2014考研英语二真题

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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. (10 points)

Thinner isn’t always better. A number of studies have 1 that normal-weight people are in fact at higher risk of some diseases compared to those who are overweight. And there are health conditions for which being overweight is actually 2 . For example, heavier women are less likely to develop calcium deficiency than thin women. 3 among the elderly, being somewhat overweight is often an 4 of good health.

Of even greater 5 is the fact that obesity turns out to be very difficult to define. It is often defined 6 body mass index, or BMI. BMI 7 body mass divided by the square of height. An adult with a BMI of 18 to 25 is often considered to be normal weight. Between 25 and 30 is overweight. And over 30 is considered obese. Obesity, 8 ,can be divided into moderately obese, severely obese, and very severely obese.

While such numerical standards seem 9 , they are not. Obesity is probably less a matter of weight than body fat. Some people with a high BMI are in fact extremely fit, 10 others with a low BMI may be in poor 11 .For example, many collegiate and professional football players 12 as obese, though their percentage body fat is low. Conversely, someone with a small frame may have high body fat but a 13 BMI.

Today we have a(an) 14 to label obesity as a disgrace.The overweight are sometimes 15 in the media with their faces covered. Stereotypes 16 with obesity include laziness, lack of will power,and lower prospects for success.Teachers,employers,and health professionals have been shown to harbor biases against the obese. 17 very young children tend to look down on the overweight, and teasing about body build has long been a problem in schools.

Negative attitudes toward obesity, 18 in health concerns, have stimulated a number of anti-obesity 19 .My own hospital system has banned sugary drinks from its facilities. Many employers have instituted weight loss and fitness initiatives. Michelle Obama launched a high-visibility campaign 20 childhood obesity, even claiming that it represents our greatest national security threat.

1. [A] denied                           [B] conduced                   [C] doubled                  [D] ensured

2. [A] protective                      [B] dangerous                  [C] sufficient                [D]troublesome

3. [A] Instead                          [B] However                    [C] Likewise                 [D] Therefore

4. [A] indicator                        [B] objective                    [C] origin                     [D] example

5. [A] impact                           [B] relevance                    [C] assistance               [D] concern

6. [A] in terms of                     [B] in case of                   [C] in favor of              [D] in of

7. [A] measures                       [B] determines                  [C] equals                     [D] modifies

8. [A] in essence                      [B] in contrast                  [C] in turn                    [D] in part

9. [A] complicated                   [B] conservative               [C] variable                   [D] straightforward

10. [A] so                               [B] while                         [C] since                      [D] unless

11. [A] shape                           [B] spirit                          [C] balance                   [D] taste

12. [A] start                            [B] quality                        [C] retire                      [D] stay

13. [A] strange                        [B] changeable                 [C] normal                    [D] constant

14. [A] option                          [B] reason                        [C] opportunity             [D] tendency

15. [A] employed                     [B] pictured                     [C] imitated                  [D] monitored

16. [A] compare                      [B] combined                   [C] settled                    [D] associated

17. [A] Even                            [B] Still                            [C] Yet                         [D] Only

18. [A] despised                       [B] corrected                   [C] ignored                   [D] grounded

19. [A] discussions                  [B] businesses                  [C] policies                   [D] studies

20. [A] for                              [B] against                       [C] with                       [D] without

TEXT A

What would you do with $590m? This is now a question for Gloria Mackenzie, an 84-year-old widow who recently emerged from her small, tin-roofed house in Florida to collect the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history. If she hopes her new-found fortune will yield lasting feelings of fulfillment, she could do worse than read Happy Money by Elizabeth Dumn and Michael Norton.

These two academics use an array of behavioral research to show that the most rewarding ways to spend money can be counterintuitive. Fantasies of great wealth often involve visions of fancy cars and extravagant homes. Yet satisfaction with these material purchases wears off fairly quickly. What was once exciting and new becomes old-hat; regret creeps in. It is far better to spend money on experiences, say Ms. Dumn and Mr. Norton, like interesting trips, unique meals or even going to the cinema. These purchases often become more valuable with time-as stories or memories-particularly if they involve feeling more connected to others.

This slim volume is packed with tips to help wage slaves as well as lottery winners get the most "happiness bang for your buck." It seems most people would be better off if they could shorten their commutes to work, spend more time with friends and family and less of it watching television (something the average American spends a whopping two months a year doing, and is hardly jollier for it). Buying gifts or giving to charity is often more pleasurable than purchasing things for oneself, and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly. This is apparently the reason MacDonald's restricts the availability of its popular McRib—a marketing trick that has turned the pork sandwich into an object of obsession.

Readers of Happy Money are clearly a privileged lot, anxious about fulfillment, not hunger. Money may not quite buy happiness, but people in wealthier countries are generally happier than those in poor ones. Yet the link between feeling good and spending money on others can be seen among rich and poor people around the world, and scarcity enhances the pleasure of most things for most people. Not everyone will agree with the authors’ policy ideas, which range from mandating more holiday time to reducing tax incentives for American homebuyers. But most people will come away from this book believing it was money well spent.

21. According to Dumn and Norton, which of the following is the most rewarding purchase?

[A] A big house

[B] A special tour

[C] A stylish car

[D] A rich meal

22. The author’s attitude toward Americans’ watching TV is

[A] critical.

[B] supportive.

[C] sympathetic.

[D] ambiguous.

23. Macrib is mentioned in paragraph 3 to show that

[A] consumers are sometimes irrational.

[B] popularity usually comes after quality.

[C] marketing tricks are after effective.

[D] rarity generally increases pleasure.

24. According to the last paragraph, Happy Money

[A] has left much room for readers’ criticism.

[B] may prove to be a worthwhile purchase.

[C] has predicted a wider income gap in the us.

[D] may give its readers a sense of achievement.

25. This text mainly discusses how to

[A]balance feeling good and spending money.

[B]spend large sums of money won in lotteries.

[C]obtain lasting satisfaction from money spent.

[D]become more reasonable in spending on luxuries.

TEXT B

An article in Scientific America has pointed out that empirical research says that, actually, you think you’re more beautiful than you are. We have a deep-seated need to feel good about ourselves and we naturally employ a number of self-enhancing strategies to research into what the call the “above average effect”, or “illusory superiority”, and shown that, for example, 70% of us rate ourselves as above average in leadership, 93% in driving and 85% at getting on well with others—all obviously statistical impossibilities.

We rose tint our memories and put ourselves into self-affirming situations. We become defensive when criticized, and apply negative stereotypes to others to boost our own esteem, we stalk around thinking we’re hot stuff.

Psychologist and behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley oversaw a key studying into self-enhancement and attractiveness. Rather than have people simply rate their beauty compared with others, he asked them to identify an original photogragh of themselves’ from a lineup including versions that had been altered to appear more and less attractive. Visual recognition, reads the study, is “an automatic psychological process occurring rapidly and intuitively with little or no apparent conscious deliberation”. If the subjects quickly chose a falsely flattering image—which most did—they genuinely believed it was really how they looked.

Epley found no significant gender difference in responses. Nor was there any evidence that, those who self-enhance the most (that is, the participants who thought the most positively doctored picture were real) were doing so to make up for profound insecurities. In fact those who thought that the images higher up the attractiveness scale were real directly corresponded with those who showed other markers for having higher self-esteem. “I don’t think the findings that we have are any evidence of personal delusion”, says Epley. “It’s a reflection simply of people generally thinking well of themselves’. If you are depressed, you won’t be self-enhancing.

Knowing the results of Epley ‘s study, it makes sense that why people hate photographs of themselves Viscerally—on one level, they don’t even recognise the person in the picture as themselves, Facebook therefore, is a self-enhancer’s paradise, where people can share only the most flattering photos, the cream of their wit, style, beauty, intellect and lifestyle. “It’s not that people’s profiles are dishonest,” says catalina toma of Wiscon—Madison university, “but they portray an idealized version of themselves.”

26. According to the first paragraph, social psychologist has found that ____.

[A] our self-ratings are unrealistically high

[B] illusory superiority is baseless effect

[C] our need for leadership is unnatural

[D] self-enhancing strategies are ineffective

27. Visual recognition is believed to be people’s____

[A] rapid watching

[B] conscious choice

[C] intuitive response

[D] automatic self-defence

28. Epley found that people with higher self-esteem tended to____

[A] underestimate their insecurities

[B] believe in their attractiveness

[C] cover up their depressions

[D] oversimplify their illusions

29.The word “Viscerally”(Line 2,para.5) is closest in meaning to____.

[A]instinctively

[B]occasionally

[C]particularly

[D]aggressively

30. It can be inferred that Facebook is self-enhancer’s paradise because people can ____.

[A]present their dishonest profiles

[B]define their traditional life styles

[C]share their intellectual pursuits

[D]withhold their unflattering sides

TEXT C

The larger a machine and the more numerous its parts. the greater likelihood of a breakdown and the more expensive to repair. What has been said about market forces and management was necessarily oversimplified. The economies of modern industrial nations are large and very complex. To be sure, there is management, and there are market forces at work, but there are also many other factors that help or hinder economic function.

In modern industrial societies’ governments play a large role. There is a great amount of regulation, most of it meant for the protection of the public. All regulations affect the way businesses operate, often increasing their costs and reducing their profits. Lower profits, in turn, reduce the amount of money which is known as working capital that a company can use for expansion. Auto emission standards, for instance, have had a significant impact on the manufacture and pricing of automobiles. Other government policies such as taxation, budget deficits, and regulation of the money supply have an effect on how much money is available for people to spend on goods and services.

International crises and other conditions also affect the working of an economy. A severe frost in Brazil can ruin a coffee crop and raise the price of that commodity. War can cut off the supply of such resources as petroleum, chromium, or copper. In the United States environmental protests have slowed the development of nuclear energy capacity and the mining of vast tracts of protected land. Weather affects agriculture, a hot, dry summer can damage the wheat crop; floods can destroy thousands of acres of crops suddenly; and insect pests can devastate cropland with a rapid onslaught.

People’s attitudes also have an impact on the marketing of goods. Health-conscious individuals, for example, may stop smoking, curtail their intake of alcohol, and eat less of certain kinds of food. Advertising affects what people buy, and it can create a market where none existed. Sstyle and fashion are significant for many consumers.

There are other economic problems that are more difficult to understand. For centuries economies have been subject to periods of prosperity followed by periods of decline. Although periods of prosperity can be explained rather easily, the reasons for panics, recessions, and depressions are of a complex nature. So many factors contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s, for example, that no economist has ever been able to account for all of them.

Because the causes of decline are uncertain, the remedies are equally uncertain. In the late 20th century all industrialized societies through their governments have tried to stabilize economies, keep them prosperous, and reduce unemployment. None of the remedies has worked to the extent that was hoped. How economies work and what remedies can be found to keep them operating efficiently are the tasks of economists, who must work together with businessmen and politicians.

31. The chief purpose of the passage is ____.

A. to review the factors that affect economic operation

B. to explore the causes of periodic economic decline

C. to discuss the role governments play in modern industrialized

D. to propose remedies for correcting economic recessions

32. The "machine" in the first sentence of Paragraph 1 is comparable here to ____.

A. the political system of a nation

B. the economy of a nation

C. the market force

D. the government of a nation

33. The example of auto emission standards is here used to make it clear that ____.

A. it is harmful for a government to interfere with economic matters

B. state policies tend to lower profits and discourage investment

C. regulation may affect business operation by increasing the cost

D. most regulations are not meant for the protection of the public

34. Why is it difficult to explain the onset of economic decline?

A. Because no economist knows everything.

B. Because it always follows a period of prosperity.

C. Because there are too many reasons behind it.

D. Because it is hard to predict when it will be coming.

35. The author believes that, to find efficient ways of keeping economy going, economists have to ____.

A. find the exact causes for economic decline

B. find ways to fight unemployment

C. work out all the factors that lead to economic prosperity

D. cooperate with businessmen and politicians

TEXT D

When the government talks about infrastructure contributing to the economy the focus is usually on roads, railways, broadband and energy. Housing is seldom mentioned.

Why is that? To some extent the housing sector must shoulder the blame. We have not been good at communicating the real value that housing can contribute to economic growth. Then there is the scale of the typical housing project. It is hard to shove for attention among multibillion-pound infrastructure project, so it is inevitable that the attention is focused elsewhere. But perhaps the most significant reason is that the issue has always been so politically charged.

Nevertheless, the affordable housing situation is desperate. Waiting lists increase all the time and we are simply not building enough new homes.

The comprehensive spending review offers an opportunity for the government to help rectify this. It needs to put historical prejudices to one side and take some steps to address our urgent housing need.

There are some indications that it is preparing to do just that. The communities minister, Don Foster, has hinted that George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, may introduce more flexibility to the current cap on the amount that local authorities can borrow against their housing stock debt. Evidence shows that 60,000 extra new homes could be built over the next five years if the cap were lifted, increasing GDP by 0.6%.

Ministers should also look at creating greater certainty in the rental environment, which would have a significant impact on the ability of registered providers to fund new developments from revenues.

But it is not just down to the government. While these measures would be welcome in the short term, we must face up to the fact that the existing £4.5bn programme of grants to fund new affordable housing, set to expire in 2015,is unlikely to be extended beyond then. The Labour party has recently announced that it will retain a large part of the coalition’s spending plans if returns to power. The housing sector needs to accept that we are very unlikely to ever return to era of large-scale public grants. We need to adjust to this changing climate.

36. The author believes that the housing sector____

[A] has attracted much attention

[B] involves certain political factors

[C] shoulders too much responsibility

[D] has lost its real value in economy

37. It can be learned that affordable housing has____

[A] increased its home supply

[B] offered spending opportunities

[C] suffered government biases

[D] disappointed the government

38. According to Paragraph 5, George Osborne may____.

[A] allow greater government debt for housing

[B] stop local authorities from building homes

[C] prepare to reduce housing stock debt

[D] release a lifted GDP growth forecast

39. It can be inferred that a stable rental environment would____.

[A] lower the costs of registered providers

[B] lessen the impact of government interference

[C] contribute to funding new developments

[D] relieve the ministers of responsibilities

40. The author believes that after 2015, the government may____.

[A] implement more policies to support housing

[B] review the need for large-scale public grants

[C] renew the affordable housing grants programme

[D] stop generous funding to the housing sector

Part B（10 points）

Direction: Directions: You are going to read the list of headings and o text about what parents are supposed to Choose the heading from the list A-G that best fits the meaning of each numbered part of the text (41-45).

Uncommon Ground—Land Art in Britain

The term Land Art brings to mind epic interventions in the land such as Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, 6,500 tons of basalt, earth and salt projecting into Utah’s Great Salt Lake, or Roden Crater, an extinct volcano in Arizona, which James Turrell has been transforming into an immense naked-eye observatory since 1979.

Richard Long’s A Line Made By Walking, however, involved nothing more strenuous than a 20-minute train ride from Waterloo. Having got off somewhere in suburbia, the artist walked backwards and forwards over a piece of grass until the squashed turf formed a line – a kind of drawing on the land.

Emerging in the late Sixties and reaching a peak in the Seventies, Land Art was one of a range of new forms, including Body Art, Performance Art, Action Art and Installation Art, which pushed art beyond the traditional confines of the studio and gallery. Rather than portraying landscape, land artists used the physical substance of the land itself as their medium.

The message of this survey of British land art—the most comprehensive to date—is that the British variant, typified by Long’s piece, was not only more domestically scaled, but a lot quirkier than its American counterpart. Indeed, while you might assume that an exhibition of Land Art would consist only of records of works rather than the works themselves, Long’s photograph of his work is the work. Since his “action” is in the past the photograph is its sole embodiment.

That might seem rather an obscure point, but it sets the tone for an exhibition that contains a lot of black-and-white photographs and relatively few natural objects.

Long is Britain’s best-known Land Artist and his Stone Circle, a perfect ring of purplish rocks from Portishead beach laid out on the gallery floor, represents the elegant, rarefied side of the form. The Boyle Family, on the other hand, stand for its dirty, urban aspect. Comprising artists Mark Boyle and Joan Hills and their children, they recreated random sections of the British landscape on gallery walls. Their Olaf Street Study, a square of brick-strewn waste ground, is one of the few works here to embrace the mundanity that characterises most of our experience of the landscape most of the time.

Parks feature, particularly in the earlier works, such as John Hilliard’s very funny Across the Park, in which a long-haired stroller is variously smiled at by a pretty girl and unwittingly assaulted in a sequence of images that turn out to be different parts of the same photograph.

Generally however British land artists preferred to get away from towns, gravitating towards landscapes that are traditionally considered beautiful such as the Lake District or the Wiltshire Downs. While it probably wasn’t apparent at the time, much of this work is permeated by a spirit of romantic escapism that the likes of Wordsworth would have readily understood. Derek Jarman’s yellow-tinted film Towards Avebury, a collection of long, mostly still shots of the Wiltshire landscape, evokes a tradition of English landscape painting stretching from Samuel Palmer to Paul Nash.

In the case of Hamish Fulton, you can’t help feeling that the Scottish artist has simply found a way of making his love of walking pay. A typical work, such as Seven Days, consists of a single beautiful black-and-white photograph taken on an epic walk, with the mileage and number of days taken listed beneath. British Land Art as shown in this well selected, but relatively modestly scaled exhibition wasn’t about imposing on the landscape, more a kind of landscape-orientated light conceptual art created passing through. It had its origins in the great outdoors, but the results were as gallery-bound as the paintings of Turner and Constable.

Part C Translation.（15 points）Directions: Translate the following text from English into Chinese. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET 2.

Most people would define optimism as being endlessly happy, with a glass that’s perpetually half full. But that’s exactly the kind of false cheerfulness that positive psychologists would not recommend. “Healthy optimism means being in touch with reality,” says Taal Ben-Shah-ar, a Harvard professor. According to Ben-Shah-ar, realistic optimists are those who make the best of things that happen, but not those who believe everything happens for the best.

Ben-Shah-ar uses three optimistic exercises. When he feels down—say, after giving a bad lecture—he grants himself permission to be human. He reminds himself that not every lecture can be a Nobel winner, some will be less effective than others. Next is reconstruction. He analyzes the weak lecture, learning lessons for the future about what works and what does not. Finally, there is perspective, which involves acknowledging that in the grand scheme of life, one lecture really does not matter.

Section III Writing.（25 points）

Part A

47. Directions: Suppose you are going to study abroad and share an apartment with John, a local student, write him an email to

1) tell him about your living habits, and

2) ask for advice about living there(10 points)

Part B

48. Directions: Write an essay based on the following chart. In your essay, you should

1) interpret the chart, and

2) give your comments.

You should write about 150 words on the ANSWER SHEET. (15 points)