2014年5月北京学位英语试题及答案—阅读理解解析

北京地区成人本科学士学位英语统一考试

2014.05.10

Part I Reading Comprehension (30%)

Directions: There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or

unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should

decide on the best choice and blacken the corresponding letter m the Answer Sheet.

Passage 1

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

The first year of school in America, known as kindergarten, usually begins between

the ages of five and six. Among rich countries such a late start is very strange.

President Obama believes it is an economic and social problem; his education

secretary goes as far as to say that it is "morally wrong". This statement has some

support, as it is clear from research into vocabulary that youngsters from poor families

enter kindergarten well behind those from rich families—a disadvantage that usually

lasts a lifetime. Children from households on welfare knew 525 words by the age of

three, while the children of professionals had mastered 1,116.

(76) can help close this gap. So in a speech last month, Mr, Obama called

for a partnership between the federal government and the states to expand it to every

American child. It later became known that "every" meant those who come from

families with incomes of up to 200% above the poverty line—equal to an income of

$47,000 for a family of four.

(77) Some critics say that sending children to school at the age of four does not work.

The evidence suggests otherwise. For example, on March 20th new results were

announced from a study of .l in New Jersey. This report found that

disadvantaged children who had attended had better literacy (读写能力),

language, maths and science skills. And two years of garten were better

than one.

Some studies also follow the effects of early learning over lifetimes, such as its effect

on crime rates and other factors that may eventually burden society. Critics have

singled out a government scheme called Head Start, created in 1965, which provides

poor households with a range of services including early education.

1．Kindergarten in rich countries other than America usually begins at the age of

_______

A. eight B. seven C. six D. four

2．According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. Poor kids have a larger vocabulary than rich kids.

B. President Obama believes that early education can solve all economic and social

problems.

C. Rich kids have a richer vocabulary than poor kids.

D. President Obama's education secretary thinks it is morally wrong to let kids start

kindergarten early.

3．Which of the following about the New Jersey study is TRUE?

A. There is no evidence to support the New Jersey study.

B. New Jersey has created a new Head Start to help disadvantaged kids.

C. Sending children to school at the age of four is not going to help.

D. Two years of garten were better than one.

4．The phrase "single out" in the last paragraph means _______.

A. choose B. think about C. count D. depend on

5．Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage?

A. Secondary Education B. Education

C. Poor Kids’ Education D. Rich Kids' Education

答案详解：

1. D four

第一段第一句说美国的幼儿园一般在五到六岁开始，第二句说在富裕国家里这么晚才开始是十分奇怪的，所以是在五岁以前，综合答案选择D，四岁。

2. C Rich pre-school kids have a richer vocabulary than poor kids.

第一第四句中提到，根据调查，贫困家庭的孩子在词汇方面要落后于富有家庭的孩子，而这种差距往往会持续一生。所以选C。

3. D Two years of pre-kindergarten were better than one.

倒数第二段第三四句讲到，参加学前教育的孩子在读写能力、语言能力、数学能力和科学能力上均有更好的表现，而有两年的学前教育效果要好于一年，所以选D。

4. A choose

本句的句意是批评者们选择了一个叫做“头脑启蒙”政府计划来……其他的选项分别都B

考虑 C计数 D依赖

5. B Pre-school Education

本文通篇都在探讨的是学前教。A选项未提到，CD均为学前教育研究的一部分，所以选B。

Passage 2

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:

Humans may not have landed on Mars (火星) just yet, but that isn't shopping a

European company from devising a plan to send four people to the Red Planet within

the next few years. (78) This project, called Mars One, aims to send a small group of

people to Mars in 2022 and eventually establish a permanent colony on the planet.

"Everything we need to go to Mars exists," said Mars One r Bas Lansdorp

in March 2014. "We have the rockets to send people to Mars, the equipment to land

on Mars, the robots to prepare the settlement for humans. For a mission, all

the technology exists." Yet the four astronauts (宇航员) chosen for the trip will be

stuck on Mars—forever. And despite Mars One's thorough planning, there are a

number of challenges that may prevent the mission from ever taking place. (79) The

biggest road block could be the mission's huge cost ($6 billion). However, Lansdorp

is confident that Mars One will be able to fund the project by selling the broadcast

rights for the mission and subsequent experiences living on the planet.

Those broadcast rights will also play a part in helping to select the people who will be

sent to Mars. Lansdorp said the company will hold a selection process similar to a

reality show. Lansdorp is expecting at least 1 million applications from people around

the world. In additon to the cost, several other potential problems could inhibit (阻止)

the mission to Mars.

“It’s even more challenging to send people there with life support, with food, with air,

with all the other things like books, entertainment, means of communication and of

providing for their own resources for a long stay on Mars," said Adam Baker. senior

lecturer in space engineering at Kingston University in London. "The sheer size of the

rockets you'd need to do this would be absolutely colossal.”

6. According to Project Mars One, humans could send four people to Mars within the

next _______ years.

A. seven B. eight C. ten D. six

7．According to Bas Lansdorp, which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A. For a trip to Mars, all the technology exists.

B. He could not come up with the fund for Mars One.

C. We humans have the rockets to send people to Mars.

D. We humans have the equipment to land on Mars.

8．According to the passage, all the following statements are TRUE EXCEPT that

_______.

A. a competition process will be held to select the four astronauts

B. the cost of Mars One could go as much as $6 billion

C. if it goes as planned, we could expect to watch Mars One on TV

four astronauts could return to Earth after a few years’ stay on Mars

9. The word "colossal” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.

A. very large B. very small C. medium D. average

10. Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage?

A. Ready for a Round Trip to Mars

B. Ready for a Short Visit to Mars

C. Ready for a Trip to Mars

D. Ready for a Walk on Mars

答案详解：

6. B eight

第一段最后一句说计划在2022年送一组人上火星，可知答案是八年，选择B。

7. B He could not come up with the fund of Mars One.

第二段倒数第二句明确说明计划大约需要60亿美元。所以B选项描述有误。其他选项在第二段前半部分都有提到，即所有的条件均已具备。

8. D the four astronauts could return to earth after a few years’ stay on Mars.

文中第二段提到这是一个“one-way trip”也就是单程旅行，所以他们不能回来。

9. A very large

最后一段开始提到，还需要送很多东西，例如生活用品、书籍、娱乐设施等等到火星。所以火箭的体积应该是很大的。选择A。

10. C Ready for a One-way trip to Mars

文章通篇都是讲的到火星的单向旅行计划，其他选项均未提到。

Passage 3

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:

When the United States Congress created Yellowstone National Park in 1872, the

goal was to set aside a place where Americans could enjoy the beauty of nature for

years to come. Now, 142 years later, there are hundreds of national parks across the

country, and technology is changing the way people experience them. Should park

visitors be able to use cell phones, or should their use be restricted?

"Connectivity presents a real challenge to all of us." Al Nash says. He is a public

affairs officer at Yellowstone National Park. He says cell phone service at

Yellowstone is available in parts of the park with stores and campgrounds. This

makes it easy for visitors to share photos of their trip on social networking sites and to

stay in touch with friends and family members. (80) If a nark visitor is hurt or in

danger, cell phones make it easier to get help. Some say the ability to download

applications that provide information about plants and animals in the park can enrich

a visitor's experience.

Others say cell phones disturb people's enjoyment of our national parks. In their view,

cell phone towers are an eyesore, and they'd rather hear the sound of birds than the

ring of an incoming call. Can you imagine looking out a peaceful lake or field of grass

only to be disturbed by a person shouting into their phone, "Can you hear me now?"

Nash says Yellowstone tries to strike a balance. "Ultimately, our job is to let visitors

understand and enjoy nature better while protecting what people find special about

Yellowstone, and one of those things that's special is the ability to get away from the

hustle and bustle (喧嚣) of one's daily life."

11．Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Which U.S. National Park Has the Most Visitors?

B. Should National Parks Allow the Use of Cell Phones?

C. What Did Yellowstone Do to Enrich Park Visitors’ Experience?

D. Can Technology Transform the Way People Experience Nature?

12．National parks were established _______.

A. to show respect to former presidents

B. to raise public awareness about climate change

C. to preserve areas of natural beauty

D. to create job opportunities

13．According to the passage, which of the following statements about the cell phone

service at Yellowstone is TRUE?

A. It is limited to certain areas in the park.

B. It is available everywhere in the park.

C. It is not available in the park.

D. It is available to visitors at a fee.

14．The word "eyesore" in the third paragraph probably means _______.

A. something unpleasant to look at B. something harmful to health

C. beautiful scene D. serious threat

15．What's the position of Yellowstone on cell phone use?

A. Supportive. B. Neutral. C. Negative. D. Doubtful.

答案详解：

11. B Should National Parks Allow the Use of Cell Phones?

文章先介绍了国家公园的简单情况，然后引入了移动电话的问题，接下来是不同方面对这个话题的看法，所以选择，B。

12. C to preserve areas of natural beauty

第一段第一句话明确指出，国家公园的建立是为了留出一个区域让美国人能享受自然风光，所以答案是C。

13. A It is limited to certain areas in the park.

第二段第二句话说，移动电话只在公园里有商店和营地的地方有信号，所以选A。

14. A something unpleasant to look at

第三段第一句说，反对这说，移动电话打扰了他们在公园的享受，由此可以推断，信号塔应该是他们很不喜欢看到的，选A。

15. B Neutral

文章最后一段第一句说，黄石公园方面试图保持一个平衡，所以说他们的态度是中立的，答案是B。