Text 2

Over the past decade, thousands of patents have seen granted for what are called business methods. Amazon.com received one for its “one-click” online payment system. Merrill Lynch got legal protection for an asset allocation strategy. One inventor patented a technique for lying a box。

本段是背景段，講過去的事情。只需看懂第一句“過去的幾十年中，上千個商業(yè)方法被授予專利�！�

Now the nation’s top patent court appears completely-property lawyers abuzz the U.S. court of Appeals for the federal circuit said it would use a particular case to conduct a broad review of business-method patents. In the Bilski, as the case is known, is a “very big deal”， says Dennis’D Crouch of the University of Missouri School of law. It “has the potential to eliminate an entire class of patents�！�

本段轉(zhuǎn)折�！皩�會用一個案例來全面審查商業(yè)方法專利”。最后一句“它有可能排除一種專利(即上文的business-method patent)”

26. Business-method patents have recently aroused concern because of

[A] their limited value to business

[B] their connection with asset allocation

[C] the possible restriction on their granting

[D] the controversy over authorization

選[C]，根正苗紅的同義替換。possible= potential ， eliminate= restriction

[A] 無中生有 [B] 用第一段的一個小例子中的細節(jié)捏造選項 [D] controversy 無中生有。

27. Which of the following is true of the Bilski case?

[A] Its ruling complies with the court decisions

[B] It involves a very big business transaction

[C] It has been dismissed by the Federal Circuit

[D] It may change the legal practices in the U.S。

選[D] potential= may ,change 對應(yīng)著第一段和第二段之間的轉(zhuǎn)折。從本段的review，eliminate也可以看出這是一種轉(zhuǎn)折。

全文一直沒有講Bilski case的判決的結(jié)果，而 [A] [C]都是在講其判決結(jié)果，所以與原文相反。

[B] 是從原文“ a “very big deal””字面意識出發(fā)設(shè)置的干擾選項。a big deal 其實在英文中的意思是“重要”，而不是“生意(transaction)”

本題[D]還有may ,正確答案往往語氣委婉，所以更加確定選這個選項。

Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the federal circuit itself that introduced such patents with is 1998 decision in the so-called state Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets. That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging internet companies trying to stake out exclusive pinhts to specific types of online transactions. Later, move established companies raced to add such patents to their files, if only as a defensive move against rivals that might bent them to the punch. In 2005, IBM noted in a court filing that it had been issued more than 300 business-method patents despite the fact that it questioned the legal basis for granting them. Similarly, some Wall Street investment films armed themselves with patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice。

28. The word “about-face” (Line 1,Para 3) most probably means

[A] loss of good will

[B] increase of hostility

[C] change of attitude

[D] enhancement of disnity

本題是詞匯題，一定要返回原文通過上下文解題。Because 之前是說對business-method 的約束(curbs)，而because之后說的是“正是聯(lián)邦審判引入了business-method”，所以二者之間自然表明了是“態(tài)度的轉(zhuǎn)變”。所以選[C]

The Bilski case involves a claimed patent on a method for hedging risk in the energy market. The Federal circuit issued an unusual order stating that the case would be heard by all 12 of the court’s judges, rather than a typical panel of three and that one issue it wants to evaluate is weather it should “reconsider” its state street Bank ruling。

本段第一句話沒有看懂，直接跳過。第二句講“聯(lián)邦審判要求這個案子要12個法官審，而不是普通的3人小組，并且要求判斷是否要重新考慮之前的Bank ruling” 由本句可以排除29 [A]

The Federal Circuit’s action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the supreme Count that has narrowed the scope of protections for patent holders. Last April, for example the justices signaled that too many patents were being upheld for “inventions” that are obvious. The judges on the Federal circuit are “reacting to the anti_patent trend at the supreme court”， says Harole C.wegner, a partend attorney and professor at aeorge Washington University Law School。

in the wake of= after 。第一句：最高法院已經(jīng)減少了對專利持有者的保護(protection)。而29[C] 減少了對專利持有者的尊重(esteem)。其中esteem是對protection的偷梁換柱。第二句：舉例子。法官發(fā)出信號： too many (過多的專利被授予了)，表明法院認為很多business-method 不應(yīng)該被授予，所以選[B] too many =often unnecessarily. [D]無中生有。

29. We learn from the last two paragraphs that business-method patents

[A] are immune to legal challenges

[B] are often unnecessarily issued

[C] lower the esteem for patent holders

[D] increase the incidence of risks

見上文的解析。本題[A] [B] 兩項相反必去其一。

30. Which of the following would be the subject of the text?

[A] A looming threat to business-method patents

[B] Protection for business-method patent holders

[C] A legal case regarding business-method patents

[D] A prevailing trend against business-method patents

選擇 [A] 。首先排除[B]，與原文相反。[C]大帽子。[A] [D]的選擇有一定難度。用串線法解題。第一段講過去business method很容易被授予專利。其中第一段的最后一句話已經(jīng)暗含著對這種做法的反對。第二段轉(zhuǎn)折：將會用一個案例來全面審查商業(yè)方法專利。第三段：對business method的約束(curbs)是法院態(tài)度的巨大轉(zhuǎn)變。最后一段明確提出reacting to the anti-patent trend at the supreme court 。要注意的是原文始終沒有說Bilski case的判決，因此只是一個looming (隱約地出現(xiàn))的danger ，而不是已經(jīng)盛行的趨勢。

Text 3

① In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Aladuell argues that “social epidemics” are driven in large part by the actions of a tiny minority of special individuals, often called influentials, who are unusually informed, persuasive, or well connected. ②The idea is intuitively compelling, but it doesn’t explain how ideas actually spread。

【考點分析】① 因果�？�(driven)，出31題[A]。Malcolm Aladuell 的觀點“社會流行的東西在很大程度上是有一小部分有影響力的人發(fā)動的，這些人見多識廣，有說服力” ②轉(zhuǎn)折�？�，出31題[B]。 “這個觀點不能解釋思想是如何傳播的”。要注意：ideas actually spread= social epidemics 這就意味著作者認為influential對how ideas actually spread作用不大，不起driven(驅(qū)動)的作用。

31. By citing the book The Tipping Point, the author intends to __________。

[A]analyze the consequences of social epidemics

[B]discuss influentials’ function in spreading ideas

[C]exemplify people’s intuitive response to social epidemics

[D]describe the essential characteristics of influentials。

【正確選項解析】[B] 本題是說明作者目的題。由上文②的分析可知選本選項。

【干擾選項分析】[A] 與原文相反。本文討論的是原因(driven)，而本題是說結(jié)果(consequence)。

[C] 本段沒有提到人們的直覺的反應(yīng)(intuitive response)。②只是說“作者認為這個觀點從直覺上看是吸引人的”。所以無中生有

[D]偏離中心：influential對social epidemics的作用。只是①中的細節(jié)。

①The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plausible-sounding but largely untested theory called the “two-step flow of communication”： Information flows from the media to the influentials and from them to everyone else. ② Marketers have embraced the two-step flow because it suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials, those select people will do most of the work for them. ③The theory also seems to explain the sudden and unexpected popularity of certain looks, brands, or neighborhoods. ④In many such cases, a cursory search for causes finds that some small group of people was wearing, promoting, or developing whatever it is before anyone else paid attention. ⑤Anecdotal evidence of this kind fits nicely with the idea that only certain special people can drive trends.

【考點分析】①因果�？�(derive from)+轉(zhuǎn)折�？�(but)+否定�？�(untested)+段首常考+特殊標點�？�(冒號)，出32題。請看supposed在《牛津高階英語詞典》的英文解釋 [only before noun] used to show that you think that a claim, statement or way of describing sb/sth is not true or correct, although it is generally believed to be。這就意味著supposed后面的東西在本質(zhì)上都是作者反對的�！斑@種influential的假象的重要性來源于一個貌似合理但是實質(zhì)上未經(jīng)檢驗的two-step flow of communication的理論”。②講商人接受了這一錯誤觀點。③中的seems ④中的cursory search(草率的搜索) ⑤中的Anecdotal evidence(傳聞的證據(jù))這幾個詞組都表明作者對這個理論持反對態(tài)度。

32. The author suggests that the “two-step flow theory” __________。

[A]serves as a solution to marketing problems

[B]has helped explain certain prevalent trends

[C]has won support from influentials

[D]requires solid evidence for its validity

【正確選項解析】[D]由①可知這個理論是未經(jīng)檢驗的(untested)，這就意味著“需要可靠的證據(jù)證明其有效性”(requires solid evidence for its validity)。所以本題是同義替換之正話反說。

【干擾選項分析】[A]與作者對該理論的反對態(tài)度矛盾。

[B] ③這個理論似乎(seems)可以解釋某些流行的趨勢，seem這個詞表明作者其實是反對這個說法的。

[C]偷換概念，偷換了②中的marketer

①In their recent work, however, some researchers have come up with the finding that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed. ② In fact, they don’t seem to be required of all. ③ The researchers’ argument stems from a simple observation about social influence, with the exception of a few celebrities like Oprah Winfrey — whose outsize presence is primarily a function of media, not interpersonal, influence — even the most influential members of a population simply don’t interact with that many others. ④Yet it is precisely these noncelebrity influentials who, according to the two-step-flow theory, are supposed to drive social epidemics by influencing their friends and colleagues directly. ⑤ For a social epidemic to occur, however, each person so affected, must then influence his or her own acquaintances, who must in turn influence theirs, and so on; ⑥and just how many others pay attention to each of these people has little to do with the initial influential. ⑦ If people in the network just two degrees removed from the initial influential prove resistant, for example, the cascade of change won’t propagate very far or affect many people。

【考點分析】①承上啟下。研究者推翻了上文的錯誤觀點。②無需看懂。③研究者的理由來自關(guān)于社會影響的簡單的觀察。即使最有影響力的人也不會與太多的人交流。④是two-step-flow theory理論。⑤轉(zhuǎn)折�？汲�33題�！懊恳粋�受影響的人必須要影響他的熟人，他的熟人再影響自己的熟人”，這也就因為是social interaction。