2014年考研英语二真题(1).pdf

绝密启用前英语（二）英语（二）（科目代码：204）考生注意事项1.答题前，考生须在试题册指定位置上填写考生编号和考生姓名；在答题卡指定位置上填写报考单位、考生姓名和考生编号，并涂写考生编号信息点。2.考生须把试题册上的“试卷条形码”粘贴条取下，粘贴在答题卡的“试卷条形码粘贴位置”框中。不按规定粘贴条形码而影响评卷结果的，责任由考生自负。3.选择题的答案必须涂写在答题卡相应题号的选项上，非选择题的答案必须书写在答题卡指定位置的边框区域内。超出答题区域书写的答案无效；在草稿纸、试题册上答题无效。4.填（书）写部分必须使用黑色字迹签字笔书写，字迹工整、笔迹清楚；涂写部分必须使用 2B 铅笔填涂。5.考试结束，将答题卡和试题册按规定交回。（以下信息考生必须认真填写）考生编号考生姓名2014 年全国硕士研究生招生考试关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料2014年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语（二）试题Section I Use of English Directions:Read the following text.Choose the best word(s)for each numbered blank and mark A,B,C or D on the ANSWER SHEET.(lOpoints)Thinner isnt always better.A number of studies have 1 that normal-weight people are in fact at higher risk of some diseases compared to those who are overweight.And there are health conditions for which being overweight is actually 2.For example,heavier women are less likely to develop calcium deficiency than thin women.3,among the elderly,being somewhat overweight is often an 4 of good health.Of even greater 5 is the fact that obesity turns out to be very difficult to define.It is often defined 6 body mass index,or BMI.BMI 7 body mass divided by the square of height.An adult with a BMI of 18 to 25 is often considered to be normal weight.Between 25 and 30 is overweight.And over 30 is considered obese.Obesity,8,can be divided into moderately obese,severely obese,and very severely obese.While such numencal standards seem 9,they are not.Obesity is probably less a matter of weight than body fat.Some people with a high BMI are in fact extremely fit,10 others with a low BMI may be in poor 11.For example,many collegiate and professional football players 12 as obese,though their percentage body fat is low.Conversely,someone with a small frame may have high body fat but a 13 BMI.Today we have a(n)14 to label obesity as a disgrace.The overweight are sometimes 15 in the media with their faces covered.Stereotypes 16 with obesity include laziness,lack of will power,and lower prospects for success.Teachers,employers,and health professionals have been shown to harbor biases against the obese.17 very young children tend to look down on the overweight,and teasing about body build has long been a problem in schools.Negative attitudes toward obesity,18 in health concerns,have stimulated a number of anti-obesity 19.My own hospital system has banned sugary drinks from its facilities.Many employers have instituted weight loss and fitness initiatives.Michelle Obama has launched a high-visibility campaign 20 childhood obesity,even claiming that it represents our greatest national security threat.-1-关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料1.A deniedB concludedC doubtedD ensured2.A protectiveB dangerousC sufficientD troublesome3.A InsteadB HoweverC LikewiseD Therefore4.A indicatorB objectiveC originD example5.A impactB relevanceC assistanceD concern6.A in terms ofB in case ofC in favor ofD in respects of7.A measuresB detern血esC equalsD modifies8.A in essenceB in contrastC in turnD in part9.A complicated B conservativeC variableD straightforward10.A soB whileC sinceD unless11.A shapeB spiritC balanceD taste12.A startB qualifyC retireD stay13.A strangeB changeableC normalD constant14.A optionB reasonC opportunityD tendency15.A employedB picturedC imitatedD monitored16.A comparedB combinedC settledD associated17.A EvenB StillC YetD Only18.A despisedB correctedC ignoredD grounded19.A discussionsB businessesC policiesD studies20.A forB againstC withD withoutSection II Reading Comprehension Part A Directions:Read the following four texts.Answer the questions after each text by choosing A,B,C or D.Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.(40 points)-2-关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料Text 1 What would you do with$590m?This is now a question for Gloria MacKenzie,an 84-year-old widow who recently emerged from her small,tin-roofed house in Florida to collect the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history.If she hopes her new-found fortune will yield lasting feelings of fulfilment,she could do worse than read Happy Money by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton.These two academics use an array of behavioral research to show that the most rewarding ways to spend money can be counterintuitive.Fantasies of great wealth often involve visions of fancy cars and extravagant homes.Yet satisfaction with these material purchases wears off fairly quickly.What was once exciting and new becomes old-hat;regret creeps in.It is far better to spend money on experiences,say Ms Dunn and Mr Norton,like interesting trips,unique meals or even going to the cinema.These purchases often become more valuable with time-as stories or memories-particularly if they involve feeling more connected toothers.This slim volume is packed with tips to help wage slaves as well as lottery winners get the most happiness bang for your buck.It seems most people would be better off if they could shorten their commutes to work,spend more time with friends and family and less of it watching television(something the average American spends a whopping two months a year doing,and is hardly jollier for it).Buying gifts or giving to charity is often more pleasurable than purchasing things for oneself,and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly.This is apparently the reason McDonalds restricts the availability of its popular McRib a marketing trick that has turned the pork sandwich into an object of obsession.Readers of Happy Money are clearly a privileged lot,anxious about fulfilment,not hunger.Money may not quite buy happiness,but people in wealthier countries are generally happier than those in poor ones.Yet the link between feeling good and spending money on others can be seen among rich and poor people around the world,and scarcity e呻ances the pleasure of most things for most people.Not everyone will agree with the authorspolicy ideas,which range from mandating more holiday time to reducing tax incentives for American homebuyers.But most people will come away from this book believing it was money well spent.-3-关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料21.According to Dunn and Norton,which of the following is the most rewardingpurchase?AA big house.BA special tour.CA stylish car.DA rich meal.22.The authors attitude toward Americanswatching TV is.A criticalB supportiveC sympatheticD ambiguous23.Mc Rib is mentioned in Paragraph 3 to show that.A consumers are sometimes 1rrat10nalB popularity usually comes after qualityC marketing tricks are often effectiveD rarity generally increases pleasure24.According to the last paragraph,Happy Money.A has left much room for readerscriticismB may prove to be a worthwhile purchaseC has predicted a wider income gap in the USD may give its readers a sense of achievement25.This text mainly discusses how to.A balance feeling good and spending moneyB spend large sums of money won in lotteriesC obtain lasting satisfaction from money spentD become more reasonable in spending on luxuries-4-关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料Text2 An article in Scientific American has pointed out that empirical research says that,actually,you think youre more beautiful than you are.We have a deepseated need to feel good about ourselves and we naturally employ a number of self-enhancing strategies to achieve this.Social psychologists have amassed oceans of research into what they call the above average effect,or illusory superiority,and shown that,for example,70%of us rate ourselves as above average in leadership,93%in driving and 85%at getting on well with others-all obviously statistical impossibilities.We rose-tint our memories and put ourselves into self-affirming situations.We become defensive when criticised,and apply negative stereotypes to others to boost our own esteem.We stalk around thinking were hot stuff.Psychologist and behavioural scientist Nicholas Epley oversaw a key study into self-enhancement and attractiveness.Rather than have people simply rate their beauty compared with others,he asked them to identify an original photograph of themselves from a lineup including versions that had been altered to appear more and less attractive.Visual recognition,reads the study,is an automatic psychological process,occurring rapidly and intuitively with little or no apparent conscious deliberation.If the subjects quickly chose a falsely flattering imagewhich most didthey genuinely believed it was really how they looked.Epley found no significant gender difference in responses.Nor was there any evidence that those who self-e呻anced the most(that is,the participants who thought the most positively doctored pictures were real)were doing so to make up for profound insecurities.In fact,those who thought that the images higher up the attractiveness scale were real directly corresponded with those who showed other markers for having higher self-esteem.I dont think the findings that we have are any evidence of personal delusion,says Epley.Its a reflection simply of people generally thinking well of themselves.If you are depressed,you wont be selfenhancing.Knowing the results of Epleys study,it makes sense that many people hate photographs of themselves viscerallyon one level,they dont even recognise the person in the picture as themselves.Facebook,therefore,is a self-enhancers paradise,where people can share only the most flattering photos,the cream of their wit,style,beauty,intellect and lifestyles.Its not that peoples profiles are dishonest,says Catalina Toma of Wisconsin-Madison University,but they portray an idealised version of themselves.-5-关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料26.According to the first paragraph,social psychologists have found that.A our self-ratings are unrealistically highB illusory superiority is a baseless effectC our need for leadership is unnaturalD self-enhancing strategies are ineffective27.Visual recognition is believed to be peoples.A rapid matchingB conscious choiceC intuitive responseD automatic self-defence28.Epley found that people with higher self-esteem tended to.A underestimate their msecuntlesB b r e 1eve m their attractivenessC cover up their depressionsD oversimplify their illusions29.The word viscerally(Line 2,Para.5)is closest in meaning to.A instinctivelyB occasionallyC particularlyD aggressively30.It can be inferred that Facebook is a self-enhancers paradise because peoplecanA present their dishonest profilesB define their traditional lifestylesC share their intellectual pursuitsD withhold their unflattering sides-6-关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料Text3 The concept of man versus machine is at least as old as the industrial revolution,but this phenomenon tends to be most acutely felt during economic downturns and fragile recoveries.And yet,it would be a mistake to think we are right now simply experiencing the painful side of a boom and bust cycle.Certain jobs have gone away for good,outmoded by machines.Since technology has such an insatiable appetite for eating up human jobs,this phenomenon will continue to restructure our economy in ways we cannot immediately foresee.When there is rapid improvement in the price and performance of technology,jobs that were once thought to be immune from automation suddenly become threatened.This argument has attracted a lot of attention,via the success of the book Race Against the Machine,by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee,who both hail from MITs Center for Digital Business.This is a powerful argument,and a scary one.And yet,John Hagel,author of The Power of Pull and other books,says Brynjolfsson and McAfee miss the reason why these jobs are so vulnerable to technology in the first place.Hagel says we have designed jobs in the U.S.that tend to be tightly scripted and highly standardized ones that leave no room for individual initiative or creativity.In short,these are the types of jobs that machines can perform much better at than human beings.That is how we have put a giant target sign on the backs of American workers,Hagel says.Its time to reinvent the formula for how work is conducted,since we are still relying on a very 20th century notion of work,Hagel says.In our rapidly changing economy,we more than ever need people in the workplace who can take initiative and exercise their imagination to respond to unexpected events.That is not something machines are good at.They are designed to perform very predictable activities.As Hagel notes,Brynjolfsson and McAfee indeed touched on this point in their book.We need to reframe race against the machine as race with the machine.In other words,we need to look at the ways in which machines can augment human labor rather than replace it.So then the problem is not really about technology,but rather,how do we innovate our institutions and our work practices?-7-关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料31.According to the first paragraph,economic downturns would.A ease the competition of man vs.machine B highlight machinesthreat to human jobs C provoke a painful technological revolution D outmode our current economic structure 32.The authors of Race Against the Machine argue that.A technology is diminishing mans job opportunities B automation is accelerating technological development C certain jobs will remain intact after automation D man will finally win the race against machine 33.Hagel argues that jobs in the U.S.are often.A performed by innovative minds B scripted with an individual style C standardized without a clear target D designed against human creativity 34.According to the last paragraph,Brynjolfsson andMcAfee discussed.A the predictability of machine behavior in practice B the formula for how work is conducted efficiently C the ways machines replace human labor in modem times D the necessity of human involvement in the workplace 3 5.Which of the following could be the most appropriate title for the text?A How to Innovate Our Work Practices?B Machines Will Replace Human Labor C Can We Win the Race Against Machines?D E conomic Downturns Stimulate Innovat10ns -8-关注公众号【考研题库】保存更多高清资料Text4 When the government talks about infrastructure contributing to the economy the focus is usually on roads,railways,broadband and energy.Housing is seldom mentioned.Why is that?To some extent the housing sector must shoulder the blame.We have not been good at con皿unicating the real value that housing can contribute to economic growth.Then there is the scale of the typical housing project.It is hard to shove for attention among multibillion-pound infrastructure projects,so it is inevitable that the attention is focused elsewhere.But perhaps the most significant reason is that the issue has always been so politically charged.Nevertheless,the affordable housing situation is desperate.Waiting lists increase all the time and we are simply not building enough new homes.The comprehensive spending review offers an opportunity for the government to help rectify this.It needs to put historical prejudices to one side and take some steps to address our urgent housing need.There are some indications that it is preparing to do just that.The communities minister,Don Foster,has hinted that George Osborne,Chancellor of the Exchequer,may introduce more flexi