考研英语一真题原文及答案解析完整版

2012

年考研英语一真题原文及答案解析完整版

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 ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark

A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

The

ethical

judgments

of

the

Supreme

Court

justices

have

become

an

important

issue

recently.

The

court

cannot

_1_

its

legitimacy

as

guardian

of

the

rule

of

law

_2_

justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_

the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.

Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity

makes it less likely that the court’s de

cisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of

the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court

should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.

This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a _9_between

the court and politics.

The

framers

of

the

Constitution

envisioned

law

_10_having

authority

apart

from

politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in

power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system was designed to set

law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.

Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental

social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the

law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are

so easily _17_ as unjust.

The justices

must _18_

doubts about the

court’s le

gitimacy by

making

themselves

_19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate

from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.

1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize

2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless

3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated

4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted

5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded

6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone

7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies

8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle

9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict

10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards

11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though

12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace

13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer

14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied

15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions

16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls

17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted

18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore

19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable

20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a result

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 ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

Text 1

Come

on

-

Everybody’s

doing

it.

That

whispered

message,

half

invitation

and

half

forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads

to

no

good-drinking,

drugs

and

casual

sex.

But

in

her

new

book

Join

the

Club,

Tina

Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be

a

positive

force

through

what she

calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics

to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.

Rosenberg, the

recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the

social

cure

in

action:

In

South

Carolina,

a

state-sponsored

antismoking

program

called

Rage

Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention

initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.

The idea seems promising

，

and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of

the

lameness

of

many

pubic-health

campaigns

is

spot-on:

they

fail

to

mobilize

peer

pressure

for

healthy

habits,

and

they

demonstrate

a

seriously

flawed

understanding

of

psychology.”

Dare

to

be

different,

please

don’t

smoke!” pleads

one

billboard

c

ampaign

aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than

fitting

in.

Rosenberg

argues

convincingly

that

public-health

advocates

ought

to

take

a

page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.

But on

the

general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive.

Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the

social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of

the soc

ial cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage

Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program

produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.

There’s no doubt that our peer gro

ups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An

emerging

body

of

research

shows

that

positive

health

habits-as

well

as

negative

ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of

peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.

Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our

peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher who breaks

up the troublemakers in the back row

by pairing them with better-behaved classmates.

The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from

the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.

21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as

[A] a supplement to the social cure

[B] a stimulus to group dynamics

[C] an obstacle to school progress

[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors

22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should

[A] recruit professional advertisers

[B] learn from advertisers’ experience

[C] stay away from commercial advertisers

[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements

23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to

[A] adequately probe social and biological factors

[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure

[C] illustrate the functions of state funding

[D]produce a long-lasting social effect

24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors

[A] is harmful to our networks of friends

[B] will mislead behavioral studies

[C] occurs without our realizing it

[D] can produce negative health habits

25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is

[A] harmful

[B] desirable

[C] profound

[D] questionable

Text 2

A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major

energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it

announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear

regulations.

Instead,

the

company

has

done

precisely

what

it

had

long

promised

it

would

not

challenge

the

constitutionality

of

Vermont’s

rules

in

the

federal

court,

as

part

of

a

desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant

running. It’s a stunning

move.

The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s

only nuclear power plant, an

aging

reactor in Vernon. As a

condition

of receiving state

approval for the sale, the company agreed

to

seek permission

from state

regulators to

operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of

the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company

went along.

Either Entergy never really i

ntended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t

foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a

cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised

serious

questions

abou

t

both

Vermont

Yankee’s

safety

and

Entergy’s

management

-

especially

after

the

company

made

misleading

statements

about

the

pipe.

Enraged

by

Entergy’s

behavior,

the

Vermont

Senate

voted

26

to

4

last

year

against

allowing

an

extension.

Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of

the

2006

legislation,

and

that

only

the

federal

government

has

regulatory

power

over

nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has

ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say

that

Vermont

case

will

offer

a

precedent-setting

test

of

how

far

those

powers

extend.

Certainly,

there

are

valid

concerns

about

the

patchwork

regulations

that

could

result

if

every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside

the point.

The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so

damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be

consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other

reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to

run

Pilgrim

safely,

the

company

has

applied

for

federal

permission

to

keep

it

open

for

another

20

years.

But

as

the

Nuclear

Regulatory

Commission

(NRC)

reviews

the

company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.

26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line .1) is closest in meaning to

[A] condemning.

[B] reaffirming.

[C] dishonoring.

[D] securing.

27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to

[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.

[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.

[C] acquire an extension of its business license .

[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.

28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its

[A] managerial practices.

[B] technical innovativeness.

[C] financial goals.

[D] business vision

29.

In the author’s view, the Vermont case will test

[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.

[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.

[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .

[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issue

s.

30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that

[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.

[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.

[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.

[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.

Text 3

In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to

be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry

out their work. But in the everyday practice

of science, discovery frequently follows an

ambiguous

and

complicated

route. We

aim

to

be

objective,

but

we

cannot

escape

the

context

of

our

unique

life

experience.

Prior

knowledge

and

interest

influence

what

we

experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take.

Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.

Consequently,

discovery

claims

should

be

thought

of

as

protoscience.

Similar

to

newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and

acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility

process,

through

which

the

individual

researcher’s

me,

here,

now

becomes

the

community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the sta

rting

point.

Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit.

But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within

the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries;

editors

and

reviewers

act

as

gatekeepers

by

controlling

the

publication

process;

other

scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including

other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a

discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between

shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms

an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.

Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to

focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect.

Little

reward

accompanies

duplication

and

confirmation

of

what

is

already

known

and

believed.

The

goal

is

new- search,

not

re-search.

Not

surprisingly,

newly

published

discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will

always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers.

Second,

novelty

itself

frequently

provokes

disbelief.

Nobel

Laureate

and

physiologist

Albert Azent-

Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and

thinking what nobody has thought.” But thin

king what nobody else has thought and telling

others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required

for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.

In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim

- a process that corresponds to

what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason

together,

challenge,

revise,

and

complete

each

other’s

reasoning

and

each

other’s

conceptions of reason.”

31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its

[A] uncertainty and complexity.

[B] misconception and deceptiveness.

[C] logicality and objectivity.

[D] systematicness and regularity.

32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires

[A] strict inspection.

[B]shared efforts.

[C] individual wisdom.

[D]persistent innovation.

aph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it

[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.

[B]has been examined by the scientific community.

[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.

[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.

34. Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi would most likely agree that

[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.

[B]discoveries today inspire future research.

[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.

[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.

of the following would be the best title of the test?

[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.

[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.

[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.

[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.

Text 4

If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil

servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American

government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in

America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector.

In Britain,

more

than

half

of

public-sector

workers

but

only

about

15%

of

private-sector

ones

are

unionized.

There

are

three

reasons

for

the

public-

sector

unions’

thriving.

First,

they

can

shut

things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly

bright and well-

educated. A quarter of America’s public

-sector workers have a university

degree. Third, they now dominate left- of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long

way.

Britain’s

Labor

Party,

as

its

name

implies

,

has

long

been

associated

with

trade

unionism. Its current leader, Ed

Miliband, owes his position

to

votes

from public-sector

unions.

At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the

Public Policy Institute of Califor

nia points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled

by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a

variety of labor groups on health care.

In

many

rich

countries

average

wages

in

the

state

sector

are

higher

than

in

the

private

one.

But

the

real

gains

come

in

benefits

and

work

practices.

Politicians

have

repeatedly “backloaded” public

-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but

adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.

Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where

charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there

is

plenty

of

evidence

that

the

quality

of

the

teachers

is

the

most

important

variable,

tea

chers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.

As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp

down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker,

the

hardline

Republican

governor.

But

many

within

the

public

sector

suffer

under

the

current system, too.

John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in

Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The

only American public- sector workers who earn well above $$250,000 a year are university

sports

coaches

and

the

president

of

the

United

States.

Bankers’

fat

pay

packets

have

attracted much criticism, but a public- sector system that does not reward high achievers

may be a much bigger problem for America.

36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that

[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.

[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.

[C] unions have enlarged their public- sector membership.

[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.

37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?

[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.

[B] Education is required for public- sector union membership.

[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.

[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.

38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is

[A] illegally secured.

[B] indirectly augmented.

[C] excessively increased.

[D]fairly adjusted.

39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions

[A]often run against the current political system.

[B]can change people’s political attitudes.

[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.

[D]are dominant in the government.

40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public

-sector system is one of

[A]disapproval.

[B]appreciation.

[C]tolerance.

[D]indifference.

Part B

Directions:

In

the

following

text,

some

sentences

have

been

removed.

For

Questions

41-45,

choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks.

There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on

ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)

Think

of

those

fleeting

moments

when

you

look

out

of

an

aeroplane

window

and

realise

that

you

are

flying,

higher

than

a

bird. Now

think

of

your

laptop,

thinner

than

a