The homeless make up a growing percentage of America‘s population.__1__ homelessness has reached such proportions that local government can’t possibly _____2____.
Many others,____14____not addicted or mentally ill, simply lack the everyday __15__ skills needed to turn their lives _____16__.
16.[A]around [B]over [C]on [D]up
[解析]我选A.turn their lives around考的很偏,意识是改变、改善他们的生活的意思。Turn their lives over在这里说不通。
Text 1
Rodriguez not that children in remote villages around world are fans of superstars like Amold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet“some Americans fear that immigrant living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation‘s assimilative power.”
24. Why are Amold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?
A. To prove their popularity around the world.
B. To reveal the public‘s fear of immigrants.
C. To give examples of successful immigrants.
D. To show the powerful influence of American culture.
[解析]我选D.A基本上没人选,就不讲了。B有相当多的人选,我不讲别的错误原因,抓住the public就可以知道B绝对不能选。就象蛇打七寸,考研英语要考好,就是要在纷繁的细节中抓住错误选项致命的弱点。注意原文some Americans fear that immigrants…,“some Americans”(一些美国人)能代表the public(公众)吗?显然不行,除非是Most Americans在阅读的替换中可以认为是the public,命题者在这里是偷换概念,也就是错误替换!C.作者在文章中提到的成功的人物一定是移民吗?尽管从广义上来说所以的美国人都是移民。有的考生说施瓦辛格是移民,但考研阅读不要求考生知道背景,对所有专业的考生是公平的,即使你没听说过他。另外,如果题目举这两个人的例子如果就是为了说明移民本身的成功,那就偏离了文章的主题,大家应该都知道例子是为主题或者主题句服务的。本篇文章讨论的主题就是美国在吸收移民方面的成功,美国文化的同化能力很强,本文并不讨论移民个人的成功。请注意yet后面的内容:然而,一些美国人担心在美国的移民会不受美国强大的通话能力的影响(有免疫能力)。这句话的内涵是什么呢?前半句讲了即使美国之外的人也崇拜美国人,那么作者就说了,人们何必担心住在美国国内的移民不受到美国文化的影响呢?言下之意是美国文化在全世界包括美国都有强大的影响。
25. In the author‘s opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is ______.
A. rewarding B. successful C. fruitless D. Harmful
[解析]我选B.本题除了C没人选,其它选项都有人选。题目问作者对美国吸收移民的观点是什么。请注意文章第二段第一句话Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous.讲了移民溶入美国文化is hardly poisonous=is hardly harmful,所以D不能选。而实际上作者从好几个方面将到了美国吸收移民的成功,比如说移民到第三代的时候基本上忘掉了原来的语言,新移民的家庭一般高于50%的人都拥有自己的房子等等,所以选B.本文并没有着重强调美国吸收移民是有好处的,有回报的,而只是强调吸收移民的过程的成功,这里A) rewarding又是偷换概念。关键还是看文章强调什么,这是一切阅读的精髓!
Text 3
According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators (animals that kill and eat other animals) in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then.
32. We can infer from Dr Myers and Dr. Worm‘s paper that
A. the stock of large predators in some old fisheries has reduced by 90%.
B. there are only half as many fisheries as there were 15 years ago.
C. the catch sizes in new fisheries are only 20% of the original amount.
D. the number of larger predators dropped faster in new fisheries than in the old.
[解析]我选A.本题目争议焦点是A/ D.这道题再次体现了考研阅读考查细到什么程度,考生要善于辨别选项之间的细微区别。首先我们来分析原文,在paper里,这两个博士提到了新的渔场在开始开发15年之内鱼的数量平均下降了80%.在某些长期捕捞的渔场里,鱼的数量自从那个时候(此处这样理解,比如1980年开始捕捞,这里就是指1995年后),又下降了一半。意思就是说原来只剩20%了,现在再下降一半,那就是说有些长期捕捞的渔场的数量下降了90%.这里不存在新的渔场和老的渔场的比较,有很多角度可以驳斥。比如说本文中说老的渔场自从那个时候又下降了一半(选D的人就会说,这不是表明新的80%要比老的50%快吗?),但是文章中并没有说这个下降50%是在多长时间内。如果是1个月就下降了50%,那不是比新的要快,因为新的要15年左右才下降80%呢。另外,我们还可以找到D的致命缺陷,细节啊细节!!!先说a new fishery,这个概念有的人说不能泛指,是特指某个渔场,所以不能选A,因为一个渔场无法推导出某些渔场的状况。实际上在语法上是可以泛指的。而且注意on average,我们总不能说一个渔场平均下降80%吧,肯定是指一般现象。即使承认a new fishery是特指某个渔场,那么D中new fisheries不也错了。D的七寸我觉得在in the old = in the old fishery,原文中是讲some fisheries,而the old一般是个泛指的概念(除非文章中提到了这个老的渔场),比如说the old就是指老年人,some old people干什么了,也能推导出the old干什么?显然在D选项中的the old把原文中some long-fished(old) fisheries的概念扩大了!本选项和24题中Some Americans不能等同于the public错误类似!请同学们好好体会!
Text 4
This wasn‘t always so. The earliest forms of art, like painting and music, are those best suited for expressing joy. But somewhere in the 19th century, more artists began seeing happiness as insipid, phony or, worst of all, boring as we went from Wordsworth’s daffodils to Baudelaire‘s flowers of evil.
What we forget——what our economy depends on is forgetting——is that happiness is more than pleasure without pain. The things that bring the greatest joy carry the greatest potential for loss and disappointment. Today, surrounded by promises of easy happiness, we need someone to tell us as religion once did, Memento mori: remember that you will die, that everything ends, and that happiness comes not in denying this but in living with it. It‘s a message even more bitter than a clove cigarette, yet, somehow, a breath of fresh air.
36.By citing the example of poets Wordsworth and Baudelaire, the author intends to show that
A. Poetry is not as expressive of joy as painting or music.
B. Art grow out of both positive and negative feeling.
C. Poets today are less skeptical of happiness.
D. Artist have changed their focus of interest.
[解析]我选D.本题争议主要在B和D,主要考查逻辑关系。文章中讲了,以前艺术都是歌颂美的感情,但是从19世纪以来艺术开始转向了,从描写生活中美的方面,转向丑恶的方面。举了一个例子说明这个转向(请大家再次体会举例是为了说明某个主题),这个转向就是从华兹华斯的水仙花转向了波德莱尔的恶之花。即使你不认识这两个人也不要紧,你只要把握住了文章这段话的主题就可以。文章后面解释了这个转向的原因,因为现代的广告等大众媒体歌颂了太多的快乐,艺术要起到反作用,提醒我们人生是有苦难的,一切都会结束。本文中也提到了宗教在古时候起到了大众媒体的作用,它向人们宣扬(提醒)人生的苦难,而那时候人们的生活本身也很困苦。那么既然已经有这么多苦了,那么那个时候的艺术更多的应该描述艺术。这里也有本文第一二段描述的艺术的转变契合。bummer的那道词汇理解题就与这里相关。所以显然选D,艺术家已经改变了他们关心(关注/兴趣)的焦点(也就是说艺术家现在开始描绘、反映痛苦了)。而B. Art grow out of both positive and negative feeling.如果选项改趁Arts express / explore both positive and negative feeling稍微好点,因为本文并未探讨艺术本身是从什么样的feeling所产生的,而是主要强调艺术在表现重点方面的转变,另外,华兹华斯的水仙花很多同学不一定认识,也就无法推导出华兹华斯的水仙花是grow out of positive feeling,这就涉及到考研的一个命题原则是,不要求学生具有背景知识。命题原则是要求考生从上下文推导。而且,即使我们不知道波德莱尔的恶之花是表现西方精神病态和社会病态(evil)的作品(而不是产生于他自己的negative feeling),我们也不能从文章中推导出来恶之花这部艺术作品(art)的产生是由波德莱尔的negative feeling产生的!另外,有的人说文章中没有提到艺术家的兴趣,所以不能选,但是请注意即使没有提到艺术家的“兴趣”转变了,但是interest还有"关心,关注"的意思。关键还是对词汇的精确全面的理解,在本文中interest表示“兴趣,关心,关注”都是可以说的通的。艺术家如果对自己的事业没有兴趣,会去描述情感,发表作品,表达自己的情感吗?一般是不会的吧。
39.We can learn from the last paragraph that the author believes
A. Happiness more often than not ends in sadness.
B. The anti-happy art is distasteful but refreshing.
C. Misery should be enjoyed rather than denied.
D. The anti-happy art flourishes when economy booms
[解析]我选B.本题最具有争议性,主要就是B/ D的争论,要写理由可以写一页纸,大家也没有耐心看,那么我再抓C的七寸!注意原文we need someone to tell us as religion once did, Memento mori: remember that you will die, that everything ends, and that happiness comes not in denying this but in living with it. It‘s a message even more bitter than a clove cigarette, yet, somehow, a breath of fresh air. (忧愁的(反快乐的)艺术告诉我们的尽管苦涩,却带来一股令我们清醒的清新气息。本句中someone就是指本篇讨论的现代艺术,而现代艺术的本质是anti-happy的。看看B!more bitter“对应”distasteful“:”a breath of fresh air“对应”refreshing“。)
that happiness comes not in denying this but in living with it.中this /it都是指人生的unhappiness也就是misery.这句话的意思是幸福不在于否认生活中有misery,而是应该去接受或容忍它。命题者将这句话前错后对地改写了,Misery should be enjoyed rather than denied.这里enjoy作者用了个非常具有干扰性的词。注意:live with = accept or tolerate sth. unpleasant怎么可能等同于enjoy呢!