2015年考研《英语》新题型强化练习及答案

Passage1

　　English has become the world’s number one language in the 20th century. In every country where is not the native language, especially in the Third World, people must strive to learn it to the best of their abilities, if they want to participate fully in the development of their countries.41)__________.

　　42) __________.Nonetheless, a world full of different language will disappear if the present trend in many countries to use English to replace the national or official languages in education, trade and even politics continues.43) __________ .

　　The Third World countries that are now using English as a medium of instruction are depriving 75 per cent of their future leaders of a proper education. According to many studies, only around 20 to 25 per cent of students in these countries can manage to learn the language of instruction as well as basic subjects at the same time. Many leaders of these Third World countries are obsessed with English and for them English is everything. They seem to believe that if the students speak English, they are already knowledgeable.44) __________ .

　　All the greatest countries of the world are great because they constantly use their own languages in all national development activities, including education. From a psychological point of view, those who are taught in their own language from the start will develop better self-confidence and self-reliance. From a linguistic point of view, the best brains can only be produced if students are educated in their own language from the start.45) __________.

　　There is nothing wrong, however, in learning a foreign language at advanced levels of education. But the best thing to do is to have a good education in one’s native language first, then go abroad to have a university in a foreign language.

　　A) If this situation continues, the native or official languages of these countries will certainly die within two or three generations. This phenomenon has been called linguistic genocide. A language dies if it is not fully used in most activities, particularly as a medium of instruction in schools.

　　B) Those who are taught in a foreign language form the start will tend to be imitators and lack self-confidence. They will tend to rely on foreign consultants.

　　C) Suppose you work in a big firm and find and find English very important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen. Now you are looking a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English.

　　D) But many people are concerned that English’s dominance will destroy native languages.

　　E) These leaders speak and write English much better than their national languages. If these leaders deliver speeches anywhere in the world they use English and they feel more at home with it and proud of their ability as well. The citizens of their countries do not understand their leader’s speeches because they are made in a foreign language.

　　F) Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers. You may find the information you need.

　　G) A close examination reveals a great number of languages have fallen casualty to English. For example, it has wiped out Hawaiian, Welsh, Scotch Gaelic, Irish, native American languages, and many others. Luckily, some of these languages are now being revived, such as Hawaiian and Welsh, and these languages will live again, hopefully, if dedicated people continue their work of reviving them.

Passage 2

　　In 1959 the average American family paid $ 989 for a year’s supply of food. In 1972 the family paid $1,311. That was a price increase of nearly one –third. Every family has had this sort of experience. Everyone agrees that the cost of feeding a family has risen sharply. But there is less agreement when reasons for the rise are being discussed. Who is really responsible?

　　Many blame the farmers who produce the vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, and cheese that stores offer for sale. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the farmer’s share of the $1,311 spent by the family in 1972 was $521. This was 31 percent more than the farmer had received in 1959.

　　But farmers claim that this increase was very small compared to the increase in their cost of living. Farmers tend to blame others for the sharp rise in food prices. They particularly blame those who process the farm products after the products leave the farm. These include truck drivers, meat packers, manufacturers of packages and other food containers, and the owners of stores where food is sold. 41) __________.

　　Of the $1,311 family food bill in 1972, middlement received $ 790, which was 33 percent more than they had received in 1959. It appears that the middlemen’s profit has increased more than farmer’s. But some economists claim that the middleman’s actual profit was very law. According to economists at the First National City Bank, the profit for meat packers and food stores amounted to less than one per cent. During the same period all other manufacturers were making a profit of more than 5 per cent.42) __________ .

　　43) __________ .

　　Vegetables and chicken cost more when they have been cut into pieces by someone other than the one who buys it. A family should expect to pay more when several “TV dinners” are taken home from the store. These are fully cooked meals, consisting of meat, vegetables, and sometimes desert, all arranged on a metal dish. The dish is put into the over and heated while the housewife is doing something else. Such a convenience costs money. 44) __________.

　　Economists remind us many modern housewives have jobs outside the home. They earn money that helps to pay the family food bills. The housewife naturally has less time and energy for cooking after a day’s work. She wants to buy many kinds of food that can be put on her family’s table easily and quickly. 45) __________ .

　　It appears that the answer to the question for rising prices is not a simple one. Producers, consumers, and middlemen all share the responsibility for the sharp rise in food costs.

　　A) Thus, as economists point out:” Some of the basic reasons for widening food price spreads are easily traceable to the increasing use of convenience foods, which transfer much of the time and work of meal preparation from the kitchen to the food processor’s plant.”

　　B) They are among the “middlemen” who stand between the farmer and the people who buy and eat the food. Are middlemen the ones to blame for rising food prices?

　　C) “If the housewife wants all of these.” The economists say, “that is her privilege, but she must be prepared to pay for the services of the those who make her work easier.”

　　D) Who then is actually responsible for the size of the bill a housewife must pay before she carries the food home from the store? The economists at First National City Bank have an answer to give housewives, but many people will not like it. These economists blame the housewife herself for the jump in food prices. They say that food costs more now because women don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen. Women prefer to buy food which has already been prepared before it reaches the market.

　　E) However, some economists believe that controls can have negative effects over a long period of time. In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord can charge for an apartment.

　　F) Economists do not agree on some of the predictions. They also do not agree on the value of different decisions. Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it.

　　G) By comparison with other members of the economic system both farmers and middlemen have profited surprisingly little from the rise in food prices.

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