2012年考研英语(一)真题Section II Reading Comprehension Part A
Section II Reading Comprehension Part A Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points) Text 1 Come on -Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word. Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers. The idea seems promising，and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure. But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed. There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day. Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends. 21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as [A] a supplement to the social cure [B] a stimulus to group dynamics [C] an obstacle to school progress [D] a cause of undesirable behaviors 22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should [A] recruit professional advertisers [B] learn from advertisers’ experience [C] stay away from commercial advertisers [D] recognize the limitations of advertisements 23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to [A] adequately probe social and biological factors [B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure [C] illustrate the functions of state funding [D]produce a long-lasting social effect 24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors [A] is harmful to our networks of friends [B] will mislead behavioral studies [C] occurs without our realizing it [D] can produce negative health habits 25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is [A] harmful [B] desirable [C] profound [D] questionable Text 2 A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations. Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s a stunning move. The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along. Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management- especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension. Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point. The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth. 26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to [A] condemning. [B] reaffirming. [C] dishonoring. [D] securing. 27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to [A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators. [B] seek favor from the federal legislature. [C] acquire an extension of its business license . [D] get permission to purchase a power plant. 28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its [A] managerial practices. [B] technical innovativeness. [C] financial goals. [D] business vision 29. In the author’s view, the Vermont case will test [A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises. [B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations. [C] the federal authority over nuclear issues . [D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues. 30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that [A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected. [B] the authority of the NRC will be defied. [C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application. [D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged. Text 3 In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound. Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point. Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery. Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated. In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim - a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.” 31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its [A] uncertainty and complexity. [B] misconception and deceptiveness. [C] logicality and objectivity. [D] systematicness and regularity. 32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires [A] strict inspection. [B]shared efforts. [C] individual wisdom. [D]persistent innovation. 33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it [A] has attracted the attention of the general public. [B]has been examined by the scientific community. [C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers. [D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists. 34. Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi would most likely agree that [A] scientific claims will survive challenges. [B]discoveries today inspire future research. [C] efforts to make discoveries are justified. [D]scientific work calls for a critical mind. 35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test? [A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development. [B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery. [C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science. [D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science. Text 4 If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized. There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions. At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care. In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous. Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones. As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too. John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America. 36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that [A] Teamsters still have a large body of members. [B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant. [C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership. [D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists. 37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2? [A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions. [B] Education is required for public-sector union membership. [C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions. [D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions. 38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is [A] illegally secured. [B] indirectly augmented. [C] excessively increased. [D]fairly adjusted. 39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions [A]often run against the current political system. [B]can change people’s political attitudes. [C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms. [D]are dominant in the government. 40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of [A]disapproval. [B]appreciation. [C]tolerance. [D]indifference.
2012年考研英语(一)真题Section II Reading Comprehension Part A的延伸阅读— —2014考研十一黄金周备考“黄金课表”
一场秋雨一场凉，天气在秋雨中变得更像秋天了。夏日的酷暑已经消失，严冬还未到来，阴雨过后，秋高气爽，正是读书好时节。也许这几天校园里多了几分活跃，大家都在准备十一黄金周的出游、玩乐，而你作为一名考研人，是否还有那份兴致呢。其实十一黄金周是一个短小精悍的自由时光，加之前阵子新大纲刚刚发布，正是调整思路的关键时期。为了帮助广大考生最大限度的提高十一学习效率，特为大家制作了这份“黄金课程表”帮助大家安排假期时间。 十一，普国同庆，热闹非凡!但，热闹是他们的。 反观我们考研人，这7天，是否甚至可以说“成也7天，败也7天”呢?为何如此说： 1、9.13新大纲刚刚发布，正好利用这几天静下心来好好调整思路; 2、别人出游你备考，相当于比别人多了一周的复习时间; 3、这段时间不用为抢座占座发愁，不为学习环境发愁，全身心备考; 4、目前正是网报的高峰期，新东方在线全国研究生入学考试中心在此提醒各位考研的小伙伴儿们，“网报有风险，选校须谨慎”。 为了帮助广大考生最大限度的提高十一学习效率，我们为大家制作了这份“黄金课程表”帮助大家安排假期时间。 假期前五天： 上午 6：30—7：30 起床，吃完早饭，进入学习状态 7：30—8：20 背诵英语考研阅读真题材料、写作范文或者其他英语材料 8： 30—9：30 背诵政治马哲原理、形势政策或最后押题30道 9： 40—12: 20 重点攻克数学知识点或做数学模拟题(不考数学的将数学时间用于专业课的一科) 下午 12：30—13：30 午餐、午休 13：30—16：00 做英语阅读或英语专题，以精读为主，复习后期侧重英语作文 16：00—18：00 做数学或专业课 18：00—18：40 吃晚饭，休息或与同学交流 晚上 18：50—19：30 背诵政治或英语单词(以理解为主，不刻意记忆);晚餐19：40—22：30 重点攻克数学或专业课(可以按照科目或日期单双数调 整) 22：40—23：00 洗漱、上网 23：30 睡前回顾白天复习的内容(躺下默默回忆)，遇到遗忘的第二天早上及时温习记忆 当然，小伙伴儿的考研备考方法如同八仙过海，各有奇招，这份课表是就大多数考研学子的备考情况准备的，大家可以根据自己的复习情况具体调整，一切皆以高效学习为目的。 假期第六天： 第六天为总结日，可以将前五天的学习结果进行简单的总结，尤其是针对各个网络强化课程、大纲增补课程、真题精讲课程的学习，可以在前期复习的基础上进行收尾、整理。通过总结整理前期复习，对十一过后的学习做出一份精准的安排。 假期第七天： 考研伤神伤闹，劳逸结合最重要，抓住假期的最后一天，三五研友，可以一起出行游玩，缓解备考压力，收拾心情，为假期后的学习做好充分准备。 |
