研究生学位英语考试2012年12月真题
2012考研英语二真题及答案解析
15.[A]ruined[B]commuted[C]patrolled[D]gained16.[A]paralleled[B]counteracted[C]duplicated[D]contradicted17.[A]neglected[B]avoided[C]emphasized[D]admired18.[A]stages[B]illusions[C]fragments[D]advances19.[A]With[B]To[C]Among[D]Beyond20.[A]on the contrary[B]by this means[C]from the outset[D]at that pointSectionⅡReading ComprehensionText1Homework has never been terribly popular with students and even many parents,but in recent years it has been particularly scorned.School districts across the country,most recently Los Angeles Unified,are revising their thinking on his educational ritual.Unfortunately,L.A.Unified has produced an inflexible policy which mandates that with the exception of some advanced courses,homework may no longer count for more than10%of a student’s academic grade.This rule is meant to address the difficulty that students from impoverished or chaotic homes might have in completing their homework.But the policy is unclear and contradictory.Certainly,no homework should be assigned that students cannot do without expensive equipment.But if the district is essentially giving a pass to students who do not do their homework because of complicated family lives,it is going riskily close to the implication that standards need to be lowered for poor children.District administrators say that homework will still be a pat of schooling:teachers are allowed to assign as much of it as they want.But with homework counting for no more than10%of their grades,students can easily skip half their homework and see vey little difference on their report cards.Some students might do well on state tests without completing their homework,but what about the students who performed well on the tests and did their homework?It is quite possible that the homework helped.Yet rather than empowering teachers to find what works best for their students,the policy imposes a flat,across-the-board rule.At the same time,the policy addresses none of the truly thorny questions about homework.If the district finds homework to be unimportant to its students’academic achievement,it should move to reduce or eliminate the assignments,not make them count for almost nothing.Conversely,if homework does nothing to ensure that the homework students are not assigning more than they are willing to review and correct.The homework rules should be put on hold while the school board,which is responsible for setting educational policy,looks into the matter and conducts public hearings.It is not too late for L.A.Unified to do homework right.21.It is implied in paragraph1that nowadays homework_____.[A]is receiving more criticism[B]is no longer an educational ritual[C]is not required for advanced courses[D]is gaining more preferences22.L.A.Unified has made the rule about homework mainly because poor students_____.[A]tend to have moderate expectations for their education[B]have asked for a different educational standard[C]may have problems finishing their homework[D]have voiced their complaints about homeworkB should not be associated with girls'innocenceC cannot explain girls'lack of imaginationD cannot influence girls'lives and interests27.According to Paragraph2,which of the following is true of colours?A Colors are encoded in girls'DNAB Blue used to be regarded as the color for girlsC Pink used to be a neutral color in symbolizing gendersD White is preferred by babies28.The author suggests that our perception of children's psychological devotement was much influenced by ________.[A]the marketing of products for children[B]the observation of children's nature[C]researches into children's behavior[D]studies of childhood consumption29.We may learn from Paragraph4that department stores were advised________.A focuses on infant wear and older kids'clothesB attach equal importance to different gendersC classify consumers into smaller groupsD create some common shoppers'terms30.It can be concluded that girl's attraction to pink seems to be_____.A clearly explained by their inborn tendencyB fully understood by clothing manufacturersC mainly imposed by profit-driven businessmenD well interpreted by psychological expertsText3In2010.a federal judge shook America's biotech industry to its panies had won patents for isolated DNA for decades-by2005some20%of human genes were patented.But in March2010a judge ruled that genes were unpatentable.Executives were violently agitated.The Biotechnology Industry Organisation(BIO),a trade group,assured members that this was just a“preliminary step”in a longer battle.On July29th they were relieved,at least temporarily.A federal appeals court overturned the prior decision, ruling that Myriad Genetics could indeed hold patents to two genes that help forecast a woman's risk of breast cancer.The chief executive of Myriad,a company in Utah,said the ruling was a blessing to firms and patients alike.But as companies continue their attempts at personalised medicine,the courts will remain rather busy.The Myriad case itself is probably not over.Critics make three main arguments against gene patents:a gene is a product of nature,so it may not be patented;gene patents suppress innovation rather than reward it;and patents'monopolies restrict access to genetic tests such as Myriad's.A growing number seem to st year a federal task-force urged reform for patents related to genetic tests.In October the Department of Justice filed a brief in the Myriad case,arguing that an isolated DNA molecule“is no less a product of nature...than are cotton fibres that have beenseparated from cotton seeds.”Despite the appeals court's decision,big questions remain unanswered.For example,it is unclear whether the sequencing of a whole genome violates the patents of individual genes within it.The case may yet reach the Supreme Court.AS the industry advances,however,other suits may have an even greater panies are unlikely to file many more patents for human DNA molecules-most are already patented or in the public domain.firms are now studying how genes interact,looking for correlations that might be used to determine the causes of disease or predict a drug’s panies are eager to win patents for‘connecting the dots’,explains Hans Sauer,a lawyer for the BIO.Their success may be determined by a suit related to this issue,brought by the Mayo Clinic,which the Supreme Court will hear in its next term.The BIO recently held a convention which included sessions to coach lawyers on the shifting landscape for patents.Each meeting was packed.31.It can be learned from paragraph I that the biotech companies would like______A.their executives to be activeB.judges to rule out gene patentingC.genes to be patentableD.the BIO to issue a warning32.Those who are against gene patents believe that_____A.genetic tests are not reliableB.only man-made products are patentableC.patents on genes depend much on innovationsD.courts should restrict access to genetic tests33.According to Hans Sauer,companies are eager to win patents for_____A.establishing disease correlationsB.discovering gene interactionsC.drawing pictures of genesD.identifying human DNA34．By saying“each meeting was packed”(line4,para6)the author means that_____A.the Supreme Court was authoritativeB.the BIO was a powerful organizationC.gene patenting was a great concernwyers were keen to attend conventions35.Generally speaking,the author’s attitude toward gene patenting is_____A.criticalB.supportiveC.scornfulD.objectiveText4The great recession may be over,but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning.Before it ends,It will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults.And ultimately,it is likely to reshape our politics,our culture,and the character of our society for years.No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster.Many said that unemployment,while extremely painful,had improved them in some ways;they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent;they were more aware of the struggles of others.In limited respects,perhaps the recession will leave society better off.At the very least,it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses,and put a necessary end to an era of reckless personal spending.But for the most part,these benefits seem thin,uncertain,and far off.In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth,the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U.S.,lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more mean-spirited and less inclusive,and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms.Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases,as does conflict between races and classes.Income inequality usually falls during a recession,but it has not shrunk in this one.Indeed,this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides,and decrease opportunities to cross them---especially for young people.The research of Till Von Wachter,the economist in Columbia University,suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed:those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times;it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.In the internet age,it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden within American society.More difficult,in the moment,is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society’s character. In many respects,the U.S.was more socially tolerant entering this recession than at any time in its history,and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results.We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric.But they certainly it,and all the more so the longer they extend.36.By saying“to find silver linings”（Line1,Para.2）the author suggest that the jobless try to___.[A]seek subsidies from the government[B]explore reasons for the unemployment[C]make profits from the troubled economy[D]look on the bright side of the recession37.According to Paragraph2,the recession has made people_____.[A]realize the national dream[B]struggle against each other[C]challenge their lifestyle[D]reconsider their lifestyle38.Benjamin Friedman believed that economic recession may_____.[A]impose a heavier burden on immigrants[B]bring out more evils of human nature[C]Promote the advance of rights and freedoms[D]ease conflicts between races and classes39.The research of Till Von Wachther suggests that in recession graduates from elite universities tend to_____.[A]lag behind the others due to decreased opportunities[B]catch up quickly with experienced employees[C]see their life chances as dimmed as the others’[D]recover more quickly than the others40.The author thinks that the influence of hard times on society is____.[A]certain[B]positive[C]trivial[D]destructivePart BDirections:Read the following text and answer the questions by finding information from the left column that corresponds to each of the marked details given in the right column.There are two extra choices in the right column.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEERT1.(10points)Universal history,the history of what man has accomplished in this world,is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here,”wrote the Victorian sage Thomas Carlyle.Well,not any more it is not.Suddenly,Britain looks to have fallen out with its favourite historical form.This could be no more than a passing literary craze,but it also points to a broader truth about how we now approach the past:less concerned with learning from forefathers and more interested in feeling their pain.Today,we want empathy,not inspiration.From the earliest days of the Renaissance,the writing of history meant recounting the exemplary lives of great men.In1337,Petrarch began work on his rambling writing De Viris Illustribus-On Famous Men, highlighting the virtus(or virtue)of classical heroes.Petrarch celebrated their greatness in conquering fortune and rising to the top.This was the biographical tradition which Niccolo Machiavelli turned on its head.In The Prince, the championed cunning,ruthlessness,and boldness,rather than virtue,mercy and justice,as the skills of successful leaders.Over time,the attributes of greatness shifted.The Romantics commemorated the leading painters and authors of their day,stressing the uniqueness of the artist's personal experience rather than public glory.By contrast,the Victorian author Samual Smiles wrote Self-Help as a catalogue of the worthy lives of engineers,industrialists and explores."The valuable examples which they furnish of the power of self-help,if patient purpose,resolute working and steadfast integrity,issuing in the formulation of truly noble and many character,exhibit,"wrote Smiles."what it is in the power of each to accomplish for himself."His biographies of James Walt,Richard Arkwright and Josiah Wedgwood were held up as beacons to guide the working man through his difficult life.This was all a bit bourgeois for Thomas Carlyle,who focused his biographies on the truly heroic lives of Martin Luther,Oliver Cromwell and Napoleon Bonaparte.These epochal figures represented lives hard to imitate,but to be acknowledged as possessing higher authority than mere mortals.47.DirectionsSuppose you have found something wrong with the electronic dictionary that you bought from an online store the other day,Write an email to the customer service center to1)Make a complaint and2)Demand a prompt solutionYou should write about100words on ANSERE SHEET2Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter,Use"zhang wei"instead.48、write an essay based on the following table.In your writing you should1)Describe the table,and2)Give your commentsYou should write at least150words(15points)2012年全国硕士研究生招生考试英语(二)答案详解SectionⅠUse of English文章分析本文是一篇以人物介绍为中心的说明文。
2012研究生英语真题答案：完整版
Section 1 Use of Eninglish Directions : Millions of Americans and foreigners see GI.Joe as a mindless war toy ,the symbol of American military adventurism, but that’s not how it used to be .To the men and women who 1 )in World War II and the people they liberated ,the GI.was the 2) man grown into hero ,the pool farm kid torn away from his home ,the guy who 3) all the burdens of battle ,who slept in cold foxholes,who went without the 4) of food and shelter ,who stuck it out and drove back the Nazi reign of murder .this was not a volunteer soldier ,not someone well paid ,5) an average guy ,up 6 )the best trained ,best equipped ,fiercest ,most brutal enemies seen in centuries。
His name is not much.GI. is just a military abbreviation 7) Government Issue ,and it was on all of the article 8) to soldiers .And Joe? A common name for a guy who never 9) it to the top .Joe Blow ,Joe Magrac …a working class name.The United States has 10) had a president or vicepresident or secretary of state Joe。
2012考研英语一真题及答案解析(完整版)
2012年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a _9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultCome 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 behaviors22. 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 advertisements23. 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 effect24. 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 habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableA 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 V ermont’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 V ermont 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 vision29. 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.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-Györgyi 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.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.Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution. (42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks ofanyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CSince the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science. Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too. (47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues considerthe evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language. The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universalsSection III WritingSome internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming”instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.（20 points）1.【答案】B【解析】从空后信息可以看出，这句表达的是“_ _法官表现得像政治家”的情况下，法庭就不能保持其作为法律法规的合法卫士的形象，所以应该选C,maintain“维持，保持”，其他显然语义不通。
2012年考研英语真题(附参考答案)
2012年考研英语真题(附参考答案) Section I Use of EnglishDirections:Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and markA, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot 1 its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law2 justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in waysthat 3 the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial. Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind ofactivity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be 4 as impartialjudgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not 5 by an ethics code. Atthe very least, the court should make itself 6 to the code of conduct that 7 tothe rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases 8 the question of whether there is still a 9 between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law 10 having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions 11 they would be free to12 those in power and have no need to 13 political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely14 .Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social 15 like liberty and property. When the court deals with socialpolicy decisions, the law it 16 is inescapably political---which is why decisionssplit along ideological lines are so easily 17 as unjust.The justices must 18 doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves 19 to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely tobe seen as separate from politics and, 20 , convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked[D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all means [B]at all costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultSection II Reading ComprehensionPart ADirections:Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosingA, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)Passage OneCome on---Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation andhalf forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. Itusually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join theClub, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force throughwhat she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power ofgroup dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the world.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the socialcure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called RageAgainst the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safesex among their peers.The idea seems promising and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Hercritiqueof the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peerpressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding ofpsychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboardcampaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers---teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly thatpublic-healthadvocates 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. Jointhe Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of thesocial and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaringflaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for verylong. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that theLoveLife 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 negativeones---spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtleform of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see everyday.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can selectour peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacherwho breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behavedclassmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cureengineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing ourown 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 behaviors22. 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 advertisements23. 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 effect24. Paragraph 5 shows 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 habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful [B] desirable[C] profound [D] questionablePassage TwoA deal is a deal—except, apparently, when Entergy is involved. The company, amajor energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont lastweek when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide bythe strict nuclear regulations.Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would notchallenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of adesperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s astunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernont. As a condition ofreceiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission fromstate regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiringthat 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 simplydidn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partialcollapse of a cooling tower in 2007 and the discovery of an underground pipe systemleakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’smanagement—especially after the company made misleading statements about thepipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last yearagainst 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 regulatorypower over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure; the SupremeCourt has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, butlegal scholars say the Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far thosepowers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulationsthat could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, thatdebate would be beside the point.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is alreadyso battered that it has nothing left to lose by going to war with the state. But thereshould be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a public trust. Entergyruns 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station inPlymouth. Vowing to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission reviews the company’s application, it should keep in 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 vision29. 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.Passage ThreeIn the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waitingto be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method tocarry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequentlyfollows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannotescape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interestinfluence 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 tonewly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutinyand acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is thecredibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomesthe community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not thestarting 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 makediscoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publicationprocess; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally,the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possiblyaccompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, theinteraction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the scienceand the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into thecommunity’s credible discovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific worktends to focus on some aspect of prevailing knowledge that is viewed as incomplete orincorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is alreadyknown and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newlypublished discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important andconvincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutationby future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief.NobelLaureate and physiologist Albert Szent-Györgyi once described discovery as “seeingwhat everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking whatnobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not changetheir views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to beaccepted 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 themind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoningand 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-Györgyi 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.Passsage FourIf the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably representcivil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in tenAmerican government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the numberof unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in theprivate 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 shutthings down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they aremostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have auniversity degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their tiesgo back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has longbeenassociated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position tovotes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare ofthe Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget ispatrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA onprisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in theprivate one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians haverepeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modestbut 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. Eventhough there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the mostimportant variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones andpromoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clampdown. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against ScottWalker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector sufferunder 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 areuniversity sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’fat paypackets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not rewardhigh 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.Part BDirections:In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 41-45,choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks.There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answerson ANSWER SHEET1.10 pointsThink of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window andrealize that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than abrown-paper envelope, or your cell phone in the palm of your hand. Take a momentor two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labor to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier.(41)_____________________________________.The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place ofpraise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine. But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also treadwith caution. (42) ______________________________________.I call it a secret warfor two reasons. First, most people do not realize that there are strong commercialagendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority ofpeople who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significanceof what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds makenests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but thenturn around and use them to create superfluous material goods---paintings, sculptureand architecture and superfluous experiences---music, literature, religion andphilosophy. (43) ______________________________________.For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck indownload mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid ofproduction remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightlylarger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44) _________________.Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after they have turned it on. (45)___________________________.What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture andultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires greatskills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a definingconstituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words andother media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickinessby amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium theyhad also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of peopleevery day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading---between passive consumption and active creation---whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we canonly beginto imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to oneformat being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced byCD players.[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the pasthalf-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium---television---and television is defined by downloading.[G] The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, toencourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments intoChinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)Since the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized thescientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science.Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory framework.(46) In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme,and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all wesee. It isbecoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given thedimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remainsa major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciencestoo. (47) Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it: all humans sharecommon origins; it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also betraced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of humancourtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps theworld’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governedby universal features. (48) To filter out what is unique from what is shared mightenable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it inevolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits publishedonline today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland andhis colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previousattempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity thatdictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold theentire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it soquickly.(49) The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality, identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many languagewhich are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family treesthat between them represent more than 2,000 languages. (50) Chomsky’s grammarshould show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or thepathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strongco-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of thesepatterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languagesare lineage-specific and not governed by universals.Section III WritingPart A51. Directions:Some international students are coming to your university. Write them anemail in thename of the Students’ Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2. Do not sign your name atthe end of the letter. Use “Li Ming” instead.Do not write the address (10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. Inyour essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.20 pointsSection I: Use of English1.B2.A3.B4.D5.C6.B7.D8.B9.A 10.B11.A 12.C 13.C 14.D 15.A16.C 17.A 18.C 19.D 20.DSection II: Reading ComprehensionPart A21.D 22.B 23.A 24.C 25.D26.C 27.D 28.A 29.D 30.A31.A 32.B 33.B 34.D 35.C36.C 37.D 38.B 39.C 40.APart B41. C 42.D 43. A 44.F 45.G46.—47.48.49.()50.( )Section III: Writing Part A (10 points)51. Dear international students, I am the chairman of the Students’Union. I’ve just received the emails from you and got the news that you would cometo our university. Firstly, I’d like to show our warm welcome. On behalf of ouruniversity and all the students here, I really look forward to your coming. In order tomake all of you feel at home, here are some conductive suggestions. Firstly, you’dbetter take some warm clothes with you because it is winter in China now and it isvery cold in Beijing. Secondly, I advise you to prepare some relevant knowledgeabout Chinese culture for better understanding in class. I really hope you’ll find theseproposals useful. And I’m looking forward to your coming! Yours sincerely,。
2012年考研英语真题及答案
Section I Use of EnglishDirections:Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a _9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a resultSection II Reading ComprehensionPart ADirections: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 1Come 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 psyc hology.” 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 t hat’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 behaviors22. 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 advertisements23. 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 effect24. 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 habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is[A] harmful[B] desirable[C] profound[D] questionableText 2A 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 manage ment– 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) review s 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 vision29. 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 3In 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-Györgyi 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 4If 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 unionist s 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 Americanpublic-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.Part BDirections:In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 41-45, choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution.(42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.[B] Applications like , which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.Part CDirections:Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese.Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)Since the days of Aristotle, a search for universal principles has characterized the scientific enterprise. In some ways, this quest for commonalities defines science. Newton’s laws of motion and Darwinian evolution each bind a host of different phenomena into a single explicatory frame work.(46)In physics, one approach takes this impulse for unification to its extreme, and seeks a theory of everything—a single generative equation for all we see.It is becoming less clear, however, that such a theory would be a simplification, given the dimensions and universes that it might entail, nonetheless, unification of sorts remains a major goal.This tendency in the natural sciences has long been evident in the social sciences too.(47)Here, Darwinism seems to offer justification for it all humans share common origins it seems reasonable to suppose that cultural diversity could also be traced to more constrained beginnings. Just as the bewildering variety of human courtship rituals might all be considered forms of sexual selection, perhaps the world’s languages, music, social and religious customs and even history are governed by universal features. (48)To filter out what is unique from what is shared might enable us to understand how complex cultural behavior arose and what guides it in evolutionary or cognitive terms.That, at least, is the hope. But a comparative study of linguistic traits published online today supplies a reality check. Russell Gray at the University of Auckland and his colleagues consider the evolution of grammars in the light of two previous attempts to find universality in language.The most famous of these efforts was initiated by Noam Chomsky, who suggested that humans are born with an innate language—acquisition capacity that dictates a universal grammar. A few generative rules are then sufficient to unfold the entire fundamental structure of a language, which is why children can learn it so quickly.(49)The second, by Joshua Greenberg, takes a more empirical approach to universality identifying traits (particularly in word order) shared by many language which are considered to represent biases that result from cognitive constraintsGray and his colleagues have put them to the test by examining four family trees that between them represent more than 2,000 languages.(50)Chomsky’s grammar should show patterns of language change that are independent of the family tree or the pathway tracked through it. Whereas Greenbergian universality predicts strong co-dependencies between particular types of word-order relations. Neither of these patterns is borne out by the analysis, suggesting that the structures of the languages are lire age-specific and not governed by universals[NxtPage]Section III WritingPart A51. Directions:Some internationals students are coming to your university. Write them an email in the name of the Students’Union to1) extend your welcome and2) provide some suggestions for their campus life here.You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET2.Do not sign your name at the end of the letter. Use “Li Ming”instead.Do not write the address(10 points)Part B52. Directions: write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay you should1) describe the drawing briefly2) explain its intended meaning, and3) give your commentsYou should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET2.(20 points)。
2012研究生学位英语真题及答案(北京中科院)
研究生学位英语考试试题Part One：ListeningPart Two：Vocabulary1．Please do not be ____ by his bad manners since he is merely trying to attract attention.A disregardedB distortedC irritatedD intervened2. Craig assured his boss that he would ____ all his energies in doing this new job.A call forthB call atC call onD call off3. Too much ____ to X-rays can cause skin burns, cancer or other damage to the body.A disclosureB exhibitionC contactD exposure4. When confronted with such questions, my mind goes ____, and I can hardly remember my own date of birth.A dimB blankC faintD vain5. It is well known that knowledge is the ____ condition for expansion of mind.A incompatibleB incredibleC indefiniteD indispensable6. Language, culture, and personality may be considered ____ of each other in thought, but they are inseparable in fact.A indistinctlyB separatelyC irrelevantlyD independently7. Watching me pulling the calf awkwardly to the barn, the Irish milkmaid fought hard to ____ her laughter.A hold backB hold onC hold outD hold up8. The manager gave one of the salesgirls an accusing look for her ____ attitude toward customers.A impartialB mildC hostileD opposing9. I ____ with thanks the help of my colleagues in the preparation of this new column.A expressB confessC verifyD acknowledge10. It is strictly ____ that access to confidential documents is denied to all but a few.A securedB forbiddenC regulatedD determined11. The pollution question as well as several other issues is going to be discussed when the Congress is in ____ again next spring.A assemblyB sessionC conferenceD convention12. Christmas is a Christian holy day usually celebrated on December 25th ____ the birth of Jesus Christ.A in accordance withB in terms ofC in favor ofD in honor of13. Since it is too late to change my mind now, I am ____ to carrying out the plan.A obligedB committedC engagedD resolved14. It was a bold idea to build a power station in the deep valley, but it ____ as well as we had hoped.A came offB went offC brought outD make out15. To survive in the intense trade competition between countries, we must ____ the qualities and varieties of products we make to the world-market demand.A improveB enhanceC guaranteeD gear16. He left early on the ____ that he had a bad toothache and had to see the dentist.A prescriptionB pretextC knowledgeD precondition17. The new edition of the encyclopedia ____ many improvements, which is the result of the persistent effort of all the compilers.A embeddedB embodiedC enchantedD enclosed18. The boys and girls ____ together round the camp fire telling stories and singing songs.A reversedB clappedC clusteredD contracted19. The new underground railway will ____ the journey to all parts of the city.A consumeB eliminateC formulateD facilitate20. The speaker attracted the audience at the very beginning of the lecture by giving a ____ description of his personal experience.A globalB graciousC graphicD prescriptivePart Three：ReadingPassage oneThe potential of closed-circuit television and other new electronic teaching tools is so great that it is fascinating to visualize “the school of tomorrow”.Televised lessons will originate from a central building having perhaps four or five master studios. The lessons will be carried into classrooms all over a city, or even an entire country.After a televised lesson has been given, the classroom teacher will take over for the all-important “follow-up” period. The stude nts will ask troublesome questions, and difficult points will be cleared up through discussion.The teacher in the classroom will have additional electronic tools. On the teacher’s desk, the traditional bright red apple will have been replaced by a multiple—control panel and magnetic tape players. The tape machines will runprerecorded lessons which pupils will follow by headphones. The lessons will be specifically geared to the students’ levels of ability. For instance, which the class as a whole studies history, each student will receive an individual history lesson, directed to his particular level of ability.Should questions arise, the students will be able to talk directly to the teacher on individual “intercoms” without disturbing the rest of the class. In this way, the teacher will be able to conduct as many as three classes at the same time.1.This article is mainly about_______.A. televisionB. electronicsC. the schools of the futureD. communication2. Closed-circuit television will probably carry lessons to_____.A.a single classroomB. one schoolC. all the classrooms in the worldD. all the classrooms in a city or country3. In the schools of tomorrow, the teacher’s desk will____.A. contain electronic equipmentB. actually be a television setC. no longer existD. look like an isolation booth4. In the schools of tomorrow, students will4. In the schools of tomorrow, students will_____.A. all study different subjects at the same timeB. study at different levels within a subject at the same timeC. not studyD. not have to read books5. Electronic tools will enable the teacher to5. Electronic tools will enable the teacher to_____.A. teach more than one class at the same timeB. retireC. teach only a small number of pupilsD. rely on TV stations onlyPassage Two：Industrial Psychology is the application of various psychological techniques to the selection and training of industrial workers and to the promotion of efficient working conditions and techniques, as well as individual job satisfaction.The selection of workers for particular jobs is essentially a problem of discoveringthe special aptitudes and personality characteristics needed for the job and of devising tests to determine whether candidates have such aptitudes and characteristics. The development of tests of this kind has long been a field of psychological research.Once the worker is on the job and has been trained, the fundamental aim of the industrial psychologist is to find ways in which a particular job can best be accomplished with a minimum of effort and a maximum of individual satisfaction. The psychologist's function, therefore, differs from that of the so-called efficiency expert, who places primary emphasis on increased production. Psychological techniques used to lessen the effort involved in a given job include a detailed study of the motions required to do the job, the equipment used, and the conditions under which the job is performed. After making such a study, the industrial psychologist often determines that the job in question may be accomplished with less effort by changing the routine motions of the work itself, changing or moving the tools, improving the working conditions, or a combination of several of these methods.Industrial psychologists have also studied the effects of fatigue on workers to determine the length of working time that yields the greatest productivity. In some cases such studies have proven that total production on particular jobs could be increased by reducing the number of working hours or by increasing the number of rest periods, or "breaks," during the day. Industrial psychologists may also suggest less direct requirements for general improvement of job performance, such as establishing a better line of communication between employees and management.6. From the first sentence of passage, we learn that the primary objective of industrial psychology is to study ______.A. working efficiency that leads to the highest outputB. the working skills and the working environmentC. the techniques leading to the highest productivityD. the utilization of workers to get the greatest profit7. A test in industrial psychology is used to find out ______.A. a worker’s achievementsB. a worker's potential for a certain jobC. a worker's psychological problemD.a worker's motivation for a certain job8. The industrial psychologist’s function differs from that of the efficiency experts in that the former______.A. places great emphasis on maximum productionB. never cares about the increase of productionC. is mainly concerned with workers' satisfactionD. worries a lot about those workers in poor working conditions9. In an industrial psychologist's mind, all of the following is important EXCEPT______.A. the steps in which work is doneB. the state of mind of a worker when workingC. the effect of working environment on a workerD. the value of the product a worker is making10. It is certain that ______.A. Two breaks in a day lead to higher productivity than oneB. working less hours can yield the highest efficiencyC. communication is increasing between the employers and employeesD. changing tools will help increase the productionPassage Three：The Welsh language has always been the ultimate marker of Welsh identity, but a generation ago it looked as if Welsh would go the way of Manx. once widely spoken on the isle of Man but now extinct. Government financing and central planning, however, have helped reverse the decline of Welsh. Road signs and official public documents are written in both Welsh and English, and schoolchildren are required to learn both languages. Welsh is now one of the most successful of Europe’s regional languages, spoken by more than a half-million of the country’s three million people.The revival of the language, particularly among young people, is part of a resurgence of national identity sweeping through this small, proud nation. Last month Wales marked the second anniversary of the opening of the National Assembly, the first parliament to be convened here since 1404. The idea behind devolution was to restore the balance within the union of nations making up the United Kingdom. With most of the people and wealth, England has always had bragging rights. The partial transfer of legislative powers from Westminster, implemented by Tony Blair, was designed to give the other members of the club- Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales-a bigger say and to counter centrifugal forces that seemed to threaten the very idea of the union.The Welsh showed little enthusiasm for devolution. Whereas the Scots voted overwhelmingly for a parliament, the vote for a Welsh assembly scraped through by less than one percent on a turnout of less than 25 percent. Its powers were proportionately limited. The Assembly can decide how money from Westminster or the European Union is spent. It cannot, unlike its counterpart in Edinburgh, enact laws. But now that it is here, the Welsh are growing to like their Assembly. Many people would like it to have more powers. Its importance as figurehead will grow with the opening in 2003, of a new debating chamber, one of many new buildings that are transforming Cardiff from a decaying seaport into a Baltimore-style waterfront city. Meanwhile a grant of nearly two million dollars from the European Union will tackle poverty. Wales is one of the poorest regions in Western Europe- only Spain, Portugal, and Greece have a lower standard of living.Newspapers and magazines are filled with stories about great Welsh men and women, boosting self-esteem. To familiar faces such as Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton have been added new icons such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, the movie star, and Bryn Terfel, the opera singer. Indigenous foods like salt marsh lamb are in vogue. And Wales now boasts a national airlin e. Awyr Cymru. Cymru, which means “land of compatriots,” is the Welsh name for Wales. The red dragon, the nation’s symbol since the time of King Arthur, is everywhere- on T-shirts, rugby jerseys and even cell phone covers.“Until very recent times most Wel sh people had this feeling of being second-class citizens,” said Dyfan Jones, an 18-year-old student. It was a warm summer night, and I was sitting on the grass with a group of young people in Llanelli, an industrial town in the south, outside the rock mus ic venue of the National Eisteddfod, Wales’s annual cultural festival. The disused factory in front of us echoed to the sounds of new Welsh bands.“There was almost a genetic tendency for lack of confidence,” Dyfan continued. Equally comfortable in his Welshness as in his membership in the English-speaking, global youth culture and the new federal Europe, Dyfan, like the rest of his generation, is growing up with a sense of possibility unimaginable ten years ago. “We used to think. We can’t do anything, we’re only Welsh. Now I think that’s changing.”11. According to the passage, devolution was mainly meant toA. maintain the present status among the nations.B. reduce legislative powers of England.C. create a better state of equality among the nations.D. grant more say to all the nations in the union.12. The word “centrifugal” in the second paragraph meansA. separatist.B. conventional.C. feudal.D. political13. Wales is different from Scotland in all the following aspects EXCEPTA. people’s desire for devolution.B. locals’ turnout for the voting.C. powers of the legislative body.D. status of the national language.14. Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of the resurgence of Welsh national identityA. Welsh has witnessed a revival as a national language.B. Poverty-relief funds have come from the European Union.√C. A Welsh national airline is currently in operation.D. The national symbol has become a familiar sight.15. According to Dyfan Jones what has changed isA. people’s mentality.B. pop culture.C. town’s appearance.D. possibilities for the people.Passage Four：What is true? What is right? What is beautiful? Science considers what is true, starting out with almost unimaginable ideas (The earth is moving! The future is unpredictable!). The job is to understand these ideas and fit them into a broad and logical picture of the universe. Politics considers what is right. This requires broad understanding and eventual consensus of points of view that often appear incompatible. Art is the development of what is beautiful---whether through words, a musical note, or architecture.Truth, morality, beauty. It has been humanity’s persistent hope that these three ideas should be consistent with each other. Yet successful activities in science, politics, and art diverge greatly, and I believe the three activities can be pursued initially without regard to each other, or without reconciling the possible conflicts that mayarise. Today, there is perceived to be a strong contradiction between the results of science and the requirements of morality; for instance, the application of science has led to the development of nuclear weapons, while international morality seems to demand that such results never be applied ——and that research leading to them should be stopped. I hold a position radically different from the general point of view, believing that contradiction and uncertainty should be enhanced.Niel Bohr loved contradiction. He would not tolerate the idea that quantum mechanics might some day supersede classical physics. For Bohr, classical physics had to remain in permanent contradiction to quantum mechanics and the tension between them retained as a part of science. In the same way, the impacts of science, politics, and art must remain independent. We must learn to live with contradictions, because they lead to deeper and more effective understanding. The same applies to uncertainty.According to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, only probabilistic predictions can be made about the future. Furthermore, small events can have important consequences. An everyday example is weather forecasting. It is fairly successful for predictions up to 5 days ahead, but if you double that period the predictions are no longer accurate. It is not clear whether long-range predictions are forever excluded, but the example does illustrate that small causes can have significant effects.This situation has an obvious analogy in free will. In a completely deterministic world, what we know as free will in humans is reduced to a mere illusion. I may not know that my actions are predetermined in some complicated configuration of my molecules, and that my decisions are nothing more than the realization of what has been inherent in the configuration of electrons. According to quantum mechanics, we cannot exclude the possibility that free will is a part of the process by which the future is created. We can think about the creation of the world as incomplete and human beings, indeed all living beings, as making choices left open to probability.One may argue that this notion is fantastic. Indeed, Einstein firmly believed in causality, and rejected the relevant part of quantum mechanics. (His famous statement is that, while God can rule the world by any set of laws, “God does not p lay dice with the universe.”)Attempts have been made to add laws to quantum mechanics to eliminate uncertainty. Such attempts have not only been unsuccessful, they have not even appeared to lead to any interesting results.Questions:16.According to the author, what do science, politics and art each try to explain?17.What is the strong contradiction mentioned in the second paragraph?18.What is the author’s attitude toward contradiction?19.How would the author face uncertainty?20.What is the main idea of the passage?Passage Five：I am afraid to sleep. I have been afraid to sleep for the last few weeks. I am so tired that, finally, I do sleep, but only for a few minutes. It is not a bad dream that wakes me ; it is the reality I took with me into sleep . I try to think of something else. Immediately the woman in the marketplace comes into my mind. I was on my way to dinner last night when I saw her . She was selling skirts. She moved with the same ease and loveliness I often saw in the women of Laos. Her long black hair was as shiny as the black silk of the skirts she was selling. In her hair, she wore three silk ribbons, blue, green, and white. They reminded me of my childhood and how my girlfriends and I used to spend hours braiding ribbons into our hair. I don’t know the word for “ribbons”, so I put my hand to my own hair and , with three fingers against my head , I looked at her ribbons and said “Beautiful.” She lowered her eyes and said nothing. I wasn’t sure if she understood me (I don’t speak Laotian v ery well).I looked back down at the skirts. They had designs on them: squares and triangles and circles of pink and green silk. They were very pretty. I decided to buy one of those skirts, and I began to bargain with her over the price. It is the custom to bargain in Asia. In Laos bargaining is done in soft voices and easy moves with the sort of quiet peacefulness.She smiled, more with her eyes than with her lips. She was pleased by the few words I was able to say in her language, although they were mostly numbers, and she saw that I understood something about the soft playfulness of bargaining. We shook our heads in disagreement over the price; then, immediately, we made another offer and then another shake of the head. She was so pleased that unexpectedly, she accepted the last offer I made. But it was too soon. The price was too low. She was being too generous and wouldn’t make enough money. I moved quickly and picked up two more skirts and paid for all three at the price set; that way I was able to pay her three times as much before she had a chance to lower the price for the larger purchase. She smiled openly then, and, for the first time in months, my spirit lifted. I almost felt happy.The feeling stayed with me while she wrapped the skirts in a newspaper and handed them to me. When I left, though, the feeling left, too. It was as though itstayed behind in marketplace. I left tears in my throat. I wanted to cry. I didn’t , of course.I have learned to defend myself against what is hard; without knowing it, I have also learned to defend myself against what is soft and what should be easy.I get up, light a candle and want to look at the skirts. They are still in the newspaper that the woman wrapped them in. I remove the paper, and raise the skirts up to look at them again before I pack them. Something falls to floor. I reach down and feel something cool in my hand. I move close to the candlelight to see what I have. There are five long silk ribbons in my hand, all different colors. The woman in the marketplace! She has given these ribbons to me!There is no defense against a generous spirit, and this time I cry, and very hard, as if I could make up for all the months that I didn’t cry.Questions:21. When the author met the woman in the market, what was the woman doing?22. How can you describe bargaining in Laos?23. According to the author, why did the woman accept the last offer?24. Why did the author finally decide to buy three skirts?25. Why did the writer cry eventually when she looked at the skirts again? Part Four：Translation1. A second aspect of technology transfer concentrates on US high technology exports.China has correctly complained in the past that the US was unnecessarily restrictive in limiting technology sales to China. Recently some liberalization has taken place and major increases in technology transfers have taken place as the result. However, some items continue to be subject to restrictions and unnecessary delay, in part because the US Government submits many items to COCOM(巴黎统筹委员会) for approval. There is significant room for improvement with the US bureaucracy and COCOM.2. Good manners are necessary because we are judged by our manners. Our mannersnot only show what kind of education we have received and what our social position is, but they also tend to show what our nature is. A person with good manners is always an agreeable companion, because he always thinks of others andshows respect for others.3. Individualism and collectivism have permeated every aspect of Eastern andWestern culture, influencing American and Chinese economics, politics, morals and values, and especially communication patterns. This is important, for research has proved that the number one cause of failure in international business and relations is not economics or even business but cross-cultural communication.4. It is known to all that knowledge is power. Young people without knowledgecannot expect to become assets to society. In order to acquire profound knowledge, they strive to study well in school in the first place. This does not mean that knowledge only consists in books. In most cases, the knowledge from books is no substitute for the knowledge derived from social practices. For this obvious reason, young people should also regard it as indispensable to their acquirement of knowledge to learn earnestly from the experienced people and from society as well.In short, the rightly motivated young people are advised to insist on obtaining knowledge from all kinds of sources.5. 今天，环境问题变得越来越严重了。
考研英语一真题2012
考研英语一真题2012Introduction:In 2012, the Graduate School Entrance Exam in English (also known as the "考研英语一") included several challenging questions that tested students' comprehension, grammar knowledge, and critical thinking skills. This article aims to review and analyze the questions posed in the exam, highlighting their difficulty level, possible strategies for answering, and providing explanations for correct answers. By understanding the exam format and content better, students can prepare more effectively for future exams.Section A: Reading ComprehensionThe reading comprehension section of the 2012 exam consisted of five passages, each followed by several multiple-choice questions. The passages covered a wide range of topics including literature, social issues, science, and technology. Demonstrating strong reading skills, vocabulary knowledge, and the ability to extract key information from the text was crucial for achieving good scores in this section.Section B: Cloze TestThe cloze test aimed to assess students' proficiency in grammar and vocabulary. It consisted of a passage with 20 blanks, and students were required to choose the correct word or phrase to fill in each blank. The difficulty level of this section varied, with some blanks requiring a deep understanding of the context and vocabulary, while others relied more on grammatical rules.Section C: Error CorrectionIn this section, students were presented with sentences containing grammatical and vocabulary errors. The task was to identify and correct the errors. While some errors were straightforward, others required an in-depth understanding of grammar rules and the ability to differentiate between commonly confused words or phrases.Section D: TranslationTesting students' translation skills, this section included two passages: one from Chinese to English and the other from English to Chinese. The passages covered a range of topics, including literature, science, and current affairs. Accuracy in translating the meaning while maintaining grammatical correctness was crucial for scoring well in this section.Section E: Writing SkillsThe writing skills section required students to write an essay on a given topic within a specified time limit. Topics in the 2012 exam covered current social issues, such as environmental protection, education, and societal changes. The essays were evaluated based on the clarity of ideas, organization of content, language proficiency, and critical thinking skills.Conclusion:The 2012 Graduate School Entrance Exam in English (考研英语一) posed various challenges to students, testing their reading comprehension, grammar knowledge, vocabulary, translation skills, and ability to express ideas effectively in writing. By understanding the format and content of theexam and practicing with similar questions, students can improve their chances of success in future exams.。
考研英语二2012真题
考研英语二2012真题—————————————IntroductionThe 2012 Graduate Entrance Exam (GEE) English II question is an important examination that tests the English language proficiency of graduate school applicants. This article aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the 2012 GEE English II question and offer suggestions on how to tackle it effectively.Section 1 - Reading ComprehensionThe Reading Comprehension section is designed to evaluate candidates' ability to understand and analyze written texts. The 2012 GEE English II question featured four reading passages, each accompanied by a set of multiple-choice questions. The topics covered a wide range of subjects, including social sciences, literature, and natural sciences.Strategies for SuccessTo excel in the Reading Comprehension section, candidates should adopt a systematic approach. Firstly, they should read the questions before diving into the passages. This helps them identify relevant information while reading, saving time and improving comprehension. Additionally, candidates should focus on understanding the main theme of each passage and pay attention to keywords and phrases that indicate the author's stance or argument.Section 2 - Vocabulary and GrammarThe Vocabulary and Grammar section aims to assess candidates' knowledge and understanding of English vocabulary, grammar rules, and sentence structures. In the 2012 GEE English II question, this section included fill-in-the-blank questions, synonym matching, and error correction exercises.Preparation TipsTo prepare for this section, candidates should develop a strong foundation in English vocabulary and grammar. Regular practice of vocabulary-building exercises, such as learning new words through reading or using smartphone apps, can significantly enhance one's vocabulary knowledge. Learning and reviewing grammar rules, including tenses, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structures, is also crucial for performing well in this section.Section 3 - Cloze PassageThe Cloze Passage section assesses candidates' ability to understand given texts and fill in the missing words appropriately. In the 2012 GEE English II question, the passage highlighted the importance of effective communication in the workplace.Effective StrategiesTo perform well in the Cloze Passage section, candidates should read the entire passage first to grasp the overall content and context. Then, they can focus on the missing words and try to predict suitable options based on the surrounding words and sentence structure. Additionally, candidates shouldensure that the inserted words maintain the logical flow and coherence of the passage.Section 4 - Error Identification and CorrectionThe Error Identification and Correction section tests candidates' ability to spot and rectify grammatical errors in given sentences. The 2012 GEE English II question included a series of sentences, each containing one or more errors.Techniques for SuccessTo excel in this section, candidates should pay close attention to grammar rules, usage of verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structures. It is crucial to work systematically and methodically through each sentence, identifying errors and proposing suitable corrections. Candidates should also be aware of common grammatical errors, such as verb form inconsistency, incorrect preposition usage, and subject-verb disagreement.ConclusionThe 2012 GEE English II question is a comprehensive examination that evaluates candidates' reading comprehension abilities, vocabulary and grammar skills, and understanding of sentence structures. By adopting effective strategies and dedicating time to practice, candidates can enhance their performance and improve their chances of success in the examination.。