2013年考研英语二阅读理解

Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions:

Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)

Text 1

In an essay entitled “Making It in America”, the author Adam Davidson relates a joke from cotton country about just how much a modern textile mill has been automated: The average mill has only two employees today, “a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog, and the dog is there to keep the man away from the machines.”

Davidson's article is one of a number of pieces that have recently appeared making the point that the reason we have such stubbornly high unemployment and declining middle­class incomes today is also because of the advances in both globalization and the information technology revolution, which are more rapidly than ever replacing labor with machines or foreign worker.

In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job，could earn an average lifestyle. But，today，average is officially over. Being average just won't earn you what it used to. It can't when so many more employers have so much more access to so much more above average cheap foreign labor, cheap robotics, cheap software, cheap automation and cheap genius. Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra—their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment.

Yes, new technology has been eating jobs forever, and always will. But there's been acceleration. As Davidson notes, “In the 10 years ending in 2009, U.S. factories shed workers so fast that they erased almost all the gains of the previous 70 years; roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobs—about 6 million in total—disappeared.”

There will always be change—new jobs, new products, new services. But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I.T. revolution, the best jobs will require workers to have more and better education to make themselves above average.

In a world where average is officially over, there are many things we need to do to support employment, but nothing would be more important than passing some kind of G.I. Bill for the 21st century that ensures that every American has access to post-­high school education. 

21. The joke in Paragraph 1 is used to illustrate ________.

[A] the impact of technological advances             [B] the alleviation of job pressure

[C] the shrinkage of textile mills                     [D] the decline of middle-­class incomes

22. According to Paragraph 3, to be a successful employee, one has to ________.

[A] work on cheap software                     [B] ask for a moderate salary

[C] adopt an average lifestyle                         [D] contribute something unique

23. The quotation in Paragraph 4 explains that ________.

[A] gains of technology have been erased            

[B] job opportunities are disappearing at a high speed

[C] factories are making much less money than before   

[D] new jobs and services have been offered

24. According to the author, to reduce unemployment, the most important is ________.

[A] to accelerate the I.T. revolution                   [B] to ensure more education for people

[C] to advance economic globalization               [D] to pass more bills in the 21st century

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

[A] New Law Takes Effect                      [B] Technology Goes Cheap

[C] Average Is Over                           [D] Recession Is Bad

Text 2

A century ago, the immigrants from across the Atlantic included settlers and sojourners. Along with the many folks looking to make a permanent home in the United States came those who had no intention to stay, and 7million people arrived while about 2 million departed. About a quarter of all Italian immigrants, for example, eventually returned to Italy for good. They even had an affectionate nickname, “uccelli di passaggio,” birds of passage.

Today, we are much more rigid about immigrants. We divide newcomers into two categories: legal or illegal, good or bad. We hail them as Americans in the making, or brand them as aliens to be kicked out. That framework has contributed mightily to our broken immigration system and the long political paralysis over how to fix it. We don't need more categories, but we need to change the way we think about categories. We need to look beyond strict definitions of legal and illegal. To start, we can recognize the new birds of passage, those living and thriving in the gray areas. We might then begin to solve our immigration challenges.

Crop pickers, violinists, construction workers, entrepreneurs, engineers, home health-­care aides and physicists are among today’s birds of passage. They are energetic participants in a global economy driven by the flow of work, money and ideas. They prefer to come and go as opportunity calls them. They can manage to have a job in one place and a family in another.

With or without permission, they straddle laws, jurisdictions and identities with ease. We need them to imagine the United States as a place where they can be productive for a while without committing themselves to staying forever. We need them to feel that home can be both here and there and that they can belong to two nations honorably.

Accommodating this new world of people in motion will require new attitudes on both sides of the immigration battle. Looking beyond the culture war logic of right or wrong means opening up the middle ground and understanding that managing immigration today requires multiple paths and multiple outcomes, including some that are not easy to accomplish legally in the existing system.

26. “Birds of passage” refers to those who________.

[A] immigrate across the Atlantic                   

[B] leave their home countries for good

[C] stay in a foreign temporarily                    

[D] find permanent jobs overseas

27. It is implied in paragraph 2 that the current immigration system in the US________.

[A] needs new immigrant categories                

[B] has loosened control over immigrants

[C] should be adopted to meet challenges              

[D] has been fixed via political means

28. According to the author, today's birds of passage want________.

[A] financial incentives                           

[B] a global recognition

[C] opportunities to get regular jobs                   

[D] the freedom to stay and leave

29. The author suggests that the birds of passage today should be treated ________.

[A] as faithful partners                           

[B] with economic favors

[C] with legal tolerance                          

[D] as mighty rivals

30. The most appropriate title for this text would be ________.

[A] Come and go: big mistake                    

[B] Living and thriving: great risk

[C] With or without: great risk                     

[D] Legal or illegal: big mistake

Text 3

Scientists have found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take a moment and think about how we are likely to react, we can reduce or even eliminate the negative effects of our quick, hard-­wired responses.

Snap decisions can be important defense mechanisms; if we are judging whether someone is dangerous, our brains and bodies are hard-­wired to react very quickly, within milliseconds. But we need more time to assess other factors. To accurately tell whether someone is sociable, studies show, we need at least a minute, preferably five. It takes a while to judge complex aspects of personality, like neuroticism or open-­mindedness.

But snap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli aren't exclusive to the interpersonal realm. Psychologists at the University of Toronto found that viewing a fast­food logo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 percent faster, even though reading has little to do with eating. We unconsciously associate fast food with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever else we're doing. Subjects exposed to fast-­food flashes also tend to think a musical piece lasts too long.

Yet we can reverse such influences. If we know we will overreact to consumer products or housing options when we see a happy face (one reason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling), we can take a moment before buying. If we know female job screeners are more likely to reject attractive female applicants, we can help screeners understand their biases—or hire outside screeners.

John Gottman, the marriage expert, explains that we quickly “thin slice” information reliably only after we ground such snap reactions in “thick sliced” long-­term study. When Dr. Gottman really wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invites them to his island retreat for a much longer evaluation; two days, not two seconds.

Our ability to mute our hard-­wired reactions by pausing is what differentiates us from animals: doges can think about the future only intermittently or for a few minutes. But historically we have spent about 12 percent of our days contemplating the longer term. Although technology might change the way we react, it hasn't changed our nature. We still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-­speed trend.

31. The time needed in making decisions may________.

[A] vary according to the urgency of the situation  

[B] prove the complexity of our brain reaction

[C] depend on the importance of the assessment     

[D] predetermine the accuracy of our judgment

32. Our reaction to a fast-­food logo shows that snap decisions________.

[A] can be associative                                  

[B] are not unconscious

[C] can be dangerous                                  

[D] are not impulsive

33. To reverse the negative influences of snap decisions, we should________.

[A] trust our first impression                              

[B] do as people usually do

[C] think before we act                                 

[D] ask for expert advice

34. John Gottman says that reliable snap reactions are based on________.

[A] critical assessment                                  

[B] “thin sliced” study

[C] sensible explanation                                 

[D] adequate information

35. The author's attitude toward reversing the high-­speed trend is________.

[A] tolerant   [B] uncertain   [C] optimistic   [D] doubtful

Text 4

Europe is not a gender­equality heaven. In particular, the corporate workplace will never be completely family—­friendly until women are part of senior management decisions, and Europe's top corporate­governance positions remain overwhelmingly male. Indeed, women hold only 14 percent of positions on Europe corporate boards.

The Europe Union is now considering legislation to compel corporate boards to maintain a certain proportion of women—up to 60 percent. This proposed mandate was born of frustration. Last year, Europe Commission Vice President Viviane Reding issued a call to voluntary action. Reding invited corporations to sign up for gender balance goal of 40 percent female board membership. But her appeal was considered a failure: only 24 companies took it up.

Do we need quotas to ensure that women can continue to climb the corporate Ladder fairy as they balance work and family?

“Personally, I don't like quotas，” Reding said recently.“But I like what the quotas do.” Quotas get action: they “open the way to equality and they break through the glass ceiling,” according to Reding, a result seen in France and other countries with legally binding provisions on placing women in top business positions.

I understand Reding's reluctance—and her frustration. I don't like quotas either; they run counter to my belief in meritocracy, government by the capable. But, when one considers the obstacles to achieving the meritocratic ideal, it does look as if a fairer world must be temporarily ordered.

After all, four decades of evidence has now shown that corporations in Europe as the US are evading the meritocratic hiring and promotion of women to top position—no matter how much “soft pressure” is put upon them. When women do break through to the summit of corporate power—as, for example, Sheryl Sandberg recently did at Facebook—they attract massive attention precisely because they remain the exception to the rule.

If appropriate public policies were in place to help all women—whether CEOs or their children's caregivers—and all families, Sandberg would be no more newsworthy than any other highly capable person living in a more just society.

1.In the European corporate workplace, generally________.
[A] women take the lead                       

[B] men have the final say

[C] corporate governance is overwhelmed           

[D] senior management is family-­friendly

37. The European Union's intended legislation is ________.

[A] a reflection of gender balance                    [B] a reluctant choice

[C] a response to Reding's call                       [D] a voluntary action

38. According to Reding, quotas may help women ________.

[A] get top business positions                      

[B] see through the glass ceiling

[C] balance work and family                     

[D] anticipate legal results

39. The author's attitude toward Reding's appeal is one of ________.

[A] skepticism                                                   [B] objectiveness 

[C] indifference                                                 [D] approval

40. Women entering top management become headlines due to the lack of ________.

[A] more social justice                          

[B] massive media attention

[C] suitable public policies                        

[D] greater “soft pressure”

Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Text 1

21.【答案】A

【解析】第一段第二行指出笑话是关于纺织厂自动化程度的，后一句具体说明了笑话的内容：工厂平均每天只有两个人，一人一狗。人的工作是喂狗，狗的工作是看机器，暗示了工厂所有的生产工作都是由机器自动完成的。因此，这个笑话是用来说明技术进步的影响，故选A。

22.【答案】D

【解析】 事实细节题，通过题干“根据第3段，要想成为一个成功的雇员，一个人得……”, 我们首先可以定位到文章第三段，由第三段的最后一句话“Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra-their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment.”意思是“因此，人人都需要有另外的价值，异于常人的独特价值能够让他们在各自的雇佣市场上脱颖而出。”，我们可以得出，题干中“to be a successful employee”与第三段的最后一句话中的“that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment”是同义替换，“everyone needs to find their extra-their unique value contribution”与D选项中的“contribute something unique”是同义替换，所以D选项正确。

A、B两个选项与第三段的倒数第二句话意思不符，是干扰选项。C选项与第三段的第一、二句话意思相反，重点关注的是“But ,today ,average is officially over.”，意思是“现如今，拥有一般水平不行了。”

23. 【答案】B

【解析】根据题干定位到第四段，第一句technology has been eating jobs(技术使工作机会减少)也反映了该段的主旨。而根据题干quotation一词，我们读到引号里有“shed workers (解雇工人)”、“roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobs-about 6 million in total -disappeared (大约1/3的手工生产工作机会消失，总计6百万)”，可推断出B选项。

24. 【答案】B

【解析】细节题。根据题干reduce unemployment减少失业，可以定位到文章中最后一段，这段出现了与之类似的表达“support employment” 促进就业，而题干表述“the most important”与文章“nothing would be more important than”相对应，指出促进就业最重要的是颁布类似于“G.I.Bill”的法案来保障人们接受高等教育的权利，选项C与之吻合，故正确。A项加速信息技术产业变革，C项促进经济全球化，均未提及，故排除。D项是干扰项，虽提及要颁布更多法案，但颁布法案的目的实际是为了保障教育，故也排除。

25.【答案】C

【解析】该题是主旨大意题，主要考查考生根据文章内容凝练主旨大意的能力。从整个文章的脉络来看，第一段以亚当?大卫森一篇论文中关于现代工厂自动化与仅需要一人一狗两个员工的一则笑话，揭示了科技进步给人们带来的影响。第二三段是科技的进步引起工厂自动化水平提高，普通员工如果没有竞争力和突出优势，就很容易失去工作，因此也对员工提出了更高的要求(extra-unique value contribution)。第四段就是员工只有不断地提高自己的教育水平，才能让自己脱颖而出(to have more and better education to make themselves above average)。最后一段点明主题，average is officially over。由此可见，全文一直在围绕这一宏观主线展开，这一主线也统领全文，所以正确答案为C。

Text 2

26.【答案】C (stay in a foreign temporarily)

【解析】词义句意题。根据题干，首先定位到首段末句。在这句中，birds of passage是前面一句中的1/4的意大利移民的昵称，他们只在美国居住了一段时间，但最终还是返回意大利。A项的内容在首段首句有提及，但是它突出强调的是横跨大西洋的移民，这也是一世纪前的情况，而如今birds of passage可能来自世界各个角落，并非局限于大西洋两岸。B项与段意不符，D项文中未提及。

27.【答案】C (should be adopted to meet challenges)

【解析】推理判断题。根据题干，直接定位到第二段。解题关键可定位到“…, but we need to change the way we think about categories. We need to look beyond stick definitions of legal and illegal. To start, we can recognize the new birds of passage, …We might then begin to solve our immigration challenges.”大意是“我们需要改变的是关于分类的思考方式，突破合法和非法的严格限制。首先承认短暂移民者的存在，然后解决移民问题面临的挑战。”C项高度总结了以上几点。A项与原文意思不符。B、D项在文中未提及。

28.【答案】D (the freedom to stay and leave)

【解析】事实细节题。根据题干，可定位到第三段。解题关键在于对“They prefer to come and go as opportunity calls them .They can manage to have a job in one place and a family in another.”大意是“他们跟着机会走，来去自如。他们可以在一个地方立业，在另一个地方成家”。强调的是工作机会，而不在乎工作地点。D项是这句意思的高度概括。A项是对原文的片面理解，吸引短暂移民者的不仅仅是来自金钱的激励(financial incentives)，还有工作机会和工作理念。B项在文中未提及。C项中的regular jobs(一般工作)在文中未提及，也是对文意的曲解。

29.【答案】C (with legal tolerance)

【解析】推理判断题。根据题干，可定位到第五段。题干问到“根据作者的意思，我们(美国)应该怎样对待这些短暂移民者?”在本段中，作者写道我们应该“Looking beyond the culture war logic of right or wrong means opening up the middle ground and understanding that managing immigration today requires multiple paths and multiple outcomes. Including some that are not easy to accomplish legally in the existing system”，大意是“我们应该超越移民合法性方面的文化之争，重现看待中间地段，充分意识到当今的移民管理体系需要各种途径，从而取得多样化的结果，来解决现今移民体系下用法律手段很难解决的问题”，暗含了C项中的tolerance也就是对multiple paths and multiple outcomes的改写。A、B和D项在文中未提及。

30.【答案】D (legal or illegal: big mistake)

【解析】主旨大意题。文章第二段第二句中提到“我们把新移民分成两类：合法移民和不合法移民”，同时作者认为“我们不需要局限于合法与不合法这样严格的定义”，这说明了从合法和不合法角度对于移民的分类是错误的。另外，文章最后一段最后一句“包括在现行的移民体系中不容易合法的实现的一些事情”也反映了文章的中心。即，从合法和不合法角度对于移民的分类是错误的。故选D(合法或非法：大错误)。 A项谈到短暂移民者的移动是个错误，偏离了文章主旨。B和C项说的是risk(风险)，文中并未提及，偏离文章主旨。

Text 3

31.【答案】 [D] predetermine the accuracy of our judgment

【解析】细节题。题干问的是“作决定过程中所需的时间可以_____”。文章第一段提到“如果我们在做出反应之前花点儿时间来思考，那么将会减少甚至消除我们快速反应所带来的负面影响”，也就是说我们做决定所花的时间决定了我们判断的准确性。文章第二段第二句话也隐含本题正确答案线索。第二句以But这一转折连词引导，应该重点关注其后表达的信息，“但是，我们需要更多的时间来评估其他要素。”而本段的第三、四句子，很明显地揭示出本题正确答案，尤其是第三个句子中的“accurately” 一词。选项D中的表达“可预先决定判断的准确性”，此外，此选项中的“accuracy” 为“accurately ”的同词异形，故此项为正确答案。选项A表达“依形势紧急性而定”错在无中生有，本文并没有出现类似信息;选项B“证明大脑反映的复杂性”，也是无中生有;选项C “取决于评估的重要性”，也与原文不符合，故排除。

32.【答案】[A] can be associative

【解析】细节题。题干问的是“我们对于快餐商标的反应速度表明决定是_____样的”,由题干的“fast-food logo”我们可以定位到第三段。第二段说处理人际关系问题时人们会仓促决定，第三段开头就说了，让人做出仓促决定的刺激因素不仅限于人际关系范围内。紧接着一句说人们对快餐商标的反应速度比一般阅读速度快。下一句阐述了原因：因为人们无意识地(unconsciously)将“快餐”与“速度”和“心急”联系在一起，并将这些冲动付诸行动。A说决定是有联系性的，正确，因为人们将“快餐”与“速度”，“心急”联系在了一起。B说决定是无意识的，与原文意思相反，错。C说决定是危险的，原文未提及，排除。D说决定是不冲动的，与原文意思相悖，故排除。

33.【答案】[C] think before we act

【解析】细节题。先看题干说“为了逆转仓促决定所带来的影响，我们可以做_____”， 根据题干定位到第四段。第四段通过两个例子说明我们应该怎样克服负面影响，第一个例子表示“如果我们会对消费产品或者房产选择做出“过度反应”，我们可以在购买之前先思考一会儿”，由此可说明我们应该在行动之前先思考来消除负面影响，因此选择答案C。其他选项：A项“相信我们的第一印象”;B项“按照人们通常所做的去做”;D项“征求希赛网意见”均不符合题意。

34.【答案】[D] adequate information

【解析】细节题。题干问的是“John Gottman认为可靠的快速反映是基于_____的。”由题干John Gottman 定位到全文倒数第二段。其中第一句：John Gottman, the marriage expert,the marriage expert,explains that we quickly”thin slice”information reliably only after we gound such snap reactions in ”thick sliced”long-term study.婚姻希赛网约翰.古德曼解释说，我们快速反应的信息的可靠性是建立在这样的快速反应的行为是以长期的研究为基础而做出的快速反应行为。其中gound是题干中base on 的同意置换，long-term study长期的研究与D选项adequate information相互呼应。由此可判断出[D] adequate information(足够的信息)是本题正解。该段第二句话是When Dr,Gottman really wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invites them to his island retreat for a much longer eveluation,two days ,not two seconds.当古德曼博士想去评估一对夫妻是否应该继续在一起时，他会邀请他们到他的岛上进行一个更为长期的调查，是两天而不是两秒。第二句是对第一句的举例说明，更加验证此选项。

35.【答案】[C] optimistic

【解析】态度题。根据35题题干reversing the high-speed trend是全文的最后一句，所以解此题可先定位到全文的最后一段。最后一段最后两句：Although technology might change the way we react, it hasn’t changed our nature. We still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend.译为：尽管技术可能改变我们反应的方式，但是它并没有改变我们的本性。我们仍然有能力去克服诱惑并扭转这种高速度的趋势。由此我们可以看出作者的态度是非常确定的，因此B选项uncertain(不确定)首先排除;We still have the imaginative capacity…表面作者对于我们的能力是有信心的。因此[C] optimistic(乐观的)是正解。A选项tolerant(容忍的) 、D选项doubtful(怀疑的)在原文中没有体现，属于无中生有的选项。

Text 4

36.【答案】B men have the final say

【解析】根据题干corporate workplace定位到第一段。首句就说欧洲性别不平等，in particular进一步指出corporate workplace，说明工作中性别尤其不平等。紧接着说欧洲公司高管职位remain overwhelmingly male，说明以男性为主导。Indeed进一步解释，指出女性在欧洲公司董事会只占有14%的席位。所以，B选项是基于首段信息给出的推论。A项women take the lead和D项senior management is family-friendly都与原文相反;C选项是对文章overwhelm这个词出的干扰项。

37.【答案】A a reflection of gender balance

【解析】根据题干，定位到第二段首句，intended legislation是对is now considering legislation的同义改写。该句意思为“欧洲现在考虑立法来迫使公司董事让妇女的比例达到60%”，因此立法是为了保持性别的平衡。B选项的reluctant是对第5段的Reding’s reluctance出的干扰项，并不是说European Union的立法。C选项a response to Reding’s call不正确，Reding号召的是voluntary action， D也是干扰项，而真正的立法缘由是对gender balance的反思，所以A项正确，也是文章中心的反映。

38.【答案】A get top business positions

【解析】定位至第4段，Reding说自己不喜欢quotas，后面出现了but，他真正的观点在but之后，他说他喜欢quotas所做的事情，即get action，后面的冒号是对get action的解释。核心的答案在a result seen in France and other coutries with legally binding provisions on placing women in top business positions。a result是前面内容的同位语，进一步补充说明，所以选A。B项see through the glass ceiling是对原文break through the glass ceiling的望文生义，属于肤浅选项，也和原文意思不符。C和D选项属于无中生有。

39.【答案】D approval

【解析】本题问的是作者对Reding的呼吁的态度。Reding的appeal最早出现在第2段，即呼吁在董事会中有40%的女性，以实现性别均衡。而第四段再一次提到Reding 的观点即“他自己也不喜欢quotas,但是quotas本身确实起到了作用”;接着作者在第五段给出了自己的观点，先是说可以理解Reding，自己本身也不喜欢quotas，但是“既然现在meritocratic ideal(精英管理的理想)有障碍，确实需要一种强制的手段，即强制设定男女比例。”所以可以看出作者是持“赞成”的态度。

40.【答案】C suitable public policies

【解析】题干中的women entering top management become headlines是对第6段第二句话when women do break through to the summit of the corporate power的同义改写，become headlines是对后面for example所举的Sheryl Sandberg的事例的概括。答案出现在第7段开头。第7段是提出一种解决措施，“If appropriate pubic choices were in place to help all women, ...Sandberg would be no more newsworthy...”，这个句子是if虚拟条件句，是对未来的一种美好展望，也是提出观点的一种方式，意思是“如果有合理的公共政策来帮助所有的女性，Sandberg也就没有报道价值了”。所以正确答案是C，因为缺少“suitable public policies”。