2014考研英语阅读题源15篇

2014年考研英语真题之阅读理解答案与分析(2All around the world,lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other profession---with the possible exception of journalism.But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America.During the decade before the economic crisis,spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast as inflation.The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money,tempting ever more students to pile into law schools.But most law graduates never get a big-firm job.Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.There are many reasons for this.One is the excessive costs of a legal education.There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states:a four-year undergraduate degree at one of200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam.This leaves today’s average law-school graduatewith$100,000of debt on top of undergraduate w-school debt means that they have to work fearsomely hard.Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers.Sensible ideas have been around for a long time,but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them.One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree.Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school.If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer,those who can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so.Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business. Except in the District of Columbia,non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm.This keeps fees high and innovation slow.There is pressure for change from within the profession,but opponents ofchange among the regulators insist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically.In fact,allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers,by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on impro ving firms’efficiency.After all,other countries,such as Australia and Britain,have started liberalizing their legal professions.America should follow.26.a lot of students take up law as their profession due to[A]the growing demand from clients.[B]the increasing pressure of inflation.[C]the prospect of working in big firms.[D]the attraction of financial rewards.答案:D。

2014年考研英语阅读理解经典试题及答案1 Passage 1In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernadino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theater, then a barbecue(烤肉)restaurant, and then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they added one new concept: quick service, no waiters or waitresses, and no tips.Their hamburgers sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity, for the brothers had developed a strict routine for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks' sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became incredibly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundreds during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success untilthey met Ray Kroc.Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954, when he was selling milk shake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the unique appeal of the brothers' fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise(特许经营)other copies of their restaurants. The agreement struck included the right to duplicate the menu. The equipment, even their red and white buildings with the golden arches(拱门).Today McDonald's is really a household name. Its names for its sandwiches have come to mean hamburger in the decades since the day Ray Kroc watched people rush up to order fifteen-cent hamburgers. In 1976, McDonald's had over $ 1 billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most incredible success stories in modern American business history.1. This passage mainly talks about .A) the development of fast food servicesB) how McDonald's became a billion-dollar businessC) the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonaldD) Ray Kroc's business talent2. Mac and Dick managed all of the following businesses except .A) a drive-inB) a cinemaC) a theaterD) a barbecue restaurant3. We may infer from this passage that .A)Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy for they sold their idea to KrocB)The location the McDonalds chose was the only source of the great popularity of their drive-inC)Forty years ago there were numerous fast-food restaurantsD) Ray Kroc was a good businessman4. The passage suggests that .A) creativity is an important element of business successB) Ray Kroc was the close partner of the McDonald brothersC) Mac and Dick McDonald became broken after they sold their ideas to Ray KrocD) California is the best place to go into business5. As used in the second sentence of the third paragraph, the worduniquemeans .A)specialB)financialC )attractiveD)peculiarPassage 1 答案1.C2.B3.D4.A5.D。

2014年考研英语真题之阅读理解答案与分析(2)2014年考研英语真题之阅读理解答案与分析(2All around the world,lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other profession---with the possible exception of journalism.But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America.During the decade before the economic crisis,spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast as inflation.The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money,tempting ever more students to pile into law schools.But most law graduates never get a big-firm job.Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.There are many reasons for this.One is the excessive costs of a legal education.There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states:a four-year undergraduate degree at one of200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam.This leaves today’s average law-school graduate with$100,000of debt on top of undergraduatew-school debt means that they have to work fearsomely hard.Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers.Sensible ideas have been around for a long time,but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them.One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree.Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school.If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer,those who can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so.Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business. Except in the District of Columbia,non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm.This keeps fees high and innovation slow.There is pressure for change from within the profession,but opponents of change among the regulators insist thatkeeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically.In fact,allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers,by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improving firms’efficiency.After all,other countries,such as Australia and Britain,have started liberalizing their legal professions.America should follow.26.a lot of students take up law as their profession due to[A]the growing demand from clients.[B]the increasing pressure of inflation.[C]the prospect of working in big firms.[D]the attraction of financial rewards.答案:D。

2014年考研英语一真题原文及答案解析完整版Section I Use of LanguageDirections: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)As many people hit middle age, they often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be. We suddenly can't remember 1 we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old acquaintance's name, or the name of an old band we used to love. As the brain 2 , we refer to these occurrences as "senior moments." 3 seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a(an) 4 impact on our professional, social, and personal 5 .Neuroscientists, experts who study the nervous system, are increasingly showing that there's actually a lot that can be done. It 6 out that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do, and the right mental 7 can significantly improve our basic cognitive 8 . Thinking is essentially a 9 of making connections in the brain. To a certain extent, our ability to 10 in making the connections that drive intelligence is inherited. 11 , because these connections are made through effort and practice, scientists believe that intelligence can expand and fluctuate 12 mental effort.Now, a new Web-based company has taken it a step 13 and developed the first "brain training program" designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental 14 .The Web-based program 15 you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills. The program keeps 16 of your progress and provides detailed feedback 17 your performance and improvement. Most importantly, it 18 modifies and enhances the games you play to 19 on the strengths you are developing--much like a(n) 20 exercise routine requires you to increase resistance and vary your muscle use.1.[A]where [B]when [C]that [D]why2.[A]improves [B]fades [C]recovers [D]collapses3.[A]If [B]Unless [C]Once [D]While4.[A]uneven [B]limited [C]damaging [D]obscure5.[A]wellbeing [B]environment [C]relationship [D]outlook6.[A]turns [B]finds [C]points [D]figures7.[A]roundabouts [B]responses [C]workouts [D]associations8.[A]genre [B]functions [C]circumstances [D]criterion9.[A]channel [B]condition [C]sequence [D]process10.[A]persist [B]believe [C]excel [D]feature11.[A]Therefore [B]Moreover [C]Otherwise [D]However12.[A]according to [B]regardless of [C]apart from [D]instead of13.[A]back [B]further [C]aside [D]around14.[A]sharpness [B]stability [C]framework [D]flexibility15.[A]forces [B]reminds [C]hurries [D]allows16.[A]hold [B]track [C]order [D]pace17.[A] to [B]with [C]for [D]on18.[A]irregularly [B]habitually [C]constantly [D]unusually19.[A]carry [B]put [C]build [D]take20.[A]risky [B]effective [C]idle [D]familiar答案：1-5 ABDCA 6-10 ACBDC 11-15 DABAD 16-20 BDCCB1. [标准答案] [A][考点分析] 上下文语义和连词辨析[选项分析] 本题考查连词。

2014年考研英语阅读理解模拟题及答案（十五）2014年考研英语阅读理解模拟题及答案（十五）There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority (优先)it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling?If spelling become the only focal point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely toplay safe. He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That's why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience:This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation(动力)to seek improvement.71. Teachers are different in their opinions about .A) the necessity of teaching spellingB) the role of spelling in general language developmentC) the way of teaching spellingD) the complexities of the basic writing skills72. As used in the second paragraph, the expressionplay safemost probably means .A)to spell correctly B)to write smoothlyC)to avoid using words one is not sure of D)to use dictionaries frequently73. Teachers encourage the students to use dictionaries so that .A)students will be able to write more freely B)students will be more skillful in writingC)students will be more confident in writing D)students will be independent enough74. The author's tone is .A) ironic C) satirical B) practical D) critical75. This passage mainly discusses .A)the necessity of spellingB)the role of developing writing skillsC)the complexities of spellingD)the relationship between spelling and the content of writingPassage 151.B2.C3.C4.D5.D相关栏目： 2014年考研英语阅读理解模拟题及答案汇总重点推荐： 2014年考研报名 2014年考研时间 2014年考研英语 2014年考研数学 2014年考研政治 2014年考研专业。

2014年考研英语阅读理解模拟题及答案（十一）2014年考研英语阅读理解模拟题及答案（十一）Dream is a story that a personwatchesor even takes part in during sleep. Dream events are imaginary, but they are related to real experiences and needs in the dreamer's life. They seem real while they are taking place. Some dreams are pleasant, others are annoying, and still others are frightening.Everyone dreams, but some persons never recall dreaming. Others remember only a little about a dream they had just before awakening and nothing about earlier dreams. No one recalls all his dreams.Dreams involve little logical thought. In most dreams, the dreamer cannot control what happens to him. The story may be confusing, and things happen that would not happen in real life.People see in most dreams, but they may also hear, smell, touch, and taste in their dreams. Most dreams occur in color. but persons who have been blind since birth do not see at all in dreams.Dreams are a product of the sleeper's mind. They include events and feelings that he has experienced. Most dreams are related to events of the day before the dream and strong wishes of the dreamer. Many minor incidents of the hours before sleep appear in dreams. Few events more than two days old turn up. Deep wishes or fears - especially those held since childhood- often appear in dreams, and many dreams fulfil such wishes. Events in the sleeper's surrounding- a loud noise, for example, may become part of a dream, but they do not cause dreams.Some dreams involve deep feelings that a person may not realize he has. Psychiatrists(精神病医生)often use material from apatient's dreams to help the person understand himself better.Dreaming may help maintain good learning ability, memory, and emotional adjustment. People who get plenty of sleep-but are awakened each time they begin to dream- become anxious and restless.51. This passage is mainly about .A)why we dream during sleep B)how we dream during sleepC)what dreams are D)what benefits dreams bring to people52. According to the passage, dreams result from .A)the sleeper's wishes B)the sleeper's imaginationC)the sleeper's feeling D)the sleeper's own mind53. Which of the following is NOT true?A)Dream is a confusing story which involves little logic thought.B)Dream is related to the dreamer's real life.C)Dream is an imaginary store which seems real while taking place.D)Dream involves events that always happen in real life.54. This passage suggests that psychiatrists are .A) trying to help the dreamer recall his earlier dreams.B) trying to make the sleeper dream logically.C) studying the benefits of dreams.D) helping the sleeper fulfill his dreams55. We may infer form the passage that dreaming .A) is beneficial to people B) disturbs people's lifeC) makes people always restless D) deprives people of a good sleepPassage 112014年考研时间 2014年考研英语 2014年考研数学 2014年考研政治 2014年考研专业。

2014年考研英语真题之阅读理解答案与分析(2All around the world,lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other profession---with the possible exception of journalism.But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America.During the decade before the economic crisis,spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast as inflation.The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money,tempting ever more students to pile into law schools.But most law graduates never get a big-firm job.Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.There are many reasons for this.One is the excessive costs of a legal education.There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states:a four-year undergraduate degree at one of200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam.This leaves today’s average law-school graduatewith$100,000of debt on top of undergraduate w-school debt means that they have to work fearsomely hard.Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers.Sensible ideas have been around for a long time,but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them.One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree.Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school.If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer,those who can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so.Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business. Except in the District of Columbia,non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm.This keeps fees high and innovation slow.There is pressure for change from within the profession,but opponents ofchange among the regulators insist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically.In fact,allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers,by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on impro ving firms’efficiency.After all,other countries,such as Australia and Britain,have started liberalizing their legal professions.America should follow.26.a lot of students take up law as their profession due to[A]the growing demand from clients.[B]the increasing pressure of inflation.[C]the prospect of working in big firms.[D]the attraction of financial rewards.答案:D。

Text 1①In order to “change lives for the better”and reduce “dependency,”George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the “upfront work search”scheme. ②Only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with a CV, register for online job search, and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit —and then they should report weekly rather than fortnightly. ③What could be more reasonable?①More apparent reasonableness followed. ②There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker's allowance. ③“Those first few days should be spent looking for work, not looking to sign on,”he claimed.④“We're doing these things because we know they help people stay off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster.”⑤Help? ⑥Really? ⑦On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with “reforms”to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsidises laziness. ⑧What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for “fundamental fairness”—protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.①Losing a job is hurting: you don't skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart, delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. ②It is financially terrifying, psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. ③You are now not wanted; you are now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life. ④Worse, the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared. ⑤Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always: a job.①But in Osborneland, your first instinct is to fall into dependency —permanent dependency if you can get it —supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood. ②It is as though 20 years of ever-tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration system never happened. ③The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment and receive unconditional payments if the disaster happens. ④Even the very phrase “jobseeker's allowance”is about redefining the unemployed as a “jobseeker”who had no fundamental right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions. ⑤Instead, the claimant receives a time-limited “allowance,”conditional on actively seeking a job; no entitlement and no insurance, at ￡71.70 a week, one of the least generous in the EU.21.George Osborne's scheme was intended to__________.[A] provide the unemployed with easier access to benefits[B] encourage jobseekers' active engagement in job seeking[C] motivate the unemployed to report voluntarily[D] guarantee jobseekers' legitimate right to benefits22.The phrase “to sign on”（Line 2, Para. 2）most probably means__________.[A] to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentre[B] to accept the government's restrictions on the allowance[C] to register for an allowance from the government[D] to attend a governmental job-training program23.What promoted the chancellor to develop his scheme?[A] A desire to secure a better life for all.[B] An eagerness to protect the unemployed.[C] An urge to be generous to the claimants.[D] A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.24.According to Paragraph 3, being unemployed makes one feel__________.[A] uneasy[B] enraged[C] insulted[D] guilty25.To which of the following would the author most probably agree?[A] The British welfare system indulges jobseekers' laziness.[B] Osborne's reforms will reduce the risk of unemployment.[C] The jobseekers' allowance has met their actual needs.[D] Unemployment benefits should not be made conditional.Text 2①All around the world, lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other profession —with the possible exception of journalism. ②But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America.①During the decade before the economic crisis, spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast as inflation. ②The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money, tempting ever more students to pile into law schools. ③But most law graduates never get a big-firm job. ④Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.①There are many reasons for this. ②One is the excessive costs of a legal education. ③There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states: a four-year undergraduate degree in some unrelated subjects, then a three-year law degree at one of 200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam. ④This leaves today's average law-school graduate with $100,000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts. ⑤Law-school debt means that many cannot afford to go into government or non-profit work, and that they have to work fearsomely hard.①Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers. ②Sensible ideas have been around for a long time, but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them. ③One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree. ④Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school. ⑤If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer, those who can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so. ⑥Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third.①The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business.②Except in the District of Columbia, non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm. ③This keeps fees high and innovation slow. ④There is pressure for change from within the profession, but opponents of change among the regulators insist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically.①In fact, allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers, by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improving firms' efficiency. ②After all, other countries, such as Australia and Britain, have started liberalizing their legal professions. ③America should follow.26.A lot of students take up law as their profession due to__________.[A] the growing demand from clients[B] the increasing pressure of inflation[C] the prospect of working in big firms[D] the attraction of financial rewards27.Which of the following adds to the costs of legal education in most American states?[A] Higher tuition fees for undergraduate studies.[B] Admissions approval from the bar association.[C] Pursuing a bachelor's degree in another major.[D] Receiving training by professional associations.28.Hindrance to the reform of the legal system originates from__________.[A] lawyers' and clients' strong resistance[B] the rigid bodies governing the profession[C] the stern exam for would-be lawyers[D] non-professionals' sharp criticism29.The guild-like ownership structure is considered “restrictive”partly because it__________.[A] bans outsiders' involvement in the profession[B] keeps lawyers from holding law-firm shares[C] aggravates the ethical situation in the trade[D] prevents lawyers from gaining due profits30.In this text, the author mainly discusses__________.[A] flawed ownership of America's law firms and its causes[B] the factors that help make a successful lawyer in America[C] a problem in America's legal profession and solutions to it[D] the role of undergraduate studies in America's legal educationText 3①The US$3-million Fundamental Physics Prize is indeed an interesting experiment, as Alexander Polyakov said when he accepted this year's award in March. ②And it is far from the only one of its type. ③As a News Feature article in Nature discusses, a string of lucrative awards for researchers have joined the Nobel Prizes in recent years. ④Many, like the Fundamental Physics Prize, are funded from the telephone-number-sized bank accounts of Internet entrepreneurs. ⑤These benefactors have succeeded in their chosen fields, they say, and they want to use their wealth to draw attention to those who have succeeded in science.①What's not to like? ②Quite a lot, according to a handful of scientists quoted in the News Feature. ③You cannot buy class, as the old saying goes, and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels. ④The new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behind them, say scientists. ⑤They could distort the achievement-based system of peer-review-led research. ⑥They could cement the status quo of peer-reviewed research. ⑦They do not fund peer-reviewed research. ⑧They perpetuate the myth of the lone genius.①The goals of the prize-givers seem as scattered as the criticism. ②Some want to shock, others to draw people into science, or to better reward those who have made their careers in research.①As Nature has pointed out before, there are some legitimate concerns about how science prizes —both new and old —are distributed. ②The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, launched this year, takes an unrepresentative view of what the life sciences include. ③But the Nobel Foundation's limit of three recipients per prize, each of whom must still be living, has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of modern research —as will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson. ④The Nobels were, of course, themselves set up by a very rich individual who had decided what he wanted to do with his own money. ⑤Time, rather than intention, has given them legitimacy.①As much as some scientists may complain about the new awards, two things seem clear. ②First, most researchers would accept such a prize if they were offered one. ③Second, it is surely a good thing that the money and attention come to science rather than go elsewhere. ④It is fair to criticize and question the mechanism —that is the culture of research, after all —but it is the prize-givers' money to do with as they please. ⑤It is wise to take such gifts with gratitude and grace.31.The Fundamental Physics Prize is seen as__________.[A] a symbol of the entrepreneurs' wealth[B] a possible replacement of the Nobel Prizes[C] an example of bankers' investment[D] a handsome reward for researchers32.The critics think that the new awards will most benefit__________.[A] the profit-oriented scientists[B] the founders of the new awards[C] the achievement-based system[D] peer-review-led research33.The discovery of the Higgs boson is a typical case which involves__________.[A] controversies over the recipients' status[B] the joint effort of modern researchers[C] legitimate concerns over the new prizes[D] the demonstration of research findings34.According to Paragraph 4, which of the following is true of the Nobels?[A] Their endurance has done justice to them.[B] Their legitimacy has long been in dispute.[C] They are the most representative honor.[D] History has never cast doubt on them.35.The author believes that the new awards are__________.[A] acceptable despite the criticism[B] harmful to the culture of research[C] subject to undesirable changes[D] unworthy of public attentionText 4“The Heart of the Matter,”the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences （AAAS）, deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.In 2010, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by “federal, state and local governments, universities, foundations, educators, individual benefactors and others”to “maintain national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education.”In response, the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the commission's 51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges, and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy, filmmaking, music and journalism.The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because representative government presupposes an informed citizenry, the report supports full literacy; stresses the study of history and government, particularly American history and American government; and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition, the report calls for increased investment in research, the crafting of coherent curricula that improve students' ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.Unfortunately, despite 14-06 years in the making, “The Heart of the Matter”never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commission ignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities have produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing “progressive,”or left-liberal propaganda.Today, professors routinely treat the progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas —such as free markets or self-reliance —as falling outside the boundaries of routine, and sometimes legitimate, intellectual investigation.The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate.36.According to Paragraph 1, what is the author's attitude toward the AAAS's report?[A] Critical.[B] Appreciative.[C] Contemptuous.[D] Tolerant.37.Influential figures in the Congress required that the AAAS report on how to __________.[A] retain people's interest in liberal education[B] define the government's role in education[C] keep a leading position in liberal education[D] safeguard individuals' rights to education38.According to Paragraph 3, the report suggests__________.[A] an exclusive study of American history[B] a greater emphasis on theoretical subjects[C] the application of emerging technologies[D] funding for the study of foreign languages39.The author implies in Paragraph 5 that professors are__________.[A] supportive of free markets[B] cautious about intellectual investigation[C] conservative about public policy[D] biased against classical liberal ideas40.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?[A] Ways to Grasp “The Heart of the Matter”[B] Illiberal Education and “The Heart of the Matter”[C] The AAAS's Contribution to Liberal Education[D] Progressive Policy vs. Liberal Education。

2014年考研英语试题及答案阅读理解一Passage 1In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernadino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theater, then a barbecue(烤肉)restaurant, and then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they added one new concept: quick service, no waiters or waitresses, and no tips.Their hamburgers sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity, for the brothers had developed a strict routine for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks' sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became incredibly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundreds during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success untilthey met Ray Kroc.Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954, when he was selling milk shake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the unique appeal of the brothers' fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise(特许经营)other copies of their restaurants. The agreement struck included the right to duplicate the menu. The equipment, even their red and white buildings with the golden arches(拱门).Today McDonald's is really a household name. Its names for its sandwiches have come to mean hamburger in the decadessince the day Ray Kroc watched people rush up to order fifteen-cent hamburgers. In 1976, McDonald's had over $ 1 billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most incredible success stories in modern American business history.1. This passage mainly talks about .A) the development of fast food servicesB) how McDonald's became a billion-dollar businessC) the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonaldD) Ray Kroc's business talent2. Mac and Dick managed all of the following businesses except .A) a drive-inB) a cinemaC) a theaterD) a barbecue restaurant3. We may infer from this passage that .A)Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy for they sold their idea to KrocB)The location the McDonalds chose was the only source of the great popularity of their drive-inC)Forty years ago there were numerous fast-food restaurantsD) Ray Kroc was a good businessman4. The passage suggests that .A) creativity is an important element of business successB) Ray Kroc was the close partner of the McDonald brothersC) Mac and Dick McDonald became broken after they sold their ideas to Ray KrocD) California is the best place to go into business5. As used in the second sentence of the third paragraph, the worduniquemeans .A)specialB)financialC )attractiveD)peculiarPassage2You're busy filling out the application form for a position you really need; let's assume you once actually completed a couple of years of college work or even that you completed your degree. Isn't it tempting to lie just a little, to claim on the form that your diploma represents a Harvard degree? Or that you finished an extra couple of years back at State University?More and more people are turning to utter deception like this to land their job or to move ahead in their careers, for personnel officers, like most Americans, value degrees from famous schools. A job applicant may have a good education anyway, but he or she assumes that chances of being hired are better with a diploma from a well-known university. Registrars at most well-known colleges say theydeal with deceitful claims like these at the rate of aboutone per week.Personnel officers do check up on degrees listed on application forms, then. If it turns out that an applicants lying, most colleges are reluctant to accuse the applicant directly. One Ivy League school calls them impostors(骗子); another refers to them asspecial cases. One well-known West Coast school, in perhaps the most delicate phrase of all, says that these claims are made byno such people.To avoid outright(彻底的)lies, some job-seekers claim that they attended or were associated with a college or university. After carefully checking, a personnel officer may discover that attending means being dismissed after one semester. It may bethat being associated with a college means that the job-seeker visited his younger brother for a football weekend. One school that keeps records of false claims says that the practice dates back at least to the turn of the century-that's when they began keeping records, anyhow.If you don't want to lie or even stretch the truth, there are companies that will sell you a phony(假的)diploma. One company, with offices in New York and on the West Coast, will put your name on a diploma from any number of non-existent colleges. The price begins at around twenty dollars for a diploma from Smoot State University.The prices increase rapidly for a degree from the University of Purdue. As there is no Smoot State and the real school in Indiana properly called Purdue University, the prices seem rather high for one sheet of paper.6. The main idea of this passage is that .A) employers are checking more closely on applicants nowB) lying about college degrees has become a widespread problemC) college degrees can now be purchased easilyD) employers are no longer interested in college degrees7. According to the passage, special cases refer to cases where .A) students attend a school only part-timeB) students never attended a school they listed on their applicationC) students purchase false degrees from commercial filmsD) students attended a famous school8. We can infer from the passage that .A) performance is a better judge of ability that a college degreeB) experience is the best teacherC) past work histories influence personnel officers more than degrees doD) a degree from a famous school enables an applicant to gain advantage over others in job petition9. This passage implies that .A) buying a false degree is not moralB)personnel officers only consider applicants from famousschoolsC)most people lie on applications because they were dismissed from schoolD)society should be greatly responsible for lying on applications10. As used in the first line of the second paragraph, the word utter means .A)addressB)thoroughC)ultimate。

2014年考研英语试题及答案阅读理解四Passage 7A moment's drilling by the dentist may make us nervous and upset. Many of us cannot stand pain. To avoid the pain of a drilling that may last perhaps a minute or two, we demand theneedle- a shot of novocaine (奴佛卡因)-that deadens the nerves around the tooth.Now it's true that the human body has developed its millions of nerves to be highly aware of what goes on both inside and outside of it. This helps us adjust to the world. Without our nerves - and our brain, which is a bundle of nerves - we wouldn't know what's happening. But we pay for our sensitivity. We can feel pain when the slightest thing is wrong with any part of our body. The history of torture is based on the human body being open to pain.But there is a way to handle pain. Look at the Indian fakir(行僧)who sits on a bed of nails. Fakirs can put a needle right through an arm, and feel no pain. This ability that some humans have developed to handle pain should give us ideas about how the mind can deal with pain.The big thing in withstanding pain is our attitude toward it. If the dentist says, This will hurt a little, it helps us to accept the pain. By staying relaxed, and by treating the pain as an interesting sensation(感觉), we can handle the pain without falling apart. After all, although pain is an unpleasant sensation, it is still a sensation, and sensations are the stuff of life.31. The passage is mainly about .A) how to suffer painB) how to avoid painC) how to handle painD) how to stop pain32. The sentence But we pay for our sensitivity. in the second paragraph implies that .A)we should pay a debt for our feelingB)we have to be hurt when we feel somethingC)our pain is worth feelingD)when we feel pain, we are suffering it33. When the author mentions the Indian fakir, he suggests that .A)Indians are not at all afraid of painB)people may be senseless of painC)some people are able to handle painD)fakirs have magic to put needles right through their arms34. the most important thing to handle pain is .A) how we look at painB) to feel pain as much as possibleC) to show an interest in painD) to accept the pain reluctantly35. The author's attitude towards pain is .A) pessimisticB) optimisticC) radical (极端的)D) practicalPassage 8Thirty-two people watched kitty Genovese being killed right beneath their windows. She was their neighbor. Yet none of the 32 helped her. Not one even called the police. Was this in gunman cruelty? Was it lack of feeling about one's fellow man?Not so, say scientists John Barley and Bib Fatane. These men went beyond the headlines to probe the reasons why peopledidn't act. They found that a person has to go through two steps before he can help. First he has to notice that is an emergency.Suppose you see a middle-aged man fall to the side-walk. Is he having a heart attack? Is he in a coma (昏迷) from diabetes(糖尿病)? Or is he about to sleep off a drunk?Is the smoke coming into the room from a leak in the air conditioning? Is itsteam pipes? Or is it really smoke from a fire? It's not always easy to tell if you are faced with a real emergency.Second, and more important, the person faced with an emergency must feel personally responsible. He must feel that he must help, or the person won't get the help he needs.The researchers found that a lot depends on how many people are around. They had college students in to betested. Some came alone. Some came with one or two others. And some came in large groups. The receptionist started them off on thetests. Then she went into the next room. A curtain divided thetesting roomand the room into which she went. Soon the students heard a scream, the noise of file cabinets falling and a cry for help. All of this had been pre-recorded on a tape-recorder.Eight out of ten of the students taking the test alone acted to help. Of the students in pairs, only two out of ten helped. Of the students in groups, none helped.In other words, in a group, Americans often fail to act. They feel that others will act. They, themselves, needn't. They do not feel any direct responsibility.Are people bothered by situations where people are in trouble? Yes. Scientists found that the people were emotional, they sweated, they had trembling hands. They felt the other person's trouble. But they did not act. They were in a group. Their actions were shaped by the actions of those they were with.36. The purpose of this passage is .A) to explain why people fail to act in emergenciesB) to explain when people wil act in emergenciesC) to explain what people will do in emergenciesD) to explain how people feel in emergencies37. Which of the following is NOT true?A) When a person tries to help others, he must be clear that there is a real emergency.B) When a person tries to help others, he should know whether hey are worth his help.C) A person must take the full responsibility for the safety of those in emergencies if he wants to help.D) A person with a heart attack needs the most.38. The researchers have conducted an experiment to prove that people will act in emergencies when .A) they are in pairsB) they are in groupsC) they are aloneD) they are with their friends39. The main reason why people fail to act when they stay together is that .A) they are afraid of emergenciesB) they are reluctant to get themselves involvedC) others will act if they themselves hesitateD) they do not have any direct responsibility for those who need help40. The author suggests that .A) we shouldn't blame a person if he fails to act in emergenciesB) a person must feel guilty if he fails to helpC) people should be responsible for themselves in emergenciesD) when you are in trouble, people will help you anyway相关推荐：2014年考研英语试题及答案阅读理解（汇总）。