A) objective

B) optimistic

C) pessimistic

D) biased





篇章剖析


本文采用提出问题——分析问题的模式，指出世界上最大的零售商沃尔玛在墨西哥开设分店时所遇到的麻烦、问题产生的原因以及最终的结果。第一段指出沃尔玛设在墨西哥的子公司Bodega Aurrerá在墨西哥城北部的圣胡安特奥帝瓦坎村开了一家新店所引起的强烈反对；第二段指出事件产生的原因；第三段指出反对者的看法及举动；第四段指出沃尔玛充分的前期工作；第五段指出这座古城的实际情况；第六段指出这个事件最有可能的结果是什么。





词汇注释


subsidiary /səbˈsɪdɪəri/ n. 子公司

retailer /ˈriːtɪlə(r)/ n. 零售商人

go down with 为…所接受，为…相信

culmination /kʌlmɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 顶点；结果

hyperbole /haɪˈpɜːbəli/ n. （修辞学中的）夸张法

summer solstice 夏至

creeping /ˈkriːpɪŋ/ adj. 爬行的；在一段时间内逐步发展的

bogus /ˈbəʊɡəs/ adj. 〈美〉假的，伪造的

diehard /ˈdaɪhɑːd/ n. 顽固分子

irate /aɪˈreɪt/ adj. 发怒的；生气的





难句突破


① But this particular opening was, in fact, the culmination of months of protests, legal actions, hunger strikes and hyperbole by those determined to stop it.

主体句式：This opening was the culmination.

结构分析：本句是一个简单句。months of protests, legal actions, hunger strikes and hyperbole跟在介词of后面来修饰culmination；by的意思是“由…”；determined之前省去了who are。

句子译文：这次开张实际上是那些决心阻止它成立的人数月以来进行抗议、动用法律手段、绝食抗议和其他一些偏激行为无效而落得的最终结果。

② For many Mexicans, the ancient site, abandoned by its mysterious inhabitants centuries before the Spanish conquerors arrived, remains the ultimate symbol of Mexican identity and nationhood.

主体句式：The ancient site remains the symbol of…

结构分析：本句是一个简单句。abandoned之前省去了which was。

句子译文：在西班牙征服者到来之前，这座古城被这里的神秘居民遗弃了数百年，但对很多墨西哥人来说它依然是墨西哥民族和国家身份的根本象征。





题目分析


1. C 细节题。从句子Normally, such an event would cause little stir.，我们可以看出沃尔玛开业这样的事情一般不会引起什么反对的。但是作者笔锋一转，用but表明实际有人反对，原因在于the location和倒数第二段提到的the claim that the new store spoils the famous view from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun。

2. A 推理题。原文对应信息在第二段：For many Mexicans, the ancient site, abandoned by its mysterious inhabitants centuries before the Spanish conquerors arrived, remains the ultimate symbol of Mexican identity and nationhood.

3. D 细节题。原文对应信息在第一段：Wal-Mart is already Mexico's biggest retailer too. And its shops seem to go down very well with its millions of bargain-hungry customers.

4. D 推理题。原文对应信息在倒数第二段：Just as importantly, the claim that the new store spoils the famous view from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun is clearly bogus, as anyone who cares to get to the top can testify.文中倒数第二段末句提到破坏景致的是unrestricted building long ago，排除A。同时，这只能推出过去缺乏城市规划，而非现在，排除B。文中说的是Wal-Mart被丑陋建筑包围，排除C。

5. B 情感态度题。原文对应信息在文章末句：this is one battle that the American retailer has probably won。





参考译文


上周末，世界最大的零售商沃尔玛设在墨西哥的子公司Bodega Aurrerá在墨西哥城北部的圣胡安特奥帝瓦坎（San Juan Teotihuacán）村开了一家新店。通常情况下，这样的事情是不会引起什么反对的。沃尔玛已经是墨西哥最大的零售商了。新开的商店应该备受那些想买廉价货的上百万顾客的欢迎。这次开张实际上是那些决心阻止它成立的人数月以来进行抗议、动用法律手段、绝食抗议和其他一些偏激行为无效而落得的最终结果。

事件的原因在于地段的选择问题。商店地址选在了离特奥蒂瓦坎古城仅2.5公里（1.6英里）的地方。该古城可能是墨西哥最为出名的古文化遗址，除了别的景观之外，它还拥有世界上第三大金字塔（从体积上来判断的话）。在西班牙征服者到来之前，这座古城被这里的神秘居民抛弃了数百年，但对很多墨西哥人来说它依然是墨西哥民族和国家身份的根本象征。每逢夏至都有上千人一起登上太阳金字塔的顶部以示庆祝。

对于这些人来说，在古城附近建沃尔玛超市这样的主意简直太可恶了。奥梅罗·阿里迪斯是一位作家，也是主要的反对者之一，用他的话来说：“这好比是把全球化的树桩子插到了古老的墨西哥的心脏上。”在反对者看来，这是一种潜在的危险。为了使墨西哥文化免受危险，他们已做出了一系列努力，这场争端只是其中最近的一次。他们曾赢过一场令人满意的胜利，成功阻止了麦当劳餐厅在美丽的南部殖民城镇瓦哈卡（OaxacA)的主要广场上开店。

但是这次他们的底气就没那么足了。因为从一开始，沃尔玛就通过了所有相关管理部门的审核，甚至还得到了驻巴黎的国际古迹遗址理事会的认可，他们判定在那里设店对周边遗迹是不会造成任何损害的。在新停车场施工过程中确实发现了一个小的石头平台，这已被保存起来了。

同样重要的是，声称新店破坏了从太阳金字塔塔顶往下瞭望的良好的视觉效果，这显然是不对的，任何人只要登上塔顶就可以证实这一点。问题并不在于你能看到沃尔玛，而是你得从三十多个凌乱地散布在郊区的丑陋、低矮的建筑中努力去辨认沃尔玛——更不用提那里还有停车场、电缆塔和大型发电站了。令人遗憾的是，那些随意建成的建筑很早以前不但破坏了此处的独特风景，也毁了墨西哥的其他景观。

对于顽固分子来说，事件本身要比风景问题重要。但是对于许许多多排队等候它开业的当地居民来说，这些都不重要了，因为他们再不用受又小又贵的当地商店的限制而开心不已。虽然当地一名愤怒的左翼政客对沃尔玛和当地官员提起的诉讼案件还悬而未决，但是在这场战斗中，美国零售商差不多已胜券在握了。





第3章 信息技术类



Unit 31


In a lab in Princeton University's ultra-sleek chemistry building, researchers toil in a modern-day hunt for an elusive power: alchemy.

Throughout the centuries, alchemists tried in vain to transform common metals like iron and lead into precious ones like gold or platinum. Today, Paul Chirik, a professor of chemistry at Princeton, has managed a new twist on the timeworn pursuit.

Dr. Chirik, 39, has learned how to make iron function like platinum, in chemical reactions that are crucial to manufacturing scores of basic materials. While he can't, sadly, transmute a lump of iron ore into a pile of valuable jewelry, his version of alchemy is far more practical, and the implications are wide-ranging.

The process could herald a new era of flexible manufacturing technologies, while enabling companies to steer clear of scarce elements as prices rise or obtaining them becomes environmentally or geopolitically risky.

“No chemist would think lithium was in short supply,”Dr. Chirik said, “but what happens if you put a lithium battery in every car? This is why chemistry needs to be ahead of the curve. We need to have adaptable solutions.”

Despite the cost and relative scarcity of precious metals——iridium, platinum, rhodium——we rely on them to manufacture products from denim to beer, pharmaceuticals to fuel cells. The elements are used as catalysts, substances that kick off or enable chemical reactions.

Dr. Chirik's work involves dissolved catalysts, which are mixed into the end product. The molecules of the catalyst dissipate during the reaction. For instance, a solution containing platinum is used to make silicone emulsifiers, compounds that in turn feed products like makeup, cookware and glue. Tiny amounts of the expensive metal are scattered in all these things; your jeans, for instance, contain unrecoverable particles of platinum.

注（1）：本文选自The New York Times;

注（2）：本文习题模仿对象：本文习题的第1、5题模仿2011年真题Text 1 的第1、5题；第2题模仿2010年真题Text 2 的第2题；第3、4题模仿2011年真题Text 2 的第3、4题。

1. We can learn from the first two paragraphs that alchemy______.

A) incurs suspicion

B) is a new pursuit

C) hasn't been realized

D) arouses curiosity

2. Which of the following is NOT true?

A) In some chemical reactions, iron can function like platinum.

B) Dr. Chirik's practical alchemy enables him transform iron ore into valuable jewelry.

C) Flexible manufacturing technologies can avoid the use of scarce elements as prices rise in the future.

D) Chemists would think lithium was sufficient.

3. The phrase “be ahead of the curve”（Line 2, Paragraph 5) most probably means______.

A) making change in advance

B) before curving

C) forward

D) keeping changing

4. It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that______.

A) catalysts are mixed into the end product

B) the molecules of the catalyst decompose during the reaction

C) it would be the biggest deal so far

D) catalysts feature in wide-ranging function in chemical reactions as well as in the end products

5. From the text we can see that the writer seems______.

A) positive

B) negative

C) uncertain

D) neutral





篇章剖析


本文是一篇科技说明文，主要介绍了炼金术及其新发展。前两段介绍了炼金术由来已久，直到今天炼金师们依然在做新尝试；第三段讲述了奇瑞克博士学会如何使铁和铂具有相似功能，但依然不能点石为金；第四、五段讲述了灵活制造技术的到来具有很大意义，可以利用可替代的金属，进而避开一些环境或政治问题；文章最后两段则讲述了催化剂的重要作用。





词汇注释


elusive /ɪˈluːsɪv/ adj. 难获得的；难懂的；易忘的

alchemy /ˈælkəmi/ n. 炼金术；魔力

alchemist /ˈælkəmɪst/ n. 炼金士

platinum /ˈplætɪnəm/ n. 铂

timeworn /ˈtaɪmwɔːn/ adj. 陈旧的，老朽的

herald /ˈherəld/ v. 预示

lithium /ˈlɪθiəm/ n. 锂

iridium /ɪˈrɪdɪəm/ n. 铱

rhodium /ˈrəʊdɪəm/ n. 铑

pharmaceutical /ˌfɑːməˈsjuːtɪkl/ n. 药品adj. 制药的

catalyst /ˈkætəlɪst/ n. 催化剂

dissipate /ˈdɪsɪpeɪt/ v. 消失；驱散；浪费

silicone /ˈsɪlɪkəun/ n. 硅树脂

emulsifier /ɪˈmʌlsɪfaɪ(r)/ n. 乳化剂





难句突破


The process could herald a new era of flexible manufacturing technologies, while enabling companies to steer clear of scarce elements as prices rise or obtaining them becomes environmentally or geopolitically risky.

主体句式：The process could herald a era of flexible manufacturing technologies…

结构分析：这个长句看上去结构复杂，其实while后面是由or连接的两个并列成分整体作为一个独立主格结构，表结果。正是有了灵活的制造技术，公司才可以利用其他物质替代稀缺元素，达到节省资金，或者避免开采所引起的环境或地理政治问题。

句子译文：这项技术可能预示着一个灵活的制造技术的新时代的到来，公司从此便可以利用其他物质来替代价格日益上涨的稀缺元素，或者避开因为采集它们而引起的环境或地理政治问题。





题目分析


1. C 推断题。原文“alchemists tried in vain to transform common metals like…”中in vain 这个词组表示“白费力气，徒劳”，虽然炼金师们尝试了各种方法，但炼金术还是没有实现，故C项正确。其余三项并没有在文章中体现。

2. B 细节题。文中对应原句“While he can't, sadly, transmute a lump of iron ore into a pile of valuable jewelry, his version of alchemy is far more practical, and the implications are wide-ranging.”其中正确的逻辑关系是，虽然齐瑞克博士的炼金术更实用，影响更广泛，然而他并不能把铁矿石变成珠宝，B选项正好混淆了逻辑。A、C和D选项皆在文章中有直接或间接的体现。

3. A 语义题。由前后文语义和“We need to have adaptable solutions.”可以推断出，化学科学需要走在转变之前，以应对各种状况，也就是要提前做出改变，故选A。

4. D 推断题。最后两段讲述了催化剂不仅能促成化学反应，而且会被混合到最终产品中，由此可知D正确。A、B和C陈述的仅仅是一种现象，不能作为推断的结果。

5. D 情感态度题。本文是一篇科学研究类文章，旨在讲述科学技术，因此作者持中立态度。





参考译文


在普林斯顿大学一座超现代的化学楼的实验室里，科学家们正在苦心钻研一项很难获得的技术，它是当代的寻金之旅：炼金术。

几个世纪以来，炼金师都在尝试将普通的金属，如铁和铅，转化为像金或铂一样的贵重金属，但这些努力都是徒劳的。今天，普林斯顿大学的化学教授保罗·齐瑞克对这一陈年旧日的追求进行了新的尝试。

39岁的齐瑞克博士已经学会了如何使铁和铂具有相似的功能，在化学反应中，此功能对制造大量的基础材料至关重要。尽管他不能把一块铁矿石变成许多价值连城的珠宝，这很可惜，但他的炼金术其实更实用而且影响更为广泛。

这项技术可能预示着一个灵活的制造技术新时代的到来，公司从此便可以利用其他物质来替代价格日益上涨的稀缺元素，或者避开因为采集它们而引起的环境或地理政治问题。

齐瑞克说：“没有哪位化学家会觉得锂有一天会成为稀缺元素，但是如果每辆汽车都用锂电池做燃料呢？这就是为什么化学科学应走在转变之前的原因。我们需要可替代的办法。”

尽管贵重金属，如铱、铂、铑的成本昂贵而且相对稀缺，我们却在很多产品的生产方面依赖它们，从牛仔布到啤酒，从药品到燃料…它们被用作催化剂，即用来引起或促成化学反应的物质。

齐瑞克博士的工作涉及溶解性催化剂，它们被混合到最终产品中。催化剂的分子在反应过程中消失。例如，一种含有铂元素的溶液被用来制造硅乳化剂，该合成物转而又被用来制造化妆品、炊具和胶水。这些东西中都含有少量的昂贵金属，例如你的牛仔裤中就含有不可回收的铂粒子。





Unit 32


Tennis hopeful Jamie Hunt, 16, felt he could not become a world-class junior player while attending a regular school. The international circuit has players on the road 50% of the time——and it's hard to focus on your backhand when you're worrying about being on time for homeroom. So last year Hunt, who hones his ground strokes at Elite TNT Tennis Academy in April Sound, Texas, enrolled for academics in the $9,750-a-year University of Miami Online High School (UMOHS), a virtual school that caters to athletes. “The online school gives me the flexibility I need,”says Hunt. “The workload is the same, but I can do it anywhere. It's nicer to ask a question face-to-face with a teacher, but in some ways it prepares me better for college because I have to be more independent.”A year ago, Hunt's world junior ranking was 886; now it's 108.

Virtual high schools, which allow students to take classes via PC, have emerged as an increasingly popular education alternative, particularly for on-the-go athletes. UMOHS has more than 400 students enrolled, 65% of whom are athletes. Accredited by the 100-year-old Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, UMOHS offers honors and advanced-placement classes. All course material is online, along with assignments and due dates. For help, says principal Howard Liebman, “a student may e-mail, instant message or call the teacher.”

Dallas mom Lori Bannon turned to another online school, Laurel Springs in Ojai, Calif. Bannon, who has a medical degree from Harvard, didn't want to compromise the education of her daughter Lindsay, 13, an élite gymnast who spends eight hours a day in the gym. “Regular school was not an option,”says Bannon, “but I wanted to make sure she could go back at grade level if she quit gymnastics.”Laurel Springs' enrollment has increased 35% a year for the past four years, to 1,800 students. At least 25% are either athletes or child entertainers.

Educators are split on the merits of such schools. Paul Orehovec, an enrollment officer for the University of Miami, admits, “I was somewhat of a skeptic. But when I looked into their programs and accreditation, I was excited. UMOHS is the first online school to be granted membership in the National Honor Society.”Kevin Roy, Elite's director of education, sees pitfalls and potential in virtual schools. “You will never have that wonderful teacher who inspires you for life,”says Roy. “But the virtual school offers endless possibilities. I don't know where education's imagination will take this.”

注（1）：本文选自Time；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1、2、3、5题分别模仿2004年真题Text 4第1、2题，Text 1第2题和Text 3第5题；第4题模仿2014年真题Text 2第4题。

1. What does Jamie Hunt get from the virtual school?

A) The ability to perfect his tennis skills.

B) The time to do his school work.

C) The flexibility to finish the workload anywhere.

D) The independence he needs to be a good tennis player.

2. We can learn from the text that virtual high schools______.

A) make it possible for athletes to receive training without delaying their school work

B) have gained ground as a major education form

C) are cheaper than real schools

D) prepare students better for colleges

3. Which of the following is NOT a practice in a virtual school?

A) Visiting a homeroom on time.

B) E-mailing teachers for questions.

C) Getting course materials online.

D) Taking classes via a PC.

4. Lori Bannon turned to online school because______.

A) virtual school has more athlete students

B) virtual school offers better education

C) her daughter is an elite gymnast

D) regular school cannot meet her daughter's condition

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

A) The education provided by virtual schools is yet to be recognized by authorities.

B) Educators are divided as to whether students should take virtual schools.

C) Despite the defects, virtual schools show great potentials.

D) Regular schools will be replaced by virtual schools sooner or later.





篇章剖析


本文是一篇说明文，介绍了网上虚拟学校的发展状况。第一段以网坛小将Jamie Hunt的例子引出虚拟学校这个话题；第二段介绍了虚拟学校的特点以及迈阿密大学网上中学UMOHS；第三段介绍了另外一个到虚拟学校求学的例子；最后一段介绍了人们对虚拟学校的看法。





词汇注释


hopeful /ˈhəʊpfʊl/ n. 有希望成功的人

circuit /ˈsɜːkɪt/ n. 运动队（或运动场）联合会；联赛

backhand /ˈbækhænd/ n. （网球）反手击球，反手抽击

homeroom /ˈhəʊmruːm/ n.年级教室