1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 456 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 When Liam McGee departed as president of Bank of America in August, his explanation was surprisingly straight up. Rather than cloaking his exit in the u
2、sual vague excuses, he came right out and said he was leaving “to pursue my goal of running a company.“ Broadcasting his ambition was “very much my decision,“ McGee says. Within two weeks, he was talking for the first time with the board of Hartford Financial Services Group, which named him CEO and
3、chairman on September 29.McGee says leaving without a position lined up gave him time to reflect on what kind of company he wanted to run. It also sent a clear message to the outside world about his aspirations. And McGee isnt alone. In recent weeks the No. 2 executives at Avon and American Express
4、quit with the explanation that they were looking for a CEO post. As boards scrutinize succession plans in response to shareholder pressure, executives who don t get the nod also may wish to move on. A turbulent business environment also has senior managers cautious of letting vague pronouncements cl
5、oud their reputations.As the first signs of recovery begin to take hold, deputy chiefs may be more willing to make the jump without a net. In the third quarter, CEO turnover was down 23% from a year ago as nervous boards stuck with the leaders they had, according to Liberum Research. As the economy
6、picks up, opportunities will abound for aspiring leaders.The decision to quit a senior position to look for a better one is unconventional. For years executives and headhunters have adhered to the rule that the most attractive CEO candidates are the ones who must be poached. Says Korn / Ferry senior
7、 partner Dennis Carey: “I cant think of a single search Ive done where a board has not instructed me to look at sitting CEOs first.“Those who jumped without a job havent always landed in top positions quickly. Ellen Marram quit as chief of Tropicana a decade age, saying she wanted to be a CEO. It wa
8、s a year before she became head of a tiny Internet-based commodities exchange. Robert Willumstad left Citigroup in 2005 with ambitions to be a CEO. He finally took that post at a major financial institution three years later.Many recruiters say the old disgrace is fading for top performers. The fina
9、ncial crisis has made it more acceptable to be between jobs or to leave a bad one. “The traditional rule was it s safer to stay where you are, but thats been fundamentally inverted,“ says one headhunter. “The people whove been hurt the worst are those who ve stayed too long.“1 When McGee announced h
10、is departure, his manner can best be described as being（A）arrogant.（B） frank.（C） self-centered.（D）impulsive.2 According to Paragraph 2, senior executives quitting may be spurred by（A）their expectation of better financial status.（B） their need to reflect on their private life.（C） their strained relat
11、ions with the boards.（D）their pursuit of new career goals.3 The word “poached“(Para. 4)most probably means（A）approved of.（B） attended to.（C） hunted for.（D）guarded against.4 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that（A）top performers used to cling to their posts.（B） loyalty of top performers is
12、getting out-dated.（C） top performers care more about reputations.（D）it s safer to stick to the traditional rules.5 Which of the following is the best title for the text?（A）CEOs: Where to Go?（B） CEOs: All the Way Up?（C） Top Managers Jump without a Net（D）The Only Way Out for Top Performers5 During the
13、 past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to n
14、ewly poor in a few months.In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as wel
15、l. Todays families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setbacka back-up earner(usually Mom)who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This “added-worker effec
16、t“ could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner.During the same period, families have been asked
17、to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the
18、 past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a saving-account model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families, the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the shar
19、e of it borne by families have risenand newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family,
20、 as the odds of having a weak elderly parentand all the attendant need for physical and financial assistancehave jumped eightfold in just one generation.From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibilit
21、y, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind.6 Today s double-income families are at greater financial risk in that（A）the sa
22、fety net they used to enjoy has disappeared.（B） their chances of being laid off have greatly increased.（C） they are more vulnerable to changes in family economics.（D）they are deprived of unemployment or disability insurance.7 As a result of President Bushs reform, retired people may have（A）a higher
23、sense of security.（B） less secured payments.（C） less chance to invest.（D）a guaranteed future.8 According to the author, health-savings plans will（A）help reduce the cost of healthcare.（B） popularize among the middle class.（C） compensate for the reduced pensions.（D）increase the families investment ris
24、k.9 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that（A）financial risks tend to outweigh political risks.（B） the middle class may face greater political challenges.（C） financial problems may bring about political problems.（D）financial responsibility is an indicator of political status.10 Which of the
25、following is the best title for this text?（A）The Middle Class on the Alert（B） The Middle Class on the Cliff（C） The Middle Class in Conflict（D）The Middle Class in Ruins10 Old stereotypes die hard. Picture a video-game player and you will likely imagine a teenage boy, by himself, compulsively hammerin
26、g away at a game involving rayguns and aliens that splatter when blasted. Ten years ago that might have borne some relation to reality. But today a gamer is as likely to be a middle-aged commuter playing “Angry Birds“ on her smartphone. In America, the biggest market, the average game-player is 37 y
27、ears old. Two-fifths are female.Over the past ten years the video-game industry has grown from a small business to a huge, mainstream one. With global sales of $56 billion in 2010, it is more than twice the size of the recorded-music industry. Despite the downturn, it is growing by almost 9% a year.
28、Is this success due to luck or skill? The answer matters, because the rest of the entertainment industry has tended to treat gaming as being a lucky beneficiary of broader technological changes. Video gaming, unlike music, film or television, had the luck to be born digital. In fact, there is plenty
29、 for old media to learn.Video games have certainly been swept along by two forces: demography and technology. The first gaming generationthe children of the 1970s and early 1980sis now over 30. Many still love gaming, and can afford to spend far more on it now. Meanwhile rapid improvements in comput
30、ing power have allowed game designers to offer experiences that are now often more cinematic than the cinema.But even granted this good fortune, the game-makers have been clever. They have reached out to new customers with new methods. They have branched out into education, corporate training and ev
31、en warfare, and have embraced digital downloads and mobile devices with enthusiasm. Though big-budget games are still popular, much of the growth now comes from “casual“ games that are simple, cheap and playable in short bursts on mobile phones or in web browsers.The industry has excelled in a parti
32、cular areapricing. In an era when people are disinclined to pay for content on the web, games publishers were quick to develop “freemium“ models, where you rely on non-paying customers to build an audience and then extract cash only from a fanatical few.As gaming comes to be seen as just another med
33、ium, its tech-sawy approach could provide a welcome shot in the arm for existing media groups.11 The two examples in Paragraph 1 are used to illustrate that（A）video-game players tend to be older.（B） females in America tend to enjoy playing video games.（C） it is hard to change old stereotypes.（D）the
34、video-game industry has grown rapidly.12 All of the following methods are employed to attract new customers EXCEPT（A）to expand business into other fields.（B） to embrace mobile devices.（C） to develop big-budget games.（D）to develop “casual“ games.13 One special factor of the success of video games is
35、that（A）demography.（B） flexible pricing.（C） digital technology.（D）cinematic design.14 What can you learn from “freemium“ model?（A）It makes people inclined to pay for content on the web.（B） It relies on non-paying customers to make a profit.（C） It makes money only from a few fanatical customers.（D）It
36、earns little for the game-publishers.15 The phrase “tech-sawy approach“ in the last paragraph probably means（A）approach of understanding technology.（B） approach of using technology.（C） approach of developing technology.（D）approach of relying on technology.15 Whatever happened to the death of newspap
37、ers? A year ago the end seemed near. The recession threatened to remove the advertising and readers that had not already fled to the internet. Newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle were chronicling their own doom. America s Federal Trade commission launched a round of talks about how to save n
38、ewspapers. Should they become charitable corporations? Should the state subsidize them? It will hold another meeting soon. But the discussions now seem out of date.In much of the world there is little sign of crisis. German and Brazilian papers have shrugged off the recession. Even American newspape
39、rs, which inhabit the most troubled corner of the global industry, have not only survived but often returned to profit. Not the 20% profit margins that were routine a few years ago, but profit all the same.It has not been much fun. Many papers stayed afloat by pushing journalists overboard. The Amer
40、ican Society of News Editors reckons that 13,500 newsroom jobs have gone since 2007. Readers are paying more for slimmer products. Some papers even had the nerve to refuse delivery to distant suburbs. Yet these desperate measures have proved the right ones and, sadly for many journalists, they can b
41、e pushed further.Newspapers are becoming more balanced businesses, with a healthier mix of revenues from readers and advertisers. American papers have long been highly unusual in their reliance on ads. Fully 87% of their revenues came from advertising in 2008, according to the Organization for Econo
42、mic Cooperation & Develop-ment(OECD). In Japan the proportion is 35%. Not surprisingly, Japanese newspapers are much more stable.The whirlwind that swept through newsrooms harmed everybody, but much of the damage has been concentrated in areas where newspaper are least distinctive. Car and film revi
43、ewers have gone. So have science and general business reporters. Foreign bureaus have been savagely cut off. Newspapers are less complete as a result. But completeness is no longer a virtue in the newspaper business.16 By saying “Newspapers like . their own doom“(Para. 1), the author indicates that
44、news-papers（A）neglected the sign of crisis.（B） failed to get state subsidies.（C） were not charitable corporations.（D）were in a desperate situation.17 Some newspapers refused delivery to distant suburbs probably because（A）readers threatened to pay less.（B） newspapers wanted to reduce costs.（C） journa
45、lists reported little about these areas.（D）subscribers complained about slimmer products.18 Compared with their American counterparts, Japanese newspapers are much more stable because they（A）have more sources of revenue.（B） have more balanced newsrooms.（C） are less dependent on advertising.（D）are le
46、ss affected by readership.19 What can be inferred from the last paragraph about the current newspaper business?（A）Distinctiveness is an essential feature of newspapers.（B） Completeness is to blame for the failure of newspapers.（C） Foreign bureaus play a crucial role in the newspaper business.（D）Read
47、ers have lost their interest in car and film reviews.20 The most appropriate title for this text would be（A）American Newspapers: A Hopeless Story（B） American Newspapers: Gone with the Wind（C） American Newspapers: A Thriving Business（D）American Newspapers: Struggling for Survival考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 456 答案与解
48、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】 细节题。根据题干定位在文章第一段：Liam McGee 以美国银行总裁的身份离职，谈及离职 原因时非常直白，并没有含糊其辞。原文中使用了固定短语“straight up”，意为“直率的，真实 的”，还有固定短语“right out”，意为“明白地，坦率地”。由此可判断，McGee 的态度非常明确，B
49、 项 中的形容词“frank”和原文同义。A、C、D 项均属贬义形容词，故排除。【知识模块】 阅读2 【正确答案】 D【试题解析】 细节题。根据题干定位在文章第二段，首先讲述了 McGee 这么做的原因：有时间反思一下 自己到底想管理什么样的公司；随后文中举了其他几个例子，Avon 和 American Express 的高层 管理人员，他们致力于 CEO 的职位。由此可知，D 项是促使这些高管们辞职的原因。A 项中的 “financial status”在本段范围内未提及：B 项中的“reflect on their private life”是对文中“reflect on what kind ofcompany he wanted to run”的严重曲解：C 项是根据第二段倒数第二句编造的选项， 选项内容与原文不符且不能回答本题提问，故排除。【知识模块】 阅读3 【正确答案】 C【试题解析】 含义题。根据题干定位在文章第四段，该段主要讲述离开现在的职位去寻找更好的，这并 不是传统的做法；猎头遵循一个原则：最具魅力的 CEO 是那些需要“poached” 的人。此处原文使 用了“headhunter”这个词，hunter 原意是“猎手，猎人”，而此处意为“搜寻者”，他们是为公司寻找 最好的管理人员。而hunter
