2013英语一阅读理解原文及答案
2013-01-07 08:56阅读：
Section II Reading
Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Read the following fourtexts. Answer the questions
below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on
ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)
Text 1
In the 2006 film version of The Devil Wears Prada ,Miranda
Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, scolds her unattractive assistant
for imagining that high fashion doesn’t affect her, Priestly
explains how the deep blue color of the assistant’s sweater
descended over the years from fashion shows to departments stores
and to the bargain bin in which the poor girl doubtless found her
garment.
This top-down conception of the fashion business couldn’t be more
out of date or at odds with the feverish would described in
Overdressed, Eliazabeth Cline’s three-year indictment of “fast
fashion”. In the last decade or so ,advances in technology have
allowed mass-market labels such as Zara ,H&M, and
Uniqlo to react to trends more quickly and anticipate demand more
precisely. Quicker turnarounds mean less wasted inventory, more
frequent release, and more profit. These labels encourage
style-conscious consumers to see clothes as disposable-meant to
last only a wash or two, although they don’t advertise that –and to
renew their wardrobe every few weeks. By offering on-trend items at
dirt-cheap prices, Cline argues, these brands have hijacked fashion
cycles, shaking an industry long accustomed to a seasonal
pace.
The victims of this revolution , of course ,are not limited to
designers. For H&M to offer a $5.95 knit miniskirt in all its
2,300-pius stores around the world, it must rely on low-wage
overseas labor, order in volumes that strain natural resources, and
use massive amounts of harmful chemicals.
Overdressed is the fashion world’s answer to consumer-activist
bestsellers like Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
“Mass-produced clothing ,like fast food, fills a hunger and need,
yet is non-durable and wasteful,” Cline argues. Americans, she
finds, buy roughly 20 billion garments a year – about 64 items per
person – and no matter how much they give away, this excess leads
to waste.
Towards the end of Overdressed, Cline introduced her ideal, a
Brooklyn woman named Sarah Kate Beaumont, who since 2008 has made
all of her own clothes – and beautifully. But as Cline is the first
to note, it took Beaumont decades to perfect her craft; her example
can’t be knocked off.
Though several fast-fashion companies have made efforts to curb
their impact on labor and the environment – including H&M, with
its green Conscious Collection line –Cline believes lasting change
can only be effected by the customer. She exhibits the idealism
common to many advocates of sustainability, be it in food or in
energy. Vanity is a constant; people will only start shopping more
sustainably when they can’t afford not to.
21. Priestly criticizes her assistant for her
[A] poor bargaining skill.
[B] insensitivity to fashion.
[C] obsession with high fashion.
[D] lack of imagination.
22. According to Cline, mass-maket labels urge consumers to
[A] combat unnecessary waste.
[B] shut out the feverish fashion world.
[C] resist the influence of advertisements.
[D] shop for their garments more frequently.
23. The word “indictment” (Line 3, Para.2) is closest in meaning
to
[A] accusation.
[B] enthusiasm.
[C] indifference.
[D] tolerance.
24. Which of the following can be inferred from the lase
paragraph?
[A] Vanity has more often been found in idealists.
[B] The fast-fashion industry ignores sustainability.
[C] People are more interested in unaffordable garments.
[D] Pricing is vital to environment-friendly purchasing.
25. What is the subject of the text?
[A] Satire on an extravagant lifestyle.
[B] Challenge to a high-fashion myth.
[C] Criticism of the fast-fashion industry.
[D] Exposure of a mass-market secret.
Text 2
An old saying has it that half of all advertising budgets are
wasted-the trouble is, no one knows which half . In the internet
age, at least in theory ,this fraction can be much reduced . By
watching what people search for, click on and say online, companies
can aim “behavioural” ads at those most likely to buy.
In the past couple of weeks a quarrel has illustrated the value to
advertisers of such fine-grained information: Should advertisers
assume that people are happy to be tracked and sent behavioural
ads? Or should they have explicit permission?
In December 2010 America's Federal Trade Cornmission (FTC) proposed
adding a 'do not track '(DNT) option to internet browsers ,so that
users could tell adwertisers that they did not want to be followed
.Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Apple's Safari both offer DNT
;Google's Chrome is due to do so this year. In February the FTC and
Digltal Adwertising Alliance (DAA) agreed that the industry would
get cracking on responging to DNT requests.
On May 31st Microsoft Set off the row: It said that Internet
Explorer 10,the version due to appear windows 8, would have DNT as
a default.
It is not yet clear how advertisers will respond. Geting a DNT
signal does not oblige anyone to stop tracking, although some
companies have promised to do so. Unable to tell whether someone
really objects to behavioural ads or whether they are sticking with
Microsoft’s default, some may ignore a DNT signal and press on
anyway.
Also unclear is why Microsoft has gone it alone. Atter all, it has
an ad business too, which it says will comply with DNT requests,
though it is still working out how. If it is trying to upset
Google, which relies almost wholly on default will become the norm.
DNT does not seem an obviously huge selling point for windows
8-though the firm has compared some of its other products
favourably with Google's on that count before. Brendon Lynch,
Microsoft's chief privacy officer, bloggde:'we believe consumers
should have more control.' Could it really be that simple?
26. It is suggested in paragraph 1 that “behavioural” ads help
advertisers to:
[A] ease competition among themselves
[B] lower their operational costs
[C] avoid complaints from consumers
[D] provide better online services
27. “The industry” (Line 6,Para.3) refers to:
[A] online advertisers
[B] e-commerce conductors
[C] digital information analysis
[D] internet browser developers
28. Bob Liodice holds that setting DNT as a default
[A] many cut the number of junk ads
[B] fails to affect the ad industry
[C] will not benefit consumers
[D] goes against human nature
29. which of the following is ture according to Paragraph.6?
[A] DNT may not serve its intended purpose
[B] Advertisers are willing to implement DNT
[C] DNT is losing its popularity among consumers
[D] Advertisers are obliged to offer behavioural ads
30. The author's attitude towards what Brendon Lynch said in his
blog is one of:
[A] indulgence
[B] understanding
[C] appreciaction
[D] skepticism
Text 3
Up until a few decades ago, our visions of the future were largely
- though by no means uniformly - glowingly positive. Science and
technology would cure all the ills of humanity, leading to lives of
fulfillment and opportunity for all.
Now utopia has grown unfashionable, as we have gained a deeper
appreciation of the range of threats facing us, from asteroid
strike to epidemic flu and to climate change. You might even be
tempted to assume that humanity has little future to look forward
to.
But such gloominess is misplaced. The fossil record shows that many
species have endured for millions of years - so why shouldn't we?
Take a broader look at our species' place in the universe, and it
becomes clear that we have an excellent chance of surviving for
tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years . Look up Homo sapiens
in the 'Red List' of threatened species of the International Union
for the Conversation of Nature (IUCN) ,and you will read: 'Listed
as Least Concern as the species is very widely distributed,
adaptable, currently increasing, and there are no major threats
resulting in an overall population decline.'
So what does our deep future hold? A growing number of researchers
and organisations are now thinking seriously about that question.
For example, the Long Now Foundation has its flagship project a
medical clock that is designed to still be marking time thousands
of years hence .
Perhaps willfully , it may be easier to think about such lengthy
timescales than about the more immediate future. The potential
evolution of today's technology, and its social consequences, is
dazzlingly complicated, and it's perhaps best left to science
fiction writers and futurologists to explore the many possibilities
we can envisage. That's one reason why we have launched Arc, a new
publication dedicated to the near future.
But take a longer view and there is a surprising amount that we can
say with considerable assurance. As so often, the past holds the
key to the future: we have now identified enough of the long-term
patterns shaping the history of the planet, and our species, to
make evidence-based forecasts about the situations in which our
descendants will find themselves.
This long perspective makes the pessimistic view of our prospects
seem more likely to be a passing fad. To be sure, the future is not
all rosy. But we are now knowledgeable enough to reduce many of the
risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and to
improve the lot of those to come.
31. Our vision of the future used to be inspired by
[A] our desire for lives of fulfillment
[B] our faith in science and technology
[C] our awareness of potential risks
[D] our belief in equal opportunity
32. The IUCN’s “Red List” suggest that human being are
[A] a sustained species
[B] a threaten to the environment
[C] the world’s dominant power
[D] a misplaced race
33. Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 5?
[A] Arc helps limit the scope of futurological studies.
[B] Technology offers solutions to social problem.
[C] The interest in science fiction is on the rise.
[D] Our Immediate future is hard to conceive.
34. To ensure the future of mankind, it is crucial to
[A] explore our planet’s abundant resources
[B] adopt an optimistic view of the world
[C] draw on our experience from the past
[D] curb our ambition to reshape history
35. Which of the following would be the best title for the
text?
[A] Uncertainty about Our Future
[B] Evolution of the Human Species
[C] The Ever-bright Prospects of Mankind
[D] Science, Technology and Humanity
Text 4
On a five to three vote,the Supreme Court knocked out much of
Arizona's immigration law Monday-a modest policy victory for the
Obama Aministration.But on the more important matter of the
Constitution,the decision was an 8-0 defeat for the federal
government and the states.
An arizona.United States,the majority overturned three of the four
contested provisions of Arizona's controversial plan to have state
and local police enfour federal immigrations law.The Constitutional
principles that Washington alone has the power to 'establish a
uniform Rule of Anturalization' and that federal laws precede state
laws are noncontroversial.Arizona had attempted to fashion state
police that ran to the existing federal ones.
Justice Anthony Kennedy,joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and
the Court's liberals,ruled that the state flew too close to the
federal sun .On the overturned provisions the majority held the
congress had deliberately 'occupied the field ' and Arizona had
thus intruded on the federal's privileged powers
However,the Justices said that Arizona police would be allowed to
verify the legal status of people who come in contact with law
enforcement.That’s because Congress has always envisioned joint
federal-state immigration enforcement and explicitly encourages
state officers to share information and cooperate with federal
colleagues.
Two of the three objecting Justice-Samuel Alito and Clarence
Thomas-agreed with this Constitutional logic but disagreed about
which Arizona rules conflicted with the federal statute. The only
major objection came from Justice Antonin Scalia,who offered an
even more robust defense of state privileges going back to the
alien and Sedition Acts.
The 8-0 objection to President Obama tures on what Justice Samuel
Alito describes in his objection as “a shocking assertion assertion
of federal executive power”. The White House argued tha Arizona’s
laws conflicted with its enforcement priorities, even if state laws
complied with federal statutes to the letter. In effect, the White
House claimed that it could invalidate any otherwise legitimate
state law that it disagrees with.
Some powers do belong exclusively to the federal government,and
control of citizenship and the borders is among them. But if
Congress wanted to prevent states from using their own resources to
check immigration status,it could.It could.It never did so.The
administration was in essence asserting that because it didn't want
to carry out Congress's immigration wishes,no state should be
allowed to do so either.Every Justice rightly rejected this
remarkable claim.
36. Three provisions of Arizona’s plan were overturned because
they
[A] deprived the federal police of Constitutional powers.
[B] disturbed the power balance between different states.
[C] overstepped the authority of federal immigration law.
[D] contradicted both the federal and state policies.
37. On which of the following did the Justices agree,according to
Paragraph4?
[A] Federal officers’ duty to withhold
immigrants’information.
[B] States’ independence from federal immigration law.
[C] States’ legitimate role in immigration enforcement.
[D] Congress’s intervention in immigration enforcement.
38. It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that the Alien and Sedition
Acts
[A] violated the Constitution.
[B] undermined the states’ interests.
[C] supported the federal statute.
[D] stood in favor of the states.
39. The White House claims that its power of enforcement
[A] outweighs that held by the states.
[B] is dependent on the states’ support.
[C] is established by federal statutes.
[D] rarely goes against state laws.
40. What can be learned from the last paragraph?
[A] Immigration issues are usually decided by Congress.
[B] Justices intended to check the power of the
Administrstion.
[C] Justices wanted to strengthen its coordination with
Congress.
[D] The Administration is dominant over immigration issues.
Text 1
21. Priestly criticizes her assistant for her
[B] insensitivity to fashion.
22. According to Cline, mass-maket labels urge consumers to
[D] shop for their garments more frequently.
23. The word “indictment” (Line 3, Para.2) is closest in meaning
to
[A] accusation.
24. Which of the following can be inferred from the lase
paragraph?
[D] Pricing is vital to environment-friendly purchasing
25. What is the subject of the text?
[C] Criticism of the fast-fashion industry.
Text 2
26. It is suggested in paragraph 1 that “behavioural” ads help
advertisers to:
[B] lower their operational costs
27. “The industry” (Line 6,Para.3) refers to:
[A] online advertisers
28. Bob Liodice holds that setting DNT as a default
[C] will not benefit consumers
29. which of the following is ture according to Paragraph.6?
[A] DNT may not serve its intended purpose
30. The author's attitude towards what Brendon Lynch said in his
blog is one of:
[D] skepticism
Text3
31·[B] our faith in science and technology
32·[A] a sustained species
33·[D] Our Immediate future is hard to conceive
34·[C] draw onour experience from the past
35·[C] TheEver-bright Prospects of Mankind
Text 4
36. [C]overstepped the authority of federal immigration law
37. [C]States’ legitimate role in immigration enforcement.
38. [D]stood in favor of the states
39. [A] outweighs that held by the states
40. [B]Justices intended to check the power of the
Administrstion.
