第一篇:2018年可锐考研英语阅读分析详解
可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
2018年可锐考研英语阅读分析详解
(八)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 proliferation of provincial theater, 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 inroads 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 Veblem 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.That future exploration of these key questions is undoubtedly necessary should not, however, diminish the force of the conclusion of recent studies: the insatiable demand in eighteenth-century England for frivolous as well as useful goods and services foreshadows our own world.1.In the first paragraph, the author mentions McKendrick and Plumb most probably in order to 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
[A] contrast their views on the subject of luxury consumerism in eighteenth-century England.[B] indicate the inadequacy of historiographical approaches to eighteenth-century English history.[C] give examples of historians who have helped to establish the fact of growing consumerism in eighteenth-century England.[D] support the contention that key questions about eighteenth-century consumerism remain to be answered.2.Which of the following items, if preserved from eighteenth-century England, would provide an example of the kind of documents mentioned in lines 3-4, paragraph 2?
[A] A written agreement between a supplier of raw materials and a supplier of luxury goods.[B] A diary that mentions luxury goods and services purchased by its author.[C] A theater ticket stamped with the date and name of a particular play.[D] A payroll record from a company that produced luxury goods such as pottery.3.According to the text, Thompson attributes to laboring people in eighteenth-century England which of the following attitudes toward capitalist consumerism?
[A] Enthusiasm.[B] Curiosity.[C] Ambivalence.[D] Hostility.4.In the third paragraph, the author is primarily concerned with
[A] contrasting two theses and offering a compromise.[B] questioning two explanations and proposing a possible alternative to them.[C] paraphrasing the work of two historians and questioning their assumptions.[D] examining two theories and endorsing one over the other.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
5.According to the text, eighteenth-century England and the contemporary world of the text readers are
[A] dissimilar in the extent to which luxury consumerism could be said to be widespread among the social classes.[B] dissimilar in their definitions of luxury goods and services.[C] dissimilar in the extent to which luxury goods could be said to be stimulant of industrial development.[D] similar in their strong demand for a variety of goods and services.[答案与考点解析]
1.【答案】C
【考点解析】本题是一道例(举)证题型。根据题干中的“McKendrick and Plumb”可将本题的答案信息来源迅速确定在首段的第二、三句。由于这两句话和首段第一句之间存在例(举)证的关系,故针对首段第一句进行认真理解。通过综合分析和归纳这三句话,可得出含有“examples”的选项C是正确答案。考生在解题时一定要善于识别题型,这一点的基础是要学会识别句子之间的关系。
2.【答案】B
【考点解析】这是一道细节推导题。题干中的信息以将本题的答案信息来源确定在第二段的三、四行。即第二段第二句的主句,该句中的“only a study of relevant personal documents written by actual consumers”暗示本题的答案是选项B。考生在解题时一定要学会识别原文和选项中同义词的替换。
3.【答案】D
【考点解析】本题是一道细节推导题。通过题干中的“Thompson”一词可迅速将本题的正确选项确定在第二段的尾句。从第二段尾句的前半部分即分号前面的部分我们不难推导出本题正确选项是D。原文中的“opposition”一词十分重要。考生在解题时要善于从原文的表面归纳出深刻的思想。
4.【答案】B
【考点解析】这是一道写作手法题型。旨在考察考生的语言基本功。本题考察考生对于段落写作结构的认识。本文第三段的第一、二句是对某一个问题的一种解释。本文第三段的第三、四、五句是对同一个问题的另一种解释,本文作者对这两种解释提出了质疑。本文第三段的第六、七句是作者本人针对前面两个解释所提出的另外一种解释。可见本题的正确选可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
项是B。考生在解题时一定要重视文章或段落的写作结构。
5.【答案】D
【考点解析】本题是一道审题定位与关键词理解题。通过题干中的“the contemporary world of the text readers”可将本题的答案信息迅速确定在尾段,因为尾段中的“our own world”等于“the contemporary world of the text readers”。尾段最后一行中的“foreshadows”(预示;是„„的预兆)一词暗示本题的正确选项是D。考生在解题时一定要有审题定位能力,并且对于原文中的关键词要有入目三分的理解。
[参考译文]
直到最近,史学家们才发现在十八世纪的英国,对豪华奢侈商品和服务的需求出现增长的现象。麦克德瑞克研究了韦奇伍德公司在营销豪华陶制品方面的极大成功;而普拉姆也著文论述了地方剧院、音乐节目以及儿童玩具和书籍激增的情形。尽管这场消费者革命的事实几乎毋庸置疑,但仍有三个关键的问题尚待解决:消费者是些什么人?他们的动机是什么?以及这种对奢侈品的新需求的社会影响是什么?
关于第一问题的答案是很难获得的。尽管它可能从制造商和服务行业认为消费者想要什么而实际制造的商品和提供的服务中推知,但只有对实际消费者的相关私人资料的研究才能提供一种“谁想要什么”的精确状况。我们仍然需要知道这种消费市场到底有多大,以及消费者对奢侈商品的需求向下渗透到社会的什么层次。对最后一个问题而言,我们应当注意到,在过去,汤姆逊虽然正确恢复了劳动人民在十八世纪英国历史舞台上的地位,但整体而言可能夸大了他们对资本主义消费方式侵蚀的抵抗情绪。例如,十八世纪英国的劳动人民迅速从家酿的啤酒转而饮用由那些大规模、高度资本化的城市酿酒厂生产的标准化啤酒。
为了回答消费者为什么变得那么急于购物这一问题,一些史学家指出,这是因为制造商们可以在无需审查的报刊上刊登广告。然而,这似乎并不是个理由充分的答案。麦克德瑞克赞成维布伦模型,即由社会地位的竞争而引起的一种引人注目的消费。“中产阶级”购买优质商品和服务,是因为他们想追随由富人建立的消费时尚。我们可能再次怀疑这种解释是否充足。难道人们喜爱购物不是一种自我满足的形式吗?如果是这样,那么上述消费主义可以被看做是一种个人主义和物质主义新兴概念的产物,而不一定是疯狂进行引人注目的竞争的结果。
最后,这种消费者对奢侈品的需求所导致的后果又是什么呢?麦克德瑞克声称,这将极为有助于解释工业革命的到来。但事实果真如此吗?例如,高质量的陶制品和玩具与钢铁制造和纺织工厂的发展有什么关系呢?即使没有重工业的存在,消费社会在心理上和现实上都是完全可能存在的。
然而,对这些关键问题的进一步探究毫无疑问是需要的,而且不应当减弱近期研究所得结论的说服力:十八世纪英国对那些有用和琐碎商品及服务的不知足的需求预示了我们目前的这个世界的特征。
第二篇:2018年可锐考研英语阅读分析详解
可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
2018年可锐考研英语阅读分析详解
(七)Traditionally, the study of history has had fixed boundaries and focal points — periods, countries, dramatic events, and great leaders.It also has had clear and firm notions of scholarly procedure: how one inquires into a historical problem, how one presents and documents one’s findings, what constitutes admissible and adequate proof.Anyone who has followed recent historical literature can testify to the revolution that is taking place in historical studies.The currently fashionable subjects come directly from the sociology catalog: childhood, work, leisure.The new subjects are accompanied by new methods.Where history once was primarily narrative, it is now entirely analytic.The old questions “What happened?” and “How did it happen?” have given way to the question “Why did it happen?” Prominent among the methods used to answer the question “Why” is psychoanalysis, and its use has given rise to psychohistory.Psychohistory does not merely use psychological explanations in historical contexts.Historians have always used such explanations when they were appropriate and when there was sufficient evidence for them.But this pragmatic use of psychology is not what psychohistorians intend.They are committed, not just to psychology in general, but to Freudian psychoanalysis.This commitment precludes a commitment to history as historians have always understood it.Psychohistory derives its “facts” not from history, the detailed records of events and their consequences, but from psychoanalysis of the individuals who made history, and deduces its theories not from this or that instance in their lives, but from a view of human nature that transcends history.It denies the basic criterion of historical evidence: that evidence be publicly accessible to, and therefore assessable by, all historians.And it violates the basic tenet of historical method: that historians be alert to the negative instances that would refute their theses.Psychohistorians, convinced of the absolute rightness of their own theories, are also convinced that theirs is the “deepest” explanation of any event, that other explanations fall short of the truth.Psychohistory is not content to violate the discipline of history;it also violates the past itself.It denies to the past an integrity and will of its own, in which people acted out of a variety of motives and in which events had a multiplicity of causes and effects.It imposes upon the past the same determinism that it imposes upon the present, thus robbing people and events of their individuality and of their complexity.Instead of respecting the particularity of the past, it assimilates all events, past and present, into a single deterministic schema that is presumed to be true at all times and in all circumstances.1.Which of the following best states the main point of the text?
[A] The approach of psychohistorians to historical study is currently in vogue even though it lacks the rigor and verifiability of traditional historical method.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
[B] Traditional historians can benefit from studying the techniques and findings of psychohistorians.[C] Areas of sociological study such as childhood and work are of little interest to traditional historians.[D] The psychological assessment of an individual’s behavior and attitudes is more informative than the details of his or her daily life.2.The author mentions which of the following as a characteristic of the practice of psychohistorians?
[A] The lives of historical figures are presented in episodic rather than narrative form.[B] Archives used by psychohistorians to gather material are not accessible to other scholars.[C] Past and current events are all placed within the same deterministic diagram.[D] Events in the adult life of a historical figure are seen to be more consequential than are those in the childhood of the figure.3.The author of the text suggests that psychohistorians view history primarily as
[A] a report of events, causes, and effects that is generally accepted by historians but which is, for the most part, unverifiable.[B] an episodic account that lacks cohesion because records of the role of childhood, work, and leisure in the lives of historical figures are rare.[C] an uncharted sea of seemingly unexplainable events that have meaning only when examined as discrete units.[D] a record the way in which a closed set of immutable psychological laws seems to have shaped events.4.The author of the text puts the word “deepest” in quotation marks most probably in order to
[A] signal her reservations about the accuracy of psychohistorians’ claims for their work.[B] draw attention to a contradiction in the psychohistorians’ method.[C] emphasize the major difference between the traditional historians’ method and that of 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
psychohistorians.[D] disassociate her opinion of the psychohistorians’ claims from her opinion of their method.5.In presenting her analysis, the author does all of the following EXCEPT.[A] Make general statements without reference to specific examples.[B] Describe some of the criteria employed by traditional historians.[C] Question the adequacy of the psychohistorians’ interpretation of events.[D] Point out inconsistencies in the psychohistorians’ application of their methods.[答案与考点解析]
1.【答案】A
【考点解析】这是一道中心主旨题。从第二段开始出现全文的主要谈论内容,第二段的最后一句出现了全文所谈论的中心“psychohistory”,在第二段中谈到了“psychohistory”的流行性,在第二段和第三段中作者谈到了“psychohistory”缺乏历史科学研究的“严密性和可考证性”。由此分析可见本题的正确选项应该是包含“psychohistory”和“history”概念的选项A。考生在解题时要善于首先捕捉全文的中心主旨句,并通过阅读和理解去把握原文所表达的思想。
2.【答案】C
【考点解析】这是一道审题定位题。通过题干中的“psychohistorians”可将本题的答案信息确定在第三、四段,但是题干并没有明确指出本题准确的信息来源。但是题干中的“practice”(实践)一词暗示考生本题的答案信息可能在尾段,因为人们一般阐述问题的规律是:从理论谈到实践。如果不出万一本文的尾段应该谈到“psychohistorians”的实践问题。通过阅读尾段,尤其是尾段尾句,我们可得出本题的正确选项应该是C。这道题的难点在于审题定位。审题定位不是一个简单的问题,需要考生对文章的叙述结构和人类的表达习惯有所认识。
3.【答案】D
【考点解析】这是一道审题定位题。通过题干中的“psychohistorians view history primarily as”可判断本题是要考生找出“psychohistorians”如何看待(view„as)历史(history),即要考生找出“psychohistorians”对历史的看法和态度。根据行文和表达规律,这道题的答案信息应该在第三段,准确地说在第三段的第五句话,因为这句话包含“history”一词。通过阅读和理解第三段的第四、五、六句话,我们可以推导出本题的正确选项应该是突出“psychological”含义的选项D。考生在解题时一定要注意英语行文和表达的规则。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
4.【答案】A
【考点解析】这是一道标点符号题。本题题干已将本题的答案信息确定在第三段的倒数第二行。此处引号所表达的含义是“所谓最深刻的”,即实际上是“不深刻的”。故本题的正确选项应该是含有“reservations”(有保留)一词的选项A。考生在破解阅读理解题型时一定要注意标点符号的应用,以及它们所产生的相应的含义。
5.【答案】D
【考点解析】本题是一道写作手法题型。这是一道比较难的题,旨在考察考生的语言基本功,尤其是写作手法和文章结构方面的知识。本题A、B、C中所涉及的内容可分别在第三段第六、七、八句、第一段第一、二句以及第三段的尾句找到。本文并没有谈到“psychohistorians”在应用自己方法方面的前后矛盾不一致性,故本题的正确选项应该是选项D。考生在解题时应注意原文中常用的写作手法。
[参考译文]
传统上,历史研究具有固定的界限和焦点——时期、国家、引人注目的事件,和伟大的领袖。在学术过程上的观念也非常清晰和坚定:研究者是如何探究历史问题的,他们是如何展示他们的发现并归纳成文档的,有什么令人信服的足够的证据。
凡是注意最近的历史文献的人都能证明在历史研究上正在发生一场革命。目前最流行的题材直接来源于社会学领域:儿童时代,工作,休闲。伴随着新的题材的是新的研究方法。过去的历史主要是叙述性的,现在则完全变成分析性的了。过去的问题是“发生了什么?”和“怎么发生的?”,现在它们则让位给了“为什么会发生?”。在用来回答“为什么”这一问题的方法中,最突出的是心理分析,而对这种方法的使用则导致了心理历史学的兴起。
心理历史学并不仅仅在历史环境下使用心理解释。过去,历史学家也总是在适当并有足够证据支持的时候使用这样的解释。但这种对心理学的实用主义的应用并不是心理历史学家所希望的。他们通常不只局限于心理学,而是要使用弗洛伊德的心理分析。这样,就同过去历史学家所理解的历史大相径庭了。心理历史学不是从历史,从事件的详细记录和它们的前因后果中来获取“事实”,而是对造成历史的个人进行心理分析,从中获取“事实”;不是从这些创造历史的人物一生的这个或那个实例中演绎出理论,而是从超越历史的人类本性的角度来推导理论。它否定关于历史证据的基本标准,即:这些证据应该是公众能够了解的,因此,也就是所有历史学家都能够了解的。它还违反了历史学方法的基本原则:历史学家要警惕能够驳倒他们的论题的反面事例。心理历史学家,则相信他们的理论绝对正确,而且确信他们的理论是对任何事件的“最深刻”的解释,而其它的解释都远离真实。
心理历史学家并不满足于破坏历史学的规范(在正确研究和书写过去的意义上);它还要破坏过去本身。它否定过去是一个整体并有自身的发展规律,人们在这个整体中出于各种不同的动机行事,事件的发生是由多种原因和影响共同造成的。它把决定当前情况的决定论强加给过去,这就剥夺了人和事件的独特性和复杂性。它不是尊重过去的特殊性,而是把过去和现在的所有事件都吸收到一个单一的决定论模式中,假设这个模式在任意时间和任意环境可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
中都是正确的。
第三篇:2018年可锐考研英语阅读分析详解
可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
2018年可锐考研英语阅读分析详解
(五)As Gilbert White, Darwin, and others observed long ago, all species appear to have the innate capacity to increase their numbers from generation to generation.The task for ecologists is to untangle the environmental and biological factors that hold this intrinsic capacity for population growth in check over the long run.The great variety of dynamic behaviors exhibited by different population makes this task more difficult: some populations remain roughly constant from year to year;others exhibit regular cycles of abundance and scarcity;still others vary wildly, with outbreaks and crashes that are in some cases plainly correlated with the weather, and in other cases not.To impose some order on this kaleidoscope of patterns, one school of thought proposes dividing populations into two groups.These ecologists posit that the relatively steady populations have “density-dependent” growth parameters;that is, rates of birth, death, and migration which depend strongly on population density.The highly varying populations have “density-independent” growth parameters, with vital rates buffeted by environmental events;these rates fluctuate in a way that is wholly independent of population density.This dichotomy has its uses, but it can cause problems if taken too literally.For one thing, no population can be driven entirely by density-independent factors all the time.No matter how severely or unpredictably birth, death, and migration rates may be fluctuating around their long-term averages, if there were no density-dependent effects, the population would, in the long run, either increase or decrease without bound.Put another way, it may be that on average 99 percent of all deaths in a population arise from density-independent causes, and only one percent from factors varying with density.The factors making up the one percent may seem unimportant, and their cause may be correspondingly hard to determine.Yet, whether recognized or not, they will usually determine the long-term average population density.In order to understand the nature of the ecologist’s investigation, we may think of the density-dependent effects on growth parameters as the “signal” ecologists are trying to isolate and interpret, one that tends to make the population increase from relatively low values or decrease from relatively high ones, while the density-independent effects act to produce “noise” in the population dynamics.For populations that remain relatively constant, or that oscillate around repeated cycles, the signal can be fairly easily characterized and its effects described, even though the causative biological mechanism may remain unknown.For irregularly fluctuating populations, we are likely to have too few observations to have any hope of extracting the signal from the overwhelming noise.But it now seems clear that all populations are regulated by a mixture of density-dependent and density-independent effects in varying proportions.1.The author of the text is primarily concerned with
[A] discussing two categories of factors that control population growth and assessing their relative importance.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
[B] describing how growth rates in natural populations fluctuate over time and explaining why these changes occur.[C] proposing a hypothesis concerning population size and suggesting ways to test it.[D] posing a fundamental question about environmental factors in population growth and presenting some currently accepted answer.2.It can be inferred from the text that the author considers the dichotomy discussed to be
[A] applicable only to erratically fluctuating populations.[B] instrumental, but only if its limitations are recognized.[C] dangerously misleading in most circumstances.[D] a complete and sufficient way to account for observed phenomena.3.According to the text, all of the following behaviors have been exhibited by different populations EXCEPT
[A] roughly constant population levels from year to year.[B] regular cycles of increases and decreases in numbers.[C] erratic increases in numbers correlated with the weather.[D] unchecked increases in numbers over many generations.4.The discussion concerning population in the third paragraph serves primarily to
[A] demonstrate the difficulties ecologists face in studying density-dependent factors limiting population growth.[B] advocate more rigorous study of density-dependent factors in population growth.[C] prove that the death rates of any population are never entirely density-independent.[D] underline the importance of even small density-dependent factors in regulating long-term population densities.5.In the text, the author does all of the following EXCEPT
[A] cite the views of other biologists.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
[B] define a basic problem that the text addresses.[C] present conceptual categories used by other biologists.[D] describe the results of a particular study.[答案与考点解析]
1.【答案】A
【考点解析】这是一道中心主旨题。本文的中心主旨句在第三段的首句。如果考生能够抓住第三段的首句就等于抓住了整篇文章的论述结构。该句中的“dichotomy” 就是正确选项A中的“two categories”。考生在解题时应首先抓住每篇文章的中心主旨句,因为这决定了对全文结构的认识以及对原文整体的把握。
2.【答案】B
【考点解析】这是一道细节推导题。根据题干中的“dichotomy”可将本题的答案信息来源迅速确定在第二段的首句。如果考生能够正确理解该句中“but”一词前后的内容,就可以找出本题的正确选项B。考生在解题时一定要正确理解原文所传达的含义,即进行正确的细节推导。
3.【答案】D
【考点解析】这是一道审题定位与中心主旨题。根据本题题干中的“different populations”可将本题的答案信息来源确定在首段的第一句,因为该句中的“all species”实际上指的就是题干中的“different populations”。从第一段的首句入手并且仔细阅读首段的第二句,就可以找出本题的正确选项D,因为该选项所传达的信息与原文第一段第一、二句所传达的信息不一致。考生在解题时一定要学会迅速审题定位的能力。
4.【答案】D
【考点解析】本题是一道归纳推导题。题干已明确指出该题的答案信息来源在第三段。第三段主要陈述“density-dependent factors”的作用,通过仔细阅读第三段,尤其是第三段的最后三句话,考生可以得知本文作者在第三段是在强调“density-dependent factors”的作用。可见D是本题的正确选项。考生在理解原文时一定要注意掌握归纳推导的能力。
5.【答案】D
【考点解析】本题是一道写作手法题。这是一道比较难的题目,旨在考察考生的语言功底。本文作者在论述自己的观点时运用了各种写作手段。选项A、B、C中所涉及的内容分别在第一段、第三段和第二段中出现。考生一定要提高对原文各种写作手段的认识。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
[参考译文]
正如吉尔伯特•怀特、达尔文以及其它科学家很久以前观察的那样,所有的物种都具有一种天生的能力来一代一代地增加它们种群的数量。生态学家的使命就是调查清楚环境和生态因素长期以来是如何控制这种致使种群增长的内在能力的。由于不同种群所表现出来的动态行为是如此多样化,致使这项任务显得非常困难:有些种群长期以来大致保持不变;有些表现出周期性的繁荣和稀少;而还有些变化非常大,时而暴增,时而锐减,这种增减有时显然与气候有关,而有时又与气候无关。
为了赋予这些千变万化的模式一种规律,科学家中的一种流派提出将所有种群划分为两类。这部分生态学家假设:那些相对稳定的种群具有和“种群密度相关”的增长参数;也就是说,这些种群的出生率、死亡率以及迁徙规律都大大地依赖于种群的密度。那些变化很大的种群具有“种群密度无关”的增长参数,其生存率随环境因素的变化而变化,并且以一种完全独立于种群密度的方式进行波动。
这种二分法有它的用途,但如果死板地应用也会引发一些问题。一方面,没有任何种群在所有的时间里完全只受“种群密度无关”因素的影响。无论出生、死亡率以及迁徙规律相对于长期的平均值的变化是如何的剧烈和不可预测,如果没有种群密度无关因素,从长远来看,这个种群的数量将无限地增加或减少(从而阻碍了得失正好相消的奇迹的发生)。换一句话讲,也许种群内平均99%的死亡都由“种群密度无关”因素导致的,只有1%由随种群密度变化而变化的因素所导致。导致这1%的因素也许看起来并不重要,而且它们的影响也相应地很难确定。但是,无论认识到或没有认识到,它们都将对该种群密度长期的平均值起决定作用。
为了能够理解生态学家们研究的性质,我们可以把种群密度相关对增长参数的影响视为一种“信号”,生态学家试图分离并解释这些“信号”,这种“信号”将使种群中个体数量从相对低的数值增长或从相对高的数值减少,同时,密度无关因素将作为一种“噪音”来影响种群的动态变化。对于那些数量保持相对不变,或者以一种循环周期进行摆动的种群而言,这种“信号”将会相当容易提取特征并描述它的影响,即使我们仍不知道作为原因的生物机制。对那些变化不规则的种群,我们可能因为观察太小而无法从繁多的“噪音”中提取那一信号。但是,现在显得很清楚的是,所有种群都受“种群密度相关”和“种群密度无关”两类因素在不同程度上的共同制约。
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。