2010年考研英语二模拟试题及答案详解(一)

　　Passage Two

　　Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat (诈骗). Either way, it could be the perfect crime (犯罪)， because the criminals are birds-horning pigeons!

　　The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay up then. The car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off。

　　There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind-one that avoids (避免)not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has played a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad (启事) in the newspaper asking for help。

　　The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars-seems too little for a car worth many times more。

　　Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,” he said。

　　26. After the car owner received a phone call, he 。

　　A. went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried

　　B. gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park

　　C. sent some money to the thief by mail

　　D. told the press about it

　　27. The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to 。

　　A. the car thief who stays at home

　　B. one of those who put the ads in the paper

　　C. one of the policemen in Changwa

　　D. the owner of the pigeons

　　28. The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show 。

　　A. how easily people get fooled by criminals

　　B. what Chen thinks might be correct

　　C. the thief is extremely clever

　　D. the money paid is too little

　　29. The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to 。

　　A. criminals B. pigeons

　　C. the stolen cars D. demands for money

　　30. We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because 。

　　A. he reads the ads in the newspaper

　　B. he lives in the same neighborhood

　　C. he has seen the car owners in the park

　　D. he has trained the pigeons to follow them

　　Passage Three

　　Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager’s intended major, one located near a large city, and a campus where their daughter would be safe。

　　“The safety issue is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer-“That’s not a problem here,” Mahoney began to feel uneasy。

　　“No crime whatsoever?” comments Mahoney today. “I just don’t buy it. ” Nor should he: in 1999 the U. S. Department of Education had reports of nearly 400,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to college,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation. ”

　　But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity, leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be obvious,” warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc, the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog group。

　　To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions。

　　31. The Mahoneys visited quite a few colleges last August 。

　　A. to express the opinions of many parents

　　B. to choose a right one for their daughter

　　C. to check the cost of college education

　　D. to find a right one near a large city

　　32. It is often difficult to get correct information on campus crime because some colleges 。

　　A. receive too many visitors

　　B. mirror the rest of the nation

　　C. hide the truth of campus crime

　　D. have too many watchdog groups

　　33. The underlined word “buy” in the third paragraph means 。

　　A. mind B. admit

　　C. believe D. expect

　　34. We learn from the text that “the honest ones” in the fourth paragraph most probably refers to colleges 。

　　A. that are protected by campus security

　　B. that report campus crime by law

　　C. that are free from campus crime

　　D. that enjoy very good publicity

　　35. What is the text mainly about?

　　A. Exact campus crime statistics。

　　B. Crimes on or around campuses。

　　C. Effective solutions to campus crime。

　　D. Concerns about kids’ campus safety。