1998年考研英语试题及答案

1998年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题

Section II Cloze Test

Directions:

For each numbered blank in the following passage, there are four choices marked [A], [B],

[C], and [D]. Choose the best one and mark your answer on ANSWER SHEET

1 by blackening the

corresponding letter in the brackets with a pencil. (10 points)

Until recently most historians spoke very critically of the Industrial Revolution. They

41家 that in the long run industrialization greatly raised the standard of living for the

大42家 man. But they insisted that its 大43家 results during the period from 1750 to 1850

were widespread poverty and misery for the 大44家 of the English population. 大45家

contrast, they saw in the preceding hundred years from 1650 to 1750, when England was still

a 大46家 agricultural country, a period of great abundance and prosperity.

This view, 大47家, is generally thought to be wrong. Specialists 大48家 history and

economics, have 大49家 two things: that the period from 1650 to 1750 was 大50家 by great

poverty, and that industrialization certainly did not worsen and may have actually improved

the conditions for the majority of the populace.

41. [A] admitted[B] believed[C] claimed[D] predicted

42. [A] plain[B] average[C] mean[D] normal

43. [A] momentary[B] prompt[C] instant[D] immediate

44. [A] bulk[B] host[C] gross[D] magnitude

45. [A] On[B] With[C] For[D] By

46. [A] broadly[B] thoroughly[C] generally[D] completely

47. [A] however[B] meanwhile[C] therefore[D] moreover

48. [A] at[B] in[C] about[D] for

49. [A] manifested[B] approved[C] shown[D] speculated

50. [A] noted[B] impressed[C] labeled[D] marked

Section III Reading Comprehension

Directions:

Each of the passages below is followed by some questions. For each question there are four

answers marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer

to each of the questions. Then mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET 1 by blackening the

corresponding letter in the brackets with a pencil. (40 points)

Text 1

Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is

humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing

the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to

be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good. The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn't help that building

a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to

assert themselves. Egypt's leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam.

Turkey's bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam. But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile

flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left -- all in return for a giant

reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.

And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized

Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention

over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big

dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove

itself.

Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed

Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause

hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful,

but they are far from guaranteed.

Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of

controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control

and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with

myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the

lessons of Aswan. You don't need a dam to be saved.

51. The third sentence of Paragraph 1 implies that ________.

[A] people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality

[B] the blind could be happier than the sighted

[C] over-excited people tend to neglect vital things

[D] fascination makes people lose their eyesight

52. In Paragraph 5, “the powerless” probably refers to ________.

[A] areas short of electricity

[B] dams without power stations

[C] poor countries around India

[D] common people in the Narmada Dam area

53. What is the myth concerning giant dams

[A] They bring in more fertile soil.

[B] They help defend the country.

[C] They strengthen international ties.

[D] They have universal control of the waters.

54. What the author tries to suggest may best be interpreted as ________.

[A] “It's no use crying over spilt milk”

[B] “More haste, less speed”

[C] “Look before you leap”

[D] “He who laughs last laughs best”

Text 2

Well, no gain without pain, they say. But what about pain without gain Everywhere you

go in America, you hear tales of corporate revival. What is harder to establish is whether

the productivity revolution that businessmen assume they are presiding over is for real.

The official statistics are mildly discouraging. They show that, if you lump

manufacturing and services together, productivity has grown on average by % since 1987. That

is somewhat faster than the average during the previous decade. And since 1991, productivity

has increased by about 2% a year, which is more than twice the 1978-87 average. The trouble

is that part of the recent acceleration is due to the usual rebound that occurs at this point

in a business cycle, and so is not conclusive evidence of a revival in the underlying trend.

There is, as Robert Rubin, the treasury secretary, says, a “disjunction”between the mass

the

by reflected picture and the productivity in leap a to points anecdote that business of

statistics.

Some of this can be easily explained. New ways of organizing the workplace -- all that

re-engineering and downsizing -- are only one contribution to the overall productivity of

an economy, which is driven by many other factors such as joint investment in equipment and

machinery, new technology, and investment in education and training. Moreover, most of the

changes that companies make are intended to keep them profitable, and this need not always

mean increasing productivity: switching to new markets or improving quality can matter just

as much.

Two other explanations are more speculative. First, some of the business restructuring

of recent years may have been ineptly done. Second, even if it was well done, it may have

spread much less widely than people suppose.

Leonard Schlesinger, a Harvard academic and former chief executive of Au Bong Pain, a

rapidly growing chain of bakery cafes, says that much “re-engineering”has been crude.

In many cases, he believes, the loss of revenue has been greater than the reductions in cost.

His colleague, Michael Beer, says that far too many companies have applied re-engineering

in a mechanistic fashion, chopping out costs without giving sufficient thought to long-term

profitability. BBDO's Al Rosenshine is blunter. He dismisses a lot of the work of

re-engineering consultants as mere rubbish -- “the worst sort of ambulance chasing.”

55. According to the author, the American economic situation is ________.

[A] not as good as it seems

[B] at its turning point

[C] much better than it seems

[D] near to complete recovery

56. The official statistics on productivity growth ________.

[A] exclude the usual rebound in a business cycle

[B] fall short of businessmen's anticipation

[C] meet the expectation of business people

[D] fail to reflect the true state of economy

57. The author raises the question “what about pain without gain” because ________.

[A] he questions the truth of “no gain without pain”

[B] he does not think the productivity revolution works

[C] he wonders if the official statistics are misleading

[D] he has conclusive evidence for the revival of businesses

58. Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage

[A] Radical reforms are essential for the increase of productivity.

[B] New ways of organizing workplaces may help to increase productivity.

[C] The reduction of costs is not a sure way to gain long-term profitability.

[D] The consultants are a bunch of good-for-nothings.

Text 3

Science has long had an uneasy relationship with other aspects of culture. Think of

Gallileo's 17th-century trial for his rebelling belief before the Catholic Church or poet

William Blake's harsh remarks against the mechanistic worldview of Isaac Newton. The schism

between science and the humanities has, if anything, deepened in this century.

Until recently, the scientific community was so powerful that it could afford to ignore

its critics -- but no longer. As funding for science has declined, scientists have attacked

Higher Superstition, by Paul R. Gross, a books, in -“antiscience” several notably biologist

at the University of Virginia, and Norman Levitt, a mathematician at Rutgers University;

The Demon-Haunted World, by Carl Sagan of Cornell University.and Defenders of science have also voiced their concerns at meetings such as “The Flight

from Science and Reason,” held in New York City in 1995, and “Science in the Age of (Mis)

information,” which assembled last June near Buffalo.

Anti-science clearly means different things to different people. Gross and Levitt find

fault primarily with sociologists, philosophers and other academics who

have questioned

science's objectivity. Sagan is more concerned with those who believe in ghosts, creationism

and other phenomena that contradict the scientific worldview.

A survey of news stories in 1996 reveals that the anti-science tag has been attached

to many other groups as well, from authorities who advocated the elimination of the last

remaining stocks of smallpox virus to Republicans who advocated decreased funding for basic

research.

Few would dispute that the term applies to the Unabomber, whose manifesto, published

in 1995, scorns science and longs for return to a pre-technological utopia. But surely that

does not mean environmentalists concerned about uncontrolled industrial growth are

US News & World Report last May seemed to suggest.anti-science, as an essay in

The environmentalists, inevitably, respond to such critics. The true enemies of science,

argues Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University, a pioneer of environmental studies, are those

who question the evidence supporting global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer and

other consequences of industrial growth.

Indeed, some observers fear that the anti-science epithet is in danger of becoming

meaningless. “The term ‘anti-science' can lump together too many, quite different

Science and 993 work things,” notes Harvard University philosopher Gerald Holton in his 1Anti-Science. “They have in common only one thing that they tend to annoy or threaten those

who regard themselves as more enlightened.”

59. The word “schism” (Line 4, Paragraph 1) in the context probably means ________.

[A] confrontation

[B] dissatisfaction

[C] separation

[D] contempt

60. Paragraphs 2 and 3 are written to ________.

[A] discuss the cause of the decline of science's power

[B] show the author's sympathy with scientists

[C] explain the way in which science develops

[D] exemplify the division of science and the humanities

61. Which of the following is true according to the passage

[A] Environmentalists were blamed for anti-science in an essay.

[B] Politicians are not subject to the labeling of anti-science.

[C] The “more enlightened” tend to tag others as anti-science.

[D] Tagging environmentalists as “anti-science” is justifiable.

62. The author's attitude toward the issue of “science vs. anti-science”is ________.

[A] impartial

[B] subjective

[C] biased

[D] puzzling

Text 4

Emerging from the 1980 census is the picture of a nation developing more and more regional

competition, as population growth in the Northeast and Midwest reaches a near standstill.

This development -- and its strong implications for US politics and economy in years

ahead -- has enthroned the South as America's most densely populated region for the first

time in the history of the nation's head counting.

Altogether, the US population rose in the 1970s by million people -- numerically the

third-largest growth ever recorded in a single decade. Even so, that gain adds up to only

percent, lowest in American annual records except for the Depression years.

Americans have been migrating south and west in larger numbers since World War II, and

the pattern still prevails.

Three sun-belt states -- Florida, Texas and California -- together had nearly 10 million

more people in 1980 than a decade earlier. Among large cities, San Diego moved from 14th

to 8th and San Antonio from 15th to 10th -- with Cleveland and Washington.

D. C., dropping

out of the top 10.

Not all that shift can be attributed to the movement out of the snow belt, census officials

say. Nonstop waves of immigrants played a role, too -- and so did bigger crops of babies

as yesterday's “baby boom” generation reached its child-bearing years. Moreover, demographers see the continuing shift south and west as joined