2016年MBA考研英語二閱讀理解真題答案及解析

2016研究生入學統(tǒng)一考試試題(英語二)

Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions:

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

It’s true that high-school coding classes aren’t essential for learning computer science in college. Students without experience can catch up after a few introductory courses, said Tom Cortina, the assistant dean at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science.

However, Cortina said, early exposure is beneficial. When younger kids learn computer science, they learn that it’s not just a confusing, endless string of letters and numbers – but a tool to build apps, or create artwork, or test hypotheses. It’s not as hard for them to transform their thought processes as it is for older students. Breaking down problems into bite-sized chunks and using code to solve them becomes normal. Giving more children this training could increase the number of people interested in the field and help fill the jobs gap, Cortina said.

Students also benefit from learning something about coding before they get to college, where introductory computer-science classes are packed to the brim, which can drive the less-experienced or-determined students away.

The Flatiron School, where people pay to learn programming, started as one of the many coding bootcamps that’s become popular for adults looking for a career change. The high-schoolers get the same curriculum, but “we try to gear lessons toward things they’re interested in,” said Victoria Friedman, an instructor. For instance, one of the apps the students are developing suggests movies based on your mood.

The students in the Flatiron class probably won’t drop out of high school and build the next Facebook. Programming languages have a quick turnover, so the “Ruby on Rails” language they learned may not even be relevant by the time they enter the job market. But the skills they learn – how to think logically through a problem and organize the results – apply to any coding language, said Deborah Seehorn, an education consultant for the state of North Carolina.

Indeed, the Flatiron students might not go into IT at all. But creating a future army of coders is not the sole purpose of the classes. These kids are going to be surrounded by computers-in their pockets ,in their offices, in their homes –for the rest of their lives, The younger they learn how computers think, how to coax the machine into producing what they want –the earlier they learn that they have the power to do that –the better.

21.Cortina holds that early exposure to computer science makes it easier to _______

A. complete future job training

B. remodel the way of thinking

C. formulate logical hypotheses

D. perfect artwork production

22.In delivering lessons for high - schoolers , Flatiron has considered their________

A. experience

B. interest

C. career prospects

D. academic backgrounds

23.Deborah Seehorn believes that the skills learned at Flatiron will ________

A . help students learn other computer languages

B .have to be upgraded when new technologies come

C .need improving when students look for jobs

D. enable students to make big quick money

24.According to the last paragraph, Flatiron students are expected to ______

A. bring forth innovative computer technologies

B. stay longer in the information technology industry

C. become better prepared for the digitalized world

D. compete with a future army of programmers

25.The word “coax”(Line4,Para.6) is closest in meaning to ________

A. persuade

B. frighten

C. misguide

D. challenge

【答案解析】

21.【答案】B

【解析】觀點題。根據題干Cortina holds回文定位在第二段。第二段指出Cortina認為過早的接觸電腦是有益的，緊接著指出當小孩子學習電腦科學，他們就學習了如何去開發(fā)手機應用程序，或者創(chuàng)作藝術，或者驗證假設。對于他們來說與大孩子相比，改變思維并不難。綜上所述，[B]remodel the way of thinking是對原文"transform their thought"的同義置換。

22.【答案】B

【解析】事實細節(jié)題。根據題干關鍵信息"in delivering lessons for high-schoolers"、"Flatiron has considered"，定位到第三段。整個第三段在敘述Flatiron School。其中，第三行The high-schoolers get the same curriculum, but "we try to gear lessons toward things they're interested in"(高中生們上同樣的課程，但是"我們力圖以他們的興趣來調整課程")，表明了該校開設課程的依據是"學生的興趣"，故選[B] interest。

23.【答案】A

【解析】細節(jié)題。根據Deborah Seehorn 定位到文章第五段最后一句。Deborah說他們學習的技能(如何思考問題具有邏輯性并組織結果)可以應用到編碼語言中去。選項[A]幫助學生學習另外的電腦語言是對這句話的概括。

24.【答案】C

【解析】推理題。根據題干關鍵詞"the last paragraph"和"Flatiron students"回文定位在最后一段。最后一段第一句指出Flatiron的學生不會全都進入IT界。緊接著第二句說明培養(yǎng)編碼人員不是目的，第三句進一步指出這些學生將會一生"被電腦包圍"(生活在電腦時代)，對比四個所給選項，[C] become better prepared for the digitalized world與原文意思一致，故正確。

25.【答案】A

【解析】詞義題。根據題干關鍵信息"coax"(Line 4, Para.6)，定位到最后一段第四行how to coax the machine into producing what they want(如何…電腦生產他們想要的)，且該部分是與how computers think(電腦是如何思維的)并列的，都是學生學習的具體內容。正是因為兩者并列，因此根據單詞think可知coax同樣含有一定比喻色彩，且coax指的是"讓電腦生產他們想要的"一種手段或方式。persuade"勸說，勸誘"，即"勸誘電腦生產他們想要的"，語意恰當，是正確選項，本題正確答案為[A] persuade。

Text 2

Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens---a kind of bird living on stretching grasslands—once lent red to the often grey landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States. But just some 22,000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of the species 'historic range.

The crash was a major reason the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)decided to formally list the bird as threatened .“The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation ,”said USFWS Director Daniel Ashe. Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed. They had pushed the agency to designate the bird as “endangered,” a status that gives federal officials greater regulatory power to crack down on threats .But Ashe and others argued that the” threatened” tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservations approaches. In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action. and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the prairie chicken's habitat.

Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowner or businesses that unintentionally kill, harm, or disturb the bird, as long as they had signed a range—wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat. Negotiated by USFWS and the states, the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their operations to pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat .The fund will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat , USFWS also set an interim goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67,000 birds over the next 10 years .And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), a coalition of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress. Overall, the idea is to let “states” remain in the driver 's seat for managing the species,” Ashe said.

Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric. Some Congress members are trying to block the plan, and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are challenging it in federal court. Not surprisingly, doesn’t go far enough. “The federal government is giving responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction, ” says biologist Jay Lininger.

26.The major reason for listing the lesser prairie as threatened is____.

[A]its drastically decreased population

[B]the underestimate of the grassland acreage

[C]a desperate appeal from some biologists

[D]the insistence of private landowners

27.The“threatened” tag disappointed some environmentalists in that it_____.

[A]was a give-in to governmental pressure

[B]would involve fewer agencies in action

[C]granted less federal regulatory power

[D]went against conservation policies

28.It can be learned from Paragraph3 that unintentional harm-doers will not be prosecuted if they_____.

[A]agree to pay a sum for compensation

[B]volunteer to set up an equally big habitat

[C]offer to support the WAFWA monitoring job

[D]promise to raise funds for USFWS operations

29.According to Ashe, the leading role in managing the species in______.

[A]the federal government

[B]the wildlife agencies

[C]the landowners

[D]the states

30.Jay Lininger would most likely support_______.

[A]industry groups

[B]the win-win rhetoric

[C]environmental groups

[D]the plan under challenge

【答案解析】

26.【答案】A

【解析】本題屬于細節(jié)題，考查了考生對文章首段中關于草原雞數(shù)量的變化的理解。根據對首段首句當中生物學家預測的數(shù)量是2百萬，而在首段末句出現(xiàn)but轉折以及末句當中關于草原雞現(xiàn)在真實的剩余數(shù)量只有2萬2千只，都可以說明草原雞的數(shù)量急劇的下降；另外，這道題還有一種做法是通過第二段首句的主語的作用，某些情況下，文章中間段落的首句主語起到承上啟下的作用，那么中間段落首句主語就會有概括上一段的作用，本文第二段的首句：The crash was a main reason USFWS decided to formally list the bird as threatened. 就是對第26題題干和正確選項的同義替換，根據第二段第一句的主語：the crash (這種暴跌)，對應正確選項A。

27.【答案】D

【解析】本題屬于推理題，根據題干信息：the "Threatened"tag 令許多環(huán)境學家感到失望，定位到第二段的第三句，因此，原因應該出自第三句之后，而第四句和第五句中間有很明顯的轉折詞but,因此答案定位在第五句，很多同學可能會問，這里并沒有表示原因的詞去與題干當中的in that進行對應，但是在我們的鉆石卡的課程中提到，原文當中給出原因的并不一定是直接給出表示原因的連詞或者介詞，在本文第三句的but Ashe and others argued that the "threatened" tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservation approaches. 當中的gave這個詞是"使得"的意思，A使得B如何如何，也就是A是B的原因，因此這道題的答案是D (違反了保護措施)。

28.【答案】B

【解析】本題屬于推理題，根據題干當中給出的位置信息(第三段)以及表示條件與結果的邏輯關系的if這個信息，可以迅速定位到第三段的第一句，其中題干當中的if與文章當中的as long as 進行對應，而題干當中的表示結果的部分與as long as 之前進行對應，因此，正確選項應該出自as long as 之后，也就是原文當中的：they had signed a range-wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat. "簽訂一系列管理計劃去恢復草原雞的棲息地"，對應到的正確選項是B (volunteer to set up an equally big habitat 幫助搭建同樣大小的棲息地)。

29.【答案】D

【解析】本題屬于細節(jié)題。答案定位在文章第三段最后一句，從Ashe所說的話中"states remain in the driver's seat for managing the species"可以得出，選項D the states在管理物種方面起著領導作用。

30.【答案】B

【解析】本題屬于推斷題。答案定位在文章最后一段，從Jay Lininger所說的話中，可以得知他認為政府應該為導致鳥類瀕臨滅絕的產業(yè)負責任，因此可以得出，他最可能支持本段開頭所提出的雙贏的說法。

Text 3

That everyone's too busy these days is a cliché. But one specific complaint is made especially mournfully: There's never any time to read.

What makes the problem thornier is that the usual time-management techniques don't seem sufficient. The web's full of articles offering tips on making time to read: “Give up TV” or “Carry a book with you at all times.” But in my experience, using such methods to free up the odd 30 minutes doesn't work. Sit down to read and the flywheel of work-related thoughts keeps spinning-or else you're so exhausted that a challenging book's the last thing you need. The modern mind, Tim Parks, a novelist and critic, writes, “is overwhelmingly inclined toward communication…It is not simply that one is interrupted; it is that one is actually inclined to interruption.” Deep reading requires not just time, but a special kind of time which can't be obtained merely by becoming more efficient.

In fact, “becoming more efficient” is part of the problem. Thinking of time as a resource to be maximised means you approach it instrumentally, judging any given moment as well spent only in so far as it advances progress toward some goal. Immersive reading, by contrast, depends on being willing to risk inefficiency, goallessness, even time-wasting. Try to slot it as a to-do list item and you'll manage only goal-focused reading-useful, sometimes, but not the most fulfilling kind. “The future comes at us like empty bottles along an unstoppable and nearly infinite conveyor belt,” writes Gary Eberle in his book Sacred Time, and “we feel a pressure to fill these different-sized bottles (days, hours, minutes) as they pass, for if they get by without being filled, we will have wasted them.” No mind-set could be worse for losing yourself in a book.

So what does work? Perhaps surprisingly, scheduling regular times for reading. You'd think this might fuel the efficiency mind-set, but in fact, Eberle notes, such ritualistic behaviour helps us “step outside time's flow” into “soul time.” You could limit distractions by reading only physical books, or on single-purpose e-readers. “Carry a book with you at all times” can actually work, too-providing you dip in often enough, so that reading becomes the default state from which you temporarily surface to take care of business, before dropping back down. On a really good day, it no longer feels as if you're “making time to read,” but just reading, and making time for everything else.

31. The usual time-management techniques don’t work because .

[A] what they can offer does not ease the modern mind

[B] what challenging books demand is repetitive reading

[C] what people often forget is carrying a book with them

[D] what deep reading requires cannot be guaranteed

32. The “empty bottles” metaphor illustrates that people feel a pressure to .

[A] update their to-do lists

[B] make passing time fulfilling

[C] carry their plans through

[D] pursue carefree reading

33. Eberle would agree that scheduling regular times for reading helps .

[A] encourage the efficiency mind-set

[B] develop online reading habits

[C] promote ritualistic reading

[D] achieve immersive reading

34. “Carry a book with you at all times”can work if .

[A] reading becomes your primary business of the day

[B] all the daily business has been promptly dealt with

[C] you are able to drop back to business after reading

[D] time can be evenly split for reading and business

35. The best title for this text could be .

[A] How to Enjoy Easy Reading

[B] How to Find Time to Read

[C] How to Set Reading Goals

[D] How to Read Extensively

【答案解析】

31.【答案】[D] what deep reading requires cannot be guaranteed

【解析】細節(jié)題。根據題干回文定位到第二段第一句"what makes…management techniques don't seem sufficient",，但是這句并沒有提及原因。真正的原因是第二段最后一句"Deep reading requires not just time, but a special kind of time which can't be obtained merely by becoming more efficient"。(深度閱讀需要的不僅僅是時間，而且僅僅通過高效率所獲得的那種時間也不夠)，因此選項D what deep reading requires cannot be guaranteed為正確答案。

32.【答案】B

【解析】細節(jié)題。根據題干回文定位到第三段第五句：we feel a pressure to fill these different-sized bottles(days, hours, minutes) as they pass。故正確答案應該與to fill…相一致。這句話中將時間單位天，小時和分鐘比喻成了不同大小的瓶子。而壓力來自于我們填充這些大小不一的瓶子時，即把自己的時間充實起來時。故正確答案為選項B。

33.【答案】D

【解析】細節(jié)題。根據題干定位到第四段第二句：…such ritualistic behavior helps us "step outside time's flow" into "soul time. (這種儀式化行為指代有助于我們從拜托時間流進入靈魂閱讀)，soul time 即選項D 中immersive reading (沉浸式閱讀)，故正確答案為選項D。

34.【答案】A

【解析】細節(jié)題。根據題干中的carry a book with you at all times can work if, 可以定位到第四段倒數(shù)第二句 "providing you dip in often enough, so that reading becomes the default state"(假定你經常沉浸在閱讀中，以至于閱讀成為一種默認設置)，因此可以確定選項A reading becomes your primary business of the day(閱讀成為你一天中的主要事情)為正確答案。

35.【答案】B

【解析】主旨題。根據文章首段轉折之后出主旨。But one specific complaint is made especially mournfully: There's never any time to read.(但是其中一個特別悲哀的抱怨是：沒有時間閱讀)。第二、三、四段都在論證深度閱讀才是解決之道。因此選項Dhow to find time to read為正確答案。

Text 4

Against a backdrop of drastic changes in economy and population structure, younger Americans are drawing a new 21st-century road map to success, a latest poll has found.

Across generational lines, Americans continue to prize many of the same traditional milestones of a successful life, including getting married, having children, owning a home, and retiring in their sixties. But while young and old mostly agree on what constitutes the finish line of a fulfilling life, they offer strikingly different paths for reaching it.

Young people who are still getting started in life were more likely than older adults to prioritize personal fulfillment in their work, to believe they will advance their careers most by regularly changing jobs, to favor communities with more public services and a faster pace of life, to agree that couples should be financially secure before getting married or having children, and to maintain that children are best served by two parents working outside the home, the survey found.

From career to community and family, these contrasts suggest that in the aftermath of the searing Great Recession, those just starting out in life are defining priorities and expectations that will increasingly spread through virtually all aspects of American life, from consumer preferences to housing patterns to politics.

Young and old converge on one key point: Overwhelming majorities of both groups said they believe it is harder for young people today to get started in life than it was for earlier generations. Whlie younger people are somewhat more optimistic than their elders about the prospects for those starting out today, big majorities in both groups believe those “just getting started in life” face a tougher a good-paying job, starting a family, managing debt, and finding affordable housing.

Pete Schneider considers the climb tougher today. Schneider, a 27-yaear-old auto technician from the Chicago suburbs says he struggled to find a job after graduating from college. Even now that he is working steadily, he said.” I can’t afford to pay ma monthly mortgage payments on my own, so I have to rent rooms out to people to mark that happen.” Looking back, he is struck that his parents could provide a comfortable life for their children even though neither had completed college when he was young.“I still grew up in an upper middle-class home with parents who didn’t have college degrees,”Schneider said.“I don’t think people are capable of that anymore. ”

36. One cross-generation mark of a successful life is .

[A] trying out different lifestyles

[B] having a family with children

[C] working beyond retirement age

[D] setting up a profitable business

37. It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that young people tend to .

[A] favor a slower life pace

[B] hold an occupation longer

[C] attach importance to pre-marital finance

[D] give priority to childcare outside the home

38. The priorities and expectations defined by the young will .

[A] become increasingly clear

[B] focus on materialistic issues

[C] depend largely on political preferences

[D] reach almost all aspects of American life

39. Both young and old agree that .

[A] good-paying jobs are less available

[B] the old made more life achievements

[C] housing loans today are easy to obtain

[D] getting established is harder for the young

40. Which of the following is true about Schneider?

[A] He found a dream job after graduating from college

[B] His parents believe working steadily is a must for success

[C] His parents’ good life has little to do with a college degree

[D] He thinks his job as a technician quite challenging

【答案解析】

36.【答案】B

【解析】根據題干給出的mark, successful life等詞可以定位到第二段的第一句話，successful life可以找到原詞，而mark對應milestone，including后面的內容就是這種生活的特征，包含"結婚，有孩子，有家，60歲退休"，和選項對比，只有B項符合原文給出的特征。

37.【答案】C

【解析】根據題干給出的段落序號可以定位到第三段，另又提到y(tǒng)oung people，故可以定位到第三段開頭第一句話。題干問的是年輕人傾向于……，題干中的tend在這句話中可以找到同意置換詞more likely，句子中后面有5個to do表示年輕人傾向于做什么，所以答案就在這些動詞不定式中。和選項對比，只有C項符合原文的含義"婚前或者有孩子之前要有經濟保障"，屬于同意替換。

38.【答案】D

【解析】根據題干給出的the priorities and expectations等詞可以定位到第四段的第一句話的中間，that后面的內容是對這兩個名詞的修飾，故答案應該在這個從句中。和選項對比，只有D項符合原文。

39.【答案】D

【解析】根據題干給出的young and old等詞可以定位到第五段開頭，這句話有冒號，解釋key point，所以答案應該在冒號之后，題目問的是他們同意什么，也就是觀點，所以可以再縮小范圍為believe后面的內容為正確選項的含義。和選項對比，只有D項符合原文，屬于同意替換。

40.【答案】C

【解析】根據題干給出的Schenider可以定位到最后一段開頭。這段話開頭就說這個人認為今天的生活更艱難，后面的內容都在介紹他的生活。因為題干除了這個人名之外并沒有給出其他更細定位的信息，可以選擇從選項定位入手反推正確答案。C項說到父母的好生活在第四、五句有提到，尤其引號中的內容和選項相符，故為正確答案。

Part B

Directions:

Read the following text and answer the questions by choosing the most suitable subheading from the list A-G for each of the numbered paragraphs(41-45).There are two extra subheadings which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.

[A]Be silly

[B]Have fun

[C] Ask for help

[D] Express your emotions

[E] Don't overthink it

[F] Be easily pleased

[G] Notice things

As adults, it seems that we are constantly pursuing happiness, often with mixed results. Yet children appear to have it down to an art—and for the most part they don't need self-help books or therapy. instead, they look after their wellbeing instinctively, and usually more effectively than we do as grownups. Perhaps it's time to learn a few lessons from them.

41.______________

What does a child do when he's sad? He cries. When he's angry? He shouts. Scared? Probably a bit of both. As we grow up,we learn to control our emotions so they are manageable and don't dictate our behaviours, which is in many ways a good thing. But too often we take this process too far and end up suppressing emotions, especially negative ones. that's about as effective as brushing dirt under a carpet and can even make us ill. What we need to do is find a way to acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately, and then—again like children—move.

42.____________

A couple of Christmases ago, my youngest stepdaughter, who was nine years old at the time, got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas. It cost less than a fiver but she was overjoyed, and couldn't stop talking about it. Too often we believe that a new job, bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content, but the reality is these things have very little lasting impact on our happiness levels. Instead, being grateful for small things every day is a much better way to improve wellbeing.

43.______________________

Have you ever noticed how much children laugh? If we adults could indulge in a bit of silliness and giggling, we would reduce the stress hormones in our bodies , increase good hormones like endorphins, improve blood flow to our hearts and even have a greater chance of fighting off enfection. All of which, of course, have a positive effect on happiness levels.

44.__________________

The problem with being a grown up is that there's an awful lot of serious stuff to deal with—work, mortgage payments, figuring out what to cook for dinner. But as adults we also have the luxury of being able to control our own diaries and it's important that we schedule in time to enjoy the things we love. Those things might be social, sporting, creative or completely random(dancing aroud the living room, anyone?)—it doesn't matter, so long as they're enjoyable, and not likely to have negative side effects, such as drinking too much alcohol or going on a wild spending spree if you're on a tight budget.

45.___________________

Having said all of the above, it's important to add that we shouldn't try too hard to be happy. Scientists tell us this can backfire and actually have a negative impact on our wellbeing. As the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu is reported to have said: "Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness."And in that, once more, we need to look to the example of our children, to whom happiness is not a goal but a natural by product of the way they live.

【答案解析】

41.【答案】D (Express your emotions)

【解析】emotions一詞在本段中原詞復現(xiàn)了兩次，而且出現(xiàn)了其下義詞，比如sad, angry，本段最后一句提到對待情緒的方式是：acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately。選項D與此完全對應。因此確定正確答案為D選項。

42.【答案】F (Be easily pleased)

【解析】該段通過舉例來說明段落主題，提到it cost less than a fiver but she was overjoyed，本句話的含義是"雖然禮物不值錢，但是讓她特別開心"。并且核心詞overjoyed與小標題F中pleased屬于近義詞。該段第二句話在轉折后提到the reality is these things have little lasting impact on our happiness levels，即"這些東西對我們的幸福水平影響很小。"接著最后一句總結到"感激生活中的小事情是提升我們幸福感的一個好方式"，因此本段重點在于強調要感激生活中的小事情，所以正確答案是F選項。

43.【答案】A (Be silly)

【解析】該段開頭提及一個問題，那么問題的答案正是本段的中心句。第二句正是對問題的解答，根據本句話的前半部分：if we adults could indulge in a bit of silliness and giggling, 核心詞silliness與選項A中的silly為同源詞，因此確定選項A為正確答案。

44.【答案】B (Have fun)

【解析】首先明確本段中第二句為轉折句，在找段落中心時，是必讀部分。本句話含義是"成年人有能力按照自己的想法去享受時光(enjoy the things)"，緊接著下句舉例說明享受的這些快樂的事情分別有哪些。因此本段重點在于說明成年人可以按照自己的意愿享受快樂時光。故選擇 Have fun。

45.【答案】E (Don't overthink it)

【解析】該段主題句是段落首句it's important to add that we shouldn't try too hard to be happy，強調"我們不應該著急要快樂"。第二句借科學家的話提到這樣做的不良影響，下文更是引用哲學家莊子的話來證明這一論點，最后一句再次突出，我們應以孩子為榜樣，對于孩子來說，快樂不是一個目標，而是他們生活方式的自然副產品?？梢?，該段整體上是總分的結構，先提出論點再論證。此外too hard與選項E中的overthink屬于近義表達，natural與overthink是反義復現(xiàn)。因此，答案選E。