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 ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Text 1
King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted “kings don’t abdicate, they dare in their sleep.” But embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left in the recent Euro-elections have forced him to eat his words and stand down. So, does the Spanish crisis suggest that monarchy is seeing its last days? Does that mean the writing is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificent uniforms and majestic lifestyle?
The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy. When public opinion is particularly polarised, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of national unity.
It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs’ continuing popularity polarized. And also, the Middle East excepted, Europe is the most monarch-infested region in the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting Vatican City and Andorra). But unlike their absolutist counterparts in the Gulf and Asia, most royal families have survived because they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure.
Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside. Symbolic of national unity as they claim to be, their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today – embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities. At a time when Thomas Piketty and other economists are warning of rising inequality and the increasing power of inherited wealth, it is bizarre that wealthy aristocratic families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic states.
The most successful monarchies strive to abandon or hide their old aristocratic ways. Princes and princesses have day-jobs and ride bicycles, not horses (or helicopters). Even so, these are wealthy families who party with the international 1%, and media intrusiveness makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the right image.
While Europe’s monarchies will no doubt be smart enough to survive for some time to come, it is the British royals who have most to fear from the Spanish example.
It is only the Queen who has preserved the monarchy’s reputation with her rather ordinary (if well-heeled) granny style. The danger will come with Charles, who has both an expensive taste of lifestyle and a pretty hierarchical view of the world. He has failed to understand that monarchies have largely survived because they provide a service – as non-controversial and non-political heads of state. Charles ought to know that as English history shows, it is kings, not republicans, who are the monarchy’s worst enemies.
21. According to the first two Paragraphs, King Juan Carlos of Spain
[A] used turn enjoy high public support
[B] was unpopular among European royals
[C] cased his relationship with his rivals
[D]ended his reign in embarrassment
【答案】[D] ended his reign in embarrassment
【解析】事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干要求，定位到文章前兩段。而文章第一段的第二句話提到“But embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left in the recent Euro-elections have forced him to eat his words and stand down.”(在最近的歐洲選舉中，令人尷尬的丑聞和受歡迎的共和黨，均迫使Carlos收回前言并退位)。D選項(xiàng)中，“stand down”是“end reign”的同義置換，且“embarrassment”與導(dǎo)致Carlos卸任的原因“embarrassing scandals”是相呼應(yīng)的。故D是正確答案。A、B、C均屬于無(wú)中生有。
22. Monarchs are kept as heads of state in Europe mostly
[A] owing to their undoubted and respectable status
[B] to achieve a balance between tradition and reality
[C] to give voter more public figures to look up to
[D]due to their everlasting political embodiment
【答案】[A] owing to their undoubted and respectable status
【解析】事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞“monarchs”和“heads of state”，定位到第三段的最后一句話“...most royal families have survived because they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure.”(大多數(shù)的王室幸存下來(lái)是由于他們讓選民可以避免去尋找一個(gè)不受爭(zhēng)議且受尊敬的公眾人物的困難)其中“non-controversial but respected public figure”正是A選項(xiàng)中“undoubted and respectable status”的同義置換。故A是正確答案。
23. Which of the following is shown to be odd, according to Paragraph 4?
[A] Aristocrats’ excessive reliance on inherited wealth
[B] The role of the nobility in modern democracies
[C] The simple lifestyle of the aristocratic families
[D]The nobility’s adherence to their privileges
【答案】[B] The role of the nobility in modern democracies
【解析】事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。定位在第四段的最后一句話“...it is bizarre that wealthy aristocratic families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic states.”(離奇的是，富有的貴族竟然仍是現(xiàn)代民主國(guó)家的象征核心)其中，the symbolic heart of modern democratic states是題干the role of the nobility in modern democracies的同義置換。
24. The British royals “have most to fear” because Charles
[A] takes a rough line on political issues
[B] fails to change his lifestyle as advised
[C] takes republicans as his potential allies
[D] fails to adapt himself to his future role
【答案】[D] fails to adapt himself to his future role
【解析】事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。該題考查：英國(guó)皇家貴族們非常害怕是因?yàn)椴闋査埂�。根�?jù)題干專有名詞Charles可定位到文章第七段“the danger will come with Charles...worst enemies”。本段指出“危險(xiǎn)源自于查爾斯，他生活奢靡，等級(jí)觀念顯著;并且他沒(méi)有意識(shí)到君王的幸存很大程度上取決于君王提供了公共服務(wù)，同時(shí)，查爾斯并不知道，國(guó)王才是君主制度最大的敵人，而非共和黨人。”選項(xiàng)A意為：對(duì)待政治問(wèn)題態(tài)度強(qiáng)硬，文章并無(wú)提及;選項(xiàng)B意為，對(duì)待建議的生活方式改變失敗，文章中提到生活方式，但并未提到改變生活方式;選項(xiàng)C意為：視共和黨人為潛在盟友，文章中提到，共和黨人并非最大的敵人，并未指明把共和黨人視為盟友，屬于偷換概念，選項(xiàng)D意為：適應(yīng)未來(lái)身份失敗，文章指出查爾斯的生活方式，世界觀以及他對(duì)于君王制度的錯(cuò)誤理解均為身份特殊的他的不正確言行，與選項(xiàng)D表述吻合，故為正確答案。
25. Which of the following is the best title of the text?
[A] Carlos, Glory and Disgrace Combined
[B] Charles, Anxious to Succeed to the Throne
[C] Carlos, a Lesson for All European Monarchs
[D]Charles, Slow to React to the Coming Threats
【答案】[C] Carlos, a Lesson for All European Monarchs
【解析】主旨大意題。該題考察四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中哪個(gè)可作為文章最佳標(biāo)題。文章從西班牙國(guó)王Carlos退位事件切入，主要討論當(dāng)下歐洲君王制度所存在的問(wèn)題，并非討論查爾斯的事件，即可排除選項(xiàng)B“查爾斯—繼位焦慮”和D“查爾斯—應(yīng)對(duì)威脅緩慢”，而選項(xiàng)A“卡洛斯—榮辱并存” 和C“卡洛斯—?dú)W洲君王們的前車之鑒”中，選項(xiàng)A屬于細(xì)節(jié)信息，不能概括文章大意，選項(xiàng)C可概括，故為正確答案。另外，文章主題詞Monarch只有在選項(xiàng)C中出現(xiàn)，也可作為迅速解題的依據(jù)。
Text 2
Just how much does the Constitution protect your digital data? The Supreme Court will now consider whether police can search the contents of a mobile phone without a warrant if the phone is on or around a person during an arrest.
California has asked the justices to refrain from a sweeping ruling particularly one that upsets the old assumption that authorities may search through the possessions of suspects at the time of their arrest. It is hard, the state argues, for judges to assess the implications of new and rapidly changing technologies.
The court would be recklessly modest if it followed California’s advice. Enough of the implications are discernable, even obvious, so that the justices can and should provide updated guidelines to police, lawyers and defendants.
They should start by discarding California’s lame argument that exploring the contents of a smart phone — a vast storehouse of digital information — is similar to, say, rifling through a suspect’s purse. The court has ruled that police don’t violate the Fourth Amendment when they sift through the wallet or pocketbook of an arrestee without a warrant. But exploring one’s smart phone is more like entering his or her home. A smart phone may contain an arrestee’s reading history, financial history, medical history and comprehensive records of recent correspondence. The development of “cloud computing,” meanwhile, has made that exploration so much the easier.
Americans should take steps to protect their digital privacy. But keeping sensitive information on these devices is increasingly a requirement of normal life. Citizens still have a right to expect private documents to remain private and protected by the Constitution’s prohibition on unreasonable searches.
As so often is the case, stating that principle doesn’t ease the challenge of line-drawing. In many cases, it would not be overly onerous for authorities to obtain a warrant to search through phone contents. They could still invalidate Fourth Amendment protections when facing severe, urgent circumstances, and they could take reasonable measures to ensure that phone data are not erased or altered while a warrant is pending. The court, though, may want to allow room for police to cite situations where they are entitled to more freedom.
But the justices should not swallow California’s argument whole. New, disruptive technology sometimes demands novel applications of the Constitution’s protections. Orin Kerr, a law professor, compares the explosion and accessibility of digital information in the 21st century with the establishment of automobile use as a virtual necessity of life in the 20th: The justices had to specify novel rules for the new personal domain of the passenger car then; they must sort out how the Fourth Amendment applies to digital information now.
26. The Supreme Court will work out whether, during an arrest, it is legitimate to
[A] prevent suspects from deleting their phone contents.
[B] search for suspects’ mobile phones without a warrant.
[C] check suspects’ phone contents without being authorized.
[D]prohibit suspects from using their mobile phones.
【答案】[C] check suspects’ phone contents without being authorized
【解析】這是一道事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題，根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞The Supreme Court回文定位到第一段的第二句話，“The Supreme Court will now consider whether police can search for the contents of a mobile phone without a warrant if the phone is on or around a person during an arrest”,一一比對(duì)選項(xiàng)，原文中的“police can search for the contents of a mobile phone without a warrant”與選項(xiàng)C “check suspects’ phone contents without being authorized”是同義替換，其他選項(xiàng)均是無(wú)關(guān)選項(xiàng)醫(yī)學(xué)全.在.線.提供. m.zxtf.net.cn。
27. The author’s attitude toward California’s argument is one of
[A] disapproval.
[B] indifference.
[C] tolerance.
[D]cautiousness.
【答案】[A] disapproval
【解析】本題是觀點(diǎn)態(tài)度題，考察作者的態(tài)度。根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞“California’s argument”，可以定位到文章第四段第一句“They should start by discarding California’s lame argument…”。由第四段第一句話中的“discard(拋棄)”和“l(fā)ame(沒(méi)有說(shuō)服力的)”可以看出作者對(duì)于California’s argument 是不支持的態(tài)度，因此選A。
28. The author believes that exploring one’s phone contents is comparable to
[A] getting into one’s residence.
[B] handling one’s historical records.
[C] scanning one’s correspondences.
[D] going through one’s wallet.
【答案】[A] getting into one’s residence
【解析】根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞the author believes和“exploring one’s phone contents is comparable to”可回文定位到文章第四段第三句“But exploring one’s smartphone is more like entering his or her home”，選項(xiàng)A語(yǔ)義與之一致，其中，getting into與entering對(duì)應(yīng)，one’s residence與his or her home對(duì)應(yīng)，故A選項(xiàng)為正確答案。
29. The author believes that exploring one’s phone contents is comparable to
[A] principles are hard to be clearly expressed.
[B] the court is giving police less room for action.
[C] citizens’ privacy is not effectively protected.
[D] phones are used to store sensitive information.
【答案】[C] citizens’ privacy is not effectively protected
【解析】根據(jù)題干信息In paragraphs 5and 6定位第5段第一句話“Americans should take steps to protect their digital privacy.及第6段最后一句話，...and they could take reasonable measures to.....，可推知作者的顧慮，因此答案為C.
30. Orin Kerr’s comparison is quoted to indicate that
[A] the Constitution should be implemented flexibly.
[B] new technology requires reinterpretation of the Constitution.
[C]California’s argument violates principles of the Constitution.
[D]principles of the Constitution should never be altered
【答案】[A] the Constitution should be implemented flexibly
【解析】這是一道例證題，根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞Orin Kerr可以回文定位到文章最后一段。作者引用Orin Kerr這個(gè)人的比較是為了說(shuō)明相關(guān)的論點(diǎn)。分析最后一段結(jié)構(gòu)可知，最后一段的第三句和第四句都是在闡述該例子本身，所以相關(guān)論點(diǎn)應(yīng)該往前面找，即是第二句話，“New，disruptive technology sometimes demands novel applications of the Constitution’s protection”,選項(xiàng)A與之同義替換，其中，be implemented和applications對(duì)應(yīng)，novel和flexibly對(duì)應(yīng)。
