1、英语一英语一 2014 年阅读真题年阅读真题Text 1In order to“change lives for the better”and reduce“dependency”,George Osborne,Chancellor of the Exchequer,introduced the“upfrontwork search”scheme.Only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with aCV,register for online job search,and start looking for work will they beel
2、igible for benefitand then they should report weekly rather thanfortnightly.What could be more reasonable?More apparent reasonableness followed.There will now be aseven-day wait for the jobseekers allowance.“Those first few daysshould be spent looking for work,not looking to sign on,”he claimed.“Wer
3、e doing these things because we know they help people stay offbenefits and help those on benefits get into work faster.”Help?Really?On first hearing,this was the socially concerned chancellor,trying tochange lives for the better,complete with“reforms”to an obviouslyindulgent system that demands too
4、little effort from the newlyunemployed to find work,and subsidises laziness.What motivated him,weweretounderstand,washiszealfor“fundamentalfairness”protecting the taxpayer,controlling spending and ensuring thatonly the most deserving claimants received their benefits.Losing a job is hurting:you dont
5、 skip down to the jobcentre with asong in your heart,delighted at the prospect of doubling your incomefrom the generous state.It is financially terrifying,psychologicallyembarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarilyhard to get.You are now not wanted;you are now excluded from
6、thework environment that offers purpose and structure in your life.Worse,the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills hasdisappeared.Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and theanswer is always:a job.ButinOsborneland,yourfirstinstinctistofallintodependencypermanent dep
7、endency if you can get itsupported by astate only too ready to indulge your falsehood.It is as though 20 years ofever-tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration systemnever happened.The principle of British welfare is no longer that you caninsureyourselfagainsttheriskofunemployment
8、andreceiveunconditional payments if the disaster happens.Even the very phrase“jobseekers allowance”is about redefining the unemployed as a“jobseeker”who had no fundamental right to a benefit he or she hasearned through making national insurance contributions.Instead,theclaimant receives a time-limit
9、ed“allowance,”conditional on activelyseeking a job;no entitlement and no insurance,at 71.70 a week,one ofthe least generous in the EU.21.George Osbornes scheme was intended to.A provide the unemployed with easier access to benefitsB encourage jobseekers active engagement in job seekingC motivate the
10、 unemployed to report voluntarilyD guarantee jobseekers legitimate right to benefits22.The phrase“to sign on”(Line 3,Para.2)most probablymeans.A to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentreB to accept the governments restrictions on the allowanceC to register for an allowance from the gover
11、nmentD to attend a governmental job-training program23.What prompted the chancellor to develop his scheme?A A desire to secure a better life for all.B An eagerness to protect the unemployed.C An urge to be generous to the claimants.D A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.24.According to Paragra
12、ph 3,being unemployed makes onefeel.A uneasyB enragedC insultedD guilty25.To which of the following would the author most probably agree?A The British welfare system indulges jobseekers laziness.B Osbornes reforms will reduce the risk of unemployment.C The jobseekers allowance has met their actual n
13、eeds.D Unemployment benefits should not be made conditional.Text 2All around the world,lawyers generate more hostility than themembers of any other professionwith the possible exception ofjournalism.But there are few places where clients have more grounds forcomplaint than America.During the decade
14、before the economic crisis,spending on legalservices in America grew twice as fast as inflation.The best lawyersmade skyscrapers-full of money,tempting ever more students to pile intolaw schools.But most law graduates never get a big-firm job.Many ofthem instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit f
15、iler that makes the tortsystem a costly nightmare.There are many reasons for this.One is the excessive costs of a legaleducation.There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states:afour-year undergraduate degree in some unrelated subject,then athree-year law degree at one of 200 law schools
16、 authorized by theAmerican Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam.This leaves todays average law-school graduate with$100,000 of debton top of undergraduate debts.Law-school debt means that they have towork fearsomely hard.Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their
17、 customers.Sensible ideas have been around for a long time,but the state-level bodiesthat govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them.One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree.Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law scho
18、ol.If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer,thosewho can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so.Students who do notneed the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-likeownership structure of
19、the business.Except in the District of Columbia,non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm.This keeps fees highand innovation slow.There is pressure for change from within theprofession,but opponents of change among the regulators insist thatkeeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers
20、from the pressure tomake money rather than serve clients ethically.In fact,allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms wouldreduce costs and improve services to customers,by encouraging lawfirms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus onimproving firms efficiency.After all
21、,other countries,such as Australiaand Britain,have started liberalizing their legal professions.Americashould follow.26.Alotofstudentstakeuplawastheirprofessiondueto.A the growing demand from clientsB the increasing pressure of inflationC the prospect of working in big firmsD the attraction of finan
22、cial rewards27.Which of the following adds to the costs of legal education inmost American states?A Higher tuition fees for undergraduate studies.B Admissions approval from the bar association.C Pursuing a bachelors degree in another major.D Receiving training by professional associations.28.Hindran
23、cetothereformofthelegalsystemoriginatesfrom.A lawyers and clients strong resistanceB the rigid bodies governing the professionC the stern exam for would-be lawyersD non-professionals sharp criticism29.The guild-like ownership structure is considered“restrictive”partly because it.A bans outsiders inv
24、olvement in the professionB keeps lawyers from holding law-firm sharesC aggravates the ethical situation in the tradeD prevents lawyers from gaining due profits30.In this text,the author mainly discusses.A flawed ownership of Americas law firms and its causesB the factors that help make a successful
25、 lawyer in AmericaC a problem in Americas legal profession and solutions to itD the role of undergraduate studies in Americas legal educationText 3The US$3-million Fundamental Physics Prize is indeed aninteresting experiment,as Alexander Polyakov said when he accepted thisyears award in March.And it
26、 is far from the only one of its type.As aNews Feature article in Nature discusses,a string of lucrative awards forresearchers have joined the Nobel Prizes in recent years.Many,like theFundamental Physics Prize,are funded from the telephone-number-sizedbankaccountsofInternetentrepreneurs.Thesebenefa
27、ctorshavesucceeded in their chosen fields,they say,and they want to use theirwealth to draw attention to those who have succeeded in science.Whats not to like?Quite a lot,according to a handful of scientistsquoted in the News Feature.You cannot buy class,as the old saying goes,and these upstart entr
28、epreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of theNobels.The new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for thosebehind them,say scientists.They could distort the achievement-basedsystem of peer-review-led research.They could cement the status quo ofpeer-reviewed research.They do not fund peer-
29、reviewed research.Theyperpetuate the myth of the lone genius.The goals of the prize-givers seem as scattered as the criticism.Somewant to shock,others to draw people into science,or to better rewardthose who have made their careers in research.As Nature has pointed out before,there are some legitima
30、te concernsabout how science prizesboth new and oldare distributed.TheBreakthrough Prize in Life Sciences,launched this year,takes anunrepresentative view of what the life sciences include.But the NobelFoundations limit of three recipients per prize,each of whom must stillbe living,has long been out
31、grown by the collaborative nature of modernresearchas will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who isignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgsboson.The Nobels were,of course,themselves set up by a very richindividual who had decided what he wanted to do with his own mo
32、ney.Time,rather than intention,has given them legitimacy.As much as some scientists may complain about the new awards,two things seem clear.First,most researchers would accept such a prize ifthey were offered one.Second,it is surely a good thing that the moneyand attention come to science rather tha
33、n go elsewhere.It is fair tocriticize and question the mechanismthat is the culture of research,after allbut it is the prize-givers money to do with as they please.It iswise to take such gifts with gratitude and grace.31.The Fundamental Physics Prize is seen as.A a symbol of the entrepreneurs wealth
34、B a possible replacement of the Nobel PrizesC an example of bankers investmentsD a handsome reward for researchers32.Thecriticsthinkthatthenewawardswillmostbenefit.A the profit-oriented scientistsB the founders of the new awardsC the achievement-based systemD peer-review-led research33.The discovery
35、 of the Higgs boson is a typical case whichinvolves.A controversies over the recipients statusB the joint effort of modern researchersC legitimate concerns over the new prizesD the demonstration of research finding34.According to Paragraph 4,which of the following is true of theNobels?A Their endura
36、nce has done justice to them.B Their legitimacy has long been in dispute.C They are the most representative honor.D History has never cast doubt on them.35.The author believes that the new awards are.A acceptable despite the criticismB harmful to the culture of researchC subject to undesirable chang
37、esD unworthy of public attentionText 4“The Heart of the Matter,”the just-released report by the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences(AAAS),deserves praise for affirming theimportance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity andsecurity of liberal democracy in America.Regrettably,howev
38、er,thereports failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberaleducation may cause more harm than good.In 2010,leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sentletters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by“federal,state and local governments,universities
39、,foundations,educators,individual benefactors and others”to“maintain national excellence inhumanities and social scientific scholarship and education.”In response,the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities andSocialSciences.Amongthecommissions51membersaretop-tier-university preside
40、nts,scholars,lawyers,judges,and businessexecutives,as well as prominent figures from diplomacy,filmmaking,music and journalism.The goals identified in the report are generally admirable.Becauserepresentative government presupposes an informed citizenry,the reportsupports full literacy;stresses the s
41、tudy of history and government,particularly American history and American government;and encouragesthe use of new digital technologies.To encourage innovation andcompetition,the report calls for increased investment in research,thecrafting of coherent curricula that improve students ability to solve
42、problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century,increasedfunding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring theirlearning to bear on the great challenges of the day.The report alsoadvocates greater study of foreign languages,international affairs and theexpansion of study abroa
43、d programs.Unfortunately,despite 21/2years in the making,“The Heart of theMatter”never gets to the heart of the matter:the illiberal nature of liberaleducation at our leading colleges and universities.The commissionignores that for several decades Americas colleges and universities haveproduced grad
44、uates who dont know the content and character of liberaleducation and are thus deprived of its benefits.Sadly,the spirit of inquiryonce at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanitiesand social sciences as vehicles for publicizing“progressive,”orleft-liberal propaganda.Today,profess
45、ors routinely treat the progressive interpretation ofhistory and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study whileportraying conservative or classical liberal ideassuch as free marketsand self-relianceas falling outside the boundaries of routine,andsometimes legitimate,intellectual inve
46、stigation.The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education.Yet itsreport may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth ofthe challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate.36.According to Paragraph 1,what is the authors attitude toward theAAASs report?A Critical.B Appreciative.
47、C Contemptuous.D Tolerant.37.Influential figures in the Congress required that the AAAS reporton how to _.A retain peoples interest in liberal educationB define the governments role in educationC keep a leading position in liberal educationD safeguard individuals rights to education38.According to P
48、aragraph 3,the report suggests.A an exclusive study of American historyB a greater emphasis on theoretical subjectsC the application of emerging technologiesD funding for the study of foreign languages39.TheauthorimpliesinParagraph5thatprofessorsare.A supportive of free marketsB cautious about intel
49、lectual investigationC conservative about public policyD biased against classical liberal ideas40.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?A Ways to Grasp“The Heart of the Matter”B Illiberal Education and“The Heart of the Matter”C The AAASs Contribution to Liberal EducationD Progressive Policy vs.Liberal Education
