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2016 考研阅读基础班辅导讲义 
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2016 考研阅读基础班 
曹天啸  博士后 新浪微博@老曹考研 
 
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Passage 1  
The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, 
market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by 
spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. 
Private businessmen, striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition 
with other businessmen; and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely 
determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system 
it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize 
profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes, that together determine what 
shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it. 
An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer 
demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy, this 
mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to 
relative demands of consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers. If the products is in 
short supply relative to the demand, the price will be bid up and some consumers will be 
eliminated from the market. If, on the other hand, producing more of a commodity results in 
reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn 
will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating 
mechanism in the American economic system. 
The important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individuals are allowed to own 
productive resources (private property), and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over 
natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, 
the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but 
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also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free 
contract with another private individual. 
51. In line 8, paragraph 1, "the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes" means 
________. 
  [A] Americans are never satisfied with their incomes 
  [B] Americans tend to overstate their incomes 
  [C] Americans want to have their incomes increased 
  [D] Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their incomes 
52. The first two sentences in the second paragraph tell us that ________. 
  [A] producers can satisfy the consumers by mechanized production 
  [B] consumers can express their demands through producers 
  [C] producers decide the prices of products 
  [D] supply and demand regulate prices 
53. According to the passage, a private-enterprise economy is characterized by ________. 
  [A] private property and rights concerned   [B] manpower and natural resources control 
  [C] ownership of productive resources    [D] free contracts and prices 
54. The passage is mainly about ________. 
  [A] how American goods are produced     
[B] how American consumers buy their goods 
  [C] how American economic system works    
[D] how American businessmen make their profits 
 
Passage 2  
  One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They 
give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, 
and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of 
these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in 
scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us, the "cashless 
society" is not on the horizon — it's already here. 
  While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for 
sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep 
a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows 
businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how 
fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the 
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same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most 
efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also 
identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by 
manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide 
which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future, and which to drop. 
Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production 
process itself. 
  Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and 
electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers 
through the use of computers. 
55. According to the passage, the credit card enables its owner to ________. 
  [A] withdraw as much money from the bank as he wishes 
  [B] obtain more convenient services than other people do 
  [C] enjoy greater trust from the storekeeper 
  [D] cash money wherever he wishes to 
56. From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that ________. 
  [A] in the future all the Americans will use credit cards 
  [B] credit cards are mainly used in the United State today 
  [C] nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash 
  [D] it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before 
57. The phrase "ring up sales" (line 2, paragraph 2) most probably means "________". 
  [A] make an order of goods    [B] record sales on a cash register 
  [C] call the sales manager    [D] keep track of the goods in stock 
58. What is this passage mainly about? 
  [A] Approaches to the commercial use of computers. 
  [B] Conveniences brought about by computers in business. 
  [C] Significance of automation in commercial enterprises. 
  [D] Advantages of credit cards in business. 
 
Passage 3  
Exceptional children are different in some significant way from others of the same age. For 
these children to develop to their full adult potential, their education must be adapted to those 
differences. 
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Although we focus on the needs of exceptional children, we find ourselves describing their 
environment as well. While the leading actor on the stage captures our attention, we are aware of 
the importance of the supporting players and the scenery of the play itself. Both the family and 
the society in which exceptional children live are often the key to their growth and development. 
And it is in the public schools that we find the full expression of society's understanding — the 
knowledge, hopes, and fears that are passed on to the next generation. 
Education in any society is a mirror of that society. In that mirror we can see the strengths, 
the weaknesses, the hopes, the prejudices, and the central values of the culture itself. The great 
interest in exceptional children shown in public education over the past three decades indicates 
the strong feeling in our society that all citizens, whatever their special conditions, deserve the 
opportunity to fully develop their capabilities. 
"All men are created equal." We've heard it many times, but it still has important meaning 
for education in a democratic society. Although the phrase was used by this country's founders 
to denote equality before the law, it has also been interpreted to mean equality of opportunity. 
That concept implies educational opportunity for all children — the right of each child to receive 
help in learning to the limits of his or her capacity, whether that capacity be small or great. 
Recent court decisions have confirmed the right of all children — disabled or not — to an 
appropriate education, and have ordered that public schools take the necessary steps to provide 
that education. In response, schools are modifying their programs, adapting instruction to 
children who are exceptional, to those who cannot profit substantially from regular programs. 
59. In paragrah 2, the author cites the example of the leading actor on the stage to show that 
________. 
  [A] the growth of exceptional children has much to do with their family and the society 
  [B] exceptional children are more influenced by their families than normal children are 
  [C] exceptional children are the key interest of the family and society 
  [D] the needs of the society weigh much heavier than the needs of the exceptional children 
60. The reason that the exceptional children receive so much concern in education is that 
________. 
  [A] they are expected to be leaders of the society    
[B] they might become a burden of the society 
  [C] they should fully develop their potentials    
[D] disabled children deserve special consideration 
61. This passage mainly deals with ________. 
  [A] the differences of children in their learning capabilities 
  [B] the definition of exceptional children in modern society 
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  [C] the special educational programs for exceptional children 
  [D] the necessity of adapting education to exceptional children 
62. From this passage we learn that the educational concern for exceptional children ________. 
  [A] is now enjoying legal support       
[B] disagrees with the tradition of the country 
  [C] was clearly stated by the country's founders    
[D] will exert great influence over court decisions 
 
Passage 4 
  Scattered around the globe are more than 100 small regions of isolated volcanic activity 
known to geologists as hot spots. Unlike most of the world's volcanoes, they are not always 
found at the boundaries of the great drifting plates that make up the earth's surface; on the 
contrary, many of them lie deep in the interior of a plate. Most of the hot spots move only 
slowly, and in some cases the movement of the plates past them has left trails of dead volcanoes. 
The hot spots and their volcanic trails are milestones that mark the passage of the plates. 
  That the plates are moving is now beyond dispute. Africa and South America, for example, 
are moving away from each other as new material is injected into the sea floor between them. 
The complementary coastlines and certain geological features that seem to span the ocean are 
reminders of where the two continents were once joined. The relative motion of the plates 
carrying these continents has been constructed in detail, but the motion of one plate with respect 
to another cannot readily be translated into motion with respect to the earth's interior. It is not 
possible to determine whether both continents are moving in opposite directions or whether one 
continent is stationary and the other is drifting away from it. Hot spots, anchored in the deeper 
layers of the earth, provide the measuring instruments needed to resolve the question. From an 
analysis of the hot-spot population it appears that the African plate is stationary and that it has 
not moved during the past 30 million years. 
  The significance of hot spots is not confined to their role as a frame of reference. It now 
appears that they also have an important influence on the geophysical processes that propel the 
plates across the globe. When a continental plate come to rest over a hot spot, the material rising 
from deeper layer creates a broad dome. As the dome grows, it develops deep fissures(cracks); 
in at least a few cases the continent may break entirely along some of these fissures, so that the 
hot spot initiates the formation of a new ocean. Thus just as earlier theories have explained the 
mobility of the continents, so hot spots may explain their mutability (inconstancy). 
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67. The author believes that ________. 
  [A] the motion of the plates corresponds to that of the earth's interior 
  [B] the geological theory about drifting plates has been proved to be true 
  [C] the hot spots and the plates move slowly in opposite directions 
  [D] the movement of hot spots proves the continents are moving apart 
68. That Africa and South America were once joined can be deduced from the fact that 
________. 
  [A] the two continents are still moving in opposite directions 
  [B] they have been found to share certain geological features 
  [C] the African plates has been stable for 30 million years 
  [D] over 100 hot spots are scattered all around the globe 
69. The hot-spot theory may prove useful in explaining ________. 
  [A] the structure of the African plates    [B] the revival of dead volcanoes 
  [C] the mobility of the continents     [D] the formation of new oceans 
70. The passage is mainly about ________. 
  [A] the features of volcanic activities      
[B] the importance of the theory about drifting plates 
  [C] the significance of hot spots in geophysical studies  
[D] the process of the formation of volcanoes 
 
Passage 5 
  Being a man has always been dangerous. There are about 105 males born for every 100 
females, but this ratio drops to near balance at the age of maturity, and among 70-year-olds 
there are twice as many women as men. But the great universal of male mortality is being 
changed. Now, boy babies survive almost as well as girls do. This means that, for the first time, 
there will be an excess of boys in those crucial years when they are searching for a mate. More 
important, another chance for natural selection has been removed. Fifty years ago, the chance of 
a baby (particularly a boy baby) surviving depended on its weight. A kilogram too light or too 
heavy meant almost certain death. Today it makes almost no difference. Since much of the 
variation is due to genes, one more agent of evolution has gone. 
  There is another way to commit evolutionary suicide: stay alive, but have fewer children. 
Few people are as fertile as in the past. Except in some religious communities, very few women 
has 15 children. Nowadays the number of births, like the age of death, has become average. 
Most of us have roughly the same number of offspring. Again, differences between people and 
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the opportunity for natural selection to take advantage of it have diminished. India shows what 
is happening. The country offers wealth for a few in the great cities and poverty for the 
remaining tribal peoples. The grand mediocrity of today — everyone being the same in survival 
and number of offspring — means that natural selection has lost 80% of its power in 
upper-middle-class India compared to the tribes. 
  For us, this means that evolution is over; the biological Utopia has arrived. Strangely, it has 
involved little physical change. No other species fills so many places in nature. But in the past 
100,000 years — even the past 100 years — our lives have been transformed but our bodies 
have not. We did not evolve, because machines and society did it for us. Darwin had a phrase to 
describe those ignorant of evolution: they "look at an organic being as a savage looks at a ship, 
as at something wholly beyond his comprehension." No doubt we will remember a 20th century 
way of life beyond comprehension for its ugliness. But however amazed our descendants may 
be at how far from Utopia we were, they will look just like us. 
55. What used to be the danger in being a man according to the first paragraph? 
  [A] A lack of mates.     [B] A fierce competition. 
  [C] A lower survival rate.   [D] A defective gene. 
56. What does the example of India illustrate? 
  [A] Wealthy people tend to have fewer children than poor people. 
  [B] Natural selection hardly works among the rich and the poor. 
  [C] The middle class population is 80% smaller than that of the tribes. 
  [D] India is one of the countries with a very high birth rate. 
57. The author argues that our bodies have stopped evolving because________. 
  [A] life has been improved by technological advance 
  [B] the number of female babies has been declining 
  [C] our species has reached the highest stage of evolution 
  [D] the difference between wealth and poverty is disappearing 
58. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? 
  [A] Sex Ration Changes in Human Evolution. 
  [B] Ways of Continuing Man's Evolution. 
  [C] The Evolutionary Future of Nature. 
  [D] Human Evolution Going Nowhere. 
 
Passage 6 
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    That experiences influence subsequent behaviour is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless 
remarkable activity called remembering. Learning could not occur without the function 
popularly named memory. Constant practice has such an effect on memory as to lead to skillful 
performance on the piano, to recitation of a poem, and even to reading and understanding these 
words. So-called intelligent behaviour demands memory, remembering being a primary 
requirement for reasoning. The ability to solve any problem or even to recognize that a problem 
exists depends on memory. Typically, the decision to cross a street is based on remembering 
many earlier experiences. 
    Practice (or review) tends to build and maintain memory for a task or for any learned 
material. Over a period of no practice what has been learned tends to be forgotten; and the 
adaptive consequences may not seem obvious. Yet, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting can 
be seen to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted to have survived 
through a process of natural selection in animals. Indeed, when one's memory of an emotionally 
painful experience lead to serious anxiety, forgetting may produce relief. Nevertheless, an 
evolutionary interpretation might make it difficult to understand how the commonly gradual 
process of forgetting survived natural selection. 
    In thinking about the evolution of memory together with all its possible aspects, it is helpful 
to consider what would happen if memories failed to fade. Forgetting clearly aids orientation in 
time, since old memories weaken and the new tend to stand out, providing clues for inferring 
duration. Without forgetting, adaptive ability would suffer, for example, learned behaviour that 
might have been correct a decade ago may no longer be. Cases are recorded of people who (by 
ordinary standards) forgot so little that their everyday activities were full of confusion. This 
forgetting seems to serve that survival of the individual and the species. 
    Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides 
adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting. In this view, continual adjustments are made 
between learning or memory storage (input) and forgetting (output). Indeed, there is evidence 
that the rate at which individuals forget is directly related to how much they have learned. Such 
data offers gross support of contemporary models of memory that assume an input-output 
balance. 
  
67. From the evolutionary point of view, ________. 
    [A] forgetting for lack of practice tends to be obviously inadaptive 
    [B] if a person gets very forgetful all of a sudden he must be very adaptive 
    [C] the gradual process of forgetting is an indication of an individual's adaptability 
    [D] sudden forgetting may bring about adaptive consequences 
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68. According to the passage, if a person never forgets, ________. 
    [A] he would survive best       [B] he would have a lot of trouble 
    [C] his ability to learn would be enhanced  [D] the evolution of memory would stop 
69. From the last paragraph we know that ________. 
    [A] forgetfulness is a response to learning. 
    [B] the memory storage system is an exactly balanced input-output system 
    [C] memory is a compensation for forgetting 
    [D] the capacity of a memory storage system is limited because forgetting occurs 
70. In this article, the author tries to interpret the function of 
    [A] remembering                [B] forgetting 
    [C] adapting                    [D] experiencing 
  
Passage 7 
When a new movement in art attains a certain fashion, it is advisable to find out what its 
advocates are aiming at, for, however farfetched and unreasonable their principles may seem 
today, it is possible that in years to come they may be regarded as normal. With regard to 
Futurist poetry, however, the case is rather difficult, for whatever Futurist poetry may be — 
even admitting that the theory on which it is based may be right — it can hardly be classed as 
Literature. 
This, in brief, is what the Futurist says: for a century, past conditions of life have been 
conditionally speeding up, till now we live in a world of noise and violence and speed. 
Consequently, our feelings, thoughts and emotions have undergone a corresponding change. 
This speeding up of life, says the Futurist, requires a new form of expression. We must speed up 
our literature too, if we want to interpret modern stress. We must pour out a large stream of 
essential words, unhampered by stops, or qualifying adjectives, or finite verbs. Instead of 
describing sounds we must make up words that imitate them; we must use many sizes of type 
and different colored inks on the same page, and shorten or lengthen words at will. 
Certainly their descriptions of battles are confused. But it is a little upsetting to read in the 
explanatory notes that a certain line describes a fight between a Turkish and a Bulgarian officer 
on a bridge off which they both fall into the river — and then to find that the line consists of the 
noise of their falling and the weights of the officers: "Pluff! Pluff! A hundred and eighty-five 
kilograms." 
This, though it fulfills the laws and requirements of Futurist poetry, can hardly be classed as 
Literature. All the same, no thinking man can refuse to accept their first proposition: that a great 
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change in our emotional life calls for a change of expression. The whole question is really this: 
have we essentially changed? 
59. This passage is mainly________. 
  [A] a survey of new approaches to art    [B] a review of Futurist poetry 
  [C] about merits of the Futurist movement   [D] about laws and requirements of literature 
60. When a novel literary idea appears, people should try to________. 
  [A] determine its purposes      [B] ignore its flaws 
  [C] follow the new fashions      [D] accept the principles 
61. Futurists claim that we must________. 
  [A] increase the production of literature   [B] use poetry to relieve modern stress 
  [C] develop new modes of expression    [D] avoid using adjectives and verbs 
62. The author believes that Futurist poetry is________. 
  [A] based on reasonable principles      
[B] new and acceptable to ordinary people 
  [C] indicative of basic change in human nature   
[D] more of a transient phenomenon than literature 
 
Passage 8 
Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American 
Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question. The organization is deep 
into a long self-analysis known as the journalism credibility project.  
Sad to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings about factual errors 
and spelling and grammar mistakes, combined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about 
what in the world those readers really want.  
But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a 
set of standard templates (patterns) into which they plug each day's events. In other words, there 
is a conventional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a 
ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news.  
There exists a social and cultural disconnect between journalists and their readers, which 
helps explain why the "standard templates" of the newsroom seem alien to many readers. In a 
recent survey, questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle size cities around the 
country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these communities were phoned at 
random and asked the same questions. 
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Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are more likely to live in 
upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own Mercedeses, and trade stocks, and they're less likely 
to go to church, do volunteer work, or put down roots in a community.  
Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to 
reflect the conventional values of this elite. The astonishing distrust of the news media isn't 
rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily clash of world views between 
reporters and their readers.  
This is an explosive situation for any industry, particularly a declining one. Here is a 
troubled business that keeps hiring employees whose attitudes vastly annoy the customers. Then 
it sponsors lots of symposiums and a credibility project dedicated to wondering why customers 
are annoyed and fleeing in large numbers. But it never seems to get around to noticing the 
cultural and class biases that so many former buyers are complaining about. If it did, it would 
open up its diversity program, now focused narrowly on race and gender, and look for reporters 
who differ broadly by outlook, values, education, and class.  
59. What is the passage mainly about?  
  [A] Needs of the readers all over the world.    
[B] Causes of the public disappointment about newspapers.  
  [C] Origins of the declining newspaper industry.  
[D] Aims of a journalism credibility project.  
60. The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be ________.  
  [A] quite trustworthy        [B] somewhat contradictory  
  [C] very illuminating        [D] rather superficial  
61. The basic problem of journalists as pointed out by the writer lies in their ________.  
  [A] working attitude        [B] conventional lifestyle  
  [C] world outlook         [D] educational background  
62. Despite its efforts, the newspaper industry still cannot satisfy the readers owing to its 
________.  
  [A] failure to realize its real problem     [B] tendency to hire annoying reporters  
  [C] likeliness to do inaccurate reporting    [D] prejudice in matters of race and gender  
 
Passage 9 
    A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, 
it may become a driving force. When the United States entered just such a glowing period after 
the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight times larger than any competitor, giving 
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its industries unparalleled economies of scale. Its scientists were the world's best, its workers the 
most skilled. America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and 
Asians whose economies the war had destroyed. 
    It was inevitable that this primacy should have narrowed as other countries grew richer. Just 
as inevitably, the retreat from predominance proved painful. By the mid1980s Americans had 
found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American 
industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign 
competition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith. (Now there is 
none: Zenith was bought by South Korea's LG Electronics in July.) Foreign made cars and 
textiles were sweeping into the domestic market. America's machine-tool industry was on the 
ropes. For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had 
invented and which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty. 
    All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted. 
They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would 
therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the 
causes of America's industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with 
warnings about the growing competition from overseas. 
    How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid 
growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious 
causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle. Self doubt has yielded to blind 
pride. "American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be more 
quick witted," according to Richard Cavanagh, executive dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of 
Government. "It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are 
improving their productivity," says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think tank in 
Washington, DC. And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people 
will look back on this period as "a golden age of business management in the United States." 
  
1. The U.S. achieved its predominance after World War II because ________. 
    [A] it had made painstaking efforts towards this goal 
    [B] its domestic market was eight times larger than before 
    [C] the war had destroyed the economies of most potential competitors 
    [D] the unparalleled size of its workforce had given an impetus to its economy 
2. The loss of U.S. predominance in the world economy in the 1980s is manifested in the fact 
that the American ________. 
    [A] TV industry had withdrawn to its domestic market 
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    [B] semiconductor industry had been taken over by foreign enterprises 
    [C] machine-tool industry had collapsed after suicidal actions 
    [D] auto industry had lost part of its domestic market 
3. What can be inferred from the passage? 
    [A] It is human nature to shift between self-doubt and blind pride. 
    [B] Intense competition may contribute to economic progress. 
    [C] The revival of the economy depends on international cooperation. 
    [D] A long history of success may pave the way for further development. 
4. The author seems to believe the revival of the U.S. economy in the 1990s can be attributed to 
the ________. 
    [A] turning of the business cycle 
    [B] restructuring of industry 
    [C] improved business management 
    [D] success in education 
  
  
 Passage 10 
    Specialisation can be seen as a response to the problem of an increasing accumulation of 
scientific knowledge. By splitting up the subject matter into smaller units, one man could 
continue to handle the information and use it as the basis for further research. But specialisation 
was only one of a series of related developments in science affecting the process of 
communication. Another was the growing professionalisation of scientific activity. 
    No clear-cut distinction can be drawn between professionals and amateurs in science: 
exceptions can be found to any rule. Nevertheless, the word 'amateur' does carry a connotation 
that the person concerned is not fully integrated into the scientific community and, in particular, 
may not fully share its values. The growth of specialisation in the nineteenth century, with its 
consequent requirement of a longer, more complex training, implied greater problems for 
amateur participation in science. The trend was naturally most obvious in those areas of science 
based especially on a mathematical or laboratory training, and can be illustrated in terms of the 
development of geology in the United Kingdom. 
    A comparison of British geological publications over the last century and a half reveals not 
simply an increasing emphasis on the primacy of research, but also a changing definition of what 
constitutes an acceptable research paper. Thus, in the nineteenth century, local geological studies 
represented worthwhile research in their own right; but, in the twentieth century, local studies 
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have increasingly become acceptable to professionals only if they incorporate, and reflect on, the 
wider geological picture. Amateurs, on the other hand, have continued to pursue local studies in 
the old way. The overall result has been to make entrance to professional geological journals 
harder for amateurs, a result that has been reinforced by the widespread introduction of 
refereeing, first by national journals in the nineteenth century and then by several local 
geological journals in the twentieth century. As a logical consequence of this development, 
separate journals have now appeared aimed mainly towards either professional or amateur 
readership. A rather similar process of differentiation has led to professional geologists coming 
together nationally within one or two specific societies, whereas the amateurs have tended either 
to remain in local societies or to come together nationally in a different way. 
    Although the process of professionalisation and specialisation was already well under way 
in British geology during the nineteenth century, its full consequences were thus delayed until 
the twentieth century. In science generally, however, the nineteenth century must be reckoned as 
the crucial period for this change in the structure of science. 
51. The growth of specialisation in the 19th century might be more clearly seen in sciences such 
as ________. 
    [A] sociology and chemistry        [B] physics and psychology 
    [C] sociology and psychology       [D] physics and chemistry 
52. We can infer from the passage that ________. 
    [A] there is little distinction between specialisation and professionalisation 
    [B] amateurs can compete with professionals in some areas of science 
    [C] professionals tend to welcome amateurs into the scientific community 
    [D] amateurs have national academic societies but no local ones 
53. The author writes of the development of geology to demonstrate ________. 
    [A] the process of specialisation and professionalisation 
    [B] the hardship of amateurs in scientific study 
    [C] the change of policies in scientific publications 
    [D] the discrimination of professionals against amateurs 
54. The direct reason for specialisation is ________. 
    [A] the development in communication 
    [B] the growth of professionalisation 
    [C] the expansion of scientific knowledge 
    [D] the splitting up of academic societies 
  
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 Passage 11  
In spite of “endless talk of difference,” American society is an amazing machine for 
homogenizing people. There is “the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the 
casualness and absence of deference” characteristic of popular culture. People are absorbed into 
“a culture 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 levels 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 languages. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who 
had arrived 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 notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like 
Arnold 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 anger 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 indices hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment. 
21. The word “homogenizing” (Line 2, Paragraph 1) most probably means ________. 
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[A] identifying                            [B] associating 
[C] assimilating                           [D] monopolizing 
22. 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 
23. 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 
24. Why are Arnold 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. 
25. In the author’s opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is 
________. 
[A] rewarding                         [B] successful 
[C] fruitless                           [D] harmful 
  
 Passage 12  
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 (RSC), 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. 
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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 RSC 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. 
26. From the first two paragraphs, 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 
27. It can be inferred from Paragraph 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 
28. By saying “Stratford cries poor traditionally” (Line 2-3, Paragraph 4), the author 
implies that ________. 
[A] Stratford cannot afford the expansion projects 
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[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 
29. 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 
30. 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 to the RSC 
 
Passage 13  
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 these 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 
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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. 
31. 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 
32. 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 
33. 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 
34. 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 their yield below 50% of the biomass 
[C] the ocean biomass should be restored to its original level 
[D] people should adjust the fishing baseline to the changing situation 
35. The author seems to be mainly concerned with most fisheries’ ________. 
[A] management efficiency                    [B] biomass level 
[C] catch-size limits                          [D] technological application 
  
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Passage 14  
Of all the changes that have taken place in English-language newspapers during the past 
quarter-century, perhaps the most far-reaching has been the inexorable decline in the scope and 
seriousness of their arts coverage.  
It is difficult to the point of impossibility for the average reader under the age of forty to 
imagine a time when high-quality arts criticism could be found in most big-city newspapers. Yet 
a considerable number of the most significant collections of criticism published in the 20th 
century consisted in large part of newspaper reviews. To read such books today is to marvel at 
the fact that their learned contents were once deemed suitable for publication in 
general-circulation dailies. 
We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews published in England 
between the turn of the 20th century and the eve of World War II, at a time when newsprint was 
dirt-cheap and stylish arts criticism was considered an ornament to the publications in which it 
appeared. In those far-off days, it was taken for granted that the critics of major papers would 
write in detail and at length about the events they covered. Theirs was a serious business, and 
even those reviewers who wore their learning lightly, like George Bernard Shaw and Ernest 
Newman, could be trusted to know what they were about. These men believed in journalism as a 
calling, and were proud to be published in the daily press. “So few authors have brains enough 
or literary gift enough to keep their own end up in journalism,” Newman wrote, “that I am 
tempted to define ‘journalism’ as ‘a term of contempt applied by writers who are not read to 
writers who are.’” 
Unfortunately, these critics are virtually forgotten. Neville Cardus, who wrote for the 
Manchester Guardian from 1917 until shortly before his death in 1975, is now known solely as a 
writer of essays on the game of cricket. During his lifetime, though, he was also one of 
England’s foremost classical-music critics, a stylist so widely admired that his Autobiography 
(1947) became a best-seller. He was knighted in 1967, the first music critic to be so honored. Yet 
only one of his books is now in print, and his vast body of writings on music is unknown save to 
specialists. 
Is there any chance that Cardus’s criticism will enjoy a revival? The prospect seems remote. 
Journalistic tastes had changed long before his death, and postmodern readers have little use for 
the richly upholstered Vicwardian prose in which he specialized. Moreover, the amateur tradition 
in music criticism has been in headlong retreat. 
21. It is indicated in Paragraphs 1 and 2 that    （段落推理题） 
[A] arts criticism has disappeared from big-city newspapers. 
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[B] English-language newspapers used to carry more arts reviews. 
[C] high-quality newspapers retain a large body of readers. 
[D] young readers doubt the suitability of criticism on dailies. 
22. Newspaper reviews in England before World War II were characterized by  （细节题） 
[A] free themes.  [B] casual style.  [C] elaborate layout.  [D] radical viewpoints. 
23. Which of the following would Shaw and Newman most probably agree on?（细节题） 
[A] It is writers' duty to fulfill journalistic goals. 
[B] It is contemptible for writers to be journalists. 
[C] Writers are likely to be tempted into journalism. 
[D] Not all writers are capable of journalistic writing. 
24. What can be learned about Cardus according to the last two paragraphs? （细节推理
题） 
[A] His music criticism may not appeal to readers today. 
[B] His reputation as a music critic has long been in dispute. 
[C] His style caters largely to modern specialists. 
[D] His writings fail to follow the amateur tradition.  
25. What would be the best title for the text? （主旨题） 
[A] Newspapers of the Good Old Days      [B] The Lost Horizon in Newspapers 
[C] Mournful Decline of Journalism        [D] Prominent Critics in Memory 
 
 Passage 15  
Over the past decade, thousands of patents have been granted for what are called business 
methods. Amazon.com received one for its "one-click" online payment system. Merrill Lynch 
got legal protection for an asset allocation strategy. One inventor patented a technique for lifting 
a box. 
Now the nation's top patent court appears completely ready to scale back on 
business-method patents, which have been controversial ever since they were first authorized 10 
years ago. In a move that has intellectual-property lawyers abuzz the U.S. court of Appeals for 
the federal circuit said it would use a particular case to conduct a broad review of 
business-method patents. In re Bilski, as the case is known , is "a very big deal", says Dennis D. 
Crouch of the University of Missouri School of law. It "has the potential to eliminate an entire 
class of patents." 
Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the 
federal circuit itself that introduced such patents with is 1998 decision in the so-called state 
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Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets. That ruling 
produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging internet 
companies trying to stake out exclusive rights to specific types of online transactions. Later, 
move established companies raced to add such patents to their files, if only as a defensive move 
against rivals that might beat them to the punch. In 2005, IBM noted in a court filing that it had 
been issued more than 300 business-method patents despite the fact that it questioned the legal 
basis for granting them. Similarly, some Wall Street investment films armed themselves with 
patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice. 
The Bilski case involves a claimed patent on a method for hedging risk in the energy 
market. The Federal circuit issued an unusual order stating that the case would be heard by all 12 
of the court's judges, rather than a typical panel of three, and that one issue it wants to evaluate is 
whether it should "reconsider" its state street Bank ruling. 
The Federal Circuit's action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the 
supreme Court that has narrowed the scope of protections for patent holders. Last April, for 
example the justices signaled that too many patents were being upheld for "inventions" that are 
obvious. The judges on the Federal circuit are "reacting to the anti-patent trend at the Supreme 
Court", says Harold C. Wegner, a patent attorney and professor at George Washington University 
Law School. 
26. Business-method patents have recently aroused concern because of  （细节题－因果） 
[A] their limited value to business          [B] their connection with asset allocation 
[C] the possible restriction on their granting    [D] the controversy over authorization 
27. Which of the following is true of the Bilski case?    （细节题－which 型） 
[A] Its ruling complies with the court decisions   
[B] It involves a very big business transaction 
[C] It has been dismissed by the Federal Circuit   
[D] It may change the legal practices in the U.S. 
28. The word "about-face" (Line 1, Para 3) most probably means    （词汇题） 
[A] loss of good will         [B] increase of hostility 
[C] change of attitude         [D] enhancement of dignity 
29. We learn from the last two paragraphs that business-method patents（段落推理题） 
[A] are immune to legal challenges         [B] are often unnecessarily issued 
[C] lower the esteem for patent holders      [D] increase the incidence of risks 
30. Which of the following would be the subject of the text?    （主旨题） 
[A] A looming threat to business-method patents 
[B] Protection for business-method patent holders 
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[C] A legal case regarding business-method patents 
[D] A prevailing trend against business-method patents 
 
Passage 16  
In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell argues that social epidemics are driven in 
large part by the acting of a tiny minority of special individuals, often called influentials, who 
are unusually informed, persuasive, or well-connected. The idea is intuitively compelling, but it 
doesn't explain how ideas actually spread. 
The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plausible sounding but largely 
untested theory called the "two step flow of communication": Information flows from the media 
to the influentials and from them to everyone else. Marketers have embraced the two-step flow 
because it suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials, those selected people 
will do most of the work for them. The theory also seems to explain the sudden and unexpected 
popularity of certain looks, brands, or neighborhoods. In many such cases, a cursory search for 
causes finds that some small group of people was wearing, promoting, or developing whatever it 
is before anyone else paid attention. Anecdotal evidence of this kind fits nicely with the idea that 
only certain special people can drive trends 
In their recent work, however, some researchers have come up with the finding that 
influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed. In fact, they 
don't seem to be required of all. 
The researchers' argument stems from a simple observing about social influence, with the 
exception of a few celebrities like Oprah Winfrey—whose outsize presence is primarily a 
function of media, not interpersonal, influence—even the most influential members of a 
population simply don't interact with that many others. Yet it is precisely these non-celebrity 
influentials who, according to the two-step-flow theory, are supposed to drive social epidemics 
by influencing their friends and colleagues directly. For a social epidemic to occur, however, 
each person so affected, must then influence his or her own acquaintances, who must in turn 
influence theirs, and so on; and just how many others pay attention to each of these people has 
little to do with the initial influential. If people in the network just two degrees removed from the 
initial influential prove resistant, for example from the initial influential prove resistant, for 
example the cascade of change won't propagate very far or affect many people. 
Building on the basic truth about interpersonal influence, the researchers studied the 
dynamics of populations manipulating a number of variables relating of populations, 
manipulating a number of variables relating to people's ability to influence others and their 
2016 考研阅读基础班辅导讲义 
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tendency to be influenced. Our work shows that the principal requirement for what we call 
"global cascades"– the widespread propagation of influence through networks – is the presence 
not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people, each of whom 
adopts, say, a look or a brand after being exposed to a single adopting neighbor. Regardless of 
how influential an individual is locally, he or she can exert global influence only if this critical 
mass is available to propagate a chain reaction. 
31. By citing the book The Tipping Point, the author intends to    （例证题） 
[A] analyze the consequences of social epidemics 
[B] discuss influentials' function in spreading ideas 
[C] exemplify people's intuitive response to social epidemics 
[D] describe the essential characteristics of influentials. 
32. The author suggests that the "two-step-flow theory"    （细节题－观点） 
[A] serves as a solution to marketing problems   
[B] has helped explain certain prevalent trends 
[C] has won support from influentials       
[D] requires solid evidence for its validity 
33. What the researchers have observed recently shows that  （细节题－观点） 
[A] the power of influence goes with social interactions 
[B] interpersonal links can be enhanced through the media 
[C] influentials have more channels to reach the public 
[D] most celebrities enjoy wide media attention 
34. The underlined phrase "these people" in paragraph 4 refers to the ones who（词汇题） 
[A] stay outside the network of social influence 
[B] have little contact with the source of influence 
[C] are influenced and then influence others    
[D] are influenced by the initial influential 
35. what is the essential element in the dynamics of social influence?    （细节题） 
[A] The eagerness to be accepted         [B] The impulse to influence others 
[C] The readiness to be influenced         [D] The inclination to rely on others