2014年考研英语二真题及答案解析(精)(17)

D) It usually produces the desired effect.

35. What can be inferred from the new studies of tears?

A) Emotional tears have the function of reducing stress.

B) Exposure to excessive medication may increase emotional tears.

C) Emotional tears can give rise to “dry eye” syndrome in some cases.

D) Environmental pollutants can induce the shedding of emotional tears.

Text 4

When the government talks about infrastructure contributing to the economy the focus is usually on roads, railways, broadband and energy. Housing is seldom mentioned. Why is that? To some extent the housing sector must shoulder the blame. We have not been good at communicating the real value that housing can contribute to economic growth. Then there is the scale of the typical housing project. It is hard to shove for attention among multibillion-pound infrastructure project, so it is inevitable that the attention is focused elsewhere. But perhaps the most significant reason is that the issue has always been so politically charged.

Nevertheless, the affordable housing situation is desperate. Waiting lists increase all the time and we are simply not building enough new homes.

The comprehensive spending review offers an opportunity for the government to help rectify this. It needs to put historical prejudices to one side and take some steps to address our urgent housing need.