武汉大学2017年考博英语真题及答案

武汉大学2017年考博英语真题及答案

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Part I Reading Comprehension (2’ x20 = 40 points)

Directions:/n this part of the test，there will be 5 passages for you to read. Each passage is followed by 4 questions or unfinished statements, and each question or unfinished statement is followed by four choices marked A, B, C and D. You are to decide on the best choice by blackening the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET.

Passage One

Mr Gordon is right that the second industrial revolution involved never-to-be-repeated changes. But that does not mean that driverless cars count for nothing. Messrs Erixon and Weigel are also right to worry about the West’s dismal recent record in producing new companies. But many old firms are not run by bureaucrats and have reinvented themselves many times over： General Electric must be on at least its ninth life. And the impact of giant new firms bom in the past 20 years such as Uber, Google and Facebook should not be underestimated: they have all the Schumpeterian characteristics the authors admire.

On the pessimists* side the strongest argument relies not on closely watching corporate and investor behavior but rather on macro-level statistics on productivity. The figures from recent years are truly dismal. Karim Foda, of the Brookings Institution, calculates that labor productivity in the rich world is growing at its slowest rate since 1950. Total factor productivity (which tries to measure innovation) has grown at just 0.1% in advanced economies since 2004, well below its historical average.

Optimists have two retorts. The first is that there must be something wrong with the figures. One possibility is that they fail to count the huge consumer surplus given away free of charge on the Internet.But this is unconvincing. The official figures may well be understating the impact of the Internet revolution, just as they downplayed the impact of electricity and cars in the past, but they are not understating it enough to explain the recent decline in productivity growth.

Another, second line of argument that the productivity revolution has only just begun is more persuasive. Over the past decade many IT companies may have focused on things that were more “fun than fundamental” in Paul Krugman’s phrase. But Silicon Valley’s best companies are certainly focusing on things that change the material world.

Uber and Airbnb are bringing dramatic improvements to two large industries that have been more or less stuck for decades. Morgan Stanley estimates that driverless cars could result in $ 507 billion a year of productivity gains in America, mainly from people being able to stare at their laptops instead of at the road.

1．What has led to the pessimistic opinion concerning the world's economy?

A．It is based on macro-level statistics on productivity.

B．It is based on close observation on corporate and investor behavior.

C．It is due to the fact that many old firms are not run by bureaucrats.

D．It is due to the fact that not enough new firms have been created.

2．The first argument on the optimists'side is unconvincing because the official figures ________.

A．are both wrong and unconvincing

B．downplay the internet revolution

C．fail to include the consumer surplus

D．can't explain the decline in productivity growth

3．What is true about the IT companies in Silicon Valley?

A．They have only focused on the fun part of life.

B．They have made a difference in the real world.

C．They have more persuasive productivity.

D．They have only just begun to develop.

4．How can driverless cars benefit American industries?

A．Driverless cars have revived two large American industries.

B．The sale of driverless cars can reach hundreds of billion dollars.

C．Thanks to them people free from driving can do more creative work.

D．Driverless cars have stimulated the development of Uber and Airbnb.

Passage Two

Winston Churchill was one of the central statesmen of the 20 th century and,almost 50 years after his death,remains a subject of enduring fascination.Part of the current interest in this venerable figure can be attributed to two superb biographies written in the 1980s by historian William Manchester:"The Last Lion:Visions of Glory"and"The Last Lion:Alone."These two books examined the first two-thirds of Churchill's life.

Unfortunately,after completing the second volume,Manchester's health declined and the rest of the project stalled.So great was public interest in the long-delayed final volume that it was the subject of a front page story in The New York Times.

Eventually,in 2003,Manchester asked his friend Paul Reid to complete the trilogy.Now,nearly a decade later,Reid has published The Last Lion,the final piece of this monumental undertaking.Reid starts when Churchill was appointed prime minister in May 1940 and follows him through his death in While most of this volume is appropriately devoted to World War II,it also includes the vast expansion of the British welfare state following the war,the start of the Cold War and the enormous dangers it carried,and the loss of the British Empire.

Reid has written a thorough and complete analysis of these years,and it is a worthy finale to the first two volumes.Exhaustively researched and carefully written,it draws on a full range of primary and secondary materials.This book will be essential reading for those who enjoyed the first two volumes and those with a deep interest in understanding this seminal figure and his place in history.

Reid does a wonderful job of capturing Churchill in all his complexity.He gives Churchill great praise for his personal courage and inspirational leadership during the dark days whenBritain stood alone,but he is equally clear about Churchill's poor strategic judgments,such as the efforts to defend Greece andCrete,the Allied assault on Anzio,and the decision to send the battleshipPrince of Walesand battle cruiser Repulse to theSouth China Seawithout adequate air cover where they were promptly sunk by the Japanese.

He highlights Churchill's naivetéin dealing with Soviet Premier Stalin in the early years of the war,but praises his prescience in anticipating Stalin's land grab in Eastern Europeat the end of the conflict.Reid also gives welcome attention to aspects of the war―such as Churchill's fear that the United Statesmight decide to put its primary emphasis on defeating Japan regardless of the"Germany first"understanding he shared with Roosevelt that have received little attention in other books.

5．What can be known about the two biographies of Churchill?

A．They were written in an interesting style.

B．They were written prior to Churchill's death.

C．They are mainly written from a historical point of view.

D．They have helped intrigue the readers over a long period.

6．Why did the biography once become a front page story in The New York Times?

A．People were looking forward to the publication of the final volume.

B．Readers were angry with the author for the delay of the final volume.

C．The publication of the final volume was then a heatedly discussed issue.

D．Readers wanted to know who would be the new author of the final volume.

7．Why does the third volume prove to be worthy?

A．It is widely read and welcomed by readers.

B．It involves enough details in Churchill's life.

C．It is based on thorough and reliable research.

D．It offers a unique understanding of Churchill.

8．What can we know about Churchill through the third volume?

A．He is a man with complexity.

B．He pulled Britain through WWII.

C．He made many strategic mistakes.

D．He is courageous and inspirational.

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