厦门大学2003年阅读及英美文学、语言学考研真题

　　Passage 11

　　“On the whole,” Ms. Dennis remarked, “engineering students are lazier now than they used tobe. I know because fewer and fewer of my students regularly do the work they are assigned.”

　　35. The conclusion drawn above depends on which of the following assumptions?

　　(A) Engineering students are working less because, in a booming market, they spending moreand more time investigating different job opportunities.

　　(B) Whether or not students do the work they are assigned is a good indication of how lazythey are.

　　(C) Engineering students should work harder than students in less demanding fields.

　　(D) Laziness is something most people do not outgrow.

　　36. Which of the following identifies a flaw in Ms. Dennis’ reasoning?

　　(A) Plenty of people besides engineering students do no work as hard as they should.

　　(B) Ms. Dennis does not consider the excuses her students may have for being lazy.

　　(C) The argument does not propose any constructive solutions to the problem it identifies.

　　(D) The argument assumes that Ms. Dennis’ students are representative of engineeringstudents in general.

　　Passage 12

　　Athletic director: “members of our sports teams included, for fall season, 80 football playersand 40 cross-country runners; for the spring season, 20 wrestlers and 40 swimmers; for thespring season, 50 track-team members and 20 lacrosse players. Each team athlete participatesin his or her sport five days a week for the whole three-month season, and no athlete is ontwo teams during any one season. Therefore, adding these figures, we find that our teamsports program serves 250 different individual athletes.”

　　37. In drawing the conclusion above, the athletic director fails to consider the relevantpossibility that

　　(A) athletes can be on more than one team in a single season

　　(B) athletes can be on teams in more than one season

　　(C) some of the team sports require a larger number of athletes on the team than do others

　　(D) more athletes participate in team sports during one season than during another.

　　Passage 13

　　Popular culture in the United States has become Europeanized to an extent unimaginabletwenty-five years ago. Not many people then drank wine with meals, and no one drankimported mineral water. No idea would have been more astonishing than that Americanswould pay to watch soccer games. Such thoughts arise because of a report that the AmericanAssociation of State Highway and Transportation Officials has just adopted a proposal todevelop the country’s first comprehensive interstate system of routes for bicycles.

　　38. Which of the following inferences is best supported by the passage?

　　(A) Long-distance bicycle routes are used in Europe.

　　(B) Drinking imported mineral water is a greater luxury than drinking imported wine.

　　(C) United States culture has benefited from exposure to foreign ideas.

　　(D) Most Europeans make regular use bicycles.

　　Passage 14

　　Superficially, college graduates in 1982 resemble college graduates of 1964; they are fairlyconservatives, well dressed, and interested in tradition; they respect their parents. But there isa deep-seated difference: a majority of the members of the class of 1982 who were surveyedin there freshman year stated that making a good income was an important reason for theirdecision to go to college.

　　39. The statements in the passage above, if true, best support which of the followingconclusions?

　　(A) The concerns of college graduates of 1964 were superficial compared to the financialworries of college graduates of 1982.

　　(B) Fewer than half the students of the class of 1964 declared as freshmen that they enteredcollege in order to increase their earning potential.

　　(C) Educational background did not play as significant a part I determining income in 1964 as itdoes in 1982.

　　(D) A majority of the members of the class of 1964 revived their reasons for attending collegebetween their freshman year and college education.

　　Passage 15

　　Many of those who advocate trimming hospital costs argue that the federal money saved bysuch cuts could be utilized for important social purposes: rebuilding the cities, reducing safetyhazards in the workplace, preserving the environment, improving schooling, or developingbetter sources of energy. Their enthusiasm would be dampened if the savings were divertedto other objectives: expanding the military, balancing the budget, revitalizing the spaceprogram, or cutting capital gains taxes. One cannot be confident that any useful result wouldbe obtained by diverting funds from the hospital system.

　　40. The author of the passage above assumes that ________

　　(A) those who favor government expenditure for some social purposes oppose governmentexpenditure in other areas

　　(B) federal money should not be used for rebuilding the cities and other social purposes

　　(C) hospital costs are not excessive

　　(D) hospital costs should be trimmed after the projected savings have been allocated forspecific purposes.