2014考研英语阅读

好学教育：http://www.5haoxue.net 2014考研英语阅读 Passage 1 　　　　In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernadino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theater, then a barbecue（烤肉）restaurant, and then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they added one new concept: quick service, no waiters or waitresses, and no tips. 　　　　Their hamburgers sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity, for the brothers had developed a strict routine for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks' sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became incredibly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundreds during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success untilthey met Ray Kroc. 　　　　Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954, when he was selling milk shake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the unique appeal of the brothers' fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise（特许经营）other copies of their restaurants. The agreement struck included the right to duplicate the menu. The equipment, even their red and white buildings with the golden arches（拱门）. 　　　Today McDonald's is really a household name. Its names for its sandwiches have come to mean hamburger in the decades since the day Ray Kroc watched people rush up to order fifteen-cent hamburgers. In 1976, McDonald's had over $ 1 billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most incredible success stories in modern American business history. 　　　　1. This passage mainly talks about　　　　. 　　　　A）　the development of fast food services 　 　B）　how McDonald's became a billion-dollar business 　 　 C）　the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonald 　　 D）　Ray Kroc's business talent 　　　　2. Mac and Dick managed all of the following businesses except　　　. 　　　　A） a drive-in　　 　　B） a cinema　　 　　C） a theater 　　 　　D） a barbecue restaurant 　　　　3. We may infer from this passage that　　　　　. 　　　　A）Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy for they sold their idea to Kroc 　　 　　B）The location the McDonalds chose was the only source of the great popularity of their drive-in 　　C）Forty years ago there were numerous fast-food restaurants 　　D）　Ray Kroc was a good businessman 　　　　4. The passage suggests that　　　. 　　　　A）　creativity is an important element of business success 　　B）　Ray Kroc was the close partner of the McDonald brothers 　　C）　Mac and Dick McDonald became broken after they sold their ideas to Ray Kroc 　　D）　California is the best place to go into business 　　　　5. As used in the second sentence of the third paragraph, the worduniquemeans　　. 　　　　A）special 　　 　　B）financial　　 　　C ）attractive　　 　　D）peculiar Passage 2 You're busy filling out the application form for a position you really need; let's assume you once actually completed a couple of years of college work or even that you completed your degree. Isn't it tempting to lie just a little, to claim on the form that your diploma represents a Harvard degree? Or that you finished an extra couple of years back at State University? 　　　　More and more people are turning to utter deception like this to land their job or to move ahead in their careers, for personnel officers, like most Americans, value degrees from famous schools. A job applicant may have a good education anyway, but he or she assumes that chances of being hired are better with a diploma from a well-known university. Registrars at most well-known colleges say theydeal with deceitful claims like these at the rate of aboutone per week. 　　　　Personnel officers do check up on degrees listed on application forms, then. If it turns out that an applicants lying, most colleges are reluctant to accuse the applicant directly. One Ivy League school calls them impostors（骗子）; another refers to them asspecial cases. One well-known West Coast school, in perhaps the most delicate phrase of all, says that these claims are made byno such people. 　　　　To avoid outright（彻底的）lies, some job-seekers claim that they attended or were associated with a college or university. After carefully checking, a personnel officer may discover that attending means being dismissed after one semester. It may be that being associated with a college means that the job-seeker visited his younger brother for a football weekend. One school that keeps records of false claims says that the practice dates back at least to the turn of the century-that's when they began keeping records, anyhow. 　　　　If you don't want to lie or even stretch the truth, there are companies that will sell you a phony（假的）diploma. One company, with offices in New York and on the West Coast, will put your name on a diploma from any number of non-existent colleges. The price begins at around twenty dollars for a diploma from Smoot State University.The prices increase rapidly for a degree from the University of Purdue. As there is no Smoot State and the real school in Indiana properly called Purdue University, the prices seem rather high for one sheet of paper. 　　　　6. The main idea of this passage is that　　　　　. 　　　　A）　employers are checking more closely on applicants now 　　B）　lying about college degrees has become a widespread problem 　　C）　college degrees can now be purchased easily 　　D）　employers are no longer interested in college degrees 　　　　7. According to the passage, special cases refer to cases where　　　　　. 　　　　A）　students attend a school only part-time 　　B）　students never attended a school they listed on their application 　　C）　students purchase false degrees from commercial films 　　D）　students attended a famous school 　　　　8. We can infer from the passage that　　　　　　. 　　　　A）　performance is a better judge of ability that a college degree 　　B）　experience is the best teacher 　　C）　past work histories influence personnel officers more than degrees do 　　D）　a degree from a famous school enables an applicant to gain advantage over others in job petition 　　　　9. This passage implies that　　　　　　. 　　　　A）　buying a false degree is not moral 　　B）　personnel officers only consider applicants from famousschools 　　C）　most people lie on applications because they were dismissed from school 　　D）　society should be greatly responsible for lying on applications 　　　　10. As used in the first line of the second paragraph, the word utter means　　　. 　　　　A）address 　　 　　B）thorough　　 　　C）ultimate　　 　　D）decisive Passage 3 　　　　Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri? 　　　　Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground, allowing smell of sulfur（硫磺）to filter upward. 　　　　The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools. Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards.Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks wer stopped in Washington, D.C. Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the movement of these two masses suddenly lurches （倾斜） forward. 　　　　The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions trigger （触发） earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeastArkansas through Missouri and into southern lllinois. 　　　　Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say have no method of predictingwhen a large earthquake will occur. 　　　　11. This passage is mainly about　　　　. 　　　　A）the New Madrid fault in Missouri　　 　　B）the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults 　　C）the causes of faults 　　　　　　　 　　D）current scientific knowledge about faults 　　　　12. The New Madrid fault is　　　　　. 　　　　A）　a horizontal fault 　　B）　a vertical fault 　　C）　a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault 　　D）　responsible for forming the Mississippi River 　　　　13. We may conclude from the passage that　　　　　. 　　　　A）　it is probably as dangerous to live in Missouri as in California 　　B）　the New Madrid fault will eventually develop a mountain range in Missouri 　　C）　California will become an island in future 　　D）　A big earthquake will occur to California soon 　　　　14. This passage implies that　　　　　　. 　　　　A）　horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults. 　　B）　Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults 　　C）　Earthquakes occur only around fault areas 　　D）　California will break into pieces by an eventual earthquake 　　　　15. As used in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, the word essentially means　　　　. 　　　　A） greatly　　 　　C） basically 　　 　　B） extremely　　 　　D） necessarily