考研英语试题

ReadingComprehension(30points,1.5×20)

Directions:Readthefollowingpassagesandchoosethebestanswertocompleteeachstatement.

Then,markyouranswerbyblackeningthecorrespondingletterontheAnswerSheet.

PassageOne

OurculturehascausedmostAmericanstoassumenotonlythatourlanguageisuniversalbut

thatthegesturesweuseareunderstoodbyeveryone.Wedonotrealizethatwavinggood-byeis

thewaytosummonapersonfromthePhilippinestoone’sside,orthatinItalyandsome

Latin-Americancountries,curlingthefingertooneselfisasignoffarewell.

ThoseprivatecitizenswhosentpackagestoourtroopsoccupyingGermanyafterWorldWar

IIandmarkedthemGIFTtoescapedutypaymentsdidnotbothertofindoutthat“Gift”means

poisoninGerman.Moreover,weliketothinkofourselvesasfriendly,yetweprefertobeatleast

3feetoranarm’slengthawayfromothers.LatinsandMiddleEasternersliketocomecloserand

touch,whichmakesAmericansuncomfortable.

Ourlinguisticandculturalblindnessandthecasualnesswithwhichwetakenoticeofthe

developedtastes,gestures,customsandlanguageofothercountries,arelosingusfriends,business

andrespectintheworld.EvenhereintheUnitedStates,wemakefewconcessionstotheneedsof

foreignvisitors.Therearenoinformationsignsinfourlanguagesonourpublicbuildingsor

monuments;wedonothavemultilingualguidedtours.Veryfewrestaurantmenushave

translations,andmultilingualwaiters,bankclerksandpolicemenarerare.Ourtransportation

systemshavemapsinEnglishonlyandoftenweourselveshavedifficultyunderstandingthem.

Whenwegoabroad,wetendtoclusterinhotelsandrestaurantswhereEnglishisspoken.

Theattitudesandinformationwepickupareconditionedbythosenatives—usuallythe

richer—whospeakEnglish.Ourbusinessdealings,aswellasthenation’sdiplomacy,are

conductedthroughinterpreters.

Formanyyears,AmericaandAmericanscouldgetbywithculturalblindnessandlinguistic

ignorance.Afterall,Americawasthemostpowerfulcountryofthefreeworld,thedistributorof

neededfundsandgoods.Butallthatispast.Americandollarsnolongerbuyallgoodthings,and

weareslowlybeginningtorealizethatourproperroleintheworldischanging.A1979Harris

pollreportedthat55percentofAmericanswantthiscountrytoplayamoresignificantrolein

worldaffairs;wewanttohaveahandintheimportantdecisionsofthenextcentury,eventoughit

maynotalwaysbetheupperhand.

1.ItcanbeinferredthatAmericansbeingapproachedtoocloselybyMiddleEasternerswould

mostprobably____________.

A.standstill

B.jumpaside

C.stepforward

D.drawback

2.TheauthorgivesmanyexamplestocriticizeAmericansfortheir_____________.

A.culturalself-centeredness

B.casualmanners

C.indifferencetowardsforeignvisitors

D.arrogancetowardsothercultures

3.IncountriesotherthantheirownmostAmericans___________.

A.areisolatedbythelocalpeople

B.arenotwellinformedduetothelanguagebarrier

C.tendtogetalongwellwiththenatives

D.needinterpretersinhotelsandrestaurants

4.Accordingtotheauthor,American’sculturalblindnessandlinguisticignorancewill_______.

A.affecttheirimageinthenewera

B.cutthemselvesofffromtheoutsideworld

C.limittheirroleinworldaffairs

D.weakenthepositionoftheUSdollar

5.Theauthor’sintentioninwritingthisarticleistomakeAmericansrealizethat________.

A.itisdangeroustoignoretheirforeignfriends

B.itisimportanttomaintaintheirleadingroleinworldaffairs

C.itisnecessarytouseseverallanguagesinpublicplaces

D.itistimetogetacquaintedwithothercultures

PassageTwo

Thedesireforachievementisoneoflife'sgreatmysteries.Socialscientistshavedevoted

lifetimestostudyingthedrivesthatspurusoutofbedinthemorning,compelustoworkorstudy

hardandsparkallmannerofhumanendeavor.Indeed,a1992textbookactuallydocuments32

distincttheoriesofhumanmotivation.Givenhisdiversityofthought,it'seasytoforgetthatfora

halfcentury,Americansocietyhasbeendominatedbythepsychologicalschoolknownas

behaviorism,orSkinnerianpsychology.Althoughbehaviorismanditsfundamentalprincipleof

"positivereinforcement"havelongsincelosttheirswayinacademiccircles,theSkinnerianlegacy

remainspowerfuliseveryrealmofdailylife,fromthehomeandclassroomtotheworkplace.

Don'twanttotakethetrashout?DoitandyoucangotothemoviesFridaynight.Notinthe

moodforwork?Keeppluggingaway,andyoumightgetabonus.Notinterestedincalculus?

StriveforanAintheclass,andyou'llmakethehonorroll.Thetheorymaybebankrupt,but

incentivesandrewardsaresomuchapartofAmericanculturethatit'shardtoimaginelifewithout

them.

Yetthat'sexactlywhatagrowinggroupofresearchersareadvocatingtoday.Asteadystream

ofresearchhasfoundthatratherthanencouragingmotivationandproductivity,rewardsactually

canunderminegenuineinterestanddiminishperformance.“Oursocietyiscaughtinawhopping

paradox,”assertsAlfieKohn,authorofthenewbookPunishedbyRewards(HoughtonMifflin),

whichsurveysrecentresearchontheeffectivenessofrewards.“Wecomplainloudlyabout

decliningproductivity,thecrisisofourschoolandthedistortedvaluesofourchildren.Butthe

verystrategyweusetosolvethoseproblems—danglingrewardslikeincentiveplansandgrade

andcandybarsinfrontofpeople—ispartlyresponsibleforthefixwe'rein.”

It'stoughargumenttomakeinaculturethatcelebratesthespoilsofsuccess.Yetstudyafter

studyshowsthatpeopletendtoperformworse,togiveupmoreeasilyandtoloseinterestmore

quicklywhenarewardisinvolved.Childrenwhoaregiventreatsfordoingartwork,forexample,

losetheirinitialloveofartwithinweeks.Teenagerswhoarepromisedarewardfortutoring

youngstersdon'tteachasenthusiasticallyastutorsofferednothing.Andchiefexecutiveofficers

whohavebeenawardedlong-termincentiveplanshaveoftensteeredtheircompaniestoward

lowerreturns.

6.Accordingtobehaviorism,allhumanactions________.

A.arebasedonstimulusandresponse

B.havenobearingonhumandrives

C.aresupposedtobehighlymotivated

D.areofagreatmystery

7.Behaviorismbasicallybelievesin__________.

A.motivation

C.rewards

B.performance

D.humanfactors

8.Fromthepassage,itcanbeinferredthat_________.

A.rewardsarehighlyeffectiveinAmerica

B.rewardsarenotmuchsoughtafterinacademiccircles

C.rewardshavelonglosttheirappealinAmericansociety

D.Americansareaddictedtorewards

9.Thechildren’sbehaviorinthelastparagraph_______.

A.canbebestexplainedinbehaviorism

B.canbelinkedtoPavlov’sdogs

C.showsthatrewardsmaywellkilldesire

D.servetoprovidedevidencetobehaviorism

10.Whichofthefollowingisinsupportofthefindingthat“peopletendtoperformworse,…

whenarewardisinvolved”(lastparagraph)?

A.Peoplearenotusedtobeingconditionedbyprizes.

B.Rewards,likepunishments,areattemptstocontrolbehavior.

C.RewardsaresoindispensabletoAmericancultures.

D.Theprincipleof“positivereinforcement”innotfullyenforced.

PassageThree

Inthe1950s,thepioneersofartificialintelligence(AI)predictedthat,bytheendofthis

century,computerswouldbeconversingwithusatworkandrobotswouldbeperformingour

housework.Butasusefulascomputersare,they’renowhereclosetoachievinganythingremotely

resemblingtheseearlyaspirationsforhumanlikebehavior.Nevermindsomethingascomplexas

conversation:themostpowerfulcomputersstruggletoreliablyrecognizetheshapeofanobject,

themostelementaryoftasksforaten-month-oldkid.

AgrowinggroupofAIresearchersthinktheyknowwherethefieldwentwrong.Theproblem,

thescientistssay,isthatAIhasbeentryingtoseparatethehighest,mostabstractlevelsofthought,

likelanguageandmathematics,andtoduplicatethemwithlogical,step-by-stepprograms.Anew

movementinAI,ontheotherhand,takesacloserlookatthemoreroundaboutwayinwhich

naturecameupwithintelligence.Manyoftheseresearchersstudyevolutionandnatural

adaptationinsteadofformallogicandconventionalcomputerprograms.Ratherthandigital

computersandtransistors,somewanttoworkwithbraincellsandproteins.Theresultsofthese

earlyeffortsareaspromisingastheyarepeculiar,andthenewnature-basedAImovementis

slowlybutsurelymovingtotheforefrontofthefield.

Imitatingthebrain'sneuralnetworkisahugestepintherightdirection,sayscomputer

scientistandbiophysicistMichaelConrad,butitstillmissesanimportantaspectofnatural

intelligence.“Peopletendtotreatthebrainasifitweremadeupofcolor-codedtransistors”,he

explains,“butit’snotsimplyaclevernetworkofswitches.Therearelotsofimportantthings

goingoninsidethebraincellsthemselves.”Specifically,Conradbelievesthatmanyofthebrain’s

capabilitiesstemfromthepatternrecognitionproficiencyoftheindividualmoleculesthatmake

upeachbraincell.Thebestwaytobuildanartificiallyintelligentdevice,heclaims,wouldbeto

builditaroundthesamesortofmolecularskills.

Rightnow,theoptionthatconventionalcomputersandsoftwarearefundamentallyincapable

ofmatchingtheprocessesthattakeplaceinthebrainremainscontroversial.Butifitprovestrue,

thentheeffortsofConradandhisfellowAIrebelscouldturnouttobetheonlygameintown.

11.Theauthorsaysthatthepowerfulcomputersoftoday______.

A.arecapableofreliablyrecognizingtheshapeofanobject

B.areclosetoexhibitinghumanlikebehavior

C.arenotverydifferentintheirperformancefromthoseofthe50’s

D.stillcannotcommunicatewithpeopleinahumanlanguage

12.Thenewtrendinartificialintelligenceresearchstemsfrom______.

A.theshiftofthefocusofstudyontotherecognitionoftheshapesofobjects

B.thebeliefthathumanintelligencecannotbeduplicatedwithlogical,step-by-step

programs

C.theaspirationsofscientiststoduplicatetheintelligenceofaten-month-oldchild

D.theeffortsmadebyscientistsinthestudyofthesimilaritiesbetweentransistorsand

braincells

13.ConradandhisgroupofAIresearchershavebeenmakingenormouseffortsto______.

A.findaroundaboutwaytodesignpowerfulcomputers

B.buildacomputerusingaclevernetworkofswitches

C.findouthowintelligencedevelopedinnature

D.separatethehighestandmostabstractlevelsofthought

14.What’stheauthor’sopinionaboutthenewAImovement?

A.Ithascreatedasensationamongartificialintelligenceresearchersbutwillsoondieout.

B.It’sabreakthroughinduplicatinghumanthoughtprocesses.

C.It’smorelikeapeculiargameratherthanarealscientificeffort.

D.Itmayprovetobeintherightdirectionthoughnobodyissureofitsfutureprospects.

15.Whichofthefollowingisclosestinmeaningtothephrase"theonlygameintown"(inthe

lastsentenceofthispassage)?

A.Theonlyapproachtobuildinganartificiallyintelligentcomputer.

B.Theonlywayforthemtowinaprizeinartificialintelligenceresearch.

C.Theonlyareaworthstudyingincomputerscience.

D.Theonlygametheywouldliketoplayintown.

PassageFour

Nottoomanydecadesagoitseemed"obvious"bothtothegeneralpublicandtosociologists

thatmodernsocietyhaschangedpeople’snaturalrelations,loosenedtheirresponsibilitiestokin

andneighbors,andsubstitutedintheirplacesuperficialrelationshipswithpassingacquaintances.

However,inrecentyearsagrowingbodyofresearchhasrevealedthatthe“obvious”isnottrue.It

seemsthatifyouareacityresident,youtypicallyknowasmallerproportionofyourneighbors

thanyoudoifyouarearesidentofasmallercommunity.But,forthemostpart,thisfacthasfew

significantconsequences.Itdoesnotnecessarilyfollowthatifyouknowfewofyourneighbors

youwillknownooneelse.

Eveninverylargecities,peoplemaintainclosesocialtieswithinsmall,privatesocialworlds.

Indeed,thenumberandqualityofmeaningfulrelationshipsdonotdifferbetweenmoreandless

urbanpeople.Small-townresidentsaremoreinvolvedwithkinthanarebig-cityresidents.Yetcity

dwellerscompensatebydevelopingfriendshipswithpeoplewhosharesimilarinterestsand

activities.Urbanismmayproduceadifferentstyleoflife,butthequalityoflifedoesnotdiffer

betweentownandcity.Norareresidentsoflargecommunitiesanylikeliertodisplay

psychologicalsymptomsofstressoralienation,afeelingofnotbelonging,thanareresidentsof

smallercommunities.However,citydwellersdoworrymoreaboutcrime,andthisleadsthemtoa

distrustofstrangers.

Thesefindingsdonotimplythaturbanismmakeslittleornodifference.Ifneighborsare

strangerstooneanother,theyarelesslikelytosweepthesidewalkofanelderlycouplelivingnext

doororkeepaneyeoutforyoungtroublemakers.Moreover,asWirthsuggested,theremaybea

linkbetweenacommunity'spopulationsizeanditssocialheterogeneity.Forinstance,sociologists

havefoundmuchevidencethatthesizeofacommunityisassociatedwithbadbehaviorincluding

gambling,drugs,etc.Large-cityurbanitesarealsomorelikelythantheirsmall-towncounterparts

tohaveacosmopolitanoutlook,todisplaylessresponsibilitytotraditionalkinshiproles,tovote

forleftistpoliticalcandidates,andtobetolerantofnontraditionalreligiousgroups,unpopular

politicalgroups,andso-calledun