2021考研英语二真题及答案

2021年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语（二）真题

SectionIUseofEnglish

Directions:

Readthefollowingtext.Choosethebestword(s)foreachnumberedblankandmarkA,B,CorDonthe

ANSWERSHEET.(10points)

It*snotdifficulttosettargetsforstaff.Itismuchharder,1,tounderstandtheirnegativeconsequences.Most

work-relatedbehaviorshavemultiplecomponents.2oneandtheothersbecomedistorted.

TravelonaLondonbusandyou'll3seehowthisworkswithdrivers.Watchpeoplegetonandshowtheir

tickets.Aretheycarefullyinspected?Never.Dopeoplegetonwithoutpaying?Ofcourse!Arethereinspectorsto

4thatpeoplehavepaid?Possibly,butveryfew.Andpeoplewhorunforthebus?Theyare_5_.Howabout

jumpinglights?Busesdosoalmostasfrequentlyascyclists.

Why?Becausethetargetis6.Peoplecomplainedthatbuseswerelateandinfrequent.7,thenumberof

busesandbuslaneswereincreased,anddriverswere8orpunishedaccordingtothetimetheytook.Anddrivers

hitthesetargets.Butthey9hitcyclists.Ifthetargetwaschangedto10,youwouldhavemoreinspectorsand

moresensitivepricing.Ifthecriterionchangedtosafety,youwouldgetmore11driverswhoobeyedtraffic

laws.Butboththesecriteriawouldbeattheexpenseoftime.

Thereisanother12:peoplebecameimmenselyinventiveinhittingtargets.Haveyou13thatyoucan

leaveonaflightanhourlatebutstillarriveontime?Tailwinds?Ofcoursenot!Airlineshavesimplychangedthe

timea14ismeanttotake.Aone-hourflightisnowballedasatwo-hourflight.

The15ofthestoryissimple.Mostjobsaremultidimensional,withmultiplecriteria.Chooseonecriterion

andyoumaywell16others.EverythingCanbedonefasterandmadecheaper,butthereisa17.Setting

targetscananddoeshaveunforeseennegativeconsequences.

Thisisnotanargumentagainsttarget-setting.Butitisanargumentforexploringconsequencesfirst.Allgood

targetsshouldhavemultiplecriteria18criticalfactorssuchastime,money,qualityandcustomerfeedback.The

trickisnotonlyto19justoneoreventwodimensionsoftheobjective,butalsotounderstandhowtohelp

peoplebetter20theobjective.

1.[A]therefore|B]however[C]again[D]moreover

2.[A]Emphasizes[B]Identify[C]Asses[D]Explain

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

4.[A]claim(BJprove[CJcheckID]recall

5.[A]threatened[B]ignored[ClmockedfD]blamed

6.[A]punctuality[B]hospitality[C]competition[D]innovation

7」A]Yes[BJSo[CJBesides[DJStill

8.[A]hired[BJtrained[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[BJproblem[CJprejudice(DJpolicy

13.[A]reported[B]revealed[C]admittedfD]noticed

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

15.[A]moral[B]background[C]style[D]form

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

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

18.[A]leadingto[B]callingfor[C]relatingto[D]accountingfor

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

20.[AJmodify[BJreviewIC]present(DJachieve

SectionIIReadingComprehension

PartA

Directions:

Readthefollowingfourtexts.AnswerthequestionsbeloweachtextbychoosingA,B,CorD.Markyour

answersontheANSWERSHEET.(40points)

Text1

'Reskilling'issomethingthatsoundslikeabuzzwordbutisactuallyarequirementifweplantohaveafuture

wherealotofwould-beworkersdonotgetleftbehind.

Weknowwearemovingintoaperiodwherethejobsindemandwillchangerapidly,aswilltherequirements

ofthejobsthatremainResearchbytheWEFdetailedintheHarvardBusinessReview,findsthatonaverage42

percentofthe"coreskills”withinjobroleswillchangeby2022.Thatisaveryshorttimeline,sowecanonly

imaginewhatthechangeswillbefurtherinthefuture.

Thequestionofwhoshouldpayforreskillingisathornyone.Forindividualcompanies,thetemptationis

alwaystoletgoofworkerswhoseskillsarenolongerindemandandreplacethemwiththosewhoseskillsare.

Thatdoesnotalwayshappen.AT&Tisoftengivenasthegoldstandardofacompanywhodecidedtodoamassive

reskillingprogramratherthangowithafire-and-hirestrategy.Othercompanieshadalsopledgedtocreatetheir

ownplans.Whentheskillsmismatchisinthebroadereconomy.Though,thefbcususuallyturnstogovernmentto

handle.EffortsinCanadaandelsewherehavebeenarguablylanguidatbest.Andhavegivenusasituationwhere

wefrequentlyhearofemployersbeggingforworkers.Evenattimesandinregionswhereunemploymentishigh.

Withthepandemic,unemploymentisveryhighindeed.InFebruaryat3.5percentand5.5P.C.respectively,

unemploymentratesinCanadaandtheUnitedStateswereatgenerationallowsandworkershortageswere

everywhere.AsofMay,thoserateshadspikedupto13.3percentand13.7percent,andalthoughmanyworker

shortageshaddisappeared,notallhaddoneso.Inthemedicalfield,totakeanobviousexample,thepandemic

meantthattherewerestillcleanshortagesofdoctors,nursesandothermedicalpersonnel.

Ofcourse,itisnotlikeyoucantakeanunemployedwaiterandtrainhimtobeadoctorinafewweeks,no

matterwhopaysforit.Butevenifyoucannotclosethegap,maybeyoucancloseothersanddoingsowouldbeto

thebenefitofallconcern.ThatseemstobethecaseinSweden:whenforcedtofurlough90PC.oftheircabinstaff.

ScandinavianAirlinedecidedtostartupashortretainingprogramthatreskilledthelaid-offworkerstosupport

hospitalstaff.TheeffortwasacollectiveoneandinvolvedothercompaniesaswellasaSwedishuniversity.

21.ResearchbytheWorldEconomicForumsuggests.

[A]anincreaseinfulltimeemployment

[B]anurgentdemandfornewjobsills

[C]asteadygrowthofjobopportunities

[D]acontroversyreaboutthe“coreskills”

22.AT&Tiscitedtoshow.

[A]analternativetothefire-and-hirestrategy

[B]animmediateneedforgovernmentsupport

[C]theimportanceofstaffappraisalstandards

[D]thecharacteristicsofres-killingprograms

23.EffortstoresolvetheskillsmismatchinCanada.

[A]havedrivenuplabourcosts

[BJhaveprovedtobeinconsistent

[C]havemetwithfierceopposition

[DJhaveappearedtobeinsufficient

24.WecanlearnfromParagraph3thattherewas.

[A]acallforpolicyadjustment

IBjachangeinhiringpractices

[CJalackofmedicalworkers

[D]asignofeconomicrecovery

25.ScandinavianAirlinesdecidedto.

[A]createjobvacanciesfortheunemployed

(BJpreparetheirlaidofworkersforotherjobs

[C]retraintheircabinstaffforbetterservices

[D]financetheirstaff'scollegeeducation

Text2

Withtheglobalpopulationpredictedtohitcloseto10billionby2050,andforecaststhatagricultural

productioninsomeregionswillneedtonearlydoubletokeeppace,foodsecurityisincreasinglymakingheadlines.

IntheUK,ithasbecomeabigtalkingpointrecentlytoo,foraratherparticularreason:Brexit.

BrexitisseenbysomeasanopportunitytoreversearecenttrendtowardstheUKimportingfood.Thecountry

producesonlyabout60percentofthefooditeats,downfromalmostthree-quartersinthelate1980s.Amoveback

toself-sufficiency,theargumentgoes,wouldboostthefarmingindustry,politicalsovereigntyandeventhenation's

health.Soundsgreat-buthowfeasibleisthisvision?

AccordingtoareportonUKfoodproductionfromtheUniversityofLeeds,UK,85percentofthecountry's

totallandareaisassociatedwithmeatanddairyproduction.Thatsupplies80percentofwhatisconsumed,soeven

coveringthewholecountryinlivestockfarmswouldn'tallowustocoverallourmeatanddairyneeds.

Therearemanycaveatstothosefigures,buttheyarestillgrave,lbbecomemuchmoreself-sufficient,theUK

wouldneedtodrasticallyreduceitsconsumptionofanimalfoods,andprobablyalsofarmmore

intensively-meaningfewergreenfields,andmorefactory-styleproduction.

Butswitchingtoamainlyplant-baseddietwouldn'thelp.ThereisagoodreasonwhytheUKisdominatedby

animalhusbandry:mostofitsterraindoesn'thavetherightsoilorclimatetogrowcropsonacommercialbasis.

Just25percentofthecountry'slandissuitableforcrop-growing,mostofwhichisalreadyoccupiedbyarable

fields.Evenifweconvertedallthesuitablelandtofieldsoffruitandvegetable—whichwouldinvolvetakingout

allthenaturereservesandremovingthousandsofpeoplefromtheirhomes—wewouldachieveonlya30percent

boostincropproduction.

Just23percentofthefruitandvegetablesconsumedintheUKarecurrentlyhome-grown,soevenwiththe

mostextrememeasureswecouldmeetonly30percentofourfreshproduceneeds.Thatisbeforewelookforthe

spacetogrowthegrains,sugars,seedsandoilsthatprovideuswiththevastbulkofourcurrentcalorieintake.

26.Somepeoplearguethatfoodself-sufficiencyintheUKwould.

A.behinderedbyitspopulationgrowth

B.contributetothenation'swell-being

C.becomeapriorityofthegovernment

D.poseachallengetoitsfarmingindustry

27.ThereportbytheUniversityofLeedsshowsthatintheUK.

A.farmlandhasbeeninefficientlyutilized

B.factory-styleproductionneedsreforming

C.mostlandisusedformeatanddairyproduction

D.moregreenfieldswillbeconvertedfbrfarming

28.Crop-growingintheUKisrestricteddueto.

A.itsfarmingtechnology

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,itpickedtwo

newcomersthatwereattractingconsiderablebuzzinSiliconValley.Microsoft'sownOfficedominatesthemarket

for"productivity“software,butthestart-upsrepresentedanewwaveoftechnologydesignedfromthegroundup

forthesmartphoneworld.

Bothapps,however,werelaterscrappedafterMicrosoftsaidithadusedtheirbestfeaturesinitsownproducts.

Theirteamsofengineersstayedon,makingthemtwoofthemany“acqui-hires“thatthebiggestcompanieshave

usedtofeedtheirgreathungerfortechtalent.

ToMicrosoft'scritics,thefatesofWunderlistandSunriseareexamplesofaremorselessdrivebyBigTechto

chewupanyinnovativecompaniesthatlieintheirpath."Theyboughttheseedlingsandclosedthemdown,“

complainedPaulArnold,apartneratSanFrancisco-basedSwitchVentures,puttinganendtobusinessesthatmight

onedayturnintocompetitors.Microsoftdeclinedtocomment.

Likeotherstart-upinvestors,MrArnold'sownbusinessoftendependsonsellingstart:upstolargertech

companies,thoughheadmitstomixedfeelingsabouttheresult:"Ithinkthesethingsaregoodforme,ifIputmy

selfishhaton.ButaretheygoodfortheAmericaneconomy?Idon'tknow.”

TheUSFederalTradeCommissionsaysitwantstofindtheanswertothatquestion.Thisweek,itaskedthe

fivemostvaluableUStechcompaniesforinformationabouttheirmanysmallacquisitionsoverthepastdecade.

Althoughonlyaresearchprojectatthisstage,therequesthasraisedtheprospectofregulatorswadinginto

early-stagetechmarketsthatuntilnowhavebeenbeyondtheirreach.

Giventheircombinedmarketvalueofmorethan$5.5trillion,riflingthroughsuchsmallDeals-manyof

themmuchlessprominentthanWunderlistandSunrise--mightseembesidethepoint.Betweenthem,thefive

biggesttechcompanieshavespentanaverageofonly$3.4billionayearonsub-$1billionacquisitionsoverthe

pastfiveyears-adropintheoceancomparedwiththeirmassivefinancialreserves,andthemorethan$130

billionofventurecapitalthatwasinvestedintheUslastyear.

However,criticssaythebigcompaniesusesuchdealstobuytheirmostthreateningpotentialcompetitors

beforetheirbusinesseshaveachancetogainmomentum,insomecasesaspartofa“buyandkilltactic^^tosimply

closethemdown.

31.WhatistrueaboutWunderlistandSunriseaftertheiracquisitions?

A.Theirmarketvaluesdeclined.

B.Theirengineerswereretained

C.Theirtechfeaturesimproved.

D.Theirproductswererepriced.

32.Microsoft'scriticsbelievethatthebigtechcompaniestendto_.

A.exaggeratetheirproductquality

B.treatnewtechtalentunfairly

C.eliminatetheirpotentialcompetitors

D.ignorepublicopinions

33.PaulArnoldisconcernedthatsmallacquisitionsmight.

A.weakenbigtechcompanies

B.worsenmarketcompetition

C.discouragestart-upinvestors

D.harmthenationaleconomy

34.TheUSFederalTradeCommissionintendsto.

A.limitBigTech'sexpansion

B.encourageresearchcollaboration

C.supervisestart-upsoperations

D.examinesmallacquisitions

35.Forthefivebiggesttechcompanies,theirsmallacquisitionshave__.

A.broughtlittlefinancialpressure

B.raisedfewmanagementchallenges

C.setaexampleforfuturedeals

D.generatedconsiderableprofits

Text4

We'refairlygoodatjudgingpeoplebasedonfirstimpressions,thinslicesofexperiencerangingfroma

glimpseofaphototoafiveminuteinteraction,anddeliberationcanbenotonlyextraneousbutintrusive.Inone

studyoftheabilityshecalled44thinslicing.,,thelatepsychologistNaliniAmbadyaskedparticipantstowatchsilent

1O-secondvideoclipsofprofessorsandtoratetheinstructor'soveralleffectiveness.Theirratingscorrelated

strongly,withstudents5end-of-semesterratings.Anothersetofparticipantshadtocountbackwardfrom1,000by

ninesastheywatchedtheclips,occupyingtheirconsciousworkingmemory.Theirratingswerejustasaccurate,

demonstratingtheintuitivenatureofthesocialprocessing.

Critically,anothergroupwasaskedtospendaminutewritingdownreasonsfortheirjudgment,beforegiving

therating.Accuracy,droppeddramatically.Ambadysuspectedthatdeliberationfocusedthemonvividbut

misleadingcues,suchascertaingesturesorutterances,ratherthanlettingthecomplexinterplayofsubtlesignals

formaholisticimpression.Shefoundsimilarinterferencewhenparticipantswatched15-secondclipsofpairsof

peopleandjudgedwhethertheywerestrangers,friends,ordatingpartners.

Otherresearchshowswe'rebetteratdetectingdeceptionfromthinsliceswhenwerelyonintuitioninsteadof

reflection.€tIfsasifyou'redrivingastickshit,^^saysJudithHall,apsychologistatNortheasternUniversity,"andif

youstartthinkingaboutittoomuch,youcan'trememberwhatyou'redoing.Butifyougoonautomaticpilot,you'

refine.Muchofoursociallifeislikethat/

Thinkingtoomuchcanalsoharmourabilitytofbnnpreferences.Collegestudents'ratingsofstrawberryjams

andcollegecoursesalignedbetterwithexperts5opinionswhenthestudentsweren'taskedtoanalyzetheirrationale.

Andpeoplemadecar-buyingdecisionsthatwerebothobjectivelybetterandmorepersonallysatisfyingwhenasked

tofbcusontheirfeelingsratherthanondetails,butonlyifthedecisionwascomplex-whentheyhadalotof

informationtoprocess.

Intuition'sspecialpowersareunleashedonlyincertaincircumstances.Inonestudy,participantscompleteda

batteryofeighttasks,includingfourthattappedrelativethinking(discerningrules,comprehendingvocabulary)

andfourthattappedintuitionandcreativity(generatingnewproductsorfiguresofspeech).Thentheyratedthe

degreetowhichtheyhadusedintuition("gut:feelings","hunches","myheart^^).Useoftheirguthurttheir

performanceonthefirstfourtasks,asexpected,andhelpedthemontherest.Sometimestheheartissmarterthan

thehead.

36.NaliniAmbady'sstudydealswith.

[A]thepowerofpeople'smemory

[B]thereliabilityoffirstimpressions

[C]instructor-studentinteraction

[D]people'sabilitytoinfluenceothers

37.InAmbady'sstudy,ratingaccuracydroppedwhenparticipants.

[A]focusedonspecificdetails

[BJgavetheratinginlimitedtime

[C]watchedshortervideoclips

[D]discussedwithoneanother

38.JudithHallmentionsdrivingtoshowthatL

[A]reflectioncanbedistracting

IBJmemorymaybeselective

[CJsocialskillsmustbecultivated

[D]deceptionisdifficulttodetect

39.Whenyouaremakingcomplexdecisions,itisadvisableto.

[A]collectenoughdata

LBJlistyourpreferences

[C]seekexpertadvice

[D]followyourfeelings

40.Whatcanwelearnfromthelastparagraph?

[A]Generatingnewproductstakestime.

[BlIntuitionmayaffectreflectivetasks.

[C]Vocabularycomprehensionneedscreativity.

[D]Objectivethinkingmayboostintuitiveness.

PartB

Directions:

Thefollowingparagraphsaregiveninawrongorder.ForQuestions41-45,youarerequiredtoreorganize

theseparagraphsintoacoherentarticlebychoosingfromthelistA-Gandfillingthemintothenumbered

boxes.ParagraphsCandFhavebeencorrectlyplaced.MarkyouranswersonANSWERSHEET.(1()

points)

A.Staycalm

B.Stayhumble

C.Decidewhethertowait

D.Berealisticabouttherisks

E.Don'tmakejudgements

F.Identifyasharedgoal

G.Askpermissiontodisagree

Howtodisagreewithsomeonemorepowerfulthanyou

Yourbossproposesanewinitiativeyouthinkwon'twork.Yourseniorcolleagueoutlinesaprojecttimeline

youbelieveisunrealistic.Whatdoyouseewhenyoudisagreewithsomeonewhohasmorepowerthanyoudo?

Howdoyoudecidewhetherit'sworthspeakingup?Andifyoudo,whatexactlyshouldyousay?Here*showto

disagreewithsomeonemorepowerfulthanyou.

41.________________________

Youmaydecideit'sbesttoholdoffonvoicingyouropinion.Maybeyouhaven'tfinishedthinkingtheproblem

through,oryouwanttogetaclearersenseofwhatthegroupthinks.Ifyouthinkotherpeoplearegoingtodisagree,

too,youmightwanttogatheryourarmyfirst.Peoplecancontributeexperienceorinformationtoyourthinking一

allthethingsthatwouldmakethedisagreementstrongerormorevalid.It'salsoagoodideatodelaythe

conversationifyouareinameetingorotherpublicspace.Discussingtheissueinprivatewillmakethepowerful

personfeellessthreatened.

42.__________________________

Beforeyoushareyourthoughts,thinkaboutwhatthepowerfulpersoncaresabout—itmaybethecredibility

oftheirteamorgettingaprojectdoneontime.You'remorelikelytobeheardifyoucanconnectyourdisagreement

toahigherpurpose.Stateitovertly,contextualizingyourstatementssothatyou'reseennotasadisagreeable

subordinatebutasacolleaguewho'stryingtoadvanceacommonobjective.Thediscussionwillthenbecomemore

likeachessgamethanaboxingmatch.

43.________________________

Thisstepmaysoundoverlydeferential,butit'sasmartwaytogivethepowerfulpersonpsychologicalsafety

andcontrol.Youcanseesomethinglike,“Iknowweseemtobemovingtowardafirstquartercommitmenthere.I

havereasonstothinkthatwon'twork.Tdliketolayoutmyreasoning-WouldthatbeOK?”Thisgivesthepersona

choice,allowinghimtoverballyoptin.And,assuminghesaysyes,itwillmakeyoufeelmoreconfidentabout

voicingyourdisagreement.

44.__________________________

Youmightfeelyourheartracingoryourfaceturningred,butdowhateveryoucantoremainnaturalinboth

yourwordsandactions.Whenyourbodylanguagecommunicatesreluctanceoranxiety,itundercutsthemessage.It

sendsamixedmessage,andyourcounterpartgelstochoosewhatsignalstoread.Deepbreathscanhelp,acan

speakingmoreslowlyanddeliberately.Whenwefeelpanicky,wetendtotalklouderandfaster.Simplyslowingthe

paceandtalkinginaneventonehelpstheotherpersoncooldownanddoesthesameforyou.Italsomakesyou

seemconfident,evenifyouaren't.

45.___________________________

Emphasizethatyou'reonlyofferingyouropinion,notgospeltruth.Itmaybeawell-informed,well-resear