历年考研英语 阅读理解真题文章精析.doc

考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析-1997年Part OneIt was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australias Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the groups on line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: “We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isnt just something that happened in Australia. Its world history.” The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally III law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right to life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia where an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In the US and Canada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling. Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death probably by a deadly injection or pill to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a “cooling off” period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54 year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. “Im not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how Id go, because Ive watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks,” he says. Unit 4 （1997）Part 1重点词汇： parliamentary（议会的，国会的）parliament+ary。A parliament is nothing less than a big meeting of more or less idle people.议会无非是多少有些懒散的人们的一个大聚会。 incurably（不可治地）即in+cur+ably，in-否定前缀，cur词根“治疗”，-ably可地；形容词形式为incurablein+cur+able。a incurably disease 不治之症。 turn back 逆转，往回走。 euthanasia（安乐死）看作eu+than+asia，eu谐音“已有”，than比，asia亚洲，“安乐死在亚洲之外的地方已有了”。 domino（多米诺骨牌）用谐音记。 diagnose （v.诊断）diag+nose，diag看作dog（元音替换），nose鼻子，“狗鼻子”闻（联想中医之“望闻问切”）诊断。 certificate （证书）即certif（y）+ic+ate，certify证明，-ic形容词后缀，-ate作名词后缀表“物”，于是“具证明性质的东西”证书。 objection（反对）即ob+ject+ion，ob-前缀“朝向”，ject词根“投掷”，-ion名词后缀，“向别人扔东西”反对。同根词：rejectre（=back）+ject扔回去拒绝；injectin+ject向里扔注入。 sink in 被了解； cool off 使冷静。难句解析： After six months of arguing and final 16hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australias Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die.句子的主体结构是Australias Northern Territory became the first legal authority.，其中，句首是表示时间的介词词组作状语：after six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates，后面的动词不定式to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die相当于定语从句which allows doctors to.，修饰legal authority，who引导定语从句who wish to die修饰前面的patients。理解句子的关键在于剔除庞杂的修饰成分，抓住句子的主干。 Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back.第一句话中，有用逗号松散地连接的两个表示对比的句子：Some have breathed. others. bitterly attacked.，其中others之后是介词词组：including churches，right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association对others进行进一步的解释。its passage中的its指代前面提到的the bill。第二句使用了被动语态，与第一句是转折关系。tide本意是“潮水，潮汐”的意思，这里的引申含义是“趋势，趋向”；turn the tide使形式转变，改变局面。bill这里是“法案”的意思。另外要理解some和others的对比关系。 In Australia where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing commUnity attitudes have all played their Part other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia.这个句子的主体结构是. other states are going to consider.。句首的In Australia是介词词组表示地点状语，后面where引导定语从句where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing commUnity attitudes have all played their Part，进一步解释Australia的具体情况。注意破折号中说各种因素都发挥了作用，是指对其它州考虑制定关于安乐死的法律这件事而言的。另外注意consider的用法，consider后面一般接v.-ing的形式或that引导的宾语从句。 After a cooling off period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met.两个句子都是简单句。第一句中前面是介词词组作时间状语：After a cooling off period of seven days。第二句使用了被动语态。cooling off这里是指“给病人充足的考虑时间以做出冷静的决定”。meet这里是“满足”的意思，可以和demand，need，requirement等和wish类似的词连用。全文翻译：凌晨3:45进行了最终表决。经过6个月争论和最后16个小时的国会激烈辩论，澳大利亚北部地区（澳北州）成为世界上第一个允许医生根据绝症病人个人意愿来结束其生命的合法当局。这一法案是以令人信服的15票对10票通过。几乎同时，该消息就出现在互联网上。身处地球另一端的加拿大死亡权利执行主席约翰霍夫塞斯在收到该消息后便通过协会的在线服务“死亡之网”发了公告。他说：“我们整天都在发布公告，因为这件事的意义不在于它是在澳大利亚发生的事情，而是因为这是世界历史的一件大事。”要充分理解这一法案的深刻意义可能需要一段时间。澳北州晚期病人权利法使得无论是内科医生还是普通市民都同样地力图从道义和实际意义两方面来对待这一问题。一些人如释重负，另一些人，包括教会，生命权利组织以及澳大利亚医学会成员都对这一决议及其仓促的通过进行了猛烈的抨击。但这一潮流已无法逆转。在澳大利亚，人口老龄化，延长寿命技术和公众态度的变化都发挥着各自的作用。其他州也将考虑制定类似的法律来处理安乐死问题。在美国和加拿大，死亡权利运动正在积蓄力量。观察家们正在等待多米诺骨牌产生的效应。根据澳北州所通过的这项新法案，成年病人可以要求安乐死可能是通过注射致死药剂或服用致死药片来结束痛苦。但此前病人必须由两名医生诊断其确实已病入膏肓，然后再经过7天的冷静思考期，方可签署一份申请证明。48小时后，才可以满足其安乐死的愿望。对于居住于达尔文现年54岁的肺癌患者利奥德尼克森来说，这个法律意味着他可以平静地生活下去而无须整天惧怕即将来临的苦难：因呼吸困难而在煎熬中痛苦地死去。“从思想上说，我并不害怕死，但我怕的是怎样死，因为我在医院看到过病人在缺氧时苦苦挣扎，用手抓他们的面罩时的情景。”他说。Part Two A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are of course, exceptions. Small minded officials, rude waiters, and ill mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment. For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world. The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didnt take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation. Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. “I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner amazing.” Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition. As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily meant that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to “translate” cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word “friend”, the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitors language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many American value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers. Unit4（1997） Part 2 重点词汇： 1.courteous （有礼貌的）即court+eous，court看作单词“宫廷”，-eous形容词后缀，“宫廷的”有礼貌的。 2.observation （观察；pl.观察后的言论）observe观察+ation。God creates by intuition; man creates by inspiration, strengthened by observation.上帝凭着直觉创造，人类凭着由观察加强的灵感创造。 3.deserve（v.应受，值得）与desert一起记，“沙漠是应该受到重视的”。 4.charitable（仁慈的）即charit（y）+able，charity仁慈，-able形容词后缀。 5.assumption（假定；承担；呈现）是assume的名词形式； assumption the mother of screw-up 臆断把事情弄糟的根源。 6.interrelationship （相互关系）即inter+relation+ship，inter-相互，relation关系，-ship抽象名词后缀。 7.encounter （v.n.遭遇）即en+counter，en-使，counter对面，“使面对面”遭遇。If we encountered a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he read.若遇到才智非凡的人，就应该问他读的是哪些书。 8.individual（个别的；个体）即in+divid+ual，in-否定前缀，divid词根“分”，-ual后缀，“不可再分的”个别的。同根词：divide（v.分配；除）；subdividesub在下+divide“在下面分”再分。The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.归根结底，国家的价值就是组成它的个人的价值 9.exclusively （专有地；排外地）是exclude（v.除外）的副词形式。Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently.对于独立思考的人，自由永远是也只能是自由。 10.entertain（v.招待；使快乐）即enter+tain，enter-（=inter），tain词根“容纳”，于是“使容纳进来”招待使快乐；名词形式为entertainmententertain+ment。同根词：containcon+tain“一起容纳”容纳。 难句解析： There are, of course, exceptions. Small-minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment. 第一个句子使用了there be句型，其中of course是插入语。第二句是主语+系动词+表语结构。第三句话中使用了so. that结构：其中made so frequently是过去分词作定语，修饰前面的observation。 第一句中的of course作插入语，用逗号与句子的其它部分分开，在开始阅读的时候可以不看。注意第二句话中使用了双重否定表示肯定：hardly unknown等于pretty well-known。另外注意so. that结构的用法：太以至于。另外observation这里的意思是“因观察而得出的意见”。另外it deserves comment中的it指代前面的observation。 Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world. 句子的主干结构是Strangers and travelers were. and brought.。 注意diversion在这里的含义是“解闷，取乐的事情，消遣，娱乐”，而不是“转移，转向”的意思。 Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. 这是一个简单句。traveling alone是现在分词作定语修饰前面的someone，if hungry, injured, or ill.实际上是简略的if引导的状语从句，相当于if （he is） hungry, injured, or ill，这里作插入成分。另外have sth.+动词不定式，这一结构中的动词不定式通常是相当于定语部分，修饰前面的sth.，这里就是：没有可以投靠（to turn to/动词不定式）的地方（nowhere/sth.）。 注意turn to这里的引申含义是“投靠，求助于，求教于”的意思。 It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the Part of the settlers. 句子的主干结构是It was not a matter of choice. or merely a charitable impulse.，是主语+系动词+表语的结构。表语由并列的两部分组成，由or来连接。 on the Part of相当于前面的for，意思是“在方面，对而言”。 The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition. 这个句子的主干结构是The casual friendliness should be interpreted neither as A nor B, but as C，使用了被动语态。其中neither. nor.结构后用的是同样词性的成分：形容词superficial和artificial。 注意neither. nor. but结构的使用：既不是也不是而是，重点在but之后。as the/a result of：作为的结果，由于而。 As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. 句子的主干结构是. cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies. interrelationships。 注意as在这里是一个代词，表示“这一情况，这一事实”。可以参考以下的例句来理解as的用法：The night had turned cold, as is usual around here.夜晚变得很冷，在这一带经常如此。 Part ThreeTechnically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug. Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to some sort of medicine or an illegal chemical taken by drug addicts. They dont realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists. The phrase “substance abuse” is often used instead of “drug abuse” to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine. We live a society in which the medicinal and social use of substances （drugs）is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for the nerves. When do these socially acceptable and apparently constructive uses of a substance become misuses? First of all, most substances taken in excess will produce negative effects such as poisoning or intense perceptual distortions. Repeated use of a substance can also lead to physical addiction or substance dependence. Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued. Drugs （substances）that affect the central nervous system and alter perception, mood, and behavior are known as psychoactive substances. Psychoactive substances are commonly grouped according to whether they are stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens. Stimulants initially speed up or activate the central nervous system, whereas depressants slow it down. Hallucinogens have their primary effect on perception, distorting and altering it in a variety of ways including producing hallucinations. These are the substances often called psychedelic （from the Greek word meaning “mindmanifesting”）because they seemed to radically alter ones state of consciousness. Unit4（1997） Part 3重点词汇：1.substance（物质；实质；财产）sub在下面+st（=stand）+ance名词后缀。2.addict（使成瘾；成瘾者）即ad+dict，ad-加强前缀，dict词根“说”，“欲罢不能地说某事”成瘾。名词形式为addiction （成瘾）ad+dict+ion。Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism.任何形式的瘾都是不好的，无论上瘾的是酒精、吗啡还是唯心主义。3.psychologist（心理学家）psycholog（y）+ist，psychology心理学, -ist后缀表“人”。4.cocaine（可卡因）即coca+ine，coca古柯（一种药用植物），-ine医药化学名词后缀“生物碱”，故cocaine也译作“古柯碱”。5.pervasive（普遍的）是pervade（v.遍及）的形容词形式，pervade即per+vade，per-（=through），vade词根“走”（约等于wade，因v与w形近可替换），“到处都走遍的”遍及的。同根词：invadein+vade“未经允许走进来”入侵；形容词形式为invasive（侵略的）6.sociable （社交的）soci社会+able形容词后缀。7.negative （否定的，消极的）neg否定前缀+ative形容词后缀; Eternity is a negative idea clothed with a positive name.永恒是一个冠以肯定名称的否定概念。8.poisoning （n.中毒；毒害）poison+ing，poison（v.n.毒害n.毒药），-ing后缀；poisonous （有毒的）poison+ous形容词后缀。9.distortion （扭曲；曲解）即dis+tort+ion，dis-“分离”，tort词根“扭曲”，-ion名词后缀，“使扭曲以离开原来状态”曲解；动词为distortdis+tort。同根词：torture（v.n.拷问；折磨）tort+ure后缀，“使身体扭曲的一种行为”。10.tolerance（宽容）toler+ance； 11.symptom（症状）可看作sym+ptom，sym-共同，ptom谐音“怕疼”，共同（sym）的症状（symptom）是怕疼（ptom）。12.psychoactive （药物等对心理起作用的）即psycho+active，psycho词根“心理”，active“起作用的”。13.stimulant（刺激物；兴奋剂）stimul刺激+ant物；源自stimulate（刺激；激励）stimul+ate动词后缀。14.depressant ?（抑制剂；镇静剂）depress+ant物。15.psychedelic（致幻的；致幻剂）看作psyche+del+ic，psyche=psycho精神（e与o都可视为连接字母），del即DOC命令“删除”，-ic后缀，“能把精神删除的”致幻的致幻剂。难句解析： The phrase substance abuse is often used instead of drug abuse to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine.句子的主干是句子的前半部分The phrase substance abuse is often used. to make clear.，to make clear that.是动词不定式作状语，表示目的。that后面接的是宾语从句作动词make clear的宾语。注意make+sht.+adj.：make sth. clear，这里因为sth.是一个that引导的从句，所以放在了形容词clear的后面。另外注意as. as的用法。 We live in a society in which the medicinal and social use of substances（drugs） is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for the nerves.句子的主干就是We live in a society.，后面which引导定语从句in which the medicinal and social use of substances（drugs） is pervasive，修饰society。冒号后面的部分是并列关系的名词词组，用来举例说明前面提出的观点，开始可以略去不看。注意冒号后面列举的前三个名词词组中的动词不定式都相当于定语成分，修饰前面的中心名词，表示其功效。Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued.句子的主干结构是Dependence is marked first by., and then by.，其逗号隔开的成分是with+n.+过去分词：with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect作状语，用来进一步解释药物依赖的第一种表现。when the substance is discontinued是表示时间的状语从句。注意and连接两个by开始的介词词组是并列关系，这样就能抓住句子的主干了。另外注意名词在这里的特殊意义：dependence指“对药物的依赖”，withdrawal的意思是“停止用药”。Psychoactive substances are commonly grouped according to whether they are stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens.这是一个简单句。句子的主干部分是Psychoactive substances are. grouped according to.，使用了被动语态。其中whether引导宾语从句whether they are stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens作介词according to的宾语。group这里用作动词，是“分类”的意思。Part FourNo company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. “Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?” Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. “You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?” At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990. Its a self examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line. At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in 1992. On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the companys mountainous debt, which will increase to 17.3 billion after two new cable deals close