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2014年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语（二）试题

Section I Use of English

Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

Thinner isn’t always better. A number of studies have 1 that normal-weight people are in fact at higher risk of some diseases compared to those who are overweight. And there are health conditions for which being overweight is actually 2 . For example, heavier women are less likely to develop calcium deficiency than thin women. 3 among the elderly, being somewhat overweight is often an 4 of good health.

Of even greater 5 is the fact that obesity turns out to be very difficult to define. It is often defined 6 body mass index, or BMI. BMI 7 body mass divided by the square of height. An adult with a BMI of 18 to 25 is often considered to be normal weight. Between 25 and 30 is overweight. And over 30 is considered obese. Obesity, 8 , can be divided into moderately obese, severely obese, and very severely obese.

While such numerical standards seem 9 , they are not. Obesity is probably less a

matter of weight than body fat. Some people with a high BMI are in fact extremely fit, 10 others with a low BMI may be in poor 11 . For example, many collegiate and professional football players 12 as obese, though their percentage body fat is low. Conversely, someone with a small frame may have high body fat but a 13 BMI.

Today we have a(an) 14 to label obesity as a disgrace. The overweight are sometimes 15 in the media with their faces covered. Stereotypes 16 with obesity include laziness, lack of will power, and lower prospects for success. Teachers, employers, and health professionals have been shown to harbor biases against the obese. 17 very young children tend to look down on the overweight, and teasing about body build has long been a problem in schools.

Negative attitudes toward obesity, 18 in health concerns, have stimulated a number of anti-obesity 19 . My own hospital system has banned sugary drinks from its facilities. Many employers have instituted weight loss and fitness initiatives. Michelle Obama launched a high-visibility campaign 20 childhood obesity, even claiming that it represents our greatest national security threat. 1.[A]denied [B]conduced [C]doubled [D]ensured 2.[A]protective [B]dangerous [C]sufficient [D]troublesome 3.[A]Instead [B]However [C]Likewise [D]Therefore 4.[A]indicator [B]objective [C]origin [D]example 5.[A]impact [B]relevance [C]assistance [D]concern 6.[A]intermsof [B]incaseof [C]infavorof [D]inof 7.[A]measures [B]determines [C]equals [D]modifies 8.[A]inessence [B]incontrast [C]inturn [D]inpart 9.[A]complicated [B]conservative [C]variable [D]straightforward 10.[A]so [B]unlike [C]since [D]unless 11.[A]shape [B]spirit [C]balance [D]taste 12.[A]start [B]qualify [C]retire [D]stay 13.[A]strange [B]changeable [C]normal [D]constant

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14.[A]option 15.[A]employed 16.[A]compared 17.[A]Even 18.[A]despised 19.[A]discussions 20.[A]for

[B]reason [B]pictured [B]combined [B]Still [B]corrected [B]businesses [B]against

[C]opportunity [C]imitated [C]settled [C]Yet [C]ignored [C]policies [C]with

[D]tendency [D]monitored [D]associated [D]Only [D]grounded [D]studies [D]without

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 ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

Text 1

What would you do with $590m? This is now a question for Gloria MacKenzie, an 84-year-old widow who recently emerged from her small, tin-roofed house in Florida to collect the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history. If she hopes her new-found fortune will yield lasting feelings of fulfilment, she could do worse than read “Happy Money” by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton.

These two academics use an array of behavioural research to show that the most rewarding ways to spend money can be counterintuitive.Fantasies of great wealth often involve visions of fancy cars and extravagant homes.Yet satisfaction with these material purchases wears off fairly quickly. What was once exciting and new becomes old-hat; regret creeps in. It is far better to spend money on experiences, say Ms Dunn and Mr Norton, like interesting trips, unique meals or even going to the cinema. These purchases often become more valuable with time—as stories or memories—particularly if they involve feeling more connected to others.

This slim volume is packed with tips to help wage slaves as well as lottery winners get the most “happiness bang for your buck.” It seems most people would be better off if they could shorten their commutes to work, spend more time with friends and family and less of it watching television (something the average American spends a whopping two months a year doing, and is hardly jollier for it).Buying gifts or giving to charity is often more pleasurable than purchasing things for oneself, and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly.This is apparently the reason MacDonald’s restricts the availability of its popular McRib—a marketing trick that has turned the pork sandwich into an object of obsession.

Readers of “Happy Money” are clearly a privileged lot, anxious about fulfilment, not hunger. Money may not quite buy happiness, but people in wealthier countries are generally happier than those in poor ones. Yet the link between feeling good and spending money on others can be seen among rich and poor people around the world, and scarcity enhances the pleasure of most things for most people. Not everyone will agree with the authors’ policy ideas, which range from mandating more holiday time to reducing tax incentives for American homebuyers. But most people will come away from this book believing it was money well spent.

21. According to Dunn and Norton, which of the following is the most rewarding purchase? [A] A big house. [B] A special tour. [C] A stylish car.

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[D] A rich meal.

22. The author’s attitude toward Americans’ watching TV is __________. [A] critical [B] supportive [C] sympathetic [D] ambiguous

23. McRib is mentioned in Paragraph 3 to show that __________. [A] consumers are sometimes irrational [B] popularity usually comes after quality [C] marketing tricks are after effective [D] rarity generally increases pleasure

24. According to the last paragraph, “Happy Money” __________. [A] has left much room for readers’ criticism [B] may prove to be a worthwhile purchase [C] has predicted a wider income gap in the us [D] may give its readers a sense of achievement 25. This text mainly discusses how to __________. [A] balance feeling good and spending money [B] spend large sums of money won in lotteries [C] obtain lasting satisfaction from money spent [D] become more reasonable in spending on luxuries

Text 2

An article in Scientific America has pointed out that empirical research says that, actually, you think you’re more beautiful than you are. We have a deep-seated need to feel good about ourselves and we naturally employ a number of self-enhancing strategies to achieve this. Social psychologists have amassed oceans of research into what they call the “above average effect”, or “illusory superiority”, and shown that, for example, 70% of us rate ourselves as above average in leadership, 93% in driving and 85% at getting on well with others—all obviously statistical impossibilities.

We rose-tint our memories and put ourselves into self-affirming situations. We become defensive when criticised, and apply negative stereotypes to others to boost our own esteem. We stalk around thinking we’re hot stuff.

Psychologist and behavioural scientist Nicholas Epley oversaw a key study into self-enhancement and attractiveness. Rather than have people simply rate their beauty compared with others, he asked them to identify an original photograph of themselves from a lineup including versions that had been altered to appear more and less attractive. Visual recognition, reads the study, is “an automatic psychological process occurring rapidly and intuitively with little or no apparent conscious deliberation”. If the subjects quickly chose a falsely flattering image—which most did—they genuinely believed it was really how they looked.

Epley found no significant gender difference in responses. Nor was there any evidence that those who self-enhance the most (that is, the participants who thought the most positively doctored picture were real) were doing so to make up for profound insecurities. In fact, those who thought that the images higher up the attractiveness scale were real directly corresponded with

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