2020考研英语1

SectionIIIReadingComprehensionPartADirections:Readthefollowingfourtexts.AnswerthequestionsbeloweachtextbychoosingA,B,CorD.MarkyouranswersontheANSWERSHEET.(40points)Text1AgroupoflabourMPs,amongthemYvetteCooper,arebringinginthenewyearwithacalltoinstituteaUKtownofcultureaward.Theproposalisthatitshouldsitalongsidetheexistingcityofculturetitle,whichwasheldbyHullin2017andhasbeenawardedtoCoventryfor2021.CooperandhercolleaguesarguethatthesuccessofthecrownforHull,whereitbroughtin£220mofinvestmentandanavalancheofarts,oughtnottobeconfinedtocities.Britain’stowns,itistrue,arenotpreventedfromapplying,buttheygenerallylacktheresourcestoputtogetherabidtobeattheirbiggercompetitors.Atownofcultureawardcould,itisargued,becomeanannualevent,attractingfundingandcreatingjobs.SomemightseetheproposalasaboobyprizeforthefactthatBritainisnolongerbeabletoapplyforthemuchmoreprestigioustitleofEuropeancapitalofculture,asought-afterawardbaggedbyGlasgowin1990andLiverpoolin2008.AcynicmightspeculatethattheUKisonthevergeofdisappearingintoanendlessfeverofself-celebrationinitsdesperationtoreinventitselfforthepost-Brexitworld:aftertownofculture,whoknowsthatwillfollowvillageofculture?Suburbofculture?Hamletofculture?Itisalsowisetorecallthatsuchtitlesarenotacure-all.Abadlyrunyearofculture”washesinandoutofaplacelikethetide,bringingprominenceforaspellbutleavingnolastingbenefitstothecommunity.Thereallysuccessfulholdersofsuchtitlesarethosethatdoagreatdealmorethanfillhotelbedroomsandbringinhigh-profileartseventsandgoodpressforayear.Theytransformtheaspirationsofthepeoplewholivethere;theynudgetheself-imageofthecityintoabolderandmoreoptimisticlight.Itisalsowisetorecallthatsuchtitlesarenotapanacea.Abadlyrun“yearofculture”washesinandwashesoutofaplacelikethetide,bringingprominenceforaspellbutleavingnolastingbenefitstothecommunity.Thereallysuccessfulholdersofsuchtitlesarethosethatdoagreatdealmorethanfillhotelbedroomsandbringinhigh-profileartseventsandgoodpressforayear.Theytransformtheaspirationsofthepeoplewholivethere;theynudgetheself-imageofthecityintoabolderandmoreoptimisiticlight.Itishardtogetright,andrequiresaremarkabledegreeofvision,aswellascooperationbetweencityauthorities,theprivatesector,communitygroupsandculturalorganisations.Butitcanbedone:Glasgow'syearasEuropeancapitalofculturecancertainlybeseenasoneofcomplexseriesoffactorsthathaveturnedthecityintothepowerofart,musicandtheatrethatitremainstoday.Atownofculturecouldbenotjustabouttheartsbutabouthonouringatown'speculiarities-helpingsustainitshighstreet,supportinglocalfacilitiesandaboveallcelebratingitspeopleandturnitintoaction.21.Cooperandhercolleaguesarguethat“atownofculture”awardcould[A]consolidatethetown-citytiesinBritain[B]promotecooperationamongBritain'stowns[C]increasetheeconomicstrengthofBritain'stowns[D]focusBritain'slimitedresourcesonculturalevents22.AccordingtoParagraph2,theproposalmightberegardedbysomeas[A]asensiblecompromise.[B]aself-deceivingattempt.[C]aneye-catchingbonus.[D]aninaccessibletarget.23.Theauthorsuggeststhatatitleholderissuccessfulonlyifit[A]endeavourstomaintainitsimage.[B]meetstheaspirationsofitspeople.[C]bringsitslocalartstoprominence.[D]commitstoitslong-termgrowth.24.GlasgowismentionedinParagraph3topresent[A]acontrastingcase.[B]asupportingexample.[C]abackgroundstory.[D]arelatedtopic.25.Whatistheauthor'sattitudetowardstheproposal?[A]Skeptical[B]Objective[C]Favourable[D]Critical包括伊薇特•库珀(YvetteCooper)在内的一群工党议员在新年之际，呼吁设立一个英国“文化小镇”的奖项。他们提议该奖项应与现有的“文化之城称号”(cityofculturetitle)并驾齐驱。2017年赫尔(Hull)举办的文化之城活动，将2021年文化之城的称号授予了考文垂(Coventry)。库珀和同事认为，赫尔在2013年（译者注）获得了文化之城的称号，这为赫尔带来了22,000万英镑的经济影响以及各种艺术盛宴，这种收获应该不仅仅局限于英国的城市。诚然，并没有禁止英国的城镇申请该奖项，但城镇一般缺乏资源，很难整合起来投标，与那些规模更大的城市竞争。有人认为，文化小镇奖可以成为一项年度活动，吸引资金，创造就业机会。有些人可能认为，这项提议有点狭隘，因为英国已无法再申请名声更大的“欧洲文化之都”（Europeancapitalofculture）称号，该奖项备受追捧。1990年英国格拉斯哥（Glasgow）2008年利物浦（Liverpool）都获得了此项殊荣。愤世嫉俗的人可能会猜测，英国正濒临消失，陷入一种无休止地自我庆贺的狂热模式。在“文化城镇”之后，谁知道接下来又会发生什么——文化村？文化郊区？还是文化哈姆雷特？我们还应该清醒地认识到，这些头衔并不是包治百病的灵丹妙药。蜂拥举办的“文化年”就像潮水一样在一个地方进进出出，在一段时间内给当地带来了明显的优势，但并没有给当地社区带来持久的好处。这些头衔真正的益处，不应该只是酒店满员，各种引人注目的艺术活动，整整一年媒体各种宣传报道，而应该是改变了当地居民的愿望，将城市的自我形象推向一个更大胆、更积极的灯光下。要想做对的确不容，这需要非凡的远见，以及各个城市的管理人员、私营部门、社区团体和文化组织之间的合作。但这又是具有可操作性：格拉斯哥作为欧洲文化之都的一年，产生了一系列复杂的因素，这些因素将格拉斯哥变成了艺术、音乐和戏剧的中心，至今仍然是如此。一个“文化城镇”不仅仅只是有艺术，更重要的是要尊重城镇的特色，帮助维持镇里的商业街，支持当地的设施，最重要的赞美当地的人们，并将其转化为行动。Text2Scientificpublishinghaslongbeenalicencetoprintmoney.Scientistsneedjournalsinwhichtopublishtheirresearch,sotheywillsupplythearticleswithoutmonetaryreward.Otherscientistsperformthespecialisedworkofpeerreviewalsoforfree,becauseitisacentralelementintheacquisitionofstatusandtheproductionofscientificknowledge.Withthecontentofpaperssecuredforfree,thepublisherneedsonlyfindamarketforitsjournal.Untilthiscentury,universitylibrariesnotverypricesensitive.Scientificpublishersroutinelyreportprofitmarginsapproaching40%ontheiroperations,atatimewhentherestofthepublishingindustryisinanexistentialcrisis.TheDutchgiantElsevier,whichclaimstopublish25%ofthescientificpapersproducedintheworld,madeprofitsofmorethanf900mlastyear,whileUKuniversitiesalonespentm