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

It is curious that Stephen Koziatek feels almost as though he has to justify his efforts to give his students a better future.

Mr.Koziatek is part of something pioneering. He is a teacher at a New Hampshire high school where learning is not something of books and tests and mechanical memorization, but practical. When did it become accepted wisdom that students should be able to name the 13th president of the United States but be utterly overwhelmed by a broken bike chain?

As Koziatek knows,there is learning in just about everything. Nothing is necessarily gained by forcing students to learn geometry at a graffitied desk stuck with generations of discarded chewing gum. They can also learn geometry by assembling a bicycle.

But he’s also found a kind of insidious prejudice. Working with your hands is seen as almost a mark of inferiority.Schools in the family of vocational education “have that stereotype..that it’s for kids who can’t make it academically,”he says.

On one hand,that viewpoint is a logical product of America’s evolution.Manufacturing is not the economic engine that it once was.The job security that the US economy once offered to high school graduates has largely evaporated.More education is the new principle.We want more for our kids,and rigitfully so.

But the headlong push into bachelor’s degrees for all -and the subtle devaluing of anything less-misses an important point:That’s not the only thing the American economy neds.Yes,a bachelor’s degree opens more doors.But even now,54 percent of the jobs in the country are middle-skill jobs,such as  construction and high-skill manufacturing.But only 44 percent of workers are adequately trained.

In other words,at a time when the working class has turned the country on its political head,frustrated that the opportunity that once defined America is vanishing,one obvious solution is staring us in the face.There is a gap in working-class jobs,but the workers who need those jobs most aren’t equipped to do them.Koziatek’s Manchester School of Technology High School is trying to fill that  gap.

Koziatek’s school is a wake-up call.When  education becomes one-size-fits-all,it risks overlooking a nation’s diversiy of gifts.

21.【題干】A brokan bike chain is mentioned to show students’ lack of______.

A.mechanical memorization

B.academic training

C.practical ability

D.pioneering spirit

22.【題干】There existsthe prejudice that vocational education is for kids who______.

A.are financially disadvantaged

B.are not academically successful

C.have a stereotyped mind

D.have no career motivation

23.【題干】We can infer from Paragraph 5 that high school graduates______.

A.are entitled to more “ducational privileges

B.are reluctant to work in manufacturing

C.used to have more job opportunities

D.used to have big financial concerns

24.【題干】The headlong push into bacheloi’s degrees for all_____.

A.helps create a lot of middle-skill jobs

B.may narrow the gap in working-class jobs

C.is expected to yield a better-trained workforce

D.indicates the overvaluing of higher education

25.【題干】The author’s attitude toward Koziatek’s school can be described as_____.

A.supportive

B.disappointed

C.tolerant

D.cautious

21. 【答案】C practical ability

【解析】這是一道細節題，根據題干關鍵詞可定位至第二段最后一句話,意思是”什么時候這種觀點變得可接受了呢？學生應該能夠說出美國第十三任總統的名字，但是卻完全對壞了的自行車鏈束手無策”。從作者使用問句的形式就可判斷出作者并不接受這種觀點，即學生只學會書本上的知識而不具備實際能力。再結合上一句話即本段第二句話，Mr Koziatek是New Hampshire高中的一名老師，在這所學校，學習不只是書本上的知識，或者是為了考試，也不是為了機械化的記憶，而是為了實際的技能。能看出，作者認為學生們缺少的是實際技能，所以答案是C practical ability.

22. 【答案】 B are not academically successful

【解析】這是一道具體細節題，根據題干關鍵詞職業教育對孩子存在的偏見可定位至第四段最后一句，意思是“在很多職業化教育的學校中，有這樣一種老套的思想，那就是，職業教育是針對那些在學術上不能成功的那些孩子的。”根據這句話可確定答案就是B are not academically successful 。其他選項均不符合文意。

23．【答案】C used to have more job opportunities

【解析】這是一道細節推斷題，根據題干第五段和high school graduates 回到原文定位致第五段第三句，說到美國經濟曾經提供給高中畢業生的那種the job security已經在很大程度上evaporated也就是消失了，那說明過去的時候高中畢業生是有職業安全感的，故選C，其他選項都不在定位處，可以排除。
    24.【答案】D indicate the overvaluing of higher education
    【解析】這是一道事實細節題，根據題干內容“the headlong push”找到出處是第六段開頭But后，發現后面還有一個and...和其并列，所以主要關注對這兩部分的評價，后面有明顯的標點：冒號出現，冒號后說that is not the only thing the American economy needs. 可以看出這句話對前面的否定，選項中只有D選項動詞overvalue是負面詞，而且提到主題詞education。故選D。這道題最適合用感情色彩來排除與D相反的其他三個選項。
    25.【答案】A supportive
    【解析】這是一道態度題，放在最末的態度題更傾向于到最后一段找答案。通過定位詞Koziatek’s school 看到最后一段也確實提到了，說它是一個wake-up call。也就是在喚醒人們教育不應該是統一的形式，這樣會overlooking a nation’s diversity of gifts，也就是忽視人才的差異性。所以可以看出作者是支持的態度。

Text2

While fossil fuels- coal,oil,gas- still generate roughly 85 percent of the world's energy supply,it'sclearer than ever that the future belongs to renewablesources such as wind and solar.The move to renewables is picking up momentumaround the world: They now account for more than half ofnew power sourcesgoing on line.

Some growth stems from a commitment bygovernments and farsighted Businssesto fundcleanerenergy sources.But increasinglythestoryisabout theplummeting prices of renewables,especially wind and solar.The cost of solarpanels has dropped by 80 percent and the cost of wind turbines by close taone-third in the past eight years.

In many parts of the world renewable energy is already a principal energy source.In Scotland,for example, wind turbines provide enough electricity to power 95 percent of homes. While the rest of the world takes the lead, notably China and Europe, the United States is also seeing a remarkable shift. In March,for the first time,wind and solar power accounted for more than 10 percent of the power generated in the US,reported the US Energy Information Administration.

President Trump has underlined fossil fuels - especially coal - as the path to economic growth. In a recent speech in Iowa, he dismissed wind power as an unreliable energy source, But that message did not play well with many in Iowa,where wind turbines dot the fields and provide 36 percent of the state's electricity generation - and where tech giants like Microsoft are being attracted by the availability of clean energy to power their data centers.

The question “what happens when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn'tshine?" has provided a quick put-down for skeptics. But a boost in the storage apacity of batteries is making their ability to keep power flowing around the clock more likely.

The advance is driven in par by vehicle manufacturers, who are placing big bets on battery-powered electric vehicles. Although electric cars are still a rarity on roads now. this massive investment could change the picture rapidly in coming years.

While there's a long way to go,the trend lines for renewables are spiking. The pace of change in energy sources appears to be speeding up perhaps: just in time to have a meaningful effect in slowing climate change.What Washington does-or doesn't do- to promote alternative energy may mean less and less a time of a global shift in thought.

26.【題干】The word "plummeting"(Line 3,Para.2)is closest in meaning to  ______

【選項】

A.stabilizing

B.changing

C.falling

D.rising

27. 【題干】According to Paragraph 3,the use of renewable energy in  America ______

【選項】

A. is progressing notably

B. is as extensive as in Europe

C. faces many challenges

D. has proved to be impractical

28. 【題干】It can be learned that in Iowa,______.

【選項】

A. wind is a widely used energy source

B. wind energy has replaced fossil fuels

C. tech giants are investing in clean energy

D. there is a shortage of clean energy supply

29. 【題干】Which of the following is true about clean energy according to Paragraphs 5&6?A. Its application has boosted battery storage.B. It is commonly used in car manufacturing.C. Its continuous supply is becoming a reality.D. Its sustainable exploitation will remain difficult. 30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that renewable energy _____.

【選項】

A. will bring the US closer to other countries

B. will accelerate global environmental change

C. is not really encouraged by the US government

D. is not competitive enough with regard to its cost

30.【題干】 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that renewable energy _____.

【選項】

A. will bring the US closer to other countries

B. will accelerate global environmental change

C. is not really encouraged by the US government

D. is not competitive enough with regard to its cost

26.【答案】 C falling

【解析】這是一道詞義句意題，要想知道plummeting 的意思，首先要回到原文找線索，即plummeting所在的句子以及上下句，由原文可知，plummeting所在句子是在說現在例如風能和太陽能這樣的可再生資源的價格的問題，plummeting是修飾可再生資源的價格的，接著二段最后一句就在用具體數字來證明可再生資源的成本在下降，如太陽能成本下降了百分之八十，風能也降到三分之一，由此可知，可再生資源的成本在下降，plummeting的含義是下降的意思。所以選擇C falling。

27. 【答案】A  is progressing notably

【解析】這是一道具體細節題，根據題干關鍵詞定位至第三段第三句及第四句，意思是“在中國和歐洲等已經領先時，美國也在見證著巨大的改變。根據美國能源信息局報道，三月份，美國首次使用風能和太陽能產生了超過百分之十以上的能源。”這足以說明在美國，可再生能源的使用正在取得顯著地進步。所以答案是A。

28. 【答案】 A wind is a widely used energy source

【解析】這是一道細節推斷題，根據題干關鍵詞定位至第四段第三句，在愛荷華州，風力渦輪機點綴著這個州并提供了此州百分之三十六的電能，并且還吸引了像微軟這樣的科技巨頭公司。因此可判斷，在愛荷華州，風能是一種廣泛使用的能源。所以答案是A。

29.【答案】 C its continuous supply is becoming a reality

【解析】這是一道是非細節題，根據題干給出的段落位置，5-6兩段和主題詞clean energy，回到原文的第5-6段，這兩段都不長，第五段出現了But后講到電池容量的提升a boost in the storage，與A選項不符，并不是因果關系，故排除；B選項說道廣泛用在制造業也不符合原文第六段第一句；而D選項和原文第六段最后一句是語義相反的，故也排除；正確選項C是和這句話語義一致的，也是和全文主題一致的，故為正確答案。

30．【答案】C is not really encouraged by the US government

【解析】這是一道細節推斷題，題干問“根據最后一段可以推斷出來可再生能源怎么了”，回到原文最后一段第一句就表明盡管還有很長一段路要走，可再生能源發展的趨勢在增強。后面也提到改變的節奏在加快，對slowing氣候變化有meaningful effect，所以可以看出B選項accelerate...是不對的，D選項中提到的價格不具有競爭力不在本段當中，也應排除。剩下的兩個選項都提到了美國，就應該重點看最后一句，最后一句提到華盛頓政府做或不做什么都may mean less and less...所以可以看出美國不應該是和其他更近，排除A，所以選C，美國不是真正支持可再生能源的。

Text 3

The power and ambition of the giants of the digital economy is astonishing —Amazon has just announced the purchase of the upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.5bn, but two years ago Facebook paid even more than that to acquire the WhatsApp messaging service, which doesn’t have any physical product at all. What WhatsApp offered Facebook was an intricate and finely detailed web of its users’ friendships and social lives.

Facebook promised the European commission then that it would not link phone numbers to Facebook identities, but it broke the promise almost as soon as the deal went through. Even without knowing what was in the messages, the knowledge of who sent them and to whom was enormously revealing and still could be. What political journalist, what party whip, would not want to know the makeup of the WhatsApp groups in which Theresa May’s enemies are currently plotting? It may be that the value of Whole Foods to Amazon is not so much the 460 shops ft owns, but the records of which customers have purchased what.

Competition law appears to be the only way to address these imbalances of power. But it is clumsy. For one thing, it is very slow compared to the pace of change within the digital economy. By the time a problem has been addressed and remedied it may have vanished in the marketplace, to be replaced by new abuses of power. But there is a deeper conceptual problem, too. Competition law as presently interpreted deals with financial disadvantage to consumers and this is not obvious when the users of these services don’t pay for them. The users of their services are not their customers. That would be the people who buy advertising from them — and Facebook and Google, the two virtual giants, dominate digital advertising to the disadvantage of all other media and entertainment companies.

The product they’re selling is data, and we, the users, convert our lives to data for the benefit of the digital giants. Just as some ants farm the bugs called aphids for the honeydew they produce whe

31.【題干】According  to Paragraph1，Facebook acquired WhatsApp for its      。

【選項】

A．digialproducts

B．userinformation

C．physical assets

D．quality service

32.【題干】Linking  phone numbers to Faccbook identities may

【選項】

A.worsen political disputes

B.mess up customer records

C.pose a risk to Facebook users

D.mislead  the  European  commission

33.【題干】According  to  the  author，competition law

【選項】

A.should  serve  the new market powers

B.may  worsen  the  economic imbalancens

C.should not provide just one legal solution

D.cannot keep pace with the changing market

34.【題干】Competition law as presently interpreted can hardly protect Facebook nsers

Because

【選項】

A.they are no defined as customers

B.they are not financially reliable

C.these rvices aregenerally digital

D.the services are paid for by advertisers

35.【題干】The ants analogy is used to llustrate

【選項】

A.a win-win business model between digital giants

B.a typical competition pattem among digital giants

C.the benefits provided for digital giants' customers

D.the relationship between digital giants and their users

31. 【答案】 ［B］user information

【解析】細節題。根據題干信息定位到第一段第二句。該句提到兩年前Facebook花了更多的錢獲得了WhatsApp的信息服務。接著提到WhatsApp提供給Facebook的是關于其用戶的朋友圈以及社會生活等具體精煉的信息。由此可知，B項為正確答案。

32. 【答案】［C］pose a risk to Facebook users

【解析】細節題。根據題干關鍵詞linking the phone number定位第二段第一句。該句提到Facebook向歐洲委員會承諾不會把用戶的電話號與Facebook的身份認證連系到一起，但是協議通過之后Facebook立馬失信。接下來提到“甚至都不清楚信息里面都有什么，也不知誰發的消息，發送的目的又是什么”。因此，可能會給用戶造成風險。因此C項符合文意。

33. 【答案】［D］cannot keep pace with the changing market

【解析】細節題。根據題干關鍵詞competition law 定位到第三段第一句。該句指出“競爭法似乎成為解決這些不平等權力的辦法，但是此法案太過笨拙”。下一句提到“一方面，相比于數據經濟變化的速度，此法案發展是非常緩慢的”。由此可知，該法案跟不上當前市場變化的步伐。因此D項為正確答案。

34. 【答案】［D］the services are paid for by advertisers.

【解析】根據題目中的because 可確定為因果細節題。題干中的信息出現在第三段后半部分，是題目中的原詞 competition law as presently interpreted，而原因在其后面的句子。下文寫到，the users of their services are not，讀到這里的not，一定要找而是誰。繼續讀下一句，That would be the people who buy advertising from them…，與選項對應，可得出［D］the services are paid for by advertisers。

35. 【答案】［D］the relationship between digital giants and their users.

【解析】根據題目中is used to illustrate可判斷為例證題，要找到the ants analogy論據所證明的論點；論點在論據之前，因此先找到論據the ants analogy，再找到論據前的論點句。所以本題定位到最后一段的第一句，The product …is data，and we…convert our lives to data…。此句中，data即digital giants，we 即 users。因此答案為［D］the relationship between digital giants and their users.

Text4

To combat the trap of putting a premium on being busy, Cal Newport,author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World,recommends building a habit of “deep work” - the ability to fucus without distraction.

There are a number of approaches to mastering the art of deep work - be it lengthy retreats dedicated to a specific task; developing a daily ritual;or taking a “journalistic” approach to seizing moments of deep work when you can throughout the day. Whichever approach,the key is to determine your length of focus time and stick to it.

Newport also recommends “deep scheduling” to combat constant interruptions and get more done in less time. “At any given point, I should have deep work scheduled for roughly the next month.Once on the calendar, I protect this time like I would a doctor’s appointment or important meeting,” he writes.

Another approach to getting more done in less time is to rethink how you prioritise your day-in particular how we craft our to-do lists.Tim Harford, author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, points to a study in the early 1980s that divided undergraduates into two groups: some were advised to set out monthly goals and study activities; others were told to plan activities and goals in much more detail, day by day.

While the researchers assumed that the well-structured daily plans would be most effective when it come to the execution of tasks, they were wrong: the detailed daily plans demotivated students. Harford argues that inevitable distractions often render the daily to-do list ineffective,while leaving room for improvisation in such a list can reap the best results.

In order to make the most of our focus and energy, we also need to embrace downtime, or as Newport suggests, “be lazy.”

“Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body...[idleness] is ,paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done,” he argues.

Srini Pillay, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, believes this counterintuitive link between downtime and productivity may be due to the way our brains operate. When our brains switch between being focused and unfocused on a task, they tend to be more efficient.

“What people don’t realise is that in order to complete these tasks they need to use both the focus and unfocus circuits in their brain，” says Pillay.

36.【題干】 The key to mastering the art of deep work is to______

【選項】

A. seize every minute to work

B. list you immediate tasks

C. make specific daily plans

D. Keep to your focus time

37. 【題干】The study in the early 1980s cited by Harford shows that

【選項】

A. students are hardly motivated by monthly goals

B. detailed plans may not be as fruitful as expected

C. distractions may actually increase efficiency

D. daily schedules arc indispensable to studying

38. 【題干】According to Newport, idleness is __________-

【選項】

A. a desirable mental state for busy people

B. a major contributor to physical health

C. an effective way to save time and energy

0. an essential factor in accomplishing any work

39. 【題干】Pillay believes that our brain’s shift between being focused and infocused ______

【選項】

A. can bring about greater efficiency

B. can result in psychological well-being

C. is driven by task urgency

D. is aimed at better balance in work

40. 【題干】This text is mainly about_____

【選項】

A. approaches to getting more done in less time

B. Ways to relieve the tension of busy life

C. The key to eliminating distractions

D. The cause of the lack of focus time

36. 【答案】［D］keep to your focus time

【解析】細節題。根據題干的mastering the art of deep work定位到第二段首句。該句指出“有很多種掌握深度工作的方法-不論是專注于指定工作時長時間的后退，或者養成慣例，還是當你一天有閑暇之余采用紀實的方式捕捉深度工作的瞬間”。接著提到“不論是那種方式，關鍵在于確定你的專注力時間長度并保持專注”。由此可知，D項為正確答案。

37. 【答案】［B］detailed plans may not be as fruitful as expected

【解析】例證題。根據題干時間信息1980s以及Harford定位到第四段與第五段。第四段首句指出另一種短時間做更多事情的方法是反思怎么才能優先處理好你的一天-特別是制作我們待辦事項的方法。接著作者舉例大學生們分成小組每天做各種詳細復雜的任務。第五段首句用while畫風一轉，表示這種復雜的任務讓學生們感到消極，并表示工作中難免會分散注意力，這將影響日常待辦事項的效率。可知，作者用反面例子來論證觀點，即復雜的計劃可能沒有像期望的那樣有效果。故選B項。

38. 【答案】［D］an essential factor in accomplishing any work.

【解析】根據題目Newport得出本題目為細節題中的文中人物觀點題。根據題干中的idleness可定位到倒數第三段，idleness is not，讀到這里依然需要看下文，下面提到it is as…as…，is necessary to getting any work done。再對應選項，可直接選出［D］an essential factor in accomplishing any work。

39. 【答案】［A］can bring about greater efficiency.

【解析】根據題目中的Pillay believes 可得出本題目為細節題中的文中人物觀點題型。根據題目中的信息，可以定位到倒數第二段最后一句，明確指出they tend to be more efficient。然后對應選項得出［A］can bring about greater efficiency。

40. 【答案】［A］approaches to getting more done in less time.

【解析】根據題目的mainly about可知為文章主旨題，首先可以通過題目的復現內容找與文章主旨有關的詞匯，題目中反復出現了focus內容，可判斷與人們的注意力有。其次，文章主旨一般在開篇第一段或第二段會出現，第一段引用Cal Newport的觀點指出focus without distraction話題，第二段就提到了主題approaches to mastering thd art of deep work，此刻主題已明確，并且第四段有明顯的證明another approach。所以本題選［A］approaches to getting more done in less time。