准备2010年考研的朋友，可以按照下面的方法仔细研究90年代的真题，同时背诵单词，如果一上手就研究2000年以后的真题，难度有点偏大。题目在网上很容易可以下载到的。
99 Text 1
It’s a rough world out there. Step outside and you could break a leg slipping on your doormat. Light up the stove and you could burn down the house. Luckily, if the doormat orstove failed to warn of coming disaster, a successful lawsuit mightcompensate you for your troubles. Or so the thinking has gone since the early 1980s, when juries began holding more companies liable for their customers’ misfortunes.
Feeling threatened, companies responded by writing ever-longer warning labels, trying to anticipate every possible accident.Today, stepladders carry labels several inches long that warn, among other things, that you might—surprise!—fall off. The label on a child’s Batman cape cautions that the toy “does not enable user to fly.”
While warnings are often appropriate and necessary—the dangers of drug interactions, for example —and many are required by state or federal regulations, it isn’t clear that they actually protect the manufacturers and sellers from liability if a customer is injured. About 50 percent of the companies lose when injured customers take them to court.
Now the tide appears to be turning.As personal injury claims continue as before, some courts are beginning to side with defendants, especially in cases where a warning label probably wouldn’t have changed anything. In May, Julie Nimmons,president of Schutt Sports in Illinois, successfully fought a lawsuit involving a football player who was paralyzed in a game while wearing a Schutt helmet. “We’re really sorry he has become paralyzed, but helmets aren’t designed to prevent those kinds of injuries,” says Nimmons. The jury agreed that the nature of the game, not the helmet, was the reason for the athlete’s injury. At the same time, the American Law Institute—a group of judges, lawyers, and academics whose recommendations carry substantial weight—issued new guidelines for tort law stating that companies need not warn customers of obvious dangers or bombard them with a lengthy list of possible ones. “Important information can get buried in a sea of trivialities,” says a law professor at Cornell law School who helped draft the new guidelines. If the moderate end of the legal community has its way, the information on products might actually be provided for the benefit of customers and not as protection against legal liability.
1. What were things like in 1980s when accidents happened?
A) Customers might be relieved of their disasters through lawsuits.
B) Injured customers could expect protection from the legal system.
C) Companies would avoid being sued by providing new warnings.
D) Juries tended to find fault with the compensations companies promised.
2. Manufacturers as mentioned in the passage tend to ________.
A) satisfy customers by writing long warnings on products
B) become honest in describing the inadequacies of their products
C) make the best use of labels to avoid legal liability
D) feel obliged to view customers’ safety as their first concern
3. The case of Schutt helmet demonstrated that ________.
A) some injury claims were no longer supported by law
B) helmets were not designed to prevent injuries
C) product labels would eventually be discarded
D) some sports games might lose popularity with athletes
4. The author’s attitude towards the issue seems to be ________.
A) biased
B) indifferent
C) puzzling
D) objective
[答案]1.B 2.C 3.A 4.D
超精解
(01)①It’s a rough world out there. ②Step outside and you could break a leg slipping on your doormat. ③Light up the stove and you could burn down the house. ④Luckily,if the doormat or stove failed to warn of coming disaster, a successfullawsuit might compensate you for your troubles. ⑤Orso the thinking has gone since the early 1980s, when juries beganholding more companies liable for their customers’ misfortunes.
(①②③为一个意群，说外面很危险，其中①中的it为一个具有泛指意义的代词，没有具体的指代含义，②③为举例说明；④承接前面的例子，补充说明可以通过诉讼获得补偿。注意这句话以副词开头Luckily，可以看出作者的强调；⑤是对④的再次强调说明，强调就是考点！另外，这个句子本身有一定的难度，许多参考书上的解释都是错误的。这句话使用了一个倒装，正常的句序是or the thinking has gone so，so 指代④，or 这儿是 in other words(换句话说)之意，go为to happen or develop in a particular way (发生)之意, 而when juries began holding more companies liable for their customers’ misfortunes.为非限制性定语从句，修饰the early 1980s，因此这句话大意为：换句话说，这种想法在20世纪80年代之后就有了，那时陪审团开始让更多的公司为顾客的不幸负责。而其它参考书上的“大约自80年代初以来人们就不再这样认为了，当时陪审团已开始认为更多的公司应对其顾客所遭受的不幸负责”。从逻辑上来讲与④相矛盾，讲不通。)
1. What were things like in 1980s when accidents happened?
[定位与替换] 本题问当事故在20世纪80年代发生时，情况是怎么样的。由时间关键词1980s定位到第一段第⑤句，句子本身有一定的难度，不过第④⑤句之间没有明显的表示转折关系的连词，我们可以判定④⑤属于同一个意群，第④句说，一件成功的诉讼也许能够为你的麻烦获得补偿。第⑤句应该是表达同样的意思。事实上，通过上面的篇章分析，我们可以看到事实也的确如此。因此我们选择B) Injured customers could expect protection from the legal system.受伤的顾客有望得到法律制度的保护。其中Injured customers可以说是对②③所举例子的抽象化，也可以认为是对customers’ misfortunes的同义转换；expect protection from是对a successful lawsuit的替换；而compensate与hold companies liable for是同义表达，legal system则与lawsuit，juries相关。
[反陷阱提示] A) Customers might be relieved of their disasters through lawsuits. 顾客可以通过诉讼而免除灾难。有许多考生曾经在论坛上提问为什么不选它，其主要原因是没有区分relieve sb. of sth. 与relieve 的区别，前者是“免除某人某事；解除某人某事；使某人摆脱某事”的意思，试想一下，灾难都发生了，还怎么移除呢？从逻辑上就是讲不通的。而后者是“缓解”之意，正如 2000年的阅读中的一个选项use poetry to relieve modern stress(使用诗歌缓解现代的压力)。C) Companies would avoid being sued by providing new warnings.通过提供新的警告，公司将会避免被起诉。首先这儿的providing new warnings可以说是对第二段第①中writing ever-longer warning labels不一致，其次，would avoid说明能够避免，而文中说的 trying to anticipate every possible accident，注意这儿的try表示是一种目标，但从第三段最后一句我们知道有大约一半的公司会败诉，从而对顾客的不幸负责。D) Juries tended to find fault with the compensations companies promised.陪审团往往喜欢对公司承诺的赔偿加以挑剔。这句话貌似与最后一句话的定语从句部分有点形似，但其实两句话的意思相去甚远。文中无信息支持。
(2)①Feeling threatened, companies responded by writing ever-longer warning labels, trying to anticipate every possible accident. ②Today, stepladders carry labels several inches long that warn, among other things, that you might—surprise!—fall off.
③The label on a child’s Batman cape cautions that the toy “does not enable user to fly.”
(①承接上一段段末，对于陪审团开始让更多的公司为顾客的不幸负责，公司做出反应，写出越来越长的警示标签。②③则是对①的举例说明。有些考生可能会被②中的两个that搞糊涂， that warn that you might fall off，作定语从句修饰labels，前一个that为定语从句的关系代词在从句中做主语，可以用which替换，而第二个that引导宾语从句，这个that可以省略。)
(3)①While warnings are often appropriate and necessary—the dangers of drug interactions, for example—andmany are required by state or federal regulations, it isn’t clear thatthey actually protect the manufacturers and sellers from liability if acustomer is injured. ②About 50 percent of the companies lose when injured customers take them to court.
(①对生产商做出的反应加以评论，如果顾客受伤了，这些长标签能否保护生产商和销售商还不清楚；②对①补充说明，结果是，当受伤的顾客把他们告到法院后，约一半的公司是败诉的。)
2. Manufacturers as mentioned in the passage tend to ________.
[定位与替换] 本题问文中提到的生产商往往怎么样。由第二段的第①句的伴随状语trying to anticipate every possible accident，我们可以知道公司写更加长的警示标签试图预测种种可能的事故。由第三段第②句我们知道，警示标签能够真正地使生产商和销售商免于责任还不清楚，由此我们可以得出，公司写更加长的标签的意图是C) make the best use of labels to avoid legal liability充分利用标签来避免法律责任。
[反陷阱提示] A) satisfy customers by writing long warnings on products通过在产品上写长长的警示来使顾客满意。B) become honest in describing the inadequacies of their products在描述产品不足时显得诚实。D) feel obliged to view customers’ safety as their first concern不得不将顾客的安全放在头等重要的位置。这三个选项的内容在文章都没有提及。
(04)①Now the tide appears to be turning. ②Aspersonal injury claims continue as before, some courts are beginning to side with defendants, especially in cases where a warning label probably wouldn’t have changed anything. ③InMay, Julie Nimmons, president of Schutt Sports in Illinois,successfully fought a lawsuit involving a football player who was paralyzed in a game while wearing a Schutt helmet.④“We’re really sorry he has become paralyzed, but helmets aren’t designed to prevent those kinds of injuries,” says Nimmons. ⑤The jury agreed that the nature of the game, not the helmet, was the reason for the athlete’s injury. ⑥At the same time, the American Law Institute—a group of judges, lawyers, and academics whose recommendations carry substantial weight—issued new guidelines for tort law stating that companies need not warn customers of obvious dangers or bombard them with a lengthy list of possible ones.⑦“Important information can get buried in a sea of trivialities,” says a law professor at Cornell law School who helped draft the new guidelines. ⑧Ifthe moderate end of the legal community has its way, the information on products might actually be provided for the benefit of customers and not as protection against legal liability.
(①以Now副词开头，暗示与之前的情况不同了。②③④⑤为一个意群，其中②交代说明现在的情况是，一些法院开始站在被告一边了，特别是在警示标签不能改变什么的情况下；③④⑤以具体的Schutt头盔的例子证明②。⑥⑦说这种做法得到了法律界专业人士的支持，并提出了原因：重要的信息会被细枝末节的汪洋所淹没。⑧对法律界的观点作出评论，如果能够实现的话，那么就是真正为了保护消费者的利益。③的主干为Julie Nimmons successfully fought a lawsuit, 其中president of Schutt Sports in Illinois作为Julie Nimmons的同位语对其加以补充说明，involving a football player为现在分词后置做定语修饰a lawsuit，而who was paralyzed in a game while wearing a Schutt helmet.为定语从句，修饰player。⑥的句子主干为the American Law Institute issued new guidelines for tort law. 其中破折号中间的内容为对the American Law Institute做出的解释说明，whose recommendations carry substantial weight为定语从句；stating that companies need not warn customers of obvious dangers or bombard them with a lengthy list of possible ones.为现在分词作定语，修饰guidelines，that companies need not warn customers of obvious dangers or bombard them with a lengthy list of possible ones.为动词state的宾语从句。)
3. The case of Schutt helmet demonstrated that ________.
[定位与替换] 本题问Schutt的例子证明了什么。根据关键词Schutt helmet定位到第四段第③句，根据上面的篇章分析，我们知道这个例子是为了证明②的，A) some injury claims were no longer supported by law(某些因伤害提出的索赔不再得到法律的支持)可以说是As personal injury claims continue as before, some courts are beginning to side with defendants(站在被告一边)的同义转换。
[反陷阱提示] B) helmets were not designed to prevent injuries头盔不是被设计用来防止伤害的。第④句说，helmets aren’t designed to prevent those kinds of injuries(头盔不是设计用来阻止那类伤害的)，注意这儿 injuries的定语those kinds of。C) product labels would eventually be discarded 产品的标签最终将不再被使用。D) some sports games might lose popularity with athletes 有些体育比赛也许不再受运动员的欢迎。CD两个选项在文中没有信息支持。关于文中例子的作用，一般都是为主题或段落的主题句服务的，希望考生朋友注意这一点。
4. The author’s attitude towards the issue seems to be ________.
[定位与替换] 本题问作者对问题的态度怎么样。这里的the issue指的是在受到伤害要求索赔的问题，作者在叙述被告(defendents), 顾客和法院(court, juries)等三方的情况时用了客观的语句，没有任何偏袒。因此我们选择D) objective客观的。
[反陷阱提示] A) biased有偏见的B) indifferent冷淡的，漠不关心的，如果对这个问题漠不关心，那还写这篇文章干嘛呢？C) puzzling令人困惑的
[重点单词]
rough adj. a rough period is one in which you have a lot of problems or difficulties 危险的，难过的
stove n. 炉子；火炉
warn vt.to tell someone that something bad or dangerous may happen, so that they can avoid it or prevent it 警告，提醒某人注意
[usage] warn (sb.) of sth./warn sb. that
lawsuit n a problem or complaint that a person or organization brings to a court of law to be settled 诉讼
同义词为suit
[usage] bring/file/issue a lawsuit against sb. 起诉某人；drop a lawsuit 放弃诉讼；defend a lawsuit 对诉讼案进行辩护；win/lose/settle a lawsuit 赢得/输掉/解决一场诉讼
compensate sb. for sth. 因…补偿某人
liable for adj.legally responsible for the cost of something 法律上要求对…负责的 其名词liability
misfortune n.very bad luck, or something that happens to you as a result of bad luck 不幸，灾祸，灾难 (前缀mis-常与动词和名词结合，表示“坏、错、不、没、无”等否定的意思，如misunderstand, misdeed, mistrust, misbehavior)
[tend to do sth] if something tends to happen, it happens often and is likely to happen again [e.g.] Recent laws have tended to restrict the freedom of the press.新法例有限制新闻自由的趋势.
caution vt. to warn someone that something might be dangerous, difficult etc提醒、警告
[inadequacy] n. the fact of not being good enough in quality, ability, size etc for a particular purpose
不足之处 其形容词为inadequate；反义词为adequacy/adequate
[obliged] adj. If you are obliged to do something, a situation, rule, or law makes it necessary for you to do that thing.不得不做某事
side with sb (against sb) support sb in an argument, dispute, etc (在争论﹑辩论等中)支持(某人)，站在(某人)一边
[e.g.] She sided with her brother against the others in the class. 她在班上支持哥哥反对其他同学.
defendant n. the person in a court of law who has been accused of doing something illegal 被告
paralyze/ paralyse vt. if something paralyses you, it makes you lose the ability to move part or all of your body, or to feel it 使瘫痪(麻痹)；使丧失作用paralyzed adj.
jury n.陪审团；全体评审员
nature n. the qualities or features that something has 性质、特征
academic n teacher at a university, college, etc; professional scholar 大专院校的教师；专业学者
recommendation, recommend的名词
[usage] come up with / make / produce / approve/endorse / put forward recommendations on sth.想出/做出/做出/批准/支持/提出对于…的建议
carries weight If a person or their opinion carries weight, they are respected and are able to influence people.收到尊重，有影响力
[e.g.] Senator Kerry carries considerable weight in Washington.参议院克里在华盛顿具有相当大的影响力。
guideline n. rules or instructions about the best way to do something指导方针，指导原则，准则，标准
[usage] draw up / lay down / set out / draft guidelines 起草、制定、解释、起草、公布指导原则adhere to / follow / stick to guidelines 遵守指导原则
bombard sb with sth to do something too often or too much, for example criticizing or questioning someone, or giving too much information 连续、经常地攻击或轰炸
[e.g.] The media bombards all of us with images of violence and drugs and sex.媒体上经常充斥着暴力、吸毒和性方面的图片。
lengthy adj. a speech, piece of writing etc that is lengthy is long and often contains too many details
很长的
triviality n. something that is not important at all 琐碎的事情
have one’s way obtain what one requests
moderate adj. not very large or very small, very hot or very cold, very fast or very slow etc适中的，适度的
end n. an aim or purpose, or the result you hope to achieve
[usage] desirable / worthwhile / common / commercial / economic /educational/ social期望的/值得的/共同的/商业的/经济的/教育的/社会的目标
discard vt.to get rid of something 抛弃
[多样性表达]
warn—caution 警告
side with sb.—[support] 支持某人
take sb. to court—[sue sb.]—file a lawsuit against sb.起诉某人
[重点搭配]
动词+名词
[find fault with…] 挑剔
anticipate an accident 预测事故
issue guidelines for 公布…的指导原则
wear a helmet 戴头盔
[lose/gain popularity with sb.](不)再受某人的欢迎
形容词+名词
a rough world 危险的世界
[injured customers] 受伤的顾客
state/federal regulation 州/联邦规定
a warning label 警告标签
[legal system] 法律制度
[legal liability] 法律责任
legal community 法律界
a lengthy list 长长的单子
名词+名词
drug interaction 药物反应
injury claims 受伤索赔
动词+介词
protect sb. from sth.保护某人以免于某事
take sb. to court 把某人告上法庭
形容词+介词
hold sb. liable for sth.使某人对某物负责
[be honest in doing sth.] 做某事很诚实
[参考译文]
外面的世界真危险。迈出家门，你可能会滑倒在门垫上，摔断一条腿。点燃炉灶，你可能会把房子烧掉。幸运的是，如果门垫或炉灶上没有对将要发生的灾难发出警示，那么一场成功的诉讼或许可以补偿你所受到的伤害。换句话说，自20世纪80年代早期以来，这种想法就有了，当时陪审团已开始让更多的公司对顾客所遭受的不幸负责了。
感到威胁，公司做出了反应，写出越来越长的警示，试图预测种种可能发生的事故。现在，活梯上的标签有几英寸长，其中就有警告你可能会摔下来的(感到奇怪吧)！儿童蝙蝠侠玩具的斗篷上标签告诫说，本玩具“无法让用户飞行”。
尽管警示常常是合理的且必要的(比如标注药物相互作用的危险)，并且许多是州或联邦法规所要求的，如果顾客受伤，这些警示能否真正保护生产商和销售商免于责任，这不太清楚。当受伤的顾客把公司告到法院，大约一半的公司会败诉。
现在这种趋势似乎正在改变。尽管个人伤害索赔像以前那样继续着，有些法院已开始站在被告一方，特别是在那些警示标签无法改变什么的案件中。五月份，伊利诺斯州的Shutt体育公司总裁朱利·尼蒙斯就成功地打赢了一场官司，牵涉这场官司的一名橄榄球队员戴着该公司的头盔在一场比赛中受伤瘫痪。尼蒙斯说：“他瘫痪了，我们非常难过，但头盔不是设计用来阻止这类伤害的。”陪审团也认为，比赛的性质，而不是头盔，才是该运动员受伤的原因。与此同时，由一群举足轻重的法官、律师、学者所组成的美国法学会发布了新的指导原则，说公司不必提醒顾客注意那些显而易见的危险，或者给顾客列出一份冗长的可能造成的危险的清单。康奈尔大学法学院一位参与起草新指导原则的教授说，“重要的信息会被细枝末节的汪洋所淹没”。如果法律界这一适中的目标实现了的话，产品上的信息也许真正是保护消费者利益的，而不是规避公司法律责任的。
[ 本帖最后由 averill25 于 2009-3-30 18:38 编辑 ] |
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