Section III Reading Comprehension

　　Passage 1.

　　Violent lyrics in songs increase aggression-related thoughts and emotions and could indirectly create a more hostile social environment, a study released on Sunday by a U.S. psychology association found. The Washington D.C.-based American Psychological Association (APA) released the study, resulting from five experiments involving over 500 college students, in the May issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

　　The violent songs increased feelings of hostility without provocation or threat, according to the study. It said the effect was not the result of differences in musical style, specific performing artist or arousal properties of the songs. Even the humorous violent songs increased aggressive thoughts, the study said.

　　The group said the study contradicts a popular notion that listening to angry, violent music actually serves as a positive catharsis for people.

　　The music industry came under criticism from lawmakers in October for failing to use more descriptive parental advisory labels that specify whether the music contains sex, violence or strong language.

　　But the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has said that current CD labels give parents enough information without violating the right to free expression. The RIAA is the trade group for the world's five big labels, including AOL Time Warner Inc., EMI Group Plc , Bertelsmann AG, Vivendi Universal's Universal Music and Sony Corp.

　　Results of the APA’sexperiments showed that violent songs led to more aggressive interpretations of ambiguously aggressive words and increased the relative speed with which people read aggressive versus nonaggressive words. "Such aggression-biased interpretations can, in turn, instigate a more aggressive response, verbal or physical, than would have been emitted in a nonbiased state, thus provoking an aggressive escalatory spiral of antisocial exchanges," said researcher Craig Anderson, in a statement.

　　While researchers said repeated exposure to violent lyrics could indirectly create a more hostile social environment, they said it was possible the effects of violent songs may last only a fairly short time.

　　41. According to the study by APA, intensified aggression had nothing to do with__________.

　　A. actual performers of music B. a more hostile environment

　　C. feelings of hostility D. violent humors of the songs

　　42. The word “ catharsis ” in paragraph 3 most probably means ______________________.

　　A. an unpopular notion B. the removal of strong feelings

　　C. an increase of aggressive emotions D. the overreaction to violent lyrics

　　43. Which of the following statements is true ?

　　A. The researchers’ work was unpopular because of its biased conclusions.

　　B. The music industry was accused of unclear specification of the nature of the songs.

　　C. The current CD labels failed to specify whether the music is appropriate for youth.

　　D. The music industry would have to yield to the pressure from the politicians.

　　44. Craig Anderson would probably agree that ______________________.

　　A. the relation between violent music and aggressive thoughts was ambiguous

　　B. more experiments were needed to justify the results achieved so far

　　C. antisocial exchanges could be ultimately attributed to violent songs

　　D. nonbiased interpretations might cause more aggressive social responses

　　45. It can be concluded from the passage that ____________________.

　　A. some musical styles would lead to a short period of increased social hostility

　　B. researchers were divided about the fundamental causes of aggressive emotions

　　C. parents needn’t worry a lot about their kids’ occasional exposure to violent songs

　　D. music industry would have to be more alert to violent words in its music

　　Passage 2

　　THE biggest danger facing the global airline industry is not the effects of terrorism, war, SARS and economic downturn. It is that these blows, which have helped ground three national flag carriers and force two American airlines into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, will divert attention from the inherent weaknesses of aviation, which they have exacerbated. As in the crisis that attended the first Gulf war, many airlines hope that traffic will soon bounce back, and a few catastrophic years will be followed by fuller planes, happier passengers and a return to profitability. Yet the industry's problems are deeper—and older—than the trauma of the past two years implies.

　　As the centenary of the first powered flight approaches in December, the industry it launched is still remarkably primitive. The car industry, created not long after the Wright Brothers made history, is now a global industry dominated by a dozen firms, at least half of which make good profits. Yet commercial aviation consists of 267 international carriers and another 500-plus domestic ones. The world's biggest carrier, American Airlines, has barely 7% of the global market, whereas the world's biggest carmaker, General Motors, has (with its associated firms) about a quarter of the world's automobile market.

　　Aviation has been incompletely deregulated, and in only two markets: America and Europe. Everywhere else deals between governments dictate who flies under what rules. These aim to preserve state-owned national flag-carriers, run for prestige rather than profit. And numerous restrictions on foreign ownership impede cross-border airline mergers.

　　In America, the big network carriers face barriers to exit, which have kept their route networks too large. Trade unions resisting job cuts and Congressmen opposing route closures in their territory conspire to block change. In Europe, liberalisation is limited by bilateral deals that prevent, for instance, British Airways (BA) flying to America from Frankfurt or Paris, or Lufthansa offering transatlantic flights from London's Heathrow. To use the car industry analogy, it is as if only Renaults were allowed to drive on French motorways.

　　In airlines, the optimists are those who think that things are now so bad that the industry has no option but to evolve. Frederick Reid, president of Delta Air Lines, said earlier this year that events since the September 11th attacks are the equivalent of a meteor strike, changing the climate, creating a sort of nuclear winter and leading to a “compressed evolutionary cycle”. So how, looking on the bright side, might the industry look after five years of accelerated development?

　　46. According to the author, the deeper problems of aviation industry _________________.

　　A. are the effects of various disasters

　　B. are actually not fully recognized

　　C. are attracting a lot of attention

　　D. are not the real cause of airlines’ bankruptcy

　　47. One of the facts that reflect the primitiveness of airline industry is ________________.

　　A. its history is much longer than that of car industry

　　B. it is composed of international and domestic carriers

　　C. its market is divided by many a relatively small carrier

　　D. it is still an industry of comparatively low profits

　　48. What does the author mean by “ Aviation has been incompletely deregulated,”( para.3) ?

　　A. Governmental restrictions are still imposed on aviation industry in many areas.

　　B. Governments help establish rules for aviation industry only in America and Europe.

　　C. Some countries hope to help their national carriers keep up their national prestige.

　　D. Many countries discourage merger plans between foreign and domestic carriers.

　　49. It can be inferred from the passage that ____________________.

　　A. free competition may help solve the problems confronting aviation industry

　　B. problems in America are more of a political nature than that in Europe

　　C. car industry should exert a more powerful influence on aviation industry

　　D. there is still a long way to go before the problems can be solved

　　50. According to Fredrick Reid, the aviation industry ______________________.

　　A. is facing a very serious situation

　　B. will confront a difficult evolution

　　C. has no way out of the present difficulty

　　D. will experience a radical reform

　　Passage 3

　　Media mogul Ted Turner yesterday sold more than half of his AOL Time Warner Inc. holdings for about $780 million, a move that reflects his efforts to slash his financial stake in the media giant.

　　After the close of regular trading yesterday, Turner sold a block of 60 million shares to Goldman Sachs & Co. for $13.07 per share, or 31 cents below the stock's closing price yesterday. Goldman was said by Wall Street sources to be offering the stock to major investors for $13.15.

　　An outspoken critic of the corporation, Turner remains AOL Time Warner's largest individual shareholder, with 45 million shares, and a member of its board of directors. A spokeswoman for Turner referred questions to AOL Time Warner.

　　At his peak Turner owned about 130 million shares, but he lost billions of dollars in wealth and grew bitter after the stock plunged following the merger of America Online and Time Warner in January 2001.

　　Turner, who initially supported the merger, later expressed outrage over revelations that America Online had manipulated its financial results. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating AOL, and the corporation has acknowledged discovering tens of millions of dollars of overstated revenue.

　　Turner resigned as vice chairman earlier this year and has been spending less of his time on AOL Time Warner matters. He stepped down after achieving his goal of pressuring America Online founder Steve Case to resign as the corporation's chairman. Case said he was giving up the post to avoid a bruising public battle for reelection at next week's annual meeting.

　　In the effort to oust Case, Turner teamed up with Gordon Crawford, the senior media portfolio manager at Capital Research & Management, the largest institutional shareholder in AOL Time Warner. Capital Research has indicated it will vote against Case's election to remain on the board of directors next week -- a position that analysts said should not affect the outcome. Turner, meanwhile, has said he will support the management slate that includes Case and will make Richard D. Parsons the company's chairman and chief executive.

　　Turner, a visionary who started Cable News Network, is in the midst of rolling out a new chain of restaurants, Ted's Montana Grill, featuring bison burgers. He recently moved his residence from Georgia to Florida for estate-planning purposes and is spending time and money on his independent film company, which lost millions of dollars on a lengthy movie about the Civil War.

　　51. From the first three paragraphs, we learn that ___________________.

　　A. Goldman has made a profit from this transaction of shares with Turner

　　B. Turner always expresses his dissatisfaction with the corporation openly

　　C. Goldman bought the block of shares in order to become a member of the board

　　D. Turner sold a large portion of his shares to retreat from the media business

　　52. Turner became extremely angry because ____________________.

　　A. he had to sell a large portion of his shares to Goldman at a loss

　　B. the merger covered the dissatisfactory financial results of AOL

　　C. American Online was found to have exaggerated its revenue

　　D. he lost billions of dollars in wealth due to the stock’s going low

　　53. All of the following about Case are true Except _________________.

　　A. he stepped down from the post of the founder of AOL

　　B. he used to be the chairman of AOL Time Warner

　　C. he had to resign from his post under pressure from Turner and Crawford

　　D. he will meet with opposition from Capital Research to remain on the board

　　54. The last paragraph shows that _____________________.

　　A. Turner’s interest is presently centered on chain restaurants

　　B. Turner is such a changeable person on business matters

　　C. Turner will never give up his independent film company

　　D. Turner is a businessman full of imagination

　　55. The best title for this passage could be ___________________.

　　A. Turner makes a series of new decisions

　　B. Turner shows his anger at AOL Time Warner

　　C. Turner comes down from his peak in business

　　D. Turner slashes his financial stake in AOL

　　Passage 4

　　The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday to let stand a ruling in an online defamation case will make it more difficult to determine correct legal jurisdictions in other Internet cases, legal experts said.

　　By opting not to take the case, the high court effectively endorsed a lower court's decision that a Colorado company that posts ratings of health plans on the Internet could be sued for defamation in a Washington court. The lower court ruling is one of several that makes it easier for plaintiffs to sue Web site operators in their own jurisdictions, rather than where the operators maintain a physical presence.

　　The case involved a defamation suit filed by Chehalis, Wash.-based Northwest Healthcare Alliance against Lakewood, Colo.-based Healthgrades.com. The Alliance sued in Washington federal court after Healthgrades.com posted a negative ranking of Northwest Healthcare's home health services on the Internet. Healthgrades.com argued that it should not be subject to the jurisdiction of a court in Washington because its publishing operation is in Colorado.

　　Observers said the fact that the Supreme Court opted not to hear the case only clouds the legal situation for Web site operators.

　　Geoff Stewart, a partner at Jones Day in Washington, D.C., said that the Supreme Court eventually must act on the issue, as Internet sites that rate everything from automobile dealerships to credit offers could scale back their offerings to avoid lawsuits originating numerous jurisdictions.

　　Online publishers also might have to worry about being dragged into lawsuits in foreign courts, said Dow Lohnes & Albertson attorney Jon Hart, who has represented the Online News Association.

　　"The much more difficult problems for U.S. media companies arise when claims are brought in foreign countries over content published in the United States," Hart said. Hart cited a recent case in which an Australian court ruled that Dow Jones must appear in a Victoria, Australia court to defend its publication of an article on the U.S.-based Wall Street Journal Web site.

　　According to Hart, the potential chilling effect of those sorts of jurisdictional decisions is substantial. "[I] have not yet seen publishers holding back on what they otherwise publish because they're afraid they're going to get sued in another country, but that doesn't mean it won't happen if we see a rash of U.S. libel cases against U.S. media companies being brought in foreign countries," he said.

　　Until the high court decides to weigh in directly on this issue, Web site operators that offer information and services to users located outside of their home states must deal with a thorny legal landscape, said John Morgan, a partner at Perkins Coie LLP and an expert in Internet law.

　　56. The author seems to believe that the Supreme Court’s decision____________________.

　　A. puts Web site operators at a legal disadvantage

　　B. renders correct legal decisions in other cases impossible

　　C. brings about a series of incorrect legal rulings

　　D. causes operators to issue balanced health plans

　　57. Healthgrades.com claimed that it shouldn’t be sued in Washington because ______________.

　　A. its headquarters are in Colorado

　　B. it doesn’t have a physical presence in Washington

　　C. its rating didn’t have a harmful effect on the company

　　D. its operation was carried out in Washington area

　　58. According to Geoff Stewart, the high court’s decision will _________________.

　　A.make further acts on this issue difficult

　　B.originate numerous offerings of jurisdictions

　　C.cause Internet sites to be more cautious in their offerings

　　D.make providers of information go crazy

　　59. Hart cited a case in an Australian court to indicate that _________________.

　　A.the high court should weigh in immediately on the issue

　　B.problems for American media companies are getting more difficult

　　C.the jurisdictional decision will have a chilling effect on companies

　　D.American online publishers might be sued in foreign courts

　　60. The author writes this passage mainly to show that ___________________.

　　A. the Supreme Court’s ruling is incorrect

　　B. legal problems are far from over

　　C. internet legal borders are still not clear

　　E.uncertainties exist about validity of Web sites

　　Section III Reading Comprehension

　　Passage 1.

　　周日美国一个心理学协会发表的研究表明：歌曲中感情强烈的歌词增多了带有进攻性质的想法和行为而且可能间接导致一个更加敌对的社会环境。通过对五百多名大学生的五个实验，这个基于华盛顿的心理学协会把他们的研究成果发表在《人格和社会心理》的五月刊上。

　　研究表明，这些过激的歌曲在没有挑衅和恐吓的情况下就增加了敌意。产生这样的结果并不是因为在音乐的风格、细节表现的艺术或者激励特性方面的差异。甚至是诙谐的过激的歌曲也增强了有侵略性的想法。

　　该团体指出这个研究与一种流行的观点相矛盾。流行的观点认为听愤怒、暴力的音乐事实上是人们的一种积极的宣泄。

　　十月份，音乐产业遭到了立法者的谴责，因为他们没有依照父母的建议运用更多的描述性的标签来详细说明音乐中是否含有性、暴力以及强硬的言语。

　　但是美国唱片工业协会声称：流行CD的标签在确保自由表达权利的前提下，已给父母们提供了足够的信息。美国唱片协会是包括世界五大唱片品牌的贸易团体，它们包括华纳唱片、EMI唱片、Bertelsmann AG, 维旺迪环球音乐和索尼唱片。

　　美国心理学协会的实验结果表明过激的歌曲导致了对含糊不清的侵略性话语的更加偏激的理解。并且相对于没有侵略性的语言，当人们阅读带有侵略性的文字时语速也加快了。在声明中，研究员Craig Anderson指出：“这样的侵略性的偏激的理解，会激起更加具有侵略性的回应，口头的或是心理上的，这些都可能出现在这样一个公平的国家里。从而激起反社会的交流的螺旋型提高”。

　　研究人员指出频繁地接触过激的歌曲可能间接地促成一个更加敌意的社会环境。同时他们还指出这种过激歌曲的影响可能只会持续一段相当短的时间。

　　Passage 2

　　全球航空产业所面临地最大的危机不是恐怖主义、战争、非典以及经济低迷所带来的影响，而是这些诸如保护三家国有航空公司的发展并使得两家美国航空公司被迫破产之类的打击。这些打击把人们的注意力从航空产业所固有的并且日益恶化的弱点转移开来。正如在海湾战争这样的危机中，许多航空公司都希望运输业可以很快恢复，期盼随之而来的是更满的乘客机舱、更加开心的乘客还有盈利。但是，航空产业的问题却比两年来的打击所揭示的要深远的多。

　　随着十二月份航空业百年的临近，航空产业所展示的仍然是相当的原始。在赖特兄弟发明飞机之后不久产生的汽车工业已经是受控于十几家公司的全球产业。这些公司中至少有一半获取了丰厚的回报。与之相较，航空产业包括267个国际企业和另外500多个国家性企业。全球最大的航空产业公司美国航空公司，仅仅占有了全球市场的7%，然而全球最大的汽车制造商通用汽车共占有了约四分之一的全球汽车市场。

　　航空器制造业还没有被完全的解除管制，而且只是存在于美国和欧洲市场上。其他的地区只是政府支配航行者和航线。这些都是为了保护国有企业，公司的运营不是为了盈利而是为了声望。而且对于外国所有权的诸多限制也阻止了国家间航线的合并。

　　在美国，大型的航空网络运营公司因为遭遇某些障碍而无法退出某些航线，这使他们的航空网线过大。行业工会反对裁员，议员们总是阻止航空公司取消自己辖地的航线，他们联合起来阻碍变革。在欧洲，航空业的自由化也因为某些政府的双边协议而收到限定，例如，这些双边协议不让英国航空公司经营从法兰克福-巴黎飞往美国的航线，不让德国汉莎航空公司提供始发于伦敦的希思罗机场的跨大西洋航线。拿汽车产业来分析，这就好比雷诺汽车只允许在法国的高速公路上行驶。

　　在航空产业中，也有乐观的人认为现在情况糟糕使得该产业没有别的选择只有变革。年初，三角洲航空公司总裁弗雷德里克.里德指出，9.11事件就像是流星的撞击一样，改变了气候，产生了一种核的严冬，必将导致“演变周期的压缩”。那么，从好的方面看，五年的迅猛发展之后，航空产业又会变成什么样子呢？

　　Passage 3

　　昨天，媒体巨头特德.特纳将他的美国在线时代华纳娱乐公司的一半股权以7.8亿美金的价格售出。这一行为反应出他正试图削减自己在这一媒体巨霸中的投资。

　　在昨日常规交易结束之后，特纳以每股13.07美元的价格将六千万的股份卖给了高曼.赛克公司，这个价格比昨天收盘时的价格低了31美分。华尔街有传言称高曼公司正以每股13.15美元的价格向重要投资方兜售这些股权。

　　作为公司中坦率直言的批评家，特纳是美国在线时代华纳娱乐公司最大的股东，他拥有四千五百万的股份，并且是公司董事会的成员。特纳的代言人向美国在线时代华纳娱乐公司提出疑问。

　　在特纳事业的巅峰，他拥有大约1.3亿的股份，但随着2001年一月美国在线和时代华纳娱乐公司的合并之后股票的暴跌他损失了数十亿的财富并且这种形势愈演愈烈。

　　最初的时候，特纳是支持两家公司合并的，但是随着美国在线操弄自己财务一事的曝光，特纳表现出了极度的愤慨。证券交易委员会正在调查美国在线，后者承认有虚报了超出数千万的收入。

　　今年年初特纳辞去了公司副主席的职务，并且不再花多少时间处理美国在线时代华纳公司的事务。在通过努力使得美国在线的创始人史蒂夫.凯思辞去公司董事长的职务之后,特纳也辞职了。凯思表示为了避免在激烈的竞争中相互挫伤,他放弃了在下周的年会上再选的机会。

　　为了驱逐凯思，特纳与美国在线时代华纳娱乐公司的最大合法股东戈登.克朗福德联合起来，戈登.克朗福德是资金管理研究所中的资深的媒体部部长。资金管理研究所表明将对凯思下周竞选继任董事长职务投票反对。分析指出这个职务的任免应该不影响结果。同时，特纳表示他将促使候选人名单中有凯思，但是理查德.帕森思将是公司的董事长和首席执行官。

　　作为一个颇有远见的梦想家，特纳创建了有线电视新闻网，他又在大力的发展他的新的连锁饭店――特德.蒙德纳烧烤，特色是野牛肉夹饼。最近为了规划他的地产业务，他将住所从乔治亚洲搬到了佛罗里达，他还将资金投入他私人的电影公司中，该公司因拍摄一部关于美国内战的冗长电影而损失了数百万美元。

　　Passage 4

　　法律专家说，美国最高法院周一做出的维持一项在线诽谤案例的判决将会使得司法权的确定变得更加困难。

　　通过选择不去经手这个案件，最高法庭实际上认同了一个下属法庭的判决。判决认为一个科罗拉多州的网络公司，在网上公布健康保险计划公司的排名，可以在华盛顿州被指控犯了诽谤罪。象许多其它的判决一样，下属法庭的这个判决使得原告更加容易的在他们自己的司法权州去控告网站运营商，而网络运营商并不在原告所在州实际经营。

　　这个案件涉及了一宗诽谤案例，华盛顿州的西北健康联盟的Chehails控告科罗拉多州的Healthgrades.com网站的Lakewood。联盟在华盛顿联邦法庭指控Healthgrades.com在网上公布了关于西北健康的家庭看护的有损其名誉的排名。Healthgrades.com网站争辩说这个案子不该取决于华盛顿法庭的司法权，因为它的出版操作是在科罗拉多州。

　　观察家们说，最高法庭对此案件回避听证，使得网站运营商们的法律处境更加迷茫。

　　华盛顿州Jones Day的合作伙伴Geoff Stewart声称，最高法庭最终必须对此案件做出自己的判决。因为如果不这样的话，一些对从汽车代理权到信贷提供做出评价的网站将会为了避免受到来自更多司法权的诉讼而撤回他们的数据提供。

　　作为在线新闻协会的代表，Dow Lohnes & Albertson的律师Jon Hart声称，在线出版商们也可能不得不担心被拖入国外法庭的诉讼，

　　Hart说，对于美国媒体公司来讲，当国外有人对于美国本土所发布的内容提起诉讼的时候，更大的问题将会出现。Hart列举了最近的一个澳大利亚法庭判决，让道琼斯出庭，去澳洲维多利亚法庭为自己在美国的华尔街杂志网站所公布的文章去辩护。

　　根据Hart所说，那些针对司法权的判决所带来的潜在后果相当的大。他说，“我还没见到任何出版商因为担心会在其它国家被指控而停止出版，但那并不意为着它就不会发生，如果我们看见众多的针对美国媒体公司的诽谤案件在国外出现的话”。

　　作为Perkins Coie LLP的伙伴和网络法律的专家，John Morgan说，那些为州外用户提供信息和服务网络运营商将必须经历艰难的法律历程，直到高等法庭决定去直接考虑此类案件。

　　答案：ABBCD BCAAD BCADD ABCDC

　　周固：优秀考研辅导专家，多年来一直从事英语教学研究，执笔编写多部考研辅导用书对考研英语辅导有全面、深刻的研究，讲课激情四溢，针对性强，幽默风趣，是目前考研界不可多得辅导专家。注重基础和方法。他创导的“周固三位一体考研英语辅导法”，还语言学习的本来规律，讲、练、测结合，独树一帜，辅导效果奇佳。