2010考研英语一阅读及答案.doc
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Text1(2010)
OfallthechangesthathavetakenplaceinEnglish-languagenewspapersduringthepastquarter-century,perhapsthemostfar-reachinghasbeentheinexorabledeclineinthescopeandseriousnessoftheirartscoverage.
Itisdifficulttothepointofimpossibilityfortheaveragereaderundertheageoffortytoimagineatimewhenhigh-qualityartscriticismcouldbefoundinmostbig-citynewspapers.Yetaconsiderablenumberofthemostsignificantcollectionsofcriticismpublishedinthe20thcenturyconsistedinlargepartofnewspaperreviews.Toreadsuchbookstodayistomarvelatthefactthattheirlearnedcontentswereoncedeemedsuitableforpublicationingeneral-circulationdailies.
WeareevenfartherremovedfromtheunfocusednewspaperreviewspublishedinEnglandbetweentheturnofthe20thcenturyandtheeveofWorldWarII,atatimewhennewsprintwasdirt-cheapandstylishartscriticismwasconsideredanornamenttothepublicationsinwhichitappeared.Inthosefar-offdays,itwastakenforgrantedthatthecriticsofmajorpaperswouldwriteindetailandatlengthabouttheeventstheycovered.Theirswasaseriousbusiness,andeventhosereviewerswhoworetheirlearninglightly,likeGeorgeBernardShawandErnestNewman,couldbetrustedtoknowwhattheywereabout.Thesemenbelievedinjournalismasacalling,andwereproudtobepublishedinthedailypress.“Sofewauthorshavebrainsenoughorliterarygiftenoughtokeeptheirownendupinjournalism,”Newmanwrote,“thatIamtemptedtodefine‘journalism’as‘atermofcontemptappliedbywriterswhoarenotreadtowriterswhoare.’”
Unfortunately,thesecriticsarevirtuallyforgotten.NevilleCardus,whowrotefortheManchesterGuardianfrom1917untilshortlybeforehisdeathin1975,isnowknownsolelyasawriterofessaysonthegameofcricket.Duringhislifetime,though,hewasalsooneofEngland’sforemostclassical-musiccritics,astylistsowidelyadmiredthathisAutobiography(1947)becameabest-seller.Hewasknightedin1967,thefirstmusiccritictobesohonored.Yetonlyoneofhisbooksisnowinprint,andhisvastbodyofwritingsonmusicisunknownsavetospecialists.
IsthereanychancethatCardus’scriticismwillenjoyarevival?
Theprospectseemsremote.Journalistictasteshadchangedlongbeforehisdeath,andpostmodernreadershavelittleusefortherichlyupholsteredVicwardianproseinwhichhespecialized.Moreover,theamateurtraditioninmusiccriticismhasbeeninheadlongretreat.
21.ItisindicatedinParagraphs1and2that__________.
[A]artscriticismhasdisappearedfrombig-citynewspapers.
[B]English-languagenewspapersusedtocarrymoreartsreviews.
[C]high-qualitynewspapersretainalargebodyofreaders.
[D]youngreadersdoubtthesuitabilityofcriticismondailies.
22.NewspaperreviewsinEnglandbeforeWorldWarIIwerecharacterizedby__________.
[A]freethemes.[B]casualstyle.
[C]elaboratelayout.[D]radicalviewpoints.
23.WhichofthefollowingwouldShawandNewmanmostprobablyagreeon?
[A]Itiswriters'dutytofulfilljournalisticgoals.
[B]Itiscontemptibleforwriterstobejournalists.
[C]Writersarelikelytobetemptedintojournalism.
[D]Notallwritersarecapableofjournalisticwriting.
24.WhatcanbelearnedaboutCardusaccordingtothelasttwoparagraphs?
[A]Hismusiccriticismmaynotappealtoreaderstoday.
[B]Hisreputationasamusiccritichaslongbeenindispute.
[C]Hisstylecaterslargelytomodernspecialists.
[D]Hiswritingsfailtofollowtheamateurtradition.
25.Whatwouldbethebesttitleforthetext?
[A]NewspapersoftheGoodOldDays
[B]TheLostHorizoninNewspapers
[C]MournfulDeclineofJournalism
[D]ProminentCriticsinMemory
Text2(2010)
Overthepastdecade,thousandsofpatentshaveseengrantedforwhatarecalledbusinessmethods.Amazoncomreceivedoneforits“one-click”onlinepaymentsystemMerrillLynchgotlegalprotectionforanassetallocationstrategy.Oneinventorpatentedatechniqueforlyingabox.
Nowthenation’stoppatentcourtappearscompletelyreadytoscalehackonbusiness-methodpatents,whichhavebeencontroversialeversincetheywerefirstauthorized10yearsago.Inamovethathasintellectual-propertylawyersabuzztheU.ScourtofAppealsforthefederalcircuitsaiditwoulduseparticularcasetoconductabroadreviewofbusiness-methodpatents.InreBilski,asthecaseisknown,is“averybigdeal,”saysDennisD.CrouchoftheUniversityofMissouriSchooloflaw.It“hasthepotentialtoeliminateanentireclassofpatents.”
Curbsonbusiness-methodclaimswouldbeadramaticabout-facebecauseitwasthefederalcircuititselfthatintroducedsuchpatentswithis1998decisionintheso-calledstateStreetBankcase,approvingapatentonawayofpoolingmutual-fundassets.Thatrulingproducedanexplosioninbusiness-methodpatentfilings,initiallybyemerginginternetcompaniestryingtostakeoutexclusivepintstospecifictypesofonlinetransactions.Later,moveestablishedcompaniesracedtoaddsuchpatentstotheirfiles,ifonlyasadefensivemoveagainstrivalsthatmightbentthemtothepunch.In2005,IBMnotedinacourtfilingthatithadbeenissuedmorethan300business-methodpatentsdespitethefactthatitquestionedthelegalbasisforgrantingthem.Similarly,someWallStreetinvestmentfilmsarmedthemselveswithpatentsforfinancialproducts,evenastheytookpositionsincourtcasesopposingthepractice.
TheBilskicaseinvolvesaclaimedpatentonamethodforhedgingriskintheenergymarket.TheFederalcircuitissuedanunusualorderstatingthatthecasewouldbeheardbyall12ofthecourt’sjudges,ratherthanatypicalpanelofthree,andthatoneissueitwantstoevaluateiswhetheritshould“reconsider”itsstatestreetBankruling.
TheFederalCircuit’sactioncomesinthewakeofaseriesofrecentdecisionsbythesupreme.Countthathasnarrowedthescopeofprotectionsforpatentholders.LastApril,forexamplethejusticessignaledthattoomanypatentswerebeingupheldfor“inventions”thatareobvious.ThejudgesontheFederalcircuitare“reactiontotheanti-patenttrendatthesupremecourt”saysHaroldC.Wegner,apatentattorneyandprofessoratWashingtonUniversityLawSchool.
26.Business-methodpatentshaverecentlyarousedconcernbecauseof__________.
[A]theirlimitedvaluetobusiness
[B]theirconnectionwithassetallocation
[C]thepossiblerestrictionontheirgranting
[D]thecontroversyoverauthorization
27.WhichofthefollowingistrueoftheBilskicase?
[A]Itsrulingcomplieswiththecourtdecisions
[B]Itinvolvesaverybigbusinesstransaction
[C]IthasbeendismissedbytheFederalCircuit
[D]ItmaychangethelegalpracticesintheU.S.
28.Theword“about-face”(Line1,Para3)mostprobablymeans__________.
[A]lossofgoodwill[B]increaseofhostility
[C]changeofattitude[D]enhancementofdisunity
29.Welearnfromthelasttwoparagraphsthatbusiness-methodpatents__________.
[A]areimmunetolegalchallenges
[B]areoftenunnecessarilyissued
[C]lowertheesteemforpatentholders
[D]increasetheincidenceofrisks
30.Whichofthefollowingwouldbethesubjectofthetext?
[A]Aloomingthreattobusiness-methodpatents
[B]Protectionforbusiness-methodpatentholders
[C]Alegalcaseregardingbusiness-methodpatents
[D]Aprevailingtreadagainstbusiness-methodpatents
Text3(2010)
InhisbookTheTippingPointMalcolmAladuellarguesthat“socialepidemics”aredriveninlargepartbytheactionsofatinyminorityofspecialindividuals,oftencalledinfluentials,whoareunusuallyinformed,persuasive,orwellconnected.Theideaisintuitivelycompelling,butitdoesn'texplainhowideasactuallyspread.
Thesupposedimportanceofinfluentialsderivesfromaplausible-soundingbutlargelyuntestedtheorycalledthe“two-stepflowofcommunication”:
Informationflowsfromthemediatotheinfluentialsandfromthemtoeveryoneelse.Marketershaveembracedthetwo-stepflowbecauseitsuggeststhatiftheycanjustfindandinfluencetheinfluentials,thoseselectedpeoplewilldomostoftheworkforthem.Thetheoryalsoseemstoexplainthesuddenandunexpectedpopularityofcertainlooks,brands,orneighborhoods.Inmanysuchcases,acursorysearchforcausesfindsthatsomesmallgroupofpeoplewaswearing,promoting,ordevelopingwhateveritisbeforeanyoneelsepaidattention.Anecdotalevidenceofthiskindfitsnicelywiththeideathatonlycertainspecialpeoplecandrivetrends.
Intheirrecentwork,however,someresearchershavecomeupwiththefindingthatinfluentialshavefarlessimpactonsocialepidemicsthanisgenerallysupposed.Infact,theydon’tseemtoberequiredatall.
Theresearchers’argumentstemsfromasimpleobservationaboutsocialinfluence:
WiththeexceptionofafewcelebritieslikeOprahWinfrey—whoseoutsizepresenceisprimarilyafunctionofmedia,notinterpersonal,influence—eventhemostinfluentialmembersofapopulationsimplydon'tinteractwiththatmanyothers.Yetitispreciselythesenon-celebrityinfluentialswho,accordingtothetwo-step-flowtheory,aresupposedtodrivesocialepidemics,byinfluencingtheirfriendsandcolleaguesdirectly.Forasocialepidemictooccur,however,eachpersonsoaffectedmusttheninfluencehisorherownacquaintances,whomustinturninfluencetheirs,andsoon;andjusthowmanyotherspayattentiontoeach