1986—1995年历年考研英语真题集1

1995 年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题

Section ⅠUse of English

Sleep is divided into periods of so-called REM sleep, characterized by rapid eye movements and dreaming, and

longer periods of non-REM sleep. 1 kind of sleep is at all well-understood, but REM sleep is 2 to serve

some restorative function of the brain. The purpose of non-REM sleep is even more 3 . The new experiments,

such as these 4 for the first time at a recent meeting of the Society for Sleep Research in Minneapolis, suggest

2. [A] intended [B] required [C] assumed [D] inferred

3. [A] subtle [B] obvious [C] mysterious [D] doubtful

4. [A] maintained [B] described [C] settled [D] afforded

5. [A] in the light [B] by virtue [C] with the exception [D] for the purpose

6. [A] reduction [B] destruction [C] deprivation [D] restriction

7. [A] upon [B] by [C] through [D] with

8. [A] paid attention to [B] caught sight of [C] laid emphasis on [D] cast light on

9. [A] develop [B] produce [C] stimulate [D] induce

10. [A] if [B] as if [C] only if [D] if only

living. By helping to increase demand it ensures an increased need for labor, and is therefore an effective way to fight

unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four

times as much, the price of your television licence would need to be doubled, and travel by bus or tube would cost 20

per cent more.

And perhaps most important of all, advertising provides a guarantee of reasonable value in the products and

services you buy. Apart from the fact that twenty-seven Acts of Parliament govern the terms of advertising, no regular

advertiser dare promote a product that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements. He might fool some

people for a little while through misleading advertising. He will not do so for long, for mercifully the public has the

good sense not to buy the inferior article more than once. If you see an article consistently advertised, it is the surest

proof I know that the article does what is claimed for it, and that it represents good value.

boring that no one would pay any attention. But perhaps that is what the well-known television personality wants.

11. By the first sentence of the passage the author means that__.

[A] he is fairly familiar with the cost of advertising

[B] everybody knows well that advertising is money consuming

[C] advertising costs money like everything else

[D] it is worthwhile to spend money on advertising

12. In the passage, which of the following is NOT included in the advantages of advertising?

[A] Securing greater fame. [B] Providing more jobs.

[C] Enhancing living standards. [D] Reducing newspaper cost.

[A] advertising can seldom bring material benefit to man by providing information

[B] advertising informs people of new ideas rather than wins them over

[C] there is nothing wrong with advertising in persuading the buyer

[D] the buyer is not interested in getting information from an advertisement

Passage 2

There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed

personal growth as an external result or product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a

promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language—all these are examples of

By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a

journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the

In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to confront the unknown,

and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is

essential to our ability to grow. Do we perceive ourselves as quick and curious? If so, then we tend to take more

chances and to be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think we're shy and indecisive? Then our sense of

timidity can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and not to take a step until we know the ground is safe. Do we think

we’re slow to adapt to change or that we’re not smart enough to cope with a new challenge? Then we are likely to

take a more passive role or not try at all.

These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If

we do not confront and overcome these internal fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease to

grow. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.

16. In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would____.

[A] succeed in climbing up the social ladder

[B] judge his ability to grow from his own achievements

[C] face difficulties and take up challenges

[D] aim high and reach his goal each time

17. When the author says "a new way of being" (line 3, Para. 3) he is referring to__.

[A] a new approach to experiencing the world [B] a new way of taking risks

[C] a new method of perceiving ourselves [D] a new system of adaptation to change

18. For personal growth, the author advocates all of the following except_____.

[A] curiosity about more chances [B] promptness in self-adaptation

Passage 3

capability of the extended family to resolve. Where to turn for expert information and how to determine which expert

advice to accept are questions facing many people today.

In addition to this, there is the growing mobility of people since World War Ⅱ. As families move away from

their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships, the informal flow of

information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be

trustworthy and reliable. The almost unconscious flow of information about the simplest aspects of living can be cut

off. Thus, things once learned subconsciously through the casual communications of the extended family must be

consciously learned.

Adding to societal changes today is an enormous stockpile of information. The individual now has more

information available than any generation, and the task of finding that one piece of information relevant to his or her

Coupled with the growing quantity of information is the development of technologies which enable the storage

and delivery of more information with greater speed to more locations than has ever been possible before. Computer

of communications to report events at the instant of occurrence. Expertise can be shared world wide through

teleconferencing, and problems in dispute can be settled without the participants leaving their homes and/or jobs to

travel to a distant conference site. Technology has facilitated the sharing of information and the storage and delivery

of information, thus making more information available to more people.

In this world of change and complexity, the need for information is of greatest importance. Those people who

have accurate, reliable up-to-date information to solve the day-to-day problems, the critical problems of their business,

social and family life, will survive and succeed. “Knowledge is power” may well be the truest saying and access to

information may be the most critical requirement of all people.

19. The word "it" (line 3, Para. 2) most probably refers to__.

[D] they can hardly carry out casual communications with an extended family.

21 . From the passage we can infer that__.

[A] electronic mail will soon play a dominant role in transmitting messages

[B] it will become more difficult for people to keep secrets in an information era

[C] people will spend less time holding meetings or conferences

[D] events will be reported on the spot mainly through satellites

22. We can learn from the last paragraph that __.

[A] it is necessary to obtain as much

[B] people should make the best use of the information

environment must also have a profound effect, since if competition is important to the parents; it is likely to become a

major factor in the lives of their children.

One place where children soak up A-characteristics is school, which is, by its very nature, a highly competitive

institution. Too many schools adopt the 'win at all costs' moral standard and measure their success by sporting

achievements. The current passion for making children compete against their classmates or against the clock

produces a two-layer system , in which competitive A types seem in some way better than their B-type fellows. Being

too keen to win can have dangerous consequences: remember that Pheidippides, the first marathon runner, dropped

dead seconds after saying: “Rejoice, we conquer!”

By far the worst form of competition in schools is the disproportionate emphasis on examinations. It is a rare

school that allows pupils to concentrate on those things they do well. The merits of competition by examination are

Obviously, it is neither practical nor desirable that all A youngsters change into B’s. The world needs types, and

schools have an important duty to try to fit a child’s personality to his possible future employment. It is top

chemistry and more by such considerations as sensitivity and sympathy. It is surely a mistake to choose our doctors

exclusively from A type stock. B’s are important and should be encouraged.

23. According to the passage, A-type individuals are usually__.

[A] impatient [B] considerate [C] aggressive [D] agreeable

24. The author is strongly opposed to the practice of examinations at schools because__.

[A] the pressure is too great on the students [B] some students are bound to fail

[C] failure rates are too high [D] the results of exanimations are doubtful

25. The selection of medical professionals are currently based on__.

[A] candidates’ sensitivity [B] academic achievements

That experiences influence subsequent behaviour is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity

called remembering. Learning could not occur without the function popularly named memory. Constant practice has

such as effect on memory as to lead to skillful performance on the piano, to recitation of a poem, and even to reading

and understanding these words. So-called intelligent behaviour demands memory, remembering being a primary

requirement for reasoning. The ability to solve any problem or even to recognize that a problem exists depends on

memory. Typically, the decision to cross a street is based on remembering many earlier experiences.

Practice (or review) tends to build and maintain memory for a task or for any learned material. Over a period of

would happen if memories failed to fade. Forgetting clearly aids orientation in time, since old memories weaken and

the new tend to stand out, providing clues for inferring duration. Without forgetting, adaptive ability would suffer; for

example, learned behaviour that might have been correct a decade ago may no longer be. Cases are recorded of

people who (by ordinary standards) forgot so little that their everyday activities were full of confusion. This

forgetting seems to serve that survival of the individual and the species.

Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility

specifically through forgetting. In this view, continual adjustments are made between learning or memory storage

(input) and forgetting (output). Indeed, there is evidence that the rate at which individuals forget is directly related to

how much they have learned. Such data offers gross support of contemporary models of memory that assume an

input-output balance.

27. From the evolutionary point of view, __.

[A] forgetting for lack of practice tends to be obviously inadaptive.

28. According to the passage, if a person never forgot __.

[A] he would survive best [B] he would have a lot of trouble

[C] his ability to learn would be enhanced [D] the evolution of memory would stop

29. From the last paragraph we know that__.

[A] forgetfulness is a response to learning

[B] the memory storage system is an exactly balanced input-output system

[C] memory is a compensation for forgetting

[D] the capacity of a memory storage system is limited because forgetting occurs

30. In this article, the author tries to interpret the function of__.

[A] remembering [B] forgetting [C] adapting [D] experiencing

the fault that lies with ill-informed or incompetent users. The tests themselves are merely tools, with characteristics

that can be measured with reasonable precision under specified conditions. Whether the results will be valuable,