四川大學2012考博英語真題及答案詳解 閱讀 1）Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are uniquea speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language, complete with grammar, is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the worlds only liberal arts university for deaf people.When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English (混雜英語). But Stokoe believed the “hand talk” his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually: have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf people dismissed their signing as “substandard”. Stokoes idea was academic heresy (異端邪說).It is 37 years later. Stokoenow devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf cultureis having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (調節(jié)) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. “What I said,” Stokoe explains, “is that language is not mouth stuffits brain stuff.”21. The study of sign language is thought to be _C_.A) a new way to look at the learning of languageB) a challenge to traditional, views on the nature of languageC) an approach: to simplifying the grammatical structure of a languageD) an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language（C）22. The, present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by _C_.A) a famous scholar in the study of the human brainB) a leading specialist in the study of liberal artsC) an English teacher in a university for the deafD) some senior experts in American Sign Language（C）23. According to Stokoe, sign language is _B_.A) a Substandard languageB) a genuine languageC) an artificial languageD) an international language（B）24. Most educators objected to Stokoes idea because they thought _D_.A) sign language was not extensively used even by deaf peopleB) sign language was too artificial to be widely acceptedC) a language should be easy to use and understandD) a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds（D）25. Stokoes argument is based on his belief that _D_.A) sign language is as efficient as any other languageB) sign language is derived from natural languageC) language is a system of meaningful codesD) language is a product of the brain（D）2）It was the worst tragedy in maritime history, six times more deadly than the Titanic. When the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff was hit by torpedoes fired from a Russian submarine in the final winter of World War II, more than 10,000 people-mostly women, children and old people fleeing the final Red Army push into Nazi Germany-were packed aboard. An ice storm had turned the decks into frozen sheets that sent hundreds of families sliding into the sea as the ship tilted and began to go down. Others desperately tried to put lifeboats down. Some who succeeded fought off those in the water who had the strength to try to claw their way aboard. Most people froze immediately. Ill never forget the screams,” says Christa Ntitzmann, 87, one of the 1,200 survivors. She recalls watching the ship, brightly lit, slipping into its dark grave-and into seeming nothingness, rarely mentioned for more than half a century.Now Germanys Nobel Prize-winning author Gtinter Grass has revived the memory of the 9,000 dead, including more than 4,000 children-with his latest novel Crab Walk, published last month. The book, which will be out in English next year, doesnt dwell on the sinking; its heroine is a pregnant young woman who survives the catastrophe only to say later: “Nobody wanted to hear about it, not here in the West (of Germany) and not at all in the East.” The reason was obvious. As Grass put it in a recent interview with the weekly Die Woche: “Because the crimes we Germans are responsible for were and are so dominant, we didnt have the energy left to tell of our own sufferings.”The long silence about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was probably unavoidable-and necessary. By unreservedly owning up to their countrys monstrous crimes in the Second World War, Germans have managed to win acceptance abroad, marginalize the neo-Nazis at home and make peace with their neighbors. Todays unified Germany is more prosperous and stable than at any time in its long, troubled history. For that, a half century of willful forgetting about painful memories like the German Titanic was perhaps a reasonable price to pay. But even the most politically correct Germans believe that they ye now earned the right to discuss the full historical record. Not to equate German suffering with that of its victims, but simply to acknowledge a terrible tragedy.31. Why does the author say the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was the worst tragedy in maritime history? （B）A) It was attacked by Russian torpedoes.B) It caused the largest number of casualties.C) Most of its passengers were frozen to death.D) Its victims were mostly women and children.32. Hundreds of families dropped into the sea when _（A）_.A) the badly damaged ship leaned toward one sideB) a strong ice storm tilted the shipC) the cruise ship sank all of a suddenD) the frightened passengers fought desperately for lifeboats33. The Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy was little talked about for more than half a century because Germans _（D）_.A) were eager to win international acceptanceB) had been pressured to keep silent about itC) were afraid of offending their neighborsD) felt guilty for their crimes in World War II34. How does Gunter Grass revive the memory of the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy? （D）A) By describing the ships sinking in great detail.B) By giving an interview to the weekly Die Woche.C) By presenting the horrible scene of the torpedo attack.D) By depicting the survival of a young pregnant woman.35. It can be learned from the passage that Germans no longer think that _（C）_.A) the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy is a reasonable price to pay for the nations past misdeedsB) Germany is responsible for the horrible crimes it committed in World War IIC) they will be misunderstood if they talk about the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedyD) it-is wrong to equate their sufferings with those of other countries）There are people in Italy who cant stand soccer. Not all Canadians love hockey. A similar situation exists in America, where there are those individuals you may be one of them who yawn or even frown when somebody mentions baseball. Baseball to them means boring hours watching grown men in funny tight outfits standing around in a field staring away while very little of anything happens. They tell you its a game better suited to the 19th century, slow, quiet, gentlemanly. These are the same people you may be one of them who love football because theres the sport that glorifies “the hit”. By contrast, baseball seems abstract, cool, silent, still. On TV the game is fractured into a dozen perspectives, replays, closeups. The geometry of the game, however, is essential to understanding it. You will contemplate the game from one point as a painter does his subject; you may, of course, project yourself into the game. It is in this projection that the game affords so much space and time for involvement. The TV wont do it for you. Take, for example, the third baseman. You sit behind the third base dugout and you watch him watching home plate. His legs are apart, knees flexed. His arms hang loose. He does a lot of this. The skeptic still cannot think of any other sports so still, so passive. But watch what happens every time the pitcher throws: the third baseman goes up on his toes, flexes his arms or bring the glove to a point in front of him, takes a step right or left, backward or forward, perhaps he glances across the field to check his first basemans position. Suppose the pitch is a ball. “Nothing happened,” you say. “I could have had my eyes closed.” The skeptic and the innocent must play the game. And this involvement in the stands is no more intellectual than listening to music is. Watch the third baseman. Smooth the dirt in front of you with one foot; smooth the pocket in your glove; watch the eyes of the batter, the speed of the bat, the sound of horsehide on wood. If football is a symphony of movement and theatre, baseball is chamber music, a spacious interlocking of notes, chores and responses. 1. The passage is mainly concerned with . A. the different tastes of people for sports B. the different characteristics of sports C. the attraction of football D. the attraction of baseball 2. Those who dont like baseball may complain that . A. it is only to the taste of the old B. it involves fewer players than football C. it is not exciting enough D. it is pretentious and looks funny 3. The author admits that . A. baseball is too peaceful for the young B. baseball may seem boring when watched on TV C. football is more attracting than baseball D. baseball is more interesting than football 4. By stating “I could have had my eyes closed. ” the author means (4th paragraph last sentence): A. The third baseman would rather sleep than play the game. B. Even if the third baseman closed his eyes a moment ago, it could make no different to the result. C. The third baseman is so good at baseball that he could finish the game with eyes closed all the time and do his work well. D. The consequent was too bad he could not bear to see it. 5. We can safely conclude that the author . A. likes footballB. hates football C. hates baseballD. likes baseball Vocabulary 1. dugout n.棒球場邊供球員休息的地方 2. pitcher n.投手 3. symphony n.交響樂 4. chamber n.室內 5. contemplate vt.沉思，注視 長難句解析 【解析】此句的主干是“Baseballmeanswatching”，其中“in funny tight outfits”用來修飾“grown men”,“standing”和“staring”用來做“grown men”的定語。 【譯文】對于他們來說，棒球就是在無聊的幾個小時中幾個身著緊身衣的大人佇立在場地周圍沒事可做地東張西望。 【解析】這是一個復合句，“goes up”，“flexes”“takes”，“glances”做“the third baseman”的并列謂語。 【譯文】但每當投球手擲出球的那一瞬間，你再看吧，三壘運動員腳尖點地，屈臂或把接球手套直指前方，左右移動步伐，或前或后，或許他還要越過場地盯著一壘球手的動作。 答案與詳解 【短文大意】本文主要講述壘球的特征及欣賞。 1. D主旨題。文章第一段簡述了人們對壘球所持的偏見認為它毫無活力、從容和緩，不像橄欖球那樣高潮迭起、令人激動。文章的第二、三、四、五段探討了壘球的根本特征及欣賞角度，文章的最后一句話用一個比喻概括了壘球的魅力：“如果橄欖球是一曲交響樂的話，那么，壘球中所表現出來的運動恰似一曲優(yōu)美的室內樂?！笨梢?，本文主要探討的是壘球的特點及其欣賞。 A不對，第一段也確實提到了不同觀眾對不同運動形式的偏好，但這只是用以引出對壘球的特征及欣賞的討論。 2. C細節(jié)題。文章第一段指出：許多人不喜歡壘球，一提起壘球這些人就打哈欠甚至皺眉頭。對他們來說，看壘球意味著眼巴巴地觀望著身著運動裝(outfit)的人呆立在球場上，東瞧瞧西望望，很少有什么(激動人心的)事發(fā)生沒意思透了。他們認為這樣的運動更適合上個世紀的人的口味，不像橄欖球那樣充滿活力。 A意為：“它只適合老年人的口味?！弊⒁猓涸恼f的是適合上個世紀的人的口味，二者意味不一樣。 D意為：“它矯揉造作、滑稽可笑?！边@與說它gentlemanly(具有紳士風度，矜持，即：沒有沖撞或拼搶)不一樣。 3. B推斷題。第三段指出，在電視上，壘球運動被切換成不同角度的畫面，而且不斷地使用重放、特寫等電視制作技術，這破壞了該運動的整體運動感，使觀眾無法將自己投入(project)到運動中去，以體會到這種寓動于靜的運動之美。電視做不到這一點(The TV wont do it for you)，因此，電視上的壘球比賽看上去(seems)孤孤單單、冷冷清清、沉沉靜靜、慢慢騰騰。C、D不對，作者僅指出了不同運動有不同運動的特征，并未說哪種運動優(yōu)于哪種。參閱文章最后一句。 4. B推斷題。第四段整個都在描述壘球場上的一個場景：拿三壘的運動員假設對方全投出好球，作好了一切準備，但是對方投出的并不是好球。所以在那時候他的準備做不做都不會影響比賽結果。他說本來可以閉上眼睛，意思就是B項所寫的。A、C、D都不符合作者的意圖。這道題需要完整地了解第四段內容才能作好選擇。 5. D推斷題。在本文中，作者主要探討了壘球的特征及欣賞，作者著重指出的是：只有根據壘球的特征來欣賞它，才能體會到它的魅力。在他看來，觀察到壘球比賽中運動員的各種動作、壘球位之間的關系等是欣賞它的關鍵(第三段第二句)。只有從整體來把握它，才能看到每一個小的動作、每一個眼神乃至于“靜止”的意義，也只有這樣，才能全身心地投入比賽中，欣賞到它的魅力?？梢?，作者對壘球有很深的理解而且非常喜愛壘球。主要參考第三、四、五段。Among the more colorful characters of Leadvilles golden age were H.A.W.Tabor and his second wife,Elizabeth McCourt,better known as “Baby Doe”.Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West.Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont.With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas.Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking,or perhaps he was lured by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines.At any rate,a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch,which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. “Great deposits of lead are sure to be found here.”he said. As it turned out,it was silver,not lead,that was to make Leadvilles fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself,so he opened a general store,which sold everything from boots to salt,flour,and tobacco.It was his custom to “grubstake” prospective miners,in other words,to supply them with food and supplies,or “grub”, while they looked for ore,in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered.He did this for a number of years,but no one that he aided ever found anything of value. Finally one day in the year 1878,so the story goes,two miners came in and asked for “grub”. Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way.These were persistent, however,and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. “Oh help yourself.One more time wont make any difference,” He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers.the two miners took $17 worth of supplies,in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings.They picked a barren place on the mountainside and began to dig.After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver.Tabor bought the shares of the other two men,and so the mine belonged to him alone.This mine,known as the “Pittsburgh Mine,” made 1 300 000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment. Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117 000.This turned out to be even more fabulous than the Pittsburgh,yielding $35 000 worth of silver per day at one time.Leadville grew.Tabor became its first mayor,and later became lieutenant governor of the state. 1.Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT. A.because Tabor became its leading citizen B.because great deposits of lead is expected to be found there C.because it could bring good fortune to Tabor D.because it was renamed 2.The word “grubstake” in paragraph 2 means. A.to supply miners with food and supplies B.to open a general store C.to do ones contribution to the development of the mine D.to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine,if one was discovered 3.Tabor made his first fortune. A.by supplying two prospective miners and getting in return a one-third interest in the findings B.because he was persuaded by the two miners to quit supplying C.by buying the shares of the other D.as a land speculator 4. The underlying reason for Tabors life career is. A. purely accidental B. based on the analysis of miners being very poor and their possibility of discovering profitable mining site C. through the help from his second wife D. he planned well and accomplished targets step by step 5.If this passage is the first part of an article,who might be introduced in the following part? A.Tabors life. B.Tabors second wife,Elizabeth McCourt. C.Other colorful characters. D.Tabors other careers. Vocabulary 1.barren adj. 貧瘠的 2.fabulous adj. 神話般的，難以置信的 3.lure vt.誘惑，引誘 4.deposit n.沉淀，儲蓄 5.grubstake v.下注 長難句解析 【解析】“It”是形式主語，真正的主語是“to”后面的句子，“while”引導時間狀語從句。 【譯文】他的通常做法是對來采礦的人“下注”，說得更明確一點就是泰勃供給這些人食品、用品等物品，作為回報，當他們采到礦后就會分給他一部分股份。 答案與詳解 【短文大意】本文主要講述霍塞斯奧斯汀沃納泰勃發(fā)家的故事。 1. C細節(jié)題。因為Leadville可以為Tabor帶來巨富。這一點不是Leadville得名的原因，因為在文章第二段中，講到這一點時，提及三個原因：A.因為Tabor成為當地的居民代表人物，B.因為在Leadville有豐富的鉛的儲藏量。D.因為Leadville是因為Tabor重要而起的名，唯獨C沒有，因為到后來發(fā)現是銀礦才給他帶來巨富。 2. D詞匯題。第二段中grubstake的詞義與D所述內容是相同的，即“供給探礦者資金，衣物，食品以及其他物品”。(可參閱英華大辭典修訂第二版64頁)但此處還補充地講，作為回報，供給者可以獲得礦中資源一定份額。(見文章第二段第4行) 3. A細節(jié)題。Tabor第一次真正發(fā)財是他為兩名礦工提供資助，為此他獲得他們礦資源三分之一的股份。見文章第三段4-9行內容：兩名開礦者從Tabor那兒借走價值17美元的物品，作為回報，Tabor獲得他們礦資源三分之一股份。于是兩位開礦者在一座山旁的不毛之地開始挖掘，九天之后，發(fā)現了銀的富礦，于是Tabor又將兩人的股份全買下，這樣，銀礦屬于Tabor一個人所有，這個礦就是后來著名的“匹茲堡”礦。Tabor用17美元的投資換來了130萬美元的收獲。 4. B推斷題。由原文可知泰勃的財產來源是有一定偶然性的，但是畢竟也是基于他開創(chuàng)的“grubstake”模式，因為A、D都不對，C更是沒有根據，因為他還沒有娶第二位夫人這一切就發(fā)生了。分析泰勃的做法，會得出B選項所示的結論。 5. B推斷題。如果本文是一篇文章的第一部分，那么在文章的第二部分將介紹誰呢?key可以從文章第一句分析出來，在Leadville的黃金年代，其多彩的特點當中，Tabor及其第二任妻子Elizabeth McCourt是值得大書特書的，接著，文章都在講述有關H.A.W.Tabor發(fā)家致富的歷史，如先買下匹茲堡礦，后又買下Matchless礦，最后成為市長，代理州長，等等，所以涉及到的全是男主人公，因此下邊再講的話，應成為女主人公即Elizabeth McCourt的天地了，她是Tabor的第二任妻子。這是順理成章的事5)Open up most fashion magazines and you will see incredibly thin models with impossible hair and wearing unreasonably expensive, impracticably styled clothes. But shouldnt clothes be comfortably durable and make a principle of being simple for the individual who wears them? Why are we constantly told that we need to buy new clothes and add fresh pieces to our collection?Fashions change year after year so lots of people can make piles of money. If folks are convinced that they need a different look each season, that this years sweaters length and shoes style are important, they can be persuaded to buy. The fashion industry would have you ignore your shortcomings and just make you feel beautiful and happy. In fact it is not only a phenomenon we can find in peoples dressing.Fashion controls our lives. Fashion controls what we wear, what we eat, what we drink, the way we cut our hair, the makeup We buy and use, the color of the cars we drive. Fashion even controls our ideas.You dont believe me? How many. Of your friends are vegetarians? Why are they vegetarians? Because it is fashionable!Where does fashion come from? Often the reasons are quite logical. Scientists and historians study the fashions of the past and discover the secrets of each fashion.When girls see an attractive guy, their blood pressure rises and their lips become redder. Thats why guys think that girls wearing lipstick are beautiful.Why do guys shave their heads? In the past soldiers shaved their heads to kill the insects that lived in their hair. Now guys shave their heads so that they look strong and masculine, like soldiers.People spend a lot of time and money on fashion. But are they wasting their money? Changes in fashion help to develop new technologies. Changes in style create work for people all over the world. Many people work in the fashion industry, particularly in the fashion capitals of London, New York, Paris and Milan.And finally, fashion makes you feel good, doesnt it? When you are dressed in the latest style, dancing to the most fashionable music, after watching the latest hit film, you feel great, dont you?1. Whats the authors viewpoint about the models and their hairstyles and clothes?A. Unbiased. B. Indifferent. C. Critical. D. Appreciative.2. It is indicated by the author that clothes should beA. comfortable and durable. B. new and fresh.C. expensive and fashionable.D. simple and unique3. The fashion industry makes profits byA. selling the products at high prices. B. creating a need in you.C. helping you get rid of your shortcomings. D. making you look more beautiful.4. The autho