8.31 考研英语阅读题源外刊模拟试题【难度7.7】

Section II Reading Comprehension 

Part A 

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. 

Text 1

Mold lurks in showers, behind walls and deep inside linen closets—black and slimy in one house, white and fuzzy or green and spongy in the next. It is also, increasingly, driving Americans into court. As builders race to put up homes as quickly and cheaply as possible, and as modern energy-efficiency codes leave a narrower margin for error in moisture management, construction defects have become a common trigger for mold growth, which thousands of homeowners believe is making them sick.

Mold has genuinely been linked in scientific studies to worsened asthma and other respiratory problems. But online communities and some wellness practitioners have gone further, tying it to symptoms ranging from emotional disturbance to heart trouble—claims medical researchers say often rest on little scientific backing. "People will often attribute things they don't understand to dampness and mold," says Mark Mendell, a former air-pollution researcher at the California Department of Public Health, who notes that mold's health effects vary widely between individuals and remain incompletely understood.

Whatever the science ultimately shows, the legal consequences are already substantial. Litigation is long, unpredictable and expensive for everyone involved, and it is adding to the legal costs of America's largest builders just as they contend with a stagnant housing market. D.R. Horton, the country's biggest home builder, is fighting claims from thousands of Louisiana homeowners over alleged moisture failures; its reserve for legal claims rose 57 percent, to 1.1 billion dollars, over three recent fiscal years. Lennar, another major builder, faces a suit from the Seminole Tribe of Florida alleging hundreds of defective homes with mold-ridden walls; its own self-insurance reserve rose 21 percent last year.

Part of the problem, architecture professor Christine Williamson argues, is that newer standards for sealing homes tightly to save energy also limit how well they can dry out, so any building mistake is more likely to trap moisture, especially in humid regions. Builders' lawyers counter that plaintiffs often rely on questionable testing methods and assessors, and that a degree of public hysteria is being exploited. Complicating matters further, there is no agreed standard for how many airborne mold spores count as dangerous, and tests can yield wildly different results depending on how they are conducted; remediation cost estimates from opposing experts can differ by a factor of twenty or more.

Ashley Frazier's case shows how these disputes play out. Less than two years after buying her Texas home in 2022, she was suffering daily asthma attacks, headaches and rashes, with walls sweating and windows fogging from humidity. One assessor she hired measured mold levels of 2.2 million spores per cubic meter; days earlier, the builder's own assessor had recorded roughly 500. By the time her case concludes, Frazier expects to have spent 75,000 dollars on experts alone, while her home's assessed value has collapsed from 318,700 dollars to 117,000. For Frazier, the ordeal has been overwhelming.

21. It can be learned from Paragraph 1 that the recent surge in mold-related lawsuits is mainly linked to ____A. a shortage of skilled construction workersB. builders cutting corners under tighter building codesC. a sudden change in national building material costsD. new government subsidies for energy-efficient housing

22. Mark Mendell is quoted in Paragraph 2 to suggest that ____A. mold definitely poses no threat to human healthB. people often blame mold for problems it may not causeC. wellness doctors have proven mold's link to heart diseaseD. mold inspectors need better professional training

23. The reserve figures for D.R. Horton and Lennar are cited to show that ____A. large builders face a growing financial burden from litigationB. small home-building companies are going out of businessC. builders have started fully compensating affected homeownersD. mold-related insurance premiums have doubled nationwide

24. According to Paragraph 4, one reason newer homes may be more prone to mold damage is that ____A. tighter, energy-efficient construction limits how easily moisture escapesB. testing standards for mold spores have become stricterC. builders have reduced their use of moisture-resistant materialsD. remediation companies deliberately inflate the scope of damage

25. What does Ashley Frazier's case mainly illustrate?A. how differently mold levels can be measured by different assessorsB. how quickly courts can resolve mold-related disputesC. how mold problems can be fully prevented through maintenanceD. how homeowners can recover the full value of damaged property

附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。

参考答案见以下。

Quick look: BBAAA

21.【正确答案】B【解析】题型：推理判断题定位：第一段"As builders race to put up homes as quickly and cheaply as possible, and as modern energy-efficiency codes leave a narrower margin for error in moisture management, construction defects have become a common trigger for mold growth"分析：首段明确将霉菌相关诉讼激增归因于两方面——建筑商赶工降本，以及节能规范让防潮容错空间变窄，二者共同导致施工缺陷频发，对应B项。干扰项：[A]"技术工人短缺"——无据编造，原文未提及劳动力短缺；[C]"建材成本骤变"——无据编造，原文未涉及材料成本；[D]"节能住房新政府补贴"——张冠李戴，节能规范确实提到，但原文说的是它压缩了容错空间，而非"补贴"引发诉讼，属于偷换概念。

22.【正确答案】B【解析】题型：举例目的题定位：第二段"'People will often attribute things they don't understand to dampness and mold,' says Mark Mendell...who notes that mold's health effects...remain incompletely understood."分析：援引Mendell这句话，是为了说明人们常常把自己不理解的问题归咎于潮湿和霉菌，而霉菌真正的健康影响其实尚未被完全弄清，对应B项。干扰项：[A]"霉菌绝对不会威胁健康"——情感色彩夸大/与原文相反，原文承认哮喘等呼吸道问题与霉菌确有科学关联；[C]"养生医生已证实霉菌与心脏病有关"——与原文相反，原文明确说这类说法"scientific backing"很少；[D]"霉菌检测员需要更好培训"——无据编造，本段未涉及检测员培训问题。

23.【正确答案】A【解析】题型：数据论证功能题定位：第三段"its reserve for legal claims rose 57 percent, to 1.1 billion dollars"；"its own self-insurance reserve rose 21 percent last year"分析：两家全美最大建筑商的法律准备金大幅上涨，被用来具体说明霉菌诉讼已成为大型建筑商日益沉重的财务负担，对应A项。干扰项：[B]"小型建筑公司濒临倒闭"——张冠李戴，原文数据针对的恰恰是"America's largest builders"，与"小型公司"无关；[C]"建筑商已开始全额赔偿户主"——与原文相反，准备金是为应对"未来索赔"预留，而非已经赔付，且文中builders仍在抗辩（"declined to comment"/"didn't respond"）；[D]"霉菌相关保险费翻倍"——无据编造，原文未给出保险费数据。

24.【正确答案】A【解析】题型：细节理解题定位：第四段"newer standards for sealing homes tightly to save energy also limit how well they can dry out, so any building mistake is more likely to trap moisture"分析：Williamson教授指出，为节能而将房屋密封得更紧的新标准，同时也限制了房屋的干燥能力，使得任何施工失误都更容易导致潮气滞留，对应A项。干扰项：[B]"霉菌孢子检测标准变得更严格"——与原文相反，原文明确"there is no agreed standard for how many airborne mold spores count as dangerous"，标准恰恰是缺失而非变严；[C]"建筑商减少了防潮材料的使用"——无据编造，本段未提及防潮材料用量变化；[D]"修复公司故意夸大损害范围"——无据编造，原文只说双方专家估价差异巨大（相差二十倍以上），并未指控修复公司"故意夸大"。

25.【正确答案】A【解析】题型：举例目的题定位：末段"One assessor she hired measured mold levels of 2.2 million spores per cubic meter; days earlier, the builder's own assessor had recorded roughly 500."分析：Frazier请来的评估师测出220万孢子/立方米，而建筑商自己的评估师几天前测出的数字仅为约500——这一悬殊对比集中呈现了第四段提到的"检测方法与结果因人而异"这一问题的具体案例，对应A项。干扰项：[B]"法院能很快解决霉菌纠纷"——与原文相反，第三段已定性诉讼"long, unpredictable"，且末段"by the time her case concludes"暗示案件仍未了结；[C]"霉菌问题可通过定期维护完全预防"——无据编造，原文未涉及预防维护话题；[D]"户主能挽回受损房产的全部价值"——与原文相反，Frazier房屋评估价从318,700美元跌至117,000美元，价值是"collapsed"而非挽回。

【词汇注释】

lurk: verb (HIDE) to exist somewhere unseen or unnoticed, or to wait somewhere secretly 潜伏；隐匿存在（文中指霉菌潜藏在淋浴间、墙体内部及床品柜深处）

trigger: verb (CAUSE) to cause something to start or happen, especially suddenly 触发；引发（文中指施工缺陷成为霉菌滋生的常见诱因）

contend: verb (DEAL WITH) to have to deal with a difficult situation or problem 应对；努力克服（文中指大型建筑商在应对住房市场低迷的同时，还要承担诉讼带来的法律成本）

reserve: noun (MONEY SET ASIDE) an amount of money that is kept available for use when needed 储备金；准备金（文中指建筑商为应对未来法律索赔而预留的资金）

seal: verb (CLOSE TIGHTLY) to close or cover something firmly so that air, liquid, etc. cannot get in or out 密封（文中指为节能而将房屋密封处理的建筑标准）

hysteria: noun (EXTREME EMOTION) a situation in which a group of people show extreme or exaggerated fear or excitement that is difficult to control 群体性恐慌；集体过度反应（文中指建筑商律师认为原告在利用公众对霉菌的过度恐慌情绪）

assessor: noun (EVALUATOR) a person whose job is to calculate the value, amount or quality of something 评估师；鉴定人（文中指负责检测房屋霉菌孢子浓度或评估房屋价值的专业人员）

【长难句】As builders race to put up homes as quickly and cheaply as possible, and as modern energy-efficiency codes leave a narrower margin for error in moisture management, construction defects have become a common trigger for mold growth, which thousands of homeowners believe is making them sick.

• 句首由and连接两个并列的as引导原因状语从句——"As builders race to put up homes as quickly and cheaply as possible"与"as modern energy-efficiency codes leave a narrower margin for error in moisture management"——共同说明施工缺陷频发的两方面原因；
• "construction defects have become a common trigger for mold growth"为主句，承接前面两个原因状语从句得出的结果；
• which引导非限制性定语从句"which thousands of homeowners believe is making them sick"，修饰mold growth，从句中thousands of homeowners believe为插入语，还原后应理解为which (thousands of homeowners believe) is making them sick。

由于建筑商争相尽快、尽可能廉价地建造房屋，加上现代节能规范让防潮环节的容错空间变窄，施工缺陷已成为霉菌滋生的常见诱因，而数千户主认为正是这种霉菌让他们生病。

【参考译文】

霉菌潜伏在淋浴间、墙后和亚麻布衣柜深处——有的房子里霉菌呈黑色黏滑状，有的房子里则可能是白色绒毛状或绿色海绵状。而且，霉菌问题正日益成为美国人诉诸法庭的罪魁祸首。随着建筑商竞相以尽可能快、尽可能便宜的方式建造房屋，以及现代节能规范对湿度控制的容错空间越来越小，建筑缺陷已成为霉菌滋生的常见诱因，成千上万的房主认为霉菌正在损害他们的健康。

科学研究确实证实，霉菌与哮喘和其他呼吸系统疾病的恶化有关。但一些网络社区和健康从业者更进一步，将霉菌与从情绪紊乱到心脏疾病等一系列症状联系起来——医学研究人员表示，这些说法往往缺乏科学依据。“人们常常会将他们不了解的事情归咎于潮湿和霉菌，”加州公共卫生部前空气污染研究员马克·门德尔说道。他指出，霉菌对健康的影响因人而异，而且其作用机制尚未完全明了。

无论科学最终得出什么结论，法律后果已经十分严重。诉讼旷日持久、结果难以预料，而且对所有相关方来说都耗资巨大，这无疑加重了美国大型建筑商的法律成本，而他们本就面临着低迷的房地产市场。美国最大的住宅建筑商D.R. Horton正面临着来自路易斯安那州数千名房主的索赔，这些索赔均与房屋潮湿问题有关；在过去的三个财政年度中，该公司用于法律索赔的准备金增长了57%，达到11亿美元。另一家大型建筑商Lennar也面临着佛罗里达州塞米诺尔部落的诉讼，该部落指控其建造的数百栋房屋存在缺陷，墙壁上长满了霉菌；该公司自身的自保准备金去年增长了21%。

建筑学教授克里斯汀·威廉姆森认为，部分问题在于，为了节能而采用的房屋密封新标准也限制了房屋的干燥能力，因此任何建筑缺陷都更容易导致潮气滞留，尤其是在潮湿地区。建筑商的律师反驳说，原告往往依赖于有问题的检测方法和评估人员，而且公众的恐慌情绪也被利用了。更复杂的是，目前对于空气中多少霉菌孢子才算危险并没有统一的标准，而且检测方法的不同会导致结果大相径庭；双方专家的修复费用估算也可能相差二十倍甚至更多。

阿什利·弗雷泽的案例就展现了这些纠纷是如何发生的。2022年，她在德克萨斯州买房不到两年，就开始遭受哮喘、头痛和皮疹的困扰，墙壁因潮湿而冒汗，窗户也因潮湿而起雾。她聘请的一位评估人员测得每立方米霉菌孢子含量高达220万个；几天前，建筑商自己的评估员记录了大约500处瑕疵。弗雷泽预计，到案件结束时，仅专家费用就将达到7.5万美元，而她房屋的评估价值已从31.87万美元暴跌至11.7万美元。对弗雷泽来说，这场磨难令人难以承受。

附注：