考研英语阅读理解标准90篇+提高30篇Unit-1912926.pdf
学英语 找长喜 1 Unit 19 A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.一知半解，自欺欺人。学习内容 题 材 词 数 建议时间 得分统计 做题备忘 Part A Text 1 科普知识 419 /10 Text 2 科普知识 422 /10 Text 3 商业经济 462 /10 Text 4 社会生活 469 /10 Part B 科普知识 524 /10 Part C 文化教育 446 /10 Part A Directions：Read the following texts.Answer the questions blow each text by choosing A,B,C or D.Text 1 Every profession or trade,every art,and every science has its technical vocabulary,the function of which is partly to refer to things or processes which have no names in ordinary English,and partly to secure greater exactness in nomenclature.Such special dialects,or jargon,are necessary in technical discussion of any kind.Being universally understood by the devotees of the particular science or art,they have the precision of a mathematical formula.Besides,they save time,for it is much more economical to name a process than to describe it.Thousands of these technical terms are very properly included in every large dictionary,yet,as a whole,they are rather on the outskirts of the English language than actually within its borders.Different occupations,however,differ widely in the character of their special vocabularies.In trades and handicrafts and other occupations,such as farming and fishing,that have occupied great numbers of men from remote times,the technical vocabulary is very old.It consists largely of native words,or of borrowed words that have worked themselves into the very fiber of our language.Hence,though highly technical in many particulars,these vocabularies are more familiar in sound,and more generally understood than most other technicalities.The special dialects of law,medicine,divinity,and philosophy have also,in their older strata,become pretty familiar to cultivated persons,and have contributed much to the popular vocabulary.Yet,every vocation still possesses a large body of technical terms that remain essentially foreign,even to educated speech.And the proportion has been much increased in the last fifty years,particularly in the various departments of natural and political sciences and in the mechanic arts.Hence new terms are coined with the greatest freedom,and abandoned with indifference when they have served their turn.Most of the new coinages are confined to special discussions and seldom get into general literature or conversation.Yet no profession is nowadays,as all profession once were,a closed guild.The lawyer,the physician,the man of science,and the cleric associate freely with his fellow creatures,and does not meet them in a merely professional way.Furthermore,what is called popular science makes everybody acquainted with modern views and recent discoveries.Any important experiment,though made in a remote or provincial 学英语 找长喜 2 laboratory,is at once reported in the newspapers,and everybody is soon talking about it as in the case of the Roentgen rays and wireless telegraphy.Thus,our common speech is always taking up new technical terms and making them commonplace.1.The last sentences in paragraph 1 shows that technical terms A are used in the urban areas.B are used in the rural areas.C are not the core of common speech.D are not understood by common people.2.What can be inferred from paragraph 2 and 3?A Technical terms from remote times are too old for us to understand today.B Special dialects of law,medicine and so on are restricted to cultivated people C The words of the English language have changed a lot in the last fifty years.D One can never be sure what a word means without consulting an expert.3.The sentence“Yet no professionsclosed guilds”means that A it is much easier to become a professional today than it was.B there is more communication between professionals and others.C popular science has told her secrets to the world.D anyone can now understand anything in a profession.4.Roentgen rays and wireless telegraphy are mentioned to show A rapid occurrence of jargon.B rapid disappearance of jargon.C precision of jargon in meaning.D popular familiarity with jargon.5.Whats the authors main purpose in writing this text?A to describe a phenomenon.B to argue about a belief.C to propose a solution.D to stimulate an action.Text 2 Computer programmers often remark that computers,with a perfect lack of discrimination,will do any foolish thing they are told to do.The reason for this lies,of course,in the narrow fixation of the computers“intelligence”on the details of its own perceptions and in its inability to be guided by any large context.In a psychological description of the computer intelligence,three related adjectives come to mind:single-minded,literal-minded,and simple-minded.Recognizing this,we should at the same time recognize that this single-mindedness,literal-mindedness,and simple-mindedness also characterizes theoretical mathematics,though to a lesser extent.Since science tries to deal with reality,even the most precise sciences normally work with more or less imperfectly understood approximations toward which scientists must maintain an appropriate skepticism.Thus,for instance,mathematicians may be surprised to learn that the Sehrodinger equation for the hydrogen atom is not a literally correct description of this atom but only an approximation to a somewhat more correct equation which takes account of spin,magnetic dipole,and relativistic effects.They may also be shocked to see this corrected equation is itself only an imperfect approximation to an infinite set of quantum field theoretical equations.Physicists,looking at the original Sehrodinger equation,learn to sense in it the presence of many invisible terms in addition to the differential terms visible,and this sense inspires an entirely appropriate disregard for the purely technical features of the equation.This very healthy skepticism is foreign to the mathematical approach.学英语 找长喜 3 Mathematics must deal with well-defined situations.Thus,mathematicians depend on an intellectual effort outside of mathematics for the crucial specification of the approximation that mathematics is to take literally.Give mathematicians a situation that is the least bit ill-defined,and they will make it well-defined,perhaps appropriately,but perhaps inappropriately.In some cases,the mathematicians literal-mindedness may have unfortunate consequences.The mathematicians turn the scientists theoretical assumptions,that is,their convenient points of analytical emphasis into axioms,and then take these axioms literally.This brings the danger that they may also persuade the scientists to take these axioms literally.The question,central to the scientific investigation but intensely disturbing in the mathematical contextwhat happens if the axioms are relaxed?is thereby ignored.The physicist rightly dreads precise argument,since an argument that is convincing only if it is precise loses all its force if the assumptions on which it is based are slightly changed,whereas an argument that is convincing though imprecise may well be stable under small disturbances of its underlying assumptions.6.The author discusses computers in the first paragraph primarily in order to A prove that computers carry out tasks in a mechanical way.B discuss computers from the psychological terms to explain its features.C compare the work of mathematicians with that of computer programmers.D illustrate his views about the approach of mathematicians to problem solving.7.Scientists are skeptical toward their equations because they A are unable to express their data in terms of multiple variables.B know well-defined problems are often the most difficult to solve.C work to explain real,rather than theoretical or simplified situations.D are unable to accept mathematical explanations of natural phenomena.8.The author suggests that the approach of physicists to solving scientific problems is A harmful to scientific progress.B practical for scientific purposes.C effective,but rarely recognized as such.D helpful,but of little long-term value.9.Why do mathematicians present a danger to scientists?A Scientists may come to believe that axiomatic statements are untrue.B Scientists may begin to provide imprecise but convincing arguments.C Mathematicians may convince scientists that theoretical assumptions are facts.D Scientists may define situations in an incomprehensible way to mathematicians.10.From the last paragraph,the assumption made by scientists about scientific arguments is that A the premises on which the arguments are based may change.B the arguments probably will be convincing only to other scientists.C the conclusions of the arguments do not necessarily follow from their premises.D the arguments necessarily ignore the central question of scientific investigation.Text 3 There he wasAmericas first president with a MBA,the man who loves to boast about his business background,whose presidential campaign raised unprecedented sums from corporate 学英语 找长喜 4 wallets and whose cabinet is stuffed with chief executivesstanding before 700 pinstriped titans in a New York hotel ballroom,dressing them down.Faith in the integrity of American business leaders was being undermined,George Bush said fiercely,by executives“breaching trust and abusing power”.It was time for“a new ethic of personal responsibility in the business community”.He was going to“end the days of cooking the books,shading the truth and breaking our laws”Only months ago,the idea that Mr.Bush would publicly lambaste Americas corporate bosses was laughable.As a candidate,borne on the wave of a decade-long economic boom and an unprecedented 18-year bull market,he cashed in on Americans love affair with corporate success.But things are different now.The stock market bubble has burst and,despite signs of economic recovery,Wall Street seems to be sunk in gloom.A string of scandals at some of Americas most high-flying firmsincluding Enron,Xerox,Tyco,Global Crossing and most recently,World Com.has radically changed the public mood.As political pressure for reform increases,so too does the heart on Mr.Bush.Is the businessmans president really prepared to take business on and push hard for reform?Despite the set jaw and aggrieved tone in Now York,probably not.Mr.Bush thinks the current crisis stems from a few bad-apple chief executives rather than the system as a whole.Hence his focus on tough penalties for corrupt businessmen and his plea for higher ethical standards.The president announced the creation of a“financial-crimes SWAT team”at the Justice Department to root out corporate fraud,and wants to double the maximum prison sentence for financial fraud from five to ten years.But he offered few concrete suggestions for systemic reform:little mention of changes to strengthen shareholders rights,not even an endorsement of the Senate corporate-reform bill.There are few signs yet that cleaning up corporate America is an issue that animates the voters.Polls show that Americans have little faith in their business leaders,but politicians do not seem to be suffering as a result.Mr.Bushs approval ratings have fallen from their sky-highs,but they are still very strong.The president,therefore,need do no more than talk tough.This alone will convince ordinary Americans that he is on top of the issue.As the economy rebounds and public outage subsides,the clamor for change will quieten.Democratic attacks will fizzle,and far-reaching reform bills will be watered down before they become law.Politically,the gamble makes sense.Unfortunately for American capitalism,a great opportunity will be missed.11.Which of the following is true according to the first two paragraphs?A Mr.Bush has taken tough action to prohibit cooking the books.B Mr.Bush contributed a lot to a decade-long economic boom.C Because of economic recovery,the public pick up faith in the business leaders.D Mr.Bush got unprecedented support in his presidential campaign.12.We can infer from the third paragraph that A Mr.Bush didnt intend to take business on and push hard for reform.B Mr.Bush did not do anything at all in the presence of the current situation.C Mr.Bush took shareholders rights into account,but he didnt approve the reform bill.D Mr.Bush took some measures to pave the way for the reform.13.On which of the following statements would the author most probably agree?A Mr.Bush had to offer concrete suggestions for reform as political pressure increases.学英语 找长喜 5 B At present,the maximum prison sentence for financial fraud is five years.C It is laughable that Mr.Bush publicly attacked Americas corporate bosses.D Americans have little faith in their business as well as political leaders.14.The phrase“a great opportunity”mentioned in the last paragraph refers to A an opportunity to carry out reform.B an opportunity to boom economy.C an opportunity to animate the voters.D an opportunity to attack chief executives.15.What is the authors attitude towards the reform?A Indifferent.B Optimistic.C Skeptical.D Favorable.Text 4 The simple act of surrendering a telephone number to a store clerk may seem innocuousso much so that many consumers do it with no questions asked.Yet that one action can set in motion a cascade of silent events,as that data point is acquired,analyzed,categorized,stored and sold over and over again.Future attacks on your privacy may come from anywhere,from anyone with money to purchase that phone number you surrendered.If you doubt the multiplier effect,consider your e-mail inbox.If its loaded with spam,its undoubtedly because at some point in time you unknowingly surrendered your e-mail to the wrong Web site.Do you think your telephone number or address are handled differently?A cottage industry of small companies with names youve probably never heard oflike Acxiom or Merlinbuy and sell your personal information the way other commodities like corn or cattle futures are bartered.You may think your cell phone is unlisted,but if youve ever ordered a pizza,it might not be.Merlin is one of many commercial data brokers that advertises sale of unlisted phone numbers compiled from various sourcesincluding pizza delivery companies.These unintended,unpredictable consequences that flow from simple actions make privacy issues difficult to grasp,and grapple with.In a larger sense,privacy also is often cast as a tale of“Big Brother”the government is watching you or a big corporation is watching you.But privacy issues dont necessarily involve large faceless institutions.A spouse takes a casual glance at her husbands Blackberry,a co-worker looks at e-mail over your shoulder or a friend glances at a cell phone text message from the next seat on the bus.While very little of this is news to anyonepeople are now well aware there are video cameras and Internet cookies everywherethere is abundant evidence that people live their lives ignorant of the monitoring,assuming a mythical level of privacy.People write e-mails and type instant messages they never expect anyone to see.Just ask Mark Foley or even Bill Gates,whose e-mails were a cornerstone of the Justice De
