2021年考研英語一閱讀理解考試真題（文字完整版）

• 2025考研復試標準班
• 26考研全科上岸規劃營「擇校▪規劃▪備考」
• 2026考研專業課復習資料「真題▪筆記▪講義▪題庫」

　

Section I Use of English

Directions：

Read the following text . Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A，B，CorDonANSWERSHEET1.( 10 points)

Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions：

Read the following four text s. Answer the questions below each textby choosing A，B，C，orD.Mark your answers on ANSWERS HEET1.( 40 points)

Text 1

How can the train operators possibly justify yet another increase tcrail passenger fares?It has become a grimly reliable annual ritual：every January the cost of travelling by train rises， imposing asignificant extra burden on those who have no option but to use therail network to get to work or otherwise .Thisyearsrise，an average of2.7percent，maybea fraction lower than last year 's，butitis stilwell above the official Consumer Price Index (CPI)measureofinflation.Successive governments have permitted such increases on thegrounds that the cost of investing in and running the rail networkshould bebornebythosewhouseit， rather than the general tax paye iWhy，theargumentgoes，should a car-driving pensioner fromLincolnshire have to subsidise the daily commute of a stock broke ifrom Surrey ?Equally， there is a sense that the travails of commuters inthe SouthEast .manyofwhomwilface among the biggest rises， havereceived too much attention compared to those who must endure therelatively poor infrastructure of the Midlands and the North .

However ，over the past 12months， those commuters have alsoexperienced some of the worst rail strikes in years .Itis all very welltrain operators trumpeting the improvements the are making to thenetwork .but passengers should be able to expect a basic level ofservice for the substantial sums they are now paying to travel . Theresponsibility for the latest wave of strikes rests on the unions .However ， there is a strong case that those who have been worstaffected by industrial action should receive compensation for thedisruption they have suffered .

The Government has pledged to change the law to introduce aminimum service requirements othat，even when strikes occur services can continue to operate . This should form part of a wide ipackage of measures to address the long - running problems onBritain 'srailways.Yes， more investment is needed ，but passengers wills not be willing to pay more indefinitely if they must also endurecramped unreliable services .punctuated by regular chaos whertimetablesarechanged ，orplannedmaintenanceismanagedincompetently . The threat of nationalisation may have been seen of lfor now.butit will return with a vengeance if the justified anger ofpassengers is not addressed in short order .

21.The author holds that this year 's increase in rail passengers fares

A.will ease train operation 's burden

B.　has kept pace with inflation

C.is a big surprise to commuters

D. remains on

22.The stockbroker in2is used to stand for

A.car drivers

B.rail travellers

C. local investors

D. ordinary taxpayers

23.It is indicated in 3 that train operators

A. are offering compensations to commuters

B.aretying to repair relations with the unionsl

C. have failed to provide an adequate source

D. have suffered huge losses owing to the strikes

24..(缺)

25..(缺)

Text 2

Last year marked the third year in a row that Indonesia 'sbleak rateof deforestation has slowed inpace.One reason for the turnaroundmaybe the country’s antipoverty program .

In 2007， Indonesia started phasing in a program that gives moneyto its poorest residents under certain conditions ，suc has requiring people to keep kids in school or get regular medical care . Called conditional cash transfers or CCTs， these social assistance programsare designed to reduce inequality and break the cycle of povertyThe y're already used in dozens of countries worldwide .InIndonesia，the program has provided enough food and medicine to substantially reduce severe growth problems among children .

But CCT programs don't generally consider effects on the environment .In fact poverty alleviation and environmental protection are often viewed as conflicting goals ，says Paul Ferraro，an economist at Johns Hopkins University .

That 's because economic growth canbe correlatedwithenvironmental degradation ， while protecting the environment is sometimes correlated with greater poverty .However ，those correlations don't prove cause and effect . The only previous studyanalyzing causality ， based on an area in Mexico that had institutedCCTs， supported the traditional view .There，as people got moremoney ， some of them may have more cleared land for cattle to raisefor meat，Ferrarosays.

Such programs do not have to negatively affect the environment ，though . Ferraro wanted to see if Indonesia 's poverty-alleviationprogram was affecting deforestation . Indonesia has the third-largestarea of tropical forest in the world andoneof the highest deforestation rates .

Ferraro analyzed satellite data showing annual forest loss from2008 to 2012-including during Indonesia 's phase—in of theantipoverty program -in7， 468 forested villages across 15 provincesand multiple islands .Theduo separated the effects of the CCT programon forest loss fromother factors ， like weatherand macroeconomic changes ， which were also affecting forest loss. Withthat ，"we see that the program is associated with a 30 percent reduction in deforestation ， "Ferraro says .

That 's likely because the rural poor are using the money as makeshiftinsurance policies against inclement weather ，Ferrarosays.Typically， ilrains are delayed ， people may clear land to plant more rice tasupplement their harvests.With the CCTs， individuals instead can usethe money to supplement their harvests.

Whether this research translates elsewhere is anybody 'sguess.Ferraro suggests the importance of growing rice and market access .And regardless of transferability ，thestudyshowsthatwhat's goodfor people may also be good for value of the avoided deforestationjust for carbon dioxide emissions alone is more than the program costs .

26.According to the fisttwo paragraphs ，CCTprogramsaim to

A. facilitate healthcare reform .

B. help poor families get better off.

C. improve local education systems .

D. lower deforestation rates .

27.The study based on an area in Mexico is cited to show that

A. cattle rearing has been a major means of livelihood for the poor

B.CCT programs have helped preserve traditional lifestyles .

C. antipoverty efforts require the participation of local farmers .

D. economic growth tends to cause environmental degradation .

28.In his study about Indonesia ， Ferraro intends to find out

A.its acceptance level of CCTs.

B.its annual rate of poverty alleviation .

C. the relation of CCTstoitsforestloss.

D. the role of its forests in climate change .

29.According to Ferraro ，theCCT program in Indonesia is mostvaluable in that

A.it will benefit other Asian countries .

B.it will reduce regional inequality .

C.it can protect the environment .

D.it can boost grain production .

30.What is the text centered on?

A.The effects of aprogram.

B .The debates over a program.

C.The process of a study.

D. The transferability of a study .

Text 3

As a historian who's always searching for the text or image that makes us re-evaluate the past,I've become preoccupied with looking for photographs that show our Victorian ancestors smiling( what better way to shatter the image of 19th-century prudery?) .l've found quite a few， and-since I started posting them on Twitter-they have been causing quite astir.People have been surprised to see evidence that Victorians had fun and could，and did， laugh. They are noting that the Victorians suddenly seem to become more human as the hundred-or-so years that separate us fade away through our common experience of laughter .

Of course， I need to concede that my collection of'Smiling Victorians' makes up only a tiny percentage of the vast catalogue of photographic portraiture created between 1840 and 1900， the majority of which show sitters posing miserably anddu stiffly in front of painted backdrops，or staring absently into the middle distance .How do we explain this trend ?

During the 1840s and 1850s， in the early days of photography， exposure times were notoriously long ：the daguerreotype photographic method ( producing an image on a silvered copper plate) could take several minutes to complete， resulting in blurred images as sitters shifted position or adjusted their limbs. The thought of holding a fixed grinas the camera performed its magical duties was too much to contemplate， and so an on-committal blank stare became the norm.

But exposure times were much quicker by the 1880s， and the introduction of the BoxBrownie and other portable cameras meant that, though slow by today 's digital standards，the exposure was almostc instantaneous.Spontaneous smiles were relatively easy to capture by the 1890s，so we must look elsewhere for an explanation of why Victorians still hesitated to smile .

One explanation might be the loss ofdignity displayed through acheesygrin.“Nature gave uslipstoconcealourteeth，ran one popular Victorian saying ， alluding to.the fact that before the birth of properdentistry ， mouths were often in a shockingstate of hygiene .A flashing set of healthyand clean ，regular'pearlywhites' was a rare sight in Victorian society ， the preserve of eythesuper-rich( and even the dentalhygiene was not guaranteed ).

A toothygrin( especially when there were gaps or blackened.edteeth) lacked class：drunks，tramps and music hall performers might gurn and grin with a smileas wide asLewis Carrol'sgum-exposing

several minutes to complete ， resulting inblurred images as sitters shifted position oradjusted their limbs. The thought of holdinga fixed grin as the camera performed its magicalduties was too muchp tocontemplate ，andsoa non- committal blankstare became the norm.

But exposure times were much quicker by the 1880s， and the introduction of the Box Brownie and other portable cameras meant that ， though slow by today ‘s digitastandards ，the exposure was almost instantaneous . Spontaneous smiles were relatively easy to capture by the 1890s，so we must look elsewhere for an explanationof why Victorians still hesitated to smile .

Cheshire Cat， but it was not a becoming lookfor properly bred persons .Even Mark Twain，a man who enjoyed a hearty laugh， said thatwhen itcameto photographic portraits there could be nothing more damningthan a silly， foolish smile fixed forever.

31. According to Paragraph 1， the author’sposts on Twitter

A.Changedpeople'es impression of the Victorians

B. highlighted social media’s role inVictorian studies

C.re- evaluated the Victorians notion of public image .

D. illustrated the development of Victorianphotography .

32.Whatdoesauthor sayabouttheVictorian portraits he has collected ?

A.They are in popular use among historians .

B. They are rare among photographs ofthat age.

C.They mirror　19th- century socialedu conventions .

D.They show effects of different exposure times.

33. What might have kept the Victorians from smiling for pictures in the 1890s?

A. Their inherent social sensitiveness .

B. Their tension before the camera .

C. Their distrust of new inventions .

D. Their unhealthy dental condition .

34.Mark Twain is quoted to show that the disapproval of smiles in pictures was

A.adeep-rootbelief.

B.amisguidedattitude.

Ca controversial view .

D .athought-provokingidea.

35. Which of the following questions doesthe text answer ?

A.Whydid most Victorians look stern in photographs ?

B.Whydid the Victorians startto view photographs ?

C.What made photography develop slowly in the Victorian period ?

D.How didsm linginphotographsbecome apost-Victoriannorm?

Text 4

From the early days of broadband ， advocates for consumers and web- based companies worried that the cable and phone companies selling broadband connections had the power and incentive to favoi affliated websites over their rivals’.That's why there has been such a strong demand for rules that would prevent broadband providers from picking winners and losers online ， preserving the freedom and innovation that have been the lifeblood of the internet .

Yet that demand has been almost impossible to fll-in part because of pushback from broadband providers ，anti- regulatory conservatives and the courts .A federal appeals court weighed in again Tuesday ，but instead of providing a badly needed resolution ，it only prolonged the fight .At issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was the latest take of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on net neutrality， adopted on a party -line vote in 2017. The Republican penned order not only eliminated the strict net neutrality rules the FCC had adopted when it had a Democratic majority in2015，but rejected the commission 's authority to require broadband providers to do much of anything .The order also declared that state and local governments couldn't regulate broadband providers either .

The commission argued that other agencies would protect against anti- competitive behavior ，such as a broadband - providing conglomerate like AT&T favoring its own video- streaming service at the expense of Netflix and Apple TV.YettheFCC also ended the investigations of broadband providers that imposed data caps on their rivals ' streaming services but not their own.

On Tuesday ， the appeals court unanimously upheld the 2017 order deregulating broadband providers ，citing a Supreme Court ruling from 2005 that upheld a similarly deregulatory move.But Judge Patricia Milett rightly argued in a concurring opinion that“the result is unhinged from the realities of modern broadband service ，"and said Congress or the Supreme Court could intervene to" avoid trapping internet regulation in technological anachronism ."

In the meantime ，the court threw out theFCC' s attempt to block allstate rules on net neutrality ， while preserving the commission 's powei to preempt individual state laws that that undermine its order . That means more battles like the one now going on between the Justice Department and California ， which enacted a tough net neutrality law in the wake of the FCC's abdication.

The endless legal battles and back -and-forth at the FCC cry out for Congress to act.It needs to give the commission explicit authority once and for all to bar broadband providers from meddling in the traffic on their network and to create clear rules protecting openness and innovation online .

36.There has long been concern that broadband provides would

A.bringweb- based firms under control .

B. slowdown the traffic on their network .

C. show partiality in treating clients .

D. intensify competition with their rivals .

37.Faced with the demand for net neutrality rules ，the FCC

A.Stickstoanout-of- date order .

B.Takesananti- regulatory stance .

C. Has issued a special resolution .

D. Has allowed the states to intervene

38.What can be learned about AT&T from Paragraph 3?

A.It protects against unfair competition .

B.Itengagesinanti- competitive practices .

C.ItisundertheFCC's investigation .

D.Itisin pursuit of quality service .

39.Judge Patricia Millett argues that the appeals court 's decision

A.focuses on trivialities.

B. conveys an ambiguous message

C.is at odds with its earlier rulings

D.is out of touch with reality .

40.What does the author argue in the last paragraph ?

A. Congress needs to take action to ensure net neutrality .

B.The FCC should be put under strict supervision .

C. Rules need to be set to diversify online services .

D.Broadband providers' rights should be protected .

Part B

Directions ：

In the following article ， some sentences have been removed .FoiQuestions 41-45， choose the most suitable one from the list A-Gtcfit into each of the numbered blanks . There are two extra choiceswhich do not fit in any of the blanks .Mark your answers on ANSWERSHEET 1.(10points)

In the movices and on televivion ,artificial intelligence is typically depicted as something sinister that will upendourwayoflife. When itcomes to A I in business ，we often hear about it in relation tcautomation and the impending loss of jobs ，butinwhatwaysisAlchanging companies and the larger economy that don't involve doom-and-gloom mass unemployment predictions ?

A recent survey of manufacturing and service industries from Tata Consultancy Services found that companies currently use A I moreoften in computer-to-computer activities than in automating humanactivities .Onecommonapplication? Preventing electronic securitybreaches ，which， rather than eliminating ITjobs， actually makes thosepersonnel more valuable to employers ， because they help firmsprevent hacking attempts .

Here are a few other ways A I is aiding companies without replacing employees.

Better hiring practices

Companies are using artificial intelligence to remove some of theunconscious bias from hiring decisions .“There are experiments thatshow that ，naturally， the results of interviews are much more biasedthan what AIdoes， "says Pedro Domingo s， author of The MasterAlgorith on：HowtheQust for the Ultimate learning Machine WilReam be Our Worldanda computer science 41_ _One company that 's doing this is called Blendoor.Ituses analytics to helpidentify where there maybe bias in the hiring process .

More effective marketing

Some A I software can analyze and optimize marketing email subject lines to increase open rates .One company in the UK，Phrasee，claims their software can outperform human s by up to 10 percentwhen it comes to email open rates . This can mean millions more inrevenue . 42 __These are"tools that help people used ata， nota replacement for people ， ”says Patrick H.Winston，a professor ofartificial intelligence and computer science at MIT.

Saving customers money

Energy companies can use A I to help customers reduce theirelectricity bills ， saving them money while helping the environmentCompanies can also optimize their own energy use and cut down onthe cost of electricity . Insurance companies ，meanwhile，canbase theirpremiums on A I models that more accurately access risk.“Beforethey might not insure the ones who felt like a high risk or chargethe mtoomuch，says Domingos， 43___

Improved accuracy

“Machine learning often provides a more reliable form of statisticswhich makes data more valuable ，"says Winston .It" helps peoplemake smarter decisions .”44______

Protecting and maintaining infrastructure

A number of companies ， particularly in energy and transportation ，use A I image processing technology to inspect infrastructure and prevent equipment failure or leaks before they happen .“If they failfirst and the nyoufixthem，it's very expensive ，"says Domingo s.“45___

A.I replaces the boring parts of your job .Ifyou'redoingresearch，you can have AIgo out and look for relevant sources and informationthat otherwise you just would n't have time for.

B.Oneaccountingfirm，EY， uses an AI system that helps reviewcontracts during an audit.Thisprocess ,along with employees reviewing the contracts ，is faster and more accurate .

C.There are also companies like Acquisio，which analyzes advertising performance across multiple channels like Adwords ，Bingand social media and makes adjustments or suggestions about whereadvertising funds will yield best results .

D. You want to predict if something needs attention now and pointto where it's useful for employees to go to.

E.Before， they might not insure the ones who felt like a high risk orcharge the mtoomuch，or they would charge them too little and thenit would cost[the company] money .

F.We're also giving our customers better channels versus pickingup the phone to accomplish something beyond humanscale .

G.AIlooksat resumes in greater numbers than humans would beable to ， and selects the more promising candidates .