2018年可锐考研英语阅读真题

第一篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读真题

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2018年可锐考研英语阅读真题范文

（一）Democrats and global warming

A RECENT sketch on Saturday Night Live suggested how the world would be if Al Gore had won the presidency in 2000.In the last six years we have been able to stop global warming, intoned Mr Gore.No one could have predicted the negative results of this.Glaciers that once were melting are now on the attack.Nerdy environmentalism is Mr Gore s forte.He would have ridden that hobby horse in the 2000 campaign, according to Joe Klein in Politics Lost , if his political consultants had not muzzled him.Now, almost alone, he has brought his favourite issue back into the political spotlight.His film about the horrors of global warming, An Inconvenient Truth , opened this week in Los Angeles and New York.With it comes inevitable talk of another try at the presidency.Mr Gore consistently waves that away.But other prominent Democrats are raising their voices for the cause.This week Senator Hillary Clinton urged action on global warming in a big speech on energy policy in Washington, DC.Notably, she praised Mr Gore as a committed visionary on global warming for more than two decades.Last week, her husband Bill told graduates at the University of Texas s public affairs school in Austin-as temperatures outside soared to 34°C-that Climate change is more remote than terror, but a more profound threat.Do voters care? Although a Gallup poll this spring found that 67% of respondents thought the quality of the environment was getting worse , climate change is hardly in the class of Iraq or health care.And it is still rare for politicians to mention it on the stump.Bill Ritter, the Democratic nominee for governor in Colorado, notes that global warming is a worry for the ski industry in his state-but says his audiences care more about the quality of their water or their air.Most midwestern politicians nowadays cannot talk enough about alternative fuels, but they link them to the economy rather than climate change, hoping for a boost for local corn or soyabean farmers.A few bad hurricanes may change that indifference.The 2006 season begins next week, and federal meteorologists predict it will be particularly nasty.Although conservatives have vigorously disputed the link between global warming and last year s dreadful storms, another Katrina could push people over the edge.Gregg Easterbrook of the Brookings Institution, a think tank, says that politicians also need a new tack.Instead of dwelling on gloom and doom, they should appeal to American optimism, emphasising that the problem can probably be solved after all, and cheaper and faster than anyone thinks.And what about conservatives? George Bush has recently conceded that America is addicted to oil , but he still argues about the causes of global warming.John McCain, another possible presidential contender in 2008, has been out in front.He has sponsored legislation for cap and trade emissions of greenhouse gases, and declared in a recent speech in Phoenix that Climate 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

change is real and is having a major impact on our way of life.二．

Senate inquiry in loan case is studying stock transfer

An Education Department official and financial aid directors at three universities received stock in a student loan company from the company s current president in what may have been a violation of securities law, Senate aides looking into the transactions say.In various documents that have been turned over to staff members working for Senator Edward M.Kennedy, the president of the company described the transfers as gifts.But at least one recipient of the shares has said he paid for the stock.Because the executive, Fabrizio Balestri of Student Loan Xpress, had acquired the shares in a private placement of stock that restricts how it can be transferred, the gifts-or sale-may have run afoul of federal securities laws, said Mr.Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who heads the Senate education committee.Yesterday he called on federal regulators to investigate the transactions.The senator s staff has been investigating relations between loan companies and universities.The disclosures last week that the financial aid administrators owned the stock have prompted concerns that they had an incentive to steer students to the loan company.The government official helped oversee lenders in the federal student loan program.The documents describing the transfers of stock as gifts were signed by Mr.Balestri and his wife.They contradict what one financial aid director said in an interview last week.That official, Lawrence Burt of the University of Texas at Austin, said he had paid $1,000 for 1,500 shares.Mr.Burt could not be reached for comment last night.Mr.Balestri transferred stock not only to Mr.Burt but also to David Charlow, financial aid director for Columbia s undergraduate college and its engineering school;Catherine Thomas, director of financial aid at the University of Southern California;and Matteo Fontana, general manager in a unit of the Office of Federal Student Aid at the Department of Education.In recent days, all four have been put on leave by their employers.Senate aides said that for each $10,000 in the private placement, investors had received 10,000 shares and 5,000 warrants, or options to purchase additional stock before a certain date, in Education Lending Group, which was then the parent of Student Loan Xpress.Mr.Balestri obtained $80,000 worth of stock and kept none of it, according to the documents.In a personal list called memorandums of gift , he wrote that he gave away 80,000 shares to 16 people on Dec.31, 2001.That was one day before he began work at the company as its president.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

The 2001 private placement raised $3.7 million for Education Lending and was authorized by that company s chief executive, Robert deRose.At the time, the stock was trading between $1 and $2 a share.It is not clear who purchased the rest of the shares or whether anyone else at the company had knowledge of Mr.Balestri s transfers.violation

n.违反, 违背, 妨碍, 侵害, [体]违例

afoul

a.冲撞的，纠缠的ad.冲突着, 碰撞着

securities law证券法

steer

v.驾驶，掌舵

[真题例句] Much of the language used to describe monetary policy, such as steering the economy to a soft landing or a touch on the brakes , makes it sound like a precise science.[1997年阅读5]

[例句精译] 很多用来描述货币政策的词，如 引导经济软着陆、经济刹车，使货币政策听起来像是一门精确的科学。

warrant

n.①正当理由;②许可证，委任状;v.保证，担保

三．

The world since September 11th

IT STANDS to reason that 19 men cannot change history.But they did.Five years and two Americanled wars later, the world created by the September 11th hijackers is a darker place than almost anyone predicted at the start of the new century.Al Qaeda itself may have been battered and dispersed, but the idea it stands for has spread its poison far and wide.The essence of that idea, so far as a coherent one can be distilled from the ferment of broadcasts and fat was issued by Osama bin Laden and his disciples, is that Islam is everywhere under attack by the infidel and that every Muslim has a duty to wage holy war, jihad, in its defence.America is deemed a special target for having trespassed on the Arab heartland.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

Intoxicated by their defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the jihadists are hungry to topple another superpower.This cause had deadly adherents before the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre in 2001.Mr bin Laden issued his Declaration of the World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders in 1998, the year alQaeda bombed two American embassies in East Africa.But an honest tally of the record since September 11th has to conclude that the number of jihadists and their sympathisers has probably multiplied many times since then.It has multiplied, moreover, partly as a result of the way America responded.The first of the two wars George Bush launched after September 11th looked initially like a success, and compared with the second it still is.AlQaeda operated openly in Afghanistan and enjoyed the protection of its noxious Taliban regime, which refused America s request to hand Mr bin Laden over.America s invasion, one month after America itself had been attacked, therefore enjoyed broad international support.The fighting ended swiftly and the political aftermath went as well as could be expected in a polity as tangled as Afghanistan s.By 2004 a firstever free election had legitimated the presidency of Hamid Karzai.A ramshackle but representative parliament took office in 2005.The country is plagued by warlordism and the opium trade, and Taliban fighters are mounting a challenge in the south.But they do not yet look capable of dislodging the new government in Kabul.Even though Mr bin Laden himself eluded America s forces in Afghanistan, the invasion deprived alQaeda of a haven for planning and training.This achievement, however, was cancelled out by the consequences of Mr Bush s second war: the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.There, three and a half years on, fighting and terrorism kill hundreds every month, providing the jihadists with both a banner around which to recruit and a live arena in which to sharpen their military skills.Why has Iraq turned out so much worse than Afghanistan? Not only because of the familiar catalogue of Rumsfeldian incompetence-disbanding Iraq s army, committing too few American troops-but also because of alQaeda itself.Like most Sunni extremists, some in alQaeda regard Shia Muslims as virtual apostates.Abu Musab alZarqawi, the movement s leader in Iraq, managed before being killed last June to organise so many attacks on Shias and their holy places that after a long forbearance the Shias at last struck back, turning what had been an insurgency against the Americans and the new government into a bitter sectarian war.

第二篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读真题解析

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2018年可锐考研英语阅读真题解析

（二）三、英学业间断期

Talk to any parent of a student who took an adventurous gap year and a misty look will come into their eyes.There are some disasters and even the most motivated, organised gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional and physical.The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has matured their offspring;it is vicarious living.We all wish pre-university gap years had been the fashion in our day.We can see how much tougher our kids become;how much more prepared to benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something other than a degree.Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities and private companies offering them.Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but the trend has been gathering steam for a decade.The range of gap packages starts with backpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, very commonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English.With this trend, however, comes a danger.Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would-be undergraduate’s progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paid employment, as the gap companies’ blurbs suggest it might be, then parents will start organising—and paying for—the gaps.Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies’ umbrella organisation, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning.That can be the fault of the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation.“When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they have not been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality.”

The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thing that he or she fancies.Kids don’t mature if mum and dad decide how they are going to mature.If the 18-year-old’s way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking up sunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then that’s what will be productive for that person.The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantage and that the prime mover needs to be the student.The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks’ notice to Canada to learn to be a snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than a hangover.The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest of his year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply for university, is the positive counterbalance.1.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that parents of gap students may_____.[A] help children to be prepared for disasters [B] receive all kinds of support from their 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

children

[C] have rich experience in bringing up their offspring [D] experience watching children grow up

2.According to the text, which of the following is true?

[A] the popularity of gap years results from an increasing number of charities.[B] Prince William was working hard during his gap year.[C] gap years are not as fashionable as they were ten years ago.[D] a well-structured gap year is a guarantee of university success.3.The word “packages” means_____.[A] parcels carried in travelling [B] a comprehensive set of activities

[C] something presented in a particular way [D] charity actions

4.What can cause the disasters of gap years?

[A] Intervention of parents.[B] Careful planning.[C] Good health.[D] Realistic expectation.5.An 18-year-old is believed to take a meaningful gap year when he/she_____.[A] lives up to his/her parents’ expectations [B] spends time being lazy and doing nothing

[C] learns skills by spending parents’ money [D] earns his or her living and gains working experience

答案：1.D 2.B 3.B 4.A 5.D

核心词汇和超纲词汇

a gap year学业间断的一年，间断年

vicarious间接感受到的，如He got a ~ thrill out of watching his son score the winning goal

package包，盒，袋;一套东西，一套建议，一揽子交易，如a benefits ~一套福利措施an aid ~综合援助计划

backpack背包旅行 go ~ing 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

umbrella综合体，总体，整体，如an ~ group/fund综合团体/基金

fork out大量花钱，大把掏钱

slob懒惰而邋遢的人slob out/around游手好闲，无所事事

structure结构，构造;精心组织，周密安排，体系

dispatch派遣，调遣，派出;发出，发送

at short notice随时，没有提前很长时间通知，at two week’s notice提前两周通知

hangover遗留的感觉，如the insecure feeling that was a ~ from her childhood

counterbalance抗衡，抵消;对„„起平衡作用;平衡抵消物，抗衡

全文翻译

与度过了新奇的学业间断年的孩子的父母交谈，他们的眼神中会有一种含糊不清的东西。这一年中有一些危机，即使是目的明确、很有条理的学生，在间断年期间也需要家庭从经济上、情感上和体力上给予帮助。父母眼中的含糊不仅仅是因为让他们的孩子成熟起来的美好经历，也是因为他们自己间接感受到的生活方式。我们都希望在我们那个时代大学前的间断年就已经很时兴了。我们能看着孩子们变得更坚强，更好地准备从上大学中有所收获或者积极地决定他们将做一些除了获得学历之外的事情。

学业间断年现在很时兴，这反映在提供它们的慈善团体和私人公司的数目呈巨额增长。威廉王子在智利吃苦的事情发挥了作用，但这种趋势十年来一直在加强。学业间断年期间的一整套活动从背包旅行开始，包括和慈善团体一起工作，修建医院和学校，以及常见的做语言助教、教英语。然而，随着这种趋势而来的也有危险。一旦父母相信那些学业间断年公司介绍的内容，认为精心安排的一个间断年对于想成为本科生的孩子进入更好的大学，获得高学历，得到令人印象深刻的简历和待遇良好的工作是至关重要的，那么他们就会开始组织并资助间断年期间的活动。

按照学业间断年公司综合机构“走出学业间断年团体”的负责人理查德·奥利弗埃的观点，出现问题往往是因为计划不周。他说，“这可能是公司或学生的责任，但是最保险的方法是作好审慎的准备。当人们把它搞砸时，往往是因为健康问题，尤其是女孩，因为她们从未离开过家，或者期望与现实不符”。

学业间断年的意义在于它应该是离校生开始做自己喜欢做的事情的时候。如果由父母来决定孩子怎样成熟，那么他们不会真地变成熟。如果18岁时变成熟的方式是在伦敦汉普斯泰德石南园中无所事事地晒太阳，或者花上一年时间和康沃尔郡的渔夫一起工作，那么对于另外一个人来说将是有所收获的。然而，多数人却认为进行某种安排是有利的，而且行动的安排者应是学生自己。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

如果18岁的年轻人两周前得到父母的通知，被派去加拿大花5,800英镑学习成为一名滑雪教练，回来后可能只会留下很少的感觉。同样的18岁的年轻人，先通过工作赚钱，再用一年中剩下的时间在从新西兰到瑞士的多个避暑胜地执教，回来后申请大学，这样的经历则是完全不同的积极的做法。

四、生态环境恐怖主义

Islamic terrorism may be a distant threat for Shearer Lumber Products, a timber company based in Idaho.But eco-terrorism is a very real one.In November, the Earth Liberation Front , an underground organization, gave warning that it had“spiked”trees in the Nez Perce national forest to protest against logging.Spiking involves hiding metal bars in tree trunks, thereby potentially crippling chain saws and hurting people.More such attacks are expected.How do they fit into America’s war on terrorism?

The nation’s forests have seen a sharp increase in violent incidents—equipment vandalized, people intimidated—over the past ten years.Shearer now carefully inspects every tree before cutting and has been using metal detectors to check every trunk being processed.Yet Ihor Mereszczak, of the Nez Perce Forest Service, says it has been hard to get the FBI’s attention, and investigations have got nowhere.The ELF is only one thread in a web of underground radical environmentalists.Its aim is to inflict as much financial pain as possible on organizations or people who, by its lights, are exploiting the environment.The ELF, though made up of anonymous cells, nonetheless operates a website offering tips on how to cause fires with electric timers.Until recently, it also had a public spokesman.Together with the Animal Liberation Front , which operates along the same lines, the ELF is estimated to be responsible for over $45m-worth of damage in North America over the past few years.In 1998, it caused fires that did $12m-worth of damage in Vail, Colorado, to make the point that the ski resort’s expansion was threatening places where lynxes live.Earlier this year, the ELF burned down the offices of a lumber company in Oregon.Since September 11th, the ALF and ELF have claimed responsibility for starting a fire at a primate research center in New Mexico, releasing mink from an Iowa fur farm, and firebombing a federal corral for wild horses in California.Are they terrorists? The two groups reject the label, claiming to take all precautions against harming “animals, whether humans or not”.But earlier this year Louis Freeh, the FBI’s boss, listed both organizations among the most active domestic terrorist groups.Scott McInnis, the Republican congressman whose district includes Vail, argues it is only a matter of time before somebody gets hurt, and he now expects the FBI to put in more resources.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

The House subcommittee on forests, which Mr McInnis heads, will hold a hearing on eco-terrorism in February.But he has annoyed some mainstream green groups by asking them to denounce the ELF’s and ALF’s methods.Greenpeace, for instance, says that its disapproval is self-evident, and resents being asked to express it.Mr.McInnis still wants their answer by December 1st, but the war on eco-terrorism is off to a rocky start.1.What did the ELF do to Shearer Lumber Products?

[A] Hurt its employees.[B] Crippled its equipments.[C] Hid metals in its trees.[D] Protested against its spiking.2.We can infer from the passage that_____.[A] Shearer has experienced many violent incidents [B] new tools have been used to investigate terrorists

[C] FBI has been active in the war on eco-terrorism [D] ELF openly declares its beliefs and ends

3.According to ELF, all of the following are environmentally harmful except_____.[A] causing fire in the houses [B] expanding ski resort [C] doing research on animals [D] invading into animal habitats

4.It is true of radical environmentalists that they_____.[A] aim at causing damage to companies [B] resort to violence to achieve their purpose

[C] will do no harm to real people [D] are divided on opinions about terrorism

5.The best title for the text may be_____.[A] The Green Threat [B] Protecting Forests [C] Earth’s Liberation [D] Terrorism Defeated 答案：1.C 2.D 3.A 4.B 5.A 核心词汇和超纲词汇

spike尖状物，尖头;鞋钉用尖物刺入

cripple使残废，使跛，使成瘸子;严重损坏;伤残人，残疾人，有缺陷的人

vandalize摧残，破坏，任意破坏 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

cell牢房;细胞;小隔室;电池;政治小组，基层组织，如a terrorist ~

along/on the lines按„„方式

denounce公开指责，公然抨击，谴责

全文翻译

对于驻爱达荷的希勒木材产品公司来说，伊斯兰恐怖主义也许是遥远的威胁。但是生态恐怖主义是确实存在的威胁。十一月份的时候，地下组织“地球解放阵线” 警告说他已在内兹佩尔塞国家森林的树木中“钉了钉子”以抗议伐木行为。“钉钉子”包括在树干中藏金属棒，从而破坏链锯并有可能伤到人。更多类似的攻击还会发生。它们怎样归入美国对抗恐怖主义的战斗中呢?

过去十年中，国家森林里的暴力事件急剧增多。如今希勒在砍树前仔细检查每一棵树，并一直使用金属探测器检查所有被加工的树干。然而，内兹佩尔塞国家森林服务中心的Ihor Mereszczak说，很难引起美国联邦调查局的注意，调查也毫无进展。

“地球解放阵线”只是地下激进环保主义组织中的一员。它的目的是让那些根据它的标准破坏了环境的个人或组织在经济上尽可能蒙受巨大的损失。该组织虽然由匿名的小组组成，却经营着一个网站就如何用电子计时器纵火给予提示。最近它还有了公共发言人。

“地球解放阵线”和按同一种方式运行的“动物解放阵线”一起，估计在过去几年中造成了多达四千五百万元的损失。比如,1998年“地球解放阵线”在科罗拉多州的唯尔因抗议滑雪胜地的扩建威胁了山猫的居所而放火;今年初它在俄勒冈州又烧毁了一家伐木公司的办公室;以及自九月十一日以来，它和同性质的“动物解放阵线”一起，声称对以下事件负责：新墨西哥州一家灵长类动物研究中心的纵火事件，爱荷华州一家毛皮生产农场的貂被放走事件，加利福尼亚州一个用来圈野马的畜栏遭到燃烧弹攻击事件。

他们是恐怖主义者吗?这两个团体拒绝被称作“恐怖分子”，而且宣称他们会采取一切措施来预防对动物的伤害。但是今年初，联邦调查局局长路易·弗里将两个组织列为国内最活跃的恐怖主义组织。共和党籍众议员麦克伊尼斯所在区包括唯尔，认为迟早会有人受到伤害，现在他期望联邦调查局局投入更多的资源。

麦克伊尼斯领导的“森林小组委员会”将在二月份召开生态恐怖主义的听证会。但是，他已经触怒了一些主流的绿色组织，因为他要求它们公开谴责“地球解放阵线”和“动物解放阵线”的做法。比如，“绿色和平”组织宣称它的反对是不言而明的，并对被要求表态表示气愤。麦克伊尼斯先生仍然要求他们在11月1日给出回答，关于生态恐怖主义的战斗有了一个开端。

第三篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读真题

可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.comN: Regardless of his personal life or anything, he doesn t deserve to be killed for this.The message people are getting is that gay people are second-class citizens, says Tracey Conaty, spokesperson for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.Before Gaither s murder, activists were planning a major national pro-gay offensive.From March 21 to March 27, the task force will launch its Equality Begins at Home campaign, with 250 grass-roots events in all 50 states aimed at passing anti-gay-bashing legislation.Says Conaty: These laws reflect the conscience of a community and send an important message.The March events, says Urvashi Vaid, director of the task force s policy institute, will involve straight people concerned about neighbors denied basic human rights.Adds Vaid: It s more than just a gay thing.1.What is implied in the first two paragraphs? 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

[A] there are many murders in the recent history of hatred [B]the murder also happened in Jasper one year ago [C] it is another case of the gay being tortured to death [D]the city council president comes from Sylacauga 2.The author uses the example of Matthew Shepard to show that ________.[A] it is difficult to extend the hate-crime legislation [B]people want to extend the hate-crime law [C]the gays are really in a terrible fix [D] people are indifferent to the gay student 3.Alvin Holmes’ attitude toward the gay victims is _________.[A]indifferent [B]sympathetic [C]outrageous [D]considerate 4.Similar to Matthew Shepard, Gaither’s death ________.[A]aroused people’s sympathy for the gay [B] sharpened people’s awareness [C]gave legislation some momentum [D]failed to have any change in the legislation 5.The text intends to express the idea that __________.[A] people should be concerned about their gay neighbors [B]the gay people shouldn’t be regarded as second-class citizens 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

[C] the legislation for the gay still has a long way to go

[D]more pro-gay campaigns should be launched

答案：C A B D C

词汇注释

homosexual n.同性恋

echo vt.摹仿, 重复

rallying point n.聚集点,号召力

legislator n.立法者

momentum n.动力, 要素

in the wake of adv.尾随, 紧跟, 仿效

lynching n.处私刑

allegation n.主张，断言, 辩解

offensive n.进攻, 攻势

grass-roots adj.一般民众的, 由乡间民间来进行的 二．

Federal reserve: Difference of opinion

THE outcome was never in doubt.On December 12th America s central bank kept shortterm interest rates unchanged at 5.25%.What mattered was the statement accompanying the Federal Reserve s decision.Although Ben Bernanke and his colleagues gave a nod to the slowing economy , they repeated that they still considered inflation a bigger worry than weak growth.That is not what Wall Street has been thinking.According to the latest Blue Chip monthly survey, four out of five financial forecasters reckon the central bank s next move will be to cut the federal funds rate.Some once optimistic seers have been busy cutting their growth forecasts.The price of fed funds futures suggests that financial markets see a 20% chance of lower interest rates by April.This had been close to 70%, but unexpectedly strong growth in jobs and then retail sales 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

in November has caused some in the markets to think a rate cut less likely.The central bankers are simultaneously more cautious and more optimistic than many on Wall Street.With core inflation still well above the 12% rate they unofficially deem appropriate, Mr.Bernanke and his colleagues are genuinely worried about price pressure.Although fuel costs have fallen sharply, core consumer prices, which exclude the volatile categories of food and energy, still rose by 2.8% in the year to October.The Fed s preferred price gauge, the core personal consumption deflator, went up by 2.4% in the year to October, only a little short of the fastest pace for a decade.With inflation still too high, cautious central bankers see scant reason for abandoning their hawkish rhetoric.By the same token, the officials are less concerned by the risk of a slowdown than their counterparts on Wall Street are.Not only do the central bankers expect the economy to grow below its trend rate in the short term;they want it to.That is because a period of below trend growth will help dampen inflationary pressure by increasing the amount of slack in the economy.Fed officials worry that labour markets, in particular, are too tight.In their July forecast the central bankers expected an average unemployment rate of between 4.75% and 5% for the fourth quarter of 2006 and 2007, well above today s 4.5%.Modestly higher joblessness would be welcome.That unemployment has not risen suggests the economy has not slowed much below its trend rate of growth.If prudence is telling the central bankers to stand pat, so is their optimism.The Fed is not among those who believe that America s unexpectedly deep housing bust will drag the rest of the economy down.In a recent speech Mr Bernanke made it clear that he saw little sign of the housing recession spreading elsewhere.A stream of weak statistics in subsequent days, particularly a report hinting that manufacturing was in recession, suggested that his optimism might be misplaced.

第四篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

（九）The view from the top, and bottom

老板与员工的意见分歧

Bosses think their firms are caring.Their minions disagree.老板们认为公司对员工关怀备至，但其下属却不以为然。

AS WALMART grew into the world s largest retailer, its staff were subjected to a long list ofdos and don ts covering every aspect of their work.随着沃尔玛发展成为全球最大零售商，其员工在工作的各方各面都受到了一大堆规则的限制。

Now the firm has decided that its rules-based culture is too inflexible to cope with thechallenges of globalisation and technological change，如今，沃尔玛已经认识到其以规则为基础的公司文化过于死板，无法应对全球化和科技变革所带来的挑战。

and is trying to instil a values-based culture, in which employees can be trusted to do theright thing because they know what the firm stands for.所以，沃尔玛正尝试逐渐培养一种以价值观为基础的公司文化，在这种文化中，员工了解公司的主张，所以能够得到公司的信任，去做他们认为正确的事情。

Values is the latest hot topic in management thinking.价值观念 是管理学思维最新的热门话题。

PepsiCo has started preaching a creed of performance with purpose.百事可乐公司已开始宣扬一个信条： 目的性绩效。

Chevron, an oil firm, brands itself as a purveyor of human energy , though presumably itdoes not really want you to travel by rickshaw.石油公司雪佛龙在自己的商标上印上 ‘人类体能 的供应商 的字样，尽管它大概并非真的希望你用人力车代步。

Nearly every big firm claims to be building a more caring and ethical culture.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

几乎每一家大型企业都宣称自身正在发展更为关怀体贴、合乎道德的企业文化。

A new study suggests there is less to this than it says on the label.一项新的研究显示，实际情况与商家们所标榜的有差距。

Commissioned by Dov Seidman, boss of LRN, a firm that advises on corporate culture, andauthor of How ，LRN的老板、同时也是《怎么做到的?》

a book arguing that the way firms do business matters as much as what they do, andconducted by the Boston Research Group, the National Governance, Culture and LeadershipAssessment is based on a survey of thousands of American employees, from every rung ofthe corporate ladder.的作者多弗?塞德曼委托波士顿研究集团进行这项 国家治理、文化和领导能力评估 的研究，该研究是以对来自公司各个级别的数千位美国雇员的调查为基础的。

It found that 43% of those surveyed described their company s culture as based oncommand-and-control, top-down management or leadership by coercion—what MrSeidman calls blind obedience.研究发现，有43%的调查对象对其公司的文化有以下描述：以命令和指挥为基础、自上而下的管理模式或强制式的领导——塞德曼先生称之为 盲目服从型。

The largest category, 54%, saw their employer s culture as top-down, but with skilledleadership, lots of rules and a mix of carrots and sticks, which Mr Seidman calls informedacquiescence.所占百分比最多的调查对象，即有54%的人认为其公司文化自上而下型的，但公司的领导也有技巧可言，只是规则繁多并存在软硬兼施的手段，塞德曼先生称这种为 知情服从型。

Only 3% fell into the category of self-governance , in which everyone is guided by a set ofcore principles and values that inspire everyone to align around a company s mission.只有3%的调查对象属于 自我管理型，即每个员工都被一套 核心原则和价值 所引导，这套原则和价值激励每个员工以公司的宗旨为中心进行工作。

The study found evidence that such differences matter.研究也发现一些证据，证明这些公司文化之间的差异事关重大。

Nearly half of those in blind-obedience companies said they had observed 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

unethicalbehaviour in the previous year, compared with around a quarter in the other sorts of firm.在盲目服从型企业中，几乎有过半数员工都称在前一年目睹过有违职业道德的行为，而在其他类型的企业中只有四分之一的员工有此经历。

Yet only a quarter of those in the blind-obedience firms said they were likely to blow thewhistle, compared with over 90% in self-governing firms.但是，在盲目服从型企业中只有约四分之一的员工说他们可能会揭发这种行为，而在自我管理型企业中却有90%的员工会进行揭发。

Lack of trust may inhibit innovation, too.同样，上下级之间缺乏信任会抑制员工创新。

More than 90% of employees in self-governing firms, and two-thirds in the informed-acquiescence category, agreed that good ideas are readily adopted by my company.自我管理型公司中超过90%的员工承认 绝妙的想法很容易会被公司采纳，选择性顺从型公司中也有三分之二的员工这样认为。

At blind-obedience firms, fewer than one in five did.而在盲目服从型公司中，持这种想法的人少于五分之一。

Tragicomically, the study found that bosses often believe their own guff, even if theirunderlings do not.令人哭笑不得的是，研究还发现老板们时常对自己瞎掰的那一套信以为真，即便员工们不以为然。

Bosses are eight times more likely than the average to believe that their organisation is self-governing.老板们相信其公司是自我管理型公司的程度比普通员工高八倍。

Some 27% of bosses believe their employees are inspired by their firm.大约27%的老板认为自己公司的员工能够被公司所激励。

Alas, only 4% of employees agree.奈何，只有4%的员工同意此说。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

Likewise, 41% of bosses say their firm rewards performance based on values rather thanmerely on financial results.同样，41%的老板称其公司对绩效的奖励是建基于价值观之上的，而不仅是业绩。

Only 14% of employees swallow this.然而只有14%的员工接受此说。

二．

A big, bad business

点肥成金不现实

Medical firms struggle to profit from weight-loss treatments

制药公司试图从减肥治疗中获利

OBESITY is an epidemic to some and an opportunity to others.肥胖症对某些人来说是传染病，对别的一些人来说则是机遇。

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight.超过三分之二的美国人已经超重。

Find a way to battle the bulge and a huge profit might be made.找个办法和肥胖对抗，说必定就此大赚一笔。

On February 22nd one pharmaceutical firm, Vivus, took a small step towards this goal.找个办法和肥胖对抗，说必定就此大赚一笔。

A committee advising America s Food and Drug Administration recommended that itapprove Vivus s diet drug, Qnexa.2月22日，Vivus制药公司朝着这个目标前进了一步。给美国食品药物管理局做咨询的一家委员会推荐，Vivus公司的减肥药Qnexa。

However, the pill s long-awaited final approval may not come until April, if at all.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

但是，如果获得批准，该药品的漫长的最终肯定直到四月份才会到来。

The announcement mostly served as a reminder of what a struggle it is to turn fat intogold.公告主要是提醒人们，这是一场点肥成金的抗争。

Pharmaceutical and medical-device companies are quite good at treating the conditions thatcome with obesity.制药和医疗器械公司非常善于解决肥胖带来的问题。

However, they are dismal at helping consumers lose weight.但是他们无法帮助消费者战胜肥胖本身，减少体重。

This is not for lack of trying.这不是因为缺乏尝试。

Take the curious case of the gastric band.以古怪的胃部束带为例。

Bariatric surgery can lead to weight loss in the long term.Hospitals can make money fromall bariatric procedures, including gastric bypasses , but the gastric band is a rareexample of an opportunity for device-makers to profit from weight loss.肥胖治疗手术可以帮助患者在较长的时间内减少体重。医院就是从这些减肥疗程中赚钱，包括胃绕道手术，但是胃部束带却是一个罕见的例子，被当成一个器械制造商用来从减肥中赚钱的法子。

Allergan, best known for selling Botox, has tried to use its Lap-Band to tap the obesitymarket.Allergan公司以销售肉毒杆菌而出名，尝试用产品Lap-Band打入减肥市场。

It is an inflatable loop which the surgeon fits near the top of the stomach, which helps thepatient feel sated earlier.Lap-Band是一圈松紧带，外科医生可以用它绕住患者胃的上部，这样患者会提前有腹饱感。

Allergan has captured about 70% of the worldwide market for gastric bands and balloons, 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

butsales are now shrinking.Allergan公司在全球胃部束带和充气袋市场占有率达70%，但是如今销量却有所下降。

The recession has sapped consumers desire for expensive surgery.经济不景气让消费者忍住做昂贵的手术的欲望。

Some patients have had bands removed because they slipped or proved ineffective.有些病人甚至连束带也不用了，因为束带打滑或者没有效果。

Last year the FDA approved the Lap-Band s use in patients who are only slightly overweight,but insurers have refused to pay.去年，美国食品药物管理局同意，微超重病人使用 Lap-Band，但是保险公司却拒绝付款。

In January David Pyott, Allergan s chief executive, said he would scrap an effort to marketthe band for teenagers.一月份，Allergan公司首席执行官David Pyott说，他将放弃在年轻人束带市场的努力。

He is now trying to convince insurers of Lap-Band s merits, arguing that the $20,000surgery is recouped in saved medical costs within four years.他目前试图让保险公司也看到Lap-Band的优点，他认为两万美元手术费可以在四年之内通过减少医疗支出收回。

There is some scepticism about his chances of success: The fact that banding is not as goodas bypass has been known by everybody except the PR firms for the band, says LeeKaplan, director of the Weight Centre at Massachusetts General Hospital.至今仍有人怀疑他是否能成功：“事实上使用束带不必胃绕道手术好，所有人都知道，除了束带的公关公司，”马萨诸塞州中心医院体重中心主任Lee Kaplan如是说。

Drug companies have had even more trouble than device-makers.制药公司的麻烦甚至比医疗器械公司的还要多。

It has been 13 years since the FDA approved a prescription diet pill.从美国食品药物管理局批准减肥药为处方药到如今已经过了十三年。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

That drug, Roche s Xenical, has notorious gastrointestinal side-effects.瑞士罗氏制药公司的Xenical臭名昭著，该药会引发胃肠功能的副作用。

The FDA rejected Vivus s Qnexa in 2010 over concerns for the safety of pregnant women andthe quickening of patients heart rates.美国食品药物管理局于2010年拒绝批准Vivus公司的Qnexa，因为担心该药对孕妇的安全造成伤害，担心该药会加快患者的心率。

Vivus s new data apparently satisfied the FDA s advisory committee.Vivus公司新的数据显然让管理局的咨询委员会满意。

However, the agency may yet reject the drug.但是该局还是可能拒绝批准该药。

Even if Qnexa is approved, it is unclear that patients will buy it.就算Qnexa获得批准，患者会不会买账仍不明了。

Qnexa combines two treatments that are already on the market.Qnexa结合了两种市面上上有的疗效。

Both medicines are generic, which means that doctors may prescribe the existing drugsrather than Qnexa s more expensive version.这两种药物都是非专利药，这说明医生可能会给患者开已有的药而不选择Qnexa，后者更贵。

For now, it is more profitable to treat fat patients than to try to make them slim.到目前为止，治疗肥胖患者还是要比让他们减肥更有利可图。

第五篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

（三）Facebook and privacy Sorry, friends

脸谱和用户隐私 对不起，朋友

The giant social network is castigated for serious privacy failings

社交网巨头因严重隐私缺陷而遭受公众谴责

FACEBOOK has been playing with fire and has got its fingers burned, again.脸谱一直在玩火，这次它又烧伤了自己的指头。

On November 29th America s Federal Trade Commission announced that it hadreached a draft settlement with the giant social network over allegations that it hadmisled people about its use of their personal data.11月29日美国联邦贸易委员会声明已和该社交网巨头关于公众对它欺骗用户、滥用用户个人信息的控诉初步达成解决方案。

The details of the settlement make clear that Facebook, which boasts over 800m users,betrayed its users trust.这份解决方案的细目明确说明，脸谱网背叛了它所声称的八亿用户的信任。

It is also notable because it appears to be part of a broader attempt by the FTC to craft anew privacy framework to deal with the swift rise of social networks in America.FTC有个更大的计划，那就是创建一个新的隐私框架以应对美国快速攀升的社交网用户。而这份方案似乎是这个计划中的一部分，这也是它受到广泛关注的另一个原因。

The regulator s findings come at a sensitive time for Facebook, which is said to be preparingfor an initial public offering next year that could value it at around $100 billion.调解员的调查对这个时候的脸谱网来说很敏感。据说它正在准备明年的首次招股，这将使它的价值达到一千亿。

To clear the way for its blockbuster flotation, the firm first needs to resolve its privacytussles with regulators in America and Europe.为了给这次非同一般的上市计划扫清障碍，脸谱网必须首先解决与美国和欧洲协调员关于用户隐私的争端，因此这周它公开了商谈意向。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

Hence its willingness to negotiate the settlement unveiled this week, which should befinalised at the end of December after a period for public comment.经过征询公共意见后，商谈结果将在十二月底最终敲定。

Announcing the agreement, the FTC said it had found a number of cases where Facebook hadmade claims that were unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law.宣布协议时，FTC说发现有好几回脸谱的声明都是 不公平，虚假并触犯联邦法 的，For instance, it passed on personally identifiable information to advertisers, even though itsaid it would not do so.比如，它把用户身份信息透露给广告商，但是嘴上却声称不会做此类事情。

And it failed to keep a promise to make photos and videos on deactivated and deletedaccounts inaccessible.还有，账户不再活动或取消后，上面的相片和视频却仍然可以被搜索到，这完全与它的承诺不相符。

The settlement does not constitute an admission by Facebook that it has broken the law.脸谱没有在这份协议中承认自己触犯法律。

But the regulator s findings are deeply embarrassing for the company nonetheless.但是，协调员的调查结果已经让这个公司陷入极为尴尬的境地。

In a blog post published the same day, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook s boss, tried to play downthe impact of the deal.同一天，脸谱老板Mark Zuckerberg在一篇博文上极力淡化这份协议的影响。

First he claimed that a small number of high-profile mistakes were overshadowing thesocial network s good history on privacy.在这篇博文中他首先声明 一小部分被高调炒作的错误 正在掩盖脸谱网关于用户隐私的 良好记录。

Then he confessed that it could still do better and said he had hired two new chief privacyofficers.接着，他承认确实有一些地方需要改进，并说明他已经雇用了两名新的 首席隐私官。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

The FTC is not relying on Facebook to police itself.FTC不指望脸谱自我监督。

Among other things, the company will now have to seek consumers approval before itchanges the way it shares their data.And it has agreed to an independent privacy auditevery two years for the next 20 years.此外，在改变用户信息共享方式前，它还必须征询用户的同意，并且它也同意在未来二十年里每两年进行一次独立的隐私审核。

Jeff Chester of the Centre for Digital Democracy reckons this will make it somewhat easier forprivacy activists to hold the social network to account.数字民主中心的Jeff Chester认为，这从某种程度上让隐私主义者更容易相信脸谱会为自己的行为负责。

There is a clear pattern here.这里有个很清晰的模式。

In separate cases over the past couple of years the FTC has insisted that Twitter and Googleaccept regular external audits, too, after each firm was accused of violating its customers privacy.从过去几年里Twitter和Google各自的案例来看，在这两家公司分别被指控触犯用户隐私后，FTC也坚持要求两家公司接受定期的外部审核，The intent seems to be to create a regulatory regime that is tighter than the status quo,but one that still gives social networks plenty of room to innovate.目的似乎就是为了给此类社交网络创造一个比现状严格却又有足够空间革新的管理制度。

The audits can be used to tweak the framework in the light of new developments.从发展的角度讲，这些审核有助于打破原本框架。

Some observers reckon web firms have agreed to all this in the hope that it will deflect apush for more onerous privacy legislation in America.一些观测者认为，这些网络公司全盘接受这些审核，希望借此摆脱美国更为繁琐的隐私保护法。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

But outrage over Facebook s behaviour could spur Congress into action anyway.And it willcertainly not be lost on regulators in Europe who are scrutinising the social network sprivacy record too.但是公众对脸谱行为的不满终将刺激国会做出反应，而正在审阅该社交网隐私记录的欧洲协调员们也必然会给予这些不满的呼声以相应的重视。

Mr Zuckerberg s latest mea culpa is unlikely to be his last.看来Zuckerberg先生最近的这次检讨不会是最后一次。

二．

Drugmakers Cliffhanger

制药企业 悬念

Big Pharma struggles to protect its blockbusters as they lose patent protection

大型制药企业艰难保护着专利失效的 重磅炸弹 药物

FOR some years the big drugmakers have been dreading an approaching patent cliff —aslump in sales as the patents on their most popular pills expire or are struck down by legalchallenges, with few new potential blockbusters to take their place.多年来，大型制药企业一直担心 专利悬崖 出现——最畅销药品的专利到期或专利因诉讼而中止，而市场上鲜有新的 重磅炸弹 药物，这时企业的销售额将会锐减。

This week the patent on the best-selling drug in history expired—Lipitor, an anti-cholesterolpill which earned Pfizer nearly $11 billion in revenues last year.本周，史上最畅销的药物 立普妥 专利到期，这种降胆固醇药去年就为辉瑞公司赚了近110亿美元。

In all, blockbusters with a combined $170 billion in annual sales will go off-patent by 2015.到了2015年，多种 重磅炸弹 药物的专利都将失效。

What is supposed to happen now is that lots of copycat firms rush in with generic versions of Lipitor at perhaps one-fifth of its price.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

很多仿制药公司现在大概正忙着推出与立普妥的非专利药，价格仅为立普妥的1/5。

Patients and health-care payers should reap the benefit.病人和医疗费用支付方会收益，而辉瑞的收入会缩水。

Pfizer s revenues should suffer.The same story will be repeated many times, as otherbest-selling drugs march over the patent cliff.同样的事件将反复上演，因为其他畅销药也要临近专利悬崖。

But generics makers may face delays getting their cheaper versions to market.然而，非专利制药企业却发现仿制药上市一拖再拖。

Ranbaxy, a Japanese-owned drugmaker, struggled to get regulators approval for itsgeneric version of Lipitor, and only won it on the day the patent expired.兰伯西这家日本制药企业历尽艰辛，获得了立普妥非专利药的生产许可，但该许可要到专利失效那天才生效。

More important, research-based drug firms are using a variety of tactics to make the patentcliff slope more gently.更重要的是，以研发为基础的制药公司正使用各种方法缓冲 专利悬崖 效应。

Jon Leibowitz, chairman of America s Federal Trade Commission , is concerned bydrugmakers filing frivolous additional patents on their products to put off the day whentheir protection expires.美国联邦贸易委员会主席Jon Leibowitz注意到，制药商们千方百计地为产品增加后续专利，以延缓保护的失效，但其实那些专利没什么价值。

Another tactic is pay-for-delay , in which a drugmaker facing a legal challenge to itspatent pays its would-be competitor to put off introducing its cheaper copy.另一种战术是 有偿延迟 协议，也就是说在专利诉讼时，制药企业会付给未来竞争对手一笔钱，以延迟价钱更低的仿制药进入市场。

In the year to October the FTC identified what it believes to be 28 such settlements.截止到10月，FTC就发现了28起类似事件。

American and European regulators are looking into these deals.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

美国和欧洲的监管部门也开始调查这些协议。

However, legal challenges against them have faltered, and a bill to ban them is stuck inCongress.然而，反对这些协议的诉讼一再搁浅，而美国国会也未能通过禁止此类事件的一项法案。

To encourage generics makers to challenge patents on drugs, and introduce cheapercopies，为了鼓励非专利制药企业挑战药品专利、生产价钱更低的仿制药，an American law passed in 1984 says that the first one to do so will get a 180-day exclusivityperiod，美国于1984年通过一项法案，其中提到 第一个挑战成功的仿制药企能获得180天市场独占期，in which no other generics maker can sell versions of the drug in question, as Ranbaxysupposedly won with Lipitor.在此期间其他仿制药企不能贩售同一专利药的其他仿制药，就像兰伯西获得立普妥仿制药的生产权一样。

However, Pfizer is exploiting a loophole in the 1984 law, which lets it appoint a second,authorised copycat—in this case, Watson, another American firm.然而，辉瑞钻了这个法案的空子，它让第二家授权仿制药企业——华生制药公司来仿制。

According to BernsteinResearch, under the deal between the two drugmakers Pfizer willreceive about 70% of Watson s revenues from its approved copy of Lipitor.根据BernsteinResearch的分析，在此交易期间，华生公司获得立普妥的仿制权，辉瑞将获得华生公司年收入的70%。

More unusual, Pfizer has cut the price of its original version, and will keep marketing itvigorously.更为不同的是，辉瑞将降低立普妥专利药的价格，并对其采取积极的营销策略。

So Ranbaxy faces not one, but two competitors.所以说，兰伯西的对手是两个，而非一个。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

This strategy has precedent, says David Risinger of Morgan Stanley, but the scale andstructure of Pfizer s scheme is unmatched.摩根士丹利的David Risinger认为，这项策略虽有先例，但就规模和结构而言绝对不能与辉瑞的计划相比。

Patients with a special discount card from Pfizer will make co-payments of just $4 for a month s worth of the originalLipitor, compared with about $10 for many generic medicines.辉瑞的患者，若使用一种特殊打折卡，通过共同支付方式，只花4美元就可以获得一个月用量的立普妥专利药，而其他仿制品需要花费约10美元。

Pfizer is also offering Lipitor for a generic price to big firms such as Medco, which managehealth schemes prescription costs.辉瑞还以仿制药价格向美可保健等大型公司提供立普妥。

All this may raise Pfizer s sales by nearly $500m in the first half of 2012 compared with whatthey would otherwise have been, says Tim Anderson of BernsteinResearch, with revenuesthen falling after the 180 days are over.BernsteinResearch的Tim Anderson认为，所有这些举措将使得辉瑞2012年上半年的销售额比不采取措施时增加近5亿美元，总收入在180天市场独占期后会下降。

Medco argues that Pfizer s scheme will save money for all parties, and ensure a steadysupply of the drug.美可保健公司辩解说，辉瑞的项目是为各方省钱，并保证稳定供货。

Others fear that Pfizer s tactics may drive up costs for the employers who sponsor healthplans, thanks to the complexities of co-payment schemes, and confuse patients lectured foryears about the merits of generics.也有人担心，由于共同支付计划很复杂，辉瑞的战术会增加雇主门支付健康计划的成本，也让患者们在数年内都不明白仿制药的重要意义。

Express Scripts is advising the health plans it works for to reject Pfizer s deals for Lipitor.快捷药方公司正建议其所属的健康计划反对辉瑞的立普妥交易。

The biggest worry is that Pfizer s strategy, if copied, will make the 180-day exclusivityperiod worth far less, and thus discourage generics firms from challenging patents in thefirst place.他们最担心，如若辉瑞的做法被仿制，那么180天专有期的价值会缩水，而仿制药公司可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

挑战专利的动力也会在初期被抑制。