Part A: Reading Comprehension
Directions: Read the following text. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Text 3
The US$3-million Fundamental Physics Prize is indeed an interesting experiment, as Alexander Polyakov said when he accepted this year’s award in March. And it is far from the only one of its type. As a News Feature article in Nature discusses, a string of lucrative awards for researchers have joined the Nobel Prizes in recent years. Many, like the Fundamental Physics Prize, are funded from the telephone-number-sized bank accounts of Internet entrepreneurs. These benefactors have succeeded in their chosen fields, they say, and they want to use their wealth to draw attention to those who have succeeded in science.
What’s not to like? Quite a lot, according to a handful of scientists quoted in the News Feature. You cannot buy class, as the old saying goes, and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels. The new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behind them, say scientists. They could distort the achievement-based system of peer-review-led research. They could cement the status quo of peer-reviewed research. They do not fund peer-reviewed research. They perpetuate the myth of the lone genius.
The goals of the prize-givers seem as scattered as the criticism. Some want to shock, others to draw people into science, or to better reward those who have made their careers in research.
As Nature has pointed out before, there are some legitimate concerns about how science prizes-both new and old-are distributed. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, launched this year, takes an unrepresentative view of what the life sciences include. But the Nobel Foundation’s limit of three recipients per prize, each of whom must still be living, has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of modern research-as will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson. The Nobels were, of course, themselves set up by a very rich individual who had decided what he wanted to do with his own money. Time, rather than intention, has given them legitimacy.
As much as some scientists may complain about the new awards, two things seem clear. First, most researchers would accept such a prize if they were offered one. Second, it is surely a good thing that the money and attention come to science rather than go elsewhere. It is fair to criticize and question the mechanism-that is the culture of research, after all-but it is the prize-givers’ money to do with as they please. It is wise to take such gifts with gratitude and grace.
31. The Fundamental Physics Prize is seen as
32. The critics think that the new awards will most benefit
33. The discovery of the Higgs boson is a typical case which involves
34. According to Paragraph 4, which of the following is true of the Nobels?
35. The author believes that the new awards are
全文翻译
300万美元的基础物理学奖确实是一个有趣的实验，正如亚历山大·波利亚科夫在三月份领取今年的奖项时所说。而且它远非同类中独一无二的。正如《自然》杂志的一篇新闻特写文章所讨论的，近年来一系列为研究人员设立的丰厚奖项加入了诺贝尔奖的行列。其中许多奖项，如基础物理学奖，由互联网企业家的电话号码般长度的银行账户资助。这些捐助者说，他们在自己选择的领域取得了成功，并希望利用他们的财富来吸引人们对那些在科学上取得成功的人的关注。
有什么不喜欢的呢？根据新闻特写中引用的少数几位科学家的说法，有很多。俗话说有钱买不到阶层，这些暴发户企业家无法为他们的奖项买到诺贝尔奖的声望。科学家们说，这些新奖项是幕后人士自我宣传的一种练习。它们可能扭曲以同行评审为主导的研究成就体系。它们可能巩固同行评审研究的现状。它们不资助同行评审研究。它们延续了孤独天才的神话。
奖金设立者的目标似乎和批评一样分散。有些人想要震撼，有些人想要吸引人们进入科学领域，或者更好地奖励那些在研究领域建立了职业生涯的人。
正如《自然》之前指出的，关于科学奖项——无论是新奖还是旧奖——如何分配，确实有一些合理的担忧。今年推出的生命科学突破奖对生命科学包含的范围持有不具代表性的看法。但诺贝尔基金会每个奖项最多三名获奖者、且每人必须仍在世的限制，早已被现代研究的协作性质所超越——正如当涉及确认希格斯玻色子的发现时，不可避免的关于谁被忽视的争论将证明这一点。当然，诺贝尔奖本身是由一个非常富有的人设立的，他决定用自己的钱做他想做的事。时间，而非意图，赋予了它们合法性。
尽管一些科学家可能会抱怨这些新奖项，但有两件事似乎很清楚。第一，如果被授予这样的奖项，大多数研究人员会接受它。第二，金钱和关注流向科学而非其他地方，这无疑是一件好事。批评和质疑这个机制是公平的——毕竟这是研究的文化——但这钱是奖金设立者的，他们有权随心所欲地使用。明智的做法是怀着感激和优雅接受这样的礼物。
Answers & Explanations (答案与深度解析)
试题精解
31. [B] a handsome reward for researchers.
【解析】细节题。第一段提到，基础物理学奖（Fundamental Physics Prize）绝不是同类中的唯一一个。接着指出：“a string of lucrative awards for researchers have joined the Nobel Prizes”（一系列为研究人员提供丰厚奖金的奖项已经加入了诺贝尔奖的行列）。lucrative（赚大钱的/利润丰厚的）同义替换为 B 选项中的 handsome（丰厚的/可观的）。
32. [C] the founders of the new awards.
【解析】细节题。第二段讲述了批评家（critics/scientists）对新奖项的看法：“The new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behind them”（这些新奖项是幕后推手自我推销的手段）。“those behind them”（幕后推手）即创立这些奖项的互联网企业家，完美对应 C 选项“the founders of the new awards”。
33. [C] the joint effort of modern researchers.
【解析】例证题。第四段指出，诺贝尔奖规定每个奖项最多只能有三名获奖者，但这“has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of modern research”（早就被现代研究的合作性质所超越）。紧接着用破折号引出例子：“as will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson”（正如在承认希格斯玻色子发现时，关于谁被忽略的不可避免的争论所证明的那样）。因此，发现希格斯玻色子是一个体现“现代研究团队合作（joint effort/collaborative nature）”的典型案例。
34. [B] Their endurance has done justice to them.
【解析】推理题。第四段最后两句谈到了诺贝尔奖的由来和合法性：“The Nobels were... set up by a very rich individual... Time, rather than intention, has given them legitimacy.”（诺贝尔奖也是由一个极其富有的人设立的... 是时间，而非意图，赋予了它们合法性）。“Time”（时间）对应 B 选项的“endurance”（持久/时间的沉淀），“given them legitimacy”（赋予它们合法性/正当性）对应“done justice to them”（公平对待了它们/赋予其公正的地位）。
35. [D] acceptable despite the criticism.
【解析】态度题。最后一段表达了作者对新奖项的态度：“As much as some scientists may complain... two things seem clear.”（尽管一些科学家可能会抱怨，但有两件事是清楚的）。第一，绝大多数研究者被授予此类奖项都会接受；第二，钱和注意力流向科学总归是件好事。最后结论：“It is wise to take such gifts with gratitude and grace.”（带着感激和优雅接受这些礼物是明智的）。这表明作者认为这些新奖项“尽管有批评，但也是可以接受的（acceptable despite the criticism）”。
考研核心句型与长难句
【长难句剖析】
1. 形象的复合形容词：
"Many, like the Fundamental Physics Prize, are funded from the telephone-number-sized bank accounts of Internet entrepreneurs."
【解析】telephone-number-sized 是一个非常生动形象的复合形容词，字面意思是“像电话号码那么长的”，在此形容互联网企业家的银行账户数额巨大（高达百万、千万甚至亿万）。
"Many, like the Fundamental Physics Prize, are funded from the telephone-number-sized bank accounts of Internet entrepreneurs."
【解析】telephone-number-sized 是一个非常生动形象的复合形容词，字面意思是“像电话号码那么长的”，在此形容互联网企业家的银行账户数额巨大（高达百万、千万甚至亿万）。
2. 否定词首置与倒装意味：
"You cannot buy class, as the old saying goes, and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels."
【解析】句中 buy someone something 为双宾语结构：buy their prizes (间接宾语) the prestige of the Nobels (直接宾语)。意为：这些暴发户企业家无法为他们的奖项买来诺贝尔奖那样的声望。
"You cannot buy class, as the old saying goes, and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels."
【解析】句中 buy someone something 为双宾语结构：buy their prizes (间接宾语) the prestige of the Nobels (直接宾语)。意为：这些暴发户企业家无法为他们的奖项买来诺贝尔奖那样的声望。
3. as 引导的非限制性定语从句：
"...has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of modern research—as will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson."
【解析】破折号后的 as 代指前文的整个句子（诺奖规则被现代研究的合作性所超越）。when it comes to 意为“当提到/涉及到...时”，后面接动名词 acknowledging。over 后面跟的是由 who 引导的宾语从句作介词的宾语，描述了科学界关于“谁被遗漏”的激烈争论。
"...has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of modern research—as will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson."
【解析】破折号后的 as 代指前文的整个句子（诺奖规则被现代研究的合作性所超越）。when it comes to 意为“当提到/涉及到...时”，后面接动名词 acknowledging。over 后面跟的是由 who 引导的宾语从句作介词的宾语，描述了科学界关于“谁被遗漏”的激烈争论。