2014考研英语二真题及解析，方便大家复制打印

Section I Use of English
Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C, and 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 moral 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(n) _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 towards 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 Obema has launched a high-visibility campaign _20_childhend obesity, even claiming that it represents our greatest national security threat.
1.（A）concluded （B）ensured （C）doubted （D）denied
2.（A）dangerous （B）protective （C）sufficient （D）troublesome
3.（A）Instead （B）However （C）Likewise （D）Therefore
4.（A）objective （B）indicator （C）origin （D）example
5.（A）impact （B）relevance （C）assistance （D）concern
6.（A）in favor of （B）in case of （C）in term of （D）in respects of
7.（A）equals （B）determines （C）measures （D）modifies
8.（A）in turn （B）in contrast （C）in essence （D）in part
9.（A）complicated （B）conservative （C）variable （D）straightforward
10.（A）so （B）unless （C）since （D）while
11.（A）shape （B）spirit （C）balance （D）taste
12.（A）start （B）qualify （C）stay （D）retire
13.（A） strange （B）constant （C）normal （D）changeable
14.（A）option （B）tendency （C）opportunity （D）reason
15.（A）employed （B）pictured （C）imitated （D）monitored
16.（A）compared （B）combined （C）settled （D）associated
17.（A）Yet （B）Still （C）Even （D）Only
18.（A）despised （B）ignored （C）corrected （D）grounded
19.（A）discussions （B）businesses （C）policies （D）studies
20.（A）against （B）for （C）without （D）with


总体来说，文章难度不大，很多选项根据上下文意思就可以推断出选项
1 A
【解析】 题干中，一系列的研究已经_____，事实上，正常体重的人的患病风险要高于超重的人。根据句义，后面的部分实际上是研究的结论，因此concluded符合题意，其他选项denied（否认）与意义相反，doubled（翻倍）与题意较远，ensured（确保）不符合题意，因为研究不能确保后面的事实，只能得出后面的事实作为结论。
2 B
【解析】 题干中，对于某些健康情况，超重事实上是有_____。根据前文研究的结论，超重能减少罹患疾病的风险，说明超重具有一定的保护作用。Dangerous和文章意思相反，sufficient表示充足，troublesome表示有麻烦，不符合题意
3 C
【解析】第三句话中，较重的女人患缺钙的比例低于较瘦的女人。_____，在老年人中，一定程度上超重……。需要填入的是和前半句表示顺接的词语。A选项instead表示逆接的句意关系，B选项however也表示逆接，D选项therefore表示因此，只有C选项likewise意为同样地；也，而且。
4 B
【解析】本句话中，_____，一定程度上超重，经常是健康的_____。A选项，表示指示器，指标。objective表示客观；origin表示来源，example表示例子。根据前面的文章内容，已经明确指出超重代表了健康，因此超重是健康的指标。
5 D
【解析】本句话的句意是，需要更加_____是，很难对肥胖加以定义。A、impact（印象）；B、relevance（相关性）；C、assistance（辅助）；D、concern（关注）。前文已经说到肥胖事实上有利健康，但是又面临一个问题，到底如何去定义肥胖，因此需要更加关注的是对肥的定义，其他选项均不符合题意
6 C
【解析】题干中,肥胖经常______体质指数，或称为BMI来定义。in terms of ，根据……，就……而言。In case of 表示在某种情况下， in favor of 表示赞成，以……来取代，in respect of，关于……。在医学研究和临床测试中经常使用BMI作为衡量受试者健康的重要指标，希望考生能够记住这一背景知识，方便日后做题。
7 A
【解析】本题题干中BMI_____体重除以身高的平方，这里是用文字叙述了BMI指数得出的方法，也就是一个数学公式，所以equal符合题意。 measure（测量）、 determine表示确定； modify（修订）。句义就是BMI等于体重除以身高的平方。
8 A
【解析】本题题干中，肥胖_____能够分成中度肥胖、重度肥胖和极度肥胖。in essence（事实上、实际上）; in contrast （相反地）；in turn（依次）； in part （部分地）。本句是将肥胖依次分级。
9,D
【解析】题干中，相比之下，这样的数字标准看起来_____，实际上不是的。complicated （复杂）；conservative（保守）、variable（可变的）；straightforward（直截了当）；这里的数字标准指的就是肥胖指数，肥胖指数分为三类，而且算法比较简单，所以complicated复杂不正确，conservative保守，用于描述一种数学公式，不恰当，一名患者或一名受试者的BMI一般是确定的，因此可变的也不符合题意，straightforward表示直截了当，符合题意
10 D
【解析】本句中，一些人有很高的BMI，实际上身材正好，_____其他人有较低的BMI指数，可能_____。从前半句我们可以看出，有些人的BMI指数很高，应该属于体重肥胖的人，事实上身材正好，这里说明的是反常的现象，后半句是其他人的BMI指数较低，而_____较差。so（所以）；while（而）；since（因为）；unless（除非）四个选项中只有while有转折的含义，其他选项均不符合题意
11 A
【解析】本题可以简化为：Some … are fit, while others … may be in poor .不难看出，前后意义相反，且fit（体型健康）与in poor 对应，与之最相关是shape（外形），故为正确答案。“精神”、“均衡”、“品味”都相差比较远，可以排除。
12 B
【解析】本题顺应前文意义：有一些人体型很好，有些人体型体型肥胖。接下来举例说有些专业足球运动员 是肥胖的，“开始”不符；“处在”也不符合句意；“退休”内容无关；“被认为”符合句意，正确。
13 C
【解析】本句不难理解：有些人脂肪过高，但是BMI却 。所需词汇明显是正向的，排除A、B；D属中性，且不符合句意，C（正常的）契合，为正确答案。
14 B
【解析】本题解题关键是后半句：to stigmatize obesity（抵毁肥胖），作为划线部分的后置定语，将四个选项“选择”“理由”“机会”“倾向”代入划线处，最符合句意的是B（倾向）。后面一句也进一步证实了（出现在媒体中的肥胖者脸都是打了马赛马的）。
15 B
【解析】空格所在句提到了媒体，根据语境，上句讲到当今我们都污蔑肥胖，所以本句的意思应该是媒体污蔑肥胖，四个选项中，跟媒体相关系的词汇只有B picture 意思为刻画，描写，描述。
16 D
【解析】空格所在句的意思是与肥胖_____的原型包括懒惰，缺乏意志力，对成功的期望值不高。空格后面提到的懒惰，缺乏意志力和对成功的期望值不高都是与肥胖相关的表现，分析四个选项，A. 与。。。相比；B 与。。。相结合；C. 和。。。和解；都不符合题意，只有D与。。。相联系，相关符合句意。
17 C
【解析】空格所在句的意思是_____小孩子蔑视超重，而且对身材的嘲笑一直是学校的一个问题。本空格缺少一个副词，根据语境记忆常识，此处应该填入表示让步关系的词汇，分析四个选项，只有C even 即使符合题意。
18 D
【解析】根据语境，空前讲到对肥胖的负面态度，空后讲到对健康的关注， 激发一批反肥胖的____。本句没有出现任何转折词，说明空前后所表达的意思是一致的，反对肥胖，是基于对健康的关注，分析四个选项，能够表达此意思的词汇，只有选项D grounded,意思是基于。

19 C
【解析】解答此题需要联系空格后面紧跟着的句子。空后的句子出现了一系列表示同一个语义场的词汇，比如 hospital system ; ban; many employers institute, 指向的意思是一个系统中所出台的政策的问题，浏览四个选项，C选项policies 符合题意，直接入选。
20 A
【解析】本段的主题是反对肥胖，本句话属于细节的句子，用来支持这个主题，空格所在句讲到米歇尔奥巴马已经发起了一个高知名度的_____儿童肥胖，甚至告诉奥兹博士，它代表了我们国家最大的安全威胁。空格中缺少词汇应该含有反对，反抗的意思，纵观四个选项，只有A against 符合题意。

Section II Reading Comprehension (50 points)
Part A
Directions: Read the following four passages. Answer the questions below each passage by choosing A. B. C. or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1. (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. The blogosphere is full of advice for this lucky Powerball pensioner. But if she hopes her new-found lucre will
yield lasting feelings of fulfilment, she could do worse than read “Happy Money” by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton.
These two academics—she teaches psychology at the University of British Columbia; he lectures on marketing at Harvard Business School—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 palatial homes on remote bluffs. Yet satisfaction with these material purchases wears off fairly quickly. What was once exciting and new becomes old-hat; remorse 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 McDonald’s restricts the availability of its popular McRib—a marketing gimmick 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.Accoding to Dunnand Norton, While of the following is the most rewarding purchase?
[A] A rich meal [B] A special tour [C] a stylish car [D] A big house

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

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

24.According to the last paragraph, Happy Money
[A] may prove to be a worthwhile purchase
[B] has left much room for readers’ criticism
[C] has predicated 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

答案：21-25 BADAC
答案解析：
21. 答案解析：B 本题为细节题
定位：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. 正确选项正是原文的事例，只是用近义词tour替换了trips,而其他选项正是原文所否定的内容。所以即使无法直接定位，也是可以用排除法做对的。
22. 答案解析：A 本题为态度题
定位：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).凡是对某事物态度，需要定位该词所在的语句，从句意和含有情感态度的形容词、副词可以做出判断。原文指出如果少看电视，人们生活会更好。可见作者持否定态度。此外，whopping和hardly jollier也可窥视作者态度。
23. 答案解析：D 本题为论据考查题
定位：This is apparently the reason McDonald’s restricts the availability of its popular McRib—a marketing gimmick that has turned the pork sandwich into an object of obsession.凡是考查论据作用，要找到其试图证明的论点或中心句。此处举出麦当劳的案例，旨在论证其前面的要点，即and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly.选项D正是换了说法，对原文的改写。
24.答案解析：A 本题为细节题
定位：But most people will come away from this book believing it was money well spent.选项A正是对原文最后结论的解说。其他选项是凭空捏造。因最后一段中有提过不同意见，所以可能误导同学，以为是批判态度。但是这类题要重点看总结句，而非被个别细节误导。
25.答案解析：C 本题为主旨题
定位：从每段的中心句和最末段中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.可知，该文一直在讨论如何花钱才能有满足感，才能感觉良好。

Text 2
An article in Scientific American 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 (to use the psychological terminology) 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 (across the ages and genders) 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 strut 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 morphed 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-enhanced the most (that is, the participants who thought the most positively doctored pictures 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 those who showed other markers for having higher self-esteem. "I don't think the findings that we have are any evidence of personal delusion," says Epley. "It's a reflection simply of people generally thinking well of themselves." If you are depressed, you won't be self-enhancing.
Knowing the results of Epley's study, it makes sense that many people hate photographs of themselves so viscerally – on one level, they don't even recognise the person in the picture as themselves. Facebook, therefore, is a self-enhancer's paradise, where people can share only the flukiest of flattering photos, the cream of their wit, style, beauty, intellect and lifestyles. It's not that people's profiles are dishonest, says Catalina Toma of Wisconsin-Madison University, "but they portray an idealised version of themselves". (People are much more likely to out-and-out lie on dating websites, to an audience of strangers.)

26.According to the first paragraph, social psychologists have found that
[A] our self-ratings are unrealistically high
[B] illusory superiority is a baseless effect
[C] self-enhancing strategies are ineffective
[D] our need for leadership is unnatural

27.Visual recognition is believed to be peoples
[A] rapid matching [B] intuitive response
[C] automatic self-defense [D] conscious choice

28.Epley found that people with higher self-esteem tended to
[A] underestimate their insecurities
[B] cover up their depressions
[C]believe in their attractiveness
[D] oversimplify their illusions

29. The world viscerally (Line 2, Paragraph 5) is closest in meaning to
[A] occasionally [B] instinctively [C] particularly [D] aggressively

30. It can be inferred Face book is a self-enhancers paradise because people can
[A] present their dishonest profiles
[B] withholds their unflattering sides
[C] define their traditional lifestyles
[D] share their intellectual pursuits

答案： 29-30 ABCBB
答案解析：
26.答案： A 题目直接定位在原文的第一段，本题为例证题，找论点的。前面表述出观点，后面列出social psychologist的研究结果，第一段的第一句和第二句话可以直接看出答案为A选项，B选项illusory superiority提到，句意文中没有详细说明，C选项提到self-enhancing也是断章取义，D选项是后面例子中的论据，并不是论点
27. 答案： B 本题为细节题，可以根据visual recognition 定位到文章中的第三段，A，C选项是没有提到的，首先排除，D选项对应原文少了一个no
28. 答案： C 根据人名Epley定位原文第四段，in fact 后面，those who thought that the images higher up the attractiveness scale were …对应的意思跟C选项一致
29. 答案： B 本题是词意题，--后面是对于前面这句话的解释说明，后面一句话提到了not even recognize 这几个词可以推出答案为B
30. 答案： B 根据facebook 对应原文的最后一段，face book, therefore, is a … where people can share only the flukiest of flattering photos …该句对应的跟B选项一个意思


Text 3
The concept of man versus machine is at least as old as the industrial revolution, but this phenomenon tends to be most acutely felt during economic downturns and fragile recoveries. And yet, it would be a mistake to think we are right now simply experiencing the painful side of a boom and bust cycle. Certain jobs have gone away for good, outmoded by machines. Since technology has such an insatiable appetite for eating up human jobs, this phenomenon will continue to restructure our economy in ways we can't immediately foresee.
When there is exponential improvement in the price and performance of technology, jobs that were once thought to be immune from automation suddenly become threatened. This argument has attracted a lot of attention, via the success of the book Race Against the Machine, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, who both hail from MIT's Center for Digital Business.
This is a powerful argument, and a scary one. And yet, John Hagel, author of The Power of Pull and other books, says Brynjolfsson and McAfee miss the reason why these jobs are so vulnerable to technology in the first place.
Hagel says we have designed jobs in the U.S. that tend to be "tightly scripted" and "highly standardized" ones that leave no room for "individual initiative or creativity." In short, these are the types of jobs that machines can perform much better at than human beings. That is how we have put a giant target sign on the backs of American workers, Hagel says.
It's time to reinvent the formula for how work is conducted, since we are still relying on a very 20th century notion of work, Hagel says. In our rapidly changing economy, we more than ever need people in the workplace who can take initiative and exercise their imagination "to respond to unexpected events." That's not something machines are good at. They are designed to perform very predictable activities.
As Hagel notes, Brynjolfsson and McAfee indeed touched on this point in their book. We need to reframe race against the machine as race with the machine. In other words, we need to look at the ways in which machines can augment human labor rather than replace it. So then the problem is not really about technology, but rather, "how do we innovate our institutions and our work practices?"

31. According to the first paragraph, economic downturns would _____.
[A]ease the competition of man vs. machine
[B]highlight machines’ threat to human jobs
[C]provoke a painful technological revolution
[D]outmode our current economic structure

32. The authors of Race Against the Machine argue that _____.
[A]technology is diminishing man’s job opportunities
[B]automation is accelerating technological development
[C]certain jobs will remain intact after automation
[D]man will finally win the race against machine

33. Hagel argues that jobs in the U.S. are often _____.
[A]performed by innovative minds
[B]scripted with an individual style
[C]standardized without a clear target
[D]designed against human creativity

34. According to the last paragraph, Brynjolfsson and McAfee discussed _____.
[A]the predictability of machine behavior in practice
[B]the formula for how work is conducted efficiently
[C]the ways machines replace human labor in modern times
[D]the necessity of human involvement in the workplace

35. Which of the following could be the most appropriate title for the text?
[A]How to Innovate Our Work Practices
[B]Machines will Replace Human Labor
[C]Can We Win the Race Against Machines
[D]Economic Downturns Stimulate Innovations

31-35 BADBC
答案解析：
31.答案：选B 第一段重点讲解的是人和机器的对决的情况僵持的时间很长，并且这个现象在经济萧条和复苏季的更严重。然后说道我们正在经受好现象带来的另外背面的影响---即吞噬着我们的工作。B选项是可以直接在文中找出的，A选项跟原文是反义，not ease. C选项只是文中提到单词的拼接，并未提到该意思。D选项的主语应该是this phenomenon.
32.答案: A 根据Race Against the Machine 定位到原文的第二段，32题的主干关键词是argue，对应到原文第二段的第二句话this argument可知，答案应该在第一句话。第一话中when是时间状语从句，主句是jobs( that …) become threatened 可以选出答案为A
33.答案：D 根据人名可以定位为第三段，第三段人名Hagel说了一长句话，最后总结为in short,简而言之 机器会比人物做的更好的工作。对应选项，可以看出只有D是符合的
34.答案：B 根据定位找到最后一段，Brynjolfsson and McAfee后面有一个“on this point”，可以看到上面一段，直接找到答案为B
35. 答案：C 根据文章中出现最多的关键词，可以排除A,C选项，但是原文的
行文思路是先提到越来越多的工作被机器替代了，再提到主旨—现在是我们需要作出改变的时候了，it is time to reinvent the formula for how work is conducted, 然后最后一段再次强调， so后面的内容，可以得出，文章的主旨标题是C

Text 4
When the government talks about infrastructure contributing to the economy the focus is usually on roads, railways, broadband and energy. Housing is seldom mentioned.
Why is that? To some extent the housing sector must shoulder the blame. We have not been good at communicating the real value that housing can contribute to economic growth. Then there is the scale of the typical housing project. It is hard to jostle for attention among multibillion-pound infrastructure projects, so it is inevitable that the attention is focused elsewhere. But perhaps the most significant reason is that the issue has always been so politically charged. This government does not want to see a return to large-scale provision of council housing, so it is naturally wary of measures that will lead us down that route.
Nevertheless, the affordable housing situation is desperate. Waiting lists increase all the time and we are simply not building enough new homes.
The comprehensive spending review offers an opportunity for the government to help rectify this. It needs to put historical prejudices to one side and take some steps to address our urgent housing need.
There are some indications that it is preparing to do just that. The communities minister, Don Foster, has hinted that George Osborne may introduce more flexibility to the current cap on the amount that local authorities can borrow against their housing stock debt. The cap, introduced in 2012 as part of the Housing Revenue Account reform, has been a major issue for the sector. Evidence shows that 60,000 extra new homes could be built over the next five years if the cap were lifted, increasing GDP by 0.6%.
Ministers should also look at creating greater certainty in the rental environment, which would have a significant impact on the ability of registered providers to fund new developments from revenues.
Finally, they should look at the way in which public sector land is released. Currently up-front payments are required, putting a financial burden on the housing provider. A more positive stimulus would be to encourage a system where the land is made available and maintained as a long-term equity stake in the project.
But it is not just down to the government. While these measures would be welcome in the short term, we must face up to the fact that the existing ￡4.5bn programme of grants to fund new affordable housing, set to expire in 2015, is unlikely to be extended beyond then. The Labour party has recently announced that it will retain a large part of the coalition's spending plans if it returns to power. The housing sector needs to accept that we are very unlikely to ever return to the era of large-scale public grants. We need to adjust to this changing climate. This means that affordable housing specialists like Wates Living Space have to create a whole new way of working in partnership with registered providers. We have to be prepared to take on more of the risk during the d
evelopment phase, driving down the cost to deliver high-quality affordable housing and, most importantly, developing alternative funding models to help achieve this.
While the government's commitment to long-term funding may have changed, the very pressing need for more affordable housing is real and is not going away. The comprehensive spending review provides the opportunity to start moving us in the right direction – stimulating investment in new supply and quickly delivering tangible benefits to local economies. It also helps create the space to develop a long-term sustainable strategy for
36. The author believes that the housing sector______.
[A]has attracted much attention
[B]has lost its real value in economy
[C]shoulders too much responsibility
[D]involves certain political factors

37. It can be learned that affordable housing has_____.
[A]suffered government biases
[B]increased its home supply
[C]offered spending opportunities
[D]disappointed the government

38. According to Paragraph 5, George Osborne may _____.
[A]prepare to reduce housing stock debt
[B]release a lifted GDP growth forecast
[C]allow greater government debt for housing
[D]stop local authorities from building homes

39. It can be inferred that a stable rental environment would _____.
[A]lower the costs of registered providers
[B]relieve the minister of responsibilities
[C]contribute to funding new developments
[D]lessen the impact of government interference

40. The author believes that after 2015, the government may _____.
[A]implement more policies to support housing
[B]stop generous funding to the housing sector
[C]renew the affordable housing grants programme
[D]review the need for large-scale public grants

36-40 DAACC

答案解析：
36. 答案解析：D 本题为细节题
定位：But perhaps the most significant reason is that the issue has always been so politically charged.由此可以得出答案。其他选项，使用排除法可以得出正确答案。根据原文 so it is inevitable that the attention is focused elsewhere可以排除A.根据 We have not been good at communicating the real value that housing can contribute to economic growth.可以排除B.而针对C选项中有too much，显然是为住房部门开脱，而实际上the housing sector must shoulder the blame.
37. 答案解析：A 此题为细节推断题
定位：The comprehensive spending review offers an opportunity for the government to help rectify this. It needs to put historical prejudices to one side.可以得知正确选项A。而其他选项纯属虚构，果断排除。干扰性选项通常选取原文重要名词进行无中生有的捏造，所以只要认真回文，逐一排除即可。
38. 答案解析：A 此题为细节题
定位：
George Osborne may introduce more flexibility to the current cap on the amount that local authorities can borrow against their housing stock debt.根据原文，可知是采取某种措施，目的是against their housing stock debt，据此可知只能选A。
39. 答案解析：C 此题为细节题
定位：the rental environment, which would have a significant impact on the ability of registered providers to fund new developments from revenues.原文说明了rental environment对registered providers的影响和意义，目的是to fund new developments。因此答案只能选C。
40. 答案解析：C 此题为细节题
定位：
we must face up to the fact that the existing ￡4.5bn programme of grants to fund new affordable housing, set to expire in 2015, is unlikely to be extended beyond then.可见到2015年终止项目，随后就会
We have to be prepared to take on more of the risk during the development phase, driving down the cost to deliver high-quality affordable housing and, most importantly, developing alternative funding models to help achieve this.使用排除法也可以解题。

Part B
Directions: Read the following test and answer questions by finding information from the right column that corresponds to each of the marked details given in the left column. There are two extra choices in the left column. Mark your answer on ANSWER SHEET1 (10 points )
Emerging in the late Sixties and reaching a peak in the Seventies, Land Art was one of a range of new forms, including Body Art, Performance Art, Action Art and

Installation Art, which pushed art beyond the traditional confines of the studio and gallery. Rather than portraying landscape, land artists used the physical substance of e land itself as their medium.
The British land artist, typified by Richard Long’s piece, was not only more domestically scaled, but a lot quirkier than its American counterpart. Indeed, while you might assume that an exhibition of Land Art would consist only of records of works rather than the works themselves, Long’s photograph of his work is the work. Since his “action” is in the past the photograph is its sole embodiment.
That might seem rather an obscure point, but it sets the tone for an exhibition that contains a lot of black-and-white photographs and relatively few natural objects.
Long is Britain’s best-known Land Artist and his Stone Circle, a perfect ring of purplish rocks from Portishead beach laid out on the gallery floor, represents the elegant, rarefied side of the form. The Boyle Family, on the other hand, stand for its dirty, urban aspect. Comprising artists Mark Boyle and Joan Hills and their children, they recreated random sections of the British landscape on gallery walls. Their Olaf Street Study, a square of brick-strewn waste ground, is one of the few works here to embrace the mundanity that characterises most of our experience of the landscape most of the time.
Parks feature, particularly in the earlier works, such as John Hilliard’s very funny Across the Park, in which a long-haired stroller is variously smiled at by a pretty girl and unwittingly assaulted in a sequence of images that turn out to be different parts of the same photograph.
Generally however British land artists preferred to get away from towns, gravitating towards landscapes that are traditionally considered beautiful such as the Lake District or the Wiltshire Downs. While it probably wasn’t apparent at the time, much of this work is permeated by a spirit of romantic escapism that the likes of Wordsworth would have readily understood. Derek Jarman’s yellow-tinted film Towards Avebury, a collection of long, mostly still shots of the Wiltshire landscape, evokes a tradition of English landscape painting stretching from Samuel Palmer to Paul Nash.
In the case of Hamish Fulton, you can’t help feeling that the Scottish artist has simply found a way of making his love of walking pay. A typical work, such as Seven Days, consists of a single beautiful black-and-white photograph taken on an epic walk, with the mileage and number of days taken listed beneath. British Land Art as shown in this well selected, but relatively modestly scaled exhibition wasn’t about imposing on the landscape, more a kind of landscape-orientated light conceptual art created passing through. It had its origins in the great outdoors, but the results were as gallery-bound as the paintings of Turner and Constable.
（图片为第二张截图）

今年part b 难度不大，根据文章的内容可直接找到答案
41-45 DEGCA
Section III Translation (15 points )
46. Directions: In this section there is a passage in English. Translate the following passage into Chinese and write your translation on ANSWER SHEET 2.
Most people would define optimism as being endlessly happy, with a glass that’s perpetually half full. But that’s exactly the kind of false. Cheerfulness that positive psychologists wouldn’t recommend. “Healthy optimism means being in touch with reality”, says Tal Ben-Shahar, a Harvard professor,. According to Ben-Shahar, realistic optimists are those who make the best of things that happen, but not those who believe everything happens for the best.
Ben-Shahar use three optimistic exercises. When he feels down-say, after giving a bad lecture. He grants himself that not every lecture can be than others. Next is reconstruction. He analyzes the weak lecture, learning lessons for the future about what works and what doesn’t. Finally, there is perspective, which involves acknowledge that in the grand scheme of Life, one lecture really doesn’t matter.
参考译文：
大多数人会将乐观主义定义为无休止的快乐，永远看到杯中的半杯水。但是积极心理学家并不提倡这种错误的愉悦感。哈弗大学教授Tal Ben-Shahar指出健康的乐观主义意味着联系实际。他认为，切实的乐观主义者是尽情享受已定事实的人，而不是认为一切会尽好的人。
Ben-Shahar进行了三个乐观主义练习。当他情绪低落时，比如说讲座失利，他会原谅不完美的自己，提醒自己并不是每次讲座都能得诺贝尔奖，总有一些差强人意。接着是重塑练习。他会分析不好的讲座，吸取行之有效的教训，已备将来之用。最后是视角练习。这就涉及承认在人生的宏伟格局中，一次讲座真的没那么重要。
点评：
本次翻译难度略高于去年，很多同学不认识optimism这个单词，导致整篇翻译出现方向性错误，这个单词在我们的核心词汇书上有强调，而且在阅读技巧和写作模板白皮书中也是重点词汇，我们一再强调的作者态度词在翻译中考察了。其

次是本次翻译的句型特点，长句不多，但是却很难用合适的中文表达，但是只要大意一致，基本分肯定没问题。



Section IV Writing (25 points )
Part A
Directions:
Going to study abroad and share an apartment with john, local student. Write him e-mail to
1)
tell him about your living habits
2)
ask for advise about living there
Your letter should be about 100 words long. Don’t sign your own name. Use Li Ming instead. (10 points)

范文：
Dear John, Jan. 4, 2013
I am so happy to know that we will be roommates in Harvard University. My name is Li Ming, a Chinese girl, living in the North Part of China. Today I am writing this letter on the purpose of telling you some Chinese habits in order to reach a warm gathering in the next 2 years. Because of 4 years’ living in university, I have developed a habit that get up at 7 AM and go to bed at 10 PM. And as we know, sleeping is very important to us. Thus, I hope you can understand me and tell me whether you can keep this time. Also, please kindly give me some advices about living there. Your early reply will be appreciated. Thank you!
                                                                                                                                                                     Yours，
                                                                                                              LI MING
（图片为第一张截图）
Part B
Directions:
In this section, you are asked to write an essay based on the following bar charts. In your writing, you should
（1）describe the charts and
（2）give your comments about it
You should write at least 150 words on the ANSWER SHEET 2. (15 points)

范文
What is shown in the picture tells us that a trend has taken place in the past 20 years in China. According to the figures given in the bar chart, the population in cities had a sharp rise from 300 million to 666 million. In contrast, the population in rural area decreased from 834 million to 674 million. In 2010, each of them almost shared half of the total population. What can account for this change?
Obviously, some driving reasons that lead to the above tendency may be summarized as follows. First of all, with the development of economy, more people would like to choose to go to cities for a more comfortable and convenient life. In addition, cities can offer more work opportunities. In order to have more chances to improve themselves, more people are willing to leave their hometown to pursue their career. Last but not least, their attitude towards living and working have a great change, compare with that 20 years ago.
Along with the advancement of our society, the trend is bound to continue for the coming years.

[t:1][t:1][t:1]

谢谢楼主！