2009年考研英语试题及答案.pdf
徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长2009年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section IUse of EnglishDirections:Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blankand mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)Research on animal intelligence always makes me wonder just how smarthumans are. 大1家 the fruit-fly experiments described in Carl Zimmerspiece in the Science Times on Tuesday. Fruit flies who were taught to be smarter than the average fruit fly 大2家 to live shorter lives. Thissuggests that 大3家 bulbs burn longer, that there is an 大4家 in notbeing too terrifically bright.Intelligence, it 大5家 out, is a high-priced option. It takes moreupkeep, burns more fuel and is slow 大6家 the starting line becauseit depends on learning a gradual 大7家 instead of instinct.Plenty of other species are able to learn, and one of the things theyveapparently learned is when to 大8家 . Is there an adaptive value to 大9家 intelligence? Thats thequestion behind this new research. I like it. Instead of casting a wistfulglance 大10家 at all the species weve left in the dust I.Q.-wise, itimplicitly asks what the real 大11家 of our own intelligence might be.This is 大12家 the mind of every animal Ive ever met.Research on animal intelligence also makes me wonder what experimentsanimals would 大13 家 on humans if they had the chance. Every cat withan owner, 大14家 , is running a small-scale study in operant conditioning. we believe that 大15家 animals ran the labs, they would 徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长test us to 大16家 the limits of our patience, our faithfulness, ourmemory for terrain. They would try to decide what intelligence in humansis really 大1家7 , not merely how much of it there is. 大18家 , theywould hope to study a 大19家 question: Are humans actually aware ofthe world they live in? 大20家 the results are inconclusive.1. A Suppose B Consider C Observe D Imagine 2. A tended B feared C happened D threatened3. A thinner B stabler C lighter D dimmer4. A tendency B advantage C inclination D priority5. A insists on B sums up C turns out D puts forward6. A off B behind C over D along7. A incredible B spontaneous C inevitable D gradual8. A fight B doubt C stop D think 9. A invisible B limited C indefinite D different10. A upward B forward C afterward D backward11. A features B influences C results D costs12. A outside B on C by D across13. A deliver B carry C perform D apply14. A by chance B in contrast C as usual D for instance15. A if B unless C as D lest 16. A moderate B overcome C determine D reach17. A at B for C after D with 徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长18. A Above all B After all C However D Otherwise19. A fundamental B comprehensive C equivalent Dhostile20. A By accident B In time C So far D Better stillSection II Reading ComprehensionPart ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text bychoosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)Text 1Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting ourbrains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiarroutine. Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd, WilliamWordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century,even the word habit carries a negative connotation.So it seems antithetical to talk about habits in the same context ascreativity and innovation. But brain researchers have discovered thatwhen we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths,and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thoughtonto new, innovative tracks. But dont bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts ofprocedure are worn into the hippocampus, theyre there to stay. Instead,the new habits we deliberately ingrain into ourselves create parallelpathways that can bypass those old roads.The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind and an executive changeconsultant for Professional Thinking Partners. But we are taught insteadto decide, just as our president calls himself the Decider. Sheadds, however, that to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one.A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many otherpossibilities.All of us work through problems in ways of which were unaware, shesays. Researchers in the late 1960 covered that humans are born with thecapacity to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, relationally (or collaboratively) and innovatively. At 徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长puberty, however, the brain shuts down half of that capacity, preservingonly those modesof thought that have seemedmost valuable duringthe firstdecade or so of life.The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis andprocedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative andcollaborative modes of thought. This breaks the major rule in theAmerican belief system that anyone can do anything, explains M. J.Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will. and Ms. Markovasbusiness partner. Thats a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosterscommonness. Knowing what youre good at and doing even more of it createsexcellence. This is where developing new habits comes in. 21. The view of Wordsworth habit is claimed by being _.A. casual B. familiar C. mechanical D. changeable22. The researchers have discovered that the formation of habit can be_A. predicted B. regulated C. traced D. guided23. ruts(in line one, paragraph 3) has closest meaning to _A. tracks B. series C. characteristics D. connections24. Ms. Markovas comments suggest that the practice of standard testing_?A, prevents new habits form being formed B, no longer emphasizes commonnessC, maintains the inherent American thinking modelD, complies with the American belief system25. Ryan most probably agree thatA. ideas are born of a relaxing mindB. innovativeness could be taughtC. decisiveness derives from fantastic ideasD. curiosity activates creative mindsText 2It is a wise father that knows his own child, but today a man can boost his paternal (fatherly) wisdom or at least confirm that hes the kidsdad. All he needs to do is shell our $30 for paternity testing kit (PTK)at his local drugstore and another $120 to get the results. 徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长More than 60,000 people have purchased the PTKs since they firstbecome available without prescriptions last years, according to Doug Fog,chief operating officer of Identigene, which makes the over-the-counterkits. More thantwo dozen companiessell DNAtests Directly tothe public ,ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to more than $2500.Among the most popular : paternity and kinship testing , which adoptedchildren can use to find their biological relatives and latest rage a manypassionate genealogists-and supports businesses that offer to search fora familys geographic roots .Most tests require collecting cells by webbing saliva in the mouthand sending it to the company for testing. All tests require a potentialcandidate with whom to compare DNA. But some observers are skeptical, There is a kind of false precisionbeing hawked by people claiming they are doing ancestry testing, saysTrey Duster, a New York University sociologist. He notes that eachindividual has many ancestors-numbering in the hundreds just a fewcenturies back. Yet most ancestry testing only considers a single lineage,either the Y chromosome inherited through men in a fathers line ormitochondrial DNA, which a passed down only from mothers. This DNA canreveal genetic information about only one or two ancestors, even though,for example, just three generations back people also have six othergreat-grandparents or, four generations back, 14 othergreat-great-grandparents.Critics also argue that commercial genetic testing is only as goodas the reference collections to which a sample is compared. Databases usedby some companies dont rely on data collected systematically but rather lump together information from different research projects. This meansthat a DNA database may differ depending on the company that processesthe results. In addition, the computer programs a company uses to estimaterelationships may be patented and not subject to peer review or outsideevaluation.26. In paragraphs 1 and 2, the text shows PTKs _.A easy availabilityB flexibility in pricingC successful promotionD popularity with households27. PTK is used to _. A locate ones birth placeB promote genetic research 徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长C identify parent-child kinshipD choose children for adoption28. Skeptical observers believe that ancestry testing failsto_.A trace distant ancestorsB rebuild reliable bloodlinesC fully use genetic informationD achieve the claimed accuracy29. In the last paragraph, a problem commercial genetic testing faces is _.A disorganized data collectionB overlapping database buildingC excessive sample comparisonD lack of patent evaluation30. An appropriate title for the text is most likely to be_.A Fors and Againsts of DNA testingB DNA testing and Its problemsC DNA testing outside the labD lies behind DNA testing Text 3The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poorcountries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alikeprogress in both area is undoubtedly necessary for the social, politicaland intellectual development of these and all other societies; however,the conventional view that education should be one of the very highestpriorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries iswrong. We are fortunate that is it, because new educational systems thereand putting enough people through them to improve economic performancewould require two or three generations. The findings of a researchinstitution have consistently shown that workers in all countries can betrained on thejob to achieve radical higherproductivity and, asa result,radically higher standards of living.Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. Not long ago, with the country entering a recessing and Japan atits pre-bubble peak. The U.S. workforce was derided as poorly educatedand one of primary cause of the poor U.S. economic performance. Japan was, 徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长and remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity. Yetthe research revealed that the U.S. factories of Honda Nissan, and Toyotaachieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanesecounterparts - a result of the training that U.S. workers received onthe job.More recently, while examining housing construction, the researchersdiscovered that illiterate, non-English- speaking Mexican workers inHouston, Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivitystandards despite the complexity of the building industrys work.What is the real relationship between education and economicdevelopment? We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotesthe development of education even when governments dont force it. After all, thats how education got started. When our ancestors were huntersand gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didnt have time to wonder much aboutanything besides finding food. Only when humanity began to get its foodin a more productive way was there time for other things.As education improved, humanitys productivity potential, they couldin turn afford more education. This increasingly high level of educationis probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complexpolitical systems required by advanced economic performance. Thus poorcountries might not be able to escape their poverty traps withoutpolitical changes that may be possible only with broader formal education.A lack of formal education, however, doesnt constrain the ability of thedeveloping worlds workforce to substantially improve productivity forthe forested future. On the contrary, constraints on improvingproductivity explain why education isnt developing more quickly there than it is.31. The author holds in paragraph 1 that the important of education inpoor countries _.A is subject groundless doubtsB has fallen victim of biasC is conventional downgradedD has been overestimated32. It is statedin paragraph 1 that constructionof a neweducation system_.A challenges economists and politiciansB takes efforts of generations C demands priority from the governmentD requires sufficient labor force 徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长33. A major difference between the Japanese and U.S workforces is that_.A the Japanese workforce is better disciplinedB the Japanese workforce is more productiveC the U.S workforce has a better educationD the U.S workforce is more organize34. The author quotes the example of our ancestors to show that educationemerged _.A when people had enough timeB prior to better ways of finding food C when people on longer went hungD as a result of pressure on government35. According to the last paragraph , development of education_.A results directly from competitive environmentsB does not depend on economic performanceC follows improved productivityD cannot afford political changesText 4The most thoroughly studied in the history of the new world are theministers and political leaders of seventeenth-century New England. According to the standard history of American philosophy, nowhere elsein colonial America was So much important attached to intellectualpursuits According to many books and articles, New Englands leadersestablished the basic themes and preoccupations of an unfolding, dominantPuritan tradition in American intellectual life.To take this approach to the New Englanders normally mean to startwith the Puritans theological innovations and their distinctive ideasabout the church-important subjects that we may not neglect. But inkeeping with our examination of southern intellectual life, we mayconsider the original Puritans as carriers of European culture adjustingto New world circumstances. The New England colonies were the scenes ofimportant episodes in the pursuit of widely understood ideals of civilityand virtuosity.The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in England. Besides the ninety or so learnedministers who came to Massachusetts church in the decade after 1629,There 徽学长研究生公益服务团队 微信公众号:AK-509 百度贴吧:徽学长were political leaders like John Winthrop, an educated gentleman, lawyer,and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston. There men wroteand published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences,and giving New England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness.We should not forget , however, that most New Englanders were lesswell educated. While few crafts men or farmers, let alone dependents andservants, left literary compositions to be analyzed, The in thinking oftenhad a traditional superstitions quality. A tailor named John Dane, wh