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　　2018考研英语备考工作正在紧锣密鼓的进行中，为了帮助广大考生充分备考2018年考研英语，文都网校整理了2012年考研英语一真题供广大考生参考，希望对各位考生有所帮助。

　　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.

　　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.

　　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.

　　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.

　　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.”

　　31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its

　　[A] uncertainty and complexity.

　　[B] misconception and deceptiveness.

　　[C] logicality and objectivity.

　　[D] systematicness and regularity.

　　32. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires

　　[A] strict inspection.

　　[B]shared efforts.

　　[C] individual wisdom.

　　[D]persistent innovation.

　　33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after it

　　[A] has attracted the attention of the general public.

　　[B]has been examined by the scientific community.

　　[C] has received recognition from editors and reviewers.

　　[D]has been frequently quoted by peer scientists.

　　34. Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi would most likely agree that

　　[A] scientific claims will survive challenges.

　　[B]discoveries today inspire future research.

　　[C] efforts to make discoveries are justified.

　　[D]scientific work calls for a critical mind.

　　35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?

　　[A] Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development.

　　[B]Collective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.

　　[C] Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.

　　[D]Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science.

　　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.

　　36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that

　　[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.

　　[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.

　　[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.

　　[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.

　　37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?

　　[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.

　　[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.

　　[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.

　　[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.

　　38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is

　　[A] illegally secured.

　　[B] indirectly augmented.

　　[C] excessively increased.

　　[D]fairly adjusted.

　　39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions

　　[A]often run against the current political system.

　　[B]can change people’s political attitudes.

　　[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.

　　[D]are dominant in the government.

　　40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of

　　[A]disapproval.

　　[B]appreciation.

　　[C]tolerance.

　　[D]indifference.

　　Part B

　　Directions:

　　In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 41-45, choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)

　　Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.

　　The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)

　　The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.

　　But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with caution. (42)I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.

　　All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods - paintings, sculpture and architecture - and superfluous experiences - music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)

　　For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)

　　Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on.

　　(45)What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" - creations and experiences to which others adhere.

　　[A] Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.

　　[B] Applications like tumblr.com, which allow users to combine pictures, words and other media in creative ways and then share them, have the potential to add stickiness by amusing, entertaining and enlightening others.

　　[C] Not only did they develop such a device but by the turn of the millennium they had also managed to embed it in a worldwide system accessed by billions of people every day.

　　[D] This is because the networked computer has sparked a secret war between downloading and uploading - between passive consumption and active creation - whose outcome will shape our collective future in ways we can only begin to imagine.

　　[E] The challenge the computer mounts to television thus bears little similarity to one format being replaced by another in the manner of record players being replaced by CD players.

　　[F] One reason for the persistence of this pyramid of production is that for the past half-century, much of the world's media culture has been defined by a single medium - television - and television is defined by downloading.

　　[G]The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to reverse the flow, to encourage thoughtful downloading and, even more importantly, meaningful uploading.

　　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.

　　36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that

　　[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.

　　[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.

　　[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.

　　[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.

　　37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?

　　[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.

　　[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.

　　[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.

　　[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.

　　38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is

　　[A] illegally secured.

　　[B] indirectly augmented.

　　[C] excessively increased.

　　[D]fairly adjusted.

　　39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions

　　[A]often run against the current political system.

　　[B]can change people’s political attitudes.

　　[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.

　　[D]are dominant in the government.

　　40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of

　　[A]disapproval.

　　[B]appreciation.

　　[C]tolerance.

　　[D]indifference.

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