历年考研英语阅读理解真题汇总.doc

历年考研英语阅读理解真题汇总Passage 1A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, it may become a driving force. When the United States entered just such a glowing period after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight ties larger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies of scale. Its scientists were the worlds best, its workers the most skilled. America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and Asians whose economies the war had destroyed.It was inevitable that this primacy should have narrowed as other countries grew richer. Just as inevitably, the retreat from predominance proved painful. By the mid-1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign competition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith.(Now there is none: Zenith was bought by South Koreas LG Electronics in July.)Foreign-made cars and textiles were sweeping into the domestic market Americas machine-tool industry was on the ropes. For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty.All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted. They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of Americas industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas.How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride. American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be more quick-witted, according to Richard Cavanagh, executive dean of Harvards Kennedy School of Government, It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are improving their productivity, says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC. And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people will look back on this period as a golden age of business management in the United States.1.The U.S. achieved its predominance after World War because_ .Ait had made painstaking efforts towards this goalBits domestic market was eight times larger than beforeCthe war had destroyed the economies of most potential competitorsDthe unparalleled size of its workforce had given an impetus to its economy2.The loss of U.S. predominance in the world economy in the 1980s is manifested in the fact that the American_ .ATV industry had withdrawn to its domestic marketBsemiconductor industry had been taken over by foreign enterprisesCmachine-tool industry had collapsed after suicidal actionsDauto industry had lost part of its domestic market3.What can be inferred from the passage?AIt is human nature to shift between self-doubt and blind pried.BIntense competition may contribute to economic progress.CThe revival of the economy depends on international cooperation.DA long history of success may pave the way for further development. 4.The author seems to believe the revival of the U.S. economy in the 1990s can be attributed to the_ .Aturning of the business cycleBrestructuring of industryCimproved business managementDsuccess in education参考答案:1.C 2.D 3.B 4.AWhen a new movement in art attains a certain fashion, it is advisable to find out what its advocates are aiming at, for, however farfetched and unreasonable their principles may seem today, it is possible that in years to come they may be regarded as normal. With regard to Futurist poetry, however, the case is rather difficult, for whatever Futurist poetry may be even admitting that the theory on which it is based may be right, it can hardly be classed as Literature.This, in brief, is what the Futurist says; for a noise and violence and speed. Consequently, our feelings, thoughts and emotions have undergone a corresponding change. This speeding up of life, says the Futurist, requires a new form of expression. We must speed up our literature too, if we want to interpret modern stress. We must pour out a large stream of essential words, unhampered by stops, or qualifying adjectives, of finite verbs. Instead of describing sounds we must make up words that imitate them; we must use many sizes of type and different colored inks on the same page, and shorten or lengthen words at will.Certainly their descriptions of battles are confused. But it is a little upsetting to read in the explanatory notes that a certain line describes a fight between a Turkish and a Bulgarian officer on a bridge off which they both fall into the river and then to find that the line consists of the noise of their falling and the weights of the officers: Pluff! Pluff! A hundred and eighty-five kilograms. This, though it fulfills the laws and requirements of Futurist poetry, can hardly be classed as Literature. All the same, no thinking man can refuse to accept their first proposition: that a great change in our emotional life calls for a change of expression. The whole question is really this: have we essentially changed?1.This passage is mainly_ .Aa survey of new approaches to artBa review of Futurist poetryCabout merits of the Futurist movementDabout laws and requirements of literature 2.When a novel literary idea appears, people should try to_ .Adetermine its purposesBignore its flawsCfollow the new fashionsDaccept the principles 3.Futurists claim that we must_ .Aincrease the production of literatureBuse poetry to relieve modern stressCdevelop new modes of expressionDavoid using adjectives and verbs 4.The author believes that Futurist poetry is_ .Abased on reasonable principlesBnew and acceptable to ordinary peopleCindicative of basic change in human natureDmore of a transient phenomenon than literature.参考答案:1.B 2.A 3.C 4.DPassage 3Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are the envy of the United States and Europe. But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline of the traditional work-moral values. Ten years ago young people were hardworking and saw their jobs as their primary reason for being, but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, and young people dont know where they should go next.The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teen-agers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japans rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs. In a recent survey, it was found that only 24.5 percent of Japanese students were fully satisfied with school life, compared with 67.2 percent of students in the United States. In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than did their counterparts in the 10 other countries surveyed.While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression. Those things that do not show up in the test scores personality,ability, courage or humanity are completely ignored, says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Partys education committee. Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids to drop out and run wild. Last year Japan experienced 2,125 incidents of school violence, including 929 assaults on teachers. Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis on moral education. Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, who was then education minister, raised eyebrows when he argued that liberal reforms introduced by the American occupation authorities after World War had weakened the Japanese morality of respect for parents.But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles. In Japan, says educator Yoko Muro, its never a question of whether you enjoy your job and your life, but only how much you can endure. With economic growth has come centralization; fully 76 percent of Japans 119 million citizens live in cities where community and the extended family have been abandoned in favor of isolated, two generation households. Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes(travels to and from work)and crowded living conditions, but as the old group and family values weaken, the discomfort is beginning to tell. In the past decade, the Japanese divorce rate, while still well below that of the United States, has increased by more than 50 percent, and suicides have increased by nearly one-quarter.1. In the Westerners eyes, the postwar Japan was_ .Aunder aimless developmentBa positive exampleCa rival to the WestDon the decline 2.According to the author, what may chiefly be responsible for the moral decline of Japanese society?AWomens participation in social activities is limited.BMore workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.CExcessive emphasis his been placed on the basics.DThe life-style has been influenced by Western values. 3.Which of the following is true according to the author?AJapanese education is praised for helping the young climb the social ladderBJapanese education is characterized by mechanical learning as well as creativity.CMore stress should be placed on the cultivation of creativity.DDropping out leads to frustration against test taking. 4.The change in Japanese Life-style is revealed in the fact that_ .Athe young are less tolerant of discomfortsBthe divorce rate in Japan exceeds that in the U.S.Cthe Japanese endure more than ever beforeDthe Japanese appreciate their present life.参考答案:1.B 2.D 3.C 4.APassage 5If ambition is to be well regarded, the rewards of ambition health, distinction, control over ones destiny must be deemed worthy of the sacrifices made on ambitions behalf. If the tradition of ambition is to have vitality, it must be widely shared; and it especially must be highly regarded by people who are themselves admired, the educated not least among them. In an odd way, however, it is the educated who have claimed to have give up on have give up on ambition as an ideal. What is odd is that they have perhaps most benefited from ambition-if not always their own the that of their parents and grandparents. There is heavy note of hypocrisy in this, a case of closing the barn door after the horses have escaped with the educated themselves riding on them.Certainly people do not seem less interested in success and its signs now than formerly. Summer homes, European travel, BMWs. The locations, place names and name brands may change, but such items do not seem less in demand today than a decade or two years ago. What has happened is that people cannot confess fully to their dreams, as easily and openly as once they could, lest they be thought pushing, acquisitive and vulgar. Instead, we are treated to fine hypocritical spectacles, which now more than ever seem in ample supply: the critic of American materialism with a Southampton summer home; the publisher of radical books who takes his meals in three-star restaurants; the journalist advocating participatory democracy in all phases of life, whose own children are enrolled in private schools. For such people and many more perhaps not so exceptional, the proper formulation is, Succeed at all costs but avoid appearing ambitious.The attacks on ambition are many and come from various angles; its public defenders are few and unimpressive, where they are not extremely unattractive. As a result, the support for ambition as a healthy impulse, a quality to be admired and fixed in the mind of the young, is probably lower than it has ever been in the United States. This does not mean that ambition is at an end, that people no longer feel its stirrings and promptings, but only that, no longer openly honored, it is less openly underground, or made sly. Such, then, is the way things stand: on the left angry critics, on the right stupid supporters, and in the middle, as usual, the majority of earnest people trying to get on in life.1.It is generally believed that ambition may be well regarded if _.Aits returns well compensate for the sacrificesBit is rewarded with money, fame and powerCits goals are spiritual rather than materialDit is shared by the rich and the famous 2.The last sentence of the first paragraph most probably implies that it is_ .Acustomary of the educated to discard ambition in wordsBtoo late to check ambition once it has been let outCdishonest to deny ambition after the fulfillment of the goalDimpractical for the educated to enjoy benefits from ambition 3.Some people do not openly admit they have ambition because_ .Athey think of it as immoralBtheir pursuits are not fame or wealthCambition is not closely related to material benefitsDthey do not want to appear greedy and contemptible 4.From the last paragraph the conclusion can be drawn that ambition should be maintained_ .Asecretly and vigorouslyBopenly and enthusiasticallyCeasily and momentarilyDverbally and spiritually参考答案:1.A 2.C 3.D 4.BSpecialization can be seen as a response to the problem of an increasing accumulation of scientific knowledge. By splitting up the subject matter into smaller units, one man could continue to handle the information and use it as the basis for further research. But specialization was only one of a series of related developments in science affecting the process of communication. Another was the growing professionalisation of scientific activity.No clear-cut distinction can be drawn between professionals and amateurs in science: exceptions can be found to any rule. Nevertheless, the word amateur does carry a connotation that the person concerned is not fully integrated into the scientific community and, in particular, may not fully share its values. The growth of specialization in the nineteenth century, with its consequent requirement of a longer, more complex training, implied greater problems for amateur participation in science. The trend was naturally most obvious in those areas of science based especially on a mathematical or laboratory training, and can be illustrated in terms of the development of geology in the United Kingdom.A comparison of British geological publications over the last century and a half reveals not simply an increasing emphasis on the primacy of research, but also a changing definition of what constitutes an acceptable research paper. Thus, in the nineteenth century, local geological studies represented worthwhile research in their own right; but, in the twentieth century, local studies have increasingly become acceptable to professionals only if they incorporate, and reflect on, the wider geological picture. Amateurs, on the other hand, have continued to pursue local studies in the old way. The overall result has been to make entrance to professional geological journals harder for amateurs, a result that has been reinforced by the widespread introduction of refereeing, first by national journals in the nineteenth century and then by several local geological journals in the twentieth century. As a logical consequence of this development, separate journals have now appeared aimed mainly towards either professional or amateur readership. A rather similar process of differentiation has led to professional geologists coming together nationally within one or two specific societies, whereas the amateurs have tended either to remain in local societies or to come together nationally in a different way.Although the process of professionalisation and specialization was already well under way in British geology during the nineteenth century, its full consequences were thus delayed until the twentieth century. In science generally, however, the nineteenth century must be reckoned as the crucial period for this change in the structure of science.1.The growth of specialization in the 19th century might be more clearly seen in sciences such as _.Asociology and chemistryBphysics and psychologyCsociology and psychologyDphysics and chemistry2.We can infer from the passage that _.Athere is little distinction between specialization and professionalisationBamateurs can compete with professionals in some areas of scienceCprofessionals tend to welcome amateurs into the scientific communityDamateurs have national academic societies but no local ones3.The author writes of the development of geology to demonstrate _.Athe process of specialization and professionalisationBthe hardship of amateurs in scientific studyCthe change of policies in scientific publicationsDthe discrimination of professionals against amateurs4.The direct reason for specialization is _.Athe development in communicationBthe growth of professionalisationCthe expansion of scientific knowledgeDthe splitting up of academic societies参考答案:1.D 2.B3.A 4.CA great deal of attention is being paid today to the so called digital divide-the division of the world into the info（information） rich and the info poor. And that divide does exist today. My wife and I lectured about this looming danger twenty years ago. What was less visible then, however, were the new, positive forces that work against the digital divide. There are reasons to be optimistic.There are technological reasons to hope the digital divide will narrow. As the Internet becomes more and more commercialized, it is in the interest of business to universalize access-after all, the more people online, the more potential customers there are. More and more governments, afraid their countries will be left behind, want to spread Internet access. Within the next decade or two, one to two billion people on the planet will be netted together. As a result, I now believe the digital divide will narrow rather than widen in the years ahead. And that is very good news because the Internet may well be the most powerful tool for combating world poverty that weve ever had.Of course, the use of the Internet isnt the only way to defeat poverty. And the Internet is not the only tool we have. But it has enormous potential.To take advantage of this tool, some impoverished countries will have to get over their outdated anti-colonial prejudices with respect to foreign investment. Countries that still think foreign investment is an invasion of their sovereignty might well study the history of infrastructure （the basic structural foundations of a society） in the United States. When the United States built its industrial infrastructure, it didnt have the capital to do so. And that is why Americas Second Wave infrastructure-including roads, harbors, highways, ports and so on-were built with foreign investment. The English, the Germans, the Dutch and the French were investing in Britain former colony.