2024年3月31日发(作者：)

2012年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题及答案

Section I Use of English

Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank

and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank

and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an

important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its legitimacy as guardian of the rule

of law _2_ justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in

ways that _3_ the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.

Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of

activity makes it less likely that the court’s decisions will be _4_ as impartial

judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At

the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to

the rest of the federal judiciary.

This and other similar cases _8_the question of whether there is still a

_9_between the court and politics.

The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart

from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to

_12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system

was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely

_14_.

Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in

fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social

policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably political-which is why decisions split

along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.

The justices must _18_ doubts about the court’s legitimacy by making

themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be

seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.

1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize

2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless

3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated

4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted

5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded

6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone

7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies

8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle

9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict

10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards

11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though

12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace

13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer

14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied

15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions

16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls

17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted

18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore

19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable

20. [A]by all mesns [B]atall costs [C]in a word [D]as a result

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)

Text 1

Come on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and

half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It

usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join

the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force

through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the

power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the

word.

Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the

social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program

called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa,

an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote

safe sex among their peers.

The idea seems promising，and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her

critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to

mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed

understanding of psychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!”

pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among

teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues

convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers,

so skilled at applying peer pressure.

But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less

persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough

exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so

powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it

doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state

funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is

limited and mixed.

There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our

behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well

as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication.

This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we

see every day.

Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can

select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the

teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with

better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem

with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we

insist on choosing our own friends.

21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as

[A] a supplement to the social cure

[B] a stimulus to group dynamics

[C] an obstacle to school progress

[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors

22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should

[A] recruit professional advertisers

[B] learn from advertisers’ experience

[C] stay away from commercial advertisers

[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements

23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to

[A] adequately probe social and biological factors

[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure

[C] illustrate the functions of state funding

[D]produce a long-lasting social effect

24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors

[A] is harmful to our networks of friends

[B] will mislead behavioral studies

[C] occurs without our realizing it

[D] can produce negative health habits

25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure

is

[A] harmful

[B] desirable

[C] profound

[D] questionable

Text 2

A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a

major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last

week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide

by the strict nuclear regulations.

Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would

not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part

of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’

s a stunning move.

The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought

Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of

receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from

state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further,

requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont

legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.

Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply

didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial

collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe

system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety

and Entergy’s management– especially after the company made misleading

statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate

voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.

Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid

because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has

regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure:

whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory

authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a

precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid

concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its

own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.

The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is

already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state.

But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic

trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear

station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for

federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep

it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.

26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line .1) is closest in meaning to

[A] condemning.

[B] reaffirming.

[C] dishonoring.

[D] securing.

27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to

[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.

[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.

[C] acquire an extension of its business license .

[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.

28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its

[A] managerial practices.

[B] technical innovativeness.

[C] financial goals.

[D] business vision

29. In the author’s view, the Vermont case will test

[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.

[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.

[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .

[D] the limits of states’ power over nuclear issues.

30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that

[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.

[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.

[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.

[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.

Text 3

In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are

waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the

scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science,

discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be

objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior

knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our

experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for

misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.

Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar

to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective

scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery.

This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here,

now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective

knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.

Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual

credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what

happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community,

researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by

controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit

their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the

new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works

it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and

competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an

individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.

Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work

tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as

incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation

of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not

surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear

to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential

modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently

provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once

described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what

nobody has thought.” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling

others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are

required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.

In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim – a process that

corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of

the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s

reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”

31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized

by its

[A] uncertainty and complexity.

[B] misconception and deceptiveness.

[C] logicality and objectivity.

[D] systematicness and regularity.

32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires

[A] strict inspection.

[B]shared efforts.

[C] individual wisdom.

[D]persistent innovation.

aph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it

[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.

[B]has been examined by the scientific community.

[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.

[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.

34. Albert Szent-Györgyi would most likely agree that