2007年太奇考研英語強(qiáng)化班授課講義(五)

I. Reading Comprehension:

Text  1

[2006, RC Text 3]

    When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strange happened to the large animals: they suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived. The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans.

    That the seas are being overfished has been known for years. What researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown is just how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass (the amount of living biological matter) of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators (animals that kill and eat other animals) in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then.

    Dr. Worm acknowledges that these figures are conservative. One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Today’s vessels -- can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since no baited hooks would have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around now.

    Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm argue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the data support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the "shifting baseline". The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the maximum sustainable yield that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to do business.  (431 words)

    Notes: game 獵物。vessel 輪船。sonar 聲納定位儀。longline 長線多鉤（捕魚工具）。take … into account 把…考慮進(jìn)去。

1. The extinction of large prehistoric animals is noted to suggest that

[A] large animals were vulnerable to the changing environment.
[B] small species survived as large animals disappeared.
[C] large sea animals may face the same threat today.
[D] slow-growing fish outlive fast-growing ones.

2. We can infer from Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm’s paper that

  [A] the stock of large predators in some old fisheries has reduced by 90%.
  [B] there are only half as many fisheries as there were 15 years ago.
  [C] the catch sizes in new fisheries are only 20% of the original amount.
  [D] the number of large predators dropped faster in new fisheries than in the old.

3. By saying "these figures are conservative" (Line 1, Paragraph 3), Dr. Worm means that

[A] fishing technology has improved rapidly.             [B] the catch-sizes are actually smaller than recorded.
[C] the marine biomass has suffered a greater loss.          [D] the data collected so far are out of date.

4. Dr. Myers and other researchers hold that

  [A] people should look for a baseline that can work for a longer time.
  [B] fisheries should keep their yields below 50% of the biomass.
  [C] the ocean biomass should be restored to its original level.
  [D] people should adjust the fishing baseline to the changing situation.

5. The author seems to be mainly concerned with most fisheries’

  [A] management efficiency.     [B] biomass level.    [C] catch-size limits.     [D] technological application.

Text  2

[2004 RC Text 3]

    When it comes to the slowing economy, Ellen Spero isn’t biting her nails just yet. But the 47-year-old manicurist isn’t cutting, filing or polishing as many nails as she’d like to. Most of her clients spend $12 to $50 weekly, but last month two longtime customers suddenly stopped showing up. Spero blames the softening economy. “I’m a good economic indicator,” she says. “I provide a service that people can do without when they’re concerned about saving some dollars.” So Spero is downscaling, shopping at a middle-brow Dillard’s department store near her suburban Cleveland home, instead of Neiman Marcus. “I don’t know if other clients are going to abandon me, too.” she says.

    Even before Alan Greenspan’s admission that America’s red-hot economy is cooling, lots of working folks had already seen signs of the slowdown themselves. From car dealerships to Gap outlets, sales have been lagging for months as shoppers temper their spending. For retailers, who last year took in 24 percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time. Already, experts say, holiday sales are off 7 percent from last year’s pace. But don’t sound any alarms just yet. Consumers seem only mildly concerned, not panicked, and many say they remain optimistic about the economy’s long-term prospects, even as they do some modest belt-tightening.

    Consumers say they’re not in despair because, despite the dreadful headlines, their own fortunes still feel pretty good. Home prices are holding steady in most regions. In Manhattan, “there’s a new gold rush happening in the $4 million to $10 million range, predominantly fed by Wall Street bonuses,” says broker Barbara Corcoran. In San Francisco, prices are still rising even as frenzied overbidding quiets. “Instead of 20 to 30 offers, now maybe you only get two or three,” says John Deadly, a Bay Area real-estate broker. And most folks still feel pretty comfortable about their ability to find and keep a job.

    Many folks see silver linings to this slowdown. Potential home buyers would cheer for lower interest rates. Employers wouldn’t mind a little fewer bubbles in the job market. Many consumers seem to have been influenced by stock-market swings, which investors now view as a necessary ingredient to a sustained boom. Diners might see an upside, too. Getting a table at Manhattan’s hot new Alain Ducasse restaurant used to be impossible. Not anymore. For that, Greenspan & Co. may still be worth toasting.   (402 words)

    Notes：when it comes to … 當(dāng)談到…時。manicurist指甲修剪師。Gap outlets  Gap休閑裝直銷店。 temper n. 脾氣，情緒；vt. 緩和，減少。real-estate broker 房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)人。frenzied 狂亂的。overbidding 拍賣時出高價壓倒別人。gold rush 淘金熱。lining （衣服）襯里，里子。toast vt. 向…祝酒。

1. By “Ellen Spero isn’t biting her nails just yet” (Line 1, Paragraph 1), the author means

A. Spero can hardly maintain her business.               B. Spero is too much engaged in her work.
C. Spero has grown out of her bad habit.                 D. Spero is not in a desperate situation.

2. How do the public feel about the current economic situation?

A. Optimistic.       B. Confused.         C. Carefree.          D. Panicked.

3. When mentioning “the $4 million to $10 million range” (Paragraph 3) the author is talking about

A. gold market.      B. real estate.        C. stock exchange.    D. venture investment.

4. Why can many people see “silver linings” to the economic slowdown?

A. They would benefit in certain ways.                  B. The stock market shows signs of recover.
C. Such a slowdown usually precedes a boom.            D. The purchasing power would be enhanced

5. To which of the following is the author likely to agree?

A. A new boom, on the horizon.                     B. Tighten the belt, the single remedy.
C. Caution all right, panic not. D. The more ventures, the more chances.

Text  3

    Historians have only recently begun to note the increase in demand for luxury goods and services that took place in eighteenth-century England. McKendrick has explored the Wedgwood firm’s remarkable success in marketing luxury pottery; Plumb has written about the rapid increase of provincial theaters, musical festivals, and children’s toys and books. While the fact of this consumer revolution is hardly in doubt, three key questions remain: Who were the consumers? What were their motives? And what were the effects of the new demand for luxuries?

    An answer to the first of these has been difficult to obtain. Although it has been possible to infer from the goods and services actually produced what manufacturers and servicing trades thought their customers wanted, only a study of relevant personal documents written by actual consumers will provide a precise picture of who wanted what. We still need to know how large this consumer market was and how far down the social scale the consumer demand for luxury goods penetrated. With regard to this last question, we might note in passing that Thompson, while rightly restoring laboring people to the stage of eighteenth-century English history, has probably exaggerated the opposition of these people to the sudden attacks of capitalist consumerism in general. For example, laboring people in eighteenth-century England readily shifted from home-brewed beer to standardized beer produced by huge, heavily capitalized urban breweries.

    To answer the question of why consumers became so eager to buy, some historians have pointed to the ability of manufacturers to advertise in a relatively uncensored press. This, however, hardly seems a sufficient answer. Mckendrick favors a Veblen model of conspicuous consumption stimulated by competition for status. The “middling sort” bought goods and services because they wanted to follow fashions set by the rich. Again, we may wonder whether this explanation is sufficient. Do not people enjoy buying things as a form of self-gratification? If so, consumerism could be seen as a product of the rise of new concepts of individualism and materialism, but not necessarily of the frenzy for conspicuous competition.

    Finally, what were the consequences of this consumer demand for luxuries? McKendrick claims that it goes a long way toward explaining the coming of the Industrial Revolution. But does it? What, for example, does the production of high-quality pottery and toys have to do with the development of iron manufacture or textile mills? It is perfectly possible to have the psychology and reality of a consumer society without a heavy industrial sector. (414 words)

    Notes：in passing 順便。frenzy狂熱。brewery 啤酒廠。uncensored 未經(jīng)新聞檢查的。self-gratification 自我喜悅和滿足。go a long way towards 對…大有幫助。frivolous瑣碎的。foreshadow vt. 預(yù)示…的來臨。