2012年考研英语全真模拟题及答案解析(三)—5
Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities—as well as new and significant risks. Civil right activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack of access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500, 000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to 1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over $3 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade.
Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investment in new plants, staff, equipment and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionment through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil right groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as “fronts” with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often runs the danger of becoming and remaining dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases; when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success. （469 words）
Notes: civil rights activists公民权利激进分子。Hispanics西班牙后裔美国人。sizable orders大额订单。subcontract转包合同。on forms filed with the government在政府存档备案。percentage goals指标。apportionment分配，分派。public works市政工程。letup减弱，缓和。promising as it is… 这是as引导的让步状语从句，表语倒装了。patronage优惠。concern n. 公司。and the like以及诸如此类的。crippling fixed expenses引起损失的固定开支。the world of大量的。bid投标。to cash in on…靠…赚钱。team up一起工作，合作。fronts在此处意为“摆门面”。complacency自满。
36. The primary purpose of the text is to
[A] present a commonplace idea and its inaccuracies.
[B] describe a situation and its potential drawbacks.
[C] propose a temporary solution to a problem.
[D] analyze a frequent source of disagreement.
37. According to the text, civil rights activists maintain that one disadvantage under which minority-owned businesses have traditionally had to labor is that they have
[A] been especially vulnerable to government mismanagement of the economy.
[B] been denied bank loans at rates comparable to those afforded larger competitors.
[C] not had sufficient opportunity to secure business created by large corporations.
[D] not been able to advertise in those media that reach large numbers of potential customers.
38. The text suggests that the failure of a large business to have its bids for subcontracts result quickly in orders might cause it to
[A] experience frustration but not serious financial harm.
[B] have to record its efforts on forms filed with the government.
[C] increase its spending with minority subcontractors.
[D] revise its procedure for making bids for federal contracts and subcontracts.
39. The author implies that a minority-owned concern that does the greater part of its business with one large corporate customer should
[A] avoid competition with larger, more established concerns by not expanding.
[B] concentrating on securing even more business from that corporation.
[C] use its influence with the corporation to promote subcontracting with other minority concerns.
[D] try to expand its customer bases to avoid becoming dependent on the corporation.
40. According to the organization of the text, it most likely appeared in
[A] a business magazine.
[B] an accounting textbook.
[C] a dictionary of financial terms.
[D] a yearbook of business statistics.
2012年考研英语全真模拟题及答案解析(三)—5的延伸阅读——复习英语要讲究技巧
一，重视单词。
从第一天开始复习到考试的前一天，考试大纲词汇就应不离手，因为这是一切的基础。考试大纲是命题专家出题的依据、基础，所以考生一定要重视。背单词时，可以总结同义词、一词多义以及包含“高级”短语的句子，然后跟同桌的研友们对话，或者“厚颜无耻”地主动向他们“炫耀”，同时也坚持参加英语辩论活动，把自己最新积累的词句一一“亮”出，这样考生会感觉记得特别牢固。
二，日积月累。
作为一门语言，充满了繁琐与细节的，想一口吃成大胖子是不太现实的，必须耐心地积累“量变”以求“质变”。学习英语的时间安排也是有规律可循的，如果你一天安排3个小时学英语，那么与其一鼓作气学3个小时倒不如改成上下午各1.5小时。持续学习、及时复习才能收到较为理想的效果。可以参照着名的“艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线”来合理安排时间，最大限度地降低遗忘率，以获得较好的学习效果。
三，研读真题。
历年考研英语全真试题是了解考研水平的最快途径，也是熟悉命题规律的唯一途径。所以要在老师的指导下分阶段复习考研英语真题。找一个安静的环境，先用一周的时间做一套真题，做完后，对自己的错题先看一下怎么错的，错在哪里，能不能解决。剩下的时间要分析题型，也就是看这些题目是属于细节题、推理题，还是主旨大意题……当复习完十年的真题，建议考生放20天左右的时间，重新再做真题，分析自己的做题思路，考前一个月适当做些高质量的模拟题练练手。另外，希望考生真题至少看三遍。第一遍先做，做完之后归纳总结错题的原因。第二遍主要精读文章解决单词句子翻译。第三遍前两遍的内容都要看。
四，增加课外阅读。
课外阅读在考研英语复习中占有重要地位，对提高成绩有很大作用，建议大家订一份《英语世界》杂志，阅读上面的文章，也会有不少收获。如果有条件，看看自己学校图书馆是否有这本书，有的话坚持看，肯定会有收获的！
希望以上的介绍对2013的考研同学有所帮助，另外，大家在学习英语学习方法时，要从自身实际出发，选择真正适合自己的复习方法。 | 
