考博英语阅读100篇,含答案

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100

篇

Unit One

Passage 1

The

physical

distribution

of

products

has

two

primary

aspects:

transportation

and

storage.

Both

aspects

are

highly

developed

and

specialized

phases

of

marketing.

The

costs

of

both

trans-porting

and

storing are built into the prices of products. Transportation can be by truck, rail-

way, ship, or barge. For some items, such as exotic plants and flowers, or when rapid delivery is essential,

air freight may be used.

Storage,

or

warehousing,

is

a

necessary

function

because

production

and

consumption

of

goods

rarely

match:

items

generally

are

not

sold

as

quickly

as

they

are

made.

Inventories

build

up,

both

in

warehouses and at retail establishments, before the foods are sold. The transporta-tion function is involved

in bringing goods to a warehouse and taking them from it to retail stores.

Storage

performs

the

service

of

stabilizing

market

price.

If,

for

example,

no

agricultural

product

could be stored, all food would have to be put on the market immediately. This would, of course, create a

glut and lower prices drastically. There would be an immediate benefit to consumers, but in the long run

they would suffer. Farmers, because of low prices, would be forced off the land, and the amount of food

produced would decrease. This, in turn, would raise consumer prices.

Warehouses for storage are of several types. Private warehouses are owned by manufactur- ers. Public

warehouses, in spite of their name, are privately owned facilities, but they are in-dependent of manufacturer

ownership.

General- merchandise

warehouses store

a

great

variety

of

products.

Cold-storage warehouses

store

perishable

goods,

especially

food

products.

Grain

ele-vators

are

a

kind

of warehouse

used

to

keep

wheat and other grains from spoiling. A

bonded warehouse is one that stores foods, frequently imported, on

which taxes must be paid before they are sold. Cigarettes and alcoholic beverages are common examples.

The

distribution

center

is

a

more

recently

developed

kind

of

warehouse.

Many

large

com-

panics

have several manufacturing plants, sometimes located outside the country. Each plant does not make every

company product but specializes in one or more of them. The distribution center allows a manufacturer to

bring

together

all

product

lines

in

one

place.

Its

purpose

is

to

minimize

storage

and

to

ease

the

flow

of

goods

from

manufacturers

to

retailers

rather

than

build

up

extensive

inventories.

It

reduces

costs

by

speeding up product turnover.

V

ery large corporations will have several distribution centers regionally or

internationally based

1. The main subject of this passage is______.

A) transportation and storage

B) storage of products

C) distribution center

D) two main aspects of product distribution

2. Warehousing is important in that _

A) inventories build up before the goods are sold

B) the prices will go down

C) more goods are produced than can be consumed

D) the food has to be put on the market immediately

3. How many types of warehouses for storage are discussed in the passage?

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A) 3.

B) 4.

C) 6.

D) 7.

4. Where might one find meat and milk?

A) Grain elevator.

B) Cold-storage warehouse.

C) Private warehouse.

D) Bonded warehouse.

5. What is NOT true of a distribution center?

A) It is a relatively new type of warehouse.

B) Product is replaced more quickly and costs are down.

C) Some distribution centers are not built in the sane country as the factory

D) It builds up extensive inventories to minimize storage.

Passage 2

How much pain do animals feel? This is a question which has caused endless controversy. Opponents

of big game shooting, for example, arouse our pity by describing tile agonies of a badly-wounded beast that

has crawled into a comer to die. In countries where the fox, the hare and the deer are hunted, animal-lovers

paint harrowing pictures of the pursued animal suffering not only the physical distress of the chase but the

mental anguish of anticipated death.

The

usual

answer

to

these criticisms

is

that

animals

do

not

suffer

in the same way

,

or

to

the

same

extent, as we de. Man was created with a delicate nervous system and has never lost his acute sensitiveness

to pain; animals, on the other hand, had less sensitive systems to begin with and in the course of millions of

years,

have

developed

a

capacity

of

ignoring

injuries

and

disorders

which

human

beings

would

find

intolerable. For example, a dog will continue to play with a ball even after a serious injury to his foot; he

may be unable to run without limping, but he will go on trying long after a human child would have had to

stop because of the pain. We are told, moreover, that even when animals appear to us to be suffering acutely,

this is not so; what seems to us to be agonized contortions caused by pain are in fact no more than muscular

contractions over which they have no control.

These arguments are unsatisfactory because something about which we know a great deal is being

compared with something we can only conjecture. We know what we feel; we have no

means of knowing

what

animals

feet.

Some

creatures with

a

less

delicate

nervous

system

than

ours

may

be

incapable

of

feeling pain to the same extent as we do: that as far as we are entitled

to do, the most humane attitude,

surely, is to assume that no animals are entirely exempt from

physical pain and that we ought, therefore,

wherever possible, to avoid causing suffering even

to the least of them.

6. Animal-lovers assume that animals, being hunted, would suffer from ____.

A) a great deal of agony both in body and in spirit

B) mental distress once they are wounded

C) only body pains without feeling sad

D) crawling into the comer to die

7. Supporters of game shooting may argue that animals ______.

A) cannot control their muscular contractions

B) have developed a capacity of feeling no pain

C) are not as acutely sensitive as human beings to injuries

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D) can endure all kinds of disorders

8. The author feels sure that _____.

A) animals don't show suffering to us

B) dogs are more endurable than human children

C) we cannot know what animals feel

D) comparing animals with human beings is not appropriate

9. What is the author's opinion about animal hunting?

A) We should feel the same as the hunted animals do.

B) We should protect and save all the animals.

C) We shouldn't cause suffering to them.

D) We should take care of them if we can.

10. This passage seems to ____.

A) argue for something

B) explain something

C) tell a story

D) describe an object

Passage 3

In science,

a

theory

is

a reasonable

explanation

of

observed

events

that

are related.

A

the- ory

often

involves an imaginary model that helps scientists picture the way an observed event could be produced. A

good example of this is found in the kinetic molecular theory, in which gases are pictured as being made up

of many small particles that are in constant motion.

A

useful theory, in addition to explaining past observations, helps to predict events that have not as yet

been

observed.

After

a

theory

has

been

publicized,

scientists

design

experi-merits

to

test

the

theory. If

observations confirm the scientists' predictions, the theory is sup-ported. If observations do not confirm the

predictions, the scientists must search further. There may be a fault in the experiment, or the theory may

have to be revised or rejected.

Science

involves

imagination

and

creative

thinking

as

well

as

collecting

information

and

performing experiments. Facts by themselves are not science. As the mathematician Jules Henri Poincare

said:

is

built

with

facts

just

as

a

house

is

built

with

bricks,

but

a collection

of

facts cannot

be

called science any more than a pile of bricks can be called a house.

Most

scientists

start

an

investigation

by

finding

out

what

other

scientists

have

learned

about

a

particular

problem.

After

known

facts

have

been

gathered,

the

scientist

comes

to

the

part

of

the

investigation that requires considerable imagination. Possible solutions to the problem are

formulated. These possible solutions are called hypotheses.

In a way, any hypothesis is a leap into the unknown. It extends the scientist's thinking beyond the known

facts. The scientist plans experiments, performs calculations, and makes ob-servations to test hypotheses.

For without hypotheses, further investigation lacks purpose and direction. When hypotheses are confirmed,

they are incorporated into theories.

11. The word

A) a good example

B) an imaginary model

C) the kinetic molecular theory

D) an observed event

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12. Bricks are mentioned in the 3rd paragraph to indicate how ____.

A) mathematicians approach science

B) building a house is like performing experiments

C) science is more than a collection of facts

D) scientific experiments have led to improved technology

13. In the last paragraph, the author refers to a hypothesis as

der to

show that hypotheses ______.

A) are sometimes ill-conceived

B) can lead to dangerous results

C) go beyond available facts

D) require effort to formulate

14. What is a major function of hypotheses as implied in the last paragraph7

A) Sifting through known facts.

B) Communicating a scientist's thoughts to others.

C) Providing direction for scientific research.

D) Linking together different theories.

15. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?

A) Theories are simply imaginary models of past events.

B) It is better to revise a hypothesis than to reject it.

C) A

scientist's most difficult task is testing hypotheses.

D) A

good scientist needs to be creative.

B) Education systems need to be radically reformed.

C) Going to school is only part of how people become educated.

D) Education involves many years of professional training.

20. The passage is organized by ___

A) listing and discussing several educational problems

B) contrasting the meanings of two related concepts

C) narrating a story about excellent teachers

D) giving examples of different kinds of schools

Passage 5

The

phrase

disobedience

is

usually

attributed

to

the

nineteenth-century

American

philosopher Henry David Thoreau. Although the concept is unquestionably much older (its roots

lie

in ancient Greek philosophy), the designation

is nonetheless telling: people tend to credit Thoreau, an

American, with the idea because civil disobedience, is a hallmark of American eth- ics and politics. The

clash between the dictates of individual conscience on one hand, and the imperatives of civil

law on the

other,

forms

much

of

this

country's

history.

Examples

range

from

the

incidents

leading

up

to

the

Revolution through the many social protests of the 1960'S.

What constitutes an act of civil disobedience? First, an act of civil disobedience requires a

formal

legal structure that is enforced by the government. Second, it requires as its target a

specific law or policy,

rather than the entire legal system. This is true even if the protester's ul- timate goal is to alter radically the

legal system; an act of civil disobedience must be directed

against one concrete example of that system's

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inequities.

The

American

civil

rights

movement,

for

example,

first

targeted

discrimination

on

public

transportation, then used its victories as a

springboard to address other injustices. Third, the act must be

done

publicly,

because

the

ef-

fectiveness

of

such

a

protest

depends

on

its

ability

to

mobilize

public

sentiment

against

the

protest's

target.

Finally,

those

protesting

must

understand

the

penalties

their

acts

entail --us-ually jailing--and be willing to accept those penalties. This last requirement strengthens the act's

effect on public opinion, since it serves to underscore the injustice of the protest's target.

21. The word

A) inappropriate

B) revealing

C) insignificant

D) challenging

22. In the passage, the author mentions that the civil rights movement _______.

A) focused its early efforts on public transportation

B) did not always practice civil disobedience

C) started in nineteenth century

D) used the Revolution of 1776 as its model

23. According to the passage, for which of the following reasons should civil protests be done

publicly?

A) To alter the legal system in radical way.

B) To uphold the imperatives of civil law.

C) To stimulate public support for a cause.

D) To announce the success of a previous act of civil disobedience.

24. The author suggests that when protesters go to jail _______.

A) it helps convince the public to support their cause

B) they usually do so unwillingly

C) it is because their protest has not gone according to plan

D) they are always released almost immediately

25. In the 2nd paragraph, the author ________.

A) argues that civil disobedience is unnecessary

B) provides an extensive history of civil disobedience

C) presents several differing viewpoints on civil disobedience

D) defines the concept of civil disobedience

Passage 6

In taking up a new life across the Atlantic, the early European settlers of the United States did not

abandon the diversions with which their ancestors had traditionally relieved the tedium of life. Neither the

harshness of existence on the new continent nor the scattered population nor the disapproval of the clergy

discouraged the majority from the pursuit of pleasure.

City

and

country

dwellers,

of

course, conducted

this

pursuit

in

different ways.

Farm

dwellers

in

their

isolation

not

only

found

it

harder

to

locate

companions

in

play

but

also,

thanks

to

the

unending

demands

and

pressures

of

their

work,

felt

it

necessary

to

combine

fun

with

purpose.

No

other

set

of

colonists took so seriously an expression of the period,

countryside farmers therefore relieved the burden of the daily routine with such double- purpose relaxations

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as hunting, fishing, and trapping. When a neighbor needed help, families rallied from miles around to assist

in building a house or barn, husking corn, shearing sheep, or chopping wood. Food, drink, and celebration

after the group work

provided relaxation and soothed weary muscles.

The

most

eagerly

anticipated

social

events were

the

rural

parties.

Hundreds

of

men, women,

and

children

attended

from

far

and

near.

The

men

bought

or

traded

farm

animals

and

acquired

needed

merchandise

while

the

women

displayed

food

prepared

in

their

kitchens,

and

everyone,

including

the

youngsters, watched or participated in a variety of competitive sports, with prizes awarded to the winners.

These events typically included horse races, wrestling matches, and foot races, as well as some nonathletic

events

such

as whistling

competitions.

No

other

occasions

did

so

much to

relieve

the

isolation

of

farm

existence.

With the open countryside everywhere at hand, city dwellers naturally shared in some of

the

rural

diversions.

Favored

recreations

included

fishing,

hunting,

skating,

and

swimming.

But

city

dwellers also developed other pleasures, which only compact communities made possible.

26. What is the passage mainly about?

A) Methods of fanning used by early settlers of the United States.

B) Hardships faced by the early settlers of the United States.

C) Methods of buying, selling, and trading used by early settlers of the United States.

D) Ways in which early settlers of the United States relaxed.

27. What can be inferred about the diversions of the early settlers of the United States?

A) They followed a pattern Begun in Europe.

B) They were enjoyed more frequently than in Europe.

C) The clergy organized them.

D) Only the wealthy participated in them.

28. Which of the following can be said about the country dwellers' altitude toward

of pleasure

A) They felt that it should help keep their minds on their work.

B) They felt that it was not necessary

.

C) They felt that it should be productive.

D) They felt that it should not involve eating and drinking.

29. What is meant by the phrase

A) V

ery frequent.

B) Useful and enjoyable.

C) Extremely necessary

.

D) Positive and negative.

30. What will the author probably discuss in the paragraph following this passage?

A) The rural diversions enjoyed by both urban and rural people.

B) Leisure activities of city dwellers.

C) Building methods of the early settlers in rural areas.

D) Changes in lifestyles of settlers as they moved to the cities.

Passage 7

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For me,

scientific

knowledge

is

divided

into

mathematical

sciences,

natural sciences

or

sciences

dealing

with

the

natural

world

(physical

and

biological

sciences),

and

sciences

dealing

with

mankind

(psychology,

sociology,

all

the

sciences

of

cultural

achievements,

every

kind

of

historical

knowledge).

Apart from these sciences is philosophy, about which we will talk later. In the first place, all this is pure or

theoretical knowledge that

is intrinsic and consubstautial to man.

What distinguishes man from animal

is

that he knows and needs to know. If man did not know that the world existed, and that the world was of a

certain kind, that he was in the world and that he himself was of a certain kind, he wouldn't be a man. The

technical

aspects

or

applications

of

knowledge

are

equally

necessary

for

man

and

are

of

the

greatest

importance,

because

they

also

contribute

to

defining

him

as

man

and

permit

him

to

pursue

a

life

increasingly more truly human.

But even while enjoying the results of technical progress, he must defend the primacy and autonomy

of

pure

knowledge.

Knowledge

sought

directly

for

its

practical

applications

will

have

immediate

and

foreseeable

success,

but

not

the

kind

of

important

result

whose

revolutionary

scope

is

in

large

part

unforeseen, except by the imagination of the Utopians. Let me recall a we N-known example. If the Greek

mathematicians had not applied themselves to the investigation of conic sections zealously and without the

least suspicion that it might someday be useful, it would not have been possible centuries later to navigate

far from shore. The first

men

to

study

the

nature

of

electricity could

not

imagine

that

their

experiments,

carried

on

because

of

mere

intellectual

curiosity, would

eventually

lead

to

modern

electrical

technology,

without which we can scarcely conceive of contemporary life. Pure knowledge is valuable for its own sake,

be-cause

the

human spirit

cannot resign

itself

to

ignorance.

But,

in

addition,

the foundation

for

practical

results would not have been reached if this knowledge had not been sought disinterestedly.

31. The most important advances made by mankind come from __.

A) technical applications

B) apparently useless information

C) the natural sciences

D) philosophy

32. The word

A) idealists

B) Greek mathematicians

C) scientists

D) true human

33. In the paragraph the follows this passage, we may expect the author to discuss __.

A) the value of technical research

B) the value of pure research

C) philosophy

D) unforeseen discoveries

34. The word

A) dismiss

B) quit

C) remark

D) submit

35. The title that best expresses the ideas of this passage is __.

A)

B)

Little Learning is a Dangerous Thing

C)

D)

Passage 8

In most of the human civilization of which we have any proper records, youth has drawn on

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either art or life for models, planning to emulate the heroes depicted in epics on the shadow play screen or

the

stage,

or

those

known

human

beings,

fathers

or

grandfathers,

chiefs

or

craftsmen,

whose

every

characteristic can

be studied

and

imitated.

As

recently

as

1910,

this was

the

prevailing

condition

in

the

United States. If he came from a nonliterate background, the recent immigrant learned to speak, move, and

think like an American by using his eyes and ears on the labor line and in the homes of more acculturated

cousins, by watching school children, or by absorbing the standards of the teacher, the foreman, the clerk

who served him in the store. For the literate and the literate children of the nouliterate, there was art--the

story of the frustrated artist in the prairie town, of the second generation battling with the limitations of the

first. And at a simpler level, there were the Western and Hollywood fairy tales which pointed a moral but

did not, as a rule, teach table manners.

With the development of the countermovement against Hollywood, with the efflorescence (

全盛

)of

photography,

with

Time-Life-Fortune

types

of

reporting

and

the

dead-pan

New

Y

orker

manner

of

describing the life of an old-clothes dealer in a forgotten street or of presenting the

details of the lives of people whose eminence gave at least a sort of license to attack them, with the passion

for

writers

who

knew

nothing

about

proletarians,

and

middleclass

readers

who

needed

the

shock

of

verisimilitude(

真实

)--a new era in American

life was ushered in, the era in which young people imitated

neither life nor art nor fairy tale, but instead were presented with models drawn from life with minimal but

crucial distortions. Doctored life histories, posed carelessness,

which took hours to arrange, pictures shot from real life to scripts written months before supplemented

by national polls and surveys which assured the reader that this bobby soxer (

少女

)did indeed represent a

national norm or a growing trend--replaced the older models.

36. This article is based on the idea that ________.

A) people today no longer follow models

B) People attach little importance to whoever they follow

C) people generally pattern their lives after models

D) People no longer respect heroes

37.

Stories

of

the

second

generation

battling

against

the

limitations

of

the

first

were

often

re-

sponsible for ______.

A) inspiring literate immigrants

B) frustrating educated immigrants

C) preventing the assimilation of immigrants

D) instilling into immigrants an antagonistic attitude toward their forebears

38. The countermovement against Hollywood was a movement ______

A) toward realism

B) toward fantasy

C) against the teaching of morals

D) away from realism

39. The author attributes the change in attitudes since 1910 to ____

A) a logical evolution of ideas

B) widespread moral decay

C) the influence of the press

D) a philosophy of plenty

40. The word

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