2020年考研英语一阅读真题及答案解析

2020年考研英语一阅读真题及答案解析：

Section Ⅰ Use of English
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark
A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
Even if families don’t sit down to eat together as frequently as before, millions of
Britons will nonetheless have got a share this weekend of one of that nation’s great
traditions:the Sunday roast. 1 a cold winter’s day, few culinary pleasures can
2 it. Yet as we report now, the food police are determined that this 3 should be
rendered yet another guilty pleasure 4 to damage our health.
The Food Standards Authority (FSA) has 5 a public warning about the risks
of a compound called acrylamide that forms in some foods cooked 6 high
temperatures. This means that people should 7 crisping their roast potatoes, reject
thin- crust pizzas and only 8 toast their bread.But where is the evidence to
support such alarmist advice? 9 studies have shown that acrylamide can
cause neurological damage in mice, there is no 10 evidence that it causes
cancer in humans.https://www.ienglishcn.com
Scientists say the compound is 11 to cause cancer but have no hard scientific
proof. 12 the precautionary principle, it could be argued that it is 13 to follow
the FSA advice. 14 , it was rumoured that smoking caused cancer for years before
the evidence was found to prove a 15 .
Doubtless a piece of boiled beef can always be 16 up on Sunday
alongside some steamed vegetables, without the Yorkshire pudding and no wine. But
would life be worth living? 17 , the FSA says it is not telling people to cut out roast
foods 18 ,but to reduce their lifetime intake. However, their 19 risks coming
a cross as being pushy and overprotective.Constant health scares just 20 with
one listening.

1. [A] In [B] Towards [C] On [D]Till
2. [A] match [B] express [C] satisfy [D] influence
3. [A] patience [B] enjoyment [C] surprise [D] concern
4. [A] intensified [B] privileged [C] compelled [D] guaranteed
5. [A] issued [B] received [C] ignored [D] cancelled
6. [A] under [B] at [C] for [D] by
7. [A] forget [B] regret [C] finish [D] avoid
8. [A] partially [B] regularly [C] easily [D] initially
9. [A] Unless [B] Since [C] If [D] While
10.[A] secondary [B] external [C] conclusive [D] negative
11.[A] insufficient [B] bound [C] likely [D] slow
12.[A] On the basis of [B] At the cost of [C] In addition to [D] In contrast to
13.[A] interesting [B] advisable [C] urgent [D] fortunate
14.[A] As usual [B] In particular [C] By definition [D] After all
15.[A] resemblance [B] combination [C] connection [D] pattern
16.[A] made [B] served [C] saved [D] used
17.[A] To be fair [B] For instance [C] To be brief [D] In general
18.[A] reluctantly [B] entirely [C] gradually [D] carefully
19.[A] promise [B] experience [C]campaign [D] competition
20.[A] follow up [B] pick up [C]open up [D] end up
SectionⅡ Reading Comprehension
Part A Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B,
C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)

Textl
A group of Labour MPs, among them Yvette Cooper, are bringing in the new
year with a call to institute a UK “town of culture” aw;ud. The proposal is that it
should sit alongside the existing city of culture title, which was held by Hull in 2017,
and has been awarded to Coventry for 2021. Cooper .and her colleagues argue that the
success of the crown for Hull, where it brought in位20m of investment and an
avalanche of arts, ought not to be confmed to cities. Britain’s towns, it is true, are not
prevented from applying, but they generally lack the resources to put together a bid to
beat their bigger competitors. A town of culture award could, it is argued, become an
annual event, attracting funding and creating jobs.
Some might see the proposal as a booby prize for the fact that Britain is no
longer able to apply for the much more prestigious title of European capital of culture,
a sought-after award bagged by Glasgow in 1990 and Liverpool in 2008. A cynic
might speculate that the UK is on the verge of disappearing into an endless fever of
self-celebration in its desperation to reinvent itself for the post-Brexit world: after
town of culture, who knows what will follow-village of culture? Suburb of culture?
Hamlet of culture?
It is also wise to recall that such titles are not a cure-all. A badly run”year of
culture” washes in and washes out of a place like the tide, bringing prominence for a
spell but leaving no lasting benefits to the community. The really successful holders
of such titles are those that do a great deal more than fill hotel bedrooms and bring in
high-profile arts events and good press for a year. They transform the aspirations of
the people who live there; they nudge the self-image of the city into a bolder and
more optimistic light It is hard to get right, and requires a remarkable degree of
vision, as well as cooperation between city authorities, the private sector, community
groups and cultural organisations. www.ienglishcn.com But it can be done: Glasgow’s year as European
capital of culture can certainly be seen as one of a complex series of factors that have
turned the city into the powerhouse of art, music and theatre that it remains today.
A “town of culture” could be not just about the arts but about honouring a town’s
peculiarities helping sustain its high street, supporting local facilities and above all
celebrating its people. Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, should welcome this
positive, hope-filled proposal, and turn it into action .

21. Cooper and her colleagues argue that a “town of culture” award could
[A] consolidate the town-city ties in Britain.
[BJ promote cooperation-among Britain’s towns.
[CJ increase the economic strength of Britain’s towns.
[DJ focus Britain’s limited resources on cultural events.
22. According to Paragraph 2, the proposal might be regarded by some as
[A] a sensible compromise.
[BJ a self-deceiving attempt.
[CJ an eye-catching bonus.
[DJ an inaccessible target.
23. The author suggests that a title holder is successful only if it
[A] endeavours to maintain its image.
[B] meets the aspiration of its people.
[C] brings its local arts to prominence.
[DJ commits to its long-term growth.
24. Glasgow is mentioned in Paragraph 3 to present
[A] a contrasting case.
[B] a supporting example.
[C] a background story.
[D] a related topic.
25. What is the author’s attitude towards the proposal?
[A] Skeptical.
[B] Objective.
[C] Favourable.
[D] Critical.

Text2
Scientific publishing has long been a licence to print money. Scientists need
journals in which to publish their research, so they will supply the articles without
monetary reward Other scientists perform the specialised work of peer review also
for free, because it is a central element in the acquisition of starus and the production
of scientific knowledge.
With the content of papers secured for free, the publisher needs only find a market
for its journal. Until this century, university libraries were not very price sensitive.
Scientific publishers routinely report profit margins approaching 400/4 on their
operations, at a time when the rest of the publis血g industry is in. an existential crisis.
The Dutch giant Elsevier, which claims to publish 25% of the scientific papers
produced in the world, made profits of more than £900m last year, while UK
universities alone spent more than位10m in 2016 to enable researchers to access
their own publicly funded research; both figures seem to rise unstoppably despite
increasingly desperate efforts to chang e them.
The most drastic, an thoroughly illegal, reaction has been the emergence of
Sci-Hub, a kind of global photocopier for scientific papers, set up in 2012, which now
claims to offer access to every paywalled article published since 2015. The success of
Sci-Hub, which relies on researchers passing on copies they have themselves legally
accessed, shows the legal ecosystem has lost legitimacy among its users and must be
transformed so that it works for all participants.
In Britain the move towards open access publishing has been driven by funding
bodies. In some ways it has been very successful. More than half of all British
scientific research is now published under open access terms: either freely available
from the moment of publication, or paywalled for a year or more so that the
publishers can make a profit before being placed! on general release.
Yet the new system has not yet worked out any cheaper for the universities.
Publishers have responded to the demand that they make their product free to readers
by charging their writers fees to cover the costs of prep ring an article. These range
from around£500 to $5,000, and apparently the work gets more expensive the more
that publishers do it A report last year pointed out that the costs both of subscriptions
and of these “article preparation costs” had been steadily rising at a rate above inflation.
In some ways the scientific publishing model resembles the economy of the
social internet: labour is provided free in exchange for the hope of starus, while huge
profits are made by a few big firms who run the market places. In both cases, we need
a rebalancing of power.

26. Scientific publishing is seen as “a licence to print money” partly because
[A] its funding has enjoyed a steady increase.
[B] its marketing strategy has been successful.
[C] its payment for peer review is reduced.
[D] its content acquisition costs nothing.
27. According to Paragraphs 2 and 3, scientific publishers Elsevier have
[A] thrived mainly on university libraries.
[B] gone through an existential crisis.
[C] revived the publishing industry.
[D] financed researchers generously.
28. How does the author feel about the success of Sci-Hub?
[A] Relieved.
[B] Puzzled.
[C] Concerned.
[D] Encouraged.
29. It can be learned from Paragraphs 5 and 6 that open access terms
[A] allow publishers some room to make money.
[B] render publishing much easier for scientists.
[C] reduce the cost of publication substantially.
[D] free universities from financial burdens.
30. Which of the following characterizes the scientific publishing model?
[A] Trial subscription is offered.
[B] Labour triumphs over status.
[C] Costs are well controlled.
[D] The few feed on the many.

Text3
Progressives often support diversity mandates as a path to equality and a way to level
the playing field. But all too often such policies are an insincere form of virtue-signaling
that benefits only the most privileged and does little to help average people.
A pair of bills sponsored by Massachusetts state Senator Jason Lewis and House
Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad, to ensure “gender parity” on boards and
commissions, provide a case in point.
Haddad and Lewis are concerned that more than half the state-government
boards are less than 40 percent female. In order to ensure that elite women have more
such opportunities, they have proposed imposing government quotas. If the bills
become law, state boards and commissions will be required to set aside 50 percent of
board seats for women by 2022.
The bills are similar to a measure recently adopted in Califomia, which last year
became the first state to require gender quotas for private companies. In signing the
measure, California Governor Jerry Brown admitted that the law, which expressly
classifies people on the basis of sex, is probably unconstitutional.
The US Supreme Court frowns on sex-based classifications unless they are
designed to address an “important” policy interest, Because the California law applies
to all boards, even where there is no history of prior discrimination, courts are likely to
rule that the law violates the constitutional guarantee of “equal protection”.
But are such government mandates even necessary? Female participation on
corporate boards may not currently mirror the percentage of women in the general
population, but so what?
The number of women on corporate boards has been steadily increasing without
government interference. According to a study by Catalyst, between 2010 and 2015 the
share of women on the boards of global corporations increased by 54 percent.
Requiring companies to make gender the primary qualification for board
membership will inevitably lead to less experienced private sector boards. That is exactly
what happened when Norway adopted a nationwide corporate gender quota.
Writing in The New Republic, Alice Lee notes that increasing the number of
opportunities for board membership without increasing the pool of qualified women to
serve on such boards has led to a “golden skirt” phenomenon, where the same elite
women scoop up multiple seats on a variety of boards.
Next time somebody pushes corporate quotas as a way to promote gender equity,
remember that such policies are largely self-serving measures that make their sponsors
feelgood but do little to help average women.

31. The author believes that the bills sponsored by Lewis and Haddad will
[A] help little to reduce gender bias.
[B] pose a threat to the state government.
[C] raise women’s position in politics.
[D] greatly broaden career options.
32. Which of the following is true of the Califormia measure?
[A] It has irritated private business owners.
[B] It is welcomed by the Supreme Court.
[C] It may go against the Constitution.
[D] It will settle the prior controversies.
33. The author mentions the study by Catalyst to illustrate
[A] the harm from arbitrary board decision.
[B] the importance of constitutional guarantees.
[C] the pressure on women in global corporations.
[D] the needlessness of government interventions.
34. Norway’s adoption of a nationwide corporate gender quota has led to
[A] the underestimation of elite women’s role.
[B] the objection to female participation on boards.
[C] the entry of unqualified candidates into the board.
[D] the growing tension between labor and management.
35. Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
[A] Women’s need in employment should be considered.
[B] Feasibility should be a prime concern in policymaking.
[C] Everyone should try hard to promote social justice.
[D] Major social issues should be the focus of legislation.

Text4
Last Thursday, the French Senate passed a digital services tax, which would
impose an entirely new tax on large multinationals that provide digital services to
consumers or users in France. Digital services include everything from providing a
platform for selling goods and services online to targeting advertising based on user
data, and the tax applies to gross revenue from such services. Many French politicians
and media outlets have referred to this as a ” GAF A tax,” meaning that it is designed
to apply primarily to companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon—in
other words, multinational tech companies based in the United States.
The digital services tax now awaits the signature of President Emmanuel Macron,
who has expressed support for the measure, and it could go into effect within the next
few weeks. But it has already sparked significant controversy, with the United States
trade representative opening an investigation into whether the tax discriminates against
American companies, which in tum could lead to trade sanctions against France.
The French tax is not just a unilateral move by one country in need of revenue.
Instead, the digital services tax is part of a much larger trend, with countries over the
past few years proposing or putting in place an alphabet soup of new international tax
provisions. They have included Britain’s DPT. (diverted profits tax), Australia’s MAAL
(multmat1onal anti-avoidance law), and India’s SEP (significant economic
presence) test, to name but a few.www.ienglishcn.com. At the same time, the European Union, Spain, Britain
and several other countries have all seriously contemplated digital services taxes.
These unilateral developments differ in their specifics, but they are all designed
to tax multinationals on income and revenue that countries believe they should have a
right to tax, even if international tax rules do not grant them that right. In other words,
they all share a view that the international tax system has failed to keep up with the
current economy.
In response to these many unilateral measures, the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) is currently working with 131 countries to
reach a consensus by the end of 2020 on an international solution. Both France and
the United States are involved in the organization’s work, but France’s digital services
tax and the American response raise questions about what the future holds for the
international tax system.
France’s planned tax is a clear warning: Unless a broad consensus can be
reached on reforming the international tax system, other nations are likely to follow
suit, and American companies will face a cascade of different taxes from dozens of
nations that will prove burdensome and costly.

36.The French Senate has passed a bill to
[A] regulate digital services platforms.
[B] protect French companies” interests.
[C] impose a levy on tech multinationals.
[D] curb the influence of advertising.
37. It can be learned from Paragraph 2 that the digital services tax
[A] may trigger countermeasures against France.
[B] is apt to arouse criticism at home and abroad.
[C] aims to ease mtemat10nal trade tensions.
[D] will prompt the tech giants to quit France.
38. The countries adopting the unilateral measures share the opinion that
[A] redistribution of tech giants’ revenue must be ensured.
[B] the current international tax system needs upgrading.
[C] tech multinationals’monopoly should be prevented.
[D] all countries ought to enjoy equal taxing rights.
39. It can be learned from Paragraph 5 that the OECD’s current work
[A] is being resisted by US companies.
[B] needs to be readjusted immediately.
[C] is faced with uncertain prospects.
[D] needs to in involve more countries.
40. Which of the following might be the best title for this text?
[A] France Is Confronted with Trade Sanctions
[B] France leads the charge on Digital Tax
[C] France Says ” NO” to Tech Multinationals
[D] France Demands a Role in the Digital Economy

PartB
Directions:
Read the following text and answer the questions by choosing the most suitable
subheading from the list A-G for each of the numbered paragraphs (41-45). There are
two extra subheadings. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
[A] Eye fixations are brief
[B] Too much eye contact is instinctively felt to be rude
[C] Eye contact can be a friendly social signal
[D] Personality can affect how a person reacts to eye contact
[E] Biological factors behind eye contact are being investigated
[F] Most people are not comfortable holding eye contact with strangers
[G] Eye contact can also be aggressive.
In a social situation, eye contact with another person can show that you are
paying attention in a friendly way. But it can also be antagonistic such as when a
political candidate turns toward their competitor during a debate and makes eye
contact that signals hostility.Here’s what hard science reveals about eye contact:
巳
We know that a typical infant will instinctively gaze into its mother’s eyes, and
she will look back. This mutual gaze is a major part of the attachment between
mother and child. In adulthood, looking someone else in a pleasant way can be a
complimentary sign of paying attention. It can catch someone’s attention in a
crowded room, “Eye contact and smile” can signal availability and confidence, a
common-sense notion supported in studies by psychologist Monica Moore.
尸
Neuroscientist Bonnie Auyeung found that the hormone oxytocin increased the
amount of eye contact from men toward the interviewer during a brief interview when
the direction of their gaze was recorded. This was also found in high-functioning men
with some autistic spectrum symptoms, who may tend to avoid eye contact. Specific

brain regions that respond during direct gaze are being explored by other researches,
using advanced methods of brain scanning.
巳
With the use of eye-tracking technology, Julia Minson of the Harvard Kennedy
School of Government concluded that eye contact can signal very different kinds of
messages, depending on the situation. While eye contact may be a sign of connection
or trust in friendly situations, it’s more likely to be associated with dominance or
intimidation in adversarial situations. “Whether you’re a politician or a parent, it
might be helpful to keep in mind that trying to maintain eye contact may backfire if
you’re trying to convince someone who has a different set of beliefs than you,”said
Minson.
巳
When we look at a face or a picture, our eyes pause on one spot at a time, often
on the eyes or mouth. These pauses typically occur at about three per second, and the
eyes then jump to another spot, until several important points in the image are
registered like a series of snapshots. How the whole image is then assembled and
perceived is still a mystery although it is the subject of current research.
巳
In people who score high in a test of neuroticism, a personality dimension
associated with self-consciousness and anxiety, eye contact triggered more activity
associated with avoidance,according to the Finnish researcher Jari Hietanen and
colleagues “Our findings indicate that people do not only feel different when they are
the centre of attention but that their brain reactions also differ.” A more direct finding
is that people who scored highly for negative emotions like anxiety looked at others
for shorter periods of time and reported more comfortable feelings when others did
not look directly at them.

Part C Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into
Chinese. Your translation should be written neatly on the ANSWER SHEET. (10
points)
Following the explosion of creativity in Florence during the 14th century known
as the Renaissance, the modern world saw a departure from what it had once known.
It turned from God and the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and instead
favoured a more humanistic approach to being. Renaissance ideas had spread
throughout Europe well into the 17th century,with the arts and sciences flourishing
extraordinarily among those with a more logical disposition. (46) with the Church’s
teachin s and wa s of thinkin ecli sed b the Renaissance the a between the
Medieval and modern eriods had been brid ed leadin to new and unex lored
intellectual territories.
During the Renaissance, the great minds of Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler
and Galileo Galilei demonstrated the power of scientific study and discovery.
(4 7) Before each of their revelations man thinkers at the time had sustained more
ancient wa s of thinkin includin the eocentric view that the Earth was at the
centre of our universe. Copernicus theorized in 1543 that all of the planets that we knew
of revolved not around the Earth, but the Sun, a system that was later upheld by Galileo
at his own expense. Offering up such a theory during a time of high tension between
scientific and religious minds was branded as heresy and any such heretics that
continued to spread these lies were to be punished by imprisonment or even death.
(48) Des ite attem ts b the Church to su ress. this new eneration of lo icians
and rationalists more ex lanations for how the universe functioned were bein made
at a rate that the people could no longer ignore.It was with these great revelations that a
new kind of philosophy founded in reason was born.
The Church’s long-standing dogma was losing the great battle for truth to
rationalists and scientists. This very fact embodied the new ways of thinking that
swept through Europe during most of 17th century. (49) As many took on the duty
of t ·n to inte ate reasonin and scientific hiloso hies into the world the
Renaissance was over and it was time for a new era – the A e of Reason.
The 17th and 18th centuries were times of radical change and curiosity, Scientific
method, reductionism and the www.ienglishcn.com questioning of Church ideals was to be encouraged, as were
ideas of liberty, tolerance and progress. (50) Such actions to seek knowledge and to
understand what information we alread knew were ca tured b the Latin hrase’sa ere
aude’ or’dare to know’ after Immanuel Kant used it in his essay An Answer to the
Question: What is Enlightenment?. It was the purpose and responsibility of great minds
to go forth and seek out the truth, which they believed to be founded in knowledge.

Section m Writing
Part A
51. Directions:
The Students Union of your university has assigned you to inform the international
students about an upcoming singing contest. Write a notice in about I 00 words.
Write your answer on the ANSWER SHEET.
Do not use your own name in the notice. (10 points)
PartB
52. Directions:
Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the picture below. In your essay, you
should
1) describe the picture briefly,
2) interpret the implied meaning, and
3) give your comments.
You should write neatly on the ANSWER SHEET. (20 points) 

2020年考研英语一阅读真题及答案解析
2020年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试
英语试题（一）参考答案
Section I: Use of English (10 points)
1-5: C-A-B-D-A
6-10:B-D-A-D-C
11-15:C-A-B-D-C
16-20:B-A-B-C-D
Section II: Reading Comprehension (60 points) 
Part A (40 points) 
21-25: C-B-D-B-C
26-30: D-A-C-A-D
31-35: A-C-D-C-B
36-40: C-A-B-C-B
Part B (10 points) 
41-45: C-E-G-A-D
Part C (10 points)
46.随着教会的教义和思维方式因文艺复兴而黯然失色，中世纪与近现代社会之间的鸿沟得以弥合，从而出现了新的未被探索的知识领域。
47.在他们揭示每一个科学真理之前，当时的许多思想家一直沿袭着旧时的思维方式，包括地球是我们宇宙中心的地心说。
48.尽管教会试图镇压新一代逻辑学家和理性主义者，但有关宇宙如何运转的阐述却层出不穷，其速度之快不容人们再忽视。
49.当许多人肩负起试图将理性推理和科学信条融入社会的责任时，文艺复兴时代就结束了，而一个崭新的时代——理性时代便开始了。
50.这种寻求知识和了解已知的行为被拉丁短语“sapere aude”,亦即“敢于求知”，描画得淋漓尽致。

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