北京師范大學(xué)考博英語歷年真題及詳解

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2015年北京師范大學(xué)考博英語真題及詳解PartIReading

Comprehension(45%)

Directions:Read

thefollowingpassagescarefullyandthenselectthebestanswerfromthefour

choicesmarkedA,B,CandDbymarkingthecorrespondingletterontheANSWER

SHEETwithasinglelinethroughthecenter.

1

ThePacificNorthwestcoastofnorthAmericaistemperaterainforest,wheretrees

liketheredcedargrowstraighttrunksmorethantwometersthickatthebase

andsixtymetershigh.Westernredcedarisoftencalledthecanoecedar

becauseitsuppliedthenativepeopleoftheregionwiththerawmaterialfor

theirseagoingdugoutcanoes.Theseextraordinarycrafts,asmuchastwenty

metersinlength,werefashionedfromasingletreetrunkandcarriedasmany

asfortyonfishingandwhalingexpeditionsintotheopenocean.

The

HaidapeoplefromtheQueenCharlottesIslandsoffBritishColumbiawerenoted

fortheirskillincanoebuilding.Afterfellingagianttreewithcontrolled

burning,thecanoemakerssplitthelogintolengthwisesectionswithstone

wedges.Theyburnedawaysomeoftheheartwood,leavingaroughbutstrong

cedarshell.Theythencarved

awaywoodfromtheinside,keepingthesectionsbelowthewaterlinethickest

andheaviesttohelpkeepthecanoeuprightinstormyseas.Tofurther

enhancethecanoe’sstability,theyfilledthehullwithwaterandheateditto

boilingbydroppinginhotstones.Thisrenderedthewoodtemporarilyflexible,

sothesidesofthehullcouldbeforcedapartandheldwithsturdywooden

thwarts,whichservedasbothcrossbracesandseats.Thecanoeswereoftenpaintedwithelaboratedesignsof

culturalsignificancetothetribe.

The

Haidaraisedcanoebuilding

toahighart,designingboatsofsuchbeautyandutilitythatneighboringtribeswerewillingto

exchangequantitiesofhides,meats,andoilsforaHaidacanoe.These

gracefulvesselsbecamethetribe’schiefitemofexport.Intheirswiftandstaunch

canoes,

thefirstpeopleoftheNorthwestwereabletotakefulladvantageofthe

richesprovidedbythesea.Withharpoonsofyewwood,baitedhooksofred

cedar,andlinesoftwistedandbraidedbarkfibers,theyfishedforcod,

sturgeon,andhalibut,andhuntedwhales,seals,andseaotters.

1

Whydidthecanoemakerskeepthesectionsofthecanoebelowthewaterline

thickestandheaviest?

A.

Topreventthecanoefromoverturninginroughwater.

B.

Toshortentheworkofcarvingwoodfromtheinside.

C.

Toavoidhavingtopaintthebottomofthecanoe.

D.

Tomakethecanoestrongenoughtoholdfortypeople.

2

Whichofthefollowingcanbeinferredfromparagraphtwo?

A.

Carvingchangedthetextureandstrengthofthewood.

B.

Ittookthecanoemakersseveralmonthstobuildacanoe.

C.

Thewoodwasbeatenwithstonetoolstomakeitflexible.

D.

CanoeswereimportantculturalartifactsoftheHaida.

3

Thewordstaunchinparagraphthreeiscloseinmeaningto_____.

A.

silent

B.

strong

C.

scented

D.

severe

4It

canbeinferredfromparagraphthreethat_____.

A.

canoesweretheHaida’sonlyknownartform

B.

theHaidadominatedtradeamonglocaltribes

C.

thepeopleusedupallofthenaturalresources

D.

treesprovidedessentialtoolsforobtainingfood

5Which

ofthefollowingstatementscanbeinferredfromthepassage?

A.

Thewesternredcedarthrivesinavarietyofclimates.

B.

TheskilloftheHaidacanoemakershasneverbeencopied.

C.

Haidacanoeswereofgreatvalueintheregionaleconomy.

D.

Peoplenolongerusecedarcanoesforfishingandwhaling.

【答案與解析】

1A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)題干可定位至第二段。該段第四句提到“Theythencarvedawaywoodfrom

theinside,keepingthesectionsbelowthewaterlinethickestandheaviestto

helpkeepthecanoeuprightinstormyseas.”，由此可知，海達人將水平面以下的獨木舟部分造得最厚最重，是為了讓船只能夠在波濤洶涌的海上平穩(wěn)前行，不被海浪掀翻。A項表述與此相符。故選A項。

2D 推理判斷題。第二段最后一句提到“Thecanoeswereoftenpaintedwith

elaboratedesignsofculturalsignificancetothetribe.”，由此可知，海達人在獨木舟上面繪制對本部落具有文化意義的精巧圖案，因此獨木舟也是海達人重要的文化產(chǎn)品。故D項正確。雕刻并不會改變木頭的紋理和受壓情況，故A項錯誤；B項文中沒有提及；文中提到往船身灌水并通過丟熱石頭將水加熱至沸騰，并不是用石頭敲打，故C項錯誤。

3B 語義判斷題。第三段第三句提到“Intheirswiftandstaunchcanoes”，此處staunch和swift都用于形容獨木舟的特征，第二段介紹獨木舟的制作方法時強調(diào)了獨木舟的結(jié)實，瀏覽四個選項，B項strong（結(jié)實的）符合原文意思，故B項正確。其余三項均不符合文章意思。

4D 推理判斷題。文章最后一句提到“Withharpoonsofyewwood,baitedhooks

ofredcedar,andlinesoftwistedandbraidedbarkfibers,theyfishedfor

cod,sturgeon,andhalibut,andhuntedwhales,seals,andseaotters.”，由此可知，木材為海達人提供了重要的捕食工具，故D項正確。A項過于絕對；B、C兩項文中沒有提及。

5C 推理判斷題。文章最后一段第一句提到“...neighboringtribeswerewillingto

exchangequantitiesofhides,meats,andoilsforaHaidacanoe.”，由此可知，周圍的部落都愿意用許多獸皮、肉和油來交換海達獨木舟，因此海達人的獨木舟對當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)濟起著重要作用。故C項正確。

2

Nothing

inthehistoryofmodernastronomyhasexcitedasmuchspeculationasthe

object,orevent,knownasablackhole.Blackholeshaveprovidedendlessimaginativefodderforsciencefictionwritersandendlesstheoretical

fodderforastrophysicists.Theyareoneofthemoreexotic

manifestationsofthetheoryofgeneralrelativity,andtheirfascinationslies

inthewaytheirtremendousgravityaffectsnearbyspaceandtime.

A

blackholeisverysimpleinstructure:ithassurface—theeventhorizon—anda

center—thesingularity.Everythingelseisgravity.Thestandardmodelforthe

formationofablackholeinvolvesthecollapseofalargestar.Theimaginaryspherical

surface

surroundingthecollapsedstaristheeventhorizon—anartificialboundaryin

spacethatmarksapointofnoreturn.Outsidetheeventhorizon,gravityis

strongbutfinite,anditispossibleforobjectstobreakfreeofitspull.

However,oncewithintheeventhorizon,anobjectwouldneedtotravelfaster

thanlighttoescape.

For

extremelymassivestars,the

exclusionprinciple—theresistancebetweenthemolecularparticleswithinthe

starastheyarecompressed—willnotbestrongenoughtooffsetthegravity

generatedbythestar’sownmass.Thestar’sincreasingdensitywilloverwhelm

theexclusionprinciple.Whatfollowsisrunawaygravitationalcollapse.With

nointernalforcetostopit,thestarwillsimplycontinuetocollapseinon

itself.Onceacollapsingstarhascontractedthroughitseventhorizon,

nothingcanstopitfromcollapsingfurtheruntilitsentiremassiscrushed

downtoasinglepoint—apointofinfinitedensityandzerovolume—thesingularity.

Thestarnowdisappearsfromthe

perceivableuniverse,likeacartooncharacterthatjumpsintoaholeandpulls

theholeinafterhim.Whatthisprocessleavesbehindisa

differentkindofhole—aprofounddisturbanceinspace-time,aregionwhere

gravityissointensethatnothingcanescapefromit.Anyobjectfalling

withintheboundaryofablackholehasnochoicebuttomoveinwardtowardthe

singularityanddisappearfromouruniverseforever.Moreover,ablackholecan

neverbepluggeduporfilledinwithmatter,themorematterthatispoured

intoablackhole,thebiggeritgets.

What

wouldhappentoobjects,suchasastronauts,astheyvanishedintoablack

hole?Physicistshavebeenamusingthemselveswiththisquestionforyears,and

mostbelievethattheintensegravitational

forceswouldripaparttheastronautslongbeforetheywerecrushedatthesingularity.

Theoretically,anyastronautswhomanagedtosurvivethepassagewould

encountersomeverystrangethings.Forinstance,theywouldexperienceacutetimedistortion,whichwould

enablethemtoknow,inafewbriefseconds,theentirefutureoftheuniverse.

Inside

ablackhole,spaceandtimearesowarpedthatthedistancefromtheevent

horizontothesingularityisnotadistanceintime.Thetimeittakesto

reachthesingularityfromtheeventhorizon—asmeasuredbysomeonefallingin—is

proportionaltothemassoftheblackhole.

The

onlywaythatastronautswouldknowwhethertheyhadcrossedtheeventhorizon

wouldbeiftheytriedtohalttheirfallandclimboutagainbyfiringtheir

enginesenoughtopushthemselvesbackfromthecenterofthehole.However,

becauseofthetimewarp,iftheastronautstriedtodothis,theywouldreach

thesingularityfasterthaniftheyhadlefttheirenginesoff.Moreover,sincetheycouldgetnofartheronce

theyhadreachedthesingularity,thispointwould

marktheendoftimeitself.

6

Thewordfodderinparagraphoneisclosestinmeaningto_____.

A.

material

B.

stories

C.

support

D.

problems

7Theopposingforcebetweenthe

molecularparticlesinsideastariscalled_____.

A.

generalrelativity

B.

theexclusionprinciple

C.

infinitedensity

D.

thesingularity

8

Whydoestheauthormentionacartooncharacterinparagraphfour?

A.

Toillustratethecompletedisappearanceofacollapsingstar.

B.

Towarnofthedangerofbeingsuckedintoablackhole.

C.

Topointoutahumorousphenomenoninastrophysics.

D.

Toannouncethecreationofacartoonaboutblackholes.

9

Astronautswhofellintoablackholewouldprobablyexperienceallofthe

followingEXCEPT______.

A.

distortionofspaceandtime

B.

travellingfasterthanlight

C.

knowledgeoftheuniverse

D.

stronggravitationalforces

10

Thephrasethispointinparagraphsevenrefersto_____.

A.

Theeventhorizon

B.

Firingtheirengines

C.

Thetimewarp

D.

Thesingularity

【答案與解析】

6A 語義判斷題。文章首段第二句提到“Blackholeshaveprovidedendless

imaginativefodderforsciencefictionwritersandendlesstheoretical

fodderforastrophysicists.”，由此可以推斷，黑洞豐富了科幻小說作家的科幻小說以及天體物理學(xué)家的理論，為其提供了創(chuàng)作的源泉，故fodder（飼料，草料；彈藥）在此處表示“素材，材料”，因此A項正確。

7B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章第三段第一句提到“...theexclusionprinciple—the

resistancebetweenthemolecularparticleswithinthestarastheyare

compressed”，由此可知，相斥理論表示星體內(nèi)部分子顆粒之間的斥力，故B項正確。

8A 推理判斷題。第四段第一句提到“Thestarnowdisappearsfromthe

perceivableuniverse,likeacartooncharacterthatjumpsintoaholeandpulls

theholeinafterhim.”，作者將星體的消失比作卡通人物的消失，以此來更加形象地闡述星體的消失。故A項正確。

9B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由題干可定位至倒數(shù)第三段。由該段最后一句“theywouldexperienceacutetime

distortion,whichwouldenablethemtoknow,inafewbriefseconds,theentire

futureoftheuniverse.”可知，在黑洞中人們會經(jīng)歷時間的扭曲，而時間的扭曲會讓他們在簡短的幾秒鐘之內(nèi)知道宇宙的未來，故A、C項正確；由該段第二句“most

believethattheintensegravitationalforceswouldripaparttheastronauts”可知，在黑洞中人們會受到重力影響，故D項正確。只有B項與黑洞無關(guān)，故選B。

10D細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章最后一句提到“since

theycouldgetnofartheroncetheyhadreachedthesingularity,

thispointwouldmarktheendoftimeitself.（由于他們在到達奇點之后便無法繼續(xù)前行，奇點也意味著時間的結(jié)束）”，由此可以推斷，thispoint指的是奇點。故D項正確。

3

The

geologyoftheEarth'ssurfaceisdominatedbytheparticularpropertiesof

water.PresentonEarthinsolid,liquid,andgaseousstates,wateris

exceptionallyreactive.Itdissolves,transports,andprecipitatesmany

chemicalcompoundsandisconstantlymodifyingthefaceoftheEarth.

Evaporated

fromtheoceans,watervaporformsclouds,someofwhicharetransported

bywindoverthecontinents.Condensationfromthecloudsprovides

theessentialagentofcontinentalerosion:rain.Precipitatedontotheground,

thewatertricklesdowntoformbrooks,streams,andrivers,constitutingwhat

iscalledthehydrographicnetwork.Thisimmensepolarizednetworkchannelsthe

watertowardasinglereceptacle:anocean.Gravitydominatesthisentirestep

inthecyclebecausewatertendstominimizeitspotentialenergybyrunning

fromhighaltitudestowardthereferencepointthatissealevel. 

The

rateatwhichamoleculeofwaterpassesthroughthecycleisnotrandombutis

ameasureoftherelativesizeofthevariousreservoirs.Ifwedefine

residencetimeastheaveragetimeforawatermoleculetopassthroughoneof

thethreereservoirs—atmosphere,continent,andocean—weseethatthetimesare

verydifferent.Awatermoleculestays,onanaverage,elevendaysinthe

atmosphere,onehundredyearsonacontinentandfortythousandyearsinthe

ocean.Thislastfigureshowstheimportanceoftheoceanastheprincipal

reservoirofthehydrospherebutalsotherapidityof

watertransportonthecontinents. 

A

vastchemicalseparationprocesstakesplaceduringtheflowofwateroverthe

continents.Solubleionssuchascalcium,sodium,

potassium,andsomemagnesiumaredissolvedandtransported.Insolubleions

suchasaluminum,iron,andsiliconstaywheretheyareandformthethin,

fertileskinofsoilonwhichvegetationcangrow.Sometimessoilsare

destroyedandtransportedmechanicallyduringflooding.Theerosionofthe

continentsthusresultsfromtwocloselylinkedandinterdependentprocesses,

chemicalerosionandmechanicalerosion.Theirrespectiveinteractionsand

efficiencydependondifferentfactors. 

11

Theword“which”inline4refersto_____.

A.

clouds

B.

oceans

C.

continents

D.

compounds

12

Accordingtothepassage,cloudsareprimarilyformedbywater______. 

A.

precipitatingontotheground 

B.

changingfromasolidtoaliquidstate 

C.

evaporatingfromtheoceans 

D.

beingcarriedbywind 

13

Thepassagesuggeststhatthepurposeofthe“hydrographicnetwork”isto

______.

A.

determinethesizeofmoleculesofwater 

B.

preventsoilerosioncausedbyflooding 

C.

movewaterfromtheEarth'ssurfacetotheoceans 

D.

regulatetherateofwaterflowfromstreamsandrivers 

14Whatdeterminestherateatwhicha

moleculeofwatermovesthroughthecycle,asdiscussedinthethird

paragraph? 

A.

Thepotentialenergycontainedinwater. 

B.

Theeffectsofatmosphericpressureonchemicalcompounds. 

C.

Theamountsofrainfallthatfallonthecontinents. 

D.

Therelativesizeofthewaterstorageareas. 

15

Theword“rapidity”inparagraph3isclosestinmeaningto_____.

 

A.significance

 

B.method

C.

swiftness

D.

reliability

【答案與解析】

11A 語義判斷題。第二段第一句提到“Evaporatedfrom

theoceans,watervaporformsclouds,someofwhicharetransportedbywind

overthecontinents.”，其中some

ofwhich為非限制性定語從句，修飾clouds，故which指代的內(nèi)容應(yīng)為clouds。因此A項正確。

12C 

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞clouds可定位至第二段。由該段第一句中的“Evaporated

fromtheoceans,watervaporformsclouds”可知，從海洋蒸發(fā)的水蒸氣形成云。因此答案為C項。

13C 

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞hydrographic

network定位至第二段。由該段倒數(shù)第二句中的“This…networkchannelsthewatertowarda

singlereceptacle:anocean”可知，水紋網(wǎng)是為了將水匯集到大海。因此答案為C項。

14D 

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)題干定位至第三段。由該段第一句中的“therateatwhich...isameasureofthe

relativesizeofthevariousreservoirs”可知，水分子穿越的速度是由不同水庫的相對大小決定的。因此答案為D項。

15C 語義判斷題。rapidity詞根為形容詞rapid，表示“迅速的，快速的”，rapidity為名詞，表示“迅速，快速”，與swiftness（速度，迅速）意思相近，故C項正確。

4

Our

culturehascausedmostAmericanstoassumenotonlythatourlanguageis

universalbutthatthegesturesweuseareunderstoodbyeveryone.Wedonot

realizethatwavinggood-byeisthewaytosummonapersonfromthePhilippines

toone'sside,orthatinItalyandsomeLatin-Americancountries,curlingthe

fingertooneselfisasignoffarewell.

Those

privatecitizenswhosentpackagestoourtroopsoccupyingGermanyafterWorld

WarIIandmarkedthemGIFTtoescapedutypaymentsdidnotbothertofindout

that“Gift”meanspoisoninGerman.Moreover,weliketothinkofourselvesas

friendly,yetweprefertobeatleast3feetoranarm'slengthawayfrom

others.LatinsandMiddleEasternersliketocomecloserandtouch,whichmakes

Americansuncomfortable.

Our

linguisticandculturalblindnessandthecasualnesswithwhichwetakenotice

ofthedevelopedtastes,gestures,customsandlanguagesofothercountries,arelosingusfriends,businessand

respectintheworld.

Even

hereintheUnitedStates,wemakefewconcessionstotheneedsofforeign

visitors.Therearenoinformationsignsinfourlanguagesonourpublic

buildingsormonuments;wedonothavemultilingualguidetours.Veryfew

restaurantmenushavetranslations,andmultilingualwaiters,bankclerksand

policemenarerare.OurtransportationsystemshavemapsinEnglishonlyand

oftenweourselveshavedifficultyunderstandingthem. 

When

wegoabroad,wetendtoclusterinhotelsandrestaurantswhereEnglishis

spoken.Theattitudesandinformationwepickupareconditionedbythose

natives—usuallythericher—whospeakEnglish.Ourbusinessdealings,aswellas

thenation'sdiplomacy,areconductedthroughinterpreters.

For

manyyears,AmericaandAmericanscouldgetbywithculturalblindnessand

linguisticignorance.AfterallofAmericawasthemostpowerfulcountryofthe

freeworld,thedistributorofneededfundsandgoods.

But

allthatispast.Americandollarsnolongerbuyallgoodthings,andweareslowlybeginningtorealize

thatourproperroleintheworldischanging.A1979Harrispollreported

that55percentofAmericanswantthiscountrytoplayamoresignificantrole

inworldaffairs;wewanttohaveahandintheimportantdecisionsofthenext

century,eventhoughitmaynotalwaysbetheupperhand.

16Itcanbe

inferredthatAmericansbeingapproachedtoocloselybyMiddleEasternerswould

mostprobably____.

A.

standstill 

B.

jumpaside

C.

stepforward 

D.

drawback

17The

authorgivesmanyexamplestocriticizeAmericansfortheir____.

A.

culturalself-centeredness

B.

casualmanners

C.

indifferencetowardsforeignvisitors

D.

arrogancetowardsothercountries

18In

countriesotherthantheirownmostAmericans____.

A.

areisolatedbythelocalpeople

B.

arenotwellinformedduetothelanguagebarrier

C.

tendtogetalongwellwiththenatives

D.

needinterpretersinhotelsandrestaurants

19According

totheauthor,Americans'culturalblindnessandlinguisticignorancewill____.

A.

affecttheirimageinthenewera

B.

cutthemselvesofffromtheoutsideworld

C.

limittheirroleinworldaffairs

D.

weakenthepositionoftheUSdollar

20The

author'sintentioninwritingthisarticleistomakeAmericansrealizethat

____.

A.

itisdangeroustoignoretheirforeignfriends

B.

itisimportanttomaintaintheirleadingroleinworldaffairs

C.

itisnecessarytouseseverallanguagesinpublicplaces

D.

itistimetogetacquaintedwithothercultures 

【答案與解析】

16D 

語義推理題。根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞Middle

Easterners可定位至文章第二段。由該段最后一句“Latins

andMiddleEasternersliketocomecloserandtouch,whichmakesAmericans

uncomfortable”可知，中東人喜歡靠得很近甚至?xí)薪佑|，美國人會覺得這樣令人不舒服。不舒服的話可能會下意識地后退，draw

back表示“后退”，因此答案為D項。stand

still站著不動。jumpaside快速側(cè)身。stepforward向前走。

17A 

主旨大意題。通讀全文可知，文章在批評美國忽視他國的語言文化。第一、二段提出問題并舉例表明一些不同國家與美國之間不同的行為習(xí)慣；第三段說美國人對他國語言和文化的無視以及散漫的態(tài)度，導(dǎo)致“…are

losingusfriends,businessandrespectintheworld”，也就是說，美國人正在失去這個世界上的友誼、商務(wù)機會和尊重；第四、五段描述了一系列具體的例子，比如美國的餐館中菜單很少有翻譯，服務(wù)員只會英語，而美國人出國后也多選擇住進可以說英語的酒店等等；第六段說之前美國是強國，因此可以無視文化和語言差異；最后一段回到現(xiàn)在，提醒美國不要太自我，唯有兼容并包才能鞏固美國的地位。因此答案為A項。

18B 

語義推理題。根據(jù)題干可定位至第五段。該段第一句說美國人在國外傾向于扎堆在可以說英語的酒店和飯館；第二句說美國人在國外得到的態(tài)度和信息取決于講英語的本地人。容易被本地人誤導(dǎo)。因此答案為B項。

19C 

推理判斷題。結(jié)合文章第三段中提到的“…are

losingusfriends,businessandrespectintheworld”和最后一段中提到的“weareslowlybeginningto

realizethatourproperroleintheworldischanging”可知，美國人在文化和語言上的茫然和無知會限制美國在國際事務(wù)中的作用。因此答案為C項。

20D 

主旨大意題。根據(jù)對全文的分析，可知作者希望美國人能重視對其他文化的了解。因此答案為D項。

5

Historians

haveonlyrecentlybeguntonotetheincreaseindemandofluxurygoodsand

servicesthattookplaceineighteenth-centuryEngland.McKendrickhasexplored

theWedgwoodfirm’sremarkablesuccessinmarketingluxurypottery;Plumbhas

writtenabouttheproliferationofprovincialtheaters,musicalfestivals,and

children’stoysandbooks.Whilethefactofthisconsumerrevolutionishardly

indoubt,threekeyquestionsremain:Whoweretheconsumers?Whatweretheir

motives?Andwhatweretheeffectsofthenewdemandforluxuries? 

An

answertothefirstofthesehasbeendifficulttoobtain.Althoughithasbeen

possibletoinferfromthegoodsandservicesactuallyproducedwhat

manufacturesandservingtradesthoughttheircustomerswanted,onlyastudyof

relevantpersonaldocumentswrittenbyactualconsumerswillprovideaprecise

pictureofwhowantedwhat.Westillneedtoknowhowlargethisconsumer

marketwasandhowfardownthesocialscaletheconsumerdemandforluxury

goodspenetrated.Withregardtothislastquestion,wemightnoteinpassing

thatThompson,whilerightlyrestoringlaboringpeopletothestageof

eighteenth-centuryEnglishhistory,hasprobablyexaggeratedtheoppositionof

thesepeopletotheinroadsofcapitalistconsumerismingeneral;forexample,

laboringpeopleineighteenth-centuryEnglandreadilyshiftedfromhome-brewed

beertostandardizedbeerproducedbyhuge,heavilycapitalizedurban

breweries.

To

answerthequestionofwhyconsumersbecamesoeagertobuy,somehistorians

havepointedtotheabilityofmanufacturerstoadvertiseinrelatively

uncensoredpress.This,however,hardlyseemsasufficientanswer.McKendrickfavorsaVeblenmodelof

conspicuousconsumptionstimulatedbycompetitionforstatus.The“middling

sort”boughtgoodsandservicesbecausetheywantedtofollowfashionssetby

therich.Again,wemaywonderwhetherthisexplanationissufficient.Donot

peopleenjoybuyingthingsasaformofself-gratification?Ifso,consumerism

couldbeseenasaproductoftheriseofnewconceptsofindividualismand

materialism,butnotnecessarilyofthefrenzyforconspicuouscompetition.

Finally,

whatweretheconsequencesofthisconsumerdemandforluxuries?McKendrick

claimsthatitgoesalongwaytowardexplainingthecomingoftheIndustrial

Revolution.Butdoesit?What,forexample,doestheproductionofhighquality

potteryandtoyshavetodowiththedevelopmentofironmanufactureortextile

mills?Itisperfectlypossibletohavethepsychologyandrealityofa

consumersocietywithoutaheavyindustrialsector. 

That

futureexplorationofthesekeyquestionsisundoubtedlynecessaryshouldnot,

however,diminishtheforceoftheconclusionofrecentstudies:theinsatiable

demandineighteenth-centuryEnglandforfrivolousaswellasusefulgoodsand

servicesforeshadowsourownworld. 

21

Inthefirstparagraph,theauthormentionsMcKendrickandPlumbmostprobably

inorderto_____. 

A.

contrasttheirviewsonthesubjectofluxuryconsumerismineighteenth-century

England 

B.

indicatetheinadequacyofapproachestoeighteenth-centuryEnglish

history 

C.giveexamplesofhistorianswhohave

helpedtoestablishthefactofgrowingconsumerismineighteenth-century

England 

D.supportthecontentionthatkey

questionsabouteighteenth-centuryconsumerismremaintobeanswered 

22AccordingtoThompsonwhatkindofattitude

didlaboringpeopleineighteenth-centuryEnglandhavetowardcapitalist

consumerism?

A.

Enthusiasm.

B.

Curiosity.

C.

Stubbornness.

D.

Hostility.

23

Inthethirdparagraph,theauthorisprimarilyconcernedwith_____. 

A.

contrastingtwothesesandofferingacompromise 

B.

questioningtwoexplanationsandproposingapossiblealternativetothem 

C.

paraphrasingtheworkoftwohistoriansandquestioningtheirassumptions

D.

raisingseveralquestionsbutimplyingthattheycannotbeanswered

24Accordingtothepassage,aVeblen

modelofconspicuousconsumptionhasbeenusedto_____.

A.

explainthemotivationofeighteenth-centuryconsumerstobuyluxurygoods

B.

classifythekindsofluxurygoodsdesiredbyeighteenth-centuryconsumers

C.investigatetheextentofthedemand

forluxurygoodsamongsocialclassesineighteenth-centuryEngland

D.compareluxuryconsumerismin

eighteenth-centuryEnglandwithsuchconsumerisminthe20thcentury

25Accordingtotheauthor,

eighteenth-centuryEnglandandthecontemporaryworldofthepassage’sreaders

are_____. 

A.

dissimilarintheextenttowhichluxuryconsumerismcouldbesaidtobe

widespreadamongthesocialclasses 

B.

dissimilarintheirdefinitionsofluxurygoodsandservices 

C.dissimilarintheextenttowhichluxury

goodscouldbesaidtobestimulantofindustrialdevelopment 

D.

similarintheirstrongdemandforavarietyofgoodsandservices 

【答案與解析】

21C 推理判斷題。根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞McKendrickandPlumb定位至第一段。該段第二句舉例是為了說明第一句話“Historianshave

onlyrecentlybeguntonotetheincreaseindemandforluxurygoodsand

servicesthattookplaceineighteenth-centuryEngland”，即歷史學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)十八世紀(jì)的英格蘭對奢侈商品和服務(wù)的需求增加。因此答案為C項。 

22D 

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞Thompson可定位至第二段。由該段中間部分的“Thompson…h(huán)as

probablyexaggeratedtheoppositionofthesepeopletotheinroadsof

capitalistconsumerismingeneral”可知，Thompson可能夸大了勞工對資本主義消費侵略的敵對情緒。enthusiasm熱情。curiosity好奇。stubbornness倔強。hostility敵對。因此答案為D項。

23B 段落大意題。第三段的第一、二句將消費者們的強烈的購買歸因于商家做廣告的能力，但這種解釋不充分。第三、四、五句是對此問題的另一種解釋，即：they

wantedtofollowfashionssetbytherich（他們想跟隨那些富人的潮流），但作者仍然質(zhì)疑這種解釋的充分性。第六、七句是作者本人針對前面兩個解釋所提出的另外一種解釋，即：Do

notpeopleenjoybuyingthingsasaformofself-gratification?（人們是不是為了獲得自我滿足而愛上購物”。因此本段主要針對購買欲現(xiàn)存的兩個理論提出質(zhì)疑，并提出新的理論，故答案為B。

24A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由關(guān)鍵詞“Veblenmodel”可定位至倒數(shù)第三段。該段第三句提到“McKendrick

favorsaVeblenmodelof

conspicuousconsumptionstimulatedbycompetitionforstatus.”，由此可以推斷，凡勃倫模型可用來解釋社會地位競爭所激發(fā)的明顯消費增長，也就是說，可以解釋18世紀(jì)消費者購買奢侈品的動機。故A項正確。

25D 

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞thecontemporary

worldofthetextreaders可定位至最后一段。由該段中的“demandineighteenth-centuryEnglandfor…goods

andservices…foreshadowsourownworld”可知，十八世紀(jì)英格蘭對奢侈商品的需求也預(yù)示出了當(dāng)今社會的狀況。因此答案為D項。

6

Pity

thosewhoaspiretoputtheinitialsPhDaftertheirnames.After16yearsof

closelysupervisededucation,prospectivedoctorsofphilosophyareleftmore

orlessalonetowriteth