2019年考研英語二閱讀理解第三篇及答案

Text 3

American farmers have been complaining of labor shortages for several years. The complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers.

Congress has obstructed efforts to create a more straightforward visa for agricultural workers that would let foreign workers stay longer in the U.S. and change jobs within the industry. If this doesn’t change, American businesses, communities, and consumers will be the losers.

Perhaps half of U.S. farm laborers are undocumented immigrants. As fewer such workers enter the country, the characteristics of the agricultural workforce are changing. Today’s farm laborers, while still predominantly born in Mexico, are more likely to be settled rather than migrating and more likely to be married than single. They’re also aging. At the start of this century, about one-third of crop workers were over the age of 35. Now more than half are. And picking crops is hard on older bodies. One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it’s been all along: Native U.S. workers won’t be returning to the farm.

Mechanization isn’t the answer, either—not yer, at least. Production of corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, and wheat has been largely mechanized, but many high-value, labor-intensive corps, such as strawberries, need labor. Even dairy farms, where robots do a small share of milking, have a long way to go before they’re automated.

As a result, farms have grown increasingly reliant on temporary guest workers using the H-2A visa to fill the gaps in the workforce. Starting around 2012, requests for the visas rose sharply; from 2011 to 2016 the number of visas issued more than doubled.

The H-2A visa has no numerical cap, unlike the H-2B visa for nonagricultural work, which is limited to 66,000 a year. Even so, employers complain they aren’t given all the workers they need. The process is cumbersome, expensive, and unreliable. One survey found that bureaucratic delays led the average H-2A worker to arrive on the job 22 days late. The shortage is compounded by federal immigration raids, which remove some workers and drive others underground.

In a 2012 survey, 71 percent of tree-fruit growers and almost 80 percent of raisin and berry growers said they were short of labor. Some western farmers have responded by moving operations to Mexico. From 1998 to 2000, 14.5 percent of the fruit Americans consumed was imported. Little more than a decade later, the share of imports was 25.8 percent.In effect, the U.S. can import food or it can import the workers who pick it.

31. What problem should be addressed according to the first two paragraphs?

A. Discrimination against foreign workers in the U.S.

B. Biased laws in favor of some American businesses.

C. Flaws in U.S. immigration rules for farm workers.

D. Decline of job opportunities U.S. agriculture.

32. One trouble with U.S. agricultural workforce is       .

A. the rising number of illegal immigrants

B. the high mobility of crop workers

C. the lack of experienced laborers

D. the aging of immigrant farm workers

33.What is the much-argued solution to the labor shortage in U.S. farming?

A. To attract younger laborers to farm work.

B. To get native U.S. workers back to farming.

C. To use more robots to grow high-value crops.

D. To strengthen financial support for farmers.

34. Agricultural employers complain about the H-2A visa for its        .

A. slow granting procedures

B. limit on duration of stay

C. tightened requirements

D. control of annual admissions

35. Which of the following could be the best title for this text?

A. U.S. Agriculture in Decline?

B. Import Food or Labor?

C. America Saved by Mexico?

D. Manpower vs. Automation?

31-35參考答案及解析：

31.【答案】[C]  Flaws in U. S. immigratinon rules for farm workers.

【解析】題干為What problem should be addressed according to the first two paragraphs?原文第一段第三句The complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers.可知如果不修改農場工人的移民法規(guī)，這種抱怨不太可能會停止。因此可以得出目前需要解決的一個問題是修改農場工人的移民法規(guī)。C選項意為美國農場工人移民法規(guī)的缺陷需要解決，和原文含義一致因此C選項為正確選項。

32.【答案】[D]  the aging of immigrant farm workers

【解析】題干為One trouble with U.S. agricultural workforce is       .原文第三段倒數(shù)第二句 And picking crops is hard on older bodies. 可知農作物的活對于老人來說困難，而本句話的前幾句提到美國的農場工人年齡上漲，現(xiàn)在一多半人是35歲以上的人，因此可知美國農場勞動力的一個問題是農場工人老齡化。D選項為移民農場農人的老齡化，因此D選型為正確選項。

33【答案】[B]  To get native U.S. workers back to farming.

【解析】根據題干What is the much-argued solution to the labor shortage in U.S. farming?中的關鍵詞much-argued solution 定位到原文第三段最后一句 One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it’s been all along: Native U.S. workers won’t be returning to the farm. [B] 選項 To get native U.S. workers back to farming. 和該句屬于同義替換，因此答案為B選項。

34【答案】[A]  slow graning procedures.

【解析】根據題干Agricultural employers complain about the H-2A visa for its        .定位到原文第六段第二句 Even so, employers complain they aren’t given all the workers they need. 但是我們發(fā)現(xiàn)該句只提到了農場雇主抱怨 H-2A visa 的事實，而并沒有給出題干所問農場雇主抱怨 H-2A visa 的原因，而第三句The process is cumbersome, expensive, and unreliable. 提到這個過程是耗時的、昂貴的并且不可靠的。點名了農場主抱怨的原因，A選項含義為緩慢的頒發(fā)流程，因此A選項為正確選項。

35【答案】[B]  Import Food or Labor?

【解析】題干為Which of the following could be the best title for this text？問的是本文最好的標題屬于主旨題。原文首先提到美國農場存在缺乏農場工人的問題，之后討論了一些解決方法，并指出這些解決方法不可取，目前比較有效的方法是H-2A簽證給臨時農場工人，但是H-2A簽證頒發(fā)的流程慢，需要解決，最后指出美國人需要進口食物或者工人。因此可知本文最好的標題應該是B選項Import Food or Labor?“進口食物或者勞動力？”

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Amold Schwarzenegger. Dia Mirza and Adrian Grenier have a message for you. It’s easy to beat plastic. They’re part of a bunch of celebrities starring in a new video for World Environment Day—encouraging you, the consumer, to swap out your single-use plastic staples like straws and cutlery to combat the plastics crisis.

The key messages that have been put together for World Environment Day do include a call for governments to enact legislation to curb single-use plastics. But the overarching message is directed at individuals.

My concern with leaving it up to the individual, however, is our limited sense of what needs to be achieved. One their own, taking our own bags to the grocery store or quitting plastic straws, for example, will accomplish little and require very little of us. They could even be detrimental, satisfying a need to have “done our bit” without ever progressing onto bigger, bolder, more effective actions—a kind of “moral licensing” that allays our concerns and stops us doing more and asking more of those in charge.

While the conversation around our environment and our responsibility toward it remains centered on shopping hags and straws, we’re ignoring the balance of power that implies that as “consumers” we must shop sustainably, rather than as “ citizens” hole our governments and industries to account to push for real systemic change.

It’s important to acknowledge that the environment isn’t everyone’s priority-or even most people’s. We shouldn’t expect it to be. In her latest book, Why Good People Do Bad Environmental Things. Wellesley College professor Elizabeth R. DeSombre argues that the best way to collectively change the behavior of large numbers of people is for the change to be structural.

This might mean implementing policy such as a plastic tax that adds a cost to environmentally problematic action, or banning single-use plastics altogether. India has just announced it will “eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022.” There are also incentive-based ways of making better environmental choices easier, such as ensuring recycling is at least as easy as trash disposal.

DeSombre isn’t saying people should stop caring about the environment. It’s just that individual actions are too slow, she says, for that to be the only, or even primary, approach to changing widespread behavior.

None of this is about writing off the individual. It’s just about putting things into perspective. We don’t have time to wait. We need progressive policies that shape collective action (and rein in polluting businesses), alongside engaged citizens pushing for change.

36. Some celebrities star in a new video to

A. demand new laws on the use of plastics

B. urge consumers to cut the use of plastics

C. invite public opinion on the plastics crisis

D. disclose the causes of the plastics crisis

37.The author is concerned that “moral licensing” may

A. mislead us into doing worthless things

B. prevent us from making further efforts

C. weaken our sense of accomplishment

D. suppress our desire for success

38. By pointing out out identity “citizens”, the author indicates that

A. our focus should be shifted to community welfare

B. our relationship with local industries is improving

C. We have been actively exercising our civil rights

D. We should press our government to lead the combat

39. DeSombre argues that the best way for a collective change should be

A. a win-win arrangement

B. a self-driven mechanism

C. a cost-effective approach

D. a top down process

40. The author concludes that individual efforts

A. can be too aggressive

B. can be too inconsistent

C. are far from sufficient

D. are far from rational

36-40參考答案及解析：

36.【答案】B. urge consumers to cut the use of plastics

【解析】根據題干的關鍵詞“some celebrities star in a new video”回文定位首段的第三句話，即“They are part of a bunch of celebrities starring in a new video for World Environment Day—encouraging you, the consumer, to swap out your single-use plastic staples like straws and cutlery to combat the plastic crisis.”意思是“鼓勵消費者減少使用一次性塑料制品，從而對抗塑料危機”。仔細觀察四個選項，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)選項B中的 “urge”一詞與原文中的 “encourage”一詞屬于同義替換，“cut the use of plastics”與原文中的 “swap out your single-use plastic staples”意思一致，所以正確答案即為B選項。

37.【答案】B. prevent us from making further efforts

【解析】題干中問作者擔憂“moral licensing”可能如何，利用引號中的關鍵詞定位，回到文章第三段最后一句， “they could even be detrimental, satisfying a need to have “done our bit”without ever progressing onto bigger, bolder, more effective actions—a kind of “moral licensing” that allays our concerns and stops us doing more and asking more of those in charge.”意為“他們沒有采取更大、更明顯、更有效的措施...”，仔細觀察選項，只有選項B中的”prevent us from making further efforts”，即“妨礙我們進一步的行動”，故而正確答案為B選項。

38.【答案】D. We should press our governmental to lead the combat.

【解析】根據題干中的關鍵詞“By pointing out our identity as“citizens”, the author indicates that”，我們可以定位到原文中的第四段，因為該段只有一句話，所以根據關鍵信息我們只需要理解后半句 “rather than as “citizens”hold our governments and industries to account to push for real systematic change”，意即“而不是作為“市民”，去推動我們的政府和行業(yè)去做出真正的系統(tǒng)性的改變”。意思就是作者希望政府自發(fā)作出改變來應對當下的情形，反觀選項，只有D選項表達出這一層含義，“我們應該施壓于政府使其主導這場斗爭”。故而正確答案是D選項。

39.【答案】D. a top down process

【解析】根據題干中的定位信息“DeSombre”以及“the best ways for a collective change”我們可以定位到文中的第五、六段，“Elizaberth R. DeSombre... for the change to be structural”，大意為這個教授認為集體性的改變大多數(shù)人行為最好的方法就是使其變成結構性的，第六段進一步從市民和政府的角度，闡述了這種結構化的改變。對比選項，只有D選項“自上而下的過程”最為符合。

40.【答案】C. are far from sufficient

【解析】根據題干信息以及解題的順序原則，我們很快定位到最后一段，“None of this is about writing off the individual. It’s just about...We need progressive policies that shape collective action(and rein in polluting business), alongside engaged citizens pushing for change”。這段話都是作者的觀點，作者認為當下時間緊迫，我們需要改變看問題的角度，需要更為進步的政策來推動集體行動以及熱心的市民參與進來，單靠個人的努力遠遠不夠，這與C選項中的“遠遠不夠”同義替換，故而正確答案是C選項。