1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 453 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 For the first time in history more people live in towns than in the country. In Britain this has had a curious result. While polls show Britons rate “th
2、e countryside“ alongside the royal family, Shakespeare and the National Health Service(NHS)as what makes them proudest of their country, this has limited political support.A century ago Octavia Hill launched the National Trust not to rescue stylish houses but to save “the beauty of natural places fo
3、r everyone forever.“ It was specifically to provide city dwellers with spaces for leisure where they could experience “a refreshing air.“ Hills pressure later led to the creation of national parks and green belts.They dont make countryside any more, and every year concrete consumes more of it. It ne
4、eds constant guardianship.At the next election none of the big parties seem likely to endorse this sentiment. The Conservatives planning reform explicitly gives rural development priority over conservation, even authorising “off-plan“ building where local people might object. The concept of sustaina
5、ble development has been defined as prof itable. Labour likewise wants to discontinue local planning where councils oppose development. The Liberal Democrats are silent. Only Ukip, sensing its chance, has sided with those pleading for a more considered ap proach to using green land. Its Campaign to
6、Protect Rural England struck terror into many local Conservative parties.The sensible place to build new houses, factories and offices is where people are, in cities and towns where infrastructure is in place.The London agents Stirling Ackroyd recently identified enough sites for half a million hous
7、es in the London area alone, with no intrusion on green belt. What is true of London is even truer of the provinces.The idea that “housing crisis“ equals “concreted meadows“ is pure lobby talk. The issue is not the need for more house but, as always, where to put them. Under lobby pressure, George O
8、sborne favours rural new-build against urban renovation and renewal. He favours out-of-town shopping sites against high streets. This is not a free market but a biased one. Rural towns and villages have grown and will always grow. They do so best where building sticks to their edges and respects the
9、ir character. We do not ruin urban conservation areas. Why ruin rural ones?Development should be planned, not let rip. After the Netherlands, Britain is Europe s most crowded country. Half a century of town and country planning has enabled it to retain an enviable rural coherence, while still permit
10、ting low-density urban living. There is no doubt of the alternativethe corrupted landscapes of southern Portugal, Spain or Ireland. Avoiding this rather than promoting it should unite the left and right of the political spectrum.1 Britain s public sentiment about the countryside（A）didn t start till
11、the Shakespearean age.（B） has brought much benefit to the NHS.（C） is fully backed by the royal family.（D）is not well reflected in politics.2 According to Paragraph 2, the achievements of the National Trust are now being（A）gradually destroyed.（B） effectively reinforced.（C） largely overshadowed.（D）pro
12、perly protected.3 Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph 3?（A）Labour is under attack for opposing development.（B） The Conservatives may abandon “off-plan“ building.（C） The Liberal Democrats are losing political influence.（D）Ukip may gain from its support for rural conservation.4 The a
13、uthor holds that George Osborne s preference（A）highlights his firm stand against lobby pressure.（B） shows his disregard for the character of rural areas.（C） stresses the necessity of easing the housing crisis.（D）reveals a strong prejudice against urban areas.5 In the last paragraph, the author shows
14、 his appreciation of（A）the size of population in Britain.（B） the political life in todays Britain.（C） the enviable urban lifestyle in Britain.（D）the town-and-country planning in Britain5 On a five to three vote, the Supreme Court knocked out much of Arizonas immigration law Monday a modest policy vi
15、ctory for the Obama Administration. But on the more important matter of the Constitution, the decision was an 8-0 defeat for the Administration s effort to upset the balance of power between the federal government and the states.In Arizona v. United States, the majority overturned three of the four
16、contested provisions of Arizonas controversial plan to have state and local police enforce federal immigration law. The Constitutional principles that Washington alone has the power to “establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization“ and that federal laws precede state laws are noncontroversial. Arizona
17、 had attempted to fashion state policies that ran parallel to the existing federal ones.Justice Anthony Kennedy joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the Court s liberals, ruled that the state flew too close to the federal sun. On the overturned provisions the majority held the congress had delib
18、erately “occupied the field“ and Arizona had thus intruded on the federal s privileged powers.However, the Justices said that Arizona police would be allowed to verify the legal status of people who come in contact with law enforcement. That s because Congress has always envisioned joint federal-sta
19、te immigration enforcement and explicitly encourages state officers to share information and cooperate with federal colleagues.Two of the three objecting JusticeSamuel Alito and Clarence Thomasagreed with this Constitutional logic but disagreed about which Arizona rules conflicted with the federal s
20、tatute. The only major objection came from Justice Antonin Scalia, who offered an even more robust defense of state privileges going back to the Alien and Sedition Acts.The 8-0 objection to President Obama turns on what Justice Samuel Alito describes in his objection as “a shocking assertion of fede
21、ral executive power“. The White House argued that Arizonas laws conflicted with its enforcement priorities, even if state laws complied with federal statutes to the letter. In effect, the White House claimed that it could invalidate any otherwise legitimate state law that it disagrees with.Some powe
22、rs do belong exclusively to the federal government, and control of citizenship and the borders is among them. But if Congress wanted to prevent states from using their own resources to check immigration status, it could. It never did so. The administration was in essence asserting that because it di
23、dnt want to carry out Congresss immigration wishes, no state should be allowed to do so either. Every Justice rightly rejected this remarkable claim.6 Three provisions of Arizona s plan were overturned because they（A）deprived the federal police of Constitutional powers.（B） disturbed the power balanc
24、e between different states.（C） overstepped the authority of federal immigration law.（D）contradicted both the federal and state policies.7 On which of the following did the Justices agree, according to Paragraph 4?（A）Federal officers duty to withhold immigrants information.（B） States independence fro
25、m federal immigration law.（C） States legitimate role in immigration enforcement.（D）Congress s intervention in immigration enforcement.8 It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that the Alien and Sedition Acts（A）violated the Constitution.（B） undermined the states interests.（C） supported the federal statu
26、te.（D）stood in favor of the states.9 The White House claims that its power of enforcement（A）outweighs that held by the states.（B） is dependent on the states support.（C） is established by federal statutes.（D）rarely goes against state laws.10 What can be learned from the last paragraph?（A）Immigration
27、issues are usually decided by Congress.（B） Justices intended to check the power of the Administration.（C） Justices wanted to strengthen its coordination with Congress.（D）The Administration is dominant over immigration issues.10 Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have b
28、een condemned or made illegal. But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.It has long been known that a taxi firm called AA
29、AA cars has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zoe Zysman. English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people h
30、ave surnames beginning with letters between A and K.Thus the American president and vice-president have surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George Bush s predecessors(including his father)had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more
31、striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged(Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chre tien and Koizumi). The worlds three top central bankers(Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami)are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really us
32、es Japanese characters. As are the world s five richest men(Gates, Buffett, Allen, Ellison and Albrecht).Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of the first year in infant sc
33、hool, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So shortsighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they
34、have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.The humiliation continues. At university graduation ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the time they reach the Zysmans
35、 most people are literally having a ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers, lists of conference speakers and attendees: all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as they plough through them.11 What does the author intend to illustrate with AAAA ca
36、rs and Zodiac cars?（A）A kind of overlooked inequality.（B） A type of conspicuous bias.（C） A type of personal prejudice.（D）A kind of brand discrimination.12 What can we infer from the first three paragraphs?（A）In both East and West, names are essential to success.（B） The alphabet is to blame for the f
37、ailure of Zoe Zysman.（C） Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies names.（D）Some form of discrimination is too subtle to recognize.13 The 4th paragraph suggests that（A）questions are often put to the more intelligent students.（B） alphabetically disadvantaged students often escape from class
38、.（C） teachers should pay attention to all of their students.（D）students should be seated according to their eyesight.14 What does the author mean by “most people are literally having a ZZZ“(Para. 5)?（A）They are getting impatient.（B） They are noisily dozing off.（C） They are feeling humiliated.（D）They
39、 are busy with word puzzles.15 Which of the following is true according to the text?（A）People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often ill-treated.（B） VIPs in the Western world gain a great deal from alphabetism.（C） The campaign to eliminate alphabetism still has a long way to go.（D）Putting thi
40、ngs alphabetically may lead to unintentional bias.15 “THE SERVANT“(1963)is one of those films that it is impossible to forget. The servant exploits his masters weaknesses until he turns the tables: the story ends with the a cringing master ministering to a lordly servant. It is hard to watch it toda
41、y without thinking of another awkward relationshipthe one between business folk and their smartphones.Smart devices are sometimes empowering. They put a world of information at our fingertips. But for most people the servant has become the master. Not long ago only doctors were on call all the time.
42、 Now everybody is. Bosses think nothing of invading their employees free time. Work invades the home far more than domestic chores invade the office.Hyperconnectivity exaggerates the decline of certainty and the general cult of flexibility. Smartphones make it easier for managers to change their min
43、ds at the last moment. Employees find it ever harder to distinguish between “on-time“ and “off-time“and indeed between real work and make-work. None of this is good for businesspeople s marriages or mental health. It may be bad for business, too. When bosses change their minds at the last minute, it
44、 is hard to plan for the future.How can we reap the benefits of connectivity without becoming its slaves? One solution is digital dieting. Banning browsing before breakfast can reintroduce a small amount of civilization. Banning texting at weekends or, say, on Thursdays, can really show the iPhone w
45、ho is boss.The problem with this approach is that it works only if you live on a desert island or at the bottom of a lake. Leslie Perlow of Harvard Business School argues that for most people the only way to break the 24/7 habit is to act collectively rather than individually. One of the worlds most
46、 hard-working organisations, the Boston Consulting Group, introduced rules about when people were expected to be offline, and encouraged them to work together to make this possible. Eventually it forced people to work more productively while reducing burnout.Ms Perlows advice should be taken serious
47、ly. The problem of hyperconnectivity will only get worse, as smartphones become smarter and young digital natives take over the workforce. But ultimately it is up to companies to outsmart the smartphones by insisting that everyone turn them off from time to time.16 The author mentions the film in th
48、e first paragraph in order to（A）introduce the film to people.（B） introduce the topic.（C） review it because it is unforgettable.（D）remind people of another similar relationship.17 Smart devices have become the master mainly because（A）everybody is on call all the time.（B） bosses invade their employees
49、 free time.（C） managers easily change their minds at the last moment.（D）employees find it harder to distinguish between real work and make-work.18 Digital dieting refers to all of the following EXCEPT（A）banning browsing before breakfast.（B） banning browsing after dinner.（C） banning texting at weekends.（D）banning texting at weekdays.19 The example of Boston Consulting Group is used to illustrate that（A）its employees work hard.（B） to break the 24/7 habit needs to act collectively.（C） people work more productively if their burnout is reduced.（D）ma
