2018年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语(一)试题及答案解析

2018年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语

（一）试题及答案解析

Section I Use of English

Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)

Trust is a tricky business. On the one hand, it's a necessary condition 1 many worthwhile things: child care, friendships, etc. On the other hand, putting your 2, in the wrong place often carries a high 3. 4, why do we trust at all? Well, because it feels good. 5 people place their trust in an individual or an institution, their brains release oxytocin, a hormone that 6 pleasurable feelings and triggers the herding instruct that prompts humans to 7 with one another. Scientists have found that exposure 8 this hormone puts us in a trusting 9: In a Swiss study, researchers sprayed oxytocin into the noses of half the subjects; those subjects were ready to lend significantly higher amounts of money to strangers than were their 10 who inhaled something else. 11 for us, we also have a sixth sense for dishonesty that may 12 us. A Canadian study found that children as young as 14 months can differentiate 13 a credible person and a dishonest one. Sixty toddlers were each 14 to an adult tester holding a plastic container. The tester would ask, ―What’s in here?‖ before looking into the container, smiling, and exclaiming, ―Wow!‖ Each subject was then invited to look 15. Half of them found a toy; the other half 16 the container was empty-and realized the tester had 17 them. Among the children who had not been tricked, the majority were 18 to cooperate with the tester in learning a new skill, demonstrating that they trusted his leadership. 19, only five of the 30 children paired with the ―20‖tester participated in a follow-up activity. 1. [A] on 2. [A] faith

[B] like [B] debt [B] Then

[C] for

[D] from [D] interest [D] Again [D] When [D] maintains [D] compare [D]to [D] circle

[B] concern

[C] attention [C] Instead [C] Although [C] applies [C] connect [C]of

[C] period

3. [A] benefit 5. [A]Until 6. [A] selects 7. [A] consult 8. [A] at

9. [A] context

[C] hope [D] price

4. [A] Therefore

[B] Unless [B] produces [B] compete [B] by [B] mood

10.[A] counterparts 11.[A] Funny

12.[A] monitor 13.[A] between 14.[A] transferred 15.[A] out

16.[A] discovered 17.[A] betrayed 18.[A] forced

19.[A] In contrast 20.[A] inflexible

Part A Directions:

[B] substitutes [C] colleagues [D]supporters [B] Lucky [B] protect [B] within [B] back

[C] Odd

[D] Ironic

[D] delight [D] over [D] inside [D]. remembered

[C] surprise [C] toward [C] around [C] insisted

[B] added [B] proved [B] willing

[C] introduced [D] entrusted

[B]wronged [C] fooled [D] mocked

[C] hesitant [D] entitled

[B] As a result [C] On the whole [D] For instance [B] incapable [C] unreliable [D] unsuitable

Section II Reading Comprehension

Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)

Text 1

Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for their jobs?

Don't dismiss that possibility entirely. About half of U.S. jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately squeezed. Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don't appeal to robots. But many middle-class occupations-trucking, financial advice, software engineering — have aroused their interest, or soon will. The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.

This isn't to be alarmist. Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past. The Industrial Revolution didn't go so well for Luddites whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms, but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobs than it destroyed. Likewise, automation should eventually boost productivity, stimulate demand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work. But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.

The first step, as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age, should be rethinking education and job training. Curriculums —from grammar school to college- should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex

communication. Vocational schools should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skills and helping students work alongside robots. Online education can supplement the traditional kind. It

could make extra training and instruction affordable. Professionals trying to acquire new skills will be able to do so without going into debt.

The challenge of coping with automation underlines the need for the U.S. to revive its fading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier. In previous eras of drastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines. The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven't been invented yet. The U.S. needs the new companies that will invent them.

Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income, taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought. Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded: This would boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduce inequality.

Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation. Destroying the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts. But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.

21. Who will be most threatened by automation? [A] Leading politicians. [B]Low-wage laborers. [C]Robot owners. [D]Middle-class workers.

22. Which of the following best represent the author’s view? [A] Worries about automation are in fact groundless. [B]Optimists' opinions on new tech find little support. [C]Issues arising from automation need to be tackled [D]Negative consequences of new tech can be avoided

23. Education in the age of automation should put more emphasis on [A] creative potential. [B]job-hunting skills. [C]individual needs. [D]cooperative spirit.

24. The author suggests that tax policies be aimed at [A] encouraging the development of automation. [B]increasing the return on capital investment. [C]easing the hostility between rich and poor. [D]preventing the income gap from widening. 25. In this text, the author presents a problem with [A] opposing views on it. [B]possible solutions to it.

[C]its alarming impacts. [D]its major variations.

Text 2

A new survey by Harvard University finds more than two-thirds of young Americans disapprove of President Trump’s use of Twitter. The implication is that Millennials prefer news from the White House to be filtered through other source, not a president’s social media platform. Most Americans rely on social media to check daily headlines. Yet as distrust has risen toward all media, people may be starting to beef up their media literacy skills. Such a trend is badly needed. During the 2016 presidential campaign, nearly a quarter of web content shared by Twitter users in the politically critical state of Michigan was fake news, according to the University of Oxford. And a survey conducted for BuzzFeed News found 44 percent of Facebook users rarely or never trust news from the media giant.

Young people who are digital natives are indeed becoming more skillful at separating fact from fiction in cyberspace. A Knight Foundation focus-group survey of young people between ages 14and24 found they use ―distributed trust‖ to verify stories. They cross-check sources and prefer news from different perspectives—especially those that are open about any bias. ―Many young people assume a great deal of personal responsibility for educating themselves and actively seeking out opposing viewpoints,‖ the survey concluded.

Such active research can have another effect. A 2014 survey conducted in Australia, Britain, and the United States by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that young people’s reliance on social media led to greater political engagement.

Social media allows users to experience news events more intimately and immediately while also permitting them to re-share news as a projection of their values and interests. This forces users to be more conscious of their role in passing along information. A survey by Barna research group found the top reason given by Americans for the fake news phenomenon is ―reader error,‖ more so than made-up stories or factual mistakes in reporting. About a third say the problem of fake news lies in ―misinterpretation or exaggeration of actual news‖ via social media. In other words, the choice to share news on social media may be the heart of the issue. ―This indicates there is a real personal responsibility in counteracting this problem,‖ says Roxanne Stone, editor in chief at Barna Group.

So when young people are critical of an over-tweeting president, they reveal a mental discipline in thinking skills – and in their choices on when to share on social media. 26. According to the Paragraphs 1 and 2, many young Americans cast doubts on [A] the justification of the news-filtering practice. [B] people’s preference for social media platforms. [C] the administration’s ability to handle information. [D] social media was a reliable source of news.

27. The phrase ―beer up‖ (Line 2, Para. 2) is closest in meaning to