考研英語一真題1997-2003

1、1986-2008年全國碩士研究生入學(xué)統(tǒng)一考試英語試題答案421997年全國碩士研究生入學(xué)統(tǒng)一考試英語試題Text 1It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australias Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the

2、 lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the groups on-li

3、ne service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: “We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isnt just something that happened in Australia. Its world history.”The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally III law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal

4、 with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right to life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia - where an aging popul

5、ation, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part - other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In the US and Canada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start

6、 falling.Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death - probably by a deadly injection or pill - to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a “cooling off” period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of r

7、equest. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54 year old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. “Im not

8、afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how Id go, because Ive watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks,” he says.51.From the second paragraph we learn that _.A the objection to euthanasia is slow to come in other countrie

9、sB physicians and citizens share the same view on euthanasiaC changing technology is chiefly responsible for the hasty passage of the lawD it takes time to realize the significance of the laws passage52.When the author says that observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling, he means _.A o

10、bservers are taking a wait and see attitude towards the future of euthanasiaB similar bills are likely to be passed in the US, Canada and other countriesC observers are waiting to see the result of the game of dominoesD the effect-taking process of the passed bill may finally come to a stop53.When L

11、loyd Nickson dies, he will _.A face his death with calm characteristic of euthanasiaB experience the suffering of a lung cancer patientC have an intense fear of terrible sufferingD undergo a cooling off period of seven days54.The authors attitude towards euthanasia seems to be that of _.A opposition

12、B suspicionC approvalD indifferenceText 2A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are

13、, of course, exceptions. Small minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise d

14、ull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. So

15、meone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didnt take in the strang

16、er and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especia

17、lly in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. “I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner - amazing.” Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. T

18、he casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all soci

19、al interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to “translate” cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word “friend,” the cultural imp

20、lications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitors language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many Americans value highly and expect from bot

21、h neighbors and strangers.55.In the eyes of visitors from the outside world, _.A rude taxi drivers are rarely seen in the USB small minded officials deserve a serious commentC Canadians are not so friendly as their neighborsD most Americans are ready to offer help56.It could be inferred from the las

22、t paragraph that _.A culture exercises an influence over social interrelationshipB courteous convention and individual interest are interrelatedC various virtues manifest themselves exclusively among friendsD social interrelationships equal the complex set of cultural conventions57.Families in front

23、ier settlements used to entertain strangers _.A to improve their hard lifeB in view of their long distance travelC to add some flavor to their own daily lifeD out of a charitable impulse58.The tradition of hospitality to strangers _.A tends to be superficial and artificialB is generally well kept up

24、 in the United StatesC is always understood properlyD was something to do with the busy tourist trailsText 3Technically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug. Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to some sort of medicine or an illeg

25、al chemical taken by drug addicts. They dont realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists. The phrase “substance abuse” is often used instead of “drug abuse” to make clear tha

26、t substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine.We live a society in which the medicinal and social use of substances (drugs) is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for th

27、e nerves. When do these socially acceptable and apparently constructive uses of a substance become misuses? First of all, most substances taken in excess will produce negative effects such as poisoning or intense perceptual distortions. Repeated use of a substance can also lead to physical addiction

28、 or substance dependence. Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued.Drugs (substances) that affect the central nervo

29、us system and alter perception, mood, and behavior are known as psychoactive substances. Psychoactive substances are commonly grouped according to whether they are stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens. Stimulants initially speed up or activate the central nervous system, whereas depressants slo

30、w it down. Hallucinogens have their primary effect on perception, distorting and altering it in a variety of ways including producing hallucinations. These are the substances often called psychedelic (from the Greek word meaning “mind-manifesting”) because they seemed to radically alter ones state o

31、f consciousness.59.“Substance abuse” (Line 5, Paragraph 1) is preferable to “drug abuse” in that _.A substances can alter our bodily or mental functioning if illegally usedB “drug abuse” is only related to a limited number of drug takersC alcohol and tobacco are as fatal as heroin and cocaineD many

32、substances other than heroin or cocaine can also be poisonous60.The word “pervasive” (Line 1, Paragraph 2) might mean _.A widespreadB overwhelmingC piercingD fashionable61.Physical dependence on certain substances results from _.A uncontrolled consumption of them over long periods of timeB exclusive

33、 use of them for social purposesC quantitative application of them to the treatment of diseasesD careless employment of them for unpleasant symptoms62.From the last paragraph we can infer that _.A stimulants function positively on the mindB hallucinogens are in themselves harmful to healthC depressa

34、nts are the worst type of psychoactive substancesD the three types of psychoactive substances are commonly used in groupsText 4No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. “Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?” Senator Robert Dole asked Time

35、Warner executives last week. “You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?” At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990. Its a s

36、elf-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line.At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in 1992. On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock pri

37、ce and reduce the companys mountainous debt, which will increase to 17.3 billion after two new cable deals close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company, but investors are waiting impatiently.The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him. Levin has con

38、sistently defended the companys rap music on the grounds of expression. In 1992, when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice Ts violent rap song Cop Killer, Levin described rap as a lawful expression of street culture, which deserves an outlet. “The test of any democratic society,” he wrote in

39、 a Wall Street Journal column, “l(fā)ies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We wont retreat in the face of any threats.”Levin would not comment on

40、 the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard line stand, at least to some extent. During the discussion of rock singing verses at last months stockholders meeting, Levin asserted that “music is not the cause of societys ills” and even cited his son, a teache

41、r in the Bronx, New York, who uses rap to communicate with students. But he talked as well about the “balanced struggle” between creative freedom and social responsibility, and he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially object

42、ionable music.The 15 member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levin and his corporate strategy. But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter. “Some of us have known for many, many years that the freedoms under the First Amendment are not totally unlimited,” sa

43、ys Luce. “I think it is perhaps the case that some people associated with the company have only recently come to realize this.”63.Senator Robert Dole criticized Time Warner for _.A its raising of the corporate stock priceB its self-examination of soulC its neglect of social responsibilityD its empha

44、sis on creative freedom64.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?A Luce is a spokesman of Time Warner.B Gerald Levin is liable to compromise.C Time Warner is united as one in the face of the debate.D Steve Ross is no longer alive65.In face of the recent attacks on the company, the

45、chairman _.A stuck to a strong stand to defend freedom of expressionB softened his tone and adopted some new policyC changed his attitude and yielded to objectionD received more support from the 15-member board66.The best title for this passage could be _.A A Company under FireB A Debate on Moral De

46、clineC A Lawful Outlet of Street CultureD A Form of Creative FreedomText 5Much of the language used to describe monetary policy, such as “steering the economy to a soft landing” or “a touch on the brakes,” makes it sound like a precise science. Nothing could be further from the truth. The link betwe

47、en interest rates and inflation is uncertain. And there are long, variable lags before policy changes have any effect on the economy. Hence the analogy that likens the conduct of monetary policy to driving a car with a blackened windscreen, a cracked rear view mirror and a faulty steering wheel.Give

48、n all these disadvantages, central bankers seem to have had much to boast about of late. Average inflation in the big seven industrial economies fell to a mere 2.3% last year, close to its lowest level in 30 years, before rising slightly to 2.5% this July. This is a long way below the double-digit r

49、ates which many countries experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s.It is also less than most forecasters had predicated. In late 1994 the panel of economists which The Economist polls each month said that Americas inflation rate would average 3.5% in 1995. In fact, it fell to 2.6% in August, and exp

50、ected to average only about 3% for the year as a whole. In Britain and Japan inflation is running half a percentage point below the rate predicted at the end of last year. This is no flash in the pan; over the past couple of years, inflation has been consistently lower than expected in Britain and A

51、merica.Economists have been particularly surprised by favorable inflation figures in Britain and the United States, since conventional measures suggest that both economies, and especially Americas, have little productive slack. Americas capacity utilization, for example, hit historically high levels

52、 earlier this year, and its jobless rate (5.6% in August) has fallen bellow most estimates of the natural rate of unemployment - the rate below which inflation has taken off in the past.Why has inflation proved so mild? The most thrilling explanation is, unfortunately, a little defective. Some econo

53、mists argue that powerful structural changes in the world have up-ended the old economic models that were based upon the historical link between growth and inflation.67.From the passage we learn that _.A there is a definite relationship between inflation and interest ratesB economy will always follo

54、w certain modelsC the economic situation is better than expectedD economists had foreseen the present economic situation68.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?A Making monetary policies is comparable to driving a carB An extremely low jobless rate will lead to inflationC A high

55、unemployment rate will result from inflationD Interest rates have an immediate effect on the economy69.The sentence “This is no flash in the pan” (Line 5, Paragraph 3) means that _.A the low inflation rate will last for some timeB the inflation rate will soon riseC the inflation will disappear quick

56、lyD there is no inflation at present70.The passage shows that the author is _ the present situation.A critical ofB puzzled byC disappointed atD amazed at Reading Comprehension51.D52.B53.A54.C55.D56.A57.C58.B59.D60.A61.A62.B63.C64.D65.B66.A67.C68.B69.A70.D 1998年全國碩士研究生入學(xué)統(tǒng)一考試英語試題Reading ComprehensionT

57、ext 1Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankinds long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesnt help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nati