考研英语（阅读）-试卷106
(总分60, 做题时间90分钟)
2. Reading Comprehension
Section II Reading Comprehension
Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D.
Birth, growth, decline, death: it is the usual cycle for people, companies and industries. But the story of violin-making in Cremona in northern Italy, which flourished under such master craftsmen as Andrea Amati, Giuppe Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari from the mid-16th century to the early 18th, suggests that, for industries at least, there may be life after death. Violin-making in Cremona struggled through the 19th century in the hands of a few
carpenters who turned out low-quality instruments. By the 1950s it had died out, says Gio Batta Morassi, a 73-year-old maestro liutaio(master violin-maker). Yet today, in workshops overlooking the city"s cobbled streets, more than 100 craftsmen cut and plane maple and spruce to make string instruments—more than in any other European city. Cremona is once again the capital of hand-crafted instruments. A new school to train craftsmen in instrument-making opened in Cremona in 1938, though when Mr. Morassi began his studies in 1950 there were just six students on the cour, of whom only one other went on to make instruments. But this slight revival was sustained by a growing interest in Baroque music in northern Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, says Hildegard Dodel, a German who studied at the school. It created new demand for instruments made in the traditional Cremone style. Today Italians are a minority among the school"s 150 students; 30 are South Korean, 26 are Japane, six are from China and three from Taiwan. Some will t up shop in the city: Ms Dodel worked for about ten years restoring and repairing instruments in Germany and the Netherlands before returning to open her own workshop in Cremona in 2003. Instrument-making is not an easy life. "I often thougdegree
ht of giving up," says Francesco Toto, who moved to Cremona 17 years ago and specializes in making cellos. Wood is expensive, must be asoned properly and is at risk from woodworm; the maple for a cello costs around ￠1,500, for example. Mr. Toto was able to rai his prices after winning a competition, but to maintain quality he makes just four instruments a year. Violin-makers can produce perhaps ven top-quality instruments a year.(Cellos made by Cremona"s craftsmen typically cost ￠15,000-35,000, and violins ￠8,000-20,000.)**e back from the dead, Cremona"s instrument-makers, like many others in Italian industries, hope that an emphasis on quality, tradition and craftsmanship will keep cheaper foreign rivals at bay.
1.
The story of violin-making in Cremona implies the industry
A may undergo revival after a period of death.
B flourished becau of the master craftsmen.
小学英语语法总结C may follow the same life cycle as people **panies.
D may experience a longer life than other industries.
2.
From the cond paragraph, we can learn that Cremona
coupA has more instrument workers than any other city.
B had many carpenters to make violins in the past.
C declined becau of its carpenters" poor handcrafts.
D once was the capital of hand-crafted instruments.
structs3.
Hildegard Dodel believed that
A the revival of instrument-making was slight and sustainable.
B Baroque music stimulated the revival of the instrument-making.
C people in Europe were fond of traditional Cremone style.
D Baroque music incread people"s interests in violins.
4.
有道翻译器
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A Italians are less educated but more skilled even today.
B Many students in the training **e from Eastern countries.
C Italians are less interested in training cours traditionally.
D Traditional Cremone style is not popular today.
5.
Many Italian industries today
A **e back from the dead.
B are at risk becau of the cheap foreign rivals.
C still focus on quality, tradition and craftsmanship.
D want to give up the difficult instrument-making.exceptional
The battle to prevent or at least slow global warming has intensified in the past year as scientists have learned more about the magnitude of the problem. One of the leading clim
ate experts, Inez Y. Fung, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Center at the University of California, Berkeley, recently showed that the earth may soon lo its ability to absorb much of the greenhou gas that is raising temperatures. The oceans and continents currently soak up about half the carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels. In the oceans, the **bines with water to form carbonic acid; on land, plants take in more carbon dioxide and grow faster. **puter modeling done by Fung and her colleagues indicates that the carbon sinks will become less effective as the earth continues to warm. For example, as the tropics become hotter and drier in the summer, plants will reduce their respiration of carbon dioxide to avoid water loss. Atmospheric measurements over the past decade have confirmed this effect. If the oceans and land take in less carbon dioxide, more will remain in the atmosphere and global warming could accelerate catastrophically. Despite the warning signs, the government administration has oppod approval of the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty mandating reductions in greenhou gas emissions. But nine states in the northeastern U.S. are attempting to sidestep the federal government"s opposition by taking action on t
heir own. Last August the group reached a preliminary agreement to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 10 percent by 2020. The plan requires approval by the state legislatures, but environmentalists are already hoping that other regions of the U.S. will follow suit. If adopted nationwide, the proposal would lower greenhou gas emissions by roughly as much as the Kyoto Protocol would have. Steve Howard, chief executive of the Climate Group, is tackling the global-warming problem from a different angle. Founded in 2004, the Climate Group is a coalition of corporations and local governments that have **mitted to reducing their greenhou gas emissions. Members include oil giant BP(British Petroleum Co. PLC), drug-maker Johnson & Johnson, and Starbucks. Business in the Climate Group have discovered that improvements in energy efficiency can enhance profits as well as cut fossil-fuel emissions; BP, for instance, slashed its energy bills by $650 million over 10 years. "We have en important evidence about successful emission reduction scattered here and there in the most surprising places all over the globe," Howard says. "We are working to bring all of it together so that it forms a body of evidence."
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6.
Inez Y. Fung has found in the study that
政治大纲
A the problem of global warming has attracted great attention.
B the earth cannot accommodate the mounting greenhou gas.
C the carbon dioxide is the **ponent of the greenhou gas.
D the oceans and continents are able to take in more gas.
7.
What does "carbon sinks"(Line 1, Paragraph 2)mean?
A The process of producing greenhou gas.
B The gradual process of land submersion.
C The absorbers of carbon dioxide.
D The process of forming **pounds.
8.
Which of the following is true of the reactions of authorities to the global warming?
A The government decides to rewrite the Kyoto Protocol.
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B Parts of the U.S. will follow the federal government"s advice.
C The U.S. has approved the new plan of gas emissions.
D Nine states in the U.S. will paddle their own canoe.
9.
It is suggested in the last paragraph that
A the government profited from the Climate Group"s gas emission reduction.
B energy ud more efficiently will bring benefits to economy as well as nature.
C energy bills should be slashed in order to maintain a low level of gas emission.
D the Climate Group is tackling the problem through accumulating strong evidence.
10.
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A The Climate Group"s Combat
B Less Fossil Fuels, More Plants
臀围C Clean Air and Blue Sky
D Protections for the Climate
In theory, a government bailout should provide a short-term infusion of cash to give a **pany the chance to right itlf. But in its aggressive dealings with U.S. automakers, most recently General Motors, the Obama administration is coming dangerously clo to engaging in financial engineering that ignores basic principles of fairness and economic realities to achieve political goals. It is now clear that there is no real difference between the government and GM. For all intents and purpos, the government, which is t to assume a 50 percent equity stake in **pany, is GM, and it has been calling the shots in negotiations with creditors. While the Obama administration has been playing hardball with bondholders, it has been more than happy to play nice with the United Auto Workers(UAW). How el to explain why a retiree health-care fund controlled by the UAW is going to get a 39 percent equity stake in GM for its remaining $10 billion in claims while bondholders are being pressured to take a 10 percent stake for their $27 billion? It"s highl
y unlikely that the auto industry professionals at GM would have reached such a deal if the government had not been watching them—or providing the money needed to keep the factory doors open. GM is widely expected to file for bankruptcy before the end of this month. If this were a typical bankruptcy, **pany would be allowedg by law to tear up its UAW collective bargaining agreement and negotiate for drastically reduced wages and benefits. Surely, the government won"t let that happen. Still, the threat of a contract abolition probably played a role in the union"s agreement to cost-cutting measures last week. It"s never easy for unions to make concessions, but the sting of handing back money is being softened by the government"s desire to give the union a huge ownership stake in GM. The administration argues that it could not risk alienating the union for fear of triggering a strike that could permanently cripple GM. It also assumes that it had to agree to protect suppliers and fund warranties in order to prerve jobs and reassure potential buyers that their cars would be rviced. The are legitimate concerns. But it"s too bad that the Obama administration has not thought more deeply about how its bullying of bondholders could convince future investors that the last thing they want to do is put money into **pany that the government has—or could—become involved in.
