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微信公众号考研路上的幸福哥，考研干货最多的公众平台1 12014 年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语（一）试题Section Use of EnglishDirections:Read the following text.Choose the best word(s)for each numbered blank and mark A,B,C orD onANSWER SHEET 1.(10 points)As many people hit middle age,they often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not whatthey used to be.We suddenly cant remember1we put the keys just a moment ago,or an old acquaintancesname,or the name of an old band we used to love.As the brain2,we refer to these occurrences as seniormoments.3seemingly innocent,this loss of mental focus can potentially have a(an)4impact on ourprofessional,social,and personal5.Neuroscientists,experts who study the nervous system,are increasingly showing that theres actually a lotthat can be done.It6out that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do,and the rightmental7can significantly improve our basic cognitive8.Thinking is essentially a9of makingconnections in the brain.To a certain extent,our ability to10in making the connections that driveintelligence is inherited.11,because these connections are made through effort and practice,scientistsbelieve that intelligence can expand and fluctuate12mental effort.Now,a new Web-based company has taken it a step13and developed the first brain trainingprogram designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental14.The Web-based program15you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills.Theprogram keeps16of your progress and provides detailed feedback17your performance andimprovement.Most importantly,it18modifies and enhances the games you play to19on thestrengths you are developing-much like a(n)20exercise routine requires you to increase resistance and varyyour muscle use.1.A whyB whenC thatD where2.A improvesB fadesC collapsesD recovers3.A WhileB UnlessC OnceD If4.A unevenB limitedC damagingD obscure5.A relationshipB environmentC wellbeingD outlook6.A turnsB findsC pointsD figures7.A responsesB roundaboutsC workoutsD associations8.A genreB criterionC circumstances D functions9.A channelB processC sequenceD condition10.A excelB featureC persistD believe11.A However B MoreoverC OtherwiseD Therefore12.A instead of B regardless ofC apart fromD according to13.A backB furtherC asideD around微信公众号考研路上的幸福哥，考研干货最多的公众平台2 214.A framework B stabilityC sharpnessD flexibility15.A hurriesB remindsC forcesD allows16.A orderB trackC holdD pace17.A toB onC forD with18.A constantly B habituallyC irregularlyD unusually19.A carryB putC buildD take20.A riskyB familiarC idleD effectiveSection Reading ComprehensionPartADirections：Read the following four texts.Answer the questions after each text by choosing A,B,C or D.Mark your answers onANSWER SHEET 1.(40 points)Text 1In order to“change lives for the better”and reduce“dependency,”George Osbome,Chancellor of theExchequer,introduced the“upfront work search”scheme.Only if the jobless arrive at the job centre with a CVregister for online job search,and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit-and then they should reportweekly rather than fortnightly.What could be more reasonable?More apparent reasonableness followed.There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseekers allowance.“Those first few days should be spent looking for work,not looking to sign on.”he claimed.“Were doing thesethings because we know they help people say off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster”Help?Really?On first hearing,this was the socially concerned chancellor,trying to change lives for the better,completewith“reforms”to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to findwork,and subsides laziness.What motivated him,we were to understand,was his zeal for“fundamentalfairness”-protecting the taxpayer,controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimantsreceived their benefits.Losing a job is hurting:you dont skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart,delighted at theprospect of doubling your income from the generous state.It is financially terrifying psychologically embarrassingand you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get.You are now not wanted;you support isminimal and extraordinarily hard to get.You are now not wanted;you are now excluded from the workenvironment that offers purpose and structure in your life.Worse,the crucial income to feed yourself and yourfamily and pay the bills has disappeared.Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always:a job.But in Osborneland,your first instinct is to fall into dependency-permanent dependency if you can getit-supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood.It is as though 20 years of ever-tougher reforms ofthe job search and benefit administration system never happened.The principle of British welfare is no longer thatyou can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment and receive unconditional payments if the disasterhappens.Even the very phrase jobseekers allowance-invented in 1996-is about redefining the unemployed as a“jobseeker”who had no mandatory right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurancecontributions.Instead,the claimant receives a time-limited“allowance,”conditional on actively seeking a job;noentitlement and no insurance,at 71.70 a week,one of the least generous in the EU.21.George Osbornes scheme was intended to _.微信公众号考研路上的幸福哥，考研干货最多的公众平台3 3A motivate the unemployed to report voluntarilyB provide the unemployed with easier access to benefitsC encourage jobseekers active engagement in job seekingD guarantee jobseekers legitimate right to benefits22.The phrase“to sign on”(Line 3,Para.2)most probably means _.A to register for an allowance from the governmentB to accept the governments restrictions on the allowanceC to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentreD to attend a governmental job-training program23.What prompted the chancellor to develop his scheme?A A desire to secure a better life for all.B An eagerness to protect the unemployed.C An urge to be generous to the claimants.D A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.24.According to Paragraph 3,being unemployed makes one feel _.A insultedB uneasyC enragedD guilty25.To which of the following would the author most probably agree?A Unemployment benefits should not be made conditional.B The British welfare system indulges jobseekers laziness.C The jobseekers allowance has met their actual needs.D Osbornes reforms will reduce the risk of unemployment.Text 2All around the world,lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other profession-with thepossible exception of journalism.But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint thanAmerica.During the decade before the economic crisis,spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast asinflation.The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money,tempting ever more students to pile into law schools.But most law graduates never get a big-firm job.Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filerthat makes the tort system a costly nightmare.There are many reasons for this.One is the excessive costs of a legal education.There is just one path for alawyer in most American states:a four-year undergraduate degree at one of 200 law schools authorized by theAmerican Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam.This leaves todays average law-schoolgraduate with$100,000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts.Law-school debt means that they have to workfearsomely hard.Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers.Sensible ideas have been around for along time,but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them.One微信公众号考研路上的幸福哥，考研干货最多的公众平台4 4idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree.Another is to let students sit for the bar after onlytwo years of law school.If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer,those who can sit itearlier should be allowed to do so.Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by athird.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business.Exceptin the District of Columbia,non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm.This keeps fees high and innovationslow.There is pressure for change from within the profession,but opponents of change among the regulators insistthat keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clientsethically.In fact,allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services tocustomers,by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improvingfirms efficiency.After all,other countries,such as Australia and Britain,have started liberalizing their legalprofessions.America should follow.26.A lot of students take up law as their profession due to _.A the growing demand from clientsB the increasing pressure of inflationC the prospect of working in big firmsD the attraction of financial rewards27.Which of the following adds to the costs of legal education in most American states?A Higher tuition fees for undergraduate studies.B Pursuing a bachelors degree in another major.C Admissions approval from the bar association.D Receiving training by professional associations.28.Hindrance to the reform of the legal system originates from _.A non-professionals sharp criticismB lawyers and clients strong resistanceC the rigid bodies governing the professionD the stern exam for would-be lawyers29.The guild-like ownership structure is considered“restrictive”partly because it _.A prevents lawyers from gaining due profitsB keeps lawyers from holding law-firm sharesC aggravates the ethical situation in the tradeD bans outsiders involvement in the profession30.In this text,the author mainly discusses _.A flawed ownership of Americas law firms and its causesB the factors that help make a successful lawyer in AmericaC a problem in Americas legal profession and solutions to itD the role of undergraduate studies in Americas legal educationText 3微信公众号考研路上的幸福哥，考研干货最多的公众平台5 5The US$3-million Fundamental physics prize is indeed an interesting experiment,as Alexander Polyakov saidwhen he accepted this years award in March.And it is far from the only one of its type.As a News Feature articlein Nature discusses,a string of lucrative awards for researchers have joined the Nobel Prizes in recent years.Many,like the Fundamental Physics Prize,are funded from the telephone-number-sized bank accounts of Internetentrepreneurs.These benefactors have succeeded in their chosen fields,they say,and they want to use their wealthto draw attention to those who have succeeded in science.Whats not to like?Quite a lot,according to a handful of scientists quoted in the News Feature.You cannotbuy class,as the old saying goes,and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels.The new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behind them,say scientists.They could distort theachievement-based system of peer-review-led research.They could cement the status quo of peer-reviewedresearch.They do not fund peer-reviewed research.They perpetuate the myth of the lone genius.The goals of the prize-givers seem as scattered as the criticism.Some want to shock,others to draw peopleinto science,or to better reward those who have made their careers in research.As Nature has pointed out before,there are some legitimate concerns about how science prizesboth new andoldare distributed.The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences,launched this year,takes an unrepresentative viewof what the life sciences include.But the Nobel Foundations limit of three recipients per prize,each of whom muststill be living,has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of modern researchas will be demonstrated bythe inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson.TheNobels were,of course,themselves set up by a very rich individual who had decided what he wanted to do with hisown money.Time,rather than intention,has given them legitimacy.As much as some scientists may complain about the new awards,two things seem clear.First,mostresearchers would accept such a prize if they were offered one.Second,it is surely a good thing that the money andattention come to science rather than go elsewhere,It is fair to criticize and question the mechanismthat is theculture of research,after allbut it is the prize-giversmoney to do with as they please.It is wise to take such giftswith gratitude and grace.31.The Fundamental Physics Prize is seen as _.A a symbol of the entrepreneurs wealthB a possible replacement of the Nobel PrizesC a handsome reward for researchersD an example of bankers investments32.The critics think that the new awards will most benefit _.A the profit-oriented scientistsB the founders of the awardsC the achievement-based systemD peer-review-led research33.The discovery of the Higgs boson is a typical case which involves _.A the joint effort of modern researchersB controversies over the recipients statusC the demonstration of research findingsD legitimate concerns over the new prizes微信公众号考研路上的幸福哥，考研干货最多的公众平台6 634.According to Paragraph 4,which of the following is true of the Nobels?A History has never cast doubt on them.B They are the most representative honor.C Their legitimacy has long been in dispute.D Their endurance has done justice to them.35.The author believes that the new awards are _.A harmful to the culture of researchB acceptable despite the criticismC subject to undesirable changesD unworthy of public attentionText 4“The Heart of the Matter,”the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences(AAAS),deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security ofliberal democracy in America.Regrettably,however,the reports failure to address the true nature of the crisisfacing liberal education may cause more harm than good.In 2010,leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identifyactions that could be taken by federal,state and local governments,universities,foundations,educators,individualbenefactors and others to maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship andeducation.In response,the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences.Among the commissions 51 members are top-tier-university presidents,scholars,lawyers,judges,and businessexecutives,as well as prominent figures from diplomacy,filmmaking,music and journalism.The goals identified in the report are generally admirable.Because representative government presupposes aninformed citizenry,the report supports full literacy;stresses the study of history and gover