent.5 What strategy has the media industry adopted to defend itself?（A）Creating bitter quarrels between Republicans two wings.（B） Protesting the governments power over censorship.（C） Allying with such
15、groups as the American Conservative Union.（D）Arguing that the material is actually under the control of parents.5 Hows this for a coincidence? Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born in the same year, on the same day: Feb. 12, 1809. Although people hardly think of them in tandem, yet instinctiv
16、ely, we want to say that they belong together. Its not just because they were both great men, and not because they happen to be exact contemporaries. Rather, its because the scientist and the politician each touched off a revolution that changed the world.They were both revolutionaries in the sense
17、that both men upended realities that prevailed when they were born. They seemand soundmodern to us, because the world they left behind them is more or less the one we still live in. So, considering the joint greatness of their contributionsand the coincidence of their conjoined birthdaysit is hard n
18、ot to wonder: who was the greater man? Its an apples-and-orangesor Superman-vs.-Santacomparison. But if you limit the question to influence, very quickly the balance tips in Lincolns favor.As great as his book on evolution is, it does no harm to remember that Darwin hurried to publish The Origin of
19、Species because he thought he was about to be scooped by his fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. In other words, there was a certain inevitability to Darwins theory. Ideas about evolution surfaced throughout the first part of the 19th century, and while none of them was as convincing as Darwins
20、until Wallace came alongit was not as though he was the only man who had the idea.Lincoln, in contrast, is unique. Take him out of the picture, and there is no telling what might have happened to the country. True, his election to the presidency did provoke secession and, in turn, the war itself, bu
21、t that war seems inevitablenot a question of if but when. Once in office, he becomes the indispensable man. Certainly we know what happened once he was assassinated: Reconstruction was ad-ministered punitively and then abandoned, leaving the issue of racial equality to dangle for another century.If
22、Darwin were not so irreplaceable as Lincoln, that should not negate his accomplishment. No one could have formulated his theory any more elegantly. Their identical birthdays afford us a superb opportunity to observe these men in the shared context of their timehow each was shaped by his circumstance
23、s, how each reacted to the beliefs that steered the world into which he was bom and ultimately how each reshaped his corner of that world and left it irrevocably changed.6 Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln belong together in that（A）they were born on the same day.（B） they lived in the same period of
24、 time.（C） they brought up revolutions to the world.（D）they were born to be successful men.7 What does the author mean by “an apples-and-orangesor Superman-vs.-Santacomparison“(Lines 4-5, Paragraph 2)?（A）It is hard to tell which one is greater as they are both outstanding.（B） The comparison between D
25、arwin and Lincoln is meaningless.（C） It is difficult to compare them as they are as famous as Superman or Santa.（D）There is no point comparing them because both of them are well-known to us.8 Alfred Russel Wallace is mentioned in order to show（A）Darwins The Origin of Species was about to be scooped.
26、（B） Darwins evolution theory was accepted among naturalists.（C） Darwin might not be the only one who had the idea of evolution.（D）Darwins achievement was founded upon natural researches.9 Lincolns contribution to the world can be best described as（A）aggressive.（B） ground-breaking.（C） dependable.（D）l
27、egitimate.10 Which of the following is true of the text?（A）Lincolns success in election had made the war inevitable.（B） Lincoln had strived to address the racial problems.（C） Darwin was not unique compared with his contemporaries.（D）Darwins theory coincided with Lincolns beliefs.10 The operation kno
28、wn as a hemispherectomythe removal of half the brain-sounds too radical to ever consider, much less perform. In the past century, however, surgeons have done it hundreds of times for disorders that cannot be controlled any other way. Perhaps surprisingly, the surgery has no apparent effect on person
29、ality or memory. Does that mean a person needs only half a brain? Yes and no. People can survive and function pretty well after the procedure, but they will have some physical disabilities.The first known hemispherectomy was performed on a dog in 1888 by German physiologist Friedrich Goltz. Neurosur
30、geon Walter Dandy pioneered the use of the procedure on humans at Johns Hopkins University in 1923, operating on a patient who had a brain tumor. That man lived for more than three years before ultimately dying from cancer.In 1938, after performing a hemispherectomy on a 16-year-old girl, Canadian n
31、eurosurgeon Kenneth McKenzie reported that it could stop seizures, a neurological disorder in the brain. And today brain surgeons perform hemispherectomies on patients who undergo dozens of seizures daily that resist all medication and stem from conditions that primarily afflict one hemisphere. “The
32、se disorders are often progressive and damage the rest of the brain if not treated,“ explains neurosurgeon Gary W. Mathern of the University of California, Los Angeles.The surgery takes two forms. Anatomical hemispherectomies involve the removal of an entire hemisphere, whereas functional hemisphere
33、ctomies take out only parts of a hemisphereas well as severing the connections between the two halves of the brain. Doctors often prefer anatomical hemispherectomies because “leaving even a little bit of brain behind can lead seizures to return,“ says neurologist John Freeman of Johns Hopkins, which
34、 specializes in the procedure. On the other hand, functional hemispherectomies, which U.C.LA. surgeons usually perform, lead to less blood loss. “Our patients are usually under two years of age, so they have less blood to lose,“ Mathern says. Neurosurgeons have performed the functional operation on
35、children as young as three months old. In these tiny patients, memory and personality develop normally.Most Johns Hopkins hemispherectomy patients are older than five years. A recent study found that 86 percent of the 111 children who underwent the procedure at Johns Hopkins between 1975 and 2001 ar
36、e either seizure-free or have non-disabling seizures that do not require medication. Another study found that children who underwent a hemispherectomy often improved academically once their seizures stopped. “One was champion bowler of her class, one was chess champion of his state, and others are i
37、n college doing very nicely,“ Freeman notes.11 The operation known as a hemispherectomy（A）is misused and out of control.（B） is seemingly OK but has certain ill effects.（C） is superior to other methods to cure disorders.（D）has no harm on personality or memory at all.12 From Paragraph 2 and Paragraph
38、3, we learn that（A）hemispherectomy has become a common procedure since 1888.（B） the first patient performed with hemispherectomy finally conquered cancer.（C） the entire hemisphere must be removed once diagnosed with seizures.（D）seizures are hazardous because they can spread to the entire hemisphere.
39、13 Doctors prefer anatomical hemispherectomy to functional hemispherectomy in that（A）it can completely stop seizures by removing the entire hemisphere.（B） it is harmful to sever the connections between the two halves of the brain.（C） the patients are old enough to bear the pain of the operation.（D）a
40、natomical hemispherectomy causes less blood loss.14 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that（A）patients undergoing a hemispherectomy are very likely to have seizures again.（B） anatomical hemispherectomy is better than functional hemispherectomy.（C） seizures may cause brain damages and lead to
41、 mental impairment.（D）patients recovered from seizures are smarter than others.15 Which of the following best summarizes the text?（A）Anatomical Hemispherectomy vs. Functional Hemispherectomy（B） Seizures and Hemispherectomy（C） Do You Need Only Half Your Brain?（D）To Cut or Not to Cut, Thats a Question
42、.15 What is a woman worth? That is the question that has to be faced by divorcing couples and by their lawyers. The answers seem to be getting curiouser and curiouser. Last week a judge ordered an insurance broker to give his former wife a settlement of 48m. She had earlier refused his offer of abou
43、t 20m, which is why the matter went to court. No doubt Beverley Charman was an exemplary wife, and it is written in the Book of Proverbs that the price of a virtuous woman is above rubies, but even so, 348m seems a little steep. It would buy a couple of continents worth of rubies.What women are real
44、ly worth is beset with confusion and contradiction. There was a time when what women wanted was equal pay for equal work. One of the logical consequences was that no woman was entitled to take out of a marriage any more than she brought into it. That view was later softened by a recognition that chi
45、ldbearing and childcare present a serious opportunity cost to most women. So now people tend to agree that at divorce a woman should be compensated both for the real value that she brought to the marriage and for the opportunity cost to herselfher long slide down the career ladder, her loss of a per
46、sonal pension, her reduced chances of finding another spouse.Then there is a surprisingly unliberated tendency among women, and among men, to make estimates that are unfairly biased in favor of women. The judge in the Charmans hearing said that this was one of the very small category of cases where
47、the wealth created is of extraordinary proportions from extraordinary talent and energy of the husband and therefore the husband could keep more than half the assets. That still left the wife with 48m(37% of the assets). But then the judge made some odd remarks about old-fashioned attitudes. Discuss
48、ing John Charmans determination “to protect what he regards as wealth generated entirely by his efforts“, he said: “In the narrow, old-fashioned sense, that perspective is understandable, if somewhat outdated.“Wrong. It is the judge who sounds old-fashioned. This country is awash with clever and har
49、dworking men who make huge sums of money while their wives do little to contribute to domestic comfort and not much to advance their husbands careers. That does not mean they are not entitled to proper compensation on divorce, but I think the assumption that they are entitled to half the fruits of the marriage, unless there is good reason why not, is absurd.16 The author holds that the divorce case of Beverley Charman has（A）stirred up the question of what a woman is worth.（B） demonstrated the priceless value of an exemplary woman.（C） ref
