@大师兄英语·2015 年考研英语二 1 2015 年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语二试题年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语二试题 Section IUse 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) In our contemporary culture, the prospect of communicating with—or even looking at—a stranger is virtually unbearable. Everyone around us seems to agree by the way they fiddle with their phones, even without a 1underground. It’s a sad reality—our desire to avoid interacting with other human beings—because there’s2to be gained from talking to the stranger standing by you. But you wouldn’t know it,3into your phone. This universal armor sends the4: “Please don’t approach me.” What is it that makes us feel we need to hide5our screens? One answer is fear, according to Jon Wortmann, executive mental coach. We fear rejection, or that our innocent social advances will be6as “creepy.” We fear we’ll be7. We fear we’ll be disruptive. Strangers are inherently8to us, so we are more likely to feel9when communicating with them compared with our friends and acquaintances. To avoid this anxiety, we10to our phones. “Phones become our security blanket,” Wortmann says. “They are our happy glasses that protect us from what we perceive is going to be more11.” But once we rip off the bandaid, tuck our smartphones in our pockets and look up, it doesn’t12so bad. In one 2011 experiment, behavioral scientists Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder asked commuters to do the unthinkable: Start a13. They had Chicago train commuters talk to their fellow14. “When Dr. Epley and Ms. Schroeder asked other people in the same train station to15how they would feel after talking to a stranger, the commuters thought their16would be more pleasant if they sat on their own,” the New York Times summarizes. Though the participants didn’t expect a positive experience, after they17with the expe- riment, “not a single person reported having been snubbed.” 18, these commutes were reportedly more enjoyable compared with those without communication, which makes absolute sense,19human beings thrive off of social connections. It’s that20: Talking to strangers can make you feel connected. 1. [A] ticket[B] permit[C] signal[D] record 2. [A] nothing[B] link[C] another[D] much 3. [A] beaten[B] guided[C] plugged[D] brought 4. [A] message[B] code[C] notice[D] sign 5. [A] under[B] beyond[C] behind[D] from 6. [A] misinterpreted[B] misapplied[C] misadjusted[D] mismatched 7. [A] fired[B] judged[C] replaced[D] delayed 8. [A] unreasonable[B] ungrateful[C] unconventional[D] unfamiliar 9. [A] comfortable[B] anxious[C] confident[D] angry 10. [A] attend[B] point[C] take[D] turn 11. [A] dangerous[B] mysterious[C] violent[D] boring 12. [A] hurt[B] resist[C] bend[D] decay 13. [A] lecture[B] conversation[C] debate[D] negotiation 14. [A] trainees[B] employees[C] researchers[D] passengers @大师兄英语·2015 年考研英语二 2 15. [A] reveal[B] choose[C] predict[D] design 16. [A] voyage[B] flight[C] walk[D] ride 17. [A] went through[B] did away[C] caught up[D] put up 18. [A] In turn[B] In particular[C] In fact[D] In consequence 19. [A] unless[B] since[C] if[D] whereas 20. [A] funny[B] simple[C] logical[D] rare 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 A new study suggests that contrary to most surveys, people are actually more stressed at home than at work. Researchers measured people’s cortisol, which is a stress marker, while they were at work and while they were at home and found it higher at what is supposed to be a place of refuge. “Further contradicting conventional wisdom, we found that women as well as men have lower levels of stress at work than at home,” writes one of the researchers, Sarah Damaske. In fact women even say they feel better at work, she notes. “It is men, not women, who report being happier at home than at work.” Another surprise is that the findings hold true for both those with children and without, but more so for non-parents. This is why people who work outside the home have better health. What the study doesn’t measure is whether people are still doing work when they’re at home, whether it is household work or work brought home from the office. For many men, the end of the workday is a time to kick back. For women who stay home, they never get to leave the office. And for women who work outside the home, they often are playing catch-up-with-household tasks. With the blurring of roles, and the fact that the home front lags well behind the workplace in making adjustments for working women, it’s not surprising that women are more stressed at home. But it’s not just a gender thing. At work, people pretty much know what they’re supposed to be doing: working, making money, doing the tasks they have to do in order to draw an income. The bargain is very pure: Employee puts in hour。