Section I Use of English
Directions：
Read the following text. Choose the best word (s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
Why do people read negative Internet comments and do other things that will obviously be painful? Because humans have an inherent need to _____ (1) uncertainty, according to a recent study in Psychological Science. The new research reveals that the need to know is so strong that people will _____ (2) to satisfy their curiosity even when it is clear the answer will_____ (3).
In a series of four experiments, behavioral scientists at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Wisconsin School of Business tested students' willingness to _____ (4) themselves to unpleasant stimuli in an effort to satisfy curiosity. For one _____ (5), each participant was shown a pile of pens that the researcher claimed were from a previous experiment. The twist? Half of the pens would _____ (6) an electric shock when clicked.
Twenty-seven students were told which pens were rigged; another twenty-seven were told only that some were electrified. _____ (7) left alone in the room, the students who did not know which ones would shock them clicked more pens and incurred more jolts than the students who knew what would _____ (8). Subsequent experiments replicated this effect with other stimuli, _____ (9) the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard and photographs of disgusting insects.
The drive to _____ (10) is deeply ingrained in humans, much the same as the basic drives for _____ (11) or shelter, says Christopher Hsee of the University of Chicago, a co-author of the paper. Curiosity is often considered a good instinct-it can _____ (12) new scientific advances, for instance-but sometimes such _____ (13) can backfire. The insight that curiosity can drive you to do _____ (14) things is a profound one.
Unhealthy curiosity is possible to _____ (15), however. In a final experiment, participants who were encouraged to _____ (16) how they would feel after viewing an unpleasant picture were less likely to _____ (17) to see such an image. These results suggest that imagining the _____ (18) of following through on one's curiosity ahead of time can help determine _____ (19) it is worth the endeavor. "Thinking about long-term _____ (20) is key to mitigating the possible negative effects of curiosity," Hsee says. In other words, don't read online comments.
1. A.on B.like C.for D.from
2. A.faith B.concern C.attention D.interest
3. A.benefit B.debt C.hope D.price
4. A.Therefore B.Then C.Instead D.Again
5. A.Until B.Unless C.Although D.When
6. A.selects B.produces C.applies D.maintains
7. A.consult B.compete C.connect D.compare
8. A.at B.by C.of D.to
9. A.context B.mood C.period D.circle
10. A.counterparts B.substitutes C.colleagues D.supporters
11. A.Funny B.Lucky C.Odd D.Ironic
12. A.monitor B.protect C.surprise D.delight
13. A.between B.within C.toward D.over
14. A.transferred B.added C.introduced D.entrusted
15. A.out B.back C.around D.inside
16. A.discovered B.proved C.insisted D.remembered
17. A.betrayed B.wronged C.fooled D.mocked
18. A.forced B.willing C.hesitant D.entitled
19. A.In contrast B.As a result C.On the whole D.For instance
20. A.inflexible B.incapable C.unreliable D.unsuitable
1.【题干】_____.
【答案】C
2. 【题干】_____.
【答案】A
3. 【题干】_____.
【答案】D
4. 【题干】_____.
【答案】B
5. 【题干】_____.
【答案】D
6. 【题干】_____.
【答案】B
7. 【题干】_____.
【答案】C
8. 【题干】_____.
【答案】D
9. 【题干】_____.
【选项】B
10.【题干】_____.
【答案】A
11. 【题干】_____.
【答案】B
12. 【题干】_____.
【答案】B
13. 【题干】_____.
【答案】A
14.【题干】_____.
【答案】C
15.【题干】_____.
【答案】D
16. 【题干】_____.
【答案】A
17. 【题干】_____.
【答案】C
18. 【题干】_____.
【答案】B
19. 【题干】_____.
【答案】A
20. 【题干】_____.
【答案】C
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Text 1
Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for their jobs?
Don't dismiss that possibility entirely. About half of U.S. jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately squeezed. Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don't appeal to robots. But many middle-class occupations-trucking, financial advice, software engineering — have aroused their interest, or soon will. The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.
This isn't to be alarmist. Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past. The Industrial Revolution didn't go so well for Luddites whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms, but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobs than it destroyed. Likewise, automation should eventually boost productivity, stimulate demand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work. But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.
The first step, as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age, should be rethinking education and job training. Curriculums —from grammar school to college- should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication. Vocational schools should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skills and helping students work alongside robots. Online education can supplement the traditional kind. It could make extra training and instruction affordable. Professionals trying to acquire new skills will be able to do so without going into debt.
The challenge of coping with automation underlines the need for the U.S. to revive its fading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier. In previous eras of drastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines. The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven't been invented yet. The U.S. needs the new companies that will invent them.
Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income, taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought. Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded: This would boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduce inequality.
Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation. Destroying the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts. But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.
21.【题干】Who will be most threatened by automation?
【选项】
A.Leading politicians.
B.Low-wage laborers.
C.Robot owners.
D.Middle-class workers.
【答案】D
22 . 【题干】Which of the following best represent the author's view?
【选项】
A.Worries about automation are in fact groundless.
B.Optimists' opinions on new tech find little support.
C.Issues arising from automation need to be tackled
D.Negative consequences of new tech can be avoided
【答案】C
23.【题干】Education in the age of automation should put more emphasis on_____.
【选项】
A.creative potential.
B.job-hunting skills.
C.individual needs.
D.cooperative spirit.
【答案】A
24.【题干】The author suggests that tax policies be aimed at_____.
【选项】
A.encouraging the development of automation.
B.increasing the return on capital investment.
C.easing the hostility between rich and poor.
D.preventing the income gap from widening.
【答案】D
25. 【题干】In this text, the author presents a problem with_____.
【选项】
A.pposing views on it.
B.possible solutions to it.
C.its alarming impacts.
D.its major variations.
【答案】B
Text 2
A new survey by Harvard University finds more than two-thirds of young Americans disapprove of President Trump's use of Twitter. The implication is that Millennials prefer news from the White House to be filtered through other source, Not a president's social media platform.
Most Americans rely on social media to check daily headlines. Yet as distrust has risen toward all media, people may be starting to beef up their media literacy skills. Such a trend is badly needed. During the 2016 presidential campaign, nearly a quarter of web content shared by Twitter users in the politically critical state of Michigan was fake news, according to the University of Oxford. And a survey conducted for Buzz Feed News found 44 percent of Facebook users rarely or never trust news from the media giant.
