Ⅴ单元自测模拟题、参考答案及解析
本套阅读理解练习题是根据《全国硕士研究生入学考试英语考试大纲》的精神编写的，目的是为了帮助考生了解和熟悉阅读理解的题材以及考试的要求，并能迅速提高阅读水平，达到大纲所规定的要求，顺利通过硕士研究生考试。
本套阅读理解练习题选材广泛，材料新颖，包括社会文化、科学教育、政治经济、人物传记、科普知识等，以及热点话题；并且体裁多样，有说明文、记叙文、议论文、应用文等。
    本套阅读理解练习题有8单元，每单元有4篇文章（约为1 600词左右），每篇文章有5道选择题；此套试题均按照大纲要求拟写，因此，希望广大考生在做此套试题时，每单元的测试时间应定在35分钟。试题编排顺序由易到难。

单元自测题一
Passage One
The planet's wild creatures face a new threat - from yuppies, empty nesters, singletons and one parent families.Biologists studying the pressure on the planet's dwindling biodiversity today report on a new reason for alarm. Although the rate of growth in the human population is decreasing, the number of individual households is exploding.
Even where populations have actually dwindled - in some regions of New Zealand, for instance - the numbers of individual households had increased, because of divorce, career choice, smaller families and longer lifespans.
Jianguo Liu of Michigan State University and colleagues from Stanford University in California report in Nature, in a paper published online in advance, that a greater number of individual households, each containing on average fewer people, meant more pressure on natural resources.
Towns and cities began to sprawl as new homes were built. Each household needed fuel to heat and light it; each household required its own plumbing, cooking and refrigeration.
"Had the average household size remained at the 1985 level, " the scientists report, "there would have been 155m fewer households in hotspot countries in 2000. By 2015 233m more households are likely to be added to hotspot countries as a result of continued reduction in average household size alone."
Paradoxically, smaller households do not mean smaller homes. In Indian River county, Florida, the average area of a one-storey, single family house increased 33% in the past three decades, from about 1,800 sq ft before 1970 to an average 2,400 sq ft for built since 1970.Dr Liu's work grew from the alarming discovery that the giantpandas living in Chinese Wolong reserve were more at risk now than they were when the reserve was first established. The local population had grown, but the total number of homes had increased more swiftly, to make greater inroads into the bamboo forests.
Only around 1.75m species on the planet have been named and described. Biologists estimate that there could be 7m, or even 17m, as yet to be identified. But human numbers have grown more than sixfold in the past 200 years, and humans and their livestock are now the greatest single consumer group on the planet. The world population will continue to soar, perhaps levelling off around 9 billion in the next century. Environmental campaigners have claimed that between a quarter and a half of all the species on earth could become extinct in the next century.
Gretchen Daily of Stanford, one of the authors, said ："We all depend on open space and wild places, not just for peace of mind but for vital services such as crop pollination, water purification and climate stabilization. The alarming thing about this study is the finding that, if family groups continue to become smaller and smaller, we might continue losing biodiversity-even if we get the aggregate human population size stabilized."
1.The author focuses mainly on .
A.the decreasing rate of growth in human population affects the nature.
B.smaller households do not mean smaller homes.
C.increasing individual households threaten planet's wildlife.
D.a great number of the species on earth has extincted.
2.Which of the following statements can NOT be true?
A.the planet's biodiversity is in danger.
B.individual households increase because of divorce,smaller families.
C.in Indian River county the average area of a single family house expanded in the last three decades of 20th century.
D.more households will be added as a result of increasing in average household size.
3.Jianguo Liu of Michigan state university and his colleagues pointed out that .
A.the number of individual households is exploding though the rate of growth in the human population is decreasing.
B.expansion of individual households will bring more pressure on natural resource.
C.the annual growth rate in the number of households was far higher than the population growth rate.
D.about 1.75 million species exist on the planet.
4.The word "paradoxically" most probably means .
A.seem to be contradict but is true
B.on the contrary
C.to be confused
D.hard to believe.
5.It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that .
A.the majority of species on the planet have been identified.
B.at most half of all the species on earth could still exist as the world population reach to 9 billion.
C.rise in individual households bodes ill for biodiversity.
D.We depend on open space and wild places for vital services but not for peace of mind.
Passage Two
Having conquered the hearts of millions of Japanese with their electronic chirps and digital doo-doos, “Tamagotchi” virtual pets are poised to migrate to the West.  The maker, Bandai, has announced plans for a launch in May of the toy in Britain, France and the United States. Within Japan, too, the Tamagotchi—literally “egg watches”—are migrating. Clever marketing has seen the craze spread by word of mouth from Japan’s trend-setting high-school girls to office workers and beyond. It has now reached the point where professional men are seen nursing the toy on subway trains. On the screen of the electronic watch, an egg hatches to reveal a “babychi” that chirps whenever it wants feeding, cleaning or affection—all of which can be supplied at the push of a button throughout the creatures’ liquid-crystal lives. The wearer of the watch in effect “raises” the chick to adulthood.
The craze for Tamagotchi shows no sign of abating in Japan. Last weekend, thousands of would-be foster parents spent hours in freezing weather waiting to buy the latest version. “It’s hard to say exactly why I like it,” said one owner. “It’s more than just cute. I feel close to it, like a parent. But what is better is that I can take care of it without getting dirty.” Parents have a heavy responsibility as the upbringing they give their little charge determines what kind of “adultochi” it grows into. Spoil it and it becomes nasty. Fail to remove its droppings and it becomes sick. Its very life, which can last up to two weeks, is in the hands of the owner.
Normally selling at the equivalent of $16 each, a supply shortage has created a black market where the games can fetch more than 10 times that price. A spokesperson for Bandai said the company had been taken by surprise. “We have sold far more than we expected. We can hardly keep up with demand.”  Since Nov. 23, when the first Tamagotchi went on sale, more than half a million have entered the world. The Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Ginza, Tokyo’s main shopping district, was inundated with 3,000 telephone inquiries in a single day after word spread that a new shipment was on its way. People lined up all night to buy one of the 1,700 units.
6. What would be the best title of this passage?
A. The New “Pet Craze”
B. What Japan and the West Have in Common
C. How to Keep an Electronic Pet
D. Manufacturing of Electronic Pets Falling Behind
7. By saying “Within Japan, too, the Tamagotchi -literally ‘egg watches’ -are migrating”, the author means .
A. Tamagotchi has spread to other areas of Japan
B. new models of Tamagotchi have been introduced
C. the fascination with Tamagotchi has spread to different groups of people
D. people are beginning to take Tamagotchi to work
8. “Tamagotchi” is .
A. a kind of liquid crystal life
B. a multi-function watch
C. a kind of electronic virtual pet
D. the name of a toy manufacturer in Japan
9. What does “abate” (paragraph 2, line1) most probably mean?
A. debate        B. denial        C. retreat        D. decrease
10. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that .
A. the virtual pet has become as popular in the West as it is in Japan
B. the inventor of this virtual pet did not anticipate such a huge success of the product
C. many people have more than one Tamagotchi
D. new models of Tamagotchi typically cost more than the old ones
Passage Three
Rewards and punishments are used in different ways by different communities to maintain social order and preserve cultural values. In all cultures, parents must teach their children to avoid danger and to observe the community’s moral precepts. Adults also condition each other’s observance of social norms, using methods ranging from mild forms of censure, such as looking away when someone makes an inappropriate remark, to imprisoning or executing individuals for behavior considered deviant or dangerous. The caning of American teenager Michael Fay in Singapore for vandalism in 1994 brought wide media attention to cultural differences in the application of punishment. Faced with increasing violence at home, many Americans endorsed Singapore’s use of corporal punishment to maintain social order. Was Fay’s punishment effective? Whether he subsequently avoids vandalism is unknown, but the punishment did apparently lead to his avoidance of Singapore—which he left promptly.
The operant techniques societies use to maintain social control vary in part with the dangers and threats that confront them. The Gusii of Kenya, with a history of tribal warfare, face threats not only from outsiders but also from natural forces, including wild animals. Gusii parents tend to rely more on punishment and fear than on rewards in conditioning appropriate social behavior in their children. Caning, food deprivation, and withdrawing shelter and protection are common forms of punishment.
In contrast, the Mixtecans of Juxtlahuaca, Mexico, are a highly cohesive community, with little internal conflict, and social norms that encourage cooperation. Their social patterns appear adaptive, for the Mixtecans are dominated by the nearby Spanish Mexicans, who control the official government and many economic resources in their region. The Mixtecans do not generally impose fines or jail sentences or use physical punishment to deter aggression in either adults or children. Rather, they tend to rely on soothing persuasion. Social ostracism is the most feared punishment, and social ties within the community are very strong, so responses that reinforce these ties are effective in maintaining social order.
In the United States, fear of social ostracism or stigma was once a more powerful force in maintaining control over antisocial behavior, especially in small communities. Today, even imprisonment does not appear to be an adequate deterrent to many forms of crime, especially violent crime. Although one reason is the inconsistent application of punishment, another may be the fact that imprisonment no longer carries the intense stigma it once had, so that prison is no longer as an effective punishment.
11. The best title of this passage would be .
A. Crime and Punishment
B. Reward and Punishment
C. Social Order
D. Two Case Studies: Gusii of Kenya and Mixtecans of Juxtlahuaca
12. According to the passage, what is a universal cultural norm in maintaining social order?
A. Children must be obedient to their parents.
B. People must publicly complain when someone misbehaves.
C. People should do their parts to ensure that others comply with social rules.
D. People should publicly humiliate the wrongdoers.
13. What can be inferred from the Michael Fay case?
A. Many Americans were opposed to the corporal punishment that Michael Fay received in Singapore.
B. The American media did not pay any attention to cultural differences until 1994.
C. The caning was effective because Michael Fay subsequently refrained from vandalism.
D. Michael Fay left Singapore immediately after the caning punishment.
14. What would a Gusii mother from Kenya most likely do to punish her children?
A. To stop giving them pocket money.
B. To persuade them in a gentle way.
C. To verbally humiliate them.
D. To threaten to expel them from the home.
15. The word “stigma” (fourth paragraph) most probably means .
A. irony        B. verbal abuse        C. persuasion        D. bad reputation
Passage Four
The notion that people have a self-concept and some core of selfhood that distinguishes them from others seems intuitively obvious to people living in twentieth-century Western societies. This view would not, however, be commonsensical to people in most cultures in most historical epochs, which view the person in his/her social and familial context. 
Some cultures are just more group-centered, and others more individualistic. Because Japanese culture emphasizes cooperation rather than the Western ideal of autonomy, the Japanese experience the selfless in terms of internal states than in terms of social relationships.
Ten thousand years ago, before the advent of agriculture, humans lived in small groups. In these groups, individualism is rarely developed, a concept of self distinct from other people and nature is generally absent and moral values focus on the interests of the group. With the rise of agriculture, which allowed accumulation of personal resources and stratification into social classes, people became more aware of individuality, but it was countered by cultural proscriptions against it.  Around the time of Industrial Revolution, something remarkable happened: the concept of the individual, shorn of attachments and duties, was born. And the individual has been born again wherever technological development has taken hold.
Technological development seems to facilitate individualism, and with it a more individual sense of selfhood, for several reasons. The first is geographical mobility. People who remain throughout their lives in a small community with family ties are likely to view themselves in a very different context than people who can expect to leave home and relocate hundreds or thousands of miles away. In addition, changing work conditions, such as wage labor and work that is not performed communally with kin or clan, leads to a sense of individual competence. Furthermore, in technologically developed societies people earn much of their status through their actions rather than their family affiliations. They also frequently take up occupations different from those of their parents. Literacy and education also personalize skills and competences, which are no longer experienced as collective knowledge and may be learned through individual study. In addition, increased lifespan and higher standard of living make personal pleasures, desires, and interests more important. Factors such as family size and whether children have their own rooms probably have a subtle influence as well.
All of these factors foster a sense of individuality, which in turn spurs technological development by creating entrepreneurs, people with highly specialized expertise, and individuals willing to challenge received wisdom. Whether cultural differences such as those that divide Japan and the West will remain despite the pressures of industrialization is a profound psychological question, one that will probably be resolved in future.
16. In this passage the author is mainly concerned with the topic .
A. a cultural vista of self-conception
B. the differences between Western culture and Japanese culture
C. technological development and moral values
D. industrialization and social values
17. Japanese culture is characterized by .
A. autonomy                    B. individualism
C. social relationships        D. work mobility
18. In “but it was countered by cultural proscriptions against it”, the word “proscription” probably means .
A. prescription                 B. prohibition
C. perception                   D. preconception
19. The concept of individual without attachments or duties was not born until .
A. the advent of agriculture
B. the realization of the cultural variations
C. the Industrial Revolution
D. the development of capitalism
20. Technological development promotes individualism for all of the following reasons except .
A. geographical mobility enables people to view themselves in different contexts
B. changing work conditions leads to a sense of individual competence
C. people rely more on actions rather than family ties to get ahead
D. the importance of individual achievement is constantly emphasized in education