2016考研英语（二）真题（完整版)

　　Text 4

　　Against a backdrop of drastic changes in economy and population structure, younger Americans are drawing a new 21st-century road map to success, a latest poll has found.

　　Across generational lines, Americans continue to prize many of the same traditional milestones of a successful life, including getting married, having children, owning a home, and retiring in their sixties. But while young and old mostly agree on what constitutes the finish line of a fulfilling life, they offer strikingly different paths for reaching it.

　　Young people who are still getting started in life were more likely than older adults to prioritize personal fulfillment in their work, to believe they will advance their careers most by regularly changing jobs, to favor communities with more public services and a faster pace of life, to agree that couples should be financially secure before getting married or having children, and to maintain that children are best served by two parents working outside the home, the survey found.

　　From career to community and family, these contrasts suggest that in the aftermath of the searing Great Recession, those just starting out in life are defining priorities and expectations that will increasingly spread through virtually all aspects of American life, from consumer preferences to housing patterns to politics.

　　Young and old converge on one key point: Overwhelming majorities of both groups said they believe it is harder for young people today to get started in life than it was for earlier generations. Whlie younger people are somewhat more optimistic than their elders about the prospects for those starting out today, big majorities in both groups believe those “just getting started in life” face a tougher a good-paying job, starting a family, managing debt, and finding affordable housing.

　　Pete Schneider considers the climb tougher today. Schneider, a 27-yaear-old auto technician from the Chicago suburbs says he struggled to find a job after graduating from college. Even now that he is working steadily, he said.” I can’t afford to pay ma monthly mortgage payments on my own, so I have to rent rooms out to people to mark that happen.” Looking back, he is struck that his parents could provide a comfortable life for their children even though neither had completed college when he was young.“I still grew up in an upper middle-class home with parents who didn’t have college degrees,”Schneider said.“I don’t think people are capable of that anymore. ”

　　36. One cross-generation mark of a successful life is .

　　[A] trying out different lifestyles

　　[B] having a family with children

　　[C] working beyond retirement age

　　[D] setting up a profitable business

　　37. It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that young people tend to .

　　[A] favor a slower life pace

　　[B] hold an occupation longer

　　[C] attach importance to pre-marital finance

　　[D] give priority to childcare outside the home

　　38. The priorities and expectations defined by the young will .

　　[A] become increasingly clear

　　[B] focus on materialistic issues

　　[C] depend largely on political preferences

　　[D] reach almost all aspects of American life

　　39. Both young and old agree that .

　　[A] good-paying jobs are less available

　　[B] the old made more life achievements

　　[C] housing loans today are easy to obtain

　　[D] getting established is harder for the young

　　40. Which of the following is true about Schneider?

　　[A] He found a dream job after graduating from college

　　[B] His parents believe working steadily is a must for success

　　[C] His parents’ good life has little to do with a college degree

　　[D] He thinks his job as a technician quite challenging
 

　　Part B

　　Directions:

　　Read the following text and answer the questions by choosing the most suitable subheading from the list A-G for each numbered paragraphs (41-45). There are two extra subheadings which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)

　　A. Be silly

　　B. Have fun

　　C. Ask for help

　　D. Express your emotions.

　　E. Don’t overthink it

　　F. Be easily pleased

　　G. Notice things

　　Act Your Shoe Size, Not Your Age.

　　(1) As adults, it seems that we’re constantly pursuing happiness, often with mixed results. Yet children appear to have it down to an art-and for the most part they don’t need self-help books or therapy. Instead, they look after their wellbeing instinctively and usually more effectively than we do as grownups. Perhaps it’s time to learn a few lessons from them.

　　41___________.

　　(2) What does a child do when he’s sad? He cries. When he’s angry? He shouts. Scared? Probably a bit of both. As we grow up, we learn to control our emotions so they are manageable and don’t dictate our behaviours, which is in many ways a good thing. But too often we take this process too far and end up suppressing emotions, especially negative ones. That’s about as effective as brushing dirt under a carpet and can even make us ill. What we feel appropriately and then-again, like children-move on.

　　42__________.

　　A couple of Christmases ago, my youngest stepdaughter, who was 9 years old at the time, got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas. It cost less than a fiver but she was overjoyed, and couldn’t bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content, but the reality is these things have little lasting impact on our happiness levels. Instead, being grateful for small things every day is a much better way to improve wellbeing.

　　43__________.

　　Have you ever noticed how much children laugh? If we adults could indulge in a bit of silliness and giggling, we would reduce the stress hormones in our bodies, increase good hormones like endorphins, improve blood flow to our hearts and ever have a greater chance of fighting off infection. All of which would, of course, have a positive effect on our happiness levels.

　　44__________.

　　The problem with being a grownup is that there’s an awful lot of serious stuff to deal with-work, mortgage payments, figuring out what to cook for dinner. But as adults we also have the luxury of being able to control our own diaries and it’s important that we schedule in time to enjoy the thing we love. Those things might be social, sporting, creative or completely random (dancing around the living room, anyone?)-it doesn’t matter, so long as they’re enjoyable, and not likely to have negative side effects, such as drinking too much alcohol or going on a wild spending spree if you’re on a tight budget.

　　45__________.

　　Having said all of the above, it’s important to add that we shouldn’t try too hard to be happy. Scientists tell us this can back fire and actually have a negative impact on our wellbeing. As the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu is reported to have said: “Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.” And in that, once more, we need to look to the example of our children, to whom happiness is not a goal but a natural byproduct of the way they live.