2016年考研英语二真题原文及参考答案

2016

考研英语二真题及答案解析

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.(10 points)

Happy people work differently. They

’

re more productive, more creative, and willing to

take greater risks. And new research suggest that happiness might influence 1 firms work, too.

Companies located in places with happier people invest more, according to a recent

research paper. 2 , firms in happy places spend more on R&D ( research and development ).

That

’

s because happiness is linked to the kind of longer-term thinking 3 for making investments

for the future.

The researchers wanted to know if the 4 and inclination for risk-taking that come with

happiness would 5 the way companies invested. So they compared U.S. cities

’

average

happiness 6 by Gallup polling with the investment activity of publicly traded firms in those areas.

7 enough, firms

’

investment and R&D intensity were correlated with the happiness of the

area in which they were 8 . But is it really happiness that

’

s linked to investment, or could

something else about happier cities 9 why firms there spend more on R&D? To find out, the

researchers controlled for various 10 that might make firms more likely to invest

–

like size,

industry, and sales

–

and for indicators that a place was 11 to live in, like growth in wages or

population. The link between happiness and investment generally 12 even after accounting for

these things.

The correlation between happiness and investment was particularly strong for younger

firms, which the authors 13 to

“

less codified decision making process

”

and the possible

presence of

“

younger and less 14 managers who are more likely to be influenced by

sentiment.

”

The relationship was 15 stronger in places where happiness was spread more 16 .

Firms seem to invest more in places where most people are relatively happy, rather than in

places with happiness inequality.

17 this doesn

’

t prove that happiness causes firms to invest more or to take a longer- term

view, the authors believe it at least 18 at that possibility. It

’

s not hard to imagine that local

culture and sentiment would help 19 how executives think about the future.

“

It surely seems

plausible that happy people would be more forward-thinking and creative and 20 R&D more

than the average,

”

said one researcher.

1. [A] why [B] where [C] how [D] when

2. [A] In return [B] In particular [C] In contrast [D] In conclusion

3. [A] sufficient [B] famous [C] perfect [D] necessary

4. [A] individualism [B] modernism [C] optimism [D] realism

5. [A] echo [B] miss [C] spoil [D] change

6. [A] imagined [B] measured [C] invented [D] assumed

7. [A] Sure [B] Odd [C] Unfortunate [D] Often

8. [A] advertised [B] divided [C] overtaxed [D] headquartered

9. [A] explain [B] overstate [C] summarize [D] emphasize

10. [A] stages [B] factors [C] levels [D] methods

11. [A] desirable [B] sociable [C] reputable [D] reliable

12. [A] resumed [B] held [C]emerged [D] broke

13. [A] attribute [B] assign [C] transfer [D]compare

14. [A] serious [B] civilized [C] ambitious [D]experienced

15. [A] thus [B] instead [C] also [D] never

16. [A] rapidly [B] regularly [C] directly [D] equally

17. [A] After [B] Until [C] While [D] Since

18. [A] arrives [B] jumps [C] hints [D] strikes

19. [A] shape [B] rediscover [C] simplify [D] share

20. [A] pray for [B] lean towards [C] give away [D] send out

Section II Reading Comprehension

Text 1

It

’

s true that high-school coding classes aren

’

t essential for learning computer science in

college. Students without experience can catch up after a few introductory courses, said Tom

Cortina, the assistant dean at Carnegie Mellon

’

s School of Computer Science.

However, Cortina said, early exposure is beneficial. When younger kids learn computer

science, they learn that it

’

s not just a confusing, endless string of letters and numbers

—

but a

tool to build apps, or creat artwork, or test hypotheses. It

’

s not as hard for them to transform

their thought processes as it is for older students. Breaking down problems into bite-sized

chunks and using code to solve them becomes normal. Giving more children this training could

increase the number of people interested in the field and help fill the jobs gap, Cortina said.

Students also benefit from learning something about coding before they get to college,

where introductory computer-science classes are packed to the brim, which can drive the less-

experienced or -determined students away.

The Flatiron School, where people pay to learn programming, started as one of the many

coding bootcamps that

’

s become popular for adults looking for a career change. The high-

schoolers get the same curriculum, but

“

we try to gear lessons toward things they

’

re

interested in,

”

said Victoria Friedman, an instructor. For instance, one of the apps the students

are developing suggests movies based on your mood.

The students in the Flatiron class probably won

’

t drop out of high school and build the

next Facebook. Programming languages have a quick turnover, so the

“

Ruby on Rails

”

language they learned may not even be relevant by the time they enter the job market. But the

skills they learn

—

how to think logically through a problem and organize the results

—

apply to

any coding language, said Deborah Seehorn, an education consultant for the state of North

Carolina.

Indeed, the Flatiron students might not go into IT at all. But creating a future army of coders

is not the sole purpose of the classes. These kids are going to be surrounded by computers

—

in

their pockets, in their offices, in their homes

—

for the rest of their lives. The younger they learn

how computers think, how to coax the machine into producing what they want

—

the earlier they

learn that they have the power to do that

—

the better.

a holds that early exposure to computer science makes it easier to __________.

[A]complete future job training

[B]remodel the way of thinking

[C]formulate logical hypotheses

[D]perfect artwork production

delivering lessons for high-schoolers, Flatiron has considered their______.

[A]experience

[B]academic backgrounds

[C]career prospects

[D]interest

h Seehorn believes that the skills learned at Flatiron will______.

[A]help students learn other computer languages

[B]have to be upgraded when new technologies come

[C]need improving when students look for jobs

[D]enable students to make big quick money

ing to the last paragraph, Flatiron students are expected to______.

[A]compete with a future any of programmers

[B]stay longer in the information technology industry

[C]become better prepared for the digitalized world

[D]bring forth innovative computer technologies

word

“

coax

”

(Line. 4, Para. 6)is closest in meaning to______.

[A]challenge

[B]persuade

[C]frighten

[D]misguide

Text 2

Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens

—

a kind of bird living on

stretching grasslands

—

once lent red to the often grey landscape of the mid-western and

southwestern United States. But just some 22,000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of

the species

’

historic range.

The crash was a major reason the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decided to formally

list the bird as threatened.

“

The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation,

”

said

USFWS Director Daniel Ashe. Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed. They had

pushed the agency to designate the bird as

“

endangered,

”

a status that gives federal officials

greater regulatory power to crack down on threats. But Ashe and others argued that the

“

thre atened

”

tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less

confrontational conservation particular,they called for forging closer

collaborations with western stata governments,which are often uneasy with federal action,and

with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the prairie chiekens habitat.

Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowners or

businesses that unintentionally kill, harm, or disturb the bird as long as they had signed a range-

wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat. Negotiated by USFWS and the states,

the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their operations to

pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat. The fund

will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat. USFWS also set an interim

goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67, 000 birds over the next

10 years. And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), a coalition

of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress. Overall, the idea is to let

“

states remain in

the driver

’

s seat for managing the species,

”

Ashe said.

Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric. Some Congress members are trying to block the

plan, and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are

challenging it in federal court. Not surprisingly, industry groups and states generally argue it goes

too far; environmentalists say it doesn

’

t go far enough.

”

The federal government is giving

responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction,

”

says biologist Jay Lininger.

26. The major reason for listing the lesser prairie chicken as threatened is _

[A] the insistence of private landowners

[B] the underestimate of the grassland acreage

[C] a desperate appeal from some biologists

[D] its drastically decreased population

27. The

“

threatened

”

tag disappointed some environmentalists in that it _

[A] was a give-in to governmental pressure

[B] would involve fewer regulatory powers

[C] granted less federal regulatory powers

[D] went against conservation policies

can be learned from Paragraph 3 that unintentional harm- doers will be prosecuted if

they _

[A] agree to pay a sun for compensation.

[B] volunteer to set up an equally big habitat.

[C] offer to support the WAFWA monitoring job.

[D] promise to raise funds for USFWS operations.

29. According to Ashe, the leading role in managing the species is

[A] the federal government

[B] the wildlife agencies

[C] the landowners

[D] the states

30. Jay Lininger would most likely support _

[A] the plan under challenge

[B] the win-win rhetoric

[C] environmental groups

[D] industry groups

Text 3

That everyone

’

s too busy these days is a clich

é

. But one specific complain is made

especially moumfully:There

’

s never any time to read.

What makes the problem thomier is that the usual time-management techniques don

’

t

seem web

’

s fullof articles offering tips on making time to read:

“

Give up TV

”

or

“

Carry a book with you at all times.

”

But in my experience, using such methods to free up the

odd 30 minutes doesn

’

t work. Sit down to read and the flywheel of work-related thoughts

keeps spinning

—

or else you

’

re so exhausted that a challenging book

’

s the last thing you

need. The modern mind, Tim Parks, a novelist and critic, writes,

“

is overwhelmingly inclined

toward communication

…

It is not simply that one is interrupted; it is that one is actually inclined to interruption.

”

Deep reading requires not just time, but a special kind of time which can

’

t be obtained merely

by becoming more efficient.

In fact

“

becoming more efficient

”

is part of the problem. Thinking of time as a resource

to be maximized means you approach it instrumentally. judging any given moment as well spent

only in so far as it advances progress toward some goal. Immersive reading, by contrast depands

on being willing to risk inefficiency, goallessness, even time-wasting. Try to slot it in as to-do list

item. and you

’

ll manage only goal- focused reading-useful, sometimes but not the most fulfilling

kind.

“

The future comes at us like empty bottles along an unstoppable and nearly infinite

conveyor belt,

”

writes Gary Eberle in his book Sacred Time, and

“

we feel a pressure to fill

these different-sized bottles (days, hours, minutes)as they pass, for if they get by without being

filled, we will have wasted them.

”

No mind- set could be worse for losing yourself in a book

So what does work? Perhaps surprisingly, scheduling regular times for reading. You

’

d think

this might fuel the efficiency mind- set, but in fact, Eberle notes, such ritualistic behavior helps us

“

step outside time

’

s flow

”

into

“

soul time.

”

You could limit distractions by reading only

physical books ,or on single-purpose e-readers,

”

carry a book with you at all time

“

can

actually work, too-providing you dip in often enough, so that reading becomes the default state

from which you temporarily surface to take care of business, before dropping back down. On a

really good day, it no longer feels as if you

’

re

“

making time to read

”

, but just reading, and

making time for everything else.

usual time management techniques don

’

t work because

[A]what they can offer does not case the modern mind

[B]what people often forget is carrying a book with them

[C]what challenging books demand is repetitive reading

[D]what deep reading requires cannot be guaranteed

“

empty bottles

”

metaphor illustrates that people feel a pressure to

[A]update their to-do lists

[B]make passing time fulfilling

[C]carry their plans through

[D]pursue carefree reading

would agree that scheduling regular times for reading helps

[A]promote ritualistic reading

[B]encourage the efficiency mind-set

[C]develop online reading habits

[D]achieve immersive reading

34.

“

Carry a book with you at all times

”

can work if

[A]reading becomes your primary business of the day

[B]all the daily business has been promptly dealt with

[C]you are able to drop back to business after reading

[D]time can be evenly split for reading and business

best title for this text could be

[A]How to Enjoy Easy Reading

[B]How to Set Reading Goals

[C]How to Find Time to Read

[D]How to Read Extensively

Text 4

Young people who are still getting started in life were more likely than older adults to

prioritize personal fulfillment in their work, to believe they will advance their careers most by

regularly changing jobs, to favor communities with more public services and a faster pace of life,

to agree that couples should be financially secure before getting married or having children, and

to maintain that children are best served by two parents working outside the home, the survey

found.

From career to community and family, these contrasts suggest that in the aftermath of the

searing Great just starting out in life are defining pro and expectations that will

increasingly spread through virtually all aspects of American life, from consumer preferences to

housing patterns to polities.

Young and old converge on one key point

：

Overwhelming majorities of both groups said

they believe it is harder for young people today to get started in life than it was for earlier

younger people are somewhat more optimistic than their elders about the

prospects for those starting out today, big majorities in both groups believe those

“

just getting

started in life

”

face a tougher climb than earlier generations in reaching such signpost

achievements as securing a good-paying job

：

starting a ng debt

，

and finding

affordable housing.

Pete Schneider considers the climb tougher der, a 27-year-old auto technician

from the Chicago suburbs, says he struggled to find a job after graduating from college Even now

that he is working steadily, he said,

”

I can

’

t afford to pay my monthly mortgage payments on