2012年考研英语一阅读题
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 1. (40 points)
Text 1
Come on –Everybody’s doing it. That whispered message, half invitation and half forcing, is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.
Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action: In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.
The idea seems promising，and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology.” Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.
But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it’s presented here is that it doesn’t work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.
There’s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of friends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.
Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It’s like the teacher who breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that’s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.
文章出处：
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2061234,00.html
herd mentality
21. According to the first paragraph, peer pressure often emerges as
根据第一段，同龄人的压力通常以什么样的状态出现：
[A] a supplement to the social cure
对于社会治疗的补充
[B] a stimulus to group dynamics
对于团队活力的刺激
[C] an obstacle to school progress
学校进步的阻碍
[D] a cause of undesirable behaviors
一些不良行为的原因
解析：这是一个细节题：对应文中It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex.题干中的often对应原文中的usually;选项中undesirable behaviors对应no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. lead对于cause.完美替换，四级难度，出题人很仁慈。
22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should
罗森博格认为公共支持者应该：
[A] recruit professional advertisers
招募职业的广告人
[B] learn from advertisers’ experience
从广告人那里学习经验
[C] stay away from commercial advertisers
远离商业广告人
[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements
认识到广告的局限性
解析：本题为细节题，根据题干定位到：三段最后一句：Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure. 这样的句子的理解难点是一个短语：take a page from向谁学习，如果不懂，可以看后面的so skilled at applying，也能熟练的运用，一个“也”道出天机，小词有大乾坤啊!
23. In the author’s view, Rosenberg’s book fails to
作者认为Rosenberg未能：
[A] adequately probe social and biological factors
足够的探究社会和生物因素
[B] effectively evade the flaws of the social cure
有效地逃避社会治疗的缺点
[C] illustrate the functions of state funding
例证出国家基金的功能
[D]produce a long-lasting social effect
产生长期的社会影响
解析：细节题问观点;对应句子But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. 指出不足;后面一句中的主语Join the Club 为此人所写，所以后面的表述就是他的观点： not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful.：完美替换exploration对probe;
24. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors
第五段表明对于行为的模仿：
[A] is harmful to our networks of friends
对于朋友的网络是有害的
[B] will mislead behavioral studies
会误导对于行为的研究
[C] occurs without our realizing it
在没有意识到的时候就出现了
[D] can produce negative health habits
会产生不良的健康习惯
解析：细节题 ;对应句子This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.对 unconsciously完美替换。
25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is
作者在最后一段中认为同龄人压力的效果是：
[A] harmful
[B] desirable
[C] profound
[D] questionable
解析：局部态度题 对应Far less certain, however, is…The tactic never really works…表明作者对于这个事物的看法是不确定的所以选最后一个
Text 2
A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.
Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It’s a stunning move.
The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval. Then, too, the company went along.
Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn’t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 2007 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management– especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.
Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that debate would be beside the point.
The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has nothing left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a public trust. Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep it mind what promises from Entergy are worth.
文章出处：
http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-24/bostonglobe/29469298_1_nuclear-power-plant-vermont-yankee-older-reactors
题目为：Vermont Yankee plant’s owner must honor its own promises
26. The phrase “reneging on”(Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to
短语“reneging on” 最接近那个意思：
[A] condemning.
谴责
[B] reaffirming.
再次确认
[C] dishonoring.
不守信用
[D] securing.
安全
解析：词意题：A deal is a deal之后出现except，表明前后相反;还有一次题眼：commitment to abide by;前面出现provoked justified outrage，一个是正当的愤怒，一个是守承诺，那么中间就只能是不受承诺了。答案为[C] dishonoring.
27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended to
同意2002年的协议，Entergy 公司希望：
[A] obtain protection from Vermont regulators.
获得Vermont 监管者的保护
[B] seek favor from the federal legislature.
寻求联邦立法机关的帮助
[C] acquire an extension of its business license .
要求延长商业执照的有效期
[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.
获得购买一个电厂的许可
解析：细节题 根据题干对应文中The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon.
冲突从2002年开始就出现了，那个时候公司购买了Vermont唯一的一家核电站;在Vernon的一家很旧的反应堆。
As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012.
作为获得州政府购买批准的条件，公司同意在2012年以后的运营需要征得州监管者的同意。2002 agreement对应the company agreed to;intended to对应As a condition of 因此答案为：receiving state approval for the sale;[D] get permission to purchase a power plant.完美替换。
28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its
根据第四段，Entergy存在哪些方面的问题：
[A] managerial practices.
管理实践
[B] technical innovativeness.
技术创新
[C] financial goals.
财务目标
[D] business vision
经营愿景
解析：细节题：A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 2007 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management
一系列的事故，包括2007年冷凝塔的部分坍塌，发现地下管道系统的泄露，这些都引起了对于Vermont Yankee 安全和公司管理的强烈关注。
所以答案应该是[A] managerial practices.
29. In the author’s view, the Vermont case will test
作者认为Vermont 的案例将会测试：
[A] Entergy’s capacity to fulfill all its promises.
Entergy履行其承诺的能力
[B] the mature of states’ patchwork regulations.
各州临散规定的成熟程度
[C] the federal authority over nuclear issues .
对于核问题的联邦权威
[D] the limits of states’power over nuclear issues.
对于核问题各州权力的局限性
解析：细节题：对应句子：whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend.
但是最高法院判定各州确实有一些对于核电站的调控权力，法律学者说这个案例将提供先例设定的测试，决定这些权力能扩展多远。
作者的观点借用legal scholars之口说出来这在以前的文章中也是多次提到，KK经常讲的这是作者的代言人。
30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that
从最后一段中可以推知：
[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected.
Entergy’s在其他地方的生意可能会受到影响
[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied.
NRC的权威会受到挑衅
[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.
Entergy会撤回其在Plymouth的申请
[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged.
Vermont的名誉会遭到破坏
解析：段落推理题。重点对于段落中心和转折。这里没有中心却有转折The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has nothing left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences.
公司似乎可以得出结论其在vermont的名誉已经受到破坏了，所以它已经没有任何东西可以丢失了，于是可以和州政府开战了。但是这是有后果的。后面句子开始描述其在其他州的生意，可以知道对应答案，常见的转折推理：且出现might; kk很确信大家能选出这个答案!
Text 3
In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experiences mean, and the subsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.
在科学研究的理想状态下，关于世界的事实正在等待着那些客观的研究者来观察和搜集，研究者们会用科学的方法来进行他们的工作。但是在每天的科学实践中，发现通常遵循一条模糊和复杂的路径。我们的目标是做到客观，但是我们却不能逃离我们所处的独特的生活经验的环境。之前的知识和兴趣会影响我们所经历的，会影响我们对于经验意义的思考，以及我们会采取的随后的行动。这里充满着误读，错误和自我欺骗的机会。
Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similar to newly staked mining claims, they are full of potential. But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.
所以，对于发现的申明应该被当做是科学的原型。这与新近开发的采矿资源比较类似，他们都充满着可能性。但是将发现的申明变为一个成熟的发现是需要集体的审查和集体的接受。这个过程就配称之为“信用的过程”，通过这个过程一个单个研究者的“我”在这里就变成了这个社区中的任何人，任何地方和任何时间。客观的知识不应该是起点而是目标。
Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.
一但一个科学发现变成公开的，那么这个发现就获得了知识的信任。但是和开发采矿资源不一样的是，科学协会将控制接下来会发生的事情。在复杂的科研机构的社会结构中，研究者去做出发现;编辑和审稿者通过控制出版过程扮演着看门人的角色;其他的科学家使用新的发现来满足他们自己的目标;最后，公众(也包括其他科学家)接受到新的发现和可能相伴随的技术。当一个发现的声明最终通过了机构的审查，在有关所涉及到的共享的和抵触的信念之间的互动和冲突将把一个人的发现变为一个机构的可信的发现。
Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of prevailing Knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies duplication and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or refutation by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.
在整个信任的过程中存在着两个悖论，第一：科学工作倾向于关注一些流行科学的某些方面，而这些方面又是被认为是不完全和不正确的。去复制和确认已经被人所知和所信的东西不会有多少回报。科学要做的是去探究新的东西而不是再次探究。不足为奇的是，新发表的重要的，有说服力发现和可信的发现将会被后来的研究者质疑，并带来潜在的修改甚至驳斥。第二个悖论是：新颖的东西本身就经常会招致怀疑。诺贝尔奖获得者，生理学家Albert Azent-Gyorgyi曾经将发现描述为：“观察每个人观察的，思考没有人想到的。”但是思考其他人没有想到的并且告诉其他人他们所遗漏的可能并不会改变这些人的观点。有时候，真正新颖的科学发现被人们所接受和认可将会花好多年的时间。
In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim – a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”
最后，一个科学的发现获得了信任，这个过程是与哲学家Annette Baier所描述的心灵的共性的观点是一致的。“我们共同去推理，去质疑，其修改并且完善各自的推理以及各自的推理概念。
文章解析和来源：
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/physical_sciences/message/5041?threaded=1&var=1
这篇文章是一篇对于Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic一书的书评，这本书在 2009年由牛津大学出版社出版，2011年又将推出新的版本。这篇文章的题目就是：The Evolution of Credibility
31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its
根据第一段，发现过程的特点是他的：
[A] uncertainty and complexity.
A.不确定性和复杂性
[B] misconception and deceptiveness.
B. 错误的概念和欺骗
[C] logicality and objectivity.
C.逻辑性和客观性
[D] systematicness and regularity.
D.系统性和常规性
解析：这是一道细节题：对应原文这一句：But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route.其中ambiguous and complicated对应答案uncertainty and complexity.其他选项不具备干扰性，只需要定位到But后就可以了。
32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires
从第二段可以推知认证的过程需要：
[A] strict inspection.
严格的审查
[B]shared efforts.
共同的努力
[C] individual wisdom.
个人的智慧
[D]persistent innovation.
不断的创新
解析：这是一道细节性的推理题对应这句：This is the credibility process，根据句中的This回到前一句：But it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. 句中：it takes collective scrutiny and acceptance对应选项的strict inspection.;本题干扰项为：[B]shared efforts.共同的努力，through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime.来源是这句，但是这个句子中的which 指代的是credibility process，那么句子就改写为：the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime through credibility process. 而题干问的是：credibility process requires什么，主干出现错误。
33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it
第三段表明，科学的发现在他 之后变得可信的：
[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.
吸引到大众的注意之后
[B]has been examined by the scientific community.
被科学的机构检查之后
[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.
获得了编辑和审稿者的认同之后
[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.
被科学家同行经常引用之后
解析：这个题目是一个细节题。直接对应三段第一句：Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit.根据once 知道答案的关键在于对于becomes public的理解;本句没有线索，但由于是首句所以答案指向段落后面的句子：But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next.这句不应该是答案，因为这是在描述becomes public 之后的事情了，我们需要知道的是becomes public 等于什么：editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process;根据这句可知becomes public 应该等于 publication; 进而可知答案[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.;这个题目的干扰选项来自B.被科学的机构检查之后，这个表述本身的缺陷在于结果不明确，被检查了有两种结果：接受和不被接受;如果是不被接受那么就不可能becomes public;也就不可能获得credibility .
34. Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi would most likely agree that
Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi可能会最赞同下面的那个观点：
[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.
科学的发现将经受住质疑
[B]discoveries today inspire future research.
今天的发现将引起未来的研究
[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.
做出发现的努力被证明是合理的
[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.
科学的工作需要批判的头脑
解析：本题为细节题，对应文章中Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi所说的话：seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.可以知道他认为思考很重要，因此答案为D，同学对于critical 批判性的理解可能会有偏差，我们经常讲的培养思维能力其实就是培养 critical mind 的能力。有思考就一定会有批判的，因此这个同义替换是可以接受的。
35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?
下面那个是最好的标题：
[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.
新颖是科学进步的引擎
[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.
科学发现中的集体审查
[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.
科学中认证(信任)的发展
[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.
在通往科学的大门口对于信任的质疑
解析：本题为主题题，根据主题词可以credibility可以排除A和B,C和D的区别是在范围上的，文中不只是说了质疑，还有一系列的事情，所以答案为C。
Text 4
If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.
There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.
At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.
In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.
Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.
As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.
John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.
文章出处：
http://www.economist.com/node/18359864
这是出自经济学人杂志2011年3月11号的一篇文章，题为：
Enemies of progress ：The biggest barrier to public- sector reform are the unions
36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that
从第一段能推出什么
[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.
Teamsters依然有大量的会员
[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.
Jimmy Hoffa曾经是一名公务员
[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.
工会已经增加了其公共行业的会员
[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.
政府已经提升了其同工会会员之间的关系。
解析：段落推理题 优先对应主题和转折;但是都没有，只能逐个排除：
[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.
Teamsters依然有大量的会员
文中没有提及
[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.
Jimmy Hoffa曾经是一名公务员
he would probably represent civil servant他可能会代表公务员，并不意味着他是公务员。
[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.
工会已经增加了其公共行业的会员
only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do.
现在有36%确实增加了。正解!
[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.
政府已经提升了其同工会会员之间的关系。
没有提及政府和工会会员之间的关系排除。
37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?
根据第二段，下面那个答案是正确的
[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.
公共行业的工会在采取行动是会更加谨慎
[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.
公共行业的工会会员需要教育
[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.
工党同公共行业的工会长期斗争
[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.
公共行业的工会很少由于他们的行为而惹麻烦。
解析：细节题中的which 题，只能一个个排除：
先看[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.
公共行业的工会会员需要教育
文中说到了Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree.但是并没有说需要教育。
再看[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.
工党同公共行业的工会长期斗争
Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism.
选项和原文间的表述是相反的。
再看[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.
公共行业的工会很少由于他们的行为而惹麻烦。
First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences.
首先他们可以罢工而不遭受后果。
同义替换成功。
最后看[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.
公共行业的工会在采取行动是会更加谨慎
这是一个很强烈的干扰项，很多同学会想对啊不遭受后果就是由于他们谨慎啊，但是文中并没有提到工会很谨慎，这就是KK在课上常常讲到的：
原文----选项A----选项B
最后答案只能选A而不能选B;B 为未提及选项NOT GIVEN!
38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is
从第四段可以推知公共行业的收入
[A] illegally secured.
非法的安全
[B] indirectly augmented.
间接的增加了
[C] excessively increased.
过度的增加了
[D]fairly adjusted.
公平的调整了
解析：细节题 对应keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.保持收入小幅上涨，但是增加假期特别是已经很慷慨的补助了。
主要是一个单词大家不认识augmented出题人开始耍无赖了，考研词汇大纲中并无此单词，不过根据另外一个副词是可以推出答案的。
39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions
威斯康辛州的工会的例子表明工会
[A]often run against the current political system.
通常和现行的政治系统相违背
[B]can change people’s political attitudes.
能够改变人们的政治态度
[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.
可能是公共领域改革的障碍
[D]are dominant in the government.
受到政府的主导
解析：例证题 找观点 Reform has been vigorously opposed;之后的例子就应该围绕改革来讲。
40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of
John Donahue对于公共行业系统的他的态度是：
[A]disapproval.
不赞同
[B]appreciation.
欣赏
[C]tolerance.
容忍
[D]indifference.
漠不关心
解析：局部态度题，在转折的地方but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America出现bigger problem 表明了态度为disapproval.