考研英语一阅读理解练习试题及答案解析
Text 3
“There is one and only one social responsibility of businesses,” wrote Milton Friedman, a Nobel prize-winning economist, “That is, to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits.” But even if you accept Firedman’s premise and regard corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies as a waste of shareholders’ money, things may not be absolutely clear-cut. New research suggests that CSR may create monetary value for companies-at least when they are prosecuted for corruption.
The largest firms in America and Britain together spend more than $ 15 billion a year on CSR, according to an estimate by EPG, a consulting firm. This could add value to their businesses in three ways. First, consumers may take CSR spending as a “signal” that a company’s products are of high quality. Second, customers may be willing to buy a company’s products as an indirect way to donate to the good causes it helps. And third, through a more diffuse “halo effect,” whereby its good deeds earn it greater consideration from consumers and others.
Previous studies on CSR have had trouble differentiating these effects because consumers can be affected by all three. A recent study attempts to separate them by looking at bribery prosecutions under America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). It argues that since prosecutors do not consume a company’s products as part of their investigations, they could be influenced only by the halo effect.
The study found that, among prosecuted firms, those with the most comprehensive CSR programmes tended to get more lenient penalties. Their analysis ruled out the possibility that it was firms’ political influence, rather than their CSR stand, that accounted for the leniency: Companies that contributed more to political campaigns did not receive lower fines.
In all, the study concludes that whereas prosecutors should only evaluate a case based on its merits, they do seem to be influenced by a company’s record in CSR. “We estimate that either eliminating a substantial labour-rights concern, such as child labour or increasing corpora giving by about 20% results in fines that generally are 40% lower than the typical punishment for briding foreign officials,” says one researcher.
Researchers admit that their study does not answer the question of how much businesses ought to spend on CSR. Nor does it reveal how much companies are banking on the halo effect rather than the other possible benefits, when they decide their do-gooding policies. But at least they have demonstrated that when companies get into trouble with the law, evidence of good character can win them a less costly punishment.
31. The author views Milton Friedman’s statement about CSR with
[A] tolerance
[B] skepticism
[C] uncertainty
[D] approval
【答案】[B]
【解析】观点态度题。题干问的是作者对有关CSR方面Milton Friedman的说法是什么态度。根据信号词Milton Friedman这个人定位到首段。注意题干问的是作者的看法，因此定位到第二句but转折处。But后句子的主干为：things may not be absolutely clear-cut，可见作者对Milton Friedman所说的内容并不完全赞同，故选择答案[B]项怀疑。[A]项容忍，[C]项不确定，[D]项赞同，这三项均不是作者的态度，故排除。
32. According to Paragraph 2, CSR helps a company by
[A] winning trust from consumers.
[B] guarding it against malpractices.
[C] protecting it from being defamed.
[D] raising the quality of its products.
【答案】[A]
【解析】细节题。根据题干中的出处提示“Paragraph 2”定位到第二段第二句：This could add value to their businesses in three ways. This指的是CSR，根据接下来讲到的三点：第一点是，消费者认为这样的公司产品质量比较高;第二点是，顾客更愿意购买这样公司的产品;第三点是，通过一个更为广泛的“晕轮效应”，消费者会更多地考虑这样的公司的产品。可知，有CSR支出的公司会吸引更多的消费者，[A]项“赢得消费者的信任”，是对整个三点的总结，故为正确答案。[B]项 防止公司里的玩忽职守，[C]项 保护公司免受毁谤，[D]项 提升公司产品的质量，均在原文中未提及，故排除。
33. The expression “more lenient’ (Line 2, Para. 4) is closest in meaning to
[A] more effective
[B] less controversial
[C] less severe
[D] more lasting
【答案】[C]
【解析】猜词题。根据题干中的出处提示“line 2, para. 4”及信号词“more lenient”定位到原文中的第四段第一句：The study found that...penalties。明显此句中more lenient 修饰 penalties(惩罚) ，要想推测出more lenient的含义，需要知道被起诉的公司中，那些有着全面的CSR项目的公司和penalties 之间的联系。本项在第五段的最后一句最容易被看出来，第五段最后一句提到那些在CSR有较大投资的公司，当被起诉有贿赂行为时，所受到的罚金要比通常的罚金低40%左右，可知这样的公司会受到较轻的惩罚，故more lenient是较轻，即较不严重的意思，故选[C]项。[A]项 更有效的，[B]项 较少有争议的，[D]项 更持久的，这三项均不是more lenient的意思，故排除。
34. When prosecutors evaluate a case, a company’s CSR record
[A] has an impact on their decision.
[B] comes across as reliable evidence.
[C] increases the chance of being penalized.
[D] constitutes part of the investigation.
【答案】[A]
【解析】细节题。题干问的是 CSR record 与 prosecutors evaluate a case 的关系，根据题干中的信号词prosecutors evaluate a case可回文中定位到第五段第一句：In all...in CSR。这里的be influenced与[A]项 has an impact 对应，即一个公司的CSR会影响检察官对其案件的评估，故选[A]项。[B]项被检察官认为是可靠的证据，[C]项 增加了被惩罚的机会，[D]项 构成了调查的一部分，这三项均在原文中没有提及，故排除。
35. Which of the following is true of CSR, according to the last paragraph?
[A] Its negative effects on businesses are often overlooked.
[B] The necessary amount of companies’ spending on it is unknown.
[C] Companies’ financial capacity for it has been overestimated.
[D] It has brought much benefit to the banking industry.
【答案】[B]
【解析】判断题题干问的是根据最后一段，有关CSR的论述哪个是对的。定位到原文最后一段，根据其内容可知“研究人员承认到其研究没有回答如下问题：公司应该在CSR方面花费多少钱”。[B]项的意思是“公司在CSR方面的花费是未知的”，属于原文的同义替换，故正确。[A]项 CSR对公司的负面影响经常被忽视，[C]项 公司对CSR的经济承担力被过高估计了，[D]项 CSR给银行业带来了很多好处，这三项在文中均为提及，故排除。
Text 4
Two years ago, Rupert Murdoch’s daughter ,Elisabeth ,spoke of the “unsettling dearth of integrity across so many of our institutions” Integrity had collapsed, she argued, because of a collective acceptance that the only “sorting mechanism ”in society should be profit and the market .But “it’s us ,human beings ,we the people who create the society we want ,not profit ”.
Driving her point home, she continued: “It’s increasingly apparent that the absence of purpose, of a moral language within government, media or business could become one of the most dangerous foals for capitalism and freedom.” This same absence of moral purpose was wounding companies such as News International ,shield thought ,making it more likely that it would lose its way as it had with widespread illegal telephone hacking .
As the hacking trial concludes – finding guilty ones-editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, for conspiring to hack phones ,and finding his predecessor, Rebekah Brooks, innocent of the same charge –the winder issue of dearth of integrity still standstill, Journalists are known to have hacked the phones of up to 5,500 people .This is hacking on an industrial scale ,as was acknowledged by Glenn Mulcaire, the man hired by the News of the World in 2001 to be the point person for phone hacking. Others await trial. This long story still unfolds.
In many respects, the dearth of moral purpose frames not only the fact of such widespread phone hacking but the terms on which the trial took place .One of the astonishing revelations was how little Rebekah Brooks knew of what went on in her newsroom, wow little she thought to ask and the fact that she never inquired wow the stories arrived. The core of her successful defence was that she knew nothing.
In today’s world, title has become normal that well—paid executives should not be accountable for what happens in the organizations that they run perhaps we should not be so surprised. For a generation, the collective doctrine has been that the sorting mechanism of society should be profit. The words that have mattered are efficiency, flexibility, shareholder value, business–friendly, wealth generation, sales, impact and, in newspapers, circulation. Words degraded to the margin have been justice fairness, tolerance, proportionality and accountability.
The purpose of editing the News of the World was not to promote reader understanding to be fair in what was written or to betray any common humanity. It was to ruin lives in the quest for circulation and impact. Ms Brooks may or may not have had suspicions about how her journalists got their stories, but she asked no questions, gave no instructions—nor received traceable, recorded answers.
36. According to the first two paragraphs, Elisabeth was upset by
[A] the consequences of the current sorting mechanism
[B] companies’ financial loss due to immoral practices.
[C] governmental ineffectiveness on moral issues.
[D]the wide misuse of integrity among institutions.
【答案】[A] the consequences of the current sorting mechanism
【解析】通过题干可以将此题锁定在前两段。第一段指出Elisabeth谈到了“我们很多机构都面临着令人沮丧的正直感的丧失”。接下来第二句指出这种正直感的丧失是因为大家普遍认为社会中唯一的分类机制(sorting mechanism)应该是利益和市场。而从第一段最后一句我们看出，她认为“应该是我们人类自己创造我们想要的社会，而不应该是利益”。可见，Elisabeth很不认可目前的这种分类机制(sorting mechanism)以及所造成的不良后果，这也正是她感到沮丧的原因。故A选项consequence of the current sorting mechanism(目前这种分类机制的后果)是真正让她沮丧的原因。
37. It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that
[A] Glem Mulcaire may deny phone hacking as a crime
[B] more journalists may be found guilty of phone hacking.
[C] Andy Coulson should be held innocent of the charge.
[D] phone hacking will be accepted on certain occasions.
【答案】[B] more journalists may be found guilty of phone hacking
【解析】第三段第一句指出，Andy Coulson因为参与手机黑客案件被裁定有罪，然而他的前任却被认定是无罪的。通过这一事件，作者得出由此造成的道德沦丧广泛问题依然存在(the wider issue of dearth of integrity still stands)。即仍然存在一些人没有被裁定有罪。接着文章指出了在新闻业中，已经有记者被认定非法侵入用户手机。而还有一些在等待审判(others await trial)，由此可以推出，将会有更多的记者因为涉及手机黑客案件而被裁定有罪。故正确答案为选项B。