2021年考研英语二真题及参考答案

2021年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语(二)试题

及参考答案

SectionIUseofEnglish

Directions:

Readthefollowingtext.Choosethebestword(s)foreachnumbered

blankandmarkA,B,CorDontheANSWERSHEET.(10points)

It'snotdifficulttosettargetsforstaff.Itismuchharder,

1,tounderstandtheirnegativeconsequences.Mostwork-related

behaviorshavemultiplecomponents._2oneandtheothersbecome

distorted.

TravelonaLondonbusandyou，113seehowthisworkswith

drivers.Watchpeoplegetonandshowtheirtickets.Arethey

carefullyinspected?Never.Dopeoplegetonwithoutpaying?Of

course!Arethereinspectorsto_4thatpeoplehavepaid?

Possibly,butveryfew.Andpeoplewhorunforthebus?Theyare

5_,Howaboutjumpinglights?Busesdosoalmostasfrequentlyas

cyclists.

Why?Becausethetargetis6.Peoplecomplainedthatbuses

werelateandinfrequent._7,thenumberofbusesandbuslanes

wereincreased,anddriverswere8orpunishedaccordingtothe

timetheytook.Anddrivershitthesetargets.Butthey9hit

cyclists.Ifthetargetwaschangedto10,youwouldhavemore

inspectorsandmoresensitivepricing.Ifthecriterionchangedto

safety,youwouldgetmore11driverswhoobeyedtrafficlaws.

Butboththesecriteriawouldbeattheexpenseoftime.

Thereisanother_12:peoplebecameimmenselyinventivein

hittingtargets.Haveyou13thatyoucanleaveonaflightan

hourlatebutstillarriveontime?Tailwinds?Ofcoursenot!Airlines

havesimplychangedthetimea14ismeanttotake.Aone-hour

fightisnowballadasatwo-hourflight.

The15ofthestoryissimple.Mostjobsaremultidimensional,

withmultiplecriteria.Chooseonecriterionandyoumaywell16

others.EverythingCanbedonefasterandmadecheaper,butthere

isa17,Settingtargetscananddoeshaveunforeseennegative

consequences.

Thisisnotanargumentagainsttarget-setting.Butitisan

argumentforexploringconsequencesfirst.Allgoodtargetsshould

havemultiplecriteria18criticalfactorssuchastime,money,

qualityandcustomerfeedback.Thetrickisnotonlyto19just

oneoreventwodimensionsoftheobjective,butalsotounderstand

howtohelppeoplebetter20theobjective.

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[B]prove[C]check[D]recall

5.[A]threatened[B]ignored[C]mocked[D]blamed

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

7.[A]Yes[B]So[C]Besides[D]Still

8.[A]hired[B]trained[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[B]problem[C]prejudice[D]policy

13.[A]reported[B]revealed[C]admitted[D]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]cast

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

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

20.[A]modify[B]review[C]present[D]achieve

SectionIIReadingComprehension

PartADirections:

Readthefollowingfourtexts.Answerthequestionsaftereachtext

bychoosingA,B,CorD.MarkyouranswersontheANSWERSHEET.(40points)

Text1

“Reskilling“issomethingthatsoundslikeabuzzwordbutisactually

arequirementifweplantohaveafuturewherealotofwould-beworkers

donotgetleftbehind.

Weknowwearemovingintoaperiodwherethejobsindemandwillchange

rapidly,aswilltherequirementsofthejobsthatremainResearchbythe

WEFdetailedintheHarvardBusinessReview,findsthatonaverage42

percentofthe“coreskills〃withinjobroleswillchangeby2022.That

isaveryshorttimeline,sowecanonlyimaginewhatthechangeswillbe

furtherinthefuture.

Thequestionofwhoshouldpayforreskillingisathornyone.For

individualcompanies,thetemptationisalwaystoletgoofworkerswhose

skillsarenolongerindemandandreplacethemwiththosewhoseskills

are.Thatdoesnotalwayshappen.AT&Tisoftengivenasthegoldstandard

ofacompanywhodecidedtodoamassivereskillingprogramratherthan

gowithafire-and-hirestrategy.Othercompanieshadalsopledgedto

createtheirownplans.Whentheskillsmismatchisinthebroadereconomy.

Though,thefocususuallyturnstogovernmenttohandle.EffortsinCanada

andelsewherehavebeenarguablylanguidatbest.Andhavegivenusa

situationwherewefrequentlyhearofemployersbeggingforworkers.Even

attimesandinregionswhereunemploymentishigh.

Withthepandemic,unemploymentisveryhighindeed.InFebruaryat

3.5percentand5.5P.C.respectively,unemploymentratesinCanadaand

theUnitedStateswereatgenerationallowsandworkershortageswere

everywhere.AsofMay,thoserateshadspikedupto13.3percentand13.7

percent,andalthoughmanyworkershortageshaddisappeared,notallhad

doneso.Inthemedicalfield,totakeanobviousexample,thepandemic

meantthattherewerestillcleanshortagesofdoctors,nursesandother

medicalpersonnel.

Ofcourse,itisnotlikeyoucantakeanunemployedwaiterandtrain

himtobeadoctorinafewweeks,nomatterwhopaysforit.Butevenif

youcannotclosethegap,maybeyoucancloseothersanddoingsowould

betothebenefitofallconcern.ThatseemstobethecaseinSweden:when

forcedtofurlough90PC.oftheircabinstaff.ScandinavianAirline

decidedtostartupashortretainingprogramthatreskilledthelaid-off

workerstosupporthospitalstaff.Theeffortwasacollectiveoneand

involvedothercompaniesaswellasaSwedishuniversity.

21.ResearchbytheWorldEconomicForumsuggests.

[A]anincreaseinfulltimeemployment

[B]anurgentdemandfornewjobsills

[C]asteadygrowthofjobopportunities

[D]acontroversyaboutthe“coreskills”

22.AT&Tiscitedtoshow.

[A]analternativetothefire-and-hirestrategy

[B]animmediateneedforgovernmentsupport

[C]theimportanceofstaffappraisalstandards[D]thecharacteristics

ofres-killingprograms

23.EffortstoresolvetheskillsmismatchinCanada.

[A]havedrivenuplabourcosts

[B]haveprovedtobeinconsistent

[C]havemetwithfierceopposition

[D]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,

andforecaststhatagriculturalproductioninsomeregionswillneedto

nearlydoubletokeeppace,foodsecurityisincreasinglymakingheadlines.

IntheUK,ithasbecomeabigtalkingpointrecentlytoo,forarather

particularreason:Brexit.

Brexitisseenbysomeasanopportunitytoreversearecenttrend

towardstheUKimportingfood.Thecountryproducesonlyabout60percent

ofthefooditeats,downfromalmostthree-quartersinthelate1980s.

Amovebacktoself-sufficiency,theargumentgoes,wouldboostthefarming

industry,politicalsovereigntyandeventhenation，shealth.Soundsgreat

一buthowfeasibleisthisvision?

AccordingtoareportonUKfoodproductionfromtheUniversityofLeeds,

UK,85percentofthecountry'stotallandareaisassociatedwithmeat

anddairyproduction.Thatsupplies80percentofwhatisconsumed,so

evencoveringthewholecountryinlivestockfarmswouldn，tallowusto

coverallourmeatanddairyneeds.

Therearemanycaveatstothosefigures,buttheyarestillgrave.To

becomemuchmoreself-sufficient,theUKwouldneedtodrasticallyreduce

itsconsumptionofanimalfoods,andprobablyalsofarmmoreintensively

一meaningfewergreenfields,andmorefactory-styleproduction.

Butswitchingtoamainlyplant-baseddietwouldn，thelp.Thereisa

goodreasonwhytheUKisdominatedbyanimalhusbandry:mostofitsterrain

doesn'thavetherightsoilorclimatetogrowcropsonacommercialbasis.

Just25percentofthecountry，slandissuitableforcrop-growing,most

ofwhichisalreadyoccupiedbyarablefields.Evenifweconvertedall

thesuitablelandtofieldsoffruitandveg一whichwouldinvolvetaking

outallthenaturereservesandremovingthousandsofpeoplefromtheir

homes-wewouldachieveonlya30percentboostincropproduction.

Just23percentofthefruitandvegetablesconsumedintheUKare

currentlyhome-grown,soevenwiththemostextrememeasureswecouldmeet

only30percentofourfreshproduceneeds.Thatisbeforewelookfor

thespacetogrowthegrains,sugars,seedsandoilsthatprovideuswith

thevastbulkoforcurrentcalorieintake.

26._Somepeoplearguethatfoodself-sufficiencyintheUK

would___.

A.behinderedbyitspopulationgrowth

B.contributetothenation，swell-being

C.becomeapriorityofthegovernment

D.poseachallengetoitsfarmingindustry

27.ThereportbytheUniversityofLeedsshowsthatintheUK.

A.farmlandhasbeeninefficientlyutilized

B.factory-styleproductionneedsreforming

C.mostlandisusedformeatanddairyproduction

D.moregreenfieldswillbeconvertedforfarming

28.Crop-growingintheUKisrestricteddueto.

A.itsfarmingtechnology

B.itsdietarytradition

C.itsnaturalconditions

D.itscommercialinterests

29.ItcanbelearnedfromthelastparagraphthatBritish

people_.

A.relylargelyonimportsforfreshproduce

B.enjoyasteadyriseinfruitconsumption

C.areseekingeffectivewaystocutcalorieintake

D.aretryingtogrownewvarietiesofgrains

30.Theauthor，sattitudetofoodself-sufficiencyintheUKis.

A.defensive

B.doubtful

C.tolerant

D.optimistic

Text3

WhenMicrosoftboughttaskmanagementappWunderlistandmobile

calendarSunrisein2015,itpickedtwonewcomersthatwereattracting

considerablebuzzinSiliconValley.Microsoft'sownOfficedominatesthe

marketfor“productivity“software,butthestart-upsrepresentedanew

waveoftechnologydesignedfromthegroundupforthesmartphoneworld.

Bothapps,however,werelaterscrappedafterMicrosoftsaidithad

usedtheirbestfeaturesinitsownproducts.Theirteamsofengineers

stayedon,makingthemtwoofthemany“acqui-hires”thatthebiggest

companieshaveusedtofeedtheirgreathungerfortechtalent.

ToMicrosoft5scritics,thefatesofWunderlistandSunriseare

examplesofaremorselessdrivebyBigTechtochewupanyinnovative

companiesthatlieintheirpath."Theyboughttheseedlingsandclosed

themdown,“complainedPaulArnold,apartneratSanFrancisco-based

SwitchVentures,puttinganendtobusinessesthatmightonedayturninto

competitors.Microsoftdeclinedtocomment.

Likeotherstart-upinvestors,MrArnold，sownbusinessoftendepends

onsellingstart-upstolargertechcompanies,thoughheadmitstomixed

feelingsabouttheresult:"Ithinkthesethingsaregoodforme,ifI

putmyselfishhaton.ButaretheygoodfortheAmericaneconomy?Idon，t

know.〃

TheUSFederalTradeCommissionsaysitwantstofindtheanswerto

thatquestion.Thisweek,itaskedthefivemostvaluableUStechcompanies

forinformationabouttheirmanysmallacquisitionsoverthepastdecade.

Althoughonlyaresearchprojectatthisstage,therequesthasraisedthe

prospectofregulatorswadingintoearly-stagetechmarketsthatuntilnow

havebeenbeyondtheirreach.

Giventheircombinedmarketvalueofmorethan$5.5trillion,rifling

throughsuchsmallDeals一manyofthemmuchlessprominentthanWunderlist

andSunrise一mightseembesidethepoint.Betweenthem,thefivebiggest

techcompanieshavespentanaverageofonly$3.4billionayearonsub-$1

billionacquisitionsoverthepastfiveyears-adropintheoceancompared

withtheirmassivefinancialreserves,andthemorethan$130billionof

venturecapitalthatwasinvestedintheUSlastyear.

However,criticssaythebigcompaniesusesuchdealstobuytheirmost

threateningpotentialcompetitorsbeforetheirbusinesseshaveachance

togainmomentum,insomecasesaspartofa“buyandkillntacticto

simplyclosethemdown.

31.WhatistrueaboutWunderlistandSunriseaftertheiracquisitions?

A.Theirengineerswereretained.

B.Theirmarketvaluesdeclined.

C.Theirtechfeaturesimproved.

D.Theirproductswererepriced.

32.Microsoft'scriticsbelievethatthebigtechcompaniestendto

A.exaggeratetheirproductquality

B.eliminatetheirpotentialcompetitors

C.treatnewtechtalentunfairly

D.ignorepublicopinions

33.PaulArnoldisconcernedthatsmallacquisitionsmight.

A.weakenbigtechcompanies

B.worsenmarketcompetition

C.harmthenationaleconomy

D.discouragestart-upinvestors

34.TheUSFederalTradeCommissionintendsto.

A.limitBigTech，sexpansion

B.encourageresearchcollaboration

C.examinesmallacquisitions

D.supervisestart-upsoperations

35.Forthefivebiggesttechcompanies,theirsmallacquisitionshave

A.broughtlittlefinancialpressure

B.raisedfewmanagementchallenges

C.setanexampleforfuturedeals

D.generatedconsiderableprofits

Text4

We'refairlygoodatjudgingpeoplebasedonfirstimpressions,thin

siicesofexperiencerangingfromaglimpseofaphototoafive-minute

interaction,anddeliberationcanbenotonlyextraneousbutintrusive.

Inonestudyoftheabilityshecalled“thinslicing,“thelate

psychologistNaliniAmbadyaskedparticipantstowatchsilent1O-second

videoclipsofprofessorsandtoratetheinstructor'soverall

effectiveness.Theirratingscorrelatedstrongly,withstudents，

end-of-semesterratings.Anothersetofparticipantshadtocountbackward

from1,000byninesastheywatchedtheclips,occupyingtheirconscious

workingmemory.Theirratingswerejustasaccurate,demonstratingthe

intuitivenatureofthesocialprocessing.

Critically,anothergroupwasaskedtospendaminutewritingdown

reasonsfortheirjudgment,beforegivingtherating.Accuracy,dropped

dramatically.Ambadysuspectedthatdeliberationfocusedthemonvividbut

misleadingcues,suchascertaingesturesorutterances,ratherthan

lettingthecomplexinterplayofsubtlesignalsformaholisticimpression.

Shefoundsimilarinterferencewhenparticipantswatched15-secondclips

ofpairsofpeopleandjudgedwhethertheywerestrangers,friends,or

datingpartners.

Otherresearchshowswe'rebetteratdetectingdeceptionfromthin

sliceswhenwerelyonintuitioninsteadofreflection."It'sasifyoure

drivingastickshit,“saysJudithHall,apsychologistatNortheastern

University,“andifyoustartthinkingaboutittoomuch,youcan，t

rememberwhatyou'redoing.Butifyougoonautomaticpilot,you'refine.

Muchofoursociallifeislikethat.”

Thinkingtoomuchcanalsoharmourabilitytoformpreferences.

Collegestudents，ratingsofstrawberryjamsandcollegecoursesaligned

betterwithexperts'opinionswhenthestudentsweren，taskedtoanalyze

theirrationale.Andpeoplemadecar-buyingdecisionsthatwereboth

objectivelybetterandmorepersonallysatisfyingwhenaskedtofocuson

theirfeelingsratherthanondetails,butonlyifthedecisionwascomplex

一whentheyhadalotofinformationtoprocess.

Intuition，sspecialpowersareunleashedonlyincertaincircumstances.

Inonestudy,participantscompletedabatteryofeighttasks,including

fourthattappedreflectivethinking(discerningrules,comprehending

vocabulary)andfourthattappedintuitionandcreativity(generatingnew

productsorfiguresofspeech).Thentheyratedthedegreetowhichthey

hadusedintuition("gutfeelings,“uhunches,““myheartv.Useof

theirguthurttheirperformanceonthefirstfourtasks,asexpected,and

helpedthemontherest.Sometimestheheartissmarterthanthehead.

36.NaliniAmbady，sstudydealswith

A.thepowerofpeople'smemory

B.thereliabilityoffirstimpressions

C.instructor-studentinteraction

D.people，sabilitytoinfluenceothers

37.InAmbady'sstudy,ratingaccuracydroppedwhenparticipants.

A.focusedonspecificdetails

B.gavetheratinginlimitedtime

C.watchedshortervideoclips

D.discussedwithoneanother

38.JudithHallmentionsdrivingtoshowthat

A.reflectioncanbedistracting

B.memorymaybeselective

C.socialskillsmustbecultivated

D.deceptionisdifficulttodetect

39.Whenyouaremakingcomplexdecisions,itisadvisableto_

A.collectenoughdata

B.listyourpreferences

C.seekexpertadvice

D.followyourfeelings

40.Whatcanwelearnfromthelastparagraph?

A.Generatingnewproductstakestime.

B.Intuitionmayaffectreflectivetasks.

C.Vocabularycomprehensionneedscreativity.

D.Objectivethinkingmayboostintuitiveness.

PartB

Directions:

Thefollowingparagraphsaregiveninawrongorder.ForQuestions

41-45,youarerequiredtoreorganizetheseparagraphsintoa

coherentarticlebychoosingfromthelistA-Gandfillingtheminto

thenumberedboxes.ParagraphsCandFhavebeencorrectlyplaced.

MarkyouranswersonANSWERSHEET.(10points)

A.Staycalm.

B.Stayhumble.

C.Decidewhethertowait.

D.Berealisticabouttherisks.

E.Don，tmakejudgements.

F.Identifyasharedgoal.

G.Askpermissiontodisagree.

Howtodisagreewithsomeonemorepowerfulthanyou

Yourbossproposesanewinitiativeyouthinkwon，twork.Yoursenior

colleagueoutlinesaprojecttimelineyoubelieveisunrealistic.Whatdo

youseewhenyoudisagreewithsomeonewhohasmorepowerthanyoudo?How

doyoudecidewhetherit'sworthspeakingup?Andifyoudo,whatexactly

shouldyousay?Here，showtodisagreewithsomeonemorepowerfulthanyou.

41._________________________

Youmaydecideit'sbesttoholdoffonvoicingyouropinion.Maybe

youhaven，tfinishedthinkingtheproblemthrough,oryouwanttogeta

clearersenseofwhatthegroupthinks.Ifyouthinkotherpeoplearegoing

todisagree,too,youmightwanttogatheryourarmyfirst.Peoplecan

contributeexperienceorinformationtoyourthinking-allthethingsthat

wouldmakethedisagreementstrongerormorevalid.It'salsoagoodidea

todelaytheconversationifyouareinameetingorotherpublicspace.

Discussingtheissueinprivatewillmakethepowerfulpersonfeelless

threatened.

11

42.___________________________

Beforeyoushareyourthoughts,thinkaboutwhatthepowerfulperson

caresabout-itmaybethecredibilityoftheirteamorgettingaproject

doneontime.You，remorelikelytobeheardifyoucanconnectyour

disagreementtoahigherpurpose.Stateitovertly,contextualizingyour

statementssothatyou，reseennotasadisagreeablesubordinatebutas

acolleaguewho'stryingtoadvanceacommonobjective.Thediscussionwill

thenbecomemorelikeachessgamethanaboxingmatch.

43._________________________

Thisstepmaysoundoverlydeferential,butit'sasmartwaytogive

thepowerfulpersonpsychologicalsafetyandcontrol.Youcanseesomething

like,“Iknowweseemtobemovingtowardafirstquartercommitmenthere.

Ihavereasonstothinkthatwon'twork.I'dliketolayoutmyreasoning.

WouldthatbeOK?”Thisgivesthepersonachoice,allowinghimtoverbally

optin.And,assuminghesaysyes,itwillmakeyoufeelmoreconfident

aboutvoicingyourdisagreement.

44.____________________________

Youmightfeelyourheartracingoryourfaceturningred,butdo

whateveryoucantoremainnaturalinbothyourwordsandactions.When

yourbodylanguagecommunicatesreluctanceoranxiety,itundercutsthe

message.Itsendsamixedmessage,andyourcounterpartgelstochoosewhat

signalstoread.Deepbreathscanhelp,acanspeakingmoreslowlyand

deliberately.Whenwefeelpanicky,wetendtotalklouderandfaster.

Simplyslowingthepaceandtalkinginaneventonehelpstheotherperson

cooldownanddoesthesameforyou.Italsomakesyouseemconfident,even

ifyouaren，t.

45.____________________________

Emphasizethatyou，reonlyofferingyouropinion,notgospeltruth.

Itmaybeawell-informed,well-researchedopinion,butit'sstillan

opinion,sotalktentativelyandslightlyunderstateyourconfidence.

Insteadofsaying,“Ifwesetanendofquarterdeadline,wewillnever

makeit"say,“Thisisjustmyopinion,butIdon，tseehowwewillmake

thatdeadline."Havingassertedyouropinion(asaposition,notasafact),

demonstrateequalcuriosityaboutotherviews.Remindthepersonthatthis

isyourpointofview,andtheninvitecritique.Beopentohearingother

opinions.

PartCDirections:

46.Directions:

TranslatethefollowingtextfromEnglishintoChinese.Writeyour

translationonANSIWERSHIEET.(15points)

Wetendtothinkthatfriendsandfamilymembersareourbiggest

sourcesofconnection,laughter,andwarmth.Whilethatmaywell

betrue,researchershavealsorecentlyfoundthatinteractingwith

strangersactuallybringsaboostinmoodandfeelingsofbelonging

thatwedidn'texpect.

Inoneseriesofstudies,researchersinstructedChicago-area

commutersusingpublictransportationtostrikeupaconversation

withsomeonenearthem.Onaverage,participantswhofollowedthis

instructionfeltbetterthanthosewhohadbeentoldtostandorsit

insilence.Theresearchersalsoarguedthatwhenweshyawayfrom

casualinteractionswithstrangers,itisoftenduetoamisplaced

anxietythattheymightnotwanttotalktous.Muchof