2023年安徽考研英语考试考前冲刺卷（7）本卷共分为1大题50小题，作答时间为180分钟，总分100分，60分及格一、单项选择题（共50题，每题2分每题的备选项中，只有一个最符合题意） 1.Text 1For Tony Blair, home is a messy sort of place, where the prime minister’s job is not to uphold eternal values but to force through some unpopular changes that may make the country work a bit better. The area where this is most obvious, and where it matters most, is the public services. Mr Blair faces a difficulty here which is partly of his own making. By focusing his last election campaign on the need to improve hospitals, schools, transport and policing, he built up expectations. Mr Blair has said many times that reforms in the way the public services work need to go alongside increases in cash.Mr Blair has made his task harder by committing a classic negotiating error. Instead of extracting concessions from the other side before promising his own, he has pledged himself to higher spending on public services without getting a commitment to change from the unions. Why, given that this pledge has been made, should the health unions give ground in return In a speech on March 20th, Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer, said that the something-for-nothing days are over in our public services and there can be no blank cheques. But the government already seems to have given health workers a blank cheque.Nor are other ministries conveying quite the same message as the treasury. On March 19th, John Hutton, a health minister, announced that cleaners and catering staff in new privately-funded hospitals working for the National Health service will still be government employees, entitled to the same pay and conditions as other health-service workers. Since one of the main ways in which the government hopes to reform the public sector is by using private providers, and since one of the main ways in which private providers are likely to be able to save money is by cutting labor costs, this move seems to undermine the government’s strategy.Now the government faces its hardest fight. The police need reforming more than any other public service. Half of them, for instance, retire early, at a cost of ＆1 billion ( $ 1. 4% billion) a year to the taxpayer. The police have voted 10-1 against proposals from the home secretary, David Blunkett, to reform their working practices.This is a fight the government has to win. If the police get away with it, other publicservice workers will reckon they can too. And, if they all get away it, Mr Blair’s domestic policywhich is what voters are most likely to judge him on a the next electionwill be a failure.The conclusion can be drawn from the text that Britain's public services may be（）A．at a dangerous stage.B．for lack of investment.C．in the interests of workers.D．on the verge of collapse.2.Text 1For Tony Blair, home is a messy sort of place, where the prime minister’s job is not to uphold eternal values but to force through some unpopular changes that may make the country work a bit better. The area where this is most obvious, and where it matters most, is the public services. Mr Blair faces a difficulty here which is partly of his own making. By focusing his last election campaign on the need to improve hospitals, schools, transport and policing, he built up expectations. Mr Blair has said many times that reforms in the way the public services work need to go alongside increases in cash.Mr Blair has made his task harder by committing a classic negotiating error. Instead of extracting concessions from the other side before promising his own, he has pledged himself to higher spending on public services without getting a commitment to change from the unions. Why, given that this pledge has been made, should the health unions give ground in return In a speech on March 20th, Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer, said that the something-for-nothing days are over in our public services and there can be no blank cheques. But the government already seems to have given health workers a blank cheque.Nor are other ministries conveying quite the same message as the treasury. On March 19th, John Hutton, a health minister, announced that cleaners and catering staff in new privately-funded hospitals working for the National Health service will still be government employees, entitled to the same pay and conditions as other health-service workers. Since one of the main ways in which the government hopes to reform the public sector is by using private providers, and since one of the main ways in which private providers are likely to be able to save money is by cutting labor costs, this move seems to undermine the government’s strategy.Now the government faces its hardest fight. The police need reforming more than any other public service. Half of them, for instance, retire early, at a cost of ＆1 billion ( $ 1. 4% billion) a year to the taxpayer. The police have voted 10-1 against proposals from the home secretary, David Blunkett, to reform their working practices.This is a fight the government has to win. If the police get away with it, other publicservice workers will reckon they can too. And, if they all get away it, Mr Blair’s domestic policywhich is what voters are most likely to judge him on a the next electionwill be a failure.The views of Gordon Brown and John Hutton on public services reforms are（）A．identical.B．opposite.C．similar.D．complementary.3.Text 1For Tony Blair, home is a messy sort of place, where the prime minister’s job is not to uphold eternal values but to force through some unpopular changes that may make the country work a bit better. The area where this is most obvious, and where it matters most, is the public services. Mr Blair faces a difficulty here which is partly of his own making. By focusing his last election campaign on the need to improve hospitals, schools, transport and policing, he built up expectations. Mr Blair has said many times that reforms in the way the public services work need to go alongside increases in cash.Mr Blair has made his task harder by committing a classic negotiating error. Instead of extracting concessions from the other side before promising his own, he has pledged himself to higher spending on public services without getting a commitment to change from the unions. Why, given that this pledge has been made, should the health unions give ground in return In a speech on March 20th, Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer, said that the something-for-nothing days are over in our public services and there can be no blank cheques. But the government already seems to have given health workers a blank cheque.Nor are other ministries conveying quite the same message as the treasury. On March 19th, John Hutton, a health minister, announced that cleaners and catering staff in new privately-funded hospitals working for the National Health service will still be government employees, entitled to the same pay and conditions as other health-service workers. Since one of the main ways in which the government hopes to reform the public sector is by using private providers, and since one of the main ways in which private providers are likely to be able to save money is by cutting labor costs, this move seems to undermine the government’s strategy.Now the government faces its hardest fight. The police need reforming more than any other public service. Half of them, for instance, retire early, at a cost of ＆1 billion ( $ 1. 4% billion) a year to the taxpayer. The police have voted 10-1 against proposals from the home secretary, David Blunkett, to reform their working practices.This is a fight the government has to win. If the police get away with it, other publicservice workers will reckon they can too. And, if they all get away it, Mr Blair’s domestic policywhich is what voters are most likely to judge him on a the next electionwill be a failure.When mentioning "the something-for-nothing days" (Paragraph l), the writer is talking about（）A．Mr Blair's unique commitment to public service reforms.B．blank cheques given as a compromise to health workers.C．Mr Blair's pledge to spending increases on public services.D．pay and conditions granted to health-service workers.4.Text 1For Tony Blair, home is a messy sort of place, where the prime minister’s job is not to uphold eternal values but to force through some unpopular changes that may make the country work a bit better. The area where this is most obvious, and where it matters most, is the public services. Mr Blair faces a difficulty here which is partly of his own making. By focusing his last election campaign on the need to improve hospitals, schools, transport and policing, he built up expectations. Mr Blair has said many times that reforms in the way the public services work need to go alongside increases in cash.Mr Blair has made his task harder by committing a classic negotiating error. Instead of extracting concessions from the other side before promising his own, he has pledged himself to higher spending on public services without getting a commitment to change from the unions. Why, given that this pledge has been made, should the health unions give ground in return In a speech on March 20th, Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer, said that the something-for-nothing days are over in our public services and there can be no blank cheques. But the government already seems to have given health workers a blank cheque.Nor are other ministries conveying quite the same message as the treasury. On March 19th, John Hutton, a health minister, announced that cleaners and catering staff in new privately-funded hospitals working for the National Health service will still be government employees, entitled to the same pay and conditions as other health-service workers. Since one of the main ways in which the government hopes to reform the public sector is by using private providers, and since one of the main ways in which private providers are likely to be able to save money is by cutting labor costs, this move seems to undermine the government’s strategy.Now the government faces its hardest fight. The police need reforming more than any other public service. Half of them, for instance, retire early, at a cost of ＆1 billion ( $ 1. 4% billion) a year to the taxpayer. The police have voted 10-1 against proposals from the home secretary, David Blunkett, to reform their working practices.This is a fight the government has to win. If the police get away with it, other publicservice workers will reckon they can too. And, if they all get away it, Mr Blair’s domestic policywhich is what voters are most likely to judge him on a the next electionwill be a failure.What may be the attitude of many public-service workers towards the strategy of Blair's government（）A．Resentful.B．Accommodative.C．Supportive.D．Apprehensive.5.Text 2Everyday some 16m barrels of oil leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. That is enough to fill a soft-drink can for everyone on earth, or to power every motor vehicle on the planet for 25 miles (40kin). Gulf oil accounts for 400//oo of global trade in the sticky stuff. More important, it makes up two-thirds of known deposits. Whereas at present production rates the rest of the world’s oil reserves will last for a mere 25 years, the Gulf’s will last for 100. In other words, the region’s strategic importance is set to grow and grow.Or at least so goes the conventional wisdom, which is usually rounded out with scary talk of unstable, spendthrift regimes and a looming fundamentalist menace. Yet all those numbers come with caveats. A great deal of oil is consumed by the countries that produce it rather than traded, so in reality the Gulf accounts for less than a quarter of the world’s daily consumption. As for reserves, the figures are as changeable as a mirage in the desert. The most comprehensive research available, conducted by the US Geological Survey, refers to an expected total volume for global hydrocarbon deposits that is about double current known reserves. Using that figure, and throwing in natural gas along with oil, it appears that the Gulf contains a more moderate 30% or so of the planet’s future fossil-fuel supplies. Leaving out the two Gulf states that are not covered in this surveyIran and Iraqthe remaining six between them hold something like 20% of world hydrocarbon reserves, not much more than Russia.All the same, it is still a hefty chunk; enough, you might think, to keep the people living atop the wells in comfort for the foreseeable future. But you might be wrong. At present, the nations of the Gulf Co-operation Council have a combined national income roughly equal to Switzerland’s, but a population which, at around 30m, is more than four times as big. It is also the fastest-growing on earth, having increased at nine times the Swiss rate over the past quarter-century. Meanwhile the region’s share of world oil trade has fallen, as has the average price per barrel.As a result, the income per person generated by GCC oil exports has been diminishing since the 1970s. True, surging demand from America and Asia has recently boosted the Gulf’s share of trade, but the medium-term outlook for oil pries remains weak. Combined with continued growth in oil consumption, this should create sustained upward pressure on prices. And high oil prices will speed the search for alternatives. Who knows, in 20 years’ time fuel cells and hydrogen power may have started to become commercial propositions.By mentioning "the figures are as changeable as a mirage in the desert", the author is talking about（）A．the wealthy people who live atop the wells in the Gulf..B．the planet's future fossil-fuel supplies.C．the inconsistent estimates on oil deposits in the Gulf.D．the oil traded in the international markets.6.Text 2Everyday some 16m barrels of oil leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. That is enough to fill a soft-drink can for everyone on earth, or to power every motor vehicle on the planet for 25 miles (40kin). Gulf oil accounts for 400//oo of global trade in the sticky stuff. More important, it makes up two-thirds of known deposits. Whereas at present production rates the rest of the world’s oil reserves will last for a mere 25 years, the Gulf’s will last for 100. In other words, the region’s strategic importance is set to grow and grow.Or at least so goes the conventional wisdom, which is usually rounded out with scary talk of unstable, spendthrift regimes and a looming fundamentalist menace. Yet all those numbers come with caveats. A great deal of oil is consumed by the countries that produce it rather than traded, so in reality the Gulf accounts for less than a quarter of the world’s daily consumption. As for reserves, the figures are as changeable as a mirage in the desert. The most comprehensive research available, conducted by the US Geological Survey, refers to an expected total volume for global hydrocarbon deposits that is about double current known reserves. Using that figure, and throwing in natural gas along with oil, it appears that the Gulf contains a more moderate 30% or so of the planet’s future fossil-fuel supplies. Leaving out the two Gulf states that are not covered in this surveyIran and Iraqthe remaining six between them hold something like 20% of world hydrocarbon reserves, not much more than Russia.All the same, it is still a hefty chunk; enough, you might think, to keep the people living atop the wells in comfort for the foreseeable future. But you might be wrong. At present, the nations of the Gulf Co-operation Council have a combined national income roughly equal to Switzerland’s, but a population which, at around 30m, is more than four times as big. It is also the fastest-growing on earth, having increased at nine times the Swiss rate over the past quarter-century. Meanwhile the region’s share of world oil trade has fallen, as has the average price per barrel.As a result, the income per person generated by GCC oil exports has been diminishing since the 1970s. True, surging demand from America and Asia has recently boosted the Gulf’s share of trade, but the medium-term outlook for oil pries remains weak. Combined with continued growth in oil consumption, this should create sustained upward pressure on prices. And high oil prices will speed the search for alternatives. Who knows, in 20 years’ time fuel cells and hydrogen power may have started to become commercial propositions.In the eyes of the author, conventional opinion on the strategic importance of the Gulf oil is（）A．unclear.B．constructive.C．reasonable,D．exaggerated.7.Text 2Everyday some 16m barrels of oil leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. That is enough to fill a soft-drink can for everyone on earth, or to power every motor vehicle on the planet for 25 miles (40kin). Gulf oil accounts for 400//oo of global trade in the sticky stuff. More important, it makes up two-thirds of known deposits. Whereas at present production rates the rest of the world’s oil reserves will last for a mere 25 years, the Gulf’s will last for 100. In other words, the region’s strategic importance is set to grow and grow.Or at least so goes the conventional wisdom, which is usually rounded out with scary talk of unstable, spendthrift regimes and a looming fundamentalist menace. Yet all those numbers come with caveats. A great deal of oil is consumed by the countries that produce it rather than traded, so in reality the Gulf accounts for less than a quarter of the world’s daily consumption. As for reserves, the figures are as changeable as a mirage in the desert. The most comprehensive research available, conducted by the US Geological Survey, refers to an expected total volume for global hydrocarbon deposits that is about double current known reserves. Using that figure, and throwing in natural gas along with oil, it appears that the Gulf contains a more moderate 30% or so of the planet’s future fossil-fuel supplies. Leaving out the two Gulf states that are not covered in this surveyIran and Iraqthe remaining six between them hold something like 20% of world hydrocarbon reserves, not much more than Russia.All the same, it is still a hefty chunk; enough, you might think, to keep the people living atop the wells in comfort for the foreseeable future. But you might be wrong. At present, the nations of the Gulf Co-operation Council have a combined national income roughly equal to Switzerland’s, but a population which, at around 30m, is more than four times as big. It is also the fastest-growing on earth, having increased at nine times the Swiss rate over the past quarter-century. Meanwhile the region’s share of world oil trade has fallen, as has the average price per barrel.As a result, the income per person generated by GCC oil exports has been diminishing since the 1970s. True, surging demand from America and Asia has recently boosted the Gulf’s share of trade, but the medium-term outlook for oil pries remains weak. Combined with continued growth in oil consumption, this should create sustained upward pressure on prices. And high oil prices will speed the search for alternatives. Who knows, in 20 years’ time fuel cells and hydrogen power may have started to become commercial propositions.It is generally believed that oil produced in the Gulf（）A．will leave the locals in impoverished conditions.B．is less than the assessment in a comprehensive research.C．will diminish the region's strategic importance.D．is traded rather than consumed by its producers..8.Text 2Everyday some 16m barrels of oil leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. That is enough to fill a soft-drink can for 。