同等学力申硕士英语第阅读第一课

第一课

 

Section A

 

Directions: In this section, there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and mark your answer on the Answer Sheet.

 

Passage One

 

If you've ever hosted a mouse as a house guest, you know they can be incredibly clever at finding your food. And that makes sense.

"They had to become better in traits like problem solving because we became better at hiding our food from them."

Anja Guenther is with the Max Planck Institute in Germany. She says that battle of the minds has made mice craftier over time.

"The longer the mice lived with humans, the better they are at problem-solving."

You see, there are more than a dozen subspecies of house mice worldwide. And each began cohabitating with humans at different times in our evolutionary history. For example...

"Mus musculus domesticus."

It began raiding human pantries around 12,000 years ago.

"Mus musculus musculus."

Our relationship with them began some 8,000 years ago.

"And Mus musculus castaneus."

It's a relative newcomer who began cohabitating only 3,000 to 5,000 years ago.

And that spread in evolutionary life histories, with constituents from all three groups, gave Guenther's team an opportunity. They gathered 150 mice-representing all three groups-and tested them with seven different food puzzles. Each puzzle was baited with a mealworm, which the mice could only get by pushing or pulling a lid, for example, or extracting a ball of paper from a tube or opening the window of a Lego house.

And they found that the longer a mouse variety had lived with humans, the more likely it was to solve these food puzzles.

"So, basically, what we are left at, with trying to explain these results that we see, is that the mice really developed higher enhanced cognitive abilities while living with humans."The results appear in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

As the human footprint on the globe expands, Guenther says it's more important than ever to understand how we influence animal minds to learn why some creatures, like house mice, adapt-while others simply die out.

 

21. What does "And that makes sense" refer to in the 1st paragraph?

A. It is reasonable if you find the mice clever.

B. It is nonsense to find the mice become clever.

C. There is no evidence that the mice become clever.

D. The mice is unbelievably clever at finding food.

 

22. Why does the author mention three groups of house mice?

A. To prove that the mice are wide-spread.

B. To prove that the mice are incredibly clever.

C. To illustrate that each species of house mice lived with humans at different times in history.

D. To show that the mice exist in our evolutionary history for a long time.

 

23. In Guenther's experiment       .

A. mice had to put puzzle pieces together

B. mice needed to overcome obstacles

C. different mice groups were treated differently

D. worms were used to develop mice's skills

 

24. The results of the experiment indicate that     .

A. the cleverer a mouse is, the better relationship it has with humans

B. the longer the mice live with humans, the better they are at finding food

C. different varieties of mice have similar cognitive abilities

D. it is humans who train mice to be cleverer over the years

 

25.What is the significance of the research on mice?

A. It contributes to the study of human influence on animals.

B. It helps humans to find better ways to get rid of mice.

C. It provides methods to protect various animal species.

D. It gives evidence to the understanding of animal minds.

 

Passage Two

 

Today's grandparents are joining their grandchildren on social media, but the different generations' online habits couldn't be more different. The over-55s are joining Facebook in increasing numbers, meaning that they will soon be the site's second biggest user group, with 3.5million users aged 55-64 and 2.9 million over-65s.

Sheila, aged 59, says, "I joined to see what my grandchildren are doing, as my daughter posts videos and photos of them. It's a much better way to see what they' re doing than waiting for letters and photos in the post. That's how we did it when I was a child, but I think I'm lucky. I get to see so much more of their lives than my grandparents did."

Ironically, Sheila's grandchildren are less likely to use Facebook themselves. Children under17 are leaving the site-only 2.2 million users are under 17-but they're not going far from their smartphones. Chloe, aged 15, even sleeps with her phone. "It's my alarm clock so I have to,"she says. "I look at it before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up."

Unlike her grandmother's generation, Chloe's age group is spending so much time on their phones at home that they are missing out on spending time with their friends in real life. Sheila, on the other hand, has made contact with old friends from school she hasn't heard from in forty years. "We use Facebook to arrange to meet all over the country," she says. "It's changed my social life completely."

Teenagers might have their parents to thank for their smartphone and social media addiction as their parents were the early adopters of the smartphone. Peter, 38 and father of two teenagers,reports that he used to be on his phone or laptop constantly. "I was always connected and I felt like

I was always working," he says. "How could I tell my kids to get off their phones if I was always in front of a screen myself?" So, in the evenings and at weekends, he takes his SIM card out of his smartphone and puts it into an old-style mobile phone that can only make calls and send text messages. "I'm not completely cut off from the world in case of emergencies, but the important thing is I'm.setting a better example to my kids and spending more quality time with them."Is it only a matter of time until the generation above and below Peter catches up with the new trend for a less digital life?

 

26. According to the author, the online habits of the aged     .

A. are quite different from the young

B. have no more difference with their grandchildren

C. are the same as the young

D. have no difference with each other

 

27. Which of the following is TRUE about Sheila?

A. She can join her grandchildren's life more conveniently.

B. She can get involved in her grandchildren's life.

C. She communicates with her grandchildren through Facebook.

D. She uses Facebook to communicate with her old friends.

 

28. Which of the following is TRUE about the young?

A. They use Facebook to communicate with friends.

B. They just take the smartphone as an alarm.

C. They spend less time with their friends in real life.

D. They go far away from their smartphones.

 

29. What can NOT be learned from paragraph 5?

A. It's their parents who should be blamed for teenagers' social media addiction.

B. Teenagers' parents are the first users of smartphones.

C. Peter try to set an example for his children.

D. Old-style mobile phone is better than smartphone.

 

30. Which is NOT the author's attitude toward the future of digital life?

A. People should spend less time on smartphones.

B. There is still a long way to go to live a less digital life.

C. People of all ages should get rid of social media addiction.

D. It is not necessary for all ages to reduce digital life.

 

Passage Three

 

In February 2019, The Kaiser Permanent health system announced a new kind of medical school. The school would be built "from the ground up" to prepare students for the complexities of the U. S. medical system. The curriculum would emphasize cultural competency, patient and provider well-being, mental health and the elimination of socioeconomic disparities in the medical system.

Students would see patients right away, and hands-on learning would replace many lectures.What's more, the first five graduating classes would pay nothing to attend; Kaiser hoped this would attract students more diverse than the typical U.S. medical school's. "The school will help shape the future of medical education," said Kaiser CEO Bernard J. Tyson, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack, about nine months after the announcement.

That future felt a good deal more urgent by the time the Kaiser Permanent Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine opened its doors in Pasadena, Calif. , in July 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic had put almost every facet of normal life on hold, and the medical system was scrambling to treat millions of patients with a new and terrifying disease, the majority of them black and brown. The streets were filled with people protesting police brutality and racism, as a nation that had long overslept awoke to the disparities woven into almost every American institution. "Our country doesn't just have a pandemic. It also has a renewed recognition of centuries of racism," says Kaiser's founding dean, Dr. Mark Schuster. "We need to make sure that our students understand our history."

Kaiser isn't alone there, of course. Medical schools all over the world have had to adjust on the fly, in ways both practical and ideological. First, schools had to figure out how to remotely train students in skills taught hands-on before lockdowns. Then, in the U. S. , schools were also forced to grapple with their roles in a health care system that often fails to keep Black and brown patients well. That meant learning how to produce doctors who could help chip away at those disparities moving forward. With no warning and no instruction manual, medical schools are figuring out how to train a generation of postpandemic doctors for a world still taking shape.

 

31. What kind of students does NOT The Kaiser want to develop?

A. They should have profound cultural competency.

B.They should know how to let the patients feel easy during the cure process.

C. They should improve their physical health.

D. They should help those who have low socioeconomic status.

 

32. What is the teaching mode in Kaiser Permanent?

B. Practical study together with teacher.

A. Face to face teaching.

D. Traditional study.

C. Online learning.

 

33. What does "more urgent" mean in the first sentence in paragraph 3?

A. The medical system of the U. S. becomes even worse.

B. The COVID-19 needs more doctors.

C. Police brutality and racism arouse social protests.

D. The COVID-19 and social problems calls for more good doctors.

 

34. What does Dr. Mark Schuster's remarks indicate?

A. Together with the pandemic, the future doctors should also understand the development of social problems.

B. Americans should solve the racial problem immediately.

C. The racism has existed for centuries without awareness.

D. Doctors have to learn history.

 

35. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. Kaiser is the only school in the world trying to make a change.

B. Students should also be trained on professional ethics.

C. The blacks and brown should chip away at those inequalities.

D. They have definite plans to train postpandemic doctors.

 

Passage Four

 

While studying for his masters degree at Queens College, Oxford, he developed the character of Mr. Bean, whom Atkinson described as "a child in a grown man's body." Often wearing his trademark tweed jacket, a red tie, and a digital calculator watch, the title character Mr. Bean,played by Rowan Atkinson, rarely talks, but everything he does is absurd and funny. When he does speak, he usually utters only a few mumbled words in a comically low-pitched voice. This visually based style sets actor Rowan apart from most modern comedians who mainly rely on dialog or monolog. Because of his natural gift for silent comedy or physical comedy, Rowan is called "the man with the rubber face."

Rowan also played a verbally bumbling priest, called Father Gerald, in the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral(1994), and in the Disney's movie The Lion King, he featured the voice of Zazu, the red-billed hornbill, and sang the song "I Just Can' t Wait to Be King". He is also famous for his detective roles in the James Bond parody Johnny English (2003) and its sequel Johnny English Reborn(2011).

Rowan is surely best known for his roles in Mr. Bean. Nonetheless, in November 2012, he expressed his intentions to retire his beloved character, Mr. Bean. He told The Daily Telegraphs Review that "someone in their 50s being childlike becomes a little sad." Will humorous Mr. Bean starring Rowan Atkinson really disappear completely from the stage? His fans are expecting a new animated web-series featuring Mr. Bean with Rowan Atkinson returning to the role to be released online.

On August 30, 2014, the news about the death of the talented 59-year-old actor, and comedian Rowan Atkinson spread quickly on Facebook. Fans of this much loved comedian across the world expressed their deep sadness on the Facebook page. Thankfully, the report about the actors death turned out to be a complete hoax, and Rowan Atkinson is still alive and well.

 

36. Which description is NOT the trait of Mr. Bean?

A. He is a little childlike.

B. He has a typical dressing style.

C. He usually uses physical expression.

D. He is glad to bring laughter to others.

 

37. What does "rubber face" mean in paragraph 1?

A. Mr. Bean has rich facial expressions.

B. Mr. Bean is so different from other actors.

C. Mr. Bean is not as natural as others.

D. Mr. Bean has rigid reactions.

 

38. Which movie didn't Rowan appear in?

A. Four Weddings and a Funeral.

B. The Lion King.

C. Johnny English(2003).

D. Johnny English Reborn(2011).

 

39. Why did Rowan want to retire the character Mr. Bean in 2012?

A. He found it a little sad to be a child.

B.He found it a little sad to be childlike.

C. He found it a little sad to be childlike at the age of 50s.

D. He found it a little sad to present a childlike performance.

 

40. What can NOT be learned about Rowan Atkinson?

A. He has natural gifts for comedy.

B. Mr. Bean is his best known role.

C. He is loved by fans all over the world.

D. He retired his beloved character Mr. Bean in 2012.

 

Section B

 

Directions : In this section, you are required to read one quoted blog and the comments on it. The blog and comments are followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and mark your answer on the Answer Sheet.

 

I am starting to worry about the electric car. Not the thing itself; I've found electric vehicles to be superior to their fossil-powered predecessors in just about every important way, and although

I am a car-crazy Californian, I don't expect to buy a lung-destroying, pollution-spewing gas car ever again.

But electric motors are merely a power source, not a panacea. From General Motors' Super Bowl ads to President Biden's climate-change plans, plug-in cars are now being cast as a central player in America's response to a warming future-turning a perfectly reasonable technological hope into overblown hype.

The planet will be much better off if we switch to electric cars. But gauzy visions of the guilt-free highways of tomorrow could easily distract us from the larger and more entrenched problem with America's transportation system.

That problem isn't just gas-fueled cars but car-fueled lives-a view of the world in which huge private automobiles are the default methods of getting around. In this way E. V.s represent a very American answer to climate change: To deal with an expensive, dangerous, extremely resource-intensive machine that has helped bring about the destruction of the planet, let's all buy this new version, which runs on a different fuel.

During his time as mayor of South Bend, Ind., Pete Buttigieg, the new secretary of transportation, advocated plans to reduce car dependency. But asking Americans to begin to imagine

a future of fewer, smaller cars and less driving will be a great political heave. I can already imagine the Fox News segments pillorying Biden and Mayor Pete for their "war" on S. U. V. s and pickup trucks.

Comment 1:

When gasoline prices hit $ 200.00 a gallon, we were gonna quit driving and just WALK everywhere.

Comment 2:

We support and encourage many planet-saving carbon offset projects worldwide. These include forest regeneration and protection activities designed to save the world's precious natural resources. Your support makes a significant difference in the fight against climate change and global warming.

Comment 3:

An objection to the clean, eco-friendly image of electric cars is the effects of electric car battery pollution. Electric car batteries are composed of various rare earth materials. The extraction, manipulation, and disposal of such materials can contribute to carbon emissions and air and water pollution.

 

41. What is the passage mainly about?

A. The promotion of electric motors is overblown.

B. Electric cars can do no help to the warming climate.

C. Electric cars are not so good as the author has imagined.

D. The future will be better if we all turn to electric motors.

 

42. According to the author, which is the correct attitude toward electric cars?

A. People should switch to electric cars to reduce pollution.

B. People should turn to fuel-save machines instead.

C.It isn't the final resort to solve the global warming problem.

D. Electric car should be promoted more effectively.

 

43. What is indicated in paragraph 5?

A. It is very easy to promote less driving life through political method.

B. Pete Buttigieg believes only the reduction of car dependency can help to solve the warming climate.

C. Fox News plays an effective role in the perception change toward electric cars.

D. The majority support the reduction of resource-intensive machines.

 

44. Which comment present a negative attitude toward reduction of car dependency?

A. Comment 1.

B. Comment 2.

C. Comment 3.

D. None.

 

45. How does the electric car pollute the environment according to Comment 3?

A. Earth material.

B. Extraction.

C. Manipulation.

D. The battery.