目錄
2023年12月大學英語真題（二）
十五選十（Section A）
單詞表
短語表
譯文
Passage Two（Section C）
單詞表
短語表
譯文
簡介：其實我總結這篇文章就是平時記憶該閱讀文章單詞中出現的生詞和短語，再去讀讀文章，練習練習語感，不閱讀得多，做題總感覺不自然
2023年12月大學英語真題（二）
十五選十（Section A）
The desert is deceiving. At first glance it looks lifeless, barren, and bone-dry. For most passersby humming through the Mojave on their way to try their luck in Las Vegas or heading towards the Grand Canyon, it's just a flat stretch of land with some mountains in the distance, more apt?to be a setting for a movie that takes place on Mars. The desert, however, is overflowing?with life, mystery, and magic.
The Mojave desert sees less than two inches of rain a year, and like most deserts, is a land of extremes?Temperature fluctuations vary from freezing to burning?hot, not only between seasons, but even within the same day.
At the heart of this vast, 25,000-square-mile desert is Mojave National Preserve. The folks managing and working there wear the wide-brimmed (寬邊的) hats that have become synonymous?with places like Yosemite. The preserve is rich with history, culture, biodiversity, and endless opportunities to stimulate?your interest, especially for anyone who loves the outdoors. For a photographer, it requires patience and probably?a few spare tires to maneuver the network of unpaved "roads", but the rewards are plenty.
Photographing here requires a good, sturdy?pair of shoes and a lot of preparation. Plenty of water, spare tires, and a full tank of gas are needed to explore this unit of the national park system, which is the third largest in the country.
Like all deserts, though, if you are patient, you will be rewarded, as they often reveal their secrets slowly. During my last outing, I was surprised to see how much of the area was shaped by ancient volcanoes and geological forces, much of which remains today, giving the area a unique?feel and painting a colorful background for great photographs.
單詞表
| 單詞 | 詞性 | 釋義 |
|---|---|---|
| deceive | vi.vt | 欺騙，蒙騙，誤導 |
| hum | vi.vt | 哼歌，發出嗡嗡聲 |
| stretch | vi.vt | 拉長，撐大，伸展 綿延，延續 |
| n | 一段時間 | |
| apt | adj | 有...傾向的 |
| setting | n | 環境，背景，設置，檔 |
| overflow | vi.vt | 溢出，漫出，充滿 |
| fluctuation | n | 波動，上下浮動 |
| synonymous | adj | 同義的 |
| biodiversity | n | 生物多樣性 |
| tire | vi.vt | 疲勞，疲倦 |
| n | 輪胎 | |
| maneuver | n | 策略，軍事演習 |
| vi.vt | （謹慎或熟練地）移動，操縱 | |
| sturdy | adj | 牢固的，強壯的，堅定的 |
| reveal | vt | 揭示，揭露，展現 |
| force | n | 武力，部隊，影響大的事物 |
| vt | 強迫，迫使，強行移動 | |
| flat | n | 公寓 |
| adj | 平的 | |
| adv | 平直地，平躺地 | |
| fraction | n | 少量，一點兒 |
| parasite | n | 寄生蟲 |
| steer | vt.vi | 駕駛（船，汽車） 操縱，控制，引導 |
| sprinkle | vt | 使零星分布，點綴 |
| sparingly | adv | 一點點，節約地 |
| burning | adj | 燃燒著的，火辣辣的 |
短語表
| 短語 | 中午釋義 |
|---|---|
| on one's way to | 在去...的路上 |
| on the way | 在路上，在行進中 |
| take place? | 發生 |
譯文
????????沙漠是具有欺騙性的。乍看上去，這一地區毫無生命氣息，一片荒蕪，且十分干燥。對大部分哼著小曲穿越莫哈韋沙漠，前往拉斯維加斯碰碰運氣，或前往大峽谷的路人來說，這一區域不過是一大片平地，遠處有一些山脈，更適于作為某部火星電影的背景。然而，沙漠是個充滿生命、神秘和魔力的地方。
????????莫哈韋沙漠每年的降雨量不到兩英寸，并且與大部分沙漠一樣，是一個極端天氣多發的地方。氣溫波動之大，可以低至零度，高到極度炎熱，不僅在季節轉換時如此，甚至在一天之內就能發生。
????????坐落在這片面積為25000平方英里的茫茫沙漠正中央的是莫哈韋國家保護區。這里的管理人員和工作人員都戴著寬邊帽子，這與約塞米蒂國家公園這類地區的人如出一轍。該保護區歷史文化豐富，生物多樣，尤其對那些喜歡戶外運動的人來說，這里還有著無數可以激發興趣的可能。對于攝影師來說，在這一區域未經鋪設的"路"網中穿行，需要具備耐心，很可能還需要多備幾條輪胎，但回報是豐厚的。
????????在這里進行拍攝需要準備一雙結實的好鞋，還需要做很多準備。想要來探索這個美國第三大國家公園系統的一部分，你需要帶上充足的水、備用輪胎，并把油箱加滿。
????????不過，所有的沙漠都一樣，它們通常會慢慢地展現自己的秘密，如果你足夠耐心，就會收獲頗豐。上次出行時，我就震驚于眼前看到的古老的火山和地質力量對這一區域的影響之大，這些影響大部分保留到了今天，賦予這一地區獨一無二的氛圍感，繪制出了出產攝影大片的多彩背景。?
Passage Two（Section C）
Psychologists have long been in disagreement as to whether competition is a learned or a genetic component of human behavior. Whatever it is, you cannot but recognize the effect competition is exerting in academics and many other areas of contemporary life.
Psychologically speaking, competition has been seen as an inevitable consequence of human drives. According to Sigmund Freud, humans are born screaming for attention and full of organic drives for fulfillment in various areas. Initially, we compete for the attention of our parents. Thereafter, we are at the mercy of a battle between our base impulses for self-fulfillment and social and cultural norms which prohibit pure indulgence.
Current work in anthropology (人類學) has suggested, however, that this view of the role of competition in human behavior may be incorrect. Thomas Hobbes, one of the great philosophers of the seventeenth century, is perhaps best remembered for his characterization of the "natural world," that is, the world before the imposition of the will of humanity, as being "nasty, brutish, and short." This image of the pre-rational world is still widely held, reinforced by Charles Darwin's highly influential work, The Origin of Species, which established the doctrine of natural selection. This doctrine, which takes for granted that those species best able to adapt to and master the natural environment in which they live will survive, has suggested that the struggle for survival is an inherent human trait which determines a person's success. Darwin's theory has even been summarized as "survival of the fittest"—a phrase Darwin himself never used—further highlighting competition's role in success. As it has often been pointed out, however, there is nothing in the concept of natural selection that suggests that competition is the most successful strategy for "survival of the fittest." Darwin asserted in The Origin of Species that the struggles he was describing should be viewed as metaphors and could easily include dependence and cooperation.
Many studies have been conducted to test the importance placed on competition as opposed to other values, such as cooperation—by various cultures, and generally conclude that Americans uniquely praise competition as natural, inevitable, and desirable. In 1937, the world-renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead published Cooperation and Competition among Primitive Peoples, based on her studies of several societies that did not prize competition, and, in fact, seemed at times to place a negative value on it. One such society was the Zuni Indians of Arizona, and they, Mead found, valued cooperation far more than competition. After studying dozens of such cultures, Mead's final conclusion was that competitiveness is a culturally created aspect of human behavior, and that its prevalence in a particular society is relative to how that society values it.
單詞表
| 單詞 | 詞性 | 中文釋義 |
|---|---|---|
| component | n | 成分，部件，組成成分 |
| exert | vt | 施加，運用，行駛 |
| inevitable | adj | 不可避免的，必然發生的 |
| derive | n | 本能需求 |
| vi.vt | 開車，駕駛 驅動，驅趕 | |
| compete | vi | 競爭，對抗，參加比賽 |
| indulgence | n | 沉溺，放縱，愛好 |
| convention | n | 習俗，慣例，大會，公約 |
| philosophy | n | 哲學，信條 |
| imposition | n | 強制實行 |
| nasty | adj | 不友善的，糟糕的 |
| brutish | adj | 殘忍的，粗野的 |
| rational | adj | 合理的，理性的 |
| reinforce | vt | 增強，加強 |
| doctrine | n | 信條，主義，教義 |
| inherent | adj | 內在的，固有的，與生俱來的 |
| intervention | n | 干涉，介入 |
| area | n | 地區，區域，領域 |
| contemporary | adj | 當代的，現代的 |
| n | 同時代的人 | |
| fulfilment | n | 滿足感，成就感 |
| observe | vt.vi | 觀察，注視，注意到 遵守，評論 |
| dozen | n | 一打，許多，無數 |
| prevalence | n | 盛行，普遍 |
| assert | vt | 斷言，堅持主張 |
| renowned | adj | 聞名的，受尊敬的 |
| praise | n.vt | 稱贊，贊美 |
| impulse | n | 脈沖，沖動 |
| trait | n | 特性，特質 |
短語表
| 短語 | 中文釋義 |
|---|---|
| as opposed to | （表示對比）而不是 |
| point out | （向某人）指出 |
| take...for granted | 認為...理所當然 |
| as to | 關于，至于 |
| you cannot but recognize | 你不得不承認 |
| base impulses for self-fulfillment | 自我實現的基本沖動 |
| at the mercy of | 任由...擺布 |
譯文
????????對于競爭是人類行為的后天習得因素還是先天遺傳因素，心理學家長期以來一直存在分歧。(51）不管是什么，你不得不承認競爭在學術界和當代生活許多其他領域中所產生的影響。
????????從心理學上來講，競爭被視為人類驅使力的必然結果。根據西格蒙德·弗洛伊德的說法，人類生來就渴望獲得關注，并且充滿官能內驅力，渴望在各方面都取得成就感。最初，我們爭奪父母關注。(52）此后，我們就受制于滿足自我的低級沖動與禁止純粹放縱的社會文化規范之間的斗爭。
????????然而，目前的人類學研究已表明，關于人類行為中競爭作用的這種觀點可能是不正確的。(53)17世紀偉大的哲學家之一托馬斯·霍布斯最為人所銘記的或許是其將"自然界"（即人類意志強加之前的世界）描述為"糟糕、野蠻和短暫的"。前理性世界這一形象仍為人們廣泛接受，并因《物種起源》得到進一步強化，這本查爾斯·達爾文極具影響力的著作創立了自然選擇學說。該學說理所當然地認為，那些最能適應并掌握其自然生活環境的物種將會生存下來，這一學說表明，生存斗爭是決定一個人能否成功的人類固有特征。達爾文的理論甚至被概括為"適者生存"﹣達爾文本人從未用過該表述﹣﹣這進一步強調了競爭在成功中的作用。然而，正如人們經常指出的那樣，自然選擇的概念中沒有任何內容表明競爭是"適者生存"最成功的策略。(54）達爾文在《物種起源》中主張，他所描述的斗爭應被視為隱喻，并能很容易地將依賴與合作涵蓋其中。
????????(55-1）人們已開展了許多研究來測試不同文化對競爭（相對于合作等其他價值觀）的重視程度，并普遍得出結論：唯有美國稱贊競爭是自然的、不可避免的和可取的。1937年，世界知名的人類學家瑪格麗特．米德出版了《原始民族之間的合作與競爭》，該書基于她對幾個族群的研究，這些族群不重視競爭，事實上有時似乎還對競爭給予負面評價。亞利桑那州的祖尼印第安人就是這樣一個族群，米德發現，他們對合作的重視遠甚于競爭。(55-2）在研究了數十種此類文化之后，米德的最終結論是：競爭力是人類行為的文化創造方面，它在特定社會中的普遍性與該社會對其重視程度有關。
