Directions: In the following text, some segments have been removed. For Questions, choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true. The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. 1 . The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine. But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution. 2 . I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing. All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods—paintings, sculpture and architecture—and superfluous experiences—music, literature, religion and philosophy. 3 . For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. 4 . Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on. 5 . What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness"—creations and experiences to which others adhere. A. Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity. B. Applications like tumblr.com, which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others. C. Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day. D. This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading—between passive consumption and active creation—whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine. E. The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players. F. One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium television—and television is defined by downloading. G. The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.
1.
C
[解析] 第二段介绍电脑的问世过程,第三段阐述联网电脑的强大功能,所以空格处部分应该承上启下。C项中的not only承接上文,but后的内容则与下文对应。同时,可以通过“The second half of the 20th century(20世纪后半叶)”与“the turn of the millennium(千年之交)”结构的上下呼应来定位。C项中的such a device即指代fabulous machine, typewriter and printing press等设备。因此,正确答案为C项。
[解析] 空格部分出现在段尾,且前一句中提到superfluous material goods...and superfluous experiences。A项中的these superfluous things可以在前文中找到所指。A项中的第一句话用Ofcourse,与前文形成正确的因果关系。第二句话指出人类应该超越下载模式,下一段第一句话说人类依然拘囿于下载模式,前后转折自然,过渡顺畅。因此正确答案为A项。
4.
F
[解析] 空格部分出现在段尾,起承上启下的作用。浏览选项发现F项中的this pyramid of production与前文a pyramid of production相呼应。此外F项中的television是下一段第一句话的主语,开启了下文对电视的论述,完美地实现了空格处上下文不同话题之间的平滑过渡。所以F项为正确答案。
5.
G
[解析] 空格部分出现在段尾,起承上启下的作用。浏览选项,发现,G项提到reverse the flow,而前文提到Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes,因此前后呼应,后文表示互联网可以扭转这种流向,与前文形成转折。另外,下一段开头问:什么是有意义的上传呢?可见空格处必须出现meaningful up loading,这样下文才能有所指,G项中有这两个词语。综上所述,G项为正确答案。
The social sciences are flourishing. As of 2005, there were almost half a million professional social scientists from all fields in the world, working both inside and outside academia. According to the World Social Science Report 2010, the number of social-science students worldwide has swollen by about 11% every year since 2000. Yet this enormous resource is not contributing enough to today's global challenges including climate change, security, sustainable development and health. 6 . Humanity has the necessary ago-technological tools to eradicate hunger, from genetically engineered crops to artificial fertilizers. Here, too, the problems are social: the organization and distribution of food, wealth and prosperity. 7 . This is a shame—the community should be grasping the opportunity to raise its influence in the real world. To paraphrase the great social scientist Joseph Schumpeter: there is no radical innovation without creative destruction. Today, the social sciences are largely focused on disciplinary problems and internal scholarly debates, rather than on topics with external impact. Analyses reveal that the number of papers including the keywords "environmental change" or "climate change" have increased rapidly since 2004. 8 . When social scientists do tackle practical issues, their scope is often local: Belgium is interested mainly in the effects of poverty on Belgium, for example. And whether the community's work contributes much to an overall accumulation of knowledge is doubtful. The problem is not necessarily the amount of available funding. 9 . This is an adequate amount so long as it is aimed in the right direction. Social scientists who complain about a lack of funding should not expect more in today's economic climate. The trick is to direct these funds better. The European Union Framework funding programs have long had a category specifically targeted at social scientists. This year, it was proposed that the system be changed: Horizon 2020, a new program to be enacted in 2014, would not have such a category. This has resulted in protests from social scientists. But the intention is not to neglect social science; rather, the complete opposite. 10 . That should create more collaborative endeavors and help to develop projects aimed directly at solving global problems. A. It could be that we are evolving two communities of social scientists: one that is discipline-oriented and publishing in highly specialized journals, and one that is problem-oriented and publishing elsewhere, such as policy briefs. B. However, the numbers are still small: in 2010, about 1,600 of the 100,000 social-sciences papers published globally included one of these keywords. C. The idea is to force social scientists to integrate their work with other categories, including health and demographic change, food security, marine research and the bio-economy, clear, efficient energy; and inclusive, innovative and secure societies. D. The solution is to change the mindset of the academic community, and what it considers to be its main goal. Global challenges and social innovation ought to receive much more attention from scientists, especially the young ones. E. These issues all have root causes in human behavior: all require behavioral change and social innovations, as well as technological development. Stemming climate change, for example, is as much about changing consumption patterns and promoting tax acceptance as it is about developing clean energy. F. Despite these factors, many social scientists seem reluctant to tackle such problems. And in Europe, some are up in arms over a proposal to drop a specific funding category for social-science research and to integrate it within cross-cutting topics of sustainable development. G. During the late 1990s, national spending on social sciences and the humanities as a percentage of all research and development funds—including government, higher education, non-profit and corporate—varied from around 4% to 25%; in most European nations, it is about 15%.
[解析] 根据逻辑关系知识点,however连接部分前后相反。因此B项谈及的话题,前一句一定也会涉及。B项提及的是关于numbers的话题,空前一句讲到the number of papers including...have increased rapidly...,同时,B项提到“the numbers are still small”(数量非常小),空前信息是“the number...increased rapidly”(数量增长非常迅速),两者在语意上构成了明显的转折关系。所以正确答案为B项。
9.
G
[解析] 该段第一句提到The problem is not necessarily the amount of available funding,其表达的含义是:这个问题不一定出在可用资金的数量上。那接下来要讲的内容一定和资金有关系。该题空格之后出现“this is an adequate amount”其含义是:这个资金数量是足够的。那么this指代的内容一定和adequate amount相关,而G项的题干是“national spending varied from 4% to 25%”,其表述的内容正是资金的总量。因此G项为正确答案。
10.
C
[解析] 空前的信息But the intention is not to neglect social science; rather, the complete opposite, 是指目的不是为了忽略社会科学家,而是完全相反。根据语意衔接,本题的内容会说明欧盟这一做法的真正目的,并且这一目的对于社会科学家一定是积极的。即应当是neglect social science的相反的内容,谈论对于social science的重视。同时,根据下文中出现的信息线索That should create more collaborative endeavors,我们发现C项中出现了一个collaborative endeavors的同义表达to force social scientists to integrate their work...。故正确答案为C项。
Long before Man lived on the Earth, there were fishes, reptiles, birds, insects, and some mammals. Although some of these animals were ancestors of kinds living today, others are now extinct, that is, they have no descendants alive now. 11 . Very occasionally the rocks show impression of skin, so that, apart from color, we can build up a reasonably accurate picture of an animal that died millions of years ago. That kind of rock in which the remains are found tells us much about the nature of the original land, often of the plants that grew on it, and even of its climate. 12 . Nearly all of the fossils that we know were preserved in rocks formed by water action, and most of these are of animals that lived in or near water. Thus it follows that there must be many kinds of mammals, birds, and insects of which we know nothing. 13 . There were also crablike creatures, whose bodies were covered with a horny substance. The body segments each had two pairs of legs, one pair for walking on the sandy bottom, the other for swimming. The head was a kind of shield with a pair of compound eyes, often with thousands of lenses. They were usually an inch or two long but some were 2 feet. 14 . Of these, the ammonites are very interesting and important. They have a shell composed of many chambers, each representing a temporary home of the animal. As the young grew larger it grew a new chamber and sealed off the previous one. Thousands of these can be seen in the rocks on the Dorset Coast. 15 . About 75 million years ago the Age of Reptiles was over and most of the groups died out. The mammals quickly developed, and we can trace the evolution of many familiar animals such as the elephant and horse. Many of the later mammals though now extinct, were known to primitive man and were featured by him in cave paintings and on bone carvings. A. The shellfish have a long history in the rock and many different kinds are known. B. Nevertheless, we know a great deal about many of them because their bones and shells have been preserved in the rocks as fossils, from them we can tell their size and shape, how they walked, the kind of food they ate. C. The first animals with true backbones were the fishes, first known in the rocks of 375 million years ago. About 300 million years ago the amphibians, the animals able to live both on land and in water, appeared. They were giant, sometimes 8 feet long, and many of them lived in the swampy pools in which our coal seam, or layer is formed. The amphibians gave rise to the reptiles and for nearly 150 million years these were the principal forms of life on land, in the sea, and in the air. D. The best index fossils tend to be marine creatures. These animals evolved rapidly and spread over large over large areas of the world. E. The earliest animals whose remains have been found were all very simple kinds and lived in the sea. Later forms are more complex, and among these are the sea-lilies, relations of the star-fishes, which had long arms and were attached by a long stalk to the sea bed, or to rocks. F. When an animal dies, the body, its bones, or shell, may often be carried away by streams into lakes or the sea and there get covered up by mud. If the animal lived in the sea its body would probably sink and be covered with mud. More and more mud would fall upon it until the bones or shell become embedded and preserved. G. Many factors can influence how fossils are preserved in rocks. Remains of an organism may be replaced by minerals, dissolved by an acidic solution to leave only their impression, or simply reduced to a more stable form.
11.
B
[解析] 画线处位于第一段末尾,考查画线处前后的语义关系发现,前文中说动物灭绝了,暗含的意思是我们不可能得到这些动物的任何信息,而后面的句子说我们可以对这些动物形成准确的印象,因此,前后文形成了明显的对比关系,四个选项中能够表达这种关系的,只有B项。此外,第二段开头Very occasionally the rocks show impression of skin, rocks的前面使用了定冠词the修饰,这表明rocks在前文中一定出现过,但第一段中并没有出现关于rocks的内容,因此可以确定,关于rocks的内容一定出现在要填入的选项中。B项中出现了动物的骨骼被保存在the rocks中变成化石的论述,由此可以判断B项是正确答案。
12.
F
[解析] 本题出现在第三段首句,从答题策略来看,应当重点看后文的叙述,后文中water重复了两遍,说明water是本段落的重点信息。同时这一信息很可能会在上下文中出现,即我们要填入的信息中出现water的复现词或同义词。对比选项,F项中出现了lake, stream, river, sea等同类词汇,因此可以判断F项为正确答案。本题最大的干扰项为G项,因为G项一开始就有how fossils ate preserved与下文Nearly all of the fossils that we know were preserved in rocks...所表达的内容从形式上来看似乎是吻合的;但是G项后面讲的是动物遗体上的有机组织(organism)可能转化成几种形式,而本题空白处后面的内容则告诉人们Nearly all of the fossils that we know were preserved in rocks formed by water action,语义上主要说明水的运动对于化石保存下来所起的作用,因此两者在语义的衔接上是不连贯的。
13.
E
[解析] 本题选择的特征词是“also”。“also”表并列关系,语义上对前文进行补充和说明,这就证明本题前面的句子中应当与also后的crablike creatures(类似螃蟹的生物)相并列的内容,或者出现了有关“类似螃蟹的生物”的描述的信息。比较选项可以发现,E项中出现的信息Later forms are more complex, and among these are the sea-lilies, relations of the star-fishes, which had long arms and were attached by a long stalk to the sea bed, or to rocks描述了一些生物具有“类似螃蟹的信息”:had long arms and were attached by a long stalk to the sea bed, or to rock(有长触角且通过长茎吸附到海床或岩石上)。因此,E项是正确答案。
14.
A
[解析] 下文一开始就出现了指示代词these,这说明试题前面的句子表明了一类事物,也就是说,试题部分应该有“some,several, many”或类似的词,对比答案只能是A项The shellfish have a long history in the rock and many different kinds are known. 里面出现了many different kinds of,这个短语和后面的指示代词these形成了对应关系。
15.
C
[解析] 文章前面几段讲的都是动物不断进化的过程,而下文中的时间状语About 75 million years ago the Age of Reptiles was over表明文章对地球上动物进化过程的描写很有可能是按照时间顺序,因此本题所在的段落和下面的段落很可能存在时间上的延续关系,即本题所在的段落很可能会提到比75 million years ago更早的时间。通过对比选项可知C项中的两个表示时间的短语375 million years和150 million years和下一个段落中提到的时间状语具有了延续性,是正确答案。此外,划线处后的About 75 million years ago the Age of Reptiles was over and most of the groups died out中的Reptile在前文中从没有提到,在下文中又没有作为新信息,因而正确答案的选项中一定有这个词。只有C项中有The amphibians gave rise to the reptiles for nearly 150 million years these were the principal forms of life on land, in the sea, and in the sea, and in the air,所以正确答案只能是C项。
Directions: For Questions, choose the most suitable paragraphs from the list A-G to fill them into the numbered boxes to form a coherent text. Paragraph E has been correctly placed. There is one paragraph which does not fit in with the text. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. A. The first and more important is the consumer's growing preference for eating out; consumption of food and drink in places other than homes has risen from about 32 percent of total consumption in 1995 to 35 percent in 2000 and is expected to approach 38 percent by 2005. This development is boosting wholesale demand from the food service segment by 4 to 5 percent a year across Europe, compared with growth in retail demand of 1 to 2 percent. Meanwhile, as the recession is looming large, people are getting anxious. They tend to keep a tighter hold on their purse and consider eating at home a realistic alternative. B. Retail sales of food and drink in Europe's largest markets are at a standstill, leaving European grocery retailers hungry for opportunities to grow. Most leading retailers have already tried e-commerce, with limited success, and expansion abroad. But almost all have ignored the big, profitable opportunity in their own backyard: the wholesale food and drink trade, which appears to be just the kind of market retailers need. C. Will such variations bring about a change in the overall structure of the food and drink market? Definitely not. The functioning of the market is based on flexible trends dominated by potential buyers. In other words, it is up to the buyer, rather than the seller, to decide what to buy. At any rate, this change will ultimately be acclaimed by an ever-growing number of both domestic and international consumers, regardless of how long the current consumer pattern will take hold. D. All in all, this clearly seems to be a market in which big retailers could profitably apply their scale, existing infrastructure, and proven skills in the management of product ranges, logistics, and marketing intelligence. Retailers that master the intricacies of wholesaling in Europe may well expect to rake in substantial profits thereby. At least, that is how it looks as a whole. Closer inspection reveals important differences among the biggest national markets, especially in their customer segments and wholesale structures, as well as the competitive dynamics of individual food and drink categories. Big retailers must understand these differences before they can identify the segments of European wholesaling in which their particular abilities might unseat smaller but entrenched competitors. New skills and unfamiliar business models are needed, too. E. Despite variations in detail, wholesale markets in the countries that have been closely examined—France, Germany, Italy and Spain—are made out of the same building blocks. Demand comes mainly from two sources: independent room-and-pop grocery stores, which unlike large retail chains, are too small to buy straight from producers, and food service operators that cater to consumers when they don't eat at home. Such food service operators range from snack machines to large institutional catering ventures, but most of these businesses are known in the trade as "horeca": hotels, restaurants and cafes. Overall, Europe's wholesale market for food and drink is growing at the same sluggish pace as the retail market, but the figures, when added together, mask two opposing trends. F. For example, wholesale food and drink sales come to $168 billion in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom in 2000—more than 40 percent of retail sales. Moreover, average overall margins are higher in wholesale than in retail; wholesale demand from the food service sector is growing quickly as more Europeans eat out more often; and changes in the competitive dynamics of this fragmented industry are at last making it feasible for wholesalers to consolidate. G. However, none of these requirements should deter large retailers (and even some large good producers and existing wholesalers) from trying their hand, for those that master the intricacies of wholesaling in Europe stand to reap considerable gains. Order: 16 → 17 → 18 → 19 →E→ 20
[解析] 第一段确定为B项,其最后一句话“But”后指出了虽然食品零售商面临着发展停滞的问题,他们却忽略了一个潜在的市场——就是他们身边的“wholesale food and trade”。而F项中的第一句话便举例说明法国、德国、意大利等国家的食品批发产业的市场规模比食品零售产业要大40%。在“Moreover”后,又进一步说明批发的利润在很大程度上高于零售的利润。因此可以判断此项是针对第一段进行的举例说明,故F项为正确答案。
18.
D
[解析] 上一段(F项)讲的是食品批发商的优势,而D项第一句“All in all, this clearly seems to be a market in which...”是总结性的句子,显然是对上文的总结,这是从“All in all”这个关键词看出来的,即上文中提到的食品批发的优势。由此可以推出这是针对“big retailers that master the intricacies of wholesaling”的“market”。因此D项为正确答案。
19.
G
[解析] 上段(D段)最后一句提出的“particular abilities”以及“New skills and unfamiliar business models are needed too”,即零售商也需要一些新技能及不为人熟知的商业模式。而G项第一句提到的“these requirements(这些要求)”指的就是上面提到的技能。因此G项为正确答案。