2012年四川大學(xué)考博英語真題及答案（二）

    　　4)Among the more colorful characters of Leadville’s golden age were H.A.W.Tabor and his second wife,Elizabeth McCourt,better known as “Baby Doe”.Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West.Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont.With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas.Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking,or perhaps he was lured by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines.At any rate,a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch,which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. “Great deposits of lead are sure to be found here.”he said.

    　　As it turned out,it was silver,not lead,that was to make Leadville’s fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself,so he opened a general store,which sold everything from boots to salt,flour,and tobacco.『It was his custom to “grubstake” prospective miners,in other words,to supply them with food and supplies,or “grub”, while they looked for ore,in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered.』①He did this for a number of years,but no one that he aided ever found anything of value.

    　　Finally one day in the year 1878,so the story goes,two miners came in and asked for “grub”. Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way.These were persistent, however,and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. “Oh help yourself.One more time won’t make any difference,” He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers.the two miners took $17 worth of supplies,in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings.They picked a barren place on the mountainside and began to dig.After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver.Tabor bought the shares of the other two men,and so the mine belonged to him alone.This mine,known as the “Pittsburgh Mine,” made 1 300 000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment.

    　　Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117 000.This turned out to be even more fabulous than the Pittsburgh,yielding $35 000 worth of silver per day at one time.Leadville grew.Tabor became its first mayor,and later became lieutenant governor of the state.

    　　1.Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT.

    　　A.because Tabor became its leading citizen

    　　B.because great deposits of lead is expected to be found there

    　　C.because it could bring good fortune to Tabor

    　　D.because it was renamed

    　　2.The word “grubstake” in paragraph 2 means.

    　　A.to supply miners with food and supplies

    　　B.to open a general store

    　　C.to do one’s contribution to the development of the mine

    　　D.to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine,if one was discovered

    　　3.Tabor made his first fortune.

    　　A.by supplying two prospective miners and getting in return a one-third interest in the findings

    　　B.because he was persuaded by the two miners to quit supplying

    　　C.by buying the shares of the other

    　　D.as a land speculator

    　　4. The underlying reason for Tabor’s life career is.

    　　A. purely accidental

    　　B. based on the analysis of miner’s being very poor and their possibility of discovering profitable mining site

    　　C. through the help from his second wife

    　　D. he planned well and accomplished targets step by step

    　　5.If this passage is the first part of an article,who might be introduced in the following part?

    　　A.Tabor’s life.

    　　B.Tabor’s second wife,Elizabeth McCourt.

    　　C.Other colorful characters.

    　　D.Tabor’s other careers.

    　　Vocabulary

    　　1.barren adj. 貧瘠的

    　　2.fabulous adj. 神話般的，難以置信的

    　　3.lure vt.誘惑，引誘

    　　4.deposit n.沉淀，儲蓄

    　　5.grubstake v.下注

    　　長難句解析

    　?、佟窘馕觥俊癐t”是形式主語，真正的主語是“to”后面的句子，“while”引導(dǎo)時間狀語從句。

    　　【譯文】他的通常做法是對來采礦的人“下注”，說得更明確一點就是泰勃供給這些人食品、用品等物品，作為回報，當(dāng)他們采到礦后就會分給他一部分股份。

    　　答案與詳解

    　　【短文大意】本文主要講述霍塞斯·奧斯汀·沃納·泰勃發(fā)家的故事。

    　　1. C細節(jié)題。因為Leadville可以為Tabor帶來巨富。這一點不是Leadville得名的原因，因為在文章第二段中，講到這一點時，提及三個原因：A.因為Tabor成為當(dāng)?shù)氐木用翊砣宋?，B.因為在Leadville有豐富的鉛的儲藏量。D.因為Leadville是因為Tabor重要而起的名，唯獨C沒有，因為到后來發(fā)現(xiàn)是銀礦才給他帶來巨富。

    　　2. D詞匯題。第二段中g(shù)rubstake的詞義與D所述內(nèi)容是相同的，即“供給探礦者資金，衣物，食品以及其他物品”。(可參閱英華大辭典修訂第二版64頁)但此處還補充地講，作為回報，供給者可以獲得礦中資源一定份額。(見文章第二段第4行)

    　　3. A細節(jié)題。Tabor第一次真正發(fā)財是他為兩名礦工提供資助，為此他獲得他們礦資源三分之一的股份。見文章第三段4-9行內(nèi)容：兩名開礦者從Tabor那兒借走價值17美元的物品，作為回報，Tabor獲得他們礦資源三分之一股份。于是兩位開礦者在一座山旁的不毛之地開始挖掘，九天之后，發(fā)現(xiàn)了銀的富礦，于是Tabor又將兩人的股份全買下，這樣，銀礦屬于Tabor一個人所有，這個礦就是后來著名的“匹茲堡”礦。Tabor用17美元的投資換來了130萬美元的收獲。

    　　4. B推斷題。由原文可知泰勃的財產(chǎn)來源是有一定偶然性的，但是畢竟也是基于他開創(chuàng)的“grubstake”模式，因為A、D都不對，C更是沒有根據(jù)，因為他還沒有娶第二位夫人這一切就發(fā)生了。分析泰勃的做法，會得出B選項所示的結(jié)論。

    　　5. B推斷題。如果本文是一篇文章的第一部分，那么在文章的第二部分將介紹誰呢?key可以從文章第一句分析出來，在Leadville的黃金年代，其多彩的特點當(dāng)中，Tabor及其第二任妻子Elizabeth McCourt是值得大書特書的，接著，文章都在講述有關(guān)H.A.W.Tabor發(fā)家致富的歷史，如先買下匹茲堡礦，后又買下Matchless礦，最后成為市長，代理州長，等等，所以涉及到的全是男主人公，因此下邊再講的話，應(yīng)成為女主人公即Elizabeth McCourt的天地了，她是Tabor的第二任妻子。這是順理成章的事

    　　5)Open up most fashion magazines and you will see incredibly thin models with impossible hair and wearing unreasonably expensive, impracticably styled clothes. But shouldn't clothes be comfortably durable and make a principle of being simple for the individual who wears them? Why are we constantly told that we need to buy new clothes and add fresh pieces to our collection?

    　　Fashions change year after year so lots of people can make piles of money. If folks are convinced that they need a different look each season, that this year's sweater's length and shoes style are important, they can be persuaded to buy. The fashion industry would have you ignore your shortcomings and just make you feel beautiful and happy. In fact it is not only a phenomenon we can find in people's dressing.

    　　Fashion controls our lives. Fashion controls what we wear, what we eat, what we drink, the way we cut our hair, the makeup We buy and use, the color of the cars we drive. Fashion even controls our ideas.

    　　You don't believe me? How many. Of your friends are vegetarians? Why are they vegetarians? Because it is fashionable!

    　　Where does fashion come from? Often the reasons are quite logical. Scientists and historians study the fashions of the past and discover the secrets of each fashion.

    　　When girls see an attractive guy, their blood pressure rises and their lips become redder. That's why guys think that girls wearing lipstick are beautiful.

    　　Why do guys shave their heads? In the past soldiers shaved their heads to kill the insects that lived in their hair. Now guys shave their heads so that they look strong and masculine, like soldiers.

    　　People spend a lot of time and money on fashion. But are they wasting their money? Changes in fashion help to develop new technologies. Changes in style create work for people all over the world. Many people work in the fashion industry, particularly in the fashion capitals ofLondon,New York,ParisandMilan.

    　　And finally, fashion makes you feel good, doesn't it? When you are dressed in the latest style, dancing to the most fashionable music, after watching the latest hit film, you feel great, don't you?

    　　1. What's the author's viewpoint about the models and their hairstyles and clothes?

    　　A. Unbiased. 　B. Indifferent. 　C. Critical. 　　D. Appreciative.

    　　2. It is indicated by the author that clothes should be

    　　A. comfortable and durable. 　　B. new and fresh.　　C. expensive and fashionable.

    　　D. simple and unique

    　　3. The fashion industry makes profits by

    　　A. selling the products at high prices. 　B. creating a need in you.

    　　C. helping you get rid of your shortcomings. 　D. making you look more beautiful.

    　　4. The author thinks what has been found about fashions by the scientists and the. historians is

    　　A. incredible. B. amazing. C. reasonable. D. creative.

    　　5. The passage mentions the advantages of fashion EXCEPT that

    　　A. it can help promote technological development.

    　　B. it enables people to remain up-to-date.

    　　C. it can create more job opportunities for people.

    　　D. it can make people achieve a great feeling.