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考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析--2006年
Part One
In spite of “endless talk of difference,” American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. This is “the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of consumption “launched by the 19th –century department stores that offered ‘vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite.” these were stores “anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act.” The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization.
Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today’s immigration is neither at unprecedented level nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices of assimilation------language, home ownership and intermarriage.
The 1990 Census revealed that “a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English “well” or “very well” after ten years of residence.” The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. “By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families.” Hence the description of America as a graveyard” for language. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrive before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans.
Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics “have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S-born whites and blacks.” By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians.
Rodriguez not that children in remote villages around world are fans of superstars like Amold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet “some Americans fear that immigrant living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation’s assimilative power.”
Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against America’s turbulent past, today’s social induces suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment.
1. The word “homogenizing” （Line 2, Paragraph 1）most probably means___
A. identifying B. associating C. assimilating D. monopolizing
2. According to the author, the department stores of the 19th century___
A. played a role in the spread of popular culture.
B. became intimate shops for common consumers.
C. satisfied the needs of a knowledgeable elite.
D. owed its emergence to the culture of consumption.
3. The text suggests that immigrants now in the U.S.___
A. are resistant to homogenization.
B. exert a great influence on American culture.
C. are hardly a threat to the common culture.
D.constitute the majority of the population.
4. Why are Amold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?
A. To prove their popularity around the world.
B. To reveal the public’s fear of immigrants.
C. To give examples of successful immigrants.
D. To show the powerful influence of American culture.
5. In the author’s opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is
A. rewarding B. Successful C. fruitless D. harmful
Unit 13（2006）Part 1
重点词汇：
1. uniformity n. 一样，一致；统一性；（相关词）uniform a.相同的，统一标准的；be uniform with与……同一形式或外貌
2. casualness n. 偶然，意外；草率行事；漫不经心；平心静气
3. array ① n. 排列；一批，大量；显眼的一系列 ② vt. 排列，制定（计划等）：array oneself 装扮，打扮自己、搭配vast arrays of 大批的，大量的
4. knowledgeable a. 有知识的，学识渊博的，有见识的
5. amaze v. 使（某人）惊异或惊奇
6. intimate a. 密切的，亲密的
7. cater v. = provide food and service 提供饮食及服务; 搭配 cater for（或to）提供饮食及服务，迎合（某人）
8. elite n. 精英，尖子
9. elevate vt. 提升，抬起，振作精神；使（人）欢欣鼓舞；提高（思想、道德品质、文化素质等）。例：Good books may elevate the mind. 好书可以提高思想修养。搭配elevate to 提升为，提拔至。
10. unprecedented a. 前所未有的，空前的，无前例的
11. assimilation n. 吸收，（社会/民族的）同化；文化的吸收 （相关词）assimilate ...into 使同化；被同化；融合到……中去；assimilate ...to 使（某人）相似；使相同/一模一样；assimilate with 同化；与……融为一体；assimilative a. 同化的，引起同化作用的resistant （+to） 对…… 有抵抗力的；耐……的；抗……的；防……的
12. proficient （+in） ① a. 熟练的；精通的 ② n. 专家；能手
13. intermarriage n.异族通婚；近亲结婚 相关词 intermarry with 与……通婚graveyard n. 教堂墓地；公墓；垃圾场；政治上发展的终点
14. immune （+to） a. phr. 有免疫力的，不易感染的
15. divisive a. 引起分歧的，导致分裂的例：divisive issues引起分歧的重要问题相关词division n. ①=separation or distribution 分开；分配②=disagreement; lack of Unity 分歧；分裂
16. turbulent a. =violent; disorderly; uncontrolled; stormy骚动的，骚乱的，汹涌的，狂暴的，无序的相关词 turbulence*波动，旋流deteriorate v. 变坏，变质，恶化
17. homogenize v. 使均匀，使均质（make the same throughout）相关词 homogeneous a. =similar; alike 同性质的，同类的 homogenization（趋）同化Hispanic ① a. 西班牙和葡萄牙的；说西班牙语国家的 ② n.拉丁美洲人；西班牙裔人
18. democratize vt. 使（某事）民主化 相关词①democracy民主,民主制②democratic a. 民主的,有民主精神的
19. bilingual a. 会双语的，双语的，搭配bilingual education双语教学superstar* n. 超级明星，巨星seething a. 生气的，发怒的
试题解析：
1【正确答案】［C］assimilating
【测试要点】词汇识别题。
【试题解析】根据原文首句的上下文就能确定答案是［C］，因为原文首句开始的in spite of表示转折关系，就是说homogenizing与前面的 difference在上下文中构成反义词，在四个选项中能与difference构成反义词的只有assimilate。当然从后文也能看出文章中的考点词assimilate是homogenizing的同义词。有的同学根据词根homo表示“相同”的意思选［C］也是对的。另外，37题的bummer根据上文的对于“不幸”的描写，也能选到［B］“令人不快的”。
2【正确答案】［A］played a role in the spread of popular culture.
【测试要点】细节判断题。
【试题解析】 这是一道细节题，根据其中的关键词dePartment stores of the 19th century定位一段，再根据原文排除可以推出［A］是对的。注意［D］颠倒了因果关系。
3【正确答案】［C］are hardly a threat to the common culture.
【测试要点】语意推断题。
【试题解析】这是一道简单的推理题。问题问文中暗示现在美国的移民如何？2段首句的特殊结构not...but就告诉了我们现在美国移民的特点：能融入共同文化（common culture），表达这一意思的选项只有［C］。
4【正确答案】［D］To show the powerful influence of American culture.
【测试要点】这是一道语意推断题。
【试题解析】本题难度较大，所以在这里作一个比较详细的解释。［A］很容易排除，就不讲了。对于［B］选项只要抓住the public 就可以知道绝对不能选。注意原文some Americans fear that immigrants..., “some Americans”（一些美国人）能代表the public（公众）吗? 显然不行，除非是Most Americans在阅读的替换中可以认为是the public, 命题者在这里是偷换概念，也就是错误替换！［C］作者在文章中提到的成功的人物一定是移民吗？尽管从广义上来说所有的美国人都是移民。有的考生说施瓦辛格是移民，但考研阅读不要求考生知道背景，对所有专业的考生是公平的，即使你没听说过他。另外，如果题目举这两个人的例子就是为了说明移民本身的成功，那就偏离了文章的主题，大家应该都知道例子是为主题或者主题句服务的。本篇文章讨论的主题就是美国在吸收移民方面的成功，美国文化的同化能力很强，本文并不讨论移民个人的成功。请注意yet后面的内容：然而，一些美国人担心在美国的移民会不受美国强大的同化能力的影响（有免疫能力）。这句话的内涵是什么呢？前半句讲了即使美国之外的人也崇拜美国人，那么作者就说了，人们何必担心住在美国国内的移民不受到美国文化的影响呢？言下之意是美国文化在全世界包括美国都有强大的影响。
5.【正确答案】［B］successful.
【测试要点】这是一道作者态度题。
【试题解析】本题除了［C］没人选，其他选项都有人选。题目问作者对美国吸收移民的观点是什么。注意题干中的absorption就是文中的homogenize和assimilate两个词的“同义替换”。请注意文章第二段第一句话Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. 讲了移民溶入美国文化is hardly poisonous=is hardly harmful,所以［Ｄ］不能选。而实际上作者从好几个方面讲到了美国吸收移民的成功，比如说移民到第三代的时候基本上忘掉了原来的语言，新移民的家庭一般高于50%的人都拥有自己的房子等等，所以选［B］。本文并没有着重强调美国吸收移民是有好处的，有回报的，而只是强调吸收移民的过程的成功，这里［A］rewarding又是偷换概念。关键还是看文章强调什么,这是一切阅读的精髓!
全文翻译：
不管我们如何喋喋不休地谈论差别，美国社会实际上是一台同化人们的神奇的机器。这就是民主化的着装和话语的统一以及十九世纪在高雅的氛围中陈列着琳琅满目的商品的百货商店所发起的随意消费及没有消费的活动。他们不是为了迎合有知识的精英们而开设亲情商店，而是创建了“不分阶层和背景人人都可以进入”的大众商店。这使得购物成为一种大众的、民主的行为。大众传媒、广告和体育也是协助人们均质化的推动力。尽管这种文化一点也不高雅，但也不是完全有害的，移民们很快就融入了这种共同文化。Gregory Rodriguez为美国移民研讨会撰文指出，今天的移民既不是处于空前的水平，也不抵制同化。在1998年，移民占全国人口的9.8%；在1900年为13.6%。在1990年以前的十年之中，在每千位居民当中，有3.1位新来的移民；而在1890年以前的十年之中，每千位居民当中就有9.2位移民。现在，让我们来看一下三个同化指标——语言、拥有产权住房和异族结婚情况。1990年的人口普查透露：“来自十五个移民数量最多的国家的移民在到美国十年后英语说得‘好’或‘很好’。”移民的子女几乎都说两种语言，且精通英语。“到了第三代，在大多数移民家庭，他们的母语就消失了。”因此，有人就把美国描述成了“语言的坟场”。到了1965年，出生于国外的、在1970年以前到达美国的移民有75.6%购置了自己的住房，这个数字高出土生土长的美国人的拥有自己所有权住房的百分比——69.8%。在国外出生的亚裔和西班牙裔移民“与美国本土白人和黑人相比，与异族通婚的比率要高。”到了第三代，有三分之一的西班牙裔女性与非西班牙裔男性结婚，而有41%亚裔美国妇女与非亚裔男性结婚。 Rodriguez注意到，世界边远地区的儿童是诸如阿诺德?施瓦辛格和加斯?布鲁克斯等超级明星的星迷，而“一些美国人担心生活在美国的移民在某种程度上并不受美国的同化力量的影响。”在美国是否存在不和以及潜在的不安？答案是肯定的，而且问题的严重性足以超越其他事宜。但是与美国动荡的过去相比，这些社会指标说明美国的社会环境变得黑暗，且正在恶化。
Part Two
Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry—William Shakespeare—but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company （ASC）, which presents superb productions of the plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Shakespeare’s birthplace and the other sights.
The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSC’s actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It’s all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself an actor （with a beard）and did his share of noise-making.
The tourist streams are not entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus- and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side—don’t usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight-seeing along with their playgoing. It is the playgoers, the ESC contends, who bring in much of the town’s revenue because they spend the night （some of them four or five nights）pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall.
The townsfolk don’t see it this way and local council does not contribute directly to the subsidy of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive.
Anyway, the townsfolk can’t understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. （The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 percent occupied all year long and this year they’ll do better.）The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low.
It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford’s most attractive clientele. They come entirely for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike （though they come from all over）---lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeans and sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside the theatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing—room tickets held for the sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m..
6. From the first two paras , we learn that____
A. the townsfolk deny the RSC ’ s contribution to the town’s revenue
B. the actors of the RSC imitate Shakespeare on and off stage
C. the two branches of the RSC are not on good terms
D. the townsfolk earn little from tourism
7. It can be inferred from Para 3 that____
A. the sightseers cannot visit the Castle and the Palace separately
B. the playgoers spend more money than the sightseers
C. the sightseers do more shopping than the playgoers
D. the playgoers go to no other places in town than the theater
8. By saying “Stratford cries poor traditionally” （Line 2-3, Paragraph 4）, the author implies that_____
A. Stratford cannot afford the expansion projects
B. Stratford has long been in financial difficulties
C. the town is not really short of money
D. the townsfolk used to be poorly paid
9. According to the townsfolk, the RSC deserves no subsidy because____
A. ticket prices can be raised to cover the spending
B. the company is financially ill-managed
C. the behavior of the actors is not socially acceptable
D. the theatre attendance is on the rise
10. From the text we can conclude that the author_____
A. is supportive of both sides B. favors the townsfolk’s view
C. takes a detached attitude D. is sympathetic
Unit 13（2006） Part 2
重点词汇：
1. hostile a. 含敌意的，极不友好的
2. superb a. 极好的，最佳的；华丽的，高贵的；非常的，极度的
3. revenue n. 收入，岁入
4. subsidy n. （政府、慈善机构等分发的）补助金；津贴，补贴；捐款，资助；拨款；（国家之间的）财政援助
5. attendance n. 出席，到场；（总称）出席者，听众，观众；照料，护理，伺候
6. decorate v. 装饰，打扮
7. rocket v. 上升，迅速增加
8. attractive a. 有吸引力的，诱人的
9. sandal n. 凉鞋
10. sightseer n. 观光者，旅游者
11. flagstone n. 石板
12. playgoer n. 戏迷
13. standing-room n. （剧场、体育场等的）站席空位；站立空间
14. 重要词组live off 住在……以外；靠……生活；靠……供养；以……为主食on the side 秘密地，暗地里；作为兼职；作为副业on the safe side 可靠的；安全的along with 与……一起；共同；连同；随着；加之
15. bring in 引进；引入；生产；产出；收益；进款；挣得（钱）；提出（议案）；拘捕；逮捕；让某人参与计划
16. take in 让……进入；接纳；接受；接待；收留；把……领入；包括；涉及；参观；游览；观看（戏剧、电影等）缩短；改小衣服；收缩；兼并；获得（土地）；订阅（报刊、杂志等）；收入；进账；开始；注意到；敏锐地观察到；马上看到；看出；一目了然；领会；理解
17. get out of 从……出来；从……取出来；从……解脱/离开；从……获得/得到；戒掉；使摆脱（某事/某习惯）；使避免；（使某人）逃避（责任、义务、职责等）
18. stay low 保持低速；保持低价位
19. drive away sb. 开车送走（某人）；驱散（某人）；赶走（某人）
20. drive away at 拼命干，努力做工作；孜孜不倦地干
21. game n. 游戏， 运动；娱乐活动；猎物（本文意义），猎获物；野味
试题解析：
6.【正确答案】［A］the townsfolk deny the RSC’s contribution to the town’s revenue.
【测试要点】这是一道细节判断题。
【试题解析】通过文章第二段的第一句话The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue.可知答案。
7.【正确答案】［B］the playgoers spend more money than the sightseers.
【测试要点】这是一道事实推断题。
【试题解析】从第三段可看出，游客买了东西，在夜晚来临前就走人，但是看戏的人们要在这里呆好多天，意思是花的钱比游客多。由此可推断，［B］为正确选项。
8．【正确答案】［C］the town is not really short of money.
【测试要点】这是一道句意推断题。
【试题解析】通过上下文很容易知道cries poor是装穷的意思，和中文的哭穷很类似，不过还是不要通过字面意思猜，通过上下文最有把握，最踏实。
9．【正确答案】［D］the theatre attendance is on the rise.
【测试要点】这是一道细节推断题。
【试题解析】原文倒数第二自然段说得很清楚：The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 percent occupied all year long and this year they"ll do better. 这说明对于镇上的人来说，他们实际上不知道票价低的，所以［A］不选。他们看到的只是表面现象［D］。
10.【正确答案】［D］is sympathetic.
【测试要点】这是一道作者态度判断题。
【试题解析】从最后一段段首，和后面的句子看出作者认为不可能上调价格，这是很可耻的，可是镇上的人们又不理解。所以实际上同情它的遭遇。
全文翻译：
如我们所知，埃文河畔斯特拉特福德只有一种产业——威廉?莎士比亚,但是，它有两个各自明确独立而相互间敌意不断增长的分支，这就是英国皇家莎士比亚剧团——它在埃文河畔的莎士比亚纪念剧院上演富丽堂皇的莎剧——和在很大程度上依靠到镇上来不是为了看戏，而是来参观Anne Hathaway别墅、莎士比亚的出生地以及其他景观的旅游者的市镇居民们。
斯特拉特福德尊敬的居民认为剧院没有对他们的收入增加一文钱，他们坦率地不喜欢皇家莎士比亚剧团的演员，这些人留着长发、蓄着胡须、趿拉着拖鞋，而且很吵闹。想到为他们挣来营生的莎士比亚本人也是演员（也留着胡子）、也参与制造噪音，这的确既有趣，也很有讽刺意味。
旅客流并非是完全分开的，那些乘坐大巴而来的游客——常常还额外参观Warwick 城堡和 Blenheim宫——通常不看戏，有些人在斯特拉特福德看到剧院还感到吃惊。然而，来看戏者除了看戏外还要想方设法安排一些观光活动。皇家莎士比亚剧团声称，正是这些爱看戏者在此过夜（有些人呆四五个晚上），把钱花在了镇上的旅馆饭店，为镇子带来了大部分的收入；而观光客什么都看，夜幕降临就离开。
镇上的人们不这样认为，地方镇议会并没有直接给皇家莎士比亚剧团提供津贴。斯特拉特福德一直善于哭穷，然而，镇上的旅馆几乎每家都添加了新的侧楼或鸡尾酒会厅。希尔顿正在这里修建自己的旅馆，你可以肯定，它会有装饰考究的哈姆雷特汉堡吧、李尔王雅座、班柯宴会厅等等，而且价格会非常昂贵。
总之，镇上人还是不明白为什么皇家莎士比亚剧团需要津贴。（该剧院连续三年打破上座纪录，去年，剧院中1431个座位的全年上座率94%，今年会更高。）当然，原因是成本窜升，而票价仍然保持很低。
如果票价上升太高，那就是一种不幸了，这是因为这样做就会赶走年轻的人，而他们是斯特拉特福德最有吸引力的客户。他们到此完全是为了看戏，而不是观光。他们看上去几乎长相相似（他们来自世界各地）——消瘦、棱角分明、面部表情专注，穿着牛仔裤，趿拉着拖鞋，吃着面包，晚上露宿在剧院外的石板上，等着购买售票处早上10：30开始销售的为露宿者提供的20个座位和80个站票。大纲词和超纲词
Part Three
When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strange happened to the large animals. They suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived. The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans.
That the seas are being overfished has been known for years. What researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown is just how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass （the amount of living biological matter）of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators （animals that kill and eat other animals）in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then.
Dr Worm acknowledges that the figures are conservative. One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Today"s vessels can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since no baited hooks would have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around now.
Dr Myers and Dr Worm argue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the data support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the "shifting baseline". The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the maximum sustainable yield that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to do business.
11. The extinction of large prehistoric animals is noted to suggest that____
A. large animal were vulnerable to the changing environment.
B. small species survived as large animals disappeared.
C. large sea animals may face the same threat today.
D. Slow-growing fish outlive fast-growing ones
12. We can infer from Dr Myers and Dr. Worm’s paper that____
A. the stock of large predators in some old fisheries has reduced by 90%.
B. there are only half as many fisheries as there were 15 years ago.
C. the catch sizes in new fisheries are only 20% of the original amount.
D. the number of larger predators dropped faster in new fisheries than in the old.
13. By saying these figures are conservative （Line 1, paragraph 3）, Dr Worm means that____
A. fishing technology has improved rapidly
B. then catch-sizes are actually smaller then recorded
C. the marine biomass has suffered a greater loss
D. the data collected so far are out of date.
14. Dr Myers and other researchers hold that_____
A. people should look for a baseline that can’t work for a longer time.
B. fisheries should keep the yield below 50% of the biomass
C. the ocean biomass should restored its original level.
D. people should adjust the fishing baseline to changing situation
15. The author seems to be mainly concerned with most fisheries’___
A. management efficiency B. biomass level
C. catch-size limits D. technological application. Unit 13（2006）Part 3
重点词汇：
1. prey ① n. 被捕获的动物，捕食。牺牲者② vi. prey on 掠夺，抢夺，抢劫；捕食,伤害，损害，使人烦恼extinction n. 灭绝，熄灭
2. estimate ① v. 估计，估价，评估；
3. conservative a. 保守的，守旧的
4. exploitation n. 开发，开拓，剥削 相关词① exploit vt. 开采， 开发剥削 ② n.业绩，功绩，事迹 搭配 exploit with 利用……来剥削
5. vessel n. 船，容器，血管
6. saturate vt. soak sth. thoroughly 浸湿；使……充满某物；使饱和
7. bait ① n. 诱饵；（比喻）诱惑物 ② vt. 折磨，欺负，扰乱；取笑，嘲弄，戏弄（某人）
8. baseline n. 基准线，基础，起点，准则；（据通货膨胀率作出调整的）政府开支基数；相关词 deadline n.（付款的）最后期限，截止时间
9. marine a. 海洋的，海产的，航海的，海运的， 海军的
10. massive a. 大量的，粗大的
11. sustainable a. 能承受的，能维持的，可持续的；（经济上）保持在一定水平上的；能保持一定发展速度的
12. target ① n. 目标（或指标），靶子，（服务的）对象，（攻击的）对象 ② vt. 瞄准某物（=aim sth.）; 选作调查对象； 搭配off target 不对头的，不准确的； on target （武器）命中目标；判断准确
13. prehistoric a. 史前的，相关词prehistory史前时期
14. biomass n. 生物量
15. halve vt. 把……对半分
16. predator n. 掠夺者，捕食其他动物的动物
重要词组
1. on average 平均地
2. since then 从那时起
3. take into account （+宾语） 认真考虑（某事）
4. do business 做生意
5. look back into the past 回顾历史
答案详解
11.【正确答案】［C］ large sea animals may face the same threat today.
【测试要点】这是一道语意推断题。
【试题解析】答案是“Now something similar could be happening in the oceans.”的改写，［A］是就事论事，［B］和［D］都是无中生有。
12.【正确答案】［A］ the stock of large predators in some old fisheries has reduced by 90%.
【测试要点】这是一道细节判断题。
【试题解析】这道题关键是要理解原文第二段的最后一句, ...the biomass of large predators （animals that kill and eat other animals） in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some longfished areas, it has halved again since then.前一个句子讲大型食肉动物减少了80%,即剩下20%,现在在某些longfished地区,又减少了一半10%,所以总共减少了90%。
13.【正确答案】［C］ the marine biomass has suffered a greater loss.
【测试要点】这是一道语意推断题。
【试题解析】通过对整篇文章的阅读，我们知道它的主题是海洋鱼类需要保护。文章第二段提到的数字只是一种保守数字，因为没有考虑到如今捕鱼科技进步造成的鱼类数量减少，暗含的意思是鱼类资源遭受的损失要更加严重。
14.【正确答案】［D］ people should adjust the fishing baseline to changing situation.
【测试要点】这是一道细节判断题。
【试题解析】最后一段提到给出一个correct baseline 才行，就是要调整原来的baseline。文中的“shifting baseline”也提示了答案。
15.【正确答案】［B］ biomass level.
【测试要点】这是一道作者态度判断题。
【试题解析】本文中心是海洋生物量biomass的变化。文中明确指出他们所关心的是changes of fish species over time。
全文翻译：
当时前人到达世界新的地方时，大型动物遭遇了奇怪的命运:它们突然灭绝了，而小型的物种存活了下来。大型的、移动速度缓慢的队伍就成了易于捕获的猎物，很快被捕杀以至灭绝。现在，类似的情景可能就发生在海洋之中。
多年来，我们就已经知道，海洋正在被过度捕捞。研究者如Ransom Myers 和 Boris Worm所呈现在我们面前的发现只是说明形势正在发生改变。他们研究了全世界半个世纪的捕鱼资料，它们的方法并非尝试对大海中某个特定区域的鱼类单位面积内的生物量（活体生物数量）作出估计，而是为了揭示生物数量随着时间的变化情况。根据他们在《自然》杂志上最新发表的论文，一个新渔场的大型食肉动物（捕食其他队伍的动物）的生物量在开始经营十五年内平均减少80%；在一些长期捕鱼的地区，迄今已经减少了一倍半。
Worm博士承认，这些数字过于保守，原因之一是因为捕鱼技术的提高。近几天的渔船可以通过卫星和声纳找到鱼群，而这些技术在50年前是没有的。这就意味着大海中更多的鱼类被捕获，所以，现在和过去之间的捕获量之间的真正差别要比记录变化所反映的要更糟。在早期，长线多钩捕鱼应该是渔钩上几乎都挂满了鱼，所以，因为没有多余的挂着诱饵的钩子的诱捕，个别的鱼可能没有被钓到，这就使得过去的鱼类资源被低估。再者，在多钩长线钓鱼的早期，许多鱼在上钩后都成为鲨鱼的食物。现在这已经不再成为问题，因为没有多少鲨鱼出没。
Myers 和 Worm博士坚持认为，它们的研究给出了正确的基线，未来的管理决策者必须给予重视。他们相信这些资料支持目前在海洋生物学家中流行的一种观点，就是“多变的基线”的观点，这种观点认为因为人们只限于对过去相对较短的时期的研究，所以他们没有能够觉察到大海中所发生的巨大变化。这点之所以很重要是因为理论指出，一个渔场所能够获得的最高持续产量仅当目标物种的生物量是原来水平的50%时才能实现，而大部分的渔场都处于这个水平之下，这对于正常的营业是很不利的。大纲词和超纲词
Part Four
Many things make people think artists are weird and the weirdest may be this: artists" only job is to explore emotions, and yet they choose to focus on the ones that feel bad.
This wasn"t always so. The earliest forms of art, like painting and music, are those best suited for expressing joy. But somewhere in the 19th century, more artists began seeing happiness as insipid, phony or, worst of all, boring as we went from Wordsworth"s daffodils to Baudelaire"s flowers of evil.
You could argue that art became more skeptical of happiness because modern times have seen such misery. But it"s not as if earlier times didn"t know perpetual war, disaster and the massacre of innocents. The reason, in fact, may be just the opposite: there is too much damn happiness in the world today.
After all, what is the one modern form of expression almost completely dedicated to depicting happiness? Advertising. The rise of anti-happy art almost exactly tracks the emergence of mass media, and with it, a commercial culture in which happiness is not just an ideal but an ideology.
People in earlier eras were surrounded by reminders of misery. They worked until exhausted, lived with few protections and died young. In the West, before mass communication and literacy, the most powerful mass medium was the church, which reminded worshippers that their souls were in peril and that they would someday be meat for worms. Given all this, they did not exactly need their art to be a bummer too.
Today the messages your average Westerner is bombarded with are not religious but commercial, and forever happy. Fast-food eaters, news anchors, text messengers, all smiling, smiling. Our magazines feature beaming celebrities and happy families in perfect homes. And since these messages have an agenda--to lure us to open our wallets to make the very idea of happiness seem unreliable. "Celebrate!" commanded the ads for the arthritis drug Celebrex, before we found out it could increase the risk of heart attacks.
What we forget--what our economy depends on is forgetting--is that happiness is more than pleasure without pain. The things that bring the greatest joy carry the greatest potential for loss and disappointment. Today, surrounded by promises of easy happiness, we need someone to tell us as religion once did, Memento mori: remember that you will die, that everything ends, and that happiness comes not in denying this but in living with it. It"s a message even more bitter than a clove cigarette, yet, somehow, a breath of fresh air.
16. By citing the example of poets Wordsworth and Baudelaire, the author intends to show that___
A. Poetry is not as expressive of joy as painting or music.
B. Art grow out of both positive and negative feeling.
C. Poets today are less skeptical of happiness.
D. Artist have changed their focus of interest.
17. The word “bummer” （Line 5. paragraph 5）most probably means something____
A. religious B. unpleasant C. entertaining D. commercial
18. In the author’s opinion, advertising___
A. emerges in the wake of the anti-happy part.
B . is a cause of disappointment for the general peer
C. replace the church as a major source of information
D. creates an illusion of happiness rather than happiness itself.
19. We can learn from the last paragraph that the author believes____
A. Happiness more often than not ends in sadness.
B. The anti-happy art is distasteful by refreshing.
C. Misery should be enjoyed rather than denied.
D. The anti-happy art flourishes when economy booms
20. Which of the following is true of the text ?
A. Religion once functioned as a reminder of misery.
B. Art provides a balance between expectation and reality.
C. People feel disappointed at the realities of morality.
D. mass media are inclined to cover disasters and deaths.
Unit 13（2006）Part 4
重点词汇：
1. weird a. 不自然的，怪异的，非传统的
2. perpetual a. 永远的，永恒的
3. skeptical （+ about/ of） a. phr. 对……不肯相信的，对……常怀疑的相关词 skeptic n. 怀疑论者skepticism n. 怀疑态度；怀疑论
4. disaster n. 灾难，天灾人祸
5. massacre n. 大屠杀，惨败
6. track ① vt. 跟踪，追踪② n. 足迹，踪迹；路径，小路，路线；搭配track down跟踪，追踪; 对……追查到底； off track（比喻）停止，出轨；on track （比喻）按期；未出差错； on the right/ wrong track 想法（或做法）对头/不对头；yield the track to 屈服于；track meet 田径运动会； track man田径运动员ideology n. 思想体系；思想意识
7. reminder n. 令人回忆起……的东西，提醒人……的东西相关词 remindful（that +从句），牢记（从句）。例：He is remindful that he owes his friend money. 他牢记欠朋友的钱。remind about 就……提醒某人； remind sb.of sth.使（默认）想起某事；remind sb.that （+从句） 提醒某人（+从句）
8. literacy n.读写能力
9. opposite a. 相对的，相反的
10. bombard vt. be bombarded with
11. beaming a. = happy and cheerful 面露喜色的
12. celebrity n. （尤指娱乐界的）名人，名流；名声，名誉
13. lure ① n.吸引力 （+for）; 诱惑物② lure sb.to do sth. vt. phr. =attract; tempt 吸引；引诱；诱惑insipid a. 无味的，乏味的，单调的
14. phony a. =not real or genuine 假的，伪造的
15. daffodil n. 黄水仙花
16. peril n. 极大的危险，招致危险的事物/原因；相关词 perilous a.=hazardous, very dangerous bummer =a bad or disappointing experience 失望的、不愉快的经历重要词组
17. be in peril 处在危险中
18. given all this［状语或插入语］= if so如果这样
试题解析：
16.【正确答案】［D］artists have changed their focus of interest.
【测试要点】这是一道语意推断题。
【试题解析】该问提到两位诗人的目的何在。原文举这两位诗人是为了说明艺术家的转变：过去描述幸福，后来描述不幸。因此［D］为正确答案。
17.【正确答案】［B］unpleasant.
【测试要点】这是一道词义推断题。
【试题解析】从上下段可以看出过去人不好过日子，所以选词义表示“负面的、不好的”选项。四个选项中，只有［B］“令人不快的”符合题意。
18.【正确答案】［D］creates an illusion of happiness rather than happiness itself.
【测试要点】这是一道作者语气判断题。
【试题解析】由原文可知，如今的广告给人造成幸福的幻觉，而非真的幸福，那么［D］为正确答案。
19.【正确答案】［B］The antihappy art is distasteful by refreshing.
【测试要点】这是一道语意推断题。
【试题解析】注意原文“we need someone to tell us ..., yet, somehow, a breath of fresh air.” （忧愁的艺术告诉我们的尽管苦涩，却带来一股令我们清醒的清新气息。本句中someone就是指本篇讨论的现代艺术，而现代艺术的本质是anti-happy的。看看［B］more bitter“对应”distasteful；“a breath of fresh air”对应“refreshing”。 而that happiness comes not in denying this but in living with it中的代词this /it 都是指人生的unhappiness，意思也就是 misery， 这句话的意思是幸福不在于否认生活中有misery, 而是应该去接受或容忍它。命题者将这句话前错后对地改写了，Misery should be enjoyed rather than denied. 这里enjoy作者用了个非常具有干扰性的词。注意：live with = put up with sth. unpleasant （accept or tolerate接受和忍受不愉快的事情） 怎么可能等同于enjoy呢！
20.【正确答案】［A］Religion once functioned as a reminder of misery.
【测试要点】这是一道主旨大意题。
【试题解析】由文中可知，宗教在过去提醒人们苦难的存在，如今宣传不幸的艺术起着同样的作用。［A］说到了宗教的这一作用，为正确答案。
全文翻译：
许多事情让人们认为艺术家是怪人，而且最奇怪的莫过于此：艺术家的唯一工作就是探索情感，然而，他们的选择聚焦于那些他们感觉很糟的情感。
事实并非常常如此，最早的艺术形式，像绘画和音乐，是那些最适合表达喜悦的艺术，但是在19世纪的某个地方，许多艺术家开始把幸福看作是淡而无味的、虚假的——更糟的是，看作是令人厌烦的，这点可以从威廉?华兹华斯的《水仙花》到波德莱尔把鲜花描述为邪恶的转变之中看出。
你可能会坚持认为艺术之所以对幸福产生更大的怀疑是因为现代社会也已经历了太多的不幸，但是这并不意味着早期的时代没有经历战乱、灾难和对无辜者的屠杀。事实上，原因可能恰恰相反：如今的世界存在过多的该诅咒的幸福。
毕竟，现代社会几乎完全用来描述幸福的语言是什么？是广告。反幸福的艺术的兴起几乎和大众传媒的兴起如出一辙；由于它的缘故，在商业广告文化中，幸福不仅仅是一种理想，还是一种思想观念。
早期时代的人们被贫困的事物包围着，他们一直工作到筋疲力尽为止，生活中几乎无安全可言，而且英年早逝。在西方，在大众传播工具出现以及人们学会读写以前，最有力的传播媒介就是教堂，它告诫礼拜者他们的灵魂处于危险之中，它们有一天会成为蝼蚁之餐。倘若这些说法成立的话，他们也就完全不需要艺术以成为流浪者。
今天，普通西方人不是被宗教所包围，而是受到商业广告的轰击，他们始终是幸福的。吃快餐者、新闻节目主持人、文本发送者，大家都面带微笑，都在笑。我们的杂志以光彩照人的名人、住着完美宅邸的幸福家庭为主角。由于这些信息含有这样的真实企图——就是诱使人们打开他们的钱夹子，以便使得幸福的真正含义变得不可靠。治疗关节炎的药物Celebrex曾一度暗示人们“庆祝吧！”不久我们却发现这种药可能增加心脏病发作的危险！
我们所忘记的——而我们的经济就是依赖于忘记——是：幸福并不等于没有痛苦的快乐。那些带来最大喜悦的事物潜藏着最大的损失和失望的隐患。今天，身处轻松幸福的许诺的包围之中，我们需要有人来提醒我们——如同从前宗教所做的那样——“死亡的象征”：记住我们会死亡，万事皆有终了时；幸福不是来源于否认这点，而是与其共生。这种信息甚至要比丁香味的香烟更苦涩，然而，无论如何，它不失为一股新鲜空气。
