2017年考研英語二閱讀理解

Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions：Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

Text 1

Every Saturday morning, at 9 am, more than 50,000 runners set off to run 5km around their local park. The Parkrun phenomenon began with a dozen friends and has inspired 400 events in the UK and more abroad. Events are free, staffed by thousands of volunteers. Runners range from four years old to grandparents; their times range from Andrew Baddeley’s world record 13 minutes 48 seconds up to an hour.

Parkrun is succeeding where London’s Olympic “l(fā)egacy” is failing. Ten years ago on Monday, it was announced that the Games of the 30th Olympiad would be in London. Planning documents pledged that the great legacy of the Games would be to level a nation of sport lovers away from their couches。 The population would be fitter, healthier and produce more winners. It has not happened. The number of adults doing weekly sport did rise, by nearly 2 million in the run—up to 2012—but the general population was growing faster. Worse, the numbers are now falling at an accelerating rate. The opposition claims primary school pupils doing at least two hours of sport a week have nearly halved. Obesity has risen among adults and children. Official retrospections continue as to why London 2012 failed to “inspire a generation.” The success of Parkrun offers answers。

Parkun is not a race but a time trial: Your only competitor is the clock. The ethos welcomes anybody. There is as much joy over a puffed-out first-timer being clapped over the line as there is about top talent shining. The Olympic bidders, by contrast, wanted to get more people doing sports and to produce more elite athletes. The dual aim was mixed up: The stress on success over taking part was intimidating for newcomers.

Indeed, there is something a little absurd in the state getting involved in the planning of such a fundamentally “grassroots”, concept as community sports associations. If there is a role for government, it should really be getting involved in providing common goods—making sure there is space for playing fields and the money to pave tennis and netball courts, and encouraging the provision of all these activities in schools. But successive governments have presided over selling green spaces, squeezing money from local authorities and declining attention on sport in education。 Instead of wordy, worthy strategies, future governments need to do more to provide the conditions for sport to thrive. Or at least not make them worse.

1.According to Paragraph1, Parkrun has______.

[A] gained great popularity

[B] created many jobs

[C] strengthened community ties

[D] become an official festival

【答案】A

【解析】答案為A。通過題干可以定位在第一段，可以通過，每天超過五萬人跑步、引發(fā)了400場(chǎng)運(yùn)動(dòng)在英國和在國外等信息得知，公園跑很受歡迎。

2.The author believes that London’s Olympic “l(fā)egacy” has failed to______.

[A] boost population growth

[B] promote sport participation

[C] improve the city’s image

[D] increase sport hours in schools

【答案】B

【解析】答案為B。通過題干倫敦和奧林匹克遺產(chǎn)可以定位到第二段，題目問的是倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)的遺產(chǎn)沒有做成什么事，題干中的failed to可以對(duì)應(yīng)第二段即使看到了failing，但并沒有答案。再往下看，倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)承諾，人口將會(huì)更健康、更多冠軍，但這并沒有發(fā)生，not happed才真正對(duì)應(yīng)failed to.

3.Parkrun is different from Olympic games in that it______.

[A] aims at discovering talents

[B] focuses on mass competition

[C] does not emphasize elitism

[D] does not attract first-timers

【答案】C

【解析】答案為C。這道題定位在第三段的中間，奧林匹克的倡導(dǎo)者相反，想要更多的參與運(yùn)動(dòng)創(chuàng)造更多的精英。

4.With regard to mass sport, the author holds that governments should______.

[A] organize “grassroots” sports events

[B] supervise local sports associations

[C] increase funds for sports clubs

[D] invest in public sports facilities

【答案】D

【解析】答案為D。提到大眾體育，作者認(rèn)為政府應(yīng)該投資公共的體育設(shè)施。政府在第四段的中間，講到政府應(yīng)該訓(xùn)練的空間、用錢去鋪設(shè)網(wǎng)球場(chǎng)。這里是答案的同意轉(zhuǎn)換。

5.The author’s attitude to what UK governments have done for sports is______.

[A] tolerant

[B] critical

[C] uncertain

[D] sympathetic

【答案】B

【解析】答案為B。最后一段but轉(zhuǎn)折后說，繼任的政府賣綠地、減少本地政府的預(yù)算同時(shí)減少在體育方面的關(guān)注度，所以持批判態(tài)度。

Text 2

With so much focus on children's use of screens, it's easy for parents to forget about their own screen use. “Tech is designed to really suck on you in,” says Jenny Radesky in her study of digital play, “and digital products are there to promote maximal engagement. It makes it hard to disengage, and leads to a lot of bleed-over into the family routine.”

Radesky has studied the use of mobile phones and tablets at mealtimes by giving mother-child pairs a food-testing exercise. She found that mothers who sued devices during the exercise started 20 percent fewer verbal and 39 percent fewer nonverbal interactions with their children. During a separate observation, she saw that phones became a source of tension in the family. Parents would be looking at their emails while the children would be making excited bids for their attention.

Infants are wired to look at parents' faces to try to understand their world, and if those faces are blank and unresponsive — as they often are when absorbed in a device — it can be extremely disconcerting foe the children. Radesky cites the “still face experiment” devised by developmental psychologist Ed Tronick in the 1970s. In it, a mother is asked to interact with her child in a normal way before putting on a blank expression and not giving them any visual social feedback; The child becomes increasingly distressed as she tries to capture her mother's attention. “Parents don't have to be exquisitely parents at all times, but there needs to be a balance and parents need to be responsive and sensitive to a child's verbal or nonverbal expressions of an emotional need,” says Radesky.

On the other hand, Tronick himself is concerned that the worries about kids' use of screens are born out of an "oppressive ideology that demands that parents should always be interacting" with their children: “It's based on a somewhat fantasized, very white, very upper-middle-class ideology that says if you're failing to expose your child to 30,000 words you are neglecting them.” Tronick believes that just because a child isn't learning from the screen doesn't mean there's no value to it—particularly if it gives parents time to have a shower, do housework or simply have a break from their child. Parents, he says, can get a lot out of using their devices to speak to a friend or get some work out of the way. This can make them feel happier, which lets then be more available to their child the rest of the time.

26. According to Jenny Radesky, digital products are designed to ______.

[A]simplify routine matters

[B]absorb user attention

[C]better interpersonal relations

[D]increase work efficiency

【答案】B

【解析】答案為B。細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)題原文第一段“……digital products are there to promote maximal engagement.”可知，B選項(xiàng)中absorb和promote對(duì)應(yīng)，user attention和engagement 對(duì)應(yīng)。

27. Radesky's food-testing exercise shows that mothers' use of devices ______.

[A]takes away babies' appetite

[B]distracts children's attention

[C]slows down babies' verbal development

[D]reduces mother-child communication

【答案】D

【解析】答案為D。細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)原文第二段“She found that mothers who sued devices during the exercise started 20 percent fewer verbal and 39 percent fewer nonverbal interactions with their children.” 可知，D選項(xiàng)中reduce communication和started fewer verbal and fewer nonverbal interactions對(duì)應(yīng)。

28. Radesky's cites the "still face experiment" to show that _______.

[A]it is easy for children to get used to blank expressions

[B]verbal expressions are unnecessary for emotional exchange

[C]children are insensitive to changes in their parents' mood

[D]parents need to respond to children's emotional needs

【答案】D

【解析】答案為D。例證題。根據(jù)原文第三段“……there needs to be a balance and parents need to be responsive and sensitive to a child's verbal or nonverbal expressions of an emotional need” 可知，D選項(xiàng)中need to respond to children' s emotional needs和本句同意替換。因此D選項(xiàng)是正確選項(xiàng)。

29. The oppressive ideology mentioned by Tronick requires parents to_______.

[A]protect kids from exposure to wild fantasies

[B]teach their kids at least 30,000 words a year

[C]ensure constant interaction with their children

[D]remain concerned about kid's use of screens

【答案】C

【解析】答案為C。細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)原文第四段“……oppressive ideology that demands that parents should always be interacting with their children.”可知，C選項(xiàng)中constant interaction 與always be interacting 同義替換，因此C選項(xiàng)是正確選項(xiàng)。

30. According to Tronick, kid's use of screens may_______.

[A]give their parents some free time

[B]make their parents more creative

[C]help them with their homework

[D]help them become more attentive

【答案】A

【解析】答案為A。細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)原文第四段“……particularly if it gives parents time to have a shower, do housework or simply have a break from their child.”可知，A選項(xiàng)give their parents some free time和gives parents time 同義替換。

Text 3

Today, widespread social pressure to immediately go to college in conjunction with increasingly high expectations in a fast-moving world often causes students to completely overlook the possibility of taking a gap year. After all, if everyone you know is going to college in the fall, it seems silly to stay back a year, doesn't it? And after going to school for 12 years, it doesn't feel natural to spend a year doing something that isn't academic.

But while this may be true, it's not a good enough reason to condemn gap years. There's always a constant fear of falling behind everyone else on the socially perpetuated "race to the finish line," whether that be toward graduate school, medical school or lucrative career. But despite common misconceptions, a gap year does not hinder the success of academic pursuits-in fact, it probably enhances it.

Studies from the United States and Australia show that students who take a gap year are generally better prepared for and perform better in college than those who do not. Rather than pulling students back, a gap year pushes them ahead by preparing them for independence, new responsibilities and environmental changes-all things that first-year students often struggle with the most. Gap year experiences can lessen the blow when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on academics and activities rather than acclimation blunders.

If you're not convinced of the inherent value in taking a year off to explore interests, then consider its financial impact on future academic choices. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 80 percent of college students end up changing their majors at least once. This isn’t surprising, considering the basic mandatory high school curriculum leaves students with a poor understanding of themselves listing one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but depending on the school, it can be costly to make up credits after switching too late in the game. At Boston College, for example, you would have to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initially can help prevent stress and save money later on.

31. One of the reasons for high-school graduates not taking a gap year is that_____.

[A]they think it academically misleading

[B]they have a lot of fun to expect in college

[C]it feels strange to do differently from others

[D]it seems worthless to take off-campus courses

【答案】C

【解析】答案為C。細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)原文第一段第二句話“After all, if everyone you know is going to college in the fall, it seems silly to stay back a year, doesn’t it?”可知，本句用反問的形式表達(dá)了原因之一在于他們不想和其他人不同。所以C正確。

32. Studies from the US and Australia imply that taking a gap year helps_____.

[A]keep students from being unrealistic

[B]lower risks in choosing careers

[C]ease freshmen's financial burdens

[D]relieve freshmen of pressures

【答案】D

【解析】答案為D。細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)原文第三段的第二句話“Rather than pulling students back, a gap year pushes them ahead by preparing them for independence, new responsibilities and environmental changes—all things that first-year students often struggle with the most.”可知，此句中pushes them ahead by preparing them for...與D選項(xiàng) relieve freshmen of 進(jìn)行同義改寫。often struggle with the most對(duì)應(yīng)的是本句中的Pressure，first-years students 對(duì)應(yīng)freshmen。D選項(xiàng)全方位替換。

33. The word "acclimation" (Line 8, Para. 3) is closest in meaning to_____.

[A]adaptation

[B]application

[C]motivation

[D]competition

【答案】A

【解析】答案為A。詞義題。根據(jù)原文第三段最后一句話“Gap year experiences can lessen the blow when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on academics and activities rather than acclimation blunders.”可知，當(dāng)談到適應(yīng)大學(xué)生活并且很快融入到一個(gè)全新的環(huán)境這個(gè)問題時(shí)，擁有空檔年方面的經(jīng)驗(yàn)可以減少相關(guān)的打擊，這就使得專注去學(xué)習(xí)并且參與活動(dòng)而不是______更容易。各選項(xiàng)代入，A最符合語義，和前面的adjusting to形成復(fù)現(xiàn)。

34. A gap year may save money for students by helping them_____.

[A]avoid academic failures

[B]establish long-term goals

[C]switch to another college

[D]decide on the right major

【答案】D

【解析】答案為D。細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)原文第四段第一句和第三句話“If you’re not convinced of the inherent value in taking a year off to explore interests, then consider its financial impact on future academic choices.”可知，本句中financial impact與題干中的money 相對(duì)應(yīng)，順沿看后面的信息第三句“This isn’t surprising, considering the basic mandatory high school curriculum leaves students with a poor understanding of themselves listing one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes.”可知，學(xué)生在確定專業(yè)時(shí)會(huì)有困難。綜合前后語義，可知 D正確。

35. The most suitable title for this text would be_____.

[A]In Favor of the Gap Year

[B]The ABCs of the Gap Year

[C]The Gap Year Comes Back

[D]The Gap Year: A Dilemma

【答案】A

【解析】答案為A。主旨題。本文開篇通過學(xué)生對(duì)于空檔年的看法——不接受，引出文章的主題詞the Gap Year。第二段通過BUT作為轉(zhuǎn)折，引出作者的態(tài)度，提到空檔年的各種好處，可以幫助新生緩解壓力，可以幫助學(xué)生確定專業(yè)以減少經(jīng)濟(jì)上的一些損失，由此可見，作者是支持、贊成的態(tài)度。所以A選項(xiàng)正確。

Text 4

Though often viewed as a problem for western states, the growing frequency of wildfires is a national concern because of its impact on federal tax dollars, says Professor Max Moritz, a specialist in fire ecology and management.

In 2015, the US Forest Service for the first time spent more than half of its $5.5 billion annual budget fighting fires-nearly double the percentage it spent on such efforts 20 years ago. In effect, fewer federal funds today are going towards the agency's other work-such as forest conservation, watershed and cultural resources management, and infrastructure upkeep-that affect the lives of all Americans.

Another nationwide concern is whether public funds from other agencies are going into construction in fire-prone districts. As Moritz puts it, how often are federal dollars building homes that are likely to be lost to a wildfire?

“It's already a huge problem from a public expenditure perspective for the whole country,” he says. We need to take a magnifying glass to that. Like, “Wait a minute, is this OK?” “Do we want instead to redirect those funds to concentrate on lower-hazard parts of the landscape?”

Such a view would require a corresponding shift in the way US society today views fire, researchers say.

For one thing, conversations about wildfires need to be more inclusive. Over the past decade, the focus has been on climate change-how the warming of the Earth from greenhouse gases is leading to conditions that worsen fires.

While climate is a key element, Moritz says, it shouldn't come at the expense of the rest of the equation.

“The human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked, and the interactions go both ways,” he says. Failing to recognize that, he notes, leads to “an overly simplified view of what the solutions might be. Our perception of the problem and of what the solution is becomes very limited.”

At the same time, people continue to treat fire as an event that needs to be wholly controlled and unleashed only out of necessity, says Professor Balch at the University of Colorado. But acknowledging fire's inevitable presence in human life is an attitude crucial to developing the laws, policies, and practices that make it as safe as possible, she says.

“We've disconnected ourselves from living with fire,” Balch says. “It is really important to understand and try and tease out what is the human connection with fire today.”

36.More frequent wildfires have become a national concern because in 2015 they_____.

[A]exhausted unprecedented management efforts

[B]consumed a record-high percentage of budget

[C]severely damaged the ecology of western states

[D]caused a huge rise of infrastructure expenditure

【答案】B

【解析】答案為B。細(xì)節(jié)題，根據(jù)原文第二段“In 2015, the US Forest Service for the first time spent more than half of its $5.5 billion annual budget fighting fires—nearly double the percentage it spent on such efforts 20 years ago.”可知，B選項(xiàng)中a record-high percentage of budget與nearly double the percentage it spent on such efforts 20 years ago對(duì)應(yīng)，因此B選項(xiàng)是正確選項(xiàng)。

37.Moritz calls for the use of “a magnifying glass” to _____.

[A]raise more funds for fire-prone areas

[B]avoid the redirection of federal money

[C]find wildfire-free parts of the landscape

[D]guarantee safer spending of public funds

【答案】D

【解析】答案為D。細(xì)節(jié)題，根據(jù)原文第四We need to take a magnifying glass to that. Like, “Wait a minute, is this OK?” “Do we want instead to redirect those funds to concentrate on lower-hazard parts of the landscape?”可知，選項(xiàng)D guarantee safer spending of public funds是本句的同義替換，因此D選項(xiàng)是正確選項(xiàng)。

38.While admitting that climate is a key element, Moritz notes that _____.

[A]public debates have not settled yet

[B]fire-fighting conditions are improving

[C]other factors should not be overlooked

[D]a shift in the view of fire has taken place

【答案】C

【解析】答案為C。細(xì)節(jié)題，根據(jù)原文第七段“While climate is a key element, Moritz says, it shouldn’t come at the expense of the rest of the equation.”可知，選項(xiàng)C other factors should not be overlooked 是對(duì)本句的同義替換，因此選項(xiàng)C是正確選項(xiàng)。

39.The overly simplified view Moritz mentions is a result of failing to _____.

[A]discover the fundamental makeup of nature

[B]explore the mechanism of the human systems

[C]maximize the role of landscape in human life

[D]understand the interrelations of man and nature

【答案】D

【解析】答案為D。細(xì)節(jié)題，根據(jù)原文第八段：“The human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked, and the interactions go both ways,” he says. Failing to recognize that, he notes, leads to “an overly simplified view of what the solutions might be,……”可知，選項(xiàng)D中 the interrelations of man and nature和The human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked對(duì)應(yīng)，因此選項(xiàng)D是正確選項(xiàng)。

40.Professor Balch points out that fire is something man should _____.

[A]do away with

[B]come to terms with

[C]pay a price for

[D]keep away from

【答案】B

【解析】答案為B。細(xì)節(jié)題，根據(jù)原文第九段“But acknowledging fire’s inevitable presence in human life is an attitude crucial to developing the laws, policies, and practices that make it as safe as possible,”可知，選項(xiàng)B come to terms with是本句的同義替換，因此選項(xiàng)B 是正確選項(xiàng)。

【試題點(diǎn)評(píng)】今年四篇文章難度一般。在我們整體的考研閱讀當(dāng)中，所需要具備的一個(gè)最重要的能力就是如何去看到題目之后，定準(zhǔn)了位，并且找到那個(gè)我們真正應(yīng)該找到的位置，在四個(gè)選項(xiàng)當(dāng)中去找意思的原文最匹配的選項(xiàng)。具體相關(guān)考點(diǎn)和解題思路在考研教育網(wǎng)強(qiáng)化階段英語強(qiáng)化班閱讀理解部分有重點(diǎn)講解。