1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 455 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 An old saying has it that half of all advertising budgets are wastedthe trouble is, no one knows which half. In the internet age, at least in theory, th
2、is fraction can be much reduced. By watching what people search for, click on and say online, companies can aim “behavioral“ ads at those most likely to buy.In the past couple of weeks a quarrel has illustrated the value to advertisers of such fin e-grained information: should advertisers assume tha
3、t people are happy to be tracked and sent behavioral ads? Or should they have explicit permission?In December 2010 Americas Federal Trade Commission(FTC)proposed adding a “do not track“(DNT)option to internet browsers, so that users could tell advertisers that they did not want to be followed. Micro
4、soft s Internet Explorer and Apple s Safari both offer DNT; Google s Chrome is due to do so this year. In February the FTC and Digital Advertising Alliance(DAA)agreed that the industry would get cracking on responding to DNT requests.On May 31 st Microsoft set off the row: It said that Internet Expl
5、orer 10, the version due to appear in Windows 8, would have DNT as a default.Advertisers are horrified. Human nature being what it is, most people stick with default settings. Few switch DNT on now, but if tracking is off it will stay off. Bob Liodice, the chief executive of the Association of Natio
6、nal Advertisers, one of the groups in the DAA, says consumers will be worse off if the industry cannot collect information about their preferences. “People will not get fewer ads,“ he says. “They 11 get less meaningful, less targeted ads.“It is not yet clear how advertisers will respond. Getting a D
7、NT signal does not oblige anyone to stop tracking, although some companies have promised to do so. Unable to tell whether someone really objects to behavioral ads or whether they are sticking with Microsoft s default, some may ignore a DNT signal and press on anyway.Also unclear is why Microsoft has
8、 gone it alone. After all, it has an ad business too, which it says will comply with DNT requests, though it is still working out how. If it is trying to upset Google, which relies almost wholly on advertising,it has chosen an indirect method:there is no guarantee that DNT by default will become the
9、 norm. DNT does not seem an obviously huge selling point for Windows 8though the firm has compared some of its other products favorably with Google s on that count before. Brendon Lynch, Microsofts chief privacy officer, blogged: “we believe consumers should have more control.“ Could it really be th
10、at simple?1 It is suggested in Paragraph 1 that “behavioral“ ads help advertisers to（A）ease competition among themselves.（B） lower their operational costs.（C） avoid complaints from consumers.（D）provide better online services.2 “The industry“(Para. 3)refers to（A）online advertisers.（B） e-commerce cond
11、uctors.（C） digital information analysis.（D）internet browser developers.3 Bob Liodice holds that setting DNT as a default（A）many cut the number of junk ads.（B） fails to affect the ad industry.（C） will not benefit consumers.（D）goes against human nature.4 Which of the following is true according to Par
12、agraph 6?（A）DNT may not serve its intended purpose.（B） Advertisers are willing to implement DNT.（C） DNT is losing its popularity among consumers.（D）Advertisers are obliged to offer behavioral ads.5 The author s attitude towards what Brendon Lynch said in his blog is one of（A）indulgence.（B） understan
13、ding.（C） appreciation.（D）skepticism.5 Bankers have been blaming themselves for their troubles in public. Behind the scenes, they have been taking aim at someone else: the accounting standard-setters. Their rules, moan the banks, have forced them to report enormous losses, and its just not fair. Thes
14、e rules say they must value some assets at the price a third party would pay, not the price managers and regulators would like them to fetch.Unfortunately, banks lobbying now seems to be working. The details may be unknowable, but the independence of standard-setters, essential to the proper functio
15、ning of capital markets, is being compromised. And, unless banks carry toxic assets at prices that attract buyers, reviving the banking system will be difficult.After a bruising encounter with Congress, America s Financial Accounting Standards Board(FASB)rushed through rule changes. These gave banks
16、 more freedom to use models to value illiquid assets and more flexibility in recognizing losses on long-term assets in their income statement. Bob Herz, the FASB s chairman, cried out against those who “question our motives.“ Yet bank shares rose and the changes enhance what one lobby group politely
17、 calls “the use of judgment by management.“European ministers instantly demanded that the International Accounting Standards Board(IASB)do likewise. The IASB says it does not want to act without overall planning, but the pressure to fold when it completes its reconstruction of rules later this year
18、is strong. Charlie McCreevy, a European commissioner, warned the IASB that it did “not live in a political vacuum“ but “in the real world“ and that Europe could yet develop different rules.It was banks that were on the wrong planet, with accounts that vastly overvalued assets. Today they argue that
19、market prices overstate losses, because they largely reflect the temporary illiquidity of markets, not the likely extent of bad debts. The truth will not be known for years. But bank s shares trade below their book value, suggesting that investors are skeptical. And dead markets partly reflect the p
20、aralysis of banks which will not sell assets for fear of booking losses, yet are reluctant to buy all those supposed bargains.To get the system working again, losses must be recognized and dealt with. Americas new plan to buy up toxic assets will not work unless banks mark assets to levels which buy
21、ers find attractive. Successful markets require independent and even combative standard-setters. The FASB and IASB have been exactly that, cleaning up rules on stock options and pensions, for example, against hostility from special interests. But by giving in to critics now they are inviting pressur
22、e to make more concessions.6 Bankers complained that they were forced to（A）follow unfavorable asset evaluation rules.（B） collect payments from third parties.（C） cooperate with the price managers.（D）reevaluate some of their assets.7 According to the author, the rule changes of the FASB may result in（
23、A）the diminishing role of management.（B） the revival of the banking system.（C） the banks long-term asset losses.（D）the weakening of its independence.8 According to Paragraph 4, McCreevy objects to the IASB s attempt to（A）keep away from political influences.（B） evade the pressure from their peers.（C）
24、 act on their own in rule-setting.（D）take gradual measures in reform.9 The author thinks the banks were “on the wrong planet“ in that they（A）misinterpreted market price indicators.（B） exaggerated the real value of their assets.（C） neglected the likely existence of bad debts.（D）denied booking losses
25、in their sale of assets.10 The authors attitude towards standard-setters is one of（A）satisfaction.（B） skepticism.（C） objectiveness.（D）sympathy.10 First two hours, now three hoursthis is how far in advance authorities are recommending people show up to catch a domestic flight, at least at some major
26、U.S. airports with increasingly massive security lines.Americans are willing to tolerate time-consuming security procedures in return for increased safety. The crash of EgyptAir Flight 804, which terrorists may have downed over the Mediterranean Sea, provides another tragic reminder of why. But dema
27、nding too much of air travelers or providing too little security in return undermines public support for the process. And it should: Wasted time is a drag on Americans economic and private lives, not to mention infuriating.Last year, the Transportation Security Administration(TSA)found in a secret c
28、heck that undercover investigators were able to sneak weaponsboth fake and realpast airport security nearly every time they tried. Enhanced security measures since then, combined with a rise in airline travel due to the improving economy and low oil prices, have resulted in long waits at major airpo
29、rts such as Chicagos OHare International. It is not yet clear how much more effective airline security has becomebut the lines are obvious.Part of the issue is that the government did not anticipate the steep increase in airline travel, so the TSA is now rushing to get new screeners on the line. Par
30、t of the issue is that airports have only so much room for screening lanes. Another factor may be that more people are trying to overpack their carry-on bags to avoid checked-baggage fees, though the airlines strongly dispute this.There is one step the TSA could take that would not require remodelin
31、g airports or rushing to hire: Enroll more people in the PreCheck program. PreCheck is supposed to be a win-win for travelers and the TSA. Passengers who pass a background check are eligible to use expedited screening lanes. This allows the TSA to focus on travelers who are higher risk, saving time
32、for everyone involved. The TSA wants to enroll 25 million people in PreCheck.It has not gotten anywhere close to that, and one big reason is sticker shock: Passengers must pay $85 every five years to process their background checks. Since the beginning, this price tag has been PreCheck s fatal flaw.
33、 Upcoming reforms might bring the price to a more reasonable level. But Congress should look into doing so directly, by helping to finance PreCheck enrollment or to cut costs in other ways.The TSA cannot continue diverting resources into underused PreCheck lanes while most of the traveling public su
34、ffers in unnecessary lines. It is long past time o make the program work.11 The crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 is mentioned to（A）stress the urgency to strengthen security worldwide.（B） explain American s tolerance of current security checks.（C） highlight the necessity of upgrading major U.S. Airports.
35、（D）emphasize the importance of privacy protection.12 Which of the following contributes to long waits at major airports?（A）New restrictions on carry-on bags.（B） The declining efficiency of the TSA.（C） An increase in the number of travelers.（D）Frequent unexpected secret checks.13 The word “expedited“
36、(Para. 5)is closest in meaning to（A）quieter.（B） faster.（C） wider.（D）cheaper.14 One problem with the PreCheck program is（A）a dramatic reduction of its scale.（B） its wrongly-directed implementation.（C） the governments reluctance to back it.（D）an unreasonable price for enrollment.15 Which of the follow
37、ing would be the best title for the text?（A）Getting Stuck in Security Lines（B） PreChecka Belated Solution（C） Less Screening for More Safety（D）Underused PreCheck Lanes15 Robert F. Kennedy once said that a countrys GDP measures “everything except that which makes life worthwhile.“ With Britain voting
38、to leave the European Union, and GDP already predicted to slow as a result, it is now a timely moment to assess what he was referring to.The question of GDP and its usefulness has annoyed policymakers for over half a century. Many argue that it is a flawed concept. It measures things that do not mat
39、ter and miss things that do. By most recent measures, the UKs GDP has been the envy of the Western World, with record low unemployment and high growth figures. If everything was going so well, then why did over 17 million people vote for Brexit, despite the warnings about what it could do to their c
40、ountry s economic prospects?A recent annual study of countries and their ability to convert growth into well-being sheds some light on that question. Across the 163 countries measured, the UK is one of the poorest performers in ensuring that economic growth is translated into meaningful improvement
41、for its citizens. Rather than just focusing on GDP, over 40 different sets of criteria from health, education and civil society engagement have been measured to get a more rounded assessment of how countries are performing.While all of these countries face their own challenges, there are a number of
42、 consistent themes. Yes, there has been a budding economic recovery since the 2008 global crash, but in key indicators in areas such as health and education, major economies have continued to decline. Yet this isnt the case with all countries. Some relatively poor European countries have seen huge i
43、mprovements across measures including civil society, income equality and the environment.This is a lesson that rich countries can learn: When GDP is no longer regarded as the sole measure of a countrys success, the world looks very different.So, what Kennedy was referring to was that while GDP has b
44、een the most common method for measuring the economic activity of nations, as a measure, it is no longer enough. It does not include important factors such as environmental equality or education outcomesall things that contribute to a persons sense of well-being.The sharp hit to growth predicted aro
45、und the world and in the UK could lead to a decline in the everyday services we depend on for our well-being and for growth. But policymakers who refocus efforts on improving well-being rather than simply worrying about GDP figures could avoid the forecasted doom and may even see progress.16 Robert
46、F. Kennedy is cited because he（A）praised the UK for its GDP.（B） identified GDP with happiness.（C） misinterpreted the role of GDP.（D）had a low opinion of GDP.17 It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that（A）the UK is reluctant to remold its economic pattern.（B） the UK will contribute less to the world e
47、conomy.（C） GDP as the measure of success is widely defied in the UK.（D）policymakers in the UK are paying less attention to GDP.18 Which of the following is true about the recent annual study?（A）It excludes GDP as an indicator.（B） It is sponsored by 163 countries.（C） Its criteria are questionable.（D）
48、Its result are enlightening.19 In the last two paragraphs, the author suggests that（A）the UK is preparing for an economic boom.（B） high GDP foreshadows an economic decline.（C） it is essential to consider factors beyond GDP.（D）it requires caution to handle economic issues.20 Which of the following is
49、 the best title for the text?（A）High GDP But Inadequate Well-being, a UK Lesson（B） GDP Figures, a Window on Global Economic Health（C） Robert F. Kennedy, a Terminator of GDP（D）Brexit, the UK s Gateway to Well-being考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 455 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)【知识模块】 阅读1 【正确答案】 B【试题解析】 推断题。根据题干定位到第一段。此段大意为，在互联网时代，有一半花在广告上的钱可 以大大缩减，因为企业可以通过观察人们的搜索、点击内容等，使得广告更有针对性，从而减少 这部分钱，即 B 项“降低运作成本”为正确答案。A 项“减轻广告商之间的竞争”、C 项“避免消费 者的抱怨”、D 项“提供更好的网上服务”，原文均未提及。【知识模块】 阅读
