2006年全國碩士研究生考試英語真題及答

案3

Text3

Whenprehistoricmanarrivedinnewpartsoftheworld,

somethingstrangehappenedtothelargeanimals.Theysuddenly

becameextinct.Smallerspeciessurvived.Thelarge,

slow-growinganimalswereeasygame,andwerequicklyhunted

toextinction.Nowsomethingsimilarcouldbehappeninginthe

oceans.

Thattheseasarebeingoverfishedhasbeenknownforyears.

WhatresearcherssuchasRansomMyersandBorisWormhaveshown

isjusthowfastthingsarechanging.Theyhavelookedathalf

acenturyofdatafromfisheriesaroundtheworld.Theirmethods

donotattempttoestimatetheactualbiomass(theamountof

livingbiologicalmatter)offishspeciesinparticularparts

oftheocean,butratherchangesinthatbiomassovertime.

AccordingtotheirlatestpaperpublishedinNature,the

biomassoflargepredators(animalsthatkillandeatother

animals)inanewfisheryisreducedonaverageby80%within

15yearsofthestartofexploitation.Insomelong-fishedareas,

ithashalvedagainsincethen.

Dr.Wormacknowledgesthatthefiguresareconservative.One

reasonforthisisthatfishingtechnologyhasimproved.

Today’svesselscanfindtheirpreyusingsatellitesandsonar,

whichwerenotavailable50yearsago.Thatmeansahigher

proportionofwhatisintheseaisbeingcaught,sothereal

differencebetweenpresentandpastislikelytobeworsethan

theonerecordedbychangesincatchsizes.Intheearlydays,

too,longlineswouldhavebeenmoresaturatedwithfish.Some

individualswouldthereforenothavebeencaught,sinceno

baitedhookswouldhavebeenavailabletotrapthem,leading

toanunderestimateoffishstocksinthepast.Furthermore,

intheearlydaysoflonglinefishing,alotoffishwerelost

tosharksaftertheyhadbeenhooked.Thatisnolongeraproblem,

becausetherearefewersharksaroundnow.

Dr.MyersandDr.Wormarguethattheirworkgivesacorrect

baseline,whichfuturemanagementeffortsmusttakeinto

account.Theybelievethedatasupportanideacurrentamong

marinebiologists,thatofthe“shiftingbaseline.”The

notionisthatpeoplehavefailedtodetectthemassivechanges

whichhavehappenedintheoceanbecausetheyhavebeenlooking

backonlyarelativelyshorttimeintothepast.Thatmatters

becausetheorysuggeststhatthemaximumsustainableyieldthat

canbecroppedfromafisherycomeswhenthebiomassofatarget

speciesisabout50%ofitsoriginallevels.Mostfisheriesare

wellbelowthat,whichisabadwaytodobusiness.

31.Theextinctionoflargeprehistoricanimalsisnotedto

suggestthat________.

[A]largeanimalwerevulnerabletothechangingenvironment

[B]smallspeciessurvivedaslargeanimalsdisappeared

[C]largeseaanimalsmayfacethesamethreattoday

[D]slow-growingfishoutlivefast-growingones

32.WecaninferfromDr.MyersandDr.Worm’spaperthat

________.

[A]thestockoflargepredatorsinsomeoldfisherieshas

reducedby90%

[B]thereareonlyhalfasmanyfisheriesastherewere15years

ago

[C]thecatchsizesinnewfisheriesareonly20%oftheoriginal

amount

[D]thenumberoflargerpredatorsdroppedfasterinnew

fisheriesthanintheold

33.Bysayingthesefiguresareconservative(Line1,paragraph

3),Dr.Wormmeansthat________.

[A]fishingtechnologyhasimprovedrapidly

[B]thencatch-sizesareactuallysmallerthenrecorded

[C]themarinebiomasshassufferedagreaterloss

[D]thedatacollectedsofarareoutofdate

34.Dr.Myersandotherresearchersholdthat________.

[A]peopleshouldlookforabaselinethatcan’tworkfora

longertime

[B]fisheriesshouldkeeptheyieldbelow50%ofthebiomass

[C]theoceanbiomassshouldrestoreditsoriginallevel

[D]peopleshouldadjustthefishingbaselinetochanging

situation

35.Theauthorseemstobemainlyconcernedwithmostfisheries’

________.

[A]managementefficiency

[B]biomasslevel

[C]catch-sizelimits

[D]technologicalapplication

Text4

Manythingsmakepeoplethinkartistsareweirdandtheweirdest

maybethis:artists’onlyjobistoexploreemotions,andyet

theychoosetofocusontheonesthatfeelbad.

Thiswasn’talwaysso.Theearliestformsofart,likepainting

andmusic,arethosebestsuitedforexpressingjoy.But

somewhereinthe19thcentury,moreartistsbeganseeing

happinessasinsipid,phonyor,worstofall,boringaswewent

fromWordsworth’sdaffodilstoBaudelaire’sflowersofevil.

Youcouldarguethatartbecamemoreskepticalofhappiness

becausemoderntimeshaveseensuchmisery.Butit’snotas

ifearliertimesdidn’tknowperpetualwar,disasterandthe

massacreofinnocents.Thereason,infact,maybejustthe

opposite:thereistoomuchdamnhappinessintheworldtoday.

Afterall,whatistheonemodernformofexpressionalmost

completelydedicatedtodepictinghappiness?Advertising.The

riseofanti-happyartalmostexactlytrackstheemergenceof

massmedia,andwithit,acommercialcultureinwhichhappiness

isnotjustanidealbutanideology.

Peopleinearliererasweresurroundedbyremindersofmisery.

Theyworkeduntilexhausted,livedwithfewprotectionsand

diedyoung.IntheWest,beforemasscommunicationandliteracy,

themostpowerfulmassmediumwasthechurch,whichreminded

worshippersthattheirsoulswereinperilandthattheywould

somedaybemeatforworms.Givenallthis,theydidnotexactly

needtheirarttobeabummertoo.

TodaythemessagestheaverageWesternerissurroundedwithare

notreligiousbutcommercial,andforeverhappy.Fast-food

eaters,newsanchors,textmessengers,allsmiling,smiling,

smiling.Ourmagazinesfeaturebeamingcelebritiesandhappy

familiesinperfecthomes.Andsincethesemessageshavean

agenda--tolureustoopenourwallets--theymakethevery

ideaofhappinessseemunreliable.“Celebrate!”commanded

theadsforthearthritisdrugCelebrex,beforewefoundout

itcouldincreasetheriskofheartattacks.

Butwhatweforget--whatoureconomydependsonusforgetting

--isthathappinessismorethanpleasurewithoutpain.The

thingsthatbringthegreatestjoycarrythegreatestpotential

forlossanddisappointment.Today,surroundedbypromisesof

easyhappiness,weneedsomeonetotellusasreligiononcedid,

Mementomori:rememberthatyouwilldie,thateverythingends,

andthathappinesscomesnotindenyingthisbutinlivingwith

it.It’samessageevenmorebitterthanaclovecigarette,

yet,somehow,abreathoffreshair.

36.BycitingtheexampleofpoetsWordsworthandBaudelaire,

theauthorintendstoshowthat________.

[A]poetryisnotasexpressiveofjoyaspaintingormusic

[B]artgrowoutofbothpositiveandnegativefeeling

[C]poetstodayarelessskepticalofhappiness

[D]artistshavechangedtheirfocusofinterest

37.Theword“bummer”(Line5.paragraph5)mostprobably

meanssomething________.

[A]religious

[B]unpleasant

[C]entertaining

[D]commercial

38.Intheauthor’sopinion,advertising_______