2019年考研英語二真題及解析（36-40題）

Section II Reading Comprehension

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 the ANSWER SHEET.(40 points)

Text 4

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，我們發現選項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去做出真正的系統性的改變”。意思就是作者希望政府自發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。