1、2013 考研英语（二）真题Section I Use of EnglishDirections:Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)Given the advantages of electronic money, you might think that we would move quickly to the cashless society in which all paym
2、ents are made electronically. _1_ a true cashless society is probably not around the corner. Indeed, predictions have been_2_for two decades but have not yet come to fruition. For example, Business Week predicted in 1975 that electronic means of payment would soon “revolutionize the very _3_ of mone
3、y itself,“ only to_4_ itself several years later. Why has the movement to a cashless society been so_5_in coming? Although electronic means of payment may be more efficient than a payments system based on paper, several factors work_6_the disappearance of the paper system. First, it is very_7_to set
4、 up the computer, card reader, and telecommunications networks necessary to make electronic money the_8_form of payment Second, paper checks have the advantage that they_9_receipts, something that many consumers are unwilling to_10_. Third, the use of paper checks gives consumers several days of “fl
5、oat“ - it takes several days_11_ a check is cashed and funds are_12_from the issuers account, which means that the writer of the check can cam interest on the funds in the meantime. _13_electronic payments arc immediate, they eliminate the float for the consumer.Fourth, electronic means of payment m
6、ay_14_security and privacy concerns. We often hear media reports that an unauthorized hacker has been able to access a computer database and to alter information_15_there. The fact that this is not an _16_ occurrence means that dishonest persons might be able to access bank accounts in electronic pa
7、yments systems and_17_from someone elses accounts. The_18_of this type of fraud is no easy task, and a new field of computer science is developing to_19_security issues. A further concern is that the use of electronic means of payment leaves an electronic_20_that contains a large amount of personal
8、data. There are concerns that government, employers, and marketers might be able to access these data, thereby violating our privacy.1. A However B Moreover C Therefore D Otherwise2. A off B back C over D around3. A power B concept C history D role4. A reward B resist C resume D reverse5. A silent B
9、 sudden C slow D steady6. A for B against Cwith D on7. A imaginative B expensive C sensitive D productive8. A similar B original C temporary D dominant9. A collect B provide C copy D print10. A give up B take over C bring back D pass down11. A before B after C since D when12. A kept B borrowed C rel
10、eased D withdrawn13. A Unless B Until C Because D Though14. A hide B express C raise Dease15. A analyzed B shared C stored D displayed16. A unsafe B unnatural C uncommon D unclear17. A steal B choose C benefit D return18. A consideration B prevention C manipulation D justification19. A cope with B f
11、ight against C adapt to D call for20. A chunk B chip C path D trailSection II Reading ComprehensionPart ADirections:Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)Text 1In an essay entitled “Making It in A
12、merica”, the author Adam Davidson relates a joke from cotton about just how much a modern textile mill has been automated: The average mill only two employees today,” a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog is there to keep the man away from the machines.”Davidsons article is one of a numb
13、er of pieces that have recently appeared making the point that the reason we have such stubbornly high unemployment and declining middle-class incomes today is also because of the advances in both globalization and the information technology revolution, which are more rapidly than ever replacing lab
14、or with machines or foreign worker.In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job，could earn an average lifestyle ,But ,today ,average is officially over. Being average just wont earn you what it used to. It cant when so many more employers have so much more access to so much more ab
15、ove average cheap foreign labor, cheap robotics, cheap software, cheap automation and cheap genius. Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra-their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment.Yes, new technology has been eating jobs forever, and a
16、lways will. But theres been an acceleration. As Davidson notes,” In the 10 years ending in 2009, U.S. factories shed workers so fast that they erased almost all the gains of the previous 70 years; roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobs-about 6 million in total -disappeared.There will alwa
17、ys be changed-new jobs, new products, new services. But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I.T. revolution, the best jobs will require workers to have more and better education to make themselves above average.In a world where average is officially over
18、, there are many things we need to do to support employment, but nothing would be more important than passing some kind of G.I.Bill for the 21st century that ensures that every American has access to poet-high school education.21. The joke in Paragraph 1 is used to illustrate_.A the impact of techno
19、logical advancesB the alleviation of job pressureC the shrinkage of textile millsD the decline of middle-class incomes22. According to Paragraph 3, to be a successful employee, one has to_A work on cheap softwareB ask for a moderate salaryC adopt an average lifestyleD contribute something unique23.
20、The quotation in Paragraph 4 explains that _A gains of technology have been erasedB job opportunities are disappearing at a high speedC factories are making much less money than beforeD new jobs and services have been offered24. According to the author, to reduce unemployment, the most important is_
21、A to accelerate the I.T. revolutionB to ensure more education for peopleC to advance economic globalizationD to pass more bills in the 21st century25. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the text?A New Law Takes EffectB Technology Goes CheapC Average Is OverD Recession Is
22、BadText 2A century ago, the immigrants from across the Atlantic included settlers and sojourners. Along with the many folks looking to make a permanent home in the United States came those who had no intention to stay, and 7millin people arrived while about 2 million departed. About a quarter of all
23、 Italian immigrants, for example, eventually returned to Italy for good. They even had an affectionate nickname, “uccelli di passaggio,” birds of passage.Today, we are much more rigid about immigrants. We divide newcomers into two categories: legal or illegal, good or bad. We hail them as Americans
24、in the making, or our broken immigration system and the long political paralysis over how to fix it. We dont need more categories, but we need to change the way we think about categories. We need to look beyond strict definitions of legal and illegal. To start, we can recognize the new birds of pass
25、age, those living and thriving in the gray areas. We might then begin to solve our immigration challenges.Crop pickers, violinists, construction workers, entrepreneurs, engineers, home health-care aides and physicists are among todays birds of passage. They are energetic participants in a global eco
26、nomy driven by the flow of work, money and ideas .They prefer to come and go as opportunity calls them , They can manage to have a job in one place and a family in another.With or without permission, they straddle laws, jurisdictions and identities with ease. We need them to imagine the United State
27、s as a place where they can be productive for a while without committing themselves to staying forever. We need them to feel that home can be both here and there and that they can belong to two nations honorably.Accommodating this new world of people in motion will require new attitudes on both side
28、s of the immigration battle .Looking beyond the culture war logic of right or wrong means opening up the middle ground and understanding that managing immigration today requires multiple paths and multiple outcomes. Including some that are not easy to accomplish legally in the existing system.26 “Bi
29、rds of passage” refers to those who_.A immigrate across the AtlanticB leave their home countries for goodC stay in a foreign temporarilyDfind permanent jobs overseas27 It is implied in paragraph 2 that the current immigration system in the US _. A needs new immigrant categoriesB has loosened control
30、 over immigrantsC should be adopted to meet challengesD has been fixed via political means28 According to the author, todays birds of passage want_A financial incentives.B a global recognition.C opportunities to get regular jobs.Dthe freedom to stay and leave.29 The author suggests that the birds of
31、 passage today should be treated _A as faithful partners.B with economic favors.C with regal tolerance.Das mighty rivals.30 which is the best title of the passage?A come and go: big mistakeB living and thriving : great riskC with or without : great riskDlegal or illegal: big mistakeText 3Scientists
32、have found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take a moment and think about how we are likely to react, we can reduce or even eliminate the negative effects of our quick, hard-wired responses.Snap decisions can be important defense mechanisms; if we are judging whether someone i
33、s dangerous, our brains and bodies are hard-wired to react very quickly, within milliseconds. But we need more time to assess other factors. To accurately tell whether someone is sociable, studies show, we need at least a minute, preferably five. It takes a while to judge complex aspects of personal
34、ity, like neuroticism or open-mindedness.But snap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli arent exclusive to the interpersonal realm. Psychologists at the University of Toronto found that viewing a fast-food logo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 percent faster, even though reading has
35、 little to do with eating. We unconsciously associate fast food with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever else were doing, Subjects exposed to fast-food flashes also tend to think a musical piece lasts too long.Yet we can reverse such influences. If we know we will overreact t
36、o consumer products or housing options when we see a happy face (one reason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling), we can take a moment before buying. If we know female job screeners are more likely to reject attractive female applicants, we can help screeners underst
37、and their biases-or hire outside screeners.John Gottman, the marriage expert, explains that we quickly “thin slice” information reliably only after we ground such snap reactions in “thick sliced” long-term study. When Dr. Gottman really wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invites
38、 them to his island retreat for a muck longer evaluation; two days, not two seconds.Our ability to mute our hard-wired reactions by pausing is what differentiates us from animals: doge can think about the future only intermittently or for a few minutes. But historically we have spent about 12 percen
39、t of our days contemplating the longer term. Although technology might change the way we react, it hasnt changed our nature. We still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend.31. The time needed in making decisions may_.A vary according to the urgency o
40、f the situationB prove the complexity of our brain reactionC depend on the importance of the assessmentD predetermine the accuracy of our judgment32. Our reaction to a fast-food logo shows that snap decisions_.A can be associativeB are not unconsciousC can be dangerousD are not impulsive33. To rever
41、se the negative influences of snap decisions, we should_.A trust our first impressionB do as people usually do C think before we actD ask for expert advice34. John Gottman says that reliable snap reaction are based on_.A critical assessmentBthin sliced studyC sensible explanationD adequate informati
42、on35. The authors attitude toward reversing the high-speed trend is_.A tolerantB uncertainC optimisticD doubtfulText 4Europe is not a gender-equality heaven. In particular, the corporate workplace will never be completely familyfriendly until women are part of senior management decisions, and Europe
43、s top corporate-governance positions remain overwhelmingly male. Indeed, women hold only 14 percent of positions on Europe corporate boards.The Europe Union is now considering legislation to compel corporate boards to maintain a certain proportion of women-up to 60 percent. This proposed mandate was
44、 born of frustration. Last year, Europe Commission Vice President Viviane Reding issued a call to voluntary action. Reding invited corporations to sign up for gender balance goal of 40 percent female board membership. But her appeal was considered a failure: only 24 companies took it up.Do we need q
45、uotas to ensure that women can continue to climb the corporate Ladder fairy as they balance work and family?“Personally, I dont like quotas,” Reding said recently. “But i like what the quotas do.” Quotas get action: they “open the way to equality and they break through the glass ceiling,” according
46、to Reding, a result seen in France and other countries with legally binding provisions on placing women in top business positions.I understand Redings reluctance-and her frustration. I dont like quotas either; they run counter to my belief in meritocracy, government by the capable. Bur, when one considers the obstacles to achievin
