Part III Reading Comprehension
Section A
What determines the kind of person you are? What factors make you more or less bold, intelligent, or able to read a map? All of these are influenced by the interaction of your genes and the environment in which you were __1__. The study of how genes and environment interact to influence __2__ activity is known as behavioral genetics. Behavioral genetics has made important __3__ to the biological revolution, providing information about the extent to which biology influences mind, brain and behavior.
Any research that suggests that __4__ to perform certain behaviors are based in biology is controversial. Who wants to be told that there are limitations to what you can __5__ based on something that is beyond your control, such as your genes? It is easy to accept that genes control physical characteristics such as sex, race and eye color. But can genes also determine whether people will get divorced, how __6__ they are, or what career they are likely to choose? A concern of psychological scientists is the __7__ to which all of these characteristics are influenced by nature and nurture(养育), by genetic makeup and the environment. Increasingly, science __8__ that genes lay the groundwork for many human traits. From this perspective, people are born __9__ like undeveloped photographs: The image is already captured, but the way it __10__ appears can vary based on the development process. However, the basic picture is there from the beginning.
[A] abilities
[B] achieve
[C] appeal
[D] complaints
[E] contributions
[F] displayed
[G] essentially
[H] eventually
[I] extent
[J] indicates
[K] proceeds
[L] psychological
[M] raised
[N] smart
[O] standard
答案解析：
1. [M] raised raise在这里的意思是"养育"，the environment in which you were raised 意思是"你成长的环境"。
2. [L] psychological "psychological activity"意思是"心理活动"，全句意思是"研究基因和外部环境如何相互作用影响人心理活动的学科被称为行为遗传学"。
3. [E] contributions "make contributions to"为固定搭配，意为"为……做贡献"。
4. [A] abilities "ability to …"意思是"做某事的能力"，在此处，全句意思是"任何一篇宣称人类做出某种行为的能力是基于生物学的研究都是有争议的"。
5. [B] achieve "limitations to what you can achieve"意思是"对你所能达到的水平的限制"。
6. [N] smart 此处需填一个形容词，而且用来形容人，根据题意，smart符合题意，表示"机灵，可爱"。
7. [I] extent 此处填extent，主要是因为后面有to，"to the extent …"译为"……的程度"。
8. [J] indicates indicate 意思是"表明，显示"。全句意为"越来越多的科学(现象)表明基因对人类很多特征有基础作用"。
9. [G] essentially essentially 的意思是"实际上，本质上"。全句意为"从这个角度来讲，人一出生，本质上就像是还没洗出来的照片：相已经照了，但是最终会呈现多少就在于显影的过程了"。
10. [H] eventually eventually 副词，意思是"最终，最后"。
Section B
Preparing for Computer Disasters
A) Summary: When home office computers go down, many small businesses grind to a halt. Fortunately, taking steps to recover from disasters and minimize their effects is quite straightforward.
B) Fires, power surges, and floods, they're all facts of life. We read about them in the morning paper and see them on the evening news. We sympathize with the victims and commiserate over their bad luck. We also shake our heads at the digital consequences—melted computers, system failures, destroyed data. Yet, somehow, many of us continue to live by that old mantra of denial: "It won't happen to me." Well, the truth is, at some point you'll probably have to deal with at least one disaster. That's just how it goes, and in most aspects of our lives we do something about it. We buy insurance. We stow awayprovisions. We even make disaster plans and run drills. But for some reason, computer disaster recovery is a blind spot for many of us. It shouldn't be. Home computers contain some of our most important information, both business and personal, and making certain our data survives a disaster should be a priority. Moreover, even the smallest disaster can be a serious disruption. Personal computers have become an integral part of the smooth-running household. We use them to communicate, shop, and do homework, and they're even more vital to home office users. When home office computers go down, many small businesses grind to a halt. Fortunately, taking steps to recover from disasters and minimize their effects is quite straightforward. With a good offsite storage plan and the right tools, you can bounce back quickly and easily from minor computer disasters. And, should a major calamity strike, you can rest assured your data is safe.
Offsite Storage: Major Disasters
C) House fires and floods are among the most devastating causes of personal computer destruction. That's why a solid offsite backup and recovery plan is essential. Although many home users faithfully back up their hard drives, many would still lose all their data should their house flood our burn. That's because they keep their backups in relatively close to their computers. Their backup disks might not be in the same room as their computers—tucked away in a closet or even the garage—but they're not nearly far enough away should a serious disaster strike. So, it's important to back up your system to a removable medium and to store it elsewhere.
D) There are many ways to approach offsite storage. It starts with choice of backup tools and storage medium. Disaster situations are stressful, and your recovery tools shouldn't add to that stress. They must be dependable and intuitive, making it easy to schedule regular backups and to retrieve files in a pinch. They must also be compatible with your choice of backup medium. Depending on your tools, you can back up to a variety of durable disk types—from CDs to Jaz drives to remote network servers. Although many of these storage media have high capacity, a backup tool with compression capabilities is a big plus, eliminating the inconvenience of multiple disks or large uploads.
E) Once you select your tools and a suitable medium, you need to find a remote place to store your backups. The options are endless. However, no matter where you choose, be sure the site is secure, easily accessible, and a good distance away from your home. You may also want to consider using an Internet-based backup service. More and more service providers are offering storage space on their servers, and uploading files to a remote location has become an attractive alternative to conventional offsite storage. Of course, before using one of these services, make certain you completely trust the service provider and its security methods. Whatever you do, schedule backups regularly and store them far away from your home.
F) Not all home computer damage results from physical disaster. Many less menacing problems can also hobble your PC or destroy your information. Systems crash, kids "rearrange" data, adults inadvertently delete files. Although these events might not seemcalamitous, they can have serious implications. So, once again, it's important to be prepared. As with physical disasters, regular backups are essential. However, some of these smaller issues require a response that's more nuanced than wholesale backup and restoration. To deal with less-than-total disaster, your tool set must be both powerful andagile. For example, when a small number of files are compromised, you may want to retrieve those files alone. Meanwhile, if just your settings are affected, you'll want a simple way to roll back to your preferred setup. Yet, should your operating system fail, you'll need a way to boot your computer and perform large-scale recovery. Computer crises come in all shapes and sizes, and your backup and recovery tools must be flexible enough to meet each challenge.
The Right Tools for the Right Job: Gearing up for Disaster
G) When disaster strikes, the quality of your backup tools can make the difference between utter frustration and peace of mind. Symantec understands this and offers a range of top quality backup and recovery solutions. Norton GoBack is the perfect tool for random system crashes, failed installations, and inadvertent deletions. With this powerful and convenient solution, it's simple to retrieve overwritten files or to bring your system back to its pre-crash state. Norton Ghost is a time-tested home office solution. Equipped to handle full-scale backups, it's also handy for cloning hard drives and facilitating system upgrades. A favorite choice for IT professionals, it's the ideal tool for the burgeoning home office. You can buy Norton Ghost and Norton GoBack separately, or get them both when you purchase Norton System Works.
H) Life's disasters, large and small, often catch us by surprise. However, with a little planning and the right tools, you can reduce those disasters to bumps in the road. So, don't wait another day. Buy a good set of disaster recovery tools, set up an automatic backup schedule, and perform a dry run every now and again. Then, rest easy.
对应题目：
1. You should take steps to recover from computer disasters so as to minimize their effects.
2. For some reason, computer disaster recovery is always ignored by many of us.
3. You can bounce back quickly and easily minor computer disasters with the help of a good offsite storage plan and the right tools.
4. The most devastating causes of personal computer destruction includes house fires and floods.
5. It's necessary for us to back up our systems to some transferable medium and to put it somewhere else.
6. You should find a distant place to store your backups after selecting your tools and a suitable medium.
7. Not only physical disaster can damage your computer.
8. The backup and recovery tools must be flexible enough to deal with various computer crises.
9. The quality of your backup tools determines whether you are frustrated or have a peaceful mind when disaster strikes.
10. You should prepare for your computer disasters now and again.
答案参考：
1. A 根据题干中的信息词recover from computer disasters定位到本文的第一段。
2. B 根据题干中的信息词computer disaster recovery和many of us定位到本文的第二段第11句话，computer disaster recovery is a blind spot for many of us。
3. B 根据题干中的信息词offsite storage plan and the right tools定位到本文的第二段倒数第二句话。
4. C 根据题干中的信息词most devastating causes定位到第一个小标题下第一段的第一句话可知原文提到了家庭火灾和水灾是个人电脑危机的最具毁灭性的根源。
5. C 根据题干中的信息词back up our system及medium定位到第一个小标题下第一段的最后一句话。
6. E 根据题干中的信息词find a remote place to store your backups定位到第一个小标题下第三段的第一句话。
7. F 根据题干中的信息词physical disaster定位到第二个小标题下的前两句话。
8. F 根据题干中的信息词backup and recovery tools及computer crises定位到第二个小标题下的最后一句话。
9. G 根据题干中的信息词The quality of your backup tools和frustrated定位到第三个小标题下第一段的第一句话。
10. H 根据题干中的信息词prepare for your computer，总结文章最后一段大意即可找到答案。
Section C
passage one
Many private institutions of higher education around the country are in danger. Not all will be saved, andperhaps not all deserve to be saved. There are low-quality schools just as there are low-quality business.We have no obligation to save them simply because they exist.
But many thriving institutions that deserve to continue are threatened. They are doing a fine job educationally, but they are caught in a financial squeeze, with no way to reduce rising costs or increase revenuessignificantly. Raising tuition doesn’t bring in more revenue, for each time tuition goes up, the enrollment goes down, or the amount that must be given away in student aid goes up. Schools are bad businesses, whether public or private, not usually because of mismanagement but because of the nature of the enterprise.They lose money on every customer, and they can go bankrupt either from too few students or too many students. Even a very good college is a very bad business.
It is such colleges, thriving but threatened, I worry about. Low enrollment is not their chief problem. Even with full enrollments, they may go under. Efforts to save them, and preferably to keep them private, are a national necessity. There is no basis for arguing that private schools are inherently (固有地)better than public schools. Examples to the contrary abound. Anyone can name state universities and colleges that rank as the finest in the nation and the world. It is now inevitable that public institutions will be dominant, and therefore diversity is a national necessity. Diversity in the way we support schools tends to give us a healthy diversity in the forms of education. In an imperfect society such as ours, uniformity of education throughout the nation could be dangerous. In an imperfect society, diversity is a positive good. Enthusiastic supporters of public higher education know the importance of sustaining private higher education.
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.According to the author's opinion, schools are bad businesses because of _______.
A. mismanagement
B. too few students
C. financial squeeze
D. their characteristics
2.The author used the phrase “go under" in Para. 3 to mean "_______".
A. get into difficulties
B. have low enrollment
C. have little money
D. bring in more money
3.We can reasonably conclude from this passage that the author made an appeal to the public in order to support_____
A. public institution
B. private schools
C. uniformity of education
D. diversity of education
4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about private schools?
A. High-quality private schools deserve to be saved.
B. If the tuition of the private schools is raised, the enrollment goes down.
C. There are many cases to show that public schools are better than private schools.
D. Private schools are more profitable than public schools.
5.Which of the following ways could possibly save private schools?
A. Raising tuition.
B. Full enrollment.
C. National awareness and support.
D. Reduction of rising costs.
参考答案：
1.[D] 事实细节题。本题考查因果关系。第2段倒数第3句中的“not because of... but because of...”指出了nature就是原因所在，characteristics是nature的近义词，故D正确。
2.[A] 词义理解题。通过go under所在句子中的Even with......可知，该句与上一句形成对比，这两句中的enrollment是相对应的，所以go under应该也与上文的problem相对应，由此可推断，go under就是have problem/ difficulty之义。本题最具干扰性的是C，但文中并无细节具体说明即使入学人数满额学校收人也很少的问题，因此C把problem定义得过细，不如A恰当。
3.[B] 推理判断题，也是主旨大意题。文章一开头就指出“许多私立髙等学校都处于危险之中”，引起读者的关注，结尾句明确倡议支持公立髙等教育的人们应该同样支持私立髙等教育，由此可见,B是本文的目的。本题最具干扰性的是D，D的说法在最后一段中多次提到，但是作者提出办学多样性是为了说明私立教育的重要性，故D只是本文主题(私立教育)的支持性细节，并非本文的中心话题。
4.[D] 事实细节题。可用排除法找出答案。A可从第1段推断得出;B可在第2段第3句中找到;C可从最后一段中间找到。
5.[C] 推理判断题。可用排除法找出答案，根据原文，第2段第3句可证明A不可行;最后一段第3句证明B不可行;第2段第2句也指出D行不通。本文的目的是为了提高公众对私立教育的关注，由此可见，只有C是拯救私立高校的可行性方法。
passage two
One of the bitterest and most time-worm debates in student union bars up and down the country is resolved as academic research confirms that in financial terms at least, arts degrees are a complete waste of time.Getting through university boosts students’earnings by 25%, on a weighted average, or $220,000 over theirlifetime, according to Professor Ian Walker of Warwick University-but if they study Shakespeare or the peasants’revolt instead of anatomy of contract law, those gains are likely to be completely wiped out.
The government is about to allow universities to charge students up to $3,000 a year for their degrees, arguing that it’s a small price to pay compared with the financial rewards graduates reap later in life. But Prof. Walker’s research shows there are sharp variations in returns according to which subject a student takes.
Law, medicine and economics or business are the most lucrative choices, making their average earnings 25% higher, according to the article, published in the office for national statistics’monthly journal. Scientists get 10-15% extra. At the bottom of the list are arts subjects, which make only a “small ”differenceto earnings- a small negative one, in fact. Just ahead are degrees in education-which leave hard pressed teachers anaverage of 5% better off a year than if they had left school at 18.
“it’s hard to resist the conclusion that what students learn does matter a lot; and some subject areas givemore modest financial returns than others,” Prof. Walker said. As an economist, he was quick to point outthat students might gain non-financial returns from arts degrees:”Studying economics might be very dull, forexample, and studying post-modernism might be a lot of fun.”
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.What is the best title for the passage?
A.Professor Walker’s Research
B.How to Make Big Money.
C.Differences Between Science and Arts Degrees.
D.Studying Arts Has Negative Financial Outcome.
2.Universities charge students a rather high tuition mainly because_____
A.they provide the students with very prosperous subjects to learn
B.they assume that their graduates can earn much more than they had paid
C.they don’t get financial support from the government
D.they need much revenue to support the educational expenses
3.The word “lucrative”(Line 1, Para. 4) most probably means _____
A.sensible
B.creative
C.profitable
D.reliable
4.Law, medical and business graduates could earn 25% more than ______
A.education graduates
B.arts graduates
C.those who had not studied at the university
D.the average income
5.We can safely conclude that the author ______
A.regards arts degrees as meaningless
B.finds this result disappointing and unfair
C.wants the students to think twice before they decide what to learn in college
D.holds that arts degrees are still rewarding despite its scarce financial returns
参考答案：
1.[D] 主旨大意题。本文为Walker教授的研究成果，旨在说明不同专业的毕业生有不同的经济回报，并非要传授发财心得或者比较文理科的异同。文章首句即为本题解题关键，故D正确。
2.[B] 事实细节题。定位至第3段第1句。本文只有这一句与收取学费有关，后一个分句即前一个分句的理由，抓住其中隐含的因果关系就不难找到正确答案。
3.[C] 词义理解题。通过下文数据earnings 25% higher和get 10-15% extra可以推测lucrative大意应为“给人带来丰厚收入的”,故选C。
4.[C] 事实细节题。第4段中出现了几个比较数字，考题要求找到此段首句提到的收人增加25%的参照点。第2段第1句中的Getting through university 表明这类学生收人增加25%的参照对象是没读大学的人，且从第4段第3句中的the list和第4句即可以确定这一段是在比较大学毕业与18岁毕业(即没读大学)收入的不同，因此C正确。
5.[D] 推理判断题。结论往往出现在文章结尾,要想答对此题,一定要仔细体会本文末句。本文虽然重点讨论文科没有经济效益，但是作者并没有做出主观判断，故A、B、C都不正确，而作者在文章最后讲到了人文学科虽然经济效益不佳但学习过程更有趣，故D符合作者意思。
