考研英语真题笔记 2020

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英语真题笔记

• 2020
• • 阅读 Text1
  • 阅读 Text2
  • 阅读 Text3
  • 阅读 Text4

2020

阅读 Text1

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response more to actions than to looks 比起外貌,对行动的反应更大
socialize v.社交,使社会化
distinguish from 区分…

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Rats and other animals need to be highly attuned to(高度适应…) social signals(社交信号) from others so that(以便) can identify friends to cooperate with and enemies to avoid(区分要合作的朋友和要避免的敌人). To find out if this extends to non-living beings(延伸到没有生命的生物), Loleh Quinn at the University of California, San Diego, and her colleagues tested whether rats can detect social signals form robotic rats.

They housed(给…房子住) eight adult rats with two types of robotic rat(机械老鼠) — one social(社会的,社交的) and one asocial(非社交的,不合群的) — for four days. The robots rats were quite minimalist(极简主义), resembling a chunkier(chunky矮胖的) version of a computer mouse with wheels to move around and colorful markings(标记).

During the experiment, the social robot rat followed the living rats around, played with the same toys, and opened caged doors to let trapped rats escape(让被困的老鼠逃脱). Meanwhile(同时), the asocial robot simply moved forwards and backwards and side to side.

Next, the researchers trapped the robots in cages(将机器人关进笼子里) and gave the rats the opportunity to release(释放) them by pressing a lever(按压一个控制杆). Across 18 trials each(在18个实验中), the living rats were 52 percent more likely on average to set the social robot free than the asocial one. This suggests that(这表明) the rats perceived(认为,察觉,感觉) the social robot as a genuine(真实的) social being. They may have bonded more with(更紧密的联系) the social robot because it displayed behaviors like communal(公共的,共同的) exploring and playing. This could lead to the rats better remembering having freed it earlier, and wanting the robot to return the favor when they get trapped, says Quinn.

“Rats have been shown to(显示为,被证明为) engage in(参加,从事) multiple(多样的,多种) forms of reciprocal(互惠的,相互的) help and cooperation, including what is referred to as direct reciprocity where a rat will help another rat that has previously helped them,” says Quinn.

The readiness(乐意,准备就绪) of the rats to befriend(和…交朋友) the social robot was surprising given(考虑到,鉴于) its minimal design. The robot was the same size as a regular rat but resembled(类似,像) a simple plastic box on wheels. “We’ d assumed we’ d have to give it a moving head and tail, facial features(面部特折), and put a scent(气味) on it to make it smell like a real rat, but that wasn’t necessary, ”says Janet Wiles at the University of Queensland in Australia, who helped with the research.

The finding shows(解释,说明,显示) how sensitive rats are to social cues(社交暗示), even when they come from basic robots. Similarly(类似地), children tend to treat robots as if(犹如,好似) they are fellow beings, even when they display only simple social signals.“ We humans seem to be fascinated by(着迷于) robots, and it turns out(证明) other animals are too,” says Wiles.

阅读 Text2

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finance more research and development 资助更多的研究和发展
operate more globalized companies 经营更加全球化的公司
the general pay 一般工资,普遍工资
despite 尽管
conservative business strategies 保守的商业策略
justify 证明合法
confirm 确定,批准,巩固

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It is true that(确实) CEO pay(工资) has gone up —— top ones may make 300 times the pay of typical workers on average, and since the mid-1970s CEO pay for large publicly traded American corporations(美国大型上市公司) has, by varying estimates(通过不同的估计), gone up by about 500%. The typical CEO of a top American corporation now makes about $18.9 million(百万) a year.

The best model for understanding the growth of CEO pay is that of limited(有限的) CEO talent(人才) in a world where business opportunities(商业机会) for the top firms are growing rapidly. The efforts of America’s highest-earning 1% have been one of the more dynamic elements of the global economy. It’ s not popular to say(这种说法并不流行). but one reason their pay has gone up so much is that CEOs really have upped their game(提升了表现) relative to many other workers in the U.S economy.

Today’s CEO, at least for major American firms, must have many more skills than simply being able to “run the company”(运营公司). CEOs must have a good sense of financial markets(金融市场意识) and maybe even how the company should trade in them. They also need better public relations skills(公共关系技巧) than their predecessors, as the costs of even a minor(小的) slipup(不幸,错误) can be significant. Then there’ s the fact that large American companies are much more globalized than ever before, with supply chains spread across(遍布) a larger number of countries. To lead in that system requires knowledge that is fairly(相当地) mind-boggling(令人惊讶的). Plus, virtually(事实上,几乎) all major American companies are becoming tech companies. often with their own research and development. And beyond this(除此之外), major CEOs still have to do all the day-to-day(日常) work they have always done.

The common(普遍的,通常的) idea that high CEO pay is mainly about ripping people off(剥削人们) doesn’t explain history very well. By most measures(通过大部分措施), corporate governance(公司治理) has become a lot tighter and more rigorous since the 1970s. Yet it is principally(主要) during this period of stronger governance that CEO pay has been high and rising. That suggests it is in the broader corporate interest to recruit top candidates for increasingly tough jobs.

Furthermore(此外), the highest CEO salaries are paid to outside candidates(外部候选人) not to the cozy insider picks(舒适的内部人士), another sign that(另一迹象表明) high CEO pay is not some kind of depredation(掠夺,破坏) at the expense of the rest of the company(剩余部分,其余人). And the stock market reacts positively when companies tie CEO pay to, say, stock prices, a sign that(表明) those practices build up(增加) corporate value(公司价值) not just for the CEO.

阅读 Text3

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Madrid 马德里(西班牙首都)
Wales 威尔士(英国大不列颠岛西南部地区)
should have done 本该做…但是没有做
auto company 汽车公司
be biased against 对…有偏见
burden 负担

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Madrid was hailed(称颂,冰雹) as a public health beacon(明灯) last November when it rolled out(推出) ambitious(雄心勃勃的) restrictions(限制) on the most polluting cars. Seven months and one election day later, a new conservative city council(委员会) suspended(终止,延缓) enforcement(执行,实施,强制) of the clean air zone(清洁空气区), a first step toward its possible demise(死亡,终止).

Mayor(市长) Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida 把反对这个区作为他的选举运动的核心,尽管它的确提升了空气质量made opposition to the zone a centerpiece(核心) of his election campaign, despite(尽管) its success in improving air quality. A judge has now overruled(推翻) the city’ s decision to stop levying(征收) fines(罚款), ordering them reinstated(恢复). But with legal battles ahead, the zone’s future looks uncertain at best.

Among other(在…之中) weaknesses(弱点,劣势), the measures 定语从句cities must employ(采用,使用,雇佣) when left to tackle dirty air on their own are politically contentious(有争议的), and therefore(因此) vulnerable(脆弱的,易受攻击的). That’s because they inevitably(不可避免地) put the costs of cleaning the air on to individual drivers(个人司机) —— who must pay fees or buy better vehicles —— rather than on to the car manufacturers(汽车生产商) whose cheating(欺骗行为) is the real cause of our toxic pollution(有毒污染).

It’s not hard to imagine a similar(相似的) reversal(逆转) happening in London. The new ultra-low emission zone(Ulez) (超低排放区) is likely to be a big issue in next year’s mayoral election(市长的选取). And if Sadiq Khan wins and extends it to the North and South Circular roads in 2021 as he intends, it is sure to spark(点燃,导致) intense(强烈的) opposition from the far larger number of motorists(汽车司机,驾驶者) who will then be affected.

It’s not that measures such as London’s Ulez are useless. Far from it(远远不是). Local officials are using the levers(手段,杠杆) that are available to them to safeguard residents’ health in the face of a serious threat. The zones do deliver some improvements to air quality, and the science tells us 指上文air qualitythat= means real health benefits —— fewer heart attacks, strokes and premature births(早产), less cancer, dementia(痴呆) and asthma(哮喘). Fewer untimely deaths(早逝).

But mayors and councillors can only do so much about a problem that is far bigger than any one city or town. They are acting because national governments —— Britain’s and others across Europe —— have failed to do so.

Restrictions 定语从句that keep highly polluting cars out of certain areas —— city centers, “school streets”, even individual roads —— are a response to the absence of a larger effort to properly enforce existing regulations and require auto companies to bring their vehicles into compliance(服从,顺从). Wales has introduced special low speed limits to minimize pollution. We’re doing everything but(除了) insist(坚持,强调) that manufacturers clean up their cars.

阅读 Text4

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generation n.一代,产生,一代人
generation z Z一代（指1995年后出生的新新人类）
millennial 千禧年的
habit n.习惯
inhabit v.栖息,居住,占据
inhibit v.抑制,禁止
past generation 上一代

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Now that(既然,由于) members of Generation Z are graduating college this spring —— the most commonly-accepted definition says this generation was born after 1995, give or take a year(误差不超过1年) —— the attention has been rising steadily in recent weeks. Gen Zs are about to hit the streets(走上街头,表示很多人涌入) looking for work in labor market that’s tighter than its been in decades. And employers are planning on hiring about 17 percent more new graduates for jobs in the U.S. this year than last, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Everybody wants to know how the people who will soon inhabit(占据,栖息,居住) those empty office cubicles(隔间) will differ from those who came before them.

If “entitled” is the most common adjective(形容词), fairly or not(公平与否), applied to millennials(应用于千禧一代) (those born between 1981 and 1995), the catchwords(流行语) for Generation Z are practical and cautious. According to the career counselors(职业顾问) and experts who study them, Generation Zs are clear-eyed(头脑清晰的,有洞察力的), economic pragmatists(实用主义者). Despite graduating into the best economy in the past 50 years, Gen Zs know what an economic train wreck(失事,破坏) looks like.

They were impressionable(易受影响的) kids during the crash of 2008, when many of their parents lost their jobs or their life savings(毕生储蓄) or both(两者都). They aren’t interested in taking any chances(尝试机会,抓住机会). The booming economy seems to have done little to assuage(平息,缓和,减轻) this underlying generational(代与代之间的,一代的) sense of anxious urgency(紧迫), especially for those who have college debt(大学债务). College loan(贷款) balances in the U.S. now stand at a record $1.5 trillion(万亿), according to the Federal Reserve(美国联邦储备).

One survey from Accenture found that 88 percent of graduating seniors(应届毕业生) this year chose their major(主修科目) with a job in mind. In a 2019 survey of University of Georgia students, meanwhile, the career office found the most desirable(可取的,称心如意的) trait(特性,品质) in a future employer(雇主) was the ability to offer secure(稳当的) employment(followed by(随后,然后,其次) professional development and training, and then inspiring purpose). Job security or stability was the second most important career goal (work-life balance was number one), followed by a sense of being dedicated to a cause(事业) or to feel good about serving the greater good.

That’s a big change from the previous generation. “Millennials wanted more flexibility(灵活性) in their lives,” notes 解释说明,没啥用Tanya Michelsen, Associate Director of Youth Sight, a UK-based brand manager that conducts regular 60-day surveys of British youth, in findings that might just as well(也,同样地) apply to(适用于) American youth. “Generation Zs are looking for more certainty and stability, because of the rise of the gig economy(零工经济). They have troubles seeing a financial future and they are quite risk averse(规避风险,不愿意承担风险).

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