考研英語試題及參考答案

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考研英語試題及參考答案

　　在各領域中，我們會經常接觸并使用試題，借助試題可以更好地考核參考者的知識才能。還在為找參考試題而苦惱嗎？以下是小編整理的.考研英語試題及參考答案，僅供參考，希望能夠幫助到大家。

考研英語試題及參考答案

　　考研英語試題及參考答案1

　　1.The board deemed it urgent that these files ____ right away.

　　A. had to be printed B. should have been printed

　　C. must be printed D. should be printed

　　2. The local health organization is reported ____ twenty-five years ago when Dr. Audon became its first president.

　　A. to be set up B. being set up

　　C. to have been set up D. having been set up

　　3. The school board listened quietly as John read the demands that his followers _____ for.

　　A. be demonstrating B. demonstrate

　　C. had been demonstrating D. have demonstrated

　　4. Ted had told me that he always escapes ____ as he has got a very fast sport car.

　　A. to fine B. to be fined

　　C. being fined D. having been fined

　　5. More than one third of the Chinese in the United States live in California, _____ in San Francisco.

　　A. previously B. predominantly

　　C. practically D. permanently

　　6. Prof. Lees book will show you ___ can be used in other contexts.

　　A. that you have observed B. that how you have observed

　　C. how that you have observed D. how what you have obs4erved

　　7. All fights ______ because of the snowstorm, we decided to take the train.

　　A. were canceled B. had been canceled

　　C. having canceled D. having been canceled

　　8. The new secretary has written a remarkably ____ report only in a few pages but with all the details.

　　A. concise B. clear C. precise D. elaborate

　　9. With prices ___ so much, it hard for the company to plan a budget.

　　A. fluctuating B. waving C. swinging D. vibrating

　　10. Expert say walking is one of the best ways for a person to ___ healthy.

　　A. preserve B. stay C. maintain D. reserve

　　11. Expected noises are usually more ___ than unexpected ones of the like magnitude.

　　A. manageable B. controllable C. tolerable D. perceivable

　　12. It isnt so much whether he works hard; the question is whether he works ___.

　　A. above all B. in all C. at all D. after all

　　13. There is an incorrect assumption among scientists and medical people that everyone agrees ___ what constitutes a benefit to an individual.

　　A. on B. with C. to D. in

　　14. All the information we have collected in relation to that case ______ very little.

　　A. makes up for B. adds up to C. comes up with D. puts up with

　　15. A really powerful speaker can ____ the feelings of the audience to the fever of excitement.

　　A. work out B. work over C. work at D. work up

　　16. Before the students set off, they spent much time setting a limit ____ the expenses of the trip.

　　A. to B. about C. in D. for

　　17. According to the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, wisdom comes form the ______ of maturity.

　　A. fulfillment B. achievement C. establishment D. accomplishment

　　18. From the tears in Nedras eyes we can deduce that something sad ____.

　　A. must have occurred B. would have occurred

　　C. might be occurring D. should occur

　　19. You can arrive in Beijing earlier for the meeting ____ you don;t mind taking the night train.

　　A. provided B. unless C. though D. until

　　20. Hardly a month goes by without ___ of another survey revealing new depths of scientific among U.S. citizens.

　　A. words B. a word C. the word D. word

　　21. If you ____ Jerry Brown until recently, you;d think the photograph on the right was strange.

　　A. shouldn;t contact B. didn;t contact

　　C. weren;t to contact D. hadn;t contacted

　　22. Some teenagers harbor a generalized resentment against society, which ____ them the rights and privileges of adults, although physically they are mature.

　　A. deprives B. restricts C. rejects D. denies

　　23. I must go now. ___ , if you want that book I;ll bring it next time.

　　A. Incidentally B. Accidentally C. Occasionally D. Subsequently

　　24. There is no reason they should limit how much vitamin you take, _____ they can limit how much water you drink.

　　A. much more than B. no more than C. no less than D. any more than

　　25. Though ___ in San Francisco, Dave Mitchell had always preferred to record , the plain facts of small-town life.

　　A. raised B. grown C. developed D. cultivated

　　26. Most electronic devices of this kind, ____ manufactured for such purposes , are tightly packed.

　　A. that are B. as are C. which is D. it is

　　27. As for the winter, it is inconvenient to be cold, with most of ___ furnace fuel is allowed saved for the dawn.

　　A. what B. that C. which D. such

　　28. Achieving a high degree of proficiency in English as a foreign language is not a mysterious ____ without scientific basic.

　　A. process B. practice C. procedure D. program

　　29. We cannot always ____ the wind, so new windmills should be so designed that they can also be driven by water.

　　A. hang on B. count on C, hold on D. come on

　　30. The storm sweeping over this area now is sure to cause ____ of vegetables in the coming days.

　　A. rarity B. scarcity C. invalidity D. variety

　�、�. Each of the passages below is followed by some quetions. For each question there are four answers marked A,B,C, and D. Read the passages carefully and choose the answer to each of the questions. Then mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET by blackening the corresponding　letter in the brackets. (30 points) Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic experiment of Frederick Ⅱ in the thir- teenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent.

　　All the infants died before the first year. But clearly there was more than lack of language here. What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is seriously affected.

　　Today no such severe lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected , the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again. A bird learns to sing and to fly rapidly at the right time, but the process is slow and hard once the critical stage has passed.

　　Experts suggest that speech stages are reached in a fixed sequence and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventuaLly turns out to be of high IQ.

　　At twelve weeks a baby smiles and makes vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak sim- ple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about l ,000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar.

　　Recent evidence suggests that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about mans brain, compared with that of the monkey, if the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a toy-bear with the sound pattem "toy-bear" . And even more incredible is the young brain; s ability to pick out an order in language from the mixture of sound around him, to analyse, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways. But speech has to be induced, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child , where the mother recognizes the signals in the child; s babbling ( 咿呀學語) , grasping and smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child ; s non-verbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language.

　　31 . The purpose of Frederick IIs experiment was__

　　A. to prove that children are born with the ability to speak

　　B. to discover what language a child would speak without hearing any human speech

　　C. to find out what role careful nursing would play in teaching a child to speak

　　D. to prove that a child could be damaged without learning a language

　　32. The reason some children are backward in speaking is most probably that__

　　A. they are incapable of learning language rapidly

　　B. they are exposed to too much language at once

　　C. their mothers respond inadequately to their attempts to speak

　　D. their mothers are not intelligent enough to help them

　　33 . What is exceptionally remarkable about a child is that

　　A. he is born with the capacity to speak

　　B. he has a brain more complex than an animals

　　C. he can produce his own sentences

　　D. he owes his speech ability to good nursing

　　34. Which of the fonowing can NOT be inferred from the passage?

　　A. The faculty of speech is inborn in man.

　　B. Encouragement is anything but essential to a child in language learning.

　　C. The child; s brain is highly selective.

　　D. Most children learn their language in definite stages.

　　35. If a child starts to speak later than others, he will

　　A. have a high IQ

　　B. be less intelligent

　　C. be insensitive to verbal signals

　　D. not necessarily be backward

　　In general , our society is becoming one of giant enterprises directed by a bureaucratic ( 官僚主義的)management in which man becomes a small , well-oiled cog in the machinery. The oilingis done with higher wages, well-ventilated factories and piped music, and by psychologists and"human-relations" experts; yet all this oiling does not alter the fact that man has become power-less, that he does not wholeheartedly participate in his work and that he is bored with it. In fact ,the blue-and the white-collar workers have become economic puppets who dance to the tune of au-tomated machines and bureaucratic management .

　　The worker and employee are anxious, not only because they might find themselves out of a

　　job; they are anxious also because they are unable to acquire any real satisfaction or interest in life. They live and die without ever having confronted the fundamental realities of human exis- tence as emotionally and intellectually independent and productive human beings.

　　Those higher up on the social ladder are no less anxious. Their lives are no less empty than those of their subordinates. They are even more insecure in some respects. They are in a highly competitive race. To be promoted or to fall behind is not a matter of salary but even more a matterof self-respect. When they apply for their first job, they are tested for intelligence as well as forthe tight mixture of submissiveness and independence. From that moment on they are tested a-gain and again-by the psychologists, for whom testing is a big business, and by their superiors,who judge their behavior, sociability, capacity to get along , etc. This constant need to prove that one is as good as or better than one; s fellow-competitor creates constant anxiety and stress, the very causes of unhappiness and illness.Am I suggesting that we should return to the preindustrial mode of production;or to nine- teenth-century "free enterprise" capitalism? Certainly not. Problems are never solved by returning to a stage which one has already outgrown. I suggest transforming our social system from a bu- reaucratically managed industrialism in which maximal production and consumption are ends in themselves into a humanist industrialism in which man and full development of his potentialities- those of love and of reason-are the aims of all social arrangements. Production and consumption should serve only as means to this end, and should be prevented from ruling man.

　　36. By "a well-oiled cog in the machinery" the author intends to render the idea that man is

　　A. a necessary part of the society though each individual sfunction is negligible

　　B. working in complete harmony with the rest of the society

　　C. an unimportant part in comparison with the rest of the society, though functioningsmoothly

　　D. a humble component of the society, especially when working smoothly

　　37 . The real cause of the anxiety of the workers and employees is that

　　A. they are likely to lose their jobs

　　B. they have no genuine satisfaction or interest in life

　　C. they are faced with the fundamental realities of human existence

　　D. they are deprtved of their individuality and independence

　　38. From the passage we can infer that real happiness of life belongs to those

　　A. who are at the bottom of the society

　　B. who are higher up in their social status

　　C. who prove better than their fellow-competitors

　　D. who could keep far away from this competitive world

　　39. To solve the present social problems the author suggests that we should

　　A. resort to the production mode of our ancestors

　　B. offer higher wages to the workers and employees

　　C. enable man to fully develop his potentialities

　　D. take the fundamental realities for granted

　　40 . The authors attitude towards industrialism might best be summarized as one of __

　　A. approval B. dissatisfaction

　　C. suspicion D. tolerance

　　When an invention is made, the inventor has three possible courses of action open to him: he can give the invention to the world by publishing it, keep the idea secret, or patent it.

　　A granted patent is the result of a bargain struck between an inventor and the state, by which the inventor gets a limited period of monopoly and publishes full details of his in-vention to the public after that period terminates.

　　Only in the most exceptional circumstances is the lifespan of a patent extended to alter this normal process of events.

　　The longest extension ever granted was to Georges Valensi; his 1939 patent for color TV receiver circuitry was extended until 1971 because for most of the patent; s normal life there was no colour TV to receive and thus no hope of reward for the invention.

　　Because a patent remains permanently public after it has terminated, the shelves of the li-brary attached to the patent office contain details of literally millions of ideas that are free for any-one to use and , if older than half a century, sometimes even re-patent. Indeed, patent experts of- ten advise anyone wishing to avoid the high cost of conducting a search through live patents thatthe one sure way of avoiding violation of any other inventor; s right is to plagiarize a dead patent.

　　Likewise , because publication of an idea in any other form permanently invalidates further patents on that idea, it is traditionally safe to take ideas from other areas of print. Much modern techno-

　　logical advance is based on these presumptions of legal security.

　　Anyone closely involved in patents and inventions soon learns that most "new" ideas are, in fact, as old as the hills. It is their reduction to commercial practice, either through necessity or dedication , or through the availability of new technology, that makes news and money. The basic patent for the theory of magnetic recording dates back to 1886. Many of the original ideas behind television originate from the late 19th and early 20th century. Even the Volkswagen rear engine car was anticipated by a 1904 patent for a cart with the horse at the rear.

　　4t . The passage is mainly about

　　A. an approach to patents B. the application for patents

　　C. the use of patents D. the access to patents

　　42. Which of the following is TRUE acoording to the passage?

　　A. When a patent becomes out of effect, it can be re-patented or extended if necessary.

　　B. It is necessary for an inventor to apply for a patent before he makes his invention public.

　　C. A patent holder must publicize the details of his invention when its legaL period is over.

　　D. One can get all the details of a patented invention from a library attached to the patent of-fice .

　　43 . George Valensis patent lasted until 1971 because

　　A. nobody would offer any reward for his patent prior to that time

　　B. his patent could not be put to use for an unusually long time

　　C. there were not enough TV stations to provide colour programmes

　　D. the colour TV receiver was not available until that time

　　44. The word "plagiarize" (line 8 , Para. 5) most probably means "_"

　　A. steal and use B. give reward to

　　C. make public D. take and change

　　45. From the passage we learn that

　　A. an invention will not benefit the inventor unless it is reduced to commercial practice

　　B. products are actually inventions which were made a long time ago

　　C. it is much cheaper to buy an old patent than a new one

　　D. patent experts often recommend patents to others by conducting a search through dead patents

　�、�. For each numbered blank in the following passage, there are four choices marked A, B, C,and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET by blackeningthe corresponding letter in the brackets. ( 15 points)Although interior design has existed since the beginning of architecture , its development into a specialized field is really quite recent. Interior designers have become important partly because ofthe many functions that might be (46) in a single large building.The importance of interior design becomes (47) when we realize how much time we (48)surrounded by four walls. Whenever we need to be indoors, we want our surroundings to be ( 49) attractive and comfortable as possible. We also expect (50 ) place to be appropri- ate to its use. You would be (51 ) if the inside of your bedroom were suddenLy changed tolook (52) the inside of a restaurant. And you wouldn; t feel (53 ) in a business office that has the appearance of a school.

　　It soon becomes clear that the interior designer; s most important basic (54) . is the func- tion of the particular (55 ) . For example , a theater with poor sight lines, poor sound-shaping aualitles , and (56) few entries and exits will not work for ( 57) purpose , no matter how beautifully it might be ( 58) . Nevertheless, (59) for any kind of space, lighting and decoration ofeverything from ceiling to floor. (60) addition, the designer must usually select furniture or design built-in furniture , according to the functions that need to be served.

　　46. A. consisted B. contained C. composed D. comprised

　　47. A. obscure B. attractive C. appropriate D. evident

　　48. A. spend B. require C. settle D. retain

　　49. A. so B. as C. thus D. such

　　50. A. some B. any C. this D. each

　　51 . A. amused B. interested C. shocked D. frightened

　　52. A. like B. for C. at D. into

　　53. A. correct B. proper C. right D. suitable

　　54. A. care B. concern C. attention D. intention

　　55. A. circumstance B. environment C. surroundings D. space

　　56. A. too B. quite C. a D. far

　　57. A. their B. its C. those D. that

　　58. A. painted B. covered C. ornamented D. decorated

　　59 . A. solutions B. conclusions C. decisions D. determinations

　　60. A. For B. In C. As D. With

　　參考答案：

　　Ⅰ. l. D 2. C 3. C 4. C 5. B

　　6. D 7. D 8. A 9. A 10. B

　　11. C 12. C 13. A 14. B 15. D

　　16. A ; 17. B 18. A 19. A 20. D

　　21. D 22. D 23. A 24. D 25. A

　　26. B 27. A 28. A 29. B 30. B

　�、�. 31. B 32. C 33. C 34. B 35. D

　　36. C 37. D 38. D 39. C 40. B

　　41. D 42. C 43. B 44. A 45. A

　�、�. 46. B 47. D 48. A 49. B 50. D

　　51. C 52. A 53. C. 54. B 55. D

　　56. A 57. B 58. D 59. C. 60. B

　　考研英語試題及參考答案2

　　Section I Use of English

　　Fluid intelligence is the type of intelligence that has to do with short-term memory and the ability to think quickly, logically, and abstractly in order to solve new problems. It1in young adulthood, levels out for a period of time, and then2starts to slowly decline as we age. But3aging is inevitable, scientists are finding out that certain changes in brain function may not be.

　　One study found that muscle loss and the4of body fat around the abdomen are associated with a decline in fluid intelligence. This suggests the5that lifestyle factors might help prevent or6this type of decline.

　　The researchers looked at data that7measurements of lean muscle and abdominal fat from more than 4,000 middle-to-older-aged men and women and8that data to reported changes in fluid intelligence over a six-year period. They found that middle-aged people9higher measures of abdominal fat10worse on measures of fluid intelligence as the years11.

　　For women, the association may be12to changes in immunity that resulted from excess abdominal fat; in men, the immune system did not appear to be13. It is hoped that future studies could14these differences and perhaps lead to different15for men and women.

　　16, there are steps you can17to help reduce abdominal fat and maintain lean muscle mass as you age in order to protect both your physical and mental18. The two highly recommended lifestyle approaches are maintaining or increasing your19of aerobic exercise and following Mediterranean-style20that is high in fiber and eliminates highly processed foods.

　　1. [A] pauses [B] returns [C] peaks [D] fades

　　2. [A]alternatively [B]formally [C]accidentally [D] generally

　　3. [A] while [B] since [C] once [D] until

　　4. [A] detection [B] accumulation [C] consumption [D] separation

　　5. [A] possibility [B] decision [C] goal [D] requirement

　　6. [A] delay [B] ensure [C] seek [D] utilize

　　7. [A] modified [B] supported [C] included [D] predicted

　　8. [A] devoted [B] compared [C] converted [D] applied

　　9. [A] with [B] above [C] by [D] against

　　10. [A] lived [B] managed [C] scored [D] played

　　11. [A] ran out [B] set off [C] drew in [D] went by

　　12. [A] superior [B] attributable [C] parallel [D] resistant

　　13. [A] restored [B] isolated [C] involved [D] controlled

　　14. [A] alter [B] spread [C] remove [D] explain

　　15. [A] compensations [B] symptoms [C] demands [D] treatments

　　16. [A] Likewise [B] Meanwhile [C] Therefore [D] Instead

　　17. [A] change [B] watch [C] count [D] take

　　18. [A] well-being [B] process [C] formation [D] coordination

　　19. [A] level [B] love [C] knowledge [D] space

　　20. [A] design [B] routine [C] diet [D] prescription

　　Section II Reading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　-Text 1-

　　How can the train operators possibly justify yet another increase to rail passenger fares? It has become a grimly reliable annual ritual: every January the cost of travelling by train rises, imposing a significant extra burden on those who have no option but to use the rail network to get to work or otherwise. This year’s rise, an average of 2.7 percent, may be a fraction lower than last year’s, but it is still well above the official Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation.

　　Successive governments have permitted such increases on the grounds that the cost of investing in and running the rail network should be borne by those who use it, rather than the general taxpayer. Why, the argument goes, should a car-driving pensioner from Lincolnshire have to subsidise the daily commute of a stockbroker from Surrey? Equally, there is a sense that the travails of commuters in the South East, many of whom will face among the biggest rises, have received too much attention compared to those who must endure the relatively poor infrastructure of the Midlands and the North.

　　However, over the past 12 months, those commuters have also experienced some of the worst rail strikes in years. It is all very well train operators trumpeting the improvements they are making to the network, but passengers should be able to expect a basic level of service for the substantial sums they are now paying to travel. The responsibility for the latest wave of strikes rests on the unions. However, there is a strong case that those who have been worst affected by industrial action should receive compensation for the disruption they have suffered.

　　The Government has pledged to change the law to introduce a minimum service requirement so that, even when strikes occur, services can continue to operate. This should form part of a wider package of measures to address the long-running problems on Britain’s railways. Yes, more investment is needed, but passengers will not be willing to pay more indefinitely if they must also endure cramped, unreliable services, punctuated by regular chaos when timetables are changed, or planned maintenance is managed incompetently. The threat of nationalisation may have been seen off for now, but it will return with a vengeance if the justified anger of passengers is not addressed in short order.

　　21. The author holds that this year’s increase in rail passengers fares ______.

　　A. will ease train operators’ burden

　　B. has kept pace with inflation

　　C. is a big surprise to commuters

　　D. remains an unreasonable measure

　　22. The stockbroker in Paragraph 2 is used to stand for ______.

　　A. car drivers

　　B. rail travelers

　　C. local investors

　　D. ordinary taxpayers

　　23. It is indicated in Paragraph 3 that train operators ______.

　　A. are offering compensation to commuters

　　B. are trying to repair relations with the unions

　　C. have failed to provide an adequate service

　　D. have suffered huge losses owing to the strikes

　　24. If unable to calm down passengers, the railways may have to face ______.

　　A. the loss of investment

　　B. the collapse of operations

　　C. a reduction of revenue

　　D. a change of ownership

　　25. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

　　A. Who Are to Blame for the Strikes?

　　B. Constant Complaining Doesn’t Work

　　C. Can Nationalisation Bring Hope?

　　D. Ever-Rising Fares Aren’t Sustainable

　　-Text 2-

　　Last year marked the third year in a row of when Indonesia’s bleak rate of deforestation has slowed in pace. One reason for the turnaround may be the country’s antipoverty program. In 2007, Indonesia started phasing in a program that gives money to its poorest residents under certain conditions, such as requiring people to keep kids in school or get regular medical care. Called conditional cash transfers or CCTs, these social assistance programs are designed to reduce inequality and break the cycle of poverty. They’re already used in dozens of countries worldwide. In Indonesia, the program has provided enough food and medicine to substantially reduce severe growth problems among children.

　　But CCT programs don’t generally consider effects on the environment. In fact, poverty alleviation and environmental protection are often viewed as conflicting goals, says Paul Ferraro, an economist at Johns Hopkins University.

　　That’s because economic growth can be correlated with environmental degradation, while protecting the environment is sometimes correlated with greater poverty. However, those correlations don’t prove cause and effect. The only previous study analyzing causality, based on an area in Mexico that had instituted CCTs, supported the traditional view. There, as people got more money, some of them may have more cleared land for cattle to raise for meat, Ferraro says.

　　Such programs do not have to negatively affect the environment, though. Ferraro wanted to see if Indonesia’s poverty-alleviation program was affecting deforestation. Indonesia has the third-largest area of tropical forest in the world and one of the highest deforestation rates. Ferraro analyzed satellite data showing annual forest loss from 2008 to 2012—including during Indonesia’s phase-in of the antipoverty program—in 7,468 forested villages across 15 provinces and multiple islands. Ferraro separated the effects of the CCT program on forest loss from other factors, like weather and macroeconomic changes, which were also affecting forest loss. With that, “we see that the program is associated with a 30 percent reduction in deforestation,” Ferraro says.

　　That’s likely because the rural poor are using the money as makeshift insurance policies against inclement weather, Ferraro says. Typically, if rains are delayed, people may clear land to plant more rice to supplement their harvests. With the CCTs, individuals instead can use the money to supplement their harvests.

　　Whether this research translates elsewhere is anybody’s guess. Ferraro suggests their results may transfer to other parts of Asia, due to commonalities such as the importance of growing rice and market access. And regardless of transferability, the study shows that what’s good for people may also be good for the environment, Ferraro says. Even if this program didn’t reduce poverty, he says, “The value of the avoided deforestation just for carbon dioxide emissions alone is more than the program costs.”

　　26. According to the first two paragraphs, CCT programs aim to ______.

　　A. facilitate health care reform

　　B. help poor families get better off

　　C. improve local education systems

　　D. lower deforestation rates

　　27. The study based on an area in Mexico is cited to show that ______.

　　A. cattle rearing has been a major means of livelihood for the poor

　　B. CCT programs have helped preserve traditional lifestyles

　　C. antipoverty efforts require the participation of local farmers

　　D. economic growth tends to cause environmental degradation

　　28. In his study about Indonesia, Ferraro intends to find out ______.

　　A. its acceptance level of CCTs

　　B. its annual rate of poverty alleviation

　　C. the relation of CCTs to its forest loss

　　D. the role of its forests in climate change

　　29. According to Ferraro, the CCT program in Indonesia is most valuable in that______.

　　A. it will benefit other Asian countries

　　B. it will reduce regional inequality

　　C. it can protect the environment

　　D. it can boost grain production

　　30. What is the text centered on?

　　A. The effects of a program.

　　B. The debates over a program.

　　C. The process of a study.

　　D. The transferability of a study.

　　-Text 3-

　　As a historian who’s always searching for the text or the image that makes us re-evaluate the past, I’ve become preoccupied with looking for photographs that show our Victorian ancestors smiling (what better way to shatter the image of 19th-century prudery?). I’ve found quite a few, and—since I started posting them on Twitter—they have been causing quite a stir. People have been surprised to see evidence that Victorians had fun and could, and did, laugh. They are noting that the Victorians suddenly seem to become more human as the hundred-or-so years that separate us fade away through our common experience of laughter.

　　Of course, I need to concede that my collection of ‘Smiling Victorians’ makes up only a tiny percentage of the vast catalogue of photographic portraiture created between 1840 and 1900, ... How do we explain this trend?

　　During the 1840s and 1850s, in the early days of photography, exposure times were notoriously long: the daguerreotype photographic method (producing an image on a silvered copper plate) could take several minutes to complete, resulting in blurred images as sitters shifted position or adjusted their limbs. The thought of holding a fixed grin as the camera performed its magical duties was too much to contemplate, and so a non-committal blank stare became the norm.

　　But exposure times were much quicker by the 1880s, and the introduction of the Box Brownie and other portable cameras meant that, though slow by today’s digital standards, the exposure was almost instantaneous. Spontaneous smiles were relatively easy to capture by the 1890s, so we must look elsewhere for an explanation of why Victorians still hesitated to smile.

　　One explanation might be the loss of dignity displayed through a cheesy grin. “Nature gave us lips to conceal our teeth,” ran one popular Victorian saying, alluding to the fact that before the birth of proper dentistry, mouths were often in a shocking state of hygiene. A flashing set of healthy and clean, regular ‘pearly whites’ was a rare sight in Victorian society, the preserve of the super-rich (and even then, dental hygiene was not guaranteed).

　　A toothy grin (especially when there were gaps or blackened teeth) lacked class: drunks, tramps and music hall performers might gum and grin with a smile as wide as Lewis Carroll’s gum-exposing Cheshire Cat, but it was not a becoming look for properly bred persons. Even Mark Twain, a man who enjoyed a hearty laugh, said that when it came to photographic portraits there could be “nothing more damning than a silly, foolish smile fixed forever”.

　　31. According to Paragraph 1, the author’s posts on Twitter ______.

　　A. changed people’s impression of the Victorians

　　B. highlighted social media’s role in Victorian studies

　　C. re-evaluated the Victorians’ notion of public image

　　D. illustrated the development of Victorian photography

　　32. What does the author say about the Victorian portraits he has collected?

　　A. They are in popular use among historians.

　　B. They are rare among photographs of that age.

　　C. They mirror 19th-century social conventions.

　　D. They show effects of different exposure times.

　　33. What might have kept the Victorians from smiling for pictures in the 1890s?

　　A. Their inherent social sensitiveness.

　　B. Their tension before the camera.

　　C. Their distrust of new inventions.

　　D. Their unhealthy dental condition.

　　34. Mark Twain is quoted to show that the disapproval of smiles in pictures was ______.

　　A. a deep-root belief

　　B. a misguided attitude

　　C. a controversial view

　　D. a thought-provoking idea

　　35. Which of the following questions does the text answer?

　　A. Why did most Victorians look stern in photographs?

　　B. When did the Victorians start to view photographs?

　　C. What made photography develop slowly in the Victorian period?

　　D. How did smiling in photographs become a post-Victorian norm?

　　-Text 4-

　　From the early days of broadband, advocates for consumers and web-based companies worried that the cable and phone companies selling broadband internet connections had the power and incentive to favor their own or their partners’ websites and services over those of their rivals. That’s why there has been such a strong demand for rules that would prevent broadband providers from picking winners and losers online, preserving the freedom and innovation that have been the lifeblood of the internet.

　　Yet that demand has been almost impossible to fill—in part because of pushback from broadband providers, anti-regulatory conservatives and the courts. A federal appeals court weighed in again Tuesday, but instead of providing a badly needed resolution, it only prolonged the fight. At issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was the latest take of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on net neutrality, adopted on a party-line vote in 2017. The Republican-penned order not only eliminated the strict net neutrality rules the FCC had adopted when it had a Democratic majority in 2015, but rejected the commission’s authority to require broadband providers to do much of anything beyond disclosing information about their services. The order also declared that state and local governments couldn’t regulate broadband providers either.

　　The commission argued that other agencies would protect against anti-competitive behavior, such as a broadband-providing conglomerate like AT&T favoring its own video-streaming service at the expense of Netflix and Apple TV. Yet the FCC also ended the investigations of broadband providers that imposed data caps on their rivals’ streaming services but not their own.

　　On Tuesday, the appeals court unanimously upheld the 2017 order deregulating broadband providers, citing a Supreme Court ruling from 2005 that upheld a similarly deregulatory move. But Judge Patricia Millett rightly argued in a concurring opinion that “the result is unhinged from the realities of modern broadband service,” and said Congress or the Supreme Court could intervene to “avoid trapping internet regulation in technological anachronism.”

　　In the meantime, the court threw out the FCC’s attempt to block all state rules on net neutrality, while preserving the commission’s power to preempt individual state laws that undermine its order. That means more battles like the one now going on between the Justice Department and California, which enacted a tough net neutrality law in the wake of the FCC’s abdication.

　　The endless legal battles and back-and-forth at the FCC cry out for Congress to act. It needs to give the commission explicit authority once and for all to bar broadband providers from meddling in the traffic on their network and to create clear rules protecting openness and innovation online.

　　36. There has long been concern that broadband providers would ______.

　　A. bring web-based firms under control

　　B. slow down the traffic on their network

　　C. show partiality in treating clients

　　D. intensify competition with their rivals

　　37. Faced with the demand for net neutrality rules, the FCC ______.

　　A. sticks to an out-of-date order

　　B. takes an anti-regulatory stance

　　C. has issued a special resolution

　　D. has allowed the states to intervene

　　38. What can be learned about AT&T from Paragraph 3?

　　A. It protects against unfair competition.

　　B. It engages in anti-competitive practices.

　　C. It is under the FCC’s investigation.

　　D. It is in pursuit of quality service.

　　39. Judge Patricia Millett argues that the appeals court’s decision ______.

　　A. focuses on trivialities

　　B. conveys an ambiguous message

　　C. is at odds with its earlier rulings

　　D. is out of touch with reality

　　40. What does the author argue in the last paragraph?

　　A. Congress needs to take action to ensure net neutrality.

　　B. The FCC should be put under strict supervision.

　　C. Rules need to be set to diversify online services.

　　D. Broadband providers’ rights should be protected.

　　Part B

　　In the movies and on television, artificial intelligence is typically depicted as something sinister that will upend our way of life. When it comes to AI in business, we often hear about it in relation to automation and the impending loss of jobs, but in what ways is AI changing companies and the larger economy that don’t involve doom-and-gloom mass unemployment predictions?

　　A recent survey of manufacturing and service industries from Tata Consultancy Services found that companies currently use AI more often in computer-to-computer activities than in automating human activities. One common application? Preventing electronic security breaches, which, rather than eliminating IT jobs, actually makes those personnel more valuable to employers, because they help firms prevent hacking attempts.

　　Here are a few other ways AI is aiding companies without replacing employees:

　　Better hiring practices

　　Companies are using artificial intelligence to remove some of the unconscious bias from hiring decisions. “There are experiments that show that, naturally, the results of interviews are much more biased than what AI does,” says Pedro Domingos, author of The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World and a computer science professor at the University of Washington. In addition, (41) ______________One company that’s doing this is called Blendoor. It uses analytics to help identify where there may be bias in the hiring process.

　　More effective marketing

　　Some AI software can analyze and optimize marketing email subject lines to increase open rates. One company in the UK, Phrasee, claims their software can outperform humans by up to 10 percent when it comes to email open rates. This can mean millions more in revenue. (42) _______________ These are “tools that help people use data, not a replacement for people,” says Patrick H. Winston, a professor of artificial intelligence and computer science at MIT.

　　Saving customers money

　　Energy companies can use AI to help customers reduce their electricity bills, saving them money while helping the environment. Companies can also optimize their own energy use and cut down on the cost of electricity. Insurance companies, meanwhile, can base their premiums on AI models that more accurately access risk. Domingos says, “(43) _____________”

　　Improved accuracy

　　“Machine learning often provides a more reliable form of statistics, which makes data more valuable,” says Winston. It “helps people make smarter decisions.” (44)_______________

　　Protecting and maintaining infrastructure

　　A number of companies, particularly in energy and transportation, use AI image processing technology to inspect infrastructure and prevent equipment failure or leaks before they happen. “If they fail first and then you fix them, it’s very expensive,” says Domingos. “(45) _______________”

　　[A] AI replaces the boring parts. If you’re doing research, you can have AI go out and look for relevant sources and information that otherwise you just wouldn’t have time for.

　　[B] One accounting firm, EY, uses an AI system that helps review contracts during an audit. This process, along with employees reviewing the contracts, is faster and more accurate.

　　[C] There are also companies like Acquisio, which analyzes advertising performance across multiple channels like Adwords, Bing and social media and makes adjustments or suggestions about where advertising funds will be most effective yield best results.

　　[D] You want to predict if something needs attention now and point to where it’s useful for employees to go to.

　　[E] “Before, they might not insure the ones who felt like a high risk or charge them too much”, say Dominguos，“or they would charge them too little and then it would cost the company money. ”

　　[F]We’re also giving our customers better channels versus picking up the phone to accomplish something beyond human scale.

　　[G] AI looks at résumés in greater numbers than humans would be able to, and selects the more promising candidates.

　　Part C

　　WWII was the watershed event for higher education in modern Western societies. (46)Those societies came out of the war with levels of enrollment that had been roughly constant at 3-5% of the relevant age groups during the decades before the war.But after the war, great social and political changes arising out of the successful war against Fascism created a growing demand in European and American economies for increasing numbers of graduates with more than a secondary school education. (47)And the demand that rose in those societies for entry to higher education extended to groups and social classes that had not thought of attending a university before the war.These demands resulted in a very rapid expansion of the systems of higher education, beginning in the 1960s and developing very rapidly though unevenly in the 1970s and 1980s.

　　The growth of higher education manifests itself in at least three quite different ways, and these in turn have given rise to different sets of problems. There was first the rate of growth: (48)in many countries of Western Europe, the numbers of students in higher education doubled within five-year periods during the 1960s and doubled again in seven, eight, or 10 years by the middle of the 1970s. Second, growth obviously affected the absolute size both of systems and individual institutions. And third, growth was reflected in changes in the proportion of the relevant age group enrolled in institutions of higher education.

　　Each of these manifestations of growth carried its own peculiar problems in its wake. For example, a high growth rate placed great strains on the existing structures of governance, of administration, and above all of socialization. When a faculty or department grows from, say, five to 20 members within three or four years, (49)and when the new staff are predominantly young men and women fresh from postgraduate study, they largely define the norms of academic life in that faculty.And if the postgraduate student population also grows rapidly and there is loss of a close apprenticeship relationship between faculty members and students, the student culture becomes the chief socializing force for new postgraduate students, with consequences for the intellectual and academic life of the institution—this was seen in America as well as in France, Italy, West Germany, and Japan. (50)High growth rates increased the chances for academic innovation; they also weakened the forms and processes by which teachers and students are admitted into a community of scholars during periods of stability or slow growth.In the 1960s and 1970s, European universities saw marked changes in their governance arrangements, with the empowerment of junior faculty and to some degree of students as well.

　　46. Those societies came out of the war with levels of enrollment that had been roughly constant at 3-5% of the relevant age groups during the decades before the war.

　　47. And the demand that rose in those societies for entry to higher education extended to groups and social classes that had not thought of attending a university before the war.

　　48. in many countries of Western Europe, the numbers of students in higher education doubled within five-year periods during the 1960s and doubled again in seven, eight, or 10 years by the middle of the 1970s.

　　49. …and when the new staffs are predominantly young men and women fresh from postgraduate study, they largely define the norms of academic life in that faculty.

　　50. High growth rates increased the chances for academic innovation; they also weakened the forms and processes by which teachers and students are admitted into a community of scholars during periods of stability or slow growth.

　　Section III Writing

　　Part A

　　51. Directions:

　　A foreign friend of yours has recently graduated from college and intends to find a job in China. Write him/her an email to make some suggestions.

　　You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET.

　　DO not use your own name in the email. Use “Li Ming” instead. (10 points)

　　Part B

　　52. Directions:

　　Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the picture below. In your essay, you should

　　1) describe the picture briefly,

　　2) interpret the implied meaning, and

　　3) give your comments.

　　Write your answer on the ANSWER SHEET. (20 points)

　　----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　考研英語試題及參考答案3

　　Section I Use of English

　　It’s not difficult to set targets for staff. It is harder,_1_to understand their negative consequences. Most work-related behaviors have multiple components._2_one and the others become distorted.

　　Travel on London bus and you'll_3_see how this works with drivers. Watch people get on and show their tickets. Are they carefully inspected? Never. Do people get on without paying? Of course! Are there inspectors to_4_that people have paid? Possibly, but very few. And people who run for the bus? They are_5_. How about jumping lights? Buses do so almost as frequently as cyclist.

　　Why? Because the target is_6_. People complained that buses were late and infrequent._7_, the number of buses and bus lanes were increased, and drivers were_8_or punished according to the time they took. And drivers hit these targets. But they_9_hit cyclists. If the target was changed to_10_, you would have more inspectors and more sensitive pricing. If the criterion changed to safety, you would get more_11_drivers who obeyed traffic laws. But both these criteria would be at the expense of time.

　　There is another_12_: people became immensely inventive in hitting targets. Have you_13_that you can leave on a flight an hour late but still arrive on time? Tailwinds? Of course not! Airlines have simply changed the time a_14_is meant to take. A one-hour flight is now billed as a two-hour flight.

　　The_15_of the story is simple. Most jobs are multidimensional, with multiple criteria. Choose one criterion and you may well_16_others. Everything can be done faster and made cheaper, but there is a_17_. Setting targets can and does have unforeseen negative consequences.

　　This is not an argument against target-setting. But it is an argument tor exploring consequences first. All good targets should have multiple criteria_18_factors such as time, money, quality and customer feedback. The trick is not only to_19_just one or even two dimensions of die objective, but also to understand how to help people better_20_the objective.

　　1. [A] therefore [B] however [C] again [D] moreover

　　2. [A] Emphasize [B] Identity [C] Access [D] Explain

　　3. [A] nearby [B] curiously [C] eagerly [D] quickly

　　4. [A] claim [B] prove [C] check [D] recall

　　5. [A] ignored [B]threatened [C] mock [D] blamed

　　6. [A] punctuality [B]hospitality [C] competition [D] innovation

　　7. [A] tolerant [B] formal [C] rigid [D] critical

　　8. [A] Yet [B] So [C] Besides [D] Still

　　9. [A] only [B] rather [C] once [D] also

　　10. [A] comfort [B] revenue [C] efficiency [D] security

　　11. [A] friendly [B] quiet [C] cautious [D] diligent

　　12. [A] purpose [B] problem [C] prejudice [D] policy

　　13. [A] reported [B] revealed [C] admitted [D] noticed

　　14. [A] break [B] trip [C] department [D] transfer

　　15. [A] moral [B] background [C] style [D] form

　　16. [A] interpret [B] criticize [C] sacrifice [D] tolerate

　　17. [A] task [B] secret [C] protect [D] cost

　　18. [A] leading to [B] calling for [C] relating to [D] accounting for

　　19. [A] specify [B] predict [C] restore [D] create

　　20. [A] modify [B] review [C] present [D] achieve

　　Section II Reading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　-Text1-

　　“Reskilling” is something like a buzzword but is actually a requirement if we plan to have a future where a lot of would-be workers do not get left behind. We know we are moving into a period where the jobs in demand will change rapidly, as will the requirements of the jobs that remain. Research by the WEF, detailed in the Harvard Business Review, finds that on average 42 percent of the “core skills" within job roles will change by 2022. That is a very short timeline, so we can only imagine what the changes will be further in the future.

　　The question of who should pay for reskilling is a thorny one. For individual companies, the temptation is always to let go of workers whose skills are no longer in demand and replace them with those whose skills are. That does not always happen. AT&T is often given as the gold standard of a company who decided to do a massive reskilling program rather than go with a fire-and-hire strategy, ultimately retraining 18,000 employees. Prepandemic, other companies including Amazon and Disney had also pledged to create their own plans. When the skills mismatch is in the broader economy though, the focus usually turns to government to handle. Efforts in Canada and elsewhere have been arguably languid at best, and have given us a situation where we frequently hear of employers begging for workers, even at times and in regions where unemployment is high.

　　With the pandemic, unemployment is very high indeed. In February, at 3.5 percent and 53 per cent respectively, unemployment rates in Canada and the United States were at generational lows and worker shortages were everywhere. As of May, those rates had spiked up to 13.3 percent and 13.7 percent, and although many worker shortages had disappeared, not all had done so. In the medical field, to take an obvious example, the pandemic meant that there were still clear shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel.

　　Of course, it is not like you can take an unemployed waiter and train him to be a doctor in a few weeks, no matter who pays for it. But even if you cannot close that gap, maybe you can close others, and doing so would be to the benefit of all concerned. That seems to be the case in Sweden: when forced to furlough 90 percent of their cabin staff, Scandinavian Airlines decided to start up a short retraining program that reskilled the laid off workers to support hospital staff. The effort was a collective one and involved other companies as well as a Swedish university.

　　21. Research by the World Economic Forum suggests___.

　　[A] a controversy about the “core skills"

　　[B] an increase in full-time employment

　　[C] an urgent demand for new jobs skills

　　[D] a steady growth of job opportunities

　　22. AT&T is cited to show___.

　　[A] an immediate need for government support

　　[B] an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy

　　[C] the characteristics of reskilling programs

　　[D] the importance of staff appraisal standards.

　　23. Efforts to resolve the skills mismatch in Canada___.

　　[A] have appeared to be insufficient

　　[B] have driven up labour costs

　　[C] have proved to be inconsistent

　　[D] have met with fierce opposition

　　24. We can learn from Paragraph 3 that there was___.

　　[A] a sign of economic recovery

　　[B] a call for policy adjustment

　　[C] a change on hiring practices

　　[D] a lack of medical workers

　　25. Scandinavian Airlines decided to___.

　　[A] create job vacancies for the unemployed

　　[B] retrain their cabin staff for better services

　　[C] prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs.

　　[D] finance their stair's college education

　　-Text 2-

　　With the global population predicted to hit close to 10 billion by 2050, and forecasts that agricultural production in some regions will need to nearly double to keep pace, food security is increasingly making headlines. In the UK, it has become a big talking point recently too, for a rather particular reason: Brexit.

　　Brexit is seen by some as an opportunity to reverse a recent trend towards the UK importing food. The country produces only about 60 percent of the food it eats, down from almost three-quarters in the late 1980s. A move back to self-sufficiency, the argument goes, would boost the farming industry, political sovereignty and even the nation’s health. Sounds great一but how feasible is this vision?

　　According to a report on UK food production from the University of Leeds, UK, 85 percent of the country's total land area is associated with meat an dairy production. That supplies 80 percent of what is consumed, so even covering the whole country in livestock farms wouldn't allow us to over all our meat and dairy needs.

　　There are many caveats to those figures, but they are still grave. To become much more self-sufficient, the UK would need to drastically reduce its consumption of animal foods, and probably also farm more intensively - meaning fewer green fields, and more factory-style production.

　　But switching to a mainly plant-based diet wouldn’t help. There is a good reason why the UK is dominated by animal husbandry: most of its retrain doesn't have the right soil or climate to grow crops on a commercial basis. Just 25 percent of the country's land is suitable for crop-growing, most of which is already occupied by arable fields. Even if we converted all the suitable land to fields of fruit and veg-which would involve taking out all the nature reserves and removing thousands of people from their homes-we would achieve only a 30 percent boost in crop production.

　　Just 23 percent of the fruit and vegetables consumed in the UK are currently home-grown, so with the most extreme measures we could meet only 30 percent of our fresh produce needs. That is before we look for the space to grow the grains, sugars, seeds and oils that provide us with the vast bulk of our current calorie intake.

　　26. Some people argue that food self-sufficiency in the UK would___.

　　[A] be hindered by its population growth

　　[B] contribute to the nation's well-being

　　[C] become a priority of the government

　　[D] pose a challenge to its framing industry

　　27. The report by the University of Leeds shows that in the UK___.

　　[A] farmland has been inefficiently utilized

　　[B] factory-style production needs reforming

　　[C] most land is used for meat and dairy production

　　[D] more green fields will be converted for farming

　　28. Crop-growing in the UK is restricted due to___.

　　[A] its farming technology

　　[B] its dietary tradition

　　[C] its natural conditions

　　[D] its commercial interests

　　29. It can be learned from the last paragraph that British people___.

　　[A] rely largely on imports for fresh produce

　　[B] enjoy a steady rise in fruit consumption

　　[C] are seeking effective ways to cut calorie intake

　　[D] are trying to grow new varieties of grains

　　30. The author's attitude to food self-sufficiency in the UK is___.

　　[A] defensive

　　[B] doubtful

　　[C] tolerant

　　[D] optimistic

　　-Text 3-

　　When Microsoft bought task management app Wunderlist and mobile calendar Sunrise in 2015, it picked up two newcomers that were attracting considerable buzz in Silicon Valley. Microsoft's own Office dominates the market for “productivity” software, but the start-ups represented a new wave of Technology designed from the ground up for the smartphone world.

　　Both apps，however, were later scrapped, after Microsoft said it had used their best features in its own products. Their teams of engineers stayed on, making them two of the many “acquihires” that the biggest companies have used to feed their insatiable hunger for tech talent.

　　To Microsoft’s critics, the fates of Wunderlist and Sunrise are examples of a remorseless drive by Big Tech to chew up any innovative companies that lie in their path.“They bought the seedlings and closed them down,” complained Paul Arnold, a partner at San Francisco-based Switch Ventures, putting paid to businesses that might one day turn into competitors. Microsoft declined to comment.

　　Like other start-up investors, Mr Arnold’s own business often depends on selling start-ups to larger tech companies, though he admits to mixed feelings about the result: ”l think these things are good for me, if I put my selfish hat on. But are they good for the American economy? 1 don’t know.”

　　The US Federal Trade Commission says it wants to find the answer to that question. This week, it asked the five most valuable US tech companies for information about their many small acquisitions over the past decade. Although only a research project at this stage, the request has raised the prospect of regulators wading into early-stage tech markets that until now have been beyond their reach.

　　Given their combined market value of more than $5.5tn, rifling through such small deals —many of them much less prominent than Wunderlist and Sunrise 一 might seem beside the point. Between them, the five companies (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Facebook) have spent an average of only $3.4bn a year on sub-$1bn acquisitions over the past five years—a drop in the ocean compared with their massive financial reserves, and the more than $130bn of venture capital that was invested in the US last year.

　　However, critics say that the big companies use such deals to buy their most threatening

　　potential competitors before their businesses have a chance to gain momentum, in some cases as part of a “buy and kill” tactic to simply close them down.

　　31. What is true about Wunderlist and Sunrise afler their acquisitions?

　　[A] Their market volues declined.

　　[B] Their engineers were retained.

　　[C] Their tech features improved.

　　[D] Their prodocts were re-priced

　　32. Microsoft’s critcs believe that the big tech companes tend to

　　[A] Exaggerate their product quality

　　[B] Treat new tech talent unfairly

　　[C] Eliminate their potential competitors

　　[D] Ignore publick opinions

　　33. Paul Amold is concerned that small acqusitions might_____.

　　[A]. Weaken big tech companies

　　[B] Worse market competition

　　[C] Discourage start-up investors

　　[D] Harm the national economy

　　34. The US Federal Trade Commission intends to_____.

　　[A] Surprise start-up’s operations

　　[B] Encourage research collaboration

　　[C] Limit Big Tech's expansion

　　[D] Examine small acquisitions

　　35. For the five biggest tech companies, their small acquisitions have_____.

　　[A] Raised few management challenges

　　[B] Brought little financial pressure

　　[C] Set an example for future deals

　　[D] Generated considerable profits

　　-Text 4-

　　We’re fairly good at judging people based on first impressions, thin slices of experience ranging from a glimpse of a photo to a five-minute interaction, and deliberation can be not only extraneous but intrusive. In one study of the ability she dubbed “thin slicing,” the late psychologist Nalini Ambady asked participants to watch silent 10-second video clips of professors and to rate the instructor’s overall effectiveness. Their ratings correlated strongly with students’ end-of-semester ratings. Another set of participants had to count backward from 1,000 by nines as they watched the clips, occupying their conscious working memory. Their ratings were just as accurate, demonstrating the intuitive nature of the social processing.

　　Critically, another group was asked to spend a minute writing down reasons for their judgment, before giving the rating. Accuracy dropped dramatically. Ambady suspected that deliberation focused them on vivid but misleading cues, such as certain gestures or utterances, rather than letting the complex interplay of subtle signals form a holistic impression. She found similar interference when participants watched 15-second clips of pairs of people and judged whether they were strangers, friends, or dating partners.

　　Other research shows we’re better at detecting deception and sexual orientation from thin slices when we rely on intuition instead of reflection. “It’s as if you’re driving a stick shift,” says Judith Hall, a psychologist at Northeastern University, “and if you start thinking about it too much, you can’t remember what you’re doing. But if you go on automatic pilot, you’re fine. Much of our social life is like that.”

　　Thinking too much can also harm our ability to form preferences. College students’ ratings of strawberry jams and college courses aligned better with experts’ opinions when the students weren’t asked to analyze their rationale. And people made car-buying decisions that were both objectively better and more personally satisfying when asked to focus on their feelings rather than on details, but only if the decision was complex—when they had a lot of information to process.

　　Intuition’s special powers are unleashed only in certain circumstances. In one study, participants completed a battery of eight tasks, including four that tapped reflective thinking (discerning rules, comprehending vocabulary) and four that tapped intuition and creativity (generating new products or figures of speech). Then they rated the degree to which they had used intuition (“gut feelings,” “hunches,” “my heart”). Use of their gut hurt their performance or the first four tasks, as expected, and helped them on the rest. Sometimes the heart is smarter than the head.

　　36. Nalini Ambaby’s study deals with_____.

　　A. instructor student interaction

　　B. the power of people’s memory

　　C. the reliability of first impressions

　　D. people’s ability to influence others

　　37. In Ambaby’s study, rating accuracy dropped when participants .

　　A. gave the rating in limited time

　　B. focused on specific details

　　C. watched shorter video clips

　　D. discussed with on another

　　38. Judith Hall mentions driving to show that_____.

　　A. memory can be selective

　　B. reflection can be distracting

　　C. social skills must be cultivated

　　D. deception is difficult to detect

　　39. When you are making complex decisions, it is advisable to_____.

　　A. follow your feelings

　　B. list your preferences

　　C. seek expert advice

　　D. collect enough data

　　40. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

　　A. Generating new products takes time.

　　B. Intuition may affect reflective tasks.

　　C. Vocabulary comprehension needs creativity.

　　D. Objective thinking may boost intuitiveness.

　　Part B

　　[A] Stay calm

　　[B] Stay humble

　　[C] Don’t make judgments

　　[D] Be realistic about the risks

　　[E] Decide whether to wait

　　[F] Ask permission to disagree

　　[G] Identify a shared goal

　　How to Disagree with Someone More Powerful than You

　　Your boss proposes a new initiative you think won’t work. Your senior colleague outlines a project timeline you think is unrealistic. What do you say when you disagree with someone who has more power than you do? How do you decide whether it’s worth speaking up? And if you do, what exactly should you say? Here’s how to disagree with someone more powerful than you.

　　41._____________________________

　　You may decide it’s best to hold off on voicing your opinion. Maybe you haven’t finished thinking the problem through, the whole discussion was a surprise to you, or you want to get a clearer sense of what the group thinks. If you think other people are going to disagree too, you might want to gather your army first. People can contribute experience or information to your thinking—all the things that would make the disagreement stronger or more valid. It’s also a good idea to delay the conversation if you’re in a meeting or other public space. Discussing the issue in private will make the powerful person feel less threatened.

　　42._____________________________

　　Before you share your thoughts, think about what the powerful person cares about—it may be the credibility of their team or getting a project done on time. You’re more likely to be heard if you can connect your disagreement to a higher purpose. When you do speak up, don’t assume the link will be clear. You’ll want to state it overtly, contextualizing your statements so that you’re seen not as a disagreeable underling but as a colleague who’s trying to advance a shared goal. The discussion will then become more like a chess game than a boxing match.

　　43._____________________________

　　This step may sound overly deferential, but it’s a smart way to give the powerful person psychological safety and control. You can say something like, “I know we seem to be moving toward a first-quarter commitment here. I have reasons to think that won’t work. I’d like to lay out my reasoning. Would that be OK?” This gives the person a choice, allowing them to verbally opt in. And, assuming they say yes, it will make you feel more confident about voicing your disagreement.

　　44._____________________________

　　You might feel your heart racing or your face turning red, but do whatever you can to remain neutral in both your words and actions. When your body language communicates reluctance or anxiety, it undercuts the message. It sends a mixed message, and your counterpart gets to choose what to read. Deep breaths can help, as can speaking more slowly and deliberately. When we feel panicky we tend to talk louder and faster. Simply slowing the pace and talking in an even tone helps the other person calm down and does the same for you. It also makes you seem confident, even if you aren’t.

　　45._____________________________

　　Emphasize that you’re offering your opinion, not gospel truth. It may be a well-informed, well-researched opinion, but it’s still an opinion, so talk tentatively and slightly understate your confidence. Instead of saying something like, “If we set an end-of-quarter deadline, we’ll never make it,” say, “This is just my opinion, but I don’t see how we will make that deadline.” Having asserted your position (as a position, not as a fact) demonstrates equal curiosity about other views. Remind the person that this is your point of view, and then invite critique. Be open to hearing other opinions.

　　Section Ⅲ Translation

　　46. Directions:Translate the following text into Chinese.

　　We tend to think that friends and family members are our biggest sources of connection, laughter and warmth. While that may well be true, researchers have also recently found that interacting with strangers actually brings a boost in mood and feelings of belonging that we didn’t expect.

　　In one series of studies, researchers instructed Chicago-area commuters using public transportation to strike up a conversation with someone near them. On average, participants who followed this instruction felt better than those who had been told to stand or sit in silence. The researchers also argued that when we shy away from casual interactions with strangers, it is often due to a misplaced anxiety that they might not want to talk to us. Much of the time, however, this belief is false. As it turns out, many people are actually perfectly willing to talk —and may even be flattered to receive your attention.

　　Section IV Writing

　　Part A

　　47. Directions:

　　Suppose you are organizing an online meeting. Write an email to Jack, an international student, to

　　1）invite him to participate, and

　　2）tell him about the details.

　　You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET.

　　Do not use your own name. Use “Li Ming" instead. (10 points)

　　Part B

　　48. Directions:

　　Write an essay based on the chart below. In your writing, you should

　　1) interpret the chart, and