[考研类试卷]考研英语(阅读)模拟试卷167.doc.pdfVIP

[考研类试卷]考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷167 Part A Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points) 0 The Nobel Prize is a mysterious incarnation of power and authority, an anointed ritual whose claims are accepted as part of the order of things. The Nobel Prize is at once a relic of the past and a self-admiring mirror of our democratized, scientized, secularized modern culture. After a century of existence, the Nobel has become a problematic part of modern history: it helps shape our perception of ourselves for better or worse. Like monarchy, the Nobel Prize surrounds itself with mystery and extraordinary secretiveness. Indeed, the media have more easily breached the privacy of the British royal family than that of the Nobel institution. The prizes present themselves as if handed down from eternity. But as even a cursory inspection will reveal, the juries that pick the laureates have often shown bias, lapses of judgment and bitter infighting. In the sciences, a number of quarrels, scandals, and even lawsuits have erupted over claims to priority or credit for collaborations honored by Nobles. And while widely admired, the science prizes have also been charged with swaying research goals and funding, however inadvertently, and more insidiously with corrupting scientific ambitions by the lure of Nobel fames. Such controversies, together with public dissent from several prizes, have been part of the Nobel history since its beginning. All prizes stir arguments; the Nobels fame simply magnifies this hugely. The very glory and stature of the Nobel Prizes prompt some sharp questions. Should such high endeavors of the human spirit as science, literature, and peace be treated as competitions, however exalted? Should these priceless efforts be paid the enormous, though honorary, price lavished on the winners? Would it matter if there never had been a Nobel Price? Or if it vani