2021年考研英语（二）真题

2021年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试

英语（二）

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2021年全国硕士研究生入学考试英语（二）试题

SectionIUseofEnglish

Directions:

Readthefollowingtext.Choosethebestword(s)foreachnumberedblankandmarkA,B,CorD

ontheANSWERSHEET.(10points)

It'snotdifficulttosettargetsforstaff.Itismuchharder,1tounderstandtheirnegative

consequences.Mostwork-relatedbehaviourshavemultiplecomponents.2oneandtheothers

becomedistorted.

TravelonaLondonbusandyou'll3seehowthisworkswithdrivers.Walchpeopleget

onandshowtheirtickets.Aretheycarefullyinspected?Never.Dopeoplegetonwithoutpaying?

Ofcourse!Arethereinspectorsto4thatpeoplehavepaid?Possibly,butveryfew.Andpeople

whorunforthebus?Theyare5.Howaboutjumpinglights?Busesdosoalmostasfrequently

ascyclists.

Why?Becausethetargetis6.Peoplecomplainedthatbuseswerelateandinfrequent.

7_,thenumberofbusesandbuslaneswereincreased,anddriverswere8orpunished

accordingtothetimetheytook.Anddrivershittheirtargets.Butthey9hitcyclists.Ifthe

targetwaschangedto10,youwouldhavemoreinspectorsandmoresensitivepricing.Ifthe

criterionchangedtosafety,youwouldgetmore11driverswhoobeyedtrafficlaws.Butboth

thesecriteriawouldbeattheexpenseoftime.

Thereisanother12:peoplebecomeimmenselyinventiveinhittingtargets.Haveyou

13thatyoucanleaveonaflightanhourlatebutstillarnveontime?Tailwinds?Ofcoursenot!

Airlineshavesimplychangedthetimea14ismeanttotake.Aone-hourflightisnowbilled

asatwo-hourflight.

The15ofthestoryissimple.Mostjobsaremultidimensional,withmultiplecriteria.

Chooseonecriterionandyoumaywell16others.Everythingcanbedonefasterandmade

cheaper,butthereisa17.Settingtargetscananddoeshaveunforeseennegativeconsequences.

Thisisnotanargumentagainsttarget-setting.Butitisanargumentforexploringconsequences

first.Allgoodtargetsshouldhavemultiplecriteria18criticalfactorssuchastime,money,

qualityandcustomerfeedback.Thetrickisnotto19justoneoreventwodimensionsofthe

objective,butalsotounderstandhowtohelppeoplebetter20theobjective.

1.A.howeverB.againC.moreoverD.therefore

2.A.IdentifyB.AssessC.ExplainD.Emphasize

3.A.curiouslyB.eagerlyC.quicklyD.nearly

4.A.proveB.checkC.recallD.claim

5.A.threatenedB.mockedC.blamedD.ignored

6.A.hospitalityB.competitionC.innovationD.punctuality

7.A.SoB.BesidesC.StillD.Yet

8.A.trainedB.rewardedC.groupedD.hired

9.A.ratherB.onceC.alsoD.only

10.A.revenueB.efficiencyC.securityD.comfort

11.A.quietB.cautiousC.diligentD.friendly

12.A.problemB.prejudiceC.policyD.purpose

13.A.revealedB.admittedC.noticedD.reported

14.A.tripB.departureC.transferD.break

15.A.backgroundB.styleC.formD.moral

16.A.criticizeB.sacrificeC.tolerateD.interpret

17.A.secretB.productC.costD.task

18.A.callingforB.leadingtoC.accountingforD.relatingto

19.A.predictB.restoreC.createD.specify

20.A.reviewB.presentC.achieveD.modify

SectionIIReadingComprehension

PartA

Directions:

Readthefollowingfourtexts.AnswerthequestionsaftereachtextbychoosingA,B,CorD.Mark

youranswersontheANSWERSHEET.(40points)

Text1

“Reskining“issomethingthatsoundslikeabuzzwordbutisactuallyarequirementifweplan

tohaveafutureinwhichalotofwould-beworkersdonotgetleftbehind.Weknowwearemoving

intoaperiodwherethejobsindemandwillchangerapidly,aswilltherequirementsofthejobsthat

remain.ResearchbytheWorldEconomicForumfindsthatonaverage42percentofthe“coreskills^^

withinjobroleswillchangeby2022.Thatisaveryshorttimeline.

Thequestionofwhoshouldpayforreskillingisathornyone.Forindividualcompanies,the

temptationisalwaystoletgoofworkerswhoseskillsarenolongerindemandandreplacethem

withthosewhoseskillsare.Thatdoesnotalwayshappen.AT&Tisoftengivenasthegoldstandard

ofacompanythatdecidedtodoamassivereskillingprogramratherthangowithafire-and-hire

strategy.Othercompanieshadalsopledgedtocreatetheirownplans.Whentheskillsmismatchis

inthebroadereconomy,though,thefocususuallyturnstogovernmenttohandle.EffortsinCanada

andelsewherehavebeenarguablylanguidatbest,andhavegivenusasituationwherewefrequently

hearofemployersbeggingfbrworkers,evenattimesandinregionswhereunemploymentishigh.

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

centrespectively,unemploymentratesinCanadaandtheUnitedStateswereatgenerationallows

andworkershortageswereeverywhere.AsofMay,thoserateshadspikedupto13.3percentand

13.7percent,andalthoughmanyworkershortageshaddisappeared,notallhaddoneso.Inthe

medicalfield,totakeanobviousexample,thepandemicmeantthattherewerestillclearshortages

ofdoctors,nursesandothermedicalpersonnel.

Ofcourse,itisnotlikeyoucantakeanunemployedwaiterandtrainhimtobeadoctorina

fewweeks.Butevenifyoucannotclosethegap,maybeyoucancloseothers,anddoingsowould

betothebenefitofallconcerned.ThatseemstobethecaseinSweden:Whenforcedtofurlough90

percentoftheircabinstaff,ScandinavianAirlinesdecidedtostartupashortretainingprogramthat

reskilledthelaid-offworkerstosupporthospitalstaff.Theeffortwasacollectiveoneandinvolved

othercompaniesaswellasaSwedishuniversity.

21.ResearchbytheWorldEconomicForumsuggests.

[A]anincreaseinfull-timeemployment

[B|anurgentdemandfornewjobskills

[C]asteadygrowthofjobopportunities

[D]acontroversyaboutthe“coreskills,,

22.AT&Tiscitedtoshow.

[A]analternativetothefire-and-hirestrategy

[BJanimmediateneedforgovernmentsupport

[C]theimportanceofstaffappraisalstandards

[D|thecharacteristicsofreskillingprograms

23.EffortstoresolvetheskillsmismatchinCanada.

[A]havedrivenuplabourcosts

[B|haveprovedtobeinconsistent

[C]havemetwithfierceopposition

fD]haveappearedtobeinsufficient

24.WecanlearnfromParagraph3thattherewas,

[A]acallforpolicyadjustment

[B]achangeinhiringpractices

[C]alackofmedicalworkers

[D]asignofeconomicrecovery

25.ScandinavianAirlinesdecidedto.

[A]createjobvacanciesfortheunemployed

[B|preparetheirlaid-offworkersforotherjobs

[C]retraintheircabinstaffforbetterservices

[D|financetheirstaff'scollegeeducation

Text2

Withtheglobalpopulationpredictedtohitcloseto10billionby2050,andforecaststhat

agriculturalproductioninsomeregionswillneedtonearlydoubletokeeppace,foodsecurityis

increasinglymakingheadlines.IntheUK,ithasbecomeabigtalkingpointrecentlytoo,forarather

particularreason:Brexit.

BrexitisseenbysomeasanopportunitytoreversearecenttrendtowardstheUKimporting

food.Thecountryproducesonlyabout60percentofthefooditeats,downfromalmostthree-

quartersinthelate1980s.Amovebacktoself-sufficiency,theargumentgoes,wouldboostthe

farmingindustry,politicalsovereigntyandeventhenation'shealth.Soundsgreat-buthowfeasible

isthisvision?

AccordingtoareportonUKfoodproductionfromtheUniversityofLeeds,UK,85percent

ofthecountry'stotallandareaisassociatedwithmeatanddairyproduction.Thatsupplies80per

centofwhatisconsumed,soevencoveringthewholecountryinlivestockfarmswouldn'tallowus

tocoverallourmeatanddairyneeds.

Therearemanycaveatstothosefigures,buttheyarestillgrave.Tobecomemuchmoreself-

sufficient,theUKwouldneedtodrasticallyreduceitsconsumptionofanimalfoods,andprobably

alsofarmmoreintensively—meaningfewergreenfields,andmorefactory-styleproduction.

Butswitchingtoamainlyplant-baseddietwouldn'thelp.ThereisagoodreasonwhytheUK

isdominatedbyanimalhusbandry:mostofitsterraindoesn'thavetherightsoilorclimatetogrow

cropsonacommercialbasis.Just25percentofthecountry'slandissuitableforcrop-growing,

mostofwhichisalreadyoccupiedbyarablefields.Evenifweconvertedallthesuitablelandto

fieldsoffruitandveg-whichwouldinvolvetakingoutallthenaturereservesandremoving

thousandsofpeoplefromtheirhomes—wewouldachieveonlya30percentboostincrop

production.

Just23percentofthefruitandvegetablesconsumedintheUKarecurrentlyhome-grown,so

evenwiththemostextrememeasureswecouldmeetonly30percentofourfreshproduceneeds.

Thatisbeforewelookforthespacetogrowthegrains,sugars,seedsandoilsthatprovideuswith

thevastbulkofourcurrentcalorieintake.

26.Somepeoplearguethatfoodself-sufficiencyintheUKwould.

[A]contributetothenation'swell-being

[B]becomeapriorityofthegovernment

[C]behinderedbyitspopulationgrowth

[D]poseachallengetoitsfarmingindustry

27.ThereportbytheUniversityofLeedsshowedthatintheUK.

[A]moregreenfieldswillbeconvertedforfarming

[B]mostlandisusedformeatanddairyproduction

[C]farmlandhasbeeninefficientlyutilized

[D]factory-styleproductionneedsreforming

28.Crop-growingintheUKisrestricteddueto.

[A]itsdietarytradition

[B]itsnaturalconditions

[C]itscommercialinterests

[D]itsfarmingtechnology

29.ItcanbelearnedfromthelastparagraphthatBritishpeople.

[A]aretryingtogrownewvarietiesofgrains

[B]areseekingeffectivewaystocutcalorieintake

[C]enjoyasteadyriseinfruitconsumption

[D]relylargelyonimportsforfreshproduce

30.Theauthor'sattitudetofoodself-sufficiencyintheUKis.

[A]doubtful

[B]tolerant

[C]optimistic

[D]defensive

Text3

WhenMicrosoftboughttaskmanagementappWunderlistandmobilecalendarSunrisein2015,

itpickedtwonewcomersthatwereattractingconsiderablebuzzinSiliconValley.Microsoft'sown

Officedominatesthemarketfor“productivity”software,butthestart-upsrepresentedanewwave

oftechnologydesignedfromthegroundupforthesmartphoneworld.

Bothapps,however,werelaterscrappedafterMicrosoftsaidithadusedtheirbestfeaturesin

itsownproducts.Theirteamsofengineersstayedon,makingthemtwoofthemany“acqui-hires”

thatthebiggestcompanieshaveusedtofeedtheirgreathungerfortechtalent.

ToMicrosoft'scritics,thefatesofWunderlistandSunriseareexamplesofaremorselessdrive

byBigTechtochewupanyinnovativecompaniesthatlieintheirpath.uTheyboughttheseedlings

andclosedthemdown,^^complainedPaulArnold,apartneratSanFrancisco-basedSwitchVentures,

puttinganendtobusinessesthatmightonedayturnintocompetitors.Microsoftdeclinedto

comment.

Likeotherstart-upinvestors,MrArnold'sownbusinessoftendependsonsellingstart-upsto

largertechcompanies,thoughheadmitstomixedfeelingsabouttheresult:"Ithinkthesethingsare

goodforme,ifIputmyselfishhaton.ButaretheygoodfortheAmericaneconomy?Idon'tknow.”

TheUSFederalTradeCommissionsaysitwantstofindtheanswertothatquestion.Thisweek,

itaskedthefivemostvaluableUStechcompaniesforinformationabouttheirmanysmall

acquisitionsoverthepastdecade.Althoughonlyaresearchprojectatthisstage,therequesthas

raisedtheprospectofregulatorswadingintoearly-stagetechmarketsthatuntilnowhavebeen

beyondtheirreach.

Giventheircombinedmarketvalueofmorethan$5.5trillion,riflingthroughsuchsmall

deals-manyofthemmuchlessprominentthanWunderlistandSunnise—mightseembesidethe

point.Betweenthem,thefivebiggesttechcompanieshavespentanaverageofonly$3.4billiona

yearonsub-$lbillionacquisitionsoverthepastfiveyears-adropintheoceancomparedwiththeir

massivefinancialreserves,andthemorethan$130billionofventurecapitalthatwasinvestedin

theUSlastyear.

However,criticssaythebigcompaniesusesuchdealstobuytheirmostthreateningpotential

competitorsbeforetheirbusinesseshaveachancetogainmomentum,insomecasesaspartofa

“buyandkill“tactictosimplyclosethemdown.

31.WhatistrueaboutWunderlistandSunriseaftertheiracquisitions?

[A]Theirmarketvaluesdeclined.

[B]Theirtechfeaturesimproved.

[C]Theirengineerswereretained.

[D]Theirproductswerere-priced.

32.Microsoft'scriticsbelievethatthebigtechcompaniestendto.

[A]ignorepublicopinions

[B]treatnewtechtalentunfairly

[C]exaggeratetheirproductquality

[D|eliminatetheirpotentialcompetitors

33.PaulArnoldisconcernedthatsmallacquisitionsmight.

[A]harmthenationaleconomy

[B|worsenmarketcompetition

[C]discouragestart-upinvestors

[D]weakenbigtechcompanies

34.TheUSFederalTradeCommissionintendsto.

[A]examinesmallacquisitions

[BJlimitBigTech'sexpansion

[C]supervisestart-ups*operations

[D|encourageresearchcollaboration

35.Forthefivebiggesttechcompanies,theirsmallacquisitionshave,

[A]broughtlittlefinancialpressure

[B]raisedfewmanagementchallenges

[C]setanexampleforfuturedeals

fD]generatedconsiderableprofits

Text4

We'refairlygoodatjudgingpeoplebasedonfirstimpressions,thinslicesofexperience

rangingfromaglimpseofaphototoafive-minuteinteraction,anddeliberationcanbenotonly

extraneousbutintrusive.Inonestudyoftheabilityshecalled“thinslicing,thelatepsychologist

NaliniAmbadyaskedparticipantstowatchsilent1O-secondvideoclipsofprofessorsandtoratethe

instructor'soveralleffectiveness.Theirratingscorrelatedstronglywithstudents5end-of-semester

ratings.Anothersetofparticipantshadtocountbackwardfrom1,000byninesastheywatchedthe

clips,occupyingtheirconsciousworkingmemory.Theirratingswerejustasaccurate,

demonstratingtheintuitivenatureofthesocialprocessing.

Critically,anothergroupwasaskedtospendaminutewritingdownreasonsfortheirjudgment,

beforegivingtherating.Accuracydroppeddramatically.Ambadysuspectedthatdeliberation

focusedthemonvividbutmisleadingcues,suchascertaingesturesorutterances,ratherthanletting

thecomplexinterplayofsubtlesignalsformaholisticimpression.Shefoundsimilarinterference

whenparticipantswatched15-secondclipsofpairsofpeopleandjudgedwhethertheywere

strangers,friends,ordatingpartners.

Otherresearchshowswe'rebetteratdetectingdeceptionfromthinsliceswhenwerelyon

intuitioninsteadofreflection."It'sasifyou'redrivingastickshiftJsaysJudithHall,apsychologist

atNortheasternUniversity,ctandifyoustartthinkingaboutittoomuch,youcan'trememberwhat

you'redoing.Butifyougoonautomaticpilot,you'refine.Muchofoursociallifeislikethat.”

Thinkingtoomuchcanalsohannourabilitytoformpreferences.Collegestudents9ratingsof

strawberryjamsandcollegecoursesalignedbetterwithexperts5opinionswhenthestudentsweren't

askedtoanalyzetheirrationale.Andpeoplemadecar-buyingdecisionsthatwerebothobjectively

betterandmorepersonallysatisfyingwhenaskedtofocusontheirfeelingsratherthanondetails,

butonlyifthedecisionwascomplex—whentheyhadalotofinformationtoprocess.

Intuition'sspecialpowersareunleashedonlyincertaincircumstances.Inonestudy,

participantscompletedabatteryofeighttasks,includingfourthattappedreflectivethinking

(discerningrules,comprehendingvocabulary)andfourthattappedintuitionandcreativity

(generatingnewproductsorfiguresofspeech).Thentheyratedthedegreetowhichtheyhadused

intuition("gutffeelings,““hunches,““myheart^^).Useoftheirguthurttheirperformanceonthefirst

fourtasks,asexpected,andhelpedthemontherest.Sometimestheheartissmarterthanthehead.

36.NaliniAmbady'sstudydealswith.

[A]instructor-studentinteraction

[B]thepowerofpeople'smemory

[CJpeople'sabilitytoinfluenceothers

[D]thereliabilityoffirstimpressions

37.InAmbady'sstudy,ratingaccuracydroppedwhenparticipants.

[A]gavetheratinginlimitedtime

[B]watchedshortervideoclips

[C]focusedonspecificdetails

[D]discussedwithoneanother

38.JudithHallmentionsdrivingtoshowthat.

[A]memorymaybeselective

[B]socialskillsmustbecultivated

[C]reflectioncanbedistracting

[D]deceptionisdifficulttodetect

39.Whenyouaremakingcomplexdecisions,itisadvisableto.

[A]listyourpreferences

[B]followyourfeelings

[C]seekexpertadvice

[D]collectenoughdata

40.Whatcanweleamfromthelastparagraph?

[A]Generatingnewproductstakestime.

[B]Intuitionmayaffectreflectivetasks.

[C]Vocabularycomprehensionneedscreativity.

[D]Objectivethinkingmayboostinventiveness.

PartB

Directions:

Readthefollowingtextandanswerthequestionsbychoosingthemostsuitablesubheadingfrom

thelistA-Gforeachofthenumberedparagraphs(41-45).Therearetwoextrasubheadingswhich

youdonotneedtouse.MarkyouranswersontheANSWERSHEET.(10points)

A.Staycalm.

B.Stayhumble.

C.Don'tmakejudgments.

D.Berealisticabouttherisks

E.Decidewhethertowait.

F.Askpermissiontodisagree.

G.Identifyasharedgoal.

HowtoDisagreewithSomeoneMorePowerfulThanYou

Yourbossproposesanewinitiativeyouthinkwon'twork.Yourseniorcolleagueoutlinesa

projectlimelineyoubelieveisunrealistic.Whatdoyousaywhenyoudisagreewithsomeonewho

hasmorepowerthanyoudo?Howdoyoudecidewhetherit'sworthspeakingup?Andifyoudo,

whatexactlyshouldyousay?Here'showtodisagreewithsomeonemorepowerfulthanyou.

41..

Youmaydecideifsbesttoholdoffonvoicingyouropinion.Maybeyouhaven'tfinished

thinkingtheproblemthrough,oryouwanttogetaclearersenseofwhatthegroupthinks.Ifyou

thinkotherpeoplearegoingtodisagree,too,youmightwanttogatheryourarmyfirst.Peoplecan

contributeexperienceorinformationtoyourthinking—allthethingsthatwouldmakethe

disagreementstrongerormorevalid.It'salsoagoodideatodelaytheconversationifyou'reina

meetingorotherpublicspace.Discussingtheissueinprivatewillmakethepowerfulpersonfeel

lessthreatened.

42..

Beforeyoushareyourthoughts,thinkaboutwhatthepowerfulpersoncaresabout—itmaybe

thecredibilityoftheirteamorgettingaprojectdoneontime.You'remorelikelytobeheardifyou

canconnectyourdisagreementtoahigherpurpose.Stateitovertly,contextualizingyourstatements

sothatyou'reseennotasadisagreeablesubordinatebutasacolleaguewho'stryingtoadvancea

commonobjective.Thediscussionwillthenbecomemorelikeachessgamethanaboxingmatch.

43..

Thisstepmaysoundoverlydeferential,butit'sasmartwaytogivethepowerfulperson

psychologicalsafetyandcontrol.Youcansaysomethinglike,“Iknowweseemtobemovingtoward

afirst-quartercommitmenthere.Ihavereasonstothinkthatwon'twork.I'dliketolayoutmy

reasoning.WouldthatbeOK?”Thisgivesthepersonachoice,allowinghimtoverballyoptin.And,

assuminghesaysyes,itwillmakeyoufeelmoreconfidentaboutvoicingyourdisagreement.

44..

Youmightfeelyourheartracingoryourfaceturningred,butdowhateveryoucantoremain

naturalinbothyourwordsandactions.Whenyourbodylanguagecommunicatesreluctanceor

anxiety,itundercutsthemessage.Itsendsamixedmessage,andyourcounterpartgetstochoose

whatsignalstoread.Deepbreathscanhelp,ascanspeakingmoreslowlyanddeliberately.When

wefeelpanicky,wetendtotalklouderandfaster.Simplyslowingthepaceandtalkinginaneven

tonehelpstheotherpersoncooldownanddoesthesamefo