1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 484 及答案与解析Part B (10 points) 0 Many newcomers to the United States find themselves strange to the American ways. It usually takes some time for them to get to know the social customs that are so different from ours.1. Women of marked individualityIt is now becoming more and more common
2、for a female in the U.S. to ask a male for a date or a dance.2. The world of the youngMore striking than the changing relationships between men and women is the profound gulf that often separates the old from the young. I have found America to be a very youth-oriented society, in sharp contrast to t
3、he importance we attach to age.3. Attitude towards workWork in general is something that is highly valued in American society. Since hard work is believed to help people get ahead, Americans often work long hours and do not take afternoon naps as we do.4. IndividualismOverall, the most difficult obs
4、tacle will be in coping with American individualism and self-reliance. This is because Americans prefer to do things on their own. Even in group activities, there is always unstructured time left for individuals to do what they please.5. Friendly peopleIn spite of the culture shock I have experience
5、d, I have found Americans to be quite friendly, generous and helpful.AIn the big cities, especially, people tend to eat quickly and the offices and stores remain open during the lunch hour. While some rush out for a bite, others keep watch over the phones, hold meetings or attend to customers. If Am
6、ericans seem abrupt and impatient at times, it is often because of the pressure of work and the value they put on getting things done.BWe, for example, were on a group trip to other cities, yet those traveling together did not always eat together, nor did they spend all of their sightseeing hours as
7、 a group.CMy nephew was recently involved in a case of this kind. He was waiting upon an American young lady in a Chinese restaurant and was astonished when she remarked that he was an attractive man. When she paid her bill, she left a note for him: “If youre not married, Id like to see you again. H
8、eres my address and phone number!“ Later he did call and explained that he had little money and could not pick her up because he did not have a car. She didn t seem worried: she offered to come to pick him up in her car!DI believe that you too, despite some possible unexpected difficulties, will hav
9、e such positive experiences. With time and patience you will gradually come to understand a society different from ours.EFor example, we care for the old and infirm in the home, but old people here usually live in separate places either because they do not wish to be a burden to their children or be
10、cause they prefer to maintain their individual lifestyles. When they cannot take care of themselves, they are often placed in special nursing homes for the aged.FI was particularly grateful for the assistance I received when I did a work / study project last summer at Newsday, the major newspaper in
11、 the area. Since there was no direct transportation between my home and the newspaper office, a fellow worker drove me back and forth to work. On days when she was unable to do this, she saw to it that someone else provided transportation. All told, seven people were involved in driving me on differ
12、ent occasions.5 Its long been known, but little discussed in polite high-tech circles, that information-age technology is not the clean industry it claims to be. Manufacturing a single PC can generate 139 pounds of waste and involves a host of chemicals linked to high rates of cancer and birth defec
13、ts among workers and communities.1. Disposal crisis of e-wasteElectronic waste(e-waste)such as obsolete and discarded computers, monitors, printers, cell phones, and televisionsis one of the fastest growing waste streams in the developed world, thanks to the industrys philosophy of “design for immed
14、iate obsolescence“ and a weak electronics-recycling infrastructure.2. Public health problemsIf the full force of the high-tech revolution hits the landfill, its health risks will leave no community untouched.3. The european solutionThe European Union is way ahead of the U.S. in recognizing the hazar
15、ds and moving towards a solution.4. How will the U.S. proceed?Because the U.S. high-tech industry and its friends in Washington represent the biggest obstacles to the globalization of take-back laws, a broad coalition of environmental, health, labor, and recycling groups and local governments has fo
16、rmed the Computer Take Back Campaign to support EU-style legislation in the U.S.5. Going globalThe European approach is more than a minor “software patch“ on a fundamentally flawed program. By establishing corporate responsibility for products at the end of their lives, this strategy could have wide
17、-ranging effects on the information technology industry. The EU approach spreads environmental benefits globally rather than shifting pollution to developing nations.AIf we can adopt the EUs code in the U.S., we can do a bit of reverse engineering on globalization. By downloading Europe s program to
18、 the U.S., we can finally begin to clean up the “clean industry“ around the globe.BAn estimated 300 to 500 million computers will descend on landfills by 2007 in the U.S. alone. Three-quarters of all computers ever sold in this country await disposal in garages and storage facilities because their o
19、wners dont know what to do with them.CThe first European Union directive on e-waste, adopted last year, requires producers to take responsibility for the entire life cycle of their products. By 2005, companies will either have to take back products directly from consumers or fund independent collect
20、ors to do so. Waste that was generated prior to the enactment date will be the responsibility of all existing companies, in proportion to their market share. Future waste is to be the individual responsibility of each company, thereby creating an incentive to redesign products for easier and safer r
21、ecycling and disposal. No e-waste will be allowed in municipal waste streams.DE-waste accounts for 5 percent of all solid waste in America but approximately 40 percent of the lead, 70 percent of the heavy metals, and a significant portion of the organic chemical pollutants in America s dumps. This e
22、-waste can leach into the ground, as it did in the Silicon Valley. It was the widespread contamination of the valleys aquifers in the early 1980s that initially punctured the high-tech industrys clean image. Currently:there are more EPA superfund clean up sites in this valley than anywhere else in t
23、he U.S. The threat to soil, drinking water and public health will grow as e-waste surges into the waste stream worldwide.EHundreds of organizations and local governments in the U.S. have already endorsed the campaigns platform. The campaign advocates that the U.S. adopt standards for electronics man
24、ufacturers at least as stringent as those adopted by the EU: hazardous materials would be phased out, and all electronics would be designed for reuse and recycling. The campaign has sparked a legislative grounds well. In the past year alone , 20 states have introduced legislation to address e-waste.
25、FLocal governments and taxpayers now pick up the tab for the disposal of e-waste. The state of California, for example, faces an estimated $1 billion in e-waste disposal costs over the next few years.10 The planets seemed like pretty small places. At the same time, Earth seemed a lot larger than it
26、does now. No one had ever seen our planet as a planet: a blue marble on black velvet, coated with water and air. No one knew that the moon was born in an impact. No one fully appreciated that humanity was becoming a geologic force in its own right, capable of changing the environment on a global sca
27、le. Whatever else the Space Age has done, it has enriched our view of the natural world and given us a perspective.National Research Council(NRC)panels periodically ask whether the world s planetary exploration programs are on track. The list of goals that follows synthesizes their priorities.1. Mon
28、itor Earth s ClimateThe venerable Landsat series, which has monitored the surface since 1972, has been on the fritz for years, and the U. S. has Department of Agriculture has already had to buy data from Indian satellites to monitor crop productivity. For some types of data, no other nation can fill
29、 in.2. Prepare an Asteroid DefenseLike climate monitoring, guarding the planet from asteroids always seems to fall between the cracks. Neither NASA nor the European Space Agency(ESA)has a mandate to stave off human extinction. It would take 15 years or longer to mount a defense against an incoming b
30、ody, assuming that the technology were ready to go.3. Seek Out New LifeBefore Spotnik, scientists thought the solar system might be a veritable Garden of Eden. Earths sister worlds proved to be hellish, even when the Mariner probes revealed a cratered moonscape and the Viking landers failed to find
31、even a single organic molecule. But lately the plausible venues for life have multiplied.4. Explain the Genesis of the PlanetsStudies of the origin of the planets overlap quite a bit with studies of the origins of life. Jakosky puts it thus: “Venus sits at the inner edge of the habitable zone. Mars
32、sits at the outer edge. Earth sits in the middle. And understanding the differences between those planets is central to asking about life beyond our solar system.“5. Break Out of the Solar SystemA solar sail 200 meters across could carry a 500-kilogram spacecraft. After launch from Earth, it would f
33、irst swoop toward the sun, going as it daredjust inside Mercurys orbitto get flung out by the intense sunlight.“Such a mission, be it ESA-or NASA-led, is the next logical step in our exploration of space, “ Wim mer-Schweingruber says. “After all, there is more to space than exploring our very, very
34、local neighborhood.“ The estimated price tag is about $2 billion including three decades operating expenses.ALike the origin of life, the origin of the planets was a complex, multistage process. Jupiter was the first-born. Did it build up slowly, like the other planets? Did it form farther from the
35、sun and move inward?BLike a windsurfer, the spacecraft would steer by leaning to one side or the other. Just before pass ing Jupiters orbit, it would cast off the sail and glide outward. To get ready, engineers need to design a sufficiently lightweight sail and test it on first.CSo NRC prepares to t
36、ake some action plans. Extend asteroid search to smaller bodies, perhaps using a dedicated infrared space telescope. Deflect an asteroid in a controlled way as a trial run. Develop an official system for evaluating potential threats.DThe NRC panel called for restoring the lost funding, which pay for
37、 17 new missions over the coming decade, such as ones to keep tabs on ice sheets and carbon dioxide levelsessential for predicting climate change and its effects. People sometimes take the mundane yet urgent task of looking after our own planet for granted.EMars is looking hopeful again. Outer-plane
38、t moons, notably Europa and Enceladus, appear to have vast underground seas and plenty of life s raw materials. Even Venus might have been covered in oceans once. The research is not just about finding companionship in the cosmos. It is about divining our own origins.FThis past spring ESA completed
39、a set of feasibility studiesand promptly shelved them for lack of money. It would take a joint effort with NASA or the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA), or both, to make the plan happen.15 Many factors distort the way we interpret the world. Social scientists use the term attribution to desc
40、ribe the process of attaching meaning to behavior. We attribute meaning to both our own actions and to the actions of others, but we often use different yardsticks. Research has uncovered several perceptual errors that can lead to inaccurate attributions.1. We are influenced by what is most obviousT
41、he error of being influenced by what is most obvious is understandable. The most obvious factor is not necessarily the only causeor the most significant one.2. We cling to first impressions, even if wrongLabeling people according to our first impressions is an inevitable part of the perception proce
42、ss, problems arise, however, when the labels we attach are inaccurate:once we form an image we tend to hang onto it and make any conflicting information fit our image.Given the almost unavoidable tendency to form first impressions, the best advice we can give is to keep an open mind and to be willin
43、g to change your opinion as events prove it mistaken.3. We tend to assume others are similar to usPeople with low self-esteem imagine others view them unfavorable, whereas people who like themselves imagine that others like them, too. The frequently mistaken assumption that othersviews are similar t
44、o our own applies in a wide range of situations.4. We tend to favor negative impressions of others over positive onesResearches shows that when people are aware of both the positive and negative characteristics of another, they tend to be more influenced by the undesirable traits.5. We blame innocen
45、t victims for their misfortunesThe blame we assign for misfortune depends on who the victim is. When others suffer, we often blame the problem on their personal qualities. On the other hand, when were the victims, we find explanations outside ourselves.Dont misunderstand: We dont always commit the k
46、ind of perceptual errors described above. Nonetheless, a large amount of research has proved again and again that our perceptions of others are often distorted in the ways listed above. The moral, then, clear: Dont assume that your first judgment of a person is accurate.ASince looking good is so oft
47、en a personal goal, putting others down can be a cheap way to boost our own self-esteem, stating in effect , Tm better than he is.“BFor example, you might blame an unhappy working situation on the boss, overlooking other factors beyond her control such as a change in the economy, the policy of highe
48、r management, or demands of customers of other workers.CIn one study, for example, researchers found that job interviewers were likely to reject candidates who revealed negative information even when the total amount of information highly positive.DA boss may think of herself as an excellent manager
49、 because her assistants shower her with false praise in order to keep their jobs or gain promotions. Likewise, a childs inflated ego may be based on the praise of doting parents.EYouve heard a slightly raunchy joke that is pretty funny. You might assume that it wont offend a somewhat straight friend. It does. You might have found out the other person s real position by asking directly or by checking with others.FSuppose, for instance, you mention the name of your new neighbor to a friend. “Oh, I know
