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2021年考研英语二阅读理解真题及参考答案

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

“Reskilling" is something like a buzzword but is actually a requirement if we plan to have a future where a lot of would-be workers do not get left behind. We know we are moving into a period where the jobs in demand will change rapidly, as will the requirements of the jobs that remain. Research by the WEF，detailed in the Harvard Business Review, finds that on average 42 percent of the“core skills" within job roles will change by 2022. That is a very short timeline, so we can only imagine what the changes will be further in the future.

The question of who should pay for reskilling is a thorny one. For individual companies, the temptation is always to let go of workers whose skills are no longer in demand and replace them with those whose skills are. That does not always happen. AT&T is often given as the gold standard of a company who decided to do a massive reskilling program rather than go with a fire-and-hire strategy, ultimately retraining 18,000 employees. Prepandemic, other companies including Amazon and Disney had also pledged to create their own plans. When the skills mismatch is in the broader economy though, the focus usually turns to government to handle.

Efforts in Canada and elsewhere have been arguably languid at best, and have given us a situation where we frequently hear of employers begging for workers, even at times and in regions where unemployment is high.

With the pandemic, unemployment is very high indeed. In February, at 3.5 percent and 53 per cent respectively, unemployment rates in Canada and the United States were at generational lows and worker shortages were everywhere. As of May, those rates had spiked up to 13.3 percent and 13.7 percent, and although many worker shortages had disappeared, not all had done so. In the medical field, to take an obvious example, the pandemic meant that there were still clear shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel.

Of course, it is not like you can take an unemployed waiter and train him to be a doctor in a few weeks, no matter who pays for it. But even if you cannot close that gap, maybe you can close others, and doing so would be to the benefit of all concerned. That seems to be the case in Sweden: when forced to furlough 90 percent of their cabin staff, Scandinavian Airlines decided to start up a short retraining program that reskilled the laid off workers to support hospital staff. The effort was a collective one and involved other companies as well as a Swedish university.

21. Research by the World Economic Forum suggests___.

[A] a controversy about the“core skills"

[B] an increase in full. time employment

[C] an urgent demand for new jobs skills

[D] a steady growth of job opportunities

22. AT&T is cited to show_

[A] an immediate need for government support

[B] an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy

[C] the characteristics of reskilling programs

[D] the importance of staff appraisal standards.

23. Efforts to resolve the skills mismatch in Canada__.

[A] have appeared to be insufficient

[B] have driven up labour costs

[C] have proved to be inconsistent

[D] have met with fierce opposition

24. We can learn from Paragraph 3 that there was___.

[A] a sign of economic recovery

[B] a call for policy adjustment

[C] a change on hiring practices

[D] a lack of medical workers

25. Scandinavian Airlines decided to___

[A] create job vacancies for the unemployed

[B] retrain their cabin staff for better services

[C] prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs.

[D] finance their stair's college education

【答案解析】

21.

[答案] C (an urgent demand for new job skills)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Research by the World Economic Forum定位到第一段③句，由42 per cent of the "core skills" within job roles will change可知大量工作“核心技能”将发生变化。C项an urgent demand for new job skills(对新工作技能的迫切需求)符合题意。所以本题选C。

22.

[答案] B (an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy)

[解析]本题为例证题。根据题干关键词AT&T定位到第二段④句; AT&T is often given as the gold standard of a company that decided to do a massive reskilling program rather than go with a fire- and-hire strategy。B项an alternative to the fire and-hire strategy(解雇和雇佣策略的替代方案)是对rather than go with a fire- and-hire strategy(而不是推行解雇和雇佣策略)的同义替换。所以本题选B。

23.

[答案] A (have appeared to be insufficient)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词skills mismatch、Canada定位到第二段⑦句: Efforts in Canada and elsewhere have been arguably languid at best, and have given us a situation where we frequently hear of employers begging for workers, even at times and in regions where unemployment is high。A项have appeared to be insufficient(似乎不够)是对⑦句中languid(虚弱无力的)，以及"employers begging for workers VS unemployment is high(雇主缺人VS失业率高)"这一困境的合理概括。所以本题选A。

24.

[答案] D (a lack of medical workers)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干Paragraph 3定位到第三段。本段①句是论点“疫情期间失业率很高"。②③句是数据论据;④句是事例论据，以医疗领域为例，证明人员的紧缺。D项alack of medical workers(医疗工作者短缺)对应④句there were still clear shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel。所以本题选D。

25.

[答案] C (prepare their laid- off workers for other jobs)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Scandinavian Airlines decided to定位到第四段③句Scandinavian Airlines decided to start up a short retraining program that reskilled the laid-off workers to support hospital staff。C项prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs(帮助他们的失业员工为其它工作做准备)对应③句reskilled the laid-off workers to support hospital staff。 所以本题选C。

Text 2

With the global population predicted to hit close to 10 billion by 2050, and forecasts that agricultural production in some regions will need to nearly double to keep pace, food security is increasingly making headlines. In the UK, it has become a big talking point recently too, for a rather particular reason: Brexit.

Brexit is seen by some as an opportunity to reverse a recent trend towards the UK importing food. The country produces only about 60 percent of the food it eats, down from almost three-quarters in the late 1980s. A move back to self-sufficiency, the argument goes, would boost the farming industry, political sovereignty and even the nation's health. Sounds great一but how feasible is this vision?

According to a report on UK food production from the University of Leeds, UK, 85 percent of the country's total land area is associated with meat an dairy production. That supplies 80 percent of what is consumed, so even covering the whole country in livestock farms wouldn't allow us to over all our meat and dairy needs.

There are many caveats to those figures, but they are still grave. To become much more self-sufficient, the UK would need to drastically reduce its consumption of animal foods, and probably also farm more intensively - meaning fewer green fields, and more factory-style production.

But switching to a mainly plant-based diet wouldn't help. There is a good reason why the UK is dominated by animal husbandry: most of its retrain doesn't have the right soil or climate to grow crops on a commercial basis. Just 25 percent of the country's land is suitable for crop-growing, most of which is already occupied by arable fields. Even if we converted all the suitable land to fields of fruit and veg-which would involve taking out all the nature reserves and removing thousands of people from their homes-we would achieve only a 30 percent boost in crop production.

Just 23 percent of the fruit and vegetables consumed in the UK are currently home-grown, so with the most extreme measures we could meet only 30 percent of our fresh produce needs. That is before we look for the space to grow the grains, sugars, seeds and oils that provide us with the vast bulk of our current calorie intake.

26. Some people argue that food self-sufficiency in the UK would_

[A] be hindered by its population growth

[B] contribute to the nation's well-being

[C] become a priority of the government

[D] pose a challenge to its framing industry

27. The report by the University of Leeds shows that in the UK__.

[A] farmland has been inefficiently utilized

[B] factory-style production needs reforming

[C] most land is used for meat and dairy production

[D] more green fields will be converted for farming

28. Crop-growing in the UK is restricted due to__

[A] its farming technology

[B] its dietary tradition

[C] its natural conditions

[D] its commercial interests

29. It can be learned from the last paragraph that British people_

[A] rely largely on imports for fresh produce

[B] enjoy a steady rise in fruit consumption

[C] are seeking effective ways to cut calorie intake

[D] are trying to grow new varieties of grains

30. The author's attitude to food self-sufficiency in the UK is___.

[A] defensive

[B] doubtful

[C] tolerant

[D] optimistic

【答案解析】

26.

[答案] B (contribute to the nation's well-being)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词food self-sufficiency定位到第二段③句: A move back to self-sufficiency, the argument goes, would boost the farming industry, political sovereignty and even the nation's health。contribute to是对boost的同义替换，well-being是对health的同义替换。所以本题选B。

27.

[答案] C (most land is used for meat and dairy production)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词The report by the University of Leeds定位到第三段①句: According to a report on UK food production from the University of Leeds, UK, 85 per cent of the country's total land area is associated with meat and dairy production。most land is used for meat and dairy production对应85 per cent of the country's total land area is associated with meat and dairy production。所以本题选C。

28.

[答案] C (its natural conditions)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Crop-growing is restricted先定位到第五段③句: Just 25 per cent of the country's land is suitable for crop-growing, most of which is already occupied by arable fields,但该句并没有解释英国农作物种植受限的原因。②句指出，“英国以畜牧业为主是有充分理由的:其大部分地区的土壤或气候不适合农作物商业化种植"(There is a good reason why the UK is dominated by animal husbandry: most of its terrain doesn't have the right soil or climate to grow crops on a commercial basis)，由此可得知，英国农作物种植受限是因为其缺少适合的土壤和气候，属于自然环境因素。natural conditions 是对soil or climate的概括。所以本题选C。

29.

[答案] A (rely largely on imports for fresh produce)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干中的the last paragraph模糊定位到最后一段， ①句指出，“目前，英国人食用的果蔬中只有23%是本土产出的，因此，尽管我们用尽所有的方法，也只能满足30%的新鲜农产品需求"(Just 23 per cent of the fruit and vegetables consumed in the UK are currently home-grown, so even with the most extreme measures we could meet only 30 per cent of our fresh produce needs.)，由此可得知，英国人对新鲜农产品的需求不能仅仅依靠国内提供，大部分要依赖于进口。所以本题选A。

30.

[答案] B (doubtful)

[解析]本题为态度题。题干中的关键词food self sufficiency为本文话题词，首次出现在第二段③句，然后④句对此提出问题:听起来不错一但这 种(自给自足的)愿景可行吗?(Sounds great- but how feasible is this vision?)。随后，作者从第三段到最后一段一直在论证自给自足的困难，由此可得知，作者的态度更倾向于怀疑。所以本题选B。

Text 3

When Microsoft bought task management app Wunderlist and mobile calendar Sunrise in 2015, it picked up two newcomers that were attracting considerable buzz in Silicon Valley, Microsoft's own Office dominates the market for“productivity" software, but the start-ups represented a new wave of Technology designed from the ground up for the smartphone world.

Both apps , however, were later scrapped, after Microsoft said it had used their best features in its own products. Their teams of engineers stayed on, making them two of the many“acquihires" that the biggest companies have used to feed their insatiable hunger for tech talent.

To Microsof's critics, the fates of Wunderlist and Sunrise are examples of a remorseless drive by Big Tech to chew up any innovative companies that lie in their path."They bought the seedlings and closed them down," complained Paul Arnold, a partner at San Francisco-based Switch Ventures, putting paid to businesses that might one day turn into competitors. Microsoft declined to comment.

Like other start-up investors, Mr Arnold's own business often depends on selling start-ups to larger tech companies, though he admits to mixed feelings about the result: "I think these things are good for me, if | put my selfish hat on. But are they good for the American economy? I don't know."

The US Federal Trade Commission says it wants to find the answer to that question. This week, it asked the five most valuable US tech companies for information about their many small acquisitions over the past decade. Although only a research project at this stage, the request has raised the prospect of regulators wading into early-stage tech markets that until now have been beyond their reach.

Given their combined market value of more than $5.5tn, rifling through such small deals - many of them much less prominent than Wunderlist and Sunrise - might seem beside the point.

Between them, the five companies (Apple， Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Facebook) have spent an average of only $3. 4bn a year on sub-$ 1bn acquisitions over the past five years- a drop in the ocean compared with their massive financial reserves, and the more than $130bn of venture capital that was invested in the US last year.

However, critics say that the big companies use such deals to buy their most threatening potential competitors before their businesses have a chance to gain momentum, in some cases as part of a“"buy and kill" tactic to simply close them down.

31. What is true about Wunderlist and Sunrise afler their acquisitions?

[A] Their market volues declined.

[B] Their engineers were retained.

[C] Their tech features improved.

[D] Their prodocts were re priced

32. Microsoft's critcs believe that the big tech companes tend to

[A] Exaggerate their product quality

[B] Treat new tech talent unfairly

[C] Eliminate their potential competitors

[D] lgnore publick opinions

33. Paul Amold is concerned that small acqusitions might_

[A]. Weaken big tech companies

[B] Worse market competition

[C] Discourage start-up investors

[D] Harm the national economy

34. The US Federal Trade Commission intends to____.

[A] Surprise start-up's operations

[B] Encourage research collaboration

[C] Limit Big Tech's expansion

[D] Examine small acquisitions

35. For the five biggest tech companies, their small acquisitions have_

[A] Raised few management challenges

[B] Brought little financial pressure

[C] Set an example for future deals

[D] Generated considerable profits

【答案解析】

31.

[答案] B (Their engineers were retained.)

[解析]本题为细节 题。根据题干关键词Wunderlist and Sunrise定位到第一段①句和第三段①句这两句无法解题,需结合上下文。文章第一段引出事件Microsoft收购Wunderlist和Sunrise,第二段介绍这两家初创企业被收购后所发生的事情第三段介绍批评者对Microsoft此行为的评价。B项Their engineers were retained(他们的工程师被保留了下来)是对第二段②句中的Their teams of engineers stayed on(他们的工程师团队留了下来)的同义替换。所以本题选B.

32.

[答案] C (eliminate their potential competitors)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Microsofts' critics 定位到第三段①句: To Microsoft's critics, the fates of Wunderlist and Sunrise are examples of a remorseless drive by Big Tech to chew up any innovative companies that lie in their path。C项eliminate their potential competitors(消灭他们潜在的竞争对手)是对chew up innovative companies that lie in their path(毁掉挡他们路的创新公司)的同义替换。所以本题选C。

33.

[答案] D (harm the national economy)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Paul Arnold定位到第三段②句和第四段。第三段②句指出Arnold对科技巨头将本可以发展成为其竞争对手的初创公司扼杀在萌芽阶段这一做法的不满，第四段进一步介绍Arnold作为初创公司投资人对科技巨头收购行为的看法。D项harm the national economy(损害国家经济)是对第四段中的I think these things are good for me ... But are they good for the American economy? I don't know(我觉得这些对我有好....但它们对美国经济有好处吗?我不知道)的合理推断。所以本题选C。.

34.

[答案] D (examine small acquisitions)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词The US Federal Trade Commission定位到第五段①句，该句无法解题,继续看下文.②句紧接着介绍US Federal Trade Commission的做法: This week, it asked the five most valuable US tech companies for information about their many small acquisitions over the past decade。D项examine small acquisitions(调查小规模收购)是对asked ...for information about their many small acquisitions.(.....询问他们许多小规模收购的相关信息)的概括总结。所以本题选D。

35.

[答案] B (brought little financial pressure)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词the five biggest tech companies定位到第六段②句:Between them, the five companies (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Facebook) have spent an average of only $3.4bn a year on sub $1bn acquisitions over the past five years- -a drop in the ocean compared with their massive financial reserves, and the more than $130bn of venture capital that was invested in the US last year。B项brought little financial pressure(几乎没有带来资金压力)是对a drop in the ocean compared with their massive financial reserves( 与他们庞大的资金储备相比，这只是沧海一粟)的合 理推断。所以本题选B。

Text 4

We're fairly good at judging people based on first impressions, thin slices of experience ranging from a glimpse of a photo to a five-minute interaction, and deliberation can be not only extraneous but intrusive. In one study of the ability she dubbed“thin slicing," the late psychologist Nalini Ambady asked participants to watch silent 10-second video clips of professors and to rate the instructor's overall effectiveness. Their ratings correlated strongly with students' end-of-semester ratings. Another set of participants had to count backward from 1 ,000 by nines as they watched the clips, occupying their conscious working memory. Their ratings were just as accurate, demonstrating the intuitive nature of the social processing.

Critically, another group was asked to spend a minute writing down reasons for their judgment, before giving the rating. Accuracy dropped dramatically. Ambady suspected that deliberation focused them on vivid but misleading cues, such as certain gestures or utterances, rather than letting the complex interplay of subtle signals form a holistic impression. She found similar interference when participants watched 15-second clips of pairs of people and judged whether they were strangers, friends, or dating partners.

Other research shows we re better at detecting deception and sexual orientation from thin slices when we rely on intuition instead of reflection.“It's as if you're driving a stick shift," says Judith Hall, a psychologist at Northeastern University, “and if you start thinking about it too much, you can't remember what you're doing. But if you go on automatic pilot, you're fine. Much of our social life is like that."

Thinking too much can also harm our ability to form preferences. College students' ratings of strawberry jams and college courses aligned better with experts' opinions when the students weren't asked to analyze their rationale. And people made car-buying decisions that were both objectively better and more personally satisfying when asked to focus on their feelings rather than on details, but only if the decision was complex- when they had a lot of information to process.

Intuition's special powers are unleashed only in certain circumstances. In one study, participants completed a battery of eight tasks, including four that tapped reflective thinking (discerning rules, comprehending vocabulary) and four that tapped intuition and creativity (generating new products or figures of speech). Then they rated the degree to which they had used intuition ("gut feelings," "hunches,"“'my heart"). Use of their gut hurt their performance or the first four tasks, as expected, and helped them on the rest. Sometimes the heart is smarter than the head.

36. Nalini Ambaby's study deals with_

A. instructor student interaction

B. the power of people s memory

C. the reliability of first impressions

D. people' s ability to influence others

37. In Ambaby's study, rating accuracy dropped when participants .

A. gave the rating in limited time

B. focused on specific details

C. watched shorter video clips

D. discussed with on another

38. Judith Hall mentions driving to show that_

A. memory can be selective

B. reflection can be distracting

C. social skills must be cultivated

D. deception is difficult to detect

39. When you are making complex decisions, it is advisable to_

A. follow your feelings

B. list your preferences

C. seek expert advice

D. collect enough data

40. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. Generating new products takes time.

B. Intuition may affect reflective tasks.

C. Vocabulary comprehension needs creativity.

D. Objective thinking may boost intuitiveness.

【答案解析】

36.

[答案] C (the reliability of first impressions)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Nalini Ambaby可定位到第一段②句,②句In one study of the ability she dubbed“thin slicing," the late psychologist Nalini Ambady asked participants to watch silent 10-second video clips of professors ..己故心理学家纳利尼.安巴迪(Nalini Ambady)在一项名 为“薄片撷取"(thin slicing)的能力研究中,要求参与者观看教授们10秒钟的无声视频片段.....介绍了该研究的内容。根据“薄片撷取"(thin slicing)和“10秒视频"(10-second video clips)可以得出，②句作为一个科学实验，针对的是第一段①句 We're fairly good at judging people based on first impressions, thin slices of experience .我们很擅长根据第一印象、 薄片式经验来判断一......C项the reliability of first impressions(第一印象的可靠程度)是对该实验目的的准确概括。所以本题

37.

[答案] B (focused on specific details)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题千关键词accuracy dropped和Ambaby可定位到第二段②③句,③句是②句现象出现的原因。根据③句中deliberation focused them on vivid but misleading cues ... rather than letting the complex interplay of subtle signals form a holistic impression(深思熟虑使他们专注于生动但具有误导性的线索，....不是让微妙信号的复杂相互作用形成整体印象)，B项focused on specific details(关注于具体的细节)是对③句的总结概括。所以本题选B.

38.

[答案] B (reflection can be distracting)

[解析]本题为例证题。根据题干关键词Judith Hall定位到第三段②句。例证题的解题思路是首先考虑在例子上文寻找观点，找到第三段①句Other research shows we're better at detecting deception and sexual orientation from thin slices when we rely on intuition instead of reflection(另一项研究表明， 当我们依靠直觉而不是反思时，更能从薄片式信息中检测出欺骗和性取向)，②句的例子本身是“如果你在开手动挡，当你开始想太多时，你就不记得自己在做什么了"，B项reflection can be distracting(反思会分散注意力)是对①句观点的提炼总结。所以本题选B。

39.

[答案] A (follow your feelings)

[解析]本题为细节题。根据题干关键词complex decisions可定位到第四段③句，其中And people made car-buying decisions that were both objectively better and more personally satisfying when asked to focus on their feelings rather than on details(当人们被要求把注意力集中在他们的感觉而不是细节上时,他们做出的买车决定在客观上更好也更能满足个人......focus on their feelings的同义表达是A项follow your feelings。所以本题选A。

40.

[答案] B (Intuition may affect reflective tasks.)

[解析]本题为推断题。根据题干关键词the last paragraph定位到第五段，该段指出直觉的特殊力量只有在特定的情况下才会释放，如预期那样，仅凭直觉会影响他们在前四项任务中的表现，而在其他任务中则会有所帮助(Use of their gut hurt their performance or the first four tasks, as expected, and helped them on the rest)，"gut' 指代"intuition", “the first four tasks"指代利用反思性思维(reflective thinking)的任务，即参与者在完成利用反思性思维(reflective thinking)的任务时会受到直觉的影响。因此，B项Intuition may affect reflective tasks(直觉或许会影响利用反思性思维的任务)总结概括了本段观点。所以本题选B。