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

Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for their jobs?

Don't dismiss that possibility entirely. About half of U.S. jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately squeezed. Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don't appeal to robots. But many middle-class occupations-trucking, financial advice, software engineering — have aroused their interest, or soon will. The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.

This isn't to be alarmist. Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past. The Industrial Revolution didn't go so well for Luddites whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms, but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobs than it destroyed. Likewise, automation should eventually boost productivity, stimulate demand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work. But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.

The first step, as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age, should be rethinking education and job training. Curriculums —from grammar school to college- should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication. Vocational schools should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skills and helping students work alongside robots. Online education can supplement the traditional kind. It could make extra training and instruction affordable. Professionals trying to acquire new skills will be able to do so without going into debt.

The challenge of coping with automation underlines the need for the U.S. to revive its fading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier. In previous eras of drastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines. The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven't been invented yet. The U.S. needs the new companies that will invent them.

Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income, taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought. Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded: This would boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduce inequality.

Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation. Destroying the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts. But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.

21.【題干】Who will be most threatened by automation?

A．Leading politicians.

B．Low-wage laborers.

C．Robot owners.

D．Middle-class workers.

21答案D Middle-class workers

這是一道具體細節(jié)題，題干問道“那些人受自動化威脅最大？”根據(jù)段落定位原則，第一題應(yīng)該到第一段和第二段尋找答案，A選項主要的政治領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人，而原文只是在一段提到了presidential campaign，并未提到政治領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人受自動化影響；B選項低收入勞動者，在二段說道lower-income jobs don’t appeal to robots，說明不會受到影響；C選項機器人的所有者，在二段末句提到the rich own the robots, so they will be fine. 可以看到他們也是不受影響的；故選擇C，可以從二段的But后找到根據(jù)。

22 . 【題干】Which of the following best represent the author's view?

A．Worries about automation are in fact groundless.

B．Optimists' opinions on new tech find little support.

C．Issues arising from automation need to be tackled

D．Negative consequences of new tech can be avoided

22答案C Issues arising from automation need to be tackled

這是一道作者觀點細節(jié)題，題干問道“下列哪項最能代表作者觀點”根據(jù)上一題可知，這道題應(yīng)該從第三段尋找答案，這種題一般到首句、末句或轉(zhuǎn)折后尋找觀點。首句就說到上面提到的威脅不是alarmist危言聳聽的；末句提到中產(chǎn)階級工人需要很多幫助來調(diào)整自己。根據(jù)這兩部分可知選項C是正確的，A選項說對自動化的擔心是groundless的和文意相反；B選項說樂觀主義者對新技術(shù)的支持幾乎沒有找到支持不符合本段第二句和第三句，與原文相反；D選項新技術(shù)的負面影響可以避免與本段末句不符，既然需要中產(chǎn)階級去適應(yīng)，那就說明是不可避免的，也應(yīng)排除。

23.【題干】Education in the age of automation should put more emphasis on_____.

A．creative potential.

B．job-hunting skills.

C．individual needs.

D．cooperative spirit.

23答案A creative potential

這是一道具體細節(jié)題，題干問到“自動化時代的教育應(yīng)該重視什么”可定位到第四段，第一句就提到了應(yīng)對這個時代的第一步就是rethinking education and job training。具體方法在后面也給出來了，curriculums should focus more on creativity and complex communication，更重視創(chuàng)新和復(fù)雜的交際，故A選項是正確的。這道題的對應(yīng)非常直接，其他幾個選項幾乎不構(gòu)成干擾。

24.【題干】The author suggests that tax policies be aimed at_____.

A．encouraging the development of automation.

B．increasing the return on capital investment.

C．easing the hostility between rich and poor.

D．preventing the income gap from widening.

24.答案D．preventing the income gap from widening.

這是一道觀點細節(jié)題，問作者認為稅收政策應(yīng)該以什么為目標。根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞定位至第六段，六段首句說因為自動化預(yù)示著勞資雙方的收入在擴大，所以，稅收和安全保障也將必須重新考慮。接著第二句就在具體解釋稅收政策該如何改變，如應(yīng)該免去低工資工人的稅，個人所得稅應(yīng)該增加，最后一句話指出，這將提高收入，鼓勵就業(yè)，激勵那些創(chuàng)造就業(yè)的公司，減少不平等。由此可得知，關(guān)于稅收政策的目標就是阻止收入差距擴大，答案是D。

25. 【題干】In this text, the author presents a problem with_____.

A．pposing views on it.

B．possible solutions to it.

C．its alarming impacts.

D．its major variations.

25. 答案B．possible solutions to it.

縱觀全文，作者在前兩段提出了一個問題，即自動化將威脅到中產(chǎn)階級工人的工作，第三段指出樂觀主義者認為這也許對工人們是有利的，只不過中產(chǎn)階級工人可能需要做出一定的改變。從第四段到第六段就是作者給出的一些解決辦法，如教育上要改變，培養(yǎng)學生的創(chuàng)造性和實際技能，以及對于稅收政策的調(diào)整等，最后一段是概括總結(jié)，所以這是一篇提出問題，分析問題并解決問題的文章，所以，答案是B，作者提出了問題，并且給出了可能的解決措施。

Text 2

A new survey by Harvard University finds more than two-thirds of young Americans disapprove of President Trump's use of Twitter. The implication is that Millennials prefer news from the White House to be filtered through other source, Not a president's social media platform.

Most Americans rely on social media to check daily headlines. Yet as distrust has risen toward all media, people may be starting to beef up their media literacy skills. Such a trend is badly needed. During the 2016 presidential campaign, nearly a quarter of web content shared by Twitter users in the politically critical state of Michigan was fake news, according to the University of Oxford. And a survey conducted for Buzz Feed News found 44 percent of Facebook users rarely or never trust news from the media giant.

Young people who are digital natives are indeed becoming more skillful at separating fact from fiction in cyberspace. A Knight Foundation focus-group survey of young people between ages 14and24 found they use “distributed trust” to verify stories. They cross-check sources and prefer news from different perspectives—especially those that are open about any bias. “Many young people assume a great deal of personal responsibility for educating themselves and actively seeking out opposing viewpoints,” the survey concluded.

Such active research can have another effect. A 2014 survey conducted in Australia, Britain, and the United States by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that young people's reliance on social media led to greater political engagement.

Social media allows users to experience news events more intimately and immediately while also permitting them to re-share news as a projection of their values and interests. This forces users to be more conscious of their role in passing along information. A survey by Barna research group found the top reason given by Americans for the fake news phenomenon is “reader error,” more so than made-up stories or factual mistakes in reporting. About a third say the problem of fake news lies in “misinterpretation or exaggeration of actual news” via social media．In other words, the choice to share news on social media may be the heart of the issue. “This indicates there is a real personal responsibility in counteracting this problem,” says Roxanne Stone, editor in chief at Barna Group.

So when young people are critical of an over-tweeting president, they reveal a mental discipline in thinking skills – and in their choices on when to share on social media.

26.【題干】According to the Paragraphs 1 and 2, many young Americans cast doubts on        

A．the justification of the news-filtering practice.

B．people's preference for social media platforms.

C．the administrations ability to handle information.

D．social media was a reliable source of news.

答案 [D]social media was a reliable source of news

解析：細節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干信息定位到文中第一段與第二段。文章第一段提到在美國超過2/3的年輕人反對總統(tǒng)特朗普使用推特。接著提到美國公民更希望從別的渠道獲得白宮的信息，而不是從總統(tǒng)的社交平臺。第二段第二句指出由于美國人越來越不信任媒體，他們可能想辦法提高自身的媒體文化素養(yǎng)。由此可見，很多美國年輕人懷疑社交媒體值不值得信任。因此D選項符合文意。?
?27.【題干】The phrase “beer up”(Line 2, Para.2) is closest in meaning to          

A．sharpen

B．define

C．boast

D．share

答案 [A] sharpen
解析：猜詞題。根據(jù)題干定位到第二段第二句。上文提到大部分美國人依靠社交媒體來查看每日頭條。第二句緊接著指出“由于美國人越來越不信任媒體，他們開始beef up 自身的媒體文化素養(yǎng)”。由此推測，美國人開始對媒體產(chǎn)生懷疑，所以是想辦法強化自身的知識來辨別媒體可不可靠。選項中只有A項有(強化，加強)的含義。故A項為正確答案。

28.【題干】According to the knight foundation survey, young people           

A．tend to voice their opinions in cyberspace.

B．verify news by referring to diverse resources.

C．have s strong sense of responsibility.

D．like to exchange views on “distributed trust”

答案[B] verify news by referring to diverse resources.
解析：根據(jù)題目中的survey可以得出，本題目為細節(jié)題的研究結(jié)論型。題干中已知的關(guān)鍵詞the knight foundation survey告訴我們本題在第三段第二句話的位置，原句指出“A knight foundation focus-group survey of young people...found they use distributed trust to verify stories.”，意思是他們使用distributed trust來verify stories。而且下一句又詳細指出，they cross-check sources and prefer news from different perspectives。結(jié)合選項可看出B選項verify與原文一致，news對應(yīng)原文的stories，referring to diverse resources即distributed trust，B為正確答案。

29.【題干】The Barna survey found that a main cause for the fake news problem is               
A．readers outdated values.

B．journalists' biased reporting

C．readers' misinterpretation

D．journalists' made-up stories.

答案[C] readers’ misinterpretation.

解析：根據(jù)題目中的Barna survey得出，該題為細節(jié)題中的研究結(jié)論型題目。從題干中的關(guān)鍵提示信息The Barna survey以及fake news可得出，本題目定位到倒數(shù)第二段的位置。該段后半部分提到了Barna survey也提到了fake news，可以定位到About a third這一句，“About a third say the problem of fake news lies in misinterpretation or exaggeration of actual news via social media.”。題干中的a main cause剛好對應(yīng)了lie in，所以答案就是misinterpretation，對應(yīng)選項得出C，readers’ misinterpretation。
30.【題干】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．A Rise in Critical Skills for Sharing News Online

B．A Counteraction Against the Over-tweeting Trend

C．The Accumulation of Mutual Trust on Social Media.

D．The Platforms for Projection of Personal Interests.

答案[A] A Rise in Critical Skills for Sharing News Online.
解析：根據(jù)題目中的best title可以得出，本題目考查全文主旨。首先，我們可以通過題目中反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的信息看出文章與什么話題有關(guān)，題目出現(xiàn)了young Americans，并指出了doubts，fake news problem等負向色彩，因此，整篇文章的傾向是負向的。下一步，文章主旨一般出現(xiàn)在文章的第一段和第二段開頭的位置，第一段是通過survey引出了文章要討論的話題，說出了news和source的話題，第二段第二句通過yet引出要討論的distrust等內(nèi)容?？偨Y(jié)得出，文章講述的話題是news online，傾向態(tài)度是distrust在rise，對應(yīng)選項就是A項，A Rise in Critical Skills for Sharing News Online.

Text 3

Any fair-minded assessment of the dangers of the deal between Britain's National Health Service (NHS) and DeepMind must start by acknowledging that both sides mean well. DeepMind is one of the leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies in the world. The potential of this work applied to healthcare is very great, but it could also lead to further concentration of power in the tech giants. It Is against that background that the information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, has issued her damning verdict against the Royal Free hospital trust under the NHS, which handed over to DeepMind the records of 1.6 million patients In 2015 on the basis of a vague agreement which took far too little account of the patients' rights and their expectations of privacy.

DeepMind has almost apologized. The NHS trust has mended its ways. Further arrangements- and there may be many-between the NHS and DeepMind will be carefully scrutinised to ensure that all necessary permissions have been asked of patients and all unnecessary data has been cleaned．There are lessons about informed patient consent to learn. But privacy is not the only angle in this case and not even the most important. Ms. Denham chose to concentrate the blame on the NHS trust, since under existing law it “controlled” the data and DeepMind merely “processed" it. But this distinction misses the point that it is processing and aggregation, not the mere possession of bits, that gives the data value.

The great question is who should benefit from the analysis of all the data that our lives now generate. Privacy law builds on the concept of damage to an individual from identifiable knowledge about them. That misses the way the surveillance economy works. The data of an individual there gains its value only when it is compared with the data of countless millions more.

The use of privacy law to curb the tech giants in this instance feels slightly maladapted. This practice does not address the real worry. It is not enough to say that the algorithms DeepMind develops will benefit patients and save lives. What matters is that they will belong to a private monopoly which developed them using public resources. If software promises to save lives on the scale that dugs now can, big data may be expected to behave as a big pharm has done. We are still at the beginning of this revolution and small choices now may turn out to have gigantic consequences later. A long struggle will be needed to avoid a future of digital feudalism. Ms. Denham's report is a welcome start.

31.【題干】Wha is true of the agreement between the NHS and DeepMind ?

A．It caused conflicts among tech giants.

B．It failed to pay due attention to patient's rights.

C．It fell short of the latter's expectations

D．It put both sides into a dangerous situation.

31. 答案B．It failed to pay due attention to patient's rights.

這是一道具體細節(jié)題，問的是關(guān)于NHS和DeepMind之間的協(xié)議哪一個是對的。根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞具體定位置首段尾句，Elizabeth指控NHS旗下的一個醫(yī)院，這個醫(yī)院在2015年把160萬病人的信息交給了DeepMind公司，基于一個模糊的協(xié)議，這個協(xié)議基本沒有考慮到病人們的權(quán)利以及他們對于保護自己隱私的期望。由此可知NHS和DeepMind之間的協(xié)議沒有考慮到病人的權(quán)利，答案是B。A和D選項在文中并未提及，C選項有干擾，沒能滿足后者的期望，但是文中說的是沒有滿足病人們對保護隱私的期望，而不是沒能滿足DeepMind的期望，屬于偷換概念。

32.【題干】The NHS trust responded to Denham's verdict with            

A．empty promises.

B．tough resistance.

C．necessary adjustments.

D．sincere apologies.

32.答案C．necessary adjustments.

這是一道具體細節(jié)題，問的是NHS面對對他的指控如何反應(yīng)，根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞定位至第二段第二句，NHS已經(jīng)改正錯誤了，短語mend one’s way即改正錯誤，改變習慣的意思，接著下面就具體解釋做出了哪些安排，所以答案是C。

33.【題干】The author argues in Paragraph 2 that                      

A．privacy protection must be secured at all costs.

B．leaking patients' data is worse than selling it.

C．making profits from patients' data is illegal.

D．the value of data comes from the processing of it

33．答案D．the value of data comes from the processing of it

這是一道具體細節(jié)題，問作者在第二段闡述了什么觀點，沒有具體關(guān)鍵詞，所以要通讀第二段，然后和四個選項逐一比對，選出正確選項。A選項說要不惜一切代價保護隱私，B選項說泄露病人隱私比出售隱私更糟糕，C選項說利用病人信息獲利是違法的，這三個選項二段中并未提及。D選項來自二段尾句，這種差別忽略了一點，即他是在加工和整合信息，不僅僅是擁有，而這給了信息以價值。說明信息的價值來自與對信息的加工整合。所以答案是D。

34.【題干】According to the last paragraph, the real worry arising from this deal is       

A．the vicious rivalry among big pharmas.

B．the ineffective enforcement of privacy law.

C．the uncontrolled use of new software.

D．the monopoly of big data by tech giants.

34. 答案D the monopoly of big data by tech giants.

這是一道具體細節(jié)題，題干問“在最后一段中，這種交易引發(fā)的真正擔憂是什么”回到原文末段，第三句話提到what matters 重要的在于they belong to a private monopoly which developed them using public resources，這句話提到了真正的問題，和題干匹配，所以正確答案就是對這句的同義替換，故選D。A選項制藥公司之間的惡性競爭來自定位句的下一句，但這句只提到制藥公司，并未說他們存在惡性競爭；B選項隱私法的無效實施來自末端首句，但本句只說到the use of privacy law...feels slightly maladapted（不適應(yīng)的），說成是ineffective程度過深；C選項新軟件的不受控制的使用來自定位句下一句，是在if條件句里面所以也不可能成為真正的問題所在。

35.【題干】The author's attitude toward the application of AI to healthcare is          

A．a(chǎn)mbiguous.

B．cautious.

C．a(chǎn)ppreciative.

D．contemptuous.

35答案 B cautious

這是一道態(tài)度題，根據(jù)出題位置是最后一題以及定位詞the application of AI to healthcare找到最后一段的相關(guān)的詞語digital feudalism數(shù)字化封建主義是我們需要去avoid避免的，所以作者態(tài)度應(yīng)該是消極的，故選B。最后一句還說到Ms Denham’s report is a welcome start. 說明作者對于這種報道是積極的態(tài)度，而報道在第一段中提到是against反對 NHS和DeepMind的交易的，所以可以看出來作者是比較擔心過度的人工智能化的。

Text 4

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) continues to bleed red ink. It reported a net loss of $5.6 billion for fiscal 2016, the 10th straight year its expenses have exceeded revenue. Meanwhile, it has more than $120 billion in unfunded liabilities, mostly for employee health and retirement costs. There are many bankruptcies. Fundamentally, the USPS is in a historic squeeze between technological change that has permanently decreased demand for its bread-and-butter product, first-class mail, and a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility to adjust its operations to the new reality

And interest groups ranging from postal unions to greeting-card makers exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer-Congress-insisting that whatever else happens to the Postal Service, aspects of the status quo they depend on get protected. This is why repeated attempts at reform legislation have failed in recent years, leaving the Postal Service unable to pay its bills except by deferring vital modernization.

Now comes word that everyone involved---Democrats, Republicans, the Postal Service, the unions and the system's heaviest users—has finally agreed on a plan to fix the system. Legislation is moving through the House that would save USPS an estimated $28.6 billion over five years, which could help pay for new vehicles, among other survival measures. Most of the money would come from a penny-per-letter permanent rate increase and from shifting postal retirees into Medicare. The latter step would largely offset the financial burden of annually pre-funding retiree health care, thus addressing a long-standing complaint by the USPS and its union.

If it clears the House, this measure would still have to get through the Senate – where someone is bound to point out that it amounts to the bare, bare minimum necessary to keep the Postal Service afloat, not comprehensive reform. There’s no change to collective bargaining at the USPS, a major omission considering that personnel accounts for 80 percent of the agency’s costs. Also missing is any discussion of eliminating Saturday letter delivery. That common-sense change enjoys wide public support and would save the USPS $2 billion per year. But postal special-interest groups seem to have killed it, at least in the House. The emerging consensus around the bill is a sign that legislators are getting frightened about a politically embarrassing short-term collapse at the USPS. It is not, however, a sign that they’re getting serious about transforming the postal system for the 21st century.

36. 【題干】The financial problem with the USPS is caused partly by_____.

A．its unbalanced budget.

B．its rigid management.

C．the cost for technical upgrading.

D．the withdrawal of bank support.

36. 答案 [B] its rigid management

解析：細節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干信息定位到文章第一段，注意問的是主要原因(partly)。第一段第四句提到“破產(chǎn)原因有很多”。接著第五句以一個長難句指出“從根本上來講，the USPS 處于歷史性的壓榨期，這里面就包括對于實用產(chǎn)品以及一類郵件需求量無限期減少而面臨的技術(shù)改革，管理結(jié)構(gòu)方面沒能夠靈活地將自己的生產(chǎn)模式適用到現(xiàn)實生活中”。由此可見，主要原因在于管理方面。因此B項為正確答案。句中的Fundamentally與題干中的partly屬于同義替換。

37. 【題干】According to Paragraph 2, the USPS fails to modernize itself due to_____.

A．the interference from interest groups.

B．the inadequate funding from Congress.

C．the shrinking demand for postal service.

D．the incompetence of postal unions.

37. 答案 [A] the interference from interest groups

解析：細節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干信息fail以及modernize定位到第二段最后一句。該句提到“這就是近些年來立法改革屢次失敗的原因”，正是題干問的問題。上文提到利益集團，從郵政聯(lián)盟，到賀卡制作公司，都對USPS施加壓力，強調(diào)無論發(fā)生什么，他們所依賴的現(xiàn)狀都要得到保護。因此，利益集團的干預(yù)是改革失敗的主要原因。故選A項。

38. 【題干】The long-standing complaint by the USPS and its unions can be addressed by_____.

A．removing its burden of retiree health care.

B．making more investment in new vehicles.

C．a(chǎn)dopting a new rate-increase mechanism.

D．a(chǎn)ttracting more first-class mail users.

38.答案[A] removing its burden of retiree health care.

解析：題目中出現(xiàn)了大寫USPS以及具體信息the long-standing complaint等具體內(nèi)容，可知本題目為具體細節(jié)題。我們需要根據(jù)題目中出現(xiàn)的關(guān)鍵詞complaint，USPS，union等定位，可以發(fā)現(xiàn)本題目是對本篇文章第三段最后的一部分，最后一句話提到了thus addressing a long-standing complaints by the USPS and its union，這是題目的原詞。所以，答案就是前面的the latter step would ...offset the financial burden of annually pre-funding retiree health care。另外，the latter step也指上一句中的shifting postal retiree into Medicare。再對應(yīng)選項，得出A項removing its burden of retiree health care。

39. 【題干】In the last paragraph, the author seems to view legislators with_____.

A．respect.

B．tolerance.

C．discontent.

D．gratitude.

39.答案[C] discontent.

解析：題目中指出了the author對legislator的觀點和看法是什么，與態(tài)度題相關(guān)，態(tài)度題一定要通過文中的相關(guān)詞找到相應(yīng)的傾向，判斷好或者壞，向上或者向下。根據(jù)題目中的關(guān)鍵信息legislator定位到最后一段倒數(shù)第二句話，該句在陳述完legislators的內(nèi)容后，下一句緊跟著一個詞however，明確指出了作者的傾向，并且寫到it is not a sign...，結(jié)合前后句的內(nèi)容，可以得出作者的傾向是明確的負向色彩。選項中表示負面色彩的只有C項discontent。

40. 【題干】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．The USPS Starts to Miss Its Good Old Days

B．The Postal Service: Keep Away from My Cheese

C．The USPS: Chronic Illness Requires a Quick Cure

D．The Postal Service Needs More than a Band-Aid

40.答案[D] The Postal Service Needs More than a Band-Aid.

解析：該題目中的best title為典型的文章主旨題。首先，我們可以通過題目中反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的內(nèi)容來確定文章與什么樣的主題相關(guān)，可以看出反復(fù)出現(xiàn)了USPS，也就是U.S. Postal Service，并且反復(fù)出現(xiàn)了problem，fail to do，address等內(nèi)容，是有關(guān)問題以及解決辦法之類的話題。再來看文章的首段和第二段內(nèi)容，第一段就指出了U.S. Postal Service在財務(wù)上的各種問題，并分析了三方面的原因，第二段就涉及到了很多的解決辦法，并分析這些attempt的影響等具體內(nèi)容。所以可以得出，正確答案為[D] The Postal Service Needs More than a Band-Aid。