2021英语二考研英语真题

2021年全国硕士研究生招生考试英语（二）试题

SectionIUseofEnglish

Directions:

Readthefollowingtext.Choosethebestword(s)fareachnumberedblankandmark[A],[B],[C]

or[D]ontheANSWERSHEET.(JOpoints)

It'snotdifficulttosettargetsforstaffItismuchharder,1,tounderstandtheir

negativeconsequences.Mostwork-relatedbehaviorshavemultiplecomponents.2oneand

theothersbecomedistorted.

TravelonaLondonbusandyou'll3seehowthisworkswithdrivers.Watchpeople

getonandshowtheirtickets.Aretheycarefullyinspected?Never.Dopeoplegetonwithoutpaying?

Ofcourse!Arethereinspectorsto4thatpeoplehavepaid?Possibly,butveryfew.

Andpeoplewhorunforthebus?Theyare5,Howaboutjumpinglights?Busesdosoalmostas

frequentlyascyclists.

Why?Becausethetargetis6.Peoplecomplainedthatbuseswerelateand

infrequent.7__,thenumberofbusesandbuslaneswereincreased,anddriverswere8or

punishedaccordingtothetimetheytook.Anddrivershitthesetargets.Butthey9hit

cyclists.Ifthetargetwaschangedto10,youwouldhavemoreinspectorsandmore

sensitivepricing.Ifthecriterionchangedtosafety,youwouldgetmore11driverswho

obeyedtrafficlaws.Butboththesecriteriawouldbeattheexpenseoftime.

Thereisanother12:peoplebecameimmenselyinventiveinhittingtargets.Haveyou

13thatyoucanleaveonaflightanhourlatebutstillarriveontime?Tailwinds?Ofcourse

not!Airlineshavesimplychangedthetimea14ismeanttotake,Aone-hourflightis

nowbilledasatwo-hourflight.

The15ofthestoryissimple.Mostjobsaremultidimensional,withmultiplecriteria.

Chooseonecriterionandyoumaywell16others.Everythingcanbedonefasterand

madecheaper,butthereisa17.Settingtargetscananddoeshaveunforeseennegative

consequences.

Thisisnotanargumentagainsttarget-setting.Butitisanargumentforexploringconsequences

first.Allgoodtargetsshouldhavemultiplecriteria18criticalfactorssuchastime,

money,qualityandcustomerfeedback.Thetrickisnotonlyto19justoneoreven

twodimensionsoftheobjective,butalsotounderstandhowtohelppeoplebetter20the

objective.

1.[A]therefore[BJhoweverIC]again[D]moreover

2.[A]Emphasize[B]Identify[C]Access[D]Explain

3.[A]nearly[B]curiously[C]eagerly[D]quickly

4.[A]claim[B]prove[C]check[D]recall

5.[A]ignored[B]threatened[C]mocked[D]blamed

6.[AJpunctuality[B]hospitality[C]competition[D]innovation

7.[A]Yet[B]So[C]Besides[D]Still

8.[A]hired[B]trained[C]rewarded[D]grouped

9.[A]only[B]rather[C]once[D]also

10.[A]comfort[B|revenue[C]efficiency[D]security

11.[A]friendly[B]quiet[C]cautious[D]diligent

12.[A]purpose[B]problem[C]prejudice[D]policy

13.[A]reported[B]revealed[C]admitted[D]noticed

14.[A]break[B]trip[C]department[D]transfer

15.[A]moral[B]background[C]style[DJform

16.[A]interpret[B]criticize[C]sacrifice[D]tolerate

17.[A]task[B]secret[C]protect[D]cost

18.[A]leadingto[B]callingfor[CJrelatingto[DJaccountingfor

19.[A]specify[B]predict[C]restore[D]create

20.[A]modify[B]review[C]present[D]achieve

SectionIIReadingComprehension

PartA

Directions:

Readthefollowingfourtexts.Answerthequestionsaftereachtextbychoosing[A],[B],[C]or[D].

MarkyouranswersontheANSWERSHEET.(40points)

Text1

“Reskilling“issomethingthatsoundslikeabuzzwordbutisactuallyarequirementifweplan

tohaveafuturewherealotofwould-beworkersdonotgetleftbehind.Weknowwearemoving

intoaperiodwherethejobsindemandwillchangerapidly,aswilltherequirementsofthejobsthat

remain.ResearchbyWEFdetailedintheHarvardBusinessReview,findsthatonaverage42per

centofthe“coreskills“withinjobroleswillchangeby2022.Thatisaveryshorttimeline,sowecan

onlyimaginewhatthechangeswillbefurtherinthefuture.

Thequestionofwhoshouldpayforreskillingisathomyone.Forindividualcompanies,the

temptationisalwaystoletgoofworkerswhoseskillsarenolongerindemandandreplacethemwith

thosewhoseskillsare.Thatdoesnotalwayshappen.AT&Tisoftengivenasthegoldstandardofa

companywhodecidedtodoamassivereskillingprogramratherthangowithafire-and-hirestrategy,

ultimatelyretraining18,000employers.Prepandemic,othercompaniesincludingAmazonand

Disneyhadalsopledgedtocreatetheirownplans.Whentheskillsmismatchisinthebroader

economythough,thefocususuallyturnstogovernmenttohandle.EffortsinCanadaandelsewhere

havebeenarguablylanguidatbest,andhavegivenusasituationwherewefrequentlyhearof

employersbeggingforworkers,evenattimesandinregionswhereunemploymentishigh.

Withthepandemic,unemploymentisveryhighindeed.InFebruary,at3.5percentand5.5per

centrespectively,unemploymentratesinCanadaandtheUnitedStateswereatgenerationallows

andworkershortageswereeverywhere.AsofMay,thoserateshadspikedupto13.3percentand

13.7percent,andalthoughmanyworkershortageshaddisappeared,notallhaddoneso.Inthe

medicalfiled,totakeanobviousexample,thepandemicmeantthattherewerestillclearshortages

ofdoctors,nursesandothermedicalpersonnel.

Ofcourse,itisnotlikeyoucantakeanunemployedwaiterandtrainhimtobeadoctorinafew

weeks,nomatterwhopaysforit.Butevenifyoucannotclosethatgap,maybeyoucancloseothers,

anddoingsowouldbetothebenefitofallconcerned.ThatseemstobethecaseinSweden:when

forcedtofurlough90percentoftheircabinstaff,ScandinavianAirlinesdecidedtostartupashort

retrainingprogramthatreskilledthelaid-offworkerstosupporthospitalstaff.Theeffortwasa

collectiveoneandinvolvedothercompaniesaswellasaSwedishuniversity.

21.ResearchbytheWorldEconomicForumsuggests.

[A]acontroversyaboutthe"coreskills”

|B]anincreaseinfull-timeemployment

[C]anurgentdemandfornewjobskills

[D]asteadygrowthofjobopportunities

22.AT&Tiscitedtoshow.

[A]animmediateneedforgovernmentsupport

|B]analternativetothefire-and-hirestrategy

[C]thecharacteristicsofreskillingprograms

[D]theimportanceofstaffappraisalstandards

23.EffortstoresolvetheskillsmismatchinCanada.

[A]haveappearedtobeinsufficient

|B]havedrivenuplabourcosts

[C]haveprovedtobeinconsistent

[D]havemetwithfierceopposition

24.WecanlearnfromParagraph3thattherewas.

[A]asignofeconomicrecovery

|B]acallforpolicyadjustment

[C]achangeonhiringpractices

[D]alackofmedicalworkers

25.ScandinavianAirlinesdecidedto.

[A]createjobvacanciesfortheunemployed

[B]retraintheircabinstaffforbetterservices

[C]preparetheirlaid-offworkersforotherjobs

[D]financetheirstafTscollegeeducation

Text2

Withtheglobalpopulationpredictedtohitcloseto10billionby2050,andforecaststhat

agriculturalproductioninsomeregionswillneedtonearlydoubletokeeppace,foodsecurityis

increasinglymakingheadlines.IntheUK,ithasbecomeabigtalkingpointrecentlytoo,forarather

particularreason:Brexit.

BrexitisseenbysomeasanopportunitytoreversearecenttrendtowardstheUKimporting

food.Thecountryproducesonlyabout60percentofthefooditeats,downfromalmost

three-quartersinthelate1980s.Amovebacktoself-sufficiency,theargumentgoes,wouldboost

thefanningindustry,politicalsovereigntyandeventhenation'shealth.Soundsgreat-buthow

feasibleisthisvision?

AccordingtoareportonUKfoodproductionfromtheUniversityofLeeds,UK,85percentof

thecountry'stotallandareaisassociatedwithmeatanddairyproduction.Thatsupplies80percent

ofwhatisconsumed,soevencoveringthewholecountryinlivestockfarmswouldn'tallowusto

coverallourmeatanddairyneeds.

Therearemanycaveatstothosefigures,buttheyarestillgrave.Tobecomemuchmore

self-sufficient,theUKwouldneedtodrasticallyreduceitsconsumptionofanimalfoods,and

probablyalsofarmmoreintensively-meaningfewergreenfields,andmorefactory-style

production.

Butswitchingtoamainlyplant-baseddietwouldn'thelp.ThereisagoodreasonwhytheUKis

dominatedbyanimalhusbandry:mostofitsterraindoesn'thavetherightsoilorclimatetogrow

cropsonacommercialbasis.Just25percentofthecountry'slandissuitableforcrop-growing,most

ofwhichisalreadyoccupiedbyarablefields.Evenifweconvertedallthesuitablelandtofieldsof

fruitandveg-whichwouldinvolvetakingoutallthenaturereservesandremovingthousandsof

peoplefromtheirhomes-wewouldachieveonlya30percentboostincropproduction.

Just23percentofthefruitandvegetablesconsumedintheUKarecurrentlyhome-grown,so

evenwiththemostextrememeasureswecouldmeetonly30percentofourfreshproduceneeds.

Thatisbeforewelookforthespacetogrowthegrains,sugars,seedsandoilsthatprovideuswiththe

vastbulkofourcurrentcalorieintake.

26.Somepeoplearguethatfoodself-sufficiencyintheUKwould.

[A]behinderedbyitspopulationgrowth

(BJcontributetothenation'swell-being

[C]becomeapriorityofthegovernment

[D]poseachallengetoitsfarmingindustry

27.ThereportbytheUniversityofLeedsshowsthatintheUK.

[A]farmlandhasbeeninefficientlyutilized

[B]factory-styleproductionneedsreforming

[C]mostlandisusedformeatanddairyproduction

|D]moregreenfieldswillbeconvertedforfarming

28.Crop-growingintheUKisrestricteddueto.

[AJitsfarmingtechnology

[B]itsdietarytradition

[C]itsnaturalconditions

[D]itscommercialinterests

29.ItcanbelearnedfromthelastparagraphthatBritishpeople.

[A]relylargelyonimportsforfreshproduce

[B]enjoyasteadyriseinfruitconsumption

[C]areseekingeffectivewaystocutcalorieintake

|D]aretryingtogrownewvarietiesofgrains

30.Theauthor'sattitudetofoodself-sufficiencyintheUKis.

[A]defensive

[B]doubtful

[C]tolerant

[D]optimistic

Text3

WhenMicrosoftboughttaskmanagementappWunderlistandmobilecalendarSunrisein2015.

ItpickeduptwonewcomersthatwereattractingconsiderablebuzzinSiliconValley.Microsoffs

ownOfficedominatesthemarketfor"productivity“software,butthestart-upsrepresentedanew

waveoftechnologydesignedfromthegroundupforthesmartphoneworld.

Bothapps,however,werelaterscrapped,afterMicrosoftsaidithadusedtheirbestfeaturesin

itsownproducts.Theirteamsofengineersstayedon,makingthemtwoofthemany"acqui-hires”

thatthebiggestcompanieshaveusedtofeedtheirinsatiablehungerfortech-talent.

ToMicrosoft'scritics,thefatesofWunderlistandSunriseareexamplesofaremorselessdrive

byBigTechtochewupanyinnovativecompaniesthatlieintheirpath."Theyboughttheseedlings

andclosedthemdown,^^complainedPaulArnold,apartneratSanFrancisco-basedSwitchVentures,

puttingpaidtobusinessesthatmightonedayturnintocompetitors.Microsoftdeclinedtocomment.

Likeotherstart-upinvestors.Mr.Arnold'sownbusinessoftendependsonsellingstart-upsto

largertechcompanies,thoughheadmitstomixedfeelingsabouttheresult:"Ithinkthesethingsare

goodforme,ifIputmyselfishhaton.ButaretheygoodfortheAmericaneconomy?Idon'tknow.”

TheUSFederalTradeCommissionsaysitwantstofindtheanswertothatquestion.Thisweek,

itaskedthefivemostvaluableUStechcompaniesforinformationabouttheirmanysmall

acquisitionsoverthepastdecade.Althoughonlyaresearchprojectatthisstage,therequesthas

raisedtheprospectofregulatorswadingintoearly-stagetechmarketsthatuntilnowhavebeen

beyondtheirreach.

Giventheircombinedmarketvalueofmorethan$5.5tn,riflingthroughsuchsmall

deals—manyofthemmuchlessprominentthanWunderlistandSunrise—mightseembesidethe

point.Betweenthem,thefivecompanies(Apple,Microsoft,Google,AmazonandFacebook)have

spentanaverageofonly$3.4bnayearonsub-$1bnacquisitionsoverthepastfiveyears—adropin

theoceancomparedwiththeirmassivefinancialreserves,andthemorethan$130bnofventure

capitalthatwasinvestedintheUSlastyear.

However,criticssaythatthebigcompaniesusesuchdealstobuytheirmostthreatening

potentialcompetitorsbeforetheirbusinesseshaveachancetogainmomentum,insomecasesaspart

ofa“buyandkill“tactictosimplyclosethemdown.

31.WhatistrueaboutWunderlistandSunriseaftertheiracquisitions?

|A]Theirengineerswereretained.

[B]Theirmarketvaluesdeclined.

[C]Theirtechfeaturesimproved.

[D]Theirproductswerere-priced.

32.Microsoft'scriticsbelievethatthebigtechcompaniestendto.

[AJexaggeratetheirproductquality

[B]eliminatetheirpotentialcompetitors

[CJtreatnewtechtalentunfairly

[D]ignorepublicopinions

33.PaulArnoldisconcernedthatsmallacquisitionsmight.

[A]weakenbigtechcompanies

[B]worsenmarketcompetition

[CJharmthenationaleconomy

[D]discouragestart-upinvestors

34.TheUSFederalTradeCommissionintendsto.

[A]limitBigTech'sexpansion

[B]encourageresearchcollaboration

IC]examinesmallacquisitions

[D]supervisestart-ups9operations

35.Forthefivebiggesttechcompanies,theirsmallacquisitionshave.

[A]broughtlittlefinancialpressure

[B]raisedfewmanagementchallenges

[CJsetanexampleforfuturedeals

[D]generatedconsiderableprofits

Text4

We'refairlygoodatjudgingpeoplebasedonfirstimpressions,thinslicesofexperience

rangingfromaglimpseofaphototoafive-minuteinteraction,anddeliberationcanbenotonly

extraneousbutintrusive.Inonestudyoftheabilityshedubbed“thinslicing,“thelatepsychologist

NaliniAmbadyaskedparticipantstowatchsilent1O-secondvideoclipsofprofessorsandtoratethe

instructor'soveralleffectiveness.Theirratingscorrelatedstronglywithstudents*end-of-semester

ratings.Anothersetofparticipantshadtocountbackwardfrom1,000byninesastheywatchedthe

clips,occupyingtheirconsciousworkingmemory.Theirratingswerejustasaccurate,

demonstratingtheintuitivenatureofthesocialprocessing.

Critically,anothergroupwasaskedtospendaminutewritingdownreasonsfortheirjudgment,

beforegivingtherating.Accuracydroppeddramatically.Ambadysuspectedthat

deliberationfocusedthemonvividbutmisleadingcues,suchascertaingesturesorutterances,rather

thanlettingthecomplexinterplayofsubtlesignalsformaholisticimpression.Shefoundsimilar

interferencewhenparticipantswatched15-secondclipsofpairsofpeopleandjudgedwhetherthey

werestrangers,friends,ordatingpartners.

Otherresearchshowswe'rebetteratdetectingdeceptionandsexualorientationfromthinslices

whenwerelyonintuitioninsteadofreflection.t6Ifsasifyou'redrivingastickshift,"saysJudith

Hall,apsychologistatNortheasternUniversity,t4andifyoustartthinkingaboutittoomuch,you

can'trememberwhatyou'redoing.Butifyougoonautomaticpilot,you'refine.Muchofoursocial

lifeislikethat.^^

Thinkingtoomuchcanalsohannourabilitytoformpreferences.Collegestudents'ratingsof

strawberryjamsandcollegecoursesalignedbetterwithexperts,opinionswhenthestudentsweren't

askedtoanalyzetheirrationale.Andpeoplemadecar-buyingdecisionsthatwerebothobjectively

betterandmorepersonallysatisfyingwhenaskedtofocusontheirfeelingsratherthanondetails,but

onlyifthedecisionwascomplex—whentheyhadalotofinformationtoprocess.

Intuition'sspecialpowersareunleashedonlyincertaincircumstances.Inonestudy,

participantscompletedabatteryofeighttasks,includingfourthattappedreflectivethinking

(discerningrules,comprehendingvocabulary)andfourthattappedintuitionandcreativity

(generatingnewproductsorfiguresofspeech).Thentheyratedthedegreetowhichtheyhadused

intuition("gutfeelings,“hunchesJ“myheart").Useoftheirguthurttheirperformanceonthefirst

fourtasks,asexpected,andhelpedthemontherest.Sometimestheheartissmarterthanthehead.

36.NaliniAmbady'sstudydealswith.

[A]thepowerofpeople'smemory

[B]thereliabilityoffirstimpressions

[C]instructorstudentinteraction

[D]people'sabilitytoinfluenceothers

37.InAmbady'sstudy,ratingaccuracydroppedwhenparticipants.

[A]focusedonspecificdetails

[B]gavetheratinginlimitedtime

[C]watchedshortervideoclips

[D]discussedwithoneanother

38.JudithHallmentionsdrivingtoshowthat.

[A]reflectioncanbedistracting

[B]memorycanbeselective

[C]socialskillsmustbecultivated

[D]deceptionisdifficulttodetect

39.Whenyouaremakingcomplexdecisions,itisadvisableto.

[A]collectenoughdata

[B]listyourpreferences

[C]seekexpertadvice

[D]followyourfeelings

40.Whatcanwelearnfromthelastparagraph?

[A]Generatingnewproductstakestime.

[B]Intuitionmayaffectreflectivetasks.

[C]Vocabularycomprehensionneedscreativity.

[D]Objectivethinkingmayboostinventiveness.

PartB

Directions:

Readthefollowingtextandanswerthequestionsbychoosingthemostsuitablesubheadingfromthe

listA-Gfareachofthenumberedparagraphs(41-45).Therearetwoextrasubheadings.Markyour

answersontheANSWERSHEET.(10points)

A.Staycalm

B.Stayhumble

C.Berealisticabouttherisks

D.Identifyasharedgoal

E.Decidewhethertowait

F.Askpermissiontodisagree

G.Don'tmakejudgments

HowtoDisagreewithSomeoneMorePowerfulthanYou

Yourbossproposesanewinitiativeyouthinkwon'twork.Yourseniorcolleagueoutlinesa

projecttimelineyouthinkisunrealistic.Whatdoyousaywhenyoudisagreewithsomeonewhohas

morepowerthanyoudo?Howdoyoudecidewhetherit'sworthspeakingup?Andifyoudo,what

exactlyshouldyousay?

41.

Youmaydecideit'sbesttoholdoffonvoicingyouropinion.Maybe“youhaven'tfinished

thinkingtheproblemthrough,thewholediscussionwasasurprisetoyou,oryouwanttogeta

clearersenseofwhatthegroupthinks,“saysWeeks.44Ifyouthinkotherpeoplearegoingtodisagree

too,youmightwanttogatheryourarmyfirst.Peoplecancontributeexperienceorinformationto

yourthinking-allthethingsthatwouldmakethedisagreementstrongerormorevalid."It'salsoa

goodideatodelaytheconversationifyou'reinameetingorotherpublicspace.Discussingtheissue

inprivatewillmakethepowerfulpersonfeellessthreatened.

42.__________________

Beforeyoushareyourthoughts,thinkaboutwhatthepowerfulpersoncaresabout-itmaybe

“thecredibilityoftheirteamorgettingaprojectdoneontime,“saysGrenny.You'remorelikelyto

beheardifyoucanconnectyourdisagreementtoa“higherpurpose.^^Whenyoudospeakup,don't

assumethelinkwillbeclear.You'llwanttostateitovertly,contextualizingyourstatementssothat

you'reseennotasadisagreeableunderlingbutasacolleaguewho'stryingtoadvanceasharedgoal.

Thediscussionwillthenbecome“morelikeachessgamethanaboxingmatchJsaysWeeks.

43.

Thisstepmaysoundoverlydeferential,but,accordingtoGrenny,it'sasmartwaytogivethe

powerfulperson^psychologicalsafety^andcontrol.Youcansaysomethinglike,“Iknowweseem

tobemovingtowardafirst-quartercommitmenthere.Ihavereasonstothinkthatwon'twork.Td

liketolayoutmyreasoning.WouldthatbeOK?”Thisgivesthepersonachoice,"allowingthemto

verballyoptin,"saysGrenny.And,assumingtheysayyes,itwillmakeyoufeelmoreconfident

aboutvoicingyourdisagreement.

44.

Youmightfeelyourheartracingoryourfaceturningred,butdowhateveryoucantoremain

neutralinbothyourwordsandactions.Whenyourbodylanguagecommunicatesreluctanceor

anxiety,itundercutsthemessage,Weekssays.Itsends“amixedmessage,andyourcounterpartgets

tochoosewhattoread,,,sheexplains.Deepbreathscanhelp,ascanspeakingmoreslowlyand

deliberately."Whenwefeelpanickyvvetendtotalklouderandfaster.Youdon'twanttobemousey

ortalkinawhisper,butsimplyslowingthepaceandtalkinginaneventonehelpscalmtheother

persondownanddoesthesameforyou,,,saysGrenny.Italsomakesyouseemconfident,evenifyou

aren't.

45.

Emphasizethatyou'reofferingyouropinion,not“gospeltruth,“saysGrenny.<6Itmaybea

well-informed,well-researchedopinion,butit'sstillanopinion,sotalktentativelyandslightly

understateyourconfidence.^^Insteadofsayingsomethinglike,“Ifwesetanend-of-quarterdeadline,

we'l