2010年考研英语真题
Section I U of English
Directions:
Read the following text. Choo the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark [A], [B], [C] or [D] on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)
In 1924 American’ National Rearch Council nt to engineers to supervi a ries of industrial experiments at a large telephone-parts factory called the Hawthorne Plant near Chicago. It hoped they would learn how stop-floor lignting__1__workers productivity. Instead, the studies ended __2___giving their name to the “Hawthorne effect”, the extremely influential idea that the very___3____to being experimented upon changed subjects’ behavior.
The idea aro becau of the __4____behavior of the women in the Hawthorne plant. According to __5____of the experiments, their hourly output ro when lighting was incread, but also when it was dimmed. It did not __6____what was done in the experiment; ___7_someting was changed ,productivity ro. A(n)___8___that they were being experimented upon emed to be ____9___to alter workers’ behavior ____10____itlf.
悉尼奥运会歌曲
After veral decades, the same data were _11__ to econometric the analysis. Hawthorne experiments has another surpri store _12 __the descriptions on record, no systematic _13__ was found that levels of productivity were related to changes in lighting.
It turns out that peculiar way of conducting the experiments may be have let to__ 14__ interpretation of what happed.__ 15___ , lighting was always changed on a Sunday .When work started again on Monday, output __16___ ro compared with the previous Saturday and__ 17 __to ri for the next couple of days.__ 18__ , a comparison with data for weeks when there was no experimentation showed that output always went up on Monday, workers__ 19__ to be diligent for the first few days of the week in any ca , before __20 __a plateau and then slackening off. This suggests that the alleged” Hawthorne effect “ is hard to pin down.
1. [A] affected [B] achieved [C] extracted [D] restored
2. [A] at [B]up [C] with [D] off
3. [A]truth [B]sight [C] act [D] proof
人际关系技巧 4. [A] controversial [B] perplexing [C]mischievous [D] ambiguous
5. [A]requirements [B]explanations [C] accounts [D] asssments
天津形象设计学校 6. [A] conclude [B] matter [C] indicate [D] work
7. [A] as far as [B] for fear that [C] in ca that [D] so long as
8. [A] awareness [B] expectation [C] ntiment [D] illusion
9. [A] suitable [B] excessive [C] enough [D] abundant
10. [A] about [B] for [C] on [D] by
11. [A] compared [B]shown [C] subjected [D] conveyed
12. [A] contrary to [B] consistent with [C] parallel with [D] pealliar to
13. [A] evidence [B]guidance [C]implication [D]source
14. [A] disputable [B]enlightening [C]reliable [D]misleading
15. [A] In contrast [B] For example [C] In conquence [D] As usual
16. [A] duly [B]accidentally [C] unpredictably [D] suddenly
17. [A]failed [B]cead [C]started [D]continued
20. [A]breaking [B]climbing [C]surpassing [D]hiting
Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing [A], [B], [C] or [D]. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)
Text1
The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”, at Sotheby’s in London on September 15th 2008 (e picture). All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ā70m, a record for a sale by a si
ngle artist. It was a last hurrah. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy.
The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising vertiginously since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, a rearch firm—double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size becau it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.
In the weeks and months that followed Mr Hirst’s sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable, especially in New York, where the bail-out of the banks coincided with the loss of thousands of jobs and the financial demi of many art-buying investors. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated ctor—for Chine contemporary art—they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction hous, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.
The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japane stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989, a move that started the most rious contraction in the market since the cond world war. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile. But Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive, says: “I’m pretty confident we’re at the bottom.”
What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to ll. Christie’s revenues in the first half of 2009 were still higher than in the first half of 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to ll. The three Ds—death, debt and divorce—still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to ll is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.
21.In the first paragraph,Damien Hirst's sale was referred to as “a last victory”becau ____-.
A.the art market hadwitnesd a succession of victoryies
climax什么意思B.the auctioneer finally got the two pieces at the highest bids
初中英语词汇教学C.Beautiful Inside My Head Forever won over all masterpieces
D.it was successfully made just before the world financial crisis
22.By saying “spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”(Line 1-2,Para.3),the author suggests that_____ .
A . collectors were no longer actively involved in art-market auctions
B .people stopped every kind of spending and stayed away from galleries
C.art collection as a fashion had lost its appeal to a great extent
D .works of art in general had gone out of fashion so they were not worth buying
23.Which of the following statements is NOT ture?
A .Sales of contemporary art fell dramatically from 2007to 2008.
B.The art market surpasd many other industries in momentum.
C.The market generally went downward in various ways.
D.Some art dealers were awaiting better chances to come.
24.The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are ____
斡旋A.auction hous ' favorites
C.factors promoting artwork circulation
D.styles reprenting impressionists
25.The most appropriate title for this text could be ___
A.Fluctuation of Art Prices
B.Up-to-date Art Auctions
C.Art Market in Decline
D.Shifted Interest in Arts
Text 2动名词作宾语
Over the past decade, thousands of patents have been granted for what are called business methods. received one for its “one-click” online payment system. Merrill Lynch got legal protection for an ast 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 u a particular ca to conduct a broad review of business-method patents. In re Bilski , as the ca 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, becau it was the federal circuit itlf that introduced such patents with is 1998 decision in the so-called state Street Bank ca, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund asts. That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging internet companies trying to stake out exclusive pinhts 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 themlves with patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cas opposing the practice.
The Bilski ca involves a claimed patent on a method for hedging risk in the energy market. The Federal circuit issued an unusual order stating that the ca 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 ries of recent decisions by the supreme Count 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 Harole C.wegner, a partend attorney and professor at aeorge Washington University Law School.
james brolin
26. Business-method patents have recently aroud concern becau of
[A] their limited value to business
[B] their connection with ast allocation
[C] the possible restriction on their granting
[D] the controversy over authorization
27. Which of the following is true of the Bilski ca?
[A] Its ruling complies with the court decisions
[B] It involves a very big business transaction
[C] It has been dismisd by the Federal Circuit
[D] It may change the legal practices in the U.S.
28. The word “about-face” (Line 1, Paro 3) most probably means
[A] loss of good will
[B] increa of hostility
[C] change of attitude
[D] enhancement of dignity
29. We learn from the last two paragraphs that business-method patents
[A] are immune to legal challenges
[B] are often unnecessarily issued
[C] lower the esteem for patent holders
[D] increa the incidence of risks
30. Which of the following would be the subject of the text?
[A] A looming threat to business-method patents
[B] Protection for business-method patent holders
[C] A legal ca regarding business-method patents
[D] A prevailing trend against business-method patents
Text 3
In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Aladuell 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 suppod 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 el. Marketers have embraced the two-step flow becau it suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials, tho lected people will do most of the work for them. The theory also ems to explain the sudden and unexpected popularity of certain looks, brands, or neighborhoods. In many such cas, a cursory arch for caus finds that some small group of people was wearing, promoting, or developing whatever it is before anyone el paid attention. Anecdotal evidence of this kind fits nicely with the idea that only certain special p
eople can drive trends
In their recent work, however, some rearchers have come up with the finding that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally suppod. In fact, they don’t em to be required of all.
The rearchers’ argument stems from a simple obrving about social influence, with the exception of a few celebrities like Oprah Winfrey—who outsize prence 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 precily the non-celebrity influentials who, according to the two-step-flow theory, are suppod 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 the 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 rearchers 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 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 prence 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 expod 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 tonsation什么意思
[A]analyze the conquences of social epidemics
[B]discuss influentials’ function in spreading ideas
[C]exemplify people’s intuitive respon to social epidemics
[D]describe the esntial characteristics of influentials.
美食从天而降2
