考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析--2003年part3

1、考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析 -2003 年 part3Part ThreeIn recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, mergingsintossuper systems, causing heightened concerns about monopoly. As recently as 1995,the top four railroads accounted for under 70 percent of the total ton-miles moved by rails. Next year, af

2、ter a series of mergers is completed, just four railroads will control well over 90 percent of all the freight moved by major rail carriers.Supporters of the new super systems argue that these mergers will allow for substantial cost reductions and better coordinated service. Any threat of monopoly,

3、they argue, is removed by fierce competition from trucks. But many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distances, such as coal, chemicals, and grain, trucking is too costly and the railroads therefore have them by the throat.The vast consolidation within the rail industr

4、y means that most shippers are served by only one rail company. Railroads typically charge such "captive" shippers 20 to 30 percent more than they do when another railroad is competing for the business. Shippers who feel they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal go

5、vernment's Surface Transportation Board for rate relief, but the process is expensive, time consuming, and will work only in truly extreme cases.Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long run itreduces everyone's cost. Ifrailroads charged a

6、ll customersthe same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. It's theory to which many economists subscribe, but in practice it often leave

7、s railroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail. "Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace? "asks Martin Bercovici, a Washington lawyer who frequently represents shipper.Many captive shippers al

8、so worry they will soon be his with a round of huge rate increases. The railroad industry as a whole, despite its brightening fortuning fortunes. still does not earn enough to cover the cost of the capital it must invest to keep up with its surging traffic. Yet railroads continue to borrow billions

9、to acquire one another,with Wall Street cheering them on. Considerthe .2 billion bidby Norfolk Southern and CSX to acquire Conrail this year. Conrail's net railway operating income in 1996 was just million, less than half of the carrying costs of the transaction. Who's going to pay for the r

10、est of the bill? Many captive shippers fear that they will, as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market.11. According to those who support mergers railway monopoly is unlikely because _A. cost reduction is based on competition.B. services call for cross-tradecoordination.C. outside

11、 competitors will continue to exist. D. shippers will have the railway by the throat.12. What is many captive shippers' attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry?A. Indifferent. B. Supportive.C. Indignant.D. Apprehensive.13. It can be inferred from paragraph 3 that _A. shippers wil

12、l be charged less without a rival railroad.B. there will soon be only one railroad company nationwide.C. overcharged shippers are unlikely to appeal for rate relief.D. a government board ensures fair play in railway business.14. The word "arbiters" line 7,paragraph 4most probably refers to

13、 those_A. who work as coordinators.B. who function as judges.C. who supervise transactions.D. who determine the price.15. According to the text, the cost increase in the rail industry is mainly causedby_A. the continuing acquisition. B. the growing traffic.C. the cheering Wall Street.D. the shrinkin

14、g market.Unit 10 2003Part 3重点词汇：1. merge? v.合并比 emerge v.出现； 形成少首字母 e, merger n.合并J merge+r 名词后缀。2. monopoly n.垄断；专利权即mono+poly , mono-前缀单独的 ，poly 词根=sell 可看作 play，于是"一个人玩"t垄断。动词为 monopolize J mono+pol y +ize 动词后缀。 含前缀 mono-的单词另如： mono to nous 单调的J mon o+to n调+ous形容词后缀； mo noxide一氧化物J mon

15、o +ox 氧+ide 化合物； monocracy 专制统治J mono+cracy 统治。3. substantial 实质的；稳固的；富裕的J sub在下面+st =stand +antial形容词后 缀。名词为 substanee 物质；实质；财产J sub+st+anee 。4. reduction 减少J re =back +duc 引导 +tion 名词后缀；reduce v.减少；复原 j re+duce。同根词： deduce v.演绎J de =away +duce； deduct ion 演绎；推论Jde+duc+tion 。5. coordinate 使协调； 同等的；

16、 坐标的； 坐标 即 co+ordin+ate ，co- 前缀 =together ，ordin词根意为"in order" , -ate后缀，于是按次序摆在一起宀使协调；按次序摆在一起的 t同等的。coordination协调；同等J co+ordin+ation名词后缀；coordinator协调者；同等的人或物J co+ordin+ate +or人或物。6. fierce 剧烈的；凶猛的 The fiercest agonies have shortest reign.烈的痛苦持续时间最短。7. compete v.竞争；竞赛即 com+pet+e, com-前缀&q

17、uot;一起，pet 本为词根，此不管 宠物， " 在一起争宠 "； competition 竞争； 竞赛 Jcom+pet+ition 名词后缀； competitor竞争者J com+pet+itor后缀表人"。8. shipper 托运者，货主。9. consolidation稳固，加强j con together +solid 稳固 +ation 名词后缀，动词为 consolidate Jcon+solid+ate 。10. captive a.被俘虏的 n.俘虏j capt 抓 +ive 后缀。You're not free until you

18、've been made captive by supreme belief. 在被至上的信仰俘获之前，你不是自由的。11. discrimination 区分； 歧视 即 dis 别离 +crimin+ation 名词后缀， crimin 可看作criminal 罪犯宀要把罪犯区分"开来，但不可 歧视；动词 为discriminate jdis+crimin+ate 。 discriminate between 区分，区分； discriminate against 歧视，不一 样对待。12. switching n.开关；转换j switch+ing , switch

19、v.n.开关；转换，-ing 后缀。13. subscribe v.订购；捐助；签署；赞成即 sub在下面+scribe写t "在下面写上自 己的名字"，名词为subscription ;同根词describe v.描述即de向下+scribe 写t "写 下来 " ，名词为 description 。14. flourish v. 繁荣即 flour+ish 动词后缀， flour 为词根 =flower ，也可看作单词 " 面 粉"使像面粉一样撒得到处都是繁荣。arbiter 仲裁者，人士可参 arbitrary 任意的,专断的记

20、忆，动词为 arbitrate仲裁。arbiter - the on ly man who is completelysatisfied with the final settlement a man who listens to both sides, studies theevidence, and then mispronounces judgment 仲裁者 - 对最后解决方案完全满意的人 聆听双方陈述，研究证据，最后误读判决的人。15. fortune 运气；财富可看作 for+tune ，争取"运气"与"财富 "是为了 for 生活的和谐 t

21、une。 Every man is the artisan of his own fortune.每个人都是制造其自身命运的工匠。 Honesty is incompatible with amassing a large fortune.老实与积聚大量财产是不相容的。16. in vestv.投资J in+vest , in在里面，vest看作单词马甲，投资大量金钱生产马甲"。 It is very much easier for a rich man to invest and grow richer than for thepoor man to begin investing

22、 at all.富人投资并变得更加富有，要比穷人能够开始投资容易得多。17. attitude 态度；看法；姿势与 latitude 纬度一起记 apprehensive 有理解力 的；忧虑的J ap =to +prehen抓+sive形容词后缀，名词为 apprehension 理解；忧虑 Jap+prehen+sion ；同根词： comprehensive 能理解的；广泛的 、comprehension 理解； 包含。难句解析： But many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distan

23、ces, such as coal, chemicals, and grain, trucking is too costly and the railroads therefore have them by the throat.本句是由三个分句构成的， 分别由 but 和 and 两个连接词连接。 第一个分句中 complain 的后 边跟了一个 that 引导的宾语从句。阅读逗号较多的句子时，抓出其中的连词也是一种方法。虽然本句话看上去较乱，但是抓住了 but 和 and 层次感也就出来了。 "have.by the throat" 在此处译为 " 卡住 的

24、脖子，主宰 " 。 Shippers who feel they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal government's Surface Transportation Board for rate relief, but the process is expensive, time consuming, and will work only in truly extreme cases.本句是由三个分句构成的，分别由 but 和 and 两个连接词连接。第一个分句较长，可以缩句 为

25、shippers have the right 。 shipper 的后边跟了一个 who 引导的定语从句。本句的结构与上句非常相像。阅读的时候建议还是先抓出两个连词，然后再各个分句逐个击 破。 If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue， shipperswho have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shou

26、lder the cost of keeping up the line.这是一个由 if 引导的条件状语从句。主句的主干是 shippers would do so。 Shipper 的后边 接了一个 who 引导的定语从句。最后一个逗号的后边是一个现在分词短语作状语。最后一个逗号的后边有两个现在分词，但是用法有所不同。 leaving sb. to do sth. 这个现 在分词短语充当状语。 而 remaining 这个现在分词时作 customers 的定语， 可以译为 " 剩余的 客户"。 It's theory to which many economi

27、sts subscribe, but in practice it often leavesrailroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail.本句是由 but 连接的两个分句。 第一个分句的主干局部是 It's theory ，后边紧跟了一个 which 引导的定语从句。but后边的分句的主语是it，谓语是leave。determining的后边接了两个并列的宾语从句： which companies will flourish and which wil

28、l fail。要注意 subscribe 的用法，它作 "订阅"或"订购 "意思讲的时候，是不及物动词，后面应该接to ,比方：subscribe to China Daily，此处应该引申译为 "采取"(adopt)；它作及物动词时候表示 "捐献 "，比方： subscribe fifty dollars to a local charity 试题解析：这是一篇经济类的文章。在文章中，作者对铁路行业中并购的状况和趋势进行了观察， 阐述了并购支持者和铁路托运商对铁路行业垄断的不同看法，以及他们对并购可能带来的影 响

29、的看法。考生对这类题材也许不太熟悉。但是，经济是社会生活的一个重要组成局部，是 考生在生活中不可防止的话题。而且，这篇文章的专业性并不强，题目也都是从语言理解能 力方面考查，所以这篇文章是符合大纲要求的。这篇文章的语言不难，存在一些生词，但是生词的数量并没有超出大纲允许的范围。实 际上， 在真实的语言环境中， 我们在阅读中总会碰到生词， 即使是英语国家的人们也是如此。 考生应该掌握这样的阅读能力，即在不认识一些词语的情况下，通过上下文来推断和猜测词 义以读懂文章。这种能力是实际语言环境要求我们掌握的。这篇文章的几个文字难点是： "merge" ，"'captive'shipper" 等。 "merge" 一词虽未列入大纲词汇表，对考生来说是个生词，但是考生可以通过上下文理解