2013考研法硕最新英语模拟试题及答案之阅读理解

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　　Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes, 40 points)
        　　Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each of the passage is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.
        　　Passage One
        　　He is a rare celebrity scientist. He's even had a TV cameo role (小角色) in Star Trek in which he plays poker with scientific icons (偶像) Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Yet when asked about comparisons between himself and the two scientists, he calls it all "media hype (炒作)" Once asked how he felt about being labeled the world's smartest person, he responded: "It is very embarrassing. It is rubbish, just media hype. They just want a hero, and I fill the role model of a disabled genius. At least I am disabled, but I am no genius."
        　　Hawking has ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, a neuromuscular disease that progressively weakens muscle control. He gets around in a wheelchair, and after completely losing the use of his vocal chords in an operation to assist his breathing in 1985, he communicates through a computer. A speech synthesizer "speaks" for him after he punches in what he wants to say, selecting words in the computer software by pressing a switch with his hand. Unfortunately, it makes him sound like he has an American accent, he says.
        　　Despite his humorous, self-effacing manner, Hawking is one of the world's leading theoretical physicists. Many consider him to be the most brilliant since Einstein. Since 1979, he's held the post of Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge University — which was once held by Isaac Newton no less — and has twelve honorary degrees. He's also a best-selling author. His book, A Brief History of Time, has been translated into 33 languages and has sold nine million copies.
        　　For much of his academic life, Hawking has been among a group of theoretical physicists searching for a "theory of everything" — one unified scientific theory that explains the big cosmological questions like How did the universe begin? Why is the universe the way it is? and How will it end?
        　　You are probably familiar with the existing theories, such as the Big Bang theory. However, these theories are inconsistent with each other. So Hawking — among a group of theoretical physicists---has been on a quest to come up with a theory of quantum (量子) gravity that would incorporate these theories---the theory of everything (TOE) — which would solve the problem of what caused the universe to start expanding.
        　　How successful have the world's leading cosmologists been? Hawking predicts we'll have the TOE in the next 20 years.
        　　31. From the first paragraph we can see that Hawking ______________.
        　　A. is a very famous scientist
        　　B. can be compared with Newton and Einstein
        　　C. is a very good actor
        　　D. has surpassed any scientists known in the world
        　　32. In this passage, Hawking appears to be ____________.
        　　A. silent and hard working B. humorous, modest and industrious
        　　C. confident and proud D. diffident and shy
        　　33. Why does Hawking communicate with others through a computer?
        　　A. He is too weak to speak.
        　　B. He is a computer addict.
        　　C. An operation to help his breathing made him unable to pronounce.
        　　D. His illness makes him unable to speak.
        　　34. The leading theoretical physicists are searching for a "theory of everything" because ____________.
        　　A. the existing theories are out of date
        　　B. the theories are not enough
        　　C. some of the theories are wrong
        　　D. the existing theories are somewhat contradictory to each other
        　　35. Hawking and his colleagues are working hard to try to find ____________.
        　　A. a new theory to replace the Big Bang theory
        　　B. a new theory to replace Einstein's general theory of relativity
        　　C. a theory that can incorporate the existing theories
        　　D. an all-powerful theory that can explain everything in the world
        　　Passage Two
        　　I have an infatuation (迷恋) with autumn. The colors of the season and the smells, have always thrilled me. I have always found joy in this time of year. The last few autumns of my life, however, I recollect in shades of gray rather than cheerful oranges and yellows.
        　　When I became a single mother, every aspect of life took on new meaning. Since I was used to carrying out most of the parental duties without much help during my marriage, I truly did not foresee how different parenting would become after the marriage was over. But suddenly I realized I was a statistic. The daily routine was not changed so much; it was the angle at which I had begun to look at life.
        　　I believed my ex-husband's lawyer was tracking every grade the children made, and I was under a microscope in this new town where the children and I moved our "broken home." I feared having to eventually establish my family with each new teacher and each new term as a single-parent family. I just wanted to be us again, without the stigma (耻辱) of the label put on us.
        　　During those few gray years, I would reassure myself that soon things would be better, and that I would someday be able to feel whole again. There is no mathematical equation of adults proportioned to children to equal a stable, loving family. Every family has its strengths. In fact, studies show that in families who read together, eat together and communicate openly, children are likely to succeed academically, as well as socially and emotionally. I am sure these habits are just as effective when practiced in single-parent families. I realize now that I am not a statistic. We are an active, vital family in this charming community, where we are not marked by any stigma of any statistics of any focus groups.
        　　We are given opportunity, all of us. We are surrounded by beauty and immersed in possibility. There is joy to be found here, in what we see around us and in creating our own rendition of how we want to be seen. There is strength and grace in our own willingness to break free from conformity without falling behind the barriers of self-imposed limitations or preconceived notions of where we should fit in this world according to research.
        　　36. What does the last sentence of paragraph one imply?
        　　A. The author moved to a new place.
        　　B. The climate changed greatly in the last few years.
        　　C. In the last few years, the author's mood changed.
        　　D. There were some natural disasters.
        　　37. After the divorce, ___________.
        　　A. there wasn't any change, since she used to play a main part in taking care of the children
        　　B. she became interested in statistics
        　　C. everything in her life was changed
        　　D. it was the way by which she looked at life that changed
        　　38. According to the passage, ______________ brought the unpleasant change in her life.
        　　A. a kind of discrimination against single-parent families
        　　B. her ex-husband
        　　C. social scientists
        　　D. the feeling about autumn
        　　39. In the few gray years, the author __________.
        　　A. felt helpless and sad
        　　B. had the help from her friends
        　　C. never lost hope, and believed that everything would change someday
        　　D. became very nervous and silent
        　　40. What is the author's main point?
        　　A. Every family has its happiness and unhappiness.
        　　B. Her family has suffered a lot.
        　　C. Her ex-husband is not a good man.
        　　D. Every family has its strength and can create its happiness.

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        　　Passage Three
        　　Ultralight (超轻型的) airplanes are a recent development in aviation that provide what aviation enthusiasts have long been seeking: born of the marriage of the hang glider and the go-kart (轻型单座赛车) engine around 1974, when John Moody mounted a 12-horsepower go-kart engine on his Icarus II hang glider.
        　　Today's ultralights are not just hang gliders with engines; they are "air recreation vehicles." Modem ultralight planes use snowmobile engines that let them cruise at about 40 miles per hour, climb at about 400 feet per minute, and carry combined payloads of pilot and fuel up to about 200 pounds, which is about equal to an ultralight plane's weight when empty. More than ten thousand ultralight planes were sold last year at prices ranging from $2,800 to $7,000. But the main reason for the increasing popularity of these aircraft is not that they are inexpensive, but that they are fun to fly.
        　　The modem ultralight plane would look very familiar to the earliest pioneers of aviation. Otto Lilienthal made more than 2,000 flights in Germany in the 1890's in what were actually hang gliders. Octave Chanute designed and built many early hang gliders. Augustus Herring, Chanute's assistant, used these gliders as models for a glider that he built for himself. On this glider, Herring installed a compressed-air motor and flew 267 feet in 1898. The Wright brothers' flyer was the grandfather of today's ultralight planes. The pilot sat right out in the open, just as in modem ultralights, and used controls that were much the same as those used in today's machines. Though most ultralight planes are used for pleasure flying, some are also used for crop dusting, aerial photography and even military observation service. The likelihood is that further uses will be found for ultralight planes, but their greatest use will continue to be as air recreational vehicles.
        　　41. The author seems to feel that ultralight airplanes are _____________.
        　　A. a toy for the rich
        　　B. nothing but hang gliders
        　　C. a new development that meets the needs of aviation enthusiasts
        　　D. the most important development in aviation since the Wright brothers' flyer
        　　42. The author compares John Moody's use of a go-kart engine on a hang glider to ___________.
        　　A. a marriage B. the flight of Icarus
        　　C. cruising in a snowmobile D. soaring and gliding from a high altitude
        　　43. Which of the following statements is an opinion?
        　　A. Ultralight planes use snowmobile engines that let them cruise at about 40 miles per hour.
        　　B. John Moody used a 12-horsepower engine to power his Icarus II hang glider.
        　　C. The use of ultralight planes will increase in such areas as crop dusting and aerial photography.
        　　D. Otto Lilienthal made more than 2,000 flights in Germany in the 1890's in what were actually hang gliders.
        　　44. The author finds great similarity between
        　　A. the weight of the hang glider and that of the ultralight airplane
        　　B. ultralight airplanes and military aircraft
        　　C. the inventiveness of John Moody and that of Octave Chanute
        　　D. the controls used in the Wright brothers' flyer and those used in today's ultralight air-planes
        　　45. The theme of this passage is about
        　　A. the flying snowmobile
        　　B. the history of recent aviation
        　　C. how the ultralight plane flies
        　　D. the ultralight plane — a recent development
        　　Passage Four
        　　Friction between America's military and its civilian overseers is nothing new. America's 220-year experiment in civilian control of the military is a recipe for friction. The nation's history has seen a series of shifts in decision-making power among the White House, the civilian secretaries and the uniformed elite (精英). However, what may seem on the outside an unstable and special system of power sharing has, without a doubt, been a key to two centuries of military success.
        　　In the infighting dates to the revolution, George Washington waged a continual struggle not just for money, but to control the actual battle plan. The framers of the Constitution sought to clarify things by making the president the "commander in chief." Not since Washington wore his uniform and led the troops across the Alleghenies to quell(镇压)the Whiskey Rebellion has a sit-ting president taken command in the field. Yet the absolute authority of the president ensures his direct command. The president was boss, and everyone in uniform knew it.
        　　In the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln dealt directly with his generals, and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton handled administrative details. Lincoln, inexperienced in military matters, initially deferred (顺从) to his generals. But when their caution proved disastrous, be issued his General War Order No. 1 — explicitly commanding a general advance of all Union forces. Some generals, George B. McClellan in particular, bridled at his hands-on direction. But in constitutional terms, Lincoln was in the right.
        　　His most important decision was to put Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union Army in 1864. Left to its own timetable, the military establishment would never have touched Grant. The relationship between the president and his general provides a textbook lesson in civilian control and power sharing. Grant was a general who would take the fight to the enemy, and not second-guess the president's political decisions. Unlike McClellan, for example, Grant cooperated wholeheartedly in recruiting black soldiers. For his part, Lincoln did not meddle in operations and did not visit the headquarters in the field unless invited.
        　　The balance set up by Grant and Lincoln stayed more or less in place through World War I. Not until World War II did the pendulum finally swing back toward the White House. Franklin Roosevelt, who had been assistant Navy secretary, during World War I, was as well prepared to be commander in chief as any wartime president since George Washington.
        　　46. According to the author, the system of power sharing between the White House and the generals _____________.
        　　A. is unstable and strange
        　　B. is a guarantee for American military success
        　　C. has caused a series of quarrels
        　　D. undermines the bases of American military power
        　　47. The phrase "the uniformed elite" in paragraph one most probably refers to ___________.
        　　A. outstanding soldiers B. officers
        　　C. officials D. generals
        　　48. According to the passage, Washington ___________.
        　　A. struggled with the congress only for money
        　　B. lived up to the code of the constitution that the president was "the commander in chief"
        　　C. looked more like a general than a president
        　　D. did much more than he should as a president
        　　49. Why was the putting of Grant in charge of the Union Army an important decision?
        　　A. Because Lincoln was inexperienced in military affairs, he had to do so.
        　　B. Grant whole-heartedly believed in Lincoln, and their cooperation proved to be a none-such.
        　　C. All things considered, Grant was somewhat better than McClellan.
        　　D. The decision to put Grant in charge of the Union Army was not against the constitution.
        　　50. In the last paragraph, the author implies that __________.
        　　A. Roosevelt was better prepared to be a wartime president than Lincoln
        　　B. in the Second World War, the relationship between the White House and the generals was intense
        　　C. both Lincoln and Roosevelt were good wartime presidents, although their actual way of dealing things might be different
        　　D. George Washington was actually the best president