2017年考博英语模拟试题及答案2
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The author is obviously critical of President Clinton for_______
- A.his failing to match his words with his actions
- B.his handling the matter in a wrong perspective
- C.his lacking historical knowledge about the WTO
- D.his overemphasizing the economic role of the WTO
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One of the WTO's goal s as mentioned in the passage is to _______
- A.serve as arbiters in international trade disputes.
- B.ensure cheap export and import of goods unnecessarily
- C.bring about the globalization of world's trades
- D.encourage free trade and goods exchanges worldwide
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By saying that "It's an image that will boggle the mind for years to come," (the last sentence in Paragraph 3) the author means that_______
- A.the WTO is likely to have a negative image in people's mind in the future
- B.the WTO will have trouble changing people's way of thinking in the future
- C.the startling scene will probably linger in people's mind in the years to come
- D.people will lose whatever confidence they hold in the future of the WTO.
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We can learn from the beginning of the passage that __
- A.different forces contributed to the failure of the Millennium trade round
- B.many people bragged of their presence at the Millennium trade round
- C.there existed a range of violent debates as to the prospects of the WTO.
- D.only a few members were proud of their membership of the WTO
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Whoever said that victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan, surely had never heard of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the case of the hapless multilateral trade body and its long suffering representatives, the total failure of the opening meeting of the so-called Millennium trade round has lots of people boasting of their role in the violent physical straggle. Well. That's just brilliant. They are proud of being part of a movement that wants to wreck the most important engine of economic growth, prosperity and overall global rising living standards we have -- the freedom of trade and movement of people and goods between nations.
The 135-members WTO is composed of sovereign governments wishing to further this goal and ease the settlement of international trade disputes. From the sounds emanating from Seattle, though, it would now seem the WTO has now replaced the Trilateral Commission and the Freemasons as candidate No. 1 to take over the world.
Everybody has his favorite Seattle story. The city's police chief will have plenty of time to think about his, having now resigned in disgrace over the loss of control of downtown Seattle. The Seattle business community may be more inclined to brood over theirs; the poor fools invested $ 9 million to attract the meeting to their fine city. What stands out more? I would nominate the union of steel workers who were marching inprotest. It's an image that will boggle the mind for years to come.
The debate now is over just how effective this anti-globalist coalition will turn out to be. In the heat of the moment, it always looks as though the world as we know it is coming to an end. But the overwhelming likelihood is that we have not actually seen a replay of the anti-Vietnam War movement, which had much clearer focus, obviously, though its consequences were far-reaching. How long, after all, can you protest against cheap imports when those same imports are all over your house?
No, the real reason for the disaster in Seattle is political, and reports coming out of the meeting point to President Clinton as a major culprit. Which may be both good and bad.Taking the long view, other trade rounds have had difficult beginnings, too. It took years to get the Uruguay Round under way, which finally happened in 1986. Thankfully, we will soon be e!ecting another president, and it should be someone whose actions match his rhetoric.
Still, it is a disgrace that the world's greatest trading nation, i. e. the United States, is currently led by a man whose motivations are so narrowly political and egocentric that he has now wrecked any chance of entering the history books as a champion of free trade.
- According to the passage, the failure of the Seattle meeting is chiefly caused by __
- A.anti-globalist and pro-globalist conflicts
- B.President Clinton's wrong initiatives
- C.the strong protests from diverse groups.
- D.the police's failure to maintain order
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It can be concluded from the passage that the author regards Verdi's revisions to his operas with ______
- A.approval for the intentions that motivated the revisions
- B.regret that the original musicals and texts were altered
- C.concern that the revisions changed plots of the originals.
- D.disappointment, for the revisions seem largely irrelevant.
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Which of the following best describes the relationship of the first paragraph of the passage as a whole?
- A.It compares and contrasts several achievements that are thoroughly examined later in the passage
- B.It defines terms and relationships that are challenged in an argument later in the passage
- C.It provides a host of concrete examples from which generalizations are drawn later in the passage
- D.It leads to an assertion that is supported by examples and manifestations later in the passage
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It can inferred that the author views the independence from social class of the heroes and heroines of 19th century operas as ______
- A.a plot refinement which could be the achievement only by Verdi
- B.an idealized but accurate portrayal of bourgeois lifestyles
- C.a plot convention with no real connection to political reality
- D.a symbolic representation of the social position of aristocrats
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According to the passage, the immediacy of the political message in Verdi's operas stems from The________
- A.audience's familiarity with earlier operas
- B.vitality and subtlety of the music employed
- C.portrayal of heightened emotional outlets
- D.individual talents and skills of the singer
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"Popular art" has a number of meanings, impossible to define with any precision, which range from folklore to junk. The poles are clear enough, but the middle tends to blur. The Hollywood Western of the 1930's for example, has elements of folklore, but is closer to junk than to high art or folk art. There can be great trash, just as there is bad high art. The musicals of George Gershwin are great popular art, never aspiring to high art. Schubert and Brahms, however, used elements of popular music -- folk themes -- in works clearly intended as high art. The case of Verdi is a different one: he took a popular genre -- bourgeois melodrama set to music (an accurate definition of nineteenth-century opera) and, without altering its fundamental nature, transmuted it into high art. This remains one of the greatest achievements in music, and one that cannot be fully appreciated without recognizing the essential trashiness of the genre.
- As an example of such a transmutation, consider what Verdi made of the typical political elements of nineteenth-century opera. Generally in the plots of these operas, a hero or heroine -- usually portrayed only as an individual, unfettered by class -- is
- By referring to Schubert and Brahms, the author suggests that
- A.the works produced in the 18th century can be all considered as trash
- B.the achievements of the two artists overshadow that of Verdi
- C.popular music could be applied to compositions intended as high art.
- D.the term of popular music is susceptible to many definitions.
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We can infer from Paragraph 3 that_______
- A.Satires and ironies overemphasize less serious aspects of human life
- B.Arrogant politicians enable others to appreciate profound actions.
- C.Many issues on trivialities may arise for lack of a touch of humor.
- D.A sense of humor inevitably prompts us to take ourselves seriously.
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To which of the following is the author likely to agree?
- A.Satire and irony can be very harsh and cruel, not funny at all.
- B.It is absurd to stress the quality of humor at the expense of others.
- C.Human affairs are often an inappropriate subject for humor.
- D.A sense of humor is the most important of all human qualities.
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If one gets a lop-sided view of things, he is likely to ________
- A.detach tragedy from comedy
- B.associate humor with laughter
- C.identify pain with happiness
- D.combine satire with irony
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Biologically, there is only one quality which distinguishes us from animals: the ability to laugh. In a universe which appears to be utterly devoid of humor, we enjoy this supreme luxury. And it is a luxury, for unlike any other bodily process, laughter does not seem serve a biologically useful purpose. In a divided world, a laughter is a unifying force. Human begins oppose each other on a great many issues. Nations may disagree about systems of government and human relations may be plagued by ideological factions and political camps, but we all share the ability to laugh. And laughter, in turn, depends on the most complex and subtle of all-human qualities: a sense of humor. Certain comic stereotypes have a universal appeal. This can best be seen from the world-wide popularity of Charlie Chaplain's early films. The little man at odds with society never fails to amuse no matter which country we come from. As that great commentator on human affairs, Dr. Samuel Johnson, once remarked, "Men have been wise in very different modes; but they have always laughed in the same way."
- A sense of humor may take various forms and laughter may he anything from refined tinkle to an earth-quaking roar, but the effect is always the same. Humor helps us to maintain a correct sense of values. It is the one quality which political fanatics appe
- A.criticize the hypocrisy of politicians
- B.readdress the popularity of Chaplin.
- C.illustrate a universal appeal of humor
- D.ban satires in totalitarian regimes
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According to the author, which of the following can be a chief function of the sense of humor?
- A.Strengthening human relations.
- B.Keeping a correct sense of values.
- C.Eliminating comic stereotypes.
- D.Singling out adverse comments.
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It is implied in the passage that the economy in the year 2003 may ______
- A.grow moderately
- B.struggle to its feet.
- C.heat up too fast
- D.continue to boom.
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What is the writer's attitude toward future housing market?
- A.Carefree
- B.Optimistic
- C.Composed
- D.Gloomy.
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According to the writer, what may be chiefly responsible for the "umbrella effect"(Paragraph2)?
- A.Sustainable bond markets.
- B.Robust housing market.
- C.Bubbly stock markets.
- D.Ill-natured consumers.
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By the expression "zero-sum boom" (Paragraph 3), the writer means _______
- A.housing's continued strength and the persistent weakness may cancel each other out.
- B.there are signs that improved consumer mood fails to help sustain housing's strength
- C.stock price' negative growth will ultimately offset housing market's positive strength
- D.higher mortgage interest rates are compatible with the recovery of the economy.
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The housing market has been for two years propping up consumers' spirits while the rest of the economy lies exhausted on the floor, still trying to straggle to its feet. According to the National Association of Realtors, the national median existing-home price ended the year at $ 164, 000, up 7.1 percent from 2001. That's the strongest annual increase since 1980.
- Although residential real estate activity makes up less than 8% of total U. S. GDP, a housing market like this one can make the difference between positive and negative growth. Most significantly, consumer spending is 66% of GDP, and the purchase of a new
- December's new record in housing starts, for example, was nicely matched by the new record in new home sales. If you build it, they will buy and even if an economic pickup starts to reduce housing's relative attractiveness, there's no reason w
- Just as housing has taken up much of the economic slack for the past two years, both as a comforting investment for fretting consumers and a driver of consumer spending itself, a big bump elsewhere in the economy in 2003 could be housing's downfall. I
- A.the role of real estate activity
- B.the statistics on home prices
- C.the boom of housing market
- D.the degree of consumer spirits