2021湖南大学英语考试模拟卷（9）.docx

2021湖南大学英语考试模拟卷（9）本卷共分为1大题50小题，作答时间为180分钟，总分100分，60分及格。一、单项选择题（共50题，每题2分。每题的备选项中，只有一个最符合题意） 1.It may turn out that the "digital divide"-one of the most fashionable political slogans of recent years-is largely fiction. As you will recall, the argument went well beyond the unsurprising notion that the rich would own more computers than the poor. The disturbing part of the theory was that society was dividing itself into groups of technology "haves" and "have-nots" and that this segregation would, in turn, worsen already large economic inequalities. Its this argument thats either untrue or wildly exaggerated. We should always have been suspicious. After all, computers have spread quickly because theyve become cheaper to buy and more user-friendly. Falling prices and skill requirements suggest that the digital divide would spontaneously shrink-and so it has. The U.S. Census Bureaus latest survey of computer use reports narrowing gaps among different income and ethnic groups. In 1997, only 37% of Americans in families with incomes from $15,000 to $24,999 used computers. By September 2001, that proportion was 47%. Usage among families with incomes exceeding $75,000 rose more modestly, from 81% to 88%. Among all racial and ethnic groups, computer use is rising. Here are the numbers for 2001 compared with similar rates for 1997. The new figures confirm common sense: many computer skills arent especially high-tech or demanding. Now, a new study further discredits the digital divide. The study, by economists David Card of the University of California, Berkeley, and John DiNardo of the University of Michigan, challenges the notion that computers have significantly worsened wage inequality. The logic of how this supposedly happens is straightforward: computers raise the demand for high-skilled workers, increasing their wages. Meanwhile, computerization reduces the demand for low-skilled workers and, thereby, their wages. The gap between the two widens. Superficially, wage statistics support the theory. Consider the ratio between workers near the top of the wage distribution (at the 90th percentile ) and those near the bottom (at the 10th percentile). In 1999, the first earned $26.05 an hour and the second $6.05 an hour, reports the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. The ratio of the two-workers at the top compared with workers at the bottom-was 4.3 to 1. By contrast, the ratio in 1980 was only 3.7 to 1. Computerization increased; so did the wage gap. But wait, say Card and DiNardo. The trouble with blaming computers is that the worsening of inequality occurred primarily in the early 1980s. With computer use growing, the wage gap should have continued to expand, if it was being driven by a shifting demand for skills. Indeed, Card and DiNardo find much detailed evidence that contradicts the theory. They conclude that computerization doesnt explain "the rise in U.S. wage inequality in the last quarter of the 20th century".According to Card and DiNardo, the worsening of inequality is something _.Atypical of the current economic modelsBthat the rich should be responsible forCgetting worse because of computerizationDthat remains to be further understood 2.Once upon a time, innovation at Procter & Gamble flowed one way: from the United States outward. While the large Cincinnati based corporation was no stranger to foreign markets, it usually sold them products that were already familiar to most Americans. Many Japanese families, for instance, swaddle(用长布条缠包) their babies in Pampers diapers (尿布), and lots of Venezuelans brush their teeth with Crest. And of course company executives assumed Americans at home wanted these same familiar, red white and blue brands. We might buy foreign made cars, or chocolates, or cameras but household cleaners and detergents. Recently, however, P&G broke with this long-standing tradition. Ariel, a P&G laundry detergent, was born overseas, and is a familiar sight on store shelves in Europe and Latin America. Now bilingual packages of Ariel Ultra, a super concentrated cleaner, are appearing on supermarket shelves in Los Angeles. Ariels appearance in the United States reflects demographic changes making Hispanics(西班牙的) the nations fastest growing ethnic group. Ariel is a hit with this population. In fact, many Mexican immigrants living in Southern California have been "importing" Ariel from Tijuana, Mexico. "Hispanics knew this product and wanted it," says P&G spokeswoman Marie Salvado. "We realized that we couldnt convince them to buy our other laundry detergents." P&G hopes that non-Hispanic consumers will give Ariel a try too. Ariels already strong presence in Europe may provide a springboard for the company to expand other markets as well. Recently P&G bought Rakona, Czechoslovakias top detergent maker. Ariel, currently a top seller in Germany, is likely to be one of the first new brands to appear in Czech supermarkets. And Ariel is not the only foreign idea that the company hopes to transplant back to its home territory. Cinch, an all-purpose spray cleaner similar to popular European products, is currently being test-marketed in California and Arizona. Traditionally Americans have used separate cleaners for different types of surfaces, but market research shows that American preferences are becoming more like those in other countries. InsidersAccording to the passage, Procter & Gamble hopes to transplant foreign idea back to its home territory because _.AAmericans are more likely to buy foreign made products than beforeBfor most Americans foreign products are much more attractive than home made onesCthe company has found that foreign made products are superior to home made ones in terms of qualityDthe company has hired more foreigners in its top management than before 3.It may turn out that the "digital divide"-one of the most fashionable political slogans of recent years-is largely fiction. As you will recall, the argument went well beyond the unsurprising notion that the rich would own more computers than the poor. The disturbing part of the theory was that society was dividing itself into groups of technology "haves" and "have-nots" and that this segregation would, in turn, worsen already large economic inequalities. Its this argument thats either untrue or wildly exaggerated. We should always have been suspicious. After all, computers have spread quickly because theyve become cheaper to buy and more user-friendly. Falling prices and skill requirements suggest that the digital divide would spontaneously shrink-and so it has. The U.S. Census Bureaus latest survey of computer use reports narrowing gaps among different income and ethnic groups. In 1997, only 37% of Americans in families with incomes from $15,000 to $24,999 used computers. By September 2001, that proportion was 47%. Usage among families with incomes exceeding $75,000 rose more modestly, from 81% to 88%. Among all racial and ethnic groups, computer use is rising. Here are the numbers for 2001 compared with similar rates for 1997. The new figures confirm common sense: many computer skills arent especially high-tech or demanding. Now, a new study further discredits the digital divide. The study, by economists David Card of the University of California, Berkeley, and John DiNardo of the University of Michigan, challenges the notion that computers have significantly worsened wage inequality. The logic of how this supposedly happens is straightforward: computers raise the demand for high-skilled workers, increasing their wages. Meanwhile, computerization reduces the demand for low-skilled workers and, thereby, their wages. The gap between the two widens. Superficially, wage statistics support the theory. Consider the ratio between workers near the top of the wage distribution (at the 90th percentile ) and those near the bottom (at the 10th percentile). In 1999, the first earned $26.05 an hour and the second $6.05 an hour, reports the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. The ratio of the two-workers at the top compared with workers at the bottom-was 4.3 to 1. By contrast, the ratio in 1980 was only 3.7 to 1. Computerization increased; so did the wage gap. But wait, say Card and DiNardo. The trouble with blaming computers is that the worsening of inequality occurred primarily in the early 1980s. With computer use growing, the wage gap should have continued to expand, if it was being driven by a shifting demand for skills. Indeed, Card and DiNardo find much detailed evidence that contradicts the theory. They conclude that computerization doesnt explain "the rise in U.S. wage inequality in the last quarter of the 20th century".What is the passage mainly aboutAAnalyzing the U.S. Census Bureaus latest survey.BTracing the origins of economic inequalities.CDebunking the myths of the digital divide.DPerceiving computers impact on wages. 4.It is a tiny,flickering signal of an expensive problem looming for tens of millions of Americans: the cost of electricity for households in this southern Pennsylvania town soared this year by 31 percent, or an average of $24 a month. Like the nations highways and bridges, the network of transmission lines has not been maintained and expanded enough to meet growing demand, the United States Department of Energy says. In areas where there are not enough lines to transmit electricity from the most efficient generating stations, utilities must find other sources. Sometimes they have to buy from costlier power plants nearby, like drivers forced by highway bottlenecks onto slower side roads. The problem already affects about 40 million people from metropolitan New York to Virginia as well as 18 million in Southern Califomia. Similar but smaller price increases will hit New England, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Seattle-Portland and Phoenix-Tucson corridors until new transmission lines are built. These higher costs, known as congestion charges, added $5.7 million to the cost of electricity in Chambersburg this year, which the borough(区) has paid from a reserve fund rather than apply them directly to utility bills. Over all, the Energy Department estimates, congestion charges in 2008 will add $8 billion or solabout $40 a person-to electricity costs on the Eastern grid(输电网), which serves almost 200 million people east of the Rockies except for Texas. The department did not make an estimate for the Western grids. These congestion charges would raise electricity prices by about a nickel on the dollar if they were spread evenly, but in fact some customers pay far more and others pay nothing. Sometimes there is disagreement on how to measure congestion charges. The Energy Department estimates these charges for New York residents in the New York City area at almost $90 each last year, while the operators of the electricity network for the state say the cost was about $8. The extra charges could continue for years, because building new transmission lines can take at least a decade. The congested transmission network has frustrated the many that supported the opening of the electricity industry to competition a decade ago, hoping that prices would fall. Under the old system, regulated monopolies made and delivered power in their own area, with only small sales outside. The new system is intended to encourage a competitive business in which power is distributed over vast regional networks. But for electric prices to fall, the network must be able to move power from the lowest-cost plants to where it is needed, utility industry experts said. "Fully competitive markets and the tremendous added value that could be provided to customers have been stalled" by a transmission network that is too small and was not designed for competitive markets, three executives of National Grid, an electricity distribution company, wrote last year in the Electricity Journal.Which of the followings is the best title for the passageAGrid Limitations Increase Prices for Electricity.BThe Cost &Electricity for Households Soars.CUnfavored Congestion Charges in the U.S.DMore Transmission Lines Needed in the U.S 5.Hewlett-Packard has taken a big step toward laying official claim to the title of worlds biggest tech company. On Nov. 16 the Palo Alto (Calif.) company reported fourth-quarter earnings that, thanks to all its business units performing well, exceed the annual sales IBM is expected to post in its fourth quarter, which ends Dec. 31. "This has been a defining year for HP," a buoyant Chief Executive Mark Hurd told reporters during a conference call. Hurd was discussing fourth-quarter results that put to rest many of the questions that have dogged HP in recent years. For the past decade, investors and industry analysts have wondered whether the company had become too diverse to be manageable. For a lot of those years, nearly all of the companys profits came from its printer business-or more specifically, its hugely profitable ink cartridge business. But this quarter, all of the companys main businesses more than pulled their weightWhich of the following statements is TRUE about HPAIts earnings increase by 6% this year.BIts total sales are less than those of IBM this year.CIt earns $11.4 billion in cash this year.DIt has about $13 billion in cash this year. 6.Once upon a time, innovation at Procter & Gamble flowed one way: from the United States outward. While the large Cincinnati based corporation was no stranger to foreign markets, it usually sold them products that were already familiar to most Americans. Many Japanese families, for instance, swaddle(用长布条缠包) their babies in Pampers diapers (尿布), and lots of Venezuelans brush their teeth with Crest. And of course company executives assumed Americans at home wanted these same familiar, red white and blue brands. We might buy foreign made cars, or chocolates, or cameras but household cleaners and detergents. Recently, however, P&G broke with this long-standing tradition. Ariel, a P&G laundry detergent, was born overseas, and is a familiar sight on store shelves in Europe and Latin America. Now bilingual packages of Ariel Ultra, a super concentrated cleaner, are appearing on supermarket shelves in Los Angeles. Ariels appearance in the United States reflects demographic changes making Hispanics(西班牙的) the nations fastest growing ethnic group. Ariel is a hit with this population. In fact, many Mexican immigrants living in Southern California have been "importing" Ariel from Tijuana, Mexico. "Hispanics knew this product and wanted it," says P&G spokeswoman Marie Salvado. "We realized that we couldnt convince them to buy our other laundry detergents." P&G hopes that non-Hispanic consumers will give Ariel a try