考研英语阅读.docx

考研英语阅读.docx

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考研英语阅读

2005

Text2

Doyourememberallthoseyearswhenscientistsarguedthatsmokingwouldkillusbutthedoubtersinsistedthatwedidn’tknowforsure?

Thattheevidencewasinconclusive,thescienceuncertain?

Thattheantismokinglobbywasouttodestroyourwayoflifeandthegovernmentshouldstayoutoftheway?

LotsofAmericansboughtthatnonsense,andoverthreedecades,some10millionsmokerswenttoearlygraves.

Thereareupsettingparallelstoday,asscientistsinonewaveafteranothertrytoawakenustothegrowingthreatofglobalwarming.ThelatestwasapanelfromtheNationalAcademyofSciences,enlistedbytheWhiteHouse,totellusthattheEarth’satmosphereisdefinitelywarmingandthattheproblemislargelyman-made.Theclearmessageisthatweshouldgetmovingtoprotectourselves.ThepresidentoftheNationalAcademy,BruceAlberts,addedthiskeypointintheprefacetothepanel’sreport:

“Scienceneverhasalltheanswers.Butsciencedoesprovideuswiththebestavailableguidetothefuture,anditiscriticalthatournationandtheworldbaseimportantpoliciesonthebestjudgmentsthatsciencecanprovideconcerningthefutureconsequencesofpresentactions.”

Justasonsmoking,voicesnowcomefrommanyquartersinsistingthatthescienceaboutglobalwarmingisincomplete,thatit’sOKtokeeppouringfumesintotheairuntilweknowforsure.Thisisadangerousgame:

bythetime100percentoftheevidenceisin,itmaybetoolate.Withtherisksobviousandgrowing,aprudentpeoplewouldtakeoutaninsurancepolicynow.

Fortunately,theWhiteHouseisstartingtopayattention.Butit’sobviousthatamajorityofthepresident’sadvisersstilldon’ttakeglobalwarmingseriously.Insteadofaplanofaction,theycontinuetopressformoreresearch—aclassiccaseof“paralysisbyanalysis.”

Toserveasresponsiblestewardsoftheplanet,wemustpressforwardondeeperatmosphericandoceanicresearch.Butresearchaloneisinadequate.IftheAdministrationwon’ttakethelegislativeinitiative,Congressshouldhelptobeginfashioningconservationmeasures.AbillbyDemocraticSenatorRobertByrdofWestVirginia,whichwouldofferfinancialincentivesforprivateindustry,isapromisingstart.Manyseethatthecountryisgettingreadytobuildlotsofnewpowerplantstomeetourenergyneeds.Ifweareevergoingtoprotecttheatmosphere,itiscrucialthatthosenewplantsbeenvironmentallysound.

26.Anargumentmadebysupportersofsmokingwasthat________.

[A]therewasnoscientificevidenceofthecorrelationbetweensmokinganddeath

[B]thenumberofearlydeathsofsmokersinthepastdecadeswasinsignificant

[C]peoplehadthefreedomtochoosetheirownwayoflife

[D]antismokingpeoplewereusuallytalkingnonsense

27.AccordingtoBruceAlberts,sciencecanserveas________.

[A]aprotector[B]ajudge

[C]acritic[D]aguide

28.Whatdoestheauthormeanby“paralysisbyanalysis”（Lastline,Paragraph4）?

[A]Endlessstudieskillaction.[B]Carefulinvestigationrevealstruth.

[C]Prudentplanninghindersprogress.[D]Extensiveresearchhelpsdecision-making.

29.Accordingtotheauthor,whatshouldtheAdministrationdoaboutglobalwarming?

[A]Offeraidtobuildcleanerpowerplants.

[B]Raisepublicawarenessofconservation.

[C]Pressforfurtherscientificresearch.

[D]Takesomelegislativemeasures.

30.Theauthorassociatestheissueofglobalwarmingwiththatofsmokingbecause__.

[A]theybothsufferedfromthegovernment’snegligence

[B]alessonfromthelatterisapplicabletotheformer

[C]theoutcomeofthelatteraggravatestheformer

[D]bothofthemhaveturnedfrombadtoworse

Text4

Americansnolongerexpectpublicfigures,whetherinspeechorinwriting,tocommandtheEnglishlanguagewithskillandgift.Nordotheyaspiretosuchcommandthemselves.Inhislatestbook,DoingOurOwnThing:

TheDegradationofLanguageandMusicandWhyWeShould,Like,Care,JohnMcWhorter,alinguistandcontroversialistofmixedliberalandconservativeviews,seesthetriumphof1960scounter-cultureasresponsibleforthedeclineofformalEnglish.

Blamingthepermissive1960sisnothingnew,butthisisnotyetanothercriticismagainstthedeclineineducation.Mr.McWhorter’sacademicspecialityislanguagehistoryandchange,andheseesthegradualdisappearanceof“whom,”forexample,tobenaturalandnomoreregrettablethanthelossofthecase-endingsofOldEnglish.

Butthecultoftheauthenticandthepersonal,“doingourownthing,”hasspeltthedeathofformalspeech,writing,poetryandmusic.Whileeventhemodestlyeducatedsoughtanelevatedtonewhentheyputpentopaperbeforethe1960s,eventhemostwellregardedwritingsincethenhassoughttocapturespokenEnglishonthepage.Equally,inpoetry,thehighlypersonal,performativegenreistheonlyformthatcouldclaimrealliveliness.InbothoralandwrittenEnglish,talkingistriumphingoverspeaking,spontaneityovercraft.

Illustratedwithanentertainingarrayofexamplesfrombothhighandlowculture,thetrendthatMr.McWhorterdocumentsisunmistakable.Butitislessclear,totakethequestionofhissubtitle,whyweshould,like,care.Asalinguist,heacknowledgesthatallvarietiesofhumanlanguage,includingnon-standardoneslikeBlackEnglish,canbepowerfullyexpressive—thereexistsnolanguageordialectintheworldthatcannotconveycomplexideas.Heisnotarguing,asmanydo,thatwecannolongerthinkstraightbecausewedonottalkproper.

Russianshaveadeeplovefortheirownlanguageandcarrylargechunksofmemorizedpoetryintheirheads,whileItalianpoliticianstendtoelaboratespeechthatwouldseemold-fashionedtomostEnglish-speakers.Mr.McWhorteracknowledgesthatformallanguageisnotstrictlynecessary,andproposesnoradicaleducationreforms—heisreallygrievingoverthelossofsomethingbeautifulmorethanuseful.WenowtakeourEnglish“onpaperplatesinsteadofchina.”Ashame,perhaps,butprobablyaninevitableone.

36.AccordingtoMcWhorter,thedeclineofformalEnglish________.

[A]isinevitableinradicaleducationreforms

[B]isbutalltoonaturalinlanguagedevelopment

[C]hascausedthecontroversyoverthecounter-culture

[D]broughtaboutchangesinpublicattitudesinthe1960s

37.Theword“talking”（Line6,Paragraph3）denotes________.

[A]modesty[B]personality

[C]liveliness[D]informality

38.TowhichofthefollowingstatementswouldMcWhortermostlikelyagree?

[A]Logicalthinkingisnotnecessarilyrelatedtothewaywetalk.

[B]BlackEnglishcanbemoreexpressivethanstandardEnglish.

[C]Non-standardvarietiesofhumanlanguagearejustasentertaining.

[D]Ofallthevarieties,standardEnglishcanbestconveycomplexideas.

39.ThedescriptionofRussians’loveofmemorizingpoetryshowstheauthor’s______.

[A]interestintheirlanguage[B]appreciationoftheirefforts

[C]admirationfortheirmemory[D]contemptfortheirold-fashionedness

40.Accordingtothelastparagraph,“paperplates”isto“china”as________.

[A]“temporary”isto“permanent”

[B]“radical”isto“conservative”

[C]“functional”isto“artistic”

[D]“humble”isto“noble

2006

Text1

Inspiteof“endlesstalkofdifference,”Americansocietyisanamazingmachineforhomogenizingpeople.Thereis“thedemocratizinguniformityofdressanddiscourse,andthecasualnessandabsenceofdeference”characteristicofpopularculture.Peopleareabsorbedinto“acultureofconsumption”launchedbythe19thcenturydepartmentstoresthatoffered“vastarraysofgoodsinanelegantatmosphere.Insteadofintimateshopscateringtoaknowledgeableelite,”thesewerestores“anyonecouldenter,regardlessofclassorbackground.Thisturnedshoppingintoapublicanddemocraticact.”Themassmedia,advertisingandsportsareotherforcesforhomogenization.

Immigrantsarequicklyfittingintothiscommonculture,whichmaynotbealtogetherelevatingbutishardlypoisonous.WritingfortheNationalImmigrationForum,GregoryRodriguezreportsthattoday’simmigrationisneitheratunprecedentedlevelsnorresistanttoassimilation.In1998immigrantswere9.8percentofpopulation;in1900,13.6percent.Inthe10yearspriorto1990,3.1immigrantsarrivedforevery1,000residents;inthe10yearspriorto1890,9.2forevery1,000.Now,considerthreeindicesofassimilation—language,homeownershipandintermarriage.

The1990Censusrevealedthat“amajorityofimmigrantsfromeachofthefifteenmostcommoncountriesoforiginspokeEnglish‘well’or‘verywell’aftertenyearsofresidence.”ThechildrenofimmigrantstendtobebilingualandproficientinEnglish.“Bythethirdgeneration,theoriginallanguageislostinthemajorityofimmigrantfamilies.”HencethedescriptionofAmericaasa“graveyard”forlanguages.By1996foreign-bornimmigrantswhohadarrivedbefore1970hadahomeownershiprateof75.6percent,higherthanthe69.8percentrateamongnative-bornAmericans.

Foreign-bornAsiansandHispanics“havehigherratesofintermarriagethandoU.S.-bornwhitesandblacks.”Bythethirdgeneration,onethirdofHispanicwomenaremarriedtononHispanics,and41percentofAsian-Americanwomenaremarriedtonon-Asians.

RodrigueznotesthatchildreninremotevillagesaroundtheworldarefansofsuperstarslikeArnoldSchwarzeneggerandGarthBrooks,yet“someAmericansfearthatimmigrantslivingwithintheUnitedStatesremainsomehowimmunetothenation’sassimilativepower.”

AretheredivisiveissuesandpocketsofseethingangerinAmerica?

Indeed.Itisbigenoughtohaveabitofeverything.ButparticularlywhenviewedagainstAmerica